Tom Griffin (London, OK):The Guardian brings us news of some important developments in the case of Binyam Mohammed this evening: It emerged tonight that lawyers acting for Smith have sent the attorney general, Baroness Scotland, evidence about MI5 and CIA involvement in the case, which was heard behind closed doors in high court hearings. In a letter seen by the Guardian, they have asked Scotland ...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): After last month's look at the Tories, the way forward for the Labour Party is the subject of the latest in the Comment is Free/Soundings series of debates, Who Owns the Progressive Future? Jon Cruddas, Harriet Harman, Jeremy Gilbert,  and Chuka Umunna join the Guardian's Madeleine Bunting at London's King's Place this evening to discuss politics Afte...

Tom Griffin (London, OK):  In today's Guardian, Duncan Campbell draws out some of the implications of Barry George's acquittal for the murder of Jill Dando, a charge for which he'd already served eight years in Prison: It was widely assumed that after the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, the Bridgwater Three, Judith Ward and those many other high-profile cases that ...

Shadow Chancellor in warning Britain’s dire public finances will impose a “straitjacket” on an incoming Conservative government for years to come, the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, claims today, as he declares that he is conducting a careful review of his economic plans in the light of the downturn. In an interview with the Guardian, Osborne claims that

Tom Griffin (London, OK): The Guardian's profile suggests Sir Ian Blair was a tragic figure, a reformist laid low by his own flaws. He certainly wasn't short of problems, not least the inquest into the death of Jean Charles De Menezes currently underway at the Oval. In the end, however, it was the determined opposition of London Mayor Boris Johnson which paved the way for the Metropolitan ...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): Sunny Hundal suggested last month that the debate about the direction of the Labour Party could be cast as a confrontation between two party pressure groups, the Blairite Progress and the centre-left Compass. If that's true, then Friday's Guardian exchange between Progress director Robert Philpot and Compass chair Neal Lawson may be a useful guide to the parameter...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): As the Guardian 's Michael White notes, the leak of the BNP's membership database raises many of the same issues as recent losses of personal data by the Government. If anything, it has provided a much more dramatic illustration of the potential impact on individuals. The episode has also proven to be a true 'wikileak', in the sense that it has highli...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): The Government is determined to press ahead with its e-borders plan to count travellers in an out of the UK, despite running into problems with the European Union, The Guardian reports this morning. A draft European agreement would allow the collection of 'Passenger Name Records' (PNR) data, but only for the purpose of fighting terrorism and organised crime. ...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre comes up with a fairly full list of threats to the freedom of the press in a Guardian article today, but not an exhaustive one as it turns out. The Independent has another item to add to the tally: The Intelligence and Security Committee, the parliamentary watchdog of the intelligence and security agencies which has a cross-party membersh...

Tom Griffin (London, OK): The Guardian brings us news of the latest edition of Progress magazine, in which Skills Minister David Lammy makes Labour's latest attempt to develop a line of attack against David Cameron: The truth is that the Tories' change in language has touched a nerve, reflecting a big gap in our own political narrative. Yet beneath Cameron's rhetoric lies the basic phi...