The man in question is one Mr Mark Pritchard. I heard his dulcet tones on the radio, last night as I was trying to have a quick nap before the night's rat hunt with Arturo. Then, I heard the said Mark Pritchard say quite stark things about Boy David.
This morning, Arturo and I peeped over the shoulder of one of the Downing Street clerks who was reading from Mark Pritchard's website. You should know that Mark Pritchard has a Private Member's Bill trying to ban the use of wild animals from the circus ring in the UK. Not an issue to raise hackles among the big-wigs in the Tory party, you would think. But, you would be wrong. This is part of what we read:
On Monday, in return for amending my motion, dropping it or not calling a vote on it—and we are not talking about a major defence issue, an economic issue or public sector reform; we are talking about the ban on wild animals in circuses—I was offered a reward, an incentive. If I had amended my motion and not called for a ban, I would have been offered a job. [Hon. Members: “Ooh!”] Not as a Minister, so those who are competing should not panic. It was a pretty trivial job, like most of the ones I have had—at least, probably, until 30 minutes from now. I was offered incentive and reward on Monday, and then it was ratcheted, until last night, when I was threatened. I had a call from the Prime Minister’s office directly. I was told that the Prime Minister himself had said that unless I withdrew this motion, he would look upon it very dimly indeed.
Well, I have a message for the Whips and for the Prime Minister of our country—I did not pick a fight with the Prime Minister of our country, but I have a message. I might be just a little council house lad from a very poor background, but that background gives me a backbone, it gives me a thick skin, and I am not going to kowtow to the Whips or even the Prime Minister of my country on an issue that I feel passionately about and on which I have conviction. There might be some people with other backbones in this place, on our side and the other side, who will speak later, but we need a generation of politicians with a bit of spine, not jelly. I will not be bullied by any of the Whips. This is an issue on which I have campaigned for many years. In the previous Parliament I had an Adjournment debate and I spoke in the passage of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. I have consistently campaigned on this issue, and I will not kowtow to unnecessary, disproportionate pressure.
As you can see, the gentleman felt passionately. He would not kow-tow! And who can blame him?
Anyway - as you can imagine, Boy David was questioned on this issue. Despite the fact that he was in Brussels debating the very future of the EU, reporters had the temerity to ask him about the way Mark Pritchard had been treated. You can just see the faces of amazed Europeans! What is wrong with the British, they must have been asking themselves. At such a moment - when Europe is teetering on the brink - the British Prime Minister is asked about circus rings!!!!
Nothing daunted, Boy David decided to answer the question. He insisted that his staff were not the sort of people to threaten or intimidate MPs.
"My Downing Street operation is - not everyone's absolutely like Mother Theresa, but that's the default setting - they're very gentle, reasonable people. I don't entirely agree with all the things that I've read, that there's a slavering Rottweiler sitting by my desk. That's absolutely not the case."
He added that he was "profoundly relaxed about the whole thing." Arturo and I both nodded. After, the problems he's been having, no wonder he's relaxed about this.
We did do a search round No 10 for the Rottweiler - so far - we've not found him. But we're still on our guard!
So, it's 'bye' from Arturo:
And it's 'have a good weekend' from me, my friends!
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