Best Of

DecrepiterJohnL said:
Andy_JS said:
Can we please continue to talk about why Paul Quinn hasn't received a longer sentence after allowing Andrew Malkinson to spend 17 years in prison?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbLCXIaZBo
Or should we talk about why Malkinson was not released for more than 12 years after DNA evidence exonerated him? Or why the CCRC turned him down twice. Or even how he came to be wrongly convicted in the first place.


I did some research into this and read the various reports. So if there's any interest, happy to share.

Please do share Cyclefree.

I am just bewildered that the CCRC turned the case down twice after the DNA evidence was available. How could they possibly have thought it was a safe conviction after that?

The judicial system has a deep seated fear of acknowledging the system is capable of error. "We do not err. We cannot err. If we are fallible - the system collapses. Regardless of the cost to poor individuals, we have to hold the line."

As evidenced by Lord Denning. The former Master of the Rolls Denning’s was involved in 1980, with the still-incarcerated Birmingham Six’s civil claim against the police. Dismissing the case, he said:

“Just consider the course of events if their action were to proceed to trial… If the six men failed it would mean that much time and money and worry would have been expended by many people to no good purpose. If they won, it would mean that the police were guilty of perjury; that they were guilty of violence and threats; that the confessions were involuntary and improperly admitted in evidence; and that the convictions were erroneous… That was such an appalling vista that every sensible person would say, ‘It cannot be right that these actions should go any further’.”

Denning did many good things and wrote many fine judgments. That was most certainly not one of them.

(Snip).
So I am told by legal types.

To this layman it seems hard to believe that someone so confused about the concepts of innocence and guilt could ever have become a lawyer never mind be such an eminent judge.

Well, look at this: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1974/8.html

An absolute masterpiece of a judgment bringing together a series of equitable remedies explaining their underlying basis and principles. One of the outstanding judgments in English law.

US govt bailout of AI coming soon


‘ BREAKING: President Trump says the Trump Administration might buy equity stakes in US AI companies and that he will host a meeting with AI executives as soon as next week, per Reuters.’


https://x.com/kobeissiletter/status/2063257505854013952?s=61

At what point will the US government having to bail it out cause the huge correction in the value of the AI bubble?

SpaceX IPO and the two big AI IPO’s could very well do it.

SpaceX feels like a pump and dump with retail and index trackers being on the hook. Valued at 100 times earnings. Not for me.

Trackers and index funds will be able to add it very quickly too.

Will be obliged to, surely, if they are tracker funds ?

It's been exclude, I think, for 12 months from one of the largest (S&P 500), but otherwise they are forced buyers of a grossly overvalued IPO, for which the ordinary rules have been waived.

Tonight's Opinium

Badenoch gave best response on Henry Nowak case according to the public, Nigel Farage the worst

Following the release of bodycam footage relating to the murder of Henry Nowak, voters are most likely to approve of Kemi Badenoch’s response to the case.

Badenoch records a net approval score of +12 on her handling of the issue. Ed Davey is marginally positive, while Keir Starmer, Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage all receive net negative ratings. Farage receives the weakest assessment overall, with more respondents disapproving than approving of his response.

“For all the debate sparked by Tony Blair and the ‘hot essay summer’, the public still lean towards saying he was a bad rather than a good prime minister. Perhaps more worrying for Labour, they also struggle to see any of the party’s current leadership contenders as offering a markedly better alternative.”

Full details of polling

https://www.opinium.com/resource-center/voting-intention-3rd-june-2026/

Kemi getting it right again.

As I said the other day.

She's the first Tory leader since early PM Boris to get a hearing from the public. Which is noteable.

Really

Certainly not in recent By Elections

Certainly not in recent Council Elections

Certainly not in Wales or Scottish Elections.

One thing has happened in the past 4 weeks that is notable which has given her a bit more exposure in right leaning media.

Farage has vanished.
He's neutered himself with £5m donation

Thats the only difference.

IF Burnham wins Makerfield
IF Burnham challenges Starmer

Coronation or Contest, it will be Labour leader v Farage, Tories and Bedenich won't get a look in other than at PMQ where she's better but still misses countless own goals.

Read tonight's Opinium about the mess Labour are in and learn

Amazing even after all the onslaught against Kemi you cannot even spell her name

Is that the Opinium poll that has Labour 3% ahead of the Tories?

If Labour are in a mess what adjective would you use for the Tories?

With Kemi they will recover and ask me in 2029

So you're prepared to comment on Labour now but not the Tories.

Noted.

Why do you have such a beef with BigG? Most of us post things that are wrong or questionable on here in many ways but you seem to pick on his posts. He’s actually quite a useful bellwether as a large chunk of the voting public will be seeing or interpreting things the same way from the same sources.

I don’t think it deserves such targeting.

I have no beef, it's just the ludicrous hyperbole which I pick others up on, like I did with Brixian the other night.

Scotland was probably after London one of the better results for the Tories in May. Although the Scottish Tories still lost MSPs whereas London Tories made net gains of council seats, they held most of their Holyrood constituencies. Whereas in provincial England outside London lots of Tory councillors lost their seats particularly to Reform and Scottish Tories got a higher voteshare in the Holyrood vote than Welsh Tories did in the Senedd.

Kemi also still has a reasonable 20% favourable rating in Scotland. The Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine Holyrood seat which largely overlaps with the Aberdeen South Westminster seat was also one of a minority of constituencies in Scotland where the Tories beat Reform and were still in the top 2 against the SNP. Indeed the Tories were just 4% behind the SNP so if they squeeze the 17% who voted Reform then they could beat the SNP and win the seat.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen_Deeside_and_North_Kincardine

Arbroath is the type of seat Labour might win back if Burnham wins the Makerfield by election and replaces Starmer as Labour leader and PM but it won't while Starmer remains PM which he still will be when the by elections are held

How is going from 31 MSPs to 12 in Scotland one of the Tories' "better results"?

As most of those were list seats going Reform, in terms of FPTP seats the Tories only lost 1 Holyrood constituency seat, Eastwood. As I said the Tories also got a higher voteshare in Scotland than in Wales.

In London the Tories even made net gains on FPTP council seats despite significant loss of council seats elsewhere in England.

So ironically the Kemi Tories are now performing best in Remain areas like London and Scotland because Reform are weaker there and where their opponents are Labour or the SNP not the LDs, where they are collapsing is in strong Leave areas Boris won which are electing Reform

The Conservative performance in London is one of those double edged swords.

Yes, the Conservatives did well against Labour in a number of Boroughs (Wandsworth, Westminster, Harrow, Hounslow, Brent, Barnet and Enfield to name but seven) and held off Reform in Bromley and Bexley but let's not forget the big losses to Reform in Havering (23) and to the LDs in Sutton (20) and the fact is there are now 10 Boroughs with no Conservative representation (up from 7).

Tonight's Opinium

Badenoch gave best response on Henry Nowak case according to the public, Nigel Farage the worst

Following the release of bodycam footage relating to the murder of Henry Nowak, voters are most likely to approve of Kemi Badenoch’s response to the case.

Badenoch records a net approval score of +12 on her handling of the issue. Ed Davey is marginally positive, while Keir Starmer, Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage all receive net negative ratings. Farage receives the weakest assessment overall, with more respondents disapproving than approving of his response.

“For all the debate sparked by Tony Blair and the ‘hot essay summer’, the public still lean towards saying he was a bad rather than a good prime minister. Perhaps more worrying for Labour, they also struggle to see any of the party’s current leadership contenders as offering a markedly better alternative.”

Full details of polling

https://www.opinium.com/resource-center/voting-intention-3rd-june-2026/

Kemi getting it right again.

As I said the other day.

She's the first Tory leader since early PM Boris to get a hearing from the public. Which is noteable.

Really

Certainly not in recent By Elections

Certainly not in recent Council Elections

Certainly not in Wales or Scottish Elections.

One thing has happened in the past 4 weeks that is notable which has given her a bit more exposure in right leaning media.

Farage has vanished.
He's neutered himself with £5m donation

Thats the only difference.

IF Burnham wins Makerfield
IF Burnham challenges Starmer

Coronation or Contest, it will be Labour leader v Farage, Tories and Bedenich won't get a look in other than at PMQ where she's better but still misses countless own goals.

Read tonight's Opinium about the mess Labour are in and learn

Amazing even after all the onslaught against Kemi you cannot even spell her name

Is that the Opinium poll that has Labour 3% ahead of the Tories?

If Labour are in a mess what adjective would you use for the Tories?

With Kemi they will recover and ask me in 2029

So you're prepared to comment on Labour now but not the Tories.

Noted.

Why do you have such a beef with BigG? Most of us post things that are wrong or questionable on here in many ways but you seem to pick on his posts. He’s actually quite a useful bellwether as a large chunk of the voting public will be seeing or interpreting things the same way from the same sources.

I don’t think it deserves such targeting.

I have no beef, it's just the ludicrous hyperbole which I pick others up on, like I did with Brixian the other night.

It just does come across a bit targeted. Like I said, he’s posting things which a lot of people also probably think or read/hear and it’s useful, even when wrong so worth reading.

Obviously Brixian talks utter bollocks but maybe live and let live a bit on BigG. He’s big and could crush you in his giant arms, be warned.

DecrepiterJohnL said:
Andy_JS said:
Can we please continue to talk about why Paul Quinn hasn't received a longer sentence after allowing Andrew Malkinson to spend 17 years in prison?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfbLCXIaZBo
Or should we talk about why Malkinson was not released for more than 12 years after DNA evidence exonerated him? Or why the CCRC turned him down twice. Or even how he came to be wrongly convicted in the first place.


I did some research into this and read the various reports. So if there's any interest, happy to share.

Please do share Cyclefree.

I am just bewildered that the CCRC turned the case down twice after the DNA evidence was available. How could they possibly have thought it was a safe conviction after that?

The judicial system has a deep seated fear of acknowledging the system is capable of error. "We do not err. We cannot err. If we are fallible - the system collapses. Regardless of the cost to poor individuals, we have to hold the line."

As evidenced by Lord Denning. The former Master of the Rolls Denning’s was involved in 1980, with the still-incarcerated Birmingham Six’s civil claim against the police. Dismissing the case, he said:

“Just consider the course of events if their action were to proceed to trial… If the six men failed it would mean that much time and money and worry would have been expended by many people to no good purpose. If they won, it would mean that the police were guilty of perjury; that they were guilty of violence and threats; that the confessions were involuntary and improperly admitted in evidence; and that the convictions were erroneous… That was such an appalling vista that every sensible person would say, ‘It cannot be right that these actions should go any further’.”

Tonight's Opinium

Badenoch gave best response on Henry Nowak case according to the public, Nigel Farage the worst

Following the release of bodycam footage relating to the murder of Henry Nowak, voters are most likely to approve of Kemi Badenoch’s response to the case.

Badenoch records a net approval score of +12 on her handling of the issue. Ed Davey is marginally positive, while Keir Starmer, Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage all receive net negative ratings. Farage receives the weakest assessment overall, with more respondents disapproving than approving of his response.

“For all the debate sparked by Tony Blair and the ‘hot essay summer’, the public still lean towards saying he was a bad rather than a good prime minister. Perhaps more worrying for Labour, they also struggle to see any of the party’s current leadership contenders as offering a markedly better alternative.”

Full details of polling

https://www.opinium.com/resource-center/voting-intention-3rd-june-2026/

Kemi getting it right again.

As I said the other day.

She's the first Tory leader since early PM Boris to get a hearing from the public. Which is noteable.

Really

Certainly not in recent By Elections

Certainly not in recent Council Elections

Certainly not in Wales or Scottish Elections.

One thing has happened in the past 4 weeks that is notable which has given her a bit more exposure in right leaning media.

Farage has vanished.
He's neutered himself with £5m donation

Thats the only difference.

IF Burnham wins Makerfield
IF Burnham challenges Starmer

Coronation or Contest, it will be Labour leader v Farage, Tories and Bedenich won't get a look in other than at PMQ where she's better but still misses countless own goals.

Read tonight's Opinium about the mess Labour are in and learn

Amazing even after all the onslaught against Kemi you cannot even spell her name

Is that the Opinium poll that has Labour 3% ahead of the Tories?

If Labour are in a mess what adjective would you use for the Tories?

With Kemi they will recover and ask me in 2029

So you're prepared to comment on Labour now but not the Tories.

Noted.

Why do you have such a beef with BigG? Most of us post things that are wrong or questionable on here in many ways but you seem to pick on his posts. He’s actually quite a useful bellwether as a large chunk of the voting public will be seeing or interpreting things the same way from the same sources.

I don’t think it deserves such targeting.

I have no beef, it's just the ludicrous hyperbole which I pick others up on, like I did with Brixian the other night.

To be honest you do tend to critise me and more often than others

Indeed it has made me wonder why, as I am a conservative, and even whether I can be bothered continuing to contribute

I do enjoy the debate but the nitpicking is getting tedious

Tonight's Opinium

Badenoch gave best response on Henry Nowak case according to the public, Nigel Farage the worst

Following the release of bodycam footage relating to the murder of Henry Nowak, voters are most likely to approve of Kemi Badenoch’s response to the case.

Badenoch records a net approval score of +12 on her handling of the issue. Ed Davey is marginally positive, while Keir Starmer, Zack Polanski and Nigel Farage all receive net negative ratings. Farage receives the weakest assessment overall, with more respondents disapproving than approving of his response.

“For all the debate sparked by Tony Blair and the ‘hot essay summer’, the public still lean towards saying he was a bad rather than a good prime minister. Perhaps more worrying for Labour, they also struggle to see any of the party’s current leadership contenders as offering a markedly better alternative.”

Full details of polling

https://www.opinium.com/resource-center/voting-intention-3rd-june-2026/

Kemi getting it right again.

As I said the other day.

She's the first Tory leader since early PM Boris to get a hearing from the public. Which is noteable.

Really

Certainly not in recent By Elections

Certainly not in recent Council Elections

Certainly not in Wales or Scottish Elections.

One thing has happened in the past 4 weeks that is notable which has given her a bit more exposure in right leaning media.

Farage has vanished.
He's neutered himself with £5m donation

Thats the only difference.

IF Burnham wins Makerfield
IF Burnham challenges Starmer

Coronation or Contest, it will be Labour leader v Farage, Tories and Bedenich won't get a look in other than at PMQ where she's better but still misses countless own goals.

Read tonight's Opinium about the mess Labour are in and learn

Amazing even after all the onslaught against Kemi you cannot even spell her name

Is that the Opinium poll that has Labour 3% ahead of the Tories?

If Labour are in a mess what adjective would you use for the Tories?

With Kemi they will recover and ask me in 2029

So you're prepared to comment on Labour now but not the Tories.

Noted.

Why do you have such a beef with BigG? Most of us post things that are wrong or questionable on here in many ways but you seem to pick on his posts. He’s actually quite a useful bellwether as a large chunk of the voting public will be seeing or interpreting things the same way from the same sources.

I don’t think it deserves such targeting.

Almost as if TSE is closet Labour!

In actual news of the government doing stuff… https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-of-unmarried-couples-to-get-stronger-rights

Not doing, but releasing a consultation. Not sure why a consultation is headed:

" Millions of unmarried couples to get stronger rights

Overdue reforms to protect women and meet the needs of modern relationships as the government continues to prioritise tackling VAWG and working people"

sounds sexist, but also with a mind set made up irrespective of responses.

In Scotland we have had cohabitation rights for about a decade which give a right to a share in the increase in value of the assets of the partner during the relationship commensurate with their contributions.
I once did a truly bizarre case in Aberdeen about this. The female partner was claiming that she had played a major role in setting up a serviced flats business which had suffered from some somewhat unfortunate timing.
In cross examination I asked her what share of the business she thought she was entitled to. She said half. I asked her if she had her cheque book and pointed out that since its creation the business had lost over £300k so she was due to pay £150k. The case was then abandoned.