Big Mac Gives Blair A Bollocking

Merlin the Magician

Merlin the Magician

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:o Yes and rightly so the guys an arsehole... Blair that is..... :o He's like a dictator /president..... Not someone who was democratically elected.... :angry:


LOOK AT THE NEWS TONIGHT.....................oh this is it and the family were not happy with it either... but people cheered outside the church.....

But the prime minister's absence from the funeral caused a moment of controversy when Cook's friend, horse racing pundit John McCirick, criticised Blair of "petty vindictiveness" for not breaking off from his holiday.

"This is a moral failure, opting to continue snorkelling instead of doing his duty," he said, to a round of applause from the public gathered outside.
 
Good Evening.
I feel sorry for the Prime Minister.

He made a very touching tribute speech last week and it was impossible for him to be in two places at the same time today.

He has to set his priorities and obviously Mr Cook came second today.

May he rest in peace,Mr Cook that is.
 
Definitely not from the pulpit with the body below :o .. but he read from notes!! so someone must have known about it to have let it happen :o ..........

but another thing I picked up on ROBIN COOK was an atheist a non believer but still he has, or his family has a church service for him is this a norm.....? :o
 
Just because McCririck had notes does not mean that anyone else knew what he was going to say.
 
As one of Blair's strongest supporters on this forum, I have to say I think he let himself down by not being there. If he was away somewhere brokering a peace deal, I could understand it but, as mentioned elsewhere, if it were Mandelson he'd have been there.

McCririck stands guilty of a cheap snipe at Blair and shame on him for using such a tragic occasion for attempting to score a few political points on behalf of the Tories and anti-Blairites.
 
I thought McCririck's digs were cheap and untimely. He could and should have said it after the event. I agree with latefortheraces and PDJ comments.
 
I don't disagree with Big Mac's comments per se, but I also think they should have been reserved for reporters after the funeral, not as part of the service. Cookie was very well respected, especially by Arab nations who appreciated his stance on the reasons for invading Iraq, and who've paid special respects to him. I looked up the Arab News online a night or two ago, and there are letters from Muslim members of the public in far-off places sending condolences. Such a very intelligent man, and damn gutsy for putting his personal ethics before political toadying.
 
There is a time & a place for everything - and clearly in the church was not the time or the place for such comments. However, he certainly has a point - it is utterly disrespectful for Blair not to have attended & to use such an excuse that he was 'on holiday' was disgusting. The man has more holidays than Lord Hartigan, PDJ & Ardross put together!
 
Yes, the man did fall in love with another woman - shock, horror !

However, as I seem to be saying rather frequently of late, it's rarer than hen's teeth that a marriage failing is solely the fault of just one party. Who knows what his first wife was really like?

Rather unpleasant, I would guess, from the way she was like a greyhound out of a trap dishing the dirt in print. There's no excuse for that when you have children together - no matter what their age. Who knows what story Mr Cook may have had to tell of his first wife's behaviour?

Nope, on balance he was one of the better guys..
 
Pundit defends Cook funeral jibe



McCririck's comments
Racing pundit John McCririck has defended his attack on Tony Blair during his tribute at the funeral of former foreign secretary Robin Cook.
Mr McCririck had criticised the prime minister's non-attendance at the funeral, saying it was a "moral failure" and showed vindictiveness.

Cabinet minister Peter Hain said he thought the attack was very out of place and resented by other mourners.

But Mr McCririck told the BBC "it needed to be said".

'No regrets'

He said he "certainly did not" regret his words and would do the same again "with reservations".

But he conceded the funeral might not have been the right time to have made his remarks.

"That is my only concern, not about what was said, it needed to be said, and you can certainly argue it should not have been made then."

Had there been a funeral for President Bush or President Chirac do you mean to say Tony Blair would not have attended?

John McCririck

He continued: "Do you mean to say if Tony Blair was up for election in six months time he wouldn't have been there?...

"Now nobody resents the prime minister taking a holiday. My goodness the man deserves it.

"But if he can't come back to Robin Cook's funeral, a man to whom he owes so much despite their differences on Iraq, I ask you, had there been a funeral for President Bush or President Chirac do you mean to say Tony Blair would not have attended? It is inconceivable.

One member of the family, very close, said it needed to be said, thank you very much

John McCririck

"... Not being there... demonstrated that the prime minister has got his pettiness, that he holds this vendetta against Robin which you know is so unfair."

Mr McCririck admitted the family had not known he intended to criticise the prime minister, but said at least one relative had supported his comments afterwards.

Chancellor's eulogy

Chancellor Gordon Brown gave a eulogy to Mr Cook, who resigned as Commons leader over the Iraq war, at the service at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

John Prescott, Alistair Darling, Jack Straw, David Blunkett and Mr Hain were among other Cabinet ministers at the service, as were Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy and SNP leader Alex Salmond.

A wave of resentment swept through the cathedral

Peter Hain on John McCririck's criticisms

Other ministers have said Mr Cook remained on good terms with the prime minister despite his resignation .

Outside the cathedral, Mr Hain said a "wave of resentment swept through the cathedral" at Mr McCririck's comments.

The remarks were "totally uncalled for" and were "out of tune" with the mood of the ceremony, Mr Hain said, adding: "I do think most of the mourners share that view."


In his eulogy, Mr Brown saluted his former Cabinet colleague as the "most accomplished parliamentarian of his generation".

Mr Cook's son Chris reminded the mourners of his father's commitment to Parliament.

He read a passage from his father's memoir about the need for Parliament to modernise.
 
Good Afternoon.
The Prime Minister's indifference on this subject puts him right at the top of the who's who of W-----s.
 
I seem to remember he didn't return from holiday immediately after the Tsunami disaster - rumour had it he was recovering from a facelift?!
 
Blair's decision undoubtedly is a mistake . McCririck's decision to make the criticism when he did was a crass error of judgment but what else can you expect from that fool.
 
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