On the cover of City A.M. this morning, Boris Johnson argues that Starbucks must do more for the UK. Apparently, the Mayor said of Starbucks, “It needs to reflect very fast and very seriously on its position…Either it makes a change in its tax arrangements or does a lot more […]
Read MorePost Tagged with: "Justice"
A judgment on tax avoidance
One of my colleagues passed on this quote regarding tax avoidance from about 80 years ago: Lord Clyde, President of the Court of Session, ruled: “No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as […]
Read MoreAn eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
A group of young music artists have released a track aimed at dissuading young people in Wycombe from joining gangs. DJ LoMotes and record producer Phoenix Keyz have collaborated with Styler, Sicx, Dimples and Treasure. Already with over 14,000 views on Youtube, ‘An Eye for an Eye’ is becoming an […]
Read MoreThe Barclays LIBOR scandal – the world seems to have shifted towards my last bill: those at the top must be held responsible.
The Prime Minister has said he wants responsibility in banking, right to the top. The National Association of Pension Funds wants bonus clawbacks from the people who made the related trades. There’s endless talk of the irresponsible culture in banking. All that is addressed by my last bill. Nick Robinson […]
Read MoreDefining “reasonable force” in practice
After the riots last year, I wrote to the Home Secretary asking what would be a reasonable use of force by a property owner in defence of their own or their neighbours’ property and what constitutes reasonable force by the police in the prevention of crime, both in the circumstances […]
Read MoreThe injustice and error of a “Mansion Tax”
A so-called “mansion tax” may appear to embody a particular notion of fairness. One would think from the rhetoric that high-value homes all belonged to wicked billionaires, oligarchs and non-doms. One would think that owning such a home were inherently unjust. Far from it. Many valuable homes will have been bought […]
Read MoreIFRS accounting appears to allow Barclays to double stated profit
It has been brought to my attention by PIRC that Barclays are leaving £2 billion of bonuses out of their accounts within IFRS rules. Taken together with another flaw in IFRS, it appears that Barclay’s true profit is about half that allowed under the rules. Via the PIRC site: Barclays is still […]
Read MoreThe Rule of Law
Please note: this post was written at my request by Michael Dowsett, after yet another European policy which breached the Rule of Law, as classically understood. – Steve The rule of law is a phrase which is widely used but perhaps little understood. Far from being merely the sum total […]
Read MoreIt’s time for reform of our extradition arrangements
Yesterday, I attended and intervened in the debate on reform of our extradition arrangements. The motion was as follows: That this House calls upon the Government to reform the UK’s extradition arrangements to strengthen the protection of British citizens by introducing as a matter of urgency a Bill to enact […]
Read MoreThe riots in England
Over the past few days, many constituents have written to me expressing anger and dismay about the riots, policing and justice. I share this anger and dismay. As I said in my article on Wednesday, we must establish that the state’s duty is to protect the law-abiding and their property first […]
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