Frank Field on cash for honours.

A senior Labour backbencher has joined in the cash for honours fun and games. Frank Field has always been something of a loose canon. Now, he is criticising the police for enforcing the law. Field has been telling the Daily Telegraph something that everybody knows but which, at this time, could cause the government political embarrassment. Honours, Field said, have been sold for centuries. He complained,

"The amount of police effort being expended on this is ridiculous. These police officers would be doing a much better public service if they were put to work trying to stop innocent people being blown up by terrorists.

The police investigation is utterly out of proportion. There was no complaint made to the police by a party leader. It was just a publicity stunt but the police bit and they should not have done so."

True, honours have always been sold but it has been done much more subtly than Blair's blatant disregard for the law. It is equally true that the police could be doing better things with their time, perhaps protecting the public from street robberies, but since they refuse to patrol the dangerous streets, this investigation at least gives them something constructive to do.

One final point. Since when have party leaders had a monopoly of reporting suspected crimes to the police?

Tags: Cash for honours, Frank Field