Bob Piper nails it:

I agree with the tone of most bloggers yesterday. Gordon Brown did the honorable thing to send personal, handwritten letters to the relatives of those killed in Afghanistan. It's a small gesture, but I think it indicates that he does care, and actually, if it had not been for Mrs Janes in the Sun yesterday, people would not be aware that he took the time and trouble to do it. I can think of others in and around Downing Street in the past who would have made a good deal of publicity out of the gesture.

Having said that, knowing the PM's shocking handwriting, someone in Downing Street should be checking the things. Whilst the grammar and spelling are not that important, getting the lad's name wrong undoes a lot of the good work done by writing in the first place.

However... whatever impact Mrs Janes had yesterday, I can only imagine the slimy Murdoch journalists have done her no favours with this morning's story. Yesterday she was a wronged mother, grieving for her lost son and quite rightly upset by a letter that she considered to be an insult to his memory. Today, we are expected to believe that the grieving Mrs Janes was sitting by the telephone, tape recorder at the ready, in case the Prime Minister should happen to call to apologise. It looks like a clear piece of entrapment by the snakes at The Sun. The whole emphasis changes away from a woman who is clearly genuinely upset into a story of a set up by the Murdoch press who are exploiting the woman's grief for political purposes.



www.bobpiper.co.uk/

the unfortunate thing here is that whilst Sun journalists are a maggoty septic shower of reptilian slimeballs; they are also very stupid. Brown is therefore, as a consequence of their public manipulation of this lady's grief, unfortunately coming out of this looking rather better than he did before.

SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!!!!!!!

The point about such letters is that if they are to be seen as a genuine expression of the writers feelings they need to be accurate, legible, and preferably reasonably well spelt. This letter did not meet any of those criteria.

Is it just me that finds the worst thing is that the Sun will get away with illegally publishing a recorded private conversation because they know that Brown can't take action against them because of the subject matter?

The devious barstards. They've sunk as low as they can with this one, and that's saying something.

I am astonished at the number of people out there in the world who believe Mrs Janes should be told to be quiet..

Christina Schmid did too

Oh the ironey.



WWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

I am astonished at the number of people out there in the world who believe Mrs Janes should be told to be quiet.

And fithed

12 years of Neues Arbites indoctrination has conditioned them to provide the 'correct' response.

I don't think anyone believes she should be told to be quiet. She should however, be voicing her own opinion on her own terms, and not manipulated by the journo scum that have done this.

I don't think anyone believes she should be told to be quiet. She should however, be voicing her own opinion on her own terms, and not manipulated by the journo scum that have done this.

I was going to agree with you. Then I read the comments at the bottom of The Times article on this-

www.timesonline.co.uk/...e-your-say

And I changed my mind. The Sun are lower than a snakes belly and I have no time for it in any way shape or form but Mrs Janes has the right to express her opinion.
Mr Brown put his letters to the bereaved into the public domain to make himself look better.
I am astonished at the number of people out there in the world who believe Mrs Janes should be told to be quiet.
I cannot imagine what it is like to lose a son, even worse than that to believe that he could have lived had a helicopter been available quick enough.
Jamie Janes died in service of this country, that entitles his mother to give Brown her opinion in any way she chooses.
I may not think much of The Sun but the issue is bigger than my dislike for a newspaper.

I see your agreement and I raise you with my agreement. My point was solely about the Sun's manipulation. The lady has every right to complain. I just don't like the Sun's agenda in all this. they are quite capable (did I just say that?) of raising all the other salient points about equipment without using this grieving lady as a pawn.

THis letter was clearly written in haste and the Dear Leader couldn't even be arsed to start again when he made a mistake. The Dear Leader is trying to spin himself as a 'caring' PM, when it would seem by the letter, they are nothing more than a chore he feels compelled to do .