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from the Beeb - he can just tell them to take a running jump.......

 

Summoning powers

 

 

It's been confirmed by the high priest of Parliament - Westminster's powers to summon witnesses before its select committees and to punish any accused of telling fibs, are weaker than most people realise.

 

As the continuing phone-hacking row and, now, the evidence given to the Treasury Committee over interest-rate fixing demonstrate, there is a very real question about what MPs on parliamentary committees can do, when they are not satisfied that they have been told the truth.

 

This paper by the Clerk of the Commons, Robert Rogers lays bare the threadbare nature of Parliament's powers even to summon witnesses, and the extent to which the sanctions available to MPs are out of date, or inoperable under Human Rights law.

 

At some point someone, perhaps a banker, perhaps a News International staffer, is bound to refuse to play along.

 

What then? As the paper makes clear, there is no reliable power to compel witnesses to appear before select committees, still less to punish deliberate lies told to them. Even the much-touted solution of requiring witnesses to give evidence on oath, thus making them liable to penalties of perjury, is fraught with problems.

 

To be sure, the Commons has the power to send the Serjeant at Arms to bring in a reluctant witness - but, as with many of its powers, it now runs the risk of appearing heavy-handed, or worse, plain silly. Picture the Serjeant, in full regalia arriving to apprehend a witness, only to face a stand-off, perhaps on live TV.

 

Imagine how MPs might appear to the outside world if some offender was brought to the Bar of the House to be admonished - told off - by Mr Speaker; who, by tradition, dons a black tricorn hat for such occasions (which dates that whole procedure a bit). It last happened to the journalist John Junor in 1956 - and, as Mr Rogers says, the Commons might look like a lynch mob if it tried that now. And then, in this non-deferential age, there's always the possibility that the victim might seize the moment and answer back - with the whole incident an instant sensation on You Tube. Remember how George Galloway thundered back at a US Senate committee.

 

There's some talk of a Privilege Bill to clarify the powers of Parliament; but again, it is far from straightforward to come up with a system of punishing people who refuse to give evidence, or who lie, without giving the courts some jurisdiction over the proceedings of Parliament (a taboo since the Bill of Rights in 1689).

 

And, as the convoluted process for dealing with the phone hacking witnesses (see earlier post) demonstrates, the handling of these cases has to be fair, allowing "defendants" a real chance to answer the accusations against them and even turn the tables on their accusers.

 

To be sure, the reputational damage that can be done by a parliamentary hearing may be far more painful than any penalties at MPs' command - ask Rupert Murdoch or G4S.  And there are very few incidents where a reluctant witness has not, in the end, appeared before a committee. (The exception is Irene Rosenfeld, CEO of Kraft Foods, who did not agree to appear before the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee in March 2011 to answer questions about the takeover of Cadbury - although other Kraft officials did give evidence.)

 

Parliament does need the power to compel witnesses to attend, and it does need some sanction when it believes it has been lied to - and these things are surely not impossible to arrange. The US Congress has a robust attitude towards perjury at its hearings, and the Scottish Parliament and Welsh National Assembly both have clearer powers than Westminster. And if we're about to enter into an era of parliamentary investigations of the powerful, in the City, in the media or wherever, clear and robust powers will be essential. But MPs need to be very careful what powers they demand or they could end up sounding like King Lear...

 

"I shall do such things...What they are yet I know not, but they shall be the terrors of the earth..."

 

 

 

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Ando was giving it the "yeah but dis owna" stuff last night. Basically saying it'll take 300m (can't remember the exact figure he threw out there) and then another 200m just to make an impact.

 

Total f***ing rubbish. Once the club is bought new owners could spend relatively sensibly and it would still p*ss all over whatever Ashley has spent while he's been here. A decent side could be put together on realisitic figures with a view to a cup run and finishing higher up the table.

 

He also puts out this idea that we know the score with Ashley, that it's not going to change and then seems to have beef with people when they complain about what's going on?

 

Jesus, if you're treated like s***, you have every right to exert your right not to go.

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Ando was giving it the "yeah but dis owna" stuff last night. Basically saying it'll take 300m (can't remember the exact figure he threw out there) and then another 200m just to make an impact.

 

Total f***ing rubbish. Once the club is bought new owners could spend relatively sensibly and it would still p*ss all over whatever Ashley has spent while he's been here. A decent side could be put together on realisitic figures with a view to a cup run and finishing higher up the table.

 

He also puts out this idea that we know the score with Ashley, that it's not going to change and then seems to have beef with people when they complain about what's going on?

 

Jesus, if you're treated like s***, you have every right to exert your right not to go.

 

 

exactly what I was thinking when they were spouting shit like 300m to buy it 200 m needs spent on team- Fucking lying regime supporting guff.

 

you cant compete etc.....SOUTHAMPTON!!!

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Ando was giving it the "yeah but dis owna" stuff last night. Basically saying it'll take 300m (can't remember the exact figure he threw out there) and then another 200m just to make an impact.

 

Total f***ing rubbish. Once the club is bought new owners could spend relatively sensibly and it would still p*ss all over whatever Ashley has spent while he's been here. A decent side could be put together on realisitic figures with a view to a cup run and finishing higher up the table.

 

He also puts out this idea that we know the score with Ashley, that it's not going to change and then seems to have beef with people when they complain about what's going on?

 

Jesus, if you're treated like s***, you have every right to exert your right not to go.

 

 

exactly what I was thinking when they were spouting s*** like 300m to buy it 200 m needs spent on team- f***ing lying regime supporting guff.

 

you cant compete etc.....SOUTHAMPTON!!!

 

Yeah I couldn't get my head round it. No right minded Newcastle fan expects us to go and challenge City or Chelsea ffs. What is expected is some form of commitment aimed at sporting achievement. This mob in charge quite clearly wouldn't give two fucks and yet Mick Lowes and Ando get confused/irritated with callers complaining about the regime. Total nonsense

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Ando was giving it the "yeah but dis owna" stuff last night. Basically saying it'll take 300m (can't remember the exact figure he threw out there) and then another 200m just to make an impact.

 

Total f***ing rubbish. Once the club is bought new owners could spend relatively sensibly and it would still p*ss all over whatever Ashley has spent while he's been here. A decent side could be put together on realisitic figures with a view to a cup run and finishing higher up the table.

 

He also puts out this idea that we know the score with Ashley, that it's not going to change and then seems to have beef with people when they complain about what's going on?

 

Jesus, if you're treated like s***, you have every right to exert your right not to go.

 

 

exactly what I was thinking when they were spouting s*** like 300m to buy it 200 m needs spent on team- f***ing lying regime supporting guff.

 

you cant compete etc.....SOUTHAMPTON!!!

 

Yeah I couldn't get my head round it. No right minded Newcastle fan expects us to go and challenge City or Chelsea ffs. What is expected is some form of commitment aimed at sporting achievement. This mob in charge quite clearly wouldn't give two fucks and yet Mick Lowes and Ando get confused/irritated with callers complaining about the regime. Total nonsense

 

 

Just be the best we can within the financial capacity of the club, maybe try in a cup if we are safe-ish in league.

Its hardly rocket science- and nobody can claim we do this with an ounce of credibility.

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Ando was giving it the "yeah but dis owna" stuff last night. Basically saying it'll take 300m (can't remember the exact figure he threw out there) and then another 200m just to make an impact.

 

Total f***ing rubbish. Once the club is bought new owners could spend relatively sensibly and it would still p*ss all over whatever Ashley has spent while he's been here. A decent side could be put together on realisitic figures with a view to a cup run and finishing higher up the table.

 

He also puts out this idea that we know the score with Ashley, that it's not going to change and then seems to have beef with people when they complain about what's going on?

 

Jesus, if you're treated like s***, you have every right to exert your right not to go.

 

 

exactly what I was thinking when they were spouting s*** like 300m to buy it 200 m needs spent on team- f***ing lying regime supporting guff.

 

you cant compete etc.....SOUTHAMPTON!!!

 

Yeah I couldn't get my head round it. No right minded Newcastle fan expects us to go and challenge City or Chelsea ffs. What is expected is some form of commitment aimed at sporting achievement. This mob in charge quite clearly wouldn't give two f***s and yet Mick Lowes and Ando get confused/irritated with callers complaining about the regime. Total nonsense

 

 

Just be the best we can within the financial capacity of the club, maybe try in a cup if we are safe-ish in league.

Its hardly rocket science- and nobody can claim we do this with an ounce of credibility.

 

For us to at least try in the cup we would have to have 40 points by christmas and even if we did have this magical points total, two or three of the best players would be flogged.

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Even if we did half fancy a cup run, when a culture of mediocrity and surrender is embedded deeply throughout the whole club it's extremely difficult to just switch on ambition whenever you want. Everyone from Ashley down to the cleaners knows that Newcastle's only aim is to avoid relegation.

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I never understand that when supporters say they want investment in the team why that is always interpreted by the media and pundits as we want to spend the same as Chelsea and Man City.

 

We all know how far we are behind those clubs financially.  But we spend less than virtually every other club in the league and we should be able to compete with most of them as we are much richer than they are.

 

 

 

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I never understand that when supporters say they want investment in the team why that is always interpreted by the media and pundits as we want to spend the same as Chelsea and Man City.

 

We all know how far we are behind those clubs financially.  But we spend less than virtually every other club in the league and we should be able to compete with most of them as we are much richer than they are.

We have the 10th costliest squad.

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Even if we did half fancy a cup run, when a culture of mediocrity and surrender is embedded deeply throughout the whole club it's extremely difficult to just switch on ambition whenever you want. Everyone from Ashley down to the cleaners knows that Newcastle's only aim is to avoid relegation.

 

:thup:

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We're making £50m profit a year at the moment.  Investing £50m a year into the first team would make a massive difference and that's without sending the club into debt, without borrowing, without stupid installments.  Simply investing our profits would see us competing at the right end of the table (including a proper salary for a real manager).

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We're making £50m profit a year at the moment.  Investing £50m a year into the first team would make a massive difference and that's without sending the club into debt, without borrowing, without stupid installments.  Simply investing our profits would see us competing at the right end of the table (including a proper salary for a real manager).

 

We haven't reported a profit before player trading yet.  Operating profit for the last 7 years has been...

 

-29.0m

-24.7m

-37.7m

-33.5m

-3.9m

-5.1m

-0.6m

 

I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

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We're making £50m profit a year at the moment.  Investing £50m a year into the first team would make a massive difference and that's without sending the club into debt, without borrowing, without stupid installments.  Simply investing our profits would see us competing at the right end of the table (including a proper salary for a real manager).

 

I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/GIF--laughing-funny-LOL-haha-hehe-hilarious-fun-happy-laugh-are-you-kidding-me-Michael-Jordan-GIF.gif

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I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/GIF--laughing-funny-LOL-haha-hehe-hilarious-fun-happy-laugh-are-you-kidding-me-Michael-Jordan-GIF.gif

 

You don't think we will?

 

Last summer we spent £12m MORE than we had in the previous FIVE summers COMBINED.

 

B-rivAbUcAACULH.png

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I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/GIF--laughing-funny-LOL-haha-hehe-hilarious-fun-happy-laugh-are-you-kidding-me-Michael-Jordan-GIF.gif

 

You don't think we will?

 

Last summer we spent £12m MORE than we had in the previous FIVE summers COMBINED.

 

B-rivAbUcAACULH.png

 

Exactly. Last Summer was a one off and certainly wasn't the norm.

 

We have the two Forest lads coming in plus Siem De Jong & Rolando Aarons back from injury. Over the course of the window we'll make a profit. Pretty likely there'll be one 'marquee' sale followed by a couple of players on the cheap in my opinion.

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I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/GIF--laughing-funny-LOL-haha-hehe-hilarious-fun-happy-laugh-are-you-kidding-me-Michael-Jordan-GIF.gif

 

You don't think we will?

 

Last summer we spent £12m MORE than we had in the previous FIVE summers COMBINED.

 

B-rivAbUcAACULH.png

 

Exactly. Last Summer was a one off and certainly wasn't the norm.

 

We have the two Forest lads coming in plus Siem De Jong & Rolando Aarons back from injury. Over the course of the window we'll make a profit. Pretty likely there'll be one 'marquee' sale followed by a couple of players on the cheap in my opinion.

 

Or the previous 4 windows were an exercise in making the club self-sustaining and it will continue to invest the majority of whatever profits there are into new signings.

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I'd expect us to spend in Summer.

 

http://reactiongif.org/wp-content/uploads/GIF/2014/08/GIF--laughing-funny-LOL-haha-hehe-hilarious-fun-happy-laugh-are-you-kidding-me-Michael-Jordan-GIF.gif

 

You don't think we will?

 

Last summer we spent £12m MORE than we had in the previous FIVE summers COMBINED.

 

B-rivAbUcAACULH.png

 

Exactly. Last Summer was a one off and certainly wasn't the norm.

 

We have the two Forest lads coming in plus Siem De Jong & Rolando Aarons back from injury. Over the course of the window we'll make a profit. Pretty likely there'll be one 'marquee' sale followed by a couple of players on the cheap in my opinion.

 

Or the previous 4 windows were an exercise in making the club self-sustaining and it will continue to invest the majority of whatever profits there are into new signings.

 

We've just made a sizeable profit in the January transfer window man. I can't begin to understand what has brought you to the conclusion that we're all of a sudden about to start splashing the cash.

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