Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

 Dear Kenny MacAskill,
It looks to me as though you, as Scottish Justice Secretary, have spotted a rather unusual loophole in laws designed to protect people from stalking and harrassment.  Ministers in Scotland are currently considering a new law which would help stop people stalking and harassing their victims by text or online.  Currently those who behave in [...]

Dear Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle,
Yet again, I am dismayed by the lack of protection for free speech in this country.  It seems as though upsetting and offending people is still illegal in this country, yet the USA and no doubt many other developed nations who offer constitutional protection for free speech make the UK look [...]

“I was just completely gobsmacked. I honestly thought someone was going to run out with a camera.”
- motorist Michael Mancini, after he was fined by police for blowing his nose while at a standstill in traffic.  Mancini was given a £60 fixed penalty notice after a policeman decided he was “not in control of his [...]

Dear environmental campaigners,
Apparently you are feeling hard done by this morning after you were labelled as ‘extremists’ and listed alongside al-Qaeda inspired terrorists and dissident Irish republican groups by the Government.  The new guidance on extremism, produced by the Ministry of Justice, was sent to probation staff in charge of writing court reports or supervising a range [...]

Dear John Redwood,
Your rolling coverage of suggested spending cuts on your blog is certainly thought-provoking.  For example, your post yesterday entitled ‘Fewer prisoners, fewer prison places’ had an element of underlying logic.  The idea was simple: let low-level non-violent offenders such as burglars and thieves pay fines instead of sending them to prison.  While this [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
I’m sure you consider yesterday’s announcement regarding sex offenders to be a fantastic success, given that the press lapped it up and the Conservatives were forced to fall into line. The plan is to let families ask police if someone with access to their child has convictions or has been previously suspected of abuse, following the [...]

“So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn’t no justice.”
- the sister of Mikal Middlestone-Bey, who was killed after his 21-stone girlfriend sat on him during an argument.  During her trial, Mia Landingham (pictured below) apologised for killing eight-stone Mikal – the father of her three children.  [...]

“This is not about prosecuting some poor minnow who has taped a record one night and circulated it to their friends. This is about large-scale, professional, clever, technical ripping off.”
- Peter Makepeace, opening the case for the prosecution at Teesside Crown Court earlier this week against 26-year-old Alan Ellis – who ran the Oink website [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
Sometimes when I get things right or make an accurate prediction on this blog, I admit to feeling a small sense of smugness – just like every other armchair politico.  Today, however, is not a day for smugness.  When I wrote to you only a matter of weeks ago about Munir Hussain, who was jailed for [...]

“You will have a hard job convincing motorists this is anything other than a stealth tax to shore up a creaking system strapped for cash.”
- Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, speaking after it was announced that motorists in England and Wales fined for minor offences now face having to pay bigger penalties [...]

It is a haunting picture, given that this man has now been executed by the Chinese government.  What I find hard to escape, though, is the painful reality that this case presented to both the Chinese authorities and the UK government regarding Akmal Shaikh’s ‘mental illness’.
Akmal Shaikh was executed after being convicted of drug smuggling [...]

Dear readers,
The recent remarks by Chris Grayling about homeowners supposedly being given more powers to defend their home was poorly judged in my opinion, and it seems I’m not the only one who finds Grayling’s proposals largely unworkable.  Keir Starmer, the Director of Prosecutions, has now rejected Grayling’s promise to review legislation to ensure that prosecutions were [...]

“Santa needs to pay his elves.”
- what the man who robbed SunTrust Bank in Nashville, USA, said to staff and customers as he fled. According to witnesses, the bank clerk had asked the robber to remove his sunglasses but he refused, reached into his sack and pulled out his gun.  He demanded money and told staff [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
You certainly won yourself a few fans among Daily Mail readers yesterday with your pledge to ‘protect’ householders who defend themselves from burglars.  Your plan is to review legislation on householders’ rights in the event of a burglar breaking into a home, following a recent case that left many Daily Mail readers angry.  Unfortunately, pandering to one [...]

Dear Harriet Harman,
Despite the Guardian and BBC’s best efforts to bury the story, the news that you are to be prosecuted over a minor car accident in your south London constituency is to be welcomed.  Even so, I have this bizarre sense of sympathy for you all the same.
You face prosecution for allegedly driving without due care [...]

Dear Jack Straw,
You will no doubt be glad that most of the media is focusing on the Glasgow East by-election this morning, because it gets you off the hook.  Over the past several months, away from the public eye, you have instigated some of the brutal attacks on civil liberties ever seen under this Labour [...]

Dear Alan Johnson,
Having presumably given up on any short-term leadership ambitions, you are now rejoining the fold by announcing that local councils are to get the power to seize the assets of minor offenders.  Home Office claims that seizing “ill-gotten gains” are a key part of the fight against all kinds of crime is misleading [...]

Dear Chris Grayling,
Having branded the storing of innocent people’s DNA “illegal and morally wrong” not that long ago, your reaction to new evidence from the US about the success of DNA databases would be much appreciated.  The increasing use of DNA technology has helped to drive reported rapes in America to a 20-year low - an [...]

Dear Donald Tusk,
As Prime Minister of Poland you probably aren’t used to causing a stir in the British media but the recent passing of a law making it compulsory for paedophiles convicted of raping children under the age of 15 years or a close relative to undergo chemical castration on their release from prison has done [...]

Dear Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang,
Every once in a while I come across a story that genuinely makes me think ‘What on earth is society coming to?’, and yours is another such story.  You have been charged with a criminal offence after taking part in what you regarded as a reasonable discussion about religion with guests at your [...]

“False accusations of rape are, of course, few. But they have still weakened the case for [the legal right to anonymity], which has been so crucial for victims of sexual crimes for more than 30 years. And this week, we have had to endure the spectacle of [Jordan] parading herself as a “victim”, bandying the [...]

Dear John Denham,
Now that you have become something of an irrelevance in government, you have gone very quiet.  Seeing as you don’t appear in the media very often, I would have thought that you’d at least try to talk sense when you do make a statement.  Sadly, your reaction to the violence from Asian youths [...]

Dear Prisoner Ben,
You seem to have caused quite a stir in the blogosphere.  According to your site, you have ”wandered through the prison system for 30 years” after pleading guilty to the murder of a friend at the age of 14, and now you have taken up blogging.  Some bloggers such as Jailhouse Lawyer and A Very [...]

From the Independent:
Until a few weeks before they were arrested, the boys lived with their mother and other siblings in a tatty semi on a quiet council estate. They lived there for eight years until they were moved into foster care about a month before they committed GBH by beating, burning and sexually abusing two [...]

“It will be jelly bean Asbos for sugared-up kids next. Surely it’s time to call last orders on endless new legislation.”
- Isabella Sankey, policy director for civil liberties group Liberty, criticising the new police powers to impose Drinking Banning Orders – dubbed “booze Asbos” – on people who behave anti-socially while drunk.  Offenders must stay away [...]