Next week, also in Brussels, a group called The International Coalition Against Prohibition (TICAP) was due to hold a two-day conference under the patronage of Godfrey Bloom MEP (UKIP). The event was called "Smoking Bans and Lies" and the programme was unambiguously partisan.
Venue was the European Parliament building and I understand that several readers of this blog were planning to attend.
Yesterday morning it was reported that the conference had been moved from the Parliament to a hotel near the Parliament building. Last night I was told by Gawain Towler, press officer for UKIP in Brussels, that the original conference hosted by Godfrey Bloom has been cancelled and in its place is a "new" conference with a very similar programme. (Don't ask me why. I'm only the messenger.)
The "new" conference will be called "Thinking Is Forbidden" and officially it will be hosted not by Godfrey Bloom but by the British arm of the Independence/Democracy Group (aka UKIP). Delegates who were due to attend "Smoking Bans and Lies" will be invited to attend "Thinking Is Forbidden" instead.
The reason for this game of musical chairs seems to be related to THIS outrageous letter which was sent, in December, to Hans-Gert Pöttering, president of the European Parliament, by Florence Berteletti Kemp, director of the Smoke Free Partnership (which includes Cancer Research UK).
In her letter, Kemp argues that "this event should not under any circumstances take place on the premises of the European Parliament". She then gives the following reasons:
- "the event appears to be in contravention of Parliament’s own rules of procedure and is detrimental to the dignity of Parliament"
- "the event goes against all of Parliament’s adopted reports and the European Community’s legislation and commitments on this topic"
- "it violates the spirit of the International Framework Convention on Tobacco Control"
There's a lot more of this high-handed nonsense in Kemp's letter and any self-respecting institution would have torn it up and sent her packing. But not the European Parliament. I am told that on on Tuesday 12 January a committee met in camera and decided that permission for the conference to be held within the Parliament building had been withdrawn.
Neither Godfrey Bloom nor anyone else associated with "Smoking Bans and Lies" were told that the conference was on the agenda. In their absence, the committee acted as judge and jury. According to UKIP's Gawain Towler, the organisers only discovered that they were barred from using the Parliament building on Tuesday this week, a full seven days after the meeting.
Is it just me, or is that a bit fucking high-handed, totalitarian, undemocratic and also just a little bit cheeky?
9 comments:
It's a fucking disgrace, Obo.
In short, European tax-paying voters were spending their own post-tax funds on travel, hotels etc. But the expense-claiming EU, paid for by our taxes, have said that the attendees can't talk about such a subject in a so-called democratic building.
And they were ordered to do it by a group of charities ... who pay no taxes whatsoever.
Obnoxio, thanks for blogging on this. The democratic mask has not so much slipped but is resting on the chest and its knickers are just about to dangle down by the ankles.
I am a delegate at the conference and asked to meet someone at the EU Health commission and 2 weeks have passed and no reply. Now they thought it was off they suddenly have replied saying I am sure you can't make it. Alas I have written to confirm.
Well done Florence Barteletti Kemp, you have given us smokers, UKIP and the Euro-sceptics gilt edged PR.
Give 'em hell!
Cheeky? Cheeky? It's bloody well outrageous. A denial of freedom of speech for one and bloody rude on the other hand. Just like the damn Labour party the EU canot stand or even understand those who disagree with its policies, stsnces, diktats and all the other utter bollox it espouses.
That would be stances. Bugger!
I wish I could say I was surprised, but I'm not. These 'charities' are the thugs and bullies of the EU and of government, tidily disguised as 'benefactors of the public' when in fact they are just another bunch of hired goons.
The government listen to the charities because they employ those same charities to tell them what they want to hear. That's their job. To send back the message they've been fed so it looks like it's come from 'the public'.
I don't think there are enough lampposts in the country.
Venue was the European Parliament building
Is that the "European Parliament building" that overturned its own smoking ban after a couple of weeks..?
The fact that they don't see the irony of prohibiting a legitimate conference by a group called the International Coalition Against Prohibition shows what a bunch of pea-brained, self-righteous, unaware fucktards they really are.
Is the EU still subsidising tobacco farmers through the CAP?
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