The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

THE LAST DITCH

This is a mistake

Published by Tom

on

Prince of Wales to attend 65th D-Day anniversary – Telegraph.

President Sarkozy's failure to invite the Queen to the 65th Anniversary of D-Day was an insult to the British nation and particularly to our soldiers, sailors and airmen who gave their lives in the liberation of France. I am no monarchist, but for so long as she remains our Head of State, she symbolises us on such occasions. She should go in our name only where she is invited with all the respect we are due.

Gordon Brown's proper response to the insult would have been to decline his own invitation. Instead, he made matters worse by offering to sort it all out for Her Majesty as if he were some equerry. It is not for our Head of Government to plead to foreigners on behalf of our Head of State, but he could not bear to miss his chance to strut alongside President Obama, Even, it seems, at the cost of national humiliation.

That the President of the United States has pressured "Sarko" to change his mind does not help at all. I am sure Mr Obama meant well, but – in all respect and affection for the nation he stands for- we don't need its protection from the French. Prince Charles' attendance will degrade not only him and his mother, but all of us. It is a big mistake.

5 responses to “This is a mistake”

  1. Andrew Allison Avatar
    Andrew Allison

    It is a mistake. This is an insult to Britain and our lily-livered prime minister has done nothing about it. Prince Charles should not attend.

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  2. Guthrum Avatar
    Guthrum

    After all it is a Franco-American ‘affaire’,the next time France throws the towel in so easily, we shall know better that to expend lives and treasure

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  3. Welshcakes Limoncello Avatar
    Welshcakes Limoncello

    Yes, it’s more of a mess now. I agree, Tom, that the PM should not have accepted himself in the circumstances. I wonder whose fault it all really was, though? Guthrum, the French situation was much more complicated then that. As an island, it is hard for us to imagine.

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  4. jameshigham Avatar
    jameshigham

    I’m still trying to come to terms with this.

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  5. john miller Avatar
    john miller

    We are entering an 18th century political battle. There are no greater depths to which politicians will descend. For Sarkozy and Brown, they have to crawl on their bellies to be near St Obama. No prostration is too low, too humbling, too unseemly to achieve that end. No action is too crass, too self serving, too obsequious. The men of no “talents” seek to sidle up to a great auto-cue reader to try to establish credibility.
    They are not fit to lick my boots after I’ve strolled through Battersea Dogs Home.

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Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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