Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Which level of reality is Blunkett in?

When I read about David Blunkett allegedly telling the former Head of the Prison Service to use "machine guns" in order to retake a rioting prison I can't deny I had the Harry Enfield character's voice going round my head saying "that's blokes a nutta!"

Thankfully the other voices managed to cast Enfield back to the pit of my subconscious and I was able to read on and see Blunkett was maintaining that his diaries were an accurate account of the time.

With that I recalled Sir Humphrey Appleby's observation that any statement in a politician's memoir represents six levels of reality:
  1. What happened.
  2. What he believed happened.
  3. What he would have liked to have happened.
  4. What he wants to believe happened.
  5. What he wants other people to believe happened.
  6. What he wants other people to believe he believed happened.
Sharp cookie was Humphrey, much sharper than I could ever hope to be.

4 comments:

Jeff said...

Don't worry to much Dizzy,

If Lord Rooker has his way you southerners will all soon be northerners. By then you will have wished that Blunkett had turned his machine guns on Rooker.

check this out in the mail here,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=410689&in_page_id=1770

Anonymous said...

Remember,

It wasn't a comedy it was a training video!

Anonymous said...

I had to turn Radio 4 off this morning as I could no longer bear the self pitying drone of his voice reading his diaries.

Anonymous said...

Blunkers is a perfect politician his memory only lasts till bedtime.