People power demands: 'get tough on Tony Blair'

[T_i_B]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/people-power-demands-get-tough-on-tony-blair-1856772.html

An internet-based "people power" campaign is asking its 60,000 members to draw up the "tough questions" that Tony Blair must be asked when he is questioned by the Iraq inquiry this year.

38 Degrees, a group set up last year in memory of the Body Shop founder Dame Anita Roddick, wants to ensure that Mr Blair is not let off the hook or allowed to answer the most sensitive questions in private.

Although Sir John Chilcot, the former Whitehall mandarin chairing the inquiry, has insisted that Mr Blair will be questioned mainly in public, critics of the 2003 invasion fear the former prime minister may cite national security in an attempt to ensure some of the hearing is behind closed doors.

David Babbs, executive director of 38 Degrees, said: "Immediately after we launched, thousands of our members petitioned the Prime Minister to demand a full and public inquiry into the war in Iraq. Days later it was announced that it would hear its evidence in public; proof of people power. 38 degrees members are suggesting a list of questions we want Mr Blair to answer. Contribute by visiting http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/tbiraqqs ."

[midnight]

1. Dame Anita Roddick was way ahead of the curve on so many issues....

Her opposition to the Gulf War in the early 1990s led her into conflict with some of her fellow directors.

Her relationship with City bankers, crucial when the company listed its shares on the stock exchange in the early 1990s, was often fractious while many found it hard to reconcile a business trading on its ethical reputation with one making huge profits.

The business began to struggle in the early part of the current decade and Anita Roddick stood down from her position as head of the firm in 2003.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6988365.stm

[T_i_B]

2. The article doesn't mention 38 Degrees main campaign...

Which is for the introduction of recall elections in the UK. They were set up in the midst of the MP's expenses scandal and that was the main issue they set up to campaign for.

http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/recall

They also campaign on a number of other issues.

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/TopUpFees
http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/rapecrisis
http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/aberdeenshire

[malaise]

3. Thanks for those links

:hi: