I predict that Commissioner of Police, Sir Paul Stephenson, will resign within 24 hours

[malaise]

Sir Paul Stephenson accepted £12,000 freebie while both he and Champneys spa employed ex-NoW deputy editor Neil Wallis
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/17/met-chief-faces-questions-spa
<snip>
Britain's top police officer, Sir Paul Stephenson, who is under fire for hiring the former News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis as his PR adviser, reportedly accepted 20 nights free of charge at the luxury health spa Champneys earlier this year.

The revelations, published on the front page of the Sunday Times, will pile further pressure on the Metropolitan police commissioner, who has been under attack since he admitted employing Wallis on a fee of £1,000 a day, just hours after the former News International executive's arrest last week in connection with the phone-hacking inquiry.

The revelations are particularly damaging for Stephenson because Wallis, known to his Fleet Street colleagues as "the Wolfman", was also retained by Champneys to manage its public relations. A spokesperson for the Met said the commissioner was unaware of Wallis's connection with the Hertfordshire spa when he accepted its hospitality.

---------------
The timing of the Brooks arrest suggests diversion re this HUGE story. The arrest also confuses Tuesday's hearing. It sure looks suspicious.

------------
Corrupt cops are everywehre

[Stuart G]

1. Kinda interesting to see it happen again...k and r..

for thoe who didn't live thru the other one...

Dominos are falling everywhere..


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal

[malaise]

6. And don't forget the cops told the Guardian that they were

overdoing the investigations and did nto tell them they had hired Wallis.
I had a thread with dominoes falling on Friday - i thought I had enough dominoes but I may have been wrong. :D

I was there for Watergate.

[malaise]

22. You had the same feeling didn't you?

:fistbump:

[madokie]

2. If he's not we'll know that this goes further up the food chain

rec.
:hi: Malaise, I hope you're having a good day.

[malaise]

5. Oh yes

I'm looking forward to the Women's world cup finals and then we're going to our local football club's anniversary match

[Divernan]

3. Son of a butcher, knighted in Queen's Birthday Honours, 2008

Wonder if knighthoods can be stripped or revoked, should he be found guilty of malfeasance.

[Divernan]

4. Mugabe stripped of knighthood in 2008

In answer to my own question above,

ROBERT Mugabe was stripped of his honorary knighthood over his "abuse of human rights" the Foreign Office said today.

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1340277.ece#ixzz1SNA2TbVd

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. I don't think this is enough to make him resign

I'd say the fact that the Met had employed Wallis was more important, but he didn't resign after that; this is one thing more, but they have been quick to claim it means nothing:

A Met statement said: "Following his operations, the commissioner stayed with his wife, at Champneys Medical from Monday to Friday over a period of five weeks earlier this year where he underwent an extensive programme of hydro and physiotherapy.

"This enabled him to return to work six weeks earlier than anticipated. As with many officers, the Met paid the intensive physiotherapy costs.

"The accommodation and meals were arranged and provided by Stephen Purdew, MD of Champneys, a personal family friend who has no connection with or links to his professional life."

A spokesman said: "Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is not considering his position. He declared it in gifts and hospitality for the sake of full transparency."

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Sir-Paul-Stephenson-Faces-Questions-Over-Links-To-Former-News-Of-The-World-Executive-Neil-Wallis/Article/201107316031710?lpos=UK_News_Top_Stories_Header_1&lid=ARTICLE_16031710_Sir_Paul_Stephenson_Faces_Questions_Over_Links_To_Former_News_Of_The_World_Executive_Neil_Wallis

I think he may well go, but I think it will take a specific revelation of corruption or incompetence over the investigations before he does.

[malaise]

8. How about this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/15/phone-hacking-met-police-guardian
<snip>
Scotland Yard's most senior officers tried to convince the Guardian during two private meetings that its coverage of phone hacking was exaggerated and incorrect without revealing they had hired Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the News of the World, as an adviser.

The first meeting in December 2009, which included the Metropolitan police commissioner Paul Stephenson, was two months after Wallis was employed by the Yard as a public relations consultant.

Wallis, 60, who was deputy to Andy Coulson, the NoW editor at the time of the phone hacking, was arrested on Thursday as part of Operation Weeting. Coulson has also been arrested and bailed.

Theresa May, the home secretary, has referred Scotland Yard's hiring of Wallis to the judicial inquiry on phone hacking which will be chaired by Lord Justice Leveson.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Yeah, that's the more serious stuff; but notice that happened on Friday

It's possible that he's going to admit he's already been shown to be too deep in with Wallis, and is just considering his position (or trying to negotiate a fat resignation check, which senior people seem to get as a matter of course; the one time I resigned from a job, because I'd found a better one elsewhere, I didn't get a penny, and didn't expect to). But I think it would need something like Coulson going public with details of how they had decided together to pressure the Guardian. At the moment, I think Coulson will stay quiet until he's seen what the Murdoch's and Brooks say in Parliament, and how the reaction goes.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. Well, I got that one very wrong, didn't I?

:blush:

[WinkyDink]

9. I believe Murdoch, Inc. has bribed TONS of people! Including Prince Andrew.

[peacetalksforall]

16. Prince Andrew?

[WinkyDink]

40. Yes. He's in Dutch currently for hobnobbing with a known pedophile:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1363163/Prince-Andrew-vows-end-friendship-billionaire-paedophile-Jeffrey-Epstein.html

Prince Andrew has promised to sever his controversial links with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke of York has finally admitted that meeting the disgraced billionaire recently was ‘unwise’ and has ruled out further visits to the Florida mansion where Epstein sexually exploited underage girls.

In a warning that may have come from the Queen, the duke’s aides have advised him that his continued association with the paedophile risked damaging the reputation of the monarchy.

[muriel_volestrangler]

42. But why would they bribe him?

If anything, him being in trouble would indicate they'd demand something off him to keep things quiet.

[LeftishBrit]

46. Honestly, I think it would be difficult to bribe Prince Andrew.

Not because he's a model of integrity; but simply because he must be one of the few people who has access to even more money than Rupert Murdoch.

He has extremely poor judgement in his friends; but I doubt that it's because he's being bribed.

[salin]

11. With Yates soon to follow.

isn't he up for top cop type promotion. Certainly now that is off the table, the resignation is the next step.

[malaise]

13. Yates is also in deep trouble

Murdoch clearly penetrated several levels of several institutions.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. Tuesday morning on Current, Keith is gonna cover it

[malaise]

15. He's gone

http://www.guardian.co.uk/

Police commissioner announces his resignation, saying his position was 'in danger of being eclipsed by the ongoing debate by senior officers and the media'

[Stuart G]

14. It is later in the day...about 3 pm eastern..and malaise nailed it.

Sr. Paul Stephenson has resigned ...it is now at....the latest breaking news forum

here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4924114

[malaise]

17. LOL

There was no escape for him

[Downwinder]

18. Good show. Who is next on the food chain?

[malaise]

20. Yates

Cameron is in deep trouble

[Downwinder]

27. Wasn't Stephenson the Mayor's choice?

[malaise]

33. Well the Mayo rmust approve but it's the Home Secretary

although I'm guessing he follows the PM.
What's really interesting here is that Cameron now gets to appoint his own folks since Brown would have been PM when Stephenson was promoted to Commish.

[Downwinder]

35. I notice that Livingstone is getting in a few digs.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/blog/2011/jul/17/phone-hacking-live-blog

Former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said that he suspected Stephenson's resignation would be the "first of several".

"We need to dig down the chain of command here," he said.

He said there should not only be resignations but criminal prosecutions if there was evidence of wrongdoing.

[salin]

34. I think the Mayor is going to be an interesting side story. He is Pissssed

and getting emboldened.

[Downwinder]

37. Wasn't he supported by News International?

[salin]

38. I am sure we was. But late reveals

to him were that he was subject to spying - and lied to directly in his official capacity. He seemed to be nail spitting mad by the end of last week. For him, I think it has gotten very personal.

Granted - in any other environment, given that previous support, probably enough to keep him in line even if mad. But - with the quick shifting earth changing the landscape around murdochco - he (and others) are letting loose.

[Downwinder]

39. It just seems that they have been a lot easier on Johnson

than they were on Livingstone.

[Strelnikov_]

19. And you were correct n/t

[malaise]

21. Say one thing for that British political system

Every now the damn breaks and then they clean out the stable.

[Downwinder]

23. Flows downhill.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. And you were right

I wonder how long until the GOVERNMENT goes boom?

[malaise]

28. Must depend on Clegg now

lots of pressure. His Committee Chair for Tuesday is rather close to the Murdoch goons as well.

[City Lights]

25. Good call, malaise!

:toast:

[malaise]

29. Not a difficult prediction this time

:fistbump:

[spanone]

30. ding!!! ding!!! ding!!! we have a winner!!!!

[SaveAmerica]

31. I need the numbers for Wednesday's Powerball, please

[malaise]

32. Same here

:rofl:

[SaveAmerica]

41. C'mon - you know you have them!! ; )

[suffragette]

36. Nicely done malaise!

Do you think this will impact the questions raised by the timing of the Brook's arrest?

[malaise]

52. I think the timing of the resignation was linked to the Sunday arrest

although I heard on BBC or Sky that she was told that she would be arrested since Friday.

I think he resigned after the front page story about his 12,000 pound stay at the spa connected to Wallis. If he didn't know the connection, how could he be the Commish?

[suffragette]

58. Could he be called to testify before Parliament, too?

[LeftishBrit]

43. And you've won your bet!

The people in charge of the Met haven't done too well recently. Stephenson's predecessor Ian Blair was in charge at the time when Menezes was shot, and was involved in attempts to whitewash it; as well as saying and doing quite a few other idiotic things. But Stephenson seems to have presided over QUITE a mess!

[malaise]

45. Police forces across the globe are in chaos

Most are in bed with politicians, corporations, criminals and bad eggs in the media.
Something has got to give - all these so called democracies are in trouble - institutions have been seriously damaged.

[myrna minx]

44. K&R n/t

[alsame]

47. ...

:applause:

[alcibiades_mystery]

48. Well played, old boy!

:-)

[malaise]

49. Old girl thank you

:evilgrin:

[alcibiades_mystery]

50. Chin chin, then

:-)

[malaise]

53. LOL - have you seen this - Stephenson turns on Cameron

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/18/sir-paul-stephenson-turns-david-cameron
<snip>
Britain's top police officer has resigned and turned on the prime minister in a dramatic escalation of the phone hacking scandal.

In a carefully-worded resignation speech that appeared aimed directly at Downing Street, Sir Paul Stephenson, the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, said the prime minister risked being "compromised" by his closeness to former News of the World editor Andy Coulson.

Number 10 stressed that David Cameron had not been pressing in private for Stephenson to stand aside. But he was caught by surprise by the attack, which came just while the prime minister was on a plane en route to South Africa.

Stephenson denied that he was resigning over allegations that he accepted £12,000 worth of hospitality from Champney's health spa, focusing instead on his decision not to inform the prime minister that the Met had employed Coulson's former deputy Neil Wallis as a strategic adviser.
-------------------

How timely that Cameron runs off to South Africa.

[Dappleganger]

51. Well done!!

[WillyT]

54. You Be Rockin !!! - K & R !!!

:yourock:

:bounce:

:hi:

:kick:

[malaise]

56. Yates about to resign

:party: :rofl:

[Lugnut]

55. Nice call, malaise!

:fistbump:

[Nye Bevan]

57. Yeah sure. 24 business hours?

Oh wait.....