Kathy Sheridan: Jeffrey Donaldson, Owen Paterson are latest victims of political amnesia

Few in the Tory cash-for-lobbying support group at Westminster would have noticed but the unfurling sleaze in the Mother of Parliaments was bookended in another part of Her Majesty’s United Kingdom by the hijacking of a couple of public buses by armed and masked men and left in flames. Something to do with Brexit.

David Frost’s constant drumbeat of threats to trigger article 16 amped up by unionist politicians bleating about absence of consent is getting the miserably anticipated response. A riot here, a few well-spaced bus-burnings there. Who cares about a few traumatised drivers and passengers, the withdrawal of an essential public service or the destruction of valuable public property by grown men – not youths – in their 40s.

Simon Coveney’s rational deduction that the triggering of article 16 could lead to an EU suspension of the trade deal was whisked off by the ever-obliging Stephen Nolan of the BBC and boomingly delivered to Jeffrey Donaldson as a “warning shot” to him and the British government. Donaldson played a whole bridge of sighs. “The word you used ... ‘warning shot’, talking of war, warning shots ... ” he sighed. “Simon Coveney has a record of upping the ante, he has a record of poking the UK government.” As an aside, the “war” threat such as it is, has been ascribed to an unnamed EU diplomat by the Daily Telegraph. Sigh.

Like the small child who covers his face with his hands and thinks no-one can see him, Johnson is remarkably bad at hiding, or else can't be bothered

Donaldson’s pained imprecations for everyone else to tone down the rhetoric illustrates how very sad political amnesia can be. Clearly he has already forgotten that alarming letter sent by the Mid and East Antrim council chief, Anne Donaghy, dated January 30th and written on council-headed notepaper, claiming “the involvement of paramilitary groups and recent protests at Larne Port” had been “escalated … to senior PSNI and executive officials” and that she felt “compelled to take measures to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of my staff”.

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Two days later, staff were withdrawn from the port over security fears – then were back within a couple of days following police advice repeated ad nauseam that there was no credible threat and nothing to substantiate loyalist paramilitary involvement. Which was great. So how could this neutral council chief have become so alarmed and confused? Only when her letter was leaked months later did it emerge she had been advised to write it by three DUP MPs, including one Jeffrey Donaldson. Sigh.

Maskless, shameless

It’s always worth a reminder at times like this that his party spent a stunning £282,000 on a single pro-Brexit wraparound for a newspaper not sold in Northern Ireland. Brexit is undeniably theirs.

The sight of their ebullient Brexit prime minister touring a Hexham hospital – maskless, of course – on Monday must have been saddening too if the amnesia hasn’t totally wiped all memories of the good old days.

The entire point of Johnson’s leisurely away day by rail was to escape the Commons showdown over his efforts to bring down the standards commissioner. If anyone wondered at the massive amounts of political capital and goodwill squandered on defending Owen Paterson’s egregious, £100,000-a-year lobbying side hustle, that hissing from the sidelines was Dominic Cummings, claiming the true purpose of the intended commissioner takedown was Johnson’s need to dismantle as much scrutiny as possible for his own future protection.

Johnson could have pretended to be a bit sheepish on Monday. But like the small child who covers his face with his hands and thinks no-one can see him, Johnson is remarkably bad at hiding, or else can’t be bothered. He’s been getting away with the “I wasn’t there, you didn’t see me” kiddy schtick all his life. And it worked.

Did no one notice when the Del Boys took over the policy, strategy and tactics or that Britain's reputation as an ally and respecter of treaties had already been thrashed to death?

But this time might be different. Though nearly 250 of his Commons fodder voted for the takedown of the standards apparatus at his behest, another 100 or so suddenly found they had to be elsewhere and 13 defied the three-line whip. The fact that just 46 of them had the courage to turn up for Monday’s toe-curling debate is revealing.

Yesterday’s London Times editorial worried that the government’s actions “risk undermining Britain’s reputation as a country that respects rules”, and concluded that “Britain’s political system has always depended on trust in ‘good chaps’ to do the right thing. That is no longer enough.”

Proroguing parliament

When was it enough? Two years ago, when Jacob Rees-Mogg and co were busy strong-arming the queen in Balmoral to prorogue parliament, the ardent Brexiteer Owen Paterson tweeted: “EU ‘membership’ has so corrupted our political classes and inured them to anti-democratic erosion, that at this moment … over half of parliament is happily and actively engaging in suppressing democracy … There can be no stronger argument for leaving the EU.” (All punctuation his.)

At the same time according to the parliamentary commissioner for standards, he had “repeatedly used his privileged position to benefit two companies for whom he was a paid consultant”, bringing the house into disrepute. “No previous case of paid advocacy has seen so many breaches or such a clear pattern of behaviour in failing to separate private and public interests.”

Where do self-awareness and shame go to die? Did no one notice when the Del Boys took over the policy, strategy and tactics or that Britain’s reputation as an ally and respecter of treaties had already been thrashed to death?

It’s that damned political amnesia, it leads to all sorts of misunderstandings and twists in the road. Donaldson and Paterson are the latest victims but there are plenty more. They just need to be reminded. All roads lead back to Brexit.