Labour's Inability To Govern

- Geoffrey Norris, Gordon Brown's energy adviser, held at least nine unminuted secret meetings with the bosses of EDF, British Nuclear Fuels, E.ON and British Energy, between September 2005 and June 2006. Why the secrecy? Why the privelaged access for the nuclear industry, rather than renewable power head honchos?

- At a time when millions of birds, and over 200 people, have died worldwide from H5N1, the number of wild birds tested by the Government for avian flu has fallen by 17 per cent over the last year.

- Stephen Carter, appointed by Gordon Brown to improve the running of Labour's government, allegedly 'misled' the media and 'issued false statements' that helped to inflate artificially the share price of a massively indebted telecoms company.

- A cabinet minister runs for the deputy leadership of his party. He doesn't declare over 60% of his donations. A think-tank, which has never published any work or held any meetings, acts as a funnel for donations to pay off his outstanding debts. He refuses to resign. There is no sign he will be fired.

- Finally, ministers plan to implant microchips under the skin of thousands of offenders.

Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, said: "If the Home Office doesn't understand why implanting a chip in someone is worse than an ankle bracelet, they don't need a human-rights lawyer; they need a common-sense bypass." ... Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said the proposal would not make his members' lives easier and would degrade their clients. He added: "Treating people like pieces of meat does not seem to represent an improvement in the system to me."