40. Letter to the Commissioner from
Councillor Laurie Braham, 25 October 2003
Thank you for your letter of the 20th
October 2003, the contents of which I have carefully perused and
given much consideration.
While being extremely surprised, and not a little
annoyed, that a telephone conversation between myself and a BBC
reporter should have been electronically recorded, and no advisement
given, I feel, that as I had absolutely nothing to fear, emanating
from my replies, I should take the matter no further.
Apart from the fact that the reporter appears to
have had a different agenda from that of the main thrust of her
questioning, which later became apparent, I can find no fault
in the accuracy of the typed transcript of the conversation between
myself and the reporter. However, I must protest that with her
agenda in mind, how could I possibly be expected to know what
goes on in IDS's office or what his arrangements of staffing are?
Had she come right out and told me what she was after, I would
have told her of an occasion when I, IDS and Betsy were at a local,
social function, I asked Iain about the possibility of meeting
him at an imminent political event. It was Betsy who reminded
him that he would be elsewhere on that date. I was also aware
(colleagues having in the past told me) that Betsy had answered
the phone when they had telephoned Iain's Office.
I trust that the foregoing has been both informative
and helpful, but as you say in your letter, the period about which
you are seeking information, is some time ago. The occasion which
I mentioned earlier, that is, when I enquired about meeting Iain
at a local political gathering, took place at the Christmas Bazaar,
which would have been early in December 2002.
25 October 2003
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