Saturday, April 11, 2015

The Personal and The Political


If there is one unmissable difference between liberty and confinement, it is the distance between the individual and the State. Out in our daily lives, the State is hidden, glimpsed fleetingly as traffic wardens flit by and police cars grace our rear view mirrors. The State is there, in every corner of life, but it gives the impression of being concealed behind the façade that is life.

I am used to a more personal relationship with the State. Directly because of Ministerial decisions, recommendations by the Parole Board that I move to Open prison prior to release were overturned. Every moment of my existence was regimented and regulated, the State being personified by some miserable bugger in size 9’s slamming the cell door shut. Rarely in the “real world” do we have such proximity to government.

A large barrier to my forging any consistent relationship with the State, the gaping hole in the idea of “citizen”, is the denial of the Vote. Ten years after the Hirst judgement and government is still slithering around the issue like a snake in a vat of KY. A government insisting I show slavish obedience to the law whilst ignoring its own obligations is a matter which has, and always will, rankle with me.

Yet here I am, the new owner of a vote. And it came without any effort on my part. I haven’t had to show that I’m intelligent, educated, moral, or even interested. Whether I like it or not, I’m lumbered with the damn thing. And now I have to decide how to wield this miniscule, temporary, power over our masters.

 I could just bail out of the whole business, opting to spoil my paper or just not vote. In the face of a range of political parties all severely afflicted with prisonitis, the idea of voting on the basis of party is a dead duck. All of them can rot.

 In the absence of any meaningful political principles on offer, I have decided to ignore the national picture and rather chose to look local. As is, which local candidate fills me with sufficient confidence that they can do a decent job representing my constituency.

 Rather improbably, I have alighted upon David Warburton. He is not a career politician, which may suggest less adherence to slavish party lines in attempts to curry Party favour. Maybe. And politics is his fourth or fifth career, which has encompassed classic music through to E-Commerce and social enterprises. A person rounded by experience, then. Having popped into his office to sound him out of criminal justice policy, we found ourselves in the café having such a long chat that other appointments were shifted. Unlike a standard politician, David was happy to ask questions rather than merely pontificate.

Turns out, I’m voting….Tory!

67 comments:

  1. Sadly none of the politicians leading the main parties have any experience of the real world. That you have found a local politician with rounded experience and willing to talk rather than 'speak' is your good fortune. No matter his political leanings he is likely to be a better representative than any career politician. Go for it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You shouldn't be allowed a vote as you are a convicted murderer. And voting Tory just shows how out of touch with reality you really are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And whats the connection between my crime and the vote?

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    Replies
    1. I see the saddo trolls from twitter have wandered over here. Apologies to rational readers.

      Delete
    2. Get a grip Ben. You are sick.

      Delete
    3. No Suzie, i havent been suspended for trolling. Care to suvstantiate that claim before i delete your libels?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous.... i dont ever dismiss opposing comments as trolling. But personal abuse, libel or slurs are trolling and will be dealt with. My blog my rules.

      Delete
    5. Personal abuse will be deleted.

      Delete
    6. You have turned into a bully Ben. Maybe, probably, you always were. I feel bad that I ever bothered with you and this blog in the first place.

      Delete
    7. Im a bully? Please substantiate that before i delete you for breaking the blog rules on personal slurs. If you can....

      Delete
  4. Ben voting Tory, rofl I never thought I would see the day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a waste. If you don't like the mainstream political parties then at least use your vote wisely and vote for a progressive party like the Greens who want to see prisoners earn the minimum wage.

    ** shakes head in bewilderment **

    Starting to wonder now if Ben is regressing to his devil's advocate days which pissed off the Parole Board and prison authorities for so many years hence the reference to being a "fully paid up member of the awkward squad" as someone queries above.

    Why spent so much time bashing Cameron and Graying (rightfully so IMO) and then vote for their policies? Insane.

    You are an intelligent, insigtful and articulate guy Ben but sometimes I wonder if you lack basic common sense or maybe you just like swimming against the tide for the sake of it. Either way I'm very disappointed.

    PS - Not a troll. If you look back I've stuck up for you on here on several occasions.

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  6. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  7. After the way the Tories have treated prisoners in this country and ignored numerous ECHR judgments on giving prisoners the vote and yet you are still going to vote for them. How ironic. Abandon hope all who enter here.

    Shame on Ben. You've lost the plot mate.

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  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. No need to be nasty. David Cameron is both a Tory and a dick too. Ben has atoned for his crime, no matter how horrific, and doesn't deserve personal abuse like this. Dunno about the woman hating bit, care to enlighten us Tom?

      My opinion on Ben voting Tory is below. I think it's a crazy decision but we are a democracy after all and everyone is entitled to vote how they please whether it be Tory or even the bloody Monster Raving Loony Party. LOL

      Be careful what you wish for though Ben. A majority Conservative government will scrap the Human Rights Act and tighten up all sorts of criminal justice legislation. By voting for them you can't cry foul when they carry out their plans. Fair comment?

      Delete
  9. Ben has obviously forgotten to take his meds.

    Never in a million years would I vote for the Tories and why he would do so after their continual bungling of the criminal justice system is just beyond my comprehension. Sad times.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is not meant to be a forum for abuse, Tom from Glasgow. Please refrain from cheap insults.

    I would also add, as Ben's long term partner, that he is no woman-hater. Far from it. You are probably referring to the banter between him and the radfems on Twitter.

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    Replies
    1. I have just had a look at Ben's twitter feed, and yes, he seems obsessed with having a go at feminists, why? He made his point, why such obsessive behaviour? So what he thinks they are wrong, why the carry on? Meanwhile he supports the Tories? He needs to do some thinking about what his priorities actually are.

      Delete
    2. So you characterise my opposition to 3rd wave feminism as obsessive behaviour. Your qualifications are....?
      And i assume you will make the same slur against the feminists for banging on? No...?

      Delete
    3. yes, obsessive and crap. Leave people alone and get on with your life.

      Delete
    4. I'm sorry you object to my arguing for gender equality. Clearly it doesn't bother your conscience. Now post a substantive comment or...bye bye

      Delete
  11. Oh dear. Not good news. :(

    The authorities do seem to be taking action against those accused of abuse on Twitter. A lad in Sunderland was given a police caution for making a tactless and unpleasant (but not malicious) joke about the Glasgow bin lorry crash back in December which I thought was rather ridiculous.

    And poor old Katie Hopkins is under siege at the moment for her comments on the tragedy in the Med. She's been reported to police for inciting racial hatred but I'd be amazed if anything more comes of it.

    But you need to be careful Ben. You are vulnerable being on life licence and I'd hate to see you back inside for a misguided online comment which is taken out of context. Keep your chin up mate.

    All the best,
    Derek

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All is well. Those supervising me are content. That cowards make false complaints is for them to justify.

      Delete
  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. You had your chance to try to substantiate your libels but failed to do so. Libels are deleted.

      Delete
  13. Wowee, you are spreading the libel a bit thickly. Who says my accounts are suspended due to harassment and threats towards women??? Twitter certainly havent, so unless you can substantiate your cowardly lies your comment will be deleted at the end of the day. And i haven't been reported to the police. Doh.

    My three twitter accounts have been suspended, as has the Editors. Only one of my accounts dealt with sexual politics and the Editors account was utterly benign. Twitter suspends accounts if complaints are made, no human involved. So a bunch of scumbag cowards have made complaints to shut me down. No reasons given.

    Just to give an illistration of how evil my harassment is, these are the tweets radfems used to suspend one of my accounts before. Read them and shake with the horror!!!

    ""Trouble with the word no? The authorities have them. You refuse to see. Ho hum"

    "My crime means you cant be a hater? Think much...?"

    "Sorry if trying to get me imprisoned doesn't count"

    "Until you identify your friend this is pointless"

    I hope you managed to struggle through that litany of harassment and threats....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Who is the Editor and what does he have to do with all this? He sounds like a James Bond type villain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Editor is my partner, who ran the blog when i was in prison.

      Delete
  15. In the light of trolls from Twitter appearing here, I am being strict. Comments intended to slur, abuse or libel will be deleted. Any clarification needed?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your blog post is entitled The personal and The political, and here you are pressing the delete button happy go lucky ... when does it stop? When we all agree with you? When we all fall into place? Dream on. Ben Gunn is a murderer. That is a fact, not a slur, not abuse, not libel. What does it mean? It means, and you have demonstrated here and elsewhere that you are far worse than a bully in fact. You behave, right here, right now, more than a bully, it is the mentality of a murderer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I shall leave that insane rant for posterity and the medical fraternity to judge.

      Delete
  17. Terry (former prisoner at HMP Haverigg)April 24, 2015 at 6:26 PM

    I have been a long time reader of Ben's work both here and in the Inside Times newspaper (not ashamed to admit I'm a former prisoner myself) but I'm seeing a side to him I don't particularly like now. Not so much a bully as someone who is unable or unwilling to accept other people's views.

    By all means remove posts calling you a scumbag or a beast as these are abusive, malicious and trolling but some of the deleted comments weren't so bad. Just folk disagreeing with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Terry (former prisoner at HMP Haverigg)April 24, 2015 at 6:32 PM

      One more thing Ben... why exactly were you banned from Twitter? I don't know the full story apart from what I've read above but you must have written some pretty offensive comments to have 3 accounts closed down. There are full time trolls on Twitter who get away with murder (pardon the pun) and their accounts are never sanctioned. Old Holburn is the best example of someone who specializes at being a full-time troll.

      Delete
    2. Read the comments. Nearly all disagree with me. So you are, alas, making a false claim.
      I'm not banned from twitter. Im suspended, no grounds given. Odd how quickly you believe any crap allegation.

      Delete
    3. Nearly every comment here disagrees with me, so what is your claim based on?
      Every comment deleted was either abusive or libellous.

      Delete
  18. Terry (former prisoner at HMP Haverigg)April 25, 2015 at 2:33 AM

    Nearly everyone disagrees with you - so that makes YOU right eh? I guess those supporters of ISIS can take heart from that statement.

    Suspended from Twitter or banned? Semantics. You are obviously no longer welcome there in any guise whether it be in a personal or professional capacity. If your account is reinstated at some point in the future then you can claim the moral high ground.

    The old Ben who fought so hard against the establishment during your imprisonment is back and whilst I admired some of your traits before I think you are fighting a futile campaign against the court of public opinion. Furthermore you are losing badly.

    If your current erratic behaviour continues I think the offers to do news interviews, lectures and suchlike will dry up. Either this Twitter thing, the O'Brien show or something else has rattled you and it's showing. This is not the Ben I remember who wrote such great articles for the Inside Times and inspired prisoners all over the country. Sooner or later another ex-con will come along with a fresh, less hostile attitude and take your place as the "expert on prison reform and reoffending" - because you seem intent on pressing the self-destruct button.

    Delete this if you want. I'm almost at the point of not caring anymore.

    Until recently I thought you'd be an interesting guy to have a pint with and talk over criminal justice matters and penal reform, now I think otherwise as you obviously can't or won't accept opinions from others which differ from your own.

    Last point: your comments about being suspended from Twitter with no reasons given don't just quite ring true. You must have done something wrong for them to have withdrawn your right to contribute. Or are we living in a society where, for example, the parole board could recall you to custody with no reasons given, simply because they don't agree with your views.. Do you see where I'm coming from?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi Terry,

    You seem to wear your time in prison as a badge of pride going by your comments about not being ashamed of being in prison. Well you bloody well should be. My nephew served 3 months in a YOI when he was a teenager and no-one outside our close family knows about it. It's not exactly something to be proud of is it? He's worked hard ever since and hasn't been in any kind of trouble for more than a decade. Maybe your comment was flippant or a poor choice of words. I certainly hope so.

    Hi Ben,

    Used to follow you on Twitter but you seem like a different guy on here. A bit aggressive maybe? I can understand your frustration about your account being frozen but lashing out at people who have a different outlook is not the answer pal. You have done the crime and served the time. I have no axe to grind with you and are probably as much a danger to society as my 88-year old mother. LOL

    Maybe it's time to step back from social media and concentrate on working with reputable organisations such as Apex, NACRO, the Howard League for Penal Reform and perhaps even MOJO. I'm sure your experience would be invaluable and will spare you from some of the pond life who take great delight in winding you up whether it be here or on Twitter.

    Regarding the Twitter stuff, from what I can see the feminist trolls laid a trap and you walked straight into it. I can picture them all now hitting the report button and coordinating their stories. But I have to say not all of them were being obnoxious or trolling and perhaps you tar all feminists with the same brush which is rather unfair. You did come across as unreasonable, and dare I say it - bullying in some of your tweets. I'm not really a feminist myself but I do admire women who are.


    One more thing - have you thought about approaching your local Citizens Advice bureau to offer your help in dealing with former prisoners and offenders and the problems and discrimination they face on a daily basis?

    I know it's something that is becoming more common throughout England and they don't discriminate against ex-offenders so long as there is no risk (in your case you shouldn't have a problem) - I'm sure your probation officer would supply a reference.

    Citizens Advice are great when it comes to matters such as housing, benefits and debt problems but their volunteers don't have much experience of the criminal justice system and matters such as the ROA and offering practical advice to those released from custody who perhaps have no social network and are unaware of their rights and the choices available to them.

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  20. Glad to see you are back on Twitter Ben. Keep up the good fight.

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  21. Strange as it may seem, I can understand why Ben would vote for the Tories. After all he did very well during the Thatcher years.

    Free bed and board
    Free meals
    Free electricity
    Free heating
    Free TV licence


    In fact I'm surprised he hasn't used the right-to-buy scheme after living in his prison cell for 25 years. Just think Ben you could own your very own piece of bricks and mortar and rent it back out to HMPS. How ironic would that be eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tom....you left twitter because you found it to cerebral. You will note the same problem facing you here...

      Delete
    2. Tom....you left twitter because you found it to cerebral. You will note the same problem facing you here...

      Delete
  22. Terry (former prisoner at HMP Haverigg)April 28, 2015 at 4:37 AM

    More perfectly reasonable posts deleted including my own which wasn't offensive in the slightest. It seems Ben is just going to remove anything he remotely disagrees with. His blog. His rules.

    But we'll now see less productive comments and intelligent debate as people like me aren't going to spend 5-10 minutes of their valuable time typing out stuff only to see it binned because it falls foul of Ben's views on a particular subject.

    Meanwhile the trolls like the idiot above (Tom) will just keep on coming with their dross. Shame really. The comments from all the reasonably intelligent people who frequent this blog on a regular basis seemed to have dried up. I wonder why?

    I thought Ben Gunn was a good guy once. I read his contributions to the Inside Times and I admired both his tenacity and willingness to stand up to unfairness and injustice within a corrupt establishment. Now I don't know what to think. Maybe the guy is just under a lot of pressure with all this Twitter nonsense or maybe he has changed. But this isn't the way to go Ben, alienating your supporters and those who believed in you. If you are serious about campaigning and trying to make a difference in the face of controversy then you need to take the rough with the smooth.

    I'm a success story. I left prison and started my own business. Now very comfortable earning £30k per year with a lovely house. The only thing lacking in my life is a partner and a few more close friends otherwise I would be completely content. I took a few snide comments and rejections along the way due to my past but I didn't let it get me down and so long as people were civil, I believe they were entitled to their opinion whether it be positive or negative.

    Until now I thought you were the same but your overuse of the "delete" button shows otherwise. Disappointing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I repeat - nearly every comment disagrees with me. You claiming i delete dissent is plain wrong and yet you keep repeating the claim. In the face of such a denial of reality, why should i give your views a single thought?
      And this thread is about voting. You presume an open invitation to give your views on my life and attitudes. Try that in the pub.

      Delete
  23. You don't deserve a vote. The Sex offenders register would be more applicable in your case instead of the electoral register. Attention seeking narcissist who killed a child and thinks it's a great laugh now you've finally been let out of your cage. Once an animal, always an animal. People like you don't change in my experience.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ben was a child himself when he committed his crime. That does not make him a sex offender.

    This is the sort of comment that should send him reaching for the delete button. It's just cheap abuse, and libel.

    ReplyDelete
  25. You don't have to be under 18 to be on the sex offenders register. There are kids as young as 12 and 13 on it. Perhaps even younger although I can't recall any such cases. Just saying. In any case Ben will be under the same supervision as sex offenders through MAPPA and his local OMU or PPU. Both units specialise in public protection and the management of dangerous violent and sexual offenders. As Ben is on life licence he will therefore be monitored for life by these agencies. There will be regular home visits, risk assessments and sometimes even scrutiny of any devices which can connect to the internet. The level of monitoring differs from offender to offender. Not for a minute am I saying Ben is Jack the Ripper but they will be keeping a close eye on him for obvious reasons. Released lifers who do reoffend are a hugh embarrassment to the parole board and reduce the chances of existing prisoners being granted parole if there is any element of risk. But I'm sure Ben has nothing to worry about so long as he complies with his licence. Good luck voting Ben and enjoy the experience, at least you are not a UKIP supporter.

    ReplyDelete
  26. David (Lanarkshire, Scotland)April 29, 2015 at 4:31 AM

    I just read Ben's story on the Guardian website and it's quite sad to have missed out on so much that we take for granted on a daily basis. This will be his first General Election so go out there Ben and vote for whoever who choose.

    I didn't register in time and reading your post makes me kinda feel guilty now as I can't really complain if I don't get the result I want either in my local area or nationwide. Every vote counts as I live in a marginal constituency and it's going to be tight.

    Good luck and all the best wishes,
    David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You might care to reflect Gunn's victim has had no life, as it was brutally taken from him for no reason. He will be voting in no election, now or ever, yet committed no crime at all, unlike Gunn
      All this is brought back to his remaining family when some 'media tart' ( his words )
      desperately tries to get on any media going

      Delete
  27. Don't vote Tory Ben. Please. They have some awful policies.

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  28. Even if Mr Warburton is a decent bloke, a single MP does not matter all that much. To ignore the national picture is a huge mistake.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They are all decent until they get elected. I used to admire Tony Blair and thought he'd be the best PM ever when elected in 1997. Now I'd spit in his face if I ever came across him. There are very few honourable politicians. Dennis Skinner is a good guy though and I have a lot of time for him.

      Delete
  29. Why the hell is there a donate via Paypal link on this blog? Never noticed it before.

    Do you think I'm going to send my hard earned cash to a convicted murderer just because he writes an occasional blog entry? Thatcher would be proud of you.Capitalism at it's worst.

    ReplyDelete
  30. OK I've read all the above and my 2 cents on this: Ben has done his time. Doesn't matter whether he is a child killer or a sex offender (assuming this last bit is true) Leave the guy alone to get on with his life. In next week's election roughly 32-38% of the UK population will be voting Tory if you believe the polls. So it's reasonable to assume Ben has the same political mindset as a good proportion of the population.

    I vote Green and they will be lucky if they get 6% of the vote in the national result. But will I be vilified for my choice? No of course not. For people my age its cool to choose either the Greens or one of the Nationalist parties if you live in Scotland or Wales.

    So what if he got banned from Twitter? So long as it wasn't about politics this is completely irrelevant to this discussion and is for another blog post if Ben decides to tackle this issue.

    To use a football saying - if you are going to have a go at Ben then play the man and not the ball. Personal abuse is crossing a line.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, Patrik. The libellous nonsense from "Anonymous" are almost certainly from one person who is bitter, twisted and misinformed. That is why they need to stay - to highlight that fact.

      For the record, Ben is not a sex offender and his closest friends are all women.

      Delete
    2. Sure 'leave him to get on with his life' fine, but he writes a blog ... you know, and one that was very popular at one time, its not just about him, nothing is ever just about the individual.

      Delete
  31. By the way I should have said above play the ball and not the man. It's a way of saying by all means challenge someone's views without resorting to personal insults and attacks. Sorry my English is not perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  32. All candidates like to press the flesh and appear friendly but I guarantee if David Wharburton is elected as a Conservative MP next week he won't want to appear to be on friendly terms with a convicted murderer, even if he is sincere enough in his views on penal reform and rehabilitation. You will receive a friendly and polite rebuff and thanks for all your support and kind words. And if there is a Tory government you can bet he will be filing through the lobbies in favour of the next draconian Criminal Justice bill.

    I think it will be inevitable that offenders in the community who are subject to life licence or monitoring will eventually be tagged and tracked by satellite. A Conservative majority government will try and get this through the Commons whether it be now or in 10 years time. Wouldn't be surprised if Labour tried this too as Yvette Cooper seems hell bent on becoming more right-wing than her predecessors Jack Straw and David Blunkett.

    It's something that has been under discussion in Scotland since 2003 and the Justice Committee are still examining the possibility of at least some offenders who fall into the categories below being subject to tagging post-release and possibly for the rest of their lives depending on the level of risk to the public:

    1.) Offenders who are on life licence and those serving IPP and OLR sentences in the community.

    2.) All violent and sexual offenders who are serving extended sentences on parole licence. The tag would only be removed on their sentence expiry date.

    3.) Sex offenders who are not on parole but are still under subject to notification requirement and deemed to be at high risk of reoffending. This would include those who have SOPOs restricting their movements and activities. The risk assessment tools to determine this would include S&A and Risk Matrix 2000. The tag would be removed only when the SOPO period expires. Those offenders not subject to SOPO requirements but still deemed as high risk would have their cases renewed annually.

    We'll see what happens but I am reliably informed that the above is definitely under consideration as are lie detector tests for sex offenders on parole licence or subject to SOPO requirements.

    As more lifers, IPP prisoners and sex offenders are released back into the community, life is certainly not going to get any easy for them. Probation services and police public protection/offender management units all over the country are struggling with the workload as it is and GPS monitoring would certainly make their jobs a lot easier.

    ReplyDelete
  33. I'm no comfortable with someone like Ben having a vote. Sorry but he forfeited his right to that when he killed. In the USA convicted felons are disenfranchised when they commit serious crimes and we should do the same here too. As for prisoners getting the vote, that's just a sick joke. No way should it happen and I'm not even a Tory supporter.

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Vince

    Let's hope you're right. It's about time murderers other dangerous violent and sex offenders on life licence are tracked by GPS. If they are truly rehabilitated and law abiding then they should have nothing to fear from it. I want to see the UK withdraw from the Human Rights Act so we can take a tougher stance on criminals. They've played the victim card for too long now. Once you take a life, molest a child or rape a teenage girl then you lose some of your human rights and should be held to account by society. If that means being tagged for life in order to help prevent reoffending then so be it. Will be voting UKIP on Thursday by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  35. I remember when readers of this blog would leave quirky, positive and encouraging comments for Ben. For some reason most people seem to have turned against him which is possibly rather unfair unless something major has happened which I am not privy to.

    I have no idea about this whole Twitter thing but whatever the story is surely he deserves a bit more support from his readers? Until I read otherwise I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

    One thing I would say is to echo the comments above about overusing the delete button. It might give some readers the impression that Ben spent 30 years inside North Korean counter-intelligence. Censorship hasn't been a problem in the past and if there are idiotic comments then surely better to ignore them and let intelligent people seem them for what they are - muck racking, malicious and downright stupid. The fact most of them hide behind anonymity speaks volumes about their motives and character.

    As for voting Tory Ben, well I never thought I'd see the day as I thought you were as liberal as they come but it's your choice mate and everyone who has read your blog on a regular basis will respect your decision (not necessarily agreeing with it though) but hey, ho it's politics right?

    ReplyDelete
  36. I see John has deleted yet another dozen or so posts, mainly just disagreeing with him, and his twitter accounts

    Seems free speech just means HIS free speech, and yours so long as you agree with him

    ReplyDelete
  37. Tim (not a Tory)May 6, 2015 at 5:02 AM

    One day to go until polling day. Ben has gone very quiet. I wonder if he is having second thoughts or maybe he just can't bear to read all these comments. In my area voting for Cameron and his mob would be as popular as drinking a pint of stale urine. Ground control to Prisoner Ben where are you?



    ReplyDelete
  38. George _ former prisoner and Inside Time readerMay 6, 2015 at 11:22 AM

    He's lost the plot. Now deleting comments from his own supporters which are perfectly reasonable but still disagree with his political views. This blog has gone to the dogs and this will be my last contribution. It was inevitable that after release Ben was going to get ideas above his station but this arrogance and hubris is dazzling.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Where is Ben and is he OK? No twitter posts for almost a week now. It's not like him.

    ReplyDelete

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