In the eyes of the Public, those days of yore and brown envelopes stuffed with cash, things were far more straightforward – not commendable of course, but pretty unequivocal. 

Nowadays, however, a particular word has morphed into something more insidious and downright dangerous.   When referring to computers, for example, a corrupt program usually means that the thing is doing something other than what you were intending it to do.  This can be catastrophically detrimental, despite its appearing to be working quite normally.

In much the same way as a computer program can be corrupted, various national institutions continually throw up outcomes which defy logic and decency, resulting in bad, flawed and unreliable end results.  These are then misrepresented to the trusting Public as the considered judgement of those wise people who have long regarded themselves as infinitely superior and of unimpeachable integrity, as we all know. 

On numerous occasions, we have been sold a particular pup in the fields of medicine, law, education, politics, science, etc. and other important areas which fundamentally affect our lives  These are, however, often totally at odds with the truth.  A good example is the Great Postmaster Scandal, when it was a computer error all along.  The fact that this was grudgingly and finally admitted only after years of official high-level denial demonstrates something much more reprehensible and sinister in every way. Likewise the contaminated blood debacle.

At the time, life went on for most of us and wasted away for those others.  Weeks, months and years of some people’s lives were being summarily squandered or destroyed, never to be regained, and all because of ponderous and institutionally corrupt systems.

Our  judicial process is complicated and multi-layered.  It needs complete reform, a so-called root and branch job.  Unfortunately for us mere mortals, because of the way things are, this is most unlikely to happen simply because of who would have to carry out such reforms?

Those comfortable, cosily cossetted turkeys are never going to vote for Christmas, that’s for sure.  Eureka! We have just discovered the third certainty of life, after death and taxes.

That’s a very vague glimmer at best.  We know the worst – those illogical mild sentences we frequently read about.  Then there are those mysterious ‘family courts’ ominously cropping up in the newspapers from time to time.  They give rise to a lot of hot air and outrage, but then things soon return to an often deeply flawed normal.  And so it goes. 

In each and every case of tragedy, triumph, trial or tribulation, you’ll find some kind of lawyer with a hand stretched out.  What price ethics at times like this?  An ex-politician’s wife springs nimbly to mind for some unaccountable reason.

While on the subject of PMs past, it has been suggested  that the wonderful, much vaunted Irish ‘peace’ deal was so ably and expertly negotiated unilaterally and without proper due parliamentary process or consideration for a specific purpose. Surely it could not have been simply a trade-off unconditionally to liberate numerous convicted murderers, thugs and low life in return for ensuring the consequential safe passage of an otherwise prime political target.  Now would that be a cynical thought, or top-level collusion? 

The fact that, once again, more Paras are still being hounded for doing an impossibly difficult job all those years ago by a biased official process further reinforces this idea of institutional corruption.

Of other cases more recent, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the fate of Dr David Kelly have never publicly been made known.  Somebody knows, but why the official cover-up?

Currently, the re-emergence of the strange happenings regarding the death of the private investigator Daniel Morgan throws up some important questions, especially since much relevant information had been locked away in an office in Scotland Yard, or so it appears.

We are now told that the local fire brigade had to break open the safe to recover it.   Wouldn’t you think the police might know a few old lags who would have welcomed the chance to practise their skills?

Now we hear that Mr Sunak has reneged on that solemnly declared commitment to abolish the whole tranche of EU regulations.    We are all the much poorer for being betrayed by those very people we trust to act in our best interests, whatever they may be.  However you look at it, corruption’s not what it used to be – it’s much worse.

Ivor Jones

UK Independence Party Member Bath and Somerset Branch

Representative for Bridgewater and West Somerset