Effectively News International were providing Livery Stabling for Cameron
The Mail on Sunday continues with the Horsegate matter this morning, linked here.
The aspect that I wish to consider, however, is not covered in the Mail report. My concern is twofold, the first is what advantages can be obtained by getting well out into the countryside on horseback and secondly were the costs of providing Cameron's weekend hacks so close to his weekend home being defrayed by News International for reasons of their being an undeclared financial benefit, or the need to keep the closeness of the association a secret?
How much did it cost to livery a horse in Oxfordshire? Well back in 2010, I found the following quote on this site:
We can presume that Cameron's livery arrangements would be unlikely to have had any aspect of the DIY about them, thus a clear benefit of some £50 per week would seem to be involved. It seems unlikely the Metropolitan Police would have met the costs of the livery given that Britain's taxpayers provide all they require for the care of their horses.
Riding a horse in the countryside thwarts potential car-borne snoopers and delivers the potential for complete privacy. That is the danger to Cameron from the Raisa revelations!
That is my first concern, in view of all that has taken place in the interim, for it is surely the critical factor, for the weekend hacks on horseback might potentially be linked directly to the exchange of information gathered from the widespread phone hacking operation, possibly in respect of Cameron's political opponents, tying him much too closely to the Murdoch organisation. Potentially of course the appointment of Andy Coulson at Downing Street is bound to lead any thoughtful person to the conclusion that the horse, Raisa, allowed Cameron to become leader of the opposition, which in turn resulted in Murdoch's man being planted right at the heart of government.
The aspect that I wish to consider, however, is not covered in the Mail report. My concern is twofold, the first is what advantages can be obtained by getting well out into the countryside on horseback and secondly were the costs of providing Cameron's weekend hacks so close to his weekend home being defrayed by News International for reasons of their being an undeclared financial benefit, or the need to keep the closeness of the association a secret?
How much did it cost to livery a horse in Oxfordshire? Well back in 2010, I found the following quote on this site:
I'm in South Oxfordshire and rates for yard I'm at (at Goosey, near Wantage) are: Grass Livery - £3.10 per day ie £21.70 per week (under 14hh) , £3.40 per day ie £23.80 per week 14hh and over
DIY Stable with straw and hay or haylage £6.10 per day ie £42.70 per week.
If you wanted to keep your horse on shavings or rape straw then they do:
DIY Stable with hay or haylage £5.85 per day (£40.95 per week) and you can buy the shavings or rape straw on-site
We can presume that Cameron's livery arrangements would be unlikely to have had any aspect of the DIY about them, thus a clear benefit of some £50 per week would seem to be involved. It seems unlikely the Metropolitan Police would have met the costs of the livery given that Britain's taxpayers provide all they require for the care of their horses.
Riding a horse in the countryside thwarts potential car-borne snoopers and delivers the potential for complete privacy. That is the danger to Cameron from the Raisa revelations!
That is my first concern, in view of all that has taken place in the interim, for it is surely the critical factor, for the weekend hacks on horseback might potentially be linked directly to the exchange of information gathered from the widespread phone hacking operation, possibly in respect of Cameron's political opponents, tying him much too closely to the Murdoch organisation. Potentially of course the appointment of Andy Coulson at Downing Street is bound to lead any thoughtful person to the conclusion that the horse, Raisa, allowed Cameron to become leader of the opposition, which in turn resulted in Murdoch's man being planted right at the heart of government.
Labels: David Cameron, Horsegate, Murdoch
posted by Martin at 8:28 AM
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