"I didn't know...." Labour after Hain

Aside from trying to smear everyone else in a very dishonest way ("The Tories are stopping new legislation on controlling MP dishonesty because they will not talk to us.") the standard Labour reaction to Peter Hain's departure seems to be, " It was only a late declaration of legal donations. It was a mistake, but an honest mistake."

Last year over 28,000 people were prosecuted by the DWP, his old department, for failing to declare income, some were prosecuted for fairly small sums of money. Were some of these guilty only of honest mistakes, - not including spouses income, honestly forgetting some, or being too busy, or thinking that the small part-time job was not worth recording? If so, I can't imagine they were able to get away with it.

You are fined if your tax returns are not in on time. There are no exceptions, seemingly.

Try telling the police officer "I'm sorry, I forgot this was a 30 m.p.h. area", or, "I was busy and in a rush and didn't notice the 'No Parking' sign."

If there are laws, then we expect them to be enforced on all of us, from the humblest to the minister of the crown. Otherwise there is injustice. And ignorance of the law is no excuse.In addition, we expect those who frame the laws to be aware of the laws they frame.

We make no mention of the rather dodgy think tank, which seems to have been deliberately set up to conceal ultimate donors, which threatens if it does not break the law on the need for identification in the name of transparency.