On Monday 27th September, Blunkett gets to indulge in his favourite pastime of talking patronizing and authoritarian drivel about 'citizenship'. And all courtesy of Siemens Business Services (SBS), a recipient of his department's largesse. In 2002, Siemens got a whopping contract to write the back office systems for the Home Office's new passport applications system.

Now, Siemens is slavering over Blunkett's creepy new ID cards scheme. Unable to contain its enthusiasm at the prospect of charging huge amounts of money to UK taxpayers to take away their civil liberties, Siemens sponsored a conference in May this year with the ominous title 'ID Cards: The Next Steps'. So they obviously couldn't have any vested interest in gratifying the Home Secretary's vanity by sponsoring a platform for him to speak on.

Then, on Tuesday 28th September, we can look forward to 'In Conversation with.. David Blunkett talks to David Aaronovitch'. Yes that's right - the revolting spectacle of the Guardian's tame rightwinger David Aaronovitch massaging Blunkett's ego with a sycophantic interview. This is assuming the stage can actually support Aaronovitch's obese frame. Who pays for this nauseating love-in? You guessed it - a Home Office contractor! And it's none other than our old friends, Reliance Secure Task Management, who specialize in losing prisoners at taxpayers's expense.

Both events are being organized by the Institute for Public Policy Research, a classic neo-liberal loony-bin whose Secretary is Dr Chai Patel. Chai Patel was once Tony Blair's favourite guru on 'modernizing' public health care. But he now faces a disciplinary hearing of the General Medical Council next January, for allegedly 'modernizing' his chain of nursing homes to the point where the inmates had difficulty staying alive. Patel's decline and fall symbolizes Blair's Midas touch - everything he touches turns to s**t.

See:
 http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Labour_Party_conference
and
 http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Institute_for_Public_Policy_Research
 http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Chai_Patel