Peter out...

So Peter Hain MP is now out of the Cabinet (breaking news just an hour or so ago, as I write this).

It was, as other commentators have stated, inevitable that he would resign if and when the case was referred to the police, as has today been done by the Electoral Commission.

This is a Good Thing, because there were so many question marks hanging over Hain and his Labour Party's deputy leadership campaign that it left all of us in public service potentially tainted. It was necessary for this whole business to be thoroughly and independently investigated, and the findings made public. The possibility of "slush funds" and "money laundering" could not be left hanging in mid-air. This has to be dealt with, in the public interest, and that is the bottom line.

I look forward to finding out what really was done, and by whom; but more than that I hope that real lessons are learned. The danger is, as always, that it will also compel those in political life who genuinely are "dodgy" to search for new ways to circumvent laws, rules and regulations. If, as looks very possible, the so-called Progressive Policy Forum does turn out to be nothing more than a front for campaign funding under apparently false pretences, then obviously this particular avenue would be closed off in future.

I suspect, though, that there will always be those people with the kind of mind-set that will enable them to devise alternative dodges, so it is an ongoing battle of wits between such people and those with a strong sense of decency and honour. Thus, the outcome of this particular investigation might well be to win a battle in the overall process, but the end of the war is still a long way off.

As this issue will become sub-judice once the police investigation commences, any comments need to be quick if they are going to be able to be published!