Theresa May claims illegal immigrant used cat to stay

[00a]

May is going a bit batty...

"The Conservative conference experienced its first cabinet dispute when Kenneth Clarke mocked Theresa May shortly after she suggested an illegal immigrant had resisted deportation on the grounds that he had a pet cat.

As the judiciary press office challenged the claim by May, the home secretary, Clarke said he would take a bet with her that nobody had used a cat to resist deportation."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/04/the...

[mcdjl]

"The evidence concerning the joint acquisition of Maya (the cat) by the appellant and his partner reinforces my conclusion on the strength and quality of the family life that appellant and his partner enjoy."

[Daily Mail]Couldn't be deported as he had to share the cat with his girlfriend[/Daily Mail]
[Guardian].....owned a cat with his partner of over 4 years[/Guardian]

So technically the cat didn't affect whether he could stay or not, but pick the right sentence from the ruling and it looks like it did. She was playing up to the Daily Mail readers and got caught....

[00a]

There was no way that there was ever not going to be more to the case than "allowed to stay because of cat" and she should have realised this! Embarrassing!

[Likes Fast Cars]

Don't know about the cat but the place must be going to the dogs.

[Devil2575]

Mad as a box of frogs...

[Puggit]

To balance out May's fibs, let's not forget the Labour party wheeled out a 16 year old who claims he can't afford pencils, yet posts on Twitter from his iPad.

[chris watton]

Puggit said:

To balance out May's fibs, let's not forget the Labour party wheeled out a 16 year old who claims he can't afford pencils, yet posts on Twitter from his iPad.

Something the BBC failed to point out...of course..

[prand]

I like Theresa May so I'll defend her here. I'd say she's not far wrong I can see it was said that the cat was used in the construction of evidence that the couple had become well established and therefore the immigrant should be allowed to stay.

A bit of an exaggeration for political point scoring, but not lying.

[00a]

It just sounded like a direct quote from the Daily Mail to me...

Not good for the Tory image.

[scenario8]

00a said:

It just sounded like a direct quote from the Daily Mail to me...

Not good for the Tory image.

But will Mrs May care? She made herself look all big and clever in conference to an invited sympathetic audience and she'll get great headlines in media outlets that appeal to her likely voters. Many will react favourably to the speech/headline as they either believe it verbatim or believe that it is typical of their imagined version of the UK today. Those that know it to be a load of old nonsense are either Tory voters regardless or are unlikely to have their opinion of Theresa May or her party affected negatively to any significant level.

And it kept Europe antagonisms out of the way for a bit.

Near perfect Party Conference Season claptrap.

[B Huey]

chris watton said:

Puggit said:

To balance out May's fibs, let's not forget the Labour party wheeled out a 16 year old who claims he can't afford pencils, yet posts on Twitter from his iPad.

Something the BBC failed to point out...of course..

One is a 16 year old boy, the other is the Home Secretary.

Do you not see the difference?

[AndrewW-G]

scenario8 said:

But will Mrs May care? She made herself look all big and clever in conference to an invited sympathetic audience and she'll get great headlines in media outlets that appeal to her likely voters. Many will react favourably to the speech/headline as they either believe it verbatim or believe that it is typical of their imagined version of the UK today..

So what you’re saying is that a conservative speaker at the conservative party conference is like a labour / socialist / Nazi sympathiser appearing on question time?

[MX7]

What a dumb thing to say. All they had to do was not crash, and the millionaire schoolboy who lived in a shoe would have been the story of the conferences. Idiots.

[B Huey]

Theresa May must be feline pretty stupid right now.

[Puggit]

B Huey said:

chris watton said:

Puggit said:

To balance out May's fibs, let's not forget the Labour party wheeled out a 16 year old who claims he can't afford pencils, yet posts on Twitter from his iPad.

Something the BBC failed to point out...of course..

One is a 16 year old boy, the other is the Home Secretary.

Do you not see the difference?

Both speeches are prepared by a central inner-core of the respective party - nope, I don't see a difference (except that one was cynically exploiting a child)

[colonel c]

Theresa May and Ken Clarke show off their different tastes in footwear.

Did she kill the cat!

[B Huey]

Puggit said:

B Huey said:

chris watton said:

Puggit said:

To balance out May's fibs, let's not forget the Labour party wheeled out a 16 year old who claims he can't afford pencils, yet posts on Twitter from his iPad.

Something the BBC failed to point out...of course..

One is a 16 year old boy, the other is the Home Secretary.

Do you not see the difference?

Both speeches are prepared by a central inner-core of the respective party - nope, I don't see a difference (except that one was cynically exploiting a child)

No, you clearly don't see the difference.

[TheSnitch]

It probably didn't help her case that an hour or so before she gave her speech a guest on Radio 5Live had made the same allegation with regards to the cat - an argument which was subsequently picked apart by the presenter who located the original judgement and read it out on air.

[colonel c]

TheSnitch said:

It probably didn't help her case that an hour or so before she gave her speech a guest on Radio 5Live had made the same allegation with regards to the cat - an argument which was subsequently picked apart by the presenter who located the original judgement and read it out on air.

Was probally a junior Tory lackey calling up.

[Derek Smith]

scenario8 said:

But will Mrs May care? She made herself look all big and clever in conference to an invited sympathetic audience and she'll get great headlines in media outlets that appeal to her likely voters. Many will react favourably to the speech/headline as they either believe it verbatim or believe that it is typical of their imagined version of the UK today. Those that know it to be a load of old nonsense are either Tory voters regardless or are unlikely to have their opinion of Theresa May or her party affected negatively to any significant level.

And it kept Europe antagonisms out of the way for a bit.

Near perfect Party Conference Season claptrap.

I would think it is all about her keeping her post. She has not shone, nor, come to that, even glowed. She's struggling and what better way to appear all home secretary-like than to suggest we follow the USA and China, those great bastions of habeas corpus, and withdraw our support for the HRA?