Want to put Hain right?

Nice to have Hain coming out of the woodwork, as he has done today, with an article in the Guardian. He is always good value and a positive asset to the Eurosceptic movement.

Hain’s thesis this time is that the "Eurosceptic climate" in Britain will never be eradicated as long as Brussels remains outside of proper democratic scrutiny in this country. He admits that Parliament was neither properly holding to account UK ministers on EU issues nor the European commission "with the mass of documents pouring out from Brussels".

"It is absolutely crucial that the British parliament, which is the cockpit of democracy, acts as a proper link between Europe and British citizens, and that is not happening now," he says. Reform is vital "if we are to create a climate, and change attitudes in this country so that we can really put Britain at the heart of Europe".

But, as a measure of where Hain is coming from he claims that the Commons European scrutiny committee "does an excellent forensic job".

Yes, maybe – but does it make a difference? Of course not. Ministers regularly ignore it, documents are passed to the committee too late for it to do its job and, in any event, the Council can outvote British ministers even if they act on the advice of the committee.

What a pity Hain does not read this Blog - he might learn something. But you, dear reader, can consult our article on the subject (click here) to see precisly how much guff Hain is spouting

Does someone want to write to him and put him right?