Even Sherlock Holmes would have difficulty solving this one. Bad news comes in bunches for Labour PM Gordon Brown. Like the Dutch boy with his fingers in the dyke, one could understand if electrified fences suddenly circled Number 10 Downing Street. The latest series of crises was spurred by Labour’s recent WIN extending the amount of time terror suspects can be held in custody to 42-days.

It was a page out of the US Republican Party’s national security playbook and now looks shaky as a key Tory MP and member of David Cameron’s Shadow Cabinet, David Davis, resigned late yesterday and called for a by-election for his Parliamentary seat over the “continued erosion of British civil rights.” His party’s leader termed the move “courageous” (which is BBC sitcom Yes Minister’s Whitehall code for… “he’s crazy”) and backpedalled from him so smoothly he looked like Michael Flatley rejoining a “Lord of the Dance” line.

It is akin to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resigning in protest over Bush’s handling of the war and instead of the Governor being able to appoint her replacement, she calls a vote of confidence election within 3-weeks to see if the people support her or Bush. You have to feel pretty confident about your position and seat to bet the house on this kind of a strategy. Reaction last night was mixed with most in his district favouring the move. Also it was unclear whether or not Labour or the Liberal Democrats would acknowledge the move by fielding a candidate for the seat. Watching the telly screen last night I felt like shouting, “don’t go in there, it’s a trap Batman!”

But that’s only part of the fireworks as 1970’s petrol lines could return by this Sunday, Father’s Day outside of stations everywhere as the hauliers who work for Shell and provide 10% of the nation’s gasoline, went on a 4-day strike an hour ago. The Government, in the same fashion as last month’s refinery shut-down strike in Scotland, went on the air and repeatedly urged people NOT to panic buy gasoline (a familiar theme covered here) and that will ensure adequate supplies. So of course, everyone topped up their tank yesterday and today and will buy petrol every time the gauge hits ¾ of a tank over the next four days creating long lines at the pump.

Of course at £4.80 for an Imperial gallon (that’s $9.05 cent per US gallon so stop whingeing people about $4 a gallon gas!) most can’t afford to drive so it could all be meaningless. At least in the 1970’s we were paying less than a dollar a gallon.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone. Sherlock has returned to his study and opium pipe to ponder this and cheer yourself with the fact that there are only 142 days until the US Presidential election and 221 days left until the Bush regime rides out of town.