The 650 politicians who win seats at the U.K.’s House of Commons on May 7 are set to be given iPad Air 2 devices as part of a new deal.
Not everyone is happy about it, though. Shadow Cabinet Office minister (and possible Android user?) Chi Onwurah has attacked the plan — saying that, “Locking some of the most powerful people in the country into a platform that most of my constituents can’t afford seems like a mistake.”
“Our requirements are for a secure, SIM-enabled tablet with a good life expectancy and capable of supporting future upgrades,” Liberal Democrat politician John Thurso said, defending the taxpayer-funded trip to the Apple Store. “The Apple iPad Air 2 meets these requirements and is competitively priced when compared with similar models.”
iPads have been used in the U.K.’s Parliament since 2012, although currently just 209 MPs have the device. The move is controversial for reasons other than locking politicians into the Apple ecosystem. Back in late 2014, controversy ensued when a British politician was fingered sneaking a quick game of Candy Crush Saga on his iPad during a parliamentary debate.
That’s not as bad as 2011, however, when 67-year old Italian politician Simeone Di Cagno Abbrescia was caught using his iPad to browse for escorts during a parliamentary session. He later argued something to the effect that the pics were pop-up ads which “came up suddenly” while he was perusing a respectable news outlet. As happens all the time, naturally.
Source: Mirror
