Stop voting for fucking Tories

[shaggy]

Zaghari-Ratcliffe released!

Because she was actually being held ransom.

UK Government paid the £400 million debt owed to Iran, because energy crisis - we need to suck up to Oil producers because of Putin invasion...

So thanks Putin?

I am still astonished she went there in the first place. All the Iranians I know who have a life in London never visit again through fear of this kind of thing happening. They meet family in places like Turkey, but never return.

[Hal Jordan]

Zaghari-Ratcliffe released!

Because she was actually being held ransom.

UK Government paid the £400 million debt owed to Iran, because energy crisis - we need to suck up to Oil producers because of Putin invasion...

So thanks Putin?

I'm sure the blonde slug will be looking for a photo opportunity as soonest so she can thank him personally for sorting her release!!!!

Presumably by punching him in the face, given his involvement.

[dpedin]

Zaghari-Ratcliffe released!

Because she was actually being held ransom.

UK Government paid the £400 million debt owed to Iran, because energy crisis - we need to suck up to Oil producers because of Putin invasion...

So thanks Putin?

I'm sure the blonde slug will be looking for a photo opportunity as soonest so she can thank him personally for sorting her release!!!!

Presumably by punching him in the face, given his involvement.

From previous comments from her hubby I suspect that the Blonde Bumblecunt will be staying well clear for precisely this reason. Good media bonus points for Truss though, expect some spew inducing photo shots soon. No doubt BB will be planning bringing Pork Market Liz down a peg or two soon?

[Insane_Homer]

A bit of a coup for Truss, but probably more to do with improving her Leadership Credentials, than anything Putin was doing.

Rishi will now have to make some counter move, to offset being the Chancellor to lumber the British taxpayer with a cost-of living crisis, & the highest tax load since WWII

You reckon it was her steely diplomacy or the £400 million debt paid wot done it?

[fishfoodie]

A bit of a coup for Truss, but probably more to do with improving her Leadership Credentials, than anything Putin was doing.

Rishi will now have to make some counter move, to offset being the Chancellor to lumber the British taxpayer with a cost-of living crisis, & the highest tax load since WWII

You reckon it was her steely diplomacy or the £400 million debt paid wot done it?

I think she made them sit in the hard chair for ages ....

[Lobby]

A bit of a coup for Truss, but probably more to do with improving her Leadership Credentials, than anything Putin was doing.

Rishi will now have to make some counter move, to offset being the Chancellor to lumber the British taxpayer with a cost-of living crisis, & the highest tax load since WWII

You reckon it was her steely diplomacy or the £400 million debt paid wot done it?

Well, Nazanin’s MP, Tulip Siddiq (Labour) seems to think that Truss deserves some praise for this

“I’ve dealt with three prime ministers and five foreign secretaries, it’s finally when I came to a woman who was foreign secretary who actually did something.

We had such a difficult time with the other foreign secretaries speaking to them trying to convince them about this debt [the £400m debt owed by the UK to Iran]. In some ways, I would defend the government by saying they never really denied they owed Iran the money, because they went through the international courts ... Ben Wallace did stand up in parliament and say, it’s a debt that we owe Iran.

So, it wasn’t a dispute about whether we owe the money. It’s more about them not wanting to link the fact that we owe the money and the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, even though Nazanin was actually told by the Revolutionary Guards over and over again, when she was in prison, that the reason she was being held is that because of our failure to pay the debt ...

When we started speaking to Liz Truss from very early on, it did seem like she was making some sort of plan to pay back the debt. And if she’s managed to make it happen, then it’s quite an achievement.”

We’ve known for years that the key to getting her release was paying the £400m back, but none of the previous Foreign Secretaries were prepared to do it.

[TheNatalShark]

Great to hear of their release.

The £400mm point is undoubtedly part of Blinken's instructions to Europe to settle old festering scores to try and get JPCOA back on track.

[Raggs]

Her life wasn't worth the money. Now we need to deal with them again, we need to square up with them, her release is just a happy accident.

[SaintK]

Osborne on mind altering drugs again.
Think he's forgotten the blonde slug's brainless intervention when he was at the FO saw her incarcerated for a further 2 years
Like shit to a blanket these cunts. Though fair play to Truss (can't believe I just that) if she really has been pushing this.

[dpedin]

Osborne on mind altering drugs again.
Think he's forgotten the blonde slug's brainless intervention when he was at the FO saw her incarcerated for a further 2 years
Like shit to a blanket these cunts. Though fair play to Truss (can't believe I just that) if she really has been pushing this.

She maybe wrote the cheque?

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Her life wasn't worth the money. Now we need to deal with them again, we need to square up with them, her release is just a happy accident.

It is just possible they've only now reached agreements on handing the money back that ensure whatever commitments we wanted were 'guaranteed' and don't breach any sanctions, and if so you wouldn't want to delay leaving them in jail longer just because the timing looks bad, but bloody hell the timing looks bad

[Raggs]

Her life wasn't worth the money. Now we need to deal with them again, we need to square up with them, her release is just a happy accident.

It is just possible they've only now reached agreements on handing the money back that ensure whatever commitments we wanted were 'guaranteed' and don't breach any sanctions, and if so you wouldn't want to delay leaving them in jail longer just because the timing looks bad, but bloody hell the timing looks bad

And it's also possible that all those sweet companies and pest control companies, with values less than £40k etc, were the best people to give millions of pounds to in order to buy PPE equipment. But that doesn't look too god either....

[SaintK]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

Plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs have been dropped months after the issue provoked a sleaze scandal that plunged Boris Johnson’s government into crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers told the Commons standards committee that a time limit or ceiling on such earnings would be “impractical”.

The prime minister pledged last year to clamp down on MPs’ second jobs after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and a furore over Geoffrey Cox being paid nearly £6m as a lawyer since joining parliament, voting by proxy on days he was undertaking paid work.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

[sturginho]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

Plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs have been dropped months after the issue provoked a sleaze scandal that plunged Boris Johnson’s government into crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers told the Commons standards committee that a time limit or ceiling on such earnings would be “impractical”.

The prime minister pledged last year to clamp down on MPs’ second jobs after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and a furore over Geoffrey Cox being paid nearly £6m as a lawyer since joining parliament, voting by proxy on days he was undertaking paid work.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

They know people have short attention spans

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Her life wasn't worth the money. Now we need to deal with them again, we need to square up with them, her release is just a happy accident.

It is just possible they've only now reached agreements on handing the money back that ensure whatever commitments we wanted were 'guaranteed' and don't breach any sanctions, and if so you wouldn't want to delay leaving them in jail longer just because the timing looks bad, but bloody hell the timing looks bad

And it's also possible that all those sweet companies and pest control companies, with values less than £40k etc, were the best people to give millions of pounds to in order to buy PPE equipment. But that doesn't look too god either....

If anything that look sort of looks worse, in so much as that just appears a mix of the incompetent and the corrupt and not even a prayer it's just happenstance that events coincided (and just for the record not because I'm in anyway equating Nazanin's time served with spaffing away money from the public purse)

[dpedin]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

Plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs have been dropped months after the issue provoked a sleaze scandal that plunged Boris Johnson’s government into crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers told the Commons standards committee that a time limit or ceiling on such earnings would be “impractical”.

The prime minister pledged last year to clamp down on MPs’ second jobs after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and a furore over Geoffrey Cox being paid nearly £6m as a lawyer since joining parliament, voting by proxy on days he was undertaking paid work.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

They know people have short attention spans

Amazing that a review into the practicalities of putting a cap on external earnings for MPs can be done quicker than Partygate review despite all the video, twitter, email, eye witness, etc evidence and the full resource of the civil service and the Met Police being involved! Just shows the public exactly where this bunch of bastards loyalties lie. Sneak it out same day as release of Iranian hostages is just the lowest of the low! Anyone who voted for this shower of cnuts needs to think long and hard, they are destroying this country.

[SaintK]

It's racist to crticise Russian Tory donors!!!!!

Commenting on Labour critics who frequently attack the Tories on these grounds, he said:

If they’re saying that somebody who was born in Ukraine or born in Russia but is now a British citizen and utterly despises what Putin is doing to Ukraine is somehow precluded from participating in our national life because of their nationality at birth.

Would they say that about somebody that was born in India? Would they say that about somebody that was born in Pakistan? Labour needs to think carefully about that.

The Conservatives have received a lot of money from Russian donors - Labour’s Liam Byrne listed the most notorious in a recent Commons speech - but the donors tend to be people who have lived in the UK for a long time and who have acquired British citizenship. To donate legally to a British political party as an individual, you have to be on the electoral register.

Labour would argue that the problem with some of these donations is not the Russian heritage of the donor, but their links to the Russian government. In relation to some of them, it is not clear at all that they do “utterly despise” Vladimir Putin.

[GogLais]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

Plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs have been dropped months after the issue provoked a sleaze scandal that plunged Boris Johnson’s government into crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers told the Commons standards committee that a time limit or ceiling on such earnings would be “impractical”.

The prime minister pledged last year to clamp down on MPs’ second jobs after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and a furore over Geoffrey Cox being paid nearly £6m as a lawyer since joining parliament, voting by proxy on days he was undertaking paid work.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

I’m almost certainly less bothered about this than many, Are we going to ban MPs from say writing a book in their spare time? I agree that somebody outside trying to decide how MPs organise their time isn’t practical. For me the main thing is that constituents have full information about what their MPs are up to and then they can cast their vote accordingly. Might be something to be said for candidates having to declare their other interests before election.

[I like neeps]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

Plans to cap MPs’ earnings from second jobs have been dropped months after the issue provoked a sleaze scandal that plunged Boris Johnson’s government into crisis, the Guardian can reveal.

Ministers told the Commons standards committee that a time limit or ceiling on such earnings would be “impractical”.

The prime minister pledged last year to clamp down on MPs’ second jobs after the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal and a furore over Geoffrey Cox being paid nearly £6m as a lawyer since joining parliament, voting by proxy on days he was undertaking paid work.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

I’m almost certainly less bothered about this than many, Are we going to ban MPs from say writing a book in their spare time? I agree that somebody outside trying to decide how MPs organise their time isn’t practical. For me the main thing is that constituents have full information about what their MPs are up to and then they can cast their vote accordingly. Might be something to be said for candidates having to declare their other interests before election.

You could clearly write legislation so MPs can write books and do other activities such as healthcare etc. The issue is they are being hired by companies and then lobbying for them in parliament.

[GogLais]

So, while they think nobody's paying attention. Do carry on!!!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... s-dropped

I’m almost certainly less bothered about this than many, Are we going to ban MPs from say writing a book in their spare time? I agree that somebody outside trying to decide how MPs organise their time isn’t practical. For me the main thing is that constituents have full information about what their MPs are up to and then they can cast their vote accordingly. Might be something to be said for candidates having to declare their other interests before election.

You could clearly write legislation so MPs can write books and do other activities such as healthcare etc. The issue is they are being hired by companies and then lobbying for them in parliament.

I’m not sure you could draft such legislation. Wouldn’t it have to be very general? You couldn’t realistically do a list of allowed/prohibited employment surely?
Lobbying is an issue, I’m talking more about other paid work.

[Insane_Homer]

[tabascoboy]

“The free world overall has focused too much on getting cheap oil, cheap electronics, cheap goods at the expense of our freedom and security.”

Er, isn't that what the right keep telling us is so great about free trade since the 80's? Or is it something we're now going to blame the EU for because on our own we wouldn't have become so dependent on Russia and China; and become a clearing house for dodgy Russian money?

[C69]

She really is a denser than Osmium.

[Paddington Bear]

The hollowing out of much of our own resilience isn't unique to Britain but we have some particularly egregious examples of it.

[GogLais]

Couple of things that don’t seem to have hit the headlines, although I’m not watching much news atm. Ben Wallace falling for a spam phone call from supposedly an Ukrainian minister and talking the best part of ten minutes to realise it wasn’t who it was meant to be.
And BoJo telling a Tory party conference that the Ukraine battle is comparable to Brexit.

[SaintK]

Couple of things that don’t seem to have hit the headlines, although I’m not watching much news atm. Ben Wallace falling for a spam phone call from supposedly an Ukrainian minister and talking the best part of ten minutes to realise it wasn’t who it was meant to be.
And BoJo telling a Tory party conference that the Ukraine battle is comparable to Brexit.

Now absolutely in denial that he made that analogy.

In his speech to the Tory spring conference on Saturday, Johnson compared the Ukrainians’ fight for freedom to Britons voting for Brexit. “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time,” he said. “I can give you a couple of famous recent examples. When the British people voted for Brexit, in such large, large numbers, I don’t believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners.”

Yesterday Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, claimed Johnson was not saying the two situations were “directly analagous”. Today Javid went even further, telling Nick Robinson on the Today programme:

[Johnson] was talking about the general desire for people, no matter who they are, where they live, for self determination, and that can be in any setting, in any country. I don’t think at all he was trying to link the specific situation in Ukraine with the UK.

In response, Robinson pointed out that the PM’s speech specifically did link the two situations. He suggested that the fact that two cabinet ministers have now effectively disowned the connection made by Johnson suggests that No 10 accepts it was a mistake.

[dpedin]

Couple of things that don’t seem to have hit the headlines, although I’m not watching much news atm. Ben Wallace falling for a spam phone call from supposedly an Ukrainian minister and talking the best part of ten minutes to realise it wasn’t who it was meant to be.
And BoJo telling a Tory party conference that the Ukraine battle is comparable to Brexit.

Now absolutely in denial that he made that analogy.

In his speech to the Tory spring conference on Saturday, Johnson compared the Ukrainians’ fight for freedom to Britons voting for Brexit. “I know that it’s the instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom, every time,” he said. “I can give you a couple of famous recent examples. When the British people voted for Brexit, in such large, large numbers, I don’t believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners.”

Yesterday Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, claimed Johnson was not saying the two situations were “directly analagous”. Today Javid went even further, telling Nick Robinson on the Today programme:

[Johnson] was talking about the general desire for people, no matter who they are, where they live, for self determination, and that can be in any setting, in any country. I don’t think at all he was trying to link the specific situation in Ukraine with the UK.

In response, Robinson pointed out that the PM’s speech specifically did link the two situations. He suggested that the fact that two cabinet ministers have now effectively disowned the connection made by Johnson suggests that No 10 accepts it was a mistake.

They really are cnuts ... aren't they!

[Tichtheid]

It's a matter of public record that Johnson is a man completely lacking in honour, integrity and dignity. It's not really a surprise that he'd use anything, including the slaughter and mass migration that is going on in Ukraine to play to an audience that he needs.

His "profession" is supposed to be as a journalist, isn't it? The fact that his words constantly need qualification and spinning shows he's not very good at that profession.

He is what he is, but what does continue to surprise me is that people would still vote for a party with him at the helm and a Buch of self-serving, conniving misanthropes in his cabinet.

[SaintK]

Getting your priorities right

Boris Johnson was at a Conservative Party fundraising dinner attended by at least one donor with links to Russia on the night Vladimir Putin launched his war in Ukraine.

The prime minister gave a short speech at the event in central London as it became clear the Russian invasion was imminent, allegedly telling guests he had to leave early to deal with the crisis.

The event began on February 23 at about 8pm and was held at Spencer House, a Grade I listed building a mile from Downing Street.

It took place despite days of repeated warnings — including from Johnson personally — that the invasion appeared imminent, and only hours before Volodymyr Zelensky delivered an address in a last-ditch attempt to avert the war.

[fishfoodie]

It doesn't sound like his usual tactic of sending out his Ministers to say that he didn't say what we all heard him say; or he didn't mean it in the way it was fucking obvious he meant, is going to work.



This time he's going to, rightfully, have to grovel himself.

In other news, the FO whistleblower is very clear, & is providing tonnes of evidence that the PM ( & probably Princess NutNut), were behind the evacuation of stray cats, & dogs over humans; & the CS & #10 lied to Parliament repeatedly over it.

[dpedin]

It doesn't sound like his usual tactic of sending out his Ministers to say that he didn't say what we all heard him say; or he didn't mean it in the way it was fucking obvious he meant, is going to work.



This time he's going to, rightfully, have to grovel himself.

In other news, the FO whistleblower is very clear, & is providing tonnes of evidence that the PM ( & probably Princess NutNut), were behind the evacuation of stray cats, & dogs over humans; & the CS & #10 lied to Parliament repeatedly over it.

UK is really Johnny No Mates now! So much for the Brexit ambition of being an international player. Perhaps this is a clever ploy by the Blonde Bumblecunt to leave us with Putin as the only one who wants to work with us?

[SaintK]

As pere Fishfoodie's comment above. A bit more info on all those cats and dogs that made it out of Afganistan. Should be an interesting Foreign Affairs Select committee meeting this afternoon!

A senior Foreign Office civil servant has produced fresh evidence that officials and ministers did not tell the truth about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to authorise the airlift evactuation of animals from Kabul last summer.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has this morning published a seven-page statement from Josie Stewart - who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2015 including for the British embassy in Kabul - about the government’s decision to allow dogs and cats from the Nowzad charity to be flown out of the Afghan capital, as part of the operation to rescue Britons and Afghans from the Taliban.

Johnson has always denied being involved in this decision, and in previous evidence to the committee Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, said he was not aware of evidence suggesting the PM did intervene. After an email came to light suggesting No 10 was involved, Barton apologised for inadvertently misleading the committee.

It was widespread ‘knowledge’ in the FCDO crisis centre that the decision on Nowzad’s Afghan staff came from the prime minister. I saw messages to this effect on Microsoft Teams, I heard it discussed in the crisis centre including by senior civil servants, and I was copied on numerous emails which clearly suggested this and which no one, including Nigel Casey [the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan] acting as ‘Crisis Gold’, challenged. Some of these the committee has seen.

[C69]

As pere Fishfoodie's comment above. A bit more info on all those cats and dogs that made it out of Afganistan. Should be an interesting Foreign Affairs Select committee meeting this afternoon!

A senior Foreign Office civil servant has produced fresh evidence that officials and ministers did not tell the truth about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to authorise the airlift evactuation of animals from Kabul last summer.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has this morning published a seven-page statement from Josie Stewart - who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2015 including for the British embassy in Kabul - about the government’s decision to allow dogs and cats from the Nowzad charity to be flown out of the Afghan capital, as part of the operation to rescue Britons and Afghans from the Taliban.

Johnson has always denied being involved in this decision, and in previous evidence to the committee Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, said he was not aware of evidence suggesting the PM did intervene. After an email came to light suggesting No 10 was involved, Barton apologised for inadvertently misleading the committee.

It was widespread ‘knowledge’ in the FCDO crisis centre that the decision on Nowzad’s Afghan staff came from the prime minister. I saw messages to this effect on Microsoft Teams, I heard it discussed in the crisis centre including by senior civil servants, and I was copied on numerous emails which clearly suggested this and which no one, including Nigel Casey [the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan] acting as ‘Crisis Gold’, challenged. Some of these the committee has seen.

I believe that the Ministerial Code is such that if the PM deliberately lied or misled the HOC then he should resign

[SaintK]

As pere Fishfoodie's comment above. A bit more info on all those cats and dogs that made it out of Afganistan. Should be an interesting Foreign Affairs Select committee meeting this afternoon!

A senior Foreign Office civil servant has produced fresh evidence that officials and ministers did not tell the truth about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to authorise the airlift evactuation of animals from Kabul last summer.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has this morning published a seven-page statement from Josie Stewart - who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2015 including for the British embassy in Kabul - about the government’s decision to allow dogs and cats from the Nowzad charity to be flown out of the Afghan capital, as part of the operation to rescue Britons and Afghans from the Taliban.

Johnson has always denied being involved in this decision, and in previous evidence to the committee Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, said he was not aware of evidence suggesting the PM did intervene. After an email came to light suggesting No 10 was involved, Barton apologised for inadvertently misleading the committee.

It was widespread ‘knowledge’ in the FCDO crisis centre that the decision on Nowzad’s Afghan staff came from the prime minister. I saw messages to this effect on Microsoft Teams, I heard it discussed in the crisis centre including by senior civil servants, and I was copied on numerous emails which clearly suggested this and which no one, including Nigel Casey [the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan] acting as ‘Crisis Gold’, challenged. Some of these the committee has seen.

I believe that the Ministerial Code is such that if the PM deliberately lied or misled the HOC then he should resign

Got 2 hopes here and one of them is Bob!!!!

[Lobby]

As pere Fishfoodie's comment above. A bit more info on all those cats and dogs that made it out of Afganistan. Should be an interesting Foreign Affairs Select committee meeting this afternoon!

A senior Foreign Office civil servant has produced fresh evidence that officials and ministers did not tell the truth about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to authorise the airlift evactuation of animals from Kabul last summer.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has this morning published a seven-page statement from Josie Stewart - who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2015 including for the British embassy in Kabul - about the government’s decision to allow dogs and cats from the Nowzad charity to be flown out of the Afghan capital, as part of the operation to rescue Britons and Afghans from the Taliban.

Johnson has always denied being involved in this decision, and in previous evidence to the committee Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, said he was not aware of evidence suggesting the PM did intervene. After an email came to light suggesting No 10 was involved, Barton apologised for inadvertently misleading the committee.

It was widespread ‘knowledge’ in the FCDO crisis centre that the decision on Nowzad’s Afghan staff came from the prime minister. I saw messages to this effect on Microsoft Teams, I heard it discussed in the crisis centre including by senior civil servants, and I was copied on numerous emails which clearly suggested this and which no one, including Nigel Casey [the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan] acting as ‘Crisis Gold’, challenged. Some of these the committee has seen.

It’s worth remembering that Nowzad staff weren’t evacuated from Afghanistan; it was only the animals that got out. This was largely because Nowzad refused to leave until the animals were included, and by the time Bojo and Princess Nut Nut forced the FCO to prioritize the animals, the conditions for allowing people out had changed, and Nowzad’s Afghan staff no longer qualified.

[fishfoodie]

As pere Fishfoodie's comment above. A bit more info on all those cats and dogs that made it out of Afganistan. Should be an interesting Foreign Affairs Select committee meeting this afternoon!

A senior Foreign Office civil servant has produced fresh evidence that officials and ministers did not tell the truth about Boris Johnson’s involvement in the decision to authorise the airlift evactuation of animals from Kabul last summer.

The Commons foreign affairs committee has this morning published a seven-page statement from Josie Stewart - who has worked for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) since 2015 including for the British embassy in Kabul - about the government’s decision to allow dogs and cats from the Nowzad charity to be flown out of the Afghan capital, as part of the operation to rescue Britons and Afghans from the Taliban.

Johnson has always denied being involved in this decision, and in previous evidence to the committee Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary, said he was not aware of evidence suggesting the PM did intervene. After an email came to light suggesting No 10 was involved, Barton apologised for inadvertently misleading the committee.

It was widespread ‘knowledge’ in the FCDO crisis centre that the decision on Nowzad’s Afghan staff came from the prime minister. I saw messages to this effect on Microsoft Teams, I heard it discussed in the crisis centre including by senior civil servants, and I was copied on numerous emails which clearly suggested this and which no one, including Nigel Casey [the PM’s special representative for Afghanistan] acting as ‘Crisis Gold’, challenged. Some of these the committee has seen.

It’s worth remembering that Nowzad staff weren’t evacuated from Afghanistan; it was only the animals that got out. This was largely because Nowzad refused to leave until the animals were included, and by the time Bojo and Princess Nut Nut forced the FCO to prioritize the animals, the conditions for allowing people out had changed, and Nowzad’s Afghan staff no longer qualified.

The other self-serving prick in the story sat alone on the plane, & left with 229 empty seats, & his 59 staff thrown to the wolves.

The following day, he returned to the airport with the trucks and US servicemen helped to load the animal crates into the hold of the chartered plane. Up to the last minute, he imagined the plane’s 229 seats would be filled with some of the thousands of people desperately looking for safe passage. But then he found himself sitting alone, on his way back to London.

It was only when Farthing landed that he realised the size of the media storm Operation Ark had created. A threatening voicemail he’d sent to a Ministry of Defence official demanding visa assistance had surfaced in the papers. The Tory MP Tom Tugendhat was relaying a story about how an Afghan man had asked him why Britain was prioritising dogs over children. Farthing claims he could not recall making the call to the MoD – “we had Taliban next door, I was calling everyone I could”. He still sees the briefing to the media about “pets over people” as a deliberate smokescreen for the scandalous ineptitude of Britain’s exit, made while the foreign secretary was holidaying in Greece.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/ ... es-of-year

[fishfoodie]

Well done you Tory cunts; mission accomplished !

A Russian billionaire sanctioned by the UK says he no longer owns many former properties, potentially putting them beyond the reach of the law.

Ex-Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov's £82m London home and Surrey mansion were put into trusts linked to the oligarch.

This raises questions over the effectiveness of sanctions imposed since the invasion of Ukraine began.

The UK government says Mr Usmanov "cannot access his assets".

On 3 March, seven days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Alisher Usmanov was added to the list of sanctioned Russian businessmen.

His assets were frozen, he was banned from visiting the UK, and British citizens and businesses were banned from dealing with him.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “We will hit oligarchs and individuals closely associated with the Putin regime and his barbarous war.”

The government said sanctions would cut him off from “significant UK interests including mansions worth tens of millions”.

But this is now in doubt because Mr Usmanov’s spokesman says he is no longer the legal owner of many of those assets.

[I like neeps]

Colville is a died in the wool Tory. When even those guys are calling it out. Oh dear!

[Paddington Bear]

It's mad that more Tories aren't. They're exacerbating a situation that could lead to them being unelectable in 20 years time.

[tabascoboy]