Sunday, January 16, 2022
Protests against authoritarian agenda
It is an irony that will undoubtedly not have been lost onany of the thousands of protestors attending rallies yesterday, that if the police, crime, sentencing and courts bill they were opposing becomes law, then they could well have been arrested for taking to the streets and expressing an opinion. The stakes really are as high as that, as Boris Johnson's government subverts the demcratic process in it's own interests, an action that has been central to the playbook of many dictators down the ages.
As the Guardian reports, sections of this bill have been condemned by human rights activists as an attack on the right to protest. The House of Lords will be considering it on Monday, hence the actions of “kill the bill” protesters rallying in London on yesterday, while demonstrations also took place in cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Plymouth:
In the capital, demonstrators marched from Holborn to Parliament Square carrying signs reading “defend the right to protest”, while one protester carried a coffin with the words “UK democracy – murdered by the Tories” printed on its side. Many also carried Extinction Rebellion flags.
Terry Matthews, 69, from south London, told PA Media: “I think we’re facing a really vitriolic attack on our rights to protest and our freedoms to show our dissatisfaction with the status of the government and the country. And it’s a really dangerous step to try to take.”
Addressing the crowd in Parliament Square, the Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said the bill’s anti-protest provisions “represent the greatest attack on peaceful dissent in living memory”. “This rightwing, authoritarian government used to encourage pro-Brexit demos and statue defenders when it suited them,” she said.
Chakrabarti accused the government of hypocrisy, saying it “bangs on about free speech and whinges about cancel culture” and other countries “where fundamental rights are under attack” while clamping down on rights in the UK. “Free speech is a two-way street. And you know what? The ultimate cancel culture, it doesn’t come with a tweet – it comes with a police baton and a prison sentence for nonviolent dissent,” she said.
The bill’s anti-protest measures grant police the power to ban marches and demonstrations that they consider to be “seriously disruptive”, including those deemed too noisy. Gypsy, Roma and traveller communities would effectively be criminalised by measures against residing on land without authorisation, while police would also be granted expanded stop and search powers and sentences of up to 10 years could be handed down for damage to memorials or statues.
Up until now, it has been the Liberal Democrats who have been leading the charge against this bill in the Lords. They have now been joined by Labour peers. Let's hope the opposition can do something to avert this major attack on liberty and democracy.
As the Guardian reports, sections of this bill have been condemned by human rights activists as an attack on the right to protest. The House of Lords will be considering it on Monday, hence the actions of “kill the bill” protesters rallying in London on yesterday, while demonstrations also took place in cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Plymouth:
In the capital, demonstrators marched from Holborn to Parliament Square carrying signs reading “defend the right to protest”, while one protester carried a coffin with the words “UK democracy – murdered by the Tories” printed on its side. Many also carried Extinction Rebellion flags.
Terry Matthews, 69, from south London, told PA Media: “I think we’re facing a really vitriolic attack on our rights to protest and our freedoms to show our dissatisfaction with the status of the government and the country. And it’s a really dangerous step to try to take.”
Addressing the crowd in Parliament Square, the Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti said the bill’s anti-protest provisions “represent the greatest attack on peaceful dissent in living memory”. “This rightwing, authoritarian government used to encourage pro-Brexit demos and statue defenders when it suited them,” she said.
Chakrabarti accused the government of hypocrisy, saying it “bangs on about free speech and whinges about cancel culture” and other countries “where fundamental rights are under attack” while clamping down on rights in the UK. “Free speech is a two-way street. And you know what? The ultimate cancel culture, it doesn’t come with a tweet – it comes with a police baton and a prison sentence for nonviolent dissent,” she said.
The bill’s anti-protest measures grant police the power to ban marches and demonstrations that they consider to be “seriously disruptive”, including those deemed too noisy. Gypsy, Roma and traveller communities would effectively be criminalised by measures against residing on land without authorisation, while police would also be granted expanded stop and search powers and sentences of up to 10 years could be handed down for damage to memorials or statues.
Up until now, it has been the Liberal Democrats who have been leading the charge against this bill in the Lords. They have now been joined by Labour peers. Let's hope the opposition can do something to avert this major attack on liberty and democracy.
Saturday, January 15, 2022
The real scandal of Baglan Energy Park
As the BBC report that Baglan Energy Park, where 1,600 people are employed, faces months without electricity, with "potentially catastrophic consequences, it is worth reflecting on the controversial way the project got approval in the first place. The full story is set out in Rhodri Morgan's autobiography:
What I was most sceptical of was the Baglan Energy Park. On my first day's tour around the project sections, the team responsible told me with confidence that the energy park would produce 6,000 new jobs. I asked them how they could be so sure - it sounded an awful high figure to me - but they said it was a middle estimate. I could rely on the 6,000 jobs figure.
Actually, it became clear that no jobs would arrive at the Baglan Energy Park, but I eventually found out why the estimate was so unrealistically high. Helen Liddell, by then the UK's High Commissioner in Australia, told me the background story. In 1997, the incoming Blair Government had issued a moratorium on new gas-fired power stations. The American multi-national industrial behemoth GE had wanted to build their first ever H series combined cycle gas turbine power station at Baglan, on a site vacated by BP. It had been part of BP's exit strategy from South Wales to secure GE's brand new and revolutionary design of power station on the former BP Baglan site. Then along came the moratorium.
US President Bill Clinton received a phone call from 'Neutron' Jack Welch, the legendary boss of GE, asking for his help in getting around the moratorium. Clinton rang his good friend Tony Blair, and asked (or maybe told) the PM to lift the moratorium for GE. That's how things are done in the US, I suppose. I could imagine Clinton smooth-talking Tony Blair over this - 'For God's sake, Tony, lift the moratorium for this power station, I've got Jack Welch on my back!' Anyway, GE got their permit to build the power station, but the exemption case from the moratorium had to be very special. Electricity from the power station could be supplied over the fence directly, and without paying a grid charge, into energy-intensive industries which could all go on the empty Baglan Bay site (now renamed the Baglan Energy Park). Hence the need for the 6,000 jobs estimate.
Before the power station actually opened, I asked to visit the project site (I was First Minister by this point). I was curious about why the US President had phoned the British PM about it - had to be on a par with a moon shot, didn't it? Bill Cooney, GE's site director, took me around - a lot guys in overalls with spanners sticking out of every pocket, trying to tweak the turbine blades to get them to run in perfect harmony. With the tour over, I walked back with Cooney to the car park past a row of Portakabins stacked four-high - he said that was where all the design engineers worked. I replied to say that I ought to go in there, as the tour wouldn't really be complete without meeting his engineering team.
Cooney said, 'Very sorry, sir, you can't go in there. You don't have an American passport!' 'Hang on a minute', I riposted, 'we are in Port Talbot, in Wales!' 'I'm afraid you cannot go in there without breaching the US Export Control Act', Cooney replied, 'this is sensitive technology, only US citizens allowed in there.' I wasn't giving up. 'So you're telling me that since those Portakabins were put there, no non-US citizen has been in there?' 'Absolutely right,' he said, 'nobody ... oh, hang on a minute, nobody except the delivery boys from Domino's Pizza!' Now, I knew where the First Minister of Wales stood - somewhere beneath Domino's Pizza delivery boys.'
A good example of how the wheels of government are oiled.
What I was most sceptical of was the Baglan Energy Park. On my first day's tour around the project sections, the team responsible told me with confidence that the energy park would produce 6,000 new jobs. I asked them how they could be so sure - it sounded an awful high figure to me - but they said it was a middle estimate. I could rely on the 6,000 jobs figure.
Actually, it became clear that no jobs would arrive at the Baglan Energy Park, but I eventually found out why the estimate was so unrealistically high. Helen Liddell, by then the UK's High Commissioner in Australia, told me the background story. In 1997, the incoming Blair Government had issued a moratorium on new gas-fired power stations. The American multi-national industrial behemoth GE had wanted to build their first ever H series combined cycle gas turbine power station at Baglan, on a site vacated by BP. It had been part of BP's exit strategy from South Wales to secure GE's brand new and revolutionary design of power station on the former BP Baglan site. Then along came the moratorium.
US President Bill Clinton received a phone call from 'Neutron' Jack Welch, the legendary boss of GE, asking for his help in getting around the moratorium. Clinton rang his good friend Tony Blair, and asked (or maybe told) the PM to lift the moratorium for GE. That's how things are done in the US, I suppose. I could imagine Clinton smooth-talking Tony Blair over this - 'For God's sake, Tony, lift the moratorium for this power station, I've got Jack Welch on my back!' Anyway, GE got their permit to build the power station, but the exemption case from the moratorium had to be very special. Electricity from the power station could be supplied over the fence directly, and without paying a grid charge, into energy-intensive industries which could all go on the empty Baglan Bay site (now renamed the Baglan Energy Park). Hence the need for the 6,000 jobs estimate.
Before the power station actually opened, I asked to visit the project site (I was First Minister by this point). I was curious about why the US President had phoned the British PM about it - had to be on a par with a moon shot, didn't it? Bill Cooney, GE's site director, took me around - a lot guys in overalls with spanners sticking out of every pocket, trying to tweak the turbine blades to get them to run in perfect harmony. With the tour over, I walked back with Cooney to the car park past a row of Portakabins stacked four-high - he said that was where all the design engineers worked. I replied to say that I ought to go in there, as the tour wouldn't really be complete without meeting his engineering team.
Cooney said, 'Very sorry, sir, you can't go in there. You don't have an American passport!' 'Hang on a minute', I riposted, 'we are in Port Talbot, in Wales!' 'I'm afraid you cannot go in there without breaching the US Export Control Act', Cooney replied, 'this is sensitive technology, only US citizens allowed in there.' I wasn't giving up. 'So you're telling me that since those Portakabins were put there, no non-US citizen has been in there?' 'Absolutely right,' he said, 'nobody ... oh, hang on a minute, nobody except the delivery boys from Domino's Pizza!' Now, I knew where the First Minister of Wales stood - somewhere beneath Domino's Pizza delivery boys.'
A good example of how the wheels of government are oiled.
Friday, January 14, 2022
Yet more parties
Was there a day in 2020 when staff in 10 Downing Street were not having a party? The Guardian reports on allegations that Staff inside Downing Street held two staff leaving events featuring alcohol, and one with loud music, on the evening before Prince Philip’s funeral in April last year, when such social contact remained banned.
They say eyewitnesses have told the Daily Telegraph that a combined total of about 30 people took part in what appeared to be social events in different parts of Downing Street, before both gatherings combined in the garden:
According to one attender, a staff member was sent with a suitcase to the Co-op on the Strand, a short walk away, returning with the case filled with bottles of wine.
Philip’s funeral took place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle the next day, Saturday 17 April, with the Queen sitting alone to maintain social distancing.
Boris Johnson was not at Downing Street that evening, having gone to the prime ministerial country retreat, Chequers, on the Thursday evening and remaining into the weekend.
At the time, England was in stage two of the government’s gradual relaxation from lockdown. Up to six people or two families could meet outside, while indoors, people could only socialise with their household or support bubble.
...
One of the events last April marked the departure from government of James Slack, who was the prime minister’s official spokesperson under both Theresa May and Johnson, before becoming Johnson’s director of communications, according to the Telegraph. He is now deputy editor of the Sun.
The other leaving event was for one of Johnson’s personal photographers, the paper said. Witnesses told the Telegraph that the event to mark the photographer’s departure mainly took place in the basement area of No 10, with loud music playing.
Both groups reportedly moved outside around midnight, with drinking carrying on into the early hours of the morning. While in the garden one attender broke a swing belonging to Johnson’s infant son, Wilfred, a witness told the paper.
Remember that this is one of the most secure buildings in the UK, with a 24 hour, seven day a week police presence. Why did they not intervene? Did one of the officers hold the door open to allow the suitcase full of booze to be brought on the premises? Will the Metropolitan Police investigate that?
They say eyewitnesses have told the Daily Telegraph that a combined total of about 30 people took part in what appeared to be social events in different parts of Downing Street, before both gatherings combined in the garden:
According to one attender, a staff member was sent with a suitcase to the Co-op on the Strand, a short walk away, returning with the case filled with bottles of wine.
Philip’s funeral took place in the private chapel at Windsor Castle the next day, Saturday 17 April, with the Queen sitting alone to maintain social distancing.
Boris Johnson was not at Downing Street that evening, having gone to the prime ministerial country retreat, Chequers, on the Thursday evening and remaining into the weekend.
At the time, England was in stage two of the government’s gradual relaxation from lockdown. Up to six people or two families could meet outside, while indoors, people could only socialise with their household or support bubble.
...
One of the events last April marked the departure from government of James Slack, who was the prime minister’s official spokesperson under both Theresa May and Johnson, before becoming Johnson’s director of communications, according to the Telegraph. He is now deputy editor of the Sun.
The other leaving event was for one of Johnson’s personal photographers, the paper said. Witnesses told the Telegraph that the event to mark the photographer’s departure mainly took place in the basement area of No 10, with loud music playing.
Both groups reportedly moved outside around midnight, with drinking carrying on into the early hours of the morning. While in the garden one attender broke a swing belonging to Johnson’s infant son, Wilfred, a witness told the paper.
Remember that this is one of the most secure buildings in the UK, with a 24 hour, seven day a week police presence. Why did they not intervene? Did one of the officers hold the door open to allow the suitcase full of booze to be brought on the premises? Will the Metropolitan Police investigate that?
Thursday, January 13, 2022
Metropolitan Police kow-towing to the powerful
If we were annoyed about the rule makers in 10 Downing Street breaking the rules they insisted everybody had to comply with, then surely the failure of the Metropolitan Police to take action must be the final straw.
The Manchester Evening News reports that rather than carry out their own investigation, Scotland Yard have said they will wait until a Cabinet Office inquiry concludes before deciding whether to launch a criminal probe.
A statement released by the Met Police said: “The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street and Department for Education on various dates and has received correspondence in relation to this reporting.
“Throughout the pandemic the Met has followed the national four Es approach of enforcing the Coronavirus Regulations.
“Where live ongoing breaches of the restrictions were identified, officers engaged with those present, explained the current restrictions, encouraged people to adhere to them, and only as a last resort moved to enforcement.
“In line with the Met’s policy, officers do not normally investigate breaches of Coronavirus Regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place. However, if significant evidence suggesting a breach of the regulations becomes available, officers may review and consider it.
“The Cabinet Office is conducting an inquiry into gatherings at Number 10 Downing Street and the Department for Education.
“The Met has ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office in relation to this inquiry. If the inquiry identifies evidence of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence it will be passed to the Met for further consideration.”
This is the same force that vigorously enforced lockdown regulations against citizens across London, but who had officers based outside 10 Downing Street, apparently unaware that a breach was happening just metres from where they were stationed, a force that physically removed women holding a peaceful vigil for a woman murdered by one of their own officers and a force whose senior management has consistently failed to be accountable for its actions.
None of these people were given the option of investigating themselves and then advising the police whether they had broken the law or not. Maybe all the money taken in fines for breaches of lockdown regulations should now be reimbursed.
The Manchester Evening News reports that rather than carry out their own investigation, Scotland Yard have said they will wait until a Cabinet Office inquiry concludes before deciding whether to launch a criminal probe.
A statement released by the Met Police said: “The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street and Department for Education on various dates and has received correspondence in relation to this reporting.
“Throughout the pandemic the Met has followed the national four Es approach of enforcing the Coronavirus Regulations.
“Where live ongoing breaches of the restrictions were identified, officers engaged with those present, explained the current restrictions, encouraged people to adhere to them, and only as a last resort moved to enforcement.
“In line with the Met’s policy, officers do not normally investigate breaches of Coronavirus Regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place. However, if significant evidence suggesting a breach of the regulations becomes available, officers may review and consider it.
“The Cabinet Office is conducting an inquiry into gatherings at Number 10 Downing Street and the Department for Education.
“The Met has ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office in relation to this inquiry. If the inquiry identifies evidence of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence it will be passed to the Met for further consideration.”
This is the same force that vigorously enforced lockdown regulations against citizens across London, but who had officers based outside 10 Downing Street, apparently unaware that a breach was happening just metres from where they were stationed, a force that physically removed women holding a peaceful vigil for a woman murdered by one of their own officers and a force whose senior management has consistently failed to be accountable for its actions.
None of these people were given the option of investigating themselves and then advising the police whether they had broken the law or not. Maybe all the money taken in fines for breaches of lockdown regulations should now be reimbursed.
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
And now the cover-up?
As if the blatant flouting of lockdown rules while people are dying, without access to their relatives, isn't bad enough, the Independent reports that Downing Street staff were advised to “clean up” their phones by removing information that could suggest lockdown parties were held at No 10.
The paper refers to two sources, who claim a senior member of staff told them it would be a “good idea” to remove any messages implying that they had attended or were even aware of anything that could “look like a party”:
The “clean-up” suggestion was made early last month after the first reports emerged of parties at Downing Street, the sources allege.
One said they were “told to clean up their phone just in case” they had to hand it in to the investigation.
A second said: “I was being leant on [during the discussion with a senior colleague] and told to get rid of anything that could look bad.”
Both sources told The Independent they felt under pressure to delete communications and images.
The claims that a senior member of staff directed junior colleagues to remove potential evidence contradicts an email, also sent in December, that instructed staff not to destroy any material that could prove pertinent to an investigation, criminal or otherwise.
This was meant to refer to emails, WhatsApp messages, and calendar invitations, but it was allegedly not observed by some staff, many of whom conducted discussions via WhatsApp on their personal phones as well as work devices.
Personal phones cannot be accessed by Ms Gray’s investigation unless staff volunteer them. However, staff can be forced to hand over workplace handsets.
With many staff who attended lockdown-busting events no longer working at No 10, and others having wiped messages from their phones, it will be hard for Ms Gray to gather all available evidence of wrongdoing, sources claim.
Emails at No 10 are automatically deleted after 90 days for security reasons. This is also the case in some other sensitive government departments but not all.
Ultimately, deleted emails can be recovered from servers, but this is far more challenging than accessing historic messages in some other departments, according to people familiar with the process.
In fact it is not that hard to recover deleted emails, but that is hardly the point. If this is true then heads need to roll.
The paper refers to two sources, who claim a senior member of staff told them it would be a “good idea” to remove any messages implying that they had attended or were even aware of anything that could “look like a party”:
The “clean-up” suggestion was made early last month after the first reports emerged of parties at Downing Street, the sources allege.
One said they were “told to clean up their phone just in case” they had to hand it in to the investigation.
A second said: “I was being leant on [during the discussion with a senior colleague] and told to get rid of anything that could look bad.”
Both sources told The Independent they felt under pressure to delete communications and images.
The claims that a senior member of staff directed junior colleagues to remove potential evidence contradicts an email, also sent in December, that instructed staff not to destroy any material that could prove pertinent to an investigation, criminal or otherwise.
This was meant to refer to emails, WhatsApp messages, and calendar invitations, but it was allegedly not observed by some staff, many of whom conducted discussions via WhatsApp on their personal phones as well as work devices.
Personal phones cannot be accessed by Ms Gray’s investigation unless staff volunteer them. However, staff can be forced to hand over workplace handsets.
With many staff who attended lockdown-busting events no longer working at No 10, and others having wiped messages from their phones, it will be hard for Ms Gray to gather all available evidence of wrongdoing, sources claim.
Emails at No 10 are automatically deleted after 90 days for security reasons. This is also the case in some other sensitive government departments but not all.
Ultimately, deleted emails can be recovered from servers, but this is far more challenging than accessing historic messages in some other departments, according to people familiar with the process.
In fact it is not that hard to recover deleted emails, but that is hardly the point. If this is true then heads need to roll.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
The killer email - is Johnson on borrowed time?
Even when caught red-handed, ignoring the rules he, himself, set for other people, Boris Johnson still seems annoyingly invulnerable as Prime Minister. That is because, despite all the justified public outrage, the people who will actually decide the Prime Minister's fate in the short term - backbench Tory MPs - appear to be curiously mute.
They should know that, in terms of public perception and trust, the crime attributed to Johnson is a big one, and let's suffer no delusions here, if the accusations are true, then the PM broke the law, and there is a reasonable expectation that the Metropolitan Police should be kicking down the door of 10 Downing Street to charge all the perpetrators. Instead, and true to form, Cressida Dick's force have sent an email.
The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson has been accused of an “utterly outrageous” breach of lockdown rules as a leaked email showed that of his top officials invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party during the first lockdown:
The prime minister is believed to have attended the No 10 garden party on 20 May 2020 along with Carrie Johnson, then his fiancee, after it was advertised by his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
“Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!” the email seen by ITV News said.
It invited just over 100 employees to the gathering at a time when social mixing was banned except with one other person from another household outdoors in a public place.
About 30 to 40 are said to have attended, with food and wine set out on tables, but some staff reportedly expressed reservations at the time.
“Um. Why is Martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?” one staffer said, according to the BBC. Another asked: “Is this for real?”
On the same day, Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, had reminded the public at a press conference: “You can meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two metres apart.”
The Metropolitan police had tweeted telling people they could have a picnic, exercise or do sport outside providing you are “on your own, with people you live with, or just you and one other person”.
On Monday night following news of the leaked email, the Met said it was “aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on 20 May 2020” and said it had made contact with the Cabinet Office. Senior officers are expected to discuss the situation on Tuesday morning. The force has previously said it was policy “not to investigate retrospective breaches of such regulations”.
Johnson will now come under huge pressure to explain his own role in the gathering, whether he played any part in the invitation given the phrase “we thought it would be nice” and why his office did not listen to alleged warnings from his former aide, Dominic Cummings, that it appeared to be against the rules. Cummings revealed the existence of the 20 May party in a blog on Friday.
The paper says that there have been reports of at least five other alleged gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall in winter 2020, including a Christmas party, leaving do, quiz, No 11 flat party and drinks at the Department for Education.
They should know that, in terms of public perception and trust, the crime attributed to Johnson is a big one, and let's suffer no delusions here, if the accusations are true, then the PM broke the law, and there is a reasonable expectation that the Metropolitan Police should be kicking down the door of 10 Downing Street to charge all the perpetrators. Instead, and true to form, Cressida Dick's force have sent an email.
The Guardian reports that Boris Johnson has been accused of an “utterly outrageous” breach of lockdown rules as a leaked email showed that of his top officials invited more than 100 Downing Street staff to a “bring your own booze” party during the first lockdown:
The prime minister is believed to have attended the No 10 garden party on 20 May 2020 along with Carrie Johnson, then his fiancee, after it was advertised by his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.
“Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!” the email seen by ITV News said.
It invited just over 100 employees to the gathering at a time when social mixing was banned except with one other person from another household outdoors in a public place.
About 30 to 40 are said to have attended, with food and wine set out on tables, but some staff reportedly expressed reservations at the time.
“Um. Why is Martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?” one staffer said, according to the BBC. Another asked: “Is this for real?”
On the same day, Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, had reminded the public at a press conference: “You can meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two metres apart.”
The Metropolitan police had tweeted telling people they could have a picnic, exercise or do sport outside providing you are “on your own, with people you live with, or just you and one other person”.
On Monday night following news of the leaked email, the Met said it was “aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on 20 May 2020” and said it had made contact with the Cabinet Office. Senior officers are expected to discuss the situation on Tuesday morning. The force has previously said it was policy “not to investigate retrospective breaches of such regulations”.
Johnson will now come under huge pressure to explain his own role in the gathering, whether he played any part in the invitation given the phrase “we thought it would be nice” and why his office did not listen to alleged warnings from his former aide, Dominic Cummings, that it appeared to be against the rules. Cummings revealed the existence of the 20 May party in a blog on Friday.
The paper says that there have been reports of at least five other alleged gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall in winter 2020, including a Christmas party, leaving do, quiz, No 11 flat party and drinks at the Department for Education.
All these events took place when everybody was locked down, unable to socialise with family and friends, unable to visit loved ones in care homes, and losing relatives and then unable to have a proper funeral for them. If this is not a resigning matter, then what is?
Monday, January 10, 2022
No value for money in government spending
There is some damning criticism of government ministers and their spending plans in today's Times. The paper quotes the head of the National Audit Office, Gareth Davies, who has concluded that Ministers and officials are spending billions of pounds on projects that are never properly evaluated.
Mr. Davies says that too often the government has not learnt from its failures and has “little information” on “what difference is made by the billions of pounds being spent”:
In an article for The Times Davies, who took over at the spending watchdog in May 2019, says that he was concerned to see that lessons that might have helped the government to deal with Covid had not been learnt.
He says there is little evidence that things have improved even though it has “never been more important that the government makes the right choices” after the pandemic.
Recent research by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that only 8 per cent of big government projects had robust evaluation plans in place.
“Prior to the pandemic the government did take forward many lessons from the simulation exercises it undertook to prepare for potential pandemics,” Davies writes. “However, it did not act on some warnings that would have helped it prepare for a pandemic like Covid-19.”
He adds: “What we have found by auditing government’s work is that many of the interventions carried out by government are either not evaluated robustly or not evaluated at all. This means government is not learning from its successes or failures, and has little information in most policy areas on what difference is made by the billions of pounds being spent.”
Davies cites the Kickstart Scheme, launched amid much fanfare last year to fund employers to create high-quality six-month work placements for people aged 16-24. He says that the Department for Work and Pensions had “limited assurance over the quality of the work placements created by the scheme”, or whether the jobs created “would have existed anyway”.
“Without having done more during the scheme’s operation to monitor what kinds of jobs and training employers are providing in practice, the department will find it much harder to deliver a robust estimate of the scheme’s long-term impact,” he writes.
Davies also says that there are no consequences for failure or not robustly assessing projects and pulling the plug on those that are not performing. “The incentives to evaluate and learn what works and why must be stronger than the instinct to avoid evaluating in case it uncovers bad results,” he writes. “At present public bodies face limited consequences if they do not evaluate their work. This needs to be addressed.”
When Michael Gove was Cabinet Office minister, he pledged to set up an internal Whitehall unit to assess all government projects against their aspirations and pull the plug on those that were not performing well.
“There can be a tendency in government where you get ‘vanity of authorship’, ” Gove said. “It is, ‘I launched this programme and I’ll defend it come what may’. We want people to know that the government is not simply trumpeting the fact that x amount of money has been spent on a new scheme but we go back to citizens and say: ‘This is what we tried. This worked. This didn’t work. This was the basis on which we acted.’ ”
However, Gove has since moved on to levelling up and housing and there have been no more announcements about the proposed evaluation unit.
Perhaps if the Chancellor got to grips with this problem, he would not need to cut public spending as much as he plans.
Mr. Davies says that too often the government has not learnt from its failures and has “little information” on “what difference is made by the billions of pounds being spent”:
In an article for The Times Davies, who took over at the spending watchdog in May 2019, says that he was concerned to see that lessons that might have helped the government to deal with Covid had not been learnt.
He says there is little evidence that things have improved even though it has “never been more important that the government makes the right choices” after the pandemic.
Recent research by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that only 8 per cent of big government projects had robust evaluation plans in place.
“Prior to the pandemic the government did take forward many lessons from the simulation exercises it undertook to prepare for potential pandemics,” Davies writes. “However, it did not act on some warnings that would have helped it prepare for a pandemic like Covid-19.”
He adds: “What we have found by auditing government’s work is that many of the interventions carried out by government are either not evaluated robustly or not evaluated at all. This means government is not learning from its successes or failures, and has little information in most policy areas on what difference is made by the billions of pounds being spent.”
Davies cites the Kickstart Scheme, launched amid much fanfare last year to fund employers to create high-quality six-month work placements for people aged 16-24. He says that the Department for Work and Pensions had “limited assurance over the quality of the work placements created by the scheme”, or whether the jobs created “would have existed anyway”.
“Without having done more during the scheme’s operation to monitor what kinds of jobs and training employers are providing in practice, the department will find it much harder to deliver a robust estimate of the scheme’s long-term impact,” he writes.
Davies also says that there are no consequences for failure or not robustly assessing projects and pulling the plug on those that are not performing. “The incentives to evaluate and learn what works and why must be stronger than the instinct to avoid evaluating in case it uncovers bad results,” he writes. “At present public bodies face limited consequences if they do not evaluate their work. This needs to be addressed.”
When Michael Gove was Cabinet Office minister, he pledged to set up an internal Whitehall unit to assess all government projects against their aspirations and pull the plug on those that were not performing well.
“There can be a tendency in government where you get ‘vanity of authorship’, ” Gove said. “It is, ‘I launched this programme and I’ll defend it come what may’. We want people to know that the government is not simply trumpeting the fact that x amount of money has been spent on a new scheme but we go back to citizens and say: ‘This is what we tried. This worked. This didn’t work. This was the basis on which we acted.’ ”
However, Gove has since moved on to levelling up and housing and there have been no more announcements about the proposed evaluation unit.
Perhaps if the Chancellor got to grips with this problem, he would not need to cut public spending as much as he plans.
Sunday, January 09, 2022
Yet another party
It has reached the stage when we are not just asking if Boris Johnson partied while we were locked down in our own homes, but how many parties did he hold? The Independent reports that the Prime Minister now stands accused of personally attending a drinks party in the garden of No 10 during the first lockdown.
They say that Downing Street did not immediately deny a report in the Sunday Times alleging that the Prime Minister attended the potentially rule-breaking event with wife Carrie in May 2020. This is presumably because the newspaper has cited three sources stating Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, emailed officials with an invite adding “BYOB”, meaning bring your own bottle, or booze:
Senior civil servant Sue Gray is investigating the May 20 event as part of her inquiry into numerous allegations of rule-breaking events being held in No 10 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Allegations of that gathering, said to have been attended by 40 people, emerged this week when Dominic Cummings said he had warned at the time the “socially distanced drinks” would likely be against the rules and “should not happen”.
But the front page report suggesting Mr Johnson himself was present will add to the seriousness of the claims.
The prime minister imposed England’s first lockdown to combat Covid-19 in March 2020 and it was not until June 1 that groups of up to six people were allowed to meet outdoors.
Dominic Cummings has confirmed that the event went ahead, writing:
“On Wednesday 20 May, the week after this photo, a senior No 10 official invited people to ‘socially distanced drinks’ in the garden.”
Mr Cummings said he and at least one other special adviser “said that this seemed to be against the rules and should not happen”, adding that he issued the warning “in writing so Sue Gray can dig up the original email”.
“We were ignored. I was ill and went home to bed early that afternoon but am told this event definitely happened,” he continued.
Yet another black mark to add to Boris Johnson's memoirs, which will be presumably entitled: 'One rule for them, another for us'.
They say that Downing Street did not immediately deny a report in the Sunday Times alleging that the Prime Minister attended the potentially rule-breaking event with wife Carrie in May 2020. This is presumably because the newspaper has cited three sources stating Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, emailed officials with an invite adding “BYOB”, meaning bring your own bottle, or booze:
Senior civil servant Sue Gray is investigating the May 20 event as part of her inquiry into numerous allegations of rule-breaking events being held in No 10 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Allegations of that gathering, said to have been attended by 40 people, emerged this week when Dominic Cummings said he had warned at the time the “socially distanced drinks” would likely be against the rules and “should not happen”.
But the front page report suggesting Mr Johnson himself was present will add to the seriousness of the claims.
The prime minister imposed England’s first lockdown to combat Covid-19 in March 2020 and it was not until June 1 that groups of up to six people were allowed to meet outdoors.
Dominic Cummings has confirmed that the event went ahead, writing:
“On Wednesday 20 May, the week after this photo, a senior No 10 official invited people to ‘socially distanced drinks’ in the garden.”
Mr Cummings said he and at least one other special adviser “said that this seemed to be against the rules and should not happen”, adding that he issued the warning “in writing so Sue Gray can dig up the original email”.
“We were ignored. I was ill and went home to bed early that afternoon but am told this event definitely happened,” he continued.
Yet another black mark to add to Boris Johnson's memoirs, which will be presumably entitled: 'One rule for them, another for us'.
Saturday, January 08, 2022
Jumping the gun
As if it wasn't bad enough that companies and individuals were getting on the preferred supplier list for lucrative covid contracts through personal contacts with Tory MPs and Ministers, we now have the ludicrous situation where, according to the Guardian, it has emerged that the Conservative peer Michelle Mone referred a business to the Cabinet Office for potential multimillion pound PPE contracts before it had even been incorporated as a company:
The business, PPE Medpro, was fast-tracked by the government through its “VIP lane” for politically connected firms following the referral by Mone.
Within weeks of the company’s incorporation on 12 May 2020, PPE Medpro was awarded contracts worth £203m to supply millions of masks and gowns.
The Guardian revealed on Thursday that leaked files appear to suggest that Mone and her husband, the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, were secretly involved in PPE Medpro, despite both consistently denying any “role or function” in the company.
It has now emerged that Mone’s referral of PPE Medpro occurred five days before the company was formally registered.
Responding to a recent parliamentary question from the late Labour MP Jack Dromey, health minister Edward Argar said: “Departmental records indicate that Baroness Mone identified Medpro as a potential supplier on 7 May 2020 and highlighted this opportunity by email on 8 May 2020.”
Mone referred PPE Medpro to the office of her fellow Tory peer Theodore Agnew, a Cabinet Office minister responsible for procurement during the Covid pandemic. PPE Medpro was then added by Agnew’s office to the VIP lane, which analysis later showed gave companies a 10 times greater chance of being awarded a contract.
PPE Medpro was not incorporated in the UK until 12 May 2020, five days after the initial referral. The UK company was effectively a subsidiary of another PPE Medpro, registered in the Isle of Man on 11 May. The director of both companies was Anthony Page, who works for Barrowman’s Isle of Man-based financial services firm and runs his family office.
Lawyers for Mone, who ran a lingerie company before David Cameron made her a member of the House of Lords, have always said she “was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
They also said she had no “association” with PPE Medpro, and “never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded” to the company.
You couldn't make this stuff up.
The business, PPE Medpro, was fast-tracked by the government through its “VIP lane” for politically connected firms following the referral by Mone.
Within weeks of the company’s incorporation on 12 May 2020, PPE Medpro was awarded contracts worth £203m to supply millions of masks and gowns.
The Guardian revealed on Thursday that leaked files appear to suggest that Mone and her husband, the Isle of Man-based financier Douglas Barrowman, were secretly involved in PPE Medpro, despite both consistently denying any “role or function” in the company.
It has now emerged that Mone’s referral of PPE Medpro occurred five days before the company was formally registered.
Responding to a recent parliamentary question from the late Labour MP Jack Dromey, health minister Edward Argar said: “Departmental records indicate that Baroness Mone identified Medpro as a potential supplier on 7 May 2020 and highlighted this opportunity by email on 8 May 2020.”
Mone referred PPE Medpro to the office of her fellow Tory peer Theodore Agnew, a Cabinet Office minister responsible for procurement during the Covid pandemic. PPE Medpro was then added by Agnew’s office to the VIP lane, which analysis later showed gave companies a 10 times greater chance of being awarded a contract.
PPE Medpro was not incorporated in the UK until 12 May 2020, five days after the initial referral. The UK company was effectively a subsidiary of another PPE Medpro, registered in the Isle of Man on 11 May. The director of both companies was Anthony Page, who works for Barrowman’s Isle of Man-based financial services firm and runs his family office.
Lawyers for Mone, who ran a lingerie company before David Cameron made her a member of the House of Lords, have always said she “was not connected to PPE Medpro in any capacity”.
They also said she had no “association” with PPE Medpro, and “never had any role or function in PPE Medpro, nor in the process by which contracts were awarded” to the company.
You couldn't make this stuff up.
Friday, January 07, 2022
Favours for donations?
The more information that comes out about the funding of Boris Johnson's flat refurbishment the dodgier it looks. The latest is reported in the Guardian, who say that the latest WhatsApp messages reveal the Prime Minister sought funds for his flat refurbishment from a Conservative donor while promising to consider plans for a mystery “great exhibition”.
They say Johnson is facing fresh questions after newly published WhatsApp messages with the Tory peer David Brownlow show Johnson called parts of his Downing Street residence a “tip” and asked for “approvals” so his decor designer, Lulu Lytle, could “get on with it” in November 2020. He signed off the message by saying: “Ps am on the great exhibition plan Will revert.” Lord Brownlow replied: “Of course, get Lulu to call me and we’ll get it sorted ASAP! Thanks for thinking about GE2.”:
On Thursday, Johnson was forced to make a “humble and sincere” apology for the texts not being given to his independent ethics adviser during an initial inquiry last spring.
The first Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in 1851. Plans for a “Great Exhibition 2.0” were discussed by Brownlow and the then culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, weeks after the WhatsApp exchanges, official records show.
Asked what the great exhibition plan Johnson had referred to was, his spokesperson said it was an “idea that wasn’t taken forward”. He added that instead “Festival UK” – formerly known as the Festival of Brexit – would be going ahead in 2022 but could not explain the difference between that event and the great exhibition plan.
On 18 January 2021 Brownlow held a meeting with Dowden at the Royal Albert Hall “to discuss plans for Great Exhibition 2.0”. A government source indicated it was a “private initiative” from the Royal Albert Hall, of which Brownlow is a trustee according to his register of interests.
Several events similar to a “Great Exhibition 2.0” have been considered by the government. Originally conceived by Theresa May’s administration as a “Festival of Brexit”, then “Festival 2022”, the government-backed £120m event was given the green light by Johnson and will go ahead this year under the name “Unboxed”.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said it appeared Brownlow had access to Johnson and Dowden “because he was paying” for the refurbishments. She said if true, it would constitute “corruption, plain and simple”, and added: “No one should be able to buy access or exchange wallpaper for festivals.”
The Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, Wendy Chamberlain, said: “It stinks of the worst kind of Conservative cronyism, with Boris Johnson seemingly happy to scratch his lord donor’s back to get his flat spruced up in return.”
It is almost as if Johnson doesnt care what people think of him. He certainly does not seem to believe the normal rules apply in his case.
They say Johnson is facing fresh questions after newly published WhatsApp messages with the Tory peer David Brownlow show Johnson called parts of his Downing Street residence a “tip” and asked for “approvals” so his decor designer, Lulu Lytle, could “get on with it” in November 2020. He signed off the message by saying: “Ps am on the great exhibition plan Will revert.” Lord Brownlow replied: “Of course, get Lulu to call me and we’ll get it sorted ASAP! Thanks for thinking about GE2.”:
On Thursday, Johnson was forced to make a “humble and sincere” apology for the texts not being given to his independent ethics adviser during an initial inquiry last spring.
The first Great Exhibition was held in Hyde Park in 1851. Plans for a “Great Exhibition 2.0” were discussed by Brownlow and the then culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, weeks after the WhatsApp exchanges, official records show.
Asked what the great exhibition plan Johnson had referred to was, his spokesperson said it was an “idea that wasn’t taken forward”. He added that instead “Festival UK” – formerly known as the Festival of Brexit – would be going ahead in 2022 but could not explain the difference between that event and the great exhibition plan.
On 18 January 2021 Brownlow held a meeting with Dowden at the Royal Albert Hall “to discuss plans for Great Exhibition 2.0”. A government source indicated it was a “private initiative” from the Royal Albert Hall, of which Brownlow is a trustee according to his register of interests.
Several events similar to a “Great Exhibition 2.0” have been considered by the government. Originally conceived by Theresa May’s administration as a “Festival of Brexit”, then “Festival 2022”, the government-backed £120m event was given the green light by Johnson and will go ahead this year under the name “Unboxed”.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said it appeared Brownlow had access to Johnson and Dowden “because he was paying” for the refurbishments. She said if true, it would constitute “corruption, plain and simple”, and added: “No one should be able to buy access or exchange wallpaper for festivals.”
The Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, Wendy Chamberlain, said: “It stinks of the worst kind of Conservative cronyism, with Boris Johnson seemingly happy to scratch his lord donor’s back to get his flat spruced up in return.”
It is almost as if Johnson doesnt care what people think of him. He certainly does not seem to believe the normal rules apply in his case.
