Westministenders: The Return of Parliamentary Sleaze?

[RedToothBrush]

Brexit is quietly going round and round in ever decreasing circles.

The story is that the European parliament will not agree to a transition period beyond 1st January 2020.

The third minister responsible for getting the Repel Bill through the Lords has quit. There are now nearly 400 amendments. It is scheduled for 6 days parliamentary time in the Commons from this coming week. With another 2 possible the following week. Rather bravely AFTER the budget. Bored with May, CVs are being submitted for the position of Chancellor.

Interest Rates are looking likely to rise next week too with the message being 'this is as good as it gets'.

Another team of MPs has gone to the EU to see if they can check up on May and her team. This is unlikely to work as Nicola Sturgeon came across a brick wall.

And then there are the many many distractions from it all.

Catalonia has declared independence, which will consume EU time and energy.

There are rumours that the first prosecution in Trump Russia will be Monday (Guess who is currently in the US. Yep, the gurning one). And there are increasing muttering about Russia over here, with Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg being called to respond to a Select Committee investigation into Fake News.

And then there's the sleaze. Jared O'Mara seems to be the first in the queue. There are rumours more will be outed in several parties. Suggestions include May's right hand man Damien Green who was previously named in 2008. And the Tory Whips have a 'sleaze list' which suggests they know whats going on, but have done nothing.

This morning we have Gove making ill advised jokes about Weinstein in this political climate. With Neil Kinnock laughing heartily in response.

Anything that happens will be political to discredit opponents not because there is a change of attitude towards the treatment of women. We know this, because of who is leading the charge on this. The skeletons are being dusted off out the cupboard rather than exposed for the first time in dramatic fashion.

Things, could take a very unexpected turn against this background.

Don't bet against it.

Tim Shipman‏*@ShippersUnbound*

BREAKING: Police found "extreme" pornography on the computers of Theresa May's deputy Damian Green when his office was raided in 2008

Tim Shipman‏*@ShippersUnbound*

STIMES: Bob Quick on Damian Green porn: if a police officer had same porn "this could result in gross misconduct proceedings and dismissal"
STIMES: Quick memo refers to Damian Green's computers containing material of “an extreme pornographic nature”
STIMES: Bob Quick is due to give evidence to the inquiry by Sue Gray into Damian Green on Monday

I'll be amazed if he manages to last til the end of the day tomorrow after this.

Tim Shipman‏*@ShippersUnbound*

Damian Green appears never to have been informed that porn was discovered on his computers by police and denies any wrongdoing
SUNDAY TIMES: The Tories' are now investigating former minister Dan Poulter after a complaint was made to their new complaints line
STIMES: MP Andrew Bridgen says he told whips in 2010 that female colleagues had complained about Dan Poulter putting hand up skirts
STIMES: Bridgen says whips ignored him 7 years ago when he told them about complaints by female MPs about Dan Poulter
STIMES: Bridgen today reported Poulter using the new complaints procedure. An investigation has now been opened
Dan Poulter also denies any wrongdoing

Chris Pincher, Dan Poulter, Michael Fallon, Damien Green, Steven Crabb, Mark Garnier, Charlie Elphicke.

All on the list. So far, one resignation (Fallon) and three (Green, Garnier and Elphicke) under investigation. Crabb seems to be being ignored.

@ShippersUnbound

The Damian Green porn was legal

Anyone else see sticky fingers over much of this?

Who IS dropping all these stories into the press? And why are the press publishing them now? Its not just to do with Weinstein. That list didn't need to turn up.

There are notable names still not mentioned too.

Statement from Damien Green (from twitter 8 mins ago).

Yup.
There are some players busy here.
There are notable names still not mentioned too
Did anyone see a splendid thread running recently of notable male names?

Tim Shipman‏*@ShippersUnbound*
The Sunday Times is not relying on the testimony of Bob Quick. Our reporters have also spoken to another police source who saw the porn
Damian Green has had since well before lunch to issue a statement. Until now he has chosen not to do so

So he's going to try and ride it out then....

This is the previous history between Green and Quick:
www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/dec/22/bob-quick-david-cameron-row
Green inquiry officer apologises for Tory slur
Bob Quick issues unreserved apology for allegation party planted a newspaper story he said endangered his family
From 2008

Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer today made an unreserved apology to the Conservative party for accusing it of trying to undermine his investigation into the Tory frontbencher Damian Green by planting a newspaper story said to have endangered his family.

This is getting messy.

Something STINKS about this.

I mean, REALLY stinks.

There are so many links and stories, it's hard to keep track. Plus the Russia hacking / funding / Trump connection in the background. What does it all mean for Brexit? I can't make any sense of it!

www.channel4.com/news/new-allegations-in-parliamentary-sexual-abuse-scandal
New allegations in parliamentary sexual abuse scandal

There is no sign of an end to the parliamentary sexual abuse scandal. Tonight we have new allegations concerning Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski – who has been a special adviser to David Cameron. He stands accused of trying to pressure a young researcher to go on a date with a wealthy friend.

It’s understood he admits he did put forward the idea. But denies any suggestion that anything inappropriate took place

Accusations against May's people, thus far seem spurious and odd.

Whereas those who have very publicly boasted of their crimes or have clearly committed them, are untouchable.

There seems to be no disguising this bit of the 'operation'.

Oh! AN is my MP

AB I mean

Telegraph Front cover:

May's Aides 'sat on' claims of Tory Sleaze

Minister and chief of staff face pressure over allegation that complaints were not heeded.

Theresa May was under pressure last night to disclose what two of her closest allies knew about allegations made against senior Conservatives amid claims they "sat on" accusations about MPs' conduct.

The Sunday Telegraph understands that concerns about the behaviour of Sir Michael Fallon, the former defence secretary, were raised repeatedly in the whips' office when Gavin Barwell, who is now the Prime Minister's chief of staff, was 'number three' there.

Separately, a serious allegation about the Tory MP Charlie Elphicke, then a whip himself, was made to the office in the same period, before Gavin Williamson - whom the Prime Minister appointed on Thursday as Sir Michael's successor -became chief whip.

In taking charge of the whips' office in July last year, Mr Williamson would have been briefed aon any major concerns about Tory MPs, insiders said.

It also says that Crabb has been referred to an investigation

So 'Mr Reliable', the sensible Fallon has gone. May's closest friend Green is up to his neck in it, and loyal allies Gavin and Gavin just got dragged back into it.

Brexit isn't working, quick deploy the sex scandals???
Not that it's about time this behaviour was addressed of course.

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexit-minister-steve-baker-reported-for-taking-cash-from-mysterious-dup-backer-53chdq7dg
Brexit minister Steve Baker reported for taking cash from mysterious DUP backer

A Brexit minister has been reported to parliament’s standards watchdog over a donation he accepted from a mysterious group that helped to bankroll the Brexit referendum campaign.

Steve Baker, a prominent Brexiteer who was promoted by Theresa May after the election to work alongside David Davis, the Brexit secretary, took £6,500 from an organisation called the Constitutional Research Council (CRC).

The same group was behind a donation of £425,622 to the Democratic Unionist Party during the EU referendum campaign. That money was not spent in Northern Ireland but on a national newspaper advertising campaign backing Brexit in England and Scotland

The dodgy money is the story they've been told to hide tomorrow.

Bets on BBC running anything on it?

On the DG statement, is that protocol?
@joncstone
lol Damian Green just tweeted a screenshot of an email from a special advisor with the text of a statement supposedly from himself

Just to recap tonight's news:

The Fall out from the Bermuda Papers Hack has started. This was known about a couple of weeks ago, and it was suggested that it would embarrass a number of high profile individuals and they would be keen to hide it or otherwise deny it.

Tory Donor and Pollster Lord Ashcroft seems to be caught up in it, together with Robert Mercer, who earlier this week made moves to pass his money to his daughters. Ashcroft was also active with Trump Campaign.

Then we have the news that Boris Johnson, Alok Sharma (MP for Reading and a foreign office minister) and Tobias Ellwood (when he was at the Foreign office) have all had contact with the Professor Mifsud. The head of Vote Leave Matthew Elliot is also supposed to have been seen talking to a Russian Spy who was later kicked out of the country in 2015 (talked to him earlier in 2015 it seems).

Steve Baker of the Brexit Department has had a complaint against him regarding taking money from a mysterious donor who have only ever donated to the DUP and no one knows anything about them.

We've also had revelations about Dan Poulter and Chris Pincher this evening. As well as a weird new thing about Green and his legal porn on his work computer from a former police office who previously made a claim that a newspaper had planted a newspaper article about him which endangered his family which he later retracted. And there is more on the Fallon revelations.

And here's another article that's just landed from Buzzfeed about Mifsud.

www.buzzfeed.com/albertonardelli/the-professor-identified-in-the-trump-russia-probe-always?utm_term=.upl4M0jlw2#.sp0wNABjor
The Professor Identified In The Trump-Russia Probe Always Wanted To Be The Center Of Attention. Now He Is.

BuzzFeed News has spoken to 17 people, including past and present officials and diplomats as well as academics and acquaintances who knew Mifsud. They paint the picture of a man with a pattern of contradictions and boastfulness, as well as a string of connections to Russia.

So it was well known he had links to Russia.

And the link to Malta.

Also another lying policeman tonight:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/04/former-met-police-commissioner-lied-vip-child-abuse-interview/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Former Met Police Commissioner 'lied in VIP child abuse interview'

During the interview, LordHogan-Howetold presenter Nick Ferrari: "As you know one of our superintendents, in making a quick recourse in an interview, said the words 'credible and true'."

Conspiracy theorists will be having a melt down tonight.

"What we have said in a statement, which people might have seen...is that he was credible at the beginning and we had to corroborate what he said.

"We said that if the use of the word 'true', if it left the understanding – the belief – that we were closed minded about the outcome, that was wrong."

He went on: "We are just treating the person [Nick] as a witness. We are working our way through what their allegations are."

But former Tory MP, Harvey Proctor, who was one of those falsely accused by Nick of taking part in the abuse, has always insisted LordHogan-Howeknew about and had approved use of the phrase.

Oh forgot about Daniel Kawczynski and his setting up of young men with rich friends.

@DPJHodges
Whatever your views of the current scandal, when the police can march into MPs offices and then leak this sort of stuff, we have a problem.

There is also something pretty serious going on in Saudi at the moment. Though there is little reporting about it and I'm finding it difficult to follow.

Al Arabiya English‏*@AlArabiya*_Eng
#BREAKING: 10 princes and tens of former ministers implicated and detained in #Saudi #AntiCorruption probe

There were also some missiles fired near one of the airports.

english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/11/05/Princes-and-former-ministers-detained-in-Jeddah-floods-and-Coronoa-virus-corruption-probe.html
Princes and former ministers detained in corruption probe

There are a lot of rumours going around about who they are and what was going on.

Keep eyes on this story too. There is more to this.

Tom Newton Dunn‏*@tnewtondunn*

Extraordinary. The de facto Deputy PM accuses a former counter terrorism police chief of attempting to frame him.

Not just any old former counter terrorism police chief. But one who had previously having raided Damien Green's office accused the press of planting a story to endanger him and his family and had to subsequently retract the accusation.

How odd.

In Damien Green's statement it says "nor did I have a 'private computer' as it has been claimed".

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200910/cmselect/cmisspriv/62/9101904.htm
So what the fuck is this?

Q42Chairman: So you left your home and went to the police station while the search was continuing?
Damian Green: Yes which I subsequently regretted when I discovered exactly what they had taken away, which included not just my computer but also all my phones and indeed my Internet connection, the hub, so they left the house without any electronic communication of any kind.
Q43Chairman: Did that include land lines?
Damian Green: Yes, they took away both phones and faxes, the printer, the home computer hub, and obviously they had taken my mobile and my BlackBerry as well. I eventually got back there on the Saturday and it was unliveable in because they had taken away all means of communication with the outside world.
Q44Ann Coffey: Why did they take away all that equipment? Was it because they thought there was something on it that they could look at that was involved? I can understand taking away a BlackBerry because it might have email messages on it and I can understand a mobile but it is difficult to understand taking away a land line.
Damian Green: Or indeed in particular an Internet hub which is just a transmission mechanism. I do not know. It was unnecessarily heavy-handed.
Q45Ann Coffey: Did they ever give you any explanation for that?
Damian Green: No, indeed several items came back smashed. The hard drive on my House of Commons laptop was broken when I got it back so I had to get another one.