Tag Archives: Lib-Dem

(2012) Liberal Democratc Cllr. Judith Best -ASSAULT

Posted by Watt Tyler on

 

ABOVE: Cllr. Judith Best and her alleged victim, Neil Potter.

Lambeth’s deputy mayor and her son have been arrested after an early morning attack that left a man with a broken jaw, broken ribs and requiring 27 stitches.

Councillor Judith Best was arrested after 41-year-old Neil Potter, of Fullsbrook Road, Streatham, was assaulted in Madeira Road in the early hours of Friday morning.

Coun Best, 51, was detained after attending a police station on Saturday.

Her son, Scott Richards, 31, was captured on Sunday following a police chase, and police are still looking for others in connection with the incident.

Lambeth police attended the scene shortly after 3.20am and an ambulance took Mr Potter to a south London hospital, where he needed 27 stitches for his injuries.

He had an operation on his jaw the next day.

His father, Steve Potter, said he would be forced to eat soft food for at least eight weeks, adding “he is lucky to be alive”.

Police charged Mr Richards with grievous bodily harm. He remains in custody at a south London police station.

Coun Best, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Streatham Wells ward, was arrested for actual bodily harm with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm and has been bailed to return to a south London police station in September.

 

Read on:  http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/9171543.EXCLUSIVE__Deputy_mayor_and_son_arrested_over_alleged_attack/

 

 

 

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Denis Bennett -INDECENT ASSAULT

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Denis Bennett, 50, a married father of two who had served on St Austell Town Council, was yesterday convicted of stood in the dock at Truro Crown Court yesterday (thursday) to hear the verdict. The jury took an hour and fifteen minutes to find the supermarket worker guilty of one count of indecently assaulting the 18-year-old man.

Bennett had denied the allegation at Truro Crown Court, insisting he had merely been fooling around with the teenager, admitting only that he might have gone “over the top a bit”.

Judge Christopher Elwen adjourned the case for pre-sentence reports and released Bennett on bail to reappear in four weeks’ time for sentence.

During the one-day trial the court heard the victim had been visiting Bennett’s family home on Market Hill, St Austell, when the attack took place. The defendant has since moved out of the house.

 

Read on: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Married-Cornwall-ex-councillor-guilty-sex-attack/story-13033548-detail/story.html

 

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Nathan Brett Bale -GUILTY OF 10 COUNTS OF MAKING INDECENT IMAGES OF KIDS

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Nathan Brett Bale, 31, resigned from Cornwall Council about three months ago citing ill health reasons.

Married Bale, of Penfound Gardens, Bude, attended Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to ten counts of making indecent photographs of children.

The charges he admits relate to between April 2003 to June 2011 and range from level one to level four on a scale of severity – level five is the most serious. Following the brief hearing, Bale was released on unconditional bail to return to Bodmin Magistrates on December 7.

Bale had served as shadow spokesman for adult care for the Liberal Democrat group on the council.

Until recently, he held the Bude North and Stratton seat for the Liberal Democrats for three years.

He took the seat in the June 2009 election securing 72 per cent of the vote – the largest on the council.

Before the new unitary authority came into force in April 2009 Bale was a councillor on North Cornwall District Council.

At the time of Bale’s resignation, councillor Jeremy Rowe, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, said he was very sorry he had stepped down.

He said: “He was a dedicated councillor who was very proud to represent his home town of Bude both on North Cornwall and Cornwall Council.”

Last night a spokesman for Cornwall Council confirmed Bale had appeared in court charged with the offences

Read on:  http://www.budepeople.co.uk/Ex-councillor-admits-child-porn-charges/story-13808705-detail/story.html

 

 

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Chris Brown -NEGLECT OF CONSTITUENTS

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A PORTCHESTER councillor has resigned from Fareham Borough Council after failing to attend any council meetings in the last six months.

 

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Brown, pictured, who represents Portchester East, has not attended a meeting since August 5. In that time he has received £3,230 which councillors are paid through their members’ allowances.

Yesterday the council confirmed that Cllr Brown, who had been a ward councillor since May 2010, had handed in a letter of resignation. A by-election will now take place.

Conservative councillor Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: ‘He has failed to attend a council meeting for six months. The people of Portchester East have a right to be represented.

(2012) Liberal Democrat M.P. Chris Huhne -CHARGED WITH PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Chris Huhne has been charged with perverting the course of justice and will almost certainly have to step down from his position as energy and climate change secretary.

The matter dates back to allegations that he forced his now ex-wife Vicky Pryce to accept penalty points for a speeding offence on his behalf to dodge a ban in 2003.

Both Huhne and Pryce will face charges, the Crown Prosecution Service announced this morning, and will appear in court on 16 February.

“All the available evidence… has now been carefully considered by the CPS and we have concluded there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce for perverting the course of justice,” said Keir Starmer QC, director of Public Prosecutions.

Discussions between David Cameron and Nick Clegg are thought to have concluded, with both men agreeing Huhne cannot remain in his job while fighting a legal battle to clear his name. Huhne has also said he would step down from his position to concentrate on fighting the case.

Read on: http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2143732/breaking-chris-huhne-step-speeding-charges-confirmed

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Jan Powell -IN COURT FOR TAX EVASION

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The names of the four Cornwall councillors taken to court for failing to pay their council tax have finally been revealed.

Five months after the Packet first revealed the number of members missing payments, a succession of Freedom of Information requests and a trawl through magistrates courts records have brought the names into the public domain.

They are; *Councillor Chris Pascoe (Lib Dem, Threemilestone and Gloweth), taken to court in July 2011 for arrears of £1,805.31 *Councillor Sasha Gillard-Loft (Lib Dem, Launceston South), taken to court in March 2010 for arrears of £210 *Councillor Jan Powell (Lib Dem, Liskeard North), taken to court in August 2010 for arrears of £833.85.

*Councillor Alex Folkes (Lib Dem, Launceston Central), taken to court three times, the final time in July 2011 for arrears of £811.07.

Despite each being approached by the Packet in October and directly asked if they had ever faced legal action against them for council tax arrears, all four chose to offer no reply at the time.

Read on: http://www.thisisthewestcountry.co.uk/news/cornwall_news/9504917.Council_tax_non_payers_names_are_finally_revealed/

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Alex Folkes -IN COURT FOR TAX EVASION

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A LAUNCESTON councillor and front-bench member of the Liberal Democrats at County Hall has apologised for failing to pay his council tax – TWICE.

Alex Folkes, deputy leader of the Lib Dem group and councillor for Launceston Central, was sent reminders and eventually a court summons after failing to pay his council tax.

The non-payment was revealed in court records which showed that Mr Folkes received a summons for non-payment and costs totalling £793.62.

It dated back to March 2010 when he failed to pay his council tax bill and led to two reminders and a final warning before he received the court summons. It was the second year running that the councillor – who during the 2010 general election campaign followed Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg as an official photographer – had missed a tax payment.

 

Read on: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Launceston-councillor-Alex-Folkes-8216-sorry-8217/story-14456535-detail/story.html

(2012) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Sasha Gillard-Loft -IN COURT FOR TAX EVASION

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Two more Liberal Democrat councillors have admitted being taken to court after failing to pay council tax on time.

Sasha Gillard-Loft and Jan Powell admitted this week that they had not made the payments at certain points over the last two years.

The news has sparked criticism from the county’s opposition Conservative group and also the TaxPayers’ Alliance, who said councillors should be setting an example to others. It comes a week after Launceston councillor Alex Folkes admitted he had also failed to pay his council tax.

 

Read on: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Councillors-fail-pay-council-tax-time/story-15097921-detail/story.html

(2012) Liberal Democract Cllr Chris Pascoe -IN COURT FOR TAX EVASION

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A TRURO area councillor had to be taken to court after failing to pay his council tax, it has been revealed.

Councillor Chris Pascoe is one of four Liberal Democrat members of Cornwall Council who have been forced to come clean over non-payment of council tax bills.

Failure to pay the tax that they help to set has left politicians red-faced and campaign groups furious.

Scott Mann, deputy leader of the Conservative group, said it did not inspire financial confidence in the Lib Dems, who want to control a billion pound budget, if they couldn’t run their personal finances.

“It’s for the public to decide whether it’s a big issue,” he said. “The taxpayer has to have confidence in the people making decisions at County Hall.”

Mr Pascoe, who represents Threemilestone and Gloweth, said problems regarding the payment of council tax began after the death of his father in July, 2010.

He said: “I’ve been in turmoil ever since. It came as a shock financially and obviously emotionally.

“That was the reason for getting behind with the payment of council tax. At the time it was chaotic.

“I knew I was behind but was making payments to keep up. I didn’t know about the court order until recently.”

Mr Pascoe, who is a self-employed electrician, said he has now paid all outstanding bills.

He said: “You struggle as much as the next person with financial problems.”

The councillor said the issue does not affect his capacity to represent his constituents but may have a bearing on his decision of whether or not to stand for re-election in 2013.

Read on: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Truro-Councillor-Did-Pay-Council-Tax/story-15098189-detail/story.html

(2012) Liberal Democrat Warren Bradley -TO FACE CHARGES OF PERJURY

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The former Liberal Democrat leader of Liverpool City Council has been summonsed to appear in court to face a charge of perjury.

Warren Bradley, 45, of Woodsorrell Road, Wavertree, stepped down as leader of the city’s Liberal Democrat party last April over electoral fraud claims.

He will be charged under Section 5 of the Perjury Act which relates to false statutory declarations.

He is due to appear at Liverpool City Magistrates’ Court on 9 March.

If convicted he could face up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “The summons follows a police investigation into a complaint referred to the force in April 2011.

“Following that investigation, a file of evidence was passed to the CPS, which took the decision to prosecute.”

Read on: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-16849609

(2012) Liberal Democrat Chris Huhne M.P. faces massive claim over ‘illegal’ investigation

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The Bullying of wind farm protesters could cost Government dear. Chris Huhne is facing a £1.25 Million legal claim from an anti-wind farm protester, who claims to have caught the ConDem regime’s Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change authorising an illegal police investigation in to his private life.

George Watson, Legal Advisor to the European Platform Against Windfarms (EPAW), says that he discovered by accident that he was being investigated by the UK government under special powers which are only to apply to criminal/terrorist activities.

A letter, reproduced below, has been sent to Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, denouncing this improper use of the legislation, and announcing legal proceedings against the UK government. A formal complaint has also been made to the Metropolitan Police.

Mr. Watson has announced his intention to claim £2.5 Million in compensation, on a split 50/50 basis from the Government and from Mr. Huhne personally.

Criminal proceedings?

The move will add to pressure on Chris Huhne, who is also facing likely criminal proceedings at the end of a long-running police investigation into allegations by his ex-wife that he got her to accept points on her licence when in fact it was him who was speeding.

According to EPAW, Mr Watson was also harassed by a police officer who visited his home in a Scottish rural area on Christmas Eve!

Mark Duchamp, Executive Director of EPAW, is asking UK government Ministers if they intend to investigate and harass other members of the public who oppose the destruction of the British landscape, the killing of protected bird and bat species, and the deterioration of the health of wind farm neighbours. Mr Watson’s only crime, he said, is to have found legal flaws in the way the UK government’s energy policy is being applied.

EPAW claims that wind farms are ineffective, immensely expensive, and destroy jobs in the rest of the economy; that they are also seriously harming human health, and finally that they are killing protected wildlife. In the circumstances, concludes Duchamp, the 514 associations from 23 countries represented by EPAW would like to know why their members in Britain are being investigated and harassed by the authorities, using special powers supposedly reserved for criminals and terrorists.

Mr. Watson’s letter is reproduced below. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Mr Huhne:

Reference: Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) 

I contact you in relation to the above-mentioned legislation. 

It was brought to my attention by another Government Department, quite by accident, that you authorised an investigation into my background/private life under the provisions of RIPA. I require you to provide me with the following information: 

a) It should be noted that it would be negligent administration and an abuse of your position, if you did not have evidence that I was involved in criminal/terrorist activity before authorising such action. Taking this fact into consideration, I require details and copies of ALL instances where I was involved in criminal or terrorist activity. However, I freely admit I have been in constant touch with your office in relation to the idiotic policy of IWT’s and the danger to Human Health; 

b) I advise you that I require a ‘true copy’ of any warrant granted and details of the issuing court. In addition, I require a ‘true copy’ of ALL additional material presented to the court in order to attain any warrant; 

c) I require details/copies of ALL documentary information that was attained by your office through the illegal intrusion into my private life. In addition, I require written confirmation that the documentation provided is a full disclosure of information attained/held; 

d) A ‘true copy’ of the authority signed by yourself for the illegal intrusion into my background/private life. 

I advise you that I have instructed Senior Counsel to begin legal proceedings against the UK Government and you personally as an individual. I further advise you that as you have abused your position, this is actionable. A Petition will be lodged against the UK Government and yourself in the coming weeks, in which I will seek ‘Punitive Damages (Exemplary Damages) at the amount of £2.5 million (pounds sterling) on a 50/50 split between the UK Government and a personal liability by yourself. An apology is not sufficient in this case.

Yours sincerely
GEORGE WATSON

Liberal Democrat’s Biggest Donor -Fraudster Michael Brown- Arrested in Caribbean

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A fraudster and Lib Dem donor who went on the run has been arrested in the Dominican Republic, police have said.

Michael Brown was sentenced in his absence to seven years in jail in 2008 for stealing £36m from clients including nearly £8m from Manchester United’s ex-chairman Martin Edwards.

He posed as a bond dealer and claimed royal connections to steal the money, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Brown gave some £2.4m to the Lib Dems ahead of the 2005 general election.

City of London Police said they were “pleased” to hear he had been detained and were establishing contact with authorities in the Caribbean country, which has no extradition treaty with Britain.

Read on:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16451311

(2011) Liberal Democract M.P. -Chris Huhne and wife to be charged with speeding and perverting the course of justice

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Detectives at Essex Police believe they have secured enough evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge Mr Huhne with speeding and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

A file sent to the CPS is reported to say that Vicky Pryce, Mr Huhne’s wife of 26 years whom he left in 2005, should be charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice after allegations that she accepted penalty points on her licence after Mr Huhne was caught by a speed camera while driving on the M11.

The decision over whether to bring charges now rests with lawyers at the CPS, who have asked the police to continue their inquiry.

It is alleged that in 2003 Mr Huhne asked his wife to accept speeding points on his behalf after being caught by a speed camera while travelling home from Stansted Airport after a flight from Strasbourg.

Essex Police have twice interviewed both Mr Huhne and Ms Pryce. They have obtained a production order requiring The Sunday Times to hand over emails between Ms Pryce and the newspaper. The order has been challenged in the High Court, and the CPS is understood to insist they cannot bring charges until that material is released.

Read on:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/8976836/Police-want-Chris-Huhne-and-wife-to-be-charged.html

Morley Borough Independents Exposed

Posted by Watt Tyler on

 http://morleyboroughindependentsexposed.co.uk/

The so-called Morley Borough Independents are a party whose leaders are rejects from the mainstream parties. They claim to be ‘independent’ and free from party-political bias, yet they are nothing of the sort.

This party has shown that it is willing to plump any depths in order to keep its privileged position in local politics. The Morley Borough Independents are willing to lie to voters, claim credit for other people’s work, and do their utmost to ruin the lives of dedicated community campaigners who they have fallen out with.

All other political parties are exposed to close scrutiny and examination by rival parties and the electorate, but the Morley Borough Independents have managed to keep themselves from being exposed for what they are – until now.

This site will expose the truth about the so-called ‘Morley Borough Independents’.

Most of the information on this site has appeared in the local press, and where this is the case we have indicated this at the top of the page. With articles written by one of our correspondents, any claims made in the articles have been investigated and their authenticity verified. Where possible we have reproduced all items of supportive evidence on this site.

(2011) Liberal Democrat M.P. David Laws -TO FACE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Posted by Watt Tyler on

David Laws

Thomas Docherty said he was asking Scotland Yard to mount a criminal investigation after Mr Laws was found guilty of six breaches of parliamentary rules by the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee.

“If this matter was not referred to the police the public would rightly ask is there one law for David Laws, and another for them,” Mr Docherty said.

“If anyone else had fraudulently obtained £50,000 and their defence was that they had done it to protect their privacy, then they would rightfully have had the book thrown at them.”

Mr Laws now faces a seven-day suspension from the Commons after the Standards and Privileges Committee found yesterday that he committed “a series of serious breaches of rules”.

In a personal statement to the Commons, Mr Laws apologised for deliberately concealing the fact that he was using allowances to pay rent to his partner James Lundie. But he insisted his only motive had been to avoid being outed as gay, rather than financial profit.

Read on: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/liberal-democrat-mps-expenses/8512315/MPs-expenses-David-Laws-facing-criminal-investigation.html

(2011) Liberal Democrat prospective candidate mike Dixon -JAILED FOR 16 WEEKS FOR BATTERING A CAT TO DEATH

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Former candidate, who speaks out on crime and policing, imprisoned for 16 weeks

A PROSPECTIVE Liberal Democrat MP was jailed yesterday for bludgeoning his family cat to death with a walking stick.

Mike Dixon, 53, who has spoken out on crime and policing in the past, yelled: ‘I’m going to kill this cat’ while brandishing the stick and chasing it upstairs into a bedroom.

He then repeatedly struck black-and-white Tipsy in a ‘prolonged and awful attack’ while his family begged him to stop.

The animal, which had lived with the family for five years, died in agony after suffering for more than half an hour with ten broken bones and a skull fracture.

Kidderminster magistrates heard the prospective parliamentary candidate – who came third in Birmingham Northfield at the general election – ‘lost his temper’ after the cat apparently scratched one of his grandchildren last May.

Some time later, in what RSPCA officers described as a ‘calculated’ attack, he chased it into a bedroom and locked the door behind him before beating it with the stick.

Dixon, of Kidderminster, contacted the police to tell them what he had done and they passed the case on to the RSPCA, which brought the prosecution.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1365263/Would-Lib-Dem-MP-Mike-Dixon-jailed-battering-cat-death-walking-stick.html#ixzz1J4HayFC3

 

MP ‘reports six colleagues to police over expenses’

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The MPs are thought to include a former Labour cabinet minister, two Labour MPs, two Conservatives and a Liberal Democrat.

The allegations are said to relate to inflated claims for household expenditure such as council tax, maintenance and utility bills.

According to the Sunday Times, the allegations have been made by a Labour MP, who represents a northern constituency, who passed details of alleged wrongdoing to police because he believes he was unfairly singled out for investigation over his own allowances.

If confirmed, it would be the first time since the expenses scandal erupted in 2009 that an MP has made a complaint to police about fellow members of the Commons.

Scotland Yard said on Saturday that “a small number” of parliamentary expenses cases remain under consideration by a panel of detectives and prosecutors, but was unable to say whether any fresh cases had been brought to their attention recently.

Read on

(2010) Liberal Democrat Mike “Handycock” Hancock M.P. -ARRESTED OVER CLAIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The following is taken from Guido Fawkes blog:

Portsmouth City Council has been left reeling at the arrest and questioning of Mike Hancock for indecent assault. Inter-party email exchanges through the night have left the LibDems spinning “move along people, nothing to see here”. The grandly named Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the LibDem Council Leader said in the early hours:

“When I knock on doors in Portsmouth I find someone on almost every street who tells me how Mike Hancock has help make their lives better. Mike is by far the best MP this city has had for many years. I continue to think that Mike should continue to be allowed to continue his work for local people.”

Perhaps not the wisest choice of words. It was his attempts “to make their lives better” that got Hancock into this mess in the first place.

UPDATE: Surprisingly LibDemVoice fail to omit the key detail that Hancock was arrested and bailed. Compare and contrast the two statements. Firstly from Hancock:

“I can confirm that I was questioned on Tuesday 12 October by officers of the Hampshire Police in relation to allegations made against me by one individual. I attended the police station voluntarily, cooperated fully and answered all questions that were asked. ”

And the law:

“Hampshire Constabulary spokesman Ian Sainsbury said in a statement: ‘A man has been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault following a complaint from a woman in Portsmouth.”

The Guardian, PA and the Telegraph also buy Hancock’s voluntary questioning spin hook, line and sinker. They may not have kicked the veteran Member’s door down but he was certainly nicked.

The messages he sent

These are the messages he sent to the alleged victim. Hancock claims he was just trying to cheer her up. You decide.

  • “You are and believe me i know what i am talking about u r very and i miss you sexy XXX” (15.01 June 14, 2010) With this record, Guido is sure he does…
  • “Please give me a chance you never know my princess XXX” (23.33 April 18, 2010) Just trying to cheer her up!
  • “Thankyou as long its not a wet one XXX” (23.27 May 27, 2010)


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mike’s Previous:

1) (Oct. 12, 2010) “Handycock” Faces probing:  http://order-order.com/2010/10/12/handycock-faces-probing/

.

2) (Oct. 7, 2010) “Handycock” Loses Injuction Battle: http://order-order.com/2010/10/07/handycock-loses-injunction-battle/

.

3) (Sept. 28) “Handycock” in Court Next week:  http://order-order.com/2010/09/28/exclusive-handycock-in-court-next-week/

.

4) (Sept. 27) Hancock’s Half Hour (with the Police): http://order-order.com/2010/08/03/exclusive-hancocks-half-hour-with-the-police/

.

5) Third Time Unlucky for Hancock: http://order-order.com/2010/09/27/third-time-unlucky-for-hancock/

.

Not forgetting the three other posts on this site where the name of this reprobate is included: http://eotp.org/?s=mike+Hancock

The 300th death of a British Youngster Brought about by -LIB-LAB-CON LIES

Posted by Anglo-Australian Alliance on

In light of this sickening portrayal: http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/asia_pacific/300th+british+soldier+killed+in+afghanistan+war/3686457

…we should all consider this: http://eotp.org/2010/06/15/lib-lab-con-justification-for-afghanistan-war-is-“rubbish”-says-former-uk-counterterrorism-chief/

These warmongers of the Lib-Lab-Con ought to hang their heads in shame. Still, none of these 300 are their innocent children, are they?  Perhaps then these warmongers are beyond reproach.

Government spends £17,500 on wine

Posted by Watt Tyler on

More than £17,500 has been spent topping up the government wine cellar since the election, it has emerged.

It brings the total value of fine wine stored for VIP functions to £864,000, a Commons answer by Foreign Office minister Henry Bellingham revealed.

Labour’s Tom Watson said the Tory-Lib Dem coalition should sell the wine to boost the public finances, quoting Tory slogan “we’re all in this together”.

The government says it buys wine young to ensure the best value for taxpayers.

Last year, Liberal Democrat MP Don Foster accused the then Labour government of “living way beyond their means” after ministers revealed 39,500 bottles of wine, spirits and liqueurs worth around £792,000 were in storage.

Conservative MP Mr Bellingham’s written answer revealed that Government Hospitality (GH), the branch of the Foreign Office which manages the cellar, had spent £17,698 on new stock since 6 May.

Lib-Lab-Con Justification for Afghanistan War is “Rubbish” Says Former UK Counterterrorism Chief

Posted by Watt Tyler on

US plans to turn the course of the Afghan war with a large-scale operation to secure Kandahar risk driving more people into the arms of the insurgents, a senior United Nations official has warned.

Richard Barrett, who heads a UN team tracking the Taliban and al-Qaeda, also said it was nonsense to suggest the war in Afghanistan was protecting Britain from terrorism.

The critique of western strategy delivered by Mr Barrett, a former UK counter-terrorism chief, will sharpen the dilemma faced by David Cameron, the prime minister. The British government wants to reconcile its commitment to Afghanistan with its pledges to deal with a large budget deficit.

Mr Barrett’s comments underline the concerns shared by many western and UN officials about the counter-insurgency strategy of General Stanley McChrystal, the Nato commander in Afghanistan. The scale and complexity of the approach was underlined last week when Gen McChrystal announced a delay in the planned operation to secure Kandahar city, the Taliban’s spiritual home.

Gen McChrystal said Nato would take a “more deliberate” approach towards Kandahar because it was learning lessons from its operation in the town of Marjah, the Taliban stronghold in central Helmand that was cleared by alliance troops in February.

But Mr Barrett warned that deploying more troops risked sparking more conflict in previously calm areas. “Putting more troops in is in danger of making things worse . . . If you push troops into these areas, then clearly they are no longer going to be quiet,” he said. “This idea that they can clear up Kandahar, take control of Kandahar, and that would really weaken the Taliban, I think it’s mistaken.

“The US cannot be seen to lose a big, well advertised operation as planned for Kandahar,” he said. “It would be very difficult to recover from such a setback . . . It’s altogether on a different scale from Marjah. Gen McChrystal has to make the objectives achievable without looking as if he has already retreated from his original plan because it was beyond him. I think he got a bit carried away and over-optimistic, ambitious.”

Mr Barrett noted that Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, had been “notably lukewarm about the whole Kandahar thing”.

US officials hope the Kandahar operation will force the Taliban on to the defensive, allowing Mr Karzai to negotiate some form of political settlement that would allow an exit for the 140,000 western troops now in the country.

But Mr Barrett said Afghanistan’s western allies lacked a coherent approach for ending the conflict. “I don’t think western states have a clear policy; they don’t know, they just don’t know, what to do,” he said.

Mr Barrett, who formerly headed counter-terrorism for the Secret Intelligence Service, dismissed the argument advanced by British ministers that the presence of 9,500 British troops in Afghanistan would reduce the threat to the UK. “That’s complete rubbish. I’ve never heard such nonsense,” he said, warning that the presence of foreign troops risked inflaming anti-western sentiment among British Muslim communities.

“I’m quite sure if there were no foreign troops in Afghanistan there’d be less agitation in Leeds, or wherever, about Pakistanis extremely upset, or suspicious about what western intentions are in Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/102da314-76fe-11df-ba79-00144feabdc0.html

The British “Democratic” System: Does this damage the Morale of British Troops, General?

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Failing to vote in the general election would damage the morale of British troops, according to the former head of the Army.

General Sir Richard Dannatt has spoken of his concern that the abuse of MPs expenses will lead to voter apathy and warned that this is not what men and women “risking life and limb in the national interest” in Afghanistan would want.

He said it was important that every member of the electorate should cast a vote and show that the sacrifices made in Afghanistan are supported by everyone at home.

Read on

Perhaps general Dannat would care to look at the system he so whimsically champions?

Are you and the British Army glad to be defending this grotesque monstrosity that masquerades as “democracy”?

“We are awaiting comprehensive figures from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), who are collating figures on a rolling basis from the force SPOC officers across the UK of all police investigations currently being carried out relating to cases of electoral malpractice”

“most shambolic, incompetent and fraudulent elections Britain has ever witnessed.”

“How £100k ‘Modern Militant’ presided over voting shambles”

The Parasite is not so Easily Removed from the Back of the People…

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Above: M.P.s are not so tolerant of interlopers (those appointed to give the taxpayer justice) muscling in on their patch.

A senior official tasked with cleaning up the Westminster’s expenses system, has said he left the post “for the sake of my health and sanity” amid a backlash from some MPs.

Nigel Gooding has left his job as operations director of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) following a series of rows with MPs, some of whom have been left up to £20,000 worse off under new stricter rules.

The 46-year-old civil servant was employed on a six-month contract to launch IPSA and implement cuts including an end to public subsidies on lavish second homes and first-class train trips

However, he has stood down from his role, telling the Mail on Sunday: “I have left the job for the sake of my health and sanity.”

IPSA was forced to erect a sign at its Commons offices warning MPs: ‘We will not tolerate abuse of staff.’

Many MPs have complained about IPSA’s handling of their expenses and the implementation of the new rules.

Paul Farrelly, a Labour MP, sent a complaint to Mr Gooding and said the new system was “prehistoric, amateurish, self-defeating and bureaucracy gone mad”.

He wrote: “I have been asked for a copy of my passport or birth certificate to prove my date of birth. Why that is necessary, I do not know. More importantly, as I have used my overdraft limit, my mortgage payment will bounce, causing me embarrassment and further charges You could easily have saved us all this aggravation.”

Mr Gooding’s previous jobs included launching the National Rail Enquiries service and the flu pandemic hot line.

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M.P.s Vs Army: General Sir David Richards warns of morale crisis among troops

Posted by Watt Tyler on

With scenes like the one above (left) being explained by the image above (right) –in addition to the British Army’s substandard equipment, vehicles and armour– we can’t think why there is a “morale crisis”? Still, the (“government”) who pays the piper calls the tune –and this piper is seldom short of morale.

The poor quality of soldiers’ lives when they return home from conflict has hit morale and risks undermining the war in Afghanistan, the head of the Army has warned.

n a leaked draft memo to ministers, General Sir David Richards said that budget cuts to the military at home were having a “cumulative and corrosive effect” on soldiers and their families.

He said that the refocusing of military effort on Afghanistan was welcome, with soldiers now feeling “well supported and resourced” in theatre.

But the conditions they experienced when they returned home were below par and could eventually impact on the operation itself, he warned.

“As Chief of the General Staff, I register an early concern about the impact on morale, the potentially severe downstream impact on retention, and our ability to sustain the campaign in the long term,” he wrote.

His comments echo those made by his predecessor General Sir Richard Dannatt, who said that many families and marriages were falling victim to the “relentless” pace of operations and that goodwill was being stretched to the limit.

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Abject Priorities: most of Army’s armoured vehicles in Afghanistan ‘not fit for purpose’

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Abject priories, indeed:

While our troops are away fighting capitalists’ wars the government, in the pay of said capitalists, spends 9.1 BILLION of Foreign Aid to pay countries such as China (one of the best economies in the world), India (that has a space programme), and to Zimbabwe and South Africa (who both have corrupt neo-communist “governments” that actively turn a blind eye to the slaughter of innocent White farmers).

So, how does the British Army feel about its soldiers being maiamed and killed by inadequate equipment and substandard vehicles while the State it represents has a government that squanders 9.1 BILLION to propping up corrupt African  regimes and sponsoring sub-continental space programmes?

Food for thought, wouldn’t you say, British Army?


More than half of the Army’s armoured vehicles in Afghanistan are not “fit for purpose”, new figures have shown.

Many are out of action being repaired or refurbished after spending time in the punishing desert conditions.

The stock of unuseable vehicles include 180 Mastiffs and Ridgbacks which were sent to the country to protect servicemen and women from the growing threat of sophisticated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

There are just 358 of a total 653 Snatch Land Rovers in working condition. They were previously used on patrols around Helmand Province but were confined to use on military bases after a public outcry over IED deaths of those travelling in them.

The Army now has 271 six-wheel, mine-resistant Mastiff troop-carriers but only 134 are rated “fit for purpose”. Just 73 of the 118 lighter Ridgbacks are currently in service, according to figures from the Ministry of Defence.

Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Willie Rennie said that they undermined the Government’s claim that troops in theatre now have all the armoured vehicles they need to keep them safe.

“We must make sure they have the kit they need to do their job as safely as possible. Promises are not enough – Gordon Brown has to deliver,” he said.

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(2010) Liberal Democrat P.C.C. Steven Sharp -FRAUD

Posted by Watt Tyler on

STEPHEN Sharp has stood down from public life with immediate effect — five months after being convicted of fraud.

In a letter dated March 3, Mr Sharp resigned as a councillor on New Mills Town Council and High Peak Borough Council.

The trainee train driver has quit the roles because of work commitments.

He said: “I have decided, with great regret, to stand down as the councillor for New Mills West, on both High Peak Borough and New Mills Town Councils, with immediate effect.

Yet MORE Corruption: MPs’ foreign visit rules breached

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Hundreds of breaches of parliamentary rules by MPs who accepted free overseas trips from foreign governments have been uncovered by a BBC investigation.

More than 20 MPs broke rules on declaring hospitality in questions or debates after visiting locations such as the Maldives, Cyprus and Gibraltar.

The MPs – from Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems – breached parliamentary regulations on more than 400 occasions.

One former standards watchdog says it shows MPs cannot regulate themselves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8580183.stm

The Conservative Party MPs named by the BBC are: David Amess (Southend West), Crispin Blunt (Reigate), Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West), David Burrowes (Enfield Southgate), Alan Duncan (Rutland and Melton), Liam Fox (Woodspring), Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead), Andrew Rosindell (Romford), Richard Spring (West Suffolk) and Theresa Villiers (Chipping Barnet).

The Liberal Democrat MPs named by the BBC are: Norman Baker (Lewes), Colin Breed (South East Cornwall), Mike Hancock (Portsmouth South) and Paul Keetch (Hereford).

The Labour MPs named by the BBC are: Andrew Dismore  (Hendon), Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton), Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley), Bob Laxton (Derby North), David Lepper (Brighton Pavilion), Andrew Love (Edmonton), Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) and Rudi Vis (Finchley and Golders Green).

At a Glance: A Snippet of the Many Paedophiles and Perverts in Power

Posted by Watt Tyler on

. Tory Party General election candidate, Michael Powell – Convicted and jailed for 3 years for downloading hardcore child porn.

. Tory Party Councillor (Wickbar/Bristol) Roger Talboys – Convicted and jailed for 6 years for multiple sex attacks on childre

. Tory Party MP (Billericay) Harvey Proctor – Stood trial for sex offences of a sado-masochistic nature against teenage boys, and was forced to resign.

. Tory Party Councillor ( Stratford-upon-Avon ) Christopher Pilkington – Convicted of downloading hardcore child porn on his PC. Placed on sex offenders register and forced to resign.

. Tory Party councillor ( Coventry ), Peter Stidworthy – Charged with indecent assault of a 15-year old boy.

. Tory Party Mayor ( North Tyneside ), Chris Morgan – Forced to resign after being arrested twice in 2 weeks, for indecent assault on a 15-year old girl, and for suspicion of downloading child porn.

. Tory Party Liaison Manager on the London Assembly, Douglas Campbell, who’s job includes running the Tory GLA website – Arrested for allegedly downloading child porn. He is currently suspended while the Police investigation continues.

. Tory Party Councillor (Folkestone – in Leader, Michael Howard’s constituency), Robert Richdale – 41 year history of crime, involving 30 convictions and 5 prison sentences. Richdales enormous criminal record, which covers 10 pages of A4 paper, includes convictions for assault, theft, causing death by dangerous driving, forgery, drugs offences, possession of an offensive weapon, and sex attacks against underage schoolgirls. The Tory Party election campaign literature described Richdale as “a family man” who had a “compassionate personality”

. Labour Councillor (Newton Aycliffe) Martin Locklyn – Convicted and jailed for 15 years for sexually abusing 3 14-year-old boys.

. Labour Councillor (North Lincolnshire) David Spooner – Convicted and jailed for 1 year for masturbating in front of 2 young boys.

. Labour Mayor (Westhoughton/Lancashire) Nicholas Green – Convicted and jailed for 10 years for 3 rapes and 13 counts of indecent assault against little girls between the age of 6 and 10. He raped one woman on her wedding day.

. Prominent Labour Party activist Mark Tann (who has met Tony & Cherie at Party functions) recently got a 15-year sentence for raping a 4-year old girl on 2 separate occasions.

. Entire Labour Party conspired to conceal the activities of Labour Party activist and serial child-molester Mark Trotter, who died from AIDS before he could be convicted.

. Labour Councillor (Manchester), George Harding – Charged with indecent assault on a girl of 12.

. According to media reports, the names of 2 former Labour Cabinet Ministers said to be `Household names` appear on the `Operation Ore ` list of subscribers to hard-core child pornography. The same FBI investigation, which led to the arrest of rock star Pete Townshend. So who are they Mr Blair?

. William Straw – Son of Labour Foreign Secretary, and former Home Secretary – Jack Straw, was cautioned by Police for drug dealing, amid a frantic Government attempt to cover up the matter and gag the media as to his identity. Jack Straw also has a brother who was convicted of a sex attack on a schoolgirl. Lovely family!

. Homosexual mass murderer; Dennis Nielsen, who strangled and dismembered 16 young men in the 1980`s, was also a highly active member of Labour fringe groups such as the Anti-Nazi League, and the SWP. That’s when he wasn’t busy boiling peoples heads in a pot, or masturbating over the corpses of his victims.

. Lib-Dem Council candidate (Tower Hamlets), Justin Sillman – Convicted and jailed for 2 years for sexual abuse of young boys.

. Lib-Dem Councillor and Mayoral Candidate ( Sheffield ), Francis Butler- Prosecuted for indecent assault of a young boy.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Stockport ) Neil Derbyshire – Sexually assaulted a 16-year old boy in a public toilet. He was caught with a plastic bag containing lubricant, plastic surgical gloves, a condom, and underpants.

. Lib-Dem Councillor ( Preston ), Bill Chadwick – Charged with: Making an indecent photograph of a child, Incitement to rape, Incitement to murder, Incitement to kidnap, and Incitement to torture. Chadwick’s gay lover – Alan Valentine, is also a Lib-Dem councillor.

(2010) Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate David Jack -STEPS DOWN OVER RACIST EMAIL

Posted by malcontentpatriot on

The Liberal Democrats have launched an investigation into the incident after learning about it earlier today.

A spokesperson said: “We were first alerted to this email exchange earlier today. David Jack is no longer a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats and we have launched an immediate investigation.”

Channel 4 News Political Correspondent Cathy Newman has spoken to Mr Jack, who denies sending the email, which contains sexually offensive and racist language – although he admits it did come from his official email account. Mr Jack said he had been drinking in Stoke last Friday night when the email was sent at 10.24pm but he was nowhere near his home computer in Cheshire.

The email contains the following sentences (we have removed any reference to the recipient to protect their identity, but Channel 4 News can confirm it was sent to someone with a name of Asian extraction).

Warning: you may find the language used extremely offensive.

“…if I was you I would f*** back off to the hills of tora borro (sic), I have your home address, you are f***** sunshine, we shall see who has got balls now you two faced lying f****** paki… your cards f*****… prison awaits you b** boy. Think your (sic) brave, you don’t know the line you have crossed you f*** witt (sic) – keep looking over you shoulder theif! (sic)”

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“Anti-’Fascist’”(Communist) Thugs Threaten the Lives of Families of Dead Soldiers

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Let us firstly remind ourselves of a few key figures who support communist thugs such as Unite Against “Fascism”. Communist sympathisers include:

David Cameron (Tory)       Mike Hancock (Libs)         Peter Hain (Labour)

Might they be supporting communist agitators as splendid opportunistic ruse to employ the work of a political militia (U.A.F.) that will, and has, actively smash the opposition to the corrupt old-gang Lib-Lab-Con-men? Many, Many politicians support this terror group. Look into it for yourselves; we will not supply the link to an anti-democratic, hate-filled organisation.

A mother-of-four has been subjected to death threats after starting a campaign to stop a protest march by Muslim hardliners through Wootton Bassett.

Jo Cleary, from Broomfield, Herne Bay, set up a Facebook site calling for extremist leader Anjem Choudary and his followers to be barred from carrying coffins through the town where residents line the streets to mourn as the bodies of slain service personnel arriving back in the UK.

Choudary, who was born in Welling, Bexley, leads the group Islam4UK which says its march would symbolise Muslims killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 700,000 people have signed up to Mrs Cleary’s campaign – but in the last few days she has found herself on the end of abuse and threats to her life over the internet.

Other hate-filled messages have been directed at the grieving families of British soldiers killed in action.

It is believed the messages have been sent by self-styled ‘anti-fascists’ and are not the work of any ethnic or religious group.

The death threats have also been reported to the police, who have offered her protection.

Mrs Cleary, 43, said: “I am absolutely livid at these threats but they will not stop my campaign.

“I have been branded as a BNP member – which I most certainly not – and my life has been threatened in the most abusive language.

“There have even been threats made to the families of those who have given their lives for this country. It is beyond belief – these are horrific emails with vile, vile threats.”

Read on:  http://www.kentnews.co.uk/kent-news/Mum_s-death-threats-over-Wootton-Bassett-campaign-newsinkent31599.aspx?news=local

The Truth is Out: British Army Being Used as Capitalists’ Mercenaries to Secure Profit

Posted by Anglo-Australian Alliance on

About 25 countries have promised to send more troops to Afghanistan in response to President Obama’s call for extra support from Nato members. But France and Germany, the two European powers who could make a real difference, remain as hesitant as ever.

French and German leaders now face a painful choice. Should they finally embrace Nato’s efforts in Afghanistan more wholeheartedly – which would mean accepting significantly more human and material sacrifices? Or should they or conclude that the war has already been lost, or that “success” does not merit the cost, and abandon the mission altogether?

For their own good, they should choose the first option. They should remember that unlike the war in Iraq, which they strongly opposed from the outset, all Nato member states, including themselves, unanimously and unambiguously sanctioned the war effort in Afghanistan in 2001. But aside from the need to fulfil their alliance duties – and in fact even more important – they have clear national interests at stake in this strategically located central Asian state.

This is not about just about pre-empting future terrorist attacks on European capitals by stopping the Taliban from retaking the country. At stake in Afghanistan is the survival of the transatlantic alliance, Europe’s energy security and independence, and whether the deepening ties between Europe – especially Germany – and Russia, will eventually lead to the western integration of Russia, or instead, to it gaining a stranglehold over European energy security. In Afghanistan all three issues are interlinked. This fact remains largely ignored.

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Poet laureate attacks Afghanistan war in Christmas poem

Posted by malcontentpatriot on

Carol Ann Duffy, the poet laureate, has launched a scathing attack on MPs “milking” expenses, the conflict in Afghanistan and the state of modern Britain in a grim version of the Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.

n the poem, Duffy also criticised the war, bankers’ bonuses, celebrity culture and the slow response to the threat of global warming.

But it is the war, which has claimed the lives of 236 British soldiers – almost half of them this year – that she chose to dwell on.

The first verse pictures a soldier, spied upon by a “buzzard on a branch” rather than a homely partridge in a pear tree, who is looking at a photograph of his children. It implies he will soon be dead.

Duffy returns to the subject with dreadful repetition in the ninth verse – as if to underline the way the news has been constantly punctured with reports of those killed.

She focuses on the women whose lives have been torn apart by the death of a husband or boyfriend.

“But the dead soldier’s lady does not dance,” begins the ninth verse, which traditionally celebrates “Nine ladies dancing”.

She goes on to list other women in today’s Britain who do not dance, including “the honour killing lady”, “the lady in the filthy hospital ward” and “the lady with the pit bull terrier”.

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Fraud charges in MPs’ expenses row move step closer as police send four files to prosecutors

Posted by malcontentpatriot on

Up to four MPs and peers are to face fraud charges over the expenses scandal by early in the New Year, it emerged today.

In a move which shook through the political establishment, detectives have referred case files on four parliamentarians to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Police believe there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges in each of the cases, sources said.

 

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC, is expected to rubber stamp charges against the politicians by February.

Such a development would result in the highly embarrassing spectacle of MPs and peers appearing in court before next May’s expected General Election.

The politicians could face charges of fraud or false accounting, with maximum penalties of ten or seven years. There was no official word today on which cases had been sent to the CPS.

However it is known that police believe there is strong evidence against Labour MPs Elliot Morley and David Chaytor, and Labour peer Baroness Uddin, and that such cases were likely to be in the first batch of files to be considered by prosecution lawyers.

Other politicians believed to be under police investigation include Labour MP Jim Devine, Lord Hanningfield and Lord Clarke of Hampstead.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service has today delivered four main files of evidence relating to parliamentary expenses to the Crown Prosecution Service.

‘The files relate to four people, from both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and will now be subject to CPS consideration on whether there should be any charges.

‘A small number of cases remain under investigation.’

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(2009) Liberal Democrat M.P. Chris Huhne -PARASITE, DANGEROUS DRIVER, PRO-DRUGS, SHADY DEALINGS…

Posted by Watt Tyler on

1) Chris Huhne for the “Liberal” “Democrats” (oxymoron) thinks that opium, LSD and Speed are an “accepted facet of our society”.

2) Chris was banned from driving for three months for dangerous driving by using a hand held phone.

3) Chris has dubious share dealings and was investigated for more dealings with our money that is sponged by the E.U.  Perhaps this where he managed to raise the money to buy the seven houses that he owns.

4) He is also a parasite on the back of the innocent worker: he charged YOU, THE HARD-WORKING TAXPAYER, for the price of his trouser-press.

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Liberal Democrat Baroness Barker silent on location of home

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Baroness_Barker_630284a

A FRONTBENCH Liberal Democrat peer is refusing to reveal the location of her main home, which she used to claim more than £70,000 in expenses from the House of Lords.

Baroness Barker, 48, a spokeswoman on health, has lived in London for the past 20 years but four years ago began claiming allowances for peers living outside the capital.

While continuing to live and work in London, Barker claimed up to £19,000 a year by saying her main address was in the “southeast”.

When approached by The Sunday Times, she volunteered the home was in Sussex but would not even name the nearest town nor say whether she owned the property.

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No one knows what happens if retiring MPs refuse to make their repayments

Posted by Watt Tyler on

harriet-harperson

The MPs who are most likely to defy Legg are those who are standing down. They have little to lose in saying that they won’t abide by the retrospectively imposed caps on various things. The question of whether they could be compelled to pay this money back looks like it could turn into a major row. In an interview with Andrew Neil to be broadcast tomorrow Harriet Harman seems to have no concrete idea of how this process might actually work:

Andrew Neil: What would happen to an MP of any party, what would happen to an MP who decides that he or she is standing down at the next election and refuses to pay up?

HH: Well, I think that we haven’t got to that situation. I think that…

AN: What would happen?

HH: Well, we, we, we, you know, I think that that’s an entirely hypothetical situation but I mean…

AN: It could happen – many people are not standing again, many people have had requests from Legg to pay back. What happens if they don’t pay back the money?

HH: Well, I think they will pay back, they will pay back.

AN: Even if they’re standing down?

HH: Well, the House of Common’s authorities, the Members’ Estimates Committee, will have the responsibility at that point to ensure that money which the Members’ Estimates Committee feels needs to be recouped on the back of the Legg investigation is recouped. I mean, that’s what the situation will be.

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300 MPs ‘face expenses challenge’

Posted by Watt Tyler on

pigs[1]

More than 300 MPs could be asked either to repay money or provide further information to justify their expenses claims, it has been reported.

MPs are set to receive letters next week about their claims over the past five years.

Auditors are expected to ask up to 325 members to justify instances where they have received public money, or to repay it, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

The letters are reportedly being sent out by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg, who has been leading a review of all claims since 2004.

Sir Thomas is believed to be examining cases where MPs have used parliamentary expenses to improve their second homes and make a profit, rather than just maintain them.

He is also said to have uncovered more examples where taxpayers’ money has been used to pay off the capital element of mortgages, instead of just interest on the borrowing, as is allowed under the rules.

The letters will be sent out privately, and Sir Thomas is not expected to deliver his final report until December. They will also receive an email containing a detailed analysis of their use of the Additional Costs Allowance, which is intended to help meet the costs of running a second home, the newspaper reported.

MPs will be told they have three weeks to challenge Sir Thomas’s findings and can appeal to the Commons’ standards and privileges committee if they do not agree with his conclusions. According to the BBC, the Prime Minister could be among those asked to pay back cash.

In an interview, Gordon Brown said he believed the “worst offenders” in the scandal should be prosecuted.

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Ministers’ pension pots are worth £9 million

Posted by Watt Tyler on

a nice little earner

The full value of the gold-plated pensions of Government ministers can be revealed today, with new figures showing that they are worth a total of nearly £9m this year.

Official figures unearthed by the Liberal Democrats show that total pension funds for the members of the Government have shot up from the £6,888,081 declared last year to £8,954,348 this year.

The rises are understood to be largely the result of a change in accounting rules which means that the full value of ministers’ pensions is being revealed for the first time.

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MPs’ expenses mole: anger over Armed Forces’ treatment led to leak

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Anger over the British Government’s failure to equip the Armed Forces properly, while politicians lavished taxpayers’ money on themselves, led to the leak of MPs’ expenses files.

The mole who leaked the data has told his story for the first time, in the hope that it will shame the Government into finally supplying the right equipment for the thousands of soldiers risking their lives in Afghanistan.

Politicians “still don’t get it”, he said, adding that they were still preoccupied with their own financial situation and MPs’ claims rather than the plight of troops.

“It’s not easy to watch footage on the television news of a coffin draped in a Union Jack and then come in to work the next day and see on your computer screen what MPs are taking for themselves,” he said.

“Hearing from the serving soldiers, about how they were having to work there to earn enough money to buy themselves decent equipment, while the MPs could find public money to buy themselves all sorts of extravagances, only added to the feeling that the public should know what was going on.

“That helped tip the balance in the decision over whether I should or should not leak the expenses data.”

His account appears in No Expenses Spared, a book which is published today and discloses the full story of what Gordon Brown described as “the biggest Parliamentary scandal for two centuries”.

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MPs’ expenses: public backs Telegraph after mole revelations

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Voters have praised The Daily Telegraph’s handling of the MPs’ expenses scandal, after the disclosure that the information was leaked by a mole angry at the underfunding of British troops in Afghanistan.

Readers of newspapers across the political spectrum have said that the Telegraph was justified in paying for files of expenses claims that have so far led to more than £500,000 being returned to the taxpayer.

Revelations that the expenses system was being abused to fund lavish home improvements have led to a clear-out of MPs at Westminster, with dozens of members deciding to step down at the next election.

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The MPs’ expenses investigation: PCC rulings

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The Press Complaints Commission has published its adjudication on the complaints of two MPs in respect of The Daily Telegraph’s coverage.

David Kidney, MP – not upheld

Mr David Kidney, Member of Parliament for Stafford, complained to the Press Complaints Commission that an article headlined “MPs made inflated council tax claims”, published in The Daily Telegraph on June 20 2009, was misleading in breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the editors’ Code of Practice.

Read on for the detailed report.

MPs’ expenses probe to be delayed again

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The official review into MPs expenses will not conclude until the New Year, throwing the run-up to the general election into chaos, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

The delay means that candidates face the prospect of fighting the general election within weeks of a renewed outcry. -Good, perhaps this will deliver justice that has not, hitherto, been dealt.

When Gordon Brown appointed Sir Thomas Legg to carry out a thorough audit of all claims following The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures in May of widespread abuse of the system, MPs were privately told to expect the outcome in September.

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Disinfecting Parliament

Posted by Watt Tyler on

With Sir Christopher Kelly’s Committee on Standards in Public Life’s official review intended to placate the public over the expenses crisis, the Sunlight Centre has released an independent shadow report, with a foreword by Douglas Carswell MP, laying out a system to stop MPs’ abuse of expenses once and for all. The report, “Disinfecting Parliament” provides a tough benchmark by which to judge Sir Christopher Kelly’s recommendations. It includes proposals to pay MPs’ expenses from a single bank account with public statement, to give MPs housing in the Olympic village, and to let the press and public into the hallowed halls of Parliament.

http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/disinfecting-parliament/7691916

(2009) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Shan Alexander -FACING COURT AFTER CAR CRASH

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A FORMER Stockport mayor facing court over after being involved in a fatal car crash has been suspended from the Liberal Democrat Party.

Councillor Shan Alexander, 65, who was appointed as Stockport’s first Aisan mayor in 2005, has also been suspended from her position as a Stockport magistrate.

Her automatic suspension from the Lib Dems means she won’t be allowed to vote on party decisions or serve as Stockport’s executive member for finance until her court case has been dealt with.

Coun Alexander, of Hawk Green, was behind the wheel of her Mercedes when she was involved in a crash in Nether Alderley on May 10 this year.

But Mallory Perry, 66, from Stockport – a back-seat passenger in Mrs Alexander’s car – suffered fatal injuries in the crash and Coun Alexander has been asked to appear at Macclesfield Magistrates’ Court on October 21.

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MPs’ expenses: how disbelief turned to anger among workers hired to process claims

Posted by Watt Tyler on

ABOVE: PARASITE: (Chambers English Dictionary) A creature which obtains food and physical protection from a host which never benefits from its presence.

For the two dozen parliamentary staff, civil servants and security guards who filed into a small room at The Stationery Office in July 2008, the task of processing countless thousands of MPs’ expense receipts seemed to promise nothing more than months of tedium.

But in the days and weeks that followed, the prevailing mood among them was one of disbelief, and then anger, as they discovered that MPs were claiming millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to feather their nests with almost every luxury money can buy.

The workers became so incensed as they pored over receipts for home cinema systems, new kitchens, food, furniture and second homes that managers had to order them not to tell any of their friends or family about what they had seen.

What the managers did not know until months later was that one of the people hired to help conceal details of the MPs’ greed by “redacting” the receipts decided that the public had a right to know what their money was being spent on.

The mole has broken his silence to describe for the first time why he decided to risk the wrath of Parliament by leaking the expenses files, through an intermediary, to The Daily Telegraph.

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MPs’ expenses: Dead soldier’s father-in-law condemns MPs’ excessive claims

Posted by Watt Tyler on

The father-in-law of a soldier killed on patrol in Afghanistan condemned MPs for claiming excessive expenses while servicemen were forced to pay for life-saving equipment.

The father-in-law of a soldier killed on patrol in Afghanistan condemned MPs for claiming excessive expenses while servicemen were forced to pay for life-saving equipment.

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MPs’ expenses: payment ‘was clearly in public interest’

Posted by Watt Tyler on

National newspaper editors and media commentators on Friday defended The Daily Telegraph’s decision to pay for the MPs’ expenses files.

Respected media figures have said the payment was entirely justified on public interest grounds.

Roger Alton, the editor of The Independent, said: “It is 100 per cent legitimate to have paid for such a superb story which has transformed the nature of politics. It has demonstrated the powers of newspapers and the motivation behind the exposure was highly honourable. It ticks every right box.”

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Taxpayers foot MPs junket to South Pacific ‘to investigate climate change

Posted by Watt Tyler on

a nice little earner

A group of politicians spent tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money flying to the South Pacific to investigate the impact of climate change, it has been disclosed.

The six members of parliament and two peers spent 16 days in the South Pacific last month as part of a “fact finding” mission.

The estimated cost to taxpayers to send the group, who flew business class to Fiji via Australia, was at least £68,200, the Channel 4 Dispatches programme said.

Critics labelled the junket “inappropriate and unnecessary” with the long-haul flights and local travel leaving a hefty carbon footprint.

Those who took the trip were Labour MPs Jim Sheridan, Betty Williams, Neil Turner, Meg Munn and Colin Challen, who were joined by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, Liberal Democrat peer Lord Roper of Thorney Island and the Labour peer Lord Lea of Crondall.

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Official responsible for light bulb ban is a former communist

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Official responsible for light bulb ban is a former communist

The man responsible for the Europe-wide ban on traditional light bulbs can be revealed as a former Soviet Communist party member from Latvia.

Andris Piebalgs, 51, the European Commissioner for Energy, leads the team which drafted the controversial regulations that will see all incandescent bulbs phased out by 2012.

Far from being a faceless bureaucrat, Mr Piebalgs has waged a public war against opponents of the ban, mocking their stance and accusing them of being “resistant to change”.

Five UK MEPs – including representatives of Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, Labour and the Liberal Democrats – endorsed the policy in a vote earlier this year, before the ban started to take effect at the beginning of this month.

Mr Piebalgs was a Communist party member in the 1980s, when he worked as a headteacher in what was then part of the USSR.

He went on to become a government minster in newly-independent Latvia, then a diplomat, before being appointed to the European Commission in 2004.

Read on

Has the EU’s links with Communism got anything to do with this biased decision ?

MPs owe £140,000 for food and wine

Posted by Watt Tyler on

MPs owe the House of Commons almost £140,000 in unpaid food and drink bills, it has been revealed.

The House authorities are chasing cash from more than half of all MPs for wining, dining and entertaining in Parliament’s restaurants.

They include 77 MPs who have failed to settle their tabs – averaging more than £500 each – for more than six months.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance said it was unacceptable that MPs left their debts to the public purse unpaid for so long. Food and drink in the Commons is already subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of £6.1 million a year. The details of MPs’ debts were obtained from the Commons by the Press Association under the Freedom of Information Act.

They showed that in August, 329 MPs owed a total of £138,046 in entertainment and catering – an average of £419 each. Some £45,150 of that had been due from 77 MPs for more than six months. The figures include MPs’ liabilities from events they have sponsored – giving third parties such as constituents access to Parliamentary facilities – as well as personal bills.

The Commons also revealed that another £10,018 was owed by 52 MPs in overpaid salaries and allowances. That included £4,229 outstanding from 20 MPs for more than six months. These figures are distinct from the hundreds of thousands of pounds of dubious claims paid back by MPs in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s simply unacceptable for MPs to leave their debts to the taxpayer unpaid for so long. We’ve heard a lot of rhetoric from the Government and Opposition benches about the importance of everyone paying invoices swiftly in the recession, but it seems that many of them don’t practice what they preach.

“It is bad enough that these bars and restaurants are already heavily subsidised, without MPs eating and drinking on a tab and then leaving bills unpaid. Public spending in all areas needs to be brought under tighter control, and that should start at the top.”

(2009) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Prince Sadik Chaudhury

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A borough councillor has appeared in court in Northampton, charged with the assault of a former council colleague and community leader.
Prince Sadik Chaudhury, aged 36, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Thorplands, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday, accused of assaulting Yousuf Miah, a former Conservative councillor who is the chairman of the Northampton Bangladeshi Association.


Liberal Democrat Cllr. Morris Lightfoot -PAEDOPHILE

Posted by Watt Tyler on

THE political career of a North Yorkshire county councillor is over after he tried to have sex with a 13-year-old girl.

Morris Lightfoot continued his perverted online chats with “Tina” despite one chatroom barring him, said Nick Worsley, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

But instead of the 13-year-old girl he believed her to be, “Tina” was Tony Graves, the adult male moderator of chatroom “Zorbie”, who set a trap for the former Harrogate deputy mayor and current county councillor.

“It seems to me that if it hadn’t been for the very responsible activity of Mr Graves, proprietor of this site, you may have got in touch with a real 13-year-old and that may have led to serious sexual offending on your part,” Judge Peter Benson told Lightfoot.

He jailed the 56-year-old sex offender for eight months. The sentence means that Lightfoot will automatically lose his position as county councillor and Harrogate borough councillor in 28 days’ time.

http://tinyurl.com/6mmvka

http://tinyurl.com/6b4bvg

Liberal Democrat Cllr. Mozaquir Ali -VOTE RIGGING

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Mozaquir Ali, defrauded dozens of voters during the 2004 local government elections. The men, who were sitting on Burnley Council at the time, collected signed proxy vote forms door-to-door and filled them in themselves. At Preston Crown Court they were each sentenced to 18 months for falsifying postal proxy votes. Both councillors were arrested in October 2004. The judge went on to say the councillors had “exploited a loophole” in which the law did not require proxy vote applicants to complete the form themselves. He urged the Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs to close the loophole. Both men were convicted of conspiracy to defraud Burnley Council’s returning officer following a three-week trial at Preston Crown Court. http://tinyurl.com/y6nayv

Liberal Democrat Cllr. Manzur Hussain -VOTE RIGGING

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Hussain defrauded dozens of voters during the 2004 local government elections. The men, who were sitting on Burnley Council at the time, collected signed proxy vote forms door-to-door and filled them in themselves. At Preston Crown Court they were each sentenced to 18 months for falsifying postal proxy votes. Both councillors were arrested in October 2004. The judge went on to say the councillors had “exploited a loophole” in which the law did not require proxy vote applicants to complete the form themselves. He urged the Electoral Commission and the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs to close the loophole. Both men were convicted of conspiracy to defraud Burnley Council’s returning officer following a three-week trial at Preston Crown Court. http://tinyurl.com/y6nayv

178. Cllr. Raymond Hutcheon

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A prominent Scottish councillor has resigned after his home was searched and he was questioned in relation to a major murder investigation. Raymond Hutcheon, who at one time lived with a prostitute and was spoken to by police for kerb crawling, was a member of a Holyrood adult entertainment working group, as well as holding key posts on Aberdeen City Council. http://tinyurl.com/49zyoo

Liberal Democrat Cllr. Michael Angell -PAEDOPHILE

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Michael Angell, 61, who sat on Malvern Hills District Council for the Liberal Democrats, was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years. Sentencing him, Judge David McEvoy said part of his punishment was being exposed as “a dirty old man”. The grandfather, of King Edward’s Road, Malvern, was fined £2,500 in total. He was convicted of 11 counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing indecent photographs. A fine of £2,500: British justice? http://tinyurl.com/yt2au7

Liberal Democrat M.P. Mark Oaten – LIAISONS WITH RENT BOYS

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Lib-Dem MP (Winchester, Hampshire) Mark Oaten resigned in disgrace from his front bench position as the party’s Home Affairs spokesman in 2006 after he was exposed as having paid rent boys for homosexual sex in threesomes. The scandal broke when one of the rent boys sold his story to the News of the World after recognising the Lib-Dem high-flyer on television during Oaten’s bid to become party leader. Married father of two Mr Oaten paid his male whores to subject him to “degradation and humiliation” involving acts considered “too disgusting” to describe in the News of the World.

Liberal Democrat Cllr. Bob Hargreaves -PAEDOPHILE

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A councillor has been sent to jail for five years after molesting two 11 year-old girls while he was a school governor. Disgusting Bob Hargreaves, who was elected to Bradford Metropolitan District Council in 2004, was given five years in jail. Bradford Crown Court convicted Hargreaves of eight charges of molesting two 11-year-old girls, including one of attempted rape. Hargreaves, who represents Bolton and Undercliffe for the Liberal Democrats, will now lose his place on the council. All the attacks took place in the 1990s. http://tinyurl.com/23hh7y

161. Cllr. Neil Derbyshire

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Lib-Dem Councillor (Stockport) Neil Derbyshire sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy in a public toilet in 2003 then offered the teenager £30 to submit to perverted sex acts with him. The boy agreed to meet the filthy Lib-Dem beast in the same place the next day, before telling his mother, who then informed the police. Police then lay in wait to arrest Derbyshire the next day, as he turned up for his ‘date’ with a plastic bag containing lubricant, plastic surgical gloves, a condom, and underpants. In court the councillor pleaded guilty to indecent assault and attempting to procure an act of gross indecency. Sentenced to a 3-year rehabilitation order and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register. http://tinyurl.com/2cfvc7

Liberal Democrat Cllr. John Astley -PAEDOPHILE, THUG, AND VOTE RIGGER

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Lib-Dem Councillor (Laurence Hill, Bristol) John Astley was convicted and jailed for 19 months in 2004 for downloading child pornography, electoral fraud, and drugs offences. Astley had downloaded over 5,500 pictures from the very worst categories of child porn for his enjoyment, including the sadomasochistic torture of children, and other things which are quite simply too sick to be described here. Astley was also arrested for throwing bricks at houses displaying window posters for other political parties. A monster and a child. http://tinyurl.com/26vjc9 If that wasn’t enough, he has since been sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to 11 charges of electoral fraud. http://tinyurl.com/26vjc9

Liberal Democrat Cllr. Bill Chadwick -PAEDOPHILE

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Lib-Dem Councillor (Preston, Lancashire) Bill Chadwick was charged in 2003 with making an indecent photograph of a child as well as inciting another man to commit the kidnap, rape, torture, and murder of a schoolgirl. Eventually convicted on 18 counts of making indecent images of children. Chadwick’s homosexual lover, Alan Valentine, is also a Lib-Dem councillor who has since committed suicide. http://tinyurl.com/yp63gs

157. Cllr. Frank Beck

Posted by Watt Tyler on

Lib-Dem Councillor (Leicestershire) Frank Beck received a total of 5 life sentences in 1991 after being convicted on 17 counts of indecent assault, buggery, rape, and actual bodily harm. Beck was the ringleader of an organised paedophile ring operating within children’s care homes in the Leicestershire area. Although never proven, it was alleged at the time that Beck was also involved in the murder of children and the production of ‘snuff’ movies (films that depict the actual killing of a human being). http://tinyurl.com/2aw4n8

(2006) Liberal Democrat Cllr. Maurice Burgess -PAEDOPHILE

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(2006) A former Derby City Council leader has been given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for a year for indecently assaulting a seven-year-old boy. Maurice Burgess, 58, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court to assaulting the boy 23 years ago. The court heard the former Liberal Democrat councillor had a similar conviction dating back to 1971. He was leader of the council from 2003 until July 2005 and an Abbey ward councillor until May 2006. http://tinyurl.com/6cdc3c

(2008) Liberal Democrat Karl Lindon -PAEDOPHILE

Posted by Watt Tyler on

A PERVERT who downloaded thousands of child porn pictures knocked on doors as a Lib Dem council candidate. Karl Lindon, 26, was jailed for three years after police found 2,500 indecent images of children on his computer. He shared the images with a ring of 47 online paedophiles.
Residents say they’re upset he campaigned in their streets. Jean Bartlett, chairwoman of the Aylesbury Estate’s tenants’ and residents’ association, said: “I’m horrified. I let him into my home.Lots of people are going to be very upset about this. “We trust these people and they campaign on our estates.”
Lindon campaigned across London as Lib Dem spokesman on gay and lesbian issues.