Rotten to the core

[CurtainRaiser]

No surprise anymore, the Chair of the Conservative party and nephew of our future king's consort made illegal payments.

 

https://bmmagazine.co.uk/news/tory-chairman-ben-elliots-company-admits-making-illegal-payments/

 

Obviously he'll be arrested and jailed just like anyone else.

[Birdbrain]

Lordy ... Is your life so empty???

[CurtainRaiser]

Birdbrain - 2021-05-13 3:51 PM

 

Lordy ... Is your life so empty???

 

 

Obviously you are embarrassed that I keep highlighting the misdemeanors of your Poundland Trump and his chums, but to suggest that my life is empty by posting something yourself without merit - well you've either proved a point there or not?

 

Anyway here is another one for you:

 

"It never stops.

 

Good Law Project has uncovered remarkable evidence that a Tory Minister brought a former Chair of the Tory Party, a man who now runs a lobbying firm, into the heart of Government to work on the massive multi-billion PPE procurement process. Having got his feet under the table that former Chair lobbied to win PPE contracts for at least one, and possibly a number, of clients of his lobbying firm.

 

The Tory Minister is Lord Bethell. The former Tory Party Chair is Lord Feldman - once described as David Cameron’s oldest and best friend - and he worked for Bethell from 23 March to 15 May 2020. And his huge lobbying firm is Tulchan, whose client list includes Bunzl Healthcare.

 

Bunzl was given a £22.6m PPE contract by the Department for Health without any competition in April 2020, smack bang in the middle of the period Feldman was working with Bethell. And we have also learned, from Government’s own documents, that:

 

Feldman was involved in the award of this contract. Bunzl had been removed from the Department for Health’s ‘approved suppliers list’ - and Feldman got them back on. An email from Feldman to Bunzl on 22 March 2020 states that he was acting as “an unpaid advisor to Matthew Hancock at the department of health...but that there have been some historic issues which mean that you have been removed from the approved suppliers list. I would like to remedy that as soon as possible”.

 

On the same day, he emailed Bunzl, copying in Andrew Wood whom he describes as “the person leading the accelerated procurement process in Cabinet Office” and said “I have spoken to him [Andy Wood] about Bunzl and the opportunity for you to supply the UK Government with equipment. He will be in touch”.

 

And then, several days later, when Bunzl thought the deal was not progressing quickly enough, it asked Feldman to intervene - which he did. On 25 March Feldman wrote directly to the line manager of the official dealing with Bunzl, encouraging him to expedite the contract award process: “We need to move quickly”.

We fear these revelations just scratch the surface. We have seen Lord Feldman’s ‘Declarations of interest form’ and it contains a list of his other conflicts of interest. But Government has concealed these other names:

 

“some of our clients [Tulchan Communication LLP], as well as many other companies are offering assistance to the government during the covid-19 crisis. This includes [REDACTED], Bunzl, [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED]”.

 

Despite requests from our lawyers Government is refusing to confirm which other companies linked to Cameron’s oldest friend and his lobbying firm Tulchan Communications were introduced to Government and/or won public contracts.

 

We have now launched formal Judicial Review proceedings. If you would like to help us challenge this extraordinary abuse of power - you can do so here.

 

We are publishing the Judicial Review Bundle we’ve submitted to the Court. Our amended Statement of Facts and Grounds and my Witness Statement are well worth a read."

[Birdbrain]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-13 5:30 PM

 

Birdbrain - 2021-05-13 3:51 PM

 

Lordy ... Is your life so empty???

 

 

Obviously you are embarrassed that I keep highlighting the misdemeanors of your Poundland Trump and his chums, but to suggest that my life is empty by posting something yourself without merit - well you've either proved a point there or not?

 

Anyway here is another one for you:

 

"It never stops.

 

Good Law Project has uncovered remarkable evidence that a Tory Minister brought a former Chair of the Tory Party, a man who now runs a lobbying firm, into the heart of Government to work on the massive multi-billion PPE procurement process. Having got his feet under the table that former Chair lobbied to win PPE contracts for at least one, and possibly a number, of clients of his lobbying firm.

 

The Tory Minister is Lord Bethell. The former Tory Party Chair is Lord Feldman - once described as David Cameron’s oldest and best friend - and he worked for Bethell from 23 March to 15 May 2020. And his huge lobbying firm is Tulchan, whose client list includes Bunzl Healthcare.

 

Bunzl was given a £22.6m PPE contract by the Department for Health without any competition in April 2020, smack bang in the middle of the period Feldman was working with Bethell. And we have also learned, from Government’s own documents, that:

 

Feldman was involved in the award of this contract. Bunzl had been removed from the Department for Health’s ‘approved suppliers list’ - and Feldman got them back on. An email from Feldman to Bunzl on 22 March 2020 states that he was acting as “an unpaid advisor to Matthew Hancock at the department of health...but that there have been some historic issues which mean that you have been removed from the approved suppliers list. I would like to remedy that as soon as possible”.

 

On the same day, he emailed Bunzl, copying in Andrew Wood whom he describes as “the person leading the accelerated procurement process in Cabinet Office” and said “I have spoken to him [Andy Wood] about Bunzl and the opportunity for you to supply the UK Government with equipment. He will be in touch”.

 

And then, several days later, when Bunzl thought the deal was not progressing quickly enough, it asked Feldman to intervene - which he did. On 25 March Feldman wrote directly to the line manager of the official dealing with Bunzl, encouraging him to expedite the contract award process: “We need to move quickly”.

We fear these revelations just scratch the surface. We have seen Lord Feldman’s ‘Declarations of interest form’ and it contains a list of his other conflicts of interest. But Government has concealed these other names:

 

“some of our clients [Tulchan Communication LLP], as well as many other companies are offering assistance to the government during the covid-19 crisis. This includes [REDACTED], Bunzl, [REDACTED], [REDACTED], [REDACTED]”.

 

Despite requests from our lawyers Government is refusing to confirm which other companies linked to Cameron’s oldest friend and his lobbying firm Tulchan Communications were introduced to Government and/or won public contracts.

 

We have now launched formal Judicial Review proceedings. If you would like to help us challenge this extraordinary abuse of power - you can do so here.

 

We are publishing the Judicial Review Bundle we’ve submitted to the Court. Our amended Statement of Facts and Grounds and my Witness Statement are well worth a read."

 

Not sure what a "Poundland Trump" is??? ... As for proving a point it seems I was correct, yes your life seems to be very, very empty

[CurtainRaiser]

A nice bit of whataboutery.

 

I have no issue with those on the left being jailed for their wrongdoings, I even helped to expose Stabber Watson's dodgy land deals in Sunderland. Both to the press and the "independent" whitewashing inquiry that Labour controlled Sunderland Council set up to examine them.

 

There is one key difference between Joe Anderson and his cronies and Johnson and his chums, Anderson has been arrested. Im guessing that you are happy having two levels of justice,? One where if you went to Eton you can get away with anything, but if you are a ripoff merchant lower down the social scale you'll be dealt with through the courts.

 

Do you think that corruption like the two cases I have mentioned in this thread is acceptable?

[FunsterJohn]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 8:59 AM

 

A nice bit of whataboutery.

 

I have no issue with those on the left being jailed for their wrongdoings, I even helped to expose Stabber Watson's dodgy land deals in Sunderland. Both to the press and the "independent" whitewashing inquiry that Labour controlled Sunderland Council set up to examine them.

 

There is one key difference between Joe Anderson and his cronies and Johnson and his chums, Anderson has been arrested. Im guessing that you are happy having two levels of justice,? One where if you went to Eton you can get away with anything, but if you are a ripoff merchant lower down the social scale you'll be dealt with through the courts.

 

Do you think that corruption like the two cases I have mentioned in this thread is acceptable?

 

Even more outright lies from you. No one is above the law in the UK, wherever they were educated, as a quick Google of Etonians who've gone to prison would show you.

 

Give me examples of members of the government who have committed a crime and gone unpunished. David Cameron for instance has not broken any laws nor has he broken any code of behaviour. Of course people use their contacts when they need help, would Tony Blair be a multi-millionaire without the contacts he made in politics?

 

If a Tory donor contributed to the PM's refurbishments how can that be corrupt or illegal? Who has suffered, what criminality had occurred?

 

Show me one minister who has benefited personally from PPE contracts. Show me one minister who has committed a crime and gone unpunished.

 

And I can assure you that if any MP of any party actually does commit a crime they will also be arrested, whether they went to Eton or not. Ask Jonathan Aitken about that.

 

Your usual class warrior hatred has once more taken over your rationality.

[Brian Kirby]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 9:54 AM...............................And I can assure you that if any MP of any party actually does commit a crime they will also be arrested, whether they went to Eton or not. Ask Jonathan Aitken about that.................

Simple question. How do you know that? In fact, how can you possibly know that?

[FunsterJohn]

Brian Kirby - 2021-05-14 12:48 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 9:54 AM...............................And I can assure you that if any MP of any party actually does commit a crime they will also be arrested, whether they went to Eton or not. Ask Jonathan Aitken about that.................

Simple question. How do you know that? In fact, how can you possibly know that?

 

I assume innocence unless proven to be guilty. It's an old British custom.

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

It's almost impossible to cover up such things these days. There's always someone who will blow the whistle or some paper or electronic trail.

 

And of course there would be so many people involved in such a cover up, from the lowliest police officer to those at the top.

[Birdbrain]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 7:59 AM

 

A nice bit of whataboutery.

 

I have no issue with those on the left being jailed for their wrongdoings, I even helped to expose Stabber Watson's dodgy land deals in Sunderland. Both to the press and the "independent" whitewashing inquiry that Labour controlled Sunderland Council set up to examine them.

 

There is one key difference between Joe Anderson and his cronies and Johnson and his chums, Anderson has been arrested. Im guessing that you are happy having two levels of justice,? One where if you went to Eton you can get away with anything, but if you are a ripoff merchant lower down the social scale you'll be dealt with through the courts.

 

Do you think that corruption like the two cases I have mentioned in this thread is acceptable?

 

You are aware of the differences between being arrested and charged with an offence I presume??? ... Mr Anderson hasn't been charged with anything yet and he certainly hasn't been "through the courts" ... As for your Eton "get away with anything" claim, I suppose asking for proof of that would be a waste of time???

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

Yes, and even HMRC admit it goes on.

 

"Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring."

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-allow-the-rich-to-escape-charges-admits-taxman-pb307srkq

 

And why wasnt Boris Johnson arrested and charged with conspiracy to assault a investigative journalist - its all on tape.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-HVWsl7Yw

 

And what about this beauty, who is the Tory party Treasurer

 

" Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

 

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

 

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

 

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

 

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

 

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]"

 

Now if I had defrauded HMRC of £4 million quid after filing erroneous accounts I would be locked up. So why not here?

 

[FunsterJohn]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 1:43 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

Yes, and even HMRC admit it goes on.

 

"Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring."

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-allow-the-rich-to-escape-charges-admits-taxman-pb307srkq

 

And why wasnt Boris Johnson arrested and charged with conspiracy to assault a investigative journalist - its all on tape.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-HVWsl7Yw

 

And what about this beauty, who is the Tory party Treasurer

 

" Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

 

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

 

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

 

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

 

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

 

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]"

 

Now if I had defrauded HMRC of £4 million quid after filing erroneous accounts I would be locked up. So why not here?

 

So he was prosecuted for a crime but on appeal was acquitted? So what else has he done that is illegal?

 

How did he defraud HMRC? If he defrauded them and they had a case he'd have been prosecuted. Why would HMRC be scared of prosecuting anyone because it might upset a few politicians?

 

Finally, is this all you have? No politicians, MPs, Cabinet Ministers? You'd better Google a bit harder.

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:58 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 1:43 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

Yes, and even HMRC admit it goes on.

 

"Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring."

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-allow-the-rich-to-escape-charges-admits-taxman-pb307srkq

 

And why wasnt Boris Johnson arrested and charged with conspiracy to assault a investigative journalist - its all on tape.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-HVWsl7Yw

 

And what about this beauty, who is the Tory party Treasurer

 

" Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

 

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

 

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

 

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

 

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

 

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]"

 

Now if I had defrauded HMRC of £4 million quid after filing erroneous accounts I would be locked up. So why not here?

 

So he was prosecuted for a crime but on appeal was acquitted? So what else has he done that is illegal?

 

How did he defraud HMRC? If he defrauded them and they had a case he'd have been prosecuted. Why would HMRC be scared of prosecuting anyone because it might upset a few politicians?

 

Finally, is this all you have? No politicians, MPs, Cabinet Ministers? You'd better Google a bit harder.

 

Does the PM not count?

 

The £4 million was paye and vat.

[Brian Kirby]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

Brian Kirby - 2021-05-14 12:48 PM

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 9:54 AM...............................And I can assure you that if any MP of any party actually does commit a crime they will also be arrested, whether they went to Eton or not. Ask Jonathan Aitken about that.................

Simple question. How do you know that? In fact, how can you possibly know that?

1 I assume innocence unless proven to be guilty. It's an old British custom.

2 But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

3 It's almost impossible to cover up such things these days. There's always someone who will blow the whistle or some paper or electronic trail.

4 And of course there would be so many people involved in such a cover up, from the lowliest police officer to those at the top.

1 Yes, so do I. But it was a genuine question.

2 No, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

3 Agreed, but you claim above is all enveloping.

4 But is that a safe assumption? What you seem to be arguing is that if an MP commits a crime their will automatically be detected, and they will be arrested. All I'm questioning the the basis for giving such a sweeping assurance. It will surely depend on where the crime was committed, when, and whether anyone else knows, or even suspects.

 

Silly example, but drink driving. Mildly inebriated MP drives home late without mishap. Rest of family is asleep. MP sleeps on sofa, so as not to disturb family. Apologises for late arrival following morning. Crime (driving while over the limit) committed, but only the MP knows. No arrest. Speeding is a crime. If undetected, who knows? I appreciate that I'm picking (relatively) minor, possibly commonplace, offences, but?

 

It may give comfort to believe that the assurance you gave above is the case, but it just seems to me to portray an unrealistically cosy view of reality. A sort of "God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, view. So, while I agree that it would be wonderful if that were true, I felt duty bound to point out to one so boldly outspoken that it ain't necessarily so! That was all :-D

 

The real problem is that until the facts, as in Aitkin's case, are revealed, all anyone is left with is perception, based on what is publicly known.

 

The problem with that, for our present government, is that the public perception, based on "no smoke without fire reasoning", and a certain perception that the PM's word is not his bond, has led to presumptions of privilege trumping accountability and a wide suspicion of wrongdoing, either by waiving the rules, or by awarding highly lucrative contracts to incompetent contractors who just happen to be friends or acquaintances. In its turn, the government has not managed those perceptions well, which if anything has tended to enhance the credibility of the perceptions. That, overall, is not good.

 

So, too, is their reluctance, for understandable reasons, to lay their handling of the pandemic open to examination, so creating the perception that the motive is not to improve our national performance in when the next pandemic arises, but to kick it as far as possible into the longest imaginable grass. In short, self-preservation over national interest. Not a good image.

[FunsterJohn]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 2:07 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:58 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 1:43 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

Yes, and even HMRC admit it goes on.

 

"Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring."

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-allow-the-rich-to-escape-charges-admits-taxman-pb307srkq

 

And why wasnt Boris Johnson arrested and charged with conspiracy to assault a investigative journalist - its all on tape.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-HVWsl7Yw

 

And what about this beauty, who is the Tory party Treasurer

 

" Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

 

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

 

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

 

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

 

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

 

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]"

 

Now if I had defrauded HMRC of £4 million quid after filing erroneous accounts I would be locked up. So why not here?

 

So he was prosecuted for a crime but on appeal was acquitted? So what else has he done that is illegal?

 

How did he defraud HMRC? If he defrauded them and they had a case he'd have been prosecuted. Why would HMRC be scared of prosecuting anyone because it might upset a few politicians?

 

Finally, is this all you have? No politicians, MPs, Cabinet Ministers? You'd better Google a bit harder.

 

Does the PM not count?

 

The £4 million was paye and vat.

 

If a company folds owing HMRC it's not necessarily fraud. That's why we have limited liability laws, the introduction of which resulted in a massive boost to the economy as entrepreneurs could start firms without losing everything down to their homes.

 

As for Boris, he didn't do anything. He humoured his old friend to keep him happy but as far as I'm aware he didn't pass on any information on the alleged victim.

 

What crime did Boris commit in this private call which resulted in nothing?

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

[Barryd999]

Johnson and his merry band of Brexit loops have done amazingly well so far to actually avoid any criminal convictions but if you think this current government is anything less than the most corrupt government in history then you have either being living in a cave or there is something wrong with you.

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 2:07 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:58 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 1:43 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 12:12 PM

 

But let me ask you - have you any examples in the last few years of anyone in power being exposed as someone who escaped prosecution fraudulently?

 

Yes, and even HMRC admit it goes on.

 

"Richard Las, the deputy director of HMRC in charge of organised crime, said that “very wealthy and prominent members of the community” were afraid of the “reputational damage” that a criminal trial for fraud, money-laundering or tax evasion would bring."

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/we-allow-the-rich-to-escape-charges-admits-taxman-pb307srkq

 

And why wasnt Boris Johnson arrested and charged with conspiracy to assault a investigative journalist - its all on tape.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65-HVWsl7Yw

 

And what about this beauty, who is the Tory party Treasurer

 

" Sheleg is a director of the Halcyon Gallery in London. It is 50% controlled through a British Virgin Islands company by the Tov Settlement, the Sheleg family trust. He has donated over GB£3 million to the Conservative Party, and organised fundraisers for Boris Johnson while Johnson was Mayor of London.[5]

 

In July 2019 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours and was named by Boris Johnson as the new Treasurer of the Conservative Party.[6][7]

 

Controversies

Sheleg's brother Ran was involved in a binary options scandal; Ehud claimed no knowledge. Commenting on the appointment of Sheleg as treasurer, Private Eye reported:

 

"Our special report earlier this year revealed not just Sheleg's close relations with Moscow, hosting Russia’s ambassador at the height of post-Crimea-invasion sanctions in 2015, but also his major deal with organised-crime-connected figures in establishing a Cyprus outlet of Halcyon the same year. At a minimum, due diligence appears not to be Sheleg’s strong suit. The Eye’s report also showed how Sheleg's Halcyon company had filed erroneous accounts (not great for a party treasurer), and how in 2009 it had liquidated one of its subsidiary companies (high street art chain Castle Galleries), walking away from £4m of debts and simply carrying on the business under a new company."

 

Private Eye also wrote about Sheleg's track record of “unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax”. His habit of dissolving companies and avoiding liabilities earned him the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.[8]

 

In 2010 Sheleg was involved in a court case involving a missing Rolf Harris painting; a judge branded him “personally and dishonestly responsible for its loss” before the case was overturned on appeal.[9]"

 

Now if I had defrauded HMRC of £4 million quid after filing erroneous accounts I would be locked up. So why not here?

 

So he was prosecuted for a crime but on appeal was acquitted? So what else has he done that is illegal?

 

How did he defraud HMRC? If he defrauded them and they had a case he'd have been prosecuted. Why would HMRC be scared of prosecuting anyone because it might upset a few politicians?

 

Finally, is this all you have? No politicians, MPs, Cabinet Ministers? You'd better Google a bit harder.

 

Does the PM not count?

 

The £4 million was paye and vat.

 

If a company folds owing HMRC it's not necessarily fraud. That's why we have limited liability laws, the introduction of which resulted in a massive boost to the economy as entrepreneurs could start firms without losing everything down to their homes.

 

"COMPANY MAN: Tory treasurer Ehud Sheleg, once known as ‘Alka Seltzer’ for having dissolved so many businesses BEFORE donating £2m to the Conservatives and becoming the party’s treasurer, Ehud “Udi” Sheleg, owner of the Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, dissolved so many companies – some set up with men who would later be jailed for fraud – he earnt the nickname “Alka Seltzer”.

 

Over a decade or so, he left behind a trail of unfiled accounts, unpaid suppliers, investigations and VAT penalties from HM Customs and Excise, along with millions of pounds in dodged tax, all while funding an increasingly luxurious lifestyle.

 

The first Sheleg company to go under owing money to creditors was Fastcliff Ltd, said to have been trading as Image Art in Finchley. Wound up in December 1996, a few years after Israeli Sheleg arrived in the UK, it left unidentified “unsecured and preferential creditors”, probably including the taxman, £94,535 out of pocket. It was the start of a pattern.

 

Six months later, Astec Investments Ltd was wound up with debts to the then separate Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue of £10,000 and £3,495 respectively, plus a further £43,410 owed mostly to traders in the IT business. Neither company filed any accounts.

 

Criminal offence

 

Things escalated the next year when, in April 1998, the first of a series of companies in an IT group run and owned by Sheleg using the name Protocol went into liquidation, this time with tax debts of £17,000 and unpaid social security bills of £15,000, with £102,000 owed to suppliers and utility providers. The company, Protocol Computer Systems Ltd, had been set up in September 1996 and evidently been active yet never filed accounts – which then (as now) was strictly a criminal offence. Its directors included Udi and his wife, and accountant Ian Selby as its secretary.

 

Selby would later be sentenced to four and a half years in jail for his part in a £3m pension fraud against a Birmingham-based company in 2000 (shortly after being acquitted in a money-laundering case). Previously, he had been involved in setting up a Sheleg property company called S&S Investment Properties Ltd. Its main asset was an office building on Cranbrook Road, Ilford, named Protocol House, from which the IT companies would operate.

 

One such company, Protocol Learning Systems Ltd, was set up in September 1999 with another man destined for jail. In 2012, Julian Silver would be sentenced to four years for enabling a “boiler room” fraud in which shares in his company, Art IT Ltd, were fraudulently sold between 2004 and 2007.

 

Although this was long after he had left the Protocol company board, it was also a period in which Art IT’s customer was none other than the Halcyon Gallery group Sheleg had co-owned and run since 1998 through a BVI company owned by a Sheleg family trust. One source tells the Eye Sheleg was warned Silver was up to no good but still continued to employ Art IT.

 

Doing very nicely

 

After a handful of other corporate wind-ups in the late 1990s, by the time Sheleg tried a couple more in early 2002, the authorities were clearly losing patience. When Goldco Ltd and HFA Gallery Ltd, were struck off the company register after failing to file accounts for years, HM Customs & Excise stepped in to reinstate them. Court documents show the reason was “civil penalty action” being undertaken by Customs investigators.

 

By now the taxman wasn’t the only one interested in Sheleg’s corporate network. When he sought to wind up Park Hill Management (UK) Ltd, described as a “hardware consultancy” operating out of Protocol House, a 2003 liquidator’s statement said proceedings were being held up by “disqualification unit investigations”. These were conducted by the government’s companies investigation branch when improper dealings were suspected. The only directors of the company were Udi, who signed the liquidation documents, and his wife. In the event, neither was disqualified. When the company eventually arrived at the corporate knacker’s yard, it left unpaid VAT bills of £308,000, and £44,000 of bank debt.

 

Sheleg himself, by contrast, was doing very nicely. In November 2002, with taxpayers whistling for large sums of money, he bought a large pile on Redington Road, Hampstead, for £4.85m. (Planning documents show he currently hopes to add a new building in the grounds to house a swimming pool, gym and sauna.) It is not clear how a man who not long before had been living in a semi- on the A12, presiding over a web of collapsing companies, managed this. His Halcyon interest had not yet started paying out seriously – and even this was shrouded in corporate shenanigans.

 

Screwing creditors

 

Sheleg did not personally become a Halcyon director in 1998. That task fell to a company called Goldend Ltd, which he controlled. In 2003, perhaps after failing to pay tax that Goldend’s September 2002 accounts showed would be due, the Inland Revenue petitioned to have it wound-up. Halcyon company reports, meanwhile, showed Goldend continued to be active until January 2004 and earn further fees of around £384,000. This was yet another failure to account, as required under company law, and quite possibly a major tax dodge.

 

Sheleg developed the habit of screwing creditors of Halcyon itself. As Eye 1482 revealed last year, its Castle Galleries chain was put into administration in 2010 with debts of £3.3m, including £750,000 owed to taxpayers, before immediately reopening via another corporate vehicle, minus the debt.

 

With a general election now possible, having a serial tax and debt-dodger as chief fundraiser could cause a headache for Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis. But he has refused to answer any of the Eye’s questions on Sheleg. Still, best avoid the Alka Seltzer, though."

 

 

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

 

How many of those old Etonians and current ministers have confessed to using illegal drugs?

 

How many have been charged?

 

"Following Michael Gove’s admission that he used cocaine “on several occasions” when he was working as a journalist, other Conservative leadership hopefuls have come clean about their experiences with illicit substances. From cannabis yogurt drinks to opium at weddings, here are their confessions.

 

Boris Johnson

Appearing on Have I Got News For You in 2005, Johnson said: “I think I was once given cocaine, but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.”

 

However, in a GQ interview in 2007, the Tory leadership frontrunner admitted to trying cocaine and cannabis at university, saying it “achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever”.

 

Jeremy Hunt

The foreign secretary told the Times: “I think I had a cannabis lassi when I went backpacking through India”. He added: “That is almost as naughty as wheat fields,” referring to Theresa May’s widely ridiculed answer when she was asked about the naughtiest thing she’s ever done.

 

Andrea Leadsom

Responding to the revelations of Gove’s drug-taking, Leadsom said she had smoked cannabis at university, but had never done it since. “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs,” she said, adding: “Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”

 

Dominic Raab

Raab, who had already admitted taking cannabis as a student, said: “At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.

 

“But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”

 

Sajid Javid

Javid said he had never taken “any soft or hard drugs”. He told Sky: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.”

 

Rory Stewart

Stewart told the Telegraph last week he had smoked opium in Afghanistan at a wedding. “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding,” he said, adding that the family may have been so poor that they put very little opium into the pipe.

 

Matt Hancock

 

A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”.

 

Esther McVey

McVey told ITV she had never taken any class A drugs. “I have never taken any class A drugs, but have I tried some pot? Yes I have. When I was much younger.”"

 

 

[FunsterJohn]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 4:49 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

 

How many of those old Etonians and current ministers have confessed to using illegal drugs?

 

How many have been charged?

 

"Following Michael Gove’s admission that he used cocaine “on several occasions” when he was working as a journalist, other Conservative leadership hopefuls have come clean about their experiences with illicit substances. From cannabis yogurt drinks to opium at weddings, here are their confessions.

 

Boris Johnson

Appearing on Have I Got News For You in 2005, Johnson said: “I think I was once given cocaine, but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.”

 

However, in a GQ interview in 2007, the Tory leadership frontrunner admitted to trying cocaine and cannabis at university, saying it “achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever”.

 

Jeremy Hunt

The foreign secretary told the Times: “I think I had a cannabis lassi when I went backpacking through India”. He added: “That is almost as naughty as wheat fields,” referring to Theresa May’s widely ridiculed answer when she was asked about the naughtiest thing she’s ever done.

 

Andrea Leadsom

Responding to the revelations of Gove’s drug-taking, Leadsom said she had smoked cannabis at university, but had never done it since. “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs,” she said, adding: “Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”

 

Dominic Raab

Raab, who had already admitted taking cannabis as a student, said: “At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.

 

“But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”

 

Sajid Javid

Javid said he had never taken “any soft or hard drugs”. He told Sky: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.”

 

Rory Stewart

Stewart told the Telegraph last week he had smoked opium in Afghanistan at a wedding. “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding,” he said, adding that the family may have been so poor that they put very little opium into the pipe.

 

Matt Hancock

 

A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”.

 

Esther McVey

McVey told ITV she had never taken any class A drugs. “I have never taken any class A drugs, but have I tried some pot? Yes I have. When I was much younger.”"

 

 

God, you're really getting desperate aren't you? I wonder how many Labour politicians confessed to smoking pot or having a snort decades ago?

 

Stop embarrassing yourself with these pathetic claims.

 

This really is all you have isn't it? Hilarious.

[CurtainRaiser]

Birdbrain - 2021-05-14 7:26 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 5:30 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 4:49 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

 

How many of those old Etonians and current ministers have confessed to using illegal drugs?

 

How many have been charged?

 

"Following Michael Gove’s admission that he used cocaine “on several occasions” when he was working as a journalist, other Conservative leadership hopefuls have come clean about their experiences with illicit substances. From cannabis yogurt drinks to opium at weddings, here are their confessions.

 

Boris Johnson

Appearing on Have I Got News For You in 2005, Johnson said: “I think I was once given cocaine, but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.”

 

However, in a GQ interview in 2007, the Tory leadership frontrunner admitted to trying cocaine and cannabis at university, saying it “achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever”.

 

Jeremy Hunt

The foreign secretary told the Times: “I think I had a cannabis lassi when I went backpacking through India”. He added: “That is almost as naughty as wheat fields,” referring to Theresa May’s widely ridiculed answer when she was asked about the naughtiest thing she’s ever done.

 

Andrea Leadsom

Responding to the revelations of Gove’s drug-taking, Leadsom said she had smoked cannabis at university, but had never done it since. “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs,” she said, adding: “Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”

 

Dominic Raab

Raab, who had already admitted taking cannabis as a student, said: “At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.

 

“But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”

 

Sajid Javid

Javid said he had never taken “any soft or hard drugs”. He told Sky: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.”

 

Rory Stewart

Stewart told the Telegraph last week he had smoked opium in Afghanistan at a wedding. “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding,” he said, adding that the family may have been so poor that they put very little opium into the pipe.

 

Matt Hancock

 

A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”.

 

Esther McVey

McVey told ITV she had never taken any class A drugs. “I have never taken any class A drugs, but have I tried some pot? Yes I have. When I was much younger.”"

 

 

God, you're really getting desperate aren't you? I wonder how many Labour politicians confessed to smoking pot or having a snort decades ago?

 

Stop embarrassing yourself with these pathetic claims.

 

This really is all you have isn't it? Hilarious.

 

Isnt it pathetic??? ... Makes wild claims and then gets asked to back them up and he comes up with doing a bit of drugs in their youth ... Pretty hardcore stuff ... No wonder the forums dead ... Sad, shallow, empty life just like I said ... Im away to Penrith and Knaresborough for a week in the motor so I will be trying the local pubs to see if the other wind bag on heres claim of waiter and pub staff shortages holds any truth, didn't on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago, makes for a good Hollywood Brexit hate thread though

 

In their youth?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jun/09/behind-the-story-of-michael-gove-cocaine-use?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

[FunsterJohn]

I notice you didn't mention Keith Vaz. You know, rent boys and cocaine. What party was he in?

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 8:01 PM

 

I notice you didn't mention Keith Vaz. You know, rent boys and cocaine. What party was he in?

 

And rightly punished https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50252630

 

I'm guessing Gove and co bought their Bolivian marching powder from a pharmacy?

[FunsterJohn]

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 9:05 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 8:01 PM

 

I notice you didn't mention Keith Vaz. You know, rent boys and cocaine. What party was he in?

 

And rightly punished https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50252630

 

I'm guessing Gove and co bought their Bolivian marching powder from a pharmacy?

 

Rightly punished? I should hope so. This wasn't a youthful indiscretion.

 

Sniffing coke with young rent boys. Why didn't he go to prison?

[CurtainRaiser]

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 8:09 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 9:05 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 8:01 PM

 

I notice you didn't mention Keith Vaz. You know, rent boys and cocaine. What party was he in?

 

And rightly punished https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-50252630

 

I'm guessing Gove and co bought their Bolivian marching powder from a pharmacy?

 

Rightly punished? I should hope so. This wasn't a youthful indiscretion.

 

Sniffing coke with young rent boys. Why didn't he go to prison?

 

I don't know, he certainly should have been.

 

How old do you think Gove was?

[Bulletguy]

Birdbrain - 2021-05-14 7:26 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 5:30 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 4:49 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

 

How many of those old Etonians and current ministers have confessed to using illegal drugs?

 

How many have been charged?

 

"Following Michael Gove’s admission that he used cocaine “on several occasions” when he was working as a journalist, other Conservative leadership hopefuls have come clean about their experiences with illicit substances. From cannabis yogurt drinks to opium at weddings, here are their confessions.

 

Boris Johnson

Appearing on Have I Got News For You in 2005, Johnson said: “I think I was once given cocaine, but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.”

 

However, in a GQ interview in 2007, the Tory leadership frontrunner admitted to trying cocaine and cannabis at university, saying it “achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever”.

 

Jeremy Hunt

The foreign secretary told the Times: “I think I had a cannabis lassi when I went backpacking through India”. He added: “That is almost as naughty as wheat fields,” referring to Theresa May’s widely ridiculed answer when she was asked about the naughtiest thing she’s ever done.

 

Andrea Leadsom

Responding to the revelations of Gove’s drug-taking, Leadsom said she had smoked cannabis at university, but had never done it since. “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs,” she said, adding: “Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”

 

Dominic Raab

Raab, who had already admitted taking cannabis as a student, said: “At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.

 

“But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”

 

Sajid Javid

Javid said he had never taken “any soft or hard drugs”. He told Sky: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.”

 

Rory Stewart

Stewart told the Telegraph last week he had smoked opium in Afghanistan at a wedding. “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding,” he said, adding that the family may have been so poor that they put very little opium into the pipe.

 

Matt Hancock

 

A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”.

 

Esther McVey

McVey told ITV she had never taken any class A drugs. “I have never taken any class A drugs, but have I tried some pot? Yes I have. When I was much younger.”"

 

 

God, you're really getting desperate aren't you? I wonder how many Labour politicians confessed to smoking pot or having a snort decades ago?

 

Stop embarrassing yourself with these pathetic claims.

 

This really is all you have isn't it? Hilarious.

 

Isnt it pathetic??? ... No wonder the forums dead ... Sad, shallow, empty life just like I said ...

Yet you're on here every day so quit whining and stick to doing what you usually come here for, pot-stirring and troublemaking.

 

 

Im away to Penrith and Knaresborough for a week in the motor so I will be trying the local pubs to see if the other wind bag on heres claim of waiter and pub staff shortages holds any truth, didn't on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago, makes for a good Hollywood Brexit hate thread though

Jeremy King just happens to be co-founder of a restaurant company Corbin & King. He along with other heads of the industry told of their industries staff crisis, but what do they know eh when a Huddersfield roofer says his local pub has staff who "speak their mother tongue perfectly". *-)

[Birdbrain]

Bulletguy - 2021-05-14 8:42 PM

 

Birdbrain - 2021-05-14 7:26 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 5:30 PM

 

CurtainRaiser - 2021-05-14 4:49 PM

 

FunsterJohn - 2021-05-14 1:39 PM

 

 

You're still not doing very well. Surely you must have more examples of Etonians escaping justice because they're Etonians?

 

How many of those old Etonians and current ministers have confessed to using illegal drugs?

 

How many have been charged?

 

"Following Michael Gove’s admission that he used cocaine “on several occasions” when he was working as a journalist, other Conservative leadership hopefuls have come clean about their experiences with illicit substances. From cannabis yogurt drinks to opium at weddings, here are their confessions.

 

Boris Johnson

Appearing on Have I Got News For You in 2005, Johnson said: “I think I was once given cocaine, but I sneezed and so it did not go up my nose. In fact, I may have been doing icing sugar.”

 

However, in a GQ interview in 2007, the Tory leadership frontrunner admitted to trying cocaine and cannabis at university, saying it “achieved no pharmacological, psychotropic or any other effect on me whatsoever”.

 

Jeremy Hunt

The foreign secretary told the Times: “I think I had a cannabis lassi when I went backpacking through India”. He added: “That is almost as naughty as wheat fields,” referring to Theresa May’s widely ridiculed answer when she was asked about the naughtiest thing she’s ever done.

 

Andrea Leadsom

Responding to the revelations of Gove’s drug-taking, Leadsom said she had smoked cannabis at university, but had never done it since. “I have never taken cocaine or class A drugs,” she said, adding: “Everyone is entitled to a private life before becoming an MP.”

 

Dominic Raab

Raab, who had already admitted taking cannabis as a student, said: “At university, I tried cannabis, not very often as I was into sport. It was a mistake, particularly the more I know now about the link between it and mental health issues.

 

“But it was a long time ago and was particularly few and far between and I have never taken cocaine or any class A drugs.”

 

Sajid Javid

Javid said he had never taken “any soft or hard drugs”. He told Sky: “Anyone that takes class A drugs needs to think about that supply chain that comes, let’s say, from Colombia to Chelsea, and the number of lives that are destroyed along the way.”

 

Rory Stewart

Stewart told the Telegraph last week he had smoked opium in Afghanistan at a wedding. “I was invited into the house, the opium pipe was passed around at a wedding,” he said, adding that the family may have been so poor that they put very little opium into the pipe.

 

Matt Hancock

 

A source close to Hancock told the Telegraph he had “tried cannabis a few times as a student but has not taken any illicit drugs since”.

 

Esther McVey

McVey told ITV she had never taken any class A drugs. “I have never taken any class A drugs, but have I tried some pot? Yes I have. When I was much younger.”"

 

 

God, you're really getting desperate aren't you? I wonder how many Labour politicians confessed to smoking pot or having a snort decades ago?

 

Stop embarrassing yourself with these pathetic claims.

 

This really is all you have isn't it? Hilarious.

 

Isnt it pathetic??? ... No wonder the forums dead ... Sad, shallow, empty life just like I said ...

Yet you're on here every day so quit whining and stick to doing what you usually come here for, pot-stirring and troublemaking.

 

 

Im away to Penrith and Knaresborough for a week in the motor so I will be trying the local pubs to see if the other wind bag on heres claim of waiter and pub staff shortages holds any truth, didn't on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago, makes for a good Hollywood Brexit hate thread though

Jeremy King just happens to be co-founder of a restaurant company Corbin & King. He along with other heads of the industry told of their industries staff crisis, but what do they know eh when a Huddersfield roofer says his local pub has staff who "speak their mother tongue perfectly". *-)

 

More fiction ... I never said any such thing about my local pub so check your facts and never mind Jeremy King you and you alone made another bold claim that 'now there's no-one to pull your great British pint" andl in my experience and that of my family that simply isnt true since lockdown eased and you dont like it