Between just 28 May and 10 June Boris Johnson received £235,500 in “private” donations, to himself personally, as he prepares to become the UK’s unelected Prime Minister.
The blatant corruption of the UK’s political system is part of the reason for popular alienation from the ruling classes. It was Blair who elevated British politics to US levels of shamelessness in the matter of politicians’ self enrichment, and Johnson looks set to follow the Blair example. While some may pretend to do so, I do not accept that there is anybody who is naive enough genuinely to believe that such donations do not influence politicians’ policy decisions.
Straight donations aside, the slightly disguised corruption of our political system should also be taken into account. The banks put politicians in their pockets not through direct payments, but through massive, often six figure, fees they pay them for “speaking at dinners”. That is how Hillary Clinton garnered much of her Wall Street funding. In the case of Boris Johnson, it is interesting that in the House of Commons Register of Members’ Interests, he frequently lists the name of the speaking agency who paid him, but not who the client was.
Another way to pay less obvious bribes – and one particularly pursued by New Labour – was the book deal, where publishers pay massive six figure advances to politicians which are, routinely, up to ten times the actual royalties earned for which they are an “advance”. This only makes sense when you realise that every single one of the major publishers is owned by a much bigger multinational – for example until recently Murdoch owned HarperCollins.
James Reuben, who gave two donations totaling £50,000 to Johnson, is the scion of the UK’s second wealthiest family, worth £18 billion. The Reubens made their money, like Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, in the pillaging of Russia’s massive metal producing assets, which were physically seized by gangsters, in the chaotic US organised Yeltsin privatisation process. The entire basis of their vast fortune was the exploitation of assets effectively stolen from the Russian state and people.
There is a fascinating link here to New Labour corruption that shows how entirely rotten Westminster is. Many will recall Peter Mandelson’s famous meeting with Oleg Deripaska and Nat Rothschild on the yacht in Corfu, at a house party where George Osborne was also around. The full story has never appeared in mainstream media, so far as I can judge.
Deripaska had been involved with the Reubens in Russia’s “privatised” aluminum market, and in 2008 was also involved in business with Nat Rothschild. Putin was determined to try to claw back some control of precious commodity markets from the oligarchs who had plundered them, and he started to lean on Deripaska, in ways which were quite threatening, to make some hefty repayment. Nat Rothschild had obligations to Deripaska which the oligarch was trying urgently to call in, and this process required the sale of shares in (if I remember correctly) Canadian or US aluminium companies. The big obstacle to this raising the needed money to get back to Putin was the high EU tariff on aluminium.
By one of those wonderful coincidences which make life so joyous, happily Peter Mandelson was, absolutely independent of the meeting on the yacht or his own relationship with Nat Rothschild, persuaded of the need for the EU to reduce aluminium tariffs and as UK Trade Minister and then EU Trade Commissioner was able to secure very large reductions in EU aluminium tariffs indeed. So they all lived happily ever after.
Isn’t that nice? And even nicer, Mandelson is now a paid adviser to Deripaska on climate change.
So Boris Johnson’s donations and Mandelson’s dealings all link in to the pillaging of Russia’s formerly state run metals industry, which legalised theft accounts for a dozen of the world’s wealthiest billionaires and a high proportion of its political corruption.
I want Scottish Independence to try to set up a smaller, more manageable national entity in which corruption can be better reduced, (and sadly it will never be eliminated). I find the insider knowledge I have from my days as a British Ambassador and from the connections I then made, weighs horribly heavy upon me. If I knew less, I guess I would be less sad and less cynical.
It has become my firm belief that the destruction of the UK state by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, and the purging of the financial cesspit that is London by Jeremy Corbyn, are both essential to human progress.
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good article which highlights the wider picture that corruption is the symptom of greed and thirst for power for ones own benefit only, money has a way of exposing peoples true character. I am encouraged by the fact that the attacks on Jeremy Corbyn have exposed nothing at all other than the intent of those attacking.
Here was an honourable man, Dr Richard Taylor, who was the Independent MP for Wyre Forest, 2001-2010. He was a doctor and co leads the National Health Action Party. He also spoke out against BLiar’s war on Iraq.
‘While his speeches in the Commons were mostly confined to the health service, Taylor also laid out an atypical collection of political views. These non-health policies included support for the renationalisation of the British railway system, and the availability of cannabis as a controlled drug. He also opposed the Iraq war and student top up fees.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Taylor_(British_politician)
I bet he was not ‘bought’ and took no bungs.
Good example, Sharp Ears, if Independents could only get enough fair public exposure, and I personally can sing a song about Norwich North, local newspapers, Blackburn the heart of political corrupt practises, connivance of local officers, etc., to say that it is a monumental uphill task which all mainstream parties, and I include the Greens here, have shown to have issues with.
The UK’s voters are genetically fixated on party
politics, and parties try their best to undermine and exclude Independent candidates from hustings, from having advertising boards and banners, anything.
I so wish for a horde of 500 Independent candidates to step forward who, apart from their own local issues, would agree on a program of action on climate change measures and run with it.
If the wannabe German Farrage can do it , how about XR?
Sorry mods , I only had a split second to make my post this morning.
Any way the short piece about Grenfell Tower demonstrates the callousness of the affluent Kensington Council towards its responsibilties to its tenants.
It is a well-known fact that when a three phase electrical supply which is serving single phase appliances, as in Grenfell Tower, loses its neutral cable , usually because it is loose and burns out, then the voltage rises well above the normal 230 volts towards the three phase voltage of 400 volts because the return path is absent.
Hence the current tries to find an alternative, abnormal return path through available three phase 400 volt paths to other phases, instead of neutral. Most domestic electrical single phase 230 volt equipment will explode when 300 – 400 volts are passed through it. the burn-outs of equipment were recorded a few months before the fire and the main neutral was repaired.
The fire was caused by damage done to a domestic fridge by the increased voltage several months before the neutral was repaired. The fridge had been subjected toi electrical forces well beyond its design capacity.
The council have consistently tried to obfuscate this simple fact. The enquiry is now postponed indefinitely pending the council finding an alternative explanation to the glaringly obvious of landlord negligence.
The simplest of electrical tests , conducted on a regular basis, if they had been properly done, would have shown up the fault. But unfortunately the fact is that these tests are very rarely done in-house by technicians who know the buildings, and mostly done by box-ticking by sub-contractors.
The entire electrical certification industry has rallied behind the council’s obfuscation of the facts because high fees are charged for very limited testing and inspections. Normally the sub-contractor testing company hides behind the fact that the test was OK on the day, trying to make money by charging for non-existent faults like RCDs not tripping quickly enough. when they are perfect.
I’m sure Craig’s Ghanayan electricians would be able to confirm the result of a missing neutral in similar circumstances. But in that country the Thatcherite concept of passing the buck to outsiders would be very strange to well-educated technicians. They know it’s their job to check the system is working OK. Simples
Johnson has pitiful money. If he were a lucky son of a bitch, his masters would have put him in a really lucrative position, like a president of some young democracy 🙂
Here is the source in russian
https://ria.ru/20190706/1556266142.html
As soon as the ukrainians elected a new president, Poroshenko started withdrawing cash. May-June 2019, nearly every day he withdrew 1or 2 millions US dollars, 34 millions $ total, all in cash!
The details are here, in russian
https://www.facebook.com/portnov.andrey.ukraine/posts/1164730657047074
Do you think it is legal money? National Bank of Ukraine says that the money of individual depositors decreased by nearly the same amount. Just think, people, it is about 340 kilograms of $100 banknotes. Johnson should learn better from one really hard working man 🙂
Deutsche Bank is going belly up, laying off close to 18,000 workers, from today,
they are in deep with Ukraine, which is also belly up.
https://www.db.com/ukraine/
Deutsche Bank in Ukraine
Established a representative office in Kiev in 1993 and is operating a 100% subsidiary since 2009.
And former Deutsche Bank “deal maker” Sajid Javid is going to be the next Chancellor.
https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/oligarchs-weaponized-cyprus-eranch-of-ukraines-largest-bank-to-send-5-billion-abroad
Thanks, Jo. This confirms the rumors. From the article you’ve shared:
“He is my business partner, not my boss,” Zelenskiy said in an interview.”
That’s a lie.
April 17, 2018, grand hotel Kempinski in Geneva, they were all there – Zelensky, Kolomoysky, Geller. It was the celebration in honor of the circumcision of Timur Mindich’s little son.
Timur Mindich is a close friend of Kolomoisky and the curator of “1+1” TV channel. Zelensky was the star of that TV channel, his role in the show “People’s Servant” was a simple man, who by chance becomes a president. Soon after the celebration Zelensky jumped into the president race.
I mean, it is a religious family celebration, hard to belive one could invite a business partner to the party. It looks like they were joking there about Zelensky’s “presidency” and then decided to try it in reality, so that Kolomoisky could return his ukrainian posessions.
I never fail to be amazed at the scale of information on this blog.
Because this blog allows this information.
I mean, it is ukrainian and russian people who share it, and it is the same language. To reach you, the info must be translated into English. Translated news will be banned by western MSM, elsewhere placed with RT or Sputnik, and thus again banned by MSM.
Thanks Universe, Mr. Murray is OK 🙂
To amaze you more I add:
the ukrainian tv channel “News One” a couple of days ago announced a tv-bridge on July 12 with russian tv-channel “Russia-1”. It had to be a live chat of ukrainian and russian citizens on our current problems. It was outlined, that the politics would be avoided, just the opinions, just a dialogue of common citizens.
Guess what?
The event is cancelled, the ukrainian channel firstly stated that they face the threats, and then, they are charged of “state’s treason”.
Some people just don’t want the war to stop, that’s why.
Re massive Ukrainian bank fraud.
I hope you realise that you are making it more and more difficult for me to argue for a less than violent response to this sort of thing.
Still it astonishes me that people might want to be so greedy, do they not realise that they cannot take it with them?
reminds me of a joke – a vampire comes to a politician and suggests to bite him and thus turn him into an immortal politician. He says “don’t you want to truly drink the blood of the people?”
*I guess it is from Lukyanenko’s “Night Watch” or “Day Watch”.
Are there any Russian blogs similar that are worth translating into English? Such a shame here we only seem to have RT Russia Insider Forytruss Sputnik Tass.some5imes with their own agendas (ie RT could should do a lot more reporting from Donbass Russia )…and the main Russian tv channels could do english ….annanews has very limited uk news but often has extensive uptodate news re Ukraine Syria for example that could be in english ….there are internet tv channels from Russia but any good ones in English?????????
In fact it is the problem of strict regulation and controlled broadcasting. RT could report more, if not curated by Ofcom and banned from Media Freedom conference, you know what I mean.
consider studying russian language 🙂 I know that USSR people modernised their padio-receivers to listen to BBC and it was known as “listening to adversary’s voice”, very secret and condemned activity 🙂
@Tatyana
http://www.russia-insider.com/en/how-christine-lagarde-clinton-and-nuland-funded-massive-ukrainian-ponzi-scheme/ri27390
John Doran
Sadly corruption is everywhere. I was speaking to a man in East Africa recently, who said he envied our UK honesty. When I spluttered he seemed surprised, until I explained.
Btw good riddance to Bawstick, and thanks to Craig for his good works.
We need a new Martin Bell……and who was that MP Chris someone 20 years ago who also exposed stuff????????,…
Chris Mullins……
Martin Bell is ‘The man in the white suit’ and was the MP for Tatton. He is the uncle of one Oliver Kamm. We do not need another.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/05/the-philip-cross-affair/
Off topic but noted amidst the cacophony about leaked emails and Tory leadership campaign, no msm report of Palestine Expo held in London this weekend; including speech by Nelson Mandela’s grandson commenting also on the failed efforts by Lawyers for Israel to have the event stopped. At least reported on Informed Comment https://www.juancole.com/2019/07/mandelas-apartheid-palestinians.html.
Guardian however publishes more nonsense about para-medics using a nerve – agent antidote – reportedly issued against possible terrorist attacks – on poor Charlie Rowley that is claimed could have saved his life, which of course only raises the issue of what they actually were and by what miraculous means they were effective against so – called novichok.
The case of Kim Darroch certainly deserves a point of view from Craig, even if it’s obvious that he only did his duty, and it was someone else who released his correct cables to the press. Some have accused that person of being a traitor. I think that’s right. Ambassadorial cables have to be confidential. Releasing them to the press breaks the system of confidential reports.
Frankly Brexiters can’t be bothered, whatever happens. Whatever happens, as long as they cross the line, although there’ll be even more pain after.
Laguerre,
“Ambassadorial cables have to be confidential”
If someone technically competent, even with technology developed 50 years ago, wants to target you, and listen in to your verbal conversations, or anything you might write, even with a pen and paper, it is not that hard to do.
“Releasing them to the press breaks the system of confidential reports.”
Do you trust the press????? All the mainstream media is controlled, mainly by The Americans.
I don’t trust any of them, nor anything written on the internet, without substantial other verification, which I can rarely now, be bothered to analyse, because there are other better and more interesting things to do.
By all means keep it up. You often write well.
Tony
Diplomatic cables… and the journalist involved, Isabel Oakeshott, praised for her scoop in obtaining the leaked info.
Meanwhile…inside a maximum security British prison sits one Julian Assange, awaiting extradition for handling ..erm… diplomatic cables, no doubt ruefully wishing ‘he’ were a ‘she’ and his name were Oakeshott.
The difference in treatment is absurd and makes a mockery of justice.
Just noticed Oakeshott’s name is among those listed in The Integrity Initiative leak, so maybe this story isn’t as it appears after all?
it is amazing that Jeremy Hunt thinks the Russians leaked Mr. Darroch’s views to upset British/American brotherhood.
Do these ministers always assume Russia is the cause of their troubles?
Yes , I heard he’d said that on Newsnight. What a silly explanation to reach for without proof, coming from a Foreign Secretary as well. I mean, you just don’t take wild guesses like that. Imagine if other countries were always claiming bad stuff was the British up to no good.
Hunt seems more gaffe-prone than Boris,.
I have massive respect for people, who run their own blogs, independently of mainstream media. This does not necessarily mean that I always agree with their content, because I don’t, but the vast majority of them have allowed me to occasionally comment openly, and almost instantly. Most people who run blogs use their own name, and if it is an unusual name, it allows them to be very quickly identified. Even if they don’t use their own name, address and telephone number, unless they are exceedingly clever, even if they travel the world a lot, using internet cafe’s, if anyone who is reasonably technically competent, and that interested in what they wrote, to actually want to identify them, then it is not that hard. People, can still identify me, from the stuff I wrote 20 years ago, and I have never been mad enough to run my own blog, but have great respect for people like Craig Murray who do.
Tony
The interesting thing about the Boris donations is that they’re such piffling amounts. I suppose we can assume there’s a lot that isn’t recorded and this is the tip of some sort of iceberg.
From what I can gather, it only took about £500,000 to swing the Brexit vote with Facebook adverts. Thrills are cheap in British politics.
I was happy to hear that the new British establishment position on Scottish independence has evolved into something along the lines of “we own you and don’t care how many people want a second referendum…” We should always welcome honesty.
If we frame this in the usual terms of an abusive relationship, the wife-beating husband just threatened to punch his wife’s teeth out as he locked down the doors and windows.
If Scotland puts up with that sort of abuse, Scotland deserves it.
They are such pfeffelling amounts, Hatuey.
“It has become my firm belief that the destruction of the UK state by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, and the purging of the financial cesspit that is London by Jeremy Corbyn, are both essential to human progress. ”
I’m afraid the UK state means nothing to me, I want Independence for Scotland and a clean State of Scotland. One where any citizen has access to the Law unlike currently where you need money, after McAskill killed off Legal Aid for a few dollars less, rather than reform it and make it more effective.
One where the Citizen can sack corrupt politicians, and there is a mechanism for doing so that doesn’t involve the very politicians that need to be sacked. A Citzens Court perhaps, controlled by an actually impartial Citizens Assembly, under a short and sweet and non-technical Constitution that highlights our Claim of Right and enables and empowers it.
One indeed where politicians can’t be bought and sold by speaking or book rights.
The rUK can go its own way, and perhaps without Wales as well the way things are going. Perhaps in time its regions will start to stand up for themselves; in the 80s it wasn’t just Scotland was shafted in terms of the “Barnett formula”, where Scotland didn’t even receive its unfair share, it was Liverpool too (and Birmingham?). A poster / tweeter with initials TJ elsewhere has the details, but sadly nobody took on that cause and furthered it. I think it was from the 30 year release rule, covering Thatcher’s tender ministrations.
But my priority is Scotland Scotland Scotland, and then and only then after that, Scotland.
Could you see as viable a Swiss-like, more directly-democratic, constitutional model for Scotland? A confederation of Scottish mainland and island regions in which the interests of all, large and small, and taking environmental circumstances into account, can be well-represented?
Here is recent article about an interesting proposal to adapt the ingenious Swiss constitution to the EU, taking advantage of its capacity to allow different cultures to cooperate successfully, and without needing a president.
https://www.liberation.fr/debats/2019/05/21/matthieu-calame-ceux-qui-sont-reticents-a-un-projet-de-federation-europeenne-doivent-se-rendre-a-l-e_1728626
Despite calling itself a “confederation” (which the EU is) Switzerland is of course (just to confuse us) a federation, which system seems little adapted to Scotland as we know it.
As for more referendums, maybe just one will be enough 🙂
While he was shagging the Tory groupies he suddenly slammed on the brakes and turned right into the path of an oncoming lorry.
The latest bunny girl will be glad for the redemptive power of wine on her sofa.
” I am a totally selfish cunt , totally unfit to run a car , woman or country. “
Back to Mandelson. Note the Guardian authors.
‘Mandelson, the minister and the secret £373,000 loan
Blair and Whitehall not told about deal for two years
By David Hencke, Ewen Macaskill and Seumas Milne
22 December 1998
Cabinet minister Peter Mandelson is involved in a secret financial arrangement with his beleaguered government colleague Geoffrey Robinson concerning a loan of £373,000 to buy his London home, a Guardian investigation can reveal.
The extraordinary deal was not disclosed to Tony Blair for more than two years, despite the crucial political relationship and close personal friendship between Mr Mandelson and the Prime Minister. Key Whitehall officials were also kept in the dark until a few days ago.’
https://www.theguardian.com/century/1990-1999/Story/0,,112756,00.html
That’s Robinson, one time owner of the New Statesman, who lives in a Lutyens mansion on the outskirts of Godalming in Surrey and who has been the Labour MP for Coventry NW since 1976. That latter fact is Incredible. Why do they keep voting him in?
He last spoke in the HoC in September last year and is absent for many votes. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10506/geoffrey_robinson/coventry_north_west/recent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Robinson
The sum he loaned to Mandelson is worth nearly double now allowing for inflation @ 2.8% pa.
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/inflation/inflation-calculator
I’ve always thought £373,000 an odd figure for a secret loan and suspect it was actually $500,000, with the media converting its value to sterling as a favour to Blair and to save both parties “embarrassment”. But a loan between friends, why not 370K or 375K? Robinson is a wealthy businessman and Mandelson was Trade and Industry Minister at that time, and Mandelson is a known money-grubber.
$500,000 in $100 dollar bills would fit nicely into a shoebox, and putting a few hundred here, a few hundred there into your pocket it would last a long time. But under the bed that worthwhile sum would miss out on lots of interest when banks still paid interest, and I suspect it was trying to get it into a bank (against advise!) is the reason this sum, this “loan”, became known about. All just my opinion, of course.
Maybe, just maybe, that was the price of the house…
@ Kempe July 10, 2019 at 17:37
Or maybe, just maybe, the down payment for a soul…
Don’t be old and poor in England, no need for corrupt or bung taking g politicians to worry though. Post Brexit it will only get worse.
“Health and social care spending cuts linked to 120,000 excess deaths in England”
https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjopen/2017/11/15/health-and-social-care-spending-cuts-linked-to-120000-excess-deaths-in-england/
“Poor.
Old.
Tired.
Ros.”
Note to future blog researchers: That was an obscure but apt reference to 1960s Scottish beatnik poetry, ye ken mon.
RoS You are completely right. I was speaking to a consultant physician yesterday. He would confirm what you say also. The hospitals are full of managers and underlings who know nothing and care even less about the patients’ welfare and the increasing workload of the medical professionals. Many doctors are leaving.
Case closed. It’s Assange who dun it from prison. He got Snowden and his Russian hackers to do it somehow, and Greenwald leaked it to the Mail on Sunday.The courts will soon have him on his way to the USA.
Fintan O’Toole rates Chris Cook’s new book Defeated by Brexit. Key quotes regarding the negotiations.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-a-spiffing-tale-of-how-brexit-was-spaffed-away-1.3950422
“… Mandarins who had actually worked on European issues were actively excluded on the grounds that they might have “gone native”.”
“… senior officials working on Brexit … were “generalists” with little knowledge of the EU or trade, but that, astonishingly, their average age is 30.”
Mr. Mandelson? The gentleman who was often seen staying in the Hamptons with American friends?
Thank you, the robber-baronism is becoming more blatant everywhere. Is capitalism doomed to progress in that direction ? Of course the underlying social structure is as inescapably biased.
The percentage of powerful occupations the private school elite controls is,
senior judges 65% (thus the assange judgements)
civil service permanent secretaries 59%
diplomats 52
newspaper columnists 44
mens cricket team 43, rugby 37, football 5
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/25/britains-top-jobs-still-in-hands-of-private-school-elite-study-finds
https://www.suttontrust.com/research-paper/elitist-britain-2019/
“It has become my firm belief that the destruction of the UK state by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, and the purging of the financial cesspit that is London by Jeremy Corbyn, are both essential to human progress.”
I heartily agree Craig, I heartily agree.
Corruption isn’t less in smaller organisations. On the contrary, on lower levels, like the communal level, there is less oversight and therefore more corruption than at higher levels, such as the national or EU level. Thus, there is no guarantee that an independent Scotland would be less corrupt than the UK.
Having said that, the UK is a special case when it comes to corruption because of the tax havens in the British territories. The British tax havens channel most of the World’s black money. Since most of it is managed by the City of London, it greatly benefits the UK economy and Westminster has therefore no interest in limiting the flow of black money.
The UK has institutionalised corruption, yes.
Jeremy Hunt stays mum when asked about Assange on way to press freedom conference (VIDEO)
What did UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the host of an international media freedom conference, have to say about the controversial arrest and pending extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange? Nothing.
Jul 11, 2019
RT were not allowed into the conference. I believe Mrs Clooney was alongside Hunt. A disgusting pair.
Boris is CFI. They got the mayoral role and will get the PM deal. Boris owes them. He is a fool, immature and insane. A sell out as long as he gets the title. Expect more of the same. He writes the cheques in your name for mass murder and genocide. Those who have taken great risks to avoid both regional and possibly a global confrontation are growing tired. Israel might think it can get the United States and Russia to slug it out and become the dominant global power. That will not happen. They will fight to exhaustion. Israel, like the English grunting toffs are just plain old cowards and need others to do the dirty work.
The Guardian has just renewed the story from 30 years back about Johnson conspiring to have a journalist assaulted.
Reporter who Boris Johnson conspired to have beaten up demands apology
Stuart Collier tells the Guardian the Tory frontrunner is not fit to be prime minister
Sun 14 Jul 2019 16.00 BST Last modified on Sun 14 Jul 2019 17.08 BST
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/14/journalist-stuart-collier-boris-johnson-phone-call-darius-guppy-demands-apology
Presumably they want Hunt for PM to state the obvious. At
I am sick and tired of being ruled over by millionaires whose only reason for being there is to further enrich themselves! Whist honest politicians like Corbyn (£8.95) claimed in expenses, Are constantly blackened by the Media. Is it because most of the Media are also wealthy ex public schoolboys who will not countenance a state educated MP like Corbyn being given any power. ?