Outside the system
Author: David Hencke
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Another Great British World-Beating Fiasco
David Hencke reports on how much money has been wasted on the Government’s NHSX tracing app, which it has now ditched to follow one being used by other countries for some time
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Ruling by Decree: Boris Johnson and his Henry VIII Powers
David Hencke reports on new analysis from the House of Lords that reveals an extensive power grab by the Prime Minister and his Government
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Whitehall Analytica: Dominic Cummings’ Shake-Up of the British State Gathers Pace
David Hencke reports on how, having survived the scandal of breaking the COVID-19 lockdown, Boris Johnson’s chief advisor is not letting the Coronavirus crisis go to waste
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Dominic Cummings’ Whitehall Revolution is Underway
David Hencke reports on how the scandal-hit No. 10 chief advisor has already begun his long-term promise to use Big Tech models to disrupt the British state.
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Dominic Cummings’ Billion-Dollar Brainchild
David Hencke reveals up to £940 million in funding towards the No. 10 chief advisor’s pet project of a US-style research agency — ARPA.
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£8bn NHS Health Data Plan: Tech Arm Set Up Without Oversight Official Watchdog Reveals
David Hencke reports on revelations from the National Audit Office over massive IT spending and the unaccountable role of NHSX.
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Immunology Pioneer’s Legacy Threatened by Coronavirus Lockdown
While the Jenner Institute is at the centre of the search for a COVID-19 vaccine, David Hencke explains how a museum dedicated to Edward Jenner is threatened because of the lockdown.
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WHITEHALL ANALYTICA: NHSX Contact Tracing App — Management Outsourced to Private Company and to be Accessed Overseas
David Hencke explores COVID-19 contracts worth £8m handed out by the UK Government for its controversial centralisation of personal data.
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Parliament’s Standards Committee Demands Apologies from Two Government Trade Ministers
As one minister resigns, David Hencke reports on a rare dual rebuke to two members of Boris Johnson’s Government.
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UK Imposes Sanctions on Trump
David Hencke reveals that to abide with World Trade Organisation and EU rules, Britain is set to impose retaliatory tariffs on the US.
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Costs to Spruce Up Big Ben Spiral by 176% in Four Years
David Hencke on a damning report by the National Audit Office revealing how poor oversight, weak governance and high staff turnover have ramped up costs.
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Palantir Coronavirus Contract Did Not Go to Competitive Tender
David Hencke reveals that the UK Government’s COVID-19 contract with the data surveillance firm owned by Donald Trump-backer Peter Thiel was approved under an obscure statutory instrument.
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The Coronavirus Crisis: Government Not Classing Over-60s as At-Risk as UK Not a ‘Developing Nation’
Why is the UK only defining those over-70 as requiring shielding during the Coronavirus pandemic, in contradiction to guidance from the World Health Organisation?
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Why did Cabinet Office Rush through Procurement of Controversial Electoral Services Company Idox Just Before the General Election?
David Hencke investigates why Boris Johnson’s Government handed out £1.7 million for election management services without a competitive tender.
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Could Labour Lead a Progressive Party Conference to Work Out how to Defeat the Dark Johnson-Farage Double Act?
With the Tories already planning for a general election in five years, David Hencke looks at their vulnerabilities and the prospects of a progressive counter-attack.
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General Election 2019: What to Look Out for on the Night
David Hencke’s guide to the seats to keep an eye on and a few surprises that may be on the way.
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Zombie Neighbourhoods: London’s Disappearing Voters
David Hencke reveals how offshore riches and the explosion of Airbnbs is creating a rise in ghost towers and a falling electorate.
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Johnson Moonlights for £800k, Corbyn Just Does the Job
New analysis shows that, despite his populist announcements, the Prime Minister was the highest earning MP during the last Parliament.
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Labour’s 50s Women Pension Ambush
A last-minute £58bn offer by the Labour Shadow Chancellor to women seeking compensation for lost pensions could be an electoral game-changer.
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Boris Johnson’s Brexit Withdrawal Bill ‘Power Grabs’ Torpedoed by House of Lords Peers
The Lords’ Constitution Committee rushed out a report on the last day of Parliament to provide the only clause-by-clause scrutiny of the Prime Minister’s EU withdrawal legislation.
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Tory ‘Starter Homes’ Manifesto Pledge Never Got Started, Watchdog Finds
The National Audit Office has found that the funding for starter homes for first-time buyers has instead been spent on acquiring and preparing brownfield sites for housing more generally.
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Liz Truss’ Korean Trade Deal Torn Apart for Failures by Lords
A report by peers contests Government claims that separate British deals would be better than those secured with the EU.
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Gove Wasted Hundreds of Millions on Technical Colleges, Watchdog Finds
A new report by the National Audit Office reveals that 17% of the university technology colleges pioneered by Michael Gove as Education Secretary have closed.
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Fracked Off: Official Watchdog Slams Government Fracking Plans
The Conservative administration’s policy to expand hydraulic fracking to 20 sites is in disarray because of a slew of planning objections and worries about decommissioning.
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Brexit Chaos has Already Cost UK Science ‘€0.5 Billion a Year’
The Royal Society has highlighted the toll already taken by Brexit on the science sector as the “brightest and best” minds opt to stay away from Britain.
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Boris Johnson Backtracks over Pledges on Pensions Scandal and Social Care
The Prime Minister’s Queen Speech and recent announcements are a long way away from the commitments he was declaring during his leadership election.
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‘Back to 60’ Pensions Scandal: 1950s Women Launch Crowdfunder to Bring Appeal
A campaign group determined to secure compensation from the Government for 3.8 million women, born in the 1950s, who face a six-year delay in getting their pensions is continuing its fight.
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Will Brexit Lead to Separate Time Zones in Ireland?
A new European Union directive aims to abolish daylight saving time, which could result in a one hour time difference between the north and south of Ireland following the UK’s exit from the EU.
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‘Back to 60’ Pensions Scandal: The Fight Isn’t Over, 1950s Women Vow
The battle for 3.8 million women to be compensated due to a rise in the pension age continues, reports David Hencke, despite yesterday’s High Court ruling dismissing their case.
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Brexit Disaster Capitalism: Government Doffs Tinfoil Hat at Questions over Hedge Funds and Conflicts of Interests
Concerns first raised by Byline Times about the hedge funds and City backers donating to Boris Johnson were discussed in an Urgent Question in Parliament today.
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Cabinet Ethics Probe into Johnson’s Hedge Fund Backers
Byline Times has information that the prime minister’s backing by hedge funds invested in a hard Brexit is coming under scrutiny by the Cabinet Office.
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Lessons Not Learnt from Windrush Scandal over English Language Tests Cheating Claims, MPs Warn
The Home Office has made no effort to identify overseas students wrongly accused of cheating in oral exams, according to the Public Accounts Committee.
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Government Covering Up £100m Brexit Consultancy Contracts
Whitehall has been condemned by a powerful all-party committee of MPs for being over secretive about the award of nearly £100 million of management consultancy contracts to handle Brexit. The Commons’ Public Accounts Committee has accused Whitehall of breaching Government guidelines in making details of the contracts public, awarding nearly all of the work to…
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Therese Coffey: The Worrying Votes and Views of Boris Johnson’s Latest Right-Wing Appointment
Following Amber Rudd’s resignation from the Cabinet over the Prime Minister’s plans for a ‘no deal’ Brexit, a hardline figure has been handed her job at the Department for Work and Pensions.
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Boris Johnson’s No Deal Brexit Plot for the Lords Crashes and Burns
The fatal flaw in the Prime Minister’s plans to create 100 new ‘no deal’ Brexit-supporting peers.
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Parliament’s Financial Watchdog Launches Investigation into Boris Johnson’s No Deal Brexit
“Lessons can still be learned from the previous period of ‘no deal’ planning, where in some cases rushed decisions meant taxpayers’ money was not spent well,” says National Audit Office.
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Brits Seeking to Live and Work in Europe after No Deal’Brexit will be Left in ‘Purgatory’ as Member States Plan to Tighten Up Laws
David Hencke’s analysis of the restrictive measures being drawn up by European countries and EU member states on the post-Brexit fate of British nationals seeking to make their lives there.
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Trick or Treat? Is Halloween the Ominous Date for the Next General Election?
David Hencke speculates on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s limited options as he tries to keep hold of power in the face of a disorderly Brexit and a rebellious Parliament.
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Thousands of British Citizens Living in EU would have to Re-take Driving Tests in ‘No Deal’ Brexit Chaos, says Government
New guidance published by the Department for Transport reveals the upheaval a ‘no deal’ Brexit will cause for those looking to drive in EU countries.
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HMRC Staff Diverted to Brexit Work has Boosted Tax Credit Error and Fraud, Report Finds
£1.46 billion has been paid out in tax credits erroneously as civil servants are tasked with dealing with Brexit matters, according to the National Audit Office.
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Boom in Car Tax Evasion as Tax Discs Disappear
Half a million cars avoiding tax is leading to over a hundred million pounds of lost revenue reports David Hencke. The abolition of the need for every car and van in the UK to display a car tax disc has led to the tripling of the number of untaxed cars and soaring prosecutions and fines…
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A Fresh ‘Failing Grayling’ Ferry Fiasco?
A report by the Public Accounts Committee reveals that time is running out for the Transport Secretary to re-order contracts to bring in supplies if the Hallowe’en Brexit deadline is met.
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Civil Servants Enjoy Bumper Bonuses while Government Watchdog Slams ‘Errors’ which Punish the Poorest
Both overpayments and underpayments by the Department of Work and Pensions have soared to unprecedented levels according to the National Audit Office
