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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Cronyism and Corruption
Byline Times uncovers the nepotism that greases the wheels of British politics.
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Company That Supplied Hundreds of Millions of Pounds of Unusable COVID Tests Saw Profits Skyrocket to £178 Million After Lobbying Conservative Peer for Contract
Primer Design’s turnover jumped by 4,800% after supplying tests that were later deemed “unfit for public use”
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Matt Hancock Intervened to Help Conservative Donor’s Pizza Firm Land Lucrative Covid PPE Contract
Two days before winning the contract, the company, which had no previous experience of supplying medical equipment, removed ‘pizza’ from its name
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Donald Trump’s Claim That Marine Le Pen’s Conviction is a ‘Witch Hunt’ Doesn’t Hold Up
Friends and opponents of the far-right French politician need to be honest about what her barring from the next Presidential election is really about, argues Olly Haynes
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Keir Starmer Plans to Crack Down on Political Interference by Foreign Billionaire Donors
The Prime Minister is under pressure to close legal loopholes that would allow tech billionaire and Donald Trump aide Elon Musk to funnel millions of dollars into right-wing political parties in the UK
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Civil Servants Felt Pressured Into Giving ‘Special Treatment’ to Conservative-Connected COVID PPE Suppliers
Private correspondence reveals officials felt threatened by firms benefiting from “back-scratching” by Conservative ministers
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Cabinet Office Misled the Public Over Michael Gove’s Involvement with VIP Lane’s Biggest Winner
Unispace Global were awarded £679 million in PPE deals from the government after the company’s offer “came through” Cabinet Minister Michael Gove – contradicting the then-Government’s claims of no involvement
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Michael Gove Told Officials to Buy 10,000 Ventilators From Dyson During Pandemic in ‘Affront’ to Procurement Rules
Evidence published by the Covid Inquiry reveals that the Conservative Minister was “insistent that an order” was placed with leading Brexiter Sir James Dyson’s firm
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With Another Felony Conviction, Will Nigel Farage’s Pal Steve Bannon be Barred from the UK?
Grant Stern explains the origin of the Byline Times exclusive that ended in another conviction for the Breitbart/Cambridge Analytica boss
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PPE COVID Cash Carousel: Documents Expose Government’s Struggle to Recover £520 Million Lost to Dissolved and Bankrupt Firms
Hundreds of millions were wasted on contracts with zombie companies which vanished before any taxpayers’ cash could be recovered
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Robert Jenrick Wasted £15 Million on a Contaminated Site to House Asylum Seekers That Can’t Be Used
Conservative ministers purchased the contaminated land and asbestos-ridden buildings, despite warnings from officials
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Keir Starmer’s Promised ‘Covid Corruption Buster’ is Being Set Up to Fail, Former Anti-Fraud Chief Warns
Ex-Serious Fraud Office chief Sir David Green KC says he is “depressed” about the apparent downgrading of the role
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Another Billion in Conservative Crony Contracts: Landmark Investigation Reveals New ‘Red Flags’ in Covid-Era PPE Contracts
Shocking new report updates Byline Times’ investigations into pandemic contracts with a “profound” risk of corruption
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Keir Starmer Urged to Work With Leaders in Governance and Transparency to ‘Rebuild Public Trust’
A letter, coordinated by the UK Open Government Network, has been sent to the Prime Minister offering him support and requesting a meeting
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Helicopter Cash: Rishi Sunak’s Reliance on Taxpayer-Funded Air Travel Exposed – and the Conservative Donors who Fund his Trips and Benefit From Huge Government Contracts
The Prime Minister’s penchant for air travel dwarfs that of his predecessors flies in the face of the Government’s net zero pledges and comes days after his D-Day dodging shame
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Conservatives Promote JCB’s ‘Revolutionary’ Pothole Machine While Taking Millions of Pounds in Donations from the Company
Senior Conservatives have repeatedly promoted a pothole repair machine made by a company which has donated huge sums to the party and its MPs
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David Meller: Exploring the Political Nexus Behind the Michael Gove Ally Given Controversial £164 million PPE Deals
After being awarded six large PPE contracts the Conservative donor was last year elevated to the prestigious UK Board of Trade by Kemi Badenoch
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Conservative Donor Who Won £164m PPE Contracts Admits Deleting Emails
David Meller was referred to the ‘VIP Lane’ by his long-term political ally Michael Gove
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Keir Starmer Faces an Immediate Test of His Pledge to ‘Crackdown on Cronyism’
The Labour leader’s decision to make restoring trust in public life the centre piece of his election campaign, raises questions about his own record
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The Mone Scandal Shows New Laws Around Offshore Ownership Aren’t Working
New legislation designed to limit the activities of Russian oligarchs seems to be more honoured in the breach than the observance
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COVID Cronyism and Mone – The Tip of the Iceberg: Byline Times’ Full Story of the PPE Cash Carousel
Byline Times has been unravelling the dealings behind the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the UK since the very early days of the pandemic. Here’s what we learnt – and what we still need answers to…
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Michelle Mone’s Lawyer Distances Himself from Baroness’ Claim She Lied to the Press on his Advice
A lawyer acting for the lawyer of Baroness Michelle Mone told Byline Times it would be defamatory to suggest David McKie ‘knowingly represented a false position’
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Respected Health Professionals Feel ‘Duped’ into Appearing in Michelle Mone PPE Documentary
A film about the PPE scandal did not declare to some contributors it was being funded by a company that won £203 million in Government PPE contracts
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Companies House Failings Enable Global Fraud and Identity Theft
The lax management of the UK companies register allows fake businesses to proliferate
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Revealed: Former MPs Used Parliament Access Passes Over 3,000 times
This is the last time you’ll ever know about ex-MPs who lobby for nuclear, gambling and energy industries visiting Parliament – because Jacob Rees Mogg had all the data destroyed
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‘Noisy Reporting’ by Media of COVID Financial Scandals led to UK’s Slump in Corruption Index, Cabinet Office Claims
A new parliamentary report reveals that, apart from the £16.4 billion estimated tax and benefit fraud found by the National Audit Office last year, ministers have no idea about the level of fraud in the rest of government
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Rishi Sunak’s Government is ‘Institutionally Corrupt’ Say Voters
A majority of voters believe corruption in the UK Government has got worse in recent years, according to our exclusive new poll
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Rishi Sunak Says ‘All Crimes’ Must Be Investigated – So Why is he Blocking Plans to Go After Fraudsters, Cronies and Kleptocrats?
Sunak’s Government is throwing out plans to get dirty money out of the UK
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Three Sensible, Non-Radical Things Labour Could Do to Reform our News Media
Nothing drastic is required if a new government is to tackle the obvious crisis in the way we get our news, while the benefits of change could be enormous
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Government Criticised for ‘Panic Buying’ PPE and Setting Up ‘VIP Lane’ for Contracts with Conflict of Interest Risk ‘High by Design’
A new report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee found that the Government was driven by ‘an overriding impetus to buy’ PPE during the pandemic – with ‘limited’ safeguards in place
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Can we Trust Angela Rayner’s Promise to Clean ‘Bad Chaps’ Out of Government?
Labour’s Deputy Leader made a welcome pledge to end the ‘good chaps’ approach to Government, which allowed sleaze and corruption to persist under the Conservatives.
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Hundreds of COVID-Related Contract Documents – Worth More Than £7 Billion – Have Still Not Been Published
Despite Government claims, a total of 272 contracts by NHS England and NHS Supply Chain Coordination have not been made public
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PPE Firm Subject to £122m Recovery Action from UK Government Has Only £4m in Assets
After £200m in Government COVID contracts, PPE Medro, associated with the Conservative peer Baroness Mone, appears to have few assets left
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What Rishi Sunak is Trying to Hide with his WhatsApp Cover-Up
The Prime Minister’s real motivation for refusing to comply with the COVID Inquiry is not to protect Boris Johnson – but to protect himself, reports Adam Bienkov
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Rishi Sunak is Still Trying to Hide His Financial Interests
The Prime Minister’s pledge to bring in a new era of transparency, integrity and accountability now looks irretrievably broken, reports Adam Bienkov
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Everything to Declare: The Conflicts of Interest Rishi Sunak Won’t Talk About
Despite promising a new era of ‘accountability’ and integrity, Sunak has failed to fully declare his extensive personal and familial financial interests, reports Adam Bienkov
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The Second-Jobbing MPs Earning Millions Outside Parliament
A Byline Times investigation reveals 20 MPs working the equivalent of at least one day a week on second jobs
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No Shades of Gray: Privileges Committee Report Exposes Boris Johnson’s ‘Partygate’ Lies
A damning new report blows apart the former Prime Minister’s claims to have been ‘stitched-up’ over the scandal of lockdown parties in Downing Street, reports Adam Bienkov
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REVEALED: MPs’ Gifts from Gulf States Accused of Human Rights Abuses
Analysis by this newspaper reveals Conservative MPs make up the majority of those in receipt – as post-Brexit trading opportunities appear to be trumping ethical concerns for the Government
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Design Company Awarded £25m PPE Contract Applies to be Struck Off Without Submitting Any Accounts
Luxe Lifestyle Ltd, which provided 9m unusable items during the Coronavirus crisis via a ‘VIP lane’, has applied to be struck off without reporting how the money was spent
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‘The Boris Johnson Loan Scandal Shows how Cronyism Corrupts Public Life’
BBC Chairman Richard Sharp’s hidden involvement in arranging a £800,000 loan for the former PM exposes the gilded upper circles of politics and media in the UK, writes Adam Bienkov
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The Corruption League of Shame
The stark drop in Britain’s score is driven by an increased perception of corruption in public office from business executives and experts
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Calls for Government to Publish ‘Secret’ List of Ministers’ Interests After Boris Johnson BBC Scandal
As the former PM continues to deny he sought financial advice from the BBC’s now Chairman, guidance from his civil servant at the time has contradicted this, reports Josiah Mortimer
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Rishi Sunak’s Government is Sinking Into its Own Swamp
The Prime Minister promised a break from the chaos and corruption of Boris Johnson’s administration. After three months, his MPs fear little has changed
