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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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Government Money Goes to Three Companies Employing Conservative MPs in Second Jobs
That these potential conflicts of interest are not cited by the Government when information about grants, contracts or meetings is publicly released raises concern, reports Sam Bright
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VIP Lane: Michael Gove Referred Firm Owned by Donor and Close Political Ally
The Cabinet minister’s office played a role in the expedited deals awarded to a financial supporter of Gove and the Conservative Party
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The Conservative Party’s Private Healthcare Patrons
Sam Bright and Sian Norris explore the financial ties between Conservative MPs and private health companies
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‘Not Remotely a Corrupt Country’: 11 Shocking Sleaze Statistics That Prove Boris Johnson Wrong
Sascha Lavin catalogues the corruption stories that have plagued the Government since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister
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Where is the Government’s Anti-Corruption ‘Champion’?
Sam Bright explores the role of John Penrose MP, and his unwillingness to call out systemic corruption in the UK
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How Political Corruption Works in the UK
Sam Bright explores the ways in which party donors and corporate interests are warping British democracy
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One-Fifth of Elite Conservative Donors Run Firms Penalised for Corporate Infringements
38 top donors to the governing party have held directorships in companies cumulatively fined nearly half a billion pounds since 2010, the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens reveal
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Lord Bethell’s Summit with Private Health Interests Over NHS Reforms
The Government has revealed the record of a private meeting between a health minister and various corporate entities, though the details are disputed
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Government Awards £12.4 Million Funding to Firm Owned by Tory Donor to Develop Flying Taxis
Significant amounts of public money have been invested in the company, yet the Government hasn’t declared any conflicts of interest, reveals Sam Bright
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£121.7 Million Increase in Profits for COVID Contract Winners With Conservative Links
Twelve COVID-contract winning firms with ties to the Conservative Party have increased their profits by 57.1%, Byline Times and The Citizens reveal
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‘Deception and Possible Fraud’: Ministers Accused of Misleading Parliament Over HS2
Lord Tony Berkeley, the deputy chair of Boris Johnson’s review into the high speed rail link, claims the public is being kept in the dark over spiralling costs
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Government Procurement and the Lack of Trust
After the scandal of crony contracts, Stephen Colegrave digs into the Government’s Green Paper setting out a new regime to regulate nearly £300 billion in public spending
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Revealed: The Involvement of Palantir and Faculty in the UK Public Sector
Peter Thiel’s Palantir and an AI-company linked to Dominic Cummings combined have won public sector contracts worth over £100 million – including contracts connected to NHS data. Max Colbert reports with The Citizens
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Prominent Conservative Donor Wins Large Contract with Ministry of Justice
Company behind £450,000 donations to the Conservative party awarded a series of emergency Covid-19 work, alongside contract for new prison build, Max Colbert reports
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The Cost of COVID Loans and PPE: An Augury of More Austerity?
Richard Murphy looks at the Government’s poor decision making around Coronavirus costs, and how their poor accounting could be used as another excuse to cut public spending
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A Man’s World: 91% of Top COVID Contract Winners Are Run by Men
The Government’s outsourcing effort reveals a huge diversity imbalance in private sector suppliers, report the Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens
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Conservative Links to 30% of Top 20 COVID Contract Firms
The Byline Intelligence Team and The Citizens report on yet more conflict of interest questions surrounding the Government’s procurement during the pandemic
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Health Department Extends Conservative Donor’s Government Role
An individual who has donated more than £630,000 to the Conservatives in recent years has seen his role in Government extended for another year, reports Sam Bright
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Business Department Advisors Lobbied Government Bank Over Greensill Loans, Report Reveals
David Hencke reports on a new twist in the Greensill Capital lobbying saga uncovered by the independent public spending watchdog
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Firm Chaired By Government Health Procurement Advisor Wins New £20.6 Million Contract
The company has now been awarded deals worth close to £60 million during the pandemic, reports Sam Bright
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The Revolving Door Created by the Conservative Party Has a Long History
The same, well-connected insiders are allowed to sit at the side of power, especially in the field of education policy, reports Karam Bales
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Undeclared Health Minister Meetings With Firm Owned by Conservative Donor
One of the companies involved secured a £16 million grant from the Government, reports Sam Bright
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Health Department Failed to Declare Minister’s 27 Meetings Held at Outset of Pandemic
The companies involved went on to win £1.14 billion in Government contracts, reports Sam Bright
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Selective Sleaze: The Crescendo of the Cronyism Crisis
With a tabloid feeding frenzy over a minister’s alleged affair, Sam Bright, Peter Jukes and Hardeep Matharu explore the wider public issues concealed by personal scandal
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How Much Did We Pay For PPE? Data the Government Doesn’t Want to Reveal
John Lubbock inspects data that has been leaked and accidentally released about the amount the UK actually paid for PPE during the Coronavirus crisis
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The Transparency Gap: Government Publishes £4.2 Billion in PPE Contracts a Year Late
The Prime Minister previously claimed that ‘all the details are on the record’, reports Sam Bright
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£400 Million COVID Contract Winners Go On to Donate £615,000 to Conservatives
The Conservative Party’s coffers have been boosted by some of the individuals and firms that have benefitted from public sector deals during the Coronavirus crisis
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The Anatomy of a PPE Deal Awarded to a Matt Hancock Associate
After Dominic Cummings was pressed on Government procurement, during which the Health and Social Care Secretary attracted scathing criticism, Sam Bright reveals more alleged details about a £14.4 million PPE contract
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Government Faces Both Ways on Conflicts of Interest
New official guidance makes a mockery of the UK’s procurement policies during the Coronavirus pandemic, reports Sam Bright
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£7 Billion COVID Bailout for Private Train Firms Includes £70 Million ‘Management Fees’
Private rail operators are still making millions of pounds, despite the difficulties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, reports Sam Bright
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Downing Street Refurbishment Conducted by Firm With Conservative Links
Two Tory peers and a Government ‘advisor’ have close ties a firm tasked with revamping Downing Street, Sam Bright reveals
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Corruption Doesn’t Come With One Clear Smoking Gun – Which Is Why It’s So Hard to Expose
Iain Overton on investigative reporting, systemic nepotism and why the ‘War on Woke’ is a smokescreen
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From Cameron to COVID: 10 Years of Broken Transparency Promises
John Lubbock explains how the Coronavirus pandemic has unravelled the Government’s glib commitment to openness over public contracts
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Government Pays £38 Million to Firm After Reneging on COVID Contract
Matt Hancock’s department was forced to pay a large settlement to a company after deciding to pull out of a ‘Test and Trace’ deal, reports Stephen Delahunty
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£11.6 Billion in Public Contracts Won by Registered Lobbying Firms Since 2015
Companies that aim to influence government policy have been awarded deals worth billions in recent years
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Will Johnson’s ‘Major Sleaze’ Allegations Stick when Chumocracy is Already ‘Just the Way the World Works?’
Maheen Behrana doubts whether Keir Starmer’s new barb will resonate with the general public
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Against the Wall: How Johnson’s Cronyism Contributed to his Woeful Mishandling of the Coronavirus Pandemic
From “she’s buying gold wallpaper” to “let the bodies pile high”, questions must be asked about the priority the Prime Minister gave to the pandemic when it emerged last year – at the same time as he was worrying about matters closer to home
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Firm Owned by Boris Johnson’s ‘Downing Street Donor’ was Allowed to Bid for £130 Million Public Contracts
A company founded and owned by Lord Brownlow has been awarded access to public contracts
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Archbishop of Fantasy: Political Corruption and the Ethic of Forgiveness
Justin Welby’s suggestion corrupt politicians should be forgiven misses the need for reparations in Christian teaching, explains Reverend Joe Haward
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Government of the Redacted, by the Redacted, for the Redacted
Sam Bright reports on how officials have struck-out crucial information in two uncomfortable cases
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‘We Did Everything We Could’: Four Reasons Why the Government’s COVID Narrative is False
PPE procurement, Test and Trace, Nightingale hospitals, ventilators… Sam Bright rebuts the official rhetoric with some facts
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I Exposed the Dark Arts of Lobbying – A Decade On Nothing’s Changed
Iain Overton recalls his undercover investigation into a notorious PR firm and explains why the scandal around lobbying and the ‘revolving door’ has worsened under Boris Johnson’s Government
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Political Links to Firm that Prompted Greensill Demise
Sam Bright reports how a former Downing Street director of communications, a diplomat and an ex-First Minister of Wales all have ties to the company that worked in tandem with Greensill
