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SubscriptionsColumn / Investigation: Crypto Politics
Dark money, lobbying, regulatory capture, state institutions hollowed by donor factions, foreign interference, and the financialisation of political power.
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Campaigners Concerned ‘Hostile Environment’ Returning to Schools
Schools are requesting proof of pupils’ immigration status, although Government denies return to ‘hostile environment’ policy, reports Stephen Delahunty The Government has denied it is reintroducing a “hostile environment” into schools after reports emerged of parents being asked to produce their children’s passports as proof of their immigration status. The term “hostile environment” describes immigration…
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The UK-Australia Trade Deal: A Tale of Brexit Insanity
Otto English dissects the disadvantages that a free trade agreement between the two countries would bring to the UK
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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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Concerns About Voter Suppression Will be Dismissed as ‘Conspiracy Theories’ – But It Is a Real Threat to Our Democracy
Mike Buckley digs into the motivations behind Boris Johnson’s proposal that a form of ID should be shown by people voting in future elections
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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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The Facebook Oversight Board is itself an Information Operation
Caroline Orr shows how the political havoc caused by Mark Zuckerberg – the most powerful non-state actor in the world – is baked into his business model
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Voter Fraud is a Fallacy: These Are the Real Dangers to British Democracy
Sam Bright explains that there are more investigations into the Prime Minister’s conduct than annual voter fraud convictions, and lists the genuine threats to democracy in the UK
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The Charmed Life and Strange, Sad Death of the Quilliam Foundation
Nafeez Ahmed analyses the rise, decline and sudden fall of Maajid Nawaz’s government-backed counter-extremism think tank
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Who is Behind Spain’s Anti-Rights Movement?
In the first of a series, Sian Norris reports on the global network behind Spanish-founded anti-rights platform CitizenGO – friends with the far-right Vox Party
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Windrush Fear Drives Record Number of European Applications for British Citizenship
A lack of trust in the Home Office has caused EU migrants to seek permanent status in the UK, reports Joshua Stein
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Avoidable Sabre Rattling in Jersey Can’t Hide Brexit’s Impact on Fishing
Gunboats patrolling Jersey’s waters was avoidable, yet the fracas with France is one of many Brexit-related issues plaguing the fishing industry, David Hencke and Sian Norris report
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UNESCO Names Brexiter Arron Banks as ‘Prime Instigator’ of Online Harassment Against Female Journalist
A report into online violence against women journalists finds political actors and right-wing media play a significant role in spreading disinformation and inciting harassment, Sian Norris reports
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‘We’re Balancing the Books on the Backs of the World’s Poor’: Former Conservative Minister Speaks Out Against Foreign Office Cuts
Adrian Goldberg reports on the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of lives due to changes in UK policy
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Could Its COVID Catastrophe Save Indian Democracy from Fascism?
CJ Werleman explores how the gross mismanagement of the Coronavirus’ second wave in India may have created serious problems for Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-populist Government
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Government Cuts to Reproductive Health Funding Fit into an Anti-Rights Agenda
The international aid cuts to reproductive health services put women’s lives at risk and reflect the anti-rights positions of more than one Conservative donor, Sian Norris reports
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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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The Ukraine Disinformation Plot: FBI Raid Home and Office of Trump’s Personal Lawyer
Heidi Siegmund Cuda explains the background to the search warrants executed on Rudy Giuliani
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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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UK’s Post-Brexit Mexican Trade Deal Left Obsolete
The EU-Mexico Agreement has thrown a spanner in the works, reports David Hencke
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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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Did Cambridge Analytica Collude with Russia’s Intelligence Services to Interfere in US Elections?
Wendy Siegelman looks at new evidence about the US polling data handed to Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik, and the role of the now-defunct election campaign company co-founded by Steve Bannon
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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
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Putin’s Purges: A ‘Frontal Attack’ on Navalny and his Allies
Zarina Zabrisky catalogues the rising suppression and prosecution of Navalny’s relatives, opposition lawyers, activists and journalists across Russia in the last few weeks
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Lords Raise ‘Grave Concerns’ about Brexit’s Impact on Family Law, Crime and Justice
UK law enforcement can no longer immediately access real-time data about persons and objects of interest, including wanted and missing persons
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UK in Brexit Limbo with EU Disputes Resolution Bodies Still Not Set Up, Say Lords
Twenty-five committees and five study groups to cover almost every conceivable area of interest between the EU and UK have still not been established
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David Cameron: Johnson’s Convenient Scapegoat
With his dual tactics of projection and deflection, the current Prime Minister has pulled off a masterstroke by launching an inquiry into the former Prime Minister’s conflicts of interest, says Hardeep Matharu
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Special Investigation: ‘Mind Boggling’– US Experts Speak Out Against Appointment of New UK Government Counter-Extremism Chief
Robin Simcox’s connections to anti-Muslim conspiracy theories raise concerns across the Atlantic
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New Government Counter-Extremism Chief’s Ties to Pro-Trump Hate Groups
Nafeez Ahmed reports on the alarm bells raised by the appointment of Robin Simcox as the Lead Commissioner on Countering Extremism
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Conflict of Interest Concerns Over £15 Million COVID Contract
A new Government deal raises further questions about the Government’s approach to conflict of interest transparency
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‘We’re Living in a Bizarre Fantasy World’: Alastair Campbell on Boris Johnson, Brexit and Labour
The former Downing Street communications chief is incensed about the state of politics and the media
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Mainstream Conservatism and Far-Right Extremism – An Increasingly ‘Blurred Distinction’
The Council of Europe’s European Conservatives and Democratic Alliance brings together UK Conservative MPs with neo-fascist politicians, Sian Norris reports
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Dido Harding Hands More Power to Local Health Teams in NHS Test and Trace Trial
After months of pressure, more responsibility has been handed to local contact tracers, reports Sam Bright
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We Don’t Just Need a COVID Inquiry – We Need a Proper, Independent COVID Inquiry
The Johnson Government will go to extreme lengths to avoid scrutiny of its record, says Brian Cathcart. We must not settle for a sham
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Is War Between Russia and Ukraine Just a Matter of Time?
Nikola Mikovic analyses the military build-up in Eastern Ukraine as tensions mount again between Kyiv and Moscow
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Mapping the Pandemic: £2 Billion in Contracts Awarded to Conservative Associates
Pulling together a year of evidence, Byline Times and The Citizens can reveal that deals worth billions have been awarded to top Conservative Party associates during the Coronavirus crisis
