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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£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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Syria’s Assad Cements Control Amid Continued International Inaction
Jonathan Fenton-Harvey reports on how a sham election with Russian and Iranian support is creating a failed state in Syria
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‘Farms Will Not be Able to Survive This’: Farmers Speak Up About Brexit’s Damaging Impact
As the details of Boris Johnson’s trade deals are unveiled, two farmers spoke to Byline TV about the pessimistic post-Brexit future of their industry
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Revealed: Michael Gove and Priti Patel Linked to Israeli Military Charities and Netanyahu Propaganda Video
Nafeez Ahmed on the lobbying connections of the only two ministers to have met in private with the Israeli Prime Minister
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The Republican Party’s Strings Are Still Being Pulled By Trump
As a commission to investigate the storming of the US Capitol on 6 January is blocked by Republican Senators, CJ Werleman explores the effects of the lasting influence of the controversial former President
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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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Why Johnson’s Meeting with Viktor Orbán Is Provoking Controversy
Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister will meet Johnson at Downing Street – but what will the pair find to talk about? Sian Norris sums up the controversies surrounding Viktor Orbán
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A Very British Trump – A Leader Captured by Media
‘Britain Trump’ was how the former US President once described Boris Johnson. Now Dominic Cummings’ testimony has confirmed our worst fears, writes Peter Jukes
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A State No Longer Fit For Purpose
Professor Chris Painter argues that the British state, long creaking, has been put under intolerable pressure by Boris Johnson’s Premiership
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State Kidnapped Belarusian Dissident Roman Protasevich is the Victim of a New Cold War
Nikola Mikovic reports on how the West’s reaction to a new wave of suppression in Belarus could drive it closer to Putin and the Kremlin
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Report into Conservative Party Finds Majority of Complaints Relate to Anti-Muslim Discrimination
The Singh investigation reveals that comments made by the Prime Minister gave an impression of insensitivity towards the Muslim community, Sian Norris reports
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The Problems Plaguing the UK’s Post-Brexit Trade Deals
Sam Bright summarises the key issues with the UK’s attempts to forge new economic alliances after leaving the world’s largest trading bloc
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Every MP Who Cares About Democracy Must Unite to Stop the Government’s Attacks on its Foundations
Labour MP Stephen Kinnock and Kyle Taylor set out the case for cross-party co-operation to protect the electoral integrity of our political system
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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
