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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Putin Forced Armenia to Capitulate to Azerbaijan
As the US remains preoccupied with the presidential elections, Nikola Mikovic reports on how Russia appears to be resolving the conflict over the Armenian enclave
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£119 Million COVID-19 Testing Contract Awarded to Four-Month-Old DNA Analysis Firm
A company incorporated on 18 May was awarded a huge Government contract to ramp-up Coronavirus testing, reports Sam Bright
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The UK’s Not Immune to Trumpian Mail Ballot Antics
Donald Trump is articulating a spurious grievance held by Nigel Farage and other right-wing figures in the UK for years, says Sam Bright
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Government Buys PPE Made by Uyghur Muslims Under Chinese Labour Programme
The conditions of the Uyghurs forced to work in factories “strongly suggest forced labour”, Sam Bright reports
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‘Informal Arrangements’ Used for Government PPE Procurement, Says Health Minister
Lord James Bethell’s comments appear to validate leaked documents revealing an expedited system of the awarding contracts to “high profile contacts” of the Boris Johnson administration
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US Election 2020: UK Trumpocracy Provides Last Vanguard of President’s Defence
Donald Trump’s British acolytes are watching in idle complicity as he tears down the scaffolding of American democracy, argues Sam Bright
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Trumpocracy in the UK: Boris Johnson’s Lobby Group and US ‘Dark Money’
Nafeez Ahmed examines new tax filings in the US which raise more questions about the influence of the Henry Jackson Society on the UK Government
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Minister’s Meetings Fuel the Conservative Procurement Scandal
Records show that a Conservative MP, paid £100,000 a-year to advise a major healthcare firm, attended a ministerial meeting with that company just days after it was awarded a £133 million Government contract
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Michael Gove’s Lobbyists at the Heart of White Nationalist Trumpworld
In the next part of this special Byline Times investigation, Nafeez Ahmed delves into a controversial ‘Alt-Right’ event attended by key figures in a conservative lobbying group with Home Office funding to research Islamist militancy
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Ukraine’s Pivotal Role in the Trump-Putin Deal
Robert Waldeck with a comprehensive, compelling account of how the Ukraine crisis propelled Putin’s information war, the courtship of Donald Trump and the targeting of Joe Biden
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‘High Profile’ Government Contacts Given Priority in PPE Procurement, Leaked Documents Reveal
Questions should be asked about “whether politically connected ‘VIPs’ benefitted from lucrative inside information”, says the director of the Good Law Project, which was handed the documents
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Outsourcing Giant Paid £1,800-A-Day for Test and Trace Role
The Government shelled out £120,250 for a senior Test and Trace consultant to work for 66 days, Sam Bright reveals
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Trumpocracy in the UK: Did British Conservative Lobby Group Help Shape Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’?
In the second part of its special investigation, Byline Times reveals how the man credited with inspiring Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ had close links with members of a British conservative lobby group with links to Steve Bannon and the Mercers
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The ‘Lukashenko Must Go’ Campaign Faces its Final Crusade
If a national strike fails to bring down Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, opposition forces will be forced to play the long game, reports Nikola Mikovic
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£40.5 Million in PPE Contracts Awarded to ‘Micro’ Firm
The company has £134,500 assets yet has been awarded contracts worth tens of millions by the Government, reports Sam Bright
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Trumpocracy in the UK: Government Links with Steve Bannon and the Mercers
The links between an opaque think tank, the Conservative Government and major figures in the Trump campaign can be revealed in this first part of a special Byline Times investigation
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Half a Billion Pounds in Government PPE Deals Goes to Conservative Backers
The Shadow Cabinet Office Minister has condemned the awarding of procurement contracts to Conservative-linked firms without competition as ‘outrageous’
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Hotel Carpeting Company Grabs £5 Million in PPE Deals
The firm has £20,000 in assets and supplies carpeting and tiling for hotels, offices and boats, reports Sam Bright
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Miami Fashion Designer Awarded £148 Million in PPE Contracts
In the first of a new series of procurement exposés, Sam Bright reveals how a Florida-based fashion brand founder has been awarded huge deals by Boris Johnson’s Government
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Nagorno-Karabakh Ceasefire: A Hasty Russian Holding Tactic?
Kseniya Kirillova reports on how the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan shows Putin’s weaknesses in the ‘Post Soviet’ space
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Business Associate of Government ‘PPE Tsar’ Awarded £300,000 Contract
The man leading the Government’s personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement has seen an internal contract handed to a close business associate
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Is the Government in Breach of its Own Anti-Corruption Strategy?
Sam Bright reports on how Boris Johnson’s Government appears to be violating several elements of its own anti-corruption agenda
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£2.3 Billion of PPE Supplied by Company With Just 25 Employees
The company has supplied a fifth of the Government’s PPE stockpile, yet virtually none of the contracts are publicly available, reports Sam Bright
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Government Dodges PPE Procurement Scrutiny
Boris Johnson’s administration is stubbornly refusing to answer questions from MPs about the PPE procurement scandal, reports Sam Bright
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£70 Million Government PPE Contract for Small ‘Luxury Packaging’ Firm
The Government awarded the deal to a firm with just £46,000 in the bank, reports Sam Bright
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Kyrgyzstan Turmoil: Is Russia Losing its Hold on Central Asia?
Nikola Mikovic reports on the third domino to fall among Putin’s allies and questions around the Kremlin’s ability to influence its neighbours
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The Death of a Journalist ‘Blame the Russian Federation’
Kseniya Kirollova reports on the death of Irina Slavina, editor of the best known independent newspaper in the Volga region of Russia
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How Trump is Working with Russian Intelligence
Stephen Komarnyckj on reports US Intelligence services are suppressing evidence that the US President is still colluding with Putin’s influence operations
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‘A Single Source of Truth’: More Government Outsourcing Projects to Controversial Tech Firms Revealed
A new report lays bare details of the Government’s Coronavirus work conducted by Dominic Cummings’ favourite tech companies
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Azerbaijan–Armenia Conflict: Braced for Escalation
Nikola Mikovic reports on the intensification of violence between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as foreign superpowers wait in the wings
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‘Trumpian’ Conservative Party Plans for UK Voter Identification
With allegations of black voter suppression re-emerging in the US, Stephen Delahunty looks at similar attempts to disenfranchise millions of voters in the UK
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Myths and Misinformation Undermine the NHS
NHS consultant David Oliver punctures the dangerous fallacies surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic
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Trump, Cummings and Cambridge Analytica: The Digital Threat to Democracy
Tom Scott on how new revelations about voter suppression the US raise urgent questions about psychographic targeting of UK voters and plans to strip citizens of data protection rights
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The Kremlin’s French Connection: Five Reasons Why Putin Still Commands Gallic Respect
With support from the Far Right, and distrust of NATO and the US from the left, Tom Miles explains why Russian interference is not the issue in France it is in the UK
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Trump and Putin: Is Naftogaz the Big Prize?
Paul Niland explores the evidence that, with the help of the US President, Ukrainian’s state-owned oil and gas company could be an important asset in Russia’s hybrid warfare
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Who is the Legitimate Leader of Belarus?
Nikola Mikovic considers the future of the opposition movement in Belarus, after autocrat Alexander Lukashenko was secretly inaugurated for a sixth consecutive term
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‘Like Fish Markets’: PPE Supplier Lifts the Lid on Government Procurement ‘Scramble’
A business owner asked to provide £22 million of PPE by the Government sheds light on the frantic, high-stakes process
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The COVID Chumocracy
The UK under Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings is being governed by party stooges and corporate blobs lacking experience but offering loyalty, argues Sam Bright
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Government Spending on PPE Deals to Conservative Backers Rises to £364 Million
As the amount of taxpayers’ money the Government has awarded to Conservative donors and politicians in PPE procurement rises, health professionals continue to call for adequate protection as a second Coronavirus wave approaches
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Firm Owned By Conservative Donor Nets Additional £81.8 Million Government PPE Deals
The Government has awarded massive COVID-19 contracts to a firm owned by a Conservative backer without competition, reports Sam Bright
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Firm That Gave £400,000 to Conservatives Wins £93.8 Million Government PPE Deal
Another company with links to the Conservative Party has been awarded a massive PPE procurement contract, reports Sam Bright
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Boris Johnson’s Government is Silencing MPs, and the People We Represent
Geraint Davies MP explains why the Government’s decision to end online participation of MPs in Parliament is disenfranchising up to 15 million people and endangering democracy
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Government Awards £122 Million PPE Contract to One-Month-Old Firm
New details of the procurement scandal emerge, after Boris Johnson is asked about the questionable awarding of Government contracts at Prime Minister’s Questions
