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Sunak is proving to be a very unlucky general – politicalbetting.com

SystemSystem Posts: 11,687
edited March 12 in General
Sunak is proving to be a very unlucky general – politicalbetting.com

Appeal panel found no evidence of report being leaked to press and concluded that Benton's arguments were "misconceived or erroneous." Benton is believed to be planning to stand as an independent in the by-election

Read the full story here

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    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,479
    edited February 20
    First like Labour in Blackpool South.
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    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,687
    Second like... anyone but the Tories.
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    MattWMattW Posts: 18,579
    edited February 20
    Third like Brendan Foster in the 1976 Olympic 5000 or 10000m final (one of them), I think.
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    The bad news for us punters is the sting operation on Benton will likely deter clean-living MPs from getting involved in betting issues.
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,799
    Funny that. Torquay must be on some other England's Riviera then.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,687
    Sunak’s very unlucky that he... landed a job for which he is singularly ill-suited.
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    LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 15,283
    Is Scott Benton likely to meaningfully split the Tory vote? He can't have much hope of saving his deposit, and might do well to come sixth.
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    Carnyx said:

    Funny that. Torquay must be on some other England's Riviera then.

    We can have a English Riviera North and a Riviera South.
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    ICYMI Covid in hospital drama Breathtaking (9pm ITV) is an excellent reminder of the chaos at the start of the pandemic.
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    ClippPClippP Posts: 1,687
    I would have thought Sunak was proving to be quite a lucky general, actually.

    After all, there are about 100 seats where the Lib Dems came second last time - and by a strange coincidence all the Tory MPs there are behaving themselves as they ought. So no resignations there....

    Just imagine what it would be like for Sunak if the Lib Dem bandwaggon got rolling again too.....

    And for what it's worth, I think it will - just as soon as this round of local elections really gets going....
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    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,687
    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054
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    nico679nico679 Posts: 4,841
    How long before Benton just resigns . He has zip chance of winning as an independent and the recall petition will certainly gather the 10% needed .

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    MattWMattW Posts: 18,579
    edited February 20
    I don't see the logic in the first pair of tweets,

    It's OK to offer to be corrupt, but not to actually *be* corrupt?

    WTF?

    Once Sunk, always Sunk.

    Especially by anagram.
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    TimSTimS Posts: 9,645
    At the current rate of by-election attrition - 7 flips in 8 months, possibly 8 in 9, we don’t need a GE. The Tory majority will be gone by 2028 and Labour will come to power in coalition around the turn of the decade.
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    TimSTimS Posts: 9,645
    ClippP said:

    I would have thought Sunak was proving to be quite a lucky general, actually.

    After all, there are about 100 seats where the Lib Dems came second last time - and by a strange coincidence all the Tory MPs there are behaving themselves as they ought. So no resignations there....

    Just imagine what it would be like for Sunak if the Lib Dem bandwaggon got rolling again too.....

    And for what it's worth, I think it will - just as soon as this round of local elections really gets going....

    This is the frustration currently. All these bloody by-elections and no recent Lib Dem opportunities.
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,799

    Carnyx said:

    Funny that. Torquay must be on some other England's Riviera then.

    We can have a English Riviera North and a Riviera South.
    Or two different Englands. It sure seems like it sometimes with the current lot in charge.
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    Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,543
    Anyway, what sort of name is 'Scott Benton' for a seat like Blackpool South? Sounds more like a third-rate USA politician from Utah or somewhere. Good riddance.
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
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    LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 15,283
    The only recalled MP to stand in the subsequent by-election was Christopher Davies (Brecon & Radnorshire, 2019) and his party (Conservatives) stood by him.

    I think there were a couple of other instances where it was said the recalled MP would stand as an independent, but they then thought better of it (Fiona Onasanya, Peterborough, 2019, being one).
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    CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,799

    Anyway, what sort of name is 'Scott Benton' for a seat like Blackpool South? Sounds more like a third-rate USA politician from Utah or somewhere. Good riddance.

    Wyoming, you mean, I think. Fort Benton. Great place for a clay called bentonite. Great for stopping diarrhoea if you are that way inclined.
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    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    edited February 20

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Should someone have told him though?
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Dave is beyond reproach.
  • Options
    Northern_AlNorthern_Al Posts: 7,543

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Dave is beyond reproach.
    And your love for him is beyond comprehension.
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,074

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
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    Andy_JS said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Should someone have told him though?
    Knowing when *not* to tell someone something is a crucial part of life.
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Dave is beyond reproach.
    And your love for him is beyond comprehension.
    He's my kind of Tory.
  • Options
    BenpointerBenpointer Posts: 31,687

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Yes - looks like you are right. Teflon Dave, eh?
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    TimSTimS Posts: 9,645
    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.
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    Andy_JS said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Should someone have told him though?
    Knowing when *not* to tell someone something is a crucial part of life.
    Particularly when it comes to relationships.
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    TimSTimS Posts: 9,645
    Carnyx said:

    Anyway, what sort of name is 'Scott Benton' for a seat like Blackpool South? Sounds more like a third-rate USA politician from Utah or somewhere. Good riddance.

    Wyoming, you mean, I think. Fort Benton. Great place for a clay called bentonite. Great for stopping diarrhoea if you are that way inclined.
    And clarifying wine.
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
    We will know if Kemi Badenoch is telling the truth if she repeats her allegations outside of the Commons.
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    MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 25,215

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
    He said, she said.

    He made his allegations in the Times newspaper. If his narrative is faulty Kemi should sue.

    Her allegations were made under the cover of Parliamentary privilege. I challenge the fragrant Kemi to repeat her rebuttal outside Parliament. Should she do so, we then have a decent idea that she is telling the truth.
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    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,430

    Andy_JS said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Should someone have told him though?
    Knowing when *not* to tell someone something is a crucial part of life.
    When I was young and stupid, I got told off for "officiously" providing information to a senior manager in a way that meant he was *known* to know it. I had blown up his future plausible deniability.

    I think that if I had set the building on fire, deliberately, there would have been less anger.
  • Options

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Dave is beyond reproach.
    And your love for him is beyond comprehension.
    He's my kind of Tory.
    The kind of Tory that inadvertently turns to a pile of smouldering wreckage decades of statesmanship because he can't stand up to his nutters, then flees the scene at the earliest opportunity thus neatly avoiding any responsibility for his accidental debacle?
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    nico679nico679 Posts: 4,841
    The default position should be that anyone to do with this cesspit government is a liar .

    That seems a sensible position to take given recent history !
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    NickPalmerNickPalmer Posts: 21,343

    The only recalled MP to stand in the subsequent by-election was Christopher Davies (Brecon & Radnorshire, 2019) and his party (Conservatives) stood by him.

    I think there were a couple of other instances where it was said the recalled MP would stand as an independent, but they then thought better of it (Fiona Onasanya, Peterborough, 2019, being one).

    Peter Bone came close to it - I think that the party expected that if they didn't put his partner up, he'd stand as an independent.
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    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    edited February 20
    Blackpool South is the sort of place where it might be difficult to get 10% of the electorate to sign a petition. It often has one of the lowest turnouts.
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    rcs1000rcs1000 Posts: 54,001

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
    Personally, I'm not convinced either of Kemi Badenoch or Henry Staunton is going to come out of the row with their reputations enhanced.

    (I suspect that she did fire him for the right reasons - that he was not being as cooperative as he should have been with the enquiry. But I also suspect that payments were stalled ahead of the General Election, because this was not a subject that the government wanted to face scrutiny over.)
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    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276
    I’ve had another email from Visit Leicester


    “Leicestershire visitor attraction to compete in public vote for major VisitEngland award

    Field Sport UK, an award-winning, family-run, outdoor activity centre in North West Leicestershire, has been selected as a finalist in VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar Awards 2024.”

    It’s literally in the top ten short list for “best small outdoor activity centres” in England

    Not even top 50. Top TEN

    My worry is that if this continues northwest Leicestershire may actually encounter drought or even famine due to the overpressure of global tourism
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    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276
    edited February 20
    Andy_JS said:

    Blackpool South is the sort of place where it might be difficult to get 10% of the electorate to sign a petition. It often has one of the lowest turnouts.

    Surely the major hurdle is that Blackpool south may actually have a literacy rate lower than 10%, rendering the target intrinsically implausible
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    MightyAlexMightyAlex Posts: 1,447

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Not the top man however. From the link: There is no evidence in the documents that then-prime minister David Cameron knew about the investigation or that it had been ditched.
    Dave is beyond reproach.
    And your love for him is beyond comprehension.
    He's my kind of Tory.
    The kind of Tory that inadvertently turns to a pile of smouldering wreckage decades of statesmanship because he can't stand up to his nutters, then flees the scene at the earliest opportunity thus neatly avoiding any responsibility for his accidental debacle?
    No, no, no. The kind that uses past public service connections to 'lobby' the government for a dodgy Aussie financier.

    “I am riding to the rescue with supply chain finance with my new friend Lex Greensill”
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    kamskikamski Posts: 4,255
    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,074
    rcs1000 said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
    Personally, I'm not convinced either of Kemi Badenoch or Henry Staunton is going to come out of the row with their reputations enhanced.

    (I suspect that she did fire him for the right reasons - that he was not being as cooperative as he should have been with the enquiry. But I also suspect that payments were stalled ahead of the General Election, because this was not a subject that the government wanted to face scrutiny over.)
    If a civil servant did tell him to delay payments to help the government "limp into the election", it sounds more like a pretext for other considerations rather than following political orders from ministers.
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    El_CapitanoEl_Capitano Posts: 3,870
    From the latest 'Off The Fence' newsletter:

    She has, it seems, the true heart of a poster, which means one of the more jarring Badenoch quotes from our earlier reporting now makes a little more sense: she was, she insisted, ‘always on the message boards’. An odd sort of thing to boast about for an aspiring ruler of the world, but then what do we know? In the eighteen months since we shared those words, she’s become the bookies’ favourite to be the next Tory leader. If none of these tribulations finish her off, we think it likely that the tweetings will continue until morale improves.


    Ok then. Which one of us is Kemi? Own up.
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    DougSealDougSeal Posts: 11,148
    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    It was circa 1980-1983 when I got taken as a 6 to 9 year old. Haven’t been since.
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,000
    Leon said:

    I’ve had another email from Visit Leicester


    “Leicestershire visitor attraction to compete in public vote for major VisitEngland award

    Field Sport UK, an award-winning, family-run, outdoor activity centre in North West Leicestershire, has been selected as a finalist in VisitEngland’s Tourism Superstar Awards 2024.”

    It’s literally in the top ten short list for “best small outdoor activity centres” in England

    Not even top 50. Top TEN

    My worry is that if this continues northwest Leicestershire may actually encounter drought or even famine due to the overpressure of global tourism

    And as a point of order – NW Leicestershire is NOT Leicester*. So they are using a facility that is not in Leicester to encourage you to #VisitLeicester.

    Why do you subscribe to this delicious temptation?

    ---

    *Rather like @Foxy claiming to be down with the hardcore grunters in Leicester when he actually lives in a pretty pork-pie producing village near Melton Mowbray.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,382
    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
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    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,631
    edited February 20

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of

    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
  • Options
    FF43FF43 Posts: 15,723
    edited February 20
    rcs1000 said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    It's amazing how many people follow this line but automatically take what the former Post Office chairman says at face value in his spat with Kemi Badenoch.
    Personally, I'm not convinced either of Kemi Badenoch or Henry Staunton is going to come out of the row with their reputations enhanced.

    (I suspect that she did fire him for the right reasons - that he was not being as cooperative as he should have been with the enquiry. But I also suspect that payments were stalled ahead of the General Election, because this was not a subject that the government wanted to face scrutiny over.)
    Kemi Badenoch's specific problem is she has made claims about Henry Staunton that are potentially libellous unless she can stand them up, which she has so far failed to do. Henry Staunton has simply made claims about what happened in the Post Office. Whether they turn out true or not will make no difference to him.
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    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419
    Assuming there is a by-election.

    If Benton contests the recall petition (ie doesn't resign), and he will, and if the general election is earlier than 20 June, the by-election will either not be held at all or will be overtaken by the dissolution. Any delay in either the Commons voting to confirm the suspension or in calling the by-election pushes that out further. It's very easy to get it so that the good people of Blackpool don't get to vote if the general election is this side of the summer recess.

    The question then is whether Labour would trigger one if the Tories don't. How long do they wait? Chances are it'll be at least mid-April before the recall petition concludes; maybe later. There's not long then before you'd be triggering an election in the middle of the holiday period. In Blackpool. Good luck with that. And if it's not been called by September, do you really want to prompt one when the new MP could only serve a handful of weeks, at most?

    Plus, the convention that the sitting party calls the by-election is one that Labour might want to preserve for when it's in office and unpopular, which might not be all that long.

    Personally, I'd have all by-elections set by formula. Something like close of nominations 4 weeks after the vacancy occurs, unless that means a campaign over Xmas / New Year, or in July / Aug, in which case it's begun straight afterwards; or if there are scheduled elections in the area within 3 months (but more than 25 working days hence), in which case it coincides with them.
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    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,000

    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
    Terrible food, pretty much throughout, though, I found.

    I found one place that had good fish (and lobster!) but you couldn't book a table yet had to order the lobster a day in advance. Very Isle of Wight.
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    Casino_RoyaleCasino_Royale Posts: 55,382

    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
    Terrible food, pretty much throughout, though, I found.

    I found one place that had good fish (and lobster!) but you couldn't book a table yet had to order the lobster a day in advance. Very Isle of Wight.
    The crab and lobster is pretty good.

    @IanB2 when he spots this will have a great list of food outlets.

    My kids absolutely love it though: Amazon World, Dinosaur Isle, Robin Hood adventure park, Blackgang Chine and all the beaches, parks and railways etc.

    It's really brilliant for under 12s. We go every year.
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    kamskikamski Posts: 4,255

    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
    Terrible food, pretty much throughout, though, I found.

    I found one place that had good fish (and lobster!) but you couldn't book a table yet had to order the lobster a day in advance. Very Isle of Wight.
    Any good vegan places?



    Only kidding.
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    FairlieredFairliered Posts: 3,991
    Richi Sunak is not an unlucky general. He chose to be leader of a party that chooses corrupt grifters as candidates, that are chosen by demented ancients.
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    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    The official YouTube channel for the Post Office Inquiry has just posted this video.

    "Stories of human impact from the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry"

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8jnsDKjtYg
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    MattWMattW Posts: 18,579
    edited February 20
    TimS said:

    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.

    Slightly random thoughts that may or may not help.

    Is there a difference with the bread whether you eat butter or margarine? (Your OK stuff is largely carb + fat as well as eggs).

    I'd also have a look at the type of wheat flour in your pasta, and see how that compares to the one in your bread. What about bread with less refined flour (eg rye bread not say Canadian white flour?)

    What happens with less refined cereals - the classics being Shredded Wheat and Bran Flakes?

    I'm not suggesting this will fix anything, but it is good to experiment.

    In my condition - Type I Diabetes - we tend to go for moderate carb diets (100-120g per day), as it reduces insulin consumption, and bg swings therefore hypos and hyper episodes.

    But we also use Glycaemic Index as an indicator (measure of how quickly carbs feed through to blood sugar), and there are quite different numbers for refined vs less refined.

    The wheat normally quoted with low GI (ie slowly absorbed causing a smoother blood glucose profile after a meal) is Durum Wheat. It is high in proteins and fibre, and is often in pasta, but can be used for bread.

    I note that your 'no problem' foods contain relatively smaller amounts of flour vs the whole dish. Does it help to have just less bread etc, or flatbreads, or matzos? What happens if you have something with it that is vegetable - eg a wholemeal bread BLT sandwich vs 2 slices of bread + marg?

    I'd encourage you to experiment by leaving things out one by one, and trying to discover what items in which quantities cause difficulties.

    I'd recommend the various cookbooks in the "Carbs & Cals" series, or the App.
  • Options
    kamskikamski Posts: 4,255

    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
    Thanks - any specific tips?
  • Options
    FairlieredFairliered Posts: 3,991

    kamski said:

    Is the Isle of Wight worth visiting for 5-7 days before Easter, with a 9 year old child? I've never been.

    I need somewhere with a nice beach, southern England, child friendly. Was thinking of Dorset or Devon again, but want to go somewhere new.


    Yes, it's a kids paradise.
    Terrible food, pretty much throughout, though, I found.

    I found one place that had good fish (and lobster!) but you couldn't book a table yet had to order the lobster a day in advance. Very Isle of Wight.
    The crab and lobster is pretty good.

    @IanB2 when he spots this will have a great list of food outlets.

    My kids absolutely love it though: Amazon World, Dinosaur Isle, Robin Hood adventure park, Blackgang Chine and all the beaches, parks and railways etc.

    It's really brilliant for under 12s. We go every year.
    If you are taking photos, make sure you include a dog for scale.
  • Options
    JosiasJessopJosiasJessop Posts: 39,035

    Richi Sunak is not an unlucky general. He chose to be leader of a party that chooses corrupt grifters as candidates, that are chosen by demented ancients.

    And Labour will face exactly the same problem when they get a large majority later this year. Their Rochdale candidate is an early indication.

    I find it hard to understand why parties get candidate selection so utterly wrong. I know you cannot look into a person's soul, but some of the people selected are... odd, to say the least.
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,930
    TimS said:

    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.

    Jordan Peterson & his daughter were on some mad meat only diet, and reckon it works wonders.

    https://youtu.be/yXDRr9wz57g?feature=shared
  • Options
    FairlieredFairliered Posts: 3,991

    Assuming there is a by-election.

    If Benton contests the recall petition (ie doesn't resign), and he will, and if the general election is earlier than 20 June, the by-election will either not be held at all or will be overtaken by the dissolution. Any delay in either the Commons voting to confirm the suspension or in calling the by-election pushes that out further. It's very easy to get it so that the good people of Blackpool don't get to vote if the general election is this side of the summer recess.

    The question then is whether Labour would trigger one if the Tories don't. How long do they wait? Chances are it'll be at least mid-April before the recall petition concludes; maybe later. There's not long then before you'd be triggering an election in the middle of the holiday period. In Blackpool. Good luck with that. And if it's not been called by September, do you really want to prompt one when the new MP could only serve a handful of weeks, at most?

    Plus, the convention that the sitting party calls the by-election is one that Labour might want to preserve for when it's in office and unpopular, which might not be all that long.

    Personally, I'd have all by-elections set by formula. Something like close of nominations 4 weeks after the vacancy occurs, unless that means a campaign over Xmas / New Year, or in July / Aug, in which case it's begun straight afterwards; or if there are scheduled elections in the area within 3 months (but more than 25 working days hence), in which case it coincides with them.

    Maybe the thought of another by-election in which the Tories get hammered, possibly third behind Reform, will make Sunak think about a May GE.
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,873
    Anyone who describes Blackpool as the English Riviere should be subject to a lengthy PB Ban and be subjected to an elected dictator lifetime ban for such bad taste.

    I am visiting the aforesaid sithole the weekend after next to attend 5 non league football games in 24 hrs but will be constantly be chanting Blackpools a sithole I want to go home I expect
  • Options
    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,479
    edited February 20
    Oversight eh. I’ve sacked people for less.


    Michael Gove failed to register hospitality he enjoyed with a Conservative donor whose company he had recommended for multimillion pound PPE contracts during the Covid pandemic, the Guardian can reveal.

    While still minister for the Cabinet Office, in August 2021 Gove was entertained to VIP hospitality at a Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football match with David Meller, whose fashion products company had been awarded £164m PPE contracts following Gove’s referral in May 2020.

    MPs’ code of conduct requires them to register all gifts, donations and hospitality above a £300 value, but Gove did not register the hospitality he received at the QPR match, which was organised by Meller’s son, Jonny. When asked by the Guardian about it, a spokesperson for Gove acknowledged that he had failed to do so and apologised, saying it had been an “oversight”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/20/michael-gove-failed-to-register-hospitality-from-donor-whose-firm-he-referred-for-ppe-contracts?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
  • Options
    FairlieredFairliered Posts: 3,991

    Richi Sunak is not an unlucky general. He chose to be leader of a party that chooses corrupt grifters as candidates, that are chosen by demented ancients.

    And Labour will face exactly the same problem when they get a large majority later this year. Their Rochdale candidate is an early indication.

    I find it hard to understand why parties get candidate selection so utterly wrong. I know you cannot look into a person's soul, but some of the people selected are... odd, to say the least.
    Most politicians are suitable candidates. However, a significant minority, from all parties, are the political equivalent of the people in business who interview well, or have the right connections, but are found out as totally unsuitable once in post.
  • Options
    MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 25,215
    Andy_JS said:

    Blackpool South is the sort of place where it might be difficult to get 10% of the electorate to sign a petition. It often has one of the lowest turnouts.

    If the Labour Party can't manage a 10% recall petition they are unfit for Government and Scottie Benton deserves to be sine die MP for Blackpool South.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276
    isam said:

    TimS said:

    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.

    Jordan Peterson & his daughter were on some mad meat only diet, and reckon it works wonders.

    https://youtu.be/yXDRr9wz57g?feature=shared
    My ex wife - used to be Corbynite and near-vegan - is now basically a total carnivore and eats almost nothing but meat

    I saw her down in Cornwall in late November and man, she was looking good on that diet. It’s not the yearning ex talking (my desires have finally moved on) she simply looked very very healthy. Glowing And slim and energetic

    So I suspect there is something to this ketogenic stuff (also espoused by @BartholomewRoberts)

    Meat tastes good for a reason?
  • Options
    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419

    Assuming there is a by-election.

    If Benton contests the recall petition (ie doesn't resign), and he will, and if the general election is earlier than 20 June, the by-election will either not be held at all or will be overtaken by the dissolution. Any delay in either the Commons voting to confirm the suspension or in calling the by-election pushes that out further. It's very easy to get it so that the good people of Blackpool don't get to vote if the general election is this side of the summer recess.

    The question then is whether Labour would trigger one if the Tories don't. How long do they wait? Chances are it'll be at least mid-April before the recall petition concludes; maybe later. There's not long then before you'd be triggering an election in the middle of the holiday period. In Blackpool. Good luck with that. And if it's not been called by September, do you really want to prompt one when the new MP could only serve a handful of weeks, at most?

    Plus, the convention that the sitting party calls the by-election is one that Labour might want to preserve for when it's in office and unpopular, which might not be all that long.

    Personally, I'd have all by-elections set by formula. Something like close of nominations 4 weeks after the vacancy occurs, unless that means a campaign over Xmas / New Year, or in July / Aug, in which case it's begun straight afterwards; or if there are scheduled elections in the area within 3 months (but more than 25 working days hence), in which case it coincides with them.

    Maybe the thought of another by-election in which the Tories get hammered, possibly third behind Reform, will make Sunak think about a May GE.
    So that they get hammered in 632 constituencies rather than just 1? I doubt it.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,631
    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,873
    I see SKS's ammendment to the SNP ceasfire motion is effectively a rehash of humanitarian pause with Israel allowed to carry on the genocide after a bit of aid.

    Whilst pretending it's calling for a ceasfire

    What a wanksain of an individual SKS is proving to be
  • Options
    david_herdsondavid_herdson Posts: 17,419

    Richi Sunak is not an unlucky general. He chose to be leader of a party that chooses corrupt grifters as candidates, that are chosen by demented ancients.

    And Labour will face exactly the same problem when they get a large majority later this year. Their Rochdale candidate is an early indication.

    I find it hard to understand why parties get candidate selection so utterly wrong. I know you cannot look into a person's soul, but some of the people selected are... odd, to say the least.
    Most politicians are suitable candidates. However, a significant minority, from all parties, are the political equivalent of the people in business who interview well, or have the right connections, but are found out as totally unsuitable once in post.
    Also, selection processes are badly designed, though there's no ideal system and any will have some serious drawbacks. All parties systems tend to favour the politically-obsessed, well-connected and time-rich,
  • Options

    I see SKS's ammendment to the SNP ceasfire motion is effectively a rehash of humanitarian pause with Israel allowed to carry on the genocide after a bit of aid.

    Whilst pretending it's calling for a ceasfire

    What a wanksain of an individual SKS is proving to be

    Still he’s a better man the Jeremy ‘Present but not involved’ Corbyn.
  • Options
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276
    edited February 20
    I think the best dietary advice in the world is: eat whatever Americans don’t eat

    They are the richest country in the world yet they are also nearly the fattest and - despite incredible health spending - some of the most unhealthy with a life expectancy dipping below that of Vietnam

    So, whatever you eat, if Americans love it, don’t eat it

    I might actually write a bestselling book on this theme. The unamerican diet
  • Options
    isamisam Posts: 40,930
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.

    Jordan Peterson & his daughter were on some mad meat only diet, and reckon it works wonders.

    https://youtu.be/yXDRr9wz57g?feature=shared
    My ex wife - used to be Corbynite and near-vegan - is now basically a total carnivore and eats almost nothing but meat

    I saw her down in Cornwall in late November and man, she was looking good on that diet. It’s not the yearning ex talking (my desires have finally moved on) she simply looked very very healthy. Glowing And slim and energetic

    So I suspect there is something to this ketogenic stuff (also espoused by @BartholomewRoberts)

    Meat tastes good for a reason?
    I barely eat red meat at all, gave up 12 years ago because I felt sorry for the mammals, but I might start again and eat nothing else if it’s as good as these folks say.
  • Options
    bigjohnowlsbigjohnowls Posts: 21,873

    I see SKS's ammendment to the SNP ceasfire motion is effectively a rehash of humanitarian pause with Israel allowed to carry on the genocide after a bit of aid.

    Whilst pretending it's calling for a ceasfire

    What a wanksain of an individual SKS is proving to be

    Still he’s a better man the Jeremy ‘Present but not involved’ Corbyn.
    Well he appeals to Tories more I will give you that.

    SKS will not be able to campaign in any public areas at GE2024 though for fear of being shouted at.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,631
    edited February 20

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,122
    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/20/michael-gove-failed-to-register-hospitality-from-donor-whose-firm-he-referred-for-ppe-contracts

    "Meller has been a substantial donor to the Conservative party, his educational charity sponsored academies when Gove was education secretary, and he supported Gove for the party leadership in 2016, donating £3,250 to his unsuccessful campaign.

    Meller Designs, part of Meller’s family business until it was sold in January 2021, was a wholesaler of own-label fashion accessories to retailers, which in 2019, the year before the pandemic, made a pre-tax profit of less than £200,000. The £164m government PPE contracts boosted its revenues by 1,400% in 2020 and its profit increased to £16m in 2020. Meller and his co-owner then shared dividends of £5m."
  • Options
    ChrisChris Posts: 11,134
    Difficult to imagine Scott Benton really splitting the Tory vote. Maybe he'll retain "friends and family". No, make that "family". "Close family", to be on the safe side.
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276
    Leon said:

    I think the best dietary advice in the world is: eat whatever Americans don’t eat

    They are the richest country in the world yet they are also nearly the fattest and - despite incredible health spending - some of the most unhealthy with a life expectancy dipping below that of Vietnam

    So, whatever you eat, if Americans love it, don’t eat it

    I might actually write a bestselling book on this theme. The unamerican diet

    I have to say, that is actually a genius idea
  • Options
    williamglennwilliamglenn Posts: 48,074
    https://x.com/skynews/status/1759974034119503875

    "It made me feel so unsafe."

    A father has spoken out after his baby's birth certificate was returned "with the word Israel scribbled out".

    The Home Office is launching an investigation into the incident.
  • Options
    PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,929
    edited February 20

    Oversight eh. I’ve sacked people for less.
    Michael Gove failed to register hospitality he enjoyed with a Conservative donor whose company he had recommended for multimillion pound PPE contracts during the Covid pandemic, the Guardian can reveal.

    While still minister for the Cabinet Office, in August 2021 Gove was entertained to VIP hospitality at a Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football match with David Meller, whose fashion products company had been awarded £164m PPE contracts following Gove’s referral in May 2020.

    MPs’ code of conduct requires them to register all gifts, donations and hospitality above a £300 value, but Gove did not register the hospitality he received at the QPR match, which was organised by Meller’s son, Jonny. When asked by the Guardian about it, a spokesperson for Gove acknowledged that he had failed to do so and apologised, saying it had been an “oversight”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/20/michael-gove-failed-to-register-hospitality-from-donor-whose-firm-he-referred-for-ppe-contracts?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

    Forget the registration technicality, Gove's no better than Benton here.

    What on earth is he doing accepting hospitality from a company he's recommending for as a minister of the crown.

    Sorry, no this is worse than Benton. Benton never got to enjoy the fruits of his graft !
  • Options
    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    I think the best dietary advice in the world is: eat whatever Americans don’t eat

    They are the richest country in the world yet they are also nearly the fattest and - despite incredible health spending - some of the most unhealthy with a life expectancy dipping below that of Vietnam

    So, whatever you eat, if Americans love it, don’t eat it

    I might actually write a bestselling book on this theme. The unamerican diet

    I have to say, that is actually a genius idea
    Have you started talking to yourself now?
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    "Ghost town schools: Closures spark warning over families with young children leaving London

    London risks ‘dying from its roots’ as growing numbers of families with children born in the city cannot afford to stay, headteacher warns"

    https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/london-school-closures-falling-pupil-places-councils-b1140247.html
  • Options
    TheScreamingEaglesTheScreamingEagles Posts: 114,479
    edited February 20

    I see SKS's ammendment to the SNP ceasfire motion is effectively a rehash of humanitarian pause with Israel allowed to carry on the genocide after a bit of aid.

    Whilst pretending it's calling for a ceasfire

    What a wanksain of an individual SKS is proving to be

    Still he’s a better man the Jeremy ‘Present but not involved’ Corbyn.
    Well he appeals to Tories more I will give you that.

    SKS will not be able to campaign in any public areas at GE2024 though for fear of being shouted at.
    He appeals to more than just Tories which is why he’ll win more seats than Corbyn ever did.
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,631
    edited February 20

    Leon said:

    Leon said:

    I think the best dietary advice in the world is: eat whatever Americans don’t eat

    They are the richest country in the world yet they are also nearly the fattest and - despite incredible health spending - some of the most unhealthy with a life expectancy dipping below that of Vietnam

    So, whatever you eat, if Americans love it, don’t eat it

    I might actually write a bestselling book on this theme. The unamerican diet

    I have to say, that is actually a genius idea
    Have you started talking to yourself now?
    He has nothing to declare, but his genius.

    It is a nifty title, though.
    The SE Asian version could be the Diet Cong.
  • Options
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
    On one of my WhatsApp groups the current collective noun is a sandwich of lawyers.
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    Leon said:

    I think the best dietary advice in the world is: eat whatever Americans don’t eat

    They are the richest country in the world yet they are also nearly the fattest and - despite incredible health spending - some of the most unhealthy with a life expectancy dipping below that of Vietnam

    So, whatever you eat, if Americans love it, don’t eat it

    I might actually write a bestselling book on this theme. The unamerican diet

    Good example: this article, claiming that the biggest problem facing Americans is that they can't afford the rising cost of fast food.

    https://unherd.com/2024/02/hamburgers-will-decide-americas-future/

    "One of the internet’s most popular content creators, John Jurasek — commonly nicknamed “Reviewbrah” — posted a cri de coeur on the topic several months ago, in which he described how the fast food he reviewed had skyrocketed in price and nosedived in quality over the last few years. After listing his own experiences and complaints, Jurasek opened up the floor to people to report their own experiences in the comments section. More than 10,000 comments later, the picture painted was overwhelmingly clear: the fast-food industry inside America seemed to be in a state of near-collapse.

    In response, some might be tempted to ask: so what? Fast food is bad for your health; why would the unaffordability of a greasy pizza or a cardboard box of processed chicken nuggets even be a problem? These complaints are reasonable on one level, but they ignore the broader social, economic and political reality that this affordability crisis speaks to. The United States is possibly the only country in the world where the term “food desert” is in semi-regular use, denoting areas within the country where there is little or no access to supermarkets selling fresh vegetables and the like. In this nutritional frontier country, fast food is the only game in town. Though the extent and severity of this problem shouldn’t be overstated, it is an issue, and some Americans are, for various reasons, at least partly dependent on cheap fast food in the way that the citizens of ancient Rome were dependent on cura annonae: the provision of state-subsidised bread and grain."
  • Options
    LeonLeon Posts: 47,276

    https://x.com/skynews/status/1759974034119503875

    "It made me feel so unsafe."

    A father has spoken out after his baby's birth certificate was returned "with the word Israel scribbled out".

    The Home Office is launching an investigation into the incident.

    The home office is infested with traitors. These are the same civil servants casually approving the asylum claims of obvious Muslim terrorists “who found Jesus three days ago”

    This is a known problem. The home office went on a diversity drive. Et voila
  • Options
    NigelbNigelb Posts: 62,631
    .

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
    On one of my WhatsApp groups the current collective noun is a sandwich of lawyers.
    We have no desire to know what they get up to in their personal lives.
  • Options
    OnlyLivingBoyOnlyLivingBoy Posts: 15,122
    Leon said:

    https://x.com/skynews/status/1759974034119503875

    "It made me feel so unsafe."

    A father has spoken out after his baby's birth certificate was returned "with the word Israel scribbled out".

    The Home Office is launching an investigation into the incident.

    The home office is infested with traitors. These are the same civil servants casually approving the asylum claims of obvious Muslim terrorists “who found Jesus three days ago”

    This is a known problem. The home office went on a diversity drive. Et voila
    Yes the Home Office is absolutely renowned as a hotbed of woke, that is definitely its main problem.
  • Options
    FairlieredFairliered Posts: 3,991

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
    On one of my WhatsApp groups the current collective noun is a sandwich of lawyers.
    A Tesco sandwich?
  • Options
    AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 20,000
    edited February 20
    Leon said:

    isam said:

    TimS said:

    I was reflecting on yesterday’s dietary debate (and am still somewhat in awe at that mythical meat-only diet).

    I definitely have digestive problems with carbs - which is probably why I’m so thin, and my daughter’s the same - but only some. I get reflux so powerful it’s as if my entire body turns into a fermentation vat making food beer, when I eat significant amounts of: bread (white or brown), rice, pastry, cake, porridge, cereal. But oddly not: pasta or noodles, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes or indeed scrambled or poached egg on toast. All of those contain egg.

    Is there something in eggs that mitigates the effects of refined carbohydrates? Some sort of binding effect that slows down fermentation? Google suggests egg whites are good and yolks are bad but I don’t get the sense anyone’s actually looked at food combinations.

    Jordan Peterson & his daughter were on some mad meat only diet, and reckon it works wonders.

    https://youtu.be/yXDRr9wz57g?feature=shared
    My ex wife - used to be Corbynite and near-vegan - is now basically a total carnivore and eats almost nothing but meat

    I saw her down in Cornwall in late November and man, she was looking good on that diet. It’s not the yearning ex talking (my desires have finally moved on) she simply looked very very healthy. Glowing And slim and energetic

    So I suspect there is something to this ketogenic stuff (also espoused by @BartholomewRoberts)

    Meat tastes good for a reason?
    Point of order: (pedantic betting.com)

    She is not a carnivore, she is an omnivore, as are you, Bart, me and indeed all humans (including all vegans).

    That is because these are biological terms, not expressions of dietary preference.

    e.g. my cat is an obligate carnivore, she just (unwisely) chooses to lick breadcrumbs off my kitchen floor.
  • Options
    ChrisChris Posts: 11,134
    Leon said:

    https://x.com/skynews/status/1759974034119503875

    "It made me feel so unsafe."

    A father has spoken out after his baby's birth certificate was returned "with the word Israel scribbled out".

    The Home Office is launching an investigation into the incident.

    The home office is infested with traitors. These are the same civil servants casually approving the asylum claims of obvious Muslim terrorists “who found Jesus three days ago”

    This is a known problem. The home office went on a diversity drive. Et voila
    So funny to imagine the reaction here if anyone suggested that the Home Office was "infested with traitors" letting in Jewish terrorists as a result of employing Jewish civil servants.
  • Options
    Andy_JSAndy_JS Posts: 26,669
    "lee harpin
    @lmharpin

    Suspended Lib Dem councillor Pat Marsh has been arrested in connection with an investigation into antisemitic ‘tweets’ shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
    She remains in custody while enquiries continue.
    3:52 pm · 20 Feb 2024"

    https://twitter.com/lmharpin/status/1759969278361534553

    https://edemocracy.northyorks.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=783
  • Options

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
    On one of my WhatsApp groups the current collective noun is a sandwich of lawyers.
    A Tesco sandwich?
    Some of us are more Waitrose sandwiches.

    Ridiculously overpriced.
  • Options
    mickydroymickydroy Posts: 234
    Off topic but still political. Grand National weights revealed today, Monbeg Genius, lovely weight, 10 st 4, thorough stayer, what's not to like, ohh that's it the owner Michelle Mone. What a disaster for the race if this horse wins the race, and taking into account the scousers well known fondness of anything Tory, a big police presence by the un saddling enclosure wouldn't go a miss, if this horse obliges
  • Options
    MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 44,430
    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Nigelb said:

    Did this get the full airing it deserved? TSE's hero deep in the PO shit.

    Cameron government knew Post Office ditched Horizon IT investigation

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68146054

    Dave not personally implicated, looks like the Post Office lied to the government like they did to Sir Ed Davey.
    Whether or not the PM knew about it, it seems quite unlikely that government was ignorant of what was going on even if it was the case that the Post Office was lying to them.

    ..The documents show how the secret 2016 investigation - looking into Fujitsu's use of remote access from 1999 onwards - had come out of a review by former top Treasury lawyer Jonathan Swift QC. The Swift review had been ordered by the government, with approval from then-business secretary Sajid Javid.
    It would conclude that it had found "real issues" for the Post Office.

    Mr Swift had found a briefing for the Post Office board from an earlier review in 2014, carried out by auditors from Deloitte and codenamed Project Zebra, detailing how Fujitsu could change branch accounts.
    Having seen that evidence, the Swift review said the Post Office must carry out a further investigation into how often and why this capability was used...


    What justification would there be to accept legal advice that the investigation be halted, other than not wanting to see its conclusions ?

    ...Deloitte returned in February 2016 to begin the trawl of all Horizon transactions since its launch 17 years earlier.
    Ministers, including Mr Javid, were told this new work was under way to "address suggestions that branch accounts might have been remotely altered without complainants' knowledge".
    But in June 2016, when sub-postmasters launched their legal action, the government was told through Post Office minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe that the investigation had been scrapped on "very strong advice" from the senior barrister representing them...


    What possible innocent explanation is there for this sequence of events ?

    ..In April, the Post Office notified the government that the sub-postmasters had begun their group legal action against it. Baroness Neville-Rolfe and Mr Javid were sent a briefing, updating them on the investigation's progress and discussing how the legal action would affect it.
    The briefing, sent before a meeting with Mr Parker, was heavily redacted when it was released under a Freedom of Information Act request. But it said Mr Parker was on track to complete the follow-up work by the end of May and would update Baroness Neville-Rolfe on its progress.
    However, the documents seen by the BBC reveal that in June, Deloitte's three-month investigation was suddenly stopped just before it could be completed.
    On 21 June 2016, Tim Parker told Baroness Neville-Rolfe he had taken the decision on the advice of an unnamed senior barrister for the Post Office.
    He told her the detailed work being carried out by Deloitte was "complex, costly and time consuming" but that good progress had been made. "I had hoped that by now I would be in a position to draw my investigation to a close," Mr Parker wrote.
    "However, given the High Court proceedings to which I refer above, Post Office Limited has received very strong advice from Leading Counsel that the work being undertaken under the aegis of my review should come to an immediate end… I have therefore instructed that the work being undertaken pursuant to my review should now be stopped."..
    This also sounds entirely innocent.

    ..The revelations uncovered by the BBC also raise serious questions for the public inquiry by Sir Wyn Williams, as to whether it is adequately scrutinising what the government knew about the Post Office's internal investigations.
    In UKGI's 2022 statement to the inquiry, there was no reference to Tim Parker's letter to Baroness Neville-Rolfe of 21 June 2016, notifying her he was calling off Deloitte's investigation.
    In 2018, two years after completing his review, Sir Jonathan Swift, formerly First Treasury Counsel - the top civil lawyer at Her Majesty's Treasury - was appointed to be a High Court judge. He received a knighthood in the same year.
    However, in the list of upcoming witnesses at the Williams inquiry, his name is absent...
    Entirely innocent.

    Lawyers are beyond reproach and it would be a waste of time investigating him for wrongdoing/incompetence.
    Which lawyer ?
    Swift, Williams, or the unnamed "Leading Counsel" ?

    A veritable cabal* of lawyers.

    *That is the collective noun, I believe ?
    A school, I believe. As in a school of Selachimorpha
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    Leon said:

    https://x.com/skynews/status/1759974034119503875

    "It made me feel so unsafe."

    A father has spoken out after his baby's birth certificate was returned "with the word Israel scribbled out".

    The Home Office is launching an investigation into the incident.

    The home office is infested with traitors. These are the same civil servants casually approving the asylum claims of obvious Muslim terrorists “who found Jesus three days ago”

    This is a known problem. The home office went on a diversity drive. Et voila
    The Windrush Scandal Home Office? That Home Office?
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    Good Law Project is in court over Net Zero today but this looks more interesting. The £330 million NHS Palantir contract has been so heavily redacted that 417 out of 586 pages are completely blanked out (that's three quarters).

    And there's more:-

    But our concerns go wider than Palantir. The NHS has also signed a contract with the biotech firm IQVIA, to provide “Privacy Enhancing Technology” for the Federated Data Platform.
    Around three-quarters of IQVIA’s contract is also completely redacted. This includes a section on the protection of personal data – precisely the issue IQVIA is being brought on board to address – so we’re challenging the NHS over this as well.

    What makes this all the more concerning is the power imbalance between the NHS and IQVIA uncovered by the doctor and academic Ben Goldacre in 2020. According to Goldacre, IQVIA is free to collect and aggregate NHS hospital data and sell it to the pharmaceutical industry, but it can restrict NHS access to this collated data and its ability to share it with UK regulatory bodies.

    https://goodlawproject.org/were-taking-legal-action-to-uncover-palantirs-blanked-out-contract/
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