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Alex Wickham: EXCLUSIVE…
Alex Wickham
17, April

Alex Wickham: EXCLUSIVE…

EXCLUSIVE: A team of Cabinet Office officials accessed a highly secure portal last Friday to review UK Security Vetting conclusions on Peter Mandelson as part of the Humble Address motion. What they found was conclusions of a top secret report showing security officials had raised objections about Mandelson’s appointment. On making further enquiries it then became clear to them that Olly Robbins had been presented with the conclusions of the UKSV process by a senior Foreign Office security official who Bloomberg has agreed not to name. It appeared Robbins had not necessarily seen the full details of Mandelson’s vetting, only the conclusions and what are internally called “residual issues”, sources say. Nonetheless, Robbins and the senior FCDO security official had agreed that despite the negative conclusions they would go ahead and grant him DV clearance, sources say. The senior FCDO security official has since left the Foreign Office. It means the government was left in an extraordinary situation this week where not a single member of staff still in post at FCDO had seen Mandelson’s full vetting report. When Starmer found out on Tuesday he was furious and then on Thursday sacked Robbins. A source described the situation as so opaque it was Kafkaesque. However an ally of Robbins points to the 2010 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act which states that ministers do not have powers over national security vetting. People familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg today described an internal mess bordering on farce. The crux of the problem, some sources argue, is that Starmer had made clear he wanted Mandelson to be appointed and that he was relaxed about the publicly available information about his links to Epstein, Russia and China. That created a climate in which Robbins felt he was doing the PM’s bidding by clearing Mandelson. Ironically, Robbins’ defence against Starmer’s decision to sack him also appears to help the PM because it tallies with Starmer’s position that he was unaware of Mandelson’s vetting issues and therefore could not have intervened. Cabinet ministers are tonight reserving judgment on whether Starmer can survive this. First he needs to get through next week, then the locals. Most political sources we spoke to think Starmer can tough it out to the locals, but think it will factor into ministers’ and MPs’ calculations afterwards.
Moazzam Begg: In #Guantánamo in 2003…
Moazzam Begg
17, April

Moazzam Begg: In #Guantánamo in 2003…

In #Guantánamo in 2003, FBI agents tried to convince me that the upcoming US military commissions, a legal system created just for Gitmo, would be fair and just. They evidenced their claim by quoting Hollywood. “Haven’t you seen ‘A Few Good Men’? It’s based in Guantanamo. See how committed the military lawyers were?” I had seen the film. It’s with Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore and Tom Cruise. “It’s a film”, I thought. And it’s fiction. But the agents were sincere in their beliefs. I was freed in 2005 without even seeing a courtroom. But, after quarter of a century, not a single person out of 779 prisoners has ever been convicted for taking part in he 9/11 attacks, the reason why Gitmo was set up to begin with. Much of America has been subliminally indoctrinated to substitute reality with Hollywood fiction. But when these clowns hold the keys to your freedom or become the most powerful men in the world, you know something has gone terribly wrong. When you understand who controls institutions like Hollywood, then you’ll know why.
David Icke: If politics is the answer…
David Icke
17, April

David Icke: If politics is the answer…

If politics is the answer then it's the wrong question. If religion is the answer then why has it never been before? Politics and religion span generation after generation and the Cult agenda of mass human control just continues to unfold faster and faster. If either were the answer they would have been by now. Instead they are the problem as they seize control of human perception and convince the many to give their collective power to the few. Look to politicians? Look to pastors? No - look in the mirror. Your 'saviour' will be looking back at you.
Liz Webster: Sacking Olly Robbins has spectacularly backfired on Starmer…
Liz Webster
17, April

Liz Webster: Sacking Olly Robbins has spectacularly backfired on Starmer…

💥 Sacking Olly Robbins has spectacularly backfired on Starmer. A civil servant only 3 weeks into the job was never going to unilaterally override security vetting on a politically sensitive appointment unless he believed the PM wanted it done. Now Robbins, freshly sacked and with nothing to lose is about to give evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Starmer just handed his own potential executioner a public platform. The “we were kept in the dark” defence is crumbling. This accelerates the whole thing.
Alex Wickham: Exclusive: Iran Has Limited the Impact…
Alex Wickham
16, April

Alex Wickham: Exclusive: Iran Has Limited the Impact…

Exclusive: Iran Has Limited the Impact of US Strikes, Intelligence Says Pre-war planning meant Iran’s military was able to mitigate the impact of US-Israeli strikes on its weapons arsenal and leadership, according to Western military intelligence assessments — which also say it retains the ability to respond if the ceasefire fails. Tehran has sustained massive damage to its infrastructure and its most senior leaders have been killed. But operational planning undertaken in anticipation of the conflict was effective in preventing the destruction of its missile and drone capabilities as well as maximising the impact of its military response, people familiar with the assessments said. Plans put in place by Iran to replace senior military leaders in the event they were killed meant the country was able to minimize disruption to its command and control structures when they were targeted in the first days of the war, the people said. It also appears that Iran retains solid reserves of long-range missiles, according to assessments provided by European and Gulf officials. It still has thousands of drones in its armoury, the people added. These provide a much more nuanced picture of the outcomes of the US-Israeli operation than that portrayed by Trump and US administration officials. The effectiveness of Iran’s earlier military planning also raises the prospect that it could use the current ceasefire to make preparations for any resumption of hostilities. Story with @EllenAMilligan @AlbertoNardelli >>>
Liz Webster: My heart bleeds for Boris Johnson…
Liz Webster
16, April

Liz Webster: My heart bleeds for Boris Johnson…

🤡 My heart bleeds for Boris Johnson. Public opinion has shifted: 55% would now back rejoining the EU. Nearly two-thirds want closer ties. But Bozzer still says: “I love Brexit, I love Brexit” and calls rejoining “bullshit”. Meanwhile, in the real world: Retirees face visa hurdles in Spain. Car production is at 70-year lows. And global energy shocks from the Gulf are hammering household bills. “It is what it is,” apparently. And David Frost still insists there’s been no damage. That’s the disconnect. The country can see what’s happening. Those who delivered it are still pretending nothing has changed. https://thenewworld.co.uk/rats-in-a-sack-boris-johnson-i-love-brexit-i-love-brexit/
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