Listen to this - with what you now know
Just listen
"I was also furious" https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1485700654354083851
A reminder of when Boris Johnson said he was "furious" to see footage of staff joking about holding parties in Downing Street.
All the while he knew he had attended multiple such parties himself.
EXCLUSIVE: Boris Johnson had a birthday party during lockdown in June 2020 despite rules forbidding social gatherings indoors, ITV News has learnt.
Up to 30 staff celebrated in the cabinet room where Carrie Johnson surprised him with a cake, we're told.
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/boris-johnson-had-birthday-bash-during-lockdown-itv-news-understands
I'm not sure what kind of magic turns Twitter swears into Daily Express copy, but I'm glad the spell exists. https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/1554634/Monty-Don-Adriatic-Gardens-BBC-Ian-Dunt-gardening-news-latest
This academic tried to hand a legal advice card to a 15-year-old caught in a stop-and-search sweep. Police responded by arresting her, holding her down on the floor, cutting off all her clothes and repeatedly insulting her.
Met apologises to woman for âsexist, derogatory‘ language in strip-search
Force pays compensation to Dr Konstancja Duff for language used after CCTV captures officers‘ comments
www.theguardian.com
This is the most sophisticated and informed analysis you’ll see of why we should be worried about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. It might be right yet the political objectives still appear murky and elusive. https://warontherocks.com/2022/01/putins-wager-in-russias-standoff-with-the-west/
So in summary, the police are contributing to an inquiry about illegality they didn't interfere with, to establish whether the prime minister attended a party he has already confessed to, so Tory MPs can make their minds up about something they've already concluded.
Russian financial markets sustain fresh blow on rising Ukraine tensions https://www.ft.com/content/9aa9dd06-207a-4b2e-ab19-bd8214b3ba35?segmentid=acee4131-99c2-09d3-a635-873e61754ec6
🔴 REVEALED: US conservative groups and writers and scientists from the UK, the Netherlands and Australia are helping push anti-vax misinformation in Uganda – where just 5% of people are fully vaccinated https://bit.ly/3FOtUiO
Nineteen organisations reiterate their support for Carole Cadwalladr as she faces SLAPP trial. Please RT. https://rsf.org/en/news/nineteen-organisations-reiterate-their-support-carole-cadwalladr-she-faces-slapp-trial
The thing I keep coming back to is Boris Johnson was *seriously* ill with Covid. And as soon as he was better carried on regardless.
In light of the latest #partygate revelations, do you think the @metpoliceuk should do more to investigate Number 10?
https://do.opendemocracy.net/downingstreetparties
"Everyone understands it is impossible to organise a campaign to force the Kremlin to abandon its rhetoric + attack on Ukraine."
Depressing thoughts on anti-war mobilisation in Russia from activist Sergei Davidis, who's been vocal against foreign wars.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/sergei-davidis-anti-war-movement-russia/
"Kazakhstan’s former president of 30 years has been linked to $7.8bn of assets via a UK company, it has been revealed."
.@openDemocracy covered our big investigation into the hidden wealth of Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Kazakhstan’s former president linked to $7.8bn in assets in UK company
Experts urge British government to unmask offshore owners of UK-registered firms after uncovering of vast assets linked to Nursultan Nazarbayev
beta.opendemocracy.net
📢Major new report📢from Spotlight on Corruption finds UK gov spends the equivalent of just 0.042% of GDP or £852 million per year on fighting economic crime, even though economic crime costs the UK economy £290 billion every year–equal to 14.5% of GDP 1/9
Closing the UK’s economic crime enforcement gap: Proposals for boosting resources for UK law enforcement to fight economic crime. - Spotlight on Corruption
tinyurl.com
On five separate occasions, Nadine Dorries claimed there are more people in work now than there were before the pandemic began. This is not true. There are 600,000 fewer.
The Culture Secretary *must* stop getting this wrong and issue a correction.
🔎 👉 http://fullfact.org/economy/nadine-dorries-employment
@mrjamesob You did more to push people into leaving the EU than UKIP and Farage.
Had an utterly delightful time chatting with you @mrjamesob. Thank you so much for having me on! X https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1485663411933532162
Interviewed @charlottechurch for this week’s Full Disclosure. Amazing woman. Hard to think of anyone treated worse at such a young age by some newspapers - or anyone who’s come through it all so successfully. Drops Friday.
Paging @NadineDorries.
the killer tweet that appears to end the debate
Betting her house on the Resignation Honours now. Horrible to see.
So, when people in an office buy a cake in the middle of the afternoon for someone else they are working in the office with and stop for ten minutes to sing happy birthday and then go back to their desks, this is now called a party?
I thought the 'Carrie Antoinette' stuff was a bit unfair but actual cake...
It's not much of a silver lining to an unfolding national catastrophe but the new editor of the Daily Mail's decision to go all in on backing Johnson looks like one of the worst calls in the history of Fleet Street.
