[Bones McCoy]

Six month ban for the Immigration minister.

[davidjay]

Six month ban for the Immigration minister.

Yeahbut Andy Burnham and curry.

[soulboy]

Six month ban for the Immigration minister.

It is going to be very cosy on the ministerial helicopter.

[MisterMuncher]

68 in a 40 zone

Home Office minister Robert Jenrick has “sincerely apologised” to a court after racking up his second speeding conviction in the space of a year.

Jenrick, 41, faces a possible driving ban after pleading guilty to flouting a 40mph limit during a late-night drive along the M1, shortly after his appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions at Wakefield Cathedral...

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/h ... 62498.html

It's getting like these wankers can't see a law without feeling the urge to break it.

Six month ban and a fine.

Contrite? Owning his mistake? What do you think?

Responding to the sentence, Mr Jenrick said: 'I accept the court's decision.

'I was driving below the national speed limit on an empty motorway, with no road works in sight.

'I now understand that a variable speed limit had been applied, which I didn't see.

'I wouldn't knowingly exceed the speed limit.'

Chinny reckon

I reckon that's an admission to driving without due care and attention.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

This is a biggie.
The Tory MP for Blackpool, Scott Benton, has been uncovered by The Times in a sting to have offered lobbying and contact services, and early sight of documents (!) to people he thought were representing a betting company.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b1bf ... 314cbd2b8d

He'll have to go, and this will shake the already wobbly government and perhaps persuade the Red Wall voters they have been conned.

A Tory MP offered to table parliamentary questions, leak a confidential policy document and lobby ministers on behalf of gambling industry investors who proposed paying him thousands of pounds a month, an undercover investigation for The Times has found.

Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South, was prepared to help an investment fund influence policymakers and obtain “behind the scenes” information despite rules prohibiting MPs from lobbying in return for payment.

He was secretly filmed by undercover reporters posing as investors with interest in the betting and gaming industry who were looking for an adviser.

During a meeting at a central London hotel early last month, Benton outlined how he was willing to use his position to help their business and try to water down proposed gambling reforms. The MP:

•Guaranteed he could leak a copy of a forthcoming white paper on gambling reforms to the company at least 48 hours before it went public, potentially allowing them to profit from market-sensitive information.

•Offered to submit parliamentary questions and said he had done it on behalf of companies before.

•Boasted of his “easy access to ministers” and said he was prepared to “literally sit outside” a minister’s office if the company needed an urgent answer to a question.

•Claimed many MPs who accepted corporate hospitality were willing to table a written question or make a point during oral questions in return.

•Said he could “call in favours” from colleagues who would be happy to support the company’s interests and offered to host a dinner at the House of Commons.

In other terms it couldn't happen to a nastier little scrote, and brings great schadenfreude joy.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Aaaand...
The BBC go in to bat for the Tories...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics- ... gn=KARANGA

Conservative MP Scott Benton talked about the lobbying services he could potentially provide to a fake company, footage from an undercover investigation appears to show.
The Times says Mr Benton was offered a paid advisory role by reporters posing as investors in a sting.
He was secretly filmed saying he could table parliamentary questions and leak a confidential policy paper.
He did not pursue the role and no rules appear to have been broken.

He now says he didn't mean it...

In a statement shared with the BBC, Mr Benton, MP for Blackpool South, said: "Last month I was approached by a purported company offering me an expert advisory role.
"I met with two individuals claiming to represent the company to find out what this role entailed.
"After this meeting, I was asked to forward my CV and some other personal details. I did not do so as I was concerned that what was being asked of me was not within Parliamentary rules.
"I contacted the Commons Registrar and the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner who clarified these rules for me and had no further contact with the company. I did this before being made aware that the company did not exist and the individuals claiming to represent it were journalists."

He really needed the rules confirmed...

This man is an utter crook (and a shiteweasel).

[Oboogie]

no rules appear to have been broken

I'm not aware what the rules are, which rule did he break?

[Abernathy]

Ahhh, the old “I didn’t actually contravene any rules, because I got found out before I could actually do so” excuse.

Clearly the Neil Hamilton de nos jours.

All grist to the mill. Roll on, the election.

[davidjay]

And in other news:

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Benton's had the whip withdrawn.

Should have laid it across the toad's arse...

[kreuzberger]

This Benton character does appear to be standard-issue for the red wall intake - a two-dimensional parody of the worst of the estate agent class. Clearly on the make, devoid of any redeeming features, and prepared to suck off Johnson at a click of the porcine fingers.

The good news would be that releasing white papers in order to game the markets should attract a fraud/conspiracy charge. The bad news is that it happened on the Met's patch. "Mind how you go, sir."

[davidjay]

Benton's had the whip withdrawn.

Should have laid it across the toad's arse...

Not exactly a punishment that, for a Tory MP.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I read that Conservatives who have had the whip removed are now the 4th largest group in the House; 15.

[Bones McCoy]

Benton's had the whip withdrawn.

Should have laid it across the toad's arse...

Will he supply his own nitrate laced tangerine?

[Bones McCoy]

Benton's had the whip withdrawn.

Should have laid it across the toad's arse...

It shows that Sunak's a smarter operator than Johnson.
Under Johnson's leadership we'd be at step two of the inevitable deny, deflect, obfuscate, argue, confess cycle.

[Bones McCoy]

I occasionally dip into ConservativeHome to get a feel for what the batshit tendency are thinking.

Today I found an article that must rank among their most "out there" piles of conspiracist nonsense.
You may think the article's bad.
Scroll down for the comments to see what activists are tinking.

https://conservativehome.com/2023/04/06 ... o-britain/

[Andy McDandy]

A combination of Macmillanesque "Oh, they're just excitable children really, good thing we're older and wiser" wishful thinking, and utter paranoia.

[Bones McCoy]

A combination of Macmillanesque "Oh, they're just excitable children really, good thing we're older and wiser" wishful thinking, and utter paranoia.

With a dash of yearning for the good old days of "village justice" (Lynching I believe).

[Tubby Isaacs]

Still going with this. Even if you take it at face value, which you shouldn't, it surely doesn't work.

[Bones McCoy]