Strangely the Conservative Arab Network (C.A.N.) website has undergone a design change this afternoon. Above is their logo before and after Guido’s article from earlier today. Can you spot the difference?

Did Guido mention the Conservative Arab Network Limited was struck off the Company register earlier this year for not filing financial returns despite the directors getting three months warning? Will that be a problem for it becoming officially affiliated to CCHQ? 

Benedict Brogan writes paradoxically…

“Britain’s bond yields are the sheet anchor keeping us afloat in the storm.”

In July 2010 Guido brought Trey Barnes to your attention. He was the defence lobbyist, of no less than six different aliases, who having been chased out of Washington was milling around Parliament with a pass sponsored by Michael Fabricant. He was close to the Atlantic Bridge crowd and used to run the Conservative Friends of America, despite being a Democrat. Well it seems Trey, or George F. Barnes III as he used to go by, is up to his old tricks again…

Guido has come across Mr Barnes’ business card for an organisation called the Conservative Arab Network. It’s run out of house in Ealing and has a bank account with Lloyds in Hammersmith. Despite the card saying Barnes is the Director, there is no sign of the organisation on Companies House. Crucially the card proudly carries the Tory tree logo.

The Conservative Party rules about logo use are pretty clear:

“The party logos are registered trademarks, they are provided for free use by approved Conservative Associations and Candidates only. For commercial or other use you will require written permission from the party. Permission to use the logo is at the sole discretion of the Conservative and Unionist Party.”

Guido simply asked Barnes whether he had sought permission. He replied:

“I do not have the Tory logo or any other party logo on a business card so am a bit confused.”

So Guido sent him this:

Whoops. Mr Barnes replied:

“That is not a business card – I am a volunteer with Conservative Arab Network – there is no compensation, not even expenses – this is part of my voluntary work as a private individual – Conservative Arab Network is an officially recognized organisation affiliated with the Conservative Party”

Or is it? An official statement given earlier said:

“The Conservative Arab Network is not officially recognised by the Conservative Party. In October 2011 the Conservative Arab Network  were sent a letter outlining the procedures they would need to follow to become affiliated to the Party. They have until the 30^th of November to submit details.”

Sources indicate that without that official approval, the organisation should not be using the logo or party branding and that the proper due diligence tests have not yet been conducted on the organisation or its director. So here we have yet another lobbyist embedded deep in the  murky world of defence and security lobbying giving out cards that would suggest some official connection to the party of government. Once is careless. Twice looks like “the next big political scandal…”

UPDATE: Michael Fabricant comments:

Just for the record, since my name is mentioned, Trey Barnes never had a House of Commons pass from me in Government and when he had it in Opposition, he signed an agreement never to use the pass it for lobbying purposes.

It seems Ed Miliband misled the House when he said that “under 13 years of a Labour Government, youth unemployment never reached 1 million…” The Department of Education statistics for young people not in employment, education, or training show that the number of young people who were unemployed under Labour hovered below a million all through 2008/09. However you can guess what happened in the third quarter of 2009 – the number of young unemployed hit 1,074,000, when the Work and Pensions Secretary was one Yvette Cooper. An apology to the House is the usual form…

The Standard got the scoop:

He never liked newspapers anyway. Big test will be whether he survives the BSkyB vote on Tuesday.

There was audible gasps of righteous indignation from the Labour benches when Cameron sung the praises of the Taxpayers’ Alliance at PMQs today. He quipped that at least they didn’t pay to put down amendments. Another happy reader…

Just in time for PMQs the Quarter Three donation figures reveal that 89% of Labour’s funding comes from the unions. With Dave buying land with £140,000 cash from a lobbyist you can see the dividing lines drawing themselves. Handbags at noon.

Despite all the noise about Andy Porter being “promoted” from Political Editor and “up” to Policy Editor at the Telegraph, everyone knew that it was a humiliating side-lining. As one Telegraph insider said “we put him in charge of paper clips.” It seems he’s finally seen the light too and decided to turn to the dark side and go spin for Brunswick PR.

Not a bad career move given the lobby lothario was struggling for copy ever since McBride was fired…

Displaying some brass-neck worthy of her lover, Guido understands that Carina Trimingham, with Huhne, turned up to a meeting last night for victims of tabloid intrusion. She must have known by last night that the broadsheet Times were going for her, and rightfully so. They’ve got hold of an email job application that abuses her relationship with the troubled Secretary of State in order to further her career … as a lobbyist:

She got a job…