There was a furore in 2022 when the Guardian revealed that the Home Office had paid a private company £2.5 million to charter boats and crew to pick up people trying to cross the Channel. That number has since ballooned…
Mahmood’s Home Office is four years later paying £30 million to the same company – usually serving the offshore wind industry – for a one year contract (extendable to three).
Contract documents show Border Force wants seven vessels total from Aeolian Offshore: five “Migrant Rescue Vessels” to rescue and transport migrants recovered from the Channel, and two “Recovery Vessels” to lift and seize the boats. They have to handle up to one hundred migrants per boat, provide basic medical facilities, separate migrant/crew toilets, and CCTV covering all deck areas…
There is also a media clause:
“The Owners shall ensure that any Subcontractor shall not communicate with representatives of the press, television, radio or other media (including Social) on any matter concerning the contract/deployment unless the Charterer has given its prior written consent. Any failure by the Owners to comply with the requirements of this Condition may result in a breach entitling the Charterers to terminate the contract for default.”
The massive explosion in contract costs casts doubt on government spin that the small boat situation is improving. Things have a long way to go after the ineffectiveness of the one-in, one-out deal with France…
Co-conspirators are invited to a new gathering of conservatives and the right – the inaugural Disraeli Conference on Saturday 11 July at The Bull Hotel, just outside of London, featuring Guido’s own Lord Kempsell. The conference will bring together politicians, thinkers, commentators and campaigners for a day on conservatism, the future of the Right, statecraft, sovereignty and national renewal, inspired by the legacy of Benjamin Disraeli. Should be a good one…
You can use the code GUIDODISRAELI26 for 25% off tickets. Co-conspirators always racking up the discounts…
No Mahmood despite Katie Lam asking her an urgent question: whether the Government is planning to change the law to deport Rochdale grooming gang leader, Shabir Ahmed.
Labour MPs have been hiding their private educations from the public record as independent schools close at a rapid rate. Fake it till you make it…
The Mail on Sunday’s analysis of entries in Who’s Who found that 36 Labour MPs who went to a private school fail to declare it opposed to 18 who do. Some notable examples of non-declaratio
- Hamish Falconer: Westminster
- James Murray: St Paul’s
- John Healey: St Peter’s School, York
- Kanishka Narayan: Eton College
- Miatta Fahnbulleh: Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells
- Lisa Nandy: Moor Allerton Prep School
Latest figures show that approximately 100 independent schools have closed since Labour’s introduction of the punitive VAT on fees. 30,000 fewer children are educated privately and numbers are down by 6.6% in the main entry year groups…
54 privately-educated Labour MPs – including those who will run the Burnham project – are hiding it. They have two independent school closures each on their record…
Guido first reported on the government’s plans to strangle non-state approved social media last month. Now everyone is catching up…
Labour’s consultation does not even allow people to say they are opposed to state control of algorithms:
The now-published green paper from DCMS details that Labour is committed to a “prominence regime” for social media, requiring platforms and video sharing sites to make state-approved news more prominent to the detriment of independent content. The government would decide who counts as a “trustworthy news provider” but admits the criteria aren’t yet written apart from BBC etc…
Labour says prominence could be made conditional on providers taking on extra “responsibilities.” Compliance…
The scope goes beyond broadcasters to national and local newspapers. The government also says this will be useful during “community tension, social unrest and democratic events.” There is a big Labour effort to shut down free communication during elections and protests…
This all comes as Lisa Nandy quits X in a huff. The war between the state and free information exchange has only just begun…
Keir Starmer’s spokesman has failed to deny that the Chagos handover was raised at ‘access talks’ with Andy Burnham.
Guido first reported that the access talks were underway seven days ago and sources familiar with the process say that Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo, who is in charge of the meetings, has advised Burnham that he must continue with the deal. She has been supported by National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell, who is pushing extremely hard for the handover to go ahead…
Powell has decided to remain in post under Burnham and Downing Street sources say he will be empowered under a new PM with less interest in foreign affairs. Starmer’s spokesman said today: “We wouldn’t ever go into the content of those talks… our position on Diego Garcia, it remains consistent, there is no change to that position.” Will Burnham let surrender of sovereign territory become his main foreign policy plank…
Badenoch said at her speech on Monday morning: “We are absolutely ready to fight a general election. We saw the results in Aberdeen South: 50% of the vote. Because we can unite the country… It’s about uniting the country, for God’s sake, behind a centre-right agenda.”
