Paul Mason has finally had enough of Comrade Corbyn. After years of publicly defending Jezza (albeit trashing him behind his back), Mason has at last seen the light and admitted that maybe, just maybe, Corbyn’s Stop the War lunacy is a bit much. In a lengthy thread this afternoon, Mason took aim at Jeremy over his latest think-piece on Ukraine, calling it a “catalogue of platitudes designed to mislead people about [Stop the War]” and a “a bunch of genocide deniers and Putin proxies.” All it took was a war on European soil…

He adds, however, that he doesn’t regret backing Corbyn for the Labour leadership, albeit with the caveat that he had to fight Corbyn internally “to keep Labour pro-Trident and pro-NATO:

11/ Postscript: I do not regret supporting him for Labour leader. Internally we fought and decisively won a battle to keep Labour pro-Trident and pro-NATO. I've supported calls to let him back in the PLP - but he would have to disavow StW, and that looks unlikely now, sadly.

— Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) April 8, 2022

The odds of Corbyn denouncing Stop the War are practically zero. On cue, Owen Jones showed up in the replies to call Mason an “unhinged McCarthyite” for daring to attack the dear leader, with Mason punching back by claiming he doesn’t want to share a platform with “Russian disinfo merchants.” A disinfo merchant he still doesn’t regret supporting throughout his tenure as leader, apparently…

Guido’s sure this will completely abate the simmering tensions between No. 10 and No. 11…

UPDATE: Rishi Sunak confirms he had green card until October 2021 – a year and 8 months after he became chancellor. He says he filed US tax returns as a ‘non-resident’ and continued to use it for travel purposes. He only returned it upon his first trip to US as Chancellor.

“Rishi Sunak had a green card when he lived and worked in the US.

“Under US law, you are not presumed to be a US resident just by dint of holding a green card. Furthermore, from a US Immigration perspective, it is presumed that permanent resident status is automatically abandoned after prolonged absences from the US. At the same time, one is required to file US tax returns.  Rishi Sunak followed all guidance and continued to file US tax returns, but specifically as a non-resident, in full compliance with the law.

“As required under US law and as advised, he continued to use his green card for travel purposes. Upon his first trip to the US in a government capacity as Chancellor, he discussed the appropriate course of action with the US authorities. At that point it was considered best to return his green card, which he did immediately.

“All laws and rules have been followed and full taxes have been paid where required in the duration he held his green card.”

Back in November Guido reported on how Sandstone Press, the publisher of Nicola Sturgeon’s little tartan book, was facing fraud allegations for trousering over £295,000 of taxpayers’ cash in loans and grants since 2019. A figure which actually rises to £500,000 when accounting for the grants from Creative Scotland over the last 15 years…

Last night the police confirmed the investigation into Sandstone is still ongoing, with rival firm Strident Publishing accusing them of lying about the number of people they employed, and deliberately changing the location of the firm to an area which would allow them to claim more financial support. Not to mention the fact that the company’s managing director, Robert Davidson, is a vocal SNP supporter… 

Her “nationalised publisher” under investigation and national press now banned from her manifesto launch. Is it any wonder Chairman Nicola named her book after a Mao quote?

Murdoch’s fledging news channel TalkTV have announced Isabel Oakeshott will be joining the launch lineup as International Editor, returning to the News UK fold alongside Tom Newton Dunn for the April 25^th airdate. Oakeshott only joined GB News back in September, now she’s already jumped ship…

Announcing the move today, Oakeshott said:

“I’m delighted to be returning to News UK, which is both a bastion of free speech and home to a wealth of world-class journalistic talent. I’m excited to be joining Tom’s show as a regular commentator, as it seeks to redefine broadcast news and current affairs for contemporary audiences. And in my new role as International Editor, I look forward to reporting on the ground, on the biggest global news stories across the globe.”

Only 17 days to go…

As if the race for the Presidency of France couldn’t get any tighter, Macron’s three-point lead from Tuesday has closed even further. A poll out this morning for the New Statesman now puts the gap down to just two percent, with Macron on 51% to Le Pen’s 49%.

A different poll out yesterday afternoon had the gap even closer, with just 1% between the two. The campaign period for the first round ends at midnight tonight, with voters going to the polls on Sunday. A real nail biter…