Mauritius Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam has been in the United Kingdom on deliberately hushed-up visit which will include meetings with lawyers working on the Chagos giveaway. Sources tell Guido there are no official FCDO meetings in the schedule, and he will not meet Starmer, unusually for a head of government…
A report by local radio station Top FM corroborates: “On Friday, the Cabinet noted that Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam will make a private visit to the United Kingdom… The head of government will visit his doctors for an annual health check-up, which had been postponed for ten years. During his stay in London, the Prime Minister will also meet with international lawyers who are advising the government on the Chagos Archipelago case.”
That could well mean a meeting with Philippe Sands – Starmer’s close friend – who has acted for Mauritius on the Chagos file for many years. Sands claimed he had not spoken to Starmer about the issue when it was on the PM’s desk, despite working closely on it…
With the deal now signed (but not yet fully through parliament), the purpose of any meetings with Ramgoolam is unclear. Sources close to the process did not deny that Mauritius sees Starmer as a soft touch and could be coming back for yet more cash…
Transport for London has forked out a cool £239,843 on refurbishments to just one floor of one of its offices this year. Given staff are only expected to spend 50% of their time in the office, how often will this be used?
An FoI has revealed that the 7th floor of the TfL’s Palestra office has been redeveloped to provide staff with “a quiet space to focus, a dynamic place to problem solve or plan, a room or pod to host meetings, or simply somewhere to take a break.” This figure includes £20,807 spent on cutting 40cm off 176 desks. That’s £2.96 per cm…
For £239,843, you could:
TfL also admitted that much of the furniture was bought 2 years ago in anticipation for this refurbishment – adding another £280,000 to the bill.The taxpayer may have a view on which should be prioritised. UK DOGE recommends costs are cut here…
Farage has hit out at Digital ID and promised to back crypto at a summit in London today. Speaking on stage at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit in Old Billingsgate, the Reform leader promised to “bring crypto in from the cold.” After assaults from Labour…
Farage called for “a degree of regulation that gives consumers confidence” and said “over-regulation is a curse.” He also took credit for proposed alterations to the Bank of England’s cap on stablecoins. The BoE is pursing a £10 million cap on business holdings of stablecoins – cryptocurrencies which aim to hold a steady value relative to a designated asset. Farage said he told Andrew Bailey the rules would be too strict at his meeting with the governor last week…
He also hit out at Central Bank Digital Currencies and said they could lead to “mass debanking” of political dissidents. State-controlled crypto…
“CBDCs are the ultimate authoritarian nightmare, and Digital ID is a step towards that agenda. I’d rather go to prison than live in a UK with digital ID.”
Reform is now promising a regulatory “Bing Bang 2.0” for the City. The party is currently rewriting its 2024 economic policy promises to focus on spending cuts prior to lowering the tax burden. Following the Tory lead there…
Downing Street has doubled down on its blame of the CPS for the China spy debacle. This could get even uglier…
Starmer’s spokesman was asked at the Lobby briefing of political journalists about a slew of recent reporting on Labour’s decision to abandon the evidence provision for the spy case. A full denial:
“It is entirely false. The CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) decision to drop the case was entirely a matter for the CPS. There was no role for any member of this Government, no minister, or special adviser, to take any decision in relation to this case. That is entirely for the CPS.”
After Hamish Falconer acquiesced and called China a threat this morning the spokesman said Labour has always been clear on the issue:
“The National Security Strategy published in June was clear that China has potentially huge consequences for lives of British citizens. There are, of course, major areas such as human rights and cyber security, where there are stark differences. Successive governments have said that China can’t be reduced to a single word.”
Don’t think anyone is buying that one…
Nothing on who was responsible for providing evidence to the CPS, which it says it was asking for. No assurance that Powell did not have any discussions in government either. This is about to blow up…
Trump was heaping praise on Steve Witkoff when a Knesset member heckled the US President before being hauled out by security. The speaker said “Sorry about that, Mr President”…
Trump restarted: “That was very efficient.” “So back to Steve…”
Ofcom has whacked US-based 4chan with a £20,000 fine for failing to respond to the watchdog’s request for its “illegal harms risk assessment” in compliance with the new Online Safety Act. The first fine of its kind since the Act was introduced…
The internet sheriff has told 4chan it will also start charging £100 per day from tomorrow:
“The provider of 4chan has not responded to our request for a copy of its illegal harms risk assessment, nor a second request relating to its qualifying worldwide revenue. As a result, Ofcom has fined 4chan £20,000. We will also impose a daily penalty of £100 per day, starting from tomorrow, for either 60 days or until 4chan provides us with this information, whichever is sooner.”
Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement Suzanne Cater today warned the fine “sends a clear message” that anyone violating the act can expect the same treatment. Preston Byrne, a lawyer representing 4chan, said the company isn’t taking this lying down…
“…4chan’s constitutional rights remain completely unaffected by this foreign e-mail. 4chan will obey UK censorship laws when pigs fly. In the meantime, there’s litigation pending in DC. Ofcom hasn’t yet answered. We’ll see Ofcom in court.”
This isn’t over yet…
Former leader of the SNP in Westminster Ian Blackford told Times Radio why he believes Nicola Sturgeon’s claim that she spent no time in the kitchen and therefore didn’t see any of her husband’s purchases:
“She doesn’t have a passion for cooking.”