British corrupt Conservative Liam Fox’s anti-Labour ‘spy’ smears


This video from Britain about a crisis in David Cameron‘s Conservative government in 2011 says about itself:

Liam Fox‘s Fake Special Adviser, Adam Werritty, Exposed

The row over Liam Fox has “distracted” the Ministry of Defence and is making it “very difficult” for staff to get on with their jobs, a Tory MP has said.

Former Army officer Patrick Mercer told BBC Radio 4 a meeting he had been due to attend at the MoD was cancelled on Monday amid “the fuss and the dramas”.

Senior civil servants investigating the defence secretary’s conduct have interviewed his friend Adam Werritty.

They were expected to ask him why he has joined Mr Fox on 18 overseas trips.

Number 10 has said serious mistakes were made and asked an internal inquiry to address “all remaining questions”.

Mr Cameron is understood to have discussed the findings of an interim report on the inquiry with Mr Fox, but is not expected to make a final decision on his future until he sees the full report, which is due on 21 October.

‘Half-truth’

According to MoD records, Mr Werritty joined Mr Fox on a third of his overseas visits – 18 out of 48 – since he came to office in May 2010.

They included visits to Singapore, Bahrain,

After Liam Fox had to resign in disgrace from Cameron‘s government, he became a lobbyist for the bloody torturing Bahrain dictatorship. Now, he is back in Theresa May’s Conservative/Irish religious terrorist coalition government.

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Qatar and Sri Lanka.

Mr Werritty also visited Tampa in Florida, where he dined with General John Allen, who has since become the head of Nato forces in Afghanistan.

In statement to MPs on Monday, Mr Fox apologised for allowing a “blurring” of his personal relationships and his professional life, but insisted he had done nothing materially wrong and had not put national security at risk.

But a businessman, Harvey Boulter, who was introduced to Mr Fox by Mr Werritty, has accused the defence secretary of telling a “half-truth” to the Commons about their meeting.

Mr Boulter told the BBC his meeting with Mr Fox was “pre-planned” and “pre-organised” and it was “nonsense” to suggest it had come about “accidentally” after he and Mr Werritty found themselves dining at nearby tables in a Dubai restaurant.

‘Blurring’

Mr Mercer told BBC Radio 4’s World at One the defence secretary was running a department “under serious financial strictures” and fighting military campaigns in Afghanistan and Libya.

“The last thing that busy civil servants and busy uniformed staff need inside the MoD is this sort of distraction with their boss,” he said.

The MP said Mr Fox retained the support of his Conservative colleagues, but he added: “I was due to have a meeting in the Ministry of Defence on Monday, and it was clear that the fuss and the difficulty and the drama was making business very difficult to conduct.”

Mr Werritty, 34, was Mr Fox’s best man in 2005 and a former flatmate and also used to carry cards describing himself as an adviser to “the Rt Hon Liam Fox MP”.

But he had no formal or paid role at the MoD or the Conservative Party and little is known about how the visits were funded.

The Times has claimed Mr Werritty declared about £20,000 in income from his private companies over the past four years.

In Parliament, Mr Fox said Mr Werritty’s income was “not dependent on any transactional behaviour to maintain his income”.

The BBC’s deputy political editor James Landale said government sources had indicated that Mr Werritty had agreed to meet officials at a location outside London on Tuesday.

They said this was intended to be an initial conversation between the investigation team and Mr Werritty in order to help answer some outstanding questions.

‘Heart of trust’

Meanwhile, Labour has been stepping up the pressure on Mr Fox over the affair.

MP John Mann has asked the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to investigate allegations that the defence secretary allowed Mr Werritty to live rent-free and run a business from his expenses-funded property.

Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman demanded to know why the investigation into Mr Fox’s conduct was not being carried out by the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Sir Philip Mawer.

Speaking at deputy prime minister’s questions in the Commons she said the Ministerial Code of Conduct made clear it was not the role of senior civil servants, led by the Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell, to enforce the code.

“Doesn’t this show that they are prepared to sacrifice high standards in public office to protect the Secretary of State?” she said.

“There is clearly a need for investigation, not least into whether Mr Werritty profited by his association with the Secretary of State. This goes to the heart of trust in government.”

But Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Sir Gus should be allowed to complete his work “so that the full facts can be made available to the prime minister and then decisions can be made”.

By Sam Tobin in Britain:

Monday, February 26, 2018

Liam Fox lambasted for ‘entirely false’ Corbyn claims

INTERNATIONAL Trade Secretary Liam Fox “should focus on his job” rather than spreading “entirely false” claims about Jeremy Corbyn, Labour said today.

Mr Fox used a TV appearance to claim the Labour leader had been “very useful” to the Soviet Union and had undermined British security.

He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show that left-wing Labour MPs had acted in a way that was “damaging” to Britain during the cold war.

Mr Fox outlandishly claimed: “It is very clear that Jeremy Corbyn and his fellow leftwingers were undermining the case for our security.”

A Labour Party spokesman responded: “Liam Fox should focus on his job and not give credence to claims that everyone knows are entirely false and ridiculous.”

Mr Fox was forced to resign as Defence Secretary in 2011 after revelations that his long-term aide Adam Werritty had joined him on official trips, despite having no official position or security clearance.

This comes after Tory vice-chairman Ben Bradley issued a grovelling apology to Mr Corbyn over the weekend for a “wholly untrue and false” tweet about the Labour leader’s alleged links to cold war spies.

The Mansfield MP was threatened with legal action by Mr Corbyn after falsely claiming he had “sold British secrets to communist spies.”

As part of his humiliating climbdown, Mr Bradley apologised on Twitter and made a “substantial” donation to a charity of Mr Corbyn’s choice, as well as paying his legal costs.

Mr Corbyn directed the donation to a homeless charity and a foodbank in Mr Bradley’s constituency, Labour said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Corbyn said: “Following the botched smear campaign against Jeremy, this case shows we are not going to let dangerous lies go unchallenged.”

Mr Bradley’s apology read: “I am very sorry for publishing this untrue and false statement and I have no hesitation in offering my unreserved and unconditional apology to Jeremy Corbyn for the distress I have caused him.”

Following Mr Bradley’s promotion in Theresa May’s January reshuffle, vile blog posts from 2012 emerged in which he suggested unemployed people should have vasectomies rather than having children.

At the time, Labour said the comments were proof that the Tories were still the “nasty party” of old.

The brainless ‘spying’ smears of the right-wing press. Tabloid attempts to associate Corbyn with a Czech spy have backfired predictably, writes TIM GOPSILL.

THE mass data collection regimes of Britain’s spy agencies lack proper oversight and are unlawful, a tribunal heard yesterday: here.

British Conservatives kowtow to Trump, parody song


This 26 July 2017 satiric music video from Britain is called Liam Fox – “Roll With It” (US trade deal version).

It is a parody of the song Roll With It by Oasis.

Liam Fox used to be the war … err … ‘Defence’ Secretary of Great Britain.  He then had to resign in disgrace because of a corruption scandal. Fox is in the Conservative party.

Then, he became a propagandist for the Bahraini dictatorship.

Now, he is back in Theresa May‘s wobbly government coalition with homophobia and terrorism as Secretary of State for International Trade.

The video says about itself:

The business-savvy new single from Liam Fox‘s Oasis tribute band.

LYRICS:

We’ve got to roll with it, we must deregulate
We’ve got to trade with the States
Don’t let anybody get in our way
‘Cause right now there’s just too much red tape
They wash their chickens all in a big swimming pool
What they allow in their cows might raise British eyebrows
But these are minor details, you media snides
We’ve got to keep the Americans onside
Diplomacy is a dish best served deep-fried

I know the roads down which Brexit will lead
A strong ally is something we’ll still need
Kiss the Yanks, or else we’ll all be poor
Now eat your chlorinated chicken while
We stash the profits somewhere offshore

We’ve got to eat their beef and sing “Hail to the Chief
That Donald Trump knows a rump
Let’s purloin his sirloin, not as a thief
But as a valued trading partner

We’ve got to roll with it, the US will be pleased
Economy’s on its knees without their plastic cheese
I think we’ve got a trade deal that’s in our interests
Well, not for 99 per cent of you, but it is for the rest
Now every time you chow down on a chicken breast
You’ll know that you live in a dystopian West

Bahrain dictatorship’s United States politicians’ support


This video is called Royal Torture: Bahrain princess charged with activist abuse.

From Texas on the Potomac blog in the USA:

Ex-Rep. Solomon Ortiz among U.S. pols to speak at government-sponsored conference in Bahrain

Thursday, March 28, 2013

A former Texas Democratic congressman has joined a controversial ultraconservative Republican on the speaking roster for a government-organized conference in a Middle Eastern country known for its record of human rights abuses.

Former Rep.  Solomon Ortiz of Corpus Christi is listed as one of the featured speakers and is set to give closing remarks at the Bahrain International Symposium that will take place March 31 – April 2. Ortiz joins former congressman Dan Burton of Indiana, a conspiracy theorist and bitter political enemy of former President Bill Clinton.

Burton is also a featured speaker at the event. No current members of Congress are on the list of speakers.

Burton made news last year when ProPublica published that during his tenure as a lawmaker, he and his wife went on a trip to Bahrain costing nearly $21,000 and paid for  by the Bahrain American Council, a lobbying group promoting the interests of the Bahrain government in the United States. The group is listed as a co-sponsor of the symposium, along with the University of Bahrain.

Ortiz, who was defeated as a Democrat by Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold in 2010,  served on the House Armed Service Committee during his tenure and his expertise includes military and national security issues. Ortiz voted in favor of the 2006 Bahrain Free Trade Agreement while in Congress.

The symposium’s website indicates the purpose of the three-day conference is to discuss industrial and democratic improvements within the country.  The country’s economy is bolstered by the demand for oil and is ruled by monarchy with a past of censorship and human rights abuses.

A State Department 2011 human rights report says Bahrain’s human rights abuses include stifling citizens from political activism, lack of due process, and the random arrest of activists, political figures, and other citizens and possibly subjecting them to torture.

Other attendees include well-known American conservative John Bolton, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and several representatives of the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Human rights groups have criticised former British defence minister Liam Fox for agreeing to appear at a conference in Bahrain designed to improve the country’s international image amid concerns over its handling of recent civil unrest, according to left-wing blog Left Foot Forward: here.

BAHRAIN: Report: Excessive Use of Tear Gas Endangers Women Protesters Bahrain: here.

21 Bahraini medics released on appeal pledge to get others freed: here.

Disgraced Conservative Liam Fox helps Bahrain dictatorship


This video, by the Voice of America, is called Jailed Bahrain Doctor Tells VOA of Abuse, ‘Mental Torture’.

In 2011, British Conservative Liam Fox resigned in disgrace as “Defence” War Secretary because of his Adam Werritty corruption scandal.

Now, he is back in the news.

From daily The Independent in Britain:

Liam Fox faces questions over pro-regime Bahrain summit

Ruling family have held on to power in the face of two years of protests inspired by the Arab Spring

Andy McSmith

Thursday 28 March 2013

Liam Fox, the former Defence Secretary, will this weekend be one of the chief guests at a conference designed to rally Western opinion to the side of the Bahrain government in its struggle against street protests and civil rights demonstrations.

Mr Fox is the only Briton on the list of “key people” attending the Bahrain International Symposium. Other guests include prominent American neoconservatives, such as John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the UN.

The symposium’s stated mission is to “examine institutional developments and political reforms in Bahrain (and) the challenges of empowering diverse coalitions for democratic transition and stability.”

Bahrain’s ruling family have held on to power in the face of two years of protests inspired by the Arab Spring. Mr Fox could not be contacted yesterday to answer questions about whether his presence at the symposium indicated his support for the Bahrani government in its struggle with the demonstrators. More than 60 people have died during two years of protests. On Tuesday, it was reported that 13 civil rights demonstrators had been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Bahrain government has shown itself to be sensitive to Western opinion, and anxious to portray its government as a constitutional monarchy tolerant of religious minorities and seeking a peaceful transition to democracy. But critics say the Sunni royal family has no intention of surrendering power.

The two-day conference is sponsored by Bahrain University and by the Washington-based Bahrain American Council, which was set up in 2011 by a PR firm, Policy Impact Communications, to promote trade between the US and Bahrain and to convince opinion leaders in the West that Bahrain has a stable regime on the path to reform.

Last summer, the Bahrain American Council paid out £13,900 to fly Dan Burton, a Republican congressman from Indiana, and his wife to Bahrain. Mr Burton, who will join Mr Fox at the symposium, praised the “statesman-like” conduct of Bahrain’s King and urged the US media to “project Bahrain’s true image”. Organisations taking part in the conference include the American Enterprise Institute, which lobbied for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank associated with Ronald Reagan.

Mr Fox was seen as a cheerleader leader for [the] Tory right and potentially as a future prime minister until he was forced to resign in 2011 over his friendship with Adam Werritty.

See also here.

The Arab kingdom of Bahrain has not lacked British visitors this month. The Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt is just back, members of the Commons Foreign Affairs committee have just arrived, and the former Defence Secretary Liam Fox will be there over the Easter weekend. His office say that he is there to discuss defence matters, including the basing of the British fleet off Bahrain, with the Foreign Office’s support: here.

DISGRACED former defence secretary Liam Fox urged Parliament yesterday to give government the “tools it needs” to bomb Syria, Libya and elsewhere. Mr Fox, who resigned over allegations that he gave a lobbyist friend special treatment, claimed that Britain had a legitimate right to attack Islamic State (Isis) targets: here.

British ‘Defence’ Secretary calls gays criminals


Anti-homophobia sign

Philip Hammond is the war … err … ‘Defence’ Secretary of Great Britain.

He got that job because his predecessor Liam Fox (Fox is in the Conservative party, like Hammond) had to resign in disgrace because of a corruption scandal.

The name of Hammond’s job is a lie. His armed forces are not defending England, Scotland or Wales. They are thousands of miles away, waging neocolonial wars in Afghanistan, Mali, etc.

And now, Hammond lies by mixing up LGBTQ people who love each other and who want to marry, with criminals like child abusers. It reminds me of Hammond’s fellow homophobe, the pope of Rome. Pope Benedict on the one hand attacks LGBTQ people, calling them dangers to world peace. While on the other hand provoking a conflict even with the conservative Roman Catholic government of Ireland because of covering up child abuse by Roman Catholic priests.

By Scott Roberts in Britain:

Exclusive: Defence Secretary Philip Hammond links incest with same-sex marriage

28 January 2013, 11:12am

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has told students in Surrey that allowing gay couples to marry would be like sanctioning incest.

The Conservative MP made the comments on Friday evening just hours after the government published its Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill during a visit to the University of London Royal Holloway’s Egham campus in Surrey.

Mr Hammond is the university’s local MP and had been invited to give a speech about British security and defence; however, his arrival was met with around 70 students chanting “gay, straight, black or white, marriage is a civil right.”

Last week, PinkNews.co.uk reported how the University of London Royal Holloway Students’ Union agreed to lobby Mr Hammond after he replied to a student’s letter stating that he would not be supporting the government’s equal marriage legislation.

Mr Hammond first went public about his opposition to the measure in May of last year when he said equal marriage was “too controversial”.

But on Friday, the senior cabinet minister, who had agreed to briefly meet with students Joe Rayment and Jack Saffery-Rowe used more contentious language.

Mr Rayment told PinkNews.co.uk that Mr Hammond said he was “very concerned” with the reform and that he believed gay couples would attempt to take religious groups to court if they refused to provide them with a marriage ceremony.

The MP then referred to human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell as someone who would attempt to sue religious organisations in such circumstances.

Mr Rayment challenged Mr Hammond on the fact that the Anglican Church to which he belongs had in the past altered its position on marriage, the MP responded: “yes, but that wasn’t yesterday”.

When the students asked why the MP believed the government should retain a ban on same-sex marriages, he responded by likening the current ban on equal marriage to incest, where it is illegal for two siblings to enter into wedlock.

Mr Hammond also said existing civil partnership legislation had removed discrimination.

When asked by PinkNews.co.uk to clarify the remarks concerning incest and why he mentioned the word, Mr Hammond personally emailed PinkNews.co.uk: “The discussion ranged very widely and was not limited to same sex relationships.”

MPs will vote on the second reading of the government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill on 5 February – although Mr Hammond revealed to the students that he would not be in the country when it is expected to take place.

Earlier this month, PinkNews.co.uk exclusively reported how former defence secretary Liam Fox, Mr Hammond’s predecessor, warned that equal marriage had led to the “alienation of many loyal and, in many cases lifelong, supporters of the Conservative Party.”

Dr Fox also confirmed that he will vote against the government’s Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill.

Human rights are “a silly game”, according to defence minister Philip Hammond: here.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is about to hand £14 billion of government spending to some big US firms who have been hit with multimillion-dollar fines for misbehaviour on public contracts in their native United States: here.

British Tory ‘Defence’ scandals continue


Liam Fox scandal, cartoon

This cartoon from Britain is about the Liam FoxAdam Werritty scandal.

From The Bureau of Investigative Journalism:

Bureau Recommends: Investigations into Fox ‘shadow’ adviser continue

October 18th, 2011 | by The Bureau

The British press continues to investigate the relationship between former Defence Secretary Liam Fox and his close friend and unofficial advisor Adam Werritty.

Today we are recommending a series of articles from across the British press, which continues to unearth new details about the manner in which Mr Werritty benefited from his relationship with a Cabinet minister, why he attended top-level government meetings and how his lavish lifestyle of first-class flights was funded.

Liam Fox has gone: now hunt all the Tories: here.

As Scandal Engulfs American Legislative Exchange Council‘s UK Affiliate, a Closer Look at Its US Operation. Lee Fang and Scott Keyes, ThinkProgress: “The Atlantic Bridge, the British affiliate organization to the American Legislative Exchange Council, is quickly erupting into a scandal that may force the public to scrutinize the practices of both right-wing groups. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s Charity Commission shut down Atlantic Bridge after an investigation revealed that the nonprofit has operated as little more than a front for various corporate lobbying and Tory party interests. The scandal has already forced the resignation of David Cameron’s Defense Secretary Liam Fox after the revelation that the Atlantic Bridge’s London-based director, Adam Werritty, had improperly acted as a high level advisor to Fox while employed by a number of military industry and lobbying clients”: here.

Liam Fox row: Miliband urges Cameron to ‘show a bit of humility’: here.

Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox was forced to apologise to the House of Commons today for breaching the ministerial code following an internal inquiry into his dodgy links with chum Adam Werritty: here.

Resignation of UK defense secretary reveals links between ministers and military firms: here.

Prime Minister David Cameron faced accusations today that he “almost certainly” breached ministerial code by not calling his adviser on ministers’ interests to investigate allegations of impropriety against former defence secretary Liam Fox: here.

British Tory Werritty scandal expanding


Liam Fox and Werritty, cartoon

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Second senior Tory caught up in Werritty access scandal

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Westminster’s wannabe “adviser” scandal engulfed another top Tory today as news broke that Minister for International Security Gerald Howarth had met in secret with dodgy charity director Adam Werritty.

Westminster’s wannabe “adviser” scandal engulfed another top Tory today as news broke that Minister for International Security Gerald Howarth had met in secret with dodgy charity director Adam Werritty.

Defence Minister Philip Hammond told MPs in a parliamentary answer that the Cannock and Burntwood MP had joined Mr Werritty in a meeting with one of his backers – the Iraq Research Group.

There is no record of civil servants attending the meeting – a breach of the ministerial code.

“Adam Werritty was also present at a meeting between Mr Howarth and a representative of IRG Ltd regarding information that could be useful to the department relating to Iraq,” Mr Hammond said.

“The discussion centred on the economic and political landscape in Iraq.

“No further contact or action has taken place,” he added.

Former defence secretary Liam Fox quit in disgrace this month after it emerged Mr Werritty, a “personal friend,” had arranged private meetings with Israeli politicians in breach of ministerial codes, lived off of donations from intelligence agencies and lobbyists and represented himself on business cards as Fox’s “adviser.”

See also here.

Disgraced former defence secretary Liam Fox declared today that he would like to get back to front-line politics, even before the dust has settled on his links with Adam Werritty: here.

ONE of the men closely linked to the Liam Fox/ Adam Werritty scandal has become Tory donor who has given the party enough money to get invited to dine with ministers: here.

Corrupt British War Secretary resigns


This video is called Liam Fox’s friend Adam Werritty to lobby the UK government for arms supplies to Sri Lanka.

From British daily The Guardian:

Defence secretary [Liam Fox] steps down over links to controversial unofficial adviser Adam Werritty. Fox is the first Conservative cabinet minister to leave in the 17-month life of the coalition

See also British daily The Independent on this. And daily The Morning Star; also here.