A very powerful piece of writing by Bryan Forbes

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Back to the politics guys. If you are the one who objects to anything along these lines then you know who you are and just move on.

This is an article from the Daily Mail about a man called Woolas.
Name familiar? .............Yes indeedee.
He was the incumbant minister on the Gurkha debacle and was made to look an absolute tosspot over it and several other silly decisions. A long string of political gaffs accompany this turkey wherever he goes and in my correspondence with him on previous issues he proved he is totally beached and will be left high and dry by the electorate in the next election. Here is his latest utterance:

Immigration minister Phil Woolas admits his children have suffered because of migration


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By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:55 PM on 25th February 2010



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Yet another blunder: Immigration minister Phil Woolas

The immigration minister has admitted that his own children have 'suffered' because of the number of foreigners who have flooded into Britain.
In an extraordinary declaration, gaffe-prone Phil Woolas accepted the influx of migrants under Labour has taken a toll on local communities and services.
Confronted by an unemployed man on a BBC2 Newsnight special, he said: 'We recognise that. My own family... children have suffered from that.'
Mr Woolas, who has two sons, has a house in Chiswick, south west London, and Oldham, Lancashire, which is his constituency.
It was not clear whether the minister was talking about class sizes or the pressure placed by migrants on school places or some other issue.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: 'The biggest impact from immigration in recent years has been on public services.

'It seems extraordinary to have the immigration minister now admitting that - and from his own experience - but yet still defending the policy that caused the problems in the first place.'
It is the latest in a string of blunders for Mr Woolas.

He was condemned as 'deeply insensitive' last December after claiming immigration officials were 'putting their lives on the line' for their country.

He said UK Border Agency staff were 'very brave' as he defended bonus payouts of more than £10,000 each for 29 senior officials.

More...

Just a month earlier, he was attacked for saying British troops were in Afghanistan partly to help control the number of immigrants heading to Britain - on the day five UK soldiers were killed there by a rogue policeman.
In May, he was humiliated when he was ambushed by Joanna Lumley over the plight of the Gurkhas. In hilarious scenes, the actress sought him out in Westminster and frogmarched him to a live press conference for a very public dressing down.

His bizarre declaration came as new official figures revealed the number of foreigners given UK passports has soared.
A total of 203,865 people were handed British citizenship in 2009 - an increase of 58 per cent on the previous year.
Tens of thousands more immigrants were also given the right to settle in the UK, with the total up 30 per cent to more than 190,000.
Quarterly immigration figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, also showed a 30 per cent increase in student visa numbers last year compared to 2008.
In the final three months of 2009, 61,715 student visas were issued - an astonishing rise of 92 per cent on the same period in 2008.
The figures prompted questions over the effectiveness of the new points-based system for student visas.
Separate figures showed applications by asylum seekers arriving in the UK had dropped off, 30 per cent down on the previous year at 4,765.

Whitehall documents revealed this week confirm Labour encouraged mass immigration despite voters being against it.
The Government said the public stance was down to 'racism' and ministers were told to try to alter the population's attitude.

The approach was unveiled after a document from 2000 prepared by the Cabinet Office and Home Office was finally disclosed in full under freedom of information rules.

It showed that ministers were advised that only the ill-educated and those who had never met a migrant were opposed to immigration.

They were also told that large-scale immigration would bring increases in crime, but they concealed these concerns from the public.

Sections of the paper, which underpinned Labour policies that admitted between two and three million immigrants to Britain in less than a decade, have already been made public.

These have showed that Labour aimed to use immigration not only for economic reasons but also to change the social make-up of the country.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1253770/Immigration-minister-Phil-Woolas-admits-children-suffered-migration.html#ixzz0gcppan8f
 
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Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
<!-- END: Module - M24 Article Headline with no image --><!-- BEGIN: Module - Main Article --><!-- Check the Article Type and display accordingly--><!-- Print Author image associated with the Author--><!-- Print the body of the article--><STYLE type=text/css>div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} </STYLE><!-- Pagination --><!--Display article with page breaks -->Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon have been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour party pending further investigations following allegations of lobbying.
The decision was made by the chief whip Nick Brown and came in the wake of an undercover investigation by the Sunday Times and Channel 4, in which former ministers and other MPs were approached by a fictional US firm looking to hire them for lobbying work.
This is a huge humiliation for three of the party’s most prominent figures and comes a day after they all insisted they had done no wrong.
A labour source said “We have suspended them from the PLP pending further investigation. We wanted to see the programme for ourselves before deciding.”
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David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
And breaking news as I was coming out of London this evening,
The BBC have revelaed that MPs have been taking undeclared benefits ie bribes - having breaks at the expense of foreign governments in order to have holidays in places such the Maldives and Seychelles. Wonderful scandal just ahead of a general election. This will run and run......
 

Ian Anderson

Lifetime Supporter
And breaking news as I was coming out of London this evening,
The BBC have revelaed that MPs have been taking undeclared benefits ie bribes - having breaks at the expense of foreign governments in order to have holidays in places such the Maldives and Seychelles. Wonderful scandal just ahead of a general election. This will run and run......

Now Dave

As an accountant if the travel was not wholely, solely and purely for business purposes then non of it s acceptable as a business expense.

Taking this to the a55h0le5 in government it's time the taxman looked at declared benefits and payments recorded on their tax returns. If they took their wives/ mistresses etc then the trip is not solely business - wife is not an MP.

Now at 40% tax some of those "jollies" could bankrups the barstewards!

Ian
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Going political again. If you don't like it, block me from your mails but I don't give a toss about it.

Here is an evidence-based comparison you won't see elsewhere; it shows how much taxpayers are forced to give to Anjem Choudary - the extremist cleric who wanted to lead a protest march through Wootton Bassett. He claims £25,740 in benefits to subsidise his hate preaching. Questions should be asked on how he can actually be seeking work when he spends all his time rabble rousing in broadcast studios and on demonstrations. In contrast a frontline soldier, fighting Choudary's taliban allies in <ST1><ST1>Afghanistan</ST1></ST1> , takes home £17,004 for risking his life.

If that private is killed in combat, his widow and children would have to live on a pension less than Choudary gets.

Why are British taxpayers paying their enemies more than their soldiers? Is Choudary really actively seeking work?



The evidence suggests he has other priorities - so stop his benefits

So, once again pick up your pen and write to Gordon Brown at number 10 Downing Street, London, SW1A 2AA and ask him can you have his comments on this stupid anomoly ? ( with resorting to swear words and in Plain English please ). You really need to do this.

Will you get a reply? Not a cat in hells chance !!!!!!

Maybe more people should be made aware of this, especially with an election in the near future and Alistair Darlings last Budget today?






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David,

You are absolutely right. How is it that my Stepfather who is a 60 year old accountant who lost his job eight months ago cannot get ANY benefits at all after paying into the system for his WHOLE life because he owns a very small apartment in the Longuedoc region of France (worth a meagre £30,000) ???

He has been told that this constitutes savings, and as such cannot claim any benefits....

It is disgusting that we have now reached a point where those who have worked hard their whole lives and paid tens of thousands of pounds in tax cannot get help when they actually need it, and yet we throw money at complete c*nts who have no wish to better the place in which they have chosen to live.

And I can't apologise for my language, because people are as they act.

Cheers,

Graham.
 

Keith

Moderator
Hi Graham, I do sympathise with your father's situation having been there myself for 9 years now although it was an "enforced" retirement via serious criminal assault and injury.

However I lived on entirely my own resources (including savings) and was down to my last credit card and 30 shillings before I claimed. I can only say that I personally felt it was not right to claim from the state while I could feasibly support myself. I learned to live on peanuts and greatly enjoyed the learning curves associated with it. Frankly, the experience changed my life and I believe I am much the better for it.

When the Benefits Agency were asked, they stepped straight up to the plate and have been very supportive. Of course, I have more urgent health needs but I have no complaints about the system.

You talk about a "meagre" £30,000. If that is meagre to you, or your father, then I would ask you to send me £100 immediately as you would obviously scarcely miss it but for me, it's a month's food supply- I will PM my address.

Tell your Dad to sell his place in the sun and stand on his own two feet until he REALLY needs help and then he will receive it - without question.

And, if there's no Bread, then he could always eat Cake. :)
 
Keith, I have to admire you for managing as you have.

I have a friend who is currently better off not working than working. Not working, she receives housing and other benefits. If she takes a job, they disappear. I realise that this situation would not apply to professionals whose salaries would cover the loss of benefits. However the government appears to ignore the thousands of people whose jobs would be at minimum wage or just above. A system of benefits and taxation that allows this situation to occur is appalling. People should get MORE for working, not less!
 

Keith

Moderator
Keith, I have to admire you for managing as you have.

I have a friend who is currently better off not working than working. Not working, she receives housing and other benefits. If she takes a job, they disappear. I realise that this situation would not apply to professionals whose salaries would cover the loss of benefits. However the government appears to ignore the thousands of people whose jobs would be at minimum wage or just above. A system of benefits and taxation that allows this situation to occur is appalling. People should get MORE for working, not less!

I'm not sure that comparing Benefit & Wages is valid. Wages is determined by a free market whereas Benefits is deemed to what people NEED to survive. The issue is: what do you need to survive? If I could get a job paying LESS than the amount I receive now, I would take it like a shot - I feel I still have much to offer. Be sure of one thing, sitting on your ass watching re-runs of Police Stop, or The Antiques Road Show will send one into a coma even if you are getting £50 more per week and quickly too.

Anyway, women should not be working, they SHOULD be home having kids and making nice dinners for their men. :)

To me, work is an ethic a purpose a sense of "that's what I am here to do," and to be quite fair, money never meant much to me although I seemed to accumulate it quite sucessfully when I was active.

Everyday I wake up, I feel this cosy warm supported feeling - one that I never really had whilst I was working, and I hate it. I mistrust it, I am fearful someone will take it away from me suddenly, over which I will have no control. I want the struggle, the competetive scenario, and the insecurity that sometimes comes with it. To survive the market place at work is to feel alive and purposeful, it's what makes (or made) me what I am.

The notion that people think they should get out at least what they have paid in is called insurance, not State Benefit. We pay into a community fund for the benefit of the community. By all means get cross with scumbags like the Nigerian gangs with all their multiple applications and the other dross who drain the cash - THEY are the ones who are stealing your future, not the Benefits Agency, apart from Gordon Brown that is, who has already stolen most of it already. He is the biggest "Benefit Thief" of all, probably of all time.
 

Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
- THEY are the ones who are stealing your future, not the Benefits Agency, apart from Gordon Brown that is, who has already stolen most of it already. He is the biggest "Benefit Thief" of all, probably of all time.

I dunno about that, Kevin Rudd would go close and win hands down on a Per Capita basis I reckon.
Keith, I admire your attitude, more power to you.
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Afghan hero who survived Taliban attacks is killed by a pothole on the A338

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By Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 11:28 AM on 30th March 2010
article-1262093-08EAEEB5000005DC-752_233x423.jpg
Captain Jon Allen was killed as he swerved his bicycle to avoid a massive pothole​

A soldier who served in Afghanistan was killed on a British road as he swerved his bicycle to avoid a massive pothole, it emerged yesterday.

Captain Jonathan Allen, 29, suffered severe head injuries as he tried to avoid the hazard in the rain and crashed into a lorry.

It is thought Cpt Allen, of the Royal Fusiliers, did not see the crater until the last minute and then swerved into the path of the articulated lorry which was passing him.

The hole was filled in by the council two days after the fatal collision on the soldier's journey home to Burbage, Wiltshire.

Local residents say the roads are in a 'shocking' condition after the cold winter which has left the A338 near Tidworth severely damaged.

Tidworth town councillor Andrew Connolly, said: 'This hole was more like a trench than a pothole.

'There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this crater was a direct causal factor behind this young man's tragic death.

'The accident happened in the evening, when it was pitch black and will have been filled with water.

'He either ploughed into it without seeing it and then fell in front of the lorry or swerved at the last minute to avoid it.'
Either way, the pothole was undoubtedly to blame.


'It's a real problem around here and the state of some of the roads are shocking.'

More...


Last month experts said British roads are in need of billions of pounds of repairs after two cold winters which have left them pitted with thousands of potholes.

The number of holes in the nation's roads is estimated to have leapt by 60 per cent in two years and the cost of fixing them all is put at around £10billion.
There are now thought be at least 1.6million in England and Wales, making life a misery for motorists and cyclists.

Cpt Allen, who had served in the army for eight years, was cycling home on the A338 when the accident happened last week.


article-1262093-08EAEF62000005DC-309_468x286.jpg
The A338 near Tidbury where Jon Allen was killed. The roadworks to repair the pothole can be seen in the foreground​

The driver of the lorry was a 55-year-old man from the Bromsgrove area of the Midlands.

Cpt Allen's girlfriend, who is also believed to be in the forces, was too upset to comment on his death.

A statement released by the 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, based in Mooltan Barracks, Tidworth, said: 'Jon was an energetic and utterly professional Officer with a bright future ahead of him.

'His death has come as a very great shock to us all and we mourn his early passing.'

It continued: 'We have lost a very dear colleague and friend and the thoughts and prayers of the Regiment go out to his family and girlfriend at this very difficult time.'

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned on Friday.

PC David Cooper, from Wiltshire Police's serious collision investigation team, said: 'We were alerted to an accident in which a cyclist was killed after being hit by a heavy goods vehicle.







Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1262093/Afghanistan-hero-soldier-killed-pothole-A338.html#ixzz0jetUzeAl
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
I include this as a juxtaposition to the previous post to show these arseholes in the true light they have brought on themselves. Bringing back public execution at Marble Arch would be too good for these bastards.



Labour MPs charged over expenses seek to be dealt with by Parliament

Three Labour MPs accused of fiddling their expenses will argue they should be dealt with by Parliament instead of the courts, their lawyers said.



Published: 10:44AM BST 30 Mar 2010

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(L-R) Labour MPs Elliot Morley, Jim Devine , David Chaytor


Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC, the Honorary Recorder of Westminster, ordered legal representatives of David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Jim Devine to appear for three days of legal arguments starting on May 4 and ending on May 6, Southwark Crown Court in London heard.
The trio are accused of theft by false accounting, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
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But Louis Mably, prosecuting, and Ed Fitzgerald QC, defending Morley and Chaytor, indicated there were problems with the availability of leading counsel for May 4-6, which is set to coincide with the widely expected date for the general election.
The legal representatives will appear before the trial judge, Mr Justice Saunders, at a later date in a bid to agree a new time.
The three MPs will claim to be protected by parliamentary privilege, covered in the 1689 Bill of Rights, the court heard.
Bury North MP Chaytor, 60, of Todmorden, Lancashire, is accused of falsely claiming rent on a London flat he owned, falsely filing invoices for IT work and renting a property from his mother, against regulations.
Scunthorpe MP Morley, 57, of Winterton, North Lincolnshire, allegedly falsely claimed £30,428 in interest payments between 2004 and 2007 towards a mortgage on his home which he had already paid off.
Livingston MP Devine, 56, of Bathgate, West Lothian, is said to have wrongly submitted two invoices worth a total of £5,505 for services provided by Armstrong Printing Limited.
He also faced a second charge alleging that he dishonestly claimed cleaning and maintenance costs of £3,240 by submitting false invoices from Tom O'Donnell Hygiene and Cleaning Services.
Representatives of Lord Hanningfield, 69, the former leader of Essex County Council, will appear before the same court tomorrow.
The Tory peer, of West Hanningfield, near Chelmsford, Essex, faces six charges of making dishonest claims for travelling allowances.
The legal argument in his case is expected to be heard at the same time as that of the three MPs, the court heard.
All four defendants are on unconditional bail.
In front of a packed courtroom, Judge Rivlin said both the House of Commons and House of Lords should be notified of any date for legal arguments and, should they want to be represented, it would be "for Mr Justice Saunders to decide whether they should be heard".
He added that the trial judge's decision would be "subject to any arguments by the parties".
If the trials do go ahead, all four defendants will be tried separately, the court heard.
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
More political comment:
Daily Mail:

The MP too sick to be quizzed on expenses but fit enough to lobby for a new job


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By Tim Shipman and Andrew Levy
Last updated at 12:09 AM on 01st April 2010




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Expenses scandal: Margaret Moran claimed to be too sick to co-operate with the initial investigation into her claims​

An MP accused of fraudulent expenses claims is facing a fresh sleaze inquiry after taking 11 months off work saying she is suffering from stress.
Margaret Moran said she was too ill to co-operate with the initial investigation into her claims.
But she was secretly filmed last week offering to use her position to influence high-profile Government colleagues for money.
This was the final straw for Parliament's Standards Commissioner John Lyon, who is relaunching his inquiry because he does not believe she is ill.
Miss Moran, 54, claimed £22,500 of taxpayers' money for treating dry rot at her partner's home in Southampton, more than 100 miles from her Luton South constituency.
Despite being off work, she has pocketed £59,000 of her £64,766 annual salary since she was engulfed in the expenses scandal last May.
Insiders say that Mr Lyon became aware that Miss Moran was not too sick to work before Channel 4's Dispatches programme last week.
But the broadcast confirmed his decision to press ahead with the probe, they said.
'He makes sure he is well informed,' a source added.
Mr Lyon is hoping to complete his report in time for 'a large proportion' to be docked from Miss Moran's 'golden goodbye' payment when she quits the Commons at the General Election.
MPs leaving Parliament stand to pick up lucrative parachute payments - in Miss Moran's case about £54,000.


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Secret film: Miss Moran offered to work as a lobbyist on Channel 4's Dispatches programme last week​

A source on the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee, which administers punishments for errant MPs, said: 'The inquiry had ground to a halt but it is under way again.
'The parachute payments are due in July. The Commissioner has told us he is keen to complete the investigation before the resettlement grants get paid.'
Miss Moran has been kicked out of the Labour Party but by staying until the election her pension will be worth up to £1,600 a year more than if she had resigned last year.
Figures for recent months have not yet been released but Miss Moran did not claim any expenses between April and June last year, the latest period for which receipts have been published.
However, she is likely to have been claiming for some staff and office costs.
TV presenter Esther Rantzen, who is standing for the Luton South seat as an independent, said it was 'fraudulent' to be angling for a job with a lobby firm while claiming to be off work with stress.
She called for Miss Moran to step down immediately, adding: 'She hasn't been seen or heard of in Luton or Westminster since last May.
'Luton really needs a voice in Westminster and it is utterly disgraceful she should be continuing to pick up her salary and claim her golden handshake while doing absolutely nothing.'

Neighbours at Miss Moran's Luton home yesterday said she never stayed at the house and only turned up occasionally to collect things before vanishing again for weeks on end.
One said: 'She probably doesn't dare show her face around here.'
Miss Moran has previously put down Parliamentary questions about 'social enterprise' organisations linked to her partner's company.
She did not tell Commons officials that Michael Booker is a director of eQuality Networks and she is its chairman.
When asked in the Dispatches sting when she might be able to help with lobbying, Miss Moran said: 'Yeah I'm free now.'
Pressed whether she could start within two weeks, she replied: 'Yeah, yeah.'
Miss Moran answered the door at her partner's terraced home in Southampton yesterday but slammed it without speaking when asked to comment.


Read more: MPs' expenses: Margaret Moran too sick to be quizzed but fit enough to lobby for a new job | Mail Online
 

Keith

Moderator
Looks that way, along with thousands of other pikeys, fat slags and ne'er do wells, and that doesn't even include Sarah Ferguson the ginger minger. It ain't what it was...

Too many chavs these days, I'm surprised the Queen even bothers, but it is in her "back garden" I suppose.
 

Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
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April 6, 2010


Insurance firm reviews payout after injured soldier spotted at cup final



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<!-- Remove following to not show photographer information --><!-- Remove following to not show image description -->After Private Tatlock was seen with the cup at Wembley, his £25,000 insurance payout is in jeopardy



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Private Dave Tatlock, 20, of 2 Para, carried the trophy out before the game between Manchester United and Aston Villa in February, two years after he was hit by shrapnel. He said that, after seeing him walking on to the pitch, the insurance company Abacus is reviewing the payout he was due to receive.
Kevan Jones, the Veterans Minister, attacked what he called a “crass decision” and an “absolute disgrace” but the company could not be contacted for comment.
Private Tatlock, from Manchester, said: “I don’t know why they have tried to do it ... words cannot express how angry I am.” He was left temporarily paralysed after being hit in a friendly fire incident in July 2008.
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<!-- END: Module - M63 - Article Related Attachements -->Doctors said that he was unlikely to walk again, but he is now able to move with the aid of a stick. At Wembley, Private Tatlock, a Manchester United fan, was seen limping unaided up from the tunnel to deposit the trophy at the side of the pitch, while a helper walked behind him with a crutch. Private Tatlock lost the use of his calves and has severe nerve damage. He has no use of his left foot, wears a splint to walk and can move his right foot only slightly. “My calves don’t work, my hips don’t work properly, my glutes [buttock muscles] don’t work properly — waist down is just messed up basically,” he told BBC News.
Before deploying to Afghanistan, Private Tatlock took out £56-a-month cover with Abacus, which specialises in policies for the Armed Forces. However, after he was seen by millions during television coverage of Manchester United’s 2-1 win, Private Tatlock said that Abacus contacted his rehabilitation centre at Headley Court in Surrey to say that it was reviewing his claim for compensation for losing the use of his left foot. Private Tatlock said that the centre then contacted his mother. She said Abacus told Headley Court that it was “not going to pay out because I walked on to the pitch with the Carling Cup unaided”, the soldier explained.
“So some jobsworth somewhere has seen me walk out on to the pitch. He’s seen me walk out with the cup without my stick and thought, ‘Well, he’s lying’, which was pretty hard to understand. I’m not lying. My case notes are there.
“I pay the premium and I was the third person to find out about it. I was just really angry about what happened.” Private Tatlock contacted Abacus and said he was later told that the company was looking at his case and was just waiting for medical notes. He has yet to be told whether he will be receive a payout. “The damage has already been done,” the soldier added.
Mr Jones said that MoD officials would be demanding an explanation from Abacus. “Treating a brave and injured serviceman in this way is an absolute disgrace,” he said. “As a matter of urgency I will be asking the company to explain their crass decision.”
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
Looks like Abacus may be going tits up if they start this sort of nonsense. Forty years ago another insurance company (insuring the military and personal kit of many of the troops) refused to pay out on a clearly genuine case of the loss of the kit of a whole aeroplane crew (the crew's kit pannier, on a Shackleton Gibraltar - Ballykelly flight, was apparently inadvertantly dopped on a Russian submarine instead of a basic pattern of sonar buoys by a guest navigator)
The Insurance company said it was avoidable, no steps were taken to prevent it, and refused to pay. They went bust within a year.
 

David Morton

Lifetime Supporter
This was in the public domain in 2008, since when, recently, this woman has been asked to appear on the James O'Brien show on LBC and justify her expense claims. She has declined naturally. Bad for one's Health I suppose...
O'Brien has a continual campaign against this tart, maybe because she is his Member of Parliament.
Or was....


The health minister Ann Keen [60]

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is this weekend ( I think this story might just have been aired under the previous Speaker Gorbels Mick Martin) revealed to have insured her 70-year-old husband’s life for £430,000 – and to have claimed the premiums on parliamentary expenses. Keen took out a joint HSBC “first death” policy with her husband Alan, also a Labour MP, which meant if one of them died the other would get the payout. The £867 monthly premiums were submitted as part of their parliamentary expenses. The couple are already entitled to generous payouts if one of them dies under the Commons pension scheme.

For crying out loud. When will this scandal stop...........
Is this misappropriation of public funds or is it something else. If something like this had happened during my time in the the R.A.F. there would have been a Courts Martial.
Fetch me my Punt gun, rent me a punt on the Thames, and we'll drift down stream to Westminster and have some fun.
 
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