MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
*sigh*…
The invisible Rishi seems to be keeping his head down once again. It’s at this point Boris would have gone to Ukraine to have his photo op walking through Kyev with Zolensky.
I’m sure legal proceedings, possibly taking years, to determine who has to disclose what, would suit everyone just fine at the moment. That would be the very British way of doing this, then we’d have an interim report due in 2035
Oh... not quite Ukraine, but Little Rishi is off to Moldova today, to announce an agreement to deport illegal immigrants.
That should have the Daily Mail purring
He really is just continuity Boris, isn't he? Resorts to every trick in his playbook
SQUIRREL!!
https://twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1664307592460468224?t=VJWX2Qon-t4mxNk449nBXg&s=19
Oh look, he seems to have lost some messages...
Well, that came as a shock.
No doubt there are daft old biddies in the Home Counties saying "well, he's a bit of a ragamuffin after all" and his Red Wall voters being supportive as they 'forget' to put much of their income through the books of the business too.
Banana Republic.
Yup no one surprised at Johnson's dishonesty
It would have been genuinely shocking if he hadn't lied and handed over all the messages
I'll be honest though, I wouldn't have put 'government taking own COVID inquiry to court' on my 2023 bingo card
I’ll be honest though, I wouldn’t have put ‘government taking own COVID inquiry to court’ on my 2023 bingo card
Its impressive how inept they are. Rule one of public inquiries is that they are intended to take the heat of the government not add some. So should always ensure both the person in charge and terms of inquiry suit that objective.
Boris wasn’t being entirely honest?!
Surely not?!
So he’s left out the entire timeframe where he was off boffing whoever it was this week instead of attending COBRA meetings about covid?
Rishi and Co must be absolutely bricking it about what’s going to come out if they’re going to go for the legal nuclear option
Starting a legal battle (which you’re definitely going to lose) with the public inquiry you yourself set up is a new level of ****-wittery even for this lot
What’s the betting we end up finding out what it is from Boris himself?
He’s going to take them all down with him, isn’t he?
Come on, who hasn't dropped a phone overboard or flushed it down the toilet by mistake? Happens to all of us, no?
So getting a new phone means you can’t access any of your previous messages?
Who are they trying to fob off with this excuse? Someone’s gran?
Who hasn't dropped their mobile containing sensitive government information, in a dam while taking a selfie and then emptied it of millions of litres of water without authorization, to find the mobile dead? 😮
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-65762503
So getting a new phone means you can’t access any of your previous messages?
I believe with whatsapp (at least in the past) if you didnt have backup switched on then you would lose the messages once you you logged onto the new phone with the old number.
That he didnt have back up on though considering how often it nags you is about as believable as anything else which comes out of his mouth though.
Come on, who hasn’t dropped a phone overboard or flushed it down the toilet by mistake? Happens to all of us, no?
No. I have dropped an iPhone, which bounced end over end down a steep gravelly lane. Fortunately it had a cheap silicon case on and suffered no damage at all. I have an aversion to losing or breaking stuff, so I make sure I don’t.
It also backs itself up. Does that make me smarter than your average government minister?
It also backs itself up. Does that make me smarter than your average government minister?
Depends on whether
a)you have some embarrassing chats on there.
b)you are likely to have an official inquiry asking you for them.
Having backups isnt always a good thing. Hence why many businesses now default to deleting emails after a year or so. Avoids the build up of pesky evidence against them.
Johnson claims that he was adviced by security officials never to turn on his old phone because of a security breach.
I have no idea at all why this would be necessary** but it might explain why the old messages weren't transferred onto his new phone - you have to actively ask for that to happen if you change phone numbers, as he presumably did.
Apparently he says that he is prepared to hand over his old phone:
He has written to the cabinet office asking whether security and technical support can be given so that content can be retrieved without compromising security.
And this is the original story dating back to April 2021 when he was forced to change his phone and phone number:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnsons-mobile-number-freely-24010763
Edit: ** Ah, a quick search suggests that the phone might have been hacked and keeping it switched off is the only guarantee that it won't be accessed by unauthorized persons.
Makes you think…
So, he handed over “all the messages” but also has a reason ready for not handing over “all the messages”. Classic Johnson.
According to the BBC it is the government which is refusing to hand over Johnson's WhatsApp messages to the inquiry:
Government to launch legal bid to stop Covid inquiry seeing Johnson WhatsApps
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65782535
They have refused to hand over any messages at all.
"The government missed a 16:00 deadline to share Boris Johnson's messages and notebooks from during the pandemic".
Edit: Which is great imo because anything that is damning will actually cause them even more damage as it will be seen in the context of a desperately attempted cover-up, so much for the promises of integrity from Rishi Sunak.
And it is hard to believe that they would go so far as legally challenging their own enquiry if there wasn't anything damning to worry about.
Well they are off to court about those messages he hasnt accidently disposed off already.
Its quite impressive how they have turned a kick it into the long grass beyond the next election (with the standard we would love to talk about it but not whilst the inquiry is ongoing) into a what are they trying to hide mess so quickly.
Two different but connected stories. Johnson has not handed all his messages over to the Cabinet Office, despite claims that he had. The government is fighting to control which of those messages it does have can be seen by the Judge.
The shamed former Prime Minister claimed he had given "all material" demanded by the Covid-19 inquiry to the Cabinet Office - and urged the Government to pass it on to inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett.
But the Cabinet Office said it had only received messages from a phone Mr Johnson used from May 2021 onwards.
It had not been given the messages from the phone he used before then, which includes the major part of the pandemic.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-fails-hand-16-30134308
+
The Cabinet Office was given until 4pm today to hand over a trove of the shamed ex-PM's WhatsApps & notepads to the Covid inquiry after days of wrangling.
Baroness Heather Hallett, who chairs the inquiry, demanded un-redacted messages between January '20 and February '22, along with ministerial diaries and notebooks – warning officials could face criminal proceedings if they didn't comply.
Ministers resisted the request and, 67 minutes after the crossbench peer's crunch deadline to surrender the documents, the Government confirmed it wanted a courtroom showdown.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/breaking-government-triggers-court-battle-30128410
To nobodies surprise at all, Johnson continues his shitbaggery.
Much as we all despise Boris, this really isn't about him and his stupid hacked phone.
The minister on QT last night seemed pragmatic that the government will lose, I fail to see why - as happens far to often in challenges to legislation - it has to go through the courts for the solution to be found when it's ****ing blindingly obvious.
Ministers have a right to privacy WHILE discussing and bouncing around ideas on policy etc. The right to privacy goes out the window AFTER the decisions are made and the decision making process needs to be reviewed - in this case, for the public enquiry, in general, we have the 30 year rule.
The enquiry should get everything, the enquiry should then release the info relevant to the enquiry and nothing else.
FFS, it's basic civil service training that you don’t document anything you don't want to be seen in court/tribunal/enquiry.
The minister on QT last night seemed pragmatic that the government will lose
It does seem to be the prevalent legal opinion, which is why it remains a genuine mystery to me as to why they have gone down that route - they are simply digging themselves a deeper hole.
They must presumably believe that there is potentially some serious incriminating evidence, which if eventually revealed will make it much harder for them to brazen it out and claim that it is unimportant and perfectly acceptable. That is what politicians tend to do when they are caught out.
Edit: Interesting/good article here:
https://www.itv.com/news/2023-06-01/sunak-rejects-inquirys-demand-for-johnsons-whatsapps-what-now
It's never the lies, its always the cover-up.
It does seem to be the prevalent legal opinion, which is why it remains a genuine mystery to me as to why they have gone down that route – they are simply digging themselves a deeper hole
They’re buying time.
They must know they’re all well and truly ****ed once the lack of preparedness, the failure to take things seriously, then the level of incompetence and the scale of the opportunistic ‘fast track’ corruption is there in black and white for us all to see
They’re simply ensuring that by being obstructive and throwing as many spanner’s in the works as possible that they’ll all be long gone by the time any report sees the light of day (2035?) and on to their lucrative post-political careers
FFS, it’s basic civil service training that you don’t document anything you don’t want to be seen in court/tribunal/enquiry
I can’t remember which columnist it was that pointed out that due to lockdown and social distancing, WhatsApp basically took the place of the usual whispered conversations in corridors and plans cooked up over late night drinks in the commons bar.
That’s why they’re so worried. There’s now evidence of stuff that would normally have occurred without leaving a trace
Just idle speculation - but what would happen if there was incriminating evidence in these messages, I mean actual genuine criminal record and potentially jail stuff?
The minister on QT last night seemed pragmatic that the government will lose
It does seem to be the prevalent legal opinion, which is why it remains a genuine mystery to me as to why they have gone down that route – they are simply digging themselves a deeper hole.
Probably more enemies of the people type stuff. Government doing its best in trying circumstances, blah, being dragged over the coals by leftie lawyers, blah, why dredge up the past, blah, woke conspiracy, blah.
Our politics has been brought so low in the past seven years, this is the result.
Still, Rishi is going to stop the boats, so everything will be fine.
Just idle speculation – but what would happen if there was incriminating evidence in these messages, I mean actual genuine criminal record and potentially jail stuff?
They'd probably have a crack at everything up to and including national security to suppress them. Would you expect anything else from these bastards?
Just idle speculation – but what would happen if there was incriminating evidence in these messages, I mean actual genuine criminal record and potentially jail stuff?
This is how Johnson got reported for the Chequers Covid breaches a week or two back when they reviewed his diaries - aiui the Cabinet Office that is blocking the WhatsApp messages is obliged to pass potentially illegal actions to the Police.
Bizarre
Can you imagine what this all looks like to the rest of the world? They must be laughing their tits off in Brussels looking at where the Boris and the Brexiteers have taken this country? Mounting legal proceedings against your own inquiry to prevent you having to hand over evidence about the events that led to the deaths of thousands of people and saw billions and billions of public money disappear to god only knows where?
We're a Banana Republic. Worse than Italy under Berlesconi.
Once again though, it proves that this lot really are rubbish at the actual business of politics. Think of Hillsborough and all the other events that were successfully covered up for decades, until all the main players were long gone, and then look at this farce. The official bit hasn't even started yet and its all falling apart already. They're going to be fighting like rats in a sack as they try to blame each other
Government doing its best in trying circumstances, blah, being dragged over the coals by leftie lawyers, blah, why dredge up the past, blah, woke conspiracy, blah.
Taking aside the leftie / woke conspiracy thing - the other points are fair. But this is how any serious organisation deals with that, you do a inquiry or 'lessons learned' to find out what went well and what went badly, and then in the future when it happens again don't make the same mistakes.
Any organisation in a crisis situation will get stuff wrong, and should be big enough to admit it. It doesn't have to automatically be a blame thing where heads must roll, save that for the massively incompetent / criminal acts (which I suspect is where the cover up comes!!)
The airline industry does this well. The medical industry - not so much.
He's not sticking the knife in, he's pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed into the office while locking the door. He knows yes a spent political force now so yes taking everyone down with him at the same time. Sadly this means the country is going down too, how far is uncertain but we are being pulled down by it no matter what we do.
Boris showing the one skill he has - betraying people. Can't say I mind it all that much.
Sadly this means the country is going down too, how far is uncertain but we are being pulled down by it no matter what we do.
If he manages to mess up the government enough, perhaps we'll get a slightly earlier election? I'm beginning to think that autumn 2023 is looking more likely anyhow, with a forecast recession going into next year, and another winter of high energy bills and food prices on the horizon.
Sadly this means the country is going down too
been on that trajectory for a while
I’m beginning to think that autumn 2023 is looking more likely
Not a chance. Call an election this year and the Tories definitely lose.
They're most likely ****ed anyway, but delaying until next autumn allows time for some random miracle to occur - I think that is now the level of optimism within those Tories who are thinking of anything other than a fat bank balance from 2025 onwards.
You also have to remember how far the ERG still have their fist in Sunak. 18 months to loot as much of what is left is better than 6 months from their POV.
Sunak probably doesn't care much, TBH. It's not as if he'll actually need to do a day's work ever again whatever happens.
The state of this country after that bloody referendum makes me so sad/angry.
Ah funny story in the pop bitch email this week:
Newsrooms all around Fleet Street have been abuzz with a story this week about an amusing last minute deadline panic at the Daily Mail.
Late last week, Mail editor Ted Verity came into possession of a bombshell photo showing Boris Johnson, his mother, his sister and little baby Wilf out in the open air at No.10.
The Mail wrote up a big front page story about how the photo was PROOF that Boris had done no wrong and that the police are conducting a baseless witch hunt against him.
It was all laid out, ready to go to press, when one of the hacks looking over it piped up to ask if the four of them shouldn’t have been much further apart – given that social distancing rules were in place at the time.
Sure enough, the picture they were about to splash across their front page not only proved that Boris Johnson broke the rules he put in place, but that he still doesn’t understand them now.Because the super secret source of the photo, who thought its publication would fully exonerate Boris, was… Boris.
It must have been great being single in that Time in U.K. history that having sex could have been a fineable offence.
Unless you were making the rules of course.
I really don’t think they’ve been given a hard enough time over the decisions made in covid time and slowly people are forgetting what law abiding people (or mugs) went thru for the good of the many.
Not strictly Boris but most of the target audience (ie those that will PMSL at it) are here and will see this, so no point starting a thread for it
https://twitter.com/ThePoke/status/1664710976329981961
They’re most likely **** anyway, but delaying until next autumn allows time for some random miracle to occur
Just need Argentina to have another crack at the Falklands...
So, to put it another way, taxpayer money is now being used to bribe Johnson into doing what teh government wants, meanwhile taxpayer money is also being used to block the release of messages of messages to the covid enquiry which the inquiry will already have received, which is being run with taxpayer money and whose terms were set out by Boris Johnson's government but now Sunak's government (which is pretending to be the same government) doesn't want it to do what it was told to do.
So it turns out that Johnson isn't being given government funded legal advice because he is legally entitled to it.
Furthermore it will be withdrawn if he continues to comply with the demands of a judge who has the legal right to make the demands in question.
And this mess is the result of an inquiry which the government itself ordered.
At some point in the future people will recall this fiasco and they will struggle to believe that it actually happened.
,😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
https://twitter.com/SamCoatesSky/status/1667245877608566787?t=tyD5acWGH7WRyjhbuFMP2g&s=19
what gutless, graceless sack of shit
Wtf the ****ing lying ****.
Oh dear what a shame - so thats why mad Nad quit!
What a day - Trump charged and Johnson found to have lied to parliament!
Nads and Boris in a day…I think I could even tolerate Sir JRM for this!
it's so delightful that it was such an easy "pit" to walk around but nope he jumped straight in and didn't even hold his nose.
****er still trying to play the victim card in his resignation statement.
'Forced out' by Harriet Harman. Wow - that must really burn 😂
Wow, it's as if, over all the years on this thread, our hunches and gut instincts about what kind of character he was, were, were...actually..BANG ON .
👍🤣🤣🤣🙃
He’s going full Trump, somewhat unsurprisingly
I bet they’re absolutely bricking it in number ten. He’s going to be properly outside the tent, pissing in
Rishi’s now got two by-elections to lose 😂
300 more and we're game on.
I do sort of agree with this statement from him
"“They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister."
Since I do tend towards the view that for him the truth is whatever serves him at that moment in time.
Although the "briefed to say". FFS hasnt he heard the phrase "the buck stops here". I guess for him he substitutes the "b" for an "f" inbetween ranting about ****less single mothers.
Dissonance - he knew perfectly well he has been lying over the parties and so on.
Trouble is he is a psychopath and like Trump cannot admit when he has done wrong
Oi,Boris.
Do **** off now.
Dissonance – he knew perfectly well he has been lying over the parties and so on.
I am not sure. I have met some people who seem similar for whom the truth really did seem to be whatever suited them at that moment in time. I am sure if we had a working lie detector system they would pass it with flying colours.
To be clear its not meant as a defence of him since after all if someone knowingly lies they can possibly be taught its a bad idea but when someone simply has no comprehension of it they cant.
Think I should have taken up hairdressing.
Echoing back to Binners the other day. Let us not forget that he oversaw decisions that resulted in the death of thousands during COVID, and didn't have the wherewithal to understand his own rules or care to follow them
Good riddance to the ****less graceless twunt
Dissonance - I get your point. Yes he might have believed in his lies
Boris Johnson: I’ve been forced out over Partygate [s]report[/s]
FTFB
Boris to join {insert Farage's latest party name here} and stand in Mad Nad's ex-constituency? 😆
Yes he might have believed in his lies
I think he does. He (and others such as MadNad, The PM formally known as lettuce, Trump etc) all think they are 'right'.
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">"They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister"</span>
Sincere ? Yeah right. He's even less sincere than Huwie Green's " I mean that totally incerecerely folks"
"And so ends the political career of a person who has done more damage, to British politics, to British institutions, to the UK, than anyone I could have ever possibly imagined. His upset and bewilderment are nowhere close to ours"
"Sincerity - once you can fake that you have it made"
Bob Monkhouse
And so ends the political career of a person who has done more damage
Hopefully. The arsehole is almost certainly dreaming of the time when as an anti-Arthur in the countries time of need (which he has helped create) he will return to finish the job he started.
As usual, he’s entirely blameless and it’s everyone else that’s the problem
Rumours are that a few of his other stalwart supporters/useful idiots are about to follow the muppet til the end and resign too
Well it’s not like they’ve much hope of holding on to their seats at a general election, so they might as well
This is no where near enough punishment and humiliation for Boris. His lifestyle will be little changed. He still hasn't accepted that what he did was wrong, I don't know if he ever will. He still thinks he's a "great man" being wrongly dragged down by the worthless insignificant people.
I wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire.
Well it’s not like they’ve much hope of holding on to their Sears at a general election, so they might as well
If I was a "stalwart supporters/useful idiots" of Johnson and hence lacking ethics and morals I can see handing in my notice effective next parliament and so having another 15 months or so of salary whilst being able to take on a new job rather appealing vs resigning today.
Why give up that cash?