Liz! Truss!

Do you think she referred to him as Akwasi, Addo or Alfred when they were doing whatever it was they did – you know, discussing the fiscal deficit.
Alfred, Alfred – ooh, let me call you Alfie; you can do whatever you like with me to fill that (financial) hole.

I like the way the BBC phrase it

The newspaper also said private messages exchanged between Ms Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, her close friend whom she made chancellor when she became prime minister, were also uncovered by the alleged hack

…. “her close friend” …

The floodgates are opening on Truss’s incompetence

It says everything about how Truss saw trade that a former adviser here ‘defends’ her blinkered focus on Instagram with the line: “One of the big struggles that we did have in trade was so many people outside London just don’t understand what trade is.”https://t.co/khz9FvKIsf

— Jeremy Cliffe (@JeremyCliffe) October 29, 2022

kimbers – arf, arf.

I like the way the BBC phrase it

Clearly no secret is it?

“One of the big struggles that we did have in trade was so many people outside London just don’t understand what trade is.”

When the problem is that people working in a particular part of London don’t understand, or simply don’t care, what trade is. Visit any area of the UK and you will find plenty of businesses led by people screaming about what this government is doing to our trading position and processes. Populism before trade.

How on earth was the Foreign Secretary using her personal phone for government business 😳

How widespread is that by ministers?

Using personal phone for government business?
Ignorance, arrogance or a combination.
Probably a widespread practice by ministers.

That pic from down under is begging for a cold war Steve remix.

In my old job, using a personal device for company business was likely to result in dismissal if it involved sensitive, restricted or higher documents. This was because of Government policy and even more punitive if it involved US Government stuff.

The fact that serving ministers are prepared to circumvent national security measures for their own political gain – particularly as it’s likely to have been Russian/Chinese/North Korean state actors and possibly has undermined efforts to support Ukraine says it all. The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

In my old job, using a personal device for company business was likely to result in dismissal

I’m a civil servant, and I’m bound by similar rules. The fact that ministers seem not to be…..

What umbrella for….

Using personal phone for government business?
Ignorance, arrogance or a combination.
Probably a widespread practice by ministers.

I’ve always assumed it’s done to avoid scrutiny and leaving an audit trail – see shady PPE deals where the phone involved has turned out to have mysteriously vanished or broken when an investigation appeared in the offing. Although I suppose that’s covered by arrogance…

johnnners – yes, that’s an example of what I meant by arrogance.

I’ve always assumed it’s done to avoid scrutiny and leaving an audit trail

Depends what the communication medium is. Using your personal phone to send emails via Gmail for example will result in that email being indexed and information on its contents being held on Google’s servers, etc.

Using personal phone for government business?

Isn’t all government business nowadays conducted via WhatsApp? The journalists at the BBC were only half-jokingly saying that Westminster must have ground to a halt the other day when WhatsApp went down for the morning.

This lot seem to leave no official trace whatsoever. I suspect that the only people who have any record of anything they do, particularly ‘Instagram Liz’ is Mark Zuckerberg

Using your personal phone to send emails via Gmail for example will result in that email being indexed and information on its contents being held on Google’s servers, etc.

Well, yes. I suppose I should have been more specific that using personal rather than official communications avoids democratic scrutiny and a publicly accessible audit trail.

I suspect that the only people who have any record of anything they do, particularly ‘Instagram Liz’ is Putin

FTFY

Hmmmm…

@KimDotcom
·
4h
‘How do the Russians know that the UK blew up the North Stream pipelines in partnership with the US?

Because
@trussliz
used her iPhone to send a message to
@SecBlinken
saying “It’s done” a minute after the pipeline blew up and before anybody else knew?

iCloud admin access rocks!’

Who knows? Maybe she was in cheating a pub quiz when Macbeth came up.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/oct/30/liz-truss-rider-out-of-the-blue-book

Some info in the new book detailing her demands while she was negotiating trade deals poncing around the world instagramming herself.

That kimdotocom thing is surely conspiracy nonsense

That Truss’s phone was hacked was known before her leadership campaign, months before the pipeline was blown

Truss’s favourite espresso machine was moved from department to department every time she changed jobs in cabinet reshuffles, the book claims.

To be fair, we’ve all been there.

Although I do think the Aeropress is a game changer.

Wow

Her mobile phone number ALONG WITH 25 CABINET MINISTERS (inc Kwarteng, BEN WALLACE, Cleverly and Braverman) was for sale on the internet…accessed by a shady US site charging just £6.49 for access to information.

Starmer’s aso for sale. pic.twitter.com/X5WR9FHePC

— Fionna O'Leary, ??? (@fascinatorfun) October 29, 2022

It’s absolutely bonkers that any government business is allowed to be conducted via apps like WhatsApp where there’s no real audit trail.

I’m also curious about exactly what info was sent via personal email, whilst I agree no government business should be anyway if off-sen or secret info was exchanged then it’s just crazy. On my client’s (government agency) work email system I can’t send any email without classifying it (official can go to Internet email addresses, off-sen can only go internal or to specific other trusted government email addresses and secret cannot go externally), so either they’re creating above official documents on private computers and sending it out over private email or they’re deliberately mis-classifying work emails to send it to personal emails to work on it on private computer and send it out via private email – if they’re doing the latter that should be instant dismissal and prosecution under the OSA…

It’s absolutely bonkers that any government business is allowed to be conducted via apps like WhatsApp where there’s no real audit trail.

Its absolutely the point that its conducted on WhatsApp – because of the presence of an audit trail via other channels.

Although we say theres no audit trail with WhatsApp – doesnt DomCum posting screen grabs of government WhatsApp conversations on his blog count as transparency?

The problems for ministers sidestepping official channels for ‘privacy’ is everything is at risk of becoming public when someone in the conversation thinks it suits their own aims – and ally can become and adversary at any moment –  and they of course can be selective.

The problem is not their desire for privacy, it’s their desire to avoid accountability. Sadly, as public servants and those ultimately for directing policy of the country, the requirements for accountability is ultimate. If they want to avoid that, then something is seriously wrong.

Although we say theres no audit trail with WhatsApp – doesnt DomCum posting screen grabs of government WhatsApp conversations on his blog count as transparency?

Not really, no. That counts as some arsehole trying to get revenge on other arseholes.
Amusing but not really transparent since it only brings into light what he wants.

The problems for ministers sidestepping official channels for ‘privacy’ is everything is at risk of becoming public when someone in the conversation thinks it suits their own aims

Thats also true of official channels as well. A few screenshots and a useful idiot in the media to leak it and job done.

The details of Braverman’s breach of the ministerial code are reasonably interesting but not particularly damning: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1114666/311022_HASC_letter.pdf

Seems to imply the documents would only be classified official although it’s a bit of a grey area if it should have been official-sensitive as that would have more implications given off-sen should never be on private IT equipment and she & her SPAD would have known that and therefore deliberately circumvented syops rather than it being ‘an honest mistake’.

The justification for the other 6 docs that went to private IT (that when using Teams on her government phone for government meetings she also needs to read docs being discussed so she sent them to her private email so she could read them on her phone) is pretty weak but bit odd some in that senior a role doesn’t have a better solution

The justification for the other 6 docs that went to private IT (that when using Teams on her government phone for government meetings she also needs to read docs being discussed so she sent them to her private email so she could read them on her phone) is pretty weak but bit odd some in that senior a role doesn’t have a better solution

Sounds bollox to me – is she trying to make out she doesn’t get supplied a Govt mobile/iPad/laptop etc etc?

Does Braverman need her own thread…? Came here to make a comment about a completely different issue that suggests to me that she’s entirely unsuitable for the role she’s been reappointed to… and then read all this.

[ EDIT : oh, bugger, Braverman’s mess has given the BBC a chance to get Farage back on my radio — click ]

Does Braverman need her own thread…?

I think we are all hoping she will get the sack, again, soon and so not be worth a dedicated thread.

I am wondering if the reported 90 minute shouting match with Cruella and Truss was because Cruella knew about Truss phone incident and here was Truss sacking her for a lesser infringement, remember the scathing attack on Truss everyone assumed it was regards the economy (might have been about Tuss phone)

she also needs to read docs being discussed so she sent them to her private email so she could read them on her phone) is pretty weak but bit odd some in that senior a role doesn’t have a better solution

Must be a problem faced by hundreds of ministers and junior ministers every week – is this a standard practise, that everyone’s doing? How do they get round it? And how come she only needed to do it 6x in a month? No other docs needed review while on a call while in transit? Or actually another solution?

If it looks like bullshit, smells like bullshits, chances are……

I am wondering if the reported 90 minute shouting match with Cruella and Truss was because Cruella knew about Truss phone incident and here was Truss sacking her for a lesser infringement, remember the scathing attack on Truss everyone assumed it was regards the economy (might have been about Tuss phone)

Hmm, wonder…

A dedicated STW thread seems to mean the chop for Tory politicians, no brainer

falkirk-mike

I am wondering if the reported 90 minute shouting match with Cruella and Truss was because Cruella knew about Truss phone incident and here was Truss sacking her for a lesser infringement, remember the scathing attack on Truss everyone assumed it was regards the economy (might have been about Tuss phone)

We’re thinking way too deeply…
Rules are not for cabinet ministers to follow… they are for normal people and civil servants, most certainly NOT from PM’s.

Must be a problem faced by hundreds of ministers and junior ministers every week – is this a standard practise, that everyone’s doing? How do they get round it? And how come she only needed to do it 6x in a month? No other docs needed review while on a call while in transit? Or actually another solution?

Remember when JRM’s hateful sister Annunziata(?) somehow got herself elected as an MEP and on getting to Brussels she was given an iPad and a phone and various other accoutrements of being an MEP…

She posted on Twitter to say what a waste of resources etc cos she already had all this stuff and people absolutely ripped into her explaining that it was there for her to DO HER JOB as a **** MEP, be able to access classified documents, conduct MEP business in a secure manner etc…

Maybe she was only there for the gravy train aspect and didn’t think she’d have to do any work… Bet the EU were glad to see the back of the UK after we sent them morons like Farage, Widdecombe and ARM. 🙄

Cruella is due to make a statement to Parliament at 3.30 regarding the weekend

Watching Yvette Cooper monster Priti Patel was always an amusing spectator sport. She should have some fun with Braverman this afternoon. There seems to be more coming out by the hour

Will she bother turning up? She has a habit of deciding not to since answering to the house is less fun than torturing kittens or puppies or whatever she does to amuse herself.

I wonder if all this briefing against Braverman is so they can get rid of her and the more extreme policies.

She needs to be in post just long enough that Rishi et.al. can appear to have created a cabinet drawn from across the party, and absorb all the ‘hostile environment’ policies as her own. Then get rid of her and install someone who’ll generate less hate in an election campaign?