Today, @carolecadwalla reports whistleblower @shahmiruk has been completely vindicated by the so-called ‘Taxpayers Alliance’ (founded by same guy who ran Vote Leave) admitting all liability after they sacked and smeared him for revealing illegal activity by Leave campaigns...
... the coverage of this story has been incredibly limited - so many people don’t know the full story, and don’t understand the frustration by those who do about the poor coverage, esp by BBC.
Here’s the original piece by @carolecadwalla...
theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…
Here’s the original piece by @carolecadwalla...
theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…
... the next day, @shahmiruk appeared (along with Cambridge Analytica whistleblower @chrisinsilico ) at an event organised by @Byline_Media at the @frontlineclub for foreign correspondents. I live-tweeted the event in this thread...
...following his revelations about illegal activity by Leave campaigns, even No. 10 got involved in trying to suppress story - outing Shahmir as gay as part of their attack.
Marr interviewed Carole only on condition of having Oakeshott too for ‘balance’...
Marr interviewed Carole only on condition of having Oakeshott too for ‘balance’...
...that was about as far as BBC coverage got. But revelations had started Electoral Commission investigation. When it became clear it would find against Vote Leave, BBC gave Vote Leave chance to get their attack on the findings, and Shahmir, out first...
...he was then the boss of the so-called ‘Taxpayers Alliance’ lobbyist group. They have now conceded his remarks - unchallenged by the BBC and broadcast without challenge another view for ‘balance’ - were part of an illegal smear campaign.
So why have they admitted this?...
So why have they admitted this?...
... following his revelations about illegal activity by Vote Leave, the so-called ‘Taxpayers Alliance’ lobbying company fired him. He brought an Employment Tribunal claim against them for unlawful dismissal. The particulars of claim can be found here...
bindmans.com/uploads/files/…
bindmans.com/uploads/files/…
...rather than face hearing at which it would have to reveal who provides its secretive funding, and controls it, the so-called ‘Taxpayers Alliance’ chose to admit it had acted illegally, and concede all parts of the claim. It clearly has a lot to hide...
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
theguardian.com/politics/2018/…
...the case has revealed a network of such organisations connected to the Leave campaigns, to US far-right, to Russia, and also to key people in UK political power.
Who funds them? Who controls them? What do they want to achieve?
Those are secrets they are desperate to keep...
Who funds them? Who controls them? What do they want to achieve?
Those are secrets they are desperate to keep...
...meanwhile a cross-party parliamentary committee has called for a Mueller-style inquiry into Russian interference in our democracy through such activities, as has happened in the US. The UK government’s response has been to turn away from the evidence...
parliament.uk/business/commi…
parliament.uk/business/commi…
...and our news media is failing to inform us. If you only read the Times/Telegraph/Mail/Sun/Express and get your broadcast news from the BBC you’ll see groups like the so-called ‘Taxpayers Alliance’ lobbying company presented unquestioningly as independent and ‘grassroots’...
...all this means we need to work a little harder to study the news and find the truth. Follow the work of Carole at the Guardian/Observer (subscribe!), watch C4 news, and follow foreign reporting (eg New York Times) just as you’d have to if you lived in a tinpot dictatorship...
...all this means we need to work a little harder to find and study the real news. Follow the work of Carole at the Guardian/Observer (subscribe!), watch C4 news, and follow foreign reporting (eg New York Times) just as you’d have to if you lived in a tinpot dictatorship...
...I still believe BBC isn’t institutionally biased. It’s hired a few bad apples (in a quest to respond to false accusations of bias from the right) - but on the whole what we perceive as bias is just incompetence to handle way it has been played by orgs like TPA, Vote Leave...
...and I call for all good BBC journalists to pay more attention to these stories, cover the details, investigate organisations like Vote Leave, LeaveEU, so-called Taxpayers Alliance, the IEA and more - and ask for evidence of their funding and control before granting platform...
...I’ve written this thread as I travel through northern France, past fields in which so many gave their lives when nationalists last gained power in Europe. We must be vigilant to their thirsty quest for power, money and blood again.
Read widely, think deeply, vote wisely.
Read widely, think deeply, vote wisely.
For some people, Twitter seems to break the thread at this point. It continues with this tweet:
