EXC w/@TomCalver2: Wealthy areas are avoiding lockdown despite having higher COVID-19 rate than poorer areas under measures
This is warning of public health director for one of Lancashire's biggest councils in leaked memo to govt
Risks "double whammy" of Covid & more inequality
Eg. Rishi Sunak and Robert Jenrick's seats are not currently subject to lockdown measures
However, they have higher coronavirus infection rates than areas that are
This is consequence of a lack of standardisation. There is no cases threshold beyond which measures are imposed
@SteveReedMP: "We're at a critical stage in our fight against this virus. It is crucial the public have maximum confidence in the decision-making process. That can only happen with far greater transparency from Whitehall and council leaders in the room when decisions are taken"
More in tomorrow's ST
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Another bomb from @Annaisaac who reports the NCA examined other transactions exceeding £1m involving Richard Tice, George Cottrell and Cottrell’s mother, Fiona.
She also reveals the below was leaked to the Telegraph yesterday as a spoiler designed to thwart public interest journalism.
Significantly her report relates to Tice’s network of companies, which, we’ve previously reported, unlawfully failed to pay six-figure sums of tax — and avoided hundreds of thousands more using highly unusual means.
Enclosed below are our three previous reports on Tice’s tax affairs. They relate to £100k, £92K plus, and £609K of tax that should have been paid or was avoided, and which benefitted a company that donated to Reform.
The latest disclosures add context to why he may have been so determined to forestall our reporting.
Reform’s Richard Tice avoided nearly £600,000 in tax
Nigel Farage failed to declare that a criminal and crypto gambler paid for his staff, security, drivers, social media output in year before election
Reform leader has also received free accommodation in Westminster from George Cottrell as MP thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
Insight, the Sunday Times investigation team, can reveal that Cottrell is involved in an offshore crypto gambling platform implicated in potential criminal betting in the UK
He is also seeking a pardon from Trump
Farage denies breaking any rules
He says benefits pre-dated his return to politics and that Cottrell is a personal friend.
Rules say any benefits received in 12 months before election - and that benefits exceeding £300 potentially related to politics - must be declared
EXCLUSIVE: Keir Starmer gave peerage to ex-aide despite knowing he campaigned for man charged with child sex offences inc accessing images of girls as young as 10
No10 investigated + interviewed Matthew Doyle once Morgan McSweeney was warned about him 1/ thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
But after secret inquiry, Downing St concluded that Doyle's "past acquaintance" did not present an impediment to a lifetime appointment to the House of Lords.
Doyle - former No10 director of comms - repeatedly refused to say if contact cut off after conviction of Sean Morton
Morton, a councillor, was charged with offences including possessing/distributing images of naked girls and a couple sexually abusing a dog in November 2016
He was thrown out of Labour but stood for re-election as independent for ward in Moray, Scotland in May 2017
Murdock threatened us to be "very, very careful" when approached with allegations- but would not address claims he used Bounce Back loans to borrow cash when Covid struck.
One firm is J A M Financial, which, after borrowing cash, he transferred to his mum 2/
The other is Gym Live Health and Fitness Limited, which was dormant until the pandemic
Both failed to file accounts - a criminal offence - and were due to be wound up in 2023 when the companies regulator received an intervention from a third party 3/
WORLD EXCLUSIVE 🚨 The leader of Bangladesh says Tulip Siddiq must apologise for using property gifted by "corrupt" regime
He calls for homes to be investigated and returned in cases of "plain robbery" (1/5) thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…
It comes as we reveal MP lived in Hampstead home bought by offshore firm named in Panama Papers
Pedrok Ventures funded by trust owned by Bangladeshi businessmen
Pedrok gifted it to regime-linked lawyer, who in turn gave it to family of Siddiq, who lived there for years (2/5)
Muhammad Yunus, former Nobel Peace Prize winner and interim leader of Bangladesh, also rebuked Shayan Rahman, billionaire's son who bought Siddiq's mothers home via off-shore trust