Thread by @receiptkeepers

As we conclude #KeepingTheReceipts week 10, cronyism once more takes centre stage after days of new revelations uncovering VIP contracts, donors/political allies elevated to key positions and the Tories pushing through plans to accelerate #NHS privatisation.

Let’s dive in:

1. On Monday Sue Gray, a key witness who played a major role in granting Greensill Capital formal access to Whitehall, was blocked from giving evidence to the PACAC by the Cabinet Office and Michael Gove

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1414669813776060416?s=20

2. The same day, it emerged that Cameron had taken a salary of more than $1m a year for just 25 days work, more than $40,000 per day

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1414796293105463304?s=20

3. On Tuesday it emerged that Tory MP Karl McCartney was under investigation by Parliament’s sleaze watchdog for hiding links to a family firm for over a decade

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1414972938860761088?s=20

4. On Wednesday the new Health Bill passed a second reading in the Commons, amidst widespread opposition from MPs and activists who claim that it will cut access to healthcare and allow a power grab from the private sector

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415244239160623105?s=20

5. Also on Wednesday, DCMS Secretary of State Oliver Dowden was found to have given a ‘ringing endorsement’ of a telecoms firm, IX Wireless, which is behind £21,500 in donations to the Conservatives

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415611326492291075?s=20

6. Leaked emails suggest yet another company linked to former Health Secretary Matt Hancock found to have been given ‘VIP treatment’.

AHT, based in Hancock’s Newmarket constituency and whose owner was a friend, reportedly entered the system ‘informally’

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415611994078654464?s=20

7. As @BylineTimes and @allthecitizens reported on Thursday, 30% of the top Covid-19 contract winners have been found to have links to the Conservative Party

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415672676627062798?s=20

8. A university friend of Boris Johnson and ex-Bullingdon Club member, Ewen Fergusson, was also appointed to Whitehall’s sleaze watchdog, in a move a former committee chair labelled as ‘pathetic’

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415983074630832136?s=20

9. And the Cabinet Office then admitted that the government had charged the taxpayer £28,647 for part of the refurb on the PM’s floorboards, including painting and sanding services

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1415983074630832136?s=20

10. The government’s attacks on protesters also continued, with a judge convicting members of XR who blockaded a Murdoch-owned printworks, finding that Priti Patel didn’t ‘improperly influence’ the police, despite evidence to the contrary

https://twitter.com/receiptkeepers/status/1416019466769555456?s=20

These are just the top 10 instances from a week of chaos, confusion and cronyism at the heart of our government, but we’ll keep tracking it, day by day, week by week, month by month…

In the meantime, @allthecitizens and @foxglovelegal are launching a crowdfunder to stop ministers governing in secret by using ‘exploding messages’ and dictating policy with zero accountability

If you can, please consider supporting our crowdfunder below:
crowdjustice.com/case/stop-disa…

You can also subscribe to our substack, or follow @receiptkeepers on Twitter to stay informed of the latest in instances of #Cronyism, assaults on #Democracy and undermining of parliamentary norms, and #NHSPrivatisation, and to catch our weekly newsletter:
keepingthereceipts.substack.com