Tory dilemma over ‘nerve agent’ poisonings – they’ve been taking donations from Russians
Poisoned: Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
Theresa May is set to announce a series of punitive measures against Russia this week, accusing that country’s government of poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent last week.
She may decide to expel Russian diplomats and/or revoke the visas of Russians in the UK (one wonders if this will prompt a run on London property prices – billionaire Russians could retaliate by putting their townhouses up for sale).
But she won’t be returning more than £800,000 that has been donated to the Conservative Party by Russians now living in the UK, even though the provenance of the cash may be questionable.
The reaction from some of us has been predictable – and right:
Re "Tories should return Russian donations" story, be good to ask the individual MPs incl:
Brandon Lewis £28k
Liam Fox £10k
Nigel Adams £33k
Craig Whittaker £5k
Guto Bebb £16k
Michael Ellis £10k
Mary Robinson £5k
Simon Hart £6k
what they were providing to deserve such generosity.— Matt Thomas (@Trickyjabs) March 11, 2018
Yes indeed – what were they providing to these donors?
Then there’s the following:
As 14 people with links to Russia have mysteriously died & majority passed off as suicides even when evidence indicates unlikely, then Secret Services/Govt of the UK could possibly be https://t.co/72sNVFAGB7 we know why. £820,000 in the coffers. https://t.co/SjdjutnQcc
— Carole Hawkins (@hawkins_carole) March 11, 2018
What? 14 people with links to Russia have died under mysterious circumstances but the deaths were hushed up?
And these Tories have been taking Russian money.
If the Tries won’t give it back, perhaps there should be an investigation into who provided it and what it funded.
Philip Hammond has refused a plea by the widow of murdered Alexander Litvinenko for the Tories to pay back more than £820,000 donated by Russian oligarchs, insisting the cash is legitimate.
The Chancellor also denied the Kremlin is “laughing at us” over Britain’s response to the killing and the suspicion that Russia was also involved in the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal.
Marina Litvinenko called for the return of the Russian cash – given since Theresa May became Prime Minister – saying: “You need to be very careful who you are friends with.”
But Mr Hammond insisted there were “very strict rules” surrounding donations, which could only come from British citizens and were “carefully vetted”.
“There are people in this country who are British citizens who are of Russian origin. I don’t think we should taint them, or should tar them with Putin’s brush,” he said.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Here are four ways to be sure you’re among the first to know what’s going on.
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (in the left margin). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Sounds as if another aspect of their stinking corruption is coming back to haunt them.
certainly does, now doubt they be sending special agent boris and the big red bus of lies to solve this, then again they could send the big red bus of lies and a whole host of them on a fact finding long-term stay to a Gulag in Siberia, will they be missed, I doubt it, plenty of spare mannequins about to replace them
Dont UK export chemical warfare weapons and nerve agents Just not got the patent and monopoly on some Russian developments
There may be a gesture of sending diplomats back and banning some nodiscripts
but relationships between Russia and UK too important for a nondiscript and nobody to made too much of
Yes very dangerous and other people affected
But I think little will be done
Once Russian spies have defected and done and given what they have they really are nothing but for the garbage. Britain and Mi6 despises defectors and traitors just as much as anyone else.
In the overall scheme of things nothing will be done and maybe the leakage to others being affected is Russias way of saying SEE WE CAN USE CHEMICAL AGENTS ON YOUR STREETS AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
As was said at Labour Representation agm Nuclear warheads are not the greatest threat in this day and age of chemical and internet warfare and games. Can deliver a nuclear device with a catapult or a drone, dont need a big missile a plane or supersubmarine
Nothing will be done.
In last few years Germany has handed over a few of the balkan states to Russia without a bleat.
RUSSIA RULES
Here’s an idea. The UK should confiscate any property in the country that is regularly unoccupied and owned by Russian nationals unless the owners can clearly establish the source of the money used to buy the properties. This very day there are luxury flats being built in London which are fabulous in every way, furnished and decorated, and will simply sit empty for as long as it takes, because the owners are Russian oligarchs who want to invest their money but need somewhere dodgy to stash it with no questions asked. London IS that dodgy place. They love Britain because they can launder the money made through fraud and other crimes by buying up ludicrously expensive houses and flats in London.
Now that Trump is where they wanted him but his hotel finances are under too much surveillance, London is the place to stash the cash.
By confiscating unused properties, the UK could solve a number of problems.
1) when asked what more could be done re sanctions to punish the Russian state for the poisonings, this allows pain to be inflicted on the shadowy figures behind Putin
2)the properties could be sold to raise cash directly to house the homeless or improve access for low-waged workers needing accommodation in Central London
3) a rush of properties coming on the market would help to reduce prices for those seeking to buy but currently unable due to property speculation
4) closing off the flow of money from Russia might even force the oligarchs to keep the cash in Russia and actually pay taxes on it to benefit the Russian workers who created the wealth for them.
Weren’t they made British citizens because of their money?