Mike Stock - He Should Be So Lucky

Few nowadays remember who Mike Stock is. But he was once part of a money-generating, if hardly brilliant, songwriting triumvirate, together with Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. They conjured up entirely forgettable formula pop for the likes of Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Mel and Kim and Sinitta.

Yes, you, matey

But Mike Stock, like Morrissey, has views. And they are, shall we say, orientated far out there on the right. He is also a terribly sensitive soul, and likes to take offence at the thought that someone out there is passing adverse comment on his less than totally mainstream views. Well, tough, Mikey boy, because I am. So there.

Stock endorses the rantings of Battersea bedroom dweller Paul Joseph Watson, assistant to the screamingly batshit Alex Jones of InfoWars infamy. But that is a mere sighting shot; he’s the full UKIP backer too, letting his unfortunate followers know all about the latest proclamations from the party’s former Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage.

And this was a mere taster: Stock was also keen to let the world know the thoughts of pro-am motormouth Katie Hopkins, claiming “The Remain March the @BBCNews didn’t show - swearing, pissing & racially abusing Leavers through London. These are pro-migration globalists - YET I have never seen so many white people in one place” (not true). Then he backs this sneer at Richard Dawkins: “I've never been able to stomach Richard Dawkins. Cowardice in refusing to debate, and a supercilious Grayling like reaction to Brexit. We know his type”. We know his type. Perhaps his name is on the list.

But it is Stock’s steady drip-drip Retweet of Kate and Gerry McCann conspiracy nastiness that marks him out for genuine creepiness. “Did you kill your daughter? Gerry's answer is enough to put him in prison. Kate just smiles...as you do This video was hidden for 9 years by Australian network” and “MCCANNS LOST the CIVIL case in the Pourtuguese SUPREME COURT 2017 … They were NOT CLEARED in daughter's DEATH !!! Surely a CRIMINAL charge in Portugal would bring LIFE in PRISON” were proudly endorsed by him. There are some sad people on Twitter. Mike Stock is aiding and abetting them.

Predictably, Stock backs Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, and his backing for the false claims that three teenagers run down and killed by a drunk driver were victims of a terrorist attack. Not clever. But, for light relief, he would like us to know that “After many years of painstaking research I am now announcing that the more tattoos a footballer has, is directly related to how much of a cheat he is. More tattoos, bigger cheat. That’s what the data says”. Yes Mike. Whatever you say.

And he’s not above historical revisionism with a side order of abuse: “It’s obvious your hatred runs deep. Considering Hitler was a socialist, as you claim to be, all the violent aggression is coming from you and your leftist libtard friends”. Retard derivative - check! Any more Hitler revisionism? You got it: “You mentioned Hitler. But this was not the point...National Socialists were socialists” Fraid they weren’t, Mike.

Mike Stock is good at hiding behind his blue tick. But he isn’t getting away with his creepy, dishonest, far-right sympathising, history revising, nastiness. We see you, Mike Stock.

Tommy Robinson Appeals

After Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, fetched up at Leeds Crown Court and did a Facebook Live video - despite the trial he was looking at being subject to reporting restrictions which he knew about - and as a result was arrested and later convicted of contempt of court for the second time in eighteen months, he went to jail, where he remains. But his supporters had other ideas.

Almost as soon as Lennon had been dispatched to Hull Prison, there was talk of some kind of appeal. Why, though, would anyone bother with appealing against a guilty plea (and it should be noted that Lennon had also pleaded guilty when there was a previous contempt of court hearing in Canterbury)? But appeal there will be, and it will be heard next month, before a very well known senior judge.

This is what Ezra Levant - who has returned to Lennon’s side, it seems - has said in the last 24 hours: “The Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson, the most senior criminal judge in the United Kingdom, will hear Tommy Robinson’s appeal … Justice Leveson is the president of the Queen’s Bench Division and the Head of Criminal Justice … In addition to being the UK’s most senior criminal judge, Justice Leveson is known for chairing the inquiry into the UK phone hacking scandal. He is familiar with the media, which is relevant to Tommy’s case”. I suspect he also knows the contempt of court law.

But Lennon pleaded guilty, so what is the argument? John Carson of Carson Kaye, claimed to be Lennon’s new lawyers, have provided Levant with a statement. “They have lodged an appeal against the sentence. That means: they are challenging the judge’s 13-month prison term … The second part of Mr. Carson’s note indicates that he is asking for bail for Tommy, until the appeal is heard”. And the grounds for that appeal?

“One of the craziest parts of this whole thing was that Tommy went from being scooped up on the street by seven cops, to prison, in a matter of a few hours. That’s absurd - he didn’t even have time to properly instruct a lawyer of his own choosing. Getting Tommy out on bail will not only allow him to visit his family and friends, but it will allow him to have proper meetings with his lawyers”. Not sure that will cut much ice.

Levant claims that he will be, effectively, underwriting the costs of this appeal, which, as it is going to be heard on July 10 at The Royal Courts of Justice, before the President of the Queen’s Bench Division, is going to cost a significant sum of money. But he has given his followers the chance to contribute: “Tommy is not independently wealthy. He and his family have asked me to crowdfund the massive legal bills this appeal”.

And remember, this is a win-win for Lennon: if he wins his appeal, even if only partly, he demonstrates that his sentence was too harsh, and that the Establishment is agin him. And if he loses, he can claim that the judiciary, even Sir Brian Leveson, is part of that nefarious Establishment conspiracy, which is also agin him.

Then, the next “Free Tommy” rally on July 14 could well turn violent. Hey ho.

Morrissey - Heaven Knows He’s Miserable Now

Some musicians are also campaigners. This is part of their appeal; their views chime with many of their fans, and often those who don’t share those views are prepared to put their own ones aside because they enjoy the music. And some other musicians have views which are way out of kilter with their fan base, but here common sense usually prevails.

If only I'd kept my trap shut ...

If the musician has secret far-right sympathies, it’s sensible to keep schtum. But this level of common sense has not been allowed to enter the thoughts of former Smiths front man Morrissey, whose status has taken a nosedive of late.

After he said “Finally I have hope … I despise racism. I despise fascism. I would do anything for my Muslim friends, and I know they would do anything for me. In view of this, there is only one British political party that can safeguard our security. That party is For Britain … For Britain is the bulldog breed that will never surrender” the writing was on the wall. For Britain is an Islamophobic rump. The backlash came swiftly.

DJ and writer Dave Haslam “announced he was throwing a ‘positive protest party’ against Morrissey on 8 July, to coincide with the second of two gigs he is playing in Manchester. Fans, former fans and non-fans are all welcome. The free party, from 3pm until midnight and titled One Nation Under a Groove, is billed as a response to the former Smiths frontman’s ‘divisive views, and his support for the far right’”.

This should have come as no surprise: Morrissey has also declared “I don’t really think, for instance, black people and white people will ever really get on or like each other” and “You can’t help but feel that the Chinese people are a subspecies”. He recently declared his support for Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson.

And now has come the news that “Morrissey has postponed all his UK and European tour dates in July, his management has said … A statement from representatives of the former Smiths frontman said concerts in the UK, Germany and Sweden had been postponed ‘due to logistical circumstances’ beyond their control, but promised to reschedule the events”.

Yeah, right. After rent-a-rant Jon Gaunt frothed “Morrissey Cancels Gigs in UK.The death of Free Speech. They will be burning books next. Lefty intimidation and violence has to be stopped. Don't like him, dont listen but to intimidate and stop him performing is so wrong” - there hasn’t been any intimidation - Leo Miklasz had a better reason for the cancellation.

“Morrissey has cancelled all his UK gigs, which were scheduled for the next few days. I had a look yesterday and his Edinburgh gig had sold about 400-odd standing tickets in a 2,900 venue”. The fans had walked away. Simple as that.

All that was left was the ridicule. “Remember when lefties loved Morrissey and thought Danny Dyer was crass?” … “There's a rumour that Morrissey has had to cancel his tour as he's going to do the obligatory fortnight stint of leading UKIP followed by taking the helm of Britain First while the last two members are in jail” … “I wonder if he'll turn up at the planned Justice For Tommy whinge-fest scheduled for the 14th [July]” were typical.

And as Greg James said of the cancellation notice, “If you sing this statement in the style of Morrissey, it’s his best song for years”. Cruel. Cruel but fair.

Arron Banks Russia Links EXPOSED

When attorney and pundit Seth Abramson put together a Twitter thread yesterday on the latest developments in the Trump-Russia investigation, his primary focus was the players directly connected to the Trump Gang, to the transition team, to the administration, like former Governor Chris Christie, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

But Abramson could not complete his jigsaw of Russian connections without mentioning one British name, and that name was Arron Banks. Banksy has been linked to Russia before - his wife is believed to be a Russian asset - but this time it is not only different, but damningly so. And the likelihood of more legal action is remote.

First, Abramson gives a little background. “For 72 hours after the 2016 election, Chris Christie was still running the Trump transition team. We know two things about Christie's plans for the transition: he didn't want Michael Flynn in the administration, and he was hoping to be AG. Then Kushner fired him November 11th”. Then comes Banksy.

“We now know that, *less than 24 hours* after Christie was fired, the Kremlin's man in London was pumping a man who'd just met with Trump at Trump Tower - Arron Banks - to find out what administration role one person in particular would have: Jeff Sessions. It wasn't a coincidence”. Banks a conduit? Well, well.

More background before we get back to Banksy. “First, know that Sessions' campaign role was to secretly negotiate sanctions with Russia's man in DC, [Ambassador] Kislyak. Second, know that Sessions wanted to be AG - the role Christie wanted. Third, know that Sessions was the public face of Trump's NatSec team - which, privately, Flynn ran”.

Here he comes again. “Fourth, know what the NYT reported today: Arron Banks looks to have been Russia's man, too - a witting agent of Kremlin designs here and Europe who'd been promised riches by Putin. Now ask yourself: what message would the Kremlin have had for Trump in the 72 hours post-election?” What indeed.

“It seems clear the Kremlin knew Banks and Trump would talk personnel - Russia’s man in London was primed to ask Banks about personnel when they met the day after Christie's firing. So who was at the Banks meeting? Did Banks pass a message from his/Trump's mutual Kremlin friends?” And his conclusion?

“I think the chances that Putin had a say in Christie's firing - that it wasn't simply about Kushner's daddy issues (Christie prosecuted Jared's dad) - just went up 500%. Banks was well placed to be sending along to Trump [the] Russian angst over Christie's handling of Sessions and Flynn”. Plus the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr has more.

“[Banks’] business partner, Jim Mellon … TOOK one of the sweetheart deals the Russian ambassador offered up. He's a major Brexit donor. And he made £££ off the back of the Russians' interest in the referendum … Offshore Brexit donor WHO COULDN'T EVEN VOTE IN THE REFERENDUM makes a pot of £££ from sweetheart diamond deal with the man Mueller named as high-level conduit between Kremlin & Trump. This is where we're at”. Banks is claiming he took no part in those deals. And we still need an answer to where all those millions of Brexit bankrolling came from. Which we will get. More to come.

Toby Young Gender Equality IDIOCY

Whenever it comes to Europhobia, there is always one person willing to make a futile gesture, and that person, all too often, is the loathsome Toby Young, aka “Westminster’s village idiot”. Tobes will say and do anything, no matter how stupid and pointless, in order to progress the anti-EU cause, and in the process generate More And Bigger Self-Promotion Opportunities For Himself Personally Now.

And, seeing Gina Miller, the ultimate object of hate for Europhobes, being allowed to contribute to the Guardian - well, that was just too much for The Great Man. So off the end of the pier, in no style at all, he went. Wrongly. Again.

Ms Miller had Tweeted “#Women's rights at risk after Brexit - Female parliamentarians, businesswomen, campaigners & others sign a letter in the Guardian highlighting real risk of losing hard-won rights after Britain leaves the EU”. Most pundits are allowed their point of view. But not Gina Miller. So off went Tobes with his allegedly masterful reply.

“Europe, that great bastion of gender equality! Except women only got the right to vote in France in 1944, Italy in 1946, Greece in 1952, San Marino in 1959, Monaco in 1962, Andora [sic] in 1970, Switzerland in 1971, Portugal in 1976 and Lietchenstein [sic] in 1984. The UK? 1918”. Yeah, that showed her. Except it didn’t.

Robert Goodsell gave a hint as to why Tobes remained an idiot. “Nice Cherry Picking. Finland in 1906, Norway in 1913, Denmark in 1915, Russia in 1917, Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland in 1918. Germany, Latvia, Sweden, and The Netherlands in 1919. 60% of UK women excluded until 1928”. Oh dear, Tobes!

So let’s summarise the Tobes idiocy, for anyone not yet up to speed (like Tobes).

1 San Marino, Monaco, Andorra, Switzerland and Lichtenstein are not in the EU.

2 As Goodsell points out, Tobes has indulged in cherry picking.

3 No member state of the EEC, EC or EU has had other than universal suffrage for both men and women during the term of their membership.

4 Also, as Goodsell suggests, Tobes is misleading to claim that the UK had universal suffrage for both men and women from 1918. It did not. Only women over 30 years of age were given the vote, and there was a property qualification. Only 40% of women had the vote between 1918 and 1928.

5 And before Tobes kicks off about the USA, full universal suffrage there was only truly achieved with the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Small wonder that one Tweeter rebuked The Great Man with “We know you were too stupid to win a genuine place at Oxbridge. You don’t have to prove it. Every day”. Quite.

Toby Young is still Westminster’s village idiot. No surprise there, then.

Australian Warship Brexit Boost ISN’T

The anti-EU part of the press is always on the lookout for stories that give the impression that Britain will be fine outside the EU. These cynically-titled “Despite Brexit” stories talk up the smallest foreign investment, the most tenuous link to overseas contracts. So it was when news came though that the Australian Navy had awarded a contract to design and build nine new warships to BAe systems. Woah, Despite Brexit!

First with the inflation of this news into mythical status were the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, who told readers “Despite Brexit … Brexit Britain Wins $35 Billion Contract To Build Aussie Warships”. There was more.

“Just breaking in Australia, possibly the biggest #DespiteBrexit yet: British defence giant BAE Systems has won the tender to design and manage the construction of nine anti-submarine warships. The deal represents the biggest peacetime building programme in Australian naval history and is worth $35 billion, or £20 billion. It is being reported that the clincher was Gavin Williamson’s decision to send Royal Navy ships to Australia and the Pacific”. And the Europhobic press was soon on to the story, too.

The Murdoch Sun even got their non-bullying political editor Tom Newton Dunn to do the honours. Under the headline “Britain to build warships for Australia after beating EU to £20BILLION deal”, he told “A £20BILLION deal for Britain to build warships for Australia was last night hailed as a Brexit boost … Prime Minister Theresa May helped to fight off competition from Spain and Italy to win the massive contract, which secures more than 4,000 jobs”. It does? Tell us more, O not so wise one.

What a mug. And, indeed, what a mug

“Mrs May personally lobbied Australia’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at Chequers earlier this year … International Trade Secretary Liam Fox also went Down Under to hail Britain’s world class innovation … Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson played a key role, despatching three Royal Navy ships to the Asia- Pacific region to showcase the UK’s prowess”. Wow. Even the Daily Mail got in on the action.

And there the game was finally given away. After telling readers “Deal of the century: UK defence firm BAE wins contract worth £20billion for Australian warship fleet in major boost for Brexit Britain”, the Dacre doggies let slip “The construction programme is the biggest of its kind to take place in Australia since Second World War”. Ah. Not built in Britain, then?

Indeed not. And the BBC had worse news for avid Brexiteers: “The ships will be based on anti-submarine frigates that BAE is building for the UK's Royal Navy. However, the new warships will be built in Australia by a local workforce”. Not only built in Australia, but based on an existing design, so very little extra UK design work, either.

The Beeb has confirmed this: “While the overall budget is £19.6bn, only a part of that will come to BAE Systems for the design and build of the frigates”. Once again, the press, and especially the Sun, has been caught treating the Fawkes rabble as a reliable source. They should have learned about that after being suckered over the Jeremy Corbyn “Stasi File” that did not in fact exist. Tom Newton Dunn - one of “The commentators that count”.

Brexit is such bad news, the good news has to be invented. No change there, then.

Milo Yiannopoulos HAS A BODY COUNT

After the proclamation by Neil “A liar and a cheat” Hamilton that the ranks of the motley convocation of saloon bar propper-uppers at UKIP had been swollen by new members like Milo Yiannopoulos, today has brought an opportunity to repent at leisure. Hamilton and his fellow has-beens may have thought they were welcoming someone who would bring great things to their party. They should have been careful what they wished for.

As I noted the other day, the New Republic had told readers “Asked by Observer to comment on a story, Yiannopoulos texted, ‘I can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning journalists down on sight.’ He sent a similar comment to a Daily Beast writer”. Observer had a little more detail on that threat later.

“Yiannopoulos also sent the message to The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer in an article examining the struggling U.K. Independence Party, which the conservative commentator is reportedly seeking to join as part of, what an Info Wars host describes as, a ‘soft coup’ lead by nationalist figures … Yiannopoulos posted a picture on Instagram of the veiled threat issued to Sommer, captioning it ‘where is the lie.’”

And then came the bad news, as the BBC reported. “A gunman has opened fire at a local newspaper office in Maryland, killing five people and injuring others in what police said was a ‘targeted attack’. Staff at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis said the attacker, armed with a shotgun and smoke grenades, shot through a glass door into the newsroom. US media have named a suspect held by police as Jarrod Ramos. He is reported to have unsuccessfully sued the newspaper group in 2012 for defamation”.

Whatever could have made Ramos think now might be the time to gun down journalists? Oh hang on, what’s this from The Hill? “Conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos on Thursday insisted that he ‘wasn't being serious’ when he recently told two reporters that he ‘can’t wait for the vigilante squads to start gunning [down] journalists.’”

And how about the timing of that, er, clarification? “Yiannopoulos's comments Thursday came shortly after a gunman opened fire in the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Md., leaving at least five people dead and several others seriously injured”. Well, well.

Get out of that, then. And Yiannopoulos did just that with a typical self-pitying outburst. “‘You’re about to see a raft of news stories claiming that I am responsible for inspiring the deaths of journalists,’ Yiannopoulos wrote in a Facebook post. ‘The truth, as always, is the opposite of what the media tells you.’” It isn’t It really isn’t.

When Yiannopoulos makes those statements and claims, he does so because he wants to be provocative, and knows they will be published somewhere. He has no excuse. And nor has the collective idiocy at UKIP, who can now help with ownership of that.

Damn you Milo Yiannopoulos, damn your cretinous and leeching behaviour, damn your fellow vermin who enabled you, and damn you Neil Hamilton for legitimising this creep.

Milo Yiannopoulos now has a body count. And so does UKIP. That is all.

Tommy Robinson Fans WRONG On Terror Attack

Yesterday evening, the 2018 State of London debate was held at the O2 in North Greenwich. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan was present; the event was hosted by LBC presenter James O’Brien. It was an excellent opportunity for the public to exercise their right to free speech. Which, it seems, included the opportunity to protest.

As LBC reported, “This is the moment pro-Tommy Robinson protesters interrupted Sadiq Khan as the Mayor of London opened the State of London Debate 2018 … The event was temporarily suspended as the demonstrators were escorted from the indigo O2 in North Greenwich on Thursday night”. And what was all that about?

“Mr Khan was paying tribute to the recent victims of London’s terror attacks when the hecklers began … Other members of the audience shouted ‘sit down’ as the protesters shouted ‘you should be sacked’ … They then began chanting the name of former EDL leader Tommy Robinson … James O’Brien, who was hosting the event, told the group ‘we would have been happy to hear from you had you waited your turn’”.

So far, so tedious: one cannot object to free dissenting speech. But it was the backstory that should cause disquiet among all those who do not yet take the far right seriously. The protests, it seems, were connected to an incident where a drunk driver ran over and killed three teenage boys. Jaynesh Chudasama had entered a guilty plea; in the event, as he had fled the scene, this counted for little, and he was jailed for 13 years.

The maximum jail sentence at present for death by dangerous driving is 14 years. But what does this have to do with Sadiq Khan, and indeed Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson? Ah well. Rather than keep out of the matter, Lennon has been egging on at least one of the bereaved parents into believing that this was a terrorist attack. It wasn’t. The driver was drunk. And he wasn’t a Scary Muslim™.

That has not reassured Tracy Blackwell, whose son John McGuinness was one of those killed. She has been to speak at Lennon’s events, she Retweets those claiming George Soros was behind last weekend’s Peoples Vote march, as well as Geert Wilders. She appeals to Donald Trump for attention. She wants to see Lennon freed. And she was, it seems, one of those protesting at the State of London debate yesterday.

Stephen Lennon, rather than telling Tracy Blackwell that her son was killed by a drunk driver, has backed the view that is summed up by the claim “they were mowed down and murdered by terrorists. Ever since that day the Establishment, Met Police and the CPS have conspired to keep the truth away from all of us”.

No-one can bring Josh McGuinness and his two pals back. The grief experienced by Tracy Blackwell and those other parents cannot be imagined. And that just makes it worse that the likes of Stephen Lennon have exploited that grief in order to fuel the pretence that this was a terrorist attack. The Met know a bit about terrorist attacks. And they have tried their best to tell Ms Blackwell and the other parents that it really wasn’t.

The more that Stephen Lennon manipulates people in this way, the more likely it will end very badly. Pretending the Police are the enemy is not clever. Claiming the Mayor is in on the non-existent conspiracy is worse. This stoking of resentment has got to stop.

Former Murdoch Blagger Bites Back

[Update at end of post]

The current issue of Private Eye Magazine (issue 1473, available at all good news outlets) confirms what Zelo Street told earlier this month about the launch of former Murdoch water carrier Les Hinton’s book launch at Waterstone’s on Gower Street. Hinton’s attempted media love-in, hosted by Sky News stalwart Kay Burley, did not go to plan after the audience was infiltrated by several bringers of severely adverse comment.

John Ford

As the Eye notes, “They included Hacked Off director Evan Harris, John Alford, the actor who served time in prison as a result of a Mazher Mahmood sting, tabloid phone hacker turned whistleblower Graham Johnson, and Alastair Morgan, who has spent decades investigating the links between the News of the World and the murder of his brother, private detective Daniel Morgan”. And there was one more surprise for Hinton.

This was “a mild-mannered Welshman who … complimented Hinton on his ‘lovely white suit’ and asked about the methods he had used to enjoy such an impressive ‘career trajectory’” However, Hinton and Ms Burley then found “when the man dropped his Welsh accent and revealed that he was actually John Ford, the gifted impersonator and trained actor employed by the Sunday Times … to ‘blag’ personal information”.

After Ford announced to the gathering “I broke the law continuously for 15 years for the Sunday Times”, Ms Burley “cut him off and begged for another question” (there is a video of proceedings on the way, too). And Hinton is not the only one to find John Ford turning up unexpectedly at a media event, as Zelo Street can now reveal.

The Guardian’s offices hosted a panel discussion on whistleblowing, which included Jonathan Calvert from the Murdoch Sunday Times. Calvert was introduced with customary fanfare: “John is the longest serving editor of the Insight zine of the Sunday Times having been in the role for a decade … Jonathan was awarded Press Gazette journalist for the year 2016”. And he admitted he couldn’t manage without whistleblowers.

Jonathan Calvert

Then came questions. And, yes, the first question was from John Ford. “Hello, my name is John Ford and I’m a whistleblower and … I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation. It’s a great pleasure to see Jonathan Calvert with whom I’ve worked closely actually on the FIFA enquiry and with whom I must say I hold particular respect”.

What might have been going through Calvert’s mind can only be imagined as Ford confirmed “I was on Jonathan’s watch through one of his deputies”, and his question was put directly. “My question to the panel is why is my story - and [to] Jonathan in particular – why has my story been hushed up”. What say The Great Man to that?

“I can’t talk for the Guardian” ventured Calvert. Ford didn’t buy that one. “No no, [the Sunday] Times, yourself , why haven’t I had a phone call from you?” By this time, Calvert was floundering. “I don’t know, I honestly don’t know, it’s not something I cover obviously”.

After the chair intervened, Ford gave a parting shot: “OK. Well I’ll see you in court Jonathan, it’ll be great”. Calvert later excused his action, or lack of it, with “It’s kind of old history. It happened all those years ago”. But that’s the problem with whistleblowers - they keep on blowing the whistle. And John Ford ain’t for going away just yet.

[UPDATE 1740 hours: a bizarre intervention has come from Kay Burley, following Tweeter John Hill's comments on this post.

She snapped at Hill "Have you heard of @ofcom or does it not fit your dialogue? Hush now, you silly moo". Whatever can The Great Woman mean? All answers gratefully received]

Arron Banks Charity Accounts WEREN’T

Another day, another little local difficulty for the alleged “man who bankrolled Brexit” Arron Banks, this time over a charity he had set up. As with so much else concerning Banksy and his pals, the investigative journalism is thorough and incisive, deals in facts, asks hard questions, and in reply Banks blusters, obfuscates, smears, and indulges in a variety of puerile abuse. But his problem can be put very directly.

Open Democracy has the story of how “The regulator found a ‘serious flaw’ in how the Love Saves the Day Foundation was managed and administered, with trustees including Banks and Leave.EU chief executive Liz Bilney, failing to properly account for all charitable funds”. Ms Bilney, another to threaten legal action but not actually instigate it, is already under investigation by the Electoral Commission over potential lawbreaking.

But what of Banks’ charity? “Love Saves the Day was set up in 2015. The charity’s website reported charitable work worth hundreds of thousands of pounds taking place around the world, including in Lesotho and Belize. But a Charity Commission investigation - opened after media reports of Banks’s Brexit spending - found that the charity’s trustees ‘were not properly accounting for all charitable funds’. The charity’s published accounts showed no income or expenditure” [my emphasis].

Banks, as might be expected, produced a fog of deflection and whataboutery in his defence. “How I choose to make donations to charity is my business and my business only, in the case of Love Saves the Day, it was set up in support the many charities I choose to donate to year on year. It was closed due to difficulties with the supporting law firm acting as a trustee.” That fails to explain the empty accounts.

Nor does it account for all charitable funds. Merely because Banks is doing most of the donating does not mean he can create his own rules. So the investigations will continue. In the meantime, Banksy and Wiggy have tried to shake off their pursuers by, you guessed it, being abusive to them. But they are convincing no-one.

Wiggy went off on one at someone acknowledging Carole Cadwalladr’s receipt of the Orwell Prize: “because even the @BBCNews and every other sensible journalist can see there is NO evidence - it’s not a Story it’s a fantasy to try and undermine Brexit - stop sniffing that glue”. Health and addiction smear: check!

Banksy kicked MEP Richard Corbett over dark money allegations: “For dark money Read money from a UK taxpayer, unlike the Remain groups funded by George Soros ( ex Nazi collaborator ). Now piss off !” He’ll be buggered if Soros takes him to the cleaners.

Then came his claim of how much he had donated to charity, as he went for John Sweeney: “It also says there was no financial mismanagement. Half truths and lies , are the standard for people like you. I donated £1m directly ito children hospitals, churches, and local sports clubs. What have you ever done to justify being a sanctimonious twat!”

But after another mental health smear, this time at his own MEP Molly Scott Cato, Louis Barfe punctured Banks’ braggadocio, telling him “You are shitting yourself”. And Barfe knows what Private Eye has got on The Great Man. Not waving but drowning, again.