Don’t Menshn Boris And Russia

Links between the gangster régime of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and the Leave campaigns in the 2016 EU referendum are well-known - well, for one of those campaigns, at least. Leave EU, along with its principals Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore, had all those meetings with the Russian ambassador. There were offers of shares in business deals. But that was as far as Kremlin involvement went.

The stuff of nightmares

Or rather, that is the real world version of events. In the parallel universe inhabited by (thankfully) former Tory MP Louise Mensch, Vote Leave were at it too. And so was the EU. Such is her detachment from reality that the first mention of tradecraft, safe houses, dead letter boxes, moles, ferrets, sleeper cells, burning targets, legends, or Special Directorates of Moscow Centre sends her off into her own wacko world of espionage.

Just how wacko that world has become was demonstrated in April when Ms Mensch claimed “I want to say right now that I believe @JunckerEU to be an asset of Russian intelligence who deliberately engineered #Brexit with flamethrowing comments and refusal to compromise. @EmmanuelMacron - the EU should come for Juncker if they want any credibility as a collective”. Like Monsieur le Président is going to read that rubbish.

There was more. “Does the EU itself even have an intelligence service? I don’t think it does, does it? If not, no wonder it is so completely penetrated. Look at the farce currently going on with @chrisinsilico in the UK cc @DamianCollins - RIS are running rings around Remain and laughing at them”. Yes, an intelligence service that does not exist has been completely penetrated. We have a mole, Jim. Wibble.

So when the subject turned to London’s formerly very occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, she was already, shall we say, a little bit Out There. Hence “I'll reiterate, senior sources linked to MI6 told me there were ‘problems’ [sic] with Elliott and Boris. but not, those sources said, @Vote_Leave as a group. I expect to find both Elliott and Johnson coordinated with Russians in the referendum”. Wibble again.

Then Bozza resigned. “Get in! Senior sources linked to UK intelligence told me there ‘was a problem’ with Boris Johnson in relation to Russia over #Brexit. I took that to mean that Johnson had contacts with @RussianEmbassy during the referendum”. Where do these “sources” come from? Who knows? And, indeed, who cares?

Ms Mensch’s tendency to just make it up also extended to seriously wacko claims about former diplomat Craig Murray. “Hey @CraigMurrayOrg before you flew to American University to act as a courier for the Russian state, taking a leaked copy of the DNC hacked materials to @JulianAssange, did you and @Credico2016 register under FARA as agents of Russia, as you were required to do?” Er, WHAT? And there was more.

“You didn’t think @GCHQ knew you and @CraigMurrayOrg were couriering that copy to @julianAssange? You didn’t think we were in his computer? Are you insane?” Now you know the level of delusion at which she operates. Now back to Bozza.

After telling the world “The #Brexit deal by @Theresa_May is very, very clever. It is something close to brilliant. It satisfies important points of principle for Brexiters like me, will satisfy voters and leaves the economy unscathed” - note that there is also a Louise Bagshawe Twitter account, so she can talk to herself in public - came her take on Bozza going. “No. Actually, I’m just letting @BorisJohnson know myself that MI6 are all over his meetings with Russians over Brexit, so don’t bother getting any ideas”.

Of course they are. Would Madam care to dig herself in a little deeper? “See my pinned tweet and TL on this, gentlemen. MI6 are all over @BorisJohnson’s meetings with Russians during #Brexit. Sources did not say this, but my educated guess is that @GCHQ have all the SIGINT you can eat on those meetings, @BorisJohnson. You were out of your league”. What do they put in the water in reassuringly expensive Manhattan?

Finally, it was back to the Louise Bagshawe account for the tailpiece. “Right, I said this but - and here’s the thing - I WAS WRONG. When you learn new facts - in this case, that @BorisJohnson colluded with Russia - a decent journalist changes their mind”. When a decent journalist sees that rubbish, they move very quickly in the direction of away.

Louise Mensch is away with the fairies. No surprise there, then.