As his faithful followers wend their weary way to London’s Park Lane for the rally which will also feature new UKIP leader Adolf von Batten, news arrives suggesting that Stephen Yaxley Lennon, who styles himself Tommy Robinson, may not hate the EU quite as much as he would like those followers to believe. Lennon has been appointed as an assistant to Batten on so-called “grooming gangs”. He won’t be assisting for nothing.
So the question has to be put: who is paying, where are they getting the money, and what is the size of the wad which is being propelled in Lennon’s general direction? The Great Man, and Batten, are not about to pony up this information voluntarily. But one figure from the UKIP leader’s past has the information, and what she has told poses more of those difficult questions for a party which already has significant previous in this area.
That is because, despite the apparent hatred for all things EU, it is from that source that it seems Lennon will get his money. Jasna Badzak, long-suffering former UKIP staffer who knows the ways of former Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage and the rest, has named names, sums of money, and in the process accused Batten of dodgy dealing.
“#UKIP has submitted paperwork to abuse your taxes and pay #TommyRobinson £55,000 per annum for his ‘advices’ via @EUparliament MEP secretarial allowance! Already illegally self stamped and submitted by Kamila Zarychta. Alert your MEPs about this #UKIP fraud and report it to OLAF” she claimed yesterday. £55k a year is rather more than most of the Wall Of Gammon™ who have obediently hung on Lennon’s every word.
So how does Lennon get past the background checks which he would have trouble passing, given his past criminal record? Simples. The engagement of his services is on a self-employed basis, which the EU allows. Here, no background check is performed. I am told Lennon’s paperwork has been stamped by an accountancy firm which should be independent, but is in fact run by a loyal UKIP member.
As Ms Badzak has already hinted, this matter has already been referred to OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office. Contrary to all the EU-bashing propaganda that tells us the EU is somehow corrupt, or more corrupt than the UK, the people in Brussels and Strasbourg take financial misbehaviour so seriously they have a team in place to deal with it. And that team may now be dealing with Lennon and his new patron.
Also notified over this arrangement will be HMRC. After all, no-one wants to see anyone trying to get away with not paying their fair share of tax on that £55,000 which, for someone working under self-employed status, will be paid gross. Meanwhile, the obedient Wall Of Gammon™ will claim such information is merely more of that Fake News that the great Tommy warned them about. Except they, once again, are being had for mugs.
As with anything and everything that he does, for Stephen Lennon this is all about the promotion, and ultimate enrichment, of Himself Personally Now. His followers can reflect on that when they get nicked later today and The Great Man takes no notice.
After all, it’s nothing to do with him. He only brought them out on to the streets.
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The "self employed basis" has a MUCH wider use than the "Robinson" scam.
ReplyDeleteIt's a deliberate device to casualise whole swathes of the economy. The same goes for "zero hours contracts". They are different versions of the notorious dockers welt and builders lump. All of it calculated to avoid employer responsibilities and conceal the true level of unemployment. Of course it is ignored by lickspittle corporate media and corrupt right wing politicians.
None of it alters the fact that UKIP and "Robinson" are a collection of racist morons.
Unfortunately, if the events in the US have shown us, foreign money from various sources has penetrated into many politicla parties and organisations.
ReplyDeleteSome will be to promote their own particular interests directly (Mercers & Murdochs) and some will be to cause as much disruption as possible to the present establishment (eg Russian deza)thereby indirectly helping their cause of greater influence.
We are presently in the UK in the middle of what is called the horseshoe effect in essence a two pronged attacked from extremes on left and right.
God (whichever one you adhere to)helps us all.
Taking back control it ain't!