The threatened lawsuit from alleged “Man who bankrolled Brexit” Arron Banks against the Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr appears to be a campaign destined to develop not necessarily to his advantage. Not only has Banksy chosen a distinctly sticky track on which to bat, he has once again shown that he is not as rich as he would like his fans to believe - and, most likely, not rich enough to bung millions to the Leave campaign.
Banks’ latest lawyers Kingsley, Napley had sent Ms Caswalladr a letter marked “Private and Confidential” and “Not for publication”, but had bust that by tipping off the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog, who told readers “Banks says he took no money and he has no covert relationship”. Ms Cadwalladr didn’t say he did take money (from the Russians), merely that he was offered it.
Worse, the Banks attack has the disadvantage that the Commons DCMS Committee has already concluded “Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore have misled the Committee on the number of meetings that took place with the Russian Embassy”, and speaking of his pal Wiggy, “Mr Banks seemed to want to hide the extent of his contacts with Russia, while his spokesman Andy Wigmore’s statements have been unreliable - by his own admission - and cannot be taken at face value. Mr Wigmore is a self-confessed liar and, as a result, little significance can be attached to anything that he says”. Ouch!
Could it get worse? As if you need to ask. The supposedly super rich Banks is now passing round the begging bowl to fund his legal action. I kid you not: Ron Hopeful (for it is he) has told the Brexiteer headbanger faithful “as a result of our huge success, we have acquired some powerful enemies in the political establishment”. Do go on.
“Leave.EU has been under constant attack by the Establishment, the media, and from organisations funded by the likes of George Soros”. Whiff of anti-Semitism there. So what’s he driving at? “At a convention earlier this month, the Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr made direct claims that I had been offered cash by the Kremlin to campaign for independence”. Offered cash full stop. Independence my arse.
There was more. “Legal letters have gone out demanding an apology and any damages will be donated to the Brexit Party”. Yes? Yes yes? Yes yes yes?
Under that is the begging box, proclaiming “Help us defend Brexit and sue the Guardian’s Carole Cadwalladr for defamation … DONATE HERE”. Two things here. One, going after Ms Cadwalladr is not going to defend Brexit, or indeed anything. And Two, Banksy just admitted once more that he is either a shameless grifter, or not as rich as he pretends.
It doesn’t help that the latest Banks campaign - to get Tory minister David Gauke deselected - failed last night. “Tomorrow we claim our first Cabinet scalp as @DavidGauke is up for deselection in South West Herts … Bless! @DavidGauke asks Michael Gove to write a letter of support to his local members, begging them not to deselect him in tomorrow's confidence vote … There’s not a hope in hell of them changing their mind, David. Tomorrow we get our first Cabinet scalp!” claimed the Leave EU Twitter feed.
Gauke won that vote. And Banksy’s entryists lost. Not a good omen, eh Banksy?
Enjoy your visit to Zelo Street? You can help this truly independent blog carry on talking truth to power, while retaining its sense of humour, by adding to its Just Giving page at
10 comments:
***On the wrong track***
Oh Mr Banks now what shall you do
You’ve lost a deselection battle
The entryists were too few
And now you want more money
To pay your legal bills
Oh Mr Banks what a cuckadoodle do!
The Russians will be laughing their wooly socks down at this.
Why "interfere" here or in the USA when both sides of the Atlantic are in headlong decay? There's no need even for a few dull blows.
Presumably* "money was offered" at a comfortable interest rate. All in accordance with capitalist notions promoted by barrow boys like, say, Jeremy "Entrepreneur" Hunt or Boris "Crackpot" Johnson.
While we're at it, how many other Brits have visited the Russian Embassy and what were they seeking? You know, like long-ago Greville Wynn. Shouldn't be hard to list them given standard audio-video surveillance by The Friends and Langley Cowboys.
*But we don't KNOW.
Yeah. All Brits who visit the Russian Embassy are spies for MI6.
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/russia/entry-requirements
Arron Banks as a 21st century Greville Wynne?
What's better cover than to fund a poncing prick who's hell-bent on destroying the EU?
@ Anonymous 15:03
Money offered @ comfortable interest rates?
Not the way it's done. More like circular quid pro quos as in Manafort running the Trump election campaign for "free" but having loans to apparent third parties paid off.
No hard evidence obvs. But that's the point!
The Old Murdochonian Mutual Aid Society scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. Mafia type omerta,aided by a few unexplained deaths, helps to avoid such traces of hard evidence.
What better than - knowing the Embassy is under 24/7 surveillance (like Aeroflot entrants at Heathrow) - receiving an internationally known "destroyer of the EU" than Banks? First class covert spookery, that. Not.
Then again, there were some morons who actually believed the Dodgy Dossier. Which of course was proved to be a pack of lies peddled by war criminals.
We live in interesting times.
@ 19:02.
No evidence.
Here we go again.
Oh well.
Anon 19:16
Oh, when a Tupolev turboprop arrived at Heathrow once a week and the Circus knew who was on board. Those were the days eh? Now there are seven Aeroflot arrivals a day.
Anon 19:41
Ever so clever aren't you?
@ Anon
Oh well. If we only relied on hard evidence why is Corbyn still Leader of the Opposition when he was supposed to have won general election by now against the worst government in living memory? And according to latest polls he is not only behind any prospective Tory Leader but Labour trail most of the main Parties including the Libdems.
"Now when I talked to god I knew he'd understand
He said stick by me and I'll be your guiding hand
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to
Oh well!" (H/t Peter Green)
While the Democrats waited on hard evidence in the US the Russians interfered with their election as evidenced in the Mueller report. But then you probably discount all that as not matching your narrative?
Sigh! At least Trump has told Putin not to interfere in their 2020 election. Don't laugh!
@ 22:06 and 23:01.
It would help if either of those posts made any sense.
Or were even coherent.
Comments on this post are now closed. No more will be passed for publication.
Post a Comment