After The "Beergate" Nonsense...

[sp1814]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-69063295

Toughts?

[New Judge]

I'm also led to believe that the Pope is a follower of the Roman Catholic faith and that whilst in the woods, bears do not use public conveniences.

[Hymie]

If you were to examine the full details of this fiasco – The Greater Manchester Police force should be investigated for wasting police time.

[newmodarmy]

Let's see what HMRC (maybe or maybe not, depending on who their new bosses are) and Stockport Council make of it

[sp1814]

Hymie

Surely they were compelled to investigate based on Lord Ashcroft's accustions?

[New Judge]

As far as I understand it, the only allegation the GMP should have investigated is that of electoral roll irregularity.

"GMP adds that it has shared information with HMRC and Stockport Council"

Whilst that's jolly decent of them, I imagine those organisations have different criteria for deciding whether offences have been committed that they are responsible for investigating.

[Deskdiary]

The thing that bothers me about all of this, is that Rayner seriously expects people to believe she was living in a house a mile away from her husband AND her kids.

 

If people truly beleive this, please send them my way because I'm a Nigerian Prince and for a small payment will be able to, in turn, pay millions to them.

[andy-hughes]

Hymie - // If you were to examine the full details of this fiasco – The Greater Manchester Police force should be investigated for wasting police time. //

The police have advised that they were obliged to investigate, although they then said that matters involving VAT were not a matter for them, which seems contradictory.

However, the local council and HMRC have had the police information shared with them.

It may be that those organisations had to wait until the police enquiry was concluded, before opening any enquiries of their own, so the matter may not be closed yet.

[sp1814]

The thing that bothers me about this is that at most Rayner would've benefitted by what, £1,500.

And how much did Michelle Mone trouser?

Scott Benton?

Sunak's hildcare firm shares?

Robert Jenrick's "cash for favours"

Nadhim Zahawi!!!

And finally...

Liz Truss killing off the Torie's reputation for sound fiscal management.

But none of that matters. What matter is a police investigation into Rayner in which the police say there's nothing to see.

Desperate.

[davebro3]

Rayner - guilty of a minor disdemeanour.

Starmer - if Labour had been in office Beergate would have been as big as Partygate. just sayin'

[DTCwordfan]

What about the Weegie police work on the missing £600k, north of the border  - where does this now stand? Possibly worse than Mme Rayner when it comes to criminality but then criminality has always been grey....

[ToraToraTora]

17:20 it's about legality not amount.

[sp1814]

davebro3

 

But wasn't "Beergate" (who else is sick of everything being a 'gate') also investigated by the police?

 

Jonhnson was fined for breaking Covid rules, Starmer wasn't.

[davebro3]

//Jonhnson was fined for breaking Covid rules, Starmer wasn't.//

He should have been. 

[gulliver1]

Sp1814 @ 17.20 You forgot to mention Matt Hancock and his local pub landlord..and also Owen Paterson.

[Peter Pedant]

Surely they were compelled to investigate based on Lord Ashcroft's accustions?

GMP? they dont have to investigate diddly squat ( and usually dont) - can we do real world stuff please

[Peter Pedant]

(who else is sick of everything being a 'gate')

erm didnt we have a mega AB spat on  "-gates". with strong push back on suffixes and post-fixes? - alorra stuff I wrote, no you can't read. too incendiary.

 

[Deskdiary]

Can't beleive we're re-hashing this, but here goes...

 

Johnson had an uneaten birthday cake, not involving booze, with people he worked with everyday.

 

Starmer and Rayner* had beers and a curry with people they did not work with.

 

*Starmer originally said Rayner wasn't there, until photographic evidence was produced, and then he said she was there, but he 'forgot'.

 

Neither should have been investigated - but the fact is what Starmer and Rayner did was worse.

[sp1814]

Police investigated both incidents. I'd suggest they had more information on which to base their decision to prosecute than any of us.

What seems to keep coming up in defence of Johnaons is "fact" fed to the press by the Number 10 spin machine.

[gulliver1]

Angela Rayner not guilty. Now lets go for the big Tory fish like Michelle Mone and husband as Sp1814 mentioned which involved £200 Million of taxpayers money. Which has been kicked into the long grass and the police don't seem to be interested in....Why ? ...Back handers maybe ?

[Peter Pedant]

we are going over it again - but  it is different ! everyone will have a go at re-writing history. I bet our wise mods win !

My fave on the  duty to investigate is Blackburn v MPC - 1964 I think. They dont ( have such a duty and can lawfully filter). Yes decided 50 y ago. and we are still fantasizing that the police must investigate....

see also

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04230/SN04230.pdf