Scoop (now free to view): Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Institute is failing to test the safety of most leading AI models like GPT-5 before they’re released — despite heralding a “landmark” deal to check them for big security threats 👇
WATCH: Every. Word. Of. This.
Thank you
@RhonddaBryant
for putting this so eloquently into words.
‘It is expressly forbidden. It is a corrupt practice.’
We’ve found 8 Tory donors that, collectively, have won £881m in 35 Covid19 UK gov contracts
Combined they've donated £8.2m to the Tories
So, for every £1 donated, they've averaged a return of £110 from contracts won
The golden line of cronyism
Exclusive with
@BylineTimes
BREAKING: High Court rules Michael Gove acted unlawfully.
It got us thinking about how many times we’ve seen similar headlines since 2019, and yet nothing changes. Here are some of the big ones. THREAD:
Spotted by a Citizen...Health Secretary Matt Hancock has a photo of The Cock Inn, Thurlow hanging behind him in his Red Room. The pub was owned by Alex Bourne, who won a £30m Covid19 contract for test tube work. His firm had only recently gained a safety certificate for testing.
NEW: Prof Michael Baker, official advisor to NZ government:
“In NZ we've always looked to UK for leadership..it's why it just seems so remarkable you're not following even basic public health principles.
"We & my colleagues in NZ are quite astounded that that you're doing this"
NEW: Extraordinary statement from
@HelenRSalisbury
from emergency press conference on UK govt's plan:
'I cannot understand why the government would opt to do herd immunity by infection when they could do herd immunity by vaccination. I think it's criminal.'
NEW: ‘What we have is a government that is pursuing an ideologically driven commitment to force the population to accept a level of mortality and disability.'
Powerful words from Lancet's editor-in-chief
@richardhorton1
BREAKING: new Covid19 contract lands today - £14.4m for PPE back with company CH & L. The director is Hon Frances Stanley, friend of Matt Hancock, whose husband donated £5,000 directly to the Health Secretary.
🚨 NEW 🚨 2 years ago the
#RussiaReport
found 'credible evidence' of 🇷🇺 interference in 🇬🇧 elections & the UK govt...did nothing
@allthecitizens
+ a group of MPs & peers took them to court. Permission for a judicial review was denied
Now the case is going to Strasbourg 👇👇
FINALLY! Someone tackles a BBC presenter head on over the government’s strategy & calls it what it is: herd immunity (by mass infection).
And of course it’s
@dgurdasani1
👏👏👏
So, we now know that it was Lord Brownlow who paid £58,000 towards the cost of makeover of the PM's Downing Street flat....
what hasn't been reported is that Brownlow, in his role as founder and director of Huntswood CTC Limited, has also benefited from government contracts.
NEW: 🔴Femi Fact Checks PMQs
Here it is. Stand by.
@Femi_Sorry
has fact checked today’s performance in parliament by Boris Johnson…on the small matter of
#OwenPaterson
💥💥💥
‘That’s not democracy. We’re in trouble, people.’
🚨NEW 🚨Welcome to Eaton Square - the oligarchs' favourite address in the money laundering capital of the world
Watch
@OliverBullough
explain how Russian money & the
#LondonLaundromat
threaten our security, our democracy and our power to intervene in global affairs 🇷🇺🇬🇧👇👇
NEW: 🚨Femi Fact Checks PMQs🚨
Did you see Boris Johnson at today’s PMQs? Well, here he is again, this time with added FACTS.
A masterclass in debunking from the brilliant
@Femi_Sorry
for
@allthecitizens
THREAD:
Billions in public funds have awarded in PPE contracts since the start of the pandemic, often to woefully unfit or politically adjacent entities, and without any official oversight.
Below we take a look back at 20 of the most shocking revelations uncovered since March:
Following stunning assertions from
@MattHancock
that he had no idea of the relationship between Palantir, Faculty, and Cambridge Analytica:
“um… I don’t think I’m aware of that, no”
-
@allthecitizens
feels this claim raises serious questions that need to be addressed. THREAD:
NEW: ‘It’s a profound sadness to see people who I respect in many many ways such as Sir Patrick Vallance & Chris Whitty allowing themselves to stand next to PM & give support to this appallingly politically driven position’
Devastating words from Lancet editor
@richardhorton1
NEW: An unmissable interview with
@DPuttnam
.
One of the greatest film-makers we've ever had is telling us we are "sleepwalking into a disaster".
"Elements of the Nazi playbook" are unfolding now.
"Slowly, slowly, slowly, we are drifting into accepting a diminished democracy"
Labour MP Chris Bryant
@RhonddaBryant
has accused Liz Truss of misleading the Commons foreign affairs committee by saying she had personally raised human rights issues with Gulf leaders, but then not producing evidence of this when asked.
🚨BREAKING: an investigation by
@BylineBITE
and
@allthecitizens
reveals 12 Covid-contract winning firms tied to the Conservative Party have increased their profits by £121.7 million over the last year, an increase of 57%. THREAD:
🚨NEW: This week's PMQs fact check with
@Femi_Sorry
in which Boris Johnson manages to lie about the past, the present and the future of this country.
New Year, same old Johnson.
🚨 NEW 🚨
#PMQs
fact check by
@Femi_Sorry
In which Boris Johnson wanders into a boozy party in his own back garden on a balmy evening in lockdown and claims "I believed implicitly this was a work event"
Excruciating even by his own standards 👎👎👎
BREAKING: Latest Tory donor list reveals more backers linked to Covid19 contract wins days after:
Globus Shetland owner donated £10k- then won £94m
Efficio’s parent co. director donated £50k- then won £1.45m
Also- P14 Medical owner donated £7.5k after £276m win
@bylinetimes
NEW: today we launch The Citizens v the Prime Minister. We have joined forces with MPs & lords to challenge the government over its failure to investigate Russian interference. And we need your help. Please join us!
NEW: Introducing our new series:
🚨🚨 Femi Factchecks PMQs 🚨🚨
We’re delighted to be working with the forensic
@Femi_Sorry
checking the truth of Boris Johnson’s claims in real time.
Please watch & share
BREAKING: At least 1,250 UK gov contracts issued under Covid19 were not published on time,
@allthecitizens
have found - meaning 75% of the 1,670 now-public pandemic-response contracts were published unlawfully late. THREAD:
🔴 NEW:
@Femi_Sorry
gives Boris Johnson's conference speech a reality check
➡️ 45 minutes of bombast
➡️ 1 new policy announcement
➡️ Plenty of fibs
➡️ The verdict? Boris Bullshit Better
What is happening in Britain isn’t ‘cronyism’. It’s corruption.
Watch
@sophie_e_hill
break down why we need to track & monitor what is happening. And why we must hold ministers & govt to account.
‘I think norms can break down much more easily than you think’
🚨 NEW 🚨
Help us expose the truth behind the
#RussiaReport
cover-up!
With
@carolecadwalla
we are planning to tell the story of how the Kremlin captured the British establishment in a new podcast series.
But we need your help … DONATE ⬇️🙏
🚨NEW: This week's PMQs fact check with
@Femi_Sorry
in which Boris Johnson
▶️ repeats a manifesto lie
▶️ confirms his plans to break international law
▶️ Tries to distract from corruption in his party by pointing the finger at…everyone else in the world!
Business as usual then
BREAKING: the UK government does "not intend to publish the list of suppliers who were awarded personal protective equipment contracts" following the high-priority lane VIP process "as there may be associated commercial implications”.
🚨EXCLUSIVE:
More than a quarter of ‘elite’ Conservative Party donors (giving a minimum of £100,000 in a single donation) have been given a title or honour, raising fresh concerns of a ‘cash for honours’ scandal at the heart of government - from
@BylineBITE
and
@AllTheCitizens
NEW: Boris Johns says the safety of all MPs is of vital importance. His track record of inflammatory rhetoric tells another story.
@Femi_Sorry
tells it like it is
Last night
@allthecitizens
found a 1/3rd billion gov contract won by a company linked to Conservative donor Lord Ashcroft.
£350m Covid19 award goes to company run by Impellam, where former Tory treasurer has ‘significant interest’. THREAD:
BREAKING: Firm awarded £16.2m across multiple Covid-19 contracts has extensive links to the Conservatives.
Softcat Plc not only boasts a Tory-donating director, but life-peer and mega-donor Lord Nash holds shares in them.
THREAD by
@allthecitizens
/
@BylineTimes
BREAKING: We’ve issued a pre-action letter against the government with
@Foxglovelegal
.
We believe it’s unlawful that Boris Johnson is running a ‘government by WhatsApp’. These messages MUST be preserved.
Please join us in this crucial fight for transparency!
🚨Breaking:
Over £22.4bn has gone to just 50 companies in UK Gov Covid-19 contracts since the start of the pandemic.
In total, over 1,500 companies were involved in a UK contract bonanza worth £52.5bn – more than the Gross Domestic Product of 140 nation states and territories.
Have you heard of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC)? The Brethren is an evangelical Christian group that seems to have links to 21 UK companies that have won at least 49 Covid-related contracts since March, worth as much as £1.1 billion. THREAD.
💥💥💥 CALLING ALL A-LEVEL STUDENTS💥💥💥
1/4 state school students were downgraded by the algorithm versus 1/10 private school students. On what possible grounds?!? This is a gross miscarriage of justice & we will not let it stand. Join us!
NEW: "I believe the strategy of herd immunity is actually murderous.
"I think that's a word we should use...you are doing something that will result in thousands, and in some cases tens of thousands of people dying."
Professor
@WmHaseltine
of the USA on UK govt's policy
BREAKING: International scientists join
authors of Lancet letter at emergency summit: UK govt’s ‘dangerous experiment’ is threat to world
👉3 official govt advisors - Israel, NZ, Italy
👉2 ex-govt advisors - Taiwan, Australia
👉+ world-leading experts
PRESS RELEASE: “Scientists: government’s herd immunity by mass infection’ plan is unscientific & unethical”
By authors of Lancet letter now signed by more than 1,000 UK & international scientists & doctors
🔴 Giving a powerful message, Ukrainian President
#Zelensky
says that he and all other Ukrainian leaders are very much in Kyiv, standing with the rest of the nation to defend
#Ukraine
and fight for its independence.
🚨 NEW:
#PMQs
Fact Check 🚨
Questioned about the legality of the new 'Illegal Migration Bill' and lies told around it, Rishi Sunak puts up a perfect "textbook Trump" performance.
Here's
@Femi_Sorry
doing a brilliant takedown 👏
NEW: Former Australian health secretary
@stephenjduckett
:
"There is no reputable public health adviser of any kind who would recommend opening up at a time when the virus is spreading rapidly. It just defies any logic, any science of any kind."
#FreedomDayUK
The Billion Pound Pandemic Gold-Rush:
A year after the anniversary of the 1st UK lockdown,
@allthecitizens
@BylineTimes
have uncovered almost £1bn in COVID-19 contracts awarded to 15 companies, all linked to Conservative party donors. THREAD:
NEW: Editor-in-chief of
@TheLancet
’s damning verdict of govt’s scientific & medical advisors backing PM’s decision:
‘I have to conclude the Chief Medical Officer is wilfully misrepresenting scientific opinion across the country & that is extraordinary to observe’
🚨Labour has called for an investigation into leaked texts that indicate there was a SECOND rule-breaking birthday party, on 19 June.
This is one that didn't make it into the Sue Gray report.
NEW: Herd immunity isn’t a plan. It’s a medical experiment being conducted on children.
Football is one thing but you’d think mass deliberate infection of entire nation’s children might make a headline?
This week’s newsletter written by
@carolecadwalla
:
LIVE NOW: Please join us for an emergency international summit with scientists from UK & across the globe on the threat the UK government's Covid-19 plan poses to the world
Spotted by
@ElspethElspeth
... Health Secretary Matt Hancock has changed the photo of The Cock Inn, Thurlow, hanging behind him in his Red Room. The pub was owned by Alex Bourne, who won a £30m Covid19 contract for test tube work.
🚨 NEW: Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
🚨
We'll have to wait a bit longer for the results of
#SueGray
&
#metpolice
inquiries, but in the meantime, here's
@Femi_Sorry
's verdict on Boris Johnson's latest
#PMQs
performance
'His relationship with the truth is starting to look desperate'
BREAKING: 10 British lobbying companies, each listed on the UK lobby register, have donated a total of £730,514 to the Conservative party - either directly or via their directors.
Two of them have won direct UK gov contracts worth at least £1,139,741. THREAD:
🚨 NEW 🚨
#PMQs
Fact Check
Rishi Sunak acts like the country hasn't watched the Tories commit medical fraud for years.
But the Tory corruption and cronysm in PPE procurement during Covid was so pervasive, the PM cannot pretend to be shocked about it
MUST WATCH
@Femi_Sorry
🚨NEW: Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
🚨
Have you felt uneasy watching
#BorisJohnson
trying to wiggle out of MPs' questions on the
#SueGrayReport
?
@Femi_Sorry
tells it as it is: If the PM had moral principles, he would resign.
Instead, he is laughing at us.
🚨Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
🚨
Different week, another PMQ, but same old trend of lying from Johnson...
What does he lie about this week?
👉 Energy prices
👉 Support to refugees
👉 UK "leading" on global sanctions
@Femi_Sorry
lays it out brilliantly 🔥
We need your help! We’ve looked at 1000+ contracts issued by the UK gov in response to COVID-19. These total £11.2+ billion of public money given to private companies. Help us scrutinise and improve the data - viewable here:
🚨 NEW Femi Fact Checks PMQs 🚨
Hasta la vista, Boris 👋👋
In Johnson's last ever
#PMQs
he treats us to a medley of his greatest hits on
#Brexit
#COVID
&
#LevellingUp
While his MPs clap & cheer
Boris is on the way out but the last word goes to
@Femi_Sorry
. 'I'll be back'
NEW: We have joined
@Foxglovelegal
& this coalition in bringing legal action to stop the NHS data grab. It is SUCH an important fight. These are our private health records. The deadline is June 23. There is so little time. We need your help. 🙏🙏🙏
🚨 💣 MI5 repeatedly refused to investigate evidence that an alleged Russian spy was attempting to cultivate influence with senior Tories and channel illegal Russian funds into the party, a Tory member has alleged.
@carolecadwalla
is on it
@guardian
NEW: “There was a process run to find a new chair of Ofcom. And they did not want Paul Dacre.”
Turns out that not even Paul Dacre wanted Paul Dacre 😂
Watch
@GoodLawProject
’s
@JolyonMaugham
interviewed by
@allthecitizens
just hours before the news broke..
🔴 NEW: Britain is in the grip of a corruption scandal. One that has been in plain sight since
@shahmiruk
exposed it in 2018.
And his stark warning to us today: if we don't act now, Britain faces 'the destruction of everything that it holds dearest'
BREAKING: Over half a billion pounds (£510m) in Covid19 contracts were awarded to 35 management consultancy companies,
@allthecitizens
has found. £490m was won by just 10 firms. Thread:
🚨'Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
' is here again🚨
Not the tragedy of the
#Ukraine
war.
Not the seriousness of
#sanctions
.
Not the suffering of
#refugees
.
Nothing makes Boris Johnson accountable.
He keeps telling lies and avoiding scrutiny.
We need leaders, not liars.
🙏
@Femi_Sorry
The man ranked 521st richest person in UK with est. £271m fortune, who paid the Tory party nearly £60,000 towards Boris Johnson's requested refurbishments, runs a firm linked to awards of contracts worth as much as £120,060,000
🔴 Why has the government refused to investigate Kremlin interference in UK politics,
@carolecadwalla
asks.
Our podcast will expose the untold story behind the
#RussiaReport
cover-up, but we need your donations and support to do it 👇
🚨EXCLUSIVE: What do Paul Dacre’s son, Andy Wigmore and major Tory donors have in common? They’re all linked to new Covid-19 testing companies.
At least 9 Covid-19 Travel Testing companies on the government approved list have strong political affiliations. THREAD:
THE ONE PERCENT - BREAKING
Since March 2020,
@allthecitizens
has found at least £21bn has been spent by the UK government in their pandemic response.
£5.3bn of this (25%) went to just 1% (10) of the 990 companies that won contracts.
THREAD.
🚨NEW 🚨
🎄Christmas approaching
🚀Infections rocketing
📢Scientists calling for action
😴The PM asleep at the wheel
Have we learned nothing?
Today we launch our campaign to ensure the
#Covid
inquiry is open, fair & robust so that we can hold this govt to account. Join us
NEW: 759 people have died of Covid in Taiwan. Here's why.
@ShutiChiou
, former advisor to Taiwan govt on
#freedomdayUK
"In our culture, we have a saying that it's unethical to take an umbrella away from a person when it's raining...It's raining very hard."
🔴 NEW: This week's edition of Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
has lift off 🚀
Featuring:
🍾 Partygate (again)
🇬🇧🇮🇪 the Northern Ireland protocol
🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛 Lorry queues at Dover 🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛
And
@Femi_Sorry
takes a tumble 🚲
🔴 NEW Today in the High Court
@allthecitizens
, with the support of
@foxglovelegal
, is challenging the government's use of disappearing WhatsApp & text messages to conduct official business
Here's why it's 'the modern equivalent of shredding evidence' 👇👇
🚨NEW🚨
Today, Rishi Sunak blamed picketers, protestors & the Labour Party for Britain's economic woes.
Here is
@Femi_Sorry
giving a solid
#PMQs
Fact Check
Listen in!👇
The UK govt’s herd immunity experiment is taking us into uncharted waters & the rest of the world is looking on. The open letter published in
@thelancet
& now signed by 1200+ scientists and doctors continues to generate headlines at home & abroad
🚨NEW: This week's PMQs fact check with
@Femi_Sorry
in which Boris Johnson managed to defend
❌ the sharpest fall in living standards since the 50ies 😱
❌ the government record on immigration 😡
❌
#partygate
🤡
🙏Femi for not letting him off the hook
NEW: 'Government's herd immunity by mass infection plan is unscientific & unethical'
Emergency statement from group that organised
@TheLancet
that has now been signed by more than 1,000 scientists & doctors. PLEASE READ & SHARE
Big congratulations to the
@GoodLawProject
, securing a victory for transparency today in their case against the Government.
"the Secretary of State breached his legal obligation to publish Contract Award Notices within 30 days of the award of contracts.”
NEW:🚨
@Femi_Sorry
fact-checks Boris Johnson’s social care reform plans.
Quiz time! How many minutes into this week’s PMQs did it take Boris Johnson to tell his first lie?
➡️ a) 10.5 minutes
➡️ b) 1.5 minutes?
Or
➡️ c) 1.5 seconds?
🔴 This could have been funny, only if there wasn't such a dark side to it all.
Here is a clip of Johnson from 2016 making a complete mockery of the influence of
#oligarchs
on the Conservative party and UK political system. Listen for yourself...
16 men: a team of 11 players, 5 managers.
3 Lords, one Sir, and 12 men who, combined, have had major govt. or Tory jobs. In total, they’ve donated at least £7.3m to the Conservatives, and won 37 Covid19 contracts worth £2.1bn.
@allthecitizens
presents: GREEDS UNITED
BREAKING: We have won permission to have our case heard in the high court!
We are THRILLED. Thank you to everyone who has supported this vital case & to our partners
@Foxglovelegal
🔴The shocking findings of the Parliamentary
#COVIDReport
make it clear: scrutiny of the government could not be more important.
This is why TODAY
@allthecitizens
and
@Foxglovelegal
are in court to stop the use of disappearing messages apps in government.
When Boris Johnson threatens Russia with sanctions, Putin laughs at us.
Why? Because he knows 🇬🇧 & the Tories are knee-deep in Russian money.
And you can't sanction something if you don't know where it is, says journalist and author
@OliverBullough
👇👇
Count 2: This is the second successful judicial review on procurement that
@GoodLawProject
has brought against the govt. The first found that Matt Hancock had also broken the law in failing to comply with the govt’s own transparency policy
🚨NEW: We are witnessing an unprecedented assault on our democracy. Not from a hostile foreign power but from our own government 🇬🇧
New legislation passing through parliament threatens our rights & freedoms. Help us to spread the word 📢
#BillWatch
🔎
🚨 NEW Femi Fact Checks
#PMQs
🚨
Earlier this week, the PM's official spokesman insisted that Boris Johnson has never lied to parliament
Hmmm 🤔
@Femi_Sorry
might have something to say about that
🚨 NEW: Femi FactChecksPMQs
Today's
#PMQs
was weird. -
@Femi_Sorry
Liz Truss attacked Labour by pointing to her own failures, and defended herself by pointing to Labour's successes 🤷♀️