Robbins operated as a civil servant in the same way as I sing - with no real notes.

@alexballingermp.bsky.social Excellent questioning of Olly Robbins to reveal that no arrangements are put in place to stop a vetted person who leaves their role from using the confidential information they had access to for their own purposes.

Robbins says it was not clear who owned the risk revealed by Mandelson's vetting. Yet he says he put mitigating actions in place. Of course he and the Foreign Office own the risk.

But...he didn't know there was a form with a clear decision outcome. And later he doubled down on that. So is the disclosed form one that does not apply to the Foreign Office?

Robbins said no.10 put pressure on the foreign office to give Matthew Doyle a job & not tell the foreign secretary!

Doyle is the man Starmer subsequently gave a peerage to despite the fact he'd campaigned for someone who'd been charged with possessing indecent images of children

Mcsweeney told Robbins' predecessor to just f-ing do it, ie clear Mandelson.

@privateeyenews.bsky.social Watching Olly Robbins being questioned by the select committee, and even John Whippingdale is at the top of his game.

“You’re going to spoil the kids if you keep giving into their demands so easily”

From the latest Private Eye, out now.

If Robbins was satisfied that Mandelson could be confirmed in post subject to mitigations being put in place, what process was there to implement and monitor these mitigations and to sign off that they were in place?

Among the Brexit disagreements that will be never be resolved is whether Olly Robbins was a courageous negotiator undermined by politicians or woefully out of his depth in failing to understand how negotiations or the EU work.

At any rate there were already serious question marks.

The man behind Olly Robbins is Dave Penman, General Secretary of the FDA, the trade union representing senior civil servants.

The message here? Join a union and have your union rep with you when you need them!

If Robbins was satisfied that Mandelson could be confirmed in post subject to mitigations being put in place, what process was there to implement and monitor these mitigations and to sign off that they were in place?

Very good forensic questioning of an evasive subject. Key question - if risk management or mitigation actions were required, how could they be put in place and monitored with no process, monitoring or records?

@emilythornberry.bsky.social Very good forensic questioning of an evasive subject. Key question - if risk management or mitigation actions were required, how could they be put in place and monitored with no process, monitoring or records?

It's time!!!!!

Epstein Files

#Iran

#Epstein

Just a reminder about Iran and women and “violent clashes with protesters” and all that shit.

This is Germany and this is because of Israel.

Get it yet?

I have signed a letter to the Foreign Secretary about the escalation of deadly Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and Israel’s systematic demolition of Palestinian homes.

The letter urges the government to make diplomatic interventions and impose sanctions on Israeli settlements.

Israel continues to expand over Palestinian territory while the world focuses on Iran.

'Threats of War Crimes Cannot Be Normalized': Trump Ripped for Renewed Iran Genocide Threats | Common Dreams "Trump’s repeated threats to destroy civilian infrastructure are not negotiation, they’re reckless escalations that endanger millions," said one group.

“Trump’s repeated threats to destroy civilian infrastructure are not negotiation, they’re reckless escalations that endanger millions,” says @pogo.org as the president renews his genocidal rhetoric against Iran.

Never, ever lose your ability to THINK, discern, learn. Treat hard copy books and media like gold— AI is NOT intelligence. It’s only another means of control! LISTEN. They always tell you their plan youtube.com/shorts/5e9QH...

EXCLUSIVE: Documents Reveal US Contractor’s Modifications of Spy Plane Just Before Flights Over Gaza A US defense contractor flew spy planes over Gaza. FAA docs show Sierra Nevada Corporation installed a military air traffic control device and surveillance equipment before the plane’s deployment.

EXCLUSIVE:
"UK surveillance flights over Gaza were conducted with more US involvement than previously known, Federal Aviation Administration documents obtained by Zeteo reveal... [and] put the countries at risk of aiding and abetting war crimes, international legal experts told Zeteo."

No Left Field this summer, but you can recharge your activism at the Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival. It's a celebration of worker's power with music, talks, workshops and a whole weekend of radical solidarity. Get down to Dorset and get organised!

Tickets and details here: www.tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk

Musk scorned “shady” loopholes, yet offshore tax tricks likely saved Tesla hundreds of millions When Tesla released its annual report for U.S. regulators in January, the Texas-based automaker, led by the world’s richest man, reported a federal tax bill of zero dollars for 2025.

Brilliant @reuters.com investigation reveals that $18bn of profit-shifting to the Netherlands and Singapore reduced Tesla's tax obligations by c. US$400m. www.reuters.com/legal/transa...

Health and Social Care - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI, 2026, No. 202), dated 2 March 2026, a copy of w...

MPs have been given no time to debate the awful Pharma deal with Trump, which will cost our NHS billions. But MPs have a couple of weeks to at least register their opposition. Has your MP signed?

edm.parliament.uk/early-day-mo...

I checked this too.

*20 seconds* of Reform logo display.

*No other* party logo displayed.

In local election purdah.

This is not normal. At all.

Rare sighting of a column chart taking a dip at Hove Beach.

#dataviz

Again: young people might not realize that this kind of repugnant racism was unacceptable to express publicly, *not that long ago*.

'The big tree'
by UK printmaker Sarah Morgan #WomensArt

In the 70's the Government owned Energy, it built houses, it owned Public Services and it employed people.

Now billionaires own it all, and they pay you too.

So every year prices go up more than wages.

It's not complicated why things are only getting worse.

It's billionaires

@lornarichardson.bsky.social