The Shadow Contract is a 4-part deep dive into how a US spy-tech firm landed a £330m deal for our NHS data. It’s a story about power, privacy, and you.

🔍 Listen now 👇
https://goodlaw.social/1e69ba

“Today’s revelations that No10 put the Foreign Office under pressure to put – not just one – but two political allies into key diplomatic roles points to a very concerning ‘jobs for mates’ culture and a deeply cavalier attitude to conflicts of interest..."

Reform’s Richard Tice posts picture with telltale signs of AI manipulation, say experts Deputy leader’s image on X was almost certainly generated or altered using AI, according to Peryton Intelligence

Update: This time Tice is back with an AI army, not just one candidate 🤖

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

With his dad, Lord Lebedev also has a Bahamas company, Hawk Associates, that has been used to prop up the Evening Standard, and until recently, he had a separate holding company in Cyprus.

Should there be a rule that MPs and peers should declare any assets held via offshore entities?

Before it folded, Tice was also in control of a Jersey-registered entity called Gellymill, but his involvement was hidden behind nominee directors.

Apart from shareholdings in a firm that owned the building where the KFC is on Wood Green High Road, it’s unclear if Gellymill held any other assets…

Woah, very alarming!

Alice has been central to exposing the trail of the Russian oil soaked money flows from the MCC into UK politics.

Pleased to have a comment in their latest piece questioning whether UK orgs that have taken MCC funding should declare their activities with the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

Just 0.001% hold three times the wealth of poorest half of humanity, report finds Data from World Inequality Report also showed top 10% of income-earners earn more than the other 90%

'Fewer than 60,000 people – 0.001% of the world’s population – control three times as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity, according to a report that argues global inequality has reached such extremes that urgent action has become essential'
www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

Definitely some work to do on identifying and verifying some of the common crypto wallets funding the accounts of the Polymarket ‘whales’.

An excellent piece!

It has always struck me how as a member of the House of Lords, Michael Gove has not come under much scrutiny at all for the fact that he is one of the directors of a charity that accepts significant funding from an overseas think tank, fuelled by Russian oil profits. 🤔

Sorry, but nothing will ever beat the suspected AI candidate from the last election. That was a wild ride!

Reform UK donor runs company linked to sanctioned Iranian conglomerate Dubai-based Orico described by French court as ‘subsidiary’ of a group that is majority owned by foundation with close ties to Islamic regime

Reform UK donor runs company linked to sanctioned Iranian conglomerate ft.trib.al/Sbz9H3Y

Having the same issue and had a long and vaguely satisfying rant about it to myself yesterday…

Making the UK’s crypto donations ban stick - Spotlight on Corruption The UK's ban on political crypto donations is a powerful first step to closing down some of the routes that malign overseas and domestic actors could use to influence our politics. But a nuanced appro...

Here's a little rundown I have put together on where things stand following the UK government's very welcome ban on political crypto donations and the measures needed to ensure it can't be easily overturned or circumvented ⬇️

www.spotlightcorruption.org/making-the-u...

Polly Toynbee is right to say Labour’s move on crypto donations and foreign money is an important step forward but can’t be where reform stops. As our new report, Credible Deterrence, points out, it’s not just about rules, it’s about enforcement of those rules. Our research shows that no one has ever spent a day in prison for breaking political finance laws, and the highest criminal fine ever imposed is just £6,000 – a derisory sum given modern campaign spending and donor wealth. The Electoral Commission needs much stronger powers and a bigger budget to be able to play its crucial role as a regulator, and we need a new stronger criminal offence, policed by a specialist police unit. It doesn’t matter how good your rules are if no one is properly empowered and resourced to enforce them. Susan Hawley, Executive director, Spotlight on Corruption

📝 Great to see a letter from our director @suehawley.bsky.social published in @theguardian.com today, which highlights the findings of our new ‘Credible Deterrence’ report and the extent to which the enforcement of political finance laws in the UK has plummeted 📉

bit.ly/41E5Hsz

I knew you would see sense on this eventually.

Really important piece - the typical Curacao/Cyprus corporate structuring model of these companies is one that needs a lot of more scrutiny from the authorities.

Crypto has no place in UK political donations [FREE TO READ] Its inclusion will not extend democracy but reduce it

I argued in the FT that a moratorium on crypto donations into UK politics isn't enough, we need a categorical ban.

www.ft.com/content/a6b0...

The government’s plans for consultations could threaten public trust in politics - Spotlight on Corruption The government’s plan to raise the bar for including consultation requirements in legislation is a risky move that could threaten public trust in politics.

⚠️ Here's our Defending Democracy policy lead, @kamilakingstone.bsky.social, on why the government's plans to raise the bar when including consultation responses in legislation risks stifling public voices when it comes to policymaking ⬇️

www.spotlightcorruption.org/the-governme...

Ministers explore triggering break clause in Palantir’s NHS contract Government is under pressure to eject the controversial American company from NHS England data systems

Well this is promising news!

I remember the underhand tactics used against orgs that initially raised the alarm about Palantir’s involvement in the NHS back in 2023 and the accompanying series of supercilious op-eds dismissing all the very valid concerns.

www.ft.com/content/2d2b...

Hundreds of North Sea licences granted by Conservatives have ‘so far produced only 36 days worth of gas’ Exclusive: Findings cast doubt on claims new drilling would help cut bills and boost energy security, researchers say Hundreds of licences granted for new oil and gas projects in the North Sea under the Conservatives have so far produced only 36 days’ worth of gas, according to analysis. Research by the energy consultancy Voar and the campaign group Uplift found that between 2010 and 2024, the government handed out hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licences in seven licensing rounds. Continue reading...

Hundreds of North Sea licences granted by Conservatives have ‘so far produced only 36 days worth of gas’

FAO political finance geeks: some great post-match analysis from @suehawley.bsky.social and @kamilakingstone.bsky.social on the Rycroft Review, distilled into a handy five minute read.

Credible Deterrence: beefing up enforcement of the UK’s political finance rules - Spotlight on Corruption In February 2026, the Director-General of the NCA told a Parliamentary inquiry: “there is no point legislating for something unless you are going to enforce

💥NEW REPORT 'Credible Deterrence: beefing up enforcement of the UK's political finance rules'

Now that the Rycroft Review is out and already making a real impact, we have decided to publish some of the research we submitted to inform the review. 🧵⬇️

www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/credi...

📻 Our director @suehawley.bsky.social spoke to LBC News yesterday to welcome the Rycroft Review and:

💷 the UK's first ever cap on political donations
🚫 the immediate ban on crypto donations

But she urged the government to waste no time in implementing Rycroft's wider recommendations ⏰ ⬇️

Nice explainer here with some references to @spotlightcorruption.org’s research and evidence submissions.

This is a really important point and it will likely depend on the language used by the government in its amendment to ban crypto donations, ie if it includes a neat solution to cover both third payment providers and amounts under £500.

Rycroft review ‘line in sand’ for UK politics, but government should go further to protect our democracy - Spotlight on Corruption In response to the publication of the Rycroft Review, Dr Susan Hawley, Executive Director of Spotlight on Corruption said:

👏 We're very pleased to see the Rycroft Review make some vital recommendations.

As our director, @suehawley.bsky.social has said it is "a line in the sand" for UK politics, but the government must go even further to tighten our political finance rules ⬇️

www.spotlightcorruption.org/rycroft-revi...

We’ve also known that Radom has been the intermediary for Reform’s crypto donations for a while.

But the EC told me a few months ago that all of Reform’s crypto donations would still be permissible, despite the fact that they are technically from a Polish company as the final step source.

Just on this, Liam Byrne’s amendment to the Representation of the People Bill includes a ban on crypto donations which covers those made ‘by means’ of a third party payment processor.

💰 🗓️ Campaign spending limits for political parties should apply all year to avoid parties gaming the system and risks of foreign interference.
Our director, @suehawley.bsky.social gave evidence to MPs on why transparency and fairness matter in an age of permanent political campaigning. 🧵 ⬇️