Current Affairs The Conservative Party

[NilSatisOptimum]

Don't think it's a non-issue mate, but I think it's telling that for the Tories in the media today it's basically the only issue.

"Oh yeah, Hancock, naughty boy yeah, banging mistresses during a pandemic, giving taxpayer money to his mates but... those cameras eh? What were they doing there? We need an investigation!"

Just stinks.

Its a bit ripe for anyone in Government or its supporters to be cry assing about security when No 10 spavved £2.5 million on communication with Russian media company Megahertz which has strong links to the Russian state, the state of mind these Tories its right old mess, den of den of iniquity springs to my mind.

Downing Street’s new £2.6million ‘White House’ briefing room unveiled

Social media users poked fun after a Henry hoover sneaked into the picture

www.standard.co.uk

 

[Barnfred 55]

Don't think it's a non-issue mate, but I think it's telling that for the Tories in the media today it's basically the only issue.

"Oh yeah, Hancock, naughty boy yeah, banging mistresses during a pandemic, giving taxpayer money to his mates but... those cameras eh? What were they doing there? We need an investigation!"

Just stinks.

For me, it's not that the cameras were there. I'd expect camera's in communal areas of government buildings. It's that somebody misused the information on them. I'm surprised Hancock was unaware that he wasn't being filmed but, let's be honest, he hasn't shown great judgement in the role so far has he.

I'm not overly concerned about him banging mistresses during a pandemic. Loads of people have probably done it. He's been found out and rightly lost his job, which i think is ample punishment. Just a shame it didn't happen 18 months ago so somebody more capable was put in charge of the health of our country.

 

[Tubey]

For me, it's not that the cameras were there. I'd expect camera's in communal areas of government buildings. It's that somebody misused the information on them. I'm surprised Hancock was unaware that he wasn't being filmed but, let's be honest, he hasn't shown great judgement in the role so far has he.

I'm not overly concerned about him banging mistresses during a pandemic. Loads of people have probably done it. He's been found out and rightly lost his job, which i think is ample punishment. Just a shame it didn't happen 18 months ago so somebody more capable was put in charge of the health of our country.

It's not the affair that's the problem. I'd guess 90% of MPs are banging people on the side.

It's the fact he set social distancing rules, actual laws, then ignored them. Should have been sacked on the spot, but wasn't.

 

[ste d' indica]

It's a bit similar to the expenses scandal. How awful the newspapers getting hold of confidential information . We can't have that!
Mind you it could get out of hand. I don't want to see pictures of Boris on the crapper when I'm having breakfast.

Unless someone's shoving his fat head down the pan.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Thing is though, I've worked in a certain sector for a decade. If someone plonked me in the same role in a, I dunno, ice cream business, I wouldn't have the slightest clue what 'good judgement' would look like for that product, regardless of the expertise below me.

I'm not critcising the Tories specifically, it's more how the whole thing works. It's hardly a surprise we have useless politicians when they're almost exclusively old Etonians parachuted in to jobs they know nothing about and tasked with winging it.

I mean Hancock for example.

Hancock was born in Cheshire, where his family runs a software business. Hancock studied for a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at Exeter College, Oxford, and an MPhil in Economics at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was an economist at the Bank of England before serving as a senior economic adviser and then later Chief of Staff to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

Couldn't be less qualified for a job in healthcare if he tried!

I understand what you're saying mate, but it is never going to happen in practise. Ministers will always be politicians, and that is their profession. With the system we have in this country the expertise needs to come from the permanent civil servants.

Maybe it's the system that is wrong, and the final decisions need to be left with the civil servants rather than the politicians. It would need a complete culture change for that to happen though.

 

[tsubaki]

The biggest issue here is that somebody with access to security camera's from government buildings is selling/releasing pictures and information to the media. That is a massive security issue for the country.

Similar to when Johnson's private telephone txt messages were released. Only somebody working somewhere like GCHQ would have access to such material. These are huge security lapses.

I agree totally about the dodgy contracts though. It is disgusting what's going on and there needs to be new laws brought in controlling how Government contracts are awarded. But you can't just ignore the security aspect here.

TBF when you reward people who were sacked for secret meetings with another country's government (Patel) and leaking material from an NSC meeting (Williamson), the security argument doesn't really apply. Johnson's own lapses in that respect need to be borne in mind as well.

Also re: the text messages, it isn't the case that only GCHQ would have access to that material - the phone companies do too, and it was usually by corrupting the employees of those companies that the papers got their hands on things.

 

[Barnfred 55]

It's not the affair that's the problem. I'd guess 90% of MPs are banging people on the side.

It's the fact he set social distancing rules, actual laws, then ignored them. Should have been sacked on the spot, but wasn't.

Politicians are very rarely sacked though. They are most commonly "allowed" to resign. This one came within 36 hours. It's not exactly an outrage.

Dominic Cummings, by comparison, was an outrage. Probably the biggest pandemic related balls-up of this governments tenure. And there's been a few.

 

[Barnfred 55]

TBF when you reward people who were sacked for secret meetings with another country's government (Patel) and leaking material from an NSC meeting (Williamson), the security argument doesn't really apply. Johnson's own lapses in that respect need to be borne in mind as well.

Also re: the text messages, it isn't the case that only GCHQ would have access to that material - the phone companies do too, and it was usually by corrupting the employees of those companies that the papers got their hands on things.

Patel, from what I understand, was not accused of any security breach. Neither was Williamson officially charged with any security breach. In fact, if memory serves me right, he absolutely denied it was him and refused to resign over it calling for an official investigation.

As regards the texts, whether it's somebody at the phone company or at GCHQ is irrelevant, releasing texts from the PMs private phone is a massive security breach.

 

[Chewbacca]

Let’s just remind ourselves what an upgrade we’re getting

 

[tsubaki]

Patel, from what I understand, was not accused of any security breach. Neither was Williamson officially charged with any security breach. In fact, if memory serves me right, he absolutely denied it was him and refused to resign over it calling for an official investigation.

As regards the texts, whether it's somebody at the phone company or at GCHQ is irrelevant, releasing texts from the PMs private phone is a massive security breach.

Don't worry, if it turns out that it was a minister who leaked this CCTV I'm sure this won't be deemed a security breach either.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Don't worry, if it turns out that it was a minister who leaked this CCTV I'm sure this won't be deemed a security breach either.

No. Lock them up and throw away the key. Same with the two you mentioned if they were a security breach.

 

[Haydn]

Can’t believe the spin and focus on finding the mole. Who were they supposed to raise it with, when the bloke at the top of the Department was brazenly breaking all the rules ?

Perhaps the PM who thinks snaking your personally recruited co-worker, in your own office, in breach of the very regulations you have made, is a personal matter not even worthy of review ?

If anyone had raised the matter internally, their lives would have been made a complete misery, whilst life for the sleaze-bag involved would have carried on as normal.

Well played Mr Mole !

 

[random]

Well played Mr Mole !

I prefer to think of them as a whistleblower, that way they have legal protection

 

[tsubaki]

No. Lock them up and throw away the key. Same with the two you mentioned if they were a security breach.

they were security breaches though - they just weren't treated as such by the government of the time

 

[tsubaki]

I prefer to think of them as a whistleblower, that way they have legal protection

I don't - to describe what happened here as that would irredeemably tarnish all other whistleblowers and indeed whistle-blowing as a concept. Even actual whistles would be stigmatized.