spygun

Let’s not beat around the bush……London is the money-laundering capital of the world. In addition to that, it is Britain which has all those ex-colonial islands and protectorates scattered all over the world. They have become the tax-free-no-questions-asked home to all the world’s drug and crime proceeds as well asRead More

Blairmore Holdings Inc, the offshore fund which the Prime Minister’s father, Ian Cameron helped to set up  has never paid any UK tax on its profits…..and that’s over a period of 30 years. Many of the fund’s clients are Brits. (“Blairmore” is the name of the Cameron ancestral home inRead More

Jezza’s dealings with the NHS and its Junior Doctors is clearly showing that he is so far out of his depth that he should ditch those Savile Row suits and invest in some SCUBA gear…..

It would appear that we have another ‘first’ from the Cameron family! Could it be that Cameron Snr is the only individual in history who was involved in offshore investment WITH absolutely NO advantage either to himself or his family……and is it hereditary?  

Apparently, David Cameron was probably the only rich kid for whom a Trust Fund was never set up. A startling omission by his father because it would have been the most efficient way to put cash or any other type of asset away with junior as the beneficiary. A TrustRead More

The Panama Papers reminded me of something that I have been thinking about for many years. What makes senior, specifically LEADER politicians so rich? Very often, all they have had is a career in politics, which as we all know, does not pay very well and yet they suddenly appearRead More

In keeping with this government’s appalling standard of juvenile speech-writing and verbal gimmickry, Business Secretary Sajid Javid has delivered another priceless acronym. He said that any buyer of Port Talbot steelworks “…..would want to refer to “The Three Ps”. Did he mean the government’s Piss Poor Preparation or was he possiblyRead More

This is what is happening while #Cameron dispenses platitudes: German newspaper Rheinische Post has reported that Tata Steel is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Thyssenkrupp’s Steel Europe, sending shares in Thyssenkrupp 5.2 percent higher to the top of Germany’s DAX index …………Thyssenkrupp declined to comment, as didRead More

The government is “doing everything it can” to save thousands of steel jobs – but there are “no guarantees of success” The situation at Port Talbot is of “deep concern” and “steel jobs are vital” to workers’ families and the communities. A “more nuanced” solution is needed in recognition ofRead More

Chancellor George Osborne said today that he was TALKING to other governments about taking action to prevent the dumping of cheap steel after Britain’s biggest producer Tata Steel put its operations up for sale. TALKING and MEETINGS – the GOVERNMENT’S  ALTERNATIVE to DECISION-MAKING!

The UK economy grew 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015, higher than the previous estimate of 0.5%. As a result, the economy grew by 2.3% for the whole of 2015, rather than 2.2% as previously thought, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Unsurprisingly, the figure came asRead More

The outcome is already a certainty. Cameron, his Ministers will be engaging in Cameron’s favourite pastime – a MEETING. This one is to “discuss” the fate of the moribund British Steel Industry. In fact, the industry’s fate had already been decided even as far back as 1988 when the BritishRead More

Cameron deploying his “We’ll do everything we can to help” mantra. This time  it is aimed at the British steel industry. Certain commentators have suggested that Dave is probably thinking about re-nationalising steel! He’d rather be rogered by a pig wearing a red rosette….It won’t be long before we’re importingRead More

Lionel Messi has offered to auction his boots in aid of an Egyptian charity. Unfortunately, no-one has briefed the Barcelona star on Arab antipathy towards shoes and boots. Remember that Libyan mob hitting Gaddafi with the soles of their shoes? Remember that Iraqi mob hitting that pulled-down statue of Saddam withRead More

Someone please tell Presidential candidate #Trump that Steve Jobs was the son of a #Syrian Muslim migrant to the USA  named  Abdulfattah “John” Jandalind and was most likely conceived in Homs, Syria. Had Trump been President when Jobs’ father came to study in the USA, he may have been refused entryRead More

Cameron appears to have achieved very little with almost EVERYTHING being “work in progress”.

The fastest way to defeat ISIL (or as the BBC now refers to them – “So-called ISIL”) is NOT to bomb it but to ask the United States to stop supplying it. We can then go and find someone else to bomb…

It was either an Al Qaeda attempt to reassert itself as No1 Banana in the Jihad, The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), BOTH, or one pretending to be the other.

Very soon, the UK’s National Health Service will collapse under the burden of an impossible workload coupled to chronic government underfunding. Unfortunately the Conservative mantra of “We have invested far more in the NHS than the last Labour government…..blah…blah…blah…”  has become not only an absolutely meaningless slogan but a veryRead More

David Cameron is about to send his Christmas EU wish-list letter to Brussels. As he licks the stamp, he should perhaps reflect on the fact that this is the third renegotiation since Britain joined in 1973 and our second referendum on membership. It’s not even as if the United Kingdom isRead More

Chancellor #Gideon is considering scrapping tax relief on Pension Contributions but then allowing tax-free access to savings upon retirement. This should be resisted by everyone. Not only is it a bad idea, borne of Treasury short-termism and a Chancellor with a singular lack of imagination but it is also aRead More

It’s a great shame that even when Cameron makes an absolutely CORRECT decision in halting flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh, people still complain. As evidence accumulates, it looks increasingly likely that the Russian Airbus 321 was brought down by a catastrophic event which occurred inside the plane. DC is takingRead More

The issues which the NHS is currently experiencing have a  lot to do with a fundamental change in its ethos. When it was formed in 1948, its organisational foresight was totally focused on improving the health of a patient. The needs were the needs of the sick. Fast forward to 2015Read More

Continuing to enjoy the outrage and the irony of POLITICIANS criticising VW for being economical with the facts and misleading the public. http://reut.rs/1Wy2obH via @ReutersUK

An influential Commons committee has urged David Cameron not to press ahead with a vote on UK air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria. The Foreign Affairs Committee – which has a Conservative majority – said the Prime Minister should instead “focus on efforts to end Syria’s civil war”.Read More

In the United Kingdom, total Credit Card debt now stands at about £61,000,000,000.  Approximately 2,000,000 people are in arrears or have defaulted and another 2,000,000 are struggling to repay their debt…..The Financial Services Authority says: “Our study suggests that the market is working reasonably well for most consumers, with a range ofRead More

David Cameron and George Osborne both appear to think that meeting other politicians somehow creates international trade. The fact is that politicians have very little influence on commerce and none at all on corporate trade-related decision-making. The three months to September 2015 saw British exporters experience the weakest growth inRead More

BURIED NEWS: The (our) government has given a cheap £45 MILLION loan to international Steel Mills Group EVRAZ (owned by Roman Abramovich). The cash will be used to upgrade a steel mill in Saskatchewan Canada which Abramovich owns jointly with Mitsubishi. #Redcar

  George Orwell may have been 30 years out, but he was right. Theresa May’s Investigatory Powers Bill must not be allowed to pass into Law. I certainly do not want to traumatize some innocent Plod as he or she scours my web-browsing history…(It was for research purposes!). Rewind 20 yearsRead More

If you ask the average British person why they are dissatisfied with the nature of the UK’s  membership of the European Union, the items which are always near the top of the agenda are: 1. The scale of our national contribution.  2. Migration fears.   3. The wastage on theRead More

Many years ago, I was in East Germany (don’t ask!) and recall a Keep Britain Tidy demonstration being reported in a Russian newspaper. The strapline was “The average Englishman throws his rubbish onto the street.” I knew what they meant but the impression given was horrific. This week, the followingRead More

  Chancellor Osborne is off to Germany next week to outline how he wants to protect London’s financial services industry in a reformed European Union. The fear is that ever-closer integration of the eurozone could leave London sidelined in financial policymaking, affecting its banking sector. In fact, London’s status as a EuropeanRead More

  Growth in lending to eurozone corporations slowed almost to a halt in September while a broader measure of money circulating in the euro zone was unchanged, the European Central Bank said on Tuesday. Lending growth to non-financial corporations slowed to an annualised 0.1 percent in September from 0.4 percentRead More

The overall cost of replacing and maintaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent will reach 167 billion pounds, much more than expected, according to an MP’s and Reuters’ calculations based on official figures.

British banks approved the fewest mortgages last month since May, while net credit card lending fell to its lowest since September 2014. Now THAT’S what you call consumer confidence!

Socialism was not invented by the working classes. Neither is it a natural state. It is a construct.

It was developed by intellectuals (who incidentally, now appear to be reclaiming it as their own) for the benefit of the poorer members of society. Originally, the theorists who invented it were concerned with social discrimination.

THE DEFICIT has been a constant in our ears ever since someone at Conservative HQ discovered that because the GDP was exceptionally low in 2010, THE DEFICIT was a high percentage of it. In fact, it was about 10%. Gradually, because the GDP has increased, THE DEFICIT has gradually becomeRead More

Many years ago, I was asked to chair a Citibank meeting during which the CEO and directors would meet the staff and answer pre-submitted questions. The whole event was started off by the Chief Executive delivering a “Where We Are Now/Where We Would Like To Be” presentation. In the mannerRead More

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Alison Saunders, is quite right in having decided NOT to prosecute Lord Janner for alleged child abuse. Her reasons and rationale are to be found here: http://blog.cps.gov.uk/2015/04/the-decision-not-to-prosecute-lord-janner-statement-from-the-dpp.html Although her reasons not to prosecute are (quite rightly)  based in law, there is also the question of compassion…..somethingRead More

There is a serious point behind Janek Zlinski’s challenge to Nigel Farage…………and I know whose side I’m on!!  #GE2015  

#GE2015 The Help to Buy scheme continues to place many young homeowners in “indentured servitude”? Why not do the same to those with a home enjoying the protection of a Housing Association by extending their Right to Buy? Although the Right to Buy Scheme seemed very trailblazing and successful inRead More

Ever since Ed Miliband was captured devouring a bacon sandwich with the expression of a psycho eating his own brother’s liver, snappers have been trying to catch David Cameron in a similar predicament. This week, because the canny Dave was photographed tucking into a hotdog with a knife and fork,Read More

The signs so far indicate that the Hatton Garden safety deposit heist was loosely based on the 2008 Jason Statham movie “The Bank Job”, which was itself based on the 1971 Baker Street Lloyds Bank job. The main differences appear to be that in the Hatton Garden caper, the policeRead More

There’s a bit of a contradiction in  all this pre-election media nonsense. The pro-Conservative PRESS,  The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Sun, Times and the Evening Standard (TOTAL CIRCULATION 5.25 million) in the BLUE Corner AND  only The Mirror with the non-Libdem bit of the Guardian holding the sponge, (TOTALRead More

Jeremy Hunt Canvassing the doctors for support? Come, come, Jezza…..you’re just NOT playing the game!!                        

Conservative  #GE2015 promises are now taking on a surreal air. The latest was from Eric Pickles who proposes to give people three paid days off per year in order to carry-out “altruistic works” such as watching the Test Match and mowing the lawn … It does look as if CameronRead More

“Help to Buy” and now, courtesy of the Libdems, the largely theoretical ( it AIN’T going to happen!) “HELP TO RENT”.  In order to complete the set, can we please also have “Help to Eat” for all those hungry people queueing at food banks and maybe, we can have “HelpRead More

A couple of years ago, I was in Oman, running a Management Audit course for a dozen  employees of a well-known petro-chemical conglomerate. The group they had sent me was the usual mix of nationalities, religions and language abilities. Years of practice meant that I could judge how difficult orRead More

First published  17th March 2015, The News Hub…. www.the-newshub.com The relationship between the European Union, the Eurozone and Greece is no different to the relationships between many governments and their own citizens. The EU-Greece relationship is no more than a macro model of what is currently occurring, for instance, inRead More

(Reuters) – The head of euro zone finance ministers has urged Greece to “stop wasting time” and buckle down to serious talks and implementation of a reform programme to secure urgently needed fresh funds from its international creditors. “Little has been done since the last Eurogroup (meeting two weeks ago) inRead More

(A government FAILS to persuade bankers to lend to the common people.) The Gates to Economic Recovery and New Prosperity were being guarded by the Bankers. A tired and bedraggled band of travellers stood before them. They were led by Camron, the legendary economic illusionist and Prime Minister of theRead More

With Malcolm Rifkind (quite unnecessarily) having made the grand gesture of Political Sepukku, the Conservatives will be looking to Labour’s Jack Straw MP for a similarly honourable and pointless act. Jack is already standing down as MP in a month’s time but surely, there must still be something by whichRead More

It looks as if the Eurogroup is giving Greece little chance of breaking free from its crippling austerity. Surely they understand that Greece has little chance of Economic Growth with the jackboot of austerity still on its neck. Hopefully, the #EU is not hoping for a U-turn to 100% complianceRead More

We are constantly being reminded that that the May General Election, rather than being an ideological battle between the two usual suspects, it is much more open…..but is it? The main two protagonists have been standing toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring for some months now…but it is is theRead More

After the mess left behind in Iraq, Libya and Syria, Western leaders appear to have realised that the days of a “good shooting war” being good for political image have gone forever. For most political leaders, heroic speechwriter-polished phrases and Churchillian posturing are a remnant of a past when theRead More

The Summer of Love, Woodstock and now Je Suis Charlie…….. Love-ins are doubtless very motivational, inspirational and emotionally regenerative but unfortunately, they carry with them a large dose of exponential decay. Other demonstrations such as Solidarność worked because they were not-only inclusive but they also hinted at revolution and violence……..undercurrents whichRead More

Social Unrest has little to do with Democracy or Government. It has everything to do with uneven & unfair Wealth Distribution and hungry people. See Italy and Greece…… It WILL happen elsewhere, especially in the “We’re in this Together” “United” Kingdom.

We have had many scandals in the UK. By far the greatest is that a country which (on paper) is one of the Top 10 richest in the world has a need for food banks.

The Conservative solution to British hunger and poverty is best exemplified by Leader of the House & former pin-up boy of the teaching professions, Michael Gove: “Those who find themselves without money for food are not best able to manage their finances” Just like the Government! When there’s not enoughRead More

Political and Establishment figures keep “calling” for stuff! “Calling” appears to be used as an action substitute. They “call” for ceasefires, they “call” for international responses and so on. They even “called” on Russia to get out of Crimea! Today, it’s the turn of the Archbishop of Canterbury! Today, heRead More

Whether you provide a service or whether you make something and no matter how GOOD you are, you need to tell the world about what you produce. THAT means that a large part of your job is Selling! Whenever I train people to sell, I tend to major on howRead More

In September 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that there SHOULD be a “clawback” system for bankers’ pay. In February 2013, the EU was POISED to cap banker bonuses. In January 2014,  Prime Minister David Cameron said that a bonus COULD be clawed back but not basic pay. In NovemberRead More

Worried or embarrassed about your GP examining you ? About two months ago, my brother-in-law went to see his G.P about a back pain. The doctor examined him, told him that he’d strained his back and prescribed mild painkillers. He told George that his back would get better but thatRead More

Once watched a Conservative corporate video: "The primary objective of the Conservative Party is…………" ..Bet you can't guess…. — Richard Ruzyllo (@spygun) October 10, 2014

An unpleasant consequence of a Scottish ‘YES’ vote will be David Cameron’s current stabbing pains between the shoulder blades becoming fatal. He, as Prime Minister has a DUTY to maintain the Union, so if Smuggins Salmond finally gets his way, DC will have to go. His footnote in history willRead More

Iraq’s neighbours are Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE.  Together, they have over 300,000 active military personnel with another MILLION available for combat. The fighting and disputes in the Middle East tend to be factional and centre around disagreeing flavours of Islam. The present ISIL expansion is no exception.Read More

Anyone else hearing the rumours that Sean Connery is preparing to stand for President of Scotland? And can anyone think of a better reason for voting ‘NO’ ?

It began with Saddam: “Killing his own people, “Outrage”, “We condemn”, “We will take action”, COBRA meeting, Statement: “Blah Blah…unacceptable”, “we will do out utmost…….” with the same dreary and predictable consequences. Then we had EXACTLY the same rhetoric for Gaddafi, then Assad and now ISIL. There is just ONERead More

In the last fortnight, there has been an appreciable increase in articles and analysis of the Eurozone economy. Couple that to the ECB becoming involved in a semantic argument as to what does and what doesn’t constitute Quantitative Easing, one can almost sense nascent rumblings of the economic Richter Scale.Read More

Nigel MacFarage has what can only be described as a bit of a Dalai Lama. Today, he’s off to Scotland to create a bit of Euro mischief with the very valid argument that Scotland may be giving up one form of political slavery for another. A YES vote will meanRead More

Officially there have been NO Russian soldiers in Ukraine. However, the bodies of dead Russian soldiers have been repatriated and injured Russian soldiers are being treated both in Rostov and in Moscow. There must be a secret conflict in which Russia is participating as the paperwork accompanying the dead soldiersRead More

During the last four years or so, there has been a lot of political talk about “the mess THEY left behind”. Here it is:

A concept which Western negotiators would do well to get to grips with is “MASKIROVKA”…something Russia is very good at! http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/maskirovka ……….. Humanitarian Aid ? OK…if you say so! That scamp Putin is still running circles around everyone. Sanctions? I still remember years ago,  the USA quietly asking Russia to please stopRead More

Ebola, Famine and fighting in Africa………. Rape, murder, racism, religious oppression and high explosives in the Middle East….. On the brink of war in Ukraine……..HE certainly DOES move in mysterious ways!

Cameron’s ex-media chief Coulson to face payments re-trial http://reut.rs/1nXFLNv via @reuters

GLASTONBURY and its Winnebagos, air-conditioned yurts, Chardonnay and designer hippies…….. reminds me of more innocent days:

We have learned (again) that David Cameron is not a tactician but a merely a talker and purveyor of quioxotic promises, who has been unable to come anywhere near blocking the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as EU Commission President. We have a quote which crystallises the futility of Cameron’s stance.Read More

#EU If David Cameron cannot even block an “old guard” federalist as commission chief, what chance does he stand of clawing back significant powers from Brussels? After the P.M’s massive “FAIL”,  look out for face-saving EU consolation prizes, such as EU leaders allowing the UK a few business-friendly policies andRead More

Prime Minister David Cameron should have negotiated quietly with other European leaders and built an anti-Juncker alliance by arguing his case through reason and gentle persuasion. Unfortunately, as usual, he could not resist the temptation to gob-off and get everyone’s back up by giving his customary impression of a petulantRead More

Did the BBC man REALLY just say “THREE BITES AND YOU’RE OUT!” ??????

Tweeting blind from spygun.com. Hope Tweets are coming through!!   🙂

“I ate his shoulder with some Ñoquis and a nice Tannat Libero”

There are two groups of the odious Savile’s victims who will never hear politicians’ apologies for his vile assaults: Those who have died and those who were dead at the time of the assault.

Errol Damelin who resigned from WONGA this month, just before the solids hit the air conditioning, owns 16.8 MILLION  Wonga shares through Castle Bridge Ventures which is based in the British Virgin Islands……PROPER British Capitalism!

Presumably after its deception of impersonating a Solicitor, Wonga will be calculating the compensation to its victims at a rate of five YEARS at 5852% ….and what excuses will the OFT and  FCA be offering for not throwing the book at the company?

#UKIP What does Nigel Farage do between elections? Have you noticed that he only appears when there are seats to be fought?  I like to think that he’s in an earth-filled coffin in a castle somewhere near Salzburg…..

Good to hear that, rather than those sugar-laden fruit juices, schools are going back to providing pupils with WATER……..which I believe is some sort of mixer… 🙂

Prime Minister David Cameron used to work in Public Relations? Not much evidence of that this week…#Coulson #Juncker  However, he is very lucky that it is only Miliband who faces him across the Dispatch Box.

The judge in the British phone-hacking trial criticised Prime Minister David Cameron  for not waiting until all verdicts were in before commenting on Andy Coulson, his former media chief who is facing jail. Less than two hours after yesterday’s verdict, Cameron issued what he called a “full and frank” apology,Read More

Select Committee members can do a bit of grandstanding, Prime Ministers deliver a bit of macho jive talk – but the fact is that politicians can do jack-s*** about the Pfizer/Astra Zeneca  deal . They CANNOT influence board or even management decisions. Read carefully what DC said this week: “ OurRead More

#Ukraine. The Blitzkreig-like advance of ethnic-Russian militia in the eastern provinces is working so efficiently and meeting with so little resistance that one could be forgiven for suspecting that there is a plan and that there always has been a plan! In fact the capitulation by local authorities and officialsRead More

The IMF’s austerity conditions for #Ukraine, in return for cash handouts will prepare the country for membership of the EU’s “Indentured Servitude Club”.….alongside near-neighbours such as Greece……. The short to mid-term future looks very bleak for members of the ISC……..Nowadays, the population-at-large paying for the crimes of its politicians andRead More

A lot of pretentious nonsense is talked and written about “motivation” and there are many  motivational speakers who travel the world, giving strung-out executives a quick fix of “feelgood” which then dissipates just in time for a subsequent seminar and the next fix….and so on. It has become a hugeRead More

“Nationalism carries with it contradictions” was the view of Ernest Gellner, the British-Czech philosopher and social anthropologist. It is these contradictions which fuel the pockets of political and social instability which the world constantly experiences. In the good old days of huge empires, from  Rome to the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian,Read More

It has been confirmed that the government is considering whether to introduce a new offence of Emotional Cruelty to Children. It is aimed at parents “who deny their children affection”  and is the result of a campaign for a “Cinderella Law” from ACTION FOR CHILDREN. The British Empire became whatRead More

Whilst cocky Nigel Farage is looking increasingly like a pink Kermit the Frog, EU-enthusiast Nick Clegg retains the boyish charm and earnestness which won him so many plaudits after the 2010 “I agree with Nick” pre-election debates with Cameron and Brown. Nowadays, Farage’s studied arrogance and increasing belief in hisRead More