Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

It's even simple. A public servant was told repeatedly by the Office of National Statistics to stop using incorrect information. He didn't.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/w...on-brexit.html

---------- Post added at 22:55 ---------- Previous post was at 22:51 ----------

It was a clever ploy which I'm sure you're aware of, Chris. Create a false figure for the contributions higher than we send. Remainers complain about this and all the debate focuses on the contributions we send the EU and not the value and higher GDP we get from being a member.
The NHS was a clever ploy too - use the logo without permission and make it apper that it was being endorsed by the NHS.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Well, it’s a moribund argument now anyway. Perhaps the court process will throw up something that hasn’t already been said a thousand times...

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

£350 million a week doesn’t include the rebate

£350 million is roughly what we would pay to the EU budget without the rebate.

The rebate is applied straight away

The UK actually paid closer to £250 million a week.

So . . apparently, according to the ridiculous figures above, we're getting a £100 million rebate on money that we didn't even pay?

Any idea why we didn't just pay £250 million and stuff the rebate?

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Well in that case I am going to sue my employer as the annual figure that they state is my salary, is no where near what I receive in my pay packet.

They have been lying to me all my working life.

---------- Post added at 06:51 ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 ----------

It’s not hard to understand, this kind of think happens on all kinds on financial transactions all the time. It’s Because £350M is what is on the books, the fact that they give us the £100m back doesn’t remove the liability from our ledger, as at any time the rebate could be removed so we still have to account for it.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Go for it... ;)

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Full Fact have a good breakdown here: https://fullfact.org/europe/our-eu-m...ee-55-million/

I suspect the case will hinge on the claim we 'send' £350 million rather than we are 'billed' £350 million or the EU membership fee 'costs' £350 million send we literally do not send that amount at all. I think it was a lie and it's a bit silly to argue it isn't, no one truly believes that the claim was talking about a hypothetical amount especially since the claim was that the money would be available for the NHS which is clearly would not.

But to me this is standard politics. The Government also were involved in 'creatively' using numbers when they claimed it would cost £4,300 per household to Leave: https://fullfact.org/europe/4300-que...usehold-worse/

I don't think this case will get anywhere and there are troublesome consequences if it did. If this case actually goes ahead then you would every election litigated after the fact by the losing side.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

I agree, there do seem to have been some weak attempts at defending an obvious lie.
But I think that a successful prosecution here would serve politics better and in the longer term, help remove some of the distrust of politicians.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

You do have to prove a lie and and that is going to be nigh on impossible to do in this case in a court of law.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

I think one aspect is that he was told on multiple occasions by the Office for National Statistics to stop using that figure but he continued to do so. As a public servant, I guess that's the equivalent of someone in your compliance department telling you to stop doing something that's wrong and you continue doing so.

With MPs' expenses, Tony Blair's WMD Iraq situation, investigations into Islamohobia and anti-Semitsim in the two main parties and the Aaron Banks-Nigel Farage financial investigations, UK politics can only benefit from a successful prosecution here.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Just because he was told not so use it, doesn’t mean the figure isn’t a matter of fact.

Again, doesn’t make the figure factually incorrect

Won’t happen, and out of that list Blair is the one that should have prosecuted the two don’ Even compare. Stating a factual figure v deaths of hundreds of thousands of people....hmmmmm

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Damien has given Factchecking links showing the slogan to be a lie.
If you feel Blair has a case to answer then why not take out a private prosecution? The Boris one may have more success as it's not about something that happened some 16 years ago!

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Red Bull gives you wings - get the lawyers onto that.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Well of course Blair has a case to answer! Why pick on Boris?

It is a ridiculous prosecution brought solely in an attempt to block Brexit.

Re: Leadership who is the next PM?
 

Why would prosecuting BoJo block Brexit? Most if not all candidates for leader of the Conservative Party are running on a pro-Brexit platform. As an aside, the leaver purists in the Conservative Party blocked Brexit effectively or we would have left on 29/3!

As it's a private prosecution, it's up to the individual concerned to decide whom to prosecute. I suspect they've done more due diligence on this than you and me.

If anyone feels another politician has a better case to answer - fantastic, but they will need to put their words into actions for it to happen.