[ianch99]

Originally Posted by Hugh

Didn’t realise Nigel was a Chelsea fan…

Seems that there is a theme here:



---------- Post added at 10:49 ---------- Previous post was at 10:44 ----------

Timing is everything:

Conservative Friends of Russia group disbands with immediate effect

The Westminster Russia Forum, initially the Conservative Friends of Russia, was founded in 2012 by Richard Royal, a communication specialist for Ladbrokes. Its organisers and members often appeared on Russia Today, the Russian state-owned news channel.

The group then, and now, calls itself a think tank, but no published research exists. They are more akin to a lobby group; however, there is no requirement to register their activities or interests, no scrutiny or checks, so we are left guessing as to the scope of the work they did.

As reported by Open Democracy, Sue Hawley, the director of Spotlight on Corruption, stated:

“‘Friends of’ groups of political parties are alarmingly unregulated and provide a back door for unofficial lobbying, access and paid influence. It is high time that these groups were brought out of the shadows, adequately regulated and that the public can have far greater insight into how they operate and who is behind them.”