Today in London

by **madeupname452** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:08 pm

Did Mills use 'bribe' to invest in firm that won Government deal? David Mills ordered £150,000 from a fund at the centre of the Silvio Berlusconi corruption investigation to be used to purchase shares in a company appointed to administer a flagship Government policy. The first evidence directly linking Tessa Jowell's husband to the Government and the public purse has prompted immediate calls for an inquiry. <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article350591.ece">news.independent.co.uk/uk...350591.ece</a>

by **madeupname452** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:16 pm

Mohammad Sidique Khan's extraordinary and rapid transition from law-abiding citizen to terrorist is revealed in documents showing he used to work for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), helping promote British firms overseas. ... John Major's Conservative government had just published its Competitiveness White Paper which committed the DTI to boost overseas trade, in Asia among other places. Khan's role did not include "monitoring security" for visits by exporters to overseas British embassies, as he said on his CV. <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article350613.ece">news.independent.co.uk/uk...350613.ece</a> comment:did he actually ever stop working the government.?

by **antiaristo** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 9:24 pm

David Mills is being turned into an object of fun. Lat week Peter Preson wrote of him as "the Inspector Clouseau of finance", and now this <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Imagine my surprise Car-crash lives: are they accident or conspiracy? Barbara Toner Saturday March 11, 2006 The Guardian Some lives are car crashes waiting to happen. Then the car crash does happen and the big question is: conspiracy or accident? You need look no further than David Mills. But if you did, you might spot Prince Jefri Bolkiah and Felice Nieddu, providing you knew what they looked like. Also, possibly, the Pope, who, being blessed with infallibility, is not well placed to excuse any failure of judgment. Early in the week it was announced he would be meeting the troubled prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, at the Vatican just days before the Italian general election. Not privately, it's true, but as part of a delegation of law-breakers, sorry makers, from all over Europe. It was a shocking breach of precedent so it had to be an accident. The Pope never meets Italian politicians during election campaigns. It looked for all the world as if he were endorsing a prime minister desperately courting the Catholic vote even while he was being investigated for corruption. Plainly it wouldn't have occurred to Mr Berlusconi, who rarely moves without an airbag to protect him from dire consequences. He was only doing his job. But 24 hours later, after an internet petition signed by thousands alerted the Vatican to how it looked, the prime minister cancelled his visit. If only Mr Mills had courted airbags instead of being one. If only his infallibility had reached beyond the marital home. The car he crashed while fleeing the press without cleaning his windscreen would have been spared, his marriage might have been spared, he might have been spared the horrible prospect of jail. As it is, his dealings with Mr Berlusconi are turning out to be just one of his many miscalculations. Not a day goes by without some fresh horror crawling from the depths of his accounts. Who knows how long he imagined they'd go unnoticed? Forever, probably. Ill-founded self-belief is the heartbeat of the car-crash life. Recklessness is the blood in its veins and its every breath gasps it's not my fault Prince Jefri can be forgiven a small amount of self-delusion because he is the brother of the Sultan of Brunei who granted himself a statute of infallibility in September 2004. "His Majesty the Sultan can do no wrong in his personal or any official capacity," the constitution now reads. The Sultan is also prime minister, defence minister, finance minister, supreme commander of the armed forces, supreme head of Islam, chief of the Royal Brunei police, head of the petroleum unit and head of broadcasting and information services. A good man to have in your family on one hand, but not a great a man to pick a fight with on the other, which you'd think the prince might have noticed sometime around September 2004. He and his brother, however, have been feuding for five years because, according to the sultan, the prince embezzled £8bn while he was finance minister and is refusing to cough up the £3bn he agreed to pay in an out-of-court settlement in 2000. If this is true, I would urge Prince Jefri to produce the money with all speed. It's clear to me, as it must be to Mr Mills, a corporate lawyer of many years' standing, that he has assets enough to cover it: mansions everywhere, hotels, paintings, diamonds and cash galore. But I fear he won't. A man whose four-day auction of private possessions in 2001 included a 54-metre yacht called Tits along with its tenders Nipple I and Nipple 2, and who wilfully chooses to ignore the demands of his all-powerful sibling, reeks of a car crash. As does Felice Nieddu, though he and the prince appear to have little else in common. Mr Nieddu, a vet who runs the Natural Horse Centre in Aylmerton, Norfolk, was remanded in custody this week for having had the most appalling tantrum on a roundabout on the A11. After ramming three cars and crashing into another three, he jumped on the roof of his own car and threatened police with his umbrella and stethoscope. It sounds like an accident that soon became, in the poor vet's head, a conspiracy.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/eu/comment/0,,1728690,00.html">politics.guardian.co.uk/e...90,00.html</a> <blockquote>Quote:<hr>As it is, his dealings with Mr Berlusconi are turning out to be just one of his many miscalculations. Not a day goes by without some fresh horror crawling from the depths of his accounts. Who knows how long he imagined they'd go unnoticed? Forever, probably. Ill-founded self-belief is the heartbeat of the car-crash life. Recklessness is the blood in its veins and its every breath gasps it's not my fault<hr></blockquote> Yes, that's right Ms Toner. He's just a bufoon. Nothing to get worked up about. Nothing threatening. Except.... Had it not been for the Italians he would still be doing it all, under protection of Her Majesty. His wife would still be the go-between for Blair and Berlusconi. The Mills family would still be enjoying what goes with being MI6/SIS. His sister-in-law is still Dame Barbara Mills QC. And his daughter is still Eleanor Mills of the Sunday Times. Clousseau? Sure. But only when protection has been withdrawn.

by **antiaristo** » Sat Mar 11, 2006 11:19 pm

Mary Poppins has been a VEY BAD GIRL <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Jowell accused in fresh loans row Antony Barnett, investigations editor Sunday March 12, 2006 The Observer The controversy surrounding Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell was reopened last night after The Observer uncovered documents showing she had signed for two further mortgages connected to her husband's investments. Jowell had signed for both mortgages on the same day in March 2002 for a total value of £450,000. The documents have led opposition politicians to accuse her of 'misleading' the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, and to demand he reopen his inquiry into whether she breached the ministerial code. Earlier this month, O'Donnell said he accepted Jowell's assurances that she had no knowledge that money alleged to have been a 'bribe' from Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had been used by her husband, David Mills, to help to pay off a mortgage on their London home. Jowell assured O'Donnell she had not known - until August 2004 - that the mortgage, taken out in September 2000, had been paid off. Yet an analysis of the applications reveals Jowell had signed two mortgage deals on 8 March 2002 with Mortgage Express. These allowed her husband to raise £450,000 to cover investments linked to the US stock market. Both applications asked whether there were any outstanding mortgages on the properties. Critically, the second mortgage, taken out for £200,000 on their Warwickshire country home, asked the couple if they had any mortgages on other properties. It is understood no mention of the earlier mortgage was made because it had already been paid off. Jowell's critics argue it is 'inconceivable' she would not have discussed taking out these two large loans with her husband. Her opponents state it also suggests she must have been aware of the earlier mortgage being paid off in 2002. Tory MP Nigel Evans, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, said: 'The credulity of her defence has now stretched beyond breaking point. We now know she signed not one but two legal documents on the same day in 2002 where she was asked about outstanding mortgages. There appears to be growing evidence that she misled the Cabinet Secretary. ' Evans will write to O'Donnell asking him to reopen the inquiry. 'There is an easy route [to find] out whether he has been misled or not,' he added. 'He should ask Jowell to show him the two application forms she signed. If there is nothing for her to hide I am sure she will agree.' A spokeswoman for Jowell refused to comment and referred back to her earlier statement, saying she 'first became aware in August 2004' that her husband had received a some of money that he 'had reasonable grounds to believe was a gift'. On Friday Italian prosecutors asked a judge to put Mills on trial for corruption, accusing him taking a bribe from Berlusconi for providing 'false testimony' at an earlier trial. Mills and Berlusconi have denied any wrongdoing. The continuing row has worried backbench Labour MPs, who believe ministers' links to complex financial dealings damages the government's image. Their concerns will be heightened by the disclosure that the wife of John Reid, the Defence Secretary, has links to an offshore company set up in a Caribbean tax haven: Carine Adler, used a family trust in the British Virgin Islands to provide a temporary bridging loan in 2000 to help her purchase a £1.2m townhouse in London.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,1729064,00.html">observer.guardian.co.uk/p...64,00.html</a> David Cameron is starting to look like Neil Kinnock. This is an oh-so-easy takedown, but he doesn't want to know. Looks like Cameron thinks this sort of white collar crime - illicit laundering of dubious moneys through joint mortgages - is perfectly acceptable to his Party.

by **antiaristo** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:01 pm

There's more to it than just Eleanor Mills. There's a confluence of corporate purposes. Just like the Iraq invasion. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Matthew Norman's Media Diary Here's a great idea for a board game Published: 13 March 2006 IN PURSUANCE of the continuing campaign to celebrate the relationship between the Government and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, I begin with a request. Does anyone know of a company that might be interested in producing a new board game with the Orwellian name of NewsGov? The idea is this. Up to eight players move a plastic model of a character from one or other gang by rolling a dice and answering questions, until the eventual winner establishes so many connections that the two organisations meld into one giant Berlusconian ruling entity (NewsGov). Let's say you're Tessa Jowell, and roll a five to land on a Community Chest-style space called the Sun. The card quotes David Blunkett, in his column last Thursday, attacking Labour MPs for being beastly to Ms Jowell. You must now outline as many of the Murdoch-Blair links behind the article as you can in 60 seconds, ending where you began. I cannot overstate the paramount importance of circularity. I'll have a quick crack now. Ms Jowell is well loved at News Corp for reneging on a previous deal to keep live Test cricket on terrestrial TV after being lobbied by Mr Murdoch's son, James. Ms Jowell is famously close to Mr Tony Blair. Mr Blair in turn is so chummy with Mr Murdoch that he once tried to broker a satellite deal between him and Berlusconi. Mr Blair is also friendly with the Sun editor, Rebekah Wade, a regular Chequers weekend guest. Ms Wade, like the PM, is close to Mr Blunkett, her drinking buddy on the night of his latest sacking, after which she plugged the gap in his post-Cabinet income with a column worth an estimated £80,000 per annum. In this column, Mr Blunkett rides to the support of Ms Jowell, who is especially well loved at News Corp having reneged.... There, a perfect circle. The game's rules and scoring system are matters for the specialists, but if anyone cares to discuss royalties I have hopes that we can get NewsGov into the shops in time for Christmas.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article350907.ece">news.independent.co.uk/me...350907.ece</a>

by **antiaristo** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 9:51 pm

Family friends of the Editor. Jowell has now been caught using mortgages to launder suspicious monies. She's been caught insider trading on brewery shares. But the big one is going to be the Iran connection. After all, her boss wants to bomb the country. Here is the Guardian spin. <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Backing for Jowell over husband's Iran links Tania Branigan, political correspondent Monday March 13, 2006 The Guardian Tessa Jowell's decision to remove herself from cabinet discussions on Iran because of her estranged husband's business links to the country is evidence of her integrity, colleagues insisted yesterday. The culture secretary agreed to absent herself from all relevant talks because of a row in 2003 over allegations that David Mills tried to use his wife's position to promote a deal to sell jets to an Iranian airline. She does not receive briefing documents on the country for the same reason. Mr Mills could face his first court appearance on charges of accepting a bribe from the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, as early as this week, sources in Milan have indicated. Both men deny the corruption allegations. Despite being cleared of breaching the ministerial code and of failing to complete the MPs' register of interests as fully as she should, Ms Jowell has remained under sustained pressure as more details of Mr Mills's business dealings have emerged. Yesterday Nigel Evans, the Tory backbencher who has led calls for a fuller investigation, said he would continue to press the cabinet secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, for a second inquiry into whether Ms Jowell broke the ministerial code - this time, in relation to her husband's ownership of shares in a pub chain while she was public health minister. But Downing Street said that Ms Jowell's absence from the discussions on Iran was evidence of how scrupulous she was overall in avoiding potential conflicts of interest. Alan Johnson, the trade secretary, added: "It was Tessa herself who decided she should absent herself ... in a sense that story just shows the integrity Tessa has." He told BBC1's Sunday AM that it did not affect her ministerial capacity because her brief had little to do with Iran and the increasing concern over its development of nuclear capability. The proposed deal involving Mr Mills fell through owing to an American trade embargo. But it prompted accusations of cronyism because the lawyer wrote to the then Foreign Office minister Baroness Symons for advice after sitting next to her at a dinner party. The government said his letter had been dealt with like any other request for assistance. Ms Jowell said at the time that she did not feel Mr Mills's Iranian links "pose an actual or potential conflict of interest with my position as culture secretary", but agreed to avoid discussions on the country to avoid any possibility of a conflict.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://politics.guardian.co.uk/labour/story/0,,1729562,00.html">politics.guardian.co.uk/l...62,00.html</a> Here's the dirty little detail left out. When the row blew up in 2003, Jowell was forced to disclose that her husband was the managing director of the company conducting the deal. The following year she informed her Permanent Secretary that he had now resigned from this position. Solves the conflict problem, no? But what she did NOT tell Sue Street (the top civil servant) was that her husband, as well as being managing director, OWNED THE COMPANY! This fact has now come into the public domain through journalistic research, not through voluntary disclosure. As of 2005, David Mills was the beneficial owner of the company!

by **antiaristo** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:09 pm

Right at the very bottom <blockquote>Quote:<hr>Allies turn on Berlusconi after TV debate fails to lift campaign John Hooper in Rome Friday March 17, 2006 The Guardian Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, trailing in the opinion polls ahead of next month's general election, yesterday faced a mutiny after two senior lieutenants publicly upbraided him for his inept performance in a television debate this week. Their criticisms weakened Mr Berlusconi's authority as he prepared for the final stages of the campaign, and some commentators suggested his allies were distancing themselves because they believed he was heading for defeat. Pier Ferdinando Casini, who leads the Christian Democrats in Mr Berlusconi's rightwing coalition, rebuked him for talking up the record of his government instead of offering voters a programme for the next five years. He said the TV debate on Tuesday was "a missed opportunity". The deputy prime minister, Gianfranco Fini, of the formerly neo-fascist National Alliance, is usually loyal, but he also attacked Mr Berlusconi's performance. "The prime minister gave the impression that all was well, as if he wanted to get top marks. But many voters who are still undecided know that society still has many problems," he said in a statement. çPolls indicate that almost a quarter of Italy's electorate are undecided but that around half of them will vote. The right, trailing by about 4% in the polls, needs to secure twice as many floating voters as the left if it is to get back into office. Conservatives fear that Mr Berlusconi's approach is just not working with them. The economy is at a standstill, yet in his debate with the centre-left leader, Romano Prodi, Mr Berlusconi refused to accept there was anything wrong or that his government had made mistakes. Four opinion polls found viewers believed Mr Prodi had emerged in better shape from the duel, which was watched by about 17 million people. Voting is on April 9 and 10. The only leading Berlusconi ally not to attack him was Umberto Bossi of the Northern League. But his deputy, Roberto Calderoli, was critical, saying a new electoral law drafted by the outgoing government was a "load of rubbish". The law, which reinstates proportional representation, is one reason for the alacrity with which Mr Berlusconi's allies pounced on his mishandling of the campaign. "They are saying: 'Vote for me'," said Gianfranco Pasquino, professor of political science at the University of Bologna. Mr Casini and Mr Fini are the leading candidates to head the right if Mr Berlusconi is ousted. A final TV debate will be held on April 3. Professor Pasquino said Mr Berlusconi had acknowledged the first one did not go well. "I expect him to change strategy, to be better prepared and less tiresome. The game is not over," he said. Meanwhile, a preliminary hearing to decide whether Mr Berlusconi and David Mills, the estranged husband of the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, should be put on trial for corruption will not start for almost three months.<hr></blockquote> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,,1733022,00.html">www.guardian.co.uk/italy/...22,00.html</a> Three months? That should be long enough for them to become "estranged"

Today in London

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