New Leader Kier Starmer Picks Israel Lobby Ex-MP Voters Rejected To Introduce Him At Virtual Labour Conference - Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees Threatens To Prosecute Homeless Van-Dwellers On The Downs - Investigative Journalist Andre Vltchek dies suddenly in Istanbul aged 57 - Crown Lied, Denied Julian Assange Hid Razor Blade In His Underwear For Suicide - World Economic Forum’s Techno-Totalitarian Roadmap - WEF and UN - NOT The BCfm Politics Show presented by Tony Gosling
UK’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has £600,000 of shares in vaccine maker GSK - Sir Patrick Vallance has shares in drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline - Sir Patrick Vallance has £600,000 of shares in a pharmaceuticals giant contracted to develop a Covid vaccine for the Government, a report has revealed. The Chief Scientific Adviser, who leads the Government’s expert panel on vaccines, holds 43,111 shares in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from his time as president of the drugs company. According to the Telegraph, accounts show Sir Patrick held 404,201 shares when he resigned in 2018 – worth £6.1 million at today’s price. He has already sold more than £5 million in shares he received during his six-year tenure with the company. GSK is one of over 20 pharmaceutical firms around the world racing to provide a vaccine for coronavirus. The manufacturer has deals with the British and US governments to supply them with jabs, subject to terms in a final contract. Insisting that Sir Patrick should have declared his stake in the company, a senior Conservative MP and ex-Cabinet minister told The Telegraph: ‘If he is making decisions on vaccines and advising the Government on them, then he either needs to divest himself of the shares or make a declaration every time he touches on the subject. ‘In the Commons, every time MPs raise an issue in which there is a registered interest, they have to declare it. Every time he is talking about vaccines or on TV, he should put it on the table.’ It is unclear whether Vallance has declared his interest at any stage. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has denied that Sir Patrick’s shares in GSK present a conflict of interest.....
Coronavirus: Group of 40 Tory rebels bid to force PM to offer vote on COVID-19 powers - The potential rebellion reflects the unease among some Conservatives about the continuing use of powers and new restrictions. - Boris Johnson is facing the prospect of a Tory rebellion over the Coronavirus Act - A group of more than 40 Conservative MPs are bidding to force the government to give parliament a vote before the renewal of ministers' coronavirus powers. Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the influential 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, is leading the cross-party effort to amend emergency COVID-19 legislation. Powers under the Coronavirus Act, which was passed in March, have to be renewed by parliament every six months. The potential Tory rebellion reflects the unease among some Conservative MPs about the continuing use of the powers and the latest restrictions announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week. Ahead of their first renewal next Wednesday, Sir Graham is seeking to add a provision that each time new powers are used by ministers under the Coronavirus Act, parliament should have the opportunity to debate and vote on their use. His amendment to next Wednesday's motion has been backed by 40 other Conservative MPs - including former cabinet ministers Sir Iain Duncan Smith, David Davis, Esther McVey and Sir John Redwood - as well as senior Labour MPs Harriet Harman and John Cryer, and the DUP's Ian Paisley and Sammy Wilson. Former government minister Steve Baker, who is supporting Sir Graham's amendment, has also tabled his own amendment to omit Schedule 21 powers from the act's renewal. Schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act specifies the powers given to police officers, public health officers and immigration officers to take actions against "potentially infectious" people. It also creates criminal offences for non-compliance. A recent Crown Prosecution Service review found that all 121 cases under the Coronavirus Act were found to have been incorrectly charged because there was no evidence they covered potentially infectious people...
Lies, Damned Lies, & UK Health Statistics: The Deadly Danger Of False Positives - Imagine 10,000 people getting tested using those swabs you see on TV. We have a good estimate of the general prevalence of the virus from the ONS, who are wholly independent (from Pillar 2 testing) and are testing only a few people a day, around one per cent of the numbers recently tested in Pillar 2. It is reasonable to assume that most of the time, those being tested do not have symptoms.
