Max Colbert's avatar

Max Colbert

@mc00.bsky.social

488 followers 782 following 477 posts

Freelance journo/researcher. Words: The Guardian, Good Law Project, DeSmog, Byline Times, Index on Censorship, Dawn, The Citizens.

Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“NEW: Another one from me, mapping Covid-era VIPs that bought up real estate after making huge gains during the pandemic, including two previously unreported on properties bought by the directors of Pestfix:

Pandemic profiteers buy up luxury real estate worth Ā£35m
goodlawproject.org/pandemic-pro...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“NEW: Just back from holiday but while I was gone @bylinetimes.bsky.social published the 3rd instalment of my recent reporting into unincorporated associations, exposing the history/inner workings of lesser-known Tory UA 'the 1900 Club', which donates to Marginals:
bylinetimes.com/2024/06/24/t...

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Huw Davies's avatar Huw Davies @huwcdavies.bsky.social
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People who ā€˜knew exactly what they voted forā€™ on Brexit, when they are friends with and endorse fascists on social media & stand for Reform apparently donā€™t understand what they are doing because they are not ā€˜political sophisticatesā€™. Canā€™t have it both ways. Needs to own this.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Focusing more on the dining club network propping up the Tories, I also wrote about UAs back in 2022, for Byline Times:

'29 Membersā€™ Clubs and Opaque Societies Have Donated Ā£14 Million to the Conservatives Since 2010'
bylinetimes.com/2022/02/03/2...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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This is the second part of my 2024 investigation into unincorporated associations, after Good Law Project found that Ā£5.3m had been given to UK political parties by UAs under Sunak.
bsky.app/profile/mc00...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“NEW:ā€˜Anti-Globalistā€™ Nigel Farage to Speak at ā€˜The Worldā€™s No1 Event for Global Citizensā€™

The Brexiteer blames the Government for a supposed ā€œbrain drainā€ by bringing in rules about non-doms ā€“ campaigners blame him
bylinetimes.com/2024/05/09/n...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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But remember, it is "defamatory and libellous" to call Reform UK "far-right"

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Edwin Black 's avatar Edwin Black @edwinbeatnik.bsky.social
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Hopefully, just like the BUF before them, Reform will be little more than a flash in the pan.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Secretive groups funnelling hundreds of thousands of pounds into political parties have failed to meet the low bar on transparency set by the government, with 10 unincorporated associations failing to register with the Electoral Commission for 2023

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Yeah when I approached them asking what their vetting process was they told me they couldn't tell me as that's not what political parties do lol.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Did he name this company or did he just reference its alleged existence?

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Aurelien Mondon's avatar Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.bsky.social
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'Another election, another round of Nigel Farage hype, with no lessons learned'

Some thoughts on the role of the mainstream media in the mainstreaming of far right politics and their morbid obsession with so-called 'populism'

theconversation.com/another-elec...

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Peter's avatar Peter @peterdutoit.com
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ā€œIn summary, it is only after a few decades of reducing CO2 emissions that we would clearly see global temperatures starting to stabilize. By contrast, short-term reductions in CO2 emissions, such as during COVID-19, do not have detectable effects on either CO2 concentration or global temperature.ā€

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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I'd like to thank The Times for expanding on my original research (uncredited) that I published three weeks prior to all of the new candidates even being confirmed.

41 Reform PPCs confirmed as Facebook friends with Blackshirt leader Gary Raikes!
www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

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Sam Freedman's avatar Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social
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No, their voters won't notice or care.

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post malone ergo propter malone's avatar post malone ergo propter malone @proptermalone.bsky.social
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If I were Elon Musk I too would probably be very concerned about the prosecution of felony business document fraud

72 replies 542 reposts 2469 likes

Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Yeah I mean, they've said they'd chase it, so it's possible, but then again it's very easy to make that promise in opposition. Here's hoping though.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Don't know re criminal proceedings, but unless it gets kicked into the long grass, we could be seeing a little more in the way of money recouped under Labour.

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Evan's avatar Evan @evanderstap.bsky.social
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I don't think it would happen, but God, would I want the next (Labour) government to take these criminals to task!

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“ NEW: The fixers who made Ā£98m from the Toriesā€™ VIP lane

The government claims its Covid procurement was all above board. So why did companies spend millions of pounds on brokers who knew Tories?
goodlawproject.org/fixers-vip-l...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Some reading material from Verso, in prep for my holiday in June and for general lounging purposes.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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It's also worth pointing out that, in the course of this investigation, i found 14 Reform Party PPCs who are Facebook friends with Gary Raikes, leader of the New British Union of Fascists (NBU). People are free to speculate about why that might be, though I'm sure they're just keeping tabs.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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This follows on from previous reporting into other Reform Party candidates who've spread racist and bigoted material.

One is now deselected, the other is suspended.
bsky.app/profile/mc00...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Andy Egginton, standing in North East Derbyshire, shared a video of a Tommy Robinson rally made by Darren Edmundson, a former Patriotic Alternative activist, on the official Reform Party PPC page, as well as being friends on Facebook with the leaders of several known fascist groups.

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George Monbiot's avatar George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social
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How many of you know what happened yesterday? A new "independent" review for the government, proposing that the last rights of left-wing movements to protest are terminated. Blatantly partisan, dictator's powers, yet scarcely any coverage. My column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“NEW:ā€˜Anti-Globalistā€™ Nigel Farage to Speak at ā€˜The Worldā€™s No1 Event for Global Citizensā€™

The Brexiteer blames the Government for a supposed ā€œbrain drainā€ by bringing in rules about non-doms ā€“ campaigners blame him
bylinetimes.com/2024/05/09/n...

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Neopagan Esq.'s avatar Neopagan Esq. @liminalatlaw.bsky.social
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Post a nonreligious photo you think of as holy...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Absolutely picking up a copy of this

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Spencer Sunshine's avatar Spencer Sunshine @transform6789.bsky.social
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After five years of research, my book "Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Masonā€™s 'Siege'" is finally out on Routledge! Will do a May 30 online book talk + IRL talks in Germany, Britain & Norway. (see below)
Ā 
www.routledge.com/Neo-Nazi-Ter...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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As it stands, the grim situation is:

8 firms who collectively supplied Ā£339m of useless PPE have now shut up shop, with more teetering and the money likely gone.

The PPE VIP Lane is a crime scene.

goodlawproject.org/336m-lost-af...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Both of those channels, last I checked, only had 1 company each within them wound up. When you compare this to the procurement VIP lane, VERY different story. 8 firms out of 50 to fold may not seem like a lot, but it is, and places a big ? over lots of (as yet) unrecovered cash lost to duff PPE.

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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It's hard to find direct comparisons, as the suspension of normal procurement rules during Covid was relatively unique. But you can, for example, compare the VIP lane to other channels. The UK based purchase list of companies, or even the testing VIP lane (which tbf did feature cronyism)

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Companies in the VIP procurement lane going into liquidation or being dissolved is one of the next significant strands of the PPE Procurement Scandal (yes, it's still going on, and I've been on the beat for 4 years now).

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“ NEW: VIP lane firm folds, putting another Ā£2.58m at risk

Hotel Logistics shuts up shop, making it unlikely that millions wasted on useless PPE will ever be recovered.
goodlawproject.org/vip-lane-fir...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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šŸ”“ NEW: Reform UK drops candidate who shared racist and Islamophobic content online following a Good Law Project investigation, but the party won't say if will act against three more PPCs...,

goodlawproject.org/reform-uk-dr...

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Max Colbert's avatar Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social
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Naturally the fash have opinions on Romeo & Juliet which are bad and stupid, as pointed out in the QT

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