“Surprised” this hasn’t been picked up on

[Not Now Kato]

So, just so let me get this straight...

The EU detects corruption and acts swiftly to arrest those involved.

Absolutely the right thing to do and they should be applauded for it.

The UK Government reeks of corruption right now, and has done for some years. So many examples, yet how many have been immediately suspended? How many arrested or held to account?

Not sure what the OP was trying to prove other than the EU is less tolerant of corruption and acts swiftly when it sees it, as opposed to the UK which is currently riddled with it and does nothing, usually because the Government tries to block any accountability.
 
Remind me, what happened to that Russian report?

[BillyStubbsTears]

No. We're much more sophisticated.

In Britain, the way it works is that a member of the Lords lobbies Government friends for a contract for a company that has zero prior experience in the field.

The company gets a £250m contract.

The company supplies a sub-standard service. But still gets paid the full whack.

Turns out the company is owned by the original lobbyist's husband.

And then the company pays £29m into her offshore account.

As you say. Branton, the EU issue, shocking and wrong as it is (and it is, I would flay the f**kers alive who have done this) really doesn't compare to what goes on in the British Government.

I would have the "Lady" in question flayed alive also. What she has done appears to be reprehensible.

Are you really drawing an equivalence to one rogue Parliamentarian (disgustingly as it was) taking advantage of her position and a crisis to feather her own nest to seemingly/potentially dozens of officials coordinating together to influence laws at the behest of a foreign government in return for cash. Really? Really?? Honestly really???!

PS I'm just as much against the democratically unaccountable House of Lords (see my comments/approval for Labour's latest policy on replacing it) as I am against the democratically unaccountable EU. As I've shown in numerous posts I'm nothing but consistent in this area.

If you really want to go down this route...

1) Mone's corruption is, from the information we have so far, on a scale 30 times bigger than that if the MEPs.

2) As others have said, Mone's behaviour appears to be just one of a large number of similar infractions.

3) If you're talking of influence by foreign Governments, how about the cost relationship between the biggest funder of the Leave campaign and the Russian Ambassador?

4) Then there's the fact that the PM who took us into Brexit steadfastly refused to investigate prima facie evidence of Russian meddling in our elections, including the Brexit Referendum? A refusal that the cross party  Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee found scarcely believable.

5) Or that the same politician, after attending a NATO meeting about the Salisbury attack, immediately took a flight to spend the weekend with an ex-KGB colonel, without his security detail.

6) Or the fact that our governing party has hawked itself out to Russian oligarchs for the past decade?

I shouldn't have to repeat this, but I will. The behaviour of the MEPs is appalling and would seem to be criminal. I hope and expect that they face the full consequences. But there IS a criminal investigation going on into that. There have been precisely zero consequences for any of the issues I've just listed. Claiming that the EU somehow has a problem on a vastly different scale to any we have seems odd in that context.

[Branton Red]

Just imagine UK police searching the addresses of several MPs, finding £500k in cash which they can trace to a foreign government and enough evidence to arrest 4 MPs, including a cabinet minister, on grounds of corruption and money-laundering and to insist that the computers of several Parliamentary staff are frozen to prevent data disappearing.

Imagine therefore the potential uncovering of a wide conspiracy within the UK Parliament to influence laws in the favour of a foreign power in return for financial reward.

That would be one of the biggest political scandals ever to hit the UK.

The equivalent actually has happened in the EU and yet the Europhiles on here seek to belittle this and deflect any criticism by claiming variously: -

- Not many people involved
- It's being investigated so that makes it ok
- It was uncovered by the EU so the EU should be applauded - when in fact the investigation was run by Belgian police
- One UK parliamentarian acting potentially criminally in her own interest is somehow worse
- The UK Parliament is rife with corruption based seemingly on intuition - and certainly not any evidence of police investigations let alone arrests
- The UK is worse based on some conspiracy theories again which the UK police haven't deemed credible enough to be followed up on

Unless you're claiming the UK police are in on these UK political scandals and are implicated in covering them up through inaction?

[SydneyRover]

What Europhiles see is a bigger pie, a better economy, freedom from war between members, freedom of movement, countries working together for common goals, shared scientific development, agreed air safety regulations, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.

You still haven't addressed the sovereignty issue Branton, one if your main planks for leaving.

[Colin C No.3]

Sydney. Can you hypnotise a water buffalo or if not, have you ever witnessed anyone who could?

[SydneyRover]

Sydney. Can you hypnotise a water buffalo or if not, have you ever witnessed anyone who could?

everyone can it's taught at birth and an entry requirement

[Not Now Kato]

Just imagine UK police searching the addresses of several MPs, finding £500k in cash which they can trace to a foreign government and enough evidence to arrest 4 MPs, including a cabinet minister, on grounds of corruption and money-laundering and to insist that the computers of several Parliamentary staff are frozen to prevent data disappearing.

Imagine therefore the potential uncovering of a wide conspiracy within the UK Parliament to influence laws in the favour of a foreign power in return for financial reward.

That would be one of the biggest political scandals ever to hit the UK.

The equivalent actually has happened in the EU and yet the Europhiles on here seek to belittle this and deflect any criticism by claiming variously: -

- Not many people involved
- It's being investigated so that makes it ok
- It was uncovered by the EU so the EU should be applauded - when in fact the investigation was run by Belgian police
- One UK parliamentarian acting potentially criminally in her own interest is somehow worse
- The UK Parliament is rife with corruption based seemingly on intuition - and certainly not any evidence of police investigations let alone arrests
- The UK is worse based on some conspiracy theories again which the UK police haven't deemed credible enough to be followed up on

Unless you're claiming the UK police are in on these UK political scandals and are implicated in covering them up through inaction?

Ever stopped to wonder why the MET initially refused to investigate the Downing St Parties?  And when they finally acceded due to immense public pressure they chose which of those Parties to investigate and which not?
 
No, didn't think so.
 
Meanwhile, where's the Russian Interference report?

[Colin C No.3]

Sydney. Can you hypnotise a water buffalo or if not, have you ever witnessed anyone who could?

everyone can it's taught at birth and an entry requirement

Wow.

[Branton Red]

Let's bring an independent arbiter into the debate: Transparency International www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021/

They rank the UK the 11th least corrupt country in the world. Only 6 EU member states are ranked as less corrupt; 21 EU countries are ranked as more corrupt than the UK.

Investigating their rankings there is a clear correlation between democratic strength and lower corruption.

No wonder then that a major corruption scandal has been uncovered again within the anti-democratic EU institutions.

Here's what Transparency International say about the EU in light of this latest scandal: -

"This is not an isolated incident. Over many decades, the [EU] Parliament has allowed a culture of impunity to develop, with a combination of lax financial rules and controls and a complete lack of independent (or indeed any) ethics oversight"

[drfchound]

I have just had a quick glance through this thread and am wondering how an article about corrupt MEPs has morphed into criticism of the UK government.

[SydneyRover]

What could be more undemocratic than the HoL Branton?

[wilts rover]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63941509

EU arrest & investigate corrupt MEP's.

The Tory Party attempt to change the rules to get them off.

Owen Patterson? Boris Johnson, Lady Mone? Geoffrey Cox? Lord Lebadev - Tell me again, who is it exactly you are accusing of corruption?

[SydneyRover]

''MEPs have voted - by 625 to one - to strip Ms Kaili of her role as one of its 14 vice-presidents''

[Not Now Kato]

At least this one helped get Brexit done....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63958964

Wonder what he got out of it?

[Branton Red]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-63941509

EU arrest & investigate corrupt MEP's.

That's the 3rd time it's been claimed this corruption was uncovered by the EU on this thread.

And for the 3rd time this is not the case.

The investigation was carried out by Belgian police. The arrests were made by Belgian police. Following investigations by Belgian journalists. Not the EU.

I don't need to accuse anyone of corruption seeing as EU officials have been arrested on grounds of corruption having had 1.5m Euros in cash discovered in their properties.

Where are the police investigations and arrests in the UK?

Again false comparatives based on largely unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

Read my last post from Transparancy International on the EU Parliament, consider their opinion on the UK v EU member states re corruption, then maybe admit that the EU has a serious issue with corruption as has clearly been exposed this week and stop trying to belittle this problem or use deflection tactics re the UK

[Not Now Kato]

 https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-mps-defend-accepting-260000-in-qatari-gifts-before-world-cup/

[mugnapper]

BBC News - Earl of Shrewsbury faces suspension from Lords over lobbying claims
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-63998059

The Earl of Shrewsbury could be in a bit of trouble.

[danumdon]

https://www.politico.eu/article/belgium-mep-marc-tarabella-charged-in-qatargate-probe/

Looks like they are still to get to the bottom of this and the net is cast wider, how many more will be exposed for their corrupt behaviour.