James Cusick - openDemocracy (Page 3)

Don’t ask, don’t tell: how a conspiracy of silence will corrupt Britain’s next election

Brexit chaos could trigger a general election at any moment. Whenever it happens, there will be dozens of MPs who get elected illegally. Here’s how.

By James Cusick

/ 20 Mar 2019

Don’t ask, don’t tell: how a conspiracy of silence will corrupt Britain’s next election

MP accuses former Tory official of being a ‘fraudster’ and ‘cowboy’ who exploited legal loophole to hide source of ‘dark money’

The Scottish Tory vice chair Richard Cook, who helped channel £435,000 to the Democratic Unionist Party, was branded a “fraudster” and “cowboy” who deliberately masked “cancerous dark money” pumped into British politics ahead of the Brexit referendum.

By James Cusick

/ 27 Feb 2019

Commons report on “fake news” says failing electoral laws are putting UK democracy at risk

Report from MPs builds on openDemocracy’s work exposing unaccountable ‘dark money’ and influence on our elections

By James Cusick

/ 18 Feb 2019

Theresa May spokesman sparks fresh suspicion of British ‘spying’ on EU officials

Unguarded comments about "intelligence", "transcriptions of conversations" and knowing "what the Europeans are thinking" prompt fury in Brussels

By James Cusick

/ 30 Nov 2018

George Osborne’s Evening Standard under fire (again) over lucrative Uber deal

Exclusive: Politicians call on UK advertising watchdog to investigate paid-for content dressed up as news at London’s biggest paper, after glowing articles about the controversial taxi app firm appear – but with no mention of sponsorship in hundreds of thousands of copies of the newspaper

By James Cusick

/ 26 Oct 2018

Revealed: Met Police ignored Brexit campaign evidence for months

Scotland Yard claimed it didn’t receive key evidence about Leave campaigns until September. But the evidence was ready from May. They just didn’t bother to collect it.

By Adam Ramsay and James Cusick

/ 20 Oct 2018

Police still not investigating Leave campaigns, citing ‘political sensitivities’

Exclusive: Months after Scotland Yard received ‘substantial’ evidence of potential criminality by pro-Leave groups, nothing has happened. Is the police probe destined for the political long grass?

By Adam Ramsay and James Cusick

/ 11 Oct 2018

‘Second’ bank account: MPs demand probe into Rees-Mogg’s Brexit group

Cross-party demands for an urgent investigation into the financial affairs of the European Research Group follow openDemocracy’s investigation.

By James Cusick

/ 15 Sep 2018

Parliament watchdog probes Rees-Mogg’s hard Brexit lobby group over “other sources of funding”

EXCLUSIVE: Emails released by UK parliamentary standards watchdog reveal a ‘second’ bank account held by the powerful ERG group of Tory MPs, as they pressure May to abandon Chequers.

By Peter Geoghegan, James Cusick and Jenna Corderoy

/ 13 Sep 2018

Opposition MPs call on PM to investigate former minister over hidden links to Tory ultra-Brexiteers

After openDemocracy revealed how former Brexit minister Steve Baker continued to work with the secretive European Research Group despite being in government, demands for Downing Street to investigate.

By James Cusick

/ 31 Aug 2018

Ex-Brexit minister Steve Baker remained in charge of secretive Tory ultra faction

Under the ministerial code, Baker was supposed to cut his ties with the European Research Group when he joined the government in 2017. But newly released emails show that as Brexit minister, he offered them private briefings on critical government policy.

By Peter Geoghegan, James Cusick and Jenna Corderoy

/ 29 Aug 2018

Ex-Brexit minister Steve Baker remained in charge of secretive Tory ultra faction

Under the ministerial code, Baker was supposed to cut his ties with the European Research Group when he joined the government in 2017. But newly released emails show that as Brexit minister, he offered them private briefings on critical government policy.

By Peter Geoghegan, James Cusick and Jenna Corderoy

/ 29 Aug 2018