Monthly Archives: August 2023

Conservatives are the ‘political wing of the fossil fuel industry’ as Sunak invites BP and Shell to Downing Street

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Extinction Rebellion protests at BP
Extinction Rebellion protests at BP. Banner reads big profits before planet

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/conservatives-are-the-political-wing-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-as-sunak-invites-bp-and-shell-to-downing-street/

New Global Witness analysis shows that government ministers met with fossil fuel companies 54 times between January and March.

London, August 1st, 2023 – Between January and March of this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and climate and energy ministers met with fossil fuel companies 54 times, on average more than once every two days, according to new Global Witness analysis of UK government data. This amounts to around 20 per cent of all lobbying meetings they held in that period. (1)

This analysis comes as the Times reports that Sunak will meet with fossil fuel bosses on Wednesday, just two days after announcing that the Government would grant 100 new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea.

Scientists and campaigners have denounced the Government’s plans to U-turn on its climate commitments and “max out” North Sea oil and gas. This would lock the country deeper into a fossil fuel dependency that has left the UK with the highest energy bills in Western Europe.  

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(1)    See Transparency International UK’s database on UK government lobbying, available at openaccess.transparency.org.uk.

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/conservatives-are-the-political-wing-of-the-fossil-fuel-industry-as-sunak-invites-bp-and-shell-to-downing-street/

Continue ReadingConservatives are the ‘political wing of the fossil fuel industry’ as Sunak invites BP and Shell to Downing Street

Rishi Sunak’s family firm signed billion-dollar deal with BP before he announced new oil and gas licences

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/08/rishi-sunaks-family-firm-signed-billion-dollar-deal-with-bp-before-he-announced-new-oil-and-gas-licences/

Just a coincidence?

The firm founded by Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law signed a billion-dollar deal with BP just months before the Prime Minister gave the go ahead for new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

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It’s since come to light that in May, Infosys, the company founded by Sunak’s father-in-law, bagged a huge deal from the global energy company, BP. Byline Times also reported in July 2022 that: “Sunak and his family are intimately linked to the fossil fuel industry through his wife Akshata Murty’s stake in the transnational IT services firm Infosys, one of whose top clients is oil giant Shell.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/08/rishi-sunaks-family-firm-signed-billion-dollar-deal-with-bp-before-he-announced-new-oil-and-gas-licences/

Continue ReadingRishi Sunak’s family firm signed billion-dollar deal with BP before he announced new oil and gas licences

We want the story of Rishi Sunak’s attempts to evade press scrutiny in Scotland

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Sunak placed many restrictions on the press on his recent visit to Scotland to gaslight abandoning Net Zero. There are very few details available but they include severely restricting access to journalists. It’s not the first time Rish! has got arsy with the Scottish press. We’d like that story please Scottish media.

2/8/23 Rishi Sunak puts strict rules on media for Scottish visit

RISHI Sunak has been accused of trying to give himself an “easy ride” by attempting to avoid answering questions from the Scottish press.

It comes after the Prime Minister’s visit to Aberdeenshire saw just 15 minutes pre-allocated to speak to the media – five minutes to BBC Scotland and 10 to print publications.

Sunak’s appearance on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland was widely condemned after he became agitated with the interviewer, Martin Geissler, following a standard question about using a private jet to travel from London to Aberdeen.

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And the 10 minutes he had allocated to print media came with strict rules, including a ban on reporting anything that happened until 10.30pm on Monday evening – nearly 12 hours later.

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Attempting to avoid scrutiny and engage in misdirection and deception? No 10 Press Office engaged in misdirection by promoting Sunak’s trip to Aberdeen to promote carbon capture – it appears that there was little mention of the vast increase in exploration licences beforehand. Am I correct in that claim?

2/8/23 10.35 It appears that I am not correct which leaves the question what did the press office not want reported i.e. effectively killed, until 10.30pm

Continue ReadingWe want the story of Rishi Sunak’s attempts to evade press scrutiny in Scotland