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Tim Picton

@timpicton

Anti-corruption advocacy for @spotlightcorruption.org. Views own or sometimes heavily plagiarised.

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Latest posts by Tim Picton @timpicton

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Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’ Exclusive: Rented datacentres and unrealised supercomputer site raise questions for Starmer’s push to ‘mainline AI into veins of economy’

"But a Guardian investigation has shown the money isn’t necessarily real, the datacentres may not be new, the jobs are unaccounted for – and the supercomputer site 12 miles north of London is still a scaffolding yard" - fascinating report from @aishadown.bsky.social

09.03.2026 15:06 👍 23 🔁 9 💬 0 📌 2

Oh and on your first point about overseas electors, who are not UK taxpayers, being prohibited from donating, there are existing provisions in the Political Parties and Elections Act 2009 that could do this.

They have just never been commenced and need some tweaks. So watch this space…

06.03.2026 19:58 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Pleased to have had a comment in this piece:

“Rushing through this proposal could add yet another loophole that will weaken our already threadbare lobbying transparency regime, put us at odds with the standards of other legislatures and leave us yet more vulnerable to covert foreign interference.”

06.03.2026 19:51 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Thanks v much for the kind words!

As an update, Liam Byrne MP has now tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill to ban crypto donations in politics. Hoping to see it backed widely across the Commons.

06.03.2026 19:33 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 0
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Tory peer to leave House of Lords after investigation finds he breached standards over £50m Covid PPE deals Lord Chadlington introduced government to supplier in which he had financial interest in 2020

Peter Gummer to quit House of Lords after damning conduct committee report recommends 12-month suspension over introduction of PPE company to govt and failing to cooperate with earlier inquiries. Top reporting from David Conn

06.03.2026 16:06 👍 47 🔁 22 💬 8 📌 5
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🎥 Live now with our excellent panel, discussing political funding, transparency, and foreign influence...
❓ Is UK democracy up for sale? 💷
📍 www.radixbigtent.org.uk/events/polit...

05.03.2026 13:28 👍 2 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
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NHS official pushed to add patient data to Palantir platform while also advising company Matthew Swindells has been joint chair of four major hospital trusts in north west London since April 2022

NHS official pushed to add patient data to Palantir platform while also advising company ft.trib.al/5F32aYS

05.03.2026 05:20 👍 62 🔁 47 💬 7 📌 14
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Representation of the People Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : ' Representation of the People Bill' on Monday 2 March 2026.

This is very timely and comes on the back of calls from MPs during a Commons debate last night to place more restrictions on the ability of think tanks to donate to political parties - esp those fuelled and driven by overseas funds and interests.

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026...?

03.03.2026 18:22 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Another really interesting piece from GLP which suggests that the Electoral Commission is assessing whether Centre for a Better Britain may have fallen short of the rules by failing to register as a third-party campaigner...

03.03.2026 18:22 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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🚨 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐂𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐘 🚨

The referee is back to refereeing.

For too long, the Strategy and Policy Statement gave Ministers undue influence over the Electoral Commission - letting politicians lean on the body meant to police elections 👇

03.03.2026 11:45 👍 2 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
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Democracy in danger: why the government must restore the Electoral Commission’s full independence - Spotlight on Corruption A fully independent Electoral Commission is critical to ensuring the integrity of UK elections, and maintaining public confidence that elections are run fairly.

🎉 Really positive news coming from parliament that the government will scrap the Strategy and Policy Statement for the @electoralcommission.org.uk.
⚠️ We previously warned about the risks of keeping the statement in place in our report, Democracy in Danger 🧵 ⬇️

02.03.2026 18:18 👍 31 🔁 15 💬 2 📌 0
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🎥 BIG MONEY IS CORRUPTING OUR POLITICS 🎥

UK politics has a big money problem 💷

The super-rich use money to buy honours, influence and access to power. It erodes trust in our politics and undermines our democracy.

The UK needs a cap on donations to end big money in our politics.

More below ⤵️

25.02.2026 17:24 👍 95 🔁 64 💬 4 📌 11
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Russian firms have routed $8bn of trade through British island territories since invasion of Ukraine Anti-corruption group Transparency International have catalogued ‘sanctions circumvention’ channelled through ‘unaccountable jurisdictions’

Drilling kit for Russia's money-spinning oil industry, yachts linked to Medvedev and Yanukovych, an aircraft for Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

All part of $8bn trade flowing through the UK's island havens since 2022.

25.02.2026 08:15 👍 168 🔁 94 💬 0 📌 2

Pleased to be quoted in this piece to reiterate @spotlightcorruption.org’s and @ukanticorruptioncoalition.org’s calls for a ban on the dark money threat of crypto political donations, enshrined in law in such a way that it can’t be overturned without a proper parliamentary and legislative process ⬇️

24.02.2026 20:49 👍 12 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 1
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Billionaire halts mass eviction after London Centric investigation Exclusive: Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital hoped to replace hundreds of tenants with more lucrative temporary accommodation. That plan has been shelved – for now.

Our piece this morning about a billionaire halting one of the largest mass evictions in London’s recent history after London Centric’s weekend report —

open.substack.com/pub/londonce...

24.02.2026 11:24 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
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Who's the billionaire behind London’s biggest mass eviction? He's the London philanthropist who says he's committed to solving homelessness. So why is Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital rushing to make hundreds of Londoners homeless in the coming weeks?

London’s “worst mass eviction in recent history” is underway; hundreds of households across London told to get out of their homes this week by the same landlord, ahead of the renters rights act. The landlord? Billionaire Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital. www.londoncentric.media/p/asif-aziz-...

22.02.2026 07:53 👍 1030 🔁 814 💬 59 📌 159
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Revealed: Government accused of ‘conflict of interest’ over journalist smear inquiry Starmer said Cabinet Office will investigate Josh Simons and Labour Together - but its ministers have received more than £150,000 from the think tank and its directors

🚨 Cabinet Office investigating Labour Together and Josh Simons over campaign to smear journalists

But...ministers overseeing inquiry have received £150,000+ from Labour think tank

Experts and MPs demand 'full independent investigation'

New on D4S: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-g... 🧵

21.02.2026 09:33 👍 563 🔁 294 💬 21 📌 36
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Statement: UKACC Calls for Reform of the Misconduct in Public Office offence: Robust Accountability Matters — UK Anti-Corruption Coalition **For immediate release** Thursday 19 February 2026 – Today's arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is the second high-profile investigation under the Misconduct in Public Office offence in the las...

🚨 NEW: Today's arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor puts the Misconduct in Public Office offence under the spotlight.

👉 This is a law that needs tightening to ensure that our criminal law is fit for purpose.

Read our full statement:

www.ukanticorruptioncoalition.org/work/stateme...

19.02.2026 17:50 👍 9 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0
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Briefing: Banning crypto donations – Why prevention is better than cure - Spotlight on Corruption Banning crypto donations: The government’s Representation of the People Bill does not yet contain a ban on crypto donations.

Here's a new Q&A paper I have put together with the @spotlightcorruption.org team on why the UK government should implement a full ban on crypto donations in UK politics, including addressing the emerging threat of party political memecoins 🪙🪙🪙

www.spotlightcorruption.org/report/brief...

19.02.2026 16:35 👍 10 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 4

Legions of fossil fuel-powered British AI - the next anti-climate fantasy of the British right.

...Labour still won't comment on whether it will support UK AI data centres that want to power their operations with gas.

Read more about the ongoing battle @desmog.com

18.02.2026 15:10 👍 14 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 1
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Putin’s megaphone: Orbán’s far-right push into UK universities is fuelled by Russian oil | Good Law Project Good Law Project has uncovered a network funded by Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán, that uses profits from refining Russian oil to platform far right and anti-trans campaigners in the UK

Great to see GLP publish this.

This is an important case study showing that foreign interference should also be looked at through the lens of countries such as the US and Hungary funnelling dark money into UK think tanks.

Should Gove now face questions?

goodlawproject.org/putins-megap...

16.02.2026 15:12 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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New Representation of the People Bill – Still far to go to protect UK democracy - Spotlight on Corruption The government’s Representation of the People Bill goes some way towards protecting our democracy by introducing stronger checks on donations and enhancing

⚠️ The government’s #ElectionsBill announced last week needs major work if it is to achieve its goal of ending foreign and undue interference in our democracy. Here are 7️⃣ essential measures that Parliamentarians need to take forward before the Bill becomes law. 🧵

16.02.2026 14:58 👍 4 🔁 14 💬 1 📌 0
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Calls to halt UK Palantir contracts grow amid ‘lack of transparency’ over deals Opposition MPs urge Labour to pause public contracts with the US tech firm after attempts to probe deals blocked Labour should halt public contracts with the US tech company Palantir, opposition politicians have said, amid growing concern at the lack of government transparency over dealings with the company and Peter Mandelson. Since 2023, Palantir has secured more than £500m in contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence, while it employed Global Counsel, the lobbying firm founded by Mandelson. Emails released by the US Department of Justice show Mandelson sought help from Jeffrey Epstein to find “rich individuals” as clients. Continue reading...

Calls to halt UK Palantir contracts grow amid ‘lack of transparency’ over deals

05.02.2026 19:16 👍 341 🔁 127 💬 8 📌 7

Three words (derivative of Liz Truss)

What a disgrace.

05.02.2026 23:32 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Mandelson’s misconduct – a moment of reckoning for the UK’s political establishment - Spotlight on Corruption The Mandelson scandal must lead to a review of whether the new misconduct in public office offence in the Hillsborough Bill is robust enough, and urgent

🚨 Why bringing misconduct in public office charges against Lord Mandelson faces major hurdles
⛔ Why the changes in the #HillsboroughBill probably won't help
💥 And what needs to happen next if we're to restore integrity to British politics
Read @suehawley.bsky.social's analysis 👇

05.02.2026 14:40 👍 12 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 2

And props to @mc00.bsky.social who has been doggedly tracking Palantir’s (sometimes secret) government and public sector contracts from the beginning and is the authority on the subject.

04.02.2026 20:27 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

Good to see MPs raising pertinent questions about this conflict of interest over government dealings with Palantir.

I remember investigating this for Good Law Project back in April and being told in response to FOIs that no paper trail was kept from Starmer and Mandelson’s visit to Palantir’s HQ.

04.02.2026 20:24 👍 8 🔁 9 💬 1 📌 0
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X.AI LONDON LTD overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK X.AI LONDON LTD - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

I wonder if X AI London, Elon’s Musk’s UK subsidiary vehicle for Grok, could soon face compulsory strike-off from the Companies House register for failing to file a confirmation statement more than a month after the deadline?

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/1613...

04.02.2026 18:52 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A couple of weeks left to apply for this brilliant role!

Do get in touch if you would like to know more about it.

02.02.2026 10:34 👍 3 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0

And this FOI shows just how soft the current rules are for political parties checking the permissibility of corporate donations

www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/defaul...

01.02.2026 16:11 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0