Carl31

Broad interest commenter and poster. Politics, football. Await next energy crisis - hope we cope.

[The Receipts UK ♿ @david_hollas]

Guardian: Farage's £5m Harborne gift was reported to the NCA over money laundering concerns, before he even entered politics.
Bankers filed a Suspicious Activity Report on 16 May 2024. They couldn't satisfy themselves where the money had actually come from. An SAR isn't proof of wrongdoing, it's a professional judgement call that a transaction needs deeper scrutiny. This one came from bankers, not political opponents.
Here's the part that actually matters. Harborne's lawyers say the £5m was sent in one transfer on 5 April 2024. But according to the Guardian's financial sources, transfers were still incomplete as late as 22 May, the exact day Farage announced he wouldn't stand for parliament. A further payment landed after that announcement, shortly before he confirmed he was contesting Clacton.
Those two timelines cannot both be true.
Michael Ashcroft's new book adds another problem. It says Reform had already recruited a GB News producer by mid-May specifically to launch Farage's candidacy, with a London venue under consideration. So while Farage was publicly ruling himself out on 22 May, his own party was reportedly already building the launch event behind him.
There's also this: on 1 May 2024, weeks before the election, Farage became a person of significant control over Reform's corporate entity. That's a formal ownership and governance role. It sits badly next to his repeated defence that he wasn't a politician at the relevant time and therefore had no obligation to declare anything.
Farage's response to the Guardian repeats the claim that the SAR information was "illegally obtained" and says he has "no reason to doubt the ultimate source of the money." He has given several different explanations over time for what the £5m was actually for: security, a Brexit campaigning reward, and simply "nobody's business."
The NCA won't confirm or deny the SAR, standard practice under the Proceeds of Crime Act. But its existence, confirmed through Guardian sourcing, moves this story from a parliamentary declaration dispute into a live money laundering concern sitting alongside it.
This landed on the same day Farage resigned as Clacton MP to force a by-election, hours after being given a 1pm deadline to respond to the Guardian. The Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems and Restore Britain have all now said they won't stand candidates against him

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@AtTheRaces Did Donsld Trump phone Wolverhampton Racecourse in the meantime

[Rory Bremner 💙🇺🇦 @rorybremner]

Colombia vs Switzerland!
It’s Charlie v The Chocolate Factory…#Fıfaworldcup

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

Some huv goat meat some huvny goat meat

[GB Politics @GBPolitcs]

🚨NEW: A BBC investigation has found that many takeaway doner kebabs contain goat meat following DNA tests

[@BBCNews]

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@prodnose
Although I suppose while you have Harry Kane there's a chance

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

England were 8th best of 32 teams into knockouts
In Scottish football, spfl, championship and league 1 comprise 32 teams total
Translating the WC to these 32 Scottish teams finishing position last season ... England are Dundee who scraped past Queen of the South
>

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

>
My advice to anyone planning on getting an 'England World Cup Winners 2026' tattoo:

Hang fire the now

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@utdmax0 Is it the famous Termitefootleg Karatekick?

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@PatsKam Threemorrow?

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@SamanthaQuek @richardosman
This needs a bread product launchable distance world cup

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@SamanthaQuek Obviously a naan bread would carry in the wind, so conditions have a big say
...
Also
Is it a garlic naan

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@laurieablair Think about what Actual Guay could have achieved

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@omid9 Welcome to being Scottish

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@omid9 Rules are it's 2 defending players need to be goals ideally or level.
If the keepers out it needs to be 2 defenders.

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

Q:
What proportion of those involved in the Battle of Britian died?

[OT @olivertudge1]

Just a message to everyone telling young people to "toughen up" because you had it harder...
Fine. We'll cancel your winter fuel payments.
Toughen up. It's not that cold. Put a jumper on.

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@GeoffWriteBooks @PLZSoccer @PeterMsport We needed to go direct back to front much more often at this wcup

...but tbf to Scotland if one of the morocco pens is given were through before Brazil

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@GeoffWriteBooks @PLZSoccer @PeterMsport His possession passing game strategy is enough to get to major champs, but once decent stronger mobile teams close Scotland down the ball ends up with and spends time with our defence and, no harm to them, theyre our worst players

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@lbertozzi Yes agreed but I could have guessed we needed to beat Haiti by a few goals before a ball was kicked as we had the 5th and 6th ranked teams coming up

[Carl31 @C4rl31]

@GrahamSpiers Whilst wanting Scotland to progress, I watch the teams in other groups having a go to try get through and they all look better than Scotland

[Stephen R Power @racingblogger]

HOW DOES THIS BOOST GET BEAT? 💰