EU warned by Britain not to ‘play politics’ on security
THERESA MAY has rejected calls to sack a Downing Street aide who allegedly “outed” a whistleblower who claimed the official Brexit campaign broke strict spending rules during the referendum on European Union membership.
Shahmir Sanni claimed Vote Leave used its links with another pro-Brexit group to get round the £7m spending limit.
He also alleged through his lawyers that he had been “outed” by Number 10 over a relationship he had during the referendum with Stephen Parkinson, a senior figure in the Vote Leave campaign who is now the Prime Minister’s political secretary.
Mr Parkinson, who is a political appointee employed by the Conservative Party, said he believed it was inevitable that details of their relationship would become known once Mr Sanni decided to go public with his allegations in interviews with Channel 4 News and the Observer.
However, Chris Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower who disclosed the Facebook data breach and a friend of Mr Sanni, said Mr Parkinson’s actions had put Mr Sanni’s family in Pakistan in danger, forcing them to take measures for their own security.
“He was forced to come out to his mum in the middle of the night because No 10 Downing Street decided it was appropriate to out somebody,” Mr Wylie told BBC Radio 4’s programme.
“He (Mr Parkinson) should resign for outing somebody and endangering his family.”
Mrs May rejected MPs’ calls to sack Mr Parkinson as she delivered a Commons statement on last week’s European Council summit.
Labour former Minister Angela Eagle said: “Prime Minister, given that your political secretary Stephen Parkinson was the person that’s responsible for outing the Vote Leave whistleblower using Number 10 paper and documents, what are you, Prime Minister, going to do? “You should sack him.” Mrs May responded: “No, I’m sorry, that is not what I should be doing, my political secretary does a very good job.
“As I have said any statements that have been made were personal statements.”
Another Labour ex-Minister, Ben Bradshaw, described Mr Parkinson’s conduct as a “disgrace”.
Mr Bradshaw said: “How is it remotely acceptable that when a young whistleblower exposes compelling evidence of lawbreaking by the Leave campaign, implicating staff at Number 10, one of those named instead of addressing the allegations issues an officially sanctioned statement outing the whistleblower as gay and thereby putting his family in Pakistan in danger?”
Mrs May said: “I of course recognise the importance of ensuring that we do recognise that for some being outed as gay is difficult because of their family circumstances.
“What I want to see is a world where everybody is able to be confident in their sexuality and doesn’t have to worry about such things.”
The claims centre around Vote Leave, the referendum’s official Brexit campaign, and its links to the BeLeave group which it helped fund.
Mr Sanni claimed Vote Leave used BeLeave to get around spending limits but Mr Parkinson and Vote Leave have strongly denied wrongdoing and said the £625,000 donated to BeLeave was within the rules which allowed money to go to other independent campaigns.
The cash was reportedly given straight to Canadian company AggregateIQ – alleged to have links to controversial data firm Cambridge Analytica.
A legal opinion obtained by lawyers acting on behalf of the whistleblowers said the information provides grounds to suspect Vote Leave broke electoral law.
The 50-page opinion obtained by Bindmans solicitors also said there were “reasonable grounds” for an investigation into the possibility of a conspiracy involving Mr Parkinson and another Number 10 adviser Cleo Watson, who also worked for Vote Leave.
The allegations have all been denied by Vote Leave and its former officials, who reject all accusations of wrongdoing. BRITAIN IS battling to remain a full participant in a multi-billionpound EU satellite project which the Defence Secretary has said is vital to the continent’s security after Brexit.
Gavin Williamson urged the European Commission not to “play politics” on defence and security amid fears that the UK could be frozen out of some aspects of the 10bn euro (£8.5bn) Galileo satellite project to create a European encrypted navigation system to rival America’s GPS. According to the
the Commission wrote to Ministers in January warning it would be “inapproprioate” to divulge sensitive information about its plans for the post-Brexit period to a departing member state.
Ministers were reported to be furious at the move, which could freeze UK companies out of lucrative work on a project to which Britain has made a major contribution.
And Mr Williamson was reported to have “hit the roof” at the prospect of British Armed Forces being excluded from using the satellite system.
Speaking during a visit to Estonia, Yorkshire-born Mr Williamson said the Commission’s approach was “deeply disappointing”.
“What has been notable as I have spoken to so many defence ministers across Europe is that they think the EU Commission’s view is wrong and actually not only will be detrimental to Britain but will also be highly detrimental to European security,” he said.
“So I very much hope the EU Commission will take the opportunity to see sense, recalibrate its position and not play politics on something that is so vitally important – which is European defence and security.”
In the Commons, Theresa May said Britain’s “world-leading” space sector has contributed a “significant amount of expertise” to the Galileo programme so it is in EU interests to keep the UK in.
Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said: “Now is the right time to start thinking about adjusting co-operation with regard to the Galileo programme to the way the EU co-operates with other third countries in such matters.”