CONCERNS have been raised that “dark money” is being used to fund adverts for Unionist Facebook groups, an investigation by The Ferret and The Free Press for today’s Sunday National has found. A UK Government adviser and a senior figure at the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) think tank is among the figures behind the funding, along with two men who campaigned against Jeremy Corbyn through social media groups and who are now targeting the SNP. The SNP described the Tories and dark money as “familiar partners”. So-called dark money is funding raised for political campaigning through non-profit organisations that do not have to provide the identity of the source of those funds.
By Billy Briggs and Sean Rankin
Two people who campaigned against Jeremy Corbyn through opaque social media groups are now running Facebook campaigns targeting the SNP A UK Government adviser and senior figure at the Adam Smith Institute (ASI) has funded adverts for a campaign group called Businesses For The Union, prompting concerns over so-called “dark money” political activity in Scotland’s election campaign. An investigation by The Ferret and The Free Press also found that two people who campaigned against Jeremy Corbyn through opaque social media groups are now running Facebook campaigns targeting the SNP. Although the above political activism is perfectly legal, campaigners have raised concerns over a lack of transparency over funding and called for new legislation to combat the influence of so-called dark money in politics.
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Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary who now chairs the Commons health committee, said the integrated care systems would be very powerful and asked how local people would be able to gauge the quality of care – and if Hancock could consider ratings systems, as for hospitals.
“It is nonetheless the right thing to do, and a brave thing to do,” said Hunt, who began his speech by praising staff at his local hospital in Surrey who had treated him that morning after he slipped during a run and broke his arm.
Sarah Wollaston, Hunt’s predecessor as health committee chair, who was a Conservative and then Liberal Democrat MP before leaving the Commons in 2019, also praised the broad direction of the plans, saying they brought a “welcome end to expensive and time-consuming contracting rounds”.
commitment to the existing strategy, reflected on the bravery and shared sacrifice of united kingdom and united states armed forces in afghanistan, and agreed that the importance of progress on the political track to complement the military effort was essential. is it not time, after nearly 10 years of british deployment in afghanistan, that the whole strategy should be reconsidered? last year, 1,000 afghan people died, and 300 and more british soldiers have lost their lives in afghanistan, as have many from other coalition forces. opinion polls in afghanistan show declining support for western involvement there. if british troops are going to remain there for another five years, how many more are going to die, how much deeper is the civil war going to get and how much deeper are we going to be involved in conflicts in that region? is it not time to say that this strategy has run its course and that it is time, now, to withdraw from afghanistan? my right honorable friend th