From Russia with love

Last November the government refused to publish its report on the extent of Russian interference in British democracy. The report’s existence but not its content was widely commented upon, leading many of us to speculate about potential implications for the conservative government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Boris did promise to release the report in all its unredacted glory after the election, claiming bizarrely that to let the British public know the facts before they went to the polls was not in the public interest.

Togetherness: Boris & Vlad

Well the election is over and done. Parliament has returned and the time seems to have come. So where is it, Boris? You’ve had time to renege on your promises about workers’ rights, the minimum wage (which you mistakenly keep referring to as the living wage – a completely different concept), reuniting abandoned children and you even managed to criminalise Roma people simply for being themselves. So how come you can’t manage to publish the document you promised? You’ve had it since 17th October and…

“The protocols are quite clear. If the prime minister has a good reason for preventing publication he should explain to the committee what it is, and do it within 10 days of him receiving the report. If not, it should be published.”

Once again, this sorry excuse for a government seems determined to avoid all scrutiny, not just over the rapidly changing Brexit withdrawal proposals but over just about everything of note. This isn’t democracy, it’s dictatorship in all but name.