Brexit: Emily Maitlis eviscerates Jacob Rees-Mogg on Newsnight for 'evoking slavery'
To say that Jacob Rees-Mogg isn't the most popular MP in Westminster is a bit of an understatement. His tendency to use hyperbole and dramatically U-turn on things that he has previously said does not go unnoticed by his critics, yet he somehow remains a politician with some stature. This means he still gets to go on television, but - while he often gets a free ride from some presenters - the BBC's Emily Maitlis gave the Tory MP a proper grilling during his appearance on Thursday's edition of Newsnight.
The ardent Brexiteer appeared on the show to attempt to rectify his position on Theresa May's Brexit deal, with MPs are set to vote for a part of on Friday.
However, rather than let the MP for North East Somerset sit there comfortably, Maitlis brought up some of his previous quotes on the prime ministers deal which he had referred to as 'turning the UK into a slave state'.
The 48-year-old journalist said to Rees-Mogg:
You’ve taken a principled stance, haven’t you against the EU? You’ve been principled against Theresa May’s deal. You said it would turn the UK into a slave state. The greatest vassalage since King John. You’ve said all that.
Rees-Mogg replied: Correct. I think the deal is terrible. We've discussed this before. Remaining in the European Union is worse. Maitlis then pulled him and told him that he had used rhetoric that had 'evoked slavery'.
Rees-Mogg said: That’s absolutely true. The deal is a bad deal. We paid £39 billion for nothing. We retain for 21 months, the slave state that you refer to, and we have an Irish backstop that has no specific end date. This is a bad deal, but it is legally out of the European Union.
Maitlis, clearly losing her patience with the MP, then repeated what he had said in the past. I’m just going to repeat this because it matters Jacob, you evoked slavery. Of course, people are allowed to change their mind and we want our parliamentarians to be able to compromise. But you didn’t say ‘well, I’m not quite sure’ you said ‘it would turn the UK in slave state’ and then you consider voting for it.
Rees-Mogg argued: For 21 months, our laws under this deal will be made without us having any say over it. That is true and that is terrible.
Maitlis then accused him of whipping up 'fear and hatred': You whipped up hatred and fear with a language like that. You know what it’s like to face abuse.
Rees-Mogg tried to defend himself: No, no, frankly, I didn’t. That’s simply not true. If anyone’s whipping up hatred, it’s the BBC who compared the ERG just last week to the National Front in France, if we’re getting silly language, it’s from the BBC.
Maitlis again came back: By using language like that you make a mockery of language you make a mockery of truth.
The MP claimed that it was a 'silly way' of looking at the situation. I think that is a silly way of looking at it quite honestly. We will be unable to make our own laws for that 21-month period, that is true.
Maitlis replied: That is not what you said, you said it would turn the UK into a slave state. That’s what that means.
Needless to say, it made for riveting viewing and people were more than happy to revel in it
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Coincidence? Announced yesterday.....some would say an illegal campaign could assist the revoke argument?
Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against a £61,000 fine for breaking electoral law over spending limits, the Electoral Commission has said.
The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK's EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote.
The campaign said at the time the watchdog's findings were "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated.
It said in a statement it had run out of money to pursue the appeal.
The announcement came as MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU.
Vote Leave's Cummings urges new party Vote Leave fined over 194,154 spam texts Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law The Vote Leave campaign, fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was found by the Electoral Commission to have funnelled £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, days before the referendum in 2016, which helped ensure it did not breach its £7m spending limit.
The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall.
'Serious offences' Vote Leave bosses say they were given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave and they had acted within the rules.
But the Commission found there was "significant evidence of joint working" between Mr Grimes and Vote Leave and that Vote Leave should have declared the spending as its own.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission's finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
"Vote Leave was the designated lead campaigner for the leave outcome at the referendum.
"We found that it broke the electoral rules set out by Parliament to ensure fairness, confidence and legitimacy at an electoral event. Serious offences such as these undermine public confidence in our system and it is vital, therefore, that they are properly investigated and sanctioned.
"We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine and look forward to receiving the sum in full."
Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.
In a statement released to the Daily Mirror, the campaign said: "For almost three years, Vote Leave has successfully fought back against numerous allegations and conspiracy theories, spending almost £1m in the process.
"Since July 2018, we have been preparing our appeal against the Electoral Commission's unwarranted and unsubstantiated finding and fines.
"Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this Appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in Court.
"We have therefore regretfully decided to discontinue our appeal."
Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg jeered as they fold and back Theresa May over Brexit The former Foreign Secretary said he had taken the "painful" decision to vote for the deal
Independent Group MP Anna Soubry tweeted that Jacob Rees-Mogg had joined Boris Johnson in voting for the Prime Minister's deal. She tweeted: "Principle counts for nothing as #JacobReesMogg & #BorisJohnson change their mind and vote for #PMDeal
"Pity the British people can't have the same right to change their mind."
March 17 - Mr Johnson wrote in the Telegraph that the deal was "detrimental to the country". March 10 - Writing in the Telegraph Mr Johnson said the Withdrawal Agreement would make the EU "our colonial masters". February 3 - Mr Johnson said the Withdrawal Agreement was an "appalling deal" that would leave the UK in "servitude" until 2020. January 20 - Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said the deal had been "kicked into orbit" after it had been rejected in the House of Commons. He added: "It will never get through Parliament because it is fundamentally anti-democratic." January 13 - The former foreign secretary wrote in the Telegraph that the deal was a "complete stinker", the "worst of both worlds" and had "appalling defects".
2018 December 2 - Mr Johnson described the backstop as a "great steel trap that is about to clamp its jaws around our hind limbs and prevent our escape" and an "instrument of blackmail" to keep the UK as "effective captives of the EU". November 25 - Mr Johnson wrote that the deal was a "disaster for the country".
November 18 - He said in his Telegraph column that if MPs voted for the deal "we are bowing our neck to the yoke". He added: "We are preparing to take colonial rule by foreign powers and courts." November 12 - Mr Johnson said the terms of the deal were such that "might be enforced on a colony" and warned: "On the present plans we will be a vassal state."
September 27 - He described the Chequers proposals as "disastrous" and said: "Such enforced vassalage should be unacceptable to any democratic country." September 8 - Mr Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the Chequers plan had "wrapped a suicide vest" around the British constitution and "handed the detonator" to Brussels. September 3 - He said that by adopting the Chequers proposals the UK had gone "into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank".
No-deal Brexit ferry service starts running even though the UK is still in the EU
Taxpayer-funded ferry services intended to provide extra capacity to cope with a no-deal Brexit began running on Friday, even though the UK is still in the EU. The first sailing left Portsmouth for Le Havre at 8am on Friday under a £46.6m contract agreed by transport secretary Chris Grayling with Brittany Ferries. The service is part of £108m of additional freight that is supposed to prevent chaos at Britain’s ports and secure the supply of vital goods such as medicines and organs for transplants. The government has no use for the space for at least another two weeks because Brexit has been delayed. But Brittany Ferries said it was too late to cancel the 20 extra crossings it will be running each week so space is being sold on the open market. Brittany Ferries altered the travel plans of more than 20,000 passengers with existing bookings when it changed its schedules in January.
As part of its contingency planning the Department for Transport also awarded a £14m contract to Seaborne Freight and a £43m contract to Danish shipping firm DFDS. The department terminated its agreement with Seaborne when it became clear that it could not provide the service required. The company had no ships and no financial track record.
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Coincidence? Announced yesterday.....some would say an illegal campaign could assist the revoke argument?
Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against a £61,000 fine for breaking electoral law over spending limits, the Electoral Commission has said.
The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK's EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote.
The campaign said at the time the watchdog's findings were "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated.
It said in a statement it had run out of money to pursue the appeal.
The announcement came as MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU.
Vote Leave's Cummings urges new party Vote Leave fined over 194,154 spam texts Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law The Vote Leave campaign, fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was found by the Electoral Commission to have funnelled £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, days before the referendum in 2016, which helped ensure it did not breach its £7m spending limit.
The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall.
'Serious offences' Vote Leave bosses say they were given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave and they had acted within the rules.
But the Commission found there was "significant evidence of joint working" between Mr Grimes and Vote Leave and that Vote Leave should have declared the spending as its own.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission's finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
"Vote Leave was the designated lead campaigner for the leave outcome at the referendum.
"We found that it broke the electoral rules set out by Parliament to ensure fairness, confidence and legitimacy at an electoral event. Serious offences such as these undermine public confidence in our system and it is vital, therefore, that they are properly investigated and sanctioned.
"We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine and look forward to receiving the sum in full."
Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.
In a statement released to the Daily Mirror, the campaign said: "For almost three years, Vote Leave has successfully fought back against numerous allegations and conspiracy theories, spending almost £1m in the process.
"Since July 2018, we have been preparing our appeal against the Electoral Commission's unwarranted and unsubstantiated finding and fines.
"Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this Appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in Court.
"We have therefore regretfully decided to discontinue our appeal."
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Shocking revelation from the Mirror ...hang him out to dry for having a decent meal in a nice restaurant . Bit short on important news ?
That is one view. Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
He's not retired , and an MEP. Do you not think he has other commitments? I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
Coincidence? Announced yesterday.....some would say an illegal campaign could assist the revoke argument?
Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against a £61,000 fine for breaking electoral law over spending limits, the Electoral Commission has said.
The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK's EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote.
The campaign said at the time the watchdog's findings were "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated.
It said in a statement it had run out of money to pursue the appeal.
The announcement came as MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU.
Vote Leave's Cummings urges new party Vote Leave fined over 194,154 spam texts Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law The Vote Leave campaign, fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was found by the Electoral Commission to have funnelled £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, days before the referendum in 2016, which helped ensure it did not breach its £7m spending limit.
The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall.
'Serious offences' Vote Leave bosses say they were given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave and they had acted within the rules.
But the Commission found there was "significant evidence of joint working" between Mr Grimes and Vote Leave and that Vote Leave should have declared the spending as its own.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission's finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
"Vote Leave was the designated lead campaigner for the leave outcome at the referendum.
"We found that it broke the electoral rules set out by Parliament to ensure fairness, confidence and legitimacy at an electoral event. Serious offences such as these undermine public confidence in our system and it is vital, therefore, that they are properly investigated and sanctioned.
"We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine and look forward to receiving the sum in full."
Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.
In a statement released to the Daily Mirror, the campaign said: "For almost three years, Vote Leave has successfully fought back against numerous allegations and conspiracy theories, spending almost £1m in the process.
"Since July 2018, we have been preparing our appeal against the Electoral Commission's unwarranted and unsubstantiated finding and fines.
"Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this Appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in Court.
"We have therefore regretfully decided to discontinue our appeal."
Incidentally Haysie , as you have been banging on so much about this petition and you feel so strongly about it , did you attend the march ? I notice the petitioner didn't , handy having a holiday at the same time eh ?
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Shocking revelation from the Mirror ...hang him out to dry for having a decent meal in a nice restaurant . Bit short on important news ?
That is one view. Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
He's not retired , and an MEP. Do you not think he has other commitments? I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
He just looks silly. Why get involved if he had prior commitments? Why organise it in the first place? A handful of people taking part was hardly impressive.
Incidentally Haysie , as you have been banging on so much about this petition and you feel so strongly about it , did you attend the march ? I notice the petitioner didn't , handy having a holiday at the same time eh ?
No I didn't. Unlike Nigel Farage, I didn't say I was getting involved, then turn up for 10 minutes, before disappearing. You will note that there were no billboards erected to ridicule me.
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Shocking revelation from the Mirror ...hang him out to dry for having a decent meal in a nice restaurant . Bit short on important news ?
That is one view. Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
He's not retired , and an MEP. Do you not think he has other commitments? I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
He just looks silly. Why get involved if he had prior commitments? Why organise it in the first place? A handful of people taking part was hardly impressive.
Lets get some facts here ...Farage helped to organise it , it was actually a leave means leave baby .
Coincidence? Announced yesterday.....some would say an illegal campaign could assist the revoke argument?
Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against a £61,000 fine for breaking electoral law over spending limits, the Electoral Commission has said.
The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK's EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote.
The campaign said at the time the watchdog's findings were "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated.
It said in a statement it had run out of money to pursue the appeal.
The announcement came as MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU.
Vote Leave's Cummings urges new party Vote Leave fined over 194,154 spam texts Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law The Vote Leave campaign, fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was found by the Electoral Commission to have funnelled £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, days before the referendum in 2016, which helped ensure it did not breach its £7m spending limit.
The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall.
'Serious offences' Vote Leave bosses say they were given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave and they had acted within the rules.
But the Commission found there was "significant evidence of joint working" between Mr Grimes and Vote Leave and that Vote Leave should have declared the spending as its own.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission's finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
"Vote Leave was the designated lead campaigner for the leave outcome at the referendum.
"We found that it broke the electoral rules set out by Parliament to ensure fairness, confidence and legitimacy at an electoral event. Serious offences such as these undermine public confidence in our system and it is vital, therefore, that they are properly investigated and sanctioned.
"We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine and look forward to receiving the sum in full."
Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.
In a statement released to the Daily Mirror, the campaign said: "For almost three years, Vote Leave has successfully fought back against numerous allegations and conspiracy theories, spending almost £1m in the process.
"Since July 2018, we have been preparing our appeal against the Electoral Commission's unwarranted and unsubstantiated finding and fines.
"Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this Appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in Court.
"We have therefore regretfully decided to discontinue our appeal."
That's the shocking part in this !
Well they would say that wouldn't they?
Aaron Banks is hardly skint.
Its just a pity that the Electoral Commission is so limited in the penalties they are able to impose.
What on earth do you think they would say if they were as guilty as sin?
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Shocking revelation from the Mirror ...hang him out to dry for having a decent meal in a nice restaurant . Bit short on important news ?
That is one view. Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
He's not retired , and an MEP. Do you not think he has other commitments? I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
He just looks silly. Why get involved if he had prior commitments? Why organise it in the first place? A handful of people taking part was hardly impressive.
Lets get some facts here ...Farage helped to organise it , it was actually a leave means leave baby .
Despite his commitments he turned up at the start, and promptly disappeared. Leaving himself open to the ridicule of the billboards. Those that organised the billboards knew exactly what he would do. He didn't disappoint them. The object of a protest is to get publicity for your cause. You can decide for yourself which got the better publicity, the million people on the one day "put it to the people" march, or the handful of people, and the "Wheres Nigel" billboards, on the 2 week Brexit Betrayal march.
Nigels was poorly organised.
Well, would have been interesting to see how many the peoples march would have attracted if it had been a 2 week march . The money is on considerably less , for the reasons I have already given .
Nigel Farage enjoys posh restaurant while Brexit marchers trudge through the mud The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
Shocking revelation from the Mirror ...hang him out to dry for having a decent meal in a nice restaurant . Bit short on important news ?
That is one view. Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
He's not retired , and an MEP. Do you not think he has other commitments? I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
He just looks silly. Why get involved if he had prior commitments? Why organise it in the first place? A handful of people taking part was hardly impressive.
Lets get some facts here ...Farage helped to organise it , it was actually a leave means leave baby .
Despite his commitments he turned up at the start, and promptly disappeared. Leaving himself open to the ridicule of the billboards. Those that organised the billboards knew exactly what he would do. He didn't disappoint them. The object of a protest is to get publicity for your cause. You can decide for yourself which got the better publicity, the million people on the one day "put it to the people" march, or the handful of people, and the "Wheres Nigel" billboards, on the 2 week Brexit Betrayal march.
Comments
To say that Jacob Rees-Mogg isn't the most popular MP in Westminster is a bit of an understatement.
His tendency to use hyperbole and dramatically U-turn on things that he has previously said does not go unnoticed by his critics, yet he somehow remains a politician with some stature.
This means he still gets to go on television, but - while he often gets a free ride from some presenters - the BBC's Emily Maitlis gave the Tory MP a proper grilling during his appearance on Thursday's edition of Newsnight.
The ardent Brexiteer appeared on the show to attempt to rectify his position on Theresa May's Brexit deal, with MPs are set to vote for a part of on Friday.
However, rather than let the MP for North East Somerset sit there comfortably, Maitlis brought up some of his previous quotes on the prime ministers deal which he had referred to as 'turning the UK into a slave state'.
The 48-year-old journalist said to Rees-Mogg:
You’ve taken a principled stance, haven’t you against the EU? You’ve been principled against Theresa May’s deal.
You said it would turn the UK into a slave state. The greatest vassalage since King John. You’ve said all that.
Rees-Mogg replied:
Correct. I think the deal is terrible. We've discussed this before. Remaining in the European Union is worse.
Maitlis then pulled him and told him that he had used rhetoric that had 'evoked slavery'.
Rees-Mogg said:
That’s absolutely true. The deal is a bad deal. We paid £39 billion for nothing.
We retain for 21 months, the slave state that you refer to, and we have an Irish backstop that has no specific end date.
This is a bad deal, but it is legally out of the European Union.
Maitlis, clearly losing her patience with the MP, then repeated what he had said in the past.
I’m just going to repeat this because it matters Jacob, you evoked slavery.
Of course, people are allowed to change their mind and we want our parliamentarians to be able to compromise.
But you didn’t say ‘well, I’m not quite sure’ you said ‘it would turn the UK in slave state’ and then you consider voting for it.
Rees-Mogg argued:
For 21 months, our laws under this deal will be made without us having any say over it. That is true and that is terrible.
Maitlis then accused him of whipping up 'fear and hatred':
You whipped up hatred and fear with a language like that. You know what it’s like to face abuse.
Rees-Mogg tried to defend himself:
No, no, frankly, I didn’t. That’s simply not true.
If anyone’s whipping up hatred, it’s the BBC who compared the ERG just last week to the National Front in France, if we’re getting silly language, it’s from the BBC.
Maitlis again came back:
By using language like that you make a mockery of language you make a mockery of truth.
The MP claimed that it was a 'silly way' of looking at the situation.
I think that is a silly way of looking at it quite honestly.
We will be unable to make our own laws for that 21-month period, that is true.
Maitlis replied:
That is not what you said, you said it would turn the UK into a slave state. That’s what that means.
Needless to say, it made for riveting viewing and people were more than happy to revel in it
https://www.indy100.com/article/brexit-eu-jacob-rees-mogg-emily-maitlis-bbc-newsnight-theresa-may-deal-8845256
The ex-Ukip leader lunched at posh Italian restaurant in Chelsea yesterday, where a Dover Sole costs £39 and the cheapest wine is £40 a bottle
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/nigel-farage-enjoys-posh-restaurant-14202076
Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against a £61,000 fine for breaking electoral law over spending limits, the Electoral Commission has said.
The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK's EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote.
The campaign said at the time the watchdog's findings were "wholly inaccurate" and politically motivated.
It said in a statement it had run out of money to pursue the appeal.
The announcement came as MPs rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement on the day the UK had been due to leave the EU.
Vote Leave's Cummings urges new party
Vote Leave fined over 194,154 spam texts
Vote Leave campaign broke electoral law
The Vote Leave campaign, fronted by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, was found by the Electoral Commission to have funnelled £675,315 through pro-Brexit youth group BeLeave, days before the referendum in 2016, which helped ensure it did not breach its £7m spending limit.
The founder of BeLeave, Darren Grimes, was fined £20,000 and referred to the police, along with Vote Leave official David Halsall.
'Serious offences'
Vote Leave bosses say they were given the go-ahead to give the money to BeLeave and they had acted within the rules.
But the Commission found there was "significant evidence of joint working" between Mr Grimes and Vote Leave and that Vote Leave should have declared the spending as its own.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: "Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission's finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign.
"Vote Leave was the designated lead campaigner for the leave outcome at the referendum.
"We found that it broke the electoral rules set out by Parliament to ensure fairness, confidence and legitimacy at an electoral event. Serious offences such as these undermine public confidence in our system and it is vital, therefore, that they are properly investigated and sanctioned.
"We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine and look forward to receiving the sum in full."
Vote Leave has been contacted for a response.
In a statement released to the Daily Mirror, the campaign said: "For almost three years, Vote Leave has successfully fought back against numerous allegations and conspiracy theories, spending almost £1m in the process.
"Since July 2018, we have been preparing our appeal against the Electoral Commission's unwarranted and unsubstantiated finding and fines.
"Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this Appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in Court.
"We have therefore regretfully decided to discontinue our appeal."
The former Foreign Secretary said he had taken the "painful" decision to vote for the deal
Independent Group MP Anna Soubry tweeted that Jacob Rees-Mogg had joined Boris Johnson in voting for the Prime Minister's deal.
She tweeted: "Principle counts for nothing as #JacobReesMogg & #BorisJohnson change their mind and vote for #PMDeal
"Pity the British people can't have the same right to change their mind."
March 17 - Mr Johnson wrote in the Telegraph that the deal was "detrimental to the country".
March 10 - Writing in the Telegraph Mr Johnson said the Withdrawal Agreement would make the EU "our colonial masters".
February 3 - Mr Johnson said the Withdrawal Agreement was an "appalling deal" that would leave the UK in "servitude" until 2020.
January 20 - Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said the deal had been "kicked into orbit" after it had been rejected in the House of Commons. He added: "It will never get through Parliament because it is fundamentally anti-democratic."
January 13 - The former foreign secretary wrote in the Telegraph that the deal was a "complete stinker", the "worst of both worlds" and had "appalling defects".
2018
December 2 - Mr Johnson described the backstop as a "great steel trap that is about to clamp its jaws around our hind limbs and prevent our escape" and an "instrument of blackmail" to keep the UK as "effective captives of the EU".
November 25 - Mr Johnson wrote that the deal was a "disaster for the country".
November 18 - He said in his Telegraph column that if MPs voted for the deal "we are bowing our neck to the yoke". He added: "We are preparing to take colonial rule by foreign powers and courts."
November 12 - Mr Johnson said the terms of the deal were such that "might be enforced on a colony" and warned: "On the present plans we will be a vassal state."
September 27 - He described the Chequers proposals as "disastrous" and said: "Such enforced vassalage should be unacceptable to any democratic country."
September 8 - Mr Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the Chequers plan had "wrapped a suicide vest" around the British constitution and "handed the detonator" to Brussels.
September 3 - He said that by adopting the Chequers proposals the UK had gone "into battle with the white flag fluttering over our leading tank".
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-jacob-rees-mogg-14204582
Taxpayer-funded ferry services intended to provide extra capacity to cope with a no-deal Brexit began running on Friday, even though the UK is still in the EU.
The first sailing left Portsmouth for Le Havre at 8am on Friday under a £46.6m contract agreed by transport secretary Chris Grayling with Brittany Ferries. The service is part of £108m of additional freight that is supposed to prevent chaos at Britain’s ports and secure the supply of vital goods such as medicines and organs for transplants.
The government has no use for the space for at least another two weeks because Brexit has been delayed. But Brittany Ferries said it was too late to cancel the 20 extra crossings it will be running each week so space is being sold on the open market.
Brittany Ferries altered the travel plans of more than 20,000 passengers with existing bookings when it changed its schedules in January.
As part of its contingency planning the Department for Transport also awarded a £14m contract to Seaborne Freight and a £43m contract to Danish shipping firm DFDS. The department terminated its agreement with Seaborne when it became clear that it could not provide the service required. The company had no ships and no financial track record.
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/no-deal-brexit-ferry-starts-164800287.html
Another view is that he heavily promoted a Brexit Betrayal march, turned up at the start, and then quickly disappeared.
It is a continuation of the billboard story, showing how hypocritical he is.
I would also suggest the above applies to all of those in work , and that combined with the fact it was a 2 week " gig" as opposed to a one day event (peoples march) explains a relatively low turn out.
Why get involved if he had prior commitments?
Why organise it in the first place?
A handful of people taking part was hardly impressive.
Unlike Nigel Farage, I didn't say I was getting involved, then turn up for 10 minutes, before disappearing.
You will note that there were no billboards erected to ridicule me.
Well they would say that wouldn't they?
Aaron Banks is hardly skint.
Its just a pity that the Electoral Commission is so limited in the penalties they are able to impose.
What on earth do you think they would say if they were as guilty as sin?
Leaving himself open to the ridicule of the billboards.
Those that organised the billboards knew exactly what he would do.
He didn't disappoint them.
The object of a protest is to get publicity for your cause.
You can decide for yourself which got the better publicity, the million people on the one day "put it to the people" march, or the handful of people, and the "Wheres Nigel" billboards, on the 2 week Brexit Betrayal march.
Nigels was poorly organised.