UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679 (https://archive.ph/5Ba6o)

A heated row has broken out over a move by Britain's largest bakery chain to launch a vegan sausage roll.

The pastry, which is filled with a meat substitute and encased in 96 pastry layers, is available in 950 Greggs stores across the country.

It was promised after 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the snack to be launched to accommodate plant-based diet eaters.


But the vegan sausage roll's launch has been greeted by a mixed reaction: Some consumers welcomed it, while others voiced their objections.

View image on Twitter


spread happiness@p4leandp1nk
https://twitter.com/p4leandp1nk/status/1080767496569974785

#VEGANsausageroll thanks Greggs
2764.png


7
10:07 AM - Jan 3, 2019
See spread happiness's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy


Cook and food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe declared she was "frantically googling to see what time my nearest opens tomorrow morning because I will be outside".

While TV writer Brydie Lee-Kennedy called herself "very pro the Greggs vegan sausage roll because anything that wrenches veganism back from the 'clean eating' wellness folk is a good thing".

One Twitter user wrote that finding vegan sausage rolls missing from a store in Corby had "ruined my morning".

Another said: "My son is allergic to dairy products which means I can't really go to Greggs when he's with me. Now I can. Thank you vegans."

View image on Twitter


pg often@pgofton
https://twitter.com/pgofton/status/1080772793774624768

The hype got me like #Greggs #Veganuary

42
10:28 AM - Jan 3, 2019
See pg often's other Tweets
Twitter Ads info and privacy


TV presenter Piers Morgan led the charge of those outraged by the new roll.

"Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan later complained at receiving "howling abuse from vegans", adding: "I get it, you're all hangry. I would be too if I only ate plants and gruel."

Another Twitter user said: "I really struggle to believe that 20,000 vegans are that desperate to eat in a Greggs."

"You don't paint a mustach (sic) on the Mona Lisa and you don't mess with the perfect sausage roll," one quipped.

Journalist Nooruddean Choudry suggested Greggs introduce a halal steak bake to "crank the fume levels right up to 11".

The bakery chain told concerned customers that "change is good" and that there would "always be a classic sausage roll".

It comes on the same day McDonald's launched its first vegetarian "Happy Meal", designed for children.

The new dish comes with a "veggie wrap", instead of the usual chicken or beef option.
Click to expand...

It should be noted that Piers Morgan and Greggs share the same PR firm, so I'm thinking this is some serious faux outrage and South Park KKK gambiting here.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Click to expand...
lamppost said:
Her argument there is something I've noticed popping up more often from these dopey fuckers, basically that we cannot do anything because our hands are tied by the EHCR. Illegals have to be given a fair hearing regardless of how they enter the country.

The obvious answer is to fuck the EHCR, and take control of our borders however necessary... "But do you trust reform with YOUR rights?" etc.
Click to expand...
You know, I actually don't. But honestly, at this point if our choices were "1984, but it's just British people" and "Reality" I would hit the first option as hard as I could. You can unfuck a country, you can't un-erase a people.
 
ProximityThrill said:
Based. You know narrative control is swinging in a rightward direction when even Reddit (r/ukpolitics) is complaining about immigration and heavy tax burdens.
Click to expand...
I will need to look at that because r/ukpolitics is commie Outer Heaven. I have noticed even the nurses on the Reddit when asked about "Please Saar help me study nursing in UK" basically say fuck off.

I am more surprised by how quickly the overturn window shifted, but I think that is because of how fast the news cycle is.

edit - Holy fuck, when did r/ukpolitics start being based? I am somewhat stunned.
 
Kandi Patterns blocked UK users, I will drown the Houses of Parliament in massive quantities of pony beads (in Habbo Hotel).
IMG_6929.webp
 
Chunky Salsa said:
There was never any point debating with these people. It's one of the few things their side ever actually understood. They would go out of their way to find easy soft targets to 'debate' and then simply refuse to platform anyone that could actually have it out with them. It worked for a while, but reality managed to worm its way back into their gay, socialist, mudman loving...apple?
Click to expand...
Debate was and is internet masturbation. There's no point or purpose to it and it's never a fair playing field. Time and time again the BBC will stack question time to get cheers and boos as they want the audience to feel. It's blatant and stupid.

A show of force is the only thing that matters. You can talk all day long but it never gets you any where. Even if you win over the audience what are they going to do? Nothing. These hotel protests are a show of force and a threat of escalation if it doesn't move on. If every where does this then they will have no where to dump them and escalation will happen where they try.
Chunky Salsa said:
You know, I actually don't. But honestly, at this point if our choices were "1984, but it's just British people" and "Reality" I would hit the first option as hard as I could. You can unfuck a country, you can't un-erase a people.
Click to expand...
We're already in 1984. It was never a white ethno state in the novel. It was multi ethnic as a form of division.

Kier Starmer said:
I will need to look at that because r/ukpolitics is commie Outer Heaven. I have noticed even the nurses on the Reddit when asked about "Please Saar help me study nursing in UK" basically say fuck off.

I am more surprised by how quickly the overturn window shifted, but I think that is because of how fast the news cycle is.
Click to expand...
I don't think the overturn window shifted. I think Biden's government lost it's stranglehold on social media and the heavy censorship being removed showed what was being posted. Trump dismantling the government-corporate censorship machine removed a lot of the drones removing the based opinions. Imagine how bad things would be if Labour had that control still.
 
Crunkle said:
I've never felt this kind of fury in the country and I can't imagine what the next four years will be like. This can't be sustained, right?
Click to expand...
Everyone is thinking it alright, we're being quite literally edged en masse right now.
The times of it just being barries showing up to toss stones at hotel windows are in the past, people's mums are at it now, all very mid Weimar 🌈
Maybe it'll simmer a down a bit, but the nuclear enrichment that is the hatred? That's never going away now.
ProximityThrill said:
That video of the working class English lad in Epping calling the preachy Green councillor a stupid cunt warms my heart

Music to my ears
It’s like an illusion being broken in real time. You can tell the only time she’s read the word ‘working class’ is in a Marxist paper or sociology course. Interacting with the real working class and realising they’re not actually communists in waiting short circuits her brain.

Vile commies need to be called out like this more. You can’t have ‘respectful debates’ with these people because they might as well live on another planet. She got a glimpse of just how angry the average working class English people are.

Shitlib brain short-circuiting in real time
Click to expand...
That stupid cunt has a shit script, I of course would have been pressing her about how it's not our problem that browns exist to suffer, but seeing get them utterly booty blasted is purely heart-warming;
1753279572678.webp it's afraid 1753279616631.webp
Tranny bonus too, can I get a chromosome check?
 
Now that I've finally been able to access the site (I feared the worst) here's some afternoon news:

Keir Starmer warns Cabinet of ANOTHER summer of riots after protests outside three asylum hotels

(No shit, Sherlock...)




Essex Police chief hits back against calls to resign as he refuses to apologise over handling of migrant hotel protest:




and Nigel Farage says 'heads must roll' after the above incident:




Sadiq Khan 'shares advice' with Donald Trump-hating New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani:




Police descend on London hotel as protests break out after Home Office takeover:




Government-backed Islamophobia group linked to foundation that slammed counter-extremism programme:




Emergency alert warning issued amid fears alarm being sent to 87 million phones to put some Britons at risk:




'We are one push away from rising up. But what if the first shot has already been fired?' - Kelvin MacKenzie (non-paywall link below):

 
ProximityThrill said:
That video of the working class English lad in Epping calling the preachy Green councillor a stupid cunt warms my heart

Music to my ears
It’s like an illusion being broken in real time. You can tell the only time she’s read the word ‘working class’ is in a Marxist paper or sociology course. Interacting with the real working class and realising they’re not actually communists in waiting short circuits her brain.

Vile commies need to be called out like this more. You can’t have ‘respectful debates’ with these people because they might as well live on another planet. She got a glimpse of just how angry the average working class English people are.

Shitlib brain short-circuiting in real time
Click to expand...
As somebody quoted -

"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy..." George Orwell, 1984

I suppose you could add "and their beta cuck "man"-bun wearing companions, parroting their words in the vain hope of getting laid" - alas, I lack the turn of phrase of one of our nation's greatest novelists.
 
ChonkyNeko said:
VPN providers are about to make absolutely FAT stacks right now with this retarded online act coming into play.
Click to expand...
I fucking love how cloudflare are not only spineless cunts but also hate tor. I can't even connect to half the sites I fucking want to without spamming f5 to try get an exit node that isn't blocked. Fuck vpns they're all scams and the people that shill them are retarded at best. But fucking hell yea fine with vpns but hate the objectively superior version. I just fucking hope the government gets it's shit pushed in when they try to enforce their laws on places that are just simply not in their jurisdiction. I sure do love only being able to use about 10 fucking websites that the government personally selected and even then fuck using any of them if it wants me to link my fucking id to anything considering how much this country loves to arrest people for saying words online. I really especially doubly love that the pc market is a fucking shit show, I was hoping win11's spyware bullshit would force me to upgrade pc and switch os in october but that's been brought forward by these retards and fuck knows there are no good options for upgrading in this current market I really love that.
 
Kier Starmer said:
What is everyone's weapon for defense going to be? I am thinking metal bat and for indoors, crossbow or mechanical bow if I am feeling extra spicy.
Click to expand...
The Far Left.

Seriously - they can do the aggro and violence and drag Starmer out into the streets..

If and when Starmer goes bat-shit insane and demands the Army kill us all, I think he'll be dragged off to the Loony Bin.

I'm actually more confident that, because people can see there's no future under Labour, this will be over soon. When people lose any fear factor or remaining respect for authority, then those in charge will shit themselves sideways big time.

Now that the 'Farms seems to be working again...


Man found guilty of attempting to assist 'Russian spies' in breach of national security:




Burka-clad 'hitwoman' tried to shoot dead Birmingham shopkeeper, court hears:




NHS probes hormone scandal at Brighton GP after hundreds of under-18s given puberty blockers:


 
Sodding lack of Kiwi Farms. Grumble mutter.
I must look up Null's twitter at some point as I need to favourite it as a backup info source.

Anyway funnier stuff.

Police caught escorting the pro-migrant lot to the hotels. As mentioned upthread they claim to have treated both sides equally.
Police have admitted escorting pro-migrant protesters to an asylum hotel at the centre of days of volatile demonstrations.
Essex Police initially denied that it had brought activists from the group Stand up to Racism to the Bell Hotel in Epping amid claims by anti-migrant protesters that the arrival of counter-demonstrators sparked the violence on July 17.
However, the force backtracked after being shown footage of the protesters being escorted by officers from a nearby station to the hotel.
On Wednesday, Essex Police will hold a press conference, at which is expected to explain its policing of the demonstrations.
It came as Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, admitted that mass migration is threatening community cohesion, amid growing fears over another summer of riots.

In total, six people have been charged with offences related to the disorder in Epping, following further clashes between demonstrators and police on Sunday.

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said: “We have a reasonable duty to protect people who want to exercise their rights.
“In terms of bringing people to the hotel, the police have a duty to facilitate free assembly. We would only ever take people away from protest if we felt there was an immediate threat to people or property, to free up police resources, to protect others, or to prevent additional violence.
“In Epping, officers took all three of those into account before making their decisions.”
Nigel Farage said “heads must roll” after police officers escorted Antifa protesters to the Bell Hotel in Epping “to force a confrontation”. He added: “Initially they denied that it had ever happened in the first place.”
The Reform UK leader earlier said: “I didn’t want to believe this had happened and then I saw the video. It’s an absolute disgrace, and the police’s priorities need urgently looking at.”

​

Residents said the decision to escort counter-protesters, some of whom were masked, towards the hotel had made violence inevitable.
Footage shared on social media suggested the confrontation escalated shortly after the arrival of the counter-demonstrators, with objects reportedly thrown and minor injuries sustained.

Orla Minihane, a leader of the anti-migrant protests and a Reform UK council candidate, said that residents – many of whom said they were there because they wanted women and girls to be safe going out alone – felt police were almost forcing a “confrontation” between the two groups.

The row follows numerous accusations of two-tier justice levelled against police in recent months.
Allison Pearson, The Telegraph journalist, was investigated by Essex Police after she posted an allegedly racist tweet online. The force later dropped the investigation.
Thursday’s demonstration was one of a series of protests outside the Bell Hotel after Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old asylum seeker, was charged with sexual assault. The migrant, who denies the charges, is alleged to have attempted to kiss a 14-year-old girl.
On Monday, anti-migrant protests spread to Norfolk after plans to house single male asylum seekers at a hotel were revealed.
Hundreds of demonstrators waved flags, chanted “we want our country back” and clashed with counter-protesters outside the Park Hotel in Diss on Monday evening.


There were no violent clashes, but ugly scenes unfolded as protesters tried to take down the other group’s signs and shouted in each other’s faces.
The hotel in Diss has housed asylum seekers since 2023, but they have mostly been vulnerable women and children. They will now be replaced by single men. South Norfolk council and Norfolk Constabulary have both raised concerns about the proposed change.

​


From around 5.30pm, protesters arrived at the back entrance of the hotel and stood in a long, narrow line on the pavement of Park Road. Several were dressed in St George’s Cross bucket hats, while others carried Union Flags.

They shouted “send them home” and “stop prioritising migrants over our population”.


Across the road, a group of about 30 counter-protesters stood by the hotel gates with signs that read “refugees welcome/stop the far Right”.
They tried to drown out the larger group with chants of “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”.
After trading chants and insults for about 30 minutes, anti-migrant demonstrators crossed the road and a line of police officers had to step in to keep the groups apart.
Vastly outnumbered, the counter-protesters left shortly after 6pm. Norfolk Constabulary said no arrests were made.

The force has previously expressed concerns about the potential strain on resources that single adult males instead of families being housed at the hotel would have. The council has also written to the Home Office asking it to halt the plans.
Daniel Elmer, the authority’s Conservative leader, said: “We are really disappointed by the decision made by the Home Office to remove families from the Park Hotel and to replace them with single male asylum seekers.

“South Norfolk, and especially Diss, has a long history of welcoming refugees and those in need of help and offering a safe place to stay.
“The families have been with us for two years, and it has been a success. They have integrated well into the local community, with the children going to local schools and the mothers welcomed by local community groups. This success has made the decision by the Home Office that much more difficult to understand.”
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, migrant hotel protests spread to London on Tuesday night after claims that asylum seekers housed in Epping were being moved to a four-star hotel in Canary Wharf. The Home Office denied the claims.
Click to expand...
Remember Labour bragging about the EU generously allowing us to sell them the military gear they desperately need? Turns out they expect us to pay for the privilege of selling to them
Britain will have to pay the EU a percentage of the value of any weapons bought from UK companies via a Brussels-led defence fund, under plans being drawn up by the bloc to counter the growing threat from Russia.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in May said the UK would join the EU’s new €150bn Security Action for Europe (Safe) project to boost military spending across the continent, as part of a “reset” of bilateral relations.
Participating in Safe would provide “new opportunities for our defence industry, supporting British jobs and livelihoods”, Starmer said.
But London will be required to recompense Brussels for being allowed to take part in the EU-backed scheme aimed at procuring drones, missile defence systems and other capabilities, two EU diplomats told the Financial Times.
“What was written in the Safe regulation is that there shall be a fair balance as regards the contributions and the benefits” of outside countries such as the UK, said one of the diplomats.
The Safe fund is part of an effort by the bloc to mobilise €800bn in new defence spending by 2030, in the face of a growing threat from Russia and calls by US President Donald Trump for Europe to pay for more of its own security.
Launched in May, its loans will allow member states and designated “third countries”, such as the UK, to engage in joint procurement.
The scheme is designed to leverage the EU’s credit strength to increase overall defence spending while better unifying Europe’s armed forces, which are saddled by inefficient and duplicative procurement processes.
The exact figure that Britain will have to pay to access the fund is still under discussion by member states as they finalise their position on the deal with the UK, which is expected to be published this week.
But the diplomats said that since British businesses would receive EU money to create jobs and expand capacity under the scheme, London should recompense Brussels.
If UK companies won contracts funded by Safe money, the UK government must pay a percentage into the fund to help balance out the economic benefit of the contracts, the diplomat added.
The same mechanism would apply to Canada and any other countries that want their industry to access the money, they noted.
In order for UK defence products to qualify, the value of their components from members of Safe must be at least 65 per cent. Members include the EU, Ukraine, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and any third countries that join.
Senior UK officials said France was driving a hard bargain in talks with other member states to agree an EU negotiating mandate this week. One described the situation as “tricky”.
Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group consultancy, said both London and Brussels needed to keep the big picture in mind.
“It is really important that both sides don’t allow parochial national interests to get in the way of the bigger prize, which is strengthening collective European defence in light of the threat posed by Putin’s Russia,” he said.
France, which views Safe as a way to expand the EU arms industry, is pushing for a high UK contribution. But other countries, led by Germany, want to ensure the UK is not dissuaded from joining, a third diplomat said.
Under the EU’s terms, countries must bid for the loans by July 29, with a maximum pot of €150bn. They would then join another Safe member to buy weapons, aiming to lower prices by pooling demand. The UK would have to use national money to join such projects.
Third countries — other than those included by default, such as Ukraine — must first sign a security and defence partnership with the EU, and then a specific agreement to join Safe.


Britain signed the first of these at the reset summit in London in May, and will negotiate the second once the EU has agreed its mandate.
Time is tight because projects must be submitted by the end of November, with the European Commission, the EU’s executive, deciding which to approve.
Thomas Regnier, commission defence spokesperson, said the EU-UK accord in May meant UK-based entities could provide up to 35 per cent of the value of a defence product procured through Safe.
To obtain a bigger share would require “an agreement with the EU on the precise modalities on aspects such as budget contribution and security of supply”, he added.
The UK cabinet office said it would not pre-empt future discussions with the EU.
“It is in all our interests for the UK and EU to bring together our unique capabilities and expertise to make Europe a safer, more secure, and more prosperous place,” it added.
Click to expand...
And of course the WEF at it again
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has been accused of rigging research to make Brexit look like a failure.
Klaus Schwab, the face of the Davos conference in Switzerland for years, allegedly intervened in the WEF’s annual Global Competitiveness Report, which ranks countries on productivity and long-term prosperity.
In the 2017/2018 report, the UK’s ranking improved from seventh to fourth after a change in methodology.
But Mr Schwab, 87, wrote to staff that the UK “must not see any improvement”, as otherwise it would be “exploited by the Brexit camp”.
The final report published in 2017 showed the UK had dropped one place to eighth.
How Schwab demoted the UK's competitiveness
Before Schwab's intervention:
Table with 4 columns and 8 rows. (column headers with buttons are sortable)
Rank Economy Score Previous
1 Switzerland 5.86 1
2 United States 5.85 3
3 Singapore 5.71 2
4 United Kingdom Unknown 7
5 Netherlands 5.66 4
6 Germany 5.65 5
7 Hong Kong 5.53 9
8 Sweden 5.52 6


After Schwab's intervention:
Table with 4 columns and 8 rows. (column headers with buttons are sortable)
Rank Economy Score Previous
1 Switzerland 5.86 1
2 United States 5.85 3
3 Singapore 5.71 2
4 Netherlands 5.66 4
5 Germany 5.65 5
6 Hong Kong 5.53 9
7 Sweden 5.52 6
8 United Kingdom 5.51 7
The WEF said at the time the Brexit vote had not fed into the rankings but warned it was likely to undermine UK competitiveness in the future.
“Brexit … will by definition weaken the UK’s markets component as integration with the EU is rolled back,” the report said.
At the time of the report, the UK had voted to leave the European Union but had not yet done so, and the difficult Brexit negotiations were at their beginning.
There was still discussion of the possibility of holding a second referendum in order to reverse the result of the 2016 vote.
Baroness Theresa May, the then-Prime Minister, spoke at the Davos summit in January 2017 and 2018. She said that Britain was looking to its post-Brexit future “with confidence” and planned to “build a truly Global Britain” based around free trade.
Allegations that Mr Schwab ordered the figures to be changed were made in an internal WEF investigation, launched after a whistleblower accused him of misusing funds, making suggestive remarks to younger staff, and manipulating research.
Switzerland’s SonntagsZeitung newspaper obtained some of the preliminary findings.
Brexiteers told The Telegraph that allegations of tampering with data exposed “anti-democratic practices” at the WEF.

.
In 2020, King Charles, then the Prince of Wales, and Mr Schwab called for the Covid pandemic to be used as a “great reset” of the world economy.
This was seized upon by online conspiracy theorists as proof unelected leaders were plotting a tyrannical world government.
During the preparation of the same report, according to the investigation, Mr Schwab allegedly ensured that India did not drop 20 places in the ranking.
He was hoping to convince Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, to join the conference in the Swiss Alpine ski resort, which is attended by about 60 world leaders every year.
Mr Schwab reportedly wrote: “We must protect our relationship with India before Davos 2019.” India ranked 40th, just one place lower than the previous year in the report.

The investigation carried out by Homburger, the law firm, also looked into some £836,000 in expenses submitted by Schwab and his wife Hilde. SonntagsZeitung reported the expenses allegedly lacked sufficient links to WEF activities.
It is also alleged Mr Schwab sent suggestive emails and had “embarrassing interactions” with younger WEF staff. The final results of the investigation have not yet been published.
Mr Schwab accused the WEF board of breaking an agreement on media restraint tied to the investigation after the initial findings were leaked to SonntagsZeitung.
He said he had co-operated with the inquiry on the basis that both sides would not make public comments on the investigation.

“I feel deceived,” he said on Sunday, “I am not available for further investigations.”
Before Davos 2017, the first to be held since the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump, Mr Schwab called on attendees to help “overcome the present mood of divisiveness and negativism”.
That year, he acknowledged that globalisation had become an “easy scapegoat” for rising populism, as typified by the Brexit vote.
In 2016, he described the referendum result as “one challenge more for the global economy”.
‘A stain on the reputation of the WEF’
Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, commented: “For such a senior figure in geopolitical affairs to have conspired and manipulated information against Brexit and the democratic outcome of a political process is a stain on the reputation of the WEF and those who are part of that forum, and it is thoroughly unacceptable.”
The conservative MP for Witham added: “The WEF had built its reputation on geopolitical thought leadership but has now been exposed for its own anti democratic practices, sinister manipulation and corrupted process all based upon damaging Britain’s reputation and standing in the world because of Schwab’s narrow minded and selfish ideological purposes.”
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, told The Telegraph: “Every conspiracy theory about Klaus Schwab now turns out to be true. He is a dangerous globalist manipulator.”
Richard Tice, deputy leader, added: “No surprise the globalist WEF appears to have distorted facts to prevent sovereignty and independence being seen as a good thing. They are a dreadful organisation that Reform will have nothing to do with.”
Lord Frost negotiated the Brexit deal that took the UK out of the EU when Boris Johnson was prime minister.
He said: “It’s rare we get such clear direct evidence of the global establishment’s hostility to Brexit. Schwab’s alleged deliberate downgrading of Brexit Britain in his Global Competitiveness Report, directly contrary to the actual evidence, shows how deeply embedded distrust of national independence is, and how determined so many people are to suppress any discussion of its benefits.”
He added: “Labour’s continued denunciation of our trade agreement with the EU, and their refusal to acknowledge that their trade deals with India and the US would have been impossible without it, are the direct descendants of Schwab’s censorship: ideology before evidence, belief before fact.”
The WEF has declined to comment on the investigation and said it will respond when the probe is finished, which is expected to be in August.
The Government has been asked to comment.
The term “Davos Man” was coined 20 years ago by political scientist Samuel P Huntington to describe an elite who “have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from the past.”
Click to expand...
Apologies for poor formatting above. As compensation have more info on the lich being interrogated.

(Bloomberg) — World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab denied allegations of misconduct that were reportedly substantiated by a formal investigation and accused the board of trustees of violating an agreement regarding media discretion on the matter.

“I am in a position to refute all the accusations brought up against me,” Schwab said in a statement Sunday, responding to a report in SonntagsZeitung. The Swiss newspaper said preliminary findings by Swiss law firm Homburger support allegations that Schwab manipulated economic reports published by the forum and submitted unjustifiably high expense claims.


The investigation, commissioned by the WEF’s board of trustees, is examining a range of accusations against the 87-year-old, including claims he used the forum’s resources for personal purposes.

Schwab abruptly resigned from the WEF in April after the misconduct allegations emerged, sparking a clash with the board. A successor has yet to be named.

High-profile figures linked to the role have included BlackRock Vice Chairman and former Swiss National Bank President Philipp Hildebrand, who joined the board of trustees in May, and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, who until recently was considered the top candidate by both Schwab and the organization, Bloomberg previously reported.

Lagarde has said she first intends to complete her ECB term, which runs until October 2027.

The WEF board of directors is currently led by former Nestle Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe on an interim basis.


In his statement Sunday, Schwab said he made himself available for an interview with Homburger on July 15. He was told he would have access to a draft of the report to respond to the allegations. He has yet to see a draft, a spokesperson added in a separate statement.

“In this respect I feel deceived,” Schwab said. “I am willing to defend my interests with all my strength, even in the context of a legal dispute.”

A WEF spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg on Sunday, stating that the organization would respond once the investigation concludes, likely at the end of August.

The SonntagsZeitung report intensifies an ongoing dispute between Schwab and the board of trustees at WEF and comes just weeks after the two parties issued a joint statement claiming they were working toward “normalizing” their relationship and resolving the dispute.

According to excerpts cited by the newspaper, Homburger’s investigation found that Schwab repeatedly intervened to influence country rankings in the WEF’s Global Competitiveness Report for political purposes.

In one 2017 email to then-managing director Richard Samans, Schwab allegedly requested that the report be withheld to avoid straining his relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose country had scored poorly in the ranking. He also advised against improving the UK’s place to prevent the data from being exploited by supporters of Brexit, the newspaper said.

The report was ultimately published, with the UK and India each dropping one position to eighth and 40th, respectively.

In a separate incident in 2022, Schwab allegedly shared a draft of the report with an official from one country whose ranking had deteriorated and advised against its publication. That year’s edition wasn’t ultimately published, with the WEF citing uncertainty surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic as the reason.

The investigation also scrutinized some 900,000 Swiss francs ($1.12 million) in expenses submitted by Schwab and his wife Hilde that allegedly lacked sufficient ties to WEF activities, the newspaper said.

–With assistance from Jan-Henrik Förster.
Click to expand...
The Guardian had a bunch of articles about how protests where the boat crossing landed are making the "refugees" feel unsafe but I went cross eyed with rage so couldn't post them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom