(Regular updates to include further research into The Opaque Funding of Brexit, GM Food Lobbying, Deregulation, Think Tanks, Climate Change, Randox Health, Tufton Street, The Tory Party )
Who is Owen Paterson? And what has been up to?
He’s just resigned as an MP from Parliament because of a lobbying scandal.
This has caused disquiet in Parliament because it appeared that he was going to be allowed to get away with it.
Mr Paterson was once a Minister & an extremely influential Brexit campaigner.
His vision for the post-Brexit UK was deregulatory.
One in which foreign companies could easily do business here with few limitations.
That typically means lower food standards. Allowing US cheap meat into the country. This posed a risk, not just for British consumers but possibly also for Europeans.
The UK 2020 Think Tank
In 2014, after being sacked from the Food Ministry by then PM David Cameron, Owen Paterson set up a think tank called UK 2020 to opaquely fund his GM Food deregulation lobbying trips.
He’d previously been Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Links to Independent and Guardian reports appear below.
The UK 2020 think tank is now closed, but served its purpose.
Paterson even once told the Spectator his think tank would be used to choose the next Tory leader.
The Spectator asked if that could mean Boris.
Funding
UK 2020’s opaque funding is reminiscent of the way Saudi cash. may have part funded Brexit through Northern Ireland.
Open Democracy is now collaborating with the Sunday Times on Dark Money in the Lords.
Wife’s ‘Suicide’
Not much was given away in the papers about his wife’s sudden and tragic death.
Deleted BBC Appearance from April 2021
However, less than a year after the mysterious death of his wife, and while he was still under investigation for paid lobbying, Owen Paterson appeared on BBC Breakfast.
This was while many of the UK lockdown rules were in place.
During Covid, Paterson’s client, Randox, due to whom he has attracted so much controversy, started signing deals with the UK Government. Many to do with PCR tests.
By the time the article below was written the UK Government had signed deals with Randox worth £500m.
When the following article came out in May 2020, Rose Paterson was still alive.
She’d already had Covid and may have been embarrassed or felt somewhat complicit by the high levels of involvement between her own employer – the Grand National, The Government, & Randox.
Rose Paterson was the Chairman of Aintree Racecourse – organisers of the Grand National.
Perhaps, when the article came out about her husband and the secretive Randox contracts, Rose Paterson agreed with the Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone – that the whole affair appears completely corrupt.
Lobbying
Just as with David Cameron and Greensill Capital, Owen Paterson definitely met a Health Minister during Covid, but we still don’t know exactly what happened:
Grand National
According to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone’s report in February 2017 Randox officials met Owen Paterson about the Grand National. It doesn’t state whether his wife was present. The next official entry after the meeting was that his pay was increased.
Sponsorship
Given the level of sleaze surrounding Paterson & Randox, some are asking if they are suitable sponsors of the Grand National.
BBC Appearance for the Rose Paterson Trust
Owen Paterson appeared on BBC television in April 2021. He had set up a trust with his kids to prevent suicide. But a couple of strange things happened during the broadcast.
The reporter says that Paterson hopes to influence government policy. It is implied that this is in relation to suicide prevention. Paterson then blames Tech Giants for suicide, in line with the government’s Online Harms Bill. It was also implied that more needs to be done to prevent people from using the internet freely.
But no mention was made of the investigation into his paid lobbying.
And note the repeated product placing of Paterson’s employer Randox on ad-free BBC.
I am not used to seeing that much of a single company on the BBC. Did Randox organise the tv appearance? Did they pay him? We’ll never know.
“Hoped she was murdered”
In the Daily Mail Paterson is referred to as preferring murder to suicide. Perhaps an just innocuous remark.
Change of Tune : Attack Kathryn Stone
But then Paterson changes his position and blames the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone – for having the temerity to investigate him.
Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone’s report into Owen Paterson
Here’s the Report in full.
Backlash
More to come
More links to come re: Lobbying, GM Food, & Brexit please come back for more.
Paterson was Northern Ireland,Minister for the Food and Environment (DEFRA) Minister under Cameron.
He’s always been a pro-fracking, pro-GM food, Climate Denier, Brexiteer.
In 2011 he caused a fuss by stating the need to re-examine the UK’s relationship with Europe.
When Paterson was moved to Food in 2012 there was the Horse Meat Scandal.
In 2013 GM Food entered UK through animal feed. This was never labelled.
Paterson did nothing to stop this as Minister.
He will have twigged how easily the Food Standards Authority are pushed around.
GM Food Labelling Report
Tim Lang
Felicity Lawrence
Felicity Lawrence has been covering food for the Guardian since the 2000’s. Without her fearless undercover reporting and brilliant writing, I wonder which of these stories would have seen the light of day.
Of course the Guardian is sponsored by Bill Gates and his desire to push for GM Food is well known.
More links to other people’s research will be placed on this web page in the future.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Filkin