Govt ISC chair Malcolm Rifkind in pay of EU arms industry

[TonyGosling]

Sir Malcolm Rifkind

http://www.lek.com/advisory-board/europe
Sir Malcolm Rifkin is Chairman of L.E.K.’s European Advisory Board. He is a Member of Parliament for Kensington, has practiced law as an Advocate and was appointed to the Queen’s Counsel in 1985. In 1979 Sir Malcolm was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and was promoted to Minister of State in 1983. He became a member of the Cabinet in 1986 as Secretary of State for Scotland and has also served as: Secretary of State for Transport; Secretary of State for Defense; Foreign Secretary; Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions and Welfare Reform; Chairman, Standards & Privileges Committee; Chairman, Intelligence and Security Committee; and UK representative, Eminent Persons Group. Sir Malcolm is a member of the Fullerton Trust, a Vice President of Combat Stress and a Patron of Raleigh International. He has served on the Court of Edinburgh University and is an honorary colonel. He is also a member of the Queen's Bodyguard, the Royal Company of Archers.

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We are making intelligence accountable
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/03/justice-and-securi ty-bill-intelligence-agencies
The justice and security bill will make agencies subject to the rule of law. And I am proud of that
Malcolm Rifkind - The Guardian, Sunday 3 March 2013 17.30 GMT
Those who have seen the James Bond movie, Skyfall, may not be aware that I am in it. That is not quite the whole truth. While Judi Dench plays the head of MI6, Ralph Fiennes plays Mallory, who is described as chairman of the intelligence and security committee. That is the job I do. So at the last evidence session we had, I had to assure the current head of MI6 that – although the ISC's powers are about to be greatly increased – unlike Mallory, I was not, after his job.
The justice and security bill, which will complete its House of Commons passage this week, is not just about the closed proceedings proposals to protect national security. It will also transform the powers, resources and scope of the ISC and ensure that its oversight of the intelligence agencies will be truly independent and effective....

[TonyGosling]

Interesting to see LEK's website is down from here
the picture of our Malc (rooting for the British public of course) has vanished
Another Tory crook caught with his dirty trousers down

[TonyGosling]

Whoopee - its back again
Any changes?

[TonyGosling]

Grrrrr

Grilling Guardian: 'Cameron declares war on investigative journalism'

Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cZrmxbrMsI
The British Prime Minister has called for an investigation into whether the Guardian newspaper broke the law - by publishing the Edward Snowden leaks that sent shockwaves about American surveillance worldwide. A parliamentary committee is now looking into it. Tony Gosling joins RT to discuss David Cameron's gunning for The Guardian.

[TonyGosling]

Snowden leaks: Rifkind's spy scrutiny role questioned
BBC - 11 October 2013 Last updated at 15:04
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24491443

Sir Malcolm was foreign and defence secretary under John Major

A former senior intelligence official has questioned the impartiality of the committee scrutinising Britain's security services.

Sir Francis Richards said it was "not a very good idea" for an ex-Conservative minister to head Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee.

But Sir Malcolm Rifkind said he was well placed to do the job as he had "handled intelligence" as a minister.

It follows questions about intelligence leaked by US whistleblower Ed Snowden.

Sir David Omand, a former UK homeland security adviser, has suggested the public disclosure of thousands of top-secret files by former CIA spy Edward Snowden was the most "catastrophic loss to British intelligence ever".


Classified material

The episode has raised questions about the oversight of the British security services, with Business Secretary Vince Cable among those urging a review of current arrangements.

The Guardian - which published the original revelations about the data-gathering and surveillance activities of the US National Security Agency and its relationship with UK agencies - has suggested that a debate was starting in government about updating the way politicians oversee the security services.

The intelligence and security committee has access to classified intelligence material and holds its meetings in private for security reasons.

Reporting to Parliament, it publishes an annual review of the UK's intelligence policy as well as the administration and funding of MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.

Its remit was expanded earlier this year to cover operational matters, as well as the intelligence-related work of other government agencies such as the Joint Intelligence Committee, the National Security Secretariat, the Defence Intelligence department in the Ministry of Defence and the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism.

Sir Malcolm, a former foreign and defence secretary under John Major, was appointed to chair the committee by Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010.


'Being brutal'

Sir Francis Richards, a career diplomat and former director of the GCHQ listening post, said he did not doubt Sir Malcolm's qualifications or ability to do the job but questioned whether he is "well-placed to command confidence".

Sir Malcolm told BBC Radio 4's World At One, that the committee was "completely bipartisan" and the views he expressed as chairman were those of the whole committee, which has members from all parties.

"I'm perfectly happy to criticise and attack the government if they do something silly or stupid," he added.

"Quite a number of people on the Intelligence and Security Committee are former ministers because we are people who've actually handled intelligence. We've had to deal with it as users of the product.

"We are responsible for deciding whether the security services do something dumb or stupid or illegal and if they do, we are prepared to be very very brutal with them."
'Ongoing debate'

Sir Malcolm also said those calling for more scrutiny "seemed to have forgotten" that the government had "dramatically increased" the powers of the committee.

No 10 has insisted there is no government review of oversight of the security services and the prime minister thinks the current system is working effectively.

But he said it was open to members of the National Security Council and the Privy Council to ask the security agencies questions, and he said David Cameron was prepared to listen to ideas from others.

Mr Clegg told the BBC that the ISC's powers had already been "significantly strengthened" but there was an "ongoing debate" about whether more needed to be done.

"And I think many of these revelations have quite rightly raised questions about how we can increase oversight further where that is clearly justified," he said.

[TonyGosling]

Watch: Sir Malcolm Rifkind says he's "self-employed" but gets MP’s salary of £67,000
Sir Malcolm Rifkind says “you’d be surprised how much free time I have" as describes himself as "self-employed" despite receiving a £67,000 MP's salary
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/investigations/11428636/Watch-Sir-Malc olm-Rifkind-says-hes-self-employed-but-gets-MPs-salary-of-67000.html

By Claire Newell, video source TMG / Channel 49:45PM GMT 22 Feb 2015
Sir Malcolm Rifkind told reporters working for the Telegraph and Channel 4’s Dispatches he was “self-employed”, despite receiving an MP’s salary of £67,000.
The Tory politician, who chairs the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee charged with overseeing the activities of Britain’s intelligence services, claimed he does not receive a salary, while earning £67,000 per year as MP for Kensington.
He said: “You’d be surprised how much free time I have. I spend a lot of time reading, I spend a lot of time walking.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind. Credit: TMG / Channel 4
“Because I’m not a minister or full-time working for one person I can sort out my day”.

The MPs who topped up their salaries with £1,600-an-hour second jobs 22 Feb 2015
Sir Malcolm, 68, who served as Defence secretary between 1992 and 1995 under John Major added: “I’m self-employed. So nobody pays me a salary, I have to earn my income, but when I’m not doing something I can do what I like.”

http://pozneronline.ru/2015/01/10037/

[TonyGosling]

It's a little more than £67,000
'Self employed' Malcolm Rifkind MP earned £499,960.78 last year according to public documents
http://t.co/8MeiaNOaq5
http://news.stv.tv/scotland-decides/311418-conservative-party-suspend- whip-from-malcolm-rifkind-after-allegations/

Party suspends whip from Rifkind after cash-for-access allegations
STV - 23 February 2015 12:06 GMT

The Conservative Party has suspended the whip from Sir Malcolm Rifkind after cash-for-access allegations against the former Edinburgh MP.

A party source has said a disciplinary committee will be convened to investigate the former foreign secretary's case after he met with the chief whip on Monday.

The politician, along with Labour’s Jack Straw, is facing accusations he was prepared to use his position and contacts to benefit a private company in return for payments of thousands of pounds.

He has strongly denied the allegations, saying he is "livid".

Speaking to the BBC's Daily Politics show, he said: "I'm not embarrassed, I am livid, I'm angry and I'm going to make sure these unfounded allegations are put in the dustbin where they belong."

Both MPs were secretly filmed by reporters from the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 Dispatches claiming to represent a Hong Kong-based communications agency called PMR which was seeking to hire senior British politicians to join its advisory board.

Sir Malcolm, who chairs the parliamentary committee which oversees Britain's intelligence agencies, was said to have claimed he could arrange "useful access" to every British ambassador in the world because of his status.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "These are very serious allegations. They are unfounded and I'm going to fight them with all my strength."

In the course of the investigation, the Telegraph/Dispatches team contacted 12 MPs. Six did not respond and one said his contacts were not for sale.

The undercover reporters met Sir Malcolm at the fictional firm's Mayfair office in January, where he is said to have told them he could meet "any ambassador that I wish to see" in London.

He said: "They'll all see me personally. That provides access in a way that is, is useful."

In a second meeting, Sir Malcolm was said to have suggested he would be willing to write to ministers on behalf of the company without declaring the name of the firm.

During the meetings, Sir Malcolm is said to have described himself as being "self-employed", saying "nobody pays me a salary". He is said to have discussed his usual fee for his services as being "somewhere in the region of £5000 to £8000" for a half a day's work.

A Downing Street source said: "Sir Malcolm Rifkind has referred himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards."


via STV via STV
Sir Malcolm told the programme: "I have never undertaken nor would undertake any lobbying as an MP on behalf of any private organisation for which I was receiving remuneration. You suggest that I showed myself as 'willing to act as an MP for hire'. That is untrue.

"There was no suggestion that I was being approached as an MP... Their approach to me was because of my previous experience as a minister... Ambassadors tend to respond not because I am a current MP but because I was foreign secretary.

"I said I would not be prepared to write to ministers on behalf of PMR or any other company...The most I could do would be to inquire from them information...which was already in the public domain."

Sir Malcolm is currently the MP for Kensington. He entered parliament in 1974 as MP for Edinburgh Pentland and served continuously as a minister throughout the premierships of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major in a range of offices, including as Scottish secretary and foreign secretary,

An analysis of publicly available records by STV News showed that Sir Malcolm earned a total of £499,960.78 last year when his parliamentary salary, expenses, and paid-for foreign trips were added to his declared business interests including directorships and consultancies of £265,355.44.

► Declared earnings from business interests - £265,355.44 ► MP's salary - £67,060 ► MP’s expenses - £142,447.34 ► Committee chairmanship allowance - £14,876 ► Paid-for overseas visits - £11,059 ► Total - £500,797.78