More impact for the UK's new property transparency laws, which show the true owner of a luxury apartment lived in by the son of an Azerbaijani public official.

Peter Munro and Stevie Wolfe from the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition said: “The UK has long claimed to support a ‘rules-based system’. This case is an opportunity – more than that, an obligation – to show we mean it.”
express.co.uk/news/uk/189338…

So in this The Guardian reports Jeremy Clarkson lobbied Michael Gove over planning permission re: his farm theguardian.com/media/2024/apr… going over the head of the local authority. Think this could be the meeting he references: openaccess.transparency.org.uk/?meeting=87093 #Transparency FAIL from UK Gov.

🚗UPDATE🚗
- Britain is STILL sending millions of pounds of luxury cars into states neighbouring Russia, according to new data.
- There is STILL no especially plausible explanation
- Car lobby group the @smmt STILL insists it's got NOTHING to do with Russian sanctions
🧵

🚨 A new investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's @ozodlik into how Uzbek political insiders rake in millions from the shadows of the lucrative gas market. This time, an obscure company linked to associates of the president's son-in-law: rferl.org/a/uzbekistan-g…

A🧵on how it came together.

1/

.Ben Cowdock from Transparency International UK said the U.K.’s moves after ICIJ’s reporting on an Igor Komarov-linked property were a reminder of the importance 'of journalists ... in helping to identify previously unknown assets belonging to Putin’s cronies.”

buff.ly/49SC08Z

🚨Government transparency plunges to the lowest level ever

🔴Departments and government agencies granted just 34% of “resolvable” Freedom of Information requests in full last year
🔴 Cabinet Office data admits this is “the lowest figure since monitoring began in 2005”
🔴 Public

Lord Pickles: “If there ever was a time when ‘good chaps’ could be relied on to follow the [business appointment] rules, it is long gone, and I think the rules lack credibility” politico.eu/article/uk-min…

Couldn't agree more transparency.org.uk/managing-revol…

Yes, delighted Scottish Government are going to take my Anti-SLAPP petition forward. Kieran Andrews Simon Barrow David Leask Richard Smith Michelle Thomson Ian Fraser

New data from SIPRI shows world military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2.4 trillion in 2023.

Our latest paper explores the nexus between the risk of #corruption in the defence sector and rapid militarisation.

ti-defence.org/new-paper-expl…

Blatant porky pie from Ben Houchen in debate this morning. Claimed that Teesworks panel report 'says it was value for money'. Nowhere does it say this; it gives plenty of reasons to doubt it and concludes insufficient transparency and oversight 'to evidence value for money'.

🕵️‍♂️ Did you know that our Open Access tool makes submitting FOI requests on ministerial meetings easy?

For any published meeting that ministers have had since 2012, you can use our FOI request templates through WhatDoTheyKnow.

Try it out here ⤵️ openaccess.transparency.org.uk

Calls for inquiry into Saudi arms #corruption scandal from Peter Hain. Steve Goodrich: ‘We need greater assurance that the UK state does not condone these corrupt practices under the guise of national security’ Transparency International UK #AntiCorruption #UKPolitics theguardian.com/world/2024/apr…

A huge pleasure to see so many tireless campaigners from parliament, civil society and industry at the launch of our new Economic Crime Manifesto with APPG on Fair Business Banking.

Together we can drive dirty money out of the UK economy.

Read the manifesto here👉economiccrimemanifesto2024.co.uk

I’m delighted to be on the shortlist for the European Press Prize this year, for my work with Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and crew on the #RotenbergFiles

europeanpressprize.com/shortlists/yea…

WATCH: Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC said “all hell broke loose” after police attempts to serve a search warrant against Hassans senior partner James Levy.

Ian McGrail’s lawyer has been delivering opening submissions to the Inquiry all morning.

The CM met with and spoke to the lawyer (Baglietto) acting for a suspect (Levy) in a live criminal case. He also spoke to the suspect (Levy) about the case, assisted them in challenging a search warrant, and spoke to them about removing the Commissioner. These are accepted facts.

Work begets work

UK freezes London property linked to Putin ally after ICIJ report icij.org/investigations… via ICIJ

🗣️ 'the rules no longer have relevance in the modern world and are unenforceable to applicants determined to ignore them.'

Strong words from Lord Pickles on the latest breach of ACOBA rules and Boris Johnson's failure to disclose hedge fund links.

ft.com/content/ece299…

Our free-to-use Open Access database has 99,000+ records of meetings between ministers and external organisations dating back to 2012.

Browse the data here ⤵️ openaccess.transparency.org.uk