Bolitics The New Condem Government

[mockingbird_franklin]

Looks like Grant Shapps has escaped further investigation despite the investigation into his internet company concluding "a fraud may have occured"

 

 

Police won't act on fraud claim against Grant Shapps tech company

• HowToCorp sold 'plagiarising' software which took content from other sites
• Users can make sites with no original material on which they sell ad space
• Metropolitan Police admit the sale of the software could be fraud offence
• But the force decides not to take any action against the Tory chairman

PUBLISHED: 00:09, 2 November 2013 | UPDATED: 00:09, 2 November 2013

 

Police will not investigate the business affairs of Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps – even though advisors concluded one of his companies may have been guilty of an ‘offence of fraud’.

Labour MP Steve McCabe requested an inquiry last year after it was reported that a business Mr Schapps co-founded was selling ‘plagiarising’ software which helps firms boost profits by breaching Google’s rules.

The company, HowToCorp, was set up by Mr Shapps using an alias, Michael Green, and his wife Belinda, who now runs it.

 

Entrepreneur: A Labour MP asked for an inquiry last year after it was reported that a business Grant Schapps co-founded was selling 'plagiarising' software which helps firms boost profits by breaching Google's rules

 

The firm sold TrafficPaymaster, a software package that increases advertising from the search engine by ‘spinning and scraping’ content from other websites.

Google automatically pays the owners of websites and blogs in return for hosting advertisements. TrafficPaymaster lets users take advantage of this, even though the sites they create may contain no original material.

Police have now told Mr McCabe the matter is closed.

But in an unusual move, the Met told him legal advice had ‘concluded that the selling of the software may constitute an offence of fraud, among others’.

 

HowToCorp, set up by Mr Shapps using the alias Michael Green, sold TrafficPaymaster software, which increases advertising payments from Google by 'scraping' content from other websites to attract visitors

 

Labour’s shadow Cabinet Office minister, Jonathan Ashworth, said it was ‘an extraordinary revelation’ and said full explanations were required from the police and David Cameron.

Last night Tory sources said the mention of fraud in the letter was simply bad wording, adding: ‘The only thing Labour have succeeded with is wasting police time.’

Channel 4 News said it had been told by the police that they did not go ahead with the investigation because of the difficulty of getting evidence together.

Mr Shapps told the programme that the allegations had been a ‘political smear’ and ‘a politically motivated load of nonsense’.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2483906/Police-wont-act-fraud-claim-Grant-Shapps-tech-company.html

 

For further viewing and maybe a better understanding of his questionable business practices

 

Edited November 2, 2013 by mockingbird_franklin

[drat01]

Its actually quite disturbing how the authorities are publicly claiming that fraud may have occurred but are not pursuing further investigations - is this a legacy of the PlebGate thing? 

[Awol]

Its actually quite disturbing how the authorities are publicly claiming that fraud may have occurred but are not pursuing further investigations - is this a legacy of the PlebGate thing? 

Nah, it's an MP "thing".

 

100's of them could have been spanked during the expenses scandal for flipping their second homes but quelle suprise the authorities decided not to prosecute any of them.

 

Anyone who had doubts about the utter corruption of the system before that scandal shouldn't have retained them afterwards.

Edited November 2, 2013 by Awol

[drat01]

 

Its actually quite disturbing how the authorities are publicly claiming that fraud may have occurred but are not pursuing further investigations - is this a legacy of the PlebGate thing? 

Nah, it's an MP "thing".

 

100's of them could have been spanked during the expenses scandal for flipping their second homes but quelle suprise the authorities decided not to prosecute any of them.

 

Anyone who had doubts about the utter corruption of the system before that scandal shouldn't have retained them afterwards.

 

So assuming it is this then Cameron's position looks even more "iffy". As PM he has a duty to ensure that things like this are thoroughly investigated but again he is playing all three monkeys - see, hear, speak no evil

[mockingbird_franklin]

Oh and Mr Shapps, or Mr Green, or Mr Fox or whatever alias you may be using to pursue your possibly dodgy dealings, How can it be wasting police time to report a possible crime? especially when the police, upon investigation conclude a crime most likely occurred? Obviously your powers of reasoning aren't behind your political rise

[tonyh29]

Its actually quite disturbing how the authorities are publicly claiming that fraud may have occurred but are not pursuing further investigations - is this a legacy of the PlebGate thing?

Legacy as in the police haven't made anything up yet ?

[bickster]

And I'm fairly sure the police e don't badly word statements where the word fraud is the bad wording.

2006 Fraud act is pretty clear on what is and isn't fraud

[mockingbird_franklin]

And I'm fairly sure the police e don't badly word statements where the word fraud is the bad wording.

2006 Fraud act is pretty clear on what is and isn't fraud

also isn't the bumf about identifying victims a bit misleading, isn't it still a crime to attempt to commit fraud, even if the attempt is unsuccessful and hence no one has fallen victim to the fraud?

Edited November 2, 2013 by mockingbird_franklin

[bickster]

And I'm fairly sure the police e don't badly word statements where the word fraud is the bad wording.

2006 Fraud act is pretty clear on what is and isn't fraud

also isn't the bumf about identifying victims a bit misleading, isn't it still a crime to attempt to commit fraud, even if the attempt is unsuccessful and hence no one has fallen victim to the fraud?

Yep, thats my understanding

[snowychap]

That Shapps oozes dodginess.

In a line up of cut 'n' shut merchants and snake oil salesmen, he'd be a standout.

 

Tory party chairman : Grant 'may have done things which constitute fraud, amongst others' Shapps.

Edited November 2, 2013 by snowychap

[mockingbird_franklin]

That Shapps oozes dodginess.

In a line up of cut 'n' shut merchants and snake oil salesmen, he'd be a standout.

 

Tory party chairman : Grant 'may have done things which constitute fraud, amongst others' Shapps.

I would argue the use of the words 'business,man' in any description of Mr Shapps constitutes a fraud

[drat01]

Oops they did it again - yet another massive climb down / U Turn from the Gvmt

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24793092

 

How much money was wasted in trying (and failing) to set this up?

 

I see May was involved, this is the same May that claimed "she was not making things up", when clearly she was  - idiot!

[mockingbird_franklin]

Oops they did it again - yet another massive climb down / U Turn from the Gvmt

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24793092

 

How much money was wasted in trying (and failing) to set this up?

 

I see May was involved, this is the same May that claimed "she was not making things up", when clearly she was  - idiot!

Maybe the king of 'making things up' Mr Iain Donkey Smith has been giving her lessons. He's also an expert at wasting millions to save pennies so he could have been a great inspiration for May on this.

Edited November 3, 2013 by mockingbird_franklin

[StefanAVFC]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10423252/340-MPs-claim-200000-on-expenses-for-energy-bills.html

 

**** them all

 

How can they possibly defend the public from the energy companies when they don't pay even pay themselves!?

Edited November 3, 2013 by StefanAVFC

[Awol]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/10423252/340-MPs-claim-200000-on-expenses-for-energy-bills.html

 

**** them all

 

How can they possibly defend the public from the energy companies when they don't pay even pay themselves!?

It amazes me that you expect them to. These are the same people (more or less) who claim for everything from taxis to toothpaste.

 

The three main parties are morally and intellectually bankrupt and voting for them is effectively endorsing their (mis)behaviour.  If you don't like it then have the courage to cast your vote for someone else, to anyone else, or accept that they will carry on taking the piss as long as they have an electoral mandate to do so.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

The problem is, who are the alternatives?

[Awol]

The problem is, who are the alternatives?

Greens, Socialists, UKIP, English Democrats, Independents, whoever you choose. There are alternatives even if the chances of finding someone you agree with 100% on everything are virtually zero.  It's not really about who you vote for, it's about who you don't vote for and the message that sends to them.  But vote. Apathy is a win for them.

 

[rant]

 

For some time UK politics has been evolving to reflect society (imho), calm and measured thought replaced with sensationalism and sound bites, more tabloid than broadsheet, all designed to distract a population with ever decreasing attention spans from the fact that 'they' are all dancing on the head of an ever shrinking political pin. The smaller that space gets, the more specious and salacious their attempts to maintain the illusion while continuing to make ordinary folk a darn sight poorer. After all there's far too many edumacted folks around these days and if you're worrying about where your kids next meal is coming from then your horizons contract and they can pursue their joint neo liberal agenda without disturbance.

 

I don't care how much I may disagree with other people's political ideas, at least when they are argued with obvious thought and conviction you know that those people are engaged, they care.  Nothing will improve until enough people recognise how far we've been deliberately led astray, then start to act on it.

 

Act 1 is getting rid of the parasites that put us here today in order to line their own pockets.

 

[/rant] 

Edited November 3, 2013 by Awol

[chrisp65]

that's a pretty neat summary Awol

 

People need to think for themselves and engage. My wife has read that Telegraph article on MP's abiltiy to not only claim for a second home, but then claim heating that house on expenses. The system is bust. My wife is a very calm and reasonable person, her reaction was that every now and again it does this country good to have a riot and get a few people thinking and get some blood pumping and get something changed.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Fear not, the Messiah is among us, and his message has started to capture the hearts of the people.

 

[Awol]

Jonny Depp?