You couldn't make it up......

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 Ian W 17 Sep 2020

Chris Grayling, that well known font of knowledge on all things maritime has landed a job advising a port operator on it "environmental strategy and engagement with local enterprise bodies". his role specifically excludes advising them on brexit or their commercial maritime activities.

He's only getting £100k a year for 1 day a week, so thats ok.

 Kalna_kaza 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

Surely an inspiration to us all that ability and competence is no barrier to attainment.

 Graham Booth 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

The money isn't the hysterical element....

The utterly ridiculous element is the fact this twonk was responsible for wasting £56m on a contract for ferry's with a company which didn't own any ferries....

Oh and the utter shambles he made of the probation service.....utter oxygen thief

OP Ian W 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Graham Booth:

What really gets me about this is that £100k will buy you a pretty high calibre environmental consultant working flat out. It will also get you a pretty high calibre commercial or business development type who will be more than capable of forging relationships with local enterprise bodies (and while he / she is at it, some other commercial organisations). Are we reallyto believe that Grayling can do this on 1 day per week, and that his engagement by this company will not involve any advice on brexit, or their commercial activities in the light of a particular challenging time for europe facing ports? 

Or am I being too cynical? Maybe Hutchison Ports have specifically written into his contract that they dont want his advice on those matters as his advice is too likely to be just a bit useless, given his past record.........

Removed User 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

Paying for access and influence, that's all it is.

 john arran 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Removed User:

> Paying for access and influence, that's all it is.

a.k.a. legalised corruption

1
 mondite 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

Yeah but is that commercial or business development type good enough mates with Johnson that they got put forward for a plum job as a loyal aid?

In reply to Removed User:

> Paying for access and influence, that's all it is.

Either that or for favours already done when he was Transport secretary.

Either way there should be a law against ministers and ex-ministers taking money from industries they were regulating a short time ago.

In reply to Ian W:

And another one £10k donation and he'll 'inadvertently' ask a question to help your company.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54190484

 Greenbanks 17 Sep 2020
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

David Morris apologised for his behaviour. But still trousered the £10K it seems. I might adopt such an approach to certain aspects of my own work.

OP Ian W 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Greenbanks:

> David Morris apologised for his behaviour. But still trousered the £10K it seems. I might adopt such an approach to certain aspects of my own work.

Yes, its actually quite astonishing the amount of apologising i am prepared to do for the occasional £10k bung.

OP Ian W 17 Sep 2020
In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:

> And another one £10k donation and he'll 'inadvertently' ask a question to help your company.

Is this another version of "misspoke? I love the bit in the beeb report about how he "had been dealing with particularly challenging and stressful personal circumstances which may have affected his judgement and behaviour during the investigation"

Is that a euphemism for "under pressure from some wealthy foreigners who had demonstrated the capacity to become jolly unpleasant if they didn"t get their own way"

I note he is one of a mere 16 cabinet ministers (or their constituency parties) who have accepted donations from Russian sources. So generous, these Russians.

OP Ian W 17 Sep 2020
In reply to mondite:

> Yeah but is that commercial or business development type good enough mates with Johnson that they got put forward for a plum job as a loyal aid?

I;m not sure Johnson will remember who Grayling is now that he has resigned from the committee he was supposed to get the chair of. No longer so useful.

 The New NickB 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

The personal circumstances appear to be his wife being pregnant. He was tweeting about the birth of a daughter this morning, but strangely not about his parliamentary rebuke. 

 Kalna_kaza 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Ian W:

He failed to get the job he was literally hand picked for. Suggests he's not only incompetent but also widely disliked as a person amongst his parliamentary colleagues. 

 mondite 17 Sep 2020
In reply to Kalna_kaza:

> He failed to get the job he was literally hand picked for.

The non tory members of the committee would have opposed him on principle since a)the PM was breaching the rule that they should select it and b)they were a tad suspicious if selected his job was to bury all the info so it only need the one tory to go "hey i will stand against him" .

He must either be personally really popular with the tory leaders since how else did he last so long otherwise or he has some really good blackmail material.

The flaw with the latter is I just dont see it as likely that the one thing he can do well is blackmail.

OP Ian W 17 Sep 2020
In reply to mondite:

> The non tory members of the committee would have opposed him on principle since a)the PM was breaching the rule that they should select it and b)they were a tad suspicious if selected his job was to bury all the info so it only need the one tory to go "hey i will stand against him" .

> He must either be personally really popular with the tory leaders since how else did he last so long otherwise or he has some really good blackmail material.

> The flaw with the latter is I just dont see it as likely that the one thing he can do well is blackmail.


Oddly, this would have been a complete non story if the winner of the election of the chair didnt have the whip removed; he was demonstrably the best candidate given his previous experience, having unanimous support from the other committee members (apart from the tory members who were voting for Grayling as instructed). For the non tories, the election was fairly free, as the only 2 candidates were tory.

 Trevers 18 Sep 2020
In reply to mondite:

> He must either be personally really popular with the tory leaders since how else did he last so long otherwise or he has some really good blackmail material.

> The flaw with the latter is I just dont see it as likely that the one thing he can do well is blackmail.

Stupidity, incompetence and a lack of a spine are regarded as attractive traits in Tory MPs and ministers these days. There are some heavyweights in the current cabinet, but Grayling stands head and shoulders above the rest, at least when he's managed to avoid tripping up over his shoelaces, which he hasn't yet learnt how to tie. A true titan of idiocy.


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