81-467: Carole Jane Cadwalladr ( / k æ d ˈ w ɒ l ə d ər / ; born 1969) is a British author, investigative journalist, and features writer. She is a features writer for The Observer and formerly worked at The Daily Telegraph . Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in 2018 for her role in exposing the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal , for which she was a finalist for
162-620: A libel action against Cadwalladr on 12 July 2019, which in May 2023 concluded with the Court of Appeal ruling that she had unlawfully published a serious imputation (which she accepted was not true). The judge declared that its continued publication by TED was not subject to a public interest defence and had caused Banks serious harm: the court held her liable for £35,000 in damages and over £1 million in costs. Banks had objected to her claim, notably in her TED talk, that he had lied about "his relationship with
243-516: A "rightwing Momentum ", ensuring that politicians do not renege on their commitment to leave the EU. Banks has also considered starting and funding a pro-Brexit, nonpartisan citizens' movement called Patriotic Alliance, based on the Five Star Movement , which would target "the 200 worst, most corrupt MPs" for deselection. Banks said that Britain's EU membership "is like having a first class ticket on
324-503: A 40% increase in revenue. Banks said that Eldon's business had been transformed by the same AI technology used in the Brexit campaign. The offshore holding company that controls Eldon Insurance is ICS Risk Solutions, which funds many of Banks' activities and has paid over £77m between 2015 and 2018 to prop up Southern Rock after Gibraltarian regulators found the business to be trading while technically insolvent. As part of an agreement with
405-485: A bakery in Thornbury , Gloucestershire, Banks started a motorcycle insurance broker, Motorcycle Direct, and within a few years the company was big enough to sell for "a few million". He used the money to found Commercial Vehicle Direct about which he says "within a very short period we were the largest van insurance company in the country". Over seven years, along with Australian business partner John Gannon, Banks expanded
486-580: A company in Belize or seeking to avoid UK tax "via any device". Describing the comments as "clearly defamatory", he threatened legal action towards Iannucci if he did not get an apology within a week. Asked if his companies paid full corporation tax, Banks said: "I paid over £2.5m of income tax last year ... My insurance business, like a lot of them, is based in Gibraltar but I've got UK businesses as well that deal with customers and pay tax like everyone else." One of
567-533: A fourth meeting. The Observer has seen evidence that suggests his Leave.EU campaign team met with Russian embassy officials as many as 11 times in the run-up to the EU referendum and in the two months beyond. It has been reported that on 12 November 2016, Banks had a meeting with president-elect Donald Trump in Trump Tower and that upon return to London, Banks had lunch with the Russian ambassador where they discussed
648-538: A freak yachting accident. I just enjoy watching the ludicrous tweeter mob following the next outrage." Banks gave significant funds to LibLabCon.com, a satirical website dedicated to attacking the three major parties. The website included jokes about the treatment of religious people by the Conservatives, claimed Chuka Umunna is "Labour's chief spokesman for tokenism " and described Amnesty International as an organisation which supports "loudmouth idiots chained to
729-602: A fundraising event for the Democratic Unionist Party , alongside Nigel Farage , and stated that he would support a bid by Farage to seek office as a DUP candidate after the end of his tenure as Member of the European Parliament in 2019. In August 2018, it was reported that Banks had applied to join the Conservative Party and had suggested that Leave.EU supporters do the same, with the aim of voting in
810-496: A newspaper proprietor who owned a number of publications. The paper continued to receive government subsidies during this period; in 1819, of the approximately 23,000 copies of the paper distributed weekly, approximately 10,000 were given away as "specimen copies", distributed by postmen who were paid to deliver them to "lawyers, doctors, and gentlemen of the town." Clement maintained ownership of The Observer until his death in 1852. After Doxat retired in 1857, Clement's heirs sold
891-519: A public interest defence when it was originally given, that defence fell away on 29 April 2020 when the Electoral Commission issued a statement that Banks did not commit any criminal offence. The Court of Appeal found the views of the Ted Talk after this date caused Banks serious harm, hence the damages. All other points of the appeal by Banks were dismissed. This legal action carried out by Banks
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#1732858603070972-538: A radiator". On 19 January 2017 (one day before Donald Trump's inauguration as the 45th President of the United States ) Banks launched Westmonster alongside Michael Heaver , former press adviser to Nigel Farage . It is modelled on the right-wing US websites Breitbart News and the Drudge Report and claims to be "pro-Brexit, pro-Farage, pro-Trump, anti-establishment, anti-open borders, anti-corporatism". In
1053-517: A vote to condemn the sale and passed a vote of no confidence in the newspaper’s owners, accusing it of betrayal amid concerns that the sale of the paper could harm the financial security of staff members. After the paper was rejuvenated in early 2010, the main paper came with only a small number of supplements – Sport , The Observer Magazine , The New Review and The New York Times International Weekly , an 8-page supplement of articles selected from The New York Times that has been distributed with
1134-650: Is included in The Guardian Weekly for an international readership. The Observer followed its daily partner The Guardian and converted to Berliner format on Sunday 8 January 2006. The Observer was awarded the National Newspaper of the Year at the British Press Awards 2007. Editor Roger Alton stepped down at the end of 2007, and was replaced by his deputy, John Mulholland . In early 2010,
1215-440: Is not clear if Banks invested. For two years, Banks said his only contacts with the Russian government consisted of one "boozy lunch" with the ambassador. After The Observer reported that he had had multiple meetings at which he had been offered lucrative business deals, Banks told a parliamentary inquiry into fake news he had had "two or three" meetings. In July 2018 when pressed by The New York Times , he said there had been
1296-470: Is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper . Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to
1377-516: The 2016 EU membership referendum . She has also reported on alleged links between Nigel Farage , the 2016 presidential campaign of Donald Trump , and Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election that has been investigated in the United States. Regarding the Trump presidential campaign allegation, although the full report remains unpublished, the Mueller investigation "identified numerous links between
1458-615: The 2019 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, alongside The New York Times reporters. Cadwalladr was born in Taunton , Somerset , and raised in South Wales. She was educated at Radyr Comprehensive School in Cardiff , and Hertford College, Oxford . Cadwalladr's debut novel, The Family Tree , was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize , the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award ,
1539-671: The Chipping Sodbury office for the South Gloucestershire Conservatives "to the tune of £250,000". However, a Conservative spokesperson said the support was "nothing like the order of magnitude" of sums claimed, and estimated that the donations were "probably around the £22,000 mark". A UKIP source told The Guardian that Banks had also loaned £75,417 to Thornbury and Yate Conservative Party through Panacea Finance (his former company) in September 2007, registered on
1620-561: The Electoral Commission and to be paid back by 2022. However, Companies House records show that Banks resigned from the company in September 2005; therefore it was considered questionable as to whether Banks was controlling the company at the time, or whether he was "using the firm as a 'proxy donor'", according to The Guardian . In October 2014, Banks donated £1 million to the UK Independence Party and has since raised
1701-507: The European Union "is holding the UK back" because it's a " closed shop for bankrupt countries". Banks has been described as the "leading figure" behind the anti-EU Grassroots Out and Leave.EU , as well as the official Vote Leave campaign. He signalled his intention to stand for UKIP in the constituency of Thornbury and Yate at the 2015 general election , but the candidate chosen by
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#17328586030701782-492: The Titanic ". He also said that "Economically, remaining in the EU is unsustainable." Banks said in May 2016 that his strategy during the Brexit campaign was to "bore the electorate into submission", in the hope that a low turnout would favour Brexit. Banks threatened to sue the official Vote Leave campaign's candidacy as the official spokesperson for the "Leave" vote in the 2016 EU referendum , which may have possibly delayed
1863-637: The Waverton Good Read Award , and the Wales Book of the Year . It was also dramatized as a five-part serial on BBC Radio 4 . In the US, it was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice. The Family Tree was translated into several languages including Spanish, Italian, German, Czech, and Portuguese. As a journalist, her work in the second decade of the 21st century has focused on issues related to technology. She has, for example, interviewed Jimmy Wales ,
1944-482: The "serious harm" test. In February 2023, the Court of Appeal rejected two of Banks’ challenges, but ruled in his favour that continuing publication of the April 2019 TED Talk, after the Electoral Commission published a report on 29 April 2020 that found no evidence of Banks breaking the law in relation to campaign donations, had caused " serious harm " to Banks' reputation. The Court ordered that damages should be assessed for
2025-408: The 'Gods of Silicon Valley – Mark Zuckerberg , Sheryl Sandberg , Sergey Brin , Larry Page and Jack Dorsey ' by name. She accused Facebook of "breaking" democracy, a moment described as a 'truth bomb'. TED's curator Chris Anderson invited Mark Zuckerberg to come and give his response, an offer he declined. Anderson later listed the talk as one of the best ones of 2019. According to Cadwalladr,
2106-520: The 2016 EU referendum campaign. Banks said he had been "completely vindicated" after reaching a settlement with the Electoral Commission. His 2016 book The Bad Boys of Brexit: Tales of Mischief, Mayhem & Guerrilla Warfare in the EU Referendum Campaign was ghostwritten by pro-Brexit journalist Isabel Oakeshott . It was reported in March 2017 that Banks was no longer a member of UKIP. Banks
2187-603: The Astors sold the ailing newspaper to US oil giant Atlantic Richfield (now called ARCO) who sold it to Lonrho plc in 1981. It became part of the Guardian Media Group in June 1993, after a rival acquisition bid by The Independent was rejected. Farzad Bazoft , a journalist for The Observer , was executed in Iraq in 1990 on charges of spying. In 2003, The Observer interviewed
2268-517: The Country Ltd or Leave.EU in respect of this specific matter." Banks claims that in 2018, Barclays closed his bank accounts, including business accounts, due to his political views. As of April 2022, the Brexit campaign group Leave.EU has gone into liquidation with co-founder Arron Banks appearing to write off a loan worth more than £7m. From September 2015, Banks, along with Andy Wigmore , had multiple meetings with Russian officials posted at
2349-543: The Country Ltd. and controlled by major UKIP donor Arron Banks, after Gibraltar company STM Fidecs Nominees Ltd. transferred its interest to him in August." Banks, along with property investor Richard Tice and media guru Andrew Wigmore , donated £4.3m to the group. Banks credits the success of Leave.EU to their hiring of Goddard Gunster and their subsequent adoption of "an American-style media approach." In September 2016, following Banks' statement that UKIP would be "dead in
2430-492: The EU, would end up betraying those who voted to leave. In November 2017, the Electoral Commission announced that it was investigating whether election rules were broken during the EU referendum, in donations worth a total of £8.4 million to Leave.EU campaigners made by Banks and by Better for the Country Ltd, a company of which Banks is a registered director. The National Crime Agency investigated Leave.EU, Banks and Bilney, as well as other individuals and entities, following
2511-470: The In campaign" and disagreed with their decision to enlist Vote Leave as the official campaign. Banks' response to the information commissioner, who in 2016 fined the campaign £50,000 for sending more than half a million unsolicited text messages, was a succinct "Whatever". In 2017, Banks viewed the Brexit vote as "a kind of halfhearted revolution" due to the fact that Theresa May , who supported Britain remaining in
Carole Cadwalladr - Misplaced Pages Continue
2592-717: The Internet. The current extent of the archives available are 1791 to 2000 for The Observer and 1821 to 2000 for The Guardian . They will eventually go up to 2003. In 2023, copies from 2004 onwards and gaps were to be filled to latest edition. The paper was banned in Egypt in February 2008 for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed . The Observer was named the British Press Awards National Newspaper of
2673-567: The Iraqi colonel who had arrested and interrogated Bazoft and who was convinced that Bazoft was not a spy. On 27 February 2005, The Observer Blog was launched. In addition to the weekly Observer Magazine colour supplement which is still present every Sunday, for several years each issue of The Observer came with a different free monthly magazine. These magazines had the titles Observer Sport Monthly , Observer Music Monthly , Observer Woman and Observer Food Monthly . Content from The Observer
2754-515: The Russian embassy in London. In November 2015, Alexander Yakovenko , the Russian ambassador, introduced Banks to a Russian businessman, which was followed by other business proposals on the part of Russians. Banks was offered a chance to invest in Russian-owned gold or diamond mines; the deal involved funding from a Russian state-owned bank, and was announced 12 days after the Brexit referendum. It
2835-566: The Russian government and the Trump Campaign". Before Cambridge Analytica closed operations in 2018, the company took legal action against The Observer for the claims made in Cadwalladr's articles. In April 2019, Cadwalladr gave a 15-minute TED talk about the links between Facebook and Brexit, entitled "Facebook's role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy". It was one of the opening talks of TED 's 2019 conference and Cadwalladr called out
2916-501: The Russian government". According to The Guardian , "Banks's lawyers argued this meant there were strong grounds to believe he would assist the interests of the Russian government, against those of the British government, in exchange for that money." Cadwalladr's lawyers had argued this meant there were reasonable grounds to investigate. However, the judge concluded that, in context, the TED talk and
2997-492: The Trump visit. In a defamation claim against the journalist Carole Cadwalladr , Banks was awarded £35,000 in damages and 60% of his costs. Banks said he was defamed after comments Cadwalladr made about his relationship with the Russian state. Banks initially lost his case in the High Court but partly succeeded in the Court of Appeal. The Appeal Judges ruled he was due damages for a Ted Talk given by Cadwalladr. While covered by
3078-443: The UK businesses of which Banks is director, Rock Services Ltd, the name of which refers to The Rock of Gibraltar, had a turnover of £19.7m in 2013 and paid corporation tax of as little as £12,000. The company deducted £19.6m in "administrative expenses", and the main activity appears to be "recharge of goods and services" with Southern Rock Insurance Company. Southern Rock Insurance states on its website that it underwrites policies for
3159-522: The UK's most widely used newspaper website and app for news and had increased its audience share by 1% over the preceding year. 23% of consumers, who used websites or apps for news, used The Guardian , which also hosts The Observer online content. This compared to 22% for the Daily Mail website. In September 2024, The Guardian revealed it was in talks to sell The Observer to news website Tortoise Media . Journalists at Guardian Media Group passed
3240-458: The Year for 2006. Its supplements have three times won "Regular Supplement of the Year" ( Sport Monthly , 2001; Food Monthly , 2006, 2012). Observer journalists have won a range of British Press Awards, including Arron Banks Arron Fraser Andrew Banks (born 1966) is a British businessman and political donor. He is the co-founder (with Richard Tice ) of the Leave.EU campaign. Banks
3321-670: The case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Cadwalladr is a founder of "All the Citizens," a not-for-profit organisation registered as a UK-based private company limited by guarantee . The organisation is made up of journalists, filmmakers, advertising creatives, data scientists, artists, students, and lawyers, and intends to crowdfund individual projects and campaigns. In 2023, Cadwalladr published an open letter praising Carol Vorderman for speaking out about "corruption and
Carole Cadwalladr - Misplaced Pages Continue
3402-574: The chancers, embezzlers, spivs, and hustlers who've been accused of making millions out of government contracts – and the ministers who've enabled them... no one else is doing it" and speaking "as if women had the right to live their lives without having to give a toss about societal expectations". The Observer The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays . It is a sister paper to The Guardian and The Guardian Weekly , having been acquired by their parent company, Guardian Media Group Limited , in 1993. First published in 1791, it
3483-515: The conclusion that Banks' Leave.EU organisation faked migrant footage and photographs of "migrants" assaulting women. The photos were never used, but the fake video went viral. Banks accused Channel 4 News journalists of creating "fake news" themselves. Following Britain's vote to leave the EU, Banks emailed a note to journalists attacking his critics. Banks described the United Kingdom's parliamentary Electoral Commission as "the legal division of
3564-688: The customers of GoSkippy.com, which is run by Banks. Rock Services and Southern Rock Insurance's ultimate holding company is Rock Holdings Ltd, a company based on the Isle of Man. Banks has also been a "substantial" shareholder in STM Fidecs, of which Leave.EU is a subsidiary; the company claims to be specialising in "international wealth protection", maximising tax efficiencies for entrepreneurs and expatriates and of "structuring international groups, particularly separating and relocating intellectual property and treasury functions to low- or no-tax jurisdictions". Banks
3645-461: The editorship after Dicey's departure, only to be replaced in 1891 by Frederick's wife, Rachel Beer , of the Sassoon family . She remained as editor for thirteen years, combining it in 1893 with the editorship of The Sunday Times , a newspaper that she had also bought. Upon Frederick's death in 1903, the paper was purchased by the newspaper magnate Lord Northcliffe . In 1911, William Waldorf Astor
3726-429: The equivalent of $ 11 million for the party. Conservative MP William Hague had called Banks "somebody we haven't heard of" following his defection to UKIP. In response, Banks increased his donation from £100,000 to £1 million, saying: "I woke up this morning intending to give £100,000 to UKIP – then I heard Mr Hague's comment about me being a Mr Nobody. So in light of that I have decided to give £1 million." This donation
3807-459: The event was. That is an interesting point of view, whether it would shift public opinion." There were questions as to the source of funds he used to support Brexit and in November 2018 this was referred for criminal investigation. Banks denied any wrongdoing and stated that he welcomed the police investigation to put an end to the allegations. A Channel 4 investigation also appeared to point to
3888-455: The founder of Misplaced Pages. Starting in late 2016 The Observer published an extensive series of articles by Cadwalladr about what she called the "right-wing fake news ecosystem". Anthony Barnett wrote in the blog of The New York Review of Books about Cadwalladr's articles in The Observer , which reported malpractice by campaigners for Brexit , and the illicit funding of Vote Leave , in
3969-510: The founders of Facebook and Google were sponsoring the conference and the co-founder of Twitter was speaking at it. She summarized her speech in an article in The Observer : "As things stood, I didn't think it was possible to have free and fair elections ever again. That liberal democracy was broken. And they had broken it." The speech was applauded. Some of the "tech giants" criticized the talk for "factual inaccuracies," but when invited to specify them, they did not respond. Arron Banks initiated
4050-447: The government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine , Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley . In 1807, the brothers decided to relinquish editorial control, naming Lewis Doxat as the new editor. Seven years later, the brothers sold The Observer to William Innell Clement ,
4131-494: The harm incurred between 29 April 2020 and the date of the High Court ruling in June 2022. On 28 April 2023, Cadwalladr was ordered by the court to pay Banks £35,000 in damages by 12 May 2023. She was further ordered to pay more than £1m in costs. In May 2023 Cadwalladr unsuccessfully sought permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against the costs order. In November 2023, Cadwalladr's lawyers announced that they would be taking
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#17328586030704212-483: The investment firm AnaCap Financial Partners bought Brightside the following year. Banks was the chief executive (CEO) of Southern Rock Insurance Company in 2014, which underwrites insurance policies for the website GoSkippy.com, founded by Banks. After Banks' departure, Brightside took legal action against him, alleging he used confidential information in setting up GoSkippy.com six months later. There were also legal actions between Southern Rock and Brightside. He
4293-409: The lawsuit, describing the case as a SLAPP suit “intended to silence Cadwalladr's courageous investigative journalism”; however, the judge said that it was neither fair nor apt to describe it as such, because Cadwalladr had “no defence of truth”, and her defence of public interest had “succeeded only in part”. On 24 June 2022, the High Court granted Banks leave to appeal on a question of law relating to
4374-431: The ordinary reader or listener would not minutely analyse possible interpretations of words like a libel lawyer". Banks initially lost the case on 13 June 2022 despite the court finding that Cadwalladr's comments were defamatory. In a High Court ruling, his case was dismissed: the judge concluded that Cadwalladr had a reasonable belief that her comments were in the public interest. Press freedom groups had expressed alarm at
4455-587: The paper since 2007. Every four weeks the paper includes The Observer Food Monthly magazine, and in September 2013 it launched Observer Tech Monthly , a science and technology section which won the Grand Prix at the 2014 Newspaper Awards. Previously, the main paper had come with a larger range of supplements including Sport , Business & Media , Review , Escape (a travel supplement), The Observer Magazine and various special interest monthlies, such as The Observer Food Monthly , Observer Women monthly which
4536-416: The paper to Joseph Snowe, who also took over the editor's chair. In 1870, wealthy businessman Julius Beer bought the paper and appointed Edward Dicey as editor, whose efforts succeeded in reviving circulation. Though Beer's son Frederick became the owner upon Julius's death in 1880, he had little interest in the newspaper and was content to leave Dicey as editor until 1889. Henry Duff Traill took over
4617-431: The paper was restyled. An article on the paper's website previewing the new version stated that "The News section, which will incorporate Business and personal finance, will be home to a new section, Seven Days, offering a complete round-up of the previous week's main news from Britain and around the world, and will also focus on more analysis and comment." In July 2021, Ofcom announced that The Guardian continued to be
4698-563: The paper, which William did on the condition that Garvin also agree to edit the Pall Mall Gazette , which was also a property of the Astor family. Garvin departed as editor in 1942. Ownership passed to Waldorf's sons in 1948, with David taking over as editor. He remained in the position for 27 years, during which time he turned it into a trust-owned newspaper employing, among others, George Orwell , Paul Jennings and C. A. Lejeune . In 1977,
4779-462: The party was Russ Martin, who came third. He suggested he might stand in Clacton at the 2017 general election against Douglas Carswell , before opting not to be a candidate. Banks claimed in March 2017 that he had been suspended from UKIP; he believed the reason was that he had criticised the leadership. UKIP said, however, that his membership had lapsed before this time. In May 2018, Banks attended
4860-503: The party's next leadership election. According to the report, Andy Wigmore , Leave.EU's communications director, who had also applied to join the party, announced that they had received an email welcoming them, but the Conservative Party stated that their applications had not been approved. A Conservative Party spokesman said that welcoming emails were automatic but applications were subsequently reviewed, and theirs had been rejected. A spokesman for Nigel Farage said that Banks had funded
4941-527: The referral of material from a second Electoral Commission investigation. The referral was announced amid concerns that Banks was not the true source of £8m donated to Leave.EU. In September 2019 the National Crime Agency said it had found no evidence of criminality after investigating a series of claims against the Brexit campaign group Leave.EU and Arron Banks. The NCA said: "It will therefore take no further action against Mr Banks, Ms Bilney, Better for
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#17328586030705022-493: The regulators Banks resigned his directorships at Eldon in 2013 and Southern Rock in 2014, also accepting a "period of ban or self-exclusion from other insurance directorships". He also bought Old Down Manor from musician Mike Oldfield , converting it into a wedding venue. In 2016, the leaked Panama Papers indicated Banks along with Elizabeth Bilney were shareholders of British Virgin Islands company PRI Holdings Limited, which
5103-407: The related tweet meant that "on more than one occasion Mr Banks told untruths about a secret relationship he had with the Russian government in relation to acceptance of foreign funding of electoral campaigns in breach of the law on such funding". The judge had earlier cautioned that "broadcasts and public speeches should not be interpreted as though they were formal written texts", and "emphasised that
5184-405: The same date of birth but registered different lists of companies. When asked by The Guardian about this in 2014, he declined to answer questions on the topic. Banks also owns Eldon Insurance , whose CEO Elizabeth Bilney was also in charge at Leave.EU. The company's profits leapt to £16.7m for the first half of 2017 after recording a £284,000 profit in 2015 and a loss of £22,500 in 2016 despite
5265-479: The van insurance business to become Group Direct Limited, and in 2008 the company floated by means of a reverse takeover as Brightside Group . He was its CEO from June 2011 to June 2012, at which time the company was listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). After Banks was dismissed from the company in 2012, he sold £6m worth of the shares in 2013, and received significantly more when
5346-401: The vote by two months. However, Banks has since rejected this and stated that he would not pursue a judicial review any further. Following the murder of Jo Cox , Arron Banks commissioned a poll on whether her murder had affected public opinion on voting. Asked whether the wording of the poll was "tasteless", Banks said "I don't think so", adding that: "We were hoping to see what the effect of
5427-533: The water" if Diane James did not become leader, he said that he would leave UKIP if Steven Woolfe was prevented from running for leader and two other senior members remained in the party: "If Neil Hamilton and Douglas Carswell [UKIP's only MP] remain in the party, and the NEC decide that Steven Woolfe cannot run for leader, I will be leaving Ukip". Banks was sceptical of UKIP under the leadership of Paul Nuttall . Banks said that Leave.EU would continue campaigning as
5508-550: Was a bribe; it had been paid to guarantee diamond mining rights in Lesotho. In 2013, Banks paid £65,000 into the private bank account of Thesele Maseribane, then the Basotho minister for women's equality. Banks subsequently covered the £350,000 costs of a political campaign for Maseribane, in 2014, following a military coup in Lesotho. In January 2015, one estimate of his wealth was £100 million. In November 2017, an estimate of £250 million
5589-454: Was approached by James Louis Garvin , the editor of The Observer , about purchasing the newspaper from Northcliffe. Northcliffe and Garvin had a disagreement over the issue of Imperial Preference , and Northcliffe had given Garvin the option of finding a buyer for the paper. Northcliffe sold the paper to Astor, who transferred ownership to his son Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor four years later. Astor convinced his father to purchase
5670-682: Was born in Cheshire , England, and raised by his mother in Basingstoke , Hampshire ; his father worked as a sugar plantation manager in various African countries. From the age of 13 he attended a boarding school in Berkshire called Crookham Court, before being expelled for "an accumulation of offences", including the sale of lead stolen from the roofs of school buildings, and "high-spirited bad behaviour". He then attended St Bartholomew's School in Newbury but
5751-404: Was considered by 19 press freedom organisations to be a strategic lawsuit against public participation ( SLAPP ) and abuse of law. In 2023, following Banks' partial success in an appeal, Cadwalladr has been ordered to pay about £1.2 million in legal costs Afterwards, Cadwalladr, did set up a crowdfunding site to help fund her defence. Banks has called it “vindication”. In August 2019 Banks
5832-545: Was criticised by Labour MPs Tonia Antoniazzi and David Lammy after a tweet about the climate change activist Greta Thunberg as she set off on a two-week voyage in a zero carbon yacht. Banks tweeted: "Freak yachting accidents do happen in August". Tanja Bueltmann , founder of the EU Citizens' Champion campaign, also strongly criticised the tweet. Banks responded that he produced the tweet because he enjoys watching outrage, later stating: "Obviously I don't hope she encounters
5913-555: Was expelled again. He returned to Basingstoke, where he sold paintings, vacuum cleaners, and then houses. Banks was offered a junior job at the insurance market of Lloyd's of London . According to The Guardian , by the age of 27, he was running a division of Norwich Union . The article also claims that he spent a year working for Berkshire Hathaway , the investment company of Warren Buffett . However, in another investigation, both Norwich Union and Warren Buffett reject Banks' claim that he worked for them. Then, from an office above
5994-582: Was launched in 2006, Observer Sport Monthly and The Observer Film Magazine . The Observer and its sister newspaper The Guardian operate a visitor centre in London called The Newsroom. It contains their archives, including bound copies of old editions, a photographic library and other items such as diaries, letters and notebooks. This material may be consulted by members of the public. The Newsroom also mounts temporary exhibitions and runs an educational programme for schools. In November 2007, The Observer and The Guardian made their archives available over
6075-655: Was mentioned. Following intensified media scrutiny after his initial donation to UKIP, it emerged that Banks was involved in mining in southern Africa and had connections to Belize . Banks also has connections to companies based in Gibraltar and the Isle of Man , and close connections with family members of the Belizean Prime Minister. However, following remarks made by The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci on BBC One 's Question Time programme, Banks denied owning
6156-646: Was one of the largest sums of money ever received by UKIP. Banks also funded Leave.EU by the equivalent of $ 5 million, and has been seen as the financial backer of the Brexit campaign. Banks threatened Douglas Carswell with deselection in September 2015 when it emerged that Carswell supported Vote Leave , as opposed to the Leave.EU campaign funded by Banks, describing Carswell as "borderline autistic with mental illness wrapped in", according to The Huffington Post . In April 2016, Private Eye reported that Leave.EU "is registered at Companies House as Better for
6237-425: Was previously CEO of AIM-listed Manx Financial Group from April 2008 to February 2009. The Guardian reported in 2014 that Companies House records appeared to show that Banks had set up 37 different companies using slight variations of his name. The names used by Banks were Aron Fraser Andrew Banks, Arron Andrew Fraser Banks, Arron Fraser Andrew Banks and Arron Banks. The profiles for the first three names all used
6318-545: Was previously a Conservative Party donor but in October 2014 decided to donate £100,000 to UKIP. In response to comments from William Hague that Banks had not been a major Conservative donor in past years, and that Hague had never heard of Banks, Banks increased his donation to £1 million to the UK Independence Party (UKIP), directly referencing Hague's interview as his reasoning. Banks said that he had changed party allegiance because he agreed with UKIP's policies and its view that
6399-527: Was previously one of the largest donors to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and helped Nigel Farage 's campaign for Britain to leave the EU. In November 2018 the National Crime Agency opened an investigation into Banks following concerns raised over the source of his funding. In September 2019, the National Crime Agency dropped its investigations into Banks and Leave.EU. The NCA found "no evidence that any criminal offences have been committed." He
6480-539: Was reported to have had multiple meetings with Russian embassy officials as well as being offered business opportunities in Russia in the run-up to the Brexit referendum . He has denied any wrongdoing and said: "There was no Russian money and no interference of any type." In May 2020, The Electoral Commission, who had referred Banks to the NCA for investigation of these allegations, conceded Banks did not break electoral law during
6561-559: Was the sole shareholder of African Strategic Resources Limited. However, a spokesperson for Banks has denied any links to the lawyer named and denies that Banks was involved with the Papers. Banks has stated that he has a controlling interest in a diamond mine in Kimberley , South Africa, and a licence to mine in Lesotho . In July 2018, Banks denied that money paid to a government minister in Lesotho
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