News from Labour Matters

Cameron “completely dishonest” about links to anti-NHS group

Denials from David Cameron that he has links with an extreme right-wing group are questioned in today’s Guardian:

David Cameron has been accused of being “completely dishonest” about his links to a controversial Conservative party affiliate whose leadership has described the NHS as the biggest waste of money in the UK and suggested that the waterboarding of prisoners can be justified.

In an interview prior to the election campaign, the Tory leader denied all knowledge of the Young Britons’ Foundation, which has been dubbed “the Conservative madrasa” because of its radical views and role in training young party activists, including some parliamentary candidates.

Asked about his links to the group last month, Cameron said: “I don’t know anything about the Young Britons’ Foundation.”

But Cameron had already contributed to a YBF-branded guide to essential reading for young Conservatives, according to the YBF’s chief executive, Donal Blaney, a Kent-based solicitor. The Guardian has also obtained photographs of him meeting the organisation’s director of strategy, vice-president, and then operations director before he denied knowledge of the group. Its director of research, Alex Deane, was formerly Cameron’s chief of staff.

Read the full article.

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