Alternative War_Unabridged by J. J. Patrick

Author:J. J. Patrick [Patrick, J. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Hybrid War, Trump, Russia, Brexit, NATO, Unabridged, EU
ISBN: 9781999785499
Publisher: Cynefin Road
Published: 2018-06-20T23:00:00+00:00

Fourteen:

Within the somewhat expansive structure of Arron Banks’ complex business network, I discovered a rather plain looking diamond.

Parsons Jewellers in Bristol had been in the same family for generations when it hit trouble and was eventually bought by the man behind Leave.EU and Westmonster. In his autobiography, the same one which had proven useful time and time again as regards Russia, Banks outlined his desire to turn the outfit into a “brand.”

According to the Parsons website, Banks sources his gems from a series of mines he owns in South Africa, under the company name Kophia Diamond, and is listed as a director alongside Jonathan Ian Banks and James Pryor. Jonathan has a law firm registered to Banks’ primary offices in Bristol, and Pryor – ex-UKIP and a former Margaret Thatcher communications guru – is the same person connected to the other Banks linked company, Chartwell Political. While there was no website for the mining operation, Pryor’s email address was listed as the contact address for any queries. Banks himself is further linked to the region by lobbying and mining companies unearthed in the Panama Papers and he spent part of his childhood in South Africa, but other contemporary evidence was not hard to come by. On the 25th of January 2015, ahead of the small state of Lesotho’s last election, Leave.EU’s Andy Wigmore and James Pryor were both present in the country, “burning the midnight election oil.” Helpfully, Wigmore posted a photograph of them both – with that caption – on social media, along with pictures of him and Arron visiting mining operations at various points in time. At least one of Banks’ mining operations is located in Lesotho, where early general elections were held in June 2017 following a no-confidence vote in the incumbent prime minister – who led in coalition after a military coup caused the 2012 election to fail and a snap election to be held in 2015. The political landscape was clearly complex and I wrote to Wigmore and Banks, asking how the coming election could affect their mining interests in Lesotho but there was no reply. While there was no indication as to exactly what involvement they had in the 2015 election campaign beyond the photograph, Wigmore, along with both Arron and Jonathan Banks and James Pryor, were pictured with the King of Lesotho on the 11th of June 2014, during an apparent trip to visit their mining facilities. Wigmore’s Instagram in general shows he is no stranger to political celebrity – he can also be found pictured in the infamous gold lift at Trump Tower and with Lord Ashcroft, among others.

Banks, in his autobiography, describes Pryor as his “fixer in Africa” and states both Pryor and Wigmore worked together for the conservatives in the late 1980s. Banks goes on to say he bought not one but two mines in Lesotho and visits them periodically but makes clear Pryor is on hand there most of the time, to keep him updated. I also asked Wigmore and Banks what connections they have with the king but there was no reply.

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