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| Wyke Farms Greenwash Involving Local Tory MP |
Conservative MP for Somerton and Frome, David Warburton, has recently mentioned Wyke Farms at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in Parliament.
We hope that Mr Warburton was not following the example set by disgraced fellow Tory MP Owen Paterson, in using his position as an MP to help a company. Paterson has had to resign. We examine Mr Warburton's speech below.
Do Warburton's claims hold up to scrutiny, because he was praising Wyke Farms, using PR claims made by them?
No, they do not, because the claims come from Wyke Farms, who we have already shown are far from being "100% Green". Wyke Farms are much less than 100% "green". They are more brown than green.
We have shown that Wyke Farms are repeat environmental offenders, by showing evidence from Freedom of Information requests that we sent to the Environment Agency.
We have shown that Wyke Farms' bad behaviour has been going on for years by showing the disgusting Pig Fattening Unit that Wyke Farms used for their "green" gas, and which was shut down after reports by animal rights activists in the Daily Mail.
We have received the full reports from the Environment Agency and have published extracts from them to show the repeated pollution incidents and management failure by Wyke Farms at their Anaerobic Digester Plant, near Bruton in Somerset. We have more evidence and will publish it.
Warburton Advocates Wyke Farms "Green" Claims in Parliament
At PMQs, Mr Warburton asked the Prime Minister a stitched-up question making outlandish claims about Wyke Farms in a question about "National Cheese Toastie Day" (yes, really!).
We will come to why he might be so keen to do this
later, due to links between the local and national Conservative Party, Warburton and Wyke Farms. Is it advocacy or is it paid advocacy?
We hope that Mr Warburton has not been engaging in paid advocacy like Paterson did.
Warburton asked at PMQs (emphasis added, taken from Hansard):
"As the whole House will know, today is National Cheese Toastie Day. [Interruption.] It is a fact. A massive 4.3 billion toasties were consumed last year—they are the nation’s favourite snack—and glorious Somerset is the home of cheddar cheese. Wyke Farms, in my constituency, is now producing what I think is the world’s first entirely carbon-neutral cheddar cheese. Did my right hon. Friend know that eating cheddar from Somerset can reduce one’s cheese consumption carbon footprint by 55%, and will he support our vital diary industry by committing himself to enjoying a carbon-neutral cheese toastie today?"
We
agree that Somerset is glorious! That's why we formed Somerset Independents. We are Somerset's only dedicated
political party and campaign group that was formed in Somerset by
Somerset residents and for Somerset residents.
But the rest of Warburton's question is highly dubious, laughable even, and is advocacy.
Did Wyke Farms put Warburton up to this?
Many Tory MPs did laugh - and now we know from the recent scandal that so many Tory MPs are prepared to back a corrupt colleague who was found guilty by Standards investigation, to have done paid advocacy.
Wyke Farms, who make much of being in Somerset, want to work with
German-owned Lidl on this supposed "carbon neutral" cheese. It sounds like another exercise in greenwash from Wyke Farms,
especially considering their record on the environment as evidenced by
the Environment Agency, as well as complaints going back years from local residents
to the authorities and further evidence from those local authorities. As we have said, we will
be publishing further evidence in due course.
Warburton rarely makes a telling contribution inside or outside the House of Commons - don't take our word for it, that is what many constituents of his tell us regularly. As reported on this website, they've complained to us because he did not respond to residents. We took it up with Mark Spencer, the Chief Whip who ordered Tory MPs to back the corrupt Owen Paterson this week.
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| Letter from Chief Whip Mark Spencer To Somerset Independents Leader |
And Mark Spencer covered up for Owen Paterson as well in this week's shameful vote by Tory MPs.
Warburton has been photographed on site at Wyke Farms, with the owners of Wyke Farms and with David Cameron - another person who made grand claims of being "green" that turned out to be fake.
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| David Cameron David Warburton at Wyke Farms (photo from Wyke Farms Press Release) |
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| David Warburton Is Hiding Behind David Cameron (photo from Wyke Farms press release) |
There are also lots of examples of Warburton mentioning Wyke Farms in Parliament and elsewhere including on his Facebook Page.
Is Warburton Doing Advocacy or Paid Advocacy?
We really do hope that David Warburton does not engage in paid advocacy. Standing up for local businesses is fine. Being paid to do it, whether directly, or into Conservative Party funds, is not. It is illegal and wrong, and if there is evidence presented to us, we will present it.
Why would Wyke Farms wish to be promoted by such an MP?
Why would an MP wish to be associated with Wyke Farms?
Why didn't Warburton use PMQs to praise other Somerset cheese producers, e.g. Barber's, who have certified status as producing West Country Cheddar Cheese, as we have reported.
What is the relationship between Warburton and Wyke Farms?
Why Did Warburton Back Owen Paterson Who Was Guilty of Paid Advocacy?
Whether Warburton is engaging in paid advocacy or not, he did back paid advocacy. Why? Because he voted with other Conservative MPs who were whipped (told by the Chief Whip Mark Spencer) to back defeating the 30-day suspension of Paterson.
It could be that paid advocacy is not limited, in the Conservative Party, to Owen Paterson. We would say that there are more MPs who have done it, and who are doing it.
These MPS need to be exposed and Parliament needs to be rid of this vile corruption.
It could be that individual MPs do not benefit from illegal payments. And it could be that the Conservative Party does benefit. The public need to know.
Other questions arise:
How many other MPs are doing paid advocacy, but have not been found out yet?
How many other MPs backed Owen Paterson to try to save their own skins, by stacking enquiries into MPs with Tories? Warburton did and Somerset MPs Marcus Fysh and Rebecca Pow also voted to protect Tory corruption.
Does the corruption include the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a close "friend" of Owen Paterson?
And is David Warburton, with his fellow Tory MPs, now seeking to change the rules so that they are even less likely to be found out?
Investigations of MPs need to be independent of the political parties. The current system has independent lay people (non-MPs) on the Committee. They outweigh the MPs. That needs to be case. That must be the case.
The people of Somerset deserve to know the full truth about their MPs, and independence of these corrupt national political parties, is the only way of finding out the truth. That's why Somerset Independents was formed!
We will continue our investigations into MPs and councillors.
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