Portaloo's record Archived Message Posted by Ian M on May 18, 2020, 1:59 pm, in reply to "Re: Portillo was interviewed, reverently, on RNZ National in 2018." St Peter will take one look at this charge sheet and send him packing (and that's just what's on wiki)! ***** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Portillo Portillo graduated in 1975 with a first-class degree in history,[17] and, after a brief stint with Ocean Transport and Trading Ltd., a shipping and transport company, he joined the Conservative Research Department in 1976.[18] Following the Conservative victory in 1979, he became a government adviser to David Howell at the Department of Energy.[19] He left to work for Kerr-McGee Oil between 1981 and 1983.[20] [...] He was a strong supporter of Margaret Thatcher [...] In 1990, Portillo was appointed Minister of State for Local Government, in which post he argued in favour of the ultimately highly unpopular Community Charge system (popularly known as "the Poll Tax").[29] He demonstrated a consistently right-of-centre line (exemplified by his insistence, in a well-publicised speech, on placing "clear blue water" between the policies of the Conservatives and other parties[30]) and was favoured by Norman Tebbit and Margaret Thatcher, who said of him "[W]e expect great things of you, do not disappoint us".[31] His rise continued under John Major; he was made a Cabinet Minister in 1992 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury[32] and was admitted to the Privy Council the same year.[33] He subsequently became Secretary of State for Employment (1994–95),[34] and then Secretary of State for Defence (1995–1997).[35] As Defence Secretary, Portillo became the object of criticism when he invoked the motto of the SAS, "Who Dares, Wins", at a speech at the 1995 Conservative Party annual conference.[36] [...] When Duncan Smith was elected leader, Portillo returned to the backbenches. In March 2003, he voted in favour of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. [...] Portillo has supported Brexit,[52] though also has expressed the opinion that in the British system, where Parliament is sovereign, the 2016 Brexit referendum "absolutely does not fit with our system" and that "parliament has the right to interpret" the result.[53] In a 2016 television discussion he said that "because of the catastrophic blunder committed by David Cameron, [Nigel] Farage deserves a place in history" because "he spooked the Prime Minister into holding a referendum that he then lost."[54] [...] Business interests In September 2002, Portillo became a non-executive director of the multinational defence contractor BAE Systems. He stepped down from that position in March 2006, owing to potential conflicts of interest.[56] He was a member of the board of the Kerr-McGee Corporation for a few months in 2006.[57] ***** Sec of defense from 95-97, so that would have been bombing the former Yugoslavia and Iraq incl. continuing the sanctions that killed 1/2 a million children plus all the ongoing atrocities of post- (official) colonial rule, eg in the chagos islands, supporting suharto's murderous regime in Indonesia etc. This is the guy who gets to tell us about the Empire on TV? What a sick joke. jeers, I Message Thread: "Portillo's Empire Journey". 9pm Ch5 Fridays. - Der May 18, 2020, 6:52 am They were damned lucky we came along when we did... - Sherwoodian May 18, 2020, 7:57 am Re: They were damned lucky we came along when we did... - Mary May 18, 2020, 8:56 am Portillo was interviewed, reverently, on RNZ National in 2018. - Morrissey May 18, 2020, 9:31 am Re: Portillo was interviewed, reverently, on RNZ National in 2018. - Mary May 18, 2020, 11:11 am Re: Portillo was interviewed, reverently, on RNZ National in 2018. - Morrissey May 18, 2020, 12:50 pm Portaloo's record - Ian M May 18, 2020, 1:59 pm   Searching