I have fond memories of my late father and a tale he told me about one of his experiences in the Second World War.

Little did I know at the time that his story perfectly encapsulated how the British establishment serves to protect corruption in its ruling class.

While serving as a sailor in the Middle East he told me that it was the custom and practice for the lower ranks to be paid on the Friday of each week, but on this particular occasion the purser chose to the pay crew on the following Monday.

Over the weekend the exchange rate changed leaving the lower ranks considerably worse off, while the purser made a financial killing.

Feeling a strong sense of injustice my father began the naval grievance procedure, where you formally complain to the officer above you and if you don’t receive a satisfactory answer you can go higher, eventually right up to the captain.

But here’s the rub, you never get to the captain because long before that ever happens you are transferred to another ship where you have to restart any grievance from square one.

My father was transferred from ship to ship, eventually serving on HMS Ajax, where he was promoted to be head of radar in the hope of buying his silence.

That didn’t work and he was eventually transferred to a naval unit back on dry land in the UK. He never saw justice.

The point is the British establishment has always been geared up to protect the corrupt practices of its ruling class.

Back in my father’s day it may have only been a petty naval salary scam, today we’ve seen the VIP fast lane surrounding multi-million pound contracts for iffy PPE contracts, along with dodgy furlough payments and fraudulent pandemic grants, with zero commitment and prospect of recovering any of this money stolen from the British taxpayer.

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