Latest news with #IPCO
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
MI5 misled watchdog about neo-Nazi spy case after lying in court
The watchdog charged with holding MI5 to account rewrote a report into the handling of a violent neo-Nazi agent after the Security Service gave it false information, the BBC can early draft of the report by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) contradicted false evidence given by MI5 to court, but the final version did told the BBC it was "misled" by the Security director general Sir Ken McCallum apologised to IPCO, after the BBC challenged the Security Service's false statements to the courts. The revelation means that MI5 has effectively given false evidence in this case to every organisation or court which is supposed to have access to the Security Service's secrets and is responsible for holding it to also raises questions about how easily IPCO accepts false assurances from MI5, when it is supposed to ensure the Security Service works within the law and in the public began its secret investigation into MI5's handling of the agent - a genuine neo-Nazi known publicly as X who informed on extremist networks – in was prompted by a BBC story about how X used his Security Service role to coerce and terrorise his then-girlfriend, known publicly as "Beth".MI5 had told me he was an agent in 2020 while trying to stop me running a news story about the man's extremism. I had already heard he was an agent, also known as a covert human intelligence source (Chis), and told MI5 as calls were an attempt by MI5 to protect and cover for X, a violent misogynistic abuser with paedophilic tendencies. Telling me he was an agent was inconsistent with MI5's public claims about always abiding by a core secrecy policy – known as neither confirm nor deny (NCND) – on the status of the Security Service maintained it had stuck by the NCND policy - first in a court case where the government tried to prevent the BBC from publishing a story about X, and then in two further courts where Beth made a claim against X's status officially secret meant that key evidence was withheld from Beth. IPCO's role is to inspect the use of investigatory powers by MI5, such as its use of agents, and to identify any concerns in its reviewed MI5 documents about the case of agent X, including an official record authorising a departure from NCND, and sent a draft report to MI5 in February report concluded that MI5 had taken the "extraordinary" decision to depart from NCND on X's agent status in calls with me. But MI5 pushed back and denied it had departed from the policy, including in correspondence with the Investigatory Powers Commissioner himself Sir Brian Leveson, a former High Court judge best known for chairing a public inquiry into the culture and standards of the told IPCO: "We would like to make clear that we did not in fact take any such decision. [X's] status was not disclosed to the BBC either at that time or subsequently."In December 2023 Sir Brian wrote back, saying that "based on the records available" it was "entitled to conclude as a justifiable inference, on the balance of probabilities, that MI5 disclosed [X's] role as a CHIS".He said that MI5 had provided no documentary evidence to support its position, nor any explanation about how it had convinced me not to run a story about X, as the Security Service had claimed."I note that MI5 has not disputed that disclosure was, at least, contemplated… either there was inadequate record keeping or there has been a failure to make records available to inspectors. Either would represent a serious compliance failure," he refused to back down and IPCO changed its position, with the final report falsely saying that there was no departure from NCND. The final version introduced three significant the report said that "an operational plan was agreed that there would be no disclosure that X was an MI5 CHIS". This was the opposite of the truth. MI5's entire operational plan involved a sustained attempt to persuade me to stop doing a story by disclosing that X was an the report said "it was not MI5 policy to record all such exchanges" with journalists. This was untrue. There was a policy requiring such exchanges to be the report referenced a High Court witness statement I had given and said: "De Simone's witness statement confirms that no disclosure of X's status as a CHIS was made." This was false. My witness statement said no such contacted by the BBC, IPCO said it was "misled into amending our draft report to remove the finding that Agent X's status had been disclosed."IPCO said the first two falsehoods were included due to "assurances provided by MI5" and that it is now "clear that this information was incorrect and that the findings in our draft report reflected the true position".Regarding the false information about my witness statement, IPCO said: "We accept that this line in the report reflects our interpretation of your statement based on the information available to us at the time." The BBC challenged MI5 on its false evidence late last year, leading to the Security Service apologising in the High Court. MI5 promised to transparently investigate what happened, and produced new witness statements from the senior officer in charge of the MI5 team who handled X and MI5's director general of strategy - who is in effect third-in-command of the Security neither of them told the court about the IPCO reports, even in the closed, secret part of the case intended to allow MI5 to disclose sensitive judge, Mr Justice Chamberlain, only learned about the IPCO report after he had made MI5 hand over another secret document which mentioned made further witness statements apologising to the court, with the senior officer in charge of the team who handled X saying that "on reflection" they recognised the "IPCO issue" should have been revealed earlier."I apologise for not recognising the importance of explaining the IPCO aspect," the director general of strategy said, but he insisted there had been no "attempt to conceal or obscure that aspect of the background".The BBC was only told about the IPCO issue last week, with further information then provided after MI5 abandoned an attempt to keep applying its NCND secrecy policy on X's agent a High Court hearing on Tuesday, a panel of senior judges is considering what to do next about MI5's false internal review into the false evidence said it was a result of mistakes, poor memories and bad BBC said there is evidence of lies by MI5 officers, the internal inquiry was lacklustre and MI5 tried to keep damning material from the said its investigation of how MI5 had managed Agent X found a "critical failure to create and maintain accurate documentary records; a finding which was reinforced in the final report due to MI5's inability to produce any contemporaneous records and the length of time taken to respond to our requests for supporting evidence".In IPCO's most recent annual report, published in the past few days, Sir Brian referred to Agent X, saying: "Recent developments in this case mean that we are keeping it under review."
Technical.ly
22-05-2025
- Science
- Technical.ly
IPCO 2025 @ Johns Hopkins
Event Description The 26th Conference on Integer Programming and Combinatorial Optimization (IPCO XXVI) will take place on June 11-13, 2025 at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. It will be organized by the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. The conference will be preceded by a Summer School (June 9-10). The IPCO conference is under the auspices of the Mathematical Optimization Society and is held every year. The conference is a forum for researchers and practitioners working on various aspects of integer programming and combinatorial optimization. The aim is to present recent developments in theory, computation, and applications in these areas.
CBC
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
UCCM Anishnaabe Police move ahead on their own as negotiations on federal funding continue
Social Sharing The police chief of a small Indigenous service on Manitoulin Island says uncertainty about the organization's eventual funding formula isn't holding him back from making big changes now. James Killeen was sworn in as chief of UCCM Anishnaabe Police four years ago, and has been battling the federal government over the terms of the First Nations and Inuit Policing Program for much of that time. He's not alone. UCCM along with Treaty 3 and Anishinabek Police had refused to renew their contracts in 2023, saying chronic underfunding puts officers and the communities they serve at risk. In response, the federal government stopped funding them altogether. The impasse ended up in court with a federal judge ordering emergency funding to flow. Almost two years later, court-ordered negotiations continue to try to come to a new funding formula that would put First Nations police on equal standing with their non-Indigenous counterparts. The federal government provides 52 per cent of funding for First Nations police with the province providing 48 per cent. The three police forces, represented by the Indigenous Police Chiefs of Ontario (IPCO), are also challenging terms of their contract that ban Indigenous police from hiring specialized officers for drug or major crime investigations, or own their own buildings. At UCCM Anishnaabe headquarters in M'Chigeeng First Nation, Killeen says he vividly remembers the day he had to tell his staff and officers that their funding was cut. "It's a scary feeling when that was happening," he said. "I had a lot of nervous employees here, people saying what are we going to do? What happens? Do I need to look for another job? And I asked everyone to believe in what we were doing and to believe and to trust me and that we would get through this." Sergeant Todd Fox remembers that he was one of the nervous ones, at first, but is feeling more optimistic now. "I think we're making a lot of progress," he said. "I think our chief and his command staff along with other IPCO chiefs of police are fighting the right fight. And it ultimately boils down to the safety and security of our people that we protect." Killeen hasn't been waiting for the outcome of negotiations with the federal government to take steps to provide better service to communities. In December, UCCM hired a specialized canine officer. Constable Nicholas Beaudry and his Belgian Malinois Ben are trained to help execute search warrants, track missing people and other general duties. It's a service that is now closer to home for communities that would have previously had to wait hours if they were in need of a canine officer. Since December, they've been on 30 calls. It's reassuring to people like Sheldon Miigwans of M'Chigeeng to have police closer in case of emergencies. He brought his grandchildren to a bike rodeo being put this week on by special constables with UCCM. "There's a lot of drugs and assaults, violence on the reserve. and the police handle that right now," he said. "You have to wait longer at certain times for the OPP to get here coming from Little Current or wherever they are." As for drugs, Killeen wants to improve safety for his officers, who often work alone due to understaffing and respond to violent incidents in remote areas. The service has 30 officers, which he wants to double to 60. He is actively recruiting police officers to investigate drug and major crimes, and he's looking after their safety as well. Killeen's just built a drug processing unit separate from the main offices so any substances police recover can be weighed and tested there under controlled conditions. He says until now, officers would bring in the substances, potentially fentanyl and other opioids, and test them at their desks, cleaning up as well as they could. "That's just not acceptable," said Killeen. "Look at the drugs that we're dealing with. They're high potency drugs that if you're exposed to them, especially if you're a person that's never taken illicit drugs before and then you're exposed to it, it can affect you very, very quickly and you can get very ill from it. You could even die from a high level exposure." Also on the drawing board, plans for a new headquarters, where staff will have their own offices and not have to double up. Special constable Matt Bebonang was handing out bike helmets and teaching safe biking to children at the bike rodeo and said his passion is to serve his communities as a full-fledged officer. He's proud his force is involved in raising the issues facing Indigenous policing. "It shows that even the small people, I guess small people in that sense of policing, need to stand up to get our equitable funding and have our funding on par with every other service in Ontario here," he said. The changes are not going unnoticed. Inside the community centre at a meal celebrating police week, Andrew Corbiére filled out a survey outlining what he'd like to see from his police service. He thinks they're doing a good job and starting to make a dent in the criminal element that targets First Nations. "I'm beginning to feel safe with the recent arrests they've been making," he said. "It's really putting the word out there. It's sending that message to the bad guys that they're not messing around, that they're here to stay and that they're gonna fight, that war on drugs and crime and do whatever they can."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
International Petroleum First Quarter 2025 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations, Revenues Lag
International Petroleum (TSE:IPCO) First Quarter 2025 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: US$177.5m (down 14% from 1Q 2024). Net income: US$16.2m (down 52% from 1Q 2024). Profit margin: 9.1% (down from 16% in 1Q 2024). The decrease in margin was driven by lower revenue. EPS: US$0.14 (down from US$0.27 in 1Q 2024). Our free stock report includes 1 warning sign investors should be aware of before investing in International Petroleum. Read for free now. TSX:IPCO Earnings and Revenue Growth May 7th 2025 All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period International Petroleum EPS Beats Expectations, Revenues Fall Short Revenue missed analyst estimates by 1.5%. Earnings per share (EPS) exceeded analyst estimates by 5.4%. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 11% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 3.1% growth forecast for the Oil and Gas industry in Canada. Performance of the Canadian Oil and Gas industry. The company's shares are down 2.2% from a week ago. Risk Analysis It is worth noting though that we have found 1 warning sign for International Petroleum that you need to take into consideration. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Hamilton Spectator
28-04-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
International Petroleum Corporation to release Q1 2025 Financial and Operational Results on May 6, 2025
TORONTO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — International Petroleum Corporation (IPC) (TSX, Nasdaq Stockholm: IPCO) will publish its financial and operating results and related management's discussion and analysis for the three months ending 31 March 2025, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 at 07:30 CET, followed by an audiocast at 09:00 CET. Follow the 2025 first quarter financial and operating results presentation starting at 09:00 CET live on or using the link or dial in details below: Presentation Link: International Petroleum Corp. (IPC) is an international oil and gas exploration and production company with a high quality portfolio of assets located in Canada, Malaysia and France, providing a solid foundation for organic and inorganic growth. IPC is a member of the Lundin Group of Companies. IPC is incorporated in Canada and IPC's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the Nasdaq Stockholm under the symbol 'IPCO'. For further information, please contact: Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains statements and information which constitute 'forward-looking statements' or 'forward-looking information' (within the meaning of applicable securities legislation). Such statements and information (together, 'forward-looking statements') relate to future events, including the Corporation's future performance, business prospects or opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, unless otherwise indicated. IPC does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, forecasts, guidance, budgets, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as 'seek', 'anticipate', 'plan', 'continue', 'estimate', 'expect', 'may', 'will', 'project', 'forecast', 'predict', 'potential', 'targeting', 'intend', 'could', 'might', 'should', 'believe', 'budget' and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be 'forward-looking statements'.
