A chemical weapons expert, Dan Kaszeta, has been disinvited from giving a keynote speech at a specialist conference in London due to his social media posts criticising Conservative ministers and UK government migration policy. Kaszeta has no detailed explanation as to which posts had led to being disinvited from addressing the Chemical Weapons Demilitarisation Conference in London, which began on Tuesday. Originally from the US, Kaszeta has more than 25 years’ experience in the field and previously worked for the Clinton and Bush administrations, US Secret Service and is now a consultant on chemical weapons based in the UK. Cabinet Office officials have the right to go back five years of social media postings as part of the vetting policy, although its detail has never been publicly released. This vetting policy was introduced after historian Prof Priyamvada Gopal was banned from speaking to Home Office officials.

Source: The Guardian May 23, 2023 20:51 UTC