The Funeral of Ed the Techie

Questions in its wake

On June 5th I wrote about The Curious Case of Ed the Techie and questioned the nature of the X user’s relationship with satirical cartoonist Bob Moran. A week later I followed up with an article detailing the Strange Response to this line of questioning.

Ed Chanter was reported to have died on April 27th when Bob Moran announced his death with a fulsome eulogy and a commemorative cartoon. The following day Ed Chanter’s X account was used, apparently by his family members, to announce that, “Ed's funeral and a celebration of his life will both be held in Brighton in June. He wanted to extend an invitation to his "X" friends.”

To the best of my knowledge no further public announcement was made regarding the funeral.

Ed had been a regular guest on a podcast called (instructively) Chasing Dissent, which was hosted by a former police officer named John Porter (aka Sgt Grumpy). On May 3rd during their first broadcast after Ed’s death, John Porter and his co-hosts David and Benn warned people about looking into Ed’s background and connections. Wearing a shirt with a Mickey Mouse design, Benn said of those asking questions that they were, “stupid and their brains have turned to mush,” that, “they’re jealous…because they’re a bunch of morons,” that they were, “literal fucking retards,” before exclaiming, “fuck these people!”

In the days that followed John Porter appears to have been busy producing AI content. On June 10th he posted an AI video that is described as a “breakdown (of) retired Sergeant Grumpy’s devastating review of Francis O'Neill's dossier on Bob Moran.” It’s not clear where the viewer can find the original, ‘devastating review,’ that AI, ‘breaks down,’ but then it is also not clear that the Sergeant is retired. The next day Porter posted a song entitled, ‘Francis and Leo,’ and one dedicated entirely to Leo Biddle, called, ‘Jungle Kang.’ Predictably the lyrics relate that I have, “gone mad,” and suggest (as James Delingpole did to me on his podcast), that Leo is an animal, “lover,” - a puerile and obvious jibe that is the first recourse of Leo’s online antagonists. Of our suspicions, the chorus informs us inevitably that, “it's all in your head.”

Porter has long made use of AI for his videos and three years ago his co-host Ed Chanter used it to make art when he programmed it to paint Brighton Pier in the style of Van Gogh. In stark contrast, Chanter’s effusive friend Bob Moran is vocal in his hatred of AI.

On June 17th, John Porter and his friends produced nearly 6 minutes of live streamed video from a pub to which they claimed to have retired after Ed Chanter’s funeral. In the video, John Porter turns the camera to introduce David, Benn and Vaughan, and later calls out to someone called Adam to get a round of drinks. He takes the opportunity to say that people have, “seen us in the flesh. People looking us up and down going, ‘They’re real. They’re real. They’re real. They exist. They’re not shills. They’re not agents of the state. They’re not government.’”

Mid-way through the video a woman interjects to say,"Oh, also Bob Moran was there even though he blocked me." John Porter laughs and then affirms, "Yeah, he was there." Benn offers, "I don't think he came here," (meaning to the pub) to which John Porter answers, "No, but he was at the funeral."

Although John Porter mentions Ed Chanter’s family and friends they do not feature in the video, nor do any of Ed’s other purported online friends. John Porter and his friends all appear jovial and wearing casual clothes. Benn is wearing another shirt with a Mickey Mouse design.

The following day, June 18th, 9/11 activist Matt Campbell posted a photograph of himself with Bob Moran with the caption, “Great to meet you @bobscartoons at a beautiful day’s celebration of @edthetechie’s life.” Twitter accounts, notable for their attacks on those questioning the Lucy Connolly narrative, chimed in. Nat wrote, “It was indeed a beautiful celebration of @edthetechie’s life - I think he would have loved it. I’m so glad I was there to honour his memory and that I got to meet both you and Bob. And @ndndn!” Graham Kemp added, “It was truly a lovely and moving celebration, hearing so many people tell their personal experiences of how he enriched their lives. I learned a lot about him and the affection and respect he attracted.”

I asked Bob Moran if he could confirm that the photograph was taken after Ed’s funeral on June 17th 2026.

This provoked a response on substack from Anna Rayner (aka Anna Naylor) who asked me to confirm that it was me in a video in which Ahmad Malik asked a question at a Together Declaration event in 2022. I confirmed saying there was no dispute over the location, time, or people, recorded in that video. Anna Rayner has previously declared, “lord knows some of us worked to disabuse him of this bollocks,” in reference to private efforts she and others made to influence my thinking.

Prior to these public offerings Anna Rayner (aka Anna Naylor) had been very keen to maintain a private persona, having worked behind the scenes both at HART and as Alan Miller’s hidden hand at Together. Where I was happy to answer Anna Rayner’s questions, Bob Moran maintained his silence.

Bob Moran and Anna Rayner

The photograph of Bob Moran supposedly at Ed Chanter’s funeral is taken in curious circumstances. Bob Moran had never met Ed, nor had he ever visited Ed when Ed was dying, but he had now apparently driven several hours to Brighton from his home in Somerset to attend Ed’s funeral. Moran was photographed in some kind of bar wearing casual clothes, and laughing alongside a man who has his hair styled into devil’s horns.

When I pointed out these anomalies, the gaggle of social media accounts that vigorously attack those who question state narratives such as those around Lucy Connolly and Ed the Techie, became quite exercised. They explained that Bob Moran had attended the funeral, “but went back to where he was staying afterwards to get changed for the pub.”

In John Porter’s video it was said that Moran hadn’t gone to the pub after the funeral. John Porter is said to have consumed at least three pints and to be "half cut." He looks around and says, "people won't be here much longer, they are obviously losing interest." At this point we are asked to believe Bob had still not got changed, despite regularly appearing in the pub after events over the past few years without changing his clothes. Why Matt Campbell and everyone in Porter’s video are in casual clothes is not explained.

Matt Campbell is an activist who reports that his brother Geoff died in the North Tower on 9/11. Campbell is currently seeking to crowdfund £275,000 in legal fees to have the UK courts conduct a fresh inquest into his brother’s death. When he first appeared publicly with his hair styled into horns in a video published on September 11th, 2021 I questioned him as to why he had done so and he said, "watch The Unspeakable (a documentary film) and it is clear." In the film, when Campbell first appears, he says, “Yep, my hair. It’s just, it’s where I’m at right now. Frustrated and pissed off with current events. but in particularly, you know, my fight for the last 20 years. And so it’s just, yeah, it’s where I’m at. A little bit like this (gestures insulting V signs) up to the system.”

Campbell’s explanation for his odd behaviour is no clearer than those offered by his friend, Bob Moran for his. As with Moran the nature of Campbell’s relationship with Ed Chanter is unclear. On X they had only one brief recorded exchange, with Campbell writing only, “Living our best summer ever,” in sarcastic reference to exaggerated media reports of hot weather.

In the photograph with Moran, Campbell wears a T-shirt labelled “One nation under a groove. Parliament. Funkadelic.” Funkadelic was a band led by George Clinton. Clinton was influenced by the Process Church of the Final Judgement which was,

“Founded in 1966, (by) former Scientologists Mary Ann MacLean and Robert de Grimston (who) conceived of a quasi-sect espousing the doctrinal idea that human personalities were made up of four divine character elements being Jehovah’s strength, Lucifer’s light, Satan’s separation, and Christ’s unity. Considered the “Great Gods of the Universe”, each Process member was instructed to embrace two of the four divinities to realise their spiritual identities in rejection of the conforming pressures of society.”

Campbell’s hairstyle is certainly, “in rejection of the conforming pressures of society.” Another of Moran’s friends, John Mappin, is a scientologist. Mappin was recently the subject of a soft ball interview by Sandi Adams in which he recounts the unlikely story of how he bought Camelot Castle from a freemason, and closed the deal without lawyers in forty-five minutes. Mappin adds that the mason continued to manage the property for Mappin after the sale, thus easing him into his new role. Mappin’s interviewer Sandi Adams has also been celebrated by (now UK Column employee) Jake Fern who painted her portrait in his Thousand Words series which includes Bob Moran, Tania Edwards, James Delingpole, Abi Roberts, and David Icke. Jake Fern has become a prolific and abusive critic of mine for my questioning of Bob Moran.

As my questions remain unanswered, I have been ejected and blocked from James Delingpole’s telegram groups, both from a nominally private chat group of 550 members and a larger public one (that has now been made private). Delingpole’s assistant Andrew Warwick (aka Darley) has removed from the group anyone posting similar questions, or any comments or emojis supportive of those questions.

The relationship of Bob Moran to Ed Chanter is no clearer than it was two months ago. Instead more inconsistencies and more questions accumulate. Where was the funeral announced? Who decided which online friends were to be invited? How were they contacted? Why did Bob Moran attend the funeral but prior to that, not visit his dying friend?

Why were all the supposed attendees in casual clothes? Is the photograph of Bob Moran grinning for a photograph in casual clothes actually taken at a funeral? Commentators have observed that Matt Campbells’ photograph does not appear to be taken at the same location as John Porter’s video. There is bright sunlight in John Porter’s video in which he said people wouldn’t be there much longer. It is claimed that Bob Moran arrived shortly afterwards at around 5.30pm but Moran is pictured in electric light at nightfall (the sun set at 9.21pm in Brighton on June 17th).

No family or friends or indeed any other people are shown in Moran’s photograph, and other than John Porter and his colleagues, no other funeral attendees are identified in Porter’s video. We have no evidence that any of the people behind the online accounts who claimed to attend, did so. Like Moran, why would they attend the funeral of someone they never met? Did Moran drive hours to attend the funeral and then avoid the people at the wake? Why indeed would Moran want to socialise with people (like Ed and his friends) who were so abusive towards those questioning Lucy Connolly -as Moran did? Lucy Connolly, who claimed Ed as one her “original twitter crew,” apparently did not attend, nor apparently did Johnny Vedmore who had claimed to have once met and stayed with Ed.

In short we have no evidence that Bob Moran attended the funeral of Ed Chanter, nor in fact do we have any evidence that any such funeral took place. If the photograph was not taken at a funeral, what is the nature of Bob Moran’s relationship with Matt Campbell? Moran has declined to provide a simple yes or no answer as to whether the photograph of him was taken at the funeral in question, and has instead allowed the squawks of an online menagerie to speak for him. They and he have been unable to provide a simple answer to the question that remains outstanding which is, what is the nature of Bob Moran’s relationship with Ed the Techie?

It would be easy to disregard John Porter in his role as Sgt Grumpy and to view his chaotic videos, his puerile AI songs, and the drunken prattle of him and his Mickey Mouse cohorts, as infantile or imbecilic. Similarly we might view it as immaterial whether Bob Moran attended a funeral, or whether he was associated with a reportedly dead man who had diametrically opposing views. These things do not seem important in and of themselves. We could easily regard dispute over such details as unnecessary and trivial. Indeed, it is clear from his chosen pseudonym of Sgt Grumpy and by his behaviour, John Porter’s whole purpose is to give the impression of clownish and inconsequential trivia to such subjects. We are to be given a sense of bickering and foolishness. Yet what is being hidden behind this smokescreen of confusion and inanity is an unseen network of influence that is being used to manipulate and mislead. If infiltrators occupy leadership roles and positions of trust then they are ideally positioned to influence our thoughts and actions when our minds are receptive and our guard is down. If they occupy spaces that might otherwise be filled with someone genuine then they take up hours of watching and listening time in countless minds. They validate, celebrate, and protect, other frauds in the network, displacing those who are authentic and discarding the pursuit of truth.

In recent years this network locked down and injected the whole world. For those who recognise that fact, the front lines of the information war have now moved from the mainstream to the alternative media. We are well aware that the 77th brigade and other state operatives have been tasked with subverting online discourse. As we might recognise the presence of a predator in the ocean from schools of fish leaping from the water, we might recognise the hidden hand of the control network in the commotion created by its online contributors. It is said that the devil is in the details, but it is in the details that we identify both the truth and the devils. To find them we must see past any commotion.

This is Part Three of three articles.

Part One: The Curious Case of Ed the Techie is here.

Part Two: A Strange Response is here.

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