Archiv: Tories


15.11.2024 - 13:32 [ Middle East Eye ]

UK urged to share Gaza spy planes footage with ICC war crimes probe

(October 30, 2024)

The defence ministry told Middle East Eye: “As a matter of principle, we only provide intelligence to our allies where we are satisfied that it will be used in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, and in this instance, only information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities.”
(…)
Brendan O’Hara, the Scottish National Party’s spokesperson for the Middle East, told MEE it was “inconceivable”, given the scale of the destruction and death in Gaza, that the flights “do not contain footage which would be of significant interest to the investigators from the International Criminal Court”.
(…)
Labour MP Rachael Maskell told MEE: “It is crucial that any intelligence of breaches of international law are shared with the courts so they can assess the evidence and secure justice.”

“I trust that the UK government is working with the international courts to aid them in their work.”

15.11.2024 - 13:10 [ DeclassifiedUK.org/ ]

Revealed: UK military has flown 200 spy missions over Gaza in support of Israel

(May 8, 2024)

British spy planes have recorded up to 1,000 hours of footage over Gaza, including from the day Israel assassinated three UK aid workers.

10.09.2024 - 17:56 [ Jerusalem Post ]

ICC delays arrest warrants process against PM, Gallant

(June 27, 2024)

The International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Tribunal on Thursday postponed its decision-making process about whether it will allow ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.

The postponement came following a June 10 application by England to file a “friend of the court” brief against the ICC’s jurisdiction over the issue.

10.04.2024 - 09:12 [ David Hearst / Middle East Eye ]

For the defenders of Israel‘s war on Gaza, the game is up

Staunch allies calling themselves friends of Israel are beginning to realise they are also friends of the murderers of western aid workers, friends of genocide and friends of fascism

30.03.2024 - 19:08 [ Telesur ]

South Africa to Sue US and UK as Complicit in Gaza Genocide

(January 15, 2024)

The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed,‘ says Van Rensburg, who is leading the 47-lawyers team.

“We intend to bring legal proceedings against the U.S. Government based on overwhelming evidence that the U.S. Government has, and is, aiding, abetting and supporting, encouraging or providing material assistance and means to Israel and the Israeli Defense Forces. This conduct by the U.S. Government has enabled and continues to enable Israel to engage in international crimes against the Palestinian people,” the South African lawyers said in a letter sent to US President Joe Biden on January 2.

14.03.2024 - 17:18 [ Middle East Eye ]

I sued the government over ‚extremism‘ and I know the game Gove is playing

The British public should realise that Muslim scapegoats today, much like the Jewish, Irish or Black scapegoats used by demagogues yesterday, are not their enemies

14.03.2024 - 17:10 [ Middle East Eye ]

UK government targets Muslim groups with new definition of extremism

In an earlier statement, Gove‘s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the definition had been updated to respond to an “increased extremist threat since October 7 terror attacks in Israel”, citing an increase in reported antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes.

It said the new definition would be used by government departments and officials to help them decide which groups they should engage with and fund, and to identify “extremist organisations, individuals and behaviours”.

But it said: “This definition is not statutory and has no effect on the existing criminal law – it applies to the operations of Government itself.”

14.03.2024 - 16:45 [ NewArab.com ]

UK will continue UNRWA funding suspension despite Gaza famine

The UK government will continue to suspend funding to Palestinian relief works agency UNRWA, the Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell has said, despite famine gripping Gaza and crippling food shortages.

The US, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Finland, Australia and the Netherlands will also continue their freeze to critical life saving aid to the UN aid agency for Palestinians until an interim report about Israel allegations that UNRWA aid workers were involved in Hamas‘s 7 October attacks is released, the minister said.

01.03.2024 - 22:03 [ Mediaite.com ]

‘Little Rishi Sunak’: George Galloway Fires Back After Prime Minister Calls Win ‘Alarming’

Galloway turned the question around: “We had this conversation last night. Why are you reheating it?”

Coates repeated: “Because in the light of the Prime Minister’s…”

“Don’t keep telling me about the Prime Minister as if he was Moses!” the MP interrupted.

“Do you not respect the Prime Minister?” Coates asked.

“Do I respect the Prime Minister? I despise the Prime Minister,” Galloway said.

01.03.2024 - 21:24 [ Yahoo.com ]

Rishi Sunak calls George Galloway win ‚very alarming‘ in Downing Street statement

“What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

“Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

“Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Long-standing parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

“And it’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election …

01.03.2024 - 21:15 [ New York Times ]

‘This Is for Gaza’: George Galloway, Leftist Firebrand, Wins U.K. Seat

As he celebrated victory early Friday after winning a parliamentary election, George Galloway, a veteran left-wing firebrand, directed his attack squarely at the leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party.

“Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Mr. Galloway said, wearing the fedora hat that has become his trademark. “You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on.”

01.03.2024 - 21:00 [ Associated Press ]

Veteran British left-wing disruptor George Galloway wins a special election dominated by war in Gaza

George Galloway’s victory was described as “beyond alarming” by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who used a Friday evening address to the nation to warn that British democracy was being targeted by extremists.

Galloway, 69, swept to victory in Thursday’s contest, winning almost 40% of the vote in the parliamentary seat of Rochdale.

01.03.2024 - 20:46 [ Consortium News ]

Galloway Back in Parliament, Declaring Duopoly Defeated

“We crushed Labour by ten thousand votes,” he told supporters back at headquarters. “The second place candidate was not the Conservatives,” but an independent. “This is the first time in British political history that in a by-election both of the major parties were completely crushed,” he said.

“We changed politics in Britain for good,” James Giles, Galloway’s campaign manager, told supporters back at campaign headquarters. “Maybe we have changed politics in the world for good.

22.02.2024 - 05:34 [ The Times and The Sunday Times / Youtube ]

LIVE: UK parliament debate and vote on Israel-Gaza ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer faces the prospect of a second rebellion among his MPs over a ceasefire in Gaza, with a government intervention threatening to expose Labour divisions.

The Labour leader had attempted to see off a revolt by tabling a Commons amendment, which for the first time backed an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

However, parliamentary procedure means it may not be debated, potentially forcing his MPs to back a motion put down by the Scottish National Party (SNP).

22.02.2024 - 05:25 [ Associated Press ]

An attempt by UK lawmakers to vote on a cease-fire in Gaza descended into chaos

The mayhem broke out during debate on a motion from the opposition Scottish National Party, or SNP, urging an immediate cease-fire, the release of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas and “an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

The main opposition Labour Party, which is divided over how strongly to criticize Israel, submitted a tweaked version of the motion calling for an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire,” without the mention of collective punishment.

The governing Conservatives put forward their own amendment, which backed an “immediate humanitarian pause,” followed by “moves towards a permanent sustainable” cease-fire.

02.01.2024 - 18:48 [ ArabNews.com ]

Lebanese PM urges UK for ‘maximum pressure’ on Israel

(28.12.2023)

Lebanon’s Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has urged the UK to place “maximum pressure” on Israel to end its campaign on Gaza and the Lebanese border.

In a meeting with UK Foreign Minister David Cameron on Thursday, Mikati warned that the “Israeli provocations in southern Lebanon could lead to deteriorating conditions and a full-scale war in the region as a whole.”

08.12.2023 - 10:15 [ Alfred de Zayas, former #UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of a #Democratic & Equitable #International Order / Twitter ]

Israel has clearly violated articles 2 and 3 of the Genocide Convention. Pursuant to article 3(e) all States that have militarily supported Israel and made the genocide possible bear penal responsibility for complicity.

08.12.2023 - 09:17 [ Gerry Hassan / Twitter ]

„Even in a war on terror there are rules“ says Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council. He calls out the US, UK, France, Germany & the EU on Israel & their refusal to criticise Israeli brutality while providing armaments for Israel.

08.12.2023 - 09:00 [ Norwegian Refugee Council ]

Civilian deaths in Gaza are a stain on Israel and its allies

“Many of my own NRC staff members now live on the streets. One of them does so with her two-month-old baby.

“Our colleagues in Gaza ask themselves a simple question: how is it that these atrocities are beamed across the world for all to witness, and yet so little is done to stop them?

“Countries supporting Israel with arms must understand that these civilian deaths will be a permanent stain on their reputation.

15.11.2023 - 06:29 [ Politico.eu ]

Suella Braverman is the most hated woman in British politics — and far nicer than you think

(November 9, 2023)

Some speculate the ambitious Braverman’s sole aim was to upset left-wing opinion and so enhance her standing with the grassroots Tory members — a famously right-wing cohort — who will decide a future Tory leadership contest.

If so, she likely succeeded.

18.09.2023 - 19:17 [ Wired.co.uk ]

The UK’s Secretive Web Surveillance Program Is Ramping Up

(15.05.2023)

WIRED contacted nine of the UK’s internet service providers and telecom companies asking about their abilities to create and store people’s internet connection records. Eight did not respond to the request for comment. TalkTalk, the only one that did, said it will “meet its obligations” under UK law but couldn’t “confirm or deny” whether ICRs existed.

18.09.2023 - 18:41 [ NewStatesman.com ]

Cameron’s internet filter goes far beyond porn – and that was always the plan

(23 December 2013)

Through secretive negotiations with ISPs, the coalition has divided the internet into ‚acceptable‘ and ‚unacceptable‘ categories and cut people off from huge swathes of it at the stroke of a key.

18.09.2023 - 18:32 [ Techcrunch.com ]

UK Advisor Involved In Britain’s Internet Filter Arrested For Child Porn

(Mar 4, 2014)

Britain has come under fire for its Internet filtering program, which can inadvertently block sensitive culture topics that overlap with common porn terms. The program accidentally “led to the creation of filters that not only cover hardcore pornography, but hate speech, self-harm, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, dating, nudity, violence, gambling, social networking, file-sharing, games and more,” explained Wired UK.

Despite the embarrassing arrest, there is no announced plan to revise the Internet filtering program.

21.07.2023 - 15:09 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

This must be the end of Rishi Sunak’s green obsession

It was Sadiq Khan’s extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) to outer London that won it for the Tories. This diabolical scheme to penalise drivers of older cars and van-owning tradesmen in the outer suburbs has aroused a level of rage which must now be a lesson to all serious contenders in the general election. The ramifications go far beyond this single, apparently anomalous, success for the Conservatives.

21.07.2023 - 14:48 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

By-election results live: Scrap 2030 petrol car ban, Tories urge Sunak

Rishi Sunak has been urged to scrap the ban on new petrol and diesel cars scheduled for 2030 after a surprise Tory by-election win was driven by a green scheme revolt.

While the Tories fell to substantial defeats in the Selby and Ainsty and Somerton and Frome polls, their victory in Boris Johnson’s former constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip came after a campaign centred on opposing the expansion of Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

21.07.2023 - 14:35 [ Independent.co.uk ]

By election results live: Sunak warned Tories set to lose ‘hell of a lot of seats’

Rishi Sunak has held on to Boris Johnson’s former seat in Uxbridge – a win widely seen as a result of Ulez – despite suffering two painful by-election blows.

21.07.2023 - 14:20 [ iNews.co.uk ]

When does Ulez expand? How Sadiq Khan’s expansion of the zone helped to decide the Uxbridge by-election

Sadiq Khan’s controversial Ulez scheme has been described as the deciding factor in the Conservatives holding onto Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

The cleaner-air levy has faced opposition since it was introduced 2019, with the intention of purifying London’s air. Drivers of more-polluting vehicles are subject to a £12.50 tax in the ultra low emission zone, in a move similar to the congestion charge.

21.07.2023 - 14:10 [ iNews.co.uk ]

By-election results: Voters still ‘pissed off’ with Partygate and Truss and uninspired by Sunak, Tory MPs say

The Tories lost two seats with around 20,000 majorities in by-elections on Thursday in Selby and Ainsty, to Labour, and Somerton and Frome, to the Lib Dems, while narrowly holding on to Boris Johnson’s old Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat amid a challenge from Labour.

Tory Party chairman Greg Hands claimed the 495-vote victory in Uxbridge was the “standout result” while Mr Sunak insisted the next general election was not a “done deal” despite the loss of two safe seats.

21.07.2023 - 13:43 [ CNN ]

Rishi Sunak suffers two election losses as British voters reject ailing Conservative government

The Conservatives lost to the resurgent Labour Party in Selby and Ainsty, a region in the north of England where the Sunak’s party had enjoyed a commanding majority.

A second seat, Somerton and Frome, was won by the Liberal Democrats, a centrist party.

The Conservatives just managed to hold on to a third seat, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, the constituency held by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson until his resignation from parliament last month, although Labour significantly grew its share of the vote.

21.06.2023 - 05:22 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Boris Johnson irrevocably corrupted the Tories – now, they’re rotten to the core

Not all politicians are the same, I know that, but enough of the current crop are to make many turn away from politics forever. The Johnson debacle, like Trump’s manoeuvrings, is a profoundly anti-democratic moment as both leaders seek to undermine any institution that stops their ambition. That ambition has nothing to do with improving the lives of anyone but themselves. “Power,” says O’Brien as he tortures Winston in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, “is not a means, it is an end.” Indeed.

21.06.2023 - 05:13 [ DailyMail.co.uk ]

Rishi Sunak declares Boris Johnson Partygate furore ‚closed‘ and ex-PM calls ceasefire in bitter Tory feuding – with ministers pleading for unity amid polls showing Labour lead hitting 20 POINTS ahead of crucial by-elections

Mr Sunak joined many Conservatives in swerving the debate, instead attending a Jewish Care event.

19.06.2023 - 10:12 [ Independent.co.uk ]

New Partygate video ‘shows Tories dancing, drinking and laughing at lockdown rules’

At least 24 guests were reportedly at the gathering which was held just a few days before Mr Johnson’s 19 December announcement that Tier 4 Covid curbs would be implemented. This put London and the southeast of England under severe restrictions which meant many could not see their families on Christmas Day.

“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmas as planned,” he said just five days after the party.

19.06.2023 - 10:06 [ Mirror.co.uk ]

Exclusive: First ever Partygate video revealed as Tories drink, dance and laugh at Covid rules

When one man sees he is being recorded, he says: “Oh Christ.” Then another asks: “Are you filming this?” Someone else responds: “It’s for party, erm, party use.”

A man then laughs after declaring: “As long as we are not streaming that we’re, like, bending the rules.”

It was just days after the party that Mr Johnson announced even tighter restrictions which meant people in the areas worst hit by Covid could not see their loved ones over Christmas.

28.05.2023 - 11:06 [ TaxResearch.org.uk ]

Suppose we have an interest rate / inflation spiral now, and it’s been created by the Bank of England?

I suspect the Bank to deny this, but they have already admitted their models of inflation based on their own understandings of the issue do not work, so little weight should be given to that.

Instead it‘s time to cut rates and remove the only excuse businesses have to increase prices because interest rates are the only cost expected to remain high, and excessively so, from now into the future.

28.05.2023 - 10:55 [ theGuardian.com ]

Bank of England raises UK interest rates to 4.5%

(11 May 2023)

The Bank of England has raised interest rates by a quarter of a point to 4.5% as it forecast inflation would stay higher for longer than previously expected and the economy would perform more strongly.

28.05.2023 - 10:47 [ Sky.com ]

Supermarkets ‚to be urged to cap price on some foods‘

The scheme would aim to get retailers charging the lowest possible amount for some basic products like milk and bread, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

A Number 10 source said the plans are at „drawing board stage“ and would not involve government-imposed price controls.

27.04.2023 - 17:49 [ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ]

UN Human Rights Chief urges UK to reverse ‘deeply troubling’ Public Order Bill

The Public Order Bill, which has now been passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom, is deeply troubling legislation that is incompatible with the UK’s international human rights obligations regarding people’s rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Thursday.

“This new law imposes serious and undue restrictions on these rights that are neither necessary nor proportionate to achieve a legitimate purpose as defined under international law. This law is wholly unnecessary as UK police already have the powers to act against violent and disruptive demonstrations,” Türk said.

25.12.2022 - 11:09 [ theGuardian.com ]

Sunak urged to drop ‘unspeakably cruel’ two-child limit and benefit cap

Households with more than two children where universal credit or child tax credit is claimed no longer receive additional funds.

It applies to additional children born after 6 April 2017, however exemptions apply for those who had children in a multiple birth or children conceived due to rape or coercion.

However, the exemptions have caused controversy as women must disclose that they were raped in order to be eligible – known as the rape clause.

06.11.2022 - 11:43 [ Telegraph.co.uk ]

Jeremy Hunt plots £10bn tax grab from the better off

Ministers have discussed reducing the rate at which income tax relief is applied to Britain’s 5.5 million higher-rate taxpayers from 40p to a flat rate as low as 20p. Another option being considered is to increase the number of very high earners whose income tax relief is cut even further.

The total cost of pension tax relief to the Exchequer is £42.7 billion, of which £22.9 billion is relief on income tax and £19.8 billion is on National Insurance contributions.