UK - England, Wales, N.Ireland, Scotland

[Gregg]

"We cannot do this because we are giving that money to the rich and those causing the problems."

There ya go, you're learning it...

[Dave from down under]

One day, I’ll learn to speak proper Republican…
I may need to drink more to reduce my brain cells and morals.

[RTH10260]

Court orders ministers to hand Boris Johnson’s WhatsApps to Covid inquiry
Government loses legal challenge after resisting supplying unredacted WhatsApps, notebooks and diaries

Aubrey Allegretti Political correspondent
Thu 6 Jul 2023 18.06 BST

Ministers have been ordered to hand over an unredacted cache of documents including Boris Johnson’s WhatsApp messages, notebooks and diaries to the Covid inquiry after losing a legal challenge.

Government insiders said they would comply with the ruling by high court judges on Thursday, but were concerned that it would set a precedent for further demands for important documents and messages held by serving ministers.



https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... id-inquiry

[Frater I*I]

One day, I’ll learn to speak proper Republican…
I may need to drink more to reduce my brain cells and morals.

Huffing glue mixed with paint will get you there faster....

[Ben-Prime]

One day, I’ll learn to speak proper Republican…
I may need to drink more to reduce my brain cells and morals.

Huffing glue mixed with paint will get you there faster....

You run the risk of overdosing and actually starting to VOTE Republican, however.

[RTH10260]

U.K. formally joins CPTPP to little fanfare and low expectations
Malaysia stands to gain from free palm oil exports but few other benefits seen

RHYANNON BARTLETT-IMADEGAWA, Nikkei staff writer
July 16, 2023 10:30 JST

LONDON -- The U.K. on Sunday signed an agreement to join the CPTPP in Auckland, New Zealand, formalizing its accession as the first new member to the 11-nation trading bloc, although analysts see little economic impact from the deal.

The main obvious beneficiary is Malaysia, which stands to gain tariff-free palm oil exports into the U.K., from up to 12% now, once the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership enters into force.

The agreement is expected to give the U.K. economy a marginal boost of 1.8 billion pounds ($2.36 billion), or 0.08%, over 15 years, based on London's own assessment in April 2021.

"The impact appears mainly cosmetic, for the U.K. to show it made a trade deal after Brexit," said Chris Devonshire-Ellis, chairman of Dezan Shira & Associates, an advisory firm that works with investors across Asia. "No one in Asia is taking the pact very seriously."

The British government, though, is keen to promote the pact, noting that the Asia-Pacific bloc represents half a billion people and accounts for 12% of the global economy. However, the U.K. already has free trade agreements with nine of the 11 member states, many of which were rolled over from when the U.K. was a member of the European Union.




https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/U ... pectations

[raison de arizona]

Oof!

Cruise ships set to house asylum seekers in Liverpool and Edinburgh sent back to owners after finding nowhere to dock
The vessels were expected to head to Liverpool and Edinburgh, but Sky News understands from a source that both plans have fallen through.

Two giant cruise ships set to house 1,000 asylum seekers were unable to find anywhere to dock and have been returned to their owners, a senior source has told Sky News.

In June, Rishi Sunak announced the government acquired two more vessels, alongside the Bibby Stockholm barge - which arrived in Dorset today - as part of continued efforts to cut down on hotel bills of £6m a day for those coming to the UK via small boat Channel crossings.

Plans for one of the cruise ships to house asylum seekers near Liverpool were scrapped after being declined by the port operator, and it is understood one of the boats was also planning to dock near Edinburgh.

It is not clear how much the government paid for the boats before returning them to the owner.

https://news.sky.com/story/cruise-ships ... k-12922985

[keith]

I was under the impression that prison hulks were just parked somewhere away from the docks - like in the middle of an out of the way estuary - so they didn’t interfere with the docks or upset the locals..

[RTH10260]

I was under the impression that prison hulks were just parked somewhere away from the docks - like in the middle of an out of the way estuary - so they didn’t interfere with the docks or upset the locals..

I undertand that the floating facilities are at docks cause they do not house locked up asylum seekers. They are intended to add to the leased hotel infrastructure. The residents are permitted to leave the facilities. The problem with passenger cruise ships is that they are intended to use special docking structures at a third floor level for passengers to regularily board and leave, at a passenger terminal. There will only be a couple per port that regularily get visited. Also too port authorities would have been reluctant with the extra security needed to prevent the asylum seekers roaming the premises.

[RTH10260]

must be read and view at the link

The Scottish villagers who defied Donald Trump

Activist and photographer Alicia Bruce has documented the residents and landscape of Menie in Scotland, detailing 16 years of Donald Trump’s impact on the area where he built a golf course. Her work honours the community who have ‘refused to bow down, sell up or be pushed around by Donald Trump’. I Burn But I Am Not Consumed is published by Daylight Books

Sarah Gilbert
Fri 21 Jul 2023 09.00 BST



https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gal ... nald-trump

[RTH10260]

To win or not to win , that's the question

Rishi Sunak urged to go for spring election by senior Conservatives
May 2024 said to be ‘gaining traction’ as an ‘economic sweet spot’ that may help party minimise losses

Aubrey Allegretti Senior political correspondent
Mon 24 Jul 2023 05.00 BST

Rishi Sunak is being urged by senior Conservatives to go for a spring election next year, with the plan said to be “gaining traction” among campaign strategists who believe it may be their best chance to stem losses.

In the aftermath of Thursday’s byelections, which saw a 21-point average swing against the Tories, some party insiders suggested May 2024 could be an “economic sweet spot” – providing the best window for “damage limitation”.

Sunak has come under pressure since the defeats in North Yorkshire and Somerset this week, despite the Tories pulling off a narrow win in Boris Johnson’s former seat in west London.

Friday’s results caused some ministers to privately push the government to soften its net zero plans and take a stronger stance on “wedge” issues that could be used to create more of a dividing line with Keir Starmer’s party.

The 19,000 and 20,000 majorities that were overturned by Labour and the Liberal Democrats have also renewed jitters among Tory MPs about the safety of their own seat.



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... servatives

[RTH10260]

Suella Braverman refuses plea of man barred from UK to be reunited with son
Exclusive: Home secretary orders exclusion of Siyabonga Twala, in limbo in Turkey after being stopped from flying back from holiday

Emily Dugan
Sun 23 Jul 2023 14.00 BST

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, has personally intervened to bar a man living in exile in Turkey from being reunited in the UK with his British son.

Siyabonga Twala from Chester has been in limbo in Ankara for more than six months after he was blocked from boarding a flight back to Manchester last December.

He wrote to the Home Office asking to be allowed to come back but instead Braverman has ordered his exclusion “on the basis of serious criminality” because of a cannabis offence from five years ago. Twala’s lawyer said Braverman’s intervention set a “worrying precedent”.

Twala was on his way back from a family holiday to South Africa with his nine-year-old son, Mason, and his parents and siblings when he was prevented from boarding a flight home at Istanbul airport on 30 December.

The trip was the first time that Twala, 34, had returned since his family relocated from Durban to Chester when he was 15.

Twala had residency in the UK having grown up in Britain but had not yet applied for citizenship. His immigration status now hangs in the balance because of a 2018 conviction for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

He has not offended before or since and served four months of a nine-month sentence – lower than the 12-month threshold that triggers automatic deportation.



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... onga-twala

[Gregg]

You people realize that in the US, cannabis on only illegal "technically" and in most states is legal, although the Federal Government on paper still says it's in the same class as heroin and cocaine. Aside from people caught with bales of the stuff to sell, going across state lines, it is actually extremelyrare for people to get arrested for possession. If it's not legal per se, getting caught usually only involves a traffic ticket kind of thing.

[RTH10260]

Just Stop Oil Banquet Disrupted By Alarms Hidden In Balloons

TalkTV
24 Jul 2023

A banquet held by Just Stop Oil (JSO) protesters has been disrupted by practical jokers with alarms and helium balloons.

Video activists Josh Pieters and Archie Manners arranged for someone to infiltrate the protest group posing as an activist concerned about climate change.

The undercover mole took part in direct-action protests and was also invited to JSO's Beyond F***** Banquet where activists could “grieve for what will die, but also to celebrate what we have achieved.”

[raison de arizona]

Ingenious.

[RTH10260]

Northern Ireland police officers’ details exposed in ‘monumental’ breach
All officers’ names and ranks erroneously published online for up to three hours, but private addresses thought to be safe

Nadeem Badshah
Tue 8 Aug 2023 20.37 BST

A “monumental” data breach has exposed the names and rank of every serving police officer in Northern Ireland.

A spreadsheet was mistakenly published online detailing the surname, initial, rank or grade, location and the departments of all current Police Service of Northern Ireland officers and civilian staff members. It is understood that the breach does not involve private addresses.

The data was published in response to a freedom of information request at about 2.30pm, the PSNI said.

Its assistant chief constable, Chris Todd, has apologised to officers and said the severe terrorist threat facing officers has made news of the extensive data breach the “last thing that anybody in the organisation wants to be hearing”.

Todd added: “Regrettably, this evening, I’ve had to inform the Information Commissioner’s Office of a significant data breach that we’re responsible for. What’s happened is we’ve received a freedom of information request, that’s quite a routine inquiry, nothing untoward in that.

“We’ve responded to that request, which was seeking to understand the total numbers of officers and staff at all ranks and grade across the organisation, and in the response, unfortunately, one of our colleagues has embedded the source data, which informed that request.

“So, what was within that data was the surname, initial, the rank or grade, the location and the departments for each of our current employees across the police service.”

When asked if the chief constable, Simon Byrne, would be coming back from his summer break, Todd added: “I can’t speak on behalf of the chief constable, but he is certainly aware of this situation as it’s developed today.”

The data was available to the public for between two and a half to three hours, Todd said.

“We believe it was uploaded about 2.30 this afternoon,” he said. “It came to my attention as the senior information risk owner at about 4pm, with the cooperation of the host provider it was taken down within the hour.”

The chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland has called for an urgent inquiry. Liam Kelly said: “This is a breach of monumental proportions.




https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -and-staff

[RTH10260]

Labour accuses government of losing £250bn from value of UK assets
Rachel Reeves says Tory bond black hole ‘will land working people with another astronomical bill’

Phillip Inman
Wed 9 Aug 2023 22.30 BST

Labour has accused the government of “catastrophic financial mismanagement” and claimed it has “lost” £251bn from the value of assets created to rescue the banking sector after the 2008 financial crash.

The party said analysis of recently published figures showed that a decline in the value of the Bank of England’s assets – over which the Treasury acts as a guarantor – was a huge loss to taxpayers, “equivalent to 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, or the entire GDP of Scotland and Wales combined”.

In a report assessing the impact on the exchequer, Labour said the problem began when Rishi Sunak was chancellor in 2020 and worsened in the aftermath of former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget in September last year.

Labour said the figures were “slipped out” last month in the Treasury’s annual accounts for 2022/23, “one of 108 ‘transparency’ publications issued by the government on 20 July to coincide with the start of the parliamentary recess and the three by-elections held on that day”.

Last year, in the aftermath of Kwarteng’s budget, investors spooked by the prospect of unfunded tax cuts, sold UK government bonds, sending their value plummeting and the interest payable to the highest level since 2008.

Labour’s calculation is based on accounting rules used by public companies that judge the value of assets in the Bank’s £804bn Asset Purchase Facility (APF) based on how much they are worth on a particular day.

Rachel Reeves said that bonds purchased by the Bank as part of its quantitative easing programme were a benefit to the Treasury in 2019, making it an asset worth £76.8bn. That was before a sharp reversal by April this year that transformed it into a £177.6bn liability.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -uk-assets

[RTH10260]

49 shades days of grey Truss

The Guardian view on Liz Truss’s resignation honours: this list of shame
The former prime minister should not be allowed to recommend new peers or give gongs to those involved in her catastrophic time in No 10

Editorial
Sun 13 Aug 2023 18.30 BST

The reverberations from Boris Johnson’s resignation peerages and honours list have not died down. They are likely to continue, especially if the former culture secretary Nadine Dorries, who was spurned for a Johnson peerage, has anything to do with it. But even the political stink surrounding the Johnson list may soon be outdone by Liz Truss’s outrageous proposed resignation honours. Rishi Sunak will deserve every piece of opprobrium that he gets if he nods this latest list through.

From what is known about the names submitted by Ms Truss, which are now being vetted by the House of Lords appointments commission and by the Cabinet Office, her list is a disgrace on two quite separate grounds. The first is that she has submitted a list at all, having been bundled out of No 10 last October after a mere 49 days. The very existence of her list is shameless and shaming, both to Ms Truss and to those who are on it. Mr Sunak and the House of Lords appointment commission should put a stop to it right now.

The second ground is the length of her list of shame. It is said to have 14 names on it (two original nominees turned down the humiliation of being on the list). Even so, this is one gong for every three and a half days Ms Truss spent as prime minister. If Tony Blair had handed out honours at that rate, his resignation list after more than 10 years would have contained more than 1,000 names. In fact, Mr Blair chose not to submit a list at all; nor did Gordon Brown.

The Truss nominees include aides, cronies, ideologues and big donors. Mr Sunak has a strong moral case for blocking the lot of them. He would win much-needed public prestige if he does so. In particular, he ought to block all peerages for Ms Truss’s donors and cronies.

It is long past time to draw a line under the packing of the House of Lords. It is now a preposterously large chamber of 784, for whom there would not be room if they all turned up. The way peerages are handed out is a mark of the degradation of British public life. It is in Mr Sunak’s overwhelming interest to drive a stake through the system’s entitled heart. He should do so.

The Labour party will inevitably denounce all this as further proof of Tory sleaze. The charge is justified; the Conservatives have systematically abused the system. But the stuffing of the House of Lords is a Labour problem too. It will become a much more salient one if Labour wins the general election. The heat would then turn on to Sir Keir Starmer, and rightly so.



https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... t-of-shame

[RTH10260]

Ministers’ attacks on civil servants ‘damaged Whitehall staff retention’
Exclusive: Ethics watchdog castigates government over power imbalance and effect on morale of erosion in conventions

Rowena Mason and Matthew Weaver
Mon 14 Aug 2023 17.05 BST

Ministers’ disparaging public attacks on civil servants have damaged staff retention and morale in Whitehall, the government’s ethics watchdog has said.

Government officials have been accused of being “obstructive and furthering their own agenda”, according to the committee on standards in public life, which pointed to an erosion of the normal conventions that govern civil servants’ relationship with ministers.

In its submission to a parliamentary inquiry on Whitehall leadership and reform, the committee – which is chaired by a former head of MI5, Jonathan Evans – said ministers should be mindful of the power imbalance as public disparagement had consequences.

It also said there had also been a rise in anonymous briefings from within the civil service, with some officials opposed to the government’s “willingness to test the boundaries of legality”.

“In recent times there has been an erosion of the conventions that have governed the relationship, with public criticism of civil servants becoming increasingly disparaging in tone and an increase in anonymous briefings by civil servants to the media,” the committee said in evidence to the Commons public administration committee.

“During and after our review, we heard examples of low civil service morale. There will be a range of factors to explain this, but public accusations of civil servants being obstructive and furthering their own agenda is undoubtedly damaging for staff retention and is unlikely to attract the very best people to work in the public sector.”

The submission outlined findings from the committee’s report on leadership in public life, published earlier this year, which said it had heard that the government’s “willingness to test the boundaries of legality in challenging policy areas” had been difficult for some civil servants who had “struggled to reconcile their work with their own personal values”.



https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... -retention

[RTH10260]

Fury as national health check of England’s waters faces six-year wait
Exclusive: Assessment that used to happen annually will now take six years despite rising concerns

Rachel Salvidge and Leana Hosea
Sat 19 Aug 2023 18.26 BST

A nationwide annual health check of England’s water bodies which used to take place annually, will now take six years to complete, prompting anger from campaigners and politicians, as public alarm grows over the state of the nation’s rivers and coasts.

The assessments, undertaken by the Environment Agency, look at the ecological and chemical condition of rivers, lakes, groundwater, and transitional and coastal waters, and are required under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

In 2019, the last time the full assessments took place, just 14% of rivers were in good ecological health and none met standards for good chemical health. Before 2016 the tests were done annually, but the government has now opted not to deliver a complete update until 2025, the latest permissible under the WFD.

Clean water advocates accused the government of trying to hide the data.

Rivers activist Feargal Sharkey said: “The future of England’s rivers has been sacrificed in a cynical act of self preservation by the very same failed government agency set up to protect them.”

The Green party peer Natalie Bennett said the government “clearly recognised the huge public anger about the parlous state of our waterways, but instead of taking action to clean them up, it is instead trying to hide the data”.



https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... -six-years

[RTH10260]

Sovereignity with total reliance on foreign sources for the local agricultural market

UK fertiliser manufacturer shuts down ammonia production amid cost concerns

By William Dodds
02-Aug-2023 - Last updated on 02-Aug-2023 at 12:56 GMT


CF Fertiliser has announced the closure of its ammonia plant in Billingham, citing rising energy costs.

Ammonia production at CF Fertiliser’s plant in Billingham has been stopped due to high costs, with the firm set to rely on imported ammonia.

Production of ammonia at the plant was put on pause 10 months ago and the firm has now confirmed it has been stopped on a permanent basis.

Going forward, imported ammonia will be used to produce AN fertiliser and nitric acid at its Billingham facilities.

In a statement announcing the move, a CF Fertiliser spokesperson said that continuing to manufacture ammonia was unlikely to prove cost effective in the future due to rising energy price projections.

“The company believes that ample global availability of ammonia for import, including from CF Industries’ North American production network, will enable more cost-competitive and efficient production and sales of ammonium nitrate fertiliser and nitric acid for its UK agriculture and chemicals customers moving forward​,” the spokesperson added.

NFU concerned with Billingham closure

The National Farmers Union (NFU) expressed concern with the decision, citing the fact that fertiliser availability is crucial in maintaining food production in the UK.

“Fertiliser is a vital tool that helps British farmers and growers produce food for the nation,” ​NFU deputy president Tom Bradshaw said.

“It’s important that the government now look closely at how this shift to a reliance of imported ammonia could impact our domestic food production and highlights the need to maintain access to all nitrogen fertiliser products, including urea​.”





https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Artic ... -over-cost

[Gregg]

Urea is basically piss, so only in England could the find a way to run short of it.

Brexit was just brilliant on so many levels.

[RTH10260]

Children reaching UK in small boats sent to jail for adult sex offenders
Human rights group finds growing number of cases of minors held among prisoners

Mark Townsend, Sian Norris and Katharine Quarmby
Sun 27 Aug 2023 07.00 BST

Vulnerable children who arrive in Britain by small boat are being placed in an adult prison that holds significant numbers of sex offenders.

A growing number of cases have been identified where unaccompanied children, many of whom appear to be trafficked, have been sent to HMP Elmley, Kent, and placed among foreign adult prisoners.

According to the most recent inspection of Elmley, the block where foreign nationals are held also houses sex offenders.

Of 14 unaccompanied children so far identified by staff at Humans For Rights Network as being sent to an adult prison, one is believed to have been 14 when they spent seven months in Elmley.

Most of the cases involve Sudanese or South Sudanese children who travelled to the UK via Libya, with most appearing to have been trafficked or having experienced some form of exploitation.

This weekend there were calls for the Home Office to launch an immediate investigation into the issue and urgently release anyone believed to be a child who is inside an adult jail.

Maddie Harris, of Human Rights Network, said the group had worked with more than 1,000 age-disputed children and that those sent to adult prisons were among the most “profoundly harmed”.

She said: “These children are locked down in their cells, not knowing who to call for help, prevented from adequately accessing legal advice and from challenging the arbitrary decision made about their ages by immigration officials upon arrival in the UK. These are children looking for safety who instead find themselves in an adult prison, denied that protection and exposed to great harm.”

Anita Hurrell, head of the migrant children’s project at the children’s charity Coram, said: “It is wrong to criminalise these children and dangerous to send them to adult men’s prisons.”




https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -offenders

[RTH10260]

‘She’s totally lost it’: inside story of the unravelling of Liz Truss’s premiership
Approaching one year on from the start of her tenure, a look back on how it all fell apart within 49 days

by Aubrey Allegretti Senior political correspondent
Fri 1 Sep 2023 12.00 BST

When Liz Truss addressed the nation from Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister, she promised “action this day, and action every day”. It was meant to be a Churchillian call to arms demonstrating her determination to solve the intractable issues facing Britain. Instead, it foreshadowed the most chaotic period in recent political history.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... remiership

[Gregg]

‘She’s totally lost it’: inside story of the unravelling of Liz Truss’s premiership
Approaching one year on from the start of her tenure, a look back on how it all fell apart within 49 days

by Aubrey Allegretti Senior political correspondent
Fri 1 Sep 2023 12.00 BST

When Liz Truss addressed the nation from Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister, she promised “action this day, and action every day”. It was meant to be a Churchillian call to arms demonstrating her determination to solve the intractable issues facing Britain. Instead, it foreshadowed the most chaotic period in recent political history.




https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... remiership

She took over, and within a week The Queen was dead.

All I'm gonna say.