UK News and Discussions

[wjfox]

Counter-terror investigation launched into deepfake of Sadiq Khan backing pro-Palestine protest on Armistice Day

10 November 2023, 13:20 | Updated: 10 November 2023, 14:22

Police are investigating a deepfake of Sadiq Khan backing pro-Palestine protests on Armistice Day.

The fake clip, which is circulating across social media, shows Mr Khan discussing the pro-Palestine protests planned for Armistice Day amid concerns there will be disruption.

In the deepfake video, Mr Khan is purported to say: "The Prime Minister meeting with [Sir] Mark [Rowley] yesterday is a complete waste of time.

"The buck stops with me, Mark reports to me, I know we have Armistice Day on Saturday but why should Londoners cancel the Palestinian march on Saturday? Why don’t they have remembrance weekend next weekend? What’s happening in Gaza is much bigger than this weekend and it’s current."

A spokesperson for the Mayor said: "The Met and their counter terror experts are aware of this fake video that is being circulated and amplified on social media by far-right groups, and are actively investigating."

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/sadiq-khan-d ... e-protest/

[wjfox]

Fake audio of Sadiq Khan is not a crime, says Met

7 hours ago

Police say faked audio purporting to capture the Mayor of London calling for Armistice Day to be re-scheduled for a pro-Palestinian march "does not constitute a criminal offence".

Sadiq Khan's office said false material was being "circulated and amplified by a far-right group".

A Met spokesperson said specialist officers had reviewed the content.

They described it as "artificial audio" that had been brought to the attention of the force.

Security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was aware of the fake and called for people not to "repost or amplify it".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67389609

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Braverman sacked as home secretary after article criticising police

Mon 13 Nov 2023

Rishi Sunak has sacked Suella Braverman as UK home secretary after she was blamed for inflaming tensions over Armistice Day protests and saying police favoured leftwing protesters.

A government source told the Guardian: “Rishi Sunak has asked Suella Braverman to leave government and she has accepted.”

Her dismissal is expected to form part of a wider reshuffle of Sunak’s team, with Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, and Steve Barclay, the health secretary, believed to be also likely to go.

While Jeremy Hunt has been tipped to be moved as chancellor, this is seen as less imminent given this month’s autumn statement.

Braverman’s dismissal follows weeks of controversy in which she increasingly seemed to be following her own hard-right policy agenda, with a series of controversial statements, including a much-criticised description of homelessness as a “lifestyle choice”.

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

An extension of Wills post in the mChat, Cuella de Vile as left the building.

[Time_Traveller]

Former PM David Cameron stages remarkable comeback as he becomes new Foreign Secretary

November 13, 2023

Former Prime Minister David Cameron has been confirmed as the new Foreign Secretary in a bombshell political comeback following a Cabinet reshuffle after Suella Braverman’s sacking.

Mr Cameron, who is no longer an MP, quit as Prime Minister after losing the Brexit referendum to Vote Leave in 2016.

But he was parachuted into the House Of Lords to allow him to take the Cabinet position, with James Cleverly confirmed as the new Home Secretary following Ms Braverman’s sacking.

The King confirmed the former Prime Minister had been granted a life peerage after being made Barony of the United Kingdom in a remarkable comeback to frontline politics.

Following his appointment, Mr Cameron said: “The Prime Minister has asked me to serve as his Foreign Secretary and I have gladly accepted.

https://inews.co.uk/news/david-cameron- ... cle_inline

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

And we're off.....! Via West England Bylines

[Time_Traveller]

Rwanda plan ruled unlawful by Supreme Court - as Rishi Sunak says he could change law to push ahead

Wednesday 15 November 2023

The government's Rwanda plan, devised to tackle illegal migration, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court, ending over 18 months of legal battles in the UK.

Lord Reed announced the "unanimous" judgment from the court's justices on Wednesday, saying those sent to the country would be at "real risk" of being returned home, whether their grounds to claim asylum were justified or not - breaching international law.

While charities celebrated the decision as "a victory for humanity", Rishi Sunak said the judgment was "not the outcome we wanted".

But he appeared to double down on the policy, telling the Commons he was "prepared to change laws and revisit... international relationships" if they were "frustrating" his plans.

The new Home Secretary James Cleverly announced the government planned to change its agreement with Rwanda into a treaty, with extra clauses to stop asylum seekers from being returned home, in the hope of settling the court's concerns.

https://news.sky.com/story/supreme-cour ... l-13008709

[Time_Traveller]

Jess Phillips quits Labour frontbench as Keir Starmer suffers major rebellion over Gaza ceasefire – UK politics live

Wed 15 Nov 2023

Eight shadow ministers quit or face sack from Starmer's frontbench over Labour's opposition to Gaza ceasefire

Labour leader Keir Starmer has seen a big rebellion of eight shadow ministers – including shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips – from a total of 56 Labour MPs who voted with the SNP on an amendment to the king’s speech calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

The rebels on the front bench included Phillips, Rachel Hopkins, Sarah Owen, Afzal Khan, Paula Barker, Naz Shah, Yasmin Quereshi and Andy Slaughter. Two parliamentary private secretaries also left.

The 56 Labour MPs rejected Starmer’s position, which calls for a “credible, diplomatic and political process” to deliver a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. The SNP motion called for an immediate ceasefire.

The rebellion signals how the divisions over views on the Israel-Hamas conflict have the potential to tear Labour apart – a point of contention that Starmer will face tough questions about as the country gears up for a general election in the next year.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... ics-latest

[Time_Traveller]

Britain slides closer towards authoritarianism

2023-11-16

Rishi Sunak looks set to double down on the Rwanda asylum plan after the Supreme Court – the highest court in the country – ruled the landmark plan unlawful.

Addressing a Downing Street press conference, the prime minister set out plans to broker a new treaty with Kigali that will provide a legal guarantee that asylum seekers will not be removed from Rwanda.

“But we need to end the merry-go-round,” he said. “So I’m also announcing today that we will take the extraordinary step of introducing emergency legislation.

“This will enable Parliament to confirm that with our new treaty, Rwanda is safe.”

The move signals the latest step in Britain’s slide towards authoritarianism, with curbs on protests and restricted media access in government already in play.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/polit ... OBCsBGDjNQ

[Time_Traveller]

Braverman is a ‘dictator like Putin’ says top Tory after her latest outburst in Rwanda row

1 hour ago

Tory infighting over Rishi Sunak’s beleaguered Rwanda plan descended into civil war overnight as a former deputy prime minister compared Suella Braverman to Vladimir Putin.

Damian Green, deputy PM under Theresa May, said the sacked home secretary wanted to do “what Putin and Xi Jinping do” in her latest bid to ensure deportation flights to Rwanda can take off.

Ms Braverman, sacked by Mr Sunak on Monday, said the prime minister’s plan to salvage the Rwanda scheme is unlikely to see asylum seekers deported to the country before the next election.

Mr Sunak, hours after the Supreme Court ruled the deportation scheme unlawful, said he would bring in emergency laws to deem Rwanda a safe country for asylum seekers and sign a new treaty with the country to address the court’s concerns.

But Ms Braverman said his two-part plan would likely get bogged down in both domestic and European courts as she proposed introducing legislation that “excludes all avenues of legal challenge”.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 49031.html

[Time_Traveller]

Govt set to stop free prescriptions and legal aid for benefit claimants ‘not seeking work’

2023-11-16

Free prescriptions and legal aid will be cut off for benefit claimants who are deemed fit to work and do not seek employment as part of a Government crackdown.

Digital tools will also be used to “track” attendance at job fairs and interviews under the toughened sanctions regime.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the measures were necessary to prevent “anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers” from receiving benefits.

The changes are part of the Government’s £2.5 billion back-to-work plan, which it hopes will help up to 1,100,000 people look for and stay in employment.

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/polit ... uK6KfyU1TQ

This shows how evil, corrupt and low this government can go.

[Time_Traveller]

Young Conservative Network disbands over lack of ambition in party

13 mins ago

AN organisation founded to bring together young Conservatives has ceased operations due to the party’s “less than inspiring” offer to young voters.

In a statement released by the chairman and secretary of the Young Conservative Network on Monday, they said that a lack of “ambitious proposals” in key policy areas such as housing, childcare and education had contributed to the decision to disband the group, which was founded in 2020.

“After over three years of working to bring together disconnected Young Conservatives across the United Kingdom through events, group chats, and our social media presence, we have now taken the decision to cease formal operations of the Young Conservative Network.

“We believe that we have made a positive contribution to the Conservative movement by facilitating and enabling access between our members to Cabinet Minister and Members of Parliament through over fifty different events, during the pandemic, and later in-person.

“Whilst we believe more work is needed to solidify the youth vote, we believe we have reached the point in our lives where it is necessary to move on.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23935 ... ion-party/

[Time_Traveller]

Green Party targeting Gloucestershire to build on 'pockets of extraordinary success'

11:26, 23 NOV 2023

Green MP Caroline Lucas says her party will be targeting all of Gloucestershire’s constituencies next year as they look to build on “pockets of extraordinary success” in the Forest of Dean and Stroud. The MP for Brighton Pavilion - and the party's only member of the House of Commons - is visiting Cheltenham this week and she says voters are turning to the Green Party because they offer practical policies for them.

The party has a total of 37 councillors across Gloucestershire and she believes this rise is because people can see they are hardworking and like what they do. The Greens are currently at the helm of two district councils in Gloucestershire. They also have four members on Gloucestershire County Council.

They lead a minority administration in the Forest of Dean and a cooperative alliance administration at Stroud District Council's. “It’s an exciting time to be visiting and hearing more of their plans," Ms Lucas said.

"Greens are absolutely on the rise across Gloucestershire. We've got 37 councillors in total across the county. That’s more Greens than Labour councillors in Gloucestershire.

"Within that, there are some pockets of extraordinary Green success such as the 15 in the Forest of Dean and 14 in Stroud and lots of ambition for the district council elections coming up next year.

https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/n ... ld-8921590

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

UK net migration in 2022 revised upwards to 745,000

23/11/2023

Here are the main takeaways from the net migration numbers released by the ONS:
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-67507045
Net migration

UK net migration for the 12 months until June 2023 reached 672,000

This is not a record net migration figure because the figure for 2022 was revised up today by the ONS to 745,000

Immigration vs emigration

Immigration into the UK was 1.2 million and emigration out of the country was 508,000 in the 12 months leading up to June 2023
The majority of the 1.2m arrivals were from countries outside the EU - 968,000
The ONS says it is too early to say if this is the start of a new downward trend but that figures indicate a slowing of immigration and increasing emigration
The biggest drivers of immigration to the UK are students and health care workers
The population of England and Wales is growing at its fastest rate since the 1960s - Neil Park from the ONS says this is predominantly being driven by international migration

[Time_Traveller]

Scottish landowner who ‘obstructs public access’ made environment minister

Fri 1 Dec 2023

No 10 has appointed a wealthy Scottish landowner accused by ramblers of restricting public access to his estate as a new environment minister by making him a peer.

The government made the surprise announcement on Friday afternoon that the king was giving the title of baron to Robbie Douglas-Miller, allowing him to enter the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as a minister.

It gave no biographical details about Douglas-Miller, but he is believed to be a Scottish businessman whose family owned the Edinburgh department store Jenners.

Douglas-Miller has long worked on conservation projects and was awarded an OBE for services to wildlife conservation in Scotland. He is managing director of Moorfoot Capital, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Douglas-Miller also chaired a charity called the Atlantic Salmon Trust, where Scottish secretary Alister Jack sat on the board, and King Charles was the patron.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... t-minister

[Time_Traveller]

Let’s talk about the European Convention on Human Rights

01-12-2023

This treasured post-war agreement between 47 countries has been doing nothing more sinister than safeguarding our basic human rights, but in the eyes of our political maestros, it has suddenly become the supervillain in their latest melodrama.

In the topsy-turvy pantomime that is currently British politics, where the absurd is often presented as common sense, our governing party is now in the process of casting its latest bogeyman: the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). This pillar of justice and fairness is now being spun as a meddling bureaucrat, hell-bent on infringing our sovereign right to, well, infringe on peoples’ rights.

The ECHR: More than just bureaucratic paperwork

But this isn’t just your average political kerfuffle; it’s becoming more like a tragi-comedy. With the backdrop of Suella Braverman’s abrupt exit and her subsequent venomous missive to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, closely followed by an inconvenient Supreme Court ruling, our leaders want desperately to appear to be in control.

And what better way to demonstrate decisive action than a good old-fashioned assault on an international treaty? After all, with a general election fast approaching, they are more than happy to jettison our rights if it gains them some kudos with those voters keen on us having ‘sovereignty’ at any cost.

The ECHR is that thorn in the side of those who prefer their politics with a bit less… human rights. But the convention isn’t just any old bureaucratic paperwork; it’s the crown jewel of post-war Europe, the beacon of hope and decency in a world that had seen way too little of either. It’s the rulebook that keeps you and I safe from over ambitious and unfair leaders wanting to trample over our freedoms and dignity.

https://sussexbylines.co.uk/politics/hu ... -QalTEtRzY

[wjfox]

[Time_Traveller]

Sunak losing votes to Farage’s Reform UK amid Tory rows over migration

December 3, 2023



The Conservatives face a growing threat from Reform UK after support for the party founded by Nigel Farage hit a record high in a new poll.

Some voters on the right appear to be abandoning the Conservatives after multiple high-profile rows over immigration which have led to more of the public seeing migration as their top concern.

The latest BMG Research poll for i found that Labour’s lead over the Tories has extended to 16 points, with the governing party on 27 per cent and the Opposition on 43 per cent.

Reform UK is third on 11 per cent, its best ever performance in the BMG polling, with the Liberal Democrats on 10 per cent.

The findings are seen by some Conservative MPs as evidence that Rishi Sunak is failing to convince right-wing voters he is handling the issues they care about well.

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/sunak ... on-2789423