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Key moments from E Jean Carroll's civil rape trial against Donald Trump - BBC News
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2023-05-09
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Mr Trump defended himself via video while Ms Carroll shared in detail how the alleged rape harmed her.
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US & Canada
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A New York jury has found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed a former columnist in a civil trial.
E Jean Carroll sued the ex-US president, alleging he raped her in a Manhattan department store nearly 30 years ago. The jury ordered Mr Trump to pay Ms Carroll $5m (£4m) in damages.
But the jury found Mr Trump was not liable for raping Ms Carroll in the dressing room of Bergdorf Goodman.
The two-week trial in New York federal court featured tense exchanges with lawyers and controversial remarks about women's bodies.
Mr Trump did not appear in court to testify and has consistently denied the accusation.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan delivered instructions to the nine jurors on Tuesday morning before they retired to consider their verdict.
"I know you're going to do your duty under your oath to render a just and true verdict," he told the six men and three women.
While the statute of limitations has long since passed in the case, New York recently enacted a law which allowed decades-old sexual assault claims to be filed as civil lawsuits.
One of the most pivotal moments of the trial came during Ms Carroll's opening testimony, when she described in graphic detail what she alleges happened in the Manhattan Bergdorf Goodman store in 1996 and the trauma she says she has endured as a result.
"I'm here because Donald Trump raped me and when I wrote about it, he lied and said it didn't happen," she said.
She then proceeded to walk the court through the day of the alleged assault, explaining how she bumped into Mr Trump and exchanged flirtatious banter with him before things quickly turned violent. She said Mr Trump asked her to come with him into a dressing room, where he closed the door, held her against the wall and raped her.
"As I'm sitting here today I can still feel it," she told the court.
She added that Mr Trump's denial of the assault had shattered her reputation, costing her her job and romantic relationships. "I'm here to try to get my life back," she said.
During several hours of cross-examination over two days, Ms Carroll faced challenging questions about the assault from Mr Trump's lawyer, Joe Tacopina, who attempted to cast doubt on her details of the alleged rape.
During a particularly tense exchange, Mr Tacopina repeatedly asked Ms Carroll why she did not shout when the alleged assault occurred.
"I'm not a screamer," she told Mr Tacopina, adding that some women do not come forward about sexual assaults because they are asked why they did not scream.
"I'm telling you he raped me whether I screamed or not," she told Mr Tacopina at one point.
The Trump lawyer also pressed Ms Carroll on why she did not report the assault at first to the police.
The former Elle magazine columnist replied that she was a member of the "silent generation", saying women her age were taught to keep quiet.
Mr Tacopina also questioned Ms Carroll on why she could not recall the specific date of the assault. The writer later conceded that certain parts of her story were "difficult to conceive of".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
During the trial, Mr Trump did not mount his own defence, calling no witnesses and appearing to defend himself only in a video of his deposition, excerpts of which Ms Carroll's lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, played for the court. Ms Kaplan is not related to the judge in this case, Lewis Kaplan.
Facing questions from Ms Kaplan, Mr Trump continued to deny the allegations he raped Ms Carroll, calling them a "big fat hoax" and repeating previous remarks that Ms Carroll was "not his type in any way".
But at one point, he appeared to confuse Ms Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples, a mistake Ms Carroll's lawyers claimed undermined his argument that the writer was not his type.
In the video, Mr Trump is shown an old black-and-white photo of him speaking to a man and two women at an event. "It's Marla," he said, before his own lawyer told him the woman he referred to in the photo was indeed Ms Carroll.
In another excerpt from Mr Trump's video deposition played for the court, Ms Kaplan replayed for Mr Trump a controversial Access Hollywood recording from 2005 featuring a conversation between him and the show's co-host about women.
"When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything," Mr Trump said in the recording, which was leaked to the public just one month before the 2016 presidential election. "Grab them by the [expletive]. You can do anything," he added.
Asked about the clip by Ms Kaplan, the former president seemed to double down on the remarks, claiming: "Historically, that's true with stars."
When Ms Kaplan pressed him on his comments about grabbing women "by the [expletive]", Mr Trump said: "Well, I guess if you look over the last million years, that's been largely true - not always true, but largely true, unfortunately or fortunately."
In other tense moments during the questioning, Mr Trump appeared to grow agitated with Ms Kaplan, attacking her appearance, claiming that, like Ms Carroll, "you wouldn't be a choice of mine either, to be honest".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Trump agrees "stars can do anything to women" in video deposition
During her second day on the stand under questioning from her own lawyers, Ms Carroll described the backlash she encountered after coming forward with her rape allegation.
After Mr Trump released a statement in social media denying the accusation and calling Ms Carroll's first lawsuit against him a "con job", Ms Carroll said she faced a "wave of slime".
She said many extrapolated on Mr Trump's remarks that she was "not his type", telling her she was "too ugly to go on living".
Mr Trump's social media comments also sparked a rebuke from the judge in the case, Lewis Kaplan. The former president has called the lawsuit a "made-up scam" and claimed Ms Carroll's lawyer was a political operative, remarks Mr Kaplan called "entirely inappropriate".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65502792
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news_world-us-canada-65502792
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Japan's pacifism hangs in balance as China and North Korea threats loom - BBC News
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2023-05-19
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Each move to militarise leaves the country more divided over its post-war pacifist ideals.
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Asia
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Japan has become increasingly divided over its commitment to post-war pacifist ideals
Toshiyuki Mimaki says he remembers crying as he looked up at a blackened sunset after the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima.
He was only three years old at the time, but he remembers the dazed and burnt survivors fleeing past his home in the countryside. He remembers heading into the city with his family, searching for his father in an apocalyptic wasteland.
Over the years he has recounted these fragmented but vivid memories to school children, to journalists, to anyone seeking to document the trauma of the hibakusha, or the atom bomb survivors. These days, they are a small and dwindling group.
"There are only a few people like us who experienced the war and the atomic bombing. We are dying," Mr Mimaki says, while sitting in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, where world leaders attending the G7 summit laid wreaths on Friday.
"Sooner or later, there will not be a single hibakusha. How will Japan change by then?"
It's a fear that echoes through Japan. The world around them has changed. Japan itself has aged and its post-war miracle economy has sputtered, dwarfed by China's market and might. An anxious Japanese public now wants greater protection from new threats knocking at their door.
The governing Liberal Democrat Party (LDP), whose hands have long been tied behind its back by voters averse to militarisation, suddenly finds the knots loosening. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is embarking on the biggest military spending spree in decades, and seeks to expand its armed forces.
Each move to militarise leaves Japan more divided over its pacifist ideals.
"The world is going through a period of turmoil right now," Mr Mimaki says. "Recently, Prime Minister Kishida started talking about raising the military budget. I thought: Are you going to start a war?'"
Brought to its knees by the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan transformed from an imperialist power into a pacifist nation in a matter of years.
Its post-war constitution, adopted in 1947 and imposed by occupying US forces, cemented this transformation. It contains a clause known as Article 9: the first paragraph renounces war, while the second promises to never maintain military forces.
The genesis of Japan's pacifism, Article 9 is at the heart of the country's struggle to balance the need for defence with its desire for peace. Some believe the law has weakened Japan, but others argue that to change it is to relinquish pacifism and forget the painful lessons of history.
Faced with significant public opposition, numerous leaders have tried and failed to revise Article 9. But with every security challenge, Japan's government has succeeded in expanding its interpretation further.
The Self-Defense Forces (SDF), Japan's answer to a military, were created in response to the Korean War and the start of the Cold War. In the 1990s, during the first Gulf War, Japan sent the SDF on peacekeeping missions, dispatching its forces to overseas conflicts for the first time. More recently and controversially, in the face of a rising China and unpredictable North Korea, the late prime minister Shinzo Abe pushed through laws that allowed Japanese troops to fight overseas alongside allies in self-defence.
"Pacifism is an idée fixe of the Japanese public… they are not going to abandon it," says James D Brown, an associate professor of political science with Temple University Japan.
"Instead, there is a process of reinterpreting what pacifism means. Where once it meant opposition to the use of armed force, it now means opposition to aggression and acceptance of the use of force in the name of self-defence in a growing list of circumstances."
Japan is once again at a turning point, facing unprecedented challenges that have stoked a fear of encirclement.
An assertive China is spending billions on its military. It has made increasingly daring moves in the South China Sea, especially against Taiwan, which sits on the doorstep of Japan's southernmost islands. This has fuelled Japanese anxiety that should conflict break out in Taiwan, Japan would not only be pulled into a war between the US and China, but also targeted as an ally. It hosts US military bases and has the biggest concentration of troops outside America.
North Korea poses a perennial existential threat. Its nuclear ambitions have grown more alarming in the past year, with a record number of missile launches, including several that have flown over Japan. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the possibility that it might use nuclear weapons - which this weekend's G7 summit is addressing - has also spurred worries of a nuclear war. The perils of a tighter Moscow-Beijing alliance also loom.
"There is a general understanding in Japan that we are now living in a very rough neighbourhood," says Kazuto Suzuki, an international security and political science professor with the University of Tokyo.
Calls for greater militarisation have long been the domain of a minority of conservatives seeking to reclaim national pride. But recent polls show the wider public warming to the idea.
More people now want a bigger and stronger SDF, from 29% in 2018 to 41.5% last year, according to government surveys. Support for Japan's security alliance with the US has gone up to an overwhelming 90%; and 51% are in favour of amending the second part of Article 9, which stops Japan from having a military.
Even some in Hiroshima are open to it.
"Every time I hear the news about [North Korea's] missiles, I am horrified," says a woman who identified herself as Ms Tanaka. "There are cases in today's world where people are attacked out of the blue… I wonder if it is necessary to see [the spending] as something to protect ourselves."
The Hiroshima Genbaku Dome was the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the atomic bomb
This is music to the LDP's ears. The party, whose founding principle is to advocate for constitutional reform, has always pushed for militarisation, particularly under Abe. In recent years the government has also come under pressure from Washington - notably former President Donald Trump - to do more in their security alliance with the US.
"The government has always wanted to move forward with increasing capabilities in the SDF. In the past the public has been a brake," Prof Brown says. "Now, that brake is no longer there."
Under Mr Kishida, Japan has purchased fighter jets, refurbished aircraft carriers, and ordered hundreds of Tomahawk missiles. He has pledged to spend 43tn yen ($311bn; £250bn) on defence in coming years. By 2027, Japan's military budget will account for 2% of its GDP, and become the third-largest in the world. The LDP is also once again pushing to revise the constitution to spell out the SDF's existence and make it clear that Japan can maintain a military for self-defence.
Ironically, Mr Kishida has long been considered a dovish figure within the LDP. With close ties to Hiroshima - his relatives died in the nuclear attack - he has advocated for a nuclear-free world. He has even written a book on it. The choice of Hiroshima to host the G7 summit appears to be deliberate as he seeks to ram home the importance of an anti-proliferation strategy.
Mr Kishida's argument is that to maintain peace in Asia, Japan needs to drastically upgrade its defence. But some observers also believe that his reputation gives his government's push to militarise a more politically acceptable sheen.
"Dovish figures can make hawkish moves because people don't suspect their motives," Prof Brown noted.
But even Japanese hawks don't broach the idea of building a nuclear arsenal. Unsurprisingly that remains a forbidden topic in the only country to ever be attacked with a nuclear weapon.
Yet Japan's pursuit of a sturdier defence has seen Abe and then Mr Kishida cross what some consider to be red lines.
Former PM Abe and Mr Kishida have both pushed for more militarisation
Many within Japan, and neighbours such as China, worry what other taboos the country might break in the future.
One possibility currently being debated is whether Japan should send lethal weapons to aid countries under invasion, such as Ukraine. Mr Kishida recently visited and met Volodymyr Zelensky to pledge support. Tokyo already supplies non-lethal defence equipment to Kyiv.
This, notes Prof Suzuki, would be a "test case for Taiwan". There are already questions over how far Japan would aid the US in a conflict with China over the island.
A more controversial idea is hosting US nuclear weapons, a proposal which shocked Japan last year when it was mooted by Abe. Public support for this option, known as nuclear sharing, is still low, and last year Mr Kishida rejected the idea, saying it ran counter to Japan's stance against nuclear weapons.
Still, Japan could change its mind under certain circumstances, experts say. These include South Korea gaining nuclear weapons, an increased threat from China and Russia, or if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Every time Japan crosses a new red line, or mulls over taking that leap, it intensifies the struggle over its post-war identity and its commitment to pacifism.
Some argue that despite its drive to militarise, Japan's ideals are still intact. While its pacifism may appear "seemingly inconsistent" through the years, its anti-nuclear and anti-war sentiments have remained alive, says Daisuke Akimoto, an expert on pacifism.
What is happening now is simply Japan's "security policy strengthening in response to the changing strategic environment," says Dr Akimoto, an adjunct lecturer at Hosei University in Tokyo.
Prof Suzuki agrees. "I do have a trust in the Japanese intent," he says. "I do have the belief that Japan has committed in the last 80 years to not go to war. We had a very bad experience, and we won't do it again."
But others are not so sure. They believe that the constant redefinition of pacifism stretches the principle to its breaking point.
"I think the way [the government] is doing it is dirty," says Sara Ogura, a student visiting Hiroshima. "They are interpreting in such a way that it deliberately opens up opportunities for the use of force. It leads me to distrust them."
While the government said "they have no intention of going to war now, I think they are kind of getting ready to go to war when the time comes," says anti-nuclear weapons activist Yuna Okajima.
Some also believe the willingness to militarise is fuelled by the lack of a national reckoning with Japan's own wrongdoings. While there is mandatory "peace education" in schools that covers the two world wars, discussion about Japan's role as the aggressor and the atrocities it committed in World War Two is often muted.
Graduate student Misuzu Kanda believes that Japan's "negative history with other countries is sometimes covered up by the nuclear weapons issue".
"I was born in Hiroshima prefecture. The peace education is provided mostly from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki perspective, talking about how we suffered. But at the same time, when we think about peace, I think we need to reflect back on what we did to other countries."
Her friend, Ms Okajima, agrees. "I think it is a kind of proof that the Japanese government is not willing to face this history. That's why they would not teach it to young children, it's to nurture a patriotic spirit, I assume."
"But if we do not look at our history as perpetrators, there is a higher chance we would make the same mistake."
Completely flattened by the atomic bomb, Hiroshima today is a tidy and picturesque city nestled among mountains, carrying few traces of its past apart from the Genbaku Dome, the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the attack.
Across a glittering river, at the Peace Memorial Park, lies a cenotaph honouring those who died in the nuclear attack. An inscription is carved in the marble: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil".
"The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the end because we started a war," says Mr Mimaki as he gazes at the cenotaph. "Hiroshima was burned, Nagasaki was burned, and it was the Imperial Japanese Army that made those mistakes."
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65643346
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news_world-asia-65643346
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Tina Turner: Music legend dies at 83 - BBC News
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2023-05-24
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Her unmistakable voice on hits like The Best and What's Love Got to Do With It made her a superstar.
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Entertainment & Arts
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video has been removed for rights reasons
Singer Tina Turner, whose soul classics and pop hits like The Best and What's Love Got to Do With It made her a superstar, has died at the age of 83.
Turner had suffered a number of health issues in recent years including cancer, a stroke and kidney failure.
She rose to fame alongside husband Ike in the 1960s with songs including Proud Mary and River Deep, Mountain High.
She divorced the abusive Ike in 1978, and went on to find even greater success as a solo artist in the 1980s.
Dubbed the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Tina Turner was famed for her raunchy and energetic stage performances and husky, powerful vocals.
Her death was announced on her official Instagram page.
"With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow," the post said.
"Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music."
Turner won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a solo artist, having first been inducted alongside Ike Turner in 1991.
Upon her solo induction, the Hall of Fame noted how she had "expanded the once-limited idea of how a Black woman could conquer a stage and be both a powerhouse and a multidimensional being".
Younger stars who have felt her influence include Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Janelle Monae and Rihanna.
Turner's manager of 30 years, Roger Davies, said in a statement that "Tina was a unique and remarkable force of nature with her strength, incredible energy and immense talent".
"From the first day I met her in 1980, she believed in herself completely when few others did at that time... I will miss her deeply," he added.
American singer Gloria Gaynor, who also rose to fame in the 1960s, said Turner "paved the way for so many women in rock music, black and white".
There were also tributes from Supermodel Naomi Campbell, Basketball legend Magic Johnson and singers Kelly Rowland, Ciara and Blondie's Debbie Harry.
On Instagram, The Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger said Turner was "inspiring, warm, funny and generous" and helped him when he was young.
Sir Elton John, who in his autobiography wrote about the heated arguments the pair had while trying to work together in 1997, said she was one of the world's "most exciting and electric performers".
Actress Viola Davis praised Turner as "our first symbol of excellence and unbridled ownership of sexuality!!"
Turner was also a style icon - here she's performing in New York's Central Park in 1969 wearing a red leather outfit
Born in Tennessee into a sharecropping family, she first found prominence as one of the backing singers for her husband's band The Kings of Rhythm.
She soon went to to front the band, and the couple tasted commercial success with Fool in Love and It's Gonna Work Out Fine, which made the US charts in the early 60s.
Their other hits included 1973's Nutbush City Limits, about the small town where Tina was born. But Ike's physical and emotional abuse was taking its toll.
It was he who changed her name from her birth name, Anna Mae Bullock, to Tina Turner - a decision he took without her knowledge, one example of his controlling behaviour.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Tina Turner spoke frankly about domestic abuse with the BBC's Will Gompertz back in 2018
She recalled the trauma she suffered throughout their relationship in her 2018 memoir, My Love Story, in which she compared sex with the late musician to "a kind of rape".
"He used my nose as a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I sang," she wrote.
After escaping her abuser, she went on to rebuild her career and become one of the biggest pop and rock stars of the 80s and 90s, with hits including Let's Stay Together, Steamy Windows, Private Dancer, James Bond theme GoldenEye, I Don't Wanna Fight and It Takes Two, a duet with Rod Stewart.
She also starred in 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - which featured another of her smashes, We Don't Need Another Hero - and The Who's 1975 rock opera Tommy as the Acid Queen.
She found happiness with her second husband, German music executive Erwin Bac. They began dating in the mid-80s, and got married in 2013.
The pair lived in Switzerland, with Turner taking Swiss citizenship. He donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017 after it was discovered she was suffering from kidney failure.
She also suffered tragedy with the loss of her eldest son Craig to suicide in 2018. His father was Turner's former bandmate, Raymond Hill.
Another son, Ronnie, whose father was Ike Turner, died in 2022. She also had two adopted sons, Ike Jr and Michael, Ike's children from a previous relationship.
Tina's life story spawned a 1993 biopic titled What's Love Got To Do With It, which earned Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination for playing the star; and a hit stage musical - aptly titled Tina: The Musical. She was also the subject of HBO documentary Tina in 2021.
In an interview with Marie Claire South Africa in 2018, Turner said: "People think my life has been tough, but I think it's been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realise it's not what happened, it's how you deal with it."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/65669653
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news_65669653
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Tariq Ramadan: Islam scholar cleared of Swiss rape charges - BBC News
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2023-05-24
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The renowned scholar is cleared of rape and sexual coercion by a court in Switzerland.
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Europe
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Tariq Ramadan was voted one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2004
Renowned Islamic studies scholar Tariq Ramadan has been cleared of rape and sexual coercion by a Swiss court.
Mr Ramadan, who is a Swiss citizen, is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, the founder of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood.
The case was brought by a Swiss woman who said she had been raped by Mr Ramadan in a Geneva hotel in 2008.
A convert to Islam, and a fan of Mr Ramadan's, the woman told the court she had been subjected to a brutal sexual assault, beatings and insults.
She said it happened after she was invited by the former Oxford academic for a coffee after a conference.
Mr Ramadan, who is 60, had faced up to three years in prison if convicted. He denied all the charges, but did admit to having met the woman.
The trial was a sharp contrast to the career so far of the man once feted as a "rock star" of Islamic thought.
As Europe struggled with terrorist attacks and rising anti-Muslim feeling, Mr Ramadan appeared as a voice of reason - condemning terrorism and opposing the death penalty. He was denied entry to Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Syria, because, he said, he had criticised their lack of democracy.
In 2004 he was voted one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
In 2007 he became a professor of Islamic studies at St Antony's College Oxford. He also had his critics, particularly in France, where a number of leading academics accused him of anti-Semitism.
But in 2017, Mr Ramadan's meteoric rise ended, when he was accused by a French woman of rape.
Supporters of Mr Ramadan protested on the streets of Paris following the allegations in France
When that case became public, more women came forward.
By 2020 he was facing five charges of rape - four in France, and one in Switzerland - and had spent nine months in detention in France before being released on probation. He has consistently denied all the charges against him.
The Swiss case was the first to come to trial, and the atmosphere in the Geneva courtroom was tense.
Mr Ramadan faced a barrage of cameras as he arrived. His accuser, using the name Brigitte to protect her identity, requested a screen be put up in the courtroom so she would not have to look at the man she claimed raped her.
She described the alleged attack in detail, saying she feared she would die.
Mr Ramadan admitted inviting her to his hotel room, but denied any form of violence. He said all the accusations against him have been politically motivated and designed to discredit him.
His French and Swiss lawyers also questioned the accusers' truthfulness, citing inconsistencies around the dates of the alleged attacks.
Mr Ramadan was supported in that argument by his family. His son Sami, pointing to his father's "role in the debate about Islam in France," told the BBC in 2019 that the cases against his father were "motivated by other reasons, which we feel are political."
That view was backed by dozens of high-profile figures, including American philosopher Noam Chomsky, and British filmmaker Ken Loach, who signed an open letter questioning whether Mr Ramadan was receiving a fair legal process, with the usual presumption of innocence.
In court in Geneva, the prosecution insisted Brigitte could not have invented the alleged attack or have been able to tell it to the judges in such detail.
Mr Ramadan's defence lawyer insisted on his innocence, describing the charges against him as "crazy". In his own remarks to the court, Mr Ramadan asked not to be tried on his "real or supposed ideology".
After a week's deliberation, the three Swiss judges found him innocent.
While he has been cleared in Switzerland, this could be just the first of several trials.
In France, prosecutors are still assessing whether charges brought against Mr Ramadan should go to court.
He continues to protest his innocence in all the cases, and has vowed to clear his name.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65611696
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news_world-europe-65611696
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Court papers show how killer parents won back their baby - BBC News
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2023-05-24
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Documents which led to Finley Boden being returned to his parents, who then murdered him, obtained by BBC.
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UK
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Finley Boden was 10 months old when he was murdered on Christmas Day in 2020
Key documents which led to a court agreeing to return a 10-month-old boy to his parents, who then murdered him, have been obtained by the BBC.
Finley Boden was killed on Christmas Day 2020, 39 days after he was returned to their care. He had 130 injuries.
The papers from the family court hearing, conducted by phone during the Covid pandemic, were released after a media application to the High Court.
Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden are due to be sentenced on Friday.
The documents are significant as they informed the crucial hearing about Finley's future - led by two family magistrates.
The papers were released to the BBC, the PA Media news agency and the Daily Telegraph after a request following the couple's conviction.
The submissions help establish what happened between Finley being removed from his parents a few days after his birth on 15 February, to the decision to return him to their full-time care by 23 November.
After the boy was born, social workers from Derbyshire County Council had decided to remove him from his parents who were living in Chesterfield. The authority believed he was likely to suffer "significant harm" at home - the legal threshold in care cases.
They said Shannon Marsden and Stephen Boden were living in squalor - their home was filthy and smelled of cannabis. They described the terraced house as "very unclean" and "at times hazardous, with faeces on the floor".
The social workers also said there was a risk of domestic violence, because in the past police had been called during an argument and Stephen Boden had a previous conviction for domestic violence against an ex-partner. Both parents smoked "between medium and high" levels of cannabis.
But over the next six months, the couple persuaded social workers they had made positive changes - aided by Covid restrictions, which limited physical interactions with others.
During the 2020 spring lockdown, social workers were not routinely going into homes. In Finley's case, photos were instead sent by his mother which showed her terraced home looking clean and tidy.
A photo of Finley's clean and tidy bedroom, submitted to social workers by Shannon Marsden, before he was returned
By the summer, some Covid restrictions had eased and the parents could meet Finley in person again. Some sessions were overseen by social worker Lynn Williams, who assessed them as she tried to help them become better parents.
The report she submitted to the court for the 1 October hearing is among the documents disclosed to us.
In it, she noted that on one occasion, when the weather was warm, "Shannon Marsden ensured Finley was in the shade". The social worker also noted the mother had held his hand when he was in the pushchair - which she described as "a natural response from a caring parent".
She said Stephen Boden had interacted with his son "by talking to him and making him smile".
In August, Ms Williams said she had visited the couple at home, noting that the fridge was well-stocked and the bathroom clean. On a follow-up visit that same month, she observed the house was still relatively tidy and the parents seemed keen to keep it so.
But Ms Williams' generally positive report was undermined by drug tests taken by both parents as directed by children's services. Marsden told social workers she had given up cannabis in October 2019, but tests of her hair indicated that was not the case between February and August 2020. Tests found Boden had used cannabis too.
A police photograph of Finley's bedroom after his death showing "filthy conditions", including a baby milk bottle covered in mould
In the papers presented to the court for the 1 October hearing, the local authority said Finley should return gradually to his parents' care through a "transition plan" over about four months. It proposed that at first, Finley would stay with his carers and only see his parents during the day - initially for an hour and a half, building up to five hours. Then he would be able to stay on a Saturday night.
The amount of time he could spend with his parents would then increase further - so that by mid-January 2021 he would be in their full-time care. This gradual process was to ensure his time with his parents could be monitored - to make sure he was safe.
But Marsden and Boden wanted Finley back more quickly. In his statement submitted to the October hearing, Boden said: "Shannon and I have worked really hard to make changes." Marsden admitted she had been using cannabis but said she had been "given the incentive to quit completely".
In care cases like Finley's, the child's guardian can be one of the most influential voices. They are employed by Cafcass, the independent Children and Families Court Advisory Service, and their role is to represent the child's best interests.
Finley's guardian, Amanda O'Rourke, had only been able to see him once, via a WhatsApp video call, while he was with his carers. He was a "smiler", she wrote in her report for the court, who liked to "blow raspberry's" (sic).
She acknowledged the squalor, drug use and domestic violence in the parents' past. Her report said she agreed in principle with a transition plan, but said it should take place much faster, given the parents had "clearly made and sustained positive changes".
Ms O'Rourke's report to the magistrates said he should go back to their full-time care "within a six to eight week period," half the time requested by the local authority.
A statement from Cafcass said: "It is not possible to say whether a longer transition plan would have prevented Finley's death. What led to his death was the ability of his parents to deceive everyone involved about their love for him and their desire to care for him."
Stephen Boden and Shannon Marsden were convicted of murder in April - they will be sentenced on Friday
The 1 October hearing took place in the period between Covid lockdowns - in England at the time, gatherings were restricted to six people and many courts were working remotely.
In cases like Finley's, parents would normally be in court but, because of the pandemic, everyone was on the phone. Marsden and Boden did not speak at all.
The final decision was made by two magistrates, Kathy Gallimore and Susan Burns, assisted by a legal adviser. That is because magistrates are not legal experts.
The barrister for the local authority argued the Cafcass guardian's plan would send Finley back home "too soon". He said Covid had disrupted the baby's regular contact with his parents and this needed to be rebuilt. He also said the parents should be tested for drugs as they had been "dishonest" about their cannabis use.
But the barrister for Finley's Cafcass guardian said it was not in the boy's interests for the "rehabilitation plan" to be drawn out for such a long period. She said she was "neutral" on the question of drug testing.
The court's legal adviser said drug testing could be ordered if it was "necessary, imperative and vital to the running of the case".
In their judgement that afternoon, Mrs Burns and Mrs Gallimore supported the Cafcass guardian's view - that an eight-week transition was "a reasonable and proportionate" length of time which would protect Finley's welfare. They did not order further drug tests of his parents.
There is no suggestion that the magistrates made a mistake in law.
And later - when the High Court agreed to release these documents - Justice Nathalie Lieven described the family court as having made a "reasonable decision".
"Having read the papers here, I have every sympathy with the decision the magistrates made," she said.
A child safeguarding review into the circumstances surrounding Finley's death is currently ongoing
Chesterfield MP, Labour's Toby Perkins, is now calling for a further inquiry into Derbyshire's children's services. He also says it is "deeply significant" that this case was heard by magistrates.
"It is legitimate to question that entire process, whether the care required for Finley Boden's safety was preserved by that process," he told the BBC.
Since these documents were given to the BBC, Derbyshire County Council has said the author of the independent safeguarding review commissioned by the Derby and Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership into Finley's death would consider the information in the paperwork "to help form the partnership's learning findings and recommendations".
It added in a statement: "We remain fully engaged with the statutory legal review process which looks in depth at the role of all agencies following the death of a child."
The new timetable for Finley's return - decided on 1 October 2020 - meant he would stay overnight with his parents during the first week of transition. But by 23 November, he was living with them full-time.
Four days later, social worker Emiley Hollindale was the last professional to see Finley alive. But, when she visited Boden and Marsden's home, no-one responded to her knocks. Peering through the window she could see Finley alone, asleep on the sofa.
Just over a month later, the little boy was dead, in a once-more squalid house, reeking of cannabis.
• None Parents murdered baby placed back into their care
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news_uk-65634100
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Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price quits after damning report - BBC News
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2023-05-12
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Adam Price quits after review found misogyny, harassment and bullying in his party.
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Wales
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Adam Price says he no longer had the support of his party
Adam Price has quit as Plaid Cymru leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in the party.
North Wales Senedd member Llyr Gruffydd will take over as interim leader, with a new leader in place in the summer, the party has said.
It follows months of difficulties including allegations of a sexual assault made against a senior staff member, and a toxic working culture.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said he no longer had the "united support" of his colleagues.
He said he wanted to resign in the wake of the report's findings, but was initially persuaded not to quit.
"You have my personal assurance that I will continue to serve my country, my constituents and our party with determination and enthusiasm," he said in a letter to party chairman, Marc Jones.
On Thursday Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford said discussions on his co-operation agreement with Plaid will take place "in light of recent developments"
He thanked Mr Price "for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together".
The resignation announcement was made following a meeting of the party's ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), late on Wednesday night.
One source from the meeting said some members raised the possibility of Adam Price remaining in post.
But it was considered untenable given the seriousness of the findings of the review.
Plaid's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said Mr Price was not asked to resign in the wake of the "toxic culture" report because "stability" was needed to implement its recommendations.
Interim Plaid Cymru leader Llyr Gruffydd has been in the Senedd since 2011
Speaking on the Today programme, Liz Saville Roberts said: "Effective leadership is about balancing conflicting demands.
"What we felt strongly was that we needed a collegiate approach within the party because it (the report) cuts across all aspects of the party and it requires a change of culture".
"In order to do that we would need stability".
She also told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that Mr Price had to go because he had become a "distraction".
She ruled herself out of a leadership contest, saying any new leader would have to be an elected member in the Senedd.
"I'm an MP in Westminster so that's done and dusted," she said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Adam Price apologised last week but said the damning report points to a "collective failure" across the party
Mr Gruffydd's appointment as interim leader was agreed at a meeting of the party's Senedd members on Thursday and will need to be rubber-stamped by Plaid Cymru's National Council on Saturday.
He will not stand in the forthcoming leadership contest
Mr Gruffydd said he was "grateful to the Plaid Cymru Senedd group" for the nomination and thanked Mr Price for his "vision, commitment, and dedication".
Plaid Cymru is the third largest party in the Welsh Parliament, with 12 Members of the Senedd and three MPs in Westminster.
The pro-independence party is in a co-operation agreement with the Welsh Labour government, which means they help them govern.
Mr Price was elected party leader in 2018, when he ousted Leanne Wood.
Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: "I have no doubt Adam Price's departure is a moment of personal sadness for him.
"Following the recent report into the culture within their party, it became clear Plaid Cymru politicians no longer had confidence in his leadership, so his departure became inevitable."
For the converted, the die-hard believers, it wasn't meant to be like this.
Adam Price was touted by many in Plaid Cymru as a "once in a generation" politician who could overcome the party's many electoral barriers.
When he challenged his predecessor for the leadership in 2018, he said only he could "create the momentum" Plaid needed to become Wales' main party of government and install him as first minister.
And yet, there was no great advance at the following Senedd election - Plaid remains in third place behind the Welsh Conservatives.
Supporters will say it was an election like no other, one focused almost entirely on the public's broadly favourable opinion of the Welsh Labour government's handling of the pandemic.
It is clear, though, that some of the sheen had faded and in terms of public support, the party remains no further forward under Adam Price's leadership.
As it nears its 100th birthday celebrations, Plaid Cymru will seek its 11th leader with many of the perennial questions about its purpose, its lack of reach beyond the heartlands and its relationship with Welsh Labour likely to be raised.
But it is the drip, drip of negative stories over the last year, culminating in a damning report that found a toxic culture within the party that meant Adam Price's position was no longer tenable.
Addressing those major issues will be his successor's primary focus.
Since last year Plaid Cymru has been dogged by claims of a toxic culture in the party, and it emerged last November that an allegation of sexual assault had been made against a senior member of staff.
Separately, a serious allegation was also made about the conduct of a Member of the Senedd, Rhys ab Owen, who is now suspended from the Senedd group pending an investigation.
The party asked Nerys Evans, a lobbyist and former Plaid assembly member, to hold a review last December.
Her working group's report said Plaid needed to "detoxify a culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny".
It said too many instances of bad behaviour were tolerated, and said an anonymous survey of staff and elected members highlighted examples "of sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination".
Mr Price admitted the document left Plaid Cymru "harmed and tarnished". He apologised, but refused to quit.
In his resignation letter, Mr Price said: "On receiving the report, I informed you that I felt morally bound to step down as leader of the party in recognition of our collective failure."
"You counselled against my resignation as you felt it would make it more difficult to achieve progress in implementing the recommendations."
He said he was "persuaded by the argument that my stepping down would be an abdication of responsibility".
But he added: "It is now clear I no longer have the united support of my colleagues that would be necessary to follow this course to fruition."
Mr Drakeford said: "I want to thank Adam Price for the constructive way the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru have worked together to develop and implement the co-operation agreement. These shared priorities are making a real difference to people across Wales.
"The co-operation agreement is an agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru - not between individuals. There will be discussions about the agreement in light of recent developments."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65553413
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news_uk-wales-65553413
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Phone hacking authorised at highest levels of publisher, court hears - BBC News
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2023-05-12
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Prince Harry's lawyer claims investigators received huge sums to illicitly obtain private information.
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UK
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Prince Harry attended the High Court in March for a separate hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper
Unlawful information gathering was widespread and authorised by those at the highest levels of Mirror Group Newspapers, a court has heard.
Prince Harry is among high-profile figures accusing the publisher of using private investigators and phone hacking to gain access to stories about them.
His barrister David Sherborne said millions of pounds were paid to private investigators, with the payments signed off by senior figures at MGN.
It is alleged that journalists from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People newspapers obtained private and confidential information about people's lives through a variety of illegal means.
The bulk of the trial's evidence are 207 newspaper stories, published between 1991 and 2011 - some 67% of which were written about Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
Mr Sherborne told the High Court one of the most "serious and troubling" features of the case is the extent to which "widespread, habitual and unlawful" activities were "authorised at the highest level".
This included "the systemic and widespread use of PIs (private investigators) by MGN journalists to unlawfully obtain private information" of various individuals, Mr Sherborne told London's High Court.
Mr Sherborne has referred the court to key senior figures in MGN who he claims "authorised" the unlawful obtaining of information.
He said this included former editors Piers Morgan, Neil Wallis, Tina Weaver, Mark Thomas, Richard Wallace and Bridget Rowe, and alleged that managing editors and senior executives also knew.
"Mr Morgan was right at the heart of this in many ways," Mr Sherborne told the court. "He was a hands-on editor and was close to the board. We have the direct involvement of Mr Morgan in a number of these incidents."
Mr Morgan was Daily Mirror editor from 1995 until 2004.
Mr Sherborne said the alleged unlawful activities also included MGN journalists intercepting landline voicemails, even if the phone numbers were ex-directory - meaning they were not listed in the telephone directory and the phone company would not provide them to those who asked for them.
Claims brought by Harry and three others are being heard in the trial, expected to last six to seven weeks, as being "representative" cases of the types of allegations facing the publisher.
The other claimants are former Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, known by his stage name Michael Le Vell, and comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife Fiona Wightman.
They are all expected to give evidence - when the prince does so in June, he will become the first senior member of the Royal Family to appear in court and be cross-examined in modern times.
The four cases were chosen by the trial judge to help the court set the level of damages MGN should pay if the claimants win, as well as establish the various allegations facing the publisher.
The court would then consider other cases from celebrities including the former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, actor Ricky Tomlinson, former Arsenal and England footballer Ian Wright and the estate of late singer-songwriter George Michael.
MGN has denied the allegations, including those of voicemail interception.
In its defence against some of the claims made by Prince Harry, MGN's lawyers argued that he did not have "a reasonable expectation of privacy".
This argument was made in response to articles about his relationship with Chelsy Davy - the break-up of which Harry blamed on press intrusion, his alleged drug use and one that reported he was forced to carry out farm work as punishment for wearing a Nazi uniform to a party.
In other instances it claimed published information was "limited and banal".
In response to one of the 33 articles put forward by Prince Harry's legal team, which gave details about his 18th birthday celebrations, MGN lawyers argued that the information came from an interview the duke gave to the Press Association.
The article published under the headline "No Eton trifles for Harry, 18" in September 2002 "simply repeated the details that the claimant [Harry] had given" including that he would not be having a party and would be spending the day with his father and brother, MGN argues in court documents. It said there was "no evidence of voicemail interception".
However on Wednesday, the publisher acknowledged and "unreservedly" apologised for a separate instance of unlawful information gathering against Harry, adding that the legal challenge brought by the prince "warrants compensation".
On Thursday, reporters saw the list of 33 stories at the heart of Prince Harry's claim for damages against MGN. He is relying on them to prove phone hacking and other unlawful activity against him. Here are some of them:
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: "I've never hacked a phone, I wouldn't even know how" - Piers Morgan (interview filmed in March)
In Thursday's hearing, Mr Sherborne discussed a Daily Mirror front page story from 1999, which revealed confidential details about the finances of Prince Michael of Kent - cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II - including that he was in debt to a bank.
Prince Michael's lawyers later told MGN they had deduced that a "blagger" had called the bank and, posing as the royal's accountant, obtained confidential information.
MGN eventually settled the claim, published an apology and paid his legal costs, the barrister said.
"It's inconceivable, given the way this progressed, that the legal department and Mr Morgan were not well aware of the source of the story, and that it came from illegally obtained information," Mr Sherborne told the court.
Mr Morgan has consistently denied any knowledge of phone hacking during his time editing the newspaper, but this will be the first time a court has been asked to rule on claims about what he knew.
Speaking to the BBC's Amol Rajan before the trial began, Mr Morgan said he could only talk to what he knew about his own involvement, adding: "I've never hacked a phone, I wouldn't even know how."
Mr Morgan also pointed out he only worked for the Daily Mirror and had no responsibility for the Sunday Mirror, Sunday People or other titles.
In 2015, MGN admitted journalists had regularly used unlawful techniques to obtain private information - and issued a public apology.
The High Court ordered the publisher to pay out damages totalling £1.25m to eight phone-hacking victims, including more than £260,000 to the actor Sadie Frost.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65555637
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news_uk-65555637
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Eurovision: Ukraine's Zelensky should address contest, says Rishi Sunak - BBC News
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2023-05-12
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The organisers of the song contest turned down a request from Ukraine's president to speak.
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UK Politics
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Volodymyr Zelensky met Rishi Sunak during a trip to Downing Street in February
Rishi Sunak is "disappointed" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been allowed to address this year's Eurovision, his spokesman says.
The organisers, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), say it would breach its political impartiality.
But Downing Street said it would be "fitting" for Mr Zelensky to speak given Russia's invasion of his country.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is also calling for the Ukrainian leader to be allowed to make a speech.
Ukraine was meant to be hosting this year's Eurovision after winning it last year, but it is taking place in Liverpool instead after Russia's invasion.
It has been reported that Mr Zelensky wanted to make a video appearance at the contest's final on Saturday, to an expected global audience of 160 million.
But in a statement on Thursday, the EBU said it had turned down a request from the Ukrainian president to address the event, despite his "laudable intentions".
"The Eurovision Song Contest is an international entertainment show, and governed by strict rules and principles," it added.
"As part of these, one of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event. This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest."
BBC Director General Tim Davie told the BBC's Eurovisioncast he understood the EBU's decision and that throughout its history, Eurovision "has not been a platform for political statement".
But he stressed the BBC was hosting on behalf of Ukraine and that it is "a celebration across Europe for freedom, for democracy".
The EBU said that a Ukrainian design agency had been involved in designing artwork for the event, and 11 Ukrainian artists, including last year's winners Kalush Orchestra, would be performing.
However, Mr Sunak's spokesman questioned the decision not to have Mr Zelensky speak, saying: "The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they're fundamental."
His spokesman argued that Eurovision "themselves recognised that last year" by banning Russian artists from participating.
However, he added that the prime minister had no plans to intervene and ask broadcasters to change their mind.
Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, said the final of the contest would have been a "great moment" for Mr Zelensky to address a huge audience.
But speaking to PA Media, he added: "We understand all the internal politics and the unbiased sort of approach to all this, that's why we don't have to push too much."
Ukraine will be represented at this year's contest by Nigerian-Ukrainian pop duo TVORCHI
In statement, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "It's vital that we all continue to keep the plight of the Ukrainian people front of mind as they stand up to Russian aggression on behalf of us all.
"Eurovision is an expression of international unity and freedom, and President Zelensky should be able to address it as a great defender of both."
The EBU initially said it would allow Russia to participate in the 2022 final, following its invasion of Ukraine two months before it was due to be held in Italy.
But it then changed course within 24 hours, saying that allowing Russia to take part would "bring the competition into disrepute".
UA:PBC, Ukraine's public broadcaster, as well as those from Iceland, Finland, Norway and the Netherlands, had called for Russia to be banned.
Boris Johnson, who was British prime minister during Russia's invasion and oversaw the UK's initial response, said "it would have been right to hear" from him during the final on Saturday.
Formed in 1950, the EBU has 68 broadcasting organisations as members, including the BBC - which is hosting this week's finals and semi-finals.
Eurovision was conceived in the 1950s as a way of promoting post-war unity between European states. As a result, politics has always been kept at arm's length.
It's a policy that's never been easy or comfortable to enforce. In 2005, Lebanon was due to make its debut when it refused to air Israel's entry. As a result, it received a three-year ban from the contest, and never took part.
Georgia also fell foul of the rules in 2009, when they submitted a song called "We Don't Wanna Put In".
The lyrics were a thinly-veiled critique of Russia's Vladimir Putin, following the previous year's Russo-Georgian war. When the country refused to amend the song, they were suspended.
The commitment to neutrality is so strong that, last year, organisers agonised over what to do about Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Although Russia was eventually banned, Eurovision's executive supervisor Martin Osterdahl said it had been a hard decision to make.
"It was, and it still is," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
But, he added: "How Europe feels very much affects the contest. When we say we are not political, what we always should stand up for are the basic and ultimate values of democracy."
Critics of the decision to decline President Zelensky will say the contest has already made a political move by banning Russia. And their argument isn't without merit.
But the EBU would counter that supporting a war-torn country is very different to allowing the leader of that country to make a call to arms.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65574033
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news_uk-politics-65574033
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E Jean Carroll: Donald Trump appeals against $5m verdict in sex abuse trial - BBC News
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2023-05-12
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A jury on Tuesday found Mr Trump liable for the sexual assault and defamation of writer E Jean Carroll
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US & Canada
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Former US President Donald Trump has filed a court notice of appeal two days after a civil trial found he sexually abused a woman, E Jean Carroll, in a New York department store.
A New York jury awarded Ms Carroll nearly $5m in damages over her allegation that Mr Trump attacked her in the 1990s.
Jurors found Mr Trump, 76, liable for battery and defamation, but not rape.
His appeal comes a day after the former president called his accuser a "wack job" during a CNN town hall event.
"I swear on my children, which I never do. I have no idea who this woman is. This is a fake story," he said.
He accused the civil trial's presiding judge of anti-Trump bias and said that his decision not to testify in person would not have made any difference to the outcome.
The jury's verdict marked the first time Mr Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women, was found legally responsible for assault.
Ms Carroll, a writer and long-time advice columnist, claimed Mr Trump raped her inside a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room and has defamed her by calling her allegation "a hoax and a lie".
The jury of six men and three women deliberated for less than three hours on Tuesday before reaching their decision.
The standard of proof in civil cases is lower than in criminal cases, meaning that jurors were only required to find that it was more likely than not that Mr Trump assaulted Ms Carroll.
While the jury found Mr Trump liable for sexual battery and defamation of Ms Carroll, they did not find Mr Trump liable of raping her. To do so, the jury would have needed to have been convinced that Mr Trump had engaged in non-consensual sexual intercourse with Ms Carroll.
Mr Trump's lawyer Joe Tacopina told reporters outside the courtroom that it was "a strange verdict".
"They rejected her rape claim and she always claimed this was a rape case, so it's a little perplexing," he said.
He added that, in Mr Trump's hometown of New York, where the former president is now unpopular, "you just can't get a fair trial".
The case will now move to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Ms Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan earlier expressed confidence to US media that Mr Trump has "no legitimate arguments for appeal".
"I've rarely felt more confident about an appeal than I do about this one," she said.
Ms Kaplan also told the New York Times that her client was giving "serious consideration" toward filing a new defamation suit against Mr Trump over his latest comments on CNN.
Mr Trump is currently the frontrunner to once again win the Republican nomination for president in 2024, earning more than 50% support in national polls, including several conducted after the New York trial began.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65566501
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news_world-us-canada-65566501
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Ghanaian ruler pushes British Museum to return gold - BBC News
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2023-05-16
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Asante king uses Coronation visit to press British Museum to return gold to Ghana.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Asante King's bracelet with gold ornaments and glass beads was taken by the British in the 19th Century, and is at the British Museum
The ruler of Ghana's Asante people is pressing the British Museum to return gold items in its collection.
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who attended the Coronation of King Charles, later met the museum director Dr Hartwig Fischer for discussions.
The British Museum's collection includes works taken from the Asante palace in Kumasi during the war with the British of 1874.
The museum told us it is "exploring the possibility of lending items" to Ghana.
The British Museum has been under increasing pressure in recent years to return items in its collection to their countries of origin.
The demands by Greece for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, often still known as the Elgin Marbles, are the most high profile example in this contested debate. They were removed by the diplomat and soldier Lord Elgin in the 19th century and later bought by the British government and placed in the British Museum.
Restitution issues more commonly apply to countries which experienced colonial conflict.
Ethiopia wants the British Museum to return ceremonial crosses, weapons, jewellery, sacred altar tablets and other items taken from Maqdala in the north of the country during British military action in 1868.
The Nigerian Government has also formally asked the museum to return 900 Benin Bronzes.
These beautiful bronze and brass sculptures were created by specialist guilds working for the royal court of the Oba, or King, in Benin City from the 16th century onwards. Many were forcibly removed when the British captured the city in 1897.
The Parthenon Sculptures were removed from Greece and put on display in London's British Museum in the 19th Century
Ghana's government made a formal request in 1974 from the then Asantahene, requesting the return of regalia and other items taken by British forces in 1874, 1896 and 1900. Since then, the British Museum says it has worked to establish a positive and ongoing collaboration with the Asantehene and Ghana's Manhyia Palace Museum, which chronicles Asante culture.
In recent times Ghana's government has set up a Restitution Committee to look at the return of items taken from the Asante palace which are now in collections around the world.
Nana Oforiatta Ayim, who sits on that Committee, told the BBC: "These objects are largely sacred ones and their return is about more than just restitution. It is also about reparation and repair, for the places they were taken from, but also those who did the taking."
She added that they are looking for a new relationship "not based on exploitation or oppression, but on equity and mutual respect".
Last Thursday's discussions at the British Museum are the first ever meeting between the Asantehene and the museum director, Dr Fischer.
Benin Bronzes were taken from the ancient city in Nigeria by the British army
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II requested a loan of items of regalia belonging to his forbears, acknowledging the successful ongoing collaboration with the British Museum.
There are more than 200 Asante gold objects and other regalia within the British Museum collection which were taken by British troops during the Anglo-Asante wars.
Back in the 19th century, the Asante state was one of few African states that offered serious resistance to European colonisers.
A spokeswoman for the British Museum told the BBC: "Our Director and Deputy Director were pleased to welcome His Royal Majesty Osei Tutu II to the Museum during his visit to the UK for the Coronation of King Charles III".
She added that the museum "is exploring the possibility of lending items from the collection to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the third Anglo-Asante war, as well as to support celebrations for the Asantehene's Silver Jubilee next year".
The Asantehene visited London last week and met with King Charles before his coronation
The British Museum has not received a formal return request from Ghana since 1974.
It loans more than 5,000 objects to institutions around the world every year in its efforts to share its collection globally.
For some Ghanaians however, loans can never be a long term solution.
Oforiatta Ayim, who is also a special adviser to Ghana's Culture Minister, said: "Loans can be a first step in that they can open up dialogue in the kind of institutions and structures that are slow to change. At the end of the day, objects like the ones taken in 1874 were taken under horrifically violent circumstances… There needs to be honesty, accountability and action".
This Asante gold neck torc was taken by the British in the 19th Century, and is at the British Museum
She added: the objects' homes are "undeniably the places they were taken from" though could be lent back to British institutions in future.
London's Horniman Museum returned 72 items in its collection to Nigerian ownership last year.
At the time, Nick Merriman, the Horniman Museum director, told the BBC there was a "moral argument" to return them. He said "we're seeing a tipping point around not just restitution and repatriation, but museums acknowledging their colonial history".
But some of the UK's most renowned institutions, including the British Museum, are prevented by law from making a decision of this kind. The British Museum Act of 1963 bans the museum from the "disposal of objects" except in very specific circumstances.
It is however free to loan items, if it believes the items won't be damaged
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65614490
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news_entertainment-arts-65614490
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Japan's pacifism hangs in balance as China and North Korea threats loom - BBC News
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2023-05-20
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Each move to militarise leaves the country more divided over its post-war pacifist ideals.
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Asia
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Japan has become increasingly divided over its commitment to post-war pacifist ideals
Toshiyuki Mimaki says he remembers crying as he looked up at a blackened sunset after the nuclear bomb hit Hiroshima.
He was only three years old at the time, but he remembers the dazed and burnt survivors fleeing past his home in the countryside. He remembers heading into the city with his family, searching for his father in an apocalyptic wasteland.
Over the years he has recounted these fragmented but vivid memories to school children, to journalists, to anyone seeking to document the trauma of the hibakusha, or the atom bomb survivors. These days, they are a small and dwindling group.
"There are only a few people like us who experienced the war and the atomic bombing. We are dying," Mr Mimaki says, while sitting in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, where world leaders attending the G7 summit laid wreaths on Friday.
"Sooner or later, there will not be a single hibakusha. How will Japan change by then?"
It's a fear that echoes through Japan. The world around them has changed. Japan itself has aged and its post-war miracle economy has sputtered, dwarfed by China's market and might. An anxious Japanese public now wants greater protection from new threats knocking at their door.
The governing Liberal Democrat Party (LDP), whose hands have long been tied behind its back by voters averse to militarisation, suddenly finds the knots loosening. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is embarking on the biggest military spending spree in decades, and seeks to expand its armed forces.
Each move to militarise leaves Japan more divided over its pacifist ideals.
"The world is going through a period of turmoil right now," Mr Mimaki says. "Recently, Prime Minister Kishida started talking about raising the military budget. I thought: Are you going to start a war?'"
Brought to its knees by the use of atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan transformed from an imperialist power into a pacifist nation in a matter of years.
Its post-war constitution, adopted in 1947 and imposed by occupying US forces, cemented this transformation. It contains a clause known as Article 9: the first paragraph renounces war, while the second promises to never maintain military forces.
The genesis of Japan's pacifism, Article 9 is at the heart of the country's struggle to balance the need for defence with its desire for peace. Some believe the law has weakened Japan, but others argue that to change it is to relinquish pacifism and forget the painful lessons of history.
Faced with significant public opposition, numerous leaders have tried and failed to revise Article 9. But with every security challenge, Japan's government has succeeded in expanding its interpretation further.
The Self-Defense Forces (SDF), Japan's answer to a military, were created in response to the Korean War and the start of the Cold War. In the 1990s, during the first Gulf War, Japan sent the SDF on peacekeeping missions, dispatching its forces to overseas conflicts for the first time. More recently and controversially, in the face of a rising China and unpredictable North Korea, the late prime minister Shinzo Abe pushed through laws that allowed Japanese troops to fight overseas alongside allies in self-defence.
"Pacifism is an idée fixe of the Japanese public… they are not going to abandon it," says James D Brown, an associate professor of political science with Temple University Japan.
"Instead, there is a process of reinterpreting what pacifism means. Where once it meant opposition to the use of armed force, it now means opposition to aggression and acceptance of the use of force in the name of self-defence in a growing list of circumstances."
Japan is once again at a turning point, facing unprecedented challenges that have stoked a fear of encirclement.
An assertive China is spending billions on its military. It has made increasingly daring moves in the South China Sea, especially against Taiwan, which sits on the doorstep of Japan's southernmost islands. This has fuelled Japanese anxiety that should conflict break out in Taiwan, Japan would not only be pulled into a war between the US and China, but also targeted as an ally. It hosts US military bases and has the biggest concentration of troops outside America.
North Korea poses a perennial existential threat. Its nuclear ambitions have grown more alarming in the past year, with a record number of missile launches, including several that have flown over Japan. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the possibility that it might use nuclear weapons - which this weekend's G7 summit is addressing - has also spurred worries of a nuclear war. The perils of a tighter Moscow-Beijing alliance also loom.
"There is a general understanding in Japan that we are now living in a very rough neighbourhood," says Kazuto Suzuki, an international security and political science professor with the University of Tokyo.
Calls for greater militarisation have long been the domain of a minority of conservatives seeking to reclaim national pride. But recent polls show the wider public warming to the idea.
More people now want a bigger and stronger SDF, from 29% in 2018 to 41.5% last year, according to government surveys. Support for Japan's security alliance with the US has gone up to an overwhelming 90%; and 51% are in favour of amending the second part of Article 9, which stops Japan from having a military.
Even some in Hiroshima are open to it.
"Every time I hear the news about [North Korea's] missiles, I am horrified," says a woman who identified herself as Ms Tanaka. "There are cases in today's world where people are attacked out of the blue… I wonder if it is necessary to see [the spending] as something to protect ourselves."
The Hiroshima Genbaku Dome was the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the atomic bomb
This is music to the LDP's ears. The party, whose founding principle is to advocate for constitutional reform, has always pushed for militarisation, particularly under Abe. In recent years the government has also come under pressure from Washington - notably former President Donald Trump - to do more in their security alliance with the US.
"The government has always wanted to move forward with increasing capabilities in the SDF. In the past the public has been a brake," Prof Brown says. "Now, that brake is no longer there."
Under Mr Kishida, Japan has purchased fighter jets, refurbished aircraft carriers, and ordered hundreds of Tomahawk missiles. He has pledged to spend 43tn yen ($311bn; £250bn) on defence in coming years. By 2027, Japan's military budget will account for 2% of its GDP, and become the third-largest in the world. The LDP is also once again pushing to revise the constitution to spell out the SDF's existence and make it clear that Japan can maintain a military for self-defence.
Ironically, Mr Kishida has long been considered a dovish figure within the LDP. With close ties to Hiroshima - his relatives died in the nuclear attack - he has advocated for a nuclear-free world. He has even written a book on it. The choice of Hiroshima to host the G7 summit appears to be deliberate as he seeks to ram home the importance of an anti-proliferation strategy.
Mr Kishida's argument is that to maintain peace in Asia, Japan needs to drastically upgrade its defence. But some observers also believe that his reputation gives his government's push to militarise a more politically acceptable sheen.
"Dovish figures can make hawkish moves because people don't suspect their motives," Prof Brown noted.
But even Japanese hawks don't broach the idea of building a nuclear arsenal. Unsurprisingly that remains a forbidden topic in the only country to ever be attacked with a nuclear weapon.
Yet Japan's pursuit of a sturdier defence has seen Abe and then Mr Kishida cross what some consider to be red lines.
Former PM Abe and Mr Kishida have both pushed for more militarisation
Many within Japan, and neighbours such as China, worry what other taboos the country might break in the future.
One possibility currently being debated is whether Japan should send lethal weapons to aid countries under invasion, such as Ukraine. Mr Kishida recently visited and met Volodymyr Zelensky to pledge support. Tokyo already supplies non-lethal defence equipment to Kyiv.
This, notes Prof Suzuki, would be a "test case for Taiwan". There are already questions over how far Japan would aid the US in a conflict with China over the island.
A more controversial idea is hosting US nuclear weapons, a proposal which shocked Japan last year when it was mooted by Abe. Public support for this option, known as nuclear sharing, is still low, and last year Mr Kishida rejected the idea, saying it ran counter to Japan's stance against nuclear weapons.
Still, Japan could change its mind under certain circumstances, experts say. These include South Korea gaining nuclear weapons, an increased threat from China and Russia, or if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
Every time Japan crosses a new red line, or mulls over taking that leap, it intensifies the struggle over its post-war identity and its commitment to pacifism.
Some argue that despite its drive to militarise, Japan's ideals are still intact. While its pacifism may appear "seemingly inconsistent" through the years, its anti-nuclear and anti-war sentiments have remained alive, says Daisuke Akimoto, an expert on pacifism.
What is happening now is simply Japan's "security policy strengthening in response to the changing strategic environment," says Dr Akimoto, an adjunct lecturer at Hosei University in Tokyo.
Prof Suzuki agrees. "I do have a trust in the Japanese intent," he says. "I do have the belief that Japan has committed in the last 80 years to not go to war. We had a very bad experience, and we won't do it again."
But others are not so sure. They believe that the constant redefinition of pacifism stretches the principle to its breaking point.
"I think the way [the government] is doing it is dirty," says Sara Ogura, a student visiting Hiroshima. "They are interpreting in such a way that it deliberately opens up opportunities for the use of force. It leads me to distrust them."
While the government said "they have no intention of going to war now, I think they are kind of getting ready to go to war when the time comes," says anti-nuclear weapons activist Yuna Okajima.
Some also believe the willingness to militarise is fuelled by the lack of a national reckoning with Japan's own wrongdoings. While there is mandatory "peace education" in schools that covers the two world wars, discussion about Japan's role as the aggressor and the atrocities it committed in World War Two is often muted.
Graduate student Misuzu Kanda believes that Japan's "negative history with other countries is sometimes covered up by the nuclear weapons issue".
"I was born in Hiroshima prefecture. The peace education is provided mostly from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki perspective, talking about how we suffered. But at the same time, when we think about peace, I think we need to reflect back on what we did to other countries."
Her friend, Ms Okajima, agrees. "I think it is a kind of proof that the Japanese government is not willing to face this history. That's why they would not teach it to young children, it's to nurture a patriotic spirit, I assume."
"But if we do not look at our history as perpetrators, there is a higher chance we would make the same mistake."
Completely flattened by the atomic bomb, Hiroshima today is a tidy and picturesque city nestled among mountains, carrying few traces of its past apart from the Genbaku Dome, the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the attack.
Across a glittering river, at the Peace Memorial Park, lies a cenotaph honouring those who died in the nuclear attack. An inscription is carved in the marble: "Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil".
"The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the end because we started a war," says Mr Mimaki as he gazes at the cenotaph. "Hiroshima was burned, Nagasaki was burned, and it was the Imperial Japanese Army that made those mistakes."
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-65643346
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news_world-asia-65643346
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Soldier shoots dead politician he was guarding - BBC News
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2023-05-02
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The killer, who took his own life soon after, has since been identified as Wilson Sabiiti.
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Africa
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A Ugandan national army soldier has shot and killed a government minister he was guarding.
Wilson Sabiiti shot dead retired Colonel Charles Okello Engola, deputy minister for gender and labour, at his home in the capital Kampala on Tuesday.
The soldier then turned the gun on himself and took his own life.
It is not yet clear whether there had been an argument between the two men. Sabiiti was assigned to the minister's security detail a month ago.
Before he took his own life, some eyewitnesses said they saw Sabiiti walking around the neighbourhood and shooting in the air.
An aide to the minister, Ronald Otim, was wounded during the shoot-out at the house. He is receiving treatment at Mulago Hospital in Kampala.
Initial reports suggest a number of other people may be injured and videos on social media showed locals gathering at the scene in shock.
Col Engola was a senior member of the government, and had previously served as a deputy minister for defence.
The speaker of Uganda's parliament confirmed Col Engola's death in a short statement while presiding over its morning session.
"This morning I received sad news that Hon Engola has been shot by his bodyguard and after, shot himself. May his soul rest in peace. That was God's plan. We can't change anything," Anita Among told MPs on Tuesday.
• None Deadly crush during New Year festivities in Uganda
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-65454213
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NHS strikes: Midwives in England vote to accept NHS pay offer - BBC News
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2023-05-02
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The offer covers two years, including an additional one-off payment for 2022/23 and a 5% pay rise.
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UK
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Midwives in England have voted to accept the latest NHS pay offer, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) says.
The offer covers two years and includes an additional one-off amount for 2022/23 and and 5% rise for 2023/24.
Nurses with the Royal College of Nursing have already turned down the offer and they plan more strike action. Members of the Society of Radiographers also voted against it.
The RCM said the offer was "not perfect" but was a "step forward".
The vote saw a turnout of 48% of eligible members working in the NHS in England, with 57% voting to accept the deal and 43% rejecting it.
The offer was also made to NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts - which include most workers apart from doctors, dentists and senior managers.
Alice Sorby, director of employment relations at the RCM, added "the collective unions standing together, with our members behind us, that brought the government to the table and led to this improved offer".
Members of Unison, the largest NHS union, also voted overwhelmingly to accept the pay offer aimed at resolving the long-running NHS dispute.
Other unions including Unite, GMB and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists are due to announce their ballot results over the coming days.
A government spokesperson said the decision by the midwives to accept the pay offer showed it is a fair and reasonable proposal that can bring this dispute to an end".
The NHS Staff Council - made up of health unions, employers and Government representatives - is due to meet on 2 May and will report back to the government on the outcome of consultations from the unions.
Members of the RCN are due to begin a 48-hour strike on 30 April. Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he was applying to the High Court to declare the walkout on 2 May unlawful arguing the mandate runs out the day before.
However, Mr Barclay shared a letter on Twitter on Wednesday evening in which he appeared to suggest the RCN had not submitted any legal argument that the action planned for 2 May is lawful.
In the letter, which he had written to RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, he says that he understands that the RCN's legal team have been instructed not to attend court.
If the government succeeds the strike would still start on Sunday at 20;00 BST but would have to end earlier on 1 May.
The union's general secretary Pat Cullen wrote an email to staff on Wednesday evening saying "we expect that ministers could be successful in putting their full weight on the court."
She went on to add that "if they win, we'll be letting members know that the strike will end at midnight on Monday 1 May and not the following evening."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65406736
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news_uk-65406736
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Privacy trial judge asks why Piers Morgan has not given evidence - BBC News
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2023-06-21
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A privacy trial judge says he may have to "make inferences" about journalists not appearing in court.
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UK
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Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan has denied knowledge of unlawful activity
The judge in a privacy trial brought by Prince Harry and others has questioned why nearly 30 journalists, including Piers Morgan, have not given evidence.
Mr Justice Fancourt said Mr Morgan had recently had "a good deal to say" about phone hacking "outside the court".
He is among a list of journalists about which the judge may have to "make inferences" given that they have not appeared in the witness box.
"To be clear, originally I said I've never hacked a phone. I've never told anyone to hack a phone. And no story's ever been published in the Mirror in my time from hacking a phone," he said, in an interview with Amol Rajan.
The judge also highlighted a recent interview by the former newspaper executive, Neil Wallis.
Mr Wallis, who was cleared of phone hacking, recently criticised those bringing cases against newspapers in the BBC documentary Scandalous: Phone Hacking On Trial.
He told that programme: "You have just about anybody who's ever appeared in a tabloid newspaper saying - give me large wadges of cash please. I think it's actually a legal scandal."
Mr Justice Fancourt said: "There's a question in my mind whether any of the individuals on my list could and should have given evidence."
As well as Piers Morgan and Neil Wallis, the list of 29 journalists includes:
One of those mentioned, Eugene Duffy, has died.
The two leading barristers in the case, David Sherborne, and Andrew Green KC, will address the judge next week in closing submissions.
They will make arguments about missing witnesses and Mr Justice Fancourt will have to weigh up allegations made during the case against those who have not given evidence.
The privacy action has been brought by Prince Harry, Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse.
In civil actions such as this one, each side can make their own decisions about which witnesses to rely on when making their case.
Mirror Group Newspapers called a handful of journalists, but there has been detailed evidence about many others who have not appeared in the witness box.
The claimants have called a series of former reporters, some of them convicted of phone hacking, who have become whistleblowers.
The judge's comments came as the last witnesses in the trial gave evidence.
Coronation Street star Michael Turner, who works under his stage name Michael Le Vell, told the court that appearing in the witness box had taken him to "really dark places" but it was time for him to speak up for himself.
He is suing the publisher of the Mirror newspapers for using phone hacking to gather stories about him dating back to the 1990s.
Mr Turner said at the time he suspected friends and colleagues were leaking information about him to newspapers.
"I feel I wasted a lot of years alienating a lot of decent people in my life for want of trust," he told the court.
Twenty-eight articles published in the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror or People newspapers often attributed quotes to "pals", "friends" or a "Corrie source".
The claimants say these phrases are used to cover up the fact information has been taken from intercepted mobile phone voicemail messages by journalists.
In one story, a conversation Michael Turner had with a friend, Alan Halsall, was reported by the Mirror as having been overheard in a pub.
Mr Turner was discussing how sexual abuse allegations had left him devastated, despite being cleared by a jury, and returning to Coronation Street.
He suggested he was not overheard because he and his friend deliberately chose a quiet corner of the pub away from members of the public.
He also said he spotted the photographer who took the pictures for the story in the back of a car with a long lens on the other side of the car park.
Repeatedly he told the court he believed at the time of the story that people were selling stories about him.
"It made me question everything about who you were associating with and who to trust," he said.
But now he suspects his messages had been hacked.
Mirror Group Newspapers has previously apologised after a previous judge ruled that unlawful information gathering had been widespread at the publisher's titles.
However MGN denies allegations made by the four claimants at the centre of this case, three of whom were chosen as representative of hundreds of people who could bring legal cases in future.
Prince Harry has refused to settle out of court.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65962048
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news_uk-65962048
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Why won't Rishi Sunak give Partygate verdict on Boris Johnson? - BBC News
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2023-06-21
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The prime minister won't say whether he agrees that his predecessor deliberately misled Parliament.
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UK Politics
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MPs delivered their verdict on Boris Johnson on Monday night, endorsing a report that found he deliberately misled Parliament over Partygate.
But 225 of his former Conservative MP colleagues were absent, including Rishi Sunak.
The prime minister's spokesman has said he "respects" the result.
But Mr Sunak is yet to say if he actually agrees with the findings, with his spokesman telling reporters on Tuesday he considers the matter closed.
The prime minister wasn't the only member of the government staying away, with the majority of the cabinet also absent. So where were they?
Most had decided to stay away from the Commons debate, rather than record their verdict against the man who led them to victory at the last general election.
It did not stop the report, written by the Commons privileges committee after a year-long inquiry, passing easily by 354 votes to seven.
Conservative MPs who voted against it included Sir Bill Cash, Nick Fletcher, Adam Holloway, Karl McCartney, Joy Morrissey and Heather Wheeler.
Work and Pensions Minister Mel Stride has told the BBC he had abstained from the vote because its main sanction - a hypothetical 90-day suspension for Mr Johnson, had he not already quit as an MP - was too severe.
Another cabinet minister - Michael Gove - said the same on Sunday.
But what about Rishi Sunak?
We are told the prime minister had longstanding engagements on Monday.
In the afternoon, he had a meeting with Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson. In the evening, he attended an event hosted by a health and social care charity.
When asked how Mr Sunak would have voted if he'd attended, his spokesman refused to engage, calling the question "hypothetical".
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For the prime minister, this question is about more than just logistics.
Mr Sunak has gone to great lengths not to deliver a verdict on whether his predecessor lied to Parliament.
He was asked about it on Thursday morning, just before the committee's report was published. He said he did not want to pre-empt their conclusions.
On Sunday evening, having had the weekend to digest the report's findings, he was asked how he would vote.
Several times, he dodged a direct answer and simply said he did not want to influence other MPs, who were not being instructed by party managers - called whips - how they should vote.
So as things stand, we still do not know what the prime minister thinks about the report. We'll keep asking.
In some respects, that uncertainty is convenient for Mr Sunak.
If he had voted to endorse the report, he would have been seen by Boris Johnson's allies as having committed another act of treachery.
Many would never have forgiven him. They could have made life difficult in the coming months.
If he had rejected the report, that would have angered other Conservatives who spoke passionately in defence of the privileges committee in the Commons on Monday.
It would have, in the eyes of opponents, undermined his commitment to integrity, professionalism and accountability, which he made on the steps of Downing Street when he became PM.
But his decision not to vote or comment on the report is not without risk.
You can expect opposition parties to hammer home the argument that Mr Sunak is too weak to deliver judgment on Mr Johnson.
Liberal Democrats have accused him of a "cowardly cop-out," while Labour has called him "too weak to lead a party too divided to govern".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65961889
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news_uk-politics-65961889
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Alice Mahon: Ex-MP's death must prompt asbestos action, says son - BBC News
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2023-06-03
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Alice Mahon believed she was exposed to the deadly substance as a nurse - and potentially in Parliament.
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UK Politics
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Alice Mahon was MP for Halifax from 1987 until 2005
Former MP Alice Mahon died of a cancer linked to asbestos exposure. Now her son is calling for asbestos to be removed from all buildings to protect lives.
Asbestos is a material which if inhaled can cause cancer and is the biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK.
Mrs Mahon, who died last year of malignant mesothelioma at the age of 85, was best known as a fiery Labour left-winger and a close ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
But the former Halifax MP also campaigned tirelessly for asbestos victims, backing calls for a public inquiry into the high incidence of asbestos-related disease amongst former power industry workers.
She said she had been exposed to asbestos when she worked as an auxiliary nurse at a West Yorkshire hospital in the 1960s and 1970s, an inquest was told in January.
She also believed she could have been exposed during the 17 years she spent in Parliament, the inquest heard.
Mrs Mahon's son, Kris, tells the BBC: "Alice was very keenly aware of what was going to happen to her once she had her diagnosis.
"Her plans had to be replaced with a calm acceptance that death was coming."
His mother lived next door to a plumber who also died from mesothelioma at the age of about 60. Additionally a young man who was a carpenter and builder and well known to the family died from mesothelioma.
"So we saw two hard-working men reduced to ghosts before their early deaths," says Kris.
Asbestos is classified as being carcinogenic, which means it can cause cancer such as mesothelioma and other dangerous lung conditions when the fibres are inhaled.
Until it was banned in 1999, it was widely used as a building material for roofing, insulation, walls and flooring.
It remains present in buildings across the UK.
As long as the asbestos is in good condition and is not disturbed there is negligible risk, according to the Health and Safety Executive.
But if it is disturbed it can become a danger to health because asbestos fibres are released into the air and people may breathe them in.
Companies have a duty to prevent employees being exposed to the substance at work, under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
However, the regulations state that asbestos-containing materials that are in good condition and unlikely to be disturbed can be left in place.
MPs from all parties have campaigned for more action to get rid of asbestos, which can be a complex and costly process.
Last year, the Commons Work and Pensions Committee called for a strategy with a 40-year deadline to remove all asbestos from public and commercial buildings.
The government's position was set out in April by Rishi Sunak, in answer to a question from Conservative MP Jane Hunt.
The prime minister said: "The law does require duty holders to assess whether asbestos is present, what condition it is in and whether it gives rise to a risk of exposure, and they must draw up a plan to manage that risk, which must include removal if it cannot be safely managed where it is located."
Ms Hunt backs the charity Mesothelioma UK's campaign for a register of all workplaces in the country that contain asbestos and a timetable for eradicating it.
The charity says the situation is a "ticking time bomb" and is asking the government to prioritise high-risk settings such as schools and hospitals.
Kris, who works as a professor of law in New Zealand, is also calling for more action from the government, arguing that asbestos should not be left in place.
"The government has a duty to protect lives from a known, indiscriminate killer such as asbestos: that requires proactive action to locate and remove asbestos," he says.
"Asbestos is in many settings, often mingled with other products, and the argument is often put forward that it is best left in place because it is only a risk if it is disturbed.
"But the problem is that buildings deteriorate and need refurbishment, or are knocked down and replaced, and this will lead to asbestos being released in uncontrolled circumstances. The safest thing to do is remove the risk."
Kris, who now lives in New Zealand, is a professor of law
In 2019 there were more than 5,000 asbestos-related deaths, including from cancers such as mesothelioma.
In January, an inquest ruled that Mrs Mahon "came by her death as a result of an industrial disease".
Mrs Mahon had blamed the disease on her exposure to asbestos during time as a nurse at Northowram Hospital, in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, the inquest was told.
She had described in a compensation claim how the temporary huts she worked were made of corrugated asbestos sheets, that had been disturbed by maintenance work.
But she also believed she may have been exposed to the substance during her time as an MP, after being told after her retirement in 2005 that Parliament was "riddled with asbestos".
Asbestos was identified in 680 rooms across the parliamentary estate in surveys carried out between 2019 to 2022 by the parliamentary maintenance services team.
A UK Parliament spokesperson says: "As with many historical buildings, asbestos is present - and appropriately managed. The risk to anyone on the estate is very low."
The spokesperson added that any work posing an asbestos risk is "properly planned" in compliance with regulations.
MPs have long been concerned about Parliament's state of disrepair
However, the Public Accounts Committee recently released a report that found a growing list of health and safety incidents within Parliament, including some involving asbestos.
"There are already people on decades-long risk watchlists after being exposed to asbestos in the building," warned the committee's Labour chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier.
Regarding asbestos in Parliament, Kris says: "Every workplace, including such grand places as the Palace of Westminster, should be a safe place.
"The risks of asbestos are so well known now, and have been for decades, that steps to identify and remove asbestos from all workplaces should have been completed by now.
"At the very least, there should be detailed audit to determine the risks, which can no doubt be done alongside other refurbishment."
The UK Health Security Agency says asbestos should not be removed without expert advice. People are advised to contact their local council for more information about its removal and disposal.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65540230
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news_uk-politics-65540230
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Robert Bowers found guilty of deadly Pittsburgh synagogue attack - BBC News
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2023-06-17
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Robert Bowers has been found guilty in the 2018 attack - the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.
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US & Canada
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A gunman accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 has been found guilty by a jury in the US state of Pennsylvania.
The federal trial of Robert Bowers, 50, now moves to the sentencing phase, with the court poised to decide whether he should be given the death penalty.
The 27 October assault inside the Tree of Life synagogue was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.
Bowers pleaded not guilty to all 63 charges against him.
The jury convicted him on all counts after less than a full day of deliberations.
During the three-week trial, prosecutors called 60 witnesses as they tried to prove the gunman carried out his attack because of a hatred for Jews.
Bowers' defence team did not call any witnesses and did not deny he carried out the attack, but said it was due to a delusional hatred for immigrants and a Jewish non-profit group, not Jewish people.
US Attorney Mary Hahn said in closing arguments on Thursday that the defendant had "hunted" his victims.
"He outright told Swat operators he went to the synagogue to kill Jews," she said.
Defence attorney Elisa Long had argued that "stopping religious study was not his intent or motive".
The distinction is important because under US federal law, in order for the jury to impose the death penalty prosecutors must prove that Bowers was motivated by race hate or killed people to stop them exercising their religious beliefs.
A psychiatric evaluation of Bowers has been prepared by the government, and the state of his mental health may be raised during the sentencing.
That hearing will begin on 26 June and is expected to last six weeks.
The 11 worshippers who died in the attack ranged in age from 54 to 97. Seven others were injured, including five police officers who rushed to the scene.
Three congregations - Dor Hadash, New Light and the Tree of Life - shared the synagogue.
Most families of those killed have voiced support for the death penalty, although some other family members and the Dor Hadash congregation have stated that they are opposed to it.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rabbi Doris Dyen: 'I'm broken and I can't pray' (from 2018)
Community groups, Jewish advocacy organisations and survivors thanked police and prosecutors after the verdict was announced.
"I am grateful to God for getting us to this day," Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the attack, said in a statement.
"And I am thankful for the law enforcement who ran into danger to rescue me, and the US attorney who stood up in court to defend my right to pray."
"Justice has been served," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement.
"We realise it does little to ease the pain for the families and friends of the 11 people murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh simply for being Jewish and practising their faith. However, we hope this verdict allows them to continue the slow process of healing if not closure."
This is only the second federal death penalty case under the Biden administration, which has placed a moratorium on federal executions.
Former President Donald Trump allowed 13 executions to take place in the last six months before he left office.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65933373
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news_world-us-canada-65933373
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Is it OK to let your snakes sunbathe in the park? - BBC News
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2023-06-17
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A man who takes his snakes to his local public park sparks a debate about what animals are acceptable in public spaces.
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Scotland
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The snakes appear to have enjoyed regular visits to Barshaw Park in Paisley during the recent heatwave
A man who takes his snakes to sunbathe in his local park has sparked an online debate about what animals are - and are not - acceptable in public spaces.
The Friends of Barshaw Park group said it had been contacted by people who were worried about someone taking up to 20 of the reptiles to the Paisley park.
It urged anyone who saw the snakes to call the police.
Far from being horrified, many locals have defended the snake owner - who appears to be a regular visitor.
They said he was clearly doing no harm and kept his snakes under control at all times, and questioned why the police would need to get involved.
Margaret Winters, who lives just along the road from the park, said everyone she spoke to was happy to see the snakes lapping up the sunshine.
She said: "The first time I spotted the snakes, they ended up literally crawling over my feet. I got a bit of a fright, but they were really nice.
"I'm not scared of snakes so it was quite nice to get the chance to hold a baby one."
She added: "It was bizarre because you expect to see dogs running around the park but not snakes.
"The man who owned them said they were quite clever and friendly and they looked as if they were enjoying the sun. Most people were really interested."
Some people using the park said the snakes were always kept under control
Photos of the man posted on social media show him happily posing with the snakes draped around his neck or standing close to them as they slithered on the grass.
But the Friends group said in a post on its Facebook page that it had been told by the local council that "no-one has permission to bring snakes into Barshaw Park".
It added: "The police request that if you see anyone in the park with snakes, please do not approach the person but call the police on 101 and they will attend".
The snakes have sparked a debate over what type of animals should be allowed in public parks
A woman who responded to the warning said she had met the man a couple of times with her kids.
She added: "Really nice guy, answered the 1,001 questions we had about snakes. The snakes were under control and enjoying a little sunbathe.
"Can we show the same concern for people bringing their out-of-control dogs to the park?"
Another said the snake owner was "really nice and full of smiles" and that any concerns about him were "OTT".
One local wrote that the man only had two snakes when she saw him - one around his arm and another on the grass - and that she had to warn a passing family not to stand on one of them.
Another pondered what newspaper headline writers would make of the snakes going for a ride on the park's miniature railway, while someone else opened up a second front in the debate by claiming to have once seen people with ferrets in the park.
Support for the snakes was not universal, however, with potential safety issues also being raised.
One social media user succinctly summed up the argument against taking snakes to parks by pointing out: "Nope. Ban it. Ban him. No no no."
Jamie Kinlochan, a regular visitor to Barshaw, told BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme that most people he had spoken to seemed happy to share their green spaces with snakes - so long as they were not venomous.
He added: "People have, much to my surprise, been loving this.
"I had never thought about it before, but I guess when it come to things like dogs in the park we are kind of cool about that even though they can still present some form of danger if not well looked after or not treated properly.
"I guess people's arguments here are not any different and I probably agree with that."
A spokesman for Renfrewshire Council confirmed: "Non domestic pets such as snakes should not be brought into our parks and consent has not been provided for this to take place."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65931360
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Laura Kuenssberg: The super, never and only (while useful) fans of Boris Johnson - BBC News
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2023-06-17
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When it comes to Boris Johnson, Tory activists form three distinct groups, writes Laura Kuenssberg.
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UK Politics
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Judged a liar. Chucked out of the building. Condemned by colleagues.
You would think you'd want to crawl under the duvet and stay there for a good while after a massive public disgrace. Perhaps not Boris Johnson.
"He loves oxygen and he doesn't care about Parliament. Everyone is talking about him and he'll be delighted," suggests a former ally who knows him well.
And his remaining die-hard backers claim the verdict of the privileges committee, which investigated whether he deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown parties at No 10, is a vindictive strike against a politician loved by party members and much of the public.
When it comes to the public, the polls have suggested for many months that claim is tripe - to use Boris Johnson's terminology for the report into his conduct.
He did have an unusual ability to connect with voters. But he long ago fell out of favour with the public.
And what about inside the Conservative Party, that is again indulging in what seems like its favourite hobby, arguing with itself?
I've been talking to activists and MPs from around the country to test that out. Like in any big organisation there are differing views, but repeatedly, different sources describe three distinct groups.
One experienced party member describes the different tribes as Boris Johnson's "super fans, never fans, and only fans while he was an asset".
The reference to the Only Fans website - known for its adult content - may be a mischievous hint that perhaps there was a transactional element all along.
This is the group for whom Boris Johnson is a political rock star.
Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries has made her views plain - warning that Conservatives who endorse the privileges committee's findings could be chucked out of their seats.
Another former cabinet minister told me there was such unhappiness the party might even split over how Mr Johnson has been treated.
A different senior backer told me their colleagues were totally underestimating the anger among members and Mr Johnson's magic ability to win, warning that "people are making a terrible mistake" which could undermine democracy.
The howls of rage from the super fans are matched by massive sighs of relief from the "never fans".
One former president of the Conservative National Convention, the top brass of the voluntary party, told me: "I am so relieved he is gone - and really gone. Boris was never suited to the top job."
One Scottish activist said: "For goodness sake man, just go. If you really care about our party and our country then go quickly and quietly. You made your bed and you were caught lying in it."
Even if members do still have affection for Mr Johnson, this activist argues they "aren't who we need to appeal to" to win elections, saying the super fans are "delusional idiots".
The biggest group by far however is those who were content to back Boris Johnson for as long as he was useful.
This is summed up by one activist who backed him as PM: "It was a transaction. At the time I absolutely realised and knew what his flaws were.
"But I took the view that you have to decide what is the bigger issue and it was keeping Corbyn out."
Another association chair in south-east England said his members absolutely do not want Mr Johnson back, apart from a few die-hards, telling me: "It's like when someone has had a really exciting but disastrous boyfriend, afterwards, you have a pang occasionally and you miss the excitement but you don't really want them back."
An activist in the Midlands who once backed him said: "Everyone liked him to start with and were willing to take a punt. He has smashed his credibility and his likeability."
One MP, in a constituency with one of the highest Brexit Leave votes, told me: "Practically nobody has got in contact. He's so popular he appears to have rendered my constituents incapable of using their fingers to tap out an email or pick up a phone - it's been staggering.
"It's like all those X Factor winners, one of their songs comes on and you think, 'oh yeah people actually used to love that'. Then you think 'but why?'."
Not so much the rock star any more.
It is impossible to be scientific about the size of each group, but in each of my conversations it is clear the super fans are very definitely a minority.
One source calculates "you have gone from 70% being supportive of him to only around 20%", adding: "The sensible middle ground of members has definitely gone away."
Another party chair says only "10% of the grassroots are pro - who would actually want him back". There is a desire to move on, not just from the political melodrama, but also the era that Boris Johnson defined.
As one activist says: "What we need is Boris Johnson to go away. And most people want Covid and Brexit to go away. He represents both of those."
A regular peep at the Telegraph letters page would suggest its readers gave up on him months ago. If Boris Johnson is no longer tickling the tummies of the party's most traditional media backer then the notion he's still the Tory darling just does not hold.
There still is the possibility of a vote on the report into his conduct in the Commons on Monday.
Having promised to uphold integrity and accountability it is tricky for the prime minister to sit it out, but that does seem the most likely outcome. One minister joked: "He is likely to be many miles away."
And it's worth noting that Boris Johnson's camp has backed away from turning the vote into another bout of a fight it has already lost.
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His remaining supporters are not going to vote against the committee's findings, which would have been a way of protesting against what they saw as its vicious judgement.
It seems, realising the support might have looked embarrassingly paltry - maybe "20 votes on a good day" as one minister said - they now won't turn up at all.
There is evidence of some campaigning to make the vote count at the margins. Tory website the Conservative Post is encouraging MPs to vote against the report, along with circulating some wild claims that the committee ignored the rule of law.
Separately, the Liberal Democrats have been making hay in local media, demanding their Conservative rivals vote to endorse the verdict that Johnson lied. If they don't, you can imagine they'll use that to try and embarrass their opponents.
But neither Labour nor the Lib Dems are at the moment planning to force a vote to endorse the report. It may therefore go through "on the nod", where MPs do not have to vote, sparing Tory blushes.
There is a small irony in MPs not even bothering to vote on the departure of the most prominent politician of his generation. Alternatively, it tells you all you need to know.
But however messy his exit, the end of the Johnson era is prompting questions about what he leaves behind.
Some Conservatives - including the never fans and the only fans - just want to see the back of Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak is yet to sketch out a bold, new canvas. His brand - and it very much is a brand - is designed to create an impression of quiet competence rather than create fireworks.
The risk - or maybe the reality - is that's created a sense of quiet drift.
One of the activists I spoke to said this "is the beginning of whatever will be the story after the election" - assuming Rishi Sunak will lose - and "it is going to be brutal and nasty - you can see the various wings in the party already beginning to manoeuvre themselves".
One of the other members just wants the Conservatives to concentrate on what the public needs: "I just feel what people want to talk about on the doors is health and the cost of living."
As the pressures of rising mortgage costs in particular become horrifyingly clear, the Conservative Party - already well behind in the polls - can ill-afford another week like this.
It is not clear yet how much trouble Boris Johnson wants to cause. Will he use his new newspaper column to sledge Rishi Sunak at every opportunity? Or actually, as he did yesterday, confine himself to writing about battles with his weight?!
That seems vanishingly unlikely. Whatever he chooses to do there is a sense that the Conservative Party is exhausted by it all. Years of drama. Years of fighting. Years of its majority being spent on arguments with each other.
One of the activists I spoke to warned of a spreading sentiment: "More than half the grassroots are just disillusioned - too apathetic to campaign, too apathetic to vote, some talking about spoiling ballot papers."
Whether super fans, never fans, or only fans, Conservatives have to deal with the legacy of Boris Johnson.
But after all the drama, all the political pain and adrenalin mixed in, they may have to confront the horror of apathy too.
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Tenant urges others to follow after deposit win - BBC News
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2023-06-13
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A tribunal rules Adéla Koubová should get her deposit back because her Edinburgh flat was not a holiday let.
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Scotland
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Scotland's Housing and Property Chamber has ruled that Adéla Koubová should be paid her deposit back
A tenant who took her landlord to a tribunal to win her deposit back has urged other renters to follow her lead.
Edinburgh Holiday and Party Lets (EHPL) was ordered to refund Adéla Koubová after a housing tribunal ruled her former flat was not a holiday let.
It means the legal relationship was that of landlord and tenant - giving Adéla greater protection.
The flat is owned by Mark Fortune, a businessman who has been refused entry to Scotland's landlord register.
Adéla, who is from the Czech Republic, said she had taken a stand "for the other people in this situation".
A series of housing tribunal rulings have now rejected EHPL's argument that it is operating holiday lets from Mr Fortune's properties and as such the people living there should get the same protections as ordinary letting agreements.
Housing campaigners are asking why no further action is being taken against the firm.
Adéla moved to Edinburgh from the Czech Republic in January 2020 as part of a University of Edinburgh exchange programme and found the flat in the city's Bruntsfield Place through a Gumtree advert.
But after just one day in the property, which she said was freezing because of a hole in her bedroom window, she gave four weeks' notice to EHPL's representative but then failed to get her deposit back.
"When I realised I lost my deposit I was sad, for me then it was a lot of money," she told BBC Scotland.
"But it has been three years now, a lot of effort and stress in this process, but I am doing it for the other people in this situation.
"There are people in these properties who are moving to Edinburgh for the first time and they maybe don't know the situation."
Adéla, who was supported in her case by Scotland's tenants' union Living Rent, said she was still waiting to be paid the £275 she is due more than two months after the ruling.
The flat that Adéla lived in is, according to the housing tribunal ruling, owned by controversial businessman Mark Fortune
She added: "I am not sure if we will see the money, the best prize was winning though and hopefully through my experience we can let other people know there is a way to not let this happen to them."
The Housing and Property Chamber ruling states that it has "no difficulty in concluding that both parties were aware that this agreement was not for a holiday let and did not intend it constitute one", meaning the legal relationship between the parties was that of landlord and tenant.
In 2013, Mr Fortune was refused entry to Scotland's landlord register after being convicted of offences directly relating to his letting business, including threatening tenants.
He has previously denied that he operates as a landlord and rents out flats.
The businessman said the properties were operated by limited companies, not him personally.
The latest tribunal ruling said Mr Fortune gave submissions on behalf of EHPL - of which he is a former director - and on a number of occasions "seemed to refer to himself as the landlord accidentally".
The property at the centre of the tribunal ruling is in Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh
It also added that his "position was often contradictory and therefore could not be treated as reliable".
In 2021, a BBC Scotland investigation found that rooms in flats owned by Mr Fortune were being let out under contracts which did not give tenants the same protection as residential agreements.
And last month, EHPL was ordered to make improvements to one of its flats which had been described as "not fit for human habitation".
A spokesman for Living Rent said most tenants did not have "the time or resources" to take landlords to housing tribunals like they did with Adéla.
He said: "Mark Fortune has been refused landlord registration and yet his properties have continued to be rented out across the city.
"Tenants face conditions unfit for human habitation and have their deposits improperly withheld while the authorities take no action."
The spokesman called on both City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland to "start enforcing their own rules" on the issue.
As a landlord or a tenant, have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.
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Rishi Sunak to raise trade issues in US talks with Joe Biden - BBC News
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2023-06-07
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The prime minister says "subsidy races" are not a solution to hitting climate goals, as he visits Washington.
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UK Politics
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Rishi Sunak spoke to reporters on the plane trip to Washington DC
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he expects to discuss Joe Biden's flagship package of investment in green industries when he meets the president during his trip to the United States.
Travelling to Washington DC, Mr Sunak said "subsidy races" were not a solution to hitting climate goals.
Some British ministers have criticised Mr Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as harmful to world trade.
The law includes $370bn (£297bn) to boost green technology in the US.
In a drive to cut carbon emissions, billions in tax credits and subsidies has been allocated to speed up the production of solar panels and wind turbines, and encourage the up-take of electric cars.
The European Union has described the law as anti-competitive, while earlier this year, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said the package was "dangerous because it could slip into protectionism".
It is expected to be one subject of discussion when Mr Sunak meets Mr Biden for the fourth time this year, for talks at the White House on Thursday.
The prime minister's spokesman suggested Mr Sunak would also talk about boosting green tech, the war in Ukraine, and the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Downing Street said the prime minister would seek to boost economic security, bringing it into line with the level of UK-US co-operation on defence.
Mr Sunak began the formal events of the US trip on Wednesday by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Personnel from the US army, navy, marines, air force and coastguard formed a guard of honour.
The ceremony comes ahead of meetings with senior US politicians and business leaders, as well as the president.
Tensions over the global implications of Mr Biden's economic package have been building ahead of the visit, Mr Sunak's first official trip to Washington DC as prime minister.
The UK government has said it had no plans to emulate the scale of the US plans, prompting accusations from Labour that the UK could fall behind in a global race to attract future industries.
Mr Sunak's visit was made the day after the 79th anniversary of D-Day
During his flight to Washington, reporters asked Mr Sunak if there was anything Mr Biden could do to ease the economic impacts of his package on the UK.
"It's something that he [President Biden] and I have discussed in the past and you'd expect us to continue discussing it," Mr Sunak said.
When asked whether Mr Sunak accepted President Biden's argument that a resilient economy sometimes required a protectionist approach to key sectors, the prime minister referenced a joint statement issued by the G7 at the end of its latest summit in Japan.
The statement, he said, "makes it very clear that G7 countries don't believe in protectionism as the answer to this challenge and also don't believe in in subsidy races that are zero sum".
There have been reports his trip could see the two sides unveil a critical minerals pact that would allow British carmakers that export electric vehicles to the US to benefit from some of the tax credits offered to American firms.
The US signed such a deal with Japan earlier this year, and has entered into talks with the EU.
However, one area where progress has stalled is over a wider UK-US free trade deal, where President Biden has put talks on ice, leaving the UK to deepen trade ties through less comprehensive mini-deals with around 20 states.
Another area where Mr Sunak hopes to hold discussions is the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), where Mr Sunak is seeking to carve out a role for the UK as a global player.
The prime minister is hosting a global summit on AI regulation in the autumn, and has reportedly expressed an interest in the UK hosting any new international regulator for the emerging technology.
However, the extent to which the UK will be able to shape new global rules outside the EU is unclear, with the UK now shut out of key gatherings between European and American regulators such as the Tech and Trade Council (TTC).
The two leaders will also discuss the war in Ukraine, which is expected to enter a decisive period soon, with signs a long-awaited counter-offensive from Ukrainian forces may have begun.
It comes after Ukraine blamed Russia for the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in Russian-held Ukraine, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people. Moscow has denied destroying the dam, instead blaming Ukrainian shelling.
Speaking to reporters on the plane to the US, Mr Sunak said it was "too soon" to make a "definitive judgement" on whether Russia was behind the attack.
But he said if Russia were found to be responsible, it would "demonstrate the new lows that we will have seen from Russian aggression."
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Scottish deposit return delayed until October 2025 - BBC News
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2023-06-07
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It means the scheme is likely to launch at the same time as similar proposals for other parts of the UK.
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Scotland politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lorna Slater says 'no option but to delay' Deposit Return Scheme
The deposit return scheme in Scotland is to be delayed until October 2025 at the earliest.
The flagship recycling scheme was supposed to launch in March next year.
But Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said she had been left with no choice after the UK government excluded glass from the Scottish scheme.
She said she remained committed to introducing the recycling scheme - although it will be more limited than originally intended.
The delay means that the Scottish scheme is likely to launch at the same time as similar proposals for other parts of the UK - as many retailers and drinks companies had been calling for.
When it is finally introduced, the deposit return scheme (DRS) will see a 20p charge placed on drinks containers which would be refunded to consumers when they return the bottles and cans in a bid to increase recycling levels.
Larger stores, shopping centres and community hubs will operate reverse vending machines for people to return their containers.
Ms Slater said: "The overwhelming feedback from producers, retailers and hospitality is that they cannot prepare for a March launch based on the changes being required by the UK government without any certainty even about what those changes would be".
She added: "As of today, it is now clear that we have been left with no other option than to delay the launch of Scotland's DRS until October 2025 at the earliest based on the UK government's current stated aspirations.
"I remain committed to interoperable DRS schemes across the UK provided that we can work in a spirit of collaboration not imposition.
"Scotland will have a deposit return scheme. It will come later than need be. It will be more limited than it should be and more limited than parliament voted for".
Ms Slater is a co-leader of the Scottish Greens, and has a ministerial post under her party's power sharing agreement with the SNP in the Scottish Parliament.
Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, which has campaigned for a DRS, said: "This is a bleak day for anyone who cares about Scotland's litter crisis, or indeed the global climate crisis."
She also raised doubts about whether the UK government will be able to introduce a DRS for England by October 2025 - describing that date as being "at best provisional".
The scheme is now likely to launch at the same time as similar proposals for other parts of the UK
The UK government approved a partial exemption to the Internal Market Act for the Scottish deposit scheme last week, but said glass bottles would need to be excluded.
It said this was to bring Scotland into line with similar schemes that are due to launch in England and Northern Ireland in October 2025, which will also not include glass.
The exemption means that the Scottish deposit return scheme would only be allowed to cover PET plastic, aluminium and steel cans.
Glass is still included in proposals for a Welsh scheme, with the Welsh government having not yet asked for an exemption.
Circularity Scotland, the company set up to run the Scottish DRS, said there was no reason why it could not launch in March 2024 without including glass and that it was "disappointed" by Ms Slater's announcement.
Its chief executive, David Harris, said: "Further delaying the introduction of DRS will hinder Scotland's progress towards net zero and mean that billions of drinks containers continue to end up as waste."The board of Circularity Scotland will now consider the impact of this announcement and our immediate priority will be communicating with our people. We will provide further updates in due course."
Several major retailers and drinks companies, including Tesco and Tennents, had already called for Scotland to join a UK-wide initiative rather than introduce its own scheme a year earlier than everyone else.
The Federation of Small Businesses said the announcement was the "final admission that Scotland's deposit return scheme has met its inevitable demise".
Its Scotland policy chairman, Andrew McRae, said: "The delay until a UK-wide scheme has taken shape will give much-needed breathing space for the small producers and retailers who have spent months wrestling with the implications of DRS for their operations."
The UK government's Scottish secretary, Alister Jack, welcomed the announcement that the Scottish scheme would now start at the same time as the UK government's proposals were introduced.
He added: "Deposit return schemes need to be consistent across the whole of the UK, to provide a simple and effective system for businesses and consumers.
"We will continue to work with the Scottish government, and the other devolved administrations, on a UK-wide deposit return solution."
Ms Slater had to apply for an exemption to the Internal Market Act because of UK government concerns that the Scottish scheme would effectively introduce trade barriers in different parts of the UK if it was introduced first and had different rules to England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Licensed Trader's Association has previously likened Ms Slater's approach to "building a 20-storey skyscraper then applying for retrospective planning permission".
Ms Slater revealed last month that businesses in Scotland have spent about £300m preparing for the introduction of the DRS, and there have been suggestions that many could seek compensation from the government now that it will not be introduced until much later than anticipated.
The Scottish Conservatives said the Scottish DRS had "already failed long before any intervention from the UK government" and that a great deal of time and effort could have been saved if the SNP and Greens had listened businesses calling for a UK-wide approach.
Scottish Labour MSP Boyack accused the Scottish and UK governments of being "more interested in a constitutional fight" than making the recycling scheme work, and said Scotland was "paying the price for two bad governments".
The DRS was originally due to launch in Scotland in July of last year but had already been delayed twice amid concern about its implementation from many businesses which would be affected.
We now have confirmation of what was starting to feel inevitable. Scotland's deposit return scheme won't start next March - it will be operating by October 2025 at the earliest.
The logic behind that date is that it's when the UK government wants to have its own scheme.
There's been a long-running argument about glass being excluded from the Scottish scheme. But this, Lorna Slater told MSPs, was just the tip of the iceberg.
She argued that more "sabotage" came via other UK government conditions: such as one administration fee and one logo for the schemes that will (eventually) operate across all of the UK.
But this is about more than how beer bottles, cartons and juice cans are recycled. This is about how devolution works.
Scottish ministers feel that the UK government has thwarted plans to introduce legislation in an area where they have responsibility.
The UK government argues that their approach is sensible. If all UK schemes are to align at a later point, then they say they have to ensure certain conditions are put into place in Scotland now.
Many businesses may be less concerned with who's to blame, and more concerned with the money and time spent preparing for a project that's now been kicked into the long grass.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65836297
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Prince Harry: How did he handle his day in court? - BBC News
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2023-06-07
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Prince Harry becomes the first royal in modern times to face cross-examination in court.
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UK
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Prince Harry arriving at the High Court where he spent the day being cross-examined
This was Prince Harry's highly-anticipated day in court - and by the end he sounded increasingly weary, but still doggedly sticking to his arguments.
There were no clear-cut knock-out arguments, no courtroom fireworks, no angry outbursts - instead it was a rather intense stalemate.
The Mirror's barrister Andrew Green has been described as a "beast" in court, but in this case he was more of a well-mannered bulldozer, repeatedly ramming into the prince's allegations of phone hacking.
Prince Harry sat behind a desk and computer screen, water at hand, quietly answering questions for hours about tabloid news stories that mirrored his life since childhood.
"My mind's gone blank for a second," he said at one point, but there was no bristling or irritation about the cross-examining, when royals might be accustomed to more stagey, softball interviews.
The historic hearing was in a modern, open-plan courtroom, full of strip-lighting, modular furniture and boxes of paper, more like the set of The Office than a Victorian court drama.
Like everything else in Prince Harry's life, there was huge press attention here, with a packed courtroom, hovering helicopters and banks of TV cameras and photographers crowded around the court entrance, fighting to get the best pictures for this press intrusion story.
When the hearing had begun this morning, Prince Harry initially seemed hesitant, but he changed the mood with a nervous joke about juggling with so many files of documents.
"You've got me doing a work-out," he told the court.
And he seemed to grow in confidence, with an increasingly frequently repeated reply to questions about his hacking claims.
When Prince Harry was asked whether he thought the disputed news stories were based on unlawfully gathered information - he said why not ask the journalists who wrote them.
"I do not believe that as a witness it's my job to deconstruct the article or be able to answer which parts are unlawfully obtained and which aren't. I think the journalist themselves should be doing that," he said in one reply.
Prince Harry's approach was not to get dragged into the detail
The Mirror's barrister kept drilling away at the foundations of Prince Harry's claims - saying they were "in the realms of total speculation".
In particular he highlighted that a number of these disputed Mirror news stories had already been published in other newspapers or news agencies.
Or in the case of a story about Prince Harry's role in a school army cadet force, the Mirror's lawyer said the story seemed to have come directly from a Palace press release, rather than any more nefarious sources.
The question left hanging in the air was why would hacking have even been necessary if the key information in these stories had already been openly published elsewhere?
Prince Harry's approach was not to get dragged into the detail - "if you say so" - he said ironically a number of times in response to questions.
Instead he got in some spiky barbs of his own. He cast much doubt on the credibility of the terms "royal sources" and "insiders" used in royal reporting.
And he talked about the "paranoia" created by the constant sense of intrusion into his private life, making him suspicious of everyone around him. Even going to the doctor at school was a worry for him, in case medical information was leaked.
There were unexpectedly wide attacks in his witness statement - claiming that the state of the government, as well as the press, was at "rock bottom", and this was from someone who remains a counsellor of state, although no longer a "working royal".
He has an almost evangelical ire, driving him forward, with his battle to change the media his "life's work".
There were glimpses too into the sheer oddness of his life.
"I don't walk down the street," he said emphatically, in questions about a news story about meeting friends in a Fulham restaurant.
That was because of security and he said it as if it were an obvious matter of fact, that the everyday pavements were off limits to him.
While the focus of the High Court was on the machinery of the legal process, there's no escaping that the public fascination in this spectacle was to see a senior royal facing questioning as a witness in open court.
The last time it was Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, in the 19th Century. It's been something of a taboo for royals in modern times, for fear of uncorking something that couldn't be put back into the bottle.
It's also a lonely place, in court on his own, with the gulf from the rest of the Royal Family seeming even wider.
But Prince Harry emerged from court so far unscathed, got into his car and was driven away into the London streets, where he says he never feels able to walk.
He'll be back for more of this journey, even further away from his comfort zone than his Californian home, for further questions on Wednesday morning.
Read the latest from our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan - sign up here.
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UK's high rate of avoidable deaths linked to NHS woes - BBC News
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2023-06-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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People in UK less likely to survive treatable conditions than in other rich nations, study suggests.
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Health
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Stroke damage can be limited or avoided with the right treatment
People in the UK are less likely to survive treatable conditions, such as breast cancer and stroke, than those in other rich nations, a study has found.
The review, by the King's Fund think tank, said the problem may be directly linked to the performance of the NHS.
It said below-average spending on the UK health service led to fewer staff and equipment than systems elsewhere.
But the study showed the NHS was very efficient within its budget, with less cash spent on admin than other nations.
The government says the NHS is one of the most efficiently run healthcare systems, and that investment is happening to further improve services.
Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the creation of the NHS next month, the think tank compared the UK's health service with the performance of 18 other health systems, including those in Europe as well as Japan, the US and Australia.
But the think tank also found the UK had low levels of people avoiding medical care due to cost fears - just one in 10 of those questioned maintain there are major difficulties accessing NHS treatment.
The NHS also had the sixth-lowest spend on administration, with an outlay of less than 2% of the budget.
The review noted waiting lists for routine treatments, such as knee and hip replacements, were rising in many countries - with waiting times in the NHS around average.
For these reasons, it concluded the UK health service was neither a "leader nor a laggard".
But report author Siva Anandaciva said it was clear the the NHS had "sadly seen better days".
"While the UK stands out in removing most financial barriers to accessing healthcare and the NHS is run relatively efficiently, it trails behind its international cousins on some key markers of a good healthcare system.
"The pressures of the pandemic on our health service compounded the consequences of more than a decade of squeezed investment," he said
"This leaves the NHS delivering performance that is middling, at best, and the UK must do much more to reduce the number of people dying early from diseases such as heart disease and cancer."
However, Mr Anandaciva said the findings were not an argument for moving to a different funding model, adding there was little evidence any one particular approach to health funding was inherently better than another.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "This report recognises the NHS is one of the most efficiently run healthcare systems and we are investing up to £14.1 billion to improve services and cut waiting lists, one of the government's top five priorities."
He said this was paying for new community diagnostic centres, while the number of staff working in the NHS was increasing.
The government is due to publish a workforce plan soon, which is expected to set out a big increase in training places for doctors and nurses.
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Route to Scottish independence must be lawful - SNP leader Humza Yousaf - BBC News
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2023-06-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The SNP leader says if his party wins a majority of general election seats he will call for the legal means to hold a democratic referendum.
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Scotland politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. First Minister Humza Yousaf said the only route to independence was through "lawful and democratic process".
Humza Yousaf has told a special SNP conference that greater support for Scottish independence must be built ahead of the next general election.
He said if the party won a majority of seats north of the border he would press the UK government for powers to hold a second referendum.
Scotland's first minister added the only route to independence was through "lawful and democratic process".
Both Labour and the Tories are opposed to further talks on another vote.
But Mr Yousaf told a convention in Dundee that his party would stand on the proposition that people could "vote SNP for an independent Scotland".
He later told BBC Scotland: "We will put the simple proposition to the people in a general election because a referendum is being denied to us.
"If we win that general election we will then negotiate with the UK government of how we give it democratic effect.
"If it is a referendum or simply the general election that is of course for the UK government to determine because they have told us time and time again this is a voluntary union. If so then prove it."
The first minister said an election win would mean securing the most seats in Scotland - even if the party ends up with fewer than the 45 it currently holds.
Mr Yousaf also told the convention a summer campaign would focus on the "opportunities of independence" and announced a major march and rally would be held in Edinburgh on 2 September.
The convention was held at the same time as an independence rally in Stirling
Mr Yousaf's speech was interrupted by a protestor demanding a public inquiry into NHS Tayside about its disgraced former head of neurosurgery Sam Eljamel.
The SNP leader stopped his address and went to speak to the woman before returning to the stage after arranging to meet her later.
Several other senior SNP politicians also addressed the convention on both the route to independence and its general election strategy.
As well as contributions from the floor it also featured "interactive activist workshops".
Earlier, there was tributes to former SNP MP Winnie Ewing, an icon of the independence movement who died earlier this week at the age of 93.
The event will also be used to kickstart a summer programme of independence campaigning, which the party said would include leafleting, canvassing and regional assemblies.
There has been criticism from some within the SNP and wider Yes movement of the decision to only allow party members to attend the convention, which is being held at the same time as an All Under One Banner independence march in Stirling.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who now heads the Alba Party, has been among those calling for a cross-party convention to be created that would include the SNP, Alba and other independence supporting parties and organisations.
He also wants an agreement that would see only one pro-independence candidate stand in each constituency at the general election - a proposal which seems unlikely to be accepted by the SNP.
In the heat and humidity of the hall, it sounded like Humza Yousaf was going for what's been called a "de facto referendum".
That was using a general election to begin negotiations on independence if won.
In the coolness of a briefing room, SNP insiders made clear it's not that - it's a nuanced approach.
In the the most basic way, it's about contesting the general election according to the rules of the game.
Success is measured by seats won - whereas in a de facto referendum, success is measured by the popular vote
It's about saying to the UK government - prove that it's a voluntary union and if the SNP succeed then a referendum should be granted.
The ball is in their court, the SNP say.
This approach squares off difficulties - Mr Yousaf has commanded that marches are used to drum up support - that takes them away from the fringes.
It also neatly gets away from the need to get 50% of the vote - "polls are tight", Mr Yousaf noted.
Members I spoke to were enthused. That's the point - this is about injecting momentum back into the movement.
Despite the widespread assumption that Brexit and Boris Johnson would be gifts for the independence movement, Nicola Sturgeon - who was recently described by Mr Yousaf as being Europe's most impressive politician - did not manage to consistently push support for leaving the UK above 50%.
The UK government repeatedly refused to give her permission to hold a referendum despite the SNP's electoral successes during Ms Sturgeon's eight years as first minister and party leader.
The Yes movement was dealt a further blow last November when the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish government did not have the powers to hold a vote without that permission being in place.
Ms Sturgeon's response to the court ruling was to propose treating next year's general election as a "de facto referendum".
If the SNP won more than 50% of the votes in the election it would regard it as an endorsement of independence, and the party would then attempt to open negotiations with the UK government.
The UK government would have been under no legal obligation to do so, however, and the plan was deeply unpopular among many SNP MPs, with Stewart MacDonald - previously seen as being one of Ms Sturgeon's staunchest allies - openly criticising it.
Mr Yousaf had previously distanced himself from a "de facto referendum" plan during the contest to succeed Ms Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister earlier this year.
With polls suggesting support for the party has fallen in recent months his attempt to resurrect it will be seen as a big gamble.
The SNP leadership has also consistently ruled out holding a referendum that was not seen as being legally binding.
Mr Yousaf has previously said he wants to be the "first activist" as well as first minister
Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said independence support is running at an average of 48% in recent polls - higher than support for the SNP itself.
A Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times last weekend put the SNP at 34% for the next general election and suggested that the party could be on course to win fewer seats than Scottish Labour, a prospect that would have seemed almost unthinkable a year ago.
The past few months have seen both Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell being arrested and their home searched as part of an ongoing police probe into the SNP's funding and finances.
Both were later released without charge while further inquiries were carried out.
There has also been controversy over the Scottish government's handling of issues ranging from ferries and NHS waiting lists to gender reform and the deposit return scheme.
Following Mr Yousaf's address Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said the first minister had "decided to abandon the pretence he is governing for the whole country".
He added: "The latest push of his independence obsession appears to be an even more extreme version of Nicola Sturgeon's unpopular de facto referendum strategy.
"The SNP delegation that bothered to turn up to Dundee are speaking to themselves about their number one priority while people are struggling with the global cost-of-living crisis and our public services are under incredible pressure."
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray accused the first minister of "clearly preparing for failure" with his plans.
He said: "We need a government focused on tackling the urgent challenges we face - from the cost of living crisis to the chaos in our NHS to a declining economy - but in the SNP we have a tired party rehashing the same old tired arguments.
"Today has laid bare just how bereft of fresh ideas the SNP truly is - even when it comes to their driving constitutional obsession."
And Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "The SNP have put on an entire conference dedicated to demonstrating how tired, out of touch and bereft of ideas they are.
"Nobody believes Humza Yousaf's plan is going to lead to the break-up of the UK. It's a desperate ploy to appease a dwindling band of single-minded nationalist activists."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65998210
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news_uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65998210
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Titanic sub firm: A maverick, rule-breaking founder and a tragic end - BBC News
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2023-06-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
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US & Canada
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Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
Bright, driven, born into wealth, his dream was to be the first person to reach Mars.
When he realised that was unlikely to happen in his lifetime, he turned his attentions to the sea.
"I wanted to be Captain Kirk and in our lifetime, the final frontier is the ocean," he told a journalist in 2017.
The ocean promised adventure, adrenaline and mystery. He also believed it promised profits - if he could make a success of the submersible he helped design, which he directed his company OceanGate to build.
He had a maverick spirit that seemed to draw people in, earning him the admiration of his employees, passengers and investors.
"His passion was amazing and I bought into it," said Aaron Newman, who travelled on Mr Rush's Titan sub and eventually became an OceanGate investor.
But Mr Rush's soaring ambition also drew scrutiny from industry experts who warned he was cutting corners, putting innovation ahead of safety and risking potentially catastrophic results.
It wasn't something he was willing to accept.
Last week, he and four other people on board the Titan lost their lives when it imploded.
"You're remembered for the rules you break," Mr Rush once said, quoting US general Douglas MacArthur.
"I've broken some rules," he said about the Titan. "I think I've broken them with logic and good engineering behind me."
Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
He was sent to a prestigious boarding school, the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 1984.
At 19, he became the youngest pilot in the world to qualify for jet transport rating, the highest pilot rating obtainable. He worked on F-15s and anti-satellite missile programmes, with the hope of eventually joining the US space programme and being an astronaut.
But eventually that ambition lost its appeal, as a trip to the Red Planet seemed increasingly out of reach.
"If someone would tell me what the commercial or military reason to go to Mars is, I would believe it's going to happen," Mr Rush told Fast Company magazine. "It's just a dream."
So he shifted his gaze downward and in 2009 founded OceanGate, a private company that offered customers - Mr Rush preferred the term "adventurers" - a chance to experience deep sea travel, including to the wreck of the Titanic.
Jessica Parker explores how the search for the Titan submersible unfolded and its devastating outcome.
The company, based in Everett in Washington state, was small and tight-knit. Rush would chair all-staff meetings at its headquarters, while his wife Wendy - another member of Princeton's class of 1984 - was his director of communications.
A junior employee who worked at OceanGate from 2017 to 2018, and asked not to be identified, said the company headquarters felt homey and lived-in, with wiring and equipment seemingly everywhere. "It was very free-flowing."
"He was just really passionate about what he was doing and very good at instilling that passion into everybody else that worked there," the employee told the BBC.
At one staff meeting, Mr Rush brought virtual reality goggles for everyone to take a digital underwater tour. Mr Rush told them that this is what they were aiming for - to allow more people to have this view. "This is the world I want," he told them.
Mr Rush was "not a leader from the back, telling people what to do - he led from the front", said Mr Newman, the investor.
Mr Newman went on the Titan with Mr Rush to see the wreck of the Titanic in the summer of 2021.
The first time they met, Mr Rush "spent hours" talking with him about the potential of exploring the bottom of the ocean.
Mr Rush "followed his own path", Mr Newman said.
Mr Newman's recollection of OceanGate was of a team that looked out for each other.
And Mr Rush's wife, Wendy, was "up at the top, looking over his shoulder, making sure that he was doing everything perfectly and not cutting corners or skipping things", he said.
Mr Newman was so taken by Mr Rush that he decided to invest in OceanGate. "You know, I didn't know if I'd ever see any return or not. That was not the point," he said.
"The point was to be part of something that's experimental and is breaking new ground, and pushing forward our technology, and how the world works, and going places and doing amazing things, that's what this is about."
Mr Newman described himself as a minor investor. As a private company, OceanGate is not obliged to publish all financial records. US financial records from January 2020 show that Mr Rush and his fellow directors sold a stake in the company worth $18m, thought to have been used to fund the development of Titan.
To recoup the costs, OceanGate's sub, "well-lit and comfortable," the company said, came with a price tag of $250,000 (£195,600) for an underwater trip.
Mr Rush's clients were uber-rich thrill seekers, willing to part with that sum for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Las Vegas businessman Jay Bloom had been messaging Mr Rush about joining a dive, before finally turning down a seat for himself and his son on the fatal excursion.
He said the chance to see the wreck up close would have been a "bucket-list" experience. It was about being able to say "you did something very few people have the opportunity to do", he said.
Despite the large sums of money involved, OceanGate equipment sometimes had a home-made feel.
The former junior employee told the BBC he was surprised to find that Titan's electrical design included off-the-shelf development boards, as opposed to using a custom, in-house design like other engineering companies.
David Pogue, a CBS News journalist who joined Mr Rush on a trip to the Titanic wreck in 2021, said the chief executive drove the Titan with a game controller and used "rusty lead pipes from the construction industry as ballast".
Yet Mr Rush assured Mr Pogue that only thing that really mattered was the vessel's hull, built from an unusual and largely untested material for a deep sea vessel: carbon fibre, with titanium end plates.
Mr Rush knew carbon fibre was used successfully in yachts and aviation, and believed it would allow for his submersible to made more cheaply than industry-standard steels ones.
"There's a rule you don't do that," said Mr Rush in 2021. "Well, I did."
The tube shape of the Titan was also unusual. The hull of a deep-diving sub is usually spherical, which means it receives an equal amount of pressure at every point, but the Titan had a cylinder-shaped cabin. OceanGate gave it sensors to analyse the effects of changing pressure as it descended.
The glass viewport, from which passengers could see out, was only certified down to 1,300m, far short of the depths of the ocean floor where the Titantic wreck lay.
Rob McCallum, an explorer who acted as a consultant for OceanGate, became concerned when Mr Rush decided against getting official certification for the submersible.
Subs can be certified or "classed" by marine organisations, like the American Bureau of Shipping or Lloyd's Register, meaning the vehicle must meet certain standards on things like stability, strength, safety and performance. But this process is not mandatory.
In emails to Mr Rush in March 2018, seen by BBC News, Mr McCallum said: "You are wanting to use a prototype un-classed technology in a very hostile place. As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.
"4,000m down in the mid-Atlantic is not the kind of place you can cut corners."
Mr Rush, apparently indignant, responded that he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".
Safety was "about culture, not paperwork", he said. He talked of needing "sensible design, extensive testing, and informed consent of the participants", but said a piece of paper did not guarantee the safety of a sub.
While he admitted deviating from some guidelines, such as "overly conservative" viewport limits, he argued the Titan's safety systems were "way beyond" anything else in use.
He wrote: "I know that our engineering focused, innovative approach (as opposed to an existing standards compliance-focused design process) flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy, but that is the nature of innovation."
The tense exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: OceanGate boss Stockton Rush on his passion for the seas - and for taking risks
But Mr McCallum was not the only person linked to the company to speak out about safety.
Just a few months earlier, former OceanGate employee David Lochridge raised concerns in an inspection report which identified "numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns", including how the hull had been tested.
Also in 2018, the Marine Technology Society sent a letter to OceanGate accusing it of making misleading claims about its design exceeding established industry safety standards, and warned that OceanGate's "experimental" approach could result in "negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic)".
In a blog post in 2019, Mr Rush insisted that the majority of marine accidents were down to operator error. He said OceanGate took safety requirements very seriously, but that keeping an outside body informed on every modification before it was tested in a real-word setting was "anathema to rapid innovation".
The former employee told the BBC that while he had worked at OceanGate, he had felt confident in Mr Rush's commitment to safety.
"Rush was very level-headed, he knew what needed to be done," he said. "He went on every sub dive, he was the pilot for every single one, and that's because he trusted the safety of the sub."
Mr Newman told the BBC the sub might not have been certified, but it was tested extensively. Mr Rush "introduced new ideas and new pieces that are not conventional, and some people don't like that", he said.
"The idea that this is something that's unique and Stockton did something wrong is disingenuous," he said.
Mr Rush himself told CBS reporter Mr Pogue last year that "if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed".
"Don't get in your car. Don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules," he said.
The question is why despite other successful dives, the sub's final trip ended in tragedy, Mr Newman said.
"Clearly, the pressure hull gave way, right? And the question is, why would that give way?"
Guillermo Söhnlein, a co-founder of OceanGate and Rush's former business partner, said he would not have taken a different approach himself.
"The human submersible community globally is very small, and we all know each other, and I think generally we all respect each other's opinions.
"The bottom line is that everyone's got different opinions on how subs should be designed," said Mr Söhnlein.
After his son also raised fears about the sub, Jay Bloom declined Mr Rush's invitation.
"I am sure he really believed what he was saying," Mr Bloom said. "But he was very wrong."
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66014565
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news_world-us-canada-66014565
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Titanic sub firm: A maverick, rule-breaking founder and a tragic end - BBC News
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2023-06-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
|
US & Canada
|
Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
Bright, driven, born into wealth, his dream was to be the first person to reach Mars.
When he realised that was unlikely to happen in his lifetime, he turned his attentions to the sea.
"I wanted to be Captain Kirk and in our lifetime, the final frontier is the ocean," he told a journalist in 2017.
The ocean promised adventure, adrenaline and mystery. He also believed it promised profits - if he could make a success of the submersible he helped design, which he directed his company OceanGate to build.
He had a maverick spirit that seemed to draw people in, earning him the admiration of his employees, passengers and investors.
"His passion was amazing and I bought into it," said Aaron Newman, who travelled on Mr Rush's Titan sub and eventually became an OceanGate investor.
But Mr Rush's soaring ambition also drew scrutiny from industry experts who warned he was cutting corners, putting innovation ahead of safety and risking potentially catastrophic results.
It wasn't something he was willing to accept.
Last week, he and four other people on board the Titan lost their lives when it imploded.
"You're remembered for the rules you break," Mr Rush once said, quoting US general Douglas MacArthur.
"I've broken some rules," he said about the Titan. "I think I've broken them with logic and good engineering behind me."
Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
He was sent to a prestigious boarding school, the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 1984.
At 19, he became the youngest pilot in the world to qualify for jet transport rating, the highest pilot rating obtainable. He worked on F-15s and anti-satellite missile programmes, with the hope of eventually joining the US space programme and being an astronaut.
But eventually that ambition lost its appeal, as a trip to the Red Planet seemed increasingly out of reach.
"If someone would tell me what the commercial or military reason to go to Mars is, I would believe it's going to happen," Mr Rush told Fast Company magazine. "It's just a dream."
So he shifted his gaze downward and in 2009 founded OceanGate, a private company that offered customers - Mr Rush preferred the term "adventurers" - a chance to experience deep sea travel, including to the wreck of the Titanic.
Jessica Parker explores how the search for the Titan submersible unfolded and its devastating outcome.
The company, based in Everett in Washington state, was small and tight-knit. Rush would chair all-staff meetings at its headquarters, while his wife Wendy - another member of Princeton's class of 1984 - was his director of communications.
A junior employee who worked at OceanGate from 2017 to 2018, and asked not to be identified, said the company headquarters felt homey and lived-in, with wiring and equipment seemingly everywhere. "It was very free-flowing."
"He was just really passionate about what he was doing and very good at instilling that passion into everybody else that worked there," the employee told the BBC.
At one staff meeting, Mr Rush brought virtual reality goggles for everyone to take a digital underwater tour. Mr Rush told them that this is what they were aiming for - to allow more people to have this view. "This is the world I want," he told them.
Mr Rush was "not a leader from the back, telling people what to do - he led from the front", said Mr Newman, the investor.
Mr Newman went on the Titan with Mr Rush to see the wreck of the Titanic in the summer of 2021.
The first time they met, Mr Rush "spent hours" talking with him about the potential of exploring the bottom of the ocean.
Mr Rush "followed his own path", Mr Newman said.
Mr Newman's recollection of OceanGate was of a team that looked out for each other.
And Mr Rush's wife, Wendy, was "up at the top, looking over his shoulder, making sure that he was doing everything perfectly and not cutting corners or skipping things", he said.
Mr Newman was so taken by Mr Rush that he decided to invest in OceanGate. "You know, I didn't know if I'd ever see any return or not. That was not the point," he said.
"The point was to be part of something that's experimental and is breaking new ground, and pushing forward our technology, and how the world works, and going places and doing amazing things, that's what this is about."
Mr Newman described himself as a minor investor. As a private company, OceanGate is not obliged to publish all financial records. US financial records from January 2020 show that Mr Rush and his fellow directors sold a stake in the company worth $18m, thought to have been used to fund the development of Titan.
To recoup the costs, OceanGate's sub, "well-lit and comfortable," the company said, came with a price tag of $250,000 (£195,600) for an underwater trip.
Mr Rush's clients were uber-rich thrill seekers, willing to part with that sum for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Las Vegas businessman Jay Bloom had been messaging Mr Rush about joining a dive, before finally turning down a seat for himself and his son on the fatal excursion.
He said the chance to see the wreck up close would have been a "bucket-list" experience. It was about being able to say "you did something very few people have the opportunity to do", he said.
Despite the large sums of money involved, OceanGate equipment sometimes had a home-made feel.
The former junior employee told the BBC he was surprised to find that Titan's electrical design included off-the-shelf development boards, as opposed to using a custom, in-house design like other engineering companies.
David Pogue, a CBS News journalist who joined Mr Rush on a trip to the Titanic wreck in 2021, said the chief executive drove the Titan with a game controller and used "rusty lead pipes from the construction industry as ballast".
Yet Mr Rush assured Mr Pogue that only thing that really mattered was the vessel's hull, built from an unusual and largely untested material for a deep sea vessel: carbon fibre, with titanium end plates.
Mr Rush knew carbon fibre was used successfully in yachts and aviation, and believed it would allow for his submersible to made more cheaply than industry-standard steels ones.
"There's a rule you don't do that," said Mr Rush in 2021. "Well, I did."
The tube shape of the Titan was also unusual. The hull of a deep-diving sub is usually spherical, which means it receives an equal amount of pressure at every point, but the Titan had a cylinder-shaped cabin. OceanGate gave it sensors to analyse the effects of changing pressure as it descended.
The glass viewport, from which passengers could see out, was only certified down to 1,300m, far short of the depths of the ocean floor where the Titantic wreck lay.
Rob McCallum, an explorer who acted as a consultant for OceanGate, became concerned when Mr Rush decided against getting official certification for the submersible.
Subs can be certified or "classed" by marine organisations, like the American Bureau of Shipping or Lloyd's Register, meaning the vehicle must meet certain standards on things like stability, strength, safety and performance. But this process is not mandatory.
In emails to Mr Rush in March 2018, seen by BBC News, Mr McCallum said: "You are wanting to use a prototype un-classed technology in a very hostile place. As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.
"4,000m down in the mid-Atlantic is not the kind of place you can cut corners."
Mr Rush, apparently indignant, responded that he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".
Safety was "about culture, not paperwork", he said. He talked of needing "sensible design, extensive testing, and informed consent of the participants", but said a piece of paper did not guarantee the safety of a sub.
While he admitted deviating from some guidelines, such as "overly conservative" viewport limits, he argued the Titan's safety systems were "way beyond" anything else in use.
He wrote: "I know that our engineering focused, innovative approach (as opposed to an existing standards compliance-focused design process) flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy, but that is the nature of innovation."
The tense exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: OceanGate boss Stockton Rush on his passion for the seas - and for taking risks
But Mr McCallum was not the only person linked to the company to speak out about safety.
Just a few months earlier, former OceanGate employee David Lochridge raised concerns in an inspection report which identified "numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns", including how the hull had been tested.
Also in 2018, the Marine Technology Society sent a letter to OceanGate accusing it of making misleading claims about its design exceeding established industry safety standards, and warned that OceanGate's "experimental" approach could result in "negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic)".
In a blog post in 2019, Mr Rush insisted that the majority of marine accidents were down to operator error. He said OceanGate took safety requirements very seriously, but that keeping an outside body informed on every modification before it was tested in a real-word setting was "anathema to rapid innovation".
The former employee told the BBC that while he had worked at OceanGate, he had felt confident in Mr Rush's commitment to safety.
"Rush was very level-headed, he knew what needed to be done," he said. "He went on every sub dive, he was the pilot for every single one, and that's because he trusted the safety of the sub."
Mr Newman told the BBC the sub might not have been certified, but it was tested extensively. Mr Rush "introduced new ideas and new pieces that are not conventional, and some people don't like that", he said.
"The idea that this is something that's unique and Stockton did something wrong is disingenuous," he said.
Mr Rush himself told CBS reporter Mr Pogue last year that "if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed".
"Don't get in your car. Don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules," he said.
The question is why despite other successful dives, the sub's final trip ended in tragedy, Mr Newman said.
"Clearly, the pressure hull gave way, right? And the question is, why would that give way?"
Guillermo Söhnlein, a co-founder of OceanGate and Rush's former business partner, said he would not have taken a different approach himself.
"The human submersible community globally is very small, and we all know each other, and I think generally we all respect each other's opinions.
"The bottom line is that everyone's got different opinions on how subs should be designed," said Mr Söhnlein.
After his son also raised fears about the sub, Jay Bloom declined Mr Rush's invitation.
"I am sure he really believed what he was saying," Mr Bloom said. "But he was very wrong."
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Microsoft-Activision: US judge temporarily blocks $69bn deal - BBC News
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2023-06-14
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The takeover, which has split global regulators, would be the largest in the video games industry.
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Business
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A judge has granted a request by US regulators to temporarily block Microsoft's $69bn (£56bn) takeover of Activision Blizzard.
The court says the temporary restraining order "is necessary to maintain the status quo while the complaint is pending".
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says the deal could "substantially lessen competition" in the sector.
A two-day hearing is now due to take place from 22 June in San Francisco.
The deal to buy Activision Blizzard - the company behind Call of Duty and Candy Crush - would be the biggest in the history of the video games industry.
It has split competition regulators in the UK, US and Europe. The UK has blocked buyout while the European Union approved it. In order for the deal to go through, Microsoft and Activision need approval from regulators in the UK, the EU and the US.
The FTC has argued that the deal would give Microsoft's Xbox console exclusive access to Activision games, leaving competitors Nintendo and Sony out in the cold.
Microsoft and Activision now have until 16 June to submit legal arguments to oppose the preliminary injunction and the FTC will have to reply on 20 June.
Microsoft has said a takeover of Activision would benefit gaming companies and players.
It has offered to sign a legally binding agreement with the FTC to provide Call of Duty games to rivals including Sony for a decade.
The European Commission has approved the acquisition, saying that Microsoft's offer of 10-year free licensing deals - which promise European consumers and cloud game streaming services access to Activision's PC and console games - mean there would be fair competition in the market.
But the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) blocked the deal in April, saying it was concerned the takeover would offer reduced innovation and less choice for gamers.
Microsoft and Activision hit out at the CMA's decision and said they would appeal.
Microsoft president Brad Smith said it marked the company's "darkest day" in its four decades of working in Britain.
In response to the announcement by the FTC on Monday, Mr Smith said Microsoft welcomed the "opportunity to present our case in federal court" in its attempt to persuade US regulators to allow the deal to be completed.
"We believe accelerating the legal process in the US will ultimately bring more choice and competition to the market," he added.
The purchase of Activision, which also makes Candy Crush, is seen to be important for Microsoft, which is trying to catch up with its main competitor Sony.
However, this attempted investment from Microsoft could be seen as a play for the future of video games, with the firm betting big on its Xbox Game Pass service, which has been described as the "Netflix of games".
Microsoft believes the future lies in players having subscriptions to libraries and streaming games through "cloud gaming", rather than making one-off purchases - which is the main way of accessing games at the moment.
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Prince Harry, hacking claims and the royal court case of the century - BBC News
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2023-06-04
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For the first time in the modern era a senior royal is going to give evidence in open court.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's media editor Katie Razzall looks at why Prince Harry is suing the Mirror Group
Prince Harry has been on this collision course for years - and finally he is going to be in a courtroom in person, eyeball to eyeball, in his battle against the tabloid press.
It promises to be an electrifying moment as he gives his evidence and faces questions from lawyers in London's High Court about his allegations of phone hacking.
Prince Harry has said that changing the media landscape is his "life's work" - and this gladiatorial courtroom encounter could be one of his own defining moments.
He has two of the key requirements for this legal battle: First, a single-minded determination to keep going without settling, and second, being rich enough to take the financial hit if he loses.
But giving evidence in person in this Mirror Group Newspapers hacking trial will have big risks for him. He will face the type of open, public and tough questioning that is a long way from any previous royal interview he has taken part in.
"This isn't like taking questions from Oprah Winfrey in a celebrity interview," says Tim Maltin, managing partner of Maltin PR, which specialises in high-profile reputation management.
"It is a hostile encounter with a highly-skilled cross-examiner armed with a battery of techniques to undermine your credibility.
"Giving evidence is daunting… and cross-examination is far more often traumatic than cathartic," he says.
Prince Harry is likely to face detailed questioning about highly personal news stories which he claims were obtained through unlawful means - an allegation which the newspaper group disputes.
He could face gruelling questioning about stories relating to his relationships, his girlfriends, his mother Diana, the treatment of Meghan and his life growing up in the Royal Family.
There have already been challenges to the allegations of Prince Harry and his co-complainants. Lawyers for Mirror Group have said the evidence of hacking is "slim" in some cases and "utterly non-existent" in others.
Prince Harry in 2010 with Chelsy Davy, a relationship he says was undermined by press intrusion
Prince Harry's own memoir, Spare, might be turned against him, with its accounts of drug taking and family tensions.
Historian and author Sir Anthony Seldon thinks Prince Harry is ill-advised to be appearing in court like this.
"Harry should never be there," he says, arguing that the Royal Family should rise above such fights.
"Harry's standing and trajectory will only be harmed, whatever the outcome. The public is losing sympathy with him and his constant protestations of victimhood," says Sir Anthony.
"Harry and Meghan's continuing hard luck stories only make William and Kate look much better in every way," he adds.
But royal commentator Pauline Maclaran thinks taking a stand like this could boost Prince Harry's popularity, particularly among young people.
Rather than being accused of being privileged or entitled, she says in this court case "he'll be seen as the underdog, and that's a good position to be seen in".
"Many young people will see him as quite a heroic figure, fighting the establishment," says Prof Maclaran, an academic at Royal Holloway, University of London.
"It could be good for Harry in the long run, even though the older generation will be tut-tutting," she says.
As for the rest of the Royal Family, they will be "watching with an element of horror", she says.
A previous hacking case this year against News Group Newspapers already produced the bombshell claim that Prince William had reached a private settlement with the newspaper publishers.
And Prof Maclaran expects more focus on the Royal Family's dealings with the press in a way that could prove "uncomfortable" for Harry's royal relatives.
The Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew in 2019 only lasted an hour - but it is still providing material for news four years later. So it is not surprising if there is royal anxiety about Prince Harry facing days of giving evidence.
There is going to be intense global interest in this court case. Harry and his wife Meghan provoke strong reactions among supporters and critics, and the eyes of the world will be watching.
Royal historian Ed Owens says the public will be fascinated by this combination of "courtroom drama and royal soap opera" and the prospect of a royal "pulling back the curtain" on the relationship between the tabloid press and the monarchy.
Not only does this case aim to expose evidence of hacking, but the stakes are made even higher by the argument that senior executives must also have known what was going on.
How will Harry react when his claims are challenged and put under the microscope? Will he start getting irritated? Will it be upsetting for him to talk about the press intrusion which by his own account has dogged him since childhood? How will he handle the pressure?
Edward VII (left) is one of small group of royals who have given evidence in court - in the 1890s as Prince of Wales. He is pictured with Victoria and George V
It is very unusual to see a royal appearance in a witness box.
The last senior royal to give evidence in this way was in the 19th Century, when Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, appeared in two cases - one in a dispute over card cheating and the other in a divorce case, in which the prince denied any "improper familiarity".
In 2002, Princess Anne appeared in court to plead guilty after her dogs bit two children.
But those were very brief and different types of court appearances.
Part of the mystique of the monarchy is in saying little and answering less. Prince Harry is breaking the unspoken taboo about a royal going into the witness box to face what could be very embarrassing questions - but it is something that he clearly feels is worth the risk.
His grievance with the excesses of the press is deeply personal and emotional.
This is a court confrontation that you could almost trace directly back to the death of his mother Diana, in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when she was being pursued by paparazzi.
He has repeatedly connected that moment to his battle with the tabloid press.
It is his day of reckoning. His high noon in the High Court.
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UK's high rate of avoidable deaths linked to NHS woes - BBC News
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2023-06-26
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People in UK less likely to survive treatable conditions than in other rich nations, study suggests.
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Health
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Stroke damage can be limited or avoided with the right treatment
People in the UK are less likely to survive treatable conditions, such as breast cancer and stroke, than those in other rich nations, a study has found.
The review, by the King's Fund think tank, said the problem may be directly linked to the performance of the NHS.
It said below-average spending on the UK health service led to fewer staff and equipment than systems elsewhere.
But the study showed the NHS was very efficient within its budget, with less cash spent on admin than other nations.
The government says the NHS is one of the most efficiently run healthcare systems, and that investment is happening to further improve services.
Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the creation of the NHS next month, the think tank compared the UK's health service with the performance of 18 other health systems, including those in Europe as well as Japan, the US and Australia.
But the think tank also found the UK had low levels of people avoiding medical care due to cost fears - just one in 10 of those questioned maintain there are major difficulties accessing NHS treatment.
The NHS also had the sixth-lowest spend on administration, with an outlay of less than 2% of the budget.
The review noted waiting lists for routine treatments, such as knee and hip replacements, were rising in many countries - with waiting times in the NHS around average.
For these reasons, it concluded the UK health service was neither a "leader nor a laggard".
But report author Siva Anandaciva said it was clear the the NHS had "sadly seen better days".
"While the UK stands out in removing most financial barriers to accessing healthcare and the NHS is run relatively efficiently, it trails behind its international cousins on some key markers of a good healthcare system.
"The pressures of the pandemic on our health service compounded the consequences of more than a decade of squeezed investment," he said
"This leaves the NHS delivering performance that is middling, at best, and the UK must do much more to reduce the number of people dying early from diseases such as heart disease and cancer."
However, Mr Anandaciva said the findings were not an argument for moving to a different funding model, adding there was little evidence any one particular approach to health funding was inherently better than another.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "This report recognises the NHS is one of the most efficiently run healthcare systems and we are investing up to £14.1 billion to improve services and cut waiting lists, one of the government's top five priorities."
He said this was paying for new community diagnostic centres, while the number of staff working in the NHS was increasing.
The government is due to publish a workforce plan soon, which is expected to set out a big increase in training places for doctors and nurses.
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Can Prince William navigate politics and privilege to cut homelessness? - BBC News
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2023-06-26
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There is some cynicism about Prince William - a wealthy landowner - pledging to tackle homelessness.
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UK
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Prince William's homelessness campaign comes as families face rising mortgage and rent costs
There are some big challenges facing Prince William's ambitious plans to help cut homelessness.
It is not just the practical questions of raising funds and building thousands of extra housing units and support services.
Let's be honest, there will be some cynicism about a wealthy landowner, with several properties, calling on others to tackle homelessness.
Graham Smith, chief executive of the anti-monarchy group Republic, called it "crass and hypocritical of William to get involved in this issue, given the excessive wealth we gift him".
Prince William's team is fully aware of such criticism.
But their argument is that the Prince of Wales is putting his privileged position to good purposes, using his high profile to energise this campaign.
Homelessness has been an issue in which the prince has been personally engaged for many years. His mother Princess Diana brought him on visits to meet those in need of help and he has been an active patron of charities such as Centrepoint and The Passage.
Launching the initiative at a project in Bournemouth, the prince had an easy rapport with people talking about their experiences of homelessness - in a way that seemed to surprise them.
They spoke afterwards about how unexpectedly relaxed and down to earth he had seemed - talking with them about homelessness in terms of the human impact on self-esteem and isolation.
Prince William photographed by tourists when he tried his hand as a Big Issue seller last year
Now Prince William wants to take his campaigning a step further, to turn words into action, with a much more interventionist plan to create extra housing and measurably cut homelessness over the next five years.
This Homewards project is also part of a wider, behind-the-scenes modernising shift for Prince William and Catherine, where the emphasis will be on making a real impact.
They want to leave a long-lasting legacy, not just stories about what fashion outfits they were wearing. They want to focus on public service as well as being public spectacles.
In terms of the scale of the ambition, historian Sir Anthony Seldon says: "This is as significant an intervention as any single intervention made by his father when Prince of Wales."
But Sir Anthony says it means getting involved in areas "normally reserved just for elected politicians".
Prince William could face questions about getting involved in political issues
Being accused of meddling in politics is an occupational hazard for any Prince of Wales.
And any involvement in addressing a shortage of affordable housing is inescapably political, not least when there is so much anxiety about rising rents and mortgage costs.
But being accused of being a bit too political might not actually be a bad thing, according to royal author Prof Pauline Maclaran, particularly for a younger generation.
"The real risk is being irrelevant," says Prof Maclaran.
"Prince William needs to resonate with young people. He has to do more than cut ribbons and smile and wave. He needs to give back to the public," she says.
In that respect, being seen as pushing the boundaries and fighting a cause will be seen as a positive benefit, says Prof Maclaran of Royal Holloway, University of London.
Prince Harry has his own public cause in taking on the tabloid press, so now Prince William will be out there fighting homelessness.
But Prof Maclaran says a key to its credibility will be showing that he has made a personal contribution.
The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales is initially providing £3m - with £500,000 seed funding for initiatives in six locations.
For building projects, that would not go very far. The restoration project at Buckingham Palace alone has a budget of £369m.
There were also reports of plans for social housing on Prince William's Duchy of Cornwall land, but nothing has been confirmed.
The rising cost of rents has made it even harder to find affordable places to live
In terms of the demand, there are 300,000 homeless according to the prince's project, and councils in England say they have 1.2 million people on housing waiting lists.
But if much more money will have to be raised to make an impact, that means more deals will have to be struck, and with that comes reputational risks.
When the royal world collides with the real world, it can get complicated. People donating money, or wanting to buy into the project, will have their own agenda.
Opening housing developments will also mean more accountability if there are problems. And it will invite more scrutiny. People might contrast calls for more social housing with the Duchy of Cornwall advertising luxury holiday cottages, sometimes for more than £3,000 per week.
Taking a long-term view, historian Prof Heather Jones says previous Princes of Wales have faced similar pressures about getting too political - and in practice the public tends to be sympathetic.
"The British public historically have taken well to royals pushing the boundaries when it comes to the charitable causes they promote," says Prof Jones, from University College London.
King Charles III was once seen as overstepping his role with his campaigns for the environment, but his arguments now seem quite mainstream.
Prof Jones says there is a long history of royal involvement in improving housing going back to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Recent opinion polling by Ipsos also found people are much less bothered about the convention of royal neutrality than might be expected.
Prince William's project is only just starting. But a much tougher longer-term question will be to see if it has really worked. Has homelessness been reduced?
Ligia Teixeira, chief executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, welcomes the prince's support but highlights "deep-rooted problems such as longstanding shortfalls in the supply of affordable housing, economic inequality and migration trends".
"Ending homelessness for good is not rocket science. The evidence shows it's harder than that," she says.
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Titanic sub firm: A maverick, rule-breaking founder and a tragic end - BBC News
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2023-06-26
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Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
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US & Canada
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Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
Stockton Rush wanted to be known as an innovator. It didn't seem to matter how he did it.
Bright, driven, born into wealth, his dream was to be the first person to reach Mars.
When he realised that was unlikely to happen in his lifetime, he turned his attentions to the sea.
"I wanted to be Captain Kirk and in our lifetime, the final frontier is the ocean," he told a journalist in 2017.
The ocean promised adventure, adrenaline and mystery. He also believed it promised profits - if he could make a success of the submersible he helped design, which he directed his company OceanGate to build.
He had a maverick spirit that seemed to draw people in, earning him the admiration of his employees, passengers and investors.
"His passion was amazing and I bought into it," said Aaron Newman, who travelled on Mr Rush's Titan sub and eventually became an OceanGate investor.
But Mr Rush's soaring ambition also drew scrutiny from industry experts who warned he was cutting corners, putting innovation ahead of safety and risking potentially catastrophic results.
It wasn't something he was willing to accept.
Last week, he and four other people on board the Titan lost their lives when it imploded.
"You're remembered for the rules you break," Mr Rush once said, quoting US general Douglas MacArthur.
"I've broken some rules," he said about the Titan. "I think I've broken them with logic and good engineering behind me."
Stockton Rush III was born in California in 1962 into a family that made its fortune from oil and shipping.
He was sent to a prestigious boarding school, the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University in 1984.
At 19, he became the youngest pilot in the world to qualify for jet transport rating, the highest pilot rating obtainable. He worked on F-15s and anti-satellite missile programmes, with the hope of eventually joining the US space programme and being an astronaut.
But eventually that ambition lost its appeal, as a trip to the Red Planet seemed increasingly out of reach.
"If someone would tell me what the commercial or military reason to go to Mars is, I would believe it's going to happen," Mr Rush told Fast Company magazine. "It's just a dream."
So he shifted his gaze downward and in 2009 founded OceanGate, a private company that offered customers - Mr Rush preferred the term "adventurers" - a chance to experience deep sea travel, including to the wreck of the Titanic.
Jessica Parker explores how the search for the Titan submersible unfolded and its devastating outcome.
The company, based in Everett in Washington state, was small and tight-knit. Rush would chair all-staff meetings at its headquarters, while his wife Wendy - another member of Princeton's class of 1984 - was his director of communications.
A junior employee who worked at OceanGate from 2017 to 2018, and asked not to be identified, said the company headquarters felt homey and lived-in, with wiring and equipment seemingly everywhere. "It was very free-flowing."
"He was just really passionate about what he was doing and very good at instilling that passion into everybody else that worked there," the employee told the BBC.
At one staff meeting, Mr Rush brought virtual reality goggles for everyone to take a digital underwater tour. Mr Rush told them that this is what they were aiming for - to allow more people to have this view. "This is the world I want," he told them.
Mr Rush was "not a leader from the back, telling people what to do - he led from the front", said Mr Newman, the investor.
Mr Newman went on the Titan with Mr Rush to see the wreck of the Titanic in the summer of 2021.
The first time they met, Mr Rush "spent hours" talking with him about the potential of exploring the bottom of the ocean.
Mr Rush "followed his own path", Mr Newman said.
Mr Newman's recollection of OceanGate was of a team that looked out for each other.
And Mr Rush's wife, Wendy, was "up at the top, looking over his shoulder, making sure that he was doing everything perfectly and not cutting corners or skipping things", he said.
Mr Newman was so taken by Mr Rush that he decided to invest in OceanGate. "You know, I didn't know if I'd ever see any return or not. That was not the point," he said.
"The point was to be part of something that's experimental and is breaking new ground, and pushing forward our technology, and how the world works, and going places and doing amazing things, that's what this is about."
Mr Newman described himself as a minor investor. As a private company, OceanGate is not obliged to publish all financial records. US financial records from January 2020 show that Mr Rush and his fellow directors sold a stake in the company worth $18m, thought to have been used to fund the development of Titan.
To recoup the costs, OceanGate's sub, "well-lit and comfortable," the company said, came with a price tag of $250,000 (£195,600) for an underwater trip.
Mr Rush's clients were uber-rich thrill seekers, willing to part with that sum for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Las Vegas businessman Jay Bloom had been messaging Mr Rush about joining a dive, before finally turning down a seat for himself and his son on the fatal excursion.
He said the chance to see the wreck up close would have been a "bucket-list" experience. It was about being able to say "you did something very few people have the opportunity to do", he said.
Despite the large sums of money involved, OceanGate equipment sometimes had a home-made feel.
The former junior employee told the BBC he was surprised to find that Titan's electrical design included off-the-shelf development boards, as opposed to using a custom, in-house design like other engineering companies.
David Pogue, a CBS News journalist who joined Mr Rush on a trip to the Titanic wreck in 2021, said the chief executive drove the Titan with a game controller and used "rusty lead pipes from the construction industry as ballast".
Yet Mr Rush assured Mr Pogue that only thing that really mattered was the vessel's hull, built from an unusual and largely untested material for a deep sea vessel: carbon fibre, with titanium end plates.
Mr Rush knew carbon fibre was used successfully in yachts and aviation, and believed it would allow for his submersible to made more cheaply than industry-standard steels ones.
"There's a rule you don't do that," said Mr Rush in 2021. "Well, I did."
The tube shape of the Titan was also unusual. The hull of a deep-diving sub is usually spherical, which means it receives an equal amount of pressure at every point, but the Titan had a cylinder-shaped cabin. OceanGate gave it sensors to analyse the effects of changing pressure as it descended.
The glass viewport, from which passengers could see out, was only certified down to 1,300m, far short of the depths of the ocean floor where the Titantic wreck lay.
Rob McCallum, an explorer who acted as a consultant for OceanGate, became concerned when Mr Rush decided against getting official certification for the submersible.
Subs can be certified or "classed" by marine organisations, like the American Bureau of Shipping or Lloyd's Register, meaning the vehicle must meet certain standards on things like stability, strength, safety and performance. But this process is not mandatory.
In emails to Mr Rush in March 2018, seen by BBC News, Mr McCallum said: "You are wanting to use a prototype un-classed technology in a very hostile place. As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk.
"4,000m down in the mid-Atlantic is not the kind of place you can cut corners."
Mr Rush, apparently indignant, responded that he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".
Safety was "about culture, not paperwork", he said. He talked of needing "sensible design, extensive testing, and informed consent of the participants", but said a piece of paper did not guarantee the safety of a sub.
While he admitted deviating from some guidelines, such as "overly conservative" viewport limits, he argued the Titan's safety systems were "way beyond" anything else in use.
He wrote: "I know that our engineering focused, innovative approach (as opposed to an existing standards compliance-focused design process) flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy, but that is the nature of innovation."
The tense exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: OceanGate boss Stockton Rush on his passion for the seas - and for taking risks
But Mr McCallum was not the only person linked to the company to speak out about safety.
Just a few months earlier, former OceanGate employee David Lochridge raised concerns in an inspection report which identified "numerous issues that posed serious safety concerns", including how the hull had been tested.
Also in 2018, the Marine Technology Society sent a letter to OceanGate accusing it of making misleading claims about its design exceeding established industry safety standards, and warned that OceanGate's "experimental" approach could result in "negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic)".
In a blog post in 2019, Mr Rush insisted that the majority of marine accidents were down to operator error. He said OceanGate took safety requirements very seriously, but that keeping an outside body informed on every modification before it was tested in a real-word setting was "anathema to rapid innovation".
The former employee told the BBC that while he had worked at OceanGate, he had felt confident in Mr Rush's commitment to safety.
"Rush was very level-headed, he knew what needed to be done," he said. "He went on every sub dive, he was the pilot for every single one, and that's because he trusted the safety of the sub."
Mr Newman told the BBC the sub might not have been certified, but it was tested extensively. Mr Rush "introduced new ideas and new pieces that are not conventional, and some people don't like that", he said.
"The idea that this is something that's unique and Stockton did something wrong is disingenuous," he said.
Mr Rush himself told CBS reporter Mr Pogue last year that "if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed".
"Don't get in your car. Don't do anything. At some point, you're going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question. I think I can do this just as safely by breaking the rules," he said.
The question is why despite other successful dives, the sub's final trip ended in tragedy, Mr Newman said.
"Clearly, the pressure hull gave way, right? And the question is, why would that give way?"
Guillermo Söhnlein, a co-founder of OceanGate and Rush's former business partner, said he would not have taken a different approach himself.
"The human submersible community globally is very small, and we all know each other, and I think generally we all respect each other's opinions.
"The bottom line is that everyone's got different opinions on how subs should be designed," said Mr Söhnlein.
After his son also raised fears about the sub, Jay Bloom declined Mr Rush's invitation.
"I am sure he really believed what he was saying," Mr Bloom said. "But he was very wrong."
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Laura Kuenssberg: The super, never and only (while useful) fans of Boris Johnson - BBC News
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2023-06-18
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When it comes to Boris Johnson, Tory activists form three distinct groups, writes Laura Kuenssberg.
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UK Politics
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Judged a liar. Chucked out of the building. Condemned by colleagues.
You would think you'd want to crawl under the duvet and stay there for a good while after a massive public disgrace. Perhaps not Boris Johnson.
"He loves oxygen and he doesn't care about Parliament. Everyone is talking about him and he'll be delighted," suggests a former ally who knows him well.
And his remaining die-hard backers claim the verdict of the privileges committee, which investigated whether he deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown parties at No 10, is a vindictive strike against a politician loved by party members and much of the public.
When it comes to the public, the polls have suggested for many months that claim is tripe - to use Boris Johnson's terminology for the report into his conduct.
He did have an unusual ability to connect with voters. But he long ago fell out of favour with the public.
And what about inside the Conservative Party, that is again indulging in what seems like its favourite hobby, arguing with itself?
I've been talking to activists and MPs from around the country to test that out. Like in any big organisation there are differing views, but repeatedly, different sources describe three distinct groups.
One experienced party member describes the different tribes as Boris Johnson's "super fans, never fans, and only fans while he was an asset".
The reference to the Only Fans website - known for its adult content - may be a mischievous hint that perhaps there was a transactional element all along.
This is the group for whom Boris Johnson is a political rock star.
Former cabinet minister Nadine Dorries has made her views plain - warning that Conservatives who endorse the privileges committee's findings could be chucked out of their seats.
Another former cabinet minister told me there was such unhappiness the party might even split over how Mr Johnson has been treated.
A different senior backer told me their colleagues were totally underestimating the anger among members and Mr Johnson's magic ability to win, warning that "people are making a terrible mistake" which could undermine democracy.
The howls of rage from the super fans are matched by massive sighs of relief from the "never fans".
One former president of the Conservative National Convention, the top brass of the voluntary party, told me: "I am so relieved he is gone - and really gone. Boris was never suited to the top job."
One Scottish activist said: "For goodness sake man, just go. If you really care about our party and our country then go quickly and quietly. You made your bed and you were caught lying in it."
Even if members do still have affection for Mr Johnson, this activist argues they "aren't who we need to appeal to" to win elections, saying the super fans are "delusional idiots".
The biggest group by far however is those who were content to back Boris Johnson for as long as he was useful.
This is summed up by one activist who backed him as PM: "It was a transaction. At the time I absolutely realised and knew what his flaws were.
"But I took the view that you have to decide what is the bigger issue and it was keeping Corbyn out."
Another association chair in south-east England said his members absolutely do not want Mr Johnson back, apart from a few die-hards, telling me: "It's like when someone has had a really exciting but disastrous boyfriend, afterwards, you have a pang occasionally and you miss the excitement but you don't really want them back."
An activist in the Midlands who once backed him said: "Everyone liked him to start with and were willing to take a punt. He has smashed his credibility and his likeability."
One MP, in a constituency with one of the highest Brexit Leave votes, told me: "Practically nobody has got in contact. He's so popular he appears to have rendered my constituents incapable of using their fingers to tap out an email or pick up a phone - it's been staggering.
"It's like all those X Factor winners, one of their songs comes on and you think, 'oh yeah people actually used to love that'. Then you think 'but why?'."
Not so much the rock star any more.
It is impossible to be scientific about the size of each group, but in each of my conversations it is clear the super fans are very definitely a minority.
One source calculates "you have gone from 70% being supportive of him to only around 20%", adding: "The sensible middle ground of members has definitely gone away."
Another party chair says only "10% of the grassroots are pro - who would actually want him back". There is a desire to move on, not just from the political melodrama, but also the era that Boris Johnson defined.
As one activist says: "What we need is Boris Johnson to go away. And most people want Covid and Brexit to go away. He represents both of those."
A regular peep at the Telegraph letters page would suggest its readers gave up on him months ago. If Boris Johnson is no longer tickling the tummies of the party's most traditional media backer then the notion he's still the Tory darling just does not hold.
There still is the possibility of a vote on the report into his conduct in the Commons on Monday.
Having promised to uphold integrity and accountability it is tricky for the prime minister to sit it out, but that does seem the most likely outcome. One minister joked: "He is likely to be many miles away."
And it's worth noting that Boris Johnson's camp has backed away from turning the vote into another bout of a fight it has already lost.
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His remaining supporters are not going to vote against the committee's findings, which would have been a way of protesting against what they saw as its vicious judgement.
It seems, realising the support might have looked embarrassingly paltry - maybe "20 votes on a good day" as one minister said - they now won't turn up at all.
There is evidence of some campaigning to make the vote count at the margins. Tory website the Conservative Post is encouraging MPs to vote against the report, along with circulating some wild claims that the committee ignored the rule of law.
Separately, the Liberal Democrats have been making hay in local media, demanding their Conservative rivals vote to endorse the verdict that Johnson lied. If they don't, you can imagine they'll use that to try and embarrass their opponents.
But neither Labour nor the Lib Dems are at the moment planning to force a vote to endorse the report. It may therefore go through "on the nod", where MPs do not have to vote, sparing Tory blushes.
There is a small irony in MPs not even bothering to vote on the departure of the most prominent politician of his generation. Alternatively, it tells you all you need to know.
But however messy his exit, the end of the Johnson era is prompting questions about what he leaves behind.
Some Conservatives - including the never fans and the only fans - just want to see the back of Boris Johnson
Rishi Sunak is yet to sketch out a bold, new canvas. His brand - and it very much is a brand - is designed to create an impression of quiet competence rather than create fireworks.
The risk - or maybe the reality - is that's created a sense of quiet drift.
One of the activists I spoke to said this "is the beginning of whatever will be the story after the election" - assuming Rishi Sunak will lose - and "it is going to be brutal and nasty - you can see the various wings in the party already beginning to manoeuvre themselves".
One of the other members just wants the Conservatives to concentrate on what the public needs: "I just feel what people want to talk about on the doors is health and the cost of living."
As the pressures of rising mortgage costs in particular become horrifyingly clear, the Conservative Party - already well behind in the polls - can ill-afford another week like this.
It is not clear yet how much trouble Boris Johnson wants to cause. Will he use his new newspaper column to sledge Rishi Sunak at every opportunity? Or actually, as he did yesterday, confine himself to writing about battles with his weight?!
That seems vanishingly unlikely. Whatever he chooses to do there is a sense that the Conservative Party is exhausted by it all. Years of drama. Years of fighting. Years of its majority being spent on arguments with each other.
One of the activists I spoke to warned of a spreading sentiment: "More than half the grassroots are just disillusioned - too apathetic to campaign, too apathetic to vote, some talking about spoiling ballot papers."
Whether super fans, never fans, or only fans, Conservatives have to deal with the legacy of Boris Johnson.
But after all the drama, all the political pain and adrenalin mixed in, they may have to confront the horror of apathy too.
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Plaid Cymru: Rhun ap Iorwerth set to be new leader - BBC News
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2023-06-08
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The last two Senedd members who could have run in the contest confirm they will not challenge him.
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Wales
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As things stand Rhun ap Iorwerth will become leader next Friday
Rhun ap Iorwerth is set to become the new Plaid Cymru leader.
The last two members of Plaid's Senedd group who had not ruled out standing against him have now confirmed they will not be entering the contest.
Deputy leader Sian Gwenllian and Sioned Williams made the announcement in a joint statement on Friday morning.
Only Senedd members (MSs) can lead Plaid Cymru and, unless there is a U-turn from a Plaid MS, Mr ap Iorwerth will become leader next week.
Nominations are due to close on 16 June.
Plaid Cymru has been looking for a new leader since Adam Price stood down in May.
It followed reports that a toxic culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny had become worse under his leadership.
In their joint statement, Ms Gwenllian and Ms Williams said: "We are not putting our names forward as candidates for the leadership of Plaid Cymru, although we agree with comments made by former leader Leanne Wood in an interview this week that a woman would have been the best choice to lead Plaid Cymru at this time.
"We will campaign to introduce a new model of joint leadership in the future which would be more inclusive and ensure equality."
The Green Party of England and Wales has a joint leadership structure, meaning a man and a woman share the responsibility of leading the party.
The other Plaid Senedd members who were eligible to run for Plaid Cymru leader were Mabon ap Gwynfor, Cefin Campbell, Luke Fletcher, Heledd Fychan, Llŷr Huws Gruffydd, Delyth Jewell, Elin Jones, and Peredur Owen Griffiths.
But they have all ruled themselves out of the race.
Adam Price quit as leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in Plaid Cymru
Ynys Môn Senedd member Mr ap Iorwerth announced he would be standing in a video published on Twitter.
In the video he said he was looking forward to playing his part in uniting the party.
He said previously it must offer a vision of Wales as "confident, fair, green, prosperous", and on a "journey to independence".
Mr ap Iorwerth is currently the party's joint deputy leader, alongside Ms Gwenllian, and has been Plaid health spokesman in recent years.
He has been a vocal critic of the Welsh government's record on the troubled Betsi Cadwaladr health board in north Wales.
He also ran for the leadership in 2018, when Mr Price replaced Leanne Wood.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood would like to see a woman as the party's new head
On Friday, former Plaid Cymru chairman Alun Ffred Jones told BBC Radio Cymru he believed "a contest within a party is a good thing in almost all circumstances, but if the more experienced people didn't want to stand for various reasons, there we are".
"And if there is to be only one candidate, it's important that the party unites behind Rhun," he said.
He added: "I don't see much of an argument in just putting your name forward, it's not the same as applying for a job just to get an interview and seeing how it goes.
"Anyone who stands for the leadership has to be in a position where they're confident they can deliver in the role."
He said Rhun ap Iorwerth needed to "put his own stamp on things" and "turn our attention back to things that matter to the majority of people, and not on internal matters and things that are of marginal concern to most people."
Plaid Cymru said there were "no plans" to change the closing date for nominations.
It added: "Plaid Cymru members will have the opportunity over the next week to nominate candidates for the party leadership through their local constituencies."
"The next leader of Plaid Cymru will be announced on Friday 16 June."
For a leadership contest with only one candidate, this has been a far from straightforward process for Plaid Cymru.
Adam Price stepped down as leader in the wake of a report identifying a culture of misogyny within the party, so it isn't surprising that calls for a woman to take charge have gained a lot of support.
But the final two MSs to declare their intentions, Sian Gwenllian and Sioned Williams, have decided the leadership isn't for them - leaving the way clear for Ynys Môn MS Rhun ap Iorwerth.
The suggestion by Ms Williams for a "co-leader" muddies the waters further. A co-leader needs someone else to get involved - but who?
Plaid Cymru say the official timetable, with nominations closing in a week, hasn't changed - so Mr ap Iorwerth still has seven days to wait - unless someone changes their mind at the last minute.
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Rishi Sunak to raise trade issues in US talks with Joe Biden - BBC News
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2023-06-08
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The prime minister says "subsidy races" are not a solution to hitting climate goals, as he visits Washington.
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UK Politics
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Rishi Sunak spoke to reporters on the plane trip to Washington DC
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he expects to discuss Joe Biden's flagship package of investment in green industries when he meets the president during his trip to the United States.
Travelling to Washington DC, Mr Sunak said "subsidy races" were not a solution to hitting climate goals.
Some British ministers have criticised Mr Biden's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as harmful to world trade.
The law includes $370bn (£297bn) to boost green technology in the US.
In a drive to cut carbon emissions, billions in tax credits and subsidies has been allocated to speed up the production of solar panels and wind turbines, and encourage the up-take of electric cars.
The European Union has described the law as anti-competitive, while earlier this year, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said the package was "dangerous because it could slip into protectionism".
It is expected to be one subject of discussion when Mr Sunak meets Mr Biden for the fourth time this year, for talks at the White House on Thursday.
The prime minister's spokesman suggested Mr Sunak would also talk about boosting green tech, the war in Ukraine, and the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Downing Street said the prime minister would seek to boost economic security, bringing it into line with the level of UK-US co-operation on defence.
Mr Sunak began the formal events of the US trip on Wednesday by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Personnel from the US army, navy, marines, air force and coastguard formed a guard of honour.
The ceremony comes ahead of meetings with senior US politicians and business leaders, as well as the president.
Tensions over the global implications of Mr Biden's economic package have been building ahead of the visit, Mr Sunak's first official trip to Washington DC as prime minister.
The UK government has said it had no plans to emulate the scale of the US plans, prompting accusations from Labour that the UK could fall behind in a global race to attract future industries.
Mr Sunak's visit was made the day after the 79th anniversary of D-Day
During his flight to Washington, reporters asked Mr Sunak if there was anything Mr Biden could do to ease the economic impacts of his package on the UK.
"It's something that he [President Biden] and I have discussed in the past and you'd expect us to continue discussing it," Mr Sunak said.
When asked whether Mr Sunak accepted President Biden's argument that a resilient economy sometimes required a protectionist approach to key sectors, the prime minister referenced a joint statement issued by the G7 at the end of its latest summit in Japan.
The statement, he said, "makes it very clear that G7 countries don't believe in protectionism as the answer to this challenge and also don't believe in in subsidy races that are zero sum".
There have been reports his trip could see the two sides unveil a critical minerals pact that would allow British carmakers that export electric vehicles to the US to benefit from some of the tax credits offered to American firms.
The US signed such a deal with Japan earlier this year, and has entered into talks with the EU.
However, one area where progress has stalled is over a wider UK-US free trade deal, where President Biden has put talks on ice, leaving the UK to deepen trade ties through less comprehensive mini-deals with around 20 states.
Another area where Mr Sunak hopes to hold discussions is the regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), where Mr Sunak is seeking to carve out a role for the UK as a global player.
The prime minister is hosting a global summit on AI regulation in the autumn, and has reportedly expressed an interest in the UK hosting any new international regulator for the emerging technology.
However, the extent to which the UK will be able to shape new global rules outside the EU is unclear, with the UK now shut out of key gatherings between European and American regulators such as the Tech and Trade Council (TTC).
The two leaders will also discuss the war in Ukraine, which is expected to enter a decisive period soon, with signs a long-awaited counter-offensive from Ukrainian forces may have begun.
It comes after Ukraine blamed Russia for the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in Russian-held Ukraine, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people. Moscow has denied destroying the dam, instead blaming Ukrainian shelling.
Speaking to reporters on the plane to the US, Mr Sunak said it was "too soon" to make a "definitive judgement" on whether Russia was behind the attack.
But he said if Russia were found to be responsible, it would "demonstrate the new lows that we will have seen from Russian aggression."
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Prince Harry, hacking claims and the royal court case of the century - BBC News
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2023-06-05
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For the first time in the modern era a senior royal is going to give evidence in open court.
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UK
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The BBC's media editor Katie Razzall looks at why Prince Harry is suing the Mirror Group
Prince Harry has been on this collision course for years - and finally he is going to be in a courtroom in person, eyeball to eyeball, in his battle against the tabloid press.
It promises to be an electrifying moment as he gives his evidence and faces questions from lawyers in London's High Court about his allegations of phone hacking.
Prince Harry has said that changing the media landscape is his "life's work" - and this gladiatorial courtroom encounter could be one of his own defining moments.
He has two of the key requirements for this legal battle: First, a single-minded determination to keep going without settling, and second, being rich enough to take the financial hit if he loses.
But giving evidence in person in this Mirror Group Newspapers hacking trial will have big risks for him. He will face the type of open, public and tough questioning that is a long way from any previous royal interview he has taken part in.
"This isn't like taking questions from Oprah Winfrey in a celebrity interview," says Tim Maltin, managing partner of Maltin PR, which specialises in high-profile reputation management.
"It is a hostile encounter with a highly-skilled cross-examiner armed with a battery of techniques to undermine your credibility.
"Giving evidence is daunting… and cross-examination is far more often traumatic than cathartic," he says.
Prince Harry is likely to face detailed questioning about highly personal news stories which he claims were obtained through unlawful means - an allegation which the newspaper group disputes.
He could face gruelling questioning about stories relating to his relationships, his girlfriends, his mother Diana, the treatment of Meghan and his life growing up in the Royal Family.
There have already been challenges to the allegations of Prince Harry and his co-complainants. Lawyers for Mirror Group have said the evidence of hacking is "slim" in some cases and "utterly non-existent" in others.
Prince Harry in 2010 with Chelsy Davy, a relationship he says was undermined by press intrusion
Prince Harry's own memoir, Spare, might be turned against him, with its accounts of drug taking and family tensions.
Historian and author Sir Anthony Seldon thinks Prince Harry is ill-advised to be appearing in court like this.
"Harry should never be there," he says, arguing that the Royal Family should rise above such fights.
"Harry's standing and trajectory will only be harmed, whatever the outcome. The public is losing sympathy with him and his constant protestations of victimhood," says Sir Anthony.
"Harry and Meghan's continuing hard luck stories only make William and Kate look much better in every way," he adds.
But royal commentator Pauline Maclaran thinks taking a stand like this could boost Prince Harry's popularity, particularly among young people.
Rather than being accused of being privileged or entitled, she says in this court case "he'll be seen as the underdog, and that's a good position to be seen in".
"Many young people will see him as quite a heroic figure, fighting the establishment," says Prof Maclaran, an academic at Royal Holloway, University of London.
"It could be good for Harry in the long run, even though the older generation will be tut-tutting," she says.
As for the rest of the Royal Family, they will be "watching with an element of horror", she says.
A previous hacking case this year against News Group Newspapers already produced the bombshell claim that Prince William had reached a private settlement with the newspaper publishers.
And Prof Maclaran expects more focus on the Royal Family's dealings with the press in a way that could prove "uncomfortable" for Harry's royal relatives.
The Newsnight interview with Prince Andrew in 2019 only lasted an hour - but it is still providing material for news four years later. So it is not surprising if there is royal anxiety about Prince Harry facing days of giving evidence.
There is going to be intense global interest in this court case. Harry and his wife Meghan provoke strong reactions among supporters and critics, and the eyes of the world will be watching.
Royal historian Ed Owens says the public will be fascinated by this combination of "courtroom drama and royal soap opera" and the prospect of a royal "pulling back the curtain" on the relationship between the tabloid press and the monarchy.
Not only does this case aim to expose evidence of hacking, but the stakes are made even higher by the argument that senior executives must also have known what was going on.
How will Harry react when his claims are challenged and put under the microscope? Will he start getting irritated? Will it be upsetting for him to talk about the press intrusion which by his own account has dogged him since childhood? How will he handle the pressure?
Edward VII (left) is one of small group of royals who have given evidence in court - in the 1890s as Prince of Wales. He is pictured with Victoria and George V
It is very unusual to see a royal appearance in a witness box.
The last senior royal to give evidence in this way was in the 19th Century, when Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, appeared in two cases - one in a dispute over card cheating and the other in a divorce case, in which the prince denied any "improper familiarity".
In 2002, Princess Anne appeared in court to plead guilty after her dogs bit two children.
But those were very brief and different types of court appearances.
Part of the mystique of the monarchy is in saying little and answering less. Prince Harry is breaking the unspoken taboo about a royal going into the witness box to face what could be very embarrassing questions - but it is something that he clearly feels is worth the risk.
His grievance with the excesses of the press is deeply personal and emotional.
This is a court confrontation that you could almost trace directly back to the death of his mother Diana, in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when she was being pursued by paparazzi.
He has repeatedly connected that moment to his battle with the tabloid press.
It is his day of reckoning. His high noon in the High Court.
Read the latest from our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan - sign up here.
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Bayoh family's anger is misplaced, claims lawyer - BBC News
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2023-06-27
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A public inquiry hears an argument that Sheku Bayoh "created the situation that led to his death" in Kirkcaldy.
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Edinburgh, Fife & East Scotland
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Mr Bayoh had a partner, and was father to two boys
A public inquiry into the death of a black man in police custody has been told he was the author of his own misfortune.
Lawyers acting for officers involved in the incident said Sheku Bayoh's death in Kirkcaldy in 2015 was a tragedy.
But they added that criticism of the officers' actions was wholly unwarranted.
Roddy Dunlop KC said that before Mr Bayoh was restrained, he had taken drugs and placed the public in danger.
Mr Dunlop told the inquiry: "Mr Bayoh, doubtless as a result of self-intoxication, acted in a seriously criminal manner, creating a plain danger to members of the public that absolutely had to be addressed by the police.
"He created the situation that led to his death. He wasn't killed by the police.
"The anger of the family is understandable but it's misplaced."
Mr Bayoh, a trainee gas engineer, died after being restrained by around six police officers.
They were called to Hayfield Road in Kirkcaldy in May 2015 following reports of him acting erratically.
He had been seen with a knife in the town on the day of his death but was not in possession of it when police went to arrest him.
The inquiry is investigating the circumstances of the 31-year-old's death and whether race was a factor.
The sister of Sheku Bayoh said his family had been left "angry" by the lawyers representing police officers who arrested him.
Standing alongside other members of Mr Bayoh's family, Kadi Johnson spoke to the media following the morning's submissions.
Asked about the arguments put forward by Mr Dunlop, who is representing the Scottish Police Federation, and whether the family's anger was misplaced, she said: "We're very angry to hear that.
"Because when they met Sheku he had no knife on him. They are blaming Sheku for his own death, but where was their duty to care?
"They did not care for Sheku when they met him in a state where he was experiencing a mental breakdown. They did not help him there."
Brian McConnachie KC is representing PC Alan Paton, who was one of the first officers at the scene.
He said there was "not a shred of evidence" that Mr Bayoh's race had anything to do with the incident.
Mr McConnachie said: "The death of Sheku Bayoh was an unforeseen tragedy.
"But the reality is that, on the evidence put before this inquiry, he was to a very significant extent the author of his own misfortune."
The inquiry had earlier been told that when Mr Bayoh died he had the drugs MDMA and alpha-PVP in his system.
Claire Mitchell KC, who is representing Mr Bayoh's family, said racial stereotypes were used in relation to the father-of-two soon after his death.
She said that through the media "police sources painted an image of a large black man with stereotypical characteristics of extraordinary strength and dangerousness".
Ms Mitchell continued: "In relation to the incident itself, Sheku was experiencing a mental health crisis and should have been dealt with as a medical emergency."
Referring to previous evidence, she said Mr Bayoh was sprayed with incapacitants three times, struck with a baton and forced to the ground within 50 seconds of the first police car arriving at the scene on Hayfield Road.
She continued: "Sheku was brought to the ground in less than 45 seconds of the first police contact, never to get up again."
She said none of the officers involved had been seriously injured.
Ms Mitchell added: "The process and procedures put in place to allow for assessment of a person and a mental health crisis were ignored. His safety was not considered."
She added that the issue of race "flows as a river through this inquiry", referring to Chief Constable Sir Iain Livingstone's recent admission that Police Scotland is institutionally racist, and said the family was not given the truth in the aftermath of Mr Bayoh's death.
Maria Maguire KC addressed the inquiry on behalf of the chief constable.
She said the chief constable expressed "regret" over the way the family were informed.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-66034405
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Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief blames war on defence minister - BBC News
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2023-06-23
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Yevgeny Prigozhin claims Vladimir Putin and the country have been deceived by Sergei Shoigu.
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World
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Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has been blamed for starting war
We're used to hearing Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ranting and raving at Russia's military leadership - particularly at defence minister Sergei Shoigu - for problems on the battlefield.
Public infighting between the Wagner mercenary group and the Ministry of Defence isn't new.
In his latest video tirade via Telegram, Prigozhin blames Shoigu for starting Russia's war in Ukraine in February last year.
Speaking first about the fighting in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014 after Russia's military intervention, Prigozhin said: "We were hitting them, and they were hitting us. That's how it went on for those eight long years, from 2014 to 2022. Sometimes the number of skirmishes would increase, sometimes decrease."
"On 24 February [2022] there was nothing extraordinary happening there. Now the Ministry of Defence is trying to deceive the public, deceive the president and tell a story that there was some crazy aggression by Ukraine, that - together with the whole Nato bloc - Ukraine was planning to attack us.
"The war was needed... so that Shoigu could become a Marshal, so that he could get a second Hero Star… the war wasn't for demilitarising or de-nazifying Ukraine. It was needed for an extra star."
Prigozhin also blamed the war on oligarchs, condemning "the clan which in practice rules Russia today".
Strong words. But will they have consequences?
That depends on the nature of Prigozhin's current relationship with President Vladimir Putin. And no-one's quite sure what that is right now.
Is the tough-talking angry Prigozhin we see and hear on Telegram a fully-fledged Kremlin project? If so, his blame the war on Shoigu and oligarchs rant could be designed to shield Putin from public criticism, while offering the Kremlin a possible way out of a conflict that hasn't gone to plan, without damaging the president or the political system.
Prigozhin and Putin at a dinner in 2011
Prigozhin has named the fall-guys… and they don't include Putin.
After all, Putin is so closely associated with this war. In his address to the nation on 24 February 2022, the Kremlin leader made it clear that it was his decision to launch the so-called "special military operation", the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Plus, arguing that the president has been woefully deceived by a minister he appointed doesn't reflect glowingly on the man at the top.
True, in Russia the Kremlin controls the media landscape and the messaging. If TV channels and pro-Kremlin military bloggers here were to transmit such an interpretation, many Russians would accept it.
But what if Yevgeny Prigozhin's outburst wasn't coordinated with the Kremlin?
What if he's acquired political ambitions of his own? Or concluded that, having made powerful enemies within the Russian elite (especially the military) for him attack is the best form of defence? Even if it means going off-message.
A 'rogue' Prigozhin risks rocking the boat - and Russia's political system - by undermining the Kremlin's messaging.
Only last week Putin repeated the need (as he sees it) to "demilitarise" and "de-nazify" Ukraine. Prigozhin's latest comments contradict that argument.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. From 2022: Ros Atkins on... Putin’s false Nazi claims about Ukraine
I've written before that making sense of Russian politics is like trying to do a giant jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing. You attempt to connect the clues, but you're never quite sure what the final picture will be.
But, aside from the Wagner chief, there are other interesting pieces of the Russian jigsaw which hint at a different outcome.
For example, as badly as things have gone for the Kremlin in Ukraine, might Moscow declare "mission accomplished"?
President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently claimed that "the aim [of demilitarising Ukraine] has largely been achieved", arguing that Ukraine has less and less of its own armaments and is increasingly reliant on weapons from abroad.
And earlier this month more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers, members of the Azov regiment, went on trial in southern Russia. Russia calls Azov a "terrorist group" that harbours neo-Nazis. Could it portray the case as "de-nazification" and stop there?
But there are other indications that "stopping" is not in Putin's plans. In recent appearances on TV, he's come across as confident of victory and dismissive of Ukraine's counter-offensive.
"The enemy is suffering major losses," Putin told a Russian TV reporter this week, adding: "The enemy has no chance."
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Titan sub CEO dismissed safety warnings as 'baseless cries', emails show - BBC News
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2023-06-23
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Warnings over the sub's safety were dismissed by OceanGate's CEO, emails seen by the BBC show.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: A definitive timeline of the Titan's last moments
Warnings over the safety of OceanGate's Titan submersible were repeatedly dismissed by the CEO of the company, email exchanges with a leading deep sea exploration specialist show.
In messages seen by the BBC, Rob McCallum told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush that he was potentially putting his clients at risk and urged him to stop using the sub until it had been certified by an independent agency.
Mr Rush responded that he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".
The tense exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
"I think you are potentially placing yourself and your clients in a dangerous dynamic," he wrote to the OceanGate boss in March 2018. "In your race to Titanic you are mirroring that famous catch cry: 'She is unsinkable'".
In the messages, Mr Rush, who was among five passengers who died when the Titan experienced what officials believe was a "catastrophic implosion" on Sunday, expresses frustration with the criticism of Titan's safety measures.
"We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often," he wrote. "I take this as a serious personal insult."
Mr McCallum told the BBC that he repeatedly urged the company to seek certification for the Titan before using it for commercial tours. The vessel was never certified or classed.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Rob McCallum tells the BBC the deep sea industry tried to halt Titan expeditions
"Until a sub is classed, tested and proven it should not be used for commercial deep dive operations," he wrote in one email.
"I implore you to take every care in your testing and sea trials and to be very, very conservative," he added. "As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk."
In his response a few days later, Mr Rush defended his business and his credentials.
He said OceanGate's "engineering focused, innovative approach... flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy, but that is the nature of innovation".
Throughout the exchange, Mr Rush defended his qualifications and questioned the existing framework around deep sea expeditions.
He said "industry players" were trying to stop "new entrants from entering their small existing market".
"I am well qualified to understand the risks and issues associated with subsea exploration in a new vehicle," he wrote.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: OceanGate boss Stockton Rush on his passion for the seas - and for taking risks
Mr McCallum then responded in stark terms, writing: "It will be sea trials that determine whether the vehicle can handle what you intend to do with it so again; take care and keep safe."
"There is a lot more riding on this than Titan and the Titanic," he said.
Mr Rush founded OceanGate in 2009 and the company offered customers a chance to experience deep sea travel, including to the wreck of the Titanic, on board Titan for a price of $250,000 (£195,600).
The company has not commented on the email exchange.
Experts have questioned the safety of Titan and how private sector deep-sea expeditions are regulated. Concerns have been raised over the Titan's experimental design and the carbon fibre material used to build it.
Mr McCallum was among more than three dozen industry leaders and experts who signed a 2018 letter to Mr Rush that warned OceanGate's approach could lead to "catastrophic" problems.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Businessman says he declined doomed trip on Titan
"The industry has been trying for several years to get Stockton Rush to halt his programme for two reasons," Mr McCallum, a specialist who runs his own ocean expedition company, told the BBC on Friday.
"One is that carbon fibre is not an acceptable material," he said. "The other is that this was the only submersible in the world doing commercial work that was unclassed. It was not certified by an independent agency."
Subs can be certified or "classed" by marine organisations - for example by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) or DNV (a global accreditation organisation based in Norway) or Lloyd's Register.
This essentially means that the vehicle must meet certain standards on aspects including stability, strength, safety and performance. But this process is not mandatory.
In a blog post in 2019, the company said the way it had been designed fell outside of the accepted system - but it "does not mean that OceanGate does not meet standards where they apply."
"Stockton fancied himself as somewhat of a maverick entrepreneur," Mr McCallum said. "He liked to think outside the box, didn't like to be penned in by rules. But there are rules - and then there are sound engineering principles and the laws of physics."
Mr McCallum maintains that nobody should have travelled in the Titan sub.
"If you steer away from sound engineering principles, which are all based on hard won experience, there is a price to pay, and it's a terrible price," he said. "So it should never be allowed to happen again. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen this time."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65998914
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US actor Danny Masterson found guilty on two rape counts - BBC News
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2023-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Three women said the actor sexually assaulted them at his Hollywood home between 2001-03.
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US & Canada
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Masterson arrives at the Los Angeles court to learn his fate with his wife, Bijou Phillips
A jury in Los Angeles has found US actor Danny Masterson guilty on two out of three counts of rape.
The star of That '70s Show, a TV series, faces up to 30 years in prison. He was led from court in handcuffs.
Three women, all former members of the Church of Scientology, accused the actor of sexual assault at his Hollywood home from 2001-03.
Prosecutors argued Masterson had relied on his status as a prominent Scientologist to avoid accountability.
The jury of seven women and five men was unable to reach a verdict on a third count after a week of deliberations, ending up deadlocked at 8-4.
One of his victims, who was raped in 2003, said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press: "I am experiencing a complex array of emotions - relief, exhaustion, strength, sadness - knowing that my abuser, Danny Masterson, will face accountability for his criminal behaviour."
Masterson's wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, wept as he was led away, CBS News reports. Other family and friends sat stone-faced.
Another jury in an earlier trial was unable to reach a verdict in December 2022.
Prosecutors chose to retry Masterson and this time the judge allowed attorneys to present new evidence that had been barred from the first trial.
Though the actor was not charged with drugging his victims, the jury heard testimony that the women had been dosed before he raped them.
Masterson was first accused of rape in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement. He responded by saying that he had not been charged or convicted of a crime, and that in the climate at the time "it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused".
Charges came after a three-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Prosecutors did not file charges in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations expiring.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the Church of Scientology had helped cover up the assaults - an allegation the organisation has categorically denied.
In a statement after the verdict was announced, the International Church of Scientology claimed prosecutors' attacks on the Church during the trial were "an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment".
"The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding," the organisation wrote on Twitter. "The District Attorney unconscionably centred his prosecution on the defendant's religion."
At the time of the assaults, Masterson and all three of his accusers were Scientologists. Several of the women said it took them years to come forward because Church of Scientology officials discouraged them from reporting the rape to police.
Instead, they were forced to rely on the Church's "internal justice system", prosecutors said.
Scientology officials told one survivor she would be kicked out of the Church unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement and accepted a payment of $400,000 (£320,000), according to prosecutors.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed both sides to discuss the dogma and practices of Scientology.
But Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told jurors during the trial: "The Church taught his victims, 'Rape isn't rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement.'"
In its statement, the Church said there was "not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers".
Throughout the trial, the defence tried to undermine the credibility of the "Jane Does" by focusing on inconsistencies in their testimony and their supposed drive to get "revenge" against their former Church.
During closing arguments, Masterson's defence lawyer said of the survivors: "If you are looking for motives why people are not being truthful… there are motives all over the place."
Although the Church of Scientology was not a defendant in the case, before closing arguments began, a lawyer with ties to the Church emailed the district attorney's office to complain about the way the Church was portrayed during the retrial.
The defence also argued that the prosecution had relied heavily on testimony about drugging because there was an absence of evidence of any force or violence.
Masterson's lawyers tried, unsuccessfully, to have a mistrial declared.
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Donald Trump recorded saying he kept classified file after leaving office - BBC News
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2023-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Prosecutors investigating the former president's handling of classified files obtain an audio tape.
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US & Canada
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The justice department is investigating Donald Trump's handling of classified documents after he left office
US prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of Donald Trump in which he acknowledges keeping a classified document after leaving the White House.
CNN first reported that investigators had the tape, and people familiar with the matter later told the BBC's US partner CBS this was the case.
The justice department is investigating Mr Trump's handling of classified material. He denies wrongdoing.
The inquiry is reported to be nearing its end and could result in charges.
The audio recording is said to be from a meeting at Mr Trump's New Jersey golf club in July 2021, which is around six months after he left office.
Two people familiar with the matter told CBS that Mr Trump can be heard acknowledging there are national security restrictions on a military memo because it details a potential attack on Iran.
He says it is still classified and should have been declassified before leaving the White House, one person said.
Mr Trump also says he wants to share information from the document but knows his ability to declassify it is limited because he is no longer president, CNN reported.
It is not clear whether Mr Trump had the document during the meeting or was just describing it to several aides who were there. Other reports suggest the sound of rustling paper can be heard.
The tape appears to contradict Mr Trump's repeated argument that he declassified all material he removed from the White House. It could also prove to be a key piece of evidence if prosecutors seek to show the former president was aware he should not be in possession of classified documents.
Neither the BBC or CBS News have listened to the audio and it has not been made public.
It has been handed over to justice department investigators who are being overseen by special prosecutor Jack Smith.
Their investigation, which has ramped up in recent weeks, is examining the removal of hundreds of classified government documents from the White House which were then taken to Mr Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, after he left office.
Investigators are assessing how these documents were stored and who may have had access to them. They are also examining how his team responded to a request for security footage from his Florida estate.
Mr Smith will ultimately decide whether the former president should face criminal charges. Among other statutes, the justice department believes Mr Trump may have violated the Espionage Act by keeping national security information after he left office.
Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, faces several other legal investigations. He was recently indicted in New York over hush money payments made to a porn star. He has pleaded not guilty.
He is also the subject of an investigation in Georgia over his alleged efforts to try and overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-65775163
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news_world-us-canada-65775163
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Ukraine war: Russia blames shelling inside border town on Kyiv - BBC News
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2023-06-01
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Shelling in the Russian region of Belgorod wounds eight people and strikes in Kyiv kill three people, officials say.
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Europe
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For Ukraine, the answer is obvious. Yes, because once it is inside the protective shelter of the Western alliance then any future attacks by Russia would oblige the whole of Nato to come to its defence - with troops, not just equipment.
The former US Army Commander in Europe, Lt.Gen Ben Hodges, told the BBC: "Europe will be safer with Ukraine in Nato. Russia won’t attack Ukraine once it’s in Nato".
He said the coming Nato summit in Vilnius would be a huge failure of credibility if there was no clear message about the inevitability of Ukraine joining Nato.
But on the other side of the argument, this would raise the stakes dramatically. What if Ukraine’s future Nato membership failed to deter Russian aggression and conflict erupted on its borders?
That would mean Nato was then at war with Russia, with all the accompanying risks of nuclear escalation.
Russian nationalists, including President Putin, already consider Nato's eastwards expansion to be an intolerable provocation.
It’s hard to predict how Moscow would react to Europe’s second largest nation, and a place some consider to be a part of Russia, joining an alliance that it now views as an implacable enemy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-65774993
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Why has Labour U-turned on its green investment pledge? - BBC News
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2023-06-09
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With the cost of borrowing up, the £28bn of investment is more expensive to deliver, says the BBC's Iain Watson.
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UK Politics
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The promise was clear. And it was prominent.
At Labour's 2021 conference, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her ambition to be the UK's first "green" chancellor.
To stress her bona fides, she pledged to invest £28bn a year, every year to 2030 to "green" the economy.
Labour's Green Prosperity Plan was one of its defining policies. It gave the party a clear dividing line with government.
Ms Reeves said there would be "no dither, and no delay" in tackling the climate crisis.
It was also an answer to the government's "levelling up" pledge.
The borrowed cash would underpin well-paid jobs in every corner of the UK in the energy sector.
So why has Ms Reeves kicked the pledge into the second half of the next Parliament, if Labour wins?
The first reason is obvious.
Ms Reeves now says she was "green" - in a different sense of the word - in 2021, in that she hadn't foreseen what then-Prime Minister Liz Truss would do to the economy.
With interest rates up, the cost of borrowing rises too, making the £28bn pledge more expensive to deliver.
And Ms Reeves wants to emphasise that if any spending commitments clash with her fiscal rules, the rules would win every time.
But did the £28bn green pledge really clash with her rules?
In their own detailed briefing on their fiscal rules, Labour said: "It is essential that for our future prosperity that we retain the ability to borrow for investing in capital projects which over time will pay for themselves.
"And that is why our target for eliminating the deficit excludes investment."
So borrowing to invest in the future technology and jobs shouldn't fall foul of that fiscal rule.
But there is another rule which Ms Reeves cited this morning - to have debt falling as a percentage of GDP or Gross Domestic Product, a measure of economic activity.
Meeting that rule may have contributed to putting the £28bn on the backburner - though I remember at the 2021 conference some senior Labour figures questioning the wisdom of borrowing the equivalent of half the defence budget every year even then.
And some senior figures in Labour are far less convinced that £28bn would necessarily bust the debt rule - economic forecasts can change by far greater margins.
One of the other justifications for the change of position is that £28bn shouldn't be poured in to the economy straight away.
That's because it will take time to train workers, to create and bolster supply chains. Hence "ramping up" to £28bn.
One shadow minister said that while today's announcement felt like a bit of a handbrake turn, it was nonetheless inevitable and sensible.
The scale of the ambition remained the same, but pragmatically the shadow chancellor was simply not committing to spending which would be difficult to deliver.
But all this must have been known in 2021, too.
So why announce the U-turn today?
The change of position was discussed within Labour's Treasury team for some time.
Engagement with investors convinced them the government itself may not need to pump in a huge amount of cash straight away - the private sector would provide green jobs without state help.
And while Ms Reeves has ditched the £28bn pledge in the first half of the Parliament, this doesn't mean that a Labour government would spend nothing on its Green Prosperity Plan.
I understand cash will be prioritised for projects where the private sector would not commit without state assistance - nuclear and hydrogen for example.
But it seems clear that politics and not just economics played a role in today's announcement.
There have been grumbles and growls over how the policy has landed over the past two years within Labour's ranks and internal criticism has increased, not receded.
One concern was that the amount to be borrowed - the £28bn - was better known than what the money would buy - from home insulation and heat pumps to new carbon capture technology.
But it was crystal clear this week that the Conservatives felt that they had seen a vulnerability that could be exploited.
The front page of the Daily Mail blared this week about the alleged dangers of the policy - the extra borrowing would put up interest and therefore mortgage costs.
The independent Institute for Fiscal Studies was also being cited by Conservative ministers.
Its director Paul Johnson had warned that while additional borrowing would pump money in to the economy, it also drives up interest rates.
As Labour has been attacking the Conservatives for their handling of the economy, and the "mortgage premium" they claim the government has caused, it was understandable that they did not want the same attack to be aimed at them, and Ms Reeves this morning sought to eliminate a potential negative.
As one Labour shadow minister put it: "They [the Conservatives] will be pulling their hair out that one of their attack lines has failed."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rachel Reeves says Labour will now "ramp up" its plan to spend £28bn a year on green industries
Some in Labour's ranks, though, believe the party should have insulated (no pun intended) itself from attack by making the case more stridently that borrowing to invest is different from borrowing to meet day-to-day spending.
Labour's opinion poll lead is wide but pessimists in their ranks fear it is shallow.
Establishing economic credibility is seen as key.
But while it may have been the lesser of two evils, today's change of tack isn't cost-free.
The party has committed to achieve a net-zero power system by 2030.
But with potentially significantly less investment, is this target in danger too?
And unlike many of the left-wing commitments that have been ditched - where the leadership don't really mind the backlash - this was the shadow chancellor watering down her own highest-profile pledge.
That in itself has allowed the Conservatives to shout about Labour's economic plans being "in tatters".
As Labour is still committed to its Green Prosperity Plan - just not the original timescale - they will still claim they have clear dividing lines with the government.
But one of their key arguments has been this: With the US pouring subsidies in to domestic green industries, the UK will get left behind if it doesn't follow suit. And fast.
A delay doesn't destroy - but it does potentially weaken - the Labour case.
But there is another concern amongst those who are most certainly not on the Corbyn left.
Emphasising competence and fiscal credibility over climate change commitments could leave some target voters cold.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65857109
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Plaid Cymru: Rhun ap Iorwerth set to be new leader - BBC News
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2023-06-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The last two Senedd members who could have run in the contest confirm they will not challenge him.
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Wales
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As things stand Rhun ap Iorwerth will become leader next Friday
Rhun ap Iorwerth is set to become the new Plaid Cymru leader.
The last two members of Plaid's Senedd group who had not ruled out standing against him have now confirmed they will not be entering the contest.
Deputy leader Sian Gwenllian and Sioned Williams made the announcement in a joint statement on Friday morning.
Only Senedd members (MSs) can lead Plaid Cymru and, unless there is a U-turn from a Plaid MS, Mr ap Iorwerth will become leader next week.
Nominations are due to close on 16 June.
Plaid Cymru has been looking for a new leader since Adam Price stood down in May.
It followed reports that a toxic culture of harassment, bullying and misogyny had become worse under his leadership.
In their joint statement, Ms Gwenllian and Ms Williams said: "We are not putting our names forward as candidates for the leadership of Plaid Cymru, although we agree with comments made by former leader Leanne Wood in an interview this week that a woman would have been the best choice to lead Plaid Cymru at this time.
"We will campaign to introduce a new model of joint leadership in the future which would be more inclusive and ensure equality."
The Green Party of England and Wales has a joint leadership structure, meaning a man and a woman share the responsibility of leading the party.
The other Plaid Senedd members who were eligible to run for Plaid Cymru leader were Mabon ap Gwynfor, Cefin Campbell, Luke Fletcher, Heledd Fychan, Llŷr Huws Gruffydd, Delyth Jewell, Elin Jones, and Peredur Owen Griffiths.
But they have all ruled themselves out of the race.
Adam Price quit as leader after a report found misogyny, harassment and bullying in Plaid Cymru
Ynys Môn Senedd member Mr ap Iorwerth announced he would be standing in a video published on Twitter.
In the video he said he was looking forward to playing his part in uniting the party.
He said previously it must offer a vision of Wales as "confident, fair, green, prosperous", and on a "journey to independence".
Mr ap Iorwerth is currently the party's joint deputy leader, alongside Ms Gwenllian, and has been Plaid health spokesman in recent years.
He has been a vocal critic of the Welsh government's record on the troubled Betsi Cadwaladr health board in north Wales.
He also ran for the leadership in 2018, when Mr Price replaced Leanne Wood.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood would like to see a woman as the party's new head
On Friday, former Plaid Cymru chairman Alun Ffred Jones told BBC Radio Cymru he believed "a contest within a party is a good thing in almost all circumstances, but if the more experienced people didn't want to stand for various reasons, there we are".
"And if there is to be only one candidate, it's important that the party unites behind Rhun," he said.
He added: "I don't see much of an argument in just putting your name forward, it's not the same as applying for a job just to get an interview and seeing how it goes.
"Anyone who stands for the leadership has to be in a position where they're confident they can deliver in the role."
He said Rhun ap Iorwerth needed to "put his own stamp on things" and "turn our attention back to things that matter to the majority of people, and not on internal matters and things that are of marginal concern to most people."
Plaid Cymru said there were "no plans" to change the closing date for nominations.
It added: "Plaid Cymru members will have the opportunity over the next week to nominate candidates for the party leadership through their local constituencies."
"The next leader of Plaid Cymru will be announced on Friday 16 June."
For a leadership contest with only one candidate, this has been a far from straightforward process for Plaid Cymru.
Adam Price stepped down as leader in the wake of a report identifying a culture of misogyny within the party, so it isn't surprising that calls for a woman to take charge have gained a lot of support.
But the final two MSs to declare their intentions, Sian Gwenllian and Sioned Williams, have decided the leadership isn't for them - leaving the way clear for Ynys Môn MS Rhun ap Iorwerth.
The suggestion by Ms Williams for a "co-leader" muddies the waters further. A co-leader needs someone else to get involved - but who?
Plaid Cymru say the official timetable, with nominations closing in a week, hasn't changed - so Mr ap Iorwerth still has seven days to wait - unless someone changes their mind at the last minute.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65850741
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Starmer vows to stop oil and gas communities withering - BBC News
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2023-06-09
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader addressed the GMB after union leaders criticised his green energy plans.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Starmer says he will not let the oil and gas industries become a "repeat" of the coal mines.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to protect communities from "decimation" after being warned Labour's policies would lead to job losses in oil and gas.
Labour has pledged to ban new licences for oil and gas production in the UK
Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, said Labour's policy risked creating "a cliff-edge" for jobs.
But speaking at the union's conference, Sir Keir promised to prevent a re-run of what happened when coal mines closed, in oil and gas communities.
"What I will never let happen is a repeat of what happened in coal mining where an industry came to an end and nobody had planned for the future," the Labour leader said.
"We're still living with the consequences, we cannot allow that to happen."
A 2019 report by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust found former mining communities were more socially disadvantaged, with higher than average unemployment and ill health.
Labour has pledged to achieve zero carbon energy in the UK by 2030 if elected.
At last year's Labour conference, Sir Keir said he would make the UK the first major economy in the world to generate all of its electricity without using fossil fuels. An emergency back-up capacity of 0.7% of fossil fuel electricity production would be kept on standby.
The party has said a Labour government would also stop issuing new licences for oil and gas production in the UK - a move which has prompted fury from both the industry and unions.
GMB leader Gary Smith said it would be "a huge mistake to put all the nation's eggs in one energy basket"
Sir Keir has been keen to portray Labour as the party prepared to seize the future.
But some of Labour's big union funders, including the GMB whose members include workers in the fossil fuel industries, are concerned by some of the green plans.
He was forced to defend his energy policy after being asked by a delegate what he had to say to communities that would be "decimated" by the end of oil and gas production in the North Sea.
"Oil and gas are going to be part of the mix for decades to come, into the 2050s. I don't think that part of our argument is heard loud enough or clear enough," he said.
He told the GMB conference in Brighton there was a "race on" across the world "to seize the next generation of jobs, in new nuclear, in renewables".
"If we don't seize that opportunity, I genuinely think that future generations will never forgive us for repeating the mistake that was made when the coal mines were closed down," he added.
Labour had estimated there were "hundreds of thousands of jobs" to be created in renewable energy, including 50,000 in Scotland, Sir Keir said.
In his speech to the GMB, he said: "For too long, Britain has allowed the opportunities of the new energy technologies to pass us by.
"Without a plan, the energy industries that we rely on will wither and decline."
There are some in Labour's ranks who believe the party's entire energy plan - its defining policy- is not being communicated loudly or clearly enough
Some senior figures have expressed fears that Labour's opponents will focus on the long-standing pledge to borrow £28bn a year to fund its drive for green energy. Meanwhile there are concerns the party leadership has not argued strongly enough for the benefits.
The North Sea Transition Authority estimates the UK oil and gas industry directly employs about 30,000 people and indirectly supports 100,000 jobs.
The oil and gas industry was estimated to be worth £28bn in 2022, according to the OEUK - the UK offshore energy industry body.
Sir Keir used his speech to make the same case President Joe Biden did in his flagship Inflation Reduction Act, that green jobs are a boon to working people.
He told the conference: "President Biden once said: 'When I hear climate change, I think jobs.'
"When Labour sets out our mission for Britain to become a clean energy super power, we are thinking jobs too."
Sir Keir also promised Labour would use public procurement to help create "unionised jobs" in the UK.
"There's a framework for public procurement, at the heart of which is dignity and respect, and we expect to see unionised jobs, and support unionised industries".
The Labour leader backed calls to force Amazon to recognise the GMB after the union signed up more than 600 people to stage walkouts over pay at a factory in Coventry.
"We will strengthen the role of trade unions in our society, and I want to see Amazon and businesses like it recognise unions," he said.
GMB sources suggested members were heartened by Sir Keir's vision for employment and the economy.
But the union would keep pressing for what sources called "a proper understanding" of the nation's energy challenges, they said.
It looks like the Labour leader will have to expend some energy to keep some in the wider labour movement onside.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65822211
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Switzerland referendum: Voters back carbon cuts as glaciers melt - BBC News
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2023-06-19
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A new law will require less dependence on imported oil and gas and more use of renewable sources.
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Europe
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Voters in Switzerland have backed a new climate bill designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The government says the country needs to protect its energy security and the environment, as glaciers melt rapidly in the Swiss Alps.
The law will require a move away from dependence on imported oil and gas towards the use of renewable sources.
In Sunday's referendum 59.1% of voters backed the green energy proposals.
Opponents had argued the measures would push up energy prices.
Nearly all of Switzerland's major parties supported the bill, except the right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP), which triggered the referendum after pushing back against the government's proposals.
Switzerland imports about three-quarters of its energy, with all the oil and natural gas consumed coming from abroad.
The climate bill pledges financial support of 2bn Swiss francs ($2.2bn; £1.7bn) over a decade to promote the replacement of gas or oil heating systems with climate-friendly alternatives, and SFr1.2bn to push businesses towards green innovation.
It comes as glaciers in the Alps are at particular risk of rising temperatures due to climate change. They lost a third of their ice volume between 2001 and 2022.
Leading Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss, who has closely followed the glaciers' retreat, hailed the "strong signal" sent by Sunday's vote, saying on Twitter that he was "very happy the arguments of climate science were heard".
Socialist Party parliamentarian Valerie Piller Carrard said it was "an important step for future generations".
Voters also overwhelmingly backed plans to introduce a global minimum tax of 15% for multinational corporations in a second referendum, with 78.5% in favour.
In 2021, Switzerland joined almost 140 countries that signed up to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) deal to set a minimum tax rate for big companies.
Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter hailed the "very strong acceptance rate" for the plan to amend the constitution so Switzerland can join the agreement.
Participation in Sunday's referendums was about 42%.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65946888
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news_world-europe-65946888
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Starmer vows to stop oil and gas communities withering - BBC News
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2023-06-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader addressed the GMB after union leaders criticised his green energy plans.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Starmer says he will not let the oil and gas industries become a "repeat" of the coal mines.
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to protect communities from "decimation" after being warned Labour's policies would lead to job losses in oil and gas.
Labour has pledged to ban new licences for oil and gas production in the UK
Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB, said Labour's policy risked creating "a cliff-edge" for jobs.
But speaking at the union's conference, Sir Keir promised to prevent a re-run of what happened when coal mines closed, in oil and gas communities.
"What I will never let happen is a repeat of what happened in coal mining where an industry came to an end and nobody had planned for the future," the Labour leader said.
"We're still living with the consequences, we cannot allow that to happen."
A 2019 report by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust found former mining communities were more socially disadvantaged, with higher than average unemployment and ill health.
Labour has pledged to achieve zero carbon energy in the UK by 2030 if elected.
At last year's Labour conference, Sir Keir said he would make the UK the first major economy in the world to generate all of its electricity without using fossil fuels. An emergency back-up capacity of 0.7% of fossil fuel electricity production would be kept on standby.
The party has said a Labour government would also stop issuing new licences for oil and gas production in the UK - a move which has prompted fury from both the industry and unions.
GMB leader Gary Smith said it would be "a huge mistake to put all the nation's eggs in one energy basket"
Sir Keir has been keen to portray Labour as the party prepared to seize the future.
But some of Labour's big union funders, including the GMB whose members include workers in the fossil fuel industries, are concerned by some of the green plans.
He was forced to defend his energy policy after being asked by a delegate what he had to say to communities that would be "decimated" by the end of oil and gas production in the North Sea.
"Oil and gas are going to be part of the mix for decades to come, into the 2050s. I don't think that part of our argument is heard loud enough or clear enough," he said.
He told the GMB conference in Brighton there was a "race on" across the world "to seize the next generation of jobs, in new nuclear, in renewables".
"If we don't seize that opportunity, I genuinely think that future generations will never forgive us for repeating the mistake that was made when the coal mines were closed down," he added.
Labour had estimated there were "hundreds of thousands of jobs" to be created in renewable energy, including 50,000 in Scotland, Sir Keir said.
In his speech to the GMB, he said: "For too long, Britain has allowed the opportunities of the new energy technologies to pass us by.
"Without a plan, the energy industries that we rely on will wither and decline."
There are some in Labour's ranks who believe the party's entire energy plan - its defining policy- is not being communicated loudly or clearly enough
Some senior figures have expressed fears that Labour's opponents will focus on the long-standing pledge to borrow £28bn a year to fund its drive for green energy. Meanwhile there are concerns the party leadership has not argued strongly enough for the benefits.
The North Sea Transition Authority estimates the UK oil and gas industry directly employs about 30,000 people and indirectly supports 100,000 jobs.
The oil and gas industry was estimated to be worth £28bn in 2022, according to the OEUK - the UK offshore energy industry body.
Sir Keir used his speech to make the same case President Joe Biden did in his flagship Inflation Reduction Act, that green jobs are a boon to working people.
He told the conference: "President Biden once said: 'When I hear climate change, I think jobs.'
"When Labour sets out our mission for Britain to become a clean energy super power, we are thinking jobs too."
Sir Keir also promised Labour would use public procurement to help create "unionised jobs" in the UK.
"There's a framework for public procurement, at the heart of which is dignity and respect, and we expect to see unionised jobs, and support unionised industries".
The Labour leader backed calls to force Amazon to recognise the GMB after the union signed up more than 600 people to stage walkouts over pay at a factory in Coventry.
"We will strengthen the role of trade unions in our society, and I want to see Amazon and businesses like it recognise unions," he said.
GMB sources suggested members were heartened by Sir Keir's vision for employment and the economy.
But the union would keep pressing for what sources called "a proper understanding" of the nation's energy challenges, they said.
It looks like the Labour leader will have to expend some energy to keep some in the wider labour movement onside.
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Prince Harry: How did he handle his day in court? - BBC News
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2023-06-06
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Prince Harry becomes the first royal in modern times to face cross-examination in court.
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UK
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Prince Harry arriving at the High Court where he spent the day being cross-examined
This was Prince Harry's highly-anticipated day in court - and by the end he sounded increasingly weary, but still doggedly sticking to his arguments.
There were no clear-cut knock-out arguments, no courtroom fireworks, no angry outbursts - instead it was a rather intense stalemate.
The Mirror's barrister Andrew Green has been described as a "beast" in court, but in this case he was more of a well-mannered bulldozer, repeatedly ramming into the prince's allegations of phone hacking.
Prince Harry sat behind a desk and computer screen, water at hand, quietly answering questions for hours about tabloid news stories that mirrored his life since childhood.
"My mind's gone blank for a second," he said at one point, but there was no bristling or irritation about the cross-examining, when royals might be accustomed to more stagey, softball interviews.
The historic hearing was in a modern, open-plan courtroom, full of strip-lighting, modular furniture and boxes of paper, more like the set of The Office than a Victorian court drama.
Like everything else in Prince Harry's life, there was huge press attention here, with a packed courtroom, hovering helicopters and banks of TV cameras and photographers crowded around the court entrance, fighting to get the best pictures for this press intrusion story.
When the hearing had begun this morning, Prince Harry initially seemed hesitant, but he changed the mood with a nervous joke about juggling with so many files of documents.
"You've got me doing a work-out," he told the court.
And he seemed to grow in confidence, with an increasingly frequently repeated reply to questions about his hacking claims.
When Prince Harry was asked whether he thought the disputed news stories were based on unlawfully gathered information - he said why not ask the journalists who wrote them.
"I do not believe that as a witness it's my job to deconstruct the article or be able to answer which parts are unlawfully obtained and which aren't. I think the journalist themselves should be doing that," he said in one reply.
Prince Harry's approach was not to get dragged into the detail
The Mirror's barrister kept drilling away at the foundations of Prince Harry's claims - saying they were "in the realms of total speculation".
In particular he highlighted that a number of these disputed Mirror news stories had already been published in other newspapers or news agencies.
Or in the case of a story about Prince Harry's role in a school army cadet force, the Mirror's lawyer said the story seemed to have come directly from a Palace press release, rather than any more nefarious sources.
The question left hanging in the air was why would hacking have even been necessary if the key information in these stories had already been openly published elsewhere?
Prince Harry's approach was not to get dragged into the detail - "if you say so" - he said ironically a number of times in response to questions.
Instead he got in some spiky barbs of his own. He cast much doubt on the credibility of the terms "royal sources" and "insiders" used in royal reporting.
And he talked about the "paranoia" created by the constant sense of intrusion into his private life, making him suspicious of everyone around him. Even going to the doctor at school was a worry for him, in case medical information was leaked.
There were unexpectedly wide attacks in his witness statement - claiming that the state of the government, as well as the press, was at "rock bottom", and this was from someone who remains a counsellor of state, although no longer a "working royal".
He has an almost evangelical ire, driving him forward, with his battle to change the media his "life's work".
There were glimpses too into the sheer oddness of his life.
"I don't walk down the street," he said emphatically, in questions about a news story about meeting friends in a Fulham restaurant.
That was because of security and he said it as if it were an obvious matter of fact, that the everyday pavements were off limits to him.
While the focus of the High Court was on the machinery of the legal process, there's no escaping that the public fascination in this spectacle was to see a senior royal facing questioning as a witness in open court.
The last time it was Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, in the 19th Century. It's been something of a taboo for royals in modern times, for fear of uncorking something that couldn't be put back into the bottle.
It's also a lonely place, in court on his own, with the gulf from the rest of the Royal Family seeming even wider.
But Prince Harry emerged from court so far unscathed, got into his car and was driven away into the London streets, where he says he never feels able to walk.
He'll be back for more of this journey, even further away from his comfort zone than his Californian home, for further questions on Wednesday morning.
Read the latest from our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan - sign up here.
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Route to Scottish independence must be lawful - SNP leader Humza Yousaf - BBC News
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2023-06-24
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The SNP leader says if his party wins a majority of general election seats he will call for the legal means to hold a democratic referendum.
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Scotland politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. First Minister Humza Yousaf said the only route to independence was through "lawful and democratic process".
Humza Yousaf has told a special SNP conference that greater support for Scottish independence must be built ahead of the next general election.
He said if the party won a majority of seats north of the border he would press the UK government for powers to hold a second referendum.
Scotland's first minister added the only route to independence was through "lawful and democratic process".
Both Labour and the Tories are opposed to further talks on another vote.
But Mr Yousaf told a convention in Dundee that his party would stand on the proposition that people could "vote SNP for an independent Scotland".
He later told BBC Scotland: "We will put the simple proposition to the people in a general election because a referendum is being denied to us.
"If we win that general election we will then negotiate with the UK government of how we give it democratic effect.
"If it is a referendum or simply the general election that is of course for the UK government to determine because they have told us time and time again this is a voluntary union. If so then prove it."
The first minister said an election win would mean securing the most seats in Scotland - even if the party ends up with fewer than the 45 it currently holds.
Mr Yousaf also told the convention a summer campaign would focus on the "opportunities of independence" and announced a major march and rally would be held in Edinburgh on 2 September.
The convention was held at the same time as an independence rally in Stirling
Mr Yousaf's speech was interrupted by a protestor demanding a public inquiry into NHS Tayside about its disgraced former head of neurosurgery Sam Eljamel.
The SNP leader stopped his address and went to speak to the woman before returning to the stage after arranging to meet her later.
Several other senior SNP politicians also addressed the convention on both the route to independence and its general election strategy.
As well as contributions from the floor it also featured "interactive activist workshops".
Earlier, there was tributes to former SNP MP Winnie Ewing, an icon of the independence movement who died earlier this week at the age of 93.
The event will also be used to kickstart a summer programme of independence campaigning, which the party said would include leafleting, canvassing and regional assemblies.
There has been criticism from some within the SNP and wider Yes movement of the decision to only allow party members to attend the convention, which is being held at the same time as an All Under One Banner independence march in Stirling.
Former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who now heads the Alba Party, has been among those calling for a cross-party convention to be created that would include the SNP, Alba and other independence supporting parties and organisations.
He also wants an agreement that would see only one pro-independence candidate stand in each constituency at the general election - a proposal which seems unlikely to be accepted by the SNP.
In the heat and humidity of the hall, it sounded like Humza Yousaf was going for what's been called a "de facto referendum".
That was using a general election to begin negotiations on independence if won.
In the coolness of a briefing room, SNP insiders made clear it's not that - it's a nuanced approach.
In the the most basic way, it's about contesting the general election according to the rules of the game.
Success is measured by seats won - whereas in a de facto referendum, success is measured by the popular vote
It's about saying to the UK government - prove that it's a voluntary union and if the SNP succeed then a referendum should be granted.
The ball is in their court, the SNP say.
This approach squares off difficulties - Mr Yousaf has commanded that marches are used to drum up support - that takes them away from the fringes.
It also neatly gets away from the need to get 50% of the vote - "polls are tight", Mr Yousaf noted.
Members I spoke to were enthused. That's the point - this is about injecting momentum back into the movement.
Despite the widespread assumption that Brexit and Boris Johnson would be gifts for the independence movement, Nicola Sturgeon - who was recently described by Mr Yousaf as being Europe's most impressive politician - did not manage to consistently push support for leaving the UK above 50%.
The UK government repeatedly refused to give her permission to hold a referendum despite the SNP's electoral successes during Ms Sturgeon's eight years as first minister and party leader.
The Yes movement was dealt a further blow last November when the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish government did not have the powers to hold a vote without that permission being in place.
Ms Sturgeon's response to the court ruling was to propose treating next year's general election as a "de facto referendum".
If the SNP won more than 50% of the votes in the election it would regard it as an endorsement of independence, and the party would then attempt to open negotiations with the UK government.
The UK government would have been under no legal obligation to do so, however, and the plan was deeply unpopular among many SNP MPs, with Stewart MacDonald - previously seen as being one of Ms Sturgeon's staunchest allies - openly criticising it.
Mr Yousaf had previously distanced himself from a "de facto referendum" plan during the contest to succeed Ms Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister earlier this year.
With polls suggesting support for the party has fallen in recent months his attempt to resurrect it will be seen as a big gamble.
The SNP leadership has also consistently ruled out holding a referendum that was not seen as being legally binding.
Mr Yousaf has previously said he wants to be the "first activist" as well as first minister
Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said independence support is running at an average of 48% in recent polls - higher than support for the SNP itself.
A Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times last weekend put the SNP at 34% for the next general election and suggested that the party could be on course to win fewer seats than Scottish Labour, a prospect that would have seemed almost unthinkable a year ago.
The past few months have seen both Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell being arrested and their home searched as part of an ongoing police probe into the SNP's funding and finances.
Both were later released without charge while further inquiries were carried out.
There has also been controversy over the Scottish government's handling of issues ranging from ferries and NHS waiting lists to gender reform and the deposit return scheme.
Following Mr Yousaf's address Scottish Conservative constitution spokesman Donald Cameron said the first minister had "decided to abandon the pretence he is governing for the whole country".
He added: "The latest push of his independence obsession appears to be an even more extreme version of Nicola Sturgeon's unpopular de facto referendum strategy.
"The SNP delegation that bothered to turn up to Dundee are speaking to themselves about their number one priority while people are struggling with the global cost-of-living crisis and our public services are under incredible pressure."
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray accused the first minister of "clearly preparing for failure" with his plans.
He said: "We need a government focused on tackling the urgent challenges we face - from the cost of living crisis to the chaos in our NHS to a declining economy - but in the SNP we have a tired party rehashing the same old tired arguments.
"Today has laid bare just how bereft of fresh ideas the SNP truly is - even when it comes to their driving constitutional obsession."
And Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "The SNP have put on an entire conference dedicated to demonstrating how tired, out of touch and bereft of ideas they are.
"Nobody believes Humza Yousaf's plan is going to lead to the break-up of the UK. It's a desperate ploy to appease a dwindling band of single-minded nationalist activists."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-65998210
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Titan sub CEO dismissed safety warnings as 'baseless cries', emails show - BBC News
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2023-06-24
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Warnings over the sub's safety were dismissed by OceanGate's CEO, emails seen by the BBC show.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: A definitive timeline of the Titan's last moments
Warnings over the safety of OceanGate's Titan submersible were repeatedly dismissed by the CEO of the company, email exchanges with a leading deep sea exploration specialist show.
In messages seen by the BBC, Rob McCallum told OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush that he was potentially putting his clients at risk and urged him to stop using the sub until it had been certified by an independent agency.
Mr Rush responded that he was "tired of industry players who try to use a safety argument to stop innovation".
The tense exchange ended after OceanGate's lawyers threatened legal action, Mr McCallum said.
"I think you are potentially placing yourself and your clients in a dangerous dynamic," he wrote to the OceanGate boss in March 2018. "In your race to Titanic you are mirroring that famous catch cry: 'She is unsinkable'".
In the messages, Mr Rush, who was among five passengers who died when the Titan experienced what officials believe was a "catastrophic implosion" on Sunday, expresses frustration with the criticism of Titan's safety measures.
"We have heard the baseless cries of 'you are going to kill someone' way too often," he wrote. "I take this as a serious personal insult."
Mr McCallum told the BBC that he repeatedly urged the company to seek certification for the Titan before using it for commercial tours. The vessel was never certified or classed.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Rob McCallum tells the BBC the deep sea industry tried to halt Titan expeditions
"Until a sub is classed, tested and proven it should not be used for commercial deep dive operations," he wrote in one email.
"I implore you to take every care in your testing and sea trials and to be very, very conservative," he added. "As much as I appreciate entrepreneurship and innovation, you are potentially putting an entire industry at risk."
In his response a few days later, Mr Rush defended his business and his credentials.
He said OceanGate's "engineering focused, innovative approach... flies in the face of the submersible orthodoxy, but that is the nature of innovation".
Throughout the exchange, Mr Rush defended his qualifications and questioned the existing framework around deep sea expeditions.
He said "industry players" were trying to stop "new entrants from entering their small existing market".
"I am well qualified to understand the risks and issues associated with subsea exploration in a new vehicle," he wrote.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: OceanGate boss Stockton Rush on his passion for the seas - and for taking risks
Mr McCallum then responded in stark terms, writing: "It will be sea trials that determine whether the vehicle can handle what you intend to do with it so again; take care and keep safe."
"There is a lot more riding on this than Titan and the Titanic," he said.
Mr Rush founded OceanGate in 2009 and the company offered customers a chance to experience deep sea travel, including to the wreck of the Titanic, on board Titan for a price of $250,000 (£195,600).
The company has not commented on the email exchange.
Experts have questioned the safety of Titan and how private sector deep-sea expeditions are regulated. Concerns have been raised over the Titan's experimental design and the carbon fibre material used to build it.
Mr McCallum was among more than three dozen industry leaders and experts who signed a 2018 letter to Mr Rush that warned OceanGate's approach could lead to "catastrophic" problems.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Businessman says he declined doomed trip on Titan
"The industry has been trying for several years to get Stockton Rush to halt his programme for two reasons," Mr McCallum, a specialist who runs his own ocean expedition company, told the BBC on Friday.
"One is that carbon fibre is not an acceptable material," he said. "The other is that this was the only submersible in the world doing commercial work that was unclassed. It was not certified by an independent agency."
Subs can be certified or "classed" by marine organisations - for example by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) or DNV (a global accreditation organisation based in Norway) or Lloyd's Register.
This essentially means that the vehicle must meet certain standards on aspects including stability, strength, safety and performance. But this process is not mandatory.
In a blog post in 2019, the company said the way it had been designed fell outside of the accepted system - but it "does not mean that OceanGate does not meet standards where they apply."
"Stockton fancied himself as somewhat of a maverick entrepreneur," Mr McCallum said. "He liked to think outside the box, didn't like to be penned in by rules. But there are rules - and then there are sound engineering principles and the laws of physics."
Mr McCallum maintains that nobody should have travelled in the Titan sub.
"If you steer away from sound engineering principles, which are all based on hard won experience, there is a price to pay, and it's a terrible price," he said. "So it should never be allowed to happen again. It shouldn't have been allowed to happen this time."
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Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner chief blames war on defence minister - BBC News
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2023-06-24
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Yevgeny Prigozhin claims Vladimir Putin and the country have been deceived by Sergei Shoigu.
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World
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Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has been blamed for starting war
We're used to hearing Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ranting and raving at Russia's military leadership - particularly at defence minister Sergei Shoigu - for problems on the battlefield.
Public infighting between the Wagner mercenary group and the Ministry of Defence isn't new.
In his latest video tirade via Telegram, Prigozhin blames Shoigu for starting Russia's war in Ukraine in February last year.
Speaking first about the fighting in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014 after Russia's military intervention, Prigozhin said: "We were hitting them, and they were hitting us. That's how it went on for those eight long years, from 2014 to 2022. Sometimes the number of skirmishes would increase, sometimes decrease."
"On 24 February [2022] there was nothing extraordinary happening there. Now the Ministry of Defence is trying to deceive the public, deceive the president and tell a story that there was some crazy aggression by Ukraine, that - together with the whole Nato bloc - Ukraine was planning to attack us.
"The war was needed... so that Shoigu could become a Marshal, so that he could get a second Hero Star… the war wasn't for demilitarising or de-nazifying Ukraine. It was needed for an extra star."
Prigozhin also blamed the war on oligarchs, condemning "the clan which in practice rules Russia today".
Strong words. But will they have consequences?
That depends on the nature of Prigozhin's current relationship with President Vladimir Putin. And no-one's quite sure what that is right now.
Is the tough-talking angry Prigozhin we see and hear on Telegram a fully-fledged Kremlin project? If so, his blame the war on Shoigu and oligarchs rant could be designed to shield Putin from public criticism, while offering the Kremlin a possible way out of a conflict that hasn't gone to plan, without damaging the president or the political system.
Prigozhin and Putin at a dinner in 2011
Prigozhin has named the fall-guys… and they don't include Putin.
After all, Putin is so closely associated with this war. In his address to the nation on 24 February 2022, the Kremlin leader made it clear that it was his decision to launch the so-called "special military operation", the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Plus, arguing that the president has been woefully deceived by a minister he appointed doesn't reflect glowingly on the man at the top.
True, in Russia the Kremlin controls the media landscape and the messaging. If TV channels and pro-Kremlin military bloggers here were to transmit such an interpretation, many Russians would accept it.
But what if Yevgeny Prigozhin's outburst wasn't coordinated with the Kremlin?
What if he's acquired political ambitions of his own? Or concluded that, having made powerful enemies within the Russian elite (especially the military) for him attack is the best form of defence? Even if it means going off-message.
A 'rogue' Prigozhin risks rocking the boat - and Russia's political system - by undermining the Kremlin's messaging.
Only last week Putin repeated the need (as he sees it) to "demilitarise" and "de-nazify" Ukraine. Prigozhin's latest comments contradict that argument.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. From 2022: Ros Atkins on... Putin’s false Nazi claims about Ukraine
I've written before that making sense of Russian politics is like trying to do a giant jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing. You attempt to connect the clues, but you're never quite sure what the final picture will be.
But, aside from the Wagner chief, there are other interesting pieces of the Russian jigsaw which hint at a different outcome.
For example, as badly as things have gone for the Kremlin in Ukraine, might Moscow declare "mission accomplished"?
President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently claimed that "the aim [of demilitarising Ukraine] has largely been achieved", arguing that Ukraine has less and less of its own armaments and is increasingly reliant on weapons from abroad.
And earlier this month more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers, members of the Azov regiment, went on trial in southern Russia. Russia calls Azov a "terrorist group" that harbours neo-Nazis. Could it portray the case as "de-nazification" and stop there?
But there are other indications that "stopping" is not in Putin's plans. In recent appearances on TV, he's come across as confident of victory and dismissive of Ukraine's counter-offensive.
"The enemy is suffering major losses," Putin told a Russian TV reporter this week, adding: "The enemy has no chance."
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MPs' misconduct cases need professional HR, say former whips - BBC News
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2023-06-12
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MPs in charge of party discipline aren't equipped to handle misconduct allegations, one senior figure tells the BBC.
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UK Politics
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Former senior party whips have told the BBC a "professional" HR system is needed in Parliament to handle sexual misconduct allegations against MPs.
It comes ahead of a debate on Monday on whether to ban some MPs under investigation for violent or sexual offences from Parliament.
Currently, there is no single authority at Westminster that deals with sexual misconduct cases against MPs.
Whips are senior MPs in charge of their party's discipline and welfare.
But they are often expected to handle misconduct cases.
Some allegations are reported to Parliament's Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme, some to parties or whips, some to the Commons Speaker or leader of the House, and some to police.
The BBC has spoken to multiple senior MPs and former MPs, who have served as whips for different parties.
Many argue Parliament needs a formal HR system to stop allegations being dealt with in different ways, on a case-by-case basis.
"There should be a better HR system for the employment of members' staff," said a former chief whip, who wanted not to be identified.
MPs currently hire their staff directly, but the former chief whip argued they should be employed in the same way as ministers' special advisers.
"Although they are the appointment of the minister, they are centrally employed, and come under the HR umbrella of the rest of the civil service.
"That would give [MPs' staff] the protection of being able to speak to somebody else other than their employer, where it might be a very small office.
"So their employer is not necessarily the member of Parliament, but the House authorities," they said.
Former Conservative MP Anne Milton was deputy chief whip from 2015-2017
Others the BBC spoke to, who have served as whips, also said they wanted HR "beefed up" to help resolve grievances and other issues, citing a lack of clarity and training for whips on how to handle such cases beyond directing individuals to complaint processes, support services, or even the police.
Former deputy chief whip Anne Milton told the BBC: "In the short period of time I was involved with the allegations against Charlie Elphicke, I was clear that the whips' office was not the place to consider issues such as this.
"You can help people through difficult periods in their life - but the whips' offices are not equipped and don't have the expertise to deal with complaints of this nature."
Elphicke was a Conservative MP who was suspended by the party after "serious allegations" were referred to the police, and was subsequently convicted of sexual assault.
Ms Milton added: "I felt that the House of Commons - because allegations of misbehaviour or sexual harassment or sexual assault bring the House of Commons into disrepute - that the House of Commons needs to deal with that.
"You need a process that should be handled by an external organisation, who are professionals, to investigate allegations swiftly."
She said the whips' office was an instrument of the party leadership - and in the case of the government, its role was to get government business through Parliament.
"The whips' offices do not have the HR skills needed."
"Trying to crack the nut of MPs acting like small businesses is quite a difficult nut to crack. But using an external agency to resolve workplace issues is not difficult.
"Neither Parliament nor the whips' offices are equipped to do it. This is highly specialised stuff."
She said whips could remove the whip from MPs, but "that's a political party decision".
"The whips shouldn't be enacting sanctions as part of the complaints process. It may be considered prudent by a political party to withdraw the whip pending an investigation."
Current MPs have also raised concerns about a lack of "HR professionals" to deal with cases like this.
One Conservative MP said: "Where does the buck stop? The whips, the police, the Speaker, there's also the parties. I don't see that there is any formal coming together of those."
Parties often "live in fear of someone saying: 'why didn't you take action?' That's where the judgement comes," they added.
This MP said that, while they still wanted a say in who their staff were, "I do think there's a benefit in more HR support for MPs - I'm not an HR expert."
They compared MPs employing their own staff with Parliament "dealing in effect with 650 small businesses".
Another former chief whip the BBC spoke to echoed the argument for "external supervision", saying the role of the whips was to "look after their flock, not to sit in judgement of them", and to persuade them to vote with their party the "right" way.
On Monday, MPs will debate proposals to bar some MPs under criminal investigation for violent or sexual offences from setting foot in Parliament.
The proposals have been drawn up by the House of Commons Commission, a body of senior MPs which oversees the working of the Commons, following a consultation.
If approved, the plans could allow MPs or peers to be barred from the Houses of Parliament if they are deemed to pose a risk.
The exclusion would apply to the parliamentary estate in Westminster and any parliamentary-funded travel.
MPs are being asked to have their say on the plans, but a formal vote has yet to be arranged.
The Commission has proposed that if the parliamentary authorities were presented with credible allegations of a sexual or violent offence by the police at any point in the criminal justice process, a staff panel would assess the claims.
If the panel undertook a full risk assessment on the basis of information provided by the police, it would consider the nature of the alleged misconduct and whether there were any safeguarding concerns.
If this led to exclusion being recommended, this would be put to an adjudication panel for a decision.
Under the proposals, excluded members would get a proxy vote so their constituents were not disadvantaged.
The BBC has been told there is some disagreement on the plans - with a number of MPs arguing members should not be excluded unless they are charged by police, and others arguing that the threshold for exclusion should be lower.
One former chief whip said excluding people who had not been charged flew "against natural justice".
"Allegations can be made against members of parliament that may be false, and they may be made in a vexatious way."
Ms Milton said she believed Parliament should be able to vote on excluding MPs from the Commons, because it was "quite a serious issue democratically".
"Their [MPs'] job is to hold the government to account. If you're going to withdraw an MP's ability to do this on behalf of their constituents. that's serious enough for the whole House to make a decision."
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Robert Bowers found guilty of deadly Pittsburgh synagogue attack - BBC News
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2023-06-16
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Robert Bowers has been found guilty in the 2018 attack - the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.
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US & Canada
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A gunman accused of killing 11 worshippers at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018 has been found guilty by a jury in the US state of Pennsylvania.
The federal trial of Robert Bowers, 50, now moves to the sentencing phase, with the court poised to decide whether he should be given the death penalty.
The 27 October assault inside the Tree of Life synagogue was the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.
Bowers pleaded not guilty to all 63 charges against him.
The jury convicted him on all counts after less than a full day of deliberations.
During the three-week trial, prosecutors called 60 witnesses as they tried to prove the gunman carried out his attack because of a hatred for Jews.
Bowers' defence team did not call any witnesses and did not deny he carried out the attack, but said it was due to a delusional hatred for immigrants and a Jewish non-profit group, not Jewish people.
US Attorney Mary Hahn said in closing arguments on Thursday that the defendant had "hunted" his victims.
"He outright told Swat operators he went to the synagogue to kill Jews," she said.
Defence attorney Elisa Long had argued that "stopping religious study was not his intent or motive".
The distinction is important because under US federal law, in order for the jury to impose the death penalty prosecutors must prove that Bowers was motivated by race hate or killed people to stop them exercising their religious beliefs.
A psychiatric evaluation of Bowers has been prepared by the government, and the state of his mental health may be raised during the sentencing.
That hearing will begin on 26 June and is expected to last six weeks.
The 11 worshippers who died in the attack ranged in age from 54 to 97. Seven others were injured, including five police officers who rushed to the scene.
Three congregations - Dor Hadash, New Light and the Tree of Life - shared the synagogue.
Most families of those killed have voiced support for the death penalty, although some other family members and the Dor Hadash congregation have stated that they are opposed to it.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Rabbi Doris Dyen: 'I'm broken and I can't pray' (from 2018)
Community groups, Jewish advocacy organisations and survivors thanked police and prosecutors after the verdict was announced.
"I am grateful to God for getting us to this day," Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, who survived the attack, said in a statement.
"And I am thankful for the law enforcement who ran into danger to rescue me, and the US attorney who stood up in court to defend my right to pray."
"Justice has been served," the American Jewish Committee said in a statement.
"We realise it does little to ease the pain for the families and friends of the 11 people murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh simply for being Jewish and practising their faith. However, we hope this verdict allows them to continue the slow process of healing if not closure."
This is only the second federal death penalty case under the Biden administration, which has placed a moratorium on federal executions.
Former President Donald Trump allowed 13 executions to take place in the last six months before he left office.
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National 5: Radical plan for Scottish school exams expected - BBC News
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2023-06-16
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An education review that could include scrapping some exams will be released by the end of June.
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Scotland
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The current exam system was described as "no longer fit for purpose"
A radical review of school qualifications in Scotland is to be published before the end of the month.
The review was commissioned by the Scottish government to look at how well the system is working after Standard Grades were abolished 10 years ago.
There is speculation it could recommend an end to exams for fourth year pupils and for some qualifications.
Pupils could be assessed on coursework and receive qualifications that recognise extra-curricular activities.
The review is being chaired by the academic Louise Hayward and was always expected to be "bold" in its thinking.
The interim report, published in March, said the current exam system was "no longer fit for purpose".
National 4 and 5 qualifications, normally taken by 15 and 16-year-olds, were introduced in 2013/14.
There are two distinct questions: should there be exams for particular qualifications, and when should students sit exams for the first time?
There is a long-standing argument that senior students sit too many exams - and that by removing exams in S4, students could spend more time working towards obtaining their first formal qualifications the following year, at the end of S5.
The review is also likely to address whether there is even a need for National 4 qualifications or exams for National 5 candidates.
There are no exams for National 4 qualifications and some contend that National 5s could also be obtained through coursework and continuing assessment.
Any fundamental changes to the qualification system would be a decision for Scottish government ministers and parliament.
When the new qualifications system was introduced, a handful of schools decided not to routinely present students for exams in S4.
At Hermitage Academy in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, this proved hugely controversial and pressure from parents led to their reintroduction.
Ministers are likely to seek the views of parents and employers - as well as education professionals - before they contemplate any fundamental changes.
A government spokesperson told BBC Scotland: "The recommendations of the final report will be carefully considered and the Scottish government will respond in due course."
Jenny Gilruth has said Scotland needed to "future-proof our qualifications"
She said there was a need to "future-proof our qualifications" and they may look "radically different" in the future, adding it was essential that pupils were assessed continuously throughout the academic year.
Scotland's education and exams agencies are already to be scrapped and replaced by the summer of 2024 after another report said there was too much focus on exams in schools.
The overhaul will include government bodies Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), Education Scotland and a separate school inspection agency.
Pupils across Scotland are currently waiting for the results of this year's written exams, to be published on 8 August. They were the last of three years of altered assessments designed to mitigate disruption caused by Covid.
The SQA said its grading would be "sensitive" this year because of the continuing impact of the pandemic.
It has taken similar steps to last year to help students, such as removing or reducing exams or elements of coursework, but plans for exams to go fully back to normal next year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65926632
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Privacy trial judge asks why Piers Morgan has not given evidence - BBC News
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2023-06-20
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A privacy trial judge says he may have to "make inferences" about journalists not appearing in court.
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UK
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Former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan has denied knowledge of unlawful activity
The judge in a privacy trial brought by Prince Harry and others has questioned why nearly 30 journalists, including Piers Morgan, have not given evidence.
Mr Justice Fancourt said Mr Morgan had recently had "a good deal to say" about phone hacking "outside the court".
He is among a list of journalists about which the judge may have to "make inferences" given that they have not appeared in the witness box.
"To be clear, originally I said I've never hacked a phone. I've never told anyone to hack a phone. And no story's ever been published in the Mirror in my time from hacking a phone," he said, in an interview with Amol Rajan.
The judge also highlighted a recent interview by the former newspaper executive, Neil Wallis.
Mr Wallis, who was cleared of phone hacking, recently criticised those bringing cases against newspapers in the BBC documentary Scandalous: Phone Hacking On Trial.
He told that programme: "You have just about anybody who's ever appeared in a tabloid newspaper saying - give me large wadges of cash please. I think it's actually a legal scandal."
Mr Justice Fancourt said: "There's a question in my mind whether any of the individuals on my list could and should have given evidence."
As well as Piers Morgan and Neil Wallis, the list of 29 journalists includes:
One of those mentioned, Eugene Duffy, has died.
The two leading barristers in the case, David Sherborne, and Andrew Green KC, will address the judge next week in closing submissions.
They will make arguments about missing witnesses and Mr Justice Fancourt will have to weigh up allegations made during the case against those who have not given evidence.
The privacy action has been brought by Prince Harry, Coronation Street actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner, and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of the comedian Paul Whitehouse.
In civil actions such as this one, each side can make their own decisions about which witnesses to rely on when making their case.
Mirror Group Newspapers called a handful of journalists, but there has been detailed evidence about many others who have not appeared in the witness box.
The claimants have called a series of former reporters, some of them convicted of phone hacking, who have become whistleblowers.
The judge's comments came as the last witnesses in the trial gave evidence.
Coronation Street star Michael Turner, who works under his stage name Michael Le Vell, told the court that appearing in the witness box had taken him to "really dark places" but it was time for him to speak up for himself.
He is suing the publisher of the Mirror newspapers for using phone hacking to gather stories about him dating back to the 1990s.
Mr Turner said at the time he suspected friends and colleagues were leaking information about him to newspapers.
"I feel I wasted a lot of years alienating a lot of decent people in my life for want of trust," he told the court.
Twenty-eight articles published in the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror or People newspapers often attributed quotes to "pals", "friends" or a "Corrie source".
The claimants say these phrases are used to cover up the fact information has been taken from intercepted mobile phone voicemail messages by journalists.
In one story, a conversation Michael Turner had with a friend, Alan Halsall, was reported by the Mirror as having been overheard in a pub.
Mr Turner was discussing how sexual abuse allegations had left him devastated, despite being cleared by a jury, and returning to Coronation Street.
He suggested he was not overheard because he and his friend deliberately chose a quiet corner of the pub away from members of the public.
He also said he spotted the photographer who took the pictures for the story in the back of a car with a long lens on the other side of the car park.
Repeatedly he told the court he believed at the time of the story that people were selling stories about him.
"It made me question everything about who you were associating with and who to trust," he said.
But now he suspects his messages had been hacked.
Mirror Group Newspapers has previously apologised after a previous judge ruled that unlawful information gathering had been widespread at the publisher's titles.
However MGN denies allegations made by the four claimants at the centre of this case, three of whom were chosen as representative of hundreds of people who could bring legal cases in future.
Prince Harry has refused to settle out of court.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65962048
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German row over jail term for woman who attacked neo-Nazis - BBC News
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2023-06-02
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Lina E's conviction has angered Germany's far left, but the right is furious she is free pending appeal.
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Europe
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Lina E (R) was seen as the ringleader of the radical left group
A jail term for a far-left extremist who took part in violent attacks on neo-Nazis has caused uproar on both the left and right of German politics.
Lina E was given a sentence of five years and three months - but was also told she is now free pending an appeal, having been in custody since 2020.
Three men convicted with her were also given jail sentences on Wednesday.
Left-wing protesters demonstrated in several cities against the verdicts. A big rally has been banned in Leipzig.
Other Germans were angered by the decision to release Lina E - criminal defendants' second names are not made public - after two and a half years in custody - believing this sends a signal to the left that violence against the extreme right is acceptable.
The judge, Hans Schlüter-Staats, said Lina E would be allowed out pending the result of her appeal. She is said to be unwell and has had to hand in her identity card and passport.
Delivering his verdict, the judge said that "opposing right-wing extremists is a respectable motive", but use of force was only for the state and her actions were still "serious criminal acts". He criticised her defence lawyers' argument that the case was politically motivated.
Lina E was seen as the ringleader of her far-left group which waged a brutal campaign of violence against the extreme right for several years - using hammers, iron bars and baseball bats.
Left-wing protesters took to the streets targeting police with bottles and fireworks after the verdict
In one attack in 2019, the gang attacked a well-known neo-Nazi pub called the Bull's Eye in the town of Eisenach, beating its owner Leon R. They attacked him again weeks later. Leon R was later arrested in a police operation targeting neo-Nazis across Germany.
The far-left militant group gained notoriety for its violence, attracting the name "hammer gang". Lina E's partner Johann G is also suspected of attacks and has since gone to ground.
In another incident in 2020 involving at least 15 people, a group were beaten up as they returned from a ceremony marking the firebombing of Dresden during World War Two. Several victims suffered serious injuries.
Lina E was detained in November 2020. Her surname has not been made public. Three men who joined her gang were given sentences of 27 to 39 months in jail.
Sabine Volk, a researcher on the far right from the University of Passau, said that the crimes committed by the gang were horrible but that there appeared to be a "power imbalance" in eastern Germany against the far left.
"In radical left circles there's this perception and narrative that the state isn't doing anything against the neo-Nazi scene and that's why they have to take over their duties," she told the BBC. "It's not entirely true but it's not far-fetched either."
Last December, after years of being dismissed as harmless cranks, 25 people were arrested on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the German government on behalf of the far-right Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement.
After Lina E was found guilty, there were far-left protests in several cities and police were targeted with bottles and fireworks.
Meanwhile, the head of the police union, Jochen Kopelke, said officers were shaking their heads that she had been released: "It was clear to us as officers that we would also be the focus of extremists."
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has warned of an increasing willingness among the far left to resort to violence. However, she said last week that right-wing extremism remained the biggest radical threat to German democracy and that attacks last year rose by 12%.
An anti-fascist "Day X" march planned for Saturday has been banned in Leipzig, where Lina E was a student, because police are concerned it could descend into violence. But a major police operation is planned anyway, as several major events are due to take place in the city.
The far-right AfD party condemned the decision to release Lina E as "soft" and complained there had been a failure of the rule of law.
The AfD has risen in German opinion polls in recent months as dissatisfaction grows with the coalition government. The latest poll puts them neck and neck with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left SPD on 18%.
The AfD has also benefited from a backlash among German voters from climate activist protests that have blockaded streets in key cities.
Hans-Georg Maassen, a former German spy chief who is seen as a right-wing conservative, ridiculed Lina E's sentence as giving free rein to far-left activists to stage further violent attacks.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65785592
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Government weigh up 6.5% public sector pay increase - BBC News
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2023-07-13
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The announcement is expected on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
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UK Politics
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Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have been taking part in strikes over pay
The government is considering pay increases of 6-6.5% for public sector workers, the BBC understands.
Official pay review bodies for employees including teachers, junior doctors and police have recommended the pay rise. Inflation to May was 8.7%.
The announcement will be made on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
Government sources have told the BBC any rises over 3.5% would need to come out of existing departmental budgets.
The BBC has been told that all of the independent bodies have all recommended pay rises of between 6% and 6.5% for public sector workers, also including prison officers, senior civil servants and the armed forces.
But there have been heavy hints from ministers in the past few weeks that they may not accept these recommendations, stressing their argument for wage "discipline" during a period of high inflation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says pay awards should be "responsible" to avoid making inflation worse. He has made tackling rising prices his top political priority.
Departments had told pay review bodies they had budgeted for pay rises of about 3.5%.
The salaries of NHS staff in England - apart from junior doctors and dentists - are not included in these recommendations.
Under a deal set out earlier this year, NHS workers will receive a 5% pay rise. Ambulance workers, nurses, physios and porters will also get a one-off sum of at least £1,655.
It's expected the PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will tell ministers any awards higher than this will have to be funded through cuts or savings elsewhere in their own departments.
A decision not to accept the recommendations would prompt fresh tensions with unions, raising the prospect of continuing public-sector strikes.
Mr Hunt ruled out funding pay rises with government borrowing during an interview on ITV1's Peston programme.
Increasing public sector pay through borrowing would "pump billions of pounds of extra money into the economy" leading to businesses "putting up their prices" and driving further inflation.
And in a speech to leading figures from finance and business at the Mansion House this week, he said: "Borrowing is itself inflationary."
The prime minister spoke to journalists ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania
Speaking at a news conference at the Nato summit in Lithuania, Mr Sunak said his decision about pay would be guided by "fairness" to public sector workers and taxpayers, as well as "responsibility".
He said he did not want to do anything that would "fuel inflation, make it worse or last for longer".
Speaking on Monday during a visit to Avon and Somerset police force, Home Secretary Suella Braverman would not answer directly whether the government should abide by recommendations on public sector pay.
Praising police officers, she said: "They do incredibly heroic work, day in, day out, and they save lives and it's right that we properly reward them for their sacrifice and their dedication.
"We know that there's an ongoing process - it is a decision for the whole of government.
"I don't want to pre-empt that process and the conclusions of that consideration, but it's right that we properly reward frontline police officers and bear in mind that we're in a very challenging situation, economically."
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner declined to say whether her party would accept pay body recommendations.
She said she hadn't "seen the books" but a Labour government would do its best to negotiate a deal that was acceptable to public sector workers.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Labour's fiscal rules are “non-negotiable”, says its deputy leader, but there is "room in the middle” for pay rises.
Mr Sunak has previously pledged to halve inflation this year to about 5%, as part of his top five priorities since becoming prime minister.
The rate at which prices are rising remained unchanged at 8.7% in May, despite predictions it would fall.
Persistent inflation levels would make it hard to cut taxes before the next election, Chancellor Hunt said in an interview with the Financial Times.
But Mr Sunak said he and the chancellor were "completely united on wanting to reduce taxes for people".
"But the number one priority right now is to reduce inflation and be responsible with government borrowing," he added.
Almost half of public sector workers are covered by pay review bodies, including police and prison officers, the armed forces, doctors, dentists and teachers.
The pay review bodies are made up of economists and experts on human resources, with experience in both the public and private sector and are appointed by the relevant government department.
Their recommendations are not legally binding, meaning the government can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice, but it is usually accepted.
Some agreements have been reached, including a pay settlement for more than a million NHS staff in England.
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Boris Johnson early Covid WhatsApps still not passed to inquiry - BBC News
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2023-07-13
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The government had until 16.00 BST on Monday to hand over the ex-PM's messages to the Covid inquiry.
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UK Politics
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WhatsApp messages sent to and by Boris Johnson before May 2021 have still not been handed over to the Covid inquiry, because they are stuck on his phone.
The government had until 16.00 BST on Monday to hand over relevant material to the inquiry after the Cabinet Office lost a legal challenge.
But the BBC understands neither the government nor Mr Johnson's team can access messages on the phone.
The phone, which Mr Johnson used until May 2021, is with the ex-PM's lawyers.
It has prompted Whitehall officials to formally notify the inquiry why they have not yet been able to send them the correspondence.
Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett had requested access to WhatsApp messages on Mr Johnson's devices from a group chat set up to discuss the pandemic response.
She also asked to see WhatsApp messages he exchanged with a host of politicians, including then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, as well as various civil servants, including the UK's top civil servant Simon Case.
But the former PM's WhatsApp messages are held on a mobile phone which has been turned off and securely locked away since May 2021, due to a security breach.
Mr Johnson was forced to change his mobile phone in 2021 after it emerged his number had been publicly available online for 15 years.
The rest of the messages the High Court ruled should be shared with the inquiry were sent on Monday morning.
BBC political editor Chris Mason says there is widespread irritation within government at the failure to comply with the inquiry's demand to be sent Mr Johnson's messages. Access to a mobile phone conventionally requires knowledge of a passcode - which only the phone's owner would normally know.
Mr Johnson's phone - which he used during crucial periods of the Covid pandemic - is currently with his lawyers.
The BBC understands government officials have attempted to help Mr Johnson access the data on the phone, while in the company of his representatives.
But the phone has never been in the sole possession of the government, as it belongs to Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson's team say "he will be happy to disclose any relevant material to the inquiry when it is accessible" and insist "full cooperation is underway".
The government had attempted to block an order by inquiry chair Baroness Hallett to have access to Mr Johnson's WhatsApps, diaries and notebooks in full.
In an unprecedented step, the government launched a judicial review of the order. But the High Court rejected the government's argument, ruling inquiries should be allowed to "fish" for documents.
Mr Johnson said he was "more than happy" for the inquiry to see his unredacted messages. The former prime minister previously said he had handed over WhatsApp messages, diaries and personal notebooks to the Cabinet Office in unredacted form.
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Scottish government wants drug possession to be decriminalised - BBC News
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2023-07-07
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The Scottish government wants a change in UK laws to stop people found in possession of drugs for their own use being prosecuted.
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Scotland
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The Scottish government has called for the decriminalisation of all drugs for personal use.
It wants the UK government to change the laws to allow people to be "treated and supported rather than criminalised and excluded".
However, it would still be an offence to have possession of drugs with the intention of supplying them to others.
The government also wants the law to be changed to allow the introduction of supervised drug consumption facilities.
Drugs laws are currently reserved to Westminster.
However, the Scottish government has responsibility for health and social policies around drug consumption.
Other proposals from the Scottish government include more substance checking services and increased access to emergency treatments for drug overdoses.
Announcing the proposals, Scotland's Drugs Policy Minister Elena Whitham said the "war on drugs has failed".
She added: "That's a fact. I don't think we can dispute that.
"Our current drug law does not stop people from using drugs, it does not stop people from experiencing the harm associated and, critically, it does not stop people from dying.
"In fact, I would say today here, that criminalisation increases the harms people experience. Criminalisation kills."
The call comes four years after the SNP backed decriminalising the possession and consumption of drugs at its party conference.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Illegal drugs destroy lives and devastate communities. We are committed to preventing drug use by supporting people through treatment and recovery and tackling the supply of illegal drugs, as set out in our 10-year drugs strategy. "We have no plans to decriminalise drugs given the associated harms, including the risks posed by organised criminals, who will use any opportunity to operate an exploitative and violent business model."
The number of people who died of drug misuse in Scotland dropped slightly last year from 1,339 to 1,330 after eight consecutive years of increases, but the country continues to have by far the highest drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe.
The crisis prompted more than £250m of investment by the Scottish government into the country's addiction services.
Efforts to establish drug consumption rooms in Scotland have been ongoing for years.
Campaigners say the facilities - where people can inject drugs under supervision - are needed and are backed by the Scottish government.
However, an attempt to set up consumption rooms in Glasgow was blocked by UK government, which argued a range of crimes would be committed in the course of running such facilities.
In 2021, a decision by the Lord Advocate meant people caught with Class A drugs in Scotland could be given a police warning instead of facing prosecution.
Critics at the time said the move, which does not extend to drug dealing, was "de facto decriminalisation".
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay added: "It is madness to try and solve Scotland's drug death crisis, the worst in Europe, by essentially legalising heroin, crack and other class-A drugs.
"This would put more drugs on our streets. It would put more lives at risk. "
The shift was also ruled out by UK Labour with shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves telling journalists during a visit to Scotland: "I don't think this sounds like a good policy."
A joint statement from 10 leading drugs charities welcomed the Scottish government's report, but said drug consumption rooms and drug testing facilities "as a matter of urgency".
It's the first week of the Scottish Parliament recess. It's a Friday. It's the junior minister.
An unusual way to launch a major policy change on drugs.
The decriminalisation of personal drug possession is designed, as the minister says, to save lives.
The Lord Advocate has already said there's a presumption against prosecution for personal drug possession - but that's only a presumption.
This new policy draws a thick red line under that.
Couple decriminalisation with drug treatment rooms and Scotland could have a very new approach to tackling a huge problem.
We have more than three times the deaths from drugs overdoses than any European country.
The Scottish government calls these plans ambitious and radical.
Perhaps hard to argue with that. This is a significant proposal - but is it one to take seriously, given the circumstances of the launch?
Yes, say the government's partners the Scottish Green Party - and also the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
Scottish Labour don't think it's the right approach. One of the party's MSPs has consulted though on a potential bill for Overdose Prevention Centres.
Labour add that communities blighted by drugs are often over-looked in the debate.
The Scottish Conservatives think it's "madness" and Downing Street has already said "no".
Both Conservatives and Labour claim this is another, cooked-up constitutional grievance from the SNP.
So, once again more constitutional arguments - but some argue there's no time left for that.
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Stradey Park Hotel: Injunction bid against asylum plan fails - BBC News
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2023-07-07
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The council took legal action against a number of associated companies and business directors.
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Wales
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Stradey Park Hotel is set to house up to 241 asylum seekers
A legal bid for an injunction to stop a hotel being used to house asylum seekers has failed.
Up to 241 people are now set to be housed in Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, despite opposition.
The council took the action against a number of associated companies and business directors.
The Home Office said the plans were necessary and that the asylum system was under "incredible" strain.
The local authority argued using the hotel for asylum seekers would be a breach of planning conditions.
At a High Court hearing on Friday, Carmarthenshire council failed to get an interim order stopping migrants being sent to the hotel while their asylum claims are processed by the Home Office.
The local authority claimed sending them to the 77-bed site was a change of use from hotel to hostel and a breach of planning rules.
It said the change, which is set to take effect from Monday, would "undoubtedly" harm the economy.
This included potentially losing more than 25% of the town's hotel rooms, job losses, cancelled weddings and an impact on tourism, a High Court judge in London heard.
Last month 50 full-time and 45 part-time staff at the hotel were told that their jobs would be terminated on 10 July, the same day asylum seekers are due to move in.
The hotel has seen faced local opposition since it first announced the plans
A lawyer for Stradey Park's owner, Gryphon Leisure, said there was an "urgent" need for asylum seeker accommodation, arguing there would be no planning breach.
The court was told Gryphon director Robert Horwood had warned there was a "serious" risk the hotel would shut without its contract with accommodation provider Clearsprings Ready Homes.
Craig Howell Williams KC, for the council, said there were "good reasons" to doubt Mr Horwood's claims the business could face closure.
The barrister said the former Edwardian stately home played a "fundamental" role in tourism.
The court was told there was limited information about how the site would be operated for migrants.
The use of bodyguards and perimeter patrols would be "alien" in the neighbourhood, Mr Howell Williams said.
He added there were "concerns" about community feeling, including the "potential for unrest".
Jenny Wigley KC, for Clearsprings, Gryphon, Mr Horwood and co-director Gareth Street, said in written arguments using the hotel was "a temporary solution of last resort".
She said if people were not accommodated asylum seekers were at risk of being kept in sub-standard conditions or being made homeless.
Police were called to the hotel on Friday after protesters blocked vehicles entering the site
Judge Gavin Mansfield KC will give his reasons for dismissing the injunction bid at a hearing on Monday.
After the hearing, Carmarthenshire council leader Darren Price said he was "disappointed" and that the authority would consider the judge's reasons on Monday.
In May, West Lindsey District Council lost its attempt to get an injunction against work to prepare RAF Scampton, in Lincolnshire, for asylum seekers.
And in June Braintree council lost a High Court appeal over Home Office plans to house asylum seekers at a former airbase.
A successful legal action pursued by Great Yarmouth Borough Council, in Norfolk, saw a High Court judge rule that seafront hotels there could not be used to house migrants.
On Friday, police were called to Stradey Park Hotel as protesters stopping cars from accessing the site clashed with security personnel who were pulling down fences erected by demonstrators previously.
The Home Office said the number of people arriving in the UK in need of accommodation had reached record levels.
"The Home Office is committed to making every effort to reduce hotel use and limit the burden on the taxpayer," a spokesman added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-66130743
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Iowa teen jailed for killing Spanish teacher over bad grade - BBC News
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2023-07-07
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The judge says the 2021 murder of the 66-year-old mother-of-three by two Iowa students was "evil".
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US & Canada
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Nohema Graber, 66, was prominent in the Spanish-speaking community
A teenager in the US state of Iowa who beat his teacher to death with a baseball bat over a bad grade has been sentenced to life in prison.
Willard Miller, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in April for his role in the 2 November 2021 killing of Nohema Graber, a Spanish teacher.
Miller and co-defendant Jeremy Goodale, now 18, attacked Ms Graber, 66, after she marked down Miller's work.
Aged 16 at the time of the murder, both were charged as adults.
On Thursday, Miller was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole only after at least 35 years.
He was also ordered to pay at least $150,000 (£117,000) in restitution to the victim's family.
Before delivering his sentence, Judge Shawn Showers rejected defence arguments that Miller was too young at the time to understand the gravity of his actions.
"Evil does not have a birthday," he said.
Family members of Ms Graber told the court they did not believe Miller was remorseful.
Several relatives mentioned that the murder led to the early death last month of Ms Graber's husband, Paul. He was buried a day before Thursday's sentencing.
Miller apologised to the community and turned to address Ms Graber's relatives seated behind him.
"I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused you and the devastation I have caused your family," he said.
Pleading with the judge to forego the maximum sentence, Miller said: "I don't want to be institutionalised so long that I forget who I am and where I come from."
Prosecutors said the evidence showed both Miller and Goodale had bludgeoned Ms Graber with a bat during the attack in Fairfield, a town of fewer than 10,000 people that lies 100 miles (160km) south-east of the state capitol, Des Moines.
The day after the attack, police found the mother-of-three's body hidden under a tarpaulin, wheelbarrow and railway sleepers in a local park where she used to walk after school.
In a police interview, Miller described frustrations with the way Ms Graber taught Spanish.
He said his marks in her class were lowering his Grade Point Average, an important score during applications for US colleges and scholarships.
Miller met Ms Graber at Fairfield High School on the day of the murder to discuss his poor grade in her class. Goodale was also a student there.
Mexican-born Ms Graber had been employed at the school since 2012. She was part of the town's small but growing Latino community.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66111470
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news_world-us-canada-66111470
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NHS 75: Happy birthday - but can it survive to 100? - BBC News
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2023-07-25
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As the NHS celebrates its anniversary, a look at what needs to change to help it in coming decades.
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Health
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The NHS turns 75 on Wednesday, but the landmark anniversary has been greeted with dire warnings it is unlikely to survive until its 100th birthday without drastic change. So what is the solution? From sin taxes to cutting back on medical treatment for the dying, experts have their say.
When the NHS was created the main focus was on short bouts of treatment for injury and infection, but now the challenge is completely different.
The ageing population means huge numbers of people are living with chronic health problems, such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes that require long-term care and for which there is no cure.
It is already estimated about £7 out of every £10 spent in the NHS goes on people with these conditions. On average, those over 65 have at least two.
And the situation is only going to worsen. "The numbers are going to grow," Health Foundation director of research and economics Anita Charlesworth says. "The baby boomer generation is reaching old age.
"Their health is going to be shaped by the lives they have lived - and they are a generation that have lived through the rapid increase in obesity. Their ill health is baked in. The next two decades are going to be very challenging."
Increases in the NHS budget will be needed but this must be accompanied by a shift in how resources are distributed, she says, so more is spent "upstream" in the community, including on social care, which sits outside the NHS, and prevention, to help people better manage their conditions without hospital care.
But given the amount of public money spent on the NHS has been rising ever since the health service was created - it now accounts for more than 40p out of every £1 spent on day-to-day public services, once things such as welfare are excluded - many are asking whether such spending is sustainable.
Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has floated the idea of charging to see a GP, arguing the NHS should be willing to learn from the approaches adopted by other countries, has called the current direction of travel "unsustainable".
But Ms Charlesworth, who used to be director of public spending at the Treasury, says extra money can be found, pointing out countries around the world are having to do the same.
"This is not unique to the the UK and our system," she says. "It is a global phenomenon. But increasing investment in the NHS is going to require economic growth - without that, you have to cut other services or increase taxation."
Healthcare spending should be seen as an investment in the country, rather than a cost, Ms Charlesworth says, pointing to data showing 2.5 million people are out of work because of poor health - equating to one person off long-term sick for every 13 in work.
"Economic growth depends on good health," she says, "but at the moment, we have got too many people on waiting lists - and there is a particular problem with mental health too."
King's Fund chief policy analyst Siva Anandaciva, who recently produced a report for the think tank looking at how the NHS compared with other rich nations, says as much as 5-6% extra a year may be needed in the short-term to tackle the immediate problems with the backlog and ageing infrastructure - the boost to the workforce announced by the government last week will take years to have an impact.
His report showed how the NHS had fewer staff and less equipment such as scanners than many other comparable countries - and to those who suggest a different model of funding may be needed, made it clear the findings were not an argument for moving to another system, adding there was little evidence any one particular approach was inherently better than another.
"History tells us that we do need to spend more on the NHS," Mr Anandaciva says. "Anything less than 2% is managed decline - and what we are spending now 3-4% is just standing still."
He says that will likely mean investing a greater proportion of public spending on the NHS, but says digital technology can make savings in other spending areas whereas the NHS is heavily reliant on labour. "At some point you will need a nurse to provide care," he adds.
Life expectancy gains since the NHS' creation have not been matched by increases in healthy life expectancy - on average, people are now expected to spend more than 20 years living in ill-health, according to the Office for National Statistics.
"We had hoped that medical advances would lead to people both living longer and living longer in good health - but that has not happened," Mr Anandaciva says. "It will require us to become much more active and healthier."
Many of the factors that influence the way people live are outside the NHS' control, he says. These so-called social determinants include education, work, housing and neighbourhoods.
Mr Anandaciva would like to see employers in particular more involved in the health of their workforce and backs the use of "sin taxes" such as minimum pricing for alcohol and levies on sugar and salt to influence behaviour.
But he says there will also need to be an honest debate on where to prioritise that spending. "At the end of life, our use of healthcare gets more intense and costs more," Mr Anandaciva says. "Would money be better used elsewhere?"
It is a point also made by Prof Sir David Haslam, who used to chair the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which decides what treatments should be made available on the NHS.
Sir David, who has written a book, Side Effects, about the challenges facing the NHS, says there needs to be more focus on getting "most bang for our buck".
There is too much focus on drugs and treatment that simply extend life rather than services that support people to live in good health, he says.
"For example, research has shown seeing the same GP for years reduces hospital admissions significantly," Sir David says. "If that was a drug, we would hail it as a wonder treatment - but instead, we've watched the number of GPs fall."
He says the medical profession overall is too "super-specialised" and calls for more generalists in the community and hospital to treat "the individual rather than their organs".
"It's so wasteful - patients with six or seven conditions can spend all their time going to different hospital departments, seeing different people, often with poor co-ordination between them," Sir David says.
And he also questions the amount of medical intervention at the end of life.
"Too many frail elderly patients are dying in hospital when that may be a completely inappropriate place," Sir David says.
"We have over-medicalised the end of life. When I die, I want to be in the place that is my home, with good care being provided. This is not about rationing care, it is about providing rational care."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66087766
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National Policy Forum: Labour seeks to iron out policy disagreements - BBC News
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2023-07-22
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The leadership will come under pressure to be more radical at a key meeting with unions and party members.
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UK Politics
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Labour's mixed fortunes in this week's by-elections have brought in to sharper focus underlying differences on policy.
The Labour leadership see their spectacular win in Selby and Ainsty, a former Tory stronghold, as a sign that trust is being rebuilt and an endorsement of its strategy of not promising more than it can deliver.
But some critics say the failure to take Uxbridge and South Ruislip suggests Labour's big national opinion poll lead has more to do with disillusionment with the government than enthusiasm for change.
Behind closed doors this weekend, there will be calls for the party to adopt more distinctive policies.
The Labour leadership has insisted that it won't make uncosted spending commitments ahead of the next general election.
And that it won't be afraid to make "hard choices".
But at a meeting of the party's policy-making body this weekend in Nottingham, they will be pushed to make more spending commitments.
The National Policy Forum consists of ordinary party members, representatives from the trade unions and members of the shadow cabinet.
And there are some issues where an alliance of major unions and party members will attempt to force change.
The provision of free school meals for all primary school children is a policy favoured across the Labour spectrum.
Last week, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said that while she would "love" to give all kids free meals, "there isn't an endless supply of money".
She said that school breakfast clubs were the priority.
But the leadership has been under pressure - with the Labour-supporting Mirror newspaper and the National Education Union which does not have formal links to the party - mounting campaigns for free meals.
So there is a proposed change to a draft policy document which calls on the national party "to build on Labour in London and Wales" by providing free school meals for all primary school children.
This is an issue backed by the UK's largest union Unison.
The union, too, is posing a further policy challenge to the leadership - by attempting to insert a lifting of the two child limit in the benefits system.
The Policy Forum attempts to achieve consensus, with shadow cabinet members talking face-to-face with those who want to see the policy changed.
Should they fail to reach agreement it takes just over a third - 35% - of delegates who want to see a change to move the issue to the annual party conference, potentially highlighting internal divisions.
But I understand discussions have been held between party officials and Unison representatives to try to defuse any row.
The difficulty for the leadership is that their critics on these issues are not just the "usual suspects" on the party's left, so the pressure for change is greater.
And on the benefits system, former shadow cabinet minister Jon Trickett asked the House of Commons library to calculate how much it would cost to lift the current two child limit.
Labour has allocated £2bn of the anticipated £3.2bn it will raise by taxing wealthy "non-doms". That potentially leaves almost enough to meet the cost of that change to the benefits system.
So the argument from some in Labour's ranks is not for uncosted policies - it is that more policies be agreed, and costed.
The Left-wing group Momentum is running a campaign to lobby delegates to back more radical policies.
These include rent controls. There may be a compromise which would allow regional mayors to impose them.
The group is also calling for the nationalisation of energy and water companies. It is a priority for Labour's biggest union funder, Unite, to bring energy into public ownership.
Momentum also wants a commitment to a £15 an hour minimum wage inscribed in Labour's official policy documents. They also want a commitment to reinstate the international development department, which has been folded into the foreign office, and to meet the aid target of 0.7% of GDP.
Some amendments - mostly, though not entirely, from supporters of the leadership - have been agreed even before this weekend's meeting gets under way.
These include making it clear a Labour government would scrap the Home Office's Rwanda policy, improve early years education and renationalise rail.
However, if the leadership is defeated on any issues it will have two get-out clauses.
First, the National Policy Forum draws up the Official Policy Programme. But this isn't the same as the manifesto.
There is a further meeting to agree that and some policies won't make the cut.
Second, there will be wording in the agreed policy documents which will say: "Labour's fiscal rules are non-negotiable.
"They will apply to every decision taken by a Labour government - with no exceptions."
So if shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves believes an agreed policy is unaffordable, it won't happen.
But the more immediate priority will be to try to show united front, even though the "hard choices" on spending are proving uncomfortable for some party members and unions alike.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66268541
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Polarised Spain eyes the hard-right ahead of election - BBC News
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2023-07-22
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Spain goes to the polls to decide its next government on Sunday, and a hard-right coalition is looking likely.
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Europe
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Spain's hard-right Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, could likely form part of the next government
Spain's election on Sunday is provoking political tremors even before polls open.
The most likely government to emerge - most analysts predict - will be a coalition including a hard-right nationalist party for the first time in Spain since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
More left-leaning Spaniards are frantically texting contacts, urging them to make sure to vote - despite the heat and it being holiday time for many - to "stop the fascists" in their tracks.
The political right, meanwhile, has said voters have a choice: Sanchez (the current centre-left prime minister and his coalition including the far-left) or Spain. Implying that under another Sanchez government, the country will crumble.
The rhetoric this election season has been toxic, with voters becoming increasingly polarised.
It's a fight over values, traditions and about what being Spanish should mean in 2023.
This kind of heated identity debate isn't peculiar to Spain. Think of Italy, France, Brazil or the post-Trumpian debate in the US.
But Spain was already divided. It has been since the civil war in the 1930s and the following four decades of dictatorship under General Franco. To this day, there's never been an open debate here about victims and aggressors. Old wounds still fester.
"The hard-right, centre-right coalition represents a return to the past, to neo-Francoism," Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia region told me at an end of campaign rally for Prime Minister Sanchez's centre-left PSOE party on Friday night.
"Liberal values like gay marriage - Spain was one of the first European countries to legalise it - or the freedom for people to decide their gender - all of that is endangered."
Mr Puig lost his job this week after a new Valencia government of the centre right PP, and hard-right Vox party were sworn in, following recent regional elections. Many in Spain believe Valencia is a weathervane for the wider country.
Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia, seen here on the centre-left
The vice-president of Valencia is now a retired bullfighter from Vox, Vicente Barrera. He's also an apologist for the Franco regime.
To celebrate summer in Spain's third largest city, there have been bullfights every night in Valencia's packed arena. Women throw flowers and fans in appreciation at the colourfully dressed bullfighters below, as they tease and taunt their horned opponent and a brass band plays to the crowd's cries of "Ole!"
Vox was busy electioneering just outside the arena, playing a recording on loudspeaker loop of party leader Santiago Abascal promising to "make Spain great again".
Most Vox activists refused to speak to us. But pensioner Paco was keen to share his thoughts:
"Vox defends family values and other traditions, including bullfighting," he told me. "The left call us anti-democratic but they're the ones who don't respect democracy. They want us not to exist."
"I can't even walk into a lefty neighbourhood of Valencia wearing a shirt with a Spanish flag on it," 22-year-old Eloy added. "If I do, people shout 'Facha! Fascist!' at me. It's not nice."
Divisions here are so febrile, they're almost tribal.
Many voters identify themselves by the pulsera, the ribbon they wear round their wrist. Yellow and red coloured ones, representing the flag of Spain are a sign of belonging to the right. Rainbow colours stand for LGBTQ+ rights and are also a symbol for the left.
All part of what many Spanish commentators describe as the current ''footballisation" of politics here.
But that risks trivialising how deeply many Spaniards feel about their preferred value set, or how threatened they believe those values are by the other side.
Vox are vowing to "make Spain great again"
I met Nieves feeling disenfranchised at Valencia's vibrant central market, where she now works. She says Spain may be doing better economically under Pedro Sanchez but the country's poorest weren't benefitting.
"This isn't now about choosing the extreme right. It's about extreme necessity. Salaries of hard-working people don't allow you to pay your bills. I was paid €4 an hour for years when I worked as a cleaner. I'm saying all this as a worker, a mother and as a housewife. Let's see what happens after Sunday's vote."
Nieves' sentiments are clear, but the percentage of Spaniards now saying they can live within their means has risen during Pedro Sanchez' time in government.
Employment figures have gone up. Spain has one of the lower inflation rates in Europe. Mr Sanchez got the EU to allow Spaniards to pay less for gas used to make electricity. He has raised Spain's profile internationally with strong support for Ukraine in its fightback against Russia.
So how come the anti-Sanchez attacks by the right fall on such fertile ground?
A question I put to his science and innovation minister Diana Morant, formally a local mayor in Valencia region.
"We see the resurgence of the far-right across Europe," she told me. "The right we have in Spain is not a moderate right. It uses the arguments of hate and tries to dehumanise our leader, the prime minister. While we were busy governing, they were spreading lies. But the people of Spain know what we stand for. Lies cannot win over truth."
At EU HQ in Brussels, there are huge concerns about a resurgence of hard-right nationalist parties across Europe.
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is a key player for the centre-right PP
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is from Valencia. He's a bigwig for the centre-right PP nationwide and in the European Parliament. I asked him if he was concerned it could damage his party's and Spain's reputation to jump into a coalition with Vox.
"I can tell you, Brussels isn't at all worried if my party ends up in a governing arrangement with Vox. There are all sorts of right-wing governments in the EU now. Look at Italy, Sweden, Finland and Austria."
"Actually," he added, "The UK government is more right wing than Vox. So, thank you BBC for that question but what Brussels really wants is not to have any more communists in the government in Spain."
This election is a story of two Spains.
The face this country wakes up with after Sunday's election will be radically different depending on who wins. Each side claims the other threatens Spaniards' identity and future.
But I can't help wondering, considering the record temperatures and drought here - why the parties, and Spanish voters - haven't concentrated more in the leadup to Sunday's election on a very real existential crisis for Spain: climate change.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66268330
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Faisal Islam: The pay pain isn't over yet - BBC News
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2023-07-14
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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An agreement over public sector pay doesn't mean the pressure is off altogether.
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Business
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A few months ago the government was suggesting that any public sector pay settlements above 5% would add to inflationary pressures. That was despite the fact that this still equated to a significant real terms pay cut, and public sector settlements do not directly add to pricing pressures.
On Thursday the government accepted settlements of up to 7% across a range of jobs, as recommended by the Pay Review Bodies.
Richard Hughes, who heads the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), told me that because the pay deals were being funded by savings made elsewhere, rather than through additional spending, they wouldn't be adding to the overall level of spending or the overall level of borrowing.
So in principle the pay awards would be "affordable, subject to those savings actually being realised", he said.
On whether 5% to 7% pay rises could entrench inflation, as the government had previously claimed, Mr Hughes told me: "The pressure that it puts on inflation would be offset, were the government to find savings elsewhere in departmental budgets, because that means that departments are spending less on other things, and that's not pushing up demand on goods and services elsewhere".
One of the arguments offered up by ministers over the past year has been that high public sector pay settlements could act as a ratchet for private sector wages, and thus contribute to inflationary pressures.
Inflation is proving stickier here than elsewhere. It is expected to remain at around 8% when new figures are released on Wednesday. In France it is now below 5%. In the US it has fallen to 3%.
So the numbers will remain high into next year and in the crucial months for calculating the state pension triple lock, the uprating of tax credits and benefits, and next year's public sector pay round.
High inflation will also mean tax receipts are higher, especially as the government has frozen income tax thresholds. But it's having an ugly effect on government borrowing costs.
This week's tricky pay decisions came in the wake of some awful long term tax and spending projections from the OBR.
The basic message of the OBR's fiscal risk report was that we are now in a new world of having both a large national debt and high and rising interest rates. In particular the UK's public finances are set to suffer even more than other countries', because a quarter of our debt is linked to inflation - bad news in current circumstances - and because our debt is also very short term.
When factoring in plausible future energy shocks, the OBR can see a path to national debt reaching an astonishing 300% or even 400% of national income in 2070. While some might rise an eyebrow about forecasts over this timeframe, the point is that the OBR fears a sluggishly growing UK economy, with a high debt and high interest rates, risks falling into a debt spiral.
It points to fears that the UK is spending everything on fighting the consequences of inflation rather than investing in the future.
As the former NHS Pay Review Body chair Jerry Cope told me for my Radio 4 Analysis documentary on strikes this week, a rejection of their recommendations would have prompted "fury" and elongated the period of strikes.
This deal keeps those Pay Review Bodies functioning as a way of defusing these pay tensions. But with inflation remaining high, and workers buoyed by using industrial action to secure higher wages, those tensions are not going to disappear.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66193590
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news_business-66193590
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ULEZ: London mayor lacks powers to expand zone, High Court told - BBC News
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2023-07-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A barrister for five councils says expanding the ultra-low emission zone is beyond Sadiq Khan's powers.
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London
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Protesters against the scheme's expansion staged a protest outside the High Court
London's mayor "lacks the legal powers" to extend the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), five Conservative-led councils have argued at the High Court.
Craig Howell Williams KC, for the councils, also said Sadiq Khan's plan to extend the zone was to create a "master charging scheme" for London.
The Labour mayor's legal team said the scheme was "entirely lawful" and that it would improve London's air quality.
Currently ULEZ covers the area between the North and South Circular roads.
If the expansion goes ahead as planned on 29 August, the zone would be three times its current size with new borders reaching Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
The ULEZ scheme currently requires people who drive in non-compliant or more polluting vehicles to pay a daily charge of £12.50 on days these are driven within inner London. Motorists face a maximum £160 fine if they do not pay.
Lorries, buses, coaches and heavy vans which are non-compliant are charged £100 under a separate low emission zone scheme, which already covers most of London.
Claims that nine out of 10 cars already complied with ULEZ standards in outer London were based on data from just 106 cameras, the High Court heard.
The barrister for the councils said people should have been told this during the consultation last year. "This is key information which was not available", said Mr Howell Williams.
He added that consultees might have concluded that forecast compliance rates from such a small number of cameras were "unlikely to be reliable given the size of the area being covered".
Transport for London (TfL) submitted information about its ANPR camera network ahead of the judicial review proceedings. It shows that while there are 1,156 cameras gathering data in the inner London "middle ring" of ULEZ, there were just 106 cameras covering the whole of outer London on which it based its claims about compliance.
In the lead-up to the judicial review, the BBC repeatedly requested data from the Mayor of London and TfL on how the 91% compliance rate was calculated.
Both bodies refused to make this information public.
Ben Jaffey KC, representing the mayor and TfL, said the use of ANPR camera data was "one of several different inputs into a complex model of compliance rates, traffic, emissions and air quality".
The barrister said TfL had been "clear" that camera coverage was "not comprehensive" and that for "full enforcement" it would install 2,750 more cameras.
The mayor plans to extend the scheme from 29 August
Mr Howell Williams, acting on behalf of Bexley, Bromley, Harrow, Hillingdon and Surrey councils, told the judicial review that Mr Khan did not have the legal right to vary existing regulations in this way.
In written arguments, he added that the mayor and TfL's approach would "bypass legal safeguards", which were "designed to ensure that any new charging scheme was properly considered before coming into effect".
The councils' barrister said material provided when gathering views on the plans was "unintelligible" and gave a "confused picture".
As a result, "intelligent responses were prevented", Mr Howell Williams said.
The barrister also said the mayor's plans for a £110m scrappage scheme, to provide grants to people to support them getting rid of non-compliant vehicles, were also unlawful because a "buffer zone" for "non-Londoners" affected by the extended charging zone was not considered.
Mr Jaffey said in his written arguments that the "primary objective" was "to improve London's air quality, in particular reducing nitrogen oxides and particulates".
The barrister said Mr Khan's decisions would help to get London's air quality closer to legal limits, in the areas where it is exceeded, and for World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to be reached everywhere.
A majority of cars driven in London are ULEZ-compliant
He added that over the past 16 years, London's mayors had used powers to order changes to emissions zones rules in the capital on many occasions.
"It would be bizarre if orders could not be amended to improve emissions standards as required," the barrister said, adding that "one might expect it to have come up before now".
Mr Jaffey went on: "The consultation materials were clear, detailed and provided more than ample information to enable an intelligent response and satisfy the requirements of fairness for consultations."
He said Mr Khan had "personally considered" the level of funding available for the scrappage scheme and had "rationally" concluded it would mitigate some of the impact of the ULEZ expansion.
Mr Jaffey added: "Where there are finite public funds, if there are good reasons for giving preference to Londoners, that inevitably means not giving others the same benefit. These are discretionary public spending decisions."
The hearing, before Mr Justice Swift, is due to conclude on Wednesday and the judge is expected to give his ruling at a later date.
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Scottish Green leaders to snub King's cathedral ceremony - BBC News
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2023-07-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Patrick Harvie will attend an anti-monarchy rally and Lorna Slater says that monarchy is "nothing to celebrate".
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Scotland
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Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater pictured at the Scottish Greens' spring party conference earlier this year
The co-leaders of the Scottish Greens have confirmed they will not attend a service of thanksgiving for King Charles III in Edinburgh this week.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater are both outspoken republican MSPs as well as government ministers.
Mr Harvie will instead speak at a rally outside Holyrood organised by the anti-monarchy group Our Republic.
Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said the decision was "akin to student politics".
Alex Salmond, the former first minister and SNP leader, also said he had "politely declined" an invitation to attend the ceremony.
The national service of thanksgiving on Wednesday will see the King being presented with the Scottish crown jewels in a ceremony to mark his Coronation.
Last year, members of the Scottish Greens boycotted a debate at Holyrood at which MSPs congratulated the late Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.
At the time, the party - which is part of a Scottish government power-sharing deal - said a head of state should be chosen by, and be accountable to, voters.
Confirming her intention not to attend Wednesday's ceremony, Ms Slater said: "In 21st Century Scotland, the monarchy is nothing to celebrate."
She added: "It is an out-of-date and undemocratic institution.
"How can we justify a system that allows one family to enjoy so much unearned wealth and privilege at a time when millions of people have so little?"
Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater met the Queen at the opening of the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament in October 2021
Mr Harvie added that the monarchy was one of the reasonshe supported Scottish independence.
He said: "There are many people in Scotland who regard the monarchy as a tiresome spectacle and a symbol of values we don't hold."
"I will be proud to speak at the Our Republic rally, and to stand with others who want to build a more democratic society, where power and wealth belongs to the people rather than being passed down as an inheritance."
Donald Cameron said Mr Harvie's choice to speak at the rally instead was "predictably infantile".
He added: "If he wants to ask big questions, he should start with how he conducts himself as a government minister.
"The Greens may have failed to deliver a deposit-return scheme, but they can definitely recycle tedious anti-monarchy rants.
"As on so many issues, the extremist Greens are out of touch with the majority of Scots, who see the Coronation and the King's commitment to Scotland as something to celebrate."
Meanwhile, Mr Salmond - who publicly backed keeping the monarchy in an independent Scotland while he was first minister - predicted that King Charles would be the "last king of Scots".
He added: "This really is not the time to be wasting money on public displays of fealty to a King. It is the time for a renewed debate on why Scotland needs to take its own future into its own hands.
"I believe Scotland will become an independent country, and when we do, I suspect the majority of people will want a fresh start on the basis of an elected head of state."
The King won't exactly be shocked to hear that Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater will not be attending the service.
He will know they are not there. It's not something that will slip under the radar - he is kept up-to-date with all affairs of state.
For the Greens, as avowed republicans, if they did go to St Giles's, they would feel they were betraying their own principles.
Mr Harvie will address the Our Republic demonstration instead.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater are ministers of the Crown - some maybe question if there's a "disloyalty" here?
However, it's not the Middle Ages and heads will not roll.
They were, after all, democratically elected by people who clearly share their views.
Widening this out though, the first minister will attend - although he's a republican too.
It's easy for him to make an argument about why he has to be present at the service.
Mr Yousaf previously made clear he went to the Coronation as he represents all the people of Scotland.
Perhaps there's a certain irony though about the nature of the Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication.
The King was crowned as King of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey - and this is most certainly not a "Scottish Coronation".
But all the rich panoply of what would seem to be Scottish "statehood" will be on show at St Giles.
It highlights Scotland's history as an independent nation and the service now emphasises that ancient past in the United Kingdom.
So despite the opposition from some quarters, others who share pro-independence views will take a different view about the event.
Some Scottish nationalists who hail from the more traditional and monarchist wing of the movement will watch tomorrow with a real sense of "what could be" - as they see that sense of Scottish "statehood" played out in front of His Majesty.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66095611
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news_uk-scotland-66095611
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France riots: Within days we were in hell, says mayor - BBC News
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2023-07-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A mayor in one of France's poorest areas wants the state to take tougher measures against rioters.
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Europe
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Zartoshte Bakhtiari, the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Marne, says the rioters in France "don't fear justice"
Zartoshte Bakhtiari says he hasn't slept more than three hours a night since the riots in France began a week ago.
By day, he's the mayor of Neuilly-sur-Marne, in one of France's poorest areas, east of Paris.
By night, he patrols the streets with a dozen staff and city councillors until 04:00 or 05:00, acting as an early warning system for police taking on the rioters there.
"Within days, we [were] in hell," he tells me.
On Tuesday, he'll head to the Élysée Palace with more than 200 other mayors to discuss the crisis with French President Emmanuel Macron.
His request is for "more toughness" from the state, and permission for the local city police to use drones to monitor activity in the town.
"What's happening now is the result of years of weakness from politicians, and decisions that have not been taken," he says.
"It's a problem of authority because these [rioters] don't fear justice. [They] may go to court, but they come back home a few hours after trial simply because we don't have enough places in jail in this district of Paris. We cannot support this kind of weakness from the state."
Just outside his office in the town hall is the charred wall of the local city police station.
"They jumped over this wall at 1am with a jerrycan of petrol," Mayor Bakhtiari explains, gesturing to the fleet of seven charred squad cars, their ashen skeletons lined up beneath the blackened façade.
But the building was shared with the public housing department, tasked with finding homes for 2,300 local people.
Inside, the office is a carbonised shell of melted plastic and ash. Not all the paper files were digitised. The details of many of those most desperate for housing here have been wiped from the records by the fire.
Laurence Tendron Brunet says the records of many local people in desperate need for housing have been destroyed by fire
The head of the housing department, Laurence Tendron Brunet, stands among the burnt ruins in tears.
"I'm so sad," she says. "We're going to rebuild, we're going to start again. But right now there are people who are so desperate for housing. I know about half of them - when they call, I recognise their voices. They're not files, they're human beings."
Mayor Bakhtiari says the arsonists were caught on a video surveillance camera, and from the footage they appear to be teenagers, perhaps 14-16 years old.
"I find it hard to understand that it's children who are destroying things," Laurence says, "because at that age, your parents should be responsible for you."
Round the back of the building, overlooking the car park with its fleet of charred police vehicles, we find a neighbour who filmed the fire on his mobile phone, and agreed to speak to us anonymously.
"Typical," he says, when he hears about the suspected age of the arsonists. "Organised thugs launch kids of 11 or 13 into the event, telling them: 'you'll never go to prison, so go ahead.' That's the norm here; they send the young kids [to] the front line. It's a gang tactic."
The riots across France were sparked by the fatal shooting by a police officer of 17-year-old Nahel M on 27 June
The worst-hit part of Neuilly-sur-Marne is an area called Les Fauvettes. The public library, shops and a supermarket have all been torched here. Les Fauvettes is also home to many of the rioters themselves.
Aicha, a 23-year-old teaching assistant, lives there too. She says she understands the initial anger that sparked the violence - even if she thinks it has since turned into looting and destruction.
"They're fed up," she says. "It always falls on the same people. If you're black or Arab, a gun is pulled and shots fired without thinking. When it's a white person, they think twice before shooting or even giving a fine."
But back in his office at the town hall, Mayor Bakhtiari rejects accusations that there's a problem with the French police.
"Absolutely not, I cannot hear that kind of argument," he insists. "Maybe we have people in the police who are racist, but we cannot say the police [itself] is racist. The police behave very well here in France."
But the actions of individual officers, like the one now facing a charge of voluntary homicide for shooting 17-year-old Nahel M. last week, are only half the story.
The other half is about the divisions these events expose within France.
A public collection for the family of that officer topped a million euros on Monday - dwarfing the amount collected for the family of Nahel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66092431
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news_world-europe-66092431
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Big moment on small boats problem - but solution is still far off - BBC News
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2023-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Opposition to the bill from peers and some Tory MPs, including former PM Theresa May, melted away.
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UK Politics
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Rishi Sunak has made tackling small boats in the Channel one of his five priorities
It was gone midnight when the moment came.
After so much wrangling and argument, the government's plans for dealing with people crossing the Channel in small boats was signed off by Parliament.
The Illegal Migration Bill will become law.
But hang on: and it is a big but.
The centrepiece of the plan - sending migrants to Rwanda - can't happen at least yet, as it has been challenged in the courts.
The Supreme Court will take a decision in the autumn.
So what happened last night?
The government won a final series of votes in the House of Lords, removing the last obstacle to the plans becoming law.
Opposition in the Lords, for so long so vociferous, dissolved away sufficiently for the government to get its way.
Some peers concluded they had made their point as far as their opposition was concerned, and as unelected parliamentarians, they wouldn't push their point further.
And, for a chamber not known for its abundance of youth, half midnight is mighty late.
Plus, I'm told, some Conservative peers not seen around the place very often, did turn up to back the government.
This morning, through bleary eyes, there is some surprise.
It had been expected the bill would pass this week, but perhaps not as soon as last night.
"Ping has been ponged" said one long standing Lords watcher - a reference to what is known as 'ping pong' when a bill is repeatedly sent from the Commons to the Lords and back again.
But back again, no more - it has passed.
In the short term, the Illegal Migration Act (as it soon will be) will mean, among other things, the mobile phones of those crossing in small boats can be seized and the case a migrant might make upon arrival would be weakened if they have thrown any documents they had into the sea.
But it is acknowledged these are "ancillary" measures while the decision of the Supreme Court is awaited.
A senior government source texted me in the small hours to herald what they saw as a "big win" that had been "unexpectedly smooth".
They added: "I don't think anyone imagined we could pilot through the most significant immigration bill for a generation without any material concessions and without any pressure on the government's majority."
That is a reference to the minimal amount of opposition among Tory MPs.
Opposition that did include, we should remember, the former Prime Minister Theresa May.
Mrs May is hugely proud of her work to tackle modern slavery and has long argued the plan undermines that work.
Government figures acknowledge her criticism is heartfelt and principled, but point out few Conservative colleagues shared her concerns.
In short, they think her objections would hugely undermine their plans but they acknowledge why she's so personally attached to the measures she put into law.
Finding workable solutions to international migratory flows will be one of the biggest challenges relatively rich countries face for decades to come.
This is the government's attempt at something of a solution. Its successors will face similar challenges.
"They'll have to own it now. Will it be fit for purpose? Will it do what it says on the tin? Or will it come back to bite them?" a senior Labour figure asks.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66232322
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news_uk-politics-66232322
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First British passports issued with King's name - BBC News
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2023-07-18
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Passports are about to be released with an updated wording for the reign of King Charles.
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UK
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It will be "His Majesty" whose name appears on UK passports from this week
The first British passports issued in King Charles's name are being released this week, the Home Office has said.
Passports will now use the wording "His Majesty", with the era finally ending for passports using "Her Majesty", for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The last time "His Majesty" appeared on a passport was in the reign of King George VI, which ended in 1952.
Five million passports have been issued already this year under the name of the late Queen.
The one person who will not need a passport is the King himself. By convention the monarch does not have to carry a passport to travel, because it is a document issued in his own name.
The updated passports are the latest stage in the gradual transition in reigns, with stamps and some coins now carrying the King's head. Banknotes will begin to change next year.
Since the late Queen's death last September there has been a steady process of switching to images and insignia of the new King, with an emphasis on using up existing stocks rather than having an abrupt change.
It will be the same for passports, with any existing supplies with "Her Majesty" being used until they run out, alongside the arrival of the new version.
The new passports will now carry the words: "His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of His Majesty..."
But the previous "Her Majesty" passports will also continue to be valid until their expiry date.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "For 70 years, Her Majesty has appeared on British passports and many of us will not remember a time when she did not feature. Today marks a significant moment in UK history."
After problems with delays to issuing passports last year and industrial action this year, the Home Office says 99% of passports are being issued within 10 weeks of application.
UK passports in their modern form, with photo and signature, have been issued since 1915, with the first security watermark being added in 1972 and machine-readable passports introduced in 1988.
In 2020, after leaving the European Union, UK passports changed from a burgundy colour, used since 1988, to dark blue.
This was described as returning to an "iconic blue", which prompted arguments on social media over the colour of new and old passports, with debates over whether the pre-EU and post-EU versions were really blue or black.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66238608
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news_uk-66238608
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NHS 75: Happy birthday - but can it survive to 100? - BBC News
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2023-07-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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As the NHS celebrates its anniversary, a look at what needs to change to help it in coming decades.
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Health
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The NHS turns 75 on Wednesday, but the landmark anniversary has been greeted with dire warnings it is unlikely to survive until its 100th birthday without drastic change. So what is the solution? From sin taxes to cutting back on medical treatment for the dying, experts have their say.
When the NHS was created the main focus was on short bouts of treatment for injury and infection, but now the challenge is completely different.
The ageing population means huge numbers of people are living with chronic health problems, such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes that require long-term care and for which there is no cure.
It is already estimated about £7 out of every £10 spent in the NHS goes on people with these conditions. On average, those over 65 have at least two.
And the situation is only going to worsen. "The numbers are going to grow," Health Foundation director of research and economics Anita Charlesworth says. "The baby boomer generation is reaching old age.
"Their health is going to be shaped by the lives they have lived - and they are a generation that have lived through the rapid increase in obesity. Their ill health is baked in. The next two decades are going to be very challenging."
Increases in the NHS budget will be needed but this must be accompanied by a shift in how resources are distributed, she says, so more is spent "upstream" in the community, including on social care, which sits outside the NHS, and prevention, to help people better manage their conditions without hospital care.
But given the amount of public money spent on the NHS has been rising ever since the health service was created - it now accounts for more than 40p out of every £1 spent on day-to-day public services, once things such as welfare are excluded - many are asking whether such spending is sustainable.
Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has floated the idea of charging to see a GP, arguing the NHS should be willing to learn from the approaches adopted by other countries, has called the current direction of travel "unsustainable".
But Ms Charlesworth, who used to be director of public spending at the Treasury, says extra money can be found, pointing out countries around the world are having to do the same.
"This is not unique to the the UK and our system," she says. "It is a global phenomenon. But increasing investment in the NHS is going to require economic growth - without that, you have to cut other services or increase taxation."
Healthcare spending should be seen as an investment in the country, rather than a cost, Ms Charlesworth says, pointing to data showing 2.5 million people are out of work because of poor health - equating to one person off long-term sick for every 13 in work.
"Economic growth depends on good health," she says, "but at the moment, we have got too many people on waiting lists - and there is a particular problem with mental health too."
King's Fund chief policy analyst Siva Anandaciva, who recently produced a report for the think tank looking at how the NHS compared with other rich nations, says as much as 5-6% extra a year may be needed in the short-term to tackle the immediate problems with the backlog and ageing infrastructure - the boost to the workforce announced by the government last week will take years to have an impact.
His report showed how the NHS had fewer staff and less equipment such as scanners than many other comparable countries - and to those who suggest a different model of funding may be needed, made it clear the findings were not an argument for moving to another system, adding there was little evidence any one particular approach was inherently better than another.
"History tells us that we do need to spend more on the NHS," Mr Anandaciva says. "Anything less than 2% is managed decline - and what we are spending now 3-4% is just standing still."
He says that will likely mean investing a greater proportion of public spending on the NHS, but says digital technology can make savings in other spending areas whereas the NHS is heavily reliant on labour. "At some point you will need a nurse to provide care," he adds.
Life expectancy gains since the NHS' creation have not been matched by increases in healthy life expectancy - on average, people are now expected to spend more than 20 years living in ill-health, according to the Office for National Statistics.
"We had hoped that medical advances would lead to people both living longer and living longer in good health - but that has not happened," Mr Anandaciva says. "It will require us to become much more active and healthier."
Many of the factors that influence the way people live are outside the NHS' control, he says. These so-called social determinants include education, work, housing and neighbourhoods.
Mr Anandaciva would like to see employers in particular more involved in the health of their workforce and backs the use of "sin taxes" such as minimum pricing for alcohol and levies on sugar and salt to influence behaviour.
But he says there will also need to be an honest debate on where to prioritise that spending. "At the end of life, our use of healthcare gets more intense and costs more," Mr Anandaciva says. "Would money be better used elsewhere?"
It is a point also made by Prof Sir David Haslam, who used to chair the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which decides what treatments should be made available on the NHS.
Sir David, who has written a book, Side Effects, about the challenges facing the NHS, says there needs to be more focus on getting "most bang for our buck".
There is too much focus on drugs and treatment that simply extend life rather than services that support people to live in good health, he says.
"For example, research has shown seeing the same GP for years reduces hospital admissions significantly," Sir David says. "If that was a drug, we would hail it as a wonder treatment - but instead, we've watched the number of GPs fall."
He says the medical profession overall is too "super-specialised" and calls for more generalists in the community and hospital to treat "the individual rather than their organs".
"It's so wasteful - patients with six or seven conditions can spend all their time going to different hospital departments, seeing different people, often with poor co-ordination between them," Sir David says.
And he also questions the amount of medical intervention at the end of life.
"Too many frail elderly patients are dying in hospital when that may be a completely inappropriate place," Sir David says.
"We have over-medicalised the end of life. When I die, I want to be in the place that is my home, with good care being provided. This is not about rationing care, it is about providing rational care."
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66087766
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news_health-66087766
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NHS 75: Happy birthday - but can it survive to 100? - BBC News
|
2023-07-05
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
As the NHS celebrates its anniversary, a look at what needs to change to help it in coming decades.
|
Health
|
The NHS turns 75 on Wednesday, but the landmark anniversary has been greeted with dire warnings it is unlikely to survive until its 100th birthday without drastic change. So what is the solution? From sin taxes to cutting back on medical treatment for the dying, experts have their say.
When the NHS was created the main focus was on short bouts of treatment for injury and infection, but now the challenge is completely different.
The ageing population means huge numbers of people are living with chronic health problems, such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes that require long-term care and for which there is no cure.
It is already estimated about £7 out of every £10 spent in the NHS goes on people with these conditions. On average, those over 65 have at least two.
And the situation is only going to worsen. "The numbers are going to grow," Health Foundation director of research and economics Anita Charlesworth says. "The baby boomer generation is reaching old age.
"Their health is going to be shaped by the lives they have lived - and they are a generation that have lived through the rapid increase in obesity. Their ill health is baked in. The next two decades are going to be very challenging."
Increases in the NHS budget will be needed but this must be accompanied by a shift in how resources are distributed, she says, so more is spent "upstream" in the community, including on social care, which sits outside the NHS, and prevention, to help people better manage their conditions without hospital care.
But given the amount of public money spent on the NHS has been rising ever since the health service was created - it now accounts for more than 40p out of every £1 spent on day-to-day public services, once things such as welfare are excluded - many are asking whether such spending is sustainable.
Former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who has floated the idea of charging to see a GP, arguing the NHS should be willing to learn from the approaches adopted by other countries, has called the current direction of travel "unsustainable".
But Ms Charlesworth, who used to be director of public spending at the Treasury, says extra money can be found, pointing out countries around the world are having to do the same.
"This is not unique to the the UK and our system," she says. "It is a global phenomenon. But increasing investment in the NHS is going to require economic growth - without that, you have to cut other services or increase taxation."
Healthcare spending should be seen as an investment in the country, rather than a cost, Ms Charlesworth says, pointing to data showing 2.5 million people are out of work because of poor health - equating to one person off long-term sick for every 13 in work.
"Economic growth depends on good health," she says, "but at the moment, we have got too many people on waiting lists - and there is a particular problem with mental health too."
King's Fund chief policy analyst Siva Anandaciva, who recently produced a report for the think tank looking at how the NHS compared with other rich nations, says as much as 5-6% extra a year may be needed in the short-term to tackle the immediate problems with the backlog and ageing infrastructure - the boost to the workforce announced by the government last week will take years to have an impact.
His report showed how the NHS had fewer staff and less equipment such as scanners than many other comparable countries - and to those who suggest a different model of funding may be needed, made it clear the findings were not an argument for moving to another system, adding there was little evidence any one particular approach was inherently better than another.
"History tells us that we do need to spend more on the NHS," Mr Anandaciva says. "Anything less than 2% is managed decline - and what we are spending now 3-4% is just standing still."
He says that will likely mean investing a greater proportion of public spending on the NHS, but says digital technology can make savings in other spending areas whereas the NHS is heavily reliant on labour. "At some point you will need a nurse to provide care," he adds.
Life expectancy gains since the NHS' creation have not been matched by increases in healthy life expectancy - on average, people are now expected to spend more than 20 years living in ill-health, according to the Office for National Statistics.
"We had hoped that medical advances would lead to people both living longer and living longer in good health - but that has not happened," Mr Anandaciva says. "It will require us to become much more active and healthier."
Many of the factors that influence the way people live are outside the NHS' control, he says. These so-called social determinants include education, work, housing and neighbourhoods.
Mr Anandaciva would like to see employers in particular more involved in the health of their workforce and backs the use of "sin taxes" such as minimum pricing for alcohol and levies on sugar and salt to influence behaviour.
But he says there will also need to be an honest debate on where to prioritise that spending. "At the end of life, our use of healthcare gets more intense and costs more," Mr Anandaciva says. "Would money be better used elsewhere?"
It is a point also made by Prof Sir David Haslam, who used to chair the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, which decides what treatments should be made available on the NHS.
Sir David, who has written a book, Side Effects, about the challenges facing the NHS, says there needs to be more focus on getting "most bang for our buck".
There is too much focus on drugs and treatment that simply extend life rather than services that support people to live in good health, he says.
"For example, research has shown seeing the same GP for years reduces hospital admissions significantly," Sir David says. "If that was a drug, we would hail it as a wonder treatment - but instead, we've watched the number of GPs fall."
He says the medical profession overall is too "super-specialised" and calls for more generalists in the community and hospital to treat "the individual rather than their organs".
"It's so wasteful - patients with six or seven conditions can spend all their time going to different hospital departments, seeing different people, often with poor co-ordination between them," Sir David says.
And he also questions the amount of medical intervention at the end of life.
"Too many frail elderly patients are dying in hospital when that may be a completely inappropriate place," Sir David says.
"We have over-medicalised the end of life. When I die, I want to be in the place that is my home, with good care being provided. This is not about rationing care, it is about providing rational care."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66087766
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news_health-66087766
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Scottish Green leaders to snub King's cathedral ceremony - BBC News
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2023-07-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Patrick Harvie will attend an anti-monarchy rally and Lorna Slater says that monarchy is "nothing to celebrate".
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Scotland
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Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater pictured at the Scottish Greens' spring party conference earlier this year
The co-leaders of the Scottish Greens have confirmed they will not attend a service of thanksgiving for King Charles III in Edinburgh this week.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater are both outspoken republican MSPs as well as government ministers.
Mr Harvie will instead speak at a rally outside Holyrood organised by the anti-monarchy group Our Republic.
Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said the decision was "akin to student politics".
Alex Salmond, the former first minister and SNP leader, also said he had "politely declined" an invitation to attend the ceremony.
The national service of thanksgiving on Wednesday will see the King being presented with the Scottish crown jewels in a ceremony to mark his Coronation.
Last year, members of the Scottish Greens boycotted a debate at Holyrood at which MSPs congratulated the late Queen on her Platinum Jubilee.
At the time, the party - which is part of a Scottish government power-sharing deal - said a head of state should be chosen by, and be accountable to, voters.
Confirming her intention not to attend Wednesday's ceremony, Ms Slater said: "In 21st Century Scotland, the monarchy is nothing to celebrate."
She added: "It is an out-of-date and undemocratic institution.
"How can we justify a system that allows one family to enjoy so much unearned wealth and privilege at a time when millions of people have so little?"
Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater met the Queen at the opening of the sixth session of the Scottish Parliament in October 2021
Mr Harvie added that the monarchy was one of the reasonshe supported Scottish independence.
He said: "There are many people in Scotland who regard the monarchy as a tiresome spectacle and a symbol of values we don't hold."
"I will be proud to speak at the Our Republic rally, and to stand with others who want to build a more democratic society, where power and wealth belongs to the people rather than being passed down as an inheritance."
Donald Cameron said Mr Harvie's choice to speak at the rally instead was "predictably infantile".
He added: "If he wants to ask big questions, he should start with how he conducts himself as a government minister.
"The Greens may have failed to deliver a deposit-return scheme, but they can definitely recycle tedious anti-monarchy rants.
"As on so many issues, the extremist Greens are out of touch with the majority of Scots, who see the Coronation and the King's commitment to Scotland as something to celebrate."
Meanwhile, Mr Salmond - who publicly backed keeping the monarchy in an independent Scotland while he was first minister - predicted that King Charles would be the "last king of Scots".
He added: "This really is not the time to be wasting money on public displays of fealty to a King. It is the time for a renewed debate on why Scotland needs to take its own future into its own hands.
"I believe Scotland will become an independent country, and when we do, I suspect the majority of people will want a fresh start on the basis of an elected head of state."
The King won't exactly be shocked to hear that Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater will not be attending the service.
He will know they are not there. It's not something that will slip under the radar - he is kept up-to-date with all affairs of state.
For the Greens, as avowed republicans, if they did go to St Giles's, they would feel they were betraying their own principles.
Mr Harvie will address the Our Republic demonstration instead.
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater are ministers of the Crown - some maybe question if there's a "disloyalty" here?
However, it's not the Middle Ages and heads will not roll.
They were, after all, democratically elected by people who clearly share their views.
Widening this out though, the first minister will attend - although he's a republican too.
It's easy for him to make an argument about why he has to be present at the service.
Mr Yousaf previously made clear he went to the Coronation as he represents all the people of Scotland.
Perhaps there's a certain irony though about the nature of the Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication.
The King was crowned as King of the United Kingdom at Westminster Abbey - and this is most certainly not a "Scottish Coronation".
But all the rich panoply of what would seem to be Scottish "statehood" will be on show at St Giles.
It highlights Scotland's history as an independent nation and the service now emphasises that ancient past in the United Kingdom.
So despite the opposition from some quarters, others who share pro-independence views will take a different view about the event.
Some Scottish nationalists who hail from the more traditional and monarchist wing of the movement will watch tomorrow with a real sense of "what could be" - as they see that sense of Scottish "statehood" played out in front of His Majesty.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-66095611
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news_uk-scotland-66095611
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Humza Yousaf reveals Scots citizenship and passport plan - BBC News
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2023-07-27
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Scottish government has published the latest prospectus in its series of independence papers.
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Scotland
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Mr Yousaf has launched the fifth prospectus in the Building a New Scotland series
First Minister Humza Yousaf has unveiled plans for citizenship and passports in an independent Scotland.
A new Scottish government paper sets out proposals on migrants' rights and freedom of movement in the event that the country leaves the union.
The prospectus is the fifth in the Building a New Scotland series, which was launched by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon last year.
Opposition MSPs have labelled the plans a waste of taxpayers' money.
Speaking at launch event in Edinburgh attended by "New Scots" including Ukrainian and Syrian refugees, Mr Yousaf said a move to a more "inclusive" Irish-style citizenship system would be beneficial morally and economically.
He told BBC Scotland it would address "barriers" facing those seeking citizenship and help to halt a decline in Scotland's working-age population.
The new paper, called Citizenship in an independent Scotland, proposes that Scotland would allow those born outside the country after independence to be automatically entitled to Scottish citizenship, if at least one of their parents is a Scottish citizen.
It also outlines the rights of British citizens to claim dual nationality at the point of independence and set out proposals to make it easier for those from overseas to apply for Scottish citizenship.
The paper proposes that Scotland would remain part of the Common Travel Area after independence, allowing British and Irish citizens to live and work in Scotland without restrictions, while Scottish citizens would retain those same rights in the UK and in Ireland.
The new prospectus was launched at a roundtable event in Edinburgh
The government claims that the Common Travel Area arrangements would mean there would be no new passport or immigration checks at any of Scotland's land, sea or air borders with the UK.
The first minister dismissed concerns about such an arrangement, pointing to EU member Ireland's current relationship with the UK under the Common Travel Area.
He added: "If Scotland has a really open, inclusive model of citizenship that allows people to come here to work, to be part of society, to contribute, why on earth would they want to move away from Scotland?"
Mr Yousaf insisted the Scottish government had spent a "fraction" of the £3 billion he said it spends every year on "mitigating the effects of Westminster austerity and the cost of living crisis".
"These papers are important because we were elected, of course, with a mandate for a referendum and to make that positive case for independence," the SNP leader said.
According to the proposals, Scottish citizens would have the right to a Scottish passport, which they should be able to apply for and receive by the first day of independence.
The paper says that any valid UK passports would continue to be recognised in Scotland until their expiry date, stating it would not be a requirement of Scottish citizenship to hold a Scottish passport.
The passports, which would be a burgundy red colour, would follow EU standards for international travel documents and would be available in lengths of five years for children and ten years for adults, it is proposed.
The government reiterated its ambition for Scotland to rejoin the EU and set out how it proposes to safeguard the rights of EU citizens.
The document says their rights would be upheld in line with the protections of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement "until such time as they can exercise their reciprocal EU treaty rights to free movement in Scotland once again".
Mr Yousaf launched the new paper alongside Independence Minister Jamie Hepburn and Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater
Other papers laid out economic proposals and said democracy can be "renewed" with independence.
In response to the latest prospectus launch, Scottish Labour constitution spokesperson Neil Bibby said the Scottish government was "distracted by its constitutional obsession".
Scottish Conservatives constitution spokesperson Donald Cameron said the publication was a "blatant misuse of public money and resources by the SNP".
Scottish Liberal Democrat communities spokesperson Willie Rennie also criticised the use of government time and money for something that "just isn't going to happen".
The paper was launched amid a dispute over Scottish government ministers using civil service staff to develop policy in reserved areas.
Cabinet Office minister Lucy Neville-Rolfe told the Lords this week that "sanctions" for Scottish ministers would be considered as part of a review of the Cabinet Manual, which codifies the conduct and operation of government and civil servants.
Labour peer George Foulkes suggested Scottish ministers could face financial penalties and told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the UK "was never meant to be a union of equal partners".
But Robert Hazell, a professor of government and the constitution at University College London who was involved in compiling the Cabinet Manual, told BBC Scotland it was "perfectly proper" for civil servants to work on the Scottish government's agenda.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard told BBC Scotland: "No unelected Lord or UK minister will dictate how our democratic institution operates."
Your passport is a key to your identity.
It's the one document that really links you to the state you belong to - or don't want to belong to.
My passport is a few years old and a bit worn.
There are three key trigger phrases for anyone who follows the Scottish constitutional debate: "United Kingdom", "European Union" and "Her Britannic Majesty" - the current state, Brexit and the future of the monarchy.
The Scottish government event was all about citizenship - the people who hold the passport of an independent Scotland.
The aim is to follow the Irish model - those born outwith the country after independence will be entitled to Scottish citizenship, if one of their parents is a citizen here.
That's the same as the 2013 independence white paper almost ten years ago - it said the birth must be registered in Scotland to take effect.
There's nothing surprising here - but there is a real emphasis that this is necessary for a stronger economy with more people working for good public services.
The policy is welcoming of "New Scots". Tie that in with a critique of Westminster migration policies and a strong dose of pro-EU rhetoric, it's a frequent flyer for anyone covering this beat.
Questioned if a "watered-down" Scottish citizenship would lead to back door migration to the rest of the UK - the first minister turned the argument on its head, saying if there's an open and inclusive model why would they want to move away from Scotland?
These papers are often launched on sluggish news days when parliament is on holiday - guaranteeing a good bit of news coverage.
It feeds into the critique from the opposition that the Scottish government shouldn't be "wasting" money on this - particularly after the Supreme Court ruling last autumn that said aspects of the constitution are reserved.
The Conservatives believe a line should now be drawn but the SNP resist, portraying that as a further squeeze on Scottish democratic institutions.
What are more problematic for the first minister is perhaps, his own internal critics in the nationalist movement.
They could hit out at the drawing up of shiny burgundy passport plans - but may feel the journey to a successful strategy to gain a fresh independence referendum has not yet been properly embarked upon.
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Jury rules document found in Aretha Franklin's couch is valid will - BBC News
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2023-07-11
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A jury rules that a handwritten document found in Aretha Franklin's couch is a valid will to her estate.
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US & Canada
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A Michigan jury has ruled that a 2014 document found in Aretha Franklin's couch after her death is a valid will to her multi-million dollar estate.
A two-day trial pitted the late Queen of Soul's children against each other in a battle over two handwritten versions of the singer's final wishes.
Attorneys for two of Franklin's sons had asserted their half-brother Ted White "wants to disinherit" them.
Tuesday's verdict ends a nearly five-year legal squabble within the family.
When Franklin died from pancreatic cancer in August 2018, it was widely believed she had not prepared a will to roughly $6m (£4.6m) in real estate, cash, gold records and furs, or to her music copyrights.
But, nine months later, her niece Sabrina Owens - the estate's executor at the time - discovered two separate sets of handwritten documents at the singer's home in Detroit.
One version, dated June 2010, was found inside a locked desk drawer, along with record contracts and other documents.
A newer version, from March 2014, was found within a spiral notebook containing Franklin's doodles wedged beneath the living room sofa cushions.
The 2014 will includes the quote "...being of sound mind, I write my will and testimony"
Six jurors in the city of Pontiac were tasked with determining whether or not the latter document qualifies as a valid will - a verdict they reached in less than an hour.
At the heart of the dispute are the distinctions between the two documents over what the soul superstar's four children would inherit.
Under the will now ruled valid, three sons would evenly split her music royalties and bank funds, while the youngest child Kecalf and his grandchildren would inherit his mother's primary residence, a gated mansion last valued at $1.2m (£928,000).
The 2010 document meanwhile would see a more even distribution of Franklin's assets, but requires that Kecalf and another son Edward "must take business classes and get a certificate or a degree" in order to benefit from the estate.
Kecalf and Edward have argued the newer document revokes the intentions of the older one, while their half-brother Ted argued it did not.
Taking the stand, Kecalf testified that his mother often handled business on the couch and it "doesn't strike me as odd" that a will had been found there.
During closing arguments on Tuesday, his lawyer argued the nature of the notebook's discovery was "inconsequential".
"You can take your will and leave it on the kitchen counter," said Charles McKelvie. "It's still your will."
And Edward's lawyer, Craig Smith, highlighted the document's first line - "To whom it may concern and being of sound mind, I write my will and testimony" - to argue their mother was "speaking from the grave".
"Teddy wants to disinherit his two brothers," he alleged. "Teddy wants it all."
Ted, who was his mother's touring guitarist, told the trial that Franklin would have written a will "conventionally and legally" rather than by "freehand".
His attorney Kurt Olson pointed out on Tuesday that the 2010 will was under lock and key in the house rather than under the cushions.
"They're trying to make Ted a bad guy," said Mr Olson.
Aretha's son Kecalf Franklin (right) argued her handwritten will did not strike him as odd
Franklin's eldest child Clarence, who lives in assisted housing under a guardianship, was not involved in the dispute.
He will receive an undisclosed percentage of the estate in a pre-trial agreement reached between his brothers and his guardian.
Surveys suggest more than 70% of black Americans do not have wills, in part because of centuries of distrust in the US legal system and concerns over the seizure of black-owned property.
Heirs to other prominent musicians, such as Prince and James Brown, took several years to resolve rows over their estates.
At the time of Franklin's death, her fortune was estimated to be $80m, but more recent valuations and several years of unpaid taxes have vastly reduced that number.
Nicholas Papasifakis, who currently serves as Franklin's personal representative, has previously said he will follow the court's determination and distribute her assets accordingly.
Outside court after the verdict, Kecalf Franklin said: "I'm very, very happy. I just wanted my mother's wishes to be adhered to. We just want to exhale right now. It's been a long five years for my family, my children."
Although he did not appear to speak with his brother Ted in the courtroom, he added: "I love my brother with all my heart."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Aretha Franklin in her own words
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Government weigh up 6.5% public sector pay increase - BBC News
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2023-07-11
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The announcement is expected on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
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UK Politics
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Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have been taking part in strikes over pay
The government is considering pay increases of 6-6.5% for public sector workers, the BBC understands.
Official pay review bodies for employees including teachers, junior doctors and police have recommended the pay rise. Inflation to May was 8.7%.
The announcement will be made on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
Government sources have told the BBC any rises over 3.5% would need to come out of existing departmental budgets.
The BBC has been told that all of the independent bodies have all recommended pay rises of between 6% and 6.5% for public sector workers, also including prison officers, senior civil servants and the armed forces.
But there have been heavy hints from ministers in the past few weeks that they may not accept these recommendations, stressing their argument for wage "discipline" during a period of high inflation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says pay awards should be "responsible" to avoid making inflation worse. He has made tackling rising prices his top political priority.
Departments had told pay review bodies they had budgeted for pay rises of about 3.5%.
The salaries of NHS staff in England - apart from junior doctors and dentists - are not included in these recommendations.
Under a deal set out earlier this year, NHS workers will receive a 5% pay rise. Ambulance workers, nurses, physios and porters will also get a one-off sum of at least £1,655.
It's expected the PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will tell ministers any awards higher than this will have to be funded through cuts or savings elsewhere in their own departments.
A decision not to accept the recommendations would prompt fresh tensions with unions, raising the prospect of continuing public-sector strikes.
Mr Hunt ruled out funding pay rises with government borrowing during an interview on ITV1's Peston programme.
Increasing public sector pay through borrowing would "pump billions of pounds of extra money into the economy" leading to businesses "putting up their prices" and driving further inflation.
And in a speech to leading figures from finance and business at the Mansion House this week, he said: "Borrowing is itself inflationary."
The prime minister spoke to journalists ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania
Speaking at a news conference at the Nato summit in Lithuania, Mr Sunak said his decision about pay would be guided by "fairness" to public sector workers and taxpayers, as well as "responsibility".
He said he did not want to do anything that would "fuel inflation, make it worse or last for longer".
Speaking on Monday during a visit to Avon and Somerset police force, Home Secretary Suella Braverman would not answer directly whether the government should abide by recommendations on public sector pay.
Praising police officers, she said: "They do incredibly heroic work, day in, day out, and they save lives and it's right that we properly reward them for their sacrifice and their dedication.
"We know that there's an ongoing process - it is a decision for the whole of government.
"I don't want to pre-empt that process and the conclusions of that consideration, but it's right that we properly reward frontline police officers and bear in mind that we're in a very challenging situation, economically."
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner declined to say whether her party would accept pay body recommendations.
She said she hadn't "seen the books" but a Labour government would do its best to negotiate a deal that was acceptable to public sector workers.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Labour's fiscal rules are “non-negotiable”, says its deputy leader, but there is "room in the middle” for pay rises.
Mr Sunak has previously pledged to halve inflation this year to about 5%, as part of his top five priorities since becoming prime minister.
The rate at which prices are rising remained unchanged at 8.7% in May, despite predictions it would fall.
Persistent inflation levels would make it hard to cut taxes before the next election, Chancellor Hunt said in an interview with the Financial Times.
But Mr Sunak said he and the chancellor were "completely united on wanting to reduce taxes for people".
"But the number one priority right now is to reduce inflation and be responsible with government borrowing," he added.
Almost half of public sector workers are covered by pay review bodies, including police and prison officers, the armed forces, doctors, dentists and teachers.
The pay review bodies are made up of economists and experts on human resources, with experience in both the public and private sector and are appointed by the relevant government department.
Their recommendations are not legally binding, meaning the government can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice, but it is usually accepted.
Some agreements have been reached, including a pay settlement for more than a million NHS staff in England.
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Laura Kuenssberg: What could go wrong for Keir Starmer? - BBC News
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2023-07-15
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The Labour leader is quietly preparing for power but he can't take anything for granted - here's why.
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UK Politics
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Preparation sessions for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday are a crucial couple of hours in the Westminster timetable.
The prime minister and the leader of the opposition sit down with their key advisers to try out attack lines and taunts, master the facts and, crucially, come up with some jokes.
Yes, politics is a profoundly serious business, but humour can be a deadly verbal weapon, and create a moment that will leap into the headlines.
And for opposition leaders, that chance to grab the country's attention is what PMQs is all about.
Sir Keir Starmer, publicly, is not exactly known for cracking gags.
His early performances at PMQs were not full of levity, one columnist joked back then that even a smile was a collector's item.
But now, more than three years into the job, after many months ahead in the polls, one of Sir Keir's confidants tells me he is coming up with more of his own jokes.
"He wouldn't accept 'I can't do humour'", they tell me, and now will increasingly suggest wisecracks rather than rely on others' lines.
It is a small, but revealing change in what insiders describe as his strict political regime, a sign of his growing ease, and "fiercely competitive" nature, a refusal ever to accept that he can't do things to get better at the job.
The Labour leader has good reason to be increasingly confident that he will one day walk through Number 10's shiny black door.
A lot has gone right since he took over back in spring 2020, a political lifetime ago.
A Labour source says his three phase plan - "fix the party, trash the Tories, then develop an offer" - has been "vindicated", recalling in the early days their many critics said he was "being too slow", or "trying to bounce us early" into making big decisions.
Remember too, when Sir Keir won the leadership there were warnings that Labour might even cease to exist.
They had been absolutely hammered in the 2019 election. There had been years of vicious infighting, and agonies over antisemitism.
By any measure, restoring the party to a credible political organisation is an enormous accomplishment.
Without question, Sir Keir has been helped by the Conservatives' rolling series of crises - the chaos of Boris Johnson's downfall, the market meltdown of Liz Truss' several dozens of days in office, and now the profound problems in the economy.
The Starmer smile is on show more often at PMQs
But even with the much more ordered regime of Rishi Sunak, Labour has managed to stay significantly ahead in the polls, making important advances in local elections, and soon to be tested again in a flurry of by-elections you can read about here.
As a result of a solid and sustained opinion poll lead, Labour is thinking not just about how to win anymore, but in detail about what they would do if they get there.
Sir Keir is the first to warn of complacency, repeatedly telling his team to fight "like they are five points behind".
But there is no question he is mulling over how he would govern.
"He is thinking, I want to be ready and I want to be a good prime minister," says an ally.
Another source tells me he is already using a red box system, like a prime minister would.
"Everything goes in by late afternoon with a hard deadline and he spends his evenings poring over papers, ideas, drafts, or submissions", all dealt with by the morning.
But it may be more than a year still until he has the chance to swap the bag that holds his papers for a real government red box. And there is still an awful lot that could go wrong.
Sensing the opportunity and worrying it could go south is "scary as hell", says a shadow minister.
There is a widespread awareness that Labour's massive lead now is likely to narrow as a general election comes closer.
The Tories "aren't dead", says one shadow minister and their party HQ has one of the most successful campaign fighting records in the Western world.
And the first rule of politics is always, learn to count.
Labour's poll lead over the Conservatives is expected to narrow
A whopping national poll lead does not automatically translate into winning many more seats in a general election, as one Labour MP in a tightly-fought constituency worries - "The biggest danger is that you rack up big majorities and don't seal the deal with enough of the seats".
Sir Keir's team can't change the fact that Labour fell so far behind in 2019 that winning an overall majority isn't just climbing a mountain, more scaling the Himalayas. They also of course, like any political organisation, can't control unforeseen events that can shape how voters make decisions.
Not much however is without risk, even issues that ought to be within Starmer's control.
First, one source half jokes what could go wrong is "The Labour Party"!
The danger is "it loses discipline and focus and makes unforced errors", they tell me.
"It's been 20 years since we won a general election", they add, and the party simply doesn't have the habit.
A shadow minister says "we have to hold our nerve" and not make any mistakes, or give into pressure from the left of the party.
The leadership has been accused of control freakery, trying to suppress the left, expelling party members unfairly.
But a source says the danger of disputes with the left is "way down the risk register", the focus has to be on potential voters.
One shadow minister believes Sir Keir thinks "I can't be in government and dependent on these people".
The logic goes that battles with the left over who gets to run as a Labour MP now are well worth having to avoid having an awkward squad that could make life difficult in Parliament later. Particularly if Labour has to try to run the country as a minority government or with a tiny majority.
The Labour leader has his eyes firmly on Number 10
The leadership's most central strategy is one of the reasons why there are grumbles on the left - and that is risky too.
As we heard from Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week, and Sir Keir is likely to argue in our interview on Sunday morning, Labour has put watching the pennies strictly at the top of its list.
With the economy in serious trouble, they share some of the ethos of the current government, however uncomfortable that might feel, that now is not the time for huge spending or huge tax cuts.
That discipline means the party has dropped or watered down some promises that activists loved - the plan for free university tuition in England, delaying big spending proposals for green projects.
No-one is getting promises from Rachel Reeves' cheque book, as we talked about last week.
It has had an effect on the leader's reputation.
One union leader says Starmer has "had the blame for shifts in policy that have made him look a bit shifty".
And there is concern that all the talk of keeping a lid on spending on what Keir Starmer once described as "good Labour things" will lead voters to wonder what Labour really would offer.
Another senior figure tells me: "The economy is on its knees - sitting there saying, we are very sensible, who is going to listen to that?"
There is also a question of the political argument being made.
Keir Starmer and his team have made the case for many years that the deep roots of many of the country's problems relate to the austerity of the coalition years, when George Osborne kept strict limits on spending.
But if Labour's plan does not include filling in the holes financially to undo that damage, does that stack up?
One of his MPs, not from the far left of the party, ponders "it is pretty hard to criticise this government without acknowledging the damage that austerity has caused, and then not say you would spend more… no-one really believes that he wouldn't spend more". As Labour approaches its National Policy Forum next week, an important powwow with activists and unions, calls for more ambition, like from the leader of the Unite union, Sharon Graham, may become familiar.
Stressing the importance of reforming and improving public services, and getting the economy growing without spending billions extra and certainly not borrowing without good reason.
Labour's top team is stuck like glue to the idea that they have to show they would keep a tight grip on public spending, almost as if they are traumatised by past elections when the Conservatives have run the attack that they would splash the cash.
A senior figure suggests the leadership is "very nervous about making any wrong moves on the economy".
But those at the top believe the messiness of the past few months, particularly the rising cost of mortgages, make discipline even more important.
One shadow minister says: "The mortgage stuff hits homeowners in places like Stevenage and Luton, swing voters, who are looking for people who are serious on the economy."
But insiders acknowledge turning discipline into electoral excitement might not be easy. Making promises about abstract reform doesn't necessarily get voters running to the polling booths.
As Parliament packs up for the summer, there is no question that Sir Keir Starmer has cause to be confident. His party is well ahead, but risk is all around.
There are traps to avoid, big decisions to take, many thousands of miles of campaigning still to go.
With less time to play football, the Labour leader now tries to stay in a hotel with a gym, to run on a treadmill.
After more than three years in the job, even having clocked up many successes, he knows the journey to the job he craves in Number 10 is still a marathon, not a sprint.
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Polarised Spain eyes the hard-right ahead of election - BBC News
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2023-07-23
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Spain goes to the polls to decide its next government on Sunday, and a hard-right coalition is looking likely.
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Europe
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Spain's hard-right Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, could likely form part of the next government
Spain's election on Sunday is provoking political tremors even before polls open.
The most likely government to emerge - most analysts predict - will be a coalition including a hard-right nationalist party for the first time in Spain since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
More left-leaning Spaniards are frantically texting contacts, urging them to make sure to vote - despite the heat and it being holiday time for many - to "stop the fascists" in their tracks.
The political right, meanwhile, has said voters have a choice: Sanchez (the current centre-left prime minister and his coalition including the far-left) or Spain. Implying that under another Sanchez government, the country will crumble.
The rhetoric this election season has been toxic, with voters becoming increasingly polarised.
It's a fight over values, traditions and about what being Spanish should mean in 2023.
This kind of heated identity debate isn't peculiar to Spain. Think of Italy, France, Brazil or the post-Trumpian debate in the US.
But Spain was already divided. It has been since the civil war in the 1930s and the following four decades of dictatorship under General Franco. To this day, there's never been an open debate here about victims and aggressors. Old wounds still fester.
"The hard-right, centre-right coalition represents a return to the past, to neo-Francoism," Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia region told me at an end of campaign rally for Prime Minister Sanchez's centre-left PSOE party on Friday night.
"Liberal values like gay marriage - Spain was one of the first European countries to legalise it - or the freedom for people to decide their gender - all of that is endangered."
Mr Puig lost his job this week after a new Valencia government of the centre right PP, and hard-right Vox party were sworn in, following recent regional elections. Many in Spain believe Valencia is a weathervane for the wider country.
Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia, seen here on the centre-left
The vice-president of Valencia is now a retired bullfighter from Vox, Vicente Barrera. He's also an apologist for the Franco regime.
To celebrate summer in Spain's third largest city, there have been bullfights every night in Valencia's packed arena. Women throw flowers and fans in appreciation at the colourfully dressed bullfighters below, as they tease and taunt their horned opponent and a brass band plays to the crowd's cries of "Ole!"
Vox was busy electioneering just outside the arena, playing a recording on loudspeaker loop of party leader Santiago Abascal promising to "make Spain great again".
Most Vox activists refused to speak to us. But pensioner Paco was keen to share his thoughts:
"Vox defends family values and other traditions, including bullfighting," he told me. "The left call us anti-democratic but they're the ones who don't respect democracy. They want us not to exist."
"I can't even walk into a lefty neighbourhood of Valencia wearing a shirt with a Spanish flag on it," 22-year-old Eloy added. "If I do, people shout 'Facha! Fascist!' at me. It's not nice."
Divisions here are so febrile, they're almost tribal.
Many voters identify themselves by the pulsera, the ribbon they wear round their wrist. Yellow and red coloured ones, representing the flag of Spain are a sign of belonging to the right. Rainbow colours stand for LGBTQ+ rights and are also a symbol for the left.
All part of what many Spanish commentators describe as the current ''footballisation" of politics here.
But that risks trivialising how deeply many Spaniards feel about their preferred value set, or how threatened they believe those values are by the other side.
Vox are vowing to "make Spain great again"
I met Nieves feeling disenfranchised at Valencia's vibrant central market, where she now works. She says Spain may be doing better economically under Pedro Sanchez but the country's poorest weren't benefitting.
"This isn't now about choosing the extreme right. It's about extreme necessity. Salaries of hard-working people don't allow you to pay your bills. I was paid €4 an hour for years when I worked as a cleaner. I'm saying all this as a worker, a mother and as a housewife. Let's see what happens after Sunday's vote."
Nieves' sentiments are clear, but the percentage of Spaniards now saying they can live within their means has risen during Pedro Sanchez' time in government.
Employment figures have gone up. Spain has one of the lower inflation rates in Europe. Mr Sanchez got the EU to allow Spaniards to pay less for gas used to make electricity. He has raised Spain's profile internationally with strong support for Ukraine in its fightback against Russia.
So how come the anti-Sanchez attacks by the right fall on such fertile ground?
A question I put to his science and innovation minister Diana Morant, formally a local mayor in Valencia region.
"We see the resurgence of the far-right across Europe," she told me. "The right we have in Spain is not a moderate right. It uses the arguments of hate and tries to dehumanise our leader, the prime minister. While we were busy governing, they were spreading lies. But the people of Spain know what we stand for. Lies cannot win over truth."
At EU HQ in Brussels, there are huge concerns about a resurgence of hard-right nationalist parties across Europe.
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is a key player for the centre-right PP
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is from Valencia. He's a bigwig for the centre-right PP nationwide and in the European Parliament. I asked him if he was concerned it could damage his party's and Spain's reputation to jump into a coalition with Vox.
"I can tell you, Brussels isn't at all worried if my party ends up in a governing arrangement with Vox. There are all sorts of right-wing governments in the EU now. Look at Italy, Sweden, Finland and Austria."
"Actually," he added, "The UK government is more right wing than Vox. So, thank you BBC for that question but what Brussels really wants is not to have any more communists in the government in Spain."
This election is a story of two Spains.
The face this country wakes up with after Sunday's election will be radically different depending on who wins. Each side claims the other threatens Spaniards' identity and future.
But I can't help wondering, considering the record temperatures and drought here - why the parties, and Spanish voters - haven't concentrated more in the leadup to Sunday's election on a very real existential crisis for Spain: climate change.
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Cambodia election: 'This was more of a coronation than an election' - BBC News
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2023-07-23
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Prime Minister Hun Sen's son is expected to take over within weeks of the vote.
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Asia
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Hun Manet, son of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, is expected to succeed his father within weeks
Undeterred by the pouring rain, a long convoy of motorbikes carrying cheering, flag-waving supporters of Cambodia's ruling party revved their engines in preparation for their triumphant final rally in downtown Phnom Penh.
People dutifully lined the road as far as you could see, party stickers on their cheeks, the sky-blue hats and shirts they had been given to wear getting steadily wetter.
Perched on the back of a truck, Hun Manet, the 45-year-old eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, greeted the crowds proclaiming that only the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) was capable of leading the country.
Indeed, his father had made sure that the CPP was the only party which could possibly win the election.
Hun Sen, 70, has run Cambodia in his trademark pugnacious style for 38 years: first in a Vietnam-installed communist regime, then under a UN-installed multi-party system, and more recently as an increasingly intolerant autocrat.
The only party now capable of challenging his rule, the Candlelight Party, was banned from the election on a technicality in May. The remaining 17 parties allowed to contest it were too small or too little-known to pose a threat.
A few hours after the polls closed, the CPP claimed the expected landslide, with a turnout of more than 80%. There were quite high levels of spoiled ballot papers in some polling stations: that was probably the only safe way voters could show their support for the opposition.
With Hun Manet expected to succeed his father within weeks of the vote, in a long-prepared transfer of power, this felt more like a coronation than an election.
"I don't think we can even call it a sham election," says Mu Sochua, an exiled former minister and member of the CNRP, another opposition party banned by the Cambodian authorities in 2017.
"We should call it a 'selection', for Hun Sen to make sure that his party will select his son as the next prime minister of Cambodia, to continue the dynasty of the Hun family."
Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, faced no real challenge at the election
Yet there were signs of nervousness in the CPP before the vote. New laws were hurriedly passed criminalising any encouragement of ballot-spoiling or a boycott. Several Candlelight members were arrested.
"Why was the CPP campaigning so hard, against no one in this election with no real opposition?" asks Ou Virak, founder of the Cambodian think tank Future Forum.
"They knew they would win the election - that was an easy outcome for them. But winning legitimacy is much more difficult.
"They need to keep weakening the opposition, but at the same time, they also need to satisfy the people, so there is no repeat of previous setbacks and disruptions, like street protests."
Hun Sen is one of Asia's great survivors, a wily, street-smart politician who has time and again outmanoeuvred his opponents. He has skilfully played off China, by far the biggest foreign investor these days, against the US and Europe, which are trying to claw back lost influence in the region.
But he has come close to losing elections in the past. He is still vulnerable, to rival factions in his own ruling party, and to any sudden downturn in the Cambodian economy which could sour public opinion against him. So as he prepares for a once-in-a-generation leadership change, he is trying to cement his legacy.
A short drive north of the capital, a 33m-high concrete-and-marble monolith was built recently, which he calls the Win-Win memorial.
The Win-Win Memorial opened in 2018 and reportedly cost $12m
Its massive base is covered in carved stone reliefs, echoing Cambodia's greatest historic monument, Angkor Wat.
They depict Hun Sen's flight from Khmer Rouge-ruled Cambodia to Vietnam in 1977, his triumphant return with the invading Vietnamese army in 1979, and his eventual deal with the last of the Khmer Rouge leaders in 1998 that ended the long civil war - his win-win for the Cambodian people.
Delivering peace and prosperity has long been Hun Sen's main claim to legitimacy. Since 1998, Cambodia has had one of the world's fastest-growing economies, albeit from a very low base.
But it is a model of growth which has concentrated wealth in the hands of a few families - the number of ultra-luxury cars on the roads of such a low-income country is jarring. It has encouraged rapacious exploitation of Cambodia's natural resources and it has left many ordinary people feeling that they are not winning under Mr Sen.
Prak Sopheap lives with her family at the back of an engine repair shop, squeezed between the main road and one of the many shallow lakes in the low-lying land outside Phnom Penh. They have been there for 25 years, fishing and cultivating vegetables on the lake.
Today, though, much of the lake has been filled with rubble by a property developer and Ms Sopheap's family have been ordered to leave.
She showed me a document from the local council, confirming how long she had lived there, and another document, a summons to court on a charge of illegally occupying state land. She feels powerless and angry - and she is not alone.
Prak Sopheap has been ordered to leave her home of 25 years
Land disputes are among the most incendiary grievances in Cambodia. All property deeds were destroyed in the Khmer Rouge revolution.
Since the end of the civil war, millions of hectares have been allocated for commercial development, a lucrative arrangement which has made many politicians and businesses allied to Hun Sen very rich.
The courts very rarely rule against these powerful interests. Transparency International ranks Cambodia as 150th out of 180 countries for corruption: in the Asia-Pacific region, only Myanmar and North Korea rank lower.
"Hun Sen always talks about his 'win-win policy'", says Ms Sopheap. "But we feel it is he alone who wins. We cannot feel at peace, as we now face eviction. We, the real Cambodian people, who live on this land, are suffering in the name of development."
Those who have tried to campaign against land grabs and evictions have been harassed, beaten and jailed, as have trade unionists and supporters of opposition parties. I asked Ms Sopheap how she would vote in this election. "Who can I choose?" she asked. "Who can protect me?"
Half of those eligible to vote are under 35 years old. The CPP has tried attracting them by having Hun Manet and other younger party leaders run this year's campaign, with a slick social media strategy.
But as most Cambodians have no memory of war or the Khmer Rouge, Ly Chandravuth, a 23-year-old law graduate and environmental activist, says the old CPP campaign points are no longer persuasive.
"Hun Manet's biggest challenge will be that my generation is very different from previous ones, who were traumatised by the Khmer Rouge," he says.
"Since I was a child, I have watched the ruling party reminding us of that tragedy, telling us that as they brought peace, we should support them. But that argument is less and less effective. Every time the ruling party brings it up, the young generation mocks them, because they have been repeating it for 30 years."
Can Hun Manet modify the rough-house, sometimes thuggish leadership style of his father to a softer and more subtle kind of rule? Despite his Western education, his years heading the army and his long apprenticeship, he has never yet held a top political office.
With him, other "princeling" sons of Hun Sen's contemporaries, such as Defence Minister Tea Banh and Interior Minister Sar Keng, are also expected to replace their fathers in the cabinet - a dynastic shift which keeps the levers of power with the same families, but in less experienced hands. The next few years could be a delicate, even dangerous time for Cambodia.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66283745
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US Supreme Court strikes down student loan forgiveness plan - BBC News
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2023-07-01
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Mr Biden pledged to find another way to forgive student debt following the Supreme Court's decision.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Biden spells out new path for student loan relief
The US Supreme Court has struck down US President Joe Biden's proposal to wipe out billions in student debt.
The 6-3 ruling effectively cancels the plan, which would have forgiven about $10,000 (£7,800) per borrower - and up to $20,000 in some cases.
The decision affects the loans of more than 40 million Americans.
It has left the US public "angry," Mr Biden said. He pledged to put in place new measures to reduce university debt using other existing laws.
The loan forgiveness plan has been in limbo since some conservative states sued, arguing the president overstepped his authority. The Supreme Court agreed.
In the wake of the decision, Mr Biden spoke from the White House, saying: "I know there are millions of Americans in this country who feel disappointed and discouraged or even a little bit angry. I must admit I do too."
But he vowed to work with the Department of Education to find other means to help people ease the financial burden.
"Today's decision has closed one path. Now we're going to start another," he said.
The total federal student debt has more than tripled over the past 15 years, rising from about $500bn in 2007 to $1.6tn today.
Last year, the US Treasury took a $430bn charge to cover $300m in costs associated with the loan forgiveness programme, as well as additional costs associated with an extension of a Covid-era moratorium on payments through the end of the year.
The Biden administration faced plaintiffs in two separate cases, one involving six Republican-led states - Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina - and the other involving two individual student loan borrowers.
In both cases, plaintiffs argued the executive branch did not have the power to so broadly cancel student debt.
The Supreme Court ruled the two individual borrowers did not persuasively argue they would be harmed by the loan forgiveness plan, effectively ruling that they had no legal standing to challenge the Biden administration's proposal.
During arguments in February, the Biden administration said that under a 2003 law known as the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act, or Heroes Act, it had the power to "waive or modify" loan provisions to protect borrowers affected by "a war or other military operation or national emergency".
In its ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that while the act allows Mr Biden's education secretary, Miguel Cardona, to "make modest adjustments and additions to existing provisions, not transform them".
Justice John Roberts wrote that the modifications made by the Biden administration "created a novel and fundamentally different" loan forgiveness programme that "expanded forgiveness to nearly every borrower" in the US.
He added that the administration's use of the Heroes Act "does not remotely resemble how it has been used on prior occasions".
The high court's ruling fell along ideological lines, with its three liberal judges dissenting.
In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that "the result here is that the court substitutes itself for Congress and the Executive Branch in making national policy about student-loan forgiveness".
"Congress authorised the forgiveness plan... the [education secretary] put it in place; and the president would have been accountable for its success or failure," she wrote.
"But this court today decides that some 40 million Americans will not receive the benefits of the plan (so says the court) that assistance is too 'significant'".
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The White House had previously estimated that almost 90% of US student borrowers would have qualified for relief under the plan.
"This decision is going to impact a lot of people in this country. But it's disproportionately going to impact people who are already historically marginalised," Ranen Miao, a 22-year-old recent graduate told BBC News outside the Supreme Court.
"The people who take out student loans are not the children of millionaires and billionaires. They're the children of working families," added Mr Miao, who declined to disclose how much student debt he has.
Clegg Ivey told CBS, the BBC's US partner, the Supreme Court had "made the right decision" and that he disagreed with the Biden administration's approach to the issue.
"I have student loans and I certainly would have benefited," he said. "But if that's what we want, let's talk to our congressman. Congress... should actually do its job."
Polling data shows that support for the student loan forgiveness proposal largely fell along political lines.
One poll conducted by Marquette Law School in May found that 31% of Republicans favoured the proposal, compared to 69% of independents and 87% of Democrats.
The Supreme Court's ruling on Friday was swiftly applauded by senior Republican lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the loan initiative is "unlawful" and would mean that Americans without student loans "are no longer forced" to pay for those who do.
In total, approximately 43 million people in the US owe money for student loans - or about one-in-six US adults with at least some post-secondary education.
Federal reserve data shows that the median student loan is about $17,000. About 17% of borrowers owe less than $10,000, while about 7% owe over $100,000.
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Among those on the high end of the debt spectrum is Satra Taylor, a part-time student and campaigner for the group Young Invincibles who owes about $103,000. She told the BBC she expects the figure to grow as she continues a doctoral programme.
"My family does not come from generational wealth. I had no other option but to take out student loans to ensure I could put food on my table and pay my rent," she said.
"I'm deeply saddened by this decision... but I'm also hopeful that President Biden will ensure student debt cancellation happens."
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Energy bills in NI to rise as government discount ends - BBC News
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2023-07-01
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Single mum says school holiday cut-off of government energy support scheme is "worst timing ever".
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Northern Ireland
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The withdrawal of support will add hundreds of pounds to some household bills
Energy bills for most households in Northern Ireland will increase by hundreds of pounds a year from Saturday as government support comes to an end.
The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) Scheme was introduced in November 2022, applying a discount to the unit rate of electricity and gas prices.
But the discount no longer applies from Saturday, having been gradually reduced from since January.
A reduction in April meant bills rose despite price cuts by suppliers.
Deirdre McCausland, a single mother-of-two from west Belfast, who is with Budget Energy, said she was in shock at the increase in bills.
She said it was "the worst timing ever" and that "something needs to be done about it".
"I just keep thinking how much more pressure are families - not just single people like me - the working poor [under]. How much more are we going to be able to tolerate all this?" she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra.
"I only found out about the rise through an email.
Deirdre McCausland, a single mother from west Belfast, said she was in shock at the increase in bills
"It is the worst timing ever. This is just before the summer - my children got off today, it is their last day of school, and then we are being hit with all these costs.
"I am just wondering, when is it going to stop?
"I have a 14-year-old and a nine-year-old. When I was young growing up my parents protected me from poverty; I can't protect my children [and] because of social media they are more aware than ever of what lies ahead.
"That is an absolute shambles and something needs to be done about it."
What will this mean for bills?
The majority of customers will see the tariffs charged by their supplier frozen or cut but the withdrawal of the EPG support will mean that their bills actually increase.
Raymond Gormley of the Consumer Council described the move as "unfortunate" as he said prices remained at about double the pre-Covid pandemic norm.
He said the government would review the need for the scheme every three months until next spring.
"So if energy prices increase significantly in the winter, the Consumer Council will make the argument to government that they should reinstate a subsidy".
Falling electricity prices have been offset by a reduction in government support
Power NI is the largest electricity supplier in Northern Ireland, with about 479,000 domestic electricity customers.
It announced a 7.1% decrease in its standard tariff but the end of the government discount means customers will see an increase of about £49 a year.
That means a typical annual bill will rise from £966 in June to £1,015 from July.
SSE Airtricity, Electric Ireland and Budget Energy are not changing their tariffs - customers will see their average bills rise by about £127 a year.
Click Energy is reducing its standard tariff by 10.36% and other tariffs also also being cut to offset the reduction of government support - customers will see no change in their typical yearly bills.
It is the smallest of the five Northern Irish electricity suppliers, with about 24,000 customers.
SSE Airtricity provides gas to about 195,000 customers in the Greater Belfast area
SSE Airtricity announced a decrease of 12.2% effective from July but customers will actually see their gas bills increase by about £134 a year because of the loss of government support.
That means a typical customer's annual bill will rise from £1,266 in June to £1,399 in July.
SSE Airtricity serves about 195,000 customers in the Greater Belfast area and 3,200 customers in the Gas to the West area.
Bills for Firmus Energy customers will increase by about £328 in both the Ten Towns gas network and the Greater Belfast gas network areas.
For those in the Ten Towns gas network area, a typical annual bill will rise from £1,147 in June to £1,475 in July.
A typical bill for customers in the Greater Belfast area will rise from £1,190 in June to £1,518 in July.
From January to March this year energy bills in Northern Ireland were being discounted by up to 13.6p a unit for electricity and 3.9p a unit for gas.
That support was reduced from April to June 2023 - bills were discounted by up to 3.8p per unit for electricity and 2.6p per unit for gas.
The EPG will drop from about £454 a year in discount for the average household to nothing from 1 July 2023.
In Northern Ireland, the Utility Regulator imposes price controls on the major suppliers: electricity firm Power NI, SSE Airtricity gas in greater Belfast and Firmus Energy gas in the so-called Ten Towns network.
The regulator approves the maximum tariffs based on the costs for providing the service and a small profit margin.
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Hacking trial: Prince Harry claims £440,000 in damages from Mirror Group Newspapers - BBC News
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2023-07-01
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The Duke of Sussex alleges articles published by Mirror Group Newspapers breached his privacy.
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UK
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Prince Harry is claiming up to £440,000 in damages for newspaper articles published by Mirror Group Newspapers which he alleges breached his privacy.
Amounts being claimed were released on the final day of the trial examining allegations of phone hacking.
The case has been brought by Prince Harry and three others.
Prince Harry's lawyers have highlighted 33 stories in their claim, including reports about his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy and his drug taking.
The duke's lawyers initially suggested he could be awarded up to £320,000 if his case is successful in relation to the 33 stories.
In a document released later, they said he is also seeking further damages of about £120,000. This relates to allegations of unlawful information gathering by MGN publications, including over the targeting of his late mother, Diana Princess of Wales.
A barrister for MGN said this week the Duke of Sussex was only entitled to £500 for a private investigator's attempt to get personal details about him.
The highest damages application is for a 2005 "splash" on the front page in the Daily Mirror which reported the prince's then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy was to "dump him".
A second article was headlined "Chelsy Is Not Happy".
His lawyers said the story included photos of Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy taken at a distance and went into detail about the state of their relationship.
They claimed highly specific details of telephone contact between the couple were included.
Lawyers alleged a private investigator and "flight and call data blagger" in South Africa helped with details for the story.
A court document stated: "The article came at a difficult and vulnerable time for the Duke of Sussex, where details of his mistakes were played out so publicly."
"Whilst the Duke of Sussex was remorseful for his actions, the article added to his embarrassment by revealing the impact on his personal relationship with Ms Davy, with humiliating details of private arguments between the couple and added to his sense of distrust and paranoia of those around him."
The second highest award claimed, £25,000, relates to a story in the Sunday People in 2003.
It reported a disagreement between Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales over whether to meet Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell who had angered the brothers by selling secrets about their mother.
Prince Harry's lawyers said the article contained "private and sensitive information" about the disagreement.
He believed the language used mirrors voicemail messages he would have left for Prince William at the time suggesting he was the victim of phone hacking.
Prince Harry is claiming £20,000 for a Daily Mirror story in 2002 suggesting he had hosted parties where he and friends had taken cocaine and ecstasy.
It quoted the duke as saying he "only used cannabis spliffs" and his father Charles, now King, as saying he felt "huge relief" at this comment.
The document said Prince Harry did not supply the quote and links the story to a series of payments to a tracing agency the claimants said was involved in unlawful information gathering.
Prince Harry was at Eton at the time which had a zero-tolerance drugs policy.
Claim records for articles relating to the actors Nikki Sanderson and Michael Turner have also been released.
The Coronation Street actor Ms Sanderson's claims totalled more than £331,000 with the biggest demand for £75,000 relating to a single story about her difficult relationship with her father.
This was "heart-breaking, traumatic and humiliating" she said, suggesting information about her had been gathered illicitly.
Mr Turner is claiming more than £131,000 for stories including coverage of his trauma over being accused and cleared of sexual offences.
In the final hours of the trial the defendant's barrister Andrew Green KC argued there was no objective evidence Prince Harry's phone had been hacked.
He questioned whether his opponents had proved any of the claims they had made.
Prince Harry's barrister David Sherborne criticised Mr Green for repeatedly describing private investigators who had been convicted of criminal offences as "rotters".
Mr Sherborne said he had become "something out of a Beano comic, by describing a few rotters who did a few naughty things. That exemplifies the truly dismissive nature of the defendant's attitude to the thousands of victims".
Judgement in the case is not expected for months.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66070127
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Belfast baby murder case: Woman found guilty of killing son - BBC News
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2023-07-01
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The woman accepted she stabbed him and his sister on 27 July 2021 but had denied the charges.
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Northern Ireland
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Toys and flowers were left at the scene of the incident in 2021
A woman has been found guilty of murdering her eight-week old son and attempting to murder his two-year-old sister.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accepted she stabbed the children on 27 July 2021 but denied the charges.
But jurors rejected her argument and found her guilty after more than five hours of deliberations.
The woman was convicted at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.
She will receive an automatic life sentence, with the amount of time she has to serve before being considered for parole to be set at a later date.
The woman placed her head in her hands and sobbed "no, no, no" as the guilty verdict was read out.
The juror who read the verdict also broke down as she read it and had to sit down to compose herself.
When handing down the life sentence, Judge Donna McColgan said "this has been a very difficult and stressful case".
"I will be excusing the jury from jury service for the rest of their lives," she added.
"Counselling will also be made available to all jurors."
Over the last six weeks, Belfast Crown Court has heard harrowing evidence.
After the woman stabbed the children, she made five phone calls, including one to the children's father, telling him that their daughter was "lying slowly bleeding".
It was only after this call that she phoned 999, telling police: "I killed my kid for him."
The trial was held at Belfast Crown Court
During the trial, prosecuting counsel read a statement from the children's father to the court, as he was deemed too unwell to attend court as a witness.
He said on the evening of the stabbings, he was in England and had missed a call from his then partner as he was sleeping.
He returned her call and she told him she had killed the baby, that the baby's sister was slowly bleeding and that she was going to kill herself.
He then phoned the police.
During the trial, the jury was shown harrowing footage from the body cameras of police officers who responded to a 999 call made by the defendant.
The videos showed the woman sitting on her living room floor in handcuffs and bleeding from a self-inflicted wound to her neck.
The footage also captured a police officer attempting to drive the injured girl to hospital in a PSNI car before handing her over to paramedics.
Both youngsters were taken to the emergency department at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and were treated as they lay side-by-side.
Whilst the young girl was successfully treated for a stab wound to her chest, her baby brother was later pronounced dead.
Following her arrest, the defendant made the case that she stabbed her children and then turned the knife on herself as she wanted them all to die together.
The court heard that during subsequent police interviews, she made references to her partner's use of drink and drugs, and also claimed that he beat and sexually abused her.
When asked by a detective what she was thinking at the time, she said: "I wanted to kill all three, all of us so that [their father], could have a happy life together with his new woman.
"This was the only solution that came to my mind."
The woman also spent four days in the witness box at Belfast Crown Court where she was questioned about the events of 27 July 2021 - and where she denied stabbing her children out of spite and malice towards their father.
Sobbing as she gave evidence, the defendant claimed she tried to resuscitate her baby son after stabbing him in the chest and also told the jury that after attacking her daughter, she then tried to keep her alive by holding her to her chest.
She said she did not know what "was going on in my mind at that time" and told the court she could not forgive herself and wished she could "turn back time".
The defendant sobbed as she was taken from the dock and back into custody.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65029181
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First British passports issued with King's name - BBC News
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2023-07-19
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Passports are about to be released with an updated wording for the reign of King Charles.
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UK
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It will be "His Majesty" whose name appears on UK passports from this week
The first British passports issued in King Charles's name are being released this week, the Home Office has said.
Passports will now use the wording "His Majesty", with the era finally ending for passports using "Her Majesty", for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The last time "His Majesty" appeared on a passport was in the reign of King George VI, which ended in 1952.
Five million passports have been issued already this year under the name of the late Queen.
The one person who will not need a passport is the King himself. By convention the monarch does not have to carry a passport to travel, because it is a document issued in his own name.
The updated passports are the latest stage in the gradual transition in reigns, with stamps and some coins now carrying the King's head. Banknotes will begin to change next year.
Since the late Queen's death last September there has been a steady process of switching to images and insignia of the new King, with an emphasis on using up existing stocks rather than having an abrupt change.
It will be the same for passports, with any existing supplies with "Her Majesty" being used until they run out, alongside the arrival of the new version.
The new passports will now carry the words: "His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of His Majesty..."
But the previous "Her Majesty" passports will also continue to be valid until their expiry date.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: "For 70 years, Her Majesty has appeared on British passports and many of us will not remember a time when she did not feature. Today marks a significant moment in UK history."
After problems with delays to issuing passports last year and industrial action this year, the Home Office says 99% of passports are being issued within 10 weeks of application.
UK passports in their modern form, with photo and signature, have been issued since 1915, with the first security watermark being added in 1972 and machine-readable passports introduced in 1988.
In 2020, after leaving the European Union, UK passports changed from a burgundy colour, used since 1988, to dark blue.
This was described as returning to an "iconic blue", which prompted arguments on social media over the colour of new and old passports, with debates over whether the pre-EU and post-EU versions were really blue or black.
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Uxbridge by-election: Keir Starmer won't say whether he backs ULEZ expansion - BBC News
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2023-07-06
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The Labour leader is reluctant take sides in by-election dispute over expanding London's clean-air zone.
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UK Politics
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Differing ULEZ views "need to be accommodated," says Sir Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to take a side in a by-election dispute over whether to expand London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
Under plans from Labour mayor Sadiq Khan, the clean-air zone is set to become three times bigger from 29 August.
But Labour's candidate in this month's Uxbridge by-election, Danny Beales, wants the expansion halted.
In a BBC interview, the Labour leader declined to say which view he backed.
He added that Mr Khan was trying to fulfil his legal obligations to reduce emissions, whilst Mr Beales was trying to fight for his future constituents.
"Both of those things have to be accommodated," he added.
The Labour leader has previously said that Mr Khan was "right" to expand the zone, arguing last month it was part of the fight to curb lung cancer.
But Mr Beales's comments have put him in the awkward position of having to decide whether to back his by-election candidate or Labour's London mayor.
The ULEZ was introduced in central London in 2019, developing a previous low emission zone (LEZ) for larger vehicles like buses, lorries and coaches that was first introduced in 2008.
Under Mr Khan, it was extended to within the North and South Circular roads in 2021.
Under the London mayor's proposed new expansion, its outer borders would reach Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey.
Motorists must pay a daily £12.50 fee if they drive a vehicle that does not meet specified emissions standards, or face a maximum £180 fine.
Generally, this will apply to diesel cars more than seven years old, or 17 years for those using petrol.
Mr Khan has said widening the scheme will improve London's air quality, but it has proved hugely contentious in outer London boroughs.
It has also emerged as a key issue in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election on 20 July, when voters will choose a new MP to replace Boris Johnson after his decision to stand down as an MP.
Labour MPs who have campaigned in the constituency acknowledge privately that ULEZ is being raised frequently on the doorstep and will cost Labour votes.
Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell opposes the expansion, which he says will put an additional financial burden on Uxbridge residents.
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a pause in the expansion. Earlier this week, their Uxbridge candidate Blaise Baquiche criticised the generosity of scrappage scheme for low-income Londoners with grants to replace polluting vehicles.
The Green Party, whose candidate in Uxbridge is Sarah Green, supports the ULEZ expansion. A full list of Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election candidates can be found here.
The ULEZ expansion has prompted protests from residents in outer London
At an election hustings earlier this week, Mr Beales said it was "not the right time" to expand ULEZ, amid current cost of living pressures.
Pressed on whether he agreed with his by-election candidate, Sir Keir replied: "I completely understand his position," adding: "He's fighting for what he hopes will be his constituents in that by-election if he wins it".
But he added that Mr Khan had made the decision to expand the zone in the "context" of a legal requirement to reduce air pollution.
"So reducing this to a political argument for the sake of the by-election, without regard to the background, doesn't make any difference," he said.
He added that he wanted central government to give more support for people and businesses affected by the expansion.
Speaking earlier in the London Assembly, Mr Khan confirmed Mr Beales had lobbied him for a delay to the scheme, as well as more support for residents.
"Danny's got a different view to me and I respect him. He's a local champion, he's a fighter," the mayor added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has repeatedly spoken out against ULEZ expansion, telling MPs last month that Mr Khan was "not listening" to the views of residents in outer London.
Five Conservative-led councils have launched a legal challenge to the expansion, with their lawyers arguing in the High Court this week that Mr Khan lacks the legal powers to do so.
The Conservatives recently cited a proposed congestion charge in Cambridge for winning theirfirst seat on the city council since 2012.
Update: A previous version of this story said the Ulez charge needed to be paid by drivers of diesel cars more than seven years old, or 17 years for those using petrol.
It has now been updated to specify that some older cars will not be eligible for the charge, if they meet the minimum emissions standards.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66124191
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news_uk-politics-66124191
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Trans charity Mermaids loses challenge against LGB Alliance - BBC News
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2023-07-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A tribunal has decided the Mermaids group was not legally entitled to challenge the other charity's status.
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UK
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Both charities claim this is the first case of its kind
A transgender charity's attempt to get an organisation it described as having an "anti-trans focus" removed from the charity register has been dismissed.
Mermaids launched the legal challenge after the Charity Commission registered the LGB Alliance in 2021.
The LGB Alliance supports lesbian, gay and bisexual people, but Mermaids alleged the group sought to undermine its charitable activities.
On Thursday the tribunal ruled Mermaids was not entitled to bring the case.
Mermaids' legal challenge is believed to be the first time a charity sought to strip another charity of its charitable status.
But the tribunal ruled that while Mermaids and its supporters may have been affected by LGB Alliance "emotionally and/or socially," this did not give them the legal right to appeal against their registration as a charity.
Mermaids was set up in 1995 to support children and young people questioning their gender identity. It said the LGB Alliance sought to "destroy" its reputation and sources of funding.
LGB Alliance says it exists to advance the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people. It insisted it is not transphobic and does not endorse discriminatory behaviour towards any group or individual.
The tribunal had been asked to consider whether LGB Alliance should have been registered as a charity, but the two judges on the panel were unable to reach an agreement. Both judges agreed the case should be dismissed.
Judges heard arguments about the definition of homosexuality, transgender rights and gender identity services for children and young people, during a week of evidence at the general regulatory chamber in London, in September.
In their written ruling, the judges said the case was not about the "rights of gender diverse people, or about the rights of gay, lesbian and bisexual people", but focussed on a "small part" of the law regulating charities.
The Charity Commission said its role was not to regulate public debate on sensitive issues but to apply the law when registering charities.
Both LGB Alliance and Mermaids fundraised thousands of pounds to pay for their legal costs.
Kate Barker, chief executive officer of LGB Alliance, said she was "delighted" with the decision, but added "the cost to us and to our supporters has been huge".
She said the process had been "bruising" for LGB Alliance, that it was glad the process had come to an end and it was looking forward to doing more charitable work.
"We've got projects like a helpline, friends' groups and student networks and a lot of those things were on hold because we had a cloud hanging over us," she said.
Mermaids said, although disappointed, the ruling had "no reflection" on it as an organisation and its work will continue. It is considering whether to appeal.
Jolyon Maugham, the director of campaign group Good Law Project, which supported Mermaids, said he felt the judges took a long time to make a decision because they "found it impossible" to rule LGB Alliance's charitable status, due to a "toxic discourse" about the rights of trans people.
During the case, LGB Alliance said the attempt to have it struck off the register was "profoundly homophobic", while Mermaids said LGB Alliance had been persistently "attacking" them.
The Charity Commission urged both charities to be respectful and tolerant of each other. "Demonising and undermining those who think differently is not acceptable from any charity on our register", it added.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65340857
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news_uk-65340857
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Iowa teen jailed for killing Spanish teacher over bad grade - BBC News
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2023-07-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The judge says the 2021 murder of the 66-year-old mother-of-three by two Iowa students was "evil".
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US & Canada
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Nohema Graber, 66, was prominent in the Spanish-speaking community
A teenager in the US state of Iowa who beat his teacher to death with a baseball bat over a bad grade has been sentenced to life in prison.
Willard Miller, 17, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in April for his role in the 2 November 2021 killing of Nohema Graber, a Spanish teacher.
Miller and co-defendant Jeremy Goodale, now 18, attacked Ms Graber, 66, after she marked down Miller's work.
Aged 16 at the time of the murder, both were charged as adults.
On Thursday, Miller was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole only after at least 35 years.
He was also ordered to pay at least $150,000 (£117,000) in restitution to the victim's family.
Before delivering his sentence, Judge Shawn Showers rejected defence arguments that Miller was too young at the time to understand the gravity of his actions.
"Evil does not have a birthday," he said.
Family members of Ms Graber told the court they did not believe Miller was remorseful.
Several relatives mentioned that the murder led to the early death last month of Ms Graber's husband, Paul. He was buried a day before Thursday's sentencing.
Miller apologised to the community and turned to address Ms Graber's relatives seated behind him.
"I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused you and the devastation I have caused your family," he said.
Pleading with the judge to forego the maximum sentence, Miller said: "I don't want to be institutionalised so long that I forget who I am and where I come from."
Prosecutors said the evidence showed both Miller and Goodale had bludgeoned Ms Graber with a bat during the attack in Fairfield, a town of fewer than 10,000 people that lies 100 miles (160km) south-east of the state capitol, Des Moines.
The day after the attack, police found the mother-of-three's body hidden under a tarpaulin, wheelbarrow and railway sleepers in a local park where she used to walk after school.
In a police interview, Miller described frustrations with the way Ms Graber taught Spanish.
He said his marks in her class were lowering his Grade Point Average, an important score during applications for US colleges and scholarships.
Miller met Ms Graber at Fairfield High School on the day of the murder to discuss his poor grade in her class. Goodale was also a student there.
Mexican-born Ms Graber had been employed at the school since 2012. She was part of the town's small but growing Latino community.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66111470
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news_world-us-canada-66111470
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Covid inquiry should get Johnson's unredacted messages - High Court - BBC News
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2023-07-06
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Covid inquiry asked for unredacted WhatsApps, notebooks and diaries - the Cabinet Office initially declined.
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UK Politics
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Ever since this row kicked off, I've wondered whether the prime minister had heard about Baroness Hallett's reputation.
If there were a national prize for Least Likely To Be A Pushover, this tough no-nonsense former Court of Appeal judge would probably win it. Here's why.
Thirteen years ago, Lady Justice Hallett, as she then was, oversaw the heart-breaking inquests into the 2005 suicide attacks in London, in which 52 people were killed by four bombers.
MI5 and the Home Office tried to convince her to keep secret what spooks had known about the ringleader of the attacks. I oversimplify, but after some legal trench warfare, Hallett ruled that the bereaved families must know the facts.
MI5's attempt to overturn that decision in the High Court, with the help of the then Home Secretary Theresa May, was so thin that a judge declared part of their argument to be "hopeless" .
Lady Justice Hallett had called the law right: there is inevitably a place for confidentiality or secrecy when it comes to sensitive national secrets. But there must also be transparency for the victims of an appalling tragedy.
And in the aftermath, ministers found themselves accused of a spectacularly clumsy attempt to cover up the truth. I'll leave you to decide whether that sounds familiar...
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-66115262
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news_live_uk-politics-66115262
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Polarised Spain eyes the hard-right ahead of election - BBC News
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2023-07-24
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Spain goes to the polls to decide its next government on Sunday, and a hard-right coalition is looking likely.
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Europe
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Spain's hard-right Vox, led by Santiago Abascal, could likely form part of the next government
Spain's election on Sunday is provoking political tremors even before polls open.
The most likely government to emerge - most analysts predict - will be a coalition including a hard-right nationalist party for the first time in Spain since the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
More left-leaning Spaniards are frantically texting contacts, urging them to make sure to vote - despite the heat and it being holiday time for many - to "stop the fascists" in their tracks.
The political right, meanwhile, has said voters have a choice: Sanchez (the current centre-left prime minister and his coalition including the far-left) or Spain. Implying that under another Sanchez government, the country will crumble.
The rhetoric this election season has been toxic, with voters becoming increasingly polarised.
It's a fight over values, traditions and about what being Spanish should mean in 2023.
This kind of heated identity debate isn't peculiar to Spain. Think of Italy, France, Brazil or the post-Trumpian debate in the US.
But Spain was already divided. It has been since the civil war in the 1930s and the following four decades of dictatorship under General Franco. To this day, there's never been an open debate here about victims and aggressors. Old wounds still fester.
"The hard-right, centre-right coalition represents a return to the past, to neo-Francoism," Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia region told me at an end of campaign rally for Prime Minister Sanchez's centre-left PSOE party on Friday night.
"Liberal values like gay marriage - Spain was one of the first European countries to legalise it - or the freedom for people to decide their gender - all of that is endangered."
Mr Puig lost his job this week after a new Valencia government of the centre right PP, and hard-right Vox party were sworn in, following recent regional elections. Many in Spain believe Valencia is a weathervane for the wider country.
Ximo Puig, the former centre-left President of Valencia, seen here on the centre-left
The vice-president of Valencia is now a retired bullfighter from Vox, Vicente Barrera. He's also an apologist for the Franco regime.
To celebrate summer in Spain's third largest city, there have been bullfights every night in Valencia's packed arena. Women throw flowers and fans in appreciation at the colourfully dressed bullfighters below, as they tease and taunt their horned opponent and a brass band plays to the crowd's cries of "Ole!"
Vox was busy electioneering just outside the arena, playing a recording on loudspeaker loop of party leader Santiago Abascal promising to "make Spain great again".
Most Vox activists refused to speak to us. But pensioner Paco was keen to share his thoughts:
"Vox defends family values and other traditions, including bullfighting," he told me. "The left call us anti-democratic but they're the ones who don't respect democracy. They want us not to exist."
"I can't even walk into a lefty neighbourhood of Valencia wearing a shirt with a Spanish flag on it," 22-year-old Eloy added. "If I do, people shout 'Facha! Fascist!' at me. It's not nice."
Divisions here are so febrile, they're almost tribal.
Many voters identify themselves by the pulsera, the ribbon they wear round their wrist. Yellow and red coloured ones, representing the flag of Spain are a sign of belonging to the right. Rainbow colours stand for LGBTQ+ rights and are also a symbol for the left.
All part of what many Spanish commentators describe as the current ''footballisation" of politics here.
But that risks trivialising how deeply many Spaniards feel about their preferred value set, or how threatened they believe those values are by the other side.
Vox are vowing to "make Spain great again"
I met Nieves feeling disenfranchised at Valencia's vibrant central market, where she now works. She says Spain may be doing better economically under Pedro Sanchez but the country's poorest weren't benefitting.
"This isn't now about choosing the extreme right. It's about extreme necessity. Salaries of hard-working people don't allow you to pay your bills. I was paid €4 an hour for years when I worked as a cleaner. I'm saying all this as a worker, a mother and as a housewife. Let's see what happens after Sunday's vote."
Nieves' sentiments are clear, but the percentage of Spaniards now saying they can live within their means has risen during Pedro Sanchez' time in government.
Employment figures have gone up. Spain has one of the lower inflation rates in Europe. Mr Sanchez got the EU to allow Spaniards to pay less for gas used to make electricity. He has raised Spain's profile internationally with strong support for Ukraine in its fightback against Russia.
So how come the anti-Sanchez attacks by the right fall on such fertile ground?
A question I put to his science and innovation minister Diana Morant, formally a local mayor in Valencia region.
"We see the resurgence of the far-right across Europe," she told me. "The right we have in Spain is not a moderate right. It uses the arguments of hate and tries to dehumanise our leader, the prime minister. While we were busy governing, they were spreading lies. But the people of Spain know what we stand for. Lies cannot win over truth."
At EU HQ in Brussels, there are huge concerns about a resurgence of hard-right nationalist parties across Europe.
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is a key player for the centre-right PP
Esteban Gonzalez Pons is from Valencia. He's a bigwig for the centre-right PP nationwide and in the European Parliament. I asked him if he was concerned it could damage his party's and Spain's reputation to jump into a coalition with Vox.
"I can tell you, Brussels isn't at all worried if my party ends up in a governing arrangement with Vox. There are all sorts of right-wing governments in the EU now. Look at Italy, Sweden, Finland and Austria."
"Actually," he added, "The UK government is more right wing than Vox. So, thank you BBC for that question but what Brussels really wants is not to have any more communists in the government in Spain."
This election is a story of two Spains.
The face this country wakes up with after Sunday's election will be radically different depending on who wins. Each side claims the other threatens Spaniards' identity and future.
But I can't help wondering, considering the record temperatures and drought here - why the parties, and Spanish voters - haven't concentrated more in the leadup to Sunday's election on a very real existential crisis for Spain: climate change.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66268330
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Cambodia election: 'This was more of a coronation than an election' - BBC News
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2023-07-24
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Prime Minister Hun Sen's son is expected to take over within weeks of the vote.
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Asia
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Hun Manet, son of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen, is expected to succeed his father within weeks
Undeterred by the pouring rain, a long convoy of motorbikes carrying cheering, flag-waving supporters of Cambodia's ruling party revved their engines in preparation for their triumphant final rally in downtown Phnom Penh.
People dutifully lined the road as far as you could see, party stickers on their cheeks, the sky-blue hats and shirts they had been given to wear getting steadily wetter.
Perched on the back of a truck, Hun Manet, the 45-year-old eldest son of Prime Minister Hun Sen, greeted the crowds proclaiming that only the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) was capable of leading the country.
Indeed, his father had made sure that the CPP was the only party which could possibly win the election.
Hun Sen, 70, has run Cambodia in his trademark pugnacious style for 38 years: first in a Vietnam-installed communist regime, then under a UN-installed multi-party system, and more recently as an increasingly intolerant autocrat.
The only party now capable of challenging his rule, the Candlelight Party, was banned from the election on a technicality in May. The remaining 17 parties allowed to contest it were too small or too little-known to pose a threat.
A few hours after the polls closed, the CPP claimed the expected landslide, with a turnout of more than 80%. There were quite high levels of spoiled ballot papers in some polling stations: that was probably the only safe way voters could show their support for the opposition.
With Hun Manet expected to succeed his father within weeks of the vote, in a long-prepared transfer of power, this felt more like a coronation than an election.
"I don't think we can even call it a sham election," says Mu Sochua, an exiled former minister and member of the CNRP, another opposition party banned by the Cambodian authorities in 2017.
"We should call it a 'selection', for Hun Sen to make sure that his party will select his son as the next prime minister of Cambodia, to continue the dynasty of the Hun family."
Hun Sen, who has been in power for 38 years, faced no real challenge at the election
Yet there were signs of nervousness in the CPP before the vote. New laws were hurriedly passed criminalising any encouragement of ballot-spoiling or a boycott. Several Candlelight members were arrested.
"Why was the CPP campaigning so hard, against no one in this election with no real opposition?" asks Ou Virak, founder of the Cambodian think tank Future Forum.
"They knew they would win the election - that was an easy outcome for them. But winning legitimacy is much more difficult.
"They need to keep weakening the opposition, but at the same time, they also need to satisfy the people, so there is no repeat of previous setbacks and disruptions, like street protests."
Hun Sen is one of Asia's great survivors, a wily, street-smart politician who has time and again outmanoeuvred his opponents. He has skilfully played off China, by far the biggest foreign investor these days, against the US and Europe, which are trying to claw back lost influence in the region.
But he has come close to losing elections in the past. He is still vulnerable, to rival factions in his own ruling party, and to any sudden downturn in the Cambodian economy which could sour public opinion against him. So as he prepares for a once-in-a-generation leadership change, he is trying to cement his legacy.
A short drive north of the capital, a 33m-high concrete-and-marble monolith was built recently, which he calls the Win-Win memorial.
The Win-Win Memorial opened in 2018 and reportedly cost $12m
Its massive base is covered in carved stone reliefs, echoing Cambodia's greatest historic monument, Angkor Wat.
They depict Hun Sen's flight from Khmer Rouge-ruled Cambodia to Vietnam in 1977, his triumphant return with the invading Vietnamese army in 1979, and his eventual deal with the last of the Khmer Rouge leaders in 1998 that ended the long civil war - his win-win for the Cambodian people.
Delivering peace and prosperity has long been Hun Sen's main claim to legitimacy. Since 1998, Cambodia has had one of the world's fastest-growing economies, albeit from a very low base.
But it is a model of growth which has concentrated wealth in the hands of a few families - the number of ultra-luxury cars on the roads of such a low-income country is jarring. It has encouraged rapacious exploitation of Cambodia's natural resources and it has left many ordinary people feeling that they are not winning under Mr Sen.
Prak Sopheap lives with her family at the back of an engine repair shop, squeezed between the main road and one of the many shallow lakes in the low-lying land outside Phnom Penh. They have been there for 25 years, fishing and cultivating vegetables on the lake.
Today, though, much of the lake has been filled with rubble by a property developer and Ms Sopheap's family have been ordered to leave.
She showed me a document from the local council, confirming how long she had lived there, and another document, a summons to court on a charge of illegally occupying state land. She feels powerless and angry - and she is not alone.
Prak Sopheap has been ordered to leave her home of 25 years
Land disputes are among the most incendiary grievances in Cambodia. All property deeds were destroyed in the Khmer Rouge revolution.
Since the end of the civil war, millions of hectares have been allocated for commercial development, a lucrative arrangement which has made many politicians and businesses allied to Hun Sen very rich.
The courts very rarely rule against these powerful interests. Transparency International ranks Cambodia as 150th out of 180 countries for corruption: in the Asia-Pacific region, only Myanmar and North Korea rank lower.
"Hun Sen always talks about his 'win-win policy'", says Ms Sopheap. "But we feel it is he alone who wins. We cannot feel at peace, as we now face eviction. We, the real Cambodian people, who live on this land, are suffering in the name of development."
Those who have tried to campaign against land grabs and evictions have been harassed, beaten and jailed, as have trade unionists and supporters of opposition parties. I asked Ms Sopheap how she would vote in this election. "Who can I choose?" she asked. "Who can protect me?"
Half of those eligible to vote are under 35 years old. The CPP has tried attracting them by having Hun Manet and other younger party leaders run this year's campaign, with a slick social media strategy.
But as most Cambodians have no memory of war or the Khmer Rouge, Ly Chandravuth, a 23-year-old law graduate and environmental activist, says the old CPP campaign points are no longer persuasive.
"Hun Manet's biggest challenge will be that my generation is very different from previous ones, who were traumatised by the Khmer Rouge," he says.
"Since I was a child, I have watched the ruling party reminding us of that tragedy, telling us that as they brought peace, we should support them. But that argument is less and less effective. Every time the ruling party brings it up, the young generation mocks them, because they have been repeating it for 30 years."
Can Hun Manet modify the rough-house, sometimes thuggish leadership style of his father to a softer and more subtle kind of rule? Despite his Western education, his years heading the army and his long apprenticeship, he has never yet held a top political office.
With him, other "princeling" sons of Hun Sen's contemporaries, such as Defence Minister Tea Banh and Interior Minister Sar Keng, are also expected to replace their fathers in the cabinet - a dynastic shift which keeps the levers of power with the same families, but in less experienced hands. The next few years could be a delicate, even dangerous time for Cambodia.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66283745
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Boris Johnson early Covid WhatsApps still not passed to inquiry - BBC News
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2023-07-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The government had until 16.00 BST on Monday to hand over the ex-PM's messages to the Covid inquiry.
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UK Politics
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WhatsApp messages sent to and by Boris Johnson before May 2021 have still not been handed over to the Covid inquiry, because they are stuck on his phone.
The government had until 16.00 BST on Monday to hand over relevant material to the inquiry after the Cabinet Office lost a legal challenge.
But the BBC understands neither the government nor Mr Johnson's team can access messages on the phone.
The phone, which Mr Johnson used until May 2021, is with the ex-PM's lawyers.
It has prompted Whitehall officials to formally notify the inquiry why they have not yet been able to send them the correspondence.
Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett had requested access to WhatsApp messages on Mr Johnson's devices from a group chat set up to discuss the pandemic response.
She also asked to see WhatsApp messages he exchanged with a host of politicians, including then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, as well as various civil servants, including the UK's top civil servant Simon Case.
But the former PM's WhatsApp messages are held on a mobile phone which has been turned off and securely locked away since May 2021, due to a security breach.
Mr Johnson was forced to change his mobile phone in 2021 after it emerged his number had been publicly available online for 15 years.
The rest of the messages the High Court ruled should be shared with the inquiry were sent on Monday morning.
BBC political editor Chris Mason says there is widespread irritation within government at the failure to comply with the inquiry's demand to be sent Mr Johnson's messages. Access to a mobile phone conventionally requires knowledge of a passcode - which only the phone's owner would normally know.
Mr Johnson's phone - which he used during crucial periods of the Covid pandemic - is currently with his lawyers.
The BBC understands government officials have attempted to help Mr Johnson access the data on the phone, while in the company of his representatives.
But the phone has never been in the sole possession of the government, as it belongs to Mr Johnson.
Mr Johnson's team say "he will be happy to disclose any relevant material to the inquiry when it is accessible" and insist "full cooperation is underway".
The government had attempted to block an order by inquiry chair Baroness Hallett to have access to Mr Johnson's WhatsApps, diaries and notebooks in full.
In an unprecedented step, the government launched a judicial review of the order. But the High Court rejected the government's argument, ruling inquiries should be allowed to "fish" for documents.
Mr Johnson said he was "more than happy" for the inquiry to see his unredacted messages. The former prime minister previously said he had handed over WhatsApp messages, diaries and personal notebooks to the Cabinet Office in unredacted form.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66165001
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news_uk-politics-66165001
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Zayn opens up about One Direction split: 'We got sick of each other' - BBC News
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2023-07-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The star discusses his time in One Direction and fatherhood in his first interview for six years.
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Entertainment & Arts
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Zayn Malik has revealed the reasons behind his abrupt departure from One Direction in his first interview for six years.
The star quit the band in the middle of their 2015 world tour, initially saying he had taken a break due to "stress".
But speaking to the Call Her Daddy podcast, Zayn said he'd realised the band's days were numbered when other members refused to sign new contracts.
"I knew something was happening, so I just got ahead of the curve," he said.
"I was like, 'I'm just going to get out of here, I think this is done'."
He continued: "I just seen it [coming] and I completely selfishly wanted to be the first person to go and make my own record. If I'm being completely honest with you, I was like, 'I'm going to jump the gun here'.
"I'm a passive dude, but when it comes to my music and my business, I'm serious about it and I'm competitive, so I wanted to be the first to go and do my own thing. That was the reason."
The star added that there were underlying tensions after the band had endured five years of intense fame and scrutiny following their debut on X Factor.
"There was obviously underlying issues within our friendships, too. We'd got sick of each other if I'm being completely honest."
However, he said time had given him more perspective on his boy band days.
"We were close, you know?" he said of the group. "We'd done crazy things with each other that nobody else in the world will ever understand and I look back on it now in a much fonder light than I would have [when] I'd just left.
"There were great experiences, I had great times with them, but we'd just run our course."
The star was speaking ahead of the release of his comeback single Love Like This on 21 July.
One Direction in 2011 (L-R): Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson
In the hour-long interview, he also told podcast host Alex Cooper about his struggles with anxiety, his love of cooking and his large collection of pets, including three dogs, three cats, three turtles and six chickens.
He laughed off his portrayal as "the moody one" in One Direction, saying it was "just a marketing scheme", and compared the band's public personas to "the Teletubbies and the Spice Girls".
And he said he had been working to overcome the anxiety that has largely stopped him from performing since he left the band.
"As a young kid, I loved being on stage and I loved performing. When it became a thing that had a lot of weight behind it, in terms of people watching and stuff, then you're going to have natural feelings of anxiety. It's not a natural thing to do. I had to learn to adjust."
The star also addressed the 2021 incident in which he was accused of harassing his ex-girlfriend, the supermodel Gigi Hadid, and her mother Yolanda.
The star pleaded no contest to four charges of harassment following a family argument, in which he was alleged to have grabbed and shoved Yolanda.
He later issued a statement in which he denied hitting the elder Hadid (no charges were filed relating to this accusation) and said he had agreed not to contest the harassment charges so he could concentrate on raising his daughter, Khai, with his ex-partner.
"I just didn't want to bring attention to anything," the star said, emphasising his desire for privacy.
"I just wasn't trying to get into a negative back and forth with her [Yolanda], or any sort of narrative online where my daughter was going to look back and read that. There was no point.
"I believe I dealt with it in the best way, an amicable, respectful way, and that's all that needs to be said."
Zayn also spoke about how becoming a father had changed his outlook on life.
"When I'm with her, I don't work at all," he said. "I just spend a full day with her doing things that she wants to do, like painting, Play-Doh… go to the park, go to the theme park, go to the zoo.
"I feel like I've rekindled my own childhood through her, you know?
"I feel like we get to a certain point in adult life where everything's kind of vague and grey and boring, and she's brought that colour back for me."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66173761
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news_entertainment-arts-66173761
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Government weigh up 6.5% public sector pay increase - BBC News
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2023-07-12
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The announcement is expected on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
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UK Politics
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Hundreds of thousands of public sector workers have been taking part in strikes over pay
The government is considering pay increases of 6-6.5% for public sector workers, the BBC understands.
Official pay review bodies for employees including teachers, junior doctors and police have recommended the pay rise. Inflation to May was 8.7%.
The announcement will be made on Thursday, following formal sign off from the prime minister and chancellor.
Government sources have told the BBC any rises over 3.5% would need to come out of existing departmental budgets.
The BBC has been told that all of the independent bodies have all recommended pay rises of between 6% and 6.5% for public sector workers, also including prison officers, senior civil servants and the armed forces.
But there have been heavy hints from ministers in the past few weeks that they may not accept these recommendations, stressing their argument for wage "discipline" during a period of high inflation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says pay awards should be "responsible" to avoid making inflation worse. He has made tackling rising prices his top political priority.
Departments had told pay review bodies they had budgeted for pay rises of about 3.5%.
The salaries of NHS staff in England - apart from junior doctors and dentists - are not included in these recommendations.
Under a deal set out earlier this year, NHS workers will receive a 5% pay rise. Ambulance workers, nurses, physios and porters will also get a one-off sum of at least £1,655.
It's expected the PM and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will tell ministers any awards higher than this will have to be funded through cuts or savings elsewhere in their own departments.
A decision not to accept the recommendations would prompt fresh tensions with unions, raising the prospect of continuing public-sector strikes.
Mr Hunt ruled out funding pay rises with government borrowing during an interview on ITV1's Peston programme.
Increasing public sector pay through borrowing would "pump billions of pounds of extra money into the economy" leading to businesses "putting up their prices" and driving further inflation.
And in a speech to leading figures from finance and business at the Mansion House this week, he said: "Borrowing is itself inflationary."
The prime minister spoke to journalists ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania
Speaking at a news conference at the Nato summit in Lithuania, Mr Sunak said his decision about pay would be guided by "fairness" to public sector workers and taxpayers, as well as "responsibility".
He said he did not want to do anything that would "fuel inflation, make it worse or last for longer".
Speaking on Monday during a visit to Avon and Somerset police force, Home Secretary Suella Braverman would not answer directly whether the government should abide by recommendations on public sector pay.
Praising police officers, she said: "They do incredibly heroic work, day in, day out, and they save lives and it's right that we properly reward them for their sacrifice and their dedication.
"We know that there's an ongoing process - it is a decision for the whole of government.
"I don't want to pre-empt that process and the conclusions of that consideration, but it's right that we properly reward frontline police officers and bear in mind that we're in a very challenging situation, economically."
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner declined to say whether her party would accept pay body recommendations.
She said she hadn't "seen the books" but a Labour government would do its best to negotiate a deal that was acceptable to public sector workers.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Labour's fiscal rules are “non-negotiable”, says its deputy leader, but there is "room in the middle” for pay rises.
Mr Sunak has previously pledged to halve inflation this year to about 5%, as part of his top five priorities since becoming prime minister.
The rate at which prices are rising remained unchanged at 8.7% in May, despite predictions it would fall.
Persistent inflation levels would make it hard to cut taxes before the next election, Chancellor Hunt said in an interview with the Financial Times.
But Mr Sunak said he and the chancellor were "completely united on wanting to reduce taxes for people".
"But the number one priority right now is to reduce inflation and be responsible with government borrowing," he added.
Almost half of public sector workers are covered by pay review bodies, including police and prison officers, the armed forces, doctors, dentists and teachers.
The pay review bodies are made up of economists and experts on human resources, with experience in both the public and private sector and are appointed by the relevant government department.
Their recommendations are not legally binding, meaning the government can choose to reject or partially ignore the advice, but it is usually accepted.
Some agreements have been reached, including a pay settlement for more than a million NHS staff in England.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66165006
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Laura Kuenssberg: What could go wrong for Keir Starmer? - BBC News
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2023-07-16
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Labour leader is quietly preparing for power but he can't take anything for granted - here's why.
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UK Politics
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Preparation sessions for Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday are a crucial couple of hours in the Westminster timetable.
The prime minister and the leader of the opposition sit down with their key advisers to try out attack lines and taunts, master the facts and, crucially, come up with some jokes.
Yes, politics is a profoundly serious business, but humour can be a deadly verbal weapon, and create a moment that will leap into the headlines.
And for opposition leaders, that chance to grab the country's attention is what PMQs is all about.
Sir Keir Starmer, publicly, is not exactly known for cracking gags.
His early performances at PMQs were not full of levity, one columnist joked back then that even a smile was a collector's item.
But now, more than three years into the job, after many months ahead in the polls, one of Sir Keir's confidants tells me he is coming up with more of his own jokes.
"He wouldn't accept 'I can't do humour'", they tell me, and now will increasingly suggest wisecracks rather than rely on others' lines.
It is a small, but revealing change in what insiders describe as his strict political regime, a sign of his growing ease, and "fiercely competitive" nature, a refusal ever to accept that he can't do things to get better at the job.
The Labour leader has good reason to be increasingly confident that he will one day walk through Number 10's shiny black door.
A lot has gone right since he took over back in spring 2020, a political lifetime ago.
A Labour source says his three phase plan - "fix the party, trash the Tories, then develop an offer" - has been "vindicated", recalling in the early days their many critics said he was "being too slow", or "trying to bounce us early" into making big decisions.
Remember too, when Sir Keir won the leadership there were warnings that Labour might even cease to exist.
They had been absolutely hammered in the 2019 election. There had been years of vicious infighting, and agonies over antisemitism.
By any measure, restoring the party to a credible political organisation is an enormous accomplishment.
Without question, Sir Keir has been helped by the Conservatives' rolling series of crises - the chaos of Boris Johnson's downfall, the market meltdown of Liz Truss' several dozens of days in office, and now the profound problems in the economy.
The Starmer smile is on show more often at PMQs
But even with the much more ordered regime of Rishi Sunak, Labour has managed to stay significantly ahead in the polls, making important advances in local elections, and soon to be tested again in a flurry of by-elections you can read about here.
As a result of a solid and sustained opinion poll lead, Labour is thinking not just about how to win anymore, but in detail about what they would do if they get there.
Sir Keir is the first to warn of complacency, repeatedly telling his team to fight "like they are five points behind".
But there is no question he is mulling over how he would govern.
"He is thinking, I want to be ready and I want to be a good prime minister," says an ally.
Another source tells me he is already using a red box system, like a prime minister would.
"Everything goes in by late afternoon with a hard deadline and he spends his evenings poring over papers, ideas, drafts, or submissions", all dealt with by the morning.
But it may be more than a year still until he has the chance to swap the bag that holds his papers for a real government red box. And there is still an awful lot that could go wrong.
Sensing the opportunity and worrying it could go south is "scary as hell", says a shadow minister.
There is a widespread awareness that Labour's massive lead now is likely to narrow as a general election comes closer.
The Tories "aren't dead", says one shadow minister and their party HQ has one of the most successful campaign fighting records in the Western world.
And the first rule of politics is always, learn to count.
Labour's poll lead over the Conservatives is expected to narrow
A whopping national poll lead does not automatically translate into winning many more seats in a general election, as one Labour MP in a tightly-fought constituency worries - "The biggest danger is that you rack up big majorities and don't seal the deal with enough of the seats".
Sir Keir's team can't change the fact that Labour fell so far behind in 2019 that winning an overall majority isn't just climbing a mountain, more scaling the Himalayas. They also of course, like any political organisation, can't control unforeseen events that can shape how voters make decisions.
Not much however is without risk, even issues that ought to be within Starmer's control.
First, one source half jokes what could go wrong is "The Labour Party"!
The danger is "it loses discipline and focus and makes unforced errors", they tell me.
"It's been 20 years since we won a general election", they add, and the party simply doesn't have the habit.
A shadow minister says "we have to hold our nerve" and not make any mistakes, or give into pressure from the left of the party.
The leadership has been accused of control freakery, trying to suppress the left, expelling party members unfairly.
But a source says the danger of disputes with the left is "way down the risk register", the focus has to be on potential voters.
One shadow minister believes Sir Keir thinks "I can't be in government and dependent on these people".
The logic goes that battles with the left over who gets to run as a Labour MP now are well worth having to avoid having an awkward squad that could make life difficult in Parliament later. Particularly if Labour has to try to run the country as a minority government or with a tiny majority.
The Labour leader has his eyes firmly on Number 10
The leadership's most central strategy is one of the reasons why there are grumbles on the left - and that is risky too.
As we heard from Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week, and Sir Keir is likely to argue in our interview on Sunday morning, Labour has put watching the pennies strictly at the top of its list.
With the economy in serious trouble, they share some of the ethos of the current government, however uncomfortable that might feel, that now is not the time for huge spending or huge tax cuts.
That discipline means the party has dropped or watered down some promises that activists loved - the plan for free university tuition in England, delaying big spending proposals for green projects.
No-one is getting promises from Rachel Reeves' cheque book, as we talked about last week.
It has had an effect on the leader's reputation.
One union leader says Starmer has "had the blame for shifts in policy that have made him look a bit shifty".
And there is concern that all the talk of keeping a lid on spending on what Keir Starmer once described as "good Labour things" will lead voters to wonder what Labour really would offer.
Another senior figure tells me: "The economy is on its knees - sitting there saying, we are very sensible, who is going to listen to that?"
There is also a question of the political argument being made.
Keir Starmer and his team have made the case for many years that the deep roots of many of the country's problems relate to the austerity of the coalition years, when George Osborne kept strict limits on spending.
But if Labour's plan does not include filling in the holes financially to undo that damage, does that stack up?
One of his MPs, not from the far left of the party, ponders "it is pretty hard to criticise this government without acknowledging the damage that austerity has caused, and then not say you would spend more… no-one really believes that he wouldn't spend more". As Labour approaches its National Policy Forum next week, an important powwow with activists and unions, calls for more ambition, like from the leader of the Unite union, Sharon Graham, may become familiar.
Stressing the importance of reforming and improving public services, and getting the economy growing without spending billions extra and certainly not borrowing without good reason.
Labour's top team is stuck like glue to the idea that they have to show they would keep a tight grip on public spending, almost as if they are traumatised by past elections when the Conservatives have run the attack that they would splash the cash.
A senior figure suggests the leadership is "very nervous about making any wrong moves on the economy".
But those at the top believe the messiness of the past few months, particularly the rising cost of mortgages, make discipline even more important.
One shadow minister says: "The mortgage stuff hits homeowners in places like Stevenage and Luton, swing voters, who are looking for people who are serious on the economy."
But insiders acknowledge turning discipline into electoral excitement might not be easy. Making promises about abstract reform doesn't necessarily get voters running to the polling booths.
As Parliament packs up for the summer, there is no question that Sir Keir Starmer has cause to be confident. His party is well ahead, but risk is all around.
There are traps to avoid, big decisions to take, many thousands of miles of campaigning still to go.
With less time to play football, the Labour leader now tries to stay in a hotel with a gym, to run on a treadmill.
After more than three years in the job, even having clocked up many successes, he knows the journey to the job he craves in Number 10 is still a marathon, not a sprint.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66211151
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AI: Digital artist's work copied more times than Picasso - BBC News
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2023-07-20
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Greg Rutkowski is among the artists calling for more protection from artificial intelligence tools.
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Wales
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Greg Rutkowski's name has been used as a prompt in AI tools that generate art more than 400,000 times - but without his consent
"My work has been used in AI more than Picasso."
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing life as we know it, but for digital artist Greg Rutkowski it is causing big problems.
He said his name had been used as a prompt in AI tools that generate art more than 400,000 times since September 2022 - but without his consent.
When he checked, his name had been used as a prompt more times than the artists Pablo Picasso and Leonardo da Vinci.
Polish-born artist Greg has had his work used in games such as Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, but said his new found AI fame has caused concern for his future work.
Sites like Midjourney, Dall.E, NightCafe and Stable Diffusion are known as generative AI because they can make new, artificially-generated artworks in seconds from prompts that users type in.
They have learned to do this by scraping billions of existing images from the internet. Artists are complaining this has been done without their consent.
Greg Rutkowski says even he would struggle to distinguish between the AI versions of his work and his own
Greg said: "The first month that I discovered it, I realised that it will clearly affect my career and I won't be able to recognise and find my own works on the internet.
"The results will be associated with my name, but it won't be my image. It won't be created by me. So it will add confusion for people who are discovering my works."
"All that we've been working on for so many years has been taken from us so easily with AI," he added.
"It's really hard to tell whether this will change the whole industry to the point where human artists will be obsolete. I think my work and future are under a huge question mark."
While the problems are clear, there are some ways AI tools can be used to benefit artists, according to Cardiff-based animator Harry Hambley, who is the creative force behind internet sensation Ketnipz.
"I think for me the biggest thing generative art can solve is tedium," he said.
"But it can be scary and the internet's already a wild place, and you mix AI in with that… we don't know where it's going to go.
"Do I think that my job will ever be sacrificed to AI or AI will do it better than me? I don't know. I hope not."
Artist Harry Hambley says the biggest problem is we do not know how far AI will go
Harry said he thought there was more to art than how it looked.
"At the end of the day I think that there's a bigger reason why people are invested in Ketnipz and I don't think it's just the mere aesthetics of it.
"I think there's a personality behind it that I don't think someone imitating can really tap into."
James Lewis's brush control has made him a hit on TikTok
Artist James Lewis, from Cardiff, creates videos of his painting technique for more than seven million followers on TikTok and Instagram.
He has yet to find out if his work has been used by the tools, but said because AI has learned from billions of artworks, it would be hard to trace which artists' works have been used in each image.
"If there was a way to go back and figure out who inspired this style of image that was generated, I think it would be fair for that artist to receive some sort of compensation," he said.
James Lewis' piece, Kaboom: "If there was a way figure out who inspired this style of image... it would be fair to receive some sort of compensation"
In the meantime he thinks artists should keep being creative.
"I do have hope that as much as AI art will develop and it'll get better, but it will never be able to capture that true human essence, that true creativity that we have as people," he said.
"You will still need your own creative ideas, your own initiative."
Artist Caroline Sinders says she will be exercising her copyright rights
For artist and human rights researcher Caroline Sinders, it is for AI companies to address the problem.
She said: "Part of the argument we hear from companies is, 'we have so much data, it would be impossible for us to tell, like searching for a needle in a haystack'.
"I would like to say, well, that's a 'you' problem, not a 'me' problem.
"I have a copyright on the images and I plan to enact my copyright if my images are used without my consent."
She said she was also worried about the bias that these tools created and how it meant AI art was not reflecting the real world.
"Let's say we ask an image generation AI system to generate a doctor assessing care to a family," she said.
"Most likely that doctor will be generated as male and probably as white, and the parent will probably be generated as female.
"And this is not an example I'm randomly making up. There have been tests done by asking these sort of blanket questions without gender being in the text prompt and, more often than not, it's reflecting these stereotypes."
This extends to racial bias and also ableism, said Irene Fubara-Manuel, a lecturer at the University of Sussex.
While they said they were excited about the possibilities provided by generative art, issues such as racial and gender biases in some images created were hard to overcome.
"I was trying to dye my hair over the summer, and I was just looking up 'people of colour, blonde locks'," they said.
Irene Fubara-Manuel says they noticed bias when searching for images to try out new hairstyles
"What I got in response was this regal, I would say, fetishised image of black people. You know, chiselled jaw lines, their skin was iridescent.
"It's like, there are black people who are that beautiful, but the images that you see commonly in a lot of AI are very, very fetishised representations of people.
"You would not see people who are plus size, or people who have visible disabilities, for instance."
Artists are now calling on regulators in the UK and worldwide to take more action to protect artists and the industry.
Irene said artists were not against AI but, "the argument is against exploitation".
"But I'm hopeful that it will contribute to human creativity in general, just like how the creation of computers added more to creativity. I'm excited for its contribution," they said.
Caroline said more regulation of the emerging AI industry in the UK would not "stifle" innovation.
"It makes things safer and that's why we have certain laws," she said.
"That's why right now we have seatbelts and airbags for cars and a lot of rules about them. When they were first invented, we didn't have any of that.
"So it's not at all out of step to sort of ask for, or to create, guardrails and protections."
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Kelso Cochrane: Trying to unlock the secrets of a 64-year-old racist murder - BBC News
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2023-08-21
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Kelso Cochrane's daughter is at the centre of the family's efforts to get the police files opened.
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UK
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The family of a black man murdered in 1959 is demanding access to the police file on his unsolved killing.
Kelso Cochrane was stabbed to death on a west London street, in what's believed to have been a racist attack. Nobody was ever charged with the crime.
The Metropolitan Police says the file is not available to the public because the case is still open.
The family lawyer says this secrecy is not justified, and the family is ready to take legal action if necessary.
The murder is arguably one of the most significant events in black British history.
At the time of his death, the 32-year-old was living in London, working as a carpenter and planning to study law.
Kelso Cochrane had been born in Antigua, and had arrived in England five years before his death, following a spell in the US. He had been married there, but the relationship had broken down.
Listen to the radio documentary, The Murder of Kelso Cochrane, on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 BST on Monday 21 August, or 11:00 BST on Wednesday 23 August, or afterwards on BBC Sounds
He had also left two young daughters in the US, to whom he still sent toys - dolls, tea sets, and skipping ropes. One of them, Josephine, says that these "little things" gave her "the impression that he was a loving father and that he cared".
Like many other members of the Windrush generation, Cochrane was living in the west London area of Notting Hill. It was one of the few parts of the city where new immigrants from the Caribbean could find housing, although it was often expensive, overcrowded and in poor condition. The area was also home to a well-established white working class population.
On the evening of 16 May 1959, Cochrane paid a visit to his local hospital, Paddington General. His thumb was painful after an injury at work.
On his way back home, he was attacked by a group of five or six white youths. Witnesses said they saw them encircling him, kicking, hitting. One jumped on his back.
Two Jamaican men walking past saw the incident and ran to help. Cochrane was able to stand, so they got him into a taxi and took him to St Charles' Hospital in nearby North Kensington.
Cochrane didn't seem to be bleeding heavily, but he'd been stabbed in the heart with a thin blade. By the time they arrived at the hospital, he was in severe shock. He died there, just before 01:00.
By 04:00 news of the death had made the newspapers. A late edition of the Sunday Express that morning carried a flash headline: "Murder in Notting Hill".
Notting Hill had already become identified with racial tension. In the previous summer of 1958, riots lasting several days had broken out in the neighbourhood.
The riots ended in early September, but for black residents the undercurrent of violence persisted.
Racial tensions had erupted during the Notting Hill riots of 1958
Far-right groups had become active in the area, including the Union Movement of Sir Oswald Mosley. In spring 1959, another group, the White Defence League, had set up an office in the heart of Notting Hill, saying it would "campaign for white interests".
But for all the tension, nobody had been killed in a racist attack - until Kelso Cochrane.
The police inquiry was led by Det Supt Ian Forbes-Leith. He had a team of 20 officers at his disposal.
The investigation quickly focused on a party, which had been taking place close to where Cochrane was attacked on Southam Street.
Several guests were brought in for questioning. Two were held for more than 48 hours - Patrick Digby, a 20-year-old merchant seaman, and John "Shoggy" Breagan who was 24. They were later released without charge.
The street corner in London's Notting Hill where Kelso Cochrane was attacked
The police were quick to dismiss the idea that racism was the motive. Det Supt Forbes-Leith told the press that the stabbing had "absolutely nothing to do with racial conflict". He suggested the motive could have been robbery.
That wasn't what it looked like to many in Notting Hill's black community. John Prince, a friend of Cochrane, told the BBC in 2006 that it had been frightening: "Suddenly now you're faced with the possibility of being murdered just because of who you were as a person."
On 6 June 1959 hundreds of people - black and white - gathered for Cochrane's funeral, lining the streets of Notting Hill, following his coffin to nearby Kensal Green Cemetery.
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In the wake of the murder, the activist Claudia Jones and others set up the Inter Racial Friendship Co-ordinating Council, which paid Cochrane's funeral costs, organised silent protests in Whitehall, and pushed for laws against racial hatred.
Over time, the police inquiry was wound down.
Decades later in 2006, Cochrane's older brother Stanley came to England for the first time. He wanted to find out who killed his brother. A BBC documentary team followed him.
The investigative journalist Mark Olden tracked down Patrick Digby and John Breagan but neither were willing to meet Stanley. Both denied involvement in the murder. Stanley asked to see the police file but was only allowed to see an abridged version.
Among those who saw the programme was Pat Digby's step-daughter, Susie Read. She contacted Olden, and told him she remembered Digby's friends baiting him with an odd name - "Oslo" or "Kelso".
Pat Digby's stepdaughter Susie Read says he admitted to her that he killed Cochrane
She has now told us that once during an argument, she had challenged Digby about the accusation: "He said, 'Well, if I did, you could never prove it.' I said, 'Did you kill him? He said, 'Yeah'."
Olden kept digging. He spoke to a guest at the Southam Street party, who told him Digby had come back after the attack, and confessed to people there.
He spoke again to John Breagan, who said that he and Digby had left the party together before the murder. When first asked why by the police, one of them said it was to look for girls, the other said it was to have a fight. But when detained in the police station, they were held in adjacent cells. Breagan told Olden that this had allowed them to "straighten" their stories. Breagan died in 2019.
In 2011 Olden published a book, Murder in Notting Hill, which prompted Kelso Cochrane's daughter Josephine to contact him. Growing up in New York, she knew her father had died, but until then hadn't realised he'd been murdered.
Josephine is now at the centre of the family's efforts to get the police files opened. She told us that as she hadn't known her father growing up she wanted to know "everything" about his murder and the investigation "before I die".
Cochrane's daughter Josephine says she wants to know "everything" about his murder
The investigation file into Kelso Cochrane's murder has been transferred to the National Archives in Kew, but it will remain closed from public view until 2054 - after Josephine's 100th birthday.
It's not uncommon for unsolved murder cases to be restricted for up to 100 years - this is so they only become public after all those involved have died.
But some unsolved murder files from London in the same period are open, such as that of Freda Knowles, murdered in 1964, or Ernest Isaacs, shot dead at his home in 1966.
Crime historian Dr Mark Roodhouse, of the University of York, uses police files from the mid-20th Century for his research. He says he's surprised that the Kelso Cochrane file is still restricted.
In spring 2020, I made my own Freedom of Information request for the Cochrane file to be opened early, on public interest grounds.
I've succeeded in getting other files opened early, notably dozens of files on institutional child sex abuse just after the Jimmy Savile scandal.
On this occasion, however, my request was turned down.
The Met Police said then the Cochrane case was considered open, and that "new scientific techniques" meant that "cases hitherto considered unsolvable, are being examined afresh".
I was also told that releasing the files would cause the family "immediate mental distress". However, it is Cochrane's family who now wants the file released.
What's more, the main suspects are dead and it is difficult to point to any evidence that could be subject to "cold case" techniques. The BBC documentary team was told in 2006 that Kelso Cochrane's clothes had been destroyed in the late 1960s.
Kelso Cochrane is remembered in west London by a street named after him
We went back to the Metropolitan Police this summer, asking them to explain why the Cochrane family was unable to access the file. They told us that "as with all unsolved murders this case is not closed and any evidence that comes to light will be assessed and investigated accordingly".
They said that officers from the Special Casework Team had made efforts to engage with Mr Cochrane's family, via their legal representatives, with a view to discussing details of this murder investigation - but that these efforts had so far been unsuccessful.
Daniel Machover, the lawyer acting for the Cochrane family, says the family will pursue a formal route to obtain the file - challenging the reasons previously given to withhold it.
He has obtained multiple statements to support the request, from Kelso Cochrane's immediate and extended family, and from journalists who have tried to obtain the file over many years, including myself.
Machover has also provided the death certificates of the key suspects, and others who are likely to have been significant witnesses in the case.
He says it's too late for criminal justice, but the family hopes there will be something in the file that "at least gives them a picture, a flavour, an idea of what was done to try to secure a criminal charge and a criminal prosecution".
Machover has represented many black families in dispute with the Met Police. He believes there is a need to acknowledge the events of the past to deal with mistrust today.
Comparisons have been drawn with the murder of the south London teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993 - in both cases, there was a reluctance by the Met Police to name racism as the motive, and an initial failure to charge anyone for the crimes.
Less than a mile from where he was attacked, a street has been named after Kelso Cochrane, as well as a new block of social housing.
A plaque is unveiled earlier this year at the newly opened Kelso Cochrane House in North Kensington
Members of the Cochrane family are grateful for the recognition but they still want something more.
Millicent Christian, the daughter of Cochrane's cousin, says that Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen eventually achieved "some kind" of justice. "We're looking for that same kind of justice for our Kelso."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66498551
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news_uk-66498551
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Kelso Cochrane: Trying to unlock the secrets of a 64-year-old racist murder - BBC News
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2023-08-21
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Kelso Cochrane's daughter is at the centre of the family's efforts to get the police files opened.
|
UK
|
The family of a black man murdered in 1959 is demanding access to the police file on his unsolved killing.
Kelso Cochrane was stabbed to death on a west London street, in what's believed to have been a racist attack. Nobody was ever charged with the crime.
The Metropolitan Police says the file is not available to the public because the case is still open.
The family lawyer says this secrecy is not justified, and the family is ready to take legal action if necessary.
The murder is arguably one of the most significant events in black British history.
At the time of his death, the 32-year-old was living in London, working as a carpenter and planning to study law.
Kelso Cochrane had been born in Antigua, and had arrived in England five years before his death, following a spell in the US. He had been married there, but the relationship had broken down.
Listen to the radio documentary, The Murder of Kelso Cochrane, on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 BST on Monday 21 August, or 11:00 BST on Wednesday 23 August, or afterwards on BBC Sounds
He had also left two young daughters in the US, to whom he still sent toys - dolls, tea sets, and skipping ropes. One of them, Josephine, says that these "little things" gave her "the impression that he was a loving father and that he cared".
Like many other members of the Windrush generation, Cochrane was living in the west London area of Notting Hill. It was one of the few parts of the city where new immigrants from the Caribbean could find housing, although it was often expensive, overcrowded and in poor condition. The area was also home to a well-established white working class population.
On the evening of 16 May 1959, Cochrane paid a visit to his local hospital, Paddington General. His thumb was painful after an injury at work.
On his way back home, he was attacked by a group of five or six white youths. Witnesses said they saw them encircling him, kicking, hitting. One jumped on his back.
Two Jamaican men walking past saw the incident and ran to help. Cochrane was able to stand, so they got him into a taxi and took him to St Charles' Hospital in nearby North Kensington.
Cochrane didn't seem to be bleeding heavily, but he'd been stabbed in the heart with a thin blade. By the time they arrived at the hospital, he was in severe shock. He died there, just before 01:00.
By 04:00 news of the death had made the newspapers. A late edition of the Sunday Express that morning carried a flash headline: "Murder in Notting Hill".
Notting Hill had already become identified with racial tension. In the previous summer of 1958, riots lasting several days had broken out in the neighbourhood.
The riots ended in early September, but for black residents the undercurrent of violence persisted.
Racial tensions had erupted during the Notting Hill riots of 1958
Far-right groups had become active in the area, including the Union Movement of Sir Oswald Mosley. In spring 1959, another group, the White Defence League, had set up an office in the heart of Notting Hill, saying it would "campaign for white interests".
But for all the tension, nobody had been killed in a racist attack - until Kelso Cochrane.
The police inquiry was led by Det Supt Ian Forbes-Leith. He had a team of 20 officers at his disposal.
The investigation quickly focused on a party, which had been taking place close to where Cochrane was attacked on Southam Street.
Several guests were brought in for questioning. Two were held for more than 48 hours - Patrick Digby, a 20-year-old merchant seaman, and John "Shoggy" Breagan who was 24. They were later released without charge.
The street corner in London's Notting Hill where Kelso Cochrane was attacked
The police were quick to dismiss the idea that racism was the motive. Det Supt Forbes-Leith told the press that the stabbing had "absolutely nothing to do with racial conflict". He suggested the motive could have been robbery.
That wasn't what it looked like to many in Notting Hill's black community. John Prince, a friend of Cochrane, told the BBC in 2006 that it had been frightening: "Suddenly now you're faced with the possibility of being murdered just because of who you were as a person."
On 6 June 1959 hundreds of people - black and white - gathered for Cochrane's funeral, lining the streets of Notting Hill, following his coffin to nearby Kensal Green Cemetery.
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In the wake of the murder, the activist Claudia Jones and others set up the Inter Racial Friendship Co-ordinating Council, which paid Cochrane's funeral costs, organised silent protests in Whitehall, and pushed for laws against racial hatred.
Over time, the police inquiry was wound down.
Decades later in 2006, Cochrane's older brother Stanley came to England for the first time. He wanted to find out who killed his brother. A BBC documentary team followed him.
The investigative journalist Mark Olden tracked down Patrick Digby and John Breagan but neither were willing to meet Stanley. Both denied involvement in the murder. Stanley asked to see the police file but was only allowed to see an abridged version.
Among those who saw the programme was Pat Digby's step-daughter, Susie Read. She contacted Olden, and told him she remembered Digby's friends baiting him with an odd name - "Oslo" or "Kelso".
Pat Digby's stepdaughter Susie Read says he admitted to her that he killed Cochrane
She has now told us that once during an argument, she had challenged Digby about the accusation: "He said, 'Well, if I did, you could never prove it.' I said, 'Did you kill him? He said, 'Yeah'."
Olden kept digging. He spoke to a guest at the Southam Street party, who told him Digby had come back after the attack, and confessed to people there.
He spoke again to John Breagan, who said that he and Digby had left the party together before the murder. When first asked why by the police, one of them said it was to look for girls, the other said it was to have a fight. But when detained in the police station, they were held in adjacent cells. Breagan told Olden that this had allowed them to "straighten" their stories. Breagan died in 2019.
In 2011 Olden published a book, Murder in Notting Hill, which prompted Kelso Cochrane's daughter Josephine to contact him. Growing up in New York, she knew her father had died, but until then hadn't realised he'd been murdered.
Josephine is now at the centre of the family's efforts to get the police files opened. She told us that as she hadn't known her father growing up she wanted to know "everything" about his murder and the investigation "before I die".
Cochrane's daughter Josephine says she wants to know "everything" about his murder
The investigation file into Kelso Cochrane's murder has been transferred to the National Archives in Kew, but it will remain closed from public view until 2054 - after Josephine's 100th birthday.
It's not uncommon for unsolved murder cases to be restricted for up to 100 years - this is so they only become public after all those involved have died.
But some unsolved murder files from London in the same period are open, such as that of Freda Knowles, murdered in 1964, or Ernest Isaacs, shot dead at his home in 1966.
Crime historian Dr Mark Roodhouse, of the University of York, uses police files from the mid-20th Century for his research. He says he's surprised that the Kelso Cochrane file is still restricted.
In spring 2020, I made my own Freedom of Information request for the Cochrane file to be opened early, on public interest grounds.
I've succeeded in getting other files opened early, notably dozens of files on institutional child sex abuse just after the Jimmy Savile scandal.
On this occasion, however, my request was turned down.
The Met Police said then the Cochrane case was considered open, and that "new scientific techniques" meant that "cases hitherto considered unsolvable, are being examined afresh".
I was also told that releasing the files would cause the family "immediate mental distress". However, it is Cochrane's family who now wants the file released.
What's more, the main suspects are dead and it is difficult to point to any evidence that could be subject to "cold case" techniques. The BBC documentary team was told in 2006 that Kelso Cochrane's clothes had been destroyed in the late 1960s.
Kelso Cochrane is remembered in west London by a street named after him
We went back to the Metropolitan Police this summer, asking them to explain why the Cochrane family was unable to access the file. They told us that "as with all unsolved murders this case is not closed and any evidence that comes to light will be assessed and investigated accordingly".
They said that officers from the Special Casework Team had made efforts to engage with Mr Cochrane's family, via their legal representatives, with a view to discussing details of this murder investigation - but that these efforts had so far been unsuccessful.
Daniel Machover, the lawyer acting for the Cochrane family, says the family will pursue a formal route to obtain the file - challenging the reasons previously given to withhold it.
He has obtained multiple statements to support the request, from Kelso Cochrane's immediate and extended family, and from journalists who have tried to obtain the file over many years, including myself.
Machover has also provided the death certificates of the key suspects, and others who are likely to have been significant witnesses in the case.
He says it's too late for criminal justice, but the family hopes there will be something in the file that "at least gives them a picture, a flavour, an idea of what was done to try to secure a criminal charge and a criminal prosecution".
Machover has represented many black families in dispute with the Met Police. He believes there is a need to acknowledge the events of the past to deal with mistrust today.
Comparisons have been drawn with the murder of the south London teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993 - in both cases, there was a reluctance by the Met Police to name racism as the motive, and an initial failure to charge anyone for the crimes.
Less than a mile from where he was attacked, a street has been named after Kelso Cochrane, as well as a new block of social housing.
A plaque is unveiled earlier this year at the newly opened Kelso Cochrane House in North Kensington
Members of the Cochrane family are grateful for the recognition but they still want something more.
Millicent Christian, the daughter of Cochrane's cousin, says that Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen eventually achieved "some kind" of justice. "We're looking for that same kind of justice for our Kelso."
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66498551
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news_uk-66498551
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Beyoncé pays tribute to dancer fatally stabbed while dancing to her music - BBC News
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2023-08-03
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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New York Police are investigating the death of O'Shae Sibley, a gay man, as a possible hate crime.
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US & Canada
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This tribute to Mr Sibley was posted to Beyonce's website
Beyoncé has paid tribute to O'Shae Sibley, a professional dancer who was fatally stabbed in Brooklyn, New York while dancing to her music.
Mr Sibley, 28, was voguing while he and friends filled up at a petrol station when men approached and told them to stop, friends reported.
The men began using slurs and Mr Sibley, a gay man, confronted them, according to video of the altercation.
No arrests have yet been made, but police said on Tuesday that they were seeking a teenage boy in connection with the killing. The New York Police department has also said it is investigating Mr Sibley's death as a possible hate crime.
Mr Sibley's friends told US media that while some of their group filled up their car at a Mobil petrol station in Brooklyn on Saturday, the professional dancer and choreographer played Beyoncé's latest album, Renaissance, and danced to the music. Renaissance, is considered a celebration of black and queer dance culture, featuring artists like Big Freedia, Syd and Honey Dijon.
After a group of men approached Mr Sibley and his friends, surveillance video appears to show the two groups in a heated argument.
The confrontation escalated, and one man stabbed Mr Sibley, police said.
Otis Pena, one of Mr Sibley's friends, pressed on his wound to stop the bleeding before Mr Sibley was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, the New York Times reported, where he was pronounced dead.
"They murdered him because he's gay, because he stood up for his friends," Mr Pena said in a Facebook video. "They killed my brother right in front of me," he wrote in another post.
Mr Sibley's death has rocked the LGBTQ+ community in New York, where friends said he had moved to continue his dance career, and beyond.
Philadelphia dance organisation Philadanco, which said Mr Sibley had been involved with them since he was a teenager, released a statement calling his death "absolutely heartbreaking".
"We believe no one deserves to be targeted for simply being themselves and living in their truth," the statement said.
Mr Sibley was also recognised by New York's leaders, including Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, who wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "discrimination, hate, and violence" have no place in our state.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66388976
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news_world-us-canada-66388976
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Ukraine war: Three-week-old baby and family among seven killed in Russian shelling - BBC News
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2023-08-13
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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Russian shelling in Ukraine's southern Kherson region leaves seven civilians dead.
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Europe
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Photos of the aftermath showed a plume of smoke rising from the family's home
A baby aged just 22 days, her 12-year-old brother and their parents were among seven people killed by Russian shells in southern Ukraine on Sunday.
Bombs hit their family home in the village of Shyroka Balka in Kherson, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.
The dead also included another village resident and two men in neighbouring Stanislav.
"Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force," said Mr Klymenko. "They don't understand anything else."
The minister shared photographs of the aftermath of the attack on Shyroka Balka, showing black columns of smoke rising from buildings, and the digitally obscured bodies of some of the dead.
Thirteen others were injured in the shelling, he added.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky used his daily address to the nation to condemn the "brutal" attack in Shyrokа Balka.
"Five people were killed," he said. "Among them was a baby girl, only 22 days old. Her brother, just 12 years old. The mother Olesia... only 39, also perished."
He added there had been 17 reports of Russian shelling in Kherson alone, and many more beyond.
"There is no day when Russian evil does not receive our entirely just response," he said.
"We will not leave any of Russia's crimes unanswered."
Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year.
Ukraine's military reclaimed the western part of the region in November. Russian troops have continued to shell the area from across the Dnipro river.
The shelling came a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of "terrorism" for what it said was an attempted missile strike on the Crimean Bridge linking the peninsula to Russia.
Ukraine has not confirmed the attack, although Mr Zelensky has previously said the bridge is used as a military supply route and is a legitimate target.
Crimea has been under Moscow's control since Russian forces annexed the peninsula in 2014 - a move condemned internationally.
In another development, Moscow said it had fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea to halt it for an inspection as it made its way to the Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube river.
The Russian claim has not been independently verified. If confirmed, it would be the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month.
Russia said that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons toward the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan when it refused to halt, then boarded for an inspection.
Meanwhile, an aide to the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol reported that several Ukrainian civilians were killed as Russian soldiers fought among themselves on Sunday.
Two teenage girls, four young men and a woman were among the dead in the "shoot-out" in the village of Urzuf, Petro Andryshchenko said in a Telegram post.
He said the gun battle followed an argument between Chechen troops and personnel from the local commandant's office.
Mariupol, a major port on the Sea of Azov, was captured by Russia after months of fierce fighting last year.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66492621
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news_world-europe-66492621
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As it happened: Tory Lanez jailed for 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion - live updates - BBC News
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2023-08-07
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['https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews']
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The Canadian rapper will spend 10 years in prison for shooting and injuring hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion.
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US & Canada
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During the trial, the jury heard that during the drive home from Kylie Jenner’s pool party on the night of July 11, 2020, Megan Thee Stallion insulted Tory Lanez‘s musical talent.
As the argument escalated, she demanded to be let out of the car. Megan testified that she heard Lanez shout “dance" before he fired five rounds at her.
The court heard she left a trail of blood at the scene, before getting back into the vehicle, which was stopped minutes later by police.
A gun that was still warm to the touch was found near where Lanez had been sitting.
Megan testified Lanez had offered her $1m (£780,000) to keep quiet about the attack because he claimed to be on probation for a weapons offence.
Minutes after the shooting, another passenger texted Megan Thee Stallion's security detail, saying: "Help... Tory shot meg."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-66431305
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news_live_world-us-canada-66431305
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