BBC Question Time/TwitterComedian Rosie Jones on BBC Question Time
Comedian Rosie Jones said minorities do not feel safe in Britain during a conversation about violence against women on BBC Question Time.
Touching on the national debate which was reignited after the sentencing of Sarah Everard’s killer, Jones explained how she feels like neither Downing Street nor the police “care about my safety”.
Speaking on Thursday, the comic explained: “Talking about women’s safety in general, right now there’s a government inquiry and a met inquiry [into Everard’s killer] and I really feel like they are both PR stunts.
“I really don’t feel, as a woman, that either care about my safety.”
BBC host Fiona Bruce asked: “What would make you feel safe then, as you’re not happy about either of these inquiries?”
She continued: “I’m a woman, but also as a disabled woman, I don’t feel safe at night.
“I don’t feel safe with police officers, and we need to get to a place where women – but also any minority, if you’re a woman, you’re disabled, if you’re in the LGBT spectrum, if you’re a person of colour – that fact is right now in the UK, they don’t feel safe, at home, at night, and that is a scary place to live in.”
Everard’s death back in March caused national outrage about protection towards women.
She was murdered by a then-serving police officer, who kidnapped her by putting her under false arrest for breaching lockdown rules.
People have subsequently called for reforms within the national police force, for the Met to vet all of their officers more thoroughly and for misogyny to be made into a hate crime.
After Question Time aired, Jones tweeted: ”As a gay, disabled woman living in the UK, I don’t feel safe.
“When will the government and the police support us?”
Jones also tweeted on Friday that she had received a substantial amount of “ableist abuse” after her appearance on Question Time.
She explained: “The sad thing is that I’m not surprised at the ableist abuse I’ve received tonight regarding my appearance on Question Time.
“It’s indicative of the country we live in right now.
“I will keep on speaking up, in my wonderful voice, for what I believe in.”
The sad thing is that I’m not surprised at the ableist abuse I’ve received tonight regarding my appearance on Question Time. It’s indicative of the country we live in right now. I will keep on speaking up, in my wonderful voice, for what I believe in.
Boris Johnson has been criticised by veteran broadcaster and Spectator chairman Andrew Neil for his “policy-lite” keynote speech at the Tory Party conference.
Speaking to LBC on Thursday, Neil said the public had an “expectation we’d get some policy now” as the pandemic has subsided and as the UK is being plunged into crisis after crisis.
He continued: “You can have more alliteration, as Mr Johnson had, than a West Coast poet from the 60s on LSD.
“That’s all fine. But we’re a country with major problems and we need to know the government’s solution to these problems and on that Mr Johnson had not a jot.”
Neil pointed out: “This winter we’re going into a serious cost of living crisis which will hit the poorest most of all, we don’t know when the shortages on the supermarket shelves or the petrol forecourts will end.
“We don’t know what the policy is on social care, we don’t know what the policy is on the NHS, other than to bung it more money, and we don’t know what ‘levelling up’ means.”
PA/GettyAndrew Neil hit out at Boris Johnson after his speech on Wednesday
He said this was the first Conservative conference in five years when the party was not in some form of crisis – now that the divisions over Brexit have subsided and the pandemic has abated – meaning Johnson was in “world king” mode during his speech.
Neil agreed that Downing Street’s new promise to ‘level up’ the UK “is a very good idea,” especially as the UK needs more development in the Midlands and the north – but he added that this is an idea “without any flesh” at the moment.
The political pundit continued: “We have a right to know what the policies are, and to know if we have these been implemented yet.”
The former chairman of GB News speculated that Johnson’s popularity with voters comes down to his sunny optimism and that his rhetoric-heavy speech on Wednesday showed his priority is “bolstering the red wall”, rather than addressing the grim reality of the upcoming winter.
TOBY MELVILLE via REUTERSBoris Johnson jogs in the morning before the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester
Boris Johnson caused a stir when he was pictured jogging in Manchester wearing shorts, formal shoes and a white shirt on Sunday.
The prime minister is in the city along with the rest of the Conservative Party to attend the annual Tory conference.
While Johnson has been spotted out running in the past, this was the first time he’s mixed up his exercise wear with business clothes – he reverted back to normal sports clothes on Monday, but the blunder has not been forgotten.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak addressed the outfit on Times Radio on Monday and said: “I have not spoken to him about that, I have only seen the photo… I could not pull that off the way the Prime Minister does.”
Not everyone was as complimentary as Sunak, though.
Broadcaster Ryan Bailey joked that he was worried “I don’t dress formally enough when I go running”, while football coach Gary Neville tweeted: “Surely a Tory donor can get him some running gear.”
Satirical Twitter account Newsthump also tweeted: “Fortunately, the prime minister avoided a terrible fashion faux pas by remembering his jogging cufflinks.”
Others noticed that this is a trend with Johnson, as he has previously been spotted wearing shirts during runs.
The image was also brutally edited by photoshop account Cold War Steve to accompany the prime minister’s controversy on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show when he said: “I’ve given you the most important metric – never mind life expectancy, never mind cancer outcomes – look at wage growth.”
It was noted as a distraction technique too, as a fuel crisis and HGV driver shortage continues to grip the nation.
Others even compared to the cautionary tale of The Emperor’s New Clothes.
A picture which neatly sums up exactly what a fraud de Piffle is. The closest thing to the Emperor’s New Clothes without actually “jogging” naked through the streets. https://t.co/GprZPJ3W21
Goes for a “run” in a shirt and brogues to distract people from fuel shortages, food shortages, staff shortages, brexit fiasco & that the poorest amongst us are about to lose £80 a month. https://t.co/v61jrGLn6s
— Roy Alexander BSc MInstP FRAS🏳️🌈 🔭📡🌟🌙🌠 (@Roy_Astro) October 4, 2021
Anything that serves to make Johnson a cuddly figure of jollity, and not the self serving mendacious monster that he is, is another reason why we’re in this mess
The prime minister famously pledged to save Christmas last year by relaxing Covid rules for five days, only to scupper the country’s plans just before December 25 due to a spike in Covid infections.
Downing Street made a sudden U-turn on December 19, and Johnson told the public: “It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot proceed with Christmas as planned.”
London and much of south-east England was put into tier four, meaning people could only mix with their own households and support bubbles, and no-one could travel.
Other parts of England were put in tiers one to three and asked to stay local. Only three households could come together for Christmas.
In Wales, only two households could unite for Christmas Day while in Scotland it was three households up to a maximum of eight people.
Johnson’s last minute U-turn did not impress many, considering Covid infections had been rising steadily for weeks.
It’s safe to say it was not the Christmas most people had in mind – and judging from the response on Twitter, few are looking for a repeat performance from the prime minister this year.
People were quick to compare the newspaper front pages of this year to those from November last year, when the public were told “Boris battles experts to save Christmas”.
Journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera tweeted: ”Boris battling to save Xmas seems to start earlier every year.”
Another Twitter critic joked: “Boris battles to save Christmas 2…..the sequel no one wanted. But a large chunk of the electorate would probably vote for.”
I don’t recall a single other PM ever having to ‘save’ Christmas. What a complete shambles this government is.
Good old Boris, always fighting whoever the leader of the country is who keeps fucking stuff up. I hope he gets to the bottom of who it is that is in charge. https://t.co/lOHXEVt5h6
Videos on social media have captured the chaos unfolding on the fifth day of supposed petrol “shortages” across the UK.
While Britain’s refineries actually have plenty of fuel, a shortage of HGV drivers means the petrol is not being distribution across the country fast enough.
Fuel prices are now skyrocketing as panic-buyers drain the petrol pumps, leading to widespread complaints from drivers, particularly those working for the emergency services who can no longer do their jobs.
But there have already been several reports – and videos – of people pouring petrol into water bottles and taking more than their fair share of fuel.
According to The Independent, one woman filled so many water bottles with petrol she caused a 30-minute queue in Cobham Services on the M25 on Saturday.
Apparently a woman in St Albans has been spotted filling a carrier bag with petrol. Jesus wept
Fights are breaking out across the country as people confront one another over their petrol shortages as well.
One man is thought to have been carrying a knife on Monday when he visited a petrol station, while other people have been seen furiously arguing with one another over the limited fuel supplies over the last few days.
WELLING: A man has been filmed allegedly carrying a knife during a confrontation with a driver queuing for petrol at the Shell station on Bellegrove Road. At one point the man is seen being carried on the bonnet of the car after which he kicks the vehicl… pic.twitter.com/FxCSJ5PpgO
Outside the petrol stations which have remained fully open, queues are also stretching down the roads outside, and oil companies have imposed a £30 spending limit to ration the supplies.
– Asda have a £30, so they’re not closed unlike Waitrose and BP continue to be.
Chris J Ratcliffe via Getty ImagesMotorists queue for fuel at a Tesco garage in Lewisham on September 26, 2021
Ambulance drivers have complained that they are now suffering as well.
Emergency services driver Becky Hough tweeted on Friday: “To everyone that panicked and went to fuel their cars when it wasn’t needed, well done. On shift on an emergency ambulance, low on fuel and struggling to find somewhere that isn’t sold out.”
On Sunday, she wrote: “FINALLY! A BP garage that has let us use the reserves. However whilst fuelling we received verbal abuse from the public driving past, horns being honked and many hand gestures.”
To everyone that panicked and went to fuel their cars when it wasn’t needed, well done👍🏻 on shift on an emergency ambulance, low on fuel and struggling to find somewhere that isn’t sold out😡 pic.twitter.com/mvZ31w46jn
Another ambulance driver also told LBC on Tuesday: “I was in the petrol queue for over an hour, and when the attendant actually saw that I was in patient transport, he let me jump the queue.
House of Commons – PA Images via Getty ImagesMatt Hancock, former health secretary
Matt Hancock was compared to the fictional character Alan Partridge after he uploaded an unusual video to Twitter on Saturday.
The former health secretary, who resigned after it emerged he breached social distancing guidelines by kissing his aide in June, has kept a relatively low profile over the summer as his marriage broke down.
Now the Tory backbencher appears to be re-emerging into the world of politics and posted a 50-second video online where he meets and greets his constituents in Haverhill.
With upbeat music in the background, Hancock looks slightly out of place as he fist-bumps one member of the public while another affectionately touches his face.
Safe to say, it didn’t go down very well online.
Anti-Brexit campaigner and writer Femi Oluwole commented: “150,000 people dead…the worst breach of Covid lockdown rules of the whole pandemic…
“And this guy (along with 100s of other Tories) is just going to stroll back into Parliament at the next election as if nothing happened because they’re in safe seats. #MakeVotesMATTER!”
150,000 people dead…
…the worst breach of Covid lockdown rules of the whole pandemic…
And this guy (along with 100s of other Tories) is just going to stroll back into Parliament at the next election as if nothing happened because they’re in safe seats.#MakeVotesMATTER!
Others couldn’t quite believe it was real, with one account tweeting: “This is so cringe. It has to be satire. If he thinks this does him a favour, I’m speechless.”
This is so cringe. It has to be satire. If he thinks this does him a favour; I’m speechless
Some accounts didn’t miss a beat and immediately compared it to the political satire show The Thick of It – or Alan Partridge.
The phrase “accidental Partridge” began showing up all over Twitter, meaning Hancock’s awkwardness embodied Steve Coogan’s character Partridge, a broadcaster who lacks significant social skills.
Coogan describes Partridge as a Little Englander with ring-wing values, and he has become a cultural touchstone on what not to be in broadcasting.
Even the Twitter account Accidental Partridge – which catches clips of awkward public appearances – recognised Hancock’s video.
BBC Question TimeGrant Shapps and David Lammy during BBC Question Time
Grant Shapps was hung out to dry by Labour’s David Lammy over the upcoming cuts to universal credit on Thursday.
The transport secretary and the shadow justice secretary were at loggerheads on BBC Question Time as Lammy demanded a U-turn over the upcoming £20-a-week reduction.
Lammy said: “When given a choice, the government is always choosing not to side with the poorest in society.
“I remember it was not that long ago that the Conservatives were described as the nasty party.”
Glancing at the Tory minister, Lammy added: “Grant, you can stare at your notes as much as you like, you’re not going to find the answers.”
“Grant, you can stare at your notes as much as you like, you’re not going to find the answers.”
“It’s not like the system’s been perfect in the past”
He continued: “This cut should not be being made, it’s as simple as that.”
The government is trying to take the universal credit back to pre-pandemic levels with this £20 cut, but recent analysis seen by The Observer has predicted that the cut would push 840,000 people into poverty.
Lammy pointed out that the £20 a week could, for example, cover the average energy bill and so described it as “mean, nasty and unnecessary”.
He also noted that the cut was “coming alongside an increase in national insurance, economists are predicting an inflation rise and certainly interest rates going up by next February”.
Defending the government, Shapps said: “OK, look, you say you would do all of these things, but the effective tax raise for people on Universal Credit was 90%.
“There were cliff edges for people working 60, 24 and 30 hours.
“It’s not like the system’s been perfect in the past.”
Shapps concluded: “We have to work on the facts here, and the facts are we need to pay for whatever it is we do provide, the universal credit system is working vastly better than the system it replaced and actually handled the coronavirus [pandemic].”
Yet, even some Tory backbenchers were reportedly pushing for a compromise deal as it will undermine the prime minister’s promise to “level up” the UK.
There have also been reports that ministers are now looking to increase benefit payments to cushion the universal credit cut.
via Associated PressBritish police investigating the killing of a 28-year-old woman in London say they are probing whether she was attacked by a stranger.
Sabina Nessa was walking through a park to meet a friend at a bar, on a journey that should’ve taken five minutes, when she was killed a week ago.
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said a 38-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of the murder of the 28-year-old teacher.
A vigil is being held for her on Friday night at Peglar Square in Kidbrooke Village, southeast London, close to where her body was found.
Sadly, Sabina’s death is not out-of-the-ordinary. Around 200 women were killed last year in Great Britain, according to official figures.
But what’s being done to make sure women are protected?
Violence against women and girls (known as VAWG) in the UK is a “shadow pandemic”, according to sexual harassment lawyer Deeba Syed. She is calling for drastic change to attitudes, policies and policing so women can feel safe.
via Associated PressPeople gather in Clapham Common, in memory of Sarah Everard.
A sense of ‘urgency’
Syed believes violence against women and girls is “much more common” than people think.
“So many women have died in similar circumstances, there’ve been the high profile cases of Sarah Everard, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, and now this. But there have been so many cases in between that many people haven’t heard of.
“There’s not enough urgency in the way it’s being tackled and there’s not enough understanding of the ways that this impacts women. It impacts on all women, but particularly women of colour who are at a higher risk of violence.”
Syed questions whether measures such as more plain-clothed police officers and more street lighting – which have been proposed by the authorities – are really going to tackle the immediate issues women face.
“How many more women have to die before it’s seen as the urgent matter that it is?”
Women are being *killed* walking through the parks of London and the Government thought the answer was to install a bit more street lighting
Connecting strategies on violence and domestic abuse
“This is the shadow pandemic that’s just ignored,” says Syed.
Her thoughts are shared by Farah Nazeer from Women’s Aid, a charity fighting to end domestic abuse in the UK.
“We know that women’s experiences of violence and abuse are interconnected,” says Nazeer.
“Strategically the government needs to respond to this. We are concerned that disconnecting the VAWG strategy from domestic abuse by creating a separate strategy is a backward step.”
The treatment of Sabina’s death has not been on the same level as others, and time and time again we see how victims from Black and minority communities do not receive the same level of attention and support. It is simply not good enough, and it has to change.Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid
And she especially wants to see better mental health support for women who have experienced violence with “specific ring-fenced funding for services run ‘by and for’ Black and minority women.”
Improving police understanding of the dangers faced by women
Some of the work Women’s Aid carries out includes working with police forces to deliver training around the response to survivors of domestic abuse.
But Nazeer says the reality of police forces understanding the dangers women face is still “inadequate”.
Syed wants to see every case taken “more seriously” when it comes to women going missing and similar incidents.
“After the Sarah Everard outcry, what we saw was the police telling women ‘don’t go outside’. We’re still in this place where we are telling women to moderate their behaviour to keep themselves safe when women should be able to walk down the street without having to fear for their lives.”
They’re not the only group calling for the police to do more.
Following Sabina’s death, a spokesperson for the prime minister said the strategy would “drive long-term change” but many are sceptical.
“It’s taken grassroots activists and people on social media to demand that her [Sabina’s] story gets more attention,” says Syed.
She thinks the government’s strategy doesn’t go “far enough”.
“VAWG services have been underfunded for years, it hasn’t been seen as important, and it’s not been seen as a priority.”
Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, believes women are “being let down” because of the lack of reporting and potential crimes not being investigated.
“We have to take on the culture within the police and politics that doesn’t recognise the warning signs in perpetrators behaviour and so leaves women in harms way.”
Syed has used her own social platforms to raise awareness about stories like Sabina’s. Even though she feels a social media outcry shouldn’t be the only reason for the government to pay attention, she’s glad to see people online trying to help.
She said: “We saw in the Sarah Everard case how crucial social media was to raising awareness and creating a response.
“This is a long standing problem that needs an urgent kind of solution that shouldn’t just be based on social media outcry.”
Help and support:
If you, or someone you know, is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police. If you are not in immediate danger, you can contact:
The Freephone 24 hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Refuge: 0808 2000 247
In Scotland, contact Scotland’s 24 hour Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline: 0800 027 1234
In Northern Ireland, contact the 24 hour Domestic & Sexual Violence Helpline: 0808 802 1414
In Wales, contact the 24 hour Life Fear Free Helpline on 0808 80 10 800.
National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0800 999 5428
Men’s Advice Line: 0808 801 0327
Respect helpline (for anyone worried about their own behaviour): 0808 802 0321
Boris Johnson didn’t hold back when calling on the world to act against climate change – and his words definitely caused a stir on Twitter.
The prime minister spokes to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday and urged the world to “grow up” and stop “trashing” the environment.
He then pulled apart the famous saying, “it’s not easy being green” from the Muppets’ character, Kermit the Frog.
The Independent’s Tom Peck pointed out that Johnson himself did not support the idea of climate change for ten years after Al Gore’s 2016 film, An Inconvenient Truth which looks at how humanity have damaged the Earth.
Peck added: “And now, apparently, we’re meant to take this cartoon clown seriously.”
For ten years after the release of Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ @BorisJohnson carried on as a committed climate change denialist, and now, apparently, we’re meant to take this cartoon clown seriously, as he stands up there, dribbling words out of his mouth arse. pic.twitter.com/aMVk8SoV09
Satire website The Poke did not hesitate to take aim at Johnson either, noting that he told the world to “grow up” just hours after he had flown to the US and told France to “get a grip” of its anger over the new AUKUS pact.
“Boris said it’s time for leaders to grow up and take climate change seriously. What did he say, Roy?” “He flew in on his private jet and said ‘Eff off, Frenchies.'” pic.twitter.com/h8ABEXFVw3
Even Brexiteer and former MEP Patrick O’Flynn tweeted: “Perhaps someone on the team could have look at the draft [of the speech] and told the PM: ‘Some people may react to this passage by saying ‘speak for yourself mate’.”
This was then retweeted by Alastair Campbell, former prime minister Tony Blair’s spin doctor.
Perhaps someone on the team could have looked at the draft and told the PM: “Some people may react to this passage by saying ‘speak for yourself mate’.” https://t.co/0JFH9tY2R8
Johnson wrote several columns for The Telegraph over the last two decades which undermine the idea of climate change.
In 2012 he described fracking as a “miracle”, in 2013, he backed climate change denier Piers Corbyn and questioned the phrase “climate warming”, and in 2015, he rejected the idea that warm weather in December was down to a change in the climate.
This checkered past did not escape other Twitter accounts either last night as they mocked his speech.
Difficult to square @BorisJohnson’s aspirational words on climate action at the United Nations overnight with his government’s recent actions on food & trade. https://t.co/ApSTpI2paN
Some accounts noted that just the other day, he appointed former climate change denier Ann-Marie Trevelyan as his new international trade secretary.
Johnson says “the facts change”. Actually they don’t, @BorisJohnson, & unlike Tinkerbelle, they don’t stop being real if you don’t believe in them. 1/2 https://t.co/HAumjlGK19
Not everyone thought the prime minister’s words should be mocked, though.
Times Radio’s Matt Chorley tweeted that it was a “bad take” to criticise Johnson’s accurate remarks based on his past climate denialism.
Also: “he used to be a terrible climate denier but now agrees with me that we must act but I still don’t like what he’s saying because it’s him saying it” is such a bad take
Former leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas also took note of his speech – and demanded that the prime minister’s actions now reflected his words.
She tweeted: “Good to hear PM’s new enthusiasm for climate action.
“Since Govt failing its own climate targets, I look forward to imminent cancellation of Cumbrian coal mine, Cambo oil field, £27 billion road building plan, reversal of aid cut and a #GreenNewDeal.”
She added the hashtag #WalkYourTalk.
Good to hear PM’s new enthusiasm for climate action. Since Govt failing its own climate targets, I look forward to imminent cancellation of Cumbrian coal mine, Cambo oil field, £27bn road building plan, reversal of aid cut, & a #GreenNewDeal#WalkYourTalkhttps://t.co/RS7zql4Ne7
Former London MEP Lance Forman appeared exasperated just at the idea Johnson had referred to a character from the Muppets in a serious speech on the world stage – an opinion shared by plenty of others too.
In his big speech at the UN on climate change yesterday, Boris Johnson quoted from the Muppets.
Xinhua News Agency via Getty ImagesAfrican penguins on the beach at Boulders Penguin Colony, southwest South Africa, April 25, 2021.
Dozens of endangered penguins in South Africa were killed last week by a swarm of bees.
More than 60 of the protected birds were found on Friday on Boulders Beach, a tourist spot near Cape Town with multiple bee stings. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds said in a statement that it suspected a nest of Cape honey bees was to blame.
Many dead bees were also found on the scene.
At first, investigators thought a predator had caused the deaths, but postmortems revealed bee stings around the eyes of the birds, Katta Ludynia, research manager at the foundation, told NBC.
It was the first known attack of its kind.
Alison Kock, a marine biologist with South Africa’s national parks agency, told BBC that usually the penguins and bees co-exist.
“The bees don’t sting unless provoked – we are working on the assumption that a nest or hive in the area was disturbed and caused a mass of bees to flee the nest, swarm and became aggressive,” she said. “Unfortunately the bees encountered a group of penguins on their flight path.”
African penguins live on the coast and islands of South Africa and Namibia. Threatened by fishing, hunting, oil and gas drilling, mining and climate change, the small sea birds’ populations are rapidly declining.
