Tag Archives: Politics

‘A Sinking Ship’: Tory Ministers Mocked After P&O Ferries Letter Gaffe

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Two cabinet ministers have been mocked after getting the name of P&O Ferries’ chairman wrong in letters criticising the firm for sacking 800 staff.

Grant Shapps and Kwasi Kwarteng addressed the strongly-worded missives to Robert Woods.

But embarrassingly for the pair, he retired from the role last year.

Their mistake was only spotted after they tweeted their letters highlighting the action the government is taking in response to the row.

P&O caused widespread anger on Thursday after 800 members of staff were told they were being fired with immediate effect on a video call.

A 24-second clip of the recording was obtained by BBC South East on Thursday.

A P&O Ferries boss in the footage tells the room: “The company has made the decision going forward that it will be primarily crewed by a third party crew provider.

“Therefore I am sorry to inform you that this means your employment is terminated with immediate effect on the grounds of redundancy.

“Your final day of employment is today.”

In his now-deleted tweet, transport secretary Shapps said: “I’ve written to P&O Ferries raising concerns about treatment of the 800 staff made redundant yesterday. I’m also questioning the legality of this move & reviewing P&O Ferries’ contracts across government. The company must sit down with workers and reconsider this action.”

His letter was addressed to “Robert Woods, Chairman, P&O Ferries”.

The now-deleted Grant Shapps tweet
The now-deleted Grant Shapps tweet

Business secretary Kwarteng’s tweet, which has also been deleted, said: “P&O Ferries has lost the trust of the British public and has given business a bad name. The government wants answers.”

His letter was also signed by Paul Scully, the small business minister.

Kwasi Kwarteng's tweet
Kwasi Kwarteng’s tweet

Kwarteng later tweeted a redrafted letter, which was addressed to Peter Hebblethwaite, P&O Ferries’ chief executive.

Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary, said: “The Conservative government is a sinking ship.

“Some 48-hours after finding out that 800 British workers would lose their jobs, the transport secretary can’t even figure out the correct person to write to, to protect these workers.

“They deserve better. They deserve a Labour government who will act before the horse has bolted – by ending fire and rehire, and giving them security and respect.”

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said: “Shapps has form on getting names wrong. For some time he used to tell people that he was Michael Green.

“While it is welcome that the government is demanding answers, it would be more welcome if they asked the right people. They might even have acted years ago when they were warned that UK seafarers were being exploited and needed better protection in law.”

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Putin In Full Dictator Mode During Terrifying Rally In Moscow

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The Russian president Vladimir Putin celebrated the eight years since his troops seized the Ukrainian region of Crimea with a bizarre rally on Friday.

He spoke in front of a huge crowd in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium and praised the war effort in Ukraine which has seen hundreds on both sides die.

Despite being accused of of committing war crimes through his attacks on civilians, the widespread Ukrainian resistance and the repeated suppression of any forms of free speech in Russia, the president told the audience: “We have not had unity like this for a long time.”

Putin also honoured those in Crimea who stood up to “neo-Nazis and radical nationals” and joined Russia, even though world leaders have rejected any claim that there is Nazism in Ukraine’s government.

In an ominous nod to the future, Putin also promised the crowd: “We know what we have to do next…we’ll definitely carry out all the plans we have made.”

The stadium speech is comparable to the kind of rallies former US president Donald Trump became famous for. The two leaders were said to have a certain kind of rapport, and the former US president has even called Putin’s Ukraine strategy a work of “genius”.

The rally speaks to the West’s concerns about Putin’s increasingly unhinged behaviour, and comes a day after current US president Joe Biden labelled him a “murderous dictator” and a “pure thug”.

What is the annexation of Crimea?

March 18, 2014, does mark Russia’s complete annexation of Crimea, although the peninsula is still not legally recognised as part of the country by the international community.

It followed an internationally discredited public vote held two days before where the people living in the peninsula were asked whether they wanted to be part of Russia or part of Ukraine.

While 97% of votes backed joining Russia, Ukraine said the referendum was illegal as it had taken place while Russian forces were in Crimea.

The 2014 annexation of Crimea is now perceived as the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Did people really want to be at the rally?

Russian representatives claimed more than 200,000 people attended Friday’s celebrations. The official capacity of the stadium is 81,000, although there were crowds outside the stadium too.

But many attendees told the BBC they had been pressured by their employers in the public sector to attend.

Some students were allowed not to attend lectures as long as they went to the “concert”, while others told the BBC they had not been aware that the event was aimed at consolidating support for the Ukrainian war.

There is thought to be some support for the Russian attack on its European neighbour, but the full extent of the general public’s backing is hard to calculate.

The Kremlin has quashed any efforts to speak out against the invasion, including attempts to call it a war – Russia prefers to call it a “special military operation” – shutting down any protests or independent media outlets.

Children in their last six years of school have to now attend “My Country” lessons where they watch a video of Putin sharing his take on Ukraine’s history.

Putin is known to consider Ukraine and Russia as “brother nations” and wants them both to be under his influence in a throwback to the pre-Soviet era.

Children have been seen lining up to create the letter Z – the pro-invasion symbol which was first seen on the side of Russian tanks – and will have lessons dedicated to March 18 which aim to “form an understanding” of patriotism.

Teachers also shared a video showing people in the military are more likely to become heroes, all in honour of the “Crimean spring”.

Is the war really going well?

The Russian offensive is thought to have slowed significantly since it first began more than three weeks ago.

Russian forces are becoming increasingly violent and attacks on the west Ukraine city of Lviv shows the offensive is now spreading out.

Officials in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv say almost 90% of buildings in the city of Mariupol have now been damaged or destroyed by Russian forces, including a bomb shelter within a theatre where hundreds were sheltering.

The word “children” had been writing by Ukrainians in Russian outside for those dropping the bombs, although Kremlin representatives claim the attack was nothing to do with them.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia is actually not doing as well as it expected to in its invasion because Putin expected the country to be the same as it was in 2014, during the Crimea annexation.

He said Russia “didn’t know what we had for defence or how we prepared to meet the blow”.

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Bono Really Wrote A Poem About Ukraine And Nancy Pelosi Read It Aloud

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In a statement that will perhaps prompt people to read it more than once, Nancy Pelosi has read aloud a poem by singer Bono about Ukraine during an annual lunch to mark St Patrick’s Day.

On Thursday, the speaker of the US house of representatives told a press conference that during the Annual Friends of Ireland Luncheon in Washington she would be reading verse about the war in eastern Europe penned by the U2 frontman.

Despite even fact-checkers suggesting this was not the case, it came to pass.

For clarity, the poem appears to be an original composition, and not My Friendly Epistle posted on the band’s Twitter feed by Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko, which was originally published in 1845.

For completists, here’s Bono’s poem in full:

Oh, St Patrick he drove out the snakes
With his prayers but that’s not all it takes
For the snake symbolises
An evil that rises
And hides in your heart, as it breaks

And the evil has risen my friends
From the darkness that lives in some men
But in sorrow and fear
That’s when saints can appear
To drive out those old snakes once again

And they struggle for us to be free
From the psycho in this human family
Ireland’s sorrow and pain
Is now the Ukraine
And St Patrick’s name now Zelenskyy

In case it needs stating, Bono is likening the legend of Ireland’s patron saint – St Patrick – banishing snakes from the country to Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s heroic efforts to drive Russia out of his country.

Once the reading finished, Pelosi introduced a 25th anniversary performance of Riverdance.

Twitter couldn’t quite believe what was happening:

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Alarm Raised As Two Ministers Targeted By Russian Prank Callers

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Ben Wallace has blamed Russian “dirty tricks” after being pranked by someone claiming to be the Ukrainian prime minister.

In an apparent security breach, the hoax caller managed to get through to the defence secretary’s personal phone this afternoon.

They pretended to be Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal and began asking Wallace a series of questions.

After realising they were not who they claimed to be, the minister ended the call and revealed the “desperate” prank attempt on Twitter.

He said: “Today an attempt was made by an imposter claiming to be Ukrainian PM to speak with me. He posed several misleading questions and after becoming suspicious I terminated the call.

“No amount of Russian disinformation, distortion and dirty tricks can distract from Russia’s human rights abuses and illegal invasion of Ukraine. A desperate attempt.”

Later on Thursday, home secretary Priti Patel said she had also been targeted.

Wallace has been an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, claiming he had “gone full tonto” by invading Ukraine.

He also predicted that the war would be “Putin’s end” because it was going so badly for Russia.

The alarm was raised by Wallace after he became suspicious during a 10-minute video call on Thursday.

He ordered an investigation into the security breach but there are serious questions about Whitehall security after Patel said the same thing happened to her earlier this week.

“This also happened to me earlier this week,” Patel said.

“Pathetic attempt at such difficult times to divide us. We stand with Ukraine.”

The Home Office declined to give further details about Patel’s call.

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New Internet Laws To Crackdown On Tech Bosses

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Tech bosses will face large fines if they fail to comply with new internet laws under government plans strengthening its long-awaited online safety bill.

The proposed legislation, which has been in progress for around five years and is to be brought before parliament on Thursday, will crack down on social media platforms exposing users to harmful content.

Ofcom, the new regulator for the sector, will have the power to fine companies or block access to sites that fail to comply with the new rules.

Among a series of updates, company executives will be criminally liable if they fail to comply with information requests just two months after the bill becomes law, rather than the two years previously drafted.

Destroying evidence, providing false information in interviews and obstructing the regulator when it enters company offices will also be punished.

Under the updated bill, the biggest social media platforms must also tackle so-called “legal but harmful” content.

But what is deemed “legal but harmful” will now be set out in secondary legislation approved by parliament, which the government says will prevent social media executives determining what appears.

Other updates include a new requirement to report child sexual abuse to the National Crime Agency.

The government has also said news content will be exempt from any of the regulations as part of efforts to protect free speech.

“The internet has transformed our lives for the better. It’s connected us and empowered us. But on the other side, tech firms haven’t been held to account when harm, abuse and criminal behaviour have run riot on their platforms,” culture secretary Nadine Dorries said.

The changes come after MPs, peers and campaigners warned the initial proposals failed to offer the expected user protection.

That has since sparked a number of other recently announced changes to the draft bill, including bringing paid-for scam adverts into scope, requiring sites that host pornography to ensure their users are 18 or over and criminalising cyberflashing.

Damian Collins, chair of the joint committee on the draft online safety bill, which scrutinised the previous version of the proposed rules, said it was a “huge moment for the safety of all internet users”.

“The UK is leading the world with legislation to finally hold social media companies for the offences that take place on their platforms, like hate speech, fraud, terrorism, and child abuse,” he said.

However, some campaigners have expressed concerns about the ongoing use of the phrase “legal but harmful” and the impact it could have on free speech.

Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, said using the term amounted to the creation of a “censor’s charter”.

“Unbelievably while acknowledging the sheer amount of power (Facebook executive) Nick Clegg and other Silicon Valley bigwigs already have over what we can say online, Nadine Dorries has created a bill that will grant them even more,” he said.

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‘No War’: Protester Storms Russian State-Run TV During Main Evening Broadcast

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The main evening news programme on Russia’s state-run television was interrupted by a protester holding a poster against the war in Ukraine.

“NO WAR,” the sign read in English. Then, in Russian below: “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They are lying to you.”

The rare rare anti-war protest on Channel One – behind the show’s anchor – was brief as the feed abruptly changed cameras.

The OVD-Info website, which monitors political arrests, posted a video in which Ovsyannikova identified herself as an employee of Channel One and spoke against the war.

“What is going on now is a crime,” she said. “Russia is an aggressor country and Vladimir Putin is solely responsible for that aggression.”

“Unfortunately, I’ve spent many of the last few years working for Channel One, doing Kremlin propaganda, and I’m deeply ashamed of this,” she said, according to a translation. “Ashamed that I allowed lies to come from the TV screen. Ashamed that I allowed the zombification of the Russian people.”

“We Russians are thinking and intelligent people,” she added. “It’s in our power alone to stop all this madness. Go protest. Don’t be afraid of anything. They can’t lock us all away.”

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Up To 117 People Potentially Exposed To Asbestos In Parliament Leak

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Up to 117 people have potentially been exposed to asbestos in parliament, it was revealed today.

It comes after HuffPost UK revealed that renovation work had to be halted and the Health and Safety Executive launched an investigation after a leak last October.

Dr John Benger, clerk of the Commons, told MPs that 81 contractors and 36 parliamentary staff were among those affected.

Most were not informed until more than four months after the leak started, and two months after he learnt about it himself.

Benger faced a grilling from the public accounts committee in which he conceded that lessons must be learnt, adding: “It’s not a defensible position. It shouldn’t have happened”.

The committee heard that asbestos was released during works on the Speaker’s bedrooms over four days in October but not noticed until nearly four weeks later on November 19.

The site was immediately closed and three members of staff working on the project were informed.

However, it was not reported to the HSE until February 10 and the full number of those who may have come into contact with the deadly substance were not informed until February 17.

Asked why everyone potentially exposed to the leak was not informed before then, Benger replied: “I completely agree that they should have been told far more quickly than they were.”

He suggested one of the reasons it took “such a long time” was because there was a dispute over whether the incident “crossed the threshold” at which any notification was required and a discrepancy over who had a duty to report it.

The leak was said to have taken place between October 23 and 27, but Benger said the first he heard about it was when he read a safety report on December 10.

He told the committee: “That indicated that three staff were potentially affected whereas our current belief is that potentially 117 staff were in the area.”

He said the level of seriousness did not look as great then as it did now and that parliament’s lawyers were not notified until February,

Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier said: “It seems like lots of people were dancing on pinheads about who was responsible.”

Benger replied: “I agree with that. I think there are definitely lessons to be learned. We’ve already started learning lessons in terms of immediate safety.

“We stood down all works on the parliamentary estate on February 9, which is a huge number of projects.”

When Hillier told him that was two months after they knew about the leak, he replied: “I’m not for a minute saying that this is a defensible position. It’s not a defensible position. This shouldn’t have happened.”

Benger said the building was “full of asbestos” and they have incidents “about once a year”.

Tory MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown referred to HuffPost UK’s exclusive coverage of the leak last month, telling him: “It does sort of give an impression that there was an element of cover-up going on.

“Surely these things should be put in the public domain as soon as they happen? So that everybody else can be aware of what’s happened?”

Benger replied: “I’m not aware of any cover-up. What I do think is the case is that there is great disagreement between the different parties whose fault it was and whose duty it was to notify.”

Jawad Raza, from the civil servants’ union the FDA, said: “Successive reports have determined that the safest and cheapest option is to decant from the Palace of Westminster whilst necessary repair work is carried out.

“Today’s updated figures relating to asbestos exposure only highlights the continued risk to the workplace of parliamentary staff, MPs and all those who visit. It is imperative that both houses now work quickly, including engaging with its staff to find a solution.”

It comes after a recent report outlined how the crucial works needed to save the Palace of Westminster could cost up to £22 billion and last 76 years.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Given Standing Ovation From MPs Before Historic Address To Commons

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British MPs have given a standing ovation to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as he gave an historic address to the House of Commons.

MPs took to their feet even before Zelenskyy, who appeared via a live video link from Ukraine, had said a word.

Echoing Winston Churchill, a defiant Zelenskyy said: “We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost. We will fight in the forests, the fields, the shores and in the streets.”

Concluding his speech, he thanked Boris Johnson by name and called on the UK for more support.

Speaking through a translator provided by Parliament TV, he said: “We are looking for your help, for the help of Western counties.

“We are thankful for this help and I am grateful to you Boris.

“Please increase the pressure of sanctions against this country (Russia) and please recognise this country as a terrorist country.

“Please make sure sure that our Ukrainian skies are safe.

“Please make sure that you do what needs to be done and what is stipulated by the greatness of your country.

“Glory to Ukraine and glory to the United Kingdom.”

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Ukraine Rejects Russia’s Proposed Humanitarian Corridors As ‘Completely Immoral’

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Russia has announced new “humanitarian corridors” to provide safe passage for Ukrainian civilians fleeing the invasion instigated by Vladimir Putin.

But the limited ceasefire was dismissed by Ukraine and Western allies as an immoral stunt, as the escape routes would only take displaced people to Russia and its ally Belarus.

What are humanitarian corridors?

A humanitarian corridor is a temporary pause of armed conflict, agreed by both sides, to allow food and medical aid to be brought to a warzone, or for civilians to evacuate.

These demilitarised zones are in most cases negotiated by the United Nations, and are seen as vital to avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe, especially when international law is breached by the shelling of civilians.

Humanitarian corridors have been used since the mid-20th century. During the so-called Kindertransport from 1938 to 1939, Jewish children were evacuated to the UK from areas under Nazi control. They were also created during the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia, in the 1990s and the 2018 evacuation of Ghouta, Syria.

Access is typically limited to neutral parties, such as the UN or aid organisations including the Red Cross.

What has been proposed?

The Russian invasion has pushed 1.5 million people to flee the country, creating what the head of the UN refugee agency called “the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II”.

Two planned evacuation operations from Mariupol and the nearby city of Volnovakha have failed over the last two days as the sides accused each other of failing to stop shooting and shelling.

In Mariupol alone, Ukrainian authorities have said they planned to evacuate over 200,000 civilians, or half of the city’s population.

Ahead of a third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine planned for Monday, Moscow said it would open six humanitarian corridors – passages would open for civilians from the capital of Kyiv, the southern port city of Mariupol, and the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy.

But Ukraine rejected the plan given the proposed routes led into Russian or Belarusian territory. These are unlikely destinations for many Ukrainians who would prefer to head towards countries on the western and southern borders. Belarus is a key ally of Putin and served as a launching ground for the invasion.

Where Ukrainians are seeking safety.
Where Ukrainians are seeking safety.

PA Graphics via PA Graphics/Press Association Images

According to maps published by the RIA news agency, the corridor from Kyiv will lead to Belarus, and civilians from Kharkiv will only have a corridor leading to Russia. Corridors from Mariupol and Sumy will lead both to other Ukrainian cities and to Russia.

What has Russia said?

The Russian taskforce said the new pledge for humanitarian corridors was announced at the request of French president Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Putin on Sunday. Macron’s office said he asked for a broader end to military operations in Ukraine and protections for civilians.

“Attempts by the Ukrainian side to deceive Russia and the whole civilised world…are useless this time,” the Russian defence ministry said after announcing the corridors.

What has Ukraine said?

Ukrainian deputy prime minister Irina Vereshchuk called the proposed evacuation routes to Russia and Belarus “unacceptable”. “Our people won’t go to Belarus and to Russia,” she told a news briefing, claiming that Russia was seeking to manipulate Macron’s sincere desire to help.

Macron criticised the proposal as a case of “cynicism”. “I don’t know many Ukrainians who want to seek refuge in Russia. That’s hypocrisy,” he said.

A spokesperson for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian proposal was “completely immoral”. “They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,” the spokesperson said.

The Ukrainian government is proposing eight humanitarian corridors, including from Mariupol, that would allow civilians to travel to the western regions of Ukraine where there is no Russian shelling.

The Russian proposal was reminiscent of similar ones in Syria. In 2016, a joint Russian and Syrian proposal to set up humanitarian corridors out of besieged opposition-held eastern Aleppo was criticised on humanitarian grounds.

Human rights activists said the tactic, coupled by brutal sieges, effectively gave residents a choice between fleeing into the arms of their attackers or dying under bombardment.

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Priti Patel Says Refugee Numbers Issued By Her Own Department Were “Absolutely Inaccurate”

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Figures issued by the Home Office showing that only 50 Ukrainian refugees had been given visas to come to the UK were “absolutely innacurate”, Priti Patel has said.

In an extraordinary development, the Home Secretary said the true figure will not be known until this evening.

Her comments came following intense criticism over the apparent failure of the UK’s refugee scheme to admit enough people fleeing war in their homeland.

Addressing MPs as she launched the Economic Crime Bill, which is aimed at cracking down on Russian oligarchs, the home secretary said: “It’s important for all colleagues in the house to know that the first quality assured figures on the Ukrainian families scheme will come this evening.

“The figures that are in the public are absolutely inaccurate and have not been assured by the Home Office, so I do just want to make that abundantly clear.”

She added: “Our scheme is the first of its kind in the world and we cannot measure it against any other countries.

“We have had already 14,000 people apply, we also have a sponsorship scheme that will be announced later on.”

The Home Office issued an update later on Monday saying 300 visas had been confirmed and 17,700 applications made.

Patel is also at odds with Boris Johnson after she appeared to suggest that a third refugee scheme, aimed at allowing more Ukrainians to arrive on humanitarian grounds, was being set up.

The government has already announced that Ukrainians in the UK will be able to bring family members from their home country.

In addition, British people and companies will be able to sponsor Ukrainian refugees.

But speaking to The Sun yesterday, the Home Secretary suggested the government was prepared to go further.

She said: “In response to the desperation I saw with my own eyes at the Polish border two days ago, I’m urgently escalating our response to the growing humanitarian crisis.

“I am now investigating the legal options to create a humanitarian route.

“This means anyone without ties to the UK fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will have a right to come to this nation.”

But the PM appeared to reject this idea while speaking during a visit to RAF Northolt, insisting the UK has “two very, very generous routes already” which could see “hundreds of thousands” of Ukrainians come to this country.

Meanwhile, Patel also rejected claims that the UK was not providing any support to refugees arriving at Calais and wanting to go on to the UK.

Pictures emerged on Twitter of signs, apparently in northern France, saying UK visas will not be provided there and advising people to apply online or travel to Paris or Brussels to make an application.

But Patel insisted there are British officials in Calais and “support on the ground”, telling the Commons: “It is absolutely right that we’ve already had people in Calais”, adding: “It is wrong to say we’re just turning people back – we’re absolutely not, we’re supporting those that have been coming to Calais.”

She warned that people-smuggling gangs are “roaming around Calais” and “human trafficking cases are now manifesting at the border”, adding: “It’s absolutely right that we have the right processes in place to check people and to safeguard people.”

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