David Miliband ‘Bid to Be Labour Leader’
METRO: A secret campaign to replace Gordon Brown with David Miliband is reportedly being waged by Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair.

The bid is also thought to have the backing of home secretary Alan Johnson, defence secretary Bob Ainsworth and Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, meaning he could be installed as soon as Friday. >>> | Tuesday, May 04, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH – BLOG: Gordon Brown: I'll quit, but I won't cash in like Tony Blair >>> James Kirkup | Tuesday, May 04, 2010

LYNN NEWS: Labour man blasts his own party leader

NORTH-west Norfolk's Labour candidate has blasted Gordon Brown, calling him "the worst Prime Minister" Britain has ever had.

Speaking from his Leicester home, Manish Sood (38), told the Lynn News: "Immigration has gone up which is creating friction within communities. The country is getting bigger and messier.

"The role of ministers has gone bureaucratic and the action of ministers has gone downhill – it is corrupt.

"The loss of social values is the basic problem and this is not what the Labour Party is about.

"I believe Gordon Brown has been the worst Prime Minister we have had in this country.

"It is a disgrace and he owes an apology to the people and the Queen." Brown is 'worst PM ever' says Labour candidate >>> Sophie Wyllie | Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Islam4UK Boosted by Ban, Claims Leader
THE GUARDIAN: Controversial group says non-Muslims now want to join

The leader of a controversial Islamist organisation has boasted that the government's decision to ban it last week has boosted its popularity.

Anjem Choudary says his profile, and that of his group, Islam4UK, has soared as a result of the government's decision to proscribe it. "There's nothing like a government ban to make you popular," Choudary said.

The radical cleric, whose attempts to hold a march through the Wiltshire town of Wootton Bassett prompted concerns that it would lead to civil unrest, claims his group has been inundated with requests from non-Muslims who want to join. "They think the government has run over our liberties and are disgusted by its actions," he said.

Choudary, who receives around £25,000 a year in benefits and has referred to the 9/11 hijackers as "magnificent", says he has been asked to give talks at Trinity College, Cambridge, and Leeds University. He warned that the government's actions would not stop his supporters from speaking out. "If they want to arrest me there are many others," he said. "You can't silence people."

The home secretary, Alan Johnson, banned the Islamist group – and its parent organisation al-Muhajiroun – last Thursday. The decision followed a threat from Choudary to lead a march through Wootton Bassett which marks the return of every fallen serviceman repatriated to nearby RAF Lyneham and has come to symbolise the UK's respect for its war dead.

In the ensuing outcry, Johnson introduced new laws that will make membership of the two organisations a criminal offence, punishable by up to 10 years in jail. >>> Jamie Doward | Sunday, January 17, 2010

Johnson 'Will Back' Wootton Bassett Islamic March Ban
BBC: The home secretary has said he will back any request from police or local government to ban a radical Islamic group marching through Wootton Bassett.

Alan Johnson said he felt "revulsion" at the thought of Islam4UK's proposed march through the Wiltshire town.
Wootton Bassett has become famous for its repatriation ceremonies for fallen British service personnel.

Islam4UK says it wants to parade empty coffins through the town to draw attention to Afghan war casualties.

Mr Johnson said: "The idea that anyone would stage this kind of demonstration in Wootton Bassett fills me with revulsion.

"I find it particularly offensive that the town, which has acted in such a moving and dignified way in paying tribute to our troops who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, should be targeted in this manner."

He added: "If the Wiltshire Police and local authority feel that a procession of this kind has the potential to cause public disorder and seek my consent to a banning order, then I would have no hesitation in supporting that request." >>> | Monday, January 04, 2010

Gaddafi Doctors to Be Trained by NHS as Row over Britain’s Relations with Libya Intensifies
MAIL ONLINE: Libyan doctors are to be trained by the NHS following an agreement signed by a Cabinet minister with Colonel Gaddafi's regime weeks before the release of the Lockerbie bomber, it emerged today.

The agreement is the latest in a series of moves to normalise relations between Britain and the north African state, which was an international pariah for years after being blamed for the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie, which killed 270 people.

But the Department of Health dismissed as "nonsense" suggestions that the agreement had any link with the recent release of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi or trade deals with the oil-rich regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed by former Health Secretary Alan Johnson in spring 2008, Libyan medical staff will be able to get a year's instruction in Britain.

Training opportunities will be available in the UK for Libyan medical staff in areas such as intensive care, anaesthetics and endoscopy, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, the Evening Standard reported.

Links have also been formed between London's Moorfields Eye Hospital and the main eye hospital in Libyan capital Tripoli.

The agreement was later discussed in a visit to Libya by then health minister Dawn Primarolo and was raised again when Mr Johnson's successor Andy Burnham met health minister Mohamed Hijazi during a trip to the country on constituency business earlier this year, said the Department. >>> | Tuesday, September 15, 2009