U.K. Parliament Assailant Shot by Police

THE NEW YORK TIMES: LONDON — Britain’s Parliament was placed on lockdown on Wednesday afternoon after a man stabbed a police officer and was then shot by other officers. The Metropolitan Police said it was treating the violence as “a terrorist incident,” as the country’s seat of power was put on high alert.

Witnesses also reported that a motorist on Westminster Bridge, next to Parliament, operating a large vehicle, mowed down at least five people before coming to a halt, but it was not clear if the motorist was also the assailant. » | Katrin Bennhold and Stephen Castle | Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Iraq Crisis: Cameron Says Islamist Threat Is 'UK Problem'

David Cameron announced extra humanitarian aid for Iraq
during Prime Minister's Questions

BBC: Ignoring the threat from Islamist extremism in the Middle East and parts of Africa will "come back to hit the UK", David Cameron has warned.

The prime minister told MPs that it would be wrong to think the crisis in Iraq was "nothing to do" with the UK.

Encouraging governments to be more inclusive and helping to "close down ungoverned spaces" would stop the conditions for terrorism flourishing.

Mr Cameron also announced extra humanitarian aid for Iraq.

The prime minister, who was chairing a meeting of the National Security Council on Wednesday, has ruled out military intervention in support of the government of Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, in response to attacks by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) fighters.

'Patient'

The fighting between ISIS and Iraqi security forces, who are supported by Shia militias, has focused around the city of Baquba, 60km (35 miles) from Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, while Iraq's largest oil refinery is also under attack.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron said it was up to the Iraqi security forces to "push back" ISIS fighters and also urged the government to do more to reconcile Shia, Sunni and Kurdish groups.

"I disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with us and if they want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the middle of Iraq it won't affect us. It will," he told the Commons.

"The people in that regime, as well as trying to take territory, are also planning to attack us here at home in the United Kingdom." » | Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Germany's Angela Merkel Urges 'Strong' UK in EU

The German Chancellor told political and business leaders there
were "very special expectations of my speech here today"

BBC: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will work with Britain to reform Europe - saying she wants it to remain a "strong voice inside the EU".

In an historic address to both Houses of Parliament, she said Britain and Germany shared the goal of a "strong and competitive" European Union.

"United and determined", they could act as a beacon to the rest of the world.

But she stopped short of committing to specific reforms saying it had to be a "step-by-step" process.

David Cameron is pulling out all the stops during Mrs Merkel's one-day visit because he sees the German leader as crucial to his aims in Europe.

Beginning her address in English, before delivering the main part of her speech in German, she said: "Some expect my speech to pave the way for a fundamental reform of the European architecture which will satisfy all kinds of alleged or actual British wishes. I am afraid they are in for a disappointment.

"Others are expecting the exact opposite and they are hoping that I will deliver the clear and simple message here in London that the rest of Europe is not prepared to pay almost any price to keep Britain in the European Union. I am afraid these hopes will be dashed."

Mrs Merkel hailed the peace and stability she said the European Union had brought, saying war between EU member states was now "inconceivable".

But she stressed that the EU's mission of maintaining peace in Europe was not over as some thought, telling the audience of Britain's political leaders: "We need to stand up resolutely against extremists and the inhumane." (+ BBC video) » | Thursday, February 27, 2014

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Merkels Europa-Rede in London: "Ich fürchte, ich muss Sie enttäuschen" : Wohin steuert die EU? Angela Merkel hat vor beiden Kammern des britischen Parlaments eine Grundsatzrede zur Zukunft Europas gehalten. Die Erwartungen im Vereinigten Königreich waren hoch - vielleicht zu hoch, wie Merkel gleich zu Beginn betonte. » | phw/dpa/Reuters/AFP | Donnerstag, 27. Februar 2014

David Cameron Teased at PMQs Over François Hollande
During the weekly prime minister's questions in the House of Commons, Labour leader Ed Miliband asks the prime minister about economic growth discussions he's had with the new French president, François Hollande. David Cameron says he had a 'brief discussion' with Hollande after his victory. Miliband joked that a text ending 'LOL' may suffice

Suicide Tory Felt Humiliated by Expenses Revelations
MAIL ONLINE: The Commons expenses scandal has been blamed for an apparent suicide attempt by Tory MP David Ruffley, who threw himself under a train.

Former Shadow Police Minister Mr Ruffley, 48, jumped in front of an express train at London’s Victoria station during the evening rush-hour on Thursday.

The MP for Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk survived after the train passed right over him and he missed the live rail.

Mr Ruffley, one of the most popular MPs at Westminster, was among those who came under heavy criticism over his Commons expenses. >>> Simon Walters | Saturday, June 19, 2010

Protest gegen BNP: Hakenkreuz auf Parlament in London gestrahlt
KRONEN ZEITUNG: Als Warnung vor einem möglichen Erfolg der Rechtsextremen bei der britischen Parlamentswahl am Donnerstag haben Aktivisten ein Hakenkreuz an das Parlament in London gestrahlt. "Zeit der Entscheidung. Haltet die extreme Rechte draußen", schrieben sie in der Nacht zu Montag mit Lichtstrahlen neben das weiß-rote Hakenkreuz an die Fassade des Parlaments. >>> | Montag, 03. Mai 2010

BRISBANE TIMES: Swastika beamed on to UK parliament: Campaigners against the far-right in Britain on Monday projected an image of a swastika on the side of parliament, amid fears extremists could be voted in at this week's general election >>> AFP | Monday, May 03, 2010

UAF Violence: Nick Griffin MEP Interview

The fact that I bring this video to you should in no way be construed as an endorsement of the BNP or its policies. However, I do feel that in a democracy, everybody’s views should be heard, however distasteful we might find them. There appears to be a concerted effort on the part of the establishment in general, and the media in particular, to silence Nick Griffin and his followers. If this is the objective, then there is a better way forward. Nick Griffin and his followers’ ideas should be challenged in debate, head on. This is the correct and civilized way to deal with this matter. Throwing eggs at him is immature and unworthy; it also endears him to many potential followers. – ©Mark

Telegraph View – Speaker Michael Martin's Downfall: Only the Start of a Very British Revolution
My view: This parliament needs more than just a new Speaker. It needs a radical shake-up. These people – 'our representatives' – don’t so much represent the people, but themselves; it’s not so much a case of ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’, but of the toffs, by the toffs, for the toffs! . ‘Our representatives’ don’t listen to the concerns of the electorate; rather, they treat the electorate with contempt. But then, isn’t this typical of the snobby British way? The mentality that dictates that only the toffs' opinions are worth anything.

Westminster has been shown to be rotten; it is rotten to the core. We need far more than a new Speaker. That is but one change that is needed. As the old saying goes: One swallow a summer does not make. Likewise, one change in parliament hardly constitutes a ‘revolution’. Perhaps we ought to ask our French brothers and sisters about the true nature of revolution. They have far more experience in such matters than we.

And while we’re at it… Where’s that written Constitution? It’s high time we had one. It’s more than overdue. – ©Mark

THE TELEGRAPH: The resignation of Michael Martin as Speaker marks the latest stage of a very British revolution. While his departure has been precipitated by his fumbling and inadequate response to this newspaper's disclosures about MPs' expenses, it reflects a collapse of public faith in the political system that has been evident for some time. Over the past 12 years we have seen a Government with an overwhelming parliamentary majority turn the Commons into a cipher for often perverse decisions. It has burdened the Commons and the country with pointless and even dangerous legislation. People feel their political representatives are aloof and arrogant. Now, in addition, they think they are venal, too. In a characteristically British way, we have all put up with this for far too long – there have been no marches, no riots, no clashes with the police. The public has now decided it is time for change: its fury has forced apologies, repayments, suspensions and resignations; constituency parties are threatening deselections; MPs are voluntarily deciding to stand down; the Speaker has been forced out, for the first time in 
300 years.

When he was elected on October 23, 2000, Mr Martin said: "I thank the House for its confidence in me. I pray that I shall prove worthy of that confidence and that all of us will maintain the high tradition of this place." He was living proof of Thomas Rainsborough's dictum during the Putney Debates in 1647 that "the poorest he hath a life to live as the greatest he". Born into poverty in a Glasgow tenement, Mr Martin had risen to become the First Commoner of the Land. It is his tragedy, and that of Parliament, that he could not live up to the expectations placed in him. Indeed, the manner of his election contained the seeds of his downfall: it was, in essence, a political stitch-up whereby an MP for the governing party was installed in the chair through the mechanism of a massive Labour majority, when parliamentary convention suggested that an Opposition MP would have been more appropriate.

Not only was Mr Martin the wrong choice; he turned out to be a catastrophic one as well. His fate is symbolic of the rottenness of a political system that was once the envy of the world. That system now lies broken and demoralised. With its sovereignty already dissipated by the power of the European Union, the role of the House in scrutinising legislation has been further undermined by the placing of time limits on all debates; the hours it sits have shrunk, the chamber is often virtually empty, and MPs routinely fail to articulate the concerns and aspirations of the people who elect them. Westminster has sunk into a slough of despond. The dwindling turnout at successive elections is testament to what the country thinks of the system. Mr Martin, as Speaker, has presided over this sorry shambles. >>> Telegraph View | Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Fat Speaker, Fat Pension!
Photo of Michael Martin courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Michael Martin will get a peerage and a £1.4million pension pot, despite being the first Commons Speaker to be ousted in more than 300 years.

He finally fell on his sword after Gordon Brown intervened to tell him the game was up.

Mr Martin will stand down as Speaker and quit as an MP on June 21 after presiding over the Commons for eight years which have brought Parliament to its lowest ebb in centuries. Arise, Lord Gorbals: Peerage and £1.4m Pension for Shamed Speaker Who Quit in 34 Seconds >>> Tim Shipman | Wednesday, May 20, 2009

’Inbreeding’ a Big Problem among Muslim Community, Warn Ministers
TIMESONLINE: A government minister has warned that inbreeding among immigrants is causing a surge in birth defects - comments likely to spark a new row over the place of Muslims in British society.

Phil Woolas, an environment minister, said the culture of arranged marriages between first cousins was the “elephant in the room”. Woolas, a former race relations minister, said: “If you have a child with your cousin the likelihood is there’ll be a genetic problem.”

The minister, whose views were supported by medical experts this weekend, said: “The issue we need to debate is first cousin marriages, whereby a lot of arranged marriages are with first cousins, and that produces lots of genetic problems in terms of disability [in children].”

Woolas emphasised the practice did not extend to all Muslim communities but was confined mainly to families originating from rural Pakistan. However, up to half of all marriages within these communities are estimated to involve first cousins. Minister warns of ‘inbred’ Muslims >>> By Dipesh Gadher, Christopher Morgan and Jonathan Oliver

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