We Won't Eat Halal Meat, Say MPs and Peers Who Reject Demands to Serve It at Westminster
MAIL ON SUNDAY: Some parliamentarians have eaten meat at Westminster having been assured it was halal

The Palace of Westminster has rejected demands to serve halal meat in its restaurants.

Muslim MPs and peers have been told they cannot have meat slaughtered in line with Islamic tradition because the method – slitting an animal’s throat without first stunning it – is offensive to many of their non-Muslim colleagues.

The stance has infuriated some parliamentarians who have eaten meat in the Palace’s 23 restaurants and cafes, having been assured that it was halal.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said: ‘I did feel misled. I think a halal option should be made available.’

In 2010, the Mail on Sunday revealed schools, hospitals and restaurants were serving halal meat to unwitting customers. Read on and comment » | Chris Hastings | Sunday, January 01, 2012

Muslim Fanatics Abuse MP at Mosque

SUNDAY EXPRESS: COUNTER terrorism police are investigating a Muslim group after supporters called an MP a “Jewish homo pig”.

Conservative MP Mike Freer was holding an advice surgery in the mosque in Margaret Thatcher’s former constituency of Finchely, north London, when the radicals hurled abuse on Friday afternoon.

They screamed at him that as someone who is gay he was “not welcome in a house of Allah”.

Mr Freer, who is not Jewish but who is a member of the Conservative Friends of Israel and the All Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia, said the protesters were “aggressive” and that he had been forced to call Finchley’s Met Police borough commander to complain.

It is now understood that Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorist unit is investigating the Muslims Against Crusades group, which has also issued a chilling warning to any MP representing Muslims in Britain.

In a statement on its website, they have told every MP to remember what happened to Stephen Timms, the former Labour minister who was stabbed while holding an advice surgery in east London last year.

His Al Qaeda-inspired attacker, Roshonara Choudhry, 22, was sentenced to life imprisonment and a number of other MPs who were on her target list were offered extra police protection.

The Muslims Against Crusades statement reads: “We warn Mike Freer and every other MP in Britain that their presence is no longer welcomed in any Muslim area and that examples such as Stephen Timms should serve as a piercing reminder of this.

“Muslims have had enough of freedom and democracy and are fervently working for the implementation of the Shariah.” » | Ted Jeory | Sunday, October 30, 2011

Radical Website Publishes MP 'Death List'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A website which influenced a young Muslim to stab an MP has posted dozens more MPs’ names on a 'death list’ with an exhortation to Muslims to follow her example.

Revolutionmuslim.com was named by Roshonara Choudhry in her police interviews as one of the sites which radicalised her. Choudhry was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday for attempting to murder the former Labour minister Stephen Timms.

The site praises her as a “mujaahidah,” or holy warrior, saying: “We ask Allah to keep her safe and secure, to hasten her release and to reward this heroine immensely.”

It published a list of all the MPs who voted for the Iraq war together with an instruction to Muslims to try to kill them, saying: “We ask Allaah for her action to inspire Muslims to raise the knife of Jihaad against those who voted for the countless rapes, murders, pillages, and torture of Muslim civilians as a direct consequence of their vote.”

It also appears to incite further attacks on Mr Timms, publishing details of his constituency surgery times and venues, and even a link which shows readers where they can buy a £15 kitchen knife, similar to the one used by Choudhry, from Tesco Direct.

The website adds: “If you want to track an MP, you can find out their personal website after typing their name in this website. In their personal website, you can usually find the time and location of their surgeries where you can encounter them in person.” >>> Andrew Gilligan | Thursday, November 04, 2010

Fury as Israel President Claims English Are 'Anti-Semitic'
THE TELEGRAPH: Israel's president has accused the English of being anti-semitic and claimed that MPs pander to Muslim voters.

Shimon Peres said England was "deeply pro-Arab ... and anti-Israeli", adding: "They always worked against us."

He added: "There is in England a saying that an anti-Semite is someone who hates the Jews more than is necessary."

His remarks, made in an interview on a Jewish website, provoked anger from senior MPs and Jewish leaders who said the 87-year-old president had "got it wrong".

But other groups backed the former Israeli prime minister and said the number of anti-semitic incidents had risen dramatically in the UK in recent years.

The controversy follows the furore last week over David Cameron's remark that Gaza was a "prison camp", as he urged Israel to allow aid and people to move freely in and out of the Palestinian territory.

Mr Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize winner who is three years into his seven-year term as president and was awarded an honorary knighthood by the Queen in 2008, said that England's attitude towards Jews was Israel's "next big problem".

"There are several million Muslim voters, and for many members of parliament, that's the difference between getting elected and not getting elected," he said.

"And in England there has always been something deeply pro-Arab, of course, not among all Englishmen, and anti-Israeli, in the establishment.

"They abstained in the [pro-Zionist] 1947 UN partition resolution ... They maintained an arms embargo against us in the 1950s ... They always worked against us. They think the Arabs are the underdogs."

By contrast, relations with Germany, France and Italy were "pretty good", he added. >>> David Harrison and Adrian Blomfield in Jerusalem | Saturday, July 31, 2010

Shimon Peres has got this right. MPs do pander to Muslims for votes. Further, the Foreign Office and the establishment of this country has long been pro-Arab. Bravo, Mr Peres for having the courage to state the truth! I applaud you. – © Mark

THE GUARDIAN: Israel president Shimon Peres accuses Britain of pro-Arab bias: Veteran politician claims MPs pander to Muslim voters with anti-Jewish rhetoric and glorify Palestinians as underdogs >>> Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem | Sunday, August 01, 2010

Tory Drive to Raise Ethnic MP Quota if Cameron Wins Election
MAIL ONLINE: David Cameron hopes to more than treble the number of female Tory MPs and boast up to 15 ethnic minority members if he wins the general election.

Inisiders say his candidate selection policy will have the 'Obama effect' and change the face of the white, male-dominated party.

Currently the Tories have 18 women and two ethnic minority MPs - Adam Afriyie, who represents Windsor, and shadow minister Shailesh Vara, MP for north-west Cambridgeshire.

But the number of black, Asian and other minorities could rise tenfold at the next election, as a direct result of Central Office's decision to impose a greater number of 'suitable' candidates on local associations.

Five sitting female MPs are stepping down but 33 female candidates have been selected in 117 target seats, along with six ethnic minority candidates.

So far 149 women have been selected to stand overall and the party hopes to see between ten to 15 minority MPs and 60 women after the election.

An Iraqi-born businessman who fled Saddam Hussain's regime has become the 44th ethnic minority candidate to be selected. YouGov co-founder Nadhim Zahawi was chosen to represent the safe seat of Stratford-upon-Avon following a five-hour meeting on Friday night. >>> Nick McDermott and Gerry Peev | Monday, February 22, 2010

Female? Black? Gay? All Three? Then You're More Likely to Become an MP Under Controversial New Plans
MAIL ONLINE: Controversial plans were unveiled yesterday to force political parties to make Parliament less white, male, middle-class and heterosexual.

Under proposals backed by Commons Speaker John Bercow, but labelled as 'insulting' by former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, parties will be made to declare publicly how many women, ethnic minority, gay and disabled applicants they reject as potential Parliamentary candidates.

Parties also face demands to ensure at least half the MPs leaving Parliament at the next election - in what is expected to be the biggest exodus since 1945 - are replaced by women.

The proposals have emerged from a crossparty review set up by former Commons Speaker Michael Martin - and taken forward by his successor, Mr Bercow - on how to make the chamber more representative.

In an interim report published yesterday, the panel said parties must be made to be more transparent about the people putting themselves forward as would-be MPs.

The report said: 'The fact remains that, at present, the House of Commons continues to be largely white, male, middle-aged and middle-class: people from under-represented groups who are putting themselves forward for selection are still proportionately less likely to be selected.' >>> | Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Alan Duncan, Sultan Qaboos, and the Sultan's ‘Glittering Gifts’
I just wonder why Sultan Qaboos, the Sultan of Oman, showers Alan Duncan with ‘glittering gifts’? – Mark

MAIL ONLINE: With the first hints of autumn in the air, the sound of weary gardeners breathing a sigh of relief echoes across Britain.

But for MP Alan Duncan an aching back and calloused hands are unlikely to be high on his list of immediate problems.

For while his four-bedroom constituency home is surrounded by an acre of beautifully-tended gardens, their appearance isn't entirely down to his hard graft.

'I spend a fortune on my garden in Rutland,' he boasted last year, explaining that it is a place 'where you will never see a weed'.

What British taxpayers now know is that the pristine flower-beds and carefully kept lawns owe almost as much to them as to the 52-year-old Tory high-flyer.

Earlier this year, leaked expenses revealed that Mr Duncan had claimed in excess of £4,000 over three years to maintain his garden.

This sum included the costs of a £6-an-hour gardener who, at times, was pocketing more than £350-a-week.

Then there were the running costs of Mr Duncan's ride-on lawn-mower - a £598 service and a £49 bill for puncture repair - not to forget the £1.60 price of a bag of nails.

Mr Duncan tried to put through even more, a bill of £3,194.50 for the period between July 2006 and March 2007 being presented to the House of Commons fees office.

Alan Duncan with his partner, James Dunseath, the man to whom he proposed whilst on holiday in Oman.
It declined to pay, pointing out that the sum in question 'may not be necessarily an appropriate use of public funds'.

In all, Mr Duncan claimed £127,658 over six years under second home allowances, £126 short of the maximum.

While agreeing to pay back some £5,000 he stopped short of admitting any wrongdoing, saying: 'This is not guilt. This is a voluntary act.'

Amid the ensuing furore over moats and duck islands and 'flipped' second homes, as far as Mr Duncan was concerned that might just about have been that.

Until, that is, the multi-millionaire former oil-trader single-handedly reignited the public's ire by bemoaning the lot of a modern day MP.

Covertly recorded on camera, the Shadow Leader of the House was heard to complain that MPs were being treated like 's***' and forced to live on 'rations' in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Again the silver-tongued, bouffanthaired [sic] MP apologized. And again he sloped away hoping it would all blow over.

But, on Monday, David Cameron finally acted against Mr Duncan, moving him from the Shadow Cabinet to become justice spokesman with responsibility for prisons.

Critics complain that this demotion is little more than a slap on the wrist and that Mr Duncan may yet return to frontline politics as a Government minister.

'He is a very experienced politician who still has a lot to give and hopes that he will get another chance to prove this in the future,' a close friend told me.

If he does, then it would do well to remember just how that 'experience' was gained.

His views on money owe much to the fact that by the age of 30 he was already a wealthy man, once describing £1 million as 'not going very far'.

As for his £65,000-a-year salary as a frontbench MP, that was also clearly insufficient - until recently Mr Duncan pulled in an extra £90,000-odd from directorships.

His expertise is in trading oil, a line of work that has seen him linked to a number of characters mired in financial scandals.

Then there are his property interests. These include his £1 million-plus London home, his beautifully appointed constituency home and a third property that he rents out next to his own.

He bought it for £140,000 in a highly unusual transaction 15 years ago - more of which later. It is now worth at least five times that sum.

And let's not forget Mr Duncan's love of foreign travel. In the past decade he has spent a staggering 99 days living it up in luxury in Oman - the tab picked up by the Sultan's government.

Gifts from the same source include five watches, three sets of cufflinks, and a 'traditional Omani coffee pot and incense burner'.

He even had his appendix removed for free while on holiday there. No chance then, at least, of the 'rations' causing any problems as they work their way through Mr Duncan's system. Whining Tory Alan Duncan's £1m Gulf War oil 'rations' and glittering gifts from Sultan of Oman >>> Tom Rawstorne | Saturday, September 12, 2009

About Sultan Qaboos >>>

Alan Duncan Sacked from Shadow Cabinet
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan has been sacked from the shadow cabinet by David Cameron over his complaint that MPs were made to live “on rations”.

David Cameron stripped Mr Duncan of his role as shadow leader of the Commons. He accepted a job as a shadow junior justice minister with responsibility for prisons.

Mr Duncan had been in charge of agreeing changes to the system of MPs expenses but his private comments, recorded by an activist who met Mr Duncan on the House of Commons terrace, made his position untenable. The demotion appears to have scuppered Mr Duncan’s chances of being in Mr Cameron’s first Cabinet.

Mr Duncan was secretly filmed earlier this year complaining about MPs’ reduced standard of living, arguing that MPs were forced to live on “rations” and had been treated like “----”. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor and Chris Irvine | Monday, September 07, 2009

Alan Duncan Faces Expenses Challenge from Terry Waite at Election
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, the Tory front bencher who complained that MPs were forced to live on “rations,” faces an election challenge from anti-sleaze campaigners Terry Waite and Martin Bell.

Alan Duncan. Photo: The Telegraph
The former Beirut hostage and “the man in the white suit” have formed a political movement aimed at bringing down a number of MPs whose questionable expenses claims were disclosed by The Daily Telegraph.

Mr Bell, an ex-BBC journalist who became known for his sartorial taste after successfully challenging the Neil Hamilton, the Conservative MP at the centre of the “cash for questions” scandal, at the 1997 election, confirmed that Mr Duncan was in their sights.

Last week, the millionaire MP was forced to apologise after secret footage emerged of him complaining that MPs were treated like “****” and had been reduced to living on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

It seems that the somewhat stricter regime introduced following the expenses furore has not inhibited Mr Duncan’s lifestyle too significantly, however. He is currently said to be mid-way through a two week holiday in a luxury resort on the Indonesian island of Bali with his civil partner, James Dunseath, a press officer in the City.

The couple are thought to have flown business class with Singapore Airlines at a cost of around £3,000 each.

Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House who has represented the Leicestershire constituency of Rutland and Melton since 1992, is the main target of the “honest politics” alliance forged by Mr Bell and Mr Waite.

The ex-journalist said that up to 30 anti-sleaze candidates would be standing at the general election, with a shared cause of bringing "honesty" to the House of Commons.

“The common platform would be a return to honest politics,” he said. “That’s the thing that would unite everybody. Rutland and Melton has become vulnerable.” >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Sunday, August 16, 2009

Related:
Alan Duncan: MPs Are Treated Like '****' and Have to Survive on Rations >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

MPs' Expenses: Alan Duncan Claimed £63,000 in Mortgage 'Flip' >>> Holly Watt | Friday, July 04, 2009

My big fat gay Tory wedding >>> Isabel Oakeshott | Sunday, March 09. 2009

Alan Duncan: MPs Are Treated Like '****' and Have to Survive on Rations
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, the accident-prone Tory frontbencher, has said that MPs are being treated like "****" and forced to live on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

Alan Duncan, the accident-prone Tory frontbencher, has said that MPs are being treated like **** and forced to live on “rations” following the expenses scandal.

The shadow leader of the House was caught on camera complaining about the public’s response to The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures about the widespread abuse of Parliamentary second home allowances.

He rejected criticism of his decision to claim thousands of pounds for gardening bills at his second home in his constituency of Rutland, saying that “the world has gone mad”.

Mr Duncan repaid £5,000 after The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Commons fees office questioned whether his claims “could be considered excessive.”

He was captured on video by campaigner Heydon Prowse, who previously filmed himself digging a pound sign into the MP’s lawn, during a visit to the House of Commons in June.

Asked why people no longer wanted to stand for Parliament, Mr Duncan said: "No-one who has done anything in the outside world, or is capable of doing such a thing, will ever come into this place ever again, the way we are going.

“Basically, it’s being nationalised, you have to live on rations and are treated like ****.

“I spend my money on my garden and claim a tiny fraction on what is proper. And I could claim the whole bloody lot, but I don’t.”

Questioned over how much he paid from his own pocket for his garden, he said: “About £2,000 a year and this was £1,000 a year on expenses, you know. It’s just, I’m afraid, the world has gone mad.”

Mr Duncan has gained a reputation for being gaffe-prone, particularly in his response to the expenses scandal. >>> Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent | Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Nadine Dorries: MPs 'at Suicide Risk over McCarthyite Witchhunt'
TIMESONLINE: The campaign to expose MPs' Commons expense claims has become so personal that it has started to resemble a McCarthy-style witchhunt, a Tory backbencher said today.

Nadine Dorries, the member for Mid-Bedfordshire, also warned that the relentless drip-drip of leaked claims was creating such an atmosphere of terror that there was a real risk of an MP committing suicide.

"People are seriously beginning to crack," Ms Dorries told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The last day in Parliament this week was, I would say, completely unbearable.

"I have never been in an atmosphere or environment like it, when people walk around with terror in their eyes and people are genuinely concerned, asking, 'Have you seen so and so? Are they in their office? They've not been seen for days.'

"There's a really serious concern that this has got to a point now which is almost unbearable for any human being to deal with." >>> Philippe Naughton | Friday, May 22, 2009

TIMES ONLINE:
For God’s Sake, Rowan, Stay Out of Politics! Go Back to Preaching the Gospel! There’s Supposed to Be a Strict Separation of Politics and Religion. Have You Forgotten? >>> | Friday, May 22, 2009

One Huge Bloody Mess!
THE TELEGRAPH: Bankers have been accused of making an "astonishing mess" of the financial system, in a report by Treasury Select Committee.

There had been a "comprehensive failure of the banking system at all levels", said chairman John McFall In the committee's second report on the banking crisis published on Friday.

He added that senior executives in banks, non-executive directors, governments and regulators were all partly to blame.

The MPs said it was "deplorable" that banks, which have been propped up with billions of pounds of taxpayers' money, are not extending new loans to customers. MPs Blame Bankers for 'Astonishing Mess' >>> By Katherine Griffiths, Financial Services Editor | Friday, May 1, 2009

Alan Duncan, the First Conservative MP to Enter Into a Gay Civil Partnership
Photo of Alan Duncan and his soon-to-be partner courtesy of The Sunday Times
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Alan Duncan is the first Conservative MP to enter a civil partnership. He tells how his nuptials are going down with the blue-rinse brigade

In the dying days of her leadership, Margaret Thatcher was fleetingly celebrated as a gay icon after being admired by the camp artists Gilbert and George. But her private views on homosexuality were assumed to be anything but liberal, particularly after she helped to power through a law that banned the promotion of homosexuality in schools.

Now, however, the Iron Lady could have the opportunity to set the record straight – by accepting an invitation to attend the gay “wedding” of her old friend Alan Duncan.

In a few months the dapper shadow enterprise secretary will become the first Tory MP to enter into a civil partnership when he ties the knot with his boyfriend, James Dunseath. (MPs who have already taken the plunge include Ben Bradshaw and David Borrow, both Labour.)

Apparently, at least 300 guests will be attending the ceremony, due to take place before the end of July. Duncan won’t say if Lady Thatcher’s invitation will be dropping through her letterbox soon, but it would be odd if she were left out. He and Thatcher have been close for years and often dine together.

There is no doubt, though, that section 28, the legislation that her government introduced to stop “loony lefties” teaching schoolchildren about gays, gave the Conservative party a long-standing and damaging reputation for homophobia. It is only now, under the leadership of David Cameron, that the party has finally shaken off that image, promoting instead an inclusive, nondiscriminatory attitude towards gays.

Duncan, for his part, claims that he hasn’t detected the slightest whiff of disapproval about his forthcoming civil partnership from even the most traditional figures in the party. “You should see my mailbag. I’ve had so much support,” he says. “People are saying, ‘Thank God for that – at last we can see off the last vestiges of sniping, sneering and disapproval.’ They are just writing to say, ‘Thank you, now the world can grow up and get real’ – and it’s great.” My big fat gay Tory wedding >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

MPs Reject Call for EU Membership Referendum
Photo of EU flags courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: MPs voted today overwhelmingly against the idea of having a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union.

Labour and the Conservatives joined forces to vote down the Liberal Democrat proposal, which was rejected in the Commons by 471 votes to 68, a majority of 403.

William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, claimed the Lib Dem proposal was a "fig leaf", designed to disguise the fact that Nick Clegg's party was breaking a promise it made at the last election to support a referendum on the proposed EU constitution.

Today's vote was on a technical motion, and a Lib Dem win would not automatically have led to the holding of a referendum on Britain's EU membership.

But their defeat means that the issue is highly unlikely to be put to a vote again while the European Union (amendment) bill, the legislation ratifying the Lisbon treaty, goes through parliament. MPs reject call for EU membership referendum >>> By Andrew Sparrow, senior political correspondent | Tuesday March 4 2008

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Pressure Mounts on Wilders to Drop Film
DUTCH NEWS: Pressure is mounting on anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders to drop plans to broadcast his anti-Koran film because of the economic and security damage it could cause to the Netherlands.

On Thursday night, Christian Democrat parliamentary leader Pieter van Geel urged Wilders not to proceed. ‘This is nothing to do with freedom of expression but with the responsibility he must take for the possible consequences for the safety of Dutch citizens and our economy,’ Van Geel said.

Foreign minister Maxime Verhagen told NOS news that broadcasting the 15-minute feature would be irresponsible. On Wednesday Verhagen and justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin spent an hour with Wilders trying to persuade him to drop the project.

But Labour, Liberal, Socialist and GroenLinks MPs said they did not support the CDA call. The right to freedom of expression was paramount, the MPs were reported as saying, while stressing that Wilders should be responsible in exercising this right. Pressure Mounts on Wilders to Drop Film >>> | Friday 29 February 2008

PRESS TV (IRAN):
Wilders warned on anti-Islam film

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Common Smoke from Commons’ Folk! One Law for the Common Folk, Another Law for the Commons Folk!

Photo courtesy of the BBC

BBC: MPs have been accused of flouting the smoking ban - and even sneaking cigarettes in the Commons toilets.

Although it is not illegal to smoke in the Palace of Westminster, both Houses decided to ban it from Sunday - the same time as the rest of England. MPs ‘smoking in Commons toilets’ (more)

Mark Alexander