Humza Yousaf Slams Gaza 'Ethnic Cleansing' by Israel & UK Government 'Complicity' | Full Interview

Feb 12, 2025 | Former First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, joins Global News Today with Tom Burges Watson for an exclusive interview to discuss the Gaza ceasefire and the recent threats made by US President Donald Trump and supported by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hamas, demanding the immediate release of the rest of the hostages by Saturday, otherwise "all hell will break out." President Trump had also wanted to turn Gaza into a "Riviera of the Middle East" and says that all Palestinians should move to neighboring countries.

Yousaf slams these ideas put forward by the US president and says its simply "ethnic cleansing," stating many countries are being cowardly in not labeling Israel's treatment of Palestinians in Gaza as such.

Yousaf also attacks Keir Starmer and the UK government for being "complicit" in Israel's "ethnic cleansing," suggesting that the language they use to describe Israel's actions is limited and the fact they continue to send weapons to Israel which are used against the Palestinians.

UK Demands Access to Apple Users' Encrypted Data

BBC: The UK government has demanded to be able to access encrypted data stored by Apple users worldwide in its cloud service.

Currently only the Apple account holder can access data stored in this way - the tech giant itself cannot view it.

The demand has been served by the Home Office under the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA), which compels firms to provide information to law enforcement agencies.

Apple declined to comment, but says on its website, external that it views privacy as a "fundamental human right".

Under the law, the demand cannot be made public.

The news was first reported by the Washington Post, external quoting sources familiar with the matter, and the BBC has spoken to similar contacts.

The Home Office said: "We do not comment on operational matters, including for example confirming or denying the existence of any such notices."

Privacy International called it an "unprecedented attack" on the private data of individuals.

"This is a fight the UK should not have picked," said the charity's legal director Caroline Wilson Palow.

"This overreach sets a hugely damaging precedent and will embolden abusive regimes the world over." » | Zoe Kleinman, Technology editor | Friday, February 7, 2025

ICJP Says It Intends to Prosecute UK Government Officials for Complicity in War Crimes in Gaza

Oct 14, 2023 | The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has written a warning to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that it intends to prosecute UK government officials for complicity in war crimes in Gaza. ICJP co-director Crispin Blunt spoke to Sky News on Saturday morning to discuss the warning.

Michael Lambert: World Class INCOMPETENCE - Every Week!

Sep 2, 2023

UK Becoming a Police State as Government Talks Nonsense about 'Going for Growth'

As Liz Truss appoints her new right-wing government, the UK economy continues to suffer from the effects of Brexit.

The new Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Therese Coffey writes to staff asking them not to use the 'Oxford comma' whilst Kwasi Kwarteng announces that he is going to 'go for growth' by removing the limit on bankers' bonuses.

In Edinburgh a protester was forced to the ground and arrested by the police for shouting an insult at Prince Andrew, whilst another woman was arrested and is due to go to court for holding up an 'anti-monarchy' sign.

Truss is to borrow £130 billion in order to secure the massive windfall profits of energy companies. The taxpayer will repay this loan over the coming years.

Rwandan LGBTIQ People Warn: It’s Unsafe to Send Queer Asylum Seekers Here

OPEN DEMOCRACY: The UK intends to send asylum seekers to the east African country. Rights groups say LGBTIQ people will be particularly at risk

Gerald* and his boyfriend fled Rwanda in February this year to escape persecution from their families and church. “They beat us, starved us and refused to give us shelter,” he told openDemocracy from neighbouring Uganda.

His testimony comes after the UK government announced new proposals to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda.

The £120m scheme, paid for by the British taxpayer, will mostly target single men arriving on boats or lorries. Prime minister Boris Johnson called the plan “humane and compassionate” and said it would put an end to the businesses of “vile people smugglers”. But rights groups say it will be particularly harmful to LGBTIQ people given Rwanda’s track record on LGBTIQ rights.

“It’s appalling for everyone. But for LGBTIQ people in particular, it’s substantially worse,” says Sonia Lenegan, legal and policy director at the NGO Rainbow Migration.

“The government must abandon this problematic agreement. There will be legal challenges to this.” » | Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu and Nandini Archer | Saturday, April 16, 2022

Scottish and Welsh Ministers Criticise ‘Cack-handed’ Plans to Scrap EU Rules

THE GUARDIAN: UK government accused of not properly consulting devolved parliaments over ‘Brexit freedom bill’

The proposed bill will have a significant impact on hundreds of areas controlled by devolved governments. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA
Senior ministers in the Welsh and Scottish governments have furiously criticised “last-minute and cack-handed” plans from the Conservatives to scrap or amend thousands of EU rules.

The move – nicknamed the “Brexit freedoms bill” – has also raised alarm from constitutional experts who said it would make it easier for ministers to bulldoze through important parliamentary scrutiny.

Senior sources in the devolved governments have accused the UK government of failing to properly consult ministers in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Stormont, even though the proposals, released on Monday by No 10, will have a significant impact on hundreds of areas controlled by devolved governments.

One source said the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish parliaments first learned an announcement was imminent when they were invited at 1.51pm last Friday to an unexpected meeting on Saturday with Suella Braverman, the attorney general.

It involved ministers from all three devolved administrations and the cabinet ministers for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. » | Severin Carrell and Jessica Elgot | Monday, January 31, 2022

It Is Impossible to Work Seriously with Boris Johnson’s Government

THE GUARDIAN: On refugees, fishing and the NI protocol, we need cooperation. But Britain and France are a long way from an entente cordiale

Macron said of Johnson’s letter tweet: “I am surprised when methods are not serious. One does not communicate on those issues, from one leader to another, via tweets or by a letter made public.” Photograph: Alastair Grant/PA
Britain and France have a long and intertwined history, encompassing great friendship and solidarity as well as war and rivalry. This was evident most recently following terrorist attacks in our respective countries. It’s a relationship that can still be characterised as “sweet enemies”, as Philip Sidney put it in a sonnet in 1591.

We are twin countries, with more or less the same population, similar economies, and the same status on the world stage, as permanent members of the United Nations security council, and nuclear countries with military projection capability. As members of the same international organisations, we have often held the same positions, and coordinated closely. This respect and cooperative spirit have been particularly strong among diplomats from our two nations.

Any prejudices and mockery have remained mostly friendly, or been delivered with a touch of humour – as in 2012, when both Boris Johnson and David Cameron riled François Hollande’s government by saying they would “roll out the red carpet” for French businessmen who were being highly taxed in France. The then French Minister of Labour, Michel Sapin, rejoindered: “Frankly, I don’t understand how you can unfurl a red carpet across the Channel. It could get quite wet.” » | Sylvie Bermann | Saturday, December 4, 2021

Sylvie Bermann is a former French ambassador to the UK

France rejects idea of joint patrols with UK forces on Calais coast: Boris Johnson proposal rebuffed with suggestion he offer legal alternatives to reduce risky Channel crossings »

Tory Corruption: Boris Johnson Facing Day of Reckoning. Truth To Power

Get this sucker out of office asap! The SOB has even suspended the Triple Lock on state pensions! Yet he can find billions for his cronies. The man is unprincipled and corrupt. The country needs to be rid of him. – © Mark

Hilary Mantel: I Am Ashamed to Live in [a] Nation That Elected This Government

THE GUARDIAN: Double Booker prize winner tells La Repubblica she may take Irish citizenship to feel European again

Hilary Mantel also said in a wide-ranging interview given to an Italian publication that Boris Johnson should not be in public life. Photograph: Jeff Morgan/Alamy
Hilary Mantel has said she feels “ashamed” by the UK government’s treatment of migrants and asylum seekers and is intending to become an Irish citizen to “become a European again”.

In a wide-ranging interview with La Repubblica, the twice Booker prize-winning novelist also gave her view on the monarchy, told how endometriosis has “devastated my life”, and how Boris Johnson “should not be in public life”. She also addresses the criticism of JK Rowling and her stance on transgender rights.

In response to a question about Priti Patel’s rhetoric on migration and asylum seekers and whether it marks the “ugliest side of the new ‘global Britain’ post-Brexit”, the writer told the Italian publication: “It was my grandparents’ generation who were immigrants [from Ireland]; sometimes my life gets confused with my fiction, because a number of my characters have Irish parents.

“We see the ugly face of contemporary Britain in the people on the beaches abusing exhausted refugees even as they scramble to the shore. It makes one ashamed.

“And ashamed, of course, to be living in the nation that elected this government, and allows itself to be led by it.” » | Nadeem Badshah | Saturday, September 4, 2021

Hear! Hear! Long live Europe! Es lebe Europa! Vive l'Europe ! – Mark

France Fiasco to Pingdemic U-turn: Boris Johnson’s Week of Chaos

Boris Johnson joins PMQs remotely while self-isolating this week. Photograph: UK parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA
THE GUARDIAN: In the last seven days the UK government has flailed from one controversy or misstep to the next

Often, the political week heading into the Commons summer recess can feel almost soporific, with the thoughts of ministers and MPs geared more towards holiday sunbeds than rows. But the last seven days has been different, and not only because of the ongoing political flux of coronavirus, with the government seeming to flail from one controversy, U-turn or misstep to the next, day after day.

Friday evening: France goes amber-plus

The reports began earlier in the week: France, which in a normal years attracts 10 million-plus UK visitors, was to be put on Britain’s red list, in effect banning almost all travel, because of concern about the spread of the potentially vaccine-resistant Beta variant. Eventually, late on Friday, it was announced that although France would stay on the amber list, double-vaccinated Britons returning from there would still have to quarantine for 10 days, unlike the new, relaxed policy for other amber destinations. Cue: anger from holidaymakers and some Conservative MPs – and polite bafflement from France itself.

Sunday: to self-isolate or not?

On Saturday, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, announced he had tested positive for Covid, a day after being pictured leaving meetings at Downing Street. Sure enough, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, were – like hundreds of thousands of Britons this week – “pinged” as close contacts. But on Sunday morning, a No 10 statement announced that Johnson and Sunak would avoid the usual 10 days of self isolation as they were taking part in a pilot scheme allowing them to carry on with “essential government business” while having daily tests. Three hours later, amid growing anger, the decision was reversed. Monday: ‘freedom day’ – and Covid passports » | Peter Walker, Political correspondent | Friday, July 23, 2021

The Johnson Government – Yet Another Fiasco

Jul 17, 2021 • The government of Boris Johnson is a disaster. Brexit has set us on the road to ruin with no discernible benefits whatsoever. Businesses are struggling with excessive new paperwork, the loss of much of the EU market and shortages of Labour since EU workers are now reluctant to return given the strict new conditions for entry into the U.K. Brexit has happened at the worst possible time given the pandemic. The government’s handling of the pandemic and the delays in locking down by Boris Johnson are believed to have caused many thousands of unnecessary deaths. The government’s astonishingly expensive test & trace is a fiasco

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock Resigns over Kiss Pics | DW News

Jun 27, 2021 • Britain's health minister has resigned over a breach of coronavirus restrictions that he had implemented and strenuously enforced. Matt Hancock admitted breaking the rules after a photos and a video emerged of him kissing and embracing an aide in his office. The scandal enraged fellow government ministers and angered millions of Britons who endured months of lockdown at the height of the pandemic. Hancock has made regular appearances on television telling people they must stick to the rules. Former Finance Minister Sajid Javid has been named as Hancock's replacement.

UK Delays Zaghari-Ratcliffe Release for Fear of Offending Trump, Lawyers Claim

THE GUARDIAN: Government accused of waiting for US permission to pay money owed to Iran

The British government has deliberately delayed taking steps necessary to secure the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – including payment of a £400m debt owed to Iran – for fear of offending the Trump administration, lawyers acting for the British-Iranian woman have alleged.

In a seven-page letter to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, the lawyers accuse the government of procrastination and claim the UK’s approach to securing the release of dual nationals from Tehran jails has been far less effective than those of other countries – including the US. A BBC Panorama programme broadcast a similar charge on Monday night.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been under effective house arrest in Tehran since March when she was given temporary release from prison having served four years of a five-year sentence for alleged espionage. She was arrested in Tehran in April 2016. » | Patrick Wintour | Monday, August 24, 2020

What Are the Limits of Foreign Lobbying in the UK? | Inside Story

The British media watchdog Spinwatch says the UAE spent millions of dollars to influence political decision-making. And the watchdog says the Emiratis pressured journalists and think tanks - all aimed at influencing the British government against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Spinwatch says it has leaked emails showing how the Emiratis were involved in what's described as 'clandestine' lobbying tactics in both Britain and the US; and it highlights the UAE's campaign against Qatar and the 2022 World Cup.

The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar 13 months ago - and imposed an economic blockade.

What's the impact of lobbying on decision making by the British government? And does it affect democracy?

Presenter: Laura Kyle | Guests: David Miller - Founder, Spinwatch; Afzal Ashraf - Visiting Fellow, Nottingham University; Kevin Craig, Chief Executive, Political Lobbying and Media Relations

'I May Have Fallen below High Standards We Require,' Says Michael Fallon as He Resigns

Michael Fallon has resigned as defence secretary, admitting his behaviour towards women in the past has 'fallen short', as the Conservatives struggle to contain the growing scandal about sexual harassment at Westminster. In her reply to Fallon’s letter, the prime minister said, 'I appreciate the characteristically serious manner in which you have considered your position, and the particular example you wish to set to servicemen and women and others.' Fallon apologised earlier this week over an incident 15 years ago in which he made unwanted advances to the journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer, placing his hand on her knee Michael Fallon quits as defence secretary, saying his behaviour has 'fallen short'

UK Government Urged to Kick Saudi Arabia Off UN Human Rights Council for Yemen Brutality

Politicians and NGOs are urging the UK government to vote against Saudi retention of the chairmanship of the UN human rights council in light of the Gulf theocracy’s ongoing brutal war in Yemen.

Mistrust in Mainstream Media? Radical! - UK Government Website Claims

The British government has launched a new website aimed at battling what it calls "the spell of twisted ideologies". On the site, parents and teachers can find advice on how to identify signs of radicalization in youths.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does! Ban Trump from Britain: UK Government Outraged by Republican's Comments on Muslims

Some of Donald Trumph's controversial comment about Muslims have theatened to stop him getting to the UK. The British Parliament has held a debate on whether the US presidential hopeful should be banned from entering the country.

UK Government Accused of Selling Weapons to Saudis, Admits Helping Choose Targets in Yemen

The British government has admitted that its military is helping choose targets for the Saudi-led coalition's air strikes in Yemen.