14 April 2016

Week in Brief: UK

EU REFERENDUM: Among this week’s points:

1. Brexit campaigners are angry that the government is spending £9.2 million pounds on a pro EU leaflet to be delivered to 27,000,000 homes. Although the government claims that the leaflet merely responds to poll indications that the public want further information, the “out” camp say that it skews the playing field.  It is estimated the “In” campaign will have £33 million to spend against the “Out” campaign’s £18 million. The Electoral Commission has deplored the move but says that it is not illegal because the leaflet will be distributed more than 30 days before the poll;
2. Nigel Farage has described last week’s referendum in which the Dutch refused to ratify the EU’s treaty with the Ukraine as a litmus test for the British vote;
3. a group of fifty healthcare workers has advocated leaving the EU so that the money which is currently sent to Brussels can be spent on the NHS instead;
4. David Miliband, head of the International Rescue Committee, has said that he opposes Brexit on the basis that it would involve the sacrifice by the UK of a large amount of political power;
5. Lord Mandleson, Ken Clarke, Alan Johnson and Charles Clarke have written to “the Times”, saying that Brexit would hit research collaboration and make it more difficult to recruit academics ;
6. Lynne Owens, the director-general of the National Crime Agency has expressed concern that Brexit could disrupt cooperation and intelligence sharing, weakening the fight against people smuggling; and
7. The IMF has warned of damage to the UK’s economy if it leaves the EU.

See comment ‘The Best of Both Worlds?’.

RAPE CASE: The Crown has withdrawn charges against four students at the Royal Agricultural University arising out of an alleged rape at the 2014 annual ball. The move was in response to materials found on the alleged victim’s mobile phone. None of the four students is at the Royal Agricultural University or was allowed to complete his degree there. The four will be applying to have their legal costs met by the Crown.

PORT TALBOT: Tata Steel has received a number of expressions of interest in its Port Talbot works and it is understood that the government may be willing to work in partnership with a commercial operator.  Tata has sold its Scunthorpe works to Greybull Capital.

HEALTH: 46% of junior doctors turned up for work on Wednesday 6 April in defiance of the call to strike. The percentage has gradually been increasing each strike day.

6.6% of British men had diabetes in 2014 as opposed to 4.8% in 1980. In the case of women the proportion increased from 4% to 4.9%. The World Health Organisation blames the spread of the disease on unhealthy lifestyles.

The Royal College of Surgeons has warned that the attention given to cancer and joint replacements had removed the focus from general surgery. As a result, care following operations such as those for gallstones or burst appendix has become unpredictable and lives are being lost which could be saved through better organised care.

Life expectancy fell last year, reversing a 20 year trend. The 5.6% increase in deaths was blamed on flu and dementia.

Dame Julie Moore, head of the University Hospitals, Birmingham and Heart of England NHS trusts has condemned the management culture in the NHS, saying that the managers who progressed through the system were often those who avoided making decisions. She also said that many of the IT systems were useless.

ANIMAL WELFARE: Government plans to abolish animal welfare codes and to replace them with internal industry guidance have been dropped following protests from welfare organisations.

HINKLEY POINT: The French energy minister Segolene Royale has indicated that a final decision on the Hinkley Point reactor may need to be postponed because of concerns as to funding.

RACE: Research carried out by ICM has exposed differences in attitude between Britain’s Muslim community and the rest of the population. In particular 23% of Muslims want Sharia law to apply in parts of the country and 52% believe that homosexuality should be illegal. Trevor Phillips, the erstwhile chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has pointed to the risk of creating a nation within a nation and called for a firm approach to be taken to integration.

Leaflets have been found at a mosque in Stockwell stating that Ahmadi Muslims are apostates and deserve to die. Mr Qureshi, one of the trustees of the charity which runs the mosque, suggested that the leaflets had been planted.

Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayoral candidate, has stressed the importance of mainstream British Muslims challenging extremism. Mr Khan, who regards himself as a pioneer for moderate Islam, says that he has been targeted by extremists because of his mainstream British views.

Aysegul Gurbuz, a Muslim who was elected councillor in Luton last year, has been suspended from the Labour party following anti-Semitic tweets.

ENVOY REJECTED: Britain has refused to accept Ray Ndhlukula as the ambassador from Zimbabwe. Although no official reason is given for such rejections, Mr Ndhlukula has been found by the courts of Zimbabwe to have appropriated land illegally but, he being a close associate of Mr Mugabe, the police have not moved against him.

PANAMA PAPERS: It now being apparent that Blairmore House, a company set up by Mr Cameron’s father, was not a tax avoidance vehicle, there has been much discussion of the private affairs of politicians. The issue has split commentators. On the one hand there are those (including many who do not support the Prime Minister) who have made it clear that they believe the allegations made against his father to be mistaken.  Others have moved the focus to the fact that Mr Cameron was given £200,000 by his mother. See comment ‘Panorama – the Cameron Coverage’.

As senior politicians rush to publish their tax returns, Boris Johnson currently holds the prize for the best external earnings with a total of £266,667 from the Daily Telegraph and £224,617 in book royalties.

AFFAIR:  A spat has broken out over privacy rules after John Whittingdale, the culture secretary, admitted to having an affair with a lady who turned out to be a sex worker. Hacked Off, the group founded by actors and others whose privacy had been breached by phone hackers, has critised newspapers which decided not to report the matter, saying that they failed to do so for ulterior motives. A number of Westminster figures, including Labour MP Kate Hoey, have supported Mr Whittingdale.

FIRST FOLIO: A first folio of Shakespeare’ works at Mount Stuart house on the Isle of Bute has been accepted as authentic.

OLD PEOPLE: The charity Action on Elder Abuse estimates that some £18 million a year is stolen from old people by their carers and families. The chief executive of the charity suggested that hidden cameras be set up where stealing is suspected.

See feature ‘Making a Tidy Exit’.

MIGRATION: The National Crime Agency says that people-smuggling gangs may be moving their operations from Calais and Dunkirk to other British ports.

INJUNCTION: The attorney-general has warned that those breaching an injunction against naming an adulterous public figure could face contempt proceedings. The name has been published in Scotland, abroad and on a blog site.

HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE: The Highways Term Maintenance Association says that road workers are frequently threatened, physically abused or even shot at by frustrated motorists. Last year 441 incidents were recorded, including 174 physical attacks. Workers on a cycle lane near Wivenhoe in Essex are being issued with body cameras.

TRAFFIC LIGHTS: Highways England will fit new traffic lights on roads feeding onto the M25 designed to prevent the London orbital from choking at peak times. If the project is a success the technology will be used elsewhere on the roads network.

JUSTIN WELBY: DNA tests have revealed that the Archbishop of Canterbury is not in fact the son of Gavin Welby but the illegitimate son of Sir Anthony Montague-Browne, private secretary to Sir Winston Churchill. The Archbishop has earned plaudits from all parties for his handling of the discovery. The bar on an illegitimate man becoming Archbishop was lifted in the 1950s. See feature ‘Bastards in the Church’.

GOLF: Danny Willett, from Yorkshire, has won the US Masters, becoming the first Englishman to do so since 1996.

See feature ‘Golf vs Cycling’.

 

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