Our Parliament, in its wisdom, decided to give the British people a referendum to let us decide whether or not we remain in the European Union. The country decided – albeit narrowly – to leave the EU. Our political leaders must now accept the view of the public and work to build a bright strong […]
Category: International News
Game over for Julian Assange’s sexual offence charges? Perhaps not!
UPDATE (9 September 2015): the Crown Prosecution Service and the Ministry of Justice have been in contact with me to say that the provisions of Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 only apply to crimes committed against people aged under 18. This means that the entire premise of this blog post is wrong. […]
Je ne suis pas Charlie; Je suis Gavin
Like just about everybody, I was shocked last week as news emerged of the terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo and the cold bloodied murder of the magazine’s journalists and cartoonists, visitors the office, police officers and, later, customers of a kosher supermarket. And, while I would have liked the terrorists responsible for the attack […]
Unease at Parliament’s motion on ISIL
Today, Parliament will debate military action against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. Personally, I’m in favour of military action. But I’m extremely uneasy about today’s Parliamentary proceedings. This is the motion MPs will debate: “That this House condemns the barbaric acts of ISIL against the peoples of Iraq including the Sunni, Shia, Kurds, Christians and […]
Abu Qatada’s fair trial
Commentators have been quick to denounce the Home Secretary Theresa May following the aquittal of Abu Qatada on terrorism charges in Jordan. Media silk John Cooper was one of them, asking on Twitter: “Will Theresa “3 Silk” May comment on the millions of taxpayers money spent to extradite Qatada on evidence now rejected by the […]
Goodnight Madiba
Nelson Mandela has died, it has been confirmed tonight. Madiba, as he was known, was the first post-apartheid President of South Africa, but he was far more than that. By the time I was born in 1970, Mandela had already been in prison for eight years for his leadership of the anti-Apartheid activists. This week […]
Is it time to stop hunting Nazi war criminals?
The recent death of Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke in Italy has re-opened a debate about whether or not it is now time to draw a line under Hitler’s atrocities. Priebke massacred 335 civilians at Ardeatine near Rome in 1944, on direct orders from Hitler personally. 75 Jews were amongst the 335 – this being […]
Great speeches that were never delivered: Part One – Neville Chamberlain
Great speeches that were never delivered: Part One – Neville Chamberlain 11.15am, 3rd September 1939 “I am speaking to you from the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street. “This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final Note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o’clock that they were […]
Pakistan urged to stop blasphemy law’s ‘massive human-rights violations’
Pakista is being urged to set up a commission to investigate the “tragic consequences” of its blasphemy law and “suggest a way out of this difficult and embarrassing situation”. The call came in a communiqué issued on 19 September by the World Council of Churches after a series of public hearings in Geneva. The laws […]
Board of Deputies of British Jews slams General Synod debate on Palestine-Israel
A senior Jewish leader has described the language used in Monday’s General Synod debate about Israel and Palestine as evoking “nothing but simple anti-Semitic themes from history”. The Synod approved a Private Member’s Motion moved by Dr John Dinnen (Hereford), endorsing the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), despite objections […]