
Starmer's ‘illegal' proposal to recognise Palestine is yet ANOTHER self-inflicted blunder by PM
IT'S funny how the Attorney General has suddenly gone quiet amid claims that Sir Keir Starmer's proposed recognition of Palestine would be illegal.
Richard Hermer hasn't previously wasted any time in thwarting plans to protect Northern Ireland veterans or deport foreign criminals as part of his moral crusade to uphold international law.
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He even insisted we pay billions to give away the Chagos Islands.
Indeed, ministers have been complaining for months that every single decision they make must first go through Lord Hermer's office to get his approval.
Yet when it comes to the cherished Left-wing cause of Palestine, his Lordship has been seemingly happy to turn a blind eye to illegality.
Panicked Cabinet ministers claim recognition of a foreign state is a 'political judgment' — ignoring that it is actually entirely a legal one.
It's all pointless anyway as us joining the 147 other countries who already recognise Palestine is a purely performative act that won't do anything to secure peace in Gaza.
In trying to appease Labour MPs worried about Muslim votes, the Prime Minister and his human-rights-loving Attorney General are guilty of yet another self-inflicted blunder.
Hamas must be delighting in their propaganda coup — and laughing at us.
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What plan?
LABOUR may as well drop the pretence that it can stop the boats.
More than 25,000 illegal migrants have now c rossed the Channel this year.
While an average of 118 have been arriving every day — one every 12 minutes — the Government has offered only half-baked 'crackdowns'.
There's never been even a hint of a deterrent scheme to replace Rwanda.
Nor changes to benefit rules or any end in sight to asylum hotels costing £5.7million per week.
Crucially, no progress either on quitting the ECHR or teaming up with other European countries to reform it.
So what IS the plan?
Or do we all just have to keep putting up with this?
All blackouts
NEW Zealand was left on the brink of blackouts after former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern decided in 2018 that the world had 'moved on' from fossil fuels.
Her shift to renewables meant the country no longer had the generating power to keep the lights on during cold spells.
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Ed Miliband 's blind following of the same eco-madness led him to ban new oil and gas drilling.
He will end up taking Britain to the edge of darkness, too.
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Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes, opens permanent humanitarian corridors
CAIRO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Hamas said on Sunday it was prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, if Israel meets certain conditions, after a video it released showing an emaciated captive drew sharp criticism from Western powers. Hamas said any coordination with the Red Cross is contingent upon Israel permanently opening humanitarian corridors and halting airstrikes during the distribution of aid. According to Israeli officials, 50 hostages now remain in Gaza, only 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Hamas, thus far, has barred humanitarian organizations from having any kind of access to the hostages and families have little or no details of their conditions. On Saturday, Hamas released its second video in two days of Israeli hostage Evyatar David. In it, David, skeletally thin, is shown digging a hole that, he says in the video, is for his own grave. The arm of the individual holding the camera, which can be seen in the frame, is a regular width. The video of David drew criticism from Western powers and horrified Israelis. France, Germany, the UK and the U.S. were among countries to express outrage and Israel's foreign ministry announced that the UN Security Council will hold a special session on Tuesday morning on the issue of the situation of the hostages in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had asked the Red Cross to give humanitarian assistance to the hostages during a conversation with the head of the Swiss-based ICRC's local delegation. A statement from The Hostages Families Forum, which represents relatives of those being held in Gaza, said Hamas' comments about the hostages cannot hide that it "has been holding innocent people in impossible conditions for over 660 days," and demanded their immediate release. "Until their release," said the statement, "Hamas has the obligation to provide them with everything they need. Hamas kidnapped them and they must care for them. Every hostage who dies will be on Hamas's hands." Six more people died of starvation or malnutrition in Gaza over the past 24 hours, its health ministry said on Sunday as Israel said it allowed a delivery of fuel to the enclave, in the throes of a humanitarian disaster after almost two years of war. The new deaths raised the toll of those dying from what international humanitarian agencies say may be an unfolding famine to 175, including 93 children, since the war began, the ministry said. Egypt's state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV said two trucks carrying 107 tons of diesel were set to enter Gaza, months after Israel severely restricted aid access to the enclave before easing it somewhat as starvation began to spread. COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, said later in the day that four tankers of U.N. fuel had entered to help in operations of hospitals, bakeries, public kitchens and other essential services. There was no immediate confirmation whether the two diesel fuel trucks had entered Gaza from Egypt. Gaza's health ministry has said fuel shortages have severely impaired hospital services, forcing doctors to focus on treating only critically ill or injured patients. Fuel shipments have been rare since March, when Israel restricted the flow of aid into the enclave in what it said was pressure on Hamas militants to free the remaining hostages they took in their October 2023 attack on Israel. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza but, in response to a rising international uproar, it announced steps last week to let more aid reach the population, including pausing fighting for part of the day in some areas, approving air drops and announcing protected routes for aid convoys. U.N. agencies say airdrops are insufficient and that Israel must let in far more aid by land and open up access to the territory to prevent starvation among its 2.2 million people, most of whom are displaced amidst vast swathes of rubble. COGAT said that during the past week over 23,000 tons of humanitarian aid in 1,200 trucks had entered Gaza but that hundreds of the trucks had yet to be driven to aid distribution hubs by U.N. and other international organisations. Meanwhile, Belgium's air force dropped the first in a series of its aid packages into Gaza on Sunday in a joint operation with Jordan, the Belgian defence ministry said. France on Friday started to air-drop 40 tons of humanitarian aid. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said on Sunday that nearly 1,600 aid trucks had arrived since Israel eased restrictions late in July. However, witnesses and Hamas sources said many of those trucks have been looted by desperate displaced people and armed gangs. More than 700 trucks of fuel entered the Gaza Strip in January and February during a ceasefire before Israel broke it in March in a dispute over terms for extending it and resumed its major offensive. Palestinian local health authorities said at least 80 people had been killed by Israeli gunfire and airstrikes across the coastal enclave on Sunday. Deaths included persons trying to make their way to aid distribution points in southern and central areas of Gaza, Palestinian medics said. Among those killed was a staff member of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which said an Israeli strike at its headquarters in Khan Younis in southern Gaza ignited a fire on the first floor of the building. The Gaza war began when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and took 251 hostage in a cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli figures. Israel's air and ground war in densely populated Gaza has since killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to enclave health officials.


The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Swinney welcomes bringing Gaza children to UK but ‘regrets' it wasn't sooner
First Minister John Swinney has criticised the UK Government for not acting sooner to bring children from Gaza to the UK for medical treatment. Mr Swinney welcomed reported plans that up to 300 children could be flown from Gaza to be treated on the NHS. But he said he regretted the action did not come sooner. The SNP leader said he had written to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on July 9 urging such action to be taken. He said: 'We have been consistently clear that the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza is beyond any justification. 'People in Gaza are being bombed and left to starve by Israel on a massive scale. 'I wrote to the Prime Minister on 9 July to request support from the UK Government in meeting the call from Unicef to provide medical care for children from Gaza. 'If the UK Government is prepared to evacuate Palestinians for medical treatment it would be entirely welcome. 'My only regret is the UK Government has taken this long to act. 'I urge the UK Government to do everything in its power to move swiftly so that lives can be saved. And Scotland will play our part.' The evacuation plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks. A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times reported. This will happen 'in parallel' with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment. More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef. Sir Keir said last week that the UK was 'urgently accelerating' efforts to bring children over for treatment. A UK Government spokesperson said: 'We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care. 'We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, with further details to be set out in due course.'


Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Fringe venue ‘breaking law' by letting biological men use women's toilets
Women's rights activists have accused an Edinburgh Fringe venue of breaking the law by allowing biological men to use women's toilets. Underbelly Bristol Square, which is home to multiple small theatres, posted a disclaimer below the sign for the female bathroom telling attendees to 'use whichever toilet best fits your identity or expression'. The men's toilets display a similar disclaimer but individual cubicles appear to still be labelled 'gents'. The accusation comes after the Supreme Court said transgender women are not legally women in a landmark ruling. The ruling by Britain's most senior judges in April prompted new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, stating that although it is not compulsory for public services to have single-sex facilities such as toilets, it could be indirect sex discrimination against women if the only toilets provided are mixed-sex. The case was brought to the Supreme Court by the gender-critical campaign group For Women Scotland after two Scottish courts rejected its arguments that the Equality Act's definition of a woman was limited to people born biologically female. The photo was posted on social media by Alex McDonald, who said: 'My wife is incredibly upset by this. Maybe @edfringe could act and just remove them before @PoliceScotland get involved.' Mr McDonald added on X: 'Supporters of trans women in women's spaces and sports are generally holders of luxury beliefs; they've never been affected by what they believe in and are too removed from reality and what many people go through to care.' Susan Smith, from For Women Scotland, who brought the gender case to the Supreme Court, told The Telegraph: 'This is plainly unlawful. You can't have a sign like that. You can either have a mixed-sex space or a single-sex space. It's not possible to have both at the same time. It's either one or the other.' 'I think Underbelly is on rocky ground because something could happen in those toilets, like a sexual assault or someone even recording an individual undertaking their business. 'The law isn't optional; it's not something that you can elect to follow or not. 'Underbelly should remove these signs as soon as possible. If they fail to do so, then they could be flouting the law.' Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for human-rights charity Sex Matters, which campaigns for clarity about biological sex, added: 'The For Women Scotland judgment clarified the law concerning permissible sex discrimination in services and employment: it means biology, not paperwork or identity. 'There's no lawful basis for putting up male and female signs – for toilets, changing rooms and so on – and then declaring that you mean something other than sex. 'Organisations that fail to get this right risk enabling sexual harassment and ultimately being sued.' On Sunday, Underbelly Bistro Square included 57 events with genres ranging from children's shows, theatre, comedy, musicals, opera, cabaret and variety. Earlier, pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted a Fringe Festival event featuring John Swinney. The Scottish First Minister was being interviewed on Saturday by comedian Susan Morrison when the event was disrupted five times by six different groups of protesters. They called for an end to funding arms companies through Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government's economic agency. Mr Swinney told the crowd: 'I am absolutely aware of the horrors going on in Gaza. 'I use every opportunity to advance the arguments for a ceasefire and to get humanitarian aid and end the suffering of the people of Gaza.'