Direct rail service between Shropshire and London supported by PM
Proposals for the new operation from WSMR could see five trains per day running in each direction from Monday to Saturday, with four services running in both directions on a Sunday.Trains will stop at Gobowen, Shrewsbury, Telford Central, Wolverhampton, Darlaston, Walsall, Coleshill Parkway, Nuneaton and Milton Keynes on the route between Wrexham General and London Euston.The route would bypass Birmingham by utilising a railway line only used for freight services, with trains running directly from Wolverhampton and Walsall to Nuneaton for the first time, a WSMR spokesperson said.A formal application to open the service was submitted to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on Thursday, they added.
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The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Why are St George's flags being put up in some areas and why is it controversial?
In recent days, St George's flags and Union Jacks have sprung up – and have been hastily taken back down again – in areas across the country. Flags on lamp posts and graffiti of St George's Crosses on roundabouts have been seen in areas of Birmingham and in Tower Hamlets, east London. However, the flags have proved controversial as they are believed to be appearing as part of an organised effort called 'Operation Raise the Colours', which has received the backing of far-right figures. Both councils in the areas - Birmingham City Council and Tower Hamlets Council - have removed the flags from lamp posts. They have said this is to maintain and protect council infrastructure, as residents are told there is 'a policy setting out which flags are flown from council buildings and on which occasions'. Here is an explanation as to what is happening and why it is controversial: What has happened? Large numbers of St George's and Union Jack flags have been put up in some areas of England in recent days. Residents saw Manchester Road in Tower Hamlets, east London, lined with St George's flags over the weekend, but only a few remained by Monday. In some areas of Birmingham, residents in Weoley Castle and Northfield put up similar flags over the weekend. At least six mini-roundabouts in the Birmingham area have also been painted with red crosses to look like the English flag, the BBC reported. Both councils have worked to remove the flags from lamp posts, saying they had been removed as part of routine maintenance. Why is it controversial? There are fears the flag could stoke division in communities and that there could be anti-immigration intent behind them. They are believed to be going up as part 'Operation Raise the Colours', an online movement backed by far-right figures including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. Far-right group Britain First has also voiced support for it, with the co-founder of the campaign claiming they had donated 200 flags. The St George and Union Jack flags are often a key feature of far-right protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers and are sometimes associated with far-right nationalism. During last year's racist riots that broke out in the wake of the Southport attack, many participants were seen wearing or waving such flags. In Birmingham, the painted roundabouts were criticised by local residents as 'wanton vandalism'. One man said the paint was 'not patriotic, it just feels like an excuse for xenophobia". Another told the BBC he was 'totally against' the flags being put up if they were 'anti-immigration'. However, those participating in 'Operation Raise the Colours' say they are doing so for 'patriotic' reasons. What have the councils said? In Tower Hamlets, a council spokesperson said it was aware members of the public had been putting up St George flags on various structures, but said the council has 'a policy setting out which flags are flown from council buildings and on which occasions'. The spokesperson said: 'While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance." Birmingham City Council warned that attaching the flags to lamp posts is a hazard for motorists and pedestrians after it removed flags over the weekend. It said staff had been instructed to remove all attachments from lamp posts ahead of an upgrade to energy-efficient LED street lighting. The council said the works would help reduce energy use, carbon emissions and maintenance costs. It added that around 200 advertising banners and flags attached to lamp posts have been removed since the start of the year. The spokesperson said the council routinely removes items such as advertising signs, bunting and flags, carrying out 'stress tests' on street furniture ahead of formal events or celebrations. What has the government said? The government has not commented on the specific cases or 'Operation Raise the Colours'. However on Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman said: 'I think the PM has always talked about his pride of being British, the patriotism he feels. 'I think he's talked about that previously […] not least recently in relation to the Lionesses' successful campaign in the Euros. 'Patriotism will always be an important thing to him.' Asked if Sir Keir is supportive of people who put up English flags, the spokesman said: 'Absolutely, patriotism, putting up English flags. 'We put up English flags all around Downing Street every time the English football team – women's and men's – are out trying to win games for us.' Who started the online movement? The movement appears to have begun after St George's flags were removed from some streets in Birmingham last week. Quickly, far-right figures voiced their support for what was soon dubbed 'Operation Raise the Colours', which called for people to put up flags in their local areas. Stephen Yaxley Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, voiced his support for it over the weekend, writing on X: 'The message to the councils actively seeking to take down England flags is... Operation raise the colours.' Britain First, a far-right group whose leader Paul Golding was jailed in 2018 for hate crimes against Muslims, have also backed the campaign. Different groups on social media have sprung up since. A fundraiser from one group, Weoley Warriors, has raised over £11,000 to help buy flags, poles and cable ties, and had been taking requests from residents for specific roads.
Reuters
15 minutes ago
- Reuters
European leaders mull new sanctions on Putin, UK government says
LONDON, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The British government said on Tuesday European leaders were weighing additional sanctions to ramp up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a broader push to put an end to the war in Ukraine. The government said the so-called Coalition of the Willing, which met virtually on Tuesday, had agreed that their planning teams would meet with U.S. counterparts in the coming days to advance plans for security guarantees for Ukraine. They would also discuss plans to "prepare for the deployment of a reassurance force if the hostilities ended", a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said. They added: "The leaders also discussed how further pressure – including through sanctions – could be placed on Putin until he showed he was ready to take serious action to end his illegal invasion." Ukraine and its European allies have been buoyed after U.S. President Donald Trump told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday that the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war, though the extent of any assistance was not immediately clear.
Telegraph
15 minutes ago
- Telegraph
For all the noise, Trump is ever less relevant on Ukraine
BAE Systems is quietly ramping up production of 155mm artillery shells at Glascoed in rural South Wales. Output will have increased 16-fold from 2022 levels by the end of this year. Two months ago the defence group opened a new factory in Sheffield making gun barrels for the M777 lightweight howitzer, to be supplied directly to Ukraine. Poland is now producing a million bullets a day, up five times from pre-war levels. Annual output of Grot rifles will have risen six times to 100,000 by next year. Germany's RheinMetall will soon be making 1.1 million howitzer shells a year, up from pre-war levels of 70,000. It is in talks to make armoured vehicles at Volkswagen's surplus plant in Osnabrück. The weapons company is now worth more than VW, Munich Re or Deutsche Bank on the German bourse. A sign of the times. Europe's missile conglomerate MBDA is building a plant with Raytheon in Germany that will produce more American Patriot air defence missiles than America itself. Production of the Franco-Italian SAMP/T – Europe's answer to the Patriot – has risen fivefold compared to the original 2022 plan. The SAMP/T has largely closed the technology gap, lifting the range to 93 miles. And about time too, you might say. Europe should have rearmed after Vladimir Putin first attacked Ukraine in 2014. It should have put its economy on a war footing the moment he tried to take the whole country in 2022. But rearmament is at last happening – minus the usual free-riders. The wheels were set in motion before Donald Trump returned to office. The pace is not warp speed but it is already changing the Atlantic balance of military power, and that is the larger story behind this week's slapstick theatrics at the White House. While Trump still commands the daily news cycle, he no longer commands the West and no longer commands the fate of Ukraine. 'With each month that passes, America is losing its strategic leverage,' said Professor Alan Riley from the Atlantic Council, a US think tank. 'Trump cannot dictate terms to the Europeans or to Kyiv.' While I think the European Union in its current structure is largely a nuisance, the great nation states of Europe still pack a punch. Europe as a whole has 33 million manufacturing jobs, while the US has fewer than 13 million. When push comes to shove, it is Europe that has the skills, factories and industrial infrastructure for massive military expansion. It is Europe that is becoming the new arsenal of democracy, though few yet realise it. Trump is certainly not in a position to force Ukraine to commit strategic suicide by giving up its unconquered 'fortress belt' in the Donetsk oblast, the defensive line built up over 11 years that protects the towns of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka, as well as the military-industrial ecosystem close behind the front.
