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Jimmy Anderson knighted in Sunak's honours list

Jimmy Anderson knighted in Sunak's honours list

Telegraph11-04-2025

Jimmy Anderson, one of England's most successful cricketers, is to be knighted in Rishi Sunak's resignation honours list, the Government has announced.
Mr Sunak, an avid cricket fan, played in the nets with Sir Jimmy in the run-up to the election. Sir Jimmy retired from test cricket in July having taken more wickets than any fast bowler in test history.
Others to receive a knighthood include Jeremy Hunt, the former chancellor, James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, Grant Shapps, the former defence secretary, and Andrew Mitchell, the former international development secretary, who has received the honour for 'political and public service'.
Mel Stride, the former work and pensions secretary, has also been awarded a knighthood, along with Matthew Vaughn, the British filmmaker best known for the 2004 hit Layer Cake.
Sir Matthew is also known for producing the famous 1990s film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, directed by Guy Ritchie.
A Tory supporter, he previously served on the committee of Tory fundraising ball, according to reports, and dined with Lord Cameron at Chequers.
In 2008, the Tories used a short film he created as a Conservative Party political broadcast for the local elections.
Peerage for Michael Gove
Former education and housing secretary Michael Gove was confirmed to have been given a seat in the House of Lords after being heavily tipped for a peerage.
The former Tory Cabinet minister, who now edits The Spectator magazine, stepped down as an MP after nearly 20 years in Parliament last summer.
He is one of the most high-profile Tory figures of recent times, having held a string of top level jobs under four prime ministers.
The 57-year-old is perhaps best known for his divisive stint as education secretary from 2010 to 2014, when he oversaw a major shake-up of the schools system.
He went on to serve in five other Cabinet roles, including as environment secretary, justice secretary and housing secretary. A prominent Brexit campaigner, he also famously fell out with Boris Johnson after kiboshing his first leadership campaign in 2016.
The list, released on Friday, also confirmed peerages for Mark Harper, the former transport secretary, Sir Alister Jack, the former Scottish secretary, and Simon Hart, the former Tory chief whip.
Others to be elevated to the House of Lords include Stephen Massey, the former chief executive of the Conservative Party, and Victoria Prentis, the former attorney general.
A number of Mr Sunak's former aides have been awarded honours, including Elizabeth Perelman, his principal private secretary in No 10, and John Bew, his foreign policy adviser.
Nerissa Chesterfield, his former press secretary, has been made a CBE, along with Cassian Horowitz, a former special adviser.
Other former Sunak aides to be made CBEs include Will Tanner, the former head of operations at No 10, and Rupert Yorke, who was Mr Sunak's deputy chief of staff.
Mr Sunak has also awarded OBEs to a number of his former aides, including Lucy Noakes, another former press secretary.

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British woman accused of drug offences appears in Sri Lanka court
British woman accused of drug offences appears in Sri Lanka court

BBC News

time9 minutes ago

  • BBC News

British woman accused of drug offences appears in Sri Lanka court

A British woman accused of attempting to smuggle a large quantity of cannabis into Sri Lanka has appeared in court in the May Lee, 21, from south London, was arrested earlier this month after authorities allegedly found 46kg of the drug in her suitcases when she arrived on a flight from Thailand. She has not yet been charged, but has previously denied knowing the alleged drugs were in her luggage. If found guilty, she could face up to 25 years behind to the BBC from prison before her court appearance, Ms Lee said she had travelled from Bangkok to the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo to renew her Thai visa. The former flight attendant arrived at Negombo Magistrate's Court on Friday wearing a white knee-length dress, her long hair parted to the side. She was making a procedural court appearance while the investigation into her alleged offences continues. Ms Lee was held in a cell at the back of the courtroom before being brought to the witness box. She was visibly upset as she stood with her hands crossed behind her back, facing the wheeled in a large brown box containing the alleged 46kg of cannabis found in Ms Lee's luggage. The narcotics division of the Sri Lanka police told the court they intend to file an update on the investigation. Ms Lee's lawyer, Sampath Perera, asked if the alleged drugs had been examined by the relevant government authorities to ascertain if the materials were in fact an illegal substance. The magistrate ordered it to be tested and for a report to be submitted to the court as soon as possible. Speaking to the BBC from a prison an hour outside of Colombo, Ms Lee appeared to be in good spirits. She described her living conditions, saying she shares a cell with five other women and sleeps on a thin mattress on the concrete floor, using whatever clothes she has as a pillow. That is where she spends most of her day, she said, although she does get to go outside for fresh air."I can't compare it to anything," she said. "I have never been to prison and I've never been to Sri Lanka. This heat and just sitting on a concrete floor all of the time."Ms Lee said she tries not to dwell too much on her current predicament."I am not trying to think about it. If I think, then I feel bad. I'll still rather not process it."Ms Lee said she is concerned for the other women who are also in prison."There are people from so many different countries who have been here for two years, two-and-a-half years. And it's still just waiting and no-one actually knows anything."She has managed to find other English-speaking women with whom she has developed a kinship. But she has not been able to speak with her family since her to the BBC from outside the courthouse after the hearing, Mr Perera said the next step is to make a bail application for Ms Lee, which could take three Sri Lankan law, people being held on remand must appear before a judge every 14 days. Ms Lee is being held on suspicion of keeping illegal drugs in her possession and drug smuggling. Her next court appearance will be on 13 July. Additional reporting by Charlotte Scarr

Jury heard contrasting evidence about Gerry Adams' reputation
Jury heard contrasting evidence about Gerry Adams' reputation

Powys County Times

time12 minutes ago

  • Powys County Times

Jury heard contrasting evidence about Gerry Adams' reputation

The jury in the Gerry Adams defamation case at Dublin High Court heard dramatically differing evidence about the reputation of the former Sinn Fein leader. One witness said Mr Adams had a reputation of 'seriousness and dependability', while another said it was of a 'warmonger'. Contrasting evidence was also heard about the BBC Spotlight programme that originally broadcast the allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the murder of British agent Denis Donaldson. One expert media witness said the broadcast did not meet the corporation's editorial thresholds of responsible journalism, while another said it was not unfair or unjust. While the focus of attention in the high-profile trial concentrated on the evidence of Mr Adams and Spotlight journalist Jennifer O'Leary, several other witnesses gave evidence over four weeks. Mr Adams' legal team called the former solicitor for the Donaldson family, Ciaran Shiels, as a witness. He told the jury he had had contact with the BBC team before the Spotlight programme was broadcast. Asked what he would have said to Ms O'Leary if she had put to him the allegation against Mr Adams, Mr Shiels said: 'I would have said to her that not only was she barking up the wrong tree, she wasn't even in the right orchard.' Mr Adams' team then called John Martin O'Loan, who has previously held roles involving senior editorial responsibility, including by establishing Sky News, as an expert on journalistic standards. He told the court: 'The BBC did not meet the editorial thresholds of responsible journalism in its inclusion and presentation of the solo anonymous allegations against Mr Adams.' He said the segment of the Spotlight programme containing the allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing 'lacked sufficient editorial veracity to be published'. Former US congressman Bruce Morrison, who worked with Bill Clinton on Northern Ireland's peace process, gave his evidence by videolink from Bethesda, Maryland. Mr Morrison said Mr Adams was a controversial figure but his reputation was one of a 'serious man on a serious mission who was committed to' the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. He said his impression of Mr Adams' reputation was that he was an 'elder statesmen' and 'distinguished leader' who had made an 'extraordinary contribution' to change in Northern Ireland. The BBC's legal team also dealt with the Spotlight broadcast and Mr Adams' reputation when it called witnesses to give evidence. Chris Banatvala, who drew up the UK's broadcasting rules for Ofcom and was its founding director of standards, compiled a report based on the Spotlight programme. He told the jury: 'What I have written is, on balance, given the significant public interest, what information is already in the public domain about Gerry Adams, the fact that the BBC reasonably believed its primary source, 'Martin', to be credible and reliable, that the BBC had corroborative evidence from other credible and multiple sources. 'It was couched in terms of allegations, there was an appropriate and timely opportunity to respond, the programme would probably not be found in breach and not be unfair or unjust to Mr Adams.' Campaigners for Troubles victims, Ann Travers and Trevor Ringland, described Mr Adams as as a 'warmonger' and 'peace taker'. Ms Travers' sister Mary was killed by the Provisional IRA in an attack in which her father Tom Travers, who was a lawyer who became a magistrate in 1979, was also shot six times. Asked about Mr Adams, she said: 'His reputation would be one of having been a warmonger.' Asked to explain why, she replied: 'For the Troubles, supporting the IRA and the murder of innocent people.' Mr Ringland, a former Irish rugby international, told the jury his father was shot by the IRA. Asked for the public's perception of Mr Adams, he replied: 'He is seen as a peace taker, not a peacemaker.' He added: 'I think the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland would regard him as a peace taker.' Former Irish attorney general Michael McDowell was called by the BBC to speak about Mr Adams' reputation. He said: 'Amongst the public, he is known as a politician now who was a leading member of the IRA and who was active in the IRA during the period of its armed struggle against the forces of law and order on this island.' He added: 'He is reputed to have been a chief negotiator in, I think, 1974 between the provisional movement and the British government and thereafter he was reputed to have a role in the Belfast IRA as its commanding officer. 'Later he was reputed to have become a member of the Army Council of the IRA.' Referring to the time of the peace process, he said: 'During that period, the view of the (Irish) government based on intelligence briefings was that Mr Adams was a member of the Army Council and was a leading member of the Army Council.'

It's time to go long on Farage-coin
It's time to go long on Farage-coin

New Statesman​

time22 minutes ago

  • New Statesman​

It's time to go long on Farage-coin

Nigel Farage has had a paradoxical week. On Tuesday, he hit Labour from the left by calling for the two-child benefit cap to go. Forty-eight hours later, he flew to Las Vegas for a conference with Bitcoin magnates to tout his plans to lower taxes on cryptocurrency. All of which poses a question: is Farage for benefits or billionaires? The Reform leader was more at home in Vegas than you might expect. One pundit – wearing bulky headphones like a UFC commentator – introduced Farage as the 'the leading UK presidential candidate'. They clearly see him as one of their own. That fame is partly down to his fluency in the lexicon of the American right. He champions pensioners in London; in Las Vegas he attacks 'globalists' and 'big' government. Keir Starmer is branded a 'socialist' – a villain for Maga, in other words – and the crux of politics becomes the decline in 'our Judeo-Christian values'. Such elasticity pays off. Farage basked in standing ovations, languidly sprawled in his chair. He has never been this certain in his domination of politics. Remember that on Brexit night he conceded defeat before the full results came in. Now, he mimics those presidential candidates who talk about 'when' they will win the election. He detailed his career, tailored for his audience, with unusual pride: commodities trader, radio presenter, GB News host. 'Frankly I think I've got much more experience than a bunch of Oxford-educated human rights lawyers to run the country,' he said. Farage's antennae are sharper than most. Where he leads, other politicians follow. He condemned China's authoritarianism in January 2021, for instance, only for parliamentarians to declare a genocide against the Uyghurs later that year. He spent the pandemic filming boats of migrants crossing the Channel, a now hegemonic issue. He first went to a crypto conference three years ago in Amsterdam as Rishi Sunak laid out plans to make the UK a crypto hub. But how many votes are in crypto? American politics usually grows rotten on its journey across the Atlantic. Ask jaundiced progressives how popular woke is now. Trump, who has his own memecoin, is his own repellent – America First, after all, means putting the US over allies. Farage had to distance himself from Elon Musk after X became a campaign headquarters for Britain's race riots last summer. This year, tariffs plunged Trump's approval ratings among British voters, even with those who support Reform. Yet Farage still calls Trump a 'friend' and has set up a 'Doge unit' to cut local government spending. He is riding two horses – and two countries – at once. Farage's gamble is that crypto is popular on the home front, not just with his American bros. The trick lies in the youth – something you couldn't often say about the populist movement a few years ago. One YouGov survey last year found that 24 per cent of 18-34 year-olds own cryptocurrency, compared to 12 per cent of the population overall. 'My message particularly to young people is help us to help you bring our country properly into the 21st Century,' Farage said. What resolves Farage's paradox is that cryptocurrency is a form of populist finance. It's a decentralised currency often used to shield money from law enforcement, central banks and Wall Street. Eric Trump said at the conference that he 'would love to see some of the big banks go extinct.' The last speaker of the day was Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, a dark-web marketplace which used Bitcoin, who was arrested for drug trafficking offenses in 2013. Trump pardoned him two days after taking office. For its acolytes, cryptocurrency is the key to a new anti-establishment economics. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Farage sees himself as a marshal within this anti-system movement, standing against the globalist elite abroad, and the Conservative-Labour consensus at home. Like Trump – whose supporters range from Elon Musk to Steve Bannon, two men who resent each other's views – Farage can glide between libertarianism and populism. He speaks the language of both and seems to think holding that coalition together is the route to No 10. That means calling for welfare one day, and hawking London as a crypto capital the next. [See also: Nigel Farage's political personality disorder] Related

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