Church of England, Disestablish Thyself
Christian doctrine prizes the dignity of all and the duty to care for the vulnerable. Early Christians were noted for rescuing unwanted babies, routinely abandoned in Roman times. Through European history the establishment of hospitals and houses for poor relief was associated with the Christian faith.
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New Telegraph owner RedBird to turn page with Whitehall filing
The putative owners of The Daily Telegraph will take another step towards gaining control of the right-wing newspaper in the coming days when they formally notify Whitehall of their plans. Sky News has learnt that lawyers acting for RedBird Capital Partners, the US-based investor which will own a majority stake in the publisher if the deal is approved, could set out the company's proposals in a filing with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) as soon as this week. The move would represent another step towards concluding the 27-month hiatus over the Telegraph's ownership - a period which began with Lloyds Banking Group forcing the newspaper's parent company into insolvency proceedings over outstanding loans owed by the Barclay family. Sources said that the notification by RedBird Capital's lawyers would pave the way for the lifting of an interim enforcement order (IEO) imposed by Lucy Frazer, the then Conservative culture secretary, in December 2023, which prevented the acquirers from exerting any control over the Telegraph. The removal of the IEO is likely to result in the DCMS issuing a new public interest intervention notice (PIIN), which would prompt investigations by Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority into the £500m takeover. Last month, the House of Lords approved legislation to allow a UAE state-backed investor - IMI - to acquire a stake of up to 15% in the Telegraph as part of the RedBird deal. The takeover had originally been conceived as a joint endeavour between RedBird and IMI but was thwarted by political opposition to foreign state ownership of national newspapers. IMI is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club. Other bidders tried to gatecrash the deal, with the field of rival contenders led by Dovid Efune, the owner of The New York Sun. Last month, his key backer - the hedge fund founder Jeremy Hosking - told Sky News their bid was "ready to go" if the RedBird-led transaction fell apart. Announcing its agreement to acquire the Daily and Sunday Telegraph titles in May, Gerry Cardinale, founder of RedBird Capital, said it marked the "start of a new era" for two of Britain's most prominent newspapers. However, it is nearly a month since the Lords voted to approve the legislation allowing IMI to own a minority stake, a verdict which prompted Mr Cardinale to say: "With legislation now in place, we will move quickly and in the forthcoming days work with DCMS to progress to completion and implement new ownership for The Telegraph." Sources said the formal notification to Whitehall could come as soon as this week but could yet be delayed further. Senior Telegraph executives and journalists are said to be frustrated at the latest phase of the process. Sky News has already revealed that Sir Leonard Blavatnik, owner of the DAZN sports streaming platform, and Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere are preparing to buy minority stakes as part of the RedBird-led transaction. RedBird said in May that it was "in discussions with select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of the Telegraph". The Telegraph titles' parent company was forced into insolvency proceedings in 2023 by Lloyds, which ran out of patience with the Barclay family, their long-standing owner. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the two firms, paid £600m several months later to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. The Spectator was sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor. None of the parties involved in the Telegraph ownership situation
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Asylum seekers to be removed from Essex hotel as council granted injunction
Asylum seekers to be removed from Essex hotel as council granted injunction Asylum seekers will be removed from an Essex hotel after a council was granted a temporary High Court injunction blocking them from being housed there. Epping Forest District Council had asked a judge to issue an interim injunction stopping migrants from being accommodated at the Bell Hotel in Epping. The injunction sought by the council meant the hotel's owner, Somani Hotels Limited, would have had to stop housing asylum seekers there within 14 days. The hotel has been at the centre of a series of protests in recent weeks after an asylum seeker who was staying there was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. In a ruling on Tuesday, Mr Justice Eyre granted the temporary injunction, but extended the time limit by which the hotel must stop housing asylum seekers to September 12. He also refused to give Somani Hotels the green light to challenge his ruling, but the company could still ask the Court of Appeal for the go-ahead to appeal against the judgment. In his judgment, he said that while the council had not 'definitively established' that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules, 'the strength of the claimant's case is such that it weighs in favour' of granting the injunction. He continued that the 'risk of injustice is greater' if a temporary injunction was not granted. A further hearing on whether the injunction should be made permanent is expected to be held at a later date, and is expected to last two days. Several protests and counter-protests have been held in the town since a then-resident at the hotel was accused of trying to kiss a teenage girl. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu has denied charges against him and is due to stand trial later this month. A second man who resides at the hotel, Syrian national Mohammed Sharwarq, has separately been charged with seven offences, while several other men have been charged over disorder outside the hotel. The council said last week it was seeking an injunction due to 'unprecedented levels of protest and disruption' in connection with asylum seeker accommodation. Chris Whitbread, leader of the council, said the situation 'cannot go on' but the Government 'is not listening'. At a hearing on Friday, barristers for the council said that the site's 'sole lawful use' was as a hotel and that Somani Hotels had breached planning rules by using it to house asylum seekers. Philip Coppel KC, for the authority, said the situation was 'wholly unacceptable' and provided a 'feeding ground for unrest'. He said: 'There has been what can be described as an increase in community tension, the catalyst of which has been the use of the Bell Hotel to place asylum seekers.' Mr Coppel continued: 'It is not the asylum seekers who are acting unlawfully. It is the defendant, by allowing the hotel to be used to house asylum seekers.' He added: 'It really could not be much worse than this.' Piers Riley-Smith, for Somani Hotels, said that 'disagreement with Government policy' did not justify a 'draconian' injunction and that there would be 'hardship' caused to the company and those housed at the hotel. He also said that contracts to house asylum seekers were a 'financial lifeline' for the hotel, which was only 1% full in August 2022, when it was open to paying customers. Mr Riley-Smith said: 'It is clear that recent protests have expanded far beyond the local community and have gone into concerns about wider ideological and political issues from those outside the community. 'Those particular ideological, non-community concerns are not relevant to planning.' Following the ruling, Mr Whitbread said: 'I am delighted. This is great news for our residents. The last few weeks have placed an intolerable strain on our community but today we have some great news.' He continued: 'Home Office policy ignores the issues and concerns of local residents that the council represents. 'Today we have made a step towards redressing the imbalance and showing that local people do have some say, whatever the Home Office thinks.' Before judgment was handed down on Tuesday, barristers for the Home Office asked to intervene in the case, citing the 'substantial impact' caused to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, in performing her legal duties to asylum seekers. Edward Brown KC, for the department, told the court that moving asylum seekers in 'extremely short order' would cause a 'very significant operational burden' and 'particular acute difficulties' for the Government. But Mr Justice Eyre dismissed the Home Office's bid, stating that the department's involvement was 'not necessary'.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
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Nobel laureates urge Trump to keep pressing for release of Belarusian prisoners
By Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Nineteen Nobel prize winners have signed an open letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to keep up pressure to secure the release of as many as 1,300 people imprisoned in Belarus on political grounds. The letter thanks Trump, who raised the issue in a phone call last week with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, and urges him to do more. "We respectfully urge you to continue your active efforts to secure the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience in Belarus. Their freedom will not only restore justice to individuals but also open the path toward reconciliation and dialogue," it said. The signatories included Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias, literature laureates Svetlana Alexievich and Herta Mueller, and 16 winners of the prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine and economics. They also called for the dropping of politically motivated prosecutions in order to facilitate the return of Belarusians who fled abroad en masse when Lukashenko crushed huge street protests over a disputed election in 2020. Trump's surprise intervention last Friday came hours after Dmitry Bolkunets, an exiled Belarusian opposition activist, emailed the U.S. president to ask him to raise the issue of the Belarusian prisoners at his summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lukashenko is a close ally of Putin. "We intend to nominate you for the Nobel Peace Prize should you help secure the release of Belarusian political prisoners," Bolkunets wrote in the email. Trump, who claims credit for resolving six wars, has made no secret of his desire to win the award. Later the same day, while en route to the Alaska summit, he posted on social media that he had held "a wonderful talk with the highly respected President of Belarus" in which he had thanked Lukashenko for freeing 16 people and discussed the release of 1,300 more. He said he also looked forward to meeting Lukashenko, who for years has been ostracised by Western countries over his human rights record and backing for Russia's war in Ukraine. Bolkunets said he had no doubt that Trump's decision to contact Lukashenko was a spontaneous response to his email, which was copied to several of the president's advisers. "Literally within 1-2 hours, the call took place," he said, also noting that Trump had used the same figure for the number of prisoners that he had stated in the email. "Now, Lukashenko is in a position where refusing the U.S. president would be extremely disadvantageous for him. Therefore, it is likely that he will try to somehow expedite the release process... The key here is to ensure that this focus is not lost or diluted," Bolkunets told Reuters. Since mid-2024, Belarus has released several hundred people convicted of "extremism" and other politically related offences, in what analysts see as a bid by Lukashenko to ease his isolation from the West. Lukashenko denies there are any political prisoners in the country. Solve the daily Crossword
