Concern over Cheltenham ice rink damaging Imperial Gardens grass
During the meeting on 22 May, Andrews said he was worried that after another three winters, the council may have to completely redo the gardens."Every time I go into Imperial Gardens... the re-turfing isn't taking as well. That is fairly obvious," he said."I do worry about soil compaction. We've got three whole years, and winter is the time when traditionally those gardens would regenerate."I think on ecological grounds I'm against this."
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, head of planning Chris Gomm said he was not aware that soil compaction was an issue assessed by the case officer."The condition that requires the land to be reinstated to its former condition would also apply to the flowerbeds and the grass, to make sure they are healthy post deconstruction," he said.Councillor Frank Allen added the economic benefit it brings to the town outweighed any potential ecological issues."The ice rink is one of our best features in the winter. We would do well to keep on preserving that," he said.
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Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
Osborne sets Vance up with next generation of Tory leaders
JD Vance was introduced to a string of Conservatives tipped for future leadership positions at his Oxfordshire summer retreat by George Osborne this week. Mr Vance, the US vice-president, spent 90 minutes enjoying drinks, nibbles and discussions about politics on Tuesday night with a crowd assembled by Mr Osborne, the former Tory chancellor. About a dozen or so guests were invited to the 18th-century home Mr Vance is renting for a holiday with his family in the Cotswolds village of Dean. Among them were four current Tory MPs, all aged under 50 – Robert Jenrick, 43, Laura Trott, 40, Chris Philp, 49, and 34-year-old Katie Lam. Mr Osborne, who has a friendship with Mr Vance stretching back long before his campaign to become vice-president last year, is understood to have pulled together the invitation list. The decision to connect Mr Vance with the rising stars of the Conservative Party rather than the most famous names of past Tory governments is notable. Mr Vance, 41, became America's third youngest vice-president to take office earlier this year and is still relatively new to elected politics, having only become a US senator in 2023 after rising to prominence as an author. He is well placed to seek the Republican nomination for the 2028 presidential election, given that Donald Trump is barred from a third term in the White House, and could be central to US-UK relations for years to come. Each of the four Conservative MPs are set for long political careers ahead, with their leadership ambitions points of discussion among Tory circles. Mr Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, has done little to hide his ambition to lead his party, having made the final two in last year's campaign before losing out to Kemi Badenoch. Ms Trott, the shadow education secretary, ended Rishi Sunak's premiership as chief secretary to the Treasury, with some commentators tipping her as a future chancellor. Mr Philp, as shadow home secretary, holds the briefs for the great four offices of state for the Tories, and is often put up by the party for television and radio interview rounds. Ms Lam is the newest to politics of the four, having only been elected to the Commons last summer, but already has been marked as one to watch by colleagues. It was not just MPs at the gathering. Mr Osborne, who as Lord Cameron's chancellor from 2010 to 2016 built a reputation for championing allies, was also present. So too was Sir Paul Marshall, the media baron whose influence in Tory politics is on the rise as the owner of GB News and the recent buyer of The Spectator magazine. Ukraine, free speech in the UK – the erosion of which Mr Vance has taken swipes at in public – and the challenges of immigration all understood to have featured during the chat. 'He was very down to earth,' said one source familiar with the discussions. 'Nice and relaxed. Both interested and interesting.' Mr Vance is not meeting the Conservative Party's longest-serving British prime minister of the 21st century, who lives nearby – Lord Cameron, who is otherwise engaged. But the Tory peer has helped his friend Mr Osborne with arrangements for Mr Vance's stay a short drive away from the ' Chipping Norton set' so associated with his premiership. A more curious omission from Mr Vance's diary is a meeting with Mrs Badenoch, the current Conservative Party leader, whom he will not be seeing this visit. Aides of both politicians insist there is no snub, with an inability to make the diaries match cited. Mr Vance's press secretary released a statement calling Mrs Badenoch a 'friend'. The Tory leader spent Monday visiting a hotel housing migrants in Epping that has become a flashpoint for protests. She spent Tuesday in the Isle of White with Mel Stride, her shadow chancellor, and had no public engagements on Wednesday. On each of those days, Mr Vance hosted other politicians. No 10 insiders and Tory aides expressed bemusement over why she had not changed her plans to meet him. 'Two old friends meeting' On Wednesday morning, Mr Vance hosted Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, for a one-on-one breakfast that lasted about 45 minutes. Mr Farage told The Telegraph: 'It was two old friends meeting with many, many common interests. After all, I've been the longest public supporter of Maga in Britain.' He would not reveal what was discussed, saying the conversation must remain 'entirely confidential'. On Monday evening, a dinner was hosted by Mr Vance, attended by Dr James Orr, a Cambridge academic who is a friend; Danny Kruger, the Tory MP who had his book reviewed by Mr Vance; and Thomas Skinner, a former contestant on The Apprentice increasingly known for his political commentary. Mr Kruger told The Telegraph: 'JD is genuinely interested in Britain and British politics. He does love this country and genuinely believes in it. He wants it to prosper.' The vice-president himself made a similar point as he addressed American soldiers publicly on Wednesday, referencing his various political meetings during his trip, which have included formal talks with David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, at Chevening on Saturday. Mr Vance said: 'Over the past couple of days I've met with a number of leaders across the UK, across political parties, across the generations. 'Because that's one of the great things about the UK's special relationship with the United States. It cuts across political alliances, it cuts across political parties, it cuts across generations because we've been working together for literally centuries.'
The Guardian
30 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Yvette Cooper solves one headache for justice system but may have caused another
By getting her way and allowing police to consider disclosing the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile cases, Yvette Cooper has solved one enormous headache for the criminal justice system. But she may have caused another, which could have consequences for race relations. The home secretary has encouraged senior police officers to free themselves of longstanding protocols so they can combat the prolific use of social media by far-right bloggers and organisations that have escalated disinformation around high-profile incidents. Last summer's national riots were fomented from an early stage by misinformation about the Southport killer – he was claimed, in posts recycled tens of thousands of times, to be a Muslim, foreign-born and an asylum seeker. All three statements turned out to be wrong. Until today, there was nothing in the College of Policing's guidance that actually prevented police giving information about the nationality, asylum status or even ethnicity of someone who has been charged. The police are restricted as to what they can say about suspects. But the guidance on media relations – and what would be released to the public – said that if someone was arrested, police should only give the suspect's gender and age. Once a suspect was charged, the guidance said police could give out the suspect's name, date of birth and address. Before 2012, police forces made decisions on what information to give to the media on a purely case-by-case basis, decisions often made depending on the force's relationship with individual journalists and media outlets. But it was Lord Leveson's damning 2012 report into press ethics that prompted police forces to become more cautious because of concerns that releasing the ethnicity of suspects could be used to feed false narratives. Leveson examined testimony from the National Union of Journalists claiming that some national newsrooms openly encouraged racist reporting. One reporter was told by the news editor to 'write a story about Britain being flooded by asylum-seeking bummers', another was told to 'make stories as rightwing as you can' and another was told to go out and find Muslim women to photograph, with the instruction: 'Just fucking do it. Wrap yourself around a group of women in burkas for a photo,' the testimony said. He examined numerous reports including a Daily Star article under the headline 'Asylum seekers eat our donkeys,' which claimed that donkey meat was a speciality in Somalia and eastern Europe and blamed asylum seekers, without any evidence. Leveson concluded that 'when assessed as a whole, the evidence of discriminatory, sensational or unbalanced reporting in relation to ethnic minorities, immigrants and/or asylum seekers, is concerning.' Fast-forward 12 years to Southport, and Merseyside police were left making decisions on whether to release information on the ethnicity and nationality of the killer of three young girls in order to dispel public anger that had spilled on to the streets. Senior officers had to deal with major criminal incidents and took days to dispel social media untruths. Such disinformation was at least partly responsible for last summer's riots. At the time, Merseyside police said they were not giving out more information because of the contempt of court rules. It is hoped that the new guidance will mean police will no longer be left flat-footed when responding to viral social media posts by extremists. Decisions on releasing such information will remain with police forces, with wider legal and ethical considerations also taken into account, the National Police Chiefs' Council said, but verifying a suspect's immigration status is up to the Home Office. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion There is concern among some former police and race campaigners that Cooper's change will undo the restrictions imposed after Leveson and fuel racist sentiments. The former Met chief superintendent Dal Babu has warned of the 'unintended consequences' of the new guidance, which he said could lead to more online speculation in cases where these details are not released. 'The danger is there will be an expectation for police to release information on every single occasion,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The Home Office insists that it will not be encouraging the release of ethnicity and immigration status in all cases, and there are notable occasions when it has not. But a former race adviser to No 10 told the Guardian: 'Yvette has unwittingly opened a Pandora's box. After every charge, everyone with a union jack on their X bio will demand from the police the ethnicity of the suspect. 'The Home Office is going to to get even more demands for the asylum status of every black or brown suspect. It is going to be chaos, and has handed Nigel Farage another stick to beat Labour with.' There could well be a knock-on effect on mainstream reporting and community relations, campaigners believe. Enny Choudhury, from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: 'Releasing the ethnicity of everyone suspected of serious crimes will do nothing to help victims or secure justice – it will simply fuel mistrust, deepen divisions, and make Black and brown communities more vulnerable to prejudice and harm.'
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
'Anti-Jewish' summer camp accused of backing Iran is cancelled - concerns were raised that it was radicalising children as young as nine
A summer camp sponsored by an Islamic charity accused of backing Iran has been cancelled after concerns were raised it could expose children as young as nine to extreme views. Local councillors said they had been 'swamped' by petitions to call off the upcoming four-day residential camp run by the Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission charity in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. Representatives of 11 Reform UK branches across the county had also written to the managers of the centre where Camp Wilayah was due to be held, demanding that it be cancelled. The Daily Mail can now reveal that the residential, described as a 'unique opportunity' for children aged nine to 14 to build on their Islamic values, will not go ahead as planned over the August bank holiday. Liberal Democrat and chair of Hertfordshire County Council Laurence Brass welcomed the decision, saying the final call had been made by the scout group that own the venue. He added: 'We have been swamped with petitions for it to be cancelled. 'I was very upset that it was going ahead and I am very pleased with this result. I think it is the right decision.' Mr Brass said that Hertfordshire County Council is due to announce the cancellation of the camp officially on Wednesday. Camp Wilayah, which has been run by Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission for a number of years, was due to be held between August 22 and August 25. According to the charity's website, any girls attending were required to wear a hijab and loose clothing. They were also due to be separated from the boys for the duration of the camp, except for daily prayers, talks and a team photo. Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission, which is based in Cricklewood, north-west London, has been accused of backing Iran's theocratic regime. In posts on social media, the charity has repeatedly praised Tehran's leader Ayatollah Khamenei - and even described his books as a 'great read'. The organisation has also refused to condemn the terror group Hamas and said in the wake of the October 7 attacks that 'Zionists brought this disaster upon themselves'. Meanwhile in another post on Instagram from last year, young children can be seen drawing and colouring in Palestinian flags and watermelon symbols. Legal lobby group UK Lawyers for Israel previously criticised the planned activities at the camp - saying they could incite hatred towards Jewish people. It said in a comment to The Telegraph: 'AIM's deep ideological alignment with the Iranian regime and its record of extremist propaganda presents an unacceptable risk to children. 'We hope the local authority and other agencies will act decisively to protect vulnerable young people from exposure to harmful and radicalising content.' In a post on their website on Tuesday, Ahlulbayt Islamic Mission confirmed that Camp Wilayah had been postponed until further notice. The charity said this was in light of 'serious threats levelled at the safety of children at the camp'. The statement read: 'Following discussions with Hertfordshire Scouts, and in light of serious threats levelled at the safety of children at the camp, we regret to announce that this year's Camp Wilayah will not proceed at Phasels Wood over the bank holiday weekend. 'We know this decision will cause some disappointment; however, our first priority is to protect the safety and security of our children, and we take this matter very seriously. 'For foreign political lobby groups, media outlets and far right thugs to make unfounded allegations that heighten the risk and encourage harm to children in the UK is truly disgraceful. It added: 'For over a decade, Camp Wilayah has been a cherished space where our children could enjoy the outdoors, grow in their values, and form lifelong friendships. 'Many of those who attended Camp Wilayah are now doctors, plumbers, teachers, engineers, and public servants, proud citizens who give back to Britain every single day. 'No evidence of wrongdoing has ever been found at Camp Wilayah, yet our children are being punished simply for their faith.' 'To attack such a wholesome and positive tradition is shameful, especially when threats are made by the Reform Party to mobilise protests and disrupt children's camps. 'Not only is this despicable behaviour, but it is Islamophobia in plain sight, and it should alarm every member of society.' UK Lawyers for Israel wrote to Brentwood Council in London and Hertfordshire County Council last month asking for Camp Wilayah to be banned. The group warned councillors: 'There is compelling reason to believe that the event may be used as a platform to radicalise children, incite hatred or violence, and glorify terrorist ideology.' Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick also raised concerns that children should be allowed to attend camps run by 'supporters of the Iranian regime'. A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council previously said: 'We are aware of concerns around this planned activity camp, and we are working with partners to understand the situation and whether it raises any safeguarding issues.' There is no evidence the charity poses a risk to children and in a statement on their website it says its goal is to 'promote peace' and 'create a better world for everyone'. It reads: 'We at AIM are committed in our efforts to spread peace, tolerance and co-existence; and to promote social harmony as contained in our rich and abundant Islamic heritage. 'AIM believes that the continual pursuit of its objectives will create a better world for everyone.'
