Sheffield gym-goer asked to remove 'Free Palestine' T-shirt after complaint
A gym-goer claims he was asked to remove his 'Free Palestine' T-shirt during a workout after another customer said it was "offensive".Jasvinder Khosa, 64, said he had worn the T-shirt for the past five years without issue but, on 15 January, a member of staff at the Virgin Active in Nether Edge, Sheffield, asked him to take it off.The retired teacher said it was his "right" to wear the shirt, which also calls for a boycott on Israel on the reverse, but that it was not his intention to "upset" anyone.Virgin Active has not yet responded to a BBC request for comment, but, according to its website, the company states that people may be asked to leave if their attire is not considered "suitable".
As well as the words on the reverse, Mr Khosa's T-shirt also features an image of a missile over a pram.Originally from Ireland, Mr Khosa suffered a stroke 30 years ago which required three brain operations and left the right side of his body severely weakened. He works out regularly to build up his strength."The gym not only exercises my body but is really good for my mental health," he said.Describing himself as "strongly against" Israel's actions in the Palestinian territories, he said his intention was not to "upset" people."I want people to come up to me and have an open discussion."People have stopped me before and said 'good on you'. I've gone for coffee with other people and talked about this stuff."Ultimately, it's my right to wear this T-shirt."According to Virgin Active's club rules', users "must be dressed in suitable attire at all times when on club premises" and "the Club General Manager may, at his/her/their discretion, require you to leave a Club or part of a Club premises, if your attire is not considered suitable".
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank since 1967. In October 2023 gunmen from Hamas – which runs Gaza and is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK government – launched attacks on southern Israel killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.In reprisal, Israel launched air strikes and a ground invasion of Gaza with the aim of eliminating Hamas. More than 45,000 people have been killed in the Israeli campaign according to the Hamas-run health ministry.A ceasefire has been in place since earlier this month, with some Israeli hostages being exchanged for Palestinian detainees.Mr Khosa admitted that he "doesn't know" whether he will wear the T-shirt at the gym again, especially if Virgin Active threaten to take away his membership"I need to come here and do my stretching so I need to have a good think about this," he said.The BBC has approached Virgin Active for a comment but has not yet received a response.Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
Pro-Palestinian protester in two-tier police row is Islamist refugee
A pro-Palestinian activist who evaded terror charges in a two-tier policing row is an Islamist propagandist granted asylum in Britain, The Telegraph can reveal. The demonstrator, who avoided prosecution after chanting ' I love the 7th of October ' at a London rally last year, can now be named as Mohammad al-Mail, a 27-year-old Kuwaiti national granted refugee status in the UK in 2017. In May, The Telegraph published footage of Mr Mail glorifying the Hamas massacre and shouting, 'I like an organisation that starts with H' through a megaphone at an anti-Israel protest in Swiss Cottage, north-west London, last September. He was later arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences but never charged. By contrast, a Jewish man who attended a counter-protest on the same day and briefly held a placard mocking Hezbollah's leader was charged after police claimed the sign could cause 'distress' to terrorist sympathisers. It took eight months for the Crown Prosecution Service to admit there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The Telegraph can now reveal that Mr Mail claimed he avoided prosecution by telling counter-terrorism officers that the 'H' in his chant stood for the Home Office, rather than Hamas. In footage obtained by The Telegraph – which police confirmed they had not seen – Mr Mail appears to boast of misleading investigators. In an Arabic-language podcast aired in March, he said the case 'fell apart' after he gave what appeared to be a knowingly false answer when asked: 'Who do you mean by the letter H?' He said: 'Immediately, I answered, 'It could be the Home Office', you know, the ministry of the interior. 'I love the ministry of the interior', and so on. 'Truly, as the saying goes, 'The worst calamity is the one that makes you laugh'', he joked, adding that officers 'wanted to delve into the depths of my conscience to know what I truly believe'. The Metropolitan Police twice referred his case to the CPS but he was never charged. A source familiar with the case said prosecutors declined to bring charges, fearing it would be 'speculation' to infer support for a proscribed group from his chant. The Telegraph can also reveal that Mr Mail's support for terror groups was not limited to the Sept 20 protest. Since being granted asylum, he has used the Upper Hand Organisation, his campaign group, to promote an Islamist ideology fundamentally at odds with British democratic values. In the same podcast, he urged supporters to 'seize opportunities' created by the October 7 attack – the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. 'Not every day is like October 7,' he said. 'If an opportunity arises, we must fully exploit it. If you strike, make it hurt.' His website hosts a string of Islamist manifestos and incendiary texts. He has criticised Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and HTS, the Syrian group, for being too pragmatic and failing to advance global jihad. He wrote that such groups have 'ultimately succumbed to the international system and failed to bring about significant change to the concept of jihad itself – jihad, which is understood as a struggle to establish Sharia on earth'. Mr Mail has promoted the jihadist cause online and distributed leaflets and stickers at protests. On Aug 17 2024, the Upper Hand Organisation issued a pamphlet titled Wake Up! Protect the Honour of Islam, which portrayed the Israel-Palestine conflict as a 'war of faith'. It glorifies jihad, urges mobilisation, and repeats the slogan 'a new Khaybar awaits' – a phrase often used to incite violence against Jews. The document claims his group is 'committed to channelling resources toward strategic projects to achieve Islamic dominance'. On Nov 11 2024, Mr Mail announced he would surrender to police over his chants but told supporters to 'continue the path of jihad'. He described peaceful Muslims as 'slaves and dwarves' and issued a warning to Britain: 'What is coming to you is terrifying – either our annihilation or yours.' In recent months, he has used his platform to lobby Parliament to de-proscribe Hamas and divert taxpayer funds to sharia courts. He also opposes the banning of child marriage, arguing it discriminates against 16 and 17-year-old Muslim girls. In a statement to The Telegraph, the Met said it was unaware of Mr Mail's apparent admission and record of Islamist advocacy until contacted by this newspaper. A spokesman said the force 'does not believe the material provided to us was known to officers at the time of their initial investigation. It did not form part of the case put to the CPS'. 'Officers will carefully review it to identify any offences so the appropriate action can be taken.' The case has been condemned as an example of two-tier policing, deepening embarrassment for Scotland Yard and raising concerns over national security among senior politicians and extremism experts. On Friday evening, Chris Philp, the shadow policing minister, said that, in light of The Telegraph's latest revelations, 'the police must urgently re-investigate the incident with a view to re-arresting the man concerned'. He added: 'I am deeply worried that someone came here, was granted asylum and then abused the UK's generosity by expressing extremist views. This is why our human rights and asylum laws need to be changed.' His comments were echoed by Lord Walney, the Government's former extremism tsar, who described the latest evidence uncovered by this newspaper as 'disturbing and raises serious questions for the Metropolitan Police'. 'The fact officers were apparently unaware of this open source material when they submitted the case to the Crown Prosecution Service suggests an alarming lack of rigour in their initial investigation,' he said. 'In light of this, it is vital that the police reopen the case to ensure national security can be protected.' The Jewish counter-protester, who was charged for 'causing distress', said the revelations were yet more evidence of 'two-tier policing'. The CPS dropped the case against him last month, eight months after he was first arrested. 'The police were sufficiently well-resourced to know I'd be at the counter-protest the following week and to circulate my photograph among officers on the ground so they could arrest me. Yet counter-terror police were apparently unable to carry out a basic Google search on this man before interviewing him,' he said. The CPS said it is urgently reviewing its decision not to press charges against Mr Mail. The Upper Hand Organisation, which he founded in 2012, was already active in Kuwait when Mr Mail arrived in Britain. During his studies, he was convicted in absentia of 13 offences by the Gulf state, including defaming the Emir and spreading subversive ideas, receiving a combined sentence of 53 years. He said these were politically and religiously motivated and was granted asylum in the UK on May 5 2017. He later received a partial pardon but remains in the UK. A Home Office spokesman said: 'Supporting a proscribed organisation is a serious criminal offence. The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including determining whether an offence has been committed or not, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, who are operationally independent. 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases.'
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Owen Jones: The UK media has ignored this hugely revealing scandal
And yet Benjamin Netanyahu – the Israeli prime minister subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant – has been accused of forging this alliance by the Israeli political class. And yet – once again – the Westminster media has overwhelmingly failed to cover this latest profoundly revealing scandal. Avigdor Lieberman is a far-right opposition leader who once served as Netanyahu's deputy prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister. This week, he publicly announced: 'The Israeli government is giving weapons to a group of criminals and felons, identified with Islamic State, at the direction of the prime minister.' Did Netanyahu come out swinging, accusing his opponent of antisemitism, as he did when another opposition leader, former Israeli general Yair Golan, declared that Israel was killing babies as a hobby? READ MORE: Patrick Harvie: Increased UK defence spending only makes war more likely He did not. Instead, Netanyahu bragged that 'Israel is working to defeat Hamas in various ways, on the recommendation of all heads of the security establishment'. In a video message, he clarified that Israel had 'activated clans in Gaza that oppose Hamas', shamelessly calling it 'a good thing' which was saving the lives of Israeli soldiers. 'What's wrong with that?' We're talking here about a militia headed by a man named Yasser Abu Shabab. He styles his faction as the 'Anti Terror Service', but it is a criminal gang operating in an area of Rafah firmly under Israeli military control. His own family has not only disowned him, but backed his execution. According to Palestinian analyst Muhammad Shehada, his militia is composed of 300 'drug dealers and criminals.' And here's the important detail. To justify imposing a total siege on Gaza, Israel claimed that Hamas was stealing humanitarian food. Among those pointing out this wasn't true was Cindy McCain, widow of the late hawkish Republican senator John McCain, and now director of the World Food Programme. But we do know that Shabab's Israel-backed gang has been stealing aid. As ever with the Israeli authorities: every accusation is a confession. This is just another plank of Israel's starvation policy. But again, the Western media has overwhelmingly failed to clearly spell out what Israel is actually doing. Having imposed a total siege on Gaza since March 2, Israel set up a US-backed shadow entity named the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to explicitly supplant the UN. It hasn't just been rejected by every aid agency – even the US marine who heads it resigned on the basis it contradicted the basic principles of humanitarianism. The Foundation set three aid checkpoints in the south in an effort to concentrate Gaza's entire population into a confined area – a concentration camp. 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Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Crass' cops slammed for playing ‘snog, marry, kill' with mugshots of local call girls and felons
Read on to find out how playing the popular game could land you in trouble COP QUIZ FURY 'Crass' cops slammed for playing 'snog, marry, kill' with mugshots of local call girls and felons Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LAYING 'snog, marry, avoid' with colleagues at work could be sexual harassment, a tribunal has ruled. The 'crass' and 'inappropriate' game may breach the Equality Act, an Employment judge said. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up The risqué quiz involves naming three people and then asking a person to pick which one you would like to kiss, which one you would get married to and which one you would steer clear of altogether. In the BBC hit comedy Gavin and Stacey, Pam, Mick, Gavin and Smithy played a version of it featuring celebrities during a car ride from Essex to Wales. However, the tribunal found it may break workplace laws. The ruling came in the case of a police officer who sued Derbyshire Police after a female colleague involved him in the game — using mugshots of sex workers. The officer candidly admitted to the tribunal that she had 'jokingly' played the game with co-workers and included PC Shafarat Mohammed in their discussion. PC Mohammed claimed that during the discussion in May or June 2022 he was only shown images of black women and was asked what he liked about one of them. He said he was 'embarrassed' and 'offended' by the questioning and felt it was inappropriate. The tribunal judge said: 'We agree that the questions were inappropriate.' However, the tribunal found there was no racial or religious element to it as the sex workers were of varying ethnicities. PC Mohammed lost his case for racial and religious discrimination and harassment. Two top cops accused of mocking a colleague's Irish accent in 'grossly offensive' leaving video
