
John Bercow opens up on Brexit, leadership, and life after the Speaker's chair
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Michael Prendergast, we're joined by former Speaker of the UK House of Commons, John Bercow. In a wide-ranging and candid interview, Bercow reflects on his career, the evolving nature of British politics, and the challenges he faced in the Speaker's chair. He shares highlights from his time in office, insights into the politicians he worked with, and what first inspired him to enter politics. Bercow also offers his unfiltered views on Brexit and weighs in on today's political landscape – including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
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Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Outrage as pro-Palestine protester to spend 21 months in prison before trial
LONDON: The mother of a British man charged over a protest against an Israeli weapons firm has voiced outrage over the expected 21-month imprisonment of her son before his trial, The Guardian reported. William Plastow, a 34-year-old resident of Manchester, is accused of taking part in a Palestine Action demonstration against a factory in Bristol owned by Elbit Systems. The protest, which took place in August last year, involved 17 others. The group has been dubbed the 'Filton 18.' Plastow, a script editor, has denied charges of criminal damage, violent disorder and aggravated burglary relating to the demonstration. Six of the 18, including Plastow, who are all being held in prison, have been given a trial date of April next year. Defendants should not spend more than six months in jail while awaiting trial, according to custody time limit guidelines. By the time of Plastow's expected trial, he will have served the equivalent of a sentence of more than five years, based on new sentencing rules that allow the release of convicted criminals who have served one-third of their sentences. Jane Plastow, his mother, said the case might set a record for the longest time anyone has been held in prison awaiting trial on protest charges in Britain. The 66-year-old, an academic, said: 'It's outrageous, it's terrible. Will is a kind of glass-half-empty guy, so he tends toward (believing in) the worst possible outcome. 'Every day, which has become a kind of ritual, I have to say: 'Yes, you are going to get out of there, this is not the end of your life. They are not going to be able to keep you in for years and years and years.' Because you just obviously feel so helpless and hopeless locked up in that place.' In a prison diary published in Inside Time, Plastow revealed he had suffered suicidal thoughts. He was denied bail despite agreeing to a slew of measures designed to limit his behavior, including wearing an electronic tag, having his phone and passport confiscated, and submitting regular police reports on his activity. The judge responsible for the decision said Plastow posed a risk of breaking the law again, his mother said. 'What you're being required to prove is a negative — well, you can never prove the negative, can you?' she said. 'You can't prove that you're not going to do anything.' Plastow's artner of a decade, Valentina Tschismarov, said: 'I think the worst that I have personally seen him was when his bail application was denied, which obviously was really disheartening for all of us. Shortly afterward myself and his mum went to visit him together and I was very worried at that point because he was really shaken, just out of it. 'Even on the phone in the weeks after that, he just sounded very distant and kind of broken down. It seems incredibly disproportionate. I always imagined that there were these protections in place and you couldn't just have somebody jailed without a conviction for these amounts of time. 'I think people are not really aware.' The 18 protesters arrested at the Elbit facility last year were initially arrested under the Terrorism Act, meaning they could be held for 14 days without charge. However, despite the Crown Prosecution Service saying the protest held a 'terrorism connection,' none of the 18 have been charged with terror offenses.


Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Kemi Badenoch says she refuses to speak to women in burqas at constituency surgeries
LONDON: The leader of the UK's Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch has said she asks women to remove face coverings, including burqas, before speaking with them at constituency surgeries, and believes employers should be allowed to ban staff from wearing the garment. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Badenoch said she supported the right of individuals to wear what they liked, but drew a line at face coverings in certain settings. 'If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it's a burqa or a balaclava,' she said. 'I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face.' Her comments follow renewed debate over the issue after Reform UK's new member of Parliament, Sarah Pochin, urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to consider a burqa ban similar to those in countries such as France. Party leader Nigel Farage also backed the call, prompting a backlash from Muslim groups and some within his own party. Reform's chairman, Zia Yusuf, briefly resigned after the row, citing exhaustion and racist abuse, but has since returned. He told The Sunday Times he might support a ban in principle, but said other issues were more urgent. Yusuf is expected to take on a number of roles within the party, including overseeing local council spending. Badenoch linked the issue of face coverings to broader concerns over integration, pointing to Shariah courts and cousin marriages as 'more insidious' challenges. 'People should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband or community tells them to wear,' she said. She also backed the right of organizations to set their own dress codes, saying: 'It shouldn't be something that people should be able to override.' While employers can impose dress policies, they must meet legal tests of proportionality and legitimacy under equality and human rights law. Restrictions may be justified on grounds such as health and safety, or the need for clear communication. The debate echoes comments made in 2006 by then-Labour home secretary Jack Straw, who said he asked women visiting his surgery to remove the burqa to enable more meaningful conversation.


Arab News
13 hours ago
- Arab News
Pakistan delegation in UK after ‘successful' talks in New York on India conflict
KARACHI: A Pakistani delegation has arrived in the United Kingdom (UK) as part of Islamabad's diplomatic outreach over last month's military conflict with India, following their 'successful' talks in New York. India and Pakistan engaged in the worst fighting between them in decades, raising fears of the prospect of an all-out nuclear war. After both countries traded heavy fire for four days, pounding each other with missiles, fighter jets and drone strikes, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between them on May 10. The nine-member Pakistan delegation, led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, held several meetings with representatives of the United Nations (UN), its member states and US officials to present Pakistan's stance on the standoff with India and peace in the region. The Pakistan delegates said the purpose of their meetings was to have peace in the region and to have talks with New Delhi on all India-Pakistan issues, including the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty and the resolution of Kashmir dispute. 'We have explained to them [US officials] that Pakistan's water, this is a civilization, the lives of 240 million people, their culture [depend on it],' Khurram Dastgir, a Pakistani lawmaker who is part of the delegation, told a Pakistani news channel in the UK. 'We explained this to America that their economic partnership with India, it will not bring about that development if India and Pakistan will perpetually remain [in a state of] war.' India announced in April that it was putting the 1960 World Bank-mediated treaty in abeyance after it accused Pakistan of backing an attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. Islamabad denied complicity in the attack that killed 26 people. Jalil Abbas Jilani, a former Pakistani foreign secretary, said they held quite constructive talks with members of the UN Security Council during their New York visit. 'Basically, our message was that India committed an aggression and that Pakistan is a peaceful country... Pakistan wants all India-Pakistan issues to be resolved in a peaceful manner,' he said. Pakistani senator Sherry Rehman, who was also part of the talks, said the main objective of their discussions was peace in the region. 'Our goal was peace, promote dialogue, to have the status of water treaty changed, which they [India] have unilaterally suspended, and to start a discussion on Kashmir,' she said. The Pakistani delegates are expected to meet key UK officials during their visit to highlight Pakistan's perspective on last month's conflict and its possible consequences for the region. British foreign minister David Lammy is the highest-profile Western official to have visited both New Delhi and Islamabad since the South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire last month. 'We want the situation to be maintained, but of course we recognize fragility, particularly in the backdrop of terrorism, terrorism designed to destabilize India,' Lammy said, adding that he discussed the next steps with both Modi and Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, but gave no specifics. 'We are keen to continue to work with our Indian partners on counter-terrorism measures.' India and Pakistan, bitter rivals since they gained independence in 1947 from British rule, have fought three wars, including two over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Both countries administer Kashmir in parts but claim the region entirely. Pakistan accuses India of occupying Kashmir and denying its people their right to self-determination. It regularly calls on India to abide by the United Nations Security Council resolutions and hold a transparent plebiscite in the territory. India, on the other hand, accuses Pakistan of arming and funding militant separatists in the part of Kashmir it administers. Islamabad has denied the allegations and says it extends only diplomatic and moral support to the people of Indian-administered Kashmir.