British woman charged in Germany with Thai cannabis smuggling
Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022, when "low strength" weed became legal.In July 2024, the British government announced a partnership with Thai customs to tackle a "surge" of illegal cannabis shipments to the UK.Since then, more than 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling.
Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BBC director-general Tim Davie is on 'last strike' after series of scandals - but corporation wants to save him
BBC director-general Tim Davie is on his 'last strike' after a series of scandals has plunged the BBC into chaos but the Corporation is determined to save him, sources have claimed. The Corporation is facing serious questions after it came under attack on three fronts this week. And while there is widespread feeling Davie is one scandal away from losing his high-profile role, a former executive told The Sunday Times that the BBC has deployed 'Operation Save Tim'. On Monday, the BBC was forced to admit that its documentary about children in Gaza had breached editorial guidelines by failing to disclose that the narrator was the son of a senior Hamas official. Hours later, a damning probe into Gregg Wallace 's behaviour on MasterChef was published, with 45 out of 83 complaints, including one count of 'unwanted physical contact', upheld. The report also upheld two out of 10 complaints - relating to swearing and racist language - made into other individuals, who were not identified. That was until the BBC was thrown into another crisis when Wallace's co-host John Torode publicly declared that he was the individual who had used racist language. Torode, 59, was sacked on Tuesday in a move he claims the BBC had not made him aware of. He said he was 'seeing and reading' he had been dropped from the show and had 'no recollection' of making a racist comment. In the following days, it was reported that he had used the N-word at a filming wrap part in 2019 while singing along to Gold Digger by Kanye West. But the investigation is understood to have upheld a separate complaint made the year prior when he used the same racist word on the MasterChef set. A BBC News report claims the racial slur was directed towards a MasterChef staff member. The Gaza documentary and MasterChef scandals add to a tumultuous period for the BBC, who also came under fire for their handling of the live streaming of Bob Vylan's Glastonbury set last month. The band sparked a backlash after leading chants of 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defence Forces] during a live broadcast on the BBC. The BBC also said it will no longer broadcast live performances deemed 'high risk' – as Bob Vylan had been assessed – and its director of music, Lorna Clarke, also reportedly stepped back from her day-to-day duties. The corporation issued an apology after the Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, saying: 'We deeply regret that such offensive and deplorable behaviour appeared on the BBC and want to apologise to our viewers and listeners and in particular the Jewish community. 'We are also unequivocal that there can be no place for antisemitism at, or on, the BBC. After Glastonbury, which Davie attended, culture secretary Lisa Nandy told parliament there was a 'problem of leadership' at the BBC. But BBC chair Samir Shah has doubled down on his support for the director-general, insisting Davie 'has shown strength, confidence and decisive leadership in a very challenging environment'. Another insider claimed his position with some board members was 'more precarious than people realise' after the Glastonbury scandal, but this was disputed by a source close to the board who insisted they were backing him. While the scandals alone would not be enough to see Davie sacked, the revolving door of scandals has raised huge questions about the management of the BBC. It also comes at a time when Davie's salary jumped £20,000 to £547,000, while Deborah Turness, the BBC News chief executive, saw hers rise £17,000 to £431,000. Since Davie became director-general in September 2020, the BBC has shelled out almost £10million addressing scandals. Almost half of that - £4.5million - comes from the fallout from the Martin Bashir 1995 Panorama interview with Princess Diana. Although the original controversy came before Davie took on his role, the sum includes £539,000 of legal fees in fighting journalist Andy Webb's internal emails about the scandal. Another £3.3million was spent on an external investigation into its handling of complaints about Radio 1 presenter Tim Westwood. Allegations against Westwood were first made public in 2022 when several women accused him of sexual misconduct. He has strongly denied all allegations. A review, which was carried out by barrister Gemma White KC and included contributions from more than 120 people, found people were 'concerned that they would not be believed or might be blamed' for his alleged behaviour because he was so 'popular'. The BBC also faced a £1.3million bill from the Huw Edwards scandal, although the report's findings have never been published. The review into the Gaza documentary, carried out by the director of editorial complaints Peter Johnston, cost £98,500. The Sunday Times reports that there is widespread feeling at the BBC and the wider media that Davie cannot afford another crisis, but his allies remain supportive and warn 'nobody should underestimate his strong survival instincts'.
BBC News
5 minutes ago
- BBC News
Southend council investigates new park tree branch collapse
A council will investigate how a tree branch collapsed in one of its parks three weeks after a falling branch killed a young girl, its leader Leonna Ruka suffered a fatal head injury and four other children were injured when part of a cedar fell at Chalkwell Park in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on 28 Saturday, a large fallen branch of a fir tree was discovered in the city's Priory Park, which is also maintained by the city council."Tree specialists have been working in Priory Park all week carrying out inspections and maintenance, and we're working to understand what happened in this case," said Daniel Cowan, Labour. The council's tree surgeons removed the branch and inspected the rest of the tree on Saturday, he added. Further pictures on Your Southend showed some of the branch had collapsed on to a cycle month, up to 50 people tried to lift part of a 350-year-old tree when it trapped five children underneath it in Chalkwell included Leona, who was on a day trip from Dagenham, east London, and her six-year-old cousin, who remains critically ill in remaining three had minor injuries. An inquest into Leona's death was opened and adjourned on Wednesday, with Essex Police and the Health and Safety Executive continuing to investigate the incident. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
5 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Two UK pro-Palestine organisations have bank accounts frozen
At least two grassroots pro-Palestine organisations in the UK have had their bank accounts frozen, raising fears about a wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza. Greater Manchester Friends for Palestine (GMFP) and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which both organise peaceful protests and vigils, have had access to their funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money and Unit Trust bank respectively. The Guardian understands a local PSC branch in England has also had its bank account frozen but was unable to confirm it directly. Coming amid the banning of Palestine Action earlier this month and the arrest of more than 100 people for showing support for the group, and the threatened arrest of a peaceful protester for having a Palestine flag and 'Free Gaza' sign, it has amplified concerns about a crackdown on critics of Israel. Owen Cooper, co-treasurer of GMFP, said the group, which lists bike-riding among its activities, has been marching peacefully for more than a year and a half without incident or criminal activity but Virgin Money refused to say why its account had been frozen. 'If it's purely the fact that we have Palestine on the bank account name, I think it's a very worrying sign,' said Cooper. 'It would be not only hugely worrying but hugely disappointing to think that a country that values freedom of speech, that is a liberal democracy can be acting like this and that ordinary, decent people with a conscience are being regarded as extremists. 'What could the bank be thinking that we've done? Certainly nothing that the police believe is a crime.' He said the freeze meant that GMFP could not send money to Gaza and the West Bank to help those in need. 'They're actually preventing aid and support going into Gaza, and it's going in for food and medical supplies,' said Cooper. 'We don't have access to F-35 jets or 500lb bombs that we're funding.' Unity Trust bank says its aim is to be 'the bank of choice for all socially minded organisations in the UK', including charities and trades unions. But Mick Napier, from Scottish PSC's finance committee, said it had acted disgracefully. He said Scottish PSC was told the reason for its account being frozen last month was that it had a button on its website to donate to Palestine Action before the group was banned on 5 July. But the button was removed when Palestine Action was proscribed and yet the account had not been restored, said Napier. 'It's shocking,' he said. 'It's absolutely disgraceful that a campaign like ours [has been treated like this]. We've been operating for 25 years. Palestine Action we supported until they were proscribed. It came out the blue [the freezing of the account], and we were very disappointed. We think it's very bad practice. 'We can't get into our cash at all. We've had to use other means, very inconvenient means to pay bills and generally operate, it's been extremely burdensome.' The Guardian asked both banks for the reasons for the accounts being frozen and if there had been any external influence. Both said they were unable to comment on individual customer accounts. A Virgin Money spokesperson added that there were 'a variety of reasons why we may decide, or be required, to suspend or close an account in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations'. A Unity Trust bank spokesperson said it was 'a politically neutral organisation. Our mission and values underpin our commitment to operating with integrity'. They added: 'Unity has a diverse customer base that represents a broad range of communities.'
