Leicestershire County Council boss John Sinnott to retire
A spokesperson for the authority said Mr Sinnott had intended to leave the council at the end of July.However, it said he had agreed to stay on in the role for longer, at the request of new council leader Dan Harrison to help the Reform minority administration settle in.Mr Sinnott's retirement will come ahead of a major shake-up of local government which could see the county council abolished in its current form.Under government proposals, a mayor, heading a combined authority, would be elected and given more powers over transport, planning and economic growth policy.The county's existing seven district and borough councils could be abolished and replaced with either one or two new authorities.
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Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
Britain cancels extra border checks for animals ahead of UK-EU deal
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain is suspending the previously planned introduction of extra border checks on live animal imports from the European Union to ease trade ahead of the implementation of a deal agreed in May to reduce friction, the UK government said on Monday. Extra border checks on some animal and plant goods imported from Ireland will also be suspended. May's sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal, part of a wider reset in UK-EU relations, will reduce paperwork and remove routine border checks on plant and animal products moving between the UK and EU, while maintaining high food standards. However, the deal is yet to be implemented as details are still being negotiated. In the meantime, British traders must continue to comply with the terms of the UK's Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) that protect the country's biosecurity, including existing checks. The suspension of the introduction of additional border checks follows the announcement in June that checks on EU fruit and vegetable imports had been scrapped. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs could not give a timeline for implementation of the SPS deal. When Britain left the EU's single market in 2021, the EU immediately enforced its rules, leading to port delays and prompting some British exporters to stop selling to the bloc. Britain was much slower implementing its post-Brexit border arrangements, and after repeated delays and confusion it started to set new rules in phases from January last year.
The Sun
7 minutes ago
- The Sun
Fury as SECOND council vows to rip down St George's flags from lampposts… after Palestinian banners left up for months
FURY was sparked after a SECOND council ordered the removal of St George's flags. Residents have hit out after Tower Hamlets Council, in east London, announced the patriotic displays would be ripped down. 10 10 The Union Jack and St George's flags were raised by locals as part of a movement online called Operation Raise the Colours. But Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman, who was found guilty of electoral fraud in 2015, has thwarted the campaign. The national flags will now be removed "as part of routine maintenance". Robert Jenrick, the Shadow Justice Secretary, told The Telegraph: "Tower Hamlets council have allowed Palestinian flags to be publicly displayed on lampposts but not the flag of our country. "This absurd national self-loathing must end. This is yet more two-tier bias against the British people. We must be one country united under the Union flag." Tower Hamlets Council previously sparked controversy when they allowed Palestinian flags to be raised after the war in Gaza broke out in 2023. They were eventually removed last year after members of the local Jewish community reported they found them 'oppressive and intimidating'. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, added: 'Why would we leave [Palestinian flags] up and take down flags that represent one of the countries of the UK?' A spokesperson for the council said: "We are aware members of the public have been putting up St George's flags on various structures. "While we recognise people wish to express their views, we have a responsibility to monitor and maintain council infrastructure. Protesters arrested near migrant hotel after 'asylum seeker guest' arrested on suspicion of assault "Where flags are attached to council-owned infrastructure without permission, they may be removed as part of routine maintenance." This comes after locals put up the St George's flags on houses and streetlights in Northfield, Birmingham, in what was described as a show of "patriotic outpouring". The Union Jack and St George's flags were put up using ladders and cable ties by a group of residents called the Weoley Warriors. Funded by £2,500 of public donations, the campaign is intended to 'show Birmingham and the rest of the country of how proud we are of our history, freedoms and achievements'. But Birmingham City Council confirmed the flags will be removed, saying the "unauthorised items" are "dangerous" and could potentially kill motorists and pedestrians. The council said that the extra weight could "potentially lead to collapse" in the future. 10 10 10 10 However, the council's decision has sparked backlash from residents. One unnamed flag-flying resident told BirminghamLive that the patriotic bunting had been put up because people in the area have "had enough". "This country is a disgrace and has no backbone," they said. "This isn't racism, it's frustration at being pushed into a corner and silenced." Jeremy Duthie, from Weoley Castle, also told the outlet: "My personal opinion is that anyone who has a problem with our national flag being flown is living in the wrong country and should maybe consider living in the country represented by whatever flag they prefer to see flying." Many have also pointed out that Palestinian flags were flying in other parts of the city to show solidarity over the Gaza crisis as well as Ukrainian flags for the last 18 months. And the council also lit up the Library of Birmingham in green and white to mark the anniversary of Pakistan's independence day yesterday. But a spokesman for the council said: "People who attach unauthorised items to lampposts could be putting their lives and those of motorists and pedestrians at risk. "Placing unauthorised attachments on street furniture, particularly tall structures like lampposts, can be dangerous." The council added: "Lampposts and other street furniture need to be protected which is why highways staff across the city removed around 200 advertising banners and flags that had been attached to lampposts since the start of this year. "They take down attachments from lampposts routinely, including advertising signs, bunting trails and flags." GROWING UNREST It comes as tensions across the country continue to rise, with hundreds of protestors gathering in the capital yesterday. Six people were arrested amid the demonstrations, which saw people setting off smoke flares and waving England flags outside The Britannia Hotel, in the Isle of Dogs. The majority of protesters had dispersed from the area by Sunday evening, cops said. The Met Police imposed conditions using Section 14 of the Public Order Act to prevent serious disruption at the protests in Canary Wharf. It comes after a migrant in his 20s was arrested for common assault after entering a woman's flat on Friday. The incident occurred on Wednesday night before he was detained by nearby members of the public. He was arrested by police on suspicion of common assault and he remains in custody. The Daily Mail reported that the man was a migrant staying in a Canary Wharf hotel. He reportedly entered the woman's house after being told to "go back to the hotel" where anti-migrant protestors were gathered. The 22-year-old woman whose flat he entered was arrested on Wednesday evening. Channay Augustus has since been charged with a number of offences including possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker, common assault and possession of cannabis. The affray and common assault charge relate to an incident at the Britannia Hotel in Marsh Wall which occurred on Wednesday evening. It concerned an alleged attack on a security guard at the hotel. The Britannia Hotel has been the subject of recent protests after it was used for migrants arriving into Britain. A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman told The Sun previously: 'We are aware of the Government's decision to use the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf to provide temporary accommodation for asylum seekers. 'It is important that the Government ensures that there is a full package of support for those staying at the hotel. We are working with the Home Office and partners to make sure that all necessary safety and safeguarding arrangements are in place." Elsewhere, in Epping, a peaceful protest took place yesterday evening. 10 10 10
Telegraph
7 minutes ago
- Telegraph
US warns UK abortion buffer zones put ‘shared values' at risk
The US has warned the UK that the enforcement of buffer zones around abortion clinics puts the 'shared values' of the two countries at risk. Last year, guidance came in that means people face unlimited fines if they engage in silent prayer or protest within 150 metres of a clinic or hospital providing abortion services. Donald Trump's White House intervened to support Livia Tossici-Bolt, a 64-year-old woman in Bournemouth who was convicted for protesting outside a clinic in April. At the time, the US said it was monitoring the case and emphasised the importance of free speech and religious liberty. The US State Department has now gone further, accusing Downing Street of an 'egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech '. A spokesman for the department said: 'The United States is still monitoring many 'buffer zone' cases in the UK, as well as other acts of censorship throughout Europe. 'The UK's persecution of silent prayer represents not only an egregious violation of the fundamental right to free speech and religious liberty, but also a concerning departure from the shared values that ought to underpin US-UK relations. 'It is common sense that standing silently and offering consensual conversation does not constitute harm.' Free speech 'in retreat' The statement is the latest warning to come from the White House about free speech in the UK. In the latest edition of its annual Human Rights Report, published last week, the state department claimed there were 'credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression'. JD Vance, the US vice-president, used his keynote speech at the Munich Security Conference in February to warn that free speech was 'in retreat' in Britain. Mr Vance confronted Sir Keir Starmer over the issue during the Prime Minister's visit to the White House that same month. Sitting alongside Sir Keir and Mr Trump, Mr Vance said there were 'infringements on free speech' that affected both British and US technology companies after MPs waved through a raft of online-safety legislation. When Mr Vance said that the group would be discussing the issue over lunch, Sir Keir intervened to say: 'Well, we've had free speech for a very, very long time in the United Kingdom and it will last for a very, very long time.' US officials are understood to have contacted a pro-life Christian charity earlier this year asking to speak to campaigners who have suffered from 'censorship' of their views. These included Ms Tossici-Bolt, a retired NHS medical scientist who has lived in the UK for 35 years. Ms Tossici-Bolt was handed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £20,026 in costs for standing outside a clinic holding a sign that read: 'Here to talk if you want to.' She described the verdict against her as 'a dark day for Great Britain'. She claimed that her prosecution under buffer-zone laws was just one example of an 'Orwellian' erosion of free speech in Britain. Asked why she rejects the view that women's right to private abortion access outweighs protest rights, she said that 'pro-life volunteers' are wrongly labelled as protesters. Critics of protesters such as Ms Tossici-Bolt disagree, arguing that they are intimidating to vulnerable women who feel unfairly judged and are often making a tough decision in difficult circumstances. Last week, an anti-abortion campaigner in Scotland who was 'supported' by the Trump administration was cleared over her silent protest. Rose Docherty, 75, was arrested after police were called to reports of an anti-abortion protest near Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in February. She had been holding a sign that read: 'Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want.' After a visit from White House officials a month after her arrest, Ms Docherty said it was 'heartening that others around the world, including the US government, have realised this injustice and voiced their support'. Over the weekend, BPAS, which runs the clinic outside which Ms Tossici-Bolt protested, warned that possibly due to the influence of US organisations, it is now 'seeing a much more professionalised crisis pregnancy centre operation'. BPAS, the UK's leading abortion provider, added that new so-called crisis pregnancy centres could cause 'significant harm' and claimed they were designed to deter women from having abortions. A Government spokesman said: 'Free speech is vital for democracy, including here in the UK, and we are proud to uphold freedoms while keeping citizens safe.'
