MPs issue plea for Gaza biometric student visa deferral
The letter said: "Within the first 100 days of war, every single university in Gaza has been bombed, leaving over 90,000 students without access to higher education."Referencing those with UK university places, they added: "We ask you to coordinate an urgent evacuations route for this group of students, who have lost everything, and yet have achieved scholarships to study, so that they may return to rebuild Palestine for the future."They called for a swift response so that the students could begin the academic year in September.
A spokesperson for the government said: "We are aware of these students and are considering how we can best support."Of course, the situation on the ground in Gaza makes this extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to find a solution."
'Properly vetted'
On Thursday, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the biometric checks for the Gazan students should be made in British consulates in Israel and argued that they were "an essential part of our security arrangements".He said: "One of the reasons [biometric checks] are done is to then check the photograph and check the fingerprints against various databases," he said.These contain the details of people who are suspected of extremism, terrorism offences, or have been removed or deported from the UK previously, he said."There's a number of security checks like that, which get done to make sure that people arriving in the UK are being properly vetted," he said.He argued that the students mentioned in the letter could use consular facilities, such as the British Embassy or British consulate office in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem."I would ask that the Israeli government make sure that they arrange safe passage for those people to get to the British consulate office in order to have those checks done, prior to travelling," Mr Philp said.
Mr Gardiner said they were not asking for the checks to be dispensed with, but to be deferred to Egypt or Jordan."The point is there is nowhere that they can be done in Gaza," he said."We dispensed with those checks for students from Ukraine in a war situation, and other countries have done it as well."This is not saying let's allow people with a dodgy record come to the UK people, that's just nonsense."
The BBC has contacted Goldsmiths University for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
42 minutes ago
- The National
The Glasgow neighbourhood where over 50 shops are boycotting Israel
The 140-day occupation to save the Govanhill Baths from closure in 2001 is considered one of the longest in UK history. Govanhill residents were also instrumental in facing off against the Home Office during the now-famous immigration raid on Kenmure Street in 2021. And now, the community is at the centre of a growing Scottish movement to boycott Israel amid its genocide in Gaza. It's called Apartheid Free Zones (AFZ) Scotland – an initiative launched by the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) that is looking to sign up shops, restaurants, businesses, community organisations, and trade unions across Scotland to commit to BDS practices. READ MORE: Australian influencers 'damage' historic Jacobite site, as investigation launches The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has existed since 2005. It was initiated by a coalition of more than 170 Palestinian civil society organisations in an effort to put pressure on the Israeli economy in the mould of the anti-apartheid boycott of South Africa. Govanhill now has its own dedicated AFZ and has signed up 54 businesses so far, who are all now boycotting Israeli goods and services as well as international businesses that are profiting from Israel's oppression of Palestinians – from Coca-Cola to Puma and Airbnb. '[A lot of] the community were already doing it. Places like Pakistani Street Food, Bangin Burgers – there's probably a few more that had already boycotted Coca-Cola, had already boycotted Israeli products and goods,' Miriam, one of the organisers, told me as we walked up Victoria Road. Tony, another organiser, agreed. Tony and Miriam (Image: Tony) 'There's a lot of visible Palestine solidarity around the community, and we're basically trying to bring that together into a campaign for a boycott of Israeli goods across all of Govanhill,' he said. 'People know that they want to support Palestine and know that there's a long boycott lists of a whole range of products, and we're saying the most effective concrete thing you can do right now is boycott Israeli goods and other firms on the BDS list.' Tony added: [Also] informing people about the things that are going to be the most effective in a targeted boycott and giving people confidence to do it as well because if you're a shop that's just started, you say, well, I want to support, but what good can I do by myself? We then tell them that we do this as a community.' (Image: Colin Mearns) Examples of businesses in the area that have signed up include Cafe Peachy on Victoria Road. In a post on Instagram, the business said they were 'sickened, furious and heartbroken' at the ongoing humanitarian crisis worsening every day in Gaza. The popular brunch spot added that it will be donating 5% of all its takings to the local Al-Khair Foundation, a charity which provides emergency relief and developmental support in Gaza and worldwide. It also announced it will be implementing a full boycott of Israeli goods and firms on the BDS list. Zaytouna (behind) is another business that has signed up (Image: Colin Mearns) 'We know it's not a huge act, but hopefully one that means together as a united community we can move a small way closer towards having a real world positive impact on the lives of the Palestinian people,' they added. The Sunday National also spoke with Sufyan, the owner of Bangin Burgers – another business that has signed up to the Govanhill AFZ. 'It's just a good initiative. The message they're trying to have, I think it's just really positive. The more awareness you bring, the more people are aware of what's going on [in Gaza], that's how you build unity around it,' he said. 'Obviously, I don't believe that my shop boycotting has the greatest effect, but I think with that mindset, you wouldn't get anywhere. Collectively, it does have an impact. Boycotting and signing up is just me trying to do my little part against the injustice that's going on over there.'
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Author of new Prince Andrew book: 'What most annoys him is his lack of a royal status'
The author of a new book about Prince Andrew has called for "more accountability from the Royal Family and more transparency" after encountering what he claims was considerable secrecy while researching his book. Andrew Lownie has spent four years working on Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York - a book unauthorised by Prince Andrew - and submitted hundreds of Freedom of Information requests to government departments. However, he's revealed to Sky News that all of his applications for information about Prince Andrew and his official work were knocked back. The royal household and the royal archive are already exempt from FoI requests. Speaking ahead of the book's publication, which has already attracted considerable attention because of more lurid claims about the duke, Mr Lownie told Sky News: "Clearly there are details that people have picked up on and run with. And you know, that's inevitable in these sort of books." But he added: "If they're to earn our trust and support, they have to show that they are not hiding things - that they are behaving well." Mr Lownie said he was given a catalogue of reasons by the likes of the Foreign Office and the Department for Business and Trade as to why they couldn't help with information about Prince Andrew's public work as a trade envoy in the 2000s. Sky News was shown a selection of those response letters. "They blame everything from security reasons, to cost and man hours, to data protection, to my questions being too broad," the author said. But Mr Lownie believes it's in the interest of the Windsors to be more open if they want to guarantee long-term backing from the public, and he hopes his book may trigger more calls for greater transparency. It comes as a new YouGov report found that Prince Andrew remains the most unpopular royal in the country, with 87% of people having a negative view of him. According to the survey, just 5% of people have a favourable view of the Duke of York. The poll also found the royals are less popular with a younger audience. Only 36% of 18 to 24-years-olds believe the monarchy is good for the country, compared with about 60% of Britons overall. The generational difference is underlined given 81% of over-65s think Britain should continue to have a monarchy, but this falls with each age group to just 41% of 18 to 24s. Stories about Prince Andrew continue to attract a huge amount of attention and regularly still make him a difficult distraction for the Royal Family. Mr Lownie says he got no sense of any appetite to reintroduce him into public life while doing his research. "I don't think he has any public future. I would say his private future is pretty limited too. I mean, he lives in Royal Lodge [on the Windsor Estate], he plays golf, watches TV, and presumably sees his grandchildren ... he's living the life of a retired man." But according to one member of staff, the removal of his royal and military titles has stung more than Prince Andrew has publicly shown. "What most annoys him is his lack of a royal status," Mr Lownie added. "That's what really sort of gave him his whole sense of identity. And that's, you know, it's not being able to put on his uniforms and strut around and being self-important." Buckingham Palace has not made any comments on the book as the Duke of York is no longer a working royal.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Lammy and Vance hold meeting to discuss US-brokered Ukraine peace plan
The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, and the US vice-president, JD Vance, held a meeting with Ukrainian and European partners in Britain on Saturday to discuss the drive for peace in Ukraine. The summit comes before a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin set for next Friday in Alaska. In a comment that that was met with pushback from Kyiv, the US president said that an end to the war must involve 'some swapping of territories'. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressed early on Saturday that 'Ukrainians will not give their land to occupiers'. Trump has agreed to meet the Russian president even if he refuses to meet Zelenskyy, adding to fears Ukraine could be sidelined in negotiations. A White House official said later on Saturday that Trump was open to holding a trilateral summit in Alaska with Putin and Zelenskyy, but that it was planning a bilateral meeting with Putin at the Russian's president's request. In a Telegram post on Saturday in which he emphasised Kyiv must be represented for any peace deal to be viable, Zelenskyy wrote: 'Any decisions that are without Ukraine are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not bring anything. These are dead decisions. They will never work.' The meeting between Lammy and Vance took place at Chevening in Kent. The Guardian understands it was held at the request of the US. On Saturday evening, Lammy posted on X that he had held a meeting with Vance, Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's defence minister, and European national security advisers. 'The UK's support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace,' he said. Zelenskyy said on Saturday evening that the meeting of security advisers from Ukraine and its partner countries had been constructive, adding that Kyiv's arguments were heard and dangers were taken into account. Zelenskyy said officials from Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland took part in the meeting, aiming to consolidate positions to achieve a ceasefire. 'The path to peace for Ukraine should be determined together and only together with Ukraine, this is key principle,' he said in his evening address. On Saturday evening the leaders of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Finland, and the president of the EU Commission, released a joint statement declaring that the path to peace could not be decided without Ukraine. 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 'We welcome President Trump's work to stop the killing in Ukraine, end the Russian Federation's war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine,' they said. 'We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed. 'We stand ready to support this work diplomatically as well as by upholding our substantive military and financial support to Ukraine.' On Saturday morning Starmer and Zelenskyy had talked by phone. A No 10 spokesperson said: 'Both leaders welcomed president Trump's desire to bring this barbaric war to an end and agreed that we must keep up the pressure on Putin to end his illegal war.' The statement added that Starmer had reiterated 'his unwavering support for Ukraine and its people' during the call. Zelenskyy communicated with Trump and European leaders in recent days as news broke that the US leader and Putin were planning to meet. On Friday Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said there could be a 'freeze' in the conflict. If the summit goes ahead between Trump and Putin, it will be the first time a US president has met the Russian leader since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The last meeting Putin had with a US president was with Joe Biden in Geneva in June 2021.
