The Shining: my trip to the G7 horror show with Emmanuel Macron
By Emmanuel Carrère. Read by David Sibley
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The Independent
41 minutes ago
- The Independent
Nigel Farage accused of spreading ‘unevidenced fears' about asylum seekers
Nigel Farage has been accused by charities of spreading 'unevidenced fears' over asylum seekers in his latest tirade on those who illegally enter the UK on small boats. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, the Reform UK leader claimed foreign migrants made the dangerous crossing 'because they know they have an over 99 per cent chance of staying'. He said they came to be 'looked after' with free healthcare and £49-a-week 'pocket money', adding 'while they are at it probably work illegally either in delivery services or drugs or whatever it may be'. His comments came less than 24 hours after protesters were accused of trying to break into a hotel housing asylum seekers in Canary Wharf. In response to a reporter's question, Mr Farage rejected he was steering people into fear to persuade them to vote for Reform. He said: 'We have to recognise something, there are some people who come from certain cultures that pose a danger to our society.' But his comments have been met with a strong reaction from charities. Care4Calais, a British charity supporting asylum seekers in France, said Mr Farage's 'populist politics' were a danger to UK communities. Chief executive Steve Smith said: "It's hardly surprising that the politician who inflamed last summer's race riots would spread unevidenced fear about people seeking sanctuary again. 'His [Mr Farage's] form of populism doesn't require facts, it is built on dangerous, unsourced, ill-informed divisive soundbites. It sows division in our communities, and like last summer race riots, it puts the lives of people seeking sanctuary in danger." Hope Not Hate, an advocacy group that campaigns against racism, also reacted to the comments at the press conference, held to unveil Reform UK's policy for the criminal justice system. A charity spokesperson said: 'Farage trades on fear because it galvanises his supporter base and keeps the spotlight on the issues he wants to exploit, immigration and 'law and order'. By talking up crime he positions himself as the lone strong-man solution. 'However, Reform's approach to law and order is deeply hypocritical. Reform figures have excused rioters at anti-migrant protests, and even praised vandalism of ULEZ cameras. It's cuffs for opponents and leniency for friends. " The office of Sadiq Khan also responded to a remark made by Mr Farage in which he told a reporter she would not walk through the West End of London after 9pm wearing jewellery. The office shared Met Police data that showed the number of robberies had fallen 20 per cent over the past 12 months, compared to a decrease of 12 per cent across London. A spokesperson said: 'Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe.' Reform UK has been approached by The Independent for comment. Also at the press conference, Mr Farage claimed there has been a 'cover-up' of details about an alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton. Two men have been charged in relation to the alleged incident in the Warwickshire town. Mr Farage linked a perceived lack of information from police to what happened in Southport last July, saying he wanted to discuss a 'cover-up that in many ways is reminiscent of what happened after the Southport killings last year'.
Reuters
42 minutes ago
- Reuters
Netherlands uses new NATO channel to pay for US arms for Ukraine
AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The Netherlands said on Monday it will contribute 500 million euros ($578 million) to purchase U.S. military equipment for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO country to contribute to a new mechanism to supply Kyiv with American weapons. President Donald Trump said last month the U.S. would provide weapons to Ukraine, paid for by European allies, but he did not provide details on how this would work. "As the first NATO ally, the Netherlands will deliver a €500 million package of US weapon systems (including Patriot parts and missiles)," Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans said in a post on X. NATO chief Mark Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister, welcomed the announcement and said he has encouraged other alliance members to participate in the new mechanism, called the NATO Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative. 'This is about getting Ukraine the equipment it urgently needs now to defend itself against Russian aggression,' Rutte said in a statement. 'I have written to all NATO Allies, urging them to contribute towards this burden sharing initiative, and I expect further significant announcements from other Allies soon,' he added. The U.S. ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, told Reuters on Monday that he expected many more countries to announce over the coming weeks that they will participate. 'We're moving as fast as possible,' Whitaker said in an interview at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked about a timeline for getting U.S. deliveries to Ukraine under the new mechanism, he said, 'I think we'll see it moving very quickly, certainly in the coming weeks, but some even sooner than that. 'The Dutch are just the first of many. You're going to see a series of announcements in the coming weeks,' he added. NATO said it would coordinate the new initiative, which is funded by European members of the alliance and Canada and will be divided into packages worth approximately $500 million. In a statement, the alliance said, "Working closely with Ukraine and the United States, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich will validate packages that correspond to Ukraine's needs, such as air defence, ammunition and other critical equipment for rapid delivery from U.S. stockpiles". Kyiv welcomed the Dutch decision. "Ukraine, and thus the whole of Europe, will be better protected from Russian terror," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X. "I am sincerely grateful to the Netherlands for their substantial contribution to strengthening Ukraine's air shield," he added. ($1 = 0.8649 euros)
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Ski masks and bags full of alcohol: Couple relive watching Rotherham riots unfold on their doorstep
A year has passed, but Paris and Josh still cannot quite believe what they witnessed last August. They live 200m from a hotel on the edge of a quiet residential street. "It looked like a modern-day lynching," Paris says. It's the only way she can describe the sickening scene that unfolded as a furious mob tried to attack asylum seekers being housed in the Holiday Inn Express north of Rotherham. 1:40 After seeing masked men setting fires and storming into the hotel, Paris says she was afraid they were going to see "either someone getting thrown out a window, or someone getting dragged outside". Josh remembers looking out of his bedroom window and thinking: "What is England coming to? What is going on?" "It was like they were going to a festival," Paris says. "They had ski masks on and bags full of alcohol, people were taking the kids, like they had the kids on their shoulders." To protect their car, Josh drove it off his driveway to another street nearby. They then retreated inside and watched six or seven hours of chaos unfold. It was one of the most serious outbursts of rioting during a week last August when disorder spread through towns and cities. Days after the knife attack which left three school girls dead in Southport, years of deep-rooted frustration about immigration boiled over. Twelve months on, the Holiday Inn Express next to Josh and Paris' home has reopened as a regular hotel, but the tension that has been seen around other migrant hotels recently hasn't disappeared. "I still see in groups (online) all this hate being spilled," Josh says. "I think it probably could happen again," Paris adds. "That's the faith I have in the country, really." The courts have handed out lengthy prison sentences to those involved in the disorder, leading to rows about whether they match the crimes people committed. The mayor of South Yorkshire says tensions over immigration remain unresolved and told Sky News he believes migrants, hotel workers or police officers could have been killed last August. "Had they [rioters] been more effective at doing some of the things they were trying to do, we would have seen people dying on the day," Oliver Coppard says. "What it speaks to, in my mind, is the poverty that we see in some of our communities, which feeds a sense of grievance." Mr Coppard - who has responsibility for policing in South Yorkshire - added: "Ultimately what we need in this country is a better approach to cohesion, to community integration so people are supported to live full lives within our communities and a proper and legal approach to asylum. "Those things are incredibly toxic and politics is not doing a good job I think of dealing with those issues." Protests around other migrant hotels in recent weeks show that the grievances of last summer still hang in the air. In Rotherham market we meet 23-year-old scaffolder Josh. "I don't think it has been solved," he says. When I asked him how that makes people feel, he replies: "Angry because it makes people want to riot again." He says he has no issue with people who move to the UK legally to work, but adds it is "unfair" when people arrive on small boats and receive hotel accommodation while their asylum cases are processed. Gabriel, 38, who was born in Rotherham, says he feels people look at him differently since last summer's disorder. "I couldn't see anybody smiling at me like they used to before the riot, they are putting every minority in the same box which is wrong," he says. "There is still a bit of aftermath, anger, rage, upset - in everybody's eyes. "That tension alone is worse than the actual incident because before, I think, it was hidden but now it is out there." A woman who didn't want to be named says: "The backlash is going to happen with the government against the people - the people against the government, it is not right. "The way I see it, we all have to live together ... we bleed the same blood, we breathe the same air." That spirit of conciliation and tolerance is less common than it once was - it is a hallmark of a failed immigration system that has left deep-rooted frustration in communities across the UK.
