Latest news with #AndrewMacAskill
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BCG says some of its staff circumvented its controls in Gaza work
BCG says some of its staff circumvented its controls in Gaza work By Stefania Spezzati and Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) -An investigation commissioned by Boston Consulting Group has found that some of its U.S.-based staff sidestepped its risk controls to do work related to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and to "post-war reconstruction" for the Palestinian enclave, the consulting firm said. In a response to a British parliamentary committee inquiry published on Thursday, BCG detailed the role some of its staff played in establishing GHF during late 2024 and early this year, and then the efforts made by one of its managing directors to carry out further work in March. GHF is a U.S.- and Israeli-backed organisation that began delivering humanitarian supplies to Palestinian civilians in Gaza in May, bypassing traditional aid channels including the United Nations. Its operations have been beset by violence and chaos including deadly shootings of scores of Palestinians near its food distribution sites guarded by Israeli forces, Reuters has reported. The U.N. and other humanitarian groups have refused to work with GHF, questioning its neutrality and criticising the new distribution model as militarising aid and forcing displacement of Palestinians. "We deeply regret that, in connection with the work about which the committee has asked, we did not live up to our standards," BCG said in its July 22-dated response to the parliamentary committee inquiry. BCG's role in the setting up of GHF dragged the firm into controversy and raises questions over its internal risk processes and controls. Its decision not to publish the full investigation could lead to further questions about the level of that involvement. A "largely complete" review led by law firm WilmerHale had shown that "BCG's approval processes were circumvented" by now-former BCG staff, the Boston-based management consulting firm said, in relation to work carried out earlier this year. BCG said it "will not publish the findings of this investigation" by WilmerHale. BCG said a team led by two U.S.-based and now former employees "provided pro bono support" to establish GHF between October last year and January, including its subsidiary in Switzerland, and that such work was directed by a U.S.-based security contractor, Orbis Operations. BCG said the information provided by its staff related to the establishment of the foundation was "incomplete, inaccurate and/or untruthful". SECOND PROJECT Later in March, a BCG employee started "a second, for-fee, project related to the operational and logistical effort to deliver aid", and entered into a contract with U.S.-based private equity firm, McNally Capital. BCG said it cancelled the invoice for this project "as soon as we understood more about the scope and nature of the work." Representatives for McNally Capital did not immediately reply to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Orbis said that "Orbis's involvement was limited to feasibility work," without giving further details. Despite being told by BCG's risk officer not to engage in such a project, the same employee started a team to model "post-war reconstruction" scenarios, BCG said in its letter. He did not enter into a contract with any counterparty for this work, BCG said. "This unapproved work was shared and discussed on Signal" and "those communications were not maintained," the consulting firm said. BCG added that "the only UK-based organisation with which we understand the team interacted during this work was the Tony Blair Institute," referring to post-war scenario planning for Gaza. The Financial Times reported on July 4 that BCG had modelled the costs of "relocating" Palestinians from Gaza and that the Tony Blair Institute participated in a project to develop a post-war Gaza plan. A Tony Blair Institute representative said the firm "has had many calls with different groups on post-war reconstruction of Gaza but none have included the idea of forcible relocation of people from Gaza." Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Maverick
01-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
UK PM Starmer wins vote in parliament on welfare reform
Lawmakers vote in favour of watered down reforms Force another concession from the government Reforms criticised for being 'Dickensian' By Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper Lawmakers voted 335 to 260 in favour of the reforms to change some rules for people to claim certain disability and sickness benefits. A year after winning one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history, Starmer has seen his personal approval ratings collapse and been forced into several policy reversals by his increasingly rebellious lawmakers. 'Welfare reform, let's be honest, is never easy, perhaps especially for Labour governments,' work and pensions minister Liz Kendall told parliament. Starmer came into office last year promising his big parliamentary majority would bring an end to the political chaos that defined much of the Conservative Party's 14 years in power. But the revolt over the welfare bill underlines the difficulty he has pushing through unpopular decisions. The government had initially hoped to save 5 billion pounds ($6.9 billion) a year by 2030 by tightening rules for people to receive disability and sickness benefits. But after the government conceded to pressure from its lawmakers, it said the new rules would now apply only to future applicants, not to the millions of existing claimants as had been proposed. Analysts estimated the savings would likely be closer to 2 billion pounds. In the run-up to the vote, ministers and party enforcers known as 'whips' had been locked in frantic last-ditch lobbying of undecided members of parliament to try to win their backing. In a further last-minute concession to rebels during a debate on the changes, the government backed down on implementing tougher eligibility rules for a key benefit payment until a review into the welfare system had been completed. Rachael Maskell, one of the leading Labour rebels, called the cuts 'Dickensian' and said they 'belong to a different era and a different party'. Debbie Abrahams, the head of the work and pensions committee, called the plans a 'dog's breakfast'. Paula Barker, another Labour member of parliament, called the attempt to pass the plans 'the most unedifying spectacle that I have ever seen'.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK's Starmer offers concessions on welfare cuts to quell Labour revolt
By Andrew MacAskill and Sachin Ravikumar LONDON (Reuters) -Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made concessions to dissenting lawmakers from his Labour Party on planned welfare cuts, two lawmakers said on Thursday, as the British leader tries to avoid a damaging parliamentary rebellion at a vote next week. More than 100 Labour lawmakers opposed Starmer's welfare reforms, arguing the plans failed to provide support for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions. Those lawmakers have spearheaded an effort to kill the government's welfare bill at the vote on Tuesday, presenting a potentially major blow to Starmer a year after he won a large majority in parliament. One Labour lawmaker, who did not wish to be named, said Starmer had agreed late on Thursday evening to change the plans so that the cuts only apply to new welfare claimants, with existing recipients of so-called Personal Independent Payments (PIP) remaining unaffected. The lawmaker said he was still undecided whether the changes would convince him to back Starmer's plan at the vote. Starmer's Downing Street office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Any climbdown on welfare by Starmer will be criticised as yet another U-turn from the government following a reversal in cuts to winter fuel payments and the decision to hold an inquiry into grooming gangs. The government has argued that cutting the ballooning welfare budget is necessary to shore up the public finances and get more people into work. Annual spending on incapacity and disability benefits already exceeds the country's defence budget and is set to top 100 billion pounds by 2030, according to official forecasts, up from 65 billion pounds now. Despite Starmer's concessions, one Labour lawmaker, Peter Lamb, said after learning of the changes that he would vote down the bill "alone" if necessary. "To me, it's insufficient when better options have repeatedly been put forward and ignored," Lamb said on X.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK plans to double permanent settlement wait for some migrants already in the country
By Andrew MacAskill and Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - The British government is planning to make some immigrants living in the country wait up to five years longer to qualify for permanent settlement under Prime Minister Keir Starmer's plans to cut immigration numbers. The government announced migration reforms on Monday which would, among other measures, double the amount of time required before a person automatically qualifies for the right to stay in Britain or can apply for citizenship, from five to 10 years. It had not been immediately clear whether the rule change would apply to those already living in Britain, or for people just moving to the country and due to start the process. Government officials said on Thursday that while those who arrived on a family visa or as a dependent would retain the five-year route, interior minister Yvette Cooper wanted the longer timeframe to apply to everyone else. One law firm, Farrer&Co, said the change may also not apply to migrants from the European Union who applied for settled status after Brexit, because their treatment was agreed as part of Britain's departure from the bloc in 2020. A spokesman for Starmer said that the migration plans would be consulted on before any changes are introduced. Immigration has long been one of the most important issues for voters in Britain. Controlling the number of arrivals was a key factor in the 2016 vote to leave the EU, yet net arrivals hit record levels after it left the bloc, helping to boost Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party. Starmer, in setting out proposals to reduce immigration, has been heavily criticised by some in his own party and beyond after he warned that Britain risked becoming "an island of strangers" and said immigration had run out of control. His language has drawn parallels to a former right-wing politician Enoch Powell who warned in a now-infamous 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech that Britons would find themselves "strangers in their own country" - a speech that is widely regarded as one of the most divisive in modern British politics. Starmer's spokesperson said he completely rejected the comparison, adding that migrants had made a massive contribution to Britain but that numbers needed to be controlled. Some Labour members of parliament have also raised concerns about the possibility of longer qualifying periods applying to people already in Britain. Florence Eshalomi, a Labour member of parliament who chairs the Commons housing, communities and local government committee, said she had been contacted by several constituents, who were working towards getting permanent settlement in Britain. She said one was now considering leaving.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK charges exiled Myanmar ambassador with trespassing at diplomatic residence
By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) - British police charged Myanmar's former ambassador to the United Kingdom with trespassing on a diplomatic residence in London that he has refused to leave since being ousted for opposing Myanmar's 2021 military coup. Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of his embassy a few months after the February 2021 coup, and was later replaced by the junta's representatives, after calling for the release of Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Since his protest, praised by the British government at the time, Kyaw Zwar Minn has stayed at the northwest London ambassador's residence, a mansion surrounded by razor wire and CCTV cameras. He has refused to hand it back to the embassy, which he says is now run by representatives of an illegitimate government. London's police said Kyaw Zwar Minn was charged last week with trespassing on a diplomatic premises. He must appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 30, the police said. Kyaw Zwar Minn declined to comment. Britain's Foreign Office and Myanmar's embassy in London did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Britain has urged Kyaw Zwar Minn to leave the residence, citing pressure from the junta, Reuters has previously reported. Chris Gunness of rights group Myanmar Accountability Project urged Britain's attorney general to intervene to stop the case. "It is clearly not in our national interest to allow a junta which the UK has condemned and sanctioned to take over diplomatic property in London, not least because it undermines Britain's policy of supporting democracy in Myanmar," he said. Britain is among several Western countries that have called for democracy to be restored in Myanmar and sanctioned members of Myanmar's military and some of its business interests. Most democratic nations, including Britain, have not formally recognised the junta. But in July 2021, Myanmar's junta appointed a new temporary head of its London embassy, a move which did not require the consent of the British government under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
