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The Independent
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The failure to stand by Afghans who fought with the British has been unforgivable
Among the jaw-dropping revelations in the past few days of the mishandling of Britain's responsibility towards Afghans who fought alongside our troops, one stands out. No one has been disciplined for any of the failures of the British state in dealing with the after-effects of our withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. No one has been held to account for the leak of thousands of names of Afghans whose lives have been put in danger. We are not talking here about the British serviceman who pressed 'send' on the email to which a spreadsheet was attached containing hidden data, so much as about the senior officials responsible for ensuring secure communication of sensitive information. Holly Bancroft, our journalist who has won awards for her coverage of the Afghan special forces left behind by Britain, has reported on many other cases in which the Ministry of Defence has failed to keep data safe, including being fined by the information commissioner for mishandling of emails linked to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap). Nor has anyone been disciplined for the failure to use the time bought by the superinjunction after the leak was discovered to bring all those affected to safety. The Independent has spoken to two Afghans who served alongside British forces who are still in Afghanistan, waiting for decisions on their applications for the right to come to the UK. Their situation has now become perilous, despite the Ministry of Defence having had two years to put it right. Indeed, instead of trying to identify the remaining Afghans put at risk by the leak and to make sure that they were quickly protected, the MoD was seeking to have the injunction extended, possibly indefinitely. As we have commented before, the instinct not just of the bureaucracy but of its former political leaders seems to have been to cover up the problem rather than deal with it. This is part of a wider failure, on which The Independent has reported with a consistent sense of urgency, to deal efficiently with the relatively small numbers of people left in a vulnerable position by the allies' withdrawal four years ago. In some cases, officials have denied that members of the Afghan special forces were paid by the British, only for the evidence to be discovered later. In another case, one official was found to have refused 1,500 applications for assistance without checking them individually. We have campaigned for years against foot-dragging by the MoD, the Foreign Office and the Home Office, which has left brave Afghans who risked their lives to assist our forces in their country in limbo. Some of them were left in a state of uncertainty in the UK, such as the pilot who came to Britain in a small boat – because there was no other way – only to be threatened with deportation to Rwanda. Thanks to our campaign, he was finally given permission to stay. But there are hundreds more, some still in Afghanistan, others in Pakistan or Iran, still waiting for the British state to acknowledge its responsibility to them. This cannot go on. It is high time that the prime minister and John Healey, the defence secretary, got a grip on this issue – and that must include identifying and punishing those responsible for this shameful episode.
Daily Mail
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
DAN HODGES: Keir Starmer's delusional if he thinks his morally bankrupt plan to let 16-year-olds vote will help him out. They'll NEVER vote for him
It goes without saying that the Government's move to hand the vote to 16-year-olds is intellectually and morally bankrupt. You can determine the legal speed limit. But you aren't actually deemed mature enough to get behind the wheel yourself. You can endorse sending British troops off to fight in a foreign war. But you're not perceived to have sufficient discipline or self-control to join them. You can't be trusted to buy alcohol, get married or own a credit card. But you can help determine the political direction of Britain for half a decade. To be fair, nobody ever seriously pretended there was some great civic imperative behind the change. Angela Rayner made a half-decent fist of it when she claimed: 'For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy.'
SBS Australia
24-06-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
UK, Ukraine sign 100 year agreement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London and visited British troops training Ukrainian forces as part of Operation Interflex. During their meeting, the British Prime Minister reaffirmed the UK's military and financial support for Ukraine. 'I'm really proud that we've been able to do that throughout the conflict and will continue to do so, for the rest of the conflict into hopefully a ceasefire with Ukraine in the strongest possible position. And of course, when I was in Ukraine, I think the time before last, we signed the 100 year agreement between our two countries. So it is really good to be able to fly those flags as a symbol of the unity between our two countries." He also referenced the recent UK–Ukraine 100-year agreement signed in Kyiv earlier this year, calling it a symbol of long-term unity. President Zelenskyy thanked the UK for its support since the beginning of the war. "We are very thankful to the UK, all your team and people of the United Kingdom for such big support of Ukraine from the very beginning of this war. ... This is a very historic moment. It was the good result of today, our meeting, this additional decision of co-production. And I think it will be very strong and it will strengthen both nations. ... Thank you. Slava Ukraine." Before his meeting in Downing Street, Mr Zelenskyy was received by King Charles at Windsor Castle. While Mr Zelenskyy was in London, Russian forces launched one of the largest aerial attacks on Ukraine in weeks. At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in overnight strikes, with nine deaths reported in Kyiv. A residential building partially collapsed after being hit by a missile. Resident Ludmyla Dubyna described the moment of the blast. "So we heard the air alert siren, then there was a response. We came to the room, lay down and then it hit right here - boom. And we went down to the shelter here. It was all burning. There were already a lot of people around, first responders and such. That's the way it went down. Then we came home, and our windows and doors were blown out." Emergency crews recovered the bodies of several victims, including a young girl and her mother. The State Emergency Service said search operations were ongoing. Svitlana Vodolaha is the SES' spokesperson. "An emergency search operation is currently underway. At the moment, we have found nine bodies, of which one is a child. It was the ninth body, it was a girl, whose relatives were looking for her. That's where the screams are coming from - it is there that the identification process is taking place, and it is the relatives who have identified the body of this child and the body of her mother." Ukraine's air force says Russia launched more than 350 drones and over a dozen ballistic and cruise missiles overnight. Most were intercepted, but several struck civilian targets. In the southern Odesa region, a missile destroyed a school building, killing two staff members. No students were present at the time. President Zelenskyy called the attack absolutely insane. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is calling for further sanctions on Russia. "It is a proper time to engage all diplomatic instruments to raise the price for further Russian aggression, to impose sanctions. That is why it is so important that today I am here, ahead of us important international events, NATO summit, EU summit. We are also working hard together with Council of Europe to speed up the process of establishing special tribunal. So once again, it is a proper time to use all diplomatic instruments to force Russia to peace." This comes as the NATO summit is set to open next week in The Hague, where President Trump is expected to pressure allies to increase defence spending to five per cent of G-D-P. Many countries currently spend around two per cent. Speaking ahead of the summit, President Trump claimed the US had carried most of NATO's financial burden. REPORTER: "Is it still your expectation that NATO countries spend 5% of their GDP on defence spending?" TRUMP: "Well, I think they should do that. I don't think we should, but I think they should. We've been spending, we've been supporting NATO so long, in many cases, I believe, paying almost 100% the cost. So, I don't think we should but the NATO countries should, absolutely." NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has confirmed European and Canadian allies have increased their commitments to Ukraine. "Our support for Ukraine is unwavering and will persist. And we have - I can announce that now - new estimates showing that our European and Canadian allies have stepped up and have already pledged. Where we originally would be able to announce 20 billion over the first three months of this year, it is now... they will provide over 35 billion euros of additional security assistance to Ukraine for the year ahead." Mr Rutte is concerned that Russia is building-up to attack Europe. "There's widespread agreement within NATO that at this moment, today, if Russia would attack us, our reaction would be devastating, and the Russians know this. But there is great worry in many circles of NATO, we have heard the chief of defence in Germany a couple of weeks ago and many other senior military leaders speaking about it and also senior intelligence community people speaking about it, that between three, five, seven years from now, Russia will be able to successfully attack us if we do not start investing more today."
The Independent
15-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
The UK must exercise all its leverage to de-escalate the Middle East
As the military conflict between Israel and Iran entered its third day, Sir Keir Starmer called for 'de-escalation', which is a noble and sensible objective. But it can be little more than a diplomatic holding position. With neither side anything like ready to heed such appeals, and casualties mounting in both countries, the fear must be that the trajectory lies in the opposite direction, which presents the government with a new dilemma, to add to the many it currently faces at home as well as abroad: how far, if at all, should the UK become involved in what could escalate into a wider Middle East war? Thus far, it would seem that beyond the relatively small presence of British troops already in the region, the UK's involvement is limited to the dispatch of additional fast jets and mid-air refuelling planes, as disclosed by the prime minister on his way to the G7 summit in Canada. He described this as a 'contingency', intended – it has to be assumed, although he did not spell it out – to facilitate a response, should Iran mount an attack on UK interests. This was a possibility specifically broached by Iran in the event of a third country, such as the UK, moving to reinforce Israel militarily. Such a threat must be taken seriously and prepared for, although equally, it must be hoped that the situation does not arise. The UK had earlier taken the precaution of directly denying a Russian claim that its bases in Cyprus had been used to support Israeli strikes against Iran, although, with reporters, Starmer left open the question of when, or whether, the UK had advance knowledge of those strikes. Even without an Iranian attack on UK interests, however, the pressure for more UK involvement – direct or indirect – is likely to grow. This is an exceptionally fast-moving conflict that has erupted within days into what is effectively a state-on-state war after months when Israel acted mostly against Iran's proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, rather than against Iran itself. It would also seem to have demolished all hope of an international agreement being reached with Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions. The UK remains a longstanding ally of Israel, and this has not changed substantially, even as the UK has sought increasingly to condemn the death and destruction Israel has inflicted on Gaza following the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. True, the government has upped its criticism, especially against blocks on humanitarian aid to Gaza; it suspended some arms export licences for Israel, voted differently from the United States in some UN votes condemning Israel, and recently sanctioned two far-right members of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, but UK condemnation has had its limits. It is possible that the US will increase its direct support for Israel, and that the UK could follow suit as part of efforts to remain close to Washington. Barely six weeks ago, British planes took part alongside US forces in a joint raid on Houthi rebels in Yemen. One small, but hopeful, sign so far is that the government appears to be making efforts to maintain contacts on both sides. The foreign secretary, David Lammy, spoke to his Iranian opposite number on the morning after Israel's first strikes, in a conversation where he was reported to have urged 'restraint' and 'calm' after what he called Israel's 'unilateral act'. The longer the UK can keep channels open with Iran, the better. As for any direct intervention in the conflict, this must be a matter for parliament. Some MPs will remember the salutary experience of David Cameron when he unexpectedly lost the vote on intervening in Syria on the side of rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad. That defeat, which also discouraged others from taking part, arguably saved the UK and others from another debacle on the scale of Iraq. The experience of Iraq and Libya should also stand as a warning, as some voices in Israel and the Iranian diaspora suggest that regime change should be the objective of the current military action. The region as a whole is plagued with more than enough violence as it is. In almost every respect, Kananaskis in the Canadian Rockies, where the G7 leaders are meeting, is about as far from the current turmoil in the Middle East as it is possible to be. It must be hoped that distance offers the necessary clarity to make calls for regional de-escalation a realistic proposition and, with it, a return to the talks that would be a preferable way of reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions. For that to happen, the US, the UK and other parties must be prepared to exercise all the leverage they have. It is a slender hope, but one that must be worth hanging on to, given that every alternative would surely be worse.
The Independent
02-06-2025
- General
- The Independent
Listen: Keir Starmer refuses to rule out war with Russia
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out sending British troops to Russia, stating that the UK cannot 'ignore the threat' Vladimir Putin poses. Asked on the BBC 's Radio 4's Today programme whether the UK might have to send forces to Nato's eastern border to 'possibly die', the prime minister replied: 'I hope not.'. On Sunday (1 June), German's chief of Defence, General Carsten Breuer, told the broadcaster that Russia would attack again within the next four years, highlighting Lithuania and Poland as particularly vulnerable. On Monday (2 June), Sir Keir told BBC's Nick Robinson that in order to make sure British troops aren't sent to the frontline, the UK 'has to prepare'.
