Latest news with #Donkeys
The National
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Ian Hislop slams terror arrest of man holding Private Eye cartoon
Jon Farley, 67, was arrested at a silent demonstration in Leeds on Saturday for holding a sign that made a joke about the proscription order, which appeared in the last issue of the fortnightly magazine. The cartoon read: "Unacceptable Palestine Action: Spraying military planes with paint. "Acceptable Palestine Action: Shooting Palestinians queuing for food." (Image: @MadocCairns, via Twitter/X) He was arrested by West Yorkshire police under the Terrorism Act, and was released six hours later after being questioned by counter-terrorism police. On Monday, police confirmed no further action would be taken against him and all bail conditions have been lifted. READ MORE: Led by Donkeys stage Gaza protest outside Labour Party HQ Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye, said the cartoon was "quite blatantly an example of freedom of speech on the subject of a government policy". Ian Hislop (Image: PA) He told the Guardian: 'I did think it was mind-boggling. I mean, ludicrous. He obviously couldn't believe it and the immediate response in the office was that someone said: 'Well, the jokes have been criminal for ages.'' Are Private Eye jokes now... criminal? PALESTINE Solidarity campaigner Jon Farley was arrested, bundled into a van and taken to the cells during a silent march in Leeds last weekend. What egregious act had prompted the police to act? He was, er, carrying a Private Eye joke piece… — Private Eye Magazine (@PrivateEyeNews) July 23, 2025 He said the cartoon was 'actually a very neat and funny little encapsulation about what is and isn't acceptable, and it's a joke about – I mean, it's quite a black joke – but about the hypocrisies of government approach to any sort of action in Gaza. READ MORE: British Army weapons systems causing brain damage in soldiers, MoD admits 'So it's not difficult to understand. It's critical, but it is quite clearly a joke. Seems to me absolutely extraordinary that someone could be arrested for holding it up," Hislop added. A spokesperson for West Yorkshire police said: 'We are sorry that the man involved is unhappy with the circumstances of this arrest. As this is a new proscribed organisation, West Yorkshire police is considering any individual or organisational learning from this incident.'
The National
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Woman, 70, arrested under terror law after Edinburgh Gaza march
The woman was arrested for "showing support for a proscribed organisation" at a demonstration in the capital on Saturday. The demonstration was held against the UK Government and the media's complicity in the genocide in Gaza. READ MORE: Led by Donkeys stage Gaza protest outside Labour Party HQ Officers were in attendance at the protest, but no arrests were made at the time. The woman is the third person to be arrested following the national demonstration at the weekend, after two men, aged 78 and 60, were arrested on Monday. A 58-year-old man was also arrested on Monday in the vicinity of the Scottish Parliament for displaying a sign allegedly "showing support for a proscribed organisation". A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'On Tuesday, 22 July, 2025, a 70-year-old woman, was arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for showing support for a proscribed organisation at a protest in Edinburgh on Saturday, July 19, 2025. 'A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.' According to campaign group Defend Our Juries, nearly 200 people have been arrested within a fortnight in the UK under terror law since the proscription of Palestine Action came into effect. READ MORE: 'If not now, when?': Cabinet ministers pressure Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine Also in Scotland, an activist was arrested and charged under the Terrorism Act in Glasgow on Friday at a protest in support of Palestine Action. The 64-year-old man, Sean Clerkin, carried a sign which read: "Genocide in Palestine. Time to take action", with the words 'Palestine' and 'Action' enhanced. He has since been banned from Glasgow city centre. The designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was brought in by the Labour Government earlier this month. It means that membership of or support for the group is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The National
23-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Daily Express front page piles pressure on Labour to act on Gaza
The newspaper's splash featured an image of a starving one-year old child in Gaza accompanied by the headline 'for pity's sake stop this now'. A sub-heading detailed how the child Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq was 'clinging on to life' and how his suffering 'shames us all'. Callum Hoare, the Express's head of news, said on social media the paper opted for the 'powerful' front page in a call for the 'brutal suffering' in Gaza to end. More than 100 aid organisations have warned of 'mass starvation' in the enclave with more than two million people facing shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of brutal bombardment by Israel. READ MORE: Led by Donkeys stage Gaza protest outside Labour HQ The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US-and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May – in effect sidelining the existing UN-led system. A statement from the agencies says they are 'witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes', with aid workers now joining food lines and risking being shot by Israeli forces. It comes after hundreds of British-Israelis signed a petition two months ago calling on UK Government to not be "complicit in criminal mass starvation". The significance of the Express calling out Israel's actions has not been lost on journalists and pro-Palestine campaigners. Richard Hall, a senior correspondent at The Independent, said on social media: 'The Daily Express is a right-wing British newspaper that spends most of its time bashing immigrants. Our powerful @Daily_Express front page for tomorrow. The brutal suffering in Gaza must end. The shocking image shows Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, one, who weighs the same as three-month old baby due to the humanitarian crisis following the continued blocking of basic aid… — Callum Hoare (@CallumHoare_) July 22, 2025 'That it has devoted its front page to the starvation of Gaza is a sign of how dire the situation has become and how impossible it is to ignore.' Writer and broadcaster Mike Philpott, who used to work for BBC News, added: 'I didn't have the Daily Express down as one of the champions of humanity. But when it runs a front page like this, it's time to stop pretending that this isn't genocide.' However, some have sought to point out it has taken far too long for the newspaper to call out Israel almost two years on since it began bombarding Gaza following the October 7 attacks. Hamza Yusuf, a British-Palestinian writer and journalist whose work focuses on Palestine, said on Twitter/X: 'It's no doubt a good thing to see this categorical, raw Daily Express front page tomorrow. 'But when it mattered most, it manufactured consent for the very horrors it is now condemning. 'This is cause and effect.' On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy claimed the UK was not sending weapons to Israel which could be used in Gaza despite the continued export of F-35 jets, which have been documented as being used by Israel. READ MORE: Amnesty calls on John Swinney to stand up to 'authoritarian' Donald Trump The F-35 programme is an international defence programme which produces and maintains the fighter jets, with the UK contributing components for both assembly lines and an international pool. Last week Lammy said Israeli plans to build a concentration camp in Gaza would be a 'sticking point' in ceasefire negotiations, for which he was severely criticised. As of July 13, the UN confirmed 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the rest at distribution points. Thousands more have been injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on July 20, confining Palestinians to less than 12% of Gaza. The World Food Programme had warned that current conditions make operations untenable. The statement from aid organisations has been signed by the likes of Save the Children, the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Mercy Corps and Christian Aid. It goes on: 'Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale. But, with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams. 'On July 10, the EU and Israel announced steps to scale up aid. But these promises of 'progress' ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive. 'Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures, like airdrops or flawed aid deals, serve as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace states' legal and moral obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. 'States can and must save lives before there are none left to save.'
