Latest news with #JamesEadie
The Independent
7 days ago
- General
- The Independent
MI5 apologises unreservedly to High Court for ‘failings and errors'
MI5 has offered an 'unreserved' apology to the High Court saying there had been 'failings and errors' in legal proceedings related to an alleged source accused of abusing two women. In 2022, then-attorney general Suella Braverman went to the court in London to stop the BBC airing a programme that would name him. An injunction was made to prevent the corporation disclosing information likely to identify the man, referred to only as 'X', though Mr Justice Chamberlain said the BBC could still air the programme and the key issues without identifying him. At a hearing in February, the court heard that part of the written evidence provided by MI5 was false. On Tuesday, lawyers for the BBC told the court the 'low threshold' for launching contempt proceedings against MI5 and number of individuals – for not being fully transparent with the court – had been met. Earlier Sir James Eadie KC, representing the Attorney General, made an 'unreserved apology and contrition on behalf of MI5' to the court and parties for the incorrect evidence that was provided. He added: 'I am not here to seek to excuse or diminish the seriousness of that position. 'Everyone from the Director General onwards acknowledges the seriousness of what has occurred.' The written witness statement said the Security Service had maintained its policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) the identities of intelligence sources. However, the BBC said MI5 disclosed X's status to one of its reporters, but then said it had kept to the NCND policy. Sir James said there had been internal investigations since, and the 'first and most obvious conclusion' led to the 'unequivocal apology'. He added that there had been failings that have been 'properly identified' by the investigations. Sir James also said that criticism had been made that records of conversations with the press, about this subject matter, had not been created and maintained 'despite the obvious, clear and serious importance of doing so'. He added that the creation of contemporaneous documents was the 'best guard' against errors being made and that lessons had been learned. Sir James said the court can be 'properly satisfied' a full investigation had taken place, and it had concluded that the 'errors had not been deliberate' and that 'there had been no deliberate misleading or lying'. He also said there had been proper accountability for the errors, including in public, 'to the maximum extent possible'. Jude Bunting KC, for the BBC, told the court on Tuesday that the person – person B – who gave the false evidence did 'deliberately and repeatedly lie'. He continued that the evidence also suggests that there was a 'widespread' understanding within MI5 that this person had departed from NCND. Mr Bunting added that person B had departed from NCND in a way which was 'detailed and surprising, and that he had only been authorised to stray from the policy when talking to a 'trusted MI5 source'. Mr Bunting further said the 'threshold' for contempt proceedings against two officers, a witness and MI5 had been met. He added: 'All of these individuals and the corporate body were aware of the true position. 'Person B seems to have deliberately lied.' Mr Bunting continued: 'We say it was also a particularly serious breach in this case because it had a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice.' Mr Bunting said there was a real concern that the court is not being given the 'full explanation as to what went wrong'. In the programme about X, the BBC alleged the intelligence source was a misogynistic neo-Nazi who attacked his girlfriend, referred to by the pseudonym Beth, with a machete. Charlotte Kilroy KC, representing Beth, who brough a related case to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, said: 'Beth agrees with the BBC that the threshold for contempt has been met.' She added that 'there are copious signs of dishonesty' that have not been acknowledged at all. Ms Kilroy said Beth was not making her own application, as her other case is still ongoing.
TimesLIVE
22-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
UK court lifts injunction allowing Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius to proceed
Britain can conclude a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands on Thursday after a judge at London's high court overturned an 11th-hour injunction which had blocked the agreement being signed earlier. Lawyers representing a British national born in the Chagos Islands were granted an interim injunction in the early hours of Thursday morning, postponing the formal signing of the treaty which aims to secure the future of the strategically important US-UK Diego Garcia air base. But judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the injunction following a hearing later on Thursday, clearing the way for Britain to sign the multibillion-dollar deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The deal, the details of which were first announced in October, would allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease. Following the court's decision to overturn the injunction, the agreement is due to be signed off later. James Eadie, the government's lawyer, said they needed a decision by 12pm GMT in order for the deal to be agreed on Thursday and "everyone is standing by". He said the delay was damaging to British interests and "there is jeopardy to our international relations … [including with] our most important security and intelligence partner, the US." The earlier injunction had been granted following action by Bertrice Pompe, a British national who was born in Diego Garcia and has criticised the deal for excluding Chagossians. It was the latest legal action in the last two decades brought by members of the wider Chagossian diaspora, many of whom ended up in Britain after being forcibly removed from the Indian Ocean archipelago more than 50 years ago. They have said they cannot endorse an agreement they were not consulted on, while critics have also said the deal plays into the hands of China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius. In 1965 Britain detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius — a former colony that became independent three years later — to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.
NDTV
22-05-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
UK Court Lifts Injunction Allowing Chagos Islands Deal To Proceed
London: Britain can conclude a deal with Mauritius on the future of the Chagos Islands on Thursday after a judge at London's High Court overturned an eleventh-hour injunction which had blocked the agreement being signed earlier. Lawyers representing a British national born in the Chagos Islands were granted an interim injunction in the early hours of Thursday morning, postponing the formal signing of the treaty which aims to secure the future of the strategically-important US-UK Diego Garcia air base. But Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the injunction following a hearing later on Thursday, clearing the way for Britain to sign the multi-billion dollar deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The deal, the details of which were first announced in October, would allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease. Following the court's decision to overturn the injunction, the agreement is due to be signed off later. James Eadie, the government's lawyer, said they needed a decision by 1200 GMT in order for the deal to be agreed on Thursday and "everyone is standing by". He said the delay was damaging to British interests and "there is jeopardy to our international relations … (including with) our most important security and intelligence partner, the U.S." The earlier injunction had been granted following action by Bertrice Pompe, a British national who was born in Diego Garcia and has criticised the deal for excluding Chagossians. It was the latest legal action in the last two decades brought by members of the wider Chagossian community, many of whom ended up in Britain after being forcibly removed from the Indian Ocean archipelago more than 50 years ago. They have said they cannot endorse an agreement they were not consulted on, while critics have also said the deal plays into the hands of China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius. In 1965 Britain detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius - a former colony that became independent three years later - to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Express Tribune
15-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
UK defends supplying fighter jet parts to Israel
UK says suspending F-35 licences would hurt US trust and disrupt the entire F-35 programme. PHOTO: AFP Listen to article The UK government Thursday defended supplying fighter jet parts to Israel amid the war in Gaza, telling a London court that suspending exports would compromise Britain's security and damage relations with Israel and allies. Rights groups took the government to the High Court this week, accusing it of breaking international law by allowing the export of advanced Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jet components. Supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking a court order to stop the supply of UK-made parts for the US warplanes, which Israel has used to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank. Earlier this week, lawyers for Al-Haq said the government had known there was a 'clear risk' Israel would use the jet parts to commit violations of international law. But government lawyer James Eadie said Thursday the UK's trade department had acted lawfully and that suspending the export licences would have affected a wider international F-35 programme, resulting in 'extremely serious risks to the UK and international security'. He added the court was not placed to rule on the legality of Israel's actions, and that attempting to do so could have a 'potentially deleterious' effect on 'foreign relations with a friendly state, namely Israel'. He also said the government had taken decisions about suspending arms licences with its relationship with Israel in mind, seeking to 'make sure relations continued to be cordial'. In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licences following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law. But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts. The refuelling probe, laser targeting system, tyres and ejector seat are among the components made in Britain, according to Oxfam. Britain's defence secretary has previously said suspending F-35 licences would 'undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO', and would not be possible without 'wide impacts to the whole F-35 programme'. But lawyers for Al-Haq have described the F-35 exemption as a 'loophole' allowing the components to reach Israel through a global pooling system. In a separate statement, UK-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade said licensing figures showed the government had made a 'shocking increase in military exports to Israel' in the months after its September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions. It said the figures showed the UK approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licences from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined. Most of the licences were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government. It is not certain when a decision could be made after the four-day hearing, which ends on Friday and marks the latest stage in a long-running legal battle.
Business Recorder
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
UK govt defends supplying fighter jet parts to Israel
LONDON: The UK government Thursday defended supplying fighter jet parts to Israel amid the war in Gaza, telling a London court that suspending exports would compromise Britain's security and damage relations with Israel and allies. Rights groups took the government to the High Court this week, accusing it of breaking international law by allowing the export of advanced Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jet components. Supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others, the Palestinian rights association Al-Haq is seeking a court order to stop the supply of UK-made parts for the US warplanes, which Israel has used to devastating effect in Gaza and the West Bank. Earlier this week, lawyers for Al-Haq said the government had known there was a 'clear risk' Israel would use the jet parts to commit violations of international law. But government lawyer James Eadie said Thursday the UK's trade department had acted lawfully and that suspending the export licences would have affected a wider international F-35 programme, resulting in 'extremely serious risks to the UK and international security'. He added the court was not placed to rule on the legality of Israel's actions, and that attempting to do so could have a 'potentially deleterious' effect on 'foreign relations with a friendly state, namely Israel'. Top Dutch court told to uphold ban on F-35 parts to Israel He also said the government had taken decisions about suspending arms licences with its relationship with Israel in mind, seeking to 'make sure relations continued to be cordial'. In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licences following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law. But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts. The refuelling probe, laser targeting system, tyres and ejector seat are among the components made in Britain, according to Oxfam. Britain's defence secretary has previously said suspending F-35 licences would 'undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO', and would not be possible without 'wide impacts to the whole F-35 programme'. But lawyers for Al-Haq have described the F-35 exemption as a 'loophole' allowing the components to reach Israel through a global pooling system. In a separate statement, UK-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade said licensing figures showed the government had made a 'shocking increase in military exports to Israel' in the months after its September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions. It said the figures showed the UK approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licences from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined. Most of the licences were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government. It is not certain when a decision could be made after the four-day hearing, which ends on Friday and marks the latest stage in a long-running legal battle.
