Latest news with #PritiPatel
North Wales Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- North Wales Chronicle
Sir Sadiq Khan calls on ministers to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood
The Mayor of London said that the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing', as aid groups have warned of starvation in the Gaza Strip. It comes as the Archbishop of York labelled the situation in Gaza a 'a stain on the conscience of the international community'. More than 100 organisations including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children have put their names to an open letter in which they said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. 'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation and death,' the letter said. In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Labour mayor Sir Sadiq said pointed to 'starving children searching hopelessly for food in the rubble' and 'family members being shot dead by Israeli soldiers as they search for aid'. 'The international community – including our own Government – must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing and let vital life saving aid in,' he added. Sir Sadiq went on: 'The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine.' Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said that the mayor should 'should spend less time trying to play on the world stage' and 'focus on fixing his own mess in the capital'. Meanwhile the current most senior bishop in the Church of England has branded the infliction of 'violence, starvation and dehumanisation' on the people of Gaza by the Israeli government 'depraved and unconscionable'. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell welcomed the UK and other nations' recent condemnation of the Israeli and US-backed current aid delivery model, which has reportedly resulted in Israel Defence Forces troops firing on Palestinian civilians in search of food on multiple occasions, but insisted there is 'no time to wait' for further action to be taken to 'stop this ongoing assault on Gaza'. He said: 'With each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable. 'In the name of God, I cry out against this barbaric assault on human life and dignity. It is a stain on the conscience of the international community, and a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.' He repeated his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and said he rejected 'any policy that would amount to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population from Gaza'. On Tuesday, Wes Streeting called for recognition of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Speaking in the House of Commons, the Health Secretary described Israel's attacks on healthcare workers as going 'well beyond legitimate self-defence'. He told MPs he hopes 'that the international community can come together, as the Foreign Secretary has been driving towards, to make sure that we see an end to this war, but also the recognition of the state of Palestine while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has hinted that Israel could face further sanctions from the UK if it does not agree to a ceasefire. The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine. — Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 23, 2025 Asked by ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday what more he planned to do if Israel did not agree to end the conflict, the Foreign Secretary replied: 'Well, we've announced a raft of sanctions over the last few months. 'There will be more, clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behaviour and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.' Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Leader Live
24 minutes ago
- Politics
- Leader Live
Sir Sadiq Khan calls on ministers to immediately recognise Palestinian statehood
The Mayor of London said that the UK 'must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing', as aid groups have warned of starvation in the Gaza Strip. It comes as the Archbishop of York labelled the situation in Gaza a 'a stain on the conscience of the international community'. More than 100 organisations including Doctors Without Borders and Save the Children have put their names to an open letter in which they said they were watching their own colleagues, as well as the Palestinians they serve, 'waste away'. 'The government of Israel's restrictions, delays and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation and death,' the letter said. In a statement posted on X on Wednesday, Labour mayor Sir Sadiq said pointed to 'starving children searching hopelessly for food in the rubble' and 'family members being shot dead by Israeli soldiers as they search for aid'. 'The international community – including our own Government – must do far more to pressure the Israeli government to stop this horrific senseless killing and let vital life saving aid in,' he added. Sir Sadiq went on: 'The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine.' Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said that the mayor should 'should spend less time trying to play on the world stage' and 'focus on fixing his own mess in the capital'. Meanwhile the current most senior bishop in the Church of England has branded the infliction of 'violence, starvation and dehumanisation' on the people of Gaza by the Israeli government 'depraved and unconscionable'. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell welcomed the UK and other nations' recent condemnation of the Israeli and US-backed current aid delivery model, which has reportedly resulted in Israel Defence Forces troops firing on Palestinian civilians in search of food on multiple occasions, but insisted there is 'no time to wait' for further action to be taken to 'stop this ongoing assault on Gaza'. He said: 'With each passing day in Gaza, the violence, starvation and dehumanisation being inflicted on the civilian population by the government of Israel becomes more depraved and unconscionable. 'In the name of God, I cry out against this barbaric assault on human life and dignity. It is a stain on the conscience of the international community, and a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law.' He repeated his call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages and said he rejected 'any policy that would amount to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population from Gaza'. On Tuesday, Wes Streeting called for recognition of Palestine 'while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Speaking in the House of Commons, the Health Secretary described Israel's attacks on healthcare workers as going 'well beyond legitimate self-defence'. He told MPs he hopes 'that the international community can come together, as the Foreign Secretary has been driving towards, to make sure that we see an end to this war, but also the recognition of the state of Palestine while there's still a state of Palestine left to recognise'. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has hinted that Israel could face further sanctions from the UK if it does not agree to a ceasefire. The UK must immediately recognise Palestinian statehood. There can be no two state solution if there is no viable state left to call Palestine. — Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) July 23, 2025 Asked by ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday what more he planned to do if Israel did not agree to end the conflict, the Foreign Secretary replied: 'Well, we've announced a raft of sanctions over the last few months. 'There will be more, clearly, and we keep all of those options under consideration if we do not see a change in behaviour and the suffering that we are seeing come to an end.' Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people in the October 7 attack in 2023 that triggered the war and killed around 1,200 people. Fewer than half of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
AI deepfake porn humiliated me, says Penny Mordaunt
Former Conservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt has spoken about how shaken she was to learn she was the victim of "deliberately humiliating and violent" deepfake porn when serving as an to BBC Newsnight, the former leader of the House of Commons said that her face had been used in AI-generated deepfake porn, adding it happened to "a number of parliamentarians".Deepfakes are images or videos that have been digitally altered using artificial intelligence (AI) to replace the face of one person with was being interviewed on the programme about advanced age checks that websites with pornographic material must implement before Friday. But speaking on the issue of deepfake porn, she said: "The people behind this... don't realise the consequences in the real world when they do something like that... It plays across into people taking actual real world actions against ourselves."Mordaunt became aware that her face had been used in deepfake porn after a Channel 4 documentary by Cathy Newman last year revealed that Mordaunt, Tory colleague Dame Priti Patel, Labour's Angela Rayner and several other senior female politicians were victims of the the time, Newman revealed she was also a victim. "It was violating... it was kind of me and not me," she said, explaining the video displayed her face but not her this year, the government unveiled plans to make the creation or distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes a criminal offence, following a surge in their proliferation over recent years. "The worry for me is actually more with children," Mordaunt told Newsnight's Victoria Derbyshire."We wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. If they did, they'd be in therapy. But we have seemed to be perfectly happy for them to see it online."Mordaunt also said she was "with the Australians" on their decision to ban social media platforms for added that the government needed "to have some courage" in tackling the issue with people like Elon Musk, the owner of X, formerly Twitter."[Musk] is taking the human race to Mars. I'm sure he can figure out age verification," she said. Mordaunt has held senior positions within previous Conservative governments, including briefly serving as the UK's first female defence secretary. She competed in the 2022 Conservative leadership election, before serving as the leader of the House of Commons and lord president of the gave her a prominent role in the coronation ceremony of King Charles III, during which she held a ceremonial sword for more than an hour. Mordaunt served as the MP for the Portsmouth North constituency for 14 years, before becoming one of several high-profile Conservative figures to lose her seat in last year's general election.
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Wednesday briefing: The Conservatives reshuffle in an attempt to stay relevant amid poor polling
Good morning. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party (remember them?), has announced a reshuffle of her top team a year into her leadership. The reshuffle itself has not come as a surprise – it was rumoured for months. Badenoch has kept much of her team in place, including the shadow home secretary, Robert Jenrick, shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, and the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel. The reshuffle has seen a return of Sir James Cleverly to frontline politics as shadow minister for housing, facing off against Angela Rayner. He served as foreign secretary and home secretary in the Conservative government. Cleverly previously declined an offer to serve in Badenoch's shadow cabinet after losing the post-election race to be Conservative leader. Edward Argar – who has stepped down as shadow health secretary on the advice of his doctors after a health scare – will be replaced by Stuart Andrew, a former minister who has been shadow culture minister. Kevin Hollinrake, who had been shadow housing and communities secretary, will become party chair. He takes over from Nigel Huddleston, who will be shadow culture secretary. If you're drawing a blank on who these MPs are, you are not alone. The Conservatives have yet to truly make their mark as the party of opposition. To better understand why that is, the challenges the party faces, and where the Tories go next, I spoke to the Guardian's deputy political editor Jessica Elgot. That's after the headlines. Israel-Gaza war | Israel's government is pursuing an 'unacceptable and morally unjustifiable' policy in Gaza, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem has said after visiting a church in the territory that was attacked by Israeli forces and meeting survivors. Environment | The world is on the brink of a breakthrough in the climate fight and fossil fuels are running out of road, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as he urged countries to funnel support into low-carbon energy. Immigration | Officials are to start using artificial intelligence to help estimate the age of asylum seekers who say they are children, Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, said on Tuesday. UK news | A man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two British undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents. Music | Ozzy Osbourne, whose gleeful 'Prince of Darkness' image made him one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time, has died aged 76. His death comes less than three weeks after his retirement from performance. The Conservative party was, until very recently, known as the most electorally successful political party in western Europe. Founded in 1834, the Tories dominated British politics in the 19th, 20th and much of the 21st century. Then came last year's election, which saw them lose a record 251 seats. They only have 121 MPs left, limiting the talent Badenoch has to draw from. Recent polls have been brutal, with one in May showing the Conservatives dropping to fourth place, behind the Liberal Democrats. 'When you're around the Tory party in Westminster, almost all of the MPs have completely checked out,' Jessica told me. 'There are a few people who are energetically trying to make a big impact: Robert Jenrick, who's obviously still very keen on being leader, and Claire Coutinho, who clearly sees that she's got a future in the party.' Whether this reshuffle will be the boost needed to motivate and mobilise the party is more tricky to say. 'It's hard to find many people in the Conservative party who think that Kemi Badenoch's going to be the leader that takes them into the next election, especially after what we expect to be a real hammering at the May 2026 elections, particularly in Wales and Scotland,' Jessica added. The real opposition The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has set up Nigel Farage's Reform party as 'the real opposition' in the next general election, describing Badenoch, and the Conservatives, as 'sliding into the abyss' (ouch). It is a deliberate strategy to help motivate disgruntled progressives to vote Labour or risk having Nigel Farage as prime minister. But it does also speak to the fact that the Tories have struggled for airtime against Reform. 'You can see that, from the Tory MPs who are defecting, like Jake Berry, who is a quite eccentric political character. But essentially what he represents is an ambitious former Tory MP kicked out of the last election who is from a younger generation who clearly doesn't believe that their time in public life should be over. People like him see Reform as a party that is more likely to help them get re-elected,' Jessica said. 'It's existential for a party leader to be facing that. There's been quite a deliberate attempt by Kemi Badenoch to talk about similar issues to Nigel Farage, whether that's grooming gangs or small boats.' The economy might be a subject on which the Tories can distinguish themselves from Reform, Jessica added, with Farage shifting to the left on the topic, backing the abolition of the two-child benefit cap. But it's not something the Tories have jumped on yet, for one clear reason: 'That's really difficult for a party that was in power for 14 years, to say 'We're back to being the credible ones on the economy.'' Fixing the church roof While many have focused on Reform's impact on the Tories, the party had also lost votes to the Liberal Democrats – but Badenoch doesn't seem to regard this as significant. 'The Lib Dems are such an interesting phenomenon when it comes to what the Tory party's looking for as it tries to regain power,' Jessica said. 'There are 70 Lib Dem seats which it seems to be making almost no attempt whatsoever to try and regain.' Jessica pointed to a revealing podcast interview that Badenoch did with Jordan Peterson. 'They don't have much of an ideology other than being nice,' Badenoch said. 'A typical Liberal Democrat will be somebody who is good at fixing their church roof. And, you know, the people in the community like them. They are like, 'Fix the church roof, you should be a member of parliament.'' Unsurprisingly, the Liberal Democrats took this criticism as a badge of honour – with party leader Ed Davey writing that they were proud to be a party that focuses on local issues. The poisoned chalice Badenoch herself hasn't made the mark she wanted to as opposition leader. The main successes of the Conservative party have been down to Jenrick, who notably got the government to back down on long-consulted guidelines on sentencing. There has been some frustration in Tory-supporting newspapers about Badenoch's performance, particularly at prime minister's questions. One Labour party source joked to Jessica that when Starmer prepares to take her on, aides look at what's been trending on X and from there work out what Badenoch will choose to attack him on. 'It obviously takes some time to improve at PMQs in opposition,' Jessica said. 'That's always been the case for opposition leaders. But Starmer's clearly taken the view that she's not going to be the leader he's facing at the next election. So he doesn't take her questions hugely seriously. He instead concentrates on his own clip that he wants for social media.' But Badenoch has had notable support. 'Michael Gove wrote a fairly compelling defence of her, saying there's no way anyone else would be doing better,' Jessica added. And while it's taking the Tories time to adjust to being in opposition, some Conservatives have enjoyed the freedom it has given them. But, as one Tory MP told Jessica: 'Sometimes they seem weirdly happy to be free of government constraints. They can say and do more innovative things, like Jenrick's fare-dodging video. But it's a party flirting with fourth place in the polls.' The next key date for Badenoch is November, when she could be challenged for the leadership. But with dangers to the party coming right and left, it is hard to see who could take the poisoned chalice and do much better. Jessica added: 'The first year of opposition is very difficult. The strategy's hard to get right. You're fighting for airtime. The impact she's had is probably just the reality of being first-year opposition after 14 years.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion After the indescribable Ozzy Osbourne died late yesterday at 76, Alexis Petridis remembers 'the people's Prince of Darkness' who took heavy metal to the masses. 'Every artist who chose to work in the genre carries something of Black Sabbath in their DNA, and one suspects they always will,' he writes of the star's influence. For an extra treat, make sure you dive into this extraordinary gallery of the singer's life in pictures. Charlie Lindlar, acting deputy editor, newsletters A special issue in a Harvard journal on the destruction of the education system in Palestine was abruptly cancelled. This adds to a mounting list of censorship of pro-Palestinian speech. Aamna British surgeon Nick Maynard has worked in Gaza on and off for 15 years, and is back for the third time since December 2023. In this column, he writes starkly on what he is seeing in Nasser hospital now: 'Deliberate starvation.' Charlie The news is full of horror right now, so I particularly loved reading this list by my colleagues on their favourite feel good films. Aamna Writing in the Face, Annabel Nugent has a well-reported piece on the slippery slope of buy now, pay later schemes, and the young people who have fallen deep into 'Klarnamaxxing' to get by. 'People can't afford to pay rent so they buy a Labubu just to feel something,' says one. Charlie Football | Chloe Kelly scored the rebound from her saved penalty to send England into the Euro 2025 final after extra time with a 2-1 comeback victory against Italy. Women's cricket | India finished their tour of England with a 13-run win at Chester-le-Street and a 2-1 one-day international series victory, although England almost managed what would have been a record chase, falling just short of the 319-run target. Cycling | The Tour de France debutant Valentin Paret-Peintre banished the bitter memories of Julian Alaphilippe's misplaced celebrations in Carcassonne on Sunday by becoming the fifth French rider to win at the summit of Mont Ventoux. 'Israel faces growing outrage over 'indefensible' killing of civilians' says the Guardian's lead story headline. 'For pity's sake stop this now' – the Express goes on to say that Gaza 'shames us all'. 'PM's fears for summer of riots in 'fraying' UK' – that's in the Times while the Telegraph has 'Police take pro-migrant protesters to asylum hotel'. The Daily Mail splashes on 'British Air India families are sent the wrong bodies'. 'Lynch's estate poised for bankruptcy after £740mn Hewlett-Packard ruling' – that's the Financial Times and it's about Mike Lynch who died when his mega-yacht sank. The Metro shares that the 'Pandemic aged our brains' and the i paper runs with 'British workers will get emergency access to pension cash under plan to boost savings'. 'RIP Ozzy' – the Mirror farewells 'Black Sabbath legend'. Will the Epping hotel riots spark another summer of unrest? A year after Southport, what's driving the turmoil in Essex? Ben Quinn reports A bit of good news to remind you that the world's not all bad At first glance, the idea of buying books by the metre to fill out our bookcases may seem like an indictment of our shallow, consumption-obsessed culture. However, as Lucy discovers in this piece, this interior decorating trend has real value for booksellers, and is 'a savvy way for retailers to get rid of large numbers of titles that would otherwise be difficult to shift'. But books are made to be read, you may say! As Lucy herself notes: 'In an age of constant scrolling, there is social capital to be gained by simply looking as if you are a cultured person who listens to music on vinyl and reads lots of books. And creating an aesthetically pleasing bookshelf is now easier than ever.' Well, to that one bookseller has a strong counterpoint: 'We've all got lots of books on our shelves that we haven't read.' Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday And finally, the Guardian's puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Penny Mordaunt reveals she is a victim of 'humiliating and violent' AI-generated deepfake porn - and says she is not the only politician whose face has been used
Penny Mordaunt has revealed that she has been the victim of 'deliberately humiliating and violent' deepfake porn. The former Leader of the House of Commons made the candid confession in an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on Tuesday. She told the BBC Newsnight interviewer that the perpetrators should consider the consequence of their actions and called for tighter controls on social media. The former MP for Portsmouth North also revealed that upsetting instances of abuse such as deepfake porn are a regular occurance. She told the BBC programme: 'Well, not a week has gone by in my parliamentary career when something of this nature hasn't happened.' Non-consensual deepfake pornography is the production of an image using artificial intelligence. The creator combines a photograph and uses AI to remove clothes or create a fake nude photo in the likeness of a real person. Ms Mordaunt explained she had first learned that she had been a victim of a deepfake image following an investigation by Channel 4 presenter Cathy Newman who uncovered 250 famous individuals whose likeness had been stolen. She added: 'My face had been used, AI porn generated, deepfake porn. It happened to a number of parliamentarians.' Other victims included Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, former education secretary, Gillian Keegan, and Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Priti Patel. Following her 'humiliating' experience, the former MP has called for tighter controls on social media and online platforms and raised concerns around access by children to deepfake pornogpraphy. 'I would ask the people behind this, don't they realize the consequences in the real world when they do something like that,' she said, 'because although I haven't seen this myself, it was deliberately humiliating and violent and that plays across into the real world. 'It plays across in to people taking actual real world actions against ourselves and that has happened to me, it's happened to a lot of my colleagues. She added: 'The worry for me is actually more with children and we wouldn't want people to see these things on the walk to school. 'If they did, they'd be in therapy. But we have seemed to be perfectly happy for them to see it online. And so I'm with the Australians on this. We need to go much further, and we need to recognize the real harm this is doing to young people.' Victoria Derbyshire clarified that Ms Mordaunt was referring to the social media ban for under-16s in Australia to which the former Minister for Women and Equalities explained that she wanted the government to do more in tackling the harmful act. Ms Mordaunt even called on X owner Elon Musk to step in and improve age verifications to protect children. She said: 'I would ban certain social media platforms. And I think the government needs to have some courage here in addressing these issues with people like Elon Musk. 'That man is taking the human race to Mars. I'm sure he can figure out age verification and what needs to follow from that.' She ex-parliamentarian added that despite the more difficult sides of being in the public eye, she found that her role in Parliament was still generally positive. The creation of deepfake porn is illegal in the UK following a new Online Safety Act which was brought in last year. It includes the sharing or threatening to share intimate photos of someone without their permission and this includes deepfake images.
