Latest news with #YvetteCooper
Spectator
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Spectator
The youth mobility scheme is just the start of a Brexit reversal
Will Britain continue to be dragged back closer and closer to the EU so that when we eventually rejoin, in say a decade's time, our politicians can present it as a mere exercise in regularising an arrangement which effectively already exists? At some point it must have dawned on most frustrated remainers that they were never going to reverse Brexit in one fell swoop. That would reopen old wounds, motivate a strong reaction from Brexiteers and a sense of ennui. Such an attempted move would probably be doomed by the 'Brenda from Bristol' effect alone (the elderly lady who reacted to the declaration of the 2017 election campaign by exclaiming to a reporter, 'What, another one?'). But what if Britain were to be drawn back into the bloc by degrees? It is easy to argue in favour of joining an EU youth mobility scheme for 18 to 30-year-olds. Use those words and people tend to think about university students and graduates gaining experience of living in other countries. As supporters are eager to point out, we already have such arrangements with 13 countries, from Japan to Australia to Uruguay, and no one goes around saying that we have 'free movement' with those countries. Then again, an EU scheme could end up with a very different balance. No one worries too much about our youth mobility scheme with Australia, for example, because more UK citizens take advantage of it than Australians – the latter of whom only filled 9,000 of the 45,000 places which were available last year (there is an argument for saying that the greater worry is why so few Australians want to come to Britain? Is it a symptom of national decline?). A European scheme, on the other hand, may have a very different effect. The demographic which would benefit – 18-30 year olds – rather matches the large numbers of Eastern Europeans who took advantage of free movement during Britain's membership of the EU. It would end up as just another source of cheap labour for employers, which ends up suppressing wages and opportunities for UK workers at the bottom end of the jobs market. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper does sound alive to the risks of entering into a youth mobility scheme. She is reported to be pressing for EU citizens using such a scheme to be limited to twelve months in Britain; any longer and they will appear in official migration figures. But it isn't just on free movement that Britain risks being drawn back into the EU's sphere of influence. Keir Starmer's reset in EU relations has already, quietly, led to Britain agreeing to mirror EU rules and regulations on food and agriculture. It could mean, unless Starmer succeeds in persuading the EU to allow Britain an exemption, the end of our newfound freedom to embrace gene-edited crops. EU regulations previously destroyed what had been a promising UK industry in genetically modified (GM) foods a quarter of a century ago by making it all but impossible to conduct field trials. We are heading towards the 'vassal state' which many Brexiteers feared. I don't think we have seen the end of this process. We should expect more initiatives to draw us back towards EU rules and regulations. An 'ever closer union' might be one way of describing it. So long as every step is small, the government's diehard remainers might just get away with it.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Palestine Action terror ban made UK ‘international outlier', High Court told
Banning Palestine Action as a terror organisation had the hallmarks of a 'blatant abuse of power' and made the UK an 'international outlier', the High Court has heard. The group's co-founder Huda Ammori is making a bid to legally challenge Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's decision to proscribe the group under anti-terror laws, announced after the group claimed an action which saw two Voyager planes damaged at RAF Brize Norton on June 20. The ban means that membership of, or support for, the direct action group is now a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. On July 4, Ms Ammori failed in a High Court bid to temporarily block the ban coming into effect, with the Court of Appeal dismissing a challenge over that decision less than two hours before the proscription came into force on July 5. The case returned to the High Court in London on Monday, where lawyers for Ms Ammori asked a judge to grant the green light for a full legal challenge against the decision to ban the group, saying it was an 'unlawful interference' with freedom of expression. Raza Husain KC said: 'We say the proscription of Palestine Action is repugnant to the tradition of the common law and contrary to the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights).' The barrister continued: 'The decision is so extreme as to render the UK an international outlier.' Mr Husain added: 'The decision to proscribe Palestine Action had the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power.' 'The consequences are not just limited to arrest,' Mr Husain later said, telling the court there was 'rampant uncertainty' in the aftermath of the ban. Blinne Ni Ghralaigh KC, also for Ms Ammori, later said: 'The impacts (of proscription) have already been significant.' She continued: 'Dozens and dozens of people have been arrested for protesting, seated and mostly silent protest.' The Home Office is defending the legal challenge. Previously, Ben Watson KC, for the Home Office, said Palestine Action could challenge the Home Secretary's decision at the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (POAC), a specialist tribunal, rather than at the High Court. Sir James Eadie KC, representing the department on Monday, said that an 'exceptional case' would be needed for it to go to the High Court, rather than the POAC. He said: 'Judicial review is, and has been accepted to be, a remedy of last resort and that is for very good and well-established reasons.' However, Mr Husain told the court on Monday morning that the POAC was not 'convenient nor effective' in this case. He continued: 'It would be quite absurd to say that we should tolerate the consequences of the proscription… even if it is unlawful, and just go to POAC. 'That is an absurd position.' Ms Cooper announced plans to proscribe Palestine Action on June 23, stating that the vandalism of the two planes, which police said caused an estimated £7 million of damage, was 'disgraceful'. More than 100 people were arrested across the country during demonstrations this weekend protesting against the proscription, with protests held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro on Saturday. Saturday's arrests brought the total number of people arrested since the ban came into force to more than 200, with more than 72 arrested across the UK last weekend and 29 the week before. The hearing before Mr Justice Chamberlain is due to conclude on Monday. A decision may be given at the end of the hearing, or in writing at a later date.
Arab News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Palestine Action's co-founder asks UK court to overturn terror group ban
LONDON: The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had 'the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power.' Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism. Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori's application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action's proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5. Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with 'the honorable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country.' Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori's lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers. Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action's activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription. Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment. The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Sky News
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Inquiry launched to 'uncover truth' behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners' strike
A new public inquiry will "uncover the truth" behind the so-called "Battle of Orgreave", a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s. One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire. Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting. Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating. In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional "frame-up". "There were so many lies," says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, "and it's a real historic moment to get to this stage." "There's a lot of information already in the public domain," she adds, "but there's still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light." Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence. Campaigners say some involved have been left with "physical and psychological damage", but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry. Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to "make sure" campaigners now got "proper answers". "We've obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years," Ms Cooper says, "and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward." The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox. "I'm really happy," says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, "but why has it took so long?" "A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they'll never get to see any outcome." Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site. "It wasn't frightening to start off with," Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, "but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned." "And it wasn't just one truncheon," says Mr Parkinson, "there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated - just boom, boom, boom, boom. "And there's lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they'd done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket." In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families. But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day's events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath. "We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police," says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, "and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve. "Obviously, we've had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page."
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Palestine Action's co-founder asks UK court to overturn terror group ban
LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - The co-founder of a pro-Palestinian campaign group sought on Monday to challenge the British government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a move her lawyers said had "the hallmarks of an authoritarian and blatant abuse of power". Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, is asking London's High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the group's proscription, which was made on the grounds it committed or participated in acts of terrorism. Earlier this month, the High Court refused Ammori's application to pause the ban and, following an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal, Palestine Action's proscription came into effect just after midnight on July 5. Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Ammori's lawyer Raza Husain said Palestine Action is the first direct action group to be banned as a terror group, a move he argued was inconsistent with "the honourable history of civil disobedience on conscientious grounds in our country". Dozens have been arrested for holding placards purportedly supporting the group since the ban and Ammori's lawyers say protesters expressing support for the Palestinian cause have also been subject to increased scrutiny from police officers. Britain's interior minister Yvette Cooper, however, has said violence and criminal damage have no place in legitimate protest and that Palestine Action's activities – including breaking into a military base and damaging two planes – justify proscription. Palestine Action has increasingly targeted Israel-linked companies in Britain, often spraying red paint, blocking entrances or damaging equipment. The group accuses the British government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Israel has repeatedly denied committing abuses in its war in Gaza, which began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
