John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington speaks at an anti-racism rally and march in central London organised by Stand Up To Racism and trade unions, March 16, 2024
MPs have joined disability activists calling for a public inquiry into deaths linked to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Former Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell MP has tabled an early day motion urging the government to set up the probe.
It states: “That this House notes the shocking evidence published by John Pring in his recent book [on] the harm, too often leading to fatalities, inflicted on disabled people by the DWP since the introduction of the work capability assessment.”
It calls on the government to establish an independent public inquiry into the role played by ministers, civil servants and advisers and their culpability for the suffering identified in this research.
Labour’s Jon Trickett, Mary Kelly Foy and Ian Lavery; SDLP’s Claire Hanna; and DUP’s Jim Shannon have sponsored the motion. Labour MP Grahame Morris has also backed it.
Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves wear the uniform of the rich and powerful. They have all had clothes bought for them by multi-millionaire Labour donor Lord Alli. CORRECTION: It appears that Rachel Reeves clothing was provided by Juliet Rosenfeld.Keir Starmer warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog.Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAUK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
Palestinians line up to receive free meals at Jabaliya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on March 18, 2024
ISRAEL is systematically killing healthcare workers and journalists in Gaza, doctors said today, in a direct plea for British media to scrutinise their country’s complicity in genocide.
At a London press conference on Gaza’s media blackout, hospital doctors gave first-hand accounts of how colleagues and reporters have been abducted, tortured and killed.
The British Palestinian Committee (BPC) and the UK Gaza Community (UKGC) hosted the event hours after Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed that Israeli armed forces were behind a third of the 54 journalists killed worldwide because of their work in 2024.
“Palestine is the most dangerous country for journalists, recording a higher death toll than any other country over the past five years,” the organisation said in its annual report, describing the number of killings as “an unprecedented bloodbath.”
RSF has filed four complaints with the International Criminal Court for “war crimes committed against journalists by the Israeli army.”
It said more than 145 journalists had been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since October 2023.
At least 1,000 health workers have also been killed there during the Israeli onslaught.
At the conference, Dr Mohamed Ashraf showed photos of several colleagues who have been killed or abducted by Israeli forces since October 7.
“These are real people, these are real stories,” he said, describing how Dr Mosab Samman was abducted from Nasser Hospital in March, saying that the only offence he committed was volunteering to help his people inside the hospital.
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Herzi Halevi with Netanyahu and Gallant. (Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO)
Declassified UK Exclusive: IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi was given a “special mission” certificate for his trip to the UK last month, allowing him to visit without fear of arrest for war crimes.
The UK government has confirmed that Israel’s top soldier, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, was given special diplomatic immunity to visit Britain last month.
Halevi is the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and has been directing the Israeli military’s operations throughout the Gaza genocide.
He arrived in Britain in late November to discuss “the ongoing conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza” with senior UK officials from the Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office. A further meeting was held with Britain’s attorney general, Richard Hermer.
The trip came just three days after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for “crimes against humanity and war crimes”.
Halevi was initially reported to have been included in the ICC’s arrest applications for the crime of having “deliberately starved Palestinians in Gaza”.
While Halevi was not ultimately named in those ICC warrants, it is possible to issue private arrest applications in Britain under universal jurisdiction legislation, which allows for the most serious crimes to be prosecuted regardless of where they are committed.
However, the UK government blocked this avenue for redress by issuing Halevi with a “special mission certificate”, granting him temporary diplomatic immunity for the duration of the visit.
In response to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Brian Leishman, the Foreign Office yesterday admitted it “gave consent for special mission status for the visit to the UK on 24-25 November of Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi… and [his] delegation”.
The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) told Declassified: “It seems beyond belief that the UK attorney general could meet with the head of the IDF, mere days after arrest warrants were issued for Netanyahu and Gallant.
“Halevi may not yet have an arrest warrant himself, but regardless, the International Criminal Court Act 2001 obliges the UK to investigate, arrest and prosecute suspected war criminals.”
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWREGenocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
The New Scotland Yard sign outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London
METROPOLITAN POLICE staff have voted to strike for the first time, having been ordered back to the office in the New Year.
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union members were outraged after managers reneged on a blended working deal that allowed them to work from home part of the week.
The new edict affects 2,400 civilians who support the day-to-day work of police officers, but disproportionately impacts women, part-time workers and those with disabilities.
Depending on where they work, the increase in office attendance is from 40 to 60 per cent, 60 to 80 or 80 to 100.
PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Our members are not bobbies on the beat.
“They are desk-based civilians who work from home just as productively as if they were in the office, but without the stress and cost of a daily commute.
“It’s time politicians and the right-wing media stopped their obsession with telling people where they have to work and started listening to the evidence of academics, employers and employees that shows working from home is a perfectly viable option for many people.”
