US records show Starmer met with Attorney General Eric Holder and a host of American and British national security officials in Washington in 2011, when he was in charge of Julian Assange’s proposed extradition to Sweden.
Starmer was in Washington three times while in charge of Assange’s proposed extradition to Sweden
Starmer led five-person British delegation that met with Holder for 45 minutes in Washington in November 2011
Delegation included the UK liaison prosecutor to the US, who dealt with extradition
Meeting was also attended by head of US Department of Justice’s national security division
CPS refuses to clarify to Declassified if destruction of the Washington documents is routine procedure
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), England and Wales’ public prosecutor, has deleted all records of its former head Keir Starmer’s trips to the US, it can be revealed.
Starmer served as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from 2008-13, a period when the body was overseeing Julian Assange’s proposed extradition to Sweden to face questioning over sexual assault allegations.
Starmer, who became an MP in 2015, is now leader of the Labour Party. Assange, meanwhile, faces imminent extradition to the US to face up to 175 years in prison under charges mostly related to the US Espionage Act.
While DPP, Starmer made trips to Washington in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 at a cost to the British taxpayer of £21,603. It was his most frequent foreign destination while in post. Max Hill, the current DPP, has made just one trip to Washington during his five-year tenure.
During Starmer’s time in post, the CPS was marred by irregularities surrounding the case of the WikiLeaks founder.
During Starmer’s time in post, the CPS was marred by irregularities surrounding the case of the WikiLeaks founder.
The organisation has admitted to destroying key emails related to the Assange case, mostly covering the period when Starmer was in charge, while the CPS lawyer overseeing the case advised the Swedes in 2010 or 2011 not to visit London to interview Assange.
An interview at that time could have prevented the long-running embassy standoff.
Assange and WikiLeaks began publishing classified US diplomatic cables – in alliance with some of the world’s largest newspapers – in November 2010. In the same month, Sweden issued an international arrest warrant for Assange over allegations of sexual misconduct, leading to a protracted legal battle, in which the CPS was heavily involved.
Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi has been waging a years-long legal fight to access documents related to the CPS and Assange case. However, the role of its then head, Keir Starmer, in the episode has always remained unclear.
Labour leader Keir Starmer (centre) with then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo (R) and then US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, in London, 21 July 2020. Pompeo said in 2019 “we will do our level best” to stop Jeremy Corbyn getting elected. (Photo: US State Department)
Starmer served on the Trilateral Commission alongside two former heads of the CIA without telling Jeremy Corbyn—who would have blocked it, Declassified can reveal.
Declassified discovers Starmer joined the Trilateral Commission between 2017-18 while he was Corbyn’s shadow Brexit secretary
He is one of only two serving British MPs to have been a member, according to available records
Starmer spoke at group’s London event in 2017 alongside former heads of MI5 and GCHQ
Former CIA director said in 2019 “we will do our level best” to stop Corbyn getting elected
Corbyn’s former spokesman tells Declassified that Starmer’s membership “was plainly incompatible with Labour’s then-stated policies”
Keir Starmer joined an international grouping closely linked to US and UK intelligence while he was serving in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet, Declassified has found.
The Trilateral Commission describes itself as a “global membership organisation” which seeks “to discuss and propose solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems”. Its meetings are strictly off-the-record.
It was founded in 1973 by billionaire banker David Rockefeller as a networking group for elites from the US, Europe and Japan. Rockefeller was close to the leadership of the CIA at the time.
Membership records seen by Declassified show Starmer joined the Trilateral Commission at some point between March 2017 and October 2018. He left at some point between April 2021 and June 2022.
Starmer was a member of the Trilateral Commission alongside two former heads of the CIA, and spoke at one of its London events alongside the former heads of MI5 and GCHQ.
The current Labour leader served as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow Brexit secretary from 2016-19. In this role, he was integral to the push for a second referendum on exiting the European Union, a position that many fault for Labour’s catastrophic performance in the 2019 election.
AS heatwaves and wildfires sweep across swathes of southern Europe, north Africa and North America, today’s report from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) rang timely alarm bells.
WWA scientists predict that highly inflammatory temperatures of up to 45°C (Palermo has just reached 47°C) should no longer be regarded as unusual.
They estimate that heatwaves of the kind we have seen this July can be expected to recur around once every 15 years in North America, every 10 years in Europe and every five years in China.
Moreover, they warn that if the planet’s temperatures rise by another 1°C, on top of the 1°C increase since the late 19th century, heatwaves and wildfires will strike even more frequently.
Underlying these projections is the certainty — supported by an Everest-sized pile of scientific evidence and shared by almost all climate scientists and their professional organisations — that human activity is by far the biggest cause of global warming.
…
Yet the Westminster government and the Labour opposition have spent the past week — of all weeks — diluting the case and the policies for meeting Britain’s net-zero emissions target by 2050.
The Conservatives favour the exploitation of new oil, gas and coal sources while blocking onshore wind developments. With Labour’s support, they are pushing ahead with a major rearmament programme. As the Scientists for Global Responsibility point out in their invaluable report, The Environmental Impacts of the UK Military Sector (2020), the production, testing and use of armaments contribute hugely to greenhouse gas emissions — yet the figures are concealed from the public and excluded from official statistics by Britain and many other states.
The Labour leadership has announced the postponement of its Green Investment Plan even before winning a general election and taking office.
Instead of explaining the need for ultra-low emission zones (Ulez) based on genuine local consultation and support for people’s jobs and living standards, Keir Starmer blames London’s Labour mayor and Ulez for the party’s defeat in a parliamentary by-election.
The Tories have once more shown how they couldn’t give a damn about climate change, even as devastating heat waves take place across Europe, after a Tory peer made the absurd claim that ‘global warming is likely to be beneficial to the UK’.
Former minister Lord Frost made the comments in the House of Lords, where he said: “We should dig in deeper and ask: what are the consequences of hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters?
“At the moment, seven times as many people die from cold as from heat in Britain. Rising temperatures are likely to be beneficial.”
He also urged the UK to adapt to climate change rather than trying to mitigate its effects, this despite the fact that last year saw recorded temperatures of over 40C for the first time as well as numerous wildfires and a record number of heat-related deaths.
Frost told peers that the UK should adapt to the warming climate “so we can adjust to the perfectly manageable consequences of slowly rising temperatures as they emerge”.
dizzy: There are plenty of similar assoles in UK’s plutocracy: twats who have a comfortable life despite – perhaps through? – being bigoted and ignorant
Politicians from all the main political parties have written an open letter to Rishi Sunak calling on him to prioritise action on climate change
Rishi Sunak and Grant Shapps
By Caroline Lucas, Hilary Benn, Lord Goldsmith, Daisy Cooper, Tommy Sheppard and others
Published 25th Jul 2023, 14:42 BST
Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to you with an urgent call to action. In just 129 days, world leaders will gather in Dubai for the United Nations climate summit COP28. Since countries last gathered in Egypt for COP27, the impacts of climate breakdown have become frighteningly common, with experts predicting a temporary overshoot of the 1.5C limit between now and 2027. Going forward we cannot be complacent in tackling climate change, for there is simply no time left to waste. Instead, we must step up, work together, and strengthen the momentum to keep 1.5C alive.
COP28 in Dubai this November must be the moment that the global community agrees to urgently phase out fossil fuels. For this to happen, the UK has an important role to play in leveraging its international influence, and working constructively with all parties, to help secure an agreed package that clearly names the requirement to phase out all fossil fuels and set goals for the upscaling of renewables. There must also be a clear commitment to ensuring that fairness and justice run at the heart of the global energy transition, and a clear focus on addressing the root cause of the climate crisis: fossil fuel production. And, above all, there can be no room for distractions or false solutions.
Working to guarantee a successful outcome at COP28 is not just essential for the health of people and the planet, but economically the right thing for Britain. As the Office for Budget Responsibility advised last week, continuing to rely on gas at the current level will come at double the cost of transitioning to net zero. Equally, as you were recently warned by top energy companies: backing away from green policies would be catastrophic for the economy. We know that pursuing a clean energy economy brings with it the potential to create jobs, address regional inequality and, perhaps most importantly in the context of extraordinarily high gas prices, it can provide permanent energy affordability and security for the whole country. This is why over 95 per cent of voters placed their confidence in parties committed to reaching net zero by 2050 or sooner at the last election.
The UK has a proud, cross-party, history of being a first mover on green issues. From being the first country in the world to pass a Climate Change Act in 2008, to the first major economy to legislate for net zero by 2050 in 2019, we should be proud of this record. And let’s not forget the outcomes at COP26, which happened under the UK’s leadership, that helped to make significant advancements towards protecting nature and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Climate Change Committee’s recent 2023 Progress Report to Parliament is unequivocal that mixed signals on the UK’s commitment to serious climate action are undermining this work, damaging our reputation, and risks us permanently surrendering our status as a world leader on climate action.
Now is a crucial moment for you to demonstrate to the world that the UK is not demoting itself to become a passive observer in international action on climate change, that we remain a trusted partner and committed to delivering on our promises. Therefore, we are asking you to:
● Attend the COP28 summit in person and appoint a Secretary of State-level UK Climate Envoy ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in September. This would send a clear statement to the world that tackling climate change is a priority for you and your government and will help to ensure that the UK is properly represented in critical global climate discussion. Your championing of COP28, and your attendance, would encourage other heads of state and governments to do the same.
● Support our allies in calling for an end to the fossil fuel era and move more quickly towards a clean energy world by joining other countries such as Denmark, France, Germany, and others in championing the need for an “urgent phase out of fossil fuels”. As recommended by the CCC, the UK should also set out a clear position and plan to move beyond oil and gas through a just transition, and strengthen the UK’s language on this in all international climate fora, such as the G7, G20 and the UN Secretary General’s Climate Ambition Summit in September, which we also hope you attend. Doing this will drastically improve the chances of a meaningful outcome in Dubai later this year.
● Demonstrate leadership by taking action at home including by rejecting the expansion of new fossil fuels which the CCC is clear are not compatible with net zero. In line with the report’s arguments, Lord Deben, the CCC’s outgoing chair, has asserted that new fossil fuel developments are both “unnecessary” for the UK and a “bad example” to the world. In light of this, we believe that the government must reject new fossil fuel infrastructure including the Rosebank oil field which will do nothing to enhance energy security because the field is 90 per cent oil, likely for export, and therefore won’t save households money on their energy bills either. Instead, the government should concentrate its efforts on making action on net zero easier, including by lifting the ban on onshore wind, embedding a net-zero test across government and within the planning system, and accelerating the rollout of energy efficiency measures which will bring bills down permanently.
● Not to forget nature. There is no pathway to a zero-carbon society without nature, no better ally to fight climate change than forests, peatlands, and other ecosystems. The UK must reaffirm its commitment to the Glasgow Leaders Declaration and continue accelerating momentum to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.
Prime Minister, we want you to know that in working to achieve net zero both at home and abroad, you have the support of an overwhelming majority of not just Parliament, but the country too. We also want to remind you that consistently prioritising climate action is a job for all governments today, not tomorrow.
We look forward to seeing how you respond to the asks we have set out and hope that, come November, the UK government is once again positioned as a climate leader on the world stage backed up by the delivery of an ambitious agenda at home.
Yours sincerely,
Caroline Lucas MP chair, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, Rt Hon. Hilary Benn MP Former Secretary of State at Defra, Rt Hon. Lord Goldsmith, Former International Environment Minister at FCDO, Daisy Cooper MP Liberal Democrat, Deputy Leader, Wera Hobhouse MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Energy and Net Zero, Baroness Parminter, chair, House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee, Olivia Blake MP, Pauline Latham MP, Rt Hon. Lord Randall, Clive Lewis MP, Nadia Whittome MP, Baroness Boycott, Zarah Sultana MP, Rachael Maskell MP, Baroness Bennett, Rebecca Long-Bailey MP, Tommy Sheppard MP, Baroness Young, Christina Rees MP, Martyn Day MP, Baroness Willis, Barry Gardiner MP, and Lord Teverson.
21 Aug 2024 Through NLA Media Access Limited the Scotsman newspaper issued a DMCA takedown notice for this article along with 3 more of my articles. I have quoted only an open letter published by many authors. I pointed out that copyright to this content belongs to the authors of the letter and not the Scotsman newspaper. I also pointed out that they clearly intended for it to be published (in the same way that the Scotsman newspaper has published it). I dispute the other claims of copyright infringement that the Scotsman claims under “fair dealing” provisions of copyright laws – that small sections may be quoted with attribution to the source. It has caused problems for me with my web hosting and search engine indexing while I find that NLA media access are arrogant and unresponsive to my representations. For example, they don’t accept that it was a mistake to issue a DMCA takedown notice – since withdrawn – for this article despite me pointing out that the Scotsman doesn’t own the copyright to it.
