UK Politics

The British government has already begun to suspend arms export licences to Israel while ministers carry out a policy review, evidence seen by the JC confirms.

While Foreign Secretary David Lammy is yet to make a final decision on whether to halt weapons sales to the Jewish state, civil servants have already stopped granting permits.

One individual involved in arms exports to Israel, who was seeking permission, received a notice in response that stated: “suspended pending policy review”.

Such a move would put Jerusalem alongside North Korea and Iran.

Asked to confirm whether the government had suspended all arms export licences for Israel, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "It is vital that we uphold both our domestic and international legal obligations when it comes to arms exports.

"We are reviewing the advice available and will come to a considered decision."

The Conservative leadership candidate Priti Patel has criticised Nigel Farage’s response to the far-right riots, saying it was wrong to compare the violence to Black Lives Matter protests.

The former home secretary has also written to the prime minister and home secretary, urging them to recall parliament, drawing parallels with the 2011 riots when MPs returned for a government statement on civil disorder and to condemn the violence.

Farage condemned the violence against police officers in a statement posted on X on Monday morning but the Reform UK leader said “deeper long-term problems remain”. He also called for the recall of parliament and said the government should consider deploying the army.

He added: “Ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression of two-tier policing has become widespread. The prime minister’s faltering attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of injustice.”

Patel said Farage’s comments were deeply misleading and “simply not relevant right now”. She told Times Radio: “There’s a clear difference between effectively blocking streets or roads being closed to burning down libraries, hotels, food banks and attacking places of worship. What we have seen is thuggery, violence, racism.

The Commons standards watchdog should hold Nigel Farage to account over his “dangerous comments” following the week’s violent disorder in the wake of the Southport murders, a Liverpool MP has said.

Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, said Farage’s comments “cannot be left to fester” and should be examined by the parliamentary standards commissioner.

Farage has released two videos since three children were murdered in Southport last week. In the first, he questioned whether police were withholding information about who was responsible for the murders.

It came at a time when false information was circulating on social media that a Muslim asylum seeker was responsible, which fuelled disorder at a mosque in Southport.

In a second video, Farage challenged Keir Starmer’s argument that the violent protests were the fault of the far right, saying it was “a reaction to fear, to discomfort, to unease that is out there shared by tens of millions of people”.

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However, several members of the public claim on social media to have submitted complaints about the Reform leader to the parliamentary standards commissioner, who can investigate any behaviour that brings parliament into disrepute.

Johnson said: “Nigel Farage’s dangerous comments cannot be left to fester. He is the voice of the EDL [English Defence League] in parliament, using his platform to spread fear and misinformation. Tensions are high and our politicians should be doing everything in our power to advocate for peace and unity, and support our communities standing resolutely against the racism and hatred displayed over the last few days. With so much at stake, we need urgent action from the Commons standards committee and the police to hold him to account.”

Police forces across the country are to increase their co-operation to tackle violent disorder, Sir Keir Starmer announced on Thursday.

It comes after a crisis meeting with police chiefs following rioting in the wake of the Southport attack, which saw unrest spread across the country earlier this week.

Starmer described the chaotic scenes that unfolded in the aftermath of the stabbing as the "actions of a tiny, mindless minority" and condemned "far-right hatred".
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In a televised speech, Sir Keir added: "These thugs are mobile, they move from community to community, and we must have a police response that can do the same."

He also condemned "violent disorder, clearly whipped up online", describing it as crime, "not protest".

"We will take all necessary action to keep our streets safe", the PM continued.

Sir Keir said nobody involved in rioting should "pretend they are speaking" for the grieving families, adding that the community of Southport "had to suffer twice" in the wake of the stabbings.

"Mosques being attacked because they're mosques - the far right are showing who they are. We have to show who we are in response to that."
[…]
The new powers would include shared intelligence and the wider deployment of facial recognition technology.

It would also include more Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) to restrict the movement of offenders and stop them travelling, similar to measures taken against football hooligans.

Unwalled archive link: https://archive.is/OP9ny

Members of the BMA’s Council recently voted in favour of a motion which asked the Association to ‘publicly critique the Cass Review’, after doctors and academics in several countries, including the UK, voiced concern about weaknesses in the methodologies used in the Review and problems arising from the implementation of some of the recommendations.

A ‘task and finish’ group, established by the BMA’s Chair of Council Professor Philip Banfield, who will also appoint the group’s chairperson, will pay particular attention to the methodology used to underpin the report’s recommendations. There have been ongoing discussions within the BMA about the Cass Review since it was published; before that the BMA attended meetings with Dr Cass when the review was being written. These, together with the Council’s wishes, have helped to shape what will be a detailed, evidence-led piece of work.

The BMA is calling for a pause to the implementation of the Cass Review’s recommendations whilst the task and finish group carries out its work. It is expected to be completed towards the end of this year. In the meantime, the BMA believes transgender and gender-diverse patients should continue to receive specialist healthcare, regardless of their age.

The BMA has been critical of proposals to ban the prescribing of puberty blockers to children and young people with gender dysphoria, calling instead for more research to help form a solid evidence base for children’s care – not just in gender dysphoria but more widely in paediatric treatments. The Association believes clinicians, patients and families should make decisions about treatment on the best available evidence, not politicians.

Nigel Farage has been condemned for his response to the Southport stabbings, with the husband of murdered MP Jo Cox accusing the Reform leader of “inciting a riot”.

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On Tuesday afternoon, before the riots began, Mr Farage had posted a video to social media responding to the attack, questioning why the incident was not being treated as terror-related and asking whether the “truth is being withheld from us”. He also asked whether the suspect, who is 17 and has not been identified, was being monitored by the security services.

In a statement the same day, Merseyside Police had stressed the “incident is not currently being treated as terror-related”.

Hitting out at Mr Farage’s response, Brendan Cox said: “Imagine your response to the death of three children being to peddle conspiracy theories that incite a riot.

“This is why Farage deserves the label far-right. Everyone who is associated with him, has normalised him or promoted him should be ashamed. This is vile.”

Ms Cox, the former Batley and Spen MP was killed by far-right terrorist Thomas Mair in June 2016, a week before the EU referendum took place.

Labour MP Jess Phillips also criticised the Reform UK leader, claimed he was “grifting” and pointing out that he failed to turn up to Parliament for a statement on the incident.

Ms Phillips, the MP for Birmginham Yardley, said: “Nigel Farage could yesterday have had the questions, he claims are unanswered, answered if he had bothered to turn up to parliament and ask them during the statement on the incidents in Southport. He didn’t turn up, he grifted instead.”