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Category: UK News

  • Govt announces new lab for AI security research 

    Govt announces new lab for AI security research 

    UK announces a new Laboratory for AI Security Research at NATO Cyber Defence Conference…reports Asian Lite News

    The government is setting up a Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR), saying it will help to protect against new threats from the technology. 

    It will initially provide £8.22 million to fund the laboratory, which will work with UK universities, the intelligence agencies and industry to boost cyber resilience and support growth in the sector. 

    Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden announced the move, saying it comes in response to evolving threats to national security from AI. 

    “NATO needs to continue to adapt to the world of AI, because as the tech evolves, the threat evolves”, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told the NATO Cyber Defence Conference at Lancaster House. 

    To help the UK stay ahead in the “new AI arms race” the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a new Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) to protect the UK and its allies against new threats, saying, “The lab will pull together world-class industry, academic and government experts to assess the impact of AI on our national security. While AI can amplify existing cyber threats, it can also create better cyber defence tools and presents opportunities for intelligence agencies to collect, analyse, and produce more useful intelligence.” 

    The Laboratory for AI Security Research will employ a ‘catalytic’ model, receiving an initial £8.22m round of government funding, inviting further investment and collaboration from industry. 

    Partners will include the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), National Cyber Security Centre, the MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Alan Turing Institute, the AI Safety Institute, the University of Oxford, Queen’s University Belfast and Plexal. The laboratory will seek collaboration with like-minded partners, starting with the Five Eyes countries and NATO allies. 

    Addressing cyber and defence experts, he said, “Cyber war is now a daily reality. One where our defences are constantly being tested. The extent of the threat must be matched by the strength of our resolve to combat it and to protect our citizens and systems. 75 years after its foundation, it is clear we need NATO more than ever. NATO has stayed relevant over the last seven decades by constantly adapting to new threats. It has navigated the worlds of nuclear proliferation and militant nationalism. The move from cold warfare to drone warfare.” 

    The gathering is the second ever NATO Cyber Defence Conference and the first to be held in London. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster cautioned, “AI is already revolutionising many parts of life – including national security. But as we develop this technology, there’s a danger it could be weaponised against us. Because our adversaries are also looking at how to use AI on the physical and cyber battlefield. Be in no doubt: the United Kingdom and others in this room are watching Russia. We know exactly what they are doing, and we are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes. We know from history that appeasing dictators engaged in aggression against their neighbours only encourages them. Britain learned long ago the importance of standing strong in the face of such actions. That’s why we support Ukraine in its fight to decide its own destiny. Putin is a man who wants destruction, not peace. He is trying to deter our support for Ukraine with his threats. He will not be successful. Last year, we saw the US for the first time publicly call out a state for using AI to aid its malicious cyber activity. In this case it was North Korea who had attempted to use AI to accelerate its malware development and scan for cybersecurity gaps it could exploit. North Korea is the first, but it won’t be the last.” 

    Alongside the new laboratory, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a new £1m incident response project to share expertise so that allies can respond to cyber incidents more effectively.  

    Stephen Doughty, Minister for Europe, North America and UK Overseas Territories, attended the conference at Lancaster House. He said, “AI has enormous potential. To ensure it remains a force for good in the world, we need to understand its threats and its opportunities. Today we have launched a new, world-leading research lab to enhance AI security to ensure the UK and our allies reap the benefits of AI, while detecting, disrupting and deterring adversaries who would use it to undermine our national security and economic prosperity.” 

    LASR builds on the UK’s position as the global birthplace of modern computing, following the pioneering legacy of Alan Turing. It is part of the government’s wider work to improve the UK’s cyber defences and grow the economy, which includes the forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill and recent designation of data centres as critical national infrastructure. 

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  • Indian High Commission hosts 2nd Indo-Pacific Conference 

    Indian High Commission hosts 2nd Indo-Pacific Conference 

    The event was co-hosted with the Australian and Singapore High Commission in London on Monday, in partnership with IISS News…reports Asian Lite News

    The Indian High Commission in London hosted the inaugural and first sessions of the 2nd Indo-Pacific Conference, where Foreign Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific, Catherine West delivered the keynote address. 

    The event was co-hosted with the Australian and Singapore High Commission in London on Monday, in partnership with IISS News. 

    The Indian High Commission in London said in a post on X, “Hosted the inaugural and first sessions of the 2nd Indo-Pacific Conference this morning at Indian High Commission in London. Honoured by the presence of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West who delivered the keynote address. The dialogue continues with a session each at Arundel House and Australia House. This event was co-hosted with Australian High Commission in London and Singaporean High Commission in London, partnered by 

    IISS News. Together, we aim to foster deeper cooperation for a secure, resilient, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.” 

    “We know that the Indo-Pacific is crucial for the UK, for three reasons. Firstly, boosting economic growth, secondly, tackling climate change, and thirdly strengthening national and global security. And these are shared challenges, where progress is in our mutual interest,” West said. 

    West said that she visited the Indo-Pacific region four times since they won the General Election in July this year. 

    “When we won the general election in July this year… I’ve visited the region four times, covering 10 countries, and the Foreign Secretary travelled to the region in his first three weeks. Of course since then, last week at the G20, [the Prime Minister was] enhancing the relationships and having a deep conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” she said. 

    West said that the UK wants a rules-based international system in the Indo-Pacific. 

    “For us, this is a generational mission, a long-term strategic posture, not just a short-term shift for the sake of soundbites. We want a free and open Indo-Pacific underpinned by the rules-based international system. Because rules matter. They matter for trade and growth. They matter for good governance, and they matter for our collective security, which also explains why our engagements are guided by four key principles. To promote peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, to support growth and create economic opportunities for all, to seize opportunities for clean energy transition, and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals while building more resilient economies,” she said. (ANI) 

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  • Lords to consider landmark reforms to mental health care 

    Lords to consider landmark reforms to mental health care 

    The Bill will give patients enhanced rights to make decisions regarding their own care, ensuring their voice is heard throughout the treatment process…reports Asian Lite News

    Long-awaited legislation to reform care for mental health patients is one step closer to becoming law, as the Mental Health Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords.   

    The Mental Health Bill, introduced earlier this month, will modernise the Mental Health Act, giving patients a greater say in their care, along with bolstered support from family and friends as part of treatment to ensure that their interests are protected and that their voice is heard throughout the treatment process.   

    Last year, over 50,000 people were detained under the Mental Health Act, but an independent review of the Mental Health Act, chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal Society of Medicine, found rising rates of detention under the act, along with racial disparities, and poor patient experience especially for autistic people and those with a learning disability, with patients being detained unnecessarily and for longer than needed.  

    Alongside making it a legal requirement for each patient to have a care and treatment plan, the bill will also give patients the right to an Advance Choice Document, which can be used by patients to set out what they want their care to look like in the event of a mental health crisis.   

    These changes will ensure that care is tailored to individual needs and encourage patients to remain in contact with health services and continue to engage with treatment.   

    Police and prison cells will also no longer be used to place people who need care under the Mental Health Act. Instead, patients will be supported to access a suitable healthcare facility that will better support their needs.   

    Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, said, “The Mental Health Act is there to protect people when they’re at their most vulnerable, and in many cases, it has saved lives. But it is hugely outdated, depriving people of their liberty, especially autistic people and people with a learning disability.  We are now one step closer to bringing forward the essential reforms that will transform the care of some of our most vulnerable people, meaning patients receive the right care in the right place. Modernising the act will strengthen the decision-making processes, helping to better support people, and giving them the appropriate and compassionate care they need.” 

    The bill will help deliver the government’s commitment to transform mental health care, giving it the same focus and attention as physical health.  

    It will also address unnecessary detentions for people with a learning disability or autistic people. At the end of October 2024, 1,880 people with these conditions were detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act, and research suggests that some would be better suited to care in the community.  

    If passed, the act will limit the length of time that they can be detained under the act if they do not have a co-occurring mental health condition that needs hospital treatment and have not committed a criminal offence.  

    Claire Murdoch, NHS National Mental Health Director, said, “This Mental Health Bill is a once in a generation opportunity to ensure that patients experiencing serious mental illness and crises receive safe, modern, evidence-based care, and that the needs and wishes of patients and their loved ones are central to their care and better mental health outcomes. This comes alongside the NHS’s work to transform mental health services, which are treating record numbers with existing resources – either through intervening earlier with hundreds of NHS teams working in schools or trialling new 24/7 crisis mental health hubs to prevent people needing hospital care in the first place, and if an admission to hospital is needed the health service is working with local services to ensure this is delivered in a safe and therapeutic environment close to people’s homes.” 

    Dr Layla McCay, Director of Policy at the NHS Confederation, said, “This marks another important milestone towards the long overdue reforming and updating of the Mental Health Act to ensure people with severe mental illness are given greater control over their treatment and are not subjected to unnecessary detentions. Our members have long called for these reforms to address the unacceptable disparities in rates of detention for people from some ethnic minority backgrounds. The bill should also stop patients with a learning disability and autistic people from being detained long term, unless they also have a severe mental illness for which detention may be needed. This is a welcome step towards these vital reforms, and we look forward to working with the government to ensure there is enough capacity to implement the bill’s plans.” 

    Mark Winstanley, Chief Executive, Rethink Mental Illness, said, “In the depths of a mental health crisis, everyone deserves care that respects their rights and gives them a say in their treatment. Today marks another milestone in the journey to reform the Mental Health Act, bringing us closer to vital legislation that’s fit for the 21st century. After years of tireless campaigning, we’re determined that this legislation fulfils its potential. We will support efforts to ensure the bill passes through Parliament to deliver meaningful, positive change for the tens of thousands of people detained under the Mental Health Act every year. In tandem, we will look to the new 10 year plan for the NHS to provide the resources and support necessary to ensure people receive the right care and treatment at the right time, to prevent people from experiencing a mental health crisis.” 

    Measures in the bill will ensure patients, staff and the general public are better protected, through improved decision making and new processes requiring clinicians to seek a second opinion before discharging a patient. Discharge processes will also be reviewed more broadly and will include a safety management plan for the patient, to keep them and others safe. 

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  • PM seeks joint action to keep women, girls safe at night 

    PM seeks joint action to keep women, girls safe at night 

    Reiterating his personal commitment to halve violence against women and girls, the Prime Minister will also confirm that his government will make spiking a new criminal offence…reports Asian Lite News

    Police chiefs, industry executives and transport bosses must work together to keep women and girls safe, the Prime Minster will urge when he convenes leaders in Downing Street. 

    Reiterating his personal commitment to halve violence against women and girls, the Prime Minister will also confirm that his government will make spiking a new criminal offence. This will send a clear signal that this is a crime, and perpetrators should feel the full force of the law, empowering victims to report offences and giving them confidence the justice system will support them. 

    Speaking to leaders, the Prime Minister will set out how the new offence is just one of part of the solution. He will demand coordinated action across the police, transport network and venues to stamp out this cowardly act and take back our streets. 

    This will include training thousands of staff working in the night time economy on how to spot and tackle spiking. Piloted from December, the training will help equip staff with the skills they need to prevent incidents, support victims and help police collect evidence. This will be rolled out to up to 10,000 bar staff across the country by spring next year. 

    At the meeting, which comes just weeks before Christmas and when violence against women and girls is known to rise, the Prime Minister will hear from police forces and industry leaders about the tactics already being used to keep women safe and urge other forces and venues to follow their lead. 

    Chief Constable Jason Hogg, Thames Valley Police, will set out how his force has deployed plain clothed officers into areas around bars and clubs to spot predatory sexual behaviour. This tactic is now being used by over 20 forces across England and Wales. 

    Chief Constable Lucy D’Orsi, British Transport Police will set out work being undertaken to keep women safe using public transport. This includes relaunching the text-to-report number, 61016, that is now free across all major networks, allowing women to discretely contact British Transport Police for help if they are or someone else is being harassed on the train. In one case, a victim texted 61016 to alert the police, officers met the train, and the offender was arrested just half an hour later. 

    Kate Nicholls, CEO of UKHospitality and Chair of Institute of Licensing, will discuss supporting the Home Office in its plans to roll out nationwide training to make sure all door and bar staff know how to prevent spiking and have the skills needed to act if they suspect someone has been spiked. 

    Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, the NPCC lead for VAWG, will talk about the ongoing scale and threat of violence against women and girls, its prevalence in the night-time economy and what policing needs to tackle offenders and reduce the number of victims enduring abuse. 

    Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “My government was elected on a pledge to take back our streets, and we will never achieve this if women and girls do not feel safe at night. Today, I will bring together police chiefs, heads of industry and transport bosses to demand coordinated action to stop women being targeted, whether they are out with friends or simply travelling home.” 

    “Cracking down on spiking is central to that mission. We know it can be incredibly difficult for victims to come forward to report this awful crime, and these cases can be very hard to prosecute. We must do more to bring the vile perpetrators who carry out this cowardly act, usually against young women and often to commit a sexual offence, to justice. That is why I made a promise that, if elected, I would make spiking a new criminal offence. Today, I am proud to have come good on that pledge.” 

    Action against spiking is just one of the measures being taken to meet the government’s unprecedented manifesto commitment to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, a fundamental part of the mission to make our streets safe. 

    Within the first few months of being in office, the government has already announced plans to launch new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to give greater protection to victims, and that domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms. More announcements are expected in the coming weeks. Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper said, “Spiking is a disturbing and serious crime which can have a damaging and long-lasting impact on victims. That’s why today we are taking decisive action to prevent this devastating crime and to crack down on perpetrators, by introducing a new criminal offence for spiking and launching specialist training for thousands of bar staff nationwide. People shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their drinks on a night out. These changes are about giving victims greater confidence to come forward, and ensuring that there is a robust response from the police whenever this appalling crimes take place.” 

    Minister for Victims and Violence Against Women and Girls, Alex Davies-Jones, said, “Christmas should be a time for celebration and community but all too often perpetrators of vile crimes like spiking take advantage of festivities to target women and girls. As a society we cannot accept that, and this government is taking firm action to keep them safe – from creating a new criminal offence of spiking to working hand-in-hand with police and business to crack down on this behaviour. These are just some of the steps that will allow us to achieve our aim of halving violence against women and girls.” 

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  • ‘Smoking could cause 300,000 cancer cases by 2029’ 

    ‘Smoking could cause 300,000 cancer cases by 2029’ 

    Cancer Research urges MPs to back tobacco and vapes bill, saying damage caused by cigarettes cannot be ignored…reports Asian Lite News 

    MPs are being urged to back plans to make the UK the first country to eradicate smoking, as new figures suggest tobacco will result in almost 300,000 Britons getting cancer within the next five years. 

    The tobacco and vapes bill, which would prevent anyone born after 1 January 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought, will have its second reading in the House of Commons on Tuesday. 

    Cancer Research UK said the “magnitude of damage” caused by cigarettes and tobacco – the leading cause of death in the UK – could no longer be ignored by MPs, especially as 350 young people take up smoking every day. 

    It said the bill was a “historic opportunity” to prevent thousands of cancers and significantly reduce pressure on the overstretched NHS. 

    Analysis published by the charity on Monday estimates there could be 296,661 new cases of cancer across the UK by 2029 if current trends continue. It found that on average last year nearly 160 cancer cases attributed to smoking were diagnosed every day. 

    The study projects cases of cancer caused by smoking before the end of this parliamentary term, which researchers assumed to be in July 2029. It estimated 243,045 cases in England, 29,365 in Scotland, 15,161 in Wales and 9,090 in Northern Ireland. 

    Overall, 2,846 cancer cases in the UK could be caused by exposure to secondhand smoke in people who have never smoked themselves, the analysis found. The latest Office for National Statistics annual population survey estimates about 11.9% of people aged 18 or over – the equivalent of about 6 million people – smoked cigarettes in the UK in 2023. It is the lowest proportion of current smokers since ONS records began in 2011. 

    However, research shows the equivalent of about 350 adults aged 18 to 25 start smoking every day, with 35,000 having taken up the habit since the king’s speech in July, Cancer Research said. Dr Ian Walker, the charity’s executive director of policy, said: “Tobacco kills up to two-thirds of its users. The magnitude of damage caused by smoking cannot be ignored and these statistics expose the lives that are at stake. We know that smoking rates decline with government intervention. Raising the age of sale of tobacco products and funding cessation services will help to protect people from a lifetime of deadly and costly addiction.” 

    The charity is urging all MPs to vote in favour of the tobacco and vapes bill. The bill was introduced in parliament at the beginning of November. It could prevent anyone born after 1 January 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought. 

    Restrictions on vape advertising and sponsorship could also be introduced as well as restrictions on flavours, displays and packaging to reduce their appeal to children and young people. Vaping and smoking in playgrounds and outside schools could also be banned. 

    Walker added: “The tobacco and vapes bill could be one of the most impactful public health interventions in my lifetime. People’s lives are now in the hands of politicians and I urge all MPs to vote for a future free from the harms of tobacco.” 

    Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has said the UK finally becoming “smoke-free” would lead to fewer stillbirths and cases of asthma in children, as well as reductions in cancer, strokes, heart disease and dementia. 

    Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of smokers will be given a pill that increases people’s chances of quitting, in a move that NHS bosses believe will save thousands of lives. 

    About 85,000 people a year in England will be offered the chance to use varenicline, a once-a-day tablet that experts say is as effective as vapes at helping people to kick the habit. 

    Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, hailed the pill as a potential “gamechanger” in the fight to tackle smoking and the huge harm to health it causes. 

    The drug helps people to quit by reducing their cravings for nicotine and ensuring that it cannot affect the brain in its usual way. It has also been found to reduce the side-effects smokers can experience when they stop using tobacco, such as trouble sleeping and irritability. 

    The NHS in England will give varenicline as part of its efforts to keep driving down the number of people who smoke. A decline in smoking rates over the past 20 years means that only 11.6% of adults in England still have the habit – about 6 million people. 

    Health service bosses hope its use will lead to 9,500 fewer smoking-related deaths over the next five years. The drug – known at the time as Champix – began being used in 2006 and was taken by about 85,800 people a year until July 2021. It then became unavailable after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates drugs, found impurities in it. 

    That problem has now been addressed to the MHRA’s satisfaction and it has recently approved a generic version of the drug, which NHS England will use. It cited research by University College London that found it would save £1.65 in healthcare costs for every £1 it spent on the pill. The pharmaceutical firm Teva UK will provide the generic version of the drug. 

    Smoking experts welcomed varenicline’s return. Dr Nicola Lindson, an associate professor at Oxford university, said: “[It] is one of the most effective ways to quit smoking, especially when combined with behavioural support, such as counselling.” 

    Hazel Cheeseman, the chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health, welcomed the move but said the NHS also needed to improve the help it gives to smokers to quit. 

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  • Reeves defends her budget to the CBI 

    Reeves defends her budget to the CBI 

    Chancellor tells business leaders she stands by tax rises and points to Labour’s pro-growth policies…reports Asian Lite News

    A defiant Rachel Reeves has rebuked critics of her tax-raising budget on Monday, telling disgruntled business leaders that they have offered “no alternatives” to her plans. 

    Since Labour’s first budget in 14 years last month, business groups have warned that the chancellor’s £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will force them to cut jobs and raise prices. Thousands of farmers have also protested against changes to inheritance tax. 

    But Reeves told the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in Westminster that no one has offered a better solution to the challenging situation left behind by the previous, Conservative government. 

    “I have heard lots of responses to the government’s first budget but I have heard no alternatives,” she said. “We have asked businesses and the wealthiest to contribute more. I know those choices will have an impact. But I stand by those choices as the right choices for our country: investment to fix the NHS and rebuild Britain, while ensuring working people don’t face higher taxes in their payslips.” 

    The chancellor’s budget on 30 October included £40bn of tax rises to boost public spending. Increases to employer NICs were the biggest revenue-raiser for the Treasury. 

    Coming alongside a significant uplift in the minimum wage in April, businesses in some industries, including hospitality and retail, have said they will struggle to absorb the extra NIC costs. 

    The CBI’s director-general, Rain Newton-Smith, will use her speech at the gathering to welcome Reeves’s moves to stabilise the public finances, but also accuse her of jeopardising economic growth by taxing firms more heavily. 

    “When you hit profits, you hit competitiveness, you hit investment, you hit growth,” Newton-Smith is expected to say. “Almost two-thirds of firms told us this budget will damage UK investment.” 

    Underlining corporate frustration at the unexpected tax raid, she will say: “Tax rises like this must never again be simply done to business. That’s the road to unintended consequences.” 

    A survey of 266 businesses carried out by the CBI to assess the impact of the budget found that half are considering cutting jobs and almost two-thirds are rethinking plans to hire new staff. Nearly half of the firms surveyed said they were likely to delay, or reduce, pay increases in the coming months. 

    Newton-Smith will urge the government to press ahead with business rates reform, to ease the pressure on struggling firms, and call for tax breaks for occupational health to help support workers with health conditions to stay in a job. Reeves’s insistence that naysayers have offered “no alternative” to her plans will inevitably spark comparisons with Margaret Thatcher’s defence of her tough economic policies. The prime minister told the Conservative women’s conference in 1980: “I believe people accept there’s no real alternative.” 

    As a result of her fondness for the phrase, Thatcher’s cabinet critics nicknamed her Tina, an acronym of “There is no alternative.” Labour promised during this year’s general election campaign not to increase the major personal taxes, which are national insurance, income tax and VAT. After the party’s landslide victory, Reeves claimed that she had been left with a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances, and would need to take action to prevent borrowing running out of control. 

    “We had to clear up the mess of what we had been left,” Reeves will tell the CBI. “The easiest thing I could have done is to have dodged the difficult choices. Put short-term interests before the national interest. I was not willing to do that.” 

    She will insist that Labour has no intention of making tax increases on the same scale in future years, however, saying: “I do not plan to have another budget like this. I have wiped the slate clean.” 

    Reeves will also point to some of Labour’s plans for pro-growth policies, which she says she wants to work alongside business to deliver, including the Back to Work white paper, due later this week. 

    Last week’s official growth figures showed the economy expanded by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with some business groups, including the CBI, blaming pre-budget uncertainty for the marked slowdown. 

    Reeves will repeat that she was “not satisfied” with those growth figures, the same line used by Keir Starmer when he responded to the data last week at the G20 summit in Rio. Financial markets have also downgraded their expectations of interest rate cuts from the Bank of England since the budget, putting upward pressure on mortgage rates, though on a much smaller scale than the dramatic jump after Liz Truss’s mini-budget. 

    The shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, has blamed Reeves’s budget for endangering the outlook for the economy, claiming: “Labour’s national insurance jobs tax will make it more expensive for businesses, which will then fuel higher prices, higher inflation, higher mortgage costs and slower growth.” 

    The chancellor’s serious tone on Monday will be in contrast to Boris Johnson’s speech at the same conference three years ago, when he delivered a rambling address on the merits of children’s theme park Peppa Pig World. 

    “Peppa Pig World is very much my kind of place. It has very safe streets, discipline in schools, heavy emphasis on new mass transit systems,” Johnson told his baffled audience. At one point he also imitated the sound of an accelerating car. 

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  • Lammy reiterates govt’s stand on Netanyahu   

    Lammy reiterates govt’s stand on Netanyahu   

    The ICC issued the warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri…reports Asian Lite News

    Britain would follow due process if Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UK, foreign minister David Lammy said on Monday, when asked if London would fulfil the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister. 

    “We are signatories to the Rome Statute, we have always been committed to our obligations under international law and international humanitarian law,” Lammy told reporters at a G7 meeting in Italy. 

    “Of course, if there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.” 

    The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged crimes against humanity. 

    Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so. 

    “The states that signed the Rome convention must implement the court’s decision. It’s not optional,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said. 

    Lammy warned over rise of extremism in Bangladesh  

    Lammy has been warned that the UK could be pulled into another global flashpoint over the rapidly destabilising situation in Bangladesh. 

    A cross-party group of MPs have written to the foreign secretary with a major report into Bangladesh listing a series of alarming conclusions, including the gaining of ground by Islamist extremists following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s government at the start of August 2024. 

    The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the Commonwealth has recorded more than 2,000 atrocities since the fall of Hasani’s government and warned that the current regime may be weaponsing the legal system to exact revenge. 

    Any escalation in Bangladesh could have potential fallout in the UK with the 2021 census recording 644,881 people of Bangladeshi descent in England and Wales – 1.1 per cent of the population. 

    The collapse of the government impacted Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq, whose aunt is the ousted Bangladeshi prime minister and maternal grandfather was its founding president. 

    APPG chairman Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: “This report will be a step in our efforts to raise awareness of issues affecting important Commonwealth partners. 

    “The findings will be shared with the government, charities, and other stakeholders involved with Bangladesh and the Commonwealth. It is hoped that these issues are heard within Westminster and Whitehall, and this report helps to inform parliamentarians and decision makers.” 

    The report notes: “Despite the violence and turmoil, the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government at the start of August 2024 was met by many with great joy and hope. However, we have also received evidence that raises questions about the efficacy of the new interim regime. There is an urgent need to end the culture of using the law as a political weapon, and that human rights and the rule of law need to be upheld. A failure to do this will not reflect well on the new interim regime of Professor Muhammad Yunas.” 

    The APPG said that it received evidence that murder charges are being slapped on former ministers, Awami League leaders, MPs, former judges, scholars, lawyers and on journalists “in such numbers to raise questions around their credibility”. 

    Highlighting reports of 1,000 deaths by the end of August, the MPs and peers added: “We have heard the security situation in some parts of Bangladesh remains extremely dangerous over three months after the initial student protests that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina and the formation of the interim government.” 

    UK sanctions 30 more ships in Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ 

    Meanwhile, the British government announced sanctions on 30 ships it claims are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” bringing the total number of vessels under U.K. restrictions to 73. 

    Lammy called the move the U.K.’s “largest sanctions package” yet against tankers and cargo ships used by Moscow to circumvent export and oil embargoes to fund its war against Ukraine. 

    The U.K. also imposed sanctions on two Russian insurers accused of enabling the “shadow fleet,” which operates under dubious ownership or without proper insurance. These vessels, often carrying Russian oil and gasoline while flying the flag of another country, allow the Kremlin to continue exporting despite sanctions and the global oil price cap. 

    According to a Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) statement, half of the ships hit by the latest sanctions transported more than $4.3 billion worth of oil and oil products over the last year. Lammy announced the sanctions during a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy, noting that the new restrictions surpass the number of ships currently targeted by the United States and the European Union. 

    The FCDO emphasized that the sanctions “are working,” with Russia increasingly reliant on states like North Korea and Iran for military hardware. It also pointed out that two oil tankers, Artemis (flagged to Gabon) and Sea Fidelity (flagged to Honduras), had been “idling uselessly in the Baltic Sea” since being sanctioned last month. 

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  • New Labour MPs push for poll reforms 

    New Labour MPs push for poll reforms 

    More than half of the nearly 100 MPs who have joined the new all-party parliamentary group on fair elections are from Labour, with 43 from the intake elected in 2024…reports Asian Lite News

     

    Keir Starmer is under renewed pressure over electoral reform after dozens of newly elected Labour MPs signed up to a parliamentary group calling for the UK to move to a proportional voting system. 

    More than half of the nearly 100 MPs who have joined the new all-party parliamentary group on fair elections are from Labour, with 43 from the intake elected in 2024. The group, formed in September, says it is growing all the time, the Guardian reported. 

    It has released a report, Free But Not Fair, which argues that a change from the distortions of the first-past-the-post electoral system, under which Labour won more than 60% of Commons seats with just a third of the votes cast in July, would help restore trust to politics. 

    A number of Labour MPs, including many from the 2024 intake, are known to be sympathetic to the idea of electoral reform, an idea to which the party is officially committed after a vote to embrace PR was passed overwhelmingly at its 2022 conference. 

    While Starmer has previously expressed at least some support for electoral reform, his leadership team have ruled out any immediate action, at least in the first term of a Labour government. 

    One new MP who has signed up to the group said electoral reform was a common concern among the 2024 intake. “We perhaps have a greater sense of how relevant and salient it is as an issue, how much it is seemingly connected to this growing sense of apathy, of disengagement from politics for many people,” they said. 

    “I get the argument that we don’t necessarily have the bandwidth to do everything, but much as you’d want to sort out the finances or the buses in a first term, there is also a responsibility to make sure the democratic system is working properly.” 

    The report, released alongside poll findings by Survation showing that 64% of people believe there is a need to address the electoral system before the next general election, calls for a “national commission for electoral reform” to be set up in 2025 with the task of recommending a replacement for first past the post. 

    It also calls for new measures to prevent murky campaign financing and to counter disinformation. 

    With Labour officially committed to PR, the all-party group argues this means that in the new parliament about 500 of the 650 MPs represent parties in favour of change. 

    Among what it calls the corrosive effects of first past the post, the report notes that despite a high turnover of seats in the July election, any constituencies not being specifically targeted by opposition parties were in effect ignored, giving local voters no meaningful choice. 

    It points out that it took on average 24,000 votes to elect each Labour MP, 49,000 per Lib Dem, 56,000 for every Conservative MP, 486,000 votes per Green, and 824,000 for every Reform UK MP. Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley and a former shadow minister, said: “The popular vote a party needs to win a majority has been steadily falling for decades, and now first past the post has delivered a landslide on just a third of the vote. 

    “Are we really comfortable with a situation where a party – even an extreme party – can win a thumping majority with, say, just three out of 10 votes? Because if things continue, that’s where we’re heading.” 

    Ministers should expand the ID that people can use to vote, the elections watchdog has recommended, after a report found as many as 750,000 people might not have voted in the 2024 general election because they lacked the necessary documents. 

    The Electoral Commission said the government should also look at allowing people without ID to vote if someone who did have proof of identity was able to vouch for them at a polling station. 

    Its study into the voter ID laws, which were introduced under the Conservatives in 2022 and used for a national election for the first time on 4 July this year, found that an estimated 16,000 voters were turned away from polling stations for lacking ID and did not return, 0.08% of the total number of people who voted. 

    However, when polling carried out for the research asked people who did not try to vote at all their reason why, 4% said it was because they lacked ID. When the polling included a prompted list of reasons, it rose to 10%. 

    Given the 60% turnout of Great Britain’s registered electorate of about 47 million people, even 4% of those who did not try to vote because of the ID rules would amount to about 750,000 denied a vote. The study excluded Northern Ireland because it has had its own voter ID laws since 1985. 

    While the report noted that the 2024 election turnout of 59.8% was the lowest since 2001, it said it was impossible to accurately say whether this was linked to the new rules. 

    The research found that this phenomenon was particularly prevalent among people from more deprived social backgrounds. There were also signs this was the case for disabled people and those who were unemployed, it said, but not at statistically significant levels. 

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  • Jaishankar, Lammy meet in Rome 

    Jaishankar, Lammy meet in Rome 

    The meeting took place just a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British PM Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit…reports Asian Lite News

    External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar held discussions with the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in Rome on Monday, ahead of the Outreach session of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting being hosted by Italy where India has been invited as a guest country.  

    “Appreciate the steady momentum in India UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Discussed deepening cooperation in technology, green energy, trade, mobility, as well as ongoing developments in Indo-Pacific and West Asia,” the EAM posted on X after the meeting. 

    The meeting took place just a few days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British PM Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro last week and had reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 

    As he announced the establishment of two new Consulates General of India in the United Kingdom in Belfast and Manchester, PM Modi had labeled the meeting with Starmer as an “extremely productive” one. 

    “For India, the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the UK is of immense priority. In the coming years, we are eager to work closely in areas such as technology, green energy, security, innovation and technology. We also want to add strength to trade as well as cultural linkages,” said Prime Minister Modi after the first meeting between the two leaders. 

    EAM Jaishankar, who inaugurated the new Chancery of the Embassy of India in Rome on Sunday, is on a three-day visit to attend the Outreach session of the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. 

    He is also scheduled to participate in the 10th edition of the MED Mediterranean Dialogue in Rome, being organised by Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy. 

    The conference will be inaugurated on Monday with a speech by Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani. 

    Besides EAM Jaishankar, the event will also be attended by high-level representatives from all over the enlarged Mediterranean region, as well as representatives of numerous relevant international organisations, including Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General, Arab League; Taher al-Baour, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Libya; Abdallah Bou Habib, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Lebanon; Mohamed Salem Ould Marzouk, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauritania; Shaya Mohsin Zindani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Yemen and Geir O. Pedersen, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Syria. 

    In Fiuggi, which is hosting the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, EAM Jaishankar is expected to hold discussions on major regional issues and global topics, including the stability of the Indo-Pacific — a priority region for political balances and world trade. 

    He is also expected to meet his counterparts from Italy and other participating nations in the G7 related engagements and hold bilateral discussions during the visit. 

    The G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Fiuggi will be the second to be hosted in Italy in 2024, after the one held in Capri from April 17 to 19. 

    Under the Italian Presidency, the G7 Foreign Ministers have also met, in recent months, on the sidelines of major international events in Munich, Washington and New York. 

    “As in Capri, the agenda of the Fiuggi Ministerial Meeting will focus on the main issues at the heart of the international debate, starting with the situation in the Middle East following Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023. Among the topics under discussion will be the serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the situation in Lebanon, the one in the Red Sea, and the need to promote a credible political horizon for the region that guarantees peace and security, from the perspective of ‘two Peoples, two States’,” stated the Italian G7 Presidency, earlier this week. 

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  • Auction house facing claims it is selling looted antiquities 

    Auction house facing claims it is selling looted antiquities 

    Third-century Roman plate and bust of Emperor Hadrian alleged to have links to man convicted of illegal dealing…reports Asian Lite News

    The auction house Bonhams is facing calls to withdraw a Roman antiquity from its forthcoming London auction amid claims that it was looted from Turkey. 

    A third-century Roman silver plate, decorated with a depiction of a river god, is lot 62 of the 5 December auction and is estimated to sell for between £20,000 and £30,000. 

    But Dr Christos Tsirogiannis, an affiliated archaeology lecturer at the University of Cambridge and an expert on trafficking networks for looted antiquities, has evidence that Turkish traffickers supplied it in 1992 to Gianfranco Becchina, convicted in Italy in 2011 of dealing illegally in antiquities and twice in Greece in recent years. 

    Becchina’s archive was seized by the police and shared with Tsirogiannis by the late Paolo Giorgio Ferri, who prosecuted traffickers in looted antiquities in Italy. The documents extend to thousands of images and other material seized from dozens of traffickers. 

    Those relating to Becchina detail the Roman plate and the traffickers who sold it to him, showing that it was part of a group of Roman silver objects found together, for which he paid $1.6m (£1.3m). They detail payments in instalments and even bank accounts. 

    Tsirogiannis leads illicit antiquities trafficking research for the Unesco chair on threats to cultural heritage at the Ionian University in Corfu. Over the past 18 years, he has identified more than 1,700 looted antiquities, alerting police forces and playing a significant role in their repatriation. 

    A spokesperson for Bonhams said it had confirmed the provenance of the object in line with its procedures. In June, Tsirogiannis spoke out when the same Roman plate was offered as lot 57 for sale by Bonhams for an auction in July. He suspected its link to Becchina but had only a poster of it from the dealer’s archive. His subsequent research uncovered documents relating to Turkish traffickers, including photographs of the plate in an unrestored condition in Becchina’s possession. 

    In July, Bonhams announced that it had sold the plate for about £74,000, more than double its estimate. Tsirogiannis has also linked a monumental Roman marble portrait bust of Emperor Hadrian, lot 61 in the same Bonhams auction, to Becchina. 

    The auction’s provenance or collecting history refers vaguely to the “Swiss art market”. Becchina was based in Basel and his seized archive features the head in one of his letters and in photographs. 

    Tsirogiannis said: “Bonhams appears not to have conducted basic provenance research, which would involve checking with the relevant authorities on whether particular antiquities may have been looted. The Italian and Greek authorities have the same Becchina documents, but they were strikingly silent after I published my research last July. Its previous appearance in the same auction house just a few months earlier is also not recorded in the provenance.” 

    Francesca Hickin, the head of antiquities at Bonhams, said: “It would be in our shared interest for the contents of the Becchina archive to be made accessible to auction houses, as this is currently not the case. 

    “Bonhams has confirmed the provenance for these two items, which is both printed in the sale catalogue and is also in the public domain. The plate was in Bonhams’ antiquities sale in July and was sold, although the buyer failed to pay in the stipulated timeframe and so the plate is now being re-offered in the December sale, at the request of the consignor. We have strict procedures in place to help us ensure that we offer for sale objects that we are legally able to sell. We have had no communication from any law enforcement agency regarding these items.” 

    Earlier, in a landmark auction Bonhams auction house in London set a new record by selling a lamp known as “The Lamp of Prince Sarghitmish” for approximately $6.5 million. This sale not only made it the most expensive lamp ever sold in the world but also broke the record as the most expensive glass piece ever auctioned. The bidding raised the price of the lamp from its estimated value of between £600,000 and £1,000,000, causing intense competitive bidding in the auction hall and via phones. 

    The Lamp of Prince Sarghitmish is one of the rarest and most important examples of Islamic glass ever offered at auction. It is creatively decorated with images from the Sultan Sayf al-Din Sarghitmish Mosque and School in the Sayyida Zaynab neighborhood of Cairo. The lamp’s historical and artistic significance, coupled with its exceptional provenance, contributed to its staggering final price. 

    According to Bonhams, the Sarghitmish lamp first appeared in the 19th century among the possessions of French antique collector Charles-Henri-Auguste Chiffre, who brought it to Paris. Charles-Henri-Auguste Chiffre, born in 1820, was close to the Ottoman Sultan and served as an accredited translator at the Sublime Porte. During his ownership, the lamp was exhibited in some of the most important museums in Paris, including the Louvre, and was photographed in ten art and antique books of that period. 

    The lamp remained with the Bougous family after Chiffre’s time, and the Nubar family used it as a vase for dried flowers. The last owner of the lamp was the heirs of Arkel Nubar, who sold it through the auction house. This extensive ownership history allowed the lamp to exit Egypt legally, contributing to its increased price and desirability among collectors. 

    However, the sale has raised significant concerns among Egyptian antiquities experts and officials. Dr. Abdel Rahim Rayhan, an antiquities expert, stated that the sale of this lamp is completely illegal unless ownership documents are provided. He explained that everything exhibited in public auctions is sold with forged papers. “Therefore, Bonhams is required to provide documents to the Egyptian government proving the lamp’s legal exit, as most items sold at these auctions are sold with forged papers to create a modern illegal ownership formula to justify the sale,” Dr. Rayhan asserted. 

    He emphasized that the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has the right to demand documents proving its legal exit from Egypt before the Antiquities Protection Law 117 of 1983 and its amendments. Dr. Rayhan explained that if the lamp had exited Egypt at the time when Egypt was an Ottoman province, it would have done so under conditions where Egypt did not have jurisdiction over its antiquities and under French and British colonial circumstances. 

    Dr. Rayhan referred to the “UNESCO 1970 Convention,” which was signed by 123 countries, including Egypt. The UNESCO 1970 Convention is the convention on combating the illicit trade in artistic artifacts and organizing the mechanism for the return of art pieces obtained illegally to their original countries. By this convention, there is implicit approval from 123 countries not to demand the return of their looted antiquities before the year 1970. “Thus, the convention deprives Egypt of the right to demand the return of these antiquities, even though they are smuggled Egyptian antiquities,” he noted. 

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