The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Britain

  • British police arrest seven in probe into attack on parliament

    British police have arrested seven people in the investigation into an attacker who killed three people and injured about 40 before being shot to death by police, Britain’s most senior counter-terrorism officer said on Thursday.

    Mark Rowley said the latest figures were that there were four dead including the attacker and 29 people being treated in hospital, seven of whom were in a critical condition.

    Police had said late on Wednesday that the death toll was five.

    Rowley said police had searched addresses in London, Birmingham and other parts of the country in their investigation.

    “It is still our belief…that this attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism.

    “At this stage we have no specific information about further threats to the public,” Rowley said.

    He said there was a mix of nationalities among the dead but gave no details.

    The victims were a policeman who was stabbed and two members of the public, a woman in her mid-40s and a man in his mid-50s.

    The fourth dead was the assailant.

    Police believe they know the identity of the attacker but have not named him.

    The attack on Wednesday started when the assailant sped across Westminster Bridge in a car, ramming pedestrians along the way.

    He then ran towards parliament and stabbed the policeman before he was shot.

    Three French high-school students aged 15 or 16, who were on a school trip to London with fellow students from Brittany, were among the injured.

    French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault was expected to arrive in London to visit them at hospital, French media reported.

    Westminster Bridge remained cordoned off with a strong police presence.

    The nearby Westminster underground train station, normally a busy hub in the morning rush hour, was not accessible from street level as it was within the cordon.

    Parliament was due to convene later in what Prime Minister Theresa May said late on Wednesday was a sign that the attack would not disrupt British democracy or normal life in the capital.

     

  • EU to hold Brexit summit on April 29

    EU to hold Brexit summit on April 29

    The European Union’s 27 leaders will meet on April 29 to agree their negotiating lines for Brexit talks after London sends in a formal notification that it wants to leave the bloc, the chairman of the summit, Donald Tusk, said on Tuesday.

    The meeting is a necessary step before the negotiations between Britain and the 27 remaining EU states can start formally.

    London said on Monday it would send in its exit notification on March 29.

    “In view of what was announced in London yesterday, I’d like to inform you that I will call a European Council on Saturday,  April 29, to adopt the guidelines for the Brexit talks,” Tusk told reporters.

    “You know I personally wish the UK hadn’t chosen to leave the EU, but the majority of British voters decided otherwise.

    Therefore we must do everything we can to make the process of divorce the least painful for the EU.”

    The unprecedented talks are due to run for two years, though many diplomats and officials admit it would probably take longer.

    “Our main priority for the negotiations must be to create as much certainty and clarity as possible for all citizens, companies and member states that will be negatively affected by Brexit, as well as our important partners and friends around the world,” Tusk added.

    NAN recalls that the meeting will be held exactly one month after Britain officially notifies the EU of its intention to leave the bloc.

    The U.K. on Monday announced that it will trigger Article 50 and officially begin divorce talks on March 29.

    The formal triggering will take the form of a letter from  May to Tusk, Downing Street said.

    May’s spokesman declined to give further details of the content of the letter, but senior government officials familiar with the government’s thinking expect it to set out a “positive” vision of the future relationship Britain wants with Brussels after Brexit, including a comprehensive free-trade agreement.

  • Toyota invests £240m in Britain

    Toyota invests £240m in Britain

    Toyota has followed in the footsteps of Nissan by pledging to retain its manufacturing future in the United Kingdom (UK), with a new £240million investment at its facility in Burnaston in Derbyshire.
    The Japanese carmaker confirmed that the new cash injection also includes £21.3million support from the UK Government which will be used for training, research and development and honing the facility’s ‘environmental performance’.
    President and Chief Executive Officer of European operations at the manufacturer, Dr Johan van Zyl, said the investment was “a sign of confidence in our employees and suppliers and their focus on superior quality and greater efficiency” but also warned that success would be determined by the nation’s upcoming Brexit negotiations.
    The Buranston plant in Derbyshire will be upgraded with new equipment from this year.
    The £240million will fund new equipment, technologies and systems at the Burnaston facility to enable it to produce the latest Toyota models for the global market.
    The revamp will take place from this year and will mean the plant can manufacture vehicles on Toyota’s new TNGA platform, which already underpins models like the latest four-generation Prius and C-HR crossover.
    By 2020, the carmaker said the ‘majority’ of its cars will be built on this platform – some of which are in Britain.
    But the confirmation of the investment was still tainted with some uncertainty about the UK’s negotiations to exit from the EU.
    Dr van Zyl added that the Japanese brand was showing a commitment to the UK-based facility, but warned that the country’s ability to secure access to the open market was fundamental to success.
    He said: “We are very focused on securing the global competitiveness of our European plants. The roll-out of TNGA manufacturing capability is part of this plan. Our investment demonstrates that, as a company, we are doing all we can to raise the competitiveness of our Burnaston plant in Derbyshire.
    “Continued tariff-and-barrier free market access between the UK and Europe that is predictable and uncomplicated will be vital for future success.”
    The plant will receive new machinery and systems to allow it to build upcoming models on the latest Toyota platform
    The facility is already the home to the Auris hatchback and Avensis family car
    Currently, Toyota builds the Auris hatchback and Avensis family car at the plant in Derbyshire.
    Toyota said that it could delay a decision on whether to build its next-generation Auris model in Britain to see the outcome of Theresa May’s negotiations to leave the European Union.

  • British, Irish governments hold talks on Northern Ireland crisis

    British, Irish governments hold talks on Northern Ireland crisis

    Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan and Britain’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire planned to hold talks in Belfast on Thursday.

    They are to hold talks amid few signs that a power-sharing crisis will be resolved without elections.

    In an apparent move to help resolve the crisis, Northern Ireland Communities Minister Paul Givan, a Democratic Unionist Party politician, agreed to fund an Irish language programme after earlier saying the devolved government would not fund it.

    The Irish language is highly politicised in Northern Ireland, with unionists shunning it as foreign and republicans celebrating it as central to Irish culture.

    Givan said he had earmarked 60,000 dollars to fund Irish language courses for disadvantaged children.

    The reversal “was not a political decision’’ and was made because he had “now identified the necessary funding to advance this scheme,’’ he said.

    Barry McElduff, a Northern Ireland Assembly member from Republican Party Sinn Fein, welcomed Givan’s decision but said the DUP needed to change its “contempt for the Irish language.’’

    “The rights of the Irish language speakers need to be recognised and respected,’’ McElduff said.

    Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny met Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, followed by telephone conversations with Arlene Foster of the DUP, and Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, Kenny’s office said.

    The crisis began when McGuinness resigned as deputy first minister of the devolved government on Monday, after First Minister Foster ignored repeated calls for her to step down pending an investigation of a botched energy scheme that could cost taxpayers nearly 500 million pounds.

  • British PM slams Kerry’s Middle East speech

    British PM slams Kerry’s Middle East speech

    British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday criticised U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on peace in the Middle East as an attack on the Israeli government.

    Although Kerry’s speech was in line with British policy, May said it was an inappropriate attack on the Israeli government that focused too heavily on settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem as a hurdle to achieving peace.

    “We do not believe that it is appropriate to attack the composition of the democratically elected government of an ally,’’ the statement read from Downing Street.

    “The government believes that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between the two parties, supported by the international community,’’ it said.

    Kerry on Wednesday described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as “the most right-wing in Israeli history’’.

    Britain is one of 14 members’ states that voted in favour of a UN Security Council resolution last week condemning settlement activity, as U.S. abstained, which allowed it to pass.

    Netanyahu has said that he plans to work with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to repeal the resolution.

  • Nigeria, Britain join forces against treasury looters

    Nigeria, Britain join forces against treasury looters

    MoU on return of assets signed in Abuja

    LOOTERS who plan to hide their illicit wealth in Britain will face a hostile host, with the signing yesterday of a pact by the two countries.

    Britain will facilitate the return of stolen assets on the condition that:

    • The Federal Government will ensure that stolen assets recovered from both within and outside the country will be put to judicious uses; and that
    • such assets will not be re-looted.

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) signed for Nigeria. Minister of State for Immigration Robert Goodwill signed for Britain. The ceremony was held in Abuja.

    The memorandum of understanding is specifically on modalities for the return of stolen assets.

    Malami, who praised Britain for its willingness to cooperate with Nigeria in recovery and return of stolen assets, said the Federal Government will endeavour to prevent further looting of the nation’s wealth.

    The AGF, who frowned at alleged moves by some “individuals to use the process of asset recovery to create reputational damage for the government,” said all measures adopted since he assumed office in November last year have been aimed at “effective and efficient assets recovery.”

    He said: “Today, we are determined to change the narrative, regardless of who is involved. I want to assure the international community that all funds recovered within and outside Nigeria would be judiciously utilised for projects that will benefit the poorest segment of the Nigerian society as well as enable us support reform in the justice sector.

    “The position of the law in Nigeria today is that all funds recovered should be paid directly into the Consolidated Revenue Account. Unfortunately, that has not always been the case under the previous administration,” he said.

    The AGF said the Muhammadu Buhari administration was committed to enacting laws, including the Proceeds of Crime Bill, to strengthen existing anti-corruption institutions, prosecution authorities and law enforcement agencies.

    Leader of the UK delegation and UK’s Minister of State for Immigration, Robert Goodwill said the signing of the memorandum was in furtherance of his country’s promise, at the last Anti-Corruption summit held  in London in May, to improve the process of the return of looted assets.

    He said by this gesture, his country’s government was sending a loud message to all that the UK was no longer a safe haven for stolen assets, including looted funds.

    Goodwill, who was silent on the worth of Nigeria’s looted assets currently in his country, said the UK government was “committed to return all funds looted from the Nigerian State and we are keen to do this as soon as the necessary procedures allow.”

    He said aside the UK, 40 other jurisdictions, including British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are willing to automatically share beneficial ownership information relating to companies, trusts, foundations, she’ll companies and other relevant entities and legal arrangements.

    Goodwill, a Member of Parliament (MP), said: “This MoU provides the mechanism by which monies can be returned. Our ability to recover and return stolen assets should send a clear message to all, who may seek to harbour such assets overseas, that there is no safe haven in the UK.”

    The UK has been returning frozen Nigerian cash stashed away in their country.

    Money seized from former Bayelsa State Governor tehe late Diepreiye Alamieyeseigha and former Plateau State Governor Joshua Dariye and former Delta State Governor James Ibori, who is serving a jail term in Britain following money laundering conviction, has been released to the federal government.

    A former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke is being investigated for money laundering in the UK.

    Britain has returned to Nigeria 250,000 pounds – the cash seized from the senator- during his arrest,  when Acting British High Commissioner to Nigeria James Tansley, handed over two cheques totalling more than $250,000 (£126,000, 29.3m naira).

    A further $2.8m of his assets have been frozen by a court order and are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.

    In all, Mr Dariye faces charges of stealing some $128m from Plateau State during his tenure as governor from 1999-2007.

    One cheque for $2m belonging to the late Alamieyeseigha has already been returned to Nigeria.

     

  •  Britain moves against Scottish independence

     Britain moves against Scottish independence

    David Mundell, British Minister for Scotland, said on Friday that Scotland should not hold a second referendum on independence after the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union.

    He said in London that even though there could be another independence referendum, but the big issue is there should be no other independence referendum.

    Mundell said that he would continue to passionately make the case and also for the benefit Scotland gets from the United Kingdom.

    The United Kingdom voted 52-48 per cent to leave the EU, while Scotland voted 62-38 per cent to remain.

  • ‘We’ll make Britain a country that works’

    ‘We’ll make Britain a country that works’

    I have just been to Buckingham Palace where Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to form a new government and I accepted.

    “In David Cameron, I follow in the footsteps of a great modern Prime Minister under David’s leadership, the government stabilised the economy, reduced the budget deficit and helped more people into work than ever before.

    “But, David’s true legacy is not about the economy, but about social justice. From the introduction of same-sex marriage, to taking people on low wages out of income tax altogether, David Cameron has led a ‘one-nation’ government, and it is in that spirit that I also plan to lead.

    “Because, not everybody knows this, but the full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist Party, and that word Unionist is very important to me. It means that we believe in the Union, the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but it means something else that is just as important.

    “It means we believe in a Union, not just between the nations of the United Kingdom, but between all of our citizens, whoever we are, and wherever we’re from.

    “That means fighting against the burning injustice that if you’re born poor you will die, on average, nine years earlier than others.

    “If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white.

    “If you’re a white, working-class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university.

    “If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately.

    “If you’re a woman, you will earn less than a man.

    “If you suffer from mental health problems, there’s not enough hand to help.

    “If you’re young, you’ll find it harder than ever before to own your own home.

    “But, the mission to make Britain a country that works for everyone means more than fighting these injustices.

    “If you’re from an ordinary working-class family, life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise.

    “You have a job, but you don’t always have job security. You have your own home but you worry about paying the mortgage.

    “You can just about manage, but you worry about the cost of living and getting your kids into a good school.

    “If you’re one of those families, if you’re just managing, I want to address you directly. I know you’re working around the clock, I know you’re doing your best and I know that sometimes life can be a struggle.

    “The government I lead will be driven, not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives.

    “When we take the big calls, we’ll think not of the powerful, but you.

    “When we pass new laws, we’ll listen not to the mighty, but to you.

    “When it comes to taxes, we’ll prioritise not the wealthy, but you.

    “When it comes to opportunity, we won’t entrench the advantages of the fortunate few, we will do everything we can to help anybody, whatever your background, to go as far as your talents will take you.

    “We are living through an important moment in our country’s history. Following the referendum we face a time of great national change and I know because we’re Great Britain that we will rise to the challenge.

    “As we leave the European Union, we will forge a new, bold, positive role for ourselves in the world, and we will make Britain a country that works, not for the privileged few, but for every one of us.

    “That will be the mission of the government I lead, and together, we will build a better Britain.”

  • Cameron bows out with jokes

    Cameron bows out with jokes

    David Cameron entertained parliament with a series of farewell quips on Wednesday in his last appearance as prime minister before making way for Theresa May to lead the monumental task of extricating Britain from the EU.

    “This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.

    “Other than one meeting this afternoon with Her Majesty the Queen, the diary for the rest of my day is remarkably light,’’ Cameron said to roars of laughter in a packed House of Commons.

    He was due to present his resignation to the queen at Buckingham Palace at around 1600 GMT.

    Then May will pay her own visit to the monarch to be formally entrusted with the job, before entering 10 Downing Street to become Britain’s second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher.

    Meanwhile Cameron stepped down after Britons rejected his entreaties and voted in a June 23 referendum to quit the EU, weakening the 28-nation bloc and creating huge economic uncertainty.

    Apart from the task of executing ‘Brexit’, May must try to unite a divided party and a nation in which many, on the evidence of the vote, feel angry with the political elite.

    There was an atmosphere of hilarity in parliament as Cameron traded humorous jabs with beleaguered opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn,in spite of the serious backdrop.

    “I am beginning to admire his tenacity; he is reminding me of the black knight in Monty Python’s Holy Grail.

    “He is been kicked so many times but he says ‘Keep going, it is only a flesh wound, I admire that,’’ Cameron said.

    He took the opportunity to trumpet his government’s achievements in generating one of the fastest growth rates among western economies, chopping the budget deficit, creating 2.5 million jobs and legalising gay marriage.

    However his legacy would be overshadowed by his failed referendum gamble, which he had hoped would keep Britain at the heart of a reformed EU.

  • EU leaders to UK: We regret but respect your decision

    EU leaders to UK: We regret but respect your decision

    The leaders of the European Union (EU) have expressed regret over the decision of Britain to leave the union but say they respect the decision of the people.

    This is contained in a joint statement issued by the EU leaders on Friday in Brussels obtained from the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS in Abuja.

    The EU leaders included Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.

    The others were Prime Minister Mark Rutte, holder of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, and Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.

    The statement said Tusk, Schulz and Rutte met on Friday morning in Brussels on the invitation of Juncker, and discussed the outcome of the United Kingdom referendum.

    “In a free and democratic process, the British people have expressed their wish to leave the European Union. We regret this decision but respect it.

    “This is an unprecedented situation but we are united in our response.

    “We will stand strong and uphold the EU’s core values of promoting peace and the well-being of its peoples,” the leaders jointly stated.

    They pledged that the remaining members of the EU would carry on with the vision of the union.

    “The Union of 27 member states will continue. The Union is the framework of our common political future.

    “We are bound together by history, geography and common interests and will develop our cooperation on this basis.

    “Together we will address our common challenge to generate growth, increase prosperity and ensure a safe and secure environment for our citizens.

    “The institutions will play their full role in this endeavour,” the EU leaders said.

    They, however, asked the UK to, as a matter of urgency, formalise its exit without any further delay.

    “We now expect the United Kingdom government to give effect to this decision of the British people as soon as possible, however painful that process may be.

    “Any delay will unnecessarily prolong uncertainty. We have rules to deal with this in an orderly way.

    “Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union sets out the procedure to be followed if a Member State decides to leave the European Union,” they said.

    According to them, the UK, technically, remains a member of the EU until it fulfills all the conditions for its formal withdrawal.

    “We stand ready to launch negotiations swiftly with the United Kingdom regarding the terms and conditions of its withdrawal from the European Union.

    “Until this process of negotiations is over, the United Kingdom remains a member of the European Union, with all the rights and obligations that derive from this.

    “According to the Treaties which the United Kingdom has ratified, EU law continues to apply to the full to and in the United Kingdom until it is no longer a Member.”

    “As agreed, the New Settlement for the United Kingdom within the European Union”, reached at the European Council on Feb. 18 to 19, 2016, will now not take effect.

    “It ceases to exist. There will be no renegotiations,” the EU leaders said.

    They, however, pledged continued close relationship with the UK in their future dealings.

    “As regards the United Kingdom, we hope to have it as a close partner of the European Union also in the future.

    “We expect the United Kingdom to formulate its proposals in this respect.

    “Any agreement, which will be concluded with the United Kingdom as a third country, will have to reflect the interests of both sides and be balanced in terms of rights and obligations,” the leaders said.