One of the main talking points of this year’s Oscars wasn’t the triumph of newcomers like Kenya-born LupitaN’yongo but a selfie stage-managed by the event’s host and talk superstar, Ellen Degeneres. The picture, taken by actor Bradley Cooper and featuring a scrum of celebrities including Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt and Kevin Spacey, was forwarded on Twitter more than 2million times by the time the ceremony was done.That makes it the most retweeted selfie ever beating the one featuring US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Danish Prime Minister HelleThorning-Schmidt taken during Nelson Mandela’s funeral.
Tag: David Cameron
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British minister quits over cleaner’s visa
Immigration minister Mark Harper has resigned from the government after it emerged his cleaner did not have permission to work in the UK.
Mr. Harper notified Prime Minister David Cameron, who accepted his resignation “with regret”, Number 10 said.
It added there was “no suggestion” the 43-year-old Conservative MP for the Forest of Dean had “knowingly employed an illegal immigrant”.
Fellow Tory James Brokenshire has been appointed the new immigration minister.
In his letter to the PM, Mr Harper said he would continue in his role as MP.
He explained he had made checks when he first employed the cleaner at his London flat in April 2007, taking a copy of her passport and a Home Office letter which stated she had the right to work in the UK.
Mr Harper said he considered the issue again when appointed a minister in the Cabinet Office in May 2010 and immigration minister in September 2012 but concluded “no further check was necessary.”
A year later, he said, he talked a lot about employers and landlords carrying out “reasonable checks” on workers.
Given this focus, he said, he thought it “prudent to check that all my documents were in order for my cleaner.”
Last month, after being unable to locate the documents, he asked his cleaner for further copies but when his private office checked the details with immigration officials, it was found she did not have indefinite leave to stay in the UK.
He was told this on Thursday and said in his letter that he immediately told Home Secretary Theresa May.
The matter was now with immigration enforcement, he added.
“Although I complied with the law at all times, I consider that as immigration minister, who is taking legislation through Parliament which will toughen up our immigration laws, I should hold myself to a higher standard than expected of others,” he said.
“I have always believed that politics is a team game, not an individual sport. I am sorry for any embarrassment caused.”
In his reply, Mr Cameron said Mr. Harper had “taken an honourable decision” and he hoped to see him return to the frontbench “before too long”.
“I understand your view that, although you carried out checks on your cleaner, you feel that you should hold yourself to an especially high standard as immigration minister,” Mr Cameron wrote.
He added it was “typical of you that you should be so mindful of the wider interests of the government and the party.”
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Cameron to Scotland: Stay with UK
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is to urge Scotland to vote against independence in September’s referendum, saying, “We want you to stay.”
In a speech in London, the prime minister will argue that the whole United Kingdom would be “deeply diminished” if Scotland opted to leave.
Mr. Cameron will also warn supporters of the Union against “complacency.”
But the Scottish National Party said he was “cowardly” for not making the speech in Scotland.
BBC reports that Mr. Cameron will invoke the spirit of the Great Britain Olympic team, which won 65 medals in 2012, when he speaks at the Olympic Park in east London.
He will say: “For me, the best thing about the Olympics wasn’t the winning. It was the red, the white, the blue.
“It was the summer that patriotism came out of the shadows and into the sun, everyone cheering as one for Team GB.”
About four million people over the age of 16 and living in Scotland will be able to take part in the referendum, promised by the country’s ruling Scottish National Party, on September 18.
Mr. Cameron will say: “This is a decision that is squarely and solely for those in Scotland to make. I passionately believe it is in their interests to stay in the UK.
“That way Scotland has the space to take decisions, while still having the security that comes with being part of something bigger.”
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British PM vows to crack down on ‘preachers of hate’
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is has vowed to launch a crackdown on the preachers of hate blamed by the government for the extremism that led to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.
Sky News reports that the prime minister’s fight back will come with the launch of a taskforce to tackle all forms of radicalisation that can lead to violent extremism and terrorism.
The group will include the most senior members of the Cabinet, including Nick Clegg, George Osborne, Theresa May, Eric Pickles and Chris Grayling, as well the Muslim Foreign Office minister Baroness Warsi.
In tackling extremism, the task force will aim to produce initiatives on:
– Disrupting extremist activities
– Challenging poisonous narratives
– Trends in radicalization
– Tackling radicalisation in institutions (mosques, madrassas, schools, colleges, universities and prisons)
Supporting faith and community leadership to build strong, integrated and united communities
Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr. Pickles, the Communities Secretary said: “Our answer to the extremists and preachers of hate is to speak out, to show them for what they are.”
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British PM ‘losing control of party over Europe’
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is losing control of his party over Europe, former Conservative cabinet minister Lord Howe has said.
The Tory leadership is “running scared” of its backbenchers by offering to renegotiate the United Kingdom’s relationship with Brussels, he said in the Observer.
He also warned that if a proposed referendum led to the UK leaving the European Union, there would be dire consequences for the country’s global influence.
The Tories said the PM’s position on seeking to return powers was unchanged.
BBC reports that Lord Howe’s warning comes amid press reports that a figure close to the prime minister called grassroots Conservatives pushing for an EU referendum “mad, swivel-eyed loons.”
No. 10 denied “anyone in Downing Street” had made the remarks, while party co-chairman Lord Feldman said he was taking legal advice over “untrue” web rumours he had made “derogatory comments.”
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Britain’s deputy speaker arrested for rape, sexual assault
…Released on bail
Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of the rape and sexual assault of two men.
Sky News reports that the Conservative MP, a prominent gay rights campaigner, is expected to respond to the allegations later, in person, in a statement.
Earlier, the 55-year-old posted a message on his Facebook page thanking members of the public for their support.
He wrote: “thanks for the amazing overwhelming support at this difficult time….”
Mr. Evans was arrested on Saturday morning at his constituency home in the village of Pendleton, near Clitheroe, in Lancashire.
The politician was questioned by police over an allegation of raping one man and sexually assaulting another between July 2009 and March 2013.
After several hours in custody in Preston, Mr. Evans was released on bail at 10.30pm and asked to return to the police station on June 19.
Prime Minister David Cameron and Speaker John Bercow were informed of the arrest of the popular MP.
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Suarez set appalling example – Cameron
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, said Liverpool striker Luis Suarez set “the most appalling example” by biting Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.
Suarez has since been banned for 10 games by a Football Association panel.
“As a dad and as a human being do I think we should have tough penalties when football players behave like this? Yes,” Mr. Cameron told BBC Radio 5 live.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has claimed that previous comments from Mr. Cameron swayed the panel’s decision.
Before the panel announced a punishment that Liverpool said left them “shocked” and “bitterly disappointed”, Mr. Cameron had said that “it would be very understandable if the panel took into account that high-profile players are often role models.”
“The Prime Minister even chipped in with something which was a different matter altogether,” said Rodgers on Thursday.
“There’s no doubt if you have those high-profile figures making those sorts of statements, there will be a bias.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard of an independent panel being dictated to by so many people.”
However Mr. Cameron, speaking on Friday morning, denied that he had deliberately intervened.
“I made my own views clear, just as a dad watching the game,” Mr. Cameron added.
“I have a seven-year-old son who loves football, loves watching football and when players behave like this, it sets the most appalling example to young people in our country.”
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Assad accuses UK of ‘bullying’ Syria
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has accused the British government of bullying and naivety in its approach to the conflict in his country.
In an interview with the United Kingdom’s Sunday Times newspaper, he said Britain was determined to militarise the situation.
BBC says he repeated his conditional offer of talks with the opposition and dismissed suggestions that he might step down.
The UK says it supports the Syrian opposition but does not provide rebels with arms.
However, at a recent Friends of Syria meeting in Rome, Foreign Secretary William Hague said military aid was possible in the future.
Mr. Assad, in a rare interview with a Western newspaper, accused UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s “naive, confused, unrealistic” government of trying to end an European Union arms embargo so that the rebels could be supplied with weapons.
“We do not expect an arsonist to be a firefighter,” he said.
“To be frank, Britain has played a famously unconstructive role in our region on different issues for decades, some say for centuries.
“The problem with this government is that their shallow and immature rhetoric only highlights this tradition of bullying and hegemony.”
He added: “How can we expect to ask Britain to play a role when it is determined to militarise the problem?
“How can you ask them to play a role in making the situation better, more stable? How can we expect them to make the violence less while they want to send military supply to the terrorists and don’t try to ease the dialogue between the Syrian(s).”
About 70,000 people have been killed in the Syrian uprising that started almost two years ago. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to neighbouring countries.
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Syrian opposition U-turn on talks
The Syrian opposition has agreed to attend an international summit in Rome, after the United States and United Kingdom “promised specific aid” to the Syrian people.
The group had previously announced it would boycott the talks because of “the world’s silence” over the violence, BBC reports.
U.S Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Minister William Hague earlier confirmed there would be more support for Syria’s opposition.
Mr. Kerry was in London as part of his first foreign trip since taking office.
The Syrian opposition’s announcement came amid reports of a deadly explosion and heavy fighting in an eastern part of the Syrian capital, Damascus.
It also emerged on Monday that a member of the United Nations peacekeeping force monitoring the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian troops in the demilitarised Golan Heights was missing.
“We can confirm that a staff member is not accounted for and we are in touch with the relevant parties to determine what has happened,” UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey told the Associated Press.
After meeting Mr. Hague and British Prime Minister David Cameron, Mr. Kerry called Syrian Opposition Council President Moaz Al-Khatib and encouraged him to join the Rome talks on Thursday.
No further details have been released about the conversation.
But on Monday evening, Mr. al-Khatib said in a Facebook post that his group would fly to Italy.
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FG seeks Britain’s assistance on oil ‘bunkering’
Nigeria has asked Britain for help to tackle a multi-million dollar oil theft business which is run by international crime syndicates, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Maduke said on Tuesday.
Oil “bunkering”– hacking into pipelines to steal crude then refining it or selling it abroad — is costing Nigeria a fifth of its two million barrels per day output, government and international oil companies say.
“The products from bunkering are not sold in (West Africa), neither are the financial outputs … laundered in West African banks, they are ending up in far flung international fiscal institutions,” Reuters quoted Alison-Madueke as saying at an industry conference in Abuja.
“Mr. President has begun to reach out with his colleagues around the world. A discussion was held with the prime minister of Great Britain on Monday a week ago and they are all coming on board to help sort out this particular menace,” she added.
Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell, the biggest foreign producer in Nigeria, has been lobbying the British government to help Nigeria to end bunkering, industry sources say.
Yet the complicity of security officials and politicians who profit from the practice may limit the impact international governments can have on ending the illegal industry.