The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nick Clegg

  • UK party leaders grilled on TV

    UK party leaders grilled on TV

    David Cameron and Ed Miliband have faced tough questions from a Question Time audience over their economic plans in the final TV event of the campaign.

    The Prime Minister said he had rejected £8billion in child benefit cuts the Lib Dems claimed the Tories had proposed in government.

    Ed Miliband said Labour did not overspend when in power and that he would not lead a government if it involved a deal with the SNP.

    Nick Clegg was grilled over tuition fees, trust and coalition deals, the BBC reports.

    While insisting they could both win outright, the Conservative and Labour leaders gave the clearest indications to date of the terms of possible post-election deals, with Mr. Cameron saying his pledge of an European Union referendum in 2017 would be a “red line” in any negotiations.

    Three other leaders also faced audience questions:

    In Glasgow, SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon predicted Mr. Miliband would not be able to get his policies through without working with other parties

    UKIP leader Nigel Farage said on a programme broadcast in England and Wales that an EU referendum defeat would not kill his party

    Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood refused to rule out a deal with Labour in a BBC TV special from Cardiff.

    The prime minister was first in the firing line at Leeds Town Hall.

    Mr. Cameron said he did not want to cut child benefit or child tax credits if he won the election, but that it was possible to save more from the welfare budget.

    Asked if this amounted to an “absolute guarantee,” he said child tax credit “would not fall” and child benefit was “one of the most important benefits there is” and did not need to change.

    Brandishing the note left in 2010 by outgoing Labour Treasury Secretary, Liam Byrne, stating there was “no money left”, Mr. Cameron said: “It takes a long time to fix the mess that I was left.”

    “We are half way through a building job,” the PM added.

  • Hunger strike: British Minister ignores MPs’ appeals for mercy for Nigerian

    Hunger strike: British Minister ignores MPs’ appeals for mercy for Nigerian

    BRITISH Home Secretary Theresa May has failed to reply to a letter from over 40 MPs and peers calling on her to show mercy to a Nigerian asylum seeker who is expected to die soon unless he is released from detention.

    Isa Muazu has not eaten anything in nearly 90 days, but the Home Office has declared him ‘fit to fly’ and is pushing for him to be deported on a scheduled flight.

    Although there has been little press attention on the case, the home secretary is coming under growing political pressure to soften her stance.

    Politics.co.uk said deputy Lib Dem leader Simon Hughes is asking Nick Clegg to step in and talk the home secretary out of her hard line position, in a move which could worsen already delicate relations between the deputy prime minister and the home secretary.

    Liberal Democrat MP Julian Huppert meanwhile tabled an urgent question for the Commons on Monday, although the matter will probably be considered sub-judice until after a court hearing also tabled for that day.

    “In any civilised country to allow people to starve to death is something we shouldn’t really contemplate,” Lord Roberts of Llandudno, who organised the open letter, told Politics.co.uk.

    “We are hoping the appeal on Monday succeeds. It would be a lifesaver. Otherwise a prolonged hunger strike could only end in death itself.

    “The UK is way beyond the time we’d allow someone to starve to death of hunger.”

    Critics say the row is similar to that over Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, whose death on hunger strike in 1981 caused worldwide protests against the British government.

    Muazu claims he will be killed by Islamic extremist group Boko Haram if he is returned to Nigeria. He says the group has already executed members of his family.

    He began a hunger strike in September in protest at his continued detention.

    The letter to May, which has been signed by Lib Dem peer Baroness Shirley Williams, Respect MP George Galloway, Green MP Caroline Lucas, Labour MP John McDonnell and others, demands that Muazu is immediately released on bail so he can be cared for in a hospital.

    “We are writing in relation to the case of Mr. Isa Muazu, a Nigerian national, who has been on a hunger strike for almost ninety days at Harmondsworth Detention Centre,” it reads.

    “As he is unfit for detention, we ask that you immediately release him on bail so that he may be admitted to hospital and receive the urgent medical treatment he clearly requires.

    “We understand that he is now so near to death that there may not be enough time to appeal his case. We hope that you will reconsider releasing him from detention as a matter of urgency.”

    The letter was sent three days ago, but there has been no response from the home secretary.

    Speaking to Politics.co.uk, a case worker for the Nigerian national said he was now so weak he had lost his sight and could not stand up.

    Nevertheless, the Home Office told the court yesterday that its doctors had said he was ‘fit to fly’ and could be deported to Nigeria.

    Campaigners are calling for supporters to back an online appeal for the Nigerian national.

    Protests are planned for outside of Harmondsworth detention centre this weekend and tomorrow.

  • British PM vows to crack down on ‘preachers of hate’

    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.”

     

  • DVK CEO named Global Entrepreneur of the Year

    DVK CEO named Global Entrepreneur of the Year

    The Founder of international trading and finance company DVK, Deepak Kuntawala, has been named the Global Entrepreneur of the Year at the TiE UK Awards 2013.

    Deepak Kuntawala was recognised for growing DVK from a start-up to an international brand with innovation and hard work

    Chief Guest and keynote speaker, the Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democrats, presented the DVK CEO with the prize at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Monday, March 18.

    The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE) UK Awards select the finest in entrepreneurial talent from across the UK. The ceremony also honours the best of Britain’s Asian business and enterprise practitioners; those with the innovation, vision and tenacity to achieve success.

    In attendance at the ceremony were TiE UK Charter Members, high net worth individuals, political and public figures, including James Caan, music sensation and founder of New York Coffee Club Peter Andre, Jacqueline Gold, CEO of Ann Summers and Knickerbox, online gaming billionaire Vikrant Bhargava, Lord and Lady Dholakia and Lord Loomba.

    Deepak who was thrilled to receive the  award  thanked his supporters and team. He noted that “TiE UK is pivotal in nurturing entrepreneurs in the UK. These awards have always been a showcase for the UK’s many business talents who have contributed, and will continue to contribute, to the UK’s economy.”

    “My Grandfather and Father instilled in us that as you sow, so shall you reap, and that hard work will one day bear fruit. Indeed, the late Steve Jobs said: ‘I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance,’” he stated.

    Following the  award win, Deepak  has established an apprentice scheme at DVK to help aspiring entrepreneurs to learn the skills needed to succeed in the world of business.

    In line with the estimated £3.4bn that apprentices are said to contribute to the UK economy, Deepak said:  “We want to share our success by initiating and establishing an Apprentice Scheme – this year. We already had a student from the London School of Fashion.  In the next quarter, we will take two people. DVK believes that apprentice schemes are a powerful medium for any economy to flourish.”

    He quoted Nick Clegg MP, who had previously spoken about the value of apprenticeships, saying:  “’Apprenticeships are at the heart of our drive to provide employers with people who have the skills needed for their businesses to prosper and compete, often in a global market.

    “’Apprentices are vital to Great British business – from mechanical engineering and business administration to dental nursing and physiotherapy. We are making it as simple and rewarding as possible to take on apprentices.”

    Recently, DVK opened an office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with His Royal Highness, the Prince of Saudi, appointed Chairman of DVK Saudi.

    Deepak is also preparing to set up a Shari’ah Fund for women, designed to attract investment to the Middle East region. DVK’s successful performance in the last quarter has also led to the establishment of a DVK office in Bahrain.

    DVK’s other projects in the Middle East includes key infrastructure schemes. He also has ventures with China, and private equity transactions in Russia and Africa.

    The company is building an aviation wing that will create a cargo business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as in other Gulf States, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Africa. DVK Aviation plans to develop new markets in the Gulf region while increasing its acquisition of aircraft and private jet businesses.

    The brand has a portfolio of businesses across private equity, wealth management, structured trade and commodity finance, capital markets, infrastructure, real estate, mining, aviation and fund management sectors.

    It is active in the following countries and territories; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Bahrain, China, Hong Kong, the UAE, Switzerland, Nairobi, Ghana, Malawi and the cities of Moscow, Johannesburg and Madrid.