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labourpress · 7 years

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Emily Thornberry speech to Labour Party Conference

Emily Thornberry MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, speaking at the Labour Party Conference in Brighton today, said:

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Chair, Conference - It’s a pleasure to be back here in Brighton and Hove.

A city which we can say - once again - has no Tory MPs. And it’s a pleasure to be taking part in a debate where our delegates have such a strong voice,

And we should all thank Kate Osamor and Nia Griffith who have allowed me to speak on their behalf today so our delegates could have more time. And let me say as well - it’s an honour to be on this stage with our leader, my friend, this country’s next Prime Minister - Jeremy Corbyn.

You know, some people might remember a certain viral video from election night of a bit of high-fiving gone wrong. But that’s not how I’ll remember that evening. I’ll just remember seeing a friend of mine who had defied all the pundits, all the doubters

and all the expectations. Someone who had proved during the election, who has proved throughout his leadership, who has proved all his life, that nothing is stronger, nothing on earth than a person of principle.

And it is that strength and those principles, those unshakeable values that are going to take Jeremy into Downing Street and put Labour back into power. After all, it was on this very stage two years ago that Jeremy declared his mission:

“To put Labour values -- the people’s values -- back - into - politics.”

And he has achieved that. But thanks to Jeremy’s inspirational leadership, thanks to the brilliant efforts of everyone in this room, we can now set our sights even higher.

It is time to put Labour values, the people’s values back into Government.

Because if June’s election taught us one thing, it’s that if we stand behind Jeremy’s principled leadership, if we stand united as a Party, and if we stand on a radical manifesto, there is absolutely no seat that we can’t win. And no Tory that we can’t bin.

So next time, we've got to take the fight into their backyard. Let's go round the coast to Hastings. And end the ambitions of Amber Rudd. Let's go to Chingford. And send Iain Duncan Smith to the Job Centre. Then let's go to Uxbridge. And make sure Boris Johnson never, ever gets into No.10.

But Conference, please let’s just take a second to sympathise with poor old Boris. Oh come on, just a second. He’s not been happy lately. Apparently he's sick of being blamed for the way Brexit is going and all the broken promises of the Leave campaign.

I'm sorry, Conference? I'm sorry? Who does he think made all those promises? Who does he think was in charge of the Leave Campaign?

I know Boris doesn’t like paternity tests, but we might need one for Brexit. We need to get him in a studio with Jeremy Kyle.

“Yes, I'm sorry, Mr Johnson…

“We've got the results back…

“It looks like this one is yours…

“It must have been that wild night out you had with Michael Gove.

“I've calculated your maintenance payments…

“That’ll be 350 million a week.”

But Conference, what a contrast. Here on this stage, you’ve got Labour’s Brexit team - myself, Keir and Barry working every day in harness with Jeremy, John and Diane. All pulling in the same direction. All focused on the same three priorities. The three priorities we’ve had since Day One after the Referendum - Jobs, Jobs and Jobs.

While next week in Manchester, we’re going to see six Tory rats, fighting in a sack, not worried about protecting the jobs of the British people. Just every one of them looking out for their own.

Last Friday, Theresa May said we need to be “creative and imaginative” to get a good outcome from Brexit. Well I’ve got a creative idea for her step aside, end your shambles of a Government, and let the grown-ups on this stage take charge.

And talking of grown-ups I’m proud to be here representing our great Shadow Foreign Office team: Liz McInnes; Fabian Hamilton; Khalid Mahmood; Helen Goodman and Ray Collins. And I’m proud as well to be speaking on behalf of my friends, Kate Osamor and Nia Griffith. Kate, our Shadow Secretary of State For International Development, facing a world in now constant humanitarian crisis,

not least as a result of climate change.

As Kate would say, in that world, we’ve got a decision to make. Either tackle head on the root causes of these crises or spend more and more every year dealing with the consequences. And, under a Labour government. That is a decision we will not duck.

And Nia, our Shadow Defence Secretary, who has shown that Britain under Labour

will be a strong leader within NATO, committed to spend 2 per cent of our national income on defence. And committed to ensure that those who put their lives on the line for this country the real-terms pay rises and the decent living conditions that their service and their sacrifice deserves.

In dark, dangerous times for our world Britain must be equally strong and equally committed to defence, development and diplomacy. That is what we offer on this stage. And that is what Labour in government will guarantee.

But Conference, make no mistake. These are indeed dark and dangerous times for the world. And too many times, the problems we face come down to people abusing their power and ignoring the rules and values that should govern our world.

From Venezuela to The Philippines we see the rule of law ignored and originally democratic governments turning into increasingly autocratic regimes. From Myanmar to Yemen we see human rights ignored and flagrant attacks against ordinary civilians qll too often using British-made weapons.

From Kashmir to Israel and Palestine we see efforts at diplomacy ignored and actions taken on both sides which will make peace harder to achieve.

From Syria to Sudan, we see the Geneva Conventions ignored and despots committing war crimes with total freedom and impunity.

All across Europe we see the basic rules of humanity and the basic lessons of history ignored as cowardly terrorists stalk our city streets and vicious extremist parties rise in the polls.

And of course, in North Korea we see the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ignored with all the terrifying consequences the world is now facing today.

Taken altogether what we are seeing today is the biggest challenge to the world order since the 1930s and the collapse of the League of Nations. And if you believe as I do in what Jeremy has called…“A world based on rules and laws” then this is the time, more than ever, when we need our leaders to stand up for that world order. To stand up for human rights and international treaties. And to insist on working through the United Nations for peace.

But instead, Conference we now have a President of the United States who believes that none of these rules and laws apply to him.

- Imposing a travel ban on Muslims;

- Equivocating over illegal settlements;

- Reneging on the Paris climate treaty;

- Imperilling the nuclear deal with Iran;

- And threatening to “totally destroy” North Korea. A country of 20 million men and women. And 5 million children.

This is not what we need from the leader of the free world.

To be honest, Conference it’s more like what we would expect from a rogue dictator. And what makes it even worse is to see this Tory government and this Tory Prime Minister pathetically going along with it all walking hand-in-hand with Trump at the White House, supine, sycophantic and spineless.

And why? All in the vain hope that Trump will ride to the rescue after Brexit with some fantasy free trade deal. Because, for this Tory government that’s what their foreign policy has come down to no values or ethics, no rules or principles just a simple case of what works best for the bottom line. How else do they explain why - last week - Theresa May was in New York, finally announcing the suspension of cooperation with the military in Myanmar because of their actions in Rakhine.

While on the very same day, Michael Fallon was in Jeddah, signing a deal to increase our cooperation with the military in Saudi Arabia wantonly ignoring their actions in Yemen. It is rank hypocrisy. But it also illustrates a basic fact that the world we want to see – a world governed by ethics and values, a world based on rules and laws will never truly exist as long as governments and world leaders get to decide for themselves when it suits them to play by the rules and when the rules can be safely ignored.

The world we want will never exist when governments like Theresa May’s think it’s perfectly OK to loudly condemn those they regard as enemies but then fall utterly silent when it is their friends in Bahrain rounding up, torturing and executing civilian protestors or their friends in Saudi Arabia dropping cluster bombs on innocent children in Yemen.

In fact, if they were just silent that would be an improvement. Instead, we have to listen to Michael Fallon saying that the thousands of children killed and injured by air strikes in Yemen are just a consequence of Saudi Arabia “defending itself”…

…“Defending itself”.

But Conference, it does not have to be this way. Labour can and will do things differently when we are back in power.

And there is one concrete step we can commit to today.

For too long successive governments in this country have taken decisions on granting arms export licences behind closed doors and shrouded in secrecy.

Just two months ago we had the ludicrous situation where the campaigners trying to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen had their Judicial Review rejected on the basis of government evidence presented in closed court a secret court so they were not even allowed to hear the evidence let alone challenge it.

The fact is that arms export decisions made by Tory Ministers are entirely subjective assessments taken without proper Parliamentary scrutiny without listening to independent, expert advice, but listening far too much to lobbyists for the arms trade and repressive foreign regimes. A process that leads to nonsensical double-standards, where the Government can decide too late that selling arms to Myanmar is wrong but immediately increase its sales to Saudi. It is an arms control regime that was already outdated. but which the Tories have systematically abused, undermined and left fatally discredited.

And as the four shadow ministers responsible, Barry, Nia, Kate and I have agreed that it must change. So just as the new Labour Governments elected in 1997 and 2001 Immediately reformed the way decisions were made on monetary policy and competition policy, the next Labour Government will immediately reform the way decisions are made on the export of arms.

A wholesale reform of the legal and regulatory framework fully implementing the International Arms Trade Treaty with clear rules, tests and criteria for decision-making, based on independent, expert advice and the objective assessment of evidence. A new system, that will prevent the misuse or abuse of licences and adhere to the principles of transparency, true Parliamentary accountability and freedom from undue influence.

Because Conference, it is not enough for us just to be better than the Tories, we must set an entirely new standard for Britain and a shining example to the world.

And if that sounds like setting our ambitions high, well you’re damn right it is and we should not apologise for that.

You know, I heard Chuka say yesterday:

“Overpromising and under-delivering…

“…Is one of the reasons…

“…there was such fury with the Blair government.”

And when it comes to foreign policy, I totally agree with that statement. But the way we avoid that mistake next time round isn’t to water down the promises we make, it’s to keep the promises we make and make sure we deliver them.

We will be a Government that will never put the interest of the rich and powerful above human Rights, The Rule of Law, and the lives of innocent children in Yemen…

A Government that will never put our principles up for auction.

And if we are going to be the kind of government we could be, we do not just need what Robin Cook called for, twenty years ago, when he set out his Mission Statement for the Foreign Office.

We do not just need an “ethical dimension” to our foreign policy, we need to go much further than that.

We need what Martin Luther King called for 50 years ago, when he set out his case against the Vietnam War.

- We need “a revolution of values”.

- “A genuine revolution of values”.

- “A radical revolution of values”.

Because if our mission back when Jeremy was elected, was to put Labour values back into politics and our mission today is to put those values back into Government, then our mission for the years to come must be equally ambitious and equally radical. It must be to put Labour values at the heart of the world order, to be a beacon in every corner of the globe for the values we believe in here at home.

We have the leader in Jeremy to do it. We have the team on this stage to do it. We have the members in this hall, and all across the country, who will hold us to it.

So let us make that our mission. And this time -- this time -- let us make it our record.

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courtneytincher · 5 years

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Boris Johnson Attacked by MPs Over Treatment of U.K. Ambassador

(Bloomberg) -- Boris Johnson was attacked from all sides in Parliament over his treatment of the former British ambassador in Washington -- a foretaste of the difficulty the favorite to be next prime minister may face in securing cross-party support for his Brexit plans.In a televised Conservative leadership debate on Tuesday evening, Johnson refused to back envoy Kim Darroch after his diplomatic cables -- which described U.S. President Donald Trump in unflattering terms -- were leaked to a newspaper. Johnson’s response, in contrast to the support offered by his rival for the premiership Jeremy Hunt, outraged critics, who said it proved he wouldn’t stand up to Trump if he becomes premier.Kim Darroch Quits as U.K. Ambassador to U.S. Amid Trump’s Fury“Real leaders protect their people, they don’t throw them to the wolves because they can sniff a prize for themselves,” Labour’s Pat McFadden told the House of Commons on Thursday. Johnson’s “actions were a chilling warning of what is to come if he becomes prime minister,” he said.Roger Gale -- a Conservative like Johnson -- called his behavior “lamentable,” while Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson, favorite to become her party’s new leader, called the Tory front-runner a “wimp.” Replying to Swinson, Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan agreed, adding that it “was one of the kinder words” he had used about Johnson.In an interview with the Sun newspaper, Johnson said he was a “great supporter” of Darroch’s and called the attempts to blame him for the ambassador’s resignation “bizarre.”“I don’t think it’s right to drag public servants’ careers into the arena in that way,” he said of his comments in the debate.Lawmakers didn’t hold back in their criticism of Trump either. Labour’s Liz McInnes said the U.S. president was guilty of “ridiculous temper tantrums,” while McFadden called Trump’s comments on Twitter and elsewhere “the opposite of mature leadership.”(Updates with Johnson comment in fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporter on this story: Kitty Donaldson in London at [email protected] contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at [email protected], Stuart Biggs, Thomas PennyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

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somalilandmonitor · 6 years

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Somaliland’s Independence Anniversary Highlights Opportunity for UK with Commonwealth Allies

Written by: Stephen Doughty MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Liz McInnes MP and Matthew Offord MP House of Commons 8 Parliamentarians mark today’s 58th anniversary since the former British protectorate of Somaliland attained independence from the United Kingdom. They call on the UK government to begin the process of bringing Somaliland into the international community, as distinct from neighbouring…

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dhanaklondon · 6 years

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High Commissioner testifies before APPG on Kashmir on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir

H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK testified at the UK Parliament on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) on 19 June 2018. Chris Leslie MP, Chairperson APPG on Kashmir chaired the meeting.

The testimony was made before the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Kashmir that met to take stock of the recent unrest in IOK. Lords MPs, members of civil society, and representatives of human rights organizations were present during the Oral Evidence Session.

In his testimony the High Commissioner forcefully raised the issue of gross human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and urged the international community to take note of these atrocities and raise its voice for the voiceless people of Kashmir.

The High Commissioner termed the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK), a human catastrophe beyond description. He said Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory as recognized by the United Nations and the international community.

Following are the salient points raised by the Deputy High Commissioner:

Indian’s military occupation of the State is illegal

India accepted the United Nations resolutions but has avoided implementing them through obfuscation, diversion, deceit and aggression

India is also refusing a bilateral dialogue with Pakistan

With largest army concentration, India’s brutal occupation of Kashmir has resulting in killing of more than 100,000 innocent Kashmiris.

Rapes, tortures, illegal incarceration, enforced disappearances and mass blinding of innocent Kashmiri people by use of pallet guns by the Indian occupation forces show that Indian brutality knows no bounds.

Appreciating the APPG on Kashmir’s initiative, the High Commissioner stated:

“I am sure this Group’s effort to document the precarious human rights situation in Kashmir is both important and appropriate. It is also in line with the British human rights values and its commitment to uphold the same at home and abroad.”

This is the second testimony on human rights violations in IOK given by the Pakistan High Commission, London in the last seven months. The testimony, along with other findings will form the basis of a written report on the human rights violations in IOK to be published by the APPG on Kashmir in the next few months.

This will be the first such report produced by any British Parliamentary Group. It is intended to form an authoritative, balanced and comprehensive account of the current situation in Kashmir and to provide a valuable resource for the parliamentarians in Britain and elsewhere.

Chris Leslie MP, Chairperson APPG on Kashmir expressed his desire to complete the report as soon as possible. He appreciated Pakistan High Commission London’s cooperation in preparing the report.

MPs and Lords present on the occasion expressed serious concerns over the human rights abuses committed by the Indian security forces in the IOK.

Dr Ijaz Hussain, an academic, also gave a briefing to the attendees on the salient features of the recently released UN Human Rights Report on Kashmir.

The following British Parliamentarian attended the briefing: Chris Leslie MP, Jack Brereton MP, Debbie Abrahams MP, Imran Hussain MP, Sarah Champion MP, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP, Liz McInnes MP, Khalid Mahmood MP, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Qurban Hussain, Vernon Coaker MP, Stephen Timms MP, Jim McMahon MP, Faisal Rashid MP and Julie Cooper MP. Raja Najabat Hussain, Chairman JKSDMI also attended the briefing.

High Commissioner testifies before APPG on Kashmir on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir High Commissioner testifies before APPG on Kashmir on human rights violations in Indian Occupied Kashmir H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas, Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK testified at the UK Parliament on human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) on 19 June 2018.

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careerfinders · 6 years

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Govt briefs UK parliamentarians on Brexit developments

Gibraltar’s Brexit concerns were aired simultaneously in the House of Commons and on the Rock yesterday as the Chief Minister addressed peers and MPs in London whilst the Deputy Chief Minister hosted a visiting delegation of MPs locally.

A group of around 20 peers and MPs attended an early breakfast briefing hosted by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo in the House of Commons yesterday morning.

In Gibraltar, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia is in the midst of hosting a cross-party group of UK Parliamentarians as part of a two-day working visit focusing on Brexit related issues. According to Dr Garcia, the visit demonstrates the strength and support that Gibraltar has in the UK Parliament.

In London, the chairman of the cross -party All Party Parliamentary Group for Gibraltar, Bob Neill, along with members and friends of the group were given a detailed account of the issues facing Gibraltar as a consequence of Brexit.

The 90 minute session allowed MPs to question Mr Picardo and gain a better understanding of how discussions with the United Kingdom have progressed as well as the efforts to work with all EU members, including Spain, to ensure a withdrawal from the EU and transition period which works well for all sides.

Many well-known Gibraltar supporters attended, including Deputy Speaker of the Commons Lindsay Hoyle and his father Lord Hoyle, Dame Rosie Winterton, Baroness Harris, Baroness Hooper as well as Lord Hannay, Bob Stewart, Maria Caulfield, Sammy Wilson and Nigel Evans.

Mr Picardo was joined at the session by Attorney General Michael Llamas and Gibraltar Representative to the UK Dominique Searle and Mr Picardo’s private secretary, Peter Canessa.

The delegation then attended an hour long meeting in Whitehall with Robin Walker, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Exiting the European Union, as part of the continuing engagement on consolidating and building Gibraltar’s links with the UK in order to best secure Gibraltar’s interests as the UK and the Rock leave the EU.

The meeting comes ahead of a Gibraltar Joint Ministerial Council being scheduled for June.

In Gibraltar, the delegation of Parliamentarians includes Conservative MP Robert Goodwill – a former Minister for Transport, Minister of State for Immigration and Minister of State in the Department of Education.

As well as Liz McInnes who currently serves as Shadow Foreign Minister in Labour’s Foreign Affairs team, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Exiting the European Union and International Trade Tom Brake, Labour MP Mike Gapes and William Humphrey MLA, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

The focal points of the two-day visit are the border and air terminal as well as environmental and financial matters.

The visit also provided an opportunity to share intelligence about what is happening from a parliamentary point of view.

Asked about Spain’s Brexit veto, Mr Brake flagged the cross-party support for Gibraltar and added that MPs are making it clear to the UK government that this is not an issue that can be bartered away.

Everyone is behind the Gibraltar Government in ensuring that their rights are respected, Mr Brake added.

“One of the things that has been made clear to us this morning is that Spain, in many respects, has so much more to lose in this process,” he said.

“Gibraltar has a very strong economy and is a very strong job creator next to a region of Spain which has very significant economic problems.”

“It would be strange if the Spanish Government decided to make it more difficult for their own citizens to work and earn money in Gibraltar.”

Additionally, MPs took the opportunity to reiterate the double-lock commitment on Gibraltar’s sovereignty.

The delegation met with Government and Opposition Members of the Brexit Select Committee of the Gibraltar Parliament and paid a courtesy call on the Governor, Lieutenant General Edward Davis. Meetings were also arranged with the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses.

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safeerhadi · 6 years

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via AIMPAK – ایم پاک

Labour candidate Liz McInnes (R) reacts with Barrow MP John Woodcock after winning the Heywood and Middleton By-Election at the Heywood Sports Centre on October 9, 2014 in Heywood, England. Nigel Roddis/Getty Images Labour MP John Woodcock has been suspended from the Labour Party while the party investigates a sexual harassment allegation against him, an…

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petloverus-blog · 6 years

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John Woodcock MP suspended from Labour over sexual harassment allegation Labour candidate Liz McInnes (R) reacts with Barrow MP John Woodcock after winning the Heywood and Middleton By-Election at the Heywood Sports Centre on October 9, 2014 in Heywood, England.

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vdbstore-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Vintage Designer Handbags Online | Vintage Preowned Chanel Luxury Designer Brands Bags & Accessories

New Post has been published on http://vintagedesignerhandbagsonline.com/leave-celine-dion-alone-she-was-always-a-fashion-monster-fashion/

Leave Celine Dion alone – she was always a fashion monster | Fashion

So apparently Celine Dion is now a fashion icon. What?

Josh, by email

I think the real surprise here, Josh, is that you’re surprised. Are you inferring that Celine makes an unlikely style inspiration? I can only assume you were asleep during the whole of 1999 when she wore a tuxedo backwards and a cowboy hat to the Oscars, easily one of this column’s favourite awards moments of all time. More recently, she answered the long-wondered question of what would happen if a dress mated with an iceberg when she turned up to the Billboard awards in what was nominally a gown but actually seemed to be a pair of shoulder pads having a nervous breakdown (“That was very comfortable,” Dion told People magazine.)

But now she has been reborn as a full-blown fashion icon, stamped and approved by the fashion crowd. Her unexpected appearance at the Paris couture shows this month, each day wearing an outfit that made that backwards tuxedo look understated, was uploaded on to Instagram by fashion journalists who had so deprived their brains of oxygen by spending too long at the Chanel sample sale that they can no longer tell whether they are being ironic or sincere. This column never felt more in sympatico with Dion than when it watched her gamely trying to wear the trendy labels in Paris – your Balenciagas, your Vetements, your Off-Whites – but only looking truly happy at the frilly, girly, utterly uncool Giambattista Valli show, to which she gave a standing ovation. Oh, we’ll give the cutting edge a try, won’t we, Celine, but we can’t deny our true nature.

Celine has also, unintentionally no doubt, highlighted the difference between how the fashion press sees clothes, and how the rest of the world does. While fashion editors are still rubbing their thighs over Celine’s neon dresses and Dior outfits, the tabloids have decided that this is all proof that the woman has lost her mind.

“Celine takes to wearing outlandish outfits and still speaks to her dead husband … what’s going on with her?” screamed one Daily Mirror headline last week, as if wearing couture was akin to having full-on delusions. “Just last month,” the article whispered conspiratorially, “Dion was in Paris carrying a £79,000 Hermès handbag along with pearl-studded shoes designed by the rapper Kanye West, leather dungarees and diamante-encrusted sunglasses.”

I’m confused, Mirror – you say all that like those are bad things. What’s going on with Celine? I’d say she’s having a hefty dose of fashion awesomeness!

“While some have dismissed this as Celine just having fun, others point to the grief she still feels having lost both her husband and brother to cancer,” the paper tuts, as if it hadn’t noticed that, in fact, Celine was always a fashion monster.

The paper concludes by quoting “Lucy, from radio station LBC”, who adds: “Part of me wonders if Celine watched [husband] Rene die and thought, ‘You can’t take all that money with you, I might as well have fun with it.’”

Does it, Lucy? Is that the part of you that thinks it’s totally appropriate to imagine what people think when they see their spouse’s corpse, draw some nonsensical psychobabble from it and then share those thoughts with the nation?

Leave Celine alone, everyone. Let her be. She sang her little heart out for you for decades, and if she now wants to spend £80,000 of her hard-earned cash on a handbag, that’s her business. You keep proving Canadians can be fashion-forward, Celine. And treat yourself to as much Giambattista Valli as you like.

Think pink … Liz McInnes, MP for Heywood and Middleton at the Labour party conference in 2014. Photograph: Mark Thomas/Rex/Shutterstock

I’ve just been emailed by a constituent to tell me that my favourite colour combination of “shocking pink and black” is, in fact, a major “fashion faux pas”. What colours would you advise MPs wear to ensure that people talk about the politics and not the clothes?

Liz McInnes, Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton, Greater Manchester

An invisibility cloak. There is nothing, Liz, that you, as a woman, dealing with the public, in the (relative) public eye, can wear that will make people talk more about what you do than how you look. Poor Hillary Clinton (that’s right, I’m still talking about her – suck on it, Trumpers) tried to neuter herself down to such a point that she wore the same outfit every single goddamn day, and still people talked about her clothes. There she was, obligingly dressing like Kim Jong-un, and still she became #pantsuitnation. What does a woman have to do to be seen as more than an aesthetic statement? Well, as that election proved, we may well never know.

As for your preferred combination of hot pink and black, I could not salute this more vigorously. It is very Alexis from Dynasty, or maybe Dorian from Birds of a Feather,. Either way, I’m feeling it.

Anyway, only one constituent has emailed to complain. I feel completely secure in stating without any evidence whatsoever that all the rest of the people in Heywood and Middleton love hot pink and black. Indeed, I have found a photograph of you – in a news story, serving it up piping hot to some random called Karen Danczuk – in a lovely hot pink coat with black buttons, and I say it would be a crime for you to give up this style combination. Lucky constituents of Heywood and Middleton to have such delightful colours representing them.

Post your questions to Hadley Freeman, Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email [email protected].

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labourpress · 7 years

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Comments on the Government's plans to suspend military co-operation with Myanmar's armed forces - McInnes

Liz McInnes MP, Labour’s Shadow Foreign Office Minister, responding to the Government's announcement that it plans to suspend military co-operation with Myanmar's armed forces, said:

"Labour has been calling for a suspension of UK military support to Myanmar for several weeks now. So this is a welcome announcement, albeit a belated one, and we hope that it will serve as a precedent for similar action regarding ongoing UK support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen.

"For now, the Government's most immediate priority must be to build on this announcement by putting pressure on the civilian and military authorities in Myanmar, in co-ordination with our allies, in order to bring the horrific violence in Rakhine state to an end once and for all."

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viralhottopics · 7 years

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Russia’s London embassy: UK preparing anti-Moscow witch-hunt

Foreign secretary tells incoming US administration that Russia and Putin have been up to all sorts of very dirty tricks

The Russian embassy in London has accused the Foreign Office of preparing to mount a witch-hunt against Moscow in the wake of allegations by the UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, that Russia has been up to all sorts of tricks.

Johnson had claimed that the Kremlin was behind the hack of the Democratic campaign headquarters computer during the US presidential race, the first time that the UK has confirmed US intelligence reports linking the hacks to Russia.

In a lengthy statement, the Russian embassy claimed the coming attacks on the Russians by the British were partly due to the countrys role in negotiating a ceasefire in Syria and its role in convening peace talks.

Accusing the British of trying to brief the incoming US administration against Russia, the embassy claimed the attacks were either designed to lead to a re-run of the EU referendum, or to save the EU project now under attack from angry electorates.

The embassy claimed: Western elites will go to great lengths to save their own world with its Washington consensus, Davos and austerity, even if it does no longer benefit anybody else. Its demise is presented as the end of the world, another twilight of Europe. This panic and hysterics is a response to the overall loss of control, which brought about war a hundred years ago. It is also a loss of control over the public debate, exercised by way of the Orwellian newspeak of political correctness.

The embassy statement targeted the former MI6 Director, Sir Richard Dearlove, for backing the witch-hunt saying he knew as nobody else, most of the damage to America and its place in the world was done by the George W Bush administration. No foreign agents could have accomplished that much.

UK intelligence agencies are understood to have been the first to alert their US counterparts to the evidence showing a link between the Democratic National Committee hacks and Moscow.

Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Johnson told MPs it was pretty clear the hacking attack had come from Russia. He said he had told the incoming US administration: We do think the Russian state the Putin Kremlin is up to all sorts of very dirty tricks, but it would be folly further to demonise Russia or to push Russia into a corner.

A twin-track policy of engagement and vigilance was required, Johnson said, even though if you look at what the Russians have done in the western Balkans and on cyber-warfare, it is clear they are up to no good.

It is thought Johnson will have conveyed the British intelligence view in his talks with Donald Trumps team.

Johnson trod carefully because the US president-elect has been extremely reluctant to acknowledge any Russian involvement in the hacking, despite the near-unanimous view of his intelligence advisers that there is a clear link between the email leaks and the Kremlin.

Johnson, who met the most senior members of the Trump administration on Sunday night, stressed that his comment on Russian responsibility was not also a comment on the electoral efficacy of the hacking.

Trump is extremely sensitive to claims that Russian interference somehow de-legitimises his election victory and Johnson said his aim was for the UK to be in lock-step with the new administration.

In a bid to assuage the pro-Russia leanings of some in the Trump administration, Johnson said it was important to recognise there may be areas where the UK and the US could work together.

Speaking about his meetings with senior Republicans, Johnson said: Theres a huge fund of goodwill for the United Kingdom on Capitol Hill and a very large measure of understanding that now is the time to do a free-trade deal. They want to do it, they want to do it fast, and that understanding was most vivid and most urgent on the part of the incoming administration.

My enthusiasm [for a US-UK trade deal] is nothing compared to the enthusiasm of our friends on the other side of the Atlantic. We will get a good deal.

The shadow foreign minister, Liz McInnes, said: On Sunday, the foreign secretary met with Steve Bannon, Donald Trumps chief strategist, a man whose website is synonymous with antisemitism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, hero-worship of Vladimir Putin and the promotion of extremist far-right movements across the world. Can I ask the foreign secretary, how did he and Mr Bannon get on?

In reply, Johnson said he did not wish to embarrass any American colleagues with details of how friendly the meetings were, adding: What I can say is the conversations were genuinely extremely productive. There is a wide measure of agreement between the UK and the incoming administration about the way forward and we intend to work to build on those areas of agreement.