Tag: United Kingdom

  • UK’s ex-minister: Israel should have apologized

    UK’s ex-minister: Israel should have apologized

    Jack StrawIsrael should have apologized to Turkey for its deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara aid ship, but instead allowed relations to deteriorate, according to United Kingdom’s former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

    “Israel could – and should – have apologized in a full-hearted manner, but in a way that neither humiliated nor embarrassed them. Once the apology had been issued, and accepted by Turkey, both countries would have had a platform for the restoration of normal relations,” Straw wrote in a commentary for the Hürriyet Daily News.

    “Instead, relations have deteriorated, from tepid, then to cold, and now to freezing… Israel has only itself to blame,” he wrote. Comparing the situation today to the sympathy for Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, Straw said Israel has become isolated due to “its arrogance; its cavalier approach to international norms; and the inability of its leaders to act in a statesmanlike, strategic way.”

    Click here to read the full commentary by United Kingdom’s former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

    Hurriyet Daily News

     

  • UK Prime Minister’s Message for Ramadan

    UK Prime Minister’s Message for Ramadan

    Number 101Prime Minister David Cameron has sent his best wishes to all Muslim communities in Britain and around the world at the start of the month of Ramadan.

    Mr Cameron said Ramadan was a time to remind us of our duties and responsibilities and the importance of charity.

    The PM said:

    “To all Muslim communities in the United Kingdom and around the world, I send you my warmest wishes at this time of Ramadan.

    “This is a time for Muslims all over the world to put aside thoughts of themselves, and think of others. The terrible scenes of famine and suffering in the Horn of Africa cry out to all of us. They remind us of our duties and responsibilities to those beyond our shores.

     

    “The importance of charity at this time is clear and I am proud that many different communities in the United Kingdom continue to come together to support many thousands – indeed millions – in desperate need.

    The Prime Minister’s Office

    “As the holy month of Ramadan begins I wish you all peace and happiness.”


  • Alleged Russian spy uncovered in British parliament

    Alleged Russian spy uncovered in British parliament

    British Parliament
    A young Russian woman working for a British lawmaker is facing deportation after security services detained her on suspicion of espionage, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
    The paper reported that Katia Zatuliveter, 25, secretly worked for the Russian intelligence as a “sleeper” agent.
    She had been working for Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock who sits on parliament’s defence select committee which examines defence policy but has no access to secret material.
    Hancock, who is also an MP for Porstmouth in southern England where there is a large naval base, denied his research assistant had done anything wrong.
    “She is not a Russian spy. I know nothing about espionage, but she has been subjected to a deportation order,” Hancock said in a statement. He said she would appeal moves to deport her.
    The lawmaker said that the domestic security service, MI5, had never raised any concerns about her with him.
    “No one has ever said to me under any circumstances whatsoever that she has been involved in anything like that,” he said. “It is now in the hands of her lawyers. I am sure that in the end she will be proved to be right.”
    Hancock told the BBC in an interview she was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to an immigration detention centre in London, before being moved to another centre where she is being held and putting her appeal together.
    “Nobody has shown me any evidence to support the view that she is any way a threat to the United Kingdom,” Hancock said.
    He said his assistant, who had worked for him for close to three years, had passed strict security vetting procedures to work in parliament.
    The paper said her removal was approved by Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May after being briefed about her activities.
    The Home Office said it could not comment on individual cases or confirm deportation orders were in place. London’s Metropolitan police referred all queries to the UK Border Agency, who was not answering calls.
    The Russian embassy in London could not be reached for comment.
    A security source told the Sunday Times Zatuliveter’s presence was not “conducive to national security”, and the intention was to “show her the door”.
    The paper said it was the first time since the end of the Cold War that someone working in parliament had been accused of spying for the Russians.
    Toronto Sun

    A young Russian woman working for a British lawmaker is facing deportation after security services detained her on suspicion of espionage, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
    The paper reported that Katia Zatuliveter, 25, secretly worked for the Russian intelligence as a “sleeper” agent.
    She had been working for Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock who sits on parliament’s defence select committee which examines defence policy but has no access to secret material.
    Hancock, who is also an MP for Porstmouth in southern England where there is a large naval base, denied his research assistant had done anything wrong.
    “She is not a Russian spy. I know nothing about espionage, but she has been subjected to a deportation order,” Hancock said in a statement. He said she would appeal moves to deport her.
    The lawmaker said that the domestic security service, MI5, had never raised any concerns about her with him.
    “No one has ever said to me under any circumstances whatsoever that she has been involved in anything like that,” he said. “It is now in the hands of her lawyers. I am sure that in the end she will be proved to be right.”
    Hancock told the BBC in an interview she was arrested on Thursday morning and taken to an immigration detention centre in London, before being moved to another centre where she is being held and putting her appeal together.
    “Nobody has shown me any evidence to support the view that she is any way a threat to the United Kingdom,” Hancock said.
    He said his assistant, who had worked for him for close to three years, had passed strict security vetting procedures to work in parliament.
    The paper said her removal was approved by Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May after being briefed about her activities.
    The Home Office said it could not comment on individual cases or confirm deportation orders were in place. London’s Metropolitan police referred all queries to the UK Border Agency, who was not answering calls.
    The Russian embassy in London could not be reached for comment.
    A security source told the Sunday Times Zatuliveter’s presence was not “conducive to national security”, and the intention was to “show her the door”.
    The paper said it was the first time since the end of the Cold War that someone working in parliament had been accused of spying for the Russians.

    Toronto Sun