UK

Well-‘red’: MI5 spied on prominent academics ‘for decades’, secret docs show
British intelligence services, including MI5, secretly spied on a number of prominent academics with socialist leanings "for decades," including Oxbridge dons Christopher Hill and Eric Hobsbawm, secret files disclosed on Friday show. The historians were among a number academics at the UK’s top universities who were placed under rigorous surveillance by the security services after officers b [...]
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FT cannot muster political will to publish Russian Ambassador’s letter on Ukraine
Since 3 October the Russian Embassy in the UK has been waiting for a positive response from the Financial Times on publishing a letter from Ambassador Yakovenko's as part of the debate on Ukraine. We have only heard that it is under consideration. So, we have decided to publish the text of this letter on our website for the British public to see for themselves that there is nothing subversive, [...]
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UK parliament to vote on historic Palestine motion
British MPs will vote on Monday on an historic motion to symbolically recognize Palestine as an independent state. With Labour instructing its MPs to vote in favour, the non-binding motion would increase pressure on PM David Cameron over the issue. Proposed by the chair of Labour Friends of Palestine, the back-bencher’s motion also has the support of Liberal Democrat MPs. [...]
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Britains’ top police chief calls for more surveillance of UK web users to protect national security
The UK's top law enforcement officer says Britons must be prepared to sacrifice their freedoms online if they want to be protected from terrorists and cyber criminals. This includes giving authorities access to private email and social media contents. Speaking to The Guardian, the director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), Keith Bristow, warned that the UK’s biggest threats are beco [...]
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‘Iraq III No!’ Anti-war activists call London protest against UK airstrikes
Anti-war activists will descend on London on Saturday to protest against British airstrikes on Islamic State (IS, ISIS/ISIL) positions in Iraq. Groups including the Stop the War Coalition plan to march through London, past Downing Street, to voice their opposition to the UK’s military intervention, which began after winning parliamentary approval last week. [...]
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‘Unforgivable’: Cameron vows justice for slain hostage Alan Henning
Prime Minister David Cameron says members of the so-called Islamic State (IS) responsible for the murder of British hostage Alan Henning "will be hunted down and face justice." The PM's warning comes as militants threatened to murder a fifth hostage. On Saturday Cameron met with security chiefs and the Foreign Office at his official country residence Chequers to discuss the murder of Henning, D [...]
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Cameron vows to scrap Human Rights Act, civil liberties groups outraged
Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to scrap the Human Rights Act if the Conservatives are re-elected in Britain's 2015 general election. The controversial proposal has stoked the ire of civil rights groups across the nation. Speaking on the final day of the Conservative Party’s four-day conference, Cameron pledged to do away with the Act and replace it with a British “bill of rights.” [...]
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Cameron “hemorrhaging support”: Millionaire Tory donor defects to UKIP
Prime Minister David Cameron suffered yet another embarrassing defection on Wednesday, as former Tory donor and millionaire Arron Banks announced he will redirect his monetary allegiance to UKIP. The news follows a spate of Tory defections. Banks, a UK insurance mogul who has channeled hundreds of thousands of pounds into Conservative Party coffers since 2005, has announced he will present UKIP [...]
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Iraq War 3.0: When will we ever learn?
As the British parliament votes for yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East, it feels like all of the lessons that were apparently never learned after the disastrous occupations of Iraq, and Afghanistan, are set to be repeated. Recalling parliament over the crisis in Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron stated during Friday’s debate that the “mission” could be extended to include ai [...]
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British jets deployed on 1st Iraq anti-ISIS mission
Armed British RAF jets have been deployed on their first mission in Iraq since UK lawmakers voted to authorize military strikes against so-called Islamic State (IS) targets in the country. A Ministry of Defense Spokesman (MOD) confirmed on Saturday that "Royal Air Force Tornados continue to fly over Iraq and are now ready to be used in an attack role as and when appropriate targets are identifi [...]
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Scots were tricked into voting “No” – Salmond
London politicians gulled Scottish voters out of independence by making a false "vow" to grant Glasgow extra powers, First Minister Alex Salmond has said. He also raised the prospect of another referendum, saying the break-up is inevitable. Alex Salmond, leader of the 'Yes' campaign and the outgoing head of the Scottish National Party (SNP), told the BBC's Sunday Politics program that the UK go [...]
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“Whatever is offered to Scotland has to be available to Wales too”
The Scottish referendum is a real victory for people power, although the UK establishment was against it. Now Wales needs to ensure that its needs and demands are heard as well, leader of the Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru), Leanne Wood, told RT. Scotland walked a very long road to get this referendum. Have they blown their chance? [...]
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‘Convenient’: Cameron using ISIS atrocities to beat Mid-East war drum
The beheading of British aid worker David Haines comes at a “convenient” moment for PM David Cameron, who is seeking to persuade the public that the UK should again get involved in conflict in the Middle East, journalist Afshin Rattansi told RT. Another outrageous demonstration of the ISIS brutality took place on 13th September, when the IS issued a video of the beheading of UK aid worker D [...]
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Power play: UK leaders pledge further devolution if Scots vote “No”™
Westminster party leaders have signed a joint pledge promising “extensive new powers” for the Scottish parliament if voters reject independence in Thursday’s referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour party leader Ed Miliband offered their pledge in a letter published on the front page of Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper on Tuesday. [...]
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“Stick your license fee up your a***!” Pro-indy Scots denounce “liar” BBC journo in protest
Pro-independence Scots rallied outside the BBC's Glasgow headquarters on Sunday to protest the public broadcaster's pro-union "bias" and demand the resignation of political editor Nick Robinson. Waving Scottish flags and “Yes Scotland” banners, protesters chanted, “You can stick your license fee up your a***!” while banners read “Auntie Beeb, anti-democracy, anti-truth”. [...]
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Pound slumps to 10-month low after Scottish yes campaign takes poll lead
Sterling falls sharply to lowest level since November 2013 as surge in support for pro-independence campaign rattles markets. The pound has slumped to a 10-month low after the yes campaign took the lead in the opinion polls just 10 days before the Scottish independence vote. [...]
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Exodus 10 (Scottish version)
London - Friday 19 September 2014, the morning after Scotland votes for independence from the UK. And David Cameron said to Alastair Darling, “Stretch out your hand over Scotland so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.” So Darling stretched out his staff over Scotland, and Cameron made an east wind blow across the land al [...]
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NSA, GCHQ have secret access to German telecom networks – report
US and UK intelligence services have secret access points for German telecom companies’ internal networks, Der Spiegel reports, citing slides created in the NSA’s ‘Treasure Map’ program used to get near-real-time visualization of the global internet. The latest scandal continues to evolve around the US’ NSA and the British GCHQ, both of which appear to be able to eavesdrop on German g [...]
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BBC accused of anti-independence bias after editing out Salmond’s reply to”bank exodus” question
The BBC faces accusations of anti-independence bias after its political editor, Nick Robinson, produced a report that wrongly claimed Alex Salmond had ignored his question during a heated press conference. Calling into question the impartiality of the publicly-owned broadcaster, the veteran BBC correspondent edited out Salmond’s lengthy answer, in which the First Minister claimed the BBC had [...]
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NHS privatization fears top Scotland independence debate in Glasgow
Politicians clashed over the NHS at a Scottish independence debate. “Yes” supporters say independence could save the health service from privatization, while “No” advocates say Scotland can’t afford it alone. Independence is needed to protect against a “nasty, competitive, profit-driven motive” towards the NHS, Scottish Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie said Thursday. [...]
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House of Perks: MPs claim record £103mn in expenses
MPs’ staff, travel and accommodation costs reached £103 million last year, up from £99 million the previous year and £95 million in 2009 – the peak of the parliamentary expenses scandal. More than £80 million was spent on staff salaries and £11 million on office costs. The bill for accommodation, covering hotels, rented homes and utility bills, was £6.9 million, while £4.5 mill [...]
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Britain has not ruled out airstrikes in Syria – Downing Street
Prime Minister David Cameron is supportive of President Obama'€™s decision to authorize US airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, Downing Street has confirmed. While UK government officials claim there are currently no plans for Britain to engage in airstrikes in Syria, such military action has not been ruled out in the future. [...]
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