Minggu, 05 Mei 2019

Huawei leak did not amount to criminal offence, police say - BBC News

The leak from a National Security Council meeting about Chinese firm Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Met Police has said.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked following an inquiry into the leaking of details from the council.

Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was "satisfied" the Official Secrets Act had not been breached, so he would not investigate the leak.

But Mr Williamson said a "proper, full and impartial" probe was now needed.

The former minister - who has strenuously denied being responsible for the leak - described the government's inquiry into him as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt" .

He said it had been "badly mishandled", both by Prime Minister Theresa May and the senior civil servant who led the investigation.

A leak from the security council's discussions led to reports in the Daily Telegraph about a plan to allow Huawei limited access to help build the UK's new 5G network.

The newspaper also reported on warnings from within cabinet about possible risks to national security over any deal with the Chinese firm.

The National Security Council is made up of senior cabinet ministers, all of whom have signed the Official Secrets Act.

It holds confidential weekly meetings, chaired by the prime minister, where secret intelligence can be shared by GCHQ, MI6 and MI5.

At a meeting with Mr Williamson on Wednesday evening, Mrs May told him she had information that suggested he was responsible for the unauthorised disclosure.

In a letter confirming his dismissal, she said: "No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified."

What is the Official Secrets Act 1989?

Disclosure of official information relating to security and intelligence by a "Crown servant" - including government ministers - can be illegal.

For it to be an offence, the disclosure has to be damaging and done without lawful authority (ie not as part of the person's official duties).

Being found guilty of this carries a sentence ranging from a fine to two years in prison.

Read more: What is the Official Secrets Act?

Mr Basu, who is Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, said that what was disclosed "did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He added: "The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Mr Basu said the decision was informed by conversations with the Cabinet Office about the nature of the matters discussed at the meeting. He also took legal advice.

Mr Williamson - who had been defence secretary since 2017 - responded to his sacking by saying he was "confident" that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have "vindicated" his position.

Since Mr Williamson was sacked, Penny Mordaunt has taken over as defence secretary, becoming the first woman in the role.

The suggestion that the government decided to allow Huawei to have a role in developing the UK's 5G network - the next generation of mobile internet connectivity - has provoked controversy.

The US, Australia and New Zealand say the firm is a security risk because of its ties to the Chinese state.

There has been no formal confirmation of Huawei's role in the 5G network and No 10 said a final decision would be made at the end of spring.

Huawei has denied there is any risk of spying or sabotage, or that it is controlled by the Chinese government.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48160004

2019-05-05 01:46:18Z
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Huawei leak did not amount to criminal offence, police say - BBC News

The leak from a National Security Council meeting about Chinese firm Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Met Police has said.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked following an inquiry into the leaking of details from the council.

Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was "satisfied" the Official Secrets Act had not been breached, so he would not investigate the leak.

But Mr Williamson said a "proper, full and impartial" probe was now needed.

The former minister - who has strenuously denied being responsible for the leak - described the government's inquiry into him as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt" .

He said it had been "badly mishandled", both by Prime Minister Theresa May and the senior civil servant who led the investigation.

A leak from the security council's discussions led to reports in the Daily Telegraph about a plan to allow Huawei limited access to help build the UK's new 5G network.

The newspaper also reported on warnings from within cabinet about possible risks to national security over any deal with the Chinese firm.

The National Security Council is made up of senior cabinet ministers, all of whom have signed the Official Secrets Act.

It holds confidential weekly meetings, chaired by the prime minister, where secret intelligence can be shared by GCHQ, MI6 and MI5.

At a meeting with Mr Williamson on Wednesday evening, Mrs May told him she had information that suggested he was responsible for the unauthorised disclosure.

In a letter confirming his dismissal, she said: "No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified."

What is the Official Secrets Act 1989?

Disclosure of official information relating to security and intelligence by a "Crown servant" - including government ministers - can be illegal.

For it to be an offence, the disclosure has to be damaging and done without lawful authority (ie not as part of the person's official duties).

Being found guilty of this carries a sentence ranging from a fine to two years in prison.

Read more: What is the Official Secrets Act?

Mr Basu, who is Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, said that what was disclosed "did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He added: "The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Mr Basu said the decision was informed by conversations with the Cabinet Office about the nature of the matters discussed at the meeting. He also took legal advice.

Mr Williamson - who had been defence secretary since 2017 - responded to his sacking by saying he was "confident" that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have "vindicated" his position.

Since Mr Williamson was sacked, Penny Mordaunt has taken over as defence secretary, becoming the first woman in the role.

The suggestion that the government decided to allow Huawei to have a role in developing the UK's 5G network - the next generation of mobile internet connectivity - has provoked controversy.

The US, Australia and New Zealand say the firm is a security risk because of its ties to the Chinese state.

There has been no formal confirmation of Huawei's role in the 5G network and No 10 said a final decision would be made at the end of spring.

Huawei has denied there is any risk of spying or sabotage, or that it is controlled by the Chinese government.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48160004

2019-05-05 01:34:13Z
52780285197358
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Huawei leak did not amount to criminal offence, police say - BBC News

The leak from a National Security Council meeting about Chinese firm Huawei did not amount to a criminal offence, the Met Police has said.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked following an inquiry into the leaking of details from the council.

Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said he was "satisfied" the Official Secrets Act had not been breached, so he would not investigate the leak.

But Mr Williamson said a "proper, full and impartial" probe was now needed.

The former minister - who has strenuously denied being responsible for the leak - described the government's inquiry into him as a "shabby and discredited witch hunt" .

He said it had been "badly mishandled", both by Prime Minister Theresa May and the senior civil servant who led the investigation.

A leak from the security council's discussions led to reports in the Daily Telegraph about a plan to allow Huawei limited access to help build the UK's new 5G network.

The newspaper also reported on warnings from within cabinet about possible risks to national security over any deal with the Chinese firm.

The National Security Council is made up of senior cabinet ministers, all of whom have signed the Official Secrets Act.

It holds confidential weekly meetings, chaired by the prime minister, where secret intelligence can be shared by GCHQ, MI6 and MI5.

At a meeting with Mr Williamson on Wednesday evening, Mrs May told him she had information that suggested he was responsible for the unauthorised disclosure.

In a letter confirming his dismissal, she said: "No other credible version of events to explain this leak has been identified."

What is the Official Secrets Act 1989?

Disclosure of official information relating to security and intelligence by a "Crown servant" - including government ministers - can be illegal.

For it to be an offence, the disclosure has to be damaging and done without lawful authority (ie not as part of the person's official duties).

Being found guilty of this carries a sentence ranging from a fine to two years in prison.

Read more: What is the Official Secrets Act?

Mr Basu, who is Britain's top counter-terrorism police officer, said that what was disclosed "did not contain information that would breach the Official Secrets Act".

He added: "The leak did not cause damage to the public interest at a level at which it would be necessary to engage misconduct in a public office.

"It would be inappropriate to carry out a police investigation in these circumstances."

Mr Basu said the decision was informed by conversations with the Cabinet Office about the nature of the matters discussed at the meeting. He also took legal advice.

Mr Williamson - who had been defence secretary since 2017 - responded to his sacking by saying he was "confident" that a "thorough and formal inquiry" would have "vindicated" his position.

Since Mr Williamson was sacked, Penny Mordaunt has taken over as defence secretary, becoming the first woman in the role.

The suggestion that the government decided to allow Huawei to have a role in developing the UK's 5G network - the next generation of mobile internet connectivity - has provoked controversy.

The US, Australia and New Zealand say the firm is a security risk because of its ties to the Chinese state.

There has been no formal confirmation of Huawei's role in the 5G network and No 10 said a final decision would be made at the end of spring.

Huawei has denied there is any risk of spying or sabotage, or that it is controlled by the Chinese government.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48160004

2019-05-05 00:53:57Z
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Sabtu, 04 Mei 2019

Theresa May must go now, former Tory leader says - BBC News

Theresa May must resign or the Conservatives should force her out, after the party's heavy local election losses, Iain Duncan Smith has said.

The former Tory leader called Mrs May a "caretaker PM" and described her attempts to reach a Brexit deal with Labour as "absurd".

It comes after the party suffered its worst local election result since 1995.

Other senior Conservatives have urged Tory MPs to compromise with Labour to ensure Brexit is delivered.

Elections were held on Thursday for 248 English councils, six mayors, and all 11 councils in Northern Ireland. No elections took place in Scotland or Wales.

The Conservatives lost 1,334 councillors, while Labour failed to make expected gains, instead losing 82 seats.

The Liberal Democrats benefited from Tory losses, gaining 703 seats, with the Greens and independents also making gains.

Following the results, Mrs May and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn both insisted they would push ahead with talks seeking cross-party agreement on leaving the EU.

Mrs May said it was clear the public wanted "to see the issue of Brexit resolved".

But Mr Duncan Smith, a leading Brexiteer, said many Conservatives would refuse to back any deal reached between the two parties.

Mrs May must announce her departure "very soon", he said, and if she did not go, the 1922 Committee of backbench MPs would have to force her to do so.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "As a result of the devastating election result, the PM has in effect become a caretaker.

"As such, she is not empowered to make any deal with the Labour Party which itself suffered a very similar result. Two discredited administrations making a discredited deal is not the answer to the electorate."

In December, Mrs May survived a vote of no-confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party, but in March she pledged to stand down if and when Parliament ratified her Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU.

'Deliver Brexit'

The UK had been due to leave the EU on 29 March, but the deadline was pushed back to 31 October after Parliament was unable to agree a way forward.

Reflecting on the Conservatives' and Labour Party's "almighty kicking" in the elections, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: "The solution (to Brexit) doesn't lie in the trenches of one extreme or another - of overturning the referendum, or of crashing out with no deal.

"It lies in those colleagues currently round the table taking the difficult first steps towards each other."

Addressing the Scottish Conservatives conference in Aberdeen, she added: "So I say to the negotiating teams of our party and the Labour Party, who are currently locked in talks - get Brexit sorted, get a deal over the line and let Britain move on."

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock also suggested the Tory party needed to listen to the election results and be "in the mood for compromise".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said the nation wanted MPs to "get on, deliver Brexit, and then move on".

The Tories might have to move towards Labour's proposal of a permanent customs union - in order to solve the impasse in Westminster, he said.

Mrs May's government has previously ruled out remaining in a customs union after the UK leaves the EU, arguing it would prevent the UK from setting its own trade policy.

Labour has said the EU may show flexibility over the issue and allow the UK "a say" in future trade deals.

Mr Hancock suggested "coming up with something in-between", and called for "an open dialogue in which we can make an agreement".

But Mr Duncan Smith said a customs union was "the worst of all worlds because you lose your decision-making capacity".

'Stitched up'

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said there was a "glimmer of hope" that a compromise between the Conservative and Labour "core-voters" could be reached.

"If we can find a solution that delivers the benefits of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then I think there will be potential," he said.

He added that while he supported the withdrawal deal reached between the EU and Mrs May, there might be things that could be done to make it "more acceptable" to Labour without compromising on the "things that we think are essential".

But he also warned that a customs union would not be a "long-term solution".

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Hunt's remarks on a customs union provided "yet more evidence" that many in the cabinet believed the "most important thing right now" was the race to be Mrs May's successor.

Labour's MP for Redcar, Anna Turley, also reacted to Mr Hunt's comments that a customs union was not a long-term solution, tweeting: "This is why we can't trust the Tories by doing a deal stitched up in Number 10 which they will seek to unravel under their next leader."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48161178

2019-05-04 14:54:50Z
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Anti-vaxxers 'have blood on their hands,' says UK health secretary - CNN

His comments came days after a study by UNICEF, the United Nations' children's agency,found that measles deaths were up globally by 22% in 2017, and complacency and fear of vaccines were among the factors leading to less vaccinations.
Speaking the same day on BBC Radio 4's Today program, Hancock said the UK needed to "consider all options" to ensure more children were vaccinated, refusing to rule out the possibility of compulsory vaccination.
"I don't want to reach that point and I don't think we are near there," he said.
US measles outbreak is largest since disease was declared eliminated in 2000
"If you don't vaccinate your child, it's not only your child that is at risk. It's also other children, including other children who, for medical reasons, can't be vaccinated," he continued.
"Vaccination is good for you, good for your child, and good for your neighbor and your community."
Hancock said that anti-vaccination activists were "campaigning against science," adding, "the science is settled."
More than 500,000 children in the UK did not receive the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, according to the UNICEF report.
Trump now says parents must vaccinate children in face of measles outbreak
Only two other high-income countries exceeded that total: the US, with more than 2.5 million unvaccinated children, and France, with more than 600,000.
Worldwide, about 169 million children did not receive the first dose of the measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017 -- an average of 21.1 million children a year.
The World Health Organization said measles had been eliminated in the UK for the first time in 2017.
However, Public Health England reported a "steep rise" in measles cases from January to October 2018, with 913 cases that year compared to 259 in 2017.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Public Health England's head of immunization, said the outbreak served as "an important reminder for parents to take up the offer of MMR vaccination for their children."

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/04/health/uk-anti-vaxers-matt-hancock-intl/index.html

2019-05-04 12:25:00Z
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Local elections: Tories call for unity after election drubbing - BBC News

Senior Conservatives have called for the party to pull together after it suffered its worst results in English local elections since 1995.

The Conservatives lost 1,334 councillors in Thursday's votes.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid admitted voters had "issues of trust" over Brexit, and said the European elections would "be even more challenging".

But, in a rallying cry to Conservatives in Aberdeen, he said that "a divided party cannot unite a divided nation".

'Face facts'

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Matt Hancock will tell Conservatives in Wales to "pull together" in a speech later.

And, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has urged Eurosceptic MPs to "face facts" and accept that Parliament will not approve a no-deal Brexit.

Justice Secretary David Gauke told BBC News that the local election results should be seen as a "punishment" to both the Conservatives and the Labour party "for failing to find a way through" the Brexit conundrum.

"What we need to be doing is addressing the big issue that is in front of us, which is Brexit," he told BBC Breakfast.

The MP for Hertfordshire South West rejected calls to oust Theresa May, adding: "We should back the prime minister and try to find a way through this situation, so that we can bring the country together again, we can unite the Conservative party, and find a practical way through."

The UK was due to leave the EU on 29 March, but the deadline has been pushed back to 31 October.

Mr Javid said that was a big factor in the Conservatives losing control of 45 councils on Thursday, in its worst performance since John Major's party lost 2,000 councillors in 1995.

The home secretary said the party risked losing voters' trust after "not delivering on a promise at the heart of our last manifesto".

And, speaking about the European elections, due to take place on 23 May, he said: "We shouldn't be surprised if people tick the protest box on the ballot paper.

"Without anything else at stake, it will be a verdict on the delivery of Brexit."

In his speech, Mr Hancock will say the party must "deliver Brexit" but not be "defined by Brexit." And Mr Gove said it was time for MPs on all sides to make Brexit happen.

"Labour MPs will be reflecting this morning and over the weekend on the message that their voters are telling them, which is we voted to Leave," he told the Telegraph.

"I hope they will recognise that they need to work with the Government in order to deliver Brexit."

Result not in yet

In the local elections, the Liberal Democrats - who have campaigned for a second vote on leaving the EU - were the main beneficiary of Tory losses, gaining 703 seats.

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said every vote for his party was "a vote for stopping Brexit".

Labour lost 82 seats - having also suffered losses the last time these council seats were contested, in 2015.

The Green Party added 194 councillors, while the number of independent councillors rose by 612.

The BBC projects that, if the local election results it analysed were replicated across Britain, both the Conservatives and Labour would get 28% of the total vote.

Polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice said the days of the Conservatives and Labour dominating, as happened in the 2017 election when they won 80% of the vote between them, "may be over".

He said it was only the second time in history that the two main parties' projected national share of the vote had fallen below 30%.

The only other occasion was in 2013, when UKIP performed strongly in local elections.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48157991

2019-05-04 03:33:05Z
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Jumat, 03 Mei 2019

Shrimp From 5 U.K. Rivers Have One Thing in Common: Cocaine - The New York Times

LONDON — Researchers seeking evidence of chemical “micropollution” in five rural English rivers have found pesticides in many of the freshwater shrimp they tested. And cocaine in all of them.

The presence of the illegal drug was unexpected because the sites where the researchers gathered their samples, in the eastern coastal county of Suffolk, were miles away from any large city, said the study’s lead author, Thomas Miller, a researcher at King’s College London.

“Although we know that pharmaceuticals, pesticides and so on are in our rivers, most studies in the world don’t look at what’s inside wildlife,” Dr. Miller said in a telephone interview on Friday.

Drugs and other chemicals that are flushed into the sewage system have presented regulators with a puzzle for years. At the low concentrations in which they generally reach waterways, the substances have been found unlikely to affect human health, but their presence is hard to ignore. Recent concerns about plastic waste in rivers and oceans have helped focus attention on the species that live in those waters as victims of pollution.

Last month, researchers working on another project identified a small stream in Belgium so highly polluted that its waters could probably act as a pesticide, The Guardian reported.

In 2016, researchers found a cocktail of drugs, including Prozac, in salmon in Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle.

The team working on the shrimp study, published online this week in the journal Environment International, said that they had not identified the source of the drugs and that there was little potential for any effect from the low concentrations of cocaine that they had detected.

But some of the compounds they commonly found — which included fenuron, a pesticide no longer authorized for use in Europe — could “be of concern for the environment” or potentially “pose a risk for wildlife,” Dr. Miller said in a statement on Wednesday.

Future studies will examine the chemicals’ effects and give a better idea of the risks, he said, adding that such studies needed to be done more routinely to gain a better picture of the effect of pollution on wildlife.

Some varieties of pharmaceutical pollution have been found to affect behavior in both salmon and shrimp, The Atlantic has reported.

“The impact of ‘invisible’ chemical pollution — such as drugs — on wildlife health needs more focus in the U.K. as policy can often be informed by studies such as these,” Nic Bury of the University of Suffolk, a co-author of the study, said in the statement.

Dr. Miller said that pending further research and policy changes, the public could already act to reduce the presence of drugs in waterways. The best thing, he said, was to return unwanted drugs to pharmacies that offered a takeback program.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/03/world/europe/uk-shrimp-cocaine.html

2019-05-03 15:07:41Z
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