Grenfell Tower: William and Kate attend memorial service - BBC

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have joined bereaved families and survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire to mark its fifth anniversary.

Seventy two people were killed by the blaze in North Kensington, west London, on 14 June 2017.

The Royal couple joined mourners at the base of the tower for a special service having earlier met several during a private meeting.

A 72-second silence was observed by attendees, concluding with an applause.

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During the service, actor Tim Downie said: "At today's service we honour the 72 innocent men, women and children, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and friends who needlessly lost their lives.

"We must never forget them and carry them with us forever in our hearts."

Many mourners wore green scarves and clothing to match the green hearts that adorn the wall below the tower and which have become a symbol of the tragedy.

Floral tributes and personal notes have been left beside the wall, including a "72" made of white flowers.

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Earlier, a multi-faith memorial service was held at Westminster Abbey.

It began with the names of the victims being read out followed by a reply of "forever in our hearts" from the congregation.

Former prime minister Theresa May, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Housing Secretary Michael Gove were among those in the congregation.

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Watch Grenfell: Has Anything Changed? on iPlayer.

Journalist Jon Snow, who was invited to speak at the service, said: "Grenfell, set in the richest borough in Britain, speaks to the grotesque inequality with which our society has been riven.

"We must now confront the issues raised by the Grenfell disaster."

Lawyer Imran Khan, who also addressed the congregation, said: "For the residents of Grenfell, their home wasn't their castle, it was their deathbed."

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At the scene

BBC News correspondent Nick Johnson

From scarves and flowers, to altar cloths and decorations, Westminster Abbey was adorned in green as hundreds gathered for this memorial service to remember those who lost their lives on this day five years ago.

At the very heart of the service was a sense of unity and remembrance. Members of the congregation held hands, comforting those who were weeping, as the names of each of the 72 victims were read out.

We heard from Marlene Anderson.

Her father Ray "Moses" Bernard lost his life in the fire. His daughter spoke of her trauma and how she and other family members often relive that night.

Perhaps the loudest round of applause came after lawyer Imran Khan's speech. He spoke of his disbelief over a lack of criminal charges and described the public inquiry into the fire as ineffective.

As the congregation filed out of the Abbey, 72 candles were left flickering on the altar, a reminder that the Grenfell victims will never be forgotten.

Elsewhere in the capital, a 72-second silence was observed at 14:00 at the Westfield shopping centre in Shepherd's Bush.

At 18.30, survivors will join bereaved families and community groups for a silent walk from the base of the tower.

Firefighters from across the country will form a guard of honour during the walk.

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Natasha Elcock, chairwoman of campaign group Grenfell United, said this week would be difficult for all of those affected.

"For many of us the events five years ago are still so raw in our minds and our losses remain heavy in our hearts," she said.

• Grenfell: Why are families still waiting for justice?
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Raheleh Afraseibi, who lost her mother Fatemeh and aunt Sakineh in the fire, said the "catastrophe is never-ending for us".

"We don't want them to just say 'Never forget', we want it cemented in some way," she added.

Members of the Grenfell Next of Kin group, which also represents those bereaved by the tragedy, said they did not want their loved ones' deaths to have been in vain.

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London fire commissioner Andy Roe said he had found the strength and dignity of the Grenfell community "humbling and inspiring".

He added: "I give my commitment that we will continue to listen and make changes to our service and work to drive improvements in the built environment to ensure such a tragedy can never happen again."

While a criminal investigation into the disaster is under way, the Met Police has said no prosecutions will be brought until the public inquiry is finished and its findings are published.

So far, fewer than half of the recommendations from the inquiry have been adopted into law, according to the Home Office.

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Earlier this month, the government imposed a total ban on the specific type of cladding that allowed the blaze to spread so rapidly. Previously, the ban applied only to buildings higher than 11m (36ft).

The government first received data demonstrating the danger of polyethylene-cored cladding in 2002.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said it was taking steps to ensure buildings were safer.

A spokesman said: "The Grenfell Tower tragedy must never be allowed to happen again and our thoughts are with the bereaved families, survivors and residents."

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Related Internet Links

• The Grenfell Tower Inquiry

• Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission

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2022-06-14 16:20:14Z
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A hostel that housed Rwanda genocide survivors prepares to take in people deported by the UK - CNN

Kigali, Rwanda (CNN)Hope Hostel is not a 5-star hotel. But it isn't a dump, either. The renovated 50-room facility in Kigali's Kagugu neighborhood has a new coat of paint, fresh bedding, a lot of new security cameras and a changed mission. After hosting student survivors of the 1994 genocide for nearly three decades, it will be the first home for migrants deported from the United Kingdom.

The Rwandan government told CNN that the migrants will receive full-board accommodation, health care and support for five years or until they're self-sufficient. It's a controversial scheme the UK has touted as an innovative approach to safe and legal asylum that will disrupt the dangerous business of people smugglers. But it has been condemned by dozens of refugee rights groups, international agencies, British leaders, the head of the Anglican church and even Rwandan opposition politicians.

A week before the first arrivals were due, workers were putting final touches to a small wooden shed next to the hostel's restaurant. "This will be a shop so they can buy whatever they need here instead of going outside," its managing director, Ismael Bakina, explained. Two covered areas in the gardens will serve as smoking zones and a tent further away will double as an interview room and a games area.

Hope Hostel, in Kigali's Kagugu neighborhood, which will house the people deported from the UK.

There is an airport-style security check-in before reception, including a luggage scanner and guards with metal detectors. They're polite, professional and thorough. "As you can see, we're ready for the migrants, even today," Bakina says, talking to CNN just hours before the first round of legal challenges against the deportation were launched in the UK last week. The legal cases against the policy have so far been unsuccessful, and the first flight from the UK to Rwanda is due to take off on Tuesday.

Whenever they arrive, two migrants will share each room, with communal bathrooms and laundry areas on every floor. They will also have two red-carpeted prayer areas overlooking the hills of Kigali, free Wi-Fi and computers to keep up with their legal cases. Rwandan authorities point out the relative privilege the migrants will have here, compared with the provision in British detention facilities.

"We want them to have safe, dignified accommodations, and there's also a package that they will receive so that they're able to gain skills to get any education, maybe start a business," Rwandan government spokeswoman Yolande Makolo told CNN.

The UK says it will pay Rwanda £120 million ($145 million) over the next five years to finance the program. On top of that, the UK has also promised to pay for the processing and integration costs for each relocated person, covering the cost of legal advice, caseworkers, translators, accommodation, food and healthcare. According to a parliamentary research briefing, the British government said it expects these will be similar to asylum processing costs in the UK, which stand at around £12,000 per person.

The UK has refused to disclose the cost of the flights it will charter to transport deportees to Rwanda. The Home Office said in its latest annual report it paid £8.6 million to charter 47 deportation flights carrying 883 people in 2020. While the cost of individual flights varied depending on the destination, the figures mean that on average, the Home Office spent £183,000 per flight or £9,700 per person.

Because there is no cap on the number of migrants, thousands could potentially pour into Kigali within the first five years of the plan.

The supposed safety Rwanda is offering has been questioned by international human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW), which argues the country "cannot be considered a safe third country to send asylum seekers."

HRW has been monitoring and investigating human rights conditions in Rwanda for decades and has documented abuses ranging from "repression of free speech, arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and torture by Rwandan authorities."

A standard room that can hold two people at the facility.

The organization accused Rwandan authorities of killing at least 12 refugees and arresting more than 60 in 2018 after police opened fire on a group of demonstrators protesting against cuts to food rations. The Rwandan National Commission on Human Rights investigated the incident and asserted that the police "had to resort to force after all peaceful mans had failed" but called the tragedy an isolated event.

The UK plan has also drawn criticism from the only opposition party that ran against Rwandan President Paul Kagame in the last election, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, who say the country can't afford it. "Rwanda is the most densely populated country in Africa. Do you think for Rwanda it is going to be easy to help these people?" Jean Claude Ntezimana, the secretary general told CNN.

​Rwanda is almost a tenth the size of the UK but is home to nearly 13 million people, almost one-fifth of the UK population.

The Green Party accuses the UK of violating its international obligations by shipping its unwanted migrants 4,000 miles away to Rwanda. "When it is not the choice of the refugees, it is inhumane and illegal," Ntezimana said.

The Rwandan government maintains it is perfectly legal.

"There are no laws being broken with this partnership," Makolo told CNN. "There is nothing in the Refugee Convention that prevents asylum seekers from being relocated to another safe country."

Makolo admits that a similar program with Israel did not work and Rwanda abandoned it "very quickly." But, she says, the UK migrant deal is totally different and will succeed. In fact, she said, Rwanda could soon be accepting migrants from Denmark as well, with negotiations close to a conclusion.

Most recently, Rwanda partnered with the UN's refugee agency to take in vulnerable asylum-seekers evacuated from Libya. A little over 1,000 migrants have passed through the Gashora Emergency Transit Center in the three years the program has been active. Migrants stay between four and eight months on average before being resettled abroad, according to the center's manager. The migrants have three choices: resettlement elsewhere, voluntary repatriation to their home country, or local integration into Rwandan society. No one has chosen the latter two, according to Fares Ruyumbu, the camp manager.

Zemen Fesaha, 26, who has been at the Gashora Refugee Camp for nearly a year.

"You can't compare it (Libya and Rwanda)," said Zemen Fesaha, 26, an Eritrean refugee at the Gashora transit center. He spent four years in what he described as horrendous conditions in Libya as he repeatedly but unsuccessfully attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. "It's like going from hell to heaven."

Although the 11 months he's spent in Rwanda at the camp have been safer and easier, he's determined to leave.

And ​Zemen is not alone in this. None of the refugees at the emergency center to whom CNN spoke wished to stay in Rwanda.

Nyalada Gatluak Jany, 26, from South Sudan, dreams of moving to Finland with her 1-and-a-half-year-old son. "What I want is not here, it's there," she said.

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2022-06-14 15:25:00Z
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Rwanda deportation plan: First flight taking asylum seekers to African country can go ahead, says Court of Appeal - Sky News

The Court of Appeal has ruled the first deportation flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda can go ahead tomorrow.

Human rights campaigners had appealed against a decision by a lower court last week to allow the one-way trip but the appeal court said it "cannot interfere" with the original decision.

The flight to the capital Kigali is scheduled to take place tomorrow with 11 asylum seekers onboard.

Activists have argued that the government policy is inhumane and will put migrants at risk.

But officials have said the strategy will deter people from making dangerous Channel crossings from France in flimsy small boats run by smugglers.

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The Home Office believes the removal plan for some migrants who arrive illegally in the UK is in the public interest and must not be stopped.

Referring to the decision made by the High Court on Friday, Lord Justice Singh said on Monday: "We consider that the judge produced a detailed and careful judgment which is all the more impressive in view of the time constraints under which he had to give it" in this "urgent and important case".

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The judges refused permission for an appeal to the Supreme Court against their decision.

Kigali hostel organisers want it to be as homely as possible

The Hope Hostel in Kigali is a guest house with 50 double bedrooms for 100 people. The first thing you're greeted with on arrival is a sign that reads: "Come as a guest and leave as a friend."

It's clear they want it to be as homely as possible. Each room has amenities like shampoo, soap and toothpaste laid out on bedside tables, while the communal areas include computers with free internet.

There's also a games room on the other side of compound which has scenic views of the city. You also get the sense they're gearing up for the arrival of people from the Middle East, with Arabic signage everywhere as well as a prayer room and halal food served in the restaurant.

Outside, builders are at work, looking to finish what staff say will be a basketball court and additional outdoor space. There is also a "gift shop" where asylum seekers will be given essentials as well as packs of cigarettes.

As far as staff are concerned, the hostel is ready and it is as comfortable a space as possible.

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), which represents around 80% of Border Force staff, had brought Monday's case, alongside charities Care4Calais and Detention Action.

A second case is being heard in the High Court after Asylum Aid, a refugee charity, applied for an urgent interim injunction to stop the government flying migrants to Rwanda.

Lawyers for the charity argued the procedure adopted by the government was unfair.

Image: The Hope Hostel in Kigali

Downing Street has said that it remains the government's plan for the flight taking asylum seekers to the African country to go ahead on Tuesday as planned.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "We certainly intend for there to be a flight tomorrow. That still remains the plan."

As of Friday, around 130 people have been told they could be moved to Rwanda under the new scheme.

Lord Justice Singh suggested that the number on tomorrow's flight could now be in single figures.

Raza Husain QC, for two people at risk of removal and the three organisations challenging the government's policy, had earlier said Mr Justice Swift's decision last week contained errors of principle or was "plainly wrong".

He focused on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) concerns about Britain's asylum flights.

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1:03

Tour of Rwanda hostel for asylum seekers

The UN refugee agency holds an unequivocal position that the flight should not proceed.

Mr Husain said it was "abundantly clear" the Home Office's view that Rwanda is a "safe third country" for asylum claims "was predicated on a complete misunderstanding" of the views of the UNHCR.

He added that asylum seekers "must be seen as a particularly underprivileged and vulnerable population group".

He also said there is evidence of risks to individuals citing a UNHCR example of protests by refugees in Rwanda against food ration cuts in 2018, adding that "12 individuals were killed, 66 were arrested and some remain detained".

Read more:
What is it like to be a refugee in Rwanda?
Asylum seeker says he would rather die than be sent to Rwanda
Why are migrants being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?

Therefore, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is "concerned that persons of concern relocated from UK to Rwanda may be at significant risk of detention and treatment not in accordance with international standards should they express dissatisfaction through protests after arrival".

Mr Husain told the packed courtroom that British law says it has "never been a criminal offence to arrive in the UK without relevant documents".

Prince Charles is said to have privately called the government's plans "appalling".

But Boris Johnson has again defended the controversial policy, claiming the move is necessary to stop illegal people-smuggling rackets on either side of the Channel.

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2022-06-13 15:45:00Z
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EU to take legal action over UK bill to rip up Northern Ireland protocol - Financial Times

Brussels is to launch legal action against the UK as early as Monday, on the publication of draft legislation to rip up large parts of the 2020 Brexit deal, EU officials say, as the two sides edge closer to a possible trade war.

The officials said the European Commission would respond immediately to a British bill to rewrite the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, by restarting a legal process frozen last year to allow negotiations and possibly initiating a second case.

The UK bill, due imminently, would end the oversight role of the European Court of Justice as well as EU control over state aid and value added tax in the region.

The legislation would also break with the Brexit treaty by exempting goods from Great Britain from the need to go through border checks if they stay in Northern Ireland, and give ministers sweeping powers to change almost every aspect of the text.

The EU officials said the UK had already failed to implement large parts of the deal agreed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Any case would probably end up at the ECJ, which could impose fines for non-compliance.

If the UK refuses to pay and comply with its judgment, the EU could end parts of its post-Brexit trade deal, applying tariffs to British goods.

Leo Varadkar, deputy prime minister of Ireland, said in an interview legal action was “proportionate” but cautioned against a trade war. “What’s happening here is serious, but there’s a big difference between proposed legislation and actual legislation being enacted and then it actually being used.”

He condemned the UK move as “anti-democratic” because a majority of voters in Northern Ireland back parties that are in favour of the protocol.

Fifty two of the Northern Ireland assembly’s 90 elected members wrote to Johnson on Monday to “reject in the strongest possible terms your government’s reckless new protocol legislation”, accusing him of seeking “to destabilise our region”.

The bill is also likely to anger the US, while ministers privately admit the bill could be blocked for months by the House of Lords.

Johnson denies the legislation breaks international law, arguing it is necessary to protect the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after three decades of conflict.

“Our higher and prior legal commitment to the country is to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and to the balance and stability of that agreement,” he told LBC Radio on Monday.

The Democratic Unionist party, Northern Ireland’s largest unionist party, has refused to restore the power-sharing agreement in the region after the nationalist Sinn Féin became the largest party in the May elections.

“One community at the moment feels very very estranged by the way things are operating, very alienated, and we just have to fix that, it’s relatively simple to do it,” Johnson said. “It’s a bureaucratic change that needs to be made, frankly it is a relatively trivial set of adjustments in the grand scheme.”

But Sammy Wilson, a veteran DUP MP, said that House of Commons approval of the new legislation would not be enough for his party to return to the region’s government, labelling any bid to push it to do so before the bill proceeds to the House of Lords as “foolish” blackmail. He added that the DUP needed to see the legislation “in its final form . . . before we can give our support to it”.

Johnson also said a trade war between the UK and the EU would be a “gross, gross overreaction”. He added: “All we are trying to do is simplify things, trying to remove barriers to trade to Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”

Under current Brexit arrangements, new checks are needed for goods travelling from Great Britain into the region, which remains part of the EU single market for goods.

But under the new legislation, goods destined to stay in Northern Ireland would go through a “green lane” with no checks, while goods heading across the open border into the Republic of Ireland would face “red lane” checks.

The bill would also create a dual regulatory regime, allowing goods originating in Great Britain to circulate in the region provided they met UK standards, rather than the EU’s.

In response to the legislation, Maroš Šefčovič, the European commissioner for Brexit, is expected on Monday afternoon to ask the commission to refer the paused legal case — on a unilateral UK decision to delay checks on goods and pets — to the ECJ.

A second case, on the new bill itself, would start with a letter to London. Both would probably take more than a year to conclude.

Video: Northern Ireland tries to heal a legacy of separation | FT Film

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2022-06-13 14:33:12Z
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Boris Johnson downplays 'trivial' changes to Northern Ireland protocol - The Times

Boris Johnson has downplayed a law that would override swathes of the Northern Ireland Brexit deal as a “trivial adjustment” but Dublin warned it marked a new low in relations with the EU.

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, will publish legislation this afternoon that would allow the government to disregard key elements of the Northern Ireland protocol — a move that critics claim would breach international law.

This morning the prime minister denied this, saying Britain had a “higher and prior legal commitment” under the Good Friday agreement to ensure peace in Northern Ireland.

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, will deny that the UK government is breaching international law

ANDY RAIN/EPA

“What we have to respect — and this is the crucial thing — the balance and the symmetry of the Belfast Good Friday agreement. And we have to understand there are

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2022-06-13 09:20:00Z
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Ukraine war: Former British soldier 'shot dead' in fighting in Severodonetsk - Sky News

A former British soldier has died fighting Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, his family have said.

Jordan Gatley left the British Army in March "to continue his career as a soldier in other areas" and flew to Ukraine soon after to help fend off Russian forces and train Ukrainian soldiers.

Announcing the news on Facebook, his father Dean wrote: "Yesterday (10/06/22) we received the devastating news that our son, Jordan, has been shot and killed in the city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine."

The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed it is "supporting the family of a British man who has died in Ukraine".

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His father added: "His team say they all loved him, as did we, and he made a massive difference to many peoples lives, not only soldiering, but also by training the Ukrainian forces.

"Jordan and his team were so proud of the work they were doing and he often told me that the missions they were going on were dangerous, but necessary.

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"He loved his job and we are so proud of him. He truly was a hero and will forever be in our hearts."

Mr Gatley's post, written late on Saturday, has been met with hundreds of messages of condolence.

Will Murray, who was in the 3rd Battalion The Rifles with Jordan, told Sky News: "Jordan was a really good lad. He took his job very seriously and was very professional."

Mr Murray said they were not deployed into a conflict during the time they served together, but as he left The Rifles in 2020 it was possible that Jordan could have been on such a deployment between then and March of last year.

"I was surprised [he went out to Ukraine]. I didn't think he would. But like I said he took it very seriously," added Mr Murray.

Another person who served with Jordan in the 3rd Battalion The Rifles, Billyjoe Powers, told Sky News: "When I got into the army, Gatley was already there as a Lance Corporal. He always put you first, he was a top lad. In the field he was perfect, always looking out for others. Top lad.

"He always had a smile on his face."

Responding to the news of his death, he added: "I couldn't even believe it. I didn't know he had gone out there until I saw the RIPs."

Image: Jordan is pictured during his British Army days with his father Dean. Pic: Dean Gatley/Facebook

Second Briton to die in Ukraine since war began

His son is the second Briton to have been confirmed dead in Ukraine during the war.

Scott Sibley, 36, died in late April and was also a former member of the British Armed forces.

The city of Severodonetsk has become the main focus of the Russian offensive in recent weeks.

It is one of the last areas in the occupied eastern Luhansk region that is still under Ukrainian control.

On Sunday the Ministry of Defence (MoD) posted in its latest intelligence update that "Russia is using its overmatch in force ratio and artillery to gradually seize territory in and around Severodonetsk".

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2022-06-12 14:24:39Z
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UK weather: Temperatures could rise above 30C in parts of country this week - Sky News

Temperatures could rise above 30C in parts of the UK next week, forecasters say.

As the remnants of Tropical Storm Alex bring a low-pressure system to our shores, the country is going to be graced with a mixed bag of weather, according to the Met Office.

That means some parts of the north of the UK could experience gusts in excess of 55mph, alongside frequent showers and possible thunder.

Hot air over Iberia and France will be spreading north - and come Friday and Saturday, when Royal Ascot will be reaching its climax, things are going to be feel warmer - hotter even than Hawaii, which is only due to reach 25C (77F).

The weather in the south is likely to be fine and dry, with temperatures in London due to peak at 29C (84F) on Friday and 24C (75F) on Father's Day, although some experts predict them going into the low 30s.

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Sky weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "From Wednesday it looks like temperatures are on the rise, as hot air over Iberia and France spreads further north.

"The south will reach the mid-20s, potentially the low-30s on Friday or Saturday."

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The hottest day of the year so far was recorded in May, when the mercury hit 27.5C at Heathrow.

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UK weather: The latest Sky News forecast

Image: The mercury could hit the low 30s for Royal Ascot on Friday and Saturday

Pollen levels are also expected to be high in the south of the UK - with hay fever sufferers warned to prepare for a deluge of sneezes.

"Particularly potent" pollen caused by recent warm and wet weather is causing worse-than-usual symptoms for hay fever sufferers.

The combination of damp and warm weather in May means that despite pollen counts being no higher than usual, the pollen itself is stronger, experts said.

Yolanda Clewlow, from the Met Office, said: "The potency of these pollen grains could be more intense this year, and that comes down to the weather we've had in spring.

"A warm and wet May, coupled with a relatively warm spring, mean there's a chance that the pollen that has developed is particularly potent."

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2022-06-12 07:07:30Z
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