Babak Belurs

Kamis, 14 September 2023

Small boats crisis: Starmer unsure how many EU migrants UK would take under Labour plan - The Telegraph

Sir Keir Starmer was unable to say how many asylum seekers the UK could take from the rest of Europe under his plan to tackle the migrant Channel crossings crisis.

The Labour leader is today unveiling his small boats blueprint and one of the measures the party is considering is an EU-wide returns agreement.

This is expected to see the UK agree to take a share of asylum seekers reaching Europe in return for the bloc taking back migrants who arrive illegally in Britain having crossed the Channel.

Sir Keir was asked during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme what number of asylum seekers from Europe he would be happy for the UK to take, but he would not be drawn.

The Labour leader said his focus was on stopping the crossings in the first place by cracking down on people smuggling gangs.

He said: “The question of whether people can then be returned only applies if people are still getting across the Channel and what I want to do is stop the trade… in the first place.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay attacked Labour’s plan and told Times Radio “it’s no surprise that Keir Starmer wants to give up control of our immigration policy to the EU and let them decide what quotas we have to take”.

You can follow the latest updates below.

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2023-09-14 08:39:25Z
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Small boats crisis: Starmer unsure how many EU migrants UK would take under Labour plan - The Telegraph

Sir Keir Starmer was unable to say how many asylum seekers the UK could take from the rest of Europe under his plan to tackle the migrant Channel crossings crisis.

The Labour leader is today unveiling his small boats blueprint and one of the measures the party is considering is an EU-wide returns agreement.

This is expected to see the UK agree to take a share of asylum seekers reaching Europe in return for the bloc taking back migrants who arrive illegally in Britain having crossed the Channel.

Sir Keir was asked during an interview on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme what number of asylum seekers from Europe he would be happy for the UK to take, but he would not be drawn.

The Labour leader said his focus was on stopping the crossings in the first place by cracking down on people smuggling gangs.

He said: “The question of whether people can then be returned only applies if people are still getting across the Channel and what I want to do is stop the trade… in the first place.”

You can follow the latest updates below.

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Rogue Russian pilot tried to shoot down RAF aircraft in 2022 - BBC

Two Russian SU-27s performing during the International Maritime Defence Show in Russia in 2015

By Jonathan Beale

Defence correspondent

A Russian pilot tried to shoot down an RAF surveillance plane after believing he had permission to fire, the BBC has learned.

The pilot fired two missiles, the first of which missed rather than malfunctioned as claimed at the time.

Russia had claimed the incident last September was caused by a "technical malfunction".

The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) publicly accepted the Russian explanation.

But now three senior Western defence sources with knowledge of the incident have told the BBC that Russian communications intercepted by the RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft give a very different account from the official version.

The RAF plane - with a crew of up to 30 - was flying a surveillance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace on 29 September last year when it encountered two Russian SU-27 fighter jets.

The intercepted communications show that one of the Russian pilots thought he had been given permission to target the British aircraft, following an ambiguous command from a Russian ground station.

However, the second Russian pilot did not. He remonstrated and swore at his wingman when he fired the first missile.

The Rivet Joint is loaded with sensors to intercept communications. The RAF crew would have been able to listen in to the incident which could have resulted in their own deaths.

The MoD will not release details of those communications.

Responding to these new revelations an MoD spokesperson said: "Our intent has always been to protect the safety of our operations, avoid unnecessary escalation and inform the public and international community."

What really happened

As the two Russian SU-27s approached the RAF spy plane, they received a communication from their ground station controller.

One western source told the BBC the words they received were to the effect of "you have the target".

This ambiguous language was interpreted by one of the Russian pilots as permission to fire.

The loose language appears to have shown a high degree of unprofessionalism by those involved, sources said. In contrast, Nato pilots use very precise language when asking for and receiving permission to fire.

The Russian pilot released an air-to-air missile, which successfully launched but failed to lock on to its target, the BBC has been told. It was a miss, not a malfunction.

Defence sources have told the BBC that a row then broke out between the two Russian pilots.

The pilot of the second SU-27 did not think they had been given permission to fire.

He is said to have sworn at his comrade, effectively asking him what he thought he was doing.

Yet the first pilot still released another missile.

We had been told that the second missile simply fell from the wing - suggesting the weapon either malfunctioned or that the launch was aborted.

What the UK MoD said happened

Three weeks later, the UK government confirmed the incident had taken place - after an explanation from the Russian Ministry of Defence called it a "technical malfunction."

In a statement to MPs on 20 October, the then Defence Secretary Ben Wallace called it a "potentially dangerous engagement".

But he accepted the Russian explanation, saying: "We do not consider this incident to constitute a deliberate escalation on the part of the Russians, and our analysis concurs that it was due to a malfunction."

Russian jet released missile near RAF aircraft

What the US said happened

However, a secret intelligence leak revealed that the US military spoke of what happened in more stark terms.

In a raft of documents, published online by US airman Jack Teixera, the same incident was described as "a near shoot-down".

"The incident was far more serious than originally portrayed and could have amounted to an act of war," the New York Times reported.

According to two US defence officials, the newspaper said, the Russian pilot had misinterpreted an order from the ground.

The Russian pilot "who'd locked on the British Aircraft, fired, but the missile did not launch properly."

The newspaper also quoted an unnamed US defence official describing the incident "as really, really scary".

In response to the leaked report of a "near shoot-down" the UK MoD issued another statement which added more fog than clarity.

The MoD claimed a "significant proportion of the content of these reports [from the documents] is untrue, manipulated or both".

Why the secrecy?

There may be several reasons why the UK's MoD was reluctant to give the full details.

First, the UK would not want to publicise the extent of its intelligence gathering and details of the intercepted communications.

More importantly neither side wanted an escalation - one which could potentially draw a Nato member into military confrontation with Russia.

But the incident does show, once again, how one mistake and miscalculation by one individual could spark a wider conflict.

The MoD has now told the BBC that "this incident is a stark reminder of the potential consequences of Putin's barbaric invasion of Ukraine."

This is not the first time a reckless Russian pilot has targeted a Nato aircraft in international air space.

In March earlier this year, a Russian jet brought down a US unmanned surveillance drone, also flying over the Black Sea.

In that incident the Russian pilot was awarded a medal, but most experts agree it was down to luck rather than skill or judgement.

It highlights serious questions about the discipline and professionalism of Russia's air force.

Despite the near shoot down, the RAF has continued to conduct surveillance flights over the Black Sea - a testament to the courage of the crews who narrowly avoided a disaster.

Since the incident, these RAF surveillance flights have been escorted by Typhoon fighter jets armed with air-to-air missiles.

The UK is the only Nato ally to conduct crewed missions over the Black Sea.

Rabu, 13 September 2023

Thousands of London homes left with no water or low pressure - affected postcodes revealed - Sky News

Thousands of homes in west and southwest London have been left with low pressure or without water, Thames Water says.

The firm said the problem had been caused by a power supply problem that hit its Ashford and Hampton water treatment works in west London.

The following postcodes are affected: SW4, SW8, SW9, SW13, SW14, SW15, SW18, SW19, TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11, TW12, TW13, TW14, TW17, W1H, W1M, W1N, W2, W3, W4, W6, W7, W10, W12, W13, W14.

Earlier, Thames Water had also identified the following postcodes, though they have since been removed from the list: CR4, E5, E8, EC1V, KT1, KT2, KT3, KT8, HA0, N1, N15, N16, N17, NW1, NW2, NW10, SE1, SE11, SE16, SE17, UB1, UB2, UB6.

Sky News has contacted Thames Water for more information, but a statement on its website said: "We're working hard to fix the issue and to get things back to normal.

"We'll provide further updates here as soon as we have more information."

MP for Twickenham in southwest London, Munira Wilson, said some schools in her area have been forced to remain closed over the issue and urged Thames Water to "sort this soon".

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2023-09-13 09:22:30Z
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Kingsley Pond toddler death: Woman held under Mental Health Act - BBC

A woman arrested following the death of a two-year-old girl found in a village pond has been detained under the Mental Health Act.

The woman, in her 40s, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and has now been released from police custody. She remains under investigation.

The toddler was reported missing from her home on Forge Road, Kingsley, near Bordon at about 17:00 BST on Sunday.

She was later found in Kingsley Pond and died in hospital on Monday.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the girl's family was being supported by specialist officers.

Anyone who was in the Kingsley Pond area at the time is being urged to contact the force.

The large pond, located just under 100m (328ft) from the closest homes on Forge Road, measures about 175m (574ft) long and 72m (236ft) wide.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.

Babak Belurs

Kamis, 14 September 2023

Small boats crisis: Starmer unsure how many EU migrants UK would take under Labour plan - The Telegraph

Small boats crisis: Starmer unsure how many EU migrants UK would take under Labour plan - The Telegraph

Rogue Russian pilot tried to shoot down RAF aircraft in 2022 - BBC

What really happened

What the UK MoD said happened

What the US said happened

Why the secrecy?

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Rabu, 13 September 2023

Thousands of London homes left with no water or low pressure - affected postcodes revealed - Sky News

Kingsley Pond toddler death: Woman held under Mental Health Act - BBC

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