Babak Belurs

Sabtu, 30 Maret 2024

Protesters surround police van after terror suspect arrested at pro-Gaza march in London - The Telegraph

Pro-Palestine protesters surrounded a police van “to prevent it leaving” after a man was arrested on suspicion of a terrorism-related offence.

Dozens of demonstrators could be seen sitting in the street, while others crowded against the side of the van at the central London rally calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Metropolitan Police said it had made the arrest on the Strand on Saturday afternoon “in relation to inviting support for a proscribed organisation”.

Protesters — Packed crowds as protests are made in London over the conflict in Gaza Credit: Elliott Franks

Earlier, a man was captured on video, posted on X, saying: “I fully support Hamas. They resisted the occupation.”

Separate footage showed him repeating the mantra several times while under restraint by officers as he was marched towards a police van.

Officers could be seen remonstrating with protesters around the van, who shouted “we can’t hear you” and “let him go”.

Multiple police vans of the Tactical Support Group with flashing lights then arrived at the scene.

The Metropolitan Police said on X, formerly Twitter: “This afternoon, officers policing a protest on the Strand arrested a man on suspicion of a terrorism-related offence in relation to inviting support for a proscribed organisation.

“He has been taken to a central London police station and remains in custody.”

It took place at the 11th national demonstration organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign since the Oct 7 Hamas massacre.

Protesters gather for a rally in Trafalgar Square — Protesters gather for a huge pro-Palestine rally in Trafalgar Square Credit: Vuk Valcic/Alamy

Protesters gathered at Russell Square before marching through the city to Trafalgar Square. Some could be heard chanting “Long live Hamas, long live Hamas”.

One man shouted at a camera: “Who controls Britain? It’s the Jewish people that control Britain! Forty per cent of the MPs are Jewish and that’s why these police are under there.”

Only 3 per cent of MPs are Jewish as of last year, according to Derek Taylor, the historian.

Another protester was filmed leading a chant saying “Bye-bye Israel”.

Separately, an Iranian anti-Hamas protester who was controversially arrested at an earlier protest was arrested again on Saturday.

Niyak Ghorbani, 38, was seen being restrained by police at the pro-Palestine march in central London, having held up a sign saying “Don’t attack the law. Hamas is terrorist”.

It came less than a month after he was arrested over an allegation of assault at a previous march but later de-arrested after officers reviewed footage.

The arrest was described as a “shameful incident” at the time by Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister.

A pro-Israel counter-protest near the main demonstration Credit: Paul Quezada-Neiman/Alamy

The Metropolitan Police were accused of “emboldening” the mob with the arrest.

The new footage from Saturday shows Mr Ghorbani, an Iranian, being restrained against a wall alongside another man.

A pro-Israel counter-protest was staged near the main demonstration, with many participants holding up the same banner.

However, Mr Ghorbani and the other man appeared to be some distance ahead of the main counter-protest and were surrounded by police as they held their banners.

It is understood that he was arrested on an anti-social behaviour offence after refusing a request from officers from outside London to provide his details. When Metropolitan Police officers arrived and confirmed Mr Ghorbani’s identity, he was de-arrested.

Meanwhile, a video emerged of a police officer challenged to arrest protesters allegedly waving swastikas.

When a woman asked him why waving a swastika was not disturbing public order, he said: “Everything needs to be taken in context doesn’t it?”

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9uZXdzLzIwMjQvMDMvMzAvZ2F6YS1wcm90ZXN0ZXJzLXBvbGljZS10ZXJyb3Itc3VzcGVjdC1hcnJlc3QtbG9uZG9uL9IBAA?oc=5

2024-03-30 18:43:00Z
CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRlbGVncmFwaC5jby51ay9uZXdzLzIwMjQvMDMvMzAvZ2F6YS1wcm90ZXN0ZXJzLXBvbGljZS10ZXJyb3Itc3VzcGVjdC1hcnJlc3QtbG9uZG9uL9IBAA

East Camp: South Wales military complex to be used to house Afghan escapees - BBC

Afghans make their way the road to the military entrance of the airport for evacuations, in Kabul, Afghanistan

By Oliver Slow

BBC News

A military complex will be used to house people who worked with the UK government in Afghanistan, but fled after the Taliban seized power.

East Camp in St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan, will house 50 people by the end of March with more arriving in April, the Ministry of Defence said.

The site can host a maximum of 180 people.

Those arriving are eligible under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) programme.

The scheme is for those who worked for or with the UK government in Afghanistan in "exposed or meaningful" roles.

It is aimed at those who could face retribution by the Taliban, which re-took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, due to their association with international forces.

"We owe a debt of gratitude to those brave Afghans who risked their lives working alongside our forces in support of the UK mission," the MoD said.

Those eligible will be housed at East Camp for six weeks "before moving to more settled accommodation", a spokesman added.

The MoD said it was working with the Welsh government and Vale of Glamorgan council to ensure the project was managed "with everybody in mind", especially those who live locally.

In 2023, plans to house Ukrainian refugees at nearby Llantwit Major drew demonstrations from a far-right group.

The Welsh government said the programme was the responsibility of the MoD, which it said it was "working constructively with" to ensure those relocated to Wales from Afghanistan were "able to integrate effectively".

Jumat, 29 Maret 2024

Jeffrey Donaldson: DUP leader resigns after rape charge - BBC.com

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP has been charged with rape and other historical sexual offences and has resigned as Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader.

A 57-year-old woman has also been charged with aiding and abetting in connection with the alleged offences.

They were both arrested on Thursday morning by PSNI detectives and were questioned before being charged on Thursday night.

Sir Jeffrey had said that he will be strenuously contesting the charges.

He and the 57-year-old woman are due to appear in court next month.

In a statement the DUP said: "The party chairman has received a letter from Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP confirming that he has been charged with allegations of an historical nature and indicating that he is stepping down as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party with immediate effect.

"In accordance with the party rules, the party officers have suspended Mr Donaldson from membership, pending the outcome of a judicial process.

"The Party Officers have this morning unanimously appointed Mr Gavin Robinson MP as the interim party leader."

Sir Jeffrey's letter to the DUP states he will be strenuously contesting the charges.

DUP interim leader Gavin Robinson said it has been a "devastating revelation".

"It has caused a tremendous shock, not just for myself personally, or my colleagues within the DUP, but for the community right across Northern Ireland," he said.

"We are a party and individuals that believe in justice, we have faith in our criminal justice system and so in the coming days and months, we think it is important that none of us say anything or act in any way that would seek to prejudice what is now an ongoing criminal investigation."

He added that it was "very late last night" when the party first became aware of the allegations.

Mr Robinson said the most important task for the party is "focusing on the importance of making Northern Ireland work, instilling a sense of positivity in devolution and making sure that devolution works for our people."

What happened on Friday?

Police issued a statement on Friday morning, but did not disclose the identity of those charged.

The statement said a 61-year-old man had been charged with "non-recent sexual offences" adding that a 57-year-old woman was also arrested at the same time and charged with "aiding and abetting additional offences".

The statement also confirmed the pair would appear before Newry Magistrates' Court on 24 April.

The police investigation is understood to have started within the last number of months, after two women came forward.

It is understood DUP officers met on Friday morning after details of the charges emerged.

Sir Jeffrey's social media accounts, including on X, were deleted overnight.

Analysis box by Enda McClafferty, NI political editor

This is a political bombshell like no other in Northern Ireland.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was at the peak of his powers. He steered his party back into Stormont in the face of opposition of many of his own MPs and peers.

But now his political career appears to be over and his party has been left in disarray.

Gavin Robinson has now stepped up and will attempt to steady the party which has been rocked by the allegations facing its former leader.

Mindful of the potential risks to Stormont, Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O'Neill warned that the Executive must continue to deliver for the whole community.

A coded warning to the DUP to look beyond its own internal challenges and keep the bigger political prize in view.

Read Enda's full analysis here.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was elected leader of the DUP in 2021.

He is also the longest serving MP in Northern Ireland having been first elected to Parliament in 1997.

Sir Jeffrey recently steered his party back in to government in Northern Ireland ending a two year boycott of the Stormont institutions.

The DUP had walked out of government in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol, claiming the post-Brexit arrangements had undermined their place in the UK.

Sir Jeffrey was first elected to parliament in 1997 as a representative of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

In 2003, following long-standing opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and the leadership of David Trimble, he announced he would leave the UUP, later joining the DUP.

He was awarded a knighthood in 2016 for political service.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1ub3J0aGVybi1pcmVsYW5kLTY4Njg2Njkx0gE5aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvbS9uZXdzL3VrLW5vcnRoZXJuLWlyZWxhbmQtNjg2ODY2OTEuYW1w?oc=5

2024-03-29 23:10:31Z
CBMiNWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1ub3J0aGVybi1pcmVsYW5kLTY4Njg2Njkx0gE5aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvbS9uZXdzL3VrLW5vcnRoZXJuLWlyZWxhbmQtNjg2ODY2OTEuYW1w

Businessman who donated £5m to Tories gets knighthood - The Guardian

A businessman and former Egyptian government minister who donated £5m to the Conservative party last year has unexpectedly been given a knighthood on the recommendation of Rishi Sunak.

Mohamed Mansour, a senior treasurer of the Conservative party for just over a year, was one of several surprise recipients of honours on Thursday, with the citation saying it was given for business, charity and political service.

Labour has previously called for the Tories to hand back £5m donated last year by Mansour, who served as transport minister in Egypt under military ruler Hosni Mubarak’s regime in 2005 to 2009 before the Arab spring.

The opposition called for Sunak to return the donation last year after it emerged one of Mansour’s family companies had still been operating in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

The firm, Mantrac, said in May 2023 that it was winding down its business in Russia, more than a year after Moscow’s war drew international condemnation and calls from Sunak and Boris Johnson for businesses to withdraw.

Mansour was joined in receiving a knighthood by Demis Hassabis, founder of artificial intelligence company DeepMind, and by film-making couple Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, who will receive a knighthood and a damehood. American businessman Ted Sarandos, the co-chief of Netflix, was given an honorary knighthood.

Backbench MP Philip Davies, and Mark Spencer, a former chief whip under Johnson, were also knighted, while Tracey Crouch, a former minister, was made a dame along with Treasury committee chair Harriett Baldwin.

The move to award a series of honours before the Easter recess may renew speculation that Sunak is weighing whether to call a summer election.

A Downing Street source explained the timing by saying the government had needed to publish a new list of MPs on the privy council, and that this was seen as a chance to recognise people from the worlds of entertainment and AI, as well as politicians and the likes of Mansour, who was being honoured for his charitable works.

There was, the source added, precedent for honours to be awarded outside the usual timetable of political awards, or the new year or monarch’s birthday lists.

Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, said: “This is either the arrogant act of an entitled man who’s stopped caring what the public thinks, or the demob-happy self-indulgence of someone who doesn’t expect to be prime minister much longer. Either way, it shows a blatant disrespect for the office he should feel privileged to hold.”

Mansour set up his family office, Man Capital, in London in 2010, after his stint as transport minister under Mubarak. In his recently published autobiography, Drive to Succeed, Mansour wrote of how he ran one of the biggest private companies in the Middle East with 300,000 jobs tied to his business, which “stretches from Cairo to California”.

He wrote: “The UK has given me a second home and security, as well as a sanctuary and base to foster a global business … I was so honoured to be appointed as senior treasurer of the UK Conservative party in December 2022.

“The party of [Winston] Churchill is a great political movement and one of the oldest political parties in the world and it gives me enormous pride to serve.”

Davies, the MP for Shipley since 2005, told the PA news agency: “Obviously I’m absolutely delighted. I’m somewhat flabbergasted as well, to be honest.

“It feels very surreal and I’m somewhat in shock … I’m just immensely grateful to everybody who has enabled it to happen.”

Davies is considered a rightwinger in the party, and he presented a GB News show jointly with this wife, Esther McVey – also a Conservative MP – until she gave up the role to serve as “minister for common sense” in 2023.

Last year, broadcast regulator Ofcom found that GB News breached impartiality rules when the pair interviewed the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, before that year’s spring budget in what was described as a “love-in”.

Davies is a longstanding campaigner for men’s rights and a critic of “militant feminists” and political correctness. He also has been a leading advocate for the gambling industry in parliament.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDI0L21hci8yOC9tb2hhbWVkLW1hbnNvdXItd2hvLWRvbmF0ZWQtdG8tdG9yaWVzLWtuaWdodGhvb2TSAWFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvMjAyNC9tYXIvMjgvbW9oYW1lZC1tYW5zb3VyLXdoby1kb25hdGVkLXRvLXRvcmllcy1rbmlnaHRob29k?oc=5

2024-03-29 02:31:00Z
CBMiYWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZWd1YXJkaWFuLmNvbS9wb2xpdGljcy8yMDI0L21hci8yOC9tb2hhbWVkLW1hbnNvdXItd2hvLWRvbmF0ZWQtdG8tdG9yaWVzLWtuaWdodGhvb2TSAWFodHRwczovL2FtcC50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvMjAyNC9tYXIvMjgvbW9oYW1lZC1tYW5zb3VyLXdoby1kb25hdGVkLXRvLXRvcmllcy1rbmlnaHRob29k

Labour will level up better than Tories, pledges Keir Starmer - BBC.com

Sir Keir Starmer has promised to "level up" regions more effectively than the Conservatives by giving extra powers to local leaders.

Launching the party's local election campaign, the Labour leader said the Tories had failed to deliver on their pledge to reduce regional inequality.

Further devolution was "essential" to make the ambition a reality, he added.

It comes as the party confirms details of its plans to offer new powers to councils in England.

Labour says if it wins the next general election, it would extend the responsibilities given in recent years to mayors in city regions, such as Tees Valley and West Yorkshire.

It would also offer extra powers to areas that are yet to secure them.

Elections are taking place on 2 May for more than 100 local authorities and mayors in England, and police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.

The Conservative promise to "level up" different parts of the UK was one of the flagship political slogans of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

The promise has been widely credited as a factor in helping the party take swathes of previously safe Labour seats at the 2019 election in former industrial areas in the Midlands and north of England.

In a speech in Dudley, Sir Keir acknowledged that the pledge had "struck a chord" with voters and was a "good ambition".

But he said the Conservatives had failed to put in the "hard yards" to make the plan work, adding their promises to the public to level up their areas had been "preying on their hopes".

'Dragons' Den'

Giving more power away from Westminster, he added, was "absolutely essential for taking on regional inequality".

He was also critical of the government's record on levelling up spending, noting a recent report from MPs that only 10% of funding earmarked for projects has actually been spent.

Speaking before him, deputy leader Angela Rayner said councils had been forced to go "cap in hand" to government to fund schemes, likening Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove to an investor on TV show Dragons' Den.

Labour has promised that, if elected, it would give extra powers in areas like housing, transport and planning to those areas that have acquired responsibilities in recent years under "devolution deals".

It also says it would invite all areas of England without a deal to bid for new powers, with councils located in "sensible economic geographies" joining together to apply.

The party has also confirmed that it would place a legal obligation on all areas with a deal to produce plans setting out how they would use the new powers to boost economic growth.

But Sir Keir acknowledged that, given the economic backdrop, his party would not be able to "turn the taps on" to boost strained council budgets. "The way out of that is to grow our economy," he added.

'Reduce the strains'

Asked whether his plans would be accompanied by new spending, he said improving the spending rates on existing projects would "release a huge amount of money".

He added that Labour was also aiming to boost investment from the private sector by providing investors with a "viable plan" for boosting growth.

Speaking afterwards to the BBC, Sir Keir promised that councils would be "better off" after five years if his party wins power - but declined to say whether they would get more cash in the first year of a Labour government.

He pledged, however, Labour would "reduce the strains" on local finances through multi-year budgets, ending no-fault evictions and bringing down inflation by "stabilising" the economy.

There have been a series of devolution deals in recent years - with agreements with varying powers for local leaders agreed for 22 areas in England.

The government's Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, which passed in October, set a target that every part of England that wanted a deal should get one by 2030.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy02ODY4MzQ1NNIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy02ODY4MzQ1NC5hbXA?oc=5

2024-03-28 19:08:38Z
CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy02ODY4MzQ1NNIBMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy91ay1wb2xpdGljcy02ODY4MzQ1NC5hbXA

Angela Rayner challenges Tory critics over her tax affairs: ‘If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine’ - The Independent

Angela Rayner has thrown down the gauntlet to prime minister Rishi Sunak, challenging him and two of his Conservative colleagues to publish their tax records if they want hers.

She refused to disclose advice she received amid claims she may have avoided capital gains tax on the 2015 sale of her council house.

The Labour deputy leader taunted her Tory critics, stressing that she has “done nothing wrong”, and saying: “If you show me yours, I will show you mine.”

Naming Mr Sunak, the chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Tory deputy chair James Daly, Ms Rayner said: “If [they] all want to say ‘I’ll give you the last 15 years of my tax details’, I’m happy to disclose all of mine as well at the same time.”

Her challenge came as she and Sir Keir Starmer launched Labour’s campaign for the 2 May local elections. Parking his party’s tanks squarely on the Conservatives’ lawn, Sir Keir promised to revive Boris Johnson’s failed levelling-up agenda.

Heaping praise on the ex-PM for having the right idea in investing outside the southeast of England, he sought to drive a wedge between Mr Johnson and his successor, accusing Mr Sunak of “strangling levelling up at birth”.

In a blow to Labour’s hope of the story petering out, Greater Manchester Police said it would review claims Ms Rayner may have broken electoral law over information she gave about her living situation a decade ago.

Bury North MP Mr Daly has alleged she may have made a false declaration about where she was living on the electoral register.

Angela Rayner has described the claims against her as a ‘smear’

He says has been told a detective chief inspector is reassessing the force’s decision not to open an investigation into the claims.

Grilled about the development on Thursday, Ms Rayner said the police had been put under pressure by Mr Daly to launch an investigation and she was “confident I have done absolutely nothing wrong”.

“I have been very clear about the advice I have received,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I don’t need to publish all of my details, my child’s birth certificate was put out in the public domain and it is not fair on my family.”

Ms Rayner promised to comply with HMRC, the police and any authorities who want to see her tax advice and, in a challenge to Mr Daly and the Conservatives, she added: “If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.”

She said: “If the deputy chairman, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt all want to say I’ll give you the last 15 years of my tax details, I’m happy to disclose all of mine as well at the same time. I’m open to that if that’s what they want us to do.”

Sir Keir has said Ms Rayner has his “full support and full confidence, today and every day”, adding that she has “answered I don’t know how many questions about this… she has not broken any rules”.

Keir Starmer said Rayner has his ‘full support today and everyday’

The Labour leader said he has “faith in Angela Rayner’s answers”, and said his team, but not him personally, have looked at the tax advice Ms Rayner received about the council house. He said it is “a sign of how desperate the Tories have got, that they want to make this the issue in a local election, which should be about their failure in delivery”.

Sir Keir accused Mr Johnson and his successors of having “preyed on people’s hopes” with unfulfilled promises over levelling up.

He said: “People say to me, the worst thing you can do in politics is to prey on peoples’ fear.

“Yet in some ways, preying on their hopes is just as bad. And that’s what the Tories did with levelling up. Of course, it struck a chord. Of course – a town like Dudley [in the West Midlands] wanted that hope to be real. Not just the promise of a better future – we all need that.

“It’s also how that project knowingly spoke to what towns like this have lost, the way of life that disappeared when the factories or pits closed. The community, the security, the ‘chest-out’ pride that grows when you are certain your contribution is respected.”

In an appeal to disgruntled Tory 2019 voters, Ms Rayner also hailed Boris Johnson’s levelling-up agenda, saying the former PM was “onto something”.

She added: “The problem is that the Tories then decided not to do that, hollowed out and took money under the guise of austerity from those areas and then created this Dragon’s Den bidding process where councils spent millions of pounds bidding against each other for little pots of their own money back.”

Meanwhile, Sir Keir said the Tories have “beat the hope out of people over the last 14 years”.

He said: “We’ve got to give people hope. Hope that politics can change, that we can return to a place where promises matter, where values and standards in public life matter.”

“That is one reason why we came to Dudley to launch this campaign, because of course it was right here that the former prime minister, or former, former prime minister to be accurate, gave his big levelling-up speech.”

Ms Rayner has faced scrutiny about whether she paid the right amount of tax on the 2015 sale of her council house due to confusion over whether it was her principal residency.

She has rejected suggestions in a book by former Tory deputy chair Lord Ashcroft that she failed to properly declare her main home.

Rayner has accused former Tory deputy chair Lord Ashcorft of having an ‘unhealthy’ interest in her private life

(Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty)

The unauthorised biography alleges that the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne bought her former council house, in Vicarage Road in Stockport, Greater Manchester, with a 25 per cent discount in 2007 under the right-to-buy scheme.

The former carer is said to have made a £48,500 profit when selling the house eight years later.

Government guidance says that a tenant can apply to buy their council home through the right-to-buy scheme if it is their “only or main home”.

Her husband was listed at another address in Lowndes Lane, about a mile away, which had also been bought under the right-to-buy scheme.

In the same year as her wedding, Ms Rayner is said to have re-registered the births of her two youngest children, giving her address as where her husband resided.

Ms Rayner has insisted that Vicarage Road was her “principal property” despite her husband living elsewhere at the time, but neighbours have reportedly disputed her claim that she lived apart from her husband.

Tax experts have estimated that, while Ms Rayner may not have owed anything in capital gains tax following the sale depending on her residency situation, there are circumstances in which she could have owed as much as £3,500 to the taxman.

Adblock test (Why?)

https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvcG9saXRpY3MvYW5nZWxhLXJheW5lci1jb3VuY2lsLWhvdXNlLWludmVzdGlnYXRpb24tYjI1MTk5MzMuaHRtbNIBAA?oc=5

2024-03-28 19:19:54Z
CBMiZmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvcG9saXRpY3MvYW5nZWxhLXJheW5lci1jb3VuY2lsLWhvdXNlLWludmVzdGlnYXRpb24tYjI1MTk5MzMuaHRtbNIBAA

Kamis, 28 Maret 2024

Could assisted dying be coming to Scotland? - BBC

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur signs a board in the lobby of the Scottish Parliament for other MSPs to record their support for his Member's Bill on assisted dying,

By James Cook

Scotland editor

Scotland could become the first UK nation to provide terminally ill people with assistance to end their lives if a bill being introduced at Holyrood is approved.

Supporters of the legislation say it would ease suffering.

Opponents worry that some terminally ill people could feel under pressure to end their lives.

The Assisted Dying Bill is drafted by the Lib Dem MSP, Liam McArthur, who expects it to be debated this autumn.

The bill is published on Thursday and will potentially be voted on next year.

The Scottish government says ministers and SNP backbenchers will not be instructed how to vote, as the matter is an issue of individual conscience.

First Minister Humza Yousaf, who is a Muslim, has indicated that he is likely to vote against the bill, which is also opposed by the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church in Scotland, and the Scottish Association of Mosques.

Under the proposals, a patient could only request medical assistance to end their life if they had a terminal illness and had been ruled mentally fit to make the decision by two doctors.

Mr McArthur says "the terminal illness would need to be advanced and progressive" and the medics would have to ensure there was "no coercion."

In addition, the patient must be aged 16 or over, a resident of Scotland for at least 12 months, and must administer the life-ending medication themselves.

In Scotland, it is not illegal to attempt suicide but helping someone take their own life could lead to prosecution for crimes such as murder, culpable homicide or offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

In England and Wales, the Suicide Act 1961 makes it an offence to encourage or assist the suicide or attempted suicide of another person. In 2015, the House of Commons decided against changing the law by 330 votes to 118.

In Northern Ireland, a similar offence is set out in the Criminal Justice Act 1966.

This will be the third time that the Scottish Parliament has considered the issue.

In 2010, MSPs rejected Margo MacDonald's End of Life Assistance Bill by 85 votes to 16.

The independent MSP, who had Parkinson's Disease, died in 2014 and the cause was taken up by Patrick Harvie of the Scottish Greens.

The following year, his Assisted Suicide Bill was rejected by 82 votes to 36.

The title of Mr McArthur's bill — Assisted Dying rather than Assisted Suicide — reflects a change in approach from campaigners.

Critics such as Dr Fiona MacCormick of the Association for Palliative Medicine (APM) say the new terminology is "harmful and unhelpful," adding, "they've used very euphemistic language to talk about suicide."

Mr McArthur says he would "strongly disagree," because "we're talking about people with a terminal illness, and the fact they are going to die has already been established."

The MSP for Orkney Islands believes there has been a significant "mood shift" among his fellow parliamentarians since the issue was last debated and is hopeful that his proposal will be approved.

Gillie Davison assisted dying supporter Hawick

So is Gillie Davison, whose husband Steve died of throat cancer last April, at the age of 56.

Ms Davison, from Hawick in the Scottish Borders, says even high-quality palliative care did not ease his suffering in the final days and hours.

"It wasn't a good death because he was distressed and he was upset," she explains.

"It wasn't what he wanted. He wanted that choice."

She believes an assisted dying bill would have allowed her husband to "go to sleep" peacefully at home and could prevent other families from enduring a similarly "devastating" experience in future.

Changing the law, she says, would be "compassionate and kind."

But Dr MacCormick says she is concerned about the potential for inaccurate diagnosis and prognosis, undetected coercion, and fluctuating mental capacity in seriously ill patients.

"As a palliative care doctor, when I see patients who are suffering, I don't see the answer to their suffering as being to end the life of the sufferer," she says.

But some terminally-ill patients say they would find the option reassuring even if they did not use it.

In 2015, at the age of 26, Mandie Malcolm from Falkirk was diagnosed with breast cancer which had spread to other parts of her body.

She was told that her life expectancy was two to five years.

Now 34, Ms Malcolm is still alive thanks to advances in cancer treatment but, she says, she lies awake at night worrying about how her life will end.

Until starting a new drug, she says, she was "bedridden for weeks and in huge amounts of pain.

"I really worry about my death. I worry that I'm going to suffer, horrifically, basically, and it does scare me," she explains.

Ms Malcolm is strongly in favour of the assisted dying law, which she says would mean she could stop worrying about "dying a brutal death" and "enjoy the good times."

"It would mean everything to me and my family," she adds.

But campaigners against the measure point to laws enacted in Belgium and Canada where qualifying criteria have been loosened over time, leading to a sharp rise in the number of "assisted" deaths.

Mr McArthur says his proposed law is not modelled on those "permissive and expansive models" but on places such as the US state of Oregon where "the eligibility criteria has not changed at all" since becoming law in 1997.

He is supported by the broadcaster and campaigner, Dame Esther Rantzen, who recently revealed that she was considering travelling to Switzerland - where assisted suicide has been legal since 1942 - to die after being diagnosed with incurable lung cancer.

She says: "I want to congratulate the Scottish Parliament for prioritising this debate so that they can carefully consider this crucial issue and scrutinise this historic Assisted Dying Bill."

Audrey Birt (who is receiving palliative care from her local hospice – uneasy about a law change):

Audrey Birt from Edinburgh also has terminal cancer, the latest of five breast cancer diagnoses over 30 years, and has spent the past 12 years "in and out of hospital."

But she does not want assistance to end her life and has concerns that, if the law is changed, some patients might feel that they must do so to help their families.

"In Scotland," she says, "we don't like to be a burden.

"That's the aspect I worry about — that there may be pressure," she explains.

Instead Ms Birt, who is 68 years old, says there should be increased investment in palliative care, which she receives at St Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh.

"After coming here and being more aware of what's on offer, I do wonder if it was available to everyone, would that take away some of the fear that is behind the bill?" she asks.

Helen Malo of the charity Hospice UK says her organisation is neutral on the bill but wants better funding of palliative care.

Hospices support more than 21,000 people in Scotland each year, she says. But they are struggling, with only a third of their funding coming from the state, the rest from charitable donations, and rising costs.

"One in four people do not get access to specialist palliative care," adds Ms Malo, who says that, as the nation ages, demand is expected to increase by a fifth by 2040.

"There are fewer specialist palliative care doctors in Scotland than there are MSPs," says Dr MacCormick of the APM.

Without adequate palliative care, she says, the worry is that assisted suicide "is not just a choice. It becomes a suggestion, which then becomes an expectation and that our vulnerable patients are at risk."

Supporters of the bill say they too want more funding for hospices and are prepared for a debate about how and if such a commitment could be woven into the bill.

They also know that moral, religious and practical objections must be overcome if the momentous change they propose is to become law.

Babak Belurs

Sabtu, 30 Maret 2024

Protesters surround police van after terror suspect arrested at pro-Gaza march in London - The Telegraph

East Camp: South Wales military complex to be used to house Afghan escapees - BBC

Related Topics

Jumat, 29 Maret 2024