United Kingdom

Cross-posted from: https://feddit.de/post/5136333

Original link: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/why-destroy-economy-for-people-will-die-anyway-johnson-said-to-have-asked/

Exclusive: Black officers complain of collection for men who lied about the stop and search of black athletes

If you need another reason to not vote Tory!

Police have arrested more than 60 climate activists taking part in a slow march outside parliament in the first use of draconian new anti-protest powers.

The Metropolitan police used section 7 of the Public Order Act 2023, which bans any act “which interferes with the use or operation of any key national infrastructure in England and Wales”, to order an immediate end to a Just Stop Oil protest on Monday morning.

After forming a line and attempting to direct protesters off the road, police began making arrests, according to Just Stop Oil. Pictures and video circulated by the campaign showed officers kneeling on and handcuffing protesters, and carrying them into waiting police vans.

Britain has announced its backing for a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining, after criticism from scientists, MPs and environmentalists of its previous stance in support of the emerging industry.

On Monday, the UK government said publicly it would back a temporary suspension on supporting or sponsoring any exploitation licences to mine metals from the sea floor until enough scientific evidence was available to understand the impact on ecosystems.

Last month, dozens of scientists warned the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, that allowing industrial-scale exploitation of the seabed could have grave consequences, both for marine life and for the ability of the ocean, one of the planet’s greatest carbon sinks, to absorb carbon dioxide.

Jatinder Singh, from Smethwick, was summoned to serve as a juror at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday

But, he said, a security guard refused him entry at the court over his kirpan, the sword carried by all Sikhs.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said Mr Singh was released from his duties as there was a surplus of required jurors.

Meanwhile, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has apologised to Mr Singh.

Khalsa Sikhs carry the five Ks with them at all times, as a symbol of their faith.

These include Kesh or uncut hair; Kara which is a a steel bracelet; the Kanga, a wooden comb; Kacca or cotton underwear and the Kirpan

Mr Singh, who has served as president at Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick and as secretary general of the Sikh Council UK, said this was the second time he has been summoned for jury service, the first passing with no issue.

On this occasion, he entered the morning session with no problems, but when he tried to return to the court after lunch was pulled aside by a security guard and told he could not go in.

"The security guard said I could take [my kirpan] off and leave it with him and collect it at the end of the day," he said.

"I felt like a child who has gone to school and taken something they shouldn't and had it confiscated.

"To have that happen to me, I felt embarrassed, I felt discriminated against, I didn't expect it to happen to me."

He called for the (MoJ) to work with Sikh and other religious organisations to create easily accessible guidelines that can be provided to staff.

Dabinderjit Singh, the principal adviser to the Sikh Federation UK said it had written to Justice Minister Alex Chalk asking him to condemn the treatment of Mr Singh.

The MoJ said members of the Sikh community wishing to enter a court building could bring in a Kirpan which was not more than six inches long (15cm) and with a blade no more than five inches (12cm) in length - which Mr Singh said his was.

A spokesperson for HMCTS added: "We have apologised to Mr Singh for any distress caused and have reminded our contracted security officers of the correct steps to take to prevent this incident from happening again."

Sunak is passing the buck to local councils.

Cockney and received pronunciation (Queen’s English) were once spoken by people of all ages, but they are no longer commonly spoken among young people in the south-east of England.

In new research, colleagues and I recorded the voices of 193 people between the ages of 18 and 33 from across south-east England and London. We then built a computer algorithm which “listened” to how they spoke and grouped them by how similarly they pronounced vowels in different words.

We identified three main accents:standard southern British English, multicultural London English and estuary English.

This government is just turning the country into the cesspit of Europe. All Brexit has done is erode our standards and protections, and probably benefit a load of the Tories' mates.

Nigel Farage claims a “woke brigade” is marching through public and private companies after emails revealed NatWest staff gloated about the closure of his bank account in a series of sniggering internal messages.

The crowing remarks were handed over to the former Ukip leaders through a subject access request, and shone light on conversations among staff members who joked he had been “debanked” by Coutts, a NatWest subsidiary, and that they hoped it “knocked him down a peg or two.”

In an angry tirade agains the bank, Mr Farage also revealed the internal documents referred to him a “crackpot”, “sketchy” and “a fool”.