The coalition government is locked in a battle within its own ranks and with the security establishment over the future of control orders and the 28-day detention without trial counter terrorism measures. The Observer reported that a letter from Liberal Democrats to the PM, David Cameron, warned...
Dave Hill writes in the Guardian’s Comment is Free on the successful election of Lutfur Rahman as Mayor of Tower Hamlets. Rahman, who has been the target of a virulent campaign against his candidacy, won the election last Thursday on an independent ticket. Hill, surveying the allegations...
There was a curious piece of news in the Evening Standard yesterday (hat tip: Islamophobia Watch) on Baroness Warsi being “forced” to renege on a commitment to present a counter argument to the motion ‘This House believes France is right to ban the face veil’, at the famed Doha Debates...
Sir John Sawers (pictured), head of security agency MI6, gave an unprecedented public speech by a serving chief at the Society of Editors yesterday. Addressing allegations of UK agents’ complicity in torture Sir John said: “If we know or believe action by us will lead to torture taking...
The annual Home Office bulletin on the use of anti-terror powers shows that of the 101,248 searches carried out under Section 44 of the Terrorism Act, 504 people were arrested for any offence, not one of them for terrorism-related offences. The Guardian today reports on the release of the HO...
The Independent today reports on the release of figures from the Office of National Statistics on the most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2009. The paper headlines the article ‘Oliver, meet Olivia’, reflecting the most popular names in the two categories. While the Daily...
“Mosques take over our cities,” cried the Daily Star; “Church diocese is axed because of Muslim influx,” howls the Daily Express. You can almost picture the wide eyed reaction of the public who read these headlines over the prospect of Muslims taking over cities in Britain. They follow a...
The Guardian today reports that the 200 plus cameras that formed a ‘ring of steel’ around predominantly Muslim suburbs in Birmingham are to be dismantled. Chris Sims (pictured), West Midlands police chief constable, said that he believed the cameras should be taken down to “rebuild...
The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) released findings of its Citizenship Survey on Thursday, which covers the period from April to June 2010. The release is divided in to three sections covering community action; community spirit; and prejudice and discrimination. The...
The Guardian has discovered that the British military has been training interrogators in techniques that breach the Geneva Convention. These techniques include threats, sensory deprivation and enforced nakedness. From The Guardian: “Training materials drawn up secretly in recent years tell...
