Displaying items by tag: British Isles

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the government to ‘put right’ the fact that a group of war widows who remarried after the deaths of their husbands, are not allowed to claim their pensions. He said, ‘One of the Bible's strongest, clearest, and most often repeated commands is to care for and honour the widow. The plight of the war widows who are not able to receive their military pensions is a very great wrong. To find love and happiness again after such loss and heartbreak only to be denied their rightful pension, and for many their means of living, leaves them in a cruel and unjustifiable situation and facing unbearable decisions. It must be put right.’ In 2015, changes were introduced and all who qualified would receive the pension for life. But the changes were not applied retrospectively, leaving around 200 women unable to claim the money.

Data uncovered by an alliance of over fifty charities shows that black Caribbean girls were permanently excluded from school at twice the rate of white British girls during the academic year 2019-20. The rate tripled for mixed white and Caribbean girls, and was four times higher for girls from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. While boys continue to face higher rates of exclusion overall, the report notes that the number of girls excluded has risen by 66% over the last five years, compared with a 32% increase among boys during the same time period. The report notes how females are excluded from education after experiencing unaddressed sexual harassment and abuse, poor mental health, and racism. Negative stereotypes attached to black girls and those from minority ethnic backgrounds play a critical role in their exclusion.

Two defence ministry blunders in one week have put Afghan lives at risk. The UK said not everyone eligible for relocation could be evacuated before forces left Afghanistan, but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would help those left behind to leave. The first data breach was an email containing addresses of 250 Afghan interpreters mistakenly copied by the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy team (ARAP) pledging assistance with their relocation to the UK. Some of the addresses showed people’s names and associated profile pictures. The mistake could cost lives. Following that error, officials sent another message 30 minutes later advising the recipients to change their email addresses. The second blunder saw MoD officials mistakenly copy 55 people into an email, making their details visible to all recipients. The defence secretary instigated an investigation into data handling, and one official has been suspended pending an outcome.

Fraudsters stole over £4 million a day from people in the first half of the year, a rise of 31% from the same period in 2020, as criminals increased authorised push-payment (APP) fraud. Through scam calls, texts and emails, as well as fake websites, APP fraud sees criminals con victims into handing over personal data which is then used to trick them into authorising payments to an account belonging to the thieves. The report detected criminals tried taking a further £736 million but improved banking security systems prevented those funds from being moved out of victims’ accounts into the fraudster’s account. UK Finance warned, ‘Fraud is now a national security threat and banking and finance industries are calling for government-coordinated action across all sectors.’

On 10 September Prayer Alert reported that government ministers were rejecting Scientists recommendations of Covid jabs for 12- to 15-year-olds. You prayed for the Government to change its mind and step in so that pupils got what was needed according to God’s plans for them (Jeremiah 29:11). On 14 September the Government announced that a Covid jab rollout will start in schools in England. Although they are deemed at very low risk from the disease, factors such as disruption to education tipped the balance.

Christians in Parliament met two days before the cabinet reshuffle and the theme of their service was ‘hope in waiting’. Their worship was based on Psalm 86. With this in mind we can base our prayers for our new and established cabinet members on that psalm: ‘Father among the gods, there is none like you, Lord; no deeds can compare with yours. You created every nation and have a purpose for each one. You created these islands and raised up leaders through generations. We lift today’s leaders to You and pray that each one will bring glory to Your name. Teach each cabinet member Your way forward, help those who are in new offices to humbly learn and quickly grow into the new role you have prepared for them. Lord, inspire their decisions. May the Christians in Parliament continually have Your insights as they rely on You to do marvellous deeds in the coming months and years.’

Ken McCallum, MI5’s director general, warned that the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban is likely to have ‘emboldened’ so-called lone wolf terrorists in the UK. He said that while the terror threat would not change overnight, there could be a ‘morale boost’ for extremists. ‘We need to be vigilant about an increase in inspired terrorism,’ he said. In the past four years a total of 31 late-stage attack plots have been foiled in the UK, including six during the pandemic period. While they were largely Islamic extremist plots, there were also a growing number of attacks planned by extreme right-wing terrorists. He also said, ‘The terrorist threat to the UK, I am sorry to say, is a real and enduring thing.’ Pray for God’s plans for the future security of the UK to be established, and for His wisdom and discernment to flow through everyone working in MI5, border security, internet security, antiterrorism, and military.

Catholic bishops and organisations voiced their opposition to the arms trade, as the UK hosted one of the world’s largest arms fairs on 14-17 September for global governments and military delegations, with over 1,500 companies selling guns, bombs, and other weaponry. A statement from the bishops and other concerned organisations emphasised how conflicts fed by the trade harm the world’s poorest communities, forcing people to become refugees. In 2015 Pope Francis said, ‘Why are deadly weapons being sold to those who plan to inflict untold suffering on individuals and society? Sadly, the answer is simply for money - money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. In the face of this shameful and culpable silence, it is our duty to confront the problem and to stop the arms trade.’ Pray for all the voices of those peacefully campaigning against the arms trade to be heard so that leaders commit to ending it in pursuit of peace.

The National Day of Prayer for Schools is on 28 September. A few years ago, Scripture Union research found over 95% of UK youth were not connected to a local church. 99% of young people engage in mainstream education. Many believe that if we want to reach the unchurched 95%, we need to learn how to serve our schools and meet these youth where they are. Due to the challenging situation the pandemic created for children, young people, schools, staff and families, church groups across the UK are prayer-walking their communities, praying God’s blessing over their local schools, and seeking God for breakthrough in schools. On 28 September Christians will join an online prayer gathering in the morning, with prayer videos released every hour, before they gather to prayer walk in locations across the UK later. For more information see

There are no official data on absence due to school anxiety. Many affected pupils are labelled truants, but support groups are being flooded with calls. An education lawyer says the pandemic has made an unprecedented crisis even worse. Children with school anxiety may experience physical symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea and headaches before school or have immobilising anxiety, panic attacks or something that seems like a tantrum. They may even threaten to harm themselves if parents make them go to school, yet their parents can be threatened with fines and court action. Fran Morgan helps families with this problem and said it is not about refusal, a child that won't do something: It is about a child that physically can't. Parent groups are warning of a ‘tsunami’ of crippling school-anxiety cases leading to debilitating absence from education. The education department said it was investing £17m in school mental health.