Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

The former Archbishop of York, Lord Sentamu, hit out at 'arrogant' Shell after he was prevented from delivering a Christian climate letter to the headquarters of the oil giant on behalf of Christian charities. When Sentamu, now chair of Christian Aid, knocked on the building entrance in central London, he was refused entry. The letter, addressed to Shell’s chief executive, was signed by Green Christian, Christian Climate Action, Tearfund, A Rocha UK, Christian Aid, Cafod, and Operation Noah. It calls on Shell to stop all new fossil fuel exploration and extraction and asks for a meeting to discuss the issue. Lord Sentamu said, ‘Climate change is the greatest insidious, brutal and indiscriminate force of our time. Those suffering the most have done the least to cause it. Continuing to search for new sources of fossil fuels, despite explicit warnings from the International Energy Agency, is an offence against humanity.’

On 25 April, Labour accused the Tories of turning the green land into an 'open sewer' after they tabled an amendment to Labour’s sewage bill. The environment secretary, Thérèse Coffey, said that people are ‘rightly disgusted’ about the excessive sewage dumped into rivers, and the Government would be making sewage reduction targets legally binding. Pray for our government to agree to a reform of the water industry that is both successful and economically sound. Also, on the same day a hosepipe ban came into force across most of Devon to help replenish water supplies ahead of the summer. An earlier ban, covering Cornwall and a small part of Devon, is still in place. 390,000 homes are affected by the restriction. 

A judge has ruled that a planned strike at NHS workplaces across England must be shortened by a day. It will now end at midnight on 1 May, not 8pm on Tuesday 2 May. The Government had asked the High Court to assess if the last day of the planned action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) fell outside their six-month mandate for strikes. The RCN general secretary said, ‘The full weight of government gave ministers this victory over nursing staff in the darkest day of this dispute. The government is taking its own nurses through the courts because of their simple expectation of a better pay deal. Nurses will be angered but not crushed by today’s order. It could make them more determined to vote in May’s re-ballot for another six months of strikes. Nobody wants strikes until Christmas. Today we should be in the negotiating room, not in the courtroom.’

On 27 April the Government unveiled its long-awaited white paper on gambling. The announcement of what it actually contains has been delayed at least four times since the review of gambling laws was first announced in 2020. Since then, there have been regular reports of individual cases of problem gamblers - but the government's solution has been crafted by three different culture secretaries without seeing the light of day. Current culture secretary Lucy Frazer says the rise of smartphones means ‘now there's a Las Vegas on every phone’ and believes she has a proposal which is suitable for the digital age. She said, ‘When gambling becomes an addiction, it wrecks lives. Gambling has always been measured in terms of money lost, but you cannot put a cost on the loss of dignity, loss of identity, and in some cases, loss of life that it can cause.’ Young gamblers could face a £2 slot machine limit: see

Printing King Charles III ‘s coronation order of service has been delayed because the king wants a ‘diverse’ ceremony, including non-Christian religions, contravening centuries-old canon law that bars Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and other religious leaders from praying during the service. Charles has stated previously his desire to be a ‘Defender of Faiths’ rather than the Faith. Justin Welby is giving the King religious guidance on the significance of his oath, the commitments he will make to his subjects, and the Christian symbolism employed. Both he and the Archbishop of York said that ‘at its centre is a Christian service, rooted in long-standing tradition and Christian symbolism’. After Queen Elizabeth II died, King Charles delivered an exemplary, heartfelt speech, in which he talked of ‘the Church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted,’ giving an apparent nod to his respect for the Anglican Church. How far does his respect for other faiths go?

Intercessors across these isles fasted from 17 to 19 April and prayed to push back spiritual darkness. You may not have joined the three one-hour online prayer meetings, but here are some common themes which you can pray and do now. Pray for God’s Kingdom to come down in your street, neighbourhood, town or city. Pray that the Church may rise up boldly to proclaim the Gospel, loving God and loving people. Pray for the younger generation to be visited by God and His Word as they hear and respond to the Gospel. Pray for Bible-believing churches, movements and organisations to unite against unbiblical ideologies, same-sex marriage, and gender Identity. Pray for those in government and leadership. Pray for the incoming monarch, King Charles III. Pray for key prayer needs that are important to you in your location, sphere or context.

Rishi Sunak is being investigated by Parliament’s standards watchdog over a possible failure to declare an interest and if a declaration he made was ‘open and frank’. His wife Akshata holds shares in Koru Kids childcare agency, which could benefit from a new policy unveiled in the spring Budget. It is a pilot of payments for childminders, with more for those who sign up through agencies. Akshata was listed as a shareholder in Koru Kids as recently as 6 March. On 28 March Mr Sunak did not mention her links to Koru Kids when he was questioned over the childcare policy at a parliamentary hearing. When he was asked whether he had any interest to declare, he replied, ‘No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way’. After the hearing, Mr Sunak sent a letter to the committee saying an updated statement of ministers' interests would be released shortly.

The SNP is reviewing party management after finance controversies. Colin Beattie was reappointed as treasurer in 2021 after previously holding the position for 16 years. Police arrested him on 18 April in an investigation into SNP finances. First minister Humza Yousaf said this arrest was a very serious matter but Mr Beattie was not suspended from the position as people are innocent until proven guilty. The next day Beattie resigned as treasurer, saying he would also step back from his role on the public audit committee until the police investigation had concluded. His arrest had come just hours before Mr Yousaf set out his government's priorities for the next three years. He said that he decided to resign to avoid further distractions to the important work being led by Mr Yousaf to improve the SNP's governance and transparency. Nicola Sturgeon’s husband was arrested two weeks ago but released without charge, pending further inquiries into this investigation.

Tavistock Gender Clinic has significant failings and will be replaced, but former health secretary Sajid Javid is concerned that two staff involved in past failings will have key roles in the replacement service. A senior Tavistock clinician has been given a training job in the new service. Sajid said that appointment processes should be urgently reviewed. The Gender Identity and Development Service is the only NHS gender clinic for children and youths in England and Wales, providing assessments and referrals for puberty blockers or hormones when they are old enough. Currently young people identifying as trans do not have issues such as autism and mental health problems investigated. Sajid Javid said, ‘Individuals who oversaw significant failings at the Tavistock should clearly not be managing the set-up of the new system.’ Current health secretary Steve Barclay said the Government would ensure the new service was run according to the recommendations of the independent review.

Russia-aligned hackers are seeking to disrupt or destroy Britain's critical infrastructure, says cabinet office minister Oliver Dowden. He warned that groups have started to focus on the UK in recent months, and unveiled new measures to support businesses ‘on the front line of our cyber defences’. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will issue an official threat alert to critical businesses. Officials are recommending that organisations, such as those behind the UK's energy and water supplies, act now to protect themselves against the emerging cyber threat. The hacking groups are often sympathetic to Russia's invasion in Ukraine and are ideologically motivated. ‘They are also less predictable because they are not subject to state control. Some want to achieve more disruptive and destructive impacts against western critical national infrastructures, including the UK’, said the NCSC. These groups will look for opportunities to create an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected. See also the Europe article, ‘EU: growing cyber threats’.