UK embassy in Kyiv to reopen
29 Apr 2022
Boris Johnson has said the British embassy in Kyiv will open its doors again, after its closure shortly before Russia's invasion. He also said it was sadly a ‘realistic possibility’ when asked if he agreed with intelligence that the Russian bombardment could continue to the end of next year, ending with Russian victory. He said, ‘Putin has a huge army with a very difficult political position because he has made a catastrophic blunder. His only option, really, is to continue to use his appalling, grinding approach driven by artillery, trying to grind the Ukrainians down. No matter what military superiority he may be able to bring to bear in the next few months, he will not be able to conquer the spirit of the Ukrainian people.’
Labour is calling for an emergency budget to bring forward more measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. Inflation is at a thirty-year high. Sir Keir Starmer demanded further measures, for instance a windfall tax on energy firms. Downing Street said the Queen's Speech, in which future policies are outlined, is coming up, and these issues are ‘utterly central to what the Government is trying to do’. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to address the cost of living in March's Spring Statement. They included fuel duty cuts, raising the threshold for paying National Insurance, and cutting the basic income tax rate before the next general election. Meanwhile grocery prices were 5.9% higher in April than a year ago due to rising raw material costs, whilst shoppers are turning to discount retailers Aldi and Lidl as budget pressures grow. The average household food bill will now be a potential extra £271 per year: see
Catholic school closed over LGBT book talk
28 Apr 2022
Contrary to the Archdiocese of Southwark's recommendation, John Fisher Catholic School governors voted not to cancel a talk by Simon Green, a writer of gay teen fiction. Two governors subsequently resigned, and the archdiocese sacked the rest. National Education Union members started industrial action on 28 April, with 40 people demonstrating outside the school. Their president said taking industrial action was an ‘absolute last resort’. Ofsted said the talk was due to take place on World Book Day and was offered as a ‘planned part of the curriculum’. Simon Hughes, for the archdiocese, had recommended the school leaders cancel the book-signing event. He said, ‘From time to time materials or events emerge for consideration that fall outside the scope of what is permissible in a Catholic school. In such circumstances, we have no alternative but to affirm our unequivocal and well-known theological and moral precepts and to act in accordance with them.’
Deadly outbreak of children’s hepatitis
28 Apr 2022
Officials said a lack of exposure to common infections during young children’s ‘formative’ years, owing to pandemic measures, may be fuelling a global outbreak of hepatitis, the deadly liver disease. A total of 114 cases of ‘acute hepatitis of unknown origin’ have been reported in Britain since the first spate of cases was detected in Scotland less than four weeks ago. Health officials said they had detected as many cases in the past three months as they would normally expect to see in a year; the vast majority of cases involved children aged five and under. Experts have previously raised concerns about the long-term impact of lockdown on children's education and physical and mental health. However, this is the most serious potential health complication to have emerged so far. Liver experts said these cases may be the ‘tip of the iceberg’, as some symptoms could be missed.
Elon Musk and Twitter
28 Apr 2022
Concerns about free speech regulation have resurfaced after Elon Musk bought Twitter. Musk’s vow to ‘defeat spam bots’ and make Twitter’s algorithm public is welcomed by many, including Matt Batten, director of communication at Llandaff Church in Wales. He is pleased that there will be an edit button and that spam bots will be removed, and sees algorithms being made public as bringing greater transparency. However, his scepticism increases when it comes to free speech. He told Premier, ‘It all sounds fantastic, and we champion democracy, but whose freedom of speech?’ Political activists also expect Musk's ownership of Twitter will mean less moderation and the reinstatement of banned individuals, including Donald Trump. There are questions on what the deal will mean for Twitter's China content policy, as Musk's Tesla relies heavily on China for production and vehicle sales. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to hate or insult others.
MP watching porn in Parliament
28 Apr 2022
The Conservative Party is looking into reports that a male Tory frontbencher watched pornography on his phone in the House of Commons debating chamber. Christian charity CARE said the ‘harms’ of pornography are ‘truly distressing’ and the political class must take account of porn's harms. A 2018 report found over 24,000 attempts to access pornographic websites from parliamentary computers. CARE said that members of parliament watching pornography openly in and around the House of Commons, in front of colleagues, shows a cavalier attitude that ignores the feelings of others and displays a disturbing lack of empathy for victims. The porn industry publishes videos of underage and non-consensual sex, rape, violence, and other vile behaviours. Children are damaged through encountering porn online. This MP appears not to care. The harms of the porn industry, and pornography consumption, are truly distressing. Our political class must recognise and take account of them.
Discarded cigarette causes nature reserve blaze
28 Apr 2022
The fire that broke out at Lions Hill in Dorset on 26 April has devastated an area of nature reserve. The 42-hectare heath is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a wetlands area considered to be of international importance. Fire crews said the blaze was sparked by a discarded cigarette. Later that day the Fire Service tweeted, ‘Sadly, our crews have attended another heath fire this evening. This fire was also started by a discarded cigarette: please dispose of these responsibly.’ Dorset firefighters have dealt with a spate of heath fires, including one started deliberately at Canford Heath. The service said, ‘These avoidable fires tie up so many of our resources which could impact a response to other emergencies.’
Hungary puts own interests first
28 Apr 2022
As countries around the world take sides in Russia's war against Ukraine, Hungary is the only country in the region refusing to help Ukraine fight Russia. That means no military aid or weapons shipments across its borders despite personal pleas from President Zelenskyy. Hungary said, ‘This is not our war, so we want to and will stay out of it.’ Viktor Orban, Hungary’s president, is widely seen as Putin's European ally. He has sought neutrality in the war despite Hungary’s membership of NATO and the EU. He is threading a middle road between friendliness with Russia and belonging to these organisations because Russia supplies 90% of Hungary's raw energy needs. So he has blocked the EU from imposing sanctions on Russian energy imports - Europe's weapon to put pressure on Putin. ‘Cheap Russian oil is more important for Hungarian politicians than Ukrainian blood’, said the Czech Republic's defence minister.