Farmers alarmed by Australia trade talks
20 May 2021
UK farmers have sounded the alarm over reports the Government plans a trade deal with Australia which might make its food and farming imports cheaper. The move would be part of a free trade pact with Australia that the Government hopes will be a springboard for similar deals with other countries. But UK farming unions have warned of ‘irreversible damage’ from a bad deal. There is speculation the Cabinet is split over the move. As with many countries, farming imports from Australia face tariffs - making lamb and beef more expensive. UK care of livestock has far higher standards, and avoids hormonal additions. In a post-Brexit world, the Government has now indicated that farmers may have to prepare for the lowering of tariffs on agricultural imports. The NFU warned that its members will struggle to compete if zero-tariff trade on lamb and beef goes ahead.
Northern Ireland: Brexit challenges
20 May 2021
Brexit minister Lord Frost has said that if Brussels continues to insist on checks on goods arriving from UK’s mainland the Government could trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol (which gives power to suspend the protocol if its application creates economic, societal or environmental difficulties that persist, or divert trade). No 10 fears that unless it takes such action, Unionist violence could flare during July’s marching season in protest at a virtual barrier down the Irish Sea. Urging Brussels to 'stop the point-scoring and work with us', Lord Frost said the UK's 'European friends' do not appear to share our desire for 'free trade and friendly relations. From the unfortunate attempt to put a hard border on the island of Ireland for vaccine exports to threatening to cut off Jersey’s electricity or retaliating against our financial services, we haven't heard much enthusiasm to make things work.'
Education catch-up
20 May 2021
Connect, Scotland’s largest independent parents’ group, is challenging assessments which replaced Covid-hit exams. Schools are taking ‘different approaches’ across Scotland and they are alarmed that tests and answers are being widely shared on TikTok. The Scottish Qualifications Authority said results will be based on ‘demonstrated attainment’ on a combination of course work and teacher judgement. Instead it mimics the very worst elements of the system it replaces. Wales cancelled GCSE and many schools scheduled assessments to collect evidence for grades while pupils are having to self-isolate. Head teachers and pupils speak of the system’s pressures when grades are decided by schools. Across the UK £13.5bn is needed to reverse the damage to pupils' education caused by the pandemic as they have lost almost two months of learning in reading, and three months in maths. Many are calling for the school day to be extended and increased funding for poor pupils to help recovery.
Football and religious affiliation
20 May 2021
Many more arrests will follow after Rangers supporters shouted anti-Catholic slogans and songs and damaged property in Glasgow. Violent clashes led to five police officers being injured and thirty rioters arrested. Thousands of fans defied Covid-19 warnings against large gatherings and massed in George Square to celebrate Rangers winning their first Scottish Premiership championship since 2011. Images later showed George Square strewn with hundreds of broken bottles, plastic bags, and spent flares after flag-draped fans attacked each other and threw dangerous missiles at lines of riot gear-clad police officers. Nicola Sturgeon described the scenes as disgraceful: she was ‘angry on behalf of every law-abiding citizen. In normal times, violence, vandalism, and the vile anti-Catholic prejudice on display would be utterly unacceptable. But mid-pandemic, in a city with cases on the rise, it is also selfish beyond belief.’
UK cannabis factories
20 May 2021
In Leicestershire two men were arrested when police uncovered a £2.2m cannabis farm in a former bingo hall on 18 May. They were growing 2,188 plants which generated ‘essential’ income for organised crime gangs and ‘misery for many’. Cannabis is not a harmless drug in any way, shape or form. Often extremely vulnerable people are recruited to look after the plants, living in appalling conditions and full of fear. ‘Because of this, we invest significant resources in disrupting this activity and identifying those responsible.’ In Wales another cannabis factory was discovered inside a Swansea home on 14 May. A huge amount of damage to residential homes is caused by such factories. Communities suffer power cuts when the criminals break into the local underground electricity cables to obtain free power for their industry: see
Pro-Palestinian protests turn anti-Semitic
20 May 2021
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations across Europe have descended into orgies of anti-Semitism by anarchists, hard-left anti-Israel activists, and immigrants from Muslim countries, chanting 'Allahu Akbar'. All are opposed to Israeli action in Gaza and call for the destruction of Israel and death to Jews. This anti-Semitism is a testament to the failure of European multiculturalism which is making Jewish life in Europe increasingly unviable. On 13 May 3,500+ protesters marched across Berlin with anti-Semitic banners calling for total elimination of Israel and many similar sentiments while chanting ‘Bomb Tel Aviv!’ 1,000 police broke up the demonstrations. 93 officers were injured. Bild newspaper stated, ‘Open, disgusting hatred of Jews and Israel is also hatred of our free, tolerant democracy’. 200 highly aggressive people brandishing Palestinian and Turkish flags and shouting anti-Semitic slurs were removed from outside a synagogue in Gelsenkirchen.
Spain: migrants swim from Morocco
20 May 2021
Thousands of migrants have swum into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after border controls were relaxed in Morocco. In 24 hours, 6,000 people had paddled in inflatable boats, swum with rubber rings, or walked through the shallows at low tide. 1,500 were thought to be teenagers. Spanish troops were deployed to Ceuta to patrol the border. Moroccan migrants have crossed land and sea borders to Spain by the hundreds for weeks. Adults were transferred to a football stadium and returned to Morocco, minors went to an industrial building. Spanish / Moroccan tensions are high after the leader of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, was admitted to a Spanish hospital without informing Morocco. The Polisario Front fights for the independence of Western Sahara and contests all Morocco's claims. Many believe lax Moroccan border control, facilitating easy access to Spain, was in retaliation for Spain treating Brahim Ghali.
Nigeria: don’t forget Leah Sharibu
20 May 2021
Leah Sharibu was 14 when she was abducted in 2018 by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). She defied the terrorist group, a splinter group of Boko Haram, when they abducted 110 girls from school. ISWAP released 104 of them a month later; five died, and Leah was the only one not freed because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. President Buhari pledged to secure her freedom during his visit to the USA. In London, he told the Archbishop of Canterbury he is working quietly to free her. In January 2020 there were reports that Leah had had a baby. In March 2021, rumours surfaced that she had given birth to her second child. Her parents said that the government had not helped them secure Leah’s release; they rest their hope in God, not government. Her mother Rebecca said, ‘By the grace of God. I have not lost hope because God is in control and people are praying.’