UK
As under-investigation water company makes eye-watering dividend payout, Tory MPs vote down sewage sickness compensation schem

'It’s shameful' that the 'Conservative government have once again put water companies’ profits before people’s health.'

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead 

10 December, 2023 

Left Foot Forward

Conservative MPs have been slammed for voting against a compensation scheme that would be awarded to swimmers who become ill from sewage in UK waters.

The amendment to the Victims and Prisoners Bill was tabled by Liberal Democrat MP, Tim Farron. It would have allowed anyone who gets sick as a result of illegal sewage dumping to claim compensation from water companies. But the amendment was voted down in the Commons on December 4.

The latest Surfers Against Sewage’s (SAS) annual report shows that during the last year, there has been 1,924 cases of illness due to suspected sewage pollution, marking an almost threefold increase on the year before. The Water Quality Report also found there were 301,091 sewage discharges in England during the 2023 bathing season.

In August, 57 swimmers fell sick after competing at the World Triathlon Championship series in Sunderland. The stretch of coastline off Sunderland has been the focus of a long-running battle between campaigners and the government over sewage discharges and regulatory failures. Australian triathlete Jacob Birtwhistle said he had felt unwell after the event. “Have been feeling pretty rubbish since the race, but I guess that’s what happens when you swim in shit. The swim should have been cancelled,” he posted on Instagram.

Northumbrian Water insisted it was not to blame for the sicknesses and that it had not recorded any discharges that might have affected the water quality at the coastal spot since October 2021.

In response to the turning down of the proposed sickness compensation this week, Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, said:

“It’s shameful that Bim Afolami, Gagan Mohindra and their Conservative government have once again put water companies’ profits before people’s health.

“It is a complete slap in the face to all those in Harpenden, Berkhamsted and our surrounding villages who expect their MP to stand up and fight for them, instead of for massive companies who have dumped filthy sewage into our rivers and lakes.”

Sarah Dyke, Lib Dem MP for Somerton and Frome, also criticised the government for voting against the amendment, and called for urgent government action.

“Our waterways can recover, but they need action now, before it is too late. We need a tax on sewage water companies, not huge holiday bonuses. We need a tough, toothed tiger shark of a regulator. We need our environment to have long-term protection from a serious and committed government.

“This government urgently needs to listen to the people speaking up for our silent water,” said Dyke.

Labour is calling on the government to give water regulators the power to ban the bonuses of the chief executives of water companies, if their organisations are polluting UK waterways. The calls were made in a motion tabled to the House of Commons this week.

The senior executives of five of the 11 water companies which manage sewage took bonuses in 2023. Those at the other six turned them down, following public outrage. South East Water, has reportedly paid out dividends of £2.25m over six months while overseeing increased losses of £18.1m before tax and being in a mountain of debt. The company is already under investigation by the water regulator OFWAT, after thousands of the company’s customers were left without running water this summer.

Following the news of South East Water payout, GMB, the water union, criticised the ‘payout’ culture of the UK’s water sector. Gary Carter, GMB National Officer, said:

“People are utterly sick of hearing about failing water companies stumping up fortunes in dividends.

“OFWAT and the government must put an end to the water sector’s out of control payout culture.

“This money needs to be spent investing in infrastructure to reduce sewage spills and clean up the country’s rivers, before shareholders get their piece of the pie.

“For too long money has been flowing out and debts have been piling up. It must stop.”

Labour accused the government of allowing the water firms to openly pollute Britain’s lakes, rivers and seas with sewage.

“This Conservative government has wilfully turned a blind eye to negligence at the heart of the water industry.

“The result is stinking, toxic sewage destroying our countryside, and consumers facing higher bills while water bosses pocket millions in bonuses,” said shadow environment secretary Steve Reed.

Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward

UK

Unions and celebrities launch campaign for a new, more caring refugee scheme

Only one in four Tory voters think the government’s approach to the asylum system is working well

Hannah Davenport 11 December, 2023 

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

Influential figures including Gary Lineker and actor Brian Cox, along with trade unions, are calling on MPs to scrap the Rwanda deportation scheme, slamming the government’s ‘badly managed, uncaring and costly’ current refugee policies.

The Fair Begins Here campaign was launched today with an open letter to politicians, demanding their commitment to a fair new plan for refugees. This includes ditching the latest revised Rwanda Bill which MPs are set to vote on Tuesday.

Backing the campaign are BMA, UNISON, PCS and National Association of Head Teachers union, along with actress Sophie Okonedo, rapper Big Zuu, General Lord Richard Dannatt as well as prominent faith leaders and human rights campaigner.

The campaign coalition Together for Refugees also released an exclusive poll which revealed that 80% of the British public want a fair, compassionate and better managed approach to the asylum system, with only one in four Conservative voters thinking the government’s current plan is working well.

With a backlog of more than 109,000 asylum cases, over 55,000 people still living in temporary hotel rooms and charities warning of soaring numbers of refugees being made homeless this winter, the current system is clearly failing.

Succession actor Brian Cox who signed the letter said the UK’s asylum system was “in a shambles” and that a “total rethink” of the system was needed.

“Not least with the government’s continued attempts to push through the awful scheme to send people to Rwanda.” Cox said. “We need a total rethink. Political leaders must create a system that is not just properly managed but is fair and has compassion at its heart.”

Former footballer and TV presenter Gary Lineker has previously used his platform to speak out against the government’s hostile environment to asylum seekers.

Speaking on the Fair Begins Here campaign, Lineker said: “Refugees have escaped unthinkable horrors in their home countries. We need a new system that reflects the will of the British people who have opened their homes, donated and volunteered in their local communities.”

Campaign demands include, ensuring protection for people fleeing war and persecution by upholding international law and scrapping the Rwanda scheme. Providing a proper strategy for welcoming and integrating refugees through the application process, for example by allowing them to work and learn English. Forging stronger global cooperation in order to tackle the root causes forcing people to seek asylum, and providing safe routes of travel.

The letter reads: “Britain’s refugee system has become ever-more uncaring, chaotic and costly.

“These policies aren’t working for refugees and they aren’t working for local communities. That’s why we have come together to say we’ve had enough. Enough of the division. Enough of the short-term thinking. Enough of the wasted human potential. And it’s why we now call for something better.”

“Given the chance, we know communities across our country go the extra mile to welcome refugees – opening their homes, volunteering, speaking up, donating. And, given the chance, refugees do so much to enrich our society as they build new lives.”

Image credit: Flickr

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

Even a right-wing think tank fears Britain is slipping back to Victorian levels of inequality under the Tories

'The most disadvantaged in Britain are no better off than 15 years ago'

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Basit Mahmood 

11 December, 2023

LEFT FOOT FORWARD


Poverty and inequality have worsened so much under the Tories, that even a right-wing think tank fears that Britain is slipping back to the social divides of the Victorian era, ‘marked by a widening gulf between mainstream society and a depressed and poverty-stricken underclass’.

A scathing report by The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which counts among its co-founders former Tory Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, argues that the most disadvantaged in Britain are no better off than 15 years ago and that the ‘gap between the so-called “haves” and “have nots” has blown wide open’.

The CSJ’s report comes after a recent report from the Resolution Foundation which found that fifteen years of economic stagnation have left the typical UK household £8,300 poorer than peers in countries like France and Germany.

The report from the CSJ, called the ‘Two Nations: The State of Poverty in the UK’, also highlighted the impact of Covid lockdowns, particularly on the mental health of children, with one in five children assessed as having a clinically recognisable mental health problem, up from one in nine, 20 years ago.

The CSJ states: “If trends continue, the report argues that by 2030 over one in four 5 – 15-year-olds – which may be as many as 2.3 million children – could have a mental disorder. There are likely to be 108 per cent more boys with mental health disorders by 2030 than there would have been if the lockdown had not happened. We should worry about the problems of the next generation.”

Lord King, the former Governor of the Bank of England, who is among the Commissioners of the report, said that support for families was vital. He said: “Money is not the only solution to the problem of deprivation. One glimmer of light is the institution of the family – rather than government – as a place of nurture, support, and fulfilment. No family is perfect, and families come in all different shapes and sizes. But if we are able to do more to support the family, then we can prevent the creation of an “unhappy generation”.”

Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice, said: “This report makes for deeply uncomfortable reading. Lockdown policy poured petrol on the fire that had already been there in the most disadvantaged people’s lives, and so far no one has offered a plan to match the scale of the issues.

“What this report shows is that we need far more than discussions on finance redistribution, but a strategy to go after the root causes of poverty – education, work, debt, addiction and family.”

EXCLUSIVE: Majority of voters say Brexit has been unsuccessful, poll finds

The findings come at a time when demand to reverse Brexit has hit its highest ever level.

Basit Mahmood 

Today
Left Foot Forward

A majority of voters believe that Brexit has been unsuccessful, an exclusive poll for LFF has found.

Asked to what extent they would you say that Brexit has been successful, or unsuccessful, 54% of voters said that they thought Brexit had been unsuccessful. Only 34% of voters say that Brexit has been a success.

The poll, carried out by Savanta, also found that those aged between 55-64 were most likely to say that Brexit had been a failure, with 59% of those asked saying that Brexit had been unsuccessful. The figure drops to 55% among 18-24 year olds.

When it comes to party affiliation, while 38% of Conservative Party voters believe Brexit has been unsuccessful, the figure rises to 69% of Labour Party voters and 73% of Lib Dem voters. 67% of Green Party voters also think Brexit has been unsuccessful.

Last month, polling from YouGov showed that just 12% of the country think that the UK’s split with the European Union has gone well. To make matters worse for Brexiteers, just 2% of those asked said that they think Brexit has gone ‘very well’.

The findings come at a time when demand to reverse Brexit has hit its highest ever level. A poll from WeThink, affiliated with Omnisis, shows that 63% of those surveyed believe that the UK should now reverse the referendum result, and return to its previous trading relationship with the bloc. Just 37% of voters want to stay out of the EU.

Shocking chart shows how much of a failure the Tories have been for the NHS

A failure to increase spending and investment as a share of GDP has resulted in multiple crises affecting the NHS

Basit Mahmood 

11 December, 2023

Left Foot Forward

Years of underinvestment as well as Tory austerity have left the National Health Service (NHS) on its knees, despite Tory claims that it is protecting NHS spending.

A failure to increase spending and investment as a share of GDP has resulted in multiple crises affecting the NHS, including record high waiting lists, high staff vacancy rates and outdated buildings and equipment.

The shocking chart from the FT below shows how much of a failure this Tory government has been when it comes to waiting lists, with a sharp rise in waiting lists under Tory administrations.

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(Picture credit: FT)

Official figures show that the NHS waiting list in England has hit a record high of nearly 7.8 million. The backlog hit 7.75 million, which includes people waiting for multiple tests or procedures, up from 7.68 million in July. It is the highest number since records began in August 2007.

The facts speak for themselves. While under the last Labour government, waiting lists went down significantly, it’s under Tory administrations that they have hit record highs.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

UK

WILDCAT! GENERAL STRIKE

Trade unions declare war on Tory anti-strikes law at special congress

Hannah Davenport 

11 December, 2023 

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

"Real solidarity to push this back may take us outside the law”

Hundreds of trade unionists met for a ‘once in a generation’ meeting held by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) where they committed to a coordinated campaign to directly resist the government’s anti-strikes law.

It marked the first special congress called by the TUC in over 40 years, with the last in 1982 over Margaret Thatcher’s anti-union legislation.

Now the UK is left with some of the harshest trade union laws in Europe, with the Tory’s new Minimum Service Levels Act making it even more restrictive as striking workers can be forced to attend work or face the sack for not meeting minimum service levels.

Among the commitments made at the meeting on Saturday, unions agreed they will collectively refuse to tell their members to cross the picket lines, defying the demands of the legislation which has now passed through Parliament.

Sharon Graham, leader of the UK’s largest union Unite, said the Bill puts this government “at war with workers”, as she laid out how unions may have to act outside of the law to defy the legislation.

“One of us in this room will be first, they will be tested, we must act together,” stressed Graham. “We have to face facts, real solidarity to push this back may take us outside the law.”

“We must not allow them to force workers across their own picket lines, to break their own strikes, to defeat their own resolve.”

The meeting marked a significant start of a coordinated movement between trade unions to support each other and act in direct defiance to the new bill.

Union leaders including the Fire Brigade Union’s, Matt Wrack, and RMT’s Mick Lynch said workers could no longer rely on politicians. “Workers must defend themselves” said Wrack, as Lynch emphasised the only way to win was through solidarity.

One in five workers in Britain are at risk of losing their right to strike, while the TUC warned the government could use the bill as a ‘Trojan horse’ to push through further anti-union measures.

Sectors affected include health services; fire and rescue services; education services; transport services; decommissioning of nuclear installations and management of radioactive waste and spent fuel; and border security.

Even the government has admitted that the new law will worsen industrial disputes, with a government impact assessment into minimum service levels in the rail industry finding it would threaten safety and lead to more disputes.

This was backed up by a group of mayors and council leaders including Andy Burnham and Sadiq Khan, who joined together to blast the bill as they vowed to “explore every possible option” to avoid issuing work notices. The group of leaders said they would work with trade unions and employers to stop the legislation being used in their areas.

The special congress committed all unions to work together to adopt different tactical approaches of non-cooperation and non-compliance and support any worker who is subject to a work notice.

Trade unions wanted to send a clear message to politicians from all parties, that they will not stop fighting until the legislation is repealed.

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

The government has stolen the right to strike from millions of workers

Prem Sikka 

8 December, 2023 

The conscription of workers is an abuse of state power and the government is openly pursuing anti-worker policies.

In dystopian Britain, millions of workers have lost the right to strike. The right was acquired to counter employers exploiting workers. This helped to improve workers’ pay, working and living conditions and accelerate economic growth. Ever since the late 1970s, workers’ rights have been under attack and former Prime Minister Tony Blair once boasted that the UK has the “most restrictive laws on trade unions in the Western world”.
The draconian Tory law

The draconian Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 marks a new phase. Despite lawful strike ballots millions of workers will be conscripted to work during a strike. This week, despite considerable opposition, the Tory government has enacted legislation specifying minimum service levels (MSLs) that striking workers must provide. The MSL for railways is 40% of the usual train timetable. For ambulance workers, it is around 80% of the staffing level. For border security services at airports, ports and elsewhere 75% of the staff must work during a strike. These requirements do not apply to UK nations with relevant devolved powers. Further MSLs will be issued for other sectors.

The MSLs are accompanied by a Code of Practice, specifying the “reasonable steps” (whatever that means) that trade union must take in ordering their members to cross picket lines and break strikes. The workers refusing to obey will be sacked without any redress and trade unions can be sued for damages by employers.

Millions of workers will not be able to take strike action. For example, in the case of trains, 40% of MSLs can’t be provided without signalling, ticketing, platform, cleaning, security and other staff. They have effectively lost their right to strike.

The mechanics of the law are that a Minister decides the MSLs needed during a strike and ask employers to comply. Employer must select the workers needed to comply with the order and send their names to the trade unions that organised the strike. The union must implement the work order.

To call a strike, a union must give a 14 day notice to the employer. However, the employer is only required to give trade unions 7 day notice to ensure that selected employees work, and has another four days to vary that list. This effectively leaves trade unions with just three calendar days to comply with the non-negotiable order.

From the mass of employee names supplied, a union must determine whether they are its members. It must then send emails (if it knows addresses) and/or first-class letters (will Royal Mail deliver in time?) to inform the members so listed. This could run into thousands. For example, recently 20,000 members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) took strike action. The striking members selected by the employer must receive communication from the union before the strike action i.e. within three days (see above). The union must “encourage them to comply with the work notice”. Such letters no doubt would be carefully crafted by lawyers, at considerable expense to trade unions.

The selected union member “must carry out the work during the strike or could be subject to disciplinary proceedings which could include dismissal”. There is no automatic right of appeal for unfair dismissal or compensation.

Without any consultation the Act has changed the law on picketing. Trade unions may have to appoint “picketing supervisors”. As hundreds of railway stations could be picketed, this would mean appointing hundreds of picketing supervisors or other officials. Paragraph 33 of the Code of Practice says ”the picket supervisor (if present) or another union official or member to use reasonable endeavours to ensure that picketers avoid, so far as reasonably practicable, trying to persuade members who are identified on the work notice not to cross the picket line at times when they are required by the work notice to work.”

This is followed by paragraph 34 stating that: “Unions are not required to notify the picket supervisor of the names of union members identified in the work notice”.

The person selected by the work notice may wave the letter from the union to cross the picket line. The onus is on the union to find a solution.

Unions must not offer any inducements to members selected to work during a strike. If employers decide that trade unions have not taken “reasonable steps”, which is not fully defined, they can sue the union for damages. Inevitably, prolonged litigation will follow.
Anti-worker policies

The conscription of workers is an abuse of state power and the government is openly pursuing anti-worker policies. It should be noted that there are no minimum service levels that water, gas, electricity, rail, banks, insurance and other companies, or government departments must provide to the people. The legislation empowers ministers to impose MSLs on trade unions and striking workers only.

International law, signed by the UK in 1948, requires dialogue between trade unions and employers to set the level of the minimum service. The UK Act, however, excludes dialogue between those parties in setting the level. The Minister alone sets MSLs. Historically, UK trade unions have voluntarily agreed minimum service levels (MSLs) with employers in key sectors, e.g. essential maintenance, but the government has chosen not to build upon that.

Unlike France, Italy, Spain and other European democracies the right of British workers to take strike action is not protected by constitutional or other means. In those countries, workers can’t be sacked for taking strike action. British workers denied the right to take industrial action will struggle to bring intransigent employers to the negotiating table, and their living standards will plummet which will then have knock-on effect on economic activity.

The legislation is underpinned by a threat of dismissal of workers and lawsuits against trade unions. But how will the government or employers find a readymade supply of train drivers, ambulance drivers, nurses and doctors?

Employers can even flout the law. Last year, P&O Ferries illegally sacked 800 workers. The then Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “P&O plainly aren’t going to get away with it”. The government did not enforce the law.

The legislation does not specify any “reasonable steps” that employers must take to resolve industrial disputes. A macho employer could select more workers than is “reasonably necessary” for the purpose of providing minimum service levels, and humiliate unions to create conditions for lawsuits. The work notice may contain inaccurate information but unions cannot challenge employer’s specification of “reasonably necessary” number of workers needed. Trade unions with limited resources will not be in a position to challenge the might of global corporations, and those doing so face the likelihood of high legal costs and eventual bankruptcy which is perhaps the main aim of the Tory law.

No doubt, aggrieved workers will suspend co-operation with employers and refuse to work overtime or on rest days or out-of-hours, or take sick leave. This will sour industrial relations.

There is also a dilemma for employers. Suppose following Ministerial edicts they choose not to issue work notices. If so, they could leave themselves open to lawsuits by service users for failure to provide minimum service levels.

The leadership of the Labour Party has pledged to repeal the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 as it is unworkable and infringes basic human rights.

Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward.

Image credit: Garry Knight – Creative Commons

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How workers’ rights are being swept away by the Strike (Minimum Service Levels) Bill
Anti-strikes bill: Right to strike for millions of workers at risk says TUC

LABOUR ARE RED TORIES
How Starmer seized the moral advantage

While the Tories squabble over the Rwanda plan, the Labour leader declares that he will lead a “decade of national renewal”.

By Freddie Hayward
NEW STATESMAN

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

The backdrop to Keir Starmer’s speech today (12 December) could not have been more illustrative. While the Labour leader spoke in Buckinghamshire castigating the Conservative Party for allowing internal skirmishes to override their responsibilities as a government, Tory MPs ferreted around Westminster, deciding whether to put Rishi Sunak’s leadership at risk by voting down his Rwanda bill in the Commons this evening.

While the Tory party splinters into four or five factions, Starmer’s decision to deliver a speech away from Westminster was a smart way of showing that Labour will govern in the national interest. Whereas the Tories cannot even manage their own party. They are making it easy for Starmer. “While they’re swanning around, self-importantly, with their factions and their star chambers, fighting like rats in a sack, there’s a country out here that isn’t being governed,” he said.

The Labour leader ran through the government’s failures, describing the Rwanda plan – which would send asylum seekers to the central African country – as the pinnacle of its incompetence. It is not only a “gimmick”, he said, but a waste of money that could instead be spent bolstering the border force. Wasteful government is a core Labour attack line but here Starmer made a broader point. “After the sex scandals, the expenses scandals, the waste scandals, the contracts for friends, even in a crisis like the pandemic, people now think politics is about naked self-enrichment.”


Beyond the attacks on the government, this was a statement of values meant to draw a contrast between the two main parties – one at ease breaking international law, and the other led by a former director of prosecutions who put “expense-cheat politicians in jail”. As prime minister, Starmer claimed, he would abide by the law and restore probity to public life – a bar set so low by the government’s own standards.

That partly explains why there are so few areas that Labour is not willing to go up against the Conservatives. If you thought Keir Starmer’s opposition to high immigration was a one-off sop to the right, then his speech today suggested the opposite. It showed that lower immigration will be central to Labour’s programme. Whether it delivers on that is another matter, but Starmer’s opposition to wage-reducing, condition-suppressing, business-driven immigration is becoming more trenchant.

That tonal shift began with his speech to the Confederation of Business Industry last year when he condemned Britain’s “immigration dependency”. Today, he made explicit the connection between high immigration and the Tories “driving down the terms and conditions of the British people”. And yes, Starmer confirmed, Brexit was a vote for “lower immigration”. But he thinks it was also a vote for higher wages, better public services and the restoration of communities.

The problems that pockmark the public realm demand, Starmer said, a “decade of national renewal”. The alacrity with which Starmer can survey the fractures in the public services has always been the reason that he, and not the leader of the party in power for 13 years, is the more plausible “change” candidate. The government’s actions today, and for a long time, have furnished Starmer’s speech writers with copious material.

Starmer’s speech was not a policy programme, but a statement of values. And with the Conservative Party’s civil war as his background, it was one of his most comprehensive yet.

Asylum seeker dies on UK barge housing migrants and refugees

British Interior Minister James Cleverly says the death will be investigated.

The Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland, near Poole, UK, on August 7

 [File: Toby Melville/Reuters]

Published On 12 Dec 2023

An asylum seeker has died on board a UK barge used to house people while their asylum claims are adjudicated.

British Interior Minister James Cleverly told parliament on Tuesday that an asylum seeker died on the Bibby Stockholm barge moored in Portland, Dorset.

“Tragically, there has been death on the Bibby Stockholm barge,” Cleverly said. “At this stage, I’m uncomfortable getting into any more details, but we will, of course, investigate fully.”

The barge has been controversial since it was first put into use, along with old military barracks, to hold asylum seekers. Earlier this year, the barge, which can house about 500 people, had to be temporarily evacuated after the discovery of legionella bacteria in its water supply, which can cause serious illness.


Government officials have said that the barge is not a detention facility and that those held there are able to take short trips to a nearby town.

The Guardian newspaper recently reported that, in practice, doing so is difficult. The outlet quoted a man held on the barge who described poor conditions, abusive behaviour from authorities, and “exactly the feeling of being in a prison”.

“We are treated in such a way that we despair and wish for death” the man is quoted as saying.


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Authorities have released few details about the death on the barge. A Dorset Police spokesperson said that the agency received “a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm”.
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The Refugee Council called for an independent review.

“This is an appalling loss of life but tragically not surprising,” said Enver Solomon, the group’s chief executive. “Nobody who comes to our country seeking asylum should be left without the support they need yet the system has more hostility than compassion built into it.”
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

See ‘unusual’ and ‘unique’ treasures found in woman’s 1,300-year-old grave in England

MOIRA RITTER
December 12, 2023

More than 1,300 years ago, a young woman was buried in England — along with various medieval treasures. Now, a year after discovering the ancient grave, experts have unearthed another “unique” artifact from the site.

Archaeologists discovered an “extremely delicate, large silver and gold cross backed with wood,” according to a Dec. 12 news release from the Museum of London Archaeology. The cross was described as an “unusual item,” and it was found in a grave dating between 630 and 670 A.D.

The cross was first identified with an X-ray image, experts said. Then, archaeologists conducted micro-excavations by removing “whole blocks of soil” from the site before examining them in a controlled lab.

Experts “micro-excavated” a square of soil to discover the cross, officials said.

Lab excavations revealed the artifact, which is a central cross “decorated with a smaller gold cross,” according to officials. It has five garnets, one large and four smaller, and at the end of each arm is a small circular silver cross with garnet and gold at the center.

Experts said the cross resembles other crosses found in “high status female burials” from around the same time, indicating that the woman in the grave could have “held a very special position within the Christian community.”

The cross has one large garnet and four smaller garnets, experts said.

The cross is attached to wood, which is heavily corroded, archaeologists said. The team is hopeful that it can identify the type of wood.

When the grave — which experts described as “one of the most significant early-medieval female burials ever uncovered in Britain” — was first discovered in April 2022, archaeologists unearthed approximately 30 pendants and beads that once were part of a necklace.

Updated photos show the “exquisite” gold and gemstone necklace after it was cleaned.


A sid-by-side comparison shows the necklace after cleaning.

“Seeing the central gold and garnet clasp cleaned up is breath-taking,” Simon Mortimer, an archaeology consultant, said in the museum’s news release. “The key is now to reassemble all of the evidence that was buried on that day with this lady – to understand the full significance of who she was, where she was from and how she came to be here and why. Those answers will rewrite our understanding of early Medieval Northamptonshire.”

The necklace is approximately 1,300 years old, according to experts.

Archaeologists said they are working to determine if coins from the necklace were Roman coins or imitations.

Archaeologists are now working to determine whether the coins on the necklace were original Roman coins or if they were imitations made as part of the necklace, they said.

The original excavation also revealed several teeth fragments, but officials said further investigations at the site have uncovered more bones, which will give more insight into the deceased.

Since last year, osteologists have discovered “the upper part of a femur, part of the pelvic bone, some vertebrae and part of a hand and wrist,” the museum said. The bones were preserved because they were covered by a “crushed copper dish placed within the grave.”

Early analysis of the skeletal remains indicate that the deceased was likely a young woman, but further tests will be conducted to determine more details, according to experts.

Harpole is in Northamptonshire, which is approximately 70 mile northwest of London.

En.wikipedia.org

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteology

Osteology - Wikipedia 

A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone ...

Sciencedirect.com

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/osteology

Osteology - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics 

Human osteology is the science that deals with human skeleton recovery and interpretation. Osteological work is often aimed at the identification of the ...

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Lawmakers: Coast Guard academy sex assaults threaten national security

By Zamone Perez
Dec 12, 2023 

One witness, Caitlin Maro, dropped out of the Coast Guard Academy in 2005 after multiple instances of sexual assault. 

USCG photo by SANTOS, DAVID M. PA1


Reports of a Coast Guard sexual assault cover up that came to light in June threatens national security, lawmakers and whistleblowers said during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee inquiry into the issue on Tuesday.

The whistleblowers — both current and former members of the Coast Guard — testified before lawmakers about the alleged four-year-old cover up of a report known within the service as “Operation Fouled Anchor.” The report detailed years of sexual assault and inaction at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy from the late 1980s to 2006, alleging instances of sexual misconduct by at least 43 academy staff.

The issues first came to light earlier this summer when reports by CNN and other outlets chronicled dozens of sexual assault reports filed by academy cadets which leadership is accused of either ignoring or covering up.

The panel of former and current servicewomen — who served across numerous decades — told lawmakers Tuesday about their experiences dealing with sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy and after leaving the institution.

One witness, Caitlin Maro, testified that she dropped out of the academy in 2005 after multiple instances of sexual assault. Her assailant, she said, had groped her on numerous instances, at times in front of dozens of witnesses.


Here’s why the command master chief of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy was fired
Coast Guard Investigative Service agents discovered that U.S. Coast Guard Academy Command Master Chief Brett VerHulst had a history of inappropriate physical contact with female cadets, enlisted personnel and officers.   By Geoff Ziezulewicz

Another Coastie, retired Lt. Melissa McCafferty, had taken a trip to New York City with an older cadet. After making clear they’d have two hotel rooms, McCafferty went with the cadet, but there was only one room. Over three days, McCafferty said the older cadet repeatedly raped her. She did not report the instance out of fear of retaliation, eventually attempting to end her life in 2017.

“It is an abject failure of integrity that senior leaders have concealed, condoned and otherwise enabled this behavior to thrive,” McCafferty told lawmakers. “It is an abject failure of leadership that they have refused to address the systemic nature of this abuse.”

Failing to address such issues threatens the service’s readiness and retention, one panelist warned.

“The people drive the ships, the people rescue the other people, the people fire the weapons,” said retired Air Force Col. Lorry Fenner, who leads the government affairs division of the non-profit Service Women’s Action Network advocacy group. “If you don’t take care of your people and their families, then you have this recruiting problem, this retention problem, this readiness problem.”

In July, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan — who assumed the role in June 2022 — ordered a 90-day accountability and transparency review of the service’s sexual assault and harassment policies.

Released on Dec. 6, some of Fagan’s recommendations include creating a prevention program modeled after the Defense Department and increasing oversight of the Coast Guard Academy. Fagan, who is the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military, told lawmakers this past July that senior Coast Guard leaders need to begin to rebuild trust within the service.

“I am the commandant now, and I am committed to that not happening again,” Fagan told lawmakers in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee this summer. “It is clear to me that we’ve got a culture in areas that is permissive and allows sexual assaults, harassment, bullying, retaliation, that is inconsistent with our core values.”

About Zamone Perez
Zamone “Z” Perez is a rapid response reporter and podcast producer at Defense News and Military Times. He previously worked at Foreign Policy and Ufahamu Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he researched international ethics and atrocity prevention in his thesis. He can be found on Twitter @zamoneperez.

Turkish referee attack leaves crisis that goes beyond football

12th December 2023
By Victoria CraigIn Ankara

One of Turkey's top football officials may quit the game after he was physically attacked on the pitch by the president of an Ankara club and its fans.

The violent attack on elite referee Halil Umut Meler has left Turkish football in a full-blown crisis and magnified concerns about Turkey's institutions.

The referee was treated in hospital after he was punched in the face by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca, after the Ankara-based team conceded a late equaliser in the Turkish capital against Super Lig rivals Caykur Rizespor.

While the referee lay injured, furious fans then stormed on to the pitch and kicked him. Ankaragucu's club president has since resigned and been placed in pre-trial detention with two others.

The dramatic events after the final whistle underscore the intense emotions surrounding football in Turkey. The sport is massively popular in the country of 85 million people and is a platform that links Turkish politics, business and culture.

The attack has prompted the 37-year old referee on Uefa's elite list to contemplate quitting, according to Ali Kunak, former general secretary of the Turkish Football Federation's central arbitration board, who spoke to Meler and local media on Tuesday.

The violence has also led to an indefinite suspension of Turkish Super Lig games.

The Turkish Football Federation, in a post on X, said it condemned the "inhumane, despicable attack", which it blamed in part on "irresponsible statements of club presidents, managers, coaches, and TV commentators targeting referees".

Violence has long been associated with Turkish football, where it is common to see a heavy police presence at matches across the country.

In March, six people were arrested for clashes involving fireworks before and after a match between Bursa's Bursaspor and Diyarbakir's Amedspor. And last September, a fan burst on to the pitch and violently kicked a Besiktas player following a match against Ankaragucu.

"Football is not only football," said Ozgehan Senuva, professor of international relations at Ankara's Middle East Technical University. "This is only a reflection of the general social situation in Turkey."
ReutersTurkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya visited referee Halil Umut Meler in hospital on Tuesday

Many Turks and the country's Western allies worry about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's tightening grip on Turkey's key institutions, including the judicial system. More than 20 years of Erdogan rule has left a deepening mistrust and sense of injustice that goes way beyond football.

The vast bulk of Turkey's media is controlled by the Erdogan government - 90%, according to Reporters Without Borders - but football has turned into a key venue for political discourse.

"People don't trust the referees and how the referees are appointed. That goes in parallel with the low levels of trust in the judicial system," said Prof Senuva.

But the violence shown towards Halil Umut Meler "is a new threshold for Turkish football", according to Omer Turan, an international relations professor at Istanbul's Bilgi University. "Referees are almost always the scapegoat used to explain unsuccessful results," he said.

Prof Turan pointed out that Faruk Koca, 59, is a former Ankara MP and a current member of President Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP).

"[Faruk Koca] thought that being an AKP member would give him immunity. This proved to be a miscalculation," he said.

There was a swift reaction to Monday night's attack from Turkey's president, his AKP, and the justice department.

President Erdogan posted on X: "Sports means peace and brotherhood… We will never allow violence to take place in Turkish sports."

Faruk Koca initially complained to Turkish media that the incident had "developed due to the referee's wrong decisions and provocative behaviour".

However, he said later in a statement on the club website he was deeply saddened that "the club I manage, the football community, and our country are remembered with such an event and image".

He also apologised to the referee, his family and the wider Turkish nation for his attitude.

The justice ministry is investigating the issue and the AKP's disciplinary board is considering a request from the party for Mr Koca's expulsion.

But Turkey's judiciary has long been criticised for its lack of independence and Prof Senuva says the general mood, especially on social media, is that Faruk Koca's connections may ease his path through the courts.

"This is who he is. And this is the culture of [his] club as well. They are proud of being tough guys: it's part of the club's DNA."