Portuguese man who has lived legally

 in UK since 2001 faces deportation


Diane Taylor
Sun, 4 February 2024 

João Rocha Gonçalves Da Silva.Photograph: Handout

The Home Office has threatened a Portuguese plumber who has lived legally in the UK for more than 20 years with deportation after he struggled with his application to remain in the country.

According to lawyers and human rights campaigners the case of João Rocha Gonçalves Da Silva, 45, is evidence of the Home Office’s increasingly hostile environment policy regarding EU citizens.

Da Silva’s lawyer has said there is a risk of another Windrush-type scandal affecting vulnerable EU citizens who have applied late for the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) unless the government changes course.


Da Silva arrived in the UK in May 2001 and has worked for his employer Domenic Tomeo, 48, since 2007 in his plumbing business. He has always paid his taxes and has no criminal record.

“Joao is like family to me. He’s a hard worker and 100% trustworthy,” said Tomeo.

A tearful Da Silva told the Guardian: “I’m scared the Home Office will send me back to Portugal. My parents are dead and I have nobody left there now. I consider the UK to be my home and my boss is my family.”

Da Silva tried to apply for EUSS using the Home Office app in 2019 but it was unable to scan his Portuguese ID card. Da Silva applied for a new ID card but had the same problem.

Related: Home Office U-turns on rights of EU citizens who were in UK pre-Brexit

He then tried to apply online but he was unable to do so because he did not have the correct technology. He contacted the Home Office helpline for assistance, but because of a speech impediment and the fact that English is not his first language, the person on the helpline did not understand him.

Da Silva finally found a community organisation to help him submit a late application on 7 November last year, but the Home Office rejected his application just over two weeks later.

In his application Da Silva explained that he had submitted it late because of problems related to his speech impediment. Officials responded that it “is not considered to constitute reasonable grounds for your delay in making your application”.

The Home Office rejection letter contained 11 bullet points of what would now happen to Da Silva including being fined, detained, imprisoned and banned from the UK. There is no right of appeal against the rejection.

His lawyer, Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, has launched a legal challenge against the rejection, arguing that it breaches the EU withdrawal agreement and misapplies the guidance. It calls on the Home Office to accept Da Silva’s application as valid and to introduce a right of appeal for these cases.

“Mr Da Silva is a long term resident of the United Kingdom with a clear entitlement to remain here under the withdrawal agreement,” said Kandiah. “His case shows the risk that EU citizens who have been lawfully resident for many years may suddenly find themselves stripped of their rights overnight. The Home Office needs to carefully consider its approach to avoid another scandal comparable to Windrush.”

The Home Office tightened up the criteria for what officials now consider “reasonable grounds” for late applicants in August 2023.

The most recently available data is to 30 September 2023, almost two months after the changes were brought in on 9 August last year. In August, 9,470 applications were found “invalid” – three times higher than the average of 2,943 a month in previous months. In September, 13,930 applications were found invalid, almost five times higher than the previous average.

Andreea Dumitrache, a spokesperson for the3million, which supports the rights of EU citizens in the UK, said: “The ‘reasonable grounds’ people have to satisfy in order to make a late application are anything but reasonable. We’re seeing marginalised people being punished unjustly, and left to suffer at the hands of the government’s hostile environment. This system creates vulnerability and can push anyone into destitution.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The EU settlement scheme has provided millions of EU citizens and their eligible family members with the immigration status they need to continue living and working in the UK now that we have left the EU.

“The deadline for applying to the scheme passed more than two years ago but, in line with the citizens’ rights agreements, we continue to accept and consider late applications from those with reasonable grounds for their delay in applying.”

Eight dead, 80 injured in India firework factory explosion

Explosions often occur in firecracker workshops in India.

But many factories fail to stick to basic safety requirements and operate without permits.


AFP
Tue, 6 February 2024 

Images from the factory site showed a wasteland of blackened and smoking rubble (Uma Shankar MISHRA)

At least eight people died and 80 were injured Tuesday in a giant explosion at a firework factory in India that saw balls of flames soar into the sky, officials said.

Footage on Indian television showed a tower of flame after the explosion at the firecracker plant, with dozens of ambulances sent and army helicopters called in to evacuate the wounded.

Senior district police official Rajeshwari Mahobia told AFP there were "eight deaths so far and around 80 injured", at the factory in Harda in Madhya Pradesh state, adding that "the death toll is likely to go up".

Images from the factory site showed a wasteland of blackened and smoking rubble.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said reports of the explosion were "very sad news" and said medics at burn units in nearby major hospitals were called to make "necessary preparations".

"Ambulances are being rushed to Harda from the surrounding areas, and the army has been contacted to arrange for helicopters," Yadav said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

At least 20 ambulances were at the site, with 50 more being sent to help those injured, he added.

Manish Sharma, a surgeon at the Harda district hospital, said the centre had been flooded with a stream of casualties.

"We have eight deaths at our hospital, a total of 90 people were admitted here so far and we have referred 15 of them to a bigger hospital," Sharma told AFP.

"As more people are being rescued from the site, they are being brought here."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "distressed by the loss of lives", saying the government would give the families of those killed $2,400 each in compensation, and $600 to those injured.

- 'Stampede' -

Kailash Chand Parte, a senior district official who is coordinating rescue efforts from the factory, said fire engines were battling the fierce blaze.

"The fire is still not under control and we have around 15 fire engines and many rescue workers at the site", Parte said.

He said between 200 and 300 people worked at the factory, but it was not known how many were inside at the time of the explosion.

"At least 10 buildings around the complex where the blast happened have been damaged because of the intensity of the explosion", he added.

One policeman told the Times of India that the dead included those trampled during the panic to escape the raging flames.

Some died during the "stampede after the blast", local police officer Abdul Raees Khan told the newspaper, adding rescue teams were "yet to reach the actual blast site as (the) fire is on".

Explosions often occur in firecracker workshops in India.

Fireworks are hugely popular in India, particularly during the Hindu festival of Diwali, as well as for use during wedding celebrations.

But many factories fail to stick to basic safety requirements and operate without permits.

In 2019, at least 18 people were killed in a firework factory explosion in Batala in Punjab state, and another 10 were killed in the same year in Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh.

bb-pjm/aha

India's tigers climb high as climate, human pressure rises

Mahesh PANDEY with Sailendra SIL in Kolkota
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Tigers in India have been photographed in high-altitude mountains rarely seen before (Dibyangshu SARKAR)

Tigers in India have been photographed in high-altitude mountains rarely seen before, with experts suggesting relentless human pressure and a heating climate are driving them from traditional hunting grounds.

Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) said they were surprised to find "multiple pictures" of tigers in the mountains of Sikkim -- the Indian state squeezed between Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet -- including one snapped at 3,966 metres (13,011 feet).

The camera traps were installed in "high-altitude regions to understand the impact of climate changes on large mammals", said Sandeep Tambe, ecologist and chief warden of Sikkim's forest department.

"One of the major possible causes may be the impact of climate change and rising anthropogenic pressure," said WII researcher Pooja Pant.

Tigers have been spotted in the colder higher mountains before.

In neighbouring Nepal have been spotted at a record 4,000 metres, according to the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF).

As long as there is enough prey, tigers are usually expected to stay in warmer forests lower down.

But they are now being seen more regularly at higher reaches.

While tigers are known to range over varied terrains and altitudes, the highest concentration of the big cats in the Corbett Tiger Reserve is in the foothills of the Himalayas, ranging from around 385 to 1,100 metres.

In India, WWF director Anamitra Anurag Danda said a tiger had been spotted at 3,602 metres by a WWF team in Sikkim in 2019, while another in the state was spotted at 3,640 metres last year.

- 'Tiger migration' -

"It may be a range shift of tigers," said Pranabesh Sanyal, a geologist and a leading tiger expert in Kolkata.

"In the past two decades, temperatures at high altitudes have warmed faster than at altitudes below 2,000 meters. Due to climate change, tiger migration is taking place."

As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have documented swathes of species shifting their ranges.

Last month, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said the 2023 annual average global temperature was 1.45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) -- the warmest year on record.

Scientists have warned that any rise above 1.5 C risks the collapse of ecosystems and the triggering of irreversible shifts in the climate system.

Conservation biologist Qamar Qureshi, chairman of WII's Tiger Cell, said tigers would usually prefer lower-altitude forested valleys.

"Climbing of the mountains by the tigers... proves that they are under pressure," he said, noting both an "increasing human population, along with the increasing number of tigers".

But Qureshi also suggested one reason more tigers were being reported higher than before was partly due to increasing technology -- including both sophisticated camera traps, and more people with camera phones using social media.

Tiger expert Shrikant Chandola, who was Uttarakhand's top forest official before retirement, said that tigers can still cope in the cold.

But he said tigers were moving because human-wildlife conflict was "increasing everywhere" with growing construction, coupled with more competition for food.

"The prey base of the tiger is decreasing, due to which his nature is also becoming irritable," he said.

"Young tigers are trying to push the older and less powerful tigers out", he added.

- 'Small islands in a vast sea' -

India is believed to have had a tiger population of around 40,000 at the time of independence from Britain in 1947.

That fell to about 3,700 in 2002 and an all-time low of 1,411 four years later, but numbers have since risen steadily to above 3,000.

India has more than tripled protected areas for tigers past half century, now made up of 53 reserves totalling 75,796 kilometres squared (29,265 miles squared), an area bigger than neighbouring Sri Lanka.

But pressures are growing.

"Most tiger reserves and protected areas in India are existing as small islands in a vast sea of ecologically unsustainable land use," India's Status of Tiger report reads, released in 2022.

"Although some habitat corridors exist that allow tiger movement between them, most of these habitats are not protected areas," it noted, warning those areas "continue to deteriorate further due to unsustainable human use and developmental projects".

Dheeraj Pandey, field director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand state, said awareness campaigns were being run to try to mitigate the impact of tigers on the people who live around parks.

At least three people have been killed and 10 injured by tigers this year alone around Corbett reserve, and anger is growing.

"The tiger cannot be told not to go here, not to do this," Pandey said. "Only measures can be taken to avoid it".

strs-pjm/sn

BP to scale up oil production amid shift away from renewables

Jonathan Leake
Tue, 6 February 2024

BP

BP has vowed to ramp up oil production in 2024 as the energy giant shifts away from ambitious net zero targets.

New chief executive Murray Auchincloss said BP will take a “pragmatic” approach to the green energy transition, as it scales back plans to reduce carbon emissions.

BP’s latest results revealed that profits fell from $27.7bn to $13.8bn in 2023, although shares rose by 5pc after the figures beat analyst estimates.


As part of Tuesday’s update, BP announced an accelerated share buyback programme as Mr Auchincloss tries to win over shareholders.

It comes after BP was targeted by activist investor Bluebell Capital last month, which called for the business to scrap “irrational” net zero commitments championed by former chief Bernard Looney.

The company’s latest annual report shows that its commitment to oil remains as strong as ever, with production surging by 8.6pc in the last quarter of 2023 to 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

The same trend was evident throughout the year with oil production 6.7pc higher than in 2022.

However, BP now expects production levels to increase further: “Looking ahead, BP expects first quarter 2024 reported upstream production to be higher compared to fourth-quarter 2023.”

The predicted increase is linked to the startup of production in two fields located in the North Sea.

Multiple drilling projects are also underway in the Gulf of Mexico – a sensitive area for BP following the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 when 11 people died in an explosion.

Last year the company paid out another $1.2bn in oil spill payments.

Despite the ramp up in oil production, BP said its renewables and low-carbon businesses were also expanding.

It said: “The renewables pipeline increased by 21.1 gigawatts during the full year, including BP being awarded the rights to develop two North Sea offshore wind projects in Germany (4GW) and an increase in dedicated hydrogen renewables (12.4GW).”

The fall in BP’s profits follows last week’s results from rival Shell, as profits hit $28.2bn, down from $39.9bn in 2022.

The annual results mark the end of a turbulent year for BP.

Mr Looney was forced out last September after it emerged that he had conducted multiple relationships with colleagues, of which he had not been “fully transparent” despite requests from BP’s board of directors.

BP’s board said Mr Looney had committed “serious misconduct” which resulted in him forfeiting up to £32.4m in bonuses.

Mr Auchincloss was initially appointed interim chief executive but was confirmed as the permanent successor last month.

Murray Auchincloss was initially appointed interim chief executive of BP after Bernard Looney's departure - Ryan Lim/AFP

His former post as BP’s chief financial officer has since been filled by Kate Thomson, formerly chief finance officer for BP’s production & operations business.

Analysts responded positively to the latest results.

Jamie Maddock, energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said BP had “beaten expectations”.

He said: “That share buyback scheme has potential to grow, reaching at least $14bn through to 2025, which would imply an impressive distribution yield and a strong show of confidence in the outlook.

“BP recognises that it has work to do with shareholders given what has happened over the last 12 months, and this is a positive start to the resetting of that relationship.”

However, BP’s bid to boost oil production was met with criticism by climate campaigners.

Charlie Kronick, senior climate advisor at Greenpeace UK said: “The reality is the company is still making billions of pounds from fossil fuels and its green policies fall far short of what’s needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

“We simply cannot leave the future of the planet in the hands of executives and shareholders concerned only with cashing in on fossil fuels until the band stops playing.

“We urgently need the government to force companies like BP to stop drilling and to make their vast resources available both for the coming transition to low carbon energy.”

BP bags bumper 2023 profits, rewards investors

Roland JACKSON
Tue, 6 February 2024 


British energy giant BP logged multi-billion-dollar annual profits Tuesday despite lower oil prices and following boardroom turmoil, sending its share price rallying thanks also to more big payouts to investors.

Net profit came in at $15.2 billion in 2023, following a loss the prior year linked to its exit from Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, it said in a results statement.

The annual results sparked fresh fury from the green lobby but herald a new era under new chief executive Murray Auchincloss, following the dramatic sacking of his predecessor Bernard Looney.

The oil giant suffered a net loss of $2.5 billion in 2022, when it booked a gigantic charge of $24 billion on its exit from Russian energy group Rosneft.

Reflecting lower oil prices and refining margins last year, BP revealed Tuesday that underlying profit excluding exceptional items halved to $13.8 billion.

That compared with a record $27.7 billion the prior year when prices of fossil fuels had surged on key gas and oil producer Russia's assault on neighbouring Ukraine, boosting the performance of the global energy sector.

Shares rallied six percent to top London's FTSE 100 risers board after BP also announced forecast-beating fourth quarter profit, vast stock buybacks and a shareholder dividend hike.

BP will deliver $1.75 billion in buybacks for the fourth quarter of last year.

It also revealed $3.5 billion for the first half of this year under plans to buy back at least $14 billion over 2024-2025.

- 'Resilient performance' -

"BP joins the throng of the other global oil majors in capping off a difficult year with a resilient performance which beat expectations on most metrics," said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.

The global industry was also energised in 2022 by rebounding demand and prices, as the world economy emerged from Covid pandemic lockdowns the prior year.

Prices have since declined but remain elevated due to concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spark broader unrest in the crude-rich Middle East.

"Looking back, 2023 was a year of strong operational performance with real momentum in delivery right across the business," Auchincloss said in the earnings release.

BP's former chief financial officer took the reins in September, after Looney resigned and was later officially sacked over his failure to disclose past relationships with colleagues.

Activist investor Bluebell Capital last week urged BP to scale back its "irrational" clean energy ambitions to "invest in clean energy" like biofuels and hydrogen, rather than areas like renewable energy where the investment fund claims the group has no competitive advantage or experience.

- 'Destination unchanged' -

However, BP stressed on Tuesday that it remains committed to its energy transition strategy.

"As we look ahead, our destination remains unchanged -- from international oil company to integrated energy company -- focused on growing the value of BP," added Auchincloss.

BP had diluted its long-term carbon emission reduction targets one year ago for its oil and gas production.

Environmental campaigners Greenpeace on Tuesday slammed it for "falling far short" in tackling climate change.

"The company is still making billions from fossil fuels and its green policies fall far short of what's needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," said Charlie Kronick, senior climate advisor at Greenpeace UK.

"We simply cannot leave the future of the planet in the hands of executives and shareholders concerned only with cashing in on fossil fuels until the band stops playing."

UK rival Shell revealed last week that annual net profit more than halved in 2023 on lower oil and gas prices, but it returned $3.5 billion to shareholders and hiked its dividend.

US rivals Chevron and ExxonMobil also posted lower but still strong profits, and pushed ahead with hefty shareholder payouts.

ode-rfj/bcp/lth

UK’s credit unions face uncertain future amid cost of living crisis

PROUDHON'S PEOPLES BANK BY ANY OTHER NAME

Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent
Sun, 4 February 2024 

The number of credit unions have fallen from a peak of about 700 in 2001 to 240 today.Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Observer

When 27-year-old Basil Lewis left the picturesque parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, famed for its spa, to start a new life in London in 1954, he did not plan to shake up the UK’s centuries-old banking sector.

But the financial discrimination faced by Caribbean migrants in the UK – who were refused loans, charged higher interest rates, or forced to pay larger mortgage deposits than the rest of the population – meant there was a lack of affordable credit for newly settled workers such as Lewis.

Working with a group of fellow Union Church members in Hornsey, north London, Lewis drew on a financial model popular in the West Indies and by 1964 had launched the UK’s first credit union.


Related: Credit unions are helping Britons survive – but can they really rival banks?

The idea spread, peaking at about 700 credit unions by 2001, while assets and membership hit a record high of £2.6bn and 1.5 million members respectively this year.

But just as the UK prepares to celebrate 60 years since Lewis’s credit union launched, the industry has found itself at a crossroads.

Financial pressures have seen a decline in the number of credit unions in recent years, leaving just 240 across Britain, with some forced to wind down but most being swallowed up by rivals in a huge wave of consolidation.

And those that remain have been put on notice by the Bank of England, which in October flagged serious concerns about poor governance, liquidity risks and their ability to withstand the current economic downturn.

Labour has pledged to double the size of the entire mutual and cooperative sector if it gains power. However, without careful management, the future of the country’s credit unions, which have provided a financial lifeline for vulnerable households, could be thrown into question.

Credit unions have a modest profile in Britain. They are not-for-profit cooperatives that are owned by, and serve, members with a common bond – meaning those that either live locally or work for a certain industry. Some still rely on volunteers to govern or run their everyday operations and tend to focus on personal loans as small as £50, particularly for the less well off, who are often considered too risky by mainstream banks.

Charges are capped at an annual percentage rate of about 42.6% across most of the UK – approximately 3% a month – which can be a good deal for those borrowing small amounts over short periods, who would otherwise be driven to loan sharks or extortionate payday lenders.

That proved to be the case for 47-year-old Kelly Evanson, who originally turned to the Just Credit Union in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, seven years ago after seeing flyers for an auto-payroll deduction programme meant to build up savings. Two years later, it was a lifeline, providing a £1,500 loan to tide her over in the middle of a difficult divorce. “They were the first people that I went to, because I wasn’t sure how the marriage breakup had kind of affected my credit rating.”

“That’s the kind of story we typically see,” says Matt Bland, chief executive of the Co-op Credit Union, which serves workers in the mutual sector. “People go through a cascade of less good lenders and then they might come across a credit union that’s trying to offer them a better deal.”



Surging interest rates and living costs have triggered a reversal of fortunes that raised eyebrows at the Bank of England

The role of credit unions in financial inclusion has not been lost on the Financial Conduct Authority. In 2019, the regulator used a 49-page report to call for the government to review the use of credit unions to develop a more viable alternative to payday lenders such as Wonga, which had collapsed a year earlier after complaints over interest charges of more than 5,000%.

The review was sidelined during the pandemic, but credit unions broadly weathered the storm. Fast-forward to 2023 and surging interest rates and living costs have triggered a reversal of fortunes concerning enough to raise eyebrows at the Bank.

“The external environment has changed considerably over the past 12-24 months,” the Bank warned credit union directors in October. Not only had the cost of living crisis caused more borrowers to fall behind on repayments, but the surge in interest rates had made new loans unaffordable for many members.

They started making unexpected withdrawals to either compensate for a surge in the cost of living, or chase higher returns for their savings elsewhere. Meanwhile, the boom in buy now, pay later products by the likes of Klarna and Clearpay chipped away at both loan demand and credit unions’ willingness to lend to overstretched borrowers.

At the same time, credit unions suffered a fall in liquidity – the amount of readily available cash needed to repay savers and conduct business.

Together, those factors had created “risk and stress that the credit union sector has not had to address in recent times”, the Bank said, , warning that credit unions which failed to recruit experienced leaders should consider winding down or being swallowed up by a rival.

Robert Kelly, who led the NHS Credit Union in Glasgow for 10 years before taking over as chief executive of the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd, acknowledges the Bank’s concerns. “It was a sort of a rallying call to the sector. And we heard that.”

However, he insists that the Bank’s most pressing concerns apply to between 5% and 10% of credit unions. “It’s absolutely not the case that there are widespread governance [issues].”

Many credit unions are now reviewing recruitment and risk management strategies, while others may consider introducing more paid staff, he says. Creating a more “professional” industry may also be necessary in light of landmark changes contained in the Financial Services and Markets Act that take effect this summer. Credit unions will be able, for the first time, to offer car financing, mortgages, credit cards and general insurance.

While this change is meant to create more affordable products for members, it will also help diversify income streams.

The shadow City minister, Tulip Siddiq, has raised concern over the dwindling number of credit unions, which she said were still operating in an “outdated regulatory regime”. Labour plans to further expand the list of financial products that credit unions can offer and force regulators to prove they considered the effect on mutuals when setting rules for the City. Full plans are still being drafted.

It could help serve more consumers such as 43-year-old Sheryl Falkingham. Despite working for a local energy supplier, a surge in living costs left her with little room to manoeuvre when her 10-year-old daughter needed a new school uniform last summer. “Up until two and a half years ago, I would have had that disposable income, but because the cost of living has increased more than my salary, I just don’t have that any more,” she said. The Bradford District Credit Union arranged a £33 a month repayment plan, with £10 reserved for building up a new savings pot. Whatever the plan, boosting the number of credit unions may not be the answer, with both Kelly and Bland saying that consolidation may actually make the network more financially sound.

In the same vein, they are urging parties to reform common bond rules, which limit credit unions to serving members who live or work in a certain region, or for a particular industry, and to a cap on membership.

In the meantime, Kelly says the industry will use the 60th anniversary to showcase the differences that credit unions have made to “ordinary people’s lives”. “The next 60 years will look different,” he says. “That doesn’t mean that we lose our cooperative, and ethical and mutual values, though. Not at all.”

UK
Virgin Money warns of more job cuts to come after dropping 150 staff as it slashes costs


Charlie Conchie
Tue, 6 February 2024


Virgin Money warned of more job cuts to come today as it scales back its branches.

Virgin Money warned of further cost-cutting and layoffs to come today after slashing its headcount in the first quarter of the year.

In a trading update this morning, the London-listed lender said it was on track to deliver £200m of annualised savings after “accelerating restructuring and digitisation activity” at the start of its financial year.

The firm has followed scores of high-street lenders in closing branches and slashing its headcount in recent years in a bid to contain costs and account for the shift to digital banking. A total of 39 stores were shuttered in the first quarter, a reduction of 30 per cent to 91 stores.

Some 150 staff were laid off as a result of the restructuring and bosses said they “expect further reductions in [full time employees] during the year”.

“We are also looking to make increasing use of other more cost-effective geographies for outsourced activities,” they added.

In its first quarter trading update today, the bank predicted a rebound in the mortgage market despite its overall lending to customers dipping 0.3 per cent to £72.83bn in the first three months of its financial year.

Overall mortgage lending to customers fell 2.2 per cent to £57.1bn on the back of what it said reflected a “disciplined approach to trading in subdued market”.

The housing market has been hammered over the past 18 months as the Bank of England has hiked rates aggressively to tame inflation. City analysts are pricing in rate cuts this year and banks have begun cutting rates across the board on their mortgage products.

In a statement, the bank said it was seeing “early signs that market activity has improved in January” and was climbing back to 2019 levels.

“We are encouraged by both our customers’ resilience and improving sentiment in the mortgage market as interest rates have peaked,” said chief executive David Duffy. “We carry good momentum into 2024 as we continue to successfully execute our strategy.”

The slide in mortgages was softened by an uptick in Virgin’s business and unsecured lending.

Business lending grew 6.7 per cent on last year on the back of “strong demand at good margins in our sector specialisms”, the firm said. Credit card borrowing also provided a boost to its unsecured business as lending increased 7.8 per cent on the same period in 2023.

The bank also announced that independent non-executive director and risk committee chair Geeta Gopalan will step down from its board on 30 June, after which she will join Natwest.

RBC analyst Benjamin Toms said in a note: “We struggle to understand what makes VMUK an attractive investment other than the bank looks cheap, in our view, and it feels like a lot of investment is still required to compete with large UK peers.”

Virgin Money’s shares rose 1.2 per cent on Tuesday morning.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “The big worry whenever a bank updates on trading is the level of bad debts given the fragile backdrop. Virgin Money reported a ‘modest increase’ in its provisions, which certainly hasn’t troubled the market.”

UK
Migrant fruit picker may have been modern slavery victim under Home Office scheme, government finds

Nadine White and Holly Bancroft
Mon, 5 February 2024 

A fruit picker from Bolivia may have been subjected to modern slavery under a government scheme, The Independent can reveal.

Julia Quecano Casimiro was recruited in Chile in 2023 alongside other workers to become a seasonal worker at Haygrove farm in Herefordshire. She came to the UK on a seasonal worker visa, designed to allow people to work picking fruit, vegetables or flowers for up to six months.

In a preliminary ruling, the Home Office has now decided there are reasonable grounds to conclude that Ms Casimiro could have been a victim of modern slavery. Her case will now be investigated further by the government before a final decision is made.


The Independent and The Bureau for Investigative Journalism have previously reported on claims of modern slavery at farms across the UK, which were investigated by the Home Office.

Ms Casimiro, 23, was part of a group of 88 Latin American seasonal fruit pickers who staged the UK’s first ever strike by workers on seasonal visas last July. They claimed that they faced harassment and poor working conditions, such as lack of drinking water.

Haygrove, which has fruit-growing farms in the UK, South Africa and Portugal, has denied all the allegations.

Julia Quecano Casimiro was recruited in Chile in 2023 alongside other workers to become a seasonal worker (UVW)

Ms Casimiro has also brought legal proceedings against the farm at an employment tribunal, claiming harassment and race discrimination with the help of union UVW. Haygrove refute any allegations of bullying or discrimination, saying that they take care to ensure fairness.

She also claims that the farm did not provide the proper safety wear, or provide enough drinking water or toilets on site. Haygrove said that toilets are kept clean, team leaders provide water in all picking fields, and health and safety is taken extremely seriously.

Ms Casimiro, who arrived in the UK in July 2023 from Chile, said the farm had asked her to repay the cost of her flights.

She said: “The email came in about repaying the flights and I said ‘no, this can’t be’, I spoke with several of my friends and we all agreed, this cannot be and all the workers held an urgent meeting”. Haygrove say that workers know from the outset that the company loans them the money for their plane tickets.

Speaking about the living conditions, she said: “The beds were so narrow and the rooms so small that the beds were joined together so it was almost like sharing beds. It was a very, very cramped place. The sofas were dirty and the fridge burnt down and our food rotted.” Haygrove said that the accommodation complies with industry standards and had been audited by the Home Office and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

A recruiter in Chile had promised Ms Casimiro she would earn up to £500 a week picking fruit for the duration of the five-month seasonal worker visa issued to her by the UK government.

But she was given no shifts or pay during her first week in late June. The next week, she made less than £150.

“As soon as I started, I saw that it was exploitation,” she said. “It was modern slavery.”

Ms Casimiro, 23, was part of a group of 88 Latin American seasonal fruit pickers who staged the UK’s first ever strike by workers on seasonal visas last July. (UVW)

Haygrove said that, while workers were told about typical earnings at recruitment events, these were not promised or contracted this amount of work. They explained that during the first week of Ms Casimiro’s time at the farm bad weather meant there was no work available. They said that the “vast majority of the cherry pickers who did remain with us were able to work the typical hours through August, September and October and make commensurate pay” once the weather was better.

For Ms Casimiro and some of her colleagues the tipping point came when they were told to repay the farm £1,500 for the flights that had brought them to the UK – even though receipts show some of the tickets cost a lot less.

Workers were told they would have to repay £250 every week for six weeks on top of accommodation deductions. In Ms Casimiro’s case, she said that would mean being left with only £16 on the weeks when she was given the hours guaranteed by the farm.

Haygrove said workers were told at the outset that plane tickets would be paid through the means of a loan. When made aware of the difference between the loan amount and the true cost of the plane tickets, Haygrove said they only charged workers for the actual value of the tickets.

They said that Ms Casimiro had a paid-for flight home available but did not take it and the farm will not seek to reclaim any flight costs from her.

They said that the majority of workers returned to work after receiving reassurances from Haygrove that weekly earnings would soon increase due to the better weather conditions.

“There’s no way I would have come to the UK if I’d known what was going to happen,” Ms Casimiro told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (TBIJ).

Haygrove workers would leave their caravans just after 4am before a coach ride of up to two hours to fields on the border with Wales. None of that time was paid, nor was the trip back. Haygrove said that on-site accommodation was available for workers who wished to avoid the daily trip.

Johanna White, solicitor at ATLEU, the firm representing Ms Casimiro, said:“We have received many reports of seasonal workers being subjected to mistreatment including underpayment of wages, no sick leave, and debt bondage where workers have had to pay high upfront travel, visa and recruitment fees in their home countries.

“Julia’s case demonstrates that the current scheme creates a serious risk of labour exploitation, trafficking and modern slavery by placing considerable power in the hands of profit-seeking recruitment companies.”

The UN’s special rapporteur on modern slavery recently said that the UK could be ‘breaching international law’ with the seasonal visa scheme and the Home Office has been found to be failing to investigate “clear indicators of forced labour”.

A conclusive decision on Ms Casimiro’s case is expected next month.

A Haygrove spokesperson said: “The National Referral Mechanism has not determined that Ms Casimiro was a victim of modern slavery or human trafficking.

“Our understanding is that the NRM’s role is to evaluate whether to provide support to Ms Casimiro, but it is not their responsibility to investigate a potential case. We have evidence to demonstrate that Ms Casimiro was not a victim.”

A government spokesperson said: “The welfare of visa holders is of paramount importance, including in the seasonal workers scheme, and we are clamping down on poor working conditions and exploitation.

“The seasonal workers route has been running for four years and each year improvements have been made to stop exploitation and clamp down on poor working conditions while people are in the UK. We will always take decisive action where we believe abusive practices are taking place or the conditions of the route are not met.”

Farmers’ anger forces EU to back down on net zero

PETTY BOURGEOIS REACTIONARIES

Joe Barnes
Tue, 6 February 2024 

Europe has been rocked by continuing protests by farmers who have blocked key roads - REUTERS/Albert Gea

The European Union has caved in to angry protests from farmers and cut a target to slash agricultural emissions as part of the bloc’s net zero drive.

A demand to reduce nitrogen, methane and other emissions linked to farming by almost a third has been removed from a wider Brussels plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 90 per cent by 2040.

On Tuesday, Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, also proposed withdrawing the EU’s plan to halve the use of pesticides, calling it a “symbol of polarisation”.

“Our farmers deserve to be listened to,” she told the European Parliament.

“I know that they are worried about the future of agriculture and their future as farmers. But they also know that agriculture needs to move to a more sustainable model of production so that their farms remain profitable in the years to come.”

A recommendation urging EU citizens to eat less meat was also removed from the plan.

The concessions came amid mounting demonstrations by farmers in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy ahead of this year’s EU elections.

Blockades on supermarket distribution centres have left shelves empty in Brussels, while several people have been injured in traffic accidents caused by farmers’ protests in the Netherlands, as they dumped rubbish and set fires on highways.

Organisers have threatened to continue disruption in the lead-up to the elections for the European Parliament in June.

Resistance growing

The ballot is seen as increasingly problematic for Mrs von der Leyen, and other mainstream politicians seeking re-election on a green agenda.

Resistance to the environmental overhaul has been steadily growing, including from the European People’s Party, the centre-Right political group to which commission president belongs.

The move to offer concessions to the farmers would be seen as a major step away from the bloc’s original green plans.

Agriculture was seen as “one of the core areas to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2040”, according to a draft European Commission plan, reported by the Financial Times.

The draft states that policies should now address the entire food sector rather than farming, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the EU’s emissions, “in isolation”.

The EU has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050, with a first step of cutting emissions by 55 per cent compared with 1990 levels within six years.

Wopke Hoekstra, the EU’s Dutch climate commissioner, warned last month that the bloc had to ensure “our business stay competitive, there is a just transition”.

Eleven EU states, including France, Germany and Spain, have echoed that call in a letter to Brussels, urging a “fair and just transition” that should “leave no one behind, especially the most vulnerable citizens”.

The full plan to reduce emissions ahead of 2040 is to be announced later on Tuesday.

EU Withdraws Push to Cut Pesticide Use After Farmer Protests

Ellen Milligan and Lyubov Pronina
Tue, 6 February 2024 



(Bloomberg) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she will withdraw a plan to halve the use of pesticides because it became a “symbol of polarization” following protests by farmers across Europe.

The European Union’s executive arm in June 2022 proposed a regulation to slash pesticide use by 50% until 2030 as part of a plan to make farming more sustainable, but the European Parliament voted it down. Fears over falling crop yields and doubts over the ability of farmers to find substitutes and meet targets outweighed concerns about the environmental impact of pesticides.


“Only if we achieve our climate and environmental goals together, will farmers be able to continue to make a living,” von der Leyen said Tuesday during a European Parliament debate in Strasbourg.

The decision followed a wave of protests in France, Belgium and across Europe, with farmers arguing against proposed EU regulations, plans to cut subsidies and free trade deals with countries outside the bloc.

The French government had to promise farmers more financial support and a crackdown on unfair competition as well as tougher checks on the origin of products for them to suspend further blockades. Last week, the EU delayed plans requiring farmers to reserve more of their land fallow to improve biodiversity.

Farmers Bring Protests to Brussels as EU Leaders Meet Nearby

The bloc’s executive finds itself in a balancing act as it rolls out an ambitious climate roadmap on Tuesday to pursue a 90% net emissions reduction by 2040 that will require more sustainable consumer lifestyles and restrictions on businesses and agriculture.

The move to withdraw the pesticides plan is another example of the EU backtracking on legislation aimed at greening the bloc’s economy. The EU had to settle for a watered-down deal on a nature restoration law to return at least 20% of the bloc’s land and sea back to its original state.

The announcement on pesticides demonstrates the commission’s response to criticism as the EU is heading towards elections in June. Last month, von der Leyen kicked off a strategic dialog with the agricultural sector in an effort to placate farmers and show appreciation and respect.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who during the protests had seen Brussels streets blocked and public monuments vandalized, welcomed the decision. “Crucial we keep our farmers on board,” De Croo wrote in a post on social media platform X.

In time, a new, more mature proposal on pesticides with more stakeholder involvement may be put forward, von der Leyen told the lawmakers, insisting that the discussion over reduced the use of the chemicals will continue.

Bloomberg Businessweek

EU scraps pesticide proposals in another concession to protesting farmers

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her speech at European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. The European Union’s executive shelved its anti-pesticides proposal Tuesday in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests blocked major capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc.

 (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

RAF CASERT
Updated Tue, 6 February 2024 

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm shelved an anti-pesticides proposal Tuesday in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests blocked major capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc.

Although the proposal had languished in EU institutions for the past two years, the move by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was the latest indication that the bloc is willing to sacrifice environmental priorities to keep the farming community on its side.

Farmers have insisted that measures like the one on pesticides would only increase bureaucratic burdens and keep them behind laptops instead of farming, adding to the price gap between their products and cheap imports produced by foreign farmers without similar burdens.


The pesticides “proposal has become a symbol of polarization,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. ”To move forward, more dialogue and a different approach is needed.”

She acknowledged that the proposals had been made over the heads of farmers.

“Farmers need a worthwhile business case for nature-enhancing measures. Perhaps we have not made that case convincingly,” von der Leyen said.

It is unclear when new proposals will be drafted. EU parliamentary elections are set for June, and the plight of farmers has become a focal point of campaigning, even pushing climate issues aside over the past weeks.

Under its much-hyped European Green Deal, the EU has targeted a 50% cut in the overall use of pesticides and other hazardous substances by 2030. The proposal was criticized both by environmentalists who claimed it would be insufficient to reach sustainability targets, and by agriculture groups who insisted it would be unworkable and drive farmers out of business.

The decision to shelve the proposal on pesticides represented the EU's latest act of political self-retribution in reaction to protests that have affected the daily lives tens of millions of EU citizens and cost businesses tens of millions of euros due to transportation delays.

Many politicians, especially on the right and its fringes, applauded the impact of the protests.

“Long live the farmers, whose tractors are forcing Europe to take back the nonsense imposed by multinationals and the left,’’ said Italy's right-wing transport minister, Matteo Salvini.

Last week, von der Leyen announced plans to shield farmers from cheaper products exported from wartime Ukraine and to allow farmers to use some land they had been required to keep fallow for environmental reasons.

The European Commission is set to announce more measures late Tuesday on how to reach its stringent targets to counter climate change. Environmentalists fear their could be more concessions there, too.

In France, where the protests gained critical mass, the government promised more than 400 million euros ($436 million) in additional financial support.

Meanwhile, protests continued in many EU nations.

Since early Tuesday morning, farmers across Spain have staged tractor protests, blocking highways and causing traffic jams to demand of changes in EU policies and funds and measures to combat production cost increases. The protests came as the Agriculture Ministry announced some 270 million euros in aid to 140,000 farmers to address drought conditions and problems caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

On Monday night, farmers in the Netherlands blocked several roads and highways with their tractors and torched hay bales and tires.

Police in the rural province of Gelderland said they took action against farmers blocking roads, but there were no immediate reports of arrests.

In recent weeks, farmers have protested from Poland to Greece, and from Ireland over Germany to Lithuania.

___

Mike Corder contributed from The Hague, Ciaran Giles from Madrid and Colleen Barry from Milan.

Italy Farmers Protest
Italian farmers protest against EU agricultural policies, near Turin, Italy, Monday Feb. 5, 2024.

 (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

Bulgaria Farmers'Protest
Bulgarian farmers family pour milk on burning hay during farmers protest in front of the Agriculture Ministry in Sofia, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. Hundreds of angry farmers took to the streets in Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, on Monday to complain of what they call "the total failure" of the government to meet the mounting challenges in the agricultural sector.

(AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)


Greece Europe Farmers
Protesting farmers with their tractors take part in a rally outside the annual Agrotica trade fair in the port city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Greek farmers – hit by rising costs and crop damage caused by recent floods and wildfires – gathered around the conference center hosting the event in the northern city of Thessaloniki to underline their determination to escalate protests over rising production costs by blocking highways. 

(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

Greece  Farmers
Protesting farmers shout slogans as they take part in a rally outside the annual Agrotica trade fair in the port city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Greek farmers – hit by rising costs and crop damage caused by recent floods and wildfires – gathered around the conference center hosting the event in the northern city of Thessaloniki to underline their determination to escalate protests over rising production costs by blocking highways

 (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)


European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her speech at European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. The European Union’s executive shelved its anti-pesticides proposal Tuesday in yet another concession to farmers after weeks of protests blocked major capitals and economic lifelines across the 27-nation bloc. 

(AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Italy Tractors Protest
Manuele Calzoni works at his farm before joining the protest of other farmers near the highway junction, in Orte, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Farmers have been protesting in various parts of Italy and Europe against EU agriculture policies.

 (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Greece  Farmers
A farmer takes part in a rally outside the annual Agrotica trade fair in the port city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. Greek farmers – hit by rising costs and crop damage caused by recent floods and wildfires – gathered around the conference center hosting the event in the northern city of Thessaloniki to underline their determination to escalate protests over rising production costs by blocking highways. 

(AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)

UK

Opinion

Does Starmer care that his Gaza stance is angering and repelling Muslim voters? I see no sign that he does

Owen Jones

THE GUARDIAN
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Pro-Palestine protesters near Keir Starmer’s constituency office in Camden, London, 6 January 2024. Photograph: Guy Bell/Rex/Shutterstock

It’s easy to determine the morality of a political party by examining who is welcome and who is not. In Keir Starmer’s Labour, apologists for war crimes rise to the top, while opponents of mass slaughter face the boot. This is not hyperbole. When Israel’s slaughter of Gaza began, Starmer publicly declared that Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity. As a human rights lawyer – who previously argued at the international court of justice (ICJ) that the 1991 Serbian siege of Vukovar constituted genocide – there was no excuse: article 33 of the Geneva conventions, for a start, prohibits collective punishment. Facing an immediate and merited backlash, he sought to claim he had not said what he, in fact, had. “I was saying Israel had the right to self-defence,” he explained. “When I said ‘that right’, it was that right to self-defence. I was not saying Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines – on the contrary.”

Labour MP Kate Osamor, on the other hand, was suspended after referring to Israel’s onslaught as a genocide. She did so on the same day that the world’s highest court recognised the potential for a finding of genocide and ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. Note that Osamor is left wing, and one of Labour’s few black female MPs: two others have already been sent packing.

These actions have repercussions, and last week it was revealed that Labour has begun to panic over disillusionment among Muslim voters, who represent a significant portion of its electoral coalition, and is preparing an outreach effort. One frontbencher admitted such voters were “no longer a safe voter base for us because of how we initially responded to the war”, meaning “damage control” was all that was left. And why the outreach: to reassure an important and valued constituency, or to shore up the vote? One Labour MP leaves no room for doubt. Labour Muslims are “geographically important”, they said – many live in key target seats.

If Labour wishes to woo Muslim voters, it might consider that many cannot support a party lined up behind what may yet be officially ruled by the ICJ as a genocide. Or a party that has created a hostile environment for those opposed to mass slaughter. After many Muslim Labour councillors quit in disgust over Gaza, one party source boasted it was a sign the party was “shaking off the fleas”. In the tawdry Batley and Spen byelection in 2021 – when Labour barely clung on – a party source claimed it had “lost the conservative Muslim vote over gay rights and Palestine”, but won back Tory voters, showing “we’re reconnecting with the wider electorate again”. Labour figures seemed to delight in the sowing: the reaping is not proving quite as much fun.

The party may conclude that the electoral consequences of this moral bankruptcy will be minimal. But many of its natural voters – not just British Muslims – do care about Gaza, and they have taken note. When the shadow foreign secretary David Lammy last week claimed that “Labour has been clear throughout the conflict that international law must be upheld”, he neglected to mention Starmer’s initial support for the siege, the other shadow cabinet members refusing to condemn cutting off the essentials of life, and his own refusal to condemn forcible displacement, which in the case of Gaza surely amounts to a war crime.

A couple of weeks ago, Starmer dropped Labour’s commitment to unilaterally recognise an independent Palestinian state, saying it would only do so as part of a process towards a two-state solution as an “an appropriate part of the process”. He was then outflanked by Conservative foreign secretary David Cameron, who did not make British recognition contingent on Israel.

Labour’s position has been so pernicious because it has given carte blanche to the government to line up behind Israeli atrocities. When Labour MP Tahir Ali accused Rishi Sunak of having “blood on his hands”, he was forced to apologise or face removal of Labour’s party whip.

The Conservatives are guilty of murderous complicity, through arms sales and diplomatic support for Israel, yet Labour has protected them from paying any political price for it. By late December, 71% of British voters backed an immediate ceasefire, but with Labour lining up behind the government stance, the Tories have been shielded from public pressure.

What, then, of the long-term consequences? Labour will surely win the election thanks to the Tories’ comprehensive self-destruction. But there is no enthusiasm for the Labour leadership, thanks to the absence of a positive domestic agenda and now this moral debacle over Gaza. As the Labour MP and former Blair adviser Jon Cruddas puts it, Labour’s “most rightwing, illiberal faction” is now dominant.

Related: ‘Trust is lost’: Muslim voters unhappy with Labour’s stance on Gaza war

In his leadership pitch to Labour members Starmer pledged to “put human rights at the heart of foreign policy”. Many voters – not just Muslims, but all of those for whom mass slaughter of innocent people doesn’t sit well – have witnessed something else: support for war crimes and failure to condemn them, while opponents of an alleged genocide have been punished and purged.

An administration that lacks meaningful answers to domestic crises and is wedded to a toxic foreign policy will soon find itself in trouble. Look at Starmer’s political equivalents in the US, Germany and Australia: they won but swiftly became unpopular, and none U-turned so comprehensively as him on their original promises. If he enjoys a honeymoon, it will be short-lived.

Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist

Muslim support for Labour falls by almost a third


Nick Gutteridge
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for his stance on the conflict in Gaza

 - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Labour’s support among Muslim voters has collapsed by almost a third since the last election following anger over Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza.

A shock new poll has found that 60 per cent of Muslim voters plan to support Labour later this year, compared to 86 per cent who backed Jeremy Corbyn in 2019.

The survey, published on Monday, sent shockwaves through Labour, with one MP warning that it showed the party had become “toxic” with Muslims.

It will add to pressure on Sir Keir to change his stance on Gaza and call for a full ceasefire, as demanded by many of his backbenchers.

The Labour leader has faced growing calls to change his approach, with some of his MPs facing challenges from pro-Palestinian candidates at the next election. He toughened his rhetoric in recent weeks with calls for Israel to “end its bombing campaign”.

The polling, carried out by Survation for the Labour Muslim Network, found that support among Muslim voters had dropped by 26 per cent since 2019.

John McDonnell, a former shadow chancellor, said the findings made “sombre reading” but reflected what campaigners were hearing on the ground.

Mish Rahman, a member of the National Executive Committee, Labour’s ruling body, said: “These findings are deeply worrying but unsurprising. For months I have been alarmed by the Labour leadership’s willingness to turn a blind eye to Islamophobia within the party.

“It’s clear that the leadership is not taking this issue seriously. This poll should be a wake-up call to change course before it’s too late.”

He accused Sir Keir of showing a “sheer disregard for Palestinian lives” and of overseeing “mistreatment” of prominent Muslim MPs within the party.

One Labour MP complained that the party had been “outflanked” by the Tories, which was now taking a tougher stance on ending the war in Gaza.

The MP told ITV: “We told the leadership exactly what was happening and how our constituents were feeling about Gaza, and they just weren’t interested. Now we can see that the party is becoming toxic among the British Muslim community.”

Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, suggested last week that the Government could recognise a Palestinian state when the conflict is over. He said he was “determined” to secure a 40-day pause in the fighting, which could be turned “into the ceasefire, into the process, into the solution”.

In contrast, Sir Keir angered Labour MPs after dropping a Corbyn-era policy to recognise a Palestinian state immediately upon entering office.

The Labour leader faced the biggest crisis of his leadership last November when 56 of his own MPs defied the whip to vote in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Ten frontbench resignations, including eight shadow ministers, quit so they could back the motion.

Anger is also still simmering over comments Sir Keir made in October, when he appeared to say that Israel had the right to withhold power and water from Gaza.

He has since insisted that he did not mean to endorse such actions and was answering a wider question about Israel’s right to defend itself.

Japanese trading giant Itochu to cut ties with Israeli defense firm over Gaza war





Juliana Liu and Chie Kobayashi, CNN
Tue, 6 February 2024


One of Japan’s biggest trading firms, Itochu, has decided to end its partnership with a major Israeli defense company due to the war in Gaza.

The sprawling conglomerate, best known outside Japan for its Family Mart chain of convenience stores, said its aviation unit will cut ties with Elbit Systems, which bills itself as Israel’s largest defense contractor, by the end of February.

The decision was made following a January ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the top court of the United Nations — and guidance given by Japan’s Foreign Ministry to observe the court’s findings in “good faith,” a spokesperson for Itochu told CNN on Tuesday.

Last month, the ICJ ordered Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for Israel to suspend its military campaign in the war-torn enclave, as South Africa, which had filed the case to the court, had requested.

The court said Israel must “take all measures” to limit the death and destruction caused by its military campaign, prevent and punish incitement to genocide and ensure access to humanitarian aid

Itochu’s announcement was first made Monday by Tsuyoshi Hachimura, the company’s chief financial officer, during an earnings presentation.

Itochu Aviation, Elbit Systems and Nippon Aircraft Supply signed a cooperation agreement in March 2023, months before war broke out between Israel and Gaza.

Itochu, which reported revenues of $104 billion in 2023, has faced small-scale, student-led protests in Tokyo against its partnership with Elbit since January. Its Family Mart chain has also been the target of calls for boycotts in Muslim-majority Malaysia over the agreement.

Hachimura sought to explain the deal on Monday, telling investors: “The partnership was based on a request from the Japan’s Defense Ministry for the purpose of importing defense equipment for the Self-Defense Force necessary for Japan’s security.”

During a November earnings call, Elbit CEO Bezhalel Machlis said the company had “ramped up production” to support the Israel Defense Forces, which uses its services “extensively.”

— CNN’s Hanako Montgomery and Heather Chen contributed reporting.