UK
Water bosses should face jail time on top of bonus bans, campaigners say  SAVE BRITAIN'S RIVERS

No 10 is accused of 'smoke and mirrors' as it announces it will consult on banning bonuses for polluting water firms' bosses

Sewage protesters during a march in London in April 2023 

(Photo: Mike Kemp/Getty)

By Lucie Heath
Environment Correspondent
February 12, 2024


Plans from the Government to ban bonuses for the bosses of water firms polluting Britain’s rivers do not go far enough and chief executives should face jail time instead, campaigners have said.

The Environment Secretary, Steve Barclay, announced plans on Sunday to consult on new measures that would give the regulator Ofwat the power to block bonuses for the chief executives and directors of water companies.

It comes amid rising anger over the dumping of sewage into Britain’s rivers, lakes and coastal areas.

Campaigners told i the new measures amounted to “smoke and mirrors” and were not enough to address the scale of the problem facing Britain’s freshwaters.

They said ministers should instead be threatening water company bosses with jail time for major pollution incidents.

“The Government’s proposal on bonuses goes nowhere near far enough. A robust regulatory regime should include criminal sanctions,” said Nick Measham, chief executive of the campaign group WildFish.

Under the current law, water company bosses could technically face criminal charges for dumping sewage beyond the conditions of their permit, but this rarely happens.

Criminal cases are lengthy and expensive, meaning the Environment Agency often relies on civil penalties, which do not come with jail time.


Sea swimmer's revolt: The army of people boycotting bills over sewage spills

The EA has previously said it would like to see prison sentences for water company executives responsible for serious pollution, in the same way bosses in other sectors can face jail time.

Labour recently told i it would put water bosses responsible for serious pollution “in the dock” if it wins the next general election but it stopped short of saying they should face jail sentences. The Liberal Democrats have said chief executives should go to jail if the “British legal system decides”.

As the law technically already allows water firm bosses to face criminal charges, it is likely that the EA would need to be better resourced to bring forward such cases.

“Waste company directors who run illegally operating companies are jailed and the Proceeds of Crime Act is used to seize profits from pollution, yet water company directors who do the same thing are merely threatened with having their bonuses reduced,” added Ash Smith, founder of the group Windrush Against Sewage Pollution.

“In 2021 the Environment Agency was talking about jailing water company bosses – they could certainly prosecute and it is remarkable that they have never done so as Crown Court judges have noticed and commented on their absence.”

Matt Staniek, founder of the Save Windermere campaign, questioned whether a “slap on the wrist” would “rectify the systemic criminality that has been demonstrated in the industry”.

i’s Save Britain’s Rivers Campaign

For the past year i has been highlighting the disgusting state of Britain’s rivers, lakes and beaches through our Save Britain’s Rivers campaign.

In collaboration with our sister title, New Scientist, we have shown how water companies are dumping waste into our most precious bodies of water, and how a lax regulatory system is allowing them to get away with it.

We’ve revealed how one water company drove 240 truckloads of untreated waste to an overflowing pumping station in a popular Devon seaside town, and took a deep dive into the issue of sewage tankers, which are blighting Britain’s most idyllic villages and national parks.

We’ve held the Environment Agency to account for its failures to penalise those who break the rules, revealing last year that the watchdog is failing to visit 90 per cent of toxic water spills in England.

Our reporters have travelled to the areas of the country most affected by this scandal to meet those who are taking a stand against water companies and their regulators.

Together with these passionate campaigners we will bring about the policy changes required to restore Britain’s rivers to their once pristine state.

Water companies are allowed to discharge sewage from their network during times of exceptional rainfall, but evidence has suggested this is happening more regularly and a number of firms have admitted to spilling sewage beyond the scope of their permit conditions.

“How quickly would we see these problems solved if water company bosses were treated in the same way that waste company bosses are? Waste company bosses go to jail when they break the law, water companies are given a slap on the wrist,” he said.

Campaigners also criticised the Government for the amount of time it is taking to introduce the ban on bonuses.

On Sunday, Mr Barclay said Ofwat would consult on the changes later this year with the aim to introduce the crackdown in for bonuses issued during the 2024/25 financial year.

While the criteria for a ban will be decided as part of the consultation process, the Government suggested this could follow a successful prosecution for the severest types of pollution incidents, or where a company has been found guilt of serious management failings.

Several water bosses waived their bonuses last year in response to public anger over the sewage scandal, but five chief executives did take home bumper packets, including Anglian Water chief executive Peter Simpson, who took home a bonus of more than £300,000.

Ms Bateman vs South West Water: Swimmer suing over sewage says, 'I won't settle'

“The staggering fact is that bonuses were being paid in the first place to water company bosses whose businesses were breaking the law. It is also disappointing to see that, as with so many other similar water policy announcements, this will be ‘subject to consultation’,” said Charles Watson, chair and founder of River Action.

The Liberal Democrat’s Environment spokesperson Tim Farron described the “Conservative attempt to ban bonuses” as a “farce”.

He said the criteria set out by the Government would “set the bar so high” that it is “unlikely any bonuses will be banned for these disgraced firms”.

“Clearly, if a water firm CEO is complicit and aware of illegal environment destruction, they should face punishment. If the British legal system decides a jail sentence is appropriate, then so be it,” he said.

Labour’s shadow Environment Secretary, Steve Reed, recently told i the party would put water bosses responsible for pollution “ in the dock”.

Announcing the consultation on Sunday, Mr Barclay said the Government will “shortly be setting out more detail on further steps to clean up our waters, including reducing the reliance on water company self-monitoring in order to hold them to account and drive the improvements we all need to see”.

Sewage UK: Public warned not to swim at 113 beaches as raw waste pumps into sea

Surfers Against Sewage map shows raw sewage has been pumped into the sea at 113 beaches across the UK

By Isabella Boneham
Published 12th Feb 2024,

Raw sewage has been pumped into the sea at over 100 beaches across the UK today (Monday 12 February), according to Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) interactive map. The charity updates the map everyday issuing pollution alerts at beaches that have seen their sewer networks overflow.

The warning on the site reads “storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours” adding “bathing not advised due to poor annual classification”. Today 113 UK beaches have been issued a sewage pollution alert, advising the public not to swim there. Some of the beaches are those that are very popular among holidaymakers include Weston-super-Mare’s main beach, Croyde Bay in Devon, Crantock Beach in Cornwall and Hunstanton Beach in Norfolk.

Among the locations are some which have been plagued by sewage alerts recently. For example, Langstone Harbour in Portsmouth, which is on the list, saw sewage discharged there for 181 hours across eight days last November. Harlyn Bay in Cornwall also has a sewage alert, despite a former teacher telling NationalWorld in December that he is "absolutely outraged" at the amount of sewage that "just keeps on pumping" onto the Cornish beach. William Howells said he has been “sick since the end of July” after a “quick surf” at Harlyn Bay and suffered “three days of awful gastroenteritis”.

Surfers Against Sewage map shows raw sewage has been pumped into the sea at 113 beaches across the UK. (Photo: Getty Images)

The huge number of sewage pollution alerts today comes after a yellow weather warning for rain was issued by the Met Office over the weekend. The warning covered the East Midlands, East of England, North East England Yorkshire and Humber from Saturday (9 February) through to Sunday noon (10 February).

During periods of heavy rainfall sewer networks can become overwhelmed resulting in sewage being discharged from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) instead of being treated. Water companies are issued with permits that allow them to discharge sewage if their networks are overwhelmed by rainwater in what should be exceptional circumstances.

Firms have been heavily criticised for the amount of times they utilise the storm overflow system and investigations have even found that some companies discharge sewage on days when it is not raining. Following sewage alerts, a SAS spokesperson told NationalWorld that the “blatant disregard for public health and our blue spaces is appalling.” The spokesperson added: “Water companies spill sewage come rain or shine, all the while syphoning off tens of billions to shareholders and paying the fat cats at the top huge pay and bonuses.”

Water companies face fines for poor customer service

 

From today (12 February 2024) Ofwat has new powers to act against any water company that provides poor customer service in breach of a new licence condition, which could see the regulator impose fines of up to 10% of the company’s turnover.

Ofwat expects all water companies to be focused on delivering a high level of customer service – from resolving complaints to making sure customers are informed and supported during incidents where water supplies are disrupted.

There are examples of where water and wastewater companies and their staff are going above and beyond for their customers across England and Wales. However, there are still too many instances where customers feel let down, and that their water company does not have customers’ best interests at heart.

Recent figures published in Ofwat’s annual Water Company Performance Report, show that in 2022-23 there was a fall in customer satisfaction across most companies. This follows a decline in scores in 2021-22, and customer satisfaction is lower for all companies than it was in 2020-21.

Ofwat’s incidents research has also identified examples of poor customer service with companies failing in communication and support when things go wrong, leading to dissatisfaction and in some cases anxiety.

Customers deserve better, and Ofwat has now added to its regulatory tools to strengthen and enforce customer protection.

David Black, CEO, Ofwat said:

“From today we are putting water companies on notice to improve customer service and where we see failure, Ofwat can and will take action which could result in significant fines.

“Our new powers to issue fines for poor levels of service are part of a range of measures Ofwat has recently introduced including on environmental protection, company dividends and executive pay, to drive better performance and to hold water companies to account.

“We expect this new licence condition to deliver real improvements in customer service across the sector. It is in the companies’ interests to put customers at the heart of their business and provide levels of service that increase customer satisfaction.”

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay said:

“We expect water companies to ensure customers are properly supported when services are disrupted.

“Enforcement action for poor customer service is an important and necessary step to restoring trust in the water sector and has been made possible thanks to government giving Ofwat increased powers to modify the licences of companies in England under the Environment Act.

“We are driving forward more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement through the Plan for Water and will continue working closely with regulators to improve outcomes for both customers and the environment.”

Mike Keil, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW), said:

“Every water company should provide excellent customer service but too often through our research and the complaints we handle we see people being badly let down, particularly by poor communication. A complete change in culture is needed in some companies if we’re to improve people’s experiences and repair fractured trust and the new customer licence condition can help to focus minds.”

END

Notes to Editors

Ofwat’s customer-focused licence condition: Customer-focused licence condition – Ofwat

Water company licences: Licences and licensees – Ofwat

Ofwat Water Company Performance Report 2022-23: Water Company Performance Report 2022-23 – Ofwat

Ofwat’s incidents research: Customer experiences – Ofwat

CCW Household customer complaints report 2023: Household customer complaints report 2023 – CCW

UK
A road is closing for six weeks to allow toads to cross it

Sarah Hooper

Published Feb 12, 2024,

METRO UK

The tiny amphibians make a big journey (Picture: Getty)

A road in Bath will be shut to drivers for six weeks to help local amphibians reach their breeding grounds.

Charlcombe Lane will be closed until March 25 as toads, frogs, and newts journey across the asphalt to reach their ‘ancestral breeding grounds’.

The road has been closed each year since 2003 in cooperation with Bath and North East Somerset Council.

The Charlcombe Toad Rescue Group will also be patrolling the area to help the creatures safe as they make their journey.

An estimated 2,500 amphibians will cross the road to reach the lake below, where they will mate and reproduce.

The toads typically travel after dusk between February and March, but crossing the road can prove to be perilous.

20 tonnes of toads are killed on roads each year 

(Picture: Getty)

Frogs, toads and newts will all make the perilous journey (Picture: Getty)

Toad helper Helen Hobbs told the BBC: ‘In Charlcombe they often become trapped by high stone walls, so volunteers patrol each evening to move the amphibians to a safe release site to allow them to continue their journey.


‘It’s estimated that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on roads each year so our group is dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure the toad, frog and newt populations at Charlcombe survive.’

Another road in Lincolnshire also closes yearly to help amphibians reach their destination.

The lane in Sleaford often sees pairs of toads run over as the male hitches a ride on the females back – and on one day in 2013, more than 40 pairs of the toads were found dead on the road.

The Wildlife Trust Fund explained that common toads are found all over the UK: ‘
Toads are famous for their mass migrations back to their breeding ponds on the first warm, damp evenings of the year, often around St. Valentine’s Day.

‘They’re found almost everywhere, except for Scottish islands, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Isles of Scilly and most of the Channel Islands.’

UK: Survey of 200 Migrant Domestic Workers Reveals Extent of Employer Abuse

Country:
UNITED KINGDOM
FEBRUARY 9, 2024
Author:
Ana P. Santos
GRANTEE
PULITZER CENTRE

ENGLISH

Project
Immunity and Impunity: How Diplomats Get Away With Exploiting Domestic Workers

READ MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Migrant domestic workers in the UK reported deplorable working conditions, including nearly continuous 24-hour work days, meager wages and various forms of abuse, in a survey.

Asurvey of 200 migrant domestic workers conducted by the advocacy group Voice of Domestic Workers and the London School of Economics and Political Science revealed that nearly all of the respondents reported working around the clock, earning a mere 52 pence (less than a single euro) per day.

More than 80% reported being denied regular meals, with nearly the same number claiming surveillance by their employers and excessive restrictions on leaving the house. More than half reported physical abuse and roughly 30% reported instances of sexual harassment or abuse.

The respondents of the survey were migrant domestic workers in the UK, mostly hailing from the Philippines, India and Indonesia.




As a nonprofit journalism organization, we depend on your support to fund more than 170 reporting projects every year on critical global and local issues. Donate any amount today to become a Pulitzer Center Champion and receive exclusive benefits!

About 79% of the employers were from Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, followed by China and the UK. About 80% of the employers implicated in the reports of exploitation had residences in Greater London’s most affluent neighborhoods of Kensington, Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair.

According to statistics provided by the Home Office, more than 18,000 Overseas Domestic Worker (ODW) visas were issued in 2022.

The ODW Visa allows individuals from overseas to work as domestic workers in private households. Originally introduced to provide better protections and rights for domestic workers, the visa was substantially amended in 2012.
Trapped with abusive employers

Marissa Begonia, the founder of the Voice of Domestic Workers, told InfoMigrants that the exploitative working conditions persist due to those 2012 amendments, which restricted domestic workers from changing employers.

Under this revision, the residency status of a migrant domestic worker remained valid only as long as they were employed, up to a maximum of six months without a possibility of renewal. This means that in cases of abuse, the domestic worker could change employers -- but would still not be allowed to renew their visa.

“The right to change employer within a six-month short period is useless without allowing them to renew their visas,” said Begonia.

Before establishing migrant rights group, Voice of Domestic Workers, Marissa Begonia was a domestic worker who experienced abuse by various employers. Image by Ana P. Santos.

Begonia, who is a single mother and former domestic worker, experienced abuse and exploitation at the hands of her employers across Singapore and Hong Kong before coming to the UK.

"This survey shows that the changes in the ODW have made life harder for domestic workers. By not allowing them to renew their visa, this opens them up to abuse and exploitation," Begonia said.

Lack of government protections


Despite the government's introduction of safeguards such as mandating written contracts signed by both the employer and worker and requiring UK authorities to provide workers information about their rights before they arrive, the survey indicates their loose implementation.

Only 33% signed a contract before arriving in the UK. Additionally, only 15% received a leaflet explaining their employment rights during the interview process, highlighting a lack of information and understanding.

Nothing but band-aid solutions

Domestic workers have little recourse but to attempt to flee from their employers. Florence Yilmaz, co-founder of the Filipino Domestic Workers Association, told InfoMigrants that the organization rescued over 50 distressed domestic workers last year alone.

“When we rescue these women, they are mentally and emotionally distraught. Their main concern is to escape. They cannot yet think of what comes after,” said Yilmaz.

According to Yilmaz, the aftermath involves an encounter with the tedious and cumbersome National Referral Mechanism (NRM) system, a framework for identifying and referring potential victims of modern slavery and ensuring they receive the appropriate support.

“The NRM is nothing but a band-aid solution. It was meant to pacify domestic workers for the removal of the ODW. If the government is serious about protecting human rights, especially those of domestic workers, they need to bring back the ODW," said Yilmaz.

Begonia, whose organization has also facilitated clandestine escape from employers, agreed.

"The NRM does not provide appropriate support to domestic workers caught in trafficking situations. Decisions take a long time, leaving workers feeling hopeless and forgotten by the system that should help them. Some domestic workers fail to pass the NRM assessment or simply do not qualify, ending up undocumented."

According to five years of client data from Kalayaan, a charity supporting migrant domestic workers through the NRM process, the median waiting time between a reasonable decision (where the Home Office classifies someone as a victim of human trafficking) and a conclusive decision (when the Home Office accepts or rejects the case) is 786 days -- more than two years.

“It's been more than a decade since migrant domestic workers were stripped of their rights," said Begonia about the regressive changes made in the Overseas Domestic Worker visa.

"We have enough evidence that this NRM system doesn't work for domestic workers. Domestic workers are the backbone of society, enabling other workers to contribute to the economy. Domestic workers, who care for children, the elderly, the disabled, and households, should be treated with respect and granted better rights and protection," Begonia said.

Huge “FREE-ASSANGE” Billboard Trucks Are About to Invade New York City to Embarrass U.S. and British Govts

BY STEVE BROWN

FEBRUARY 12, 2024
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Starting Feb. 12 — and continuing every day until Feb. 20 — eight million New Yorkers and hundreds of millions of onlookers around the world will be watching as these giant 30-foot-long billboard trucks circle the British Consulate on 48^th Street; the U.S. courthouses and federal buildings in Foley Square; the United Nations on First Avenue; the corporate headquarters of media influencers like The New York Times, Daily News, Hearst, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Reuters, Warner Bros and Paramount; and the plush venues of Wall Street power players likeJPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Barclays, Black Rock and American Express. 

Why are the billboard trucks coming now? And why to New York?      

Because Feb. 20 is “X-Day” for Juian Assange. That is when the Britain’s High Court of Justice will give Julian a last chance to block his extradition to the U.S. If his appeal is denied, U.S. Marshals will snatch him out of Southeast London’s gloomy Belmarsh Prison and fly him to the U.S. (possibly within 24 hours), where he will be tried under the Espionage Act for publishing videos that exposed U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So confident is the U.S. Justice Department that it will crush Julian’s Feb. 20 High Court appeal against extradition, that it has already assigned a U.S. judge to his case. He is District Judge Claude M. Hilton, and he will try Julian’s case in the notorious Albert V. Bryan U.S. Courthouse of the Eastern District of Virginia.

It should be understood that, in this district and this courthouse, the government almost never loses — because virtually everyone eligible to serve on a jury has a spouse or cousin or friend working for the government at the State Department, Justice Department, FBI or, most ominously, the CIA —  whose Trump-appointed director, Mike Pompeo, famously plotted to poison or shoot Julian and dump his corpse at sea, and whose Langley headquarters just happens to be a 12-minute hop-skip-and-jump down the road from the Albert V. Bryan courthouse.

As Reuters rather admiringly notes (without touching on the obvious reason for such a splendid record of convictions),

“In the past 20 years, the U.S. government has racked up remarkable success rates in winning convictions or guilty pleas from people brought before the federal court in Virginia who were accused of espionage or terrorism. Because of its speed, the court is considered a “rocket docket.”

If Judge Hilton and the U.S. justice system find Assange guilty (Is water wet?), he will be locked away in a U.S. maximum security prison for up to 175 years. So his February 20 appeal before the High Court in London is crucial. How good are his chances?

That may depend on how much outrage and public pressure can be brought to bear on the British and American governments, since everyone knows that this is not really a legal case, to be scrupulously decided by dispassionate High Court judges solemnly parsing the law. It is a high-profile political case that the judges will decide (as British judges in this case have been deciding for the past 4 years) according to the wishes of powerful forces inside the CIA and M16.

Which is why the activist and political satirist Randy Credico, host of Julian Assange: Countdown to Freedom on WBAI-FM radio and the Progressive Radio Network (PRN), will be co-piloting huge “Free Assange” billboard trucks like this all over New York from Feb. 12 until the British High Court appeal date of Feb. 20.

Randy’s goal is to generate huge waves of provocative public noise in New York about Julien’s High Court appeal, as he did last year in Washington DC, where his mobile billboard trucks traversed the nation’s capital day after day, circling the British Embassy, the Department of Justice and the White House, alerting DC’s 700,000 residents and 22 million tourists to the years of illegal persecution and imprisonment that Julian suffered under Donald Trump, and continues to suffer under Joe Biden.

In Washington DC, Randy’s billboard trucks generated instant publicity and sympathy for Juian all over the world, and became a source of extreme embarrassment to U.S. and British leaders. Randy intends to generate even more public outrage by deploying his “Free Assange” billboard trucks in New York – at the crossroads of global media communications and financial power. These billboard trucks will be bigger and even harder to ignore than the Washington DC trucks — the better to increase public awareness and intensify the political pressure.

How many Assange billboard trucks will be coming to New York?

To lease these technologically sophisticated billboard trucks, create their giant 450-square-foot displays, and hire professional drivers to propel them around the city (with Randy co-piloting) is not cheap. The number of trucks will depend on how much money is raised for this campaign.

The cost of putting just one billboard truck on the streets of New York from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 is $8,000. The final size of the fleet – two, three, four, even ten or more trucks — will depend on donations from people who care about Julian’s fate and the fate of investigative journalism.

For if Julian is convicted and imprisoned, any journalist, anywhere in the world, who dares to expose government crimes can be snatched from his country, dragged to the U.S., and imprisoned for life. That would end forever the historic role of a free press as the watchdog and guarantor of democracy and human rights.

Help Randy protect Julian Assange and freedom of the press

You can donate to the Assange Mobile Billboard Campaign at AssangeCountdownToFreedomcom. A contribution of $5, $10, $25 (or more if you can afford it) will assure it success, because there are more than enough of you reading this to make it happen.

Think of how good you will feel as you watch those “Free Assange” trucks go by, knowing that your donations are the fuel on which they run.

Steve Brown is a member of the editorial board of CovertAction Magazine and director of the Society for Independent Investigative Journalism (SIIJ). He is co-founder of the Progressive Radio Network (PRN), former director of the Pacifica Radio Foundation and WBAI-FM in New York, and President of the Alliance for Community Elections (ACE). He has run political campaigns for the U.S. Senate, Governor of New York, and Mayor of New York City.

If Julian Assange is extradited it will have huge implications for human rights and press freedom around the world

Charlie Jaay

LEFT FOOT FORWARD

'Assange has not been convicted of any crime, but incarcerated solely for acquiring and publishing hundreds of thousands of classified documents, which exposed US state criminality'

Charlie Jaay is a freelance journalist with special interests in the environment, human rights and civil liberties.

On February 20 and 21, London’s Royal Courts of Justice will hear Julian Assange’s renewed application for appeal against extradition to the US, where he would face life imprisonment in a maximum security prison. This will be his last chance in the British courts to stop extradition, and will have huge implications not just for the defendant, but also human rights and press freedom around the world.

Award winning Journalist Julian Assange, founder of whistleblower site WikiLeaks, has been behind the bars of London’s Belmarsh prison since 2019. Once known as ‘Britain’s Guantanamo Bay’ because foreigners were detained without formally being charged, this maximum security prison is home to the country’s most dangerous criminals- serial rapists, drug barons, murderers and those serving sentences for terrorist-related crimes.

Assange has not been convicted of any crime, but incarcerated solely for acquiring and publishing hundreds of thousands of classified documents, which exposed US state criminality. These were leaked to WikiLeaks, in 2010, by former US army intelligence analyst, Chelsea Manning, and related to abusive and torturous treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and illegal actions of the United States’ military and intelligence agencies during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and included information on the deaths of thousands of civilians.

Iraq Body Count records the death of civilians from violence, resulting from the 2003 military intervention in Iraq. It worked with WikiLeaks and various media outlets, to publish these Iraq War Logs, which laid bare the scale and impact of the war, and showed abuse and torture to be commonplace.

“Julian Assange is the single most important journalist of our generation, not only because of the stories he broke but because, with WikiLeaks, he advanced the profession itself and its potential for public good”, says Hamit Dardagan, Iraq Body Count Co-founder.

“For Iraq this meant that some 15,000 otherwise unreported violent deaths of Iraqi civilians, known to the US military but kept from public knowledge, could be revealed. Revealed not just as a bare statistic, but with the how, when, where and, in many cases, by whom they were killed. And sometimes too, providing hitherto undisclosed identifying details including their names— no small matter when so many Iraqi families were still desperately searching for their missing loved ones.

“That such a journalist is being entombed in a maximum security prison exposes once more who poses the real threat to freedom, including freedom of thought”, Dardagan adds.

The US government argued that the leak contained sensitive information- including the war crimes themselves and, as a result, submitted an extradition request to the British government in 2019. If extradited to the US, Assange will stand trial for violating the 1917 Espionage Act, because he received and published classified documents, and will face up to 175 years in a maximum security prison.

Being at the centre of legal battles for more than a decade, is now taking its toll on his health. In 2021, after more than 100 doctors expressed their concern, demanding an ‘end (of his) torture and medical neglect’, and transference from Belmarsh Prison, his extradition was blocked by the British courts, because of the ‘substantial’ risk of suicide. However, in 2022, his extradition was approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel, resulting in a legal appeal against the US extradition order, in June of last year, which was unsuccessful.

Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, has co-ordinated a cross-party group of parliamentarians who have repeatedly called for the charges to be dropped.


”Let’s remember it was Donald Trump’s administration that brought the charges against Mr Assange for his role in publishing evidence of war crimes, corruption and human rights abuses”, Burgon says.

“We simply cannot stand by while common practices in journalism – practices that have long served the public interest – are criminalised in this way. Now is the moment to put an end to this prosecution, drop the charges and allow him to return home.”

Assange’s supporters, including the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, have tirelessly called for the UK government to halt the possible extradition plans. The International Federation of Journalists has called for his immediate release, launching the Free Assange Now! campaign which has support from Journalist’s unions around the world, including the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), which has also organized events in support of Assange.

“The NUJ is opposed to ongoing efforts by the United States to extradite Julian Assange and has condemned the UK’s complicity through its recent approval of his extradition”, says Michelle Stanistreet,NUJ General Secretary. “Journalists have voiced their disbelief at wider ramifications for journalism and the ability to publish public interest stories involving the US government if their dogged pursuit continues any longer.”

According to Simon Crowther, Amnesty International Legal Adviser, Freedom of Expression is protected under international human right’s law, and if the UK facilitates this extradition it would then be violating its obligations, to which it is bound, under international law.

“Assange is being prosecuted for publication of classified material, in the public interest, which is a journalist’s job, and something they do all the time without being prosecuted for espionage as a result, nor are they snatched from another country for that to happen”, he says.

Charging Assange under the Espionage Act, for exposing public interest material, is an attack on the public’s ability to obtain truthful information. If the US gets its way, we will have a clear legal precedent saying if classified information is published, any state can seek the extradition of the person who published it, and prosecute them, wherever in the world they may be. This will affect every newsroom, with journalists having to be mindful of what they do and do not publish, and will pose a major threat to investigative journalism and press freedom. If the powerful cannot be held to account then this will seriously threaten democracy.

Crowther also warns that Assange risks being placed under Special Administrative Measures– rules often used in the US, to restrict the contact dangerous prisoners may have with the outside world.

“There is a very real risk of torture and other cruel and degrading treatment or punishment. Solitary confinement is frequently used in the US, the implications of which are grossly underestimated by the global public. If someone is put in prolonged solitary confinement it breaks them. It has profound implications and is very well documented”, he says.

“Although the UK has sought a diplomatic agreement from the US, that Julian Assange wouldn’t be put under one of these Special Administrative Measures, if extradited, unfortunately these are never legally binding. And, even then, this diplomatic agreement says that unless circumstances change, Assange continues to be a risk to confidential information”, Crowther explains.

“Our government has been complicit. They certified this, and Amnesty argues the UK is breaching its human rights obligations if Assange is extradited. The UK has a clear international obligation not to send people to places where they are at risk of torture or degrading treatment.”

Assange’s case is now at a critical juncture, his life hangs in the balance. The UK protest will take place outside London’s Royal Courts of Justice, 8.30am, February 20 and 21.

 

Body Shop’s UK arm close to bankruptcy: report

By

 AFP

The Body Shop, the near 50-year-old cosmetics company renowned for its ethical hair and skin products, is near bankrupt in the UK after poor Christmas trade, media has reported.

Sky News on Sunday reported that German private equity firm Aurelius, which bought The Body Shop only in November, is lining up administration — a UK process whereby financial experts are drafted in to try and save parts of a business.

It said this would result in shop closures and job losses for The Body Shop, founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick but which has been under various owners since she sold it to French cosmetics giant L’Oreal in 2006.

The Body Shop has about 200 shops in the UK, or around seven percent of its worldwide total of some 3,000 stores in more than 70 countries.

The company directly employs about 10,000 staff, while 12,000 more are employed via franchises. 

The Body Shop and Aurelius had yet to comment on the weekend news.

Since taking over, Aurelius has already sold The Body Shop business in most of mainland Europe and parts of Asia to an unnamed buyer.

“Administration will mean the company is protected from compulsory liquidation and offers legal protection from creditors’ demands,” noted Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown. 

“It will give Aurelius breathing space to restructure and close highly underperforming stores and refocus attention on e-commerce sales. Whatever the outcome, it looks likely that many shops will shut for good.”

Roddick, who died in 2007 from a brain haemorrhage, had rapidly expanded the business from modest beginnings with a determination to offer products that had not been tested on animals. 

She set out also to make her business environmentally-friendly, with customers encouraged to return empty containers for refilling at the original shop in Brighton, on England’s southern coast.

Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos, which had bought The Body Shop from L’Oreal, sold it at the end of last year to Aurelius for £207 million, far less than the previous owners had paid.

  

British boys most at risk of modern slavery in UK

Image: Ground Picture / Shutterstock.com

People suffering criminal exploitation, often young British boys, must be recognised as victims of modern slavery, a new report has argued.

Entitled Criminal exploitation: Modern slavery by another name, the report found that 45% of victims in the UK are British boys aged 17 and under, with risk factors including deprivation, substance misuse, family circumstances, learning disabilities and school exclusion.

Victims of criminal exploitation are ‘forced, coerced or groomed into committing crime for someone else’s benefit’, the report by the Centre for Social Justice and Justice and Care says.

However, it says professionals, families and victims themselves ‘frequently do not apply the label of “modern slavery” (nor even exploitation in some cases) to what is happening’.

Legislation and policy are ‘inconsistent’, ‘incomplete’ and ‘confusing’, while support for victims and prevention is inadequate, despite good work done by some charities, local authorities and the Government’s County Lines programme, the report found.

It calls for the Modern Slavery Act 2015 to be amended to include a definition of criminal exploitation.

The independent anti-slavery commissioner, Eleanor Lyons, said: ‘This report rightly calls on the Government and frontline policing to make sure criminal exploitation is prosecuted for what it is: a form of modern slavery.

‘This will also allow us to do more to prevent the endless stream of young people and vulnerable adults being pulled into criminal exploitation. And give them the support they deserve.’

 Ellie Ames 12 February 2024

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BOY BRIDES 

UK

FARM FAIR

'Are you an animal lover?' Animal rights protest displaying dead pig, cat, and dog shocks in Central London

The protest, aimed at convincing people the rethink eating animals, has raised eyebrows in the capital

By Amber Allott
Published 12th Feb 2024,
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Animal rights activists have shocked the public in Central London, as a pro-vegan protest displayed what is believed to be a real dead cat, dog, and pig hanging side-by-side from butcher's hooks.

The protest was organised by Viva! - a campaign group best known for its investigations into conditions on factory farms - and was designed to challenge people's perceptions on how they viewed animals. The stunt saw the three displayed on the back of a lorry, beneath a sign reading ‘Are You an Animal Lover?’ The cat and dog were marked as pets, but the pig as just 'animal'.

Footage of the public's reaction to the protest showed a number of people recoiling in visible disgust as the truck drives past, parking at key London landmarks like the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. Social media reaction has also been mixed, with one posting on X - formerly known as Twitter - that this was the best way to make people understand, while another slammed it as a "cheap and pathetic stunt".

Animal rights activists have displayed a dead dog, cat and pig in Central London 

(Photo: Viva! Campaigns / SWNS)

NationalWorld has approached Viva! to confirm whether the animal's bodies were real, but they are currently believed to be.

Viva! said the stunt marked the start of a new wave of campaigning, which will use more provocative tactics to encourage people to go vegan. The protest action's main aim was to "evoke a powerful response from passers-by as they were confronted with the reality that the pigs they eat are very similar to their beloved pets".

The group's founder, Juliet Gellatley, defended their use of shock tactics. “As a society we treat cats and dogs as part of our families but see animals such as pigs, chickens and cows as commodities," she said. "Tens of millions of people in the UK eat factory farmed animals, but very few are happy to look at them dead, see how they are farmed or witness how they are killed."