UK
Pro-Palestinian activists jailed over weapons equipment factory protest
Getty Images
A group of activists set off smoke bombs during the protest

BBC

Five pro-Palestinian protesters who caused more than £1m of damage to a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow have been jailed.

The group scaled a roof, unfurled banners and set off pyrotechnics at the Thales UK building in Govan on 1 June 2022.

Two of them entered the building itself and a smoke bomb was thrown into an area where staff were being evacuated, Glasgow Sheriff Court was told.

Stuart Bretherton, 25, Eva Simmons, 25, Calum Lacy, 23, Erica Hygate, 23 received 12-month sentences, while Sumaya Javaid, 22, was jailed for 14 months.

Getty Images
Some protesters managed to scale the roof of the Thales building


There were shouts of "free Palestine" and "you are preventing genocide" by supporters in the public gallery as the five were led into custody.

The French firm Thales manufactures a wide range of military equipment including drone components.

It has often been targeted by activists because it has partnerships with Israeli companies, although it denies it supplies the Israeli military.

Sheriff John McCormick said the group had been spotted at the site early in the morning, dressed in red overalls, as they scaled the security fence.

They made it onto the roof of the main building where they unfurled banners and flags, as more protesters gathered outside.

"Miss Hygate and Miss Javaid entered the building through the roof and caused damage including to parts essential to submarines," the sheriff said.

"Fire alarms were activated which caused an evacuation and confusion as well as panic among staff.

"You set off pyrotechnics and smoke bombs - some thrown in the area where staff where evacuated. The smoke was dangerously close to the members of staff."

Some protesters remained on the roof overnight and glued their hands to the building to prevent police removing them.

The damage was estimated at £1,130,783 and the site was shut due to safety concerns.

The sheriff said the figure did not include the cost the public purse of the police operation which involved more than 20 officers.

He said everyone had a right to lawful protest but he disputed a claim in a background report that the group's actions were "non-violent".

"Throwing pyrotechnics at areas where people are being evacuated to cannot be described as non violent," he said.

Bretherton, of Kilmacolm, Simmons, of London, Lacy of Edinburgh, Hygate and Javaid - both from Birmingham - admitted conducting themselves in a disorderly manner.

Hygate and Javaid admitted malicious mischief charges, while Javaid also pled guilty to behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

Pro-Palestinian protesters jailed for £1m damage at weapons factory

The five protesters scaled the Thales UK building in Govan and unfurled banners and erected flags in the incident in 2022.

Palestine Action ScotlandThe group have been jailed for five years and two months.

STV News
Glasgow City


A group of Pro-Palestinian protesters who caused over £1m of damages at a weapons factory have been jailed for a total of five years and two months.

Stuart Bretherton, 25, Eva Simmons, 25, Calum Lacy, 23, Erica Hygate, 23 and Sumaya Javaid, 22, scaled the Thales UK building in Govan on June 1, 2022.

The five protesters remained on the roof, unfurled banners and erected flags as well as ignited pyrotechnics.

The building had its fire alarm activated after Hygate and Javaid entered which prompted an evacuation.

Palestine Action Scotland

A smoke bomb was thrown into the area staff were being evacuated to which caused panic.

Two of the protesters remained at the building overnight and glued themselves to the roof after refusing to engage with police.

A total of £1,130,783 of damage was caused and the premises were shut due to safety concerns.

Bretherton, of Kilmacolm, Inverclyde, Simmons, of London, Lacy of Edinburgh as well as Hygate and Javaid of Birmingham, pled guilty to conducting themselves in a disorderly manner.

Hygate further admitted at Glasgow Sheriff Court to malicious mischief while Javaid separately pled to malicious mischief and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

Palestine Action Scotland

All bar Javaid received 12-month sentences while she was jailed for 14 months.

Sheriff John McCormick said: “At 6.25am, police saw you in the perimeter dressed in orange or red overalls, some had rucksacks and balaclavas.

“Police saw you quickly scale the fence using ladders which you discarded.

“You were confined to the roof of the main building, you attempted to climb on a derelict water tower and beckoned others.

“You unfurled banners and unveiled flags. Palestinian protesters gathered adjacent to the site and showed support for you.

“Multiple police resources arrived and were positioned around the building.

“Ms Hygate and Ms Javaid entered the building through the roof and caused damage including to parts essential to submarines.

“Fire alarms were activated which caused an evacuation and confusion as well as panic among staff.

“You set off pyrotechnics and smoke bombs – some thrown in the area where staff where evacuated.

“The smoke was dangerously close to the members of staff.

“Mr Bretheron, Ms Simmons and Mr Lacy were seen to move back and forth on the rooftop. They were seen to gather their belongings and stated their intention was to climb down a ladder.

“Ms Hygate and Ms Javaid of you refused to desist and remained overnight after refusing to engage with a police liaison.

“You glued your hands to the edge of the roof and remained there until officers were able to take your hands away.

“Ms Javaid was obstructive and required leg restraints.

“The court has to have regard to the major impact this had – the impact on employees as well as police and emergency services resources.

“A total of 20 constables, one inspector and two sergeants were there over two days or four shifts.

“The premises were shut due to safety concerns and disrupting business activities which included matters of nationwide security.

“The damage caused cost £1,130,783 which does not include the cost to the public purse, police or emergency service personnel.”

The sheriff stated that in one background report, one of the protesters claimed that their actions were non-violent.

He responded: “Throwing pyrotechnics at areas where people are being evacuated to cannot be described as non-violent.”

The sheriff told all five that they were “young and intelligent” and that everyone had the right to lawful protest.

However, Sheriff McCormick added: “You expressed a high level of regret to your actions and I give weight to that.

“Due to the gravity and the consequences, there is no suitable alternative to custody.”

Five Palestine Action activists jailed for occupying weapons factory

By

 5Pillars (RMS)

 -

20th August 2024

Five activists from Palestine Action Scotland have been jailed after they occupied a weapons factory owned by a French firm which has partnerships with Israeli weapons manufacturers.

Stuart Bretherton and Eva Simmons, both 25, Calum Lacy, 23, Erica Hygate, 23 and Sumaya Javaid, 22, scaled the Thales UK building in Govan, Glasgow, on June 1, 2022.

The five occupied the roof of the arms maker and dropped banners to disrupt production. Two of them also damaged weaponry inside the building. In total, they cost Thales’ over £1million in losses.

The activists pled guilty to conducting themselves in a disorderly manner.

Hygate further admitted at Glasgow Sheriff Court to malicious mischief while Javaid separately pled guilty to malicious mischief and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.

Three who were convicted of breach of the peace were given 12 month custodial sentences, whereas two who were convicted of breach of the peace and malicious mischief were given 14 months and 16 months custodial sentences.

They are expected to serve half of their sentences in prison.

The judge stated the aim of the sentences was to deter further activism against weapons companies in Scotland.

Thales is one of the world’s largest arms companies – producing armoured vehicles, missile systems and military UAVs (drones). According to Palestine Action, Thales works in partnership with Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons company, to produce military drones in their joint owned factory in Leicester called UAV Tactical Systems.

Sheriff John McCormick said: “The court has to have regard to the major impact this had – the impact on employees as well as police and emergency services resources. A total of 20 constables, one inspector and two sergeants were there over two days or four shifts.

“The premises were shut due to safety concerns and disrupting business activities which included matters of nationwide security. The damage caused cost £1,130,783 which does not include the cost to the public purse, police or emergency service personnel.”

There are now 16 Palestine Action activists in prison, detained for what they say is “taking action against complicity with colonialism and genocide.”

A Palestine Action spokesperson said: “Imprisoning activists for taking action against Scotland’s arms trade with Israel only serves to protect companies enabling genocide. Such sentences will urge more people to acknowledge Scottish complicity with the ongoing Gaza genocide and motivate them to take action against it. It is those who arm the massacres of the Palestinian people who are guilty, not those who take action to stop them.”

Thales denies supporting the Israeli military.

World will reflect on Gaza conflict as ‘time of dark shame’ – Taoiseach

The world has not done enough to bring about a ceasefire, Simon Harris said.


Simon Harris called for an urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement (Brian Lawless/PA)

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Cillian Sherlock

TODAY


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The world has not done enough to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, the Irish premier has said.


Simon Harris called for an urgent review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement as he said human rights clauses in the trade pact were being breached.


Mr Harris warned that the world would look back on the conflict as a “time of dark shame”.


The Taoiseach said he asked himself “every single day” what more the Irish Government could do.


When we look back at this period of time, it will be a time of dark shame for the world

Simon Harris


Speaking in Dublin on Tuesday, he said: “I find the scenes that are happening in the Middle East to be grotesque and almost unimaginable in terms of the scale of catastrophe.

“I’ve called it a war on children, I believe it to be that. The actions of Israel are utterly disproportionate.


“I’m also very conscious when it comes to things like trade, that is done at an EU level.


“To be clear, I do not believe the world, the European Union, has done enough to bring about a ceasefire.



“I believe when we look back at this period of time, it will be a time of dark shame for the world.


“Because there are levers that could be pulled at the European level that have not yet been pulled.”


Mr Harris said there was more that the European Union could do immediately, adding there are “levers that could be pulled”.



Human rights clauses are not there just to make the document longer

Simon Harris


He said he and the prime ministers of Spain and Slovenia were calling for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be reviewed.



Mr Harris said: “I hope other colleagues will join us should these talks not progress in the hours and days ahead. That is a very practical measure that we can take.


“What message do we send out to the world when we have human rights clauses in trade association agreements that don’t seem to kick in?


“I mean, they’re not there just to make the document longer – they have to have meaning.”

NGOs call for UK government to ban arms sales to Israel over Gaza onslaught

UK lawyers have brought claims of Israeli war crimes to court to stop the British government from supplying arms to Israel following Gaza onslaught.

Anam Alam
20 August, 2024

The case features 14 witness statements spanning over 100 pages from Palestinian and western medical workers, detailing claims of Israeli war crimes [GETTY]

A group of NGOs are seeking an arms embargo on Israel by the UK government due to the onslaught on Gaza, which has seen at least 40,173 people killed.

Lawyers have put forward a case detailing claims of Palestinians being tortured, left untreated in hospital, and unable to escape Israel's continuous assaults on Gaza to the high court in London, The Guardian reported.

The lawyers are acting on behalf of a group of NGOs, including Al-Haq, Amnesty International, Oxfam, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), and Human Rights Watch.

It is the first attempt to put such "graphic testimony of alleged Israeli war crimes in front of a British judge" since 7 October, according to the publication.

The lawyers submitting the claim are seeking an order to prevent the UK government from continuing to grant arms export licences to British companies selling arms to Israel.

The case consists of 14 witness statements spanning over 100 pages coming from Palestinian and Western medical doctors working in hospitals in Gaza, as well as ambulance drivers, civil defence, and aid workers.

The "graphic evidence" is reportedly made to support a request for a court order that the UK government has acted "irrationally" when refusing an arms ban to Israel, asserting there is no risk the weapons used are violating international law.

Unlike the US, the UK government grants individual licenses to companies exporting arms overseas.

The UK government has a statutory test to determine whether to grant these licenses; if there is a clear risk the weapons might be used to violate international humanitarian law, then exports will not be granted.

The Labour government is reviewing this test, but activists have accused it of deliberately prolonging a decision while Israel's war on Gaza continues.

"The UK Government continues to allow the sale of arms to Israel, despite knowing that they are likely being used to commit war crimes," Magnus Corfixen, Oxfam's humanitarian lead, told The New Arab.

"This threshold has long been met. The UK government must immediately halt all arms sales, on both new and existing licences, whether sold directly to Israel or via a third party. A partial suspension of exports to Israel will not be enough," Corfixen adds.

The UK still grants arms exports to Israel despite continuous calls for arms to be withheld amid mass civilian casualties and the destruction of schools, shelters for refugees, and whole neighbourhoods.

The Israeli military says it is acting within humanitarian law and in "self-defence" although this claim has been widely disputed by NGOs and legal experts.

Following the killing of three British aid workers in April by a targeted Israeli strike, the UK concluded it would not suspend arms exports after reviewing a further three months of Israeli bombardment.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians also alleged that the engine used in the Hermes 450 drone responsible for the killing of the aid workers was UK-made.

The UK has licensed at least £576 million ($740 million) worth of arms exports to Israel since 2008.

UK

Academics warn Goldsmiths damage done despite agreement

Some staff had already taken redundancy before union strike threat forced deal

By Chris Parr

Image: mikecphoto, via Shutterstock

Staff at Goldsmiths, University of London, have called off strike action after the institution ruled out further compulsory redundancies—but one former employee has said the damage has already been done in some departments.

On Friday the UCU said continuous strike action due to start on 23 September would not take place, after an agreement was reached with university managers. Multiple strikes have already taken place at the South London campus.

The UCU said the agreement guarantees that 14 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy will now keep their jobs, and that no staff will be made compulsorily redundant during the 2024-25 academic year. A planned marking and assessment boycott has also been cancelled, it added.

‘Hard-won agreement’

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said that by taking sustained industrial action, union members had “not only protected many more jobs, as well as courses, they have also saved an institution that was in danger of burning down its own house”.

“This hard-won agreement is a testament to their strength,” she said. “Vice-chancellors across the country must learn from this dispute and realise that wherever they try to make staff pay the price for financial mismanagement and a failed funding model, we will organise relentlessly to defend jobs and protect student provision.”

‘Workloads will be high’

Emma Jackson, former director of the Centre for Urban and Community at Goldsmiths, said that while she was “delighted for the 14 people whose jobs this will save”, more than 60 academics—including herself— had already taken redundancy “as we were told it was that or be made redundant”.

“A win for the union is that the senior management team have agreed not to carry out any compulsory redundancies next academic year, so at least those who are staying have a year without that hanging over their head,” she said.

“However, in my former department of sociology, over 50 per cent of staff have been made redundant and workloads will be very high for remaining staff.”

‘Difficult times’

A spokesperson for Goldsmiths said: “These are difficult times for universities, and we are doing everything we can to protect what makes Goldsmiths a special and unique place. We recognise the important role our campus unions play in this and will continue working with them for the good of our students and staff.”

Should employees get 'unhappy leave'?

 Boss at Chinese company lets workers take up to ten days off a year if they're feeling sad and 'need to relax'Yu Donglai, CEO of Pang Dong Lai, to grant workers 10 days of additional leave

It comes as the new Labour government in UK pushes 'right to switch off' plan

By Jowena Riley
20 August 2024

A company in China has introduced a groundbreaking new policy to ensure employees achieve a better work-life balance - but should it be adopted by businesses in the UK?

Yu Donglai, founder and chairman of retail chain Pang Dong Lai, has established 'unhappy leave', which enables employees to apply for an additional ten days off if they're hit by mental health problems.

The new policy is part of a broader effort to prioritise employee well-being, and comes alongside other benefits such as a seven-hour workday and 30 to 40 days of annual leave.

In the UK, Labour this week announced that it was considering a 'right to switch off' plan that could help employees draw a line between their work and home life.

As outlined in the party's campaign pledge, workers who are relentlessly contacted by their bosses outside of work hours could be entitled to compensation.

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A company in China has introduced a groundbreaking new policy to ensure employees achieve a better work-life balance - but should it be adopted by businesses in the UK?

The government is looking to push out a code of practice which sets out normal working hours and clarifies when an employee can expect to be contacted by their employer.

The policy, believed to be spearheaded by deputy PM Angela Raynor, includes the right for workers to refuse taking on extra work on weekends or to carry out work-related tasks while on annual leave.

Pushy bosses who repeatedly breach the agreement could be taken to an employment tribunal and forced to pay thousands of pounds in compensation.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in China, helping employees achieve a good work-life balance is currently down to employers, but the idea of 'unhappy leave' could catch on.

According to South China Morning Post, the company behind it, Pang Dong Lai, currently employs 7,000 workers, and each of them will benefit from Yu's newly introduced "unhappy leave."

The policy ensures staff can apply for an additional 10 days of leave to freely determine their own rest time and have sufficient relaxation outside of work.

As well as weekends off and 30 to 40 days of annual leave, employees are also entitled to a further five days off during the Lunar New Year.⁠

Yu said: 'We do not want to be big. We want our employees to have a healthy and relaxed life, so that the company will too. Freedom and love are very important.

Yu Donglai (pictured), founder and chairman of retail chain Pang Dong Lai, has established "unhappy leave," which enables employees to apply for an additional 10 days of leave

As well as weekends off and 30 to 40 days of annual leave, Yu's employees are also entitled to a further five days off during the Lunar New Year

'I want every staff member to have freedom. Everyone has times when they're not happy, so if you're not happy, do not come to work.'

He added: 'This leave cannot be denied by management. Denial is a violation.'

The idea has since garnered support on mainland China social media, with people taking to platform Weibo to praise the company.

One person wrote: 'Such a good boss and this company culture should be promoted nationwide.'

The push for a work-life balance has steadily become a talking point as reports indicate that work-related stress remains a significant issue in the UK.

The Labour government is looking to introduce the 'right to switch off' in a plan believed to be spearheaded by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Raynor (pictured)

According to Champion Health, the most common cause of stress in the UK is work-related - with 79 per cent of Brits reporting that they frequently experience it.

As of 2022, 13.7 million working days are lost each year in the UK because of work-related stress, anxiety and depression, costing £28.3 billion yearly.

As the UK government considers Labour Party’s 'right to switch off' proposal, the question arises: should the concept of "unhappy leave" be explored as well?

A London influencer recently revealed her top three tips for surviving a traditional 'nine to five' job in the corporate world.

The video by Ells, who goes by @ellsatthedisco on TikTok, has been seen by almost 13,000 people in a week.

The influencer explained that her number one suggestion is to delete work related apps from your personal phone, including teams, slack and emails.

Artificial intelligence: A reading list

Research Briefing
Published Tuesday, 20 August, 2024

This briefing provides a selection of reading on artificial intelligence, including UK Government policy.

Documents to download
Artificial intelligence: A reading list (472 KB , PDF)
Download full reportDownload ‘Artificial intelligence: A reading list’ report (472 KB , PDF)


What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence (AI) can take many different forms and there is no single, universally agreed, definition. The term is frequently used as a shorthand to refer to technologies that perform the types of cognitive functions typically associated with humans, including reasoning, learning and solving problems.

To perform these types of functions, AI systems generally rely on vast amounts of data. This data may be ‘structured’ or ‘unstructured’. Structured data is typically stored in a fixed format and can be more easily analysed and processed, such as financial transactions that have a date, time and amount. Unstructured data includes images, videos and text files; it is not organised according to a predefined structure, it is generally unformatted and is much harder to analyse.

Both types of data can be used to ‘train’ AI so that it can recognise patterns and correlations. This is achieved by the AI system applying rules (algorithms), based on the training dataset, to interpret new data and perform a specific task. In some instances, the AI is supervised and trained with data sets labelled by humans, as explained in this example from IBM:

A data scientist training an image recognition model to recognize dogs and cats must label sample images as “dog” or “cat”, as well as key features—like size, shape or fur—that inform those primary labels. The model can then, during training, use these labels to infer the visual characteristics typical of “dog” and “cat.”

This is useful for AI systems designed to look for specific things, such as spam emails.

In other instances, the system is unsupervised and the data is left unlabelled. Under these conditions, the system autonomously identifies patterns in the data. This is useful where the AI is designed to find something that is not known in advance, such as online shopping recommendations.

UK Government policy and regulation

The UK does not have any AI-specific regulation or legislation covering the technology. Instead, AI is regulated in the context in which it is used, through existing legal frameworks, such as financial services legislation.

Some regulators, however, have oversight of the development, implementation, and use of AI more broadly. For example, the Information Commissioner’s Office (the UK’s independent body established to uphold information rights) has guidance on its website covering AI and data protection and explaining decisions made with AI.

The Johnson and Sunak governments started developing a more comprehensive regulatory framework for AI. This included publishing strategy documents and a white paper on AI.

As part of its aim to “ensure the UK gets the national and international governance of AI technologies right” the government ran a public consultation on regulating AI in 2022. A white paper – A pro-innovation approach to AI regulation – followed in March 2023.

In the paper, the government proposed that AI would continue to be overseen by existing regulators covering specific sectors, such as Ofcom (the UK’s communications regulator), Ofgem (the energy regulator in Great Britain), and the Financial Conduct Authority (the UK’s conduct regulator for financial services). This context-based approach to regulation was favoured by the government, rather than creating a single regulatory function, and uniform rules, to govern AI.

The government proposed that AI regulation would be informed by five, cross-sector principles which regulators will “interpret and apply within their remits in order to drive safe, responsible AI innovation”. The principles are:Safety, security and robustness
Appropriate transparency and explainability

Fairness
Accountability and governance
Contestability and redress

While the Conservative government decided against creating a single regulatory function to govern AI, it proposed that existing regulators would be aided by “central support functions”, established by the government, such as horizon scanning for emerging risks and trends, and monitoring the overall regulatory framework. The government also proposed that the five principles would not, at least initially, be subject to new regulation, but instead would be implemented by existing regulators.

A further consultation accompanied the publication of the white paper. The government’s response was published in February 2024 and confirmed that it remained committed to its cross-sector principles and “context-specific” approach to regulation. It said that it would seek to build on this in the future, only legislating when it was “confident that it is the right thing to do”.

Both the Labour Party’s 2024 election manifesto and the King’s Speech indicate that the Labour government is looking to take a different approach to the previous government towards regulating AI. In its 2024 manifesto (PDF) the Labour Party said it would “ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models”. Similarly, in the King’s Speech, the Labour Government said that it would “harness the power of artificial intelligence as we look to strengthen safety frameworks” and signalled that it would “place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”.

Use of AI in different sectors

AI is currently being used across many different industries, from finance to healthcare. In 2022, the UK Government reported that “around 15% of all businesses (432,000 companies) had adopted at least one AI technology”. AI is also used in the public sector. The NHS AI Lab, for example, is focused on developing and deploying AI systems in health and care. In 2023, the government provided funding of £21 million to roll out AI imaging and decision support tools to help analyse chest X-rays, support stroke diagnosis and manage conditions at home.

The Food Standards Agency uses an AI tool to help local authorities prioritise inspections by predicting which establishments “might be at a higher risk of non-compliance with food hygiene regulations”. The government also announced in January 2023 that it would be using AI to help “find and prevent more fraud across the public sector”.

Safety and ethics

The UK Government interprets AI safety to mean the prevention and mitigation of harms (whether accidental or deliberate) from AI. Harms may arise from the ethical challenges that complex AI can present. These include the ‘black box problem’, where the inputs to and outputs from an AI system are known but humans cannot decipher – and the AI cannot explain – the process it went through to reach a particular conclusion, decision, or output. The AI’s decision-making process, in other words, is not transparent nor accountable to humans.

Such decisions may, in addition, be susceptible to biases, such as ’embedded bias’. Embedded biases arise from relying on training data that reflects social and historical inequalities. These inequalities are then perpetuated in the outputs from the system. As IBM explains, “using flawed training data can result in algorithms that repeatedly produce errors, unfair outcomes, or even amplify the bias inherent in the flawed data”. In addition, there are concerns about the privacy and security implications of AI, including the use of sensitive data to train AI systems, as well as the ability of those systems to infer personal information.

The UK Government and others have also considered “loss of control risks” in which human oversight and control over a highly advanced, autonomous AI system is lost, leaving it free to take harmful actions. There is an ongoing, contentious debate about such ‘existential risks’ and their likelihood. The Ada Lovelace Institute has emphasised that we should not lose sight of the harms that can arise from existing (rather than futuristic) AI systems.

UK
New government urged to take responsibility for the Police Race Action Plan

Sir Keir Starmer’s government must prioritise anti-racist policing by funding and overseeing the plan says a report from the Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board

THE NEW Government must put anti-racist policing at the core of its proposals by providing direct responsibility and funding of the Police Race Action Plan, according to a new report by the Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board (ISOB).

In its latest annual feedback report, the ISOB highlights limited progress on delivering the Police Race Action Plan four years after it was jointly announced by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing.

The ISOB is calling on the government to take on responsibility for the Police Race Action Plan and accelerate action to create a fairer policing system for Black communities.

Abimbola Johnson, Chair of the Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board, said: “We recognise the dedication of those working directly and indirectly on the Police Race Action Plan, which is shown on a daily basis. We have seen improvements, particularly at the beginning of this year.

“This is despite ongoing budget challenges, limited accountability for the programme’s success, and continued refusal by policing as a whole to acknowledge institutional racism. We want the Government to take responsibility for the Plan to ensure sustainable funding and proper accountability, and to develop a comprehensive long-term strategy for making policing better for Black communities.

“A forward-thinking roadmap, developed in partnership with policymakers and anti-racism experts, will improve the consistently low levels of trust we see in Black people in policing. Delivering on the overall aims that inspired the creation of the Plan and achieving an adequately funded strategy will provide the action needed to create change.”

Improvements needed

The report outlines ongoing challenges in the Race Action Programme, including a lack of resources, limited performance metrics, and inconsistent engagement with individuals outside of policing. Central government responsibility will unlock vital funding that will ensure measurable progress in improving policing for Black communities.

The report comes as the programme responsible for implementing and embedding the Police Race Action Plan enters its final year as a standalone initiative.

In response to this time constraint, the report recommends that the central programme focuses on the following areas: Introducing tangible and measurable performance metrics linked to the Police Race Action Plan’s Outcomes Framework to ensure forces continue their journey to becoming anti-racist beyond the end of the programme.
Identifying clear areas of focus to ensure an emphasis on outcomes instead of outputs.
Increasing engagement with external stakeholders, particularly with Black people under 25, to more effectively demonstrate how this engagement has informed the Plan.

‘Make or break year’

Johnson added: “The central Police Race Action Plan programme is in its crucial transition year. The programme needs a focused approach that will embed change into the very structure of policing.

“To ensure a strong legacy that will drive change in individual forces, tangible and measurable performance metrics must be established, clear focus areas must be identified, and meaningful engagement with stakeholders outside of policing must be increased. The Police Race Action Plan still has the potential to create change; this year is make or break.”

The report also comes as the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing publish a 2024 progress report for the Police Race Action Plan, outlining work that has been delivered on the Plan.

Police Race Action Plan (PRAP) Senior Responsible Officer, Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, said: “I have been hugely impressed with the progress the Plan has made under new leadership since September, and I want to thank Alison and her team for driving forward these changes, which will make a real difference to Black communities.
Improvements

“ISOB has acknowledged that improvements have been made in the Plan’s delivery since the turn of the year and I am determined to help support the programme in continuing its progress to deliver tangible long-term change.”

PRAP Programme Director, T/Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dr Alison Heydari, said: “We welcome this latest report from our Independent Scrutiny and Oversight Board (ISOB), which has continued to diligently and robustly guide and challenge the Plan over the past 12 months.

“I feel we have made huge strides forward in our strategy and delivery in recent months, with work already in train to address the three key recommendations in ISOB’s report.

“In the coming weeks we will publish a progress report outlining our work to date, as well as efforts we have made to engage and consult with Black communities across the country.

“A new reiteration of the Plan is due to be published in the autumn too, which will put the plan on a long-term footing and embed its work in the DNA of policing.”

The full report, Police Race Action Plan: Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board Annual Feedback Report, May 2023 – May 2024, is available at www.policeisob.co.uk.

UK

  

Refuse workers start ‘indefinite’ strike action

Ellie Ames 20 August 2024

Image: Matthew Ashmore / Shutterstock.com

Refuse workers in Sheffield have walked out in an ‘indefinite’ period of industrial action over union recognition.

The Unite members are in a dispute with their employer, Veolia, because the firm has not recognised their union.

Unite said it represents almost 100 workers, making up about 80% of the Lumley Street depot, but GMB is the sole recognised union.

Veolia has asked for the matter to be decided by the Trade Unions Congress.

Unite regional officer Shane Sweeting said: ‘Veolia could end this dispute tomorrow by doing the right thing and recognising the workers’ chosen union, Unite.

‘Veolia bears complete responsibility for the rubbish that will pile up across Sheffield because of its refusal to recognise Unite.’

Sheffield City Council said it was working with Veolia to ‘make sure there is as little disruption as possible’.

It’s not going well for Elon Musk

Tony Burke 

Today
Left Foot Forward

The recent X interview Musk conducted with Trump, was a technical shambles with a delayed start. 

Elon Musk’s right-wing commentaries on X, his cosying up to an increasingly erratic and disturbed Donald Trump and some strategic mistakes are damaging his business interests in the EU and US.

The recent X interview Musk conducted with Trump, was a technical shambles with a delayed start. Musk claimed it had been hacked by Iran and he then allowed Trump to ramble erratically. Musk looked out of control, as he lurched from one controversy to the next, seemingly thinking all publicity is good publicity.

Indeed, his badly judged attack on Keir Starmer during the UK’s right-wing riots coupled with his long running dispute with the Swedish IF Metall union over union rights and collective bargaining at Tesla in Sweden, and now a potential legal battle with the United Autoworkers in the USA over comments made about sacking workers during the X interview, have all been well publicised.

But behind the scenes his Tesla business has big problems with sales falling (down 5% globally in quarter 2 year on year) as the line-up of Tesla models ages and new competition arrives. And Tesla was recently hit by Rossmann, one of Europe’s largest drugstore chains who suspended Tesla vehicle purchases “with immediate effect” citing Musk’s support of Trump:

“Elon Musk makes no secret of his support for Donald Trump. Trump has repeatedly described climate change as a hoax—this attitude is in stark contrast to Tesla’s mission to contribute to environmental protection through the production of electric cars” said Raoul Rossmann, Rossmann’s spokesman for the management.

Rossmann is the first major business to cite Musk’s stance as a reason to stop buying Teslas. Other European companies have dropped orders from Tesla for different reasons. Software giant SAP said it would stop offering Teslas as company cars for employees given Tesla’s numerous price alterations.

And in the US, the rental firm Hertz was left reeling from its bad bet on Tesla, resulting in it offloading tens of thousands of the company’s vehicles. European leasing companies have faced a similar predicament, forcing Tesla to offer unofficial discounts to try and calm things down.

With the European EV market far larger than in the US, Tesla sales have slumped, down to an aging line up, strong competition and fewer government subsidies on offer. That has hit Tesla, with sales down 13% for the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

Tesla shares peaked at over $400 back in 2021. But over the last year its share price has averaged $212. Shares fell 10% from a recent peak after slower sales, soaring costs from employee lay-offs and ever-greater investments in its artificial intelligence infrastructure hit quarterly profits. And Musk may yet have to off-load more Tesla stock next year to pay for the dire financial situation at X (formerly Twitter).

Other strategic blunders have contributed to Tesla’s problems. Musk had to postpone the unveiling of Tesla’s first “robotaxis” — a fleet of self-driving taxis after claiming that he would turn all Tesla vehicles into a “giant autonomous fleet” which could take the company’s valuation as high as $5tn — about six times its current market value. And the firm has been too slow to refresh its range and get an affordable small car (nicknamed the ‘Model 2’) to market.

And having once mocked China’s BYD EV, the latter is providing stiff competition. Tesla has slashed prices in order to compete. Meanwhile the much hyped Cybertruck pickup EV is bombing, exacerbated by recalls; nearly all of the 12,000 Cybertrucks sold are included in the recall.

With Starmer playing it long and avoiding being dragged into a slanging match with Musk, eyes will be on the revised on-line safety bill. Meanwhile, should Kamala Harris beat Trump in the US presidential election the reaction from Harris will be worth watching. Musk is unlikely to be a regular caller to the White House.

And in the UK Starmer may have levers to pull on possible tariffs on EVs from China (many Model 3s and Ys) are made there.

Tony Burke is the Co-Chair Of The Campaign For Trade Union Freedom

Gay British-Mexican man convicted in Qatar speaks out after return to UK

 GAY HONEY POT STING ON GRINDER

Beatrice Fanucci

Tue, 20 August 2024 


Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a gay man who was arrested and convicted in Qatar, smiling at the camera, wearing a grey blazer and light blue t-shirt. Via X - @fairsqprojects

In the first interview since his return to the UK, Manuel Guerrero Aviña, a gay British-Mexican man who was detained and convicted in Qatar, has spoken out about his imprisonment. “I never thought I’d return home safely,” he said.

According to reports, Manuel Guerrero Aviña was arrested in Qatar in February this year following an alleged police-led Grindr sting. He supposedly arranged a meeting with another man through the dating app and later found an undercover police officer waiting for him.

Guerrero Aviña was jailed for several months and during his imprisonment, he was reportedly denied access to a lawyer and forced to sign documents in Arabic without a translator. Moreover, the 44-year-old, who is said to be HIV positive, was deprived of antiretroviral medicines.

In June 2024, he was found guilty of possessing an illegal substance and received a suspended six-month prison sentence, alongside a fine of £2,100. He was also the subject of a deportation order, which led to his return to the UK earlier this month.

In his first interview since he left Qatar, the gay man recounted his 44 days in prison and subsequent detention, warning all LGBTQ+ people to “be careful when visiting Qatar”. He added, “What happened to me could happen to anyone”.

“There were so many times I was terrified,” Guerrero Aviña said. “I thought I would never be able to leave. I thought I might get lost in the system. I was really scared. I never thought I’d return home safely.”

The man also claimed that the police planted drugs in his flat in order to obtain a conviction, but that the real reason behind his arrest was his sexuality. “I absolutely deny the drugs charges,” he told BBC News.

“Throughout the entire interrogation, everything they asked me about was about my sexual partners, my sexual orientation, whether I’ve been having sex, who I have had sex with and things like that,” he said. “If it was just a drugs case, they would have been asking me about drugs.”

Same-sex relationships are illegal in Qatar and punishable by imprisonment or even death under Shariah law, with human rights groups repeatedly voicing concerns about the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the country. Guerrero Aviña had lived in Qatar for seven years without getting in trouble with authorities before he was arrested last February.

“There seemed to be an unwritten rule that whatever went on in private was OK,” he told the BBC. “I thought I was being compliant by being discreet when (in public) and following the rules – but I was just trying to live a little bit of my life behind doors. I thought it was fine as long as it wasn’t in public.”

Recounting his time in the Qatari prison, the gay man said that he witnessed people being whipped and was moved into cramped conditions for refusing to cooperate with the police by unlocking his phone and disclosing the names of other LGBTQ+ people in Qatar.

“They were trying to force me to confess and unlock my phone – but I couldn’t put other people from the gay community at risk,” he said. “Why would I put someone else through that pain?”

The BBC was also in contact with a Qatari official, who spoke about the case, saying that Guerrero Aviña had been treated with “dignity and respect throughout his detention” and sentenced “following an investigation and trial”.

“Mr Aviña and his family have made numerous false allegations in an attempt to generate public sympathy and support for his case,” the official said. “A person’s beliefs, background or orientation do not exempt them from the law, especially when facing serious charges related to drug possession.”

However, James Lynch, who was a former British diplomat in Qatar and co-director of human rights group FairSquare, said that the trial was “grossly unfair”. Lynch added, “Manuel was clearly targeted because he was LGBT and living in Qatar and living his life”.

“Over the last three years, we’ve dealt with several cases of people who’ve been arrested and then interrogated without a lawyer,” the former diplomat explained. “The Qataris need to sort out the way justice is delivered in the country.”

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