Turkey reportedly still loading Azerbaijani oil for Israel despite “total trade ban”

RUSSIAN OIL BY ANY OTHER NAME 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, left, and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan may have a decision to make on continued deliveries of Azerbaijani oil to Israel by tankers sailing from Turkey's port of Ceyhan. / President.az, cc-by-4.0

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By bne IntelliNews May 5, 2024

Azerbaijani oil was on May 5 still being loaded on tankers bound for Israel at the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan despite Turkey on May 2 announcing a complete ban on trading with the Israelis, Hebrew evening financial daily Globes has reported, citing Israeli sources.

Azerbaijan is a close ally of fellow Muslim-majority nation Turkey, but it is also seen as having strong relations with Israel. It is an important supplier of oil to the Israelis. Oil from Caspian Sea resources is piped to Ceyhan via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. Tankers ship the oil from Ceyhan to Haifa.

The oil export operation appears to be continuing despite Turkey’s trade ministry asserting on May 2 that “all products” were covered by the trade boycott announced due to the “worsening humanitarian tragedy in Palestine [amid the war in Gaza]”.

“The second phase of the measures taken at the state level has been started, and export and import transactions related to Israel have been suspended to cover all products,” the ministry said in a statement, adding: “Turkey will firmly and decisively implement these new measures until the government of Israel allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

In January, Israel was the top customer for Azerbaijani oil, importing 523,500 tonnes worth $297mn. Other significant suppliers of oil to Israel are Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

Israel—which in the conflict with Palestinian militant group Hamas has refused to allow Turkey to join in international efforts to deliver aid to Gaza civilians—has become a very important supplier of arms to Azerbaijan, with exports including combat drones from Israel Aerospace Industries, long-range artillery and surface-to-air missile systems. Israel also sells satellites to Azerbaijan.

Globes said Israel’s relations with Azerbaijan are the most stable that it has with any Muslim country.

Trade between Israel and Turkey stands at around $6.2bn a year, with Turkish exports making up around $4.6bn of that figure, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Israel was Turkey's 13th biggest export market in 2023, taking 2.1% of Turkish exports. Turkey was in 2023 Israel's fifth biggest source of imports.

Among Israeli exports to Turkey are petroleum products. Israel exported around 11,000 barrels per day (bpd) of gasoline and diesel to Turkish ports in April, according to data from Kpler.

Taken by surprise by Ankara’s announcement of the freezing of all trade with Israel, Turkish exporters are looking to work around the boycott by sending their goods to Israel via third countries.

The owner of a Turkish food exporter told Reuters on May 3 that the halt in trade also meant blocking goods destined for the Palestinian territories, as they have to pass through Israeli customs.

“The Palestinian people will also suffer,” he said. “We will see if we can send the orders via Egypt, Jordan or Lebanon. I don’t know how we’ll get out of this situation.”

Turkey is the first of Israel’s key trade partners to halt exports and imports in response to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

In 1949, Turkey was the first Muslim country to recognise Israel. However, relations have generally worsened in recent decades despite periods when ties have improved.

On May 5, Turkish daily Hurriyet reported main rival to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in domestic politics, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as calling on European countries to take a stronger stance against events in Gaza.

"While Europe has positioned itself as the custodian of democratic ideals, can it sincerely claim to have consistently upheld these values?" Imamoglu was cited as saying during a special session of the Party of European Socialists held in Paris on May 3.

He added: "Should we not speak louder and condemn the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent, including women and children [in Gaza]?”

UK
Pioneer of universal free school meals is re-elected as London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark

4 May 2024
Myriam Page and Tacita Quinn
Follow @SW_Londoner

Candidate Marina Masuma Ahmad will return for another term at the London Assembly under the Labour banner.

This follows a comfortable win for Labour candidate Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral election, with Khan’s vote in Lambeth and Southwark constituency increasing by 10,000 votes since the 2021 elections.

Throughout her campaign Ahmad has enjoyed informing her constituents that her report, Growing Hungry, published in October 2022, prompted Sadiq Khan to implement an £130 million project to supply free school meals to junior pupils.

Khan implemented the policy in February 2023, with Ahmad describing the announcement as “one of the best moments of my life.”

Planning to continue the policy, Khan’s manifesto for Mayor of London pledged to make ‘universal free school meals permanent for all state primary school children’.


Ahmad’s share of the vote marginally dropped in the Labour stronghold of Lambeth and Southwark, since the previous London Assembly election in 2021, with the Greens, the Liberal Democrats and ReformUK all increasing their share.

Labour still achieved a resounding victory with over 48% of the vote.

Commenting on today’s win, Ahmed shared that she was: “absolutely delighted – and very grateful to the good people of Lambeth and Southwark.”

Green Party candidate Claire Sheppard was pleased with the increase in the Green’s share, increasing 0.5%, from 19.7% to 20.2%.

Speaking about the campaign, Sheppard mentioned that: “in Lambeth and Southwark its very hard to get past the tribalism of Labour voting – but we’re working on it.”

Earlier in the day Shephard affirmed her commitment to role, saying: “I think, as the elections pass, more and more people are realising that I’m not only a credible candidate but that I really want the job.”


The Liberal Democrat candidate, Chris French, came third with 12.7% of the vote and the Conservative candidate came fourth with 12.1%.

The Conservative share of the vote fell by 4.4% from the election in 2021.

London election: sensational gain for Lib Dems in South West as Conservatives drop to third place

4 May 2024
Tom Judge and Laura Zilincanova
Follow @SW_Londoner

The Liberal Democrats have bolstered their Orange Wall in south west London, taking the constituency which covers the area for the first time in its history, with the Conservatives dropping to third place.

The Liberal Democrat candidate Gareth Roberts has won the South West constituency on the Greater London Assembly with 66,675 votes, followed the Labour in second on 50,666, and the Conservatives dipping to third, with 49,981 votes.

The South West constituency has always returned a Conservative member to the Assembly, and this is the first time a member from a party other than Labour or the Conservatives has won a constituency seat.

On winning Roberts said: “After troubled times in recent years, this a real boost for Lib Dems in London.

“I really hope this is going to translate into more MPs. We’re back. ”

Previous to the results being announced Roberts emphasised working across parties, citing his role as leader of Richmond Borough Council, and working at a cross-London level before, saying he will work with whoever is Mayor at City Hall if elected if the proposals are good.

However, Roberts indicated a preference for working with a Sadiq Khan-led City Hall, rather than the Conservatives’ Susan Hall.

On Hall, Roberts said: “Hall would be a serious mistake. A Walking talking billboard for culture wars and anti-wokeness.”

The mayorality was retained by Khan and the Labour Party for a historic third term.

Roberts told journalists that he wouldn’t step down as Leader of Richmond councils, but will do both, saying it’s been done before with Council leaders sitting as AMs on the assembly.

The Labour candidate, Marcela Benedetti, talked up her chances, but admitted it was a three-way race between herself, the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

However, she hoped being from the party that looks like it’s about to enter the UK government would swing it her way.

Benedetti said: “A Labour Prime Minister, working with a Labour Mayor, and with a Labour Assembly Member in the south west.”

Ron Mushiso, the Conservative candidate, highlighted his background, and how he has previously struggled to succeed, saying it was why he would make a good AM for the south west.

He said: “I understand what it feels like to be poor, what it feels like to have nothing, what it feels like to come from absolute zero, and what it feels like for the state to be there supporting you if you require it.”

After the results came in he said: “I’m disappointed to have come third.”

Adding that they were not able to reach enough supporters on the door to get across the line.

Steve Chilcot, of Reform UK, pointed out that Reform was a brand new party, and did not expect to win, but was confident in getting votes.

Reform UK came fifth in the constituency, with 14,450, behind the Greens on 17,696.

Ask how he felt about Khan winning the Mayoralty, he said: “Very sad, I’ve not personally met a single person who likes him, he’s very unpopular with everyone I’ve spoken to, whether they’re on the left or on the right.”

In the mayoral race, Labour topped the vote in the South West seat, winning 77,011 votes to the Conservatives 68,856, flipping the seat at the Mayoral level, with the Liberal Democrats coming a distant third with 25,579 votes

Count Binface is consoled by Sadiq Khan after losing in London mayor elections - after whacky candidate's manifesto pledge to price-cap croissants bags him 24,260

 votes

By MILO POPE
PUBLISHED:  4 May 2024

Count Binface has been consoled by Sadiq Khan after losing in the London mayoral elections.

The peculiar candidate made an inspired effort to 'take the trash out' in this year's election as he aimed 'for a champions league spot'.

But, despite pledging to cap the price of croissants at £1.10 and grant Grade 1 listed status to Claudia Winkleman's fringe, Count Binface finished 13th.

The wacky political figure, who claims to be a 5,072-year-old intergalactic space warrior, won 24,260 votes (0.98%) compared to Sadiq Khan's 1,088,225 (43.8%).

However, it appears it was not all bad for Binface who defeated Britain First candidate Nick Scanlon, who won 20,519 (0.83%) of the vote, which was nearly 4,000 less.

After discovering his victory over Mr Scanlon, he said 'down with fascism, up with Ceefax'.

Re-elected Mayor of London Sadiq Khan pictured congratulating Count Binface

Count Binface reacts after the results were announced in the London mayoral election



'It looks like I have defeated Britain First in an election,' he told reporters at City Hall.

London mayor election results


Sadiq Khan, Labour Party – 1,088,225 (43.8%)

Susan Hall, Conservative Party – 812,397 votes (32.7%)

Rob Blackie, Liberal Democrat – 145,184 (5.84%)

Zoe Garbett, The Green Party – 145,114 (5.84%)

Howard Cox, Reform UK – 78,865 votes (3.17%)

Natalie Campbell – 47,815 (1.92%)

Amy Gallagher, Social Democratic Party – 34,449 (1.39%)

Femy Amin, Animal Welfare Party - People, Animals, Environment – 29,280 (1.18%)

Andreas Michli – 26,121 (1.05%)

Tarun Ghulati – 24,702 (0.99%)

Count Binface – 24,260 (0.98%)

Nick Scanlon, Britain First – 20,519 (0.83%)

Brian Rose, London Real Party – 7,501 (0.3%)




'Come on, you have to cheer about that...down with fascism, up with Ceefax, what can I say?'

Britain First supporters could be seen booing Sadiq Khan as he stepped up to the podium to deliver his victory speech.

But hitting out at the fringe group one member of the crowd heckles back: 'You lost to Count Binface!'

Brian Rose (London Real Party) came last in the vote with 7,501 (0.3%) of the vote.

Elsewhere in Count Binface's manifesto, he pledged to make Thames Water bosses 'take a dip in the Thames to see how they like it' after dumping sewage into the famed waterway.

He also planned to 'build at least one affordable house' and said he would close down shops playing music before December and 'turn them into public libraries'.

Binface finished ninth in the 2021 election, but returned with an ambitious set of 24 pledges.

Binface has stood in four elections previously, including the last mayoral election in 2021.

He received 24,775 first choice votes, in comparison to Laurence Fox's 47,634 and Piers Corbyn's 20,604.

Labour's Sadiq Khan won with 1,013,721 votes with Conservative Shaun Bailey coming second with 893,051.

Binface is also the only candidate to have stood twice in Boris Johnson's former constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. In the July 2023 election he got 190 votes.

Binface, played by satirical comic Jonathan Harvey, follows in the long tradition of joke candidates running in high-profile elections in the UK.

Lord Buckethead stood against Prime Ministers in elections for over 30 years and first stood against Margaret Thatcher.

The wacky political figure claims to be a 5,072-year-old intergalactic space warrior

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Binface won 24,260 votes (0.98%) compared to Sadiq Khan's 1,088,225 (43.8%).

Lord Buckethead posing with this fellow candidate Theresa May at the election count in 2019

Lord Buckethead appears on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

It took its name from a 1984 film Gremloids but the film creator eventually objected.

Since 2017 Lord Buckethead has been rebranded as Count Binface citing 'an unpleasant battle on the planet Copyright' as the reason for his regeneration.

Lord Buckethead stood in Theresa May's consituency of Maidenhead at the 2017 general election and was even flown to the US to appear on John Oliver's HBO show Last Week Tonight.

The British comedian put him forward as a candidate for chief Brexit negotiator in Mrs May's imperiled Cabinet.

The candidate entered the show with all the pomp and ceremony that an intergalactic Lord deserves, a cloud of dry ice around his knees.

Despite the clear novelty factor of his campaign, Lord Buckethead distributed an impressive 4,000 leaflets during the campaign in 2019.

What is the mystery Roman object found on hill in Norton Disney?

20 hours ago
By David McKenna & Gemma Dawson,BBC News
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Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group

The 12-sided object, which has baffled experts as to its use, is the first to be discovered in the Midlands

A mysterious Roman artefact dug up in Lincolnshire has left experts baffled as to what it is. Found during an amateur archaeological dig in Norton Disney - where Walt Disney's ancestors hailed from - the 12-sided object has prompted fantastical suggestions as to its use.

It has been likened to a dog treat dispenser, a spaghetti measure and even a measuring gauge for slingshot.

Here, architectural historian and broadcaster Dr Jonathan Foyle offers his take on some of the suggestions put forward by BBC website users, and his own theory as to the object's purpose.

Toy story

David Hawley thought it was probably some sort of game dice, with the different sized holes denoting a different number.

"There are other sizes of dodecahedron in existence which could be more portable to carry if the army was on the move," Dr Foyle countered.

Lee Hartfield suggested it was some form of puzzle where the player had to align the right-sized ball with the correct hole.

In response, Dr Foyle said: "What's really striking about them is they are beautifully crafted and none of them show any signs of wear.

"They don't have any numbers on them so you can roll them [as dice]," he said.

He said although the artefact resembled a puzzle you might find in a Christmas cracker, the metal was "quite fragile" and would break.

"These things were clearly looked after," he added.

'Romans loved spaghetti'

Others thought the dodecahedron might have been used as a measuring device.

Brian Turner, from Norfolk, suggested it was a gauge for measuring lead balls or slingshot.

Meanwhile, Paul Roberts, from Dorset said it was "obviously a spaghetti measure".

"The Romans loved spaghetti, but obviously it was just as difficult back then as it is nowadays to work out exactly how much spaghetti to cook.

"I have a modern version of this, it's a lot more convenient but probably not as valuable," he added.

Jonathan Foyle

Dr Jonathan Foyle, who grew up in Lincolnshire, said he was delighted this dodecahedron had been unearthed in his home county

Dr Foyle replied that the Roman conquest of Britain would have "gone much more smoothly" with "bowls of carbonara" being dished out, but the foodstuff didn't become a staple in Italy until well after the fall of the Roman Empire.

"While the Romans had to wait centuries for pasta, they chowed down on dormice in fish sauce," he said.

Other suggestions included a fishing weight or a device used in childbirth to measure cervical dilation.

Nigel Monk thought it could be some sort of teaching device used by Roman mathematicians.

"Also it may just have been an ornament," he added.

Michael Lynch said it looked like an incense burner to get rid of smells - "an early version of a modern-day Air Wick".

Ruth Gilbert put forward the idea of a "rollable" pet treat dispenser.

"There are modern dog treat dispensers that look a lot like it - it must be said," Dr Foyle conceded.

"I've seen modern rubber ones. So if that's true, they should have asserted copyright."

BBC/Rare TVDigging for Britain's Alice Roberts described the Norton Disney find as one of the most remarkable things she had ever seen

The Norton Disney artefact featured in a recent episode of Digging for Britain, with presenter Prof Alice Roberts saying: "It has to be one of the greatest, most mysterious, archaeological objects I've ever had the opportunity to look at up close."

Commenting on the level of interest in the Norton Disney artefact, she added: "There are so many mysteries in archaeology that remain to be solved.

"The overwhelming range of responses to it from the audience shows just how these ancient riddles can capture the public imagination."

Newcastle student Lorena Hitchens, who goes by the name of Dodecahedra Girl on X (formerly Twitter), also featured in the show.

Ms Hitchens, who is studying the puzzling objects for her PhD, said: "For me, the challenge of solving the puzzle of what these items are is part of their appeal."
All fingers and thumbs

James Wyman supported the popular theory that it was a device used for knitting, while Lauren Dolphin, from Essex, said: "It is for crocheting gloves, different holes for different finger/thumb sizes."

"Perhaps they need more women on the dig team, lol."

Dr Foyle, who has appeared on TV shows including Time Team and Meet the Ancestors, replied: "I bet Alice Roberts would be absolutely up for that suggestion."


Some creative types have also taken it one step further and produced YouTube crafting tutorials using a plastic model of a dodecahedron.

"You can indeed make a glove finger from them, which people have ingeniously done," Dr Foyle said.

However, for the Romans "there was no evidence of knitting until centuries afterwards", he added.

One person suggested it was for sizing eggs.

Dr Foyle said he wasn't convinced there was any need to grade eggs at that time and "didn't think that idea's going to make it".

VW Pics/Getty Images

Some suggested a calendar or a device for charting the night sky

Some thought the 12-sided object was some type of desk calendar, or astronomical device.

Paula Dhugga put forward the idea that the 12 faces represented the 12 months, with the different face designs representing the differences between the months, or possibly seasons.

Steve Hill suggested a similar idea with the different sized holes denoting a different month and straws being added or removed to show the date.

"Because you have the smallest hole for December and the largest one for June, you can know when the shortest and longest days are," he said.


"Much more convenient than lugging Stonehenge around with you."

Others suggested some sort of of surveying device, while Chess Man thought it could be "a very crude and primitive sort of astronomical device".

"A primitive means of charting the night sky. Drawing the star patterns (constellations) down in an effort to measure and chart those. Using the holes to peer through so as to measure certain regions of the night sky," he said.
'Not Roman'

The object is one of only 33 dodecahedrons found in Britain, and the first to have been discovered in the Midlands.

So what does Dr Foyle think it was used for and does he concur with any of the suggestions listed above?


"What I think it is is a device for framing the constellations of the zodiac," Dr Foyle said (star of the day for Chess Man).

"If you look through them you can frame a view - much like a camera operator," he said.

sololos/Getty Images

Dr Foyle believes it was used for framing the constellations of the zodiac

Explaining his theory, the broadcaster said the Romans had brought with them an understanding of the 12-sided universe that Plato described.

However, he believes the mysterious objects were made by "a wonderful culture of metal-crafting by people we call the Celts."


"You don't find them in the Mediterranean at the core of the Roman empire, and you don't find them in the unconquered Celtic lands.

"I think the Romans influenced the native metal-crafters."

A dodecahedron found in Switzerland in 1982 also listed the names of the zodiac on each of the faces, Dr Foyle said.

"That's what makes me think that's what it is."Hear more from Dr Jonathan Foyle on BBC Sounds


The mysterious objects date back as far as the 1st Century. Some experts believe they were possibly linked to Roman rituals or religion, but there are no references to them in any Roman texts.

Richard Parker, secretary of the Norton Disney History and Archaeology Group, said the group planned to return to the dig site later this year in the hope of unearthing more clues.

In the meantime, history sleuths will be able to see the object on display at Lincoln Museum until September.

China’s burgeoning international influence is a big story of our times

The BBC last week unveiled its new global China reporting unit, attached to the World Service

OPINION
By Ian Burrell

May 5, 2024 

The BBC’s multi-lingual team will deploy open source investigative techniques and other analytical skills to assess China’s impact (Photo: Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Not so long ago, in the years after the great recession of 2008, China was viewed by the UK media sector as a source of economic opportunity and cultural adventure.

The BBC teamed up with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV for funding Sir David Attenborough’s documentary epic on Africa in 2013, and with Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent to make Blue Planet II in 2017.

British shows such as Sherlock and Downton Abbey were big hits with Chinese audiences. David Abraham, then head of Channel 4, led a delegation of British TV executives to Xiamen for a “Sino-British Television Programme Innovation Management Summit” in 2014.

When President Xi Jinping visited the UK in 2015, then prime minister David Cameron kow-towed before him in the hope of attracting Chinese investment into the British economy. Even Jeremy Corbyn, then leader of the opposition, dressed in white tie and tails.

The mood has changed a great deal since then. A spirit of co-operation has been replaced by a feeling of deep mutual distrust. In the wake of Covid, China expelled a wave of foreign journalists, including the British old China hand John Sudworth.

When in 2021 Ofcom revoked the UK broadcasting license of China Global Television Network (CGTN) over its ultimate control by the Chinese Community Party (CCP), China retaliated by banning BBC World News. Now the United States threatens to ban TikTok, the Chinese-owned social platform beloved by America’s Gen Z.

While China has sought to pull down the shutters on foreign reporting of its internal affairs, its interest in the rest of the world has never been greater. This extends from economic partnerships with developing nations and gaining access to the planet’s mineral resources, through to shaping global opinion by expansion of its state media activities, from Africa to South America.

China’s growing international influence is one of the biggest stories of our times. Which is why the BBC last week unveiled its new global China reporting unit, attached to the World Service. This multi-lingual team will deploy open source investigative techniques and other analytical skills to assess China’s impact.

It can also draw on the support of colleagues in the World Service’s 42 language services. “We have got teams based all around the world who are at the forefront of understanding what this expansion in Chinese influence actually means on the ground,” says Liz Gibbons, BBC executive news editor. “We are uniquely placed and it’s a really exciting new area of journalistic focus for us.”

The BBC has a small news-gathering team in mainland China, including its Beijing-based China correspondent Stephen McDonell. Its China service (in Mandarin) operates from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Gibbons says the global China unit is filling what was “a bit of a gap in our reporting, if I’m honest” and is addressing a subject in which there is “huge audience interest”.

The unit showed what it can do last week with a deep dive into China’s dominance in mining rare earth minerals – lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel – vital to the green economy. It identified 62 Chinese-backed mining projects worldwide. Using its network of Mandarin, Swahili, and Spanish speakers it interviewed Chinese workers and local people at mines in Argentina and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where allegations have been made of environmental destruction and employee exploitation. The story was featured on the BBC’s UK website and news channel.

A future topic for the unit’s investigation could be China’s increasing media influence in the global south. This is profound in Africa, where Chinese state news agency Xinhua operates 37 bureaus and hundreds of African journalists are being trained by Chinese media. StarTimes, a Chinese digital TV operator, has brought 10,000 satellite dishes to remote African villages, providing Chinese content and free coverage of the recent African Cup of Nations football tournament.

This is a CCP media programme which President Xi describes as “telling China’s story well”. If Western journalists insist on probing thorny topics, from Hong Kong protests to persecution of the Uyghurs, there are other ways to win hearts and minds. And votes at the United Nations.

Such media proactivity is not unique to China. The Kremlin’s targeted output of Vladimir Putin strongman memes on TikTok resonates with audiences in the Muslim world and undermines solidarity with America-backed Ukraine.

The global China unit does not have “a particular agenda”, Gibbons argues, except to demonstrate the “scale and scope” of Chinese global activity. She notes that with “a huge number of elections happening this year” and China being the “largest global creditor”, Beijing has leverage over countries in its debt. “That can influence all kinds of other things.”

Planet China is not the name of a new Attenborough project. But it is a story that needs to be told.

ABOLISH PRISONS

UK Prisons ‘sleepwalking into crisis’ as inmates forced to share single cells

Yohannes Lowe

THE GUARDIAN
Sun, 5 May 2024 

Around three in every five prisons in England and Wales are now overcrowded.Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/Corbis/Getty Images

The scale of the prison overcrowding crisis has been laid bare by figures revealing that a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales have been sharing cells designed for one person with at least one other inmate.

According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), 11,018 cells intended for single use were being shared by two prisoners, with a further 18 such cells shared by three inmates. The overall prison population – which has ballooned over recent decades because of longer sentences and court backlogs – stood at about 88,000 when the statistics were originally compiled in late February.

Steve Gillan, the head of the Prison Officers Association, said sharing cells designed for one person creates tension among inmates, making the jobs of overworked prison staff even more difficult: “It is no wonder that the prison service is struggling to retain prison officers and operational support grades in England and Wales. The pressure on staff is intolerable and dangerous.”

He warned that the government was “sleepwalking into another crisis” after it “learned nothing” from the landmark Woolf report into the 1990 Strangeways riots, in which two people died. Among the report’s recommendations was that no prison should hold more inmates than is provided for in its certified accommodation level – which represents the “good, decent standard of accommodation” that the Prison Service says it aspires to provide to all inmates.

But three in five prisons are now overcrowded, with the problem most acute in inner-city Victorian reception jails such as Leeds, Bristol and Bedford, according to Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons.

Taylor said a lot of maintenance work is deferred in order to keep cells in use, and that too many prisoners have poor access to education and employment – activities that can reduce the chance of reoffending on release.

He believes that sharing is not inherently problematic, and can be a “protective factor against self-harm”, but is critical of the length of time many inmates are continuing to be confined in their cells, as they were during the pandemic. “The key issue is the conditions in which people are sharing cells,” Taylor said. “If prisoners were out of their cells spending the majority of their day in education and employment, then cramped conditions, while not ideal, would be less concerning. But the reality in many jails is two men spending up to 23 hours a day penned into a very small cell that was designed for one person, often in a poor state of repair and with an unscreened toilet. When you consider that, it is hardly surprising that levels of violence are rising and that we are seeing a worrying rise in the use of drugs,” said Taylor.

Prison Service rules require that cells are only shared where a prison group director has assessed them to be of an adequate size, condition and safety. Risk assessments are carried out on prisoners before deciding whether it is safe for them to share cells in closed conditions. Even a small oversight can lead to a vulnerable inmate being trapped with a potentially violent prisoner.

“We do complete risk assessments in custody but sadly on occasions there are times where people don’t get on. We would identify vulnerability, and those people get marked up to a single cell,” Mark Icke, the vice-president of the Prison Governors’ Association, said.

With many prisons at breaking point, the government has adopted emergency measures, including allowing some offenders to be released early, to try to tackle the overcrowding crisis. But the prison population is still projected to increase to between 94,600 and 114,800 by March 2028, in part because of a growth in police charging and changes in policy to keep the most serious offenders locked up for longer.

Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform charity, said sentencing reform is vital to create a more humane and sustainable justice system. “The government needs to take a serious look at other options and fundamentally reconsider sentencing regimes, which have meant sentences have gotten longer and longer over the last 20 years,” she said. “Nearly 40% of prisoners are there for non-violent offences. As a starting point, we need to think if any of those people need to be in prison at all.”

An MoJ spokesperson said: “We are delivering the biggest prison expansion since the Victorian era – including two prisons in two years – to help rehabilitate offenders and keep our streets safe. We will always ensure there is enough capacity to serve the outcome of the courts and keep dangerous offenders behind bars, and cells are only doubled up where it is safe to do so.

“Our sentencing bill will help reduce reoffending through greater use of tougher community sentences.”

'Little Russian Island': London's role in Russia's 1917 revolution

Many prominent Russian political figures and revolutionaries had gathered in London's East End, commonly called 'Little Russian Island' in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Aysu Bicer |05.05.2024 - BBC


- Vladimir Lenin, one of the leading figures in the Russian Revolution, lived in London for 15 years, publishing revolutionary literature, organizing Bolshevik groups, and keeping contact with other revolutionaries- London had a significant impact on Lenin, who, while primarily focused on the Russian left, forged few connections within the British context


LONDON

In the annals of history, London often takes center stage for its role in shaping global events. But one lesser-known chapter in the city's history is its contribution to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Before what would become a pivotal moment of upheaval that set the stage for the emergence of the Soviet Union and, later, the Cold War that dominated the 20th century's latter half, many prominent Russian political figures and revolutionaries would gather in London's East End, commonly referred to as the "Little Russian Island" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The city had served as a safe haven for dissidents fleeing persecution in Russia, among them leading figures in the revolution like Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Georgy Plekhanov.

Lenin, one of the central figures in the Russian Revolution and the then-leader of the Bolshevik Party, spent a considerable amount of time in London, where Karl Marx penned "Das Kapital," laying the foundations of Lenin's political ideology.



The Spark

In his book The Spark That Lit the Revolution, researcher Robert Henderson provides an opportunity for an in-depth examination of Lenin's time in London.

Lenin lived in London between 1902 and 1917, during which time he published revolutionary literature, organized Bolshevik factions, and maintained contact with other revolutionaries.

In 1903, a small group of political activists led by Lenin and Trotsky in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party converged in London for a fateful congress that would change the course of history.

This gathering marked the birth of the ideological schism that divided the Russian revolutionary movement into two rival factions: the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.

The Bolsheviks, under Lenin's leadership, championed a centralized and disciplined political party, while the Mensheviks favored a broader-based alliance.

As the years rolled on, London continued to be a crucible for change. The party convened again in 1905 and 1907, with Lenin and the Bolsheviks pushing their agenda forward.

The Fifth Congress of 1907 was a defining moment. Over 300 delegates descended upon London, with Lenin, the orchestrator of the Bolshevik agenda, playing a pivotal role.

Lenin also published the newspaper Iskra (The Spark) in London. This publication played a crucial role in disseminating revolutionary ideas and coordinating the efforts of various Russian socialist groups

.

British Museum's reading room

The Marx Memorial Library in Clerkenwell, once a publisher's office that was supportive of Lenin, now preserves what is called "the Lenin room" with busts of him and old Iskra editions. A map on the wall traces the smuggling routes used to transport the journal into Russia.

Lenin emulated Marx's example by obtaining access to the British Museum's Reading Room. Marx himself had conducted research for "Das Capital" there after its inauguration in 1857.

The room, housing a wealth of materials crucial to Lenin's research endeavors, had a profound impact on his intellectual processes and his productivity as a writer.

Lenin conducted extensive investigations into various aspects of Russian economic and social evolution, while also delving into a broad spectrum of other subjects.

This unparalleled source for information clearly played a pivotal role in Lenin's decision to favor London over several other potential places of exile.

Henderson candidly acknowledges that Lenin's sojourn in London had minimal enduring effects on the city's political landscape, including its radical leftist elements.

Lenin's primary focus was centered on the Russian left, though he forged few connections within the British context.

The inquiry into London's influence on Lenin and his compatriot revolutionary exiles, however, yielded a more intricate and intriguing narrative.

As Karl Marx wrote in a political pamphlet published in 1852: "Men (and women) make their own history, but not of their own free will, and not under circumstances of their own choosing.

"

UK
Tram strike due to begin after 'bad faith' talks

About 60 Croydon Tramlink engineers are taking part in the action from Sunday

BBC

Engineers who work on a south London tram service are due to begin a five-day strike in a dispute over pay disparities.

The union representing the Croydon Tramlink engineers, Unite, accused Transport for London (TfL) of engaging in "bad faith" talks.

The union said about 60 engineers will be taking part in the action from Sunday as they're "angry" their counterparts on the London Underground are paid £10,000 more a year despite having the same level of training.

TfL said it had been "open and honest throughout the process" and added it was "committed to continued dialogue to reach a conclusion".
'Unnecessary inconvenience'

The workers will strike from 20:00 BST on Sunday to 06:00 BST on Thursday 9 May.

Strike action had been due to take place in March but this was suspended to engage in further talks, a Unite spokesperson said.

They added this was because TfL "refused to be transparent about the process it was using to identify pay disparities and broke its word on how they would be resolved".

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said TfL was "systemically underpaying" the tram engineers.

"TfL was negotiating in bad faith by breaking its promises and withholding information. Unite’s patience has run out with TfL’s disgraceful double-dealing and lack of transparency," she added.

A TfL spokesperson said it "would never enter conversations in bad faith".

"We have agreed to work with union colleagues to identify equivalent roles in London Underground, assess any disparity in overall benefits packages, and where agreed take action where appropriate," they explained.

TfL said it would take time and said it had asked that this strike action was suspended to allow this to happen.

"We remain committed to continued dialogue to reach a conclusion and ask the union to suspend this action, which will only cause unnecessary inconvenience for our customers," the spokesperson added.

Industrial action will escalate if the dispute is not resolved, the union spokesperson added.

Information on how the action will affect services can be found on the TfL strikes page.

Oh dear! Britain First in meltdown after LOSING to Count Binface

Ten candidates managed to avoid the indignity of losing to Count Binface in London - but Nick Scanlon of Britain First was not one of them.

by Tom Head
2024-05-05
in Politics


Photo: Twitter

Quite likely, it doesn’t get any more embarrassing than this. Britain First’s attempts to legitimise themselves as a political force took a battering on Saturday, after they were outperformed in the London Mayoral Elections by Count Binface.

Who is Count Binface?

The parody candidate finished 11th out of 13 individuals competing for control of the capital. He fetched 24,260 votes in total, polling at a fraction over 1%. That’s right. One in 100 politically active Londoners gave their support to Mr. Binface this year.

In all fairness, the comical figure does have some pretty agreeable policies in his manifesto. He wants to tie the pay of government ministers to that of nurses for the next 100 years, while banning Christmas music in shops before December.
Count Binface defeats Britain First in London Mayoral Elections

Alas, if you’re failing to gain more support than a bloke with a bin on his head, you must be doing something wrong. Ten candidates managed to avoid this humiliation. But Nick Scanlon of Britain First wasn’t so lucky…

The far-right mayoral hopeful earned just 20,512 votes – or 0.8% of public support in total. Scanlon also embarrassed himself further by shouting “Khan killed London”, when Sadiq Khan began his victory speech yesterday afternoon.

Party leader Paul Golding has tried to soften the blow, by claiming that many Britain First voters actually backed Susan Hall, in the hope that the Conservative candidate was best placed to defeat the Labour incumbent.

Britain First delete Tweet following fast fact-check

However, Khan ended up 11 percentage points clear of Hall – increasing his vote share from the previous elections. Whatever strategy Britain First were going for, it didn’t work. They even had to delete a furious Twitter post at one point.

The official Twitter count outright denied losing to Count Binface by just under 4,000 votes. However, one swift dose of reality and a Community Note later, and the rant was removed. Oh well, there’s always next time, guys…

UK

‘Cuts will result in patient deaths’: hospitals shed medical staff after being told to balance the books

James Tapper
Sun, 5 May 2024 

Extra funding granted to the NHS only covers inflation and pay rises and fails to keep pace with the ageing population.Photograph: Jeff Moore/PA

Hospitals are being forced to cut medical staff, threatening their ability to care for patients, senior health leaders have warned.

NHS trusts are reporting budget deficits after the chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave England’s health service £2.5bn extra funding, which only covers inflation and pay increases.

The UK’s ageing population and the impact of having more than 6 million patients waiting for more than 7.5m treatments means that demand on the health service has increased substantially.

NHS leaders had been recruiting medical staff as part of their efforts to tackle the waiting list backlog, one of Rishi Sunak’s five pledges, but say they are now being told their priority must be to balance the books. The original target was to cut NHS England’s £4.6bn agency workers bill, but that has expanded to include permanent staff and may mean waiting lists for some treatments rise rather than fall.

There are now 25 health service bodies in NHS England’s recovery support programme, the equivalent of special measures, and others are reporting significant deficits. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has a £194.7m gap. Mid and South Essex Foundation Trust is £57m down, and King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust expects to reach £90m.

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care System, which includes four NHS bodies, faces a deficit of £130m, and would need to cut 10% of its workforce, or 2,300 jobs, to break even. Board member Jon Rouse said at a recent meeting that trying to fix the problem in a year would “do significant damage including … patient harm,” the Health Service Journal reported.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said many organisations were looking for efficiency savings up to 10%, when 1.5% was a realistic maximum. “There is not a leader in the health service who is not focused on how on earth they’re going to make the books balance … But a lot are saying the only way they can manage to make their books balance is to effectively reduce the service they can provide.

“There’s no question that there will be an impact on clinicians’ posts and staffing cover. People will look to cut back on agency costs if they can. But agency workers are there to fill gaps. It’s also generally recognised that the NHS is under-managed. So cutting back on managers and administrators just means that a bigger burden falls on clinicians.”

Siva Anandaciva, chief analyst at the King’s Fund, said hospital leaders had been trying to hire staff to reduce the number of vacancies, which stood at 7.6% last December. Now they were being told “no, your number one job is to balance the books and as a result you’re going to have to reduce staffing headcount because that’s the biggest single area of spending,” he said.

“Walking around hospitals, people are still saying ‘we are understaffed, we are understaffed at night in particular, so we don’t feel we are in a position to cut back on numbers without inevitably having an impact on patient care’, whether that’s quality of care or access to care.”

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said there were still 110,000 vacancies across England and that “severe staff shortages … could get even worse with some trusts reporting plans to reduce the workforce to help to balance the books.

“Trusts are doing all they can to protect patient services and get on with tackling waiting lists but costs, not least the £11bn-plus repairs backlog, continue to mount. And unless the government funds in full NHS staff pay rises for 2024-25, the service may have to find billions of pounds for wage bills from already squeezed budgets.”

Anita Charlesworth, director of research at the Health Foundation, said: “We need to break these endless cycles of boom and bust and that means creating a stable and sustainable workforce that has the equipment and resources it needs to deliver high quality care. Hastily cutting staff at a time when the elective waiting lists stands at over 7.5m is counterproductive and would undermine the NHS’s long-term recovery.”

Professor Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said: “I am putting down a marker that cuts to nursing will result in patient deaths. NHS leaders preparing to cut staff and ask an already burnt-out workforce to do even more with less need to think again. It is incredibly dangerous.”

An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS organisations are developing their financial plans which will focus on continuing to prioritise patient care while delivering the best value for taxpayers within the resources available.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the NHS was getting record funding of nearly £165bn a year “an increase of 13% in real terms compared to 2019-20, supporting trusts and allowing them to continue to deliver on what matters most to patients – improving access to services and cutting waiting lists.

“At the spring budget the chancellor announced that NHS England will receive a £2.5bn day-to-day funding boost this year and a further £3.4bn investment in the latest technology from 2025, helping to unlock £35bn in savings.”