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Richard Medhurst And The Right To Armed Resistance

We were waiting for Richard Medhurst to arrive and join our panel at the Beautiful Days festival, when he was arrested and imprisoned for 23.5 hours last Thursday. Obviously we were all worried sick about him. It is now becoming easier to list the truly dissident U.K. journalists who have not been arrested for terrorism than those who have! This fascist ploy of labeling journalists as terrorists is incredible. Richard’s case is slightly different to that of other journalists including myself, John Laughland, Vanessa Beeley, Johanna Ross, Kit Klarenberg and many more to suffer the same treatment, in that Richard was specifically held under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act — which outlaws support for a proscribed organisation.

UK Police Arrest Journalist Richard Medhurst Under ‘Terrorism Act’

Medhurst stated via social media that six police officers were waiting for him as he exited his plane in London on 15 August, adding that he was questioned under the Terrorism Act, Section 12. "I believe I'm the first journalist to be arrested under this provision of the Terrorism Act. I feel that this is a political persecution and hampers my ability to work as a journalist," Medhurst explained. Other British journalists who have reported critically on Israeli, UK, and US foreign policy have also been detained and harassed upon returning to their home country, including The Cradle contributor Kit Klarenberg and Vanessa Beeley, who is well known for her reporting from Syria during the US and Israeli-backed regime change war.

Senior UK Diplomat Resigns Over London’s ‘Complicity’ In War Crimes

Mark Smith, the head of the Africa Programmes and Expertise Department and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), formally resigned on 16 August, citing London's continued arms sales to Israel. In a letter titled “FCDO complicity in War Crimes,” Smith – an expert on the legality of UK arms sales – laments ending his long diplomatic career “in the knowledge that this Department may be complicit in War Crimes.” “As [a] former penholder on the arms exports licensing assessment in [the Middle East and North Africa Department] MENAD, I am a subject matter expert in the domain of armed sales policy.

Unlocking Community Energy Democracy

‍The UK Labour Party’s overlooked Local Power Plan could be an ambitious force ushering in a new generation of renewable energy by handing power to the people. Although the possibilities for local energy democracy abound, public detail on the plan is scant. Labour is promising a £3.3BN fund to support community ownership of renewable generation. This would offer grants and loans to local authorities and communities to “create one million owners of local power,” according to the plan. The proposal would be for Great British Energy (GBE), “a new, publicly owned clean generation company”, to partner with councils and community co-ops to develop 8 GW of clean power by the end of the decade.

State Repression: Palestine Action Actionists Continue To Be Held

Cops continue to hold six Palestine Action activists under counter-terrorism laws after they entered Elbit System’s Bristol factory – a company complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The group, other organisations, and its supporters have hit back – with protests happening outside two police stations. The Canary’s view? We’re witnessing the state setting a precedent against direct actionists. As the Canary previously reported, Palestine Action activists targeted Elbit’s Bristol site on Tuesday 6 August. They used a repurposed prison van to smash the gates at the site. When inside, they destroyed equipment and machinery that Israel would have used to kill Palestinian people with.

The Hidden Forces Behind The UK Race Riots

Ever since July 29, Britain has been plunged into crisis, with incendiary far-right riots sending towns and cities across the country spiraling into states of emergency. Vast mobs of armed, angry thugs, motivated by racist, Islamophobic animus, have vandalized homes, property and places of worship, violently clashed with police, and targeted hotels housing refugees with arson attacks in apparent stabs at mass murder. Hundreds of arrests have been made, and counter-protesters have taken to the streets in profusion to counter the upsurge of hatred. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged those responsible will face the “full force of the law” for their actions, and several perpetrators have already been sentenced to years in prison.

Racists Riot In Britain

The United Kingdom has recently experienced a wave of rioting and blame is placed upon people referred to as “the far right.” The individuals who fought police, looted, burned mosques, and physically attacked African descended people, are of the right wing politically, but they should be called racists. It is racism that has been accepted and amplified by the British political class and the media. It is racism that has created feelings of grievance among so many white people there. Britain’s politics have long been motivated by white supremacist thinking, and today’s rioters should not be let off the hook with a euphemism that doesn’t fully explain their actions.

‘What’s Good For The Goose…’

The head of the government said, ‘This is violence, it is not protest'(1) and signaled that he had lost patience with “the far-right thugs” who caused civil unrest around the country. He said they were not peaceful protesters but demonstrating pure violence…and that they would have a standing army of specialist public duty officers…to deal with this where we need them.(2) Furthermore, the government leader said they would “ramp up criminal justice. There have already been hundreds of arrests, some have appeared in court this morning…I have asked for early consideration of the earliest naming and identification of those involved in the process who will feel the full force of the law.(

Four Just Stop Oil Supporters Arrested By Greater Manchester Police

Four Just Stop Oil supporters have been arrested after an operation by the Greater Manchester Police. In recent weeks Just Stop Oil has been taking nonviolent action with groups internationally to demand governments establish a Fossil Fuel Treaty, to end the extraction and burning of oil, gas and coal by 2030. [1] A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said: Just Stop Oil supporters are always fully accountable for our actions and as such the four arrested today will accept any legal consequences. Accountability is a core feature of nonviolence, which is at the centre of Just Stop Oil’s mission. We take action because we want a safe and stable society. Delivering a Fossil Fuel Treaty that ends oil and gas by 2030 is an essential step for our Government to prevent massive disorder.

Grassroots Mobilizations To Challenge Surge Of Far-Right Violence In Britain

Anti-fascist groups in Britain are preparing for a weekend of mobilizations against the far-right. For the past week, far-right groups have incited a series of violent rallies across England, exploiting the public discourse after three children were tragically killed in a stabbing in Southport, northwest England. Exploiting the towns mourning, far-right groups have cynically manipulated the narrative surrounding the event into their hate-driven, racist, and Islamophobic discourse. Hundreds traveled to Southport and other towns in the north following vigils held for the killed children, only to spark violent riots. The rioters surrounded and attacked mosques with people inside, set police vehicles ablaze, and vandalized local shops.

Five More Just Stop Oil Activists Jailed

Six Just Stop Oil supporters have been sentenced today (Thursday 1 August) by Judge Collery at Basildon Crown Court – with five being jailed. They took action climbing gantries over the M25 motorway in November 2022, demanding the UK government immediately halts all licensing and consents for new fossil fuel exploration and extraction. Daniel Johnson, Paul Bell, Theresa Higginson, Gaie Delap, Paul Sousek, and George Simonson, pleaded guilty in April to the offence of ‘causing a public nuisance’, a statutory offence under the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. Gaie Delap and Paul Sousek each received 20 month sentences, whilst Paul Bell received 22 months.

Replica Bomb Placed Outside Of British Parliament

As Britain remains complicit in Israel’s war crimes by refusing an arms embargo, a replica of a 2,000-pound bomb was placed outside of Parliament today, serving as a stark reminder of the innocent lives that will be claimed while the government breaks up for summer. The 16-foot replica was placed by Oxfam after it released a new analysis estimating that around 7,000 people in Gaza will be killed or injured over the next 33 days. A carpet of flowers around the bomb symbolised those who are likely to be killed by the Israeli military, as well as the Israeli hostages still in captivity.

Gatwick Is Being Hit By Just Stop Oil As Departures Threatened

Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted Gatwick departures at the airport. Just Stop Oil is working with groups internationally under the ‘Oil Kills’ banner to demand governments establish a fossil fuel treaty, to end the extraction and burning of fossil fuels by 2030. At around 8am on Monday 29 July, seven supporters of Just Stop Oil entered the Southern terminal at Gatwick and used suitcases with lock-on devices to block the Gatwick departures gates. The Oil Kills international uprising has been taking action at airports around the world – with Gatwick departures being the latest. As the Canary has documented, 21 groups across 12 countries have taken action at 17 airports so far.

Airport Disruption Entered Fourth Day; Starmer’s Government A Target

On Saturday 27 July, peaceful protests took place in at least six cities across six countries in support of Oil Kills – an international uprising to end oil, gas and coal by 2030. Airport disruption was a key feature, again – with more arrests amid blockades. However, in the UK things went up a gear – as activists targeted Keir Starmer’s new Labour Party government. Across the UK, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada, protesters are gathering to demand their governments commit to establishing a legally binding treaty to stop extracting and burning oil, gas and coal by 2030 as well as supporting and financing poorer countries to make a fast, fair, and just transition.

UK To Restrict Arms Sales To Israel, Drop ICC Objection

The UK is expected to put restrictions on weapons sales to Israel, sources revealed exclusively to Middle East Eye (MEE) on 25 July. According to the outlet, London is also expected to drop its objection to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “In the coming days the government is likely to introduce some restrictions on arms sales but not suspend sales entirely,” informed Labour Party sources told MEE, adding that these restrictions would most likely affect the sale of offensive weapons.
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