\n<\/p>\n
Palestine Action is a \u201cviolent organisation\u201d that has committed \u201csignificant injury,\u201d Downing Street said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked about people arrested as part of protests linked to the group, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson said:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve said that many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear: this is a violent organisation that has committed violence, significant injury, extensive criminal damage, and as I say, it has met the tests as set out under the Terrorism Act to be proscribed.<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.48 EDT<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/span>Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Downing Street defended the controversial proscription of Palestine Action<\/strong>, labelling the protest group as \u201cviolent\u201d, with the justice minister saying supporters of the \u201cterrorist organisation\u201d will be subjected to the \u201cfull force of the law\u201d. No 10 said Palestine Action has committed \u201csignificant injury\u201d as well as criminal damage after more than 500 arrests were made at a protest linked to the group in London over the weekend.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Kemi Badenoch <\/strong>appeared to suggest the setting up of \u201ccamps\u201d when speaking about possible alternatives to using hotels to house asylum seekers while out in Essex on a media event.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson<\/strong>, reaffirmed her commitment to try to reduce the number of children missing classes at schools, and pledged to make a priority of tackling British white working-class young people falling behind their peers in the year ahead.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The prison population of England and Wales has jumped to the highest number in nearly a year and is nearing record levels, despite the early release of tens of thousands of offenders, official figures showed.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Foreign criminals from 15 more countries, including India, Bulgaria and Australia, face deportation before they have a chance to appeal against the decision to remove them, in a widening of the government\u2019s \u201cdeport first, appeal later\u201d scheme.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Thanks for joining us. We are closing this blog now. You can find all our latest coverage of UK politics here.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n We have some more details on Downing Street\u2019s views about Palestine Action, courtesy of the PA news agency (see post at 13.40 for more comments from No 10).<\/p>\n Asked on Monday whether the government was reconsidering its decision to designate the group as a terrorist organisation after the 500+ arrests on Saturday, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson said:<\/p>\n No. Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed involving violence, significant injury and extensive criminal damage.<\/em><\/p>\n Downing Street said the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre \u2013 an independent authority based within MI5 \u2013 had found the organisation had carried out three separate acts of terrorism.<\/p>\n The government is unable to provide \u201call of the detail at this stage\u201d but the proscription has been made through a \u201crobust, evidence-based process\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n The Met last week confirmed the first three charges in England and Wales for offences against section 13 of the Terrorism Act relating to Palestine Action.<\/p>\n Critics say the proscription of the protest group stomps on the public\u2019s right to freedom of speech and to protest, as well as aims to stifle legitimate demonstrations against Israel\u2019s war on Gaza that the UK government has been accused of being complicit in.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n In an earlier post we mentioned how the Home Office announced it had added 15 new countries to its \u201cdeport now, appeal later\u201d scheme, meaning convicted foreign criminals from 23 countries will be deported before their human rights appeals have been heard.<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch<\/strong> was asked about this while speaking to journalists in Essex this afternoon. Sky News quoted her as having said:<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s very interesting that \u2026 when we were deporting criminals, Sir Keir Starmer was writing letters trying to stop our deportations. I\u2019ll believe it when I see it.<\/em><\/p>\n This is the sort of stuff that they should have been doing on day one. The fact that they tried to stop deportations before means that I don\u2019t really believe it.<\/em><\/p>\n The government has released 26,000 prisoners since it came to power, released them early, there are now more criminals on our streets. That\u2019s what I\u2019m really worried about.<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a010.01 EDT<\/p>\n Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel<\/strong> accused ministers of trying to \u201ccover up\u201d the cost of ceding the Chagos Islands \u2013 officially known as the British Indian Ocean Territory \u2013 to Mauritius, accusing them of using an \u201caccountancy trick\u201d to price the deal at \u00a33.4bn, instead of the \u00a334.7bn figure produced by the government actuary\u2019s department, as revealed in the Telegraph\u2019s report.<\/p>\n The cost was lowered by civil servants using inflation estimates over 99 years, then reportedly lowered again by between 2.5 and 3.5% per year under the Treasury\u2019s social time preference rate accountancy method used for long-term projects.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all known it\u2019s a terrible deal with huge costs to hard-pressed British taxpayers,\u201d Patel wrote in the Telegraph.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for months, ministers in public and parliament have sought to cover up the true amounts.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Priti Patel (right) and Kemi Badenoch (L) arriving for a press conference in Westminster in May 2025. <\/span> Photograph: Stefan Rousseau\/PA<\/p>\n Patel said that \u201cinstead of owning up to the costs, Labour has used an accountancy trick to claim the amount was only \u00a33.4bn \u2013 still a vast waste of money\u201d.<\/p>\n Labour has said previously that the Conservative government wasted \u00a3700m of taxpayers\u2019 money on the failed Rwanda deportation scheme, which survived the tenure of three former prime ministers and was overseen by four former home secretaries, including Patel.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.47 EDT<\/p>\n The Telegraph reported that the government\u2019s Chagos Islands<\/strong> deal will cost ten times more than Keir Starmer previously claimed. A freedom of information request response revealed that the cost of giving away the islands to Mauritius is estimated at \u00a334.7bn, much higher than the \u00a33.4bn figure the prime minister has previously cited in public, according to the report.<\/p>\n A No 10 spokesperson, however, said today that the deal will cost \u201can average of \u00a3100m a year\u201d, adding that this will total less than \u00a33bn.<\/p>\n The spokesperson told journalists that this \u201ccompares favourably with other base agreements\u201d and equates to \u201cless than 0.2%\u201d of the defence budget.<\/p>\n Under the agreement, Britain cedes control over the islands to Mauritius but leases the largest one, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.<\/p>\n Downing Street said the deal was a \u201clegal necessity\u201d and backed by the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are part of an intelligence-sharing partnership with the UK.<\/p>\n <\/span>The UK will pay to maintain a joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago.<\/span> Photograph: APShare<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.43 EDT<\/p>\n Kemi Badenoch appeared to suggest the setting up of \u201ccamps\u201d when speaking about possible alternatives to using hotels to house asylum seekers.<\/strong><\/p>\n As she met members of the community in Epping, Essex, the Conservative party leader said: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to turn things around very quickly. We cannot use rules from 1995, or 2005, or even 2015 for 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cOur world is changing very quickly, and we need to adapt to it.\u201d<\/p>\n Badenoch said: \u201cIs it possible for us to set up camps and police that, rather than bringing all of this hassle into communities?<\/p>\n \u201cAs a party, we need to also hear from the community about what you think the solutions are. We don\u2019t have all the answers; it\u2019s important that we make sure that the community is part of the problem solved.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Kemi Badenoch doing media interviews while on a walkabout in Epping, Essex.<\/span> Photograph: Lucy North\/PAShare<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.48 EDT<\/p>\n Vladimir Putin should never be trusted \u201cas far as you could throw him,\u201d Downing Street said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked whether Keir Starmer thought the Russian leader could be trusted in peace talks over the future of Ukraine, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesman said: \u201cNever trust president Putin as far as you could throw him, but we obviously will support Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will obviously support president Trump and European nations as we enter these negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it is exactly why we\u2019ve been leading this work on the coalition of the willing, because any ceasefire, as I say, cannot just be an opportunity for president Putin to go away, re-arm, restrengthen, and then go again.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re not going to leave it to trust. We\u2019re going to ensure that we\u2019re prepared such that we achieve a ceasefire.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Palestine Action is a \u201cviolent organisation\u201d that has committed \u201csignificant injury,\u201d Downing Street said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked about people arrested as part of protests linked to the group, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson said:<\/p>\n We\u2019ve said that many people may not yet know the reality of this organisation, but the assessments are very clear: this is a violent organisation that has committed violence, significant injury, extensive criminal damage, and as I say, it has met the tests as set out under the Terrorism Act to be proscribed.<\/em><\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.48 EDT<\/p>\n Prime minister Keir Starmer is \u201cgravely concerned\u201d about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said on Monday, after five reporters were killed in an Israeli airstrike.<\/strong><\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military said it targeted and killed prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death, Al Sharif had also rejected such claims by Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza,\u201d Starmer\u2019s spokesperson told reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cReporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, and journalists must be able to report independently, without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the claim that one of the journalists was linked to Hamas, Starmer\u2019s spokesperson said: \u201cThat should be investigated thoroughly and independently, but we are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Donald Trump \u201cclearly does respect women\u201d but the US president can sometimes appear as a \u201cbit of a chauvinist\u201d, Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin has said.<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked about whether Reform UK had found itself \u201caligning\u201d with Trump, Pochin told the PA news agency: \u201cThis party is not aligned with Donald Trump.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump does what he does over the pond, and we do what we do.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when Nigel [Farage] becomes the prime minister in 2029, then you will see a Reform government which is committed to the safety and the protection of women and girls in this country.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the other thing I would say is, Donald Trump certainly comes across at times, when I look at him through the television or the media, as possibly a bit of a chauvinist, or whatever.<\/p>\n \u201cBut look at his team. I mean, his press secretary [Karoline Leavitt] is awesome – can\u2019t remember her name – but he has a lot of very senior women in his team.<\/p>\n \u201cSo actually, he clearly does respect women and promotes women in his team, as Nigel is very much doing, as you\u2019ve seen today, with four senior women hosting this press conference.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/span>Sarah Pochin, MP for Runcorn, speaks during a Reform UK press conference at Millbank Tower in central London.<\/span> Photograph: Yui Mok\/PAShare<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.48 EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Palestine Action is a ‘violent organisation’ that has committed ‘significant injury’, says No 10 Palestine Action is a \u201cviolent organisation\u201d that has committed \u201csignificant injury,\u201d Downing Street said. Asked about people arrested as part of protests linked to the group, the prime minister\u2019s official spokesperson said: We\u2019ve said that many people may not yet know<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[919,4402,2381,419,1472,8821,1240,124,1276,4227,2780],"class_list":{"0":"post-15232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politics","8":"tag-action","9":"tag-arrests","10":"tag-downing","11":"tag-happened","12":"tag-mass","13":"tag-organisation","14":"tag-palestine","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-street","17":"tag-violent","18":"tag-weekend"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15232\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Closing summary<\/h2>\n
\n
Badenoch suggests setting up ‘camps’ could be an alternative to asylum seeker hotels<\/h2>\n
Palestine Action is a ‘violent organisation’ that has committed ‘significant injury’, says No 10<\/h2>\n
Starmer ‘gravely concerned’ about targeting of journalists in Gaza<\/h2>\n