Tag Archives: BRXT

World

Europe’s new club meets without Russia

Leave a comment

  • 44 European gather in Prague for symbolic summit
  • Energy and security high on everyone’s minds
  • Truss’ participation gives hope for better EU-UK ties
  • Doubts about viability of wide European format
  • EU 27 to follow with their own summit, gas cap on the menu

PRAGUE, Oct 6 (Reuters) – The European Union and its neighbours from Britain to Turkey met on Thursday to discuss shared security and energy problems stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in a rare and symbolic summit of 44 European countries – but not Russia.

The Prague gathering is the inaugural summit of the European Political Community (EPC), a format that is a brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron and brings together the 27 European Union members with 17 other European countries.

Some of them are waiting to join the bloc while another, Britain, is the only one ever to leave it.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“All those who are gathered here know: Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a brutal violation of the peace and security order that we had over the last decades in Europe,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

“We don’t accept that part of a neighbouring country is annexed.”

His comments were echoed by Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, as well as the top EU diplomat, Josep Borrell.

“This meeting is a way of looking for a new order without Russia. It doesn’t mean we want to exclude Russia forever, but this Russia, (President Vladimir) Putin’s Russia, does not have a seat,” said Borrell.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss, after meeting the summit’s host, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, stressed their “strong agreement on the importance of likeminded European democracies presenting a united front against Putin’s brutality”.

Her decision to attend the summit left some hoping for a warmer tone between the EU and London after Brexit, where the two are still in disagreement over trade issues around Northern Ireland.

The gathering at the sprawling Prague Castle is seen by its advocates as a grand show of solidarity for a continent mired in multiple crises from the security fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine to dire economic consequences including an acute energy crunch.

Macron said his priority was to build more electricity connections in Europe, and lower gas prices.

“We share a same space. Very often, the same history. And we are meant to write our future together,” he said. “I hope we will be able to get common projects.”

NO DECISIONS

Beyond lofty declarations, there were doubts about the forum’s concrete goals and actions.

Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said no decisions were expected at the symbolic gathering the EU had pitched as only an “initial exchange” of thoughts.

“The primary goal is that we all come together because Russian war in Ukraine is affecting all of us in the security sense and also through our economies, through the rising energy costs. The only way to handle this is working together,” he said.

Some dismissed the EPC swiftly as just another talking shop, one that will be difficult to manage not just because of its size but also because of its diversity and the traditional rivalries between many of its members, from Armenia and Azerbaijan to Greece and Turkey.

The 27 EU countries will go on to meet on their own on Friday, with tensions playing out over Germany’s 200 billion euro ($197.50 billion) energy support package that many of its peers see as damaging competition on the bloc’s single market.

In their meeting, EU countries will look at their differences about how to cap gas prices to contain soaring energy costs that are harming the post-COVID economic recovery.

($1 = 1.0127 euros)

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Michel Rose, Robert Muller, Jan Lopatka, Michel Kahn, Jason Hovet, Andreas Rinke in Prague, Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Writing by John Chalmers and Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Josie Kao, Frank Jack Daniel and Frances Kerry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

British prime minister contenders clash over tax cuts in TV debate

Leave a comment

  • Five challenging to succeed Boris Johnson as British PM
  • Second of three TV debates on Sunday
  • Tax plans at heart of heated contest
  • Polls show conflicting picture of who is winning

LONDON, July 17 (Reuters) – The five Conservative contenders still vying to be Britain’s next prime minister clashed over tax cuts in a second televised debate on Sunday, with the two frontrunners – Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss – stepping up their battle on the economy.

With no clear candidate to succeed Boris Johnson who is stepping down after a series of scandals, the battle to be the next leader remains unpredictable and increasingly fractious, exposing rifts in the ruling Conservative Party.

Ex-finance minister Rishi Sunak has emerged as the favourite among the 358 Conservative lawmakers, who will hold further votes this week to whittle down the field of contenders to a final two.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

He said on Sunday evening his number one priority would be tackling inflation and not making it worse before he would deliver tax cuts.

Foreign minister Liz Truss, who has proposed plans to axe increases in payroll tax and corporation tax at a cost of over 30 billion pounds ($36 billion) a year, said Sunak had raised taxes to the highest level in 70 years.

“Raising taxes at this moment will choke off economic growth,” she said in the debate, hosted by broadcaster ITV.

Sunak retorted by saying he would “love to cut tax” but it would come at a cost of higher inflation. “This something-for-nothing economics isn’t conservative, it’s socialism,” he said.

Junior Minister Penny Mordaunt, who currently ranks third, also took aim at Sunak, saying the public needs “immediate action” to tackle the rising cost of living.

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak visits the Teesside Freeport in Redcar, Britain, July 16, 2022. REUTERS/Lee Smith

Read More

RACE STILL OPEN

A JL Partners poll for the Sunday Telegraph suggested almost half of Conservative voters thought Sunak would make a good prime minister, ahead of Truss and Mordaunt.

However, Truss also has wide support, including from those most loyal to Johnson, and Mordaunt has topped surveys of the 200,000 party members who will ultimately choose who becomes Conservative leader and therefore prime minister.

In a demonstration of how open the race is, a survey of party members for the Conservative Home website on Saturday suggested former equalities minister Kemi Badenoch was now ahead of the others, with Truss in second and Mordaunt, currently the bookmakers’ favourite, slipping to third.

That came after the fifth candidate, Tom Tugendhat, chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, topped a viewers’ poll after the first TV debate on Friday.

Whoever gets the job will take on rocketing inflation and low economic growth, as well as the public’s lack of confidence in politics after Johnson’s scandal-ridden time in power.

Opinion polls also suggest the Conservatives are falling significantly behind the opposition Labour Party.

When asked by the moderator, all candidates said they would not hold an immediate election if they won. No national election needs to be held in Britain until 2024.

One candidate will be knocked out every day in the next three days, leaving a final two to face the verdict of Conservative Party members. They will vote for the winner who will be announced on Sept. 5.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Michael Holden and Paul Sandle; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Russia tells Lithuania: your citizens will feel the pain over Kaliningrad

Leave a comment

  • Russia warns Lithuania over Kaliningrad
  • Russia summons EU ambassador
  • EU tells Russia: refrain from ‘escalatory steps’
  • Lithuania: ironic to hear Russia moaning about law

LONDON, June 21 (Reuters) – A top ally of President Vladimir Putin told Lithuania on Tuesday that Moscow would respond to its ban on the transit of goods sanctioned by the EU to Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad in such a way that citizens of the Baltic state would feel the pain.

With relations between Moscow and the West at a half-century low over Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union across its territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules.

Nikolai Patrushev, a former KGB spy who is now the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said Lithuania’s “hostile” actions showed that Russia could not trust the West, which he said had broken written agreements over Kaliningrad.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

“Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions,” Patrushev was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA.

“Appropriate measures are being worked out in an interdepartmental format and will be taken in the near future,” he was quoted as saying. “Their consequences will have a serious negative impact on the population of Lithuania.”

Lithuania, a member of NATO and the European Union, said it was simply applying agreed EU sanctions on Russia, adding it was “ironic” to hear Moscow’s complaints given its war in Ukraine.

‘NO BLOCKADE’

“It’s ironic to hear rhetoric about alleged violations of international treaties from a country which has violated possibly every single international treaty,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters.

A view shows freight cars, following Lithuania’s ban of the transit of goods under EU sanctions through the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, in Kaliningrad, Russia June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Vitaly Nevar

Read More

“There is no Kaliningrad blockade,” Simonyte said. “Lithuania is implementing EU sanctions.”

Kaliningrad, formerly the port of Koenigsberg, capital of East Prussia, was captured from Nazi Germany by the Red Army in April 1945 and ceded to the Soviet Union after World War Two. It is sandwiched between NATO members Poland and Lithuania.

After Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies imposed some of the most stringent sanctions in modern history, a step the Kremlin cast as akin to a declaration of economic war.

Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the EU’s ambassador to Moscow, Markus Ederer, to formally complain. read more

“We demanded the immediate restoration of normal Kaliningrad transit. Otherwise retaliatory measures will follow,” it said.

Ederer urged Russia to refrain from “escalatory steps and rhetoric” over the situation, an EU spokesperson said.

“He conveyed our position on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and explained that Lithuania is implementing EU sanctions and there is no blockade, and asked them to refrain from escalatory steps and rhetoric,” the spokesperson, Peter Stano, said in Brussels.

Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists. Kyiv and its Western backers say this is a false pretext to wage an unprovoked war of aggression.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Nick Macfie and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Britain to defy EU with ‘relatively trivial’ N.Ireland law

Leave a comment

  • UK to set out legislation on Monday
  • Move risks triggering trade dispute with EU
  • EU says unilateral action will break international law
  • Ireland accuses UK of a new low

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – Britain will set out plans on Monday to override some of the post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, scrapping checks and challenging the role played by Brussels in a fresh clash with the European Union.

As Ireland warned of a “new low” from London and Brussels talked of damage to trust, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson vowed to plough ahead, saying the “relatively trivial” steps were needed to improve trade and simplify bureaucracy.

Tensions have been simmering for months after Britain accused the bloc of taking a heavy handed approach to the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland – checks that were needed to keep an open border with EU-member Ireland.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Always the toughest part of the Brexit deal to crack, the situation in the region has sent alarm bells ringing in European capitals and Washington, and among business leaders.

It has also heightened political tensions, with pro-British communities saying their place in the United Kingdom is being eroded.

A power-sharing administration has broken down and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said it would only return to parliament if it is sure the bill will become law. read more

The new legislation comes as the UK faces its toughest economic conditions in decades, with inflation forecast to hit 10% and growth stalling. Johnson said any talk of a retaliatory trade war by Brussels would be a “gross, gross overreaction”.

“All we are trying to do is have some bureaucratic simplifications between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” he told LBC Radio.

NEW CLASH

Britain has been threatening for months to rip up the protocol, an agreement that kept the region under EU rules and forced an effective customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK to prevent a back door from opening up into the EU’s vast single market.

Under the legislation, London is expected to introduce a “green channel” for goods moving from Britain just to Northern Ireland, change the tax rules and end the role of the European Court of Justice as sole arbiter.

The bill, which will be presented to parliament by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, could take around a year to pass. It comes as Johnson seeks to recover from a large rebellion against his leadership by winning back the support of lawmakers, including those who want a tough stance against Brussels.

The legislation, like Brexit itself, has split legal and political opinion, with supporters of the UK’s divorce saying it does not go far enough and critics saying it undermines London’s standing in the world by challenging an international agreement.

Truss told European Commission vice-president, Maros Sefcovic, that London was still open to a “negotiated solution”. He said any unilateral action damaged trust. read more

Brussels believes any unilateral change may breach international law. It could launch legal action or eventually review the terms of the free trade deal it agreed with Britain.

EU officials have said that Britain will not be allowed to join its 95 billion euro Horizon Europe research programme until outstanding disputes, notably Northern Ireland, are resolved.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also said there will be no U.S.-UK trade deal if London scraps the protocol.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Andrew MacAskill and Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter and Ed Osmond

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Angry UK lawmakers trigger confidence vote in Boris Johnson

Leave a comment

  • Vote to take place later on Monday
  • ‘Partygate’ sours mood in Conservative Party
  • Coordinated campaign of support by Johnson’s cabinet

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a confidence vote on Monday after a growing number of lawmakers in his Conservative Party questioned the British leader’s authority over what has been dubbed the “partygate” scandal.

Johnson, who scored a sweeping election victory in 2019, has been under increasing pressure after he and staff held alcohol-fuelled parties in his Downing Street office and residence when Britain was under strict lockdowns due to COVID-19.

He was met with a chorus of jeers and boos – and some muted cheers – at events to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in recent days.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

On Monday, the once seemingly unassailable Johnson was also lambasted by ally Jesse Norman, a former junior minister who said the 57-year-old prime minister staying in power insulted both the electorate and the party. read more

“You have presided over a culture of casual law-breaking at 10 Downing Street in relation to COVID,” he said, adding the government had “a large majority, but no long-term plan”.

Norman is one of a growing number of Conservative lawmakers to publicly say that Johnson has lost his authority to govern Britain, which is facing rising prices, the risk of recession and strike-inflicted travel chaos in the capital London.

Jeremy Hunt, a former health minister who ran against Johnson for the leadership in 2019, said the party knew it was failing the country. “Today’s decision is change or lose,” he said. “I will be voting for change.” read more

Johnson’s anti-corruption chief John Penrose resigned. “I think it’s over. It feels now like a question of when not if,” he told Sky News.

A majority of the 359 Conservative lawmakers – at least 180 – would have to vote against Johnson for him to be removed, a level some Conservatives say might be difficult to reach, given the lack of an obvious successor.

If passed, there would then be a leadership contest to decide his replacement, which could take several weeks.

DRAWING A LINE?

Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee that represents rank-and-file Conservative lawmakers, said a vote would be held between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (1700-1900 GMT) and the result would be announced later on Monday. read more

In what might concern Johnson’s team, he said he was not aware of “any orchestrated campaign” to oust the prime minister, which suggests a more spontaneous rebellion than ones that have felled leaders in the past.

A spokesperson for Johnson’s Downing Street office said the vote would “allow the government to draw a line and move on” and that the prime minister welcomed the opportunity to make his case to lawmakers. read more

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson reacts during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Party, at Buckingham Palace, in London, Britain, June 4, 2022. Paul Ellis/Pool via REUTERS

Read More

Johnson, a former London mayor, rose to power at Westminster as the face of the Brexit campaign in a 2016 referendum, and took a hardline stance once in power.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Brexit opportunities minister, told Sky News that completing Britain’s departure from the European Union would be “significantly at risk without his drive and energy”.

Johnson has locked horns with Brussels over Northern Ireland, raising the prospect of more barriers for British trade and alarming leaders in Ireland, Europe and the United States about risks to the province’s 1998 peace deal.

OUTCOME UNCERTAIN

Ministers have also been at pains to point out what they describe as the highpoints of Johnson’s administration – saying Britain’s quick rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations and its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proved the prime minister could take the “big decisions”.

“I am backing him today and will continue to back him as we focus on growing the economy, tackling the cost of living and clearing the COVID backlogs,” finance minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter in a choreographed expression of support.

In letters sent out to Conservative lawmakers, Johnson also made the same point, urging them to support him.

Johnson, or his possible successor, face a raft of problems. British households are confronted by the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in the 1950s, with food and fuel prices surging while wages lag.

For some Conservatives, Johnson is guilty of squandering a large majority, unable or unwilling to set the agenda after becoming hamstrung by scandals.

But others expect him to survive the vote, and although wounded, he could reset his administration.

For those hopeful of replacing him, bookmaker Ladbrokes put Hunt, a former health and foreign minister, as its favourite, followed by foreign minister Liz Truss. read more

For many in Britain, the revelations of what went on in Downing Street, including fights and alcohol-induced vomiting, when many people were prevented from saying goodbye to loved ones at funerals, were difficult to stomach. One gathering that went on until the early hours took place on eve of the April 2001 funeral for the queen’s husband Prince Philip. read more

Two in five Conservative members, according to pollster YouGov, say lawmakers should vote to remove Johnson.

Mel Chetwood, a 61-year-old archivist, said the sight of Johnson being booed by a royal-supporting audience was key.

“That felt like a turning point to me.”

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Additional reporting by Andrew Macaskill, William James, Alistair Smout, William Schomberg, Farouq Suleiman and Helena Williams; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton, Alex Richardson and Mark Heinrich

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

EXCLUSIVE Russian hackers are linked to new Brexit leak website, Google says

Leave a comment

WASHINGTON/LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) – A new website that published leaked emails from several leading proponents of Britain’s exit from the European Union is tied to Russian hackers, according to a Google cybersecurity official and the former head of UK foreign intelligence.

The website – titled “Very English Coop d’Etat” – says it has published private emails from former British spymaster Richard Dearlove, leading Brexit campaigner Gisela Stuart, pro-Brexit historian Robert Tombs, and other supporters of Britain’s divorce from the EU, which was finalized in January 2020.

The site contends that they are part of a group of hardline pro-Brexit figures secretly calling the shots in the United Kingdom.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the emails, but two victims of the leak on Wednesday confirmed that they had been targeted by hackers and blamed the Russian government.

“I am well aware of a Russian operation against a Proton account which contained emails to and from me,” said Dearlove, referring to the privacy-focused email service ProtonMail.

Dearlove, who led Britain’s foreign spy service – known as MI6 – between 1999 and 2004, told Reuters the leaked material should be treated with caution given “the context of the present crisis in relations with Russia.”

Tombs said in an email he and his colleagues were “aware of this Russian disinformation based on illegal hacking.” He declined further comment. Stuart, who chaired Britain’s Vote Leave campaign in 2016, did not return emails.

Shane Huntley, who directs Google’s Threat Analysis Group, told Reuters that the “English Coop” website was linked to what the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O)-owned company knew as “Cold River,” a Russia-based hacking group.

“We’re able to see that through technical indicators,” Huntley said.

Huntley said that the entire operation – from Cold River’s hacking attempts to publicizing the leaks – had “clear technical links” between one another.

The Russian embassies in London and Washington did not return emails seeking comment.

Britain’s Foreign Office, which handles media queries for MI6, declined comment. Other Brexit supporters whose emails were suspected of being disseminated on the website also did not respond to emails.

‘LOOKS VERY FAMILIAR’

How the emails were obtained is unknown and the website hosting them made no effort to explain who was behind the leak. The leaked messages mainly appear to have been exchanged using ProtonMail. ProtonMail declined comment.

Reuters was unable to independently verify Google’s assessment about a Russian link to the website, but Thomas Rid, a cybersecurity expert at Johns Hopkins University, said the site was reminiscent of past hack-and-leak operations attributed to Russian hackers.

“What jumps out at me is how similar the M.O. is to Guccifer 2 and DCLeaks,” he said, referring to two of the sites that disseminated leaked emails stolen from Democrats in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

“It looks very familiar in some ways, including the sloppiness,” he said.

If the leaked messages are in fact authentic it would mark the second time in three years that suspected Kremlin spies have stolen private emails from a senior British national security official and published them online.

In 2019, classified U.S.-UK trade documents were leaked ahead of Britain’s election after being stolen from the email account of former trade minister Liam Fox, Reuters previously reported. UK officials never confirmed the specifics of the operation, but then-British foreign minister Dominic Raab said the hack-and-leak was an effort by the Kremlin to interfere in the Britain’s election, a charge that Moscow denied.

The “English Coop” site makes a variety of allegations, including one that Dearlove was at the center of a conspiracy by Brexit hardliners to oust former British Prime Minister Theresa May, who had negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the European Union in early 2019, and replace her with Johnson, who took a more uncompromising position.

Dearlove said that the emails captured a “legitimate lobbying exercise which, seen through this antagonistic optic, is now subject to distortion.”

He declined further comment.

Johnson, who took over from May later in 2019, has staked out a tough stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, committing hundreds of millions of dollars of military equipment to the government in Kyiv. In April, Johnson visited the capital for a televised walkabout with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. read more

Johnson was officially banned from Russian soil on April 16. Internet domain records show the “Coop” website was registered three days later. Its URL included the words “sneaky strawhead” in an apparent knock at Johnson’s tousled hairstyle.

Rid said that while journalists should not shy away from covering authenticated material exposed by the leak, they should still tread very carefully.

“If the leak has newsworthy detail, then it is also newsworthy to point out that the material comes from an adversarial intelligence agency, especially in a time of war,” said Rid.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Raphael Satter and Christopher Bing in Washington and James Pearson in London; editing by Chris Sanders and Grant McCool

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Sinn Fein on course for historic Northern Ireland election win

Leave a comment

Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O’Neill reacts as she is elected during the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections at the Meadowbank Sports Arena, in Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, May 6, 2022. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne REFILE-QUALITY REPEAT

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

  • Sinn Fein could be largest party for first time
  • Leader Michelle O’Neill eyes First Minister role
  • Party has strong lead after early results
  • Rival DUP says election too close to call

BELFAST, May 6 (Reuters) – Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, looked set to claim top spot in elections in British-controlled Northern Ireland for the first time on Friday, a historic shift that could bring the once-remote prospect of a united Ireland closer.

Early results echoed pre-election polls in indicating Sinn Fein was likely to become the first Irish nationalist party to win the most seats in an election to the regional assembly since the state’s creation in 1921.

Final results were not expected until late Friday or early Saturday.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

A Sinn Fein victory would not change the region’s status, as the referendum required to leave the United Kingdom is at the discretion of the British government and likely years away.

But the psychological implications of an Irish nationalist First Minister would be huge after a century of domination by pro-British parties, supported predominantly by the region’s Protestant population.

Demographic trends have long indicated that they would eventually be eclipsed by predominantly Catholic Irish nationalist parties who favour uniting the north with the Republic of Ireland.

Once shunned by the political establishment on both sides of the border for its links to paramilitary violence, Sinn Fein is already the most popular party in the Republic of Ireland, where it has carved out a successful base campaigning on everyday issues such as the cost of living and healthcare.

It followed a similar path in the Northern Irish elections, where it focused on economic concerns rather than Irish unity and had a six-point lead over its nearest rival, the struggling pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), across the final campaign polls

Northern Ireland’s complex proportional representation voting system means the party with the most first-preference votes does not necessarily win most seats.

But with 16 of the 90 seats declared, Sinn Fein was well ahead on 10 seats while DUP were on two. The cross-community Alliance Party was also on two seats and appeared set for its strongest ever result.

“Sinn Fein will be the largest party for sure,” said political scientist Nicholas Whyte. The DUP, which beat Sinn Fein in the last election by just one seat, is likely to lose a couple of seats while Sinn Fein might gain one or two, he said.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the result would be very tight and that it was far too early to call the election.

Committed to peaceful coexistence and political power-sharing in Northern Ireland since the Good Friday peace accord in 1998, which ended three decades of violence, Sinn Fein wants planning for a border poll to begin across the island.

The main nationalist and unionist rivals are obliged to share power under the terms of the 1998 peace deal. But the DUP has said it will no longer do so unless the protocol governing Northern Ireland’s trade with the rest of the UK following its exit from the European Union is totally overhauled.

That raises the prospect of a stalemate with no new government being elected as Britain and the EU are at an impasse in talks on how to remove many of the checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.

The election is likely to reaffirm that a majority of lawmakers in the regional assembly favour retaining the protocol, which was designed in the wake of Brexit to avoid fraying the EU single market via the open border with Ireland.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Writing by Padraic Halpin and Conor Humphries; Editing by Nick Macfie

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

UK PM Johnson’s staff partied as queen mourned death of husband

Leave a comment

  • PM’s staff partied on night before Philip’s funeral
  • Johnson facing gravest crisis of premiership
  • Staff brought alcohol in suitcase, broke a swing
  • Former spokesman apologises for the party
  • Conservative lawmaker tells Johnson: stand down

LONDON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s authority took yet another hit on Friday after revelations that his staff had partied in Downing Street as Queen Elizabeth mourned her husband, at a time when mixing indoors was banned.

Johnson is facing the gravest crisis of his premiership following news of a series of social gatherings at his residence during COVID-19 lockdowns, some held at times when ordinary people could not bid farewell in person to dying relatives.

After building a political career out of flouting accepted norms, Johnson is now under growing pressure from some of his own lawmakers to quit due to apparent rule-breaking at Downing Street.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

The Daily Telegraph said two other drinks parties were held inside Downing Street on April 16, 2021, when social gatherings indoors and outdoors were limited. Johnson was at his Chequers country residence that day, the paper said.

Such was the revelry in Downing Street, the newspaper said, that staff went to a nearby supermarket to buy a suitcase of alcohol, used a laptop to play music and a swing used by the prime minister’s young son was broken.

The next day, Queen Elizabeth bade farewell to Prince Philip, her husband of 73 years, following his death aged 99.

Dressed in black and in a white trimmed black face mask, the 95-year-old Elizabeth cut a poignant figure as she sat alone, in strict compliance with coronavirus rules, during the funeral service for Philip at Windsor Castle.

‘LEAVE THE STAGE’

Opponents have called for Johnson, 57, to resign, casting him as a charlatan who demanded the British people follow some of the most onerous rules in peacetime history while his own staff partied.

A small but growing number in his own Conservative Party have echoed those calls, fearing it will do lasting damage to its electoral prospects.

“Sadly, the Prime Minister’s position has become untenable,” said Conservative lawmaker Andrew Bridgen, a former Johnson supporter. “The time is right to leave the stage.”

Johnson has given a variety of explanations of the parties, ranging from denials that any rules were broken to expressing understanding for the public anger at apparent hypocrisy at the heart of the British state.

Foreign minister Liz Truss said “real mistakes” were made, but added: “… we need to look at the overall position we’re in as a country, the fact that he (Johnson) has delivered Brexit, that we are recovering from COVID… He has apologised.”

“I think we now need to move on and talk about how we are going to sort out issues,” she told broadcasters on Friday.

To trigger a leadership challenge, 54 of the 360 Conservative members of parliament must write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the party’s “1922 Committee”.

The Telegraph said as many as 30 such letters had been submitted.

Johnson faces a tough year ahead: beyond COVID, inflation is soaring, energy bills are spiking, taxation will rise in April and his party faces local elections in May.

One of the April 2021 parties was a leaving event for James Slack, a former director of communications at Downing Street, who on Friday apologised “for the anger and hurt caused”.

Slack, now deputy editor of the tabloid Sun newspaper, said in a statement to PA Media that the gathering “should not have happened at the time that it did”.

British police said on Thursday they would not investigate gatherings held in Johnson’s residence during a coronavirus lockdown unless an internal government inquiry finds evidence of potential criminal offences. read more

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

UK still ready to trigger Article 16 in EU-N.Ireland row, Truss says

Leave a comment

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss speaks during a G7 foreign and development ministers session with guest countries and ASEAN nations on the final day of the summit in Liverpool, Britain December 12, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

  • Article 16 still on the table, says Truss
  • EU ambassador says position is “not very helpful”
  • Truss holds talks with EU later this week

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The United Kingdom is ready to take unilateral action that would suspend customs checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland, foreign minister Liz Truss said ahead of talks with the European Union.

Truss is due to hold talks with EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic this week to resolve disagreements over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom which shares a land border with EU member Ireland.

To avoid politically contentious border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Britain and the EU agreed Northern Ireland would effectively remain within the EU’s customs union for goods, with checks taking place on goods moving between mainland Britain and Northern Ireland instead.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

However, there has been friction about how this applies in practice – especially for goods intended to remain within Northern Ireland – as well as the arbitration role of the EU’s European Court of Justice.

“I want a negotiated solution but if we have to use legitimate provisions including Article 16, I am willing to do that,” Truss wrote in The Telegraph newspaper.

“I will not sign up to anything which sees the people of Northern Ireland unable to benefit from the same decisions on taxation and spending as the rest of the UK, or which still sees goods moving within our own country being subject to checks.”

The European Union’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Joao Vale de Almeida, said on Sunday the bloc was not “too impressed” with the British stance on Article 16, which allows either side to unilaterally decide to stop implementing parts of the protocol governing trade with Northern Ireland if there are substantial practical problems or trade diversion.

“We heard this before from the government, so we are not surprised, we are not too impressed but we still believe it’s not very helpful that we keep agitating the issue of Article 16,” he told Sky News.

“I think what we should focus on, at least that’s where we are focused on, is trying to find solutions.”

Truss replaced David Frost as Britain’s main Brexit negotiator in December, who often raised the prospect of invoking Article 16 if talks stalled. read more

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Register

Reporting by David Milliken
Editing by Paul Simao and Elaine Hardcastle

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

British PM Johnson faces revolt in parliament over COVID measures

Leave a comment

  • Measures will be approved with opposition Labour votes
  • Another blow for PM under pressure over gaffes, missteps
  • Anger runs deep, not yet enough for leadership challenge

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a large rebellion among his Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday in a parliamentary vote over new restrictions to try to curb the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

The measures, including ordering people to work from home, to wear masks in public places and use COVID-19 passes to enter some venues, are expected to be approved by parliament but with Johnson relying on the opposition Labour Party for votes.

It’s yet another blow to a prime minister already under pressure over reported parties in his Downing Street office last year when such gatherings were banned, a pricey refurbishment of his apartment and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com

Register

Many of his lawmakers say the restrictions are draconian, with several questioning the introduction of a certificate of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test to enter some venues, such as night clubs.

Others are using the votes as an opportunity to vent their anger at Johnson, believing the man who helped the Conservatives win a large majority at a 2019 election is squandering the party’s successes by self-inflicted missteps and gaffes.

But despite the rumblings of discontent, Conservative Party insiders say there is not enough of a groundswell against Johnson to dislodge him yet, with no potential challenger commanding enough support to replace him.

“Boris on a bad day is better than any of the other wannabes on a good day,” said one veteran Conservative, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

‘HUGE SPIKE’

Before the series of votes on the measures, due to start at around 1830 GMT, Johnson warned his cabinet of top ministers that there was a “huge spike” in Omicron cases heading Britain’s way, and that the measures were necessary to protect people.

“The PM (prime minister) said a huge spike of Omicron was coming and the measures we aim to introduce as part of plan B were balanced and proportionate, helping to reduce transmission while we ramp up the booster programme,” his spokesman said.

Britain has registered almost 4,500 cases of Omicron, with 10 people hospitalised. One person has died after contracting the variant.

Ministers were acting to try to win over the Conservative rebels, noting that people who have not been double-jabbed can instead offer proof of a negative lateral flow test to gain access to indoor venues of more than 500 people.

Health minister Sajid Javid told lawmakers he firmly believed in “individual liberty” but that “the responsible decision to take is…to move to plan B in England”.

Several remained unconvinced, with one, Andrew Bridgen, saying some lawmakers were determined to “draw a line in the sand with regard to any further erosion of civil liberties and freedoms”.

Conservative former minister David Johnson described the move to introduce COVID passes as “quite wrong”.

“People should certainly be encouraged to have the vaccine…, but ultimately people have to take responsibility for their own health,” he told Reuters.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to reuters.com

Register

Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Kylie MacLellan
Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and William Maclean

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here