Displaying items by tag: British Isles

Cocaine worth £76 million was discovered in a shipment of bananas by officers during a routine inspection at Southampton. The class A drugs, weighing almost a ton, were placed in the cargo in Colombia and bound for Belgium. Home secretary Priti Patel said, ‘This was drug-smuggling on an industrial scale’. She is delighted that Border Force prevented such dangerous goods from reaching our streets to devastate communities, line the pockets of criminals, and ruin young lives across the country. On the same day as the cocaine discovery a gangster hit squad was jailed for dousing a rival drug dealer in petrol, setting him on fire, and leaving him to burn to death in his own flat. See

Boris Johnson has said reopening schools is a national priority, and the return of students to the classroom will be ‘the first sign of normality beginning to return’. He acknowledged how ‘frustrating’ the news will be for teachers, parents and carers, as well as the mental health impact on pupils stuck at home for such a prolonged period of time. Despite pressure from backbenchers and parental pressure groups calling for schools to reopen, the Prime Minister urged that they should do so only when it is safe to do so. Please continue to pray for stressed and weary parents working from home and educating their children; may they find a peaceful and quiet time in their busy schedule to be spiritually and mentally refreshed. Pray also for isolated and vulnerable children, particularly those falling into depression and/or rebellion. Ask God to help them have positive internet conversations with teachers and friends and discover ways to combat anxiety.

A BBC programme aimed at nine- to twelve-year-olds claims that there are 'over 100 gender identities'. The film, ‘Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities', is offered on its website as part of its relationships and sex education package for home schooling. It tells children that becoming transgender is a way to be 'happy', while making no mention of the growing legal and medical concerns about the rising number of children saying they want to change gender. When a pupil asks, 'How many gender identities are there?' the teacher replies, 'There are many gender identities. We know we have male and female, but there are over 100 if not more gender identities now. Some people might feel they are two different genders, some might think they are bi-gender. There are some who might call themselves “gender-queer” - like, I don't want to be anything in particular, I just want to be me.'

Michael Gove said that vaccines paid for must be delivered, with no ‘interruption’ in immunisation because of an argument between AstraZeneca (AZ) and the EU. The row erupted after the pharmaceutical giant warned the EU that it would experience a shortfall of up to 60% in the promised delivery of 100 million doses this quarter. AZ blamed its troubles on technical issues at its Belgium plant, the main production facility for Europe - and delay in ordering by the EU. The EU says it has legal right to jabs from AZ's two UK plants, as AZ must stick to its contractual obligations. The company claims its agreement includes a ‘best effort’ clause that makes its delivery goals an estimate rather than a rock-solid commitment. See also the Europe article ‘Vaccination supply chain’.

Senior Christian Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne claimed that Covid-19 statistics were ‘manipulated’. In a November interview by a US anti-vaccine campaigner, he said, ‘Official data should not be trusted’. Also, he told the anti-lockdown group Save Our Rights UK that the figures of deaths being quoted were at a typical level for the time of year. They were manageable, and the UK had become ‘a police state’. He accused the Government of attempting to implement ‘social control’ through actions such as the mandatory wearing of face masks. Michael Gove called for Sir Desmond to issue a full retraction and apologise for ‘unacceptable’ comments. The deputy Labour leader said endorsing conspiracy theories and questioning the official figures was deeply dangerous, as there is absolutely no evidence.

Conservative London Mayor candidate Shaun Bailey used City Hall branded paper to warn Londoners of an alleged 21.2% council tax increase. The leaflet, with a Tory Party logo, invited readers to sign a petition against council tax rises. He was reported to the Crown Prosecution Service for fraudulent leaflets, and London’s Labour deputy leader called for the Tories to apologise. She said Mr Bailey seemed ‘determined to insult voters' intelligence by bringing discredited Donald Trump-style fake news to London. He has consistently misled over finances, the congestion charge, and council tax, and his latest leaflets are literally a work of fiction. Fake news, fake polls and fake leaflets will reflect badly on him and the Conservative Party and erode trust in politics.’ The Liberal Democrat candidate posted a picture of the leaflet on social media, labelling it a ‘cheap trick’.

Sir Keir Starmer said that faith leaders are vital in encouraging BAME communities to take the Covid-19 vaccine. Amid low confidence concerning vaccines among ethnic minorities, Labour is partnering with church leaders in its Let's Vaccinate Britain campaign. Sir Keir said, ‘I'm a big believer in the importance of faith. In a pandemic there is a role for faith leadership. Communities will listen to faith leaders in a way that they may not necessarily listen to politicians and others.’ Senior NHS figures have previously expressed concern that people in some BAME communities are reluctant to take the vaccine for religious reasons or concerns about ‘unethical’ experiments carried out in the last century. Also misinformation on the internet about the pandemic and the vaccines is contributing to their distrust.

Police have detained a 53-year-old man from Chatham after a suspicious package was sent to a Covid-19 vaccine factory in north Wales. He remains in custody as enquiries continue. However, the police said in a statement that there is no evidence to suggest there is an ongoing threat.

The Prayer Shield is a 365-day prayer initiative for God's plans and purposes to be manifest in the UK. The vision is to unite thousands in a shield of prayer over the nation for 365 days. Leaders of diverse denominations and expressions will lead daily prayers, declarations, and blessings for the nation. Christians across the country are invited to join this initiative for a few minutes each day to say a short prayer, make a declaration from God’s Word, and pronounce a blessing for the United Kingdom. At a time when issues of racial injustice and discrimination are causing so much pain in our society, intercessors are catching the vision of God changing things.

English children will be able to access free books online during school closures via a virtual library. After schools moved to remote learning, internet classroom Oak National Academy (ONA) created the library, which will provide a book a week from its author of the week. The aim is to increase access for young readers, particularly the most disadvantaged, to ebooks and audiobooks. ONA is funded by the Department for Education and has provided over 28 million lessons since 4 January. The National Literacy Trust said many children's literacy skills had been profoundly affected by the first lockdown and school closures. ‘We will do everything in our power to support children, families and teachers during this new lockdown period.’