Displaying items by tag: British Isles

‘Jewish people today on campus can be tolerated, protected or abused. At no point are they treated as equals.’ (David Collier, Academia, 18 January) This Jew-hate, cloaked in anti-Zionism, is a doctrine claiming that the Jewish state, alone among the nations, has no right to exist. The Government has tried to persuade universities to adopt the threat of removal of funding streams, but this is often bitterly opposed by certain academic staff desperate to remain unchallenged in their bully pulpits. As of autumn 2020 only 29 of 133 higher education institutions had complied. Some British universities are now virtually free of Jews. This is a chilling indictment not just of British academia but of a liberal democratic society that has tolerated a wave of discrimination against Jews sweeping through universities over recent decades. In 1938 the leading Nazi student newspaper triumphantly proclaimed, ‘The goal is achieved! No more Jews at German universities.’

A number of elections will take place on 6 May, including those postponed in 2020. These will be for local councils, mayors, police and crime commissioners, and members of the London Assembly and the Welsh and Scottish parliaments. We can pray for the Lord of Heaven and earth to be in every preparation leading up to these elections. We are in a season of financial shaking and pandemic challenges. Pray for God to release an atmosphere of health, safety, security and wellbeing to the various cultural and ethnic groups in our society. God’s word states, ‘Righteousness exalts a nation’, so we can pray for Him to release His righteousness into every aspect of national and local government. May His purposes be fulfilled in and through every business and government department’s decision. Pray for honour and integrity to increase in all political agendas.

The international trade secretary, Liz Truss, has admitted Brexit led to food shortages in Northern Ireland after weeks of disruption. Her cabinet colleague Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, had argued that the coronavirus crisis was solely to blame for the shortages, but Ms Truss contradicted him, blaming both issues. Meanwhile, a row broke out between the UK and EU after the Foreign Office refused to grant the bloc’s ambassador in London the same diplomatic status afforded to representatives of individual nation states. Also, anger is building among manufacturers as EU customers cancel orders due to Brexit red tape.

On 18 January more than twenty shellfish trucks parked just metres from Boris Johnson’s Downing Street office and the British parliament to protest against the post-Brexit bureaucracy that has stopped them exporting to the EU. Many Scottish fishermen have not been able to export their stocks to Europe since the start of the year after the introduction of catch certificates, health checks and customs declarations added lengthy delays to their delivery times, prompting European buyers to reject them. A director of Venture Seafoods, which exports live and processed crabs and lobsters to the EU. said he had cancelled several lorries due to the onerous red tape involved. One operator needed 400 pages of export documentation last week to board a ferry to the EU. He warned the system could collapse.

Hope is on the horizon. Health secretary Matt Hancock predicted that every adult would be offered a Covid vaccine by the autumn, as regular rapid testing for people without coronavirus symptoms started this week. Some high street pharmacies started vaccinating people from priority groups on 14 January, with 200 providing jabs in the following two weeks. The chemists will offer appointments to those invited by letter. Anyone who does not want to travel to these sites can still be vaccinated by their local GP or hospital service, but they may have to wait longer. Over 2.6 million people have now received their first dose.

Parents will be able to claim food vouchers from 18 January, after an outcry over paltry free school meal parcels. Education secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs he was 'absolutely disgusted' by images shared by angry parents of the meagre contents of food packages which lacked the components of a rounded diet and fell short of the £15-per-child value. Boris Johnson branded the boxes 'disgraceful' and 'an insult to the families receiving them'. Catering firm Chartwells will also start including breakfast in free school meal deliveries in response to the fierce criticism of its meagre parcels.

Fraudsters are sending out fake texts offering a Covid vaccine, trying to steal personal and financial information. Other scams include selling fake Covid cures and non-existent or low- quality PPE, as well as posing online as official sources to steal personal and banking details from victims. One scam message reading 'We have identified that you are eligible for your vaccine' prompts people to click on a link to 'apply’ for it. Pray for more police warnings about providing financial details to strangers. Criminals preying on people's fears over the pandemic are stealing millions of pounds, according to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. There have been fraud attempts posted on local Facebook pages and an ‘extremely convincing’ fake NHS website. Action Fraud warns people to never give out personal details to organisations or people before verifying their credentials first, even if the message appears to be genuine. See

Pastor Paul Song was a volunteer prison chaplain at HMP Brixton for 19 years, bringing many to Christ. In 2015, a Muslim imam became senior chaplain and placed heavy restrictions on the pastor's ministry, eventually banning him from the prison without explanation. Numerous other Christian prison volunteers leading Alpha courses, Christian drama courses, prayer groups and other vital ministries were banned from the prison. After taking the Ministry of Justice to court, Pastor Song was promised he would be allowed to return. But then he spoke to the media about the reality of Islamic extremism and radicalisation at HMP Brixton (see). As a result, he was suspended from prison work for ten years. He sought a judicial review of this decision on 12 January. At the time of writing the outcome is not known. 

Hedgerows play an important role in the British countryside. They mark boundaries, shape landscapes, provide wildlife havens, and control drought, pollution and soil erosion. As enclaves of relatively 'wild nature' amidst sometimes intensively managed farmland, and providing all these services, they are also powerful symbols of God's loving and caring presence (through His creation and His people) in the midst of sometimes destructive human activity and endeavour. However, many of the best hedgerows have declined in recent decades and need to be repaired, protected, and maintained. Give thanks for the beauty and usefulness of our hedgerows and pray that landowners will care better for them.

Mary, a former resident of Marianvale Home for mothers and babies in Newry, said, ‘My baby was taken from me. We have been asking the Executive to set up an inquiry for years. Ministers have brushed us aside.’ Her statement echoes the cry of women and babies in near-identical institutions who suffered arbitrary detention, forced labour, ill-treatment, and the removal and forced adoption of their babies. These criminal acts were carried out by both Catholic and Protestant churches and organisations. They enforced a regime of praying, knitting and scrubbing floors. Women were treated as prisoners, not expectant mothers. There were over a dozen of these institutions, where 7,500 women and girls gave birth. The last one closed in the 1990s. Two UN committees have recommended that the government should establish an inquiry into these abuses.