Displaying items by tag: Government

Blood transfusions in the 1970s and 80s infected 4,800 patients with hepatitis C or HIV. As a public inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal begins this week, the victims and families of the 2,000 who died want justice and the Government held to account. The stigma attached to HIV meant that victims received hate mail and death threats, and the scandal was hushed up. This inquiry will finally give people the opportunity to tell their stories as evidence is heard. One victim said, ‘They will be horrified to hear what happened’. The UK relied on blood products from America manufactured from blood from thousands of paid high-risk donors (prisoners and drug addicts). Campaigners say there is evidence that the health service knew the blood was contaminated but carried on giving it, and there have been allegations of a government cover-up.

The National Security Council discuss intelligence coordination and defence strategies. But information from one meeting was published in the Daily Telegraph. Defence secretary Gavin Williamson was suspected of, and sacked for, allegedly leaking discussions around giving Chinese telecoms firm Huawei contracts to build UK infrastructure to support future networks. These networks would allow people to control their home (lights, washing machines, etc), allow driverless cars to operate, control infrastructure, water and air-quality monitoring systems, traffic lights, and display live departures at bus stops and train stations. Other governments around the world, concerned over security, have blocked Huawei technology from their next-generation networks. British telecom giants BT and EE are removing equipment made by Huawei from core parts of their 3G and 4G operations, and plan to exclude it from bidding on future 5G contracts. Huawei said it would never hand information to the Chinese government, but there is scepticism over whether it would have a choice. Meanwhile Mr Williamson, one of the few ministers with good relations with the DUP, has been sacked despite his strong denial of any involvement in the leak. See

Buckingham Palace has announced that US president Donald Trump will make a three-day state visit to the UK from 3 to 5 June. Mrs May said that the visit was an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationships in trade, investment, security and defence, and discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead. But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said that on the very day Trump threatens to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war, Mrs May is planning to honour him with a state visit. His last visit saw tens of thousands of protesters fill central London's streets to tell him what they thought of his visit. Instead of a red carpet, there was a sea of people, in two large marches led by Women's March London and the Stop Trump Coalition.

Government funding has not kept pace with the soaring demands of children with special educational needs (SEN). Councils, schools and colleges should work together to support SEN children, but the number of such children has risen by 33% since 2015, whereas central government funding for their support increased by only 7%. On 27 March 2019 councils were told, ‘Special educational needs support is an approach that all schools and colleges must adopt when it is clear that a child or young person needs additional support to learn and achieve.’ Local council elections are on 2 May. May God raise up men and women in the 248 local council elections who have a desire to meet the needs of the vulnerable in our schools and colleges and know how to apply for adequate funding. See

Theresa May has hosted an emergency summit, to tackle the epidemic of knife crime and youth violence. The Government plans to see teachers, nurses and police officers held to account if they fail to ‘spot warning signs’ of violent crime among young people. Over 100 experts will explore the scope and potential impact of new ideas, while kick-starting a further programme of action. Pray for Met police commissioner Cressida Dick, home secretary Sajid Javid, Patrick Green from the Ben Kinsella Trust, and Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, as they explore ways of supporting young people. Pray for good communication between the various strands of new systems to be implemented in the NHS, social services, probation services, police, and schools, so that warning signs are spotted when a young person is in danger.

The Government estimates that tens of thousands of people are slaves in the UK. Most are trafficked from Albania, Vietnam, Nigeria, Romania and Poland. There are also significant numbers of British national slaves. Forced labour is in agriculture, construction, hospitality, manufacturing, and car washes. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation or domestic slavery. Children are forced into cannabis production, petty theft and begging. In 2009 the Government set up a mechanism to which potential cases were referred to access relevant support. It wasn’t fit for purpose. Slavery victims were not supported, and traffickers got away with their crimes. A new Modern Slavery Act was introduced in 2015. Research has found that the number of potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery reported to the authorities has risen by over 80% in two years, and the number of modern slavery cases involving UK children is alarming. See

Romania has taken over the presidency of the EU for six months. Historically Romanians have been under foreign occupation for most of their existence, but have kept their linguistic identity and Christian faith in spite of rulers with different cultures and religions. Currently Romania is governed by the Social Democratic Party, which contains numerous corrupt leaders who have changed the laws so that they cannot be taken to court. On an economic level, they have imposed some populist measures that have put the country in a difficult situation. Because of this there have been numerous demonstrations by people desiring integrity and justice in their country. Companies are going bankrupt, resources are depleted, and over five million people have emigrated. Romania is being threatened by Russia because she is strategically situated with access to the Black Sea. Meanwhile, President Klaus Johannis is a Christian, and the impact of Christians in society is growing.

On 24 January Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó swore himself in as the rightful head of state, with the support of the USA and other nations in the region, as he attempts to remove President Maduro. He now faces the daunting task of establishing a transition plan without control over crucial state institutions and armed forces that have, so far, disowned him. Venezuela's churches have called for prayer as pressure mounts on Maduro to step down. Mass demonstrations against the economic mismanagement that has caused widespread poverty have been taking place. Pastor Samuel Olson, president of the Evangelical Council of Venezuela (ECV), invited the nation to pray 'together as a family, asking God that through His Holy Spirit He would care for, direct, and bless our nation in this critical hour of its history'. ECV are backing Juan Guaidó as the man 'called to conduct the nation in this period of transition'. See also

On 9 January Asher Samson, from Birmingham, was deported to Pakistan, despite last-minute attempts to convince the authorities that his case warranted a judicial review because the proper procedures had not been followed. Mr Samson came to the UK in 2004 to continue theology training in order to become a pastor. He decided to apply for asylum here after being beaten and threatened with execution by Islamic extremists during visits to Pakistan. A friend from his church writes, ‘He has no close family there, and rightly fears for his life. We can only pray; though on one level that seems so little, we know it is the most effective thing to do.’

Pray for truthful accountable reporting by the media in the coming year. Pray for reporters and researchers to be more prepared to speak out without favour or bias. Ask God to grace our political news presenters and bloggers with heavenly wisdom and vision in all that they say and record. Bless and pray protection over all our politicians and their families, who have had to live and work under incredible pressure in this season of change. May God give them peace as they step back from battles and into Christmas. May each of them find recuperation and rest, and may unity replace diversity in the Cabinet in 2019. Ask God to give our MPs the humility and insights needed to make accurate choices and may they be delivered from the temptation to work for personal platforms or party politics (Matthew 6:13).