Displaying items by tag: United Kingdom

Female doctors have launched an online campaign that exposes shocking gender-based discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault in healthcare. Surviving in Scrubs is an issue for all healthcare workers, say the campaign’s founders, Becky Cox and Chelcie Jewitt, who are encouraging women to share stories of harassment and abuse to ‘push for change and to reach the people in power’. The campaign has called for the GMC, which regulates doctors, to explicitly denounce sexist and misogynistic behaviour towards female colleagues and ‘treat them with respect’. Over 40 stories have been shared on the campaign’s website, ranging from sexual harassment by patients to inappropriate remarks and sexual advances from supervisors. The report stopped short of detailing where racism and classism overlap, but they wrote on Twitter: ‘Sexism in the healthcare workforce is intersectional. Race, disability, sexuality, ethnicity, class, gender all interlink to create a multitude of experiences. Sexism doesn’t exist in a vacuum.’

On 8 July Martin Sargeant was charged by the Metropolitan Police with fraud by false representation and money laundering in the diocese of London. The sum involved is in the region of £5 million. Mr Sargeant left his post in 2019 after a review by the incoming Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally. A diocesan statement says that, at the time, there was no suspicion or evidence of criminality. But, last year, the London Diocesan Fund contacted the police and the Charity Commission after a parish raised concerns about funds they had not received. Bishop Sarah thanked the police and the diocesan financial team for their work over the past year, as they continue to investigate the extent of this complex fraud which took place over a decade ago.

A high court has ordered a church founded by Pastor Tobi Adegboyega to be closed ‘in the public interest.’ His Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited (SPML) is charged with £1.9 million fraud. Adegboyega, popular for his opulent lifestyle, is charged with financial mismanagement and lack of transparency. The Charity Commission is also examining SPML’s financial, governance and safeguarding; members have allegedly been financially exploited by senior church personnel promoting ‘prosperity gospel’ and establishing what many called ‘cult membership’ by young Black people from poor communities. Meanwhile, the Everlasting Arms Ministries sold their London property for £8 million, while being allowed to continue occupying the building. At the same time the pastor’s salary increased from £44,536.20 to £72,000 pa, and his deputy’s from £45,000 to £54,000. Other employees’ salaries also rose. A Charity Commissions investigation found £180,000 spent on business-class flights and £457,655 on luxury hotels.

As the country experiences the largest rail strike in modern history, and staff at Heathrow Airport have voted overwhelmingly to strike in July or August, unions representing health and education have warned of future industrial action. The teachers’ union said 450,000 members would be balloted unless the government agreed to a pay rise closer to inflation. Unison said the Government could make a sensible pay award or risk a potential dispute in hospitals. The chairman of the NHS Confederation warned that a pay rise for the lowest paid NHS staff was needed to avoid ‘ worsening the NHS workforce crisis’. Transport secretary Grant Shapps dismissed calls for direct negotiations. The RMT general secretary has predicted industrial action could spread, as ‘people can’t take it any more’4269283). When the TUC demanded a pay rise for all workers, Shapps said there had been 40% salary increases over ten years. The Government plans to change the law so that employers can use agency staff during strikes to limit their impact on society.

In April a deadline of 7 July was set for a decision on whether to go ahead with a new coal mine in Cumbria. The proposed mine would remove coking coal, which is used for the production of steel in the UK and Europe, from beneath the Irish Sea. Around 40% of this type of coal needed by the UK is imported from Russia. Meanwhile, West Cumbria is crying out for skilled, long-term, well-paid private-sector jobs. ‘Digging down to level up’ is often quoted; it is the idea that geography should not be destiny, and regional inequalities should be lessened. In light of the war in Ukraine, boosting energy security and reducing the UK's dependence on Russia need to be considered. The Government may also be reconsidering the commitment to net-zero-carbon emissions by 2050. Coal is widely seen as one of the dirtiest and most polluting energy sources. See also

Covid infections are up 43% across the UK, following the Jubilee weekend of partying and two new fast-spreading subvariants of Omicron, BA4 and BA5. People can catch them even if they have recently had other types of Covid. The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which compiles the data, says it is too early to say if this is the start of another wave. Millions celebrated the Queen's Platinum Jubilee between 2 and 5 June, giving Covid many opportunities to spread. It usually takes a few days for people to show symptoms or test positive after catching it, so the latest data covers some of that Jubilee mixing. There were 11,778 new confirmed positive test result on 17 June 2022, and 80,128 people in the last 7 days. An increase of 17,771 compared to the previous 7 days. Data is being monitored closely: see

The Aurora, a former RNLI lifeboat, was sold to the British charity Search and Rescue Relief. After they had rescued 85 people in a sinking skiff off the north African coast on 29 May, Italian authorities gave them permission to land on Lampedusa Island. Two days later, the UK’s maritime and coastguard agency gave the charity notice that prevented Aurora going back to sea, claiming it was operating ‘beyond the geographical limitations’ of the Rescue Boat Code under which it is certified. The Aurora, which is operated by the international non-governmental rescue body Sea Watch, has been stranded at the island for nearly a month. 45 people have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean in that time. The ban comes after the European Court of Human Rights stopped asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East in the UK being sent to Rwanda. Migrants from these countries hoping to reach the UK via the English Channel must first cross the Mediterranean.

From the romantic poets to Sir David Attenborough’s research, Britain has a reputation for being a nation of nature lovers. But citizens of this green and pleasant land are ranked bottom of fourteen European nations measured for their ‘nature connectedness’, according to a new study. This is a psychological concept which measures the closeness of an individual’s relationship with other species and the wild world. Studies have found that people with a high level of nature connectedness enjoy better mental health and are more likely to act in environmentally friendly ways. Britain. which has lost more wildlife than any other G7 country, has been shown to be one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet. Professor Miles Richardson, the lead author of the study, is asking the UN to adopt the concept of nature connectedness as a sustainable target, with 17 sustainable development goals focused on issues for people or for nature.

One of the many refugees destined for Rwanda under a controversial scheme is an Iranian ex-police commander who fears Iranian agents would kill him in Rwanda. Iran's Revolutionary Guard is known for kidnapping and assassinating dissidents in African countries, including Rwanda. He testified via Skype to a tribunal investigating Iranian atrocities during anti-government protests. He was in charge of sixty police officers when he refused to obey orders to shoot protesters during the rallies. He was demoted by Iran’s military court and sentenced to five years in jail. 1,500 men, women and children were killed in the demonstrations. While out on bail pending his appeal he escaped to Turkey and lived in hiding for fourteen months, before fleeing to England in May. Although his face was covered when he gave evidence, Iran's security forces managed to identify him and have persecuted his family who are still living in Iran. See also article 5 in the World section.

Cineworld has removed a film about Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, from Bradford, Bolton, Birmingham and Sheffield venues, after hundreds of Muslims protested, calling the film blasphemous. Cineworld said that because of incidents outside venues, and for the safety of staff and customers, the screening of 'The Lady of Heaven' will stop. The film opens with the IS invasion of Iraq, showing a jihadist murder, before telling the story of Lady Fatima. The movie's executive producer called Cineworld’s decision ‘unacceptable’ and accused them of 'bowing down to radical extremists'. He said, ‘It is never right to submit to anything that undermines free speech. The only caveat to free speech is if you incite violence either directly or indirectly. If someone doesn’t want to watch something, then don't watch it, that's your freedom. People can’t compel you to watch this film, it doesn’t incite violence, and there is nothing in British law preventing the film being screened in the UK.’