UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Government should hold an inquiry into “dangerous” content which young people are able to access on their smartphones, the leader of the largest education union in the UK has said.Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), warned of a “real problem” with sexism and misogyny in schools which has been fuelled by exposure to harmful content online.Mr Kebede called on the Government to “take on” big technology companies as he said the problem is “too widespread” to be left to schools and parents.He added that students are easily able to access social media influencers like Andrew Tate, as well as “aggressive hardcore pornography” which is affecting young boys’ views of women and relationships.His comments came ahead of a debate on online misogyny and sexism at the NEU’s annual conference in Bournemouth.I think there needs to be a real inquiry into this from Government which makes some recommendations on some significant reformsDaniel Kebede, National Education UnionA motion, due to be debated on Friday, says the “continued rise” in online sexism and misogyny through social media and online influencers presents a “real challenge” to those promoting gender equality.It suggests the union’s resources to promote anti-sexism are “not being used as widely as they should” in schools and colleges.Speaking to the media ahead of the debate, Mr Kebede said he has worked with young girls who have been victims of “significant acts of misogyny” and who have experienced abuse, violence and sexual assault.He said: “That is being fuelled by a culture of misogyny and sexism that is in turn being fuelled by what young boys and young men can access on their smartphones. It’s really widespread.”The Everyone’s Invited movement – a campaign on sexual harassment and abuse launched in 2021 – saw some pupils accuse their schools of failing to tackle a “rape culture”.Asked whether the problem has got worse since the campaign, Mr Kebede said: “I don’t think anybody at the moment can view what’s happening in society and think the issue of sexism and misogyny – and what young people can access on their phones – has particularly improved. It hasn’t.”It is very fair to say that there is a real problem with sexism and misogyny within schools. There is a real problem with what young people can access via their smartphone with real ease. It’s a problem that I think that Government have completely failed to intervene inDaniel Kebede, National Education Union He added: “It is very fair to say that there is a real problem with sexism and misogyny within schools. There is a real problem with what young people can access via their smartphone with real ease.“It’s a problem that I think that Government have completely failed to intervene in. There has been no real regulation and it is causing a huge issue in our schools.”Asked what the Government should do, the NEU chief said: “They need to actually take on big tech, if we are being honest.“Big tech have to take some responsibility and be regulated and accept regulation and ensure that young people can’t access really aggressive, dangerous things on their phones.“It’s not enough to just allow schools to police it, or parents indeed. It’s just far too widespread.“I think there needs to be a real inquiry into this from Government which makes some recommendations on some significant reforms essentially.”In February, schools in England were given non-statutory Government guidance intended to stop the use of mobile phones during school hours.Last month, schools minister Damian Hinds told the Education Select Committee that getting a mobile phone between primary and secondary school has become a “rite of passage” for nearly all children.Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, is campaigning for an age limit for smartphone usage and stricter controls on access to social media apps.Asked whether parents could do more to restrict the content which their children are being exposed to online, Mr Kebede said: “Children and young people are very good at working out technology and how to use it and how to get around any filters and restrictions that are in place.“We can’t individualise the issue and put it down to problem parenting, failure of parenting. It’s very difficult when every other child has access to a smartphone to be that parent who says no.“There has to be regulation on this from Government, who in turn supports families in making those decisions.”A Government spokesperson said: “All children deserve to grow up in a safe environment, and we expect schools to take immediate action against sexual misconduct or harassment.“Through our world-leading Online Safety Act, social media firms will be required to protect children from being exposed to harmful material online, and the Education Secretary recently took robust action by prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools.“We are also reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education and as a part of this, we are considering how our guidance and support to schools on this issue can be strengthened.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak is under mounting pressure – including from within his own party – to immediately suspend arms sales to Israel amid a growing chorus of opposition to the number of civilians killed in its war on Hamas. The prime minister faces calls from Tory grandees, hundreds of lawyers, dozens of MPs and peers from across the political spectrum, as well as top military commanders to halt arms exports to the nation.Mr Sunak has also been urged to exert Britain’s influence on Israel to force a change of approach in how Israel Defence Forces (IDF) conducts the invasion. Days after the slaughter of seven aid workers, three of them British, The Independent joins the call for the sale of arms to Israel to stop. Conservative former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind said Britain must suspend arms sales to Israel unless it demonstrates an urgent change in the behaviour of the IDF.Sir Malcolm Rifkind said it is ‘difficult to believe’ Israel’s approach meets acceptable standards More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailFormer foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan is being investigated by Tory chiefs after he said pro-Israel “extremists” in the party should be kicked out because they refused to support international law.Sir Alan said ex-cabinet minister Eric Pickles and Tory peer Stuart Polak, both members of the powerful Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) organisation, should both be thrown out of the party.The CFI was being used to ‘exercise the interests of another country’ by lobbying for Israel, he said.He also branded Michael Gove, Oliver Dowden, Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick and Priti Patel “extremists” for failing to denounce unlawful Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.Conservative head office responded by launching an inquiry into Sir Alan’s comments, which could lead to him having the party whip withdrawn.It comes as the party faces a split over the Gaza war, with figures including Sir Nicholas Soames, the grandson of Winston Churchill, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, and Mark Logan, a PPS in the Department for Work and Pensions, among those calling for a suspension of UK arms to Israel.Sir Alan, who stepped down as an MP in 2017, launched an outspoken attack on Israel in an article in The Independent in which he argued it could no longer be considered an ally by the UK. He then he used an appearance on LBC to call for security minister Tom Tugendhat to be sacked for “not believing in international law”.Sir Alan Duncan is under investigation by the Conservative Party More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe health tech company belonging to disgraced Conservative party donor Frank Hester has been dropped as a sponsor from Yorkshire’s largest LGBTQ+ celebration after the CEO was embroiled in a racism row.Mr Hester came under fire after it was revealed he had made racist comments about Labour MP Diane Abbott, having said she made him “want to hate all back women” and that “she should be shot”.Now the organisers of Leeds Pride have announced they are ending their sponsorship deal with Mr Hester’s company in a stance against discrimination.In a statement confirming it was cutting ties with TPP, Leeds Pride said: “This move comes after discussions with the board of directors and collaborative partners, reflecting a stand against discrimination and in support of creating an inclusive atmosphere.”Frank Hester allegedly made the comments in 2019 (Screengrab/PA) More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAn official advisory body to the EU has urged leaders to let young people travel freely between the UK and EU, aiming to reignite opportunities for those under 30 post-Brexit. The European Economic and Social Committee, an official consultative body to the EU Commission, has today agreed to a proposal that urges the EU to reintegrate the UK into the Erasmus programme which allows students to study abroad.After Brexit the UK left the Erasmus scheme, which had enabled 200,000 UK nationals to study at the best universities across Europe at no extra cost. New Brexit rules have also made it much more difficult for people to move between the EU and UK for work, study, and travel due to new border rules. But today’s resolution is a significant step, as the European Commission is urged to approach the UK government about “the possibility of negotiating an ambitious reciprocal youth mobility partnership.”A British Youth Council ambassador has said Brexit caused a ‘devastating loss of exchange and educational opportunities for young people on both sides of the Channel’ More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Austria’s justice minister said Thursday that she plans to tighten the country’s rules on espionage, which currently is explicitly banned if directed against Austria itself but not if it targets other countries or international organizations.Justice Minister Alma Zadic’s push to tighten Austria’s laws comes as the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on allegations of spying for Russia focuses attention on espionage activities in the country. Austria is a European Union member that has a policy of military neutrality. Its capital, Vienna, is host to several U.N. agencies and other international groups such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.Austria’s criminal code currently states that anyone who “sets up or operates a secret intelligence service to the detriment of the Republic of Austria or supports such an intelligence service in whatever way” faces a prison sentence of between six months and five years. It also bans setting up, operating or supporting a “military intelligence service” for “a foreign power or a supra- or international body,” which can carry a prison sentence of up to two years.Zadic said in a statement to the Austria Press Agency that the country has long been accused of being an “island of the blessed” for intelligence services from around the world and lamented that “gaps in the law so far have allowed foreign intelligence services to spy with impunity in Austria.”“We want to expand the espionage paragraphs so that, in the future, our law enforcement authorities can also act against foreign spies when they are not targeting Austria itself, but international organizations based here such as the U.N. or friendly states,” she said.Zadic is a member of the junior party in Chancellor Karl Nehammer’s governing coalition, the Greens. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, a member of Nehammer’s Austrian People’s Party, told Oe1 radio he sees the need for tougher penalties for spying — but also renewed a call for authorities to be allowed to eavesdrop on calls via messenger services, something the Greens have balked at. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Britain’s main opposition parties demanded Wednesday that the Conservative government publish legal advice it has received on whether Israel has broken international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza. They say the U.K. should ban weapons sales to Israel if the law has been broken.Britain is a staunch ally of Israel, but relations have been tested by the mounting death toll of the almost six-month war. Calls for an end to arms exports have escalated since an Israeli airstrike killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, three of them British.David Lammy, foreign affairs spokesman for the main opposition Labour Party, said “there are very serious accusations that Israel has breached international law.”He urged the government to “publish the legal advice now.”“If it says there is a clear risk that U.K. arms might be used in a serious breach of international humanitarian law, it’s time to suspend the sale of those arms,” Lammy told British broadcastersLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan, one of the country’s most senior Labour officials, said “I don’t understand any justification for not publishing the legal advice that they’ve got.”“It’s important they publish that legal advice so that we can have confidence that the British government is following international law as well,” Khan told reporters in London.Two smaller opposition parties, the centrist Liberal Democrats and secessionist Scottish National Party, called on the government to halt arms sales to Israel.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not commit to publishing the legal advice, but said the U.K. followed a strict “set of rules, regulations and procedures” over licensing arms exports.“I have been consistently clear with Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu since the start of this conflict that while of course we defend Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against attacks from Hamas, they have to do that in accordance with international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives — and sadly too many civilians have already lost their lives,” Sunak told The Sun newspaper’s politics podcast. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailPaula Vennells, the former Post Office chief executive, may have been told about a “covert operations team” that could remotely access the Horizon system and adjust branches’ accounts two years before she appeared in parliament.In newly surfaced allegations Ms Vennells was briefed by the Post Office’s general counsel that a unit in Bracknell’s Fujitsu headquarters could access subpostmaster’s accounts remotely.Tapes obtained by Channel 4 show the Post Office’s chief lawyer Susan Crichton confirming twice that Ms Vennells was aware of the allegations.In the audio recording – dating from 2013 – Ms Crichton can be heard saying:“[Paula] knows about the allegation. She knows we are working on it.”She added: “She’s got everything. The way that I’ve tried to brief Paula is, as soon as I have evidence that, you know, that there is a problem, she knows about it the next minute”. Former Post Office boss Paula Vennells has forfeited her CBE after public dissatisfaction with her role in the Horizon scandal The recording is from two years prior to the Post Office halting prosecutions against its own sub-postmasters, and two years before the former chief executive told MPs in 2015 that it was not possible for subpostmasters’ accounts to be accessed remotely.In written evidence to the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee Inquiry, the Post Office said: “There is no functionality in Horizon for either a branch, Post Office or Fujitsu to edit, manipulate or remove transaction data once it has been recorded in a branch’s accounts.”More than 700 branch managers around the UK were prosecuted by the Post Office between 1999 and 2015 when the faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their shops.Evidence of possible remote access to the Horizon system by Fujitsu operatives has been central to the ongoing Post Office scandal.The newly uncovered tapes come from a call on which investigators from forensic accountancy firm Second Sight, along with several Post Office executives, were present.Michael Rudkin, a former Post Office union official, who was central to the discovery of Fujitsu’s covert operations unit was also referenced on the call.In the tape Ron Warmington, a representative from Second Sight, warns that Ms Vennells could be questioned by Lord Arbuthnot – who campaigned on behalf of sub-postmasters – on the Bracknell operation.“If James says something like, ‘And where are you on this assertion about the Bracknell covert operations team, as it was referred to by Rudkin?’,” Warmington asks.“Well look, that’s a specific case. We’ll come back to it when we finish the investigation,” Ms Crichton responds.“Yeah, well, as long as she doesn’t come back and say, ‘Look, so what’s this Bracknell issue, what is he talking about?’; ‘Oh, we’ve known about that for two months’,” Mr Warmington probes.“She knows about the allegation. She knows we are working on it,” Ms Crichton responds.Hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly convicted of stealing after the Post Office’s Horizon accounting system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches (Yui Mok/PA)The tapes also reveal that lawyers were eager to shut down interest from MPs into the unfolding scandal. In the audio, the Post Office lawyer is heard saying: “The need to somehow have a plan to close down this process. I mean, even to the extent of stopping MPs sending cases in now. So how do we close down the MP side of the process. And what would work for MPs? And what can we sell to MPs? And how quickly can we do that?”She continues: “So is there any way, and I’m thinking out loud here, is there any way of shutting down the MP cases, and making James and his friends happy, so they’ll just go away basically?”Former union employee Mr Rudkin told Channel 4 that the tapes went some way to confirming what he had always known: “The minute I first heard it, it was one of elation saying ‘Rudkin you were right!’. The second one is one of sadness thinking ‘Why did my wife and kids have to be put through this”He continued: “It’s not just us that’s affected. It’s the whole family. The way that you are shunned within the local community – whispers, ‘No smoke without fire’. Susan’s reputation and mine for that matter, just dragged through the mire. “And I can’t understand for the life of me why it’s taking so long for the Metropolitan Police to get on top of this. Somebody’s got to be held to account”.Susan Crichton and Paula Vennells did not respond to Channel 4 News’ requests for comment.A Post Office spokesperson said: “We remain fully focused on getting to the truth of what happened and supporting the statutory Public Inquiry, which is chaired by a judge with the power to question witnesses under oath, and is therefore best placed to help achieve this.”Fujitsu has been contacted for comment. More