Government must stop extremists avoiding prosecution
The Commission for Countering Extremism has called on the Government to close a loophole that has allowed individuals to spread extremist ideologies and views online without any repercussions or fear of prosecution. The commission’s recommendation was made after a legal review into the adequacy of existing legislation to combat the issue of hateful extremism was conducted by Sir Mark Rowley, a retired senior police officer in charge of UK Counter Terrorism policing. ‘Extremist groups whether neo-fascist, neo-Nazi, Islamist or others are able to operate lawfully, freely and with impunity,’ lead commissioner Sara Khan warned. Without action from the Government, hateful extremists will continue to be able to create ‘a climate conducive to hate crime, terrorism or other violence and will be able to attempt to prod and even destroy the fundamental rights and freedoms of our democratic society’. See
Scotland: Holyrood crisis of credibility
Many are saying Holyrood faces a ‘crisis of credibility’ over its inquiry into the handling of harassment complaints against Alex Salmond, now that his written evidence submitted to the inquiry has been redacted at the request of the Crown Office. In another development, MSPs on the inquiry committee have asked the Crown Office to hand over all correspondence between Peter Murrell, chief executive officer of the SNP and Ms Sturgeon's husband; Liz Lloyd, Nicola Sturgeon's chief of staff; Sue Ruddick, chief operating officer for the SNP; and Ian McCann, SNP compliance officer. Mr Salmond claims the documents being requested will show he was the victim of a high-level plot. Ms Sturgeon, who has emphatically denied there was any such plotting against her former boss, is scheduled to appear before MSPs next week. She described suggestions that the Crown Office's intervention was politically influenced as ‘downright wrong’.
UK fishermen fear losing homes
Since 1 January, the European Union has stopped British fishermen from selling oysters, scallops, clams, cockles and mussels, known as live bivalve molluscs (LBM), that are caught in so-called ‘Class B’ waters. The government says it is seeking an ‘urgent resolution’, while the European Commission said that the ban, on health grounds, applies to all third countries and ‘is not a surprise’ to the UK. Meanwhile Cornish shellfish workers are at risk of losing their homes because of the overnight ban on exporting their product to the EU. 65-year-old Tim Heard, who has been catching oysters for fifty years, is just one of the many who have seen their income completely stop.The environment department said, ‘It is unacceptable that the European Commission has changed its position regarding the export of live bivalve molluscs from Class B waters. There is no scientific or technical justification for this, and it is already impacting businesses on both sides of the Channel’.
New probe into missing princess
Princess Shamsa disappeared from a street in Cambridge in 2000 and has not been seen in public since. Now the police have received a letter relating to the disappearance of the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Dubai's ruler, and calling for the police to reinvestigate the twenty-year-old case. Her sister, Princess Latifa, says Shamsa has been held captive in a ‘villa jail’ in Dubai since an attempt to flee in 2018. But a family statement released through the UAE embassy in London downplayed allegations of mistreatment, and said she was being cared for at home. The police said that ‘aspects’ of their 2001 investigation - which found insufficient evidence to take any action - will be revisited, but insisted the investigation was no longer active.
