UK politics - live: Michael Gove accused of ‘witch-hunt’ as he vows ‘pro-Palestinian marchers will pay’
A damning public inquiry has revealed government failings are the worst treatment disaster in NHS history
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Michael Gove has been accused of a ‘witch hunt’ after saying he wanted pro-Palestinian marchers to pay for the massive weekly protests.
The secretary of state for levelling up labelled pro-Palestine university encampments as ‘antisemitism repurposed for the Instagram age’ and he accused activists of hostility towards Jewish students.
In a speech on Tuesday, Mr Gove also accused organisers of not doing enough to stop some demonstrators spreading anti-Jewish messages, which he claims, included chants calling for the “annihilation of Israel”. His remarks have sparked furore among organisations supporting Palestinians in Gaza, who have been holding huge protests in London every weekend since the 7 October Hamas attacks.
His speech came ahead of the publication of the Lord Walney review into political violence, which recommended government tighten laws to ban Gaza protests taking place on certain days as well as calling for powers to help businesses claim damages from protest organisers.
But on the same day, the High Court ruled the Home Office had acted unlawfully when it implemented regulations to lower the threshold for police intervening in protests.
Gove’s extremism warning as antisemitism incidents rise by 147 per cent
International court seeks arrest warrant against Israel PM Netanyahu over alleged Gaza war crimes
The Israel-Hamas war is testing whether campuses are sacrosanct places for speech and protest
Infected blood scandal inquiry: Betrayal, lies and chilling cover-up as Rishi Sunak describes ‘day of shame’
Infected blood scandal: Victims to get compensation of £210,000
John Glen has announced victims of the blood scandal will receive payments worth thousands.
He told the House of Commons: “Payments of £210,000 will be made to living infected beneficiaries, those registered with existing infected blood support schemes as well as those who register with a support scheme before the final scheme becomes operational and the estates of those who pass away between now and payments being made.
“I know that time is of the essence which is why I am also pleased to say that they will be delivered within 90 days, starting in the summer so that they can reach those who need it so urgently most.”
The payments will be rolled out before the end of 2024 and it will be exempt from income, capital gains and inheritance taxes.
Activists and left-wing parties accuse Gove of spreading lies
Members of the Revolutionary Communist Party have hit out at the Tory MP for accusing them of antisemitism.
Speaking today, Mr Gove said: “On the extreme Left, academics such as Professor David Miller and groups such as the Socialist Workers’ Party, the Socialist Party and the Revolutionary Communist Party jostle to share platforms with Islamist groupings.
“Deploy aggressive language about ‘zionists’, support calls for intifada and praising te the resistance - a synonym for Hamas - in terms that Jewish students say cause them physical fear.”
In response to the blatant accusations, the Marxist party has labelled his remarks an “attempt to distract from the Tories’ support for genocide”.
Watch live: Government expected to announce £10bn infected blood scandal compensation
Michael Gove condemns call to arrest Netanyahu for war crimes
The Conservative minister has slammed the International Criminal Court for seeking an arrest warrant on Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking on Times Radio, the housing, communities and levelling up secretary said: “The one thing that seems to me to be absolutely clear is that of course you can criticise Israel, and there are plenty of grounds for doing so.
“You cannot equate Israel with Hamas.
“Hamas is a terrorist organisation, bent on slaughter.
“Israel is a state like all states, an imperfect one, but trying to defend its people, so equating the two is just nonsensical.”
But he also described Israel as an imperfect state which is trying to protect its population.
Gove continued: “Yes there are grounds to criticise Israel; yes, there are grounds to criticise Netanyahu for some of the mistakes he has made.”
Government should have a permanent Independent Adviser on Political Violence
Lord Walney has recommended that his role is made permanent so that government is better informed about the threats posed by protest movements.
He references Extinction Rebellion as an organisation which is misunderstood, saying that while it is an environmentalist group it “is also fundamentally rooted in an anarchist analysis of society and ways of organising”.
Lord Walney has said that police should improve their intelligence on these groups and conduct a review “on whether undercover surveillance is being used appropriately”.
MPs should not engage with activists that resort to illegal activities, Lord Walney recommends
Lord Walney assessed that popular and “worthy” causes are being highjacked by “extreme activists”.
He has recommended that central and local government do not fund, work or consult with groups who resort to illegal activities to secure change.
He also recommended that, outside of government, MPs and other elected representatives of political parties should not engage with such groups.
He also writes that “too little attention” has been paid to the “serious forms of violence, intimidation, and incitement of hatred on the extreme left”.
We must defend our democracy from extremists, government's adviser on political violence says in landmark report
The UK democracy is “at a crossroads” and must be defended from extremists on the left and right, the government’s independent adviser on political violence has said.
In a comprehensive report released on Tuesday, Lord Walney warned that “extreme political activists are targeting core elements of Britain’s democracy”.
He said that there “is a serious risk of enabling increased radicalisation on issues such as climate change that could result in more violent disorder in future.”
In the summary of his report, Lord Walney added: “I conclude, unsurprisingly, that there is a greater violent threat from the far right.
“Yet I find a worrying gap in our understanding of the extreme left, whose activists do not routinely employ violent methods yet systematically seek to undermine faith in our parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.”
Michael Gove has just delivered a major speech on antisemitism
Here are the key takeaways from what the communities secretary said:
- Pro-Palestinian protest organisers are not doing enough to avoid antisemitism.
- Jewish students are not safe in university campuses and they are source of antisemitism agitation.
- He has called out far right figures including BNP Nick Griffin, Patriotic Alternative, Britain First, Patriotic Alternative antisemtic movements.
- Announcing new legislation, he said the government will prevent universities from enabling antisemitism by endorsing the BDS campaign.
- He has also suggested pro-Palestinian marchers should pay for policing costs.
Jeremy Hunt speaking from the IMF live
You can watch the full speech on the Internatinal Monetary Fund economy report below.
He is accompanied by IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, who was earlier welcomed to No 11.
‘Government will uncover treasure with welfare reforms,’ Mel Stride vows
Speaking on reforming the benefits system, the work and pensions secretary said he plans to curve unemployment.
He says: “I want to use the power of welfare reform to uncover the treasure that is the hidden talent in our country, to unleash the potential in communities that have too often been overlooked.
“Of course, our tools in this endeavour are wide-ranging, reflecting the different approaches that we are taking, from the fine chisel and soft brush for tailored and targeted support to boost skills and help recruit people into high demand sectors; to the large-scale excavator helping to deliver our structural reform, ensuring welfare supports and reflects the changing modern world.”
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