Displaying items by tag: British Isles

On 21 September, King Charles III followed in his mother's footsteps by addressing lawmakers in the French upper chamber, the Senate. He focused on a message of unity between France and the UK, ending with a personal pledge to strengthen what he described as the ‘indispensable’ relationship between the two countries during his time as monarch. He also suggested that France and Britain should team up to jointly tackle the climate and biodiversity emergencies with a new version of the 1904 Entente Cordiale pact that sealed the friendship between Paris and London. The king’s speech, which he delivered in English and French, received a standing ovation as it came to a close.

The British Journal of Surgery (BJS) reported outcomes from a survey regarding experiences of sexual misconduct during surgery carried out by colleagues over the past 5 years in the UK. The authors reported misconduct ranging from sexual harassment to assault and rape which had occurred among colleagues in the surgical workforce. Female surgeons more commonly both witness and are targets of such acts. Moreover, there were indications that among female respondents, trust in various accountable organisations to handle sexual misconduct is low. Needless to say, these results are both distressing and very disappointing. Surgery remains a male-dominated and highly hierarchical speciality where harassment and bullying are prevalent. The most common scenario is when a junior female trainee is abused by a senior male perpetrator. The junior doesn’t report anything as the offender is often their supervisor and their future and career may suffer if they speak up. They also lack confidence that the NHS will take action.

September is when autumn begins, the academic year commences, parliament returns from recess, and farmers prepare for October’s new farming year. By the end of September many animals will start preparing for their winter sleep. In rural life, in church, nation, and perhaps in our lives, we see much coming to an end and new changes and challenges beginning. Pray for those starting at school, college and university, for our government and the new parliamentary session (1 Timothy 2: 1-4), and for farmers. Pray for the Lord to open our eyes to look beyond the endings around us and see His new beginnings in our own lives, in rural life, in church and nation (Luke 24:31). Pray that He will show us when to let our own works, projects, programmes, organisations and institutions die so that He can do a 'new thing' (Isaiah 43:19; Philippians 3:12-14).

In three months more than eighty fake companies have been registered to properties in Henry Drive, Leigh-on-Sea, making it look like a thriving business hub specialising in wholesale clothing, with entrepreneurs from across Europe choosing it as their operations base. But the paperwork lies. Each business says it sells clothes and has a single company officer described as an ‘entrepreneur’ living in either Italy, Georgia, Germany, France or Morocco in dubious addresses like an empty Moroccan building lot or a French religious meeting hall. The mass registering of these firms is the work of criminal gangs using sham companies for money laundering or obtaining bank loans before shutting them down. Companies House charges £12 for registering an internet business or business merger. If the company’s paperwork is properly filed and signed and the fee paid, it must be registered.

The family of a Colombian man who is believed to have killed himself at a Heathrow immigration removal centre say he begged for help and was willing to leave the UK. Frank Ospina died on 25 March, within a month of being detained, while he was waiting to be deported. His family say that he had no existing mental health problems. The BBC has been investigating conditions inside immigration centres, at a time when the Government is taking a harder line on migrants. Documents have shown mounting strain on detainees because of the delays in processing their cases, and  also there was an incident in which a group of detainees tried to kill themselves three days after Mr Ospina's death. This news comes ahead of the publication of a report, due soon, into abusive behaviour by staff at the Brook House facility, a centre near Gatwick. A public inquiry was launched following a landmark undercover Panorama investigation in 2017: see

Downing Street has refused to guarantee that HS2 will run to Manchester as planned. Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are in talks about scrapping the project’s second phase due to spiralling costs and delays. The prime minister’s official spokesman told reporters that ‘spades are already in the ground on our HS2 programme, and we are focused on delivering it’. Asked whether Mr Sunak was committed to the line going to Manchester, he said: ‘We are looking at the rephasing of the work in the best interests of passengers and taxpayers’. Northern leaders reacted with fury to the news. Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham accused ministers of ‘making the north pay for their failure’. The high-speed railway, currently under construction between London and Birmingham, has already had its leg to Leeds cut and faces uncertainty about its approach into central London.

Last month we prayed for water quality to be improved and managed before protected areas are built upon. This week the House of Lords blocked the Government's plan to relax restrictions on water pollution to encourage house building in England. Governments often lose votes in the House of Lords, but what makes this one stand out is that ministers can't revive this plan easily. Because it is a new idea, parliamentary procedure means the only way to have another go would be attaching it to another proposed law, or bill. This is a row that gets to the heart of one of the biggest issues in contemporary domestic politics. Building more homes in England in places people want to live. Labour plans to solve environmental concerns by letting developers build but ensuring they have sorted out the environmental issues before anyone can move into the new homes.

British Asian Christians are issuing an urgent call for peace in Manipur as the area grapples with escalating violence and persecution. They are calling on people to join a peaceful protest in London next week. They said, ‘This unified effort, driven by the desire for justice and equality, seeks to shed light on the discrimination faced by Christians in the region.’ They are calling for ‘people of faith or no faith, who have good conscience and are moved by the recent attacks to come together and call for change.’ The violent persecution of Christians, which began four months ago over land rights and jobs, has been brought to the attention of British MPs, and a meeting in Parliament to discuss the situation is scheduled for later this month. Prime minister Modi is accused of ignoring the situation and not doing enough to quell the violence, earning him a vote of no confidence.

Birmingham City Council has announced that it is bankrupt, and all new spending will stop, with the exception of money protecting vulnerable people and legal services. Following the bankruptcy announcement, Birmingham’s faith leaders raised a ‘Call to Prayer for Birmingham’ outside the council house between 6.00 and 6.45 pm on Friday 8 September. Currently, the council's outgoings and legal liabilities are more than it can afford, and Bishop Desmond Jaddoo is calling all faith leaders to come together in prayer and to offer what help they can in this time of need. Bishop Jaddoo said, ‘We've noticed that at times like this, the poor, the vulnerable, families who are struggling with the cost of living, our children will feel the impact this is going to have. It's going to exacerbate pre-existing hardships along with cuts in services. We are in this together, and we've got to come together to deal with this collectively.’

As families navigate the start of school, the Church of England has released a statement following news that 156 schools are at risk of collapsing because a type of concrete known as 'RAAC' was used in their construction. 52 buildings could suddenly collapse, and action was immediately taken to make them safe by propping up the concrete. The other 104 are scrambling to put safety measures in place and stay open. Schools with RAAC and no safety measures prepared must close, with pupils relocated to temporary facilities or pandemic-style online learning reintroduced. The CofE education office, which is in contact with government ministers and the Department for Education on this matter, is ensuring that dioceses are aware of the situation where it affects their schools. It says, ‘We are in close communication with them about any needed mitigations or contingency measures.’ See also