UK Column News - 18th December 2023

Brian Gerrish, Mike Robinson and Mark Anderson with today's UK Column News.

 

The PPE Scandal In 2023—Focusing On The Tip Of The Iceberg By Having A Mone About One Supplier?

00:28 PPE Medpro: About PPE Medpro

BBC: Michelle Mone admits she stands to benefit from £60m PPE profit

GOV.UK: PPE procurement in the early pandemic

UK Parliament: Committee of Public Accounts: Management of PPE contracts

The Telegraph: Cabinet Office ‘approved hospital gowns’ made by firm linked to Baroness Mone

Lady Michelle Mone (on X): 

My husband and I have been used as a scapegoat by the government for their own failings on PPE procurement.

UK Parliament (2022): £4 billion of unusable PPE bought in first year of pandemic will be burnt “to generate power”

 

ONS Data: Migration Adds 672,000 (One Per Cent Per Annum) To UK Population

06:49 BBC: UK net migration in 2022 revised up to record 745,000

BBC Bitesize: Migrants to Britain c. 1250 to the present overview—OCR B

The Telegraph: Hostile states will ‘drive’ migrants to UK and destabilise the West, warns Sunak 

GOV.UK: Why do people come to the UK? To work

United Nations Digital Library System: Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

NBC News: Border policies under consideration could overwhelm system, DHS officials warn

Yahoo News: Why is it so hard for Palestinians to enter the U.S. as refugees?

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UK Column: UK Situation Room: Pfizer/Moderna Document Analysis

UK Column FCDO Spending Tool: https://fcdospending.ukcolumn.org/

UK Column News: 8th December 2023—Foreign Office Stopped Publishing Data After Our Spending Search Tool: Ask Your MP Why

Forthcoming UK Column Interview: Pfizer Report 89: Based on a Lie—Chris Flowers, Cheryl Grainger and Debi Evans—Tuesday 19 December, 1 pm

 

Operation Prosperity Guardian Formed To Protect Red Sea Shipping

27:33 Vessel Finder: The current position of STRINDA is at South East Asia

Al Jazeera: Shipping companies pause Red Sea journeys after Houthi attacks

CMACGM Group.com: The CMA CGM Group is deeply concerned about the recent attacks on commercial vessels unfolding in the Red Sea Region

Zlatti71 (on X): 

Berlin Mulls Red Sea Frigate Deployment—BILD. The Bundeswehr may send the F221 "Hessen" frigate to the Red Sea for joint operations with Western allies to protect shipping from Yemen's Ansar Allah, the outlet reports. The German MoD, however, refused to comment on the possibility.

Ministry of Defence (on X): 

HMS Diamond, one of the Navy's most advanced warships, swiftly intercepted and neutralised a potential threat to merchant vessels in the Red Sea using a Sea Viper missile.

The Drive: Newly Formed Operation Prosperity Guardian To Protect Red Sea Shipping

 

To Ukraine: $1.34 billion. From … The World Bank

30:01 The Times: David Cameron: Why the UK and Germany back a sustainable ceasefire

The Telegraph: Why Ukraine must not turn its back on Zelensky

Kyiv Post: The World Bank Allocates Over a Billion Dollars to Ukraine, Primarily From Japan

World Bank: World Bank Group Financing Support Mobilization to Ukraine

 

Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai Trial Raises Questions

36:24 Amnesty International: Jimmy Lai's 'sham trial' a further attack on press freedom

Nury Vittachi: 

The world is being told that Jimmy Lai is a noble pro-democracy fighter. But his paper OPPOSED universal suffrage for Hong Kong, and the long-term links between Apple Daily and the US are extraordinary—check out the Pentagon link, for example.

Council of the European Union: Donald Tusk, former president of the European Council, 2014–2019

Brussels Signal: ‘Christmas present’ for Tusk: EC unlocks €111 billion in frozen Polish funds

 

COP28 Conclusion: End Fossil Fuels

40:24 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: COP28 Agreement Signals “Beginning of the End” of the Fossil Fuel Era

 

Gospel or Gaia?

46:45 UK Column article: Welby's Church of England 2021: £Trillions for Gaia Greed but Peanuts for the Parish Paupers

 

In Depth: 2030 Roadmap For UK-Israel Strategic Bilateral Relations

49:14 James Cleverly (on X): 

Israel and the UK share a close and historic friendship. Today, Eli Cohen and I signed an agreement to deepen that relationship. On trade, tech and security, our two countries are taking full advantage of these opportunities

GOV.UK: 2030 roadmap for UK-Israel bilateral relations

Relevant detail near the end of this interview: UK Column on Millenniyule 2023

Construction Enquirer: Sunak promises Bill to build £100m Holocaust Memorial

The Jewish Chronicle: Setback for National Holocaust Memorial as Royal Parks oppose plans

The House of Commons Library: Holocaust Memorial Bill

Euractiv: At G20, US, India, Saudi, EU unveil alternative to Belt-and-Road

National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ): Huawei advice: what you need to know

Wikipedia: Unit 8200

British Council: BIRAX: The UK-Israel Research and Academic Exchange

 

From Extra

Tribune Columnist: Mike Royko 1932–1997

Luton Town FC (on X): 

While our captain Tom Lockyer remains in hospital following the cardiac arrest he suffered on the pitch at Bournemouth yesterday, we understand that supporters are concerned for him and that there is widespread media interest in his condition.

Holland Sentinel: Is Livingston County following the roadmap Ottawa Impact created?