Scottish Government to meet Orange Order after air rifle shot
Thousands marched through Glasgow earlier this month as part of events to commemorate the 1690 Battle of the Boyne.
During the day, four people were struck with 'air weapon pellets', according to police, while the march continued along Sauchiehall Street, near Kelvingrove Park, with no serious injuries reported.
READ MORE: Richard Murphy in explosive spat with BBC presenter over 'pro-Union bias'
Speaking to the PA news agency, First Minister John Swinney (below) confirmed officials will speak to representatives of the Orange Order on Wednesday, with community safety minister Siobhian Brown due to do the same at a later date.
(Image: PA)
'The Scottish Government is meeting with representatives of the Orange Order today,' he said.
'Officials will take that forward and in due course, the community safety minister will meet with the Orange Order.
READ MORE: Popular Scottish travel blogger dies at home after false West Bank claim
'In recent days, members of the Orange Order have been subjected to acts of violence which are deplorable and they are unacceptable to whoever they affect within our society.
'These matters are currently being taken forward by Police Scotland.'
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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
The inside story of how Starmer seized back control of Labour - but with a risk
On Wednesday afternoon, York Central MP Rachael Maskell like most MPs was winding down, getting ready for a long summer recess to recharge, take stock and come back refreshed. Many of her colleagues were hitting the summer drinks circuit in Westminster with dreams of the various beaches in different corners of the Mediterranean they will be heading to in the very near future. But Ms Maskell got a call out of the blue asking her to go and see the Labour chief whip Sir Alan Campbell immediately. Starmer strikes back She was to discover that the prime minister - after discussion with his closest allies - had decided to strike. The talk of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner or possibly health secretary Wes Streeting replacing him had got too much. And it was clear after the welfare rebellion - which Ms Maskell had reluctantly in the end led - that he had lost control and needed to restore it. The plan to make examples of a few troublemakers was, it is claimed by one source, 'cooked up at Chequers' between him, Sir Alan and chief of staff Morgan McSweeney when senior ministers, key staff and others were called in to have a much needed reset. It was perhaps also a message to the MPs - if one was needed - that their demands for McSweeney to be sacked would not be heeded and he still wields influence over this government. The meeting with the chief whip on Wednesday afternoon was short with Ms Maskell discovering that she and three other colleagues - Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff - had been suspended from the parliamentary Labour Party. Three others lost their trade envoy roles. 'I was very shocked,' Ms Maskell admitted to The Independent. 'I had no warning at all. I had no idea that this was coming, and I think that doesn't make for good party management, they should have engaged. There was no pre-warning.' The York Central MP had ended up being one of the leading welfare reform rebels, proposing a reasoned amendment on the day when Sir Keir had been forced to make a humiliating second U-turn and essentially cancel £5bn of disability benefit savings to avoid defeat. An interesting briefing went out that the four had been chosen for "persistent k*** headery' - put in normal English it meant they were serial rebels. Normally suspensions of the whip for rebels take place in the immediate aftermath of a vote - and there were 49 Labour MPs who voted against their government, 45 of whom have not been suspended. A rebellion 'by the book' Ms Maskell admitted to being stunned by the whole surprise strike. During her opposition to the welfare reform she thought she had played it by the book. 'I reached out to Number 10, I wrote to Keir Starmer a couple of times, I engaged with ministers, I wrote to the chief whip. There was never any indication that there would be any ramifications for this.' And she still has not had an explanation as to why she and the other three were singled out. 'Obviously my name was on the reasoned amendment, but it was the exact same reasoned amendment as the one by Dame Meg Hillier (which had been withdrawn after an initial U-turn). I think we're curious as to why the four of us have been identified in this situation.' Champagne for Starmer's allies The evening after the news broke the Labour Together thinktank, which McSweeney had used as the vehicle to destroy Jeremy Corbyn, held its summer drinks with a raft of loyalist MPs and ministers. As the champagne flowed and glasses clinked, Mr Streeting gave the main 'rah! rah!' speech with an uncoincidental message that it was Starmer and McSweeney 'who won us the election', just in case people needed reminding. In that particular reception Streeting was mostly preaching to the converted but it was less true in other summer drinks gatherings. A number of sympathetic rebels had gone over the night before the suspensions to the Diageo drinks in the garden connected to Westminster Abbey where they rubbed shoulders with loyalists, Tories, Lib Dems and the odd SNP MP. There several Labour MPs had sung the praises of Ms Maskell for her leadership in the rebellion with one more centrist rather than lefty rebel noting: 'I didn't come into politics to cut money for the disabled.' 'Good for Rachael for not backing down,' said another. The shock the next day when the axe fell on the four rebels was palpable. 'The fact he has to do this is a sign of weakness,' one critic noted. 'Absolutely shameful to target Rachael,' said another. Targeting four 'loners' Nobody could work out why those four had been chosen with the exception of Neil Duncan-Jordan who had been expected to quit the party anyway. Starmer had a discussion with his chief whip and Mr McSweeney over a concern 'he was losing control of the party.' 'He needed heads on spikes, he needed to reassert authority,' noted one ally. They went through the list of the 49 who had rebelled knowing that they could not suspend them all but wanted to pull out a few for special treatment. But why those four? The suspension of Ms Maskell in particular really grated with many of her colleagues, even ones who did not agree with her on welfare. The abiding theory though is that the four were 'loners', as one Labour MP put it. 'They are people without a real base.' An article of faith In particular, Ms Maskell's Christianity appears to have been a factor in her being picked out. There are a number who wonder if Starmer 'has a Christianity problem'. She cuts a lonely figure on the Labour benches opposing abortion and in a minority on ethical issues such as assisted dying, but beyond those conscience debates she has always made it clear that her faith shapes her politics not the other way round. Ms Maskell quoted to The Independent one of Jesus Christ's famous parables of God dividing the sheep and the goats between those who 'helped the hungry and thirsty and those who needed clothing' who went to paradise and those who did not who went to Hell. For Ms Maskell that was a guiding principle in the consideration of benefits for the disabled. 'I don't think the whips can determine what your conscience is,' she added. But she noted: 'I don't think it's well understood about those kind of deep motivations of faith. It's about public service for people out there, but actually being that voice in Parliament is important, and it's important, I think, at a time where our country is in such a state to be able to try and discern that responsibility.' It is not with a little irony that Starmer had decided his own version of the sheep and goats casting the four rebels into parliamentary outer darkness. Joining the Corbyn Party But with Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana setting up a party there was a feeling that some Labour MPs may be tempted to join, especially if they are ousted. There were more prominent names on the left who could have just as easily been suspended 'who would have walked straight into a Corbyn party', one MP noted. Ms Maskell said she would not 'but others might do.' 'You cannot find anybody more Labour than me,' she insisted, adding that she would 'not change' to be allowed back into the fold again. Another senior figure put it more bluntly: 'I think Starmer is finished. But if he keeps throwing people out to save himself, then Jeremy [Corbyn] is going to have more friends joining him.' But even allies are uncertain. At those Labour Together drinks, one figure on the right of the party said: 'I think it was a mistake. He should have suspended the whip immediately. All he he has succeeded in doing is reminding people of what happened just as it moved off the agenda. Now it will linger in people's minds over the summer.'
The Herald Scotland
40 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Dear Ash Regan, we are sex workers and we don't want your Nordic Model
Your proposed Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill aims to criminalise the clients of sex workers, which would put sex workers ourselves at higher risk of violence and poverty. This form of legislation, often known as the Nordic model, has endangered sex workers in every country where it has been implemented. You did not consult with any current sex workers before drafting this legislation, which should be unthinkable in our current climate. Policy and laws should centre those who will be most affected by them, as we are the experts on our own lives and on how this law would negatively impact us. Nothing about us, without us. Sex workers don't want this bill, and neither do the Scottish public. When surveyed, 69% of Scots say the Scottish Government should focus on protecting the health and safety of sex workers, and providing support to people who want to leave the industry. This is compared to only 14% who support the government passing new laws to prevent people exchanging sexual services for money. Your bill offers no support to people looking to exit the sex industry. It does not offer any financial backing to struggling organisations which provide services for sex workers, a sector and funding system which the [[Scottish Government]]'s own research has shown is not fit for purpose. The bill does not propose to change policies around benefits or housing to reduce poverty and make sure that fewer people are driven into sex work by financial need. This is despite the fact that 2019 Home Office-commissioned research identified that 'a substantial proportion of individuals … are selling sex to get by financially'. In your bill consultation paper you included a quote which stated that anyone who sells sex is no longer a whole human being, and can never be whole again. This offensive language perpetuates stigma and violence against sex workers, and we reject it. We are whole, we are valuable, and we deserve to be heard. Read more Prostitution is not like Pretty Woman - it harms the most vulnerable | The Herald Regan Nordic Model Bill 'targets demand, protects women' | The Herald 'Becoming a sex worker saved my life - don't take that away from us' | The Herald Often the topic of sex work can be highly emotive and polarising. This is why it's so important to place both evidence, and the voices of current sex workers, at the centre of these discussions. All sex worker-led organisations in the UK support decriminalisation, and oppose the criminalisation of clients. The evidence is clear: the Nordic model, which criminalises the client, puts sex workers in more danger and does not decrease demand. In Northern Ireland, a Ministry of Justice review found that violence against sex workers increased by 225% after similar legislation was passed. According to Ugly Mugs Ireland, crimes against sex workers almost doubled in the two years following the introduction of the law. A Medicins du Monde report found that similar laws in France have led to 42% of workers being more exposed to violence, and 63% experiencing a deterioration of living conditions. An Amnesty International report on the impacts of the Nordic model in Norway found that the police still primarily target sex workers for criminalisation, rather than clients. Clearly, the Nordic model does not work. Public policy should not be based on ideological positions, but on the evidence of what will truly help those in need. This is why Scotland for Decrim calls for further measures to help those in poverty, as we do not want anyone to have to sell sex to survive. We want to see the introduction of rent controls, further support for disabled people and an end to attacks on their rights and income, and the implementation of a Universal Basic Income. We want a reversal of the slashing of services designed to help those escaping abuse, and a complete overhaul of the immigration system to avoid keeping people in dire situations of poverty for long periods of time. These measures are what has been proven to effectively tackle exploitation according to academics at Dundee and Edinburgh Napier universities, not the further criminalisation of an already vulnerable group. Ash Regan (Image: Newsquest) Best evidence demonstrates that full decriminalisation is the most effective measure to ensure sex workers' ability to work in the safest ways possible. In New Zealand where decriminalisation was implemented in 2003, violence against sex workers has decreased, access to healthcare has improved, and relations with the police moved from being combative to collaborative. In Belgium, which decriminalised sex work in 2023, sex workers are now able to form trade unions and have won the right to maternity pay, which will decrease exploitation and child poverty. Bellatrix, a sex worker from Scotland, had this to say to you: 'No matter your personal feelings on sex work, the evidence shows that decriminalisation is the safest for us. Not all issues are made better by involving the criminal justice system. Focus on how to help us avoid poverty, how to not lose our housing, how to find jobs that will actually work around our childcare responsibilities, and our disabilities. Do not criminalise us for existing within the margins.' We call on the Scottish public to join us in the fight against this dangerous bill and for the full decriminalisation of sex work. Visit our website or find us on Instagram at scotland4decrim to find out more.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Syrian presidency urges all parties to respect ceasefire following deadly conflict
Syria 's Islamist-led government has begun deploying internal security forces in Sweida, a predominantly Druze area, following intense bloodshed that has claimed hundreds of lives. The deployment, confirmed by the interior ministry spokesperson on Saturday, coincides with an urgent call from the Syrian presidency for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, urging all parties to commit to ending hostilities across all areas. Israel had intervened in the conflict earlier this week, hitting government forces and the defence ministry building in Damascus, while declaring support for the Druze minority. Barrack, who serves as both Washington 's Syria envoy and ambassador to Turkey, stated the ceasefire is supported by Turkey, Jordan, and other neighbouring countries. Syria's Sweida province has been engulfed by nearly a week of violence which began with clashes between Bedouin fighters and Druze factions, before drawing in government security forces that were sent to the area by Damascus. Barrack said Israel and Syria had agreed to a ceasefire and called on Druze, Bedouins and Sunnis to put down their weapons "and together with other minorities build a new and united Syrian identity". Israel has said it aims to protect Syria's Druze minority while also saying it wants areas of south Syria near its border to remain demilitarised. Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of seeking to sow division among Syrians. On Friday, an Israeli official said Israel agreed to allow Syrian forces limited access to the Sweida area for the next two days. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
