Jonathan Smith is proposed as London's new fire commissioner
Part of Mr Smith's duties will be to implement the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase Two report, as well as ensuring the brigade continues to modernise and reform to create a workplace "where everyone can thrive".Mr Smith began his career as a firefighter in 2000 with Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service, before moving to Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2008. He joined LFB as Assistant Commissioner in 2019, becoming Deputy Commissioner in 2022.Sir Sadiq said he was "delighted" to propose the appointment.He added: "There is no question that over the last few years, London Fire Brigade has made huge strides – backed with record funding from City Hall – to improve its workplace and the service it delivers to all Londoners."Mr Smith promised he would "always put Londoners first and will work hand in hand with communities".
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ITV News
37 minutes ago
- ITV News
Rise in foreign states silencing dissidents in UK going 'unchecked', MPs warn
Foreign states are becoming bolder in their attempts to silence dissidents in the UK and the government must take stronger action, parliamentarians have warned. In a report published on Wednesday, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said transnational repression had increased in recent years, with foreign states using online harassment, lawsuits and physical violence to intimidate people in the UK. MI5 investigations into threats from other states have increased 48% since 2022, the report said, while committee chairman Lord David Alton warned the rise was 'going unchecked'. He said: 'This risks undermining the UK's ability to protect the human rights of its citizens and those who have sought safety within its borders. 'We have seen prominent cases of Hong Kongers with bounties placed on their heads, Iran intimidating journalists – but evidence submitted to the inquiry suggest this may be the tip of the iceberg.' The warning comes amid rising concern about transnational repression, including reports that China has offered rewards for people turning in pro-democracy Hong Kong activists based in the UK. Last month, Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee warned that Iran had attempted to kidnap or murder at least 15 UK-based people since 2022. Meanwhile Russia has also targeted dissidents including the attempt to kill Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok in 2018. While the cross-party human rights committee said China, Russia and Iran were the 'most flagrant' perpetrators of transnational repression in the UK, it highlighted evidence suggesting a string of other countries including India, Rwanda, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain had sought to target people in Britain. MPs and peers said they had also received 'substantial' evidence of intimidation by the Eritrean government, including surveillance of anti-government activists and infiltration of community groups and churches in an effort to isolate opponents of the regime. The committee went on to criticise Interpol, saying the organisation had refused to acknowledge misuse of 'red notices' – international requests for an arrest – to harass dissidents or take any steps to address this. Almost half of the 6,550 public red notices currently in circulation have been issued at Russia's request. Lord Alton said: 'We want to see a two-pronged approach from the government. More needs to be done to give support and protection to the individuals and communities most at risk of transnational repression. 'We also want to see transnational repression prioritised in diplomatic relations and leadership at an international level to tackle the misuse and exploitation of systems of justice to silence and intimidate.' As well as pressing Interpol for action on abuse of red notices, the committee urged the government to provide more training on transnational repression for police officers in the UK and greater protection from vexatious lawsuits known as Slapps (strategic lawsuits against public participation). The committee also called for China to be placed in the highest tier of the foreign influence registration scheme that came into effect last month, saying its omission risked 'undermining the credibility and coherence' of the scheme given the extent of Chinese transnational repression. An Interpol spokesperson said: 'Every year, thousands of the world's most serious criminals are arrested thanks to Interpol's systems. "Children are saved from sexual exploitation and terrorists, cyber criminals and traffickers are brought to justice. 'Interpol knows red notices are powerful tools for law enforcement co-operation, which is why we have robust processes for ensuring that all Interpol notices and diffusions comply with our rules. 'Our constitution forbids Interpol from undertaking activities of a political, military, religious or racial character and all our databases and activities must also comply with the universal declaration for human rights.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'We take the threat of transnational repression extremely seriously. "Any attempts by a foreign state to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm individuals on UK soil are considered a threat to our national security and sovereignty, and will not be tolerated. 'The committee's review echoes many of the same findings and recommendations from the Defending Democracy Taskforce report on TNR, published in May, and we are already taking action arising from those recommendations to further strengthen our response.'
Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Hedge fund tycoon Hosking says rival Telegraph bid "ready to go"
The hedge fund founder enlisted to back a bid for The Daily Telegraph says the offer is "ready to go" if a takeover of the broadsheet title involving sovereign Gulf money runs into further regulatory problems. Sky News has learnt that Jeremy Hosking, the prominent City figure who co-founded Marathon Asset Management, is pledging to inject £100m of his own money into the newspaper group if the self-styled 'British bid' of which he is part is successful. Mr Hosking, who now runs Hosking Partners, has been working with Dovid Efune, the owner of the New York Sun, in an effort to gain control of the Telegraph for several months. They have been thwarted, though, by an agreement reached with RedBird Capital Partners, the US-based investment firm, to buy the titles for £500m following a two-year battle which has plunged the Telegraph into a protracted state of limbo. RedBird's bid includes tens of millions of pounds of funding from IMI, a state-backed Abu Dhabi vehicle, which cleared a key hurdle last week when the House of Lords voted against a 'fatal motion' which would have blocked the sovereign investment. The outcome of the vote was not without fierce debate, with 155 peers supporting the ban. IMI is controlled by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the vice-president of the United Arab Emirates and ultimate owner of Manchester City Football Club. Speaking through Mr Efune, Mr Hosking said in a statement on Wednesday morning: "We have been following the latest developments closely and with the best outcome for all Telegraph stakeholders front of mind. "We understand from the Lords debate last week that there is now a legal requirement for the government to formally investigate all the foreign government ties that may result in influence over the current preferred buyer. "Should the buyer be deemed unsuitable, our "British Bid" is ready to go. "We believe our current capitalization is more than adequate to replace the controlling shareholder's portion of the deal. "My own personal commitment is £100m in equity capital." Further details of the financing lined up by Mr Efune's consortium remain unclear, including the level of debt attached to his prospective offer. The RedBird-led acquisition of the Telegraph remains subject to investigations by both Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority, which are likely to delay completion of the deal into next year. Sky News previously revealed that Sir Leonard Blavatnik, owner of the DAZN sports streaming platform, and Daily Mail proprietor Lord Rothermere were preparing to buy minority stakes as part of the RedBird transaction. Gerry Cardinale, the RedBird executive, who has spearheaded the latest iteration of its acquisition, has described the firm as "the right owner at the right time". RedBird said in May that it was "in discussions with select UK-based minority investors with print media expertise and strong commitment to upholding the editorial values of the Telegraph". The Telegraph titles' parent company was forced into insolvency proceedings in 2023 by Lloyds Banking Group, which ran out of patience with the Barclay family, their long-standing owner. RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the two firms, paid £600m several months later to acquire a call option that was intended to convert into ownership of the Telegraph newspapers and The Spectator magazine. That objective was thwarted by a change in media ownership laws - which banned any form of foreign state ownership. Some peers argued last week that a 15% threshold was too high and that the legislation to permit it was dangerously ambiguous because it could allow for more than one state investor to aggregate their holdings in British newspapers. A further statutory instrument will need to be approved in order to address this issue. The Spectator, which had also been part of the same group, was sold last year for £100m to Sir Paul Marshall, the hedge fund billionaire, who has installed Lord Gove, the former cabinet minister, as its editor.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Jon Burrows: UUP's newest MLA carries on tradition of men in uniform
Jon Burrows is the newest Stormont MLA for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), but he is not the only former police officer the party has tried to attract News NI understands the party approached Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command Centre in the United Kingdom, to be its North Down candidate in the Westminster election in July immediately turned down the Gamble declined to comment when approached by the BBC. Instead, the party went for the former Army officer Colonel Tim Collins, who failed to win the notoriously told the BBC at the election count that the people of North Down "don't want someone who doesn't live in Northern Ireland"."They're interested in local politics," he added."They're not interested in cutting VAT, they're not interested in international affairs. "They're interested in potholes and hedges."He had already complained during the campaign that he could insure his Rolls Royce in England, where he lived, for what it costs to insure a Ford Fiesta in north the recruitment of Jon Burrows to replace Colin Crawford, who lasted less than a year in the North Antrim Stormont seat, carries on a tradition within the UUP of seeking to attract oven-ready high(ish) profile representatives who are no strangers to of the past four leaders of the UUP have been:Steve Aiken, a former Royal Navy submarine commanderDoug Beattie, a former Royal Irish Regiment officer well known for his service in Iraq and AfghanistanMike Nesbitt, a former TV news presenterIn addition, one of its nine current assembly members, Andy Allen, was seriously injured while serving in the Army in leader Robbie Butler is a former firefighter. The policy of bringing in high profile people from other walks of life is not entirely unique to the example, Sinn Féin now has an MP, Pat Cullen, better known for her role as boss of a UK-wide nursing trade the UUP unarguably is way out in front for bringing in candidates already well known in other fields. So why?"There is something that attracts seniority to the UUP," says former party staffer Michael Shilliday. "In the old days that was just "big house unionism". "Maybe it's still that."But really it is what the 'decent people' shtick from 2005 was all about."That's why these people see themselves reflected in the UUP."That is a reference to a disastrous 2005 general election campaign slogan: "Decent People Vote Ulster Unionist". I remember being in the BBC office in Stormont one morning when the party press officer walked in introducing a man he said was a former Royal Navy submarine what seemed like no time at all, Steve Aiken, to use the hackneyed line, went from the command of one sinking ship to he stepped down, he was replaced by Doug Beattie who promised a "union of people", before things the latest changes is Mike Nesbitt, another man who had no grounding in elected politics when he swapped his news anchor role at UTV for an even hotter seat at quitting the leadership the first time, following a disappointing assembly election, he is because there was no other obvious candidate and partly because he represented the best chance of salvation for a party which is rapidly using up its quota of last to former UUP director of communications Alex Kane "it's a hangover from the 1920s when the Ulster Unionists saw themselves as the party of service". "They still do," he adds."Service to the people, service to the country and for them that is represented by a uniform."In a way, Mike Nesbitt is the same. "He was seen in people's living rooms on television each night and that is a form of service too. "The problem is times have changed."But it also reflects a lack of candidates from those already within the ranks who have the track record necessary to win elections and that, long-term, is a problem for the once mighty party of unionism.
