How about HMS Backpedal for the new Royal Navy submarine?
If the Royal Navy was minded to name a vessel Agincourt, perhaps it could restore the balance by calling another one Castillon, the 1453 Auld Alliance rout of a much larger English force that brought an end at last to the hundred years war. Curiously absent from the history syllabus in my English school.Rosalind MitchellEdinburgh
The Royal Navy could probably power HMS Agincourt with the furious backpedalling of anti-woke Tory MPs after it was revealed that King Charles, rather than the Labour government, had instigated the name change to Achilles.John Rushton Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire
Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
35 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Proposed BSL Act in Wales risks increasing isolation
Despite claims that this legislation is necessary to support deaf Welsh sign language users, the evidence suggests otherwise. Only 1 per cent of deaf BSL users in the UK are qualified in BSL (BDA-based statistics), highlighting a significant gap between those who could benefit from support and those who can access it. Additionally, there are approximately 300,000 people with hearing loss in Wales (RNID Cymru statistics), many of whom may receive no benefit or inclusion from this Act. The legislation's restrictions limit support solely to individuals who sign or are willing to learn BSL. This approach risks discriminating against deaf individuals who may use, or prefer alternative communication methods, thereby excluding most from essential services. Not every child can acquire sign language. The consultation was buried on the Senedd website, making it virtually impossible for the public to respond meaningfully. The proposed support model relies heavily on tiered approaches supported by single, charity-driven initiatives—essentially, it's a carbon copy of the Act proposed in other UK regions. The Act overlooks all aspects of Welsh language, needs, and opposes English grammar. Mr. Isherwood provided no relevant statistical data specific to Wales to demonstrate the Act's potential effectiveness. The Act appears to be aimed solely at bolstering charitable organisations' funding and employment, rather than genuinely improving support for deaf people. Wales has no deaf school, no BSL curriculum, and teachers are not being trained due to disagreement between BSL purists and educational mainstream inclusion approaches. Mr. Isherwood's proposal offers little benefit to deaf children as it stands, until some agreement shows itself. Currently, it's impossible to fill a class with deaf children to make deaf schools viable. He failed to do his homework; his input seems influenced by vested charitable interests, which themselves are not inclusive. Welsh support in health and social care is above the UK average for BSL users. The culture minister in the Senedd has already described the BSL Act as an unnecessary distraction from deaf inclusion. Support for the majority of those with hearing loss is urgently needed. Six out of seven health boards and two out of three trusts fail to provide adequate alternatives to BSL support. Patients are offered support that they cannot use. The legislation appears driven by a desire to integrate deafness into mainstream settings but faces strong opposition from cultural deaf activists who argue it undermines deaf identity, language, and independence. Rather than promoting inclusion, the Act risks fostering isolation—a factor that historically contributed to the closure of deaf schools and instances of abuse within such settings. The campaign for a Welsh BSL Act is not truly Welsh-led; it largely contains proposals from Scotland and England, driven by the British Deaf Association, with minimal grassroots Welsh support and limited consultation with local deaf communities. Mr. Isherwood relies on English and Scottish data to justify enacting a Welsh BSL Act. This one-size-fits-all approach is inappropriate. Enacting legislation in Wales without considering Welsh-specific needs would be ineffective, potentially discriminatory, and could increase isolation. The focus should instead be on developing inclusive, evidence-based support systems that respect the diversity within the deaf community—rather than legislation driven by external organisations with limited local backing. Yours sincerely, Mervyn James, Newport
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Georges Abdallah: Pro-Palestinian convict to be freed after 40 years
Georges Abdallah, a 74-year-old Lebanese teacher who became a left-wing symbol for the Palestinian cause, is to be freed by France on Friday after 41 years in by his lawyer as "the man who has spent the longest time in prison for events linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Abdallah is expected to be put on a flight directly to in 1987 for complicity in the murders in France of two diplomats – one American, one Israeli – Abdallah has gradually been forgotten by the wider public. But his release remained a cause célèbre for activists on the Marxist-Leninist left, with which he still identifies. His stern-looking bearded face continued to peer from banners in left-wing demonstrations; and once a year protesters gathered to demand his freedom outside his prison in the Pyrenees. Three left-led French municipalities declared him an "honorary citizen".Though eligible for parole since 1999, he saw successive requests for liberty turned down. According to supporters, this was because of pressure on the French government from the US and recently by the French news agency AFP at his cell in Lannemazan jail, he said he had kept sane by focusing on the Palestinian "struggle"."If I had not had that… well, 40 years – it can turn your brain to mush," he the walls of his cell, Abdallah kept a picture of the 1960s revolutionary Che Guevara and postcards from supporters around the world. A desk was covered with piles of newspapers. Born in 1951 into a Christian family in northern Lebanon, in the late 1970s Abdallah helped set up the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF) – a small Marxist group dedicated to fighting Israel and its closest ally, the United the time Lebanon was embroiled in a civil war. In 1978 and again in 1982 Israel invaded south Lebanon to combat Palestinian fighters based group decided to hit Israeli and US targets in Europe, and carried out five attacks in France. In 1982 its members shot and killed US diplomat Charles Ray in Strasbourg, and Israeli diplomat Yakov Barsimantov in Paris. In addition a car bomb blamed on LARF killed two French bomb-disposal was arrested in Lyon in 1984. Tailed by French intelligence officers, he thought he was being followed by Israeli assassins and gave himself in at a police station. Initially he was charged only with having false passports and criminal association.A short time later a French citizen was kidnapped in northern Lebanon, and the French secret service entered a negotiation via Algeria to engineer an French citizen was freed, but just before Abdallah was to be released police in Paris found a cache of weapons at his flat, including the gun used to kill the diplomats. This made his liberation years later in the run up to his trial, Paris was hit by a spate of terrorist attacks which killed 13 people. These were blamed by politicians and the media on allies of Abdallah trying to pressurise France into freeing him. Later it was established that in fact they were the work of the Lebanese Shia group Hezbollah, under instructions from the trial, Abdallah denied involvement in the murders but defended their legitimacy. He was given a life sentence. Of the more than 10 requests for release since 1999, only one came close to success. But in 2013 then-US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote to the French government expressing the hope that it could find a "way to contest the legality" of a court decision to free message was later made public by Minister Manuel Valls then refused to sign the expulsion order on which Abdallah's liberation was year the appeal court decided that the length of Abdallah's detention was "disproportionate", and that he no longer posed a threat. It said again that his release must immediately be followed by expulsion from France."This is a victory for justice, but it is also a political scandal that he was not released before, thanks to the behaviour of the United States and successive French presidents," said his lawyer Jean-Louis the people who campaigned for his release was the 2022 Nobel literature prize winner Annie Ernaux, who said he was a "victim of state justice of which France should be ashamed".Yves Bonnet, the intelligence chief who tried to negotiate Abdallah's exchange in 1985 and is now a member of the far-right National Rally, said he was "treated worse than a serial killer" and that "the United States was obsessed with keeping him in jail".According to a report in Le Monde newspaper, no Palestinian prisoner – even those condemned to life imprisonment in Israel – has served more than 40 years in jail. Abdallah served 41.
Western Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Israel not listening to UK, say MPs, as they urge recognition of Palestine
The UK's actions over the ongoing conflict and 'in the years preceding, have often been too little, too late,' the Foreign Affairs Committee has said, as they called for further sanctions 'against settlers'. The Prime Minister is facing increasing pressure to fulfil Labour's promise to recognise Palestine as the conflict continues. Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan is among those who have called for the move. A 'majority' of MPs on the committee have also backed it, according to the chairwoman, Dame Emily Thornberry. It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies Dame Emily Thornberry, Foreign Affairs Committee 'The UK's actions in this conflict, and in the years preceding, have often been too little too late,' the committee said. In their report the MPs said that 'some of Israel's recent actions in Gaza are difficult to justify given the death toll among civilians' and pressure should be put on Tel Aviv 'for this conflict to end and for hostages to be released'. 'It seems that the Israeli government is not listening to the UK. And while it listens to the US government, it only does so sporadically,' they said. 'If Israel does not listen to its friends and allies, and only sporadically to the US, then pressure must be exerted for this conflict to end and hostages to be released.' Chairwoman of the committee Dame Emily Thornberry has said that the Government 'must not shrug our shoulders in despair and say that there is nothing we can do'. She called on minsters to 'immediately extend sanctions against settlers' and said that the UK 'must also play our part in evidence collection, which will be vital to the inevitable legal reckoning when this conflict finally comes to an end'. She said that the UK 'must be realistic about our role' and 'our greatest power is in our alliances'. 'Whether that is persuading the US to have an influence on Israel to come to a ceasefire, or with nations in the region whose support will be vital to a long-term two-state solution.' She added: 'It is the view of the majority of the committee that the UK Government should immediately recognise the state of Palestine, signalling the UK's desire to work urgently towards a two-state solution alongside our allies.' It comes as there are increasing warnings of starvation in Gaza. On Thursday the BBC joined other news organisations in saying that they are 'deeply alarmed' that journalists are facing 'the threat of starvation'. Sir Keir Starmer said ahead of an emergency call about Gaza with French and German leaders on Friday that while the situation there has been 'grave' for some time, it has 'reached new depths'. But he stuck to his previous stance that a ceasefire should come before the UK recognises statehood. 'A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis,' he said. French president Emmanuel Macron pressed for recognition of Palestinian statehood in a recent address to the UK's Parliament, saying it was the 'only path to peace'. On Thursday, Mr Macron said France would recognise Palestine in a move he plans to formalise at the UN General Assembly in September. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said earlier that such a move would have to be meaningful and come as part of a 'genuine move towards a two-state solution and a long-term peace settlement' with Israel. Mr Reynolds told LBC Radio: 'We are deeply committed to the recognition of Palestine as a state, which was part of our manifesto, but obviously we want that to be meaningful.
