Latest news with #MattKennard
The National
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
The National set to launch collaboration with Declassified UK
Declassified UK, founded in 2019 by Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis, has published a wealth of stories exposing the UK Government's complicity in Israel's assault on Gaza. In particular, its small team of journalists has made waves with its focus on how the UK continues to send spy flights and share the information collected with the Israeli military – despite describing the Israeli government as "extremists". Elsewhere, Declassified has published agenda-leading stories challenging the Defence Secretary on the UK's involvement in Gaza and revealing how MPs have accepted cash from an Israeli arms firm. On Monday, we will put out our exclusive collaboration with the team in print and online. The National team is excited to be working with these determined, fearless journalists on a project which other media outlets have yet to fully delve into. Honest, in-depth reporting on UK foreign policy can be hard to come by, but Declassified's work investigating Britain's military and intelligence agencies has shown that there are crucial stories to be told. Its website states: "Declassified UK is independent, relying on the public and trusts and foundations for our finances, and beholden to no-one. "Our journalism informs British citizens what is being done in their name and challenges the establishment in the interests of the public, penetrating Britain's secret state."
The National
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK sends spy plane over Gaza hours after attacking Israel's actions
On Tuesday afternoon, Lammy also described Benjamin Netanyahu's government as 'extremists' as he announced that Labour had ended talks towards a free trade deal with the country. Israeli ambassador Tzipi Hotovely was also summoned to the Foreign Office to be admonished as part of the measures the UK Government is taking in response to the bombardment of Gaza, the 11-week blockade of aid which sparked a near-famine, and unfolding plans to ethnically cleanse the territory. READ MORE: The UK now officially admits it's arming Israeli extremists – but won't stop But despite the ramped-up action on Israel, Lammy said that the UK Government would continue to supply F-35 parts to the country. '[Weapons] are not being given to Israel for use in Gaza at this time … save for the carve-out we made for F-35s,' the Foreign Secretary told MPs at around 3.30pm UK time. Around three-and-a-half hours later, at 7pm UK time and 9pm in Gaza, the UK's Cyprus base RAF Akrotiri sent a spy plane to surveil the Palestinian region. Publicly available flight data shows that a Shadow R1 – a plane described by the RAF as capable of 'comprehensive intelligence gathering' that is 'particularly valuable to ground commanders' – flew towards Gaza before information transponders were cut off. At 7pm last night, Labour sent a UK spy plane over Gaza to collect intel for Israel Just hours after Labour announced suspension of trade talks If you collect intel for a genocidal power over territory they are attacking you are a participant UK ministers need to be arrested — Matt Kennard (@kennardmatt) May 21, 2025 Journalist Matt Kennard shared the flight path, writing: "At 7pm last night, Labour sent a UK spy plane over Gaza to collect intel for Israel. Just hours after Labour announced suspension of trade talks. "If you collect intel for a genocidal power over territory they are attacking you are a participant. UK ministers need to be arrested." The identity code of the Shadow R1 – RFR7144 – has previously been reported as used in the UK's surveillance operations of the Palestinian region. In June 2024, the UK Defence Journal reported that the RAF had conducted more than 250 surveillance flights near Gaza since December 3, 2023. The outlet reported that RFR7145, another Shadow R1, had been 'leading the operations'. READ MORE: I was in the IDF – now I'm a pro-Palestine activist in the Highlands Last month, the UK Government admitted that it holds footage from a RAF spy plane that was flying over Gaza as a group of aid workers were killed by the Israeli military in April 2024 – but refused to release it. The Labour Government has been pushed on its use of RAF Akrotiri in the past, with suggestions that it has been used as a stopover to allow the delivery of US weapons to Israel, as well as aiding Israel with surveillance of Palestine. Earlier this month, figures published by the UK Government showed that Labour licensed the export of more military equipment to Israel in the final three months of 2024 than the Tories had for all of 2020-2023 combined. Challenged on those figures in the Commons, Lammy suggested the story was 'clickbait'. The Foreign Office declined to comment on the spy plane. The Ministry of Defence has also been approached.
