Latest / UK Column Radio / UK Column News - 11th June 2025

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UK Column News - 11th June 2025 · UK Column Radio

0:08
Good afternoon. It's Wednesday the 11th of June
0:10
just after 1:00. Welcome to UK Call News.
0:13
I'm your host, Mike Robinson. My Co host today is Charles
0:15
Mallett. Welcome to the program, Charles.
0:17
Thank you, Mike. And joining us via Live Link,
0:20
our researcher and activist Sandy Adams and journalist and
0:23
peace campaigner Vanessa Bailey. Today we're looking at proposals
0:27
for digital ID and how it's being sold to us.
0:29
Charles and I have been doing a lot of research on this and
0:32
there's a lot to discuss. We'll also be talking about
0:35
defence and the food industry. And sticking with the issue of
0:39
ID, Sandy will be looking at the increasing use of facial
0:42
recognition in the UK, in UK supermarkets.
0:44
And she's also talking about the origins of a new film which some
0:48
of you may have seen already called The Agenda.
0:50
And of course, Vanessa joins us live from Lebanon.
0:53
She will be covering demands for resignations from the Foreign
0:56
Office and Israel's funding and arming of ISIS, allegedly.
1:01
So, uh, Charles, let's begin with digital ID because the
1:04
British government, uh, has decided that, uh, we all need
1:08
one. They have, yes, yet again.
1:11
But there's going to be a lot to get through.
1:12
But we'll start with going back a little bit.
1:14
So just over a year ago, the Starmer regime came to
1:17
government and the momentum for a national digital identity has
1:21
gathered more and more energy. Looking at the Plan for Change,
1:25
last year's manifesto, it's clear that there's no mandate to
1:28
do so because of course digital ID was never mentioned.
1:31
But instead the policy has been driven by a Trojan horse in the
1:34
form of a countermeasure against uncontrolled migration.
1:39
In April, a group of Labour MPs wrote an open letter declaring
1:43
the need to secure our borders and that the time has come for
1:46
what they call an ambitious digital ID programme.
1:50
So the clamour for greater control over immigration
1:53
coincides with the release of end of year figures from the
1:58
Office for National Statistics indicating that net migration
2:02
into the UK has dropped by half. Although one thing the ONS is
2:07
unlikely to be accused of his accuracy.
2:11
These figures are provisional and they're all sorts of
2:13
caveats, like the omission of the numbers of asylum seekers,
2:18
for example. Last month, in what was a very
2:22
obvious ploy to set the conditions for a universal
2:25
digital ID, the government published a white paper on
2:28
immigration, at the core of which was a control mechanism on
2:32
which they say they are pinning all their hopes.
2:35
They say we will strengthen border security by rolling out
2:38
digital identity for all overseas citizens through the
2:42
implementation of E visas and new systems for checking visa
2:46
compliance, replacing the former biometric residence permit
2:51
cards. Now the latest volley has been
2:54
fired by Labour Together, a think tank which is inextricably
2:58
linked with the Starmer camp, most obviously because of the
3:02
current chief of staff at Downing St.
3:04
Morgan McSweeney, who has jumped directly from Labour Together
3:07
into Starmer's inner circle back in 2020.
3:11
In the executive summary, they state that 1,000,000 people live
3:16
in the UK without permission to do so, undermining Britain's
3:19
social contract and sense of Fair play.
3:23
They go on to say that this is how a mandatory universal
3:29
national identity credential, they're calling it Brit Card,
3:32
can help Britain control illegal migration and secure its orders.
3:38
Now, platitudes are, of course, tossed out to appease the
3:41
reader. Quote, this is your country, you
3:45
have a right to be here. This will make your life easier.
3:48
It is at the heart of the social contract.
3:51
And it goes on in that sort of vein.
3:53
Now, in light of the perhaps inaccurate figures from the ONS,
3:57
this might seem like quite the sledgehammer to crack this
4:00
particular nut, as it's only explicit in its remit to deal
4:03
with less than 1% of the UK population.
4:08
Moreover, it appears to break with the line on digital ID
4:11
until now, which is set out by the Office for Digital
4:15
Identities and Attributes, which is categoric in stating that
4:18
this kind of ID would not be mandatory and therefore not
4:22
universal. Now, as a demonstration of how
4:24
this kind of drift occurs, it is worth looking back to the words
4:27
of Boris Johnson on the subject of identity.
4:30
Back in 2004, he said if I'm ever asked on the streets of
4:34
London or in any other venue, public or private, to produce my
4:37
ID card as evidence that I am who I say I am, when I have done
4:41
nothing wrong and when I'm simply ambling along and
4:43
breathing God's fresh air like any other freeborn Englishman,
4:46
then I will take that card out of my wallet and physically eat
4:50
it in the presence of whatever emanation of the State has
4:52
demanded that I produce it. And then, of course, we have the
4:57
legislation from 2006, which was repealed by the Identity
5:02
Documents Act 2010, which declares that no ID cards are to
5:07
be issued by the Secretary of State at any time on or after
5:11
the day on which this Act is passed.
5:14
So somehow this has not been considered in all of the back
5:18
and forth and the propagandising.
5:20
Instead, the government has been pushing the nation with on a
5:24
persistent basis, with the actual delivery coming via
5:27
stealth. And whilst it may be accurate to
5:29
say that digital identity is not mandatory, it's perfectly clear
5:33
that there are now a range of processes for which this is a
5:36
prerequisite. It also looks like another
5:38
instance in which the rise of reform has been turned to the
5:42
advantage of the Labour Party, here of course capitalising on
5:45
the theme of tough action on migration, thus capturing votes
5:50
at the same time as convincing people that joining an ID scheme
5:53
really will be convenient and secure.
5:56
Now, the Brit Card document is opaque on the subject of
5:59
enforcement. There are many references to it,
6:01
but no explanation as to how it will be achieved.
6:04
And further, it's not at all clear how such a scheme could be
6:07
made, could be made mandatory, or in what other ways a digital
6:11
ID would affect the lives of those signed up to it.
6:14
There's certainly no reference to the right to a private life
6:16
as enshrined in Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998.
6:20
And the reality of course, is that it's only ever been about
6:23
surveillance, control and money. Now the recent analysis from the
6:27
sector would appear to reinforce this.
6:29
Nearly 300 companies are acting in this space and they generated
6:34
over £2 billion in the year 2023 to 2024 with 888,000 sorry,
6:42
888,000 million gross value added and over 10,000 and full
6:47
time equivalent employees. Now given the use of migration
6:50
as the vehicle to drive this forward, it should seem ironic
6:53
that only 75% of these are headquartered in the UK and that
6:57
3034% of those, the digital identity firms have a physical
7:02
presence in international markets.
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So, so much for migration in effect, or at least overseas
7:07
issues now. Finally, when 1 looks at how
7:10
digital ID has been used to date, it's perfectly clear that
7:13
the greater part of its use is related to a transactional
7:15
arrangement rather than for any of the given reasons.
7:19
This is precisely the same as with the COVID jab, which many
7:21
people took in order to be able to fly or continue to work,
7:24
rather than for health reasons. This chart here shows that the
7:27
primary reason for uptake is, believe it or not, to access
7:31
access online gaming or gambling accounts.
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And with regard to reusable ID, only 8% of this application
7:39
concerns what's called proving the right to work or live in the
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UKI know Mike's got plenty more to say on this, but there really
7:48
is a lot to cover and I dare say, well go over it in in
7:51
further detail in extra too. Just a quick correction, that's
7:54
888 million, not 888,000 billion, of course.
7:58
That's true, because that's not a number.
8:00
Yes, indeed. OK, thanks Charles.
8:03
Now I thought it would be good to look at the mainstream sales
8:06
job that the on the issue of digital ID here.
8:09
So here's Polly Tonby and the Guardian.
8:12
And she's suggesting that the Brit Card Project would cut down
8:15
on bureaucracy, help guard our borders and prove Labour has
8:18
pride in digital identity. Now, correct me if I'm wrong,
8:21
Charles, but Britain's identity has been based for quite some
8:25
time on the idea that ID cards of any kind are the kind of
8:29
thing we might have seen in the Nazi in Nazi Germany, and so
8:32
have been opposed by multiple generations.
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Twenby even recognizes this. She wrote Papers Please.
8:39
Those words strike terror in 1000 war movies.
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Stasi or Gestapo officers are a breed apart from the unarmed
8:45
plot who demand no ID cards from a free British people.
8:48
So when the government contemplates a universal ID, it
8:51
sends instinctive twitches down some spines.
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And my question is, do they think enough of the generations
8:57
who remember this have died? And so time to press ahead?
9:01
I suspect that's possibly the case.
9:04
Or is this part of the preparations for the next war?
9:06
That might be the case as well. Then we have Andrew Orlovsky
9:11
writing in the Telegraph. He believes the digital ID cards
9:14
be could be Starburst poll tax, referring to Thatcher's original
9:18
attempt at local taxes which resulted in just about everyone
9:21
coming out onto the streets in protest.
9:24
And he says here, but there are two serious problems and they're
9:28
set out, they're set on a collision course.
9:30
First, Brit Card will be mandatory so we'll be forced to
9:32
use it or go off grid entirely. Second, and this should alarm us
9:36
all, Labour Together proposes that Brit Card will use the
9:40
government's one login digital identity service, which is
9:43
mentioned 13 times in the proposal.
9:45
This has become an expensive and sprawling government IT project
9:49
that has engaged hundreds of contractors and cost taxpayers
9:52
over £300 million. What we know about it is very
9:55
troubling. Concerns have been raised about
9:57
the security of the project at the deepest levels of the state.
10:00
When we create a one login account, it hoovers up our
10:03
personal identification documents.
10:05
This ID becomes the key that unlocks other government
10:08
services. So an insecure system has
10:10
serious consequences. It not only puts individuals at
10:14
risk of identity theft and impersonation, but also makes
10:17
defrauding the government much easier.
10:19
End Quote Now Bloomberg here then points out the digital ID
10:23
of all kinds is here with a report on Sam Altman's eyeball
10:27
scanning Orb devices that Charles reported on a few weeks
10:29
ago. And they say that starting this
10:32
week, people in London will be able to scan their eyes using
10:34
Tools for Humanity's proprietary Orb device, the company said in
10:38
statement on Monday. And the service will roll roll
10:41
out to Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Belfast and Glasgow in
10:44
the coming months. Then we had Apple, who held
10:48
their WWDC keynote presentation on Monday and describe to
10:52
describe the latest features they'll roll out this year and
10:54
across their platforms, including expanded support for
10:58
digital ID. And I'll end by drawing
11:01
everyone's attention to Big Brother Watch's campaign to get
11:04
the Starmer regime to drop the hole insanity.
11:08
Rebecca Vincent here, interim director of Big Brother Watch
11:10
said make no mistake, the new digital ID proposal reportedly
11:14
being considered by the government is another plan for a
11:16
mandatory universal ID under a new guys.
11:19
The so-called Brit card would fundamentally change everyone's
11:22
relationship with the state, moving us towards a papers
11:25
please society, citing that phrase again and putting a
11:30
burden on all law abiding people to prove our right to be here.
11:34
This would mark a severe departure from Britain's long
11:36
and proud history resisting mandatory ID.
11:38
But the debate about digital ID isn't really about migration,
11:43
it's about access to and control of everyone's data.
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We urge Downing St. to reject this Brit Card proposal and find
11:50
alternative solutions to improving government deficiency
11:53
that do not March the country towards a mandatory universal ID
11:57
or otherwise trample the privacy rights of the entire population.
12:01
Well, OK, the place to start with any campaign in this issue
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surely would have been the Data Use and Access Bill, which
12:08
Charles has mentioned already. But it's too late to engage on
12:11
that now because it's going through its final stages in
12:14
Parliament and it's right on the verge of royal assent.
12:18
So, you know, this is all-encompassing legislation and
12:22
it's it's just, it's incredible how much this enables, but that
12:26
is the basis of everything that's going on in this area.
12:30
It absolutely is, and I think it speaks volumes that the only
12:34
sales points or sales pitches concern absolutely everything
12:38
but the merits of the system. It's either for going on
12:43
computer games or gambling, or it's for migration, at least
12:47
figures that concern only 1% or less of the population.
12:52
Or it's for something entirely spurious that there is quite
12:56
clearly not sufficient information or substance to be
13:01
able to sell it properly. And I think they, you know, it's
13:04
known that if they tried that, that absolutely wouldn't work.
13:06
People would reject it wholesale.
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If there's no need, no point. And we just just as a final
13:11
point on this piece of legislation, it is an enabling
13:13
act and it enables, as I say, such a broad use of our
13:19
individual data. It really should have been
13:21
campaigned much more stringently against from the beginning.
13:25
But anyway, let's move on then and welcome Sandy to the
13:28
programme. And a related topic, Sandy,
13:31
because you've been looking at the issue of facial recognition.
13:34
Yes, thank you, Mike. Yeah, again, It's, it's, it's
13:38
privacy. Asda has come under fire for
13:41
trialling live facial recognition cameras in its
13:44
supermarkets, prompting a formal legal complaint from civil
13:48
liberties group Big Brother Watch.
13:49
Yeah, again, they're, they've got their work cut out at the
13:51
moment. The privacy watchdog argues that
13:55
the retailer's use of biometric surveillance is unlawful and
13:58
infringes on the data rights of millions of shoppers.
14:02
Asda's trial began in March across 5 stores in Greater
14:05
Manchester. Using technology developed by UK
14:08
start up Face Tech. The system scans customers faces
14:14
against a watch list of alleged offenders compiled by the
14:18
retailer. If no match is found, the data
14:21
is reportedly deleted immediately.
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Critics say the move sets a dangerous precedent.
14:27
Big Brother Watch describes the system as a high risk intrusion
14:30
into personal privacy. Likening it to turning everyday
14:33
shoppers into suspects, as does trial, is deeply
14:38
disproportionate and chilling, said Madeline Stone, the group's
14:42
senior advocacy officer. Warning of a broader trend of
14:46
unchecked biometric surveillance spreading across UK policing and
14:49
private sectors. The complaint argues that
14:53
widespread deployment of LFR could have a profound impact on
14:57
the data rights of 10s of millions of people, and urges
15:00
regulators and government to step in before the technology
15:03
becomes normalised. The controversy reflects a
15:06
broader public unease over facial recognition in the UK
15:09
aid. the ADA Lovely Lace Institute has also issued
15:14
warnings saying that LFR is being rolled out in a
15:16
legislative void. The group says current UK laws
15:20
are fragmented and inadequate to regulate such invasive
15:23
technologies and called for urgent legal reform.
15:27
The scale of biometric surveillance in the UK is
15:29
growing fast. A joint investigation by the
15:32
Guardian and Liberty Investigates found nearly 5
15:35
million faces were being scanned by police in 2023 alone,
15:39
resulting in over 600 arrests. Now LFI is being trialled not
15:44
only in supermarkets but also in sports venues and High Street
15:47
chains like Budgens and Sports Direct.
15:50
Most retail use use cases, especially for marketing,
15:53
surveillance or general customer tracking, are unlikely to meet
15:57
these standards and would likely be ruled unlawful if tested in
16:01
court. So I noticed that my local home
16:04
bargain store were using live facial recognition.
16:09
They alert customers with a small notice on the entrance
16:12
that frankly, most people wouldn't see, saying it was for
16:16
your safety. Your facial recognition data is
16:19
captured when you enter the store.
16:21
If it doesn't match their banned list, it's supposedly deleted
16:25
automatically. But how can you be sure?
16:28
This requires a boycott of Home Bargains and any store that's
16:31
rolling out this technology without consent.
16:35
This is a recording of me challenging the manager at Home
16:38
Bargains. Oh, hello.
16:42
Sorry, I just started trying to say because you've got facial
16:44
recognition, haven't you? Yes.
16:46
What happens if you don't want your face?
16:49
It's because it's automatic as you walk in, isn't it?
16:52
Yeah. So what can one do about that?
16:54
Because it's, it's actually against my privacy to record my
16:59
face without doesn't or anything.
17:00
So what it does is when you come in, it scans it and then it
17:03
checks it goes to a database because like, and if it doesn't
17:07
match someone who's banned, then it just wipes it back off again.
17:11
So it just scans for people who are banned for like stealing and
17:14
inappropriate behaviour and stuff like that.
17:16
So can you, can you request that your face isn't scanned because
17:25
you're an automatic thing? Yeah, in Astra at recently
17:30
because it's actually it is against your previously yours to
17:32
scan your face without permission.
17:35
And so I mean, I, I, I will be kind to your head office about
17:39
just because it is against GBWD PR, although you say it isn't,
17:43
it actually is, is so from bargains.
17:46
I know, I know that there was, I know other companies that do it.
17:49
I know it doesn't make it right. But thank you very much for your
17:52
information. OK, bye.
17:54
Bye. Yeah, it doesn't make it right
17:57
just because everyone's doing it.
17:59
And this is what this is the battle we have, you know, so
18:03
that's, that's the way they look at it.
18:05
If if we've told you we're doing it and everyone's doing it, it's
18:09
OK. And it's not, it's not OK.
18:13
Now, Sandy, of course they do. They have put up the notice on
18:17
the door. So assuming you see that notice
18:20
and read it, no matter how small the text might be, they would
18:24
argue therefore that, you know, you have effectively contracted
18:28
with them by walking through that door and given them your
18:31
consent. So, so the issue's got to be
18:35
that, uh, you know, as you say, a boycott of, of organisations
18:39
that are doing this is really what needs to be considered.
18:44
Yeah. And Big Brother Watch are saying
18:46
it's it's actually is a, is a is a is a breach of privacy.
18:50
So that would have to go through the courts, I guess.
18:52
Yeah. But in the meantime, boycott,
18:54
Yeah. Yes, OK.
18:56
Thank you, Sandy. Thank you for that.
18:58
Vanessa. Let me welcome you to the
19:00
programme then. And well, the this is related to
19:05
Gaza of course, and the Middle East, but the Foreign,
19:08
Commonwealth and Development Office have decided that if you
19:12
are not happy with government policy then maybe that's tough.
19:19
Yeah, And I, I want to remind everyone, as in Charles's
19:22
report, this is your country when it comes down to digital
19:25
ID, but it obviously clearly doesn't come down to it being
19:29
your country when it comes to any dissent against government
19:33
policy. So this was a report, it's been
19:35
widely reported across all mainstream media.
19:38
But this is in Politico. UK officials say civil servants
19:42
concerned about British support for Israel can resign.
19:47
So just taking from the article, 300 staff from the FSTO, the
19:53
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, wrote to
19:57
David Lammy saying the UK had contributed to the erosion of
20:02
global norms by failing to take action against Israel.
20:06
And they went on to point out, and this is very similar to what
20:09
happened at the BBC. They also noted with concern
20:13
efforts to screen out questions about Gaza in all staff meeting
20:17
sessions and urged ministers to publish legal advice and
20:21
potentially suspend arm sales. I mean, of course I would argue
20:25
arm sales have been claimed to have already been suspended, but
20:29
we know perfectly well that they haven't.
20:31
Only specific parts have been nominally suspended.
20:36
So who responded to this? First of all, Ollie Robbins,
20:40
who's the UK Foreign Office permanent Under Secretary, so
20:44
advisor to the government. If your disagreement with any
20:47
aspect of government policy or action is profound, your
20:51
ultimate recourse is to resign from the civil service.
20:55
This is an honourable course. So absolutely no, you know,
21:01
concept of discussion or taking people's points on board. 300 is
21:07
a relatively high number of civil servants who've come
21:09
forward. Quick look at who Olly Robbins
21:12
is. He was managing director of
21:14
Goldman Sachs 2019 to 2023. So for five years he led
21:19
international negotiations on G85 lies, intelligence alliance,
21:24
Brexit and he advised 4 prime ministers, including during the
21:29
financial crash of 2008. And just very quickly to look at
21:34
Goldman Sachs's role in in supporting Israel since October
21:40
the 7th. This is a investigation by Bank
21:43
Track 7, underwriters of war bonds instrumental in enabling
21:48
Israel's assault on Gaza, new research finds.
21:52
This is very recently published. And let's have a look at who
21:55
heads that list. Of course, guess what?
21:57
Goldman Sachs, by far the largest institution listed,
22:01
having underwritten more than $7 billion in Israeli war bonds
22:06
since October the 7th. But it also includes the Bank of
22:09
America, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Barclays and JP Morgan
22:14
Chase. And I think City is up on that
22:16
list also. And then Nick Dyer, who was the
22:21
other second permanent Under Secretary to go back at the
22:26
civil servants, and this is taken from the article, they
22:30
warned civil servants that while there was no problem having
22:32
criticisms of government policy, their job was to deliver the
22:36
policies of the government of the day wholeheartedly.
22:39
And for me, I don't know how you feel, but there's a sort of
22:42
subliminal threat in that statement that if they don't
22:45
wholeheartedly support government policy, of course
22:48
they can resign or they can be pushed out.
22:50
Nick Dyer and Olly Robbins have been supporting wholeheartedly
22:55
UK efforts to go to war with Russia and Ukraine.
22:58
This was from April the 17th on on X at Nick Dyer's account.
23:04
Last week I visited Kiev to reaffirm the UK's unwavering
23:07
commitment to Ukraine, speak to our partners inside and outside
23:11
government and spend time with staff at UK and Ukraine.
23:15
Very similar wording, of course, to the statements they make
23:18
about their unequivocal support for Israel.
23:22
And we did recently do an interview at UK column with Ben
23:26
Rubin and Doctor David Miller on the connections between Ukraine
23:30
and Israel. So I would recommend that people
23:32
take a look at that. And of course this goes back to
23:35
the over 100 BBC staff accused the network of pro Israel bias
23:41
in their Gaza coverage. And of course we can't really
23:44
divorce the BBC from government itself.
23:47
And so it's interesting that there is mutiny both within the
23:52
BBC and within the government itself.
23:57
And then this is basically from the Middle East or the minister
24:01
for the Middle East yesterday, Israel and the occupied
24:06
territories, Minister for the Middle East statement, statement
24:10
to Parliament on UK sanctions on Israeli government ministers
24:14
Itima Ben Gavir and Bezalel Smotrich, who of course are
24:18
considered to be the furthest right extremist members of
24:23
Netanyahu's government who have been, let's say, at least
24:28
encouraging the Reformation of the former Israeli terrorist
24:33
factions, Ergun and Stan, under the control of Bengavir in the
24:38
occupied territories. Bengavir has effectively been
24:41
arming the extremist settler factions and obviously they've
24:46
been leading consistent attacks against Palestinian farms and
24:51
property. And of course, we know that the
24:53
annexation of the West Bank is continuing in line with the
24:58
continuing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
25:01
So what did Hamish Falconer have to say?
25:05
It's a very long statement. People couldn't go and read it
25:07
themselves. But I just took a couple of
25:09
points. So he's saying This is why we've
25:11
pledged 101 million to the Palestinian people this year,
25:16
quite who those Palestinian people are.
25:18
He doesn't clarify why we are working to strengthen and reform
25:23
the Palestinian Authority. Of course, the Palestinian
25:25
Authority under the leadership of Mahmoud Abbas is known to be
25:30
nothing more than a stooge working on behalf of the Zionist
25:34
regime and actually punishing their own Palestinian resistance
25:38
against the consistent Zionist ethnic cleansing in all areas of
25:43
Palestine. And he says that we are clear
25:46
that Hamas must release hostages.
25:48
Of course, again, no mention of the 9000 plus hostages taken by
25:53
Israel since October the 7th and existing prisoners in Zionist
25:59
jails that are being raped and tortured and physically abused
26:04
on an hourly basis, many of them of course dying in imprisonment
26:07
from starvation and torture. So he's clear that Hamas must
26:12
release hostages, but no mention of the Zionist held hostages and
26:16
that Hamas must have no role whatsoever in Palestinian
26:19
governance. Now this is connected to my next
26:22
report on what's happening in Gaza.
26:25
But it's clear that the British government is defending the
26:29
United Kingdom of Israel over and above British citizens, in
26:33
my opinion. Vanessa, let me ask you a quick
26:36
question. If you were working for the
26:38
British Civil Service and you felt that you were being asked
26:43
to do things which were counter to your personal morality, would
26:48
you resign? Well, no, I I would kick up a
26:54
fuss which I guess these 300 civil servants have attempted to
26:58
do and effectively are not being listened to in the fact that in
27:01
staff meetings Gaza is not even being allowed to be brought up.
27:07
I mean, I think that there should be and there is scope
27:10
under legislation, I'm guessing, for the civil servants to take
27:15
action against the government for not heeding their concerns
27:18
over British government policy. Yeah, brilliant.
27:23
It's, it is an astonishing line to take.
27:24
And I think the Foreign Office to double down on this is, is
27:27
inexcusable really, especially at the same time as even the
27:31
head of the ICRC in the region is describing the flagrant
27:34
abuses of international humanitarian law and the
27:37
complete disregard for the Geneva Convention.
27:39
So for the Foreign Office to take this line seems entirely
27:43
tone deaf, for want of a better phrase.
27:46
I mean, I think it's much more to talk about, but it seems a
27:48
disgraceful way to treat people with entirely legitimate and
27:52
legitimised concerns. Absolutely OK.
27:56
If you like what the UK column does, you would like to support
27:58
us and the place to go is support.ukcolumn.org, there are
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So such as UK column News Extra, which immediately follows this
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28:16
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something from Clive to carl.com, if you use the link on
28:21
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28:24
you buy, although it doesn't cost you anymore.
28:26
And I just want to say once again, a massive thank you to
28:29
everybody, everybody that does support us in this way.
28:32
And also a thank you to anybody that does support us by sharing
28:35
our material because of course, although share links are
28:38
provided on the on the pages that are on the UK column
28:41
website, it is increasingly difficult for us to get content
28:45
shared on social media. And your help is absolutely
28:48
needed. Now tonight at 7:00 PM, Jerem
28:52
will be speaking to Zoe Harcombe.
28:54
And this is everything they tell you about Diet is Wrong.
28:58
Fascinating discussion. Yeah, it.
28:59
Absolutely is just flies in the face of all the conventional
29:02
wisdom, particularly that was pumped out by the government,
29:04
all the nonsense such as 5A day and don't eat meat.
29:07
And she will, she will set the record straight.
29:09
So really worth listening to. OK. 7:00 PM tonight in the usual
29:13
places, including ukcolumn.org/live and then
29:17
tomorrow at 1:00 PM also in the usual places.
29:20
Brian is speaking to Vicky Ashe now.
29:22
This interview is with a survivor of abuse so please be
29:26
aware that watching this could be triggering.
29:29
However, it is an overwhelmingly positive interview so do join
29:34
Brian at 1:00 PM for that. The interview that went out one
29:38
yesterday with Gemma Cooper on reflections on the day with
29:42
mothers separated from their children, that is up on the UK
29:46
column website as an on demand version.
29:48
If you want to have a look at that, please do.
29:52
And Charles, the next on location event date for
29:55
Everybody's Diary Saturday the 18th of October.
29:58
Yeah. It's we'll be there before we
30:00
know it and we are very excited about it with good reason having
30:03
had an event in Bristol and indeed Cheltenham this year.
30:06
And these in person events absolutely are the way to go.
30:09
But I think mainly for now it's important to say that we've got
30:12
a theme which is going to be health and therefore, of course,
30:15
considering what Zoe Harkin has to say is really pertinent.
30:18
But it'll be a terrific gathering this time in the north
30:21
of England. So hopefully an accessible place
30:25
being York for people, perhaps even from north of the border.
30:28
And we're delighted to say that the venue's fantastic.
30:30
It'll take cash, there'll be a chance for a social in the
30:34
evening and indeed there'll be contributions from UK column
30:38
presenters throughout the day. So really, really exciting event
30:41
on the horizon and there'll be more details and the detail with
30:46
regard to tickets in due course. And finally a an announcement
30:51
about tonight, June the 11th 7:15 for 7:30 hailings future
30:56
This is talking about haven't borough council leader
31:00
councillor full Monday he'll be speaking haven't chief planning
31:04
officer and your haven't borough councillors and so on.
31:08
Do head along to that if you want to get involved in local
31:12
politics in that part of the world.
31:14
Now, Sandy, let me welcome you back to the program.
31:17
And just just over 2 weeks ago, we met with Mark Sharman and
31:22
Phil from Oracle Films to look at their new documentary.
31:27
What were your thoughts? Yeah, I mean, it's, it's been
31:30
long-awaited and it's it's called The Agenda, Their Vision,
31:35
Our Future. And it was premiered on YouTube
31:37
Rumble and X last Wednesday. If you haven't seen it yet, it's
31:41
well worth sitting down for an evening with friends and
31:43
watching it. It is one hour, 15 minutes long,
31:46
but it's excellent. It's it's almost like a feature
31:49
film, excellent in quality and sound and vision.
31:53
Now, I just wanted to share a brief story about how the idea
31:56
of this film came about. Really.
32:00
Glastonbury is an interesting place and it's said to be the
32:02
sacred ground, in my experience, is also both a mirror and a
32:06
magnifying glass. It often reflects the greater
32:09
battle between light and dark playing out across the earth,
32:12
and sometimes from this place, truth breaks through the ether
32:16
and reverberates around the world, and I've witnessed that
32:19
happen twice. Weirdly this film was one of
32:22
those moments. After a council meeting about
32:25
Net 0 and 15 minute cities which astonishingly went viral in
32:29
March of 2023, we challenged the council to the Great Net Zero
32:34
debate at the Town Hall on the 7th of July which was live
32:37
streamed by UK column Thank You. Unbeknownst to me, Mark and
32:42
Patricia Sharman were in the audience and after the event
32:45
they asked if I would help them with a film about Agenda 2030.
32:49
I agreed and I gave them all I had on the subject and pointed
32:52
them towards a few people who were already doing excellent
32:55
work in that area and inspired me, Patrick Woods, Rosa Corey,
33:00
Alan Jabi and more. Mark and Patricia and Phil
33:04
Wiseman from Oracle Films ran with it and the project just
33:07
grew and grew. It was a real learning curve for
33:10
them too. But after two years of extremely
33:13
hard work, the result is nothing short of a masterpiece.
33:16
It's amazing some people feel it hasn't gone deep enough.
33:19
And yes, we all know there are deeper layers and other
33:21
scenarios not dealt with in the film.
33:23
However, delving too deeply may result in losing the engagement
33:27
of your audience. This film effectively helps
33:30
those new to understanding the links between climate, COVID and
33:34
technocratic control and to to make sense of the current events
33:38
that are going on in our world. The deeper truths, I'm sure,
33:41
will come later. As I said earlier, you can find
33:45
the film on Oracle Films X or Rumble YouTube.
33:48
Sadly, we're interrupting it with ads every few minutes.
33:51
And that was YouTube, not Oracle Films, by the way, so it's
33:55
probably best to to view it on Rumble or X if if you don't pay
33:59
for not having ads. So let's have a look at that
34:02
trailer. The last to control other human
34:10
beings is a story as old as time.
34:13
There's a very strong drift in the direction of globalization,
34:16
of the ultimate centralization of control in the hands of
34:20
unelected officials at super national organizations.
34:24
They want all of the resources of the world in their pocket.
34:30
The bigger. Picture is that an attempt is
34:32
underway now to collapse liberal democracy and replace it with
34:38
global technocracy. This.
34:40
Is a coup. They're saying we can control
34:43
with rules. We don't need currency anymore.
34:46
It's like an inverted prison. You are supposedly free to roam
34:51
about, but everything you want to access is behind lock and
34:54
key. The.
34:55
Potential for social control is gigantic and potentially
34:59
irreversible. They plan to commandeer land,
35:05
reduce farming and radically change the food we eat,
35:09
transform the supply of electricity and then dictate how
35:12
we use it, and replace currency with a system of credits.
35:17
All three strategies are built on the premise of a climate
35:20
crisis caused by carbon dioxide. I do.
35:24
Not think there's a climate crisis.
35:26
And I based that on all the evidence and the climate data
35:29
sets that we build to answer questions just like that.
35:31
The government is very clear that they want a catastrophic.
35:36
Story There is no single science paper that proves conclusively
35:40
that. Humans.
35:40
Control all or most of the global climate.
35:44
Europe's. Mad dash towards net 0 is.
35:46
To the economic suicide politicians are purposely
35:49
impoverishing ordinary people purposely deindustrialized in
35:53
Europe, it's just. Tremendous amount of damage in
35:55
the name of saving the planet. It does make you ask what is it
35:58
we're actually saving if we're paving it over?
36:02
I think what we're dealing with here is actually a global war on
36:06
agriculture. When you look at how many farms
36:08
are selling out, we're walking into food shortages.
36:11
If I. Can switch everybody from real
36:14
food to pharma food. Then 100% of the agriculture
36:17
industry can go through my publicly traded stocks and I
36:20
have complete control. This is the biggest public
36:25
relations scam in the history of the world, but it's far more
36:30
than that. It's a blueprint.
36:33
It is the action plan all. Life on Earth is going to be
36:37
radically changed everything. Will be monitored the
36:40
environmental consequences of every human action the general.
36:45
Population cannot fathom the psychopathy of the vision that
36:49
they're facing once. The digital ID is in place.
36:52
It's game over for humanity. So Sandy, it is a fantastic film
37:13
and we absolutely recommend everybody watches it.
37:17
Yeah, yeah. No, it's, it really is great for
37:20
people who it's beautifully produced and for people who
37:24
really need to join the dots. And there's a lot of them.
37:27
You know, this has the capacity to really wake up millions of
37:31
people all over the world and, and, and, and start their
37:35
journey into really understanding what's going on.
37:37
And I think they've done an amazing job.
37:39
I really do. Yeah.
37:40
Thank you. So, so the message from us is
37:43
absolutely share it now. Let's move on then.
37:47
NATO head Mark Rutter was in the UK on Monday.
37:51
He visited Chatham House where he delivered a speech on
37:55
building a better NATO. He welcomed Keir Starmer's
37:58
strategic defence review for its NATO first orientation and he
38:03
said he was really impressed by Starmer's plans.
38:06
He he was asked if the UK should increase taxes even further to
38:11
fund the rearmament programme. So let's have a listen to what
38:14
he had to say. Well.
38:17
It's not up to me to decide, of course, how.
38:20
Countries pay the bill. I mean, what I know is that if
38:25
we want to keep our societies safe and and look, if you if you
38:30
do not do this, if you would not go to the. 5%, including the 3 +
38:35
5, the 3.5% core defence spending.
38:38
You could still have the National Health Service or in
38:40
other countries their health systems, the pension system,
38:43
etcetera. But you'd better learn to speak
38:46
Russian. So if that didn't have you in
38:50
stitches, I'm not quite sure what will.
38:52
But you know, what's he saying here?
38:53
If we want to keep our society safe, I wasn't sure that.
38:56
I mean, this is a narrative that we keep hearing, particularly
38:58
since COVID. The government is here to keep
39:00
society safe. He went on to say we will build
39:03
a better needle, one that's stronger, fairer and more lethal
39:07
so we can continue to keep our people safe and our adversaries
39:10
at Bay. And this is the same narrative,
39:14
exactly the same narrative as from the Strategic Defence
39:16
Review. Is this the role of government
39:19
or or NATO for that matter? Anyway, according to Ruta, it's
39:23
all about the supposed Russia threat.
39:26
Russia could be ready to use military force, he said, against
39:29
NATO within five years, five years.
39:31
He went on to say. Let's not kid ourselves, we're
39:34
all on the eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian
39:37
missiles travel at many times the speed of sound.
39:40
The distance between European capitals is only a matter of
39:43
minutes. It's there's no longer east or
39:45
West, there's just NATO. Now, of course, we don't need to
39:49
concern ourselves with the fact ourselves, with the fact that
39:51
NATO is more than 1000 kilometres closer to Moscow than
39:54
it was during the Cold War, and that Russians have been warning
39:59
for decades about what that would mean.
40:02
But Rudda also mentioned China. Which he said is also
40:07
modernizing and expanding it's military at breakneck speed and
40:11
so on. I mean, it just went on like
40:12
this for the whole presentation. Now As for what NATO, the
40:17
alliance itself needs, it needs a 400% increase in air and
40:22
missile defence, millions more artillery shells, a doubling of
40:26
logistics, supply, transportation and medical
40:29
support capabilities, more jet fighters and tanks, drones, long
40:32
range missile systems and so on. It is clear, he said, if we do
40:37
not invest more, our collective defence is not credible.
40:41
Spending more is not about pleasing an audience of one,
40:44
it's about protecting 1 billion people.
40:47
And so the question then is how is this going to be paid for?
40:51
Well, let's have a listen. The facts are clearly.
40:55
There that Russia is able. Within five years to to mount a
41:00
credible attack against NATO territory if we do not now start
41:03
to take these decisions. And then of course is the issue
41:05
how to finance that? Well, that's up to national
41:08
politicians, and they're always I.
41:09
Mean when I was in politics, you were three sources to do this
41:12
from. 1 is taxation, another is savings elsewhere, and the third
41:16
one is a higher deficit. I mean, in the end, politics is
41:20
making choices in scarcity. This is why you why you choose
41:24
your politicians and then a centre left politician will be
41:27
make different choices from a centre right politician.
41:29
But OK, that's, that's that's up to the national government.
41:33
But my my point is we've got to do it.
41:38
Facts are clearly. So he was definitely
41:41
encouraging, he was definitely encouraging Starmer to increase
41:45
taxes. But, you know, deficit spending,
41:48
we've seen recently the removal of limitations on deficit
41:51
spending in in Germany. And this is increasingly going
41:55
to be something that we're we're looking at more and more debt.
41:58
I would imagine that the speculators are getting very
42:01
excited, you know, at the thought of what all this is
42:04
going to mean for stock prices and defense contractors, as you
42:07
pointed out last week, Charles. But in the meantime there's been
42:11
some pushback around Europe. The Madrid Assembly against
42:14
rearmament and militarisation, a coalition of more than 70 groups
42:19
held a rally in Madrid on Saturday against the E US
42:22
rearmament drive. There were about 68,000 people
42:26
on the streets. It was the largest anti war
42:28
protest in Spain for quite some time and to quote them they said
42:33
we view with concern and anger the war mongering drift that EU
42:36
leaders and governments have embarked upon trying to drag the
42:39
peoples of the continent into it.
42:42
The hidden objective behind the tangle of media intoxication is,
42:46
after having pledged our productive economy into deep
42:49
crisis, to justify to the public a huge transfer of public funds
42:53
to the death industry. And so they ran with slogans
42:57
along the lines of no to war budgets, notary armament, no to
43:01
the militarisation of society and the economy, military
43:04
spending for social purposes. They instill fear on us and sell
43:09
us, quote, security. And they're buying on the money
43:13
with with most of that anyway. Now the E us promotion of the
43:19
so-called 72 hour Survival kit was given as the best example of
43:24
of this kind of thing. And as I said, this was a
43:27
coalition of groups. They all agreed on the anti war
43:31
message. Many groups chanted and carried
43:33
banners calling for the NATO, for NATO bases to be thrown out
43:36
of Spain, Although reportedly not everyone was quite on the
43:41
same page on the NATO question. But nonetheless, they got
43:44
together to run this. And just to to finish this
43:48
segment, we'll mention this article here.
43:51
This is from the Guardian. Britain has escalated the global
43:55
nuclear arms race and it's bringing us closer to
43:58
Armageddon. This is Simon Tisdale absolutely
44:03
making this point very strongly, that the strategic defence
44:07
review is an act of insanity and we need to go then finally to
44:13
Lord Robertson, the key author himself, who's absolutely now
44:17
suggesting that Britons must be prepared to fight for their
44:20
country. I don't think so, George.
44:24
No, I mean, I wouldn't think so either.
44:26
And, and that seems to be borne out by the feedback we've had
44:30
sort of across the board and also looking at what Luke
44:32
Pollard, Armed Forces Minister, announced the other day in terms
44:34
of dropping, absolutely dropping the standards for entry into the
44:38
armed forces. So it's it's not looking good.
44:40
And I think also to just go back to the Guardian article, it's
44:43
interesting to see that probably for one of the few times in
44:46
recorded history, the Guardians have to be on the same page as
44:49
the Russian administration in in deeming the UK as responsible
44:53
for war mongering and war mongering.
44:56
Yes. Indeed, Vanessa, let's come back
44:58
to you. Welcome back and let's talk
45:01
about the latest from Israel and Gaza.
45:06
Yeah, well, shot, Cora. There are reports that Israel,
45:09
or rather Netanyahu's regime, is funding ISIS in Gaza to attempt
45:15
to overthrow Hamas or to at least muddy the water.
45:19
Of course, Israel was also admitted to having funded and
45:24
armed the various groups of fighting to overthrow the Syrian
45:28
government, and those included ISIS and al Qaeda.
45:31
So here it is. Avigdor Lieberman, a coup uses
45:34
Netanyahu of arming ISIS linked militias in Gaza.
45:38
The PM's office offers no denial.
45:42
And then let's see exactly what Lieberman said on a Can TV
45:48
interview that I put that in. The Zionist regime was in
45:52
quotes. Transferring weapons to a group
45:54
of thugs and criminals to identify with ISIS on the orders
45:59
of the Prime Minister. So let's have a look at who this
46:03
group is. Very quickly.
46:05
Abu Yasser Shabab is the leader, a resident of Rafa in southern
46:09
Gaza. Declared formation of a new
46:11
armed force which identifies very much with ISIS ideology,
46:17
operating under the Palestinian legitimacy.
46:20
Allegedly that received the blessing of the Palestinian
46:23
Authority leadership. So let's go back to the fact
46:26
that the British government has been recently working hard to
46:31
develop collaboration with the Palestinian Authority.
46:34
So is the British government effectively by default also
46:39
supporting ISIS that is collaborating with the PA in
46:44
Gaza? A question that should be raised
46:46
potentially with the British government itself.
46:49
Netanyahu has come back and actually confirmed that Israel
46:53
is arming effectively ISIS. He determines them to be clans
46:59
in Gaza to fight Hamas after Lieberman's allegations.
47:03
So effectively they have admitted it.
47:05
And what did his office actually say in this article in the
47:10
Jerusalem Post? These statements must be a
47:13
glaring red line for anyone. So that in other words, they're
47:16
attacking Lieberman, outing them for anyone who cares about the
47:20
security of the state. They harm first and foremost our
47:24
soldiers and put hostages at risk.
47:27
Israel's interest is to protect soldiers by using whatever means
47:32
possible. So a very sort of convoluted
47:34
statement there put out by Netanyahu to try and defend the
47:37
fact that he is, well, claiming to be fighting terrorists in
47:42
Gaza. He's actually now funding an
47:44
arming terrorists in Gaza to fight terrorists in Gaza.
47:48
I mean, you can't sort of make this stuff up.
47:51
And recently there was a video circulating on social media in
47:55
the last two days which show the ISIS factions opening fire on
48:00
the aid cues, which of course is a lure.
48:03
It's a trap to bring out the young men from the remaining
48:07
so-called safe zones in Gaza that of course are not safe
48:10
zones at all. They're being routinely bombed
48:14
and then basically to open fire on them.
48:16
So the IDF now doesn't have to do it.
48:18
It can rely now on ISIS, as it did in Syria, to run its war
48:23
against the resistance in Gaza. So let's just have a look at the
48:27
video. So.
49:15
It's not enough that they're deliberately starving Gazans
49:20
while bombing them, burning them alive, using weaponized aid
49:25
against them, and now bringing in terrorist factions that, you
49:30
know, the West is condemning in Syria, allegedly.
49:33
While of course, they are also funding and arming them to carry
49:36
out strikes against young men that are going to gather aid for
49:40
their families out of desperation.
49:42
I mean, it's, I don't know, this entire situation just seems to
49:47
descend into greater and greater sadism and humiliation of the
49:51
Palestinian people. Silence from the anybody that's,
49:56
you know, helping to promote the Israeli cause.
50:01
Vanessa on on the issue of of the working with yet another
50:06
extremist faction. Yeah, I mean absolute silence.
50:10
Nothing from the worst, but it's business as normal apparently
50:14
and and civil servants are not allowed to object.
50:17
Yes, incredible. Charles, let's move over to you
50:22
then. And well, we've been covering
50:24
the issue of the Holocaust Memorial Bill and the the
50:28
government's desire to build a new memorial towards the
50:31
Holocaust in the centre of London for quite some time.
50:34
What's the latest on that? Well.
50:36
As of today it goes to the report stage in the House of
50:40
Lords and this will enable us to give a further insight into the
50:45
intense politicisation of the issue and the apparent
50:47
desperation which successive governments have tried to push
50:51
through. An initiative was importantly
50:53
rejected by the planning authority and for very sound
50:56
reasons. Now, the latest development is
50:58
that the Co chairs of the Holocaust Foundation have been
51:02
sending out letters to garner support for the proposed
51:05
memorial. And some of these are very much
51:08
worth mentioning because of who they've gone to and and the
51:12
language used. Now, it's fair to say, I think
51:15
that some of the language used in that letter is strong.
51:19
In particular, quote, the United Kingdom is a leader in the
51:23
global response to Holocaust denial and distortion.
51:26
The uniqueness of the Holocaust must be preserved in memory.
51:30
There are too many countries attempting to rinse their
51:32
history through the Holocaust. Interest groups hijack the
51:36
language of genocide for petty and sometimes sinister reasons.
51:41
End Quote. Now of course in this fairly
51:45
long letter, they're very cautious to avoid any of the
51:48
issues of the direct controversy such as the destruction of
51:52
Victoria Tower Gardens or indeed the planning process, which has
51:57
been an enduring and so far unsuccessful issue.
52:02
They're they're certainly not shy of making best use in terms
52:06
of an opportunistic sense of the conflict in Gaza in order to
52:09
expedite their cause. And as part of the amendments
52:14
for the report, stage 1 says that there's a clause to be
52:18
inserted saying the sole purpose of any learning centre must be
52:22
the provision of education about the genocide of the Jews and
52:26
anti-Semitism. Now also going into looking at
52:31
the letters and the recipients and the responses, it, it, when
52:34
one considers sort of independence and due process, I
52:36
think it should be of concern. There's been interaction with
52:39
the Metropolitan Police Service who really should be remaining
52:42
independent of any such decision making.
52:44
But nonetheless there's a reply in there from Matt Jukes, who's
52:46
now deputy Commissioner. And he concludes by saying
52:49
overall, although security arrangements will need to be
52:52
extensive, we consider that the proximity to Parliament brings
52:56
as many benefits as risks from a security perspective.
52:59
And he goes on and say he looks forward to passing it further
53:01
with you. Now, it's a curious statement to
53:03
end on in that if there are security considerations, how can
53:07
that be a benefit? How can it be said to be
53:09
bringing benefits? Of course, this is political
53:12
language which is very much unbecoming of Metropolitan
53:15
Police Service. This is reinforced by John
53:17
Stevens, who's commissioner back in 2002, thousand and five.
53:20
And he talks about public access and safety concerns and
53:24
maintaining public access to the gardens during and after
53:28
construction. Now he's, he effectively
53:31
undermines the whole process by talking about security
53:34
arrangements being in line with those of to other public
53:37
buildings in Westminster. So we're talking about bag
53:40
checking, scanning at an entrance pavilion, which totally
53:43
distorts the purpose of the gardens and indeed people need
53:47
to book tickets and and all the rest of it.
53:49
Now the the other thing to point out is that at the Imperial War
53:53
Museum just over the river, there are of course the existing
53:56
Holocaust galleries. And here we see on the map the
53:59
proximity to one another less than a mile apart.
54:03
Again, undermining this as being a location and also put forward
54:07
in the amendments very significantly with regard to
54:11
planning is that they're to consider for the first time
54:14
alternative locations for security purposes.
54:17
They're also to consider alternative designs and
54:21
something that's going to be more sympathetic perhaps.
54:23
And also if there's a case for saying they might have overblown
54:25
the anti-Semitism angle in that now because security is deemed
54:29
to be such a strong consideration that this site
54:31
might be considered to be too dangerous.
54:34
But but mainly they need approval from the Historic
54:37
Buildings and Monuments Commission for England and
54:41
indeed UNESCO before anything can go ahead.
54:44
And significantly, that it must not adversely affect any other
54:49
memorial or the setting of such memorials in Victoria Tower
54:52
Gardens. And indeed the integrity of the
54:55
Victoria Tower Gardens as a green space dedicated to the
54:57
well-being of local people in perpetuity, which was what was
55:00
set in legislation in 1900 and has been ridden roughshod over
55:05
now. Therefore, I would conclude by
55:08
referring to the parks, the Royal Parks Authority, which of
55:12
course are talking about the Victoria Tower Gardens, hosting
55:16
A stunning range of sculptures that celebrate freedom.
55:18
And essentially the central purpose here is that the gardens
55:21
were designed for a particular purpose, and there's no doubt
55:24
the Holocaust Memorial subverts those purposes entirely.
55:28
So, given these conditions and the amendments, it should be
55:30
impossible to see how this can proceed, but we will follow it
55:33
nonetheless. Thank you, Charles Sandy.
55:36
Let's then come back to Glastonbury for a second and,
55:40
well, the Glastonbury Festival has some strange medical advice.
55:47
Yes, once again it's Glastonbury season and they seem to be
55:52
buying into the big pharma narrative again.
55:55
They've done this before. Today, Glastonbury Festival
55:57
girls are being urged to make sure they're vaccinated against
56:00
measles before heading to Worthy Farm.
56:03
The UK health Security Agency. The UKHSA is warning the highly
56:09
infectious illness is circulating across the country
56:12
and my numbers in the West to southwest and London.
56:16
It says measles is easy to catch in environments like festivals
56:20
or travelling. As Gloucester ME gets underway
56:24
in just under two weeks time on the 25th of June, health experts
56:28
say people need to be aware of the health risks so they can
56:30
enjoy the event safely, Doctor Alistair Wood, Consultant Health
56:35
Protection at UK Health Security Agency Southwest, said.
56:39
We want festival goers to enjoy their time at Glastonbury and
56:42
other festivals this year. Being aware of the current
56:45
health risks will help those attending joy there enjoy their
56:48
time as much as possible. Measles is circulating across
56:51
the country and festivals are the perfect place for measles to
56:54
spread. If you're not fully vaccinated
56:57
against measles, mumps and rubella, please contact your GP
57:00
to see if you can get an appointment before coming to the
57:03
festival. Unbelievable.
57:06
There we go. Yes, what can we say?
57:09
They keep banging this drum, don't they?
57:10
They absolutely do. But it's a drum that yields
57:13
loads of money, so keep banging it, absolutely.
57:15
OK. Well, look, we'll end then today
57:18
with animal health. And well, in fact, we're not
57:21
really talking about animal health because we're talking
57:23
about slaughtering of animals. Here we are.
57:25
But the but the overall issue being that of animal welfare
57:27
which the government makes great claims to care about.
57:30
And on Monday there was a debate in response to a petition which
57:33
had received over 100,000 signatures and the title was to
57:37
ban non stun slaughter in the UK.
57:40
Now this should have led into a discussion about animal rights
57:43
but in fact the reality was rather different because, and
57:46
this is not to criticise the starter of the petition, but it
57:50
turned into a rather divisive debate, more concerned with
57:54
people than practices. The current law of course states
57:58
that in both commercial and home slaughter settings there is a
58:01
religious exemption in that this mostly affects the Jewish and
58:05
Muslim faiths in that non stunned slaughter may be carried
58:10
out for these religious purposes.
58:11
Now the debate drifted somewhat from animal welfare and it it
58:16
what was significant was it was really a case of balancing some
58:20
areas of what are regarded as animal welfare against what was
58:23
being described as the expression of religious freedom.
58:26
Now as pointed out by the RSPCA, the percentages concerned are
58:29
small with the exception of sheep.
58:32
And if you can't see the screen, there's about 2.8% of chickens
58:37
nation nationwide and 1.9% of cattle, but nearly 30% of the
58:41
total amount of sheep slaughtered in this manner.
58:45
So the the the issue kept returning to Judaism and indeed
58:50
Islam and therefore the people involved.
58:52
There are lots of contributions from Jewish and Muslim MPs
58:55
putting forward their case, but what did drop out of it was of
58:59
course the fact that the government really pays lip
59:00
service to animal welfare in the wider context.
59:03
So there was no no broadening of the debate, as indeed there
59:08
should be 1 might say, about the Treatment of Animals in life, in
59:12
commercial farming and indeed in death, because of course the
59:16
majority of the vast majority of animals are not killed in this
59:19
manner. But there are certainly problems
59:21
within the system. The other thing, again not
59:24
discussed at all, was slaughter on suspicion, which we've
59:26
covered a lot with regard to bird flu and the number of birds
59:30
have been destroyed with techniques such as expanding
59:33
nunch and fame or indeed gassing.
59:35
So this is this is all part of the sort of rather confusing
59:38
agenda as to whether we should or shouldn't eat meat and
59:40
whether we should or shouldn't be afraid of animals, something
59:43
that seems to be encouraged and discouraged by government.
59:46
At the same time. We've cast our minds back to the
59:51
potential COVID cat cull picture of the cat outside Downing St.
59:55
back in 2022, I think it was. And then again just to when one
59:59
considers whether or not, you know, these things can happen.
1:00:02
This is Hilda Keane's book The Great Cat and Dog Massacre,
1:00:06
which was about the pre emptive destruction of nearly 1/4 of a
1:00:09
million pets from 1939, based on what turned out to be a
1:00:13
completely false premise. Now this is something I'd like
1:00:15
to go into rather more next week with the.
1:00:18
The state of abattoirs, and indeed more general piece on
1:00:22
animal welfare, because that was the one point this debate really
1:00:25
did not touch upon. It was much more concerned with
1:00:28
who rather than how. Yes, thank you, Charles.
1:00:33
Let's Yeah, Thanks, Charles. Right.
1:00:39
I'll just you're having trouble with numbers today, 3/4 of a
1:00:42
million, not 1/4 of a million. OK, well, thank goodness you're
1:00:46
here. Yeah.
1:00:47
All right. We're going to leave it there
1:00:48
for today. Thank you, Charles.
1:00:50
Thank you, Vanessa, and thank you, Sandy.
1:00:52
We'll be back in a few minutes. If you're UK column member for
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1:01:09
and tomorrow with Brian. And we'll see you on Friday at
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1:00 PM as usual. See you then.
1:01:13
Bye. Bye.
1:01:14
Bye.