This is how to battle Beijing: Few understand China’s contempt for our way of life – and their determination to destroy it. In an article published on June 1st on the Daily Mail Former UK Deputy Home Secretary and honorary member of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law Norman Baker says we have no choice but to hit…
Lord Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, has called for a United Nations special envoy to be appointed to defend human rights in the city amid a growing international outcry against China’s move to impose a controversial national security law intended to crush dissent. “The establishment of an international contact group to coordinate a global response would…
A cross-party international coalition of 682 parliamentarians and policymakers from 36 countries today issued a statement decrying Beijing’s “unilateral introduction of national security legislation in Hong Kong”, and calling for sympathetic governments to unite against this “flagrant breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration”. Led by the former Governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, and the former UK Foreign Secretary, Sir…
In October 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, Philip Alston, made the following statement: “citizens are becoming ever more visible to their governments, but not the other way around.” Federica Donati set out to analyze the Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQs) from 2010 to 2020 because it is deemed to be a way of subjecting…
One of the most alarming, and indeed depressing sights of the last week was that of various unsavoury beefy men carrying automatic weapons and storming Michigan’s Capitol building in protest at the measures the governor has sensibly introduced to prevent the coronavirus spreading. Why were they carrying such weapons? As a European, I cannot understand the American mentality that is…
When the Scottish people were asked to vote in a historic referendum nearly six years ago to decide whether or not Scotland would be remaining part of the United Kingdom, 55.30% of voters expressed their disapproval, abandoning the dream of an independent Scotland. The primary aim of this article is to discuss the negotiation process that led Scotland and the…
Operation Yellowhammer aims to mitigate the disruptive effects of Brexit within the UK, and should last about three months. It was developed by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS), a department of the Cabinet Office responsible for emergency planning. To better prepare the British public for the eventuality of a no deal exit, the publication of document excerpts was expected on…
In the wake of the beginning of the trial in the Spanish Supreme Court against twelve Catalan independence leaders, Hywel Williams MP asked the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow whether it would be in order to have a democratic debate in the House on a similar matter, namely Welsh independence, without the prospect of being prosecuted by…
Tuesday 4 December the House of Commons voted in favour of a “contempt motion” for the Government May’s failure to publish the legal advice by Attorney General Geoffrey Cox concerning the EU Withdrawal Agreement. With 311 votes in favor and 293 against, the British MPs approved a motion finding Ministers in contempt and establishing the immediate publication of the full…
On May 30, the Iraq War Family Campaign Group (IWFCG) issued an update on the campaign to hold government to account, started after the publication of the Report of the Chilcot Inquiry. Following the submissions filed in April by the IWFCG to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) entitled “Safeguards for proper Government decision making”, calling for stronger…