Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #R4today
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For roughly ÂŁ20 million the Home Office could've cleared the asylum backlog it created, reducing associated costs such as hotels. Instead it plans to pay nearly ÂŁ10 billion on a policy which appears specifically designed to fail. #r4today 1/
thetimes.co.uk/article/4c2cf7…
thetimes.co.uk/article/4c2cf7…
The #IllegalBill, can only put more people at risk, including tens of thousands of children. It denies modern slavery victims protection, boosting gang control, and removes human rights from the most vulnerable, as well as sees children risk deportation 2/
theguardian.com/world/2023/mar…
theguardian.com/world/2023/mar…
The government's own figures show that, despite rhetoric of the likes of Braverman, the vast majority of those seeking asylum in the UK, by any means, receive it because they need it. Data also shows how few comparatively to likes of France etc UK takes 3/
"How can the government justify giving tax relief to the top 1% when there are people going to food banks?"
"The people who need it the most help are getting the least." #bbcqt
"The people who need it the most help are getting the least." #bbcqt
Now with well over 200,000 reads in over 144 countries but still with no response from @bbcquestiontime
@docrussjackson open letter to the @BBC about widely held concerns about bias on #bbcqt.
yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/an-op…
@docrussjackson open letter to the @BBC about widely held concerns about bias on #bbcqt.
yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/an-op…
Open letter to the Today programme
Mike Cashman queries his ejection from the BBC before the Today programme debate.
@BBCr4today @BBCRadio4 @MikeCashman1 #R4Today
centralbylines.co.uk/open-letter-to…
Mike Cashman queries his ejection from the BBC before the Today programme debate.
@BBCr4today @BBCRadio4 @MikeCashman1 #R4Today
centralbylines.co.uk/open-letter-to…
#r4today
It's interesting how the Telegraph's Lockdown Files generated headlines across media, while there barely any mention of an academic paper proving criticism of a herd immunity strategy was disproportionately under represented
It's interesting how the Telegraph's Lockdown Files generated headlines across media, while there barely any mention of an academic paper proving criticism of a herd immunity strategy was disproportionately under represented
2/ Or how leaked messages show government exerted pressure on the BBC
3/ The findings have relevance beyond the periods covered in thr two articles, for instance the recent decision to never offer younger children vaccination while CDC has added it to list of standard immunisations has recieved no scrutiny in most the media
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/media-and-go…
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/media-and-go…
For the Bankof England to sell SVB UK to HSBC it had to have taken SVB over in the first place - last night.
#r4today
#r4today
"The Bank of England, in consultation with the Prudential Regulation Authority, HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority, has taken the decision to sell Silicon Valley Bank UK Limited, the UK subsidiary of the US bank, to HSBC UK Bank"
bankofengland.co.uk/news/2023/marc…
#r4today
bankofengland.co.uk/news/2023/marc…
#r4today
"Today the government and the Bank of England have facilitated a private sale of Silicon Valley Bank UK"
gov.uk/government/new…
#r4today
gov.uk/government/new…
#r4today
Not only did @JamesCleverly fail to acknowledge on #r4today the Government's practical inability to remove the people they refuse to admit to the UK asylum system, but he fundamentally misrepresented the powers in the #refugeebanbill to detain tens of thousands of people 1/
He characterised the purpose of this detention as being purely pre-removal i.e. for the shortest possible time in order to effect removal. This could be misunderstanding or political spin but, regardless, it incorrectly represents the number of people & length of detention 2/
3/ the bill gives Government unprecedented powers for automatic & indefinite detention of tens of thousands of people. It's estimated that up to 80k people will arrive by small boat this year. True, not all will be detained at the same time but there will be significant overlap
This is my favourite question 🥰
Let’s be clear: if the Home Secretary cannot say that her Bill respects the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable in society, it. must. be. thrown. out. #r4today
Here are some ways you good folks can help:
Let’s be clear: if the Home Secretary cannot say that her Bill respects the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable in society, it. must. be. thrown. out. #r4today
Here are some ways you good folks can help:
1. Write to your MP.
If they’re a Tory, tell them that you want them to throw this Bill out & focus on fixing the NHS & getting sewage out the rivers instead of wasting our money defending its illegal cruelty to refugees in court.
If not, say you expect them to fight it đź’Şđź’Ş
If they’re a Tory, tell them that you want them to throw this Bill out & focus on fixing the NHS & getting sewage out the rivers instead of wasting our money defending its illegal cruelty to refugees in court.
If not, say you expect them to fight it đź’Şđź’Ş
2. Raise your voice!
They justify all this cruelty off of you, you know. They say YOU want this.
If you’re able get your neighbourhood association, faith group, school parents’ association, ANYTHING to write a joint letter to local papers saying your community rejects the bill.
They justify all this cruelty off of you, you know. They say YOU want this.
If you’re able get your neighbourhood association, faith group, school parents’ association, ANYTHING to write a joint letter to local papers saying your community rejects the bill.
This is Mo. Mo was trafficked to the UK when he was 9 to work in modern slavery. In future, unaccompanied children like Mo, who arrive on boats, will simply be offered accommodation until they are 18, then sent back to their country of origin, or somewhere like Rwanda. #r4today
This is Dominic. Dominic's Jewish father escaped the Czech Republic as a 6-year-old when the Nazis annexed it in 1938. If Dominic's father had ended up on a boat, with the new laws, he would have been sent back to Prague in 1950, once he reached the age of 18 (or sent to Rwanda).
This is Rishi. His parents were economic migrants, coming to the UK to make a better life. In future, without a legal route, people like Rishi's parents who end up on boats would be sent back or deported to Rwanda, in spite of what they could offer with their skills & hard work.
When Suella Braverman lays her hateful anti refugee bill in parliament today, she’ll say refugees should take legal routes, or we will wash our hands of them.
When she does, think of Yosra, a 52 female Afghan judge, refused safe travel to the UK. #r4today independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…
When she does, think of Yosra, a 52 female Afghan judge, refused safe travel to the UK. #r4today independent.co.uk/news/world/mid…
If Yosra, like many other brave Afghans escaping the Taliban, made her way to the UK on her own, this government says it will do “whatever it takes” to restrict her access to human rights defences, that they’ll detain her, remove her - to anywhere - & ban her from the UK #r4today
Moving from danger to safety is a natural thing to do. Seeking the best possible chance at safety & a bright future for your kids is reasonable & totally inevitable.
Crossing borders is what you or I would do to. It can’t be stopped. It can be facilitated, not punished. #r4today
Crossing borders is what you or I would do to. It can’t be stopped. It can be facilitated, not punished. #r4today
The anti refugee Bill, take 2, won’t work, any more than before.
Except of course to cause misery, cost vast amounts of money, drive people into hands of criminals & further divide us.
People move. People crossing the Channel have nowhere else to go & nothing to lose. #r4today
Except of course to cause misery, cost vast amounts of money, drive people into hands of criminals & further divide us.
People move. People crossing the Channel have nowhere else to go & nothing to lose. #r4today
#r4today Telegraph literally ran a disinformation campaign in regards to schools and covid, they have a massive self interest in shaping the narrative
#HARTleaks
#HARTleaks
Oakshott shows her agenda in an interview with @bbcnickrobinson says she was acting in the national interest, "lockdowns were forced on us with flimsy evidence"
She says no journalist could sit on a cache of information and not inform the public
She says no journalist could sit on a cache of information and not inform the public
So will @IsabelOakeshott be reporting on the #HARTleaks?
Over 6 gigabytes of internal chats showing how media and MPs worked with groups of anti valuers and conspiracy theorists to undermine public health with disinformation?
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/internal-cha…
Over 6 gigabytes of internal chats showing how media and MPs worked with groups of anti valuers and conspiracy theorists to undermine public health with disinformation?
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/internal-cha…
@bbcnickrobinson perhaps #r4today would like to report on the leaked private chat messages which shows how a number of @Telegraph journalists working with antivaxxers and conspiracy theorists to undermine public health?
⬇️
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/internal-cha…
⬇️
…terdisinformationproject.substack.com/p/internal-cha…
Perhaps @FraserNelson isn't a reliable source for #r4today to interview considering the Spectator's track record on covid reporting, they promoted GBD and platformed ppl like David Patton from disinformation group HART
Perhaps it's useful to mention that Oakshotts partner is Richard Tice whose Reform Party is seeking to pick up the anti-lockdown and antivax vote?
Our excellent @FFC_Commission commissioners @BrowningHelen and @JudithBatchelar on #R4today summarising the complexities and risks in the food system, why we are where we are and - importantly - what we need to do next
Invest in local production - farmers and growers need support to invest in sustainable technologies, knowledge, land and logistics to grow and sell more of the healthy fruit and veg we need.
Retailers need to improve their contracts to share risk and rewards with farmers and growers more fairly
Keir Starmer says he hasn’t abandoned his pledges from the leadership election “by any stretch of the imagination”. He says they’ve instead been “adapted” due to Covid and the war in Ukraine #r4today
You can still share Starmer’s pledge backing “Support [for] common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water”
Starmer now says “would I spend billions on payouts to shareholders to nationalise energy?” - I.e no, his team has looked at the numbers and the pledge doesn’t stand anymore
On the face of it, fast tracking the recognition of 12,000 asylum applications from people pretty much bound to be refugees in need of protection is a blindingly obvious & overdue proposal.
Trust this govt to propose doing it in a way that raises questions of fairness #r4today
Trust this govt to propose doing it in a way that raises questions of fairness #r4today
One of the major problems in our asylum system is refugees are housed in dispersed, poor quality accommodation around the country, including in isolated areas & legal aid deserts.
Legal aid cuts since 2012 means free, competent assistance is hard to come by for refugees #r4today
Legal aid cuts since 2012 means free, competent assistance is hard to come by for refugees #r4today
Proposal is that they fill out a questionnaire, in English & potentially without access to legal support, within a tight time frame.
A questionnaire that their lives - quite literally - depend on.
It’s obviously potentially problematic for the most vulnerable #r4today
A questionnaire that their lives - quite literally - depend on.
It’s obviously potentially problematic for the most vulnerable #r4today
Attacks like those in Knowsley aren't because of "concerned parents". They are down to a rising, coordinated, far-right campaign, and it is emboldened by the rhetoric and misinformation about asylum seekers spread by certain politicians and press. #r4today
thetimes.co.uk/article/f28528…
thetimes.co.uk/article/f28528…
Plenty of people have tried to make out attacks against asylum seekers are all down to "legitimate concerns". They aren't. There is nothing "legitimate" about #KnowsleyRiots, and nothing "legitimate" about far-right thugs going after people seeking safety.
Spurred on by language, such as used by the Home Secretary, their claims that the people in hotels aren't "genuine refugees" are easily and rapidly debunked by the Home Office's own data, which shows how vast majority are recognised as needing protection.
gov.uk/government/sta…
gov.uk/government/sta…
I get that it is easy to say "why isn't the news just covering the stories which interest me", but I have been shocked by how little, overall, coverage 200 missing children has received, obviously aside from #r4today's segment suggesting they were "willingly trafficked". 1/
Even when it has been covered, a lot of coverage has made out this is a new issue, when it has been going on for a very long time, and that it is the fault of Albanians. If this was 200 British children it would be front page news and Ministerial resignations would abound. 2/
Yesterday's protests were important, but they haven't really been mentioned. Instead, as the Home Office knew would happen, the story rolls on. Talking heads try and claim those missing may not have been children, or may have been complicit in their exploitation. 3/
Thread: No matter how loudly certain people shout about "turning boats around in the channel", "send them back to France" etc, the simple fact is that you cannot return people to a country you don't have an agreement to do so with. 1/ #r4today
theguardian.com/world/2023/jan…
theguardian.com/world/2023/jan…
The Rwanda plan, which itself is being challenged on its legality, only has capacity for sub-200 even if the government tried it. That means that all this talk about "returning anyone crossing the channel" is meaningless posturing. 2/
All of that is before you factor in how the UK is already not a main destination for asylum seekers, so the, actually pretty small, number who do seek it here are doing so for reasons, primarily family ties or language, which don't change no matter how much you shout. 3/
#r4today have mentioned Covid in China again.
Once again though nothing about rising Covid and flu hospitalisations in the U.K.
Once again though nothing about rising Covid and flu hospitalisations in the U.K.
Unveiling even harsher asylum policies, which seem to violate international law with blanket refusals, won't reduce channel crossings. That will only happen by recognising that people, including Albanians, need protection and not discrimination. #r4today
thetimes.co.uk/article/5aa2f1…
thetimes.co.uk/article/5aa2f1…
The thing is none of this is even new. The same tired old policies which have been tested, tried and failed every single time, through being illegal, inhumane, unworkable or all three. There is evidence that harsher policies make things worse though.
google.com/url?sa=t&sourc…
google.com/url?sa=t&sourc…
People aren't "gaming modern slavery laws". Trafficking is increasing globally. The rise in people being referred to the National Referral Mechanism isn't from more people lying about trafficked. It is because we are getting better at identifying victims.
osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence…
osr.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/correspondence…
Thread: Once upon a time #humanrights were supported across political parties, across other ideologies. Now we have members of the House of Lords calling for the UK to leave not only human rights conventions, but the refugee convention. #HumanRightsDay2022, #r4today 1/
Attacking #HumanRights weakens them for everyone, not just people you don't like. More than that though, by weakening them here we risk also compounding a global undermining of human rights. There's nothing "democratic" or "taking back control" about forcing people to suffer. 3/
Certain people keep claiming that human rights laws are preventing the UK from deporting "dangerous criminals". Declines in enforced removals, which are now going up again, have nothing to do with any magic legal loophole used by "lefty lawyers". 4/
gov.uk/government/sta…
gov.uk/government/sta…
So, let’s see if I’ve got this straight: this new report’s big shiny new proposal for how to finally make those pesky refugees disappear is…?
Oh no, it’s still just the Rwanda scheme.
But we’ll also leave the ECHR, like Russia did this year cause it invaded Ukraine… #r4today
Oh no, it’s still just the Rwanda scheme.
But we’ll also leave the ECHR, like Russia did this year cause it invaded Ukraine… #r4today
Laughed out loud at Timothy’s response to questions on his magical thinking for how he expects to have everyone deported either to their country of origin or Rwanda “within days”
“These are high level proposals and we’d have to see about the operational details” I BET #r4today
“These are high level proposals and we’d have to see about the operational details” I BET #r4today
Completely seriously, though, this document seems to be a mad, extremist, dangerous fantasy & shouldn’t be being given a plum spot on #r4today to spread completely unsupportable, authoritarian rubbish, especially with no expert there to give the other side (that of basic sanity).
Covered the recent rebound in the U.K. Pound on #r4today with @FelicityHannah - back >1.22 GBPUSD. Some brief observations. The most reliable buy signal for GBP is when broker notes entitled “parity looms” or “£ is EM currency” hit inbox. Far better than any fundamental analysis!
I’m only being slightly flippant as trading positioning/ sentiment is a far better predictive variable than any rate spread, or macro trend analysis when backtestedX A lot of guff gets written and spoken about the Pound. There are some deeper trends though…
The longer term decline in its trade weighted value has three drivers. 1) U.K. economy as a modestly shrinking % of global economy makes GBP asset ownership less essential. 2) Post GFC shrinking of UK financial sector 3) Brexit reducing expected size/ efficiency of U.K. economy
Thread: Without formal returns agreements with those "safe countries" this is meaningless. You cannot "return" anyone to a country which hasn't agreed to take them. The end result therefore is leaving asylum seekers in limbo for even longer. 1/ #r4today
thetimes.co.uk/article/791fea…
thetimes.co.uk/article/791fea…
Now, ironically, the UK does have an agreement with Albania, but calling it a "safe country" is stretching the definition to breaking point, particularly in relation to the protection of trafficking victims. 2/
state.gov/reports/2022-t…
state.gov/reports/2022-t…
Pretty certain something has changed in UK's relationship with neighbouring countries since the last Labour Government. Ah, yes, that's it, it left the EU, which means it left the Dublin Regulations, which had formalized mechanisms for returning people. 3/
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…
commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…
Albanian is not necessarily a safe country. It isn't safe if you are being trafficked or fleeing a blood feud. It is not safe for them to be returned. Albanian trafficking victims face torture and abuse. Davis is advocating for denying torture victims safety. #r4today
It isn't only if you are being oppressed by the state, as David Davis claims, it is if the State cannot provide protection, and seeing as even the US State Department flags high level links between Albanian gangs and the Albanian government, so there isn't protection. #r4today
Nobody @DavidDavisMP is "voluntarily being trafficked". All your suggestions are doing is ensuring that a never ending cycle of trafficking continues, strengthen gangs and putting more victims at risk. Albanians aren't "gaming the system". Many need protection. #r4today
