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☆ UK election 2024: Everything you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-23 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Rishi Sunak’s rival for power is Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is heavily favored to become Britain’s new prime minister in July. Labour leader Keir Starmer -- the frontrunner in the election -- launches his campaign in Gillingham on Thursday. Given Labour’s standing in the polls, Starmer is more equipped to take the fight to other groups. In the UK, voters don’t elect a prime minister directly. But this is a formal role only; the King won’t contradict his prime minister or overrule the results of an election.

Persons: CNN —, Rishi Sunak, We’ll, Keir Starmer, Sunak, Downing, Maja Smiejkowska, – Sunak, Boris Johnson’s, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Johnson, Stefan Rousseau, Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May, Sunak hasn’t, –, Starmer, Henry Nicholls, Rishi Sunak’s, Gareth Fuller, Reform Party –, David Cameron, King Charles III, won’t Organizations: CNN, CNN — Britain’s, Labour, Reuters, Sunak’s Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Conservative, Party, Getty, European Union, Reform Party, Scottish National Party, Green Party, National Health Service Locations: Westminster, Rwanda, England, AFP, Gillingham, Gaza

☆ UK general election: PM Rishi Sunak calls surprise July vote as his party seeks to defy dire polls
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a snap general election for July 4 in a statement outside Downing Street on Wednesday evening, as his Conservative Party faces an uphill struggle to extend its 14 years in power. But a fall in inflation rates, announced earlier Wednesday, provided the backdrop for his announcement. The move will be welcomed by the buoyant Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer, which is soaring in the opinion polls and has sought to present itself as a reformed and moderate group that is ready for power. Sunak walks back inside on Wednesday after announcing the July 4 date for the election. But Johnson’s premiership collapsed after a string of scandals, paving the way for his then-finance minister Sunak to emerge as a frontrunner for the leadership.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Downing, King Charles III of, “, ” Sunak, Keir Starmer, Buckingham, Queen’s, Starmer, ”, Carl Court, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, —, Theresa May —, King Charles III Organizations: London CNN —, Conservative Party, Conservative, Labour Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Party, Scottish National Party, European Union, Tories Locations: Britain, Buckingham Palace, Ukraine, Downing, Sunak, United Kingdom, Rwanda, Britain’s

☆ Scotland’s Governing S.N.P. Looks to a Stalwart After Its Leader Quits
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Stephen Castle | More About Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just days after Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, announced his resignation, one of his party’s most experienced politicians, John Swinney, emerged on Thursday as his likely successor after the most prominent potential challenger pulled out of the race. That crisis reached a new level of urgency this week when Mr. Yousaf terminated a coalition agreement with another party that campaigns for Scottish independence, the Scottish Greens, only to find himself facing two confidence votes he risked losing. On Monday, he said he would step down as soon as a replacement was chosen. For much of the past year, the S.N.P. has been enduring the fallout of a police investigation into the handling of funds it raised for a future referendum campaign.

Persons: Scotland’s, Humza Yousaf, John Swinney, Swinney, Mr, Nicola Sturgeon, Yousaf Organizations: Scottish National Party, Scottish, Scottish Greens

☆ Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigns after ending power-sharing agreement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf announces his resignation during a statement, at Bute House, in Edinburgh, on April 29, 2024. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday after the collapse of his power-sharing agreement with the country's Green Party. Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Yousaf was facing a vote of no confidence that he was not expected to survive, after he broke off the agreement with the Green Party last week. "In ending the Bute House agreement in the manner I did, I clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset I caused Green colleagues. The first person of color to lead Scotland, Yousaf said it was an "honour" and "privilege" to serve as first minister.

Persons: Humza Yousaf, Yousaf, Green, — Organizations: Scotland's, Bute House, Scottish, country's Green Party, Scottish National Party, Green Party Locations: Bute, Edinburgh, Scotland

☆ Humza Yousaf Resigns as Scotland’s First Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, resigned on Monday in the latest setback for his Scottish National Party, which has been engulfed in a slow-burn crisis over a funding scandal that erupted after its popular leader Nicola Sturgeon stepped down last year. Mr. Yousaf’s departure had looked increasingly inevitable after he gambled last week by ending a power sharing deal with the Scottish Green Party, angering its leaders and leaving him at the head of a minority government without obvious allies. His opponents then pressed for two motions of no confidence, which were expected to take place later this week. Having explored his options over several fraught days, Mr. Yousaf, who was Scotland’s first Muslim leader, said that he would quit in a speech on Monday at Bute House in Edinburgh, the official residence of the Scottish first minister. “After spending the weekend reflecting on what is best for my party, for the government and for the country I lead, I have concluded that repairing our relationship across the political divide can only be done with someone else at the helm,” Mr. Yousaf said in a short and at times emotional statement.

Persons: Scotland’s, Humza Yousaf, Nicola Sturgeon, Yousaf’s, Yousaf, ” Mr Organizations: Scottish National Party, Scottish Green Party, Bute House, Scottish Locations: Edinburgh

☆ What to Know About the Breakup of Scotland’s Coalition Government
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, on Thursday abruptly ended a coalition agreement between his Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party, creating a new set of challenges for an embattled leader whose party has been engulfed in a funding scandal since last year. But Mr. Yousaf’s decision to scrap the coalition appeared to take Lorna Slater, a co-leader of the Greens, by surprise on Thursday morning. of “an act of cowardice,” adding that Mr. Yousaf could “no longer be trusted.”Does this mean the end of the Scottish government? The Scottish Conservatives are pressing for a vote of no confidence in Mr. Yousaf, which the opposition Scottish Labour Party has signaled it would support, and that could take place next week. But that vote relates to confidence in Mr. Yousaf, not the government, so its implications are unclear even if he were to lose.

Persons: Scotland’s, Humza Yousaf, Lorna Slater, Yousaf, “ Organizations: Scottish National Party, Scottish Green Party, Scottish, Greens, Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Labour Party Locations: Scotland

☆ Nicola Sturgeon’s Husband Is Charged in Party Finance Inquiry
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Stephen Castle | More About Stephen Castle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Peter Murrell, the husband of Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, was charged on Thursday in connection with embezzlement of funds from the Scottish National Party, which she once led and where he once held a senior position. The announcement, which follows a lengthy inquiry by the Scottish police, is another blow to the party, which controls the Scottish government and campaigns for independence. The party was thrown into turmoil after Ms. Sturgeon’s surprise resignation last year. After her departure as first minister, Ms. Sturgeon was also arrested as part of the investigation into her party’s finances, but she was released and has not been charged. Mr. Murrell, 59, who has been married to Ms. Sturgeon since 2010, became the S.N.P.’s chief executive in 1999 and resigned from the role in February 2023.

Persons: Peter Murrell, Scotland’s, Nicola Sturgeon, Sturgeon’s, Sturgeon, Murrell, ’ Organizations: Scottish National Party, Scottish

☆ UK government under growing pressure to stop selling arms to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Pressure is mounting on British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to suspend the sale of arms to Israel following the deadly attack on a convoy of aid workers in Gaza. Calls for Sunak to stop supplying Israel with weapons grew after an Israeli airstrike on Monday killed seven members of staff from World Central Kitchen, three of whom were British citizens. The government is still waiting for legal advice from its lawyers on whether or not selling arms to Israel is in breach of international law. However, parliamentary estimates show that the UK has still licensed arms worth over $725m. The family of one of the aid workers killed former Royal Marine James Henderson, have criticized the UK sale of arms to Israel.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Alicia Kearns, Kearns, ”, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Grant Shapps, Marine James Henderson Organizations: London CNN, British, Parliament’s, Conservative Party, UNRWA, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, Israeli, ” Defense, ”, UN Security Council, Marine, Times Locations: Israel, Gaza, British, Germany, Times of London

Nicola Sturgeon told the United Kingdom's public inquiry into the pandemic that she didn't use informal messaging such as WhatsApp to make decisions. Although Scotland is part of the U.K., its government has powers over matters relating to public health. Sturgeon's standing has been further dented by the recent revelation that her WhatsApp messages had been deleted, which has led to questions about her trustworthiness or whether she has anything to hide. Last week, Sturgeon's successor as first minister, Humza Yousaf, offered an “unreserved” apology for the Scottish government’s “frankly poor” handling of requests for WhatsApp messages. Johnson agreed in late 2021 to hold a public inquiry after heavy pressure from bereaved families, who have hit out at the evidence emerging about his actions.

Persons: —, policymaking, Nicola Sturgeon, ”, Sturgeon, Boris Johnson, hadn't, hasn't, WhatsApp, “, Humza Yousaf, Heather Hallett, Johnson Organizations: United, Scotland, Scottish National Party, Scottish Locations: Scotland, Edinburgh, England, Wales, Northern Ireland

☆ Fact Check: SNP’s Westminster leader held his Remembrance Sunday wreath correctly
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Comparison online of the way Britain’s party leaders held their poppy wreaths on Remembrance Sunday has sparked a false claim that the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) Westminster leader Stephen Flynn held his garland upside down. In an X post (archived) on Nov. 14, Flynn said his wreath was made by Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, Scotland. Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory told Reuters that the card was placed at the bottom of the wreath. There are also differences in the designs of poppies, the Scottish National War Memorial spokesperson said. Stephen Flynn held his wreath the correct way up on Remembrance Sunday, according to the wreath maker, who said the card was deliberately placed at the bottom.

Persons: Stephen Flynn, Flynn, Ed Davey, Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Lady Haig’s, Lady Haig’s Poppy, Pam Gosal, Jackson Carlaw, Read Organizations: Scottish National, Facebook, Liberal, Conservative Party, Memorial, Reuters, Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, Scottish, Thomson Locations: Scotland, England, Edinburgh

Keir Starmer, leader of Britain's Labour Party, speaks during the Prime Minister's Questions, at the House of Commons in London, Britain November 15, 2023. But the backing of so many Labour lawmakers showed the levels of disquiet in the party over the Middle East conflict. Eight members of Starmer's 'shadow' ministerial team left their roles in order to defy the party position. But I wanted to be clear about where I stood, and where I will stand," Starmer said after the vote. A large protest by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign outside parliament demanding lawmakers back a ceasefire took place while the vote was going on.

Persons: Keir Starmer, Maria Unger, Handout, Rishi Sunak, Jess Phillips, Starmer, Elizabeth Piper, Kylie MacLellan, Deepa Babington Organizations: Britain's Labour Party, REUTERS Acquire, Labour, Scottish National Party, European Union, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Israel, United States, Gaza, Britain's, Palestine

☆ No Longer Scotland’s Leader, Sturgeon Focuses on Learning to Drive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Eduardo Medina | More About Eduardo Medina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

She resigned her post as Scotland’s leader in February, citing exhaustion and her status as a polarizing figure as her reasons. Then in June, she was arrested by police officers investigating the finances of the Scottish National Party, which she had led as it dominated the country’s politics. The driving-test milestone highlighted the sheltered, chauffeured lifestyle of heads of state who often travel in well-secured vehicles. It also was a reminder of just how hard such tests are in the United Kingdom compared to other countries, including the United States. Rob Harper, the chair of the Association of Approved Driving Instructors, told The Telegraph in 2019: “I think it’s a dangerous maneuver, and so do many of my members.”

Persons: Sturgeon, Rob Harper, ” Organizations: Scottish National Party, Association Locations: United Kingdom, United States, U.S, Britain

☆ Scotland's leader says dream of independence alive despite his party's troubles
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Humza Yousaf speaks during an interview with Reuters ahead of his party's annual conference in Aberdeen, Britain, October 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gerhard May Acquire Licensing RightsABERDEEN, Scotland, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Scotland's leader Humza Yousaf is confident his dream of independence will come true in the next decade despite his governing party haemorrhaging support over the worst crisis in its modern history. The dominant political party in Scotland for almost two decades, the pro-independence Scottish National Party has been damaged by infighting, voter fatigue and scandals, including the arrest of its charismatic former leader Nicola Sturgeon. Even with support for the SNP in decline, opinion polls show Scotland is still roughly split over independence. "Support for independence is rock solid but support for the SNP has dipped," he said.

Persons: Humza Yousaf, Gerhard, Nicola Sturgeon, Yousaf, YouGov, Scots, Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak's, isn't, Andrew MacAskill, Kate Holton, Ed Osmond Organizations: Scotland's, Scottish National Party, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Labour Party won, Labour, Scotland, England, European Union, Scottish, Westminster, British, Thomson Locations: Aberdeen, Britain, Rights ABERDEEN, Scotland, Europe, European, London

☆ Scottish leader says wife's parents risk running out of food in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yousaf's parents-in-law live in Scotland but were visiting relatives in Gaza when Hamas militants poured into Israel and killed 1,300 people last weekend. "There is no doubt that collective punishment is a breach of international law," he said. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told parliament on Monday that Israel must defend itself in line with international humanitarian law. Diplomatic efforts are continuing to get aid into the enclave as food, fuel and water run short. He added that his brother-in-law, who works as a doctor, is having to make decisions about who should be treated, while the hospitals in Gaza run out of body bags.

Persons: Humza Yousaf, Yousaf's, Israel, Yousaf, Elizabeth, Maged, Nakla, Gerhard, Rishi Sunak, Andrew MacAskill, Kate Holton, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Reuters, Scottish National Party, REUTERS, London ., Thomson Locations: Gaza, ABERDEEN, Scotland, Israel, Aberdeen, Britain, British, London, London . British, Dundee, Palestinian, Scottish, Glasgow, Pakistan, Kenya

☆ Scotland's leader fears for wife's parents 'trapped' in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf attends First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON Oct 9 (Reuters) - Scotland's leader Humza Yousaf said on Monday that his wife's parents were "trapped" in Gaza, leaving him worried if they will survive an attack by IsraelThe parents of Yousaf’s wife were in Gaza visiting family when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel over the weekend. "They're trapped in Gaza. Therefore, you can imagine my wife and I are sick with worry about whether or not, frankly, our parents - my in-laws - will survive," he said. Reporting by Andrew MacAskill Editing by Bill Berkrot and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Humza Yousaf, Russell Cheyne, Israel, Yousaf’s, They're, they've, Yousaf, Andrew MacAskill, Bill Berkrot, Christina Fincher Organizations: Scotland's, Scottish, REUTERS, Hamas, BBC, Scottish National Party, Thomson Locations: Holyrood, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, Gaza, Israel, Western Europe, British, London

☆ Britain's Labour Party hails 'seismic' win in Scottish vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Alistair Smout | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People in Rutherglen and Hamilton West have sent a clear message – it is time for change. And it is clear they believe that this changed Labour Party can deliver it," Labour leader Keir Starmer said in a statement. John Curtice, Britain's most prominent pollster, said it was a "remarkable result" for the Labour party, which comes on the eve of its annual conference next week. "This is the kind of result that suggests that the Labour Party is potentially capable of winning seats again in Scotland," he told BBC News. "However, we will reflect on what we have to do to regain the trust of the people of Rutherglen & Hamilton West."

Persons: Rishi, Hamilton West, Keir Starmer, Margaret Ferrier, Michael Shanks, Katy Loudon, John Curtice, Ferrier, Humza Yousaf, Yousaf, Nicola Sturgeon, Alistair Smout, Jamie Freed, Michael Perry 私 Organizations: Labour, LONDON, Labour Party, Scottish Nationalist Party, Conservative Party, Hamilton, Hamilton West, BBC News, Scottish, COVID, Rutherglen & Hamilton, Rutherglen Locations: Scotland, Rutherglen, Glasgow, London's, Britain's, United Kingdom

☆ UK home secretary warns uncontrolled migration poses 'existential challenge'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Addressing the American Enterprise Institute think-tank in Washington, Braverman said the United Nations refugee convention has expanded the definition of "persecution" and increased the number of people qualifying for refugee protection. Almost 24,000 people have been detected crossing the Channel this year, despite Sunak's promise to "stop the boats". In her speech, Braverman said asylum seekers should be obliged to make a claim in the first safe country they reach. "The vast majority have passed through multiple safe countries, and in some instances have resided in safe countries for several years," Braverman said. Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Alex Richardson, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Suella Braverman, Peter Nicholls, Braverman, Rishi Sunak, Stewart McDonald, Andrew MacAskill, Alex Richardson, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, American Enterprise Institute, United Nations, Conservative Party, Britain, Scottish National Party, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Washington, Rwanda, France

☆ Climate tech startups Utopi and Materials Nexus raised a combined $9 million. Here's the pitch decks they used to win over investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

British climate tech startups Materials Nexus and Utopi have both raised funds recently. London-based Materials Nexus raised $2.8 million while Glasgow-based Utopi secured $6.3 million. British climate tech startups Materials Nexus and Utopi raised a combined $9.1 million recently. London-based Materials Nexus is using artificial intelligence to curb the green transition's reliance on mining metals. See the 11-slide redacted pitch deck from Materials Nexus below:Materials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusMaterials NexusUtopi plots US expansion with new fundsGlasgow-based startup Utopi, founded in 2019, recently secured £5 million (around $6.3 million) in an investment round backed by the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Persons: Utopi, Jonathan Bean Organizations: Ada Ventures, Nexus, Scottish National Investment Bank Locations: London, Glasgow, Cambridge

☆ A Resurgent Labour Party Sees Scotland as a Springboard to Power
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Mark Landler | More About Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Britain’s opposition Labour Party, the road to 10 Downing Street is likely to run through Scotland. Ms. Scott, 18, a geography student who studies in Edinburgh, enthusiastically supported the Scottish National Party in past ballots. representative, Margaret Ferrier, who was forced out of her seat on Aug. 1 after violating lockdown rules during the coronavirus pandemic. She also thinks the Labour Party has better proposals to cope with a grinding cost-of-living crisis that has left people fed up and exhausted. Ms. Scott signed a petition to recall Ms. Ferrier, which triggered this by-election, and now said she was “leaning slightly toward Labour, based on how proactive they’ve been.”

Persons: Cara Scott, Scott, Margaret Ferrier, Ferrier, ” Organizations: Labour Party, Labour, Scottish National Party Locations: Scotland, Glasgow, Edinburgh

☆ For Scotland, Independence Will Always Be an Option - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Alex Massie | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The bloom is truly off the Scottish National Party, which has continued to dominate political life here in the almost decade since it lost the independence referendum. The party has held majorities in the devolved Parliament and in the Scottish seats at Westminster, and a volley of opinion polls, routinely reporting that Scots under the age of 49 favor independence, bolstered the sense that Scottish independence was a historical inevitability. Ms. Sturgeon insists that she is innocent of any wrongdoing. But even before the allegations, Ms. Sturgeon’s plans for independence had run out of steam. (Ms. Sturgeon’s lackluster successor, Humza Yousaf, has not revitalized the movement.)

Persons: Nicola Sturgeon, Sturgeon, Sturgeon’s, Humza Yousaf Organizations: Scottish National Party, Westminster, Scottish, Labour Party Locations: Scotland, United Kingdom

☆ Opinion | From Jacobites to Populists
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

It’s not that today’s populists (a few intellectuals aside) favor the restoration of an absolute or Catholic monarchy. Rather, like the original Jacobites, they represent a hodgepodge of somewhat disparate causes, unified mostly by their oppositional and outsider status, their distance from and defiance of the Whiggish metropole. As Frank McLynn points out in his history of the Jacobites, whatever specific designs the Stuarts had in mind, their movement always included a variety of competing ideological and religious tendencies. There were English Jacobites who wanted to see the Stuarts enthroned over all the British Isles. There were also plenty of opportunists, familiar from the grifter politics of our own day — smugglers and privateers seeking relief from a centralizing British state, bankrupt gentry seeking relief for their accumulated debts.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Trump, Frank McLynn Organizations: European Union, London, Whig, Jacobite, Jacobites, Scottish Locations: England, United Kingdom, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Europe, Ulster, United States, Scottish, British, London

☆ Scotland proposes making all drug possession legal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) - Scotland outlined proposals on Friday to decriminalise the possession of all drugs for personal use saying it would help it tackle the worst drug death rate in Europe. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ruled out any change, saying: "There are no plans to alter our tough stance on drugs." The governing Scottish National Party, which wants Scotland to be an independent country, has also clashed with the British government over a proposed gender recognition reform law. With 327 deaths per million population, Scotland had Europe's highest drug death rate in 2020, dwarfing the next highest rate of 85 in Norway, official statistics showed. While narcotics are illegal in much of the world, some countries have decriminalised various forms of drug possession, with health experts arguing it would allow compulsive drug users to be treated as patients rather than criminals.

Persons: Elena Whitham, Rishi Sunak, dwarfing, Sachin Ravikumar, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Drugs, British, Scottish National Party, Thomson Locations: Scotland, Europe, Edinburgh, British, London, Westminster, Norway

Scotland will celebrate the accession of King Charles III with its own festivities on Wednesday. “Scotland will welcome the new King and Queen in July with a series of events to mark the Coronation. There the Scottish Crown Jewels will be presented to the King. The crown was first worn by James V at the coronation of Queen Mary of Guise in 1540. A 21-gun salute from the 12 Regiment Royal Artillery will sound at the end of the service before the royal procession returns to Holyroodhouse.

Persons: London CNN —, King Charles III, –, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Kate, Duke, Duchess of, King, Queen, Humza Yousaf, Yousaf, Giles, Cathedral, Giles ’, James V, Queen Mary of Guise, Innocent VIII, James IV, Mary, Queen of Scots, Oliver Cromwell’s, Walter Scott, Charles ’, Cruachan IV, Andrew Milligan, George Gross, Charles, ” Organizations: CNN’s Royal, London CNN, Scottish, National Service of, ”, Edinburgh, of Union, King’s, Guard, Royal Company of Archers, Armed Forces, Royal Regiment of, Royal Regiment of Scotland Shetland, Combined Cadet Force, Royal Marine, 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland, Regiment Royal Artillery, King’s College London Locations: London, Scotland, Holyrood, Duchess of Rothesay, Edinburgh, St, Balmoral, Britain, Scone, Westminster, Royal Regiment of Scotland, Holyroodhouse

☆ UK court to rule if plan to relocate asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoLONDON, June 29 (Reuters) - London's Court of Appeal will rule on Thursday if a British plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, in a verdict that could make or break Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's pledge to stop migrants from arriving by boat. Under a deal struck last year, Britain's government plans to send tens of thousands of asylum seekers who arrive on its shores more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to the East African country. In December, the High Court in London ruled the policy was lawful, but that decision is being challenged by asylum seekers from several countries along with human rights organisations. If the judges rule the plan is lawful, a government official said the flights could begin later this year if the courts reject any applications for further legal challenges. Sunak sees the deportation plan as central to deterring asylum seekers arriving from Europe.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Leon Neal, Rishi Sunak's, Sunak, Andrew MacAskill, John Stonestreet Organizations: European, of Human Rights, Court, Conservative Party, Labour Party, Scottish National Party, Thomson Locations: ENGLAND, Downing, London, United Kingdom, London's, British, Rwanda, East, Britain, Europe, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, France

☆ UK estimates cost of deporting each asylum seeker to Rwanda will be 169,000 pounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The government sees the plan as central to deterring asylum seekers arriving in small boats from France. In an economic impact assessment published on Monday, the government said the cost of deporting each individual to Rwanda would include an average 105,000-pound payment to Rwanda for hosting each asylum seeker, 22,000 pounds for the flight and escorting, and 18,000 pounds for processing and legal costs. Home Secretary (interior minister) Suella Braverman said these costs must be considered alongside the impact of deterring others trying to reach Britain and the rising cost of housing asylum seekers. Unless action is taken, Braverman said that the cost of housing asylum seekers will rise to 11 billion pounds a year, up from about 3.6 billion pounds currently. "The economic impact assessment clearly shows that doing nothing is not an option," she said.

Persons: Rishi Sunak's, Sunak, Suella Braverman, Braverman, Andrew MacAskill, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Conservative, Labour Party, Home, Labour, Scottish National Party, European, of Human, Court, Thomson Locations: Rwanda, France, Britain, London, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam

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