UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[NewYorkExpress]

Is he Catholic? I heard on the radio that he was married at Westminster Cathedral.

According to Wikipedia, Boris Johnson was baptized a Catholic, confirmed into the Church of England, and may have returned to being a Catholic as of 2020.

He's also said his faith "comes and goes" so take that as you will.

[NewYorkExpress]

Is he Catholic? I heard on the radio that he was married at Westminster Cathedral.

According to Wikipedia, Boris Johnson was baptized a Catholic, confirmed into the Church of England, and may have returned to being a Catholic as of 2020.

He's also said his faith "comes and goes" so take that as you will.

Carrie Symonds is a practising Catholic, and apparently Wilf has been baptised as a Catholic.

According to Wikipedia, Carrie Symonds is indeed Catholic.

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The fact that Boris is now married to someone young enough to be his daughter really needs to stick in more throats than it has .

I don't see why any voter ought to care about the age of Boris' wife and not, you know, more relevant things, like how he runs the country. You know, stuff that actually matters...

The age of Boris Johnson's wife is about as relevant as the age of Emmanuel Macron's wife.

[NewYorkExpress]

The fact that Boris is now married to someone young enough to be his daughter really needs to stick in more throats than it has .

Its not all that uncommon, and not even *necessarily* a bad thing.

Nor is it the foremost reason to suspect this one might not ultimately end well.

Emmanuel Macron literally married his High School teacher, and they've been happily married for almost a decade and a half now, and she's old enough to be his mother.

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Oxford Students voted to remove of portrait of Elizabeth II from their common room, citing Britain's colonial history.

Oxford University students have voted to remove a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II from a common room due to concerns about Britain's colonial history, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Students at Oxford's Magdalen College expressed concerns about the deception of British monarchy and their colonial history.

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Apparently the Ministry of Defence is going to pay 200 million pounds for a national yacht to promote British trade.

A UK business-promoting "national yacht", reportedly costing up to £200m, is to be paid for by the Ministry of Defence, Downing Street has said.

A spokesman added that Boris Johnson wanted the vessel to be built in the UK if possible.

It will be the successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was retired in 1997 after 44 years in service.

The yacht, whose name has yet to be announced, will sail the globe, hosting trade fairs and talks.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "This is a national flagship which will drive investment into the economy and boost trade."

He added that it would be "funded through the Ministry of Defence (MoD)"

[NewYorkExpress]

Top Secret papers were left behind a bus stop in Kent by a senior Department of Defence official.

The government has said it is carrying out a thorough investigation into how classified defence documents were found at a bus stop in Kent.

Defence minister Jeremy Quin told MPs he was "very sorry" it had happened.

He said it appeared to be a mistake made by a senior official, and the person's access to sensitive material has been temporarily suspended.

The documents - which were handed to the BBC - contained details of HMS Defender and the military.

They were found in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning.

In a statement to the Commons on Monday, Mr Quin said the documents included a paper that was marked "secret UK eyes only".

[NewYorkExpress]

Dominic Cummings claimed that he tried to oust Boris Johnson after the 2019 election, and that Carrie Johnson tried to influence Government appointments.

Dominic Cummings has revealed he discussed ousting Boris Johnson within days of the Conservatives winning the December 2019 election by a landslide.

The PM's former chief adviser told the BBC it seemed that, by mid-January 2020, Mr Johnson did not "have a plan".

Mr Cummings also alleged the PM's wife Carrie Johnson had tried to influence government appointments.

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A former UK Nurse turned anti-vaxxer suggested that pro-vaccine doctors should be hung, bringing up the Doctor's trial in Nuremburg during 1946-1947.

Former nurse turned anti-vaxxer Kate Shemirani suggested that pro-vaccine doctors should face the same penalties as the doctors who were charged at the Nuremburg Trials at an anti-vaccine protest in Trafalgar Square in London on Saturday.

“Get their names, email them to me," Shemirani said. "At the Nuremberg trial the doctors and nurses stood trial, and they hung”.

She was likely referencing the Doctor's Trial, which took place before the Nuremburg Trials between 1946 and 1947. In it, 23 doctors were tried for their involvement in Nazi human experimentation and mass murder masked as euthanasia. Seven of them received death sentences. Another seven were acquitted and the rest received varying prison sentences.

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[NewYorkExpress]

A draft law in the Scottish Parliament was amended to exempt Queen Elizabeth's land from measures to encourage green energy after her lawyers raised "concerns".

A draft law in the Scottish Parliament was amended to exempt the Queen's land from measures to encourage green energy after her lawyers raised "concerns".

The changes meant land owned by the royal household could not be subject to compulsory purchase orders without the monarch's approval.

The correspondence between Buckingham Palace and the Scottish government was first reported in The Guardian.

Buckingham Palace insisted the process did not alter the nature of any laws.

But Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said such lobbying - details of which were revealed in a Freedom of Information request by a party researcher - should have been declared.

The Heat Networks Bill encouraged the use of underground pipes to heat homes and buildings rather than boilers powered by fossil fuels.

The documents show correspondence took place between the Scottish government and Buckingham Palace around the procedure known as Queen's consent, where the monarch is given sight of legislation which affects her interests.

The concerns centred on the potential use of compulsory purchase orders - a legal process by which land or property can be obtained, for instance for major infrastructure projects, without the the consent of the owner if deemed in the greater public interest.

Queen's consent for the Heat Networks Bill was sought in January this year, the documents show, though the content of many exchanges was redacted.

In February, officials working for Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said the minister had agreed to amend the bill, which had been introduced at Holyrood the previous year.

The officials said: "Minister agreed to proposed amendment that would addressed [sic] concerns from Queen's solicitors".

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Michael Gove says another referendum on Scottish Independence will happen "if the public wants it".

The UK government would not stand in the way of another vote on Scottish independence if it is the “settled will” of voters, Michael Gove has said.

Westminster has repeatedly rejected requests from the Scottish government for the necessary powers to hold another vote but the Cabinet Office minister said if the public desire a second referendum, “one would occur”.

The comment follows a decline in support for independence. After about six months of consistent polling showing majority support for separation last year – with one poll going as high as 58% in favour – the tide began to turn at the beginning of 2021.


The most recent survey by Panelbase for the Sunday Times found 48% of the 1,287 respondents supported leaving the UK.

Gove told the Sunday Mail: “The principle that the people of Scotland, in the right circumstances, can ask that question again is there.

“I just don’t think that it is right, and the public don’t think it is right, to ask that question at the moment.

“If it is the case that there is clearly a settled will in favour of a referendum, then one will occur.”

It is unclear what would convince the UK government that another vote is the “settled will” of Scots but it could mean positive election results for independence parties or continuous polling in favour for a certain period of time.

[NewYorkExpress]

David Cameron personally promoted Greensill Capital to investors shortly before their collapse.

Former Prime Minister David Cameron personally promoted Greensill Capital to investors before the controversial company collapsed.

BBC Panorama discovered Mr Cameron appeared with the company's founder, Lex Greensill, at an event hosted by the Swiss bank Credit Suisse in 2019.

The collapse of Greensill in March has left the bank's clients facing billions of dollars in losses.

Mr Cameron says there was no wrongdoing in any of the actions he took.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson told BBC Radio Four's Today programme on Tuesday that Mr Cameron had been "absolutely cleared" of any wrongdoing by two independent investigations.

He added he had made himself "available to parliamentary scrutiny", which was "the right thing to do".

Mr Cameron worked for the company as a part-time adviser for two-and-a-half years after stepping down as prime minister.

Panorama has also discovered documents indicating his role earned him about $10m before tax.

[NewYorkExpress]

Dominic Raab was literally vacationing in Crete when Kabul fell.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is facing growing calls to resign following his alleged failure to help evacuate interpreters, who had worked for Britain, as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban while he vacationed last week on the Greek island of Crete.

Raab reportedly did not make a crucial phone call to his Afghan counterpart that could have supported the interpreters in their efforts to leave the country as it was descending into violent chaos. Britain’s top diplomat had been advised to make the call on Friday, Aug. 13, according to British media. He returned home Sunday, the day Kabul was taken over by the Taliban.

The Foreign Office said the call had been delegated to a junior minister but later told the BBC that it “was not possible to arrange a call” before the Western-backed Afghan government collapsed due to the “rapidly changing situation.”

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Tony Blair attacks the United States's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan.

Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the U.S. decision to withdraw from the country has “every Jihadist group round the world cheering.”

In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, the former Labour Party leader said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power risked undermining everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls.

“The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours,” said Blair who served as prime minister during 1997-2007, a period that also saw him back the U.S.-led war in Iraq in 2003.

“The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics,” he added.



Blair also accused U.S. President Joe Biden of being “in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending ‘the forever wars’, as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago.”

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According to a palace representative, Elizabeth II supports Black Lives Matter.

Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family support Black Lives Matter (BLM), a senior representative has told UK broadcaster Channel 4.

Ken Olisa, the first black Lord-Lieutenant for London, said that the issue of race is a "hot conversation topic" in the royal household, in an interview which will be aired Friday, reports PA Media.

The royal family's attitude to race has been in the spotlight recently following allegations of racism from Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and the revelation that ethnic minority immigrants and foreigners were banned from clerical positions until at least the late 1960s.

However Olisa suggested that the family are open to talking about racism.

"I have discussed with the royal household this whole issue of race, particularly in the last 12 months since the George Floyd incident," he said.

"It's a hot conversation topic. The question is what more can we do to bind society to remove these barriers. They [the royals] care passionately about making this one nation bound by the same values."

Olisa was also asked whether the royal family support BLM. "The answer is easily yes," he said.

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Angela Rayner calls Conservative Ministers scum, Boris Johnson a racist, homophobic misogynist.

Angela Rayner says she will apologise for calling Boris Johnson "scum" when he retracts past comments she described as homophobic, racist and misogynistic.

Labour's deputy leader was reported to have called Tory ministers "a bunch of scum" at a Labour conference event.

One Conservative minister accused Ms Rayner of "talking crap", while another urged her to apologise.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would not have used that language and would "talk to her later".

Ms Rayner was reported to have made her remarks about Mr Johnson at a reception on Saturday evening.

Asked on Sunday morning if she would retract the remarks, she said she believed the prime minister was a "racist, homophobic misogynist".

"I think he needs to apologise for comments he has made in the past," Ms Rayner told the BBC, adding: "I will apologise when Boris apologises for saying the comments he has made, I will retract that he is scum."

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The police commissioner of North Yorkshire has been sacked after comments he made blaming a murder victim for her murder by a police officer.

A British police chief resigned Thursday after sparking an outcry with comments he made about how women should be more “streetwise” when he spoke about the abduction, rape and murder of a woman by a police officer.

Philip Allott stepped down as North Yorkshire police, fire and crime commissioner after being accused of misogyny and victim blaming for comments he made in a radio interview in the aftermath of the sentencing of London police officer Wayne Couzens.


Couzens was convicted last month of tricking 33-year-old Sarah Everard into his car by arresting her on the pretext of breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules, then raping and murdering her.

In the BBC interview earlier this month, Allott said women “need to be streetwise about when they can be arrested and they can’t be arrested.” He said Everard should “never have been arrested and submitted to that.”

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Apparently a trio of MP's were caught getting drunk on a visit to troops in Gibraltar and have been called out by Ben Wallace.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace will write to Labour and the SNP to express disappointment over the alleged poor behaviour of some of their MPs on a visit to troops in Gibraltar.

A witness told the BBC two SNP MPs drank very heavily on the journey and were inebriated on arrival.

The account was rejected by the SNP, who called the accusations "false".

A Labour MP has also been accused of drinking with the two SNP MPs. The party hasn't yet commented.

Mr Wallace said the alleged conduct "risks undermining respect for Parliament".

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The witness said the three MPs in question drank in the airport lounge before departure then drank heavily on the flight.

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Cambridge University blacklists an art historian after he offends students with a Hitler parody.

Cambridge Union president Keir Bradwell announced a new blacklist after Andrew Graham-Dixon spoke at the event.

Mr Graham-Dixon said he was trying to "underline the utterly evil nature of Hitler" but apologised for offending.

Mr Bradwell, who joked about the speech directly afterwards, has since apologised to members.

While presiding over the debate, he said he was "quite drunk".

Afterwards he said he had had two glasses of wine with dinner beforehand but was "not impeded in my ability to chair the debate".

However, he said it was "inexcusable" that he had not halted the parody.

The society, which aims to promote free speech through discussion, had been holding a debate on the concept of good taste on November 4.

In a letter, published on Facebook, Mr Bradwell said Mr Graham-Dixon offended members when he used Hitler's "deplorable" words about Jewish and black people in his speech.

In a statement, Mr Graham-Dixon said: "In my speech I caricatured him (Hitler), briefly, paraphrasing HIS crass and insensitive statements about art and race.

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An employment tribunal ruled that calling men bald is equivalent to sexual harassment.

Calling a man “bald” as an insult is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination, a judge has concluded.

Commenting on a man's baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman's breasts, they suggested.





The ruling - made by a panel of three men who in making their judgement bemoaned their own lack of hair - comes in a case between a veteran electrician and his manufacturing firm employers.

Tony Finn - who is now in line for compensation - had worked for the West Yorkshire-based British Bung Company for almost 24 years when he was fired in May last year.

He took them to the tribunal claiming, among other things, that he had been the victim of sex harassment following an incident with factory supervisor Jamie King.

Mr Finn alleged that during a shop floor row that almost erupted in violence in July 2019, Mr King had referred to him as a 'bald c***'.

The tribunal heard that Mr Finn was less upset by the 'Anglo Saxon' language than the comment on his appearance.

The allegation resulted in the panel - led by Judge Jonathan Brain - deliberating on whether remarking on his baldness was simply insulting or actually harassment.

"We have little doubt that being referred to in this pejorative manner was unwanted conduct as far as (Mr Finn) was concerned," the tribunal found.




"This is strong language. Although, as we find, industrial language was commonplace on this West Yorkshire factory floor, in our judgment Mr King crossed the line by making remarks personal to the claimant about his appearance."

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The government has sent legislation to Parliament that would allow for the creation of gene-edited food.

The government introduces a bill to Parliament on Wednesday paving the way for genetically edited plants and animals to be grown and raised for food in England.

The proposed new legislation would relax regulations for gene-edited, not genetically modified (GM) products and would at first apply only to plants.

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Starmer should strike while the Iron is hot and call a no-confidence vote in whoever the new PM is unless they agree to call for early elections (which presumably Labour would win).

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They won't ditch BoJo now - especially since he has promised to behave

Having to vote confidence in him will be embarrassing for many Tory MPs (that's why Labour are doing it, after all) but they will calculate any long term damage will be limited - at least if his replacement makes a reasonable impression. Though it will also be interesting to see if any *do* break ranks.

Starmer should demand new elections (which Labour would presumably win) in exchange for not filing constant no-confidence votes against whoever the next PM will be.

[NewYorkExpress]

SAS operatives in Afghanistan were responsible for unlawfully killing 54 people in one six-month tour.

SAS operatives in Afghanistan repeatedly killed detainees and unarmed men in suspicious circumstances, according to a BBC investigation.

Newly obtained military reports suggest that one unit may have unlawfully killed 54 people in one six-month tour.

The BBC found evidence suggesting the former head of special forces failed to pass on evidence to a murder inquiry.

The Ministry of Defence said British troops "served with courage and professionalism in Afghanistan".

The BBC understands that General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith, the former head of UK Special Forces, was briefed about the alleged unlawful killings but did not pass on the evidence to the Royal Military Police, even after the RMP began a murder investigation into the SAS squadron.

General Carleton-Smith, who went on to become head of the Army before stepping down last month, declined to comment for this story.

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Prince Charles's charitable fund got a million pound donation from Osama Bin Laden's half-brothers in 2013.

Britain’s Prince Charles is facing more questions over his charities after a newspaper reported that one of his funds accepted a 1 million pound ($1.2 million) donation from relatives of Osama bin Laden.

The Sunday Times reported that the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund received the money in 2013 from Bakr bin Laden, patriarch of the large and wealthy Saudi family, and his brother Shafiq. Both are half-brothers of the former al-Qaida leader, who was killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan in 2011.

The newspaper said advisers had urged the heir to the throne not to take the donation.

Charles’ Clarence House office disputed that but confirmed the donation had been made. It said the decision to accept the money was taken by the charity’s trustees, not the prince, and “thorough due diligence was undertaken in accepting this donation.”

The fund’s chairman, Ian Cheshire, also said the donation was agreed “wholly” by the five trustees at the time, and “any attempt to suggest otherwise is misleading and inaccurate.”