8pm WATCH
3pm Local Government: Vote purple, go red: UKIP put in a Labour council leader in Norfolk
2.15pm ToryDiary: Isolationists must bear some blame for Syria's bloody collapse – and the risk it poses to Britain
2pm Patrick Cusworth on Comment: "Refusing to bow to intimidation, Chen exposed systematic forced abortions and
sterilisations carried out under the China’s infamous one-child policy. For this,
he was sentenced to four years imprisonment." Chen Guangcheng – a hero for our times.
1.15pm Local Government: How can councils defeat the merchants of hate?
Noon Local Government: Complaint against Stephen Greenhalgh rejected
Two posts on the Woolwich murder lead ConservativeHome:
ToryDiary: Cameron's response to Woolwich was right
Tameena Hussain on Comment: The Woolwich murder was not, repeat not, caused by Islam
Iain Dale's Weekly Friday Diary: What on earth is happening to the Bow Group?
Local Government: Sorting out the Troubled Families
The Deep End: Heresy of the week – The real reason why we didn’t win in 2010
WATCH: Obama heckled over drones
Woolwich 1) The police and security services had the murderers on their radar. Cameron pledges two separate investigations.
"David Cameron said there would be a full investigation by the Security and Intelligence Committee after it emerged that both of the attackers were known to the police and MI5, but neither was assessed as a major security risk. The Telegraph has learnt that six years ago Adebolajo was arrested after being involved in violent protests by extremists outside the Old Bailey." – Daily Telegraph
Woolwich 2) Adebolajo was prevented from travelling to Somalia to fight alongside Islamist terrorists
“One of the pair – Michael Adebolajo – was so high
profile he was photographed outside Paddington Green police station six years
ago behind notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary. He was even intercepted by
officials as he attempted to travel to Somalia to fight alongside Islamist
terrorists last year. It also emerged that Adebolajo was a violent ex-prisoner
who was a member of a banned terrorist group” – Daily
Mail
Woolwich 3) The murder victim was Lee Rigby
"Drummer Rigby's family, friends and colleagues today spoke about
their shock and sadness at the loss of a young man who “would help
anyone if he could.” Born in Crumpsall in Manchester, Drummer Rigby had joined 2nd
Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in 2006 and was an
enthusiastic and accomplished member of the Corps of Drums and,
alongside his infantry duties, remained passionately interested in
music with an equal passion for Manchester United." – The Independent
Woolwich 4) “Copycat”
terror alert as MoD increases security at bases
"The terrorist murder of a soldier outside his
barracks could be followed by copycat attacks, the Prime Minister was warned
yesterday. MI5 and Scotland Yard chiefs told a meeting of the Government’s
Cobra emergency committee that other Islamist extremists would seek to
replicate the killing…Security at
bases and military installations around the country has been stepped up. ‘The big concern we have is that this could very
easily be copied,’ a security source said. ‘This is the sort of thing that can
go from flash to bang in a very short time’”– The
Times (£)
Woolwich 5) Attacks
on Muslims spike after murder
"The Tell Mama co-ordinator Fiyaz Mughal, from Faith Matters, said the service usually recorded three or four incidents on an average day, but the spike after Wednesday's killing reflected simmering resentment against Muslims and was unlikely to fizzle out…A 43-year-old man was being questioned on Thursday on suspicion of attempted arson and possession of an offensive weapon at a mosque in Braintree, Essex." – The Guardian
Woolwich 6): Warsi urges media not to build up Choudary
"TV stations should not give airtime to preachers of hate who are ‘idiots and nutters’, a leading minister said last night. Baroness Warsi spoke out amid a growing furore at Westminster about the amount of coverage given to Anjem Choudary and other militant Islamists on the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 News." – Daily Mail
> Today:
> Yesterday:
Simon Jenkins: This echo
chamber of mass hysteria only aids terrorists
“We will not buckle to terrorism said David Cameron after
the Woolwich murder on Wednesday. He then buckled. Everyone buckled. The home
secretary buckled, the defence secretary buckled, the communities secretary
buckled, the mayor of London buckled, the chief of police buckled, the press
buckled, the BBC summoned its senior editors and they buckled. Everyone
buckled. The first question in any war – terrorism is allegedly a war – is to
ask what the enemy most wants you to do. The Woolwich killers wanted publicity
for their crime available nowadays at the click of a mobile phone. They got it
in buckets”- Simon Jenkins, The Guardian
Obama details
drone policy in speech outlining counter-terrorism policy
“Special courts would be asked to decide on targeted
assassinations of terrorism suspects under a clutch of new legal checks
proposed by Barack Obama to bring an end to the notion of a ‘boundless war on
terror’.
The president, who currently has to personally sign off on targeted
drone strikes outside the US, hopes the increased oversight will help bring his
controversial programme of killings out of the legal shadows. He also proposed
that a smaller number of drone attacks in the future would be carried out
primarily by the US military rather than the CIA, having first passed a new
test to ensure that alternative options have been exhausted” – Guardian
Immigration
falls to lowest level in a decade
“Net immigration fell to 153,000 in the 12 months to September last year. That compares to a net influx of 242,000 in the previous 12 months. In total, 500,000 arrived in the UK compared with the previous figure of 581,000 while numbers leaving rose from 339,000 to 347,000 – a net fall of 89,000 people. Yesterday, campaigners for tighter border controls welcomed the drop. Sir Andrew Green, chairman of the pressure group MigrationWatch UK, said: ‘The latest immigration figures are very good news.” – Daily Express
Question
marks over loyalty of ministers to Cameron
“In particular, Mr Cameron’s allies detect a ‘pattern
of behaviour’ from Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, after he strongly
criticised the EU, gay marriage and proposed defence cuts. Some Tories
speculate that the 57-year-old Mr Hammond, who was previously considered
somewhat grey and ultraloyal, might even quit rather than implement further
cuts to the armed forces, setting himself up as a leader of the Tory right." – Financial
Times
Philip Collins: Tories should
not be prisoners of tradition
“Unless we are able stand apart from the
institutions to which we belong and demand that we can leave (or in the case of
gay marriage, enter), then we are not formed by an institution, we are trapped
in it. Traditions are not always right and the reason that the rights of man is
a necessary idea is exactly so that individuals can make their claims against
vested power” – Philip Collins, The
Times (£)
Fear of racial
backlash allowed child sex abuse to continue
“An abject failure of local authority leadership
that exposed girls to years of exploitation by an organised street-grooming
network is disclosed in a review of the Rochdale child sex scandal published
today.The independent report reveals that senior officers on Rochdale council knew
of concerns that local children were being used and sold for sex but did not
take adequate measures to protect them.' – The Times
(£)
Let hospitals go bust, says watchdog
“The NHS must learn from the airlines, telecoms
and energy markets in using competition to improve services, the head of the
Office of Fair Trading said yesterday. Hospitals should be allowed to go bust
and ministers must stop bailing them out or risk discouraging innovative
organisations from offering alternatives, Clive Maxwell said. Mr Maxwell used a
speech in London to say that market forces could encourage NHS bodies to ‘raise
their game’ and produce better services.” – The Times
(£)
News in brief
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