- The Guardian Saturday 3 August 2019
50Politics
Campbell says he no longer
wishes to be in LabourHealth
Scientists triple estimate
of UK Lyme disease casesHong Kong
Fury as dozens accused of
rioting face long jail termsTerrorism
Death of Bin Laden son
and al-Qaida heir reportedWeather
Rain and fl oods bring
chaos across the northMany areas in the north
of England were plunged
into chaos on Wednesday
and Thursday as severe
downpours led to fl ooding.
A bridge in Grinton in
the Yorkshire Dales that
was to form part of the
men’s road cycling World
Championship race route
in September collapsed
and a major incident was
declared in Poynton, Cheshire,
where thunderstorms and
downpours forced drivers to
abandon their vehicles and
caused damage to property.
The wet weather also
caused rail disruption on the
line between Manchester
airport and Wilmslow early on
Thursday.
Residents of Whaley
Bridge, Derbyshire, were told
to leave their homes and
make arrangements to stay
with friends or family “for a
number of days” after severe
downpours in recent days
damaged the dam holding
back the Toddbrook reservoir,
leaving it at risk of collapse. The bridge
near Grinton was
meant to be on
the route of the
cycling World
Championships
DANNY LAWSON/PAAlastair Campbell , the former No 10
director of communications under
Tony Blair, has said that he no longer
wants to be a Labour member, saying
Jeremy Corbyn is poised to lose the
next election against Boris Johnson
and destroy the party “as a political
force capable of winning power”.
Campbell was expelled from the
party after revealing he had voted
Liberal Democrat in the European
elections. He had been appealing
against the decision but has now
written to Corbyn saying: “With
some sadness but absolute certainty,
I have reached the conclusion that
I no longer wish to stay in the party,
even if I should be successful in my
appeal or legal challenge.”
The campaigner for a “people’s
vote” wrote a lengthy missive to
Corbyn, part-published in the
Guardian , setting out his view
that the party will not win against
Johnson, who he says is “embarked
on a crash and burn strategy”
designed to win a mandate for hard
Brexit. Labour has changed its policy
to call for a second referendum on
any deal and avoid no deal, but some
MPs are still pushing for a more
unequivocally pro-remain position.
Cases of Lyme disease in the UK may
be three times higher than previous
estimates, according to new research
released on Wednesday.
After analysing the anonymous
medical records of 8.4 million
people from across the UK, scientists
forecast that the total number of
Lyme disease diagnoses in the UK
could top 8,000 in 2019, compared
with previous estimates of between
2,000 and 3,000 annual diagnoses.
Lyme disease is a bacterial
infection passed on through being
bitten by an infected tick. The small
spider-like creatures feed off the
blood of animals and are typically
found in dense, moist vegetation.
The research, published in BMJ
Open, found that half of cases
occurred between June and August.A pilot, a nurse and several teenage
students were among 40 people who
appeared in a Hong Kong courtroom
on Wednesday charged with rioting
over their role in mass protests that
have convulsed the city since June.
They face up to 10 years in prison.
Anger at the potential heavy
sentences brought hundreds of
demonstrators to the courtroom
doors in support of the group inside,
chanting “revolution of our time”
and “liberate Hong Kong”.
Rights groups warned that the riot
charge and heavy-handed policing
showed a “fl agrant disregard” of
city residents’ rights and appeared
aimed mostly at stifl ing dissent, as
authorities grapple with the worst
political crisis since the handover
from British rule in 1997.The threat of rioting charges has
been a source of anger since the
protest movement began in early
June, but this is the fi rst time they
have been deployed.
“By using such vague charges
against pro-democracy protesters,
the Hong Kong authorities seem
intent on sending a chilling warning
to anyone considering taking
part in future protests,” Amnesty
International said.
Hong Kong law defi nes rioting
as the unlawful assembly of threeor more people, where any person
“commits a breach of the peace”.
The arrests were made over
peaceful protests at the weekend
that turned violent, with police
using teargas and rubber bullets
against demonstrators who hurled
umbrellas, rocks, eggs and gas
canisters back at offi cers.
On Thursday, China released
a video showing off its army’s
capabilities as the head of the armed
forces in Hong Kong said the unrest
had seriously threatened the safety
of the people and should not be
tolerated. The commander of the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
garrison in Hong Kong warned it
was “determined to protect national
sovereignty, security, stability and
the prosperity of Hong Kong”.
The PLA chief also gave his
“fi rm” support to Hong Kong’s chief
executive, Carrie Lam, as well as
to the Hong Kong police force for
“rigorously enforcing the law”.Osama bin Laden’s son Hamza,
who was trying to lead an al-Qaida
resurgence, is believed to have been
killed some time over the past two
years, it was reported on Wednesday
by NBC news and the New York
Times. Reports said the US had a
hand in the death of the al-Qaida
heir, thought to have been in his 30s.
Hamza bin Laden had been
seeking to stage attacks on western
targets with the aim of restoring
al-Qaida’s status at the vanguard of
extreme jihadist groups, after many
years of decline. He was thought
to have been based in Pakistan’s
tribal areas, along the border with
Afghanistan. He is the son of Osama
bin Laden and Khairiah Sabar , one
of the former al-Qaida leader’s three
surviving wives.▲ Hong Kong police fi re teargas at
protesters in Sai Wan last weekendThe week
that was
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