The Week - UK (2021-02-06)

NEWS 5

Stansted, Essex

“No case to answer”:Fifteenhuman rights activists whobroke

into Stansted Airport in 2017to stop adeportationflight have

wonanappeal againsttheir convictions. Inanon-violentprotest,

the “Stansted 15” lockedthemselves together on therunwayto

prevent therepatriation of 57detaineestoGhana andNigeria.

They were convicted the followingyearofe ndangering thesafety

of an aerodrome–aterror-relatedoffence that carriesamaximum

term oflife in prison.However,in ajudgment handed down last

Friday, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, said the

protesters shouldnot have been ch arge dwith thatoffence,

becausetheir conduct “did notsatisfy” itsvarious elements.

“Intruth, ”headded,they had“no case to answer.”

Belfast

Post-Brexitthreats:Inspectionsofanimals and animal-basedfood

productsat Larneand Belfastportsweresuspended onMonday

amidconcernsforthesafetyof theofficialscarryingoutthe

post-Brexit checks. ThePoliceServiceof NorthernIrelandhad

previouslywarned thatthetermsoftheNorthernIrelandprotocol

–which keeps theprovince withinthe singlemarke t–were

causing discontentin loyalistcommunitiesin particular. It said

the “signals” includedcommentsonsocial media,but alsothe

appearance of new graffiti referring to the IrishSea border, and

describing port staffas“targets”. Staff hadalso reportedseeing

“suspiciousactivity”around theports,includingpeople

apparentlytaking down theircarnumberplates.

The UK at aglance

6February 2021 THE WEEK

Edinburgh

Backtoschool:NicolaSturgeonhasannouncedaphased

reopeningofschoolsforScotland’syoungestschoolchildren.The

FirstMinistertoldMSPsonTuesdaythatnursery-agechildren,

andthoseinprimaryyears 1 -3wouldreturnfrom 22 February

–assumingcoronavirusratescontinuetofall.Sheaddedthatthere

wouldalsobeaverylimitedreturnforseniorpupilstoallowfor

thepracticalworknecessaryforsomecourses.Butshewarned

adultswouldhavetolivewithrestrictionsforlonger:thecurrent

lockdownwillremaininplaceatleastuntiltheendofthemonth,

whiletravellersarrivingfromoutsidetheUKwillbesubjecttoa

“managedquarantine”systemtopreventnewstrainsofthevirus

fromreachingScotland.Sturgeonalsoconfirmed6 10 ,7 78 Scots

hadsofarreceivedtheirfirstdoseofaCovidvaccine,andthat the

countrywasontracktovaccinateallover-70sbymid-February.

Whitehaven,Cumbria

Mineobjection:TheGovernmenthasbeenrebukedbyitsown

climatechangeadvisersforallowingtheconstructionoftheUK’s

firstdeepcoalminein 30 years.Thecolliery,nearWhitehaven,is

scheduledtoextract2.78milliontonnesofcokingcoalayearfor

useinsteelproduction.Itsadvocatespointoutthatitwillcreate

500 jobsdirectly,and 2 ,000moreinthesupplychain;andthat

theUKcannotproducesteelwithoutcokingcoal.Cumbria

CountyCouncilapproveditlastyear,andCommunitiesSecretary

RobertJenrickdeclinedtointervene.ButlastSaturday,Lord

Deben,chairoftheClimate Change Committee,saidthat

Jenrick’sfailure tocallinthe planforfurtherscrutinygave

a“negativeimpressionoftheUK’sclimate priorities”.

Manchester

Racist abuse:Manchesterpolice have

launchedan investigation intotheonline

racist abusethatwas levelledat several

blackfootballerslastweek.ManUnited’s

MarcusRashford(right) describedthe

abuse hehadreceived,followinghis

matchagainstArsenalon3 0 January,as

“humanityandsocialmediaatitsworst”,

butdeclinedto makeitpublic,saying

“Ihave beautifulchildrenof allcolours

followingmeandtheydon’tneedtoread

it”.Chelsea’sReeceJamesand West

Brom’sRomaineSawyers werealsotargeted. CultureSecretary

Oliver Dowdenhas vowed todo more totackle the problem.

London

Diggingin:The veteran eco-warrior Dan Hooper (akaSwampy)

and his16-year-oldsonwereamong nine ac tivist sholed upin a

tunnel outsideEuston Station this week, as partofacampaign to

highlightthe numberofwoodlandsthat will be destroyedduring

the construction of HS2. ActivistshadbeencampedoutinEuston

Square Gardens,nearthe plannedterminus, for months, during

whichtime they secretlydug a100ft tunnelnetwork. Agroup

occupied itlast week, andsaid they werereadytostay therefor

the“long haul”–despite attemptsby HS2’s bailiffs to evict

them.There have beenanumber of collapses, andtheyhave been

warned theycoul dsuffoca te or dr own. Hoopersaid he’d triedto

dissuadehisson fromjoini ng him in thetunnel,to no avail.

Coventry

Urbanairport:Theworld’sfirst

urbanairportspecificallyfor

cargodronesand“flyingcars”

(verticaltake-offandlanding

vehicles)istoopeninCoventry

laterthisyear,aspartofitsUK

CityofCulturecelebrations.

Theairport,knownasAir

One,isonlytemporary:itwill

beusedtodemonstratehowair-taxisandthelikewouldfunction

inbuilt-upenvironments;butthefirmbehindithopeseventually

tocreateapermanentfacilityinCoventry–andtorolloutthe

concepttocitiesworldwide.Theprojectwasawardeda£1.2m

governmentgrant,andisalsobeingbackedbyHyundai.

©U

RBAN AIR PORT/SWNS