London
Jewish Londoners Slam Government Advisor’s ‘No-Go Zone’ Claim About Pro-Palestine Marches
Many Jewish Londoners have slapped down a Government advisor’s claim that London is now a “no-go zone for Jews” during the weekly pro-Palestine marches.
Calling for tougher action against the Palestine protests, Government anti-extremism tsar Robin Simcox told the Telegraph: “We will not have become an authoritarian state if London is no longer permitted to be turned into a no-go zone for Jews every weekend... All these things and more have become normalised in the UK."
His comments dominated the paper’s Friday front page and led the BBC's agenda.
BBC Radio 4 reported that Simcox – a self-described ‘neoconservative’ – declined to appear on the show on Friday morning to answer questions about his claim.
Responding to his comments, Green London Assembly Member Zack Polanski, who is Jewish, replied: “I've been on plenty of Palestine marches – and spoken at them– and as a Jewish person have felt completely safe. Whilst I don't doubt there are fearful people in our Jewish communities, headlines like this which serve to stoke fear and tension, are utterly irresponsible.”
Polanski told Byline Times that he has worked closely with Jewish organisations such as Na'mod, which marches for a ceasefire and Palestinian human rights.
“[They] are bringing Jewish voices against the occupation together and have been excellent in demonstrating the growing Jewish movement that is utterly horrified by what we're seeing unfold in Gaza,” he said.
“I've been and spoken at their rallies also and there's an absolute feeling of what else can we do now to make a ceasefire happen when politicians from the two old parties are looking away?
"It feels like stoking up stories of no-go zones are a huge distraction from our complicity in the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."
Simcox previously worked for the Henry Jackson Society think tank.
One of its founders, Matthew Jamison, wrote in 2017 that he was ashamed of his involvement and that it had allegedly become “a far-right, deeply anti-Muslim, racist... propaganda outfit to smear other cultures, religions and ethnic groups". Jamison and organisations, such as the Muslim Council of Britain, have claimed that the HJS has “relentlessly demonise[s] Muslims and Islam" – a claim the group denies.
Another Jewish Londoner, Rachell Penn, said she was “so sick to death of this idea that Jews think in a singular way”.
“From ultra orthodox to secular, and from right-wing to left-wing, we have so many different views, yet are patronised in the media as being incapable of different views.
"I march with the Jewish bloc some weeks, and the very warm welcome it gets week in and week out is heart-warming. This is how peace will be achieved, not this culture war bullsh*t. Once again Jews are being used as a political football by politicians."
Ben Samuel, a Jewish Londoner from Edgware, has been in central London regularly to take part in the marches. He has marched with the Jewish bloc, in all weathers.
While he says he’s witnessed a change in London since the 7 October attacks, and rising fears over security, he has felt safe at the marches.
“I have monitored the situation closely by talking with Jewish neighbours and those at my synagogue," he told Byline Times. "In fact, synagogue has been a no-go zone for my black Jewish friend… The police presence has made the situation intolerable.”
He said another Jewish friend has felt uncomfortable at the atmosphere within her synagogue since October.
“At the end of [a] service the decision was made to sing Hatikvah, the national anthem of Israel," he added. "Just the whole atmosphere made her uncomfortable so she bravely [spoke] at the Bimah (pulpit), acknowledging Palestine in her talk. It's the first time I've ever heard the P word in that communal setting."
Samuel says he has been taken off door duty for his synagogue since October – he believes it may have been triggered by his pro-Palestine views.
And while he has witnessed antisemitism and protest signs which “crassly reference the Holocaust”, media portrayals of the Palestine demonstrations do not present “the full picture”.
“I think it's vital that voices like mine are represented in the media reports,” he added. Samuel will continue to join the Jewish Bloc at the pro-ceasefire protests.
Green activist Lesley Grahame, based in Norwich, said: “I once hid my matzos in a shopping trolley in case anyone associated me with the massacres. Nobody did. I support the ceasefire marches in Norwich and London. Yes, it's uncomfortable, but nothing to the life/death/grief/terror in the remains of Gaza.”
Matthew Butcher, a Jewish Londoner and progressive activist, said: “I am [Jewish] and it's just extraordinarily irresponsible for the Government advisor to say this. I'll be in central London feeling just fine I'd say.”
Non-profit policy worker James Ingram argued that Jews appeared to be “useful” to Simcox’s worldview and this his comments were "damaging and exclusionary”.
However, another Jewish London, Nicole Lampert, said she and her Jewish family were fearful on Saturdays “when there are people with antisemitic placards and people singing for the destruction of the only Jewish state”.
“I note there are no calls for peace or the return of the hostages on these demos (apart from the Jewish bloc),” she added.
“Jewish people were already at a low level of fear before all of this because of the multiple threats against us. We don’t have security guards outside our schools, nurseries and synagogues for fun but because of all the death threats – and we’ve seen in France, Belgium etc. how these attacks will be carried out. That also has to be taken into account."
Writer Tanya Gold said the claim that London was a “no-go zone” was “absurd”, but added that certain parts of the marches – “anywhere where hostage posters are repeatedly defaced – feel threatening to Jews who are not anti-Zionist: i.e., most of us”.
Gold said that, while the marches haven’t erupted into violence and probably won't, “the demonisation of Israel – and with it, Jews who don't denounce Israel – feels appallingly familiar. In the mediaeval period, Jews were god-killers, demonic beings, and inhuman. You can hear very clear echoes of that language now. That is what terrifies us, and I think that fear is rational.”
Responding to Byline Times’ call for views on Simcox's comments, Francis Freeman claimed that some Jewish friends “no longer go on the marches because of the increase in antisemitic hate”.
Another Jewish respondent, Rebecca Trenner, added: “I don't go into [central] London on Saturdays because I feel threatened. I won't take my children to central London on protest days – many friends agree.”
Rabbi Zvi Solomons, who lives in Reading and often comes to London, said he has faced antisemitic behaviour (though not necessarily on the marches). He told Byline Times: “I am street savvy and have had two or three occasions when a young man has approached me from behind, in a menacing manner, whilst I’m walking down the road. They saw my kippa. I turned to avoid the situation becoming threatening to me."
Do you have a story that needs highlighting? Get in touch by emailing josiah@bylinetimes.com
Excl: new Unite chief of staff ‘threatens London sec with loss of pension bonus’ for Gaza support
No denial from new official appointed by Graham without exec interview
Unite’s new ‘chief of staff’ has been accused by party insiders in London of threatening the union’s London regional secretary with the loss of a discretionary pension bonus if he did not pull back from his support for Palestinians in Gaza against Israel’s genocide.
Sarah Carpenter – who sources say was appointed by general secretary Sharon Graham without the position being advertised and without the approval of Unite’s elected executive, to their and members’ fury – has been accused of making the threat to regional secretary Peter Kavanagh.
Ms Carpenter,
According to Unite sources, you threatened Pete Kavanagh with the loss of his pension bonus if he didn’t back off from his support of Gaza… The sources say that you did this at the behest of Sharon Graham.
If you have any comment or denial to make in respect of this, please provide it no later than 2pm, Weds 6 March. They also say that the position you now hold was not advertised for applications. Is this correct?
Twenty-two hours after the press deadline, no response has been received.
Sarah Carpenter was accused last year – as Southern regional secretary – by members of banning showings of the film ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn/The Big Lie’, which exposes the sabotage of Corbyn’s Labour by the party’s hard right and the use of antisemitism smears as part of the sabotage campaign. Pro-Israel lobby group CAA claimed credit for her decision and Sharon Graham’s wider move to ban showings of the film and readings of Asa Winstanley’s book ‘Weaponising Antisemitism/How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn’.
As well as the ban of the book and film from all Unite buildings, Graham was accused of trying to force the cancellation of a pro-Palestine fringe meeting at Labour’s conference last October. The bid failed when the event’s organiser, international director Simon Dubbins, told Graham’s proxies that she’d have to come and tell him herself if she wanted the event off. Unite has now placed Dubbins under investigation.
Graham has also been condemned by Unite members for her public silence over the Gaza slaughter. Members are planning to picket the union executive’s next meeting, which takes place next week.
One Unite source told Skwawkbox of the anger of elected executive members over the latest move:
Pete Kavanagh the Regional Secretary was called up and threatened by Sharon’s new hatchet woman Sarah Carpenter that he backs off supporting Palestine or they would take away his retirement bonus. Pete is due to retire and apparently there is some leavers bonus that is discretionary.
The chief of staff post was not advertised nor was the job interviewed by Executive council. Members are furious.
Unite operates ‘discretionary enhanced pension’ scheme that allows staff to retire five years early without losing pension entitlement they would have had if they worked until full retirement age. A proposal was floated by Graham in 2022 to end this scheme and force staff to work until sixty-five for their full pension and consulted on the change in early 2023, but this does not appear to have been enacted, at least yet, and entitlement under this scheme seems to be what was referred to in the alleged threat.
Kavanagh retired last month.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Sylvester McCoy Plays The Spoons On Colin Baker And Bonnie Langford
Sylvester McCoy plays the Spoons on Colin Baker and Bonnie Langford during the Doctor Who panel for London Comic Con (Spring).
150 British Jews tell Met top cop: you’re racist assuming we all support Israel
Letter from anti-racist Jews denounces Establishment’s treatment of anti-genocide marches as antisemitic
One hundred and fifty British Jews have written to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley denouncing the police (and government) treatment of marches against Israel’s genocide in Gaza as if they are antisemitic. The letter reads:
We Reject Your Insinuation That The Marches Against Genocide in Gaza Represent a Threat to Jews or the Jewish Community and Suggest that It Is Not the Business of the Police to Intervene in Ongoing Political Debates
We the undersigned, being Jewish, wish to support and join a complaint against the Metropolitan Police, for their racist and anti-Semitic assumption that all Britain’s Jews support Israel’s genocidal attacks on Gaza.
We further believe that the decision of the Metropolitan, Police to delay the starting time of the March Against Genocide in Gaza on 17 Feb. 24 from 12.00 to 1.30 pm ‘to accommodate an event at a synagogue along the route’ is lslamophobic, based as it is on the assumption that the large numbers of Muslims taking part pose a threat to Jews worshipping in congregations nearby.
Your decision to delay the start of the march rested u~on the assumption that there is something inherently anti-Semitic about supporting the Palestinians and that anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism.
The Met’s decision ignores the fact that many thousands of British Jews have already taken part in such marches without feeling threatened in any way. Indeed the march has started from Marble Arch on at least two previous occasions recently without any anti-Semitic incidents.
We are tired of the Police’s racist and anti-Semitic assumption that to be Jewish is to support Zionism and Israel’s racist and genocidal treatment of the Palestinians. There are many thousands of Jews who are active in the Palestine solidarity movement and we resent your assumptions to the contrary.
The letter is signed by:
The letter’s publication comes amid a flurry of racist and Islamophobic comments by government and opposition politicians, with the help of their media allies, aimed at smearing those who object to mass murder as racist – and the arrest of three left-wing protesters in Newham on the nonsensical basis that booing and hissing a supporter of Israel is antisemitic.
The Establishment is determined to suppress free speech against Israel and its war crimes, and to ignore the blatant racism involved in the assumptions it uses to try to justify those attacks. Anti-racist Jews in the UK and the US know better.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Starmer challenger calls for new left mass movement outside Labour Party
Former ANC MP and arms trade campaigner will address activists from around UK tomorrow at Collective launch – and poses real threat to friend-of-genocide ‘Labour’ leader
Andrew Feinstein, former ANC MP under Nelson Mandela and leading critic of the global arms trade, will use a speech this weekend to endorse a new political alliance billed as the foundation of the first organised mass movement of the left outside of the Labour Party.
Feinstein’s speech will be the centrepiece of a conference called by dozens of former Labour councillors and other independent candidates. The event will take place in ‘Labour’ leader Keir Starmer’s home constituency of Holborn and St Pancras in London.
Feinstein, who has lived in the constituency for more than two decades since moving to the UK, has already signalled his willingness to stand against Starmer as an independent candidate and has been selected as candidate by the OCISA anti-Starmer group, attracting a groundswell of support both locally and nationally.
Local campaigners say there is real vulnerability in Starmer’s majority, established under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the party, especially given the controversies embroiling Labour over the war in Gaza. Starmer looks even more vulnerable after yesterday’s landslide victory for Workers Party GB leader George Galloway in Rochdale and the collapse of Labour’s vote from over 50% to less than 8%, with Starmer’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza a major driver.
The new movement – dubbed ‘Collective’ – has been established following months of deliberation amongst grassroots campaign groups and prospective independent candidates for both council and parliamentary elections. Though it is not establishing a new party in time to contest this year’s election, it intends to do so onceit has grown a mass membership base.
Feinstein said:
It’s not just Labour Party members who were the victims of Starmer’s entirely fictitious campaign for leadership of the party. The people of Holborn and St Pancras also elected him twice on a socialist platform under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn. Having lived in the constituency for over 20 years, I’ve been overwhelmed by the support and strength of feeling amongst local communities – and across the country – who are crying out for a response to the deeply corrupt, anti-democratic and out of touch Labour Party under Starmer. Under his leadership, the party has now completely abandoned working people and marginalised communities in an escalating effort to out-Tory the Tories.
But this election must do more than just provide an alternative to the pro-genocide, pro-austerity Sunak-Starmer circus. It must also mark the beginnings of a new mass movement of working people that can challenge the Westminster bubble once and for all. That’s why I’m proud to be joining Collective which is uniting sections of the left and will eventually transform into a new political party backed by an organised and democratic movement.
Feinstein also clarified regarding his parliamentary candidacy;
I have not declared that I am definitely standing. I’ve indicated my willingness to do so but am still consulting widely inside and outside the constituency.
Second, I believe that a new grassroots movement, built out of the extraordinary solidarity for Gaza, a rejection of permanent austerity, and the sclerotic, corrupt and elitist nature of establishment politics, is essential. The form that takes will be decided amongst people at the grassroots – a movement for the people, of the people and by the people.
Saturday’s event is about the councillors who have taken a stand against the indefensible role that the UK government and the Labour Party have taken in support of the genocide in Gaza.
Collective spokesperson Pamela Fitzpatrick, independent candidate for Harrow West:
Our political system – and now the Labour Party itself – is fundamentally anti-democratic and rigged against new parties, especially on the left. The only way to address this is to build a mass movement outside of the Labour Party as a foundation for a new political party that is truly free of vested interests and which can offer a real alternative to the pro-austerity and pro-war two party system. All around the country, independent candidates have and are coming forward to fight this election on a common platform calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a real pay rise and decent housing for all, higher taxes for the rich, an end to privatisation of the NHS, and an end to unnecessary and unjust war. That is the foundation which Collective will build on, and eventually transform into a political party that will change the face of British politics.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Met confirms arrest of Gaza protester at Thornberry’s office
Outrage among activists at anti-genocide protest
The Metropolitan Police Service has confirmed the arrest of a protester on Monday night at what outraged other protesters have said was a lively but entirely peaceful protest, outside the Islington office of Shadow Attorney Emily Thornberry, against Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the Labour regime’s support for it.
A Met spokesperson told Skwawkbox that a woman had been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred and bailed ‘pending further investigations’:
A small demonstration was held in Islington High Street during the evening of Monday, 26 February. A woman was arrested at the scene on suspicion of inciting racial hatred. She was taken into custody and later released on bail pending further enquiries. Next due on a date in April.
Protesters against genocide and for the human rights of Palestinians have been demonised by politicians and supporters of Israel for supposed ‘hate speech’ since Israel’s slaughter of civilians in Gaza and the West Bank accelerated after the Hamas raid and the Israel military’s well-known – but ignored by the UK ‘mainstream’ media and politicians – killing of ‘immense’ numbers of its own citizens. The Tory government, aided by ‘opposition leader’ Keir Starmer, have continued to attack the civil rights of the UK people to protest.
Right-wing MPs, along with pro-Israel campaigners, continue to call for tougher police action against demonstrators, despite the overwhelmingly peaceful nature of protests.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Conservative Mayoral Candidate Susan Hall’s Council is Hiking Tax by the Maximum Legal Amount – But She’s Skipping the Vote
The council that London Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall sits on is set to hike council tax by the maximum legal amount.
At a Harrow Council meeting tonight (Thursday), the majority Conservative council is in line to put up council tax by the maximum 5%, raking in an extra £7.69m for the local authority’s coffers.
Susan Hall sits on the council and chairs the planning committee. She told Byline Times she would not be attending the vote - the first full council meeting she’s missed in 18 years, according to the mayoral hopeful. She would not comment further.
Hall has frequently attacked Sadiq Khan for putting up council tax at a Greater London Authority level, as have Conservatives across the capital.
Hall is also in line for a bumper 35% increase in her councillor allowance. Her large increase is because she chairs the licensing committee, which Byline Times understands meets just once a year. Her ‘special responsibility allowance’ is currently £2,500 a year, but is set to rise to £4,382.
A Labour source said: “I’m sure she would practise what she preaches” and oppose the council tax rise.
The councillor allowance hikes are backed by the opposition Labour group.
Speaking to Byline Times, Cllr Susan Hall AM said: “I’m not going to comment on [council] tax...It’s the first meeting I’ve missed in 18 years. I can be forgiven for missing one.”
On the councillor allowance hike, Hall added: “I've got thoughts on that, of course I do, it's just who I share them with.”
She discussed the “dislike” for Sadiq Khan on the doorstep, particularly in outer London over the expanded Ultra Low Emissions Zone charge for the most polluting vehicles.
Hall said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. [On ULEZ] lots have finance on cars that don’t comply. You scrap it and still owe the money. The price of second hand cars has gone up hugely. ULEZ is a lot of money paid by some of the poorest people.”
Council tax is also a regressive charge, with hikes typically hitting the poorest hardest.
In a budget document ahead of the meeting, Harrow council officials write: “Harrow remains one of the lowest funded Councils both within London and nationally. The Council does not benefit from large reserves compared with other London Boroughs and is at the lower end of the lower quartile for reserve balances held.
“Over the last 10 years, up to 2024/25, the Council’s revenue support grant has reduced from £50.5m to £2.2m. The Council does receive other grant funding to support services, in 2023/24 this totalled £375m. However, these grants are all ring fenced to areas of activity and cannot be used to support the core budget, for example the Dedicated Schools Grant of £152m.
“The Council does not receive specific funding to meet demographic growth and demand led pressures. In addition, inflation has increased significantly creating unfunded budget pressures.
“For many years Council Tax has been increased to just below the referendum limits and full use has been made of the Adults Social Care Precept, both of which were in line with central government expectations.
“The impact of this is that the Council is heavily reliant on Council Tax to fund its core services. In 2023/24 78% of the Council’s net revenue budget of £196.4m is funded from Council Tax.”
The Conservative council budget note also complains that the cost of the 2023/24 pay rise for staff is £7.2m, and “therefore this left very little funding available for other demand pressures that have emerged in adult services, and other inflationary pressures.”
Councillor allowances however allowances appear to be rising above inflation.
The budget council tax hike can be viewed here.
Do you have a story that needs highlighting? Get in touch by emailing josiah@bylinetimes.com
Clean Air Activists Accuse London Mayor Sadiq Khan of ‘Burying’ his Controversial Silvertown Tunnel Project as Election Nears
Anti-pollution campaigners have pledged to make a huge new vehicle-only river crossing in east London an election issue for Labour’s Sadiq Khan, as he tries to secure an unprecedented third term as Mayor this May.
Activists have expressed frustration with Transport for London (TfL – chaired by the Mayor) and the Mayor's Office for “repeatedly refusing to answer basic questions” regarding the climate and pollution impacts of the so-called Silvertown Tunnel, which is set to connect the London boroughs of Greenwich and Newham next spring.
It has led some anti-pollution activists to believe that Khan is trying to hide or downplay what constitutes his biggest infrastructure project as Mayor.
The Mayor, who has staked much of his mayoralty on reducing air pollution, rarely issues statements about the tunnel and has rarely visited it during construction – compared to frequent media events ahead of the new Elizabeth Line opening in 2022.
A recent letter to TfL and City Hall figures from the Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition, seen by Byline Times, sharply criticised environmental modelling used by TfL for the Silvertown project as unrealistic – accusing the public transport body of concealing the true increase in pollution and CO2 emissions that the project will result in.
Transport for London’s modelling of the pollution impacts of the new tunnel assumes that new tolls will be put in place at both the Silvertown Tunnel and the existing Blackwall Tunnel (thereby limiting traffic demand) – and remain in place indefinitely, despite there being no legal guarantees. Anti-pollution campaigners fear that a future mayor could simply tear up the tolls and lead to a surge in polluting vehicle crossings.
The authors of the letter requested specific information on the real increase in pollution and CO2 emissions from the Silvertown Tunnel in various scenarios, as well as the impact of increased traffic in Newham, but say all requests have been refused.
TfL says it does not have the capacity to conduct new forecasts on the potential pollution impacts.
But Stop the Silvertown Tunnel activists are urging TfL and the Mayor's Office to “respect London's voters” by providing all the information needed for a true assessment of the impact of the Silvertown project.
Existing traffic modelling by TfL suggests that opening the Silvertown Tunnel to general traffic will increase traffic and emissions, regardless of new tolls. That could have major health impacts on communities at either end: Newham and Greenwich. Newham is among the poorest boroughs in London and already struggles with illegal pollution levels from toxic nitrogen dioxide (NOX) and particulate matter.
When opened, the tunnel is expected to direct 20,000 to 30,000 additional vehicles into Newham every day, though TfL insists that as both boroughs are in the expanded Ultra Low Emissions Zone residents are partially protected. However, ULEZ does not actually ban the most polluting vehicles, it simply makes the drivers pay to pollute – suggesting that hundreds of heavy goods vehicles will still clog up the air.
Campaigners say they failed to get a response from Transport for London to their concerns for nearly three months, until Byline Times approached TfL for comment. This week campaigners received a reply from Transport for London, apologising for the delay.
A TfL spokesperson told campaigners: “TfL fully supports the need to keep London electoral candidates and Londoners updated on progress with implementing the Silvertown Tunnel.
"However, TfL must now focus on delivery and can no longer resource further theoretical modelling, given the comprehensive transport studies, quantitative assessments and modelling already undertaken and with findings now in the public domain, including environmental benefits.”
Photo: Anthony Hall/Alamy
“TfL remains both committed to monitoring the Tunnel’s impact and that electoral candidates will have the opportunity to meet and raise questions with TfL this year,” they added.
Dominic Leggett, a spokesperson for the Stop Silvertown Tunnel Coalition, responded by saying: "Tfl and the Mayor are outright refusing to tell candidates, the media, and the public the most basic facts about Silvertown. For example, with or without tolls, opening Silvertown will bring 20-30,000 more vehicles daily into Newham, already London's most polluted borough – and one of its most economically vulnerable.
“We've asked TfL and the Mayor a simple question; how many more tons of dangerous particulates and NOX air pollution will these extra vehicles bring into Newham each year? It's an easy number for them to work out, but they've refused to answer.
“Their refusal is entirely political; they just don't want residents, voters and media to know that Mr Khan's biggest project by far as Mayor, fundamentally undermines his own public health, social justice, air quality and climate policies.”
He added that TfL modelling likely pollution levels under different scenarios was comparatively simple.
Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Rob Blackie told Byline Times that, if he was elected, he would rename it the “Sadiq Khan Motorway” – adding that if Khan is proud of it “he should be delighted by this tribute to his mayoralty”.
Greenwich Green Party activist and London Assembly candidate Karin Tearle added: “Sadiq Khan was responsible for reviewing Silvertown when he became Mayor. And we proposed doing better [pollution] modelling. He hasn’t done that, and he's still not doing it now he’s going into a third term.”
A TfL spokesperson told Byline Times: “The Silvertown Tunnel scheme will address the chronic issues Londoners face at the Blackwall Tunnel as well as provide new cross-river public transport options by zero-emission buses.
“We are committed to delivering an overall improvement in air quality and the introduction of user charging ensures we can effectively manage traffic to achieve this outcome.
"Furthermore, as part of our commitment to making sure this happens, we began a comprehensive programme of monitoring in 2020 and have regularly published reports and monitoring data which helps our understanding of local air quality. Once the tunnel opens in 2025, we will continue to publish reports showing how we are meeting our obligations, or if further changes need to be made.
“We are working hard to ensure that this essential new infrastructure is delivered with minimal impact to local communities and delivers transformative benefits to cross-river travel in east London. We will continue to engage with the local community and monitor traffic, air quality and other factors, both during construction and once the tunnel is open.”
The TfL spokesperson added: “Once open, the crossing, which is within the Ultra-Low Emission Zone and will be subject to a user charge [a toll], will also reduce congestion and improve the reliability and resilience of the Blackwall Tunnel, which will improve overall air quality in the local area.”
Transport for London says that that Silvertown Tunnel will provide a "public transport-focused" river crossing, with zero-emission bus links across the Thames. But Leggett claims that while there will be a few hundred more buses put on per day over the crossing, an extra 15-30,000 private vehicles are expected to use the tunnel once open.
A Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition protest last summer, including Green Party Deputy Leader Zack Polanski. Photo: Ron Fassbender/Alamy
The scheme faced a six-month public inquiry before it was awarded a development consent order by the Secretary of State in 2017. It is being delivered by private consortium Riverlinx and will be managed by the firm after it’s completed – with TfL making repayments to the company for decades to come (TfL says this will come from the tolls).
Since the “vast majority” of the funding is being raised through private finance, TfL says the cash cannot be diverted to an alternative scheme – such as making the tunnel open only for public or active transport options. SSTC campaigners contest this.
Construction on the tunnel is well underway, with the tunnelling completed and the new road network to allow access to the new tunnel now being installed.
The Mayor’s Office deferred to Transport for London for comment.
This piece was updated after publication to include a fresh response from SSTC (we are happy to do the same for TfL).
Do you have a story that needs highlighting? Get in touch by emailing josiah@bylinetimes.com
Unite Brighton/S Coast votes unanimously to picket next exec over Graham’s Gaza silence
Members blast ‘refus[al] to implement Unite’s democratically agreed policy on international solidarity in respect of Palestine/Israel but of actively suppressing attempts to mobilise in support of Gaza’ and move to ‘pause’ Unite’s affiliation with Stop the War group
Unite Brighton and South Coast branch (SE 6246) voted unanimously last night in favour of a motion to picket the union’s next meeting of its executive, which takes place Monday March 11th 1pm at Unite’s HQ at Holborn in London.
The union’s general secretary, Sharon Graham, has been heavily criticised for her continued silence over Israel’s genocide in Gaza and for trying to thwart attempts to show solidarity with the people of Palestine. She has also been accused of banning or deterring union staff from participation in protests on behalf of Unite or showing official Unite banners on marches and at rallies.
The full motion reads:
Motion for branch meeting 20 Feb 2024
Many members by now will have seen the blistering speech by Jim Kelly, Chair of London and Eastern Region, in which he lays bare the General Secretary’s imposed policy of not only ignoring and refusing to implement Unite’s democratically agreed policy on international solidarity in respect of Palestine/Israel but of actively suppressing attempts to mobilise in support of Gaza.
Indeed, some 20,000 Palestinians had been slaughtered before Unite, on 3rd November, called for a ceasefire. Since then attempts to mobilise support have been met with obstruction, warnings issued designed to deter and silence Unite staff from speaking out on national marches, and in a particularly egregious move the General Secretary advised the EC to pause its affiliation with Stop the War. Unite members across the country are outraged at Unite’s continuing silence and failure to mobilise, particularly in light of the ICJ ruling that Israel may be committing the crime of genocide.
This branch demands that the
- Unite EC and constitutional committees use all means possible to publicise and encourage members to attend national PSC demonstrations in line with Union Policy as carried at Conference;
- Unite EC be present with their banner on national PSC demonstrations and provide a speaker, ideally the General Secretary;
- Unite EC and constitutional committees, as well as the Regional Offices, organise a visible Unite presence on national and local PSC demonstrations, providing members with the resources to attend including transport or reimbursement of travel fares;
- Unite HQ implement a social media plan that regularly reports on the on-going campaigns by Unite members as well as statements on social media channels of solidarity and support for the Palestinian struggle in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Unite immediately reinstate its affiliation to Stop the War
Further, that officers of this branch work with other branches to organise a mass lobby by members of the next EC meeting, Tuesday 5th March, 10.30am (tbc).
The exec is in fact planned for 11 March
One branch member told Skwawkbox:
The behaviour of our General Secretary Sharon Graham in seeking even to prevent others giving solidarity is despicable.
Unite’s press office has been contacted for comment.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
Video: protests for Assange as British justice goes on trial in extradition case
Up to 2,000 gather for ‘last chance’ to stop disgraced US case allowed so far by courts – but system seems stacked against Wikileaks founder, press freedom and public’s right to know
Protestors outside the court on Tuesday
Up to two thousand protesters gathered to demonstrate outside the Royal Courts of Justice today in London, where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and his legal team are fighting in what may be their last chance to avoid his extradition to the US, where the Biden administration wants to lock him in a high-security prison for the rest of his life for the ‘crime’ of exposing the actions of the US military.
Wikileaks embarrassed the US by revealing the wanton slaughter of Iraqi civilians – and the US wants its vengeance. To the UK’s shame, successive UK governments and courts have been all too eager to let the Americans have their way, despite the US case collapsing in disgrace when its main witness to Assange’s supposed ‘hacking’ of US systems admitted he had been lying the whole time – and plots by senior US officials to assassinate him. The admission should have seen the US laughed out of court, but UK judges granted its request anyway.
Protesters massed to show their solidarity with the Australian journalist, who has been imprisoned in Belmarsh prison since 2019 after a long effective incarceration in the Ecuadorian embassy while the UK and US governments conspired against him and even bugged supposedly sacrosanct meetings with his lawyers:
Wikileaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson gave the protest crowd a lunchtime update on the ‘absurd’ proceedings, which kept observers down to a handful despite the importance of the case, preventing even human rights groups from attending:
As with all the hearings so far, the case against Julian Assange appears to be stacked. After the farce of the collapsed US case being granted anyway, Assange’s appeal was denied by a judge with deep security service connections.
In the current case, one of the two judges was a lawyer for the Secret Intelligence Service and the Ministry of Defence, with clearance for access to ‘top secret’ information – and the other judge is the twin sister of right-wing former BBC chair Richard Sharpe, who resigned after an inquiry into his arrangement of an £800,000 loan for Boris Johnson before his appointment.
Activist Steve Price, who represented Skwawkbox at the demo, summarised the day:
On a cold day thousands gathered to lobby the court and raise public awareness of this situation. This morning at the RCJ, the chant of the day was “There’s only one decision – no extradition!” The demo was noisy, very colourful, with a visible but low-key police presence and many passing drivers honking horns in solidarity.
Speakers included three Labour MPs – Richard Burgon, Zara Sultana and Apsana Begum, alongside Chris Hedges, Andrew Feinstein, Stella Assange and Julian’s brother and father, as well as lawyers, Reporters without Borders (RwB) and Wikileaks’ editor-in-chief. John Pilger, the great Australian journalist, was remembered with great affection.
Julian’s brother said the Australian Parliament voted by two thirds criticising the UK and USA and demanding he be released and returned to his home country. Two of the lawyers, as well as RwB noted that this case has enormous implications for freedom of the press globally and there are obvious parallels with how journalists have been deliberately targeted by Israel in Gaza.
The magistrate back in January 2021 decided Julian should be released solely on the grounds that he might kill himself, but this was overturned by the Home Secretary. There are a number of legal grounds his team will advocate for refusing the extradition. He has been detained in Belmarsh (in solitary confinement) for nearly 5 years, spent 7 years before that confined in the Ecuadorian Embassy. His health has deteriorated, it’s a form of torture, they’re slowly killing him. He is believed to be too ill to attend court today?
They want to extradite him for the crime of journalism, for exposing their hypocrisy, their dirty secrets, their war crimes.
Keir Starmer, the ‘human rights lawyer’, as he never tires of reminding everyone, has never spoken in Assange’s defence. As Director of Public Prosecutions, his actions are murky – because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) destroyed its records of them and destroyed notes of what it destroyed. However, it is known that in the case of another extradition the US wanted – that of autistic hacker Gary McKinnon – Starmer flew in a rage to the US to apologise to his US government contacts as soon as then-PM Theresa May quashed the extradition on humanitarian grounds. The CPS and Sweden also destroyed records of their communications when the CPS was pressuring Sweden to continue to pursue Assange’s extradition there – no doubt a stepping stone to getting him to the US – on discredited rape allegations. Despite the destruction of evidence, it is known that the CPS told Swedish counterparts not to ‘dare’ drop its request and refused Sweden’s offer to come and interview Assange in the Ecuadorian embassy.
Assange’s family and team have asked everyone who can make it to the court to continue demonstrating throughout the duration of the hearing to try to keep up pressure on the authorities. The Establishment’s relentless assault on Julian Assange is a war not just against him, but against press freedom and the right of the public to know what its supposed representatives are doing and to hold them to account.
The UK justice system has a last chance to show it is fit for purpose. If it happens, it looks as though justice will have to be wrung out of it. Absolute solidarity with Julian Assange and all persecuted journalists everywhere.
SKWAWKBOX needs your help. The site is provided free of charge but depends on the support of its readers to be viable. If you’d like to help it keep revealing the news as it is and not what the Establishment wants you to hear – and can afford to without hardship – please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here to set up a monthly donation via GoCardless (SKWAWKBOX will contact you to confirm the GoCardless amount). Thanks for your solidarity so SKWAWKBOX can keep doing its job.
If you wish to republish this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.