The Canary UK

An open letter calls for action against Keir Starmer’s Labour purge

Support us and go ad-freeThe Labour ‘purge‘ of left-wing members has continued unabated. So, a campaign group has written a searing open letter to members. It calls on them to resist the attacks and take action – now. The ongoing purge The Canary has been documenting the ongoing Labour Party machinery’s purge of left-wing members. It’s involved the party stopping Constituency Labour Parties (CLP) debating certain motions; suspending prominent left-wing members; refusing to endorse long-standing left-wing councillors for re-election; the removal of the whip from ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn, and more recently proscribing four left-wing groups which resulted in the party expelling film director Ken Loach and attempting to…

0 Comments

22 August 2021

The Canary UK

There’s a public toilets crisis that we need to talk about

Support us and go ad-freeThere’s a problem in the UK that people don’t often speak about. Yet it’s one that affects many of us: the lack of public toilets and the hollowing-out of this vital public service. Taking the piss? Public toilets have been around since the Victorian era. But as Historic England wrote: Anyone caught short of late will know that public lavatories are no longer as convenient as they once were. Many have gone altogether, whilst others are frustratingly padlocked awaiting sale or demolition by local authorities. Some have been ingeniously repurposed – converted into flats, bars, restaurants, coffee shops, clubs, art galleries and even beauty…

0 Comments

22 August 2021

The Canary UK

Communities march on Irish parliament to say no to mining

Support us and go ad-freeOn Saturday 21 August, community groups, activists, and environmentalists from north and south of the border in Ireland marched on Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament). They decided to march on the parliament in Dublin having already marched on the parliament in Belfast in June. Campaigners told The Canary that mining affects everybody on the whole island of Ireland as minerals don’t recognise the border. And they brought one simple message with them: no to gold mining As extensively reported by The Canary, Canadian mining company Dalradian Gold Ltd has been prospecting for gold in the Sperrin Mountains of County Tyrone since 2009. In 2017,…

0 Comments

22 August 2021

The Canary UK

Queen allegedly fights to protect her sex-crime accused son’s honorary military role

Support us and go ad-freeThe queen has reportedly told insiders she wants prince Andrew Windsor to remain as colonel of the Grenadier Guards. Sexual assault allegations According to the Sunday Times, the monarch has conveyed her wish that her son – who is facing allegations of sexual assault, which he denies – keeps the honorary role that he took over from his father in 2017. The paper quoted a senior military source as saying: The Queen has let it be known to the regiment that she wants the Duke of York to remain as colonel, and the feeling is that nobody wants to do anything that could cause…

0 Comments

22 August 2021

The Canary UK

Raab ‘having pina coladas by the pool’ instead of helping interpreters – Yousaf

Support us and go ad-freeScotland’s Health Secretary has accused Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab of “having pina coladas by the pool” instead of making a call to help interpreters stranded in Afghanistan. Raab has come under pressure this week after it emerged he was on holiday while Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he still has confidence in the minister. On August 13, two days before the capital was seized, Raab was told by officials to make a call to Afghan foreign minister Hanif Amtar about repatriating interpreters who helped allied forces during the war, but the task was delegated to junior minister…

0 Comments

22 August 2021

The Canary UK

We must not take our eye off the ball as coronavirus could roar back, expert warns

Support us and go ad-freeThe UK must not take its “eye off the ball” with coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccinations, an expert has said as he warned the virus could come “roaring back”. “Strategic” Dr Chris Smith, consultant virologist and lecturer at Cambridge University, said a decision on booster jabs should not be “rash, (or) rushed”, and that the government is considering a more “strategic” approach. It comes as health secretary Sajid Javid said he is “confident” a booster vaccine campaign can start next month despite reports that experts want more time to consider whether they are needed. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Dr Smith said: We all agree that (the…

0 Comments

21 August 2021

The Canary UK

Nicola Sturgeon’s stance on oil and gas has ‘changed significantly’, claims Greens

Support us and go ad-freeThe Scottish Greens hailed Nicola Sturgeon’s “significant change of direction” on the oil and gas industry despite the first minister refusing to say whether she opposed new oil fields such as Cambo. The agreement A deal between the SNP and Scottish Greens would see two Green MSPs become government ministers, with set policy areas where the two parties can disagree. But the agreement, which will need to be approved by Scottish Green members, falls short of any commitment to oppose new oil and gas exploration – a key pledge in the party’s manifesto. Instead, the policy document offers support for a “pre-production oil and…

0 Comments

21 August 2021

The Canary UK

Schools in England to receive CO2 monitors to improve ventilation

Support us and go ad-freeCarbon dioxide monitors will be provided to schools in England to help staff tackle poor ventilation and reduce the spread of Covid-19, the Government has said. The Department for Education (DfE) said a £25 million investment will go towards rolling out around 300,000 monitors across all state-funded education settings from September. The portable monitors will allow school and colleges to assess where ventilation needs improvement and take steps to remove air that may contain virus particles from indoors spaces. Growing pressure Education unions, backed by the Liberal Democrats, had urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to take action on ventilation in schools amid concerns about…

0 Comments

21 August 2021

The Canary UK

Haitian earthquake survivors are asking people to support grassroots organisations

Support us and go ad-freeHeavy rain from Storm Grace has drenched Haiti after an earthquake devastated the nation. The earthquake killed over 2,000 people, and injured more than 12,000. The tropical storm hindered urgent attempts to find shelter and survivors. It has also caused further damage to the nation’s compromised infrastructure. People with Haitian ties are urging those looking to support disaster relief to avoid large NGOs, and instead contribute to grassroots organisations that are creating resilience on the ground. A history of disasters Tropical Storm Grace deluged Haiti with heavy rains while people were searching for survivors and safety in the wake of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The…

0 Comments

20 August 2021

The Canary UK

Revealed: Juan Guaidó used millions of looted dollars to asset strip Venezuela

Support us and go ad-freeOn 3 August, The Canary exposed how Venezuelan opposition figure Juan Guaidó’s UK legal costs were paid with money appropriated from the Venezuelan state. In an effort to access roughly US$2bn of Venezuelan gold held in the Bank of England, it was reported that Guaidó’s legal team drew on hundreds of thousands of dollars originally seized from the Central Bank of Venezuela in the US. We can now reveal that this figure is significantly higher. According to official documents, Guaidó and his appointees have given over US$6.5m to powerhouse legal firms as part of a campaign to bleed the Venezuelan state of its foreign…

0 Comments

20 August 2021