Tag: news

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British troops to Syria unlikely despite evidence of chemical weapons use – PM

By Sharon Black

David Cameron reiterates President Obama’s claim that issue is a ‘red line’ but says ground forces will not be sent to conflict British troops are unlikely to be sent to Syria despite “limited but growing evidence” that chemical weapons have been used in the country’s civil war , David Cameron has said. The prime minister agreed with Barack Obama that the issue was a “red line”, but said he neither wanted nor expected it to precipitate the deployment of UK forces.

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MoD poised to privatise part of troubled defence procurement process

By Sharon Black

Announcement expected to say that everyday management of Defence Equipment & Support will be handed to private sector Ministers are poised to announce the next stage of controversial reforms that will give private firms a chance to run the organisation that buys and supplies billions of pounds’ worth of defence equipment to the British military. The Treasury has given the green light to proposals that will open up the possibility of part-privatising Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) , the body within the Ministry of Defence in charge of procuring everything from new warships to lightbulbs

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UK would jeopardise military standing by leaving EU, says German minister

By Sharon Black

Thomas de Maizière says David Cameron seems not to have recognised profound defence implications of move Britain’s standing as a leading military power with the ability to influence events beyond its own borders will be jeopardised if the country leaves the European Union, the German minister of defence has warned. In an interview with the Guardian , Thomas de Maizière insisted the defence implications for Britain, Europe and Nato would be profound, and said this was an aspect of the argument David Cameron did not appear to have recognised.

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Afghan interpreters could be offered relocation to Britain

By Sharon Black

David Cameron expected to make decision on Tuesday affecting up to 1,100 Afghans who risked lives working with UK forces Hundreds of Afghan interpreters who have risked their lives working with UK forces in Helmand province could be offered relocation to Britain this week when David Cameron reviews the issue at a meeting of the National Security Council. The prime minister has been given three broad options and is expected to make a decision on Tuesday that could affect up to 1,100 Afghan nationals – including more than 600 interpreters, who could be in grave danger from reprisals once Nato forces have left Afghanistan in 2014

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Thatcher funeral to match theatre of Churchill’s – but differences are stark

By Sharon Black

While the pomp will be similar to 1965, the crowd reaction to this non-state event is unlikely to be as united It was, Patrick O’Donovan noted in the Observer , as if “the City was stopped and was turned into a theatre, and it was all performed as a drama that all men understand”. The funeral cortege moved slowly from the Palace of Westminster to St Paul’s cathedral, through packed streets lined with silent troops, “their heads bowed over their automatic rifles in ceremonious grief”.

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Anti-Trident campaigners blockade naval base

By Sharon Black

Protesters chain themselves to gates at Faslane after calling for Trident budget to fund welfare, education and health instead Police have arrested 47 people protesting outside a naval base where nuclear weapons are stored. Campaigners chained themselves to each other and blocked the entrance of the Faslane base in Argyll, home of the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons. The Scrap Trident coalition wants Scotland to be allowed to “lead the way to a world free of nuclear weapons” and more than 100 of its supporters demonstrated outside the base.

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Thatcher funeral’s military pomp raises concerns at Buckingham Palace

By Sharon Black

Questions raised over appropriateness of such a divisive figure being escorted on her final journey by military honours Ken Livingstone: throw out the myths about Margaret Thatcher Russell Brand: I always felt sorry for her children Gary Younge: the Iron Lady is dead but Thatcherism lives on Margaret Thatcher’s legacy: roundup of the best writing Buckingham Palace raised concerns about the ceremonial funeral with military honours for Lady Thatcher that is to be attended on Wednesday by the Queen and more than 2,000 guests including every surviving British prime minister, the Guardian understands. As invitations were sent out to world leaders, including all surviving US presidents and Hillary Clinton, it emerged that concerns were expressed at the highest levels about whether it is appropriate for such a controversial figure to be escorted on her final journey by more than 700 military personnel

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Margaret Thatcher made the north of Ireland a more bitterly divided place | Gerry Adams

By Sharon Black

Her government’s policies handed draconian military powers over to the securocrats, and subverted basic human rights Margaret Thatcher was a hugely divisive figure in British politics. And for the people of Ireland, and especially the north, the Thatcher years were among some of the worst of the conflict. Her policy decisions entrenched sectarian divisions, handed draconian military powers over to the securocrats, and subverted basic human rights

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Can an army private become a general?

By Sharon Black

Readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific concepts Is it possible to join an army as a private and rise to the rank of general? Has this ever happened in the British Army? Rishi Dastidar, London SE11 • Post questions and answers below or email them to nq@guardian.co.uk

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Labour urged not to back downgrading of Trident

By Sharon Black

Labour frontbencher and former Gordon Brown aide say party would look ‘dangerously weak’ if it supported diluted deterrent As Labour embarks on an intense debate on the future of Trident, a former aide to Gordon Brown has joined forces with a frontbencher to declare that the party would look “dangerously weak” if it diluted Britain’s nuclear deterrent. John Woodcock, who served as the former prime minister’s spokesman, and Angela Smith, the shadow deputy leader of the Commons, issued their warning as senior figures in the party urge Ed Miliband to use a government review of Trident to support a smaller deterrent. But in a Guardian article Woodcock and Smith warn : “While the world has changed greatly since the 1980s, the political reality has not: we will appear dangerously weak as a future party of government if we are prepared to give up that insurance while the world remains so unstable.” The pro-Trident MPs express the hope that Miliband will resist pressure for Labour to change tack.

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British dead and wounded in Afghanistan, month by month

By Sharon Black

What is the human cost of the war in Afghanistan for British forces? As British troop deaths reach 441, these are the latest figures – including the most recent wounded and amputation statistics • Get the data • Amputation statistics explainer • Afghanistan civilian casualties • Interactive guide With the latest deaths caused by the war in Afghanistan, the total number of British troop fatalities during the conflict now stands at 441. The number of British deaths in Afghanistan is now much higher than Iraq and even the Falklands conflict .

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UK search and rescue sell-off hits turbulence

By Sharon Black

Minister says Bristow will deliver first-class service but critics air doubts about US company’s takeover from RAF and navy The transfer of the UK’s search and rescue service from the military to a Texas-based helicopter company has been criticised by residents of coastal communities, politicians from all the main parties and rescue experts. From 2016 Bristow Helicopters, part of the global Bristow Group, will take over the helicopter search and rescue (SAR) service from the RAF and navy.

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1975: Sea King helicopter heralds new era in search and rescue

By Sharon Black

A chopper that was tasked for anti-submarine operations is now deployed ‘for the greater good’ In 1975, the sinking of the cargo ship the Lovat with the loss of 11 lives in rough seas off Penzance raised questions about the effectiveness of Whirlwind helicopters for use in sea rescues. The Guardian leader column below was published in the aftermath of the Lovat tragedy and echoed the growing call for the more powerful Sea King helicopters to be used instead.

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Tottenham’s first black player should be awarded the Military Cross | Garth Crooks

By Sharon Black

David Cameron can do justice to Britain’s black first world war hero Walter Tull by posthumously awarding him a military honour I had been at Tottenham Hotspur for a few seasons and experienced a good deal of success . But when, for the first time, I experienced a long-term injury, requiring weeks of treatment and tortuous rehab, I found myself wandering around the club, often in deep reflection, waiting for the pain of the next physio session. On one such afternoon I came across a photo of a Spurs team from 1910

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Brian Hayman obituary

By Sharon Black

My father, Brian Hayman, who has died aged 86, was a gentle man for whom the expression “stiff upper lip” might have been invented. His business colleagues say he was disarmingly inscrutable

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Budget reality check: some grand-sounding claims – but do they stack up?

By Sharon Black

Guardian writers test the validity of some of the key assertions made by George Osborne in his budget speech “We’ve seen more people in work than ever before – including a record number of women. A quarter of a million fewer workless households than two years ago. And the unemployment rate is lower than when we came to office” Unemployment was at 7.8% of the workforce when the coalition was elected in May 2010 – and is back at that figure now

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Iraq: guilt by association

By Sharon Black

• failure to speak truth to power • mistakes repeated in Afghanistan Ten years ago today, thousands of British troops joined the US and invaded Iraq. They were unprepared and ill-equipped because their political masters did not want to alert parliament or the public in advance that Britain was about to embark on an unpopular and – as the most senior government lawyers warned, illegal – war. Thousands of words have been written and spoken to mark the tenth anniversary of the invasion.

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General Sir Nick Houghton to be new chief of defence staff

By Sharon Black

Army commander with reputation as ‘Whitehall warrior’ to take key role amid ongoing deep cuts to armed forces A battle-hardened army commander who has recently earned a reputation as a “Whitehall warrior” is expected to be named on Tuesday as the new chief of defence staff at a time when the armed forces are continuing a painful and prolonged period of cuts.

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‘Iraq is always with you’: a veteran’s memories of the war

By Sharon Black

As a British lieutenant during the war in Iraq, James Jeffrey went there with a sense of optimism. Ten years on, he explains why he feels ashamed about how we failed the people there All the commentary surrounding the Iraq invasion 10 years on encourages retrospection but I think most veterans, like me, would agree that talk of anniversaries makes scant difference