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Tag: UK

  • UK deputy PM, Dominic Raab resigns over bullying complaints

    UK deputy PM, Dominic Raab resigns over bullying complaints

    British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned from the government on Friday following an independent investigation into complaints that he bullied colleagues.

    Raab resigned in a letter to the prime minister before the report was made public.

    His departure is a setback for Sunak just two weeks ahead of English local council elections where his Conservatives are predicted to fare badly.

    This represents the latest scandal to force out one of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s top ministers.

    The loss of the third senior minister over their personal conduct in the past six months will damage Sunak’s efforts to revive the governing Conservative Party’s fortunes.

    It also serves as a major embarrassment as he had entered Downing Street in October promising a government of integrity.

    “I called for the inquiry and undertook to resign if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever,” Raab’s letter said, adding: “I believe it is important to keep my word.”

    Sunak said in a letter in reply that he accepted Raab’s resignation with deep sadness but said it was important that ministers uphold the highest of standards.

    As deputy prime minister, Raab had no formal powers but stepped in for the prime minister if he was away from parliament or incapacitated.

    However, he was a close political ally of Sunak and helped launch his campaign to be prime minister last summer.

    The resignation will do little to improve the public perception of his government following the scandal-ridden tenure of Boris Johnson and the chaotic economic policies that brought down Liz Truss after less than two months.

    The five-month investigation into Raab’s behaviour heard evidence from multiple government officials about complaints of bullying at three different departments.

    The independent report by lawyer Adam Tolley found that Raab had acted in a way that was “intimidating” and “persistently aggressive” while at the Foreign Office.

    It said while at the Justice Ministry, he had gone “further than was necessary or appropriate in delivering critical feedback and also insulting, in the sense of making unconstructive critical comments about the quality of work done”.

    “(Raab) has been able to regulate this level of ‘abrasiveness’ since the announcement of the investigation,” Tolley wrote.

    “He should have altered his approach earlier,” the lawyer added.

    Raab requested the investigation in November following formal complaints about his behaviour by government officials.

    He said he felt “duty-bound” to accept the outcome of the inquiry but also staunchly defended his conduct.

    He said the report had concluded he had not once sworn, shouted, or physically intimidated anyone in four and a half years, and had dismissed all but two of the claims against him.

    Raab apologised for any unintended stress or offence caused but said the decision to set a threshold for bullying so low “set a dangerous precedent” for the conduct of good government.

    This will “have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government – and ultimately the British people”, he said in his letter.

    Raab referred to the two incidents where there was a finding of bullying against him – one at the Foreign Office in dealing with a senior diplomat’s handling of the Brexit negotiation over Gibraltar, and one where he gave critical feedback during an earlier stint at the Ministry of Justice from 2021 to 2022.

    Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, accused Sunak of “weakness” for failing to sack his deputy rather than letting him resign.

    Another of Sunak’s senior ministers, Gavin Williamson, also quit in November after bullying allegations, and the prime minister sacked Conservative Party chair Nadhim Zahawi in January after he was found to have broken the ministerial code over his openness about his tax affairs.

    Sunak is facing his own investigation by parliament’s standards watchdog into his behaviour over whether he properly declared his wife’s shareholding in a childcare company that stands to benefit from the new government policy.

  • Britain’s PM, Rishi Sunak under fire for “not coming out clean”

    Britain’s PM, Rishi Sunak under fire for “not coming out clean”

    British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation after facing allegations of a possible failure to declare the shares his wife holds in a childcare agency that was boosted by the Budget.

    Parliament’s standards watchdog opened the inquiry into the prime minister under rules demanding lawmakers are “open and frank” when declaring their interests.

    The investigation relates to the shares Akshata Murty holds in Koru Kids, a government source told the PA news agency on Monday.

    The government said the prime minister will clarify how it was declared as a ministerial interest, rather than to the Commons.

    As lawmakers returned from their Easter break, an update from Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg showed he had opened the investigation under the Commons code of conduct on Thursday.

    “Members must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its committees, and in any communications with ministers, members, public officials or public office holders,” the relevant section reads.

    A government spokeswoman responded: “We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.”

    Sunak faced demands to “come clean” about his family shares last month after being questioned by lawmakers over why the childcare policy favoured private firms.

    Appearing before the Liaison Committee, he did not mention Ms Murty’s shares in the firm, in which she has been listed as a shareholder on Companies House.

    A fortnight earlier, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a pilot of incentive payments of £600 ($740) for childminders joining the profession.

    Questioning why the sum doubles to £1,200 if workers sign up through an agency, Labour MP Catherine McKinnell asked if Sunak had any interests to declare.

    “No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way,” Sunak said.

    Koru Kids, which is one of six childminder agencies listed on the Government’s website, welcomed the new incentives in the Budget as “great”.

    At the time the possible conflict of interest emerged, Sunak’s press secretary said the interest would be included in the updated statement of ministers’ interests, due out in May.

    But it seems Greenberg’s investigation appears to centre on whether the prime minister should have declared the interest to lawmakers.

    Sunak wrote to the Liaison Committee earlier this month to say he would like to “clarify for the Parliamentary record that this interest has rightly been declared to the Cabinet Office”.

    He said the new list of ministerial interests, which has not been updated for nearly a year, would be published “shortly”.

    Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said delay has “left a transparency black hole which is enabling the Prime Minister and those he has appointed to dodge proper scrutiny of their affairs”.

    “If Rishi Sunak has got nothing to hide, he should commit to publishing the register before May’s elections so the public can see for themselves,” she added.

    It was last compiled by Lord Geidt, who resigned as former prime minister Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser after a tumultuous period under the then-prime minister.

    Sunak did not appoint a successor as ministerial interests adviser until December, when Sir Laurie Magnus took on the role.

    The prime minister entered government in October promising “integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.

    He has since been fined by police for not wearing a seatbelt, adding to the fixed-penalty notice he was handed for a lockdown breach alongside Mr Johnson.

    Liberal Democrat chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “Another day and another accusation of a Conservative Prime Minister bending the rules.

    “After months of Conservative sleaze and scandal, the public just want a government which is focused on the country, rather than saving their own skin”.

  • Why we buried my wife, Ifeoma in US – Orji Kalu explains to Bishop

    Why we buried my wife, Ifeoma in US – Orji Kalu explains to Bishop

    Ex-Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has explained why his wife was buried in the US instead of her ancestral home town in Nigeria.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) recalls the former Abia First Lady and ex wife of former Abia state governor and current Senate Chief Whip, Late Mrs Ifeoma Ada Kalu who died early this month was on Wednesday buried in the United States of America.

    The former Governor had the previous day held an open casket viewing ceremony for the late wife at McEwen Funeral Service-Pineville Chapel, North Carolina, in the United States of America (USA).

    He was seen with his children and family members in black outfit to mourn the demise of their dear wife and mother at the age of 61.

    Paying tribute to the former Abia State First Lady during the funeral at New Home AME Zion Church in South Carolina, Kalu said the decision to bury her in the US was made by Ifeoma when she was alive.

    Kalu Orji’s Wife

    He said: “My Lord Bishop, I want to thank you for holding this mass today. This is her chosen church, because I am a Catholic; my children are also Catholics. We would have buried her in a Catholic Church but this is what she wanted. She told her children that when she dies, she should be buried here. This is why we are here. We would have flown her back to Nigeria. People in our villages are fighting us why we didn’t bring her corpse home, but we shall overcome all like we’ve done in the past,” the emotional Kalu stated.

    Ifeoma Ada Kalu (Nee Menakaya) and Orji Uzor Kalu got married in December 1989 in Kalu’s hometown Igbere, Abia State.

  • FirstBank announces corporate name change of subsidiaries

    FirstBank announces corporate name change of subsidiaries

    First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., has announced a phased corporate name change of its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Mrs Folake Ani-Mumuney, Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, FirstBank, said this in a statement in Lagos.

    The statement said that the name change was implemented to align the subsidiaries with the parent brand and to enjoy the strong heritage and brand equity built by FirstBank Nigeria in its 129 years of banking leadership.

    It named the first set of subsidiaries effecting the name alignment as, FBNBank UK, FBNBank Sierra Leone, FBNBank Gambia and FBNBank DRC.

    According to the statement, the subsidiaries are now known and addressed as FirstBank UK, FirstBank Sierra Leone, FirstBank Gambia and FirstBank DRC.

    It said that the Ghana, Senegal and Guinea subsidiaries would be next in the phased name change implementation.

    The statement added that the name change would further enhance the quality-of-service delivery resulting in better brand clarity, uniformity and consistency across all the markets where the Bank operated.

    The statement also quoted Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Group, as saying, “the name change coincided with the bank’s 129th founding anniversary (March 31, 2023)”.

    “It is indeed a milestone reflective of our resolve to continuously provide the gold standard of excellence and value as we put our customers First.

    “The new identity of the subsidiaries contributes to an enhanced brand presence.

    “It helps our customers and stakeholders better appreciate the value of the diversified products suites, competitive pricing and extensive business networks the FirstBank Group offers.

    “These include our commitment to boosting cross-border businesses which involve trade and investment opportunities essential, to enhancing trade relations amongst countries, thereby strengthening the economies of host communities and reducing poverty,” he said.

  • Just In: LP’s Peter Obi detained by UK Immigration [Read details]

    Just In: LP’s Peter Obi detained by UK Immigration [Read details]

    The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, was detained by the United Kingdom’s immigration authorities during the Easter break, Obi-Datti Media, Mr. Diran Onifade, has revealed.

    Obi was questioned over offences believed to have been committed by an imposter.

    Onifade in a statement on Wednesday also said Obi was harassed by London immigration officials and placed on detention.

    “The LP Presidential candidate in the February 25 Presidential poll arrived the Heathrow Airport in London from Nigeria on Good Friday, April 7, 2023, and joined the queue for the necessary Airport protocols when he was accosted by immigration officials who handed him a detention note and told him to step aside. He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country.

    “Since Obi’s face was already an international frame, especially for Nigerians, Africans home, and in the Diaspora who are likely to be Obidients, the people quickly raised their voices wondering why he was being delayed.

    “The immigration officials who were also taken aback at the reaction of the people were forced to reveal that Obi was being questioned for a duplication offense, meaning that someone has been impersonating him in London.

    “The high implication of the offense is that the impersonator could be committing all kinds of weighty crimes and other dubious acts and it would be recorded in Obi’s name.”

    Onifade also recalled that Obi has been under all kinds of attack, since the February 25th, 2023 presidential election in which he put up an outstanding showing coming third out of 18 contestants as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), though his supporters and many other election watchers including international observers believed very strongly that he won the election but was manipulated out.

    “Since he was told to go to court if he feels strongly about the election which all international monitors chorused were flawed and full of imperfections and he accepted, there have been severe attacks on him from all corners.

    “Even the Federal Government who directed him to go to court even despatched the Minister of Information Lai Mohammad to the United States to attempt at de-marketing him and accused him of treason.

    “Obi’s telephone line was also bugged when they were possibly looking for information to portray him badly before a section of the country who had voted for him massively.

    “As if they were not getting the desired results of denting his image, and possibly placing the traducers under a heavier conscience load, they tried to persuade him to leave the country and go take a rest.

    “It is also not impossible that those urging him to leave the country may have planted the impersonators ostensibly to tar the Eagle’s immaculate appearance.

    “The Obi-Datti Media office will like to therefore assure all persons of goodwill especially the Obidients that the Rock is not deterred as he is ready to suffer the pain and remain even more determined to pursue whichever path his creator destined for him in Nigeria,” Onifade said.

  • Bad news for Nigerian healthcare workers as UK halts recruitment of caregivers, 53 others

    Bad news for Nigerian healthcare workers as UK halts recruitment of caregivers, 53 others

    The United Kingdom has placed Nigeria and 53 other countries on the red list of countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.

    The announcement was contained in the revised code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England.

    It is recommended that employers, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and contracting bodies check the red country list for updates before any recruitment drive.

    It defined active international recruitment in the code as the process by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and sub-contractors target individuals to market UK employment opportunities, with the intention of recruiting to a role in the UK health or social care sector. It includes both physical or virtual targeting, and whether or not these actions lead to substantive employment.

    Nigeria has the third highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK after India, and Pakistan.

    The UK, however, in its revised code of practice said the health and social care organisations in England do not actively recruit from those countries the WHO recognises as having the most pressing health and care workforce-related challenges unless there is a government-to-government agreement to support managed recruitment activities.

    The countries placed on the red list of ‘No active recruitment’ in alphabetical order are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.

    Other countries are Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

  • UK to take action against electoral offenders, plans sanction

    UK to take action against electoral offenders, plans sanction

    The British High Commission has said the UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, is prepared to take action against those who engaged in or incited electoral violence during the just-concluded general elections.

    The commission said the UK was already collating names of perpetrators and would impose sanctions “including preventing people from obtaining UK visas or imposing sanctions under our human rights sanctions regime.”

    In a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday, the high commission said, “We can confirm that we are collating relevant information, with a view to taking action against some individuals.”

    The high commission, which said it deployed observers in six states, noted, “There were notable points of concern. Members of our observation mission personally observed violence, and voter suppression in numerous voting locations. We witnessed and received credible reports from other observer missions and civil society organisations of vote buying and voter intimidation, the destruction and hijacking of election materials and the general disruption of the process in numerous states including Lagos, Enugu and Rivers.

    “In addition, we observed incidents of harassment of journalists. Freedom of speech and a free press is crucial for a healthy democracy, and journalists must be able to go about their work without being threatened.

    “The UK is concerned by the use of inflammatory ethnoreligious language by some public and political figures. We call on all leaders not just to distance themselves from this kind of language, but to prevent those who speak on their behalf from doing so in this way.

    “It is a testament to their commitment to democracy that many Nigerians were prepared to vote despite being faced with intimidation and hostility.”

    It, however, commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for improving on its performance during the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections on March 18.

  • UK lists observations on March 18 elections

    UK lists observations on March 18 elections

    The UK Government has listed its observations during the March 18 Governorship and House of Assembly elections across Benue, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Oyo and Rivers states.

    This was disclosed in a statement issued by Atinuke Akande-Alegbe, Senior Communications and Public Diplomacy Officer at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, British High Commission, on Wednesday.

    It said that a team was sent out by the British High Commission to observe the elections.

    According to the Commission, they observed improvements around elections logistics by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) during the governorship elections, particularly when compared to the presidential elections.

    It said more polling units opened on time, there was greater evidence of BVAS and IREV working and results uploaded in real time from polling units and collation centres.

    It said these were positive markers to build on for future elections.

    The commission, however, said there were notable points of concern, adding that members of the observation mission personally noticed violence and voter suppression in numerous voting locations.

    “We witnessed and received credible reports from other observer missions and civil society organisations of vote buying, voter intimidation, hijacking of election materials and the general disruption of the process in numerous states including Lagos, Enugu and Rivers.

    “In addition, we observed incidents of harassment of journalists. Freedom of speech and a free press are crucial for a healthy democracy, and journalists must be able to go about their work without being threatened,” it said.

    The commission said that the UK was concerned by the use of inflammatory ethno-religious language by some public and political figures.

    The UK called on all leaders not just to distance themselves from this kind of language, but to prevent those who speak on their behalf from doing so in this way.

    The commission said it was a testament to their commitment to democracy that many Nigerians were prepared to vote in spite of being faced with intimidation and hostility.

    The UK Minister of State for Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell MP, was quoted as saying on Feb. 21 that the UK was prepared to take action against those who engage in or incite electoral violence and other anti-democratic behaviours.

    Mitchell said the action could include preventing people from obtaining UK visas or imposing sanctions under their human rights sanctions regime.

    The UK minister said there was confirmation of collating relevant information, with a view to taking action against some individuals.

    “We urge any party or individual who wishes to challenge the process or outcome of the elections to do so peacefully and through the appropriate legal channels. We will be observing the course of legal challenges made.

    “The 2023 elections are not only important to Nigeria and Nigerians, but to Africa and the world as a whole.

    “As a long-term partner, the UK is committed to strengthening the ties between our countries and peoples, including by supporting democratic development,” the commission said.

  • UK to ban TikTok on govt. phones

    UK to ban TikTok on govt. phones

    Britain said on Thursday it would ban TikTok on government phones with immediate effect, a move to follow other Western countries who have barred the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.

    TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

    Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre has been reviewing whether TikTok should be barred from government phones, while the United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have already banned the app.

    Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden told parliament that government devices would only be able to access third-party apps from a pre-approved list.

    “We are also going to ban the use of TikTok on government devices, we will do so with immediate effect,” he said.

    The ban does not include personal devices and there would be limited exemptions where TikTok is required on government devices for operational reasons, Dowden added.

    “This is a proportionate move based on specific risk with government devices.”

    Earlier, when the prospect of such a ban was reported, TikTok said it would be disappointed by such a ban.

  • New UK bill will result to de factor “asylum ban” – UNHCR

    New UK bill will result to de factor “asylum ban” – UNHCR

    The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said the draft migrant legislation proposed by the United Kingdom Government will result in a de facto “asylum ban”.

    UNHCR, in a statement, said if adopted, the new bill would deny the right to seek refugee protection to people arriving irregularly in the UK, such as those risking their lives to cross the English Channel in small boats.

    Instead, these asylum-seekers would face detention and deportation, without having their individual circumstances examined.

    “This would be a clear breach of the Refugee Convention and would undermine a longstanding, humanitarian tradition of which the British people are rightly proud,” UNHCR said.

    The UK is one of the original signatories of the 1951 Refugee Convention, which recognises that refugees may have to enter a country of asylum irregularly.

    According to UK Government figures, some 45,000 people crossed the Channel on small boats in 2022, up 60 per cent from the previous year.

    The UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs, tweeted that she was “profoundly concerned” by the UK bill introduced in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

    UNHCR noted that the UK is not part of any agreement that would allow authorities to share responsibility for refugees with safe third countries.

    The UN agency also recalled that the UK’s bilateral arrangement with Rwanda announced in 2022 failed to meet the necessary international standards.

    In June 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees dismissed the UK-Rwanda deal as “all wrong”.

    UNHCR said it would continue to support the UK in strengthening its asylum system, urging the Government and legislators to reconsider the bill and “pursue more humane and practical policy solutions”.