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Standing up for Scotland is what we do. In government we’ve protected vital industries and safeguarded jobs. And at Westminster we’re fighting to protect jobs in Scotland from the impact of Brexit.




News story: World War 1 soldier who was killed in the Battle of the Somme finally laid to rest a century later

Private Henry Parker, 5th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, has finally been laid to rest after he was killed in action during the Battle of the Somme on 26 September 1916, just 3 days short of his 23rd birthday. The burial, with full military honours, took place on Wednesday 17 May 2017 at the Warlencourt British Cemetery, near Arras, France.

The bearer party carrying the coffin of Private Parker in view of senior dignitaries (left to right: WO Andrew Morrison; Defence Attaché to France and Lt Col David O’Kelly), Crown Copyright, All rights reserved
The bearer party carrying the coffin of Private Parker in view of senior dignitaries (left to right: WO Andrew Morrison; Defence Attaché to France and Lt Col David O’Kelly), Crown Copyright, All rights reserved

The service, organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), part of Defence Business Services, was conducted by The Reverend Jonathan Wylie CF, Chaplain to the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment.

Beverley Simon, JCCC said:

It has been an honour for the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre to organise today’s ceremony and to ensure this brave soldier has been buried with the dignity and respect he deserves. It has been a privilege to have met Private Parker’s family and to personally involve them with the planning of his burial.

The greater part of Private Parker’s service was holding the frontline with his Battalion in the Ypres Salient area. It was not until August 1916 that his Battalion was redeployed from Flanders, along with the other units of the 50th (Northumbrian) Division, to the Somme. Private Parker was killed during an incremental advance towards the ‘Flers’ enemy trench from the ‘Starfish’ line on 26 September 1916. Henry’s body was never recovered from the battlefield until remains were found in a farmer’s field almost a century later.

The recovered cap badge belonging to Private Parker, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved
The recovered cap badge belonging to Private Parker, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved

Henry’s brothers James and Thomas Parker, who had both seen active service during the Great War, returned home safely.

Pat Burton, great-niece of Henry Parker said:

It is a great honour for us to be here today to pay our respects to a Great Uncle, Private Henry Parker. We are also here to represent Hazel Ranaldi, nee Croft, the daughter of Rosina Parker who was Henry’s sister.

We would like to thank the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre of the Ministry of Defence for inviting us to the burial ceremony here in Warlencourt, and feel very humble to be part of this occasion and extremely proud of our Great Uncle.

Margaret Parker, niece of Private Parker, who was unfortunately unable to accompany the other 20 family members to the ceremony, said:

Since the news that Uncle Henry has been found, I have had the honour and privilege to not only catch up with relatives I did know but also to meet others for the first time when I went to Richmond. We have been brought together through the brave actions of Uncle Henry, who, 100 years ago, gave his life for us and all that we hold dear.

I would like to thank all who have been involved, having given time and unstinting efforts to reunite Uncle Henry with us, his family, and bring us some closure. My thoughts are with you today, when I will be in Wansford Church thinking about Uncle Henry, our family and all those who have guided and supported us on this journey. God bless you all.

In 2014, the remains of Private Parker were discovered in a farmer’s field situated on the outskirts of Matinpuich, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. The military insignia recovered with the remains was key to the eventual identification of this soldier.

Steve Erskine, the Assistant Curator at The Green Howards Museum, responsible for extensive historical research in determining Henry’s identity, along with volunteer Mike Crisp, said:

We are incredibly proud to have played our part in helping identify this member of the regimental family after so many years. What’s followed has been a fascinating journey into local and family history research, capturing the interest of a range of people along the way who all want to understand more about the world in which Henry lived and the circumstances in which he died. It has been an honour to meet them all and work together to give Henry the resting place he deserves.

Having received formal notification of remains being found, the JCCC undertook genealogy and historical research with The Green Howards Museum in an attempt to discover a potential identity. A shortlist of 12 possible names was identified and JCCC was able to trace surviving relatives of all 12 families and arrange DNA testing. In February 2017, the news came through that Francis Storry, a great-nephew of Private Parker, had been confirmed as a surviving relative and the identification of Henry Parker was confirmed.

The recovered artefacts belonging to Private Parker that led to his identification, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved
The recovered artefacts belonging to Private Parker that led to his identification, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved

Soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment provided the bearer party and fired a salute at the service.

Francis Storry, great-nephew of Henry Parker, lays a wreath, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved
Francis Storry, great-nephew of Henry Parker, lays a wreath, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved

Francis Storry, great-nephew of Henry Parker said:

When we got the letter from the MOD Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre, we were very surprised as we didn’t know anything about Henry Parker. It’s a great honour to be here today with 20 family members to pay our respects.

Lt Col David O’Kelly, Regimental Secretary of The Yorkshire Regiment said:

The Yorkshire Regiment is immensely proud to be able to lay to rest one of its brave soldiers, even 100 years on from the war in which he was tragically killed. He was an inspiration to his comrades then, and is still an inspiration to those who serve in the Regiment now. We will remember him.

A new headstone bearing Private Parker’s name has been provided by the CWGC, who will now care for his final resting place in perpetuity.

Private Parker’s newly engraved headstone, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved
Private Parker’s newly engraved headstone, Crown Copyright, All rights reserved

Peter Francis, CWGC said:

Today’s service is a poignant reminder of the human cost of the Great War. Henry has been given the honoured burial he so richly deserves and it is a privilege that we can care for his grave, and those of his comrades, at this cemetery and thousands of others across the world in perpetuity. In doing so, we will ensure they are never forgotten.




Green Party responds to Lib Dem manifesto

17 May 2017

*Co-leader Jonathan Bartley: “These pledges will never be enough to win back the young voters the Lib Dems betrayed”

The Green Party has responded to the Lib Dem manifesto, which has been published online and will be officially launched at an event in London later today [1].

Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:

“The Lib Dems are trying to repair their broken relationship with young people but these pledges will never be enough to win back the young voters they betrayed in coalition with the Tories. While the Green Party shares some similar policies, such as votes at 16, banning fracking and taking in more refugees, how can we trust the Lib Dems to actually implement them?

“The Lib Dems are not the only ones with a strong stance on Brexit – the Greens have already promised a second referendum with the option of staying in the EU if voters don’t like the Government’s deal [2].

“But Brexit isn’t the only urgent issue we’re facing – the Lib Dems need to take off their Brexit blinkers and commit to tackling inequality as well. Shouting about Brexit and trying to woo young people will not hide Tim Farron’s terrible voting record: for reducing housing benefit, for the Bedroom Tax and against a bankers’ bonus tax.

“If the Lib Dems truly wanted to create a better future for young people they would be putting the fight against climate change and protecting our planet at the heart of their manifesto. The Lib Dem manifesto lacks a bold vision for the future. The Green Party is the only party committed to offering a real choice on the Brexit deal, protecting the environment and tackling inequality caused by Tory cuts.”

Notes:

  1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2017-39942573
  2. https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/05/02/greens-give-voters-chance-to-stay-in-eu/

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Hammond cannot get his sums right on HS2 – Peter Dowd

This
morning the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, further proved that he and the
Conservatives have no grip on the public finances. After seven years of Tory
economic failure, which has seen £700 billion added to the national debt despite
massive spending cuts, every household in Britain should fear more years of
Tory failure and incompetence.

In
the course of only five minutes of a car-crash interview, Philip Hammond showed
that he:

·        
Doesn’t
know the cost of his government’s biggest single investment, the HS2 high-speed
line, getting the cost wrong by more than a staggering £20 billion;

·        
Doesn’t
know how his own fiscal rule for spending works as he confused day-to-day
spending and investment spending;

·        
Doesn’t
have any clear plan in place to balance the public finances, including filling
the £2 billion black hole that his National Insurance u-turn created.

Just
a day after Labour published its comprehensive and fully-costed plans for the
economy, the Tories’ plans are in total disarray. The Chancellor couldn’t even
rule out further tax hikes for low and middle earners, unlike Labour who have
guaranteed no rises in employee National Insurance, no rises in VAT, and no
rises in income tax for 95 per cent of taxpayers. 

And
Phillip Hammond confirmed that relations between him and Number 10 are so bad
that they are reduced to expletive-laden phone calls.

Even
Theresa May doesn’t trust Philip Hammond any more, refusing to confirm today
that he will stay on as Chancellor after the election. If the Prime Minister
can’t trust her own Chancellor, why should the British people?

Labour’s
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Peter Dowd, said

“This
morning Philip Hammond has shown the Conservatives have no grip of the public
finances. It is worrying that the Chancellor clearly doesn’t know how much a
massive infrastructure project currently underway will cost, or the difference
between revenue and capital spending. The fact he doesn’t know how much money
he needs to put aside for major capital infrastructure projects and has no
plan to balance the public finances beggars belief.

“We
should not forget that there is already a £2 billion black hole in his first
Budget following his u-turn on increasing National Insurance. Nor should we
forget he has been part of a Tory government that has added £700 billion to the
national debt – more than all Labour governments in history.”

“Labour
is the only party with a fully costed plan to revive Britain’s economy and
close the Conservatives’ never ending budget deficit, while protecting
everyone from tax increases on VAT and NICs, as well as guaranteeing 95 per
cent of income taxpayers won’t face income tax rises.”




eu-LISA-Technical-Expertise-to-Bring-Forward-Interoperability-of-IT-systems

The European Commission’s seventh progress report on the headway made towards an effective and genuine Security Union, launched on 16 May, focuses on the ongoing work to improve information management for borders and security. Further to this, it sets out the Commission’s new approach towards achieving the interoperability of EU information systems for security, border and migration management by 2020. The proposed approach would overcome the current weakness in the EU’s data management architecture eliminating blind spots.

The EU Agency responsible for information system management, eu-LISA, would play a crucial role in providing technical expertise and bringing the work towards the interoperability of information systems forward. In order to allow eu-LISA to implement this new approach, the Commission will present a legislative proposal to strengthen the Agency’s mandate in June 2017.

Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “The value of our security information is maximised when our systems talk to each other. The complex and fragmented systems we have today make us vulnerable. Actionable information is not always available for the law enforcement officials that need it. Today, we present a clear vision on how to act to correct this. To connect the dots and to eliminate blind spots to step up the security of our citizens across the EU.”

Commissioner for the Security Union Julian King said: “The recent tragic attacks in Europe have highlighted the importance of effective information sharing between Member State authorities. The approach we are outlining today sets out a targeted and intelligent way of using the existing data to best effect. What we propose would be a step-change in the way we manage data for security, helping national authorities better addressing transnational threats and detecting terrorists who act across borders.”

According to the Executive Director of eu-LISA Krum Garkov eu-LISA has the knowledge and readiness to provide its expertise and fully contribute to achieving the objectives set out in the approach.

Background

In April 2016, the Commission presented a Communication on stronger and smarter information systems for borders and security and launched the work of the High-Level Expert Group on Information Systems and Interoperability. The High-Level Expert Group delivered its final report on 11 May confirming the views expressed in the April 2016 Communication, and putting forward recommendations towards the interoperability of information systems. The seventh progress report of EC takes stock of the recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group, and proposes the way forward to address structural shortcomings under the three main areas:

  1. maximising the utility of existing information systems;

  2. where necessary, developing complementary systems to close information gaps; and

  3. ensuring interoperability between our systems.

For More Information

Contact:

e-mail: press@eulisa.europa.eu

mob: +372 588 78 668

for general information: info@eulisa.europa.eu