11 November 2020

• Jenny Jones, Green peer and former member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, condemns authoritarian tendency in Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill

Green Party peer Jenny Jones has condemned the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill ahead of its second reading in the House of Lords today. [1]

Baroness Jones, who was herself the subject of covert police surveillance for more than a decade, said:

“The police are paid to uphold the law; this Bill allows officers to either act illegally, or to pay others to break it.  It is one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation any government has ever proposed. 

“The government has learnt a major lesson from the spycops scandal and are passing legislation to ensure that innocent people, who become victims of devastating state intrusion in their personal lives, can never take legal action to get justice.”

The Green Party are particularly concerned about the creation of special units like the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS), which for many years worked outside the normal channels and reported directly to the Home Office. Such dubious activity can undermine the legal process.

Baroness Jones concluded:

“Court cases have collapsed in recent years as it emerged that police officers broke the law and acted as agents provocateurs when undercover. Our democracy requires that nobody is above the law and this must apply in particular to those who apply the law.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://services.parliament.uk/Bills/2019-21/coverthumanintelligencesourcescriminalconduct.html

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10 November 2020

The Green Party has warned Labour’s plans for a green economic recovery [1] are a step in the right direction but do not go far enough.

Responding to the publication of the policy, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley, said:

“While it’s welcome to see Labour taking this step in the right direction we need to face the reality of the task before us, and this kind of ambition simply does not go far enough.

“At the last election the Green Party pledged to spend £100 billion a year for the next ten years to create millions of green jobs. This is the kind of ambition that is needed if we are serious about tackling the climate and social emergencies on our doorstep. [2]

“We no longer have time for the half measures or the gradual realisation we are seeing from the two main parties. 

“In a climate emergency we can’t be offering a half-hearted green recovery on one hand while bailing out airlines on the other. It’s time to match the scale of investment with the urgency of the climate emergency we’re facing.”

ENDS

Notes

1

https://labour.org.uk/press/labour-challenges-government-to-build-it-in-britain-and-support-400000-new-jobs-with-green-economic-recovery/

2

https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2019/11/06/green-party-climate-election-launch-campaign-bristol/

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7 November 2020

Responding to the victory of Joe Biden in the US Presidential elections, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley, said:

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris should be congratulated for their historic result in the electoral college, securing more votes than any presidential candidate in US history. We’re delighted that their success also means the first female Vice President of the US. 

“The intensity with which the vote count has been followed this week is a reminder of how much the world depends on stable American governance and a reliable leader. 

“We welcome Joe Biden’s commitment to immediately sign the Paris Climate Agreement. The world is counting on him to urgently pivot the USA to a trajectory of net-zero carbon emissions and ecological sustainability.”

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6 November 2020

With the end of the transition period less than two months away, the Green Party has condemned the government for failing to plan for the border checks that leaving the EU makes inevitable, and treating the businesses who really need to ‘get Brexit done’ with contempt.

Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack said: “This is not about deal or no deal: whatever emerges from the Brexit negotiations will mean massive changes at our borders. This has been clear since Theresa May decided to leave the single market and customs union nearly three years ago and yet the necessary preparations have not been made.1 The government has been derelict in its duty to prepare our borders and its own worst-case scenario shows that up to 70% of lorries carrying goods may not be Brexit ready.

“The NAO is right to point out that leaving these preparations so late means public money is being wasted on infrastructure that could and should, have been provided by the private sector if the government had planned ahead. This is nothing to do with the extended Brexit negotiations and everything to do with government incompetence.”

Molly Scott Cato, former MEP and party Brexit spokesperson added: “It was astonishing that the Prime Minister failed to mention Brexit preparations during his recorded speech to the CBI earlier in the week. Our businesses are capable of great flexibility but only if they are clear about what they need to plan for. Leaving them in the dark adds to the risks created by Covid-19 and leaves British businesses extremely vulnerable.

“We maintain our position that continued membership of the single market and customs union is in the best interests of British business. This would mean that none of these checks would be necessary and would ensure a continued smooth flow of goods in and out of the UK.”

ENDS 

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4 November 2020

Green Party co-leader Jonathan Bartley, said:

“With millions of votes still to be counted, we utterly reject Donald Trump’s attempt to delegitimise the election process and deny millions of electors the right to have their votes counted. He has undermined the international standing of US democracy and abandoned any claim to be the “Leader of the Free World”.

“We call on our government to publicly condemn Trump’s authoritarian actions and make a clear statement of our continuing support for free and fair elections and the rule of law. 

“Democracy requires patience and cooperation. Every vote must be counted.”

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