A new facility that ensures vulnerable witnesses giving evidence will not meet defendants within a court building, was officially opened in Belfast today the Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced.
New laws to safeguard the privacy and anonymity of victims of sexual offences and suspects in sexual offence cases come into effect today.
Commercial and recreational water users in Co Tyrone are being urged to enhance their biosecurity measures after tests have confirmed an outbreak of Crayfish plague in the Upper Ballinderry River catchment.
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, has the following response to the approval of the Rosebank oil field:
“Giving the green light to this huge new oil field is morally obscene. This Government must be held accountable for its complicity in this climate crime.
Amidst a summer of raging wildfires and the hottest July on record, this Government approves the biggest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea – set to produce more than the combined CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world.
Energy security and cheaper bills aren’t delivered by allowing highly-subsidised, foreign-owned fossil fuel giants to extract more oil and gas from these islands and sell it overseas to the highest bidder.
They come from grasping the opportunities of unblocking and upscaling abundant and affordable renewables, and properly insulating the nation – ensuring clean air and water, thriving nature and wildlife, and high-quality skilled and stable jobs in the process.
If we’re going to secure this liveable future, we must stop all new fossil fuel projects like Rosebank once and for all.”
ENDS
Responding to Suella Braverman’s US speech [1], Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said:
“This is a horrifying speech from a British Home Secretary that would not be out of place on a far-right conspiracy website.
“It is language straight out of the gutter that should have no place in a fair and compassionate society.
“The Prime Minister should have the decency and moral courage to sack the Home Secretary now.
“Suella Braverman has singled out gay people seeking asylum despite the fact they make up around 1.5 per cent of applications and come mostly from countries where being openly gay can lead to a lifetime in prison or even a death sentence.
“She claims that so-called uncontrolled and illegal migration is an ‘existential challenge for the political and cultural institutions of the West’, when our country draws its strength a from the diversity offered by centuries of migrants sharing their skills and experiences and building lives here.
“The international refugee convention has proved a cornerstone of protection for people around the world and serves as a reminder to every country of our shared obligations.
“We need a government that recognises its international responsibilities and sits down with its neighbours to work out how to create the safe, legal routes that enable people to seek asylum without risking their lives.”
Notes