Ministers urge police to make ‘robust’ use of powers over safety fears
Ministers have urged police forces to use “robust” measures to tackle protesters who “intimidate and harass” MPs over their stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
In a letter to chief constables, seen by Sky News, security minister Tom Tugendhat and policing minister Chris Philp said the demonstration outside the home of Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood was an example of “unacceptable” actions that risk having a “chilling effect on democracy”.
Politics Live: Starmer calls for lasting ceasefire in Gaza
More than 60 people, some holding Palestinian flags and leading chants, gathered at the Bournemouth East MP’s home last Monday.
Tobias Ellwood
The letter from the two ministers said: “The intimidation of democratically elected representatives is unacceptable.
“It’s important that our elected representatives are able to feel safe in their homes, free from fear and harassment.
“I’m strongly concerned about the chilling effect that undermining this could have on our political discourse, as well as on the willingness of prospective candidates to step forward and provide our communities with the representation they deserve.”
The letter acknowledged the “operational independence” of the police before listing the powers they can use to deal with protesters “robustly”.
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Protesters descend on MP’s home
It said that given this year will likely see a general election it is “all the more important that candidates, both locally and nationally, are free to make their arguments to our communities without fear”.
It added: “You have my full support in making robust use of all your powers to ensure that the security of our elected representatives is protected, and our democratic values upheld.”
The unusual intervention comes amid increasing concern about MPs’ safety.
This month Conservative MP Mike Freer announced he would quit parliament after a series of death threats and an arson attack on his office.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner also told Sky News she no longer goes out socially because she is scared of death threats and protest confrontation from those opposed to her party’s stance on the war.
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Angela Rayner ‘no longer goes out’
It follows the murders in recent years of MPs Jo Cox and Sir David Amess in their constituencies.
Speaking to The Telegraph, which first reported on the letter, Mr Tugendhat referenced the killing of Ms Cox eight years ago as he accused those who target politicians of “silencing democracy”.
He told the newspaper: “While I champion the right to protest and of course think it’s important that people have the right to express their views, everyone must have that right – not just loudmouth thugs who want to silence everybody else.”
Mr Ellwood separately wrote a piece for The Telegraph in which he warned of a growing trend of public servants facing “intimidation and threats”.
He said MPs “including myself, are now troubled by our ability to attract the next generation of talent”.
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The former defence minister and his family were not at home during the demonstration last week, after being warned by police to stay away.
He has said he doesn’t know why he was targeted given he has not taken a particularly strident pro-Israel view.
Protests have been held across the country in recent months to call for a ceasefire, as the death toll from the Israeli bombardment of Gaza continues to rise.
There have also been warnings of a growing volume of antisemitic incidents in the wake of the Hamas attacks on 7 October, amid heightened tensions over the conflict.
Mr Ellwood said: “Though this was the first pro-Palestinian targeting of an MP’s house, it is far from an isolated incident.
“Fellow MPs agree – we are witnessing a growing trend where public servants increasingly face intimidation and threats.”
Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, marks their 50th birthday amid a year of rising institutional and geopolitical adoption of the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The identity of Nakamoto remains one of the biggest mysteries in crypto, with speculation ranging from cryptographers like Adam Back and Nick Szabo to broader theories involving government intelligence agencies.
While Nakamoto’s identity remains anonymous, the Bitcoin (BTC) creator is believed to have turned 50 on April 5 based on details shared in the past.
According to archived data from his P2P Foundation profile, Nakamoto once claimed to be a 37-year-old man living in Japan and listed his birthdate as April 5, 1975.
Source: Web.archive.org
Nakamoto’s anonymity has played a vital role in maintaining the decentralized nature of the Bitcoin network, which has no central authority or leadership.
The Bitcoin wallet associated with Nakamoto, which holds over 1 million BTC, has laid dormant for more than 16 years despite BTC rising from $0 to an all-time high above $109,000 in January.
Satoshi Nakamoto statue in Lugano, Switzerland. Source: Cointelegraph
Nakamoto’s 50th birthday comes nearly a month after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a Digital Asset Stockpile, marking the first major step toward integrating Bitcoin into the US financial system.
Related: Bitcoin at 16: From experiment to trillion-dollar asset
Nakamoto’s legacy: a “cornerstone of economic sovereignty”
“At 50, Nakamoto’s legacy is no longer just code; it’s a cornerstone of economic sovereignty,” according to Anndy Lian, author and intergovernmental blockchain expert.
“Bitcoin’s reserve status signals trust in its scarcity and resilience,” Lian told Cointelegraph, adding:
“What’s fascinating is the timing. Fifty feels symbolic — half a century of life, mirrored by Bitcoin’s journey from a white paper to a trillion-dollar asset. Nakamoto’s vision of trustless, peer-to-peer money has outgrown its cypherpunk roots, entering the halls of power.”
However, lingering questions about Nakamoto remain unanswered, including whether they still hold the keys to their wallet, which is “a fortune now tied to US policy,” Lian said.
Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension
Is Satoshi Nakamoto wealthier than Bill Gates?
In February, Arkham Intelligence published findings that attribute 1.096 million BTC — then valued at more than $108 billion — to Nakamoto. That would place him above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on the global wealth rankings, according to data shared by Coinbase director Conor Grogan.
Satoshi’s new addresses. Source: Conor Grogan
If accurate, this would make Nakamoto the world’s 16th richest person.
Despite the growing interest in Nakamoto’s identity and holdings, his early decision to remain anonymous and inactive has helped preserve Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos — a principle that continues to define the cryptocurrency to this day.
Magazine: 10 crypto theories that missed as badly as ‘Peter Todd is Satoshi’
The United States stock market lost more in value over the April 4 trading day than the entire cryptocurrency market is worth, as fears over US President Donald Trump’s tariffs continue to ramp up.
On April 4, the US stock market lost $3.25 trillion — around $570 billion more than the entire crypto market’s $2.68 trillion valuation at the time of publication.
Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market”
Among the Magnificent-7 stocks, Tesla (TSLA) led the losses on the day with a 10.42% drop, followed by Nvidia (NVDA) down 7.36% and Apple (AAPL) falling 7.29%, according to TradingView data.
The significant decline across the board signals that the Nasdaq 100 is now “in a bear market” after falling 6% across the trading day, trading resource account The Kobeissi Letter said in an April 4 X post. This is the largest daily decline since March 16, 2020.
“US stocks have now erased a massive -$11 TRILLION since February 19 with recession odds ABOVE 60%,” it added. The Kobessi Letter said Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement was “historic” and if the tariffs continue, a recession will be “impossible to avoid.”
Source: Anthony Scaramucci
On April 2, Trump signed an executive order establishing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports from all countries.
Trump said the reciprocal tariffs will be roughly half the rate US trading partners impose on American goods.
Related: Bitcoin bulls defend $80K support as ‘World War 3 of trade wars’ crushes US stocks
Meanwhile, the crypto industry has pointed out that while the stock market continues to decline, Bitcoin (BTC) remains stronger than most expected.
Crypto trader Plan Markus pointed out in an April 4 X post that while the entire stock market “is tanking,” Bitcoin is holding.
Source: Jeff Dorman
Even some crypto skeptics have pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s performance and the US stock market during the recent period of macro uncertainty.
Stock market commentator Dividend Hero told his 203,200 X followers that he has “hated on Bitcoin in the past, but seeing it not tank while the stock market does is very interesting to me.”
Meanwhile, technical trader Urkel said Bitcoin “doesn’t appear to care one bit about tariff wars and markets tanking.” Bitcoin is trading at $83,749 at the time of publication, down 0.16% over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data.
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