Charlotte Church and Jeremy Corbyn join tens of thousands at pro-Palestine march
Charlotte Church and Jeremy Corbyn joined thousands of pro-Palestine protesters in London to demand a ceasefire in Gaza, days after a government official said the capital’s streets have become a “no-go zone for Jews”.
Organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), the march stretched from Hyde Park Corner to the US Embassy in Nine Elms.
It marked the fifth major demonstration in the capital so far this year, and the PSC’s tenth since 7 October.
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While marching through central London, protesters chanted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and waved banners demanding a “ceasefire now”.
Singer Charlotte Church, who led a choir in singing “from the river to the sea” last month, insisted that the marches have had “a strong, a peaceful, loving message”.
The march stretched from Hyde Park Corner to the US Embassy in Nine Elms. Pic: PA
It marks the fifth major demonstration in the capital so far this year, and the PSC’s tenth since 7 October.
Ahead of the latest demonstration, the UK’s counter extremism tsar claimed the protests are turning London into a “no-go zone for Jews every weekend”.
Speaking to the PA news agency, Church said: “There’s been singing, there’s been drumming, yes, there’s been emotion but, in the majority, that emotion has been love, has been compassion, because that’s why we’re all here.
“We’re all here because we cannot bear what we’re witnessing. We cannot bear to see civilians, children, women slaughtered…
“We’re also showing that we are absolutely not going to tolerate our government being a part of propping up an apartheid regime.”
Pic: PA
The Met Police said they arrested five people during the march. Pic: PA
The war started after an attack by proscribed terror group Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 taken hostage.
Israel retaliated with air strikes and later a ground offensive, and so far, Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say nearly 31,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands more bodies are feared buried under rubble.
Corbyn criticises Biden
The Met Police said it arrested five people during the march, including a woman for holding an offensive placard and two men for chanting offensive slogans.
One man was also arrested for assault, and another under the Public Order Act who was seen carrying a shield and wearing a helmet.
Former Labour leader Mr Corbyn, who now sits as an independent MP, vowed “there will be as many of them as it takes”.
“It’s all very well for Joe Biden to say they’re going to build a port to deliver aid,” he said.
“(It would) be far better if they stopped delivering arms to Israel and made sure there was a ceasefire.”
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Jeremy Corbyn called the march “huge, and there will be as many of them as it takes”. Pic: PA
The protest comes a day after International Women’s Day, and saw female volunteers from Friends of Al-Aqsa join to “highlight the Palestinian genocide as a gendered issue”.
The group said gender equality “cannot be achieved whilst civilians in Palestine are under continued bombardment”.
‘None of us are scared’
The UK’s counter extremism tsar Robin Simcox wrote in The Daily Telegraph last week that a “permissive environment for radicalisation” is developing.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has also promised to clamp down against “extremist forces trying to tear us apart”, and Michael Gove is expected to set out a new definition of extremism in the coming days.
A counter-protest to the pro-Palestine marches was held in Victoria, central London, on Saturday afternoon and organiser Itai Galmudy said: “Jews are not afraid… we’ve had enough of those anti-Israeli hate marches that are full of inflammatory language towards Jews and Israelis. And we just want to say enough is enough.”
But speaking to Sky News at the demonstration, Gillian Mosley, a Jewish director marching as part of the Jewish Bloc for Palestine, said claims the capitol is a “no-go” area are “absurd”.
“Obviously I’m surrounded by Jews,” she said. “I also live in central London and have lots of Jewish neighbours, and none of us are scared.”
Gillian Mosley, a Jewish director marching for Palestine, said “none of us are scared”.
Pic: PA
PSC hails ‘unprecedented’ tenth march
Ben Jamal, director of the PSC, said after the march that it was “unprecedented” to see “this many people marching for this length of time”.
“You’ll see people here come from all walks of life, young and old, many people here with young children,” he said.
“They see children’s bodies being pulled out of the rubble, they look like that, they say ‘it could be my child, that could be my brother, that could be my sister’.
“‘I want it to stop and I want my government to take action’. That’s why they’re marching.”
Before the march, the Met Police said the cost of policing Gaza-related protests in London had reached over £32 million and had required 35,464 officer shifts and more than 5,200 officer rest days to be cancelled.
While it didn’t say how many were estimated to have attended the march, the force said more than 2,300 officers policed 11 major events on Saturday and 500 officers from outside the Met’s area were brought in to assist.
Oleksandr Usyk has become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after defeating Tyson Fury in boxing’s biggest fight of the century.
The Ukrainian won on a split decision following the match in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk had 115-112 and 114-113 on two cards, while Fury took the other 114-113.
Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury. Pic: PA
Fury disputed his loss after the match, saying: “I believe I won that fight. I believe he won a few rounds but I won more of them.
“Make no mistake I won that fight and I’ll be back.”
In response Usyk said he was “ready for a rematch”.
Pic: Action Images via Reuters
Fury came under early pressure, with Usyk taking the centre of the ring with an aggressive offensive from the start.
At one point Fury was pushed against the ropes and started laughing as Usyk applied pressure.
The “Gypsy King” looked relaxed as he moved around the ring in the early rounds and picked his shots.
Pic: PA
Fury lunges at Usyk. Pic: PA
But after Usyk landed a right hook in the ninth round it looked as if Fury was in serious trouble. The Ukrainian followed up by unloading freely but somehow the bookmakers’ favourite stayed on his feet and was saved by the bell.
Last night, Fury weighed in at 262lbs (18st 10lbs) – nearly three stone heavier than Usyk, who clocked in at a career heaviest of 223lbs (15st 13lbs).
Fury refused to look at his opponent during a news conference on Thursday, but did not back down at the weigh-in last night, where the pair almost came to blows before being separated by their entourages.
Usyk arrived into the ring first, dressed as a Cossack warrior.
Fury entered to songs by Barry White and Bonnie Tyler, with the “Gypsy King” spending several minutes dancing on stage before the song changed to Holding Out For A Hero.
Anthony Joshua watched from the ringside, knowing he could meet the winner early next year.
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Brixham: Warning ‘heads are going to roll’ after water parasite outbreak – as ‘nearly every house in one close has someone ill’
Thousands of homes have had their boiling water restrictions lifted after a water tank infected with cryptosporidium was drained and cleaned, South West Water has said.
About 16,000 households in the Brixham area of Devon were told to boil their drinking water following 46 confirmed cases of the disease.
On Saturday afternoon South West Water lifted the boiling restrictions for 14,500 homes after water quality monitoring results found no traces of cryptosporidium in the Alston supply area.
Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a tiny parasite and can lead to vomiting, stomach cramps and watery diarrhoea lasting about two weeks.
More cases are expected to be confirmed due to a delay in developing symptoms – and about 100 more people around Brixham were reporting signs of it on Friday.
South West Water believes the parasite probably entered supplies through a damaged pipe in a field containing animal faeces.
A contaminated water tank at Hillhead reservoir, where cryptosporidium was detected, was drained overnight and “thoroughly cleaned” on Saturday, South West Water said.
One local resident said she knew of only four houses out of 21 in Raddicombe Close, on the outskirts of Brixham, which have not had at least one person fall ill with cryptosporidiosis.
The local MP has warned “heads are going to roll” over the incident.
Tory MP Anthony Mangnall, whose constituency includes Brixham, told LBC: “This is such a serious matter that yes, I think heads are going to roll over this.”
He claimed the supplier had been too slow to issue its safety alert.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
Mr Mangnall said: “From starting this week with a denial from South West Water that it was anything to do with them, delaying the fact that the boil water notice came in – meaning thousands of people used the water network – to then issuing it on Wednesday, and there are a lot of people who are very ill.”
He called it an “absolutely disastrous week” and said locals were furious.
South West Water has said it’s “deeply sorry” and that it’s been “working tirelessly” to identify the source of the problem and fix it.
Bottled water stations have been set up in the area.
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Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey accused the government of not doing enough to hold water companies to account.
He told Sky News the firms were “putting profit over the environment, over public health” after multiple cases of sewage being released into rivers and seas.
“We [Liberal Democrats] wouldn’t wait for fines for pollution,” Sir Ed said.
“There should be a sewage tax on the profits of these water companies so we can get the money now.
“There needs to be much tougher regulation… and we may need to look at restructuring the whole water industry.”
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Kelly Holmes joins anti-sewage protest
It comes as dozens of protests over sewage releases were planned for Saturday.
Surfers Against Sewage is promoting “paddle-out” demonstrations at 30 locations, with Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes among those at the event in Brighton.
The confirmed cases of a waterborne disease caused by a parasite have more than doubled.
There are now 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis, a diarrhoeal illness, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said – with more than 100 further people reporting similar symptoms in the Brixham area.
Other reported cases of diarrhoea and vomiting in residents and visitors to the south Devon town are also under investigation. Hundreds of locals have also reported feeling unwell over the last two weeks on social media.
MPs and South West Water officials have confirmed the parasite most likely entered water supplies through animal faeces, but an investigation is still ongoing.
What is cryptosporidiosis disease?
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‘Cow faeces’ infected Devon water
The UKHSA first confirmed cases of the disease at around midday on Wednesday, while locals were initially told by South West Water that their tap water was uncontaminated and safe to drink.
But after testing supplies in the Hillhead reservoir, the water company found “small traces” of the parasite cryptosporidium – which causes cryptosporidiosis – and told residents in parts of Brixham and Alston to boil their drinking water on Wednesday.
A total of 16,000 households and businesses in Brixham, Boohay, Kingswear, Roseland and North West Paignton were impacted and offered £15 compensation at first.
Over the next two days, South West Water apologised to those affected and increased the offer to £115. Amid the chaos, one primary school closed its doors on Thursday due to not having safe running drinking water.
16,000 businesses and residents are affected by the boil water notice. Pic: South West Water
‘Very hard questions for water company’
Speaking to Sky News yesterday, South West Water’s chief customer officer Laura Flowerdew confirmed it was likely a broken air valve contaminated by animal faeces that had caused the outbreak.
However, she refused to give a timeframe on how long the incident would be ongoing – leaving thousands of residents facing an uncertain future.
Speaking on Friday at the University of Exeter, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said there will be “very, very hard questions” for South West Water over the outbreak.
“At the moment I think we probably need to give them the space to conduct their investigation; we know that they have identified the source,” she said.
“The public will want to know how on earth that source happened, what was the chain of events that led to this, because of course we all understand the expectation that we all have when we turn our taps on is that [we get] clean drinking water and we want to be able to trust it.”
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Most cases of cryptosporidiosis pass in two weeks. Symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. File pic: Dr_Microbe/iStock
‘Expect to see more cases’
Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall also warned the boil notice could last “at least a further six or seven days” and called for more transparency.
Professor Paul Hunter, a specialist in medical microbiology at the University of East Anglia, told Sky News if the parasite was “a continuous thing” present in water supplies for a prolonged period, then “you’d expect to see more cases” for another two weeks.
It comes as hotel owners in the area told Sky News the outbreak has led to people cancelling their stay, while a head chef said “I can’t wash salad in the sink”.
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‘Destroyed our business’
Stephen Colemansfield, owner of Redlands Guest House in Brixham, told Sky News the outbreak has “destroyed our business at the moment”.
“Our guests have cancelled because of the mixed messages that are being sent out by South West Water.”
Rob, head chef at the Steam Packet Inn in Kingswear near Dartmouth, also said his brother-in-law is one of the 46 confirmed cases of cryptosporidiosis and has been sick for two weeks.
The UKHSA is working with Torbay Council, South West Water, NHS Devon and the Environment Agency on the incident.
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