Minister fails to name which groups or individuals will fall under new definition of extremism
A cabinet minister has failed to name which groups or individuals would fall under the upcoming revised definition of extremist groups.
Health Secretary Victoria Atkins was interviewed on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips after her frontbench colleague Michael Gove urged pro-Palestinian protesters to question whether extremist groups are behind some demonstrations.
She said the housing secretary was “setting out his ideas as to what we should do to tackle some of these very extreme views that we are sadly seeing expressed around our streets”.
Politics Live: Scrapping non-dom status ‘an utter humiliation’ for Tories, says Reeves
Tens of thousands of people took part in a protest against Israel’s war in Gaza organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in London on Saturday – the fifth march in the capital this year. Five were arrested and a counter-demonstrator de-arrested.
The upcoming revised definition of extremist groups would receive “more specificity” and enable the government and other public bodies to ban funding and engagement with Islamist and far-right groups, Mr Gove told the Sunday Telegraph.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Charlotte Church joins pro-Palestine march
Asked by Trevor Phillips about whether this meant there would be additions to the list this week, Ms Atkins said Mr Gove’s comments were a continuation of the warnings about extremism that Rishi Sunak gave in his Downing Street address last week, “namely that there are some people, sadly, who hold views that are contrary to the values that we hold as a country”.
“We should not allow those views to percolate through society or indeed allow them to try to change the way we as a society conduct our democracy, the way we allow parliament to set its own rules and conventions,” she said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Balfour painting slashed in Gaza protest
Ms Atkins did not name which groups or individuals might fall under the new definition, but pointed to pro-Palestine activists spray-painting and slashing a portrait of Lord Balfour at the University of Cambridge’s Trinity College on Friday, adding “this is not the way we conduct democracy and express our views in this country”.
? Listen above then tap here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts ?
Jewish residents ‘worried about walking in London’ during demonstrations
Pressed on whether the government was planning to ban groups because of the views they hold, Ms Atkins said there was a “longstanding convention” in the UK of “proscription for those groups that meet the very strict criteria under the legislation,” which she described as “the most extreme end”.
But she said “at the other end of the scale” there was concern that in large-scale pro-Palestinian demonstrations “there can be a minority of people who hold and extol views that make the rest of us feel not just deeply uncomfortable, but if you are a Jewish resident of London, some have said they feel worried about walking in London when these demonstrations happen, and that’s not right”.
Read more:
Hate preachers to be blocked from entering the UK
Ministers urge government to increase defence spending in highly unusual intervention
New definition is not attempt to draw dividing line with Labour
The health secretary insisted the new definition was not a political attempt to draw a dividing line with Labour.
She said: “It is precisely because we have seen, sadly, in the last six months or so, this rise in extremist ideas which is making people – other citizens in our country – feel deeply uncomfortable.
“So, it is that balancing act between… freedom of speech, but also the right of citizens to go about their daily lives.”
‘Genuine debate to be had’ about freedom of expression
Justice minister Mike Freer said there is “genuine debate to be had about what is legitimate freedom of expression”.
After speaking at an event in north London calling for the return of the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, he told Sky News the government needs to “redraw that line so people know what is legitimate and what is extremism”.
Politics
Starmer needs to publicly say Trump is wrong and give more reassurance over tariffs, Harriet Harman urges
Sir Keir Starmer needs to reassure the public more over tariffs – and tell them Donald Trump is wrong, Harriet Harman has said.
Speaking to Beth Rigby on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Labour peer said ministers were avoiding the “elephant in the room, which is that Trump is wrong on this, we don’t agree with him”.
The US president placed 10% tariffs on all UK goods exported to the US, and while other countries were much worse hit, the FTSE 100 fell by about 1,000 after Mr Trump’s “liberation day” announcement last week.
It then kicked off its best day in five years on Thursday after Mr Trump decided to defer the worst of his tariffs for 90 days. Financial markets around the world reacted similarly.
Baroness Harman said there was no need for “gratuitous insults” but that the prime minister needed to “own the narrative” because there is “a danger” if the leader of the country is not saying what is actually happening.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
PM reacts to tariffs at liaison committee
A minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Baroness Harman said that when the US put steel tariffs on imported steel in 2002, Mr Blair “did say ‘this is unacceptable, this is wrong, it’s unjustified, it is breaching the World Trade Organisation rules'”.
“He was able to say ‘we do not believe this is how you should be within the world organisation and Bush has got it wrong’,” she added
“I think it feels as if there’s a kind of restricted vocabulary amongst ministers at the moment where they are speaking in code.”
The Labour peer said she also thought Sir Keir should be “being more positive and giving reassurance”.
👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈
Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump at the White House in February. Pic: AP
She acknowledged there was “a lot of criticism” in the first six months of Labour’s tenure and the government “didn’t help the economy by rather talking it down”.
There is a danger of being “too pessimistic”, she said, and Sir Keir needs to be “realistic”.
“But I think that giving people reassurances – we’re not going to panic, we’re not going to make mistakes by knee-jerk retaliation,” she said.
“I think the story needs to be told to the country that this is a really difficult problem and Trump has caused it and he is wrong to do this, but we will be okay with this government.
“And I think he’s entitled to say that, and I think people will want to hear that.”
Crypto-critical US Senator Elizabeth Warren has led six Senate Democrats in urging the Department of Justice to reverse its decision to terminate its crypto investigations and prosecutions division.
In an April 10 letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Senators said the decision to disband the department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team was a “grave mistake” that would support “sanctions evasion, drug trafficking, scams, and child sexual exploitation.”
Senators Richard Durbin, Mazie Hirono, Sheldon Whitehouse, Christopher Coons and Richard Blumenthal signed the letter in addition to Warren.
On April 7, Blanche shuttered the DOJ’s crypto enforcement team, saying in a memo that “The Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator.”
The senators claim that the decision gave a “free pass to cryptocurrency money launderers” and claimed that crypto mixing services — used to obfuscate blockchain transactions — are “go-to tools for cybercriminals.”
“It makes no sense for DOJ to announce a hands-off approach to tools that are being used to support such terrible crimes,” the letter said.
An excerpt of Democrat’s letter to the DOJ. Source: US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
The senators also questioned why the Justice Department had decided not to prosecute a “host of crimes involving digital assets, including violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.”
They claimed that this creates a “systemic vulnerability in the digital assets sector,” which “drug traffickers, terrorists, fraudsters, and adversaries” will exploit on a large scale.
The lawmakers requested a staff-level briefing no later than May 1, providing “detailed information on the rationale behind these decisions.”
Targeting Trump family crypto endeavors
The letter also took a swipe at the Trump family’s crypto projects, suggesting potential conflicts of interest.
Related: SafeMoon boss cites DOJ’s nixed crypto unit in latest bid to toss suit
A press release accompanying the letter stated that the senators are raising concerns about the “potential connections” between the DOJ’s actions and the crypto ventures of President Donald Trump and his family.
The Trumps have an interest in and have backed the crypto platform World Liberty Financial along with its token. The platform is also planning to launch a stablecoin while President Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., are working to launch a crypto-mining company called American Bitcoin.
“Your decisions give rise to concerns that President Trump’s interest in selling his cryptocurrency may be the reason for easing law enforcement scrutiny,” the Democrats stated.
In a memo announcing the crypto enforcement team’s disbandment, Blanche accused the Biden administration of using the Justice Department to “pursue a reckless strategy of regulation by prosecution.”
Magazine: Illegal arcade disguised as … a fake Bitcoin mine? Soldier scams in China: Asia Express
New York Attorney General Letitia James has sent a letter to US congressional leaders urging “common sense” federal crypto regulations and to keep digital assets out of US pensions.
“I am urging Congress to pass legislation that would strengthen federal regulations on the cryptocurrency industry to protect investors, strengthen financial markets, and stop fraud,” James said in a 14-page letter shared on April 10, outlining six major risks if the sector remains unregulated.
She said that without appropriate safeguards, the “unchecked proliferation of digital assets” undermines US dollar dominance, weakens national security due to criminal activity, and “undermines the stability of financial markets.”
Unregulated crypto also subjects investors to “price manipulation and rigged markets,” facilitates fraud that “drains billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, and extracts assets and investments from the American economy,” she said.
An excerpt of James’ letter to Congress. Source: Office of the New York State Attorney General
James made a number of recommendations and pushed Congress for legislation that would require stablecoin issuers to have a US presence and regulatory oversight and mandate backing stablecoins with US dollars or treasuries.
She also wants regulations that require platforms to work only with anti-money laundering-compliant entities, establish registration requirements for issuers and intermediaries, protect against conflicts of interest and promote price transparency and require fraud prevention measures.
No crypto assets in pension funds
The New York’s top lawyer also aired her concerns about including crypto in pension funds.
“Digital assets are uniquely unsuitable for retirement savings due to their high volatility,” she said, claiming that they have no value.
“The underlying value of cryptocurrency is unpredictable and not determined by true price discovery because they have no intrinsic value on which their prices are based.”
James also urged against retirement funds investing in crypto-tracking exchange-traded funds, stating that “unlike traditional exchange-traded funds backed by stocks and bonds, cryptocurrency held to back cryptocurrency ETFs are at risk of permanent theft.”
Related: US lawmaker will reintroduce crypto retirement bill to help Trump agenda
“As Congress takes the mantle to propose legislation governing the cryptocurrency industry, we hope it also takes action to mitigate the risks posed by the industry to America’s national security, financial stability, and citizens,” James said.
The call for regulation follows the US Department of Justice’s reported dismantling of its federal criminal cryptocurrency fraud enforcement division.
Magazine: 3 reasons Ethereum could turn a corner: Kain Warwick, X Hall of Flame
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway