Michelle Donelan: Science secretary apologises after false Hamas claims about academic led to taxpayers footing £15,000 libel bill

Published

1 year ago

March 12, 2024

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Michelle Donelan has apologised for publicly posting a letter on social media which falsely suggested an academic had sympathy for Hamas.

The science secretary admitted she should have privately raised concerns about Professor Kate Sang’s views after the cabinet minister’s claims resulted in a libel action where taxpayers footed a £15,000 bill for damages.

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In a letter to UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) posted on X, Ms Donelan expressed “disgust and outrage” that Prof Sang and another academic, Dr Kamna Patel, had “shared extremist views”.

The pair had recently been appointed to UKRI’s advisory group on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

Speaking to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee on Tuesday, Ms Donelan said: “While I always err on the side of transparency, I am now clear that in this case I could have sent the letter in confidence to the UKRI in order for them to undertake the investigations privately.

“And I do apologise for not having done so, and for any distraction that this decision has caused from this government’s positive agenda.”

Ms Donelan has faced calls to resign and cover the cost of settling the libel action herself after publicly retracting her remarks last week.

The letter followed a tweet by Prof Sang saying “this is disturbing”, with a link to a Guardian article describing the response in the UK to the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

In a statement last week, Ms Donelan accepted Prof Sang’s comments referred to the story as a whole, and not just the headline, which focused on the government’s crackdown on support for Hamas.

As a result of Ms Donelan’s letter, both Prof Sang and Dr Patel were subject to a probe by UKRI, which uncovered no evidence that they had expressed extremist views or support for Hamas, or breached the terms of their appointments.

Prof Sang launched a libel action against Ms Donelan, with the science department revealing last week that it cost taxpayers £15,000 to cover the damages.

The sum was paid “without admitting any liability”, according to the government which said the approach was intended to reduce the overall costs to the taxpayer that could result from protracted legal action.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has defended keeping Ms Donelan in her post, saying he was “focused on the budget” rather than her legal case.

However the decision has angered academics, who have accused her of undermining trust between the government and researchers.

Ms Donelan had already stirred controversy in the scientific community for vowing at the Tory party conference last year to “kick woke ideology out of science”.

One member of the group told Sky News that Ms Donelan’s intervention was “irresponsible at best, but a malicious and vindictive attack on individuals connected with EDI at worse”.

Politics

Panama’s capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees

Published

7 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Panama's capital to accept crypto for taxes, municipal fees</div>

Panama’s capital city will accept cryptocurrency payments for taxes and municipal fees, including bus tickets and permits, Panama City mayor Mayer Mizrachi announced on April 15, joining a growing list of jurisdictions globally that have voted to accept such payments.

Panama City will begin accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Circle’s USDC (USDC), and Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin for payment once the crypto-to-fiat payment rails are established, Mizrachi posted on the X platform.

Mizrachi said previous administrations attempted to push through similar legislation but failed to overcome stipulations requiring the local government to accept funds denominated in US dollars.

In a translated statement, the Panama City mayor said that the local government partnered with a bank that will immediately convert any digital assets received into US dollars, allowing the municipality to accept crypto without introducing new legislation.

Panama City joins a growing list of global jurisdictions on the municipal and state level accepting cryptocurrency payments for taxes, exploring Bitcoin strategic reserves to protect public treasuries from inflation and passing pro-crypto policies to attract investment.

Taxes, Panama, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Mayer Mizrachi*

Municipalities and states embrace digital assets

Several municipalities and territories around the globe already accept crypto for tax payments or are exploring various implementations of blockchain technology for government spending.

The US state of Colorado started accepting crypto payments for taxes in September 2022. Much like Panama City said it will do, Colorado immediately converts the crypto to fiat.

In December 2023, the city of Lugano, Switzerland, announced taxes and city fees could be paid in Bitcoin, which was one of the developments that earned it the reputation of being a globally recognized Bitcoin city.

The city council of Vancouver, Canada, passed a motion to become “Bitcoin-friendly city” in December 2024. As part of that motion, the Vancouver local government will explore integrating BTC into the financial system, including tax payments.

North Carolina lawmaker Neal Jackson introduced legislation titled “The North Carolina Digital Asset Freedom Act” on April 10. If passed, the bill will recognize cryptocurrencies as an official form of payment that can be used to pay taxes.

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Politics

Fed’s Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Published

10 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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<div>Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation</div>

As digital assets gain mainstream adoption, establishing a legal framework for stablecoins is a “good idea,” said US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

In an April 16 panel at the Economic Club of Chicago, Powell commented on the evolution of the cryptocurrency industry, which has delivered a consumer use case that “could have wide appeal” following a difficult “wave of failures and frauds,” he said.

Fed's Powell reasserts support for stablecoin legislation

Powell delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Chicago. Source: Bloomberg Television

During crypto’s difficult years, which culminated in 2022 and 2023 with several high-profile business failures, the Fed “worked with Congress to try to get a […] legal framework for stablecoins, which would have been a nice place to start,” said Powell. “We were not successful.”

“I think that the climate is changing and you’re moving into more mainstreaming of that whole sector, so Congress is again looking […] at a legal framework for stablecoins,” he said.

“Depending on what’s in it, that’s a good idea. We need that. There isn’t one now,” said Powell.

This isn’t the first time Powell acknowledged the need for stablecoin legislation. In June 2023, the Fed boss told the House Financial Services Committee that stablecoins were “a form of money” that requires “robust” federal oversight.

Support for stablecoin legislation is growing

The election of US President Donald Trump has ushered in a new era of pro-crypto appointments and policy shifts that could make America a digital asset superpower.

Washington’s formal embrace of cryptocurrency began earlier this year when Trump established the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets, with Bo Hines as the executive director.

Hines told a digital asset summit in New York last month that a comprehensive stablecoin bill was a top priority for the current administration. After the Senate Banking Committee passed the GENIUS Act, a final stablecoin bill could arrive at the president’s desk “in the next two months,” said Hines.

Bo Hines (right) speaks of “imminent” stablecoin legislation at the Digital Asset Summit on March 18. Source: Cointelegraph

Stablecoins pegged to the US dollar are by far the most popular tokens used for remittances and cryptocurrency trading.

The combined value of all stablecoins is currently $227 billion, according to RWA.xyz. The dollar-pegged USDC (USDC) and USDt (USDT) account for more than 88% of the total market.

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Politics

Court grants 60-day pause of SEC, Ripple appeals case

Published

11 hours ago

April 16, 2025

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Court grants 60-day pause of SEC, Ripple appeals case

An appellate court has granted a joint request from Ripple Labs and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to pause an appeal in a 2020 SEC case against Ripple amid settlement negotiations.

In an April 16 filing in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the court approved a joint SEC-Ripple motion to hold the appeal in abeyance — temporarily pausing the case — for 60 days. As part of the order, the SEC is expected to file a status report by June 15.

Law, Ripple, SEC, Court — *April 16 order approving a motion to hold an appeal in abeyance. Source: PACER*

The SEC’s case against Ripple and its executives, filed in December 2020, was expected to begin winding down after Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced on March 19 that the commission would be dropping its appeal against the blockchain firm. A federal court found Ripple liable for $125 million in an August ruling, resulting in both the SEC and blockchain firm filing an appeal and cross-appeal, respectively.

However, once US President Donald Trump took office and leadership of the SEC moved from former chair Gary Gensler to acting chair Mark Uyeda, the commission began dropping multiple enforcement cases against crypto firms in a seeming political shift. Ripple pledged $5 million in XRP to Trump’s inauguration fund, and Garlinghouse and chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty attended events supporting the US president.

Despite support for the end of the case coming from both Ripple and the SEC, the August 2024 judgment and appellate cases leave some legal entanglements. Alderoty said in March that Ripple would drop its cross-appeal with the SEC and receive a roughly $75 million refund from the lower court judgment. It’s unclear what else may result from negotiations over a settlement in appellate court.

New leadership at SEC incoming

Acting chair Uyeda is expected to step down following the US Senate confirming Paul Atkins as SEC chair on April 9.

During his confirmation hearings, lawmakers questioned Atkins about his ties to crypto, which could create conflicts of interest in his role regulating the industry. In financial disclosures, Atkins stated he had millions of dollars in assets through stakes in crypto firms, including Securitize, Pontoro and Patomak.

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