Government accused of U-turn after accepting Russian and Belarusian athletes at Olympics

Published

9 months ago

April 19, 2024

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The UK government has been accused of a U-turn after accepting Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete at the 2024 Olympics.

Last year, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said athletes “funded by their states” or “who are in receipt of funding or sponsorship directly aligned to their states” cannot be considered neutral in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.

Britain is part of a coalition of like-minded countries which had called for a ban on such athletes due to this funding.

But the government has now confirmed it agrees with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that Russian and Belarusian athletes can compete under a neutral banner at the upcoming Paris Games.

Ms Frazer said on Friday those athletes will be taking part under the “strictest neutrality conditions possible”.

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After the position was revealed by The Times earlier this month, there were accusations of a government U-turn on the issue.

Richard Caborn, who was sports minister between 2001 and 2007, said: “This is a humiliating U-turn by Frazer after her forceful speech one year ago to the Council of Europe setting out why Britain should support the total ban of Russian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics.”

In her speech last year, Ms Frazer said the IOC’s recommendations did “not go far enough”, and that a group of more than 30 nations had raised concerns.

The government has rejected the suggestion that it changed course following an IOC threat to prevent the UK from hosting Olympic qualifying events.

Ms Frazer said on Friday that she and sports minister Stuart Andrew are “personally committed to supporting Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion”.

They said it was for each sporting body, like the IOC, to make their own determinations.

Ms Frazer added: “But our position is clear. Putin’s regime does not deserve to see its athletes line up on the starting blocks of races or stand on podiums during medal ceremonies as representatives of their countries.

“This has never been about punishing individual Russian or Belarusian athletes.

“What we stand against is athletes competing representing the states of Russia and Belarus.

“We continue to vigorously oppose Russian and Belarusian state participation. Our policy has never been a complete and total ban on neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus participating at all.”

The minister pointed out Russians and Belarusians have been able to compete as neutrals in UK tennis competitions.

She insisted the efforts of the government and coalition have been focused on urging Olympic organisers to “change their approach, apply the strictest neutrality conditions possible and ensure they are implemented rigorously”.

“After two years of concerted lobbying, they have done that. And the result is that the number of athletes from Russia and Belarus expected to participate in the Olympics is in the tens, not hundreds.

“As a result, we have written to the IOC and International Paralympic Committee noting that their final neutrality rules for Paris achieve the widely accepted baseline of ensuring that Russia and Belarus are not represented as states in international sport.”

The IOC expects as many as 54 Russian athletes to compete in Paris.

They will not be able to compete in team disciplines, cannot compete in Russian colours or under the Russian flag and medals will not be included together in a table.

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The IOC is leaving it up to the individual sports to make decisions on whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete even as neutrals – World Athletics, for instance, has imposed an outright ban.

Politics

Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon splits from husband

Published

6 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon splits from husband

Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she has split from her husband, Peter Murrell.

Ms Sturgeon and Ms Murrell met via the SNP and first became a couple in 2003. They later married in July 2010 at Oran Mor in Glasgow.

In a statement posted to Instagram stories, she wrote: “With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.

“To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.

“It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will.

“We will be making no further comment.”

Ms Sturgeon unexpectedly announced she was stepping down as Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader in February 2023 after succeeding Alex Salmond following the independence referendum in 2014.

Mr Murrell, who had been SNP chief executive since 2001, resigned from his post the following month after taking responsibility for misleading the media over party membership numbers amid the leadership race, which Humza Yousaf went on to win.

At the time, he said: “While there was no intent to mislead, I accept that this has been the outcome.”

In April 2023, Mr Murrell was arrested as part of a probe into the SNP’s funding and finances. He was later charged with embezzling SNP funds in April last year.

Ms Sturgeon and ex-party treasurer MSP Colin Beattie have also been arrested and released without charge as part of Police Scotland’s long-running Operation Branchform.

The probe, which has been ongoing since July 2021, is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by SNP supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning.

Ms Sturgeon continues to deny any wrongdoing. In an interview last month, the Glasgow Southside MSP said she knew “nothing more” about the inquiry and was getting on with life “as best I can at the moment”.

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Politics

FTX to begin distributing $1.2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

Published

7 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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FTX to begin distributing .2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

A significant portion of FTX repayments will likely be reinvested into cryptocurrencies, thanks to the promising growth prospect of the crypto market for 2025, industry insiders told Cointelegraph.

Politics

Tulip Siddiq boasted of links with ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Published

11 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Tulip Siddiq boasted of links with ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Tulip Siddiq has sought to distance herself from her aunt, deposed Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, claiming they never spoke about politics.

But Sky News can reveal that in a blog written by the now City minister she boasted about how close they were politically and published photos of them together.

In posts written in late 2008 and early 2009, when she was a Labour activist, Ms Siddiq described campaigning with her aunt in Bangladesh’s general election and celebrating her victory.

Our disclosure coincides with a new report in The Times which reveals how the embattled MP’s Labour Party flyers were found in the palace in Dhaka that belonged to her aunt, who was ousted in a coup last year.

The blog is headed: “Tulip Siddiq, member of the Labour Party action team in Bloomsbury and King’s Cross”, and in a post on January 11, 2009, Ms Siddiq told supporters: “I was really busy in Bangladesh as you probably gathered…

“I’ve put up photos of Sheikh Hasina’s post-election press conference at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.

“The most significant element of this press conference for me was Sheikh Hasina’s insistence that all the political parties in Bangladesh need to work together for the welfare of the country.

“It is no secret that past governments have not worked with the other political parties and we need to change this trend.

“The prime minister emphasised that the Awami League does not support the ‘politics of vengeance’ which is encouraging so let’s hope that a new political culture is created this year.”

She added: “Here’s an action shot of me with the prime minister at the press conference. I’m not sure what I was saying but it probably wasn’t that interesting!”

In a post on January 21, 2009, she wrote: “I was fortunate enough to travel with Sheikh Hasina in her car during election day.

“The prime minister-elect (Prime Ministerial candidate at the time!) drove to several constituencies in Dhaka and stopped quickly at each one to meet the parliamentary candidate or speak to the voters.”

Describing traveling in her aunt’s car, she wrote: “You can see all my photos from election day here… I apologise for the poor quality of some of the pictures. I was taking photos from inside her car which is actually quite difficult!”

“You’ll also see a photo of Dhaka Central Jail. I took that photo because Sheikh Hasina told me that this jail was practically her second home for most of her childhood as her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was under arrest for many years.

“She told me that she visited him with the rest of her family every weekend, so it was a very familiar landmark.”

Earlier, on December 29, 2008, under the heading “Victory!”, Ms Siddiq wrote: “The Awami League have won the elections by a landslide! Sheikh Hasina is the prime minister-elect! I am ecstatic!

“I’ve been on the campaign trail with Sheikh Hasina all day so I don’t really have the energy to write much more but I will do so tomorrow.

“However, I can’t resist uploading a couple of photos. This is Sheikh Hasina’s face just before she heard the results from an unwinnable constituency.

“Here she is after she heard that the Awami League hard work had paid off in that seat.”

The Times reports that political literature of Ms Siddiq, Sir Keir Starmer’s anti-corruption minister, was found at the heavily guarded palace in Dhaka, covered by dust and debris.

At the top of a staircase were items produced by Ms Sidddiq. One was a thank you note to local Labour Party members following her election as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.

Another was her annual report for 2022, inviting readers to learn about her help for those affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

The new disclosures will pile further pressure on Ms Siddiq and lead to further calls on the prime minister to sack her.

Many Labour MPs believe her ministerial career is now hanging by a thread.

On Sky News earlier, cabinet minister Peter Kyle told Trevor Phillips Ms Siddiq was right to submit herself to an ethics investigation over corruption allegations and strongly hinted she would be sacked if found to have broken the ministerial code.

Asked whether she should stand down until she is cleared of impropriety, Mr Kyle said: “I think she’s done exactly the right thing. She’s referred herself that the inquiry needs to go through. I think that that’s the appropriate way forward.

“I’m giving it all the space it needs to do. I’ll be listening for the outcome as the Prime Minister will be.

“There was a process underway and we know full well it will be a functional process, and the outcomes of it will be stuck to by the prime minister and this government, a complete contrast to what we’ve had in the past.”

Sky News has approached Ms Siddiq and the Labour Party for comment.