Queen to attend Remembrance Sunday service – as charity stresses importance of day being inclusive

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2021

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The Queen will be attending the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in central London, leading the nation in commemorating those who lost their lives in conflicts.

It will be her Majesty’s first public outing after being advised to rest by doctors for almost a month, following medical checks in hospital.

The remembrance service will look very different to last year, when the event was forced to be scaled back due to the pandemic.

Nearly 10,000 veterans will participate in today’s service alongside hundreds of servicemen and women, with onlookers also present.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be among other senior politicians and members of the Royal Family laying a wreath at the Cenotaph.

As has become custom in recent years, Prince Charles will be laying a wreath on behalf of the Queen.

A national two-minute silence will take place at 11am.

Mr Johnson said it’s a moment to “come together to remember those who sacrificed everything in service of our country”.

He added: “It’s a sacred ceremony that has endured for more than a century because we know the unpayable debt we owe those brave servicemen and women.

“We know that for our tomorrow they gave their today.

“And we know that here at home and around the world, thousands of men and women in uniform still stand ready to defend our unity and our way of life, our values, and at a cost few among us would be willing to pay.”

Buckingham Palace previously said it was the Queen’s “firm intention” to attend the annual service in Whitehall after she missed several other events, including the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday.

The Royal British Legion, the UK’s largest charity supporting those serving in the armed forces, also celebrates its centenary this year – it said this year’s march will include hundreds of young people from the cadets, guides and scouts.

British Future told Sky News about the importance of making remembrance inclusive for everybody.

The charity launched the Remember Together project, helping students investigate the untold stories of Black and Asian soldiers.

Students from a school in east London have spent the last few months looking into contributions made by those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Wafa Afzali told Sky News: “It’s really important for us to know about all the people who fought in World War Two, not just the white soldiers, the Black and Asian soldiers they also made a lot of sacrifices, for them to go unnoticed just doesn’t seem right.”

Saeeda Amidu said: “Remembrance should unite us all because many soldiers from all different ethnicities, religions, race, they all contributed to what Britain is now.”

As a result of the project, Saeeda discovered her own great-grandfather, Henry Braimah, was a colonel stationed in Burma during the Great War – a piece of family history that had never been discussed before.

Steve Ballinger, head of communications at British Future, said: “Commemorating our history can be difficult and divisive in Britain, but actually it can also bring people together.

“It is a difficult and complicated history but we need to engage with it because our history explains why Britain looks like it does today.”

Mr Ballinger added: “The armies that fought for Britain 75 years ago actually looked a lot like Britain does today in terms of its diversity.

“More than 2.5 million soldiers from India, Africa and the Caribbean served side by side in world war two, so they should all be commemorated equally today.”

UK

Murder suspect in hospital after 14-year-old killed in sword attack in London

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2 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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Murder suspect in hospital after 14-year-old killed in sword attack in London

A murder suspect remains in hospital after a 14-year-old boy was killed and four others injured in a sword attack in northeast London.

A 36-year-old man was tasered and arrested at the scene in Hainault on Tuesday morning.

He was taken to hospital after sustaining injuries during the incident when his van hit a house.

The Metropolitan Police said he had not yet been interviewed because of his injuries.

Police were initially called at 7am on Tuesday to reports of a vehicle being driven into a house in Hainault.

A man was later seen wielding a sword and attacking members of the public on a road near Hainault tube station.

The suspect was arrested 22 minutes later. Doorbell footage showed the moment officers cornered the hooded man, who was still holding his weapon, in a driveway.

Police confirmed on Tuesday that one person – a teenage boy – had died and four others were injured during the incident.

Among those injured were two police officers who suffered wounds that required surgery, but were not life-threatening, and two members of the public.

Police said they did not think it was a targeted attack, or terror-related, and they were working to establish the circumstances of what took place.

Eyewitnesses described hearing shrieking and seeing someone receive CPR at the scene of the stabbings.

Video of part of the incident showed how officers shouted at the suspect, saying “Don’t move, don’t f****** move” after he was brought to the ground by three separate Taser discharges before being arrested.

Other footage showed the suspect being chased by police as an officer is heard shouting “Lock your doors” as the sword-wielding man entered residential gardens.

In another clip, a police car arrives before the man verbally confronts the police and shouts “Is there anybody here who believes in God?” while standing next to a body.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said there had been speculation about whether police had been aware of the suspect before the incident.

She said that, despite urgent and extensive checks, police had “found no trace of a prior incident involving him so far, but we will of course continue to make those inquiries”.

A neighbour from a nearby road, who witnessed the incident, told PA news agency the suspect pulled a “samurai sword from the back of his trousers”.

James Fernando, 39, said the suspect had asked one of his neighbours to “take the telephone from him to tell whoever was on the phone his location”.

“Within two seconds she realised something wasn’t right, started running, and he pulled a samurai sword from the back of his trousers,” he said.

“She shouted to the other neighbour – a boy who was on his way to school. As he’s turned around, he’s struck him on the face.”

Mr Fernando said the suspect then started “running around with the sword in his hand looking for victims”.

Another witness, who asked not to be named, said: “He was wielding his sword trying to attack the police but then they sprayed him and he ran away.

“We were very scared and trying to hide and not show ourselves through the window, because he was standing right next to our house and he could have seen us if he looked up.

UK

First failed asylum seeker sent from UK to Rwanda on voluntary scheme

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2 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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First failed asylum seeker sent from UK to Rwanda on voluntary scheme

The UK has sent the first failed asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.

The scheme is for those who have gone through the asylum process and had permission rejected, rather than for migrants who have illegally entered Britain by crossing the Channel on small boats.

The migrant was sent on a commercial flight and handed a fee from the British taxpayer to help relocate under the terms of a deal with Rwanda.

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According to The Sun, the man of African origin claimed asylum in the UK but was rejected at the end of last year. He then accepted the offer to go to Rwanda.

He left the UK on Monday.

This was not done using the powers set out in the Safety of Rwanda Act, but rather a parallel scheme that allows someone to choose to make the trip if their attempts to claim asylum in the UK fails.

And upon arrival in Kigali, the person is able to claim around £3,000 in UK taxpayer money as help.

The development was criticised by both the Labour Party and Reform UK director Nigel Farage.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said: “The Tories are so desperate to get any flight off to Rwanda before the local elections that they have now just paid someone to go.

“British taxpayers aren’t just forking out £3,000 for a volunteer to board a plane, they are also paying Rwanda to provide him with free board and lodgings for the next five years. This extortionate pre-election gimmick is likely to be costing on average £2m per person.

“Former Tory Home Office ministers warned that the government’s plan was just to get token flights off before a General Election. Now we know what they mean.”

Former UKIP leader Mr Farage said: “Don’t be conned by this new government spin on the Rwanda deal.

“This African man, who did not even cross the Channel, was refused asylum and has voluntarily accepted £3,000 and free board.

“It won’t stop the boats.”

The government’s attempts to forcefully remove people to Rwanda were announced more than two years ago, but no one has been sent so far.

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Earlier this month, parliament passed the Safety of Rwanda Act, and the government hopes to get flights off the ground in nine to 11 weeks.

A government spokesperson said: “We are now able to send asylum seekers to Rwanda under our migration and economic development partnership.

“This deal allows people with no immigration status in the UK to be relocated to a safe third country where they will be supported to rebuild.”

UK

‘Thanks to God’: Woman’s joy on making it to England after 30 attempts

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2 hours ago

May 1, 2024

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'Thanks to God': Woman's joy on making it to England after 30 attempts

Less than a week after she survived a migrant boat disaster in which five people died, Heivin is standing in a car park next to a shabby hotel near London, smiling and joyous.

After a string of failed attempts to reach England, her dream has finally been fulfilled.

“It was really hard and dangerous for me, but I finally made it here, thanks to God,” she said.

“I am very happy to be here because I think it is a safe country and it is very suitable for me. But part of me is still in shock that the journey is finally over.”

She is a slight young woman, just 18 years old but blessed with a confidence that allowed her to persevere when others might have given up.

She left Kurdistan around a year ago, crossing Europe to France, and living in camps, woodland and in underpasses along the way.

“It was very hard,” she says.

“Especially when you’re on your own, and a young woman. It can be very dangerous.”

Kurdistan is a region that straddles Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, and whose people have historically faced ethnic and political persecution from the governments of those countries.

Heivin tried 30 times to reach England from the coast of northern France, with her penultimate attempt seeing her take a place on a boat that was wildly overcrowded after it was violently hijacked by a rival group of migrants.

In the ensuing melee, five people died, including a young child.

It was shortly after that trauma that we met Heivin for the first time, as she was recovering from the ordeal of that boat. The memories still haunted her of seeing people crushed.

Even then, Heivin said she would be trying again and, in the early hours of Saturday morning, she made it. Her boat left a French beach in the early hours and chugged towards Britain.

The people smugglers who arranged the crossing, she says, were “good with us”.

“We only had to wait for three to four hours, then we went down the beach and boarded the dinghy.”

But the boat, as so often with these crossings, was ill-equipped and struggled in the water before being intercepted by a French coastguard vessel, which offered assistance.

Of nearly 60 people on board, 33 were taken off, but the others, including Heivin, remained at sea, determined to get to Britain.

“This time I went, but I always had the feeling that I would not make it and have to return like the other times.

“It was also extremely cold that night and my clothes were soaking wet. I kept saying to myself “I won’t make it”, but thank God, I did make it.”

The decisive point came when the dinghy entered British waters and, before long, the passengers on board were collected by a Border Force vessel and taken to the mainland.

“How did you feel when you saw the British boat,” I asked.

Heivin’s face breaks into a broad smile and she says “so happy” with a shake of her head that is loaded with emotion.

“I felt overjoyed. I didn’t expect that we would make it to Britain. I thought we would just end up back in France again, like the other times. When I saw the British boat, I was extremely happy – I just can’t explain it. I’m so happy.”