General risk management rejection

BORIS Johnson has poked fun at Jon Ashworth's Jeremy Corbyn rant by saying even the Labour boss' own health secretary thinks voters can't stand him. The PM blasted the leftie-leader as a “Hamas-backing” IRA supporter as he lept on the humiliating blunder by Mr Ashworth two days before the election. The shadow health secretary was caught on a taped call telling a pal that the “civil service machine” would move “pretty quickly move to safeguard security” if Mr Corbyn reaches No10. He also said his party’s chances of winning seats in the North were “abysmal” and that he “can’t see” Mr Corbyn getting to No10. However, Mr Ashworth later told the BBC that the comments were simply "banter" between him and a Tory activist friend who had subsequently made him look a "plonker". This country would be led by a Hamas-backing, IRA supporting, anti-Semitism condoning appeaser of the Kremlin - which is what he is, look at the … [Read more...] about Boris Johnson pokes fun at Jon Ashworth after Labour bigwig was caught saying Corbyn would be a ‘national security’ risk

Vice’s UK arm has rejected a push for union recognition by a group of staff, bucking a growing trend that has seen unionisation at digital media businesses including the outlet’s main base in the US. At a meeting held in London on Tuesday, Vice UK staff were told that the National Union of Journalists would not be recognised at this point but instead were offered the chance to set up an internal staff council. A subsequent email sent to all staff by Vice EMEA chief executive, Matt Elek, claimed the NUJ had displayed “a concerning lack of transparency from them about who they are purporting to represent here” and had “not been able to provide us with any numbers to demonstrate the degree of support they have in this office”. He added, however, that if the union wished to take the case to the central arbitration committee and it found “an overwhelming majority of legitimate support for a Vice UK union” the company would support … [Read more...] about Vice UK rejects call for union recognition

Granit Xhaka has admitted he “reached boiling point” after being targeted by Arsenal supporters during the draw against Crystal Palace and blamed his angry response on abuse he had received, including physical threats and taunts that urged him to “kill your wife” and wished his daughter would get cancer. The Switzerland midfielder gestured and swore at the crowd after he was jeered as he was substituted in the 2-2 draw against Palace on Sunday with his manager, Unai Emery, later admitting the club had suggested the captain should apologise to the fans. However, four days after the incident that was not exactly forthcoming from Xhaka, who instead issued a statement on Instagram which attempted to explain his reaction. “The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply. I love this club and always give 100% on and off the pitch,” he wrote. “My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches … [Read more...] about Granit Xhaka says Arsenal fans’ rejection pushed him to ‘boiling point’

A Pennsylvania appeals court has rejected Bill Cosby’s bid to overturn his sexual assault conviction over the trial judge’s decision to let five other accusers testify. The superior court ruling was being closely watched because Cosby was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era. The same issue has been hard-fought in pre-trial hearings before movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial. Cosby’s lawyers in his appeal said the trial judge had improperly allowed the five women to testify at last year’s retrial although he had let just one woman testify at the first trial in 2017. But the superior court said Pennsylvania law allows the testimony if it shows Cosby had a “signature” pattern of drugging and molesting women. He can now ask the state supreme court to consider his appeal. Cosby, 82, has been serving a three- to 10-year prison term for a 2004 assault on Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home, which he … [Read more...] about Bill Cosby appeal against sexual assault conviction rejected

A parish priest in Soho's red-light district in London has claimed that the behaviour of police during raids on local brothels was "unacceptable and at times unlawful". The Rev Simon Buckley, of St Anne's rectory in Soho, has sent a report to the bishop of London and senior Metropolitan police officers airing his disquiet at an operation in response to crimes including trafficking and rape. His intervention comes as controversy deepens over attempts to clear out Soho's brothels. On Friday a judge said that two sex workers' flats, which had been recently closed in the raids, should be reopened, rejecting evidence that claimed they were being controlled by gangs. Buckley highlighted concerns from sex workers that, despite police assurances that their welfare was paramount, the mass closure would push sex workers on to the streets, where "they are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and rape". During Operation Companion, 18 brothels were closed in raids involving 250 officers, many in riot … [Read more...] about Closure of Soho brothels raises risks for women, says local priest