Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage is facing criticism after claiming Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose parents are East African Indians who migrated to the UK, does not care about "our culture”.
Mr Sunak was forced to apologise to army veterans after he left the D-Day commemorations in Normandy early on Monday to attend a TV interview in the UK as part of his election campaign, causing widespread backlash.
Labour leader Keir Starmer and influential Conservative Penny Mordaunt were among those who criticised Mr Sunak's decision but some said Mr Farage's comments went too far.
“It shows the man doesn’t understand,” Mr Farage told Sky News. "He is not patriotic. He doesn’t care about our history, our culture."
Some have interpreted the comments as a reference to Mr Sunak’s heritage, by a politician who has put anti-immigration policies at the heart of his party agenda.
Mr Farage tried to distance himself from the allegations on Sunday, referring to soldiers from the Commonwealth who fought in the British Army and claiming his comments were a reference to Mr Sunak’s wealth.
“Forty per cent of our contribution came from the Commonwealth. [Mr Sunak] is utterly disconnected by class, by privilege and from how ordinary people in the country feel,” he said, appearing on the BBC via video link from Clacton, the Essex constituency where he is seeking election on July 4.
The Reform party is running on an anti-immigration ticket, from which it seeks to gain Conservative votes. Recent polling by Savanta shows Labour with a 20 per cent lead over the Tories.
Shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood described Mr Farage's comments as a “dog whistle” intended to incite right-wing voters.
“It’s a classic Nigel Farage trick,” she told the BBC. "Lean just enough to signal a bit of a dog whistle, and lean straight back and sound perfectly reasonable.
“It’s completely unacceptable. This is a man who has a track record of seeking to divide communities. He just wants to do it with a veneer of respectability."
Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, also described the comments as “deeply regrettable … I feel very uncomfortable with that”.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mr Stride said he has been “proud” to work with Mr Sunak in what has been the UK’s most diverse cabinet in history.
“It’s a personal pride … that I’ve sat around a cabinet table that’s the most diverse in history,” he said.
“His [Mr Sunak's] involvement in government has been characterised as outstanding public service and I’m very proud of that."
Mr Farage had a milkshake thrown at him this week in Clacton-on-Sea, soon after the surprise announcement of his political comeback as leader of Reform UK, which he founded as the Brexit Party in 2019.
The former member of the European Parliament and leader of Ukip has never been elected to the House of Commons, despite standing as a parliamentary candidate 7 times since 1997.
Mr Farage on Sunday claimed the ballot on July 4 should be the “migration election”.
“The Conservatives have broken trust with the country, repeated promises in manifesto after manifest to reduce net migration to tens of thousands a year,” he said.
“They’ve opened the door to such a scale ... the numbers are astonishing, the breach of trust is huge.
“This should be the immigration election. The exploding population is impacting on housing, on rents … on the health service. The other two parties don’t want to talk about it.
Rejecting the Savanta data, which showed Reform polling at 11 per cent compared to the Conservatives' 26 per cent, he said other polling companies had revealed Reform UK to be ahead of the Conservatives in the Red Wall – northern constituencies that historically vote Labour where an unexpected shift to the Conservatives took place in 2019.
Mr Farage said "the real question" was who would provide the main opposition to a Labour government led by Keir Starmer. “The Conservatives are incapable of it,” he said.
Former Conservative home secretary Amber Rudd was another who dismissed his comments. “He has no idea how to deliver,” she said.
Mr Farage had made immigration a central issue of Ukip’s Brexit campaign, making promises that did not come to fruition, Ms Rudd added.
“The whole Brexit campaign was about immigration. Vote for Brexit so we can curtail immigration, on and on it went. And actually, immigration has continued to increase eight years after we voted,” she said.
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DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Fixtures
Wednesday
4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)
5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)
6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)
8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WISH
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FIXTURES
All games 6pm UAE on Sunday:
Arsenal v Watford
Burnley v Brighton
Chelsea v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Tottenham
Everton v Bournemouth
Leicester v Man United
Man City v Norwich
Newcastle v Liverpool
Southampton v Sheffield United
West Ham v Aston Villa
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Match info
Bournemouth 0
Liverpool 4 (Salah 25', 48', 76', Cook 68' OG)
Man of the match: Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 1 (Cantwell 75') Manchester United 2 (Aghalo 51' 118') After extra time.
Man of the match Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
Indika
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