LONDON // An avowed anti-Islamist has been elected leader of a major political party in Britain.
Lord [Malcolm] Pearson of Rannoch was named as the new leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip) at the weekend, after convincingly beating four other hopefuls in a vote among party members.
Although Ukip does not have any MPs in the national parliament, it attracted the second-highest number of votes behind the Conservatives in European elections held over the summer.
In choosing the 67-year-old peer to succeed Nigel Farage - who stepped down as leader to concentrate his efforts on winning a parliamentary seat in next spring's general election - members have opted for a man determined to tackle Islamic fundamentalists and, according to his critics, much more.
Lord Pearson courted controversy in February this year when he invited the right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders to the House of Lords to show his film Fitna, a 17-minute video criticising Muslims and what Mr Wilders describes as "the creeping tyranny of Islamisation".
Jacqui Smith, then home secretary, banned Mr Wilders from entering the country when he arrived at Heathrow. In September, a legal challenge succeeded in overturning that ban and Mr Wilders entered the UK for a meeting with Lord Pearson.
Ukip's new leader is now expected to broaden the party's direction, hitherto limited to urging Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, to include campaigning against Islamic fundamentalism and in favour of tougher immigration policies.
A Ukip source told The Times: "You are going to see a quite a lot stronger position from us. Nigel [Farage] has always been afraid of the Islam thing backfiring. But the [far-right] British National Party are taking ownership of issues that have not been addressed by Labour, the Conservatives or the Lib-Dems and they need addressing."
The Independent headlined its election story: "Lord Pearson plays the Islam card to win leadership of Ukip".
Lord Pearson, an Eton-educated, self-made millionaire who used to belong to the Conservative Party and was made a peer by the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, spelt out his views on Islam when he attended a meeting in Washington last month.
Asked how much time he believed that Britain had before it lost control of its cultural identity, he said in a video recording: "What is going to decide the answer to that is the birth rate. The fact is that Muslims are breeding 10 times faster than us.
"I do not know at what point they reach such a number that we are no longer able to resist the rest of their demands, but if we do not do something now within the next year or two, we have, in effect, lost."
When challenged later about his remarks, he insisted that he was only talking about Islamic fundamentalists. "One is talking about the violent end of the spectrum," he said.
Mehdi Hasan, the New Statesman's senior politics editor, describes Lord Pearson as "odious".
"Defenders of Pearson would argue that his fear is of Islamism or 'radical Islam', and not mainstream Islam as a whole, or all Muslims," he says.
"However, this disingenuous defence falls apart on examination of this video in which the Ukip peer, aside from railing against the 'growing threat of Islamism' and 'the threat that faces us from violent Islam', argues that Britain is under threat because 'the Muslims are breeding 10 times faster than us'.
"His true colours have been revealed. It is not 'violent Islam' that exercises him; it is the presence of Muslims - all Muslims - in Britain.
"And I'm sure I don't need to tell you that his alarmist and ill-informed predictions about the Muslim birth rate, and the demonising and dehumanising language, mirror the language employed by the far right about the Jews in the 1920s and 1930s."
However, Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party (BNP), said that Lord Pearson's views were identical to that of the BNP. Mr Griffin pointed out that his party had released a cassette tape titled: "Islam - a threat to us all" eight years ago.
"Comments such as those made by Lord Pearson clearly place him in the BNP camp of thinking on Islam as well as the EU, which are the two most important issues of our time," Mr Griffin continued.
He added that the BNP seemed Lord Pearson's "natural home". Mr Griffin said: "Lord Pearson remarked in that video of how well the BNP had done in the recent elections. While we know that he must mouth the stereotypical anti-BNP mumblings, he is aware that the BNP is a growing force directly as a result of the immigration invasion."
Mr Griffin said that, if Lord Pearson's views were genuine and "not some passing hot air, then the BNP would have to give serious consideration to co-operation with Ukip".
It is an overture that Lord Pearson looks likely to reject. After being elected with 48 per cent of the vote, he said: "My ambition is for Ukip to do well enough at the next general election so that we can force a hung parliament and a realignment in British politics."
He also revealed that, after Ukip had beaten Labour into third place in June's European elections, that he had made an offer to the Conservatives that his party would not contest the next general election in return for a written pledge that a Tory government would hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which creates a more powerful European Union set-up.
The Conservatives rejected the offer. Mark Francois, their shadow Europe minister, said: "We don't make policy on the basis of secret deals with other parties; we decide our policies on the basis of what is right for the country. As we have said, a made-up referendum after ratification would be pointless."
Ed West, a columnist on The Daily Telegraph, wrote on Saturday: "I imagine Ukip will now probably make immigration and radical Islam as much their thing as Europe, and move closer to the Dutch Freedom Party, whose leader Geert Wilders is an ally of Pearson.
"It will play well to the public, many of whom are horrified about the direction the country is taking, and who want to physically puke every time they see a Westminster MP on television, but who are not prepared for the mental leap of voting for the BNP."
The current UK fertility rate is about 1.9, which would mean that, if Lord Pearson's assertion were true, each Muslim mother would have to have 19 children.
Official estimates indicate that Pakistani-born (ie, mainly Muslim) women currently have three times more children than indigenous British mothers. But studies in both Europe and the US show that initially high fertility rates among migrant groups drop to the national norm, often within one generation.
dsapsted@thenational.ae
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Spare
Profile
Company name: Spare
Started: March 2018
Co-founders: Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah
Based: UAE
Sector: FinTech
Investment: Own savings. Going for first round of fund-raising in March 2019
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
