UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has refused to change terrorism legislation to safeguard aid groups in conflict zones from prosecution, saying that the current legislation is adequate, with few aid workers having faced prosecution despite a string of charity scandals.
Ms Patel made the announcement in a letter to the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall QC, late on Thursday, in response to his inquiry into the country’s legislation.
In Mr Hall’s report, published in March, he made 28 recommendations to the home secretary to overhaul the UK’s terrorism laws.
In her letter, Ms Patel said she has rejected 15 of his recommendations, that the government is still considering three, and has partially accepted another.
He had raised concerns over the threats aid workers face when working in areas run by terrorist groups.
“The risk of committing offences or falling foul of the authorities is most acute where aid agencies are operating in territories which are under the de facto control of designated or proscribed groups, or where such groups are active on the ground,” he said.
“A practical means by which aid agencies can continue to operate in difficult areas without jeopardising legitimate counter-terrorism imperatives remains elusive. There appears to be no prospect of a specific exemption that would allow aid agencies to operate because this would create a "loophole" for unscrupulous individuals.
“The brokering of a practical solution is not within my remit. But ultimately it is the criminal prohibition in the proscription legislation which underpins the peril for aid agencies and banks.
“There is little excuse for not keeping the list of proscribed organisations up to date. Steps must be taken to reduce the impact on overseas aid agencies.”
Ms Patel said the present legislation is adequate but agreed to Mr Hall’s request that she consult the Attorney General to consider issuing guidance to aid agencies.
“The Government is confident that existing counter-terrorism legislation does not prevent organisations, including aid agencies, operating in high-risk jurisdictions overseas,” she said.
“Our counter-terrorism legislative framework is deliberately widely drawn to capture the ever-diversifying nature of the terrorist threat that we face. There are inherent risks for any organisation operating in high-risk jurisdictions; the risk of prosecution for a terrorism offence as a result of involvement in legitimate humanitarian efforts is however low.”
Ms Patel rejected his recommendation to impose time limits on the proscription of terrorist groups.
He had advised that proscription sanctions should automatically lapse but Ms Patel said groups placed on the terrorism list have the opportunity to appeal and she was content this was sufficient.
Since she became home secretary in July 2019 she said she has not received a single request. She said only five requests have been made since 2015.
“Proscription sends a strong message that terrorist organisations are not tolerated in the UK and deters them from operating here,” she said.
The home secretary accepted his recommendation to impose a two-year expiry on Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs) once a person has returned to the UK.
TEOs are used as a tool by the UK to deal with returning foreign terrorist fighters and suspected terrorists.
It enables the UK government to remove their passports and impose strict monitoring conditions on them and attendance on deradicalisation schemes once they have returned to the UK.
But Mr Hall pointed to a gap in the law which has seen two-year TEOs imposed on people before they returned which would then expire within months of them being in the UK, which meant the courses did not have time to be effective.
Ms Patel also agreed to consider imposing TEOs on non-British citizens.
Earlier this year, Mr Hall published a review into last year’s attack near London Bridge and made 45 recommendations. In it, he recommended terrorist offenders should take lie detector tests. The Home Office is still considering this report.
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more about the coronavirus
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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LIVING IN...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
How to play the stock market recovery in 2021?
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')
Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
