UK celebrities urge PM to think again on asylum reforms


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Celebrities have written to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for a kinder, fairer and more effective asylum system.

Actors Olivia Colman, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry are among 40 figures from stage, screen, music and journalism to sign an open letter to Mr Johnson, urging him to rethink the UK’s planned asylum reforms and do more to help refugees.

“We are refugees, descendants of refugees and supporters of refugees," they say in a letter, organised by the coalition of campaign groups Together With Refugees as the government’s Nationality and Borders Bill makes its way through Parliament.

“For some of us, if we were living in Afghanistan right now, our lives could be in danger and we would have to become refugees.

“We are proud the UK is offering protection to those Afghan refugees able to get on to an official scheme. People up and down the country are doing incredible things to make them welcome as they start their new lives.

“But many others have been left behind in grave danger. They will have to escape any way they can – by foot, boat or hiding in the back of a lorry.

"But proposed new laws would mean our country turning away people like them who are in desperate need of safety. As a nation we must – and can – do more.

“That’s why we are backing Together With Refugees’ call for a kinder, fairer and more effective system for refugees in the UK.

“Now is not the time to turn them away. Now is the time to offer our hand in kindness and protection. We urge you to think again.”

Signatories also include: actors Fiona Shaw, Simon Callow, Imelda Staunton, Zoe Wanamaker and Thandiwe Newton; the band Kaiser Chiefs; television personalities Robert Rinder and Gok Wan; and comedians Romesh Ranganathan, Frankie Boyle and Shaparak Khorsandi, also known as Shappi.

“I had to flee from Iran with my family when I was a child when my father’s life was in danger, just because he is a popular humorist who opposed those in power," Khorsandi said.

“It’s horrendous to think of the many more people all over the world, including Afghanistan, living in fear for their lives just because of who they are or what they say.

“I can’t imagine what would have happened if my family hadn’t been welcomed here in the UK.

“We must not turn our back on those who have struggled to reach our shores in need of safety. The Prime Minister must oppose this anti-refugee Bill.”

Rinder said: “We must oppose this Bill currently going through Parliament. In 1945 my grandfather arrived in the UK as a child refugee from the hell of the Holocaust.

“We can help to provide sanctuary to those in danger now who have overcome terrible struggles to find their way to safety and freedom.

“This is what our country is at its very best. We must not turn our backs.”

Protests, demonstrations and other events are taking place this week around the country against the proposed laws.

The Bill intends to make it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK without permission.

This means that, for the first time, how someone enters the UK, legally or illegally, will affect how their asylum claim progresses, and their status in the UK if the claim is successful.

The BIO:

He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal

He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side

By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam

Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border

He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push

His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level

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The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

AIR
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1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

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15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile

Company: Rent Your Wardrobe 

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Founder: Mamta Arora 

Based: Dubai 

Sector: Clothes rental subscription 

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Who has been sanctioned?

Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.

Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.

Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.

Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.

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Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)

Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Nick's journey in numbers

Countries so far: 85

Flights: 149

Steps: 3.78 million

Calories: 220,000

Floors climbed: 2,000

Donations: GPB37,300

Prostate checks: 5

Blisters: 15

Bumps on the head: 2

Dog bites: 1

Updated: October 22, 2021, 5:31 AM`