EU referendum: We must stay to unite against Russia, North Korea, ISIS, says Cameron

Britain should stay in a reformed European Union so countries can stand together against the aggression of Russia, North Korea and Islamic State, David Cameron has said.

At a dinner in Hamburg hosted by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, the prime minister gave his strongest comments yet about what he sees as a need to stay in the EU for national security reasons.

He made the remarks in his final set-piece speech on the EU before he meets other leaders for a summit on 18-19 February to agree Britain’s renegotiation demands in Brussels.

Cameron needs all 27 EU leaders to back the deal hammered out with the European council president, Donald Tusk, who has cleared his diary to hold pre-summit talks with some of the doubters, including France’s François Hollande, Greece’s Alexis Tsipras, Romania’s Klaus Iohannis and the Czech premier, Bohuslav Sobotka.

Speaking at the annual St Matthew’s Day banquet in Hamburg, Cameron said he would “unequivocally recommend” that Britain stays in the EU if he clinched the deal on Friday. He said he would rule nothing out if there was no deal, but, he said, “I believe we can … win that referendum and that will be good for Britain, good for Germany and good for the whole of Europe”.

Remaining in a reformed EU was vital for the UK’s security and prosperity, he said.

“In a world where Russia is invading Ukraine and a rogue nation like North Korea is testing nuclear weapons, we need to stand up to this aggression together – and bring our economic might to bear on those who rip up the rulebook and threaten the safety of our people,” he said.

“And in a world where people look at the threat of extremism and blame poverty or the foreign policy of the west, we need to say no: it’s about an ideology that is hijacking Islam for its own barbaric purposes and poisoning the minds of our young people.

“And just as Europe has faced down dangerous and murderous ideologies in the past, so again we must stand together in this; the struggle of our generation. To confront this evil – and defeat it, standing together for our values, for our security, for our prosperity.”

Merkel gave a strong endorsement of Cameron’s reform strategy, saying that Britain’s demands were “not just understandable, but worthy of support”.

At the banquet in the city where she was born, the chancellor said: “It’s natural that every EU member state is able to protect its social system against abuse.”

Talking of the upcoming EU summit in Brussels next week, Merkel said that “the way the talks have progressed so far are putting me in a confident mood”, but that further compromises were needed. “I can’t predict how many hours sleep I will get from Thursday to Friday, but we are focused on finding a solution.”

“My wish is that the United Kingdom will remain an active member of a successful European Union in the future”, Merkel said“Europe needs Great Britain and Great Britain needs Europe.”

Cameron’s warning against Russia echoes comments made by Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, who argued this week that president Vladimir Putin would “shed no tears if Britain left the European Union” and would see Brexit as a “sign of our weakness and of the weakness of European solidarity at the very moment when we need to maintain our collective strength”.

On Monday, Cameron claimed leaving the EU would increase the chance of migrants in the Calais camps coming to the UK as the border with France could move to Kent – comments that provoked claims from campaigners to leave the EU that he was engaging in scaremongering. He also claimed EU membership was essential for knowing vital information about “terrorists and criminals moving around Europe”.

The prime minister’s increasingly pro-EU speeches have angered some within his ministerial team who are effectively gagged from speaking out against Britain’s membership until a deal with Brussels has been announced.

Last week, Cameron angered grassroots activists when he told MPs to “do what’s in your heart” and not listen to their local constituency associations, which tend to be more Eurosceptic than the Conservative parliamentary party.

In a sign of further dismay at his position, more than 130 Conservative councillors wrote to Cameron on Friday, warning in the Telegraph that he risked splitting the party unless he accepted that his renegotiation had failed and he campaigned for Britain to leave the EU.

Negotiations on the final wordings of the deal, which includes an emergency brake on benefit payments to EU migrants and a UK opt-out from “ever closer union”, look set to go down to the wire. The British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said on Thursday that there was still only a working draft and that there were outstanding issues still to be addressed.

There has been speculation that Tusk could call a further emergency summit if next week’s gathering fails to reach an agreement.

Out campaigners claimed that the latest revised text to emerge on Thursday represented a further watering down of a plan that they had already dismissed as inadequate. Downing Street sources said the substance of the deal remained unchanged with only “minor technical changes” to the draft wording.

If Cameron does achieve a settlement next week, he is likely to announce the date of a referendum shortly afterwards. It is widely thought that the government is preparing to hold the vote in June – with 23 June pencilled in as a possible date – so that it does not coincide with a possible summer migration crisis, which could stir Eurosceptic feeling.

On Thursday, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, threatened to open the borders and send millions of refugees to EU member states. Turkey has taken in about 3 million refugees and is under pressure from the EU and UN to give refuge to tens of thousands more Syrians fleeing advances by Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the Aleppo region.

Cameron has been urged to agree to take part in a televised debate before the EU referendum. On Thursday, Ruth Fox, director of the Hansard Society, one of UK’s oldest parliamentary campaigning groups, said it was likely that the prime minister would have to share a stage with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, as Labour would be “very opposed to it all being done just through the prime minister”.

She said: “The prime minister is going to be an integral part of this but if he is going to be the leader of the pro-EU campaign, someone like Alan Johnson will be elbowed aside. I think the Labour party will have a problem with it. The devil will be in the detail and I can see ahead fraught negotiations was difficult enough for the leaders’ debates.”

EU referendum: We must stay to unite against Russia, North Korea, ISIS, says Cameron

Bloodbath of the leaders at UK general election?

The knives are already being sharpened for the leaders of Britain’s political parties, several of whom could see their careers brought to a brutal end if they fail to deliver at the May 7 election.

Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron, his Liberal Democrat deputy Nick Clegg, leader of the main opposition Labour party Ed Miliband, Nigel Farage of the anti-EU UK Independence Party — all run the risk of being kicked out.

“All four are fighting for their political life,” said Steven Fielding, professor of political history at Nottingham University.

In an unusually fragmented political landscape, it is no longer enough simply to win the most seats.

After years of dominance by the Conservatives and Labour, Westminster these days is more complicated than that.

David Cameron

He arguably has the most to lose. He became prime minister in 2010 after 13 years of Labour government but the Conservatives failed to win enough House of Commons seats to govern alone.

The result: a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats which was deeply unpopular with his party.

“If Cameron is not prime minister, he will go,” said Simon Hix of the London School of Economics (LSE).

He could even be pushed out if he has a chance of remaining prime minister but would have to form a new coalition or minority government to do so.

“Cameron, I think, is unpopular — and of course, he hasn’t won an election,” said Stephen Ingle, emeritus professor of politics at Stirling University.

“The Conservative party is always, always about winning. He had everything for him in 2010 and he didn’t win. So I don’t think he’s secure.”

Tony Travers of the LSE added: “The Conservatives are more ruthless than Labour in getting rid of their leaders.”

Cameron has already raised the prospect of his own departure in a few years, saying he would not seek a third term in office and naming three possible successors, including charismatic London Mayor Boris Johnson.

BoJo, as Johnson is nicknamed, “is willing to do anything to be the leader of the Conservative party and to be PM”, said Fielding.

The mayor, though, insists he has more chance of being “reincarnated as an olive”.

Ed Miliband

He became Labour leader in 2010 under circumstances which could be straight out of a Greek tragedy.

Miliband unexpectedly beat older brother David to the job — or “stabbed his own brother in the back”, in the words of Defence Secretary Michael Fallon this month.

But he has struggled to persuade the country and some in his own party that he is prime minister material.

“If he doesn’t win a majority and Labour is still not the largest party, many backbenchers will want to get rid of Ed Miliband. They will say he should have won this election after five years of austerity,” Hix said.

Ingle added: “I think the great majority of MPs would prefer his brother and they would have preferred his brother at the last leadership election.”

Nick Clegg

It all looked so promising for Clegg in 2010 — he led the Liberal Democrats into government for the first time and became Cameron’s deputy prime minister.

But “Cleggmania” did not last and the party’s support plummeted as it was forced into a series of awkward compromises in power.

He is at serious risk of losing his own House of Commons seat in Sheffield, northern England, which would effectively put him out of a job.

Even if he keeps that seat, “I would have thought that if the party does badly then he is almost certain to go,” said Ingle.

Whatever happens to Clegg, the Liberal Democrats could still end up propping up a minority Conservative or Labour government — or even forming a new coalition.

Nigel Farage

The beer and tobacco-loving eurosceptic has been clearer than any of the other leaders about his future.

If he fails to win the seat he is fighting in southeast England, Farage has promised to step down.

“Was I supposed to brief UKIP policy from the Westminster Arms (a pub near Parliament)? No — if I fail to win South Thanet, it is curtains for me,” he wrote in a book this year.

dh-kah/ar/hmn

 

Bloodbath of the leaders at UK general election?

Elections: Prime Minister David Cameron writes President Goodluck Jonathan

ABUJA: The Prime Minister David Cameron  has written to President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure that Nigerian elections go ahead this weekend, warning that failure to do so ‘would risk national security and stability, and adversely affect Nigeria’s international reputation’.

President Goodluck Jonathan

In a letter to President Jonathan, the Prime Minister underlines the importance of the elections for the African continent and points out the pivotal role for the President.

In a statement made available to Vanguard saying, “As Africa’s biggest democracy, successful elections in Nigeria are important not only for Nigeria’s future, but as a signal to the rest of Africa.  Delivering a credible process will be a lasting credit to you as President and to Nigeria as a nation

The Prime Minister emphasises the vital role of the Independent National Electoral Commission and its head Professor Jega, writing:

“I am encouraged by INEC’s advances in recent weeks.  The collection of over 80 per cent of Permanent Voter Cards and the broadly successful field tests of the card readers have improved their technical preparation for the election. Your support for Professor Jega’s continuing tenure and guidance of the process remains an important part of delivering successful elections.”

He also calls for a transparent process without violence, saying ‘With hundreds of lives lost after the last election, the eyes of the international community will be focused on Nigeria.’

The Prime Minister also said he was encouraged that Nigeria, alongside its neighbours, was tackling threat posed by Boko Haram – congratulating President Jonathan on the recent advances made by Nigerian troops. And he confirmed the UK’s commitment to support Nigeria in this effort with £5 million of UK support to the Multinational Joint Task Force to tackle Boko Haram in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin area. The UK is also working towards the swift adoption of a Security Council resolution in New York to welcome the force and send an important message of international political support for the force.

Minister for Africa condemns latest Boko Haram abductions

Meanwhile Africa Minister James Duddridge has condemned the abhorrent abduction of women and children in northern Nigeria

Following reports of the further abductions from Damasak, Northern Nigeria, the Minister for Africa, James Duddridge MP said, “I am appalled at reports that up to 500 young women and children have been abducted from the town of Damask in northern Nigeria.  I condemn Boko Haram’s abhorrent practice of abduction in the strongest terms and call for all those taken to be released immediately.

The UK stands with Nigeria and its people at this difficult time, and will continue to support the region in countering the threat posed by Boko Haram.”

 

Elections: Prime Minister David Cameron writes President Goodluck Jonathan

Counter-terrorism: UK police arrest two more men

UK police arrested two more men Friday in connection with an investigation into suspected membership of a banned organization.

It comes a day after nine men were arrested in London on terrorism charges, one of them named in Britishmedia reports as radical British cleric Anjem Choudary.

The two latest arrests came in the early hours in a swoop on a vehicle traveling on the M6 motorway, which runs northwest from the English Midlands to Manchester and beyond.

One suspect, aged 33, was arrested on suspicion of being a member of a banned organization, supporting a banned organization and encouraging terrorism, London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The second man, aged 42, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Both remain in custody at a central London police station.

The nine men arrested Thursday, ages 22 to 51, also remain in custody in London, police said. Searches continue at a number of addresses.

“These arrests and searches are part of an ongoing investigation into Islamist related terrorism and are not in response to any immediate public safety risk,” the police statement said.

Anjem Choudary, who was a co-founder of the banned UK Islamist group Al Muhajiroun, told CNN last month that the world had been split into two camps.

There’s a “camp which believes that sovereignty and supremacy belongs to God. They are the Islamic State, at the head of which is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” Choudary said. “In the other camp you have those people who believe sovereignty and supremacy belongs to man. At the head of that camp is Barack Obama.”

“I believe this Islamic State will spread, rapidly, and I believe it will be in Europe and even America within decades.”

Police have not named the suspects or the banned organization concerned.

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Counter-terrorism: UK police arrest two more men

#Bringbackourgirls: Swapping kidnapped girls for Boko Haram members out of the question - Jonathan

By Ehi Ekhator

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said that there shall be no exchange of Boko Haram prisoners for the release of more than 200 school girls kidnapped from their hostels in Chibok.

Though, the Minister of Special Duties Taminu Turaki had earlier revealed that the federal government was ready to come to term with Boko Haram, but yesterday, the President stated otherwise, saying such suggestion was out of the question.

According to the BBC, British Africa Minister, Mark Simmonds, after discussing with President Jonathan in Abuja, to discuss an international rescue mission for the girls, said “He made it very clear that there will be no negotiation with Boko Haram that involves a swap of abducted schoolgirls for prisoners.”

The alleged kidnapping of more than 200 students of the Government Secondary School in Chibok has attracted international outrage, and foreign teams and expert are in Nigeria to assist in the rescue mission.

The United State has deployed a drone in search for the kidnapped girls, and Britain offer to assist with surveillance plane, and a military team to assist.

According to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, in parliament, yesterday said “Today I can announce we have offered Nigeria further assistance in terms of surveillance aircraft, a military team to embed with the Nigerian army in their headquarters and a team to work with United States experts to analyse information on the girls’ location.”

The UK Ministry of Defence clarified that one Sentinel plane would be sent.

Specialist teams from the United States, Britain, France and Israel are already helping Nigeria’s military in the search.

Britain last week sent a team of experts to Nigeria, including officials from the Ministry of Defence.

US surveillance planes have been scouring a vast swathe of northern Nigeria, looking for the girls.

Cameron also rejected claims that the Nigerian government had failed to do enough to help find the missing girls. He said: “This was an act of pure evil. The world is coming together not just to condemn it but to do everything we can to help the Nigerians find these young girls.”

The prime minister rejected a suggestion by Tom Clarke, a former Labour minister, who said the Nigerian authorities had failed to lift a finger to help find the schoolgirls. A group of about 130 of the kidnapped girls appeared earlier this week on a video released by the terror group Boko Haram.

Clarke, who is a respected expert on international development, asked the prime minister: “While I welcome the efforts to rescue the schoolgirls in Nigeria, will the prime minister agree that the Nigerian government hasn’t lifted a finger to protect its own citizens in the north as they were attacked by Boko Haram?”

Cameron replied: “I don’t think his description of the Nigerian government is entirely fair. They do face a very vicious terrorist organisation in terms of Boko Haram.

“They are investing in and training their armed forces in counter-terrorism abilities. We have worked with them on that and we are willing to do more work with them on that, particularly if we can make sure proper processes are in place for dealing with human rights issues.”

But the PM said Britain should be prepared to provide more than military assistance. He said: “We should help across a broad range of areas – not just counter-terrorism, surveillance and helping them find these people but also working with the global fund promoted by (Gordon Brown) in terms of protecting more schools.”

A U.S drone has reportedly joined the search. The “Global Hawk” — the U.S. military’s high-altitude, long-endurance aerial drone — flew its first surveillance mission over Nigeria on Tuesday in search of the girls, U.S. officials told NBC News.

With a wingspan of just over 130 feet, the Global Hawk’s air time is a huge advantage in surveillance operations: It can remain airborne for 28 hours with a range of 8,700 miles and has a top speed of 310 knots (357 mph), according to the Air Force.

The Global Hawk also has a variety of surveillance systems, including radar, optical and infrared sensors.

The drone joins the manned, propeller driven MC-12 surveillance aircraft which has already been conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria. The U.S. first flew the MC- 12 over Iraq then Afghanistan and is considered a low-cost workhorse in short-range missions.

. Some parents of the abducted students after identifying their girls in the video on Monday at the Government House in Maiduguri, urged the government to ensure the safe release of their children

“I thank God that I saw my daughter Aisha Zannah in the picture,” Mr Lawan Zannah, one of the parents said.

“They are our girls abducted one month ago,” he stressed and urged security agents to work towards rescuing the girls safely.

“We want our girls to return home safely now that we know that they are still alive”’ he said.

Shettima Haruna, another parent, said all the girls shown in the video were those  abducted from the school.

Another parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity, wondered how the girls were able to read in Arabic.

“The lady reciting the Quran is from Kubur Bula village; she had been of a good Christian background, but I wonder what they did to her.

“Her name is Rebecca but she looked like a true Muslim in the video.”

Officials of the Borno government, however, declined comment on the issue, saying that they were yet to reach a conclusion.

“The process is still going; we have not concluded anything yet.

“I believe we should be able to conclude by tomorrow, when the commissioner for Information will be able to say something on the issue,” an official, who declined to be named, said.

#Bringbackourgirls: Swapping kidnapped girls for Boko Haram members out of the question - Jonathan

Cameron joins ‘Chibok girls’ rescue campaign

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised Britain “will do what we can” to help find more than 200 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls.

He made the comments as he held a sign bearing the “#Bring Back Our Girls” slogan on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

Mr. Cameron is the latest high-profile supporter of the social media campaign after United States First Lady Michelle Obama was pictured with a similar poster.

The Boko Haram sect has claimed the abductions.

During the BBC One programme, fellow guest Christine Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent, handed Mr. Cameron the sign and asked if he would like to join the campaign.

Taking it from her, he replied: “Happily.”

The Pope has also tweeted his support, writing: “Let us all join in prayer for the immediate release of the schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria.

Cameron joins ‘Chibok girls’ rescue campaign

#Bringbackourgirls: It"s unfair to talk down on concern government - David Cameron

Experts from the United States of America and the United Kingdom have arrived in Nigeria to help in the search for the more than 200 girls abducted by Boko Haram from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

The experts include military advisers, negotiators and counsellors.

The UK Foreign Office said the British experts arrived Abuja yesterday and would be working closely with their US counterparts.

“A team of UK experts who will advise and support Nigerian authorities in its response to the abduction of over 200 school girls touched down in Abuja Friday morning,” a spokesperson stated.

“The team is drawn from across government and will work with the Nigerian authorities leading on the abductions and terrorism in Nigeria. The team will be considering not just the recent incidents but also longer-term counter-terrorism solutions to prevent such attacks in the future and defeat Boko Haram.”

Earlier, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “Our inter-agency team is hitting the ground in Nigeria now and they are going to be working in concert with President Goodluck Jonathan’s government to do everything that we possibly can to return these girls to their families and their communities.

“We are also going to do everything possible to counter the menace of Boko Haram,” he said.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama said the team comprised personnel from military, law enforcement and other agencies.

He said he hoped the kidnapping would galvanise the international community to take action against Boko Haram.

The British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, yesterday dismissed claims the global community is patronising the Nigerian government over its handling of the kidnapping.

The PM was asked about comments from a Nigerian government spokesman who said criticism of the government’s response was “unfair” and “patronising.”

Cameron said: “We want to work with them to help.”

He added: “I think it’s quite unfair to talk down to a concerned government like that. It’s really, really unfair. I take very, very serious exception to that kind of language and in such a very patronising way.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, Cameron said the UK government wants “to work with” Nigerian officials to help in the search, saying the UK had offered help immediately after the abductions.

He said it was “an extremely difficult situation,” adding that the decision to send UK experts to offer advice and logistical support came after a request from President Goodluck Jonathan.

#Bringbackourgirls: It"s unfair to talk down on concern government - David Cameron

Chibok: Britain, China to deploy intelligence gathering resources, advance tracking technologies

In furtherance of efforts by the Federal Government to locate and rescue the girls abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Wednesday requested and received a commitment from Britain to deploy its intelligence gathering resources in support of Nigeria’s security agencies currently engaged in the search and rescue operation.

President Jonathan who spoke with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron on the phone after meeting with Premier Li Keqiang of China who is on an official visit to Nigeria, asked and received a promise of the deployment of British Satellite Imaging capabilities and other advanced tracking technologies  in support of the ongoing effort.

The President thanked Mr. Cameron,  the British Government  and people for their concern over the fate of the abducted girls and their willingness to provide concrete assistance to save th  e girls from the terrorists who  seized them from their school.

He told the Prime Minister that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will liaise with the British Government through its High Commission in Nigeria to work out practical details of the promised support and collaboration against terrorism.

The Peoples’ Republic of China has also offered to assist in the effort to rescue the abducted girls.

In talks with President Jonathan earlier today, Premier Li Keqiang  promised that his country will make any useful information acquired by its satellites and intelligence services available to Nigeria’s security agencies.

Mr. Keqiang assured the President that China will support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism in every possible way, including the training of military personnel for anti-insurgency operations.

 

Chibok: Britain, China to deploy intelligence gathering resources, advance tracking technologies