thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Lockdown Has Helped Affirm My Identity As A Trans Man

HuffPost UK The author, in lockdown
Several years ago, being quarantined with my family would have been my nightmare. Back when I was 18 and I had just come out as transgender, my family home was not a comfortable space: my parents and siblings refused to believe I was trans, or to use my chosen name and pronouns. It opened up a rift between us, and I kept as much distance as I could from them by staying out – or staying in my room.
Mine is a painfully common story in the community: from the refusal of family to believe that their child or sibling is transgender to the lack of affirmation in day-to-day life to the rise of tension in what could otherwise be a place of refuge for a young trans person, and the mental health issues that tend to follow. Imagine how hard it must be to face such a situation during lockdown.
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The thing is, I have been exceptionally lucky. Since coming out a little over five years ago, my family and I have come a long way. They have watched me come into my own during my transition, and realised that what I say about myself is undeniably true: I am a transgender man. They now know me as their son or their brother, and I am able to exist comfortably and happily in my family home, fully as myself. The value of this cannot be understated – fitting into normal family life with ease is not always guaranteed in the LGBTQ+ community. And, with normal family life being one of the last remaining vestiges of pre-coronavirus times, there has never been a more important time to be and feel accepted.
“I feel as though I am completely free to embrace my masculinity, and still bake and sing One Direction songs and talk about fashion – without anyone questioning my gender”
I’ve found that lockdown has actually been a time of affirmation for me. Don’t get me wrong – the sameness of the day-to-day and my surroundings is definitely starting to get to me, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the world return to rights. But still, I can’t deny I have been able to get a lot of good out of this time of constant closeness with my family.
It’s the little things that act as a pick-me-up, like the fact that when my family want my attention, it’s “Aiden” that they call out to find me. Or the way that I feel comfortable taking off my shirt when I’m sunbathing or working out in the garden, with nobody batting an eye at my bare torso and top surgery scars. I feel as though I am completely free to embrace my masculinity, and still bake and sing One Direction songs and talk about fashion – without anyone questioning my gender. In the past, it felt as though I needed to act a certain way in order to be taken seriously as a trans man. These days, I do exactly what I want to do, without having to worry if the things I enjoy will make people doubt my identity.
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There is also an awful lot to be said for being at peace with oneself at a time like this. When, despite the stress and the fear, it is possible to feel grounded, self-assured and generally happy. That, for many people, would be considered a big achievement. For a young trans person with a history of mental health issues, it is nothing short of a miracle.
“Affirmation is such an important part of the trans experience, and the positive implications of even just being known by your correct name and pronouns are huge.”
But I know it’s important to bear in mind that this is not true for everyone. For huge numbers of transgender people, lockdown is far more repressive than it is affirmative. Many face a living situation that is beset with hostility, which is bad enough at the best of times. But with opportunities to escape for the day or see people who can offer some much-needed respite off the table, vulnerable individuals are completely trapped in an environment that seeks to deprive them of their identity.
It can be hard to adequately express just how lonely and wrong you feel when the people around you don’t accept that you are transgender – and how being able to spend time in places where people know you for who you truly are can act as a lifeline. At the moment, these sorts of places are out of reach for so many, as is the trans-related healthcare we rely on to alleviate our gender dysphoria. So while it is no secret that lockdown can be difficult for us all, for countless trans people, it is downright relentless. As someone who can attest to the extraordinary power of an accepting living environment, I know that affirmation can make all the difference.
Affirmation is such an important part of the trans experience, and the positive implications of even just being known by your correct name and pronouns are huge. Such seemingly small things help to alleviate the incongruity that many trans people experience for years before coming out. They allow us to be fully present in our everyday lives and interactions with others.
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In such strange and stressful times, being able to live each day comfortably in our own skin is of unimaginable value.
Aiden Wynn is a freelance journalist. Follow him on Twitter at @aidenalex_wynn


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Here In Calais’ Refugee Camps, Coronavirus Is Making Lives Even Harder

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Growing up in France, I probably drove through Calais some four times a year on trips to and from the UK. But never had I imagined what lay behind the high walls and barbed wire fences.
I first came here to volunteer with Care4Calais last October, at the age of 18. My cousin had given me a book for my birthday, Voices from the ‘Jungle’: Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp, which paints an interesting picture of where refugees came from, what life was like in the Jungle, and what hopes and dreams they had for the future. I was surprised at how little I had heard about something that seemed to affect so many lives, from so many parts of the world, going on in the country in which I lived and had grown up in.
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Indeed, my arrival in Calais meant my childhood of education in the values and principles of two wonderful countries was shredded – when I found out about the rows of tents and desperation that lay behind those tall fences.
“It felt somewhat ironic handing out leaflets telling everyone to wash their hands regularly – in the main site in Calais, we have two taps shared by up to 1,000 people.”
The author in Calais HuffPost UK
In February, I came back again, this time for a few months. Or so I thought. A month after my arrival, the coronavirus pandemic meant I found myself locked into this small town where two worlds so strangely coexist. Where we had been the ones trying to treat those in the camps like the fellow humans they are, suddenly we have to keep our distance and wear masks to conceal our friendly smiles. Providing aid became the only way to show we still cared.
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Among us, we discussed whether continuing to operate was the right thing to do in light of the spread of the virus. We decided that if it was a question of keeping people alive, we must, and so gathered as much legal and health and safety advice as possible.
Where other NGOs had dropped out, we tried to fill in the gaps. We turned our attention to food, until people could no longer wear the same clothes they had been wearing for a month. When people weren’t hungry, they were itchy, and try as we might there was only so much we could do. Across five sites in Calais and Dunkirk, we have been distributing both clothes and food on a minimum of a weekly basis, in full PPE and operating under protective measures.
The author, in Calais HuffPost UK
It felt somewhat ironic handing out leaflets telling everyone to wash their hands regularly – in the main site in Calais, we have two taps shared by up to 1,000 people. And while we were encouraging social distancing and informing people on how to protect themselves, the government distribution of stale and often culturally inappropriate (read: ham) sandwiches brought everyone together. “If we leave space, we get nothing,” I remember a young man from Chad telling me.
In Dunkirk, evictions of refugees have been continuing harder than ever. In some old derelict warehouses, where people could at least get some shelter from the weather, police came on an almost daily basis to force them out. While some government centres they were taken to were appropriate single room hotels, others turned out to be sports halls where people were expected to live clustered together with little food. Families with young kids were yet again pushed around from one place to another, still unable to create anything with enough permanence to even consider an education.
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Deciding to stay in Calais was hard, as lockdown made me feel trapped a long way away from what I knew. For the first week or so there were five of us working here and the days were so long, tiring and unpredictable, I ended up having little time to think about it. Five of us were trying to bring aid and humanity to hundreds of people. Looking back on it now, I still find it hard to believe.
“When my long days are over, I sit at home in the evening and read news stories about how the UK wants to send these people back. It feels unreal.”
As lockdown has loosened, our PPE means we are still unable to smile, but we can show a little more solidarity. As cafés and barbers have reopened nationwide in France, taking necessary precautions, we have reinstated services such as hot drinks and hair cutting. These precautions do however leave some people baffled. Standing on the edge of our hazard tape line discouraging more than four people from entering our makeshift salon (a patch of grass) one man asked me what the volunteers did at the warehouse so as not to spread the virus. I explained that we still kept up social distancing and were extremely careful, following strict guidelines. He asked me what I did at home: I told him I stayed on my own so it wasn’t an issue. He asked me what families did: I said it was more difficult, they lived together so if one of them fell ill, chances were they all would. He nodded. “We are like a family,” he said. “We have no choice but to live together and get sick together.”
And when my long days are over, I sit at home in the evening and read news stories about how the UK wants to send these people back. It feels unreal. How the unaccompanied children have no right to be reunited with their families. Most people here in Northern France have fled war in Sudan, violence if Afghanistan, unlimited military service in Eritrea or persecution in Kurdistan and the ties they have to the UK, be they family or language, are their best chance to integrate and set up a new life.
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As people are pushed harder and harder to find more and more dangerous ways to reach safety in this pandemic, all I can do is hand out sleeping bags and joggers, and utter an ultimately powerless “take care”.
Tia Bush, 18, is a volunteer with Care4Calais


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-14--Atlanta Police Chief Resigns After Cop Kills Black Man At A Wendy’s (Update)

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The chief of Atlanta Police has resigned after officers shot and killed 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks, a Black man, at a Wendy’s restaurant on Friday night.
The police were responding to a call about someone sleeping in his car, which was parked in the drive-thru at the restaurant.
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Police said that Rayshard Brooks, 27, resisted arrest following a failed sobriety test. But video posted to social media showed Brooks running away from police before he is shot off-screen.
“I do not believe this was a justified use of deadly force and have called for the immediate termination of the officer,” the city’s mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a news conference on Saturday.
The Georgia NAACP had called for Atlanta’s chief of police Erika Shields to be fired prior to her resignation.
CNN reported that the officer who shot Brooks was fired on Saturday, while his partner was placed on administrative duty.
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On Friday night, two officers found Brooks in the vehicle and gave him a field sobriety test, which they said he failed. While attempting to arrest Brooks, police said he resisted.
“After failing the test, the officers attempted to place the male subject into custody,” Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) spokesperson Nelly Miles said in a statement. “During the arrest, the male subject resisted and a struggle ensued. The officer deployed a Taser.”
Witnesses said Brooks grabbed the Taser from the officer before being shot, according to the GBI.
Brooks was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The GBI said it’s now investigating the incident.
Video posted to social media shows people gathered in the Wendy’s parking lot condemning the shooting. Witnesses said Brooks was not armed.
Angry protesters set a fire at the Wendy’s where Brooks was shot shortly after 9.30pm Saturday, local Fox News-5 reported. The blaze was started after windows were smashed and fireworks were hurled inside, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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An Atlanta fire department representative told the newspaper that the blaze grew because it wasn’t safe to get to the restaurant when the fire began. He estimated there were 1,000 protesters near the building. Firefighters finally began to battle the blaze around 11pm, but by then a section of the interior appeared to be engulfed in flames.
Earlier, protesters set fire to cars parked outside Wendy’s — and shut down part of Interstate 75/85, a major city thoroughfare.
Late last month Shields fired two city police officers for roughly dragging two young Black people from a car and apparently shocking them with stun guns as anti-racism protests erupted across the nation. Brooks’ death comes amid nationwide protests over the death of African American George Floyd during a brutal arrest in Minneapolis.
Protesters are burning a bush outside of Wendy’s. @ajc pic.twitter.com/b9TqBHwcF7 — Sarah Kallis (@SarahKallis) June 14, 2020
The Wendy's where #RayshardBrooks was fatally shot in the parking lot last night is now in flames. Photos from Ben Gray pic.twitter.com/dfvibL5JcC — Jennifer Brett (@Jennifer__Brett) June 14, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Could Boris Johnson Survive A Second Spike Of Covid-19?

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Could it be magic, now?
When he spoke in the Commons today, the usually cautious Tobias Ellwood spoke for many of his party when he demanded the 2m social distancing guidance to be changed quickly to help the economy. “One metre is the right decision, now is the right time – not in two weeks.”
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Dominic Raab was more circumspect in his No.10 press conference, but made plain that this would be ultimately a political judgement call, rather than the appliance of science. “There’s no magic to one or other particular measure, there will be different levels of risk whether it’s at two metres, one-and-a-half metres or one metre,” the foreign secretary told us.
Magical thinking (ah, remember that?) or not, the reason Tory backbenchers are pressing so hard on this issue is they want to throw the UK hospitality industry a lifeline out of the pandemic. And they were depressed by ministers’ suggestions that the issue won’t be solved for several weeks, after the July 4 reopening timetable set out in the PM’s roadmap.
Well, we know Boris Johnson is taking this seriously for several reasons, and not just because he and his father Stanley think it’s the natural born right of every Englishman to go to the pub. The main clue is that the PM has ordered a review.
Of course, the default of this government in the pandemic is to say that most things are ‘under review’ (a lame non-answer), ‘under constant review’ (a notch higher) or even ‘under active review’ (another level still). But the 2m guidance is now subject to a “comprehensive review”, which basically means it’s a question of when not if this change will happen.
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The other clue came when No.10 told us that the comprehensive review was being chaired by Simon Case, the newly-installed permanent secretary in Downing Street. Case is an ex principal private secretary to David Cameron and Theresa May, a strategy director at GCHQ and head of the Cabinet Office Implementation Unit.
Crucially, the review will draw on evidence from across the world, and not just from scientists and medical experts but also economists, the PM’s spokesman said. And then its work goes before the Covid Strategy Committee chaired by the PM. The chain of responsibility is clear: the final call will be by the politicians.
Chief medical officer Chris Whitty was seen as a major stumbling block to any shift from 2m, not least as he said on June 3 that the current distance guidance was “going to carry on really for as long as this epidemic continues”. Today, the PM’s spokesman said a blanket refusal “wasn’t how I interpreted those comments”. He preferred to point us to chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance’s new line that 2m is “not a scientific rule – it is a risk-based assessment on when risk reduces”.
And yet, as Raab reminded us today, “there is a risk of a second spike if we’re not very careful”, singling out the need to build up the test and trace regime. This was underlined by WHO’s Europe director Dr Hans Kluge, as well as Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford.
Bell told the Lords science and technology committee: “I would be very surprised if we avoided the second wave.” He added that the real question was whether we will see a number of localised outbreaks and then a nationwide second wave, or a second wave all on its own. No.10’s entire strategy seems to be based only on local outbreaks, so the spectre of a national second wave may spook some of them.
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Politically, a second national wave would surely lead to calls for Johnson to resign. And the truth is that when he keeps saying we all need to wait and reserve judgement on his handling of the pandemic, what he perhaps really means is let’s get through next winter first. His critics may not need a detailed public inquiry to determine his fate if there is a second spike in deaths that he could have prevented.
And yet it’s possible that even under these circumstances, if there are new spikes in other countries, Johnson could try to cling on, blaming global conditions. A YouGov poll last week found that only 26% of Brits would blame the government if there was a second wave, 33% would blame ‘the public’ for not following guidance, 33% would blame both the government and their fellow Brits. Just 7% of Tory voters would blame the government alone.
With Rishi Sunak pushing hard for the 2m rule to be reviewed, it’s possible that even he could get just as much blame for the gung-ho unlockdown, making all the talk of him being an ‘oven ready’ replacement PM sound hollow (Sunak will this autumn also be taking money away from people as opposed to spraying cash around).
That’s why some Tory MPs won’t rule out Johnson magically surviving a second wave, even if his countrymen and women literally don’t. But others think ducking such responsibility would be a sleight of hand too far, even for this political Houdini.
Quote Of The Day
“He is the very best of Britain. Our country needs more people like him.”
Priti Patel praises Patrick Hutchinson, the BLM protestor who carried an injured man out of danger
Monday Cheat Sheet
The Home Secretary told MPs the government was looking urgently at a new desecration of war memorials bill. She revealed that in all protests since the death of George Floyd, at least 100 officers have now been injured, as well as three police horses and one police dog, and at least 280 arrests have been made.
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Downing Street said that the new commission into race and ethnic minority inequality would report by the end of the year. It would also “look a wider inequalities including issues facing working class white boys in schools”. Tory MP Nus Ghani said “we have the data on obstacles, prejudice and inequalities...we just need to crack on with real practical solutions”.
Boris Johnson will reply personally to England footballer Marcus Rashford’s call for free school meal vouchers to be extended this summer, No.10 announced. But his plea looks like falling on deaf ears so far. The DfE even had to correct a blog claiming no precedent for a U-turn.
Just six weeks after taking over as Labour leader, Keir Starmer has drawn level with Boris Johnson on YouGov’s ‘best prime minister’ question (33% each). The Tories still hold a decent lead over Labour by 45% to 37% but Labour has narrowed the gap from 10 points last month to 8 points this month.\
The UK and EU issued a joint statement agreeing “new momentum was required” in their post-Brexit deal talks. Johnson said “We see no reason why you shouldn’t get [it] done in July”.
What I’m Reading
How Iceland Beat Coronavirus Without Masks Or Lockdown - New Yorker
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Pandemic Drill Failed To Analyse  Economic Threat, Officials Admit

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Coronavirus has changed everything. Make sense of it all with the Waugh Zone, our evening politics briefing. Sign up now.
A 2016 government drill to prepare for a pandemic such as Covid-19 failed to look at the “economic side” of a new virus hitting the UK, top civil servants have admitted.
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Operation Cygnus, which was aimed at testing UK resilience to a new and unknown disease, exposed how hospitals and care homes faced being overwhelmed.
It has already been criticised for failing to check up on supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE), capacity for testing and the number of ventilators.
But now, civil service heads have revealed to MPs that the operation did not make recommendations to Treasury or business department officials.
Chair of the public accounts committee Meg Hillier has described the revelations as a “shocking gap” in the government’s responsibility to plan.
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It comes amid widespread fears of job losses after the Office for National Statistics confirmed last week that UK GDP fell by a record 20.4% in April - the first full month of the lockdown.
The committee heard planning for major government changes to cope with lockdown - including the emergency wages furlough payments, business interruption loans and a massive uptick in Universal Credit claims - was not begun until after chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget on March 11.
The first UK cases of coronavirus were recorded on January 31 in York.
At the committee hearing, Tom Scholar, permanent secretary at HM Treasury, was asked by MPs if his department had taken part in the drill.
Labour MP and Public Accounts Committee chair Meg Hillier PA Archive/PA Images
When he replied “I don’t know the answer to that”, and stated that planning began after the budget, the committee turned to Alex Chisholm, the top civil servant at the Cabinet Office, who was also before the committee to answer questions.
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Asked if Operation Cygnus had made no recommendations on how to help businesses and protect jobs in the event of a virus, he replied: “That’s the case. We didn’t have the schemes ready designed and ready to go. We have been designing them as we have gone along.”
Chisholm, who was the top civil servant at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2016, went on to say the exercise was “between the Cabinet Office and the Department for Health and Social Care” rather than the rest of Whitehall.
Asked if he was even aware that the exercise had taken place at the time, Chisholm said: “Not that I recall, no.”
Hillier, who said she was “dumbstruck” by the admission, went on to ask if the Cabinet Office had made recommendations either to the Treasury or the business department.
Tory MP James Wild also pressed Chisholm, saying: “A big exercise in 2016 of a potential pandemic, global health crisis, but there was no work done off the back of that to prepare our economic response?”
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Chisholm replied: “I’m not aware not aware of any direct actions that were taken on the economic side.”
“We saw all of this coming, for months and in fact years, and we just failed to plan, and failed to act.” - Meg Hillier, chair of the Commons' public accounts committee
Speaking after the committee hearing, Hillier told HuffPost UK: “What has emerged today is a shocking gap in the UK’s planning in this emergency: between the first reports of the new virus emerging across the world and the detectable beginnings of a real response, and now we learn that government, staggeringly, didn’t actually consider the economy in its longer term pandemic planning at all.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Criticising Primark Shoppers Reeks Of Classism

Shoppers queue up outside Primark as it reopened, in Birmingham, England, Monday June 15, 2020. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Classism is ugly. It’s ignorant, and is too often dressed down as softer, more digestible things. As a working class scouser, I know this all too well, as throughout my life, I have experienced the many shades of classism to varying degrees. On the whole, most people don’t mean to be callous and discriminatory, but casual classism is so deeply ingrained and hidden in people’s psyches. It has been for years. It’s masked in people’s responses, judgments and in people’s jokes.
What we witnessed today was casual classism. Since this morning, I have been cringing reading the blatant classist responses on Twitter and beyond, from people who have been shaming the shoppers of Primark. There is a mixture of reasons to why people are shopping there today. Yes, there are undeniable, complicated and vast ethical issues with Primark, but I believe the judgement that has been thrown towards Primark shoppers has been misdirected. There is a large group of shoppers, not all, but a sizeable group, who do not have another option to shop elsewhere, for the simple reason that it is considerably cheaper than other high street alternatives. For many people, they don’t have a choice, and I don’t expect privileged middle class folk to have empathy, because they don’t understand what that’s like.
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“The demonising of Primark shoppers today has been a snapshot of just how classist the UK still is.”
I wish it wasn’t the case, but the sad facts are that sustainably sourced clothes are a lot more expensive. The other reality is that Primark, like many shops on our high street (don’t forget, there are tons of other stores out there exercising the same practices as Primark, they just hide it better), is exploitative and unethical. However, it remains a fundamental problem that unsustainable products are the cheapest. Better options should be more inclusive and open to everyone, but the reality is, they so often aren’t.
The demonising of Primark shoppers today has been a snapshot of just how classist the UK still is. During lockdown, there’s been plenty of middle class masses queueing for sourdough bread, takeaway premium coffee, organic food hampers, earthy vitamin supplements, artsy decor and craft beers. The difference is that those people have been able to afford to do that through the majority of lockdown. For a lot of the people shopping at Primark today, they haven’t been able to afford what was on offer to them during the last 14 weeks. Comments like, “Look at all those idiots queueing up!?” on Twitter, scream middle class people, who presumably have had everything they need throughout lockdown.
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The snobbery has been unkind. A lot of families can’t afford the majority of the ethical clothes and homeware on the market today, and there is no shame for those parents queuing up who can only afford Primark summer clothes for their kids. In these unforgiving economic times, people have lost jobs and incomes, and for some families, three months is a long time to wait with limited money coming in and growing children.
It’s no coincidence people are zooming in on a brand associated with working class shoppers and calling them stupid. Primark shoppers have long been the target of classism. I’ll never forget following an Instagram account on how to become more ethical in your shopping. Fantastic, I thought, I care about the environment and I need to be doing more. Every day, the account would post ways to “live better”. It would look a little something like, “swap out your £1.50 soap for this £6.00 ethical soap”. It always stunned me with its blind spot that so many people care about the environment but they can’t afford the price tags.
Today was a classic example of the UK wanting to portray working class as the enemy, rather than looking closely at the harmful and oppressive systems at work. Primark shoppers are not the enemy. As I walked through my city centre today, I witnessed news reporter crews along with members of the general people sneering at the orderly, socially distanced queues of Primark. “Pathetic,” I heard one woman say, while walking past the people in the Primark queue, swinging a Lush bag brimming with Instagram-worthy bath bombs. Just to paint the picture for you, Primark and Lush in Liverpool are just next door to each other. Both queues were a similar length and everyone was socially distanced in both. As I continued to observe, I didn’t see any snide comments or pity looks towards those waiting in the Lush queue. Just like I didn’t see any one disapprovingly shaking their head at the bundle of hipsters trying to cram into Nike. Poor shaming is more fun apparently. There were also long queues outside Marks and Spencers, Kate Spade, Urban Outfitters and Pret, but I guess it’s easier to make fun of Primark shoppers.
If you’re reading this thinking this is only a discussion about fast fashion, and whether it’s just a simple matter of what’s right or wrong when it comes to sustainable fashion, it’s not. It goes so much deeper than that. If only it was that simple to buy affordable ethical goods. It’s not something that exists widely in the market but hopefully that will change in time. And if you really feel that it’s as simple as just choosing to help the planet, then I’m sure I can hear your Ocado order knocking on your door.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Barbra Streisand Gives Disney Stock To George Floyd's Daughter Gianna

The six-year-old daughter of George Floyd now has entertainment legend Barbra Streisand in her corner.
Gianna Floyd expressed gratitude to Streisand over the weekend for gifting her shares in Walt Disney Co. The gallery of Instagram photos shows Gianna holding a letter and certificate she received from the I Am A Woman In Love singer, plus two of Streisand’s record albums, My Name Is Barbra and Color Me Barbra.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Watch Live: Dominic Raab Leads Daily Coronavirus Conference

Watch Live: Dominic Raab Leads Daily Coronavirus Conference
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab leads the daily Downing Street briefing. It comes as the total number of people who died of coronavirus reached at least 41,730, with full figures to be released later today.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Robert Jenrick Says He 'Inadvertently' Sat Next To Richard Desmond At Tory Fundraiser

Stefan Rousseau - PA Images via Getty Images
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Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said he “inadvertently” ended up sitting next to Richard Desmond at a fundraising dinner before he went onto approve the Tory donor’s property scheme.
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Jenrick has admitted he “unlawfully” gave the go-ahead to the 1,500-home development at the former Westferry Printworks site on London’s Isle of Dogs in January.
His decision came weeks after the dinner and the day before Tower Hamlets Council approved a new rate for its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – a move that would have increased the property owner’s financial liability to the authority by between £30m and £50m.
The Mail on Sunday first reported that Desmond sat next to Jenrick at the bash in November last year. Jenrick says he refused to discuss the project when it was raised by Desmond.
Figures from the Electoral Commission also revealed Desmond gave the Tories £12,000 two weeks after Jenrick approved the scheme.
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Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Jenrick said he was “confident that all the rules were followed” and that he would “entirely stand behind the decision”.
Labour’s shadow housing secretary Steve Reed accused Jenrick of being caught up in a “cash for favours” row.
Jenrick handed Desmond’s £1bn project a last-minute reprieve after the local council and the independent planning inspectorate both decided it should be refused. They had said it lacked enough affordable housing and conflicted with local conservation policy.
Jenrick said on Monday: “It isn’t unusual for a secretary of state to come to a different conclusion to a local authority.
“It isn’t unusual for a secretary of state to come to a different conclusion than a planning inspector, no disrespect to the great people who work there.”
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But he told MPs he had now handed “all of the relevant information” on the decision to the cabinet secretary.
Jenrick said he had “inadvertently sat next to” Desmond at the dinner. “I didn’t know who I was going to be seated by until I sat at the table,” he said.
In March Tower Hamlets council began legal action alleging that the timing of the decision appeared to show bias.
Jenrick accepted his decision letter was “unlawful by reason of apparent bias” and confirmed it was deliberately issued before the new CIL policy could be adopted.
He agreed planning permission should be quashed and decided by a different minister.
A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Government policy is in no way influenced by party donations – they are entirely separate.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Trump Tweet Mocking ‘Unpresidential’ Obama Walk Resurfaces After Ramp Incident

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Donald Trump fired off a tweet over the weekend to defend his unusually slow and tentative walk down a ramp after speaking at West Point on Saturday.
The ramp that I descended after my West Point Commencement speech was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery. The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with. Final ten feet I ran down to level ground. Momentum! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 14, 2020
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But a few years ago, he had a very different idea about how a president should walk.
Trump didn’t like how then-President Barack Obama walked down the stairs of Air Force One, declaring it “inelegant and unpresidential”:
The way President Obama runs down the stairs of Air Force 1, hopping & bobbing all the way, is so inelegant and unpresidential. Do not fall! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 23, 2014
On Saturday, Trump raised alarms on social media after he appeared to struggle to lift a glass of water during his speech at West Point, then had difficulty walking down the ramp.
The criticism seemed to strike home. He responded on Twitter that the ramp was “very long & steep” and also “very slippery.” However, the weather was clear and the ramp was dry and lined with no-slip strips.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--White Woman Calls Police On Man Writing 'Black Lives Matter' On His Own Property

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A white woman in San Francisco who called police on her neighbour for writing Black Lives Matter in chalk on his own property has apologised.
“I did not realise at the time that my actions were racist and have learned a painful lesson,” Lisa Alexander said in a statement to US news station ABC.
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Alexander, CEO of the La Face skin care line, reportedly is already suffering professional consequences since video showing her and her partner confronting James Juanillo in the posh Pacific Heights neighbourhood went viral. Her partner was fired from his job at financial services firm Raymond James, the company said.
Juanillo, who identifies as Filipino, took the video of his neighbours confronting him as he stenciled Black Lives Matter on his retaining wall. They later called the police, who recognised Juanillo and didn’t get out of their squad car, he said.
Birchbox announced it had severed ties with Alexander’s brand, SFGate reported, and the La Face website appeared to be inaccessible as of Monday morning.
A white couple call the police on me, a person of color, for stencilling a #BLM chalk message on my own front retaining wall. “Karen” lies and says she knows that I don’t live in my own house, because she knows the person who lives here. #blacklivesmatter pic.twitter.com/rOpHvKVwgP — Jaimetoons (@jaimetoons) June 12, 2020
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In the video, posted Thursday, Alexander warned Juanillo that he was illegally stenciling and said she knew the property owner. Juanillo, who has lived in the building for years, welcomed her to call the police ― and she did.
As Juanillo’s video shows the couple leaving, the camera cuts to his stenciling in block letters and he says, “And that, people, is why Black lives matter.”
“I should have minded my own business,’’ Alexander wrote, proposing a coffee date with Juanillo so she could apologise in person.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Love Island's Winter Series Cancelled As Fans Now Have To Wait Until Summer 2021 For More Villa Acti

Love Island's Winter Series Cancelled As Fans Now Have To Wait Until Summer 2021 For More Villa Action

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Love Island fans will now have even longer to wait for the new series, as next year’s winter run has been cancelled.
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It had already been announced that this summer’s series would not be going ahead as planned due to coronavirus, but now bosses have pulled the plug on the January series too.
Instead, the ITV2 reality show will return in summer 2021, with a longer series than usual.
Love Island presenter Laura Whitmore ITV
Bosses have decided that given the uncertainty around travel restrictions amid the pandemic that it is better to pour their efforts into creating one bumper series next year.
The news was first reported by The Sun, and a spokesperson for the show told HuffPost UK: “Love Island UK will return bigger and better than ever with an extended run in summer 2021.”
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The decision comes at a time when pre-production on the winter series would just be about to start.
Love Island launched its first-ever winter edition in Cape Town, South Africa, in January, following the massive success of the 2019 edition, which saw over 5 million people tuning in each night.
While the winter run – which was won by Paige Turley and Finn Tapp – could not quite match the huge ratings, it was still a hit for ITV2, averaging 4m viewers.
The first winter series was won by Paige and Finn earlier this year ITV/Shutterstock
At the beginning of last month, ITV boss Kevin Lygo announced that this summer’s series would not be going ahead in Mallorca, Spain, as it was not “possible to produce it in a way that safeguards the wellbeing of everyone involved.”
As a way of filling the gap in the schedule, ITV2 is airing a repeat of the 2018 series of the Australian version from Monday, having previously run it in a late-night slot on sister channel ITVBe.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Social Distancing Queues Form As Shops Reopen

Social Distancing Queues Form As Shops Reopen
With lockdown restrictions easing, non-essential retail stores have been able to open once more, with keen shoppers queueing up to get in.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Boris Johnson Will Reply to Marcus Rashford’s Summer Free School Meals Plea

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Boris Johnson will reply personally to England footballer Marcus Rashford’s call for free school meal vouchers to be extended this summer, No.10 has announced.
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But Downing Street refused to agree to the 22-year-old striker’s plea for emergency help for poorer families, stating instead that it had already come up with a £63m package of holiday club support.
With Tory MPs, charities and others piling on the pressure, a new Commons early day motion also called on the PM to meet the footballer and the Fareshare charity he has helped to raise £20million for food distribution in recent weeks.
Rashford, who was on free school meals himself as a child, wrote an open letter to MPs this weekend declaring that the government’s “whatever it takes” message on coronavirus now needed to be extended to cover the 1.3m children on free school meals.
Ministers extended a £15-a-week free school meals voucher scheme to cover Easter and May holidays, but have so far refused to extend it to the summer break.
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Rashford’s letter, which has since gone viral, also highlighted the estimated 200,000 children forced to skip meals during the pandemic and criticised the two-child cap the Tories have placed on welfare benefits.
Wow, just got home from training and I’m blown away with the support. It’s not over yet, let’s keep retweeting and tagging local MPs. We need to be the voice for those 200,000 children who have no choice but to skip meals today, I refuse to give up 🗣 #maketheUturn — Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 15, 2020
d The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The PM will respond to Marcus Rashford’s letter as soon as he can. He has been using his profile in a positive way to highlight some very important issues.
“The prime minister understands the issues facing families across the UK which is why last week the government announced an additional £63 million for local authorities to benefit families who are struggling to afford food and other basic essentials.”
The Department for Education also appeared to harden its stance, publishing a new blog defending its refusal to U-turn.
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Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Rashford explained how he had relied on free meals when his mother was a single parent to him and his siblings.
“It’s written from the heart and it’s about how my life was at the moment - the letter is to open up and let people understand the impact on families and to know I’ve done the right thing.
“What families are going through now, I’ve once had to go through that - and it’s very difficult to find a way out. It’s very important for me to help people who are struggling. Whether the outcome changes or doesn’t change - that’s why I wrote it.
“In the past I have done a lot of work to do with children. When I heard about the schools shutting down that obviously means free meals for some kids that they are not getting at schools.”
An Open Letter to all MPs in Parliament...#maketheUturn
Please retweet and tag your local MPs pic.twitter.com/GXuUxFJdcv — Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 14, 2020
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Former England start Gary Lineker was among those who praised the young Manchester United footballer on Monday.
“A young footballer shouldn’t have to be imploring our government to do this, but it’s great that he is. What a fine young man,” Lineker tweeted.
A young footballer shouldn’t have to be imploring our government to do this, but it’s great that he is. What a fine young man. https://t.co/zJ2nqW7Q6f — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) June 15, 2020
Lib Dem acting leader Ed Davey has tabled a Commons early day motion urging the PM to meet Rashford and the FareShare charity in person.
“Matt Hancock called on footballers to do their bit in this crisis, and Marcus Rashford is entirely right to ask the same thing of the government. The Government must urgently bring forward a scheme so that children are not left to go hungry over the school holidays,” he said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--UK Records 38 More Coronavirus Deaths In 24 Hours

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The number of people who have died in the UK after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to 41,736 – an increase of 38 over 24 hours.
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The figures cover the period up to 5pm on Sunday, but the true number of deaths may be significantly different. Here’s a quick primer on what all the different numbers mean and how to understand them.
Meanwhile, as of 9am on Monday, 6,866,481 people have been tested for coronavirus, with 296,857 coming back positive.
As of 9am 15 June, there have been 6,866,481 tests, with 93,163 tests on 14 June.
296,857 people have tested positive.
As of 5pm on 14 June, of those tested positive for coronavirus, across all settings, 41,736 have sadly died.
More info:
▶ https://t.co/xXnL3FU15k pic.twitter.com/blM1e3HgZj — Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) June 15, 2020
The latest figures come as researchers have said that making face coverings mandatory in public places, combined with effective testing and tracing, could dramatically cut the number of future deaths from Covid-19.
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A team of experts investigated different scenarios for capping the UK death toll and found that extensive testing, tracing and isolation, combined with widespread use of face coverings, could save 50,000 lives and £700 billion of GDP over the next two years.
They based their death count on a government death toll of just over 40,000 people by June 5 – although other estimates put the figure much higher.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--You Might Not Wear This Face Mask, But There's A Powerful Message Behind It

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Before the Covid-19 pandemic came the global financial crash of 2008. Before then, we all went through the Y2K panic – remember that? – and even further back in history, the bubonic plague.
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A new exhibition addresses some of the major world events that impacted the human race, long before any of us had heard the word ‘coronavirus’. And it’s doing it through the medium of the moment – the face mask.
Australian artist Angela Morris Winmill has created a series of bespoke face coverings as a reminder of the challenges the human race has already overcome – and the serious challenges we still face alongside Covid-19.
Angela Morris Winmill Angela Morris Winmill wearing her Y2K mask.
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Morris-Winmill created the masks during lockdown as part of her ongoing exploration into the effects of human consumption on the environment.
“I was making regular surgical masks for local charities and the NHS and over the many hours I was doing so, began to consider that they will likely become an everyday clothing item soon. I wondered how long it would be before designer fashion brands released their own versions and wondered how extravagant they may become in the future,” says the artist.
“I’m fascinated by the extent to which the human race affects the environment and this series of work explores that,” says Morris-Winmill. “I hope that visitors to the exhibition will be able to enjoy the work whilst also considering the inspiration behind each piece.”
Key to the display – hosted virtually by London’s M1 Fine Art Gallery – is a mask composed of reclaimed computer parts priced at more than £1,000.
Angela Morris Winmill 'Y2K' by Angela Morris Winmill: "In the years immediately before the turn of the 21st century, the globe was gripped with a fear of recent-found technological advances being taken away at the strike of midnight. Planes were predicted to fall from the sky, televisions and even fridges were expected to stop working. This mask is made entirely from used chips, wires and other computer parts which within just a few years of creation are usually destined for scrap heap disposal. A striking juxtaposition of how our throwaway society can lead to disastrous consequences."
The online exhibition launches on the same day that face coverings become mandatory on public transport in the UK – and all proceeds from sales of the works are going to The British Lung Foundation.
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Morris-Winmill cites her daughter’s diagnosis with chronic asthma before her first birthday as a major inspiration for her artwork in general, but particularly this collection.
“Raising my daughter, it was clear that her asthma was greatly affected by air pollution caused by transport and industry. This has always played heavily on my mind and creating these face masks during lockdown took me back to the feelings of helplessness I experienced for all those years,” she says.
You can see more images below or view the full exhibition online here.
Angela Morris Winmill 'Meat' by Angela Morris Winmill: "Exploring the reality of the livestock industry and how it affects it’s ‘products’, Morris-Winmill has encased raw, torn flesh into resin and moulded it around barbed wire to graphically display just some of the negative elements the animals we know of as normal during their short lifetimes."
Angela Morris Winmill '2008' by Angela Morris Winmill: "This mask references the avarice and pleonexia which abounded in the lead-up to the 2008 worldwide financial crash. A crash which continues to affect so many to this day. Morris-Winmill mentally replaced the lies with money ’spewing’ out of the mouths of those who caused the crash and used this as her inspiration for this piece."
Angela Morris Winmill 'Our Rainforests Weep' by Angela Morris Winmill: "Constructed largely from the roots of plants which died as a result of drought within the UK, this piece creates a humorous display to encourage serious thought about the destruction of our rainforests and why we feel it necessary to continue on the path we are on. With the resulting ‘beard’ masking the true identity of the wearer, the idea of political dishonesty is referenced. A true mask in many senses…"
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--X Factor Star Misha B Details Experiences Of Racism While Competing On Show

Former X Factor contestant Misha B has detailed her personal experiences of racism while competing on the show in 2011.
The singer opened up in an Instagram video about how she was left with suicidal thoughts and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being publicly accused of ‘bullying’ by then-judges Louis Walsh and Tulisa Contostavlos live on air.
Misha B on The X Factor in 2011 Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock
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During a live show of the eighth series of the ITV talent show, the pair confronted Misha following her performance, accusing her of upsetting other contestants behind the scenes.
Louis told Misha – who was 19 at the time, and one of the competition’s frontrunners – that he hoped she was not “too overconfident”, before Tulisa said she was “very competitive” and had seen a “different side” of her backstage. The N-Dubz singer added that “certain contestants” had reported there’s been “mean comments towards them” and Misha needed to “put aside the attitude”, before Louis claimed one of his contestants had told him Misha had been “bullying” them.
Nine years on, Misha has shared her truth in light of the Black Lives Matter movement, claiming the show “saw an opportunity to tear down a Black girl that came from a broken home and worked together to assassinate my character and to sabotage my career by orchestrating lies”.
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She posted a clip of Louis and Tulisa’s comments on Instagram, saying it was just “one percent of what I endured” while on the show, before going Live on her account to detail her experiences further.
Explaining rumours had been spread about her backstage during her time on the show, Misha said: “Let me just get this very clear. These judges spent a maximum of one percent time with me and their contestants, apart from Gary and Kelly… So my understanding is you’ve created this whole narrative of me being overconfident because I’m Black. And in your eyes, Black girls should not be confident. Black girls are just ‘one of’ – ‘You look like a young Tina Turner, you’re like a young Chaka Khan’. Why can I not just look like me? Why is it always you looking like someone else? Why is it always a comparison for Black women?”
“Moving on to Tulisa – if you go back and watch the clip carefully, and I’ve gone back and watched the clip carefully, this woman had every line scripted before she even opened up her mouth. I wasn’t fooled. I’m not fooled. I know what it is here. I know exactly what it is here. And, you see, back in 2011 they got away with it. They got away with so much shit.
“’Feisty’, [Tulisa] threw, followed by ‘mean’,” Misha continued. “Now I know that I am not the only one here that has heard those words. ‘Feisty’, ‘mean’. These are like the common words that people use to describe Black women. She then went on to say something along the lines of ‘seeing that some of the things that I say could come across as mean’.
“This woman had spent zero time with me. The only conversation this woman had with me was after this all happened, when she gave me a very half-arsed apology. Not the words ‘I’m sorry’, but ‘I never meant to do you no harm’. The damage is done.”
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Misha went on to share how she experienced suicidal thoughts in the aftermath, and was later diagnosed with PTSD.
She said: “I remember thinking of ways to end my own life. You don’t even know. I remember thinking of ways I could just end the pain.”
Of the long-lasting impact it has had on her life, Misha continued: “What I didn’t understand was that that experience, that trauma, had changed me as a person. It changed me. I didn’t trust anyone. Everyone asks me, ‘Misha, where have you been? What’s been going on?’ I’ve been battling. I’ve been healing. I’ve been working on self. I started therapy in 2012. I’m still having therapy now. Shout out to all my therapists, you’re the greatest, honestly. If it wasn’t for your patience, kindness, understanding and your services... life would be very different right now. You’d be looking at a different Misha B right now.”
On social media, Misha was applauded for telling her story:
Misha B's IG Live is heartbreaking. Racism is a disease steeped in every corner of society.Many of us have lived similar experiences or supported someone through it. I'm glad she is sharing her ordeal on the #XFactor and subsequent PTSD diagnosis: "I'm about honouring my truth"💛 — Dionne Grant (@DionneGrant) June 14, 2020
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As a community we need to lift up Misha B man. Her career was done DIRTY by the “aNgRy BlAcK gIrL” narrative and false allegations. From now on, every project, we must back it. Every release we must stream by force. Her talent is >>> — W. Boyega🧚🏾🇿🇲 (@wanipa_ndhhh) June 14, 2020
Misha B’s retelling of her experience on the X factor is so raw and painful to watch, because every Black Woman knows the agony of having your character torn to shreds for no other reason than the colour of our skin.
Aggressive
Overconfident
Too loud
Feisty
Bully — Kanayo ❤ (@doctorkanayo) June 14, 2020
I’m so glad Misha B is finally ready to talk about her experiences whilst she was on The X Factor. It’s fuck Tulisa and Louis Walsh forever for accusing Misha of being a bully and complaining she was ‘too competitive’. That moment literally tainted the public’s perception of her. — wholesome hads. (@hadleyogarro) June 14, 2020
Misha B we love you 🥺❤ pic.twitter.com/RTjbIrJa1L — bhebhi rangu (@lilzoeyxx) June 14, 2020
Misha B developed PTSD as a direct result of the racism & bullying that X factor caused her. I feel so so low & deflated. Years of therapy, she’s had to go through because they were uncomfortable & rattled by her simply just being herself. — Sabrina (@HolisticSabrina) June 14, 2020
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"Too confident". "Feisty". "Attitude".
Misha B was slaying the entire competition and these two judges tore this girl down and labelled her a bully with typical tropes that so many black females get labelled with when they dare to show an ounce of confidence. pic.twitter.com/KsmpPc3Yl0 — Richie (@RichieOnTV) June 14, 2020
So happy Misha B has spoken out 🙏🏿 — Obiagu 🦁🖤 (@MayowaQuadri_) June 14, 2020
In his 2018 autobiography, former X Factor judge Gary Barlow addressed the show’s treatment of Misha, claiming producers had deliberately stirred up drama for the tabloid press.
He wrote: “About half an hour before the show goes live, the producers would come in and they’d go ‘Oh my god. That Misha. She’s such a bully. Can’t believe it. She is such a bully. In fact, you know what? You should say it. You should say it on air. She’s just bullied everyone all week’.”
In response to Misha’s video, an X Factor spokesperson said: “We are very concerned to hear Misha’s comments regarding her experience on The X Factor in 2011. We are currently looking into this matter and are reaching out to Misha to discuss the important issues she has raised. The welfare of contestants is our priority and we are committed to diversity and equality.”
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While a representative for Tulisa did not respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment, she has since posted a video on Instagram apologising for publicly calling out Misha on the show, but claimed her comments were not “racially motivated”.
A representative for Louis Walsh declined to comment.
Watch Misha’s full video on Instagram.
Useful websites and helplines
Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Five Inequality Reviews Boris Johnson Could Have Acted On Instead Of Ordering Another

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Boris Johnson’s decision to launch another inequalities review addressing issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement has been described as a “back of a fag packet” plan.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme Labour’s David Lammy said the announcement makes it feel like “yet again in the UK we want figures, data – but we don’t want action”.
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He added: “Black people are protesting precisely because the time for review is over, and the time for action is now.”
“If he [Boris Johnson] was serious, why are there no details about how it will be staffed, its remit, its terms of reference, its timetable? That’s the question,” Lammy continued.
“It’s because this was written on the back of a fag packet yesterday to assuage the Black Lives Matter protest. Get on with the action, legislate, move – you’re in government, do something.”
Asked if he felt the latest review was pointless, Lammy added: “I made 35 specific recommendations in the Lammy review. Implement them. There are 110 recommendations in the Angiolini review into deaths in police custody. Implement them. There are 30 recommendations in the Home Office review into the Windrush scandal. Implement them. Twenty-six in Baroness McGregor-Smith’s review into workplace discrimination. Implement them. That’s what Boris has to do. And then the Black Lives Matter protests can stop and we can get on with dealing with the coronavirus.”
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Johnson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities would look at “all aspects of inequality – in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life”.
And he told broadcasters: “What I really want to do as prime minister is change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination.
“We stamp out racism and we start to have a real sense of expectation of success. That’s where I want to get to but it won’t be easy.”
The announcement follows two weeks of protests across the country by the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing in the US of George Floyd, who died as a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
Lammy said it is “deeply worrying” and “frankly immature” that Britain is still “having a conversation about whether racism actually exists”.
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David Isaac, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, also said there had already been “countless reports” on the issues surrounding racial inequality and “urgent action” was needed instead.
Here are five inequality reports that the PM could have consulted before launching another...
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The Windrush Lessons Learned Review
Concluding in 2020, the Windrush Lessons Learned Review was commissioned after people with a right to live in the UK were wrongfully detained or deported to the Caribbean.
It called for Home Office ministers to admit that serious harm was inflicted on people who are British and to provide an “unqualified apology” to those affected and the wider Black African-Caribbean community.
Other recommendations include commissioning a full review and evaluation of the hostile environment policy and that the Home Office should establish an overarching strategic race advisory board.
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The report “carefully considered” whether the concept of institutional racism outlined by Sir William Macpherson in the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence was “directly relevant to describe what occurred”.
The inquiry found that although the case for institutional racism was supported by a number of factors, the Home Office did not satisfy the definition in full.
The report “carefully considered” whether the concept of institutional racism outlined by Sir William Macpherson in the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence was “directly relevant to describe what occurred”.
The inquiry found that although the case for institutional racism was supported by a number of factors, the Home Office did not satisfy the definition in full.
The Home Office identified 164 people who had been deported or put in detention since 2002 amid the Windrush scandal, records said.
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A compensation scheme with an estimated budget of at least £200 million has been set up.
But last month, campaigners hit out at the “paltry” number of people who have so far received payments and said the process was “slow and onerous”.
A total of £62,198 was paid out up until the end of last year and shared between just 36 people, despite the department receiving more than 1,000 claims so far.
The Lammy Review
Concluding in September 2017, the Lammy Review examined the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the criminal justice system.
The inquiry concluded that BAME individuals “still face bias, including overt discrimination, in parts of the justice system”.
It flagged up a raft of data pointing to BAME disproportionality in the courts, prisons and probation service, which is said to cost the taxpayer more than £300 million a year.
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My independent review of the treatment of, and outcomes for, BAME individuals in our criminal justice system: https://t.co/F6T5V22hkN — David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 8, 2017
The report:
Raised concerns that the BAME proportion of youth prisoners increased 25% to 41% from 2006-2016 despite an overall fall in under-18s in custody.
Found in most cases defendants’ ethnicity does not affect the likelihood they will be charged but flagged up “worrying disparities” in prosecution rates for rape and domestic abuse.
Cited analysis showing that, while there was no statistical link between ethnicity and the likelihood of receiving a prison sentence for acquisitive violence and sexual offences, the odds of being given a custodial punishment for drug offences were around 240% higher for BAME individuals.
When Keir Starmer asked why the recommendations had not yet been introduced at PMQs earlier this month, Boris Johnson said some were now being implemented.
The Angiolini Review
Also published in 2017, the Angiolini Review was commissioned to look into “the wide range of circumstances around deaths and serious incidents in police custody and of suicides occurring shortly after release from police custody”.
While it was not established to examine the experiences of the BAME population specifically it did highlight that BAME people made up a disproportionately large number of deaths in police custody.
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It made over 100 recommendations, including:
Investigations into deaths in custody should be treated like murder inquiries and greatly speeded up.
Acknowledge and tackle the role of institutional racism through changes to police training.
The McGregor-Smith Government Review
The McGregor-Smith Government review was established in 2016 with the goal of “developing Black and minority ethnic talent”.
Its findings formed part of a larger report from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) which found BAME workers are a third more likely to be underemployed than white workers, with BAME workers facing an underemployment rate of 15.3% compared to 11.5% for white workers.
If BAME workers faced the same rate as white workers 110,000 people would be lifted out of underemployment, according to the TUC.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady, said at the time: “Underemployment is a major problem in the UK, and it only gets worse if you’re Black, Asian, or part of any ethnic minority.
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“This is not only wrong, but a massive waste of talent too.”
Healing A Divided Britain
The Equality and Human Rights Commission published the Healing A Divided Britain report in 2016 in the wake of the divisive EU referendum.
It’s main recommendation was that the “UK government develops a comprehensive, coordinated and long-term strategy to achieve race equality, with stretching new targets to improve opportunities and deliver clear and measurable outcomes”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-15--Body Of Pilot Found After US Air Force Fighter Jet Crashes Into The North Sea

The F15C, a single-seater air defence fighter, is a model of jet that has been used by the US Air Force since 1979.
RAF spokesman Martin Tinworth said the aircraft has an “exceptional flight safety record”.
HM Coastguard said in a statement that it received reports of a plane “going down into the sea 74 nautical miles off Flamborough Head” on the Yorkshire coast.
“The HM Coastguard helicopter from Humberside has been sent along with Bridlington and Scarborough RNLI lifeboats,” a spokesman said.
“Following a Mayday broadcast by HM Coastguard, other vessels nearby are heading to the area.”
RAF Lakenheath is the “largest US Air Force-operated base in England and the only US air forces in Europe F15 fighter wing”, its website said.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--Free School Meals U-Turn By Boris Johnson As Scheme Extended Into Summer

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Boris Johnson has U-turned on his decision not to award free school meal vouchers over the summer holidays in England.
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The government will now fund a scheme – for which nearly 1.3 million children are eligible – following a campaign by Manchester United and England football star Marcus Rashford.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Tuesday: “Owing to the coronavirus pandemic the prime minister fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer.
“To reflect this we will be providing a Covid summer food fund, this will provide food vouchers over the six week summer holiday period.
“This is a specific measure to reflect the unique circumstances of the pandemic. The scheme will not continue beyond the summer.”
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In response to the U-turn by Johnson, Rashford told his followers on Twitter to “look at what we can do when we come together”.
I don’t even know what to say.
Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020. — Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) June 16, 2020
The scheme, which is £120m additional funding, will benefit around 15% of state school pupils.
Ministers extended the £15-a-week free school meals voucher scheme to cover Easter and May holidays amid the coronavirus crisis, but had refused to extend it to the summer break.
Several Conservatives also piled pressure on the prime minister to reverse that decision.
Ruth Davidson, the former Scottish Tory leader, tweeted: “It’s basic. Feed the kids.”
Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said the U-turn was welcome.
“It is thanks to the amazing work of Marcus Rashford and campaigners that the government has had no choice but to reverse their decision,” she said.
“The government must now confirm that this new money will be for the direct provision of free school meals to all eligible children.”
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Mark Russell, chief executive of The Children’s Society said: “We are delighted that the government has decided to do the right thing by extending the free school meals provision over the coming summer holidays. This much needed step will prevent the 1.3m children who are eligible for free school meals from going hungry during what is likely to be a very difficult summer for many families and young people.
“The government should now prioritise improving the issues around accessing the voucher scheme – including providing more support for newly eligible parents to register – so families are not still left facing crisis.
“In the longer term, temporary extensions to eligibility for free school meals, such as for those with no recourse to public funds, should be made permanent, and provision should be extended to more low income working families who unfairly miss out. This will provide a vital lifeline to all children”
This morning work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey sparked an online backlash after she commented on Rashford’s tweets about the difficulties facing poorer families in the UK.
Rashford had urged MPs and the public to think about those struggling with bills that affected everything from hot water to meal times.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--Racism A Factor In Increased Risk Of BAME People Dying From Coronavirus, Suggests PHE Report

Activists gathered chanting slogans at the US embassy in London during the George Floyd demonstration. SIPA USA/PA Images
Racism and social inequality may have contributed to the increased risk of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities (BAME) contracting and dying from Covid-19, according to a new study.
The report – from Public Health England (PHE) and based on stakeholder engagement with 4,000 people – found that historic racism may mean people are discriminated against when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE) and may result in people from BAME backgrounds being less likely to seek care or demand better protection.
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The report points to a raft of recommendations from stakeholders, including the need to develop “occupational risk assessment tools that can be employed in a variety of occupational settings and used to reduce the risk of employee’s exposure to and acquisition of Covid-19”.
This is especially true for BAME workers in health social care and on the front line in occupations that put them at higher risk, it said.
The report added: “Ethnic inequalities in health and wellbeing in the UK existed before Covid-19 and the pandemic has made these disparities more apparent and undoubtedly exacerbated them.
“The unequal impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities may be explained by a number of factors ranging from social and economic inequalities, racism, discrimination and stigma, occupational risk, inequalities in the prevalence of conditions that increase the severity of disease including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma.
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“Unpacking the relative contributions made by different factors is challenging as they do not all act independently.
“The engagement sessions highlighted the BAME group’s deep concern and anxiety that if lessons are not learnt from this initial phase of the epidemic, future waves of the disease could again have severe and disproportionate impacts.”
At the weekend, shadow justice secretary David Lammy said it was a “scandal” that the recommendations in the study had been “buried”.
It comes after the Government was accused of holding back this second PHE report when a first report on the issue was published at the start of June.
The first report looked at why people from BAME communities may be at higher risk from Covid-19 but made no recommendations and made no reference to the 17 sessions held with stakeholders.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--13 Father's Day Gifts You Can Get Delivered To His Door In Time

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HuffPost may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Prices and availability subject to change.
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Father’s Day is a little different this year as many of us can’t visit our dad in person – but you can still make it special.
Buy your dad a treat online and get it posted to him before the big day on Sunday. And no, you don’t have to spend a fortune.
We’ve checked all the delivery times and found 13 gifts that can be sent directly to his door in time if you don’t live nearby – but order quick! From pub quiz sets to skincare treats and classic dad socks, there’s loads to choose from.
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Aesop Parsley seed facial cleanser
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You can’t beat an Aesop cleanser – this one is suited to normal, combination and troubled skin. It removes surface impurities and offers exfoliation – ideal for maintaining clean skin in polluted urban environments.
I Love Dad Gift Box, Happy Socks, £29.95
Happy Socks Happy Socks gift set for dads
Three bold sock designs for the boldest of dads. The ‘I Love Dad’ set from Happy Socks includes classic styles alongside a hand-drawn style (the one on the left) to show you love your dad as much as you did when you were a kid.
IWOOT Pub Quiz
If your dad is one of those people who’s really taken to virtual quizzes during lockdown, then this is the perfect Father’s Day gift. Included in the box are 1,000 trivia questions, an answer booklet, pencils and score sheets.
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PrezzyBox Lazy arm smartphone holder
A useful bit of kit for any dad who loves to cook and needs to follow recipes or is forever watching YouTube tutorials while trying to do DIY – simply clip his phone onto the arm and fasten the arm to a surface of your choice.
Firebox Muscle massage gun
The perfect gadget for anyone who’s been working from home or hunched over a laptop for the past few months – and has ended up with tight shoulders. This massage gun has six different intensity modes and four massage head attachments, so he can really get stuck in.
Letterbox Fern, Bloom & Wild, £30
Bloom & Wild Letterbox fern
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Brighten his day with a gorgeous fern that can fit straight through the letterbox. Or, choose a bouquet instead. Bloom & Wild have loads of floral arrangements and plants to choose from which can be sent direct to your dad in the post. This one in particular is a long-lasting, low-maintenance gift.
Traditional Cider Gift Set, John Lewis, £13
John Lewis Craft cider set
A selection of traditional ciders from Staffordshire Brewery, perfect for indulging in the summer months ahead – this gift set includes three bottles of scrumpy cider. There’s also a fruit cider set.
Firebox Nasa jigsaw puzzle
For the space fans among us – choose from a Mars or a moon jigsaw puzzle, based on photography from the NASA archives. The puzzle comes with 100 pieces and measures 76cm across when finished. It should keep him busy.
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Arket Striped t-shirt
Sometimes, you can’t beat a simple, comfy T-shirt. This top from Arket is made from 170 GSM single jersey, which basically means it’s slightly heavier than average – ensuring a “soft fabric with a firm drape”. Sounds good to us. It comes in plenty of other colours and styles, too, if stripes aren’t his thing.
Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake, English Cheesecake Company, £34
English Cheesecake Company Lotus Biscoff cheesecake
Yes, it’s pretty extravagant spending thirty quid on a cheesecake but just look at it. And if he’s a Biscoff fan, he’ll just know. This, here, is a vanilla cheesecake swirled with Biscoff followed by another thick layer of Biscoff, then finished with a generous topping of crushed Lotus Biscuits. All on top of a crunchy biscuit base. All dad needs to do is defrost and enjoy.
M&S Balance scented candle
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The Balance range from M&S brings the spa to his home. This aromatic candle is infused with essential oils including fresh florals like jasmine and geranium, alongside black pepper and cinnamon leaf. Team it with a matching diffuser if you really want to splash out.
Blackwell's Dishoom cookbook
Anyone who’s visited a Dishoom restaurant will likely have come away wanting more. This book helps do just that – it’s perfect for those who want to recreate the restaurant’s mouthwatering curry dishes from home, particularly while restaurants are shut across the UK. The breakfast naans are a real treat.
Shampoo And Conditioner Gift Set, Kind 2, £37.45
Nuraan Ackers Kind 2 shampoo bars
For the eco-conscious dad. Give the gift of beautiful hair with this solid shampoo and conditioner bar gift set, including a linen drawstring bag and enamel tray. All products in the set are plastic free and vegan.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--Big Brother Fans Criticise Decision To Leave Michael Barrymore's Hitler Impression In Repeat Of 2006

Big Brother Fans Criticise Decision To Leave Michael Barrymore's Hitler Impression In Repeat Of 2006 Episode

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Big Brother viewers have criticised the decision not to edit out scenes in which Michael Barrymore impersonated Adolf Hitler in a repeat of an episode from 2006.
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The moment appeared in the latest episode of Big Brother: Best Shows Ever, in which presenters Davina McCall and Rylan Clark-Neal relive some of the reality series’ most memorable episodes.
Monday night saw them revisit the fourth series of Celebrity Big Brother, where non-celebrity housemate Chantelle Houghton had to convince her fellow contestants she was actually a member of a girl band.
As part of her secret mission, Chantelle and the rest of the house had to take part in a talent show, during which Michael drew on a moustache and slicked down his hair to perform a skit as Hitler.
Michael Barrymore on Celebrity Big Brother Channel 4
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For many people watching, his impression didn’t feel appropriate to re-air, and bosses were criticised for not editing it out of the broadcast:
still can't get over that Big Brother thing the other day where it went "and we have removed some clips which didn't feel very 2020"
then showed a clip of Michael Barrymore dressed as Hitler — peanut (@AmyLeMesmer) June 16, 2020
Watching yesterday’s Big Brother Best Shows Ever and Rylan says “We did leave some scenes out which we just felt didn’t feel right for 2020” which begs the question as to why they felt Michael Barrymore’s Hitler impression was appropriate for 2020 in today’s episode — Tyla Campbell (@TylaTPTP) June 15, 2020
E4 missing a trick with #bbuk last night as overall it was a very weak episode and wouldn't have made anyone's top 10. Especially having Michael Barrymore impersonating Hitler.. which they managed to keep in. — iSolate (@iPoof) June 16, 2020
Yesterday: "Obviously we've cut out some bits from the old Big Brothers that didn't seem right for 2020".
Today: Airs Barrymore doing a Hitler impression — JH (@iamhighlystrung) June 15, 2020
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They’re really allowing Michael Barrymore’s performance of Hitler to be broadcast?! I was certain E4 would NEVER air that again. Prepare yourselves for the OFCOM complaints 🙄😴😴 #BigBrother #BigBrotherBestShowsEver — Lauren (@miss_lauren_uk) June 15, 2020
Last night E4 got panned for Big Brother being boring, so to make up for it tonight they thought they would show Michael Barrymore impersonating Hitler. Interesting decision. Offcom phone lines all engaged... — reffobboy (@reffobboy) June 15, 2020
Of course Barrymore pretended to be Hitler and Frank Spencer. Cringeingly dated and unfunny, even then. #BBUK — Roz Laws (@rozlaws) June 15, 2020
Not sure that given what’s been going on recently that now is the time for E4 to remind us of the time Michael Barrymore performed as Hitler on #BigBrotherBestShowsEver Fingers on the pulse of the nation... — Mikee Diablo (@MikeeDiablo) June 15, 2020
Going to remove parts that haven’t aged well... Michael Barrymore doing hitler? That got through? #BBUK — Chris Tottey (@TotteyChris) June 15, 2020
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we are removing scenes that don’t feel right to show in 2020.
... here is a hitler impression 🙄#BBUK — grant gulczynski (@grantgulczynski) June 15, 2020
They didn't cut out the Hitler impression. Shit 😬#BBUK — Salv Mancuso (@Salv1992) June 15, 2020
They didn't cut it?! I can't believe it. #BBUK — Alfie Sheldon (@AlfieS12) June 15, 2020
The criticism comes after Rylan told viewers of some scenes had been cut out of Sunday night’s first episode, which looked back at Big Brother 1.
He said: “As I’m sure you’re aware, there are some things that we have taken out of a few shows that just... didn’t feel right for 2020.”
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Responding to the controversy, a Channel 4 spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “We have carefully reviewed each episode to ensure that it complies with the Ofcom code and provides a fair representation and appropriate context for events in the house at that time.”
Big Brother: Best Shows Ever was commissioned for E4 to celebrate the reality show’s upcoming 20th anniversary, which has seen it returning to its original home in the Channel 4 family.
It had aired on Channel 5 from 2011 to 2018 after it was axed by Channel 4 in 2010.
The first episode of the celebratory show brought back waves of nostalgia for viewers, as they were left stunned at how basic and stripped back the original series was.
Big Brother: Best Shows Ever continues on Tuesday at 9pm on E4.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--A Generation Of Children Are Relying On Boris Johnson To Stop Them From Going Hungry

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Like Marcus Rashford, growing up on Free School Meals put a fire in my belly to campaign for a better system for our children today.
I remember all too well the stigma of being a “Free School Meal kid”; you can’t hide the fact you’re on free school meals when you have to stand in a separate queue to your friends.
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While many schools have taken steps in recent years to remove this stigma, ask any school pupil now if they know which of their friends receives free school meals and they will be able to tell you.
That is why, since I became an MP in 2005, I campaigned for Universal Free School Meals and set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group on School Food in 2010.
I believe every child, regardless of where they live or what their parents earn, has the right to a hot and healthy meal. Universality removes the stigma that stays with you through to adulthood and becomes a leveller for children growing up in poverty; having food in your tummy means that you’re ready to learn and have another reason to go to school.
But it isn’t just during term time that children need this support.
The school holidays are an expensive time for parents – the cost of days out, holidays and extra food all add up. But for some families what should be an exciting time is filled with dread and worry.
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Children eating lunch at school Peter Cade via Getty Images
Some charities, Local Authorities and MPs, most notably Carolyn Harris MP, provide holiday activity provision to keep children fed and active during the holidays to help tackle this issue. But due to Coronavirus, these provisions are severely limited this year.
The Prime Minister said during PMQs last week, “we do not normally continue with free school meals over the summer holidays”. We are not in normal times. With families on furlough, not knowing if their job will still exist when the scheme comes to an end, or waiting for Universal Credit payments to come through there is a need for further support for families.
The Department of Education says that in light of Coronavirus, they have “temporarily extended the eligibility criteria for free school meals to support families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF).” But this extension only covers approximately 10,000 out of the estimated 215,000 NRPF children growing up in the UK.Similarly, the Government’s £9 million Holiday Activities and Food programme will run for the third summer this year. Last year, it reached 50,000 children, which is a drop in the ocean compared to the 1.3 million children eligible for free school meals. And the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of a £63 million local authority welfare assistance scheme does not go anywhere near far enough when you remember that it will be hard fought for by all vulnerable adults and children, to help fund important local authority services, it’s not just for food.
That is why I am calling on the government to follow the steps of the Welsh government, and extend the National School Voucher Scheme and funding for alternative school food initiatives so that the 1.3 million children eligible for free school meals can be fed during the school holidays. I am also calling for the eligibility criteria to be extended so that all children in families with no recourse to public funds can have access to food or the vouchers.
The eyes of the public are on the Prime Minister and a generation of children and young people are relying upon him to make the right decision on extending free school meals over the summer holidays.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--My Pride Anthems: Laith Ashley

My Pride Anthems: Laith Ashley

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everything, and that includes how we’re all celebrating Pride in 2020.
With huge public gatherings out of the question, we’re asking a range of LGBTQ celebrities and allies for their personal Pride anthems, to help us all get into the Pride spirit from lockdown.
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In the latest instalment of our My Pride Anthems series, model, singer and actor Laith Ashley shares some of the tunes he can’t stop listening to this Pride month.
Laith Ashley Kevin Tachman via Getty Images
Among them are newer hits from artists including Lady Gaga and Harry Styles, as well as a certain Britney Spears track he says never fails to get him motivated...
Britney Spears – Work Bitch
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“I listen to Britney Spears all the time. I’ve always been a big Britney fan, I grew up listening to all those, you know, they called them ‘bubblegum pop stars’ back them. So I was a huge Backstreet Boys fan, I loved *NSYNC, I loved Britney, I loved Christina Aguilera. I used to record episodes of TRL on VHS when I was a kid, I was just obsessed with pop.
“But my go-to Britney song is Work Bitch. Especially when I’m working out, if I’m on the stationary bike, I love to listen to it, because it helps me keep going.”
Kim Petras – Wrong Turn
“I think Kim Petras is amazing, and I think she doesn’t get credit, maybe due to her transness, but I think that her music is fantastic and it should be everywhere.
“I love her Halloween album, Turn Off The Light, I listen to it all year round. I would listen to it at the gym – I mean, the gyms are now closed – but when I was going to the gym it would be on repeat, I would be singing along to it during my workout, and if I got looks, I didn’t really care, because I was so into that song.”
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Vincint – Remember Me
I love Vincint. I actually first discovered him on [US talent show] The Four, and his rendition of Creep, it gave me goosebumps, and I still watch it on YouTube over and over and over again. I was just like ‘wow, this kid is incredible’, he should have won that competition.
“He’s a friend of mine, actually. I was out in West Hollywood, I think at Bar10, just dancing with my friends, and I saw him and I was like ‘oh my god, you’re Vincint’, and we just ended up dancing together the entire night and hanging out and getting to know each other.”
Cocoa Sarai – Big Dummy
“I think Cocoa Sarai is one of the most incredible artists I’ve ever heard in my life, and again, she’s also a very good friend of mine. She’s worked with Dr Dre, she’s written for Anderson .Paak, she also won a Grammy this year as well.
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“She’s currently an independent artist, and she released a couple of singles this year, the one I’ve been listening to most is called Big Dummy, and the visuals that go with that song are absolutely spectacular, too.
“She’s essentially talking about the industry, and how difficult it can be to make it or reach a goal, but there’s nothing else she’d rather do than be a creative, even if no one notices. And that resonated with me, so I’ve been listening to that a lot.”
Harry Styles – Watermelon Sugar
“Watermelon Sugar is, I think, my favourite song right now. I like that he’s talking about something very sexual, but he’s not being too overly crude. It’s subtle.
“And I don’t know, it’s just a fantastic song, I love his voice. I love everything about him, I love his fashion, and all of that together with the music fits so well.”
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Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande – Rain On Me
“When I first heard Rain On Me, I was just like, ‘oh, this isn’t bad, it’s two huge, huge popstars, of course everyone’s going to like it’. And then after I listened to it a few more times, I was like ‘OK, this is a great song’.
“It’s definitely a Pride anthem, for sure, and we’re in Pride month – I want to get out there and see people and have a good time, I feel so stuck. But I also understand that we’re in a time for social change and I’m happy to be living through that.”
Kay’vion and Laith Ashley – Gym Class
“My best friend Kay’vion – who’s also an artist and a sound engineer – and I, we decided to do this song, because everyone’s at home and everyone that wants to work out is probably feeling the effects of not having their gym, unless they’re fortunate enough to have some sort of equipment at home.
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“It’s a really fun kind of summer anthem for working out and just having a good time. The video is very colourful and bright, so if anyone needs a work-out tune, I think that’s a good one.”
Laith Ashley is currently appearing in the series Mélange. Watch the pilot episode on Logo TV here.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--Liza Minnelli Clarifies Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Friendship Reports

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Liza Minnelli has shut down reports that she’s been lending Meghan Markle and Prince Harry a helping hand.
The Oscar-winning star found herself the subject of a story in The Sun over the weekend, which suggested that the singer and entertainer was helping the prince “find his feet” in Los Angeles.
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In a kind but curt message on her Facebook page, Liza addressed the rumours directly, insisting there was no truth to them.
“While I wish them well, I have never met Prince Harry and Meghan,” she wrote. “Any statement to the contrary is a complete fabrication.”
Though Minnelli might not be close with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, she has spoken out on occasion about her friendship with the late Princess Diana.
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“I was lucky enough to count Princess Di as a friend,” Liza previously told Hello!. “My instinct was to protect her. We talked about everything under the sun. She loved music.”
Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli pictured laughing together in 1991 Dave M. Benett via Getty Images
Liza is the latest celebrity in Harry and Meghan’s orbit to shut down rumours about assisting them with their new life.
Oprah Winfrey recently found herself in the centre of reports after publications claimed that the media mogul helped the Sussexes find their current Los Angeles housing. For the time being, the couple is stationed at Tyler Perry’s property.
Gayle King, a close friend of Oprah’s who also attended Meghan’s star-studded baby shower in New York, set the record straight in May during an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
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“Oprah didn’t hook that up. Harry and Meghan know people,” Gayle said at the time. “Tyler knows people. Oprah knows people, but she did not make that connection for Harry and Meghan to live in Tyler’s house.”
Gayle King arrives at Meghan Markle's baby shower in February last year Adrian Edwards via Getty Images
Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior working members of the royal family in January. In March, they moved from their temporary home of Vancouver Island to Los Angeles.
Though the couple have stepped back, they have both continued to work with their patronages in the UK.
On Sunday, the Evening Standard reported that Meghan had sent out an emotional message to the survivors of the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire on the third anniversary of the tragedy.
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The Duchess of Sussex has volunteered with the women over the years at the Hubb Community Kitchen, and also collaborated on a cookbook with the group.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-06-16--Ant Middleton Addresses Deleted Tweet Referring To Black Lives Matter Protesters As ‘Scum’

Ant Middleton has addressed a deleted tweet in which he used the word “scum” in reference to Black Lives Matter protesters.
On Saturday, the former soldier – known for appearing on Channel 4′s SAS: Who Dares Wins – tweeted that both those protesting against racism and the far-right group EDL “aren’t welcome on our streets”.
The tweet, which was published by the Mirror, read: “The extreme left against the extreme right. When did two wrongs make a right. It was only a matter of time. BLM and EDL are not welcome on our streets, absolute scum. What a great example you are to your future generation. Bravo.”
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His comments came after a day of violent clashes between far-right protesters and police in central London.
Ant Middleton Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment
Ant has now shared a video on his Twitter account apologising “if my tweet came across as offensive”.
In a message accompanying his video, he wrote: “In relation to a tweet I took down over the weekend. I took it down immediately but I wanted to make sure I’ve been clear and upfront about why I took it down.”
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Posting a message in relation to a tweet I took down over the weekend. I took it down immediately but I wanted to make sure I've been clear and upfront about why I took it down... pic.twitter.com/ou75oc2Rjl — Anthony Middleton (@antmiddleton) June 15, 2020
He then said: “I’d just like to clarify a tweet I put out this weekend and deleted straight away, once I re-read and realised it could cause offence.
“I put out a tweet, retweeted a video of the violence, the terror, the chaos that was happening on the streets of London and within that tweet I mentioned the BLM and the EDL and the word ‘scum’.”
“At no point was I calling the BLM scum and comparing [the] two organisations,” he continued. “I want to make that really clear.
“The word scum was used to describe the people in video that were violent, that were causing terror on the streets of London, and setting a bad example for our future generation.”
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He added: “For those of you who know me, I’m a people’s person, I love people, I’m anti-racist and I’m anti-violence, having lived and seen what violence does to people and cities and countries.
“So I apologise if my tweet came across as offensive. I never meant for that. I’m here to push for positive change.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson later told Metro: “Channel 4 has a clear commitment to being an anti-racist organisation. Comments made by Ant Middleton on his social media accounts are entirely his own and in no way represent the views of Channel 4. We have spoken to him and he has apologised.”
Ant recently faced a social media backlash after claiming he was “not bothered” about the Covid-19 outbreak, instructing everyone to “calm the fuck down”.
He later backtracked on his remarks, claiming he’d “made a mistake” and that he’d been “a bit insensitive towards the magnitude, the scale, of the crisis”.