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Ireland Brexit panic: Truss sends shockwaves to Dublin as she ‘stands up to EU bullying’

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Irexit: Expert says ‘leaving on WTO terms isn’t option for Ireland’

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Professor Anthony Coughlan, retired Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Social Policy at Trinity College, Dublin, said was also backed as he was seen as the man who was responsible for the downfall of whom he said was “absolutely hated” in Dublin. is currently the bookmakers’ favourite to replace the outgoing Mr Johnson, who is carrying on in a caretaker capacity until the roughly 200,000 Conservative Party members have made their decision, with the result due on September 5.

However, Mr Coughlan said if the MP for South-West Norfolk succeeds in her quest, it will be a crushing blow to Taoiseach Micheal Martin, his predecessor Leo Varadkar, and the rest of the country’s political establishment.

The academic, a staunch backer of Ireland following the UK out of the bloc with a so-called Irexit, said there was “no doubt” that the “predominant political opinion” in his homeland “would prefer Rishi Sunak as the new UK Prime Minister”.

He explained: “This comes through in regular commentary on the contest in all the main Irish papers.

Liz Truss Micheal Martin

Liz Truss and Ireland’s Taoiseach, Micheal Martin (Image: GETTY)

Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak is the preferred choice of the Irish establishment, said Mr Coughlan (Image: GETTY)

Boris Johnson is absolutely hated here for his role in achieving Brexit

Anthony Coughlan

“The most obvious reason is that most of the committed Brexiteer MPs – whom our local establishment hate – are backing Liz Truss, even though she voted Remain.

“Sunak is regarded as a ‘traditional Treasury man’, a safe pair of hands who is unlikely to adopt any of the radical measures that are required to take advantage of the opportunities of Brexit and deal with Britain’s economic problems – even though he voted Leave.”

Mr Coughlan added: “Also Sunak is seen as the person most responsible for bringing down Boris Johnson, who is absolutely hated here for his role in achieving Brexit and bringing about the Conservative 80-seat majority in 2019.

JUST IN: Brexit Britain to launch legal proceedings with EU

Boris Johnson Micheal Martin

Boris Johnson and Micheal Martin exchange lockdown greetings – but the PM is not popular in Dublin (Image: GETTY)

“Whereas Truss did not plot against Johnson and has continued serving in government.

“Sunak is also seen as the person likely be most emollient and compliant vis-a-vis the EU as regards re-negotiating the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“The europhile Irish Establishment is happy with the sea-border aspect of that and wants minimum changes made in it.

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Liz Truss

Liz Truss is seen as a strong favourite to be the UK’s next PM (Image: GETTY)

Boris Johnson Leo Varadkar

Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar in Dublin (Image: GETTY)

“Truss is seen as the person most likely to stand up to EU bullying and pressure.”

As Foreign Secretary, Ms Truss is the driving force behind new legislation she claims will fix the problems which parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol have created and help uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.

Speaking in February on the day prior to the Bill’s second reading, she said: “Our overriding priority is protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the bedrock of peace and stability in Northern Ireland – as it stands the Protocol is undermining this delicate balance.

Liz Truss factfile

Liz Truss factfile (Image: Express)

“This legislation will fix the problems the Protocol has created, ensuring that goods can flow freely within the UK, while avoiding a hard border and safeguarding the EU Single Market.

“A negotiated solution has been and remains our preference, but the EU continues to rule out changing the Protocol itself – even though it is patently causing serious problems in Northern Ireland – which therefore means we are obliged to act.”

Since launching her campaign, Ms Truss has also vowed to take a combative approach, pledging to “bulldoze” through “endless government bureaucracy” as PM and vowing not “take no for an answer”.

Leo Varadkar

Leo Varadkar is scheduled to return as Taoiseach later this year (Image: GETTY)

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Asked last month about how she would confront the Treasury, which she has labelled as resistant to change, the Tory leadership hopeful told reporters in Peterborough: “What I would do and I’ve done this as Foreign Secretary, I’ve done this as trade secretary, is I’ve bulldozed through the blockages.

“I get stuff done, whether it’s the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, whether it’s the dozens of trade deals, whether it’s the sanctions regime on Russia – we’ve now got the toughest sanctions – because I don’t take no for an answer and I go in and I fight for what is right, I hear what people say.”

She said that “endless government bureaucracy” is a “waste of taxpayers’ money” and “causing real pain to people in very, very difficult circumstances”.

Ms Truss added: “I’m the person who is prepared to be bold, to take on the status quo and say let’s do things differently.”

6 trainee lawyers who cheated in Bar exams withdraw applications to practise law in S’pore

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A High Court judge has given permission for six trainee lawyers who cheated in the Bar exams in 2020 to withdraw their applications to the Bar on Monday (Aug. 15), reported CNA .

One has to be admitted to the Bar in order to practise law in Singapore.

The six trainee lawyers, who were named in April, are Monisha Devaraj, Kushal Atul Shah, Sreeraam Ravenderan, Lynn Kuek Yi Ting, Matthew Chow Jun Feng and Lionel Wong Choong Yoong.

The six are among 11 trainee lawyers who were found to have cheated in the Bar exams in 2020.

The judge had earlier in April adjourned the Bar admission hearings for six months for five of the trainee lawyers. Kuek’s hearing was adjourned for one year.

Not enough time to show that they’ve changed

Lawyer Sreenivasan Narayanan, who represented three of the cheats, Devaraj, Shah and Wong, said that the six-month adjournment period was not sufficient for his clients to “show that the circumstances of being a fit and proper person have changed”, according to CNA .

The lawyer also said that more time was needed to address the issues raised by by two judges in their earlier judgments, according to Today .

Chow’s lawyer also agreed, saying that the time period was too short for his client to be able to “redeem himself”, according to The Straits Times .

Narayanan also told the judge that his three clients would not only give “deep thought” to what they have done, but will also take on board the view of the Attorney-General, the Law Society of Singapore (LawSoc) and the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE), before making another application to the Bar in the future, according to Today .

Representatives from the Attorney-General, LawSoc and SILE told the court that they had no objections to the trainee lawyers’ bids to withdraw their applications.

Seventh trainee lawyer already withdrew application to the Bar

A seventh trainee lawyer who also cheated during the exam, Leon Tay Quan Li, had withdrawn his application to the Bar on May 1, according to CNA .

Tay was also barred from bringing forth a new Bar application in Singapore or elsewhere for the next five years.

The four remaining exam cheats of the 11 will have their cases heard later this August.

Work as paralegals or other similar roles first: Judge

The judge did not pose any conditions for the six trainee lawyers to withdraw their Bar applications, according to Today .

However, he recommended that the six work as paralegals or in similar roles, so that a “respected mentor” will be able to testify to their suitability to reapply to the Bar in the future.

A paralegal may be trained in law, but does not have the authority to practise it, as compared to a lawyer.

He also did not suggest a timeframe for when the six should reapply, adding that their applications would also depend on their mentors’ testimonies and their subsequent conduct, reported CNA .

Top photo via Matthias Ang

California’s pork production law is about much more than pigs, supporters tell Supreme Court

by www.sfchronicle.com Leave a Comment

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear pork producers’ challenge to a California initiative setting minimum sizes for pig cages, animal-rights advocates told the court Monday that the law protects Californians from complicity in cruelty to animals. The Biden administration, however, is siding with the pork companies.

Proposition 12, approved by more than 62% of the state’s voters in 2018, required producers of breeding pigs to house them in cages of at least 24 square feet, providing enough room for them to turn around. It also set standards for cages that hold egg-laying hens and veal calves, and banned the sale in California of meat from animals held in cages that violated those standards.

The National Pork Producers Council and allied groups argued in a lawsuit that Prop. 12 unconstitutionally interferes in interstate commerce, saying it would drive up the price of a product that is produced almost entirely in other states and that the measure serves no legitimate state interest. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed last year , saying the law merely increased production costs and did not disrupt commerce, but the Supreme Court granted review of the producers’ appeal in March. A hearing is scheduled for October, with a ruling due by next summer.

Supporters of California’s position filed arguments Monday, including the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Justice for Animals program at University of San Francisco School of Law. One legitimate state interest promoted by Prop. 12, they said, was that it “ensures that California residents … are not complicit in the production of meat products by cruel means.”

Pigs are “highly intelligent, curious, empathetic, social beings,” the advocates said, citing a study that found female pigs could identify their newborn piglets by voice. “As such, they deserve to at least be allowed to turn around in their enclosures,” they added in a brief written by the Harvard Animal Law and Policy Clinic.

Meanwhile, nationwide representatives of local governments told the court a ruling against Prop. 12 could endanger a wide range of regulations unrelated to animal confinement.

A finding that California’s rules for pig cages disrupt interstate commerce “would jeopardize countless types of local laws that protect the public,” said the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. They said the same logic could be applied, for example, to hazardous-waste laws that ban bulk loading of crude oil from any state onto tankers in local ports, or Chicago’s anti-graffiti law banning sales of spray paint, which is produced mostly in other states.

And four constitutional law professors told the court the case could determine “whether states can continue to serve as laboratories of democracy.”

Fourteen states, led by Illinois, and the District of Columbia also filed arguments supporting California. Arguments backing the pork producers have been filed by 26 states, led by Indiana, along with the Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations.

In a filing in June , President Biden’s Justice Department said Prop. 12 would have a substantial effect on commerce in other states, raising costs of pork production and leading to consumer price increases. The filing noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates production but does not set minimum space requirements for cages. The Justice Department also said California officials have proposed regulations that would allow them to inspect out-of-state producers at least once a year before certifying them to sell pork in the state.

“California has no legitimate interest in protecting the welfare of animals located outside the state” or in “banning products that pose no threat to public health or safety based on philosophical objections to out-of-state production methods,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.

The case is National Pork Producers Council v. Ross, 21-468.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BobEgelko

Derry: Condemnation of poppies and flags on Bogside bonfire

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The placement of poppy wreaths and flags on a bonfire in Londonderry has been described as an “outrageous and offensive display of hate” by DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

The bonfire, at Meenan Square, which is to be lit later this evening also displayed an image of a PSNI Land Rover and the Queen.

Sir Jeffrey said the actions should be “universally rejected”.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood branded it as “totally out of order”.

He added: “Why do they need to mimic the worst elements of loyalist culture?”

Writing on social media, Sir Jeffrey said: “When this generation is told there was no alternative to violence, this is the result.

“Time Michelle O’Neill gave leadership and opposed this hatred. There was always an alternative to killing people.”

‘Utterly insulting’

DUP MLA for Foyle Gary Middleton said the placement of wreaths was “disgraceful and utterly insulting to those who had fought and died for all of our freedoms”.

“As a society we need to move away from blatant and intentional acts of disrespect and hurt,” he added.

SDLP councillor John Boyle said the actions did not represent the local community.

“The placing of these images and flags on the bonfire in Derry is disgraceful and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” said Mr Boyle.

“Those behind this bonfire do not speak for the people of the Bogside who want to live in peace with their neighbours.”

‘Extremely disappointing’

Mr Boyle commented that it was “extremely disappointing” that this incident occurred just days after the sale of UVF and Parachute Regiment flags in Derry.

“While I understand the hurt and pain that has caused people, reacting in kind serves nobody.

“People who wish to celebrate and commemorate elements of their culture and traditions should always aim to do so in a non-confrontational way without seeking to offend or upset anyone else.

He added: “The past few days have shown that as a society we still have work to do in order to move forward as one.”

He added: “Why do they need to mimic the worst elements of loyalist culture?”

Alliance councillor Rachael Ferguson called for the items to be removed.

Ms Ferguson said that it was “sad to see” that the bonfire had once more “attracted disappointing, sectarian displays”.

“I utterly condemn the placing of these items on this bonfire. It also marks the latest in an incredibly horrendous few days of hatred and bigotry, including the selling of Parachute Regiment flags in this city,” she said.

“The people behind this bonfire do not speak for the vast majority of people in the Bogside and I call on them to remove these symbols.

“We cannot move forward if some just resort to constant poking each other in the eye at every opportunity.”

Bonfires on 15 August are traditional in some nationalist parts of Northern Ireland to mark the Catholic Feast of the Assumption.

To others, they are lit to commemorate the introduction of internment without trial of republican suspects, which was introduced by the government in 1971.

Londonderry: PSNI treat bonfire material as ‘hate incident’

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Police are treating the display of flags and banners on a bonfire in Londonderry as a “hate incident”.

The bonfire had banners and flags about Soldier F – the ex-British soldier who is facing prosecution for two murders on Bloody Sunday.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said it complained about the items and asked for them to be removed.

Parachute Regiment flags were also burnt, alongside the union flag and loyalist paramilitary banners.

The PSNI said it received reports the material appeared on the bonfire in the city’s Bogside on Thursday afternoon.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said police acknowledge that “what appears on these bonfires causes massive offence to a large part of our community”.

“This type of behaviour is designed to stoke tension and provoke conflict and create instability,” he said.

“We recognise and accept that people perceive this to be demonstrating and motivating hostility towards them, based upon their political background or their religion.”

Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton said: “We need to get to a point where we’re not burning flags, banners effigies, belonging to one side or another within these communities.

“It is offensive, it is hurtful, and we need to get away from that.”

SDLP councillor Brian Tierney, who chairs Derry City and Strabane District Council’s bonfire committee, said he believes the flags may have been a reaction to events in Derry over the last week.

Last Saturday, a flute band wore Parachute Regiment insignia during the annual Apprentice Boys parade in Derry.

Mr Tierney told BBC Radio Foyle on Friday: “We have to let what happened over the last six or seven days settle down and all come back around the table, not only around parading but also around the bonfire issue and see how we can move that forward.”

A number of homes close to the bonfire, which was lit on Thursday night, were boarded up.

Firefighters were called to the fire at about 23:10 BST.

Northern Ireland Fire Service group commander Jonathan Tate said four appliances and 16 firefighters were deployed to stop the fire spreading to nearby property.

“Obviously, this is a bonfire close to a property so we had to take action to prevent the fire spreading,” he said.

He said normal service was maintained in the rest of the city during the operation.

In a social media post, PSNI Foyle said the material on the bonfire was “perceived as offensive and distasteful”.

“We are treating this as a hate incident and will continue to gather evidence as this evening continues,” the statement added.

“Where crimes have been committed and suspects identified they will be brought before the courts.

“As always, we will continue to engage with local representatives throughout the night to ensure the safety of everyone in the city.”

⁦ @PoliceServiceNI ⁩ treating offensive references on this bonfire in the Bogside about ‘Soldier F’ as a “hate incident”. pic.twitter.com/Pro039MqTG

— Kevin Sharkey (@tv_KevinSharkey) August 15, 2019

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View original tweet on Twitter

Soldier F is a former member of the Army’s Parachute Regiment and he is to be prosecuted for the murders of James Wray and William McKinney on Bloody Sunday.

Thirteen people were shot dead by the Army’s Parachute Regiment on Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972.

The ex-soldier also faces charges for the attempted murders of Joseph Friel, Michael Quinn, Joe Mahon and Patrick O’Donnell.

Bonfires on 15 August are traditional in some nationalist parts of Northern Ireland to mark the Catholic Feast of the Assumption.

To others, they are lit to commemorate the introduction of internment without trial of republican suspects , which was introduced by the government in 1971.

Also in Derry on Thursday night, another separately-organised ‘Festival of Fire’ took place a short distance away.

It involved a colourful pageant and fireworks display, around Free Derry Corner and on the green below the city walls.