Free Republic

Breaking News: Syrian air defenses engaging targets early Monday morning in Hama province near Masayaf in northwestern Syria.... The Iranian Foreign Minister pointing at outside forces being behind the British seizure of an Iranian oil tanker off Gibraltar earlier this month that led to Iran's seizure of a British oil tanker Friday... "It's clear they're glorifying a violent assault on Tommy Robinson designed only to desensitize the public in case he's murdered in there. They don't want you to care" That's the message from Tommy Robinson's spokesman Avi Yemeni in response to Sunday tabloid reports..... The Battle of Brexit and...

The Federal Trade Commission reported to have approved a five billion dollar fine against Facebook.... The Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta resigning Friday.... Back to the Epstein case itself federal prosecutors have filed their reasoning as to why Jeffrey Epstein should be denied bail... On Thursday the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the indictment and felony conviction of the late Joe Robertson..... At last word Tommy Robinson was safe in HMP Belmarsh in London, held in isolation. But while the prison also houses political prisoners like Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, it has been also called the UK's Gitmo...

Footage from a Mansion House dinner shows Tory MP Mark Field grabbing a Greenpeace activist by the neck and forcing her out of the room. The incident occurred as a group of climate change protesters interrupted a speech by the chancellor, Philip Hammond. Field is the Foreign Office minister for Asia and the Pacific 30-second video.

Outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to stop the UK leaving the EU without a deal by aligning with Remainers in the Tory Party including Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Amber Rudd and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. Sources close to Mrs May told The Mail on Sunday that despite her failure to pass the EU-approved withdrawal treaty, she has “not budged” from her position that UK should not leave the bloc unless it has an exit deal. One ally told the Sunday newspaper: “She made little secret of the fact that she did not want...

THERESA May stepped in to stop a blazing row between two top Cabinet Ministers, it emerged last night. Tensions between Chancellor Philip Hammond and new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson over defence funding boiled over in a heated Commons row. The PM was forced to step in and break up the ‘toe to toe’ row during a Brexit vote on Wednesday night. A source said: “She made it clear the two of them should grow up and calm down. “After slugging it out toe to toe, they trudged off like naughty schoolboys.” One Tory MP said: “The PM could see it...

Iran is continuing its verbal attacks on Israel, with the latest remarks coming on Saturday by a close aide to the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The aide, Seyed Mahmoud Nabavi, was replying to British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond’s recent remarks that Tehran has changed its policy on Israel, and underlined that fighting the “Zionist regime” is Iran’s everlasting policy. “Fight against the illegal Zionist regime is one of the immutable policies of Iran which has always been maintained,” Nabavi told the semi-official Fars news agency. He blasted Hammond’s comments and said, “Such words are incorrect since one...

Adviser to parliamentary speaker rejects British foreign secretary’s suggestion that Rouhani indicating ‘more nuanced approach’ to Jewish state Hussein Sheikholeslam (screen capture: YouTube) A senior Iranian official on Tuesday said Israel “should be annihilated,” and that the thawing relations with the West would not translate into a shift in Tehran’s position concerning the Jewish state. Hussein Sheikholeslam, a foreign affairs adviser to parliament speaker Ali Larijani, told Iranian media that contrary to remarks by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, “Our positions against the usurper Zionist regime have not changed at all; Israel should be annihilated and this is our ultimate...

Britain may broadcast the financial secrets of Russia’s ruling elite as part of the information war against the Putin regime, the Foreign Secretary has indicated. Philip Hammond said he was interested by the idea of publicising the wealth of the Russian president’s inner circle in order to embarrass them in front of their people, as part of the response to the ongoing incursion into eastern Ukraine.

The U.S. fears that without a cash injection, the Palestinian Authority could collapse, entailing serious security implications for Palestinians and Israelis. Secretary of State John Kerry discussed the issue Saturday with British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in London. Kerry said the possibility of the Palestinian government halting security cooperation with Israel or disbanding because of its economic predicament was real. The U.S. is trying to find a solution. …

Britain is “lighting a fire under the European Union” by holding an in-out referendum on membership, Philip Hammond said today, as the Bill to give the public a vote cleared its first crucial hurdle in the House of Commons. The Foreign Secretary said setting in law a referendum on EU membership would force Brussels to grant Britain “meaty and substantial” reforms. The Private Members Bill, sponsored by Bob Neill, a former minister and vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, yesterday sailed through its second reading of the Commons by 293 to 0, and will now face further scrutiny. […] David Cameron...

• Huge deal to sell Typhoon fighters to UAE in doubt • Implications for other Gulf arms deals after Iran nuclear talks If there were any remaining doubts that arms sales take precedence over human rights or concerns about exacerbating regional tensions, the British government has been unashamedly quashing them. UK prime minister David Cameron and his defence secretary Philip Hammond have been busy trying to persuade the rulers of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to buy British Typhoon jets, following the example of Saudi Arabia and Oman. The Saudis, the UK's largest arms customer, have bought 72 Typhoons,...

David Cameron’s rush to legalise gay marriage left Conservatives “shocked”, a senior Cabinet minister claimed today. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond warned “tumultuous” row was “damaging” for the Tories because the Prime Minister appeared not to care what grassroots activists thought. … Mr. Cameron has admitted gay marriage has been deeply unpopular within Tory ranks, but insisted it was the right thing to do. When the controversial legislation became law, he spoke of his pride that gay boys at school worried about being bullied would see Parliament declaring that “their love is the same as everyone else’s love”. …

'This is a terrible situation for any armed officer to face. I have never ever seen or even heard of a scenario where two suspects attack a victim and then remain on the scene in full view waiting for the police to arrive. Training covers ‘precise’ situations which are contained and there is a good understanding of what is happening and ‘imprecise’ ones, which are much less controlled. This is at the extreme end of the imprecise spectrum. As soon as the armed response vehicle turns the corner and before it has even stopped they have sprung into action. The...

'The killers who executed a soldier on a London street were yesterday condemned by Muslim groups for their 'truly barbaric act'. The Muslim Council of Britain said the killers’ use of 'Islamic slogans' indicated they were motivated by their faith. A statement from the council said: 'This is a truly barbaric act that has no basis in Islam and we condemn this unreservedly. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family. 'We understand the victim is a serving member of the Armed Forces. Muslims have long served in this country’s Armed Forces, proudly and with honour. 'This attack on...

'David Cameron yesterday tore up an order banning troops from wearing their uniforms in public that was issued in the wake of the Woolwich attack. He is understood to have told Defence Secretary Philip Hammond he was ‘seriously dismayed’ at official guidance given to personnel in London following the murder. As the row raged in Whitehall, troops and their families posted pictures of themselves in full uniform online, in defiance of the ruling from the Ministry of Defence. Insisting that the ban be rescinded, Mr Cameron told a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee in Whitehall:‘The best way to defeat...

Amid growing calls from Tory MPs for David Cameron to respond to the Ukip threat by bringing forward legislation on an EU referendum, Farage warned that his party would not go away even if No 10 "starts singing the same song". William Hague, who famously suffered a major defeat in the 2001 election after tacking to the right, called for a cautious response to Ukip as he warned of the dangers of "quick fixes". Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, said many Ukip voters were "frustrated Conservatives". As the Tories work out their response to Ukip, which won nearly a quarter...

Nigel Evans, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, will stand aside from his ceremonial role in the Queen's Speech after he was arrested on suspicion of rape and sexual assault. Mr Evans, who strongly denies the allegations, asked the Speaker to be excused from chairing the event taking place on Wednesday. The MP for Ribble Valley will not resign from his job and has received the backing of a number of fellow MPs. However, Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, suggested it would be "difficult" for him to carry on in such a high-profile role while under such scrutiny....