Storm Darragh Strikes

Following Storm Darragh’s arrival in the UK yesterday night, millions of Britons have been advised to stay indoors and many have been left without electricity.

The Met Office issued a rare ‘danger to life’ red wind alert between 3 am and 11 am on Saturday, with ‘significant disruption’ anticipated across most of the coast of Wales and parts of south-west England.

Three million people in the red wind warning zones were issued an emergency alert on their phones – as part of the Government’s ‘risk to life’ warning system – urging them to avoid driving and to ‘stay indoors if you can’.

Gusts of up to 93mph were recorded overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales, while wind speeds of 72-78mph were recorded along the coasts of Wales and Northern Ireland.

Thousands of people across Northern Ireland, England and Wales were also left without power and some locals woke up to crushed cars caused by fallen trees.

The Energy Networks Association said 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power. About 385,000 customers have been reconnected overnight, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed, it added.

Darragh has also brought widespread travel disruption along the east coast, with the Prince of Wales Bridge, M4 and the Severn Bridge, M48, which connect South West England to Wales closed due to powerful winds.

A Premier League game between Liverpool and Everton has been cancelled owing to safety concerns, while other sporting events around the UK and Ireland have also been thrown into chaos.

On Friday, the Met Office issued the most severe weather warning, a red one, for wind. This means that dangerous weather is predicted and people should take precautions to protect themselves and others.

The warning, which has led to cancelling events including Christmas attractions, is in place from 3 am to 11 am on Saturday.

The Met Office warned of ‘damaging winds’ with gusts of 90mph likely over the coasts and hills of West and South Wales. Forecasters say the most powerful winds will start to ease from late morning.

Information on the red alert and instructions on how to keep safe until Saturday was given to all compatible mobile phones in the affected areas via the Cabinet Office’s Emergency Alert system.

Even while on mute, mobile phones vibrated and created a loud siren-like sound that lasted for almost ten seconds. However, others have asserted that they were not notified.

The UK’s west coast, which stretches from southern Scotland to Cornwall and Northern Ireland, is under a separate amber warning that is in effect from 1 am to 9 pm.

Flying debris and falling trees could pose a risk to life while large waves and beach material could be hurled onto coastal roads and seafronts.

There could also be damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down, as well as power cuts impacting other services such as mobile phone coverage.

Fallen trees destroyed cars on Cardiff’s exclusive Cathedral Road, with one local describing a ‘superb effort’ from a council that removed a tree that fell during Storm Darragh, breaking windows and damaging the wall around a property.

Stuart Cox, 64, said that an approximately 50ft mature tree on Cathedral Road in the Welsh capital fell into his next-door neighbour’s garden in the early hours of Saturday.

‘It broke one window two doors down and destroyed next door’s gate. The only damage to ours was the front wall was forced sideways, making the wall unstable and unable to shut the gate,’ the accountant said.

In addition, Darragh has caused chaos at sporting events around the UK and Ireland, forcing several cancellations due to strong winds and unrelenting rain.

High-profile events like Chepstow’s Christmas Party race day and Aintree’s Boylesports Becher Chase were cancelled due to horse racing, another significant sporting casualty.

Additionally, Liverpool’s match against Everton has been cancelled. The match will be the final Premier League Merseyside derby played at Goodison Park, and authorities, not the two teams, have chosen to postpone it.

In Wales, Cardiff City’s Championship clash with Watford was called off due to the storm, alongside other local fixtures considered unsafe to proceed. Plymouth’s Championship match against Oxford has also been shelved. 

In League One, Bristol Rovers versus Bolton has also been called off, while in League Two Newport County’s clash with Carlisle has been postponed. 

Authorities on both sides of the border had made preparations ahead of the worst of the storm making landfall. 

The official Irish meteorological office Met Eireann’s highest level of alert covers counties Mayo, Clare, Galway, Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo and Wicklow.

The Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris urged those living in areas covered by red warnings to take them ‘extraordinarily seriously’. 

‘A red weather warning does mean do not travel during that period of time, and even though it is a Friday night and coming up to the Christmas season, I’d really encourage people to heed that advice and indeed to follow closely weather advice in the hours ahead,’ he said.

‘Of course, there’s an orange weather warning for the rest of the country as well. So, really, people in that area should avoid any unnecessary travel at all. It is important people take these warnings very, very seriously in terms of protecting life in the hours ahead.’

Dublin airport confirmed it had welcomed some flights bound for other airports and was diverted due to the fourth named storm of the season.

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said it estimated approximately 46,000 customers are without power, but added this number could continue to rise across the morning. In the Republic of Ireland, almost 400,000 customers are without power.

The rest of the Republic of Ireland will be covered by a Met Eireann orange wind warning. In Munster and Connacht, that warning came into effect at 8 pm on Friday until 10 am on Saturday.

The orange alert for Leinster and counties Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan came into effect two hours later at 10 pm and will also lift at 10 am on Saturday.

A Met Eireann yellow wind warning covering the whole state came into place at 3 pm on Friday. It will remain in effect after the orange warnings lift and will be in place until 3 pm on Saturday.

A yellow rain warning for Connacht, and counties Clare, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Longford, Louth, Meath and Westmeath came into place at 10 am on Friday and will lift at 10 am on Saturday.

In Northern Ireland, the Met Office has issued an amber wind warning surrounding the entire area from 1 am on Saturday to 9 pm.

A yellow rain warning came into effect in Northern Ireland at 3 pm on Friday and will lift at noon on Saturday. A yellow wind warning also came into place at 3 pm on Friday.

In England it is understood residents in Devon, Bath and North East Somerset, the City of Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Isle of Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Monmouthshire and Newport have been warned.

A Cabinet Office Spokesperson said: ‘The Met Office has issued a red warning for wind across parts of England and Wales from 0300 hrs until 1100 hrs on Saturday 7th December.

‘In light of the damaging winds and associated disruption, the Cabinet Office will issue an Emergency Alert at 1845 hrs on Friday 6th December to people in areas covered by the red warning in parts of Wales and the South West.

‘The Emergency Alert system will send a message to every compatible mobile phone in the impacted areas, containing information about the red warning and guidance on how to stay safe into Saturday. 

‘This will be the largest ever use of the system outside a test scenario. Mobile phones will make a loud siren-like sound even if they are set on silent. The sound and vibration will last for about 10 seconds.

‘The UK Government has well-rehearsed plans in place for severe winter weather and is working with teams from devolved governments, local authorities, the emergency services and other public bodies to coordinate the response to any disruption.’

National Highways said both the Prince of Wales Bridge, M4 and the Severn Bridge, M48, which connect South West England to Wales were closed due to strong winds.

Network Rail Wales said all train services west of Cardiff and on the North Wales Coast Line were suspended until further notice due to falling trees blocking the line.

In Scotland, the train line between Ayr and Girvan was closed after a large tree fell onto the tracks, while snow gates were closed on roads in the north-east of Scotland. 

National Highways advised the QEII Bridge at Dartford Crossing in England’s southeast had also been closed due to strong winds.

In the West Midlands, the A5 was closed between the B5070 at Gledrid and the A483 at Halton due to powerful winds.

National Rail said the storm was likely to affect services across the whole network, advising people to check their journey in full before travelling as it may mean the last services of the day are cancelled and passengers may not reach their destination. 

They have specifically advised those travelling in the city area of Liverpool and Cumbria to take additional care and urged them to plan their journeys in advance.

Chris Pye, Network Rail’s North West infrastructure director, said: ‘We are doing everything we can to prepare the railway for Storm Darragh.

‘I’d urge passengers to check before they travel as there may be some disruption to services during the extreme weather.

‘If you live near the railway, please can you secure any loose objects in your gardens such as trampolines and furniture.

‘It is a serious safety risk if they blow onto the tracks and creates more work for our teams who will be on hand around the clock to keep passengers safely on the move.’

Chiltern Railways advised customers to only travel if absolutely necessary on Saturday with significant disruption expected across the network.

A reduced timetable will be in operation with one train per hour on all routes. Chiltern said customers with tickets on Saturday can use them on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday instead.

Several British Airways flights to and from Heathrow, Paris, the United States and the Netherlands were also withdrawn. Air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats added that temporary air traffic restrictions are in place at Heathrow and Gatwick. 

Darragh is also expected to bring heavy rain over the weekend, with more than 120 flood warnings in place on Saturday morning.

An amber warning for rain is in place in Wales from 3 am to 6 pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure.

A yellow warning for rain is in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, both of which were badly impacted by flooding during Storm Bert, as well as parts of Scotland from 3 pm on Friday until noon on Saturday.

The Met Office said periods of heavy rain in south and mid-Wales through Saturday are likely to see 20-30mm fall in three to six hours, with totals of 80-90mm possible by the time it begins to ease in the evening.

Meteorologists said a period of ‘extremely strong winds’ will develop during the early hours of Saturday morning as the low-pressure system moves across the Irish Sea.

Forecasters told residents to ‘stay indoors if you can’ and ‘avoid travelling by road during potentially dangerous conditions – it is not safe to drive in these conditions’.

The deepening low-pressure system will bring a ‘risk to life and property’, with Christmas events such as light shows, trails and markets axed across the country. 

Christmas markets in towns such as Romsey, Hampshire; Taunton, Somerset; and Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire have all been cancelled due to the forecast. 

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park has also announced it will be closing its display of fairground rides, an ice kingdom and a Christmas market on Saturday because of ‘high winds’.

Elsewhere, the start of Bolton’s ‘Put Big Light On’ lights festival was shelved, and an ice sculpture trail in Darlington was also put back by a week.

Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire said it will not open on Saturday due to the storm for safety reasons, while Stonehenge is also closed due to high winds.

We’ve had extreme winter storms for as long as I can remember, with some causing a lot of damage and loss of life. However, they weren’t given names, nor was there a ‘red alert’ or panic-inducing headlines, but they will tell you that it’s all to do with ‘climate change’ – a bit of hysteria so that they can reinforce the agenda.

Label and connect is a traditional manipulation method. Give it a name, or label, and then associate it with danger, risk, terror, et cetera. The public should then be indoctrinated into identifying the message and altering their conduct by spreading it through the media. The fact that we get all of these things throughout the winter is nothing new.

It makes me question if the phone warning was a test run for something more sinister in the future. I wouldn’t rule it out because both our current and previous governments have committed some extremely heinous crimes.

However, this might be nothing more than a weather warning that furnishes people with a little ‘heads up’. This is required these days because some people lack the brains to take care. They park under enormous trees and stroll out by the sea. As a consequence, we have to name storms and issue constant weather alerts. It’s no big deal, and perhaps it’s not mass manipulation, or perhaps it is. I mean why would they not want you to go out? It would mean that you’re not spending money, filling up your vehicles with liquid gold that increases taxes and raises revenue – there is no motive there.

How we managed to exist without storm names fifty years ago is a mystery to me.

Technology, isn’t it fantastic? I’m not convinced about that since technology makes it possible for people to communicate paranoid beliefs online and act as media prophets.

While technology may be beneficial when utilised properly, some people just use it to spread fear and anxiety.

Once again, Mother Nature is demonstrating who is truly in charge of our planet.

The Reverse ‘Rwanda Effect’

Hundreds of migrants have been detained after attempting to get into the UK by crossing the border from Ireland – an apparent reversal of the trend that saw asylum make the opposite journey to evade deportation to Rwanda.

Officials claim that criminal gangs are charging up to €8,000 (£6,600) to transport migrants from Ireland into Northern Ireland, claiming that this is a safer option than travelling over the Channel in tiny boats.

They then have the option of remaining in Northern Ireland or travelling to mainland Great Britain on ferries or aircraft.

The interceptions are part of a Home Office campaign called Operation Comby, which was launched last April to tackle abuses of the Common Travel Area, which permits people to travel between Northern Ireland and the Republic without limitations.

It contrasts with the situation in spring, which saw an inpouring of migrants crossing into the Republic after arriving in Britain on small boats due to fears about the now-abandoned Rwanda scheme.

A three-day operation saw 35 arrests in Ireland and the UK and the seizure of £400,000 worth of criminal cash and 10 fraudulent identity documents.

Checks were conducted at major ports, airports, and road networks across the country to disrupt smuggling routes.

One Iranian man seemed to have travelled from Barcelona to Dublin posing as a Ukrainian.

At Belfast Airport, officers stopped the man on his way to the departure area after suspecting that his passport was fraudulent. He acknowledged being Iranian after an interview.

Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Dame Angela Eagle, said: ‘This government will not stand by as criminal gangs exploit vulnerable people, risking their lives and giving them false hopes of a better life in the UK.

‘Driven by greed, these gangs have no regard for human life or safety, charging outrageous fees, preying on those desperate to escape hardship, and forcing them into illegal and dangerous situations.

‘We are taking the fight to them on all fronts under the leadership of our new Border Security Commander. 

‘Dismantling the business models of these gangs does not just apply to the small boat trade – we are also stamping out other routes into the UK to bring them to justice and slash their profits.’

Earlier this year the movement of migrants from the UK to Ireland due to the so-called ‘Rwanda effect’ generated a significant diplomatic row. 

Hundreds ended up sleeping rough beside Dublin’s International Protection Office, which had no toilets or washing facilities – before the camp was cleared by the Irish authorities.

Taoiseach Simon Harris promised to pass new laws to facilitate the returns of migrants after the country’s courts said the UK cannot be classed as ‘safe’ due to the pact with the African state.

In response, Rishi Sunak said that he was ‘not interested’ in taking back migrants from Ireland given that the EU refuses to take back Channel migrants who arrived from France. 

Home Office Immigration Enforcement Inspector, Jonathan Evans, said: ‘This operation has been a huge success and sends a clear message that the smuggling gangs who break our laws will face serious consequences.

‘We are taking action day in, day out to ensure we stay a step ahead of these criminal groups, disrupting them at the earliest possible stage. 

‘We will continue working relentlessly to ensure no one abuses the Common Travel Area or the UK’s borders.

‘I’m incredibly proud of our teams across the country, as well as our partners from the police, the National Crime Agency, and international counterparts, for their hard work and collaboration in carrying out this important operation.’

We, the British taxpayers, are paying the price for the blunder of abandoning the Rwanda agreement.

Indeed, the time has come for some kind of enormous legal objection because none of our politicians are listening or even care. Illegal immigration is, without a doubt the number one concern in the UK right now, but all we seem to be able to do is express our concerns verbally.

Crime rates and illegal immigration are on the rise, yet little is being done about it, and criminals are being freely admitted to Britain and apparently exempted from punishment for their crimes.

NHS Left 95-Year-Old Woman On Freezing Pavement

The husband of an elderly woman left lying on the pavement for five hours with a broken hip because she was not considered a priority for an ambulance has slammed the way she was treated as a ‘disgrace’.

Winifred Soanes, 95, who as a child survived her home being bombed during the Blitz, is recovering in hospital from surgery after falling while out shopping in Christchurch, Dorset, last week.

When members of the public and her husband Arthur, 92, repeatedly called 999 for an ambulance, the dispatcher informed them that Winifred was not a priority case.

Furious Arthur has hit out at how Winifred was treated: ‘At her age, it is out of order. I can’t imagine that all the other ambulances were going to more important calls than a 95-year-old woman lying in pain and out on the bloody road for five hours.

‘How can that not be a priority? It’s disgraceful.’

He told how other shoppers rallied round to prop her head up with shoe boxes from market stallholders and a pillow from a nearby pub.

Staff at Mountain Warehouse supplied her with sleeping bags and charity shops gave blankets and hot water bottles to keep Winifred warm. At one point she cried out how she thought she was going to die there.

Others brought food and coffee to Arthur, a diabetic and war veteran who would not leave his wife’s side.

He developed a throat infection afterwards which meant he was unable to visit his wife of 61 years for the first few days.

“Winifred had surgery on her right hip and will be in the hospital for three or four weeks while she heals,” he stated.

Arthur went on: ‘When she fell down I held her head out of the gutter and shouted around for anyone with a phone to call for an ambulance.

‘I asked her if she was in pain because you don’t move someone with a broken leg or something and she said she had dreadful pain in her hip.

‘A man dialled 999 straight away and he said they were busy but it will be on its way. We waited 10, 20 and 30 minutes and it didn’t come.

‘He called again and had to go through the same rigmarole and answer the same questions again. They said they were extremely busy and this went on for four or five calls.’

David Lovell was the one who saw Winifred’s fall.

He said: ‘I was told that Winifred was not a priority having been given the information about her vital signs. The conversation became heated between myself and the operator.

‘We had a 95-year-old woman lying on the pavement in the freezing cold and her diabetic husband sat in a chair in the cold. There were five or six 999 calls that were made over five hours from different people.

‘They said every time they were very busy and she wasn’t a priority.’

Arthur said it wasn’t until a man ‘with a medical background’ pulled over and then phoned 999 that the ambulance came.

He said: ‘I don’t know who he was but I think he was a medical chap. He got his phone out and really gave them a talking to. He said if this woman dies then who is going to be responsible? He said that she is 95 and that he couldn’t be sure he could keep her awake much longer.

‘People really put themselves out for us, I can’t thank them enough. They had homes to go to yet they stayed for five hours with us.

‘Someone gave me a wheelchair and a blanket and sleeping bag because I was shivering. She is being well looked after in hospital and at least I can see her now.

‘She is a very resilient person and has been through worse. She was bombed in the Second World War. Her father was away in the army and her mother took her to visit her gran and that same day a bomb hit their house and there was nothing left of it.

‘You soon realise how lonely you can get. Win and I are soul mates and we do things like watch The Chase on TV together and try to answer as many questions as we can between us. I can’t wait until she comes home. I will be able to look after her.’

Arthur did his two years of National Service with the King’s Royal Rifles and was stationed in Germany in the 1950s and after his time with the army, he became an engineer working in timber preservation.

Seventeen years ago, he and Winifred relocated to Christchurch from west London.

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service, said: ‘We are sorry that we were not able to provide a timely response to this patient. Any occasion where the care we provide falls below the high standards our patients deserve and rightly expect is unacceptable.

‘Handover delays at emergency departments remain one of our biggest challenges. To ensure our ambulances are available to attend the next emergency call within the community, we need to be able to hand patients over within the 15-minute national target.

‘We continue to work hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.’

Jane Chandler, executive director of quality patient care at the South Western Ambulance Service, said: ‘We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Mrs Soanes for the delay in our response. The delay was unacceptable and falls below the high standards of care we aim to provide.

‘Delays in our care is not something we want any of our patients to experience, and when a delay does occur, it’s taken very seriously. Our response to Mrs Soanes will be reviewed and any learnings will be implemented, to help improve our service to patients.

‘At the time of Mrs Soanes’ fall, our service was under extreme pressure, and our response time was impacted by this. This demand was further compounded by hospital handover delays and system pressures within the wider NHS and social care.

‘We continue to work incredibly hard with our partners in the NHS and social care, to do all we can to improve the service that patients receive.’

At 95 years of age, with a broken hip, laying outdoors in the freezing cold weather, feeling tremendous pain, I would say she was indeed a ‘priority.’ The ambulance service could have at the very least sent out a responder who could have assessed this lady and given her some pain relief. The ambulance service is sadly failing in its responsibilities, and I’m sure a degree of ageism enters into the decision to respond quicker or not.

It appears that the NHS does not consider older people to be a priority.

Triage at a call centre is read off a card and that’s how they assess priority. Unless someone is not breathing or has sustained a head injury, then you are not a priority, age is irrelevant, but age is not irrelevant, especially when you are 95 years of age. It was bitterly cold out, and had this woman fallen asleep she would have certainly died, therefore she was a priority.

I hope that anyone at the end of the phone at a triage call centre is never in the same position, and if they ever are, then I hope that they can reflect on how cold and uncaring they had been to this lady.

Unfortunately, it’s our government, not the call handlers fault. They are given a job to do and they just do it like a robot. However, common sense tells a person if it’s a priority, as this was. I understand that other things are going on like cardiac arrests, people bleeding out et cetera, but being 95 years old and in the freezing cold with a broken hip should take priority as well. I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to be the person making that decision – the system is broken.

Sadly there are too many calls and not enough ambulances, and it must be extremely stressful for call handlers. Day in and day out the ambulance service let people down. Some people have to wait four hours after having a stroke or heart attack for an ambulance – it’s basically like playing God, potentially being forced to determine who lives and who dies.

Not Much Cheer With Keir?

According to a recent survey, three out of four Britons believe the Labour Government is doing a poor job of handling the cost-of-living situation.

According to the YouGov study, 74 percent of respondents are unhappy with Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the matter, while only 15 percent believe his government is handling it well.

There has been a ‘significant increase’ in dissatisfaction with Labour over the matter since the general election, the pollster said.

Following the July 4 vote, only 55 per cent said the new Government was handling the issue badly.

However, Labour’s current net score of -59 is now precisely equal to the previous Conservative government’s final score under Rishi Sunak.

According to the survey, 38 percent of Britons anticipate their financial status to remain relatively stable over the next year, while 43 percent of them anticipate it to deteriorate.

Over the following 12 months, only 11 percent of respondents expected their household finances to improve.

According to the study, only one in eight Britons (13 percent) believe that the UK economy will improve over the next year, indicating a pessimistic outlook.

In contrast, over half (54 percent) believe that the UK economy will worsen over the next 12 months.

Ahead of the general election, Sir Keir said one of his five ‘missions’ if he became PM was to ‘secure the highest sustained growth’ among G7 countries.

‘Good employment and productivity development in every region of the nation making everyone, not just a few, better off’ was another pledge made by Labour in its manifesto.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 epidemic, the cost of living problem has caused prices to skyrocket.

Despite the CPI inflation rate dropping to 2.3 percent from a peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022, the survey indicated that Britons were not feeling any relief from the pressures.

Just 10 percent of respondents felt their income was keeping up with costs, while 82 percent of respondents indicated that store prices were increasing more quickly than their income.

Only 1 percent of respondents said their income was increasing more quickly than prices.

Almost 60 percent of Britons reported that they have recently been impacted by pressures from the cost of living.

This included 41 percent who said they have not just made cuts to their everyday spending but hope to have to do so again at some point.

Sadly, the UK is finished and some people pay more in income tax than they do for their mortgage and all household bills put together, and this is completely unsustainable.

Mass migration has been a catastrophe, and there is no financial advantage. We have far too many people coming into the UK and we are taking in thousands more every day who have completely different values and culture to us, armed with a doctrine that is killing our country.

I suspect that Keir Starmer sincerely wished he knew what he was doing every morning when he looks in the mirror, and Starmer and his inexperienced government are too dull to realise that virtually everyone believes they’re doing a subpar job. He should stand down and let someone else have a go!

The cost of living crisis appears to be something that Labour is purposefully creating rather than addressing. It is unclear what foolish beliefs these individuals hold, but they will not stop until the UK is destroyed.

We are being taxed on our wages, taxed on our savings, taxed by local councils, and taxed when we die. In between we are taxed on our cars, taxed on our holidays, taxed on our purchases, the list goes on and on, and then along comes this incompetent Labour government who pledged to leave our taxes on the working man alone.

The result: Our government by its actions is causing inflation and it’s inflation that will cost jobs due to businesses moving out of the country or going bankrupt.

Without a question, Keir Starmer’s Labour administration has shown itself to be utterly unable to lead our nation and glaringly out of touch with the people.

Money-Only Nail Bars, Barbers, And Car Washes Feed Illegal Migration

Britons using cash-only nail bars, barbers or car washes are ‘feeding the problem’ of illegal migration and could be creating more victims of slavery, a top Home Office official has warned.

Bas Javid, the director general of immigration enforcement, said that working in the UK’s black economy is a ‘pull factor’ for those coming to the country illegally.

This includes those who make dangerous voyages in small boats across the Channel after people-smuggling rings hawk Britain as ‘the land of milk and honey’.

Mr Javid, a former top police officer and the brother of Tory ex-home secretary Sajid Javid told the Sunday Times: ‘People should recognise they are contributing to it and if they are, they are feeding the problem.

‘Part of our job… has to be to educate the wider public that if you do use illegal car washes or go to illegal nail bars then you are feeding the problem, and at the end of that there are victims.’

Although he said there were legitimate reasons for some businesses to only accept cash, Mr Javid urged customers to ‘look at the conditions and the way that people operate’.

‘I think we’ve got to strike the balance of making sure that people are cognisant and aware that this environment of illegal working activity and exploitation exists,’ he added.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics showed net migration – the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country – hit a record 906,000 in 2023.

Mr Javid told the newspaper there was no exact figure for the number of illegal migrants in the UK, but said the majority – about two-thirds – arrived through legal routes rather than on small boats.

More than 33,000 illegal migrants have crossed the Channel this year – including more than 20,000 since Sir Keir Starmer has been Prime Minister and already above the 29,437 total for 2023.

‘A lot of people who come into the UK who end up being here illegally, the large majority arrive through legal routes,’ he said.

‘A good portion of those people arrive entirely legally and then during their time here, for one reason or another – that could be because they turn to criminality, or it could be they just overstay their visa – they become illegal.’

Mr Javid said this includes people who apply for student visas for top universities and deliberately overstay.

Those in positions of power need to carry out their duties effectively. All that is required is for the authorities to investigate these “cash only” establishments to see whether they are legally permitted in the UK and for the Inland Revenue to confirm that these companies are registered, maintaining accounts, and paying the relevant taxes.

Asking people not to utilise these places is pointless. Why don’t the government raid them, deport the illegal workers, and then impose heavy fines on the owners? They expect us to perform their work for them by boycotting these establishments, therefore it’s no good stating we should avoid them when they don’t take any action to shut them down.

However, people are also the problem because we expect the government to stop a business from trading, but we are happy to use it.

Cash typically eliminates the need for a paper trail, and although everyone is aware of the shady dealings, no one pays any attention.

Our officials find it much easier to condemn the general public, but they don’t mind letting a tsunami of illegal immigrants into our country.

Still Waiting For NHS Dentist Appointment Seven Years Later

A lady has said she was forced to pull out her teeth after waiting almost seven years for an NHS dentist appointment.

When Linda Colla, 76, relocated to Nottingham from Devon in 2018, she started looking for a dentist but was soon let down when she discovered that it was harder than she had anticipated.

She says she still hasn’t managed to get an appointment despite the self-administered operation as ‘local practices are not accepting new NHS patients’ and that she can’t afford to seek private treatment.

When three of her teeth became loose earlier this year, Ms Colla decided to take the plunge and extracted a total of two molars and one canine tooth herself in a ‘very painful’ DIY procedure.

The daring extractor recounted how the pain from loose teeth was impacting her ability to eat and that they were only getting ‘looser and looser’.

She explained: ‘I didn’t have any other option.

‘When I moved down here to the southwest, that’s when the problems started.

‘I started looking for an NHS dentist, and couldn’t find one, so I phoned the NHS and they put me on the list.

‘I’ve been here since April 2018, and I started looking for a dentist in June or July that year – and I’ve still not got one.

‘Three teeth started to work loose, and it was not very comfortable. It was painful to eat, so I had to pull them out.

‘They were getting looser and looser, so one at a time, I took them out.

‘It was two back teeth and a canine, and they had quite long roots. It was very painful – but I’ve apparently got a high pain tolerance.’

Ms Colla then had to fork out £300 for work on her dental plate to be able to eat again.

She says she would happily travel over 20 miles to see a dentist but has still had no luck.

Ms Colla hopes to find a dentist to maintain her dentures – as she says a new set would cost about £1500 if she saw a private dentist.

Now, she is sharing her story to boost awareness of the dental situation she believes is facing the south-west of England.

‘I’ve been round local dentists, who have told me they can only take a certain amount of NHS patients due to funding, and they can’t take any more,’ she said.

‘The southwest is in dire straits.

‘The NHS contacted me a couple of times and asked if I still want to be on the waiting list, and I said of course.

‘Six years later, as far as I know, I’m still on it.’

The fact that there are so few NHS dental practices is disgraceful, and those who cannot afford it should be supported by our government.

Great Britain has fallen. In all my years, I have never seen such much tragedy and destruction in our nation, where locals are ignored and foreigners are given preference. Where infrastructure fails and money takes precedence. Where politicians rarely exhibit honesty and ethics these days. In fifty years, the majority will be the minority, and our government won’t be concerned about the safety, security, or future of our children.

Unfortunately, it was the Conservative way, and during all those years of Tory government NHS dentistry was intentionally neglected and underfunded so that we would all be forced to go private. The Tory ideology is clear, if you can’t afford to go private for your dental treatment, then it’s just tough!

A Young Woman Was Made To Face A £2,500 Litter Fine For Dropping A Cigarette

After being fined for dropping a cigarette in a community 182 miles from her home—a place she hadn’t been to in decades—a nonsmoker was left perplexed.

Natalie Walton, 31, was accused of littering in neighbouring Swanscombe and received a fixed penalty notice (FPN) at her parents’ home in Gravesend, Kent.

But according to Ms Walton, it couldn’t have been her since she doesn’t smoke, she hasn’t been to the scene of the crime since she was a youngster, and there is proof that she wasn’t even in Kent at the time.

She relocated 182 miles away to Staffordshire in 2021, and she hasn’t resided at her parents’ house, where the letters were sent, since then.

Additionally, she hasn’t been to Swanscombe in decades.

As per the letter dated November 12, she was observed ‘committing an infraction’ on October 29 by a Dartford council official and was required to either pay a £75 fine or appeal the decision.

It added: ‘As neither the payment nor the written challenge has been received, you remain liable for the offence and prosecution proceedings in the magistrates’ court may begin immediately against you.

‘If convicted you may have to pay a fine of up to £2,500 for littering.’

Ms Walton received a photo of the letter the same day her parents opened it.

Ms Walton began the appeal procedure after realising it couldn’t have been her because she had bank records demonstrating that she was shopping at Tesco and B&M in Staffordshire at the time.

Given that it occurred just weeks before her wedding, she acknowledged that the situation had been “stressful.”

She said: ‘I had not been to Kent for months. Dartford council were trying to fine me £75 for something I was not even there to do.

‘It is just a bit bizarre. I was accused of littering a cigarette in Swanscombe, which is honestly more absurd, as I do not smoke and have never been to the address they have claimed I was at.

‘I feel like a complete victim of fraud. Someone must have stolen my identity or the council’s security measures are so broken they will take a name and address with no proof.’

While the appeal was looked into, Ms Walton’s FPN was put on hold. Nevertheless, a second letter, dated November 19, arrived at her parents’ home saying the local authority was starting court proceedings.

Ms Walton said: ‘I am getting married in two weeks and I was so panicked I would have to pay out thousands. It has been so stressful.

‘Although I was told the fine was on hold, it was the impending doom and not knowing how long this was going to go on for.’

After reviewing the documentation Natalie had submitted, Dartford Council contacted her to inform her that the FPN had been revoked.

How were they even able to identify the offender without speaking with them and recording their details?

What was not said is how they made an identity deduction from a picture that was taken with bodycam footage. What methodology did they use? And what pictures did they use to make the comparison and finally the false identity?

Since they asked her to provide them with a picture of herself, the council now has a picture of her on file when they wouldn’t have otherwise, compromising this woman’s identity and data. Her right to privacy and to safeguard her identity from fraud and abuse are being violated.

Foreigners Are Three Times More Likely To Be Arrested In The UK

According to the most recent statistics, foreign people are up to three times more likely than British citizens to be detained in some areas of the UK. Revisions to the figures indicate that migration is greater than anticipated after 166,000 arrivals were not included in official records.

Analysts from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in an unprecedented adjustment of government predictions that the UK’s population increased by an astounding 906,000 for the year ending June 2023.

This surpassed the agency’s first toll, which was an all-time high, by 166,000, or 22 percent.

The latest ONS data release did not contain figures on the number of offences carried out by new arrivals, but a picture of offending by foreign nationals in local police areas has previously been constructed using data sourced under freedom of information laws.

In Cambridgeshire, of the more than 21,200 arrests made between 2021 and 2023, almost 8,800 (41.5 percent) were not UK citizens. This is despite them comprising just 15 percent of the local population.

Foreign nationals living in the UK are three times more likely than British citizens to be detained on suspicion of a crime, according to statistics from Cambridgeshire Police, which serves places including Cambridge and Peterborough.

In the county, the average annual arrest rate for foreign nationals between 2021 and 2023 was 21.5 per 1,000 population. In comparison, MailOnline study suggests the matching rate for Brits was 6.5 per 1,000.

Other noteworthy places include Gloucestershire with 27.5 arrests per 1,000 foreign nationals compared to 8.1 per 1,000 Britons, Nottinghamshire with 31.7 for migrants vs 10 for Britons, and Derbyshire with 32.6 against 10.2.

Figures were acquired from 26 out of 43 forces in England and Wales which responded to a Freedom of Information request by the Centre for Migration Control thinktank.

The other 17 parties said they were unable to supply the information.

The FOI questioned each force about the number of non-UK nationals that its officers had arrested in 2021, 2022, and 2023 while they were residents of the UK.

It should be highlighted that the research does not quantify the number of accused offenders residing in a region because the individuals included in the arrest statistics for each police force area do not necessarily reside there.

Additionally, the statistics are for the total number of arrests rather than specific individuals, so if someone was arrested more than once, they will show up more than once.

Foreign nationals know the UK is soft on criminals and tough on victims. No surprise the UK is deemed a ‘Treasure Island.’ Politicians, meanwhile have no real gut for dealing with this growing situation, despite their cacophony and broken promises.

Where are the human rights of the British public while we are in danger? We have none, we are now second-class citizens.

The UK has gone to the dogs, and the ‘wokes’ have prevailed.

Now is the time to begin deporting migrants.

Save billions on handouts, decrease crime, free up NHS beds, and free up housing. I don’t see any drawbacks to reclaiming our nation, and our government ought to be removing individuals who have entered our country illegally and cancelling the visas of those who aren’t contributing.

Mass deportations are necessary. Anyone entering our nation should be required to sign a contract stating that they would be deported immediately if they commit a crime in the UK—no ifs, no buts, no lawyers—just out!

Diet Changes And Fewer Flights Recommended

To achieve Net Zero targets, Britons will need to take public transit more frequently, eat less meat, and fly less, according to the government’s top climate change advisors.

The conditions presented to MPs today are in direct opposition to Sir Keir Starmer’s pledges earlier this month that British citizens would not need to alter their way of life to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

New targets mean the UK’s emissions should be slashed to 81 percent of 1990 levels by 2035.

At the Cop29 summit in Azerbaijan a fortnight ago, the Prime Minister said he would not be ‘telling people how to live their lives’ by reducing air travel or changing their diets.

But today leading members of the Climate Change Committee (CCC) spelt out that hitting the target would involve widespread ‘behaviour change’.

Asked at the Commons environmental audit committee ‘to what extent will individual behavioural change be needed’, James Richardson, director of analysis at the CCC, said: ‘In terms of the analysis we’ve done, about 10 per cent of emissions reduction to 2035 comes from what we would think of as behaviour change. That’s predominantly around diets, flying and modal shifting [to] public transport.’

Detailing the ‘key behavioural changes people would notice’ if the UK follows the CCC’s advice, Mr Richardson said: ‘It’s not about telling people you must stop flying, but it’s the rate of growth of flights that we think would happen if we didn’t take any action… When we talk to citizens, people seem willing to accept there must be some degree of constraint.’

Regarding changes in diet, Mr Richardson said: ‘We think about half the change you’d need to get to by 2035 is a continuation of the existing trends of people changing what they eat.’ 

He acknowledged that the increased expense of living may have caused some individuals to alter their diets in recent years, such as by eating less meat.

Mr Richardson was asked why the installation rate of energy-efficient heat pumps is nowhere near hitting the Government’s target of 600,000 a year by 2028.

He said installing a pump would hit consumers in the pocket as they are more expensive to run than gas boilers, adding that ‘at the moment if you do the right thing you will lose from it.’

Piers Forster, interim chairman of the CCC, said the price of electricity was too high in the UK compared to gas, partly to subsidise wind and solar power.

He said: ‘Our very top recommendation is to reduce the cost of electricity. If you reduce the cost of electricity, you make it more compelling to buy an electric car, to install an air-source heat pump rather than a gas boiler and for our industries to make the necessary investment in electrification.’

Professor Forster said there is a need for ‘long-term consistent policies that are really well communicated by the industry and communicated by the Government as well’.

He added: ‘You have to keep that really consistent message out there that, in the long term, your electric car will not be as expensive for you as the petrol or diesel one you are currently using.’

Mr Richardson said he supported the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate which imposes stiff fines if car-makers miss their sales targets for EVs.

Yet, these don’t apply to those in authority. They need their private jets to fly to Davos so they can give all our tax money away.

Will the British populace follow orders, in your opinion? Undoubtedly, they won’t. Their meat-eating and international travel will continue.

People will not alter their lives for deceivers such as Starmer and Reeves – to be honest they make Boris Johnson look like Mother Theresa.

Why our government makes such a big deal out of pollution and climate change is beyond me. Our actions won’t change anything because China is the country with the highest emissions. Although we seem to be quite happy buying all this cheap tat from China. Then we have very little choice because practically everything is made in China these days.

All of these climate zealots should be monitored to ensure they don’t take flights and only use public transport, and that their food, drink and clothing have no carbon footprint. Then the rest of us may consider joining them, but not until they’ve proved themselves.

Inmates Bitten By Venomous Spiders And Rats

Prisoners have been bitten by venomous spiders and rats, according to a report highlighting ‘dangerous’ conditions behind bars.

The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) said false widow spiders bit prisoners at HMP Bullingdon, near Bicester, Oxon, after disturbing them during building work.

At HMP Hollesley Bay, in Woodbridge, Suffolk, a prisoner was bitten by a rat while sorting rubbish, the report went on.

False widow spiders – which have a leg span of around the size of a 50p piece – have a venomous bite which is ‘no worse than the pain of a wasp sting’, according to the Natural History Museum.

The arachnids are sometimes confused with the highly dangerous black widow.

‘Vermin and waste mismanagement led to extremely unhygienic, and occasionally dangerous, conditions for prisoners,’ the report said.

‘IMBs described cockroach infestations, biting flies infesting showers, dead rodents rotting on the wings and cells taken out of use due to bedbugs, which could be disruptive when a prison was at full capacity.

‘Rats were a particularly common issue, with board members reporting unacceptable conditions in kitchens and on wings.

‘At Hollesley Bay, a prisoner was bitten by a rat while sorting through rubbish.

‘Bullingdon attributes prisoners being bitten by venomous spiders as a result of disturbance by renovation work.’

Earlier this year the kitchen at HMP Pentonville, north London, had to be closed for three months after ‘large numbers of rat droppings’ were found on the floor.

Prison buildings across the country have suffered an ‘alarming physical decline’, the report said.

Serious issues with fire alarms, heating, ventilation, sanitation, and leaking roofs were also discovered.

IMB chairwoman Elisabeth Davies said: ‘Prisoners are enduring appalling conditions across the board, yet they often lack the motivation to submit complaints, as the dire state of things has become normalised for those most affected.

‘Whether they are eating, working, sleeping, or receiving medical care, the shocking level of neglect reported by local IMBs across the country, and the impact of this on those living in these conditions, cannot be ignored.’

Prisons aren’t supposed to be comfortable and cosy places, but they are supposed to be clean, and the prison attendants also have to work in these horrendous conditions.

But why not assign the inmates to work resolving some of the issues they are already facing if the jails are that awful?

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