UK news archive

29.12.2005 Sir Bob Geldof was making an "error of judgment" in associating with the Tories, said Gill Hubbard, a spokeswoman for G8 Alternatives.

29.12.2005 Bob Geldof is to work with the Conservative Party's new policy group on Globalisation and Global Poverty.
* Geldof's year

23.12.2005 Some of the proposed changes to Scottish planning law could be a planning disaster for many communities, warns a leading environmental group.

22.12.2005 Britain is to cut £15 million in direct assistance to Uganda as a result of concerns about democracy ahead of the February general election.

21.12.2005 Asda, the UK’s second biggest supermarket, has announced its participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. The meetings will attempt to promote a sustainable solution for palm oil, the sourcing of which currently contributes to deforestation in some of the world’s most sensitive regions.

21.12.2005 The Home Office has admitted it was searching for an Iraqi Kurd who had been unlawfully deported to Iraq.

16.12.2005 Richard Sandbrook, former Executive Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development and a founder member of Friends of the Earth, has died.
Independent obituary
Guardian obituary

16.12.2005 Thousands of Indian tea workers face growing hunger and poverty amid wage cuts and bigger workloads, while British companies and their subsidiaries continue to dominate the tea market and give handsome payouts to shareholders, a development agency warned on International Tea Day.

15.12.2005 Nearly a third surveyed in a UK Mori poll said that they condoned torture in some circumstances. A leading UK human rights group said that people are losing sight of the horrific reality of torture - enabling the UK to turn a blind eye to other countries' torture records by seeking ‘Memoranda of Understanding’ with countries like Algeria.
*Campaign against torture

14.12.2005 The government is missing an opportunity to prevent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from new housing, an environmental charity warned.

13.12.2005 Liberty is calling for a formal investigation into CIA flights through the UK following the Foreign Secretary’s comments that there is no evidence that U.S. rendition flights passed through the UK.
*'No UK record of rendition flights'

12.12.2005 Ethical spending has again increased its share of the UK shopping basket, to £26 billion, according to a new Co-op Bank report, which says that "what were previously thought by some as somewhat curious or niche marketing exercises are now becoming mainstream".

07.12.2005 Far from showing global leadership, mixed messages from the UK Government have led to confusion, the International Institute for Environment and Development has warned as politicians gather in Montreal for the second week of the UN Climate Change Conference.

06.12.2005 A leading environment group has criticised the Chancellor for failing to take the urgent action needed to tackle climate change and stimulate a low carbon economy in his pre-Budget statement.

05.12.2005 As the House of Lords today begins its detailed examination of the Terrorism Bill, a leading press freedom organisation says several provisions of the legislation violate the right to freedom of expression, particularly the proposed prohibition of 'indirect incitement' and 'glorifying' terrorism.

02.12.2005 Campaigners condemn UK water company Biwater for suing Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in the world. The company was kicked out earlier this year for allegedly failing to make required investments under a $102 million privatisation contract or to improve water services in Dar es Salaam.
* Dirty aid, dirty water: Hands off Tanzania: Stop UK company, Biwater's attempt to sue
* OneWorld UK Guide to Tanzania

02.12.2005 Measures to tackle climate change must be at the heart of Gordon Brown's pre-Budget statement on Monday, a leading environmental group urged.

02.12.2005 While welcoming the conviction of five Albanians for trafficking women to the UK, activists said protection for victims remains a serious concern and urged the Government to sign the Council of Europe's European Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
* Kofi Annan's statement for International Day for Abolition of Slavery