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UK’s Covid Inquiry Hears Virus May Have Been ‘Man Made’

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British government minister Michael Gove was cut off by the Counsel to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry after he expressed there is a “significant body of judgement” that the Coronavirus was man-made, the first establishment figure in the country to say so in such stark terms.

Michael Gove, presently the housing minister but previously the minister for the Cabinet Office — “the corporate headquarters for government” responsible for an efficient and effective state — during the Coronavirus era, testified to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Tuesday, offering an apology to families for government failures but also being the first figure in government to question the origins of coronavirus publicly.

Being questioned by Counsel to the Inquiry Hugo Keith, a senior trial lawyer Mr Gove said the government was not as well prepared for the arrival of a novel virus, but said the possible origin of Coronavirus made being prepared much harder. He told the inquiry: “It is in the nature of the fact the virus was novel. And indeed — though I think this probably goes beyond the remit of the inquiry — there is a significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made — and that presents its own set of challenges as well.”

Having mentioned the potential origin of Coronavirus, Gove was spoken over by Keith who dismissed discussion on the subject, saying it is a “somewhat divisive issue, so we won’t go there”.

No other member of the British government has gone so far in suggesting Coronavirus may have been lab-made, although the UK has previously unsuccessfully attempted to pressure China to cooperate with the World Health Organisation’s fact-finding mission attempting to discover the origins of the virus. The United States Department of State has also criticised China for its lack of cooperation. A 2021 fact sheet noted that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were sick as early as Autumn 2019, and reported:

For more than a year, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically prevented a transparent and thorough investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic’s origin, choosing instead to devote enormous resources to deceit and disinformation…

…The U.S. government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak…

…Today’s revelations just scratch the surface of what is still hidden about COVID-19’s origin in China. Any credible investigation into the origin of COVID-19 demands complete, transparent access to the research labs in Wuhan, including their facilities, samples, personnel, and records.

Gove’s remarks prompted a response on social media — including from those astounded such a thing had finally been said by a government minister, and by those criticising Gove for alleged deadcatting — and even a statement from the Prime Minister’s spokesman appearing to cautiously back up the admission. The Daily Telegraph reports Downing Street said, appearing to reference the 2021 call on China to allow an investigation, that: “The Government’s view is that the WHO needs to continue to examine all possibilities. We think there is still work to be done. But it is for the WHO to investigate.”

Tens of Thousands March Against Antisemitism in London Including Ex-PM Boris Johnson

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LONDON (AP) – Tens of thousands of people including former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gathered in London on Sunday for a march against antisemitism, a day after large crowds turned out for a pro-Palestinian rally.

Johnson was joined by U.K. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and other senior government officials at the march to express solidarity with the Jewish community. Organizers billed it as the largest gathering against antisemitism in London for almost a century.

Marchers waved Israeli flags and Union Jacks, and held placards reading “Never Again Is Now” and “Zero Tolerance for Antisemites.”

Sunday´s march was organized amid concerns about rising tensions sparked by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 26: The anti-semitism march heads down Arundel street on November 26, 2023 in London, England. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a wave of protests across Europe, and heightened concerns over anti-Semitism among Jewish communities. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 26: Personalities Eddie Marsan, Rachel Riley and Maureen Lipman lead the anti-semitism march on November 26, 2023 in London, England. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a wave of protests across Europe, and heightened concerns over anti-Semitism among Jewish communities. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 26: The anti-semitism march heads down Arundel street on November 26, 2023 in London, England. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a wave of protests across Europe, and heightened concerns over anti-Semitism among Jewish communities. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

“Anything which is associated with the Jewish religion now feel that they´re under attack and they have to look after themselves, have their own security,” said Malcolm Canning, 75, from London. “I never thought this would get to this stage in this country. And it´s very, very upsetting to see it.”

Police detained Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the former leader of the far-right English Defence League, at the march. Yaxley-Lennon, more widely known by his alias Tommy Robinson, was among crowds of counterprotesters who clashed with police during an Armistice Day march in London earlier this month.

Police said that he refused to leave after he was warned about concerns that his presence would cause “harassment, alarm and distress to others.”

Gideon Falter, the chief executive of Campaign Against Antisemitism, said that the rally came after weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that had made the capital a “no-go zone for Jews.”

Tommy Robinson is led away by police officers as people take part in a march against antisemitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Picture date: Sunday November 26, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)

People take part in a march against antisemitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism in central London. Picture date: Sunday November 26, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)

Protesters holding placards take part in a demonstration in central London, on November 26, 2023, to protest against antisemitism. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that antisemitic incidents in the U.K. have surged since the war began, and condemned what he called “appalling” placards seen at the protests – including ones “showing a Star of David thrown in the bin with a caption that says `please keep the world clean.´”

On Saturday, tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched to demand a permanent cease-fire in the war.

Police said the majority protested peacefully, but 18 people were arrested for offenses including suspicion of inciting racial hatred.

The Stop the War coalition, which organized Saturday’s rally, stressed that those taking part oppose racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia.

During the Nov. 11 Armistice Day demonstration in London, pro-Palestinian protesters marched peacefully. But far-right counter-protesters whom police described as soccer “hooligans” clashed with officers trying to prevent them from attacking the march.

Organizers of Sunday’s march said that it was the largest gathering of its kind since 1936, when hundreds of thousands of people blocked a planned march by the British Union of Fascists through a Jewish neighborhood.

RETRANSMITTED CORRECTING NAME FROM TRACEY-ANN OBERMAN to TRACY-ANN OBERMAN (left to right) Chief Rabbi Mirvis, Eddie Marsan, Tracy-Ann Oberman, Rachel Riley, Maureen Lipman (second from right) and Vanessa Feltz (right) take part in a march against antisemitism organised by the volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Picture date: Sunday November 26, 2023. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 26: Tens of thousands gather for the anti-semitism march on November 26, 2023 in London, England. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a wave of protests across Europe, and heightened concerns over anti-Semitism among Jewish communities. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 26: The anti-semitism march heads down Arundel street on November 26, 2023 in London, England. The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas has sparked a wave of protests across Europe, and heightened concerns over anti-Semitism among Jewish communities. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)

After Shock Migration Figures, Over Half of Britons Support Five Year Pause on All New Arrivals

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The British public are considerably more conservative than the ruling Conservative party on the question of migration, polling taken in the wake of this week’s shock migration figures shows.

A majority of Britons are concerned the nation’s population is soaring because of mass migration and, astonishingly, a majority even support a “five-year halt on all further immigration into the UK”. Reducing migration to zero, never mind for five whole years, is a position on border control so strident there is no political party in Britain that voters could even support to deliver such a policy.

The figures, which come from research by British Polling Council member People Polling in response to this week’s record net migration figures, shows a strong majoirty are concerned about migration having an impact on the population of the United Kingdom. Per a statement by Migration Watch, who commissioned the polling seen by Breitbart London 66 per cent of Britons said they are concerned about projections based on the present rate of migrant arrivals which suggest the UK population would reach 85 million by 2046 if nothing changes.

43 per cent of those polled said they were “very concerned” about migration-driven population growth and just four per cent said that didn’t concern them at all. To the Britons polled, this is not merely a hypothetical question either, with a strong plurality believing mass migration is having real-world impacts on the nation. Per the research, the largest group of respondents at 42 per cent said they agreed that “immigration is detrimentally affecting the quality of life in Britain”, while just ten per cent think migration is having an overall positive impact.

While the British government has promised to reduce overall migration to the United Kingdom for decades, despite enjoying 13 years of power and most recently nearly five years with an overwhelmingly powerful Parliamentary majority it has totally failed to do so. In fact migration is now at record levels and even basic issues like tackling illegal migration remain unaddressed.

That is not to say options to control levels of migrant arrivals don’t exist, however, and even trenchant approaches that would be derided as totally unacceptable among the Westminster elite are polled as being acceptable to the voting public itself. The People Polling figures claim their research shows an outright majority of 53 per cent support “temporary five-year pause on all further immigration into the UK so that the UK can better absorb the immigration of the last few decades”.

The split is not especially close, either, given just 22 per cent said they are opposed to the measure, with 25 per cent saying they did not know how they feel about the policy. The idea of giving the nation a short break to recover from the recent record levels of migration could be seen as the polar opposite of migration policy as actually delivered in practice by the governing Conservative Party, which has gone from promising to get net migration down “to the tens of thousands” a year a decade ago, to over a million arrivals net in less than two years now.

Migration Watch itself warned the government that their failures on migration were likely to impact them when an election comes. Chairman Alp Mehmet said in a statement: “The continuing, astonishing migration levels we learned about this week and what It means for future population growth has spooked us all. Is it any wonder that people are now beginning to see a pause to all Immigration as part
of a solution? Mr Sunak should take heed. The public can only be ignored for so long before they make their feelings known.”

The striking polling results come in the wake of figures from the UK government’s statistical agency this week which revealed net migration — fresh arrivals minus the number of people leaving the country — had climbed by tens of thousands more over the same period the year before, hitting 672,000. The office said of how this was impacting the country: “the population of England and Wales has grown at the fastest rate seen since 1962.

“However, unlike the baby boom driving population growth in the 1960s, the increases seen today are predominantly being driven by international migration.”

While the figures should be deeply embarrassing for the Conservatives, they appear to have reacted to them with little concern. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked on Friday whether he had any new plans to bring down overall migration levels and revealed he had no intention of reducing legal routes for entry, and could only cite one months-old plan to tackle visa “abuse”.

Pictures: Thousands Demand ‘Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza’ in London Protest

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LONDON (AP) – A protester was arrested Saturday in London on suspicion of inciting racial hatred, as tens of thousands of people turned out on central London’s streets for a pro-Palestinian march calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza.

The National March for Palestine, which aimed to finish in Whitehall, central London, was the latest in several huge protests staged in the British capital every weekend since the Israel-Hamas war began last month.

Saturday’s protests came on the second day of a four-day cease-fire that has allowed critical humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and given civilians their first respite after seven weeks of war.

Protesters light flares during a ‘National March For Palestine’ in central London on November 25, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters waves flags and banners as they take part in a ‘National March For Palestine’ in central London on November 25, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

The Metropolitan Police said it arrested a man on suspicion of inciting racial hatred “near the start of the protest.”

“Officers spotted him carrying a placard with Nazi symbols on it,” police said.

Officers handed out leaflets at the march that sought to clarify what would be deemed an offence, after the force faced pressure from senior government officials to be tougher on alleged displays of antisemitism at the protests.

“Anyone who is racist or incites hatred against any group should expect to be arrested. As should anyone who supports Hamas or any other banned organisation,” said Deputy Assistant Police Commissioner Ade Adelekan.

“We will not tolerate anyone who celebrates or promotes acts of terrorism – such as the killing or kidnap of innocent people – or who spreads hate speech,” he added.

The force said 1,500 officers were deployed to police the march.

Protesters hold a banner in as they take part in a ‘National March For Palestine’ in central London on November 25, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 25: People gather to stage demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinians for the 7th time as they take to the streets every Saturday since Oct 14 in London, United Kingdom on November 25, 2023. Crowds assembled in front of Hyde Park, a symbolic location in the city, and proceeded to march towards the parliament building with demanding the humanitarian pause in the conflict to be transformed into a lasting and permanent ceasefire. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – NOVEMBER 25: People gather to stage demonstration to show solidarity with Palestinians for the 7th time as they take to the streets every Saturday since Oct 14 in London, United Kingdom on November 25, 2023. Crowds assembled in front of Hyde Park, a symbolic location in the city, and proceeded to march towards the parliament building with demanding the humanitarian pause in the conflict to be transformed into a lasting and permanent ceasefire. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Earlier this month the U.K.´s former interior minister, Suella Braverman, came under heavy criticism when she described pro-Palestinian protesters as “hate marchers.” Critics accused her of inflaming tensions, and she was sacked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak soon after.

In Paris, a march staged for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women drew both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli activists as well as other groups.

Some protesters, waving Palestinian flags and posters reading “Free Palestine,” walked in a show of solidarity with “Gaza and Palestine´s women who are being murdered.”

A group of Jewish women also joined the march to denounce crimes committed by Hamas, including rapes and killings, chanting, “We are women, we are proud, we are Jewish and we are angry.”

Meanwhile, some pro-Palestinian protests were organized over the weekend in France´s major cities including Strasbourg, Lyon and Marseille.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the Islamist group, also protested Saturday outside the Egyptian Embassy in London. Tens of thousands of people are also expected to take part in a march organized by the Campaign Against Antisemitism charity on Sunday to show solidarity with the Jewish community in the U.K.

People take part in the National March for Palestine, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in Whitehall, central London to call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Picture date: Saturday November 25, 2023. (Photo by Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)

People take part in the National March for Palestine, organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, in central London to call for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Picture date: Saturday November 25, 2023. (Photo by Lucy North/PA Images via Getty Images)

Protesters take part in a ‘National March For Palestine’ in central London on November 25, 2023, calling for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Fearing More Anti-Mass Migration Protests, Dublin Borrows Water Cannon From UK

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While the foundational story of the modern Irish state is one of throwing off British oppression, Dublin has been quick to request the loan of water cannon from a United Kingdom police force.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland, one of 43 police forces in the United Kingdom has responded to a request for mutual aid from the Republic of Ireland and has delivered two water cannons. The high-pressure devices are truck-mounted and operated by police forces to pacify protests and riots.

Given the appliances are not, conceptually, unlike a militarised fire engine they are also useful for putting out rioters’ fires while subduing unrest.

The Belfast Telegraph reports while the two water cannon were provided on loan from the United Kingdom, if they are deployed against protests in Dublin they will be driven by officers from the Republic of Ireland’s own police force, the Garda.

The cannon arrived on the backs of low-loader trucks from Northern Ireland on Friday night. Irish police say they believe there will be further protests at the weekend and have deployed extra officers in anticipation.

Thurday’s protests, which turned to riots, were said to be the worst disturbances in Dublin in years and followed a mass stabbing attack against a group of schoolchildren on Thursday afternoon. Five were injured including three children and one teacher who used her body to shield students from the knifeman. The teacher and one child remain in critical condition.

Soon after the attack claims spread that the knifeman was a migrant, and it was later reported the suspect, a man in his 40s, received Irish citizenship in 2014. Police have said they are keeping all lines of inquiry open and continue to investigate the possible motivation for trying to kill a group of children.

The Irish political establishment has reacted with fury at the anti-mass migration sentiments expressed during the protests, with the Irish Prime Minister spending several times longer during his speech on events on Friday morning criticising those who protested against the stabbing of children, than he did criticising the stabbing of children.