Lush says Stop Starving Gaza!

by New Worker correspondent

Beauty chain Lush shut its UK shops, factories and website on Wednesday in protest at the Israeli government "preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza".
The cosmetic giant said “we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine. Like the rest of the world, we struggle to find ways we can help whilst the Israeli government is preventing urgent humanitarian assistance from entering Gaza. One thing Lush can currently send into Gaza is our love and a strong message that we stand in solidarity. This will take the form of halting business-as-usual by shutting our UK shops, website and factories for one day on Wednesday 3rd September 2025…
“Whilst Lush is losing a day of takings, this also means that the UK Government is losing a day of tax contributions from Lush and our customers. We hope they too hear the message our closure sends, with more Government action needed to bring an immediate stop to the death and destruction, including an end to arms sales from the UK”.
Lush’s Watermelon Slice soap has been the most successful single issue fund-raising product in the history of Lush, indicating how strongly our customers feel and we are grateful to have been able to raise funds towards child mental health support in Palestine. Lush plans to make this soap available again, with the funds going to medical services, including charities that are gearing up to provide prosthetic limb services to adults and children injured in Gaza. 

Celebrating China’s victory over fascism

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined hundreds of music-lovers to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War last week. The Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang and his wife Counsellor Hua Mei were the guests of honour at the Royal College of Music in London’s West End  to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.
The event with the theme Honour History for a Better Future was supported by the Chinese Embassy and the Bank of China. And other guests included the Labour peer Lord Davidson and Timothy Hailes, the Lord Mayor Elect of the City of London, along with members of the Chinese community in Britain and representatives of Anglo-Chinese business and cultural bodies.
Ambassador Zheng said that 80 years ago the Chinese people fought heroically, made huge national sacrifices and defeated the Japanese aggressors. The Chinese people and the British people fought shoulder to shoulder as allies, made great contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, and helped to establish a new international order. China has always been a peace-loving nation...this concert in London is intended to use music to remember history, honour those who gave their lives for the cause of justice, express an aspiration for world peace, and reaffirm a commitment to building a community with a shared future for humanity.
The concert featured ten pieces of Chinese and Western music presented by the Hunan Provincial Song & Dance Theatre and New Elements Music and guest performances from the London City Orchestra and the Camden Philharmonic.
 It opened with a stirring rendition of Ode to the Red Flag, followed by classics from both countries, including the haunting theme from Schindler's List and Elgar’s Nimrod which is traditionally played on Remembrance Day in the UK. Chinese favourites included Defend the Yellow River and My Motherland performed by the Chinese Embassy Choir, the Bank of China London Branch Choir, and the London Chinese Philharmonic Choir. The Chinese spirit of resistance and love for their motherland conveyed in the two songs resonated deeply with the audience, who responded with prolonged applause and acclaim.

End British support for Zionism!

by New Worker correspondent

In London last week Palestine solidarity campaigners took part in a rolling picket of companies that are complicit in the Israeli genocide and starvation of Gaza, starting at Google’s office in the heart of the capital. 
And in the capital of Scotland the screen-writer Paul Laverty was arrested at a pro-Palestine protest outside a police station for allegedly supporting a banned organisation. Laverty is best known for his collaborations with director Ken Loach including the award-winning I, Daniel Blake and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which both won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. 
"Following a protest outside St Leonards Police Station on Monday 25 August 2025, a 68-year-old man has been arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 for showing support for a proscribed organisation" said Police Scotland. Laverty, who was wearing a T-shirt with the slogan "Genocide in Palestine, time to take action", told the media that “although we have the law on our side, we cannot implement it. So I think we have to change the narrative. I think we’ll have to remember is that the most important court in the world is the court of public opinion. Ordinary people are appalled to see starvation and genocide and the selling of arms to the apartheid state in Israel, and are just appalled by it”.
Laverty is accused of supporting Palestine Action, which was banned in July following acts of vandalism at an RAF base. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, announced the ban days after activists from the group broke into RAF Brize Norton and defaced two military transport aircraft with spray paint causing some seven million poundsworth of damage.
More than 700 people have been arrested, mostly at demonstrations, for supporting the group since it was outlawed under the Terrorism Act 2000.
Volker Turk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said in July that the UK’s decision to proscribe the campaign group as a terrorist organisation was “disproportionate and unnecessary” and called for the designation to be rescinded. 
He said: “UK domestic counter-terrorism legislation defines terrorist acts broadly to include ‘serious damage to property’. But, according to international standards, terrorist acts should be confined to criminal acts intended to cause death or serious injury or to the taking of hostages, for purpose of intimidating a population or to compel a government to take a certain action or not.
“It misuses the gravity and impact of terrorism to expand it beyond those clear boundaries, to encompass further conduct that is already criminal under the law”.

Welfare not Warfare – Stop the War in Ukraine

by Theo Russell

At a public meeting on Thursday 7th August hosted by Lewisham and Greenwich CND, Lewisham Stop the War and Lewisham Trades Council the audience rejected “the Labour Government’s policy of lowering living standards and cutting public services and benefits in order to fund an unending war that has already killed hundreds of thousands of people and brought the world to the brink of nuclear Armageddon”.
They called on the government “to end its financial and military support for war in Ukraine, and commit to working for a diplomatic, negotiated, lasting peace settlement, and encourage local peace organisations and trade unions to do the same”.
Cheryl McLeod from Lewisham Trades Council opened the meeting, saying “we’re here tonight with a message that cuts through the lies, the spin, and the silence. Let’s be honest: Britain has become a puppet of US foreign policy Whether it’s backing Nato’s endless wars, or supporting the Gaza genocide,
“Our leaders do as they’re told even if it means fuelling death abroad while slashing support at home.Meanwhile, councils across the UK are going bankrupt, over 14 million people now live in poverty, the number of people using food banks has tripled since 2010, and the NHS is short of over 100,000 staff.
“And here’s the truth no one in Westminster will say out loud: Ukraine has no chance of winning this war, even US military officials are now admitting it: Ukraine is outgunned, outmanned, and out of time.
“So what’s the plan? To keep sending billions in weapons, to prolong the bloodshed, so NATO can “save face”? This isn’t helping the Ukrainian people. It’s sacrificing them.
“And as if that weren’t enough, let’s remember: President Zelenskyy, the so-called Hero of the West, chose to shut down Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency. He banned opposition parties. He postponed elections. 
“This is the democracy we’re funding? This is the government we’re pouring billions into while children here go to school hungry?
“We say: Enough. We need peace not posturing, diplomacy not destruction, welfare not warfare.
“No more weapons for unwinnable wars, no more billions for corrupt foreign regimes, no more silence on Gaza’s genocide, no more acting as America’s puppet. And we say: Yes to housing, yes to healthcare, yes to food, education, and dignity”.
Alfie Howls from CodePink UK gave a detailed account of the causes of the war in Ukraine: the US involvement in the 2014 coup d’etat and Nato’s continual eastward expansion. "Ukraine is not a democracy, and many parties and trade unions have been banned. It is intervening against progressive governments in Africa. NATO’s ultimate aim is to destabilise Russia and divide it into small states” he said.
Alex Gordon,  the vice-president of CND, said it was “high time Ukraine was discussed in the trade unions and peace movement, because until now anyone raising this has been accused of being a ‘Russian influencer’...
“...our media, academia and politicians are in grip of a highly influential ‘Military-Industrial-Media-Academic-Complex’ (MIMAC), which is behind such official warnings that ‘we are no longer in a postwar world, we are now living in a pre-war world’ – in other words that war with Russia is inevitable.
“The latest UK defence strategy says that because of the Ukraine war massive spending is needed on digital warfare, new munitions factories, and 12 new nuclear submarines. But this spending is not actual 'investment', it is at the cost of domestic welfare and foreign aid.
“Western governments and the media have blatantly lied about nuclear weapons in Iran, and it was Donald Trump who took the US out of the Iran nuclear deal in his first term as US president.”
Another CND leader, Kate Hudson, said that the majority of young people in Britain now see Nato as a greater threat to peace than Russia, and described how Nato suppresses opposition from member states.
“In July, US B61-12 nuclear bombs returned to RAF Lakenheath for the first time since 2008, as well as to Belgium, the Netherlands and Turkey. But when Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands demanded their removal, the US refused because the deployment was agreed by consensus. So if a majority of Nato states are in favour, the rest have to accept the decision, overriding their national sovereignty.
“The war in Ukraine is ultimately the result of Nato’s relentless eastward expansion. Nato officials have discussed deploying ‘tactical’ or ‘mini’ nuclear missiles in Europe, in fact their warheads are three times more powerful than those used in August 1945. The Russian responses to such moves mean that the threat of nuclear war is increasing.
“Nato now has partners in Asia, Latin America and Africa and spends $22 trillion a year compared to Russia’s $140 billion military budget. Nato is a blight on humanity in every conceivable way”.
Asked about the motion adopted at RMT’s conference in Manchester last month calling for Britain to end military aid to Ukraine, Alex Gordon said “the RMT has launched a drive to challenge the UK’s massive spending on support for Ukraine. In the past trade unions wrongly supported sending weapons to Ukraine. The RMT wants to challenge that position, and urges other unions to follow our example”.
Members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) received a friendly response from the meeting, and two spoke from the floor. The meeting appears to be part of a new campaign and a marked change in Stop the War’s policy on Ukraine after years of appearing to lay all the blame on Russia and perceived open hostility towards IUAFS activists.

Slain for telling the truth

by New Worker correspondent

The London Freelance Branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) called an emergency vigil at Downing Street last week, following Israel's targeted assassination of five Al Jazeera journalists and a freelance photographer in Gaza.
Names of all the journalists that have been killed in Gaza were read out, which was followed by a prayer in the Muslim tradition. People then silently marched to the Palestine House cultural centre in Holborn, where a candlelit vigil was held in honour of all the journalists that have been slain in their attempt to tell Gaza's story.
At the vigil Laura Davison, the NUJ general secretary, said “we owe a collective debt to those reporting from Gaza in the most horrendous of circumstances. They are representing our profession – that commitment to reporting what is happening on the ground whatever the cost. And they have paid the price. They are the eyes and ears of the world on the ground”.
According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) at least 195 journalists and media workers – including 181 Palestinians – have been killed since 7th October 2023, making this the deadliest war for reporters and photo-journalists in recent history.  
The NUJ has deplored the killings and supported calls for an investigation into the actions of the Israeli government. The union is also encouraging chapels and branches to hold solidarity vigils at branches and workplaces over the coming days to protest against the killing of colleagues in Gaza. 

Keep talking about Palestine!

by New Worker correspondent

Irish rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh, known as Mo Chara (My Friend), appeared in a London court to fight a terrorism charge over allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. Surrounded by hundreds of supporters, the Kneecap band member said the case was a distraction from Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The Kneecap rapper was released on unconditional bail after appearing in court over terror charges, after he was allegedly seen in concert videos waving a Hezbollah flag.  Outside the Westminster Magistrates’ Court after the hearing, O hAnnaidh told fans to “keep talking about Palestine, keep calling out genocide, that’s the real story,This is just another distraction”.

A stirring debut for a Chinese epic

by New Worker correspondent

Andy Brooks with Eliana - BITDB Design, Beijing

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined actors, academics and members of London’s Chinese community at the reception and screening of Dongji Rescue at a packed house at the art-deco Odeon Luxe in London’s Leicester Square last week. This Chinese block-buster tells the story of the fishermen of Dongji island who braved Japanese gunfire in 1942 to rescue hundreds of British POWs from the Lisbon Maru.
“Watching Dongji Rescue tonight holds special significance” said Chinese Ambassador Zheng Zeguang. “Eighty-three years have passed since the Lisbon Maru incident, and the world has changed, but we should cherish the memory and carry forward the friendship between the peoples of our two countries”.
The story "is very close to my heart, because my grandfather, Thomas Theodore Jones, was one of the survivors of the sinking of the Lisbon Maru" Anthony Jones, chairman of the Lisbon Maru Memorial Association, told the reception before the screening. And one of the stars, William Franklyn-Miller, said “the bravery of the fishermen who rescued the British soldiers shines through" adding that he personally felt a responsibility to share this part of history more widely. 
In October 1942, the Lisbon Maru, a cargo vessel requisitioned by the Japanese army to carry more than 1,800 British prisoners from Hong Kong to Japan, was hit by an American submarine unaware of the POWs on board. Rather than assist the POWs, the Japanese shot many who were trying to escape. Many more drowned. All in all, 828 lives were lost. However, this amount would have been higher but for the heroic efforts of the local Chinese fishermen who risked their own lives to save 384 British soldiers from the water. 

Stop the slaughter! Stop the war!

By New Worker correspondent

On Saturday over 300,000 of us marched to Whitehall to demand Keir Starmer ends all arms sales to Israel, expels Israeli diplomats and immediately imposes sanctions on the genocidal state. Meanwhile over a thousand other peaceful protesters had gathered in Parliament Square to defy the government's banning of Palestine Action under the “terrorism” laws. They occupied the square and took part in a silent ‘Defend our Juries’ vigil holding placards supporting the direct action solidarity movement. The Metropolitan Police who had warned that anyone taking part would be arrested under anti-terrorism legislation moved to break up the protest. There were 521 arrests, the largest mass arrest by the Metropolitan Police, ever. This marks a pivotal moment in British history. Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign condemned the shameful arrests of those taking part in the Defend our Juries protests, while the Starmer government continues to arm Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Stepping stones to the future

Andy Brooks pays tribute to the NCP

by New Worker correspondent
 
Comrades gathered at the Party Centre in London last weekend to celebrated the founding of the New Communist Party in July 1977. Friends and comrades, old and new, joined NCP leader Andy Brooks and Peter Hendy from the Central Committee in celebrating the anniversary with speeches, food and drink. Sadly our National Chair, Richard Bos, could not join us on this occasion so Peter MC’d the commemoration and welcomed guests that included diplomats from the Chinese and Democratic Korean embassies in London as well as representatives from the labour movement that have long worked alongside us in London and other parts of the country. 
A Korean diplomat read out his greetings at the social followed by solidarity speeches from Marie Lynam of the British Posadist movement, Ian Donovan from the Consistent Democrats, Dermot Hudson from the Korean Friendship Association and Theo Russell from the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign. Other tributes came from a member of the NCP Metropolitan Cell & Supporters group and Peter Hendy who read out Richard Bos’ greetings and a call for a new £10,000 New Worker appeal that starts next month. Peter also called on comrades to dig deep to boost our August fighting fund. They did with a collection that raised £460 for our communist weekly!

Stand with the Ukrainian anti-fascists!

by New Worker correspondent

Activists protested in central London last weekend in solidarity with the millions of Ukrainians resisting the Banderite dictatorship, and the maurading military "headhunter" gangs grabbing men off the streets across the country to send to a war which 70 per cent of Ukrainians no longer support. Dozens of people showed support for the protest, clapped and took photos. Only one person spoke to us opposing our slogans, and engaged in a long, and apparently pointless, discussion. The picket opposite Downing Street in Whitehall was organised by the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity movement that campaigns in support of the people of the Donbas and the Ukrainian resistance fighting the fascist puppet regime in Kiev.

Stop Starving Gaza!

by New Worker correspondent

Last Saturday thousands joined Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) actions at over 50 locations around the country, including eight across London, and laid down pots and pans to demand our politicians take action to end Israel's starvation of Gaza. “We must keep the pressure up,” says the PSC “as we once more lay down pots and pans to represent those starved to death by Israel’s genocidal blockade and demand our politicians take action to end Israel’s starvation of Gaza. We won't stop until our government ends all complicity in Israel's genocidal violence”. 
In south London Vanessa Redgrave, the veteran campaigning actress, joined protesters demonstrating for an hour outside Lambeth town hall in Brixton for an end to the genocide and for Lambeth council to divest its pension fund of enterprises linked to the Zionist entity.  
“Tonight, local people responded powerfully to the national call from PSC to protest the genocide and Israel’s deliberate starvation of Palestinians, a horror we are all witnessing”
said Micki Loebner from the Lambeth and Southwark 4 Palestine campaign. He told the media that “ in Lambeth, we wanted to join the wave of demonstrations happening across the country and also send a clear message to Lambeth Council: stop investing pension funds in Israeli companies complicit in this genocide. They are still refusing to act.The turnout tonight, especially on such short notice, shows that ordinary people are determined to stand up for Palestine. We see the genocide, and we will keep protesting”.

Museum or Crime Scene?

by Ekaterina Blinova

Many visitors to the British Museum in London have no idea that some of the ancient treasures they admire were looted and stolen.
"During the period of British colonial rule in Egypt the largest thefts of ancient Egyptian artifacts in history took place – amounting to a full-scale plundering of the Nile Valley and the tombs of the pharaohs," says Zahi Hawas, an Egyptian archaeologist and former Minister of Antiquities.
One of the most famous examples is the Rosetta Stone – the key to deciphering hieroglyphics – taken from Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte’s troops. Equally scandalous was the looting of artefacts from Tutankhamun’s tomb by Lord Carnarvon, the sponsor of the excavation.
The English archaeologist Howard Carter gifted part of treasures from Tutankhamun’s tomb to Lord Carnarvon and Egyptologist Alan Gardiner, and a Nefertum statue smuggled into the tomb of Ramses II is also now in the museum. The Rosetta Stone, found by French soldiers in Rashid in 1799, was handed to Britain – along with other artifacts – under the 1801 Treaty of Alexandria after Napoleon’s defeat.  But none of the colonial powers had any right to dispose of Egypt’s heritage says Hawas.
The British Museum dedicates seven entire halls to ancient Egyptian exhibits – from statues and mummies to jewellery and medical papyri. British museums now hold more than 100,000 Egyptian artefacts. All of them were taken illegally, Hawas insists. "Scholars and public figures are calling for an end to the silence surrounding this massive cultural theft”.
Sputnik

Justice for Gaza!

 

by New Worker correspondent

Protesters rallied outside the Egyptian embassy in London last weekend to call on the Sisi government to open up the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid into the beleaguered Palestinian enclave. Children attempted to post letters by hand, hoping that the Ambassador would read them, but they were stopped by the police guarding the embassy.  
The mass picket was part of an emergency protest in front of Egyptian embassies all around the world called by the Egyptian Revolutionary Council, a Turkish-based movement that supports the Muslim Brotherhood, which was outlawed in Egypt after its government was overthrown by General Sisi in 2013.
But back in Cairo the Egyptian Foreign Ministry condemned the demonstrations saying that they serve the Israeli occupation and divert public opinion from those truly responsible for the humanitarian crisis. They said the Rafah crossing is ultimately controlled by the Israelis who have closed it as part of their campaign to take over the Gaza Strip and denied allegations that held Egypt responsible for the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Stop starving Gaza!

 by New Worker correspondent

Whitehall was absolutely crammed last week with Palestinian supporters, thousands of people furious with our government’s complicity and participation in the crimes against humanity we see every day. Protesters sent a message to Starmer banging pots and pans outside Downing Street in London to denounce Gaza’s urgent hunger crisis. The emergency protest followed reports that over 1,000 Palestinians have been shot by the Israelis and their auxiliaries while queuing for food and 154 people in Israeli occupied Gaza have already died of starvation.
Meanwhile the co-founder of a pro-Palestinian direct action campaign has won her bid to legally challenge the British government’s decision to ban it under “anti-terrorism” laws.
Huda Ammori, who helped found Palestine Action in 2020, asked London’s High Court to give the go-ahead for a full challenge to the campaign’s proscription, which was made on the grounds that spray-painting RAF jets and vandalising the offices of arms manufacturers operating in the UK that supply weapons to Israel constituted acts of “terrorism”.
The High Court had originally refused Ms Ammori’s application to pause the ban and after an unsuccessful last-ditch appeal Palestine Action’s proscription came into effect on 5th July. Proscription makes it a crime to be a member of the group, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
However Judge Martin Chamberlain has now granted permission for a judicial review, saying Ms Ammori’s case amounted to a disproportionate interference with her and others’ right to freedom of expression and was “reasonably arguable”.

Guardians of Peace

 by New Worker correspondent

Ambassador Zheng welcomes the guests

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined diplomats and politicians at a reception at the Chinese embassy in London last week to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA). The Chinese Ambassador, Zheng Zeguang, and Defence Attaché Major-General Feng Min addressed over 300 guests that included government officials, politicians, diplomatic envoys and defence attachés together with Ben Merrick, the Director of International Security at the Ministry of Defence.
During the formal part of the event Ambassador Zheng pointed out that under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, the PLA has braved wind and rain and grown from strength to strength over the past 98 glorious years. It has made remarkable contributions to the liberation of the people, the development of the country, and the security of the motherland, making indelible achievements for the Party and the people. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought the PLA is stepping up efforts towards the goal of building a world-class military by the PLA’s centenary. The PLA will continue to provide strategic support for realising the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and make new contributions to peace and stability in the world.
Ambassador Zheng pointed out that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory over fascism in the second world war. The peoples of China and the UK fought valiantly against fascist aggression on the main Eastern Front and the European battlefield, making huge sacrifices for the cause of justice and important contributions to the global victory against fascism. China’s fight was the earliest to begin, and the longest-lasting. The Chinese people suffered the most significant human and material losses before ultimately defeating the Japanese aggressors. Now the current international situation is experiencing transformation and instability. The international community should resolutely defend the outcomes of the victory in 1945, firmly uphold true multilateralism, steadfastly safeguard world peace, stability, fairness and justice, and jointly build a community with a shared future for humanity. 
He also noted that this year also marks the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. The Chinese people and their armed forces will never allow Taiwan to be separated from China. Nor will they allow any external forces to undermine their efforts for complete reunification.
And in her speech, Major-General Feng Min said the PLA had made steady progress in its modernisation and combat capability. The PLA is firmly committed to defending national sovereignty, security and development interests, to putting people first, and to safeguarding peace. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Chinese military's first participation in UN peacekeeping operations. China is the largest troop-contributing country among the permanent members of the UN Security Council and the second-largest financial contributor to UN peacekeeping assessments. Over the past 35 years, the Chinese military has undertaken 26 peacekeeping missions, dispatching more than 50,000 peacekeepers in total. Among them, 17 Chinese peacekeepers have made the ultimate sacrifice, dedicating their youth, passion, and lives to the cause of UN peacekeeping.

Stop the Genocide! Stop the War!

by New Worker correspondent

Tens of thousands of protesters defied sudden downpours on Saturday to march through the heart of London to demand an end to the genocide in Gaza. The Israeli terror campaign is reaching new heights as the Zionist army tries to starve the Palestinians into submission and exile. More than 900 Palestinians have been gunned down by the Israeli army and their US proxies just trying to get something to eat. These “aid sites” are death traps – and were designed to be such.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader who now heads the Independent Alliance bloc in parliament called for the halt of all British arms sales to Israel.
He later said “The UK government says it is doing everything it can to alleviate suffering in Gaza. The UK government won’t suspend the sale of F-35 parts to Israel.
The UK government won’t stop the use of RAF Akrotiri or end military cooperation.
The UK government won’t accept the ICJ ruling that the occupation of Palestine is illegal.
The UK government won’t recognise a Palestinian state. The UK government won’t impose comprehensive economic sanctions. The UK government won’t conduct an assessment of genocide, let alone fulfil its legal obligations to prevent it. The UK government won’t even say that war crimes have been committed.
“Empty words cannot hide the truth: the UK government is complicit in crimes against humanity”.

In the footsteps of George Hogg

By New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other communists, academics and friends of China to recall the life of George Hogg who went to China in 1938 to help the Chinese people in their struggle against Japanese imperialism. George was a young man, a teacher and a journalist, who told the West about the Japanese army’s atrocities while setting up schools for communist-led co-operatives and helped orphans who lost their parents and relatives during the war. He joined the communist resistance to the invaders but he never lived to see the defeat of Japan let alone the Chinese people’s victory in 1949 which led to the establishment of the people’s republic in 1949. He died from an infection in July 1945 only weeks before the surrender of the Japan.  
In London on Saturday the memorial event brought together family members, scholars and representatives from both Chinese and English organisations gathering to mark his contribution – not only to the Chinese people's war of resistance, but also to the mutual understanding of the two nations.
The event was jointly held by the Chinese Embassy, the  China Global TV network (CGTN Europe) and the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU). Earlier this year, a SACU delegation, including members of the Hogg family travelled across China, following George Hogg's footsteps eight decades ago. The delegation shared their memories of the visit and spoke of the warm welcome and hospitality they received from everyone they met.
CGTN Europe journalists also shared their experience of producing a documentary about Hogg. Their digital team members talked about the filming and editing of the production. Without much archive video of Hogg, it is mainly through his writing that readers today can imagine his life and work in China – so applying AI-generated content helped to fill in the gaps.
Based on Hogg's writings, alongside a biography authored by his nephew Mark Thomas, the AI technology recreated scenes of Hogg's tour, work and life among the Chinese people back in the 1930s and 1940s, providing an immersive experience for the audience, especially the younger generation.
Also premiered at the event was a trailer for Witness to War: George Hogg in China, a documentary which is expected to be released in August. Michael Wood, the well-known historian who is president of SACU, said it brought war-torn Shanghai to life.

Prof Wood pays tribute to George Hogg

It reminded him of a poem by Chinese poet Du Fu. "I can remember a Chinese guy who belonged to a book club in America, he'd lived through that Japanese destruction of Shanghai," Wood said. "And 'I remember when I was a child, the buildings were all burning, and the great factories were burning, and across the wall somebody had painted the state is destroyed, but the people remain which is a line from Du Fu. 
"And I'll never forget that. You just watch those pictures in that film and that's exactly what I saw. I saw the Du Fu poem come alive again. So I'm very impressed."
He said Hogg's story provides Western audiences with a good angle of China's role in the Second World War. "You can tell people that China was so important in World War II, and you can give them facts and figures, but this is a real personal story of somebody who was so moved by the sufferings of the Chinese people," he said. 
"He could have gone home at any time, but he decided to stay and help the Chinese people, and in the end he died. So that's a very human story, a very powerful story".
In the final segment of the programme Andy Brooks and Peter Higgins from the Workers Party of Britain discussed George Hogg’s Legacy. The NCP leader said George Hogg,  an outstanding man who left our shores to help the people of China in the 1930s is, naturally, remembered in books, films and commemorations in China for his dedication and sacrifice but he is not so well known in his home country. That is sadly often the case where genuine heroes are routinely ignored by bourgeois scholars and the mass media alike in a country  where corruption is flaunted like a badge of honour by those who claim to lead us and whose highest virtue is greed and selfishness. But all of us here believe in what we are doing – we wouldn’t be here otherwise. Let us hope that when the time comes we can show the courage and determination of a man like George Hogg who dedicated his life to serving the people.

Corbyn censures court over arms exports to Israel

protest outside Redbridge town hall in Ilford

by Ed Newman

Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the Labour Party who now heads the Independent Alliance in the House of Commons, has strongly censured the High Court for rejecting the challenge brought by rights groups, which sought to halt the export of British-made F-35 warplane parts to Israel. 
“A truly shameful decision. It remains a moral disgrace that this government allows the supply of parts to F-35 jets, used to kill Palestinian men, women and children. This isn’t over.  We will not give up until we have ended the UK’s complicity in genocide" Corbyn said.
London’s high court ruled on Monday that Britain’s decision to allow the export of the F-35 components to Israel, despite accepting they could be used in breach of international humanitarian law in Gaza, was lawful.
"Under our constitution that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive which is democratically accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts," the ruling said.
Oxfam presented powerful evidence linking the transfer of F-35 fighter jet components to Israel to the vast death and destruction in Gaza, a lawyer for the charity said.
“The evidence that Oxfam submitted demonstrated an obvious and worsening pattern of attacks by Israel on objects that are indispensable to the civilian population, including critical water and sanitation infrastructure,” said Carolin Ott, a solicitor at the law firm Leigh Day, which represented the charity.
“Coupled with the severe restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza, this has worsened the already dire humanitarian situation, and Oxfam provided powerful evidence to the court on the significant civilian harm that has resulted. My client is disappointed that the court has not properly grappled with these matters.”
Labour MP Richard Burgon said the ruling had made it "very clear" that the matter was one for the government and parliament, and called for an immediate vote in parliament if the government continued to export the parts.
"Let's end the passing of the buck. Let's end the saying it's for the courts to decide. The government needs to take moral responsibility now and decide whether or not it wants to continue complicity in genocide," Burgon said.
"If it makes the wrong decision, it won't necessarily be the courts that they need to be scared of in terms of judgment. It will be the judgment of people, the judgment of history, but mostly importantly, the judgment of the Palestinian people who deserve self-determination."
Glan and Al-Haq, and the three British human rights campaigns which are parties to the case, argued that under the Arms Trade Treaty and the Genocide Convention, the UK, as a state party to both, is obligated to stop sending the parts and that, by failing to follow its obligations, is threatening the rule of law globally.
Al Haq, the Palestinian human rights group which brought the legal challenge along with the UK-based Global Legal Action Network (Glan), said on Monday that the court had failed to meet its demands, but that the groups had "achieved a partial suspension of UK arms to Israel, exposed [government] complicity in war crimes and rallied public support. This is a breakthrough & just a start. We fight on for justice".
Yasmine Ahmed, the director of Human Rights Watch, one of three British human rights groups which intervened in the case, said she and others were "incredibly disappointed" by the ruling.
“Judicial deference to the executive in this case has left the Palestinians in Gaza without access to the protections of international law, despite the government and the court acknowledging that there is a serious risk that UK equipment might be used to facilitate or carry out atrocities against them," Ahmed said.
“The atrocities we are witnessing in Gaza are precisely because governments don’t think the rules should apply to them. This perception of impunity, which has been reinforced by the government’s unwillingness to suspend arms licensing, has led to unimaginable horrors and atrocities being carried out on Palestinians”.
The UK-made F-35 components make up 15 per cent of every F-35, one of the world's most sophisticated warplanes Israel has used extensively in its campaign of genocide in Gaza and its aggression against Lebanon. Israel has massacred more than 56,500 people in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Radio Havana Cuba

Say no to Palestine Action Ban!

by New Worker correspondent

A peaceful protest in central London last week ended with clashes with the police in Trafalgar Square following the arrest of demonstrators protesting against the Government’s decision to ban Palestine Action as a “terrorist organisation”.
The draconian move to outlaw the direct action solidarity campaign followed the damage to two military planes at RAF Brize Norton, where flights leave daily for RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, a base used for military operations in Gaza and across the Middle East. Two Palestine Action activists broke into base using electric scooters to swiftly manoeuvre towards the planes. They used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray red paint into the turbine engines of two Airbus Voyagers and caused further damage using crowbars. Red paint, symbolising Palestinian bloodshed, was also sprayed across the runway and a Palestine flag was left on the scene. Both activists managed to evade security and arrest.
By putting the planes out of service, these activists have interrupted Britain’s direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East. From Akrotiri the RAF have flown hundreds of surveillance missions in support of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and the base is also used for UK and US military cargo transports to the Israeli military.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now heads the Independent Alliance in parliament, called the proscription of Palestine Action “an absurd and authoritarian crackdown on the right to oppose genocide”.
Writing in Tribune the former Labour leader said “the latest proposals to proscribe Palestine Action represent the desperate cries of a draconian government trying to shield itself from accountability. They are as absurd as they are authoritarian – and expose the government’s attempts to disguise what violence really looks like: the mass murder of Palestinians that these protestors have the audacity to oppose...
“Home by home, hospital by hospital and generation by generation, we are not just witnessing a war; we are witnessing a genocide – one being livestreamed all over the world. Today, the death toll in Gaza exceeds 61,000, and at least 110,000 people – one in 20 of the entire population – have been severely injured. It is those who have aided and abetted these crimes who should face justice, not those who have the humanity to try and stop them.
“Crushing dissent is not an act of strength. It is a sign of weakness. In the words of the human rights group Liberty, the Prime Minister’s former workplace, ‘protest isn’t a gift from the State – it’s our fundamental right’. If you believe in women’s suffrage, you believe in the right to protest. If you think our children deserve a liveable future, you believe in the right to protest. If you believe that LGBT+ people deserve to live in freedom, you believe in the right to protest.
“Government ministers may pay lip service to the freedoms we now enjoy, but they should ask themselves whether the protestors of the past would be thrown in jail if they were alive today. They should remind themselves that it was protestors who laid the foundations of our democracy. And, as they throw their support behind this authoritarian assault on the right to protest, they should ask themselves: where would they be today without it?”

Standing up for refugees!

by Carole Barclay

London comrades joined hundreds of comedy fans last week for a refugee appeal just round the corner from the Party Centre. The show saw a fantastic line up  on the bill at the Clapham Grand for a Stand Up for Refugees comedy gig in aid of Refugee Action. Those performing included Mark Watson of Taskmaster fame, Olga Koch, Ali Woods, Esther Manito, Milo Edwards, Sikisa, Tadiwa Mahlunge and Rajiv Karia. The evening was hosted by the excellent Kiri Pritchard-McLean and every penny raised from this event will support Refugee Action’s work in welcoming refugees, campaigning for their rights, and offering support and advice to people who have had to flee their homes.