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. 

US out of Korea!

 

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other Korean solidarity activists outside the US embassy in London on Friday 20th June to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War and call for an end to the American occupation of south Korea.
The Friday evening protest was called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) whose chair, Dermot Hudson, said “we are here today in front of the US Embassy , the embassy of the American empire , the empire of evil, because on the 25th June it will be the 75th  anniversary of the provocation of the Korean War by the US imperialists and their puppets .The Korean War never really ended because no peace treaty was ever concluded only an armistice”. Dermot Hudson also said that the US imperialists wanted to invade the DPR Korea not only to destroy the socialist system but  also to seize the valuable rare earth deposits of the DPRK .
A message of support was received from KFA Germany which was read out . In part the message said “ Until this day 30,000 US-soldiers occupy the southern part of the Korean peninsula. Until today the US have nuclear weapons stationed in South Korea and they still continue their aggressive military manoeuvres against the DPRK. That is why it is so important to show solidarity with socialist Korea and openly fight against the US-aggression. Your picket here in front of the US embassy in London today is an important part in the fight against the US imperialist aggression”.

No War with Iran!

 

Corbyn speaks

by New Worker correspondent

More than 350,000 people marched through the heart of the capital on Saturday 21st June to demand an end to the fighting in Gaza and Iran. Demanding no war with Iran and an end to the Israeli genocide against the Palestinians the protesters marched from Russell Square to a rally in Whitehall on Saturday in a massive show of solidarity with the Arabs and Iranians confronting imperialism and Zionism in the Middle East.
Jeremy Corbyn condemned the normalisation of atrocities carried out by Israeli forces. And
Palestine Solidarity Campaign director Ben Jamal said “for over 20 months now we have all seen the world turned upside down. We have seen our political leaders try to convince us that what we know is right is actually wrong. That what we see with our own eyes is not really what it seems. That a state slaughtering over 55,000 people and forcibly starving children is not a genocidal state, but a ‘democratic ally’ we should still sell arms to and trade with normally.
“That the people who should be regarded as terrorists and treated accordingly are not the perpetrators of those barbaric crimes, but those who protest against them”.

Kneecap supporters rally outside court

by New Worker correspondent

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court this week to support a member of an Irish rap group charged under the terrorism laws of displaying a flag of a proscribed Lebanese resistance movement at a gig.
Kneecap founder Mo Chara, the stage name of Liam O’Hanna, appeared in court charged with displaying a Hezbollah flag at a gig at the 02 Forum in north London on 21st November. The Kneecap trio have rejected the charges claiming it is "political policing" and saying that they will "vehemently defend" themselves.  
 Meanwhile, real war criminals get to evade justice with the full backing of the British government, while innocent unarmed men, women, and children are being slaughtered in the name of 'self-defence'. Despite the pandemonium, the large crowd was buoyant and defiant in their support with a range of speakers and music present.  

Shouts for justice at Grenfell protest

by New Worker correspondent

Demonstrators called for justice outside the  draped ruins of the Grenfell Tower block which will be demolished in the autumn. They had walked in silence to the site of the tragedy in West London to hear the names of the 72 victims of the fire that ripped through the building in June 2017 and take part in a memorial rally by the tower.
Fire fighters stood to attention on each side of the road outside Ladbroke Grove station, facing the passing crowd with their helmets at their feet. Passing protestors hugged them and shook their hands.
Vice-chair of Grenfell United, Karim Mussilhy, who lost his uncle in the blaze, told the crowd: “Eight years have passed, eight years since the fire – lit by negligence, greed and institutional failure – tore through our homes, our families and our hearts.
“And still no justice has come. The truth is, there’s almost nothing new to say because nothing has changed. As we stand here eight years on, the only decision this Government has made is to tear down the tower – our home.
“Not because justice has been delivered, but despite the fact it hasn’t – before a single person has been held accountable, to make what happened disappear.
“The tower has stood not just as a reminder of what happened, but of what must change – a symbol and a truth in the face of denial, of dignity in the face of power, of our resistance, of our 72 loved ones who can’t fight for their own justice.
“And now they want it gone, out of sight out of mind, a clear skyline and a forgotten scandal”.
The crowd faced the tower and chanted: “Justice, justice”.
At the end of the rally the demonstrators filed through the gates, which are rarely opened, to pay their respects at the base of the tower to the victims of the blaze that destroyed the 24 storey residential tower.
The final Grenfell Tower Inquiry report, published in September 2024, concluded that victims, bereaved and survivors were “badly failed” through incompetence, dishonesty and greed.
The tower block was covered in combustible products because of the “systematic dishonesty” of firms who made and sold the cladding and insulation, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said.

Nepalese communists at the Centre

Andy Brooks and Shankar Pokharel at the Centre 

by Theo Russell

NCP leader Andy Brooks met a large delegation from the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist) who visited the New Communist Party centre in London on 13th  June, led by general secretary Shankar Pokharel. It included leading members from Nepal and Germany who were visiting the UK for a CPN (UML) event in Britain.
Comrade Pokharel spoke about the years of underground struggle under the feudal Panchayat system under which all political parties were banned, and the Council of Ministers and the Federal Parliament were appointed  by the king. That system ended in 1990, and the monarchy was abolished in May 2008 .
Today the CPN(UML) has the largest share of the popular vote, and its chairman, K P Sharma Oli has been prime minister since July 2024 in coalition with the Nepali Congress and three other parties.
Pokharel said that if the CPN(UML) wins the 2027 elections it plans to start laying the basis for socialism and prioritising the needs of farmers and workers. he said that since 1990 the gap between rich and poor has reduced and the percentage living below the World Bank poverty line has fallen from 55 per cent to just two per cent.
The number of girls in school has advanced from very few to equal numbers today and it is now mandatory for a third of parliament members to be women. Many more women are now in positions of political influence.
Pokharel said that Nepal has a number of current border disputes with India, but none with China. The current government aims to maintain good relations with both countries without favouring one over the other.
NCP general secretary Andy Brooks said the party would strengthen solidarity with the CPN(UML), with the people of Nepal and the Nepali community in Britain. The bonds of friendship between the NCP and the CPN (UML) goes back many years and this meeting has been an excellent opportunity to renew and develop ties with our two parties.

Draw the line on Palestine!

by New Worker correspondent

On Wednesday 4 June thousands of protesters formed a red human chain around Parliament to demand sanctions on Israel and an end to using starvation as a weapon of war. Several MPs joined the “Red Line for Palestine” around the building during Prime Minister's Question Time was underway at the House of Commons. Others listened to Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Independent Alliance who was presenting a bill to call for an official inquiry into the British state’s role in Israel’s genocide. 
Early that day the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, had labelled the recent Israeli offensive as "appalling, counterproductive, and intolerable". But Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) – one of the organisers of the protest, said "you cannot say 'what Israel is doing is unacceptable' while you continue to provide it with weapons. The words themselves are not enough".  The protesters were demanding that  "our government sanction Israel for its crimes against the Palestinian people".

Free the Kononovich brothers!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other anti-fascist campaigners protesting outside the Ukrainian embassy on Monday 26th May against the continued detention of two communist activists who are now being press-ganged into the Ukrainian army.

International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS), which called the picket, has long campaigned in defence of Mikhail Kononovich and his brother Alexander, leading activists of the Leninist Communist Youth of Ukraine, the youth wing of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
The Kononovich brothers were arrested on 2nd March 2022 on trumped up charges of being “propagandists” aiming to “destabilise” the internal situation in Ukraine. They were then
subjected to months of beatings, torture, abuse and sleep deprivation in solitary confinement in the dungeons of the secret police. International pressure eventually forced the Kiev regime to release them. They have only appeared in court for initial processing. They have never had the opportunity of a full trial for the political charges against them. Now the brothers are back in jail.
On 22nd May Mikhail and Alexander were held by the police while on their way to a hospital. They were then taken to a military recruitment centre for allegedly evading military service. When they called their lawyer he too was arrested and taken to another military recruitment centre.
The brothers have issued this statement: "Comrades, we officially declare: Zelensky's regime wants to kill us! They want to send us to the front and then nothing needs to be proven, whether we are guilty or not, no one will care. They will kill us, no problem!
"The regime will now decide how to deliver us to the Volyn region, where we are registered and are on military registration. This is what is happening, comrades! They will not leave us alone, they have planned our murder".

A traditional Dulong blanket at Craft Week

 by New Worker correspondent

David Francis and the blanket

A traditional Dulong blanket from China's least populous ethnic minority made its debut at the opening of the China National Pavilion during the 2025 London Craft Week which ran until 18th May. The China Pavilion is themed "Tian Gong Kai Wu" after a renowned 17th-century Chinese encyclopedia widely regarded as the world's first systematic record of Chinese craftsmanship and agricultural knowledge. 
The Dulong primarily reside in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in south-west China. The Dulong blanket, woven by Dulong women, is a cultural symbol of their community.
The Dulong display was supported by the Mothers' Needlework initiative, launched by the China Ping An Group and the Art and Design Press. The programme aims to promote women's employment and alleviate poverty.
At the opening Zhao Fei, from the Chinese embassy, highlighted the shared heritage of craftsmanship in both China and Britain. He noted that both countries have splendid craft traditions, and expressed hope that this year's London Craft Week would deepen mutual understanding and friendship between the two nations.
Qian Zhu, president and editor-in-chief of Art and Design magazine, said that Dulong blankets and its related textiles generate annual sales of approximately 500,000 yuan (£51,600) in the UK. For an ethnic group with a population of just 7,000, the growing domestic and international recognition of Dulong textiles is a significant achievement.
David Francis, a lecturer in Curating Asian Art at SOAS, University of London, whose research includes ethnic minority communities in China said he was excited to see textiles he had encountered in China now being exhibited in London. He emphasised the importance of integrating traditional craft with contemporary design to resonate with modern audiences.

A Day to Remember

by New Worker correspondent

Do Minh Hung welcomes the guests

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined other communists at the Vietnamese embassy in London this week to commemorate the liberation of south Vietnam on 30th April 1975. The Ambassador, Do Minh Hung, spoke about those heady days which saw the defeat of US imperialism and the re-unification of the country and the giant steps that the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam has taken in the years since re-unification. This was followed by the screening of a documentary about the liberation struggle and the global campaign to stop imperialist aggression that played an important part in moulding public opinion and ending the American occupation.
Tens of thousands of Vietnamese turned out to see the parade in Ho Chi Minh City, the former capital of the puppet regime, as part of the ceremony marking the 50th  anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification  on 30th April.
The fly-past and military parade was followed by communist and national banners symbolising the victorious ideals and firm belief in the leadership, wisdom and bravery of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as well as the strength of national unity – drawn from history, igniting the present, and illuminating the future. With them came a vehicle bearing a portrait of President Hồ Chí Minh, the communist leader who led the resistance to victory over the Japanese occupiers during the Second World War to build the first people’s government – the Democratic Republic of Vietnam – in the north of the country after US imperialism partitioned in the former French colony in 1954.
But communist-led resistance soon grew. The Americans, who started sending “military advisers” to prop up the puppet regime in the south in 1960.The imperialists believed that they could crush the Vietnamese people with  air terror but when that failed they poured hundreds of thousands of troops into the country to try and quell the mounting resistance to their neo-colonial rule.
By 1969 the Americans had had enough.The Nixon administration began to withdraw US troops from Vietnam from its peak of 540,000 to once again turn to air power in a renewed attempt to crush the National Liberation Front (NLF)that the Americans called the Viet Cong and bring the communist government in the north to its knees. But that didn’t work either. The NLF now controlled most of the countryside in south Vietnam. Resistance to the corrupt southern puppet leaders and their US masters was spreading inside the towns and cities still held by the Americans. Even units of the south Vietnamese armed forces were moving to change sides – which many eventually did in the final liberation offensive in 1975.
 Led the NLF guerrillas and the northern people’s army defeated the might of US imperialism and freed their country. Though he never lived to see the final liberation of the south Hồ Chí Minh charted the revolutionary path to a series of historic victories, including the great Spring Victory of 1975 that ended partition and reunified Vietnam.

A taste of China!

 

by New Worker correspondent

London Craft Week kicked off on 12^th May with events featuring the very best in the craft and design world taking place across the heart of the capital.Now in its eleventh year, 400 events, exhibitions, creative classes, and around a thousand international artisans demonstrated their skills via a very impressive programme of master-classes, demonstrations, workshop tours, talks and exhibitions. And during the festival NCP leader Andy Brooks joined academics and leaders in the tea trade for a Chinese cultural event at the historic former Royal Mint complex near the Tower of London.
China has participated in the London Craft Week since 2015 continuously promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation with the UK and others.
The Anxi Tieguanyin: Tea from the East presentation show-cased the contemporary development of Chinese tea and its culture as well as a performance of the traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Anxi Tieguanyin tea goes back back fourteen hundred years to the days of the Tang Dynasty. Favoured by the imperial court its fame later spread throughout China and even across the globe.
This was followed by launch of a new childrens’ book set in the tea plantations of China. The author, Daishu Ma, is a Chinese illustrator and graphic artist working in East London. Her first graphic novel Leaf was published in 2014. Her latest, Tiger Don’t Worry, tells the story of a little girl and her Tiger friend trying, against all odds, to make good tea. Published by Post Wave it’s available in most London bookshops for only £12.99.

Remember Odessa 2014!

by New Worker correspondent
 
On Saturday 3rd May members of International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity and several other organisations held a vigil in solidarity with the families of those who died in the Odessa massacre of 2014 outside the Ukrainian embassy in London.
They carried signs saying "Remember Odessa 02.02.2014" in English, Russian and Ukrainian. After the vigil they laid flowers at the gate of the embassy, and a letter addressed to ambassador Valery Zaluzhnyi was left by New Communist Party of Britain general secretary Andy Brooks.
Eleven years after the tragic events of 2nd May 2014 no-one has been brought to justice for these crimes, and no independent, local or international inquiry has ever been held. And according to the European Council an investigation by Ukrainian authorities in November 2015 “had lacked "institutional and practical independence".
On 13th March 2025 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Ukrainian authorities had failed to prevent or end the violence on that day or to “ensure timely rescue measures for those trapped in the fire,” and said that since 2014 the Ukrainian authorities had “failed to institute and conduct an effective investigation into the events”.
The court ruled that these failures were in violation of Article 2 (right to life/investigation) and Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
While the ruling was widely covered by the Russian and Ukrainian media it appears to have been totally ignored by leading Western media outlets, including the BBC, Reuters and CNN.
However the virulently pro-Ukrainian website EUvsDisinfo dismissed the ruling as "recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative about the Odessa tragedy and about Nazi Ukraine". EUvsDisinfo is run by "a team of experts" called the "East Stratcom Task Force", which operates under the EU High Representative. Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister.

Boycott Barclays Now!

by New Worker correspondent

Palestinian solidarity campaigners were outside Barclays Bank’s Annual General Meeting in London this week to call out their complicity with Israel's genocide in Gaza while others, inside the hall, disrupted the meeting to protest against the bankrolling of Israeli terror in Palestine.   
Barclays holds over two billion pounds-worth of shares and provides £6.1 billion in loans and underwriting to nine companies whose weapons, components and military technology are being used by Israel in its attacks on Palestinians.
This week, Israel has committed to intensifying its genocide in Gaza by sending yet more troops into the Palestinian enclave. An Israeli government minister has said Gaza is "to be entirely destroyed". We must respond by escalating our campaigning against corporations that enable Israel's atrocities. 
Barclays has an agreement with Israel to act as a 'primary dealer' for its government bonds. This means it directly helps Israel sell bonds to raise money to fund its genocide against the Palestinians. Barclays has underwritten at least £500 million of Israel government bonds since October 2023. 
In addition, Barclays provides investment and loans worth billions to arms companies supplying Israel with the weapons and military technology it uses in its crimes against Palestinians. There must be no business-as-usual for companies like Barclays while they enable Israel's genocide.  

Remembering Neil Harris

by New Worker correspondent

Neil Harris, a leading member of the New Communist Party, sadly passed away in March 2018 following a long battle against cancer. Neil always wanted his ashes scattered at the Kremlin where Lenin’s tomb and Stalin’s ashes, together with hundreds of other honoured citizens from Soviet times, remain. This was raised by Theo Russell, the NCP delegate to the international anti-fascist forum in Moscow, last week only to be told that the scattering of ashes anywhere near the Lenin Mausoleum is, in fact,  strictly forbidden by the Kremlin authorities. But he asked our comrades in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation for advice and with their help Theo scattered Neil’s ashes into the Moskva river from a boat as it passed the Kremlin. Many comrades who have fond memories of Neil Harris  will be pleased to hear that his last wish has now been granted.

May Day in London

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades and other activists from the International Ukraine Anti Fascist Solidarity campaign joined the May Day march through central London this week with banners calling for justice for the families of those murdered at the Odessa Trade Union House on 2nd May 2014, and for solidarity with the many thousands of political prisoners in Ukraine, many of whom have been beaten, tortured, or murdered. Many organisations at the march expressed their support for the banners. Many photographers also took pictures, some of which have already appeared on British social media channels.