Donations U-turn
GREAT Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity is to do a U-turn and keep donations raised by a controversial black-tie event mired in claims that female hostesses were groped.
The organisation, which raises funds for the hospital, said it has made the decision to keep the money, reportedly some £530,000, raised by the Presidents Club for it over a number of years.
It had originally pledged to return the money following revelations about behaviour at January’s event, uncovered by the Financial Times. THERESA MAY has hailed the “unprecedented series of expulsions” of Russian diplomats across the globe in the wake of the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
The Prime Minister insisted the move sent a strong message to Moscow that it cannot ignore international law.
The comments came as Ireland became the 24th country to join the UK in diplomatic action against the Kremlin.
With Downing Street saying that more than 115 Russian diplomats had been ordered home by friends and allies, Dublin added one more to the list.
Mrs May’s spokesman said the PM told the Cabinet the move against Russia was “an unprecedented series of expulsions that has demonstrated to the Kremlin that we will not tolerate their attempts to flout international law, undermine our values or threaten our security”.
The Prime Minister added: “It is also important to note that our partners are not only taking these measures out of solidarity with the UK, but also because they recognise the threat that these Russian networks pose to the security of their own countries and the pattern of Russian aggression which has affected us all.” Irish deputy premier and foreign minister Simon Coveney said: “The use of chemical weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons, by anyone, anywhere, is particularly shocking and abhorrent.
“The attack in Salisbury was not just an attack against the United Kingdom, but an affront to the international rules-based system on which we all depend for our security and well-being.”
Ahead of the anticipated expulsion announcement, Russia’s ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov, warned against any action that might “ruin” the relationship between the two countries.
Nato yesterday said it had withdrawn accreditation from seven members of the Russian Mission attached to it and would reject requests from three others.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the move sent a clear message to Russia that its actions “had costs”. He added: “What triggered this was the Salisbury attack. But it is part of a broader response by Nato allies to a pattern of unacceptable and dangerous behaviour by Russia.
“We have seen the illegal annexation of Crimea, we have seen the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine, we have seen cyber attacks, we have seen hybrid tactics, we have seen Russia investing heavily in modern military equipment and the willingness to use military force against neighbours.”
Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were left critically ill following the Salisbury attack, with the PM saying doctors have indicated their condition is unlikely to change in the near future and they “may never recover fully”.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, hinted the Kremlin would respond with tit-for-tat expulsions, saying Russia would proceed from the “principle of reciprocity”.