Better broadband
ALL homes across the UK should have access to full-fibre broadband coverage by the year 2033, according to the Government’s digital strategy.
Proposals set out by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport recommend legislation to guarantee new homes are fitted with full-fibre broadband. Full-fibre connections – which are faster, more reliable and cheaper to run compared with traditional copper-based networks – only stand at 4% in the UK. For comparison, Spain stands at 71%. DOWNING STREET has insisted that the Government continues to oppose the use of the death penalty, after it was revealed that Home Secretary Sajid Javid is not seeking a guarantee that two Britons will not face execution if extradited to the US for terror crimes.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said Prime Minister Theresa May was “made aware” of the decision not to seek a “death penalty assurance” in the case of two members of the Islamic State cell known by the nickname ‘The Beatles.’
The decision was described as “extraordinary” by the Government’s former reviewer of terrorism legislation Lord Carlile, who said it amounted to a dramatic change of policy without any discussion in Parliament.
And Labour accused Mr Javid of “playing with the lives” of Britons all over the world by abandoning the UK’s blanket opposition to the death penalty.
The Downing Street spokeswoman said it was “a long-standing position of the Government to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle”, but added that in this case it was “a priority to make sure that these men face criminal prosecution”.
Asked whether Mrs May approved of the letter, she replied: “The decision was taken by the Home Secretary and the former foreign secretary (Boris Johnson) and the PM was made aware of the decision.
“But, I would say, it’s everyone’s aim to make sure that these men face justice through a criminal prosecution.
“We are continuing to engage with the US government on this issue.
“We want to make sure that they face justice in the most appropriate jurisdiction which maximises the chance of a successful prosecution.”
Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh are said to have been members of the brutal four-man cell of IS executioners in Syria and Iraq, responsible for killing a series of high-profile Western captives, including British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning and US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Nicknamed after the 1960s band because of their British accents, the cell is also believed to have included Mohammed Emwazi – known as “Jihadi John” – who was killed a US air strike in 2015, and Aine Davis, who has been jailed in Turkey.
Kotey and Elsheikh, who are understood to have been stripped of their British citizenship, were captured in January, sparking a row over whether they should be returned to the UK for trial or face justice in another jurisdiction.
In his letter, obtained by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Javid told US Attorney General Jeff Sessions the UK “does not currently intend to request, nor actively encourage” the transfer of the pair to Britain.
Mr Javid added: “I am of the view that there are strong reasons for not requiring a death penalty assurance in this specific case, so no such assurances will be sought.”