Warning voter ID laws may ‘significantly

Johnny Mercer also apologised to one army veteran who was told he could not use his government-issued veteran ID card to vote.

If polling is to be believed, the problems could be much more acute in Scotland once the General Election comes around.

In April, a huge 15,000-voter poll conducted by Survation for campaign group Best for Britain showed a clear divide in awareness of the new law at the Scottish Border.

In Dumfries and Galloway, 25.6% of people said they didn’t know they needed photo ID to vote in the Westminster elections. The Scottish average was 27%. Directly over the Border in Penrith and Solway, the figure was just 11.6%. In Carlisle, 11.8%. The English average was 14%.

Polling from YouGov published on May 2 found a similarly stark diunder with 12% of people in England unaware of the need for voter ID compared to 34% in Scotland.

Professor Stephen Gethins a former SNP MP who won his North East Fife seat in 2017 by just two votes said the new voter ID rules “could have a significant impact on the outcome of a number of races and consequently a significant impact on the makeup of the next Parliament”.

Gethins, who is the SNP candidate in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, pointed to comments from polling expert Professor John Curtice about how “pretty much every seat in Scotland will be a marginal seat” at the next General Election.

The international relations professor said the expected number of tight races meant that results could be influenced dramatically by even a few people being turned away.

“I think it would be a cause for concern,” Gethins said. “In Scotland, we do know that there are a large number of races that could be very tight. I’ve got first-hand experience of that. That’s why I know that you have to campaign for every single vote. They all count.

“And these are the people who make the difference between winning or losing a vast swathe of seats, and therefore somebody who supports the SNP will make a huge difference to the kind of pro-independence voice that you have in any Parliament.”

He went on: “This new legislation, I’m not sure what problem it’s trying to solve, but we do know what problem it has created.

“And there can be no more serious issue on which to have created a problem than the ability of people to cast their vote as we’ve seen with the chalvide,

anniversary. Or there’s the Yoker ferry. I could get the Yoker ferry!”

‘SUMMARY EXECUTIONS’

BUT despite Pacetta’s cheerful demeanour, the activists and aid workers on the Freedom Flotilla were far from safe. In 2010, 10 Freedom Flotilla participants were murdered and dozens more injured when Israeli troops boarded their boat, which was headed to deliver aid to Gaza.

A UN report into the incident concluded that “Israeli forces

carried out extralegal, arbitrary and summary executions prohibited by international human rights law”.

On April 26, the day the flotilla was to set sail, the UN issued a warning to Israel not to “interfere” with the civilian convoy or harm its passengers.

It said: “Israel has now created a famine by cutting off the regular supply of water, food and critical goods into Gaza, destroying livelihoods, the food system and civilian infrastructure.

“Failing to comply with its humanitarian obligations as the occupying power, Israel is also restricting humanitarian aid, intentionally bombarding humanitarian convoys and targeting both aid workers and civilians seeking aid.”

Asked if she was afraid of finding herself a target for Israeli forces, Pacetta said: “I’ll be honest, I think if people say they’re not scared, they’re not frightened, I don’t think they’re thinking about it quite right.

“Everyone must have some doubt as to, you know, what happens if they come onboard and open fire on us all.

“The way I try to look at it is, Israel is trying to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians, without a doubt. I think it’s very apparent. How can we stand back and let that happen and do nothing?

“We need people there to see it, to witness it, to get word out there.”

Pacetta said that she and the other volunteers had, during their time in

Istanbul, been given training on how to deal with being boarded by Israeli forces.

“They said, ‘we’re going to let you experience it’,” she explained. “The lights went down. You heard screaming. You heard bangs. You heard gunfire.

“Then all of a sudden, people dressed up as Israeli forces with what was supposedly an iron bar attacking us, screaming at us, hitting us, really quite viciously, just to give us a general idea.

“They said: ‘Listen, this is not everyone’s cup of tea. If anyone wants to pull out, not a problem. There’s still lots you can do. There’s no problem pulling out.’

“But very, very few people did.” The Israeli Embassy was approached for comment.