SECTION

Revealed: Nadine Dorries and her real views on abortion


by Sunny Hundal    
September 1, 2011 at 9:05 am

In April this year we unearthed a presentation by Dr Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship, in which he argued it was important to chip away slowly at abortion rights, to reach the goal of a full ban on abortion.

“We have to realise we are in for a very long battle here,” he said.

This week Dorries admitted to receiving advice from Dr Saunders – and refused to reveal who was behind her ‘Right to Know’ campaign website.
continue reading… »

Email: RBS u-turn on funding cluster bombs


by Newswire    
September 1, 2011 at 12:03 am

The Royal Bank of Scotland has tonight u-turned and accepted that it should stop funding cluster bombs.

An internal email said:

From: “RBS Group Customer Relations”
Date: 31 August 2011 21:04:15 GMT+01:00
To: *******
Subject: RBS Group’s Defence Sector Position
Reply-To: GCRExecutiveSupport@rbs.com

RBS Group Customer Relations has sent you this e-mail. If this e-mail does not display properly simply view online

RBS Group’s Defence Sector Position
Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank-you for your e-mail regarding the RBS Group’s approach to defence sector lending, specifically relating to the production of cluster munitions.

The Group’s policy in this area is both comprehensive and clear. It states that RBS will not knowingly support any application for funding or financial services that would lead to contravention of the Oslo Convention on cluster munitions. We will always seek to ensure that we only deal with defence sector clients whose activities are compliant with both the letter and the spirit of the Convention.

After discussions with various NGO groups we have identified some defence sector clients whose activities could be considered to be outside the spirit of the Convention. As a result, we will be suspending all further services to any client where we can not be certain that they are in compliance with our policy. We will seek to work with both the UK Government and NGO groups to create clarity on this issue, and encourage other banks to do the same.

RBS Group

Amnesty UK had been running a pretty vigorous campaign, fronted by director Chris Atkins, on the issue.

¦ ¦ Newer Entries »
Liberal Conspiracy is the UK's most popular left-of-centre politics blog. Our aim is to re-vitalise the liberal-left through discussion and action. More about us here.

You can read articles through the front page, via Twitter or RSS feed. You can also get them by email and through our Facebook group.
LATEST COMMENT PIECES
» Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll
» Criticism of Obama for its own sake: a reply to Mehdi Hasan
» Do older people really need more NHS healthcare?
» There are alternatives to the reckless ‘Plan A’
» On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people
» Why Cameron’s claim of 600,000 jobs created is plainly wrong
» By using age to allocate NHS funding, Lansley rewards Tory voters
» The rise in domestic violence deaths is not an “isolated” problem
» Adrian Beecroft highlights mindset of Tory right
» The US is now a model for the Eurozone to save itself
» The IMF plan to revive the economy doesn’t go far enough
» The Boris brand is weaker than his friends think






48 Comments



93 Comments



24 Comments



58 Comments



10 Comments



26 Comments



24 Comments



69 Comments



44 Comments



25 Comments



LATEST COMMENTS
» Trooper Thompson posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll

» Barrie J posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll

» Chaise Guevara posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll

» Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic"

» Chris Smith posted on BBC misrepresents gas story to help 'deniers'

» Just Visiting posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic"

» Trooper Thompson posted on UKIP higher than Libdems over May

» Trooper Thompson posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll

» Cylux posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic"

» Tim Worstallt posted on Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll

» Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people

» Robin Hood tax: backed by the rich AND the rest, says new poll | Liberal Conspiracy posted on Poll: banks not paying fair share for crisis

» Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic"

» Chaise Guevara posted on Red Tory Blond: gay marriage "homophobic"

» Just Visiting posted on On Beecroft: it is already quite easy to sack people