Britain Topics

Democracy Now! stories, posts and pages that relate to Britain

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  • Thatcher_death

    Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013): Tariq Ali on Late British PM's Legacy from Austerity to Apartheid

    Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died at the age of 87. Thatcher was Britain’s first female prime minister, serving three terms in office. Known as the "Iron Lady," Thatcher became synonymous with austerity economics as a close ally of President Ronald Reagan. She famously declared to critics of neoliberal capitalism that "there is no alternative." Her long-running battle with striking British miners...
    Apr 08, 2013 | Story
  • Savile

    BBC Scandal Exposes Cover-Up of Host Jimmy Savile's Pedophilia, Fueling Public Broadcaster's Foes

    A major media scandal has toppled the head of the BBC over the network’s handling of two reports on sex abuse, wrongly implicating a politician in one, and killing a report on its own popular BBC host, the late Jimmy Savile. One year after his death, Savile has been accused of abusing potentially hundreds of victims, while the BBC stayed silent. We’re joined by three guests: Lark Turner, who has been researching and writing about the...
    Nov 13, 2012 | Story
  • Tariq_ali-wikileaks

    Tariq Ali, Ex-U.K. Ambassador Craig Murray Praise Ecuador for Granting Asylum to Julian Assange

    Shortly before Julian Assange spoke on Sunday, a number of his supporters spoke outside the Ecuadorean embassy. Speakers included writer and activist Tariq Ali, as well as Craig Murray, the former British ambassador to Uzbekistan. Murray, a whistleblower himself, was removed from office in 2004 after he exposed how the United States and Britain supported torture by the Uzbek regime. "The fact that [British Foreign Secretary] William Hague...
    Aug 20, 2012 | Story
  • London_riots_button

    Over 1,000 Arrested in U.K. as Anger over Inequality, Racism Boils Over into "Insurrection"

    Unrest continues to spread across England after protests erupted Saturday in London when police shot to death Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man. Mobs firebombed police stations and set shops on fire in London, Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham. After waiting for several days, Prime Minister David Cameron has cut short his vacation and recalled Parliament from summer recess. Scotland Yard has ordered its officers to deploy...
    Aug 10, 2011 | Story
  • Murdoch_button

    "The Murdoch Empire Could Be Undone": British Phone-Hacking Scandal May Prompt U.S. Criminal Probe

    The British phone-hacking scandal engulfing Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has crossed the Atlantic and could impact his maze of interests in the United States. The watchdog group, ProtectOurElections.org, has called on the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch criminal and civil investigations into possible prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in the wake of the scandal that began in the United Kingdom....
    Jul 13, 2011 | Story
  • Button1

    Media Mogul Rupert Murdoch Shuts Down Flagship U.K. Newspaper amidst Scandal over Illegal Surveillance

    Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is engulfed in a growing scandal after new evidence emerged that his reporters in Britain paid corrupt police officers for story tips and hacked the voicemails of thousands of people, from child murder victims to the families of Britain’s war dead. On Thursday, Murdoch shocked the country by shutting down the newspaper at the center of the scandal, the News of the World, Britain’s biggest-selling...
    Jul 08, 2011 | Story
  • Play_wiki

    Exclusive: Julian Assange of WikiLeaks & Philosopher Slavoj Žižek in Conversation with Amy Goodman

    In one of his first public events since being held under house arrest, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appeared in London Saturday for a conversation with Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek, moderated by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman. They discuss the impact of WikiLeaks on world politics, the release of the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs, and Cablegate—the largest trove of classified U.S. government records in history. “From being inside...
    Jul 05, 2011 | Story
  • Greek_uk_protest

    Hundreds of Thousands of Greek and British Workers Stage Strikes as Governments Push Austerity Cuts

    More than 750,000 British public sector workers staged a 24-hour strike Thursday in a standoff with the government’s plans to reform public sector pensions. The reforms come as the government tries to trim its deficit and would require public workers to work longer, pay more toward their pension, and receive less upon retirement. Meanwhile, in Greece, thousands of workers staged a 48-hour strike, and many took to the streets after the Greek...
    Jul 01, 2011 | Story
  • Ireland_button

    In Historic Visit, Queen Elizabeth II Regrets Britain's "Sad and Regrettable" Legacy in Ireland

    Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch in a century to visit Ireland. In an address to the Irish nation on Wednesday, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II expressed regret at the troubled history of England’s relations with Ireland. We get reaction from retired Irish soldier and peacekeeper Col. Desmond Travers. [includes rush transcript]
    May 20, 2011 | Story
  • Weddingbutton

    Johann Hari: Frenzy around Britain's Royal Wedding "Should Embarrass Us All"

    Up to two billion people around the world tuned in to watch the British royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, a story which has dominated TV news for weeks. The wedding buzz offers a chance to look at the monarchy, Britain’s domestic policy, and how its colonial legacy around the world affects foreign affairs today. While all eyes were on the wedding procession and the first kiss, Democracy Now! spoke with Johann Hari, a columnist...
    Apr 29, 2011 | Story