Labour protected US in Iraq inquiry: WikiLeaks

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

LONDON — The previous Labour government restricted the reach of an inquiry into the Iraq war to protect US interests, The Times newspaper claimed Wednesday.

The Chilcot inquiry was set up by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to pinpoint lessons from the war, but a memo released on the WikiLeaks website revealed that a senior British defence official promised the US it would defend its concerns.

At a meeting with US under-secretary Erin Tauscher and then Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Jon Day, Ministry of Defence director-general for security, said "the UK had 'put measures in place to protect your interests'."

A senior source told Wednesday's Times that the protection would be "for US intelligence documents supplied before the war.

"They could not be brought to light because of the damage that would do to the special relationship's crown jewels -- intelligence exchange with the US," the source added.

The leaked cable was sent from the US embassy in London in September last year, three months before the inquiry, chaired by John Chilcot, commenced.

As the inquiry began Chilcot spoke of his "frustration" about lack of access to key documents while interviewing former attorney-general Peter Goldsmith, The Times reported.

An inquiry spokesman said Tuesday: "The Iraq Inquiry is independent of the British Government.

"The protocol agreed between the Iraq Inquiry and the Government allows for material to be withheld from publication if publication would damage international relations or breach the third party rule governing non-disclosure of intelligence material."

Further embarrassment was heaped upon the previous government when another memo leaked from the embassy showed Brown, whose Labour government was ousted in May, had mistakenly told US President Barack Obama that Britain could provide no more troops for Afghanistan.

In September 2009, US ambassador in London Louis Susman told Washington that British "military officials claim that 1,000 to 2,000 troops are available," contradicting Brown's assertion to Obama that it "lacked the capacity."

Susman was vindicated in December when Britain increased its troop presence in the war-torn country by 500.

Activists held in tuition fee demos

(UKPA) – 19 minutes ago

More than 150 people were arrested as police clashed with activists during a third day of violent protests against plans to raise student tuition fees.

Thousands of young people incensed by the threat of substantial debts at the end of their university education took to the streets in a series of organised protests across the UK on Tuesday.

Scotland Yard said a total of 153 people were arrested in the capital, while MPs debated the potential impact of the changes in Westminster.

However, the vast majority took part in peaceful marches, occupations and vigils up and down the country.

In London, a group of around 200 demonstrators were involved in a heated stand-off with police after congregating in Trafalgar Square at the end of the protest. Graffiti was daubed on public statues and fires lit at the base of Nelson's Column as missiles were thrown at riot police.

A police spokesman said 146 people were arrested after numerous requests from officers for the group to disperse - 139 for breach of the peace and seven on suspicion of violent disorder.

Earlier in the day, two people were arrested for public order offences, one for common assault, one was arrested for obstructing police and three people were arrested for criminal damage.

In Bristol, 10 people were arrested as police were pelted with mustard when thousands of students from both universities in the city marched.

Demonstrations, marches, occupations and vigils also took place in Sheffield, Belfast, Cambridge, Brighton, Newcastle, Bath, Nottingham and Cardiff.

MPs are expected to vote before Christmas on the Government's proposals to increase the cap on tuition fees from £3,375 to as much as £9,000 a year.

Protests over Egypt 'votes fraud'

(UKPA) – 3 hours ago

Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters have protested and scuffled with police angry at what they called widespread fraud in Egypt's parliamentary elections.

The protests in Cairo and in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria capped a day of voting in which many independent monitors were barred from polling stations amid reports of ballot box stuffing and vote buying.

In some places, government candidates were seen passing out cash and food to voters near polling stations. Overhanging the parliamentary vote was the more significant presidential election set for next year.

For the first time in nearly 30 years, there are questions over the presidential vote.

The 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak has had health problems, undergoing surgery earlier this year. His party says he will run for another six-year term, but that hasn't resolved the speculation over the future of the country's leadership.

Fuelling the sense of unease, Egyptians the past year have grown increasingly vocal in their anger over high prices, low wages, persistent unemployment and poor services despite economic growth that has created a boom for the upper classes.

Opponents say the ruling party in this top US ally aims to sweep parliament almost completely to prevent any future platform for dissent.

In the run-up to the voting, at least 1,200 supporters of the Islamic fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood - the ruling party's only real rival - were arrested and many of its candidates saw their campaign rallies broken up.

In the last parliamentary election, in 2005, the Brotherhood stunned the government by winning a fifth of the legislature, its strongest showing ever.

The voting saw sporadic violence - police fired tear gas in one southern Cairo district after officers shut down a polling station, and in the southern city of Qena, Brotherhood supporters threw firebombs at police who barred them voting. But a heavy presence of security forces, along with gangs of intimidating young men hanging around outside polling stations, seemed to scare off most opposition supporters.