Today’s news continues to cover the Army’s assistance with the clean-up following the floods in Cumbria.
Daesh
The Times reports that the number of Daesh traffic wardens on the streets of Raqqa is one of a host of signs that the coalition’s air campaign against the extremists oil infrastructure is creating a growing financial problem for the terrorists.
Russian incursions
The Times reports that British defence officials have held talks with Russian counterparts following incursions by aircraft around the Britain. The piece quotes Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, where he said: “There have been discussions with Russia about setting up some means of avoiding any miscalculation with its long-range aviation”. He added: “We have seen a number of incursions into the British flight information region over recent months. We’ve been pressing for ways of avoiding any miscalculation or accident because these aircraft have not been responding to communications from air traffic control, or indeed signals from the planes we send up to intercept them.” The full speech is here. Mr Fallon met his US counterpart Ash Carter in Washington before concluding his two-day visit to the United States.
Libya
The Times, Daily Mirror, Financial Times, The Sun, The Independent, Daily Star and Daily Express report on former prime minister Tony Blair’s appearance at the foreign affairs select committee which is investigating the removal of Colonel Gaddafi from Libya. Articles state that Blair defended his repeated attempts to bring Colonel Gaddafi in from the cold by claiming that the move prevented Daesh militants seizing his weapons. Reports state that he told MPs that he made two or three attempts to persuade Colonel Gaddafi to relinquish power before the UK joined an international coalition launching air strikes in 2011.
“Marine A”
The Daily Mail continues its coverage of the "Marine A” case, calling for a re-examination of the murder conviction of jailed Royal Marine Alexander Blackman. Next week a new legal report will be delivered by members of Sgt Blackman’s family to the headquarters of the Criminal Cases Review Commission in Birmingham, it reports. The new legal team representing Sgt Blackman argue that there was a wealth of evidence to show that at the time he shot an insurgent in 2011, he was suffering from a combat stress disorder and he had temporarily lost control. The piece states that senior officers in Whitehall have tried ”various stratagems” to make the issue go away. An MOD spokesperson:
The Ministry of Defence followed and supported the legal process throughout this case. This involved a full criminal investigation and a court martial where witnesses were called by both the independent Service Prosecution Authority and defence counsel. We respect the authority and decision of the court and would, of course, co-operate fully with any future legal process.
Flood support
The Star, Express, Daily Mirror reports on the Cumbrian flooding, referencing that the military have been assisting in the massive clean-up operation in Keswick.
