Kimmins announces £230,000 road scheme for B66 Bann Road, Ballymoney (Phase 1)
Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced that a £230,000 carriageway resurfacing scheme on the B66 Bann Road, Ballymoney will commence on Monday 23 March 2026.
Green MPs and peers demand answers from Starmer and an end to UK involvement in illegal US-Israel war on Iran
Iran’s Foreign Minister has warned Yvette Cooper in a phone call that allowing US use of UK bases is considered as British “participation in aggression”.
Green MPs and peers have written to Keir Starmer expressing alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran and pressing the Prime Minister to answer a number of urgent questions – including what control, if any, the UK has over US strikes launched from British bases and whether British-made weapons components are being used in breach of international law.
They note that the UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons, and reiterate demands for an end to all UK complicity in this illegal war.
FULL TEXT OF LETTER
Dear Prime Minister,
We are writing as Green Party MPs and Peers to express our alarm at the UK’s involvement in the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran.
Already well over 1,000 civilians have been killed, including a reported 168 children killed by a missile now widely believed to be from the United States (Guardian, 2026). UNICEF has reported that the Israeli military’s assault on Lebanon is killing or injuring the equivalent of one classroom of children every day (Reuters, 2026).
In addition to the grave humanitarian impacts, the longer this illegal, unnecessary war continues, the greater the global economic fallout – to which the UK is particularly exposed because it remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels.
In light of this, there are urgent questions your government must answer:
- What steps, if any, is your government taking to ensure that B-1 and B-52 bombers taking off from RAF Fairford are being used for ‘specific, limited defensive purposes’ – as you committed to?
- What assessment have you made, if any, of how many Iranian civilians have been killed by US bombing missions from British air bases?
- Are target lists for US strikes from British soil approved by the Ministry of Defence before each mission or audited afterwards?
- Is the US being permitted to load banned cluster munitions at British bases?
- What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used in violation of international law in Iran, including in the Tomahawk missile systems which may have been involved in the strike on the Shajareh Tayyerbeh girls’s school which killed a reported 168 children and 14 teachers, in the single deadliest known attack so far?
- What assessment has the government made of the risk of UK-made weapons components being used by the Israeli government in violation of international law in Lebanon?
The UK is obliged under international law to have no involvement in illegal military action, including the use of UK bases and UK-made weapons. It is therefore of the utmost importance that these questions are answered as a matter of urgency.
This illegal war is inflicting untold suffering and devastation in the region and will cause huge and long lasting human, political, economic and environmental ramifications, as well as the immediate impact on the cost-of-living for our constituents. We, as Green Party MPs and Peers, reiterate our calls for the UK government to:
- Withdraw all permission for the US to use UK military bases for attacks on Iran.
- End all arms sales to and military cooperation with the Israeli government.
- Impose sanctions on government officials responsible for breaches of international law.
- Condemn the actions of Trump and Netanyahu for their flagrant violations of international law.
- Refuse any further complicity in this illegal war.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Ellie Chowns MP
Carla Denyer MP
Siân Berry MP
Hannah Spencer MP
Adrian Ramsay MP
Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
EDITORS NOTES
The government has refused to answer questions on whether it has the ability to approve or refuse individual targets for US strikes from UK bases, and whether banned cluster munitions are being loaded at UK bases.US bombers flying out of UK bases to strike Iran are avoiding European airspace.
Religious freedoms are the foundation of our democracy say Greens
Responding to Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch’s comments on public Muslim prayers, Green Party Leader and Deputy Leaders, Zack Polanski, Mothin Ali and Rachel Millward have released a joint statement:
“We stand in solidarity with those from our religious communities increasingly under attack and firmly in defence of religious freedom, peaceful public gathering, and the right of all communities to express their beliefs openly and without fear.
Recent comments from Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch regarding public prayer by Muslim communities risk not only inflaming division and misrepresenting the nature of peaceful religious expression, but also undermining the very freedoms that form the foundation of a democratic and pluralistic society.
Britain has long been a country where people of all faiths, and none, can come together in shared spaces with mutual respect. Events such as the Trafalgar Square gathering ahead of Eid, where people of different backgrounds joined in prayer and reflection, are not “acts of intimidation or dominance”. They are expressions of community and coexistence. They reflect the best of our society, not a threat to it.
To characterise such gatherings as outside the “norms of British culture” is to misunderstand what British culture truly is: diverse, evolving, and enriched by the many communities that call this country home. Religious freedom is not conditional on whether a practice is familiar or comfortable to some, it is a fundamental right.
Words matter, and they can either build bridges or deepen divides. We choose to use ours to build bridges.”
Zack Polanski
Mothin Ali
Rachel Millward
Deputy Leader Rachel Millward welcomes government retreat over AI copyright reforms
The government has rowed back on its plans to introduce an ‘opt-out’ to copyright law that would have harmed the UK’s world leading creative industries and weakened our country’s long-term digital sovereignty.
Rachel Millward said:
“The future of AI depends on trusted, licensed data. We need both a fair future for British creatives and to protect our unique contribution to the global AI supply chain.
“Our creative industries produce some of the most valuable cultural work in the world. The sector contributed £146 billion to the economy in 2024 and supported 2.4 million jobs.
“Strong copyright protections ensure that creators are remunerated for their work and their data is used fairly and transparently. If the UK gives up control of its data, it gives up its strategic advantage in the global AI landscape.
“By continually kicking the can down the road, the government is effectively handing power to a small number of US Big Tech firms, whilst undermining both our creative economy and our long-term digital sovereignty.”
“The Green Party calls on the government to rule out any future weakening of copyright law and urgently introduce transparency requirements on AI developers. This will drive growth in the licensing market, which is being held back by the government’s indecision. There is no time to waste.”
NOTES TO EDITORS
In December 2024, the government announced a public consultation on AI and copyright. It updated Parliament on its progress on Wednesday 18 March.
The government’s original preferred option, which would have allowed AI developers to use copyrighted works unless rightsholders opted out, was widely criticised by the creative industries, and received only 3% support in the government’s consultation. Ministers have since admitted there is no workable opt-out policy proposal on the table.
Weakening copyright would have eroded the UK’s leverage in the global AI supply chain and deepened our dependence on a small number of US-based Big Tech firms.
Aid cuts ‘a false economy’
Responding to government cuts to overseas aid, Green MP Dr Ellie Chowns MP said:
“Cutting international aid is a false economy – and one which puts Britain’s security at greater risk.
“The UK’s defence does not exist in isolation from global security. You cannot make Britain safer by making the rest of the world more unstable. We have all witnessed in recent years the extent to which threats that begin abroad can destabilise us at home – not just with the latest developments in the Middle East, but also the international public health threat of the Covid pandemic, or the danger to global democracy posed by Russia’s cyberwarfare.
“I spent years working in international development. I lived in an active conflict zone. I saw, first-hand, how extreme poverty, political instability, and lack of opportunity create the conditions for violence and war. Children pay the price that for that. Entire communities and regions pay the price. And so does the UK, in the end.
“If the government is serious about keeping Britain safe, they need to think about security beyond bombs and battalions. Real security means tackling global threats – hunger, violence, disease, displacement, inequality, climate chaos – early, before they explode into crises that reverberate that much more strongly onto our own shores.
“This is the time for Britain to strengthen its role as a global leader in development, diplomacy, and peacebuilding – not walking away from the very work that helps prevent conflicts and build a safer world for us all. The government must change course.”