Chris Williamson apologises in Labour anti-Semitism row

Labour MP Chris Williamson is being investigated for remarks about the party’s handling of anti-Semitism.

Chris Williamson, Image Credit: Getty

He has previously claimed that Labour had ‘given too much ground’ to the issue, however has now said he ‘deeply regrets’ the remarks.

Footage showed Mr Wiliamson saying Labour had been ‘too apologetic’ about anti-Semitism.

WATCH: Chris Williamson tells a Sheffield Momentum meeting that Labour has been “too apologetic” about anti-Semitism… pic.twitter.com/zxtKdHQPvw

— Liz Bates (@wizbates) February 26, 2019

He released a statement saying: ‘I deeply regret and apologise for my recent choice of words…I was trying to suggest how much the party has done to tackle anti-Semitism.’

Deputy party leader Tom Watson criticised his ‘heavily caveated’ apology and believes stronger action is required.

Commuter misery continues 

South Western Railway customers have experienced another painful week, with cancellations and delays hitting the network on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

South Western Railway’s Apology. Image Credit: Jarek Zaba

The latest disruption comes in a week where a parliamentary committee warned rail passengers that they faced ‘another difficult year’ due to timetable changes and engineering works.

A report from the Public Accounts Committee found that the government management of the railways must improve ‘considerably’ as passengers had suffered ‘significant financial and emotional costs’ because of problems in the last year.

Commuters face train cancellations. Image Credit: Jarek Zaba

Management at South Western Railway claimed that this week’s issues were caused by a train hitting an obstruction in Berrylands, south west London, which was then further exacerbated by a points problem at Vauxhall.

Points are mechanical installations that enable trains to be guided from one track to another.

One regular commuter told londonmultimedianews: ‘There’s delays all the time – nobody takes any responsibility and it’s all about passing the buck.’

Shooting range criticised for IS bride target

A shooting range in Merseyside has come under fire for using images of an IS bride on targets.

The pictures used were of Shamima Begum, who left the UK aged 15 to join the Islamic State group.

The air rifle range. Image Credit: Twitter @ULTIMATEAIRSOF2

Ultimate Airsoft Range said that ‘record numbers’ of customers requested wanting Ms Begum as a target and defended their decision saying ‘the targets we provide do not necessarily always reflect our personal opinions’.

The range in Wallasey say ‘our targets provide some fantastic reactions and conversations… bringing out the inner child in all’.

Angela Eagle, the Labour MP for Wallasey, who disapproves of the imagery said: ‘They shouldn’t be using living people as targets – especially as six-year-olds might be playing’.

Earthquake shakes Surrey

The British Geological Survey said the quake occurred about 2km below the surface of Newdigate.

The tremor was recorded at 3:42am and measured 3.1 magnitude, making it the biggest earthquake of a recent series of tremors in the area.

There have been three others in the area in the last fortnight, a smaller tremor felt on Valentine’s Day, and two more on 19 February.

There’s been confusion over the magnitude of today’s quake. @LastQuake gave ML 3.6 & @USGS gave ML 3.3. But these use slightly different mag scales & did not use the closest seismic stations.
I’ve just computed ML 3.1-3.2 using all available data, consistent with that of BGS.

— Stephen Hicks (@seismo_steve) February 27, 2019

Reactions on social media suggested the tremor was felt as far afield as Crawley, West Sussex.