11 JANUARY

BRITAIN ENDS THE RIGHT OF SUSPECTS TO REMAIN SILENT. [ 20 October 1988 ] On this day in 1988  Britain ended the right of suspects to remain silent as part of its campaign against the IRA. This affected both their right to remain silent during interrogation by police and also when questioned in court.  As…

BRITISH ATTEMPT TO BUY HEGEMONY OVER PERSIA FAILS [ 9 August 1919 ] On 9 August 1919, after six months of secret negotiations between Sir Percy Cox, the acting British Minister in Tehran, and three leading Persian politicians, Prime Minister Vusuq ul-Dawleh, Foreign Minister Prince Farooz and Finance Minister, Sarem ul-Dawleh, the Anglo-Persian Agreement was…

R.A.F. BIPLANES STRAFE AND BOMB DERVISH SETTLEMENTS AND SHEEP [ 21 January 1920 ] On the morning of 21 January 1920, five open cockpit R.A.F. biplane bombers attacked the Dervish settlements of Jid Ali and Medishi in the remote interior of British Somaliland. CHURCHILL – ‘THE MAJORITY OF THE (BOLSHEVIK) LEADERS ARE JEWS.’ [ 21…

GENERAL ERSKINE WARNS AGAINST INQUIRY INTO BRITISH CRIMES IN KENYA 10 December 1953 – In a letter to the War Office, General Erskine admits that he is all too aware that the police and army in Kenya have frequently resorted to summary executions and torture against Mau Mau insurgency suspects. “There is no doubt that…

785 REFUGEES DROWN AFTER BRITAIN INSISTS TURKEY REFUSE THEM OVERLAND PASSAGE [ 24 February 1942 ] On 24 February 1942, the S.S. Struma, a small 240 ton vessel crammed with 786 Jewish refugees, including over one hundred children, was sunk by a torpedo in the Black Sea. All but one of the passengers drowned. JOURNALISTS FORBIDDEN…