The Arctic 30 have been told they cannot leave Russia and return home for Christmas despite a ruling by an international court ordering their release.
The environmental charity Greenpeace has revealed that Russia investigative committee has written to one of its activists- Anne Mie Jensen from Denmark - indicating that they are not free to leave the country.
The charity’s lawyers have said that they expect this to be the case for all of the non-Russian members of the Arctic 30, including six Britons.
Three from Devon, Alexandra Harris, Iain Rogers and Kieron Bryan...
Update: Kieron Bryan's hearing has been postponed until Wednesday 20 November
Fellow freelance journalist Denis Sinyakov, a Russian national has been released on bail.
Before the judge Mr Sinyakov said: Sinyakov: "prosecution witnesses show I was photographing the event. Investigators consider photojournalism a crime?" (translated from Russian)
The hearing for Brazilian Greenpeace activist Ana Paula Alminhana Maciel has been postponed to tomorrow 11.00am
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A Journalist from Devon held as part of the Arctic...
Exeter Labour Party's HQ at Clifton Hill was bustling with people from every continent at its 'Multicultural Lunch' with Ben Bradshaw on Saturday 28 September.
Ben, Labour Party members and councillors including Exeter City Council leader Cllr Pete Edwards, his deputy Cllr Rachel Sutton and Labour Group leader on Devon County Council, Cllr Richard Westlake, got a flavour of life as experienced by members of Exeter's varied and growing communities, as they answered questions on a wide range of issues.
A lively debate was followed by the sharing of food brought by the...
A ‘think-tank’ report that the Exeter-based Met Office is ‘over-exaggerating’ climate change has been criticised for making unsubstatiated claims.
The Global Warming Policy Foundation, managed by prominent climate change sceptic Lord Lawson, released a report which claims that a computer programme used by the Met Office to measure climate change is biased in favour of showing climate change.
The Foundation has argued that this has skewed evidence of the UKCP09, the UK’s official climate projections.
However the Met Office has responded that the all information from...
People are being given an opportunity to quiz a panel of politicians, councillors and local personalities including Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw at a free event during Local Democracy Week.
Tickets are now available - at no charge - for an Exeter Question Time event, which takes place at Exeter's College's CCI Theatre, at 7pm on Friday 18 October. Call 01392 265891 to book a free ticket.
On the panel and taking questions from the public will be: Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw; Express and Echo Editor, Paul Burton; Cllr Rosie Denham, Exeter City Council's Lead Councillor for Economy and...
MPs of all three main political parties met Westcountry Ambulance Service bosses at Westminster today.
We had asked them to come to see us because of concerns they are planning to abandon national pay agreements for their staff and introduce regional pay to the ambulance service.
We were very sympathetic to the financial pressures they are under because of the Government’s cuts and the recent loss of the contract for Hospital Transport Services to private companies. The changes the Government has introduced that have allowed private companies to cherry pick services, have...
An Exeter Postman has delivered a petition opposing plans to privatise the Royal Mail.
Darren Rowbotham amassed 160,000 signatures against privatisation before delivering the petition to Downing Street personally.
Mr Rowbotham, who has been a postman for 13 years, fears that rural services will suffer if the postal service were to be privatised.
In an open letter on change.org Rowbotham wrote: “If the Government sells Royal Mail then the services that many people take for granted will be cut. The daily delivery service could stop -- meaning some rural areas will...
Wonga has announced record profits of £62.5m amid growing controversy surrounding pay day lenders.
The firm lent over £1.2bn last year after a significant rise in money lending in the recession approving on average more than 10,400 loans a day.
The industry, which is worth around £2bn in the UK, has recently seen an increased spend on advertising as more companies compete for business.
Wonga chief executive Errol Damelin, who received a bonus of £756,000 this year, has defended his business saying it lends responsibly and turns down two thirds of the loans applied...
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw has accused David Cameron, of an act of "terrible miscalculation" in his attempt to persuade MPs to support military action against Syria.
Mr Bradshaw said the action led to the Commons voting against Britain taking military action – by accident.
He said in his blog today: "It may be an outcome supported by a majority of the public, but it was not what any of the main parties or their leaders wanted."
Mr Bradshaw added: "If Cameron had supported Labour’s sensible and measured amendment or waited until next week, the vote would have...
I recently spent an hour with the volunteers who run Exeter Foodbank and some of the families who depend on them. I have to say, I found some of the scenes I witnessed and stories I heard shocking in the 21st Century in a relatively affluent city like Exeter in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Between April 2012 and March 2013, the number of people using Exeter Foodbank, which operates out of the Mint Methodist Church, rose by 78%. Since April's changes to the Social Security system there has been a further trebling of the number of people using the service. Contrary...
