Name: Storms wreak destruction in southern US, at least 26 killed
Uploaded: 2023-03-26T07:53:42.000+05:30
Duration: T00M32S
Channel: AP
Description: Survivors walked around dazed and in shock as they broke through debris and fallen trees with chain saws, searching for survivors.

31 of the charges against him pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information

Donald Trump described Pentagon plan of attack, shared classified map: indictment report

Former President Donald Trump described a Pentagon “plan of attack” and shared a classified map related to a military operation, according to a sweeping 37-count felony indictment 

31 of the charges against him pertaining to the willful retention of national defense information

&nbsp;Former President Donald Trump described a Pentagon &ldquo;plan of attack&rdquo; and shared a classified map related to a military operation, according to a sweeping 37-count felony indictment related to the mishandling of classified documents that were unsealed Friday and that could instantly reshape the 2024 presidential race.
The indictment paints an unmistakably damning portrait of Trump's treatment of sensitive information, accusing him of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return documents he had taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that we wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored in his estate.
&ldquo;I don't want anybody looking through my boxes,&rdquo; one of Trump's lawyers described the former president saying, according to the indictment. He also asked if it would be better &ldquo;if we just told them we don't have anything here," the indictment says.
Noting the &ldquo;tens of thousands of members and guests&rdquo; who visited the &ldquo;active social club&rdquo; of Mar-a-Lago between the end of Trump's presidency in January 2021 through the August 2022 search, prosecutors argued that Trump had &ldquo;nevertheless&rdquo; stored the documents there, &ldquo;including in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, and office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.&rdquo; The indictment arrives at a time when Trump is continuing to dominate the Republican presidential primary and one day before a scheduled campaign trip to North Carolina. Though other candidates have largely attacked the Justice Department, rather than Trump, for the investigation, the indictment's breadth of allegations and startling scope will be harder for Republicans to rail against than an earlier New York criminal case that many legal analysts had derided as weak.
The 49-page charging document, alleging that Trump not only intentionally possessed classified documents but also cavalierly and boastfully showed them off to visitors, is startling in scope and in the breadth of allegations. The indictment is built on Trump's own words and actions as recounted to prosecutors by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses, with prosecutors even using against Trump his own words as a candidate and president professing to respect and know procedures related to the handling of classified information.
The indictment includes 37 counts &mdash; 31 of which pertain to the willful retention of national defense information, with the balance relating to alleged conspiracy, obstruction and false statements &mdash;that taken together could result in a yearslong prison sentence.
Trump is due to make his first court appearance Tuesday in federal court in Miami, where the case was filed. He was charged alongside Walt Nauta, an aide and close adviser to Trump who prosecutors say brought boxes from a storage room to Trump's residence for him to review and later lied to investigators about the movement. A photograph included in the indictment shows several dozen file boxes stacked in a storage area.
The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump, who has already been indicted in New York and faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges. But among the various investigations he has faced, legal experts &mdash; as well as Trump's own aides &mdash; had long seen the Mar-a-Lago probe as the most perilous threat and the one most ripe for prosecution. Campaign aides had been bracing for the fallout since Trump's attorneys were notified that he was the target of the investigation, assuming it was not a matter of if charges would be brought, but when.
Enumerating the defense and foreign intelligence-related information included in the documents, prosecutors wrote that their &ldquo;unauthorized disclosure ... could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.&rdquo;

Trump indictment unsealed: former US president kept classified documents in bathroom 

The former US president has been accused of taking 300 classified documents to his estate after leaving the White House in 2021.&nbsp;

For the first time in the history of America, former US president Donald Trump has been indicted on charges of mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including those about the country&rsquo;s nuclear secrets and military plans after leaving the White House in 2021. &nbsp; &nbsp; Trump faces criminal charges by the federal US government he once oversaw. &nbsp; &nbsp; Indicted on 37 counts, Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, is accused of keeping about 300 classified files at his Florida estate. &nbsp; The indictment alleges that Trump tried to obstruct the probe into the handling of the documents after they were found in his estate. &nbsp; &nbsp; Trump faces the possibility of prison if convicted.

Trump indictment: charges against him and jail sentence they carry | Explained

The move, which temporarily halted core aspects of the Justice Department's investigative work, was overturned months later by a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court.&nbsp;

The federal indictment against Donald Trump accuses the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate after leaving the White House in 2021 and then scheming and lying to thwart government efforts to recover them.
Justice Department prosecutors brought 37 felony counts against Trump in the indictment, relying upon photographs from Mar-a-Lago, surveillance video, text messages between staffers, Trump's own words, those of his lawyers, and other evidence.
An aide to Trump, Walt Nauta, was charged as a co-conspirator with six felony counts.
Trump says he is innocent and has decried the criminal case &mdash; the second indictment against him in a matter of months &mdash; as an attempt by his political opponents to hinder his 2024 campaign. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Tuesday in Miami.
Here are key takeaways from the indictment unsealed Friday: What are the charges? Trump faces 37 felony counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information under the Espionage Act. Other charges include: conspiracy to obstruct justice; corruptly concealing a document or record; concealing a document in a federal investigation; and making false statements.
Each of the willful retention counts pertains to a specific classified document found at Mar-A-Lago marked &ldquo;SECRET&rdquo; or &ldquo;TOP SECRET." Topics addressed in the documents include details about US nuclear weapons, the nuclear capabilities of a foreign country and the military activities or capabilities of other countries.
The conspiracy charges deal with Trump's alleged attempts to hide documents from his lawyer or federal investigators. The false statement charges stem from Trump causing his lawyer to tell the FBI that no more classified documents were at Mar-a-Lago &mdash; but then the FBI later found more than 100 documents during an August 2022 search.
The most serious charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each. But judges have discretion and, if convicted, first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence. Being a former president would also likely be a major consideration in any sentencing.
What is the alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice? The indictment accuses Trump and Nauta of conspiring to hide the secret documents from the grand jury, which in May 2022 issued a subpoena for him to turn them over.
The conspiracy allegation included a suggestion from Trump that has lawyer falsely tell investigators that the former president didn't have any more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. It also involved moving boxes to hide the secret documents from Trump's lawyer, and suggesting that Trump's lawyer hide or destroy documents that investigators were seeking.
The indictment says that, at Trump's direction, Nauta moved about 64 boxes of documents from a Mar-a-Lago storage room to the former president's residence in May 2022. He then returned 'approximately 30 boxes'' to the storage room on June 2 &mdash; the same day Trump's legal team came to examine the boxes and search for classified documents to return to the government, the indictment says.
Nauta had a brief phone call with Trump before returning those boxes, the indictment says. Neither Trump nor Nauta told the former president's lawyers that Nauta had moved any of the storage room contents, the indictment says.
Is Trump accused of sharing classified information? The indictment alleges that Trump showed classified documents to people who didn't have security clearances on two occasions.
The court papers detail a meeting Trump had in July 2021 with a writer and publisher about an upcoming book. Trump told the pair &ldquo;look what I found" and showed them what he described as a senior military official's &ldquo;plan of attack," according to an audio recording of that conversation obtained by investigators.
Trump acknowledged during that meeting that the document was &ldquo;highly confidential&rdquo; and &ldquo;secret information," the indictment says. He also says that he could have declassified the document if he was still president.
&ldquo;Now I can't, you know, but this is still a secret," he said, according to the indictment.
A few months later, Trump showed a representative of his political action committee a classified map of a foreign country while discussing a military operation in the country that was not going well, the indictment says. Trump acknowledged that he shouldn't be showing the map to the person and told him not to get too close, prosecutors allege.
What evidence do prosecutors have? In addition to the audio recording, prosecutors also relied upon text messages between Trump employees, photos of boxes of documents stored in various rooms throughout Mar-a-Lago and details about conversations between Trump and his lawyers that were memorialized by one of them.
In one conversation with his lawyers, Trump said: &ldquo;I don't want anybody looking through my boxes.&rdquo; Trump also asked one of his lawyers if it would be better &ldquo;if we just told them we don't have anything here,&rdquo; the indictment says.
Photographs in the indictment show boxes stacked on a stage in a ballroom as well as in a bathroom. Another shows boxes that spilt over in a storage room, including a document marked &ldquo;SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY,&rdquo; which means information releasable only to members of the &ldquo;Five Eyes&rdquo; intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Where will the case be heard? While Trump's first court appearance on Tuesday is expected to be in front of a magistrate judge in Miami, the case was filed in West Palm Beach &mdash; about 70 miles to the north. The case was assigned to Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, who issued rulings favourable to him last year and expressed repeated scepticism of Justice Department positions.
Cannon was broadly criticised last year for granting the Trump legal team's request for a special master to conduct an independent review of the hundreds of classified documents seized from his Florida property last year.

Miracle in Amazon: 4 kids who were missing since 40 days after plane crash found alive

The president said the youngsters are an &ldquo;example of survival&rdquo; and predicted their saga &ldquo;will remain in history.&rdquo;

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said that authorities found alive four children who survived a small plane crash 40 days ago and had been the subject of an intense search in the Amazon jungle that held Colombians on edge.
The children were alone when searchers found them and are now receiving medical attention, Petro told reporters upon his return to Bogota from Cuba, where he signed a cease-fire agreement with representatives of the National Liberation Army rebel group.
&nbsp;The crash happened in the early hours of May 1, when the Cessna single-engine propeller plane with six passengers and a pilot declared an emergency due to an engine failure.
The small aircraft fell off the radar a short time later and a frantic search for survivors began. The three adults were killed, and their bodies were found in the area.

Trump showed ‘plan to attack unnamed nation’ to ‘guest at his golf club’ 

The report noted that Trump showed the plan to wage war against an unnamed country to an unknown writer while other people were also present.&nbsp;

According to an indictment charging Donald Trump with federal crimes, the former US president in July 2021 showed a secret plan to attack an unnamed nation to his guests at his golf club in New Jersey&rsquo;s Bedminster.&nbsp; &nbsp; A Bloomberg report noted that Trump, after demitting office, showed the secret plan to an unidentified writer, a publisher and two of his staff members at the golf course. &nbsp; &nbsp; Trump told his guests that the plan of attack was prepared for him by the Department of Defense and a senior military official, and as president, he could have declassified the document he was showing.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

The worse-than-expected figures come as inflation and higher interest rates have curbed demand in Europe's largest economy

Eurozone entered a recession at the beginning of 2023 

The worse-than-expected figures come as inflation and higher interest rates have curbed demand in Europe's largest economy

The eurozone entered into a technical recession at the start of the year, shrinking by 0.1 percent for a second consecutive quarter, figures from the EU's statistic agency showed Thursday.
Eurostat revised down an earlier forecast that had predicted slight growth after economic powerhouse Germany said last month it had fallen into recession.
The worse-than-expected figures come as inflation and higher interest rates have curbed demand in Europe's largest economy.
Eurostat cut its earlier estimate of 0 per cent growth in the final quarter of 2022 and 0.1 percent growth in the first quarter of 2023 to 0.1 percent contractions in both periods.
Two consecutive quarters of shrinking gross domestic product is the threshold for a technical recession.
The bad news comes after a painful year for European economies as surging energy prices sparked by Russia's war on Ukraine sent inflation spiralling.
The European Central Bank has responded by hiking its key rates by 3.75 percentage points since embarking on an unprecedented campaign of monetary tightening in July last year.
The latest figures cast doubt over more optimistic predictions for the whole of 2023.
The European Commission forecast in mid-May that growth for the year would reach 1.1 percent across the 20 countries that use the single currency.

Admission letters of several Indian students to Canadian universities were found fake

Fake admission scam: Canadian panel asks authorities to stop deportation of Indian students

Fake admission scam: Canadian panel asks authorities to stop the deportation of Indian students

Admission letters of several Indian students to Canadian universities were found fake

A Canadian parliamentary committee has voted unanimously to urge the border services agency to stop the deportation of nearly 700 Indian students who were duped by unscrupulous education consultants in India to enter the country with "fraudulent college admission letters."
The Indian students, mostly from Punjab, face deportation from Canada after the authorities here found their &ldquo;admission offer letters&rdquo; to educational institutions fake. The matter came to light in March when these students applied for permanent residency in Canada.
In a symbolic move, the all-party immigration committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to call on the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to waive the inadmissibility of the affected students, The Toronto Star newspaper reported.
The committee also asked the CBSA to provide the students, as many as 700 from India, with an alternative pathway to permanent residence on humanitarian grounds or through a &ldquo;regularisation&rdquo; programme, the report said.
Calling the students victims of fraud, Jenny Kwan, a lawmaker who tabled the motion said, "So as a first step, this is absolutely essential and necessary. The students are victims of fraud and should not be penalised.&rdquo; &ldquo;These students, I&rsquo;ve met with many of them, now are just in such a terrible state. They&rsquo;ve lost money, and they are stuck in a terrible situation. And some of them have deportation orders. Others have pending meetings with CBSA,&rdquo; the newspaper quoted Kwan as saying.
&ldquo;We need to have empathy for those students, and we should not exploit the situation and play politics on this issue of those innocent students,&rdquo; Liberal MP Shafqat Ali said.
The MP for Brampton Centre, where many affected students now reside, added that the students have "gone through and are going through a lot".

The case may be one of the most serious legal threats to Trump's re-election bid.

Donald Trump indicted in classified documents case: watch for details

The case may be one of the most serious legal threats to Trump's re-election bid.

In a new ignominious first for Donald Trump, the former US President announced on June 8, 2023, that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate.
This case is the first-ever federal indictment of an ex-President, as per reports.
It could turn out to be one of the biggest legal threats to Trump's attempt to win the 2024 Presidential election.
&nbsp;

In a word of caution for the US justice system he said that it is very important that it rebuts what appears to be differential enforcement

Elon Musk backs Donald Trump after ex-US president's indictment in classified documents case

Elon Musk has tweeted in support of Donald Trump after the former US president was indicted in a classified documents case. 

In a word of caution for the US justice system he said that it is very important that it rebuts what appears to be differential enforcement

Elon Musk has tweeted in support of Donald Trump after the former US president claimed he has been indicted over his handling of classified documents at his Florida estate.&nbsp;
'There does seem to be a far higher interest in pursuing Trump compared to other people in politics,' the Twitter boss tweeted.&nbsp;
Musk also had a word of caution for the US justice system.
'Very important that the justice system rebut what appears to be differential enforcement or they will lose public trust,' he added.&nbsp;

An inquiry was launched against the teacher at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California after students' guardians filed complaints.

USA: teacher talks sex toys, sexual pleasure in class; sent on leave

An inquiry was launched against the teacher at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California after students' guardians filed complaints.

A school teacher in the US has been sent on leave after allegedly telling students about sex toys and sexual pleasure.
Judy Rehburg of El Dorado High School in Placentia, California was reportedly captured on camera secretly while talking about sexual topics.
She mentioned how sex toys are readily available at general retailers.
An inquiry was launched against the physiology teacher after parents filed complaints.

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Zomato receives backlash

Survivors walked around dazed and in shock as they broke through debris and fallen trees with chain saws, searching for survivors.

Storms wreak destruction in southern US, at least 26 killed

Rescuers raced Saturday to search for survivors and help hundreds of people left homeless after a powerful tornado cut a devastating path through Mississippi,

Survivors walked around dazed and in shock as they broke through debris and fallen trees with chain saws, searching for survivors.

Rescuers raced Saturday to search for survivors and help hundreds of people left homeless after a powerful tornado cut a devastating path through Mississippi, killing at least 25 people, injuring dozens, and flattening entire blocks as it carved a path of destruction for more than an hour. One person was killed in Alabama.
The tornado devastated a swath of the Mississippi Delta town of Rolling Fork, reducing homes to piles of rubble, flipping cars on their sides and toppling the town's water tower.&nbsp;
Other parts of the Deep South were digging out from damage caused by other suspected twisters.
Throughout Saturday, survivors walked around dazed and in shock as they broke through debris and fallen trees with chain saws, searching for survivors. Power lines were pinned under decades-old oaks, their roots torn from the ground.
Also Watch: <a href="https://www.editorji.com/india-news/indian-journalist-in-us-alleges-physical-assault-by-khalistani-supporters-1679798774006">Indian journalist in US alleges physical assault by Khalistani supporters</a>

Tehran claims that Fattah can bypass the most advanced anti-ballistic missile systems in the world including Israel’s Iron Dome. 

'400 seconds to Tel Aviv': Iran threatens Israel as it shows off new missile

Iran unveiled 'Fattah', its new hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound on June 6.  

Tehran claims that Fattah can bypass the most advanced anti-ballistic missile systems in the world including Israel&rsquo;s Iron Dome.&nbsp;

Iran unveiled 'Fattah', its new hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound on June 6. &nbsp;Along with the unveiling billboards went up on the streets of Tehran with a message for Israel.
The billboard with a picture of the Fattah missile carries a message in Hebrew and Arabic saying '400 seconds to Tel Aviv'. The posters are in line with claims of Iranian generals that the missile can reach the Israeli capital in 400 seconds.
Iran has claimed that Fattah can bypass the most advanced anti-ballistic missile systems including Israel&rsquo;s Iron Dome.&nbsp;
Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defence systems because of their speed and manoeuvrability.
Unlike conventional ballistic missiles, hypersonic ones fly on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, enabling them to reach their targets more quickly and with less chance of being intercepted by modern air defences.
(with agency inputs)

Following a currency devaluation in January, the rupee has depreciated by over 20 per cent this year, rendering it one of the weakest performers globally

Pakistan economy crisis: PM Sharif hopes to strike IMF deal as 'all conditions met' 

Following a currency devaluation in January, the rupee has depreciated by over 20 per cent this year, rendering it one of the weakest performers globally

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday hoped the IMF would resume the stalled USD 6.7 billion bailout programme as his country has already met all prior conditions set by the global lender despite economic hardships.
The premier's remarks came as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented a PKR 14 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, which the government claims to have shared with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The budget needs to satisfy the IMF to secure the release of more bailout money for the cash-strapped Pakistan, which is due to hold a general election by November.
"The ninth review will be complete soon," Sharif said during his address to the federal cabinet of the coalition government, which presented its second budget.
Referring to the devastating floods triggered by climate change, he said it inflicted losses worth over USD 30 billion on the country's economy.
He added that the Ukraine crisis also pushed the prices of commodities in the international market.
"A country&rsquo;s sound economic growth is linked with its political stability," the premier said, adding that without political stability, even billions of budget could not make a difference in improving the economic situation.
The government, he further said, is cognisant of the problems being faced by the common man due to inflation. "We have to take care of the salaried class as well as the pensioners so that they can meet their basic requirements." He maintained that for the last 14 months, the government since assumption of power was to deal with the challenge of the IMF, the post-flood situation and global inflation.
Sharif also expressed satisfaction that the current deficit in 10 months was reduced to USD 3.3 billion and hoped that the agriculture sector would boost.
Dar has declared a 3.5 per cent GDP growth target for the next year.
The government has spun into action to put brakes on the "undesirable" outflow of foreign currency from Pakistan and promote transparency in foreign currency transactions conducted by exchange companies.
Washington-based IMF has said it is collaborating with Pakistani authorities to address concerns related to the country's currency market and other matters before resuming the ongoing bailout programme, which is scheduled to conclude this month.
Following a currency devaluation in January, the rupee has depreciated by over 20 per cent this year, rendering it one of the weakest performers globally.
The nation&rsquo;s dollar stockpile has remained stable at about USD 4 billion since late February, after falling more than 50 per cent in the past 12 months.
Funds will be crucial to prop up the economy beset by supply shortages and avert a sovereign default, with billions of dollars of debt payments approaching.
The economic situation has never been so grim in a country which since independence has thrice seen military coups and the ouster of elected governments.
Cash-strapped Pakistan&rsquo;s economy has been in a free fall mode for the last many years, bringing untold pressure on the poor masses in the form of unchecked inflation, making it almost impossible for a vast number of people to make ends meet. Their woes increased manyfold after last year&rsquo;s catastrophic floods that killed more than 1,700 people and caused massive economic losses.

The two 18-metre-tall yellow ducks were installed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.

Somebody put 2 giant inflatable ducks in Hong Kong harbour. Find out who

Two inflatable giant ducks made a splash in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on Friday, marking the return of a pop-art project that sparked a frenzy in the city a decade ago.

The two 18-metre-tall yellow ducks were installed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman.

Two inflatable giant ducks made a splash in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on Friday, marking the return of a pop-art project that sparked a frenzy in the city a decade ago.
The two 18-metre tall yellow ducks by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman look like the bath toys many played with in their childhood.
Shortly after their launch, dozens of residents and tourists were already drawn to the promenade near the government headquarters in Admiralty, where they were stationed around, to take photos with them.
Hofman said he hopes the &ldquo;Double Ducks&rdquo; art exhibition would bring some joy to the city, helping people connect and make memories together.
&ldquo;Hong Kong really needs it, it&rsquo;s really craving for it. I mean, the pandemic really is one the topics why we bring it, because we need some joy," he said.
The two ducks will stay in Hong Kong for about two weeks, subject to weather conditions.
Hofman has been taking his Rubber Duck on a world tour since 2007.
At the promenade, many Hong Kongers recalled the happiness brought by his work in the shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui in 2013.
They said they were excited to see a pair of ducks on Friday, instead of just one giant duck like a decade ago.
&ldquo;There was only one duck last time...The ducks so adorable and are located so close to us this time,&rdquo; said resident Fu Tak-gor.
Among them was artist Laurence Lai, who brought brushes to make watercolour paintings of the ducks' arrival, as he said it provided good artistic opportunities for artists.
In 2013, many residents and tourists packed streets near the Tsim Sha Tsui pier to catch a glimpse of Hofman's duck. But it was once deflated during the display period and caused disappointment in the city.

Boris Johnson resigned after being informed of the results of a Parliamentary inquiry into Partygate

Ex-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson quits as MP

Boris Johnson resigned after being informed of the results of a Parliamentary inquiry into Partygate

Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that he's quitting as a lawmaker after being told he will be sanctioned for misleading Parliament.
Johnson quit after receiving the results of an investigation by lawmakers over misleading statements he made to Parliament about a slew of gatherings in government that breached pandemic lockdown rules.
In a statement, he accused opponents of trying to drive him out.
Johnson quit as prime minister in 2022 amid multiple scandals but remained a lawmaker.

Boris Johnson said he is bewildered and appalled that he can be anti-democratically forced out. 

'Not a single shred of evidence': Boris Johnson after quitting as MP over partygate scandal

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused a parliamentary committee probing the Partygate scandal of trying to drive him out after he stepped down as an MP on Friday. 

Boris Johnson said he is bewildered and appalled that he can be anti-democratically forced out.&nbsp;

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accused a parliamentary committee probing the Partygate scandal of trying to drive him out after he stepped down as an MP on Friday. He quit after receiving a report from the committee.&nbsp;
Full statement:&nbsp;
I have received a letter from the Privileges Committee making it clear - much to my amazement - that they are determined to use the proceedings against me to drive me out of Parliament.&nbsp;
They have still not produced a shred of evidence that I knowingly or recklessly misled the Commons.&nbsp;
They know perfectly well that when I spoke in the Commons, I was saying what I believed sincerely to be true and what I had been briefed to say, like any other minister. They know that I corrected the record as soon as possible; and they know that I and every other senior official and minister - including the current Prime Minister and then occupant of the same building, Rishi Sunak - believed that we were working lawfully together.&nbsp;
I have been an MP since 2001. I take my responsibilities seriously. I did not lie, and I believe that in their hearts, the Committee know it. But they have wilfully chosen to ignore the truth because from the outset, their purpose has not been to discover the truth, or genuinely to understand what was in my mind when I spoke in the Commons.&nbsp;
Their purpose from the beginning has been to find me guilty, regardless of the facts. This is the very definition of a kangaroo court.&nbsp;
Most members of the Committee - especially the chair - had already expressed deeply prejudicial remarks about my guilt before they had even seen the evidence. They should have recused themselves.&nbsp;
In retrospect, it was na&iuml;ve and trusting of me to think that these proceedings could be remotely useful or fair. But I was determined to believe in the system, and in justice, and to vindicate what I knew to be the truth.
It was the same faith in the impartiality of our systems that led me to commission Sue Gray. It is clear that my faith has been misplaced. Of course, it suits the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the SNP to do whatever they can to remove me from Parliament.&nbsp;
Sadly, as we saw in July last year, there are currently some Tory MPs who share that view. I am not alone in thinking that there is a witch hunt underway, to take revenge for Brexit and ultimately to reverse the 2016 referendum result.&nbsp;
My removal is the necessary first step, and I believe there has been a concerted attempt to bring it about. I am afraid I no longer believe that it is any coincidence that Sue Gray - who investigated gatherings in Number 10 - is now the chief of staff designate of the Labour leader.&nbsp;
Nor do I believe that it is any coincidence that her supposedly impartial chief counsel, Daniel Stilitz KC, turned out to be a strong Labour supporter who repeatedly tweeted personal attacks on me and the government. &nbsp;
When I left office last year, the government was only a handful of points behind in the polls. That gap has now massively widened.&nbsp;
Just a few years after winning the biggest majority in almost half a century, that majority is now clearly at risk.&nbsp;
Our party needs urgently to recapture its sense of momentum and its belief in what this country can do.&nbsp;
We need to show how we are making the most of Brexit and we need in the next months to be setting out a pro-growth and pro-investment agenda. We need to cut business and personal taxes - and not just as pre-election gimmicks - rather than endlessly putting them up.&nbsp;
We must not be afraid to be a properly Conservative government.&nbsp;
Why have we so passively abandoned the prospect of a Free Trade Deal with the US? Why have we junked measures to help people to house or to scrap EU directives or to promote animal welfare?&nbsp;
We need to deliver on the 2019 manifesto, which was endorsed by 14 million people. We should remember that more than 17 million voted for Brexit.&nbsp;
I am now being forced out of Parliament by a tiny handful of people, with no evidence to back up their assertions, and without the approval even of Conservative party members, let alone the wider electorate.
I believe that a dangerous and unsettling precedent is being set.&nbsp;
The Conservative Party has the time to recover its mojo and its ambition and to win the next election. I had looked forward to providing enthusiastic support as a backbench MP. Harriet Harman's committee has set out to make that objective completely untenable.
The Committee's report is riddled with inaccuracies and reeks of prejudice, but under their absurd and unjust process, I have no formal ability to challenge anything they say.&nbsp;
The Privileges Committee is there to protect the privileges of Parliament. That is a very important job. They should not be using their powers - which have only been very recently designed - to mount what is plainly a political hit job on someone they oppose.&nbsp;
It is in no one's interest, however, that the process the Committee has launched should continue for a single day further.&nbsp;
So I have today written to my Association in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to say that I am stepping down forthwith and triggering an immediate by-election.&nbsp;
I am very sorry to leave my wonderful constituency. It has been a huge honour to serve them, both as Mayor and MP.
But I am proud that after what is cumulatively a 15-year stint, I have helped to deliver, among other things, a vast new railway in the Elizabeth Line and full funding for a wonderful new state-of-the-art hospital for Hillingdon, where enabling works have already begun.&nbsp;
I also remain hugely proud of all that we achieved in my time in office as prime minister: getting Brexit done, winning the biggest majority for 40 years and delivering the fastest vaccine rollout of any major European country, as well as leading global support for Ukraine.&nbsp;
It is very sad to be leaving Parliament - at least for now - but above all, I am bewildered and appalled that I can be forced out, anti-democratically, by a committee chaired and managed, by Harriet Harman, with such egregious bias.
&nbsp;

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