A former aide to Priti Patel received a £25,000 payout from the government after claiming she was bullied by the then employment minister.

Legal correspondence seen by the BBC alleges the woman took an overdose of prescription medicine following the alleged incident in 2015.

The DWP did not admit liability and the case did not come before a tribunal.

Ms Patel is facing allegations - which she denies - that she mistreated staff in her new role as home secretary.

Sir Philip Rutnam, the Home Office's most senior official, resigned on Saturday alleging Ms Patel's conduct towards staff included "swearing, belittling people, making unreasonable and repeated demands".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51705069

>>8302706

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/08/priti-patel-israel-trip-analysis-uk-foreign-policy

To Israeli officials her private visit would have seemed like a gift, not least because those involved would have been immediately aware that, unaccompanied by diplomats, Patel was operating freelance.

Embedded in the more humdrum elements of her tour were three key encounters. The first was with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was “interested” in meeting her, officials told the Guardian.

Also significant were meetings with Yuval Rotem, the director general of Israel’s foreign ministry (a key appointment for Netanyahu, who is also Israel’s foreign minister), and Gilad Erdan, the abrasive minister from Netanyahu’s Likud party, who is in charge of public security, strategic affairs and information.

>>8302819

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/07/priti-patel-wanted-to-send-aid-money-to-israeli-army-no-10-confirms

This article is more than 2 years old

Priti Patel clinging on after details of more Israel meetings emerge

This article is more than 2 years old

International development secretary failed to inform PM about discussions on plan to send funds to Israeli army

The international development secretary was already facing demands she should quit the post after failing to come clean with Theresa May over 12 other meetings she has held with senior Israeli figures, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sources from the Department for International Development (DfID) confirmed on Tuesday night that Patel held further meetings in September with Israeli government officials without adhering to proper procedures.

On 7 September, she met Gilad Erdan, the minister for public security, and was photographed with him on the House of Commons terrace.

On 18 September, while in New York, Patel met Yuval Rotem, an official from the Israeli foreign ministry.

Neither meeting was set up or reported in a way which accorded with proper procedures, sources said.

The disclosures add to the pressure upon Patel, who was forced to apologise for holding the 12 undisclosed meetings without government officials present whileon a family holiday in August.

As the accusations against her mounted, Patel had already faced censure from Downing Street on Tuesday night, after it emerged she had failed to inform the prime minister of departmental discussions over plans to send aid money to the Israeli army to support humanitarian operations in the Golan Heights.

She was also rebuked by No 10 after giving the false impression in an interview with the Guardian that foreign secretary Boris Johnson and the Foreign Office knew about the meetings.

At 13 out of a total of 14 meetings with Israeli officials over August and September, she was accompanied by Lord Polak, a lobbyist and a leading member of Conservative Friends of Israel.

No 10 on Tuesday said Patel had not informed the prime minister about the “aid to Israel” discussions at a crunch meeting on Monday which was supposed to draw a line under the row.

>>8302854

Patel quit in November 2017 after it emerged that she held a series of meeting with Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — about allocating aid to the Israeli army’s Syrian relief efforts, without properly informing the government.

Patel had apologized for holding 12 separate meetings during a family holiday to Israel in August of that year without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/priti-patel-previously-ousted-over-israel-meetings-named-uk-home-secretary/

Here we go again ….

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51707958

The Turkish president has warned that "millions" of migrants and refugees will soon head towards Europe.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking after announcing Turkey could no longer enforce a 2016 deal with the EU to prevent migrants entering Europe.

Mr Erdogan said Turkey could not cope with a new wave of refugees after an escalation of the Syrian conflict.

A young boy died when a boat capsized off the Greek island of Lesbos on Monday, Greek police said.

It was the first reported fatality since Turkey opened its border last week.

Meanwhile, a Turkish official accused the Greek authorities of killing a Syrian man who was trying to breach the border on Monday. Athens denied the allegation.

An unverified video showed a man on the ground with blood on his neck.

https://www.businessinsider.com/hungary-greece-closing-borders-asylum-seekers-coronavirus-2020-3?r=US&IR=T

Hungary and Greece are closing their borders to asylum seekers amid the coronavirus outbreak, both countries announced Sunday.

Hungary's chief security advisor said applications from asylum seekers were indefinitely suspended due to coronavirus, citing concerns about people coming in from Iran; and Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the country would stop accepting new asylum applications for one month.

Greece's announcement came during clashes at its border after Turkey said it would allow migrants to cross over into Europe.

Countries are boosting travel restrictions amid the outbreak, and some have barred entry to foreign nationals who've traveled in the last 14 days to coronavirus hotspots such as China, Iran, South Korea, and Italy.

How the hell did she get this in prison ?

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/feb/29/nazanin-zaghari-ratcliffe-family-believe-she-has-coronavirus

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman detained in Iran, is suspected to have the coronavirus, her family has said.

The Free Nazanin Campaign said that although there were reports of at least one coronavirus-related inmate death inside Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, staff had refused to test her.

In a statement issued via the campaign, Zaghari-Ratcliffe said: “I am not good. I feel very bad in fact. It is a strange cold. Not like usual. I know the kinds of cold I normally have, how my body reacts.

“This is different. I am just as bad as I was. I often get better after three days. But with this there is no improvement. I haven’t got one bit better.”