LONDON: The late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat intended to relinquish power but he was assassinated before he could do so, secret British documents reveal.
A report sent by the British ambassador in Cairo Sir Michael Weir in 1981 that the BBC has obtained states that Sadat was very serious about his desire to resign.
The late president expressed his intention to retire on April 25, 1981 (Sinai liberation day), but was extremely popular and this could have influenced his decision not to resign, Weir wrote in his report.
The British ambassador sent his report 23 days after Sadat’s assassination and stated that he met the late Egyptian president five months before he died. During the meeting, a prominent British leader tried to persuade Sadat to make another visit to Jerusalem.
According to the report, Sir Michael Weir, three British military attachés, and their wives attended the military parade in during which Sadat was assassinated.
UK secret documents: Sadat intended to step down prior to assassination
UK secret documents: Sadat intended to step down prior to assassination
UK entrepreneur says people who disagree with his Palestine solidarity should not shop at his stores
UK entrepreneur says people who disagree with his Palestine solidarity should not shop at his stores
- Mark Constantine shut all British branches of cosmetics retailer Lush earlier this year in solidarity with Gaza
- ‘I don’t think being compassionate has a political stance,’ he tells the BBC
LONDON: A British cosmetics entrepreneur has told people who disagree with his support for Palestine not to shop at his businesses.
Mark Constantine is the co-founder and CEO of the Lush chain of cosmetic stores, which temporarily closed all of its UK outlets earlier this year in an act of solidarity with the people of Gaza.
He told the BBC that people should be “kind, sympathetic and compassionate,” that those who are “unkind to others” would not “get on very well with me,” and that anyone who disagrees with his views “shouldn’t come into my shop.”
He told the “Big Boss Interview” podcast: “I’m often called left wing because I’m interested in compassion. I don’t think being compassionate has a political stance.
“I think being kind, being sympathetic, being compassionate is something we’re all capable of and all want to do in certain areas.”
In September, every branch of Lush in the UK, as well as the company’s website, were shut down to show solidarity for the people of Gaza.
A statement on the page where the website was hosted read: “Across the Lush business we share the anguish that millions of people feel seeing the images of starving people in Gaza, Palestine.”
Messages were also posted in the windows of all the shuttered stores, stating: “Stop starving Gaza, we are closed in solidarity.”
Constantine was asked if he thought his views on Gaza could harm his business, and whether people might decide not to deal with him as a result.
“You shouldn’t come into my shop (if you don’t agree),” he said. “Because I’m going to take those profits you’re giving me and I’m going to do more of that — so you absolutely shouldn’t support me.
“The only problem is, who are you going to support? And what are you supporting when you do that? What is your position?”
