LONDON: A former chairman of the Conservative Party has switched her support from the Leave campaign to Remain.
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi told the Times the “hate and xenophobia” of the Leave campaign was “a step too far.”
She said she realized she could no longer support Leave when she saw UKIP’s “breaking point” anti-EU poster.
Meanwhile, British lawmakers gathered Monday to honor a murdered colleague, attempting a rare show of unity in a heated, neck-and-neck race for votes three days before the referendum.
As the battle raged over Thursday’s vote that could change the course of post-war Europe, latest polls showed the “Remain” camp gaining ground.
Financial markets rallied as Brexit concerns eased, at least temporarily. The pound surged and Europe’s major stock markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris gained more than three percent in morning trade.
“A higher chance of the UK voting to stay is a relief for markets,” said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets.
Politicians from both sides of the fight returned to parliament, which had been in recess, to pay tribute to Jo Cox, a campaigner in favor of EU membership who was shot and killed last week in a village street in northern England.
Her alleged killer, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, was due in court on Monday after being charged at the weekend with murder.
The image of unity did not last long.
Top pro-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), accused his rivals of unashamedly using Cox’s death to boost their cause.
“The ‘Remain’ camp are using these awful circumstances to try to say that the motives of one deranged, dangerous individual were similar of half the country or perhaps more who believe we should leave the EU,” he told the BBC.
If Britain leaves the EU, it would be the first nation to do so in the bloc’s 60-year history.
The British referendum has opened the prospect of other nations demanding a vote, too, perhaps placing in peril the very survival of the European project, which was born out of a determination to forge lasting peace after two world wars.
While the “Remain” camp has tried to focus on the potential economic damage that Brexit could inflict, the “Leave” campaign held out the promise of Britain taking better control of mass immigration if it leaves the EU.
Farage, however, has had to fend off attacks over his release last week of a campaign poster, which showed scores of refugees trudging through fields toward the camera with a bold, red headline “Breaking Point.”
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Warsi quits Brexit camp, citing ‘xenophobia’
Warsi quits Brexit camp, citing ‘xenophobia’
More than 200 political prisoners in Venezuela launch hunger strike
GUATIRE: More than 200 Venezuelan political prisoners were on hunger strike Sunday to demand their release under a new amnesty law that excludes many of them.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
The inmates at the Rodeo I prison, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) east of capital Caracas, shouted to their loved ones as part of the protest, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“Freedom!,” “release us all!” and “Rodeo I on strike” were among the cries from the prisoners that were audible from outside the facility.
The amnesty law was approved by Venezuela’s congress on Thursday as part of a wave of reforms encouraged by the United States after it ousted and captured former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The hunger strike, which began Friday night, came about after inmates complained they would not benefit from the law because it excludes cases involving the military, which are the most common ones at that facility.
“Approximately 214 people in total, including Venezuelans and foreigners, are on hunger strike,” said Yalitza Garcia, mother-in-law of a prisoner named Nahuel Agustin Gallo.
Gallo, an Argentine police officer, is accused of terrorism, another category that is excluded.
“They decided Friday to go on hunger strike because of the scope of the amnesty law, which excludes many of them,” said Shakira Ibarreto, the daughter of a policeman arrested in 2024.
On Sunday, a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited the Rodeo I prison.
“This is the first time they have allowed us to approach that prison,” Filippo Gatti, the ICRC’s health coordinator for Venezuela, told family members. “It’s a first step, and I think we’re on the right track.”
Not all the inmates at the prison were joining the hunger strike, the relatives said.
- Amnesty law criticized -
The amnesty law was engineered by interim leader Delcy Rodriguez under pressure from Washington after US commandos attacked Venezuela on January 3, snatched Maduro and his wife and took them to the United States for trial on drug trafficking charges.
Opposition figures have criticized the new legislation, which appears to include carve-outs for some offenses previously used by authorities to target Maduro’s political opponents.
The law also excludes members of the security forces convicted of activities related to what the government considered terrorism.
But the amnesty extends to 11,000 political prisoners who, over nearly three decades, were paroled or placed under house arrest.
More than 1,500 political prisoners in Venezuela have already applied for amnesty under the bill, the head of the country’s legislature said Saturday.
Hundreds of others had already been released by Rodriguez’s government before the amnesty bill was approved.
On Sunday, a handful of inmates were released from Rodeo I, carrying release papers in their hands. They were greeted with applause.
“I’m out, I love you so much, my queen! I’m doing well,” Robin Colina, one of the freed prisoners, said excitedly into a mobile phone.
Armando Fusil, another released prisoner, told AFP: “Right now there are quite a few people on hunger strike because they want to get out.”
The 55-year-old police commissioner from the western state of Maracaibo said he was “arrested for no reason” in October 2024.
He said loved ones came to visit him every Friday since his arrest, taking a nearly 40-hour trip just for a little bit of face time each week.
Now, they’re coming to pick him up for good.
“We all help each other,” Fusil said about his fellow detainees. “It’s created a beautiful brotherhood.”
The NGO Foro Penal, dedicated to the defense of political prisoners, reported 23 releases on Sunday.
Maduro ruled Venezuela between March 2013 and January 2026, silencing opposition and activists under his harsh leftist rule.
Maduro and his wife are in US custody awaiting trial. Maduro, 63, has pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges and declared that he is a prisoner of war.
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