Newcastle United’s Saudi Arabian ownership has been back in the spotlight after the Middle Eastern state carried out 81 executions last weekend.
The events sparked a debate in Parliament, with some MPs asking whether the PIF are “right and proper owners”.
Foreign Office Minister Amanda Milling gave a staunch defence of the investment group, saying: “The Saudi Public Investment Fund is a significant investor having invested billions in the UK and other Western markets. We welcome the purchase of Newcastle United, a sign that the UK remains a great place to invest.”
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Labour Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah told her colleagues she was wearing United’s colours and added: “I think it’s important to say that in utterly condemning this atrocious, horrific massacre, I speak for many, many of my constituents and Newcastle United fans. Does the Minister agree with me that whereas football fans have no control or influence over the ownership of their beloved clubs, and especially in a Premier League awash with dirty money, the UK Government has both control and influence in who it trades with and who engages with it.”
* Labour’s new leader in Newcastle has pledged “fresh ideas” for the city after winning the race to take over from Nick Forbes.
Nick Kemp claimed victory in a closely-contested leadership race last week, beating colleagues Clare Penny-Evans and Irim Ali to the top job. The Byker councillor, who had previously failed in a bid to oust his rival Coun Forbes last year, said it was a “privilege to be given responsibility to lead this great city” and that it was “essential” that Labour earns the trust of the Geordie public in a new era for the party.
After the vote among Newcastle City Council’s 52 Labour councillors on Monday, Coun Kemp is now the political leader of the group - but he will not become leader of the council until May, with Coun Forbes seeing out the remainder of his term in office.
The 53-year-old said in a statement: “We will be working as a team with fresh ideas, based on fundamental values of inclusivity and opportunity for all. We will be agents for change, setting clear objectives for the council’s amazing teams to deliver.”
* The creation of a new transport hub in North Shields has been given a £19m cash injection.
Local council leaders signed off on a major funding boost for the interchange project on Tuesday afternoon, a move hailed as a crucial step for the town’s regeneration. The huge hub is designed to bring all bus services in the town together in one location and closer to Metro, taxis and cycling infrastructure, as well as improving links between the town centre and the Fish Quay.
It was awarded more than £19m by the North East Joint Transport Committee as part of a range of schemes being paid for via the region’s allocation from the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund.
* A public inquiry will be needed if Newcastle leaders want to press ahead with long-held ambitions to pedestrianise one of the busiest parts of the city centre.
It was last week confirmed that opposition from bus companies over the bid to ban traffic from Blackett Street, which comes alongside concerns about the impact on elderly and disabled people, means that a Government planning inspector will have to rule on Newcastle City Council’s plans. Pedestrianising the busy bus route, as well as New Bridge Street West and the northern section of Pilgrim Street, has been one of the local authority’s key aims for years and forms part of a £50m vision to make the city centre a cleaner, greener environment.
But it has drawn the ire of the street’s main bus operator, Stagecoach, which is known to harbour “serious concerns” about the loss of access to the city centre for people who rely on bus travel. City council officials had been hopeful of securing an arrangement to placate the bus companies and allow them to go ahead with the pedestrianisation plan without the need for a lengthy and expensive inquiry process.
But hat has not come to fruition and the local authority’s cabinet will be asked tomorrow to approve the triggering of a public inquiry to settle the dispute.
* A “giant of the Labour movement” has announced his retirement from public life after more than five decades serving the people of Newcastle.
Jeremy Beecham, the city’s longest serving councillor and a former council leader, has been hailed as one of the most influential British politicians in modern history after confirming he is stepping down. The 77-year-old was first elected as a Labour councillor for Benwell in May 1967, when he was just 22, and has remained on the council ever since.
He served as leader of the local authority from 1977 to 1994, was knighted in 1994, awarded the Freedom of Newcastle in 1995, and appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2010. Announcing his retirement due to ill health on Thursday, Lord Beecham said: “I feel very honoured to have served on Newcastle City Council as a councillor for Benwell, and latterly Benwell and Scotswood, for the past 55 years. It has been a true privilege to have worked with Labour colleagues to address the needs of the ward and its people, especially those in most need of support.
“I will miss my connection with the people of Benwell and Scotswood and I am confident that my successor, together with my current colleagues, will continue to work hard on their behalf.”
* Hated plans for a giant 18-storey tower at the mouth of the Ouseburn look set to be redrawn, after a public backlash that has made it one of the most heavily opposed developments in Newcastle’s history.
Thousands of objections are thought to have been lodged against the controversial proposals for the apartment complex on Malmo Quay, which has been branded a “monstrosity” an “ugly” eyesore by furious locals. The plans would also involve more homes being built around the 223ft tower and on neighbouring Spillers Quay, as well as the popular Cycle Hub being demolished and relocated.
But after the overwhelming opposition to the project, developers now say they will reconsider their designs. PfP igloo, the organisation behind the scheme, says it has asked Newcastle City Council to “put a hold” on its application and will work with Scandinavian architects White Arkitekter to “examine options to respond to feedback gathered during consultation”.
