Boris Johnson has appointed three Indian-origin leaders, including Priti Patel as Home Secretary, in his top ministerial team in what has been dubbed as Britain's most diverse Cabinet, after he took over as the new prime minister with a pledge.

Boris Johnson reshuffles Cabinet, 3 Indian-origin ministers in UK Cabinet

Britain’s new Prime Minister <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/british-pm-johnson-overhauls-cabinet-with-brexit-hardliners-238286">Boris Johnson</a> named Priti Patel as interior minister, marking a political comeback for the former international development minister.

Priti Patel replaces Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid, who moves to the Treasury department as the first ethnic minority Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Home Secretary by our new Prime Minister @borisjohnson. Looking forward to working @ukhomeoffice to prepare our Country for leaving the EU, leading on matters of national security &amp; public safety &amp; keeping our borders secure," Patel tweeted, in reference to her new job at the helm of the UK Home Office.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Home Secretary by our new Prime Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@borisjohnson</a>. Looking forward to working <a href="https://twitter.com/ukhomeoffice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ukhomeoffice</a> to prepare our Country for leaving the EU, leading on matters of national security &amp; public safety &amp; keeping our borders secure.
— Priti Patel MP (@patel4witham) <a href="https://twitter.com/patel4witham/status/1154140566294335488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2019</a></blockquote>
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1: Patel, 47, resigned as International Development minister in November 2017 over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials that breached diplomatic protocol.

2: She campaigned to leave the European Union in 2016, and since leaving government has been an outspoken critic of former Prime Minister Theresa May’s approach to Brexit.

3: Earlier this week, Patel, who also served as a junior Treasury minister, released a report on the British economy arguing for lower taxes and for a new Bank of England mandate more focused on asset price inflation and financial imbalances.

4: Patel is English-born to Indian parents. In the EU referendum campaign, she launched an appeal to “Save the British Curry” which argued that a post-Brexit immigration system would be fairer to those from outside the EU and ease a shortage of chefs for Indian restaurants in Britain.

5: Former British leader David Cameron touted Patel as Britain’s first Indian-heritage prime minister during a huge rally at Wembley stadium in 2015 to mark the visit of Indian leader Narendra Modi.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson named Priti Patel as interior minister, marking a political comeback for the former international development minister.

Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson named Priti Patel as interior minister, marking a political comeback for the former international development minister. Priti Patel replaces Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid, who moves to the Treasury department as the first ethnic minority Chancellor of the Exchequer. "I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Home Secretary by our new Prime Minister @borisjohnson. Looking forward to working @ukhomeoffice to prepare our Country for leaving the EU, leading on matters of national security & public safety & keeping our borders secure," Patel tweeted, in reference to her new job at the helm of the UK Home Office. I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Home Secretary by our new Prime Minister @borisjohnson. Looking forward to working @ukhomeoffice to prepare our Country for leaving the EU, leading on matters of national security & public safety & keeping our borders secure. — Priti Patel MP (@patel4witham) July 24, 2019 × 1: Patel, 47, resigned as International Development minister in November 2017 over undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials that breached diplomatic protocol. 2: She campaigned to leave the European Union in 2016, and since leaving government has been an outspoken critic of former Prime Minister Theresa May’s approach to Brexit. 3: Earlier this week, Patel, who also served as a junior Treasury minister, released a report on the British economy arguing for lower taxes and for a new Bank of England mandate more focused on asset price inflation and financial imbalances. 4: Patel is English-born to Indian parents. In the EU referendum campaign, she launched an appeal to “Save the British Curry” which argued that a post-Brexit immigration system would be fairer to those from outside the EU and ease a shortage of chefs for Indian restaurants in Britain. 5: Former British leader David Cameron touted Patel as Britain’s first Indian-heritage prime minister during a huge rally at Wembley stadium in 2015 to mark the visit of Indian leader Narendra Modi.

Five facts about Priti Patel, UK's first Indian-origin home secretary

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/british-pm-johnson-overhauls-cabinet-with-brexit-hardliners-238286">British Prime Minister Boris Johnson</a> will meet his Brexiteer-dominated team of senior ministers for the first time on Thursday to plot how to persuade the European Union to agree to a new Brexit deal ahead of the Oct. 31 exit deadline.

Johnson's dramatic rise to Britain's top job sets the world's fifth-largest economy up for a showdown with the EU and a potential constitutional crisis or election at home, as lawmakers have vowed to thwart a no-deal Brexit.

Britain's new leader promised to do a new Brexit deal with the bloc within less than 99 days but warned that if EU leaders refused what he termed a "remote possibility" then Britain would leave without a deal, "no ifs or buts".

"I am convinced that we can do a deal," Johnson, 55, said on arrival No. 10 Downing Street, the premier's official residence, after meeting Queen Elizabeth who requested he form a government.

Johnson bets that the threat of a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uks-liberal-democrats-elect-first-female-leader-jo-swinson-to-stop-brexit-237771">no-deal Brexit</a> will persuade the EU's biggest powers Germany and France to agree to revise the divorce deal that former Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to last November but failed to ratify.

The EU has so far repeatedly refused to countenance rewriting the Withdrawal Agreement part of the divorce deal but has said it could change the so-called "Political Declaration" on future ties.

The bloc has congratulated Johnson on his victory but was firm that it would not offer Britain better departure terms.

Sweeping Cull

Johnson, whose sported a sometimes shambolic persona in his rise to power, showed mettle in office, sweeping away his predecessor's government in one of the biggest culls of senior government jobs in recent British history.

"Night of the Blond Knives," said The Sun, Britain's most-read newspaper, about the colour of Johnson's dishevelled mop of hair. A total of 17 ministers in May's government either resigned or were sacked, creating a powerful new group of enemies in parliament.

Most of Johnson's senior appointees are Brexit supporters.

Sajid Javid, 49, was named as his finance minister. He is a eurosceptic who voted to remain in the 2016 referendum.

Others are avowed Brexiteers: Priti Patel was appointed interior minister, Dominic Raab was appointed foreign minister and Stephen Barclay remained as Brexit minister.

Johnson also appointed Dominic Cummings, the campaign director of the official Brexit Vote Leave campaign, as a senior adviser in Downing Street.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet his Brexiteer-dominated team of senior ministers for the first time on Thursday to plot how to persuade the European Union to agree to a new Brexit deal ahead of the Oct.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet his Brexiteer-dominated team of senior ministers for the first time on Thursday to plot how to persuade the European Union to agree to a new Brexit deal ahead of the Oct. 31 exit deadline. Johnson's dramatic rise to Britain's top job sets the world's fifth-largest economy up for a showdown with the EU and a potential constitutional crisis or election at home, as lawmakers have vowed to thwart a no-deal Brexit. Britain's new leader promised to do a new Brexit deal with the bloc within less than 99 days but warned that if EU leaders refused what he termed a "remote possibility" then Britain would leave without a deal, "no ifs or buts". "I am convinced that we can do a deal," Johnson, 55, said on arrival No. 10 Downing Street, the premier's official residence, after meeting Queen Elizabeth who requested he form a government. Johnson bets that the threat of a no-deal Brexit will persuade the EU's biggest powers Germany and France to agree to revise the divorce deal that former Prime Minister Theresa May agreed to last November but failed to ratify. The EU has so far repeatedly refused to countenance rewriting the Withdrawal Agreement part of the divorce deal but has said it could change the so-called "Political Declaration" on future ties. The bloc has congratulated Johnson on his victory but was firm that it would not offer Britain better departure terms. Sweeping Cull Johnson, whose sported a sometimes shambolic persona in his rise to power, showed mettle in office, sweeping away his predecessor's government in one of the biggest culls of senior government jobs in recent British history. "Night of the Blond Knives," said The Sun, Britain's most-read newspaper, about the colour of Johnson's dishevelled mop of hair. A total of 17 ministers in May's government either resigned or were sacked, creating a powerful new group of enemies in parliament. Most of Johnson's senior appointees are Brexit supporters. Sajid Javid, 49, was named as his finance minister. He is a eurosceptic who voted to remain in the 2016 referendum. Others are avowed Brexiteers: Priti Patel was appointed interior minister, Dominic Raab was appointed foreign minister and Stephen Barclay remained as Brexit minister. Johnson also appointed Dominic Cummings, the campaign director of the official Brexit Vote Leave campaign, as a senior adviser in Downing Street.

British PM Boris Johnson's top team meet to plot Brexit gambit

Priti Patel&rsquo;s ignominious departure from the UK cabinet after it emerged that she had held undeclared meetings with Israeli officials during a personal holiday exposes many flaws in her conduct. The commentariat tells us she showed a lack of judgement, a lack of awareness of due process and a willingness to conduct what, in effect, was her own foreign policy.

One word that hasn&rsquo;t come up so frequently is &ldquo;corruption&rdquo;. That&rsquo;s in many ways understandable. Corruption is generally understood in transactional terms with four key parts. An act is understood as corrupt if there is a (i) deliberate attempt (ii) to abuse (iii) entrusted power (iv) for some sort of private gain. Corruption is normally regarded as a process rather than an outcome and acts that tick all of those boxes are subsequently judged as such. That all of those terms can and do require some sort of external judgement to be made ensures that we can&rsquo;t talk about objective realities. We do, however, have a decent starting point for making sense of a complex world.

This understanding of corruption is, however, relatively new. Indeed, it&rsquo;s only in the past few decades that corruption has been understood in this form. Yet corruption has, of course, been around for as long as humans have sought to organise themselves. Aristotle, for example, argued corruption is a symbol of the dysfunctionality of states that have moved away from their &ldquo;pure&rdquo; state of being. For Aristotle and a number of his contemporaries, corruption has a clear moral dimension and that moral core is the very essence of corruption, leading inevitably to decay, degradation and ultimately state failure.

Why Rome fell

A similar logic has been used by historians such as Ramsay McMullen when they argue that the ever-deepening problem of corruption is the primary reason the Roman Empire fell.

MacMullen&rsquo;s thesis is straightforward and well documented: Corruption led successive governments to concentrate more on the need to generate private gains (of whatever sort) for themselves and their supporters, and less on the demands of running a large and complex empire. The moral core that characterised much of the thinking of Rome&rsquo;s founders had withered away over time; subsequent Roman leaders not only lost control of the government, but the government lost sight of what it existed to do. Even when it became apparent that corruption was at the core of the administration&rsquo;s work, attempts at reform came too late. Like cancer, corruption had penetrated too many parts of the public ethos.

The fall of Rome was also pivotal in Montesquieu&rsquo;s thinking on corruption (and state failure). He explained in detail how the virtuous thinking of Rome&rsquo;s founders helped it become an empire, but how the corruption of Rome&rsquo;s moral fibre ultimately brought the empire down. For Montesquieu and MacMullen, as well as many others, corruption was at the very core of Rome&rsquo;s descent into dissolution.

A question of morals

Corruption, no matter how it is defined, certainly has a moral dimension to it. That remains so regardless of the fact that many would prefer to couch their analysis, and, indeed, their prescriptions, in the language of rationality, interests, costs and benefits.

Much of the recent work on corruption &ndash; produced largely by those with the economist&rsquo;s mindset &ndash; has purposefully avoided the moral minefield and instead aspired to embrace some sort of objective understanding of corruption. That&rsquo;s ultimately unlikely to be a fruitful way forward in terms of actually fighting corruption in practice; morals drive understandings of what&rsquo;s appropriate and ignoring them doesn&rsquo;t mean that they simply go away.

Bringing issues of morality back into our analysis subsequently helps us comprehend much more about what we understand corruption to be as well as how (and, indeed, whether) we go about tackling it. The moral dimension to the corruption challenge, therefore, cannot be an optional extra.

It&rsquo;s with that in mind that the behaviour of Priti Patel is so interesting. There is little evidence to suggest that she might be guilty of corruption in the modern understanding of the term, but she certainly did do things that corruption analysts of yesteryear would recognise as falling into that category. At a push, one could certainly argue she broke the ministerial code and that&rsquo;s clearly a process violation. But it is really by looking at broader normative issues of what&rsquo;s right, why it&rsquo;s right and how we can recognise it as such do we really see why behaviour such as Patel&rsquo;s can be so corrosive.

Rome ultimately didn&rsquo;t fall because of the specific acts of one person. Rome&rsquo;s problems escalated over time as the moral core that characterised the thinking of Rome&rsquo;s founders ceased to shape their decision-making. Theresa May is hardly Romulus Augustus, but a government that neglects the importance of moral leadership is in dangerous waters. If nothing else, Priti Patel&rsquo;s resignation should give us reason to ponder the ramifications of that.

This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" rel="nofollow" target="blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/priti-patel-ancient-rome-and-moral-leadership-87206" rel="nofollow" target="blank">original article</a>.

Prime Minister Theresa May could not have ignored the moral implication of Priti Patel's act

Priti Patel’s ignominious departure from the UK cabinet after it emerged that she had held undeclared meetings with Israeli officials during a personal holiday exposes many flaws in her conduct. The commentariat tells us she showed a lack of judgement, a lack of awareness of due process and a willingness to conduct what, in effect, was her own foreign policy. One word that hasn’t come up so frequently is “corruption”. That’s in many ways understandable. Corruption is generally understood in transactional terms with four key parts. An act is understood as corrupt if there is a (i) deliberate attempt (ii) to abuse (iii) entrusted power (iv) for some sort of private gain. Corruption is normally regarded as a process rather than an outcome and acts that tick all of those boxes are subsequently judged as such. That all of those terms can and do require some sort of external judgement to be made ensures that we can’t talk about objective realities. We do, however, have a decent starting point for making sense of a complex world. This understanding of corruption is, however, relatively new. Indeed, it’s only in the past few decades that corruption has been understood in this form. Yet corruption has, of course, been around for as long as humans have sought to organise themselves. Aristotle, for example, argued corruption is a symbol of the dysfunctionality of states that have moved away from their “pure” state of being. For Aristotle and a number of his contemporaries, corruption has a clear moral dimension and that moral core is the very essence of corruption, leading inevitably to decay, degradation and ultimately state failure. Why Rome fell A similar logic has been used by historians such as Ramsay McMullen when they argue that the ever-deepening problem of corruption is the primary reason the Roman Empire fell. MacMullen’s thesis is straightforward and well documented: Corruption led successive governments to concentrate more on the need to generate private gains (of whatever sort) for themselves and their supporters, and less on the demands of running a large and complex empire. The moral core that characterised much of the thinking of Rome’s founders had withered away over time; subsequent Roman leaders not only lost control of the government, but the government lost sight of what it existed to do. Even when it became apparent that corruption was at the core of the administration’s work, attempts at reform came too late. Like cancer, corruption had penetrated too many parts of the public ethos. The fall of Rome was also pivotal in Montesquieu’s thinking on corruption (and state failure). He explained in detail how the virtuous thinking of Rome’s founders helped it become an empire, but how the corruption of Rome’s moral fibre ultimately brought the empire down. For Montesquieu and MacMullen, as well as many others, corruption was at the very core of Rome’s descent into dissolution. A question of morals Corruption, no matter how it is defined, certainly has a moral dimension to it. That remains so regardless of the fact that many would prefer to couch their analysis, and, indeed, their prescriptions, in the language of rationality, interests, costs and benefits. Much of the recent work on corruption – produced largely by those with the economist’s mindset – has purposefully avoided the moral minefield and instead aspired to embrace some sort of objective understanding of corruption. That’s ultimately unlikely to be a fruitful way forward in terms of actually fighting corruption in practice; morals drive understandings of what’s appropriate and ignoring them doesn’t mean that they simply go away. Bringing issues of morality back into our analysis subsequently helps us comprehend much more about what we understand corruption to be as well as how (and, indeed, whether) we go about tackling it. The moral dimension to the corruption challenge, therefore, cannot be an optional extra. It’s with that in mind that the behaviour of Priti Patel is so interesting. There is little evidence to suggest that she might be guilty of corruption in the modern understanding of the term, but she certainly did do things that corruption analysts of yesteryear would recognise as falling into that category. At a push, one could certainly argue she broke the ministerial code and that’s clearly a process violation. But it is really by looking at broader normative issues of what’s right, why it’s right and how we can recognise it as such do we really see why behaviour such as Patel’s can be so corrosive. Rome ultimately didn’t fall because of the specific acts of one person. Rome’s problems escalated over time as the moral core that characterised the thinking of Rome’s founders ceased to shape their decision-making. Theresa May is hardly Romulus Augustus, but a government that neglects the importance of moral leadership is in dangerous waters. If nothing else, Priti Patel’s resignation should give us reason to ponder the ramifications of that. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Why Theresa May asked Priti Patel to quit

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/himachal-votes-today-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-election-23777">Himachal votes today: All you need to know about the election</a>

The northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh goes to polls today. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP. He faces-off with chief minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress. Polling began at 8 am and will go on till 5 pm. Here&#39;s a ready reckoner.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/uk-minister-priti-patel-quits-over-unauthorised-israel-meetings-23774">UK minister Priti Patel quits over unauthorised Israel meetings</a>

Britain&#39;s overseas aid minister Priti Patel quit on Wednesday over unauthorised meetings in Israel. Theresa May summoned Patel back from a trip to Africa to explain her talks with Israeli politicians and officials, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army.

Patel had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/delhi-to-have-another-round-of-odd-even-rule-23778">Delhi gears up for second round of odd-even rule</a>

In view of increasing air pollution, Delhi will have yet anothe round of odd-even. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday directed the Transport Department to start preparing for implementing the rule in Delhi.

Mr Baijal also directed Municipal Corporations, DDA and SDMs to strictly enforce a prohibition on open burning. Delhi Metro parking rates will also be increased four times the prevalent rates from Thursday onwards, in a bid to discourage use of private vehicles.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/gujarat-elections-cong-gives-3-quota-options-to-patidars-who-say-theyll-get-back-to-them-23775">Gujarat elections: Cong gives 3 quota options to Patidars who say they&#39;ll get back to them</a>

Congress gave three options to the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) at a late night meeting here with respect to latter&#39;s quota demand for its community, even as the organisation members said they would consult their leaders and legal experts before taking a decision.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/egypt-bill-looks-to-criminalise-homosexuality-23781">Egypt bill looks to criminalise homosexuality</a>

Amnesty International on Thursday condemned a draft bill in the Egyptian parliament that would criminalise homosexuality, in what the rights group called an &quot;unprecedented homophobic crackdown&quot;.

The bill lays jail terms of between one and three years for first-time offenders, whether the act takes place in public or a private place. Repeat offenders would receive five years.

The top stories from India and the world this morning

Himachal votes today: All you need to know about the election The northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh goes to polls today. Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal is the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP. He faces-off with chief minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress. Polling began at 8 am and will go on till 5 pm. Here's a ready reckoner. UK minister Priti Patel quits over unauthorised Israel meetings Britain's overseas aid minister Priti Patel quit on Wednesday over unauthorised meetings in Israel. Theresa May summoned Patel back from a trip to Africa to explain her talks with Israeli politicians and officials, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army. Patel had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance. Delhi gears up for second round of odd-even rule In view of increasing air pollution, Delhi will have yet anothe round of odd-even. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday directed the Transport Department to start preparing for implementing the rule in Delhi. Mr Baijal also directed Municipal Corporations, DDA and SDMs to strictly enforce a prohibition on open burning. Delhi Metro parking rates will also be increased four times the prevalent rates from Thursday onwards, in a bid to discourage use of private vehicles. Gujarat elections: Cong gives 3 quota options to Patidars who say they'll get back to them Congress gave three options to the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) at a late night meeting here with respect to latter's quota demand for its community, even as the organisation members said they would consult their leaders and legal experts before taking a decision. Egypt bill looks to criminalise homosexuality Amnesty International on Thursday condemned a draft bill in the Egyptian parliament that would criminalise homosexuality, in what the rights group called an "unprecedented homophobic crackdown". The bill lays jail terms of between one and three years for first-time offenders, whether the act takes place in public or a private place. Repeat offenders would receive five years.

WION morning news brief, November 9, 2017

Britain&#39;s overseas aid minister Priti Patel quit Wednesday over unauthorised meetings in Israel, becoming the latest cabinet member caught up in a whirlwind of scandals rocking Prime Minister Theresa May&#39;s government.

&quot;I offer a fulsome apology to you and to the government for what has happened and offer my resignation,&quot; Patel wrote in a letter to May, becoming the second minister to leave the cabinet in one week.

Theresa May summoned Patel back from a trip to Africa to explain her talks with Israeli politicians and officials, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army.

Patel had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance.

Patel wrote in her letter that there had been a &quot;number of reports about my actions and I am sorry that these have served as a distraction.&quot;

May accepted Patel&#39;s resignation, replying in a letter that &quot;the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together. But that must be done formally.&quot;

Britain's overseas aid minister had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance

Britain's overseas aid minister Priti Patel quit Wednesday over unauthorised meetings in Israel, becoming the latest cabinet member caught up in a whirlwind of scandals rocking Prime Minister Theresa May's government. "I offer a fulsome apology to you and to the government for what has happened and offer my resignation," Patel wrote in a letter to May, becoming the second minister to leave the cabinet in one week. Theresa May summoned Patel back from a trip to Africa to explain her talks with Israeli politicians and officials, in which she reportedly raised the possibility of Britain diverting aid to the Israeli army. Patel had apologised on Monday for holding 12 separate meetings -- including with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- during a family holiday to Israel in August, without notifying the Foreign Office or Downing Street in advance. Patel wrote in her letter that there had been a "number of reports about my actions and I am sorry that these have served as a distraction." May accepted Patel's resignation, replying in a letter that "the UK and Israel are close allies, and it is right that we should work closely together. But that must be done formally."

UK minister Priti Patel quits over unauthorised Israel meetings

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