Ryanair s Michael O Leary condemns state-sponsored piracy after jet with KGB agents on board was forced to land in Belarus and opposition blogger and his girlfriend were hauled off pleading for his life after MiG-29 threatened to shoot plane down
Opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, 26, was detained after flight to Lithuania was forced down at Minsk
Belarus claimed that there was a bomb threat but O Leary poured scorn on the notion, describing it as state-sponsored hijacking, adding that we believe there were some KGB agents offloaded at the airport as well
Tory MP Tom Tugendhat called it a warlike act, joining the British government and other Western countries who have condemned the grounding of the Boeing 737 which had more than 170 passengers on board
Belarus could face further sanctions as European allies discussed how to respond following the diversion of a Ryanair flight to enable the arrest of an opponent of the country’s regime.
Leaders from the European Union will hold emergency talks to discuss the situation, while Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hinted at tougher action from the UK.
Mr Raab said he was working with allies on a coordinated response, stating that Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko must be held to account for his “outlandish actions”.
The circumstances which led to the arrest of Roman Protasevich have been described as a hijacking operation by Mr Lukashenko’s government.
The UK is alarmed by reports of the arrest of @nexta tv journalist Roman Protasevich & circumstances that led to his flight being forced to land in Minsk. We are coordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications. Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) May 23, 2021
“Extremely worrying”
“We are co-ordinating with our allies. This outlandish action by Lukashenko will have serious implications,” he tweeted.
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said the situation was “extremely worrying”.
“We are in contact with the airline and EU colleagues,” he said.
Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was closely monitoring the “forcible landing” of the flight and the subsequent arrest of Mr Protasevich.
Who is Roman Protasevich? Roman Protasevich ran a popular messaging app that played a key role in helping organise protests against Belarus authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko. He was on board the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania when it was diverted to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, while flying over that country. Belarusian flight controllers had warned the plane crew of an alleged bomb threat and ordered it to land in Minsk, and a Belarusian fighter jet was scrambled to escort the Ryanair airliner. According to passengers on board the flight, the activist was super-scared and told fellow passengers he would face the death penalty. Belarus remains the only European country that still executes prisoners.
Politics latest news: No 10 denies Boris Johnson missed emergency Covid meetings to write Shakespeare biography
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Boris Johnson did not miss crucial meetings on the Government s emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic because he was working on a book, Downing Street has insisted.
The Prime Minister s official spokesman said he was not aware of Mr Johnson doing any work on a biography of William Shakespeare while in office.
No 10 faced questions today after a
Sunday Times report suggested Government officials are concerned Dominic Cummings will use an appearance before MPs on Wednesday to accuse Mr Johnson of missing key meetings on the crisis because of the biography.