The MP for Gillingham & Rainham, Rehman Chishti, firstly cited the Brexit negotiations as reason for resigning, saying it does not deliver on the promises to the British people or the Conservative manifesto. 

Chishti then writes: “The second point which brings me to write this letter is the manner in which the Government has dealt with the case regarding Asia Bibi. This is a case that I have worked on passionately since 2012, alongside Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, the Former Bishop of Rochester, to ensure that justice is done which was handed down by the Pakistan Supreme Court only recently.

“What I found shocking, is that the British Government is failing to put into practise the core values that our country stands for; religious freedom, justice, morally doing the right thing, and that when we see injustice where an individual’s life is in clear danger and they have been persecuted for their faith, we do all that we can to help them. 

“The Government should not wait to see if another country offers sanctuary, we should have had the conviction to lead on this matter and offer sanctuary ourselves straight away.”

My letter of resignation sent to PM @theresa_may stepping down as Vice Chairman @Conservatives & PM Trade Envoy to Pakistan. 1. Cannot support Draft EU Withdrawal Agreement. 2. Very disappointed by lack of leadership shown by UK Gov to do morally right thing in Asia Bibi Case. pic.twitter.com/hcaxba1hJr

— Rehman Chishti (@Rehman_Chishti)

One said the proposed deal “does deliver the Brexit people voted for”, while another claimed Theresa May had “failed to take back control” from the European Union.

The Conservative MP, Gary Street told Premier the plans represented “a good deal and the right deal” and he applauded Mrs May for acting “in the national interest”.

He said: “If we don’t go for this deal, there are only two other options; one is that we leave the EU with no deal, which could be catastrophic for our economy.

“Secondly, we have a second referendum and end up remaining completely in the EU, and those people who voted to leave in 2016 would rightly be rather furious about that.”

But the Labour MP, Alex Cunningham said the prime minister has found herself in a”very precarious position”.

He continued: “If anything, we’ve handed control over to the EU with this particular agreement; it seems that we’re going to be bound by EU rules for who knows how many years.

The draft deal ‘does deliver the Brexit people voted for’, @garystreeterSWD tells Premier. @ACunninghamMP disagrees and says Theresa May is in a ‘very precarious position’. More in the Premier News Hour at midday. @PremierRadio.

— Alexander Williams (@AlexWpremier) November 15, 2018

“We won’t actually have an opportunity to sit at the table and determine what those rules should…

Figures including Rt Rev Susan Brown (pictured below), the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, warned Sajid Javid the threat to Asia Bibi is “real”.

In an open letter, they said: “Asia was acquitted on 31st October, 2018.

“Although she has been reportedly reunited with her husband and three children, she needs round-the-clock protection as Tehreek-e-Labbaik (an Islamist political party in Pakistan) has called for her to be hanged and there have been several cases of extra-judicial killings of people charged with blasphemy in Pakistan.”

The note, which was also signed by Most Rev Leo Cushley, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, says the treatment of Ms Bibi highlights the “dangers” believers in Pakistan face.

It continues: “The threat to Asia and her family and supporters is real.

“The root cause is, of course, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws and we urge the UK Government to do all in their power to advocate for these laws to be amended to prevent their misuse and to promote tolerance and harmony between faith communities.”

Protestors blocked key roads in major cities when Pakistan’s Supreme Court cleared Ms Bibi last month of allegations that she had insulted Islam’s prophet Mohammad.

Praying for a peaceful and positive outcome to the case of Asia Bibi, one that sees Western governments earnestly exploring the possibility…

Pastor Doug Crowder leads Magalia Pines Baptist Church, Magalia is near Paradise – a town which is now virtually incinerated after receiving the worst of the fire.

He said he was first aware of the fire when he saw it in the distance at about 7 in the morning. The fire he could see was from the sane town where his church had helped clear up 150 homes from a fire exactly 10 years ago.

Pastor Doug told Premier: “However, within the next hour, the fire raced down the mountain 20 miles to the bottom of the town of Paradise.

“Paradise started evacuating and Paradise is disintegrated now”

The town of Magalia then got warnings to evacuate too, with 12,000 people trying to leave via one road. But Pastor Doug stayed behind with the people who couldn’t leave town.

“At that time it was moving fast but these things are really unpredictable and we had never had one in Magalia”

However, the fire then surrounded Magalia, leaving those in the church stuck where they were.

“We were then trapped from both directions and no one could get in or get out and we had no communication because they cut off the cell towers and so we had no water, no power and no communication.
 
“The only people who knew we were there were the fire department because they were trapped too.”

Crowder said he stayed so busy that he didn’t feel scared and everyone settled…