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Just calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine… is insufficient: it is best arrived at in negotiation. Lord Owen’s proposal

in General International Latest on

Drawing on his experience, including helping resolve the Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict, Lord Owen speaks to Rod Liddle on 1 March 2025 to suggest a framework for Ukraine war negotiations. Listen here: https://www.thetimes.com/radio/show/20250301-29366/2025-03-01

“Just calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine which is ignored is insufficient. A ceasefire is best arrived at in a negotiation rather than by an initial declaration….following the start of negotiations it would help if all recrimination or point …

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“If I were a diplomat, I’d be spending quite a lot of my time dealing with Ukraine through China.”

in Defence General International Latest on

Lord Owen discussing ways of ending the Ukraine war on Rod Liddle’s Times Radio programme, broadcast Saturday 11 January 2025. Starts at approx. 2hrs 06 mins

Listen here

“If we can end the war in Ukraine, we should try… but it’s not easy. The reality is that if China wants that war to end, it will end. If I were a diplomat, I’d be spending quite a lot of my …

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Lord Owen interviewed on ‘The Week In Westminster’

in General Latest Personal Interviews on

George Parker of the Financial Times interviews Lord Owen for BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Week In Westminster’.

“Following his retirement from the House of Lords, the Labour politician and founding member of the Social Democratic Party, Lord Owen, discusses his life in politics.”

Listen to the programme here 

Lord Owen’s section starts at approx. 15’20”

First aired 12 October 2024.…

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Lord Owen: in-depth retrospective at Westminster’s UnHerd Club

in General Latest Personal Interviews on

‘David Owen; A radical life’ is an in-depth interview by Freddie Sayers recorded live at Westminster’s UnHerd club. Watch the video here

In the conversation, Lord Owen reminisces as he marks his retirement from the House of Lords. He discusses his life in politics, the ideological shifts of the recent decades and the future of the British Left.

1hr 18 min. Subtitled but please note the quality of the transcription …

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The UN should urgently despatch forces to hold the Lebanon-Israel border

in Defence International Latest on

It is hard to exaggerate the gravity of the situation today in Gaza and now in the Lebanon.

…[we must first] recognise why Hamas invaded from Gaza on 7 October 2023.  Scarcely three weeks before, there had been a review of the success of the Abraham Accords whereby the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco had pursued peaceful negotiations with Israel…. Hamas had one single major objective – to destroy those …

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Lord Owen retires from the House of Lords

in Domestic General Latest Parliament/Party politics on

As of today (2 September 2024) Lord Owen has retired from the House of Lords.  Given the new Government’s manifesto commitment to reform the House of Lords both in terms of hereditary Peers and retirement age, Lord Owen at the age of 86 is happy to voluntarily retire believing that the House of Lords is in need of serious reform to become a much more democratic chamber.…

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David Owen comments on the publication of the Infected Blood Inquiry report.

in Domestic General Latest on

“As Minister of Health I announced to Parliament on 22 January 1975 the policy of achieving self-sufficiency in blood products to remove the reliance on imported blood products which ran the risk of having come from dubious donors from other countries, in particular America’s ‘skid row’, who had been paid to donate.  I authorised the allocation of special finance to bring about self-sufficiency which I was assured could be achieved …

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