He also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that it took Greenland three years to negotiate an exit from the trappings of the EU, indicating that it could take up to a decade for Britain. "There was only one issue for Greenland and that was fish," he said. "In terms of population they have rather fewer people than were at Wembley last night and it took them three years. All the precedence suggests that it is going to take a very long time."

He also warned: "Let's imagine the guys on the other side of the table. You've got countries like France and Germany. Both of them next year will be fighting elections. They have anti-EU parties that they will be fighting against. Do you think the politics will be such that these leaders will want us to be seen as having great successes in leaving? I'm afraid the politics works in completely the wrong way for us."

But Lord O'Donnell said that Britain "signed up to this treaty and this is the legal process by which you leave", adding that Article 50 was a "biased playing field" because the treaty "was not written in a neutral way". His comments came as Eurosceptic minister Dominic Raab warned that suspected terrorists enjoy a "free pass into Britain" despite the concerns of the security services because the bar on stopping them from entering the UK is "impossibly high".

Mr Raab, a Justice minister, said in a speech today that people who pose a risk to Britain or are suspected of serious criminal activity are able to "waltz" through passport control under European freedom of movement laws.

We have been told now for almost three decades that man has to change his ways or his fossil-fuel emissions will scorch Earth with catastrophic warming. Scientists, politicians and activists have maintained the narrative that their concern is only about caring for our planet and its inhabitants. But this is simply not true. The narrative is a ruse. They are after something entirely different.

If they were honest, the climate alarmists would admit that they are not working feverishly to hold down global temperatures — they would acknowledge that they are instead consumed with the goal of holding down capitalism and establishing a global welfare state. Have doubts? Then listen to the words of former United Nations climate official Ottmar Edenhofer:

“One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy. This has almost nothing to do with the environmental policy anymore, with problems such as deforestation or the ozone hole,” said Edenhofer, who co-chaired the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change working group on Mitigation of Climate Change from 2008 to 2015. So what is the goal of environmental policy? “We redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy,” said Edenhofer.

This is how the global warming alarmist community thinks. It wants to frighten, intimidate and then assume command. It needs a “crisis” to take advantage of, a hobgoblin to menace the people, so that they will beg for protection from the imaginary threat. The alarmists’ “better world” is one in which they rule a global welfare state. They’ve admitted this themselves.

“It served to put all of our agencies on edge. Just like a smoke screen, it allowed them to calmly prepare,” said Marc Trevidic, who retired as France’s chief counter-terrorism judge last year.

The offensive was orchestrated by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the Belgian mastermind behind the Paris atrocity in November, which left 130 people dead. Abaaoud, who was killed in the weeks after the attacks, is feared to have been at the head of a 90-strong cell of jihadists spread across Europe. It has also emerged he has persuaded some fanatics to return to attack Europe by convincing them it is better than facing the horrors of the war in Syria, according to files seen by the New York Times.

Prior to his death, he was a senior figure in a unit within Islamic State in Iraq and Levant, tasked with directing attacks on European soil. Fighters are sent back and told to decide their own targets and so limit the chances of plots being traced back to the unit.

April 19th is the first day of a 13 day period of time known as “the Blood Sacrifice to the Beast” that culminates on the high occult holy day of Beltane on May 1st. In some parts of the world, Beltane is much better known as “May Day”, and it has been described as the “Illuminati’s second most sacred holiday”. As you will see below, we have indeed witnessed a disturbing series of “blood sacrifices” during the second half of April in recent years, and many people wonder if there is a connection.

April 19th is also known as “the Feast of Moloch”. If you are not familiar with “Moloch” or “Molech”, it is an ancient Canaanite god that is repeatedly denounced in the Old Testament. Child sacrifice was a key feature of the worship of Moloch, and a giant statue of this pagan deity is set up at the Bohemian Grove in northern California every year.

Is it just a coincidence that reproductions of the arch that stood in front of the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria are going up in New York and London on the precise day when the Feast of Moloch is celebrated and when “the Blood Sacrifice to the Beast” begins? Are we to believe that this date was chosen at random? Is it just some sort of weird “accident” that the date they decided on begins a 13 day period of time which is exceedingly significant for the worship of Baal?…

Could it be possible that there is more to these “gateways” that are being constructed than we are being told? We have entered a period of time known in the Bible as “the last days”. If you think that what you have read in this article is a bit strange, well the truth is that you haven’t seen anything yet. From this point forward, things are going to get much, much stranger. Our world is rapidly changing, and those changes will soon become extremely dramatic.

The hysterical reaction to Georgia’s religious liberty bill can be interpreted no other way. Governor Nathan Deal has now decided — just one day after Easter, no less — to veto the bill because the outrage was so severe. In his statement explaining his decision, Deal insisted that religious liberty doesn’t include the right to “discriminate against anyone.” He took a steadfast and courageous posture, declaring that he refuses to be intimidated by “insults and threats” from pastors, nuns, and his local baptist church. On the other hand, for gay groups and large progressive corporations, he will fall to his knees in trembling submission and polish their boots after they finish kicking him repeatedly in the ribs.

On a day when we hear reports of a Catholic priest being literally crucified by Islamic State because he refused to abandon his faith, perhaps we might hope Christians in this country could at least withstand mean insults and online petitions. But we’ve learned not to expect anything — not even one minuscule, microscopic shred of bravery — from Christians like Deal. They will surrender every time, without fail.

And that’s not to downplay the pressure he faced. It was substantial, though not enough to justify his shameful capitulation. Hollywood was leading the charge, with heavy hitters like Disney, Time Warner, Starz, The Weinstein Company, AMC, Viacom, Marvel, CBS, MGM, NBC and other companies threatening to boycott if the bill passed. The NFL got into the action, promising to bar Atlanta from hosting the Super Bowl.

If you didn’t know any better, judging by the universal conniption fit it provoked, you’d think the bill must have mandated that all homosexuals be drowned in the sea or deported to Mozambique. If that were the case, I’d understand why it worked dozens of billion dollar companies into such a fantastic tizzy. But, contrary to reports, that’s not what the bill was designed to do. Not exactly, anyway.

In reality, the bill that the left called “horrific” and “heinous,” would have primarily accomplished the following:

- Protect a pastor from being forced to perform a gay wedding against his will.

- Protect religious organizations from being forced to host gay weddings against their will.

- Protect religious organizations from being forced to hire someone who opposes their fundamental tenets, beliefs, and goals.

There you go. That’s all, folks. That was the whole bill, or at least the relevant portion. And it was narrower than that, in fact, because it provided loopholes and escape hatches where a court could still potentially punish an organization for “discriminating,” even if they fell into one of the above categories. Again, this is the bill that brought upon the wrath of every liberal in the country and resulted in threats of boycotts and other punishments from many major corporations.

Only 14 percent of financial firms surveyed said they are more optimistic about their business this year compared to last, while 35 percent said they were pessimistic - marking the first drop in business sentiment since 2012. Financial services - which includes banking, insurance, fund management and securities dealing - contribute to just under 10 percent of Britain’s total economic output.

Although the survey noted that profits remained healthy, hiring levels were steady and business volumes had been growing, looming political events combined with financial uncertainty emanating from Europe and China had dampened the outlook for sector. Kevin Burrowes, head of UK financial services at PwC said “clouds” were darkening over the industry.

Negative rates are now the policy of the European Central Bank, with a deposit rate of minus 0.40%. Ditto for Switzerland, where the rate is minus 0.75%. In Sweden, the rate is minus 0.35%. The Bank of Japan too has announced negative interest rates, of 0.10%.

More than $26 trillion of government bonds now trade at yields of below 1%, with around $7 trillion currently yielding less than 0%. Government bonds in Germany with a maturity of seven years are trading at negative yields, while Swiss and Japanese government bonds out to 10 years trade at negative yields.

Negative yields mean that if an investor places a deposit with a bank, at maturity the investor receives an amount less than the original investment. In effect, the depositor pays to place money with the bank. In the case of bonds, negative yields mean that investors accept an economic loss, as the price paid by the investor is greater than the present value of the interest payments and principal repayment for a security.

In effect, negative rates delay essential restructuring to remove the detritus of previous crises. It restricts the supply of credit to the wider economy, affecting economic activity. Misallocation of capital deepens the malaise, and an ultimate resolution to this global problem becomes even more costly and difficult.

The conditions for a crisis are now firmly established: overvaluation of financial assets; significant leverage; persistent low-growth and deflation; excessive risk taking reliant on central banks for liquidity, and the suppression of volatility.

For example, US stock buybacks have reached 2007 levels and are running at around $500 billion annually. When dividends are included, companies are returning around $1 trillion annually to shareholders, close to 90% of earnings. Additional factors affecting share prices are mergers and acquisitions activity and also activist hedge funds, which have forced returns of capital or corporate restructures.

The major driver of stock prices is liquidity, in the form of zero interest rates and quantitative easing. To be sure, stronger earnings have supported stocks. But on average, 70% to 80% of the improvement has come from cost-cutting, not revenue growth. Since mid-2014, corporate profit margins have stagnated and may even be declining.

Real estate prices have risen globally with investors purchasing rental income streams to diversify away from low income financial assets. Markets as disparate as the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, China, India and many other emerging countries have become overheated.

Collectibles including fine art, vintage cars, wine, and the like also are showing the effects of excessive enthusiasm. Their prices reflect in part the desire by the world’s “smart money” to escape the manipulation of financial markets and the tremors that could be signaling a big quake to come.

Britain gives £72 million ($101 million) a year to the Palestinians, according to the report. “More than one-third of which goes straight to the PA,” which “openly admits supporting terrorists whom it hails as heroes for fighting illegal occupation, awarding lifetime payments that rise depending on time spent in jail and the seriousness of crimes.” One example is a Hamas “master bomber” Abdallah Barghouti, who was given 67 life sentences: he has received a total of £106,000 ($150,000). UK funds also pay out “salaries” to the families of suicide bombers, as well as to “teenagers involved in the latest upsurge of deadly attacks on Israel.”

The UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union (EU) “are still effectively supporting these payments to thousands of terrorists – despite claims to have ended such links two years ago,” the Daily Mail report says. This has been confirmed “by former prisoners and families receiving the cash, and in official statements by the PA.” Furthermore, PA head Mahmoud Abbas used part of the UK gifts — £8 million ($11.31 million) — to build a palace in Ramallah.

The Sunday report included an interview with Ahmad Musa, a convicted Palestinian double murderer sentenced to life in prison, who was released from Israeli prison after five years, as part of Israel’s gestures to move along the “peace process.” He gets £605 ($855) every month. Others like him get much more, and after they die, the cash goes to their families. The money for these payments comes from British and European taxpayers.

Young families are financially stretched, the elderly are unsure and everyone is fed up with hospital waiting lists. Our GPs are in crisis and the education service is not working. Yet under EU regulations homes are found, waiting queues are jumped, school places are jigged to provide non-UK nationals with as-of-right benefits.

We should rally together and face head-on the challenge by deciding the best way forward is to selfishly invest in ourselves for a 10-year period. Ridding ourselves of the twisted rules and regulations the EU call a democracy would be a creative first step. Ukip's expert independent number-crunchers have costed that, in a single year, a staggering £17 billion would be saved by leaving the EU.

Over the next 10 years, without adding to the national debt, we would be able to provide for new schools and nurseries, new medical centres and care for the elderly. Saving £17 billion and spreading its benefits across industry, commerce, farming and fishing speaks for itself. Scaremongers do no good. Particularly the pernicious CBI, falling over themselves, Pinocchio-style, to repay IOUs owed to Tory grandees.

Yet not once have the 'Inners' denied that the annual £17 billion saved from leaving the EU is a factual, unchangeable reality. People like simplicity and honesty in explanations. It has maxed-out our credit card. The UK is better-off outside a growing United States of Europe controlled by Merkel and Hollande.

“Sex offenders tend to move from country to country to avoid jail, but what makes Israel unique is the Law of Return, which essentially grants unhindered access to anyone who is Jewish to come here without any real screening,” said Manny Waks, the chief executive officer of Kol v’Oz, a newly formed non-profit that aims to prevent child sexual abuse in the global Jewish community. The Law of Return grants automatic citizenship in Israel to those who meet its definition of a Jew.

Among those accused of sexual abuse who have fled to Israel, Waks cited the prominent case of Malka Leifer, the former principal of a religious girls’ school in Melbourne, who allegedly assaulted eight of her charges. She is now under house arrest, and the Australian authorities are seeking her extradition. Waks noted several other cases of pedophiles and alleged pedophiles from the United States, Britain and the Netherlands who had fled to Israel either after being charged or to avoid being charged.

“It seems to us Israel is increasingly becoming a refuge for pedophiles and alleged pedophiles,” said Waks. “It’s an easy get-out-of-jail card for them.” According to research data he cited, one in five children in Israel experiences sexual abuse.

The plastic we discard into the ocean often makes its way into the mouths and stomachs of sea creatures. A post-mortem of the creatures, found ashore near the town of Toenning in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, showed their stomachs were full of plastic. This plastic included a 13-metre-long (43-foot-long) fisherman’s net and a 70-centimetre (28-inch) piece of plastic from a car. A man posted a shocking image on Instagram of some of the plastic found in their stomachs.

The sperm whales probably didn't die by being poisoned by plastic, however. Scientists thought it was likely they perished from heart failure due to starvation. “These findings show us the results of our plastic orientated society,” Schleswig-Holstein environment Minister Robert Habeck told the Daily Mail. “Animals inadvertently consume plastic and plastic waste which causes them to suffer and at worst, causes them to starve with full stomachs.”