News Round-Up

• “Sir Patrick Vallance’s contempt for Boris Johnson is clear – but what mistakes did others make?” – Baroness Hallett’s decision to reveal only parts of Sir Patrick Vallance’s pandemic diaries makes them a partial account only, remarks Gordon Rayner in the Telegraph.
• “Sir Patrick Vallance’s full pandemic diary to be kept secret” – The complete pandemic diary of Sir Patrick Vallance is set to remain confidential, as his lawyers say publishing the journal in full would breach his human rights, reports GB News.
• “The pro-lockdown fanatics can’t be allowed to rewrite Covid history” – The Covid inquiry seems to be proceeding with on the assumption that policymakers did not impose nearly enough restrictions, says Jeremy Warner in the Telegraph.
• “The Covid Inquiry is ignoring the one number that would blow lockdown out of the water” – This sham Covid Inquiry is achieving nothing apart from protecting reputations and lining lawyers pockets, writes Prof. Karol Sikora in the Telegraph.
• “How lockdowns broke Britain” – The Centre for Social Justice’s Andy Cook joins Freddie Sayers in the UnHerd studio to talk about the impacts of lockdown on mental health, economic activity, drug abuse and crime. 
• “The Covid totalitarians’ state of origin” – On Substack, Paul Collits delivers a scathing critique of Australia’s political class and its mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• “Nudgers, nudgers everywhere – the ubiquity of behavioural science” – State-embedded behavioural scientists quietly manipulate public opinion towards globalist ideals, sidelining rational debate, argues Dr. Gary Sidley.
• “How the guardians of German democracy aim to protect our democratic constitution by punishing those who argue that the pandemic response was anti-democratic” – What modern liberal democratic systems and their increasingly insular elites have lost all sight of is any pretence of simple, pragmatic government for the benefit of their native populations, says Eugyppius on Substack.
• “An abortive Christmas quiz” – Dr. Tom Jefferson has put together a festive quiz on the subject of… the construction of hospitals.
• “The staggering naivety of the Israelophobes” – Western outrage over the IDF’s rounding up of Hamas suspects is ridiculous, luxuriant moralism, says Brendan O’Neill in Spiked.
• “The great Jewish realignment of 2023” – On Substack, Richard Hanania explains why the next generation of American elites will be more Right-wing.
• “Plan to reduce net migration by 300k is ‘by no means certain’ to work” – The U.K. Migration Advisory Committee says that factors influencing the U.K.’s net migration, which currently stands at 745,000 per year, are hard to control, reports the Mail.
• “Migrant films himself hiding in lorries and travelling on a dinghy” – The Mail profiles the story of an illegal Tunisian migrant to the Britain who has not received permission to stay but has been allowed to work.
• “Europe’s turning right. Here’s why” – What’s unfolding across Europe is the start of another major populist rebellion, writes Matt Goodwin on Substack.
• “Mark Drakeford quits as First Minister of Wales” – The Welsh First Minister has announced his exit after seeing his popularity crash amid NHS woes and the 20mph row, says the Mail.
• “The decline of Wales under Mark Drakeford in five graphs” – The Telegraph has empirical evidence of the public services in Wales that have got worse under Mr. Drakeford’s tenure.
• “Good riddance to Mark Drakeford” – In Spiked, Austin Williams says no one should miss the outgoing Welsh First Minister.
• “Kemi Badenoch’s velvet façade slips and her steely core emerges” – The Telegraph’s Madeline Grant was impressed by Kemi Badenoch’s performance yesterday in front of a House of Commons committee.
• “Tory MP defends homeless man from attackers” – Former SAS reservist David Davis stepped in to stop two men attacking a homeless man near Parliament, according to the Telegraph.
• “French schoolgirl threatens to kill teacher with a knife” – A 12 year-old girl threatened a teacher with a knife at a French school, adding to a surge in violent incidents in France’s school system, reports the Mail.
• “COP’s pledge to move away from fossil fuels is a farce” – The share price of Shell and BP is unmoved by the COP28 pledge, notes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “It is morally wrong to blindly adhere to Net Zero – we must abandon it before it’s too late” – At COP28, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was right to call out delusional Western leaders with their pie-in-the-sky nonsense, says Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “Doubt over Port Talbot’s ability to make new steel” – An industry boss has claimed that the U.K. steel sector risks a “slow death” unless it stops making new steel, according to the BBC.
• “Silent prayer in abortion clinic buffer zones not unlawful, Government says” – The Home Office says that silent prayer around abortion clinics in England and Wales may not be an offence under the Public Order Act, reports the Epoch Times.
• “Watchdog to name universities and colleges that fail to uphold free speech” – Universities, colleges and students’ unions in England which fail to uphold free speech duties are set to be named publicly – and fined – by the Office for Students, says the Independent.
• “PEN America’s new president is no free speech champion” – UnHerd’s Eliza Mondegreen is sceptical about Jennifer Boylan’s free speech credentials after she was elected as PEN America’s new president.
• “Newspeak, liberals and ‘privilege’” – On Substack, Mr. Chips discusses the harm of imposing VAT on independent school fees.
• “White male recruits must get final sign off from me, says Aviva boss” – Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc has said that all senior white male recruits must receive final approval from her as part of a diversity drive to stamp out sexism in the financial services industry, according to the Telegraph.
• “Campus speech codes should be abolished” – Let students exercise their First Amendment rights, says James Kirchick in the New York Times.
• “Izzard pledges to campaign ‘via Zoom’ while playing Hamlet in New York” – Eddie Izzard has announced that if he’s selected as the Labour candidate in Brighton, he’ll “campaign via Zoom while in New York” where he is performing his one-man adaptation of Hamlet, according to Guido Fawkes.
• “Secret U.S. Government censorship sold as ‘cybersecurity’ undermines national security” – On Substack, Michael Shellenberger recounts his recent testimony before Congress, addressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s violation of free speech rights through censorship initiatives.
• “Donald Trump sells cut-up pieces of suit he wore in mugshot – for $5,000” – Donald Trump is selling pieces of the suit he wore when he was arrested for nearly $5,000 a piece, according to the Mail.
• “Gaza’s sky is black but Qatar is always sunny” – Israeli sketch comedy show Eretz Nehederet has created a satirical hip-hop video highlighting the Hamas leadership living high on the hog in Qatar.

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