News Round-Up

• “Anders Tegnell’s lesson for the Covid Inquiry” – A written submission to the Halett Inquiry by Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s former State Epidemiologist, contains a barrage of uncomfortable facts, says Freddie Sayers in UnHerd.
• “BBC locked in antisemitism row after exec hugged pro-Palestine protester” – The BBC has been plunged into an antisemitism row after a Palestinian film maker was allowed to rant against Israel at a film festival and was then hugged by one of the broadcaster’s executives, reports the Express.
• “BBC’s choice for Eurovision called Israel an ‘apartheid state’ responsible for genocide” – The BBC has been urged to drop Britain’s entrant at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after it emerged he’d signed a letter calling Israel an “apartheid regime” and criticising “Zionist propaganda”, reveals the Telegraph.
• “The silence of the anti-racists” – It’s high time we ignored the confected race rows that clutter public debate and confronted the very real hatred in our midst, says Tom Slater in Spiked.
• “Why universities target jews” – Elite U.S. schools are increasingly monocultural institutions that reject free thinkers, writes Levi Troy in City Journal.
• “Britain’s only growth area is regulation and red tape” – Our economic prospects are under serious threat – it’s time to rein in the regulators, says Matthew Lesh in the Telegraph.
• “Political gremlins lurk in the OBR’s immigration numbers” – The Government is doubling down on a political economy its 2019 voters don’t want, argues Karl Williams in CapX.
• “Macron has been humiliated by Marine Le Pen” – Marine Le Pen celebrated what she called “an ideological victory” after Emmanuel Macron’s Government finally had its controversial immigration Bill approved, writes Gavin Mortimer in the Spectator.
• “EU countries, lawmakers agree major reform of asylum system” – EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed to a major overhaul of the bloc’s laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants, according to DW.
• “Donald Trump cannot run for President, state court rules” – Colorado’s highest court has ruled Donald Trump is disqualified from holding office and removed him from the state’s 2024 ballot due to his ‘incitement’ of the January 6th ‘insurrection’, according to the Telegraph.
• “Colorado undermines democracy in the name of democracy” – For years, we’ve been told that Donald Trump is a ‘worse-than-Hitler’ threat to democracy, says Peter Meijer in the Free Press. It’s odd, then, to now be told that the best way to save democracy is by banning Trump from the ballot.
• “The lawfare against Donald Trump is increasingly farcical” – Does kicking a popular candidate off the U.S. electoral ballot protect democracy? Or is that, in fact, deeply anti-democratic, asks Freddy Gray in the Spectator.
• “The American Left can’t hide its hatred for Britain” – By shelving talks over a free trade deal, Biden has confirmed all our worst fears about the Democrats, says Douglas Murray in the Telegraph.
• “Major Scottish battery factory enters into administration” – AMTE Power has seen its finances tip into the red due to a lack of orders and investment, reports the National.
• “New tax on older boilers could be blocked by Tory MPs in bid to keep energy bills in check” – Rishi Sunak is facing another New Year rebellion as Tory MPs plan to block new taxes on older boilers, says the Sun.
• “Ørsted to press ahead with world’s largest offshore wind farm in North Sea” – Ørsted is going to press ahead with developing the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the North Sea after the U.K. increased financial support for the sector, reports the FT.
• “What would Roger Scruton make of 15-minute cities?” – Roger Scruton would have viewed the 15-minute cities brouhaha with mournful puzzlement, says Samuel Hughes in CapX.
• “Flawed trans guidance shows the need to change the law” – While it makes significant progress in some areas, the Government’s trans school guidance is far too vague on some critical issues, argues Miriam Cates in the Telegraph.
• “SPOTY fans brand award a ‘sham’ after Mary Earps wins public vote” – Disgruntled sports fans claim that the achievements of the other Sports Person of the Year nominees “far outweigh” those of Lioness goalkeeper Mary Earps, according to the Mail.
• “Who’s on the naughty list?” – Prince Andrew’s sex accuser has hinted “a lot of people will be nervous” after a judge ruled more than 170 of Jeffrey Epstein’s associates are to be named, reports LBC.
• “Benjamin Zephaniah… ‘a titan of British literature’?” – Benjamin Zephaniah, in death, has been granted a public importance that seems a little out or proportion to his literary achievements, writes Duke Maskell in the New Conservative.
• “Woke books and sensitivity readers have destroyed publishing” – If traditional publishing houses want to stay profitable, they should learn from heterodox independents, argues Madeline Fry Schultz in the Telegraph.
• “Why the Jonathan Majors conviction just made Disney’s very bad year infinitely worse” – As villain Kang the Conquerer, Jonathan Majors was the lynchpin of Marvel’s ‘next phase’. But his real-life villainy could ruin it all, says Robbie Collin in the Telegraph.
• “From Michelle Mone to Harry and Meghan, it was a year of utter shamelessness” – The Telegraph’s Allison Pearson presents her ‘awards’ for the year, including gongs for ‘Abuse of the English Language’ and ‘Least Convincing Female’.
• “The problem with the Covid Inquiry” – On X, Together spokesman Francis Hoar identifies two key matters that the Covid Inquiry has failed to look at: The failure to follow pandemic plans and the failure to enquire into the necessity of lockdowns.

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