News Round-Up

• “Badenoch calls for national inquiry into ‘rape gangs’” – Kemi Badenoch has called for a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal after Elon Musk accused Keir Starmer of covering up failings as Director of Public Prosecutions, reports the BBC.
• “Labour blocks grooming gang inquiry into Starmer’s conduct as CPS head” – Labour has blocked an inquiry into Keir Starmer’s conduct as the head of the Crown Prosecution Service while investigating the Oldham child grooming scandal, says the Telegraph.
• “How Starmer was forced to admit CPS let down child victims of grooming gangs” – In 2012, Keir Starmer admitted that a generation of vulnerable girls had been let down by the justice system while he was in charge of the Crown Prosecution Service, reports the Telegraph.
• “A conspiracy of murmuring” – It has been quite surreal, as someone who has been writing about the grooming gangs scandal for years, to see the story burst so violently into the international consciousness over the past few days, says Ben Sixsmith on his Substack.
• “The truth about ‘grooming gangs’ is finally coming out” – For decades, some of the most vulnerable people in society have been betrayed by people in positions of power. Never again can political correctness be allowed to get in the way of justice, writes Robert Jenrick in the Telegraph.
• “Why would a self-proclaimed feminist refuse to hold an inquiry into the Oldham ‘rape gangs’?” – Jess Phillips presents herself as a champion of women and girls, yet she has refused to hold an inquiry into the systematic abuse of young, vulnerable working class girls by gangs of men in Oldham, notes Tom Harris in the Telegraph.
• “Elon Musk calls for Jess Phillips to be jailed” – In the Spectator, Steerpike documents the escalating row between Elon Musk and Jess Phillips.
• “Elon Musk calls for release of Tommy Robinson: who is he?” – Elon Musk has taken on a new cause to start off the year, demanding the release of Tommy Robinson, writes Greg Heilman in Diario AS.
• “‘The scale of censorship in Britain is insane’” – Fraser Myers, Spiked’s Deputy Editor, interviews Greg Lukianoff, President of FIRE, for the Spiked podcast.
• “Starmer’s Thought Police” – Staying with Spiked, Brendon O’Neill interviews Toby about what Labour has in store for us in 2025 for his podcast.
• “Muslim convert jailed for plotting attack ‘stabs prison officers’” – A teenage Muslim convert jailed for plotting a music festival terror attack has reportedly stabbed 10 prison officers since being put behind bars, reports the Mail.
• “Labour loses 20 councillors in Starmer protest” – In the Spectator, Steerpike reacts to the extraordinary exodus of 20 councillors who have quit Labour in protest over the direction of the party under its new Prime Minister.
• “Why the people of Watford have already given up on Labour” – Keir Starmer swept into office with promises of change, but many have been left feeling disillusioned by his tenure as PM, says Rosa Silverman in the Telegraph.
• “Is Reform unstoppable?” – In the Spectator, Rod Liddle wonders whether Nigel Farage’s Reform can outmuscle Kemi Badenoch’s Tories and shift the political balance, or if the status quo will prevail.
• “Reform has an early lead in the race to revive real British conservatism” – Competition on the Right is a good thing. But thus far, the Tories have allowed Farage to make all the running, says David Frost in the Telegraph.
• “Right move: will Britain benefit from the global conservative turn?” – The British public is not moving to the Left in line with its Government, write James Kanagasooriam and Patrick Flynn in the Spectator.
• “‘I left for Spain as soon as Labour won the election’” – Britain’s richest plumber Charlie Mullins reveals to the Telegraph’s Tom Haynes his fears that tax rises and new workers’ rights will decimate businesses.
• “Police fail to solve a single theft across third of neighbourhoods” – Police have failed to solve a single burglary, personal theft or even recover a stolen bike in 30% of neighbourhoods, according to Telegraph analysis.
• “Vice-chancellors at ‘struggling’ universities spent £1 million on trips abroad” – University vice-chancellors complaining about money shortages have spent almost £1 million on foreign trips over the past three years, reports the Times.
• “Don’t blame the free market for our hopeless university sector” – High pay for vice-chancellors has nothing to do with supposed capitalist greed – it’s quasi-nationalised, writes Mark Littlewood in the Telegraph.
• “‘I’m a new kind of Christian’: Jordan Peterson on faith, family and the future of the Right” – The Spectator’s Michael Gove speaks to Prof. Jordan Peterson about supernatural relationships, the folly of Net Zero and what’s next for Europe.
• “‘Can I be cancelled twice?’” – In the Spectator, Toby explores why the effort to cancel him a second time has been so feeble.
• “In our lifetime: reflections on change” – On Substack, Laura Dodsworth laments the rapid shifts reshaping society.
• “Don’t go outside! NHS warns Brits to stock up and brace for snow” – The NHS has issued an urgent warning, telling people not to venture outside as the U.K. braces for three days of snowfall and a -10°C ice blast this weekend, reports the Mail.
• “Ban hybrid cars or make Britain a laughing stock, Starmer urged” – Net Zero lobbyists claim that letting some hybrids remain on sale after 2030 would be a “catastrophic misstep”, according to the Telegraph.
• “Environment Agency ramps up spending on diesel cars despite 2030 ban” – Despite government plans to ban new diesel car sales by 2030, the Environment Agency has ramped up spending on maintaining its diesel fleet, hitting £2.5 million in 2023-24, reports the Telegraph.
• “Green extremists just lost the war on cows” – In the Telegraph, Jamie Blackett celebrates the birth of Hilda, a less-gassy calf that could save cattle farming from green extremists.
• “Morgan Stanley joins exodus from Mark Carney’s Net Zero banking group” – Morgan Stanley has quit Mark Carney’s Net Zero banking group, joining a broader Wall Street exodus as Donald Trump prepares to re-enter the White House, reports the Financial Post.
• “Green electricity costs a bundle” – The notion that solar and wind power save money is an environmentalist lie, says Bjorn Lomborg in the WSJ.
• “Sweden records lowest number of asylum applications since 1997” – For the first time in over 50 years, Sweden has net emigration, reports the Mail.
• “Palestinian Authority suspends Al Jazeera over ‘misinformation’ and ‘incitement’” – Al Jazeera’s West Bank operations will be suspended by the Palestinian Authority following coverage of its clashes with terror groups, says the BBC.
• “Weight-loss surgery patient died after hospital ‘failures’ during junior doctors’ strike” – A weight-loss surgery patient has died due to a series of “failures” by a hospital to treat complications that arose from a procedure during a junior doctors’ strike, reports LBC.
• “How real is your ADHD?” – The increased incidence of mental health problems has been a boon for private doctors, says Max Pemberton in the Spectator.
• “Scientists develop vaccine test that predicts how long immunity lasts” – A blood test that can predict how long vaccine immunity will last is being developed by scientists, reports FOX 28.
• “COVID-19 ‘vaccination’ linked to a 141% increased risk of transverse myelitis within 42 days of injection” – On the Courageous Discourse Substack, Nicolas Hulscher highlights a troubling new study showing a 141% increased risk of acute transverse myelitis within 42 days of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
• “FDA lab uncovers excess DNA contamination in COVID-19 vaccines” – On Substack, Dr. Maryanne Demasi reveals explosive findings from an FDA lab study showing excessively high levels of DNA contamination in Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.
• “Too woke? BBC ‘control’? The stars who refuse to play Glastonbury” – From the BBC’s “corporate control” to rows over appearance fees and claims of being “too woke”, the Mail highlights how a host of musicians are turning their backs on the world’s biggest festival.
• “When will the BBC get over its bizarre obsession with drag queens?” – It seems the national broadcaster won’t be happy until every programme on its schedule features a man dressed as a woman, says Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
• “Nick Clegg exits Facebook as big tech bows to Trump” – Nick Clegg has announced he will leave his role at Facebook-owner Meta weeks before Donald Trump returns to power, reports the Telegraph.
• “Culture of silence” – On GB News, Charlie Peters issues a stark warning: after exposing Rotherham’s corrupt leaders on GB News in 2022 and watching them fall in 2023, he’s setting his sights on even bigger targets in 2025. Get ready – he’s coming for you.

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