News Round-Up

• “Labour MP break ranks to call for national inquiry into grooming gangs” – Elon Musk has thanked Labour MP Dan Carden after he became the first to break ranks with Sir Keir Starmer and call for a fresh national inquiry into rape gangs, reports the Mail.
• “Wes Streeting accused of ‘playing race card’ in grooming gangs debate” – Wes Streeting has been accused of “playing the race card” over the rape gangs scandal after warning of a far-Right terror attack if entire communities are “tarred with the same brush”, says the Mail.
• “How the Left conspired to ban TV film exposing rapists” – In the Mail, Donald Mcintyre reveals how Left-wing pressure buried Channel 4’s 2004 grooming gang documentary, delaying justice and silencing victims for over a decade.
• “Labour must stop funding Pakistan amid blocking sex abusers claims” – Robert Jenrick has called for financial aid to Pakistan to stop and for a visa ban until the country cooperates with the deportation of its citizens living in the U.K., reports the Mail.
• “Labour is treating the white working class with contempt” – There is a common thread behind Labour’s failure to confront the rape gangs and its war on educational excellence, says Janet Daley in the Telegraph.
• “The dangers of multiculturalism” – There are some terrible things that society wants to deal with, and there are some it refuses to deal with, and the things it refuses to deal with tend to be those crimes that go against some deep narrative of the age, writes Douglas Murray in the Free Press.
• “Britain vs grooming: it’s now or never” – The U.K. must stop importing people who hate our society, stop giving them preferential treatment and, above all, enforce the law, says Frank Haviland on the Frank Report Substack.
• “Albanian people smuggler claims he shouldn’t be deported” – An Albanian people smuggler has claimed that he shouldn’t be deported from the U.K. as he doesn’t like Belgian jails, reports the Mail.
• “Foreign rapist cannot be deported from the UK… because he’s bisexual” – A foreign rapist, who claimed he didn’t know it was wrong to rape a sleeping woman, has avoided deportation to Jamaica due to the risk posed to him as a bisexual, says the Mail.
• “The time has come to pledge to leave ECHR, Steve Barclay urges Badenoch” – Former Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay says that Kemi Badenoch should promise to pull the U.K. out of the European Convention on Human Rights if the Tories return to power, reports the Telegraph.
• “‘Boris’s immigration changes have fuelled cultural disunity’” – As Reform U.K. surges in the polls and attracts members, it faces its toughest test yet: turning bold promises into political reality, writes Ed Cumming in the Telegraph.
• “Nigel Farage channels his inner Luke Littler to celebrate target” – Reform leader Nigel Farage delighted the crowd at the North West England Conference by celebrating his party’s 180,000 members with a dartboard scoring 180, according to the Mail.
• “No.10 braced for Reform-Tory pact as populist Right surges” – In the Telegraph, Ben Riley-Smith reports that Keir Starmer is preparing for a tougher fight in the next General Election, facing a surging populist Right, with the possibility of a Reform-Tory alliance led by Nigel Farage.
• “How Tommy Robinson won over Trump’s inner circle” – Much has been made of Nigel Farage’s journey from Thanet to Trump Towers – but his rival has been making moves of his own, notes Eleanor Steafel in the Telegraph.
• “Vulnerable kids ‘exposed to insurmountable stress’ by schools VAT” – Three mothers whose children have special needs are taking the Government to court over the imposition of VAT on private schools, reports the Express.
• “Rachel Reeves ‘eyes hotel tax’ to bolster U.K.’s coffers” – Holidaymakers could be forced to pay a ‘hotel tax’ as part of frantic efforts by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to stabilise the country’s finances, says the Mail.
• “Five months of rail strikes will ‘paralyse’ U.K. economy” – A crippling five-month-long series of railway strikes are expected to cost the hospitality sector £1 billion, reports the Mail.
• “Reeves fears one date in 2025 – and Kemi Badenoch knows it” – The Chancellor could be forced into having an emergency budget, and the Tories are licking their lips, writes Kamal Ahmed in the Telegraph.
• “The only way forward for Reeves is to turn back” – In the Telegraph, Roger Bootle warns Rachel Reeves to abandon the Conservatives’ pseudo-Labour playbook and pivot fast to avoid economic disaster.
• “We face a return to 1976 unless Reeves changes course” – The economy has slowed significantly as Labour drives up borrowing costs and spends more, writes Liam Halligan in the Telegraph.
• “Cabinet told public spending cuts must be ‘ruthless’” – The Treasury has ordered cabinet ministers to be “ruthless” in identifying public spending cuts as Labour battles to prove its economic plan is working, reports the Telegraph.
• “When low-cost pastry sales drop, you know Britain is in deep trouble” – When even the discounters are struggling, you know Britain is in real trouble – and plenty of other companies will be feeling the pain very soon, warns Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “Tulip Siddiq’s flyers found in palace of deposed Bangladesh leader” – Tulip Siddiq’s Labour flyers were discovered in the wreckage of her aunt’s palace, revealing close ties to the ousted Bangladeshi leader, reports Gabriel Pogrund in the Times.
• “BBC licence fee ‘could be scrapped by end of 2027 and swapped for tax’” – The BBC TV licence fee could be scrapped and replaced with funding from general taxation under plans being considered by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, according to the Mail.
• “BBC editor may sue Owen Jones over Israel bias claim” – A BBC journalist is considering taking legal action against the Guardian’s Owen Jones after he wrote an article that led to death threats and antisemitic abuse, reports the Times.
• “Lib Dem report says Left-wing alliance not needed because of tactical voting” – An internal Lib Dem report into the party’s General Election campaign has concluded that Britons are so adept at tactical voting that a formal electoral alliance among parties on the Left is no longer needed, says the Guardian.
• “Dominic Cummings and Elon Musk won’t be able to upend U.K. politics” – Nadine Dorries has dismissed claims Dominic Cummings and Elon Musk could upend the traditional political party system after it emerged the pair were “in cahoots”, reports the Mail.
• “Kids should be able to use AI for homework says tech minister” – Science Secretary Peter Kyle says that pupils should be allowed to use AI tools for homework, including generating essays and solving maths and science problems, as long as they are supervised, according to the Mail.
• “I’m worried about what Labour might do to our schools” – In the Spectator, teacher Jonathan Porter praises the education reforms of the last 25 years and asks why Labour is trying to reverse them, given their successful in turning round England’s schools.
• “Parents’ fury as newly built Net Zero ‘ghost school’ lies empty” – A newly built Net Zero school has closed before it opened due to a lack of pupils, reports the Mail.
• “Labour’s Net Zero push ‘hands power to Beijing’” – Labour is courting Chinese investment for its renewable energy “revolution” in a move that could jeopardise our national security, says the former head of MI6 in the Times.
• “The ‘eye-watering’ taxes that undermine Ed Miliband’s heat pump drive” – Green charges make up a quarter of a typical electricity bill – 10 times that of a gas one, reports the Telegraph.
• “Ed Miliband’s ‘obsession’ with renewables as bills reach record high” – Critics say Ed Miliband’s “obsession” with renewable energy is leaving consumers with record high bills, according to the Mail.
• “The U.K. faces a fate worse than blackout” – To keep the lights on, U.K. industry and consumers will continue to pay ever-higher prices for energy, warns Tony Lodge in the Telegraph.
• “Fury over newbuild estate with 15,000 homes in greenbelt in St. Albans” – Fuming locals have raged at a council planning to build thousands of homes on green belt surrounding one of England’s oldest market towns, reports the Mail.
• “Nurse fighting for her life after being stabbed in hospital” – A female nurse in her 50s is in critical condition with life-changing injuries after being stabbed in a “senseless attack” at the A&E department of Royal Oldham Hospital, says the Mail.
• “‘Corridor nurses’ wanted to help ease A&E crisis” – A hospital is recruiting nurses to man the corridors where patients have been placed amid an “unprecedented” demand for hospital beds, reports GB News.
• “Nine in 10 disability benefit checks carried out remotely as civil servants work from home” – More than 90% of disability benefit assessments are being conducted remotely, sparking concerns over potential widespread fraud in the welfare system, says GB News.
• “Broken Britain must cough up for French-style healthcare” – Like it or not, Europe could hold the key to fixing our flawed NHS, writes Michael Mosbacher in the Telegraph.
• “Streeting could change law to update Covid vaccine compensation scheme” – The Health Secretary is looking at changing the law regarding compensation for people harmed by Covid vaccines amid concern it doesn’t offer enough support, reports the Telegraph.
• “Do antidepressants work? This British professor says they don’t” – Prof. Joanna Moncrieff dared to argue that depression is not a physical illness. As a result, she has been abused by peers – and championed by Tucker Carlson. In the Sunday Times, Julia Llewellyn Smith asks: “Is her theory right?”
• “America’s rebel: rebels against Chapter One!” – On Substack, Jim Haslam debunks Ron Unz’s conspiracy theory on the origins of COVID-19.
• “Rambling reflection of an old geezer” – Dr. Tom Jefferson, co-author of the Trust the Evidence Substack, reflects on his journey with the platform, which blends humour with facts to expose powerful figures like Matt Hancock.
• “Using foundations for quid pro quos, and to assure great jobs for out of work politicians” – On Substack, Dr. Meryl Nass shares snapshots of unseemly donations from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K.
• “U.K. online safety laws ‘unsatisfactory’ and ‘uneven’, says science minister” – Science Secretary Peter Kyle has criticised the Online Safety Act as “unsatisfactory” and “uneven”, warning that without urgent changes it could lead to a “digital disaster” for children, according to the Guardian.
• “Musk and Zuckerberg team up for free speech war against Britain” – In the Telegraph, Matthew Field reveals that Meta, under Mark Zuckerberg’s new direction, is preparing to launch a major push to weaken or scrap global content rules, setting the stage for a major clash with Britain’s upcoming digital regulations.
• “Zuckerberg back at Mar-a-Lago as he is accused of ‘caving in’ to Trump” – Mark Zuckerberg has met with Donald Trump for a second time since the election as the Facebook owner faces down critics of his so-called MAGA makeover, reports the Mail.
• “Instead of threatening Canada, Trump should offer an Anglosphere union” – In the Washington Examiner, Dan Hannan argues that instead of threatening to absorb Canada, Trump should propose an Anglosphere union, fostering closer collaboration on defense, trade and security between the U.S., Canada and other English-speaking democracies.
• “‘Let Trump bid for Greenland – and Britain too’” – Maybe the world needs a transfer window so any country can offer to buy another, says Jeremy Clarkson in the Sunday Times.
• “Shame on us for ever believing him” – “Justin Trudeau convinced me he was a sunny patriot who’d unify Canada. What I got instead was a cynical culture warrior who smeared opponents as bigots and defamed my country as a genocide state,” says Jonathan Kay in Quillette.
• “SAS Kenya hero hired as Trump bodyguard” – A former SAS soldier who heroically rescued dozens of hostages in a Kenyan terrorist attack on his day off has been hired by incoming U.S. President Trump as one of his elite personal bodyguards, reports the Mail.
• “Inside the Los Angeles wildfires blame game” – From diversity policies to a “worthless” fish, the finger-pointing over the most destructive fires in LA’s history has just begun, says Benedict Smith in the Telegraph.
• “How to reclaim the Western history of freedom” – On Substack, Sherelle Jacobs argues that the West’s history shows how overcoming powerful elites’ resistance to freedom helped drive its success.
• “Kellie Maloney says transgender women should not use female toilets” – Former boxing promoter Kellie Maloney says that trans women with penises should stay away from female toilets and those who have gone through male puberty should not be allowed to compete against women in sport, according to the Mail. 
• “‘You’re spreading lies!’” – On X, a clip from BBC Three’s Free Speech episode from November 2014 shows James Delingpole being silenced for daring to speak the truth about rape gangs and their ethnic profile.

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