News Round-Up

• “Labour backs down over grooming gangs with ‘rapid audit’ of issue” – Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced that a Whitehall fixer will undertake a “rapid audit” into the scale of rape gangs across Britain, reports the Mail. But only five cities will be in scope of the inquiry.
• “Labour attempts to stem grooming gang backlash with new local inquiries” – Yvette Cooper has been blasted for not giving local rape gang inquiries statutory powers to compel witnesses to appear and give evidence, says the Telegraph.
• “The answers Starmer must give” – The anger the country feels about the rape gang scandal is real and won’t be assuaged unless real action is take, writes Michael Gove in the Spectator.
• “Fact check: The Rest Is Politics’ grooming gang claims” – In the Spectator, Steerpike fact checks Rory Stewart’s claims about rape gangs on The Rest is Politics and finds the former MP guilty of spreading misinformation.
• “Suspended MP Mike Amesbury pleads guilty to assault by beating” – Mike Amesbury, the suspended Labour MP, has pleaded guilty to assault by beating after being filmed punching a man in the street, according to the Times.
• “Brothers accused of attacking police at Manchester Airport in court” – Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammed Amaad, 25, two brothers accused of attacking police at Manchester Airport last July, have appeared in court, reports the Mail.
• “The Muslim Brotherhood relies on the West’s self-censorship, says Ayaan Hirsi Ali” – On the Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast, Ayaan Hirsi Ali explains to Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan how the Muslim Brotherhood exploits Western self-censorship to fuel radicalisation.
• “Migrants not interested in integration ‘should not be here’, says Badenoch” – Kemi Badenoch has declared that migrants who refuse to embrace British culture should find somewhere else to live, reports the Sun.
• “Badenoch warns Brits are not ‘rich’” – In a straight-talking speech, Kemi Badenoch has warned Brits that we are not “rich” and must start “living within our means”, says the Mail.
• “New minister allowed to make decisions on China despite ‘lobbying for its businesses’” – The new City Minister will be allowed to make decisions on China despite reportedly lobbying on behalf of its businesses, reports the Mail.
• “Starmer’s law chief in new row over SAS ‘war crimes’ inquiry” – The Attorney General is under fresh pressure after he was accused of a conflict of interest over a “war crimes” inquiry into the SAS, says the Telegraph.
• “Attorney General was paid £30,000 to represent Gerry Adams” – The Attorney General has been paid £30,000 to represent Gerry Adams in a High Court case against IRA bomb victims, reveals the Times.
• “U.K. economy grows less than expected as GDP rises 0.1% in November” – The U.K. economy returned to growth for the first time in three months, but the expansion was less than expected, reports Reuters.
• “Reeves and Starmer are out of ideas – and running out of time” – If we don’t have growth, we will have a forced reckoning with the affordability of our lifestyles, warns Sam Ashworth-Hayes in the Telegraph.
• “Why was everyone fooled by Rachel Reeves?” – There was never good reason to believe that Labour knew what it was doing, says Matthew Parris in the Spectator.
• “Braverman refuses to rule out defecting to Reform” – Suella Braverman has refused to rule out a move to Reform U.K. just weeks after the ex-Home Secretary’s husband joined the party, reports GB News.
• “Tories forced MP’s elderly mother to do diversity training after she liked immigration post” – Andrea Jenkyns says the Conservative Party forced her mother to undergo diversity training after she liked a social media post about illegal immigration, according to the Telegraph.
• “Britain’s politics is fragmenting – and it’s looking like Reform is here to stay” – One in six of those who voted Conservative in July have now switched over to Nigel Farage’s insurgent party, says John Curtice in the Telegraph.
• “Endgame” – You only have to listen to David Lammy’s recent Foreign Secretary speech to see the political regime is falling apart, writes Dr. David McGrogan on his Substack.
• “Is Europe really faring better than Britain?” – Europe is becoming a macrocosm of Athens, where past glories look down on the tawdry reality of the present, says Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Drill rapper promoted by BBC who boasts about murder is killer of Jimmy Mizen” – A balaclava-clad rapper who boasts about killing in his lyrics and was promoted by the BBC has been unmasked as the murderer of schoolboy Jimmy Mizen, reports the Sun.
• “Tories made 2050 Net Zero pledge without a plan, Badenoch to admit” – Kemi Badenoch is expected to admit that the Tories’ pledge to reach Net Zero by 2050 was made without a clear strategy, calling it a “mistake”, according to the Telegraph.
• “600,000 households to be forced to fit smart meters” – Over half a million households will be forced to fit a smart meter or face higher bills within six months when the BBC switches off a 40 year-old radio service, reports This is Money.
• “The draconian Net Zero rules being rolled back by stealth” – Amid growing pressures, Starmer is quietly softening green policies – but what does this mean for businesses, voters and your wallet? wonders Ella Nunn in the Telegraph.
• “Miliband’s Net Zero fantasies are falling apart – and only he can’t see it” – In the Telegraph, Annabel Denham argues that Ed Miliband’s Net Zero fanaticism is wrecking industries for no good reason.
• “Police inspector sacked for comparing Just Stop Oil to ‘special needs kids’” – A police inspector with 27 years’ experience has been sacked for calling Just Stop Oil protesters “retards” and likening them to “spoilt special needs kids”, reports the Mail.
• “Families failed by Covid vaccines tell inquiry of their pain” – Families of those harmed by Covid vaccines have told the Covid Inquiry that they were forced to support each other during the pandemic because there was no other help, says BBC News.
• “WHO disinformation on the Covid origin story” – The Wall Street Journal has published an “opinion” from the WHO that is unabashed political propaganda, writes Dr. Robert W. Malone on his Substack.
• “‘How I fell foul of YouTube’s fact-checkers’” – In the Spectator, Matt Ridley reveals how YouTube’s fact-checkers banned his podcast interview for citing a confirmed historical fact about a 1977 flu outbreak.
• “Hamas must be eradicated. If it isn’t, this Gaza ceasefire is a failure” – In the Telegraph, Col. Richard Kemp argues that Hamas must be eradicated for the Gaza ceasefire to be deemed a success, warning that anything short of total victory will enable the terrorists to regroup and strengthen their hold on Gaza.
• “Elon Musk ‘helped free Italian journalist Cecilia Sala from Iran’” – Elon Musk was instrumental in securing the release of a young Italian journalist who was jailed in Iran on trumped-up charges, reports the Times.
• “Biden’s farewell speech divides nation ahead of new Trump era” – Joe Biden’s final speech has divided the American public, with people on all sides declaring it a disappointing and even disturbing affair, says the Mail.
• “Trump in front of a camera again as he vows Hollywood ‘golden age’” – Donald Trump has tapped A-list stars Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight for jobs in his administration as ambassadors to Hollywood, reports the Mail.
• “The Cyrus family’s very different politics” – Billy Ray Cyrus is set to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, much to the likely dismay of his daughter, says the Mail.
• “Kamala Harris to ‘pen tell-all book about losing to Trump’” – Kamala Harris is reportedly planning to write a tell-all book about her presidential run and defeat to Trump, reports the Telegraph.
• “BBC The Traitors at centre of ‘sexism’ storm as fans issue complaints over contestant’s remark” – A female contestant on BBC’s The Traitors has sparked a sexism storm after insisting on selecting only female Traitors, says GB News.
• “The child-free influencers waging war on motherhood” – In the Spectator, Kara Kennedy explores the rise of child-free influencers who glamorise rejecting motherhood.
• “The National Trust took the knee” – In the Spectator, Charles Moore slams the National Trust for bowing to wokeism and activism, losing sight of its founding mission to preserve beauty and history.
• “The Baftas are becoming an assault on Britishness” – In the Telegraph, Ella Whelan slams the Baftas for ditching merit in favour of woke politics.
• “The day DEI went up in smoke” – DEI is annoying in entertainment. It is wasteful in government. But in a fire department it puts lives at risk, says Douglas Murray in the Spectator.
• “Is the tide turning on restitution? ” – The case for the return of the Benin bronzes seems to be unravelling, notes David Abulafia in the Spectator.
• “School cannot use £700,000 pitch after neighbours complain about noise of referee whistles” – A school has been unable to use a new £700,000 sports pitch for months after neighbours complained about the noise from referees’ whistles, reports the Express.
• “Ian Hislop: regime satirist” – The once irreverent Private Eye editor can now be relied on to parrot the official, centrist line, says Gareth Roberts in Spiked.
• “David Lynch: Twin Peaks film director dies at 78, family says” – David Lynch, the legendary American filmmaker whose works include Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, has died aged 78, according to BBC News.
• “‘There are waiting lists to get on the waiting lists to get on the waiting lists’” – On Question Time, Liam Halligan calls NHS reform a “matter of life and death” and says we need to talk about reforming the service without “everybody completely freaking out”.

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