News Round-Up

• “Failed asylum seeker can stay in UK – because she joined terror group” – A Nigerian woman who tried and failed eight times to secure asylum in Britain has finally been granted the right to stay after joining a terrorist organisation to boost her claim, reports the Telegraph.
• “Gaza immigration judge’s father is ex-Guardian journalist who campaigns against Israel online” – The immigration judge who made the controversial decision to grant a Palestinian family the right to live in Britain is the son of a former Guardian journalist who campaigns against Israel, according to the Telegraph.
• “Judicial reform is now long overdue” – Keir Starmer is right to say that Parliament should make the rules on immigration, says the Telegraph in a leading article. It is within his power to make this happen.
• “How to fix our immigration laws” – Instead of hiding behind unwelcome judicial decisions, perhaps it is time to put Parliament back in charge of our immigration system, writes Alexander Horne in the Spectator.
• “Report finds Prevent case into Sir David Amess’ killer was closed ‘too quickly’” – A bombshell report reveals that the Government’s counter-terror programme closed MP Sir David Amess’ murderer’s case too soon, reports the Mail.
• “The Islamist threat to free speech in Sweden and the UK” – Western governments are retreating from defending free speech out of fear of violent backlash, says Potkin Azarmehr in Focus on Western Islamism. In doing so, they betray the very values that make liberal democracy worth defending.
• “‘I identify as a llama, and you should respect me’” – Keir Starmer’s new Health minister Ashley Dalton has raised eyebrows by backing the idea of people identifying as llamas, reports the Mail.
• “Children who identify as animals ‘should be shown empathy’” – According to guidance funded by the Home Office, children who identify as animals and walk on all fours should be shown “empathy”, according to the Times.
• “Inside the Labour WhatsApp group that got two MPs suspended” – In the Times, Aubrey Allegretti reports on the secret WhatsApp group that has shocked Westminster.
• “Rachel Reeves launches investigation into damning OBR leak” – Rachel Reeves has launched a leak inquiry after it emerged the official spending watchdog has warned the Chancellor is on track to break her fiscal rules, reports the Telegraph.
• “Richest households shoulder more than half of Britain’s income tax bill” – The richest fifth of households are paying more than half of Britain’s income tax bill, says the Telegraph.
• “Labour’s high-tax Britain on the brink of generational decline” – Britain’s soaring taxes are driving birth rates to historic lows and threatening long-term economic stability, reports the Telegraph.
• “Labour MPs push for Government to support four-day working week” – A dozen Labour MPs are pushing ministers to introduce a four-day working week as part of the Government’s overhaul of workers’ rights, says the Times.
• “Is this the real reason Rachel Reeves is adorning her walls with ghastly lockdown art?” – In the Telegraph, Robert Taylor slams Rachel Reeves’ replacement of historic portraits with ugly lockdown art as an absurd tribute to a disastrous era that wrecked lives but handed Labour the keys to power.
• “In defence of Badenoch” – As she clocks up her 100th day, Kemi needs a loyal party, says Tom Harris in the Telegraph.
• “Who were Richard Hermer’s worst clients?” – In the Spectator, Steerpike digs into Richard Hermer KC’s dodgy legal career, defending figures like Gerry Adams, al-Qaeda associate Rangzieb Ahmed and the mother of an ISIS “Beatle”.
• “Reform UK sets up dedicated ‘defections unit’” – Reform UK has set up a new unit to vet potential Conservative and Labour defectors ahead of the local elections, reports the Express.
• “Sue Gray’s peerage is a shameless reward for failure” – The House of Lords is not supposed to be a plush retirement scheme for political cronies, says Nigel Farage in the Telegraph.
• “Football doesn’t need a regulator” – Starmer should heed what Premier League leaders are saying about the unintended consequences of the Football Governance Bill, writes Len Shackleton in the Spectator.
• “A guide to the BBC’s anti-Trump bias – from immigration to trans rights” – The national broadcaster is obliged to remain impartial yet its coverage of the US President has been less than flattering, says Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
• “Starmer’s Britain is no longer a democracy” – We will soon find out whether we are living through the last gasp of a dying, authoritarian, elitist technocratic regime, or whether Britain’s democracy is truly finished, writes Allister Heath in the Telegraph.
• “‘This Government is destroying free speech!’” – On the latest episode of the Winston Marshall Show, Winston sits down with Toby to discuss Labour’s draconian free speech curtailments. 
• “Our politicians should be taught how to govern” – Smart young people are more likely to work in finance, law or tech than go into government, perhaps because politics provides very little real preparation, says Munira Mirza in the Times.
• “Council staff get day off after facing residents’ wrath over LTN” – Council officers defending a low-traffic neighbourhood faced such hostility that some were left “in tears” – and all got a day off, according to the Standard.
• “Reform declares war on renewables” – In the Spectator, Lucy Dunn reports on Reform UK’s bid to scrap ”Net stupid Zero” and tax renewables to win over voters hit by high energy bills.
• “How the sun and cosmic rays change our climate” – On the Freedom Research podcast, Danish astrophysicist Henrik Svensmark explains how changes in solar activity and cosmic rays can influence our climate.
• “Could judge U-turn wreck assisted dying Bill?” – Hopes are rising that a new law legalising assisted dying could be defeated by MPs unhappy at plans to “water down” safeguards, according to the Mail.
• “‘I was part of the panel that reviewed the Lucy Letby case. I believe the trial was fundamentally flawed’” – The Lucy Letby trial was fundamentally flawed, and action must be taken before it causes yet more suffering for those involved, says Prof Neena Modi in the Guardian.
• “Inside the People’s Vaccine Inquiry – part three” – In TCW, Dr Clare Craig exposes the suppressed evidence surrounding the Covid vaccines, revealing how the narrative of their safety and efficacy was driven by faith, not science.
• “The MHRA papers have been republished” – On the TTE Substack, Dr Tom Jefferson and Prof Carl Heneghan note that the MHRA has secretly republished its withdrawn meeting minutes – all but highlighting what it wanted to hide.
• “Israel gears up for new war with Hamas: IDF sends troop reinforcements” – Israel is making preparations to resume the war in Gaza after giving Hamas an ultimatum to hand over the remaining hostages or see the ceasefire end on Saturday, reports the Mail. 
• “Trump has backed Hamas into a corner” – The message from Trump and Netanyahu is unmistakable: the era of appeasement is over, writes Jonathan Sacerdoti in the Spectator.
• “Euro judges could end Denmark’s plan to break up ‘non-western’ ghettos” – A bid to break up “ghettos” of “non-Western” immigrant communities in Denmark is set to be challenged in the EU’s top court after residents accused the Government of racial discrimination, reports the Mail.
• “New bill to protect free speech after passing of tougher hate speech laws” – A bill to enshrine freedom of speech in the Australian Constitution has been tabled in the Senate after the passing of tough new hate speech laws, reports Rebekah Barnett on her Substack.
• “Trump and Putin to begin talks on ending Ukraine war ‘immediately’” – President Trump and President Putin have begun talks to end the war in Ukraine three years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to the Hill.
• “Delight in Moscow, fear in Kyiv. Will Trump sideline Ukraine?” – Putin will take Trump’s contact as a tacit approach to rebuilding bridges with his country — and as a boost to his ambitions to retain Ukrainian territory, says Marc Bennetts in the Times.
• “Trump’s Defence Secretary delivers bombshell blow to Ukraine” – In a devastating blow to Kyiv, the Trump administration has said that America will no longer bear the lion’s share of aid to Ukraine, reports the Mail. 
• “Journalists barred from Oval Office over refusal to use ‘Gulf of America’” – Trump has blocked journalists from the Oval Office for refusing to follow his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, according to Fox News.
• “Jeffrey Epstein ‘client list’ among files to be declassified” – Jeffrey Epstein’s “client list” is set to be released by a new Trump administration task force charged with the declassification of federal secrets, reports LBC.
• “Epstein files: ‘It’s a bigger story than the world has ever known’” – The paedophile financier has been linked to countless famous people but what could Trump’s task force uncover about his crimes and contacts? asks Josie Ensor in the Times.
• “Is Pope Francis Rory Stewart in a frock?” – The Pope’s intervention against Trump feels like a metaphor for the elites’ moral preening on the immigration question, says Brendan O’Neill in the Spectator.
• “From Trump to Europe’s populists, it’s not fascism that’s rising – it’s anger at broken politics” – The voters are rebelling against the failed, internationalist visions of both Left and Right, writes Robert Tombs in the Telegraph.
• “The coming British civil war” – On the Maiden Mother Matriarch podcast, Louise Perry talks to Prof David Betz about his fear that a civil war could break out in Britain within the next five years.
• “Founder of Surrey Pride had sex with 12 year-old boy, trial hears” – Stephen Ireland, who co-founded Pride in Surrey in 2018, has been accused of multiple child sex offences including raping a child and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, according to the Mail.
• “NHS staff considered reporting nurse to police for ‘misgendering’ trans doctor” – NHS staff considered calling in police to investigate a nurse who complained about having to share a changing room with a trans doctor, reports the Scottish Express.
• “Nicola Sturgeon has left Scotland a land where words mean nothing” – In the Times, Alex Massie slams the Humpty Dumpty politics of Scottish self-ID laws, where words mean whatever the ruling class wants.
• “NHS trust unveils ‘nonsense’ new rainbow Pride badge despite government funding cut” – An NHS trust has developed a new rainbow Pride badge a year after government funding was cut for the previous one, reports the Sun.
• “Welsh museums promoting woke activism cost taxpayers more than £75 million over two years” – Wales’ cash strapped national museums have been accused of wasting public money on “woke exhibitions”, says Dia Chakravarty in the Telegraph.
• “Is even Disney moving away from trigger warnings?” – Disney is reportedly removing its patronising trigger warnings from many of the films on its streaming service, writes Tom Slater in the Spectator.
• “‘Readers don’t care about cultural appropriation’” – In the Telegraph, Claire Allfree talks to author Alexander McCall Smith on fictionalising African culture, ‘offensive’ writing and his mind-blowing work ethic.
• “Jailed for the crime of loving my children?” – In the New Conservative, Frank Haviland relays his harrowing divorce battle, in which fighting for his children’s well-being risks making him a criminal in the eyes of the court.
• “This is not satire” – Worcester, Massachusetts has voted to become a “Sanctuary City for Transgender and Gender Diverse People”. The City Council Meeting before the vote was… interesting.

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