News Round-Up

• “The US is right about free speech in Britain” – The US government’s threat to scupper any trade deal with the UK unless we commit to widening free speech is not based on a faulty premise, writes law prof Andrew Tettenborn in the Spectator. Free Speech really is on life support.
• “The White House is right: freedom of speech is under threat in Britain like never before” – Every day there is another betrayal of our wartime generation and the values which they fought for, says Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “Six cases that convinced the Trump White House the UK doesn’t have free speech” – As America raises concerns about “freedom of expression in the UK”, the Telegraph takes a look at the cases that have sparked transatlantic tensions.
• “Free speech at risk amid abortion row, Badenoch warns” – The Conservative leader has spoken out as the US Vice-President’s objections to the silent prayer ban in abortion clinic buffer zones looks set to scupper Starmer’s tariff talks, reports the Telegraph.
• “I criticised Labour and the thought police came for me” – “The attempt to remove my OBE was politically driven and mean-spirited,” writes Charlie Mullins in the Telegraph, who’s announced he’s joined the Free Speech Union.
• “There’ll be no liberty on Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’” – Beware the words ‘liberty’ and ‘liberation’. There are no end of evils committed in their names, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “Sorry Sir Keir, Trump’s just not that into you” – Soft power is no substitute for hard power, and the goodwill of the Global South is worth nothing, says Madeline Grant in the Telegraph.
• “Trump signs off Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal” – A treaty between the UK and Mauritius is imminent after the US president approved the agreement, reports the Times.
• “Don’t assume Trump is joking about a third term” – Trump really is looking into how he can remain in office for a third term, says Sam Kahn in Persuasion.
• “Delusional media ask whether a new wave of American refugees will flee Trump’s pending “fascist dictatorship” for that bastion of freedom and democracy known as the Federal Republic of Germany” – On his Substack, Eugyppius is unconvinced by German press reports that Americans are fleeing Trump’s America for the progressive Shangri-La of Germany.
• “Russia warns Trump against striking Iran’s nuclear facilities” – The Kremlin has expressed concern after Donald Trump vowed to bomb Iran unless it agrees to a new nuclear deal with Washington, according to the Mail.
• “The billionaire battle to swing a local election that could derail Trump” – A Democratic win in Wisconsin could lay the ground for the party to retake control of the House of Representatives, reports the Telegraph.
• “French accuse Trump of interference in business over DEI demands” – The US embassy in France has issued a letter stating that companies that supply goods and services to America must comply with its ban on diversity programmes, sparking outrage, according to the Times.
• “Is France still a democracy?” – Can France still call itself a democracy after Marine Le Pen has been declared ineligible to run for president? asks Jonathan Miller in the Spectator.
• “Outrage grows over Marine Le Pen’s blocked presidential run” – Le Pen has pledged to fight the court-imposed prohibition stopping her from running for the French presidency in 2027, says the Mail.
• “Those who fear the judgment of the people favour the judgment of the courts” – In a leading article, the Telegraph condemns the lawfare used against Marine Le Pen.
• “Macron urged to pardon Le Pen and let her run for president” – The French President is being told to overturn the court ruling that means Marine Le Pen cannot run in the 2027 French presidential election, reports the Telegraph.
• “The left again tries to use the courts to thwart democracy” – This time, the “elections are too important to let voters decide” moment happened in France, writes Alex Berenson on his Substack. It’ll probably go about as well as the Democratic attacks on Donald Trump did last year.
• “The hypocrisy behind Le Pen’s disqualification” – In the Spectator, James Tidmarsh says every single political group, every single national delegation, has violated the same rule that Ms Le Pen has – so why are the courts punishing her and her alone?
• “Marine Le Pen’s ‘martyrdom’ plays into the hands of the hard Right” – Banning the National Rally figurehead from the 2027 French presidential race will just play into her hands, enabling her to pose as a political martyr, says Bruno Waterfield in the Times.
• “I don’t believe a word that Starmer says about ‘smashing the gangs’” – Promising to lead a “global crackdown” on illegal migrants, Sir Keir Starmer wrote in yesterday’s Mail: “Believe me, I get it.” But Alp Mehmet, writing in the Mail, doesn’t believe a word of it.
• “Albanian dinghy migrants boast of luxury in TikTok advertising” – Videos posted on TikTok show Albanian migrants bragging about making it to the UK after paying £3,000 to cross the Channel. The caption advertises the route as “100 per cent guaranteed”, according to the Mail.
• “Judges ‘told too late’ about delay to ‘two-tier justice’ guidelines” – Even though the Sentencing Council has agreed to put its new guidelines on hold, Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told MPs yesterday there was a “very real prospect” that offenders were handled under the discredited Sentencing Council rules yesterday morning, since judges weren’t told to ignore the new rules until two hours they’d come into force, says the Mail.
• “Why are ethnic minorities being prioritised for bail?” – When the Ministry of Justice announced that the government would introduce emergency legislation this week to stop ‘two tier’ Sentencing Council guidelines being implemented, the Lord Chancellor may have hoped that her swift action would bring this story to a close. But yesterday the debate over ‘two-tier’ justice widened, says the Spectator.
• “Two tier justice cannot be countenanced” – The idea that everyone is equal before the law should be axiomatic, thunders a leading article in the Telegraph.
• “Police chief defends arresting parents in school WhatsApp row but says it could have been ‘lower key’” – A police chief has defended arresting two parents in a school dispute, but admitted a lower key approach might have been better than sending three police cars, a van and six uniformed officers to their door, according to LBC.
• “Why I’m crowdfunding a proper inquiry into the rape gang horror” – We will not be deterred by allegations of ‘racism’ – we will hound down the truth, however vile it may be, writes Rupert Lowe in the Telegraph, announcing that he’s crowdfunding a public inquiry in the rape gang scandal.
• “Legal challenge over VAT on private school fees for SEN children” – The judicial review against the Government’s decision to impose VAT on independent school fees began in the High Court yesterday, reports the Times.
• “Reeves was officially warned private school tax raid would harm poorer families” – Claimants in the VAT trial argue that the Government’s tax policy interferes with the fundamental right to education, says the Telegraph.
• “Net Zero nutjob Ed Miliband could wipe out Britain’s factories” – The Government is considering using emergency powers to renationalise British Steel and save the Scunthorpe works from closure, writes Richard Littlejohn in the Mail, taking aim at Ed – ‘Mad Monk’ – Milliband.
• “Unpopular but unsackable: Starmer’s Marmite Miliband problem” – The Energy Secretary seems out-of-step with Downing Street and has been tipped for the chop, but remains highly popular among Labour members, writes Tony Diver in the Telegraph.
• “Green Hydrogen to increase gas bills” – Green hydrogen is expensive and the Government is planning to increase your gas bill to pay for it, says David Turver on his Substack.
• “The electric car honeymoon is over” – From today, electric cars will become liable for road tax, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator. Will this be the death knell for electric vehicles?
• “Atlantic Shores wind project sinks – and with it, a green illusion” – In Wattsupwiththat? Charles Rotter says that there are few things more satisfying than watching a multi-billion-dollar boondoggle collapse under the weight of its own bureaucratic absurdity and scientific sloppiness – which is exactly what’s happened to the Atlantic Shores wind project.
• “Professor William Happer on climate crisis: it’s all a made-up scare story” – “If you read about climate in the newspapers or listen to some talk about climate on television, it will be very, very far from the truth,” says Dr William Happer in an interview for Freedom Research. Dr Happer is a Professor Emeritus at Princeton University, a renowned physicist, member of the US National Academy of Sciences as well as American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and winner of several prestigious scientific awards.
• “Climate change is not the main cause of floods, scientists say” – Despite the common narrative, recent flooding events cannot solely be attributed to climate change, reveals a new study led by the University of Exeter, according to the Mail.
• “Almost half of Britain cannot browse internet because of poor mobile signal” – Patchy connectivity is frustrating network customers and undermining productivity, according to research by the mobile data firm Streetwave, says the Telegraph.
• “The Drenching Arms: rebirth through landfill” – Read Paul Sutton’s latest in his ongoing Drenching Arms series on his Substack.
• “Pull Britain out of this ‘normie doom spiral’” – One of the biggest threats to our institutions is mediocrities at the top such as Justin Welby and Paula Vennells, writes James Marriott in the Times.
• “Civil servants offered £95k to quit in Musk-style crackdown” – Thousands of Civil Servants could step down as a scheme is rolled out across Whitehall to reduce waste, according to the Telegraph.
• “KFC advert sparks hundreds of complaints for ‘mocking’ Christianity” – The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received almost 1,000 complaints about a new KFC commercial that appears to be mocking religion, including from angry Catholics and Protestants, reports the Mail.
• “New Doctor Who star hits back at ‘woke’ claims” – “I just think we’re doing the right thing,” says the Time Lord’s latest companion Varada Sethu, says the Telegraph.
• “Police shoot and kill armed man at busy railway station” – Officers were called to Milton Keynes station at around lunchtime on Tuesday after reports that a man was carrying a gun, reports the Telegraph. He was, so they shot him.
• “The Fitzwilliam Museum, fact and propaganda” – The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge – a part of the University – has mounted an exhibition making serious allegations against the University, many of its historic personalities, and against the founder of the Museum itself, Viscount Fitzwilliam, according to a panel of experts at History Reclaimed.
• “‘No injuries reported’ in crash believed to involve Prince Andrew accuser, say police” – Virginia Giuffre said on Sunday that she was dying from kidney renal failure after being hit by a school bus travelling at nearly 70mph. But her story looks a bit fishy, says the Telegraph.
• “We need to talk about femcels” – In the Spectator, Ella Dorn says the Netflix show Adolescence ignores a growing problem among young women: they’re coming to increasingly hate men.
• “The Great Repeal Act” – Listen to David Starkey, Robert Jenrick and Rupert Lowe argue for a Great Repeal Act to restore the English constitution to its former glory.

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