News Round-Up

• “Police force reviews ‘thought-crime’ tweet arrest” – Kent Police has opened a review into a retired special constable who was handcuffed over a social media post warning about the threat of antisemitism in Britain, according to GB News.
• “Our cretinous police must answer for their tyrannical behaviour in court” – The force that arrested retired officer Julian Foulkes over a ‘thought crime’ tweet has to face justice, says Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “Arrest over social media post about Leicester mosque plan” – A woman has been arrested over comments made online about plans to convert a disused Leicester pub into a mosque, reports the BBC.
• “The police we deserve?” – On Substack, Pimlico Journal outlines a blueprint for police reform.
• “PM faces Labour fury over ‘island of strangers’ curbs on immigration” – Keir Starmer is facing a Labour backlash over his crackdown on immigration as No 10 furiously denied he was echoing Enoch Powell, reports the Mail.
• “UK’s biggest bank snubs Reeves’s call to back Britain” – Lloyds Bank has snubbed Rachel Reeves’s push to get pension funds to invest more in the UK, says City A.M.
• “Rayner to lose homes faster than she can build them in Right to Buy crackdown” – Right to Buy applications are projected to reach a two-decade high ahead of Labour’s dramatic overhaul of the scheme, reports the Telegraph.
• “Job vacancies plunge as employers brace for tax rises” – Vacancies have plunged to a seven-year low outside the pandemic as employers freeze hiring in the wake of Rachel Reeves’s tax raid, says the Conservative Post.
• “Reeves’s jobs tax is beginning to bite” – In the Spectator, Michael Simmons argues that Rachel Reeves’s jobs tax is already hitting hard, as rising unemployment and falling vacancies signal a labour market wobbling before the worst has even kicked in.
• “Team Trump attacks Starmer’s farmer tax” – US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has told GB News she wants the UK to “put British farmers first” following the new trade agreement between the two countries.
• “Starmer will cave to EU fishing demands under Brexit reset” – Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to cave in to the EU and agree a deal which guarantees European fishing boats access to British waters for four years, reports the Mail.
• “Selling out loyal Gibraltar could be Starmer’s next great betrayal” – The Prime Minister has proven himself completely incapable of putting Britain’s interests first, says Robert Jenrick in the Telegraph.
• “Nigel Farage’s £90 billion tax cuts scrutinised” – The Reform UK leader has pledged to liberate Britain’s taxpayers, but at what cost? asks Noah Eastwood in the Telegraph.
• “Tory MP charged with two sexual assaults at Groucho Club” – Patrick Spencer, a Tory MP, has been charged with two counts of sexual assault after an incident at the Groucho Club in August 2023, reports Sky News.
• “BBC urged to sack Gary Lineker over ‘antisemitic’ Instagram post” – The BBC is facing renewed pressure to sack Gary Lineker after he shared a pro-Palestine video featuring an antisemitic trope on Instagram, according to GB News.
• “‘Stitch-up’ or scandal? What triggered the downfall of Britain’s Sea Lord” – Some speculate that a misconduct probe into the First Sea Lord may have been brought about to silence a vocal critic of defence spending, writes Colin Freeman in the Telegraph.
• “‘Children handcuffed and shot’ – ex-UK Special Forces break silence on war crime claims” – Former members of UK Special Forces have broken years of silence to give BBC Panorama eyewitness accounts of alleged war crimes committed by colleagues in Iraq and Afghanistan.
• “UK’s ‘first X-oholic’ is jailed for online stalking of chief constable” – Britain’s first self-decalared ‘X-oholic’ Jason Nicholls has been jailed for 15 weeks after stalking Sussex Police’s Chief Constable Jo Shiner, who he bombarded with hundreds of abusive posts, according to the Mail.
• “Immigration, the collapsing NHS, economic catastrophe: all caused by the same thing” – It’s really no surprise that the NHS costs more and more and gets worse and worse, says Paul Morland in the Telegraph.
• “Drinking water plant mothballed despite drought fears” – Britain’s only water desalination plant is to spend another summer out of action despite a warm and dry spring stoking fears of drought, reports the Telegraph.
• “Austria walks back support for EU’s 2040 climate target” – Austria’s new government has declined to endorse the European Commission’s recommendation for a 90% cut in planet-warming emissions by 2040, depriving Brussels of an expected ally for the embattled target, says Politico.
• “Indebted London insect producer takes step toward bankruptcy” – In the London Free Press, Norman De Bono reveals that Aspire Food Group, the insect-protein start-up once backed by millions in government cash, has collapsed into receivership under a $41.5 million debt pile after betting big on humans eating crickets. (That’s London, Ontario.)
• “New discovery reveals how butter and cheese could help you live longer” – A growing body of research suggests a saturated fat, known as C15:0 (or pentadecanoic acid), can strengthen cells, calm inflammation, lower cholesterol and heal livers, reports the Mail.
• “Thirty five people died the same day as their Covid shot – authorities did not investigate” – On Substack, Rebekah Barnett reveals that Australia’s drug regulator failed to properly investigate 35 deaths that occurred on the same day as Covid vaccination.
• “Spike protein detected in 92% of vaccine-injured patients up to 245 days after injection” – On the Focal Points Substack, Nicolas Hulscher reveals that spike protein from COVID-19 vaccines was found in most vaccine-injured patients months after injection.
• “Scottish Parliament backs assisted dying” – Assisted dying has moved a step closer to being introduced in Scotland after MSPs backed the controversial legislation in a “landmark” vote, reports STV News.
• “Scottish Parliament backs assisted dying Bill – how did your MSP vote?” – The Times has published how every MSP voted as Holyrood backs assisted dying in a landmark first-stage vote.
• “This is how Hungary climbed the birth-rate rankings” – Supporting families and securing demographic sustainability is not only a national interest – it is a cause for all who care about the future of our civilisation, says Balázs Orban in the Telegraph.
• “Ahead of the curve” – Once branded heretics for defying Covid orthodoxy, Jay Bhattacharya, Marty Makary and Vinay Prasad are now running the show – the Free Press asks if the rebels can fix the regime they once rattled.
• “British sanctions against Israel would be self-harming and morally wrong” – In the Telegraph, Ian Austin warns that sanctioning Israel would betray British interests, reward terrorists and wreck vital trade with a key ally.
• “Denmark and Italy seek support to rein in European human rights court” – Denmark and Italy are asking other countries to back a letter criticising the ECHR for going “too far” in interpreting the law, particularly on migration issues, reports Euractiv.
• “US hostage ‘held in cage by Hamas and tortured repeatedly’” – A US hostage freed on Monday in an American deal with Hamas says he was held in a cage and repeatedly tortured, according to the Telegraph.
• “Trump and Netanyahu go their separate ways” – The release of Edan Alexander by Hamas has shown that Trump and Netanyahu, once close allies, now want different things, writes Dr Limor Simhony Philpott in the Spectator.
• “When will the EU do a deal with Trump?” – China has wrapped up a pretty good deal with the US to reduce tariffs. The UK has managed to agree one too. Where is the EU? wonders Matthew Lynn in the Spectator.
• “CofE’s guidance: an apologetic for woke indoctrination” – For Christian Concern, Roger Kiska analyses the new anti-bullying guidance from the Church of England, exposing its false premises and the dangers it poses to education.
• “Why has the BBC’s gay dating show got a trans contestant?” – Can’t the gays just be left alone to have a dating show of their own? asks Gareth Roberts in the Spectator.
• “Doctor Who promotes queer tolerance, says show’s trans writer” – Juno Dawson, Doctor Who’s first trans writer, has declared the show a beacon of queer tolerance and joy, according to the Telegraph.
• “‘We’re helping her appeal her sentence. It was way too harsh’” – On GB News, Toby explains the facts behind Lucy Connolly’s case – and why her 31-month sentence for a tweet cannot stand.

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