News Round-Up

• “So much for smashing the gangs! Starmer claims the secret to solving the small-boat crisis is a crackdown on people smugglers, but soft-touch French judges let them walk free from court with merely a slap on the wrist” – An investigation by the Mail on Sunday exposes how criminals convicted of involvement in people trafficking have been allowed to walk free with a slap on the wrist by French courts.
• “NHS ‘to rely on migrants’ as Government cuts British nurse training” – The Government has cut funding for nursing courses in a move that risks undermining its pledge to end the NHS’s reliance on foreign workers, says the Telegraph.
• “Worrying about migration doesn’t make you an extremist” – Asymmetrical multiculturalism informs Prevent’s lopsided approach to terrorism, argues Patrick West in the Spectator.
• “Can we still be Britain without the British? We’d rather you didn’t ask” – A refusal to deal honestly with history and ethnicity will turn the state into a twee, cuddly leviathan, argues Tim Stanley in the Telegraph.
• “Albanian drug dealer who illegally sneaked back into Britain weeks after being deported succeeds in remaining in the UK by judge” – Stiljano Ziu has been allowed to stay in the UK despite the asylum court hearing he committed a “flagrant” breach of immigration laws, having already been deported from the country once, reports the Mail.
• “Kemi Badenoch says she refuses to speak to burka-clad constituents” – The Conservative leader said she had a rule at surgeries in her North West Essex constituency that “you have to remove your face covering, whether it’s a burka or a balaclava”, reports the Mail.
• “Digital ID cards could be Starmer’s poll tax” – Fewer than half of the public, or 44%, want a Government ID that stores their biometric data, says Andrew Orlowski in the Telegraph.
• “Britain is heading for utter oblivion. Here is why” – From immigration and demographics to welfare and low productivity, we are facing terminal decline, according to Neil O’Brien in the Telegraph.
• “Trump sends National Guard to Los Angeles amid violent anti-ICE protests” – Donald Trump has ordered 2,000 National Guard troops onto the streets of Los Angeles after a second day of violent protests against his immigration policies, reports the Telegraph.
• “Trump allies hit out as media call LA riots ‘an immigration protest’” – The US media has come under fire from allies of Donald Trump for referring to the violent unrest on the streets of Los Angeles as “protests”, reports the Telegraph.
• “Gory details of Elon Musk’s ‘rugby tackle’ of Scott Bessent spill out as White House leaks escalate” – New details surrounding a White House brawl between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have spilled out into the open, reports the Mail.
• “Israel orders military to stop Greta Thunberg’s boat” – Israel has ordered its military to “take whatever measures necessary” to stop Greta Thunberg’s aid boat from reaching the Gaza Strip, according to the Telegraph.
• “‘Freedom flotilla’ doubles down and says ‘we will not turn back’ as Israel issues chilling warning after vowing: ‘Greta Thunberg won’t make it to Gaza’” – Taking to Instagram , freedom flotilla member Yasemin Acar defiantly said the activists would not be returning to Catania, Sicily, from where they set off last Sunday, reports the Mail.
• “Greta’s horrible voyage to Gaza should be reviled, not celebrated” – Since October 7th Britain – and other countries in the West – are starting to feel eerily similar where Israel discourse is concerned, says Zoe Strimpel in the Telegraph.
• “‘Hospital attack was precision strike to take out Hamas leader’” – The Telegraph is given access to the narrow chamber underneath a Gazan hospital thought to be Mohammed Sinwar’s final hideout.
• “Climate change quango to spend £8 million on latest report” – The Government’s official climate adviser, the Climate Change Committee, is to spend £8.2 million on a report assessing the risks of global warming to the UK – roughly five times the cost of the previous study, reports the Telegraph.
• “UK’s biggest solar farm ‘will ruin views of Malvern Hills’” – Britain’s biggest solar farm will ruin the views of the Malvern Hills if it gets planning permission, as well as pose fire risks and cause traffic disruptions for months, residents have warned, according to the Telegraph.
• “The CCC Reveals its Errors” – The cost of renewables in the Seventh Carbon Budget are a complete fantasy, writes David Turver on Substack.
• “The European Union is paying NGOs millions of dollars to conduct what amounts to soft economic warfare against its own member states” – Eugyppius reports on a scandal exposed in a German newspaper this weekend whereby the EU has been caught paying NGOs to covertly undermine member states’ coal-based power industries.
• “Boy, 8, turned away by NHS because he is a private school pupil, amid claims by MPs that Labour’s raid on fee-paying schools has triggered ‘class war’ and ‘discrimination’ in our public services” – An outraged mother has accused the NHS of “shocking discrimination” after her eight year-old son was denied vital treatment, just because he goes to private school, according to the Mail.
• “Reform launches attack on the Bank of England” – Reform has launched a blistering attack on the Bank of England for wasting tens of billions of taxpayers’ cash on its money-printing programme, says the Telegraph.
• “Reeves has fallen for the Bank of England’s self-serving ideology” – The cash-strapped Chancellor can no longer afford to follow Threadneedle Street orthodoxy, argues Liam Halligan in the Telegraph.
• “America is Sick of Europe’s Censorship Regime” – Billboard Chris and Lois McLatchie-Miller’s arrest in Brussels has the State Department concerned about free speech in Europe, writes Connor Tomlinson on the Restoration Substack.
• “Salman Rushdie warns people are ‘too eager to prohibit speech they disapprove of’ as acclaimed author cautions against ‘slippery slope’ of cancel culture” – The Mail reports that Salman Rushdie has railed against those who attack free speech as he hit out at those that were ‘too eager’ to slap down voices they disapprove of.
• “Hagrid actor targeted by trans activists after taking on role” – Nick Frost has revealed he was targeted by trans activists after accepting the role of Hagrid in the new HBO Harry Potter series because it involved working with J.K. Rowling, reports the Telegraph.
• “Whitehall staff are flouting the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex ‘by telling transgender women it’s okay to use the female toilets’” – A message sent to officials by the LGBT network in the Department of Transport said staff can decide themselves if they can use “any appropriate single sex toilets and other facilities”, according to the Mail.
• “OCR GCSE Geography Paper II: Urbanisation and Migration” – Paul Sutton continues his satirical exam series.
• “Teenagers face two-hour cap on social media apps” – A two-hour cap on social media apps for teenagers is being considered by the Government, according to the Telegraph. Seems a bit unrealistic.
• “House of Lords removes ‘provocative’ Pride flags from canteen” – The House of Lords has removed Pride flags from its canteen following a complaint by a peer, according to the Telegraph.
• “How £7 pints are destroying Britain’s pubs” – Rising costs are forcing beleaguered publicans to raise prices, driving away cash-strapped customers, says the Telegraph.
• “Watch: Londoners remove graffiti from Tube in swipe at Sadiq Khan” – A group of Londoners have filmed themselves removing graffiti from inside tube trains while wearing ‘Doing what Sadiq Khant’ T-shirts in a swipe at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, reports the Telegraph.
• “Teaching unions are guilty of a great betrayal” – Teaching union members hit by Labour’s VAT raid are left to fend for themselves as their leadership veers further Left, says Michael Mosbacher in the Telegraph.
• “WSJ misrepresents the history and hiring of David Geier to unravel CDC’s database machinations” – On Substack, Dr Meryl Nass join with Robert F. Kennedy Jr in countering a vicious WSJ hit piece.
• “At some point we’ve got to say no. We need a complete overhaul of the system” – Watch former Free Speech Nation host Andrew Doyle return to GB News to outline his bold proposal for a UK Free Speech Charter, inspired by the protections enshrined in the US Constitution.

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