News Round-Up

• “Mandelson ‘called Epstein best pal’ in birthday message” – Lord Mandelson called the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein his “best pal”, according to a letter in an alleged “birthday book”, reports the BBC.
• “Starmer backs Mandelson after private messages to Epstein revealed” – Sir Keir Starmer has given Peter Mandelson his full backing after it emerged the British ambassador to the US had described notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein as his “best pal”, says the Independent.
• “Epstein brokered billion pound deal with Mandelson” – Jeffrey Epstein brokered a deal with Lord Mandelson over the sale of a UK taxpayer-owned banking business after he had been convicted of child sex offences, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Only Trump can save Mandelson now” – In the Telegraph, Daniel Johnson argues that Peter Mandelson’s Epstein ties make him a liability in Washington – but sacking him would risk offending Trump, who also had close ties to Epstein.
• “Can Mandelson survive his association with Jeffrey Epstein?” – In the Spectator, Mary Dejevsky wonders if Lord Mandelson can really survive the fallout from his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
• “Bill Clinton’s birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein seen for first time” – Bill Clinton’s letter to Jeffrey Epstein, in which he praised the billionaire pedophile’s “childlike curiosity”, along with a drawing of Epstein approaching young girls, are the latest images released from his 50th “birthday book”, reports the Mail.
• “Israel bombs Hamas leaders in Qatar” – Israel has carried out air strikes in Qatar, targeting Hamas’s leadership as they met to discuss Donald Trump’s Gaza ceasefire deal, reports the Mail.
• “The spectacular Qatar strike signals a new era for Israel” – The bombing of Qatar shows that Israel is now fully invested in deterrence, whatever the West may think, says Jake Wallis Simons in the Telegraph.
• “The Hamas billionaires who live in mansions and luxury hotels” – While conditions in the rubble-strewn Gaza Strip continue to deteriorate after more than 700 days of war, senior Hamas officials have been enjoying a life of luxury in Qatar, reports the Mail. Until now.
• “UK demand for workers set to fall at fastest pace in the world” – A “perfect storm” of cost pressures, AI disruption and the dreadful Worker Protection Bill are forecast to take hiring demand to a record low, says the Times.
• “Sick days at record high as Labour prepares to boost workers’ rights” – Sick days taken by British workers have surged to a record high as Labour prepares to force companies to offer more generous benefits to staff off work with illness, reports the Telegraph.
• “Pret A Manger writes down value by a third amid £525 million losses” – Pret A Manger has chalked up losses of £525 million as the chain battles to shake off its reputation for painfully high prices, says City AM.
• “Property market ‘on life support’ as Labour stokes tax fears” – In the Telegraph, Maya Wilson Autzen reports that Labour’s looming tax hikes have spooked buyers and left Britain’s property market “on life support”.
• “Labour has taken UK to ‘edge of a crisis’, warns Lord Stuart Rose” – The ex-boss of Marks & Spencer and Asda says that Britain is “at the edge of a crisis” and the Labour Government must “change tack” to revive the floundering economy, according to This is Money.
• “We can’t afford so many people with autism and ADHD on benefits” – In the Telegraph, Eir Nolsøe says Britain can’t ignore the surge in autism and ADHD benefit claims among kids.
• “True scale of NHS failure revealed for the first time” – According to the first league tables of their kind, four in five NHS hospital trusts are failing, reports the Mail.
• “Starmer reported to ICC for ‘war crimes’ over Chagos deal” – Sir Keir Starmer’s Chagos Islands deal has not been scrutinised by Parliament’s intelligence and security committee, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Flaws in Mahmood’s visa plan to crack down on small boats” – Huge flaws have emerged in Labour’s latest toothless plan to combat the small-boats crisis, reports the Mail.
• “Suspend Pakistan’s visas until it takes back Rochdale groomers, says whistleblower” – A police whistleblower says that Pakistan should face visa sanctions until it takes back members of the Rochdale grooming gangs, according to the Telegraph.
• “St George’s Cross appears on historic white horse landmark” – A St George’s Cross has appeared on a renowned white horse landmark that can be seen for miles – and the police have confirmed they won’t be investigating, says the Express.
• “‘Drunk’ asylum seeker spat at police officer following reported disturbance” – A Somalian asylum seeker who drunkenly spat at a police officer has escaped punishment, according to the Bournemouth Echo.
• “Channel migrants in line for millions in compensation” – Almost 200 channel migrants could be awarded millions in compensation from the Home Office over claims of appalling conditions and unlawful detention at a holding centre near Dover, reports LBC.
• “At the risk of being arrested, I suggest Met chief Mark Rowley is a total muppet” – It is disingenuous in the extreme for the Met Commissioner to say officers’ hands are tied in cases like that of Graham Linehan, says Allison Pearson in the Telegraph.
• “Labour backlash as Starmer decides Israel has not committed genocide” – Sir Keir Starmer is facing a fresh backlash within Labour’s ranks after the Government ruled that Israel has not committed genocide in Gaza, reports the Mail.
• “How banning Palestine Action backfired on Labour” – Ever since Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organisation, its profile has increased – and so has the number of its supporters arrested, notes Danny Shaw in the Telegraph.
• “BBC boss admits Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury performance was ‘antisemitic’” – Tim Davie says he cannot give a “categorical assurance” that more scandals involving BBC talent will not emerge, according to the Mail. You don’t say!
• “Phillipson has always put her career above Britain’s schoolchildren. It’s paying off for her” – It’s a depressing thought that all likely candidates to replace Starmer are worse than him, writes William Atkinson in the Telegraph.
• “This attempt to destroy Nigel Farage is the Left’s most desperate yet” – Supposedly, the Reform leader is a “hypocrite” for criticising Angela Rayner, writes Michael Deacon in the Telegraph. There’s just one small problem…
• “McDonnell compares Farage to Hitler” – Left-wing grandee John McDonnell has been blasted for likening Nigel Farage to Adolf Hitler and accusing Reform UK of being a “fascist organisation”, reports the Express.
• “Why can’t we have driverless trains?” – Denmark’s ambitious 15-year scheme to automate the Copenhagen rail network by 2038 is a reminder that there are some countries where striking drivers won’t be able to bring life to a grinding halt, writes Harry de Quetteville in the Telegraph.
• “Global warming exaggerated, say soaring number of Britons” – Research for the Times has uncovered a huge rise in scepticism over climate change as voters turn against Net Zero policies.
• “Net zero’s dirty secret risks costing Britain billions” – Ed Miliband’s vision has hit an unexpected snag – and experts say it could become much worse, writes Matt Oliver in the Telegraph.
• “Ed Miliband in hypocrisy row over gas boiler at his constituency home” – Ed Miliband has been accused of hypocrisy after it emerged he still has a gas boiler in his constituency home despite his heat pump push, reports the Express.
• “Britain can’t afford to keep Ed Miliband in office any longer” – Miliband is putting the country’s prosperity in danger, warns Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
• “East Antarctica’s interior is warming faster than its coastal areas – but climate change isn’t the cause” – In WUWT?, Anthony Watts reports that East Antarctica’s interior is warming faster than its coasts, driven not by climate change but by warmer air currents from the Southern Indian Ocean.
• “Another big Aussie renewable project bites the dust” – BHP has scrapped plans for a major renewable energy project at its flagship iron ore site, fuelling claims it’s backing away from decarbonisation, reports ABC News.
• “Global warming threatens to make you eat more ice cream” – New research warns that hotter days and sugary treats – especially for the less well-off – could pose a growing health risk, according to Medical Xpress.
• “The neighbour illusion” – On Substack, Dr Matthew Wielicki explains why a single global number props up the climate crisis story.
• “Macron appoints new prime minister” – Defence minister Sebastien Lecornu has been appointed as France’s new prime minister by Emmanuel Macron, according to Le Monde, after the latest one lost a vote of no confidence.
• “The random, senseless killing that was totally avoidable” – Iryna Zarutska’s killer had at least 14 previous arrests, including robbery and assault, but got one second chance after another, writes Maya Sulkin in the Free Press.
• “Show compassion for man who ‘stabbed Ukrainian refugee’, says Democratic mayor” – The Democratic mayor of the city where a Ukrainian refugee was stabbed to death by a known criminal has been slammed for calling for “compassion” for the suspect, reports the NY Post.
• “On black violence, woke lies and Right-wing rage” – On Substack, Alex Berenson confronts the hard truths about black crime, warning that leftist denial and Right-wing outrage are fuelling a dangerous racial firestorm.
• “Nepal’s PM quits and flees as his house is burned down by protesters” – Nepal’s Communist Prime Minister has resigned and fled after protesters torched his house and chased his finance minister through the streets over fury at a social media ban, reports the Mail.
• “NHS nurseries ‘offer gender identity guidance’” – NHS nurseries are being told to avoid grouping boys and girls together and using gendered language, reveals the Times.
• “Mottistone Manor gardeners sacked without warning” – A group of volunteer gardeners, who have more than 100 years’ service between them, have been axed by the National Trust at Mottistone Gardens for being insufficiently woke, reports the Isle of White Observer.
• “‘Haven’t they heard that Shabana Mahmood is ‘hard as nails?’” – On GB News, our own Laurie Wastell reacts to the breaking news that at least 500 migrants crossed into UK waters on Tuesday.

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