News Round-Up

• “Starmer snubs Trump’s call for global flotilla in Gulf” – Keir Starmer has refused to send Royal Navy warships to join a global flotilla in the Gulf, reports the Telegraph.
• “Trump wants Starmer to send a warship to the Gulf. He has sent eight sailors” – The Telegraph has learnt that Britain only has a team of eight sailors in the Middle East capable of countering the threat of Iranian mines in the Strait.
• “Record number of immigrants apply for British citizenship under Labour” – A record number of immigrants have applied for British citizenship under Labour ahead of a crackdown and the impending threat of a Reform government, reports the Mail.
• “UK county to declare ‘illegal immigration emergency’ – the first of its kind” – Kent is set to declare an “illegal immigration emergency”, says the Express.
• “Al-Quds Day proves it – multiculturalism has been the death of Britain” – The Al-Quds Day gathering in London has shown a disturbing display of hatred and disloyalty, writes Brendan O’Neill in Spiked.
• “Pro-Palestine activists go door-to-door to sway voters” – Pro-Palestine activists are intimidating voters into backing pro-Gaza candidates at the May local elections, reports the Telegraph.
• “It’s pretty grim when your child is banned from bringing home a wonky picture of the baby Jesus to plaster across the fridge door” – In the Mail, Sarah Vine slams restrictions on kids bringing home religious artwork like nativity drawings.
• “Deborah Meaden accused of sharing ‘antisemitic posts’” – Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden has been accused of sharing antisemitic content, including a message claiming Trump is controlled by Israel, reports the Telegraph.
• “Outrage at Guardian article calling store opening of Jewish-founded Gail’s an ‘act of heavy-handed high-street aggression’ against Palestinians” – The Guardian has sparked fury by describing a new branch of Jewish-founded bakery Gail’s as “heavy-handed high-street aggression” against a nearby Palestinian cafe owner, says the Mail.
• “Gail’s derangement syndrome is getting out of hand” – One can only wonder why Palestinian activists are so incensed by a chain of bakeries, writes Stephen Pollard in the Telegraph.
• “I tried to warn Britain about the curse of identity politics” – Racial disparity is not the same as racism, says Tony Sewell in the Telegraph. Conflating them is devastating for public policy.
• “As Islamist narratives go mainstream, politicians fear confrontation” – In the Times of Israel, Charlotte Littlewood says Britain is losing an “uphill battle” as groups like the Muslim Brotherhood use antisemitism as a strategic tool to undermine Western societies.
• “Keir Starmer facing fresh calls to U-turn on Labour’s court plans” – Keir Starmer is facing fresh calls to U-turn on Labour’s court reforms after it was revealed how he previously agreed that axing jury trials led to wrongful convictions, according to the Mail.
• “Labour has already given up on governing” – We are coming to the dog days of a parliamentary session and things are about to get scrappy, warns Eliot Wilson in the Telegraph.
• “America is worried Britain has succumbed to a Left-wing coup” – In the Telegraph, Priti Patel warns that America views Britain as having fallen to a “Left-wing coup”.
• “Greens could drop Church of England as Britain’s established church if it wins election” – Zack Polanski’s Green Party has pledged to disestablish the Church of England if elected, alongside policies like legalising hard drugs and reversing Brexit, reports the Mail.
• “YouGov backs down in row with Nigel Farage” – YouGov has backed down and changed the way it publishes its results after Nigel Farage accused the firm of being “deceptive”, says the Telegraph.
• “Epstein supplied Mandelson with illegal drugs” – Jeffrey Epstein allegedly supplied Peter Mandelson with illegal drugs and Botox during his time as a minister, reports the Mail.
• “The new informers: the return of the denouncer” – Free speech is lost not only through law, but through habit – as denunciation becomes a civic virtue and opinion a matter for police, warns Theodore Dalrymple in the New English Review.
• “Wouldn’t it have been better if we had executed Ian Huntley?” – In the Mail, Peter Hitchens questions whether life imprisonment for Ian Huntley was truly humane compared with a lawful execution.
• “Water watchdog bosses embroiled in expenses scandal” – The water regulator chairman has been caught using a youth Railcard for first-class travel at age 61, reports the Telegraph.
• “EU demands lower fees for its students in Brexit reset” – EU students would pay cheaper university tuition fees under plans being considered by Downing Street to secure closer post-Brexit trading ties, says the Telegraph.
• “Israel ‘running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors’” – US officials claim that Israel is “running critically low on ballistic missile interceptors” amid Iranian bombardments, according to the Mail.
• “Lebanon reaches boiling point as Israeli strikes trigger refugee crisis” – Renewed Israeli-Hezbollah fighting has displaced nearly a sixth of Lebanon’s population, reports Paul Nuki in the Telegraph.
• “Trump’s plan makes perfect sense, and it’s working” – Trump’s targeted pressure on China’s allies is a calculated path toward a major economic deal, claims John Hemmings in the Telegraph.
• “The Chanel-clad political streetfighter taking on Paris’s socialists” – Rachida Dati has rallied Parisians against the “radical Left” wrecking the city, says Vivian Song in the Telegraph.
• “Barcelona City Council backs strict Ramadan ban on music, dance in schools” – The Barcelona City Council has triggered an uproar after recommending the suspension of music and dancing for Muslim students in schools during Ramadan, according to the Middle East Forum.
• “Canada’s Bill C-22 mandates mass metadata surveillance of Canadian” – Canada’s Bill C-22 requires companies to store citizens’ location and device data for a year, despite claims it’s not mass surveillance, says Reclaim The Net.
• “Kim Jong Un is joined by his heir-apparent teenage daughter for ‘invasion rehearsal’ drills” – Kim Jong Un was joined by his heir-apparent teenage daughter during an “invasion rehearsal” firing live rockets in tests, reports the Mail.
• “Is measles really on the rise?” – Ministers warn of a measles “surge”, but the numbers tell a different story. The real risk, says John Power in the Spectator, is turning a manageable health issue into another front in Britain’s culture wars. 
• “Abortion ‘pills by post’ must be banned, say peers” – A group of female peers has called for an end to the Covid-era “pills by post” abortion scheme that lets women access terminations without in-person visits, reports the Telegraph.
• “Nvidia on hook for British data centre owner’s £650 million bill” – Nvidia is on the hook for £650 million owed by the British data centre company Nscale, in the latest of a string of deals that has raised fears of an AI bubble, says the Telegraph.
• “Ed Miliband claims Iran war shows he’s right on Net Zero” – Ed Miliband says that the Iran crisis shows Britain must “go further and faster” in achieving Net Zero, including decarbonising the UK’s electricity grid by 2030, according to the Mail.
• “Iran war has exposed the folly of Net Zero” – The Iran war has starkly revealed Britain’s energy vulnerability to shocks, says the Telegraph in a leading article.
• “It is time we cancelled Ed Miliband” – Ed Miliband’s energy policies have been harming businesses and households, and worse may be coming unless they’re reversed, warns Simon Heffer in the Telegraph.
• “Green and dirty” – Green policies have caused serious environmental and financial damage despite clean intentions, argues Derek Bennett for the Bruges Group.
• “Octopus smoke and mirrors” – Restructuring Kraken and restating accounts won’t fix Octopus Energy’s core problems, says David Turver on his Eigen Values Substack.
• “Scotland’s looming energy crisis” – Scotland is more vulnerable than the rest of Britain to blackouts, warns Kathryn Porter on Watt-Logic.
• “Has the National Trust’s green gamble paid off?” – The National Trust’s green energy push was meant to cut carbon and raise cash, but profits from its renewables arm have slumped more than 40%, reports Andrew Ellson in the Times.
• “Labour to plunge late Queen’s memorial into darkness to protect bats” – A Labour council is planning to switch off lights at Queen Elizabeth II’s memorial to avoid bothering bats, says the Telegraph.
• “British car makers face wake-up call as new Chinese electric vehicle can be fully charged in five minutes” – A Chinese EV that charges super-fast has launched in the UK, highlighting how far British makers are lagging, reports the Mail.
• “Could this British favourite soon be gone from chippy menus?” – A classic British chippy item could disappear from menus because of its high environmental costs, says the Metro.
• “Travellers set up illegal camp after buying plot of land ‘for £15,000’” – Travellers are being accused of holding a village to ransom after buying a plot of land for £15,000, setting up an unauthorised camp – and then offering to leave for £600,000, according to the Mail.
• “Death to America! Death to Israel” – In London, the Al-Quds Day rally got off to a light-hearted and family friendly start with chants of “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

If you have any tips for inclusion in the round-up, email us here.