News Round-Up

• “HMS Dragon: the British warship in no rush to reach the war is still in Gibraltar” – Britain has been branded “irrelevant” after it emerged that HMS Dragon won’t reach Cypriot waters until next Monday – three weeks after a drone hit its base on the island, reports the Mail.
• “Trump ‘must stop bombing Iran’ before UK helps reopen crucial Strait of Hormuz” – Britain has refused to assist in reopening the Strait of Hormuz until US and Israeli strikes on Iran stop, says the Mail.
• “Trump’s war in Iran is far from a disaster” – US and Israeli operations have effectively neutralised large parts of Iran’s air defences, showing the campaign is going far better than critics claim, argues the Telegraph in a leading article.
• “Why Israel is pushing further into Lebanon” – It’s déjà vu all over again with Israel pushing deeper into Lebanon to widen its buffer zone and Hezbollah firing back, writes Jonathan Spyer in the Spectator.
• “Everyone is too terrified to admit how vulnerable Britain has become” – Britain has become alarmingly vulnerable to modern threats like drone swarms and AI missiles, warns Allister Heath in the Telegraph.
• “This is how Brexit dies” – Brexit seems to be quietly ending, with a gradual drift back to EU standards and payments, notes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “The Government have a lot of good ideas about how to destroy business” – In the Telegraph, Ed Cumming chats to Leon co-founder John Vincent, who slams the Government for making life difficult for businesses and sets out his turnaround plan.
• “Greens shake the magic money tree” – In his first major economic speech, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for an £8.4 billion wealth tax on oil and gas firms to fund energy bills, rent controls and nationalisation, reports the Mail.
• “The Greens’ Zack-onomics doesn’t add up” – Zack Polanski’s economic vision for the Greens doesn’t stack up, says Matthew Lynn in the Spectator. Shock!
• “The Green Party’s whitewashing of prostitution is shameful” – The Green Party’s approach to prostitution reveals a troubling disconnect among people who consider themselves progressive liberals, writes Julie Bindel in the Telegraph.
• “The amazing adventures of Hannah the Plumber” – The Green Party’s newest MP appears to inhabit a cheerful, detached world of her own, observes Julie Burchill in Spiked.
• “‘Hard-Left agitators’ invade Reform social event” – A group of hard-Left agitators has disrupted and intimidated a Reform UK student social event at St Andrews University, reports the Telegraph.
• “Former Tory MP Crispin Blunt charged with drug offences” – Ex-Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has been charged with four drug offences including possession of Class A substances, says the BBC.
• “Nigerian migrant who raped 19 year-old girl was not deported ‘to protect his right to family life’” – A Nigerian man convicted of raping a 19 year-old had previously avoided deportation after another sexual offence because of his right to family life, reports the Mail.
• “All the worst people like the ‘anti-Muslim hostility’ definition” – The new definition of anti‑Muslim hostility is already being grabbed by MPs like Iqbal Mohamed to try and clamp down on free speech – even in Parliament, warns Andrew Gilligan in the Spectator.
• “My polling of British Muslims is proof we must work harder to integrate cultures in Britain” – In the Mail, Rakib Ehsan shares some disturbing data from his recent polling of over 1,000 British Muslims.
• “I’ve reported all over the world but this is the corner of London where I felt thousands of miles from home” – In the Mail, David Patrikrakos describes walking out of Whitechapel Tube and feeling like he’d stepped straight into the subcontinent.
• “The Guardian edits Gail’s article after antisemitism claims” – The Guardian has quietly amended its article about vandalism at Gail’s bakeries after readers accused it of antisemitic undertones, reports the Telegraph.
• “Attack on Gail’s reopens antisemitism wounds at the Guardian” – Protests at the Guardian’s headquarters have erupted over claims of antisemitism, says the Telegraph.
• “I was branded a Nazi and told I would burn alive for defending free speech” – In the Telegraph, Sally Dunsmore, who has run the Oxford Literary Festival for 30 years, reveals that she has faced extreme threats and slurs simply for defending free speech.
• “The only antidote to October 7th denial is telling the truth about Hamas’s pogrom” – The only effective response to denial of the October 7th Hamas attacks is to consistently recount the full horror of what occurred, argues Lord Roberts in the Telegraph.
• “Voters to lose control of BBC charter” – Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced the BBC’s decade-long Charter renewal process will be abolished, confirming the next Charter will be permanent, according to GB News.
• “Masks for NHS staff amid confusion over rapid spread of meningitis” – Hospital staff and GPs have been told to wear masks as authorities scramble to understand why meningitis is spreading so quickly, reports the Telegraph.
• “Should teenagers be vaccinated against meningitis B?” – In the Spectator, Druin Burch considers whether teens should now be included in the UK’s childhood meningitis B vaccination programme.
• “How Scotland turned against assisted dying” – In the Spectator, Iain Macwhirter examines the reasons why Holyrood has said no to assisted dying.
• “Don’t expect Iran to surrender: suffering is the ultimate virtue to Shias” – Iran is unlikely to surrender quickly because enduring suffering and martyrdom hold deep cultural and religious value, explains Michael Nazir-Ali in the Telegraph.
• “Did Ralph Baric at UNC create SARS-CoV-2” – Despite six hours of testimony, Ralph Baric offered no clear alibi regarding the potential creation of SARS‑CoV‑2 at UNC, write Jim Haslam and Jeffrey Sachs on Substack
• “Labour plots crackdown on pheasant shooting” – Labour has proposed restrictions on pheasant shooting alongside plans to cover half a million acres of England with solar panels and wind farms, reports the Telegraph.
• “North Sea giant ready to exploit UK’s biggest oil field this year” – Ithaca Energy is set to begin developing Rosebank – the North Sea’s largest undeveloped field, potentially holding 500 million barrels – later this year, says the Telegraph.
• “Wrong, Chicago Tribune, climate change isn’t making hailstorms worse” – In ClimateRealism, Linnea Lueken debunks claims that climate change has worsened hailstorms.
• “Chicken litter biomass plants may shut when subsidies end” – Five chicken litter biomass plants face the axe next year when their Renewables Obligation subsidies expire, writes Paul Homewood on Not a Lot of People Know That.
• “Germany’s nuclear phaseout was a ‘500 billion euro mistake’” – Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power has been labelled a €500 billion mistake by energy experts, according to P. Gosselin on NoTricksZone.
• “Breakdown of a Leccy Bill – 2026” – In Cliscep, Jit takes a detailed look at why your electricity bill is so damn expensive.
• “If Nadiya Hussain thinks she’s suffered from BBC discrimination, she should try being a white man” – Nadiya Hussain reckons the BBC has cooled on her because she’s Muslim – but in the Telegraph, Allison Pearson isn’t having any of it.
• “Is the Coldplay kisscam woman really a victim of sexism?” – The woman involved in the Coldplay kisscam incident claims she’s struggling to find work, while her partner reportedly has received loads of offers – is sexism really at play? wonders Joanna Williams in the Spectator.
• “Worker sacked for setting off fire alarm wins £22,000 payout” – A Nestlé worker who was fired after vaping in the toilets and triggering a full factory evacuation has been awarded £22,000 in compensation, reports the Mail.
• “Get to know the hatred movement” – Footage on X shows a handful of “Our Fight” counter-protesters being met with jeers at the recent “Palestine Solidarity Campaign” rally in London.

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