News Round-Up

• “UK has no defences to stop Iranian missiles” – Britain has no defences against Iranian ballistic missiles now capable of reaching London and must rely on US and European help, reports the Mail.
• “Trump ‘won’t be able to use UK bases to launch strikes on Iran’s civil power plants’” – The UK has banned offensive US strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure from its bases and restricted use to defensive purposes only, says the Mail
• “Fears of more tax hikes for struggling Brits” – The Iran conflict has created a potential £20 billion shortfall in public finances through inflation, raising alarms over impending tax increases on households, warns the Mail.
• “Starmer faces ‘cover-up’ claims as chief aide’s Mandelson messages ‘were on stolen phone’” – Keir Starmer is facing claims of a cover-up after it emerged his chief aide’s messages to Mandelson have gone missing, according to the Mail.
• “Why do civil servants and the jobless get so many discounts?” – One of modern Britain’s great weaknesses is its inability to understand the consequences of bad incentives, says David Shipley in the Telegraph.
• “Petrol station bosses hit out at Labour’s ‘totally uneducated’ cost of living tsar” – Fuel retailers have furiously rejected Labour claims that motorists face exploitation at the pumps, calling the remarks ignorant, reports the Telegraph.
• “Britain has a proud history of tolerance – but that doesn’t mean submission” – The UK’s longstanding commitment to religious freedom stops well short of allowing any form of submission or erosion of national principles, says Nigel Farage in the Telegraph.
• “Poor Keir Starmer, he can’t back Jews for fear of losing Muslim voters” – In an interview with Judith Woods in the Telegraph, Maureen Lipman slams Keir Starmer for prioritising Muslim votes over Jewish support and blasts the BBC for bias.
• “Fury over ‘antisemitic’ art exhibition in Margate” – A Margate exhibition has sparked fury after a Jewish attendee reported being aggressively confronted and hounded out over claims of antisemitic content, reports the Mail.
• “John Terry appears to back Rupert Lowe call for burka ban” – Chelsea legend John Terry has signalled support for Restore Britain’s pledge to ban the burka, says the Mail.
• “University embroiled in legal battle after student, 20, suspended for making a ‘tea-towel’ joke about Pro-Palestine activist’s headscarf” – Royal Holloway faces court action, backed by the Free Speech Union, after suspending a student for a light-hearted comparison of a keffiyeh to a tea towel, reports the Mail.
• “How Britain lost faith in its ‘two-tier’ justice system” – Trust in British courts has sunk to unprecedented lows with only 57% of people confident in the system amid widespread anger at perceived bias and soft sentences, says the Mail.
• “Migrant granted asylum in Britain after claiming he was gay has a secret wife and child in Cameroon” – An asylum seeker who won protection in the UK by claiming persecution for being gay has been found to have a hidden wife and child back home, reports the Mail.
• “Meningitis cases fall for first time” – Meningitis cases linked to the University of Kent outbreak have fallen for the first time after UKHSA downgraded five suspected infections, according to Sky News.
• “Is assisted dying really about freedom and mercy? Don’t kid yourself” – We need to think much harder about how euthanasia would narrow other options and permanently alter national life, says Kathleen Stock in the Sunday Times.
• “Whatever your view on late-term abortion, we’ve been had” – Parliament has quietly advanced a radical change to decriminalise late abortions with almost no discussion or public awareness, writes Camilla Long in the Sunday Times.
• “We must face reality – the West has split” – In the Telegraph, Finland’s President opens up on “salvaging” the trans-Atlantic relationship and how Trump’s actions are making it harder to defeat Russia.
• “Anarchists blew themselves up when building bomb in Rome” – Two Italian anarchists have killed themselves in an accidental explosion while constructing a bomb apparently aimed at a police station and Leonardo, a defence contractor, which made parts for F-35 jets, according to the Telegraph.
• “How Iran’s ruthless enforcers use rape to crush dissent” – Iranian security forces have systematically deployed rape and sexual violence against demonstrators, including children, to terrorise opposition, reveals the Mail.
• “Cuba prepares for US military action” – Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío says that the country’s military is preparing for the “possibility” of aggression from the Trump administration, according to the Hill.
• “Drill the North Sea to bring down energy prices” – British Gas’s leadership has pressed Labour to reverse the North Sea drilling ban to ease soaring energy costs for consumers, reports the Telegraph.
• “More Climate Change Committee claptrap” – The CCC has stubbornly repeated flawed assumptions in its updated Seventh Carbon Budget analysis, says David Turver on his Substack.
• “Why 20mph speed limits are a menace to motorists” – Blanket 20mph zones have backfired by increasing frustration and risk while councils rake in the fines, reveals Sarah Rainey in the Mail.
• “Aussie growing conditions which produced record harvests are now ‘climate whiplash” – If anthropogenic “climate whiplash” creates record or near record growing conditions, let’s have more climate whiplash, says Anthony Watts on WUWT?
• “Wrong, Daily Mail, Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier isn’t on the road to collapse by 2067” – The Mail’s claim of inevitable Thwaites Glacier collapse by 2067 is misleading since projected ice losses represent only a tiny fraction of the glacier’s mass, explains Anthony Watts in ClimateRealism.
• “On the power of rhetorical ejector seats” – AI has rescued climate sceptics once again, says John Ridgway on CliScep.
• “Macmillan cancer charity prioritises support for LGBT and ethnic minorities” – Macmillan Cancer Support has decided to prioritise welfare advice access for LGBTQ+ people, ethnic minorities and those with pre-existing conditions, reports the Telegraph.
• “Trump posts sketch mocking Starmer for being too afraid to call him” – Donald Trump has ridiculed Sir Keir Starmer by sharing a biting SNL UK parody of the PM’s hesitation to engage with him over Iran.

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