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How many people on the British mainland did the URA (sic) kill.

I'm a bit averse to answer this question, as it implies that casualties in NI don't count. But the function of a statistician is to answer questions, so as follows.

The best archive of casualties during the Troubles is the CAIN archive in the University of Ulster. It contains databases of deaths. One of those databases is Malcolm Sutton's Index of Deaths. It contains statistical tables thus:

• basic tabulations (tables) of each variable, including geographies
  
• crosstabulations (two-way tables) of key variables
  
• selection of a subset of the information and crosstabulation of two variables
  

One of those basic tabulations is by location. It tells me that

Location Count
Belfast East 128
Belfast North 577
Belfast South 213
Belfast West 623
Britain 125
County Antrim 209
County Armagh 477
County Derry 123
County Down 243
County Fermanagh 112
County Tyrone 341
Derry 227
Europe 18
Republic of Ireland 116
TOTAL 3532

So of of the 3532 deaths attributed by Sutton to the Troubles, 125 were on the island of Great Britain

I see it COP30 this week in Brazil. There’s been little fanfare about it in the lead up to it. A few years ago it would have had significant coverage.

Main countries aren’t bothering. Hard to see what it can achieve aside from the regular demand for ‘climate reparations’.

And, yet, the problem is more serious than ever.

It just goes to show how fickle and shallow much opinion is on this.

Just look at Greta. Completely forgotten about climate change and wrapped herself in a Palestinian flag.

Don’t make stuff up. I just looked at her Instagram. The majority of recent posts are about Sudan, while there are others about Palestine and about climate change.

Sudan? So she's found a new bandwagon to jump on.

'Why don't those wankers talk about Sudan?'

'Talks about Sudan'

'Those wankers are just jumping on a new bandwagon!!'

Sounds like a big well done to the driver and railway workers for their quick thinking to get the train stopped.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/02/train-driver-quick-thinking-saved-lives-stabbing/

The Class 800 Azuma LNER service had departed Peterborough when the attack began and was scheduled to travel through Huntingdon at 125mph on a fast track that does not have access to a platform.

Within minutes, LNER staff had declared an emergency, alerting passengers to the jeopardy through the train’s tannoy system.

The driver, crew and signallers diverted the train from its inner rail track to Huntingdon station’s platform-side rail so that emergency services could rapidly board.

It stopped in Huntingdon just 14 minutes after departing Peterborough, where armed police officers, paramedics and an air ambulance were ready to respond.

Another thought: while the very depressing debate in these circumstances tends to focus on immigration, perhaps what I feel most strongly is that there is a growing sense of unease around public safety. Let’s leave aside ideology and nationality for a second. Do people feel more secure going about their daily business in this country than they did say 25-30 years ago? We have always had isolated incidents and attacks on the general public, but something does feel different at the moment.

There are myriad reasons and causes, as is usual. But I do think that we need to look at policing, law and order and matters of security much more closely to try and address this. That is, of course, not something that changes overnight.

Wronguns need to be excluded from society. And it starts with small crime, these mugs clearing the shelves at Greggs are adding to a downward spiral of lawlessness.

Another thought: while the very depressing debate in these circumstances tends to focus on immigration, perhaps what I feel most strongly is that there is a growing sense of unease around public safety. Let’s leave aside ideology and nationality for a second. Do people feel more secure going about their daily business in this country than they did say 25-30 years ago? We have always had isolated incidents and attacks on the general public, but something does feel different at the moment.

There are myriad reasons and causes, as is usual. But I do think that we need to look at policing, law and order and matters of security much more closely to try and address this. That is, of course, not something that changes overnight.

Is there any evidence that random violence, or indeed any violence is more common than decades ago?

It certainly was quite dangerous to be on the streets in the Eightis at pub kicking out time.

Of course any violence is to be deplored, but a large part of the current moral panic is to do with the relentless craving for ever more click-bait on Social Media and 24 hour rolling news.

Still no details about what’s gone on the train. It’s no good politicians saying don’t speculate when the police have a policy of speculating when it suits them.

Why does it need politicians to tell you this?

Think logically. What do you gain by jumping to a conclusion either way that will be wrong a significant percentage of the time, just wait a couple of days and live your own life.

Just don’t watch the news, eh? Think about all the train passengers who weren’t stabbed yesterday.

For me, accurate news is better than news which is right 70% of the time and wrong 30% of the time simply due to audience impatience.