A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
Along with explosive collars. If enough people in the population press the Recall (or is it Rekall??) button on their mobile app, the politician is voted off the island.
I’ll get my coat. It’s the one with the Mars bars in the pocket.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
Many of us are monitored 24x7 when we do our jobs. Our phone calls and video conferences are recorded, our computer use is monitored, which doors we pass through are ligged, there are hundreds of cameras that follow our every move.
Given police are pretty much the only government employees responsible for collecting of evidence for use in court, or trained in the use of force against citizens, then why should they be monitoried far less than an Amazon warehouse employee?
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
Many of us are monitored 24x7 when we do our jobs. Our phone calls and video conferences are recorded, our computer use is monitored, which doors we pass through are ligged, there are hundreds of cameras that follow our every move.
Given police are pretty much the only government employees responsible for collecting of evidence for use in court, or trained in the use of force against citizens, then why should they be monitoried far less than an Amazon warehouse employee?
If we monitored them all, we would need to sack 30-40% of them asap, and have a big recruitment crisis. Who wants that?
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And the interview footage shows that the interviewing officer considered that wearing a Star of David was “antagonistic”, indeed he laboured that point.
He was also wearing a loud shirt in a built up area and stepping on the cracks in the pavement.
No doubt, he was in possession of an offensive wife.
As someone fairly ambivalent about Starmer and Reeves, I'm interested to see whether the antipathy toward them is personal or just the usual antipathy toward Labour Prime Ministers from those on the conservative side of the fence. I suspect, were Starmer to leave and another Labour PM to be in office, the antipathy would readily transfer to the new individual.
Ho hum...in any case, short of an outright Cabinet mutiny, the only two reasonable and legal ways Starmer leaves office are either a) voluntarily or b) democratically in an election. The latter isn't on the horizon and the former will only happen once a rubicon of sorts is crossed and he simply doesn't want to do the job any longer. He's been in the job 15 months not 15 years so I suspect for all the crap, he may went on to go on a little while yet.
We know the Budget is going to be horrible - it's the reckoning at the end of the party or the meal - the bill is on the table and we have to pay up. Reeves is going to raise taxes and cut spending - we know that as well. How imaginative she will be remains to be seen but it's going to be unpleasant - we all know that.
It’s not just the right who dislike this government. Not by a long way.
It’s that part of the left (nearly a fifth of the voters), that supports the Greens/Your Party. They see Israel/Gaza as the defining issue of our times, and can’t understand why that country is not subject to comprehensive economic, and even military, sanctions.
Domestically, they want a government that imposes punitive taxes on “the rich” (anyone earning £50 k +,) drives landlords out of business, rejoins the EU, and overturns the Supreme Court’s ruling on sex/gender discrimination.
They do, bizarrely but sincerely, see Starmer as a disguised right winger.
On any traditional definition of political sides, Labour occupy the Centre Right position formerly taken by Cameroon and One Nation Tories.
I know a lot of people on the left who have said this and I think it's another symptom of our deranged politics.
Labour have put up tax (Employers NI) by a chunky amount to fund a hefty increase in NHS spending. That puts them firmly on the centre-left.
There is a lot of rhetoric in terms of the flags and whatever that the Left is uncomfortable with, but isn't incompatible with the centre-left. Immigration policy as being implemented is in accordance with the law, negotiation with neighbouring countries, etc.
They are constrained by the taxation promises they felt they had to make to win the election, and by fiscal reality, but you can see numerous signs of what their instincts are, and they're not of the centre-right.
I'd obviously prefer them to be acting further to the left, but I think it's crazy to label Starmer as being on the centre-right.
Question - was it also on the left when the Tories put up taxes to record peacetime levels to (amongst other things) fund record spending in the NHS?
Starmer is continuity Sunak.
That was a left wing measure, yes. Sunak’s government was, overall, slightly right of centre.
This is the London Banana. As long as you stay within the Banana, you'll have a great time in London. Almost everything outside the Banana is horrible these days, best avoid. Not clear why, or when this happened. But it is what it is.
I've seen that concept. It's a big claim that, say, Pinner is horrible.
It's interesting, but not shocking. Those who remember GCSE geography will remember the Burgess and Hoyt models of where the nice bits of cities are: Burgess had them as concentric circles, with the nice bits at the edge; Hoyt had them as wedges. Most cities are a mixture of both. Most cities have wedges of nice bits going most of the way in (usually but not always in the west, the direction of the prevailing wind: see Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow), most cities (not all, Glasgow) have nice bits most of the way around the edge. London ghas two wedges, but even that isn't unusual. Manchester has a T.
Though again, these are far from the ONLY nice bits.
Wasn’t Birds of a Feather set in Pinner ?
Birds of a Feather was set in Chigwell in Essex.
Scooped by Sunil.
May to December was set in Pinner.
And Reggie Perrin was set in Surbiton.
As was The Good Life.
The Good Life. Tom gives up his job as a draughtsman on his 40th birthday, having paid off the mortgage on what would now be a £2 million detached house on a single income.
A contract draffy would still manage it. Not a staffy.
Up to the 1980s, schools would routinely teach technical drawing to boys and touch typing to girls, equipping both for common jobs that had existed for a hundred years but that were about to be swept away by PCs.
Errr: touch typing is still a very useful skill in the PC age. I wish I could touch-type.
Now, touch-typing is useful. Back then, touch-typing was a job.
But who would have thought that typing with your thumbs would become a thing.
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And the interview footage shows that the interviewing officer considered that wearing a Star of David was “antagonistic”, indeed he laboured that point.
He was also wearing a loud shirt in a built up area and stepping on the cracks in the pavement.
No doubt, he was in possession of an offensive wife.
The video shows no wife, so presumable a concealed, offensive wife?
This is the London Banana. As long as you stay within the Banana, you'll have a great time in London. Almost everything outside the Banana is horrible these days, best avoid. Not clear why, or when this happened. But it is what it is.
I've seen that concept. It's a big claim that, say, Pinner is horrible.
It's interesting, but not shocking. Those who remember GCSE geography will remember the Burgess and Hoyt models of where the nice bits of cities are: Burgess had them as concentric circles, with the nice bits at the edge; Hoyt had them as wedges. Most cities are a mixture of both. Most cities have wedges of nice bits going most of the way in (usually but not always in the west, the direction of the prevailing wind: see Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow), most cities (not all, Glasgow) have nice bits most of the way around the edge. London ghas two wedges, but even that isn't unusual. Manchester has a T.
Though again, these are far from the ONLY nice bits.
Wasn’t Birds of a Feather set in Pinner ?
Birds of a Feather was set in Chigwell in Essex.
Scooped by Sunil.
May to December was set in Pinner.
And Reggie Perrin was set in Surbiton.
As was The Good Life.
The Good Life. Tom gives up his job as a draughtsman on his 40th birthday, having paid off the mortgage on what would now be a £2 million detached house on a single income.
A contract draffy would still manage it. Not a staffy.
Up to the 1980s, schools would routinely teach technical drawing to boys and touch typing to girls, equipping both for common jobs that had existed for a hundred years but that were about to be swept away by PCs.
Errr: touch typing is still a very useful skill in the PC age. I wish I could touch-type.
Now, touch-typing is useful. Back then, touch-typing was a job.
But who would have thought that typing with your thumbs would become a thing.
The quality of the speech-to-text from the modern AI-driven transcription services is absolutely incredible. I'm dictating this rather than typing it.
But spare a thought for those of us with a Geordie accent!
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A chap I worked with, years ago, was in the Specials.
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
This is the London Banana. As long as you stay within the Banana, you'll have a great time in London. Almost everything outside the Banana is horrible these days, best avoid. Not clear why, or when this happened. But it is what it is.
I've seen that concept. It's a big claim that, say, Pinner is horrible.
It's interesting, but not shocking. Those who remember GCSE geography will remember the Burgess and Hoyt models of where the nice bits of cities are: Burgess had them as concentric circles, with the nice bits at the edge; Hoyt had them as wedges. Most cities are a mixture of both. Most cities have wedges of nice bits going most of the way in (usually but not always in the west, the direction of the prevailing wind: see Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow), most cities (not all, Glasgow) have nice bits most of the way around the edge. London ghas two wedges, but even that isn't unusual. Manchester has a T.
Though again, these are far from the ONLY nice bits.
Wasn’t Birds of a Feather set in Pinner ?
Birds of a Feather was set in Chigwell in Essex.
Scooped by Sunil.
May to December was set in Pinner.
And Reggie Perrin was set in Surbiton.
As was The Good Life.
The Good Life. Tom gives up his job as a draughtsman on his 40th birthday, having paid off the mortgage on what would now be a £2 million detached house on a single income.
A contract draffy would still manage it. Not a staffy.
Up to the 1980s, schools would routinely teach technical drawing to boys and touch typing to girls, equipping both for common jobs that had existed for a hundred years but that were about to be swept away by PCs.
Errr: touch typing is still a very useful skill in the PC age. I wish I could touch-type.
Now, touch-typing is useful. Back then, touch-typing was a job.
But who would have thought that typing with your thumbs would become a thing.
The quality of the speech-to-text from the modern AI-driven transcription services is absolutely incredible. I'm dictating this rather than typing it.
Alexa still struggles with my slight brummie lilt
Are you on Windows or Mac? I will share with you my little voice transription app, and you will find it works surprisingly well. (Or download Wispr Flow and use the free plan.)
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A chap I worked with, years ago, was in the Specials.
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
I seem to recall The Specials weren’t big fans of the police. Coventry at the time wasn’t great for young musicians and you just have to look at their discography to get their politics.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A chap I worked with, years ago, was in the Specials.
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
I seem to recall The Specials weren’t big fans of the police. Coventry at the time wasn’t great for young musicians and you just have to look at their discography to get their politics.
Very good, but, Coventry.
Though I believe Terry Hall and Sting actually got on surprisingly well in person.
This is the London Banana. As long as you stay within the Banana, you'll have a great time in London. Almost everything outside the Banana is horrible these days, best avoid. Not clear why, or when this happened. But it is what it is.
I've seen that concept. It's a big claim that, say, Pinner is horrible.
It's interesting, but not shocking. Those who remember GCSE geography will remember the Burgess and Hoyt models of where the nice bits of cities are: Burgess had them as concentric circles, with the nice bits at the edge; Hoyt had them as wedges. Most cities are a mixture of both. Most cities have wedges of nice bits going most of the way in (usually but not always in the west, the direction of the prevailing wind: see Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow), most cities (not all, Glasgow) have nice bits most of the way around the edge. London ghas two wedges, but even that isn't unusual. Manchester has a T.
Though again, these are far from the ONLY nice bits.
Wasn’t Birds of a Feather set in Pinner ?
Birds of a Feather was set in Chigwell in Essex.
Scooped by Sunil.
May to December was set in Pinner.
And Reggie Perrin was set in Surbiton.
As was The Good Life.
The Good Life. Tom gives up his job as a draughtsman on his 40th birthday, having paid off the mortgage on what would now be a £2 million detached house on a single income.
A contract draffy would still manage it. Not a staffy.
Up to the 1980s, schools would routinely teach technical drawing to boys and touch typing to girls, equipping both for common jobs that had existed for a hundred years but that were about to be swept away by PCs.
Errr: touch typing is still a very useful skill in the PC age. I wish I could touch-type.
Now, touch-typing is useful. Back then, touch-typing was a job.
But who would have thought that typing with your thumbs would become a thing.
The quality of the speech-to-text from the modern AI-driven transcription services is absolutely incredible. I'm dictating this rather than typing it.
Alexa still struggles with my slight brummie lilt
Are you on Windows or Mac? I will share with you my little voice transription app, and you will find it works surprisingly well. (Or download Wispr Flow and use the free plan.)
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A chap I worked with, years ago, was in the Specials.
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
I seem to recall The Specials weren’t big fans of the police. Coventry at the time wasn’t great for young musicians and you just have to look at their discography to get their politics.
Very good, but, Coventry.
Though I believe Terry Hall and Sting actually got on surprisingly well in person.
Ha, had to google to check after I posted but you caught it before I could edit to Coventry.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
A chap I worked with, years ago, was in the Specials.
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
I seem to recall The Specials weren’t big fans of the police. Coventry at the time wasn’t great for young musicians and you just have to look at their discography to get their politics.
Very good, but, Coventry.
Though I believe Terry Hall and Sting actually got on surprisingly well in person.
Ha, had to google to check after I posted but you caught it before I could edit to Coventry.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
The Trump administration has decided to repatriate two survivors of a deadly U.S. strike this week on suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea rather than prosecute them or hold them in military detention, people with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.
The men who survived were being returned to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, the people with knowledge of the matter said.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
Have a read of this, it predates the OSA, going back to 2021.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
I hate to be pedantic* but wasn’t it Sunak’s government that brought the bill in?
*I realise this is the most unconvincing lie since Cummings claimed he drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Questions from next year's exams...
Sadly, life has become incredibly nuance-free.
Nobody should be celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, irrespective of their political views.
At the same time, one shouldn't have to now 'agree with Charlie' on everything (or anything) just because he was killed.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
It is Tory legislation.
...which came into effect under Labour and which he shows no sign of revoking.
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
The Trump administration has decided to repatriate two survivors of a deadly U.S. strike this week on suspected drug runners in the Caribbean Sea rather than prosecute them or hold them in military detention, people with knowledge of the matter said on Saturday.
The men who survived were being returned to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, the people with knowledge of the matter said.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Questions from next year's exams...
Sadly, life has become incredibly nuance-free.
Nobody should be celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, irrespective of their political views.
At the same time, one should have to now 'agree with Charlie' on everything (or anything) just because he was killed.
No one is saying you should have to agree with Kirk with regard to the Oxford Union debacle. But there was no 'appearance' in what the president-elect tweeted. He was clearly laughing at the death. Now of course to take the whole debate to it's natural conclusion, it is Abaraonye's right to say and tweet what he wants as a point of free speech. It is also the right of those funding the Union and those who might go to speak there to decide to no longer support it. Abaraonye laughed at someone getting murdered because of free speech but then cries when he risks losing his position for his own comments. If nothing else he is a bloody hypocrite.
As someone fairly ambivalent about Starmer and Reeves, I'm interested to see whether the antipathy toward them is personal or just the usual antipathy toward Labour Prime Ministers from those on the conservative side of the fence. I suspect, were Starmer to leave and another Labour PM to be in office, the antipathy would readily transfer to the new individual.
Ho hum...in any case, short of an outright Cabinet mutiny, the only two reasonable and legal ways Starmer leaves office are either a) voluntarily or b) democratically in an election. The latter isn't on the horizon and the former will only happen once a rubicon of sorts is crossed and he simply doesn't want to do the job any longer. He's been in the job 15 months not 15 years so I suspect for all the crap, he may went on to go on a little while yet.
We know the Budget is going to be horrible - it's the reckoning at the end of the party or the meal - the bill is on the table and we have to pay up. Reeves is going to raise taxes and cut spending - we know that as well. How imaginative she will be remains to be seen but it's going to be unpleasant - we all know that.
It’s not just the right who dislike this government. Not by a long way.
It’s that part of the left (nearly a fifth of the voters), that supports the Greens/Your Party. They see Israel/Gaza as the defining issue of our times, and can’t understand why that country is not subject to comprehensive economic, and even military, sanctions.
Domestically, they want a government that imposes punitive taxes on “the rich” (anyone earning £50 k +,) drives landlords out of business, rejoins the EU, and overturns the Supreme Court’s ruling on sex/gender discrimination.
They do, bizarrely but sincerely, see Starmer as a disguised right winger.
On any traditional definition of political sides, Labour occupy the Centre Right position formerly taken by Cameroon and One Nation Tories.
I know a lot of people on the left who have said this and I think it's another symptom of our deranged politics.
Labour have put up tax (Employers NI) by a chunky amount to fund a hefty increase in NHS spending. That puts them firmly on the centre-left.
There is a lot of rhetoric in terms of the flags and whatever that the Left is uncomfortable with, but isn't incompatible with the centre-left. Immigration policy as being implemented is in accordance with the law, negotiation with neighbouring countries, etc.
They are constrained by the taxation promises they felt they had to make to win the election, and by fiscal reality, but you can see numerous signs of what their instincts are, and they're not of the centre-right.
I'd obviously prefer them to be acting further to the left, but I think it's crazy to label Starmer as being on the centre-right.
Mmm. But the Government has taken on the left with some consistency and enthusiasm, and when they do something to appease left-wingers it's an explicit concession rather than any kind of coherent philosophy. They seem to WANT to be seen as centre-right with some occasional concessions to left-wingers. Whether that's because of genuine conviction or a sense that it's the way to combat Reform and the Tories and nobody else is a threat I'm not sure, but the sense I get is of calculation rather than conviction (in any direction). You can say exactly the same - indeed more so - about the Tories and LibDems. That's why I'm listening to Your Party and polite about the Greens (who don't seem to me to be aiming for Government and hard choices, but at least seem to pursue their policies from enthusiasm). Partly I just think it'd be healthy for Labour to have a serious left-wing challenge to worry about.
Starmer is heavily influenced by Blair, and his acolytes, but in a very clumsy manner. As you say, it's by calculation from the conviction that it's the route to electoral success.
But at the root of everything there is a consistent belief in the state and using the power of the state to shape society, which is the core of what the British Labour party has always stood for. That stands in direct contrast to the centre-right and the Cameroons, where there was a desire, albeit only a limited one, for the state to take a step back and withdraw in certain areas.
Personally I'm far enough on the left that I am suspicious of relying too much on state intervention. I think the Left should seek to strengthen community cooperation outwith the state, and so free of the potential for a future right-wing government to damage state institutions created by a left-wing government - so I find a lot of the politics of the current British Left a bit of a turn off. Everything seems to run through the State.
Maybe Zack will have some new ideas. Though I think he's chosen a bad time to talk about leaving NATO. I really don't see why the Left should have a problem with a mutual defence treaty that allows small countries - that would be weak individually - to work together to defend themselves against an aggressive large country like Russia. That's quite a left-wing sort of thing, really, mutual aid in geopolitics.
I can't get my head round how abandoning the Baltic States to Russia should be seen as left-wing.
As ever, my enemy’s enemy is my friend. Russia is hostile to the oppressive West, therefore, they support Russia.
It’s the same thought process that leads the far left to support Islamists.
Your prejudice is showing. I would guess the lack of faith in NATO long term is more a lack of trust in Trump than being even vaguely pro Putin.
The Baltic States would surely be a part of any future agreement.
I see Taco has lived up to his name and won't be letting Ukraine buy Tomahawks.
Orange is the new yellow.
He wants Putin to win.
No, he has said he wants a ceasefire along current lines, he just doesn't want US missiles sent into Russia leading to an escalation, especially as Putin has nukes.
He could though allow Tomahawks to be used within Ukranian territory as a defensive weapon by Zelensky admittedly
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Questions from next year's exams...
Sadly, life has become incredibly nuance-free.
Nobody should be celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, irrespective of their political views.
At the same time, one shouldn't have to now 'agree with Charlie' on everything (or anything) just because he was killed.
I've seen this sentiment expressed quite a few times, and personally, I find the latter a non sequitur. There’s no need to qualify or soften one’s condemnation of a brutal, violent assassination of anyone.
No one, or hardly anyone, felt the need to do so when Jo Cox or David Amess were murdered.
Adding such a qualifier seems to serve one of two purposes: either to signal one’s political leanings—which I find somewhat distasteful—or to preempt the mistaken idea that defending free expression implies agreement with the victim’s views. But in doing so, we risk blurring that boundary further rather than clarifying it.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
My job does not give me direct and immediate powers over the lives of other people including a level of authorised violence and detention that is inherent in policing. Nor does that of an MP. And no one is saying they have to wear them all the time, just when on duty.
We know police officers lie. We know they do this for all sorts of reasons and at all ranks. Just look at the way the members of the Police Federation openly lied about their meeting with Andrew MItchell in the aftermath of Plebgate.
It is no suprise that lawyers recommend that you record every interaction with the police these days.
As an aside, on many platforms my location is continually monitored 24/7 for safety purposes via RFID chips in my pass.
Oxford Union faces financial crisis over Charlie Kirk scandal Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting ... “How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Questions from next year's exams...
Sadly, life has become incredibly nuance-free.
Nobody should be celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, irrespective of their political views.
At the same time, one shouldn't have to now 'agree with Charlie' on everything (or anything) just because he was killed.
And 'free speech activist' is an odd way for the Telegraph to describe a far right propagandist whose murder has led his admirers in the US to clamp down on free speech.
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
My job does not give me direct and immediate powers over the lives of other people including a level of authorised violence and detention that is inherent in policing. Nor does that of an MP. And no one is saying they have to wear them all the time, just when on duty.
We know police officers lie. We know they do this for all sorts of reasons and at all ranks. Just look at the way the members of the Police Federation openly lied about their meeting with Andrew MItchell in the aftermath of Plebgate.
It is no suprise that lawyers recommend that you record every interaction with the police these days.
As an aside, on many platforms my location is continually monitored 24/7 for safety purposes via RFID chips in my pass.
Indeed, and many premises are covered by CCTV so that staff going about their duties are routinely covered by CCTV.
Very rare nowadays to have a till not covered by CCTV, for very good reasons.
Thoughtfully, my browser (Opera) has a free inbuilt VPN, which I have now been forced to switch on so everything still works. It's probably telling the Chinese everything I look at, but such is life....!
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
On a technically, surely he can't be the "ex-Referendum Party founder". Either he founded it (he did), or he didn't. He might have subsequently left it, disowned it, sold it, whatever, but he still remains it's founder.
On a technically, surely he can't be the "ex-Referendum Party founder". Either he founded it (he did), or he didn't. He might have subsequently left it, disowned it, sold it, whatever, but he still remains it's founder.
It is an ex party, it ceased to be, it expired and effectively re emerged in the form of UKIP and now Farage's Reform Party. Though yes Goldsmith did found it
More on Cummings' interview, he is not surprisingly a fan of Jenrick and also has time for Farage but little for Kemi.
'“It’s not really Truss’s fault that she was a disaster,” he says. “Why the hell did people put someone like that in? Similarly with Kemi, she obviously can’t do the job. She should never have been put there.”
Badenoch, he says, is “obviously completely unsuitable for any kind of serious job”. “She blames her juniors for everything, she’s massively f***ing lazy, she just can’t do it. She’s going to go, for sure — I think very quickly after the May elections.”
Who comes next, he says, will be critical for the Conservative Party’s hopes of staying alive. “It’s possible the Tory party is just dead,” he says. “It’s already past the event horizon. It’s on the precipice and it hasn’t got another false start left. If it is going to revive, then when Kemi goes it is the last chance.”
The current favourite to succeed Badenoch is Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary. “That’s fundamentally because he’s the only person in shadow cabinet with a pulse,” Cummings says.
“Someone said to me recently, what do you think of how the shadow chancellor’s doing? And my answer was, who the f*** is the shadow chancellor? No one knows who any of these people are because it’s just a black hole...Farage, he says, is on course to be prime minister but needs to change his approach by bringing in a “bad-ass” team around him. Cummings had dinner with him a year ago at Boisdale, a raucous restaurant in central London loved by the Reform leader.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
On a technically, surely he can't be the "ex-Referendum Party founder". Either he founded it (he did), or he didn't. He might have subsequently left it, disowned it, sold it, whatever, but he still remains it's founder.
It is an ex party, it ceased to be, it expired and effectively re emerged in the form of UKIP and now Farage's Reform Party. Though yes Goldsmith did found it
A Jewish lawyer wearing a Star of David was arrested after police alleged the symbol had “antagonised” pro-Palestine protesters.
Police interview footage obtained by The Telegraph shows a detective accusing the Jewish man of openly wearing a Star of David that could cause “offence”.
The suspect, who was handcuffed and detained by police for almost ten hours, told The Telegraph his arrest appeared to be an attempt by the Metropolitan Police to “criminalise the wearing of a Star of David”.
Those employed by the public sector were far more sympathetic to the likes of Hamas than the rest of the population. We see it in the disgraceful decision of the West Midlands Chief Constable. We see it in this story. We saw it in the attitudes to transmen demanding access to female spaces. It is endemic. I am really not sure how we bring the public sector back into line with what the majority actually think but it needs to be made clear that this is intolerable.
I'm sorry, but are yoiu seriously suggested that the civil service should be filleted depending on their political views?
No. I am saying that in their execution of their public duties they must not behave in an antisemitic or racist fashion, nor should they seek to implement polices that are against our laws. To take the case in point it is intolerable that any serving police officer should detain someone handcuffed for 10 hours for wearing the Star of David in a public place. The price of such stupidity and intolerance should be serious disciplinary action so that his colleagues, whatever their personal views, learn the lesson.
Did you read the article linked?
"The Metropolitan Police deny that his arrest was prompted by the Star of David, and said the man was arrested for allegedly “repeatedly breaching” an order to keep opposing protest groups apart. They claim he got “very close” to the pro-Palestine protesters on multiple occasions, and alleged his actions went “beyond observing to provoking”, leading them to designate him as “actively participating as a protester”, therefore binding him to conditions of the Public Order Act."
Lying through their back teeth yet again.
And this is why all police officers need to wear body cameras.
Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn't be an excuse not to.
The good ones (of which there are plenty) are more than happy to wear them. They see it as a protection against unjustfied accusations. The bad ones - of which there are far too many - don't want the accusations to be provable.
Would you like to be constantly monitored when you do your job ?
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
My job does not give me direct and immediate powers over the lives of other people including a level of authorised violence and detention that is inherent in policing. Nor does that of an MP. And no one is saying they have to wear them all the time, just when on duty.
We know police officers lie. We know they do this for all sorts of reasons and at all ranks. Just look at the way the members of the Police Federation openly lied about their meeting with Andrew MItchell in the aftermath of Plebgate.
It is no suprise that lawyers recommend that you record every interaction with the police these days.
As an aside, on many platforms my location is continually monitored 24/7 for safety purposes via RFID chips in my pass.
Note also, that the members of the police Federation objected to being recorded while lying like lying motherfuckers. Who lie.
I see Taco has lived up to his name and won't be letting Ukraine buy Tomahawks.
Orange is the new yellow.
He wants Putin to win.
No, he has said he wants a ceasefire along current lines, he just doesn't want US missiles sent into Russia leading to an escalation, especially as Putin has nukes.
He could though allow Tomahawks to be used within Ukranian territory as a defensive weapon by Zelensky admittedly
They would be almost completely useless - and certainly pointless - on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has all manner of other weapons to do that.
The whole point about them is their range, which would allow Ukraine to hit military targets in Russia (drone factories, for example).
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
Why is Imgur forced to verify user's ages if not because of the OSA?
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
I hate to be pedantic* but wasn’t it Sunak’s government that brought the bill in?
*I realise this is the most unconvincing lie since Cummings claimed he drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight.
The “but the previous government did it” excuse would work…
….If the current government hadn’t actually spent parliamentary time and effort of bringing it forward.
You back a law, you own it.
“A small boy did it and ran away” is an excuse for twats.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
True, and also when he was Prime Minister, he and his creature Brown moved the country in the other direction where they could.
It is easy to pretend to be economically literate when you're out of office and don't have to take your Party with you.
What a hypocritical, sanctimonious tw@t he is, despite having a stopped clock moment on this issue. Like when he poses as a peacemaker in the Middle East, despite years of lying warmongering there.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
Indeed, he may be right but even the Tories didn't reduce the top rate of income tax below 40% from 2010 to 2024.
It does beg the question why Blair ever joined the Labour Party other than ambition to be PM creating New Labour as a vehicle to do so after years of Tory rule and pressure from Cherie?
Ideologically Blair is basically a free market liberal not a socialist or even social democrat, an Orange Book LD or Cameroon/Osbornite Conservative far more than he is Labour, even Starmer Labour is clearly left of him now
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
I see Taco has lived up to his name and won't be letting Ukraine buy Tomahawks.
Orange is the new yellow.
He wants Putin to win.
No, he has said he wants a ceasefire along current lines, he just doesn't want US missiles sent into Russia leading to an escalation, especially as Putin has nukes.
He could though allow Tomahawks to be used within Ukranian territory as a defensive weapon by Zelensky admittedly
They would be almost completely useless - and certainly pointless - on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has all manner of other weapons to do that.
The whole point about them is their range, which would allow Ukraine to hit military targets in Russia (drone factories, for example).
Which he doesn't want to do given Putin's possible response
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Tony Blair is also 72 years old. While he’s ageing nicely for the US Presidency we haven’t had a PM that old since 1955.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Why would they?
FWIW, I think Tony Blair is now to the right of George Osborne.
I can’t believe that George III had anything like the direct personal power over the lives of people in the now US than Trump has. They would be better with a constitutional monarch than an all powerful President.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
Indeed, he may be right but even the Tories didn't reduce the top rate of income tax below 40% from 2010 to 2024.
It does beg the question why Blair ever joined the Labour Party other than ambition to be PM creating New Labour as a vehicle to do so after years of Tory rule and pressure from Cherie?
Ideologically Blair is basically a free market liberal not a socialist or even social democrat, an Orange Book LD or Cameroon/Osbornite Conservative far more than he is Labour, even Starmer Labour is clearly left of him now
William Hague's great speech, (from memory) "And having duelled with him over this dispatch box so many times I can tell you that when Tony Blair goes to a centre right party gathering and calls himself a socialist, he is on manoeuvres."
A Tory MP says he has reported a deepfake video depicting him announcing he had joined Reform UK to the police.
George Freeman said he remained "the Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk and have no intention of joining Reform or any other party", denouncing the video circulating on social media as "an AI-generated deepfake".
I have mentioned this before there is a YouTube channel pumping out AI generated music videos that are generally pro Reform / anti government, which I am rather suspious about.
It's almost weird that this isn't a bigger problem than it already is.
I'd sort of expected by this point that it would just be a major operation debunking viral deep fakes of prominent politicians saying faked shit pretty much every other day, but it doesn't seem to be going like that (yet, anyway - unless I'm not residing in enough sewer sections of the internet, which is possible). Is the theory that going after big names is still too easy to immediately debunk, so go after smaller fry whom no-one really knows so it's harder to judge if what they're saying is obviously bullshit or not?
I can’t believe that George III had anything like the direct personal power over the lives of people in the now US than Trump has. They would be better with a constitutional monarch than an all powerful President.
He didn’t tax them nearly as viciously as Trump is either.
Now The Daily Mail has learned that Husseini, 31, was a career criminal who had been in prison multiple times in Sweden when he arrived in Britain on a rigid inflatable dinghy last year.
Now The Daily Mail has learned that Husseini, 31, was a career criminal who had been in prison multiple times in Sweden when he arrived in Britain on a rigid inflatable dinghy last year.
'Sir Tony Blair believes the top rate of income tax should be cut to below 40 per cent, putting him at odds with Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
I agree with him but he is so far out of contact with his former party now that I don't believe that they will give a damn what he thinks.
I agree with him too.
We spend a lot of time on here (well I do anyway) lamenting the paucity of talent in our political leadership of any stripe. For me, pretty much the only people who I see who could hope to lead us out of this hole are Tony Blair and George Osborne. Neither of whom are showing any interest in getting back to front line politics.
Why would they?
FWIW, I think Tony Blair is now to the right of George Osborne.
I wouldn't go that far, Blair is now arguably right of David Cameron and on economics even Boris Johnson and Theresa May but not Osborne.
Socially though he is still much more liberal than the likes of Farage and Jenrick and Badenoch, much as Osborne is too
I can’t believe that George III had anything like the direct personal power over the lives of people in the now US than Trump has. They would be better with a constitutional monarch than an all powerful President.
He didn’t tax them nearly as viciously as Trump is either.
Proper ungrateful little shits refusing to cough up for defending them. Funny how they expect NATO members to pull their weight when the reason the US exists is that they didn’t want to contribute financially to covering the war with France and the Native Americans and ongoing defence.
Now The Daily Mail has learned that Husseini, 31, was a career criminal who had been in prison multiple times in Sweden when he arrived in Britain on a rigid inflatable dinghy last year.
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7jWQtu1YI
Should all elected politicians have to wear cameras after Nathan gill’s bribery? Given the cost of cameras and storage now, there really shouldn’t be an excuse. All the good ones would be more than happy to wear them. Only the bad ones dpn’t want accusations to be provable
I’ll get my coat. It’s the one with the Mars bars in the pocket.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7jWQtu1YI
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Buses
Given police are pretty much the only government employees responsible for collecting of evidence for use in court, or trained in the use of force against citizens, then why should they be monitoried far less than an Amazon warehouse employee?
Being an IT geek, he wore a camera long before it was a piece of standard equipment. He said you could tell a lot about other coppers from their attitude to him wearing it.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/18/chocolate-biscuit-club-penguin-mcvities-cocoa-prices
There's a certain Eeyorish satisfaction in discovering that penguins aren't made of chocolate any more.
Now off to find some Cotes du Rhone to drown sorrows.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/maximum-extension-version-of-russian-dominated-customs-union-in-20th-century.566028/
Though I believe Terry Hall and Sting actually got on surprisingly well in person.
Online, UK users speculate that this is due to the Online Safety Act, which went into effect in July. The act has resulted in wide-ranging age verification, requiring users to submit identification, such as a government ID or undergo a facial recognition scan, in order to access explicit and sometimes non-explicit sites.
However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection in the UK, released a statement on Tuesday that "Imgur's decision to restrict access in the UK is a commercial decision taken by the company."
The ICO launched an investigation of Imgur in March (as well as TikTok and Reddit) to examine how the site handles children's personal information and how it verifies users' ages. On September 10, ICO issued a notice of intent to fine Imgur's parent company MediaLab, ICO's interim executive director, regulatory supervision, Tim Capel, wrote in a statement. He also said that, "Our findings are provisional and the ICO will carefully consider any representations from MediaLab before taking a final decision whether to issue a monetary penalty."
"We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing," Capel continued, also stating that no further details about the investigation will be given at this time.
https://mashable.com/article/why-imgur-is-blocked-in-the-uk
I saw the afghans have been dumped from a tri nations cricket comp with Pakistan and SL and replaced by the Zimbos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/18/are-we-living-in-a-golden-age-of-stupidity-technology?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Donations on hold and high-profile speakers pulling out, sources say, after president-elect appeared to celebrate influencer’s shooting
...
“How can you have a free speech society where the incoming president celebrates the death of a free speech activist?”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/10/18/oxford-union-university-financial-crisis-charlie-kirk-death/ (£££)
Questions from next year's exams...
That's all very well but how much is her house worth?
The men who survived were being returned to their home countries, Colombia and Ecuador, the people with knowledge of the matter said.
NY Times blog
I, an adult, am not allowed to view a map of a theoretical Russian Customs Union because Starmer, a twelve-year-old boy in a man costume, wants the entire internet to be child-safe.
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/02/investigations-announced-into-how-social-media-and-video-sharing-platforms-use-uk-children-s-personal-information/
*I realise this is the most unconvincing lie since Cummings claimed he drove to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight.
Nobody should be celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk, irrespective of their political views.
At the same time, one shouldn't have to now 'agree with Charlie' on everything (or anything) just because he was killed.
Orange is the new yellow.
Zelensky he mainly wants to just pay, and if it happens to be the EUs money, all the better.
The Baltic States would surely be a part of any future agreement.
He could though allow Tomahawks to be used within Ukranian territory as a defensive weapon by Zelensky admittedly
No one, or hardly anyone, felt the need to do so when Jo Cox or David Amess were murdered.
Adding such a qualifier seems to serve one of two purposes: either to signal one’s political leanings—which I find somewhat distasteful—or to preempt the mistaken idea that defending free expression implies agreement with the victim’s views. But in doing so, we risk blurring that boundary further rather than clarifying it.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15204135/Lady-Annabel-Goldsmith-dies-Socialite-London-nightclub.html
We know police officers lie. We know they do this for all sorts of reasons and at all ranks. Just look at the way the members of the Police Federation openly lied about their meeting with Andrew MItchell in the aftermath of Plebgate.
It is no suprise that lawyers recommend that you record every interaction with the police these days.
As an aside, on many platforms my location is continually monitored 24/7 for safety purposes via RFID chips in my pass.
'PETER HITCHENS: It's Left-wingers who should worship Maggie. She's no idol for REAL conservatives'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-15204345/PETER-HITCHENS-Left-wingers-worship-Maggie-Shes-no-idol-REAL-conservatives.html
Very rare nowadays to have a till not covered by CCTV, for very good reasons.
As the Chancellor prepares to increase taxes yet again in next month’s Budget, the former Labour prime minister has argued that she should do the opposite.
Sir Tony told the authors of a new book on economic policy that direct taxes, such as income tax and National Insurance, were extremely high in historical terms and that the state was not making good use of taxpayers’ money.
He suggested that lower taxes would boost growth by incentivising people to work, particularly if welfare reform made it harder to claim benefits.'
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/10/18/tony-blair-income-tax-budget-cut/
He might have subsequently left it, disowned it, sold it, whatever, but he still remains it's founder.
“Only we can do that to people.”
The whole point about them is their range, which would allow Ukraine to hit military targets in Russia (drone factories, for example).
I presume this is inherited myth-making from the original "Patriots", but George III was never an absolute monarch, and that was just propaganda.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93xgyp1zv4o
….If the current government hadn’t actually spent parliamentary time and effort of bringing it forward.
You back a law, you own it.
“A small boy did it and ran away” is an excuse for twats.
It is easy to pretend to be economically literate when you're out of office and don't have to take your Party with you.
What a hypocritical, sanctimonious tw@t he is, despite having a stopped clock moment on this issue. Like when he poses as a peacemaker in the Middle East, despite years of lying warmongering there.
It does beg the question why Blair ever joined the Labour Party other than ambition to be PM creating New Labour as a vehicle to do so after years of Tory rule and pressure from Cherie?
Ideologically Blair is basically a free market liberal not a socialist or even social democrat, an Orange Book LD or Cameroon/Osbornite Conservative far more than he is Labour, even Starmer Labour is clearly left of him now
FWIW, I think Tony Blair is now to the right of George Osborne.
I'd sort of expected by this point that it would just be a major operation debunking viral deep fakes of prominent politicians saying faked shit pretty much every other day, but it doesn't seem to be going like that (yet, anyway - unless I'm not residing in enough sewer sections of the internet, which is possible). Is the theory that going after big names is still too easy to immediately debunk, so go after smaller fry whom no-one really knows so it's harder to judge if what they're saying is obviously bullshit or not?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15202067/Afghan-TikTokker-threatened-murder-Nigel-Farage-career-criminal-run-police-Sweden-sexually-abusing-girl-15-arrived-UK-small-boat.html
And this man who threatened to kill him sounds a piece of work and all.
Socially though he is still much more liberal than the likes of Farage and Jenrick and Badenoch, much as Osborne is too