Andrew Defty

Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens University workers will vote on national strike action this month over a 1.4% pay offer made in the summer.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

It’s good to see some of our students, current and former, in today’s Daily Telegraph enjoying themselves at the Conservative Party conference. The great woke indoctrination at U.K. universities is going well 😂😂

It's too early to know and investigations will quite properly follow into what was and was not known about the Manchester attacker. It is the first seminar of my intelligence module tomorrow and I'll be starting with this from @bricksilk.bsky.social following a previous attack in Manchester

For anyone who's published a book. (Source: www.alcs.co.uk/news/the-lat...)

"There have likely been 10,000 or more university redundancies in the academic year 2024-25..."

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Terry Farrell, architect who designed MI6 building, dies aged 87 He also designed the headquarters for ITV's 80s breakfast show TV-am, with giant eggcups on the roof.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In one of his less well known roles, Menzies Campbell was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2008-2015, a period which saw significant reform of the committee. Here he is in 2011 advocating more power for the ISC in the annual House of Commons ISC debate.

The Annual Welcome Week Lecture of School of Social & Political Sciences, Uni of Lincoln, this year is delivered by Dr Andrew Defty @adefty.bsky.social. His subject is Bridging Two Cultures: what’s scientific about the social sciences?

Just dropped through my letterbox - a great special edition of @intnatsecjournal.bsky.social on women in intelligence

Reposting my blogpost from November 2024 - What does the British public think about another Trump Presidency? whorunsbritain.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/2024/11/08/w...

In relation to the dropping of charges in the Chinese espionage case, a robust call for enhanced powers for the Intelligence & Security Committee from former member Mark Pritchard.

The Speaker’s statement about the CPS decision to withdraw charges against two individuals under the Official Secrets Act in relation to Chinese espionage in Parliament. He’s not happy. hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...

Always a special day, graduation with a great bunch of colleagues from Social and Political Sciences at Lincoln.

Some of which will be more concerning to the French people than the other.

Government Response to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament Report 'IRAN' The government’s response to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament's Iran Report.

The government has published its response to the Intelligence and Security Committee’s report on Iran www.gov.uk/government/p...

Doing some tidying up in the office. Came across this CIA flyer on diversity and inclusion which I picked up at a CIA careers stand in the US a few years ago. I guess they don’t hand these out anymore. 😕

In Bruges

A few days in Bruges, took a short ride out to the small town of Sluis just across the Dutch border. Sluis was liberated by Canadian forces on 1 November 1944 but at a terrible cost, the town’s moving war memorial lists the names and ages of those who died in the bombardment of the town.

Continuing my summer reading on early modern intelligence with Postal Intelligence by @rmidura.bsky.social

More holiday reading, I’ve been looking forward to reading this for a while - Intelligence and espionage in the English Republic 1600 - 60 by Alan Marshall, with some great cover art - The Hired Assassins by Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier, from the Wallace Collection #ArtofSpying

The Sunday Telegraph’s report on Stella Rimington’s appointment as D-G of MI5 in December 1991.

Statement on state threats from Iranian intelligence services: 31 July 2025 Joint statement of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US on state threats from Iranian intelligence services

"We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty".
www.gov.uk/government/n...

In the Scottish Borders, some holiday reading.

😳

The Intelligence and Security Committee will be conducting an inquiry into the Afghan data breach

Worth checking out the whole special edition of Parliamentary Affairs on the #votesat16 debate in the UK, co-edited by @jontonge.bsky.social, Thomas Loughran and Andy Mycock:

academic.oup.com/pa/issue/74/3

Financing universities – is there a way out of the maze? - British Politics and Policy at LSE Universities are in a financial pickle. The only way out is for the Government to recoup more money from student loans than it currently does.

Financing universities – is there a way out of the maze? blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Discussing votes at 16 with my children (all over 18) reveals a diverse range of views. Remarkable degree of consensus however on removing the vote from older people. 🤔

The Afghan super-injunction case: Some constitutional implications Following a catastrophic administrative errors placing the lives of thousands of Afghans at risk, the UK government obtained a super-injunction, enabling it to attempt to clear up the mess it had c…

New blogpost: The Afghan super-injunction case: Some constitutional implications publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/07/17/t...