Sian Harrison

Despite the strength of political criticism in the UK, Starmer's position on Iran mirrors several other European countries

France, Greece, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain are deploying and/or allowing the use of military assets in a defensive capacity while not condoning the initial attack

Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills Some risk spending too few days in the emirate and too many in the UK

Tax exiles stuck in London desperately trying to get *back* to Dubai to avoid becoming tax resident in the UK? Just great stuff. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

No, it is the children who are wrong This week: Keir Starmer has decided that he blames the voters. Also: some golden age anti-car propaganda; and some new maps of British living standards.

"Where’s the soul searching about why voters might have defected to a challenger from the left? Why, in God’s name, did anyone think it was a good idea to imply a large chunk of Labour’s coalition is, in fact, stupid?"

Newsletter out. Bit angry.

You'd think the intervention of Peter Ricketts might have triggered a moment's doubt but no, it's all for the little people in the phone 🙃

I’m on the Meta Oversight Board. We need AI protections now | Suzanne Nossel AI is transforming our world. Accepting independent oversight is the least companies can do to protect our rights

I’m on the Meta Oversight Board. We need AI protections now | Suzanne Nossel

After many years of court reporting, I've just had a completely new (to me) reason for a hearing delay: “The lights have gone off downstairs”

The courtroom is fine but the cells appear to be in darkness 😬

Tony Hudgell wins his campaign for new child cruelty register Tony Hudgell, who lost both legs after being assaulted, welcomes plans for a child cruelty register.

Tony Hudgell wins his campaign for new child cruelty register

I think it fails to understand the coalition of voters that just voted Green, and why. And as usual you won’t get very far by implicitly slagging off the voters. The Green voter coalition was your coalition five minutes ago.

Really great analysis here from Lizzie, an antidote to all the hot takes. Too much political commentary increasingly focuses on the random niche concerns that trend on social media rather than reflecting the views of real people

Hello from a very wet Manchester

I've been wandering around different parts of Gorton and Denton today to speak to locals about their political views, and the election madness that's taken over in the past month

My reporting will be running tomorrow after the result 🗳

Hi Rob, not saying anything about the development. Just referring to the protest as the strength of feeling reminds me of wind farm protestors I used to interview about 18 years ago, who proudly called themselves NIMBYs. I wasn't using it derogatorily 🤷‍♀️

Are MSPs undermining the rule of law in Scotland? How a very political court case sparked a huge row - and questions about the separation of powers.

Are MSPs undermining the rule of law in Scotland?

Countryside NIMBYs are boss level, as I learned long ago covering wind farm developments in east yorks

If you’re wondering how the government’s new towns pitch is going down locally… just driven through one proposed site where there’s giant AI generated posters of Steve Reed with a tank of petrol setting the countryside on fire.

Ossoff: "There are some folks who are doomscrolling in the fetal position. Every day there is a new outrage. It's easy I know to fear that maybe we could lose our republic. I think what John Lewis would tell us is it's up to us. We have the power to right the ship. Nobody is gonna do it for us."

Former Prince Andrew Is Accused of Misconduct in Public Office

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but what is it?

Here's brief explainer of the law, how criminal investigations and prosecutions work, and contempt of court
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/w...

Good lord Lizzie! 😂

What a day!

It's occurring at the same time as a crisis in critical thinking skills. Add into the mix people outsourcing parts of their brain function to AI and it's a critical emergency. Yet there's the Mayor of London, wishing his constituents a happy Ramadan - immediately racism. We need to quit it

That is a huge problem for all of us! People are mostly getting their news through platforms and if there are just outright lies on there, picked up and amplified by the rest of the media, that go and stand uncorrected, they will form beliefs and convictions based on those lies. This already happens

I get that it's really complicated, and will be fought hard by those who have co-opted a perversion of free speech. But there are members of the public being lied to over and over again and it spills out of social media into the mainstream. It goes uncorrected and unchecked against reality.

Have recently had cause to dive into The Other Place and whoooweeee it's crazy town. People grow closer to madness every day people spend on there arguing with - who knows who? bots, MPs staffers, random cartoon cats. It's a serious misinformation polluter, how is nothing being done?

Just to put this in context for you, this would nearly double the deficits posted by the big unis in deepest trouble if they had to pay in a one-shot. Now no doubt they will try another Heath Robinson financial vehicle to do so if needs must, but some simply won't be able to pay if on this scale.

NUJ raises concern over raid on Adil Raja The NUJ has welcomed the arrest of four suspects in connection with an attack on the home of union member Adil Raja.

NUJ raises concern over raid on Adil Raja

The NUJ has welcomed the arrest of four suspects in connection with an attack on the home of NUJ London Freelance member @soldierspeaks.bsky.social

Alex Pretti did not brandish gun, witnesses say in sworn testimony Pair testify that Pretti did not hold weapon and was trying to help woman federal agents had shoved to the ground Two witnesses to the killing of Alex Pretti have said in sworn testimony that the 37-year-old intensive care nurse was not brandishing a weapon when he approached federal agents in Minneapolis on Saturday, contradicting a claim made by Trump administration officials as they sought to cast the shooting of a prone man as an act of self-defense. Their accounts came in sworn affidavits that were filed in federal court in Minnesota late Saturday, just hours after Pretti’s killing, as part of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU on behalf of Minneapolis protesters against Kristi Noem and other homeland security officials directing the immigration crackdown in the city. Continue reading...

Alex Pretti did not brandish gun, witnesses say in sworn testimony

It’s hard to accurately describe what is happening in Minneapolis without sounding crazy.

Unmarked rental vans all over the city, with people in military gear and no id jumping out of them to take captive anyone who looks nonwhite or who makes political speech they disagree with.

Local journalism may save us.

This video filmed by Ben Luhmann shows the moment a federal agent sprayed chemical irritants directly into a man's face in south Minneapolis.

Three agents already had the man pinned to the ground when a fourth agent walked up and sprayed the irritants.

Liz Hurley has not come to play - so far during cross examination by The Mail's barrister, she's called one journalist "a snake", punchily asked him to detail which friends leaked info about her and when, and said there were "microphones on the windowsill" in her dining room