It makes me wonder whether Prescott actually consulted the original source himself & doctored it or simply took dictation from someone else. A person, for example, who had helped insert a right-wing lobbyist who hadn’t done journalism for over 20 years into such a potentially important position…

Well at least he was never political

Well done. Was this all over the news?, never saw it once.

Italy probes claim that tourists paid to go to Bosnia to kill besieged civilians Italians and others are alleged to have paid large sums to fire at Bosnians risking their lives in besieged Sarajevo.

Caution and veracity needed, but if substantiated then as a journalist who covered the conflict - including in Sarajevo - accountability is vital for those Bosnians who were victims and those who lost loved ones. This beggars belief. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

No reputable news organisation or outlet should have spokespeople on from opaque "pressure groups" without a full explanation of who they are and how they are funded. Bottom line.

Let’s hope UK Govt take this seriously. @scotnational.bsky.social will you be covering this paper?

Thanks for publicising.

If we're talking about bias, why do BBC politics programmes, from Politics Live to the Laura Kuennsberg Show, still always begin with a look at the newspaper front pages, which are overwhelmingly biased in one direction. Helps frame the entire news agenda and debate in their favour

I'm not sure if others have noticed this, but interesting that one of the Prescott criticisms of the BBC is based on those of the 'History Reclaimed' group, which is also associated with the 'Restore Trust' group's attacks on & so far unsuccessful attempts to take control of the National Trust. 1/3

This is full of mildly astonishing revelations about right-wing influence at the BBC, but foremost among them is the fact that he was advised that writing for the New Statesman was effectively unacceptable but doing so for the Spectator was fine - indeed, advisable. I am flabbergasted.

It’s even worse. This is out of date.

England took 8 more seats from Wales and 2 from Scotland.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England 543 seats
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿Wales 32 seats.

There was a law that Wales would never have less than 35 seats, otherwise Wales would have no voice, but English controlled Westminster repealed that law!

Huh? How do you do a "balancing" program when one candidate did an insurgency trying to overturn the election and the other...didn't?

Would Prescott have been satisfied with an hour of people telling BBC journalists why they didn't try and stoke a riot to overturn Trump's second win?

Hot take here but it will completely destroy any trust that it still had. Caving to (literally) demented wannabe fascists is not a good look.

This is unbelievable. Just a complete lack of belief in objectivity. And the BBC fucking caved to it

Michael Prescott was ‘“shocked” that after an hour-long Panorama documentary dealing with Trump and the January 6 insurgency, there was no “similar, balancing” programme about Kamala Harris.’

More read about the machinations between the BBC resignations, the more worrying it becomes

A big win for people more outraged by a silly edit at the BBC than by a man impeached by Congress for literally inciting an insurrection being back in the White House. Pathetic.

Incredibly sobering post but do bear this section in mind when you hear Chris Philp and Robert Jenrick getting on their high horse...

How can Scotland have a 'soft touch' approach to crime, and the biggest prison population in history, hitting just under 8400 last month? asks Andrew Tickell ✍️

www.thenational.scot/politi...

Labour needs control via cooperation in the channel + to clear hotels to defend refugee protection from populist xenophobia

Politically, rhetorical toughness on asylum (we're too generous; we prefer temporary asylum) will hurt Labour: won't be believed on right & splits the anti-populist majority

Mostly Brexit as deregulation was founded on the misconception that only Brussels regulates rather than this being a global phenomenon that incredibly even includes supposedly free and easy (ha!) Singapore. A flawed premise that therefore couldn't succeed.

Even I thought this was one of mine!

"Seizing Brexit opportunities to deregulate."

The honest truth is that people come to this country because they believe we are more generous than other European countries. ‘Whatever it takes’ Rather than stopping at the first safe country, they are continuing their journey here, looking for the best place to become a refugee. We will slash the entitlements that refugees receive – to bring us in line with other European countries, ensuring we are no longer the destination of choice.

"The honest truth is that people come to this country because they believe we are more generous than other European countries"
- little evidence for this claim
+ good evidence against it

We will "ensure we are no longer the destination of choice"
- v hard to give a definition that this is accurate

Home Sec describes a widely held public perception (UK is the destination of choice for asylum seekers in Europe) + endorses it as true. Home Office data shows it is not true. Whatever merits of her policy change, should not make false factual claims
www.thesun.co.uk/news/3709465...

Contrasting media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election in Wales with UK-wide news: how did broadcasters balance parties and leaders? — Researching the impartiality of political news In UK-wide media, the Caerphilly by-election result was framed around Reform UK’s defeat, the terminal decline of Labour in Wales, and the implications for Keir Starmer’s UK government in Westminster....

New impartiality study: Contrasting media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election in Wales with UK-wide news: how did broadcasters balance parties and leaders? Thread 1/10 www.enhancingimpartiality.com/blog/caerphi...

Lower migration is bad news for the UK economy - UK in a changing Europe Lauren Gilbert argues that migrants to the UK are net fiscal contributors, adding much more to the economy than they take out, and that the recent collapse in immigration will harm the UK's economic p...

I have a new blog post out with The UK In A Changing Europe on how lower migration will be bad for the UK economy: ukandeu.ac.uk/lower-migrat...

Lower migration is bad news for the UK economy - UK in a changing Europe Lauren Gilbert argues that migrants to the UK are net fiscal contributors, adding much more to the economy than they take out, and that the recent collapse in immigration will harm the UK's economic p...

"There is simply no sign of a fiscal catastrophe from the 'Boriswave'. Recent migrants are very likely to be employed, paying tax and seem to be contributing to British society..it will help, rather than hurt, Britain’s fiscal position."

Analysis by @lgilbert.co

ukandeu.ac.uk/lower-migrat...

On 4 November, the Home Affairs Committee met with the Migration Advisory Committee to discuss the proposed changes to ILR. They brought up some very interesting points.

Part 1