Simon Lock

Nice work by TBIJ on Carter-Ruck, a scumbag law firm always willing to help organized crime try to shut down journalism, or in this case, criminals to perpetuate a scam. These firms are not acting in the public interest. They should be made to pay restitution to any victims harmed in this case.

Radiohead condemn ‘exploitative’ touts and resale sites ahead of tour Band urges fans to avoid secondary sites, where more than 1,000 potentially fraudulent tickets for their shows have been found

I've been considering whether to do this for months.

Now that Radiohead tickets are being offered for huge mark-ups on resale sites (as per our story today), I think the time has come.

We're going to play a game of Catch The Ticket Tout. 🧵

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/s...

‘I worked for Abramovich?’: footballers were owned by oligarch via… Former Chelsea owner locked young players across Europe into contentious third-party contracts

We also reported on the scale of Abramovich's involvement in third party ownership, many of whom were minors when they signed the deals:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Abramovich’s hidden football deals during Chelsea’s time at the top Offshore deals with key figures were not recorded in Chelsea’s accounts, despite potentially benefiting the club

This follows our investigation in 2023 which found an array of opaque offshore payments involving Abramovich-owned companies which would routed away from Chelsea:

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

The FA has brought 74 charges against Chelsea FC for a wide array of breaches between 2009 and 2022 - when a certain Roman Abramovich was in charge.

Breaches include transactions with intermediaries and third party investments.

TBF, Danegeld does sound like a very Truss policy. Levy huge sums to pay to another kingdom to try and stop people coming over, and then they come anyway.

📢 Mentoring: At @tbij.bsky.social we are launching a mentorship programme open to both staff and freelance journalists interested in gaining experience and guidance on reporting on the family courts. Full details here 👉 tinyurl.com/42xdkk5b

Reminded of that time I submitted an FOI to the FCA for a copy of a contract they entered with a PR firm.

They refused on "commercial sensitivity" grounds, I appealed saying they could redact some bits.

They agreed and sent me this....

Someone's really got a Bede in their bonnet about this.

Roman Abramovich bankrolled major Dutch club while Chelsea owner Leaked documents appear to show that the Russian oligarch funded acquisition of Vitesse Arnhem via network of offshore entities and funnelled millions to…

A cautionary tale for the world of football finance.

Vitesse's meteoric rise and crashing fall all stemmed from its 2010 takeover, when the club began receiving millions from Roman Abramovich through a complex network of offshore loans.

www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Geopolitics comes to Vitesse: how ‘Chelsea B’ were swallowed by Abramovich associates | Jacob Steinberg Fans of the Eredivisie club hoped takeovers would transform their fortunes, but instead they face an existential threat to their future

Just over a year since this excellent piece by @jacobsteinberg1.bsky.social and its only become truer.

Vitesse has now had its licence revoked (a decision upheld by the Dutch courts), it can no longer play in professional leagues and may cease to exist.

www.theguardian.com/football/art...

Britain’s fiercest libel firm can pursue anyone, anywhere The government is trying to rein in firms like Carter-Ruck. It’s not easy

The original story, a 5,000 word deep dive on the "most feared" libel firm in the UK is here: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2023...

Anyway, if you like the work, become a member today – TBIJ relies on donations and even small amounts go a long way: www.thebureauinvestigates.com/support-us

Vile firm reaps what it sows.

Interesting update from SRA which comes off the back of Ed's mammoth piece on Carter Ruck back in 2023....

not a violin in the world small enough

NEW: Fake QR codes that trick people into handing over their card details have swept through public parking sites in the UK

John is one of the hundreds of people who’ve been targeted by one of these so-called “quishing” scams (footage from @itvnews.bsky.social)

Unless they're Legoland

Latest investigation from my esteemed colleague @edsiddons.bsky.social - give it a read...

Local council to bulldoze beloved golf course and build 1,500 homes Maidenhead locals are at risk of losing their beloved town's 132-acre golf course, which is set to be demolished and replaced with 1,500 homes, two schools and shops.

Can you do Maidenhead Golf Course next - "green lung" of Berkshire apparently, despite being surrounded on all sides by countryside...

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

Kakistocracy manifest.

Report: mRNA vaccines are in RFK Jr’s crosshairs; funding in question “Kennedy’s war on vaccines has started,” one researcher said.

mRNA vaccines are legit a near-miracle tech, there's one in testing that might be able to cure pancreatic cancer, and this fucking degenerate might take them from us arstechnica.com/health/2025/...

David Cameron and the pig thing. Classic of the "I want to believe it so it's true" genre

The scenes in the Oval Office today will shame the US for decades. They’ll never be forgotten.

A world leader, fighting for his country against the 21st century’s Nazis, came to the US and was attacked & abused by a gangster regime siding with the fascist invaders.

A historic disgrace.

Oh look, an even newer low.

Every day they reach new lows...

Not even asteroids want anything to do with us

There must be one of those named adages already that anyone who describes themselves as "high IQ" (or views it as some positive attribute in e.g. leadership) is invariably a fucking moron.

The full front cover is dominated by a picture of Zelenskyy. The word BETRAYED is written in German (VERRATEN) across his chest in yellow. The rest of the subtitle is underneath.

Powerful. Tomorrow’s front page of the most influential weekly publication in Germany.

“BETRAYED. First Zelensky, Soon Us? The radical departure of the US from its allies.”

A betrayal as total as it is awful.

Vance’s grotesqueness aside, the whole thing is one of the most horrific acts of betrayal ever committed by a democratic state against another. Just a moral abomination and a permanent stain on everyone who supports it