Sean Coughlan

Paris robbery prompts £3m insurance payout to Royal Collection The annual finances of the Royal Collection Trust show the scale of the theft of royal items on loan to a Paris museum.

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

Harmony Summit: Inside King Charles's fiery gathering that shone a light on his beliefs The King's philosophy of harmony with nature was on display at the Highgrove summit.

The King held his first Harmony Summit. What happened there? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Billy Boston to become first ever rugby league knight The former Wigan player will be the first rugby league player to receive a knighthood in 130 years of the sport's history.

Rugby league’s first knighthood to be awarded today. It follows protests of unfairness against the sport in the honours system. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ancient India exhibition at the British Museum is worth a spin. Art and soul. Apart from anything else, it’s soothingly calm compared to the rest of the overcrowded museum.

Rugby league honours: Anger at no knighthoods in 130 years The Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle joins protests at the lack of knighthoods for rugby league players.

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

Central line seems to be getting as bad for graffiti inside the tube carriages as the Bakerloo. Feels like it’s got worse in past few months, not sure why that might be.

Public funding for royals triples since 2012 because of Palace works Royal aides say the rise is because of a Buckingham Palace building project and the funding will come down again.

With pressure on public finances, there’s increasing scrutiny of the amount of taxpayers’ money spent on the Royal Family. My thoughts and those of others in this piece for the BBC by @seanjcoughlan.bsky.social

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

Honours system 'should not ignore disabled' Disabled people should be more fairly recognised in the honours system, says an advocate for the rights of autistic women and girls.

There's a call for the honours system to recognise the community efforts and volunteering of people with disabilities. It's part of a wider question about the fairness of the honours system and whether it's rewarding the right people. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

William sees how text messages can save young lives An emergency mental health text helpline which has had 3 million messages is visited by Prince William

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

Why people kill Why did he do it? Over the last few weeks, many of us have asked that question following a series of horrifying acts of violence that have been difficult to comprehend. Why was 15-year-old Harvey Will...

NEW Results of my informal research into 147 murder & manslaughter cases that concluded at court in London in 2023 and 2024.

Why were people killed?

The findings surprised me...
... and raise questions for policing & government.

Published in the Spectator:

www.spectator.co.uk/article/why-...

They had that thing of changing styles and moving forward in such a short space of time, compared with bands now that bore on forever.

Sad to hear about Rick Buckler. He was such a part of what made the Jam such a fiercely intense live band. A lot of middle aged people will be playing those old records and remembering how much the Jam captured that time.

Has Caecilius been in?

Congratulations, great achievement. And even better that you'd carefully planned tonight's win.

New Year Honours: Are top recipients too posh and too southern? An analysis of those awarded the "higher" honours reveals a significant social and regional divide.

‘It won't help to build confidence in the honours system if there's a perception that the proximity to the seat of power & personal wealth significantly increases your chance of getting a gong’ @transparencyuk.bsky.social for @seanjcoughlan.bsky.social’s investigation.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

New Year Honours: Are top recipients too posh and too southern? An analysis of those awarded the

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

Even a draw wouldn't be bad today. Think Pompey will stay up. Although by the end of this season the team will have been more or less completely overhauled.

On a train with the windows covered in graffiti. So at least can’t see all the graffiti along the tracks.

Not if you kept treading on them on. Great player to have for the season though.

I'm sure there was a Subbuteo player that looked like Freddie Potts.

First new medal winner recalls 'extreme devastation' The first recipients of the new Humanitarian Medal have been announced, honouring rescue workers.

First Humanitarian Medals awarded. Anna Daniell, one of the first recipients, says it's a positive sign to honour humanitarian workers who respond to international disasters. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Really enjoyed it too. And liked the whole evocation of the time. But would have been even sharper if it was 20 mins shorter. Films have got so long like indulgent guitar solos.

Such a great series. Part of a more optimistic time too perhaps.

King Charles to attend Auschwitz commemoration The King will be at an event for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.

King Charles to attend events marking 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In spotting journalistic cliches - a new contender must 'breaks silence'. It almost always just means that someone has said something. But with a load of fake clickable drama.