The new Nazi Barbie.

“I’ve never seen him threaten genocide.” Aside from the examples Tom gives, incurious Zack might want to read up on recent Russian state TV output www.theguardian.com/world/2022/m...

"Small boat crossings are still increasing" reports the BBC's flagship Radio 4 Today programme.

Editors could check BBC Verify, which reports they are down 35% year on year. The trend began Sept 2025, though crossings rose before that, but falling for over 6 months now if compared like with like.

Turns out I was giving Polanski too much credit on Ukraine. What the fuck is he talking about here? Putin has an ICC warrant for the industrial kidnapping of tens of thousands of Ukrainian kids & rewarded the soldiers who massacred civillians Bucha with medals for their ‘bravery’

With Orban gone the EU has now approved the 90 billion Euro loan to Ukraine and another package of sanctions on Russia. V good news.

Starmer won't survive the May elections.
Although not sure who's best to replace him. Not Rayner as she isn't popular outside of Labour.
Not selecting Burnham for G&D seems a big mistake now!

I find the whole “no one could last a whole term as PM now” argument so tiresome. I do think the information environment encourages impatience in supporters, but I think not lasting a full term after winning 411 seats would ultimately be on him

Telegraph newspaper editorial on Mandelson's appointment in December 2024 versus editorial today

This morning I’ve seen Olly Robbins’s appearance before the select committee described as ‘box office’, while a commentator flagged up another key political moment with the words ‘bring the popcorn’.

That’s one of our main problems right there.

Quite exciting watching Parliament and seeing lots of cameos from stars you were sure had been killed off by the screenwriters in previous seasons - Burgon, Abbott, McVey, Davis, Duncan Smith.

It is possible to think that this whole undignified Mandelson vetting debacle does not reflect well on the PM at all, while also thinking that another leadership contest is literally the last thing anybody needs right now.

Ed Miliband to double down on net zero with measures to combat Iran energy shock As fossil fuel prices soar ‘the era of clean energy security must come of age’, energy secretary will say

There is no politician - and I mean none - who is better-placed than Ed Miliband to get us through this fossil fuel-driven energy crisis.

No-one in politics understands the energy system better. That’s why the billionaire fossil press hate him

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades ahead of public announcements by the US president.

Let's ask the insider traders...
- BBC finally reporting on this.

BBC News - The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump's presidency
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In case you’re confused - the £100k of tax Richard Tice failed to pay here is totally different to the
- £92k of tax not properly withheld on dividends
- the £600k side-stepped via highly aggressive tax avoidance
Industrial scale grifting revealed by @danneidle.bsky.social and Gabriel Pogrund

When Angela Rayner underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty, Richard Tice said it was "morally completely indefensible” and she should resign if she had “any moral decency”.

Now we learn he set up four shell companies that let him avoid paying £100,000 he owed in tax and to then transfer the cash to Reform

You always get a lot of angry replies here if you complain about the Greens blocking solar farms or power grid upgrades. Maybe they should stop instigating pile-ons and start instigating pylons.

On any given day, you might as well roll a die to predict whether Donald Trump is going to claim total victory; imminent victory; a negotiated ceasefire; an imminent ceasefire; new attacks; crucial negotiations or imminent crucial negotiations. The only certainty is that he’ll be lying.

For those keeping track at home. The Iranians have now blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US blockading it because the Iranians had blockaded it, in response to the US attacking Iran to ensure that the Strait which was fully open at the time wasn't blockaded.

What should have happened: the REIT paid no tax but the Tice companies holding shares in the REIT paid £98k tax on the dividends they received. What actually happened: none of the companies paid any tax.

Our new report: Richard Tice signed accounts wrongly claiming £98,000 of tax exemptions

A 🧵 with the evidence:

Very incisive from Alex Wickham, UK political editor for Bloomberg

“Sources say Olly Robbins felt bound by the rules of the security vetting process NOT to tell the PM, No10 or the foreign secretary about the concerns raised about Mandelson”

Fair enough. Hadn't seen this piece of information before.

Absolutely. But sort of misses the point - highly unusual circumstances of finding an ambassador that could work with Trump. Never been a president like him before. Many things in common with Mandelson...

Revealed: Mandelson failed vetting but Foreign Office overruled decision Guardian investigation uncovers decision by UK security officials to deny clearance before Mandelson took up role as US ambassador

This is gobsmacking, if true. Surely no FCDO official would have the temerity to issue an override for an appointment of this significance? But if indeed it was not referred to No 10, why the hell not? A massive breakdown in process, or of judgement, or both! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This the key point. If FCDO did overturn the vetting without telling anyone it was because it had already been announced. Which was a ridiculous thing to do.

Good questioning which gets to the crux of the matter. Where's the evidence to back up Starmer's claim he didn't know? We await to see what else comes out..

“Are we expected to accept on trust what you’re saying today and what the Prime Minister is saying that he did not know when he made these various comments or are you able to prove that what you’re saying about who knew what and when is true?” - Charlie Stayt

This is the least of the reasons why Trump and Netenyahu are absolute pieces of shit but my god, they really are absolute pieces of shit. We really did seem to be getting somewhere.

Trump messed it up - and the UK right backed him - is the narrative the government should be pushing loudly and clearly at every opportunity

Did the BBC assume that asylum applications, unlike every other facet of human society, were completely free of fraud? Seems like a complete loss of perspective over their investigation, which is now into its second day of dominating its headlines

The stench of political death now surrounds Donald Trump Farage, Meloni and Le Pen all realise that the US President is now kryptonite

Trump is now one of the loneliest figures on the world stage. One by one, his admirers have turned their backs on him: Meloni, Le Pen, Farage, Badenoch inews.co.uk/opinion/sten...