News Round-Up

“Police must stop ‘intimidatory’ protests against MPs as threat level rises: Rishi Sunak” – The PM says that the police must make full use of their powers to protect politicians as pro-Palestinian demonstrations increase risk to members, reports the Telegraph.
“Islamist denialism has reached crisis levels” – The ‘hate speech’ complaint against Lee Anderson reveals the censorious power of the charge of Islamophobia, says Fraser Myers in Spiked.
“The Rochdale by-election has exposed the worst of British politics” – If the by-election in Rochdale is about anything other than Gaza, it is about the Labour Party, writes Jake Wallis Simons in the Spectator.
“The Hallett Inquiry is back, but you wouldn’t know it” – Prof. Carl Heneghan and Dr. Tom Jefferson are back monitoring the Welsh leg of the Covid Inquiry.
“Covid pandemic may have been started by scientists, professor tells UN” – Covid could have been created by a “research-related incident”, the UN has heard at the launch of a report calling for better regulation of experiments that could spark pandemics, according to the Telegraph.
“The ‘boys will be boys’ of science” – Are citations and grants and fame really worth the risk of causing a pandemic and killing millions of people? asks Alex Washburne for the Brownstone Institute.
“Chinese fire drill” – On Substack, Thomas Buckley compares the chaotic responses to COVID-19 to a mismanaged fire evacuation.
“Human rights make a brief appearance in ‘bombshell’ COVID-19 vaccine ruling” – For the first time in Australia, a court has ruled mandatory COVID-19 vaccination unlawful, reports the Epoch Times.
“Sokal cubed: is this the biggest academic publishing scandal of all time?” – On Substack, Dr. Raphael Lataster exposes a potentially massive scandal in academic publishing.
“Doctorsaurus Rex and the rise of the ‘noctor’” – The Covid Physician takes aim at the current state of the NHS, focusing on the increasing influence of non-doctor healthcare practitioners and the decline of traditional medical practices.
“Matt Hancock mocked by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s son for lockdown affair” – Matt Hancock was mocked by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s son over his lockdown affair after he’d taken a shot at his father as he addressed pupils on a visit to Eton, according to the Telegraph.
“More than 616,000 foreign workers and dependents got U.K. visas in 2023” – Home Office data shows that the number of U.K. visas handed to foreign workers and their family members soared to more than 600,000 last year, reports the Mail.
“The Tories have no excuse to whine about the Blob” – Blaming the levers of government for a lack of change is a poor argument that makes the Conservative Party weak and pointless, says John Oxley in the Spectator.
“Britain is doomed to forever be America’s sick relation” – Without radical reform, the U.K. economy is destined to live in America’s shadow, argues Douglas McWilliams in the Telegraph.
“‘I don’t like the term ‘impartial’” – News presenter Clive Myrie has said he dislikes the term ‘impartial’ and does not believe the BBC must provide balance on every topic, according to the Telegraph.
“Unis ‘lying to themselves’ if they think free speech not an issue” – The Vice Chancellor of SOAS in London says higher education bosses have been guilty of a “failure to intervene” when people have been censored, reports the Mail.
“Alastair Campbell (national treasure) on private schools” – On Substack, Mr. Chips takes aim at Alastair Campbell’s advocacy for VAT on private education to promote equality.
“The sinister tactics of Hope Not Hate” – Hope Not Hate wishes to change the political weather in our country and has few qualms about how it does it, says Douglas Murray in the Spectator.
“Putin makes direct threat to nuke the West” – Vladimir Putin has made a direct threat to nuke the West as he accused NATO and the U.S. of “preparing to strike” Russia in his annual address to the nation, reports the Mail.
“The most terrifying thing about Putin is not that he’s delusional, but that he might be right” – Putin’s speech to the Federal Assembly reinforces his vision for a more assertive Russia, capitalising on what he sees as Western indecision, writes Jade McGlynn in the Telegraph.
“How Hong Kong turned its back on capitalism – and paid a terrible price” – Under Xi’s tightening grip, Hong Kong’s days as a global deal-making hub are numbered, says Melissa Lawford in the Telegraph.
“How collapsing energy use reveals Britain’s economic disaster” – In 2022, excluding the 2020 Covid lockdown, the U.K. used less energy than in any year since at least 1970, report Melissa Lawford and Jonathan Leake in the Telegraph.
“Net Zero targets have hamstrung British prosperity” – To claim that Net Zero has sparked an industrial boom in Britain, you have to be pretty inventive with the figures, says the Spectator in a leading article.
“The farce of Drax’s wood pellets” – When is the Government going to stop pretending that chopping down trees in North American forests and shipping them to burn in U.K. power stations is a zero-carbon form of energy? asks Ross Clark in the Spectator.
“Six months on, Ulez is doing more harm than good” – With unfair fines, false advertising and a huge legal scandal, the Ulez scheme is a shambles… yet this is just the beginning, warns Ed Wiseman in the Telegraph.
“Europe’s consensus on climate is crumbling” – With farmers in revolt and the far-Right surging, is Ursula von der Leyen about to wreck her own green agenda? wonders Wolfgang Münchau in the New Statesman.
“Riding the backlash against climate policies ” – Pledges made at COP28 are being broken as politicians in the U.S. and across Europe backpedal on climate goals, writes Amanda Kolson Hurley for Bloomberg.
“First drop in sales: honeymoon is over for Europe’s heat pump industry” – Europe’s heat pump industry has been forced to cut, or temporarily freeze, 3,000 jobs following investments into production capacity that overshot demand growth, according to Euractiv.
“Toyota was right about hybrid cars all along” – Toyota’s slow-and-steady approach to EVs and hybrids is going well, despite years of criticism, says Nora Naughton in Business Insider.
“EU lawmakers ‘outraged’ after states block landmark ESG law ” – An EU law designed to clean up corporate supply chains has been derailed by the bloc’s biggest member states, reports Bloomberg.
“Trans women criminals must be recorded as men, says No.10” – Downing Street has told police to list offenders, such as ‘cat killer’ murderer Scarlet Blake, as male unless they have legally changed gender, reports the Telegraph.
“BBC upholds complaint against Today presenter Justin Webb for saying trans women are males” – The BBC has upheld a complaint against the Today presenter Justin Webb after he said “trans women, in other words males”, says Press Gazette.
“NHS issues urgent warning for discredited transgender clinic” – GPs have been warned not to work with the transgender clinic Gender GP after the NHS issued an urgent safety alert, reports the Telegraph.
“Bud Light trans boycott hammers world’s biggest brewer” – A growing boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with a transgender influencer has hurt sales at parent group AB InBev, says the Telegraph.
“Woke segregation arrives at the West End” – There is nothing ‘progressive’ about a black-only theatre performance, argues Thomas Osborne in Spiked.
“Theatre’s obsession with ‘inclusivity’ has hit an embarrassing new low” – Organisers of a ‘Black Out’ night seem to think enjoyment of the arts must be determined by ‘lived experience’. They couldn’t be more wrong, says Ella Whelan in the Telegraph.
“Having a pop at Mary” – In the New Conservative, Jack Watson gives his take on the recent reclassification of Mary Poppins from U to PG because it contains ‘discriminatory language’.
“How to write a modern screenplay” – People do not want genuine drama these days, just validation of their asinine prejudices, says Rod Liddle in the Spectator.
“New Zealand scraps its world-first cigarette ban” – New Zealand will repeal a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, reports the Mail.
“Gemini AI exposes the progressive playbook” – Google’s new AI app Gemini has caught the sanctimonious social engineers with their pants down, says Lionel Shriver in the Spectator.
“Political corruption and taxpayer money behind Google disinformation and censorship” – The U.S. and Germany finance Google disinformation and censorship, claims Michael Shellenberger on the Public Substack.
“Oprah Winfrey leaves Weight Watchers board after admitting use of weight-loss drugs” – Oprah Winfrey is standing down from Weight Watchers after admitting she has been using weight-loss drugs, according to the Telegraph.
“‘He who pays the piper, calls the tune’” – Addressing the House of Lords, former Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth warns of the dangers of foreign states owning British newspapers.

Watch: Lord Forsyth warns of foreign states owning British newspapers

Read the full article here https://t.co/cIL5Ahv2yd pic.twitter.com/x5Bf3gOcp5
— The Spectator (@spectator) February 28, 2024

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