News Round-Up

“U.K. riots: Judge hands down longest jail sentences yet” – Two men, including one seen looting Lush, have been jailed for over 10 years between them, reports the BBC.
“Man, 32, is first adult charged with higher punishable crime of riot” – Northumbria Police said yesterday that Kieran Usher had been charged with riot in connection with disorder in Sunderland city centre on August 2nd, according to the Mail.
“Don’t be fooled by selective ‘tough justice’” – The uncompromising sanctions being meted out to rioters and ‘inciters’ is political and performative, says Paul Embery on his Substack.
“The persecution of ‘the plebs’” – Not so long ago, we went to politicians for politics and comedians for comedy. Today, like many others, I watch politicians for amusement and listen to comedians for their political insights, writes Douglas Murray in the Spectator.
“Two-tier policing risks turning white British people into another ‘community group’” – Engaging with minorities through group ‘leaders’ has perverted policing, says Charles Moore in the Telegraph.
“Why there is no two-tier policing in France” – The phrase “without fear or favour” has been much in the news of late. Whether that applies to the British police is a matter of conjecture. But it certainly applies to the French police, according to Jonathan Miller in the Spectator.
“Why is the EU trying to censor Elon Musk?” – Tom Slater in the Spectator explains why the EU has it in for the owner of X.
“Banning ‘Islamophobia’ would harm Muslims the most” – Silencing critics of Islamism will embolden the extremists who make Muslims’ lives hell, says Alaa Al-Ameri in Spiked.
“Train drivers to strike every weekend for next three months despite bumper pay rise” – Aslef has announced another wave of strikes after securing a record pay deal from the credulous Labour Government, reports the Telegraph.
“Labour ‘played by union paymasters’ as Britain faces travel chaos” – Travellers face a double nightmare as dual strikes were announced for the end of August hitting the last major weekend of the summer school holidays, says the Mail.
“Pensioners are just the first victims of Labour’s great trade union surrender” – Attempts to appease strikers risks emboldening British unions and invites more chaos, writes Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
“Has Sir Keir Starmer been bewitched by Sue Gray?” – Has Keir Starmer , apparently bewitched by his enforcer Sue Gray, read former Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Laws’s 2016 account of working with her in the Cabinet Office, asks Ephraim Hardcastle in the Mail? She was the real Prime Minister, according to Laws.
“How Sue Gray is wielding power at the heart of Downing Street” – With great influence and a firm grip on Whitehall, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff may well be Britain’s most powerful woman, writes Ben Riley-Smith in the Telegraph.
“Angela Rayner to order councils to approve raft of wind farm projects” – Any council or other planning authority which blocks a proposal for a wind farm will risk expensive legal appeals that developers are likely to win, warns the Deputy Prime Minister, according to the Mail.
“‘God knows what’s going to happen’: the flood-prone village braced for Labour’s ‘major city’ plans” – Tempsford is touted to house 350,000 new residents – but locals have grave concerns, reports the Telegraph.
“Sadiq Khan humiliated as it’s revealed his pet policy is a disaster every time” – The Mayor of London is still pushing for the Government to give him powers of rent controls, even though they repeatedly make the housing crisis worse, says the Express.
“Labour is in danger of failing the lockdown generation all over again” – High expectations and rigour are the best ways to help poorer students, not ‘progressive’ reforms to the curriculum, writes Fraser Nelson in the Telegraph.
“Do we now have proof Ukraine blew up the Nord Stream pipelines?” – When three of the four Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany were destroyed by unknown saboteurs in September 2022, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak described the bombing as “a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards the EU.” But were the Ukrainians behind it? asks Owen Matthews in the Spectator.
“Germany issues arrest warrant for ‘Ukrainian diver who played part in Nord Stream explosions’” – According to Sky News, the German authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian diver suspected of involvement in the Nord Stream sabotage.
“Why is David Lammy hiring Columbia’s disastrous president?” – Few will shed a tear at the news that Columbia University president Minouche Shafik is stepping down after the campus Gaza protests. But did David Lammy really have to give her a job? asks Jawad Iqbal in the Spectator.
“Is the West finally seeing through Hamas’s lies?” – On Saturday, when Israel attacked the al-Taba’een Hamas command centre in Gaza City, jihadi propagandists swung into action straight away. But Hamas’s lies aren’t as widely believed as they were in the West, says Jake Wallis Simons in the Spectator.
“Revealed: Hamas plot to dig up war graves of British veterans” – Plan to exhume remains of soldiers and hold them ‘prisoner’ are detailed in seven-page document shared with the Telegraph by Israeli officials.
“Israel ‘expects’ UK to join potential attack on Iran” – Israel’s Foreign Minister asks his British and French counterparts to do support Israel if it finds itself at war with Iran, says the Telegraph.
“‘Friends no longer speak to me’: How it feels to be a British Jew after October 7th” – A new wave of anti-Semitism in the U.K. has seeped into everyday life, ruining friendships and adding to the sense of unease felt by many British Jews, reports the Telegraph.
“Ukraine’s shock offensive has Russia in ‘disarray’, says the MOD” – An MoD analysis of the offensive inside Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions says Moscow’s defences were not prepared, says the Mail.
“Doctors to take legal action against GMC over ‘inaction’ on Covid vaccine misinformation” – A group of doctors, including some GPs, have begun legal proceedings against the GMC based on what they say is a failure to act on COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, according to Pulse. No, they’re not talking about doctors over-selling the Covid vaccines.
“Did the Covid shot kill former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki?” – On his Substack, Steve Kirsch speculates about whether the Covid vaccine and subsequent booster shots was the cause of Susan Wojcicki’s death.
“First case of ultra-deadly mpox strain has hit Europe” – The most deadly and contagious strain of the virus has so far been spotted in the African continent, says the Mail. And now Sweden, too.
“What should Starmer do about monkeypox?” – The government has a bit of a conundrum. Given how Keir Starmer and his Labour colleagues damned the previous Conservative administration for failing to lock down the country early enough for Covid, what are they now going to do about the new strain of monkeypox (or ‘mpox’, as we are now supposed to call it)? asks Ross Clark in the Spectator.
“CPS admits it made mistakes with Lucy Letby evidence” – Last year ‘killer nurse’ Lucy Letby was found guilty of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital. But the CPS has admitted that some of the prosecution’s evidence was wrong, says the Mail.
“Extinction Rebellion to storm Windsor Castle and camp in grounds for three days” – The eco-terrorists have a plan to storm Windsor Castle, reports the Independent.
“Pay-per-mile road tax could cost the average motorist £444 a year” – There’s growing speculation that the Treasury will bring in a pay-per-mile scheme to fill the road taxation black hole as a result of the the switch to EVs, according to the Mail.
“Flagship green fuel factory scrapped in net zero blow” – State-owned Norwegian energy giant Ørsted says there is a lack of demand for e-fuel so it’s closing its factory, says the Telegraph.
“What shall we do with the drunken sailor?” – This week, the National Grid announced plans for an offshore grid in the Celtic Sea. This is apparently to connect a planned 4.5 gigawatts of floating offshore windfarms, says Net Zero Watch.
“Taiwan attempts to silence U.K. women’s right campaigners in Olympics gender row” – The Taiwan Government has asked Fair Play For Women to remove tweets criticising the genetically male Taiwanese boxer who won a gold medal at the Olympics, reports the Telegraph.
“J.K. Rowling was telling truth about Imane Khelif – what was her crime?” – It’s a funny old world when millions of people tune into the Olympics to watch a man pummel a woman’s face to win gold medal glory, says Julia Hartley-Brewer in the Sun. And it’s an even stranger place when the woman who calls this out is investigated by the Paris Prosecutor‘s Office.
“‘I was seen as a monster for my gender-critical views’” – After a three-year legal battle that caught the attention of Elon Musk and J.K. Rowling, James Esses has received an apology and reached a settlement with the school that expelled him, reports the Times.
“Winking at a female employee can be sexual harassment, tribunal rules” – Waitress Jenna Almussawi has won £41,000 in compensation in the Employment Tribunal after her treatment at the hands of ‘creepy’ Glasgow restaurant boss, says the Mail.
“Civil service ‘diversity and inclusion’ officers paid more than top trade officials” – Civil Service diversity and inclusion officers are paid as much as £10,000 more than top trade officials, according to the Telegraph.
“How as few as 17% of civil servants turn up to the office each day” – Data unearthed via the Freedom of Information Act shows how few days civil servants spend in the office, reports the Mail.
“Harry and Meghan’s VP host demanding billions from West for slavery” – Ms Márquez, 42, Columbia’s first black Vice-President and its First Minister for Equality, has demanded the West pay reparations for slavery, says the Mail.
“Sir Simon Clarke endorses ‘extraordinary’ Kemi Badenoch for Tory leader” – A senior ally of Boris Johnson’s says the former Business Secretary won’t “shy away from levelling with British people about the challenges we face”, according to the Telegraph.
“Digital Editor” – Uncommon Sense, a non-woke marketing company, is looking to hire a Digital Editor. Click on the link to apply.
“Douglas Murray spells it out (as only he can)” – Rowan Dean shares a clip from Douglas Murray’s interview with Jordan Peterson in which he puts the summer riots in context.

No Result