News Round-Up

• “The ultimate proof we no longer live in a free country” – Peter Hitchens was brought up to believe that, in this country, nobody could be punished without a jury trial. But now he knows all this may once have been true and is no longer so, he writes in the Mail.
• “Hundreds of migrants cross Channel on hottest day of year” – Almost 400 migrants crossed the Channel on small boats on Friday as temperatures rose sharply, reports the Telegraph.
• “French drop new EU border checks at Dover after queue chaos” – The new entry-exit system into the Schengen Area causes havoc as passengers are forced to endure huge queues, according to the Telegraph.
• “‘There’ll be civil war’: inside Labour’s toxic Brexit gamble” – The party has reacted to its election drubbing with a string of pro-EU moves that threaten to tear it apart, writes Tim Shipman in the Telegraph.
• “Reform vows to scrap Cabinet Office and role of Cabinet Secretary” – In a new wave of policies, Nigel Farage’s party propses big cuts to the Civil Service and a politicised Office of the Prime Minister, says the Times.
• “I investigated BBC capture by trans activists – it was worse than I thought” – In the Times, an investigation finds the BBC’s coverage of gender ideology has been even more comprehensively captured by trans activists than first suspected.
• “The rise of Palantir: pro-West, ‘anti-woke’ software giant” – As London’s mayor blocks Palantir’s contract with the Metropolitan Police, boss Alex Karp claims its AI is an engine for western victory, reports the Times.
• “Red Arrows slashed to seven because of old engines” – The Red Arrows are reducing the number of planes in their displays because their engines are so old, with just seven planes flown in most shows, notes the Telegraph.
• “Trump says US and Iran ‘a lot closer’ to peace deal” – The United States and Iran are getting “a lot closer” to an agreement to end the war, President Trump claimed on Saturday, according to the Times.
• “Charles Dickens museum condemns his ‘prejudice’” – The novelist held views that “cause great offence today”, internal guidance tells staff at his hometown museum, reveals the Telegraph.
• “Who is Andy Burnham really? Teen ‘scally’ to professional outsider” – Andy Burnham could be Prime Minister in a matter of months should a historic by-election battle in Makerfield go his way, reports Patrick Maguire in the Times.
• “Like Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham is ducking the hardest questions” – It was the Australian political strategist Sir Lynton Crosby who popularised the term “scraping the barnacles off the boat”, writes Gabriel Pogrund in the Times. Looks like Burnham has taken that to heart
• “Burnham’s ‘death tax’ threatens millions of families” – Millions more families could be dragged into paying a “death tax” on their loved ones’ estates under Andy Burnham’s plans for a wealth tax to fund social care, according to the Telegraph.
• “Unions plot worst ever school strikes” – The National Education Union is set to hold the country to ransom with walkouts in most schools after Christmas, disrupting exam classes and forcing parents to find childcare, claims the Mail.
• “White House locked down with reporters forced to dive for cover” – Correspondents stationed near the White House say they heard what appeared to be repeated gunfire on Saturday, triggering an immediate security response around the grounds, reports the Mail.
• “Is Canada about to break apart?” – If Alberta ever became an independent country, the economic ramifications would be disastrous, writes Rob Crilly in the Telegraph.
• “The private-school past of Green MSP who ‘grew up starving’” – Q Manivannan became a Holyrood MSP this month despite being on a student visa, meaning the politician may be forced to leave the country before completing their term, reveals the Times.
• “RAF to spend £1 billion switching to sustainable jet fuel” – Ministry of Defence figures show the move to sustainable fuel for RAF flights will cost more than £100 million a year by 2040, says the Telegraph.
• “Green energy cultists meltdown over proposed EV road-use fees” – Albert Gore III, the son of former VP Gore, serves as the Executive Director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association and is unhappy with the proposal to charge ordinary road users an EV fee, says Watts Up With That.
• “The world has seen the light on energy, except Ed Miliband” – If there is any politician, anywhere in the world, who cares about Net Zero more than Ed Miliband, asks Iain Martin in the Times.
• “Channel 4’s Huw Edwards interview a ‘disgrace’, says victim’s mother” – Edwards is in talks with Channel 4 to tell his side of the story after he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children, reports the Mail.
• “How Marxist activists will flood schools with radical propaganda” – A rallying cry rang out across the Brighton Centre last month belonging to Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of Britain’s largest teaching union, writes Andrew Pierce in the Mail.
• “As Taliban recognises child marriage, Afghans ‘marry off’ girls” – In Afghanistan, the practice of selling daughters to older men for financial gain has become a normalised response to deepening poverty, according to the Mail.
• “In 1980, we had one regulator for every 11,000 people working in financial services Today, it’s closer to one regulator for every 75 people” – Katie Lam describes just how buried in red tape Briths business has become.

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