News Round-Up

• “Middle England is finally waking up to the migrant crisis” – In the Spectator, Douglas Murray argues that the accelerating pace of migration is forcing Middle England to confront a crisis that the political class has long tried to ignore.
• “Two illegal immigrants raped woman at knifepoint while she star gazed” – Afghan nationals Khan Agah and Noorullah Ahmdzai raped a woman at knifepoint in a park in what prosecutors described as a harrowing attack, reports the Mail.
• “Shabana Mahmood backs ‘fairer spread’ of asylum seekers across country” – The Justice Secretary has doubled down on the Prime Minister’s pledge to ensure more affluent areas expected to “play their part” when it comes to housing asylum seekers, notes the Mail.
• “Jason Arday’s tragic death is no reason to silence the press” – Attempts to blame media coverage for Jason Arday’s death risk both oversimplifying a complex tragedy and setting a dangerous precedent for press freedom, says a Spectator editorial.
• “The sanctification of Jason Arday” – The narrative being constructed around Jason Arday’s death amounts to an assault on the free press, notes Tom Slater in Spiked.
• “The Maoist lunacy of the Jason Arday cult” – Journalists are being forced into struggle sessions for the sin of criticising Arday, says Brendan O’Neill in Spiked.
• “Academic who raised concerns about Professor Jason Arday is suspended” – Nathan Cofnas, the young academic who first exposed Arday’s academic misconduct, has been suspended by Ghent University pending a discrimination investigation, reports the Mail.
• “Ghent university shouldn’t have suspended Nathan Cofnas” – In the Spectator, I argue that those condemning Nathan Cofnas for exposing Jason Arday’s academic misconduct are guilty of the very mobbing they claim to oppose.
• “The trouble with Cambridge’s education faculty goes all the way to the top” – In the Spectator, Andrew Gilligan reveals further evidence that Hillary Cremin, and the Cambridge education department she runs, have completely lost their faculties.
• “The Left Have a Real Problem” – On his Substack, Jack Watson unleashes on the Left.
• “Rayner’s office destroyed evidence behind Islamophobia definition” – Angela Rayner’s office destroyed evidence of who was consulted by MHCLG over its definition of ‘anti-Muslim hostility’, says the Telegraph.
• “Why won’t the UK curtail the Muslim Brotherhood?” – In the Spectator, Robin Simcox argues that the British Government’s decades-long failure to act against the Muslim Brotherhood has been thrown into sharp relief by the United States sanctioning a London-based senior leader of the organisation for the first time.
• “A fifth of GCSE entries get top marks but pass rates fall in English” – As hundreds of thousands of pupils collect their results, 22% of entries were awarded a 7 or above – up from 21.9% last year – though pass rates in English have slipped, reports Eleanor Harding in the Mail.
• “GCSE results are proof that Conservative education reforms work” – With 22% of all GCSE grades awarded at 7, 8 or 9 nationally, the case for the rigorous curriculum changes introduced under the last Conservative Government is now beyond dispute, writes former Conservative education minister Nick Gibb in the Telegraph.
• “England is becoming a maths powerhouse, says exams chief” – The exams chief credits Michael Gove’s reforms with lifting GCSE maths grades, even as boys narrow the overall results gap and concerns mount over the toll of resits, says the Times.
• “Ofcom to investigate Sky over ‘harassment’ of Farage’s daughter” – The media watchdog has launched an investigation into Sky News after one of its reporters turned up unannounced at the home of Nigel Farage’s daughter, reports the Telegraph.
• “Dan Hodges: Farage’s authority over his party is under threat” – Drawing a parallel with Derek Hatton’s grip on Liverpool’s Militant Tendency in the 1980s, Dan Hodges argues in the Mail that Nigel Farage’s hold on his own party is more fragile than it appears.
• “Revealed: the feuding at the heart of Reform” – In the Spectator, Tim Shipman writes about the internal feuds tearing Reform apart.
• “Sadiq Khan plans almost 900 more traveller pitches” – City Hall has unveiled plans for 900 traveller sites across London, reports the Telegraph.
• “Most Londoners want Khan to stand down at next election” – Only 24% of those polled say they would support the Mayor of London seeking another term, says the Telegraph.
• “Trump declares ‘economic D-Day’ against Iran” – President Trump has declared “economic warfare” against Iran and condemned its leaders for failing to make a deal to end the ongoing war, notes the Times.
• “British scientist plotted to cover up Covid lab leak” – Dr Peter Daszak is accused of actively working to suppress the theory that coronavirus leaked from a laboratory, writes Sarah Knapton in the Telegraph.
• “What did Fauci mean by “game on?”” – In Brownstone, Jeffrey A. Tucker writes that Fauci worked with pharmaceutical companies to delay recognition of natural immunity while awaiting the release of a vaccine.
• “Left ramps up its demands for sweeping online censorship, from the US to UK to EU” – On his Public Substack, Michael Shellenberger reveals that Nobel-winning economist Daron Acemoglu is calling for government control of social media algorithms, as Amnesty International and the Greens demand a crackdown in the wake of Jason Arday’s death.
• “New Zealand journal deleted a paper for potential harm to Māori months after publishing it” – A New Zealand clinical psychology journal retracted a paper critiquing different practice standards for Māori and non-Māori patients months after publishing it, citing potential harm – a decision that raises serious questions about ideologically motivated censorship in academic publishing, reports Ivan Oransky in Retraction Watch.
• “Israel accuses ‘patronising’ Miliband of damaging relationship” – Israel has said that Ed Miliband’s “patronising” criticism of its West Bank plans has damaged Britain’s relationship with the country, reports the Telegraph.
• “Greens ridiculed over Unesco heritage bid for bread roll” – Scotland’s Green Party has been widely mocked after pushing for Unesco recognition of the tradition of ordering a morning roll as living cultural heritage, says the Times.
• “Greens elect supporter of Iran to powerful party council” – Eleanora Folan, who has publicly called for Israel to be abolished, has been elected to the Green Party’s ruling council, where she will sit alongside Deputy Leader Zack Polanski in a body that shapes party strategy, according to the Times.
• “Mother of Green party MP says party full of ‘less than nice people’” – Liz Spencer, mother of newly elected Green MP Hannah Spencer, has declared the party is “not what the Green party used to be” and is now populated by “less than nice people”, reveals the Mail.
• “I watched Chris Packham’s climate crisis film so you don’t have to” – Chris Packham’s 50-minute propaganda film, People’s Emergency Briefing, is a risible exercise in alarmist posturing that apes the Covid press conferences without any of the authority, notes Tali Fraser in the Spectator.
• “Brexit has given British farmers more ways to adapt to climate change” – Post-Brexit, UK farmers can access technologies and products still unauthorised in the EU, and simply adopting all EU regulations as they come would squander that hard-won flexibility, reports the Telegraph.
• “Villagers destroy Burnham mural on wildfire-scorched hillside” – Two villagers armed with garden rakes tore up a mural of Andy Burnham painted on a hillside blackened by wildfires, says the Telegraph.
• “West Ham tell fans to stop anti-Palestine chants” – West Ham have urged supporters to cease chanting against Palestine after new Israeli signing Manor Salomon was subjected to an ‘offensive’ chant during the club’s latest match, writes the Telegraph.
• “Premier League captains to continue taking the knee twice per season” – Following a discussion between club captains, Premier League players will again take the knee twice a season, notes Mike Keegan in the Mail.
• “Harry and Meghan’s legacy of broken US dreams” – From their bombshell Instagram post in January 2020 to a string of failed ventures, Rosie Beveridge charts the full timeline of Harry and Meghan’s collapsing American ambitions, writes Rosie Beveridge in the Mail.
• “Bond’s identity crisis mirrors Britain’s” – In the Spectator, Madeline Grant argues that the creative paralysis surrounding the James Bond franchise is a troubling reflection of Britain’s own loss of cultural confidence and national identity.
• “J’accuse Will Self” – Melissa Kite fires back at Will Self in the Spectator after his Substack piece calling for the prosecution of journalists who wrote about Arday.
• “Exclusive: Ex-England star accuses ‘white media’ of sharing ‘demonic spirit’ of Jim Crow lynchers” – Eniola Aluko, the broadcaster and Adidas brand ambassador, has called out the “white media” and launched a campaign for press regulation in the wake of Jason Arday’s death, reports Steven Edginton on his Substack.
• “This is so embarrassing” – Steve Maguire ridicules a Navara Media journalists for flagellating himself on camera for writing something mildly critical about Jason Arday.

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