UK Lobbying Poland to Buy Swedish Submarines, Sources Say

By Barbara Erling Reuters November 14, 2025

WARSAW, Nov 14 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is lobbying Poland to award a multi-billion-euro submarine purchase contract to Swedish defence group Saab SAABb.ST that may include some deals with UK defence group Babcock BAB.L, sources said.

Babcock declined to comment on its possible involvement in the bid.

A British government spokesperson did not comment directly on the report, but said warship and fighter jet export deals were bringing billions of pounds to the UK economy.

“We are making defence an engine for growth – delivering jobs and boosting the UK economy whilst strengthening our commitment to NATO allies and European security,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Saab told Reuters on Friday that the company’s submarines are tailored to the specific conditions prevailing in the Baltic Sea, but referred any questions about the UK’s position to the British authorities.

Polish officials have said a decision on the “Orka” programme, a key part of Warsaw’s drive to modernise its navy and bolster NATO ties as tensions with Russia escalate, could be taken within weeks.

Saab, which makes a wide range of military equipment including fighter jets, surveillance systems, missiles and submarines, is among a handful of short-listed contenders for the contract, along with manufacturers from Italy, Spain, France, Germany and South Korea.

Two officials close to the matter told Reuters that Starmer had signed a letter of support, together with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, which was included in Saab’s final offer, submitted in late October.

POLITICAL JOCKEYING

Starmer is keen to boost the British economy, but his involvement is also an example of political jockeying around Europe for a slice of lucrative defence contracts as countries increase military spending in the face of tensions with Russia.

“The UK’s Babcock, among other British partners, will participate in Sweden’s bid,” one of the sources said, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Starmer and Kristersson said in their joint letter they were confident that the Swedish proposal would boost security in the Baltic Sea, according to an official who has seen the document.

Polish media have reported that the offers from Germany, Italy and Sweden are frontrunners in the multi-billion-dollar programme. All three countries are partners of Poland in NATO and the European Union.

https://gcaptain.com/uk-lobbying-poland-to-buy-swedish-submarines-sources-say/

Canada #85

George Soros Was Funding Far Left Censorship Group that Attacked The Gateway Pundit in British Parliament – Bragged About Targeting TGP Advertisers

by Jim Hoft Nov. 19, 2025

The Free Beacon released a report on the far-left censorship group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and its funders.

According to the Free Beacon, George Soros and his Open Society Foundations donated $250,000 to the CCDH for their work in silencing conservative media outlets like The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist, The Daily Wire, Zero Hedge, and others.

The Free Beacon reported that the grant provided “general support” to the British nonprofit, which works to pressure social media companies, advertisers, and investors into censoring content it deems “hate” or “disinformation.”

Former Labour Party operative Imran Ahmed founded the organization. How his background as a far left political operative prepared Ahmed to define himself as an expert in disinformation is unclear.

As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier, the CCDH published a report titled, Defund Racism: Black Lives Matter was used to urge advertisers to blacklist The Gateway Pundit and other conservative websites from mainstream advertisers.

The Center of for Countering Digital Hate used this as an excuse to include The Gateway Pundit on their list of racist websites.

They included TGP because we reported on the insanity of the FBI labeling white supremacists the country’s number one threat when Black Lives Matter-Antifa just destroyed $2 billion in private property in their violent attacks on American cities.

This was not the first time the Center for Countering Digital Hate had targeted The Gateway Pundit.

Internet sleuth Bad Kitty Unleashed released an explosive report recently on how the Center for Countering Digital Hate partnered with the US taxpayer-funded Restless Development organization to counter, blacklist, censor and silence Covid “disinformation” in 2021 and beyond.

Imran Awan, the CEO at The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), bragged about getting conservative news orgs such as the Gateway Pundit, the Federalist, and Zero Hedge reported to social media AND demonetized! Especially from Google Ads, a prominent advertiser online.

Imran Ahmed bragged during testimony in front of the UK Parliament that his group had successfully spurred Google to stop monetizing The Gateway Pundit!

Imran said this during testimony before the UK Parliament in September 2021, when he bragged about working for over a year to push Google to demonetize The Gateway Pundit.

More (including donor lists):

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/11/george-soros-was-funding-far-left-censorship-group/

Canada #85

Newly-Leaked Emails Expose A Legitimate LGBTQ Mafia Presence At The BBC

Authored by Olivia Murray via AmericanThinker.com Wednesday, Nov 19, 2025

If we’re lucky, the BBC may soon cease to exist.

As you may have already heard, President Trump’s threat to sue the outlet for an edited speech that was grotesquely distorted and then aired in a documentary has increased from $1 billion to $5 billion—in the wake of Trump’s threat, BBC released a statement that admitted to a “regretful” editing job, but denied any wrongdoing. However…The Telegraph kind of blew that claim up, reminding us that in 2022, the BBC also aired a similarly-edited version of the same speech on its Newsnight program:

Spliced footage of the speech, which aired in an episode in 2022, made it appear that Mr Trump was encouraging his supporters to riot.

The edit was similar to a version aired in a Panorama documentary broadcast last year.

What a doozy, because as James Zumwalt wrote today, I don’t think the BBC is going to win this one. Seems like this should be understood for a global media company, but if you create a new video product by cutting and splicing, which yields a conflation of separate remarks to push a narrative that doesn’t exist, and then you air that manufactured footage to millions(?) of people, I’d argue that’s basically the definition of libelous and defamatory action.

While the BBC swears there’s no “pattern” of wrongdoing, a new report from the New York Post suggests otherwise. According to newly-leaked emails,

Female staff at the BBC complained to editors for years that the publicly-funded British broadcaster had been hijacked by the ‘trans’ agenda, newly-leaked emails dating back to 2020 show.

In the emails, female staff complained that biologically male transgender sex offenders were being referred to in stories as women, and that articles were avoiding the use of the words ‘girls’ and ‘women’ when discussing topics such as menstruation and birth control….

Of course, this is expected for a leftwing outlet with an obvious agenda, but it gets a little worse: the company appears to have invited in a legitimate LGBTQ mafia presence:

An internal memo revealed that all trans stories were subject to ‘effective censorship’ by specialist LGBTQ reporters hired as gatekeepers at the BBC, who refused to cover gender-critical stories.

And, per the women who worked at the BBC, the LGBTQ “specialists” would bully wayward journalists, punishing dissent, and creating a “culture of fear” in the office:

The women also described a culture of fear at the BBC, where even veteran reporters didn’t dare to stray from the position on trans issues, lest they be branded ‘transphobic,’ the Times reported.

[snip]

‘Any questioning or insufficiently enthusiastic championing risked being labeled as bigoted … It felt like activism, not news,’ one BBC staffer told the Sunday Times.

The BBC was reportedly not interested in any story that was “critical” of the LGBTQ movement, no matter how newsworthy. A new exposé about “hormone blockers” being used on small children? Not to be reported on. A story about a cross-dressing man assaulting women in his prison unit? Obviously he must be called a woman.

Now, the BBC, being publicly-funded, has an in with Britain’s education system:

Trump’s lawsuit could bring down the whole house of cards. Godspeed.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/newly-leaked-emails-expose-legitimate-lgbtq-mafia-presence-bbc

Royal Navy Shadows Russian Warships Through English Channel as Maritime Tensions Escalate

Mike Schuler November 23, 2025

Britain’s Royal Navy intercepted two Russian warships transiting the English Channel over the past two weeks in round-the-clock shadowing operations, the Ministry of Defence announced, marking the latest incident in escalating maritime tensions between Britain and Russia.

British media is reporting HMS Severn tracked the RFN Stoikiy, a Russian corvette, and the Yelnya, a replenishment oiler, as they sailed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel before transferring monitoring duties to a NATO ally off the coast of Brittany in northwest France. The British patrol ship continued to observe from a distance and remained ready to respond to any unexpected activity.

The interception comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions following an incident involving the Russian spy ship Yantar, which allegedly directed lasers at RAF pilots monitoring the vessel. On November 19, British Defence Secretary John Healey warned that “military options” were prepared should the intelligence-gathering ship become a threat.

“This is the first time we’ve had this action from Yantar directed against the British RAF. We take it extremely seriously,” Healey said. He characterized the laser targeting as “deeply dangerous” and indicated Britain was prepared to react based on the vessel’s movements.

In response to the incident, Healey announced operational changes to enhance monitoring capabilities. “I have changed the navy’s rules of engagement so that we can follow more closely, monitor more closely, the activities of the Yantar when it’s in our wider waters,” he stated.

The Ministry of Defence emphasized that UK armed forces remain on patrol “from the English Channel to the High North” amid increased Russian activity threatening UK waters.

Missions to monitor Russian vessels and submarines have become more frequent since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, with Britain’s Royal Navy and Royal Air Force routinely shadowing potential threats to national security.

https://gcaptain.com/royal-navy-shadows-russian-warships-through-english-channel-as-maritime-tensions-escalate/

Royal Navy's Bahrain-Based Frigate Slinks Away Silently

Published Nov 18, 2025 1:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

Without any announcement, and with a dearth of official information concerning its whereabouts, the Royal Navy appears to have withdrawn its permanently deployed frigate in the Gulf, HMS Lancaster (F229).

The last public appearance of HMS Lancaster (F229), a Type 23 frigate, was when carrying out yet another successful drug smuggling interdiction in the Gulf of Oman on October 12. A Royal Marine sniper on board HMS Lancaster's Wildcat helicopter disabled the motor of a skiff travelling at 40 knots, and the ship's crew was then able to recover heroin, crystal meth, and hashish worth $45 million. Since then, HMS Lancaster has not been sighted, and the only vessel alongside at the HMS Juffair base in Bahrain has been the Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Middleton (M34), which, with its trusty 30mm cannon, is now the Royal Navy's Middle East flagship.

HMS Lancaster is likely to be returning to the United Kingdom, in company for logistic support with RFA Tidespring (A136). Tidespring was last spotted in Cape Town on November 12, and although HMS Lancaster was not seen alongside, both vessels are likely to be back in the UK at the beginning of December, possibly joining up with the HMS Prince of Wales (R09) carrier strike group as it too returns home after its deployment to the Far East.

The Royal Navy has not announced whether HMS Lancaster is to be replaced, either in the short term by one of the two offshore patrol boats, HMS Tamar (P233) and HMS Spey (P234), based in Singapore, or in the longer term by one of the Type 31 frigates yet to be launched.

In the meantime, with the internal security situation in Iran deteriorating and tensions rising, the Royal Navy's presence in the region will be maintained by HMS Middleton. Once one of three vessels in the 9th Mine Counter Measures Squadron, Middleton provides a base afloat for a valuable mine counter-measures capability should trouble arise in the Straits of Hormuz area, as tends to occur when Iran goes through a period of tension.

The Royal Navy is currently suffering significant shortages, caused by shortages of budget, manpower, and replacements for obsolescent ships, and has been reluctant to acknowledge that these are affecting operational requirements.

Of six Type 45 destroyers, only two are operational - HMS Dauntless (D33) and HMS Dragon (D35), with HMS Daring (D32) returning to service after a refit lasting over 3,000 days. Of the eight remaining Type 23 frigates, HMS Richmond (F239) and HMS Somerset (F82) are active, with HMS Lancaster (F229) on its way home to be retired shortly. The Type 23s are being replaced by Type 31s, with HMS Venturer due in service by 2027, and by Type 26s, with HMS Glasgow due in service in 2028.

The Royal Navy now appears to be without its amphibious warfare capability entirely. All three Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay Class amphibious warfare vessels are inactive, for manpower or budgetary reasons: RFA Lyme Bay (L3007), RFA Mounts Bay (L3008), and RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009). Albion Class assault ships HMS Albion (L14) and HMS Bulwark (L15) are being decommissioned, and the hospital ship RFA Argus (A135) has been condemned as being insufficiently seaworthy to prevent even a move from its berth in the Portsmouth Naval Base.

Without RFA Fort Victoria (A387), the fleet does not have a single vessel able to supply ammunition and food at sea. On its Far East cruise, HMS Prince of Wales (R09) was dependent for such support on the Norwegian logistics vessel HNoMS Maud (A530).

The submarine service is also under pressure. Cruises by the Dreadnought Class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, one of which is always on patrol, are having to be extended to record durations because of the lack of serviceable boats to maintain the rotation. Of the seven Astute Class nuclear attack submarines, two are still to enter service, and none of the five active boats are currently believed to be operational. The HMS Prince of Wales carrier strike group is believed to have been deployed without a submarine escort, contrary to standard practice.

Faced by these issues, the response of the UK's Ministry of Defence has been to highlight what the future procurement program will deliver, without acknowledging that short-term problems exist. There has, however, been no significant uplift to the defense budget in the interim, which is at the heart of the operational issues facing the Royal Navy.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/royal-navy-s-bahrain-based-frigate-slinks-back-home-silently

Canada #85

They've Learned Nothing… Because That Would Expose Too MuchPart One

Authored by Roger Bate via The Brownstone Institute Tuesday, Nov 25, 2025 - 05:00 AM

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has finally released the core political chapters of its long-awaited report. After nearly three years of hearings, millions of documents, and tens of millions of pounds spent on legal fees, the conclusion is now unmistakably clear.

They’ve learned nothing, as I detail in my latest research.

Worse, they may not want to learn.

The Inquiry’s structure, its analytical frame, even its carefully curated narrative all point in the same direction: away from the possibility that Britain’s pandemic response was fundamentally misguided, and toward the politically safer claim that ministers simply “acted too late.”

On November 20, 2025, Jay Bhattacharya captured this perfectly in a single sentence on X: “Fact check; not locking down at all (like Sweden) would have saved lives in UK. Hard to believe how much money the UK spent on its sham covid inquiry.” That tweet was provocative—but it was also accurate in its diagnosis of the Inquiry’s deeper pathologies.

The Inquiry’s Central Mistake: Asking the Wrong Question

From the outset, the Inquiry has framed Britain’s pandemic response as a timing problem. Lockdowns were assumed to be necessary and effective; the only question was whether politicians implemented them quickly enough. The result is a dry recitation of process failures and personality clashes inside Downing Street, all of which are said to have delayed the inevitable “stay-at-home” order.

But that framing was never neutral. It was baked into the Inquiry’s analytical choices—especially its uncritical reliance on the same family of models that drove the UK into lockdown in March 2020.

The centerpiece of that modeling tradition is Imperial College London’s Report 9, the document that forecast hundreds of thousands of UK deaths absent stringent lockdowns. That report assumed near-homogeneous mixing, limited voluntary behavior change, and high fatality rates across the population. Under those assumptions, lockdown becomes not a political choice but a mathematical necessity.

The Inquiry has now rerun the same machinery and, unsurprisingly, produced the same conclusion.

Its headline claim—that delaying lockdown by a week caused roughly 23,000 additional deaths—is not a historical finding. It is not based on observational data. It is simply the output of an Imperial-style model with a different start date.

The Inquiry has restated the model, not tested it.

The Evidence They Chose Not to See

The Inquiry’s blindness becomes fully apparent when we ask the obvious comparative question: if the lockdown paradigm were correct, what would we expect to see among countries that refused to lock down?

We would expect chaos. We would expect mass hospital collapse. We would expect mortality catastrophes to dwarf the UK.

We would expect, in short, to see Sweden in ruins.

Instead, we see the opposite.

Sweden kept primary schools open, avoided stay-at-home orders, relied heavily on voluntary behavior, and preserved civil liberties throughout the pandemic. After correcting early care-home errors, Sweden recorded one of the lowest age-adjusted excess mortality rates in Europe.

The Swedish experience is not a footnote. It is not an “exception.” It is the control case—the real-world test of the lockdown paradigm.

And it falsifies it.

A serious Inquiry would have begun with Sweden. It would have asked why a country that rejected lockdowns achieved better mortality outcomes than Britain while preserving education, normal life, and basic freedoms. It would have integrated that evidence into every chapter. It would have examined whether voluntary behavior changes, targeted protection, and risk-based messaging can substitute for mass coercion.

Instead, Sweden is barely mentioned. When it appears at all, it is described as an anomaly. The Inquiry behaves as though Sweden is politically inconvenient—not analytically essential.

Because it is.

They've Learned Nothing… Because That Would Expose Too MuchPart Two

The Modeling Was Wrong. The Inquiry Can’t Admit It.

If the Inquiry were genuinely interested in learning, it would examine whether the models that drove the UK’s response were flawed. It would review the assumptions underpinning Report 9. It would test them against real-world data from multiple countries. It would commission adversarial modeling groups. It would bring in critics. It would examine alternative frameworks.

It did none of these things.

The behavior of the public is a perfect example. Imperial-style models assume that people remain near-normal in their social contacts without legal mandates. But mobility data, workplace activity, and school attendance show that Britons began adjusting their behavior weeks before Boris Johnson held the lockdown press conference. High-risk individuals adapted earliest. Businesses reacted to perceived risks earlier than the state. Families responded faster than the Cabinet Office.

The models were wrong about behavior.

Yet the Inquiry’s analysis still treats people as if they only respond to orders, not information.

The result is a fantasy counterfactual: a Britain that would have carried on as normal in March 2020 had the government not intervened. That Britain never existed.

Where Is the Cost–Benefit Analysis?

The Inquiry promised to evaluate the “relative benefits and disbenefits” of non-pharmaceutical interventions. It has not done so. There is no integrated accounting of:

the millions of missed cancer screenings

the explosion in mental-health morbidity

the delayed cardiovascular care

the long-term educational loss from school closures

the widening inequality gaps

the years-long damage to the NHS backlog

the economic scarring that will shorten future lives

Lockdowns always look good when you only count Covid deaths. But public health is cumulative. It is intertemporal. Saving a life today by destroying ten years of someone’s earning power is not a victory.

The Inquiry refuses to engage with these trade-offs. It is easier to condemn “late lockdowns” than to ask whether lockdowns were the wrong tool altogether.

The Real Reason the Inquiry Learned Nothing

The central failure of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry is not analytical. It is institutional.

A real investigation would expose catastrophic judgment errors across the political and scientific establishment. It would show that ministers outsourced strategy to a narrow modeling group. It would reveal that the harms of lockdowns were not only foreseeable but foreseen. It would vindicate critics who were ridiculed or censored. It would anger parents whose children suffered educational harm. It would enrage families whose loved ones died because routine care was suspended. It would shatter public trust in Whitehall and SAGE.

That is precisely what the Inquiry cannot do.

Instead, it offers a politically safe narrative. The strategy was sound. The problem was timing. Ministers were slow. Advisors were frustrated. Downing Street was chaotic. But the solution next time is simple: lock down earlier, lock down harder, lock down smarter.

It is a comforting fairy tale for the people who caused the damage.

The Truth Is Already Clear

Bhattacharya’s November 2025 tweet may have been blunt, but it crystallized what the Inquiry is unwilling to say. Sweden shows that not locking down at all could have saved British lives—not merely reduced collateral damage, but saved lives.

That is the final heresy. And that is why the Inquiry cannot confront it.

Learning would expose too much.

The UK did not simply lock down too late. It locked down unnecessarily. The Inquiry should have been a reckoning. Instead, it became a shield—protecting institutions rather than illuminating truth.

Britain deserved better. The world deserved better.

Until we admit what went wrong, we remain doomed to repeat it.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/theyve-learned-nothing-because-would-expose-too-much

Canada #86

GET WOKE, GO BROKE: Designer Behind Ridiculous Jaguar Rebrand That Killed 98% of Sales, Gerry McGovern Is Fired, Escorted From the Office

by Paul Serran Dec. 3, 2025

More than a failed campaign, it was a real catastrophe for Jaguar.

It’s a fair assumption that if you steer a world-class company through an absurd ‘woke’ rebrand and kill 98% of your sales in the process, you are going to be very fired.

That applies to chief executive of Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) Adrian Mardell, just replaced days ago with PB Balaji, the former finance boss of Tata Motors – the owner of JLR.

And, of course, that applies even more to the designer behind the controversial and universally-hated ‘woke’ Jaguar rebrand, who has reportedly been sacked from the company just days after Balaji took over.

The Telegraph reported:

“Gerry McGovern, who was formerly Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) chief creative officer, was told he was being dismissed with immediate effect on Monday.

He was then escorted out of the office, according to reports, although details of his exit remain unclear.”

This ended McGovern’s 21-year career at JLR.

“He was also the main creative force behind last year’s radical rebrand of Jaguar that aimed to shift the marque away from its traditional ‘Jag Man’ image towards ultra-wealthy customers.

A ‘Type 00’ concept for the carmaker’s first electric model – unveiled at an international art show last December – was sleek, futuristic-looking and colored in shades of bright pink and blue.”

“An advert for the rebrand, featuring a cast of androgynous-looking models but no cars, was also criticized for being too ‘woke’, with Nigel Farage and Donald Trump among those who attacked the campaign.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/go-woke-go-broke-designer-behind-ridiculous-jaguar/

General Research #29171

Ministers 'deny democracy to save Starmer': Two-year delay to elections for 7.5MILLION voters amid Labour fears of May meltdown

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 03:02 EST, 4 December 2025 | Updated: 10:04 EST, 4 December 2025

Labour is facing fury today after it emerged more elections are being delayed amid dire polls for Keir Starmer. Four mayoral contests that were due to be held in May are being pushed back by two years, with accusations that the PM is 'subverting democracy' to 'save his skin'.

Some 7.5million residents in Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Sussex and Brighton, and Norfolk and Suffolk will not vote until 2028.

Ministers argue that more time is needed to finish reorganising local authorities in England.

But critics point out that Sir Keir is braced for a hammering in the local elections, as polls show his party trailing far behind Reform.

Even Labour MPs voiced concerns, with former minister Jim McMahon saying the government had to be 'better than this'.

Battles in nine council areas, East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Thurrock, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey have already been postponed from this year to 2026.

Reform UK enjoyed success in the local elections last May, winning more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 councils stretching from Kent to Co Durham. The party also toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.

Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice this morning accused Sir Keir of 'running scared', swiping that 'generally it's dictators that cancel elections'.

'Some 7.5 million people are now going to be denied the opportunity of voting in mayoral elections,' he said.

'Funny isn't it, we've just announced our mayoral candidates for all of these areas and all of a sudden the Government, terrified of losing to Reform, are cancelling them.'

He added that a two-year delay 'is a deliberate dictatorial cancelling of democracy in the United Kingdom and we shouldn't tolerate it'.

Reform leader Nigel Farage, who is the MP for Clacton in Essex, branded town hall reorganisation a 'dog's dinner' and told the Commons 'the public don't understand what's going on'.

The Tories also condemned the plans, which were confirmed in the Commons this morning.

And Mr McMahon said in the Commons: 'I need to be blunt, as I usually am – we need to be better than this.'

The Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton MP, who was a local government minister until earlier this year, added: 'Local leaders across the political spectrum worked in good faith.

'They put aside self interest and differences, and they did everything asked of them to secure a better settlement for the people that they represent.

'They reasonably expected the Government to do the same.'

Mr McMahon told MPs the Government 'had a moral and a legal obligation to honour its side of the bargain following a statute process – all involved had a reasonable expectation that these elections would go ahead, and the Government knows that trust is hard won but is easily squandered'.

Cllr Matthew Hicks, chairman of the County Councils Network, said: 'Less than a year ago, this government promised a 'devolution revolution' to extend the benefits of new powers and funding to county and rural areas whose economic potential has been overlooked for far too long.

'County councils have pulled out all the stops to ensure new county combined authorities were up and running before next May, investing significant time and resources to do so. Therefore, today's announcement is bitterly disappointing, preventing these areas accessing all the funding and powers they were promised from May 2026 and is a missed opportunity for a government who has put national growth as its central mission.'

The new mayoralties were announced in February under devolution plans, which also promised the replacement of two-tier district and county councils with one body.

Downing Street repeatedly declined to apologise for delaying the mayoral elections, insisting that the changes were about ensuring devolution in 'a pragmatic and structured way'.

A written statement laid in the House included a long description of funding plans for mayoral areas - before mentioning almost in passing that the elections will be delayed.

More:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15352049/Labour-elections-delay-polls-Starmer-meltdown-Reform-Farage.html

Canada #86

Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation

by Tyler Durden Thursday, Dec 04, 2025

Very early into the COVID-19 pandemic, ZeroHedge suggested that a little-known Chinese lab in Wuhan might know something about the novel coronavirus sweeping the globe. As a result, and as you know, we were subject to an intense demonetization / deplatforming campaign that included getting kicked off of Twitter, PayPal, Facebook and other platforms, dropped by our advertisers, and targeted by MSM hit pieces which colluded with foreign 'watchdogs' to inflict maximum damage.

These same groups also targeted outlets including The Federalist and Breitbart over various reporting, which suffered similar fates.

Now, thanks to a new book by investigative journalist Paul Holden that builds on reporting by Matt Taibbi, Paul Thacker and others, we learn that the origin of these campaigns, launched years before the pandemic, was none other than UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer's political machine, which began targeting left-wing outlets speaking critically of Starmer such as The Canary, and then went after conservative outlets in America - just in time for the 2020 US election.

Documents and internal accounts, many drawn from newly disclosed materials, reveal a coordinated project that operated behind a veil of anonymity, misdirection, and unreported political financing.

This murky operation known as the Stop Funding Fake News (SFFN) was launched and resourced through a think tank, Labour Together, that would later be fined for failing to declare £739,000 in donations between 2018 and 2020. Said funds helped underpin this clandestine anti-media strategy which affected news outlets from the UK to the United States.

At the center of the effort was Morgan McSweeney, a political strategist who has since become Starmer’s chief of staff and, according to public commentary by prominent journalists, one of the most powerful unelected figures in the modern Labour Party.

The newly disclosed materials reveal that SFFN was not in fact some grassroots, anonymous activist collective it claimed to be, but a political weapon forged by senior Labour figures and funded by millionaire donors, including individuals active in pro-Israel political advocacy.

The goal: destabilize independent media ecosystems aligned with Labour’s left under Jeremy Corbyn, elevate Starmer’s leadership bid, and delegitimize outlets - domestic and foreign - that threatened the faction’s consolidation of power.

Publicly, SFFN claimed to be run by anonymous activists. Privately, it was shaped by McSweeney and operated from the same small office suite in South London that housed Labour Together.

SFFN ultimately migrated under the umbrella of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organization that grew out of a corporate shell once controlled solely by McSweeney.

CCDH would later present SFFN as one of its signature initiatives.

Three Fronts of a Political Offensive

The documents reported by Holden reveal a three-part strategy that reshaped the British political landscape - and reverberated into U.S. media and politics. In a nutshell, this is how the sausage was made:

1. Destabilizing Jeremy Corbyn’s Leadership

SFFN’s narrative interventions were designed to amplify an “antisemitism crisis” that dogged Corbyn, boosting controversies and legitimizing a media ecosystem hostile to Labour’s left. This influence work aligned directly with the political interests of the centrist faction preparing for a post-Corbyn future.

1. Engineering Starmer’s Rise

Labour Together later claimed credit for helping deliver Starmer’s 2020 leadership victory, with McSweeney acting as his campaign chief. After Starmer won the July 2024 general election, McSweeney formally became chief of staff, solidifying the faction’s institutional dominance.

1. Silencing Dissenting Media

SFFN’s most aggressive project was an astroturf campaign against media outlets perceived as ideological threats. Targets spanned both the left (such as The Canary and Evolve Politics) and the right, as noted above.

In each case, the tactic was the same: identify advertisers appearing on targeted sites, publicly shame them through social media threads, and provide tools - including downloadable blocklists - to automatically exclude those outlets from programmatic advertising networks. The effort succeeded in devastating the business model of some targets; others survived but saw sustained pressure.

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/clandestine-campaign-defund-zerohedge-federalist-breitbart-traced-kier-starmer-operation

Updated Covid and Clot-Shots Bun

>>23092875 (General Research #28168) Japan Sounds Alarm as Autopsies Find ‘Micro-Scars’ in Hearts of ‘Boosted’ Corpses

>>23294776 (Canada #79) COVID-19 mRNA “Vaccine” Harms Research Collection

>>23902115, >>23902116 (Canada #85) They've Learned Nothing… Because That Would Expose Too Much (Parts 1&2)

Updated Globalist Moves Bun

>>22765962 (Scotland #12) Eye-watering sum Nicola Sturgeon has trousered from the BRITISH taxpayer while trying to break up the UK

>>22772043 (Canada #73) WEF Demands Global Ban on Homegrown Food to Meet ‘Net Zero’

>>23033581 (General Research #28105) UK government hijacks pensions locking billions into risky domestic schemes without approval

>>23172829, >>23194617, >>23194620 The Brit Card: Why You Should Be Worried About Government Overreach (video)

>>23250928 (Scotland #13) UK launches £54 mn Global Talent Taskforce to attract skilled foreigners

>>23277073 (Canada #79) IT BEGINS: Report Shows Labour Bosses Are Planning a ‘Palace Coup’ To Replace Failing Keir Starmer as Party Leader and British Prime Minister

>>23277381 (Canada #79) Professor Warns UK Gov't Is Preparing For Civil War, Using Russian Invasion Threat As Cover

>>23332772 Rachel Reeves and Andrew Bailey speech to the Mansion House aka the City of London aka the Corporation (video)

>>23536521 (Canada #82) ‘Raise the Colours’ — People Raising English Flag in England Are ‘Extremists’, Declares Far-Left MP

>>23658275 Digital ID Full Bun from QR General

>>23661143 No To Digital I.D ticker and interactive map (video)

>>23940082 (General Research #29171) Ministers 'deny democracy to save Starmer': Two-year delay to elections for 7.5MILLION voters amid Labour fears of May meltdown

Updated Immigration Bun

>>23042511 (Canada #76) Starmer Pivots Right on Immigration, Plans for ‘Return Hubs’ to Stash Illegal Migrants Outside of the UK – Update: PM Snubbed as Albania Rejects Taking Asylum Seekers

>>23123392 (Canada #77) Migrants In The UK Are Receiving £1 Billion Per Month In Welfare Benefits: Report (video)

>>23184604 (Canada #78) Failing UK Labour PM Starmer Caves to the Pressure, Announces a National Inquiry Into the Pakistani Grooming Gangs Scandal

>>23216162 (Canada #78) Northern Ireland protests against mass migration and alleged sexual assault spread to Bangor

>>23221813 (Canada #78) Belfast Showdown: Patriots vs. Antifa and Pro-Immigration Activists (video)

>>23351049 (Canada #80) SMALL BOAT MIGRATION TRAGEDY: French Riot Police Clash With People Smugglers Sending Illegals Across the Channel Into the UK

>>23369113 (Canada #80) The Summer of Our Discontent: UK Starmer Government in Disarray, as Anti-migrant Protests Spread to Norfolk, Targeting ‘Single Adult Male’ Hotel to House Illegals

>>23394301 (Canada #80) UK DYSTOPIA: British Police Forms ‘Elite Team’ to Monitor Social Media Searching for ‘Anti-migrant’ Posts, as Leftist Labour Government Braces for Citizens’ Revolt

>>23425665 (Canada #81) BRITAIN HAS AWAKENED: Manchester MASSIVE Anti-Immigration Protest Shows Citizen Pushback Against Starmer’s Suicidal Policies Has Gained Unstoppable Momentum

>>23460914 (General Research #28584) American logistics company caught on camera transporting dinghies back to France to help more migrants cross the Channel

>>23483665 (Canada #81) British ‘Migrant Hotel’ in Epping to Close, In VICTORY for Protesting Citizens – May Spell the Beginning of the End of Suicidal Labour Migration Policies

>>23503232 (Canada #81) As Anti-migrant Protests Pick-up Momentum and Mobilize 30 Cities Across Britain, Reform UK’s Nigel Farage Unveils His Plans for Mass Deportation of Illegals With 5 Flights Taking Them Out per Day

>>23511921 (Canada #82) British pub owner refuses entry to people wearing the flag of their country

>>23524505 (Canada #82) Migrant Hotel Rights Trump Local Rights Says Government in Bid to Overturn Epping Injunction

>>23532012 (Canada #82) 19 Local British Councils Vowing Legal Action to Remove Migrants From Hotels, as Judge Who Allowed Illegals in Epping Hotel Is Reported to Conduct Authority for Leftwing Bias

Updated Law and Disorder Bun

>>22761137 (Canada #73) Justice is Dead: Canada and the UK Codify Racial Bias in Sentencing

>>22838589 (Canada #74) Independent British MP Rupert Lowe Launches a National Inquiry on the ‘Rape Gangs’ Scandal

>>22839146 (Canada #74) ‘Kafkaesque’ — UK Police Arrest Parents over Complaining About Their Daughter’s School in WhatsApp Group

>>22857926 (Canada #74) Third Former Rotherham Police Officer Arrested Over Child Sex Abuse Investigation

>>22837380 Boss of UK Prevent anti-extremism unit quits over Taylor Swift dance class murders

>>22902703 (Canada #75) Minority Report: UK Government Developing 'Murder Prediction' Program

>>22920880 (Canada #75) UK Supreme Court Delivers Major Blow to Trans Lobby — Rules ‘Woman’ Only Refers to Biological Females

>>22987762 (General Research #28053) Farage Backs Bipartisan Campaign to Force Government to Hold National Child Rape Grooming Gang Inquiry

>>23000720 (General Research #28067) UK Govt Plans to End Compensation Program for Child Sex Abuse Victims: Report

>>23046974 (Canada #77) NATO rocked by corruption scandal

>>23088226 (Canada #77) Trump Pressures U.K. to Release Political Prisoner Lucy Connolly — While Also Sending Team to Investigate Keir Starmer’s Free Speech Crackdown

>>23092789 (General Research #28168) Police not guilty of assault on 92-year-old amputee

>>23092806 (General Research #28168) Andrew and Tristan Tate Charged in Britain for Rape, Human Trafficking

>>23118266 (Canada #77) Retired UK Constable Detained for Social Media Post Receives Financial Compensation for Wrongful Imprisonment

>>23122221 (Canada #77) British Minister Jess Phillips Forced To Apologize After Failing To Publish Plans for Inquiries Into Rape Gangs Scandal

>>23122582 (Canada #77) Britain Imposes Islamic Blasphemy Law as Man is Convicted of Burning a Quran

>>23137217 (General Research #28217) Lawyers Citing Fake Cases Generated by Artificial Intelligence, UK Judge Warns

>>23187909 Seven Men Convicted Of Horrific Sex Crimes Against Vulnerable Young Girls In Rochdale

>>23194766 (Canada #78) British gay couple charged over rape and murder of baby they wanted to adopt

>>23245534, >>23245539 Lucy Connolly UK Political Prisoner (video)

>>23395044 (Canada #80) Trump’s Justice Department Takes Down Dark Web Child Abuse Network — 120,000 Users, Millions of Files in Operation Grayskull

>>23491382 (Canada #81) Man Arrested In UK For Saying "We Love Bacon" (video)

>>23507993 (Canada #82) Interpol Leads Major Cybercrime Bust in Africa: 1,209 Arrests and $97 Million Recovered

>>23632817 Barrister Barrett explains what to do if the Police Knock on your door (video)

>>23632873 UK Cop Grills Woman In Her Own Home Over Facebook Post That "Upset Someone"

>>23800998 Train Bloodbath: Huntingdon stabbing

Updated Media Bun

>>23076152 (General Research #28151) UK Telegraph sold for $700 million

>>23377151 (Canada #80) Hilarious BBC 'Microaggressions' Video Goes Viral; No One In The Real World Acts Like This (video)

>>23402057 The UK’s new tech law triggers upheaval

>>23425877 GB News Overtakes the BBC and Becomes UK’s Most Watched News Channel

>>23478822 (Canada #81) UK Government Moves to Investigate 4chan Under Draconian ‘Online Safety Act’ — Platform’s SAVAGE Response Leaves Them Humiliated

>>23557225, >>23557238, >>23557249 New British Protest Songs (video)

>>23875916 (Canada #85) George Soros Was Funding Far Left Censorship Group that Attacked The Gateway Pundit in British Parliament – Bragged About Targeting TGP Advertisers

>>23876063 (Canada #85) Newly-Leaked Emails Expose A Legitimate LGBTQ Mafia Presence At The BBC

>>23945317 (Canada #86) Clandestine Campaign To Defund ZeroHedge, The Federalist & Breitbart Traced To Kier Starmer Operation

Updated Russia & Ukraine Bun

>>22761085 (Canada #73) Britain Wants Ukraine's Minerals Too

>>22765342 (Scotland #12) Russian North Sea captain charged with manslaughter after ship crashed into oil tanker

>>23037248 (Canada #76) UK sending security adviser to work with Zelensky – Guardian

>>23043002 (Canada #76) Macron, Starmer Blast 'Unacceptable' Russian Stance In Talks, Zelensky Urges More Sanctions

>>23074338 (Canada #77) Ukraine wants fixed percentage of EU’s GDP

>>23118640 (Canada #77) UK Defense Stocks Hit Record On Warfighting Buildout Begins

>>23893779 Royal Navy Shadows Russian Warships Through English Channel as Maritime Tensions Escalate

Notables are NOT Endorsements

coming up on 300

#52

>>22788816 (General Research #27835) Last Battle of Britain Pilot John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway Dies at 105

>>22908502 (General Research #27965) UK moves toward nationalizing last steel plant

>>22945105 (General Research #28006) Report: Scientists Look to Dim the Sun to Counter ‘Runaway Climate Change’

>>22980305 (General Research #28044) UK takes control of British Steel under emergency powers

>>22988957 (Canada #76) Nigel Farage’s Reform Sweeps U.K. Regional Elections, Overturning Massive Labour Majorities

>>22988961 (Canada #76) Prince Harry ‘Devastated’ After Being Forced to Provide His Own Security — Wants ‘Reconciliation’ With His Family He Spent Years Trashing

>>23009854 (General Research #28077) Head of the Royal Navy stuns MoD by stepping down 'for personal reasons'

>>23037221 (Canada #76) UK Farmers Fear For Bioethanol Market Following US Trade Deal

>>23058258 UK Government Admits Climate Change Data ‘Falsified for Decades’

>>23074325 (Canada #77) UK Welcomes South African Activist Who Chants About Killing White Farmers

>>23074335 (Canada #77) Macron SLAMS His Own Cabinet After Report on Muslim Brotherhood’s Influence in France Gets Leaked

>>23243431 (Canada #79) UN report calls on countries to ban ‘gender transitions’ for children

>>23254595 (Canada #79) "I'm Not Putting On A F***ing Hijab" - UK Singer Refuses To Virtue Signal For Palestine, Pulls Out Of Festivals

>>23271589 (Canada #79) British PM Starmer Faces RIDICULE After Losing Control of Leftist Rebels in His Own Labour Party, Having To Make HUGE CONCESSIONS To Approve His Welfare Reform Legislation

>>23360814 Initial Keir Starmer Bun

>>23364463 Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of heavy metal band Black Sabbath, has died in the UK at the age of 76

>>23395098 Australia, UK to Sign 50-Year Treaty for Nuclear Submarines

>>23503598 (General Research #28633) Socialist UK Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Buys Million Dollar Third Home

>>23547442 UK Denies the Royal Navy Cannot Meet Operational Tasking

>>23802929 UK To Remove Andrew From Role As Royal Navy Vice Admiral

>>23963451 Updated Covid and Clot-Shots Bun | Updated Globalist Moves Bun

>>23963454 Updated Immigration Bun

>>23963455 Updated Law and Disorder Bun

>>23963464 Updated Media Bun | Updated Russia & Ukraine Bun

Canada #86

British Soccer Star Joey Barton Given Six Months Suspended Prison Sentence For ‘Grossly Offensive’ Posts on X

by Ben Kew Dec. 9, 2025

Former British soccer star Joey Barton has been given a six-month suspended sentence for making “grossly offensive” posts on the X platform.

In the latest escalation in the British state’s war on freedom of expression, 43-year-old Barton was found guilty last month at Liverpool Crown Court of six counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety.

The conviction related to posts he made targeting the football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko, as well as the BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine.

Sentencing Barton on Monday, Judge Andrew Menary KC said that “robust debate, satire, mockery and even crude language may fall within permissible free speech.”

”But when posts deliberately target individuals with vilifying comparisons to serial killers or false insinuations of paedophilia, designed to humiliate and distress, they forfeit their protection.”

Menary went on to describe Barton as “not a man of previous good character” and said he had carried out “a sustained campaign of online abuse that was not mere commentary but targeted, extreme and deliberately harmful.”

While Barton’s comments could definitely be condemned as extremely unkind, most were intended as jokes or crass humor.

During an FA Cup tie in which Ward and Aluko were commentating, Barton described them as the “Fred and Rose West of football commentary,” a reference to the notorious British serial killers.

In another post, he mocked Jeremy Vine as a “bike nonce” and asked if he had visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island.

In her impact statement, Ward said she was “deeply upset with the malicious comparison to serial killers and feels humiliated given that millions of people will have seen this comparison.”

Vine, meanwhile, said the experience was “profoundly traumatising.”

“I took some advice about my security, I varied my movements. I do believe these messages put me in danger, in physical danger.”

As part of his suspended sentence, Barton must complete 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay prosecution costs of £23,419, which he has 28 days to pay.

There will also be two-year restraining orders relating to each of his victims that prohibit publishing any reference to them on any social media platform or broadcast medium.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/british-soccer-star-joey-barton-given-six-months/

Canada #86

First Active British Soldier Dies In Ukraine In 'Tragic Accident'

Britain's military has announced the death of a member of the UK Armed Forces in what officials called a "tragic accident" on Tuesday. The accident happened during a weapons trial conducted by Ukrainian forces, and inside Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence's official statement described that the soldier "was injured in a tragic accident whilst observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability, away from the front lines."

No other related details were released, including about the weapons system involved or the precise location. The description of the system being a "new" defense capability is interesting, however.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/first-active-british-soldier-dies-ukraine-tragic-accident

Canada #86

Pakistan Offers To 'Take Grooming Gang Leaders' If UK Hands Over Dissidents

via Middle East Eye Thursday, Dec 11, 2025

Pakistan has reportedly offered to take back grooming gang leaders in exchange for Britain handing over Pakistani political dissidents living in the UK.

Pakistani media reported that the proposal was made in a private meeting last Thursday in Islamabad between Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Jane Marriott, the British high commissioner. Naqvi reportedly urged the UK to hand over anti-government figures Shahzad Akbar and Adil Raja.

Akbar, who was a minister in Imran Khan's government, and Raja, a former army major, are both living in the UK. They have both strongly criticized the Pakistani government over its alleged human rights abuses and suppression of political dissent.

The British government has previously requested that Pakistan extradite Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf, who were jailed in 2012 as ringleaders of a grooming gang that sexually assaulted and abused 47 girls over two years in Rochdale.

Both Khan and Rauf, Pakistani immigrants, were stripped of their British citizenship after being convicted. But days before a judge ordered them to be deported to Pakistan, they renounced their Pakistani citizenship. Pakistan has since refused to accept them.

According to Pakistani media, the Pakistani government said it would accept Khan and Rauf if the UK hands over dissidents Akbar and Raja.

'Unprecedented and deeply disturbing'

This comes as the Labor government is facing mounting pressure to take further action on child sexual exploitation. Its attempts to set up a nationwide inquiry into grooming gangs have faced repeated delays and debates about how wide its scope should be.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said on Monday the inquiry must "consider the role of ethnicity, religion and other cultural factors" and should "leave no stone unturned".

It is thought that Britain is highly unlikely to agree to the reported Pakistani proposal, and the Home Office and Foreign Office have declined to comment on the reports.

Raja, now a freelance journalist, told The Telegraph that the report "is unprecedented and deeply disturbing. It shows the extent to which an authoritarian regime is willing to go to suppress dissent".

"I have broken no UK law. My only 'offence' is practicing journalism and exercising free expression," he said. "I trust that the UK, a country committed to the rule of law and press freedom, will not allow political critics to be traded away under pressure from a foreign government."

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from government in April 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote following a fallout with the country's influential military.

He has spent more than two years in prison. Last year a UN report concluded that his detention is arbitrary and in contravention of international law.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/pakistan-offers-take-grooming-gang-leaders-if-uk-hands-over-dissidents

Canada #86

British Police Will NOT Investigate Former Prince Andrew’s Alleged Use of Taxpayer-Funded Security Officer To Dig Dirt on His Accuser, Late Epstein Victim Virginia Giuffre

by Paul Serran Dec. 14, 2025

Randy Andy is still protected from prosecution.

Now that Former Prince Andrew lost all his royal titles and honors, you could be excused for believing that he was finally about to face real law enforcement consequences for his decades of alleged crimes.

But you’d be wrong.

The British establishment is still fiercely protective of Mr. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

Today (13), it arises that the Metropolitan Police of London will not launch an investigation into the reports saying Andrew asked a taxpayer-funded officer to help dig up dirt on the woman who accused him of sexual assault.

Sky News reported:

“The Mail on Sunday claimed in October that Andrew tried to get his personal protection officer to investigate Virginia Giuffre for a smear campaign in 2011.

He reportedly passed Ms. Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and emailed the late Queen’s then-deputy press secretary telling him of his request.”

The two-tier policing in the UK has never been exposed so out in the open.

“The Met said the force first received allegations, including one of trafficking to central London in 2001, and Ms. Giuffre was interviewed as part of an assessment of the evidence.

But the force decided not to launch a full criminal investigation in 2016 after officers and prosecutors concluded other international authorities were best placed to act on the allegations, which primarily concerned events outside the UK.

That decision was reviewed in August 2019 and again in 2021 and 2022; in each instance, the position remained unchanged, and Ms. Giuffre and her legal representative were informed.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/british-police-will-not-investigate-former-prince-andrews/

NYK and MOL agree $72m payout in UK car carrier cartel case

Sam Chambers December 12, 2025

Two of Japan’s biggest shipping lines — Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) — have agreed to pay £54m ($72.25m) to settle the long-running UK collective action over the car carrier cartel, drawing a line under a saga that stretches back a quarter of a century.

The proposed settlement, announced in London on Thursday, will go before the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in mid-January. If approved, it takes total recoveries to £92.75m following earlier deals with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), WWL/Eukor and CSAV.

The case, launched five years ago by consumer advocate Mark McLaren, targeted a price-fixing cartel that affected shipments of 17m new cars and vans imported into the UK between 2006 and 2015 for brands including Ford, Toyota, BMW, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Volkswagen. The action followed EU findings that the car-carrier majors had colluded for years on prices, capacity and customer allocation — behaviour stretching back into the late 1990s.

The settlement follows a nine-week trial against NYK and MOL earlier this year. McLaren said the outcome proves the value of the UK’s still-new opt-out regime in enabling consumers and businesses to recover losses they could not realistically pursue alone.

The vessel operators involved have faced regulatory scrutiny worldwide for more than a decade, but the UK class action has now brought the final commercial reckoning. If approved by the CAT on January 16, distribution of damages to millions of UK vehicle buyers and lessees will begin later in 2026 — closing the book on one of the shipping industry’s longest-running competition scandals.

https://splash247.com/nyk-and-mol-agree-72m-payout-in-uk-car-carrier-cartel-case/

Bananas Ahoy as Overboard Containers Wash Ashore

Published Dec 11, 2025 6:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

Five days after eight containers carrying bananas were washed overboard from the reefer ship Baltic Klipper in Southampton Water, bananas in the thousands are still washed up onto the beaches of the West Sussex coast in southern England. A total of 16 containers were lost overboard, with others transporting plantains and avocados.

It has turned into a bit of a bonus day for residents who have been finding the jetsam within the wreckage of the containers. With heavy seas and high winds, the containers were driven onto shore, and many were broken apart. As of Tuesday, 11 of the 16 containers had beached. HM Coastguard reports that a helicopter and an aircraft have been carrying out searches for the missing containers.

Police, customs authorities, and the Receiver of Wrecks have warned beachcombers not to eat the bananas or to take them home. But local people have interpreted prevailing Wrecks and Salvage law in a more free market fashion, and have helped themselves to the bananas, rather than see them going to waste.

Even after five days at sea, what were green and unripe bananas when washed overboard have now ripened despite the cold conditions. True to the spirit of journalistic inquiry, your correspondent can attest that seawater has not degraded the taste of the bananas, with the only threats to health posed by skin slippage and by eating too many of them.

Due to the stormy and windy weather in the Selsey area, bananas have been swept off the beach into coastal roads, making for slippery driving conditions in some areas.

Shipping in the port of Southampton, which was delayed on Saturday, December 6, has now resumed. The port was operating, however, with a single lane for shipping as the authorities worked to locate the containers. The P&O Cruises ship Iona held overnight at her berth in Southampton, has now reached Tenerife, the first stop on its somewhat curtailed cruise.

The Baltic Klipper was shifted into Portsmouth on Monday night. Pictures show additional toppled containers still aboard the ship.

Members of the British government have been calling for strong efforts to ensure the shipping company and its insurers will pay the costs of the cleanup. Seatrade, which operates the vessel, said its insurers are fully engaged in the process, and in the meantime, volunteers are scouring the beaches, aiding in the cleanup (and possibly taking a few bananas home as a reward).

https://maritime-executive.com/article/bananas-ahoy-as-overboard-containers-wash-ashore

Canada #86

British Teachers To "Spot Misogyny" In Boys And Target Them For Reeducation

by Tyler Durden Friday, Dec 19, 2025

For years UK officials turned a blind eye to rape gangs because it might look racist to crack down on foreigners. Now, suddenly, the real problem is young boys who are 'radicalized' into becoming misogynists. The only solution is of course Orwellian; and includes an agenda to reeducate British boys showing "signs of misogyny" (anti-wokeness).

According to the BBC, teachers will be given training to spot and "tackle" misogyny in the classroom, while high-risk pupils could be sent on behavior courses as part of the government's strategy to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The goal is to 'prevent the radicalization of young men' by addressing misogyny early in order to prevent escalation into violence. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips called violence against women and girls a "national emergency," adding that the government's goal is to be "so ambitious that we change culture."

"What definitely does not exist yet, [is] if teachers are seeing signs of sexually harmful behaviour or are worried about the attitude of pupils with regard to misogyny… teachers currently don't have anywhere specialist or targeted to send those pupils," Phillips told BBC Radio 4.

Under a new £20 million program over three years;

Teachers will receive special training to 'spot and challenge misogyny,' teach consent, address the dangers of sharing nude pics, identify positive role models, and challenge 'harmful myths' about women and relationships.

Schools will refer high-risk students to 'behavioral courses' to address prejudice against women and girls.

The new measures will be incorporated into the Department for Education's statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education, and specifies that pupils "should be equipped to recognise misogyny" along with its links to violence against women and girls.

The program arrives at the height of left-wing hysteria in the UK over popular opposition to mass third-world immigration and online censorship. The focus is largely on white native born British men, who have apparently been designated public enemy number one despite numerous mass murder events and sexual assaults perpetrated across Europe by third-world migrants, or the children of third world migrants.

Though there are already general classes in schools which include all students, the new program is designed to train teachers to single out "problem boys" for special attention. It is highly unlikely that progressive teachers will single out minority students.

The BBC cites data from a charity called "Reducing the Risk", claiming that nearly 40% of teenagers in relationships are victims of abuse. The charity's website does not give direct sources for this number, but it is likely taken from the December 2025 Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) report.

The report's conclusions are misleading, however, as the 40% stat is largely tied to perceived psychological abuse, including such terrible crimes as "looking at a partner's phone without their permission" and "saying something critical about their appearance." Upon deeper investigation, the report notes that only 4% of teens in Britain suffer from actual physical or sexual abuse in relationships, and the criteria for this is also broad.

Reeducation projects launched along with the release of a Netflix series called "Adolescence" about a young white British boy who murders a female classmate. The crime is largely blamed on the rise of online misogyny and "manosphere" influencers like Andrew Tate. Keep in mind, only one murder suspect in the UK has ever been identified as consuming masculinity content before a murder occurred, and it did not inspire the actual crime.

The majority of government and NGO funded public information ads depicting mistreatment of women feature white men, not minorities.

It is clear that the British government intends to ignore third world ideologies such as Islam which are openly hostile to women Instead, they hope to place the blame of misogyny on masculinity in general as a means to purge boys of any conservative ideals and thus, keep them under control.

So now, like racism, children in the UK will be programmed to believe they're guilty of another 'original sin,' while rape gangs from foreign lands continue to abuse young British girls - something the government conspired to cover up. On the bright side, Piers Morgan enjoys their cuisine.

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-tackle-national-emergency-over-misogyny-behavioral-courses-children

Brazil Gets HMS Bulwark for a Bargain Price

HMS Bulwark has been sold to Brazil while reports indicate her withdrawn sister may follow

Published Dec 19, 2025 4:24 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Royal Navy has sold the Albion Class amphibious assault ship HMS Bulwark (L15) to the Brazilian Navy for a reported $26 million, as it was completing a nearly $100 million midlife upgrade project. News of the sale made the British tabloids this week, which questioned the expenditure to refurbish the ships if they were being sold, while also highlighting the loss of the two amphibious assault ships in the Royal Navy.

Rumors of the pending sale had begun in the spring as the government wrestled with its budget for the Royal Navy and military expenditures. By September, Brazil was reporting that it had signed the purchase of HMS Bulwark, and it was reported to be negotiating for a sister ship, HMS Albion. Negotiations to sell the second Albion Class ship to Brazil have apparently stalled, but HMS Albion (L14) has already been withdrawn from service by the Royal Navy.

The media reports indicate that the Royal Navy has spent a total of $275 million on upgrades to the two Albion Class ships since 2010.

HMS Bulwark was launched in 2004 and was capable of landing a fully-equipped Royal Marines commando unit with main battle tanks, using eight landing craft launched from its internal dock and Chinook helicopters. The vessel is 176 meters (577 feet) long, displaces 18,500 tons, and has a capacity for up to 710 military personnel.

Once Bulwark’s refurbishment is completed in Plymouth, the Marinha do Brasil will rename her as NDM Oiapoque. Brazilian personnel were already traveling to the UK for training on the vessel and Marina do Brasil reported the crew would participate in simulations and joint exercises, focusing on the full operational capability of the vessel. HMS Bulwark is expected to be commissioned and transferred to Brazil next year, when it will become part of the Brazilian Navy. She will be used primarily in operations in the Blue Amazon region, where the versatility of the ship will be useful for a wide variety of both military and humanitarian aid operations supporting the civil community.

British Ministry of Defence planners indicated that the role performed by the two Albion Class ships would be carried out instead by Bay Class landing ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. These are smaller vessels manned by civilians and built to civilian standards. All three Royal Fleet Auxiliary Bay Class ships, namely RFA Lyme Bay (L3007), RFA Mounts Bay (L3008), and RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009), are currently inactive for manpower or budgetary reasons.

https://maritime-executive.com/article/brazil-gets-hms-bulwark-for-a-bargain-price

Canada #86

Trump Suspends $40BN Tech Deal With UK Over Free Speech Crackdown

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news Saturday, Dec 20, 2025

The Trump administration has delivered a major blow to UK-US relations by suspending a massive $40 billion Tech Prosperity Deal, citing Britain’s aggressive censorship regime as a direct threat to American tech giants and their ability to operate freely.

This move underscores Trump’s zero-tolerance stance on foreign policies that undermine US interests, especially when they involve stifling free speech and handing advantages to global competitors like China.

The White House paused the tech prosperity deal amid concerns the UK government’s draconian Online Safety Act, which regulates online speech, will stifle American artificial intelligence companies, the Telegraph reports.

The law allows the British government to levy large fines on tech giants it deems have facilitated ‘hate speech’.

After the rise of artificial intelligence, companies like OpenAI or xAI can face huge fines – harming their growth and giving China an edge in the AI race.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that the £31bn agreement has been suspended as the White House seeks to improve terms on a wider UK-US trade deal agreed in May.

On Dec 3, Liz Kendall, the Technology Secretary, said the government planned to impose new restrictions on chatbots to ensure AI companies do not benefit from loopholes in the law.

“The perception is that Britain is way out there on attempting to police what is said online, and it’s caused real concern”, a source with knowledge of the decision to suspend the deal stated.

“Americans went into this deal thinking Britain were going to back off regulating American tech firms but realised it was going to restrict the speech of American chatbots,” the source added.

The deal, announced in September during Trump’s state visit to the UK, included pledges of £22bn from Microsoft and £5bn from Google to create an AI growth zone in north-east England, potentially generating £30bn in economic value and 5,000 jobs.

Leftist UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed it as “a generational stepchange in our relationship with the US,” while Trump described it as a path to “dominate” in AI and lead the technological revolution “side by side.”

Beyond censorship, Washington has raised issues with the UK’s digital services tax on US tech firms and food safety rules blocking certain agricultural exports, framing the pause as part of hard-nosed negotiations to eliminate trade barriers.

A British government source downplayed the suspension as “the usual bit of hardball negotiations by the Americans,” adding that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “is a tough guy. We understand that the Americans negotiate incredibly hard but we’ll stand our ground. They want what’s best for their country, we want what’s best for ours.”

Another source labeled it “part of the shape of the negotiations” with Washington.

This latest escalation highlights the ongoing free speech crisis in the UK, where authorities have ramped up arrests for online expression. As we reported earlier, the latest insane case has seen a man jailed for 18 months over two anti-immigration tweets viewed just 33 times combined—a stark example of the regime’s overreach.

The broader pattern is alarming: nearly 10,000 arrests in 2024 alone for “grossly offensive” social media posts, equating to 30 per day, while violent crimes like knife attacks and burglaries are sidelined.

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-suspends-40bn-tech-deal-uk-over-free-speech-crackdown

General Research #29259

Labour's 'stop the boats' promise in tatters as more than 41,000 migrants have arrived in Britain on small boats in 2025

By Matt Strudwick 21 December 2025

The number of migrants arriving in Britain on small boats this year has surpassed 41,000, casting further doubt on Labour's promise to 'smash the gangs'.

The latest Home Office figures showed some 803 people made the dangerous journey across the English Channel in 13 dinghies from northern France, starting overnight on Friday and into Saturday.

The total number of Channel crossings for 2025 now stands at 41,455 people. The annual record stands at 45,755, recorded at the end of 2022.

Saturday's crossings are the largest number of people to have made the journey since October 8, when 1,075 crossed in a day.

It also appeared to be a record number of crossings for a day in December in seven years, when compared with data stretching back to 2018.

It is not, however, the largest total across the month of December compared with previous years.

December is traditionally one of the quietest months for Channel crossings, with a combination of low temperatures, poor visibility, less daylight and stormy weather making the journey particularly difficult.

The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024. Some 2,163 people have arrived across the month so far this year.

On Saturday morning, a Border Force vessel could be seen bringing people thought to be migrants into Dover after an incident in the Channel.

This followed a busy night, in which a large number of boats were witnessed leaving the shores of France.

A video emerged yesterday of French police throwing tear gas at migrants as they tried to launch a small boat in the town of Grand-Fort-Philippe, near Calais.

Fisherman Matthew Coker said earlier this month it was 'farcical' to claim Labour was getting on top of the problem. The lull in crossings in November, he said, was simply due to a prolonged period of strong winds and waves in the Channel this month.

'I've only had three [fishing] trips in the last 28 days – and they were quite rough,' he said.

'There has been no weather at all where a migrant boat would have managed to cross in the last 28 days. When the weather has allowed, there's been massive numbers [of migrants crossing].

'It's just as well we didn't have a fine end of the year, like we did last year, otherwise they would have been in real trouble with their numbers.'

The Government, meanwhile, continues efforts to grasp the so-called 'upstream' causes of the migration crisis, including through work with neighbouring countries.

Just this week, Germany passed a new law which could see people smugglers face up to 10 years in prison for trying to bring migrants to the UK.

The law change, which will come into force before the end of the year, aims to give more powers to law enforcement and prosecutors, and boost information sharing between the UK and Germany.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'This major change in German law is the result of our close partnership working to tackle illegal migration and organised immigration crime.

'We will continue to ramp up our international co-operation to strengthen our own border security.'

France has meanwhile recently indicated it plans to halt small boats at sea before they pick people up heading for the UK.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The number of small boat crossings are shameful and the British people deserve better.

'This Government is taking action. We have removed almost 50,000 people who were here illegally, and our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.

'The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15403581/small-boat-crossing-figure-labour-promise.html

"We have removed almost 50,000 people who were here illegally" From where?, sent where? (other than Scotland)

Canada #86

Irony Alert: Google Suddenly Champions Free Speech As UK Crushes Online Expression

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news Monday, Dec 22, 2025

In a stunning reversal, Google has slammed the UK for threatening to stifle free speech through its aggressive online regulations. This from the company infamous for its own censorship crusades against conservative voices and inconvenient truths. If even Google is raising the alarm, you know the situation in Britain has hit rock bottom.

The move signals a broader culture shift in Big Tech, where woke agendas are crumbling under pressure from free speech advocates. It’s no coincidence this comes after Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, a platform where ideas flow without the heavy hand of ideological gatekeepers.

Google, which has demonetized, shadow-banned, and outright censored content that doesn’t align with leftist narratives, now positions itself as a defender of open discourse, accusing Britain of threatening to stifle free speech in an escalation of US opposition to online safety rules.

The Telegraph notes that Google has specifically accused Britain of a crackdown on the free flow of information through its ‘Online Safety Act’ and related regulations.

Key points from Google’s stance include concerns over the Act’s broad scope, which they argue could suppress open discourse by forcing platforms to over-censor content to avoid massive fines (up to 10% of global revenue).

Google has also previously criticized the funding mechanism for the crackdown, stating in a response to Ofcom: “The use of the worldwide revenue approach … risks stifling UK growth, and consequently affecting the quality and variety of services offered to UK users, by potentially driving services with low UK revenue out of the UK, or stopping companies from launching services in the UK.”

This ties into broader fears that the rules prioritize “safety” at the expense of fundamental rights, potentially leading to tech exodus or reduced innovation.

No additional direct quotes from Google appear in the public snippets, but the article frames their opposition as part of mounting transatlantic tensions, with Google contacted for comment on the matter. If you have access to the full piece, there might be more nuance.

Remember when Google scrubbed its calendar of DEI dates like Pride and Black History Month? That was a clear sign the winds were changing. As we covered earlier, it’s evidence of a culture shift away from forced diversity mandates.

But Google’s pivot isn’t happening in a vacuum. Credit goes to Elon Musk, who bought Twitter and rebranded it as X, transforming it into a bastion for free speech. Under Musk, X has resisted government overreach, allowing voices from all sides to thrive without fear of arbitrary takedowns. This has forced competitors like Google to rethink their own stifling policies, lest they lose users to platforms that actually value liberty.

The UK’s descent into speech suppression has been rapid and alarming.

In the latest crazy case, a UK man was jailed for 18 months over two tweets that were viewed just 33 times—insanity that highlights how far the state has gone in punishing thought crimes.

These cases build on a pattern of overreach, where British authorities prioritize “safety” over fundamental rights, echoing globalist efforts to control narratives on immigration, politics, and more.

President Trump’s allies have repeatedly criticised Britain’s pioneering legislative attempt to curb abuse and other harms online. Vice President JD Vance has warned the UK was following a “dark path” on free expression while Elon Musk’s X has urged that “free speech will suffer” under the rules.

Trump himself this week suspended a $40 billion tech deal with the UK over its free speech crackdown, a move that underscores America’s commitment to First Amendment principles, and a clear sign that Trump will not stay silent on Britain’s freedom crushing policies.

The President has also offered asylum to British citizens being treated as “thought criminals” in their own country.

If Google is now exposing this evisceration of free speech, it must be dire. This isn’t just a policy disagreement; it’s a wake-up call that the tide is turning against censorship regimes worldwide.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/irony-alert-google-suddenly-champions-free-speech-uk-crushes-online-expression

Canada #86

Greta Thunberg Arrested Under The UK's Terrorism Act

by Tyler Durden Wednesday, Dec 24, 2025

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has once again found herself in police custody after joining a demonstration outside the London offices of Aspen Insurance.

This British firm is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense contractor.

Authorities arrested Thunberg under the UK Terrorism Act for displaying a sign in support of Palestine Action, a group the British government has classified as a terrorist organization.

The arrest marks the latest chapter in Thunberg's evolution from teenage climate crusader to an adult pro-Palestinian advocate.

According to the BBC, Thunberg, “was detained in the City of London after attending the scene of the early-morning demonstration on Fenchurch Street.”

In a video shared by the group, she could be seen holding a sign reading "I support the Palestine Action prisoners" and "I oppose genocide".

City of London Police said a 22-year-old woman was arrested for displaying a placard in support of a proscribed organisation, in this case Palestine Action, contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The force said officers were called to the area at about 07:00 GMT after hammers and red paint were used to damage a building.

A man and a woman were also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage after they "glued themselves nearby", police said. Specialist officers worked to release them before taking them into custody.

Video footage circulating online captured the moment officers confronted Thunberg as she sat cross-legged on the sidewalk holding the offending sign. Thunberg refused to stand when instructed, and the officer then confiscated the sign.

Thunburg has consistently labeled Israel an "apartheid state" and characterized its war against Hamas as "genocide," rhetoric that has placed her squarely within the more radical wing of the pro-Palestinian protest movement.

The UK government placed Palestine Action on its list of banned terrorist organizations in July.

The classification followed an incident at RAF Brize Norton, where activists reportedly damaged two military aircraft during an anti-Israel protest.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper defended the move before Parliament, citing the group's pattern of targeting defense industry sites and allegations of threatening behavior.

Official data reveals that of 1,886 terrorism-related arrests in the UK in the year ending September 2025, a staggering 1,630 were linked to support for the Palestinian Action, representing an 86% share of all terrorism arrests during that period. This was a huge shift from previous years when such arrests typically involved other forms of extremism.

The figures show a 660% surge in total terrorism arrests compared to last year, almost entirely driven by Palestine Action-related cases.

Most arrests occurred in the three months following the July ban, with 1,706 arrests recorded between July and September alone. However, only 17% of these arrests resulted in charges, a sharp decline from the 47% charge rate for terrorism-related arrests in 2024.

Thunberg's involvement in the Palestinian cause stretches back several months and includes previous confrontations with Israeli authorities. She has been detained and deported by Israel twice after attempting to enter Gaza as part of her pro-Palestinian activities.

The night before her arrest at Aspen Insurance, Thunberg joined demonstrators who blocked Piccadilly Circus during a separate protest, according to video shared on social media.

Because Palestine Action has been designated a terrorist organization under the Terrorism Act 2000, any form of support for the organization is a criminal offense that could carry prison sentences of up to 14 years. That includes membership in the group or public expressions of support.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/greta-thunberg-arrested-under-uks-terrorism-act

Canada #86

King Charles Goes Full Woke: Parrots ‘Diversity Is Our Strength’ in Christmas Speech While UK Suffers from Migrant Mayhem

by Cassandra MacDonald Dec. 27, 2025

King Charles III used his annual Christmas broadcast to push the tired liberal trope that “diversity” is somehow Britain’s strength, even as the UK grapples with skyrocketing crime, cultural clashes, and anti-mass migration riots.

During the speech from Buckingham Palace on December 25, the King Charles stated, “In this, with the great diversity of our communities, we can find the strength to ensure that right triumphs over wrong.”

The King tied it to values like compassion and reconciliation, praising how people of different faiths share a “longing for peace,” a nice sentiment, perhaps, but one that ignores reality.

“As I meet people of different faiths, I find it enormously encouraging to hear how much we have in common; a shared longing for peace and a deep respect for all life. If we can find time in our journey through life to think on these virtues we can all make the future more hopeful,” Charles said.

Charles invoked the Christmas story of journeys and hope, noting the Holy Family’s homelessness and the Wise Men’s pilgrimage. He even quoted poet T.S. Eliot on finding a “still point” amid chaos.

However, critics are slamming the address as out-of-touch, especially after a year of violent unrest in cities like Leeds and Manchester, where tensions over unchecked immigration boiled over into violent clashes with police.

People were quick to slam the comment on social media, with several posting the alarming diversity arrest rates in Britain.

An X account called “Wall Street Mav” wrote, “Of course, he never has to live with the diversity behind his security and walls. He lives in a bubble. He does not represent Britain and refuses to defend the English.”

Another user with the handle “The British Patriot” wrote, “This man has betrayed the Christian faith, turned his back on the crown, and actively goes against the interests of the British people.”

They added, “The monarchy died with our late queen Elizabeth II.”

The UK is dealing with record migrant crossings, grooming gang scandals, and economic strain from housing thousands of asylum seekers.

Diversity is whose strength, exactly?

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/12/king-charles-goes-full-woke-parrots-diversity-is/

Canada #86

British Teacher Branded A Terrorist Threat For Showing Trump Videos In US Politics Class

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news Sunday, Dec 28, 2025

In a chilling display of ideological censorship, a veteran teacher in Britain has been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism program simply for showing videos of President Trump to his A-level students during a lesson on U.S. politics.

The incident unfolded at Henley College in Oxfordshire, where the teacher—a qualified educator since the mid-1990s and —introduced clips from Trump’s inauguration and campaign to illustrate the recent U.S. election.

Just days after Trump’s victory, two students complained, claiming the material was “biased” and left them “emotionally disturbed,” with one even alleging nightmares. The college swiftly escalated the matter to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), who prioritized a Prevent referral, warning that the teacher’s views “could be perceived as radical,” potentially amounting to a hate crime or radicalisation.

The teacher, speaking out against this farce, described the ordeal as “completely jarring. It’s dystopian, like something from a George Orwell novel.”

He added, “It was just terrifying; just mind-boggling. We were discussing the US election, Trump had just won and I showed a couple of videos from the Trump campaign. Next thing, I was accused of bias. One of the students said they were emotionally disturbed and claimed to have had nightmares.”

Firmly rejecting the extremist label, the teacher, a self described “mainstream Republican,” stated “I am not an extremist,” and accused the college of “complete Left-wing bias,” noting, “They don’t tolerate anything about Donald Trump.”

The college’s official communication hammered the point, alleging the teacher had “shown your students videos of Donald Trump, his campaign, propaganda and other videos which are unrelated to what is being taught.”

Meanwhile, the LADO’s report escalated the hysteria: “There is concern that this behaviour could cause harm to a child, there could be a criminal offence from the views which could constitute a hate crime and it’s possible that his promoting of views could be radicalisation.”

In the end, the teacher settled for a modest £2,000 payoff and resigned from his role, effectively driven out for daring to present balanced political discourse.

This case exposes a grotesque reality in British education. How is it that showing footage of the duly elected U.S. President in a class explicitly about American politics gets you flagged as a potential terrorist?

There is also a horrible double standard where schools freely indoctrinate kids with outright fabrications, such as pushing “non-fiction” books claiming Black people built Stonehenge, and were integral in other historical developments, part of a “decolonizing” push that insists Britain was “a black country for more than 7,000 years before white people came.”

The hypocrisy deepens with radical gender ideology flooding classrooms. Trans lobbyists from Stonewall are demanding over 300 schools scrap terms like “boys and girls,” opting for neutral language, gender-neutral bathrooms, and identical uniforms—all under the guise of “inclusion.” Schools paying into Stonewall’s scheme must embed LGBTQ+ propaganda across the curriculum, ignoring government guidance against promoting “gender identity ideology.”

This teacher-shaming fits into a broader, sinister trend: the UK government’s push to teach children how to “spot extremist content and misinformation” in schools, embedding “critical thinking” that suspiciously aligns with establishment narratives.

Under the Labour government, kids are being indoctrinated to analyse articles and websites and weed out “putrid conspiracy theories,” grooming the next generation to police thought.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has warned: “If the parameters that are set are to say to every kid, if you read a post that questions net zero and global warming, it will be extreme content, and a lie, if you read a post that even dares to question levels of immigration, legal or illegal into Britain, that that’s extremist, then you start to set a narrative for a future generation that is fundamentally undemocratic.” He labeled Prime Minister Keir Starmer the “biggest threat to free speech” in British history.

The Free Speech Union charges that child safeguarding is being twisted to muzzle “unfashionable opinions,” especially those leaning right. In an era where globalist agendas prioritise control over truth, this episode serves as a stark warning. If discussing a world leader like Trump lands you in the crosshairs of counter-terror watchdogs, what’s next for parents, educators, or anyone challenging the narrative?

True freedom demands we dismantle this censorship machine before it silences us all—starting with reclaiming our schools for honest, unbiased education.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/british-teacher-branded-terrorist-threat-showing-trump-videos-us-politics-class

Canada #87

The EU imposes a €3 fee per package: more control, more revenue, and more bureaucracy at the consumer's expense

Rafa Gómez-Santos Martín 30 December 2025

The European Union has decided to impose a flat fee of 3 euros on small packages sent within the block, a measure that will come into force next year and will directly affect millions of consumers and small businesses. Under the pretext of strengthening tax collection and ensuring resources for Member States, Brussels is taking yet another step in its policy of growing control over trade and the daily lives of citizens.

According to European legislation, the measure aims to curb the boom in low-value online commerce, especially frequent purchases of inexpensive products. However, in practice, the fee punishes everyday consumption, makes basic goods more expensive, and reinforces the European bureaucratic apparatus, which needs to justify its constant expansion with new sources of revenue.

The fee will apply to shipments whose value does not exceed a threshold set by each country, affecting both domestic and imported products. Brussels insists that the goal is to ensure “tax fairness,” but the outcome is clear: every package will be registered, monitored, and taxed, expanding state oversight and the administrative burden on citizens and businesses.

The impact will be immediate on European households. Families accustomed to buying affordable products will have to absorb an additional cost for each shipment, forcing them to rethink their budgets in a context of inflation, high taxes, and declining purchasing power. This measure does not protect consumers: it penalizes them.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are also harmed. For many of them, e-commerce is a lifeline in the face of tax pressure and competition from large platforms. The new fee forces them to raise prices or absorb losses, while the EU leaves its costly institutional and administrative structure untouched.

From Brussels, officials claim the objective is not to hinder digital commerce, but to sustain public systems. However, the reality is that every new tax serves to feed an oversized bureaucracy, disconnected from the real needs of citizens and increasingly intrusive.

Economic analysts warn that the measure could slow the growth of online commerce and reduce economic activity. Even so, European lawmakers defend the initiative as a way to “maintain control” over the economy. In other words, to collect more and monitor more, even if that means less economic freedom.

Implementing the fee will require cooperation between customs authorities and logistics companies, with systems to register and track every shipment. This not only increases operational costs, but also normalizes permanent surveillance, turning every purchase into an act overseen by the state apparatus.

https://gatewayhispanic.com/2025/12/european-union-will-impose-e3-fee-small-packages/

>>24061344

Previous Scotland Breads contain quite a bit on that:

Q Research Scotland #10: Humza In Hot Water Edition

Final Horizon Post Office Scandal Bun Part Two

>>21117854 Post Office Scandal - George Thomson (video)

>>21144495 Post Office Scandal: Cringe moment ex-boss tries to defend only working '1 & half days a week' (video)

>>21144513 Post Office Scandal: Ex-boss gives many reasons why he hasn't said sorry to subPostmasters (video)

>>21144536 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Jason Beer & Tim Parker PART ONE (video)

>>21144543 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Graham Ward & Jason Beer CRINGE (video)

>>21144556 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Tim Parker & Jason Beer PART 2 & 3 (video)

>>21167883 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Tim Parker & Jason Beer PART 4 (video)

>>21227672 Post Office Inquiry: Fujitsu analyst confronted with email branding subPostmaster a 'nasty chap' (video)

>>21227766, >>21227793 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Lisa Allen & Emma Price (Parts 1&2 video)

>>21227823 Post Office Scandal - Gareth Jenkins (video)

>>21238857 'A Complete Travesty!' Sir Ed Davey Grilled At Horizon Post Office Inquiry (video)

>>21238896 Post Office Inquiry: former Postal affairs minister challenged over failure to listen to victims (video)

>>21243476 Post Office Inquiry: Ed Davey: 'I Was Unaware Of Post Office Prosecutions Against Sub-Postmasters' (video)

>>21243538 Paula Vennells lied to me, says Sir Ed Davey during Post Office Inquiry (video)

>>21243582 Ed Davey confronted at Post Office Inquiry over refusal to meet with Alan Bates (video)

>>21243630 Post Office Inquiry: Jo Swinson says Paula Vennells led her to believe Postmasters were stealing (video)

>>21251595 Post Office Inquiry:Jo Swinson says Paula Vennells spoke with 'moral authority of an ordained vicar' (video)

>>21251849 "He NEVER Listened!" Ed Davey Apologises To Alan Bates For Refusal To Meet

>>21254661, >>21256321 Post Office Horizon Inquiry David McDonnell & Jason Beer (Parts 1&2, video)

>>21259647 Horizon Inquiry: Former minister says she was not warned about unsafe witness (video)

>>21259729 Post Office Scandal - can't remember, don't care (video)

>>21277961 'Give 'Em Tesco Flowers' Post Office IT Horizon Scandal. Baroness Neville-Rolfe - 23 July 2024 (video)

>>21278009 Ex-minister tells Post Office inquiry she was repeatedly 'misled' by officials (video)

>>21278111 Post Office Inquiry hear evidence from Baroness Neville-Rolfe (video)

>>21287426 Post Office Inquiry: former PPS Margot James gives evidence (video)

>>21293844 Post Office Inquiry: Sir Vince Cable accepts department's 'clear policy failure' in Horizon Scandal (video)

>>21293953 Post Office Scandal: Vince Cable admits "failure" (video)

>>21297457 Ex-Lib Dem leader grilled over knowledge of Horizon Scandal in Post Office inquiry (video)

>>21299432 Post Office IT Horizon Scandal. Gareth Jenkins - 25 June 2024

>>21330701 Post Office Horizon Inquiry Roderick Williams & Mr Beer Part 1 of 8 (video)

>>24062928

Please please please tell me you have other sauce to confirm that

>>24065298

It's all shiny anon

WWG1WGA

You might find some goodies in these:

Archived Scotland posts

https://8kun.top/qnotables/res/39180.html

Canada #87

UK Goes Full Cradle-To-Grave With 'Sinister' Plan For Newborn Baby Digital IDs

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news Sunday, Jan 04, 2026

The UK government’s digital ID push is escalating into outright dystopia, with ministers privately floating the idea of assigning digital identities to newborns right alongside their health records.

This “sinister” expansion, revealed by the Daily Mail, exposes Labour’s true agenda: a lifelong tracking system masquerading as a tool to curb illegal immigration.

The move is being slammed as a blatant power grab, with many warning it has nothing to do with border control and everything to do with eroding freedoms from birth.

?NEWBORN BABIES TO BE GIVEN DIGITAL I.D

Ministers in the Labour Government have now let slip their latest proposal

This must be stopped

Nobody wants this pic.twitter.com/dZfkwgZi4K

— Basil the Great (@BasilTheGreat) January 1, 2026

The proposal emerged in secretive Cabinet Office meetings led by minister Josh Simons, who cited Estonia’s model where infants get unique numbers at birth registration for accessing public services.

Simons even suggested digital IDs could help teenagers log into social media, tying into global crackdowns like Australia’s under-16 ban on apps such as TikTok.

Announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September as a way to verify job candidates’ right to work, the scheme is slated for rollout by 2028-29 at a staggering £1.8 billion cost. But the government has stonewalled on details, fueling suspicions of mission creep.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Mike Wood blasted the idea: “Labour said their plan for mandatory digital ID was about tackling illegal immigration. But now we hear they are secretly considering forcing it on newborns. What do babies have to do with stopping the boats? This would be a deeply sinister overreach by Labour – and all without any proper national debate.”

Former Tory Cabinet minister Sir David Davis echoed the outrage, calling it “creeping state surveillance.” He added: “The idea that we should allocate children ID at birth is frankly an affront to centuries of British history, and is being put out by stupid ministers who really don’t understand the technology they are playing with. They think they are being clever and modern, but a large number of people will be outraged by this. It will end up being hated by a lot of people.”

Davis accused Starmer of peddling the policy on a “bogus premise” before quietly ballooning it without parliamentary input, labeling it a “constitutional disgrace delivered in a disgraceful manner.”

Liberal Democrat spokesman Lisa Smart warned: “Reports that ministers may be considering dragging newborn babies into their already over-reaching digital ID scheme would be a frightening development.”

Attendees at the meetings, sworn to secrecy, described jaws dropping when the newborn ID concept was raised. One source told the Daily Mail: “The disturbing prospect of digital IDs for newborn babies shows this has nothing to do with right-to-work checks, immigration or giving people choices. It’s a cradle-to-grave digital file being dishonestly forced on every single Briton. This is a shocking, underhand way to massively expand a controversial policy our country has always rejected.”

This development builds on Starmer’s broader biometric tracking rollout, the “Brit Card” system—tied to the UK One Login platform—promises to block “illegal” migrants from jobs but ignores the flood of legal asylum seekers and offers endless tools for government overreach.

With net migration hitting around 500,000 annually and only a fraction deemed “illegal,” the ID won’t stem the tide but could easily punish dissenters by revoking access to work or services. It’s a classic globalist bait-and-switch: exploit public frustration over open borders to impose surveillance that targets natives.

A government spokesman claimed: “The only mandatory area of the programme will be for digital right-to-work checks. Only people starting a new job will need to use the scheme.” But a Whitehall source admitted it’s all “hypothetical,” with a public consultation pending—hardly reassuring given the secretive plotting.

This is the death of privacy, starting at the cradle. Brits must reject this authoritarian slide before every citizen is fully reduced to a tracked data point in a vast surveillance state.

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-goes-full-cradle-grave-sinister-plan-newborn-baby-digital-ids

Canada #87

British Citizens Head to France and Slash Illegal Migrants’ Rubber Boats To Prevent Them From Crossing the Channel – So French Police Move To Arrest THEM, Not the Illegals

by Paul Serran Jan. 3, 2026

…So, what has started to happen is that desperate British citizens have started going to the French beaches and are attacking the migrant boats, slashing the rubber dinghies to try and keep the invasion from worsening.

At this juncture, the ‘brave’ French authorities have decided to arrest… the British nationals!

Several activists are now accused of slashing the rubber boats.

Daily Mail reported:

“The French interior minister, Laurent Nunez, has warned that any Brits interfering with the crossings could be arrested for possible obstruction and aggravated violence, according to local reports.

He has supposedly stepped-up efforts to stop such incidents following a number of vigilante-style actions by members of the Raise the Colours movement.”

The militants are forced to take matters into their own hands because Starmer and Macron are a complete joke.

“Videos posted on social media in recent months show members, including co-founder Ryan Bridge, racing across the sand searching for migrants and supposedly sabotaging small boats that had been bound for the UK.

But in a bid to stop any further actions, Nunez has now ‘requested that members of these groups be identified, apprehended if they act, and that measures to obstruct them be considered’, a source close to the minister told La Voix Du Nord.”

More:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/british-citizens-head-france-slash-illegal-migrants-rubber/

Canada #87

EU's Carbon Border Tax Goes Live And Trade Partners Are Not Amused

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com Tuesday, Jan 06, 2026

• The EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism launched on January 1 aims to level the playing field for European steel, cement, and power producers by taxing the carbon content of imports from countries with weaker emissions rules.

• China has threatened retaliation, calling CBAM unfair and discriminatory.

• While CBAM may protect EU industry, it risks higher prices for consumers and escalating trade disputes with major exporters

On Thursday, January 1st, the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism entered into effect with the goal of improving the competitiveness of European goods manufacturers against non-EU companies operating in laxer emissions reduction frameworks.

China was the first to threaten retaliation.

It won’t be the last.

The carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM for short, was devised to remedy the unintended effects of the world’s most stringent emission-reduction standards for the industrial sphere, namely, sky-high costs that make the end product uncompetitive. This became especially painful for European makers of things such as steel and cement, where the biggest competitor is China—which does not have anything resembling the emission reduction requirements of the EU, so its steel and cement are very cheap, and buyers prefer them.

In other words, in order to boost the competitiveness of European steel and cement manufacturers—and electricity generators, too—the European Union made sure that cheaper imported steel, cement, and electricity are not that cheap anymore. China and India are unhappy about—and there are things they can do that will not help the competitiveness of European businesses.

As soon as the CBAM entered into effect, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a statement, in which it called the legislation “unfair” and “discriminatory”, Bloomberg reported.

“We will resolutely take all necessary measures to respond to any unfair trade restrictions,” the ministry said in its statement.

“CBAM is quite unpopular among major exporters to the EU, but it has already proven to be quite effective in pushing reticent countries towards building or expanding carbon pricing efforts,” one consultant specializing in carbon permit markets, told the Financial Times.

“So it’s a major policy shift for the EU to protect its own industry, while at the same time leveraging the carbon pricing idea to third countries.”

China, in fact, has its own carbon market, has had it since 2021, and it is the biggest carbon market in terms of the volumes of carbon emissions covered by it. With China, it’s not about selling the idea of carbon markets to third countries; it is about competitiveness. And China is not pleased that its competitiveness will be compromised.

In simple terms, the carbon border adjustment mechanism puts a price on the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the production of a good such as cement or steel. The price is based on calculations of the emissions from the respective industries in countries that export to the European Union. The mechanism puts a so-called default emission value for the production of a certain good, and also emission benchmarks, to be used in tandem in a way that is as of yet unclear, but some say it is, in fact, benefiting China.

Politico reported the concerns at the end of last year, citing industrial executives as saying the default values for emissions for certain countries that export to the EU were set too low to be real, including some steel production in China that, according to these estimates, turned out to be lower-emission than steel production in the EU.

“Inconsistencies in the figures of default values and benchmarks would dilute the incentive for cleaner production processes and allow high-emission imports to enter the EU market with insufficient carbon costs,” an industry representative told Politico.

“This could result in a CBAM that is not only significantly less effective but most likely counterproductive.”

Meanwhile, Indian steel imports are about to dry up because Indian steel producers appear not to have been included in the “inconsistencies”. India is the world’s second-largest steel producer after China and exports as much as 66% of its output to the European Union.

This is about to drop sharply next year because India’s steel manufacturing is done in blast furnaces fueled with coal, which is incompatible with the European Union’s emission reduction plans. The Reuters report notes steel mills could switch to electric arc furnaces, which have a lower emissions footprint, but such a switch would take time and money.

“Most of the companies are yet figuring out a way to deal with CBAM,” one analyst told Reuters. “In the near term, it is expected to slow down India's exports to EU,” Ravi Sodah, from Elara Capital, also said.

So, two of the world’s largest exporters of industrial goods, and major suppliers to the European Union specifically, are planning to respond to the CBAM by, at least in one case, curbing exports.

This would sure clear up the market for European producers, but it will not be welcome news to consumers of those goods, who would be footing the bill for what is essentially market intervention on the part of the European Union, and a protectionist market intervention, at that.

The United States is not going to be happy about it, either, and it will soon make its unhappiness known.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/eus-carbon-border-tax-goes-live-and-trade-partners-are-not-amused

>>24083769

UK and France to send troops to Ukraine if peace deal agreed

Jaroslav Lukiv and Wyre Davies,Kyiv 6 January 2026

The UK and France have signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal is made with Russia, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

After talks with Ukraine's allies in Paris, he said the UK and France would "establish military hubs across Ukraine" to deter future invasion, while French President Emmanuel Macron later said thousands of troops may be deployed.

Allies also largely agreed robust security guarantees for Ukraine and proposed that the US would take the lead in monitoring a truce. But the key issue of territory is still being discussed.

Russia has repeatedly warned that any foreign troops in Ukraine would be a "legitimate target".

Moscow has not yet commented on the announcements made in the French capital.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

Heads of state and top officials from the "Coalition of the Willing" took part in Tuesday's talks in Paris.

Speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, Starmer said: "We signed a declaration of intent on the deployment of forces to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.

"This is a vital part of our commitment to stand with Ukraine for the long-term.

"It paves the way for the legal framework under which British, French, and partner forces could operate on Ukrainian soil, securing Ukraine's skies and seas, and regenerating Ukraine's armed forces for the future."

The UK prime minister added London would participate in any US-led verification of a potential ceasefire.

Top US negotiator Steve Witkoff said "durable security guarantees and robust prosperity commitments are essential to a lasting peace" in Ukraine - referring to a key demand made by Kyiv.

Witkoff said the allies "largely finished" their work on agreeing security protocols "so that people of Ukraine know that when this [war] ends, it ends forever".

Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's special envoy and son-in-law, said that after a deal Ukrainians needed to know that "real backstops" were in place to ensure war would "not happen again".

Meanwhile, President Macron said Ukraine's allies had made "considerable progress" at the talks.

He said "robust" security guarantees for Kyiv had been agreed in the event of a potential ceasefire.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said a "huge step forward" had been made in Paris, but added that he would only consider efforts to be "enough" if they resulted in the end of the war.

What Ukraine calls security "guarantees" and what American officials have described as security "protocols" may leave some wiggle room for Trump in the event of coming to Kyiv's defence after a future Russian attack - but there is no doubt Zelensky feels he and his European allies have secured an important concession from Washington.

We heard few, if any, new details about where a future ceasefire line would be drawn and what territory, currently occupied by Russian forces, Ukraine would agree to surrender.

That prospect is still something many Ukrainians would find hard to swallow, especially as Russia continues to strike against cities and critical infrastructure across Ukraine on a daily basis.

But as the snows fall and bitter winds sweep in from the east, Zelensky knows the only alternative to a ceasefire and subsequent peace deal, is another costly, attritional winter of warfare with the inevitable loss of life that will hit Ukraine far harder than Russia.

Ukraine's president clearly hopes that guarantees of American monitoring, a multinational force on Ukrainian soil and more weapons support for his armed forces, will convince a sometimes-sceptical population that he is right to sue for peace, bolstered by a growing international coalition.

But, in concluding the Paris press conference, Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday's "milestone" did not necessarily guarantee peace. Real progress still needs Russian support, and Moscow has been notably silent in recent days about diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Putin is known to oppose the prospect of a European-led international force in any disputed areas and will be reluctant to halt his troops', albeit slow, advance if Moscow's war objectives have not been realised.

More:

www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17zee20qpzo

"Appalling": Debanking Explodes To Record High In Britain

by Tyler Durden Friday, Jan 09, 2026

An estimated 453,230 accounts were shut down in the United Kingdom in the last year, a stunning figure that has drawn outrage from the country’s leading conservative lawmaker.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the shocking figure “appalling” and slammed European rules that he believes "makes it cheaper for banks to close accounts over unusual transactions.” Farage, who was elected to the British Parliament in 2024 and leads the conservative populist Reform Party, is no stranger to debanking, having had his accounts closed by Coutts in 2023.

So what’s the banks' excuse? “Financial crime reasons,” they said, according to documents obtained by The Telegraph under Freedom of Information rules.

The Telegraph reports:

It comes ahead of the introduction of new rules which will force lenders to give customers longer before they close accounts – at least 90 days’ notice – as well as offer clearer explanations of why they shut the accounts.

But the requirements will only apply to accounts opened after April 28 this year and will be subject to exemptions to allow banks to comply with financial crime rules.Financial institutions are allowed to close accounts for commercial reasons, and if they suspect criminal activity. There is no legal right to a bank account in the UK, unlike in countries such as France and Belgium.

Banks have faced criticism over their failure to explain to customers exactly why accounts have been closed. This is often blamed on anti-money laundering and other financial crime rules which lenders must follow.

Nonetheless, British officials defend closing the accounts, claiming they were shut down after a thorough review.

“Banks must comply with strict legal and regulatory requirements in terms of verifying customers and preventing financial crime. As a result, a small proportion of accounts are closed, but only after extensive review and investigation,” a UK government spokesperson told The Telegraph.

“Fighting financial crime is one of our priorities. Fraud makes up over 40 pc of crime in the UK, robbing people of their hard-earned money,” An FCA spokesman said in a separate statement.

“It’s important banks and building societies play their part, including closing accounts they have suspicions about. Only a tiny fraction of accounts are closed – and we expect firms to act proportionately and treat customers fairly.”

While British officials don't appear to see the problem with the surging number of closed bank accounts, critics across the pond in the United States see the escalating situation as a cautionary tale.

Adam Smith Institute’s Maxwell Marlow told The Telegraph: "The scourge of debanking continues to blight the British public and significantly impacts the Square Mile."“Our finance system thrives through freedom – it is why we were the centre of global capitalism for so long, and we became rich from it. If we choose to reject these principles by ignoring this issue, our liberties and prosperity will be punished collectively,” Marlow added.

Across the pond - in August, President Donald Trump took a series of actions to thwart "debanking,” which was pervasive during the Biden administration, signing an executive order aimed at preventing financial institutions from denying services based on customers' political or religious beliefs.

The order, titled "Guaranteeing Fair Banking for All Americans," directs federal regulators to scrutinize banks for past or present policies that may have encouraged discriminatory practices and to impose remedies such as fines or consent decrees where violations are found.

The order also requires the removal of "reputational risk" considerations from supervisory guidance, which the administration argues have been used to pressure banks into restricting access for certain lawful industries or individuals.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/appalling-debanking-explodes-record-high

Canada #87

UAE Cuts State Funding for Students Studying in UK Over Fears of Islamist Radicalization on British Campuses

by Robert Semonsen Jan. 9, 2026

The United Arab Emirates has withdrawn state funding from British universities, citing concerns about the risk of Islamist radicalization on UK campuses—a step that sharply contrasts with the approach taken by many globalist-controlled governments across the Western world.

According to officials familiar with the decision, Abu Dhabi has concluded that the UK’s academic environment poses unacceptable ideological risks to Emirati students.

The move affects government scholarships, a key pathway that has historically sent thousands of Emirati students to elite institutions abroad. British universities, once a top destination, have now been excluded from an official list of approved foreign schools eligible for UAE funding.

When British officials sought clarification, they were told that the omission wasn’t a mistake. The UAE’s message was crystal clear: UK university campuses are no longer considered safe and are increasingly regarded as potential hubs for Islamist radicalization.

Vice President JD Vance commented on the decision after reading about it on X, writing: “Absolutely insane headline. Some of our best Muslim allies in the Gulf think the Islamist indoctrination in certain parts of the west is too dangerous.”

At the heart of the dispute is the British government’s longstanding refusal to ban the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist movement outlawed across much of the Middle East. Emirati leaders, for years, have warned that the group operates openly in Britain under the cover of academic freedom and civil society protections.

From the perspective of the UAE, Britain—and much of Western Europe’s—distinction between “nonviolent extremism” and outright terrorism is dangerously naive. The government views ideological incubation as the first step toward political Islam gaining institutional power, and universities are seen as prime terrain for that influence.

Recent data reinforces those fears. Figures released by the British government have revealed a sharp rise in university students flagged for potential Islamist radicalization, nearly doubling year over year. While the numbers are small relative to total enrollment, the trend has alarmed foreign governments watching closely.

The UAE’s policy shift comes amid a broader regional crackdown on political Islam, which has often taken radical forms since the Arab Spring. Under President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the country has pursued an aggressive strategy to neutralize Islamist movements both domestically and abroad, viewing them as existential threats.

The decision carries real consequences. Emirati students attending unapproved institutions run the risk of earning degrees that will not be officially recognized at home, dramatically reducing their value in government or professional sectors.

The impact can be seen in visa statistics, with the number of Emirati students studying in the UK having collapsed over the past three years, falling by more than half since 2022. Federal funding for new students had already been scaled back considerably well before the policy was formalized.

British officials, for their part, have leaned on the usual, tired, globalist talking points. They emphasize academic freedom, campus diversity, and safeguards against extremism. Those reassurances, however, appear to have failed to sway a Gulf state that measures realworld outcomes, not mere rhetoric.

Additionally, the divide exposes a deeper, more significant philosophical rift. While Western elites continue to frame radical Islamist ideology as a marginal issue, governments that are closer to its consequences see it as a long-term civilizational problem—one spreading steathily through institutions that educate future leaders.

More:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/uae-cuts-state-funding-students-studying-uk-fears/

Canada #87

UK Government Video Game Teaches Teens Questioning Mass Immigration Could Make Them Terror Suspects

by Robert Semonsen Jan. 10, 2026

Britain’s globalist—and increasingly authoritarian—state has found a new way to ‘fight extremism’: teach teenagers that asking the ‘wrong questions’ about mass immigration could make them terrorists.

According to newly surfaced materials, a government-funded video game now warns schoolchildren that doubting the positive effects of unrelenting mass migration will land them in the crosshairs of counter-terrorism authorities.

The program, called Pathways, is marketed as an “educational” interactive experience for students aged 11 to 18. In practice, however, it functions as a digital loyalty test, funded in part by the Home Office’s Prevent program, Britain’s controversial anti-extremism scheme.

The game goes something like this. Players are placed in the role of a white teenage character named Charlie, newly enrolled in college and navigating modern Britain’s ideological minefield. Every decision—what videos to watch, what opinions to express, even whether to research immigration statistics—is tracked by an in-game extremism meter.

The premise is simple and utterly unmistakable: curiosity is dangerous, skepticism is suspect, and deviation from approved liberal-globalist, views carries severe consequences. Choose the wrong dialogue option, and Charlie is flagged for “extreme right-wing ideology,” a category that now appears to include asking basic questions about national identity.

Even the character’s gender is carefully flattened. Regardless of whether players select a male or female avatar, Charlie is referred to exclusively as “they,” a telling detail in a game obsessed with left-liberal ideological conformity.

Early scenarios in the game set the tone. Charlie struggles academically and is outperformed by an Afro-British classmate, after which players are nudged toward ‘correct’ emotional responses while being warned against drawing conclusions about immigration or competition.

At several points, the game introduces online posts claiming the government prioritizes migrants over British veterans for housing. Players are encouraged to scroll past these claims silently. Engaging, questioning, or researching them triggers ominous warnings.

Attempting to “learn more” is portrayed as especially risky. The game depicts Charlie being overwhelmed by statistics, reports, and protest information. Instead of being framed as civic engagement, the game clearly suggests it’s a slippery slope into ideological contamination.

Eventually, Charlie encounters an invitation to join a group called “Action for Britain,” or to attend a protest opposing the erosion of British values. Accepting leads to near-arrest scenarios and stern lessons about how such gatherings are really about ‘racism,’ not patriotism.

Lose the game, and the consequences are enlightening. Charlie is referred by a teacher to Prevent, where counseling and workshops are imposed to correct “ideological thoughts,” as if dissent were some kind of cognitive malfunction.

This initiative did not emerge in a vacuum. Local councils in East Yorkshire developed Pathways amid rising tensions over migrant housing, particularly after protests erupted near hotels used to accommodate asylum seekers.

One of the more uncomfortable realities is that these areas have already been the focus of repeated Prevent interventions—interventions that failed to stop real violence. In one high-profile case, a murderer had reportedly been referred to Prevent multiple times prior to committing his crimes.

The statistics make the government’s priorities difficult to ignore. Official Home Office figures show that nearly 20 percent of Prevent referrals now concern so-called right-wing extremism, compared to just 13 percent involving Islamist cases.

This imbalance persists despite MI5 itself admitting that Islamist threats account for roughly three-quarters of its counter-terror workload. Apparently, teenage boys googling migration statistics now rank alongside actual terror networks.

The organization behind the game, Shout Out UK, insists it offers “impartial media literacy.” Its leadership claims the goal is to equip students with lifelong tools to protect themselves from harmful ideas—an assurance delivered with all the warmth of a compliance seminar.

Government spokesmen, for their part, defend the program as a success, boasting of thousands diverted from violent ideologies. They simultaneously insist they are “furious” about illegal migration, even as their policies suggest the real threat lies in discussing it.

To critics, of which there are no doubt many, Pathways represents something far more troubling than a clumsy, out-of-touch educational tool cooked up by global liberals. It is a glimpse into a Britain where the state no longer trusts its own citizens—especially its youth—to think freely without supervision.

The game’s message is brutally clear. In modern Britain, the line between civic concern and criminal suspicion is thin, and asking the wrong questions may be all it takes to cross it.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/uk-government-video-game-teaches-teens-questioning-mass/

General Research #29376

UK Seeks to Partner with Australia and Canada in Censorship Plot Against Elon Musk’s X: Report

The British government has reportedly reached out to fellow leftist-run Anglo-sphere nations Australia and Canada in an attempt to wage a coordinated campaign to potentially ban Elon Musk’s X social media platform.

Earlier this week, UK Prime Minsiter Sir Keir Starmer said that “all options” were on the table, including a potential ban of X in Britain, over users being able to have the platform’s Grok artificial intelligence generate “deepfake” nude images of women and children.

The recently enacted Online Safety Act — passed by the previous “Conservative” government — empowers broadcasting regulator Ofcom to impose fines of up to 10 per cent of a social media firm’s global revenue, and allows for bans in extreme cases.

Yet, apparently reticent to draw the ire of President Donald Trump alone, Downing Street reportedly held talks in recent days with Canberra and Ottawa to craft a joint response to the tech platform, The Telegraph reported.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is pushing for more censorship rules in his own country following the Islamist mass shooting at Bondi Beach last month, said, “The fact that this tool was used so that people were using its image creation function through Grok is, I think, just completely abhorrent. It, once again, is an example of social media not showing social responsibility. Australians and indeed, global citizens deserve better.”

Toronto MP Evan Solomon, the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation in Mark Caney’s government, denied on Sunday that Canada is considering a ban on X.

For his part, Elon Musk, who has long been critical of the increasingly censorious climate in Britain, accused Starmer’s government of acting “fascist” and suggested that they were merely looking for “any excuse for censorship” of X.

Censorship has become increasingly prevalent in Britain. Despite its long tradition of freedom of speech, the country is arresting around 30 people every day for comments made on social media, or over 12,000 per year. Such offences can include the sharing of “grossly offensive” messages or spreading content of “indecent, obscene or menacing character”.

The banning of X would remove a major headache for the struggling Labour government, which has come under consistent pressure personally from Musk, on issues such as freedom of speech, immigration, and the predominantly Pakistani Muslim child rape gangs and the failures of police and government to protect mostly young white working-class girls.

However, such an action taken against one of President Trump’s key allies and a major American business could risk further angering the White House, which has made fighting censorship in Europe a key foreign policy plank.

Indeed, just last month, the Trump administration sanctioned multiple Europeans, including two Britons, for their involvement in the international censorship industry.

This included Imran Ahmed, the head of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an organisation with close ties to Prime Minsiter Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. The administration has sought to deport Ahmed from the United States for his group’s efforts to censor American conservative outlets, including Breitbart News.

While the CCDH has close ties to the Labour government, the White House has yet to sign off on sanctions against any British government official.

This may change if X is banned, however, with Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna vowing to introduce legislation to sanction Prime Minister Starmer and the UK as a whole should the platform be banned in the UK.

“There are always technical bugs during the early phases of new technology, especially AI, and those issues are typically addressed quickly. X treats these matters seriously and acts promptly. Let’s be clear: this is not about technical compliance. This is a political war against Elon Musk and free speech—nothing more,” she said.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2026/01/11/uk-seeks-to-partner-with-australia-and-canada-in-censorship-plot-against-elon-musks-x-report/

Scotland #13

Asylum seekers at Cameron Barracks to get free mental health support while locals must wait months

The 'bespoke' healthcare package on offer for up to 300 undocumented male migrants will include mental health support – but locals have to wait five months or fork out to go private

Ben Borland 12 Jan 2026

Asylum seekers housed at Cameron Barracks in Inverness would be given access to free mental health counselling as part of plans drawn up by the UK Government.

The revelation was described as a "massive slap in the face" to local people in the Highland capital, who must wait around five months before starting regular sessions on the NHS. Alternatively, one hour of private therapy costs between £40 to £100.

The Home Office says it has yet to make a "final decision" on whether it will use the barracks to house up to 300 men who have entered the UK illegally, mainly on small boats across the English Channel.

It has already caused huge anger in Inverness, even before details of the "bespoke" healthcare package were revealed. Reform UK spokesman Thomas Kerr said: "The Cameron Barracks is simply the wrong location for a facility like this. Local people are rightly angry. To now learn that taxpayers will also be paying for mental health support for people who have come to this country illegally is a massive slap in the face."

The use of the barracks – along with another military base in East Sussex – was announced in October last year and is a key plank of the bid to shut down controversial asylum hotels.

The Home Office has a statutory duty to provide healthcare to asylum seekers, sparking fears the city's overstretched public services would be put under even more strain. But Highland councillors have been told that by having trained therapists on site, it would mean "minimise the impact" on the NHS.

A briefing note sent to councillors before the migrants' arrival says: "Primary healthcare will be available on site, including mental health support. Funding for these services will be provided by the Home Office to minimise impact on local GP surgeries and NHS resources."

Isabelle MacKenzie, a Scottish Conservative councillor who represents the ward where the barracks is located, accused the Home Office of giving "preferential treatment" to asylum seekers. "It's almost like they're getting a bespoke service," she told the Sunday Times. "They're getting a roof over their head. They're getting fed and watered. They're getting their basic necessities and any medical needs are being catered for."

Edward Mountain, a Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, said it was "galling when many of those living in Inverness and the Highlands are finding it increasingly hard to access mental health services in their community".

Asylum seekers had originally been expected to arrive last month, but this was delayed due to refurbishment work required to make the facility fit for purpose. It had most recently been used as transitional accommodation for the Afghan Resettlement Programme.

The Ministry of Defence has offered the barracks – formerly the base of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders – to the Home Office for 12 months. After that, the barracks will return to the MoD as part of its training estate.

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/asylum-seekers-cameron-barracks-free-36539486

Canada #87

‘I Didn’t Know About Epstein’s Crimes Because I’m Gay’: Disgraced Former British Ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson Uses the ‘Gay Card’ To Try To Evade Responsibility

by Paul Serran Jan. 11, 2026

Mandelson thinks we are all gullible simpletons.

Disgraced former British Ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, has claimed to have been ‘kept in the dark’ about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes ‘because he was gay’.

The Telegraph reported:

“The peer was sacked as ambassador to the United States last year after it emerged [that] he had urged the financier to fight for early release from prison.

Lord Mandelson claimed that, because of his sexuality, he was ‘kept separate from what [Epstein] was doing in the sexual side of his life’.”

He described Epstein as his ‘best pal’, but argues he was kept ‘at the edge of this man’s life’.

“In his first interview since losing his job, Lord Mandelson refused to apologize to Epstein’s victims for writing to him after his conviction for sex offences, claiming he was not culpable for any of Epstein’s criminal activity.”

Even a Labour Cabinet minister was led to say he had been guilty of ‘deep naivety’.

BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg carried water for him, and asked whether he was never offered sexual favors by Epstein ‘because he was gay’.

“He replied: “Possibly, some people will think that because I’m a gay man, I was unsensitized, or I wasn’t attuned to what was going on. […] I don’t really accept [any guilt]. I think the issue is that because I was a gay man in his circle, I was kept separate from what he was doing in the sexual side of his life. […] I mean, he in a sense had three buckets of people in his life, the business and the financial, the political and the academic, and then what he was doing with young women.”

More:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/i-didnt-know-about-epsteins-crimes-because-im/

Canada #87

Globalist World Health Organization Says Boozy Europe Is Making Alcohol Cheaper, and Putting Lives at Risk – So, Their Solution Is: TAXES!

by Paul Serran Jan. 14, 2026

The old – and drunk – continent.

Europe has a drinking habit – or is it a problem?

Those of us well informed by the independent media are not inclined to listen to the World Health Organization’s advice any longer – if we ever did.

The WHO campaigners are out in force saying Europe’s hard drinking habits ‘are putting lives at risk’.

The crux of the UN agency’ ‘warning’ is that, instead of ‘making alcohol harder to afford’, what many European governments are doing is allowing a lowering of the prices.

Politico reported:

“Beer has become more affordable in 11 EU countries since 2022, and less affordable in six, the WHO report revealed Tuesday. There was a similar but even more dramatic trend for spirits, which became more affordable in 17 EU countries and less affordable in two. And for wine, 14 EU countries do not tax it at all, including big producers Italy and Spain, the report found.”

Oh, no – beer is cheaper! It must be the end of the world.

So, the detestable Tedros Ghebreyesus has the nerve to share his ‘brilliant idea’: TAXES.

Whatever ous views on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks, taxation is never the solution, and health policy must be instituted at national level, with each country freely exercizing its sovereignty.

After discussing the health hazards of alcohol consumption, the WHO solution is a ‘masterpiece’ in Globalist thinking.

“The WHO said governments should target alcohol consumption to protect people from its ill effects. Increasing the cost of booze through taxes is one of the most effective measures governments can take, the WHO said. Yet, some EU countries have minimal or no taxes on certain types of alcohol.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/globalist-world-health-organization-says-boozy-europe-is/

Canada #87

UK Bans Dutch Commentator For Criticizing Starmer While Welcoming Illegal Migrant Hordes

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news Thursday, Jan 15, 2026

Under Keir Starmer’s Labour government, the UK has become a dystopian nightmare where criticizing the Prime Minister gets you banned from entry. Meanwhile, boatloads of illegal migrants wash across the Channel daily, rewarded with hotel stays and taxpayer-funded perks.

Dutch commentator Eva Vlaardingerbroek learned this the hard way when her travel authorization was revoked just days after calling out Starmer’s hypocrisy on immigration and free speech.

This blatant act of political censorship highlights Labour’s twisted priorities: protect the establishment narrative at all costs, even as unchecked migration erodes British sovereignty and burdens citizens.

Vlaardingerbroek, a 29-year-old Dutch lawyer, political commentator, and activist, has built a reputation for her outspoken criticism of mass immigration, globalism, and threats to Western culture. Formerly affiliated with the Netherlands’ Forum for Democracy party, she advocates for “remigration” policies to preserve national identity and has amassed a large following on social media for her unfiltered takes on Europe’s migration crisis. As such, her views have made her a target for leftist regimes eager to silence dissent.

The UK government informed Eva “Your presence in the UK is not considered to be conducive to the public good.”

The post she referenced slammed Starmer directly: “Keir Starmer wants to crack down on X under the pretense of “women’s safety”, whilst he’s the one allowing the ongoing rape and killing of British girls by migrant rape gangs. Evil, despicable man.”

Meanwhile Starmer recently announced that one of his top priorities was getting an anti-white Egyptian extremist to the UK and was “delighted” to “welcome”‘” him:

Despite el-Fattah’s vile history – including posts like “fucking hate white people … a blight on the earth they are” and calls for “random shooting of white males” – Starmer celebrated his return to the UK.

As Vlaardingerbroek’s ban made headlines, recent reports confirm the UK’s borders remain a sieve. In the first week of January 2026 alone, dozens braved sub-zero temperatures to cross the Channel in small boats, adding to the over 41,000 arrivals in 2025 – the second-highest year on record. These migrants are often housed in hotels at taxpayer expense, with costs soaring to £8 million per day, while British families struggle.

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/uk-bans-dutch-commentator-criticizing-starmer-while-welcoming-illegal-migrant-hordes

Canada #87

‘U-Turn’ Starmer Ditches Horrible Policies – Failing PM Abandons Mandatory Digital ID, Ending Jury Trial for Minor Offenses, Under-16 Social Media Ban and Attack on Pubs

by Paul Serran Jan. 15, 2026

The ability to change one’s mind is a sign of intelligence – but to be always flip-flopping on issues is lame.

Britons are asking themselves: can the failing Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, hold on to ANY policies?

Labour MPs are bracing for more chaotic U-turns today, and now, even Cabinet ministers are making fun of his ‘inability to stick to policies’.

But here’s the kicker: since so many of his leftist government’s policies are so bad, some wavering ends up being a net positive for the country.

After Starmer abandoned a mandatory Digital ID, more U-turns are expected on ‘curbing jury trials, under-16 social media ban and business rates assault on hospitality’.

Daily Mail reported:

“The embattled PM has cemented his reputation for flip-flopping with two more major concessions in 2026, just a fortnight into the New Year.

Having spent months extolling the virtues of digital ID cards for curbing illegal immigration, Sir Keir bowed to a backlash yesterday by confirming they will be entirely voluntary.”

A bailout package is being developed for a myriad of pubs facing collapse after Labour’s ‘Budget from hell’ hiked their business rates.

Rebellious Labour MPs are pushing on multiple other fronts.

“The government is facing massive resistance to proposals for curbing rights to jury trials, with campaigners warning ministers they will only look stupid if they continue to defend the measure publicly.

Asked if he was sure that the plans would be implemented given the government’s 13 major U-turns, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: ‘Yes… As sure as any of us can be’.”

Keir told a British newspaper that he did not favor a under-16 social media ban – and then, of course there are the pubs, hotels and restaurants.

“Speculation has been growing that the Chancellor will have to extend promised business rates relief for pubs to the wider hospitality sector – something that could heap more strain on the government’s finances.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/01/u-turn-starmer-ditches-horrible-policies-failing-pm/

Seems the UK gov't "Pathways" game has backfired. Amelia has taken the Internet by storm and so the game has been disabled apparently

Canada #88

UK Government To Create 'British FBI', Roll Out Nationwide Facial Recognition Cameras

Authored by Chris Summers via The Epoch Times Thursday, Jan 29, 2026

The British Home Secretary unveiled plans in Parliament on Jan. 26 for a new National Police Service (NPS), which is modeled on the FBI and will take over the fight against terrorism and organized crime in the United Kingdom.

At the weekend, Shabana Mahmood described the NPS as a “British FBI” and said it would alleviate the burden on local police forces, allowing them to concentrate on issues such as shoplifting and street robbery.

The NPS will replace the National Crime Agency, which covers England and Wales, but it will also have a UK-wide role.

On Monday, the Home Office published a 106-page White Paper that sets out in detail the new police structure and how it would be supported by state-of-the-art technology.

The document says the government would invest 115 million pounds ($157 million) over the next three years “to enable the rapid and responsible adoption of AI and automation technologies by the police.”

A new National Centre for AI in Policing, known as Police.AI, would be created.

There are also plans to roll out facial recognition cameras nationwide to help police catch wanted criminals on watchlists.

The number of facial recognition camera vehicles would be increased from 10 to 50.

“A hundred years ago, fingerprinting was decried as curtailing our civil liberties, but today we could not imagine policing without it,” Mahmood said.

“I have no doubt that the same will prove true of facial recognition technology in the years to come.”

There is currently no dedicated statute governing police use of facial recognition in England and Wales.

Mahmood also announced plans to scrap the existing 43 police constabularies in England and Wales, which would be reorganized into a dozen regional forces.

“Policing is not broken, as some might have us believe,” she told the House of Commons on Monday, “Last year, the police made over three-quarters of a million arrests, five percent more than the year before.”

She said knife crime was down and murder rates in London were at their lowest recorded level.

Earlier this month, Eleanor “Nell” Watson, a leading researcher and adviser on artificial intelligence ethics and transparency, criticized the increased deployment of surveillance technology.

“The UK is constructing infrastructure for a surveillance society while telling itself it is merely catching criminals,” she told The Epoch Times via email.

Mahmood also announced plans to scrap the existing 43 police constabularies in England and Wales, which would be reorganized into a dozen regional forces.

“Policing is not broken, as some might have us believe,” she told the House of Commons on Monday, “Last year, the police made over three-quarters of a million arrests, five percent more than the year before.”

She said knife crime was down and murder rates in London were at their lowest recorded level.

Criticism of ‘Mega-Forces’

The opposition Conservatives’ shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, criticized the plan to reduce the number of police forces from 43 to 12 and said it would create forces that would be too big.

“Such huge forces will be remote from the communities they serve. Resources will be drawn away from villages and towns towards large cities,” Philp said.

He added that the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest police force, had the worst crime-solving rates.

“That goes to show that large scale does not automatically deliver better results, and therefore we will oppose the mandated merger of county forces into remote regional mega-forces,” Philp said.

“Over the weekend, the Home Secretary was trailing this proposal as a British FBI,” Scottish National Party (SNP) MP Pete Wishart said.

“While it might indeed be their FBI, British, it most definitely is not, as it applies only to England and Wales.”

“In Scotland, we are immensely proud of our culture and ethos of policing by consent and the fact that we have the lowest crime rates in the whole of the UK. The last thing we want is this creeping Americanization,” Wishart added and demanded to know what powers the NPS would have in Scotland.

Mahmood said NPS would cover the whole of the UK.

“In England and Wales, it will have full operational powers and will be able to carry out its law enforcement activities,” she said.

“But in Scotland and Northern Ireland, it will carry out operations only with the agreement of the legally designated authority.”

More:

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uk-government-create-british-fbi-roll-out-nationwide-facial-recognition-cameras