Saturday, February 28, 2026
On the trail of Richard Burton
They say that in 2025, to mark the centenary of the great man’s birth, the county of Neath Port Talbot curated two walking trails showcasing his old haunts, and two Blue Plaques were unveiled along the routes, one at Richard Burton’s birthplace and the other at the former home of his mentor and adoptive father, Philip Burton.
The two walking trails bring together a number of sites associated with Richard’s formative years, namely 'The Birthplace Trail', based in Pontrhydyfen, where Richard was born, and 'The Childhood Trail', in the town of Port Talbot, where Richard grew up:
From here, visitors follow the main road along to the Miners Arms pub (now the Pontrhydyfen RFC Clubhouse), where Burton’s parents met and married, before looping back along Penhydd Street, where many of Richard’s family lived. The actor would make frequent trips to visit his family here throughout his career, even bringing along his wife Elizabeth Taylor on several occasions (the actress reportedly dubbed the village, 'Pontrhyheaven'). The route also takes in Bethel Chapel, now home to a beautiful café, where 800 people gathered to mourn after the actor’s sudden death at the age of 58.
Like 'The Birthplace Trail', 'The Childhood Trail', which takes fans around Richard-associated sites in the town of Port Talbot, doesn’t have a specific order, but a nice starting point is the Taibach Community Education Centre on Margam Road. This former youth club is where Richard starred in some of his earliest productions, honing his craft before his big move to theatres in London’s West End.
Other stops on this route include Richard’s sister’s home on Caradog Street, where the young actor lived during his school years (Richard’s mother died when he was just two years old), and Taibach Library, where a young Richard developed his ferocious appetite for reading and poetry. A nice spot to end the walk is at the peaceful Talbot Memorial Park, where a flowerbed-flanked monument to Burton features a poem penned by the actor about walking in the hills surrounding the town.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 27, 2026
The devastating impact of year of UK aid cuts
Last February, the prime minister confirmed that the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) would fall from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent by the end of 2027 – in a move justified as helping fund higher defence spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But in a joint statement marking the anniversary, 93 leaders from the UK’s international NGO sector described families in war-torn regions losing access to shelter, food and clean water and lifesaving health and reproductive programmes across Africa and Asia facing closure.
"As leaders of the UK INGO sector, we write to mark this grim anniversary and the devastating impacts of the cuts in the last year – and urge the UK government to restore the UK’s position as a principled, reliable and ambitious development partner," the group says. "Over the past year, we have witnessed first-hand the consequences of these short-sighted cuts."
Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond, the UK network for NGOs, said the past 12 months had: “left more people without essential access to water, sanitation and shelter – they have also left us all vulnerable to a world with more disease, conflict and climate disasters.”
The cut is worth around £6 billion a year by the end of 2027. The last time that aid was at such a level was in 1999, when roughly 600 million people faced chronic hunger globally – compared with about 735 million today.
The government’s own equalities impact assessment for the 2025-26 reductions found that women and girls, people with disabilities, children and communities affected by conflict would be hardest hit. Rose Caldwell, CEO at Plan International UK, which focuses on the rights of children around the world, said: “The decision to cut UK aid a year ago was a devastating blow to children, who were already facing increased challenges from climate change and conflict, disrupting their childhoods and learning. We know both from experience and the government’s own assessment that when aid is cut, women and girls suffer the most."
The paper has joined a coalition of MPs and charities, in calling on the prime minister to protect HIV funding and help end the Aids pandemic by 2030:
A recent analysis by the Centre for Global Development suggests Britain is on course to shrink its aid budget faster than the United States. The think tank projects UK ODA will fall by around 27 per cent between 2024-25 and 2026-27, compared with an estimated 23 per cent drop in US development spending over the same period, after Congress softened some of Donald Trump’s proposed reductions. The US president returned to the White House in January last year and instantly slashed his country's aid spending.
For many in the aid sector, the damage is no longer just financial, but reputational too. “The UK’s retreat from its international development agenda will reverse hard-won progress and weaken our credibility and influence on the global stage,” Ms Greenhill said.
These decisions have massive consequences for some of the poorest parts of the world and, as I have blogged before, reduces the UK's soft power and enables other powers such as China to get a foothold in countries that have strategic value to our future defence.
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Are the government scamming students?
The Guardian reports that angry backbench Labour MPs have attacked ministers over the student loans crisis, saying graduates are being “outrageously scammed”.
The paper adds that during a Commons Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday, several Labour MPs joined calls for an urgent shake-up of the “unfair” system, with one describing it as “an absolute dog’s dinner” and another likening the terms to something that a “loan shark” would offer:
Their intervention comes days after the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said there were “problems” with the current arrangements amid growing anger about the plight of millions of graduates saddled with ballooning debts.
At the heart of the row are the estimated 5.8 million people from England and Wales who took out a “plan 2” student loan between 2012 and 2023.
Many graduates are handing over money from their salary every month to repay their loan, but everything that is taken is dwarfed by the interest that is added to their debt, and as a result the sum they owe is getting bigger.
The catalyst for the row was the decision last November by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to freeze the salary threshold for plan 2 loan repayments for three years – seemingly in defiance of the original declaration in 2010 that the threshold would “be uprated annually in line with earnings”.
In recent days, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have outlined what they would do to fix the system, while the consumer champion Martin Lewis and the National Union of Students are among those spearheading the demands for action.
Lewis this week clashed on air with the Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, over the issue on ITV. He later apologised.
Alex Sobel, Labour member for Leeds Central and Headingley, said before the debate on Wednesday: “People on the plan 2 student loan are being outrageously scammed and burdened with unattainable debt levels and interest rates on their student loans.”
Jas Athwal, the MP for Ilford South who called the debate, said many believed plan 2 loans and the wider system were “predatory, regressive, kill graduates’ ambitions”, and the “spiralling” interest was stressful for students.
He added: “A whole generation feel bled dry by a system that just keeps taking from them.”
Instead of preparing students to contribute to society and boost the economy, successive governments have created an avaricious system that is penalising those who want to better themselves with a higher education.
Getting rid of the freeze on salary thresholds is not enough, the whole thing needs to be dismantled and rebuilt with the interests of the learner and the country at its heart.
Wednesday, February 25, 2026
Reform embracing fracking
The paper says that documents released under a freedom of information request reveal that when Egdon Resources, a British subsidiary of the US fracker Heyco Energy, announced a major gas discovery in Lincolnshire’s Gainsborough Trough last year, Jenkyns reached out personally to the company asking how she “could help with your recent gas find in my county”:
Fracking was effectively banned in England in 2019 because of concerns it could trigger earthquakes. But Jenkyns is keen to bring the practice to Lincolnshire and appears to have met fracking companies at least four times since she first contacted Egdon in June.
In a presentation marked “Confidential”, Heyco downplayed concerns about toxic chemicals found in fracking fluid. It also shared a list of rebuttals to key criticisms of fracking and its benefits over renewable forms of energy, which was tailored to the Gainsborough Trough project, the documents obtained by the Guardian show.
Jenkyns said she was “very supportive of fracking” in her message asking how she could help the company, sent to Egdon’s general inbox in June last year. The company’s CEO, Mark Abbott, responded 11 minutes later, offering to meet her to “discuss the potential for gas in Lincolnshire and the surrounding area”.
Jenkyns is a staunch critic of net zero who has described the concept as a “con” and lodged several objections to energy projects such as solar farms and pylons in Lincolnshire.
Egdon owner George Yates is a Trump donor and member of a century-old New Mexico oil and gas dynasty with strong links to the Republican party. He has previously described net zero as a pseudo-scientific approach to reducing carbon emissions and falsely blamed the UK’s high energy prices on the government’s climate policies.
An email from Abbott to Jenkyns and other Greater Lincolnshire county officials after the meeting said the group discussed “the potential of shale gas in the Gainsborough Trough” and “how to build support for its development”. The existence of the field has been known for more than a decade.
The email also included a list of next steps from the meeting. Abbott said he would explore the possibility of a visit to a US shale operation for the group and help set up a meeting with Yates and his daughter Lauren when they were next in the UK.
In a video posted to Facebook on the same day as her meeting with Abbott, Jenkyns praised the gas find, calling it a “no-brainer”.
As a party, Reform have taken the same view as Donald Trump, that net zero is a con. They have openly advocated fracking. No doubt, if they are to gain power or influence in Wales, this will be on their agenda here as well.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026
Reform seeking to copy Trump's victimisation and persecution agenda
The paper says that Zia Yusuf, introduced as “the shadow home secretary” at a press conference in Dover, said mass deportations carried out by a planned UK Deportation Command would not trigger the same kind of violent showdowns seen in the US because “policing is done by consent” in the UK. He also described the number of migrants arriving in the country as an “invasion”.
His remarks came as Reform set out plans to tackle immigration, including mass deportations, expanded surveillance powers and a ban on the conversion of churches into mosques.
The party also wants to scrap indefinite leave to remain, replacing it with a renewable five-year work visa and dedicated spouse visa. There would also be a new rule mandating automatic home searches for anyone referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism programme by three “separate, corroborating authorities”, the party said.
Yusuf said the proposed UK Deportation Command would have the capacity to detain 24,000 people at any one time and deport up to 288,000 annually, operating five flights a day.
This incendiary and inaccurate language is a clear attempt by Reform to gather support by stirring up community division, hatred and suspicion, their proposed solutions contain echoes of 1930s Germany and threatens the sort of state-sponsored violence and racism now rife in the USA. Reform's policy is a charter for authoritarianism and conflict.
Monday, February 23, 2026
Custom union reset needed
The news site says that the research by leading economists Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka and Gregory Thwaites concluded that the impact of leaving the European Union has been large, persistent and cumulative:
The report found that, compared to similar advanced economies, the UK has suffered significantly weaker growth since the 2016 referendum.
According to the study, business investment is now 12–18% lower than it would otherwise have been, employment is 3–4% lower, and productivity has fallen by around 3–4%.
The authors of the report argued that the damage has built up gradually over time, driven by prolonged uncertainty, higher trade barriers, reduced demand, and the diversion of management time away from productive activity.
The economists noted that while early forecasts anticipated economic costs, the long-term impact has been deeper and more drawn out than many predicted.
Labour’s election manifesto ruled out signing up to the existing EU customs union despite growing calls among some Labour MPs.
In December, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer repeated that his government was not planning to rejoin the EU’s customs union despite the deputy prime minister saying countries in similar unions see a boost to their economies.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats say the findings of the new report confirm that leaving the single market and customs union has created “costly red tape, weakened trade links and undermined investment”.
With Wales particularly reliant on manufacturing, agriculture, food exports and small exporters, the party argues that restoring closer trading ties with the EU will support jobs and growth.
The Welsh Lib Dems are calling on the UK Labour Government to negotiate a new customs union with the European Union to reduce trade barriers, support exporters and provide long-term certainty for businesses.
Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster Spokesperson David Chadwick MP said: “This new report makes clear that Brexit has delivered a slow-burn hit to our economy, cutting growth by up to 8% and hammering investment and productivity.
“Across Wales, we see the consequences every day. Farmers face extra paperwork to sell into Europe, small manufacturers struggle with supply chains, and businesses that once traded seamlessly across the Channel are drowning in red tape.
“Wales cannot afford to carry on with weaker growth and lower wages. We need a serious reset in our relationship with the European Union. A new UK-EU Customs Union would cut trade barriers, boost confidence and give Welsh businesses the certainty they desperately need.
Keir Starmer has performed so many u-turns it is astonishing that's still able to walk in a straight line, however, where it really matters, on the customs union, a move that could boost the UK's economy, he has completely lost his way. This is one u-turn Labour need to embrace.
Sunday, February 22, 2026
An increased risk of flooding
The paper says that the figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise, with a previous analysis showing that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones:
The research comes with the government under huge pressure to deliver new affordable housing, amid signs that the climate breakdown is accelerating.
Data published by the insurer Aviva reveals that of the 396,602 new homes recorded by the Ordnance Survey in England between 2022 and 2024, 43,937 are in areas of medium or high risk of flooding, while 26% of new homes have some risk of flooding.
Emma Howard Boyd, former chair of the Environment Agency, who advises Aviva on climate policy, said the government’s target to build 1.5m homes this parliament could create pressure to build in areas at high risk of flooding.
She said: “We don’t want to be building today’s houses in places where they will become ever more at risk of flooding. Defra [the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs] and the Ministry for Housing need to be working close together to make sure our housing targets aren’t preventing what we know is needed to protect future and existing homes from future levels of flooding.”
Aviva’s data also shows that by 2050, one in seven (15%) of the homes built between 2022 and 2024 will be at medium or high risk of flooding and almost a third (30%) will face some kind of flood risk, as more extreme rainfall is predicted as a result of climate breakdown.
The government said the analysis does not factor in flood defences which are already in place, though this was disputed by Aviva, which said it does.
Experts have said London’s flood defences, for example, need to be urgently updated to protect the city.
The research comes after a Guardian investigation last year found that millions more homes in England, Scotland and Wales are facing devastating floods, and some towns may have to be abandoned as climate breakdown makes many areas uninsurable.
That analysis revealed the extent of concern in the insurance sector as larger areas of housing and commercial property become at a greater risk.
New guidance in Wales has sought to address this problem. It is time England followed suit.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
A history trail in Mumbles
The walk has twenty points of interest, and stirred memories of a walking tour I helped write back in the 1980s. It starts with Clement's Quarry, one of a number of limestone quarries in Mumbles between 1806 and 1902, which is now a long stay car park, when it is not hosting the workmen and their equipment for the recent flood defence works.
The Dairy car park across the road was originally the site of The Elms, built in 1850, and was in turn a private house, a hotel and in the 1860s and 1870s, refreshment rooms for the Mumbles railway terminus and offices. Later it was a skating rink before housing a dairy and bottling plant.
An interesting fact is that although, while standing on Oystermouth Square at low tide you can see the remains of oyster dredgers or skiffs on the beach, Oystermouth itsef is not named after the oyster trade that briefly flourished in that area, and once attracted Gladstone to sample its wares, but from the Welsh name for the area, Ystumllwynarth, which appears in early Medieval Welsh literature and derives from Ystum Lluarth, meaning a "place of entrenchment on a hill".
The White Rose pub on the corner opposite was once the favoured watering hole of the actor, Hywel Bennett, when he was in the area. Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop was born in the area, while Catherine Zeta Jones, Bonnie Tyler, Archbishop Rowan Williams, Rugby player Geoff Wheel, Dylan Thomas and Kingsley Amis all have associations with Mumbles.
The steps alongside the cottages are the beginnning of a path that can take you to the top of Mumbles hill, which is a nature reserve and once housed a battery dating back to 1844. You can also see the remains of second world war gun emplacements.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 20, 2026
Are Starmer's defence spending promises enough?
The paper says that an open letter to the prime minister, signed by three ex-defence secretaries, retired senior military chiefs, and former MI6 head Sir Richard Dearlove, argues that the UK faces a “1936 moment”, with global conflict likely amid rising tensions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
The letter, published in The Telegraph, calls for defence spending to reach 5 per cent of GDP.
This contrasts with Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to increase it to 2.5 per cent next year and 3 per cent after the next election.
“Our actions fall dangerously short of matching this rhetoric and of meeting our treaty obligations,” the letter reads.
“We are deluding ourselves if we believe Russia and our other adversaries are unaware of this.”
The letter says the UK is ‘deluded’ to think that adversaries aren’t aware of defence budget shortfalls
The government has yet to publish its delayed defence investment plan (DIP), setting out how it will meet its commitments.
The prime minister’s spokesperson insisted on Monday that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was working “flat-out” to deliver the plan “as soon as possible”.
The open letter urged Sir Keir to “commit now to a bold, credible and measurable path to spending 5 per cent of GDP on core defence, providing the certainty our Armed Forces, industry, and our long-standing allies need to deter aggression and secure Britain’s future”.
“You must recognise that we are facing our 1936 moment: global conflict is highly likely if we don’t invest in deterrence now.”
In January, Downing Street refused to deny reports that the MoD faces a shortfall of up to £28bn amid suggestions that a budget black hole had prompted Sir Keir to order an overhaul of the investment plan.
“Recent reports highlight that your Government appears in denial over a stark reality: The Ministry of Defence faces a £28 billion shortfall over the coming years simply to make Britain’s Armed Forces ‘war-ready,’” the letter read.
“This gap—equivalent to nearly half the MoD’s annual budget—threatens to leave our forces under-equipped and overstretched at a time when readiness, already a weakness, is paramount.”
None of this explains where the money is going to come from to meet even Starmer's promises, never mind the sort of expenditure demanded by this letter. Let's hope that the next budget event starts to explain how these objectives will be met.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
U-turn or incompetence? Labour get it wrong again
The paper says that being forced to abandon plans to delay local elections in England with fewer than three months’ notice is not just another policy U-turn by the government, it brings to a head issues of aptitude and judgment:
The rationale seemed sound: avoid electing councillors to bodies that would be abolished under Labour’s reorganisation of local government. The political problem was that 21 of the 30 councils were Labour-led. That created a perception – fair or not – of democratic manipulation.
The elections should have gone ahead. The Electoral Commission last December warned of “unprecedented” uncertainty around them. The commission was clear: “Scheduled elections should as a rule go ahead as planned, and only be postponed in exceptional circumstances.” Changing course late in the day puts their smooth running at risk and piles pressure on staff. In defending their decision last month before retreating on Monday, ministers look unprepared and out of their depth. Even worse, Labour reverse-ferreted after a legal challenge from Nigel Farage. He has taken to the airwaves to crow.
Sir Keir Starmer has U-turned so often that even his own side is starting to doubt his authority. Labour’s plans to postpone elections were made to look like a stitch-up to keep it in control of councils. Whether justified or not, such a perception was fertile ground for Reform. The opposition that really ought to worry the prime minister is in his party’s ranks. Labour MPs fear a damaging narrative taking hold. This is a well-founded concern. One sober thinktank said ministers were playing “fast and loose” with democracy.
Councillors will worry not only that they face elections they thought were postponed, but that they now look evasive. In Labour’s defence, it could be said that the original policy – simplifying two-tier councils with districts and counties into unitary authorities – was a necessary administrative reform. But delaying elections before pushing through the shake up was politically naive. Experts had urged caution, and the Institute for Government warned last year that if polls were delayed, some councillors would end up serving six-year terms.
So many u-turns does nothing for the Prime Minister's credibility, while being forced to pay Reform's legal costs is humiliating. If they had thought this through in the first place then this could have been avoided. However, Labour's instincts in government have always been authoritarian, and cancelling elections for administrative convenience fits nicely into that world view,
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Reform's hate agenda as they unveil Truss mark two shadow team
The paper says that at a press conference in London on Tuesday, Nigel Farage unveiled his party’s top team, appointing Ms Braverman as the party’s education, skills and equalities spokesperson:
Addressing the conference, she said Reform would repeal the Equality Act on day one if it wins the next election, claiming that Britain is being “ripped apart by diversity, equality and inclusion” policies.
The Equality Act 2010 – which replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act – legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.
The act prevents discrimination against those with protected characteristics, including: age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
Ms Braverman described protected characteristics as being “pernicious” and “divisive”.
As well as saying the party would scrap the role of equalities minister – part of her own brief – the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville also attacked the rights of trans young people, saying that “social and gender transitioning will be banned in all schools, no ifs no buts”.
She promised to “bring an end to the transgender chaos in schools”, claiming that children are “taught more about gender ideology than biological fact”.
Her comments have been heavily criticised by equalities charities and lawyers, with Jo Maugham KC, executive director of the Good Law Project, accusing her of “pitching for the votes of misogynists, homophobes, racists and antisemites, who are the only people who benefit from removing discrimination protections”.
He warned that Ms Braverman’s “offhand comments about 'banning social transition' in schools in reality means policing kid's appearances – haircuts, voices, clothing”.
“This is unworkable and, for schools and pupils, has a pretty North Korean flavour,” he added.
Dr Paul Martin OBE, the chief executive of the LGBT Foundation, argued that the Equality Act “isn’t adding to Britain’s challenges – it’s part of the solution”.
“Without it, people would have fewer protections against discrimination in everyday life, from work and healthcare to education and public services,” he warned.
“Equality isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s a foundation for a fairer, stronger and healthier Britain.
“The public want a country where no one is denied healthcare because they are disabled or a person of colour, where no one is denied a job because they are LGBTQ+, and where no one is denied access to education because they are pregnant.”
Farage's front bench team includes Braverman and Robert Jenrick, both ministers in a Tory government that wrecked the UK economy under Liz Truss, now members of a party that wants to take her ruinous policies even further than she dared. What could possibly go wrong?
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Action, not words, needed on Europe
In an interview after the worst week of his tenure in No 10, he added: "We are not reversing Brexit but we are turning our back on the Britain of the Brexit years that we've had for the last decade.
"That has seen a Britain that has turned inward, a Britain that has not been able to assert itself and influence others on the world stage or the European stage."
He went on to argue that the UK should “move closer to the single market” in certain markets, where it was in the interest of both sides, just months before the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum result which ultimately took Britain out of the EU.
This sort of talk is of course, welcome, but we are not moving fast enough. While we remain outside the single market we remain vulnerable to Trump's tariffs, with businesses struggling to overcome red tape and a sluggish economy.
It's time to put the words into action.
Monday, February 16, 2026
Pressure grows for inquiry into hounding of journalists
The paper says that the calls add to pressure on the Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons, who commissioned a report in 2023 on journalists investigating Labour Together, the thinktank that would help propel Starmer to power:
The research was paid for and subsequently reviewed by Simons when he was director of Labour Together, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.
In an agreement addressed to Simons, drawn up by Apco Worldwide, the PR consultancy agreed to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a November 2023 Sunday Times report about the thinktank, in addition to other journalistic investigations into the group.
The Sunday Times reported that the contents of Apco’s investigation were informally shared with Labour figures in 2024, including present cabinet ministers and special advisers. The report contained allegations about Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke, journalists at the paper, which then spread around Westminster.
The paper reported that Tom Harper, Apco’s senior director and a former Sunday Times employee, wrote that he had examined the “sourcing, funding and origins of the Sunday Times story” using documents and “discreet human source enquiries”.
Harper was said to have made “baseless claims” that the emails underpinning the published story were likely to have come from a suspected Kremlin hack of the Electoral Commission.
'''
John McDonnell, the veteran Labour backbencher and former chancellor, said on Saturday he had written three times in recent weeks to the general secretary of the Labour party to call for an independent inquiry into the affair.
“I copied Keir Starmer into each request,” McDonnell said. “Clear to me as secretary of the NUJ’s parliamentary group if true this is unacceptable.”
Another Labour MP, Karl Turner, said the prime minister needed to look into the affair himself and should meet McDonnell to discuss it.
The contract showed that Simons asked for information specifically on the sources for a book by Paul Holden about McSweeney’s role in Starmer’s rise, as well as related articles by the US journalist Matt Taibbi.
With the Sunday Times focussing on this, it is unlikely that this issue will go away any time soon.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
What next for the government on Palestine Action?
The paper refers to the verdict of the high court on Friday that the government’s proscription of the direct action group was “disproportionate and unlawful” and that most of their activities had not reached the level, scale and persistence to be defined as terrorism:
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was urged to respect the court’s decision after the three judges said the ban, introduced by her predecessor Yvette Cooper, impinged on the right to protest and should be quashed.
However, the fate of more than 2,500 people, arrested for supporting Palestine Action since proscription, remained uncertain after Mahmood said she would appeal against the ban.
Additionally, the three judges, led by the president of the king’s bench division, Dame Victoria Sharp, said the banning order would not be quashed until both sides had been allowed to make representations.
In the meantime, the Met police said they would stop arresting people immediately for showing support for Palestine Action after the high court ruling but would gather evidence for potential future prosecution.
Huda Ammori, a co-founder of Palestine Action, who brought the high court challenge, called it a “monumental victory”. She said: “We were banned because Palestine Action’s disruption of Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems, cost the corporation millions of pounds in profits and to lose out on multibillion-pound contracts.
“We’ve used the same tactics as direct action organisations throughout history, including anti-war groups Keir Starmer defended in court, and the government acknowledged in these legal proceedings that this ban was based on property damage, not violence against people.
“Banning Palestine Action was always about appeasing pro-Israel lobby groups and weapons manufacturers, and nothing to do with terrorism … Today’s landmark ruling is a victory for freedom for all, and I urge the government to respect the court’s decision and bring this injustice to an end without further delay.”
The judgment is the first time that an organisation banned under anti-terrorism law has successfully challenged proscription in court.
The judges allowed the challenge on two of four grounds. They were that there was “a very significant interference” with the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly and that Cooper’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was not consistent with her own policy, which required her to take into account factors including the nature and scale of the organisation’s activities, and the specific threat that it posed to the UK.
Sharp described Palestine Action as an organisation “that promotes its political cause through criminality and encouragement of criminality”, but added: “The court considered that the proscription of Palestine Action was disproportionate. A very small number of Palestine Action’s activities amounted to acts of terrorism within the definition of section 1 of the 2000 [Terrorism] Act.
“For these, and for Palestine Action’s other criminal activities, the general criminal law remains available. The nature and scale of Palestine Action’s activities falling within the definition of terrorism had not yet reached the level, scale and persistence to warrant proscription.”
The government really do have egg on their face over this issue. Many of us have been arguing for some time that they have overreached, and now the high court has agreed. Now we move to the Supreme Court for their view.
Saturday, February 14, 2026
A plaque to a bread maker
According to this historical marker database, David Ayres Jones was an engineer and inventor of Bakery Machinery, being responsible for creating the Worlds first bread moulder in 1947.
When I worked there in 1963, D. AYERS JONES & CO. LTD., also traded under the name of 'MONO UNIVERSAL BAKERY ENGINEERING CO LTD'. The Managing Director was David Ayres Jones himself who founded the bakery engineering company. He also had a bakery shop in Manselton known as 'MANOR BAKERY ', and if my memory serves me right, the shop was situated in Manor Road, Manselton , within a couple of hundred yards from where 'CLIFF ROWE' the DAIRY had his small milk bottling plant in the yard at the back of his home. Manor Bakery was renowned for its quality bread and fresh cakes baked at the rear of the shop. David Ayres Jones eventually expanded the bakery side of his business, and eventually he opened up a bakery which adjoined the engineering part of the factory on the Queensway, Fforestfach.
I recall a father, and his son named Brian working there. They were both 'Master Bakers' who baked and decorated to a very high standard, birthday and wedding cakes to order, as well as their daily routine of baking bread, doughnuts and various fancy cakes for supply to the shops. Quite often I would attend work twenty minutes before time and would pop into the Bakery Side of the factory for a chat with Brian and his Dad. Being in the bakery with the smell of freshly baked bread and cakes for just those twenty minutes before start of work, were very mouth watering moments; and even at 6.40am in the morning, I couldn't resist the offer of two scrumptious warm donuts pumped full of raspberry jam and covered in sugar. "There we are boy " Brian would say, " You can have those two as they are out of shape " (not up to the standard for selling).
The bakery engineering side of D. AYRES JONES & CO. LTD., manufactured bakery machines which were transfer labelled 'MONO UNIVERSAL' and were distributed on completion by their own lorry to London, and many bakery machines went onward from there to Europe. The machines which were made at the factory 'from scratch' were for various purposes in the process of producing bread and cakes. He employed his own draughtsmen to plan and design the machines and come up with new ideas. David Ayres Jones (Mono Universal) was a one time leader in the manufacture and marketing of bakery machines such as a dough mixers, dough dividers, bread provers, donut makers, pancake makers, and mini moulders for making the perfect shape bun.
I quite enjoyed the description of David Ayres Jones, who when he did pay a visit to his Fforestfach factory, would arrive driving a Rolls Royce. Apparently, it was such a large limousine that his head could barely be seen above the steering wheel whilst driving. Mono Equipment has its own website, which includes an account of its beginnings:
During the Second World War, MONO Equipment's founder and President, Mr D Ayres Jones, was working at the family's bakery in Swansea, South Wales. When his brother was conscripted for war service, and facing acute labour problems, Ayres found it increasingly difficult to manage the increased workload on his own and began contemplating the design of a machine which would mechanically assume the laborious task of moulding the dough before baking.
His dogged determination, combined with his love of engineering, meant that within a short period of time Ayres had designed and built his first bread moulder almost entirely from scrap materials, including parts from an old motor cycle and bits and pieces sourced from a local scrapyard. The parts he couldn't source, he made himself using a small lathe which he had taught himself to use.
In the time-honoured fashion of the day, there was no welding involved in the machine's build as each part was riveted together piece by piece. This post-war 'make-do-and-mend' philosophy helped fire the imagination and creativity of designers and inventors who had to be truly innovative with the limited materials they had available.
The bread moulder was so successful that other bakers in the principality heard of this wonderful new time-saving machine and approached Ayres to make a moulder to help production in their bakeries too. As a result of the genuine interest expressed by local bakers, and those further afield, in 1946 the MONO Universal Bread Moulding Machine went in to commercial production.
It is from such beginnings that commercial empires are built.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 13, 2026
A costly use of power
The paper says that Huda Ammori, co-founder of the group, has challenged the government’s decision to ban the organisation under anti-terrorism laws in the courts:
Since the proscription, thousands of people have been arrested for holding signs declaring support for Palestine Action and the move has been condemned as “an enormous overreach of the UK’s terrorism powers” by human rights groups. A decision by the High Court in the case is expected tomorrow.
The Home Office has been charged £694,390.03 exclusive of VAT for work on the case against Ms Ammori, freedom of information data shared with The Independent shows. This includes the legal fees of the government legal department, fees of counsel instructed in the case, and other court fees.
The fees are however dwarfed by the costs of policing protests in support of Palestine Action since the terror ban was enforced, which run into the millions of pounds. The ban came into force in early July last year making supporting Palestine Action a criminal offence, with membership or expressing support for the group punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
The Metropolitan Police told the London Assembly in October last year that it has cost around £3.6m to police protests, arrests and carry out other enforcement action associated with the proscription of Palestine Action - a figure which will have grown over recent months.
Lawyers for Ms Ammori argued in the High Court that the decision by the then-home secretary Yvette Cooper to proscribe Palestine Action was “novel and unprecedented”.
Raza Hussain KC said that the group was a “direct action civil disobedience organisation that does not advocate for violence”. He said that any examples of serious violence committed by the group against property or person “are not the norm, they are rare”. Government data shows that in the year up to September 2025 there were 1,630 arrests linked to supporting Palestine Action.
Activists who have organised protests against the proscription believe this is much higher, with 2,787 people arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action.
The group was proscribed after an incident in June last year where activists broke into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and sprayed two military planes with red paint. Ms Cooper cited the group’s protest at a weapons equipment factory in Glasgow in 2022, and its targeting of Israeli defence technology company Elbit Systems UK in Bristol in her reasoning for proscribing Palestine Action.
Ms Cooper had faltered over the decision, initially deciding to go ahead with the terror ban in May last year before she paused the decision and requested further information. One month later, on 20 June, she then confirmed that the proscription should go ahead.
A spokesperson for Defend Our Juries, who have campaigned to lift the ban on Palestine Action, said: “None of the costs arising from this crackdown are in the public interest. These are unnecessary and politically-driven costs that serve only to protect companies which the UN has named as profiting from genocide and the state of Israel itself”.
Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch, said: “The staggering costs of this court case emphasise how committed the UK government is to stifling legitimate criticism of Israel.
“The use of counter-terrorism legislation to proscribe Palestine Action is a grave abuse of state power and just one of a suite of measures this government is using to curtail people’s right to protest”.
Given that the government has not been able to publicly provide any proper public justification for the proscription, this seems a lot of money to spend to suppress dissent about Israel's actions in Palestine.
UPDATE: The high court has ruled that the proscription of Palestine Action was unlawful.
Thursday, February 12, 2026
It's all about the cats
The website says that with one in four Welsh households (24%) owning a cat, Cats Protection is using its Cat Manifesto Wales to call on MSs to make cats a priority during policy-making:
The charity also highlights areas where Wales falls behind the rest of the UK.
This includes cat breeding and the regulation of animal welfare establishments which are already licensed in Scotland; compulsory microchipping which is required by law in England and pet theft which is a specific offence in England and Northern Ireland.
Alice Palombo, Cats Protection Advocacy and Government Relations Manager, said: “Our manifesto gives voice to cats, who cannot speak for themselves, and provides a framework by which cats across Wales could be safeguarded from becoming victims of cruelty, neglect or poor welfare and ultimately enjoy better lives.”
Key focus areas
The manifesto advocates for five key focus areas through which MSs could improve the welfare and wellbeing of the 480,000 owned cats in Wales.
It calls for regulating breeding, animal welfare establishments, and ending practices that harm cats’ wellbeing.
The charity wants a total ban on breeding cats with extreme physical traits that cause pain or chronic health problems, including Scottish Folds, extremely flat-faced Persians, Munchkins, and so-called ‘Dwelf’ or ‘XL Bully’ cats.
They also said activities such as cat cafés, where cats’ welfare can be compromised, should also be carefully regulated or discontinued.
The charity is also calling for protections in the digital world. This includes tightening rules around selling cats online, encouraging social media platforms to tackle harmful content involving cats and urging advertisers and media outlets to portray cats responsibly.
Such measures would prevent breeds known to have health or behavioural issues from being normalised or promoted.
Cats Protection wants compulsory microchipping of all pet cats with a single searchable database, more pet-friendly rental housing, the inclusion of animal welfare in school curricula, and greater awareness of the welfare risks associated with cat hoarding or multi-cat households.
The manifesto also highlights practical steps to keep cats safe and secure. These include better labelling of products toxic to cats, such as lilies, which over half of Welsh cat owners were unaware could be harmful, and restrictions on fireworks to reduce stress and injury.
Speaking as somebody who has lived with cats for over 40 years, and as somebody involved with a local animal charity, I fully endorse this manifesto.
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Have the wheels come off Reform's DOGE experiment?
The reality though is that all the promised savings have failed to materialise, while the expected freezing of council tax has proved to be just a pipe dream.
The Independent reports that Reform-led Worcestershire County Council will issue the biggest council tax rise in England this April after the government gave it special permission to raise it by up to 9 per cent, despite the party’s pledge to slash rates.
The paper says that the local authority had applied for exceptional financial support after its newly appointed head of strategic delivery, operations, governance, and efficiency (Doge) said it was facing a “financial emergency”.
This record hike has come about despite the fact that the council has hosted a visit from Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf and his national Doge team:
Reform-led Worcestershire County Council will issue the biggest council tax rise in England this April after the government gave it special permission to raise it by up to 9 per cent – despite the party’s pledge to slash rates.
The local authority had applied for exceptional financial support after its newly appointed head of strategic delivery, operations, governance, and efficiency (Doge) said it was facing a “financial emergency”.
The council is one of seven across the country to get permission to raise council tax beyond the 5 per cent limit.
In a written statement by local government minister Alison McGovern on Monday night, she said Worcestershire, Shropshire and North Somerset councils can raise their share by a maximum of 9 per cent.
As part of a three-year settlement for local authorities, she also said Trafford, Warrington, and Windsor and Maidenhead can increase their tax by up to 7.5 per cent, while Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council can raise its share by up to 6.75 per cent.
Worcestershire is a Reform-led authority, but because it only has 25 of the 57 county council seats, it operates a minority administration, which means it relies on support from other parties to approve its budget.
However, the council has hosted a visit from Reform UK chair Zia Yusuf and his national Doge team, the Elon Musk-inspired cost-cutting team that pledged to work with councils on cutting wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money.
In January, the council created its own Doge cabinet role to drive efficiency. Councillor Nik Price, on her appointment to the position, said the authority was “facing a financial emergency, a situation we inherited and which we are dealing with”.
On its Facebook page, after Labour’s decision, Worcestershire Conservatives wrote: “Back in May, Reform promised to cut your taxes. Today Labour gave them power to raise your tax by up to 9 per cent.” The group has launched a petition calling for a U-turn.
Over the weekend, a Reform councillor announced he was quitting over the plans to increase council tax. David Taylor, who represents Redditch East, will now sit as an independent councillor.
Worcestershire County Council has blamed significant financial pressures caused by a rise in demand and costs of child and adult social care. The cabinet member for finance, councillor Rob Wharton, said every 1 per cent increase in council tax would generate an extra £3.6m for the local authority, which he said was “vital for sustaining statutory services”.
Local government is in trouble, with all councils facing these pressures, irrespective of which party is in charge. If only Reform could have been more open about what is really going on when they promised voters the earth.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Fighting like cats and dogs
The Independent reports that Keir Starmer is clinging on to power with the support of key cabinet figures – even after being rocked by the departure of a second key aide, and public demands for his resignation by Labour’s own leader in Scotland.
The paper says that the prime minister is supported by colleagues, including former deputy Angela Rayner, when previously loyal Anas Sarwar urged him to step down over the Mandelson scandal, saying he had made “too many mistakes”:
On a day of drama, the PM was also hit by the resignation of Downing Street director of communications Tim Allan, less than 24 hours after chief of staff Morgan McSweeney resigned.
But Sir Keir insisted: “I am going nowhere.”
As the embattled prime minister prepared to address the parliamentary Labour Party to save his premiership, leading pollsters suggested his departure had become “inevitable”.
It all appeared to be unravelling after the controversial aide, Mr McSweeney, stepped down on Sunday over his advice calling for the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States despite his ongoing association with convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Sarwar, whose Scottish Labour Party is trailing both Reform and the SNP ahead of crucial Holyrood elections in May, held a press conference to say Sir Keir should also now step down.
He said he was calling for his “friend” to resign “with a heavy heart”.
“The distraction needs to end, and the leadership in Downing Street has to change,” he told reporters.
“We cannot allow the failures at the heart of Downing Street to mean the failures continue here in Scotland, because the election in May is not without consequence for the lives of Scots."
But almost as soon as he had spoken, health secretary Wes Streeting – once accused by Downing Street officials of plotting against the PM – said: “Give Keir a chance.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves posted: “With Keir as our Prime Minister we are turning the country around.”
Deputy prime minister David Lammy added: “Keir Starmer won a massive mandate 18 months ago, for five years to deliver on Labour’s manifesto that we all stood on.”
As ministers lined up to pledge loyalty, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, another candidate to replace Sir Keir, also appealed for calm.
She said: “I urge all my colleagues to come together, remember our values and put them into practice as a team. The prime minister has my full support in leading us to that end.”
Labour grandee Alan Johnson warned that ditching the PM would “turn Labour and the country into an international laughing stock”.
But amid the febrile atmosphere in Westminster, one Labour MP said: “It’s over. It is just a matter of when, not if.”
Behind the scenes the Parliamentary Labour Party don't appear to be convinced. The paper says that a number of MPs on the Labour left have already described his position as “untenable”, and there were plans to heckle the prime minister at the Parliamentary Labour Party event on Monday evening.
Time to get the popcorn.
Monday, February 09, 2026
They seek him here, they seek him there
They say that Dan Thomas, the former Conservative leader of Barnet council in London, was introduced on February 5 by Nigel Farage as his handpicked leader in Wales but there is speculation has as to whether the claim that he is living in Islwyn is correct:
Thomas resigned at the end of last year after 19 years as a councillor, saying he moved away from Barnet so that he and his wife could raise their young sons in the countryside and live closer to their families in south Wales.
Blackwood-born Thomas told the conference in Newport: “After 27 years I’m back home. Raising my two boys in the south Wales valleys. I’ve come back to where I belong.”
However, a source contacted us to say: “I read the NationCymru article about Dan Thomas, the new Welsh Reform leader. What he omits to tell is that he lives in a £1m house in Bath. The ‘countryside’ is not Wales. I feel this is a calculated misdirection if not blatant lie and one your readers would like to know about.
“He moved there last year from London – his parents live in Blackwood. He doesn’t. They [Thomas and his wife] sold their house in Edgware in London for a huge profit and moved to Bath last year.”
Mr Thomas was the Tory leader of Barnet council until 2022, when the party lost power to overall Labour control for the first time since the borough was established in 1964. He defected to Reform UK in June 2025 and in December 2025 resigned his seat on the council.
At the time his successor as leader of the now opposition Conservative group on the council, Cllr Peter Zinkin, told the London Standard: “He informed us several months ago that this would be his final year serving as a councillor in Barnet, having moved to the West Country to be closer to his family and raise his children there.”
Nation.Cymru contacted Cllr Zinkin, who told us: “Our understanding is that he sold his house in Edgware and moved to the Bath area, where he is working for a large financial institution.
“He has two very young children, the older of the two being three or four years old.”
Blaenau Gwent Labour MS Alun Davies said: “When he was announced as Reform’s leader in Wales, we were told that after spending his adult life in England he had returned to his roots in the Valleys. Now we learn that isn’t true, but that he moved from London to the Bath area. At the beginning of their Senedd election campaign, their narrative has been built on a fraud and a lie.
“As James Evans [the Tory MS who defected to Reform this week] said quite recently, Reform is full of hypocrites who have no principles.
“The last time this shower had seats in the Senedd, when they stood as UKIP, they were led by Neil Hamilton, who lived in a mansion in Wiltshire. This time their leader lives 10 miles nearer to Wales. At this rate they will have a leader who actually lives in Wales by 2050.”
Since then Reform have reiterated their claim that Thomas has moved his family to Wales, claiming he rents out the property in Bath. However, the details are sketchy. Where exactly does he live? Which schools is he sending his children? Is he renting or did he buy? These are oustanding questions.
A later article on Nation Cymru tells us that Thomas does not appear in the electoral register compiled in December 2025 that covers the part of Wales where he has his roots, and despite continuing to claim that he is on the voters’ roll in Wales, Reform has refused to answer the long list of questions which the journalist posed to them about the matter and is seeking to close scrutiny down.
The qualification to stand for the Senedd is very clear: a candidate has to be a registered local government elector in Wales and has to certify on the nomination form that the address they give is their main home. No doubt it will all be sorted out by then.
Sunday, February 08, 2026
McSweeney’s think tank paid PR firm to investigate journalists
They say that according to documents they have seen, the influential Starmerite think tank, once run by Morgan McSweeney and then by Josh Simons, now a minister in Starmer’s government, hired APCO Worldwide to investigate journalists from the Sunday Times, the Guardian and other outlets and to identify their sources:
ACPO was hired in 2023, when Simons ran Labour Together. Sources close to Morgan McSweeney, who joined Starmer’s team in 2020, said that he did not make the decision to hire APCO but did not dispute that he was aware of it.
A political think tank hiring a PR firm to investigate journalists is highly unusual, and the revelations have sparked furious response from a senior figure in Labour Together’s formation.
Former Labour MP Jon Cruddas, who helped found the organisation in 2015, said our findings were “shocking” and “extraordinary”.
“I have heard of black briefings, but never heard of anything like this,” he told us. “This is dark shit.”
The news that Labour Together put private investigators onto journalists will raise fresh questions about the conduct of senior figures around Starmer as the prime minister fights for his political survival.
Starmer today declared ‘full confidence’ in McSweeney, who pushed for Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador despite his known friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
November 2023. Panic at Labour Together. The Sunday Times had just published an explosive investigation into the organisation, revealing in detail how McSweeney had failed to declare £730,000 in donations to his think tank between 2017 and 2020. The money paid for polling and campaigning powered Starmer’s rise to the Labour leadership.
The story, bylined by Gabriel Pogrund and Harry Yorke, was filled with serious accusations. At its core, is that McSweeney had intentionally kept Labour Together’s donors secret so the think tank would look like a humble, grassroots initiative when in fact it was a well-funded vehicle to take over the party.
With a general election now pending, questions about Labour Together’s money - and its genesis - could seriously derail an operation that had become a pivotal part of Starmer’s Labour.
So Labour Together turned to APCO Worldwide, a controversial PR firm whose work includes crisis comms. The think tank would pay at least £30,000 to identify the source of stories about its funding.
The work was led by Tom Harper, a former Times journalist who is now APCO’s head of European media relations. APCO, which has previously worked for big tobacco companies, has recently faced protests in the UK over its work for Israeli defence firm Elbit Systems.
Internal reports prepared by APCO’s London office for Labour Together, and seen by Democracy for Sale, name Pogrund, Yorke, The Guardian’s Henry Dyer, Declassified’s John McAvoy and journalists from other outlets as “significant persons of interest” and discuss potential “leverage” over other reporters.
APCO’s briefings suggest - without providing any evidence - that one possible source of the Sunday Times story about Labour Together’s funding was a Russian or Chinese hack of the Electoral Commission. It is understood that the contents of some of the documents were shared with other journalists on Fleet Street, seemingly in an attempt to discredit the initial story.
These revelations, together with the role McSweeney played in persuading Starmer to appoint Mandelson as ambassador to the US must surely make his position in Number 10 untenable.
Saturday, February 07, 2026
From conservatory to indian restaurant
It was constructed along with a clock tower by Spanish opera singer, Adelina Patti who, after the failure of her first marriage, and in search of privacy and good trout-fishing for her lover, married French tenor Ernest Nicolini, bought a Welsh country house overlooking the River Tawe near Penwyllt, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons.
The conservatory and clock tower cost £100,000, which she was able to pay for by doing just one tour of the USA in which she charged £1,000, or £60,000 now, per performance. As Wales-online says, in 1918, at the age of 75, she donated her winter garden conservatory, now known as the Patti Pavilion, to the people of Swansea.
The building was dismantled from its Swansea Valley location and re-erected overlooking the bay in Victoria Park, Swansea, two years later in 1920. The building has been used widely for rock concerts, festivals, cultural events and a variety of other uses. I recall seeing Bob Geldof and Man there amongst many others.
In 1994, it was given a superficial makeover by the BBC's Challenge Anneka. This caused a small controversy as the various local workmen changed the colour of the roof from red to green, an alteration that Cadw took unbrage with even though the original roof was made of glass.
Wikipedia records that the building was damaged by a suspected arson attack in 2006. It underwent a major £3m overhaul in 2009 after it became clear that it was not being utilised to its full potential. The project was funded by Swansea Council. Work began in late 2007 to extend the building by adding a new glass covered wing housing an Indian restaurant; Patti Raj, which has subsequently been rebranded as Adelinas Bar and Indian Kitchen.
The conservatory and clock tower cost £100,000, which she was able to pay for by doing just one tour of the USA in which she charged £1,000, or £60,000 now, per performance. As Wales-online says, in 1918, at the age of 75, she donated her winter garden conservatory, now known as the Patti Pavilion, to the people of Swansea.
The building was dismantled from its Swansea Valley location and re-erected overlooking the bay in Victoria Park, Swansea, two years later in 1920. The building has been used widely for rock concerts, festivals, cultural events and a variety of other uses. I recall seeing Bob Geldof and Man there amongst many others.
In 1994, it was given a superficial makeover by the BBC's Challenge Anneka. This caused a small controversy as the various local workmen changed the colour of the roof from red to green, an alteration that Cadw took unbrage with even though the original roof was made of glass.
Wikipedia records that the building was damaged by a suspected arson attack in 2006. It underwent a major £3m overhaul in 2009 after it became clear that it was not being utilised to its full potential. The project was funded by Swansea Council. Work began in late 2007 to extend the building by adding a new glass covered wing housing an Indian restaurant; Patti Raj, which has subsequently been rebranded as Adelinas Bar and Indian Kitchen.
Labels: lochist
Friday, February 06, 2026
How long can Starmer last after Mandelson revelations?
The paper says that Starmer's dramatic U-turn followed intense pressure, led by former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, just hours after he admitted that he knew about Lord Mandelson’s continued friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – but appointed him as US ambassador anyway:
Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership has been plunged into turmoil after furious Labour MPs forced him into a humiliating climbdown over the release of full vetting documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador in the US.
The prime minister’s dramatic U-turn followed intense pressure, led by former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, just hours after he admitted that he knew about Lord Mandelson’s continued friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – but appointed him as US ambassador anyway.
Despite the revelation, which led many to question Sir Keir’s integrity and judgement, he insisted he was repeatedly lied to by the disgraced peer, who he said had “betrayed our country” over the alleged leak of sensitive government documents to the disgraced financier.
On Wednesday night, ministers and other senior figures in Labour gave the prime minister an ultimatum that he must sack his controversial chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who pushed for Lord Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador and brought him back into the heart of the government.
One minister told The Independent: “Morgan has to go – and should have gone months ago.”
The prime minister had attempted to restrict the publication of the vetting documents, arguing that some details would need to be redacted on national security grounds. That prompted accusations from Labour MPs that he was engaging in a “cover-up”.
After three hours into a Commons humble address debate on Wednesday, Sir Keir relented after Ms Rayner intervened to make it clear she would be supporting the Tory proposal for the independent Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to decide which documents could be published.
It is unclear when the documents will be released to the committee and made public, but there is speculation that they could be available as early as Thursday.
Seizing on the U-turn, a Conservative spokesperson said: "Kemi [Badenoch] forced Starmer to admit he'd known Mandelson was still hanging out with Epstein after the child sex conviction, and No 10 went ahead and appointed Mandelson anyway.
“You could feel in the Commons that was the moment Labour MPs stopped backing the prime minister. The government have now had to cave to Kemi's demand for all documents to go to the ISC. Starmer is no longer in control; Kemi is calling the shots.”
The prime minister had earlier claimed that the police investigations into Lord Mandelson and diplomatic relations needed to be protected.
In a desperate bid to draw a line under the scandal at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), Sir Keir went on the attack over his former ambassador, who was sacked in September, after further revelations of his relationship with Epstein came to light.
With his hands visibly shaking under the pressure, he told MPs: “Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my party.
"He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him. If I knew then what I know now, he would never have been anywhere near government."
And with his future on the line, it is understood that Sir Keir is planning yet another reset with a major speech on Thursday, to position himself as the champion of “decency and respect”.
Despite the apparent mea culpa, MPs were left unconvinced by the prime minister’s anger and promises over transparency. During a debate over more than six hours, the fury on both sides of the House was fully on display.
At present the ire of Labour MPs seem to be focussed on the PM's Chief of Staff, Morgan Sweeney, whose position is surely untenable, but it could get worse for the Prime Minister. A few days ago the perceived wisdom was that Keir Starmer would be ousted after the May elections, now it is looking likely that he may not even last that long.
Thursday, February 05, 2026
Another blow to the cost of living in Wales
It comes after Senedd members backed Welsh government proposals to increase the MUP.
Welsh ministers said this "landmark policy to help reduce deaths and harm from excess alcohol" brings the country into line with the rate in Scotland.
But the Conservatives said minimum pricing had "only served to hit hard-pressed Welsh consumers that don't have a drink problem in their pockets".
Independent research commissioned by the Welsh government suggests the policy could prevent more than 900 alcohol-related deaths over 20 years and reduce the number of "harmful drinkers" by nearly 5,000.
The policy was introduced in Wales in 2020 and the price increase follows a public consultation.
Public Health Wales figures show between 2019 and 2023 there was a rise of more than 50% in alcohol-related deaths.
Alcohol abuse charities have previously supported raising the minimum unit price for alcohol to 65p but also raised concerns that the most deprived areas could be adversely affected.
For once Darren Millar is right when he says that the minimum price legislation has only served to hit hard-pressed Welsh consumers that don't have a drink problem in their pockets, and resulted in problem drinkers consuming stronger booze and going without food or heating.
There is a lot of speculative research but where is the actual evaluation of this policy that demonstrates that it does what ministers claim for it.
From what I can see, those who already have an alcohol problem will always find a way to get their fix. The people this policy really hits are those on low incomes who like the occasional pint after work. It just adds to the cost of living pressure for people in Wales.
