iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I knew #LubnaSpeitan a bit in the early 2010s. I was a Labour councillor for the part of SE London she lived in, & she once sought my help (nothing related to Palestine, which I don't recall us discussing). She was clearly intelligent, and seemed to have... 1/4 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

thetimes.com

Green member happy to be called ‘antisemitic Hamas terrorist’

Lubna Speitan proposed the ‘Zionism is racism’ motion passed at the party conference and in 2015 offered to testify in support of an al-Qaeda terrorist

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Even a stopped clock is right once a day. Reform may have a point abt the 15-yr sentence given to the ULEZ bomber (a 64-yr-old who will be well into his 70s before he is eligible for parole). But this is not 2-tier justice: it's single-tier. The problem is the... greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/10/02/u...

greenwichwire.co.uk

Sidcup ULEZ bomber jailed for 15 years at Old Bailey - The Greenwich Wire

A man who used a home-made bomb to blow up an ULEZ camera in Sidcup has been jailed for 15 years at the Old Bailey.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Strange goings-on (yet again) in Greenwich, where a Lib Dem candidate was accused of trolling cllrs for asking them to withdraw an untrue statement about post-Grenfell bldg safety. Lesson #1 in politics: hold yr friends close, but yr enemies closer... stephaniebarwise.substack.com/p/the-case-f...

stephaniebarwise.substack.com

The Case for Candour: A local authority in denial about life threatening fire safety defects

In the post Grenfell world (nearly a decade has passed since 72 people lost their lives) we tend to assume that central and local government would be concerned to be accurate when deciding whether a h...

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I know this part of Oxfordshire well, & spent yrs living in a village much like #Piddington, albeit 45 miles away. This is NOT a left-behind provincial community with legitimate economic grievances, vented on migrants. It isn't even Middle England. The Oxon/Bucks 1/6 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Piddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plans

Piddington residents vote over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

When I first saw this photo, of Mulllally alongside Ashrafi & 2 veiled women, I thought it must be doctored. Is it appropriate for the AoC to give awards to Muslim clerics? Of course. But the CofE must know that any such decision would be scrutinised minutely by.... 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Archbishop withdraws award from Muslim cleric who praised Bin Laden

The award was handed out last week, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Tne madness continues. Even if it was appropriate for POTUS to ban media outlets he doesn't like from the White House (which it isn't), classifying Politico as a “threat to national security" & "spreading falsehoods” is absurd. I've subscribed to Politico's... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theguardian.com

DoJ defends Trump ban on CNN, Politico and MS Now, citing security concerns

The news organizations, which sued the US president, are claiming the ban violates the first amendment

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Excruciating valedictory message from Helen Ghosh. As the first-ever woman Master of Balliol College, Oxford, she cd have achieved so much. But by all accounts she soon alienated fellows, students, and alumni, who she seemed to regard as cash cows. Good riddance. www.balliol.ox.ac.uk/news/2026/ju...

balliol.ox.ac.uk

Balliol staff bid farewell to Dame Helen Ghosh

Balliol staff gathered in the Hall on 11 June to bid a warm farewell to Dame Helen Ghosh as she prepares to step down from her role as Master at the end of June

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

RIP Bonnie Greer. Most people will recall her as a public intellectual, not a playwright. In the 90s, 2000s & 2010s she appeared regularly on Question Time, Newsnight Review etc, when media appearances by black women (as opposed to men like Darcus Howe) were rare. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/s...

theguardian.com

Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77

The British-American novelist and playwright who regularly appeared on current affairs shows will be remembered for her ‘warmth, humour and generosity’, says her husband

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This is the 1st time in 26 YEARS that RBG has made an external appointment as chief exec. Since Mary Ney's arrival in 2000, both her sucessors were internal promotions. Appointing Hyatt, who's worked for Hackney & GLA but never (shock horror) for Greenwich, is a big step for such an insular council.

royalgreenwich.gov.uk

Royal Borough of Greenwich set to appoint new Chief Executive | Royal Borough of Greenwich

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I pity Alexander Armstrong, the innocuous Classic FM and Pointless presenter, who must often be confused with Alex Armstrong (no relation), the GB News presenter whose show is currently being investigated by Ofcom over homophobic remarks made by a guest. 1/3 www.theguardian.com/media/2026/a...

theguardian.com

Ofcom investigates GB News over guest’s pride and paedophilia remarks

Regulator acts after 12,000 complaints over comments by Caroline Farrow linking parades with bestiality and paedophilia

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This is the hard part for Labour. How to control a ballooning SEND budget, distinguish between pushy parents and the genuinely deserving, ensure equity and improve educational outcomes. The answer cannot, and must not, be throwing more money at the problem. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

theguardian.com

Pupils with Send plans in England likely to double to one in 10 in rush for support

Schools and councils express financial concerns as EHCP applications surge before potential change in provision

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The right to protest is not absolute. I believe that protestors should remove face coverings when asked by police, and face arrest if they do not comply. Why did this not happen at this protest, which caused chaos at Britain's busiest ferry port? www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8znyz…

bbc.co.uk

Disruption at Port of Dover due to 'stop the boats' protest

The government says it condemns "the behaviour in Dover" and the hours-long disruption it caused.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

A lot of wishful thinking & confirmation bias in the mainstream commentariat today. Yes, a unity non-Binface Martin Bell-style candidate MIGHT have won. But we shall never know. An increased vote share & increase in votes give Farage a spring in his step, whatever outcome of standards investigation.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

When wildfires hit the Suffolk coast & New Forest, there's wall to wall coverage. But when homes are destroyed in the West Mids, there is much less. The Midlands barely register on the national media's radar, even tho they include the UK's 2nd-largest conurbation. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Four taken to hospital and homes damaged in West Midlands fires

Grassfire covering about 16 hectares near golf course in Stourbridge was one of several large blazes in region

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

One of the great mysteries of British education is why A level results in the East Midlands (a region that is far from being the most deprived) are consistently the worst in the UK, or among the worst. Any suggestions as to why? schoolsweek.co.uk/a-level-resu...

schoolsweek.co.uk

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Many obits are saccharine affairs, glossing over the nasty bits. What is striking about the eulogies to Rod Liddle is that even those from his soulmates at the Spectator make him seem like an even nastier piece of work than we already thought he was. spectator.com/article/debt...

spectator.com

My debt to Rod Liddle

My father and I would often read his columns aloud to each other and laugh ourselves into fits. That was Rod’s sublime talent

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

However monstrous and selfish this crime was, 20 years seems excessive. Robert Bush is, AFAIK, not a physical danger to the public. If the UK is serious about sorting out its chaotic prison system it has to move on from head-line grabbing, exemplary sentences like this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6...

bbc.co.uk

Ex-funeral director sentenced to 20 years after failing to bury and cremate dozens of people

Mr Justice Hilliard said Robert Bush had behaved "dishonestly" for many years, and his actions affected "so many people and so deeply".

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Cleese's descent from 60s iconoclast, to 70s Sitcom royalty, to 80s Centrism (he endorsed the SDP!) to end up as a grumpy old reactionary is one of the saddest developments in modern British culture. I am so glad that my Dad (same age) has embarked on a political journey in the opposite direction.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

This is fast becoming one of those silly season stories that seems to belong in a Thick of It script, and which would never be given much airtime outside the late July/August holiday season. The idea that the French coastguard would fire warning shots at a... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

theguardian.com

Tories’ Philp rejects French claim that shots fired from naval boat near him were training exercise – UK politics live

Shadow minister says there was no warning and ‘it looked and sounded like deliberate intimidation’

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

The World is full of "whistleblowers" touting bombshell leaked reports, often not as explosive as billed. This one merely makes a technical point that energy from renewables cam be tricky to measure or predict. Sorry to see the Times use it to cast doubt on net zero. www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

thetimes.com

Secret report that exposed the fragility of our electricity system

After Britain’s grid started behaving strangely during the heatwave in June, whistleblowers reveal risks of the green transformation

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

A very London-centric #Stirlingprize shortlist this year: 2 of the 6 entrants are in London, 2 in Cambridge, 1 in Essex & 1 in Hertfordshire. Not a good look for a UK-wide architecture prize. No shortlisted buildings in Wales, Northern Ireland, the north or Midlands. www.dezeen.com/2026/07/16/r...

dezeen.com

RIBA unveils Stirling Prize 2026 shortlist

RIBA has announced the shortlist for this year's Stirling Prize, which includes Renzo Piano Building Workshop's Paddington Square.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

It's finally over. AfAiK Brittin is the first DG to admit that the BBC's license fee is finished. Time for Burnham to come up with the obvious solution: a broadcasting levy collected via council tax. It's one of those UK policy conundrums that has an easy solution. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Licence fee is 'yesterday's model', says new BBC director general Matt Brittin

Matt Brittin gives his views on the corporation's future, six weeks after taking over the BBC.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

A road upgrade in Derby & a widened bypass around Newark may seem like easy things to shelve for the defence plan. But the East Mids are crucial both economically and politically. An early test for Burnham will be whether he reverses these cuts, or repents at leisure. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Halted road schemes: Is the East Midlands being neglected again?

The government plans to halt major schemes in Derby and Nottinghamshire to send more cash to defence.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

This "modern interpretation of a traditional City banqueting house", proposed in place of a Edwardian bldg on Fenchurch St, is awful. I hope the City Corp refuses it, though given its recent decisions on Fleet St & Liverpool St Stn I'm not optimistic. www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/rshp-un...

architectsjournal.co.uk

RSHP's demolition plans for Edwardian City block under fire

RSHP’s plans to flatten a 116-year-old City of London block to refurbish its Lloyd’s Register of Shipping building and create an events space at its entrance have been slammed by The Victorian Society

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

An iron law of UK politics is that voters don't like unnecessary by-elections. This is a high-stakes gamble by #Farage. In 2024 he got 46% of the vote in Clacton, and his majority was 8,400 - large but not impregnable. He will try to pull off a repeat of... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

theguardian.com

Farage says he is resigning but will stand in ‘people v establishment’ byelection – UK politics live

Reform UK leader to stand again, saying people of Clacton ‘should be the judges of my actions’ and party will cover byelection cost

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

A charitable obit of a brewery boss notorious for closing pubs & firing landlords on the most trivial grounds. #HumphreySmith refused to offer his land for a temp bridge in Tadcaster, cutting the town in 2. A "controversial & divisive figure with many quirks"? Not half. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Sam Smith's brewery boss Humphrey Smith dies aged 81

Humphrey Smith had been at the helm of the Tadcaster brewer since the 1980s.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The reason why #Starmer has gone now, rather than straight after local elections in May, is because Labour's results in London were a bit better than feared. Burnham's emphatic victory in Makerfield made the scale of Labour's problems beyond the M25 impossible to ignore. alexgrant.me/2026/06/22/w...

alexgrant.me

Why has Starmer gone? Four reasons why Starmer has accepted the inevitable – and why he didn’t do so sooner

1 It’s the geography, stupid: the nation simply no longer wants a London lawyer at the helm. Labour has never had a Leader from the north of England since Harold Wilson stepped down as prime minist…

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Much like Theresa May, the very 1st time #Starmer showed any genuine emotion in his premiership was at the very end of his resignation speech. There are many reasons for Starmer's demise, but is it trite to say that his lack of emotional intelligence was a large one? www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

thetimes.com

Keir Starmer resigns as prime minister and Labour Party leader — follow live

Keir Starmer announces resignation. Live updates as the PM announces resignation timetable and Andy Burnham is sworn in as Labour MP for Makerfield

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

The silly arguments about the #Freedompass in #London sum up so much that is wrong with UK politics. Short-termist capitulation to the first hint of protest from Age UK. No sensible debate about why pensioners deserve free travel but generation rent does not. greenwichwire.co.uk/2026/06/19/f....

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

So it appears that the BBC & Times investigation is repeating claims first made a mere 45 years ago (in 1981) about #DavidSullivan coercing young models into sex. Isn't the real story not his alleged crimes, or even a 'cover-up', but how for certain people... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

theguardian.com

Revealed: David Sullivan’s Sunday Sport sold sexualised images of 15-year-old girls

Sunday Sport’s ‘Countdown to 16’ used revealing photoshoots with young girls to trail topless pictures published after their 16th birthdays

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

This is #Starmer at his (all too rare) best: clear, bold, taking the high ground and calling out Farage's nonsense. More, please. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Starmer urges calm as far right seeks to exploit Henry Nowak murder

Prime minister echoes family’s plea that case should not be used to target communities

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

If this is the worst of the "excruciating" new files (Mandelson saying No 10 was ‘beleaguered & bereft’), then Starmer will be relieved. So will Streeting, whose credentials are boosted by being described as “pathetic” & going through an “early mid life crisis”... www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

theguardian.com

Mandelson described Starmer’s No 10 operation as ‘beleaguered and bereft’ in published files – UK politics live

Peter Mandelson’s unfiltered remarks to cabinet officials are made public in hundreds of pages of documents relating to his appointment as US ambassador

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

The rise of #JamesMurray, appointed health sec after Streeting's resignation, is one of the untold stories of this gov. Only an MP since 2019, he symbolises Starmerism (a London Remainer, technically bright, never messing up in his constant media appearances) but... 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

What you need to know about the new health secretary James Murray

What are the most pressing priorities for the new minister in charge of health?

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I knew Olly Robbins (only slightly, & through mutual friends) 25 years ago. He was clearly an upright civil servant, just as he appeared in the select committee today. Starmer is clearly doomed as PM: the only question is how soon he goes after May 7. 1/2 www.thetimes.com/comment/the-...

thetimes.com

Olly Robbins exposes Keir Starmer’s disregard for due process

In his battle with the prime minister, the former Foreign Office mandarin has laid bare everything wrong with Downing Street’s handling of Peter Mandelson

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

For Gen Xers like me, #DesmondMorris was one of those people who hovered on the edge of the collective memory, as his TV heyday was in the 60s, not 70s or 80s (TBH I always thought he was Esther Rantzen's husband: I had confused him with Desmond Wilcox). 1/2 www.thetimes.com/uk/obituarie...

thetimes.com

Desmond Morris obituary: natural world expert

Zoologist, broadcaster and author best known for The Naked Ape dies aged 98

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Clunes is a great actor but woefully miscast as Huw Edwards: almost on a par with Timothy Spall as Churchill. In real life Edwards is fresh-faced, lilting & inscrutable. Clunes gives him a permanent scowl & gravelly voice, who wd never have become a news anchor. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

theguardian.com

Power: The Downfall of Huw Edwards review – Martin Clunes is sickening

The actor is horribly convincing in this ripped-from-the-headlines drama about the newsreader’s grooming scandal. You might not even be able to stomach it

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

This important: the first big #Reform recruit from Labour. Wales was an oddity (a white Scotsman who was leader & mayor of #Newham, London's most diverse boro, for 2 decades). He is yesterday's man, & not well-known outside London. Reform (& Farage's predecessor... 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Ex-Labour mayor and councillor join Reform UK

Former Newham councillors Sir Robin Wales and Clive Furness say Labour has failed London.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

"Good riddance" is an understandable reaction to #ianHuntley 's murder (even his own daughter says so). But mob justice has never been good news. Isn't the real story how a prisoner at HMP Frankland had the means & opportunity to kill another? Surely Huntley shd 1/3 www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...

thetimes.com

Ian Huntley detective: ‘He never had the decency to tell the truth’

Chris Stevenson says the murderer never told the whole story about Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman — as the Soham killer’s daughter insists he should not have a funeral

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

The hyperbole over Mandelson forgets that he never held a great office of state. He was only a cabinet minister for 4 yrs (in 1998, in 99-01 as NI secretary, & then in 2008-10, rising to be 1st Sec of State under Brown). This IS big news, but not as big as... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Peter Mandelson arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

Video footage shows former peer being driven away shortly after being escorted from his London home by officers

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

The Guardian gets a lot of stick - including from me, sometimes - for being London-centric & obsessed with identity politics. This, about an ailing high street in County Durham, is a good antidote: factual, important reporting that does not patronise the north. www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...

theguardian.com

‘You’d be ashamed to bring someone here’: The struggling billionaire-owned high street that shows Reform’s road to No 10

Newton Aycliffe was meant to be a model town for a fairer postwar Britain. But unaffordable rents on a high street amounting to 0.12% of its property tycoon owner’s holdings have made it a symbol of d...

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Martinson is absolutely right. It's 2004 all over again. Like Greg Dyke & Gavyn Davies the resignations of Davie & Turness are totally unjustified. A confident Britain would stand up to this sort of culture war nonsense. Instead we have craven capitulation... 1/2 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

The BBC is facing a coordinated, politically motivated attack. With these resignations, it has given in | Jane Martinson

The corporation should have stood up to the Telegraph, Trump and the Tories. Now, its enemies know how little it takes for it to fold, says Jane Martinson, professor of financial journalism

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

This is an ugly moment. #Trump supporters will cry "Fake News" whatever the #BBC says. Even if editorial guidelines were breached in an edit of Trump's January 6 speech, #Davie & Turness's resignations are not called for. The BBC, one of the world's... 1/3 www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

theguardian.com

Tim Davie resigns as BBC director general after accusations of ‘serious and systemic’ bias in coverage

Davie says departure is ‘my own decision’, while head of news also quits with BBC preparing to apologise for editing of a Trump speech

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

It is wonderful to discover that one of the two women recently appointed as job-share chief executives of Historic England, Claudia Kenyatta, is a granddaughter of Kenya's first president, Jomo Kenyatta. historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/ne...

historicengland.org.uk

Claudia Kenyatta and Emma Squire Appointed New Joint Chief Executive of Historic England | Historic England

Claudia Kenyatta and Emma Squire to job share as Chief Executive of Historic England following the retirement of Duncan Wilson in October 2025.

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

This cd all have been so much worse if an LNER driver hadn't quickly stopped his train at #Huntingdon (a stn I often use), only 0.5 mile from Cambs Police HQ & a major hospital. A superb police response: suspects arrested only *8 minutes* after the first 999 call. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live...

theguardian.com

Cambridgeshire train stabbing: suspects both British and ‘nothing to suggest’ attack was terrorism, say police – latest updates

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder as two people remain in a life-threatening condition

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

Extraordinary goings on in Blackheath, where innocuous proposals for a few dozen homes on an underused station car park are opposed by a bizarre coalition: Jude Law, Jools Holland, an ex Labour MP saying that property prices will fall, Terry Waite, & Nick Ferrari evoking the Peasants Revolt of 1381.

salamandernews.org

Blackheath station car park: the perfect site for car-free homes?

Developer Acorn wants to build 45 homes on the brownfield site, but celebrities are leading a fierce opposition campaign, arguing it will harm Blackheath's "traditional low-rise, village character".

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Alex Grant @alexgrant24.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

This BBC Verify report on Trump's demolition of the East Wing reads like a story on a Banana Republic dictator's redevelopment of his Palace. Relying on satellite images to find out what is really going on says so much about the state of the US. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg...

bbc.co.uk

BBC Verify Live: White House satellite image shows East Wing demolished to make way for ballroom

Latest updates from the BBC's specialists in fact-checking, verifying video and tackling disinformation.

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