iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Andrew Cutting @andrewcutting.coe.int · 15h

❗“The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations,” write 3 former Independent Reviewers of Terrorism Legislation👇 🔗 www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-a... via @lawsocietygazette.bsky.social “Walking away would not make Britain freer. It would make Britain weaker.”

lawgazette.co.uk

The ECHR is not a constraint on British security. It is one of its foundations

Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest post-war achievements.

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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 22h

Time for this classic again.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

New post out: We have a fascinating guest post looking at how Putin has ratcheted up his campaign against Europe - through hybrid warfare, global alliances and support for malicious actors. Also looks at whether/how the escalation will continue. samf.substack.com/p/putins-cam...

samf.substack.com

Putin’s campaign against Europe

How far will he go?

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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

England is a made up thing. It has no basis in the ineluctable laws of nature. Its extent is defined by Edward II getting his arse handed to him. Athelstan conquering York. The Welsh of Cumbria were incorporated, the Welsh of Gwynedd were not. It is a political idea, an aspiration - not taxonomy.

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Alastair Harper @alastairharper.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thomas Edison in 1910. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this net zero business, lads

Someday some fellow will invent a way of concentrating and storing sunshine to use instead of this old, absurd Prometheus scheme of fire.
I'll do the trick myself if someone doesn't get at it....
This scheme of combustion in order to get power makes me sick to think of—it is so wasteful.... We should utilize natural forces and thus get all of our power. Sunshine is a form of energy, and the winds and the tides are manifestations of energy. Do we use them? Oh no; we burn up wood and coal, as renters burn up the front fence for fuel.
We live like squatters, not as if we owned the property. There must surely come a time when heat and power will be stored in unlimited quantities in every community, all gathered by natural forces. Electricity ought to be as cheap as oxygen, for it cannot be destroyed.
Now, I am not sure but that my new storage battery is the thing. 167

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is terrifying, and the author (as I learned during my year on the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme) a genuine expert. Time to sort out our priorities. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/09...

telegraph.co.uk

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JUSTICE @justicehq.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The UK is safer & stronger with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). New paper sets out how ECHR membership supports national security, international cooperation & UK influence abroad. Ft. foreword by Lord Carlile, @bricksilk.bsky.social & Sir Max Hill. justice.org.uk/news/former-...

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Tim Harford @timharford.ft.com · 17/09/2026

Why the story of the Vegetable Lamb was believed timharford.com/2026/09/why-...

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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

contrary to the most conventional of all conventional wisdoms, the "help to buy did nothing but shove up house prices duh" wisdom, it actually worked www.gov.uk/government/p... report from people putting a lot more work into the question, worth a breezy look at

gov.uk

Evaluation of the Help to Buy scheme: evaluation findings report

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Jonathan Jones @sirjjkc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Legislating for the past: what is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? With particular reference to political donations By me for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/retr...

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Legislating for the past: What is retrospective legislation and when is it ok? | Institute for Government

What is meant by “retrospective” legislation, and can it ever be acceptable?

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Very welcome new edition of this invaluable and authoritative work

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My room-mate is (as so often) right.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This still gets me every time. Albert Camus' letter to a teacher after he'd been awarded the Nobel Prize.

19 November 1957

Dear Monsieur Germain,

I let the commotion around me these days subside a bit before speaking to you from the bottom of my heart. I have just been given far too great an honor, one I neither sought nor solicited. But when I heard the news, my first thought, after my mother, was of you. Without you, without the affectionate hand you extended to the small poor child that I was, without your teaching and example, none of all this would have happened. I don’t make too much of this sort of honor. But at least it gives me the opportunity to tell you what you have been and still are for me, and to assure you that your efforts, your work, and the generous heart you put into it still live in one of your little schoolboys who, despite the years, has never stopped being your grateful pupil. I embrace you with all my heart.

Albert Camus

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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Interesting evidence session today in HL Justice and Home Affairs Cttee: a Crown Court Judge and two barristers answered questions about the steps that are taken (and not taken) to mitigate the effect of distressing trials on jurors www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/....

parliamentlive.tv

Parliamentlive.tv - 404 page not found

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Phase 2 of the Southport Inquiry is under way www.bbc.co.uk/news/article.... I'll be giving evidence tomorrow, with others: supporting material and transcript will appear here www.southport.public-inquiry.uk/evidence/.

bbc.co.uk

Young age of those with extreme violence fascination 'striking'

"Increasingly younger" people are being referred to a counter-terror scheme, the Southport Inquiry is told.

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Meanwhile in Ukraine @meanwhileua.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Imagine telling a man wanted by the ICC over alleged war crimes that meeting him will be one of the greatest memories of your life. ㅤ Witkoff told Putin he would be “right at the top” of his retirement stories. ㅤ Ukraine was invaded. Putin gets admiration. Kyiv gets pressure.

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Spoke in debate last night on the Hillsborough Bill - the statutory replacement for misfeasance in public office needs tweaking, and what happened to the ethics and integrity commission? hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2026-0...

hansard.parliament.uk

Public Office (Accountability) Bill - Hansard - UK Parliament

Hansard record of the item : 'Public Office (Accountability) Bill' on Tuesday 1 September 2026.

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 25/08/2026

The shift from “no one is watching” to “someone might be watching” — thanks to surveillance cameras, phone tapping, and similar technologies — took the entirety of the 20th century. The final shift to “something is always watching” could be completed inside a decade, and still catch us unaware.

transformernews.ai

We’re sleepwalking into an AI surveillance dystopia

The technology needed for industrial-scale observation exists — and is already in widespread use

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Iain Mansfield @igmansfield.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Policy Exchange presents: The Home Secretary Interviews. Exclusive new in-depth interviews with 14 Home Secretaries 1990 - 2024. Read them in their own words on policing, immigration, protest and more from May, Blunkett, Straw, Howard, Braverman, Clarke... Full report ⬇️

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Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

One of the best job applications ever written came from the hands of Robert Pirosh in 1934. MGM loved it, took him on and in 1949 he won an Oscar for ‘Battleground’.

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Neil Miles @neilsmiles.com · 17/08/2026

29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Interviewed today on BBC R4 WATO at the end of a long segment (from 7 to 21 minutes in) on Prevent and violence-fixated individuals: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... I’ll be giving public evidence in September to Sir Adrian Fulford’s inquiry, which will look in detail at this issue.

bbc.co.uk

Radio 4 - Listen Live - BBC Sounds

Listen live to Radio 4 on BBC Sounds

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The indomitable Judge Prost, sanctioned by the US administration, will be well worth hearing.

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

New post out: "The myth of the 'Boriswave'" The online right claim that the immigrants who arrived between 21-24 will bankrupt the country. This isn't remotely true but they've created a mainstream panic that could lead us down a dangerous path. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/the-myth-o...

samf.substack.com

The myth of the "Boriswave"

Over summer 2024 anonymous right-wing accounts on twitter, who support Reform or more extreme ethnonationalist parties, started using the term “Boriswave” to describe the brief but sharp rise in net m...

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Brilliant Maps @brilliantmaps.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Jewish Population of Europe in 1933 and 2015 Numbers by country: brilliantmaps.com/jewish-po...

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Brilliant Maps @brilliantmaps.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

What A Circle With 5,000km Radius Centred On Paris Looks Like On A Mercator Map brilliantmaps.com/5000km-ra...

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Joshua Rozenberg @joshuarozenberg.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

While we wait to hear what Andy Burnham is going to do about curtailing the right to trial by jury, the House of Lords justice and home affairs committee is trying to find out how much of an ordeal jury service can be and whether jurors need more support. rozenberg.substack.com/p/the-trauma...

rozenberg.substack.com

The trauma of jury service

Do jurors need more support?

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Times has now acknowledged the report misunderstood the data + misreported it bsky.app/profile/jdpo...

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Very important, and a call for evidence to which UK SHAPE (Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences) researchers are very well placed to contribute. Some good guidance on how to do so effectively here: www.ucl.ac.uk/public-polic...

ucl.ac.uk

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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

NEW Can we safeguard our constitution before the next general election? How we have time, but not that much time, to make changes before any incoming radically illiberal government My Weekly Constitutional at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

There is an old English saying, dating from the 16th century: to make hay while the sun shines. A variation of this is that the best time to fix a roof is also while the sun shines. There are times when it is easier to do certain things.

Currently, there is a parliament which could last all the way until the summer of 2029. The next election must be held no later than 15th August 2029, though of course the new prime minister Andrew Burnham may call one sooner. But the fact remains that we may be less than halfway through this five-year parliament. The last general election was only two years ago this month.

And in this parliament, there is a majority for what is at least nominally a left-of-centre Labour party. There are currently 403 Labour members of parliament, and there are also 71 Liberal Democrats, 12 Scottish and Welsh nationalists, five Green MPs and two SDLP.

Never in recent history has there been such a potential majority for fundamental constitutional reform. The rump of 117 Conservatives, seven Reform and five DUP MPs, and various others, would not be able to stop any concerted effort at fundamental change. And nor would the House of Lords, as there would still be time to use the Parliament Acts against any upper house veto.

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The House of Lords Constitution Committee is starting a wide-ranging inquiry into strengthening our constitutional safeguards - as proposed by (Lord) Peter Hennessy. Look East, look West, and see the urgency. Written evidence requested by 28th of September. committees.parliament.uk/committee/17...

committees.parliament.uk

The UK’s constitutional safeguards inquiry launched by Lords Constitution Committee - Committees - UK Parliament

The House of Lords Constitution Committee has today published a call for evidence for its inquiry into the UK’s constitutional safeguards. It is inviting interested individuals and organisations...

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Hughster @hughster.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

From Liz Kendall's cabinet departure letter, posted on… you guessed it… X

As DSIT Secretary *I have been proud to stand up to Elon Musk and Grok*, ban nudification apps and help make the online world world safer for women and girls. Throughout my career I have championed women's equality, which is why I established the Women in Tech taskforce and launched the Women in Research Charter: to give women a fair shot and make science and tech work for all.

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

good to see at least one cabinet minister announcing their departure on the non-nazi social media app

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This is a real shame - Patrick Vallance has been a really excellent and committed Science Minister who knew the territory and took a strategic view. Big shoes to fill

Patrick Vallance resigns from government
Science minister Lord Patrick Vallance has resigned from government following
Sir Keir Starmer's departure.
"After nearly a decade in Government I am stepping down as a minister, for personal reasons,
" he said in a
statement.

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The Secret Barrister @barristersecret.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This is very disappointing. Such an important and undervalued brief which was for years held by a succession of uninterested itinerants. A prisons minister who genuinely cared and who was starting to see results.

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Paul F Scott @paulfscott.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The amendment reflecting the hillsborough law concession: publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbi...

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Here it is! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Well worth listening to the whole programme - Sarah Hadland and Jennifer Saint are both incredibly impressive, and brightened the mood a lot!.

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Home Office floating "compromise" on "earned settlement" reforms - settlement/ILR after 5 years, but no access to benefits until 10 years. Some thoughts..(1/4) www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Up to 1.6 million migrants could be granted indefinite leave to remain after five years instead of ten — but they would face waiting longer to qualify for benefits.

The proposed compromise to appease Labour MPs would affect foreign workers and their families who arrived in the UK since 2021 — a group known as the Boriswave after the boom in immigration under Boris Johnson.

This group would be exempted from reforms spearheaded by Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, to double the time it takes to qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) — a status that grants the right to live, work and study in Britain permanently — from five years to a decade.

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

This recommendation in last months’s House of Lords JHA committee report on integration, settlement and citizenship may have found favour, if today’s reports are to be believed: publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5902/ld....

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Honoured to be making my Woman's Hour debut tomorrow on BBC Radio 4, between 10 and 11, on Prevent, misogyny and violence-fixated individuals: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m....

bbc.co.uk

BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, Sarah Hadland, Men Fixated on Violence, Author Jennifer Saint

Sarah Hadland on her role as Alice in The Truth, a comedy of infidelity and duplicity.

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Disappointed to miss tomorrow’s HL debate on the rule of law – a clash of commitments. Here is what I wrote on the subject last summer. www.daqc.co.uk/2025/08/03/p....

daqc.co.uk

Parliament and the Rule of Law - David Anderson QC Lawyer London UK

What does the UK Parliament mean when it refers to the Rule of Law - and what has the Rule of Law to teach Parliament?

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

We asked the Home Secretary yesterday about the proposals to replace immigratiion judges by lay adjudicators. Her response is here (1605-1610): parliamentlive.tv/Download/Ind.... Whole session here parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

parliamentlive.tv

Parliamentlive.tv - Download Available

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David Anderson @bricksilk.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

My review of Julia Ebner's new book "The Language of Terrorists" now out in Literary Review. With my past reviews on national security, constitutional and legal topics, find it here literaryreview.co.uk/contributors... (£ - it's a great periodical and I guess they have to live).

literaryreview.co.uk

Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books

Book reviews by David Anderson

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