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Reposted by Cliff Wood

Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

FTR shattering letter about how the Conservative Government ignored the entirely credible threat from Putin in favour of feeding The City (& Tory Party) roubles👇 March 23 2022 Carl Scott, Air Commodore (Retired), UK defence attaché in Moscow for five years, 2011-2016 www.ft.com/content/857d...

[4x screenshots from FINANCIAL TIMES]

Letter: A defence attaché despairs at inevitability of conflict

From Carl Scott, Air Commodore (Retired), Oakham, Rutland, UK

[Photo of Sherlock Holmes and Watson monument at the British Embassy in Moscow]

MARCH 23 2022

The recent article by Maria Stepanova "The war of Putin's imagination" (Life & Arts, FT Weekend, March 19) was exemplary. However, one jarring note was the unfounded notion that no one expected this aggression from the Kremlin.

I served as the UK's defence attaché in Moscow for five years, 2011-2016, during which time this long, dark march to war was obvious, the path to conflict lit by the many pronouncements emanating from the dark red walls of Vladimir Putin's palace.

We reported the inevitability of conflict in detail, regularly and with the despair of Cassandra. One of the earliest reports opened with a line from Sherlock Holmes, whose statue stands outside the British Embassy wall: "There's an east wind coming all the same, such a wind as never blew on England yet. It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast."

The evidence of Putin's chosen path was never concealed. His many declarations were meant to be heard and understood: the colossal rearmament programme, the demand for more complex, more lethal weaponry; the militarisation of society; the distortion and seizure of the popular narrative; domination of education, the media and the courts to exclude contrasting views and, ultimately, the alienation and destruction of those among the Russian people who understood the folly of his declared ambition.

The list is remorseless, the consequences could not be ignored. But they were.

It was not until I returned to the UK on the eve of our withdrawal from the EU, a manoeuvre which greatly emboldened those in Moscow, that I understood how our society had changed in the years I was serving overseas.

All was subjugated to the City, all served the interests of our lucrative status as a safe haven for corrupt, and corrupting, wealth. The values we were demanding of other nations had long since faded from our own actions.

I despair at the decisions Putin has taken, but even more at the prospect of finding credible leadership at home in the UK among those who have compromised so long with his regime and the wealth it offered.

Carl Scott

Air Commodore (Retired)

Oakham, Rutland, UK

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Humanists UK @humanists.uk · 09/10/2026

In 2024 the Government created a loophole in the law that would allow new 100% religiously selective faith schools to open. They said 'Don't worry, it won't be used in practice'. But now it's happening. Children of different backgrounds should be educated together, not divided by others' religions.

hackneycitizen.co.uk

Faith schools could pick every pupil under Hackney plan, warns humanist charity

Humanists UK says a council proposal to move independent Charedi schools into the state sector would let them select every pupil by faith

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Rejoin the EU petitions #FBPE #RejoinPetition4 #RejoinEU @rejoineupetitions.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The Government is shifting! Ask your MP to speak at the 3 hr debate in Parliament on 12 Oct to 'Apply to Rejoin the EU as soon as possible'. Then sign the next petition (already live) to keep the pressure up: 'Start negotiations now to Rejoin the EU' petition.parliament.uk/petitions/771102

petition.parliament.uk

Petition: Start negotiations now to Rejoin the EU

10 years after the Brexit referendum and 6 years after leaving the EU, it is clear to us that Brexit isn't working. We believe any benefits have been dwarfed by loss of influence, extra costs and the ...

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Rae Radford @raeradford.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Hands up - are you guilty? I know I am! 🙈 #WritingCommunity

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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 03/10/2026

This week, the Prime Minister said that "all the options" for our future relationship with Europe are on the table. EU membership is the only option that makes sense. Write to your MP and ask them to attend the debate in Parliament on rejoining the EU.

bestforbritain.org

Tell your MP: 628 constituencies want EU membership. Only 4 don't. - Best for Britain

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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Dutch racer Loek Hartog stopped his Porsche mid-race, grabbed a fire extinguisher and pulled British driver Ollie Millroy from his burning Ferrari during a China GT race in Shanghai. Millroy survived with five broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and a bruised lung. Original post

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Supertanskiii @supertanskiiii.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A second Brexit referendum is a truly stupid idea. Straight to rejoin. No fucking about. There’s no logical argument, economic or otherwise, for not rejoining. The British electorate has proven that they don’t have a clue and are easily duped by disinformation campaigns and foreign interference.

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Tollytb🇮🇪🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧 @tollytb.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

My son has just sent me a photo of his new girlfriend. She's wearing football kit, football boots, and big gloves. I messaged him back. "She's looks like a keeper." 🐢💨

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Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

HILL STREET BLUES (1981-87)

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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 14/09/2026

🇬🇧 It was always a risk that Brexit would lead to the breakup of the UK. 🇪🇺 One of the best ways to avoid that would be EU membership. 📊 It isn't just the people of Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland who want membership - our polling shows the majority of people in England want it too.

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Tollytb🇮🇪🇪🇺🇨🇦🇬🇧 @tollytb.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

My vegan friend popped round yesterday, while I was eating my takeaway food, and watching the rugby. "That chicken you're eating had a family." "That's why I ordered the family bucket. No one gets left behind." 🐢💨

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Roger Protz @rogerprotz.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Handling of burning down/unlawful demolition of #CrookedHousePub described as "Test Case of how UK protects its pubs". 3 year anniversary come & gone. Order to rebuild appealed by "owners". Six arrested in 2023. Criminal case frozen. 3 years on still no charging of the suspects. #SavePubs

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Roger Protz @rogerprotz.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

"A pub believed to have been frequented by highwayman Dick Turpin..." Suspend your disbelief. The re-opening is real. New licensee Jason Billingham is the man behind the re-opening/transformation of boarded up Wheel Inn, Derbyshire.

bbc.co.uk

'Dick Turpin' pub in Sibson to reopen with new investment

The owners say they will invest £480,000 on renovations.

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KUMB.com: West Ham United FC Online @kumb.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Sixy football from West Ham. And perhaps most importantly, that's the two-points-per-game target that virtually guarantees promotion reached. www.kumb.com/forum/viewto...

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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Just a reminder, Professor James Orr, Reform UK head of policy, teaches 'ethics' to undergraduates at Cambridge University youtu.be/aXut3s90rUI

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Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

"Safety is Our Number 11 Priority": the Video That Went Viral

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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This kindergarten class learned to sing "Happy Birthday" in sign language for their beloved custodian, who cannot hear. [📹 Hickerson Elementary] Original post

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London & Southeast🔅 @thesnowdreamer.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

This afternoon is 28th such day in 2026 above 30C in London in entirety of 1960s we had 8 days.

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ShoeTown Owl @shoetownowl.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

West Ham won the World Cup.

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Wulfhelm @wulfhelm.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

#OnThisDay 1966 England win the World Cup final at Wembley, beating West Germany 4 - 2. However most have forgotten this as the English, a famously humble race, rarely mention it.

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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

'People in Essex deserve better than this' "Reform U.K. led @Essex_CC an utter shambles. Playing with tax payer’s cash to enforce their ideology rather than serving residents. This appears to be the national blueprint." via Essex politics, planning and local democracy news

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Paintings of London @paintingsoflondon.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

'Pink Fiat', Bethnal Green Road (2024) by Doreen Fletcher doreenfletcherartist.com

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Billy Bragg @billybragg.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The stars finally aligned! Wilco and I finally got the play those Mermaid Avenue songs together at Solid Sound last weekend. You can stream the whole set here www.nepm.org/podcast/the-...

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Somerset Golden Retrievers @somersetgoldens.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

On the 10th anniversary of Brexit, we now know: Cameron had no plan regarding the referendum Johnson, Gove, Farage, no plan Teresa May triggered article 50, no plan And people wonder why our economy is in the shit. The time has come where Labour start spelling this out and plan to join SM

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Andy Conway Morris @andymoz78.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Compassion for the conned and all that, but really??! Brexit, which is fundamentally about erecting barriers to trade, cooperation and movement, was always going to be harmful. The only “good Brexit” was one that didn’t involve erecting those barriers- i.e. pointless.

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KUMB.com: West Ham United FC Online @kumb.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Adrian: I'll always be a Hammer www.kumb.com/story.php?id... #koyi #whufc

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The Rejoin EU Party @therejoineuparty.com · 12/06/2026

Britain was promised sovereignty. Instead, Starmer stands alone with a flyswatter while Trump, Putin, Xi, Musk and Thiel circle overhead. Europe built a shield. Brexit left us exposed. 🇬🇧🇪🇺 #RejoinEU

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Anti-Reform @antireform.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

All the UK's problems today stem from the Thatcher era and the massive increase in inequality of wealth #BlameMillionairesNotMigrants meme vva Jeff Shute

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Nick Reeves #FBPE #NAFO @nickreeves.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Please repost if you agree that Brexit is the greatest betrayal of our country in modern British political history.

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Marcello Ruffini @marcello65.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Never forget, Cameron's Tories brought Brexit because Farage's UKIP was taking a bite out of Tory polling. Without a care, Cameron & Cabinet bet the nation for Tory Party benefit; to the absolute disastrous detriment of the nation.

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KUMB.com: West Ham United FC Online @kumb.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

So wrong on so many levels www.kumb.com/story.php?id... #koyi #whufc

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Lancaster for Europe @lancasterforeu.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

A great letter combatting the usual Brexity victimhood tosh. #GetBrexitUndone #RejoinEU

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European Movement UK @europeanmovement.co.uk · 21/04/2026

The message from Volodymyr Zelenskyy is clear: the European Union is lacking the UK. Britain's future is European. So is Ukraine's. 🇬🇧🤝🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦

A union that could be much stronger – I believe this would be a union of such countries as Norway, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Türkiye. These are four countries that the European Union is lacking...

I know that the United Kingdom has left the European Union... But I still believe that these four countries would make the EU the strongest union in the world, with the best security in the world.

We are not seeking an alternative. I simply believe that these four countries are very strong and would make the European Union stronger.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine

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Dr Duncan Robertson @duncanrobertson.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

I checked this too. *20 seconds* of Reform logo display. *No other* party logo displayed. In local election purdah. This is not normal. At all.

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Shane @shane11.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I think it’s time for a change at the top but framing Starmer as a Bond villain? “007 you need to take out the PM” “Why?” “Well he inherited a mess, incorporated breakfast clubs, spent billions on infrastructure /green energy, improved workers rights etc… he’s just like Blofeld” Stupidity

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European Movement UK @europeanmovement.co.uk · 15/04/2026

It's time that the Government looks to the future, rather than their 2024 manifesto: clinging to outdated red lines drawn during a time when the Brexit debate was often avoided means that we are ignoring solutions that could strengthen our economy, like rejoining the single market.

The Brexit delusion is dead – so now Keir Starmer doesn’t need to pretend any more. To rebuild relations with Europe in a dangerous world, the prime minister needs to win big arguments, not hide behind outdated red lines.

The Guardian, 15 April.

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

If the Telegraph was more patriotic than it was anti-Starmer, it would have said "Putin mocks Britain..."

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South-East London for Europe (Selfe) @selfe.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Professor Philip Murphy of London University calls for the government to hold a referendum on whether he U.K. should start negotiations to #RejoinEU. He thinks this will hasten the UK’s return and expose Reform and the Tories…

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Lancaster for Europe @lancasterforeu.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

100% agree- it's time for a new referendum based on facts not fantasy! #GetBrexitUndone #RejoinEU

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The Rejoin EU Party @therejoineuparty.com · 04/04/2026

Do you agree? Brexit is Britains biggest disaster in our life time. #ExitBrexit

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The Rejoin EU Party @therejoineuparty.com · 02/04/2026

Brexit is like a tea bag… #ExitBrexit

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

This is awesome At 0:48 you know something different is coming And it kicks in at 1:06 youtu.be/t5ot-DO-18I?...

youtu.be

Michael Jackson - Black Or White - Peter Bence

YouTube video by Peter Bence

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

While I'd prefer the Lords be replaced with experts in their fields on rotation every five to ten years If we still have a Lords as is, would be great to have Sadiq Khan as a peer But only if he keeps calling out Labour's Brexit cowardice and calls to rejoin the EU

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Ed Miliband, "The price of gas is set on the international market, whether it comes from the north sea, or is imported" "We're price taker and not a price maker" "We need homegrown clean power that we can control" "We cannot keep being on this fossil fuel roller coaster"

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