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Ian Birrell

@ianbirrell.bsky.social
2.8K followers 294 following 975 posts

Foreign correspondent, columnist, campaigner, co-founder Africa Express, citizen of the world and a bit more besides…

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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Brexit was a disaster built on lies that disrupted business, distracted Westminster and divided the country. But is another referendum on rejoining the EU really the right move? My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/rema...
inews.co.uk
I'm a Remainer, but we have to tell the truth about reversing Brexit
Ian Birell: Brexit dislocated our politics, disfigured national debate and distracted Westminster
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Brexit was a disaster built on lies that disrupted business, distracted Westminster and divided the country. But is another referendum on rejoining the EU really the right move? My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/rema...
inews.co.uk
I'm a Remainer, but we have to tell the truth about reversing Brexit
Ian Birell: Brexit dislocated our politics, disfigured national debate and distracted Westminster
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
When will people understand that social care does not just revolve around elderly people? My @theipaper.com column on Burnham’s flawed vision for reform inews.co.uk/opinion/foug...
inews.co.uk
I’ve fought the care system for 30 years – Burnham is ignoring one critical group
Ian Birrell: So many societal problems are rooted in shameful failures of overloaded children’s care and mental health systems
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
When will people understand that social care does not just revolve around elderly people? My @theipaper.com column on Burnham’s flawed vision for reform inews.co.uk/opinion/foug...
inews.co.uk
I’ve fought the care system for 30 years – Burnham is ignoring one critical group
Ian Birrell: So many societal problems are rooted in shameful failures of overloaded children’s care and mental health systems
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Russian invasion of a Thai island idyll - my report from Phuket on the flight of people and money from Putin’s war mol.im/a/16167525
mol.im
How Putin's war has led to growth of 'Little Russia' on a Thai isle
The golden domes of a Russian Orthodox church, topped with the traditional three-bar Slavic cross, seem incongruous as they tower over the palm trees, pineapple fields and rubber plantations of a trop...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Why do we need a commission on electoral reform? Just push through reform - everyone knows the arguments.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
How many times must we point out social care is not just about elderly people with fastest rising demand coming from working age adults. Even now - with social care finally and belatedly rising up political agenda - people with disabilities and long-term sickness are being squeezed from the debate
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Great that Burnham focusing so hard on care and care workers, vowing to end their invisibility in line with my campaigning over recent decades - but worryingly, it was all through the prism of elderly people, protecting pensioners and care impacting on the NHS.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is alarming: when Burnham was asked on LBC if his proposals included disabled children, he replied: “No. This is adult and particularly older people’s social care.” So he is not really fixing social care for everyone... (h/t @dcpcampaign.bsky.social)
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is alarming: when Burnham was asked on LBC if his proposals included disabled children, he replied: “No. This is adult and particularly older people’s social care.” So he is not really fixing social care for everyone... (h/t @dcpcampaign.bsky.social)
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Thanks. Sorted...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
‘Anyone who embarks on euthanasia ventures on a slippery slope along which you irrevocably slide towards the indiscriminate killing of defenceless patients,” wrote Bert Keizer, a prominent Dutch euthanasia doctor, six years ago
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Now they are killing one-year-old children with disabilities and epilepsy in the Netherlands (with working link) www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
telegraph.co.uk
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The Russian invasion of a Thai island idyll - my report from Phuket on the flight of people and money from Putin’s war mol.im/a/16167525
mol.im
How Putin's war has led to growth of 'Little Russia' on a Thai isle
The golden domes of a Russian Orthodox church, topped with the traditional three-bar Slavic cross, seem incongruous as they tower over the palm trees, pineapple fields and rubber plantations of a trop...
033
Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The intensifying fertility crisis should be seen as a warning about the world young people are inheriting - my @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/alar...
inews.co.uk
The most alarming thing about the fertility crisis isn’t the lack of babies
Ian Birrell: The baby bust is a warning about the world young people have inherited
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The intensifying fertility crisis should be seen as a warning about the world young people are inheriting - my @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/alar...
inews.co.uk
The most alarming thing about the fertility crisis isn’t the lack of babies
Ian Birrell: The baby bust is a warning about the world young people have inherited
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Good to hear Burnham argue that the care system should get the same priority as our health system, pointing out the current unfairness of a dreadful system and pledging reform. Let's hope his actions and policies match his words for a community-based system offering dignity and support for users
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Since Manchester City’s owners are guilty of systematic cheating, surely the punishments (relegation, huge fines, transfer bans) should also including stripping them of their right to run a football club?
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Manchester City cheating scandal, just like Chelsea’s cheating under Abramovich, is the inevitable result of complacent regulators allowing British football to be used for sportswashing by charlatans, crooks and despotic regimes
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Since Manchester City’s owners are guilty of systematic cheating, surely the punishments (relegation, huge fines, transfer bans) should also including stripping them of their right to run a football club?
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
If any politician says ‘let me be clear’ then you know they are about to spew out some predictable cliches and waffling
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Rayner is absolutely right to argue that it is wrong for the government to tell people already here that they must wait up to 15 years - three times longer than agreed - to claim Indefinite Leave to Remain
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The NYT confirming a recent Israeli report that Netanyahu failed to act on warnings from UAE about imminent Hamas attacks before the October 7 atrocities www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/w... via @NYTimes
nytimes.com
Netanyahu Said to Have Been Warned by Emirati Leader About Hamas Attack Before Oct. 7
The warning from the leader of the United Arab Emirates, which lacked specific details about the nature of an attack, never reached the chiefs of Israel’s security establishment, Israeli officials sai...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The Manchester City cheating scandal, just like Chelsea’s cheating under Abramovich, is the inevitable result of complacent regulators allowing British football to be used for sportswashing by charlatans, crooks and despotic regimes
2635785
Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Big NYT investigation into how Russia uses shell companies and Tether, a crypto coin, to evade sanctions and buy arms www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/b... One of the key shareholders in Tether is Christopher Harborne - the Thai-based man who is Reform's biggest donor and bunged £5m into Farage's pocket
nytimes.com
The ‘Monster’ Behind Russia’s Global Effort to Evade Western Sanctions
A Moscow firm uses shell companies and cryptocurrency to launder money, and a custom app to forge trade records, to help Russia bypass sweeping financial restrictions.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Big NYT investigation into how Russia uses shell companies and Tether, a crypto coin, to evade sanctions and buy arms www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/b... One of the key shareholders in Tether is Christopher Harborne - the Thai-based man who is Reform's biggest donor and bunged £5m into Farage's pocket
nytimes.com
The ‘Monster’ Behind Russia’s Global Effort to Evade Western Sanctions
A Moscow firm uses shell companies and cryptocurrency to launder money, and a custom app to forge trade records, to help Russia bypass sweeping financial restrictions.
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
However, the number of Russians living in Georgia has risen from 38,000 in 2024 to 72,000. And there are many new arrivals. Some predict the impending threat of mobilisation might lead to a doubling of this number - unsurprisingly, when Russians have just 1 in 5 chance of surviving the frontline.
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It is widely claimed that 113,000 Russians fled into Russia in one week last month to avoid a looming draft - but this was the total number crossing the border, including many tourists in high summer going to a popular destination. Georgian border guards said this was usual summer traffic...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
However, the number of Russians living in Georgia has risen from 38,000 in 2024 to 72,000. And there are many new arrivals. Some predict the impending threat of mobilisation might lead to a doubling of this number - unsurprisingly, when Russians have just 1 in 5 chance of surviving the frontline.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It is widely claimed that 113,000 Russians fled into Russia in one week last month to avoid a looming draft - but this was the total number crossing the border, including many tourists in high summer going to a popular destination. Georgian border guards said this was usual summer traffic...
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The spineless superstar who exposed the true cost of attempted ‘neutrality’ in this age of conflict and turbulence. My @theipaper.com column on the Ed Sheeran saga inews.co.uk/opinion/spin...
inews.co.uk
The spineless Suffolk superstar who exposed the true cost of ‘neutrality’
Ian Birrell: Ed Sheeran's week from hell is about a lot more than just him
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The spineless superstar who exposed the true cost of attempted ‘neutrality’ in this age of conflict and turbulence. My @theipaper.com column on the Ed Sheeran saga inews.co.uk/opinion/spin...
inews.co.uk
The spineless Suffolk superstar who exposed the true cost of ‘neutrality’
Ian Birrell: Ed Sheeran's week from hell is about a lot more than just him
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Yeah, right…because tech firms have proved so trustworthy? Their toxic and self-serving lust for money and power shows precisely the urgent need for globally-agreed controls
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The world’s sleaziest city with a reputed 60,000 sex workers? My report from Pattaya on sex tourism talking to the foreign men, the ‘bar girls’ trying to escape poverty, the police chief and the mayor www.dailymail.com/news/article...
dailymail.com
The town with 60,000 sex workers: IAN BIRRELL reveals sleaze he saw
Today, with 120,000 registered Thai residents and up to 70,000 foreign expats, Pattaya is reputed to host at least 60,000 sex workers
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Oh look: A Russian businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin financed celebrations in the Bahamas at Donald Trump Jr’s wedding www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The world’s sleaziest city with a reputed 60,000 sex workers? My report from Pattaya on sex tourism talking to the foreign men, the ‘bar girls’ trying to escape poverty, the police chief and the mayor www.dailymail.com/news/article...
dailymail.com
The town with 60,000 sex workers: IAN BIRRELL reveals sleaze he saw
Today, with 120,000 registered Thai residents and up to 70,000 foreign expats, Pattaya is reputed to host at least 60,000 sex workers
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Oh look: A Russian businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin financed celebrations in the Bahamas at Donald Trump Jr’s wedding www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Forget talk of levelling the playing field and follow the money: Farage’s crypto billionaires may wash his rivals away to achieve dubious goals – but blame Labour and the Tories for failing to tackle the dodgy donations that stain our politics. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/fara...
inews.co.uk
Farage's crypto kings could wash Labour and Tories away - and it's their own fault
Ian Birrell: After the two parties tinkered at the edges of funding reform, Reform's mega-donors have grabbed the chance to tip the balance of politics
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Forget talk of levelling the playing field and follow the money: Farage’s crypto billionaires may wash his rivals away to achieve dubious goals – but blame Labour and the Tories for failing to tackle the dodgy donations that stain our politics. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/fara...
inews.co.uk
Farage's crypto kings could wash Labour and Tories away - and it's their own fault
Ian Birrell: After the two parties tinkered at the edges of funding reform, Reform's mega-donors have grabbed the chance to tip the balance of politics
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
'Lauding Ukrainian resilience is not a strategy. Ukraine has bought the West four years with the blood of its soldiers and the ingenuity of its engineers. We cannot let it face another winter alone under Russian bombardment.' Spot-on by Eric Schmidt www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming
Russia is shifting its strategy to erase Kyiv’s battlefield advantages.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
'Lauding Ukrainian resilience is not a strategy. Ukraine has bought the West four years with the blood of its soldiers and the ingenuity of its engineers. We cannot let it face another winter alone under Russian bombardment.' Spot-on by Eric Schmidt www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
washingtonpost.com
Opinion | Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming
Russia is shifting its strategy to erase Kyiv’s battlefield advantages.
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Special Needs Jungle @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It seems @lucypowellmp is planning to force through the disastrous SEND reforms despite opposition from families to the removal of disabled children’s rights. #NotInOurName Please sign the petition to protect SEND legal rights. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
When a party is led by the avaricious, duplicitous and egotistical Nigel Farage and sees Trump's venal kakistocracy as its inspiration, people should not be surprised if it turns out to be a cesspit of sleaze.
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
He made his career ragebaiting leftists and was the darling of MAGA, helping elect 3 right-wing presidents - but now he's behind bars for the attempted murder of his lover. Excellent @unherd.com piece casting fresh light on corruption, Israel and disinformation unherd.com/2026/09/maga...
unherd.com
MAGA’s Latin-American crime thriller
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 08/09/2026
Reform UK and Nigel Farage are the only party and current party leaders that a majority of Britons (52-56%) describe as "very sleazy", more than double the 25% who regard the typical British government as such and relative to just 15-17% viewing Andy Burnham or Kemi Badenoch similarly
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Putin is becoming desperate, his stupid war is spiralling, the threat and dangers are rising. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/puti...
inews.co.uk
Putin’s endgame makes this Ukraine’s most dangerous winter yet
Ian Birrell: We must do so much more to defend both Ukraine and our own democracy from the threat of this evil and toxic dictatorship
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
So will the government deal with these masked far-right thugs blocking roads as forcefully as they have dealt with environmental and pro-Palestinian protesters?
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Putin is becoming desperate, his stupid war is spiralling, the threat and dangers are rising. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/puti...
inews.co.uk
Putin’s endgame makes this Ukraine’s most dangerous winter yet
Ian Birrell: We must do so much more to defend both Ukraine and our own democracy from the threat of this evil and toxic dictatorship
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Ian Birrell @ianbirrell.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
When a party is led by the avaricious, duplicitous and egotistical Nigel Farage and sees Trump's venal kakistocracy as its inspiration, people should not be surprised if it turns out to be a cesspit of sleaze.
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Reposted by Ian Birrell
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
A new video from Syria shows M4000 chemical bombs being disassembled. These bombs were used in 3 attacks in 2017, including the notorious Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack. After that attack I pieced together their identity back in 2017 using open source evidence www.bellingcat.com/news/2020/04...
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