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Ian Fraser

@ianfraser.bsky.social
13K followers 701 following 1.7K posts

Award-winning journalist and author. My bestselling book ‘Shredded: Inside RBS The Bank That Broke Britain’ was named book of the year by the FT, Bloomberg, The Week and HuffPo. www.ianfraser.org

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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 8h
Labour MP @labourlewis.bsky.social reveals Tom Watson warned him over criticising Palantir.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
He’ll sell you a dream, but deliver a nightmare. Alex Gibney’s epic 3¾-hour documentary ‘Musk’ provides an unprecedented insight into the mind of a dangerous far-right megalomaniac.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
With Michael Gove cosplaying the PM, and Jim Murphy in the wings, we know we're doomed. @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social on why Sky’s ‘The War Game’ is arms industry propaganda
brokenbottleboy.substack.com
In the terrifying world of Dr StrangeGove
Sky’s The War Game put ex-politicians in a simulation where nuclear conflict was inevitable. It was arms industry propaganda pretending to be something serious.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
”a brooding, vengeful first-person narrative, underpinned by an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Nowhere do we hear Diana’s voice. Indeed, strikingly perhaps for an author who has written many history books, very few sources are cited.” Anne Whitelock reviews ’Swan Song’
ft.com
Swan Song: Diana, My Sister — Charles Spencer’s vengeful biography
The earl’s portrait of the ‘People’s Princess’ may be pacy and gossipy — but its claims are uncorroborated and underpinned by a sense of entitlement
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
He’ll sell you a dream, but deliver a nightmare. Alex Gibney’s epic 3¾-hour documentary ‘Musk’ provides an unprecedented insight into the mind of a dangerous far-right megalomaniac.
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Gerry Hassan @gerryhassan.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Laura Kuenssberg earns between £405k-£410k per year from the BBC. Is it a coincidence that her entire political logic seems to be abt defending the interests of the super-rich & super-affluent? No notion that taxing people like her & their assets might fund social care. #BBCLauraK
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
No wonder he’s been dubbed the “Frank Spencer of the far right”.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It seems the epidemic of financial wrongdoing and probable fraud at Manchester City started soon after Sheikh Mansour, deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, paid £200m for the club in September 2008.
ft.com
Manchester City found guilty of breaching Premier League rules
Independent panel finds club guilty on 114 out of 115 charges after a lengthy investigation into financial rule breaches
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
‘Outright racist’ Daniel Thomas (aka “Danny Tommo”) pleads not guilty to slashing a boat in the English Channel while an emergency responder was aboard — even though he posted a video of himself doing it. A hearing will take place in Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday, 29 September.
bbc.co.uk
Daniel Thomas pleads not guilty after dinghy slashed in Channel
Daniel Thomas is accused of criminal damage after a video appeared to show him slashing at a dinghy.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
How Britain, which charges a flat 10% tariff on cars from the People’s Republic, became a dumping ground for Chinese cars. The success of the Jaecoo 7 — the “Temu Range Rover” which was launched in Jan 2025 and became the UK’s bestselling car in March 2026 — has caused surprise in the trade.
ft.com
How Chinese cars are taking over Britain’s roads
The UK is a relatively open market for new entrants from China as it does not levy the heavy tariffs seen in the EU and US
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The increasingly close ties between Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and the seven authoritarian members of the United Arab Emirates should concern us all...
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Daniel Thomas, founder of the neo-fascist organisation Patriot Platform, has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life.
dorseteye.com
Tommy Robinson’s ‘Fascist’ Sidekick Daniel Thomas Arrested After Boat Incident - Dorset Eye
Daniel Thomas, the founder of the anti-migration group Patriot Platform and an associate of Tommy Robinson, has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life following an ...
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The ‘Shetland Bus’ transported Special Operations Executive agents, saboteurs, weapons, and radios into Nazi-occupied Norway, and rescued refugees and stranded allied personnel on return trips. There’s a new documentary about it, ‘Hearts Across the Sea
shetnews.co.uk
‘Deeply personal’ Shetland Bus documentary to launch on Friday
Hearts Across the Sea will be available to watch free on YouTube
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“I cannot accept this”: Eric Cantona slams Man Utd co-owner Jim Ratcliffe over his latest anti-immigration outburst, saying he wouldn’t have signed for the club had the Ineos billionaire been in charge at the time.
goal.com
Eric Cantona slams Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe over 'unacceptable' immigration comments and claims he wouldn't have signed for the club | Goal.com India
Eric Cantona criticises Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for his anti-immigration comment, stating he would not have joined the club under his leadership.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hampshire Police are conducting enquiries after racist extremist Daniel Thomas, aka ”Danny Tommo,” live-streamed a video showing him repeatedly slashing an inflatable dinghy in the Channel while a rescue worker was aboard.
inews.co.uk
Anti-migrant vigilante 'slashes' dinghy at sea with rescuer still aboard
Hampshire police 'conducting enquiries' into an incident in the Channel during a small boat rescue
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“Iron Lion Zion”: fascinating history of the Bob Marley hit, which was recorded in April 1973 but not released until September 1992, eleven years after the reggae legend died.
udiscovermusic.com
‘Iron Lion Zion’: Behind Bob Marley’s Rasta On The Run
Raw and alluring, ‘Iron Lion Zion’ brought Bob Marley’s message to the world in a fresh guise, with lyrics that were open to interpretation.
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Tuffy @smtuffy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Great reminder that, for all the advances with crypto, nothing beats old fashioned money laundering through the banking system
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A boat purchased by far-right activist Daniel Thomas (aka “Danny Tommo”) to interfere with Border Force operations in the English Channel has sunk.
thetimes.com
Danny Tommo’s boat for policing Channel accidentally sinks
Daniel Thomas, whose Patriot Platform group caused havoc in Dover and Portsmouth, had purchased the vessel to interfere with Border Force operations
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Following their “independence” vote, some Piddington residence tell Amelia Gentleman they’re uneasy about the weaponisation of their asylum dispute by the far-right, and an influx of “masked men like in Dover”.
theguardian.com
Unease in ‘newly independent’ Piddington as world media and Danny Tommo descend
As villagers take stock following symbolic vote, some fear far-right weaponisation of asylum dispute and influx of ‘masked people like in Dover’
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It’s time for Andy Burnham’s government to get off X
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Battered BitMEX, the crypto exchange co-founded and co-owned by Reform UK mega-donor Ben Dalo, is being sued for £495 million over allegedly stolen Bitcoin, days ahead of being shut down.💰
cryptoslate.com
Celsius sues BitMEX for $495 million just 11 days before exchange shutdown
Celsius bankruptcy estate is chasing a 6,360 BTC claim against BitMEX that could become one of its largest remaining recovery efforts.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Reform mega-donor Ben Delo’s friends and people he has supported or backed financially include Jordan Peterson, Toby Young, Matt Goodwin, Claire Fox and Peter Thiel. 'Inside The Sanctuary, the shadowy Westminster club at the centre of crypto-political power' by Katie Rosseinsky @the-independent.com
independent.co.uk
Inside The Sanctuary, the shadowy club at the centre of crypto-political power
Reform mega-donor Ben Delo has quietly established a hotspot for Britain's powerful right-wing players in the heart of Westminster. Katie Rosseinsky takes a look at this mysterious location and who is...
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Trump escalates efforts to silence media outlets which don't kowtow to him by attempting to ban CNN, MS NOW (formerly MSNBC), and Politico from the White House press pool.
au.rollingstone.com
Self-Proclaimed Free Speech Defender Bans CNN, MSNOW, Politico From White House
Donald Trump announced that he is banning CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the White House, calling them 'fake news.'
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson says he’s “terrifically excited” to be taking a job at controversial technology firm Palantir #RevolvingDoor
theguardian.com
Former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joins Palantir
Peer takes full-time position at the controversial company as it fends off pressure from both Andy Burnham’s government and Sadiq Khan
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Mark Carney gives a better speech than almost any world leader. At the moment, he’s switching between French, English and occasionally German in the European Parliament.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
AI developers are at risk of “seeding a new silicon species,” which could “compete” with humans, warns Microsoft’s head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman. He criticised Anthropic for teaching its AI assistant Claude to have human-like qualities, a practice known as anthropomorphising.
bbc.co.uk
Uncontrolled AI could lead to 'silicon species' rivalling humans, warns Microsoft
Mustafa Suleyman says he believes rival AI firm Anthropic is in effect teaching Claude it "may be conscious".
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Hackers targeted Revolut’s “crypto whales” — customers with sizeable cryptocurrency holdings — after compromising an Italian government email system and exchanging messages with the online bank while posing as law enforcement.
ft.com
Hackers say they breached Italian state email to target Revolut ‘crypto whales’
Group claims to have spent months posing as law enforcement to obtain confidential data on hundreds of customers
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
As environment secretary Dame Angela Eagle urges us to stockpile food and water, Channel 4 has turned mass death into reality TV with Apocalypse. What next, wonders @neilmackay.bsky.social, while stockpiling tins of baked beans and sizing up crossbows.
heraldscotland.com
Why am I browsing crossbows at midnight? It's all thanks to a terrifying new TV show
As the government tells us to stockpile food and water, and Channel 4 turns mass death into a game show in Apocalypse, our Writer at Large Neil…
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Danish fast-fashion billionaire Anders Povlsen buys Kinross House and estate, on the western shore of Loch Leven. [share token] www.thetimes.com/article/b71d...
thetimes.com
Scotland’s richest man adds historic lochside estate to portfolio
Anders Holch Povlsen’s WildLand conservation company has acquired the Kinross House Estate, on the western shore of Loch Leven, for an undisclosed sum
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Why Andy Burnham must remove Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clauses — described as “litigation terrorism” by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz — from the UK's trade deals. @labourlewis.bsky.social www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/20...
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Crispin “Odious” Odey loses bid to overturn City ban. “Mr Odey clearly thought he could act with impunity.... [His] arrogant entitlement and the resulting complete disregard for proper governance means [he] is unfit to work in financial services,” said FCA enforcement director Therese Chambers.
thisismoney.co.uk
Odey loses bid to overturn lifetime ban from the City
Crispin Odey has lost his bid to overturn a lifetime ban from working in the City following sexual misconduct allegations against him.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
There’s no need for a windfall tax on bank profits; it would be simpler to stop paying them subsidies by removing the 3.75% the Bank of England pays out on their reserves. Before 2006 this didn’t happen — Gerard Holtham, partner at Cadwyn Capital and visiting professor at Cardiff Metropolitan Uni
theguardian.com
Why are we giving a £24bn-a-year subsidy to profitable commercial banks? | Letter
Letter: Gerald Holtham suggests that it time to cut the 3.75% that the Bank of England pays out on the lenders’ reserves
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The Girl with the Leica, which is being premiered at the Venice Bienale, reminds us that the photographer Robert Capa wasn’t a real person but a shared byline that almost erased Gerda Taro’s name from history.
digitalcameraworld.com
New film 'The Girl with the Leica' reminds the world that photographer "Robert Capa" wasn't a real person, but a shared byline that almost erased Gerda Taro's name from history
Premiering at Venice Bienale, the movie retells the story of a real-life female photographer whose shots were credited to someone else.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
At 8.30pm on 13 September 2007, BBC business editor Robert Peston revealed that Northern Rock had applied for emergency funding from the Bank of England. The next day, Northern Rock confirmed that its appeal to the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street had been successful — and all hell broke loose.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Oh yeah?
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
An inquisitive southern elephant-seal pup makes its first foray into the ocean, in the rock pools of Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands. Young seals need to learn to swim quickly if they are to survive independently. Photo: Matty Smith / Ocean Photographer of the Year
bbc.co.uk
10 of the most striking ocean images of 2026
Curious seals, seahorse fathers and rarely seen deep-sea life are among the most powerful images of the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
How electricity superhighways are transforming Britain. Scotland has become a major focus, with the Eastern Green Link expected to carry 4GW of renewable energy from Scottish windfarms to demand heavy areas of England.
theguardian.com
Mapped: the £150bn megaproject that aims to protect Britain from energy shocks
Thousands of miles of new power lines are needed to deliver climate targets and energy security, but bills will rise in the short term and opponents are mobilising
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Ben Delo — the British billionaire who’s handed £36m to Farage’s Reform UK — pleaded guilty in Feb 2022 to failing to implement anti-money laundering controls on his crypto trading platform BitMEX but was later pardoned by Trump. Presumably he welcomes Farage's plan to turn the UK into a crypto hub.
thetimes.com
Crypto billionaire donates record £36m to Reform UK
Ben Delo is giving Nigel Farage’s party the largest donation in the history of British politics, saying he wants to ensure a ‘fair fight’ at the polls
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
‘37°2 le matin,’ (1986) known in English as ‘Betty Blue,’ depicts an all-consuming romance and a tragic descent into madness. Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, the film stars Béatrice Dalle and Jean-Hugues Anglade.
youtu.be
37.2 Degrees in the Morning 1986 Part 1 | Cut | Drama | Love | Jean-Hugues Angladen | Béatrice Dalle
YouTube video by Unlimited Clips
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It’s unconscionable that the Poole Lifeboat Museum has had to close. It’s also unconscionable that racist thugs (who BBC News insists on calling “anti-migrant protestors”) are harassing, physically abusing, and threatening to physically abuse RNLI volunteers.
bbc.co.uk
Poole Old Lifeboat Museum shuts after protesters target volunteers
The museum in Poole says it will remain closed until until the anti-migrant protests stop.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Labour MP Amanda Martin was quoted as saying it was “completely unacceptable that misinformation has led to young cricketers visiting our city being wrongly targeted”. So, if the people targeted by masked racist thugs had been migrants, Martin would’ve been fine with it?!
bbc.co.uk
Group entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrants
Protesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Unite the union has today confirmed that workers at Diageo’s Cameronbridge grain distillery are to go on strike. Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Diageo is raking in hundreds of millions of profit and there's no justification for slashing hundreds of jobs across its operations.”
scotsman.com
Strike action over job cuts set to hit Diageo’s Cameronbridge distillery
Staff were balloted at the end of August over strike action, which will now take place.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
From the start of his shocker of an interview with UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband, BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb conflated British Jews with Israel, a straightforwardly anti-semitic thing to do. Full analysis by @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social
brokenbottleboy.substack.com
Analysing Justin Webb’s interview with Ed Miliband about sanctions on Israeli settlements
On the absence of balance in an encounter where the Foreign Secretary’s Jewishness was called into question.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Off her trolley? The sheer hypocrisy of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch over press freedom. @privateeyenews.bsky.social
article on Kemi Badenoch’s attitude to free speech from page 10 of current issue of Private Eye (no 1683, 11 September to 24 September 2026).
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Andy Burnham also needs to look into a TV camera and say he is proscribing Daniel “Tommo” Thomas‘s blackshirts
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Brexit is costing every man, woman and child in the UK £3,000 a year after collapsing trade by 6% to 8%, says @stanford.edu economist, Professor Nick Bloom.
independent.co.uk
Economist says Brexit has cost the UK £3,000 per person every year
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Businesses forked out £395-a-head plus VAT to attend Reform UK’s business dinner at the party’s Birmingham conference. Many now believe the event, billed as an ”exclusive private dining experience,” was a waste of money, with one describing it as an absolute “shitshow”.
politicshome.com
Business Leaders Left Disappointed By Reform UK Conference After “Disaster” Dinner And Donations Row
Business leaders and stakeholders have told PoliticsHome that they have been left frustrated by Reform UK's annual party conference in Birmingham.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
From his lanyard, it’s clear that the Reform UK member who assaulted two female protestors at the party’s conference is Stephen Cooling of Sutton Coldfield. I assume @westmidlandspolice.bsky.social are on the case? He ought to be easy to find, as he stood for UKIP in the May 2016 local elections.
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Who were the anti-migrant vigilantes (aka “black-clad masked men”, “masked protestors”) who descended on Dover Port earlier today? @hopenothate.org.uk explains the role of Tommy Robinson sidekick Danny “Tommo” Thomas and his formation of far-right vigilante outfit “Patriot Platform” two months ago.
hopenothate.org.uk
Patriot Platform’s masked members march on Dover – HOPE not hate
At approximately 7:30 this morning, hundreds of black-clad members of Patriot Platform, a far-right vigilante unit, blockaded roads in Dover. They marched north east off...
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Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
From a journalistic perspective, and indeed from others, this is brilliant work by Louis Wilson and Lawrence Carter of Verbatim Investigations. Of course Reform UK leader Nigel Farage’s attempts to trash their year-long undercover report as a “hoax” and “loose pub talk” are falling flat.
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