How paywalls killed the public sphere.

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave Evans An undercover police officer who infiltrated leftwing and animal rights campaign groups appears to have lied to the spycops inquiry when he claimed he did not have a sexual relationship as part of his deployment. The officer who used the fake name Dave Evans had originally testified that he did not have any relationships while using his fake identity. Continue reading...

On Thursday 8 October, the National Literacy Trust and the British Council will aim to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most people reading online in 12 hours.

Shabana Mahmood is concerned about length and £144m cost of inquiry into intrusive police surveillance Victims of intrusive police surveillance have accused the government of seeking to cut short the spycops public inquiry that has been examining widespread misconduct committed by undercover officers. The independent judge-led inquiry is scrutinising how officers, who spied on tens of thousands of political activists over more than four decades, carried out abuses such as deceiving women into sexual relationships and fathering children. Continue reading...

2022 was the last best chance to turn things around.

The Home Office is attempting to scrap or severely limit the Undercover Policing Inquiry. Join survivors and take action now.

The study of history at UK universities appears to be under existential threat. Should anyone care?

ALT: Desync Chaos

Exclusive: Tobias Ellwood says he gave MPs inaccurate information in 2018 provided by his department, the MoD * I inadvertently misled parliament over a British nuclear scandal. Now I’m demanding justice A former defence minister has admitted misleading parliament over the existence of crucial medical records relating to nuclear bomb test veterans. Tobias Ellwood has said he unwittingly gave MPs incorrect information in 2018 when he told them he had been unable to locate information on veterans’ blood tests after being given incorrect information by officials at the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Continue reading...

Doreen Lawrence and other victims of police surveillance have waited decades for justice. Delays and expense due to Met intransigence are no excuse to deny them that, says solicitor Imran Khan

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

More than 100 undercover officers spied on tens of thousands of mainly leftwing activists over decades

Stirring up fury about immigrants’ access to homes fails to tackle the real problem – and raises disturbing questions about what citizenship means

YouTube video by Sky Sports

GWR installs Short-Story Dispensers to keep kids reading through summer - Travel

I have warned about Jeffries and Kushner for a decade. Don’t be shocked by their alliance. From my 2024 essay, “Bad Weather”:

Gordon Smart looks at the week's news agenda and explores the politics of Rugby League.

Andy Burnham and Anthony Albanese have found something few world leaders can replicate: a shared obsession with rugby league.

Plane spends 30 minutes off the Essex coast marking out shape of a bin in apparent tribute to Nigel Farage’s rival A pilot has traced the shape of a bin with their flight path near Clacton before Count Binface challenges Nigel Farage in a byelection on Thursday. The light aircraft spent around half an hour between 2,100ft and 4,150ft above the sea near the Essex coastal town zigzagging to mark out the shape of a bin, according to data from Flightradar24. Continue reading...

The two women's employer has apologised for sending them back to Aeon Mall to secure cash.

Letters: Former clients of Rajiv Menon KC, including Tariq Ali and Hillsborough family members Margaret Aspinall and Sue Roberts, say the charges against him must be dropped. Plus a letter from Andrew...