The 2026 Press Freedom Index has global press freedom at its lowest point in 25 years. The UK has dropped to 18th, with budgetary pressures forcing newsrooms to close or drastically cut staff. But independent outlets like the Birmingham Dispatch are still doing remarkable work...

🎧 New PAGE 94 Podcast OUT NOW This week: THE ANTISEMITISM SPECTRUM The team discuss antisemitism across the British political scene, Nigel Farage's £5 million bung, and one of the (few) bits of Parliament that genuinely works. YouTube: youtu.be/dKRLlzAFgso

In current @privateeyenews... In the Money: the Global Counsel fall-out; the private equity cash-in on discounts for emergency workers; the record of the man running Farage-backed bitcoin co in, er, failed bitcoin companies; and the financial nightmare - still - of running a post office.

“Sorry about Frank, he’s a real armchair critic” From the latest Private Eye, out now.

Donald Trump’s repeated insults towards Keir Starmer over the UK’s lack of support for the US attacks on Iran gave the embattled PM a rare boost at home for being seen to stand up to the US president. But the UK is helping the US rather more than Trump’s complaints might suggest. 🧵1/3

Grim mood in Labour as Starmer woes intensify From the latest Private Eye, out now.

The Girl with the Dragons’ Tattoo From the Private Eye archive. Issue 1267, July 2010.

L: Guardian ‘scoop’ leading on their homepage yesterday. R: Coincidence Corner from Eye 1663, November 2025. Stay ahead of the news; subscribe to Private Eye. ➡️ Get 26 issues for just £52. Subscribe: checkout.private-eye.co.uk/SingleItem?I...

Subscribe to Private Eye magazine TODAY and get the next issue delivered direct to your door. Gift subscriptions also available. ➡️ Get 26 issues for just £52. 🔗 checkout.private-eye.co.uk/SingleItem?I...

This is the week that Starmer goes, writes The Stopped Clock, the ever-accurate columnist who’s right twice a day From the new Private Eye, out now.

Michael From the new Private Eye, out now.

Bristol, facing a multi-million funding shortfall, is stumping up another £2m for an already over-budget, overdue housing IT project. The Green-led council has agreed a £10m price tag for the scheme which will be ready in March 2027 – despite an original £7.5m bill and completion date of Dec 2024.

Global Counsel, the consultancy founded by Peter Mandelson, collapsed in February owing £4.3m to creditors, including almost £650,000 to HMRC. Luckily, though, its top brass continue to find plum positions elsewhere. Full story by In The Money columnist ‘Gold Digger’ in the latest issue.

Trump: How did a dangerous mad person get into the event? The answer is very simple: I was guest of honor, invited by the White House correspondents. New Private Eye on shelves now.

Osbourne supports Robinson From the new Private Eye, out now.

Prime Ministerʼs completely vetted confidential WhatsApp Group that he hasnʼt read or been told about. From the new Private Eye, out now.

From drug-smuggling SEND bosses and killer kitchen worktops to AI “experts” duping the media, the Paul Foot Award longlist shows the strength and range of journalism in 2026. ➡️ Find out who made the list: private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-aw...

In times of political turbulence, viewers of BBC News can rest assured: Chris Mason, in the impossible job of a political editor obliged to provide a personal take that can never, ever stray into anything resembling opinion, will always have the perfect platitude to sum things up… 🧵1/2

Royal visit goes ahead despite shooting The new Private Eye is out now.

“We don’t understand how our perfectly sane policy of handing guns to anyone who wants them can lead to gun-related incidents like this one” says NRA From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

From drug-smuggling SEND bosses and killer kitchen worktops to AI “experts” duping the media, the Paul Foot Award longlist shows the strength and range of journalism in 2026. ➡️ Find out who made the list: private-eye.co.uk/paul-foot-aw...

Royal visit goes ahead despite shooting The new Private Eye is out now.

Got a government appointment who needs vetting? Checking whether they appear in Private Eye is a good place to start. IT’S PRIVATE EYE WEEK! New edition in shops and with subscribers from Wednesday.

From the Private Eye archive. Issue 570, October 1983.

Reform UK promised tax cuts; Worcestershire got a 9% hike. But elsewhere, Reform UK councils kept their increases modest - so that’s alright then. ➡️ Watch Page 94, the Private Eye podcast: youtu.be/SAS64Tqu6ZI

Was the Queen a Private Eye reader? ➡️ Watch Page 94, the Private Eye podcast: youtu.be/SAS64Tqu6ZI

In Scotland, Reform UK have had five MSP candidates withdraw from the ballot in the upcoming elections. Can you guess what they have done? ➡️ Watch Page 94, the Private Eye podcast: youtu.be/SAS64Tqu6ZI

Flunkey, the Eye’s royal correspondent, points out that Brian counted himself among Mandelson’s friends in the distant past but gave him the royal cold shoulder after resignation number two. ➡️ Watch Page 94, the Private Eye podcast: youtu.be/SAS64Tqu6ZI

🎧 New PAGE 94 Podcast OUT NOW This week: A KICKING FOR KEIR Who wants to give Starmer a kicking? Basically everyone. Rotten Boroughs editor Saba Salman joins the team to explain how British politics has fractured and how May's elections will be a total bunfight. Watch: youtu.be/SAS64Tqu6ZI

“It’s great to get away from the screens and just enjoy a real live experience” From the latest Private Eye, out now.

“You’re going to spoil the kids if you keep giving into their demands so easily” From the latest Private Eye, out now.

Is Saudi Arabia’s global sports(washing) dream over? This month’s Saudi Grand Prix was called off and Asian Champions League fixtures have been postponed due to the US/Israel war with Iran. 🧵1/3

Unimprovable headline From the latest Private Eye, out now.

Lookalike: Comedian and Chatty Man From the latest Private Eye, out now.

Film Choice: Peter’s Friendless From the Private Eye archive. Issue 1021, February 2001.

Subscribe to Private Eye magazine TODAY and get the next issue delivered direct to your door. Gift subscriptions also available. ➡️ Get 26 issues for just £52. 🔗 checkout.private-eye.co.uk/SingleItem?I...

The authorities have been alerted after a seemingly innocent couple landed an enormous cheque amid claims they were friends of Nigel Farage. “These accusations are an outrage,” said winners Richard Tice and Isabel Oakeshott, of Taxfree Apartments, Dubai. From the new Private Eye, out now.

Number crunching: Iran war From the new Private Eye, out now.

A baffling new twist in the long-running saga of Aberdeen’s lost artworks and artefacts. As we reported in 2023, some of the 1,330 items identified in 2021 as missing from Aberdeen’s museum and art gallery collections were found. But the council would not confirm which, nor how many. 🧵1/2

Trump: We won the moon! We sent up a beautiful bigly rocket and it didn't even land on an Iranian school or hospital. New Private Eye on shelves now.

Artemis splashes down From the new Private Eye, out now.

The Ways in Which Donald Trump is Like Jesus Christ Except Better From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

So terrified are Labour ministers of being thought of as “anti-car” that their belated acknowledgement that sharing transport is a good idea was buried in a blink-and-you-miss-it “strategy” document. 🧵1/3

Hungary: Orban loses historic election The new Private Eye is out now.

Two senior former police officers have identified serious flaws in the police investigation of the Lucy Letby case. 🧵1/4

Kanye West UK ban From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

Hungary: Orban loses historic election The new Private Eye is out now.

Private Eye gift subscriptions available online. ➡️ Offers: checkout.private-eye.co.uk/SingleItem?I...

Flagship Freeport Teesside gives up on “customs zone” that behind the policy in the first place as if falls into financial disarray - and more on scandalous shake down of a local company to extract millions for the businessmen controlling it. Details in current @privateeyenews.bsky.social.