Surprised to see so many headlines from news outlets suggesting Putin has agreed to a ceasefire. He’s done no such thing. He’s basically said he would do in theory, providing his conditions are met, on his terms. Which is just a variation on what he’s always said.

Marco Rubio's new acting undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, ladies and gentlemen.

And of course the wide-ranging 468 page Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse which took 7 years to complete, published in 2022 & led by Prof Alexis Jay 👇 www.iicsa.org.uk

TELFORD Jul 2022 UK-WIDE Child Sexual Exploitation - Home Affairs Select Committee June 2013

ROTHERHAM 2014 - independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation by Alexis Jay which covered CSE in the town 1997-2013    ROTHERHAM 2015 - Louise Casey looked at whether Rotherham Coucil was ‘fit for purpose’ given their abdication of responsibility for vulnerable kids

ROCHDALE 2013 Serious case review highlighted failures by 17 agencies who were meant to protect kids GTR MANCHESTER 2020 - Manc-wide Independent Review commissioned by Mayor Andy Burnham (Part 1)   OLDHAM 2022 – Burnham review (Part 2) ROCHDALE 2024 - Burnham review (Part 3)

Some people in recent days have alleged a ‘cover-up’ over the grooming & rape of hundreds of young girls in predominantly northern UK towns, leading to calls for a ‘national’ public inquiry into child sexual exploitation FWIW here’s a non-exhaustive list of inquiries into #CSE in last 12 yrs…

Failures of the CONSERVATIVE government to apply recommendations of the panel on grooming gangs

In 2023 Prof Jay and the Victims & Survivors Consultative Panel said: ‘We are deeply disappointed that the Conservative gov has not accepted the full package of recommendations made in the final report’

So, 2025 is the year that I get to introduce/inflict my new pseudonymous pen name - S.J. Fleet. And send this little critter out into the world. August 2025 will be the debut of The Cut Throat Trial (although you can pre-order now). And good Lord I’m terrified. www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Throat-T...

Sounds fair to me!

#ReadingFC overperforming on xG according to @theathletic.bsky.social

How Manchester City went from world’s best to straw men in 12 months | Barney Ronay

Haaland is all about the numbers. Here are some interesting ones. In the five previous seasons without him City scored more goals than they have in two and half seasons with him. With Haaland they average 2.3 goals per game. Without him that was up at 2.6.?

Drax Biomass Power Station is burning the equivalent of 27 million trees a year and getting paid public money to do it! Tell the UK government to stop subsidising forest destruction. act.gp/3CNWh2h

An absolutely frightening expose of the new US 'Defence Secretary' www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

"But what struck through to me was the confusion caused by people getting information from social media. Partly this is because we barely have any good local newspapers anymore. In the past, if you disagreed on policy, there was a shared idea of what the basic facts were. That doesn’t exist now.”

Period

It was never about “free speech” over in the bad place.

Release the Gaetz report. Pass it on.

FWIW, I think that it may well be exposure to other views which has increased polarisation. In the olden days, a Guardian reader wouldn't have had a clue what was in the Mail. And vice versa. Social media has increased exposure to different views. And very often, people react in outrage to them.

Martin Lewis and James Dyson blame Rachel Reeves. Tommy Robinson blames immigrants. Here's the actual problem

Twitter deactivated