It’s already started - the BBC allows Newsmax boss to opine about bias, suggest some of the Jan 6 mob were merely innocent tourists visiting Congress, without pushback

This is an excellent assessment of the BBC situation from veteran Panorama journalist John Ware: www.thearticle.com/why-bbc-pano... V important: the PS over the shocking misidentification of the victim of an alleged shooting by British forces in West Belfast during the Troubles.

As I mentioned as a joke yesterday, Chris Ruddy of Newsmax, who knows Trump very well, just suggested on Today prog that our King could help smooth over their King's upset with the BBC.

Chris Ruddy of Newsmax just said that the BBC would win in court because there was no malice and that 1st Amendment would protect them. What he did not say was that a Congressional inquiry found that the sting of the BBC programme - he incited the Capitol invasion - was true.

Big difference not mentioned re Trump's suit agst BBC is that the US broadcasters who settled all had M&A processes that were before the FCC. The BBC operates in the US, but they can rely on the 1st Amendment for protection which CBS/ABC simply abandoned for commercial reasons.

Key thing re the belated defence of the Beeb just emerging: people talk about the “holding to account” bit and ignore cohesion, anti-misinformation, universality, public-interest. It’s like a BBC crisis from 2003 - same attack, same defence, as if the world hadn’t been turned upside down since then.

If the BBC pays Trump, will anyone believe any of its US reports again? They can't just not publish material in the US because, the internet. Do they have any choice but to make a stand, repeat the apology and hope the British government backs them Maybe the King could help? Ours I mean.

I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC. The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.

We have been eagerly awaiting the publication of the BBC Board's letter to the MPs select committee. I gather there has been a slight delay because the BBC is simultaneously trying to add a last-minute contestant to next season's series of Celebrity Traitors.

If we are to believe that the BBC is the worst of British journalism and the press is the best (for which view we must credit Donald Trump) then the world has truly turned upside down. We must defend public-service media from private-interest agendas.

My apologies to Emma Barnett and Anna Foster. It’s been a busy morning for everyone involved in this strange game.

Tells Anna Foster, not Emma Barnett, but yes. And Moore, of all people.

Depressing that the BBC has so little inherent institutional strength, it is kicked about so easily. This is not good sign for our polity.

Charles Moore tells Emma Barnett on Today that the problem with the BBC is that "you" keep defending yourselves rather than admitting "you" are wrong and biased. That speaks volumes: especially that Charles has forgotten that presenters/reporters are not commentators. At least not on the BBC.

This is one of the best pieces of data journalism I have ever seen, certainly in the UK. World class journalism. news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

Moby is planning on spending most of the day with his birthday present.

This lad is 19 today. Hope I look this good (and “I take no crap”) if I make it into my 90s.

If it was anyone but Infantino you’d think that FIFA were taking the peace here. on.ft.com/43eaW3y Fifa to award new ‘peace prize’ in Washington next month

Tottenham play so much better with a man sent off.

And another brilliant goal!!! 4-0

Micky van de Ven!!! What a man. What a goal!!

He's lucky he was wearing his sub vest.

Border Patrol agent Lairmore testifies that he was not injured by the sandwich, but he felt the impact through his ballistic vest. The sandwich came apart and "kind of exploded" on his chest upon impact, he says. "I could smell the onions and mustard."

My thoughts and prayers to all the racists trying to hold on to their bigotry in the face of inconvenient facts.

If parties want credit for telling hard truths, they need to tell them when they're genuinely hard. If Labour had told the truth about taxes & the costs of Brexit before the election, its majority would be smaller. But it would have more real power & the public would put more faith in its judgment

I don't know, people with non-Anglo-Saxon names, who don't look exactly the same as me, coming over here, risking their lives for others, sustaining life-threatening injuries when others ran to hide, stealing our headlines...

Wall Street Journal's editorial board publish absolute takedown of Trump's tariffs and his argument in the imminent Supreme Court case. The WSJ says it would be both wrong in law and a disaster for the US if the Supremes find for Trump. Shots fired, as they used to say in Lexington and Concord.

If anyone in the coming weeks is looking for ways in which you could construct an argument about fairness, taxation, and the deleterious effects of the global financial crisis, austerity & Brexit, you could do worse than read my book. (I'm looking at you, Rach) menschpublishing.com/books/to-be-...

As anti-Labour media will always put words in her mouth, why not beat them to it: "Yes it's true, Daily Mail readers, we are coming for you and your money because a) everyone else had to pay under the Tories b) Brexit screwed the poor c) you voted for both. Cheers, Rachel."

and a lot of other things messing up the economy - just all seems a bit -- late?

In the name of all that's holy, why have you waited so long to say this?

Fine words. Any concrete actions to follow? Co-operation on framing legislation? A lot of countries have not signed this: Germany, Italy, Japan, US, S Korea for a start. www.elysee.fr/en/emmanuel-...

Your Party, Our Money on.ft.com/4qMck7Q Former Your Party members still waiting for fees to be refunded

Call me a bitter old cynic, but this coming just after Trump returns from meeting Xi and announcing trade and rare-earth deals (which are probably nowhere near as good as he says they are), smacks of a quid pro quo. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Pretty extraordinary story here www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

“I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration,” the North Carolina Republican Party's communications director wrote in an email response to us. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.” We didn't. Read the story that he wanted dropped:

The irony snake bites itself in the tail again. Trump suggests during his first interview with the newly supportive CBS News that the editors of the piece can cut out what he is about to say. Which is that CBS paid him "a lot of money" because it edited out an embarrassing remark by Kamala Harris.

“60 Minutes paid me a lot of money” In an edited-out part of the Trump interview Trump brags about extorting CBS for millions for… editing out a part of Kamala’s interview. (He also makes it clear new CBS chief Bari Weiss is in his pocket) #RIPCBS

Slop news shows need for digital "trustmark" denoting news content as professionally-produced journalism. This was suggested by Alex Mahon of Channel 4 last Jan and proposed to all UK news outlets as early as 2018. rts.org.uk/article/gen-... www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

So this is Scott Adams begging for help. The same guy who said: "Common sense isn’t a real thing. And its ugly cousin, fairness, is a concept invented so dumb people could participate in arguments. Fairness isn’t a natural part of the universe. It’s purely subjective." Life's not fair, eh?

Healthcare but only for my friends

Still gets a double-barrelled name. Alright for some.

If you spend vast amounts of time on Twitter & shove vast amounts of horse tranquiliser up your nose, you could imagine conditions for civil war in a Quaker meeting. The real civil war is between the hemispheres of Elon Musk’s and Tommy Robinson’s brains.* *Slightly less sure in latter case.

The product tester looks as though he is contemplating a five-star review of this new rechargeable gel-filled hot water bottle with claimed five hours of reliable warmth.

Reminder to all political media: don’t base your assessment of British electoral politics on lessons from the US, France or anywhere else. As shown in July 2024, it doesn’t take much for the immanent liberal leanings of this country to stand up to populist bullies.

If you’re as confused as I am - and most of the experts I know are - by what Ofcom’s new ruling on politicians posing as news presenters actually means, here is an excellent explainer by former Ofcom regulator and super-expert Chris Banatvala. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Visual metaphor of the Trump II presidency.

ITV’s share price is down 9% as the market opens after it biggest shareholder - cable giant Liberty Global - sold half of its 10% stake. Consolidation talk across US media and distribution companies has caused a sneeze, which according to the famous proverb, means British companies catching cold.

Almost 40% of all local US newspapers have vanished in the last twenty years, according to the The State of Local News: The 2025 Report localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/projects/sta...

Seems to me something apt about jailing Sarkozy (described by Alain Duhamel, in a book comparing the two diminutive French leaders, as “Bonaparte in a suit”) on Trafalgar Day.