✋ Former USG war crimes lawyer here. Apropos of SecDef's remarks this morning: Denial of quarter—even the declaration of no quarter—is a war crime. And recognized as such by the US Government. From DoD's Manual for Military Commissions.

Well that’s that sorted, then. Well done, everyone.

This is almost exactly what I said would happen on yesterday’s show. The conflicting & contradictory reasons given for the war, coupled with client journalists & pusillanimous politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, will enable him to claim ‘success’ when nothing remotely successful has happened.

These soldiers have lost their lives because of the Epstein files.

Oh, just the business vehicle of Nigel Farage masquerading as a political party breaching its obligations at Companies House.

Isabel Oakeshott said she had ‘no issue’ with Dubai jailing people if the authorities don’t like their social media posts, and the hypocrisy was visible from space www.thepoke.com/2026/03/05/i...

A report by the Foreign Affairs Committee has found that the Government’s UK-EU reset lacks clear strategic priorities, with Emily Thornberry, Chair of the Committee, arguing that it "isn’t enough to just identify the problem and vaguely call for more alignment".

It’s not difficult to imagine what Winston Churchill would have made of Donald Trump…

Chris Murphy: "It's just so disgusting to listen to the president be waxing poetically about the drapes he's buying while there are six Americans who are dead. There are six families who are about to bury their children because of a war of choice that no one in this country wanted, an illegal war."

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It’s highly & horribly likely that the Leader of the Opposition doesn’t or can’t understand this.

Accusations of cheating and sectarianism show that Reform UK pose a danger to our democracy, even in defeat. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/green-victory-labour-reform-david-aaronovitch-uk-politics-b2928907.html

"Do you accept there is such a thing as international law? And if you were Prime Minister would you try to adhere to it?" Farage: "And international law? Well it is whatever you want it to be isn't it really? You know what is international law?" Reform UK would be dangerous for all of our rights.

"I'm not sure that anyone who voted Green (in Gorton and Denton) works" says Nigel Farage. So not just smearing the winners of the by-election his party just lost, but all of their voters too.

The ridiculous extension of the wait for settled status isn't about putting up barriers to arrival, it's about putting up barriers to integration for people who have already been here for years. It's agreeing with Farage that these people should be treated with suspicion - and leaving it at that.

So presumably this Daily Mail campaign against "foreign-born" voters will quickly be applied to their foreign-born star columnist, Boris Johnson, and their own France-based for tax purposes non-dom owner?

"Trying to compete with Reform not only feels inauthentic... but a betrayal of what Labour is supposed to represent. We must address the concerns and fears of voters, not play on them." Damning stuff from Sadiq Khan www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Nigel, how many cases were witnessed by Reform members? Are you reporting these based on hearsay from election observers? Have you asked why no cases were reported to the polling officers or police at the time? Why do you state (when they didn’t) that these were in “Muslim areas”?

Shabana Mahmood vows to ignore all lessons of the bye-election and continue trying to out-Reform Reform. (Ignoring the fact that Reform supporters would never vote Labour anyway and that former Labour voters are deserting in droves and desperation).

Foreign minister of the dictatorship of Oman, a key UK ally, says he is “dismayed” that “active and serious negotiations” on Iran have been undermined by the US/Israeli bombing.

“Mahmood will argue next week that migration policies – including forcing people to wait 20 years before being able to claim leave to remain – were entirely consistent with Labour values” I just despair www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Labour MP Clive Lewis doesn’t hold back on the Gorton and Denton result in this interview with ITV

Keir Starmer has written to all Labour MPs attacking the Green Party for embracing "divisive" and "sectarian" politics I'm picking up concern among Labour MPs about how this letter will come across to people who have voted/are tempted to vote Green, as it could risk further alienating these voters

"I really want to encourage more people from backgrounds like mine to get into a system that has always shut us out." Hannah Spencer MP: plumber, plasterer, parliamentarian

A vote for Matt Goodwin/Reform in #GortonAndDenton is a vote for racism and misogyny. A vote to shame the constituency, to divide and fail it. It’s a vote that takes no responsibility for its consequences because it hasn’t thought about them and doesn’t care enough to do that. Don’t be that voter.

NEW: Guards have taken away crayons, colored pencils & paper during recent room searches at Dilley, according to detainees and others. After one inspection, the children just “cried and cried and cried,” a mother said. The facility denies the claims. By @mckenziefunk.com @micarosenberg.bsky.social

“Rarely has a British political party unveiled a programme that combines cruelty with impracticality on such an extravagant scale.” Chilling on Reform’s increasingly confident fascism. High on viciousness and greed. Very low on wisdom. A ruinous combination. www.independent.co.uk/voices/zia-y...

Final weekend. One last push. This is about whether you want local plumber Hannah Spencer or the extreme Reform candidate. It's hope vs hate. It's Greens vs Reform. Hope can win.

Boris Johnson colluding with right wing Americans to undermine the UK. Where have I heard this before? bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/b...

Peter Mandelson and Andrew should both be on trial for purposefully leaking State secrets while holding Public Office. The maximum sentence is 14 years, it's not a minor crime. Let a jury judge them. We don't want to see them avoid prosecution because they are 'too rich'

Matt Goodwin was accused by a young women at GB News of making "sexually harassing" comments towards her. Farage was told by a senior staff member about the complaint but selected him as Reform's candidate in Gorton and Denton anyway www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

He’s about to claim they’re guilty of treason, isn’t he? He’ll try to have them arrested…

One of Matt Goodwin's key aides in Gorton and Denton has been suspended from Reform... leftfootforward.org/2026/02/refo...

I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.

Reform is soft on Russia. And it's stuff like this which explains why 👇🏻

"Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech"

Great response! “It’s very hard to believe these accusations. I come from a country [Estonia] that is number two in the Press Freedom Index – so hearing criticism regarding press freedom from a country like the United States, which is 57th on this list, is interesting."

Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex trafficker, gets gardening time, sports, therapy dogs, and spa products in prison. Migrant children in custody are sleeping on concrete floors without enough food or clean water. Our priorities are so fucked.

Good response to Jim Ratcliffe's appalling comment on immigration. @jakerichardsmp.bsky.social: "Jim Ratcliffe has moved to Monaco to save £4 billion worth of tax in this country, one might question whether he is the patriot that we need to comment on this issue."

ASSUMING fair elections, how fucked will the US Republican Party be, come the mid-terms?

I get why Matt posts this nonsense every day, outrage pays. None of this is on the current government. Open borders? Brexit. Soft-on-crime chaos? Tories. Highest taxes since the 1940s? Tories. Shafted pensioners? Tories. Farmers driven to despair? Brexit. Hotels for migrants? Brexit + Tory failure.

NEW: A newly updated reference manual for U.S. judges that provides answers to scientific and technical questions has eliminated some 90 pages about climate science. It comes as numerous climate cases make their way through state and federal courts.

Farage has had, and maintains, close connection to Trump and Putin. Trump has close connection to Putin. Dominic Cummings spent years in Russia. A senior Reform member took Russian money. Farage suddenly found £885k to buy a house. 1/2

Uncharacteristically mild wording from Ian but unerringly accurate as always.

Something compelled me to make this

Reform politicians are happy to throw insults from a distance. But when it comes to debating their ideas? No show. Richard Tice pulled out. Farage won’t face me. Now their candidate in Gorton & Denton has ducked our candidate Hannah Spencer. Vote Green.

It doesn't matter how much you dislike Starmer, things would be infinitely worse under this scheming, Tory shitweasel.