This account will be quiet for a bit because I'm lucky enough to be going on holiday to Japan 🇯🇵 I'll be back on here in a couple of weeks...unless some major news happens

More than 30 people trying to reach Britain in a small boat were left to drown over several harrowing hours because of failures by rescue authorities, an inquiry has found The incident in November 2021 is the deadliest known small boat disaster in the English Channel www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...

Following Keir Starmer's pledge to release material relating to Peter Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador, subject to exemptions decided by parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, the Metropolitan Police has said publishing certain documents would undermine its criminal investigation

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is investigating Peter Mandelson for potential misconduct in public office They said it followed both the new Epstein documents released by the US Department of Justice and "a referral from the UK Government"

Today's protest by the Palestine Coaliton march in London vastly outnumbered a counter-protest by Stop the Hate and an unrelated march by Ukip, whose leader advertised it in a video wearing a...black shirt Photos posted on X by the Met Police - 1. Palestine Coalition, 2. Stop the Hate, 3. Ukip

Jordan Richardson, then a 19-year-old gym receptionist, became interested in Islam in late 2023 He converted to Islam in May or June 2024, but by October that year he was sharing terror attack videos and Isis propaganda Soon, he was planning his own attack, and was arrested in December 2024

The long-overdue debate on student loans reminds me of a moment in November 2010 when I had gone straight from a London protest against the £3k to £9k increase (escaping a kettle and running from a police baton charge) to be in the audience of this Question Time episode www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/...

A fifth man has been arrested in relation to the fires that targeted a vehicle and properties linked to Keir Starmer last May The Metropolitan Police said the 19-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday in Harlow, Essex, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson. Three men have been charged so far

A case with several similarities to this one was sentenced today, when Harry Whittaker, 33, was jailed for 3 years and 9 months for making explosives Police said that although there was evidence of "extreme right wing ideologies," there was no evidence that he was planning a terror attack

A neo-Nazi who 3D-printed parts of homemade firearms has been jailed for 15 years When police raided Robert Adamski's London home in 2024, his 3D printer was still running in his bedroom, which had swastika and SS flags on the wall, and a photo of Adolf Hitler in Nazi uniform on the wardrobe

A look back at Suella Braverman's time as home secretary via some of my articles during that period September 2022: A difficult beginning www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

An update on this: Three people accused of shouting intifada chants at a protest have been charged with "using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour intending to stir up racial hatred or, having regard to all the circumstances, whereby racial hatred was likely to be stirred up"

I've just seen the awful news of the death of Hadiya Masieh, whose work to counter extremism was known by few but important to many Sending my thoughts to all her family and friends, and sharing this interview I did with her in 2018 to remember her work www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

This is one of the strangest and most screwed-up stories I’ve worked on. www.londoncentric.media/p/tiktok-lon...

Former Conservative councillor Philip Young, accused of drugging and raping his wife over a 13-year period, has pleaded guilty to 48 of the 56 charges against him today The other five men charged have either pleaded not guilty or not entered a plea and the trial will take place in October

Engagement with government accounts on X latest

I would also note: X has deleted a handful of these images. But the vast majority of them remain live on X today.

I try not to be shocked by train prices anymore but I did just have to pay £168 for a day return from London to Leeds

The inevitable has happened What now for Britain's strategy of leaving its citizens and former citizens in those camps indefinitely, now with many children, to kick the security challenge they present down the road www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/w...

Incredibly sad news, for everyone involved and for journalism in London For many years when I was at The Independent, the Evening Standard was the more commercially successful operation. The decline in print and associated advertising revenue is well-known but I can't believe it had to come to this

It's not easy to keep up with everything going on today, but the NYT is doing its best The live blog covers all things Davos, Greenland and tariffs - I've been updating it with quotes from US speaker Mike Johnson's speech in the Houses of Parliament www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

To all my followers - Bluesky is now (and has been for a while) my primary platform If you still follow me on X, the account is still active but I mainly use it for research so this is the best place to find my latest articles and other updates 🦋

Keir Starmer has said Britain will not "set aside" the fundamental principle that Greenland must decide its own future in response to Donald Trump's threats But he insisted dialogue with US president was the way forward and appeared to rule out retaliatory tariffs www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

The full High Court trial for the case brought against the publishers of the Daily Mail by Prince Harry, Elton John and four other high-profile figures begins today It is Harry's third case against a major newspaper group and the previous two ended with a settlement www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/w...

Keir Starmer has had a phone call with Donald Trump Downing Street said it followed separate calls with leaders of Denmark, Nato and the EU, and that the PM "reiterated his position on Greenland" and said "applying tariffs on allies for pursuing the collective security of NATO allies is wrong"

In August, I reported how people who plan attacks and mass murder without an ideological motive are falling through a gap in British law Today, an 18-year-old boy planning a Southport-style attack was jailed, but only for possessing documents and not the actual plot www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/w...

West Midlands Police chief constable Craig Guildford has "retired with immediate effect," the local police and crime commissioner has announced Simon Foster says he "acted with honour and in the best interests" of WMP, and that concerns about Maccabi saga and wider public trust would be addressed

Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick were repeatedly questioned about his role in the last government and on immigration, in a sign of things to come But Reform has decided it's worth the risk

Time will tell if Robert Jenrick's manoeuvres pay off for him - Nigel Farage said no deal had been reached but that he'd "give him a ring" But does Reform want the immigration minister in post for record small boat crossings, asylum hotel spike and Rwanda failure? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/w...

The chief constable of West Midlands Police has not resigned and the only person with the power to remove him has made no move to do that, instead issuing a statement emphasising the "preliminary" nature of today's report The Maccabi Tel Aviv row is far from over www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/w...

Donald Trump and figures on the UK and international right have long painted London as a dangerous city where crime is out of control But in 2025, the homicide rate dropped to a record low. I interviewed the Met Police commissioner and mayor on perception vs reality www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...

I should not care about this *at all* but... I've been verified by Bluesky! It's not something I requested - they contacted me saying I was "notable" (thanks?!) and had been verified so the blue tick is BACK

X has limited Grok's image creation function to paid subscribers in response to international threats of legal action and regulation over sexualised images of women and children But the initial indications are that will not be enough to quell demands for action www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/t...

Breaking News: U.S. agencies blocked Minnesota officials from investigating the fatal shooting a 37-year-old woman by a federal immigration agent, a state official said.

My colleagues are on the ground in Minneapolis and speaking to witnesses to the shooting by a federal immigration officer They will be posting live updates here (gift link) www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

It's snowing in central London ❄️

Ofcom, which enforces the UK's Online Safety Act, says it is aware of "serious concerns" about Grok undressing people including children on X “We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK," it says

📣 Shout out to legal Bluesky - is anyone able to direct me to the definition of "intimate" or "intimate state" in relation to image sharing offences in the Online Safety Act 2023 and Sexual Offences Act 2003? Thank you in advance

Live updates on Venezuela here today Keir Starmer did not directly answer a question on if the US broke international law in a BBC interview broadcast this morning, and said "it would not be in our national interest to weaken [UK relationship with the US] in any way" www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

The capture of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and President Trump’s declaration that the U.S. will “run the country” for now raise a host of extraordinary legal issues at the intersection of international law and presidential power. Here is a closer look.

While the UK government has not directly criticised the US intervention in Venezuela (although the PM has repeated his "support for international law"), its security assessment is not good Here's the foreign secretary advising against all travel and appealing for a "transition without bloodshed"

Our @nytimes.com story from last week broke the news that US officials had discussed a “Phase Two” land operation against Maduro that would involve Delta Force. It’s the definitive story on how Trump, Rubio and Miller converged on the actions today. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/u...

Reporter: Any New Year's resolution? Trump: "Peace on earth" www.youtube.com/watch?v=lljm...

Just watched Wild London and while researching Parliament's peregrine falcons, found this 2009 early day motion hailing their arrival 😍 edm.parliament.uk/early-day-mo...

There was a lot of news in 2025, to put it mildly I'm looking back with 25 of my stories that are significant for the year behind us and what's to come 1. I'll start in January, when the Southport attack sentencing deepened questions about the nature of terrorism www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/w...

There is no escape from Big Protein

Happy new year to all my followers, and everyone who has read and supported my work (and the rest of you I suppose) I'm seeing in 2026 at the New York Times, still focused on my long-term patch of UK home affairs, security and crime Keep the story ideas coming 🖊

Great story by my colleague Michael Shear about the fake Keir Starmer videos doing the rounds on TikTok www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/w...

Notes from a hopeful meeting between Tony Blair and President Yushchenko of Ukraine in February 2005

Well this is making me feel old