The UK's counter-terrorism laws are arguably at their most strict levels since 2010. Stricter than since ISIS, the Westminster attacks, or the Manchester arena bombings. This doesn't make any sense.

The issue with terrorism legislation was always that it allowed authoritarian governments to take sweeping action against organisations they find problematic. This slippage was always the point. The word "terrorism" has been rendered utterly devoid of meaning if some red paint suffices.

Interested that the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation is seemingly doing less ‘reviewing’ independently and more approving before action of ludicrous moves by the Home Secretary to proscribe Palestine Action. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/w...

“They make a desert and call it peace.”

He has produced the real emergency that he can now use to stifle free speech, round people up, and demand total fidelity. At the cost of many human lives and devastation. Declaring it is time for peace right after bombing is quite the thing to say. An abuser’s tactic.

Now is a moment to reshare this video

I got a lot of requests, so here’s a gift link to my latest newsletter, about Democrats’ obsession with calling everything Trump does a “distraction.”

#UKHE consultancies: turn everything in generic megacourses because the only metric for value we have is the largest possible enrolment number & fees students: I will take my brain & my fees to where there's some respect for my interest in choice and specificity. www.lemonde.fr/en/campus/ar...

I mean, I’m boring myself by banging this drum, but almost every university in this country employs more people than British Steel, and the fact that Labour refuses to recognise that is simply intentional ignorance at this point.

Over 200 lawyers, academic and practising, signed the following letter to the UK Govt and parliamentary committees (Westminster and devolved) expressing our concerns over the FWS decision, its implications for trans rights in the UK, and the EHRC approach to it: www.parliament.scot/-/media/file...

Registration for our Re-Imagining Counter-Terrorism Law workshop is now open! Registration is free but will close at 12pm on 2nd June and places are limited. Please use the following link to register. forms.office.com/e/NKSYSGMs9X

A reminder that the word 'terrorism' has no value. It is selectively applied to different people and groups and places, by the US government, and the West more broadly, based on self interest and convenience. (Until a few months ago, the US had a multi-million-dollar bounty on al-Sharaa's head.)

“Experts on the laws of international conflict say it is illegal for a country to limit aid deliveries if it knows that doing so will cause starvation”. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/w...

anne widdecombe coming at labour from the left is wild af. keir starmer has gotta go.

After due consideration, having weighed up the relevant evidence, assessed the balance of arguments and gamed the likely implications, I have reached the conclusion that Keir Starmer can fuck off from a great height.

Labour's biggest issue is neither being too socially conserative or not socially conservative enough. It's cuts. People have had enough.

Extended deadline ending today! With a keynote from Professor Conor Gearty.

If you still believe Hamas, not Netanyahu, is the block on a hostage deal and ceasefire agreement then you are either the dumbest person in the world, or you have never read a word published in the Israeli press, or… both.

I can’t help but think something has gone wrong in your life if you’re spending your morning off work holding a sign that says “Large Gametes”.

On what is a really difficult day, here are some resources for our trans friends and allies. Solidarity 💜 goodlawproject.org/resource/sup...

This is an excellent long read. The blurring of military and civilian; strengthening of executive powers over commerce, land, and people.

Call for Papers: Re-Imagining Counter-Terrorism Law Workshop Come and talk with us about your interesting research in the area of counter-terrorism!

The self-professed ‘free speech absolutist’, with a crazed look in his eyes, says ‘we are going to go after’ the people pushing ‘lies and propaganda.’ Pretty sure, whether you like it or not, the First Amendment covers both lies and propaganda.

The Anglo world destroying one of its most valuable intangible assets of soft power - the Global University - because of xenophobia is a scary reminder of the power that otherisation can hold over people

When @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social @helenhayes.bsky.social does this become a governmental issue or one for the HoC Education Committee? We’re at 1000s of jobs under threat across multiple universities I cannot think of any other ‘industry’ where such political silence would be acceptable

Our latest work on Gaza was produced in collaboration with multiple organisations, including ARIJ, Forbidden Stories, ZDF, and Zeit. Here's a thread of their articles based on the investigation.

Including judgments against Greece for death of a migrant, and against Serbia for extradition to an unsafe country

To repeat: "A country so stupid it actively trashes one of things it's good at and famous for."

Three things: 1. Israel doesn’t get to unilaterally ‘propose’ extensions of a ceasefire that it has repeatedly violated. 2. Netanyahu was already indicted for starvation. Here’s more of the clear starvation policy. 3. It’s the beginning of Ramadan, the cruelty is just so brazen and shameful.

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I honestly don’t know why they frame it as if these companies are reluctantly giving up DEI- these companies are disinvesting in DEI because they don’t think the courts or the political system will punish them for discrimination anymore. DEI existed for most as a lawsuit barrier.

Today at @soasuni.bsky.social "The Genocide in Gaza: A Legal Analysis". Featuring @msjamshidi.bsky.social and @alonso-gd.bsky.social, chaired by @pmpoc.bsky.social Register here: www.soas.ac.uk/about/event/...

These new planned public order/#protest powers got lost in todays news about mobile phone searches From memory, the ones tried but dropped by James Cleverley as HS in 2023 www.gov.uk/government/n...

Allegation-picking is an endemic practice of the European Court of Human Rights--I have found over 1,600 instances so far. In this post, I explain what allegation-picking is and why it demands more attention from the Court and Court-watchers alike. strasbourgobservers.com/2025/02/25/a...

Something that has been strange to contemplate in the era of e-publishing is how much content of a modern university library can disappear through the end of a subscription or the revokation of e-book access rights.

dehumanization + disinformation + 'Othering' is a key value of so-called 'populists'. In fact most of the stuff populists advocate in policy or attitude is basic gaslighting, through the distortion and abuse of common language and understanding. eg 'equal rights' but only for those who agree w them

How do you protect yourself online? In this video we’ll walk you through some steps we take to protect our online safety, and give you tips on how to strengthen yours… www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9uF...

I keep thinking about how institutions of higher ed are CHOOSING to give students a worse education. I saw an email from a Dean chairing our core curriculum committee where he admitted that data show Humanities majors get good jobs/are generally successful, “but that isn’t what students want.”