“Everyone involved pretends they had absolutely no idea.” Ian Hislop, Private Eye’s editor, appeared on Tonight with Andrew Marr to discuss the Epstein files, and the cover the Eye ran in reference to the paedophile sex trafficker all the way back in 2011.

I saw 8 hares today. Here are 4 of them.

Huge story in @theipaper.com "[Mandelson] was very involved in all the details; I think he enjoyed it. He was involved in all the personalities and the mechanics including asking the question of who do we want in which seat" Probably a breach of GDPR laws too ... inews.co.uk/news/politic...

It would be really helpful to have a bit of clarity on what Keir Starmer does want to achieve so we could all take a view on whether his proposed EU relationship (rather than rejoining) does serve his purpose. Glib statements are not enough. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Because I'm talking about measles. It is also A VERY VERY VERY CONTAGIOUS VIRUS. If someone is in a room and has measles and then leaves that room and you enter that room within TWO HOURS (depending on humidity) you can get measles. And people are contagious for four days before the rash appears.

Is this really why Labour MPs think they were elected: to strip some of the most vulnerable children in the country of their right to a decent start in life? My @theipaper.com column on looming SEND reforms inews.co.uk/opinion/pare...

🔎 From the archive From Epstein to Starmer: Mapping Peter Thiel’s Web of Influence in the UK The tech billionaire Trump-backer is rapidly gaining influence over politics and public services in the UK, reports @peterjukes.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2025/09/12/p...

A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.

every epstein file drop underscores how elite power operates through shared socio-economic networks, regardless of people's ideological differences, populist posturing, or public feuds

Assisted dying: choice, coercion or imposition? spcare.bmj.com/content/earl...

Latest from me, and one of the most important pieces on Special Needs I've written so far: "In fifteen years of political journalism, I don’t think I have seen anything quite like this: a mad game of briefing, counter-briefing and official stonewalling." maybeimamazed.substack.com/p/why-the-po...

It's my dream for this book to be on a syllabus. Not too subtly, if you'd like to put it on yours I'd be eternally grateful (& also more than happy to student questions...)

v happy to be doing this for @desperatelit.bsky.social - enter here desperateliterature.com/prize/

Stunner! This beautiful bird is a Little Blue Heron that is in the process of molting from the immature white plumage to the mature blue plumage. #birdphotography

A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.

“on the evidence so far, Carney is prepared to be principled when it comes to western countries like Canada and Denmark, and pragmatic when it comes to Palestine and Venezuela.” x.com/obornetweets...

WTF happened to the Epstein files? Full release was required December 19 by federal law. Today, 99% are still undisclosed. Initially, there were rolling releases. Now, nothing in weeks. REMEMBER: The DOJ said the review of these documents was complete in JULY.

*whispers* *hey, most of the world, you know we should boycott the Olympics and the World Cup, right*

Appointing Tony Blair to a 'Board of Peace' is like appointing Harold Shipman to a Board of Health

Trump accepting Machado's Nobel Peace Prize is a great insult to the FIFA Peace Prize committee

🟨 Print Edition — The Covid Inquiry – 230,000 Deaths and the ‘Calculated Silence’ of the Medical Establishment The Covid Inquiry’s second report has helped expose the UK’s ‘closed club’ approach to dealing with the pandemic – which cost so many people their lives, writes former WHO director… 🔗 …

"Congratulations, we are cutting migration. But we have persistently high NHS waiting lists, a shortage of social care, collapsing universities, missed housebuilding targets, lower economic growth and higher taxes." My new column for @theipaper.com inews.co.uk/opinion/fall...

We were devastated to learn of the passing of our friend and colleague Danielle Scott-Haughton. Dani was the BBC Commissioning Editor for Death in Paradise and Beyond Paradise and was a passionate champion of both shows, as well as every programme she worked on. deadline.com/2026/01/dani...

❤️‍🔥Tory sources confirm that Nadhim Zahawi made approaches to senior members of Kemi Badenoch's team about getting a peerage just weeks before defecting to Reform UK - but was turned down.

Last week, the Health and Social Care Committee questioned Stephen Kinnock on the findings of the report which the committee commissioned into palliative care. The reports findings were worse than we were expecting. It is clear that palliative care services are not good enough and must improve.

The works of Plato are now being banned at schools in the United States. Tell me again how censorship is a European problem? 🤔

"Israel Is Banning the 'Last Foreign Witnesses' to Its Genocide in Gaza" In a likely deadly move, the Israeli government told 37 foreign aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, they could no longer operate in Palestine. Where is the outrage, asks Diana Buttu for Zeteo?

A reminder that Kemi Badenoch wants to create a UK “Removals Force” explicitly modelled on ICE

Once again we rely on Spanish ministers to say the things British ministers are too frightened to say.

I genuinely do not understand why this not being reported on much more. It is debatable whether they shd be in prison at all in the first place. But to let them die?

Shortage of NHS stroke specialists resulting in thousands dead or disabled, say doctors www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Jared Kushner has somehow found a place at Coalition of the Willing press conference with Scholz, Zelensky, Macron, Starmer and Witkoff. Kushner has no official position in the US government.

One thing missing from discussion on Greenland: its citizens may not want to be taken over by the US but many are very disenchanted with Denmark's arrogant colonial rule, especially after the mass sterilisation campaign that I investigated there along with the theft of children

French authorities to investigate Grok nude deepfakes www.politico.eu/article/fran...

👀 www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...

What a speech! Really worth listening to in full. Cant help thinking we would be far better off if our countries were run by some of our mayors @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social @london.gov.uk @annehidalgo.bsky.social @andyburnham.bsky.social youtu.be/NFVT5iUV8bA?...

Number crunching: Telegraph editorial columns in December highlighting ‘the unreliability of social media’ v corrections the Telegraph has had to publish so far this year due to inaccurate reporting From the new Private Eye, out now.

Here’s the U.S. government being officially religious in a country with no official religion.

Virgin Money, a subsidiary of the 'ethical' Nationwide Building Society, has frozen the bank account of Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine because of “an investigation into Palestine Action”, despite it having no affiliation to the direct action group www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

’Tis the season for presents and goodwill. In Westminster, especially over the Christmas period, the giving of gifts, freebies and swanky receptions for MPs, their advisors and colleagues go into overdrive. Read my article for @eastangliabylines.co.uk eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/gif...

“Babies Are Freezing to Death in Gaza. Israeli Policy and the World’s Inaction Are to Blame”

I’m still reading the biography of Dr James Barry, who was born a woman but lived and worked as a military surgeon. Sometimes thought to be a bit effeminate, he was largely unchallenged in his lifetime. Lots of things were problematic in the early 1800s, but mostly people accepted him as he was.

The UK government "urged us not to go Pakistan. And they said if we do go there, we won't have any kind of protection from their side if we get arrested." A pretty shocking revelation from Kasim Khan, Imran Khan's son, about the Labour government. Watch my full interview: zeteo.com/p/imran-khan...

🔽just some of the people featured in 2025 in rights-based @communitylivingmagazine.com which I'm proud to edit. Next one's out in January, highlighting potential and calling out failure. Big thanks to our tiny editorial team, trustees, sponsors, subscribers, contributors & collaborators.

Democracies need to urgently rein in the tech titans manipulating human behaviour and social media firms damaging society so badly before it is too late. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/tech...

‘Power without responsibility is now the preserve of the tech giants thanks to governments dazzled by the online overlords. Democracies must find a way to hold them accountable for their harms, make them liable for the lies & hate spewed on their sites, and restrain their hideously corrosive impact…

Job links for those posts with our team: www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Four and a half million children are growing up without basic necessities in the UK.