Former Met police chief admits force failed to properly control spycops unit

A little further south in #Herefordshire, which is usually so wet and green, the drought conditions are obvious - the country is unnaturally yellow

The new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has acknowledged that Israel is committing war crimes and that Britain has a moral and legal responsibility to respond. Today, Ellie Chowns MP has written to him calling on the Government to match those words with action, by ending all arms sales to Israel.

Is a crack barn like a crack den but rural? Wondering where this storyline is going... #TheArchers

📝Take part in the Annual Disabled Students Survey 2026! By taking part you join thousands of students around the UK in improving Higher Education accessibility. Deadline: 31st August Share your experiences 👇 app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/dsuk-resea...

British Satire Collection: New Accessions #Reform #Farage #crypto

You really should read this. I'm not usually a huge fan of stories about stories, but this is more than that - a story of a real conspiracy, of those whose stated mission is to hold power to account silenced or cowed by that power until it's too big to ignore. Epic @carolecadwalla.bsky.social

an absolute classic www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.p...

I've never done this before, but the OP has turned off replies & quote shares, & I have thought about this A LOT. I think that it's fine to point out that AT is wearing feminine clothing because it undermines everything he says himself about gender, & points out that he is full of sh*t. HTH 😊

One of our favourite nature facts is that a group of ladybirds is called a 'loveliness'. 📷 Rob Coleman

I never realised that George Eliot was a coiner / purveyor of motivational quotes

This has made a day of packing (house move) an unexpectedly enjoyable task www.bbc.co.uk/events/ed5fbp (I saw it was on and saved it for The Big Packing Afternoon). I haven't listened to Tubular Bells since I was about 12 (my dad loved it)

This is actually giving me physical thrills, I bet Dr. Ramachandran can explain that

this came to mind today binarythis.com/2013/05/23/j...

50 years ago today, Tom Robinson first played Glad to Be Gay. A friend of mine has made a website charting the ways that Tom R has adapted and updated the song to chart the struggle for queer liberation, including an interview with the man himself: gladtobegay.net

I made a zine! With cats! This is my case for buying as well as building the supply of council housing. I am calling on the Govt to deliver a massive fund for councils to buy existing properties and transform them into real council homes. ✍️Sign my petition: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/fu...

Plot prediction: Kirsty's baby will be called Freya, Norse godess who gets a mention from Kirsty today, appropriate for child of Erik the viking #TheArchers

My proposed Minister for AI:

If you’re wondering why UK press has suddenly woken up to Farage, please read this. It’s because: Brexit. The r/w press refused to scrutinise the money behind Farage & the lawsuit against me scared off the rest. But this isn’t a new scandal. It’s the same one I’ve been reporting on for a decade

Ukraine gymnast Oleksandra Paskal performed the “Dance of Freedom” in Paris. The 10-year-old lost her leg due to a Russian terrorist missile strike in 2022. Oleksandra's started a world tour to show Ukrainian spirit. She'll be in New York on Monday, then Rio, Nairobi + Tokyo.

"word siblingry"

"After boarding a handful of boats — stuffed to the brim with people and pets — community members drove across the lake as their entire First Nation burned to the ground behind them. " www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

I am a climate scientist and, same.

Imagine what a difference it would make if everyone could be resourced to be learning or studying towards something. Imagine a few evenings a week just becoming more than you are, focusing on what you might be in future. That's a working class dream for you right there

This is currently my favourite thing on the Internet. Inspirational

Why Britain’s privatisation experiment is so extraordinary by international standards. www.arguably.uk/p/can-andy-b...

How long have we known? This long...

I used LiDAR data and historic mapping to help farmers in the Chilterns find extinct historic ponds to re-instate, creating vital wet habitat space.

"We don’t dispute that the Inquiry has cost a fortune and taken far too long — but the answer to that failure is not to cut the process short before crucial evidence is heard."

Horse owners, animal staff, neurodivergents, veterans, humans – finally, a consultancy on fireworks! www.gov.uk/government/c...

No barrister in British legal history has ever faced contempt proceedings over the content of a closing speech. Rajiv Menon now faces prison for words that barristers have recited in court for centuries. Stop the Prosecution of Rajiv Menon KC - Save Britain's Juries tinyurl.com/SaveOurJuries

Not hearing much cheering coming from the British Legion over the road tonight

At our weekly team meeting today the icebreaker qu was "do you follow a particular sport?" I said I follow football, via bluesky, where all the accounts I follow are poets, archaeologists, and peaceworkers...

Did you know a barrister is facing prison just for reminding a jury they have the right to vote with their conscience? This historic right has existed since 1670. We can't let it be silenced in court now. Add your name to help protect Britain's juries: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

I've got the day off on Monday, so I'll be phonebanking for Geraldine Coggins, Green Party Greater Manchester Mayoral candidate 🌿🌻💚 Join me! @theactionnetwork.bsky.social - RSVP here: actionnetwork.org/events/phone...

Remember Streeting's review into whether young people are being overdiagnosed with ADHD, autism, and mental health issues? Well, the interim report is out, and there's a reason the media are silent on it (spoiler: it proves what a lot of us have been saying all along)

A new study from Oxford Brookes reveals stable housing is the single biggest catalyst for community integration and employment for refugees. The study covered twelve diverse areas of the UK and refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong.

ok, so anyone who has bought a shared-equity house from a Housing Assoc: is it normal to go up to the wire (ie 3 days before moving) before they give your solicitor the completion paperwork? Or should I be re-booking the moving van...?

Listening to 6Music horrified at the latest atrocious mangling of Ewan Macoll's The First Time (Ever I Saw Your Face) - but tempering that by reflecting how amazing that a folk singer's retirement is still supported by royalties from just one song. A kind of sweet payback

Long before Michelangelo, long before Rembrandt, long before Picasso.....women were quietly and collaboratively creating their own masterpieces in Western art history.... #BayeuxTapestry !

Left: Michael Gove on BBC News, "Some of the PPE we ordered was deficient, that's because we were maintaining high standards" Right: Nurses wearing bin bags for PPE

Full marks Kirsty! #thearchers

“hey ken you haven’t posted in a while what have you been up to?” thanks so much for asking. i’ve been putting spongebob quotes in instapoetry format and trying to make them go viral on instagram. i’m gonna get a book deal any day now

Thank you to all my bold non-binary siblings, friends and loves who show me new (to me) ways to see the world, and challenge me to stay open-eyed and curious, and brave, in the face of continuous, concerted efforts by the settler social mindset to categorise us all #nonbinarypeoplesday

'I’m proud to stand alongside -the Disabled People’s Human Rights Network- that is this brave and clear‑eyed. It’s exactly the kind of leadership from disabled people themselves that this moment demands'

Proud to publicly declare my agreement with Anon here

“I found the poems in the fields And only wrote them down” John Clare was born #otd 1793 🎨 Samuel Palmer “The Harvest Moon” (c 1833)

It needs repeating. If you feel heartbroken at the state of the world, it simply means you still have the emotional skills we need for a better future: Care, sympathy, empathy, tenderness. Rage is not enough. We need quiet tears & a genuine willingness to love what we're so obviously breaking.