3 min read9 min

They will do so amid a turbulent context for trade, the rules that govern it, and international relations more broadly. President Trump’s tariffs, growing protectionism elsewhere, and the fall-out from wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have injected considerable volatility into the global system. It is a challenging time for those of us who support free trade.

This global instability has generated acute challenges for the rules-based system for trade. In response to President Trump’s tariffs, there has been a growing proliferation of so-called ‘mini deals’ as countries scramble to mitigate the impact on their economies. The UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal (EPD) is one such example. The EPD is a strange beast – it is not legally binding, only covers a handful of sectors, mixes specific commitments with more aspirational ones, has only partially been implemented, and does not appear to be compatible with WTO rules on non-discrimination. When the International Agreements Committee, which I have recently joined as Chair, examined the EPD, we warned that the Government “should be wary of implicitly supporting the dismantling of the system in this way.” And whilst the EPD was clearly borne of pragmatism, it is far from clear that it will offer businesses the stability they crave.

Yet the UK is far from alone in pursuing a realpolitik approach with the US; several others, including the EU, have signed similar “deals”. And in parallel, the growing importance of the services sector and digital economy, historically neglected in traditional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) but vital for the UK’s economic growth, has contributed to a growth in sector-specific agreements. Taken together, these developments throw debates about WTO reform into sharp relief.

The UK’s approach to trade agreements is also evolving. In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, the focus was on FTAs, but since then there has been a move away from FTAs and towards a broader suite of trade instruments – embedded in the current Government’s Trade Strategy. As trade minister in the last Government, I signed dozens of non-binding Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs). Many of these were symbolic, but there is a growing trend to use these for more substantive commitments.

To make sense of these shifting sands, my Committee has recently launched a new inquiry into the future of rules-based trade and the UK’s use of trade instruments. We encourage anyone with knowledge or experience in this area to come forward and share their views, so that we can undertake our duty of scrutiny effectively and make impactful recommendations to the Government in the report we will produce.

While questions about different types of trade agreement may seem academic, they also have important scrutiny implications for Parliament. One of the biggest problems with the current system for scrutiny of international agreements in the UK is that scrutiny is triggered by the form of a treaty and the process the Government chooses to follow, rather than its substance. This has detrimentally affected scrutiny in the past, including with important non-trade treaties, such as with Rwanda on asylum seekers. The Government has signed up to enhanced scrutiny procedures for FTAs, but if it intends to sign up to more and more substantive trade commitments through other vehicles, that will have implications for Parliament’s ability to scrutinise these commitments. As the only Committee in Parliament which scrutinises treaties as routine, the hope for our Committee is that our new inquiry will complement our wider scrutiny work – and underline the case for reforms to the treaty scrutiny process.      

This article has been sponsored and funded by AstraZeneca.

The publication of the new National Cancer Plan for England marks a pivotal moment for people affected by cancer. At AstraZeneca, the ambition to one day eliminate cancer as a cause of death drives every aspect of our oncology strategy. In the United Kingdom, we bring this to life through our Cancer: Project Zero.

This new National Cancer Plan is a necessary step toward achieving the future envisioned in Cancer: Project Zero.

The plan’s headline target – three in four people with cancer will live well for at least five years with or beyond cancer by 2035 – is ambitious. As is the more immediate goal to recover all cancer waiting times by March 2029. But can this be achieved within this parliament?

What’s powerful about this plan is that it looks to redesign care around people’s lives, through earlier diagnosis, faster treatment, and better support, so that no one’s postcode determines their outcome. This is a compelling vision.

We now need a rigorous focus on delivery and implementation; otherwise, there is a risk that rhetoric does not meet reality.

This requires embracing the enablers that will allow the NHS to meet rising demand while improving outcomes:

• harnessing AI and digital tools to streamline and enhance processes
• sharing data better across the system to track progress and outcomes
• optimising patient pathways to reduce unnecessary appointments and accelerate access to treatment

At AstraZeneca, we are one of many organisations working with the NHS to deploy new ways of working and advances in technology. From partnerships in Manchester to drive earlier and faster diagnosis of lung cancers, to AI triage for multidisciplinary teams in London, we are collaborating with local system leaders to gather the evidence needed to drive change on the frontline.

But how do we ensure that promising innovations move beyond pilot schemes, where many remain trapped, and into routine practice?

To do this, we must foster a culture of no-regret moves. Bold decisions to adopt the innovations we know the system needs at scale and pace, supported by clear national direction and empowered local leadership. Industry, academia, and the NHS all have roles to play, but sustained political attention will be essential to maintain momentum. Parliamentarians have a unique opportunity to champion this transformation and to ensure that the commitments in the National Cancer Plan translate into action where it matters most: in the clinics, hospitals, and cancer centres you represent across the country.

That is why I invite Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to join us on the morning of 24 March in the Churchill Room to learn more about Cancer: Project Zero and discuss how we accelerate implementation of the National Cancer Plan. This event will bring together experts, clinicians, and innovators to explore the practical steps needed to deliver the bold ambition we all share. By working together, we can ensure that this plan becomes more than a strategy on paper. We can turn it into a reality that changes lives.

To find out more about Cancer: Project Zero, please click here.

March 2026 | GB-74943

What is a competence hangover?

Who is most likely to get a “competence hangover”?

How can I tell if I have a competence hangover?

When should I leave because of burnout?

Ireland manager: Steve Coogan (centre) as Mick McCarthy |
Image by: Alamy / © Sunrise Films / Courtesy of: Everett Collection 

5 min read4 min

At the turn of the 20th century, the two most successful parties of Irish politics, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, emerged from the Irish Civil War. They were divided not by class but by their different stances on whether to accept the Anglo-Irish Treaty and a limited form of independence from British rule. This binary shaped Irish governance for a century, effectively turning the two parties into rival pillars of the state that alternated power, until their historic coalition a few years ago.

But at the turn of the 21st century, it was events that took place on a small Pacific island which did more to divide Irish public opinion than any domestic political event. Roy Keane’s walkout from the Republic of Ireland squad during their 2002 pre-World Cup training camp in Saipan started off as an argument about standards but quickly became something much bigger. The events that led to his departure are captured in a new film – Saipan – available now to stream online.

Keane, then Ireland and Manchester United captain, and at the peak of his influence as a global star, felt the facilities in Saipan were amateurish to the point of disrespect. Training pitches were at Sunday league levels, the catering akin to school dinners, equipment including footballs missing, and travel arrangements chaotic. In typical Keane style, he did not keep his concerns private. He went public in an explosive interview with the Irish Times, criticising the preparation in blunt, unforgiving terms.

As a portrayal of what happened in Saipan, it is a solid docufilm

Mick McCarthy, the Ireland manager, saw it differently. To him, this was a player who thought he was above everyone else, undermining the team days before a World Cup that they had fought so hard collectively to qualify for. Saipan centres on the rising tensions and subsequent breakdown in the relationship between Keane and McCarthy. McCarthy, played by Steve Coogan, confronts Keane on a number of occasions and as the film progresses the arguments turn deeply personal. It culminates in a confrontation in front of the squad where simultaneously McCarthy sends Keane home and the captain quits.

As a portrayal of what happened in Saipan, it is a solid docufilm. What it oversimplifies are the years of tension between Keane and the out-of-touch Football Association Ireland (FAI). It was the FAI, more than McCarthy, who were responsible for the unprofessional facilities and preparations. And what the film misses completely is what I think became the most interesting aspect of the saga: the reaction in Ireland and among the global diaspora. 

The World Cup in 2002 is the first I can remember following, along with my Irish dad and grandparents in London. Qualifying was a major achievement for Ireland, having knocked out the Netherlands in the group stage.

There was hope and excitement at the qualification, but the fallout from Saipan – and whether you were with Roy or against him – was polarising. It split families, friends, pubs and workplaces for years after. In the days that followed his departure, there were incidents of fans defacing 7UP billboards across Ireland featuring Keane, leading to their removal (ironically, the slogan of the advertising campaign he fronted was “there’s no substitute”). 

One side saw Keane as Ireland’s greatest ever player and the ultimate professional, who was simply holding a poorly run association to account. The other viewed him as selfish, abandoning his country on the biggest stage. The team eventually made the last 16, which only added another layer to the debate: had Keane been a disruptive force, or had his absence forced unity?

In this depiction Coogan brings presence to Mick McCarthy, reflecting both the steadiness of the Yorkshireman and the simmering frustration of a manager under siege. Éanna Hardwicke, who plays Roy Keane, certainly captures the infamous volatility of the captain, but his performance occasionally lapses into a one-dimensional portrayal, conveying everything with intensity.

It took a century for the historic divides between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to subside when they entered a coalition in 2020. The debate over whether Keane was right or wrong to walk away from Saipan may still divide Irish public opinion a century on. There is much to explore in that, including the national conversation it started on the relationship between individual excellence and collective responsibility. This is a decent film, but it would have been greatly enhanced with a portrayal of that societal response at home.

Liam Conlon is Labour MP for Beckenham and Penge

Saipan

Directed by: Glenn Leyburn & Lisa Barros D’Sa

Broadcaster: Available to rent on Amazon Prime & Apple TV

The centre-left Freedom Movement party led by incumbent Slovenian prime minister Robert Golob eked out marginally more votes than its main rival, the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDP), in the Sunday March 22 national election. That’s despite the apparent involvement of an Israeli spy firm attempting to undermine the government through use of secret recordings.

Figures are still shifting as votes are counted and recounted, but it appears Golob managed to secure around 28.5% of the vote, with the rival SDP leader Janez Janša getting around 28%. Golob has been leading a three party coalition since 2022.

Slovenian PM demands European action against Zionist spying

The election in the nation of two million people reached the European mainstream last week, when Golob contacted president of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen. The senior EC figure has been dubbed ‘Ursula Fond of Lying‘ due to her contortions to back Zionist atrocities, but Golob tried his luck nonetheless, reporting the underhand manoeuvres of an Israeli surveillance company. He sought to inform the commission of:

…alarming information regarding what appears to constitute a grave instance of foreign information manipulation and interference currently unfolding in the Republic of Slovenia. Recent media reports informed the public of a private Israeli intelligence company Black Cube engaging in “mercenary surveillance” as a part of a coordinated operation to manipulate the Slovenian electoral processes by targeting political figures via illegal surveillance and so-called “smear” operations.

Such interference by a foreign private company poses a clear hybrid threat against the European Union and its Member States, which negatively impacts or potentially threatens our common values, procedures and political processes.

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He concluded:

Black Cube is known for their smear campaigns with one goal: to undermine the trust of the citizens in the democratic processes by releasing falsified corruption allegations at precisely planned times, in this case, just before the general elections. These activities pose a threat to national security and influence democratic elections.

Zionist spy called for engineering epidemics in Gaza

Golob said Black Cube operatives had been in Slovenia four times in the previous six months. Politico has an in-depth report, saying a:

…private jet that landed on a freezing December day was carrying Dan Zorella, CEO of Black Cube; Giora Eiland, former head of Israel’s National Security Council; and two other men, according to the authorities, who allege they were engaged in “covert surveillance and wiretapping.”

The reports describes the recordings made:

The tapes show prominent Slovenian figures apparently discussing corruption, illegal lobbying and the misuse of state funds.

The figures involved do not appear to have been publicly named for legal reasons. As for the Black Cube men, Eiland is a particularly vile figure. He demanded that so-called ‘Israel’ engineer disease outbreaks during the Zionist holocaust in Gaza, saying:

After all, severe epidemics in the southern Gaza Strip will bring victory closer and reduce casualties among IDF soldiers. This is not cruelty for cruelty’s sake, since we do not support suffering on the other side as an end, but as a means…

We must not, simply must not, adopt the American narrative that gives us ‘permission’ to fight only Hamas fighters instead of doing the right thing – fighting against the opposing system in its entirety, because it is precisely the civilian collapse that will bring the end of the war closer.

This amounts to a clear call for the war crimes of collective punishment and biological warfare.

Exports from ‘Palestine Laboratory’ cause harm globally

Golob’s government has shown clear Palestinian sympathies. The country recognised Palestinian statehood in May 2024. The government brought in a bill that banned the import of goods from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (though ‘Israel’ itself is also occupied Palestinian land, of course).

Golob’s coalition banned all arms trading with the criminal Zionist pseudo-state. They also banned the hideous war criminals Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering Slovenia. It is clear there was ample reason for Black Cube to try and undermine those in power. Golob has accused opposition leader Janša of being part of the Zionist plot. He admitted meeting Eiland, though Politico state “he could not recall on which date“.

The scandal represents yet another instance of the global scourge the Zionist land theft project represents, as it undermines democracy across the globe. Politicians in Britain and the United States have been bought off with Zionist cash, with predictably pro-genocide policies emerging as a result.

It also highlights once more the Palestine Laboratory, where the Zionist entity deploys weapons and spying techniques on Palestinian test subjects to murder them and violate their privacy. The Zionist military and surveillance industrial complex then inflicts the results of these vile experiments on populations across the world, making a tidy profit as it goes.

The Slovenian population have resisted this malign influence, and it will require continued votes for pro-Palestinian parties elsewhere to permanently end the corrosive reach of ‘Israeli’ meddling.

Featured image via the Canary

Keir Starmer has betrayed the Hillsborough families and survivors again — as he was always going to do — along with all those others who lost loved ones through injustice or state mismanagement causing disasters.

Starmer has never made a promise he wasn’t ready to break and only ever used Hillsborough law for cover and misdirection. While he claimed he would pass the law, which will impose a ‘duty of candour’ on public bodies and officials, in Labour’s first session of government, he was writing for the Murdoch S*n that smeared and vilified the Hillsborough victims.

He was despised and condemned for even saying the word ‘Hillsborough’ because of it.

Yet he still continued to write for that filthy rag again and again. Not just write for it, but attend its parties, chum around with its senior staff, allow its hacks into Labour’s 2022 conference — in Liverpool, the city that lost 97 people in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster — and appointed Murdoch’s pawns as senior advisers.

So, of course, he was always going to break his promise to pass the law in this parliament, and that’s exactly what he has done. But Hillsborough campaigners and other bereaved families are not having it.

Hillsborough: Families have ‘suffered enough’

They have accused him, entirely rightly, of “insulting” their loved ones and them by refusing to introduce the law as he promised. And they are entirely unimpressed with his excuse that he had to delay the law to add an amendment to add security service operatives to those bound by the law. Horseshit.

Passing it now and then adding to it later would be just as easy, and the security services have for years had their arm deeper up Starmer’s nether regions than a vet up the horse that did the shit.

Starmer’s lackeys pulled the bill in January. He couldn’t be clearer that he doesn’t care a fig for the families of those killed at Hillsborough, in the Manchester Arena bombing, victims of the Post Office and Windrush scandals, or any others. They have all signed a letter to Starmer accusing him of protecting those involved in “denial, defensiveness and cover-ups”.

The letter goes on:

The fact that Hillsborough law has still not been reintroduced to parliament is an insult to all of us who have been working so hard to get to this point. It has undermined our trust in this government to do what they said they would and make this legacy project a reality.

We hope that, going forward, you, the prime minister, and your government will listen to the people Hillsborough law is meant to protect and not those it is meant to protect us from. We have suffered enough.

It will be a forlorn hope, unless somehow Starmer is dragged kicking and screaming into keeping that thing to which he is most allergic: a promise.

Featured image via the Canary

Joanna Byrne, chairperson at Drogheda United football club, has been dismissed by the club’s American owners, the Trivela Group over her principled opposition to Israel. The shameful decision follows remarks she made in February calling on the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to not play their Nations League fixture against so-called ‘Israel’.

In a terse statement on Monday March 23, Trivela Group said the following on Drogheda’s website:

Trivela Group can confirm that, pursuant to its authority as sole shareholder of Drogheda United FC, Joanna Byrne has been removed by Trivela Group as a director of the Club.

At this time, the Board of Directors consists of Benjamin Boycott, Marc Koretzky, Barton Lee, and club CEO Rian Wogan. Mr. Boycott for the time being, will serve as the sole Chairperson, and the club will look to appoint a local director and Co-Chair in due course.

Once again, we thank Ms Byrne for her longstanding and ongoing dedication to the Club and its success.

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Israel defended: ‘cold, underhand move’

Byrne also serves as a Sinn Féin TD, representing Louth in the Dáil. In a statement released Monday on her Facebook page, she responded to her dismissal, describing it as a:

…cold, underhand move by Trivela, initiated in the dark of the night, which was planned and co-ordinated without any consultation with me. This is symptomatic of the way they do business.

The controversy began on 12 February 2026 when Byrne, in her role as Sinn Féin spokesperson on Culture, Communications and Sport, made a statement denouncing the appalling decision of the FAI to go ahead with the 4 October fixture against the Zionist entity’s national team. She said:

In November, the FAI voted to submit a motion to UEFA to ban Israel from its European club and international competitions. That was the correct moral and principled position to take.

Therefore, I am extremely angry and dismayed that the FAI have confirmed they will play against Israel.

It appears that their morals, and principled position, was only on paper – not in actions where it counts.

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She contrasted UEFA’s treatment of the settler-colony with the response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, saying:

There are double standards here from UEFA. Russia was expelled from all club and international competitions by UEFA in 2022 following their brutal and illegal invasion of Ukraine. The same principle should be applied to Israel.

Byrne concluded:

Israel is an apartheid state who have engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide. Their behaviour cannot be accepted or normalised.

They should be treated the same as Apartheid South Africa was, and be banned and boycotted by all.

Trivela Group had privately indicated to Byrne in mid-February that they expected her to resign for these entirely laudable statements. Her opinions are shared by most of the Irish public, and a majority of the nation’s professional footballers. She refused to comply, however, saying:

I stand over those comments. They were made from a deeply held belief in equality, human rights and the power of sport to take principled positions – as it has done many times in history.

Amoral profiteers running cherished sporting institutions

The Trivela Group operate a multi-club ownership (MCO) model. Apart from Drogheda, Trivela own Silkeborg in Denmark, Walsall FC in England, and Trivela FC in Togo. They have previously fallen foul of their own model, resulting in Drogheda being unable to play in the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League, as Silkeborg had also qualified for the same competition. UEFA’s rules forbid multiple clubs under the same owner from competing in the same tournament.

The American outfit appear to practice a form of football extractivism in Africa, grooming talented players there, before farming them out to European clubs they own. They can then potentially be sold on for a big fee to European giants, cutting the original African club out of any profits.

They attempt to present themselves as kindly benefactors, acting as “thoughtful stewards of talent and resources”. Given the bitter experience of profiteering US owners, it would be naive to believe this shit. Walsall supporters expressed their dissatisfaction last month, suggesting:

…the club’s immediate sporting objectives are being subordinated to wider ownership priorities.

This is a glaring reminder of how capitalism outrageously violates basic democratic principles. Football clubs are typically historic, deeply cherished centres of a community. Yet the will of tens of thousands of people can be overridden by one rich arsehole if the latter owns the club.

The disgraceful treatment of Byrne proves Trivela’s moral vacuity, as they choose to stand with an apartheid genocidal entity rather than with those who oppose it. The one useful thing they’ve done is maintain a CEO – Ben Boycott – whose name reminds us of the necessary course of action needed against loathsome corporate ghouls and the Zionist entity itself.

Featured image via the Canary