Almost 200 containers of low-level radioactive waste that once formed part of Britain’s experiment with fast breeder nuclear reactors are being entombed in a purpose-built underground vault at Dounreay.

The containers are stacked 4 high and the spaces filled with grout before being covered by a steel reinforced concrete slab. This slab will become a floor to support more containers going to the vault for disposal.

Low-level waste from the clean-out and dismantling of the site’s reactors, fuel plants and laboratories is being packed into drums, super-compacted to become pucks and stacked inside containers that are filled with grout before being moved to their final resting place in a cavernous below-ground vault. Some larger waste items go into the containers and are grouted alongside the pucks.

Originally, it was planned to half-fill the low-level waste vault with almost 1,000 containers before entombing them in grout and covering with a reinforced concrete floor. This provides a stable base upon which another 1,000 containers can be stacked.

But the project team at Nuclear Restoration Services re-evaluated their methodology and concluded there were practical advantages by adopting a staged approach to carrying out the intermediate floor slab works.

The first stages are now complete, marking the permanent disposal of 192 half-height ISO containers that cover a fifth of the available floor-space and giving the team and their contractors valuable experience.

“The original plan was to pour concrete slabs to a depth of 500mm over the full 80m x 50m area once the vault was half full,” explained operations manager Graham Bremner.

“We looked again at this and realised there were benefits from moving to a staged approach in line with grouting instead – a significant reduction in downtime during mid-life closure of the vault for waste disposal operations and minimising significant demand of concrete supply that would impact local contractors.”

The reinforced concrete floor will eventually support point loads of containers 4 high up to 160 tonnes in weight.

The vault is one of 2 operational disposal facilities, with the other being used for low-level demolition waste.

Easter is on the horizon. So chocolate, and therefore cocoa, is in the spotlight. The Fairtrade Foundation is calling on the UK government to introduce a mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) law. It could provide protection for cocoa farmers and workers around the world from poor working conditions, volatile prices and exposure to environmental harms.

Whilst some chocolate companies are already doing the right thing, many are not. Without additional regulation and investment, many cocoa farmers and other agricultural workers will continue to remain exposed to low incomes, human rights abuses and environmental harms across global supply chains.

New research into cocoa production

New Fairtrade research involving almost 500 cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire found 58% said climate change impacts on production (including changing weather, pests and disease) are their biggest challenges as farmers. In many cocoa-growing countries, climate chaos has driven increasingly volatile prices and deepening financial instability for farming communities.

With one of the busiest chocolate-buying moments of the year fast approaching, Fairtrade is urging shoppers to look for the FAIRTRADE Mark. It’s also calling on the public to sign its petition demanding decisive government action to ensure cocoa supply chains are fair to both people and planet.

This call for change comes at a time when rising chocolate prices are also reshaping what UK shoppers choose to buy. The Fairtrade Foundation commissioned new consumer research from Kantar for the next phase of its Do it Fair campaign, Fair to People.

It reveals that two thirds (65%) of UK adults have changed their chocolate-buying habits in the past year due to rising prices. Over a third (35%) say they are buying less chocolate, while 3% report they have stopped buying it altogether.

Despite this shift in purchasing behaviour, most chocolate buyers remain unaware of the challenging realities behind their favourite treats. One in four (25%) believe the cocoa in their Easter eggs is grown by farmers earning more than £10 a day. In reality, most will be earning less than the international poverty line of around $3 a day, leaving them unable to support their family and farms.

The survey also shows strong public support for fairer treatment of cocoa growers. More than half of UK adults (54%) say they would be willing to pay more for chocolate if it guaranteed fairer pay and rights for farmers (rising to 73% among 16–34 year olds).

Volatile cocoa markets

These findings come amid extreme volatility in global cocoa markets. Prices surged in 2024 and 2025, driven by climate change, erratic weather, and a rise in pests and diseases that devastated harvests in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire – the world’s largest cocoa-producing countries.

Prices have since dropped for a range of reasons, including weaker demand and increased global supply, but geopolitical instability is fuelling fresh concerns about renewed volatility. That volatility is already having profound consequences for cocoa-growing communities.

Many farmers who are already living on extremely low incomes face even greater uncertainty, and many urgently need long-term investment to build resilience. Choosing Fairtrade chocolate helps ensure their families can thrive through the Fairtrade Minimum Price and additional sums of money to invest in their farm or communities, and offering training and programmes that address human rights and environmental challenges.

Fairtrade tackling exploitation and instability

Fairtrade Foundation’s senior sustainable sourcing manager for cocoa, Marina El-Hasni said:

Most people aren’t aware of the exploitation and challenges faced by cocoa farmers. And even if chocolate prices ease for consumers, the long-term future of our favourite Easter treat will remain in jeopardy without meaningful investment, living incomes, long‑term contracts and regulation that holds businesses accountable for tackling human rights and environmental harms in their cocoa supply chains. Ensuring farmers are paid fairly, especially when prices are volatile, has never mattered more.

This Easter, we are urging people to look for the Fairtrade Mark on their Easter eggs so they can enjoy the chocolate knowing that farmers have been supported with fairer pay, investment in their communities and farms.

And as the Government concludes its Responsible Business Conduct Review, we urge Ministers to put fairness for farmers and workers at the heart of UK supply chains by introducing a new responsible business law.

One young cocoa farmer, Dora Atiiga, from Kukuom Union co-operative in Ghana, is bringing about positive change in her community. Dora’s leadership journey began when she joined Fairtrade’s Women’s School of Leadership. She said:

Since then my life has changed… I am now able to advocate on living income and climate action… without fear or panic.

The practical training in financial management, confidence‑building and project planning helped her understand not only her rights as a woman, but also her potential as a community leader. As she gained leadership experience, Dora began identifying issues in her own community:

Since there was no school for little children in my community, I decided to start one as a dream.

The school is now registered with around 170 students, eight teachers, and a cook – offering free care and education to families in her community.

Featured image via Nipah Dennis / Fairtrade Foundation

The late Mohamed Fayed pictured in 2008 | Image by: Jeff Moore / Alamy

3 min read5 hr

The crimes of Mohamed Fayed in gross abuse of his power, and the alleged crimes of those connected with him, are horrific.

There is evidence that over the course of decades Fayed systemically used his power within Harrods to select, groom, and sexually abuse girls and women. There are further allegations which remain under investigation relating to his other business interests including Fulham Football Club and House of Fraser.

This is not a case of one bad apple. The abuse that took place was enabled by systems within and outwith Harrods. Survivors were subjected to invasive medical tests by doctors, they were moved from place to place, their families were intimidated, and the police failed to investigate complaints.

And now for the first time a link to Jeffrey Epstein has come to light, with a survivor reporting being trafficked by Epstein to London for Fayed. Perhaps it is no surprise: two predators, operating at the same time, using their powerful positions and institutional links to do so.

Fayed and Epstein may be dead – but their systems, institutions, and many enablers live on. And crucially so do the survivors of their crimes. Several hundred women have come forward already in relation to the abuse of Mohamed Fayed – and certainly there will be more who have not yet chosen to speak.

This is why last year we established the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods to be their voice in Parliament. We have met dozens of survivors over the past 12 months and pay tribute to their tenacity and strength.

And now for the first time a link to Jeffrey Epstein has come to light, with a survivor reporting being trafficked by Epstein to London for Fayed

We also know how hard it can be for survivors to put their trust into another institution after decades of being let down. To that end we have spent some months now working with survivor networks, putting in place best practice standards, and establishing a framework of trust which we do not take for granted. The APPG is also working closely with The Survivors Trust to make sure we are working in a safe way – bearing in mind the trauma that survivors have suffered.

There was one underlying message that came through from the APPG’s recent consultation with survivors: there is a web of implicated individuals and institutions which must be investigated fully. And this can only be achieved by framing the police investigation into crimes of trafficking; alongside a statutory public inquiry.

This is the drum beat that the APPG will be playing over the months and years to come. In the short term we are hearing the concerns of survivors in relation to the redress scheme and the ongoing investigations of the Metropolitan police and IOPC and will be pushing for answers. We are also pleased to be facilitating engagement with the minister for safeguarding and the Prime Minister.

Many parliamentarians will either represent survivors in their constituencies, or simply feel the utter outrage at the crimes which have taken place. Please join the APPG and support its work. Fayed’s crimes were abhorrent – but so were the actions of those who enabled him and covered it up. Indeed, we don’t yet know the extent of the enterprise. But let this be the institution that stands with survivors in their campaign for justice.

Wendy Chamberlain, Liberal Democrat MP for North East Fife, and Dave Robertson, Labour MP for Lichfield, are co-chairs of the APPG for Survivors of Fayed and Harrods

Sellafield Ltd and the Robotics & AI Collaboration (RAICo) have successfully completed the first trial of a specially designed, patent-pending contamination swabbing tool, mounted on a quadruped robot, in an area containing radioactive material.

The trial demonstrates how robotics could support routine health physics activities efficiently while reducing the need for people to enter potentially hazardous environments.

Swabbing is a common task at the Sellafield site. The health physics team carries out hundreds of swabs each day in contaminated areas. Using circular paper filters, these swabs monitor radiation levels across a range of surfaces, providing vital data that informs decommissioning strategies and ensures compliance with safety regulations.

The swabbing tool was developed through RAICo – a collaboration between the UK Atomic Energy Authority, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), Sellafield Ltd and the wider NDA nuclear estate, the University of Manchester, and AWE Nuclear Security Technologies – as part of its mission to accelerate the deployment of robotics and AI for nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering.

Key to its design is its ability to replicate the complex and dextrous non-linear swabbing motion normally carried out by humans. This is possible due to the unique shape of the attachment, alongside an off-the-shelf haptic controller from Haply Robotics, and custom RAICo-developed software, which captures an operator’s real time hand movements and translates them into commands for Spot’s manipulator.

The deployment was conceived and planned by Sellafield’s Remote Technology Group, which is responsible for evaluating and deploying robotics, AI, and unmanned systems at the site.

During the controlled deployment, Spot was sent into a restricted area to inspect a simulated radiological spill and take a physical swab from a mock-contaminated surface.

The robot used the new tool to swab the surface and bring back a sample of blue chalk, used to simulate the contamination. The robot completed the task successfully, showing that a process traditionally performed by humans could potentially be carried out remotely without compromising accuracy or safety.

The successful trial points to the potential for wider use of robotics across Sellafield and the nuclear estate, helping to reduce risk, improve efficiency, and maintain high safety standards in nuclear decommissioning operations.

Deon Bulman, ROV Equipment Programme Lead, Remote Technologies Group at Sellafield Ltd, commented:

“Demonstrating a quadruped robot capable of remotely deploying swabbing equipment represents the significant opportunity we have to improve both safety and efficiency for nuclear decommissioning here at Sellafield.

The quadruped’s agility and stability allow it to access areas that are hazardous for personnel, while intuitive haptic feedback provides precise, human-like manipulation, reducing task time and increasing confidence in the samples collected.

Together, these capabilities support faster, safer, and more cost-effective decommissioning operations while pushing forward the adoption of advanced robotics in the nuclear sector.”

Ewan Scholefield, systems engineer, engineering and maintenance, Sellafield Ltd, who originated the idea of using Spot in emergency scenarios, commented:

“Deployments like this demonstrate how quickly the use of robotics is moving in the nuclear decommissioning industry. People are starting to recognise the versatility of robots like Spot and how they can be used to carry out a whole range of tasks.

This is being accelerated through the availability of bespoke tools, attachments, and interfaces like those produced by RAICo that enable robots to mimic specific human movements, such as swabbing.”

Dr. Kirsty Hewitson, Director, RAICo commented:

“This deployment is a perfect example of how collaboration between RAICo partners generates significant benefits for end users in the nuclear sector. In this case, innovation developed collaboratively by RAICo members, academic institutions, and companies in the UK supply chain, was trialled at another member’s site to support a specific task that their frontline operators have to deliver every day.

By working as a single, integrated team, we are all avoiding duplication and together we are delivering greater value from the public investment of taxpayer money.

Furthermore, the deployment at Sellafield follows a similar successful inactive test at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Culham earlier in 2025, suggesting that this new technology could have an impact on both nuclear decommissioning and fusion engineering sites.”

A shocking investigation has laid bare how minoritised communities are being illegally targeted by US-style immigration, compliance and enforcement (ICE) officers, led by the Home Office.

“Armed with sun guns and clad in stab vests, the 11-strong unit blocked off every entrance before moving in on their target: Mandira’s Kitchen,” an award-winning Indian restaurant in Surrey, the Guardian reported.

ICE agents “stormed the restaurant” last September with police but without a warrant, and demanded to see staff members’ passports. Chefs were separated and asked inappropriate questions about their personal lives while officers created a scene in the popular restaurant. Then, having found no evidence of anyone working illegally, they left.

This was one of tens of thousands of unjust Home Office raids on businesses across the UK since Labour came to power in July 2024.

ICE agents in the UK — why do we have them?

ICE officers were introduced as part of Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ policies in 2012, when she was home secretary. The Conservative politician aimed to make life in the UK unbearable for people living here without legal immigration status.

The West has seen increasingly vile rhetoric pushed by far-right politicians and pundits. This has deepened division in communities with racism unashamedly on full display. Furthermore, reports of aggressive tactics — and even murder — inflicted by ICE in the US are fueling fears in the UK about how similar tactics could be used against Brown and Black people.

Evidence of these traumatic raids will likely worsen the anxiety already felt by migrants as ICE agents reportedly:

singled out non-white, foreign-born workers.

‘They singled out non-white, foreign-born workers’: the restaurants raided by Britain’s version of ICE

A continuation of the Tory #HostileEnvironment that we’d hoped to see the back of and horribly reminiscent of MAGA

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Not a vote-winner for Labour…

https://t.co/CR0j9xIE86

— Dr Tim Kinsella #FBPE @timkinsella.bsky.social (@51TJK) March 24, 2026

Mandira’s Kitchen owner, Mandira Moitra Sarkar, has a strong culinary reputation, having earned praise from fellow chefs Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. Her ready meals were shown on a Channel 4 competition to source products for Aldi.

However, a successful business or persona, sadly, does not protect minoritised groups from racial harassment or discrimination. Sarkar told the Guardian she was “astounded” at what transpired, especially as it was likely in response to a flimsy tip-off.

The Guardian further reported:

Kevin Barker, a former Ice officer and the director of the paralegal firm Immigration Compliance Ltd, says that while raids are always “intelligence-led”, a tipoff can be enough to trigger one.

However, intelligence can range from “discreet drive-by surveillance” to the “suspicion of illegal workers”.

 The nature of anonymity means a tipoff can relate to a personal or commercial grievance. Often, it’s “competitors within the local area” filling out the forms, he says.

A pretty expensive hostile practice from the state with little value for the taxpayer, it must be said. Meanwhile, the Home Office owes Sarkar for parking on the premises without paying.

Sarkar: ‘It’s guilty until proven innocent’

The restaurateur gave her perspective on why she was likely targeted:

Oh, you’re brown and you’re running a food business? Of course you’ve got illegal immigrants. It’s guilty until proven innocent.

Seema Syed, advocacy and communications director at charity, the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), agreed. She told the Guardian racial profiling is a factor for Home Office raids.

Syeda says she has seen “many cases where people are raided, arrested and then released”. It is, she says, “very clear to us that this is a performative act”.

American business owner, Julian Denis, who owns a vegan Chinese restaurant in East London was also raided last year. His testimony highlights how it is less about whether you’re foreign and more about the colour of your skin.

Denis said ICE agents told him they were looking for “five to six illegal workers” while they:

singled out non-white, foreign-born workers for interrogation, scaring them with the possibility of being immediately jailed.

ICE’s cruelty doesn’t end there. LGBTQIA+ advocate, India Willoughby, recently spoke up about policy changes that will hurt the trans community too.

New power granted stating ICE can detain someone for “looking trans” . While held in indefinite detention, HRT will be denied.

The Gender Critical’s are trying to wipe trans out.

What @wesstreeting and @bphillipsonMP are doing to trans in the UK, is in tandem with MAGA US. pic.twitter.com/2s57sJLdzD

— India Willoughby (@IndiaWilloughby) March 13, 2026

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Fuck ICE

Keir Starmer’s government has increased the number of raids by 77% since July 2024. Shockingly, the Guardian reports that the total number of raids under Starmer’s brief tenure already surpasses the entirety of raids carried out by the previous parliament.

This huge ramping up compared to previous right-wing governments is harrowing. After all, it further signifies how the Labour government is more interested in giving way to the hateful far right than they are in heeding any calls from the left of politics. 

Its focus on foreign workers, who are cruelly scapegoated for problems they haven’t caused, signals the rising racism in British society. Meanwhile, the government gives white, heterosexual people the benefit of the doubt while denying that same presumption to minoritised groups.

It’s a deplorable step backward for British society and one that demands firm resistance.

Featured image via The Guardian/ Alicia Canter

Palestine TV has reported that the Israeli military brutally tortured a one-year-old Palestinian child to exert pressure on his father during interrogation.

According to TRT World:

the Israeli soldiers burned the child’s leg with a cigarette, pricked him and inserted a nail to his leg.

Torture is illegal under multiple bodies of international law. Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions prohibits “cruel treatment and torture” of individuals not partaking in any aggressions.

Going further, the UN Convention Against Torture came into effect in 1987 and banned torture in all circumstances. In fact, Article 2 specifically states that there can be no possible justification for torture including war or national emergencies.

Once again, Israel disregards the rule of law, going beyond even what existing legislation anticipated. It is accused of torturing an innocent child to exert pressure on a parent – an act so cruel that most would agree any parent might say anything under such circumstances.

Israel kidnapped and tortured a one-year-old child in front of his father for 10 hours, burning cigarettes and inserting nails into his legs, in an attempt to extract a false confession under duress.

Israel kidnapped and tortured a baby! pic.twitter.com/ExRFq14T4M

— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) March 22, 2026

Israeli military torture baby

Palestinian journalist Osama Al-Kahlout reported the alleged torture, with Palestine TV citing his account. Footage has since aired showing the disturbing injuries sustained by Karim, a young toddler, after the Israeli military detained his father while he was out buying supplies. This traumatising ordeal for both father and child came on top of earlier hardship, when the man’s horse died, cutting into the family’s already limited income.

After gunfire erupted near his home, the child’s father, Osama Abu Nassar, apparently had to leave his little boy on the ground and report to a nearby military checkpoint. There, soldiers forced him – like many other Palestinian men and boys – to strip and undergo interrogation.

However, this is where Israel demonstrates yet another horrific escalation in brutality in its genocide against Palestinians. Soldiers reportedly directed their cruelty at the man’s child. A medical report has confirmed that Karim suffered burn marks from cigarettes on his body and puncture wounds in his leg caused by a nail.

Israeli forces have long been seen to abuse Palestinian children. This report suggests they now seek to use child abuse as a weapon of war against Palestinian men.

This innocent and suffering child was released 10 hours later to his family, via the International Committee of the Red Cross in Al-Maghazi. The father continues to suffer in Israeli detention alongside thousands of other Palestinian men and children.

What was that about Israel being the ‘most moral army’?

A child who carries no weapon, who knows nothing of war except its sound… is taken from his family, tortured, and cigarettes are extinguished on his small body. What kind of world allows childhood to be violated in this way? Silence is no longer neutrality… silence is a… https://t.co/h5qmq43tbp pic.twitter.com/2dps7bTTvC

— Mohammed (@Mohammedgaza334) March 22, 2026

Where is Western condemnation of child torture?

We’re sure that Western media and captured politicians will have little to say to condemn this absolute depravity inflicted by Israeli forces.

As this X post points out, silence can only mean complicity:

Even with photographic evidence & availability to interview the parents – Western media continues to remain silent & therefore complicit in all IDF war crimes. https://t.co/V09yhoi5kr

— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) March 23, 2026

This soul-destroying news came alongside Francesca Albanese’s report to the UN’s Human Rights Council in which she underscored how Israel’s “torture extends far beyond prison walls”:

“My report shows that torture extends far beyond prison walls, in what can only be described as a torturous environment imposed by Israel across the entire occupied Palestinian territory,” @FranceskAlbs told the @UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.#HRC61➜https://t.co/TnkLkevBCq pic.twitter.com/SjHLMY5tie

— UN Human Rights Council (@UN_HRC) March 23, 2026

The cruelty and degradation is the point

International law, including the Geneva Conventions, strictly prohibits torture under all circumstances. Most people find such acts so unthinkable that lawmakers never felt the need to explicitly prohibit the torture of children as a separate offence. Yet once again, Israel appears willing to disregard these legal and moral boundaries, pushing into territory that lawmakers never anticipated.

Since the alleged ‘ceasefire agreement’ in October 2025, the IDF have murdered 677 Palestinians and injured a further 1,813.

Following the events of October 7 attacks, Keir Starmer moved quickly to offer diplomatic support for Israel, defending its siege on Gaza.

The longer Starmer keeps his mouth shot on the horrors the Israeli military inflict on Palestinians, the longer he will show himself up for what he is: an unrepentant genocide apologist.

Featured image via X

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has published its latest strategy, setting out its long term roadmap for the safe and secure decommissioning of the UK’s legacy nuclear sites.

The strategy, which was subject to extensive public consultation, sets out how the next phase of this mission will be delivered through greater integration and collaboration across the NDA group, sharper prioritisation and a continued focus on reducing the highest hazards.

Decommissioning the UK’s earliest nuclear sites is one of the most complex environmental and engineering programmes in the world, spanning generations, so establishing a clear strategic direction is crucial.

NDA Group CEO David Peattie said:

“This refreshed strategy continues to prioritise our core commitments to safety and environmental stewardship, while also reflecting how the operating environment and scope of our mission has evolved, including our integrated group model.

It will enable us to build on the progress we’ve made over the last 20 years and reaffirms our commitment to build a safer, cleaner future for the next generation.

We thank everyone who took the time to engage with us during the consultation process, and we look forward to continuing the conversation as we deliver our collective vision.”

In total nearly 100 responses were received during the consultation period, from a variety of respondents including regulators, local authorities, NGOs, academics, supply chain organisations, operating companies, employees and members of the public, reflecting a broad range of perspectives.

This fifth strategy update is an evolution, building on the foundation of the 2021 strategy and previous strategies, maintaining focus on the four strategic themes that underpin the decommissioning mission:

• Site decommissioning and remediation – dismantling redundant facilities and preparing land for future beneficial use.
• Spent nuclear fuels – managing spent fuel from first generation Magnox reactors and advanced gas-cooled reactors in line with UK policy through consolidation at Sellafield, safe, secure interim storage and preparing for disposal via a Geological Disposal Facility.
• Nuclear materials – delivering long-term plans for materials such as plutonium and uranium, originating from fuel enrichment, fabrication and reprocessing.
• Integrated waste management – ensuring consistent, safe handling of radioactive waste across the estate, prioritising waste reduction, reuse, recycling before considering disposal.

Critical enablers, such as research, innovation, people, transport, and cyber security support these strategic themes and are identified as being integral to creating conditions for mission success.

The strategy also promotes integration and collaboration within the NDA group to improve strategic alignment and better facilitate knowledge sharing, resulting in stronger performance and value for money.

Greater focus is also given to the broader role of the NDA group within the sector – including the importance of sharing expertise, developing skills, shaping policy, and supporting clean energy and defence ambitions across Government and industry, while still maintaining focus on the core decommissioning mission.

You can read the NDA group’s latest strategy here: The NDA group Strategy Effective from March 2026 – GOV.UK

A handful of billionaires pumped more than £170 million into the UK’s populist right-wing ecosystem, from political figures to news media, over the last five years.

A large chunk of that money is then used to pay far-right politicians for their media appearances, creating a back-door for unregulated political donations, new research has found.

Labour MP, Liam Byrne, former chief secretary to the treasury, carried out the research for his upcoming book Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them.

Given that Byrne’s party is not, in fact, beating the populist right, we’d normally take what he’s got to say with a large pinch of salt and then ignore it along with the other Labour talking heads. However, he’s actually got a point here.

Liam Byrne on populist-right ‘media-political complex’

Byrne said his study:

maps for the first time the financial architecture of Britain’s populist right – and found a media-political complex of extraordinary scale, built in plain sight in just five years.

His figures stem from data covering nearly 500 transactions, spanning from January 2020 to February of this year. The sources included Companies House filings, civil society reports, the Electoral Commission and register of members’ financial interests.

The £170 million was split between populist-right MPs and political parties, alongside their aligned media organisations and thinktanks. Of that, more than £130 million came from just four sources: crypto investor Chris Harborne, financier Jeremy Hosking, hedge fund manager Paul Marshall, and investment firm Legatum.

Likewise, a similar majority of the money — some £133 million — went to just three media organisations: the traditionalist conservative Critic, ‘non-partisan’ alt-right UnHerd, and of course, Reform’s pet propaganda distributor, GB News.

Both Marshall and Legatum bankroll GB News. Marshall also funds UnHerd, whilst Hosking gives his money to the Critic. 

‘Politics is downstream of culture’

Whilst just 14% of the overall funding went directly into politicians’ pockets that doesn’t account for the indirect channels.

Byrne said a further 14% of the funds identified were direct donations to MPs or parties registered with the Electoral Commission. For example, GB News gave Reform’s MPs more than £770,000 for appearing on its channel, effectively paying the party to spread its far-right messaging.

Byrne explained:

Populist funders are not simply bankrolling parties. They are heeding the advice of political strategists from Alain de Benoist to Pat Buchanan and Andrew Breitbart – that politics is downstream of culture. They’re investing directly to support populist parties, but more important they’re investing in a media ecosystem, bankrolling the “polytainment” platforms that reward populist politicians with the currency of our age: attention, amplification, clicks and cash.

Even a stopped clock

As such, Bryne argues that funding for media organisations and thinktanks, which is then ‘paid’ to politicians, is under-scrutinised by public watchdogs. The MP is calling for significant reforms, including that sizeable donations to media organisations must be registered with the Electoral Commission.

He is also advocating for a ban on political donations given in cryptocurrency, amongst other changes. Given that Reform is currently the only party to accept crypto (and lots of it), this move would directly target Farage’s far-right party.

GB News’ dodgy dealings with Reform have been on the Canary’s radar for a long while now. However, let it never be said that we won’t acknowledge a centrist wetwipe when they get something right for a change. Even a stopped clock and all that.

Far-right billionaires are channelling vast amounts of money into building their own media infrastructure. Those media organisations are then handing money over to their pet populist-right politicians.

And yes, that is a massive problem for the security of our democracy.

Featured image via the Canary

Hundreds of Palestine solidarity activists will hold five simultaneous protests at arms factories across the country on Wednesday 25 March. They’ll be demanding that the UK government stops allowing the export of weapons, components and military technology to Israel.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign is coordinating the protests. They’ll take place at arms factories in Bristol, London, Newcastle, Shenstone and Towcester from 11am.

Factories in the UK produce weapons and military technology used by Israel, including components for missiles, armoured drones and fighter jets. Last year, an opinion poll which Palestine Solidarity Campaign commissioned found that 57% of people support a full arms embargo on Israel, compared to just 13% against.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has killed over 70,000 Palestinians, more than 20,000 of them children, since October 2023. In the West Bank, Israel has ramped up its military assaults, while settler attacks and forced displacement are reaching near record levels. Israel is also currently engaged in an unprecedented bombing and displacement campaign in Lebanon and an illegal war on Iran.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2024 that the risk of Israel committing genocide in Gaza was plausible. Subsequently, reports by a UN Commission of Inquiry, alongside Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have confirmed Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Under the Geneva Convention, states have a legal duty in international law to prevent and punish the crime of genocide. However, the UK government continues to allow arms exports to Israel, despite knowing of their use in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Lewis Backon, Palestine Solidarity Campaign campaigns officer said:

Britain is an active participant in Israel’s genocide and apartheid against Palestinians by continuing to facilitate the export of weapons and military technology to Israel.

Many tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocide, yet still the government refuses to impose a full arms embargo. Our nationwide protests show that there is a clear demand to end Britain’s complicity in these monumental crimes against humanity.

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Details of the five arms factory protests

Bristol:

• Protest at Elbit Systems in Bristol. Elbit Systems is Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, it supplies the Israeli military with armoured drones, bombs and missiles.
• Assemble at 12noon at Elbit Systems, 38 Bolingbroke Way, Filton, Bristol, BS34 6FE.

Hayes, London:

• Protest at two arms factories supplying Israel in Hayes, London. Attewell produces components used in Israel’s F-35 fighter jets. CPI TMD Technologies has held 4 licences to export arms to Israel since 2021.
• Assemble at 11am: Attewell, Unit 7 Millington Road, Hayes, UB3 4AZ.
• Assemble at 1pm: CPI TMD Technologies Ltd, Swallowfield Way, Hayes, UB3 1DQ.

Newcastle:

• Protest at Pearson Engineering, which is owned by Rafael, Israel’s state owned arms manufacturer. Rafael produces missiles and drones for the Israeli military.
• Assemble at 11am at Pearson Engineering (Rafael), Armstrong Works, Scotswood Rd, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 6UX.

Shenstone, Staffordshire:

• Protest at UAV Engines in Shenstone, Staffordshire. UAV Engines is a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer. It produces armoured drones, missiles and bombs used by the Israeli military.
• Assemble at 11am at UAV Engines Ltd, Lynn Lane, Shenstone WS14 0EA.

Towcester, Northamptonshire:

• Protest at BAE Systems in Towcester, Northamptonshire. BAE Systems produces a variety of weapons used by the Israeli military, including components for its fighter jets used to bomb Gaza.
• Assemble at 11am at BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre, Burcote Rd, Towcester NN12 6TF.

Featured image via the Canary