Politics
Keir Starmer defends actions after being blasted for Southport ‘cover-up’ as he admits knowing details
The Prime Minister has defended his actions after he was blasted with accusations of being part of a Southport “cover-up” while he admitted knowing details of the attack.
His statement has followed his earlier admission that the British state failed the three girls who had been brutally murdered by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift dance class last summer.
Starmer said that Southport “must be a line in the sand”, although “nothing will be off the table in this inquiry”, insisting that it will lead to change.
He continued: “I know people will be watching right now, and they’ll be saying, we’ve heard all this before, the promises, the sorrow, the inquiry that comes and goes, and inability to change that frankly, has become the oxygen for wider conspiracy.
The Prime Minister has defended his actions after he was blasted with accusations of a “cover-up”
“And we’ve seen that throughout this case – a suggestion that there has been a cover up.
“I want to put on record that yesterday’s guilty verdict only happened because hundreds, if not thousands, of dedicated public servants worked towards it, many of whom endured absolutely harrowing circumstances, particularly in the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.
“That is their job. They are brilliant at it.”
Rudakubana, from Lancashire, pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, on July 29 last year.
It has now emerged that Rudakubana had been referred – on three occasions – to Prevent, which is the Government’s scheme to prevent terrorist violence.
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It had earlier emerged that Rudakubana had been referred three times to Prevent, the Government’s scheme to stop terrorist violence.
One of the earlier references were made after there was concern surrounding Rudakubana’s potential interest in murdering children in a school massacre.
During a press conference in Downing Street the PM declared that the tragedy of the Southport killings “must be a line in the sand for Britain”.
“Every parent in Britain will have had the same thought. It could have been anywhere, it could have been our children, but it was Southport.”
Politics
Axel Rudakubana: Eamonn Holmes blasts Starmer after he defends ‘suppressed information’ on Southport murderer
GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes has criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of information about the Southport attack, claiming the Prime Minister’s legal background influenced his approach.
“He’s a lawyer, that’s what he is and that’s what he puts first,” Eamonn said of Starmer’s decision to withhold details about the case.
The criticism comes after 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
Starmer has defended his decision to withhold information about the case, stating he had to “observe the law of the land”.
Eamonn Holmes blasted Starmer stating that “he is a lawyer”
GB News
GB News host Eamonn Holmes said: “He’s a lawyer, that’s what he is. And that’s what he puts first.
“I mean, I regard my job as a journalist to be to challenge legal advice. Lawyers dictate and tell you that you can’t say this, you can’t say that. I always say, why not? How come?
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“Surely there is the way around this. They have a blanket ban on everything. His job is now to speak to the general public to accommodate what people think.
“Of course, he has an argument that he can’t ruin the case that’s been built up and all that sort of thing, I just think he’s a lawyer. He speaks as a lawyer, not as a politician.”
Home and Security Editor Mark White explained: “These criminal cases are robust. I’ve covered them for many, many years.
“Judges always tell the jury to disregard everything heard in the media or elsewhere before. Judge it on the facts before you.
Starmer has defended his decision to withhold information about the case
GB News
“There is little to no risk of genuinely prejudicing a trial by putting some of this information out there, but everything to be gained by being frank with the public and helping fill that vacuum.
Eamonn added: “One of those things to be gained was a lack of disruption on the streets.
“Take that terrible disruption that happened, there surely was a responsibility on his behalf towards what ensued.”
The Prime Minister revealed he was “kept up to date with the facts as they were emerging”, including details about the ricin and terrorist document discoveries.
Mark White shared his views on the statement
GB News
He insisted the information was withheld “to protect the integrity of the system to ensure that the victims and their families get the justice they deserve”.
“It was not my personal decision to withhold this information, any more than it was a journalist’s personal decision not to print or write about it,” Starmer explained.
It emerged that Rudakubana had been referred to Prevent, the Government’s anti-terrorism scheme, three times.
One referral was made after concerns about Rudakubana’s potential interest in school massacres.
Political commentator Piers Pottinger has launched a scathing attack on Rachel Reeves’ reported plans to back a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
Speaking to GB News, Pottinger claimed the Chancellor “has run out of ideas” and is “desperately trying to think of something”.
The Chancellor is reportedly set to back a £14billion expansion of Heathrow Airport, which would add a third runway to Britain’s busiest aviation hub.
Pottinger said: “It just shows that she’s run out of ideas. Nothing that she’s done is going to create growth. So she’s desperately trying to think of something.
Piers Pottinger launched a scathing attack on Rachel Reeves
GB News
“So she latches onto the idea of an extra runway at Heathrow, which first of all, will take years before it’ll actually happen.
“The second thing is, of course, Heathrow is actually owned, not, as you would expect by anyone, British.
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“It’s entirely owned by overseas businesses Qatar, Spain, Canada and the USA. And actually, I think that’s another point is that our major ports in my view, should not be owned by foreigners.
“From a point of view of national security our major ports, of which Heathrow is the biggest, should be owned by the British. “
He added: “It’s not going to create growth in this country for the foreseeable future.”
The plans, expected to be announced in a speech later this month, also include bringing a second runway at Gatwick into full-time use and increasing capacity at Luton Airport.
The Chancellor is reportedly set to back a third runway
PA
The Heathrow expansion could increase capacity by 260,000 flights annually.
The announcements are part of a broader package of measures aimed at boosting economic growth, which includes the £9bn Lower Thames Crossing project and a Universal Studios theme park in Bedfordshire.
The expansion plans face significant opposition from within the Labour Party, including Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Miliband’s concerns stem from his responsibility for keeping the UK within its carbon budget and meeting net zero emissions by 2050.
Pottinger claimed the Chancellor “has run out of ideas”
GB News
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also voiced his opposition. A spokesperson for Khan told the Guardian: “The mayor has a longstanding opposition to airport expansion around London – linked to the negative impact on air quality, noise and London’s ability to reach net zero by 2030.”
The move is expected to be unpopular with many Labour backbenchers, both those representing constituencies near airports and those campaigning on climate action.
Environmental campaigners have reacted with strong criticism to the reported expansion plans.
Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Resurrecting the idea of a third runway at Heathrow in the hope that a strip of tarmac will nudge up the UK’s GDP smacks of desperation.”
He added that the economic benefits were “dubious at best” while environmental costs were “certain.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp faced tough questioning today over the previous Government’s failure to prevent the Southport dance class murders, after it emerged killer Axel Rudakubana had been referred to counter-extremism programme Prevent three times.
GB News presenter Ellie Costello directly challenged Philp, asking: “How did you fail to stop this man?”
Politics
Labour ministers’ most VICIOUS attacks on Trump REVEALED as President takes office – will he hit back?
Donald Trump has officially been sworn in as the forty-seventh President of the United States of America.
Despite a long list of lawsuits, an assassination attempt, and the best efforts of the democrats and their many celebrity backers, Donald swept the US election, winning all swing states and with it the keys to the White House.
It is an event many liberal elites thought would never happen, a sentiment many in Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet no doubt shared.
Indeed, for most of Labour’s Cabinet, the return of Trump is more than just a bad dream, it is a diplomatic nightmare capable of seriously harming Britain’s most important international relationship.
That is because the vast majority of Keir Starmer’s Labour Cabinet have gone on record to attack Trump.
And as several commentators have highlighted, the attacks have not just targeted his record in office, they have also attacked Trump personally with a slew of vitriolic remarks.
GB News has scoured every Labour Cabinet member’s Twitter and compiled a list of derogatory remarks about Trump.
They are words that, in the case of Keir Starmer and David Lammy, are already being eaten as the pair seek to rebuild relationships with their Republican counterparts.
Starting from the top of the Cabinet food chain, they are:
Keir Starmer / Prime Minister
In the late 2010’s, Keir Starmer was an arch critic of Trump, calling his comments on immigration ‘absolutely repugnant’, saying he would ‘not invite him round for dinner’.
Then, in 2018, Starmer tweeted: “Humanity and dignity. Two words not understood by President Trump.”
The following year, in an attack on Boris Johnson, Starmer said: “An endorsement from Donald Trump tells you everything you need to know about what is wrong with Boris Johnson’s politics.”
But in an embarrassing about turn, the Labour PM has now praised Trump for his resilience, stating his desire to ‘remain the closest of Allies’.
The PM said: “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead. I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Angela Rayner / Deputy PM
The Deputy PM has also been unable to keep her slate clean when it came to attacking Donald Trump.
The ‘red queen’ blasted Trump for the Capitol Hill riots, stating: “The violence that Donald Trump has unleashed is terrifying, and the Republicans who stood by him have blood on their hands.”
She also expressed her joy when Trump lost the 2021 election.
Rachel Reeves / Chancellor
Starmer’s Chancellor called America ‘a once great democracy’ during Trump’s term, highlighting her disdain for the arch Republican.
The Chancellor has not extended congratulations to Trump on his election victory.
Yvette Cooper / Home Secretary
Yvette Cooper has been particularly critical of Trump, most notably stating his campaign for the Presidency was ‘built on vitriol and abuse’.
The Home Secretary has also described his tweets as ‘disgraceful & dangerous’, ‘normalising hatred’ and ‘undermining democratic values’.
She also branded the Capitol Hill riots as ‘Trump’s attempt to destroy democracy’.
Ed Miliband / Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Ed Miliband has been incensed by Trump over the years, famously calling him a ‘racist bigot’ on Twitter.
But the net-zero obsessed Miliband has gone much further in ranting Twitter tirades.
In one Tweet, Ed’s confirmed he would be attending a Donald Trump protest march, stating his ‘racism, misogyny, attacks on democratic values seek to legitimise an authoritarian politics’ and were a ‘threat to society’.
In another he said, ‘Donald Trump has lowered the bar for idiocy.’
David Lammy / Foreign Secretary
Undoubtedly the most famous critic of Donald Trump is Starmer’s foreign secretary David Lammy.
Lammy has called Trump a ‘neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath’, a ‘KKK sympathiser’ and said “Donald Trump lies more times a day than the average person goes to the bathroom. Unsurprising given that all that comes out of his mouth is utter pooh.”
He also thoroughly celebrated Trump’s loss in 2021, stating it was a win for ‘Fact over fiction. Decency over bigotry. Hope over fear.’
Lammy has also said ‘Donald Trump is an enemy of democracy’, and that ‘Donald Trump’s entire Presidency has been a reign of recklessness, narcissism and delusion.’
Yet perhaps the most famous of Lammy’s comments was this.
Wes Streeting / Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Streeting has said: “Trump is such an odious, sad, little man. Imagine being proud to have that as your President.”
The Health Secretary also said Trump is ‘not a friend’ to Britain.
Jonathan Reynolds / Secretary of State for Business and Trade, President of the Board of Trade
The man in charge of promoting trade with Trump’s America called his actions ‘immoral and a threat to our national security’.
And on Capitol Hill riots, Reynolds labelled Trump a ‘disgrace’.
Liz Kendall / Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Starmer’s Work and Pensions Secretary made her feelings about Trump’s first election win clear in 2016. Now if office, she has not posted the same tweet.
She also accused Trump of wanting to ‘silence’ debate.
Peter Kyle / Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle got innovative with his criticism of Trump on Twitter, stating history would judge ‘Trump and his snivelling acolytes.’
Kyle also made his views on Biden’s 2021 win clear, and has accused Trump of subservience to Russia and ‘slavishly undermining American democracy’.
Hilary Benn / Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Starmer’s Northern Ireland Secretary issued a damning tweet saying, ‘Donald Trump demeans the office of President of the United States,’ in 2017.
Benn also blasted Trump’s 2017 decision on Paris climate agreement.
Ian Murray / Secretary of State for Scotland
Ian Murray sook plaudits on Twitter when he posted a clip of him asking the Home Secretary if Trump’s ‘far-right, extremist propaganda’ constitutes a ‘hate crime’.
Lisa Nandy / Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
One of Starmer’s more well-known Cabinet colleagues, Nandy has been prolific in her denouncing of Trump.
On Trump’s visit to Britain, Nandy was enraged, tweeting: “This is not my Britain. If this disgraceful PM won’t stand up to Trump, she will find there are plenty of us who will.”
The DCMS Secretary vehemently backed Trump’s social media ban, called out his ‘toxic politics’ and described his term as ‘disastrous’.
Darren Jones / Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Reeves’ right-hand man has also lambasted Trump, most notably calling him ‘the worst minority of Americans’.
Baroness Smith / Lord Privy Seal, Leader of the House of Lords
Smith has been quieter than some of her cabinet colleagues on Trump, but during Donald’s spat with Sadiq Khan she couldn’t help but tweet.
Most notably, she called Trump’s words ‘offensive, wrong & demeaning of his office’, before backing Khan.
Lucy Powell / Lord President of the Council, Leader of the House of Commons
Powell has only tweeted once on Trump, telling him to ‘butt out’ when he commented on a terror attack in London that left seven dead.
Jo Stevens / Secretary of State for Wales
Starmer’s Welsh Secretary has been highly critical of Trump, regularly firing incensed tweets into the ether throughout his first Presidency.
“He’s a racist, sexist, sharer of extremist ideology, a serial liar and a cheat who mocks war veterans & people with disabilities,” tweeted Stevens in 2019.
The Welsh Secretary has also called Trump a ‘Grotesque man-baby’, described America as ‘Trump’s cesspit of racism’ and accused the Tory Cabinet of being ‘well and truly infected by Trump and his far-right toxicity’.
Steve Reed / Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Taking the prize for the most ardent Trump basher in Sir Keir’s cabinet is Steve Reed, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Reed has been unrelenting in his denunciations of Trump, frequently targeting both his character and his political actions.
Reed has called the President a ‘repulsive slimeball’, a ‘20th-century fascist’, ‘racist slime’, a ‘disgrace to his country’, and a ‘racist degenerate’.
Reed also issued this tirade in 2019.
The Defra secretary also heavily backed the campaign to block Trump from visiting Britain, stating ‘bigot alert’.
At the beginning of Biden’s term, Reed said he hoped Biden would ‘restore dignity to the high office Trump has debased.’
Anneliese Dodds / Minister of State (Minister for Development), Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Dodds backed the campaign to ban Trump from Britain.
Ellie Reeves / Minister without Portfolio
The Chancellor’s sister blasted Trump’s ‘blatant disregard for freedom, tolerance and respect for human rights’ in 2018, backing the campaign to bar him from Britain.
The minister without portfolio also accused Trump of tweeting hate fuelled propaganda.
Commentators have highlighted how Labour’s childish, student politics rhetoric, in part employed to bash the Tories during Trump’s state visit, could come back to bite them as Trump returns to power.
Tweets like those compiled in this list will force Cabinet ministers into a difficult position now Trump has returned.
Do they go back on what they said in an attempt to win favour with America and secure a trade deal? This will no doubt invite accusations of hypocrisy.
Or do they stick to their guns and risk diplomatic spats that could harm the interests of the British people?
Trump appears to be focusing on issues in the US first, but it won’t be long before he turns his attention to the world.
Watch the moment Donald Trump was left exasperated during a prayer service at Washington National Cathedral as a bishop directly confronted him over LGBT rights and immigration policies.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde used the interfaith service on Trump’s first full day back in office to make an impassioned plea for mercy towards vulnerable communities.
Historian Victor Davis Hanson has claimed former US presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton appeared shocked during Donald Trump’s inauguration speech as they realised he would “cancel everything” they had achieved.
Speaking on GBN America, Victor Davis Hanson said the former presidents’ faces revealed their dismay as Trump detailed his plans during Monday’s ceremony at the US Capitol.
“You could see the faces of our former presidents… they thought, ‘oh my God, this man is a revolutionary,” Hanson said.
Hanson described how Trump laid out his “plan of attack”, including ending illegal immigration, addressing “anchor babies” through reinterpreting the 14th amendment, and stopping “catch and release” policies.
Victor Davis Hanson said former presidents are fearful of Trump’s plans
GBN AMERICA / REUTERS
The historian said the former presidents are all fearful of their legacies being scuppered by Trump.
“Everybody thought he would hold back, but he doesn’t play by the markers of the Queensbury rules,” Hanson said of Trump’s approach to addressing his predecessors.
Donald Trump speaks to the nation in his inauguration speechGB NewsTrump’s inauguration speech included several dramatic policy announcements, including plans to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.
The former president also declared there would only be two recognised genders – male and female – and announced US withdrawal from both the Paris climate agreement and World Health Organisation.
He pledged to sign approximately 200 executive orders on his first day, including measures to tackle illegal immigration and declare cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.
Trump also vowed to pursue a new era of oil and gas exploration, declaring “drill, baby, drill”.
Edginton spoke to Victor Davis Hanson GBN America
GBN AMERICA
During the ceremony, former presidents displayed visible reactions to Trump’s declarations. Obama was caught asking Bush “How can we stop what’s happening?”, prompting chuckles from the 43rd president.
Hillary Clinton was seen laughing during Trump’s announcement about renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
Later that evening, Trump revealed which former president he would seek advice from, praising Bill Clinton as having “a great political sense” while notably excluding Obama and Bush.
Hanson explained Trump’s confrontational approach stemmed from his treatment by his predecessors and political opponents.
“They impeached me twice. They tried to get me off the ballot. They waged lawfare in five different jurisdictions against me,” Hanson quoted Trump’s perspective.
“His view of the world is these people are pretty nasty… they’re not nice people and I’m not going to play by their rules, I’m going to call them out for what they are,” the historian added.
Politics
Sadiq Khan told to ‘get a grip’ on ‘industrial-scale lawlessness’ as London’s supermarkets turn to extreme measures to battle shoplifting ‘epidemic’
Sadiq Khan has been told to “get a grip” on a shoplifting “epidemic” as London’s supermarkets turn to ever-greater measures to combat a surge in petty crime.
GB News visited a number of retailers in the capital and witnessed a number of new security protections in place to guard against shoplifters – including “lock-boxes” on products and receipt scanners barring shoppers from exiting stores without a valid barcode.
One Tesco in Tottenham, northeast London, now requires customers to “buzz in” on a touch-screen scanner to purchase spirits or expensive drinks like Champagne.
Shoppers must wait to be let into drinks shelves, in which every bottle is also individually security tagged.
One supermarket requires customers to ‘buzz in’ on a touch-screen scanner to purchase spirits or expensive drinks
GB NEWS
The scanners all feature cameras and microphones on the front – though when asked, staff assured GB News that customers were not being recorded.
Another Tesco in Holborn, in the heart of the capital, gives customers two receipts – one for their shopping, and another to scan in order to leave the store. Similar measures are in place in Sainsbury’s locations around London.
And with London’s two police forces recording 70,000 shoplifting offences in the last year alone, the Mayor has been urged to act.
City Hall’s police and crime committee chairwoman Susan Hall told GB News: “It’s the mark of a sadly high-risk, low-trust society that shops have to lock their goods – and occasionally their customers – down in order to minimise theft.
“The pernicious rise of lock-boxes and receipt scanners is the consequence of a city where crime has been allowed to soar as a result of those in charge, particularly Sadiq Khan, refusing to take real crime seriously and instead focusing on meaningless press opportunities.
MORE FROM LAWLESS LONDON:
A Tesco in central London requires shoppers to scan an ‘exit slip’ to leave the store
GB NEWS
“Anyone who thinks that this isn’t going to get worse as Khan prepares to sacrifice another 1,300 officers to budget cuts is kidding themselves – he needs to get a real grip on this, and pronto.”
Meanwhile, former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley warned The People’s Channel that London now faced “lawlessness on an industrial scale”.
He said: “Regrettably, we have an epidemic of shoplifting, and it’s lawlessness on an industrial scale – which affects us all, whether we witness it, whether we’re shopkeepers who are affected by it, or whether we merely go shopping, because the cost of all this shoplifting has to be footed by someone.
“It’s us that foots the bill because shopkeepers increase their prices… All this welcome tech, all these welcome measures which are sadly becoming increasingly necessary – the cost is simply passed on to us.
“It’s the everyman, the everywoman in the street that is paying the price for this utter rampant lawlessness.”
London’s two police forces recorded 70,000 shoplifting offences in the last year alone in Sadiq Khan’s London
PA
“Something needs to be done,” he said. “The Government, the police, retailers themselves need to get a grip – because people are walking into shops with impunity.
He added: “We have to revert to having police services that investigate crime, patrol the streets, detect crime, and prevent crime instead of what we’ve currently got – which is a pseudo-social service dealing with all these ills!”
And Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, has warned that the “nature of theft is changing”.
She said: “Thieves are becoming bolder, with more links to organised crime, stealing greater volumes of goods of higher value, and often targeting locations multiple times within days.
“Incidents are also becoming more aggressive, with colleagues facing physical assault, threats and abuse when confronting a shoplifter.
Susan Hall and Peter Bleksley have called for urgent action in the face of London’s shoplifting epidemic
PA/GB NEWS
“Retailers have invested £1.2billion into crime prevention over the past year, but more needs to be done by police and the Government.
“Police must give retail crime greater focus, dedicating more resource to attending reported incidents, and the Government must make passing the standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker a priority.
“Everyone deserves to go to work without fearing for their safety,” Dickinson said.
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “Nothing is more important to the Mayor than tackling crime and keeping Londoners safe.
“The previous Government massively cut policing budgets, which had serious consequences. But Sadiq has filled the financial gaps as much as possible, investing double the amount in policing from City Hall compared to the previous Mayor, including funding for 1,300 extra police officers and an additional 500 PCSOs.
“This is helping to revitalise neighbourhood policing and tackle local priorities, like shoplifting. He supports the Met’s action in targeting theft hotspots and the most prolific offenders.
“But there is still more to do, and Sadiq is committed to supporting the Met Commissioner in ensuring officers can be there when needed most.
“This is on top of a commitment from the Government, the Mayor and the Commissioner to create stronger neighbourhood policing as we work together to continue building a safer London for everyone.”
How often does a 17-year-old go on a murdering spree in Merseyside, killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class?
The answer is never.
Never until the 29th July 2024.
Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls. At first, his name was not revealed.
Jacob Rees-Mogg says the ‘cover-up’ can’t be allowed to happen again
GB NEWS
This left an information vacuum which was filled by half, mis, and untruths about the suspect’s identity paving the way for riots and disorder.
Eventually, Rudakabana’s identity was revealed but by that point the damage was done as the authorities had left the impression he was a Welsh choirboy.
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Government created an information vacuum
GB NEWS
Even when his name was out in the open, it was clear the authorities were not being frank with the public.
It was then another three months until the police revealed the fact that Rudakabana was in possession of an Al Qaeda terror manual and the poison ricin.
The Prime Minister knew about the evidence within a few days of the attack. But he decided that you, the public, could not be trusted with the truth.
It is very odd that the non-terrorist charges were on the 31st July while the terrorism charges were delayed and the British people effectively misled until the 29th October.
In the interim the public sensed something was up. They sensed this wasn’t simply a choir boy from Cardiff. They sensed this attack had its roots somewhere in the murky world of our porous borders.
And yet this Labour government, whose instinct is to cover-up, to obfuscate, to conceal, leaned on the tropes of ‘far-right’ and law and order while the entire nation knew there was more to this story than the authorities were letting on.
But the great deflection has begun.
The government will now try to blame the institutions as a means of avoiding the fundamental question: why did it not tell the truth to the public sooner?
Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. Democracy only works with an informed public. When the truth is concealed, the trust that binds our institutions together disintegrates. And without trust, we are left with anarchy. A cover-up like Southport, as I see it, must never be allowed to happen again.
Politics
Donald Trump fires Coast Guard chief Linda Fagan for ‘excessively focusing on diversity policies’ instead of ‘border security’
Donald Trump has fired the head of the US Coast Guard for excessively focusing on diversity policies instead of border security.
In one of his first acts after retaking the White House on Monday, Trump said his team was in the process of “identifying and removing” as many as 1,000 Joe Biden-era officials – with Coast Guard chief Linda Fagan’s head among the first to roll.
Fagan, appointed to the post by Biden in 2022, was relieved of her duties by acting secretary of homeland security Benjamine Huffman – with Trump vowing there will be more to come.
The 47th President announced he had sacked four officials who were “not aligned with our vision to make America great again” on his social media platform Truth Social.
Donald Trump has fired the head of the US Coast Guard Linda Fagan
REUTERS
“Let this serve as official notice of dismissal for these four individuals, with many more, coming soon,” he wrote. “You’re fired!”
Huffman said Fagan had “served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation” – but failed to give a reason for the decision.
But a source told Fox News that Fagan, 61, was let go after officials raised concerns over her failure to address border security threats and her focus on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
In her role, Fagan frequently spoke out in favour of diversity.
MORE AS DONALD TRUMP RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE:
‘You’re fired,’ Trump wrote on social media
REUTERS
“The reason it’s critical is because diverse work teams outperform homogeneous teams,” she previously claimed to Military Families Magazine.
“They’re just stronger, more resilient, have better perspective and deeper strength of thought.”
While in an official statement on the Coast Guard’s diversity and inclusion policy, Fagan wrote: “Diversity is crucial to Coast Guard mission excellence.”
She added that leaders in the agency “must work to build their diversity and inclusion acumen” and develop their “emotional intelligence and ability to understand and appreciate the different experiences, perspectives, and ideas of every person with whom they work.”
‘Undermining the US military and border security to spend money on racist/sexist DEI nonsense is no longer acceptable,’ Elon Musk said after the sacking
REUTERS
Fagan had talked up the dozens of new DEI programmes and policies the service had introduced since 2020 – while in a statement marking pride month last year, she said the service was celebrating “living out truth”.
The source also told Fox News there had been an “erosion of trust” over her handling of Operation Fouled Anchor – an internal investigation into sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.
Senior Trump ally Elon Musk, who now leads the new administration’s drive to cut costs across the federal government, took a swipe at DEI initiatives on social media – but stopped short of confirming Fagan’s termination.
“Undermining the US military and border security to spend money on racist/sexist DEI nonsense is no longer acceptable,” Musk said.
Democrats let Secretary of State Marco Rubio blitz to Senate confirmation Monday. Now it’s time for trench warfare.
With Donald Trump’s nominees slowly emerging from Senate committees, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are preparing for a weekslong slog as Democrats force Republicans to work through procedural obstacles to fill out the new president’s Cabinet.
CIA director pick John Ratcliffe is expected to get a relatively smooth bipartisan confirmation on Tuesday. But after that, more controversial nominees await, and cooperation could be hard to come by.
Accelerating any confirmation will require unanimous agreement from senators, and after letting Rubio through, Democrats are not eager to ease the way for many other Trump picks.
“I don’t think the Democrats are in any hurry,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said in an interview. “So I think we’re just gonna have to grind through, and maybe you’re here for some late nights and weekends for the next few weeks.”
Topping the list of more troublesome nominees is Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon pick who has weathered allegations ranging from sexual misconduct to financial mismanagement. But Republicans appear arrayed behind Hegseth, who has denied the allegations, and they are ready to undertake what could be a four-day process to get him confirmed.
Russell Vought, Trump’s pick for White House budget director, is also bitterly divisive, emerging from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Monday on a party line vote. Homeland Security secretary nominee Kristi Noem could also be subject to an extended confirmation timeline, despite winning some Democratic support in committee.
The nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS secretary and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence are still awaiting committee action but are expected to spark major fights should they come to the floor.
“Democrats have been very clear about our approach to President Trump’s nominees,” Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday. “We will neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”
Rubio, he said, fell in the latter category, “a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly.”
For most Trump nominees, the outcome is not in question. Republicans can confirm any of them so long as they stick together, but to do so without eating up days of time they need help from Democrats. Any one senator can object to a deal speeding confirmation votes.
Already Republicans are using the threat of Friday votes and even rarer weekend sessions to issue a warning to Democrats: Play ball and ease the path for Trump’s picks or don’t, you’re only inconveniencing yourselves.
Those threats could come to a head this week if Thune tees up Hegseth’s Defense nomination on Tuesday. Republicans are confident of his confirmation even though a few in the GOP ranks haven’t yet said if they will support him.
By the end of the week, Republicans will have more nominees ready for floor action: Committees are set to vote on former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) to be Transportation secretary, Lee Zeldin to be EPA administrator and Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary, among others
To get cooperation from Democrats to speed things up, some GOP senators have been making direct appeals. Cornyn said he used the traditional post-inauguration luncheon in Statuary Hall to lean on Schumer, his sometime gym buddy, to relent on some of Trump’s “uncontroversial” nominations but said he didn’t seem to be in a “big hurry.”
Thune acknowledged Monday that confirming Trump’s picks won’t be instantaneous, calling it their “priority here in the Senate for the next few weeks.”
Some of Trump’s more controversial picks have already been subject to delays due to missing background checks and disclosures. Two of Trump’s most controversial picks — Kennedy and Gabbard — haven’t yet had their hearings scheduled.
“Pete’s going to be fine. Marco’s a slam dunk. There are a few left that it depends on how they do,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) before adding of Gabbard: “Let’s see how she does. I’m inclined to vote for everybody, but you’ve got to get through the system.”
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