Empire Magazine‘s Amon Warmann has spoken out over the scandal of the BBC’s censorship of filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr’s expressions of solidarity with Palestinian people during the recent BAFTAs ceremony – and ITV’s censorship of Warmann’s own support for Palestine.

The BBC cut out Davies Jr’s “Free Palestine” from his acceptance speech for a BAFTA awarded for his film My Father’s Shadow. The censorship is yet another example of state and media censorship of support for Palestine and opposition to Israel’s Gaza genocide and occupation.

With a two-hour delay, the BBC could’ve removed the N-word slur from its BAFTA coverage, and chose not to.
Meanwhile, it cut Akinola Davies Jr saying “Free Palestine”. A clear editorial decision driven by fear of pro-Israel lobby groups. Shame on them.

The BBC cut the whole ending of Davies’s speech, preventing viewers hearing his solidarity with refugees as well as with Palestinians:

To the economic migrant, the conflict migrant, those under occupation, dictatorship, persecution and those experiencing genocide, you matter and your stories matter more than ever. Your dreams are an act of resistance.

To those watching at home, archive your loved ones, archive your stories yesterday, today and forever.

For Nigeria, for London, Congo, Sudan, free Palestine. Thank you.

Shame on the BBC indeed.

Featured image via the Canary

Labour MP Dawn Butler has written to the BBC following its recent decision to air an involuntary racist slur. Tourette’s campaigner John Davidson shouted the N-word at the BAFTAs, and both Black actors visibly shuddered when they heard it before composing themselves and continuing. Butler has now asked for an “urgent explanation” from the broadcaster. Their choice to air the slur led to widespread hurt against both the Black and disabled community.

The BBC successfully, and conveniently, cut any mention of Palestine from the broadcast. This demonstrates it’s ability to axe or censor content, so why the double standard? This BAFTA incident would suggest they simply didn’t want to, raising questions once again about whose interests the broadcaster serves.

The @BBC should never have aired the N-word racist slur, directed at @michaelb4jordan & @authenticdelroy.

It had a two-hour delay!

This is painful & unforgivable.

Advertisement

I’ve requested an urgent explanation. pic.twitter.com/PuZuD6UI9e

— Dawn Butler ✊🏾💙 (@DawnButlerBrent) February 23, 2026

“This is painful and unforgivable”

The offensive moment in question came as two Black actors, Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo, were on the BAFTA stage to present an award for ‘special visual effects’. Microphones then clearly picked up John Davidson shouting the N-word, a deeply painful racist slur for the Black community.

Butler, acknowledging that Davidson’s disability causes involuntary verbal and physical tics, questions why BBC producers aired the moment, knowing the harm it would cause.

Has BBC learned nothing from the whiplash of the Trump panorama saga…

Butler also makes the point that BBC refused to broadcast an acceptance speech from British writer Akinola Davies Jr for uttering “free Palestine”. BBC, it seems, has an allergy to anything anti-Zionist, showing no concern for minoritised Black and disabled communities.

Commenting on this in her letter, Butler stated:

The BBC could have prevented this, given that the programme was aired on a two-hour delay. It is disappointing that this language was not removed prior to transmission, particularly when other content was edited out. Now we need to understand why.

I understand that the BBC has since edited the iPlayer version to remove the racist slur, I would appreciate a written explanation as to why this was not addressed before the delayed broadcast, who was in the editing room, who made the overall decision and why Mr Davies Jr’s remarks were deemed unsuitable while the racist slur was initially left in.

Advertisement

It can’t be denied; Black people were on the receiving end of a racist slur, intended or not, carrying the weight of decades of colonial savagery and indignity. Davidson in return has faced accusations of racism for an involuntary verbal tick entirely out of his control, enraging the disabled community.

The BBC has let down both in this instance – an entirely avoidable mistake.

Compassion where the right-wing breed division

We wrote earlier today that both minoritised groups have every right to feel upset, with our own Lyndon Mukasa commenting:

While arguments about the need to understand Tourette’s syndrome have validity, this incident is very revealing about the presence of racism in our culture.

Tourette’s syndrome is defined as a motor disorder characterised by involuntary tics. It is very likely that John Davidson’s Tourette’s is classified as coprolalia which is expressed in the form of tics that are involuntarily obscene, derogatory and offensive.

Advertisement

He added that:

It is not known if Davidson is racist or not and it probably doesn’t matter, because his Tourettes drew on a social artifact to express itself as a racist outburst. What John Davidson’s Tourette’s syndrome tells us is that racism exists very much in our society and culture and if it didn’t then Davidson would have likely said something else that would not be rooted in an anti-Black racism.

According to the Guardian, Black British film maker Jonte Richardson decided to quit as a BAFTA judge, over “utterly unforgiveable”  actions.

Expressing his disgust with BAFTA’s (mis)handling, Richardson said:

After considerable soul-searching, I feel compelled to withdraw from the Bafta emerging talent judging panel. The organisation’s handling of the unfortunate Tourette’s N-word incident last night at the awards was utterly unforgivable. I cannot and will not contribute my time, energy and expertise to an organisation that has repeatedly failed to safeguard the dignity of its Black guests, members and the Black creative community.

This is particularly unfortunate given that this year’s cohort boasts some incredible Black talent, especially one of my favourite shows of 2025, Just Act Normal.

Advertisement

However, when an organisation like Bafta, with its own long history of systemic racism, refuses to acknowledge the harm inflicted on both the Black and disabled communities and offer an appropriate apology, remaining involved would be tantamount to condoning its behaviour.

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to presume that the BBC’s decision, just maybe, intended to stir the pot, and deepen divisions between embattled communities.

If so, it did a bloody good job of it. That said, the general public should rise above it – we mustn’t pick sides – especially if you don’t belong to either community. A hierarchy of compassion should not prevail, so as to not play into the hands of the far-right.

Featured image via the Canary

Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) seafarers will take strike action on 5-6 March. The dispute is over pay, transparency and compliance with minimum wage legislation.

The RFA provides operational and logistical support to the Royal Navy. However, the crews are civilian seafarers and they can be members of the RMT union.

Strike action will take place from 00:01 hours on Thursday 5 March until 23:59 hours on Friday 6 March 2026.

If the ship is in port, members must not book on for any duty commencing during that period.

Seafarers to strike but ensure ship safety

During the strike, members will maintain the safety of the ship at all times, including moorings and gangways.

The action follows a strong ballot result in which members voted by nine to one to reject the latest pay offer and back industrial action.

RFA members met after the ballot result and agreed there was a clear aspiration to use the mandate immediately to send a strong message to the RFA and the Ministry of Defence that they must take this situation seriously.

RMT has welcomed the overwhelming vote for strike action after management failed to make a decent pay offer or show it was complying with minimum wage legislation.

Seafarers can routinely work up to 12 hours a day. However, there remains no clear or transparent formula setting out how to calculate pay against those hours.

RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said:

RFA members want a decent pay offer and for the employer to show it is complying with all minimum wage legislation.

Our members, who are the most highly trained seafarers, perform incredibly difficult tasks in often dangerous circumstances, supporting their colleagues in the Royal Navy, whilst spending months at a time away from their families.

Years of real terms pay cuts have left dedicated RFA seafarers worse off, demoralised and this latest offer falls well short of expectations, and significantly below comparable employers within the sector.

Advertisement

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Ministry of Defence must now get around the table with us to address our members’ immediate concerns and tackle the crewing crisis.

That means a clear long-term commitment on pay and conditions, including National Minimum Wage compliance, if they are serious about retention and want to maintain credibility.

This dispute can be resolved, but only if there is a commitment from those with decision making powers to take these matters seriously.

Featured image via the Canary

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel tomorrow, India ordered X to block access to writings by Middle East Eye journalist Azad Essa. Moreover, this arm-twisting move was justified by the legal prohibition cited by India’s government.

Azad Essa, a US-based South African journalist and senior reporter with MEE, has said that he believes his account was blocked due to his reporting on India-Israel ties. For Essa, the move reflects India’s iron-fisted clampdown on journalistic freedoms in India, accusing X of complicity and censorship.

India blocks Middle East Eye journalist’s X account

Azad Essa, a senior reporter with Middle East Eye, says he has been routinely targeted by right-wing elements in the country

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) February 23, 2026

Advertisement

Essa is the author of “Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel” published in 2023. The book chronicles India’s and Israel’s blossoming love affair. Additionally, it describes their deepening military and ideological ties.

The book argues that while India and Israel only restored diplomatic ties in 1992, they maintained surreptitious military ties long before the 90s. In fact, Essa’s research suggests that Israel supplied weapons to India during its wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1965 and 1971).

The alliance between India and Israel, he argues, promulgates aggressive nationalism to suppress Palestinian and Kashmiri aspirations.

Modi’s Israel visit slammed

Over the weekend, India’s prime minister Modi, taking to X, gushed about Netanyahu, calling him a friend, and expressing how he’s looking forward to meeting Netanyahu tomorrow.

These sentiments aren’t shared by the broader Indian public, as Al Jazeera notes:

Activists in India are protesting PM Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Israel, saying it goes against the values of a nation that once endured British colonial occupation.

Activists in India are protesting PM Narendra Modi’s planned visit to Israel, saying it goes against the values of a nation that once endured British colonial occupation. pic.twitter.com/hPK3oJrhpp

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) February 24, 2026

Underlining brewing opposition inside India to the Modi-Netanyahu alliance, People’s Dispatch also reported that:

Rallies were organised in different parts of India on Feb 15 to protest against the upcoming visit of far-right PM Narendra Modi to Israel, as it continues its genocide in Gaza in complete violation of the ceasefire it agreed to in November.

Rallies were organized in different parts of India on Feb 15, to protest against the upcoming visit of far-right PM Narendra Modi to Israel, as it continues its genocide in Gaza in complete violation of the ceasefire it agreed to in November.https://t.co/vHrE7pEYhC

— Peoples Dispatch (@peoplesdispatch) February 18, 2026

Advertisement

Whereas Vox Ummah, commenting on the impact of Modi’s visit, wrote that it:

formalises a security partnership built on arms sales and shared control practices, with consequences visible in Gaza and Kashmir. Ya Allah protect our Ummah

Yesterday, officials of the occupation confirmed that Narendra Modi will travel later this month to meet Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit takes place as the confirmed death toll in Gaza has passed 72,000. While announcing Modi’s visit, Netanyahu said, “Israel is enormously popular… pic.twitter.com/u9D5ASBa8l

— VoxUmmah (@VoxUmmah) February 16, 2026

The Infamous Previous Visit and the Epstein Files

As the Canary has previously reported, India’s elite is also known for rubbing shoulders with Epstein – as the paper trail of Epstein files, released by the US DOJ, shows.

On July 9, 2017, three days after Modi’s official visit to Israel, Epstein wrote an email saying that Modi had “danced and sang” in Israel for the benefit of US president Trump. However, the irony, which escapes Modi fanboys, is that the Indian leader’s 2017 visit to Israel coincided with Pegasus spyware attacks on Indian activists.

#WATCH: PM Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at Dor beach in Haifa, Israel #PMModiInIsrael pic.twitter.com/6h5BXqxYAW

— Republic (@republic) July 6, 2017

Just three days before, on July 6, Modi and Netanyahu shared a “romantic walk” along Haifa beach – from which countless Palestinian families have been ethnically cleansed. It was the first time an Indian Prime Minister had visited Israel. Consequently, this smashed any possibility of solidarity with Palestine. Odd, one might think, for a country grappling with the shadow of Western imperialism.

Modi is also mentioned in another email suggesting that, in 2019, Epstein encouraged Steve Bannon to meet with him to counter China. He told Bannon that Modi was a strategic opportunity. Furthermore, he mockingly asked him to “look at your underwear” to see if it was made in China or India.

#WATCH: PM Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at Dor beach in Haifa, Israel #PMModiInIsrael pic.twitter.com/6h5BXqxYAW

— Republic (@republic) July 6, 2017

Advertisement

Modi and Netanyahu’s adulterous love affair is smothering popular struggles, from Palestine to Kashmir. Indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians and India’s indigenous communities, they shake their blood-stained hands over fresh, secret military deals. Azad Essa, it seems, won’t be the first or last journalist to be iced out.

Featured image via the Canary

Israel has used the F-35 jet throughout the Gaza genocide, as well as in airstrikes against Iran, Lebanon and Yemen. And now Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, has confirmed the number of flight hours Israeli pilots have on the Lockheed Martin stealth fighter:

is greater than that of all the pilots of the other foreign countries that were partners in developing the aircraft.

These comments are completely at odds with the UK government’s insistence that Israel is a “minor customer” of the global F-35 jet programme.

Valuable feedback for Lockheed Martin

In an interview Leiter said:

The feedback from our pilots reaches Lockheed Martin. When I visited there a few weeks ago, their CEO told me that Israel’s information and developments ‘are worth many billions to my company.’

Leiter was speaking with Israel Hayom daily, and the Times of Israel reported it on 16 February.

The UK makes 15% of the F-35 jet. The US is the lead partner and the UK is the only Tier 1 partner. The other partners to the programme are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway.

Israel has 48 F-35I jets, with 27 more jets on order. On 20 January, the Canary shared news from Lakenheath Alliance for Peace that three new F-35Is left the UK air base, RAF Mildenhall, bound for Israel.

Israel is also involved in the production of the F-35 programme. In February 2026 Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) celebrated the delivery of its 350th fighter jet wings to Lockheed Martin for production of the F-35 fighter jet.

UK government comments

The UK government has been provided with extensive evidence of Israel’s use of the F-35Is by Al-Haq and GLAN throughout their legal case in the UK High Court.

Despite an Israeli ambassador and the CEO of Lockheed Martin confirming Israel’s central role in the F-35 programme – both as a user and developer of the F-35 jet – the UK government has repeatedly attempted to downplay Israel’s use of the jet and role in the programme.

In a letter to Dame Meg Hillier MP on 19 February, minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer MP wrote:

The UK Government has stopped direct exports of F-35 parts for use by Israel. The only exception is for the global programme, of which Israel is a minor customer [emphasis added].

In a letter to Sarah Champion MP, chair of the International Development Committee, on 1 September 2025, former foreign secretary David Lammy wrote:

We are unaware of any possible breaches of IHL having been linked to the limited evidence of F-35 use in Gaza and it is worth remembering that, where UK-produced F-35 parts go to the global spares pool, Israel operate a very small proportion of over 1,000 F-35s in the global fleet [emphasis added].

Use of F-35s in Gaza

As early as November 2023 it was reported that Israel was making heavy use of its modified F-35I Adirs. Former IDF chief of staff Lt Gen Herzi Halevi confirmed F-35Is were providing close air support to ground troops 200 metres away in Gaza. He stated:

We never did anything like this. With very heavy munitions, a very good connection between what the [ground] force needs and what the plane knows to give.

In December 2023, US officials confirmed they were rushing spare parts and additional capabilities “at breakneck speed” for the F-35 to Israel from October 2023. Officials stated Israel’s F-35Is have performed “absolutely outstanding” in Gaza, and that the programme could “learn a lot” from seeing F-35s used in combat.

The Israeli Air Force has modified its F-35Is, in partnership with Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon’s F-35 programme, to operate in so-called “beast mode”, which allows them to carry four 2,000lb bombs. The IAF said that its aircraft are the “only F-35 to conduct strikes with this design.”

Danish NGO Danwatch revealed that in July 2024 an F-35 dropped three 2,000 lb bombs in an attack on a so-called “safe zone” on Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, killing 90 Palestinians.

A spokesperson for Campaign Against Arms Trade said:

Israel is plainly not a minor customer for the F-35 programme, if it has flown more hours than any other partner country in the programme, and if the data it has generated though its genocide in Gaza is worth billions to Lockheed Martin. No other country has used the F-35 jet at near the rate that Israel has, let alone in two years of active combat. This cannot be overstated.

The comments made by Lockheed Martin and US and Israel officials over the last two and half years go beyond illustrating passive greed. Israel’s attack was immediately identified as an unprecedented opportunity by the F-35 programme to collaborate with the IDF and take the data generated by Palestinian suffering and death to test, develop, market and sell the jet.

We call on the UK government to correct the record, and admit that Israel is the key customer of the F-35 programme. We call on the government to immediately halt all transfers of F-35 parts to Israel.

Featured image via YouTube / Military Aviation Channel

In 2025 the disgraced, but still in place, US Homeland Security (DHS) boss Kristi Noem’s claimed on far-right Fox News that a victim of her and her boss Donald Trump’s deportation war on brown people was a cannibal. Not satisfied with that, she then claimed the man tried to eat himself as he was flown out of the US on an ‘ICE’ plane:

[This is the] kind of deranged individuals that are on our streets in America, that we’re trying to target and get out of our country. …You know, what bothered me the most is that this U.S. Marshal just said it like it was normal. He said he was literally eating his own arms. That is what he did. He called himself a cannibal and ate other people and ate himself that day.

It was a naked ploy to demonise the victims of the fascist regime’s purge – and has now been exposed as a complete fabrication. Or in plainer language, a total lie. No fewer than three federal law enforcement officials – including one from Noem’s own DHS – have confirmed that the whole thing was fiction. One, on condition of anonymity, said:

That is completely made up. That never happened.

Homeland Security boss Noem already faces widespread calls for her to resign or be sacked – and formally impeached – for smearing ICE’s murder victims Nicole Good and Alex Pretti as “domestic terrorists“. She has persisted in these smears despite abundant video evidence showing them to be lies as well.

Ardent Zionist Noem has clearly been taking lessons from the genocidal colony she loves in making up atrocity propaganda to justify evil. And, just like Israel, her lies have been quickly and completely debunked.

Featured image via the Canary

On 25 February 2026, Jewish anti-Zionist groups and other anti-genocide humanitarians will hold a demonstration outside Westminster Magistrates Court. The protest will be in support of three defendants charged with using the word ‘intifada‘. ‘Intifada’ is Arabic for ‘shaking off chains’, commonly translated in English as ‘uprising’.

Despite its ordinary meaning, the UK Israel lobby in and out of government is determined to present the word as an antisemitic call for the ‘killing of all Jews’ instead of a call for Palestinian freedom from occupation and self-determination. The ‘First Intifada’ was a campaign of non-violent resistance, but the deliberate misuse of the word is part of the Starmer regime’s ‘lawfare’ war against free speech on Israel’s crimes and the rights of Palestinian people.

Holocaust survivor descendant Mark Etkind said:

Where will this attack on free speech end? Will people next be arrested for using words like ‘democracy’ or ‘freedom’? With some countries already banning the slogan ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!’, the answer to that question is, probably: ‘yes’.

Claims by Keir Starmer and other politicians that such slogans are antisemitic have no basis in fact. They are just cynical inventions to justify repression of a pro-Palestine movement which has always had numerous Jewish participants.

Advertisement

Starmer’s other anti-democratic persecutions of anti-genocide activists and writers have mostly failed so far. For the sake of justice, this one must too – but given the reputation of magistrates as presiding over ‘kangaroo courts’, it may not.

The protest starts from 9.30am.

Featured image via the Canary

Quakers in Britain and the United States of America have nominated Concordis International for the Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination recognises two decades of community-led peacebuilding.

UK-based international NGO Concordis works in some of the world’s most fragile conflict zones. It aims to help people tackle the root causes of violence.

From Chad to South Sudan, it supports communities to rebuild, farm safely, and become resilient to famine, climate change, and war.

In their nomination, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) praised Concordis’ humility, respect, and consistent promotion of local partners.

The nominating letter said:

Concordis International’s commitment to peace is not new, brief, or transactional… Unlike the adversarial justice of the western world, they seek the healing justice for all parties, typical in a relational world view…

Their humility, respect, enthusiasm, and consistent promotion of their local partners over themselves is an international model for this millennium.

Peter Marsden, chief executive of Concordis, said:

We are truly grateful for the trust in us that AFSC and QPSW have shown.

More importantly, we’re grateful for their commitment to highlighting and applauding the unsung work of awesome local peacebuilders. These are the bold souls who work for peace where conflict is fought and felt.

Advertisement

Concordis works to ensure that everyone impacted by a conflict has a voice. This includes people neglected due to age, gender, ethnicity, people who take up arms, and those who do not, as well as governments and civil society.

Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for Quakers in Britain, added:

We are delighted to nominate Concordis International for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Their work reminds us that true, lasting peace comes from the courageous, patient work of local people who heal wounds, build understanding, and bridge divides.

AFSC general secretary Joyce Ajlouny said:

We are honored to nominate Concordis International for the Nobel Peace Prize.

A century of experience has shown us, time and again, that peace does not come at the barrel of a gun.

And while diplomacy between world leaders is important, it is the tireless efforts of everyday people working to resolve conflicts and address injustices that truly builds lasting peace.

As former Nobel winners (laureates), AFSC and QPSW can make a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize every year.

Their 1947 prize recognised 300 years of Quaker opposition to war. And in particular the work done by AFSC and what is now QPSW during and after the two world wars to feed starving children and help Europe rebuild itself.

Featured image via the Canary