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On Thursday, Donald Trump stood before the cameras in the White House and delivered a prime-time address claiming that the 2020 election had been stolen.

Wall Street Journal defined it as:

In his prime-time address, Trump alleged that the U.S. election system had been compromised, ramping up efforts to sow doubts about his 2020 election loss, raise skepticism about the midterms and pressure Congress into passing sweeping voter-ID legislation

CODEPINK’s co-founder Medea Benjamin said that Trump was trying to revive false claims of past stolen elections and Chinese interference to delegitimize the 2026 midterm elections.

By The Canary

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Amnesty International UK has referred itself to the Charity Commission after withdrawing its recent report A Growing Threat: the Anti-Rights Movement in the UK following intervention from known bigot JK Rowling. The report listed 117 organisations which work to undermine abortion and LGBTQ+ rights across the country.

The list included anti-abortion groups like Right to Life UK, Both Lives, and Abortion Resistance. It also featured conversion-therapy advocates GENSPECT and Thoughtful Therapists, and anti-trans organisations Gender Critical Greens and Transgender Trend.

Rowling and the ‘women’s fund’

However, famously litigious anti-queer campaigner and sometime author JK Rowling waded in because of the inclusion of her sexual-assault support centre Beira’s Place as an anti-rights actor. Beira’s Place denies support to victims of rape and sexual violence if they are transgender.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Beira’s Place immediately threatened legal action against Amnesty. Rowling also offered to fund other groups’ lawfare against the human rights organisation, stating:

Should any of the women’s organisations targeted by @AmnestyUK’s recent ‘anti-rights’ blacklist wish to take legal action, applications can be made to the JK Rowling Women’s Fund.

The billionaire author extended the offer after Trans Widows Voices complained that it lacked the funding to defend itself. The organisation is made up of women who refer to themselves as ‘widows’ after their (still living) partners transition.

Rowling set up her ‘women’s fund’ in June 2025, to provide money for legal actions against trans-inclusive organisations. Whilst the fund is exclusively available to cis women, the author also stated that she was “more than happy to donate” to the men’s organisations named on the list.

A Growing Threat

Before Amnesty took down its report, A Growing Threat defined anti-rights actors as seeking to undermine human rights protections “in law and practice”. Its key findings included:

• An organised anti-rights movement targeting the rights of women and LGBT+ people is growing in the UK. Over 60% of the organisations mapped have emerged since 2017, the vast majority gender critical organisations.
• Out of the sample of 117 organisations mapped, 37 have spent over £144 million between 2019 and 2024, an increase of 47%.
• One in three of the organisations mapped are registered charities, this means they can apply for institutional funding and may be eligible for ‘Gift Aid’ – a scheme enabling registered charities to reclaim tax on donations.
• The biggest spenders are ultra-conservative Christian policy and advocacy organisations (£46.7 million), followed by UK branches of US groups (£43.9 million) and anti-abortion organisations (£35.8 million).

However, following legal threats from the listed organisations’ lawyers, Amnesty took down the list and issued an apology. On 16 July, the Charity Commission confirmed that the human rights group had self-referred by submitting a serious incident report.

A spokesperson for Amnesty stated that:

We regret that this briefing was uploaded to our website without going through the established, internal review processes that are in place to ensure consistency, accuracy and alignment with Amnesty International UK’s positions.

Anti-rights actor, or just anti-rights?

Beira’s Place is certainly a “gender critical” organisation, as A Growing Threat termed the anti-trans groups on its list. However, it is probably inaccurate to call it an “anti-rights actor” per se. The sexual assault support center doesn’t, to our knowledge, actively campaign actively against trans rights.

Rather, Beira’s Place genuinely does provide support for victims of rape and sexual assault. It just denies service to women who have been victims of rape and sexual assault if its founders don’t believe they are women. Abhorrent, sure, but it’s not a campaigning organisation.

Instead, Beira’s Place board member Susan Smith does her anti-trans campaigning through For Women Scotland, of which she is the director.

That’s the same For Women Scotland which is also named on Amnesty’s list, and whose litigation resulted in the Supreme Court defining ‘women’ as referring to sex-assigned-at-birth under the Equality Act.

Rowling leading the way on anti-rights lawfare

JK Rowling herself provided £70,000 to For Women Scotland to fuel its anti-trans lawfare. That lawfare resulted in the sharp reduction of trans people’s rights after the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chose to interpret the court’s ruling in the most transphobic manner possible.

Parliament is overwhelmingly likely to pass the EHRC’s code of conduct on 5 August, effectively segregating trans people and other groups perceived as trans – including gender non-conformists and intersex individuals – as a ‘third sex’.

Before it was taken down, A Growing Threat stated that:

Some of these groups describe themselves as ‘anti-gender’ because they visibly oppose the rights and equality of women and LGBT+ people. However, by targeting women and LGBT+ people, they also challenge a fundamental human rights principle: that human rights belong to everyone equally. Human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. When the rights of one group are restricted, protections for others can also be weakened, even where the effects are not immediately visible.

We’ve already seen the interconnectedness of human rights in action after the publication of the EHRC’s draft code. TransActual UK reported that:

Our research has uncovered many stories of cis people, especially gender non-conforming women, being humiliated and excluded by staff or vigilante gender police when using the appropriate facilities and shown that this has already increased since the publication of the EHRC’s draft guidance.

An attack on us all

Anti-trans campaigners seek to create borders between cis and trans women, and cis and trans men for that matter. As with For Women Scotland, they may do this under the guise of ‘protecting women’s rights’, or ‘protecting gay rights’ in the case of the LGB Alliance and their ilk.

However, these arguments are just that – a disguise for anti-rights campaigning. NION (Not In Our Name) Women, a network of trans-inclusive women’s organisations, released an open letter stating that:

As women, we face so many pressing concerns: misogyny, gender inequality, violence and abuse from cis men, difficulties accessing appropriate healthcare and growing threats to our bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. These changes to the interpretation of the Equality Act and updates to the Code of Practice do nothing to address these issues.

Likewise, as the Canary has said before under similar circumstances:

Any border creates an ‘other’, and requires police to protect that border from the ‘other’. And policing, as we have seen time and again, begets violence.

It’s a sign of the severe failure of our democracy that a billionaire like Rowling can simply throw enough money at a cause to make a vulnerable minority’s rights disappear wholesale. That reduction in rights is an attack on us all, cis and trans alike.

If only somebody were to write a report on the vast sums of money anti-rights actors are ploughing into their legal campaigns.

Featured image via the Canary

By Grace

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At Chatham House’s London Conference on 9 July 2026, a panel on “The new geopolitics of the Middle East” noted the failure by Trump to underestimate Iran’s resilience.

The comments were made by Professor Mohsen Milani (University of South Florida), who said his comments were not of a political persuasion but were offered as an academic. The video was published by Chatham House on their YouTube channel.

He said that American policymakers and think tankers have been wrong about Iran for 47 to 48 years, and that one of the primary reasons is that they have “underestimated the resiliency of a revolutionary government.”

Betting on Iran “regime change”

Milani said that Trump and his administration had bet on a quick collapse of the Islamic Republic through military pressure, but that this assumption was flawed.

individuals play a much bigger role in the Islamic Republic than institutions.

This is why they thought by killing the supreme leader of Iran the entire system is going to collapse. Well, we know that didn’t happen because the nature of power in Iran is diverse.

Iran’s offensive capabilities

He also said that the US and Israel had underestimated Iran’s offensive capabilities.

Finally, we underestimated Iranian offensive capability and its will to fight. I think many people in Washington were surprised when Iran directly attacked the Gulf countries, when Iran weaponized the Strait of Hormuz, and most importantly Iran basically in that war violated its long-established policy of not directly confronting America — never directly attack America. It was always through proxies and indirectly. But this time Iran attacked American bases and American assets.

History of the Strait of Hormuz

Milani noted Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz as one of the most significant developments to emerge from the conflict.

He said that while military analysts had long anticipated the possibility of Iran disrupting the strait, few believed Tehran would actually be capable of essentially closing it down. The move, he argued, represents a fundamental shift in the region’s balance of power.

Drawing on historical context, Milani traced the strait’s strategic importance over the centuries. He noted that the Portuguese first captured the waterway, before Iran, with British assistance, expelled them, paving the way for British dominance in the Persian Gulf until 1968. The Shah of Iran then assumed the role of regional enforcer, followed by a period of Pax Americana, during which the United States guaranteed the security of the Gulf’s shipping lanes.

Milani suggested that Iran now seeks to replicate its historic role as the power that expelled the Portuguese, aiming to reshape the regional order to diminish American dominance while allowing China to expand its influence in the Gulf.

He said:

I think you’re going to see Iran helping China become a much more powerful country in the Persian Gulf.

He said that Iran is “unlikely to accept the status quo” and will insist on maintaining “some degree of control” over the strait in any future arrangement. 

Qatar says “we are all losers”

While Milani described the conflict as being “in the middle of a football game” with no clear winner yet, Qatar’s chief foreign policy adviser, Majid Alansari, also on the panel, painted a more sombre picture, saying:

To comment very slightly on what Professor Milani said, yes, the US did not win this war but that doesn’t mean that the other side would not lose. We are all losers in this war.

 If you look at the region right now, who is going to benefit anything from what’s happening? Who is going to gain the most from any trajectory that this war is going to go into?

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For our countries in the GCC, the economic impact is strategic. On my country, you have in one attack 17% of our ability to produce natural gas was destroyed. We haven’t exported normally since the beginning of the war.

He pointed to the economic impact on Gulf states, noting that a single attack by Iran destroyed 17% of Qatar’s natural gas production capacity.

Alansari said Qatar would not recognise any Iranian claim to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, stating that Iran has “no legal claim” to the waterway.

He said that granting Iran any form of control would leave the region “hostages to whatever radical element in Iran that wants to take over the strait at any time.”

However, Qatar, which has long been firmly in the US camp, said it had to diversify. Alansari stated: 

There is no alternative to our partnership with the United States… But we need to diversify. We need to take back some of our agency.

He added:

Now we need to build defense partnerships that go beyond military acquisitions, weapons acquisitions and defense pacts. There need to be joint investments in defense military industrial complexes as we have done in the region.

So seems jury is still out on who won the war.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

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The UK could be on the brink of a bumper summer of butterflies. A warm, dry spring has raised hopes of an abundant season ahead for some of the nation’s best-loved species.

2024 delivered the worst results in the history of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count. And it led to the declaration of a butterfly emergency. However, a sunnier 2025 offered some encouragement. And with spring 2026 one of the warmest on record, the UK could see a kaleidoscope of colourful butterflies this year.

That’s why wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is calling on the public to get out for its annual Big Butterfly Count. It runs from Friday 17 July – Sunday 9 August.

Anyone, anywhere can take part and help to paint a picture of how butterflies are faring by submitting their sightings to help create an interactive map.

These sightings provide important data that helps scientists understand where butterflies are thriving, struggling, or shifting due to climate change, habitat loss or restoration.

Some of the country’s most recognisable and loved species have had a better than average spring. And that has set them up for a potentially abundant summer.

The small copper and holly blue have been appearing in excellent numbers. Peacock, red admiral and sunshine-yellow brimstone have also had a promising start to the year.

This rainbow of colourful characters includes four of the top five of the recent vote to find Britain’s Favourite Butterfly, in which the peacock took the crown.

Butterflies benefitting from heatwaves

Heatwaves, warm dry spells and the occasional welcome downpour have created ideal conditions for breeding and for caterpillar growth. So this summer could see gardens and green spaces filled with fluttering wings.

Butterfly Conservation’s head of engagement, Kate Merry, said:

After the colourful spring with seemingly lots of beautiful butterflies appearing across the UK, it’s tempting to assume we’re heading for a bumper summer, and we’d love nothing more as most of our butterfly species have undergone long-term declines.

But a bright spring is only ever part of the story, which is why we need people out there taking part in the Big Butterfly Count this summer.

We genuinely don’t yet know how this year will unfold, and the only way to find out is for people to tell us what they’re seeing in their own gardens and green spaces.

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The world’s largest butterfly survey, the Big Butterfly Count, asks people to spend just 15 minutes outdoors in a sunny spot, count the butterflies and day-flying moths they see, and submit their sightings via the free app or on the website.

80% of UK butterfly species have declined over the past 50 years. This has happened due to habitat loss, pollution and climate change. So scientists need as many eyes as possible looking for butterflies this summer to see what’s happening. Every sighting counts.

The peacock, holly blue, red admiral, brimstone and small copper can all be recorded as part of Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, along with 15 other butterflies and day-flying moths.

Merry added:

Butterflies are icons of summer and, more importantly, key indicators of the UK’s biodiversity and environmental health.

Every single person that takes part in the Big Butterfly Count and submits their sightings is helping us to see how these pollinators are doing, which in turn helps conservationists build a wider picture of how all insects are faring.

It’s easy, fun for all the family, and a great excuse to get outside and experience the simple joy of spotting butterflies. You’ll also be helping to protect butterflies for future generations, and if that doesn’t give you the feel-good factor I don’t know what will!

How to take part:

• Download the free Big Butterfly Count app or visit the website.
• Between Friday 17 July – Sunday 9 August, spend 15 minutes in any sunny outdoor space and count the number and types of butterflies and day-flying moths you see.
• You don’t need to be an expert. Use the free ID guide on the app and website to help you identify what you’ve seen.
• Log your sightings on the website or free app and help protect UK butterflies for future generations.

This summer, experience the joy of butterflies and see how many you can count. Will it be the bumper, colourful season spring has hinted at? Only time will tell…

Featured image via John Ranson

By The Canary

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Unite official Matt Smith played an extensive role in Sharon Graham’s 2021 election campaign to become the union’s general secretary. But in the current general secretary election he is calling on members to back her rival Simon Dubbins for the job.

Smith’s commitment to a Graham win was so great that he said “we will all work so hard to get Graham elected as Unite’s next general secretary”:

Smith was then promoted in 2022 to Unite’s head of Member Relations:

Changed tune

But now, after five years of Graham running Unite, Smith has changed his mind completely. Now he has published a lengthy Facebook post telling members to vote for Graham’s challenger Simon Dubbins. The reason is simple: a second Graham term will be an “utter disaster”:

Smith is straightforward in his reasoning. Having experienced five years of Graham’s rule, he believes she has increased corruption instead of fighting it. Jobs for ill-qualified allies, secrecy over Unite’s finances, failure to address blacklisting of Unite activists, even creating a fake job to silence a potential rival. And Graham’s insecurity and paranoia working against members’ interests:

I believe that another five years of Sharon as Gen Sec would be an utter disaster for our union.

She has failed to deliver on her manifesto promises, wasting five years that should have been used to turn this union around. Now we’re told she needs another five years to finish the job. Sharon faced no effective opposition preventing her from delivering her manifesto, yet she still failed.

There always seems to be an excuse as to why Sharon can’t publish our accounts, conclude an investigation into blacklisting or even disclose her own salary. She hasn’t cleaned up any reported corruption quite the opposite.

In my view, appointing people to long term acting roles, promoting some of the least capable people industrially in our movement without any member led process, creating a “ghost organiser” job, where one individual was reportedly paid for two years without actually working for Unite, while also receiving a second salary, is just as unacceptable as allowing the union to be ripped off over a hotel.

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As a leader, in my opinion, she has shown all the signs of being insecure, paranoid, and suffering from imposter syndrome from the very start of her term. Now Unite needs a serious adult as GS, backed by a principled industrial team, to get this union back on track and deliver the real change our members were promised.

Unite and Graham’s anti-union record

Matt Smith has become the latest in a string of former die-hard supporters to call on members to vote Graham out. But he could have gone far further in his criticisms.

Despite running Unite, Graham has repeatedly been accused of using appalling, anti-union tactics against workers employed by Unite, leading to several strikes. In many cases, these tactics have been seen as Unite’s attempts to protect her husband, Jack Clarke. Clarke is the target of much of the industrial unrest among Unite staff.

Soon after her accession in 2021, Graham created a new Bargaining and Disputes Support Unit (BDSU). Outside of the union’s usual procedures, Clarke was appointed to run it. The appointment was made despite Clarke being on a final warning for bullying and misogyny. As striking workers picketed against Clarke, Graham’s faction staged counter-demonstrations against them and attacked their reps.

Most recently, Graham’s plan to shut down the union’s popular ‘Community’ section has been exposed. And she has been accused of letting odious Labour right-winger Wes Streeting and his team write an attack in her name on potential next chancellor Ed Miliband, to boost Streeting’s prospects under Andy Burnham.

Unite lawyer’s explosive admission

Explosively, Unite’s lawyers admitted to Skwawkbox that the union had destroyed evidence that workers had gathered against him. This did not stop further complaints and strike action from workers in his new fiefdom, with almost all the women working under him quitting and 90% of Unite’s HQ staff backing strike action.

The challenger and the hide-and-seek

Dubbins, by contrast, has spoken out consistently against Israel’s genocide and against Unite’s disengagement from wider politics to suit Graham’s narrow ‘workplace only’ agenda. He was suspended as Unite’s international director after refusing to cancel a pro-Palestine fringe event at a Labour conference.

Graham hid from union branches and declined to debate Dubbins at any hustings event during the nominations phase, angering many, including allies, by sending weak proxies instead. Last week, Dubbins publicly challenged Graham to stop hiding and face him in an open debate in front of members.

Any of these issues could and should be decisive in a union election with a history of low turn-outs. Based on recent history, Graham’s paid organiser team will be working hard to secure support for her – but members need to hear the voices of those who used to be prominent in campaigning for her and now see her as an ongoing disaster.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

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