How to stop towels from smelling musty

Over the weekend, Brooklyn posted a black-and-white picture on Instagram of himself shirtless, while kissing his wife of almost four years.

“Happy Valentine’s Day baby,” he wrote in the selfie’s caption. “I am the luckiest person in the world to be able to call you my Valentines [sic] every year. I love you more than you know and I will forever protect and love you.”

She then reposted the same picture in colour, telling her husband: “I love you more everyday!! I’m so lucky I get to call you my forever Valentine. You’re the most beautiful human and I love doing life with you.”

Take a look at Brooklyn and Nicola’s respective Instagram posts for yourself here and here.

Of course, Brooklyn’s latest post comes after a prolonged period in which his and Nicola’s names have not been far away from the headlines.

In a lengthy statement shared over a string of Instagram story posts, Brooklyn accused his parents of “controlling” and “performative” behaviour over the course of his life, as well as alleging that they have tried “endlessly to ruin my relationship” with Nicola, to whom he’s been married since April 2022.

Sir David and Victoria have remained tight-lipped on the claims so far, and have not returned HuffPost UK’s requests for comment.

The first candidate for this morning’s editorial was Labour’s proposal to change the way seat boundaries are calculated by introducing an ‘opt-out’ electoral register.

But as that will surely be an ongoing story, we’re instead going to take a peek under the bonnet of the Government’s recent court defeat over Palestine Action. Because R (Ammori) vs SSHD is an excellent example of how the courts have expanded their reach – and the extent to which politicians are (and in this case, are not really) to blame.

You can read the full judgement via the above link, but the critical passage to which I want to draw your attention is section 84:

“Drawing this together, the policy is an additional qualitative threshold to use of the power to proscribe. The policy requires the Home Secretary to assess the restrictions consequent on proscription of the organisation under consideration and determine whether they are, in a general sense, proportionate to the nature and scale of the threat presented by the organisation, to the extent that it is concerned in terrorism (and not by reference to other activities that it may undertake).”

Our specific concern is with this “additional qualitative threshold”. This refers to internal guidance published by the Home Office about the use of the power to proscribe. The High Court has ruled that the Home Secretary, in proscribing Palestine Action, did not adequately comply with this internal guidance, and thus the proscription was unlawful.

Which is, when you stop to think about it, extremely strange. The power of proscription is laid down in an Act of Parliament (the Terrorism Act 2000). The provisions of the Home Office’s internal guidance are not. So in reaching their decision, the High Court appears to have decided that the Home Office can, through the publication of internal documents, modify the provisions of an Act of Parliament.

This is not the first time this very radical notion has reared its head. Readers might remember the almighty row which followed the Conservatives’ decision to remove a stated obligation to comply with international law from the Civil Service Code. Notwithstanding that it is the United Kingdom, rather than individuals, which is subject to international law, there were in that case many commentators – including lawyers – whose distress at the move suggested they thought the prime minister had the power to impose or lift legal obligations via internally-published documents.

Yet if you were to ask those lawyers – or, one suspects, the judges of the High Court – if, in the abstract, they thought the executive has or ought to have the power to modify acts of parliament in this way, they would be horrified at the prospect. Much waving of shrouds and wailing about the rule of law would surely ensue.

Much of the expansion of the role of the courts into British governance is the fault of politicians. It is ultimately MPs who pass broadly or vaguely-worded legislation, or freight bills with endless ‘have regard’ clauses which provide them with a way of feeling like they have contributed without having to do any detailed work at the expense of providing fertile vectors for judicial review.

In this case, however, the finger of blame really does seem to point at the judges. One might suggest that government should stop publishing internal guidance that constrains ministers’ freedom of manoeuvre beyond the constraints imposed by Parliament, and as a practical adaptation to the status quo it would make sense to do so. But government should be able to adopt and publish internal guidelines without having them wrongly elevated to the status of law; whether or not a department has followed its internal guidance in implementing a policy is not the courts’ businesses.

Even so, responsibility for fixing the problem does rest with MPs. This is not the first time the judiciary has played fast and loose with the status of law – see its invention of so-called ‘constitutional statutes’ with special protections against implied repeal, which were never created by Parliament. Short of sacking judges or an unusually energetic and effective programme of appeals, the only way to reimpose the proper lines of constitutional authority is for Parliament to legislate against bad judgements.

I have previously suggested that this could take the form of a regular Bill of Clarification, tabled once per session or per parliament, which identified cases where the courts had interpreted the law contrary to the intentions of Parliament and laid down, in law, what the actual intention of Parliament was (and thus, what the actual law was).

Perhaps in this case the Court of Appeal will see sense and do the job of reminding the High Court what is and is not law. But if any government is to solve the problems that have led serious figures in both major parties to conclude that Britain is becoming impossible to govern, a reliable way must be found to prevent the judges randomly bestowing legal status on things which shouldn’t have it.

Councillor Thomas Heald is a Scottish Conservative councillor for Dunblane and Bridge of Allan, Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Dunfermline and political advisor in the Scottish Parliament.

The controversy surrounding Lord Mandelson matters not because of personality, however objectionable, but because it exposes a recurring flaw in modern politics: the belief that trust can be restored simply by changing the people in charge.

That assumption was central to Keir Starmer’s pitch for office. Labour did not win on ideology or ambition, but on a moral claim that standards, judgement and seriousness would improve because different people were in power. The Mandelson affair tests that claim and suggests that trust cannot be rebuilt by intent alone.

This is not about a single controversy. It reflects a deeper tendency to confuse ethical language with ethical behaviour. Voters are repeatedly told that professionalism and experience will guarantee better outcomes. In practice, systems behave much as they did before.

Conservatives should be honest about our own record. The past decade damaged public confidence. Too often we appeared distracted or insufficiently serious about the responsibilities of office. Any attempt to rebuild trust must begin with acknowledging that failure. An acknowledgement which has quite rightly been at the forefront of Kemi Badenoch’s attempts to rebuild and remodel our party at a UK level.

But Labour’s difficulties point to a wider truth: trust is not restored by tone, presentation or moral claims. It is restored by conduct, particularly when that conduct is inconvenient or politically costly.

This lesson is especially relevant in Scotland.

For nearly two decades, Scottish politics has been dominated by a party that has framed itself as a moral alternative to its opponents. The SNP has claimed higher purpose and greater legitimacy, but long tenure has not produced improved outcomes. Educational standards have declined, public services are under sustained pressure and local government increasingly struggles to maintain basic infrastructure.

Council tax rises while roads and pavements deteriorate. Moral certainty has not translated into competent administration.

This is not unique to Scotland, but Scotland illustrates the danger clearly: when political authority rests on moral posture rather than accountability, standards erode quietly over time.

The Mandelson affair is a reminder that no party is immune to this dynamic. Power breeds defensiveness. Longevity dulls judgement. Promises to “do things differently” collapse unless they are backed by discipline and restraint.

Scottish voters are not hostile to politics, but they have too often been encouraged to substitute moral assertion for evidence of delivery. Repeated appeals to virtue, grievance and intent have been allowed to stand in for measurable improvement in schools, public services and local government. Over time, that has weakened scrutiny and lowered expectations — not because voters are disengaged, but because the political culture has rewarded rhetoric over results.

For Conservatives in Scotland, the implication is straightforward.

Rebuilding trust does not mean competing in the language of virtue. That road has failed repeatedly. Trust is rebuilt locally and incrementally: through competent councils, improved schools, maintained infrastructure, and politicians who explain difficult decisions rather than evade them.

The lesson of the Mandelson affair is not that trust in politics is impossible. It is that trust cannot be asserted, outsourced, or inherited. It is earned through discipline, restraint and visible competence, especially when those in power are tempted to excuse themselves. Scotland has lived for years under a politics that mistakes moral claims for delivery.

Conservatives should resist that temptation entirely. If trust is to be rebuilt, it will not come from saying we are different, but from governing differently, consistently, locally and without pretending that good intentions are a substitute for results.

Local activists have prevented supporters of Israel’s genocide and French purveyor of mass murder Thales from giving a talk at a Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) conference. The weapons manufacturer had been set to give a talk at the NI Blockchain event at the university’s Computer Science building. However, around 25 anti-genocide campaigners stormed the room and ensured the presentation could not take place. Embarrassed organisers swiftly ushered attendees out, leaving activists free to hang up Palestine flags and plaster the place with ‘boycott Israeli apartheid’ stickers.

Thales are well known to have links to the ‘Israeli’ military. Until very recently, they produced various drones through its then subsidiary UTacS, which was jointly owned by Elbit Systems. Elbit is the backbone of the genocidal settler-colony’s weapons industry. Thales recently sold UTacS to the Zionist arms firm.

Strong links between Thales and Israel

In a report entitled “Exposed: The UK firms supplying Elbit Systems”, the always excellent Declassified UK reported on how:

Thales in Crawley has exported radar components to Elbit in Haifa. On 6 November 2025, the company also sent an “I-Master airborne surveillance radar” to Israel.

The I-Master “delivers all-weather surveillance, pattern of life monitoring, change detection and wide area-coverage”, according to Thales. “It detects and locates moving and stationary targets at long stand-off ranges over land and sea”.

Advertisement

It was exported under the ML5b licence, according to the shipping document, which covers “target acquisition, designation, range-finding, surveillance or tracking systems”.

Thales claim the materials it sends to the settler-colony are:

…intended for re-exporting purposes to a European end user.

Declassified UK point out how meaningless this is, as the British government does not have a means of checking whether Israeli Genocide Forces use anything sent to so-called ‘Israel’.

This shipment seems to directly contradict a statement Thales gave in December 2025, in which they said:

Thales has not delivered any defence equipment, or any equipment enabling the operation of a defence system, to the Israeli armed forces or to Israeli manufacturers.

Thales has not exported any weapon or any lethal system to the Israeli armed forces, either directly or through third-party manufacturers.

This was in the wake of opposition from parents who opposed local schools partnering with the criminal company to boost its recruitment. Thales also has a factory in East Belfast which is a regular target for pro-Palestine protesters.

Students call for QUB to end its complicity

The protest at QUB was led by Connolly Youth Movement activists. In a statement, they said:

Anti-imperialists from the Connolly Youth Movement, QUB Palestine Assembly and BDS Belfast, disrupted Thales’ talk at the conference and the war criminals immediately packed up and left. These arms manufacturers raise millions in profits off the back of genocide and have no place on our campuses.

This shows the power of collective, direct actions which ensure that these vultures have no room to breathe. This action is part of a long-running campaign to pressure QUB to sever all its links with Zionism and arms manufacturers, driving them off our campus and divesting from all complicit institutions.

Advertisement

The university continues to partner with these vile merchants of death. At a protest in October 2025, students highlighted its ongoing relationship with BAE Systems, which helps to manufacture the F-35 warplane used to murder innocent Palestinians. They said:

Queen’s boasts of “Partnering with BAE Systems on video based semantic analysis of crowd behaviour” and provides placements for students.

They also highlighted similar arrangements with Caterpillar, notorious for supplying the bulldozers used to wreck Palestinian homes. QUB also insists on maintaining indirect investments in ‘Israeli’ companies.

But we’re still not done – despite cutting ties with Epstein associate and alleged rapist George Mitchell, the university persists in keeping fellow Epstein fraterniser Hillary Clinton as chancellor. The former US secretary of state is a perpetual warmonger and committed Zionist. QUB’s continued backing of Clinton, and its support for ‘Israel’ – a practitioner of mass sexual abuse – shows it does not care about basic morality, truth, or even its own reputation.

It is instead an institution that cares only about money and proximity to power, even if it’s done on the backs of rape victims and dead Palestinians.

Featured image via the Canary

4 min read12 min

A memo that held the promise of new ways of thinking, that could unlock progress on huge issues like climate change, NHS efficiency and prison overcrowding. But government didn’t even recognise the language it was written in, far less comprehend it.

Sometimes it feels like that’s a situation we find ourselves in. The mystery language is maths. There’s  real potential for more people in government and parliament to draw on mathematical insights when shaping policy. However, mathematical expertise isn’t as widespread across government and parliament as it could be, which means opportunities to use it are sometimes missed.

This week, we took a huge step to changing that. The Academy of Mathematical Sciences appointed its first 100 Fellows. Their remit is to represent the maths community to the public and to policy makers and to collaborate on some of the conundrums that face us as a nation.

The Fellows range from the head of GCHQ, our national codebreaking centre, to University Challenge champ and TV personality Bobby Seagull. From a primary school teacher from Cambridge to the Scottish Government’s maths adviser. They not only demonstrate the range of levels and livings that the mathematical sciences can lead to they bring the necessary breadth of expertise to tackle pressing policy issues.

For example, only this week the Secretary of State announced a programme of free AI training for all workers. It’s impossible to avoid AI and its impact. But how many recognise that under the bonnet it’s mathematical algorithms that underpin this transformative technology? Mathematician Marcus du Sautoy has characterised the way government and business has embraced the advantages of AI without supporting mathematicians and mathematical sciences as being like buying a Ferrari without any knowledge or curiosity about the fuel might actually make it go.

The Academy of Mathematical Sciences Fellows will work on solutions to ensure AI is safe and accurate by interrogating and improving the maths it relies on.

Unfortunately, national security is probably the number one priority for government right now. We are not safe without the mathematical sciences. Maths is fundamental to code breaking, defence strategy, even to mundane but vital calculations like how many tins of beans do you need to stock on an aircraft carrier to feed the crew for an entire deployment to ensure our servicemen and women don’t go hungry but our fighting capability is at maximum efficiency.

The Academy of Mathematical Sciences Fellows will collaborate to support the effort to stay ahead of the curve. That means keeping ahead of our adversaries on new technologies like quantum that will transform cryptography and ahead of the hackers launching thousands of hacks and online attacks every day against our digital infrastructure and our companies.

These are just a few of the challenges that the Fellows will take on. They will also consider energy policy – how to maximise production and efficiency and maintain and expand the grid for example.

And they will keep a profile in Whitehall and across the nation in an effort to alter and update the image of mathematics.

Too many people think of maths as equations on a blackboard. When in fact it is plotting a space flight, tracking a storm, improving outcomes for cancer patients, or forming an all conquering rock band (like Coldplay’s Jonny Buckland).

It’s a mindset that is  common in Westminster too, and it’s holding us back. There are a few former teachers in parliament like me, Chris Vince and Mark Sewards that champion the subject. S/  While Parliament has plenty of talented people from wide range of backgrounds, including maths and STEM, for many colleagues, their last real encounter with maths was at school, and their perception hasn’t changed since.

The Fellows appointed this week are leaders who come together to harness the power of the mathematical sciences for the common good. I shall be encouraging government to engage with them at the earliest opportunity.

I love maths. Which is why know it has more to contribute to policy and society. The appointment of the Academy’s first 100 Fellows is a step towards that goal. The nation’s brightest future has maths at its heart.

Dave Robertson MP is a former teacher

Help and support: