On 17 March 2026, the staff at Castle Grange and Claremont House were formally told the specialist dementia care homes they work in are being transferred to a private provider. Mulberry Care Homes already runs a care home in Kirklees. However, the Care Quality Commission has assessed it as ‘requires improvement’.

Despite this rating Kirklees council is seeking to cut its losses and sell the home. This is leaving residents and their families to pick up the pieces. And, as they await the next steps, they’ve had no formal information from the council.

The ‘Save our Kirklees Dementia Homes from Privatisation’ group has tirelessly campaigned against this sell off. Just as it also fought to prevent Kirklees council from closing them. It is only thanks to this campaign that the homes didn’t close two years ago. But this council was not impressed or deterred from pressing ahead to offload them to the private sector.

The campaign includes close relatives of residents at both homes. And it has fought for the last two-and-a-half years to keep these excellent and caring homes in the public sector. Campaigners have received overwhelming support from the public and local community.

Labour banned questions on dementia homes

The campaigners have taken questions and petitions to the council to press their case. For their
troubles, they feel they have been patronised, ignored and finally silenced by an uncaring council. Six months ago, the ruling Labour group banned ALL councillors from asking any questions on the topic at council meetings.

Campaigners were also prevented from addressing the council and had to resort to standing outside town hall meetings lobbying individual councillors. Left with no alternative, they took their case to the High Court in Leeds in September 2025.

Regrettably the judge ruled in the council’s favour and the campaign appealed to the Court of
Appeal, where they tragically lost again. The rulings were on legal technicalities, not on the morality of selling off these dementia homes from under the residents to a failing private provider. The legal route was the last resort for the campaign and the council has acted with indecent haste
to tell staff they will now be transferring over to a new employer on worse terms and conditions!

Understandably staff, residents and families are devastated. Evidence shows that the private
sector provides worse standards of care compared to the public sector. The council is aware of
this but has chosen to fall back on erroneous figures to try and prove it is too expensive.

The campaign has consistently disputed these figures and produced a detailed dossier to prove its case. The campaign is now assessing its options and will monitor very carefully the new owners and the care they offer.

A spokesperson for ‘Save our Kirklees Dementia Homes from Privatisation’ said:

We all went to Leeds in September for the High Court hearing, and many of us also attended the Appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on 5 March. We are gutted we lost the case but we have fought all the way and continue to believe very strongly the council is making a huge mistake.

We would like to thank the staff, the community, those councillors who have believed in us and our legal team at Irwin Mitchell for all their support. We are naturally down but not unbowed. We owe it to everyone to ensure this new provider is kept on their toes and that the council fulfils its duty to monitor standards.

For those voting in the elections on 7 May, please ask your candidates where they stand on privatisation of public services and vote accordingly.

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Featured image via the Canary

Spanish MP Ione Belarra delivered a forceful speech condemning Israel, declaring that it “must be stopped.”

Belarra has often been outspoken, alongside Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, in opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza. She argues that Israel’s military campaign is a genocide and has long called on the international community to act decisively.

She also condemned further Israeli strikes beyond Gaza, specifically their military actions against Iran and Lebanon. Belarra astutely described them as part of a broader and increasingly unlawful escalation. Since late February, Spanish leaders have continued to press other countries to uphold international law and the rules-based global system to little avail.

Refusing to give up, Belarra has now issued a stark and urgent warning to world leaders, insisting that their failure to restrain Israel could lead to wider devastation far beyond Palestine.

BREAKING : 🇪🇸 Spanish MP Ione Belarra sent chilling warning about Israel

“If we do not stop Israel now, what they are already doing to Palestine, they will do to the entire world. THEY MUST BE STOPPED.” 🔥

Another Fearless voice from Spain after Pedro Sánchez. RESPECT 🫡 pic.twitter.com/9yeJym0Ibh

— Ankit Mayank (@mr_mayank) March 22, 2026

Israel is the true threat to global peace and stability

Principled activists and leaders have relentlessly called on international governments to show backbone and act with moral clarity. They argue that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza after decades of occupying Palestinian territories since 1948 and demand that the world confront it now.

They point to Spain – under PM Pedro Sánchez – as setting the pace, with one of the strongest efforts in Europe to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.

This warning from Belarra follows prior moves by Spain to apply political pressure against Israel. The Spanish government have stood out on the world stage for its actions such as the banning of arm sales, refusing to allow access to military bases and recently recalling Spain’s Ambassador from Israel. 

Spain appears to be stepping up its campaign to wake world leaders to what it warns is a dangerous reality: Israel’s aggression will not stop at the Middle East.

Belarra has compared Israel and its genocide against Palestinians to Nazi Germany from the outset:

This adds to a list of powerful speeches given by this courageous Spanish MP; she regularly speaks out against Israel in the Spanish parliament. Here, she has even called NATO a “criminal alliance” and insisted Spain bow out:

🚨🇪🇸🇺🇸🇮🇷 BREAKING: Spanish MP Ione Belarra of Podemos urges Spain to “expel the American army,” close all U.S. bases in the country, and leave the “criminal alliance” of NATO.

She calls the U.S. and Israel “the greatest threat to the security of humanity.” pic.twitter.com/OHOmwD2fWh

— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) March 19, 2026

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A reminder of the catastrophic hellscape that has been inflicted on Palestinian civilians at the hands of the IDF and its lackies:

If you’re outraged by the destruction in Israel but not the destruction in Palestine, Lebanon and Iran. Then you’re the problem. pic.twitter.com/qn1cMIqxtB

— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) March 22, 2026

This X post shows the sheer scale of opposition to the US and Israel amongst the Spanish population:

Massive turnout in Madrid, Spain this weekend to protest the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran. pic.twitter.com/b7PYzAf6fR

— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) March 15, 2026

This video shared in the X post shows Israel and the US declaring more countries as ‘enemies’. This reinforces Belarra’s warning that their military reach will eventually extend even further:

Nicholas J. Fuentes – In what universe are Canada, France, the UK, Poland, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Malta, and Ireland our ENEMIES — and Israel our greatest ally?” pic.twitter.com/sLdBZTfWPs

— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) January 11, 2026

Keep going, Spain!

Spain and its elected officials are leading the way internationally in the fight against fascism and violent extremism. Israel and the US are being led by toddler tyrants who prioritise their own self-interest and power over accountability and human cost.

As Ione Belarra warns, this hostile supremacy poses a threat to everyone. Countries with ties to the US – and especially those hosting its military bases – now face the strategic risks those installations have always carried: tools to exert pressure and project power, often at the expense of their own national interests.

Like Spanish citizens, we need principled leadership in the UK – leaders who stand up to genocidal warmongers and say no.

They’ve already sold out our interests for private profit. We must not let them sell out our country to a terrorist state too.

Featured image via YouTube screenshot/Vozpopuli

UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese has once again urged UN member states to wake up to the reality on the ground in the Middle East. Ahead of her eighth report on Israel’s genocidal actions against Palestinians, she warns that Israel poses a serious threat to international peace and security.

In turn, Albanese highlighted the extensive evidence she has gathered in her urgent UN reports and reinforces her call to world leaders to uphold their humanitarian duty by intervening to stop the mass killing of innocent men, women, and children.

Finally, she stresses that only those in positions of power can hold Israel accountable under international law. In turn, this could work to prevent a dark, sinister future for the global population as a result of the new world order enforced by the US and Israel that ‘might is always right’.

A world order that will hurt any and all countries who have anything of value to imperial interests.

Dear UN Member States,

As I prepare to deliver my 8th report to the UN, I reiterate: Israel poses a threat to international peace and security.

I have documented its most egregious crimes. Now the obligation to act, and stop it, sparing innocent lives, rests with you. https://t.co/2tP4sK4nvl

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) March 22, 2026

Francesca Albanese tells UN member states to stop ignoring legal obligations

Albanese is continuing in her mission to press the UN into action, tirelessly reminding it of the vital purpose it was created to serve. The UN was formed after WWII in 1945 in order to promote cooperation amongst international leaders, enforcing a rules-based system which would foster and maintain peace and security.

If international law was applied without fear or favour, the world would see far less bloodshed and far less aggressive vitriol from hostile states. However, since its inception, the world’s most powerful states have used the international body as a way of beating down states they wish to exploit whilst shielding themselves from accountability for crimes committed by the West.

The US has consistently vetoed any effective resolutions put forward by the UN, often making its lackies toe the line and abstain from having a view. The US even saw fit to veto a UN resolution which would have allowed for unrestricted aid to enter Gaza, as we wrote back in September:

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has voted on a draft resolution put forward by its ten ‘non-permanent’ members demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the immediate release of all hostages and the immediate lifting of Israel’s blockade on food and medicines – and ordering on the occupying power to ensure safe and unhindered distribution to all in need.

Adding:

The US representative vetoed the UN resolution, condemning around 1.5 million surviving civilians in Gaza to starvation as they continue to be bombed and displaced by the coloniser.

Allowing these abuses only emboldens tyrannical leaders. After all, veto powers that block widely supported resolutions undermine the rules-based system and threaten international peace and security. This only reinforces Albanese’s assertion that Israel, and those who provide diplomatic cover, are the ultimate threat to the wellbeing of the global civilian population.

Many have long called for an end to this ability to stack the deck through the veto capability, urgently calling for reform in the Security Council:

Calls are growing for the UN Security Council to be reformed after the US used its veto power to block a Gaza ceasefire resolution, a move welcomed by Israeli PM Netanyahu ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/MvnplAht8z

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) December 10, 2023

A world leader leading the way is Spain’s PM Pedro Sanchez, who recently supported calls to end veto power in the UN:

Spanish PM Sánchez Calls to End UN Security Council Veto Power

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez urges reform of the UN Security Council, arguing that the veto system undermines international decision-making and global cooperation. #WashingtonEye pic.twitter.com/3QYCkRRwBf

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— Washington Eye (@washington_EY) March 11, 2026

Investigative journalist Peter Cronau has further reinforced Albanese’s demand for the UN to act:

The United Nations has an OBLIGATION to take action against Israel for its repeated egregious breaches of humanitarian and international law. https://t.co/s9ocdUpZZ4 pic.twitter.com/fbkOVuRJ6g

— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) March 22, 2026

Where is the UN’s backbone now?

Legal scholar Nimer Sultany has compared prior decisions made by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to the lack of action taken today:

The UNGA should act.

In December 1982 (37/123), the UNGA declared “once more” that “Israel’s record and actions confirm that it is not a peace loving Member state” and called upon all states to suspend military, diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations with Israel. https://t.co/0thhg1WNHh pic.twitter.com/a7WY61uuvA

— Nimer Sultany (@NimerSultany) March 23, 2026

Going further, Sultany highlighted the silence from the UN Security Council (UNSC) regarding the illegal attacks on Iran:

In 1981 the UNSC “strongly condemned” Israel’s attack on Iraq’s nuclear research centre. And considered that Iraq is entitled to “appropriate redress”.

Now the UNSC is silent on Israel’s attack on Iran. pic.twitter.com/ktTx76J2Qj

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— Nimer Sultany (@NimerSultany) March 23, 2026

Al Jazeera’s Marwan Bishara underscored how Israel’s abuses seem to have no end in sight:

With no end in sight ..,, https://t.co/k5k1JYQl7H

— Marwan (@marwanbishara) March 23, 2026

Better late than never

Francesca Albanese’s plea to the UN and its member states comes at a dangerously bleak moment for modern civilisation. Israel and the US are being led by self-interested, reckless, and fanatical leaders who prioritise settler colonialism above all else.

When greed and cruelty run unchecked, staying silent about crimes abroad only legitimises these dangerous actions – and leaves all states vulnerable to those who seek to take from them next.

We hope the UN and Western leaders finally heed Albanese’s call – after all, it’s better to act late than never at all.

Featured image via the Canary

Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, slammed Netanyahu’s blasphemous dismissal of Jesus as having “no advantage over [conqueror and mass murderer] Genghis Khan”.

Israel’s PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, gave away his complete ignorance of actual Christianity. Jesus said his kingdom is not of this world; Khan, like Netanyahu, is all about stealing physical territory and wealth from the people in his way.

Iran’s Araghchi calls Netanyahu ‘wanted war criminal’

But Araghchi zeroed in on Netanyahu’s show of contempt for the deluded US ‘Christian’ nationalists whose support is vital to Netanyahu’s crimes and impunity:

For a man so reliant on goodwill of Christians in the United States, Netanyahu’s open disdain for Jesus Christ (PBUH) is remarkable.

His unbridled praise for Djingis Khan, the worst slaughterer our region has ever seen, also fits with his current status as a wanted war criminal. pic.twitter.com/xIoTiuO1vZ

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— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 20, 2026

The video also exposed, again, Netanyahu’s fascism and genocide. He uses ‘democracy’ as an excuse for brutality, claiming that violence — ‘strength’ — is essential to ‘defend’ it. He deliberately ignores that it is no ‘democracy’ that needs to be defended with war crimes and genocide.

The video has also been dismissed as AI. It certainly looks weird and off. Netanyahu has not been credibly seen in public for almost three weeks since Iran said it had struck his office. Likewise with his security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israel and its lobby groups try to claim that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. In fact, about 90% of Zionists are ‘Christian’ — more precisely, racist US and other ‘Christian nationalists‘ whose beliefs have little to do with the teachings of Jesus.

Featured image via Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The long-running spycops inquiry has revealed what one expert calls “the secret history of Britain“. Officially known as the Undercover Policing Inquiry (UCPI), the inquiry, led by Sir John Mitting, has been looking into misconduct by uncover officers who infiltrated leftwing movements, stole the identities of deceased children, and entered into undisclosed, unlawful romances.

Published exchanges show how absurdly incompetent some agents were, and confirm, yet again, the state’s commitment to sabotaging left-wing movements.

Undercover officers unjustifiably targeted hundreds of left-wing groups for decades. As expert Tom Fowler told the Canary previously, this campaign “fundamentally changed Britain.”

The recent focus on one incompetent officer in particular, exposes how this infiltration of progressive movements wasn’t always smooth sailing.

When a spycop messed up

The agent, who went by the false name of ‘Simon Wellings’, made a costly blunder. Wellings, as the Guardian reported:

jeopardised his own covert deployment by mistakenly recording himself discussing individual campaigners with other special branch officers.

In a ludicrous turn of events, Wellings was at a spycop meeting when he looked up an activist’s phone number and dialled it by accident. The call went to voicemail, which recorded his ongoing conversation with other officers. This silly mistake blew his cover.

Between 2001 and 2007, Wellings infiltrated numerous campaigns and sent thousands of surveillance reports back to his superiors.

These, as the Guardian found:

included details of campaigners’ bank accounts, housing, personal relationships and finances.

They also noted that:

Campaigners said Wellings routinely made up and over-inflated his surveillance reports about them, exaggerating, for example, the level of violence in protests.

Their reporting highlighted that:

Internal police documents show that, after he was exposed, the police considered whether to leave the anti-capitalist group he had infiltrated “intact” or whether to “mount a destructive operation”.

‘Destructive’ police operations against the left

Activist Chris Nineham, whom the state is still targeting today, was a member of the groups that Wellings targeted. And after Nineham’s appearance at the spycops inquiry, Fowler hailed him for hammering home that:

this was not just about spying. This was about disruption. This was about sabotage.

As Fowler insisted, the undercover cops and the network of repression around them were “doing so much to destroy movements.”

He added that the evidence shows:

the police did destroy – do destroy – movements, as we have long said. But more than that, they talk about doing it and they put it in their files.

Guy Taylor, who was in the same left-wing groups as Nineham, summarised that Wellings’s appearance at the inquiry proved the agent:

was a fantasist and a liar and inflated everything

And even though the proceedings didn’t use the court’s time in a very efficient way, Taylor stressed that between the witness testimonies and Wellings’s own words, the former agent had totally “crumbled and died” under scrutiny. Indeed, as Fowler asserted, the chair himself even asserted that:

he believed… the evidence from other people… and gave [Wellings] the opportunity to change his position

Fowler concluded:

that just doesn’t happen and I think that spoke volumes

The spycops inquiry itself may not bring about real justice or change. But every new revelation helps to piece together the British state’s historic repression of the left. The inquiry is an important step towards exposing and resisting state repression, and minimising the harms of future uncover missions targeting our communities.

Featured image via the Canary

The sea remains blue(ish), the sky remains grey, and Palantir is embroiled in yet another nascent big-data privacy scandal. We’re beginning to wonder if the tech firm that chose to name itself after the dark wizard Saruman’s seeing-stone might not be entirely on the level, you know.

The Guardian have uncovered the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) plans to hand Palantir access to financial regulation figures. The US defense contractor recently won the FCA contract, beating one unnamed competitor and gaining still-greater access to highly sensitive UK data.

Palantir: serious security concerns

The FCA ostensibly regulates the UK’s financial services firms. However, it will now pay over £30,000 a week for Palantir to route through its data on UK firms. The Miami-based tech giant will be looking for evidence of irregularities like money laundering, insider trading, and fraud.

If the FCA is pleased with Palantir’s work, the company may be tasked with producing an AI system for the financial watchdog.

The Guardian explained that:

Palantir is expected to apply its AI system, known as Foundry, to huge quantities of information held by the watchdog, including case intelligence files marked highly sensitive; information on so-called problem firms; reports from lenders about proven and suspected frauds; and data about the public, including consumer complaints to the financial ombudsman.

The data includes recordings of phone calls, emails and trawls of social media posts, the Guardian understands. The FCA is one of several UK agencies which aim to stop financial crimes that underpin harms such as the drug trade and human trafficking.

The article also reported concerns from within the FCA itself. One anonymous staff member at the watchdog asked:

Once Palantir understands how we detect money-laundering threats, how do we know that they are ethically reliable enough not to go to share that information?

‘Vast quantities of data’

Likewise, financial-crime specialist Christopher Houssemayne du Boulay, a partner at Hickman & Rose law firm, also raised serious security worries. He explained that:

When the FCA carries out an enforcement investigation, it has powers to compel firms to hand over vast quantities of data. We could be talking about hundreds of whole email accounts and full financial records. Many innocent people will be caught up in that and the data may contain bank account details, email addresses, telephone numbers and other personal information.

If you ingest that data and use it to train an AI system, there are very significant privacy concerns. There should be serious confidentiality requirements regarding what Palantir does with the data.

However, the FCA have insisted that it hasn’t given Palantir permission to copy the data it examines. Which is all fine then, because surely the data company wouldn’t do anything it isn’t allowed to do. 

The watchdog insists that Palantir would be a “data processor” rather than a “data controller”. This means that the FCA would retain sole access to the encryption keys for sensitive files. Likewise, the data would only ever be stored in the UK.

However, the FCA reportedly stopped short of scrambling company and individual names, or using dummy data as a test. That’s in spite of the fact that it’s own guidance suggests using synthetic data in pilot runs.

Palantir: Somehow worse than it sounds

Palantir was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, a major donor for Donald Trump and the 2022 Republican election campaign – to the tune of over $32m. Unsurprisingly, Thiel was also a friend of Jeffrey Epstein. The tech magnate once famously claimed that:

I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.

Given his openly authoritarian views, it’s both utterly outrageous and depressingly predictable that the UK government simply won’t stop handing his company public deals. To date, Palantir has raked in over £670m of UK public funds. These include contracts with the military, police, and even the NHS. 

Amnesty International’s AI and human rights researcher Matt Mahmoudi said the firm:

has a track record of flagrantly disregarding international law and standards, both in violations of the human rights of migrants in the United States, which it risks contributing to, and its ongoing supply of artificial intelligence products and services to the Israeli military and intelligence services.

Anybody with an even-passing interest in data security, privacy and basic human freedoms might recognise that Palantir shouldn’t be allowed within 50 metres of a fucking Excel account, never mind the FCA’s database.

However, it’s glaringly clear that the heads of our public institutions no longer share these concerns.

Featured image via the Canary

Football is more than just a game; it’s a universal language that unites people behind a single ball, but it’s also a mirror reflecting the values ​​and principles of societies.

In every match, the spectre of racism sometimes rears its head, reminding us that there’s a segment of the audience that hasn’t yet grasped that a player’s worth is measured by their effort and performance on the pitch, not by their skin color or origin.

With the rise in racist abuse in both European and Arab stadiums, it’s clear that the responsibility lies with everyone involved in the game: the fans are the ones who determine the nature of the event, whether for or against it.

Football has a herd mentality problem

Stands are more than just seats; they’re a breeding ground for what experts call “herd mentality.”

As a dynamic force, fans have the power to change the atmosphere of matches. When fans reject racist chants and silence them immediately, the racist becomes a social outcast before facing legal penalties, creating a sense of self-regulation within the stands.

Conversely, a player remains vulnerable to psychological attacks if there is no public awareness, which can leave lasting psychological scars on their career and life off the field.

The psychological effects extend beyond the individual, impacting the reputation of clubs and countries themselves. In the age of live broadcasts and social media, every racist chant, transmitted live to the world, becomes a stain on the club and the country, affecting sports investments and the image of the society in the eyes of the world.

Explosive impact

A clear example of this is what happened in several recent European matches, where racist chants became negative media content that swept across global networks, leaving a significant mark on the image of the team and the organizers.

The reality is that resorting to racism when losing or provoking the opponent is a sign of intellectual and sporting bankruptcy. A person who finds no other way to express their anger than by belittling others because of their skin color or background lacks even the most basic sporting awareness. Football is built on diversity. From Pelé to Zidane, from Messi to Ronaldo, they all represent different backgrounds and ethnicities, and without this diversity, the game would not have reached its current status. As Nelson Mandela said, “People learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love.”

Today’s sports arena is more than just a platform for cheering; it is a space for sporting and human values. It is the fans who decide whether these values ​​will remain present or be lost amidst the clamor of toxic chants, and it is they who can transform matches from mere sporting events into moral messages that reflect the true spirit of football.

Featured image via the Canary