Sweden opened their World Cup campaign with a ruthless performance, easing past Tunisia 5-1 in a match that underlined the attacking depth Graham Potter has built. It was not flawless — but what mattered was control, clarity and a front line that looked sharp from the first whistle.

Gyökeres strikes early

Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak, the two strikers Sweden have long hoped would peak at the same time, delivered exactly what Potter wanted: movement, power, and goals. Between them, they set the tone for a night that rarely drifted from Swedish hands.

Tunisia had their moments, especially early on, but once Sweden settled, the gulf in quality became obvious.

Sweden started with a touch of tension, misplacing passes and allowing Tunisia to press high. But the breakthrough came quickly enough to settle things down.

Gyokeres, drifting into the left channel, burst past his marker and finished low across the keeper. It was a goal that summed up his performance — direct, decisive, without hesitation. Sweden needed that early punch, and he delivered it.

From there, the rhythm changed. Sweden began to play with more patience, more width, and more confidence. Tunisia, who had looked lively in the opening minutes, suddenly found themselves chasing shadows.

Tunisia strike back

If Gyokeres brought the aggression, Isak brought the calm. His goal was Sweden’s second and it came from a move that Potter will have been delighted with. It was quick combinations, midfielders stepping between the lines, and Isak finishing with the kind of composure that makes everything look simple.

He didn’t need power. He didn’t need to force anything. One touch to set himself, one touch to guide the ball into the corner. Sweden were 2-0 up and playing with a freedom that Tunisia struggled to disrupt.

Isak’s influence went beyond the goal. He dropped deep, linked play, and created space for Gyokeres to run into. It was the kind of partnership Sweden have been waiting years to see consistently.

Tunisia pulled one back with a well‑worked move that exposed Sweden’s right side. It was a reminder that Potter’s team is still a work in progress, still learning the defensive demands of tournament football.

But the response was immediate. Sweden didn’t panic, didn’t retreat. They moved the ball with more care, and patiently waited for the next opening. It came through Gyokeres again, a header this time, powered in from close range. Sweden restored their cushion and never looked back.

Midfield balance holds

Much of the conversation will focus on the forwards. However, Sweden’s midfield deserves credit for the way the game unfolded. The balance was right — one sitter, one passer, one runner — and they kept Tunisia from building any sustained pressure.

Potter has spoken often about wanting a team that can adapt within games, and this was a good example. When Tunisia pressed, Sweden played around it. When Tunisia dropped, Sweden pushed their full‑backs higher and stretched the pitch.

In the second half, Sweden didn’t chase the game. They managed the tempo, waited for Tunisia to tire, and struck again. Isak added another, guiding in a low finish after a neat passing move. The fifth came late, a scrappy goal that summed up Tunisia’s frustration as much as Sweden’s persistence. By then, the contest was settled. Sweden had taken charge.

This was the kind of performance that reflects a manager’s influence. Potter spent months trying to blend Sweden’s traditional strengths — organisation, discipline, physicality — with a more fluid attacking style. Against Tunisia, the balance looked right.

The pressing was coordinated. The transitions were sharp. And the team played with a confidence that suggested they believe in the plan. There will be tougher tests ahead, but this was a strong opening marker.

Endgame

A 5-1 victory in a World Cup opener is more than just three points. It gives Sweden momentum, belief, and a platform to build from. It also sends a message to the rest of the group: this is a team with goals in it, a team that can hurt opponents in different ways.

For Tunisia, the scoreline will sting. They competed in spells but couldn’t match Sweden’s efficiency in both boxes. Their tournament is far from over, but they will need a response.

In the end, the story of the night was simple: Sweden’s forwards were too good. Gyokeres brought the force, Isak brought the finesse, and together they gave Sweden exactly the start they wanted.

It wasn’t over‑the‑top or dramatic. It was a well‑executed win for a team with ambitions of going deep into the tournament, which is exactly what matters.

Featured image via David Ramos / Getty Images

By Faz Ali

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WINTRY MIX: The Knicks ticker-tape parade. World Cup festivities. Pride Month. America 250. The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce wedding.

It’s all happening this summer in New York City — and those events and more may coincide with a surge in federal immigration enforcement at the direction of President Donald Trump’s administration.

The convergence of events as an ICE crackdown looms has not gone unnoticed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and immigrant-rights advocates who are already bracing for a hectic summer in the city.

Hochul last week warned that a surge would “create chaos” especially as the World Cup was getting underway. The mayor told reporters earlier today that the city — and especially the NYPD — is prepared to handle the uncertainty.

“We are the biggest city in the country,” Mamdani said at a press conference in Queens. “We are used to big events, and we are incredibly excited for this one.”

Yet the potential operation — teased repeatedly by Trump border czar Tom Homan — adds a different dimension to the center-of-the-world festivities and celebratory atmosphere that’s pervasive in New York at the moment.

“We’ve just had a lot of practice with being in the streets — thankfully celebrating,” said state Sen. Pat Fahy, a Democrat. “It’s New York. People are not going to tolerate any type of surge here.”

Homan has insisted the federal government’s New York campaign will be much different than the Minneapolis crackdown six months ago, which ultimately led to civil unrest and the deaths of two U.S. citizens.

He told SiriusXM’s Chris Cuomo last week that federal immigration agents would take a refined, precision-based approach.

“Every day we leave the office and we know exactly who we’re looking for, more likely where we will find them, because we have a targeted operation,” Homan said. “We have a folder on each target. It’s not gonna be driving around looking for people that we have no idea who we’re looking for. It’s gonna be a well-planned, targeted operation.”

Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign led Hochul and the Democratic-led Legislature this year to approve a package of measures meant to protect undocumented immigrants.

Law enforcement officers are banned from wearing masks, federal immigration authorities cannot execute civil deportation warrants in so-called sensitive locations like houses of worship, and the state moved to end cooperative agreements between local police and ICE.

“We’re much better prepared as a result of that legislation,” Fahy said. “We’ve sent a very clear and strong message that ICE is not welcome.”

It’s those very same laws, though, that stoked Homan’s plans to focus on New York. He’s warned that, without cooperation with local law enforcement, ICE will need to take a much more expansive approach to deportations.

It’s all led immigration advocates to ready communities for an unpredictable summer.

“New Yorkers are going to stand up for their neighbors,” said Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition. “You’re going to see local communities organizing more, potentially protests, people standing up for New York and New Yorkers. This is an attack on all 19 million New Yorkers.” — Nick Reisman with Gelila Negesse

FROM CITY HALL

POLICING PARTY CITY: Days after being sworn in as mayor, Mamdani declared that his promise to abolish the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group wasn’t up for debate.

“We need to disband the SRG,” he said on Jan. 28 after the unit had been involved in arresting anti-ICE protesters. “I’m currently in conversations with the police commissioner about the ways in which we do so that are operational.”

Six months later, the SRG remains intact — and Mamdani is singing a very different tune.

When asked today if it was appropriate for the police department to deploy the SRG in response to the chaos following the Knicks’ NBA Finals victory, the mayor had this to say: “The NYPD handled themselves appropriately in delivering safety across the five boroughs.”

Mamdani told reporters he remains committed to the idea of “decoupling” the SRG’s protest responsibilities from its counterterrorism duties and that he continues to talk with his NYPD commissioner, Jessica Tisch, about how “to disband SRG to ensure that we have responses to each.” He did not give a timeline for how soon that could happen or elaborate on the nature of the holdup, though.

Mamdani’s thumbs up for the SRG’s response to Saturday’s Midtown mayhem speaks to the awkward terrain he’s navigating as his more politically moderate police commissioner continues to reject his push for breaking up the unit.

Tisch, in fact, has continued to publicly and privately praise the SRG as a critical tool in the NYPD toolbox. On Sunday, she gave members of the unit a salute in a department-wide email thanking officers for their work the night before, when frenzied Knicks fans set fire to or destroyed several school buses in Midtown, smashed NYPD vehicles with bats and even fired shots in Times Square, wounding a 17-year-old.

“You managed to meet the challenges that came with one of the most closely watched periods this city has seen in years,” Tisch wrote in the email obtained by Playbook that included a shoutout to those engaged in “SRG disorder-control response.”

While pushing for breaking up the SRG as a mayoral candidate last year, Mamdani noted the unit’s members face disproportionately high rates of misconduct claims, especially as it relates to violating protesters’ First Amendment rights.

In dragging his feet on the SRG issue, Mamdani has put himself at odds with his own political base.

The local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America issued a rare public rebuke of the mayor Friday for not making good on his campaign pledge to eliminate the SRG.

The DSA’s statement also knocked Mamdani for not fulfilling a separate campaign pledge to abolish the NYPD’s gang database (which critics say is a “drag net” for young Black and Latino New Yorkers, but which Tisch touts as a necessity). On top of that, the DSA — Mamdani’s “political home” — also took aim at him for supporting an increase to the NYPD’s uniformed headcount this year despite having promised as a candidate to keep it flat. — Gelila Negesse and Chris Sommerfeldt 

From the Capitol

GUN BILL SURVIVES: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to a New York law aimed at opening up gun companies to civil liability suits.

Federal law has made the firearms industry generally immune to lawsuits since 2005. But state Sen. Zellnor Myrie proposed a workaround in 2021, authoring a statute to expand New York’s ability to sue manufacturers and dealers whose “reckless” actions endanger public safety.

The law that passed was quickly challenged by the gun industry. A series of lower courts have upheld the law in recent years, and the Supreme Court has now decided it won’t consider an appeal.

“For New Yorkers and residents of the ten other states that have adopted similar laws — covering close to 117 million Americans — this serves as affirmation for victims, survivors, and communities across the nation that live with the realities of gun violence on a daily basis,” Myrie said in a statement. “We are not helpless. Gun violence is not inevitable.” — Bill Mahoney

IN OTHER NEWS

— ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Progressives Champions PAC, which has spent nearly $400,000 in attack ads against NY-17 Democratic candidate Cait Conley, is reportedly funded by Republican groups. (Popular Information)

— MAKE IT MAKE CENTS: Mamdani’s administration will no longer delay billions of dollars in repayments to contracted nonprofits. (NBC New York)

— INSURANCE SCRAMBLE: Federal cuts will leave 450,000 New Yorkers enrolled in the state’s Essential Plan without healthcare coverage beginning next month. (New York Focus)

Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.

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TikTok user Carl Fairhurst has recorded an agitated encounter between Reform UK and Restore Britain. It’s yet more evidence the two parties are very, very upset with one another.

Restore and Reform are beefing in Makerfield. pic.twitter.com/Z94a0CYm01

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) June 15, 2026

Let them fight

Restore is a Reform breakaway party which exists because the latter party wasn’t right-wing enough. In the video above, a Restore-branded Land Rover has pulled up in front of a Reform-branded bus. It’s hard to make out what’s going on, but men from each camp are yelling at one another.

At one point, a man wearing a ‘Restore Britain’ t-shirt says:

We’re Restore, mate. We’re Restore Britain.

Either he forgot he had the t-shirt on, or he assumed the guy filming couldn’t read. Either way, it’s not the best look.

One Farage fanboy responded by crying, saying that they’d been bullied:

This isn't the look that Restore thinks it is.

Bullying an ordinary bloke who is simply driving a Reform bus, is utterly embarrassing.pic.twitter.com/N9jCFWFv7z

— Ben Graham (@BenGrahamUK) June 15, 2026

Not sure this is the strongest argument, given that Reform is a ‘might-makes-right’ party.

We all know the Farage-led party can give it, so why can’t they take it?

Here's another example. Isabel Oakeshott complaining some Restore members are aggressive on social media. I had Nigel Farage's good friend Raheem Kassam taunting me about being glassed in the face a couple of weeks ago… https://t.co/N4rs0IcmB9

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) June 15, 2026

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Breakaway

As Dan Hodges noted, it’s difficult for Reform to attack Restore, because Restore is just Reform on Berocca:

Something quite surreal about watching Reform's current strategy for dealing with Restore. "They're racists. They're going to split the vote. They only exist on social media. They're not a national party. They don't have serious policies". Identical to the attacks on Reform…

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) June 15, 2026

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Honestly, it’s like watching I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter criticise butter.

Reform is trying to paint its rivals as an extremist far-right party:

I am absolutely disgusted by this Brendan!!! We sat for 45 mins talking. You have let me down. You promised me you would be fair and honest about our conversation. We had a lovely, open and honest discussion and shared practically the same views. We come from similar backgrounds…

— Orla Minihane (@orlaminihane) June 15, 2026

The problem with this line of attack is who is it for? Because the voters who want Reform/Restore style politics are going to see it and think: ‘Oh, so I guess Restore is the real deal, and Reform is just another controlled opposition party‘.

The leader of Advance UK — another Reform breakaway party — had this to say:

All eyes now on the Makerfield result.

If Restore polls over 5% that would be a first in British political history. If it polls over 10% that would be seismic.

There can be no bleating from Reform. Restore’s existence is Reform’s fault.

— Ben Habib (@benhabib6) June 14, 2026

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And this is true. As we reported, Restore exists because of the inherent contradictions in Reform’s policy platform:

As an example of this, take Zia Yusuf. Yusuf is one of Reform’s most prominent politicians, and he’s constantly arguing that white people are the most oppressed group in the UK…

If you’re a far-right voter who buys into this, why would you vote for the party with Zia Yusuf and Suella Braverman in it? Why wouldn’t you vote for the all-white Restore Britain, which is more obviously following through on Reform’s propaganda?

If Restore didn’t exist, voters would possibly just ignore these contradictions. Because it does, it’s impossible for many to buy into what Farage is selling. And that’s why Restore might be on the verge of preventing a Reform victory in Makerfield:

Makerfield | Burnham leads by 5pts:

Lab: 45% (-)
Ref: 40% (+8)
Res: 8% (+8)
Grn: 3% (-1)
Con: 2% (-9)
Lib: 1% (-6)

Via @Moreincommon_, 28 May – 12 June
—
+/- vs GE2024 pic.twitter.com/2wQdBsZ3fL

— Stats for Lefties (@LeftieStats) June 13, 2026

The shift

The problem with pursuing a political project that constantly shifts right is the ground can shift beneath your feet. It happened to the Tories in 2024, and it’s happening to Reform now.

In other words, it’s no wonder it’s all kicking off.

Featured image via X (Twitter) / the Canary

By Willem Moore

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Today the UK government has confirmed it will implement a long-anticipated ban on social media use for under-16s in the UK. As Maddison Wheeldon wrote for the Canary, this move does little for young people while letting big tech companies off the hook.

And girls’ rights charity Plan International UK has added that the ban won’t keep girls safe. Because it fails to tackle the underlying causes of misogyny online.

Morgan Griffith-David is senior influencing lead for UK Girls’ Rights at Plan International UK. Reacting to the confirmation of the ban on under-16s using social media in the UK, he said:

Banning children does nothing to tackle the dangerous misogyny and sexism that has become so rampant across social media.

Harmful gender norms are being constantly reinforced by social media algorithms and addictive features driven by profit, not safety – and blocking access for children lets tech companies off the hook by not forcing them to address these issues.

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We all want children to be safe online, but under this ban, one day a young person will have no access to social media, and the next they turn 16 and find themselves in online spaces with no experience, preparation, or safeguards.

The ban also risks pushing children towards dangerous and unregulated corners of the web, potentially exposing them to far more harmful content.

Instead of removing access for young people, the government should focus on ensuring social media companies are properly regulated and held responsible for creating safe spaces for children online. Girls deserve to feel joyful and safe online, not shut out of the spaces that help them learn, connect and belong.

We await the details but proper regulation, not an outright ban, of social media – with the safety of children at the forefront of any decision making – is the most appropriate way to keep young people safe online.

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Featured image via Adrian Dennis – WPA Pool / Getty Images

By The Canary

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Starmeroid MP Peter Kyle and state prosecutors have been humiliated today after a constituent resoundingly defeated Kyle’s attempt to criminalise her for emailing him about Israel’s Gaza crimes.

Claire Kerrison had copied Kyle — her constituency MP — in on emails to Keir Starmer and his ministers about Israel’s criminal abduction of humanitarian volunteers trying to sail aid to Gaza during Israel’s illegal starvation blockade. Kyle took exception to this and complained to Sussex Police. Following the regime’s usual pattern, the police arrested Kerrison in a 4am raid.

The state charged Kerrison with ‘persistent misuse of a communication system to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety’, for emailing her MP. She told Skwawkbox that Kyle knows who she is, as she has previously emailed him for help with standard ‘local MP’ issues. Kyle, a ‘Labour friend of Israel‘, clearly took exception to emails about Israel’s appalling crimes.

But the case has ended in failure, much worse than failure, in fact. Magistrate Paul Goldspring is no friend of the left. He has controversially released a neo-nazi on the basis of his A-level results and been disciplined for appearing to endorse “contentious” political views during a case. But he sent the crown’s lawyers away with a flea in their ear over the prosecution of Kerrison.

Litany of failure

In a “litany of failure’,” the prosecution failed to prepare its case properly in time and begged Goldspring for an adjournment. Goldspring refused and the crown presented no case. Goldspring dropped the charge. And as the icing on the cake, he ordered the prosecution to pay Kerrison’s legal costs.

Ms Kerrison said after the result that the case had been “lawfare,” “disingenuous at best” and brought by an MP with an appalling record of “support[ing] and assist[ing] Israel” in its genocide in Gaza. And she ended by bringing attention back to the people of Palestine facing Israel’s genocide and ethnic cleansing:

To suggest that my emails were sent for any other reason than to express my absolute disgust and horror at what is happening in Gaza and the Middle East is disingenuous at best.

Peter Kyle MP and the UK Government have supported and assisted Israel throughout the Gaza Genocide with little or no regard for the lives of Palestinians or indeed any of the victims of Israel’s murderous activities throughout the Middle East.

Lawfare is increasingly being used to silence our voices and quell our dissent. This is not only a waste of time and public money, it is also an infringement of our rights and freedom of speech.

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Palestinians continue to be terrorised, dehumanised and murdered every day at the hands of the Israelis. The very least we can do is raise our voices in each and every way possible to let them know: ‘We see you’

“FREE PALESTINE!”

One small justice for Gaza

Her lawyers, Doughty Street Chambers, said in a bulletin about the result:

Brighton woman acquitted on charge of persistent emails to cause annoyance to Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and local MP about Israel’s conduct in Gaza

A Brighton woman, CK, was charged with a single offence under s. 127(2)(C) and (3) of the Communications Act 2003, for emails she sent on 10 and 11 June 2025 to senior politicians. The charge concerned emails sent by CK to the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and her local MP Peter Kyle MP, expressing concerns about the conflict in Gaza.

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By 17 June 2025, the office of Peter Kyle MP had alerted the police in Brighton about the above emails, triggering the arrest and detention of CK at 04:33am. A skeleton argument was filed on behalf of CK, denying the emails were persistent or that their purpose was to cause annoyance, and that her communications were protected by her rights under Article 10(1) of Schedule 1 of the Human Rights Act 1998.

On 15 June 2026, the date of trial, the prosecution applied to amend the charge to include additional emails between 12 and 16 June 2025. On submissions on behalf of CK, the Chief Magistrate refused the prosecution application, and a further application to adjourn. The prosecution offered no evidence. The case against CK was dismissed.

One small justice to celebrate on a day in which the legal system has completely failed the people of Palestine and betrayed the rights of British people.

Featured image via Dan Kitwood / Getty images

By Skwawkbox

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A new report by Mona Deely — CEO of Reform Initiative for Transparent Economies (RITE) — lays bare how support for Israel’s settler-colonial aggression in Palestine depends on disregard for international law by Israel and its allies.

Deely, also a UK-certified lawyer, presents a detailed account of how unconditional support for states engaged in genocide is compromising systems. Moreover, she underscores the acceleration of this beneath state-of-the art surveillance systems. In addition, she highlights the marriage of convenience with Big Tech.

The military support, legal interference, and lobbying across international institutions underpinning these alliances provide Zionist Israel with a political safety hammock. Together, they underscore the failure of democracy as an obligation states are legally bound to deliver.

The account is as damning as it is terrifying — a sullied portrait of the ‘free’ world careering towards the abyss. Deely also presents an analysis of media coverage after October 7 highlighting skewed reporting, exposing the ‘two-sider’ narrative, and the glib sanitisation of Israeli violence. The anti-Palestinian bias within the British media landscape stinks! Speaking of her motivations, Deely told the Canary:

[the report] raises the alarm on one of the most consequential issues we all face as well as pointing to the solutions.

The litmus test for all democracies

The report is an important contribution to the growing body of evidence intended which calls out the violation of international law.

Continuing down this path, Deely warns, means we’re moving towards a world in which the law is irrelevant and redundant. Instead, actions are motivated by the desperation to preserve the status-quo. This status-quo favours Israel at the expense of everyone else.

Take British courts for instance. They’ve shown themselves completely toothless, unable to halt the tide of illegal military exports to a country waging genocide on a captive population.

Commenting on the broader trend, Deely described Gaza as a “test” for “democracy, the rule of law and political integrity.” She explained that the report:

evidences how the same logic that permits the selective application of rights and law internationally is being applied at home to suppress legitimate dissent.

It shows a post-law environment that is incompatible with democracy and that is being entrenched through technological surveillance, misinformation, and poor governance.

The report presents a full-throated rendition of this:

democratic erosion in the US, UK and Germany has accelerated over the past two years, with the Gaza war acting as a magnifier […] it traces the links between disregard for international law and the decline of civil rights and identifies pathways to restore them.

It also raises serious questions about how technology is being weaponized in Gaza — reducing combat to a kill switch. Companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Palantir are the cogs and strings of this genocidal, killing machine.

They are also embedded in the UK. Peter Thiel’s Palantir, for example, has access to identifiable NHS patient data. As a result, this raises serious and ongoing concerns about oversight and control.

People need to start doing their jobs

The report makes 12 policy recommendations, imploring politicians and civil servants to scrutinise policies that undermine international law and diminish democratic accountability.

Others recommendations include the call to suspend arms sales, severing military cooperation, and sanctioning Israeli war criminals and their colonial-settler apparatus, not just illegal settlers. Consequently, this clear-eyed roadmap should redirect the UK. In addition, others governments that may have lost their moral compass can benefit from it.

Deeley also makes recommendations to the media, whose failure to be impartial has been starker since October 7. The lawyer emphasised the need for media production that “reflects legal norms rather than normalising its violations.” In addition, journalists are duty-bound to investigate the facts — not to actively ignore, excuse, or play political ball.

Attempting to remind Western media outlets of their inherent responsibility to provide unbiased reporting, with an accurate understanding of the relevant legal positions. Additionally, media should center stories which are in the public interest,

Crackdown on dissent

Whilst political leaders continue to shield Israel and provide diplomatic cover like an obedient lapdog, citizens around the world have taken to mass protests, petitions, BDS campaigns and direct action.

However, rather than confronting their own failures, governments — especially in the UK — have doubled down, cracking down on dissent. Furthermore, they are restricting speech, criminalising forms of protest, and targeting campaigners advocating for Palestinian rights. They are also targeting those seeking adherence to international law.

Once again, ordinary people are paying the price.

In the UK specifically, we have seen the revocation of visas, the deportation of a Palestinian law student, the weaponisation of the Terrorism Act and pro-Israel groups repeatedly pressure and intimidate governments into suppressing valid criticism of Israel and racist Zionism.

One example noted in thee report circles back to Wes Streeting and his support for the IHRA definition of antisemitism, while criticised for stifling expressions of solidarity for Palestine — Gaza included.

Policymakers should act on this report’s recommendations, and the public should pay attention. Staying informed isn’t optional — we must collective in order to push back against an authoritarian and dystopian direction of travel. It impacts each and every one of us.

Featured image via Barold / the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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A car-sized Pret chicken wrap with a whole “frankenchicken” stuffed inside, feathers and all, has appeared outside Pret A Manger in Oxford Circus. It marks the start of animal welfare charity Anima’s week-long tour of 15 Pret cafés throughout the city.

Pret is the target of a £1m public campaign as a response to the high-end café chain breaking its commitment to stop selling fast-growing chickens by 2026.

In 2018 Pret promised to stop selling fast-growing chickens by this year. It has now delayed that to 2032 and not switched a single bird to a slower growing breed.

Connor Jackson, chief executive of Anima, said:

Pret’s so-called commitment is simply a cover for its continued inaction. Contrary to customers’ expectations, Pret is selling the exact same fast-growing chickens as KFC, Nando’s and Burger King, and there’s no reason to believe this will change.

In the 8 years since Pret committed to phasing out frankenchickens, it has not transitioned one single chicken to a higher welfare breed. We’ve tried to solve this with Pret behind the scenes, but instead they have simply kicked the can down the road.

So we’ve now taken it upon ourselves to inform Londoners on Pret’s behalf, with the launch of the FrankenwrapTM- a monstrous but honest edition of Pret’s iconic chicken sandwich.

From today, frankenchicken ads will also plaster the London Underground, and there’ll be full page ads about Pret’s chickens in several newspapers throughout the week.

Anima is encouraging members of the public to pledge to take a break from Pret until the café chain starts phasing out fast-growing chickens.

Featured image Tom Woolard / Anima

By The Canary

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The government has announced it will ban under-16s from accessing certain social media platforms (Alamy)

5 min read18 min

Labour MP Josh Dean, one of the UK’s youngest MPs, has said the government’s ban on social media for under-16s is going to “create more problems” for young people rather than making them safer.

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The MP for Hertford and Stortford told PoliticsHome that young people would inevitably find a way to circumvent the new laws, which Starmer said would be in place by spring 2027, and warned that harmful new websites would be created as alternatives to platforms impacted by the ban.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed on Monday morning that the government will ban certain major social media platforms for under-16s, after months of building pressure from campaigners and some Labour MPs. The opposition Conservative Party had also been pushing for a ban.

“I will not be prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children,” the PM said in a Downing Street press conference. 

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At 26 years old, Dean is the second-youngest MP serving in Parliament, having been elected in the 2024 general election aged 24. He told PoliticsHome he was “disappointed” in the government’s announcement, as he believes that a social media ban for under-16s is “missing the point” on how to protect young people.

“We’re missing an opportunity to regulate these platforms and hold the tech companies to account,” he said.

“My fear is, as it’s always been, that we’re putting the onus, the responsibility for the harms of the online world onto young people.”

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He said that the vast majority of parliamentarians can remember a time before social media, while today’s generation of young people cannot. 

“They’ve grown up with their lives intertwined with it, and I’m one of the few MPs that has as well,” he said.

“So much of this has become about people in Parliament deciding what childhood should be and not engaging young people on how we find the right balance for them.”

PoliticsHome understands that several online safety advocacy groups are frustrated that they spent significant time feeding into the consultation, only to then feel that the government has rushed out an announcement for political reasons. The consultation ran from early March to late May.

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There are questions over how much longer Starmer has in No 10, with Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham expected to launch a bid to replace him if he wins the Makerfield by-election on Thursday.

Dean described the consultation as “positive” but said that the views of young people hadn’t been given enough attention.

“We need to be listening to the young people who are telling us that they don’t think this is going to work and that there are other measures that we can be taking to get this right.”

Dean said he was concerned that digitally literate young people would find their way around platform-specific bans, and poorly regulated alternatives would start to pop up to fill the space left by the larger platforms. 

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“It’s going to leave the regulator desperately struggling to catch up and close them down,” he said.

“I’m worried that this approach is actually going to create more problems for those of us who want to keep young people safe rather than actually solve the problems that we’re concerned about.” 

As one of the few current MPs who grew up with social media, Dean said he wants to work “constructively” with the government to “really engage with this issue, to reset young people’s relationships with the online world and hold the big tech companies to account in a way that I haven’t seen in my lifetime before”. 

“We need to go after the features and functionalities, which I think is where the real action is, and we need to bring young people with us, so I want to work with the government to make sure we take advantage of that opportunity.”

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The proposals for the ban will include restrictions on specific platforms for under-16s, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, as well as restrictions on gaming services, live streaming platforms, and stranger communication. Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be banned for children.

Further announcements are expected about night-time social media curfews for 16-and 17-year-olds in the coming weeks.

Starmer said the ban, similar to the one implemented in Australia last year, was “not something I do lightly” and isn’t “cost-free”. He said the government would “move at speed” to introduce the necessary legislation with the aim of the ban coming into effect in the early part of next year.

While Starmer was believed to have been initially sceptical about hardline measures like Australia’s ban, he told reporters on Monday that he had reached this decision “having looked at the evidence, having gone through the consultation, having looked at what happened in other countries, having listened to parents, listened hard”.

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The government has said that nine in ten parents who responded to its consultation backed a minimum age of 16 for accessing social media platforms. Around 83 per cent said they believed the risks presented by social media outweighed the benefits.

At the same time, opinion polling has consistently found strong public support for an under-16 social media ban.

Starmer said he did not accept the argument that an under-16 social media ban is not worthwhile because some children will get around it, saying it would be like opposing drinking laws because underage people sometimes drink alcohol.

 

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Student protesters have released footage and delivered letters to Sompo Insurance headquarters, defying attempts by event organisers to cover up the violent removal of activists from a major London financial conference.

The incident occurred at the Insurance Linked Securities Conference, hosted by Insurance Insider, where four activists, including a 17-year-old student, were pushed and dragged from the venue by security.

Security guards manhandled the 17-year-old student out of the event, as she shouted: “I’m just 17” and “Stop insuring genocide”.

Activists accuse insurance company of ‘complicity’

The students had attended the event to demand that Sompo, a key sponsor, drop its business with Elbit Systems. Elbit is an Israeli arms manufacturer which many have accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide in Gaza.

Rather than engaging in dialogue, event organisers attempted to suppress the evidence. They initially refused to return a phone used to film the protest, which they’d seized during the activists’ removal. They called police to the scene, who conducted full searches, and eventually recovered the personal property.

Following the incident, organisers approached the students to negotiate the release of the footage. The students allege that organisers “begged and tried to bribe” them to conceal the events.

In defiance of their requests, the activists released the footage today. And they visited Sompo’s London offices on Leadenhall Street to deliver letters to four senior executives.

Miriam Price, a student at LSE, said:

We were shocked by their treatment of peaceful protesters. We requested a dialogue by submitting a letter and were shoved and dragged from the room for our efforts.

All this fuss rather than accepting a simple demand: if you want new graduate recruits, don’t underwrite imperialist industries massacring communities and devastating ecosystems.

Shana Sullivan, a PhD student and spokesperson for the protest group No New Workers, condemned the insurance company’s stance:

We cannot compromise when insurers like Sompo are complicit in ongoing war crimes and genocide by taking on clients like Elbit Systems. There must be a hardline for anyone with a conscience, and it disgusts us that it is the young and less powerful who must point this out.

We want insurers to take their responsibilities to keep people and our planet safe seriously, and we vow to continue our campaign until we see real change.

The escalation coincides with a significant legal moment for anti-arms activism in the UK. It comes on the same day as the verdict of an appeal for Palestine Action, a direct action group known for targeting Elbit’s manufacturing plants, and just three days after four Palestine Action activists were sentenced to a total of over 20 years in prison for terrorism-related charges connected to weapon damage.

No New Workers continues to campaign for total divestment from the arms industry. The group argues that London’s financial sector mustn’t profit from the devastation of Gaza and the destruction of global ecosystems.

Featured image supplied

By The Canary

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