Pete Newbon was a Northumbria University lecturer and  a director of notorious right-wing, pro-Israel smear group ‘Labour against Antisemitism’ (LAAS). During Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party, Newbon became infamous after he posted an image of Corbyn reading to children that had been doctored to make it appear that he was reading an infamous antisemitic text, instead of popular Jewish author Michael Rosen’s ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ children’s book.

Notoriously, Pete Newbon tried to sue Rosen for describing Newbon’s posting of the doctored image as an antisemitic thing to do. Newbon in turn, was sued — along with two associates — by James Wilson for endangering Wilson and his family by falsely portraying him as a danger to children. Wilson ultimately won hefty damages in his lawsuit

Newbon died by suicide before either case concluded. His right-wing supporters have since attempted to make him into some kind of Zionist ‘saint’, naming an ‘award’ after him — won since by some of the most appalling figures in the Israel smear industry — and trying to blame his death on left-wingers who were outraged by his abuse of Rosen’s text. Those same supporters targeted Rosen himself particularly, despite a coroner’s inquest that never mentioned him once.

In 2024, Skwawkbox revealed that an ‘award’ set up by his supporters to honour Newbon accidentally exposed his record as a serial troll who was on a final warning from Northumbria University because of his appalling online activity. Newbon’s widow Rachel Hewitt then further holed his reputation, writing first that Newbon had been ‘secretly pursuing’ court cases that put their family at risk. She later wrote how he had abused her and that she had felt her children were at risk if left alone with him.

Pete Newbon exposed in new short video

Now, Hewitt has published a short but moving and compelling video that further exposes what Newbon was like — and again it blows apart the false narrative that the UK Israel lobby has tried to build around him.

The 66-second video consists of fragments of thought and memory of her experience before and after Newbon’s death. Hewitt’s voice is heard in fragments that, though broken, make it clear that Newbon lied to her. Lied that he had dropped his vindictive and unfounded case against Rosen, lied about leaving LAAS, appears to have lied about or refused treatment for his mental health — and lied about leaving Twitter, where he caused so much harm to himself and others.

The video is reproduced below with subtitles, to aid comprehension for those less familiar or with hearing difficulties. The original is available to view here.

LAAS and its main actors have continued to target Michael Rosen for being a Jew who opposes Israel’s genocide and apartheid. Some have also been found to have smeared their other victim, James Wilson — and to have discussed their attempts to use ‘lawfare’ to extract large amounts of money from him and to “bring him down” for supporting former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Now Pete Newbon — the LAAS archetype — has been further exposed. He tried to destroy people on Twitter with libels and false accusations, but when two of his victims pushed back, he lied to his wife about his actions and their consequences. Yet the Israel lobby and its ‘usual suspects’ treat him as a martyr and hero ‘soldier.

Featured image via the Canary

TRIGGER WARNING – Graphic content 

The Hunt Saboteur Association (HSA) has exposed the Tiverton Staghounds as a cult of ritualistic killers. Over several months in autumn 2025, undercover sabs went undercover once more and witnessed the hunting and butchery of mature stags. Hunters chased these stunning creatures to exhaustion before ritually carving them up in our national parks. Yes, you read that right, our national parks.

Trail hunting is a myth

The Tiverton Staghounds is one of just three remaining registered stag hunting packs left in the UK. They operate primarily in the valleys of the Exe and Taw and have roots that twist all the way back to the 19th century. They remain a pillar of the West Country’s hunting elite to this day. Whilst the hunt claims to provide a service to the countryside, the reality is they have a long legacy of illegal violence.

The Tiverton Staghounds claim to engage in ‘trail hunting.’ Yet evidence collected by sabs suggests this is a coordinated lie. The HSA witnessed a large vehicle with the obligatory ‘Trail Layer’ signage driving ahead of the hounds. Exhaust fumes destroy any potential scent trail, yet the hunt still use this excuse to maintain legal cover. This is nothing but a cynical and very obvious attempt to provide a legal shield against prosecution.

In reality, sabs witnessed the hunt dragging one of these ‘trails’ along the line a hunted stag had already taken. This disgusting tactic, advised in the infamous ‘Hunting Office’ webinars, allows hunt supporters to film the dogs apparently following a legal scent. This is nothing but an orchestrated performance designed to evade police scrutiny whilst stags are pursued to their deaths.

The HSA investigation revealed that these hunters switch between multiple exemptions per day. Huntsman cycle between ‘trail hunting,’ ‘researching,’ and ‘flushing to gun.’ This allows them to stay one step ahead of a law that is no longer fit for purpose.

Hunt sabs — Ritualistic butchery leaves us open to biosecurity risks

The level of depravity that sabs report having witnessed is fucking staggering and perverse. On Wednesday 8 October 2025, in Bishops Tawton, a mature stag was hunted so viciously its legs gave way to exhaustion. Once dead, the hunt’s lackeys cut off its feet (known as ‘slots’) ready for them to be handed out as sick trophies. Tell me again how this is ‘wildlife management’ and not fucking trophy hunting?

Hunters then performed what sabs described as ‘satanic rites,’ and this is nothing short of inhuman. They sliced open the stag’s abdomen to allow the hounds to feast on the intestines directly from the carcass. Not only is this vile, with it happening on open grazing land, they are creating a massive biosecurity risk.

Raw biological matter left in fields where livestock graze exposes our wildlife to bovine tuberculosis. The hunting community often claim to be the guardians of the countryside, yet they’re actively spreading dangerous disease through these vile, archaic rituals.

No refuge for any wildlife

Even designated nature reserves offer no sanctuary from the Tiverton Staghounds. Sabs caught this uncaring hunt operating on Devon Wildlife Trust land. This area is supposed to be a safe haven for all wildlife, yet sabs have seen the hunt’s supporters scream to drive a young stag away from safety and into the jaws of the hounds.

This ‘turning’ of this stunning creature ensured he could find no refuge. He was chased for miles before being downed at Nomansland. The fact that these mounted pricks on horseback feel entitled to invade our conservation lands shows just how above the law they believe they are.

On another visit, sabs saw a mature stag killed in Cadleigh. After an agonising chase, the hunters dragged the animal by the antlers and hung him off the back of a quadbike. One final indignity for a creature murdered in cold blood.

Hunt sabs — Witness the end of hunting

The HSA has made it clear that a simple ban on ‘trail hunting’ isn’t going to stop these wankers. They are committed and bloodthirsty extremists who will simply switch to another loophole to cover their arses. The current legislation is a leaky sieve that allows the carnage of these bloodsports to pour through.

Only a total ban on all forms of hunting with hounds will fix this. The HSA has proposed a comprehensive set of reforms based on 60 years of sabotaging the hunt. These proposals include a ‘reckless clause’ to stop hunters from claiming illegal kills were accidents. And that means all animals, not just stags.

The evidence is now undeniable. The Tiverton Staghounds are not following the law, they’re fucking mocking it. The government must now decide if it will continue look the other way or finally grow a fucking backbone and shut down these countryside criminals for good?

Featured image via the author

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will lead a protest on Thursday 5 March. It’s to mark the opening of the first London branch of US fast food giant Chick-fil-A.

The picket will take place at 10am outside the restaurant at 90 Eden Street, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 1JD. Campaigners are challenging the company over its past funding of organisations that oppose LGBTQ+ equality.

The protest organisers have repeatedly attempted to engage Chick-fil-A in dialogue.

Tatchell said:

We have been unable to secure assurances that Chick-fil-A will not in future fund homophobic organisations that campaign against LGBT+ human rights. Every letter and request for a meeting has been ignored.

Our protest calls on Chick-fil-A to publicly commit to ending all financial support for organisations promoting discrimination. Until we have that commitment, consumers should boycott Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A funding hate

Tatchell added:

Chick-fil-A’s US charitable arm has donated millions to organisations that oppose same-sex marriage, promote so-called conversion therapy, and campaign against laws to protect LGBT+ people from discrimination.

These include donations to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Focus on the Family and the National Christian Charitable Foundation. Groups that have campaigned against the US Equality Act and continue to promote discriminatory homophobic laws and policies.

Tatchell said the Foundation had sought dialogue with the company prior to the protest:

We have repeatedly written to Chick-fil-A’s US headquarters and to the UK firm that handles its public relations, Lexington Communications. We asked Chick-fil-A to give assurances that it will not fund individuals, organisations and campaigns that oppose LGBT+ human rights. They have refused to give any assurances.

The Peter Tatchell Foundation again urges Chick-fil-A to renounce all funding of anti-LGBT+ organisations.

Chick-fil-A’s funding of bigotry is out of step with British values. We urge consumers to boycott their restaurants. There should be no place in the UK for a business that uses its profits to fund prejudice.

The protest is the latest action by the Peter Tatchell Foundation calling on the company to commit to LGBT+ equality as it expands into the UK market.

Featured image via the Peter Tatchell Foundation

Anti-extremism campaign group Hope Not Hate just released its latest State of Hate report. The annual review details far-right activity in the UK over the previous year. And, quite predictably, things are not looking good for opponents of fascism and the extremist right.

State of Hate deals with the many facets of far-right activity, from anti-migrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment to race science and conspiracy theorists. However, among details on Elon Musk’s election meddling and rising ethnonationalism, one stat really stood out.

The majority of Reform UK members now support the forcing or incentivising non-white British citizens to leave the UK.

It’s easy to read that sentence without letting it sink in. It’s talking about a desire to rid the UK of Black and brown British people, specifically because of the colour of their skin.

That’s open, plain-as-day white supremacy and ethnonationalism. And it’s a belief held by the majority of members of a now-mainstream UK political party.

Reform bring white supremacy in the mainstream

Ethnonationalism is an extreme position. Even amongst dedicated leftists, people reading that statistic might be tempted to look for a ‘soft’ interpretation. ‘We know Reform members oppose immigration – maybe it’s that (xenophobic) motivation behind the statistic, rather than race?’

That’s not the case.

State of Hate specifies that, among Reform party members:

Over half (54%) think non-white British citizens born abroad should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, compared to 24% if the citizens are white.

One in five (22%) think non-white British citizens whose parents were born in the UK should be forcibly removed or encouraged to leave, compared to just 7% if they are white.

To put that another way, over half of Reform members want UK citizens who weren’t born here out of the country. 30% of Reform members think that only if the individual in question is Black or brown.

Likewise, a startling number of Reform members still want to drive out second-generation citizens. And again, 15% of party members think that if, and only if, that citizen is Black or brown.

Farage, Lowe and Robinson

Beyond this, State of Hate also reported on the electoral chances of Reform, and how its rivals on the far right affected its chances. In particular, it highlighted that:

Two thirds of Reform UK party members have a positive view of Rupert Lowe, who recently launched his rival Restore Britain party, and 61% like Tommy Robinson.

The fact that most Reformers also love the even-further-right Rupert Lowe is hardly a surprise. Reform has been hemorrhaging its councillors to the new extremist ‘party’ for weeks now.

Likewise, after seeing the 150,000-strong ‘Unite the Kingdom’ hate march last year, the racist party’s support for Robinson isn’t exactly a shock. However, the support for the hate march was disgustingly high across society as a whole:

Our most recent polling shows worrying levels of support for Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom movement amongst the general public; 26% of the public view the Unite the Kingdom rally positively, rising to almost 50% among men aged 25-34.

In 2025, we tracked 251 anti-migrant protests. Whilst many protestors were hardened far-right activists with histories of violence, others were local people with no formal connections to the broader movement.

White supremacy has always festered within the heart of the UK. We are a nation built on the violent subjugation of Black and brown people, fuelled by the persistent belief that whiteness is a significant factor of Britishness.

Whilst that ideology has inflected a huge proportion of our politics, it often took the form of dog-whistle allusions and half-voiced sentiment.

Now, however, that mask has slipped. White ethnonationalism is increasingly overt, bold, and mainstream. It’s supporters make up the majority of the UK’s most popular political party.

We must recognise this racist bile for what it is. It is our duty to call it out, and to eliminate it from our communities and our politics.

This is not how fascism begins – we’re long past that point now.

Featured image via the Canary

The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) latest figures show that Universal Credit (UC) sanctions have hit record highs under Labour.

DWP UC sanctions highest ever under labour

The DWP recently released the figures for benefit sanctions up to October 2025. And they do not paint a pretty picture for Labour.

Before Labour came into power, the highest monthly number of sanctions happened in January 2024, when it it reached 57,276.

But since Labour were elected, it’s shot up – reaching over 60,000 three times. In October 2024 61,601 claimants were sanctioned. This rose even higher in January 2025 to 64,886. Then finally in October 2025, it hit 63,025. As these are the latest figures we have, it could’ve gone up even further in the last five months.

The most shocking thing about the staggering almost 65,000 in January 2025 is that it had dropped significantly the month before. In December 2024 the amount of sanctions was just around 24,000. So for it to go up by almost three times in just a month is horrific. The January 2025 figure is the highest rate of Universal Credit sanctions ever.

Universal Credit claimants punished

Sanctions happen when a claimant fails to meet arbitrary rules set out by the DWP. These can involve missing or being late for appointments at the Jobcentre or not accepting a job offer. But they can even punish you if they don’t like your reason for not leaving your last job.

In the period from November 2024 to October 2025, 566,490 people were sanctioned for “Failure to Attend or Participate in a Mandatory Interview”. To be clear this can also include if you’re running late. so if the bus was late you can lose your benefits. This equated to 90% of all sanctions.

A further 31,210 were sanctioned for “availability to work”, or to translate, they refused to accept the first crappy low-paying job the DWP offered them. And 9,530 were punished for “reason for leaving previous employment”.

This seems like an absurd and cruel category to include when everyone has different reasons for leaving a job and DWP rules are often strict and don’t allow for nuance. This is something anyone who’s ever applied for PIP knows all too well.

As the Canary previously reported, Universal Credit sanctions are so cruel that claimants are treated worse than criminals. The Sanctionable Failures report from Public Law Project found that sanctions are almost double the average court fine, and they’re effectively fined at 9 times the amount someone convicted of a crime is.

Racism in the DWP

As with most things, race also plays a big part here. Whilst 70% of sanctioned claimants were white, the amount from each group sanctioned stays about the same or higher. White claimants had a sanction rate of 6% while Black/African/Caribbean/Black British claimants had a sanction rate of 6.2%. People of mixed/ multiple ethnicities had a sanction rate of 7.4%. Asian/Asian British claimants had a slightly lower rate at 4.6%.

The DWP uses the relative likelihoods method to determine racial disparities in datasets. Using this they can estimate that black/African/Caribbean/Black British people were 3% more likely than White claimants to be sanctioned in November 2025. According to the DWP, Asian/Asian British people were 23% less likely to be sanctioned than white claimants.

The group most likely to be sanctioned compared to white claimants was people of mixed or multiple ethnicities. They were 24% more likely to be sanctioned than white people.

However, previously released data paints an even bleaker picture. The Canary’s Hannah Sharland found in September 2024 that:

Black universal credit claimants were 58% more likely to be sanctioned than white claimants, mixed ethnic groups were 72% more likely and Asians 5% more likely

So not only is it a racist hellhole, but they’re also using underhanded methods to fluff the numbers.

DWP even worse under Labour

The Labour-run DWP has faced much criticism lately, but all they’ve really proven is how they’re even worse for poor and disabled people then the Tories ever were.

At a time when the DWP is pushing more people into work that ever, we must up the scrutiny over how many people they are unfairly punishing. Benefit claimants are already up against it with the constant benefits hate in the press, without all the hoops they have to jump through just to survive.

Featured image via the Canary

Prominent lobby group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has been pushing hard to stifle criticism of the Zionist settler-colonial state’s crimes. And this has included trying to get the Open University (OU) to erase the term “ancient Palestine” for potentially triggering supporters of Israel. But academics have been fighting back.

Open University management flip-flops over Israel lobby campaign

The OU quickly folded under pressure from UKLFI. The university’s Palestine Solidarity Group exposed via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request that Adrienne Scullion, head of the Arts and Social Science faculty, had promised the lobby group:

We will not use the term ‘ancient Palestine’ in any future course materials, and we will explain and contextualise its use in existing materials for current learners

Following reports and UKLFI boasting, however, hundreds of academics signed an open letter challenging the OU’s pledge. And the controversy attracted greater public scrutiny of the institution:

#AcademicFreedom | We have written to The @OpenUniversity to express our profound concern about the university’s response to a letter from the UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) regarding the use of the term ‘#ancientPalestine.’
Read our letter: https://t.co/nr2AHIbjDu 1/3 pic.twitter.com/RA7GFdcjju

— BRISMES (@OfficialBrismes) February 26, 2026

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I imagine @owenjonesjourno‘s recent Guardian column went some way to effecting that U-turn pic.twitter.com/hG1jCSm6o6

— Rivkah Brown (@rivkahbrown) March 3, 2026

‘@OpenUniversity lecturer @LuxMea said the idea this is “a late-coming or illegitimate term” is a “Zionist lie, aimed at the erasure of Palestinians”@jeremycorbyn told @novaramedia an agreement to stop using the term amounted to “anti-Palestinian racism”’https://t.co/AK4CDsFDMD

— OU Palestine Solidarity Group (@OUPalestine) March 3, 2026

Censorship

As Novara Media reported, this seems to have had an impact. A spokesperson for the OU told the outlet that academics can use their professional judgement and:

are free to use the term ‘ancient Palestine’ where scholarly appropriate in teaching and learning materials.

Novara said Scullion’s “contextual note”, according to the OU, only referred to “one current module within Arts and Social Sciences”. This wouldn’t explain the “broad wording” of the pledge to UKLFI, though. For one staff member, there’s a “clear contradiction” with the OU’s new claims, which:

do not constitute a reasonable interpretation of the letter from 18 December

Indeed, according to legal experts, the OU’s apparent commitments to UKLFI could represent a breach of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 (HEFSA). This binds universities to prevent “undue pressures” on staff and students that could threaten academic freedom and freedom of speech.

UK institutions and pro-Israel groups have been systematically targeting supporters of Palestine with different types of repression, with a particular focus on “students, academics and teachers”. The new Index of Repression outlines almost a thousand such cases between 2019 and 2025. And UKLFI has played a prominent role:

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) appears 128 times in our database leading to institutional action against Palestine solidarity in schools, workplaces, universities and beyond. And this is only what we were able to verify.

Anti-Palestinian repression in Britain is not accidental.… pic.twitter.com/2agZuqG4Ff

— European Legal Support Center (ELSC) (@elsclegal) February 24, 2026

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Defend academic freedom

The OU branch of the University and College Union (UCU) has insisted that the institution’s actions have made it:

complicit in a politically motivated attempt to erase Palestine from history.

It has also argued that it sets a precedent for more future attacks on academic freedom.

✉️FOI request exposed commitments to UK Lawyers for Israel to caveat & limit use of the term ‘ancient Palestine’ in learning materials

Makes OU complicit in a politically motivated attempt to erase Palestine from history

+ sets precedent for further attacks on ac freedom

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3/6

— Open University UCU (@oubucu) March 3, 2026

It wants the OU to launch an independent inquiry into what happened, and for the university to:

retract all commitments made to UKLFI.

And our @UCU branch encourages academic and academic-related colleagues to sign this open letter

The @OpenUniversity must defend academic freedom

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5/6https://t.co/HdCFn7a12y

— Open University UCU (@oubucu) March 3, 2026

This is not the first time UKLFI has tried to shut down solidarity with Palestine. And it won’t be the last. But if enough people raise their voices in defence of academic freedom, we can at the very least make the group’s mission a hell of a lot harder.

Featured image via the Canary

The following is a statement from the women’s strike assembly:

Statement

London, UK – Sunday 8 March – We, the women’s strike assembly – an independent collective comprised of various migrant, socialist, decolonial, abolitionist and autonomous activists and organisations – will be taking to the streets once more this year on 8 March 2026.

As a collective, we have been taking action on 8 March annually since 2018 to celebrate, grieve and struggle against patriarchy, imperialism and fascism as they manifest in the form of further militarisation, attacks on our trans and migrant siblings and silence in the face of the global drive to war.

As a collective who rejects liberal and reactionary feminisms, we learn from and laud all those who have taken action alongside us and in the same spirit of liberation around the world, from the global women’s strike in 2000, the women’s revolution in Rojava to the various anti-femicide movements across Abya Yala.

The threat of fascism

In 2026, the biggest enemy for women’s liberation is the threat of fascism and the rise of the far-right on our streets, as well as the neoliberal Labour Party stooping to racist politics in order to appeal to the ruling class who benefit from dividing the working classes in the first place. Additionally, the Labour government are actively harming immigrants through furthering earned settlement policies and building a hostile environment which harms women by exacerbating crises in care, housing, cost of living, and childcare.

With regards to the dimension of fascism on the street: in the last year, we have witnessed fascists advancing their movements into local communities in the name of ‘women’s rights and safety’. Alongside this, imperial feminisms upholding racist narratives that migrants come to the country to ‘rape and abuse’ *our* women and children have been strengthened by reactionary groups like the Pink Ladies to give the impression that the fascist movement has found legitimacy amongst women.

As anti-fascist feminists, we say fuck this colonialist nationalist agenda. NO to borders. Migration is life and NO one is illegal.

Details of the demonstration

Date and Time: 3pm, Sunday 8 March

Route: The march will commence at Russell Square and end at Soho Square, London

Why we strike

We are striking as a feminist wing of a working-class movement, that is to say a movement which represents poor and disenfranchised people and takes action in line with their liberation against the system which defines politics as committees of the rich few against the many. We are striking as the Epstein files expose the threads of a corrupt global elite that enjoys total impunity, showing the complicity between the British Monarchy, the billionaires club, the financiers, politicians from all parties, with an international ring of p*dophiles, sexual traffickers and abusers.

Furthermore, we are striking as in British society, around 4 million children are living in poverty and 382,000 people are homeless in England alone- with black women and single mothers affected disproportionately. We strike because these contradictions are not matters of bad administration or policy but rather a result of a system that is unequal by design. So we strike as conscious objectors to such a bloodthirsty system, which has been vying for the approval of women for years through ‘girlboss’ rhetoric, demanding that women be involved in this cycle of oppression.

We reject the currents of reactionary feminism which seek to divide our experiences of gender and womanhood to biology. We are striking alongside our trans siblings, because their lives are under constant attack. The UK Supreme Court ruling saying “sex” is exclusive to biological / assigned at birth sex is nothing but another colonial heritage perpetuated and in the name of “women’s rights and safety”. We reject terfism and mandatory cisness, we define who we are.

We strike in transnational solidarity with the people of Palestine, Rojava, Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Haiti and Congo. We strike against the femi-genocide in Palestine which is deliberately targeting mothers who give birth to, feed and raise children, and are the primary carers of families and communities. Imperialism continues to kill people en masse for power and profit. This is a global system, not a set of policies. As a result, we are a global network of anti-colonial feminists. ALL EMPIRES MUST FALL!

We strike because we don’t just want rights. We understand they can be useful, but they are CRUMBS in a system based on exploitation, extraction and colonisation of our bodies, our labour, our lands, our nature, and the planet. We want justice and we want liberation – because feminist justice is incomplete without land justice, disability justice, housing justice, food justice, and care justice.

We strike because we want to create communities that enact ways of organising life and relating to one another that are not based on abuse, oppression, accumulation, or punitivism. We’re seeking worlds otherwise, we want to abolish the systems that enable oppression and create freedom through new systems of care and the leadership of the oppressed. Justice does not call for reform, but for feminist projects of total collective transformations. Justice is about imagining and working towards worlds of interconnectedness and care as foundational principles for organising life. It is about sharing the labour of sustaining life – human and non-human. Justice is about a life beyond individual choices within a broken system, and instead about collective care.

All in all, our demands this year, just like every year, we seek to take action as the general crisis of imperialism affects women and marginalised communities the most. We shall take the streets in order to expose and raise awareness of this fact.

When women stop, the world stops.

Featured image via Instagram / falatinamericans