Newly revealed documents expose Labour’s Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander as a devoted friend of Peter Mandelson, publicly humiliating his position.
Mandelson was “influential,” in Alexander’s own words, in securing his seat as MP for Lothian East. The SNP have called for the minister’s resignation over his apparently doting relationship with Mandelson.
The disgraced corrupt former ambassador and friend of notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was well-known, well-loved, and well-connected within the Labour Party. Him and pro-corporate stooge Tony Blair shaped vile New Labour through a willingness to court power, whatever ugly face it took.
However, those tight connections across the right wing (now mainstream) of the Labour Party are coming back to bite. It’s about time for figures like Alexander who so willingly courted Mandy’s ilk.
These recent revelations come after the government realised over 1,000 pages of documents relating to the Dark Lord’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US by Starmer-McSweeney.
In the files it’s clear that Douglas Alexander was in regular contact with Mandelson prior to his appointment as ambassador. He also credits Mandelson with his selection and election as an MP in 2024.
Writing to Mandy about his chances of getting elected at the 2024 general election, Alexander said:
There’s v little enthusiasm for Labour but a quiet determination to secure change which is our greatest ally.
You could say that again – and again. But most revealing was on 7 July 2024, three days after the general election, following Alexander’s appointment as Trade Minister. He wrote to Mandelson declaring:
You probably don’t realise quite how influential you’ve been in this whole improbable journey.
He is essentially crediting Mandelson with helping him to secure the win. As the Canary previously reported, Mandelson was instrumental in Labour NEC 2024 general election selection procedures.
Alexander said publicly in May that Mandelson “should not have been appointed”. Yet following Mandelson’s appointment back in December 2024, Alexander messaged Mandy directly to say it was:
good news for you, for the government and for the country.
Alexander is far from alone. Mandelson was also congratulated by then-Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, Alexander’s predecessor in-post. Murray messaged Mandy:
Congratulations your excellency. What a wonderful appointment.
It goes right to the top, too. Darren Jones, for example, privately messaged to say he was “so sorry” to see Mandy sacked in disgrace in September 2025.
It was common knowledge throughout that Mandelson had been twice sacked from ministerial positions and was also close friends with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mandelson was involved in ‘dumping’ Labour candidates before the 2024 election
The SNP reacted quickly, calling for Alexander to quit his role as Scottish Secretary over the revelations. One SNP MSP in particular, Alex Kerr, did not hold back:
Douglas Alexander was a mere puppet for his master Mandelson and these shadowy redactions just make this sinister affair all the more despicable.
Douglas Alexander must resign and the public must be given full disclosure on whether our national security has been threatened by meetings at the instruction of Peter Mandelson.
SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan wrote to the government’s independent standards adviser:
Despite clear obligations and processes to transparently log ministerial meetings, Mr Alexander failed to publicly declare this meeting with Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm for a year and a half.
The SNP have now gone a step further. They’ve demanded a probe into whether Mandelson’s influence might have constituted a ministerial code breach by Alexander.
The recently revealed files indicate that Alexander was introduced to a lobbying firm with ties to foreign states Russia and China. This was not declared at the time or since.
The lobbying firm Global Counsel was set up in 2010 by Mandelson for a lucrative career after repeatedly failing in his duties to the public as an MP and multi-minister. Mandelson stepped down as director in 2024 but remains financially staked in the company.
The messages reveal that Alexander’s very first meeting, via online call, was — perhaps unsurprisingly — with that same lobbying firm, Global Counsel. Funny coincidence, eh?
Featured image via Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images
During the Naksa, meaning “setback” in Arabic, “Israel” changed the lives of all Palestinians — entrenching them in a system of military control and apartheid that remains today. This war, fought in 1967, brought Palestinians displacement, occupation and loss, expanded on a scale not seen since the Nakba of 1948, when the Jewish state was formed.
It began on 5 June, when “Israel” launched surprise attacks against Egypt and quickly entered a conflict involving Jordan and Syria. By the time the fighting ended, six days later, the criminal regime had devastated its Arab neighbours. It had also seized and occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Syria’s Golan Heights. Although victory was swift for “Israel,” for Palestinians the effects of the Naksa are ongoing.
“Israel” committed numerous atrocities during the six days of its June 1967 war. Israeli occupation forces (IOF) forcibly displaced 300,000 Palestinians from Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem during this time. Most escaped into Jordan. A large number of the displaced had already fled or lost their homes in 1948. Families who had spent almost twenty years rebuilding their lives in refugee camps suddenly found themselves uprooted again.
Around 10,000 Palestinians were displaced from the Latrun area of the West Bank. This included the villages of Imwas, Yalo, and Bayt Nuba, which were then demolished shortly after the war. Although residents in one of the villages held up white flags to show they had surrendered, the IOF killed 18 elderly Palestinians who did not evacuate their homes.
The occupation aimed to erase these villages from historical memory and hide its crimes. So it then developed parts of the area into a recreational park, and called it Canada Park. It was funded by the Jewish National Fund of Canada.
The same thing was done in 1948, when the occupation destroyed more than 400 Palestinian villages. Aujjar village was demolished, then had British Park built over its remains.
The occupation also carried out cultural genocide in 1967. Immediately after capturing East Jerusalem, the IOF ordered the complete demolition of the historic Mughrabi Quarter. This was an 800-year-old neighbourhood in the Old City, and was completely demolished by the IOF, over just two nights- of June 10–11, 1967.
800 years of history and culture had been erased. 138 Palestinian homes were bulldozed and more than 650 residents forcibly displaced. The purpose of this destruction was to broaden the alley leading to the Western Wall, and clear space in front of it. A spacious plaza was then created, to accommodate tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers, now that East Jerusalem had been captured.
IOF crimes during the Naksa also included the killing of Egyptian prisoners of war. In September 1995, Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported that two mass graves had been discovered in the Sinai Peninsula. This contained the remains of 30 to 60 Egyptian prisoners of war and unarmed civilians. The victims were shot or executed by the IOF after they had surrendered.
One former Egyptian soldier, and eyewitness reportedly said:“I saw a line of prisoners, civilian and military, and they [the Israelis] opened fire at them all at once. When they were dead, they told us to bury them.” This occurred on 6 and 7 June.
The occupation that emerged after 1967 completely altered Palestinian life. “Israel” established military administration over the West Bank and Gaza, placing millions of Palestinians under direct military rule. Checkpoints, permit systems and land seizures became features of everyday existence. These have continued unabated to this day. The Israeli occupation wasted no time, and established its first illegal settlement, Kfar Etzion, just months after the June War.
Land theft and settlement expansion go hand in hand, and are now taking place at an unprecedented rate. But these settlements are illegal under international law. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring parts of its own civilian population into occupied territory. Around 750,000 of these zionist colonisers are currently living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The occupation has evolved into an apartheid system that is not only designed to control territory and the population. The intention is also to fragment Palestinian society and prevent the emergence of a viable independent Palestinian state.
The Naksa and the Nakba which preceded it, represent successive stages in a history of dispossession. The Nakba saw the mass displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948, while the Naksa extended this catastrophe by bringing the rest of historic Palestine under Israeli occupation control.
As the Palestinian historian Rashid Khalidi argues, 1967 was not just another military defeat. It was a turning point that reshaped Palestinian political identity and intensified demands for self-determination.
Nearly sixty years later, the consequences of the Naksa are still with Palestinians. Refugees remain scattered throughout the Middle East and elsewhere. East Jerusalem is rapidly being judaized, while Palestinian homes continue being demolished. And the illegal Israeli occupation keeps going despite all the criticism.
For Palestinians living in the occupied territory, the events of June 1967 are reflected in restrictions on movement, disputes over land and their continuing struggle for national rights.
The legacy of the six day war has endured across generations, and the occupation continues to shape the political, social and geographical realities of Palestine. Palestinians will remember the Naksa not only as a historical event, but as an ongoing experience of dispossession and resistance.
Featured image via Middle East Monitor
By Charlie Jaay
LAYUP: The New York Knicks are in the NBA finals, and politicians can’t seem to get enough of it.
They’re hosting invite-only watch parties as an excuse to butter up the political press and cash in on the cultural cachet.
They’re deploying taxpayer-funded staff to film and edit Knicks-focused social media clips of themselves, fit with music, multiple shooting locations and a whole lot of hype.
And they’re even mocking up government documents in an effort to spread good vibes — and good publicity — around New York’s basketball team.
It feels like Empire State’s electeds are jumping at every opportunity they can to graft their political brands onto a once-in-a-generation milestone for the Knickerbockers, and it’s happening everywhere you look.
“There is a real unique hunger that is both exciting and unifying about this year and this run that a lot of candidates are trying to tap into,” said Matt Rey, a Democratic operative with Red Horse Strategies. “It’s really hard to reach people on anything live now, except for sports, and this is the height of it, especially for a local area … Any way that you can advertise during, before, after games in the finals is the best chance you have to reach the most amount of Democratic primary voters, bar none.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani got in on that opportunity Wednesday night when he starred in a commercial that aired during Game 1 and featured the mayor’s three favored congressional candidates dishing the rock to each other as if they left their day jobs to become full-time hoopers.
He also revealed this morning he’ll be at Monday night’s game, and paying for his own ticket — which will cost the former rent-stabilized tenant a pretty penny.
President Donald Trump also plans to attend, and Mamdani demurred when asked if he was invited to sit with the president or plans on holding some sort of in-person meeting while Trump is in town.
“I’ll keep the nature of those conversations between the two of us,” Mamdani told 1010 WINS.
The mayor is making his Knicks fandom known in other ways, like drafting up an executive order allowing kids to stay up past their bedtimes to watch the Knicks (It’s the law, mom!), inviting the San Antonio Spurs’ center Victor Wembanyama to participate in the next Charter Revision Commission meeting, and commissioning Knicks-themed art for City Hall’s rotunda and steps.
Other more staid politicians are getting in on it too. Crime-prosecuting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg happily turned his press conference about the indictment of a brazen retail theft ring into an opportunity to talk Knicks basketball.
And the irreverent Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar posted an AI graphic of herself with two of the team’s star players, as if the three are all pals.
“New York, it’s time. Let’s. Go. Knicks. 🏀” she said.
Then there’s the bets: the cliched wagers between elected officials from different cities, where the losing team’s city or state’s quintessential food is sent to the winning team’s supporters. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is betting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz slices of Joe’s Pizza and some Brooklyn Lager — and she’ll get to down Texas BBQ if the orange-and-blue win. Nick LaLota is betting a 6-foot hero on the Knicks winning, in a wager with a Texas congressman. And the New York City Council is putting bagels on the line in a wager against the breakfast-taco-eating San Antonio City Council.
For those electeds considering whether or not to jump in on the trend, Rey, the Knicks-fan-turned-Dem-operative, has some advice: “Don’t be a bandwagon fan.”
“If you’re into this run, go all for it, because this is exciting to you, and is part of what makes you unique, but if it doesn’t make you unique, find something else,” he said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, for her part, isn’t betting anything. She shut the door on any friendly wager with the Lone Star State after the Texas Gov. Greg Abbott published an AI-generated image of dunking on Hochul.
For Hochul, a famous Bills fan, the bar for glomming onto — and embracing — any sort of athletic energy that engrosses New York is low.
“I’m fired up,” she said at a press conference Thursday, where both the World Cup and NBA Finals were discussed. “I’m excited about this. I’m a huge sports fan, whatever it is. If there’s a ball involved, I love it.”
THE LEGISLATIVE FINALE: The annual legislative session is crawling to a close with the Assembly spending today chipping away at its final package of bills.
The Senate concluded its business at 1:30 this morning. Assemblymembers are expecting to wrap up this evening — but optimism that the final buzzer will sound before the Knicks tip off at 8:30 p.m. is ebbing.
A good chunk of the final day was spent unanimously passing a bill from Assemblymember Alex Bores that would impose regulations on how AI chatbots interact with minors. The bots would be banned from engaging in sexually explicit conduct or encouraging kids to commit suicide.
“If you cannot make chatbots safe for children, you should not make them available to children,” said Bores, who’s running in a hotly-contested congressional primary. “I cannot think of a more appropriate bill to be my final bill in the chamber.”
The Assembly also debated a constitutional amendment that would move elections such as upstate mayoral contests and district attorney races to even-numbered years.
Democrats have argued the shifts will improve turnout in under-the-radar races and save money since polling sites will be opened less often. It’s much easier for voters “to put their energy into these elections all at once, instead of being stressed out every year about different offices,” Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha said.
Republicans have long opposed this, as well as 2023 legislation that moved most town and county races to even-numbered years, saying the shifts will politicize elections that should be decided by who’s best at managing snow plows.
“This is blatant power grab number four,” Assemblymember Joe Sempolinski said, summarizing a week when Democrats also passed measures on congressional redistricting, judicial redistricting and ending the bipartisan Board of Elections’ power to choose the wording for referenda.
“All of those are very partisan attacks on the integrity of our democratic institutions,” Sempolinski said. “What the people back home want us focused on is making their lives better, making their lives more affordable, not what we’re doing — which is the Democratic Party seizing more power for itself.” — Bill Mahoney
OVERKILL: A new report from City Comptroller Mark Levine found the majority of NYPD overtime — an outlay that routinely costs the city around $1 billion annually — comes from events that are known well in advance and could be better planned for.
“Overtime spending has been a clear cost the NYPD wants to rein in, especially as New York City seeks to reduce recurring expenses in light of projected budget gaps,” Levine said in a statement accompanying today’s report. “Overtime should be used when absolutely necessary to enable police officers to keep communities safe.”
During last year’s mayoral campaign, Mamdani pledged to rein in OT spending that has regularly been underbudgeted in the city’s annual spending plan, creating an unwelcome and pricey surprise when the bill comes due.
In the current fiscal year set to end June 30, Levine projects NYPD overtime costs will reach $890 million, the third-highest year on record.
To rein in costs, Levine suggested the department better manage staffing for parades, quality-of-life initiatives and other predictable events to prioritize regular shifts. He also recommended holding specific commands accountable when they routinely blow their overtime budgets, mandating rest periods for officers who work extended shifts to avoid fatigue and creating a more comprehensive accountability structure that could be audited.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch has pledged to get a better grip on overtime spending too, and Levine’s report suggested that her efforts have produced some preliminarily positive results.
But a confluence of summer events including the World Cup, the NBA finals and celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary are expected to add around $92 million to the NYPD’s overtime budget for the upcoming fiscal year, though some of that will be covered by federal dollars.
At a recent City Council hearing, where Tisch said the department’s overtime spending has also gone up because of salary increases and general inflation, she pledged to balance the demands on the department with the fiscal goals of the comptroller and mayor.
“This uniquely busy period will lead to an increase in overtime spend,” she said. “However, this increase does not change our overtime management plan or our priority to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers while being a responsible fiscal steward.” — Joe Anuta
PENN DRAMA: Rep. Jerry Nadler is fuming over legislation pushed by a developer selected to redo Penn Station.
Before Amtrak picked Halmar to overhaul Penn in May, the developer shopped a bill on Capitol Hill to allow the railroad to benefit from nearby commercial development.
The effect of the legislation would be to supplant a now-paused deal between the state and midtown developers, including Vornado, to fund billions of dollars in upgrades to the rail hub using so-called payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, incentives. Under the bill, the developers could strike a deal with the Trump administration and make payments to Amtrak, cutting out New York officials. The head of Vornado, Steve Roth, is a former business associate of the president’s.
Nadler was the only member to vote against the idea in committee when it was attached as an amendment to a surface transportation bill. The Democrat dinged the plan as a giveaway to developers and an effort to bypass local accountability.
“This is a handout to Donald Trump and his real estate buddies, and New Yorkers will pay the price,” Nadler said in a statement to POLITICO.
Halmar, which Amtrak awarded master development rights to in May, approached Nadler in mid-March with bill language. That was after Amtrak had floated the idea of using PILOT incentives to help it pay for the new Penn Station — but before Halmar was tapped as the winning developer.
The amendment was introduced by Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N.C.) and backed in committee by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). Both see the bill, which has broad language that applies outside of New York, as a way to make it easier for Amtrak to fund upgrades across the country.
“This is maybe the first time I’ve ever heard a Democrat not support Amtrak making these kinds of decisions,” Moulton said as he and Nadler briefly sparred over the amendment during a May 21 hearing.
Halmar declined to comment. A spokesperson for Vornado did not respond to a request for comment.
It remains unclear whether other Democrats will come out swinging against the idea, which supporters say could help speed up development around mass transit hubs — an idea that’s generally appealing to Democrats. — Ry Rivard
DEBATE-A-PALOOZA: One of the city’s suddenly most competitive races will be getting a high-profile debate before the primary.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat and Darializa Avila Chevalier — his Mamdani-backed challenger — will take the stage on June 17 for a debate hosted by Telemundo 47/WNJU. Theo Chino-Tavarez and Oscar Romero, two other candidates vying for the seat, will appear as well.
The debate will be conducted exclusively in Spanish. Hispanic residents make up around half of the district, which includes parts of upper Manhattan and the Bronx.
The primary has heated up since Mamdani weighed in for Avila Chevalier last week. On Friday, a day after a testy forum on WNYC between Espaillat and Avila Chevalier, both campaigns held events in Harlem touting their respective progressive backing. — Madison Fernandez
— BATTLEGROUND: Espaillat and Avila Chevalier are intensifying outreach to Harlem’s Black electorate, a crucial bloc in the closely watched primary fight. (The New York Times)
— ‘BLINDSIDED’: Parents of trans children say Mount Sinai plans to share records of children receiving gender-affirming care with the Trump administration. (Gothamist)
— MR. MET: Ali Najmi, former election attorney to Mamdani and head of NYC’s commission to select local judges, is now working for billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen. (Hell Gate)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Badger sett — A notorious hunter faces court following an investigation into wildlife crime offences in Nottinghamshire. These vile little men are just one more case that highlights the broader issue of a crap legal system that is systematically letting people like them escape with minor penalties. It’s becoming more and more obvious that these pathetic financial penalties do absolutely nothing to deter the countryside elite from breaking laws and murdering wildlife.
Jacob Whalley faces four counts of interfering with an active badger sett. Covert cameras caught the suspects tampering with the Rolleston sett. They were caught flushing wildlife with a terrier and blocking seven entrances to the sett. We have the Hunt Saboteurs Association to thank for getting the footage.
The prosecution accuse these two elites of intentionally blocking the holes of the sett to prevent badgers and foxes from escaping to underground safety during hunting activities. Weird, considering that hunting mammals with hounds is illegal in the UK.
Whalley and Ste Reynolds appeared at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Thursday 21 May 2026. They remain on bail until the next hearing which will take place on Thursday 26 November 2026.
GROVE AND RUFFORD HUNTSMAN CHARGED OVER BADGER SETT BLOCKING
Last week, Grove and Rufford huntsman Jacob Whalley and terrierman Ste Reynolds entered not guilty pleas, after being charged with tampering with an active badger sett in November last year.
This was one of many… pic.twitter.com/DgJxKe045U
— PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) June 1, 2026
Our justice system is an absolute sham when it comes to wildlife. Animal related convictions have hit an all-time, record low. In 2024 the courts secured a pathetic 14 hunting convictions across England and Wales. Strange, considering I’ve seen more than 14 wildlife crimes being committed on one single hunt sab session.
Fines under the Hunting Act 2004 average a pitiful £356. What is that to a wealthy huntsman, really? Even to a lower hunt member such as a terrierman. These tiny fines are simply paid off and these rich hunters are back to breaking the law.
Police and the courts rarely take wildlife crime seriously. They let hundreds of illegal hunts escape justice every year. Obtaining proof still largely falls on organisations such as the Hunt Sabs to collect and submit to the police. And the strict burden of proof means that criminals routinely walk away free due to shitty technicalities and loopholes within the law. Even when they’re caught red-handed.
It’s pathetic when activists have to do the job of the police because they simply cannot be arsed. Will the courts finally hand down a decent sentence to people like Whalley? One that actually acts as a deterrent? Or will he be straight back at allegedly filling in badger setts as soon as he gets out of course?
Featured Images via Sheffield Hunt Saboteurs/The Hunt Saboteurs Association
By Antifabot
Globally, central banks now hold 27% of their reserve assets in gold, surpassing US dollar Treasuries at 22%, and just a year ago this was 20% gold versus 25% Treasuries, according to the latest report by the European Central Bank.
In 2023, gold’s share was just 16%.
Since the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, China has purchased over 350 tonnes of gold, followed by Poland (320 tonnes), Türkiye (220 tonnes) and India (130 tonnes), according to the ECB, as geopolitical tensions continued to drive strong central bank demand for gold.
According to the FT:
The shifting composition of reserve assets — highly liquid holdings that central banks use to support their currencies, meet international payment obligations and provide liquidity in times of financial turmoil — reflects an attempt by many countries to seek alternatives to the US dollar, the world’s de facto reserve currency.
Those efforts have accelerated since 2022, when Washington used sanctions to freeze Russia’s dollar reserves over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Most countries are aware of how the US can and will weaponise the US dollar by using sanctions.
A Chatham House study shows the number of sanctions imposed by countries and multilateral organisations nearly doubled between 2001 and 2023 — the majority created by the US.
Sanctions criminalise or penalise anyone who uses the dollar, financial institutions with a legal presence in the US, or the international payments system (SWIFT), which is owned by a consortium of US banks.
This use of the dollar’s hegemony by imposing sanctions has triggered other nations — especially BRICS — to look for alternative currencies.
The ECB’s report noted that on 1 February 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the renminbi to become a global reserve currency, in “one of his clearest statements yet of China’s ambition to strengthen the international role of its currency.”
They also reported that activity in China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) “increased by more than one-third in the days surrounding the outbreak of the war in the Middle East.”
They noted:
Industry experts have suggested that the conflict could serve as a catalyst for an expansion of the renminbi’s role in the global oil markets. Notably, reports indicate that some ships made payments in renminbi via CIPS or in crypto-assets to transit through the Strait of Hormuz in March and April 2026
However, a bigger joint BRICS effort at dedollarisation is facing issues.
Kristin J. Forbes, Professor of Global Economics, MIT — Sloan School of Management, said recently that the news of the death of the dollar had been “greatly exaggerated”, as the “dollar is still the most liquid market by far.”
She said at the recent World Economic Forum, a gathering of billionaires.
She said:
Look at the dollar share of FX transactions. It’s about 88% of FX transactions.
About 54% of global trade, it is still invoiced and settled in dollars, about 60% of all international loans and deposits are denominated in dollars, as is 70% of international bond issuance, according to Moneyweek.
The US’s war on Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza can, therefore, be connected to the US’s desire for oil control, dollar seigniorage, and the preservation of the imperial rent extracted from global dollar holdings.
Kadri’s logic was also explained by no other than Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, a prominent US billionaire.
While praising Trump’s war on Iran, Dimon said,
If we’re not the preeminent military and the preeminent economy in the world in 30 years, we will not be the preeminent reserve currency. They actually go hand in hand.
So will the dollar remain the reserve currency despite its weaponization and ballooning US debt? Is there a breaking point?
Even Forbes conceded at the World Economic Forum that demand for dollar debt has decreased.
She said the convenience yield on US dollar debt has fallen quite a bit, and “people don’t put much value in the liquidity it provides. But financial market indicators have not seen the same move out of dollars.”
There is a disconnect between a dollar and dollar debt; she, in fact, emphasized and wonders out loud if it can hold.
Guneet Dhingra, head of U.S. rates strategy at BNP Paribas, told Reuters that 30-year yields lost their projected ceiling after crossing the 5% threshold: “Now that we have no anchor, what stops bond yields from going up in a world of high inflation, ever-rising deficits and global bond yield pressure?”
The Trump administration is set to increase the US military spending from $1 trillion annually to $1.5 trillion.
So here lies the contradiction. The US will need more debt-financed military spending to maintain dollar hegemony, but such fiscal overspending will come with higher yields on US Treasuries.
At the same time, there is no guarantee that petrodollars will be recycled into US Treasuries like they were before the war. Demand by central bankers for Treasuries might continue to fall.
We really are in an interregnum.
Featured image via SimpleImages – Getty Images
By Nandita Lal
Support staff at Ash Field Academy in Leicester were on strike from 3-5 June. This is part of a campaign to demand the reinstatement of victimised union rep Tom Barker.
Barker was suspended on 30 October 2025. After more than seven months, three separate investigations, and five investigation meetings, Discovery Schools Academy Trust [DSAT], which runs Ash Field, is still refusing to reinstate Barker.
Barker was suspended just three working days after UNISON members voted to strike over staffing cuts.
Andrea Egan, UNISON’s general secretary, was in attendance at the Thursday 4 June picket. Addressing the strikers, Egan said:
Tom has shown through his leadership on the disputes that have happened over the last couple of years that there is power in the workers, and that has clearly worried management.
On a national level, I am are here to say very clearly this union will not stand by when they [DSAT] attack our activists. We are not retreating; we’re actually going to step up our action.
If they are going to take us on, they are not taking Tom on, they are not taking members on, they are taking on this union, and this is a strong message they will now get.
They have had it up to now, but they’re clearly not listening, so we are going to up our side of it.
You have got the union behind you.
Louise Lewis, a member of the National Education Union’s national executive, also spoke at the rally. Lewis said:
Trying to silence reps instead of addressing the concerns raised does not solve the problem. It simply continues a culture where corners are cut and where both staff and students can be put at risk.
Today sends a different message. Today says that trade unionists stand together. That when a rep is targeted for standing up for staff and students, the wider movement responds with solidarity.
Because defending reps means defending every worker’s right to organise, to speak up, and to fight for safe and fair workplaces.
To Tom, and to every one of you taking action, you are not standing alone. Thank you for your courage, your solidarity, and your determination.
An injury to one is an injury to all.
Chris Willars, secretary of Leicester and District Trades Union Council, addressed strikers, saying:
We saw the article in the Leicester Mercury of Wednesday 20 May 2026 about the anti-bullying award given to Ash Field Academy.
The Academy has received the Positive and Peaceful Places award for its commitment to ‘creating a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for pupils, staff and the wider community’.
Having met a number of the staff, I recognise the description of the staff and can confirm that they are caring and supportive of the pupils and their colleagues.
It’s a shame that the management don’t seem to share these values.
After the conclusion of the Friday 5 June picket line, Sam Randfield, UNISON Leicester City branch secretary, added:
This week’s picket lines have been well-attended, with members still in good spirits despite DSAT’s stubborn refusal to end this dispute.
There is an obvious and easy route for them to do so. With a single email, they could bring Tom back to work and end all this disruption. Doing so would cost them absolutely nothing.
If they fail to do so, then this dispute is going to escalate. That isn’t what anyone wants. But our members will not stand by while the Trust continues to pursue their anti-union vendetta. We call again upon DSAT leaders to bring Tom back to work and reset their relationship with UNISON.
Around 40 UNISON members and supporters attended the Ash Field picket, including members of the NEU, PCS, GMB, UCU, UNITE and Leicester and District Trades Union Council.
UNISON has now issued notice of further strike action on the following dates (inclusive):
15 – 19 June
6 – 9 July
Featured image supplied
By The Canary
Public spaces are shaped by more than furniture, lighting, layout and service. Sound plays a major role in how a space feels from the moment someone walks through the door.
A café can feel warm and relaxed. A gym can feel energetic and focused. A hotel lobby can feel calm and polished. A retail store can feel premium, lively or rushed, depending not only on how it looks, but on what customers hear while they are there.
For many businesses, background music is still treated as a small detail. Something to fill silence, or something staff put on quickly at the start of the day.
But sound affects atmosphere, mood, dwell time, staff experience and brand perception. Used well, it can make a public space feel more welcoming, consistent and memorable. Used badly, it can make even a well-designed venue feel chaotic or forgettable.
Most customers begin forming an impression of a business before they speak to a member of staff. They notice the lighting, layout, smell, temperature and general feel of the room.
Sound is part of that first impression.
The right background music can help businesses create:
If the music is too loud, badly matched or constantly interrupted by adverts, it can change the whole mood of a space. Customers may not consciously think, “the music is wrong,” but they may feel less relaxed, less inclined to browse or less likely to stay.
The goal is not simply to play music. It is to create the right feeling for the space.
Many businesses leave music decisions to whoever is on shift. That can lead to random playlists, inconsistent volume, sudden changes in mood or tracks that do not suit the customer base.
This matters because music becomes part of the customer experience. It influences how people move through a space, how comfortable they feel, how easily they can talk and how they remember the business afterwards.
A more considered approach helps businesses avoid common problems such as:
A professional background music system gives businesses more control. Instead of relying on random playlists or personal preference, venues can choose music that fits their brand, audience and pace of the day.
Good background music should support what customers are doing in the space.
In retail, music can support browsing and brand identity. In cafés and restaurants, it can support conversation, comfort and atmosphere. In gyms and fitness studios, it can add energy and pace. In hotels, spas and salons, it can help create a calmer, more premium experience.
Different spaces need different sound:
When businesses treat music as part of the customer journey, it becomes more than background noise. It becomes a practical way to shape the experience.
For businesses, music is not only a question of taste. It is also a question of professionalism, consistency and licensing.
Using background music for businesses allows venues to create a more controlled sound environment. It helps businesses avoid the problems that come with random public playlists, adverts, unsuitable tracks or inconsistent staff choices.
For multi-site businesses, this becomes even more important. Customers should feel a sense of consistency whether they visit one location or another. Staff should not have to improvise the soundtrack each day. Managers should not have to rely on guesswork.
A professional background music solution can help with:
This gives businesses a structured way to manage sound, rather than leaving one of the most noticeable parts of the customer experience to chance.
Customers may spend half an hour, an hour or an afternoon in a space. Staff may spend an entire shift there.
That means background music affects employees as well as customers. If the sound is too loud, repetitive, distracting or poorly matched to the environment, it can make work feel more tiring. Staff may have to raise their voices, repeat themselves or deal with a space that feels more stressful than it needs to be.
A welcoming public space is created by many details working together: lighting, layout, service, cleanliness, signage, temperature and sound.
When businesses choose sound with care, they create public spaces that feel more comfortable, more consistent and more aligned with their brand. Customers stay longer. Staff work in a better environment. The business feels more intentional.
A good soundtrack should not overpower a space. It should support it. And when it does, background music becomes part of what makes customers want to come back.
We received two emails today, just a few minutes apart. There are a couple of notable things about them. The first came from Claire Somebody at the Crown Office.
The second one, excitingly, came from Service Advisor 1989847 at Police Scotland, which we assume is some sort of advanced crime-fighting robot.
In one of those emails, readers, is a three-word phrase that raised our eyebrows just about right off our heads. Before we chat any more, see if it jumps out at you too.
With grim predictability, the far-right US government has waded into the controversy surrounding the tragic death of Henry Nowak. A US State Department post on social media offered mealy-mouthed “condolences” to Henry’s family, though only after a tight string of fascist dogwhistles.
In particular, the Trump administration repeated Farage’s ridiculous ‘two-tier’ anti-white policing claim. This is fitting, given the Reform UK leader shamelessly exploited Nowak’s murder to attack DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives.
As the Canary previously pointed out, Farage clearly received this talking point directly from Trump’s fascist America. In the UK, ‘DEI’ is better known as ‘EDI’ (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion).
Beyond this, the ‘two-tier’ policing claim is also a classic example of the abuse tactic reversing the victim and offender, writ large. Two-tier policing very much exists, only to the clear detriment of Black and Brown people across the UK.
On the night of 4 June, the US State Department posted on social media:
Ideological conditioning and two-tiered policing are glaring symptoms of civilizational decline. They must be rejected across the West.
The United States sends our condolences to the family of Henry Nowak and the people of the United Kingdom at this troubling time.
As we keep having to repeat, Nowak’s family expressed their wishes that their son’s death wouldn’t be used to spread hatred and division. However, it’s completely unsurprising that the US government is doing just that by repeating dogwhistle claims of ‘two-tiered policing‘.
Likewise, the claim of “civilizational decline” is, at its heart, a fascist talking point. As Oxford professor of modern history James McDougall pointed out just before Trump’s first term:
Fascism brings a masculinist, xenophobic nationalism that claims to “put the people first” while turning them against one another. […]
A view of the world is presented that is centred on fears of “national suicide” and civilisational decline, in which whites are demographically overwhelmed by “inferior” peoples, minorities and immigrants.
Meanwhile, the claim to ‘two-tier policing’ in the UK is obviously correct, though in the exact opposite manner to which Farage and his fash buddies intended it.
On 4 June, Stephen Parkinson – director of the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service – explained that:
There is disproportionality in the criminal justice system. There’s an evidential basis for that. We have published research by Leeds University examining prosecution decisions. We updated that the end of last year.
It does demonstrate conclusively that there is disproportionality, by which I mean that there’s a greater likelihood of being prosecuted if you come from an ethnic group that is not white British.
Your starting point was two-tier justice, and I think recent publicity has been along the lines of: are people from ethnic minorities favoured in some way? The evidence that I’m aware of around disproportionality goes the other way.
That two-tier justice favouring white people is particularly evident in the Hampshire police – the same force which arrested Henry Nowak for a fabricated racialised assault, even as he lay dying of five stab wounds.
As the Guardian highlighted, the most recent policing data shows that officers across England and Wales are 3.8 times more likely to use stop and search powers against a Black person than a white person. However, in Hampshire, that disproportionality shoots up to 5.1 times.
Worse still, the problem has only increased in recent years. In 2023-4, Hampshire police were 4.1 times more likely to stop a Black person. That rose to 4.8 times in 2024-5, and then to 5.1 times in 2025-6.
The UK’s police force is an institutionally racist arm of an institutionally racist state, and rotten to its very core. Figures like Farage, who claim that even half-hearted efforts at reform are evidence of ‘anti-white racism’, actively endanger the pitiful progress towards equality the UK has tried to make.
The Reform UK leader, the Trump administration and their ilk know exactly what they’re doing. They want to ensure that the racist status quo remains, that it becomes even more firmly entrenched. They’ll use any lie, trick, and power at their disposal to do so.
Anything to continue to expand white supremacy.
Featured image via Getty/Jonathan Bachman
The past week in Parliament has seen two major blows for AI-peddler Palantir. In a highly unusual Commons debate, MPs including Jeremy Corbyn laid bare the links that disgraced ambassador Peter Mandelson forged between the UK government and the authoritarian US tech company.
Mandelson lost his position after his ties to pedophile ringleader Jeffrey Epstein came to light. In a blow to PM Keir Starmer, it later transpired that Mandelson was handed the ambassadorial post in spite of failing his security vetting.
Meanwhile, an influential cross-party science committee condemned the public sector’s increasing reliance of Palantir’s AI as placing the UK “at the mercy” of foreign actors.
On 3 June, the Science, Information and Technology Select Committee warned that “Palantir’s increasing presence” in the public sector is an “unacceptable point of weakness”. Committee member and Lib Dem MP Martin Wrigley, told the Canary he was “delighted” with the conclusion:
We cannot continue to rely upon American technology […] especially when this one is a ‘software as a service’, so it’s entirely virtual – the NHS doesn’t have any hardware or any software,and they could pull it from underneath us at any time, at the whim of Donald Trump, or if there were any difficulty, or even if the contract stops abruptly. It could just go.
Wrigley also took the opportunity to reiterate a statement he made in the Commons debate on 3 June:
Yesterday, I got a letter from Louis Mosley [UK Palantir CEO] telling me that Peter Mandelson was not involved in Palantir’s defence contract in the UK. However, this is directly contradicted by a statement Jeremy Corbyn made in the house yesterday. I’m waiting for the evidence from Jeremy Corbyn, but of the two of them, I think I believe Jeremy Corbyn.
In the Commons, Wrigley mentioned that Palantir was all over the Mandelson files. That included:
a memo in which [Mandelson] tries to introduce Peter Thiel to No. 10 staff in June last year.
Minister for the cabinet Nick Thomas-Symonds denied that allegation strenuously. Rejecting the “suggestion that there is any wrongdoing” regarding the renewal of the Palantir contracts, he added:
I reject that absolutely. On the meeting between the Prime Minister and Peter Thiel, to be clear, that did not happen.
Note the slippage here. Wrigley talked about a meeting with Downing Street staff; Thomas-Symonds denied a meeting with Starmer. Those two things are not the same.
When it came time for Corbyn to make his speech, he began by lamenting the pitiful number of MPs attending. The debate, he acknowledged:
goes to the heart of so much about the political system of this country, and the power and influence of very wealthy people around the world.
He thanked Alex Davies-Jones for centering the victims of Epstein and his golden circle, before moving on the the central subject of Mandelson. He recalled a conversation with ex-Labour MP Tony Benn, who:
recognised that Mandelson’s whole objective was a political one: to take the Labour party away from its roots—away from its trade union connections and the working-class communities—and to turn it into a party of business.
Of course, there was no more pertinent illustration of Mandelson’s corrupt connections between business and government than Palantir.
Corbyn apparently came to the debate fully prepared. He launched into a play-by-play account of the Palantir scandal, beginning:
On 22 July 2025—less than a year ago—Peter Mandelson sent an email to Morgan McSweeney. The subject was a name: Peter Thiel [Palantir co-founder]. Mandelson wrote: “This celebrated techie is in London til Aug 9. I don’t know whether you have been approached already,” saying it would be good for the PM to meet him—so the ambassador to Washington starts trying to set up meetings with a tech entrepreneur who happens to be a friend and supporter of Donald Trump.
That damning email was from the second wave of the Mandelson files. It was one of many in which the disgraced ambassador “personally connected” Palantir to the UK Government.
The Islington MP also highlighted that Mandelson, at the time, still owned consulting company Global Counsel. In fact, he disregarded official advice to divest himself of his stake in the company in 2024. And, of course, Palantir was a Global Counsel client. As Corbyn put it:
Is that corrupt or what?
Corbyn also appeared to correct Thomas-Symonds on his little mistake regarding the alleged meeting:
We also know that the Prime Minister met representatives of the firm with Peter Mandelson in Washington. That was the mysterious meeting that apparently nobody was at, although it did happen; of which there is no record, and yet everybody was there; and during which no discussion went on because nothing was reported, and yet we all know that it took place because they were filmed going into it.
That non-meeting took place just two weeks after Mandelson started as ambassador. Likewise, mere days later, he attended the Hill and Valley Forum in Washington – a noted mixer for US congress members and weapons-tech specialists. Corbyn highlighted that:
the file notes that Mandelson was attending “with Louis”, who we understand to be Louis Mosley, the head of Palantir’s UK business. And so, this very tight connection of people goes on.
According to Ethan Shone of openDemocracy, Mandelson’s security “mitigations” forbade such one-to-one meetings with former clients like Palantir—a restriction which, like divestment from Global Counsel, the former ambassador assiduously ignored.
Corbyn concluded by, in turn, reinforcing the science select committee’s message:
Are we seriously saying that we, as a society and country, are incapable of setting up our own technology arrangement? I do want data sharing within the NHS. […] I want that technology in place for A&E departments, but I do not want those records to be shared with a company that is busy advising Israel on how it will go about its bombardment of Gaza and trying to get hold of other contracts all around the world.
Sadly, Starmer’s government apparently believes this country truly is that incapable. This week alone, it announced yet another deal with Palantir – this time a £90,000 contract to manage a UK firearms database. The contract may be signed and sealed as early as 11 June.
Featured image via Getty/Eugene Gologursky
Five Just Stop Oil supporters who have served prison sentences of up to 15 months for planning an action at Heathrow airport that never took place have had their convictions upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Rosa Hicks, Adam Beard, Sean O’Callaghan, Sally Davidson and Hannah Schafer were among eight Just Stop Oil supporters convicted of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance after standing trial before Judge Duncan at Isleworth Crown Court in March 2025.
A ninth supporter was acquitted and another pleaded guilty before trial. Of the nine convicted, five were given jail terms of up to 15 months, while the remaining four were given suspended sentences.
They were the first people to be jailed in this country for an agreement to take part in nonviolent direct action, where no actual damage or disruption resulted.
In separate appeals heard on 12 May, the five argued that their convictions were unsafe. This followed a report from one juror to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal that another juror had made internet searches about the defendants and the Just Stop Oil campaign and shared highly prejudicial and partially false information within the jury room.
The Appeal heard evidence about the inadequacy of the police investigation that followed the report of misconduct. In particular, the police returned to the suspect juror two electronic devices which were clearly relevant to the case, which compromised them as evidential sources, and made no meaningful efforts to access the suspect juror’s two iPhones. No credible explanation was advanced by the police for these investigative failings.
At a preparatory hearing ahead of the appeal and prior to the suspect juror’s search history data being obtained, the government’s barrister Paul Jarvis claimed that the juror who had reported the jury misconduct was lying despite there being an ongoing police investigation into the matter.
In a ruling on 5 June, three senior judges – Andrew Edis, Maura McGowan and Martin Griffiths dismissed all the grounds for appeal and upheld the conviction.
We are sad that the Court of Appeal has chosen to uphold our convictions despite overwhelming evidence that something went very wrong in the jury room, but we are of course not surprised.
The outcome of our appeal today marks a growing trend of using the justice system to crackdown on people trying to hold the powerful to account, be that the fossil fuel industry or the companies selling arms to Israel.
The appeal judgement changes nothing. Last month was the hottest, driest May in the UK since records began and our government and institutions are still failing in their most basic duty to protect us.
Whilst a successful appeal would have come with some personal benefit, our appeal has revealed something much more consequential for the rule of law.
Our conviction was engineered by a Judge who directed the jury to ignore evidence related to the climate crisis, which the judge referred to as a matter of opinion.
This was despite undisputed evidence admitted in court, that global heating will have catastrophic and irreversible consequences for humanity.
It’s not surprising if trust breaks down when judges actively mislead a jury. That is where the responsibility for juror misconduct lies.
In cases like ours, when it must be obvious to jurors that so much is being kept from them inside the courtroom it makes sense that they might go looking for clues outside.
Throughout the appeal process, there has been a series of delays and misdirections on behalf of the crown. Not only did the police lose key evidence but they made attempts to close the investigation into juror misconduct prior to vital evidence being obtained.
Perhaps most shocking of all, despite an ongoing police investigation into the matter, the lawyer for the CPS repeatedly claimed that the juror who reported the juror misconduct was lying. The police and Crown Prosecution Service maintaining their prosecutions at all costs is not justice.
We did not seek to blame any of the jurors who tried us. We want to thank the juror who came forward to blow the whistle on what happened in the jury room during our trial. They have shown courage and integrity, they didn’t have to speak up, but they did.
The Heathrow 10 were arrested on 24 July 2024, on the first day of the Oil Kills International Uprising to end fossil fuels.
During their trial the judge removed all legal defences from the jury’s consideration, ruled the climate emergency to be ‘irrelevant’ and forbade defendants from mentioning that a jury has a right to acquit a defendant as a matter of conscience.
The defendants were not permitted to bring expert witnesses on international law or climate science or to show the jury videos they recorded of themselves speaking before the action, nor were they allowed to read the quotes from news articles about their arrests and subsequent remand to prison.
Featured image via Just Stop Oil
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