On 26 February, the Undercover Policing Inquiry, taking place in London, heard further testimony from Lois Austin. She was speaking about her experience during a mass police kettle in central London in 2001. Among details the inquiry heard were further accounts of the involvement of undercover officers (spycops) in protests.

Austin described how police contained her and 3,000 other May Day anti-capitalist protesters and bystanders for approximately seven hours at Oxford Circus. Police held protesters in tightly cramped conditions with no access to food, water, shelter or toilet facilities.

At the time, Austin was a breastfeeding mother. Despite repeated requests, she said officers refused to allow her to leave to collect her baby from a nursery, causing significant distress.

Cop in the kettle

Austin also referred to recent revelations that undercover police officer Carlo Soracchi was present inside the kettle alongside Socialist Party members. She told the Inquiry it is inconceivable that he was not reporting to his handlers throughout the events and would therefore have known she had a baby outside the kettle which needed to be collected.

It has further been revealed that on the night before Austin testified in a legal case brought in 2005 by her and around 150 other claimants in relation to the kettle, Soracchi attended a secret meeting with a barrister representing the Metropolitan Police and leading the cross examination of Austin at the High Court. He was identified as John Beggs. It has been reported that during that meeting, discussion included what “winds Lois up”.

The following day, during Austin’s court testimony, hostile questioning raised the fact that her partner was Irish and had been an active socialist in Belfast. It was asserted that there were many Irish people on the May Day demonstration, with the clear implication that Irish participants were likely to be violent or linked to paramilitarism.

Austin was also questioned about individuals among the 150 claimants and witnesses, with the implication that they were secretly Socialist Party members.

Austin rejected these insinuations. In reality, there were not large numbers of Irish people participating nor were there any Socialist Party members disguising their affiliation to act as claimants or witnesses in the original civil cases against the Metropolitan Police.

Of the approximately 150 claimants and witnesses, only four to five were Socialist Party members, including Austin. The suggestion otherwise, she said, was an attempt to undermine the credibility of the protesters’ case.

Both Soracchi and another former undercover officer who gave evidence to the Inquiry on 26 February stated that they witnessed no violence among those kettled.

Undercover provocateurs

Recent revelations have also indicated that, at previous anti-capitalist protests in June 1999 and May Day 2000, instances of criminal damage were instigated by police agent provocateurs. They supplied lorry loads of scaffolding and breeze blocks for the June 1999 protest. A reflective article from after the event thought that these materials had just been “lying around”.

During the May Day 2000 protests an undercover police officer supplied turf and manure from a lorry for ‘guerilla gardening’ action at Parliament Square.

None of this was disclosed in court at the 2005 civil proceedings brought by Lois and other claimants against the Met Police. Indeed, these incidents were cited by the Metropolitan Police as justification for kettling tactics during the 2005 and subsequent civil proceedings brought by Lois and other claimants in the 2000s. Surely the May Day 2001 judgement is now unsafe and that case needs to be re-opened.

The 26 February Undercover Policing Inquiry hearing once again raises serious concerns about the conduct of the Metropolitan Police, the use of undercover officers within political movements, and the broader question of the protection of the democratic right to organise, rally and protest, and the role of the capitalist state.

Featured image via Urban 75

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has aligned seamlessly with the United States and Israel over their attack on Iran. The western-backed Gulf theocracy was hit by Iranian missiles in response to the US and Israel attack on 28 February.

The Saudi foreign ministry posted on X:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces in strongest terms the blatant Iranian aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan.

#Statement | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces in strongest terms the blatant Iranian aggression and the flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Jordan. The Kingdom affirms its full solidarity with and unwavering support for… pic.twitter.com/hA2cVqvfmx

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) February 28, 2026

The ministry offered solidarity to its neighbours:

The Kingdom affirms its full solidarity with and unwavering support for the brotherly countries, and its readiness to place all its capabilities at their disposal in support of any measures they may undertake.

And warned of “grave consequences”:

It also warns of the grave consequences resulting from the continued violation of states’ sovereignty and the principles of international law.

Saudi Arabia and Gulf States are the empire

The Gulf States were formed by the western powers including the British after WWI. They remain a core part of US imperial architecture today. As the Muslim Social Justice Initiative (MSJI) said on 28 February:

Israel fights under the cover and with the security of US bases in the heart of your Arab capitals.

The Saudis cancelled flights as the bombing continued:

Saudi Airlines on Saturday announced the temporary cancellation of a number of flights due to developments linked to the escalating Iran-Israel confrontation, citing security and safety standards.

The carrier urged passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport.

Questions were also raised about the impacts of the war on global oil prices and the broader economy.

OilPrices.com said:

Analysts expect significant volatility and a sharp “war premium” to be priced into crude oil when markets open, as the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for 20 percent of the world’s oil supply, is now considered a war zone.

Geopolitical analyst Guney Yildiz told Forbes:

Every energy executive reading this knows the number: 20 million barrels per day. That volume — roughly 20% of global petroleum liquids consumption, worth approximately $500 billion in annual trade — transits the Strait of Hormuz. All of Qatar’s LNG. All of the UAE’s seaborne crude. Most of Kuwait’s and Iraq’s exports.

Drop Site News reported on 24 February:

The Iranian military has also carried out a series of ballistic and anti-ship missile tests in addition to naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz intended to simulate a possible closure of the vital waterway.

Less than a day into the US-Iran war allegiances, sovereignty and nerves are being tested. But Saudi loyalty to the US seems very much intact.

Featured image via the Canary

The UK is blocking access to Iranian media, in an attempt to prevent British citizens accessing information and narratives that don’t fit into US and Israeli propaganda.

Earlier today, on 28 February, Israel and America attacked Iran in a nakedly colonial attempt to force regime-change.

While UK and other US-aligned media are free to spout US-Israeli talking points, access to Iran’s Tasnim News from UK servers is blocked.

One work around is VPN access and, like magic, the site opens without problems.

Truth is the first casualty of war, as the old saying goes. But this is not ‘fog of war’ – this is a deliberate, democracy-undermining push by the unaccountable UK elite. Their aim is to lull the public into silence and mislead them into supporting an all-out illegal colonial war which denies Iran the legal right to resistance.

Featured image via the Canary

The Israeli regime has claimed that it intercepted all of around 35 drones Iran fired earlier today in retaliation for this morning’s unprovoked US/Israel air and cyber attacks. Israeli station KAN, however, reported a strike in northern Israel, while so far unconfirmed reports suggest damage in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities.

However, Israel responded to June 2025’s highly successful Iranian missile attacks by banning media from reporting on massive damage inflicted by Iran’s bombardment, so Israel’s claims should be treated sceptically. Even more so given its ability today to hit heavily-defended US air and naval bases.

Indian news media do appear to be reporting major hits on Israeli cities. However, some appear to be re-using 2025 footage mixed with new — perhaps because of news restrictions in Israel. NDTV’s live feed appears to be among the more measured:

Some latest social media reports claim widespread impacts, but so far most of these are unverified. A member of Global Fact-Checking Network — a Russia-based network unsurprisingly attacked by western media — has published footage he says is on Israel’s attempted defence and successful strikes:

A series of Iranian missile attacks hit Israel, with big explosions in Tel Aviv and sirens plus blasts in Haifa. These strikes came after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites, and Iran responded by firing missiles at multiple Israeli cities. There are injuries and damage in both… pic.twitter.com/ZA0lGxOHhX

— Alexander Joseph S Babao🇵🇭 (@Josef_Alexandr) February 28, 2026

Overwhelming Israel’s air defences

It also appears that Iran’s focus today has been on hitting US air and radar facilities in the region, while doing little more than making Israel deplete its air defence resources. So far, reports indicate Iran has only used its cheap ‘Shahed‘ drones and other basic munitions against Israel, and only a few dozen. In the June 2025 12-day war, its tactics were to flood Israel’s defences with such weapons, then use its hypersonic missiles to inflict major damage. That is likely to escalate tonight.

Given the upgrades provided by China and Russia to Iran’s surveillance and targeting systems, there is no reason to expect such tactics to be anything but even more effective in 2026.

However, western readers should not expect to see proper reporting in the ‘mainstream’ media. Western authorities also appear to be moving to block access to Iranian and other media sites that are likely to report more frankly, in an attempt to keep western populations in the dark.

Featured image via the Canary

Zionist terrorists have already committed two brutal massacres of children in Iran, only hours into their colonial assault on the country. An “Israeli strike” slaughtered 85 people in a horrifying attack on an “elementary girls’ school in Minab“. Zionists murdered a further two students at a school in Tehran.

Speaking on Al Jazeera, Professor of North American Studies at Tehran University Foad Izadi said:

[Iranians] understand they are fighting the Epstein class that either rape little girls or bomb little girls.

He elaborated on how the brutality of the US/Zionist assault will show younger Iranians the reality of American lawlessness:

I think what will happen is that, even if the United States is able to kill illegally Iranian leaders, the next generation of Iranians, the Iranians that did not see American atrocities in Iran before 1979…that did not understand why their parents and grandparents were anti-American, those Iranians will take over.

Now they understand why American government is an imperialist, vicious government, and a government that attacks other countries and kills little children.

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Trump the alleged child abuser now bombing more kids in Iran

There is undoubted overlap between those who feature prominently in the Epstein files and those now committing atrocities in Iran. US war-criminal-in-chief Donald Trump is accused of:

…orally raping a girl of 13–14 years old — then beating her after she bit him during the ordeal.

Trump’s abuse of children may go far beyond that. As reported recently by The Canary:

Dozens of FBI files that mention US President Donald Trump are missing from the vast Epstein releases.

The files also suggest that the thug squatting in the White House is “compromised by Israel“. This may partly explain his willingness to go along with fellow war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to try and force regime change in Iran. Or it may simply be the case that Mafia Don wants to behave in the mode typical of US gangsterism, and punish Iran for disobedience.

The Zionist entity is a convenient tool for US empire, essentially operating as the main war crimes division of the US army. This allows US imperial aims to be facilitated with a brutality that might raise excessive opposition at home, but can be passed off as the West Asian settler-colony going rogue.

Other prominent Zionists featured heavily in the files include the Clintons, Alan Dershowitz, Elon Musk and former ‘Israeli’ prime minister Ehud Barak. It is likely Barak is the individual responsible for allegedly raping Virginia Giuffre “more savagely than anyone had before”.

Zionism, racism and cruelty to children are synonymous

Epstein himself was, of course, an ardent Zionist. He was pictured wearing an Israeli Genocide Forces sweatshirt, gave money to the genocidaires and was likely a Mossad agent, or at least an asset. The paedophile was, like Barak, a vile racist who believed Black people are less intelligent, and who wanted to carry out “Nazi-like” eugenicist programs to spread his own DNA, based on the deranged idea it was superior. He was a serial child rapist who groomed young girls, then allowed other powerful and sadistic Zionists to rape them.

The Zionist land theft project is a hub of child abuse. Israeli Occupation Forces routinely abduct, then molest, Palestinian children. The terror regime gives sanctuary to paedophiles, aided by senior government officials.

Epstein was able to operate with impunity. He had disdain for Black and Brown people, and his main pastime was destroying children’s lives. It is this same combination — impunity, racism and serial abuse of children — that the Zionist entity embraces when it carries out its atrocities in Palestine, and now Iran.

Featured image via Aljazeera

Foreign affairs committee chair Emily Thornberry has celebrated the lack of UK involvement in US strikes on Iran. But there’s a couple of issues, not just with this claim, but the entire track record of the person making it…

Speaking about the latest developments in Iran, the one-time Corbyn backer posted on X:

I am pleased to see the UK is not involved in these strikes on Iran. They are ill-advised and illegal.
We will be hit by the consequences though & need to prepare for chaos in the region, with shipping lanes, oil facilities & military bases (including our own) being attacked.

— Emily Thornberry (@EmilyThornberry) February 28, 2026

Strikes on Iran are “ill-advised”

She’s not entirely wrong. The strikes are illegal and ill-advised. Their consequences are likely to be severe not just for the wider region, but also for the global economy.

But still, there are a couple of thorny issues we must first address.

Thornberry has herself previously defended Israel’s genocidal misconduct in Gaza. In 2024, when asked on BBC if Israel cutting off food and electricity in Gaza was “within international law”:

Thornberry, with a straight-face, said:

I think Israel has an absolute right to defend itself against terrorism…

You can listen to her remarks for yourself:

Instead of her engaging in self-pity, I’d like to ask my local MP @EmilyThornberry about:

a) Her failure to condemn Israel’s stated intent to commit war crimes from the start

b) Why she didn’t realise this would inevitably mean lots of dead babiespic.twitter.com/9NYs3hdPl8 https://t.co/6Zxm2C3fhw

— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) March 19, 2024

It’s great news that Thornberry has the foresight to recognise the illegal war on Iran for what it is… only, it’s a little late to merit an applause and hardly serves as penance for her past support of Israel.

The UK is involved

Another glaring issue with Thornberry’s comments is that the UK is involved in the attack on Iran. On 28 February, when UK PM Keir Starmer FINALLY got round to making a public statement, he admitted that:

British planes “are in the sky today” in the Middle East “as part of co-ordinated regional defensive operations to protect our people, our interests and our allies”.

Oh, and there’s more…

On 24 February the Royal Navy massively contradicted itself. It refused to confirm the presence of UK sailors aboard a US warship involved in the attack – despite saying on its own website this was the case.

As the Canary wrote:

Either UK personnel are aboard the US warships being positioned to threaten – and possibly attack – Iran or they are not. Self-evidently, there is a public interest in knowing it this is the case. And Carns’ claim that the MoD does not comment on “specific roles, locations, or units in which UK personnel may be embedded” is clearly inaccurate.

We also noted that:

Carn’s own boss, John Healy, and the Navy’s own website have both publicly commented on the presence of British personnel on US warships.

The MOD is contradicting itself again.

Then add to that the UK’s longstanding agreement with Israel to attack and undermine Iran. As Declassified UK reported in 2024:

According to leaked documents, the British project was codenamed HEZUK and designed to counter the “destabilising regional activity of Iran and Hizballah”.

This would be done by strengthening UK-Israel intelligence collaboration and increasing military cooperation, with the effect of deepening bilateral security integration.

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Keir Starmer is a willing lackey to US power. But he doesn’t even have the moral courage to say so out loud – nor Thornberry for that matter.

It’s true that UK military forces may not be bombing targets inside Iran. True. But our sailors and airmen are supporting and propping up US interests as we speak. Britain needs leadership that will divest fully from American empire. And that is never going to come from the likes of Starmer.

Featured image via the Canary