Politics
Reform Accused Of Hypocrisy Over Deportation Footage
Reform UK has been accused of “extraordinary hypocrisy” after Zia Yusuf criticised the government for a lack of deportations – while using Home Office footage of its recent deportations.
Yusuf, who calls himself “Reform’s Shadow Home Secretary” but is actually the party’s Home Office spokesperson, released a social media video on his “promise to the country” this week.
While emotive music played in the background, Yusuf can be seen pacing around the British countryside while claiming Britain has been “overwhelmed by immigration, both legal and illegal”.
At one point, Yusuf – who is not currently an MP – pledges that a government under Reform would “stop the boats” and embark on a “mass deportation programme”.
The video then switches to footage of “illegal” migrants being deported.
The only problem is that footage was released by the Home Office last year when the government announced it had sent 19,000 people back to their origin countries in a crackdown on irregular migration.
Anna Turley, chair of the Labour Party, denounced the use of the government’s own clips.
She said: “This is extraordinary hypocrisy from Zia Yusuf.
“He has spent months throwing stones at the government over illegal migration, yet is now using footage of us taking tough action to remove people, for his campaign video.
“You can’t claim the government is doing nothing while broadcasting clear proof that we are. Unlike Reform, this Labour government is getting on with the job of securing our borders – and the footage he’s chosen to use proves it.”
This is not the first time Reform has come under fire for its immigration pledges.
The right-wing party has taken a hardline approach, vowing to abolish indefinite leave to remain, meaning immigrants could potentially have to renew their immigration status every five years, indefinitely.
Yusuf has previously claimed indefinite leave to remain could be “rescinded retrospectively” too, meaning those previously granted it could be deported.
Even if they are allowed to stay in the UK, they would no longer be allowed to claim any benefits.
An estimated 430,000 people had ILR status at the end of 2024.
National secretary of the GMB union, Rachel Harrison, said last year that the plans are “morally repugnant”.
She said: “Our public services – especially the NHS – and our care sector are utterly reliant on migrant workers. Without them our care and health sectors would collapse.
“This is yet more performative politics from a bunch of millionaires and their pals who do not live in the real world.”
The vote for the crucial Gorton and Denton by-election will take place on Thursday 26 February. Sources have informed the Canary that internal polling shows the by-election is on a knife edge between the Greens and Reform UK – with Reform just ahead.
The by-election has inevitably become a battleground for whether the country will reject or embrace the racist bigotry of Reform.
With so much at stake, we thought a quick roundup of the horrorshow that is Reform’s Gorton and Denton candidate, academic-turned-talking-head Matt Goodwin. Because, you know, sometimes an individual can say so much heinous shite that it’s hard to remember it all at once.
Gorton and Denton need Matt Goodwin like they need a hole in the head
This is by no means going to be an exhaustive list – we don’t have all day, after all. But for a quick whistle stop tour of Matt Goodwin being a dangerous fucking fascist, it’s probably good to start with his own self-description confirming he’s about as establishment as they come.
The dinner-circuit and TV presenting paychecks were never going to be enough for Goodwin though. He’s also supplemented his wealth with as much as ten grand a month from a Hungarian far right institution that serves as a propaganda machine for fascist Hungarian premier Viktor Orbán.
Then, of course, there’s his “two-tier policing” rants about police somehow not being racist enough. Add to that the time he defended a fellow fascist for inciting the murder of asylum seekers.
In response to Luke Yarwood getting jailed for posting tweets saying “burn them to the ground” and “murder is the only way”, Goodwin tweeted:
Welcome to the UK. Where you go to prison for 18 months for anti-immigration tweets.
This is insane.
Utterly inevitably, he’s also a massive Zionist, even stating that:
Unfortunately, Israel no longer feels that we are a reliable ally, thanks to the Labour government.
Yeah, because Labour’s been such a good friend to the Palestinian people.
White supremacist prick
According to the last census, 29% of the Gorton and Denton population are Muslim, and 44% come from a Black or minority ethnic background. However, on the subject of people like his potential constituents, Goodwin said:
It takes more than a piece of paper to make somebody ‘British’.
On top of that, there’s then his blatantly white-supremacist ranting that “the British family is imploding”. His solution? Well, we introduce financial punishments for people who don’t have kids, of course. Goodwin wrote in his Substack about:
Introducing a ‘negative child benefit’ tax for those who don’t have offspring.
Coupled with this, there’s also his disgustingly creepy view that we should teach any kid with a uterus that they’re baby-making machines:
We need to also explain to young girls and women the biological reality of this crisis. Many women in Britain are having children much too late in life, and they would prefer to have children much earlier on.
And as if that weren’t enough, there’s also the small matter that his fellow white supremacists are big fans of Goodwin. The prick even got an election endorsement from race-riot agitator and all-round fucking weapon Tommy Robinson.
And the horse he rode in on
Then, of course, there’s the small matter of the far-right party of racists and chancers that Goodwin has allied himself with. Reform’s interim campaign manager in Tameside, Adam Mitula, has previously engaged in Holocaust minimisation, tweeting that the death toll included:
6 million polish [sic] people including some Jews. They always use Poles to make up the number. And on top of it they claim Poles were killing. Just sick.
Then there’s Lancashire Reform councillor and Goodwin campaigner Lorenzo Moore, who regularly voices his Islamophobia online. Moore once replied to a post that read:
Why do Muslims insist on moving to non-muslim countries and then complain that they find OUR way of life offensive. Why not remain in a MUSLIM country where their way of life is the norm?
In response, More wrote:
they are not here to integrate but to conquer, wake up!!
Other street canvassers for Reform in Gorton and Denton include Britain First groupie Kelly Cooling, along with Alana Vine, an ex-Tory Councillor who once shared a post asking:
how many mosques have secret arsenals? Just waiting for when our troops are elsewhere in the world
Beyond the bunch of bigoted shitheads championing Goodwin, there’s also the dodgy campaign they’re running itself. Reform is currently under investigation for ‘accidentally cropping’ their party’s letterhead from a letter claiming to be from a “concerned neighbour”. It read:
In the Gorton and Denton by-election, I understand why some neighbours who have had enough of Keir Starmer are thinking of voting Green. But I do not believe the Greens have answers to our problems. They have extreme policies like legalising drugs and letting men use women’s changing rooms. What good would that do people like us?
For me, this by-election comes down to a simple choice: more broken promises from Keir Starmer, or real change. That is why I will be voting for Reform UK’s candidate, Matthew Goodwin, who grew up in Manchester. Our area deserves someone who will stand up for local people.
Sure, Reform – just like you ‘forgot’ to include your party’s name on a similar letter in Caerphilly.
Goodwin and Reform are a threat
And don’t even get me started on Reform’s actual (lack of) policies. Some recent gems include the promise to rip up the Equality Act, destroying the foundation anti-discrimination law in the UK. The party also vowed to plunge thousands of children into poverty by reintroducing the two-child benefit cap – all to make beer a bit cheaper.
That’s not to mention the far-right party’s flagship immigrant-bashing policies. Reform have plans to deport 600,000 immigrants over 5 years if it actually won the next election. Big talk, coming from a party that can’t even run a fucking local council.
Goodwin himself is a white supremacist deep in the pocket of open fascists. His campaign team is a rogues’ gallery of assorted extremists, and the party behind him is behind held back from devastating our civil rights only by its own utter incompetence.
Gorton and Denton is one by-election in South Manchester. However, it’s also a golden opportunity to show Reform and the rest of the UK that the fight against the rise of fascism is winnable, and that the people reject the politics of hate.
We have one week left, one more week to push back against the rise of the far right, and one more week to show our neighbours the power of solidarity.
Featured image via the Canary
Israel occupation forces have used Ramadan to launch a mass campaign of arrests and intimidation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Youth Movement has rightly condemned this as “collective punishment”.
In Al-Khalil (‘Hebron’) troops were filmed marching blindfolded and zip-tied Palestinians along the street:
The occupation seized numerous homes to use them as for bases and surveillance and imposed a curfew that prevented Palestinians from breaking their Ramadan fast for the day.
The attacks and oppression again expose the inhumanity and hypocrisy of the racist colony. Israel condemns any actions against it during holy festivals as especially barbaric. Yet it is using the holiest period for Muslims to further oppress and fragment Palestinian life under occupation.
Featured image via Instagram/Palestinian Youth Movement
Ever since news of a Peaky Blinders film dropped back in the summer of 2024, fans have been speculating about how the cast of old faces and new names would weave together.
One of the most intriguing additions to the line-up was Barry Keoghan, and with the trailer for the movie debuting on Thursday, he’s also shared some key details about what role his character will play.
It’s been confirmed that Barry will play Duke, the estranged son of Cillian Murphy’s character, Tommy Shelby – and in his dad’s absence, Duke has become the new leader of the Peaky Blinders gang.
Meanwhile, if the new trailer is anything to go by – with Duke going as far as considering committing treason to help the Germans win the war – his presence is going to cause something of a ruckus.
In a new interview, Barry told Empire that his character is “troubled” and “up to no good” when we meet him in the movie.
“That’s a boy, just looking for his father,” the Oscar nominee claimed. “Being a father myself, I really did relate to Duke, because there’s this cry for his father and this cry for the figure that he needs to be there.”
Barry also explained that he’s been waiting to join the Peaky Blinders line-up, but there hadn’t been a right role for him before this point.
“I always wanted to be part of it, and I feel like this was the perfect moment, in the sense of who I play and the story that unfolds,” the Saltburn actor said. “It couldn’t be any more perfect casting.”
To get into character, Empire has claimed that Barry closely studied Cillian on set to get a hold on his mannerisms, drawing inspiration from The Lion King.
“In the way that Simba follows his dad […] It’s as simple as that,” Barry said. “Honestly! The Lion King was one of the ones that, for me, had that animalistic, father and son approach to it.”
He also shared how his role as Duke came about, with a fortuitous Father’s Day message to his close pal Cillian – who he first worked with in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 film Dunkirk – turning into a job offer.
“He goes, by the way, would you want to play my son in Peaky Blinders?” Barry explained. “At the drop of a hat, I was like, feckin’ yeah, anything to work with yourself again, and to become part of that universe and that world.”
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is set in 1940, amidst the chaos of the Second World War, with Tommy returning from his “self-imposed exile” to decide whether to return to the life he left behind, or make sure there’s no way back once and for all.
Cillian will be joined by former Peaky Blinders co-stars Stephen Graham and Sophie Rundle, who are also reprising their roles in the new film, along with new additions like Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man will premiere in select cinemas from 6 March, before arriving on Netflix on Friday 20 March.
According to the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), around 12 per cent of people will experience social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives, making it the most prevalent form of anxiety.
If you’re not familiar with the condition, the NHS describes it as: “a long-term and overwhelming fear of social situations.” They add that it usually starts during teenage years and can be very distressing and impact your day-to-day life.
Now, researchers have revealed that the condition which was always thought to be something purely in our minds, it may actually be related to our gut health and changes in our brains, too.
What social anxiety is and how it relates to the gut
While introversion and social anxiety may sometimes crossover, there is a key difference and it’s perfectly explained by NICE guidelines. NICE says: “Social anxiety disorder (also known as ‘social phobia’) is an overwhelming fear of social
situations…
“Although everyone worries from time to time about coping with a social situation, for people with social anxiety disorder the worry or fear can last a long time and severely affect their lives. They are afraid of doing or saying something that will result in embarrassment, humiliation or rejection by others.”
When it comes to introversion, Psychology Today explains: “Introverts do not fear or dislike others, and they are neither shy nor plagued by loneliness. A crowded cocktail party may be torture for introverts, but they enjoy one-on-one engagement in calm environments, which is more suited to the make-up of their nervous system.”
What’s key to remember here is that social anxiety isn’t about preferring solitude but instead, the brain responding to perceived threat.
So, what is the link between gut health and social anxiety?
Studies as far back as 2016 revealed distinct microbiome profiles in people with depression, suggesting that our mental health may be shaped in part by the organisms living inside us.
With this in mind, Dr Mary Butler at University College Cork, in Ireland, and colleagues analysed the faeces of 31 people with the social anxiety, and 18 without. They found clear differences in the gut bacteria of the two that suggested there may be some weight behind this theory.
Writing for BBC Science Focus, science writer David Robson explains: “To determine whether those differences could have a meaningful impact on people, the team transplanted some of the participants’ faeces into the stomachs of laboratory mice, before putting them through a series of behavioural tests.
“One test analysing ‘social fear conditioning’ proved especially revealing. Here, mice were given a small electric shock whenever they approached another mouse, causing them to learn that social contact led to pain.”
They found that the mice who received faecal transplants from people with social anxiety were more susceptible to the condition and were slower to ‘unlearn’ the association when electric shocks stopped.
Most notably, the mice didn’t experience generalised anxiety but specifically social anxiety around other mice.
“The striking part of our work was the specificity of the transferred phenotype,” said Butler speaking to BBC Science Focus
“The microbiota from donors with social anxiety disorder produced a social-fear-selective effect in otherwise behaviourally normal mice.”
There’s still a long way to go before we fully understand this, but the news is hopeful for future treatment of the condition.
What to do if you have social anxiety
The NHS says: “It’s a good idea to see a GP if you think you have social anxiety, especially if it’s having a big impact on your life. It’s a common problem and there are treatments that can help.
“Asking for help can be difficult, but a GP will be aware that many people struggle with social anxiety and will try to put you at ease. They’ll ask you about your feelings, behaviours and symptoms to find out about your anxiety in social situations.”
You may then be referred to a mental health specialist for treatment and support.
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
As Chief Executive of Ofcom, Dame Melanie Dawes is responsible for one of the most ambitious regulatory agendas in a generation. As part of our Women in Westminster series, we sat down with Dawes to discuss stepping into contested space, holding global tech companies to account, and being the public’s champion
Regulation is sometimes seen as an exercise that takes place quietly in the background, far away from the headlines. But that is not how Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive of Ofcom, views it.
“Everything Ofcom does touches people’s lives in ways they really care about,” Dawes told Women in Westminster during our sit-down conversation. “What we do has that connection with people’s lives in a way that is quite special.”
From telecoms to television to social media, the sheer breadth of Ofcom’s remit means that Dawes occupies one of the most complex regulatory roles in the UK. Throughout our conversation, Dawes is clear that regulating the communications services that we all use and rely on each day is something that matters immensely to the UK public.
The former Permanent Secretary also finds herself in an increasingly visible role. Following the passing of the Online Safety Act, Dawes has been at the centre of some of the most contested public debates of our times, having to balance competing interests between safety and free speech, innovation and harm, and freedom and responsibility.
Dawes tells us that despite that complexity, Ofcom’s core job remains very clear. It is to act in the public interest with clarity and determination, even if that places the regulator squarely in conflict with some large and powerful organisations. That is, she promises, something that she and her staff will never shy away from.
“Everybody who works at Ofcom on online safety feels a huge sense of purpose,” she tells us. “We are doing it because our parliament has tasked us with this really important job, and we know that we have the public on our side and that they want to see results.”
The complexity of Ofcom’s regulatory role has grown in recent years as new technologies have challenged traditional models of how information is viewed and shared. Online safety, media standards, and the power of global technology platforms have shifted regulation into the foreground of public life.
Ofcom retains a very broad range of responsibilities, but Dawes acknowledges that the Online Safety Act “gets a lot of the oxygen” in current discussions.
“It’s not a system that any other country has set up,” Dawes says of the Act. “No one has regulated these companies in this way to try to achieve such an important increase in safety for the public.”
Dawes believes that the challenges in regulating large technology companies are cultural as much as they are technical, describing an industry “where there has been no regulation for 20-25 years.” It is also a sector where the entire culture has been built on moving fast and fixing problems later, if at all. In the wake of the Online Safety Act, Dawes tells us that this is something that must now change.
“The culture in Silicon Valley is not where we need it to be,” she says. “There isn’t a culture of safety testing, of testing things in advance before you launch them to the public. So, the scale of the challenge is huge.”
At the heart of the Online Safety Act, Dawes tells us, is a desire to hardwire safety into product design at an earlier stage. She urges platforms to “think like perpetrators”, anticipate abuse, and build protections in from the start.
“What we’re really trying to do here is to get the platforms to take a level of responsibility that they’ve not taken before,” she says. “They’ve got to stop just launching services on the public without having done a risk assessment. You don’t launch a toy on children without testing it properly. You don’t launch a new car. It should be the same for online services.”
Dawes acknowledges that both parents and children are “frankly really scared” at the moment. She also points out that online harms are not evenly distributed. Dawes highlights the gendered nature of online abuse, pointing to evidence that it is often women and girls who experience some of the worst problems online.
“We saw that it was women who were overwhelmingly targeted by that undressing functionality on Grok that was launched on Christmas Eve,” she reminds us. “In November last year, Ofcom launched its own guidance for tech platforms to better protect women and girls online”.
Ofcom opened an investigation into X early in the new year, making the UK the first country to do so. For Dawes, this demonstrates the willingness of the regulator to robustly intervene in high-profile cases.
Progress has also been tangible elsewhere. Dawes tells us that in less than a year of enforcement, 86 per cent of visitors to the top 100 porn sites are now covered by age checks. “Nobody really thought we were going to be able to do that a couple of years ago,” she adds.
Still, Dawes is careful not to oversell what regulation alone can achieve. The accountability for change, she insists, ultimately lies with industry. “They are the ones that run the services,” she says. Regulation can draw lines and create incentives, but it cannot replace platforms’ responsibility. Nor can it address every underlying cause of online harms.
“Behind every abusive post is a person,” she reflects. “And I think there’s something about the conversation that we have in our communities and our families and in schools about the way that we behave online in ways that we wouldn’t do if we were sitting face to face with somebody. That’s got to be about leadership everywhere across our society.”
However, despite the challenges, Dawes remains confident that regulation can make a real difference to safety.
“I am very optimistic, because we’ve shown that we can achieve change,” she says. “We’re very conscious of the expectations on us, and we’re constantly challenging ourselves about where we can move faster and move further.”
On Question Time last night Reform’s Shadow Chancellor confronted centrist dad Sopel over his gushing support for a) Peter Mandelson’s initial appointment and b) Huw Edwards. Sopel was not pleased…
Patrick Dempsey has paid an emotional tribute to his former Grey’s Anatomy co-star Eric Dane.
During an interview on Friday’s edition of The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio UK, Patrick shared his memories of working with Eric, who died on Thursday around one year after sharing that he’d been diagnosed with ALS.
“I just woke up this morning and it was very sad to read the news,” he began. “It’s hard to put into words. I feel really so sad for his children.”
Patrick continued: “He was the funniest man – he was such a joy to work with and I want to just remember him in that spirit because any time he was on set, he brought so much fun to it. He had a great sense of humour.
“He was easy to work with, we got along instantly. [His] first scene was him, you know, in all his glory, coming out of the bathroom with the towel on looking amazing, making you feel completely out of shape and insignificant…”
“We hit it off because [there] was never really any competition,” Patrick added. “There was just this wonderful mutual respect. [He was] wickedly intelligent and I’m always going to remember those moments of fun that we had together and celebrate the joy that he did bring to people’s lives and the real loss is for us who don’t have them anymore.
“He did an incredible job at bringing awareness to this horrible disease and those remaining days and it just reminds us that we all have to celebrate every day like it’s our last day…
“It’s something that we have to remember and certainly in a world where there is just so much crisis and there is so much tragedy that we really need to be grateful for every moment that we have, spend time with our families, do things that are better, that benefit of other people to be of service to be kind, to be loving.
Patrick then lamented: “With our leadership, unfortunately that we’re seeing around the world – and certainly in America with this horrible, you know, corrupt government that is currently running America – we have to remember to treat our neighbours and our friends with the right values.”
Other members of the Grey’s Anatomy cast have also been paying tribute to Eric since the news of his death broke in the early hours of Friday morning.
In addition to his work in Grey’s Anatomy, Eric played Jason Dean in Charmed, and Jacob Elordi’s on-screen dad Cal Jacobs in Euphoria.
Andrew arrested – and it’s revealed Mandelson pushed for him to be trade envoy against King’s wishes
“Lord Mandelson helped secure the job of UK trade envoy for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor against the wishes of the King. The then Prince Charles expressed concerns about his brother’s suitability for the role, but the late Queen Elizabeth II overruled him with backing from the former trade secretary. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor succeeded the Duke of Kent, his second cousin, as special representative for international trade and investment in 2001. The move was highly controversial because the former prince already had a reputation for using his status to travel the world playing golf and was considered an unreliable playboy by many critics. One newspaper headline at the time described the appointment as “another royal accident waiting to happen”. Lord Mandelson, though, intervened, saying the then duke was “well qualified” for the role. The two men knew each other by then, having both worked on an NSPCC campaign. Both of them also knew Ghislaine Maxwell and were friends with Evelyn de Rothschild, the City financier, and his wife Lynn, who in turn were friends with Epstein. Maxwell, who is serving a jail sentence for child sex trafficking for Epstein, was photographed with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor at a “hookers and pimps” Halloween party in New York before he was given the trade role. She was also friends with Lord Mandelson, who had worked as a consultant for her father Robert, the one time owner of the Daily Mirror.” – Daily Telegraph
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested for misconduct in public office – The Times
- Andrew’s top aide struck secret deal with Chinese state – Daily Telegraph
- Former PM Gordon Brown submits ‘new and additional info’ to police – Sky News
- Police search of Royal Lodge continues as Andrew released under investigation – The Guardian
Comment:
- Whatever the outcome of Andrew’s arrest, the whole monarchy is in the dock – and British people are both judge and jury – Julia Hartley-Brewer, The Sun
- As Andrew sits alone in a police cell, Charles and William will be secretly relieved – Jennie Bond, The i
- A grave threat that the Monarchy must survive – Daily Mail Comment
- Wider wall of royal secrecy must come down in wake of Andrew arrest – The Times View
> Yesterday:
Starmer’s Chagos deal in crisis
“A dramatic late intervention by a judge has thrown Sir Keir Starmer’s beleaguered plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius further into chaos. Justice James Lewis ruled from a flight at around 25,000ft in the air on Thursday to temporarily block an order removing the islanders, who had landed earlier this week. The decision adds to the prime minister’s growing nightmare over the islands after US president Donald Trump declared this week that he was opposed to the deal in a move which could veto Sir Keir’s plans. The judgment comes after four Chagos islanders landed on one of the Indian Ocean archipelago’s islands on Tuesday to establish what they say will be a permanent settlement, in a move they hope will complicate a British plan to transfer the territory to Mauritius. The “advance party” was led by Misley Mandarin, the elected Chagossian first minister who has pledged to establish a permanent resettlement on Île du Coin, part of the coral atoll of Peros Banhos. “We, the people of the Chagos Islands, stand today on the soil of our homeland,” the party announced in a “Declaration of Return”, adding: “We are the advance party. Hundreds more are following. We have come home.”” – The Independent
- Why is the island of Diego Garcia important? – The Times
- Chagossians now CANNOT be evicted from homeland as vital last-minute intervention hands Keir Starmer crushing blow – GBNews
- Chagos Islanders fear British patrol boats will block vital supplies – Daily Telegraph
- Trump anger as UK blocks raid on Iran: President ‘may sink Chagos deal’ as PM refuses use of our airbases – Daily Mail
- UK blocking Trump from using RAF bases for strikes on Iran – The Times
Comment:
- Why has the most vacillating PM in a lifetime decided that the ‘Chagos Surrender’ is the one policy he won’t U-turn on? – Mark Almond, Daily Mail
- Trump’s opposition to misguided Chagos deal should kill it – The Times View
- The Prime Minister’s legalistic Chagossian mistakes – Telegraph View
> Today:
Benefits anger as migrant households pocket ‘more than £15billion in benefits’ in just 18 months
“Migrant households have pocketed more than £15billion in benefits in just 18 months, according to a new study. Homes containing at least one unemployed foreign national accounted for 70 per cent of that staggering bill, the research suggests. The Centre for Migration Control think tank, which obtained the data, claimed hardworking Brits are being “walloped with tax rises” to fund billions in welfare handed to households with foreign-born claimants. Its research director Robert Bates said: “t is a no-brainer that we should be ending benefit payments to foreign nationals, especially those who are unemployed.” The FOI documents show £9.5bn of Universal Credit was paid out in 2024, with another £5.6bn in the first half of 2025. But the figures are household-level, meaning some of the cash can go to British partners or children, and that some foreign-national claimants listed as unemployed may actually be self-employed with low or irregular earnings. Of the 2024 total, £6.7bn went to households where the foreign-national claimant was not in work. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged that migrants will only qualify for benefits and social housing once they become British citizens, while the Tories and Reform UK want even tougher limits.” – The Sun
- Jobless-migrant households receive more than £10bn in benefits – Daily Telegraph
- Fury as jobless-migrant households receive benefits worth £10bn – ‘we need to end this’ – Daily Express
- Benefits bill balloons as over £15BILLION handed to migrant households in 18 months, according to DWP figures – GB News
Comment:
- Labour has learnt nothing from Denmark’s immigration success – but neither has Reform – Sherelle Jacobs, Daily Telegraph
- Nigel Farage and I will defuse the benefits bomb that could bankrupt Britain – Robert Jenrick, Daily Telegraph
News in brief:
- Death by lawyers: How excessive legalism can ruin a political system – Daniel Eloff, The Critic
- Why Starmer must raise defence spending fast – Eliot Wilson, The Spectator
- How to fix student loans – Shimeon Lee, CapX
- Don’t abolish the OBR – George Eaton, The New Statesman
If you’ve still not checked out Netflix’s hit thriller The Night Agent, reviews for its recently-released third season might make you reconsider.
While the hit spy series – led by Gabriel Basso as FBI agent Peter Sutherland – doesn’t quite have the profile of Netflix originals like Stranger Things, Squid Game or Wednesday, its first season remains one of the most-watched in the platform’s history, so the following is clearly there.
On Thursday, The Night Agent returned for its third outing, and impressively, the reviews at the time of writing are unanimously positive, with a rare 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
When we last caught up with Peter Sutherland, he was being given a new mission to act as a double agent to crime boss Jacob Monroe, with the new season picking up one year on.
Here’s a quick snapshot of what critics have been saying about the new batch of episodes so far…
“The Night Agent takes a big gamble with season three – and it mostly pays off […] Brasso still pulls his weight in the fight scenes, which feel refreshingly brutal and grounded. As unrealistic as they can be sometimes, they’re still more visceral than most, committed to showing the toll of this line of work. The emotional toll takes precedence though, and therein lies the key to making this series work.”
CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS/NETFLIX
“The Night Agent doesn’t break new ground, but not every show needs to do that. If The Pitt has taught us anything, it’s that there’s an appetite for old-fashioned dramatic structures that are done well. This one doesn’t rise to the levels of that HBO hit, but it does what it sets out to do remarkably well. It values escapist entertainment above all else.”
“The Night Agent season three is the show’s best instalment yet, thanks to a tighter narrative, compelling characters, solid action, and great twists […] For a while, the show knew what it was: a Netflix thriller that did not need to be much more than what it promised to be, which is fun and binge-worthy. As of The Night Agent season three’s ending, the show still isn’t on the level of other quality TV shows, but it certainly keeps improving [and] season three is the best of the bunch.”
“While there were certainly solid moments in Season 2, it sometimes felt overpacked, juggling so many moving pieces that the plot grew convoluted and the emotional throughline occasionally got lost. With its return, however, The Night Agent returns to its roots, delivering a tighter, more focused season that feels completely sure of itself — and easily the strongest the series has produced so far.”
“Is season three The Night Agent’s best outing, then? I think you could make a case, certainly. It has tighter storytelling and a strong sense of character, and there’s no sign of things neatly wrapping up any time soon.
“That desire to keep the show going may prove its undoing down the line, but for now, at least, I don’t think we’ve exhausted everything it has to offer just yet.”
“One of the biggest changes for the third season of Netflix’s The Night Agent is that Luciane Buchanan’s character Rose Larkin isn’t a part of it.
“Both Buchanan and creator Shawn Ryan are on record saying [this absence] was only because the story that Ryan and his writers broke for season three didn’t include Rose, and that she could come back in future seasons. Still, it’s a big loss for the show, and that loss is evident in the first episode of season three […] The Night Agent is still perfectly good ‘watch while doing laundry’ TV but it feels like the third season is even more lunkheaded than the first two, and the absence of Buchanan is huge.”
All three seasons of The Night Agent are now streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer for season three below:
Richard Holden accused ex-Conservative Robert Jenrick of “jumping into bed with the first people who would have him” in a scathing BBC Question Time takedown.
Jenrick was kicked out of the Conservative shadow cabinet in January after leader Kemi Badenoch unearthed his plans to defect.
Hours later, Reform leader Nigel Farage announced that his party had acquired yet another ex-Conservative.
Jenrick was announced as Reform’s “shadow chancellor” – or Treasury spokesperson – this week.
On BBC Question Time, the Newark MP tried to justify his decision by slating the Conservatives.
Despite serving as the cabinet-attending immigration minister under Rishi Sunak, health minister under Liz Truss and housing secretary under Boris Johnson, Jenrick said: “I want to have a good government running this country for once, which we haven’t had for along time.”
“Obviously, that is a government you were a part of,” host Fiona Bruce pointed out.
“Yeah and I resigned from that government,” he insisted. “In the last parliament, I was the only person to resign on a matter of principle.”
Jenrick resigned from Sunak’s cabinet after complaining the Rwanda deportation scheme did not go far enough.
He claimed: “It was failing on immigration. It was making promises and consistently breaking them.”
Bruce then pivoted to Holden, who currently sits as Tory shadow transport secretary – and who was supposedly “sighing” a lot while Jenrick talked.
Holden said: “Look, Robert says it was a principled decision. Robert got kicked out of the Conservative Party. That’s what actually happened.
“People remember what happened when Kemi got rid of him.”
He continued: “I supported Robert in the leadership election so to see him go was a really tough thing for me. Robert and I have known each other for a very long period of time and I’d like to think that there was a friendship there as well.
“A lot of those decisions Robert painted as about the good of the country, and things like that. I’m not convinced of that.
“I think he got kicked out and then he jumped into bed with the first people who would have him – Nigel Farage and co.”
When reminded that Jenrick was only kicked out because of his plans to join Reform, Holden said: “Well, Nigel Farage didn’t seem to think that on the day.”
Jenrick insisted: “I was obviously about to do this, I made it my decision and I was convinced it was the right one.”
He claimed Holden was “pretending everything was sweetness and light” in the Tory Party right now, but claimed his former colleague shares Jenrick’s concerns over its “massive mistakes” in the past.
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