Politics
Regime change in Iran. Which UK political leaders are on the “right side of history”?
That smug phrase, “the right side of history”, has always had a tiresome ring to it. It conflates winning with being morally superior. It also conveys a hubristic assumption of those using it that, as their cause is bound to triumph, there is no need to bother giving due consideration to objections. However, it is certainly true that historians will look at the current efforts to secure regime change in Iran and will offer verdicts on the actions taken by countries and their political leaders. Or not taken, as the case may be.
The British Government has got into a muddled position. It accepts that the Iranian regime and its unlamented “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were a source of evil, not just to the Iranian people but to the rest of the world. Yet it has refused to take the necessary action to remove that evil. Or even offer support to those – the Americans and the Israelis – who were prepared to do something about. Other allies, such as the Canadians and the Australians, have expressed support. The best our government can manage is not to actually condemn our allies. Our Prime Minister has offered vacillation and equivocation when the time came for evil to be confronted. We can put the UK down as a “don’t know”. We will sit this one out. In an epic international battle by the forces of freedom and civilisation, we are passing by on the other side.
What painful viewing it made when the Defence Secretary was interviewed by the BBC yesterday. Laura Kuenssberg asked of the US/Israeli strikes:
“Does the government back what they’ve done?”
John Healey replied:
“Britain played no part in the strikes on Iran. We share however the primary aim of all allies in the region and the US that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.”
Kuenssberg persisted, of course:
“This is a moment of history and everyone watching this morning will want to know, and will expect to know from their government, is Britain on the side of those two countries who have killed Iran’s supreme leader?”
Healey just wittered on about the need to “prevent further escalation” and to “return to the path of diplomacy.” It has been 47 years since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, during which the “path of diplomacy” has been given a pretty fair try. It has run parallel to an ever more brutal path of terrorism and oppression.
What of our other political leaders?
Sir Ed Davey for the Lib Dems offered a characteristically disingenuous response. He said that “the Iranian people deserve to live free from a brutal regime” but he opposes the liberation they have been so desperately waiting for.
At least, the Green Party and the Corbynistas don’t pretend. The Deputy Leader of the Green Party, Mothin Ali, took part in a pro Iran regime demonstration. In an absurd twisting of reality, Jeremy Corbyn claimed that the United States and Israel were “rogue states” for taking action. He used to be paid to broadcast on behalf of the Iranian state broadcaster.
What of his neighbouring MP, Dame Emily Thornberry? She tweets:
“I am pleased to see the UK is not involved in these strikes on Iran. They are ill-advised and illegal.”
Ah, yes. International law. Subcontracting your conscience to that bunch of gangsters at the United Nations. No problem, providing you can get UN Security Council authorisation including from those epitomies of moral rectitude, China and Russia.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Thus it is with international law. Human rights? Rely on Cuba and North Korea to arbitrate such matters.
The legality of military action for the purpose of “eliminating imminent threats” – as covered by Article 51 of the UN Charter? What took the rest of the world so long? When hasn’t Iran been not merely threatening, but carrying out hostile actions, whether directly or via proxies? The Israelis have become rather familiar with the challenge. But not just them. There was an incident involving the murder of 29 Jews in Argentina, among so many other atrocities. Lord Hannan has noted that the UK, designated by the regime as “Little Satan”, has also been a target of the regime’s terrorism. That is why the contention of Rupert Lowe MP that “Britain has enough problems” and we should leave them alone is so misguided. We can not rely on them to leave us alone.
It’s not as if the Iranian regime’s denials of malevolent intent hold much credibility. “Death to America!” is a familiar approved chant which scarcely lacks ambiguity. How ridiculous that anyone should seriously claim that the rules of law is better served by allowing that criminal regime to continue wreaking havoc.
So Conservatives should be pleased that Kemi Badenoch has been robust. She says:
“I stand with our allies in the US and Israel as they take on the threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its vile regime. The same regime that carries out attacks on the UK and on our citizens, that seeks to build nuclear weapons that would threaten our country and that brutally repressed pro-democracy protests only months ago and murdered thousands of its own people. Under my leadership, the Conservative Party will always put our national security first and work with our allies to make the world a safer place.”
Reform UK supporters should similarly be proud that Nigel Farage says:
“As the American attacks against this evil regime in Iran begin, I pray for the right outcome for the wonderful Persian people…The Prime Minister needs to change his mind on the use of our military bases and back the Americans in this vital fight against Iran!”
Of course, I understand that Tony Blair’s debacle in Iraq has given regime change a bad name. It still remains a valid question as to whether leaving Saddam Hussein would really have saved lives or meant a better outcome. I think there is a danger in trying to define a “doctrine” that Donald Trump might be adopting, in terms of “America First” isolationism or neo-Conservative interventionism. Really he looks at the deal. The cost-benefit analysis. What would advance US interest without too heavy a cost in blood or treasure? US interests do not mean hiding under the duvet and hoping the rest of the world will go away. The chants in support of Reza Pahlavi, the Iranian Crown Prince, offer hope that restoration of a constitutional monarchy offers a prospect of unity and stability, while a transition to a Parliamentary democracy and market economy is pursued.
Given the shameful and pitiful irrelevance of our own Government during these momentous events, it might seem parochial to focus on the thoughts of our own politicians. But it does clarify what they stand for. Those appeasers of the Ayatollahs who are self-styled “progressives” should be treated with derision. Those are not a cohort unique to our generation or our country. The present endeavour is to remove Jimmy Carter’s legacy, after all. Still, they deserve to suffer what those in HR call “reputational damage.” However uncertain history may be, they will be on the wrong side of it so far as the long-suffering Iranian people are concerned.
Politics
Trump Defends Christ-Like Image
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Politics
Israeli charity offers to help Brits move to illegal settlements
An Israeli non-profit has been filmed offering to help UK citizens move to illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank as part of Israel’s ongoing theft of Palestine.
Shivat Zion (Return to Zion) was set up in 2022 as “the only Aliyah NGO in the UK officially recognised by the Jewish Agency for Israel” to assist British Jews move to Israel. All of the organisation’s staff are Europeans who emigrated to Israel.
During a Zoom call filmed by undercover reporters at Declassified UK, the group boasted that it could obtain UK tax subsidies for its work. It also described living near “Arabs” — Zionist code for indigenous Palestinians — was the only downside.
You’re next to the Arabs. You’ll hear their mosques,” he was recorded saying. “But apart from this, it’s a great living standard.
🚨 Secret filming EXPOSES Israeli Settler Group
We went UNDERCOVER to expose an Israeli operation to help Brits move to West Bank
WATCH here
👉 https://t.co/OOns7SJKS0 pic.twitter.com/qNii1Uz6J5— Declassified UK (@declassifiedUK) April 13, 2026
Supposedly, the Starmer government considers Israel’s expanding land theft in the West Bank to be a “flagrant violation of international law”. However, the government is apparently allowing Shivat Zion to claim gift aid, despite it not existing as a UK-registered entity.
Israeli non-profit’s actions are ‘deeply’ disturbing
Shivat Zion tells its supporters that it can claim tax refunds on donations through a separate charity, UK Toremet, presumably because the group is claiming the exemption for religious organisations despite Zionism being a political ideology.
UK Toremet told Declassified that it has no “active” relationship with Shivat Zion and hasn’t given any grants to the organisation in the last 12 months”.
The media outlet went on to add:
Declassified can’t verify this claim, but donors to Shivat Zion would have been under the impression that their money would go via UK Toremet in order to benefit from Gift Aid.
Unequivocally so, since Shivat’s fundraising campaign promised that donations from the UK are eligible for gift aid.
But after Declassified contacted the organisation for comment, mentions of charity and tax were removed from its website. The Charity Commission, which had originally approved the scheme, later launched an investigation and said it had issued guidance to UK Toremet after three separate compliance cases relating to Palestine since 2016.
We issued the charity’s trustees with statutory guidance and an action plan, which warned it must comply with the Geneva Conventions Act 1957.
This is similar to the slap on the wrist the commission issued after its investigation into the nakedly political, pro-Israel activities of the so-called Campaign against Antisemitism.
Human rights lawyer, Daniel Machover, told Declassified he was “deeply disturbed” by its findings and said it was “inexcusable” to claim that these donations were eligible for gift aid.
Israel and its supporters are always the victims
Like other signatory nations, the UK is under the International Court of Justice’s obligation “not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Challenged about its activities, the group’s Netherlands-Israeli CEO, Shraga Evers, resorted to foul abuse. With typical Israeli arrogance and victimhood, Evers referred to undercover anti-Zionist Jew, Emily, who drove the investigation, as a ‘kapo’ — the term for Jews who collaborated with the Nazis.
We assist new Olim [migrants] regardless of where they choose to settle and provide support that falls under social affairs activities of which new immigrants are part.
Furthermore, while I do not feel any need to apologize for living as a Jew in Judea — neither to you nor to the aforementioned individual — it further underlines the deceptive manner in which elements of the anti-Semitic lobby, together with a handful of helpful modern-day Kapos, are operating.
Emily described the insidious and carefully crafted manipulation of ‘aliyah’ events:
It was quite terrifying how appealing it was. If I wasn’t so steadfast in my anti-Zionism, how easily one could be persuaded to do this.
But for Palestinians, life under occupation and the malignant spread of illegal settlements is brutal. While Gaza has suffered genocide, Palestinians in the West Bank have been subjected to intensified settler attacks, including murders, crop burning and poisoning or destruction of water sources.
Prize-winning Palestinian peace activist, Issa Amro, who is frequently attacked by the settlers, said they “get quality life on the expense of the basic rights of the Palestinians”.
Efrat is a settlement – and to live there, it’s a war crime.
Palestinians are not even allowed to travel on the road leading to their own historic village near the Efrat settlement, promoted by Shivat Zion.
Featured image via Unsplash/ Aaron Ovadia
Politics
Reform’s war on the fun police
The post Reform’s war on the fun police appeared first on spiked.
Politics
Channel 5 Pundit Labels Trump As The Antichrist
A Channel 5 pundit didn’t mince her words on Monday when asked her reaction to the bizarre image Donald Trump posted that basically depicted himself as Jesus Christ.
Marina Purkiss described the president with a fairly harsh slur ― at least in religious circles ― saying he is the “Antichrist.”
During a segment on the Jeremy Vine Show, Purkiss admitted to being shocked by the image the president posted.
“I’m just gonna say this, right? I am a person that was raised a Catholic — I did all the sacraments, I read the book, you know,” she said, adding that while she has lost her “faith,” she still finds Trump’s post “deeply, deeply offensive.”
Then she went scorched earth on the president.
“How dare you? That is blasphemous. The picture is blasphemous, it’s a huge disrespect. That in itself is the breaking of a commandment,” Purkiss said.
After noting that Trump had, by her count, “broken eight of the 10 commandments,” Purkiss declared, “This guy, in my opinion, is the Antichrist.”
“No wonder he doesn’t like the Pope,” she added.
The image was removed from Trump’s account late on Monday morning. The president then told reporters he thought the picture showed him as a doctor.
Trump’s post came while his current war with Iran has been heavily criticised by Pope Leo XIV, the Catholic Church’s first American-born pontiff.
Although his team has previously posted images depicting Trump as Superman, on Mount Rushmore and even as the Pope, the Trump-as-Jesus post seemed to be a bridge too far with many people on social media who called it “blasphemous” and “deranged.”
In fact, Purkiss wasn’t the only prominent person to describe Trump with the “A-word” label.
Axios co-founder Jim VandeHei didn’t call Trump the “Antichrist” when he appeared on “Morning Joe” Monday, but he warned the president that posting memes suggesting he’s Christ could alienate his supporters.
“I think he is playing with fire with the base. And if you look at where his standing is, like, he should be worried,” VandeHei said. “I’m surprised his advisers didn’t say, ‘Come on, man. Like, at some point you’re pushing this too far. Your favorable ratings are already relatively low.’”
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Politics
Supermarkets consider ‘dynamic pricing’ to rip you off even more
The Bank of England has warned that supermarkets across the UK could bring in surge pricing to extract more profit from people’s need to eat.
Supermarkets may be planning to increase the amount shoppers pay for food when demand is high, which is already the situation for people using corporations like Amazon and Uber.
Computerised displays could pave the way for price hikes in supermarkets like Morrisons, which will soon have these price labels in all 497 of its stores.
Speaking of the possibility of ‘surge pricing’, Clive Black, of investment bank Shore Capital, told the Times:
Whether that is in the interest of shoppers or shareholders is a moot point.
The thing is, people buying food aren’t really shoppers. That’s like saying people buying electricity or water are ‘shopping’, when these are essentials.
Supermarkets prioritise excessive profit
‘Greedflation’ has already defined the cost of living crisis with companies using energy inflation and tax rises as cover for huge profits.
Lidl’s operating profit rose by nearly 300% — from £79 million in 2021 to £314 million in 2025.
Similarly, Aldi’s operating profit rose from £289 million in 2020 to £435 million in 2025, representing a 51% increase over five years (including the Covid years).
This isn’t down to people switching to cheaper options. Tesco’s operating profit leapt 72% — from £1.8 billion in 2020/21 to £3.1 billion in 2024/25. Sainsbury’s operating profit has risen slightly over the same period.
It’s greedflation, and now supermarkets want more through increased prices during high demand despite most people working during the same time periods, meaning they will be buying food at similar times.
What’s the solution?
There is a solution to the wealth extraction. Supermarkets should be not-for-profit because they are only middle-manning between the agriculture sector and humans who need food. One option is for non-profit food distribution centres (but with a fun name) to offer food largely delivered via automated vans.
That’s a major way an administration could tackle the cost of living crisis.
Featured image via Unsplash
Politics
Second Global Sumud Flotilla sets sail from Barcelona to Gaza
The historic second Global Sumud Flotilla has departed from Barcelona. The flotilla aims to break Israel’s illegal, decades-long siege on Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid.
Described by organisers as ‘the largest civilian-led flotilla mission in history,’ the convoy of over 70 vessels departed from Port Moll de la Fusta on Sunday 12 April 2026.
In a press release, organisers have described the urgency of their mission:
From family loss and displacement, to the collapse of governments and international institutions, to the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s hospitals, coastlines, fisheries, farmland, and water systems, [we come] to the collective decision that civil society must now move where states have failed.
1,000 set sail on the Global Sumud Flotilla
The flotilla carries a solidarity contingent of nearly 1,000 healthcare and humanitarian workers from more than 70 countries, alongside journalists and notable public figures.
Following a major international press conference, Global Sumud Flotilla organisers stated that the activists’ mission seeks to transform ‘cumulative grief into a coordinated global escalation of solidarity on land and sea.’ They also described the flotilla as:
a direct civilian intervention against genocide, siege, ecocide, forced starvation, and the global systems that sustain them.
Zionist lies exposed
The press conference hosted speakers from Gaza, Lebanon, Indonesia, North Africa and Europe, alongside global humanitarian networks.
Speakers exposed the Zionist ‘ceasefire’ lie and denounced consistent Israeli-blocked aid passages, which necessitate the urgent civilian mission.
They also recounted the IOF’s consistent, targeted murder of humanitarian and medical workers, inhumane weaponisation of starvation, and mounting regional Zionist impunity across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Iran and beyond.
The Global Sumud Flotilla Steering Committee stated previously that ‘We Refuse To Wait‘ and reiterated this widespread feeling of urgency once again:
Families who have lost everything, doctors who have worked inside collapsing hospitals, organizers who have watched governments enable mass death, and movements rising across continents all arrived at the same conclusion: waiting costs Palestinian lives.
The flotilla now moves as part of a wider global escalation to confront siege, impunity, and the political systems that make both possible.
Urgent humanitarian missions converge
The Global Sumud Flotilla convoy is joined by Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise and Open Arms boats, bringing globally recognised civil society actors into the mission’s fold.
Arctic Sunrise said that they offer ‘strategic maritime support, technical expertise, and transit safety coordination.’ Meanwhile, ‘Open Arms expands the mission’s humanitarian protection framework, emergency response capacity, and civilian safeguarding architecture.’
This ethos was replicated by Amnesty International’s legal and political warning to Mediterranean states and surrounding actors urging them to ensure safe passage.
Amnesty’s lawyers urge ‘against any repeat of unlawful interceptions, arbitrary detention, or abuse of civilian activists.’
Land and sea campaigns for the Global Sumud Flotilla
The 2026 sea mission is being coordinated in time with We Rise, a land campaign of comparable magnitude to achieve shared objectives in challenging Zionist impunity.
Global Sumud Flotilla describe We Rise as:
a synchronized international campaign designed to escalate political, economic, and social pressure through coordinated land mobilizations as the [GSF] fleet advances.
The campaign includes port shutdowns targeting weapons supply chains; public square art and cultural interventions; and boycott and divestment escalations.
Additionally, organizers detailed two overland convoys galvanizing solidarity across North Africa and Asia and breaking Israel’s illegal siege by land.
The flotilla now moves not as a single maritime action, but as the sea anchor of a widening international uprising.
Past flotilla missions abused
Amnesty International’s warning to neighbouring states follows on from Zionist crimes against the 2025 Global Sumud Flotilla mission – the largest of its kind until now.
In 2025, IOF operators firebombed vessels with drones in Tunisian territory. IOF navy goons also illegally boarded Global Sumud Flotilla vessels in international waters. They detained activists and subjected them to systemic and cruel abuse.
Physical and mental abuse of detained Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian activists was reported and corroborated by many of those held hostage in Israeli prisons. They reported inhumane treatment, psychological torture such as sleep deprivation, and sexual humiliation.
Multiple victims, mainly Palestinians, reported sexual violence by IOF soldiers and Israeli prison guards. There is undeniable evidence that it is explicit Zionist policy. The UN’s Commission of Inquiry confirmed these grave, repeated sexual crimes n mid-March 2026.
The abuses inflicted on the 2025 captives is only outmatched by Zionist crimes against the 2010 Gaza Flotilla, comprised of six boats, which the IOF navy illegally raided.
During the raid, Zionist forces executed nine humanitarian activists, mainly from Türkiye, and injured another 30, one of whom later died from his wounds.
The UNHRC’s 2011 report stated that Israel’s actions were illegal, “disproportionate” and “betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality,” with evidence of “wilful killing.”
Zionist forces confiscated or destroyed photographic evidence to cover their crimes—parallel with their unprecedented murders of journalists at scale today.
Featured image via Global Sumud Flotilla
Politics
JD’s Unlucky Touch
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Politics
Newcastle unveils world’s first permanent Rohingya memorial
Newcastle upon Tyne made history on 12 April as Newcastle upon Tyne became the first city in the world to unveil a permanent memorial dedicated to the victims of the Rohingya genocide.
The landmark memorial, located in Newcastle City Council’s Peace Garden, was officially unveiled following a civic ceremony at the council chamber and a procession led by the lord mayor. The initiative, led by Independent Newcastle councillor and human rights advocate Habib Rahman, represents a powerful commitment to remembrance, justice, and global awareness.
Rahman, formerly the city’s first Muslim and Black lord mayor, hosted the formal civic event. It featured contributions from a distinguished group of speakers, including:
- Councillor Karen Kilgour, leader of Newcastle City Council.
- Ann Schofield, of Rohingya Action North East.
- Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
- Nur Huda, chairman of the British Rohingya Community.
- Dr M Nazrul Islam, acting high commissioner of Bangladesh to the UK.
- Genocide experts, historians and human rights activists Dr Maung Zarni and Dr Nat Brinham.
- Ruby Moe, Amnesty International UK country coordinator for Myanmar.
- Richard Kotter, chair of Amnesty Newcastle.
- Sirazul Islam, born in Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, now a trainee corporate lawyer and an activist.
- Rohingya campaigner Shaukat Ahmed MBE.
- Alice Gaparay, of the North East Rwandan Association.
- Mohammed Wafi, of the Palestinian Community North East.
The procession to the Peace Garden was led by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Cllr Henry Gallagher and Mayor of Sunderland, Cllr Ehthesham Hoque, who formally unveiled the memorial.
Rohingya memorial born from collaboration
Developed through a collaboration between Newcastle City Council, Rohingya Action North East, the British Rohingya Community, and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, the memorial stands as a permanent tribute to the Rohingya genocide victims and survivors.
Rahman said:
This is a historic moment not just for Newcastle, but for the global community. Today we honour the lives lost, the resilience of survivors, and send a clear message that genocide must never be ignored or forgotten. This memorial stands as a permanent reminder of our shared responsibility to speak out against injustice and to uphold human dignity.
The Rohingya people have endured decades of persecution, culminating in a campaign of mass violence, displacement, and atrocities that forced over a million people to flee their homes. The memorial seeks to ensure their suffering is formally recognised and remembered.
Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, said:
For the Rohingya community, recognition matters deeply. For too long, our suffering has been denied, ignored and pushed aside while the world failed to act. Generations of Rohingya have endured violence, displacement and loss without acknowledgement or justice.
This memorial is a powerful symbol that our pain is acknowledged, that our voices matter and that the truth cannot be erased.
We are deeply grateful to councillor Habib Rahman for his leadership and determination in making this memorial a reality, and we thank Newcastle City Council for this powerful act of solidarity with the Rohingya community.
This is an important step towards recognition and justice that the Rohingya people have long been denied. It sends a clear message far beyond this city- that Rohingya people everywhere are not forgotten.
Nijam Uddin, representing the British Rohingya Community, added:
This memorial is a place of reflection, dignity, and education. It honours those we have lost and gives strength to those who continue to live with the trauma of genocide. It also serves as a vital tool to educate future generations so that such atrocities are never repeated.
We extend our sincere thanks to councillor Habib Rahman for his vision and drive, and to Newcastle City Council for their support and commitment to recognising the Rohingya people’s suffering.
The British Rohingya Community, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, and Rohingya Action North East jointly funded the memorial.
Beyond remembrance, the initiative also reinforces the importance of education, awareness, and continued advocacy for justice and accountability. Permanent memorials play a crucial role in:
- Honouring victims.
- Acknowledging survivors.
- Educating future generations.
- Challenging denial and historical revisionism.
As visitors gather at the Peace Garden in the years to come, the memorial will stand as a lasting testament to the Rohingya people’s place in history and a call to action for the international community.
Featured image supplied
Politics
Richard Tice’s tax scandal shows how little he respects the law
Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice is trying to just shrug off a tax scandal surrounding one of his companies despite experts saying laws were clearly broken.
The company in question is property investment firm Quidnet REIT Limited. Alongside Tice, there are two other directors, Nicholas Tribe and John Purcell, both of whom Tice has other business interests with.
Experts at Tax Policy Associates have insisted they are “confident that the company failed to withhold around £120,000 of tax”.
And this wasn’t optional tax as they asserted:
From 2020 to 2022 it paid around £600,000 of dividends to Mr Tice and his offshore trust. Quidnet was required by law to withhold approximately £120,000 of tax from those dividends and pay it to HMRC. But we believe it’s clear from the company’s accounts and public filings that Quidnet did not pay this tax.
They added:
Mr Tice has refused to answer the question directly, instead saying that he paid income tax on the dividends. That’s not an answer: the company was legally required to pay tax; the law doesn’t permit REITs to opt to defer their tax obligations.
In other words, the allegation is that Quidnet REIT Limited broke the law.
For Tice, however, it was just a “technicality”, he told the Sunday Times, who originally reported the story.
Meanwhile, Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, called the issue “a minor administrative error” and a “non-story”. Yusuf seemed to minimise the alleged law-breaking by claiming “it does look like HMRC netted off in the same way”.
“Richard Tice has not committed tax evasion nor tax avoidance.”
Reform’s Zia Yusuf says allegations surrounding Richard Tice about his tax are a “non-story,” and states “the Sunday papers are coming after senior Reform figures,” as the election period looms.@TrevorPTweets pic.twitter.com/SqtQdNlYEt
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 12, 2026
Richard Tice: Reform millionaires think rules are for other people
We already knew Tice was a fan of tax havens and using loopholes to avoid hundreds of thousands of pounds in corporation tax. He has made it clear that he thinks it’s completely normal and acceptable to do so.
Reform leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, openly stated that he had bought a house in Clacton. But amid claims he had avoided more than £44,000 in stamp duty by putting the £885,000 property in his partner’s name, he backtracked. He insisted his partner had paid for it upfront with her own money (which the BBC said wasn’t a believable claim).
In Farage’s case, it wouldn’t have been illegal to give money to his partner so the house was in her name, but doing so to pay a lower stamp duty would have been highly hypocritical considering his boisterous criticism of Labour’s Angela Rayner for doing the same thing. Farage had said at a Reform conference that Rayner’s decision “screams of entitlement”.
It screams to a government that, despite all the promises that this would be a new different kind of politics, is as bad, if not worse, than the one that went before.
In reality, it looks like the wealthy white men leading Reform — who want tough laws for ordinary people on issues like immigration and benefits — also feel entitled to bend the rules when it comes to their own business. And it’s becoming clearer and clearer that they would make British politics even murkier than it already is.
Politics
Pakistan reportedly used decoy fighter jets to thwart Israel
Pakistan have reportedly used fighter jets and intelligence to thwart an alleged plan by Israel to shoot down the jet carrying Iran’s highly-qualified negotiators attending talks with Donald Trump’s relatives and golf buddies.
Israel’s plans to kill Iran’s top surviving team in order to thwart talks were already known, but supposedly shelved under pressure from the US. However, Pakistani intelligence believed that Israel would attempt to shoot down the negotiators’ plane either en route to, or returning from, the talks in Pakistan.
The Pakistan air force used recently-supplied Chinese J-10C fighters for the escort mission. This led to claims that China’s air force also participated in the escort, but this does not appear to have been the case.
The Times of India also reports that Pakistan’s intelligence services spoofed flight-tracking data and ran decoy flights to deceive Israeli forces.
Iran’s delegation flew to Pakistan in a plane dubbed the ‘Minab 168’ in honour of the schoolchildren murdered by the US at the start of the US-Israel illegal war on Iran. All of Iran’s negotiators hold PhDs. Trump’s delegation consisted of his son-in-law, a golfing buddy, and an estate agent.
Viral image: Iran’s Islamabad delegation features four PhDs—Ghalibaf, Araghchi, Ahmadian, and Hemmati—signaling a technocratic, expertise-driven team.
In contrast, the U.S. side—JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner—appears driven more by political proximity. pic.twitter.com/ArxVa2OM0n
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) April 12, 2026
Israel has a track record of murdering, or attempting to murder, peace negotiators in an attempt to thwart truce talks, including its notorious bombing of the capital of US ally Qatar and its 2024 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in his Tehran hotel room.
Featured image via the Canary
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