MPs from the influential science committee have warned AI war firm Palantir’s increasing power over the UK state is an “unacceptable weakness”. The committee also noted the firm, which is very close to the current Keir Starmer government, espouses openly far-right politics.

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee urged the government to:

exercise the 2027 break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform Contract with Palantir and either develop an in-house replacement or seek an alternative UK provider.

The MPs also rejected the idea Palantir was the only firm capable of providing services the UK needs:

The report argues that vendor lock-in should not be seen as inevitable and calls for a strategy to end lock-in across the public sector, diversify suppliers and strengthen digital resilience.

The UK military, police, NHS and, allegedly, the Telegraph newspaper have started to use Palantir technology. The firm is also involved in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and maintains a permanent desk in southern Israel. Trump’s paramilitary immigration operations also use the firm’s gear.

The Canary reported on 2 June that UK officials are even using Palantir software to decide what Palantir technology to buy to fight future wars.

And as the Canary reported on 20 April, Palantir’s ‘manifesto’ is a collection of far-right tropes more suited to a far-right manosphere podcast than a multinational arms firm:

For example, Point 21 reads:

Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful.

While Point 22 is a fascist-accented lament for Western white supremacist ‘culture’:

We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what?

Palantir burrowed deep into British infrastructure

The science committee accepted some of these issues, though arguably did not go far enough.

MPs noted:

The relationship between the public sector and Palantir has attracted increasing public attention, in part because of its supply of software to the US military, and use by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

Adding:

Comments about the NHS made by the company’s co-founder Peter Thiel, and a 22-point manifesto published by the company have also raised concerns.

The MPs also called bullshit on UK Palantir boss Louis Mosley’s defence of the firm. Mosley “distanced himself”:

from Thiel’s comments and told us that the company existed “to support democratically-elected governments in delivering the mandate that they have been elected to deliver”.

Yet, the committee noted:

The company has published a 22-point manifesto based on the writing of CEO Alexander Karp, which argued that “the ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

Adding:

This is despite Louis Mosley telling us that the company “is not… political. We represent a diversity of political views and do not take political positions as a company”.

Mismatch of values?

The report authors concluded that:

 Palantir should not have such a significant role in the UK public sector, and that it is far from the only company capable of providing the data analysis ‘middleware’ required by public bodies.

As well as scandal over Palantir’s military and immigration uses:

Its co-founder has criticised the concept of a national health service and the company has issued a manifesto that makes explicitly political arguments, undermining what the head of their UK and European business told us.

They said there was a “clear mismatch with UK values”.

This is debatable of course. The report makes no mention of Palantir’s role in Gaza — an atrocity the UK is deeply implicated in. Yet the report does raise several important points. Palantir’s accelerating power over UK police, military and even health infrastructure should worry us all. And the MPs are correct to say the plug needs to be pulled as soon as possible on this Trojan Horse for tech billionaires with a fascistic agenda.

Featured image via Leon Neal/Getty Images

By Joe Glenton

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Tom Pickup is one of Reform UK’s Lancashire County councillors. In November 2025, he was exposed for being a member of a WhatsApp group which was calling for genocide against Muslims. In February, the party quietly reinstated him, and has now promoted him to a new position:

He’s also reactivated his account. Blocked us of course because @TomPickup is a bigoted snowflake. pic.twitter.com/GOxtVGdrkQ

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) June 3, 2026

Reform — “Tactical”

Comments in the WhatsApp group Pickup was a member of included:

• Calls for a “mass Islam genocide”.
• The suggestion that Keir Starmer “needs a fucking bullet”.

Pickup made unsavoury contributions of his own, replying to a comment that Starmer is a “DICKtator” by responding he was a “dicktaker”. When questioned on this, Pickup said:

99% of what occurs in groups, I don’t see. Based on my involvement in it and what I have seen, I’ve been my usual jokey self and it’s been twisted out of context.

Regardless of whether he meant it, you ideally want councillors to be mature enough to not think calling someone ‘gay’ is the height of hilarity.

Pickup also said:

Everyone in Reform is a lot more hardline on immigration than is typically stated publicly, to get a majority government we have to be tactical.

This is something we all know to be true, of course. It’s obvious in the sort of political candidates Reform attracts, as we’ve reported:

• Reform candidate suggests ‘melting Nigerians’ to fill potholes.
• Calls for Reform candidate who praised rape of Sikh women to face suspension.
• Another Reform candidate praises Oswald Moseley — A rite of party initiation?
• Reform activist said ‘Hitler was right’.
• Reform welcomes ‘shoot the p*kis’ scandal ex-Tory.

Pickup returns

As Blog Preston have reported, Pickup’s suspension ended in February following an apology from the councillor. Pickup will be the cabinet member for adult social care, which has proven to be a controversial position. As Blog Preston noted:

During County Cllr Dalton’s year-long stint at the top table at County Hall, he led a controversial review into the future of five county council-run care homes and five day centres, amid concern over the poor condition of their buildings. The potential closure of the services sparked protests and petitions – although the authority insisted no pre-determined decisions had been made.

Following a public consultation – during which the cabinet member urged respondents to “be emotional” in making the case for the facilities in their existing form – it was ultimately decided all of the homes would remain open, along with the three day centres that are currently operational.

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Reform’s threat to close down local care homes attracted significant controversy, with protests taking place in the city of Preston:

Position of power

Despite his denials, it’s a fact that Pickup was in a group calling for the most extreme form of violence against Muslims. Now, the man will be in a position of power over elderly Muslims who live in Lancashire’s already-underfunded care homes.

It’s far from a desirable situation, and it shows Reform UK doesn’t care if constituents trust the party to keep them safe.

Featured image via Nigel Roddis (Getty Images) 

By Willem Moore

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Israel’s minister of national security and genocide fanatic, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called the potential ceasefire with Lebanon a ‘serious mistake’.

Importantly, the ceasefire would effectively surrender Southern Lebanon to Israel, with zero promise from Israel to stop attacking. Obviously, Hezbollah has declined the offer.

So the “ceasefire” would effectively cede southern Lebanon to Israel without any promise by Israel to stop attacking.

Hezbollah has declined this offer. https://t.co/RLXooXsPYb

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) June 4, 2026

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Israeli terrorists

Israel Katz, Israel’s Defence Minister, said the U.S.-brokered Lebanon ceasefire declaration includes:

an unequivocal statement on the disarmament of Hezbollah, the removal of Hezbollah terrorists from the area south of the Litani River, the continued presence of the IDF in the security area, and freedom of action for Israel

Essentially, it would allow Israel to annex Southern Lebanon, which is a victory for no one except Israel.

Despite this, in a post on X, Ben-Gvir said:

The ceasefire with Lebanon is a serious mistake and the pipe dreams of advisors who are dragging the prime minister into incorrect decisions.

Hezbollah has not left the area south of the Litani, and the Lebanese army has no way to enforce its evacuation.

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Of course, we would expect no less from a man who advocated for the death penalty for Palestinians, has at least eight criminal convictions, including for terrorism, and has repeatedly called for the ethnic cleansing of Arabs.

His post also ignores one fundamental fact. Hezbollah is defending sovereign Lebanese territory, which Israel is illegally occupying. Under international law, it has that right.

The United Nations reaffirms:

the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity and liberation from colonial domination, apartheid and foreign occupation by all available means, including armed struggle;

Israel is an illegal, colonialist, occupying power. It has no ‘right’ to Palestine, Lebanon, the Syrian Golan Heights, or any other country.

Ben-Gvir added:

The state of Lebanon is a partner of Hezbollah. There are ministers in its government from Hezbollah, and relatives of Hezbollah members serve in the Lebanese army.

Crucially, Hezbollah is a legitimate political party in Lebanon. Israel, the US, and many other Western countries may have labelled it a ‘terrorist organisation’, but that’s only because it’s a threat to Israel’s colonialist goal of a ‘Greater Israel’.

Hezbollah has repeatedly said it would “confront any project that serves Israel”. Back in September, when a previous ceasefire was proposed, Hezbollah maintained that the disarmament plan, which the Lebanese government approved, only served Israel’s interests.

Ben-Gvir on saying ‘no’ to Trump

Ben-Gvir also claimed that Netanyahu should have told Trump:

We love and appreciate you, but Israel is a sovereign and independent state, and it cannot come to terms with the strengthening of a terrorist organization and with its very existence on its border.

Israel has zero right to exist. The genocidal terrorists have literally built their illegal settlements on stolen land and the graves of Palestinians. If Israel is so worried about people fighting back, maybe it should stop attacking, murdering, and bombing native people.

Colonisers will never accept the presence of indigenous people.

Colonisers will never accept the presence of the indigenous people around them, every southerner is a threat every, woman is a mother for future fighters, every old man links a younger man to the land, every child is a future threat and we surely are and will forever be https://t.co/yDBenZXRLF

— Mejid (@Ilmejid) June 4, 2026

This is Gaza all over again. Israel was supposed to fully withdraw its troops under the ceasefire agreement, which it signed in October. However, instead of withdrawing, the IOF has continued to steal even more land and even build military bases in towns it has flattened. During the ceasefire alone, Israel has murdered over 910 people in Gaza.

Israel has never kept to any ceasefire agreement in history, so what do we expect now?

Moreover, how can there ever be peace when openly genocidal people, such as Ben-Gvir and his cronies, are in power?

There is a pattern. Israel signs a ceasefire. The IOF kills more people and steals more land. Israel moans that people are fighting back. The IOF has to defeat ‘terrorists’. Unfortunately, the cycle will keep repeating until the international community grows a backbone.

Feature image via Erik Marmor/Getty Images

By HG

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A court in Geneva has confirmed that peaceful opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza is a legitimate right. As Palestinian exile Muzna Shihabi notes, the landmark decision:

•  Acknowledges that a genocide is underway.
•  Rules that nothing justifies sanctioning peaceful activists.
•  Confirms that freedom of expression protects non-violent civil disobedience and that repressing these mobilizations is incompatible with democracy.

A lesson for the genocide-enabling Starmer government and its war on free speech and peaceful protest, as respondents are already noting:

@Keir_Starmer @YvetteCooperMP Imagine how it must feel to finish your day in the knowledge that your actions let you sleep with a clear conscience. Not clambering on for money or power, just doing what is right. Just imagine.

— Lisa Alqatari (@LisaAlqatari) June 4, 2026

Genocide — ‘Routine’ shame

The UN’s international law and human rights expert for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, commented that:

Once again: justice for Palestine starts at home. It only takes people caring and applying Intl Law. And persevering.

Albanese knows about being persecuted for standing against genocide. In May 2026, the Trump regime re-imposed its sanctions on her despite a judge’s ruling that they breached her rights.

To the UK’s shame, a May 2026 report has described repression of pro-Palestine speech under the Starmer regime as now “routine”.

Featured image via Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

By Skwawkbox

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While the world’s attention has moved onto other horrors, Israel continues to bomb Gaza and burn families. The so-called ‘ceasefire’ is just a curtain to hide its atrocities.

As the people of Gaza tried to survive another night last night, Israel continued to bomb the open-air concentration camp it has created:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ibrahim Nazmii (@ibrahim_nazmii)

At least nine people were killed and many more injured in four separate bombings. The attacks created horrors that are all too familiar – civilians burning in bombed buildings, including children, despite heroic attempts to help:

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A post shared by Omar Hamad 𓂆 (@omar.hamad7)

Israel — Residential targets

All of the buildings attacked were residential:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by عين على فلسطين | Eye on Palestine (@eye.on.palestine)

It’s all too easy for horror-fatigue and the axis of evil’s other crimes to take our eyes from Gaza. We must resist and keep highlighting the ongoing genocide.

Featured image via Getty Images 

By Skwawkbox

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The Justice Bill currently passing through the Northern Ireland Assembly will allow the police to retain a person’s biometric data for a massive 75 years. This is despite the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) previously ruling that indefinite holding of such information is a violation of privacy.

75 years may not be indefinite, but it’s essentially a lifetime, meaning the difference is largely moot. More worryingly, the bill allows the state to keep information such as fingerprints and DNA for most of a century in cases of “terrorism-related” offences. This could include cases of inviting “support for a proscribed organisation”.

Such legislation has been grotesquely abused to criminalise peaceful supporters of anti-genocide group Palestine Action. The direct action collective sought to halt Zionist atrocities by smashing up the arms factories making the weapons used to murder Palestinians.

Legitimate protest is further undermined by the bill granting authorities the power to retain data for “breach of the peace” offences. These are typically minor matters stemming from low-level civil disobedience. In Stormont, Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit questioned whether this:

…quite loose term [breach of the peace] could be used to keep people’s data for quite a long length of time when, by most people’s definition, the person might not have committed a serious crime.

Carroll: ‘biometric surveillance being smuggled in through the back door’

The current plan is to operate biometric data retention on a 75/50/25 model. That means for offences such as murder, rape, severe violence and the aforementioned ‘terrorism’, data can be held for 75 years. It’ll be 50 for offences that result in a custodial sentence of 5 years or more, and 25 for those not involving time in jail.

Carroll has introduced an amendment to ensure people are informed that their data is being held, something not previously part of the bill.

The West Belfast MLA also criticised how the bill permits the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to create a “facial-image database”. He said in a press release sent to the Canary:

This is the architecture of biometric surveillance being smuggled in through the back door, with a promise to fill in the detail later.

The legislation does not treat photographs as biometric data in the same way as fingerprints and DNA. The PSNI are therefore permitted to hold images indefinitely, including those of suspects photographed at a police station. That means people who have committed no crime will potentially sit on a police database forever.

The Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) expressed alarm at this in its June 2025 briefing, saying it could be used as part of rights-violating live facial recognition systems (LFR). The PSNI have previously expressed interest in introducing such a system, saying the police service:

…fully recognises the value this could bring to investigations and public safety.

Big Brother Watch have said such technology:

…discriminates against women and people of colour. 80% of people misidentified by facial recognition in London in 2025 were Black.

NICCY suggest the use of photos may again be a violation of European law. They cite the case of Gaughran vs UK, where the ECHR found that retention of photographs is a violation of the:

…right to respect for…private and family life.

Justice Bill — DUP want to keep jailing 10 year olds

The north of Ireland Policing Board’s human rights reviewer said in 2024 that:

…the PSNI continue to hold biometric data (fingerprints, photographs, and DNA profiles) on hundreds of thousands of people in Northern Ireland unlawfully and has been doing so since 2008.

Another contentious aspect of the bill is whether it will alter the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR). The north of Ireland has one of the lowest MACR levels in the world (see under ‘United Kingdom’), at an outrageous 10 years old. That means children not yet in secondary school can be put behind bars.

There are various amendments seeking to change this via the Justice Bill. Carroll has asked that it be set at 16, while Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland has introduced an amendment setting the level at 14 years. Doug Beattie of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has sought to set it to 12, leading to a clash with UUP leader and ex-PSNI man Jon Burrows. Beattie has since resigned from the party.

The dinosaurs of the Democratic Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice are determined to ensure dealing with youth offenders is kept firmly in the 19th century. They favour maintaining the status quo; i.e. jailing 10 year olds whose forebrain has barely started developing.

A June 2023 consultation on raising the MACR found overwhelming support for the obviously sensible and humane approach of raising the age to 14. MLAs will continue debate on this aspect of the bill next week.

Featured image via Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

By Robert Freeman

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The Pentagon is publishing fake AI ‘news’ across Latin America which mix financial advice with imperial propaganda. One article even celebrates the “precision” of the 3 January US raid on Venezuela. The operation recalls British fake media operations from the Cold War recently released from secret archives.

The project reflects the subtler side of American attempts to restore dominance in a continent the US ruling class views as its personal fiefdom.

Pentagon pushing fake news

The Intercept revealed on 2 June that a magazine named La Tilde was funded by the US government and operated:

as a military messaging platform for U.S. Special Operations Command South, or SOCSOUTH, which executes special forces missions throughout South and Central America as well as the Caribbean.

The outlet even got a sort of admission from La Tilde’s spokesperson:

When asked about SOCSOUTH’s role behind La Tilde, spokesperson Trevor Wild replied with the text of the site’s About page noting that it’s a government operation, but declined to comment further.

The magazine’s mix of normal stories with supportive articles about US imperialism recalls a similar British operation from the Cold War years. That operation was run by the UK’s Special Editorial Unit (SEU), part of the Foreign Office’s Information Research Department (IRD).

It served as a:

clandestine anti-communist propaganda unit which operated in the Foreign Office between 1948 and 1977.

According to a Declassified UK investigation from 14 May 2026, SEU produced deniable (or ‘black’) propaganda. Targets included nationalist and anti-colonial movements around the world:

Anti-colonial leaders such as Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nasser, Indonesia’s Sukarno, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah were a frequent focus of British propaganda operations.

Declassified writer John McEvoy added:

Elsewhere, the SEU orchestrated propaganda campaigns on such diverse topics as fishing rights in the North Atlantic, apartheid in South Africa, and European communist parties.

Fake media organisations of yesteryear

But here is a key parallel:

Running news agencies was one of SEU’s “core activities”. These are described as “controlled outlets” in the archival material.

The fake outlets then and now mixed everyday news items with overtly political material to appear less suspicious:

In order to look like bona fide news agencies, the SEU’s “controlled outlets” fused political with “anodyne” content in order to “sweeten the pill” of the propaganda material.

These “anodyne” articles covered such issues as women’s affairs, health, sociology, geography, history, and sport.

This US’ updating of an old method combines filler AI-content about investment and travel advice mixed with openly pro-US propaganda material with headlines like:

Operation Absolute Resolve: The mission that captured Nicolás Maduro and set a new standard for precision and coordination

And:

“A rare happiness, but a real one”: Venezuelans speak about the hope that resurfaces after Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

Different fading empire, virtually identical shenanigans.

AI content, no bylines, US denials

The Intercept reported that La Tilde:

carries no bylines, masthead, or mention of actual staff of any kind. Although the site claims it employs “dozens of freelance reporters and content creators,” at least some of the site appears to have been generated by a large language model.

Adding:

Running articles through Pangram, an AI-text detection service, produced multiple hits for both English and Spanish writing either partially or entirely written by machines (though such tools are known to deliver false positives).

Former Pentagon cyber-policy adviser Emerson Brooking noted the La Tilde website’s “shoddiness” and said it was:

AI all the way down.

Brooking said:

If you can generate new content and even news fronts at the flip of a switch, your influence operations can shift target and focus much more quickly.

That seems to be the thinking behind recent AI-powered Russian and Chinese networks, for instance.

The US military denied any connection to La Tilde:

SOUTHCOM [US miltary Southern Command] “does not fund, operate, or have any official association with La Tilde,” according to spokesperson Steven McLoud, who did not respond to further questions.

And La Tilde looks to be expanding operations. The Intercept found:

An analysis of subdomains hosted on LaTilde.co reveals the site plans to launch bespoke versions for readers in Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, and Peru.

Propaganda wing of Trump’s American Empire

Dominance in the Americas has always been US policy. President Trump has sharpened it in the 2025 National Security Strategy. The Canary has followed this process since Trump’s 2024 re-election:

The Monroe Doctrine, many Canary readers will be aware, basically means US political and economic dominance of the continent. The ‘Donroe’ doctrine, as the new version has been called, is Trump’s typically egotistical update.

As we noted:

The US started 2026 with an attack on Venezuela and various threats against neighbours like Greenland, Canada and others. Since then, it was steered — with the help of Israel — into a war with Iran. And spent the last few months getting an arse-kicking in a dramatically failing conflict there.

However:

the Americas have not been forgotten in Trump’s vision. The US military and US intelligence have been busy while Iran took the headlines.

You can read our 30 May analysis – ‘Trump’s American empire: US operations are firing up across the continent‘ –  here. You can read the full National Security Strategy here. The new US counter-terrorism strategy also mentions uses the coded language of cartel ‘narco-terrorism’ to build consent for US hemispheric power.

Influence operations like La Tilde are the flip side of kinetic US military actions, partner training and support for Trump-aligned right-wing politicians on the continent. The Iran war will end at some point. The US ruling class will return more fully to a core competency: bullying their neighbours into submission.

Featured image via Getty/Win McNamee

By Joe Glenton

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Countries including the UK failed to reach agreement at a UN nuclear conference in New York on how to eliminate nuclear weapons, while the Labour Government declined to comment despite sending a minister who spoke at the opening session.

The 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) took place from 27 April to 22 May, bringing together states parties, observers and non-governmental organisations. A House of Commons Library briefing published on 20 April said participants included treaty members, observers and NGOs who:

discuss[ed] the functioning of the treaty, the implementation of its provisions and the state of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation more broadly.

The briefing warned that “there are concerns that a belief in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is under threat”. This is because nuclear weapons states modernise and expand their arsenals, while at the same time these concerns grow.

There has been a move away from nuclear arms control as an enabler of confidence building and strategic stability.

The review conference — sometimes called RevCon — produced a document which remained in draft, showing what agreements on nuclear non-proliferation the parties to the treaty had attempted to reach consensus on. Paragraph 15, concerning Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, remains contested, and the document was not ‘adopted’ by the RevCon.

Nuclear weapons conference: diplomatic reaction to failed talks

Senior UN diplomats shared their disappointment about the failure of the conference to come to an agreement at a press conference which concluded the two week event.

The Eleventh Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT president, and Vietnam’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Do Hung Viet said:

I am disappointed that the review conference was unable to reach consensus on an outcome document and really seize this critical opportunity to make our world a safer place.

He added:

The current international environment, which is really marked by deep tensions and an elevated risk posed by nuclear weapons, demands very urgent action.

Throughout the conference I have appealed to all states parties [note to eds; thats not a typo, both diplomats said ‘states parties’] to continue to make full use of the available avenues for dialogue, for diplomacy, for negotiation to come to an agreement. I believe such an agreement would have contributed significantly to reducing tensions, to lowering the nuclear risks and contribute to the ultimate total elimination of the nuclear threat.

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He went on to warn that the failure of the RevCon made him concerned about the NPT itself.

A substantive outcome would have strengthened the treaty and advanced its objectives, but in absence of such an outcome, I am concerned for the future health of treaty.

Two sides of the same coin

Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs — the most senior diplomat at the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs — Izumi Nakamitsu said:

Non-proliferation and disarmament are two sides of the same coin, and it is simply wrong for nuclear weapons states to assume that nonproliferation obligations will be just adhered to without nuclear weapon states commitment and implementation of disarmament commitment under article six.

Article VI of the NPT says:

Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

However, Nakamitsu said that despite the failure of the conference to agree on an outcome document, the NPT is still in effect. She added:

There was no consensus outcome, but we all need to remember that legal commitments or legal obligations under this treaty remain. So we need to make sure that all states, especially nuclear weapons states, really understand it and then maintain their commitment. Additionally, they must really move to implement their commitments.

Labour buries head in sand over deadlock

Speaking at the start of the conference on 27 April, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office minister of state Stephen Doughty MP said:

The United Kingdom remains fully committed to the Treaty and our obligations under it, including Article Six.

He also said at the time:

The UK believes that the Treaty remains the only credible route to tackle the nuclear challenges of the decades to come […] We must use the next few weeks to unite behind it […] We want this Conference to deliver a consensus outcome that strengthens implementation of the NPT. […] Whether or not we can get there, the Treaty’s role in global security is enduring and undiminished.

“But a collective signal that, despite our differences, we can come together to restate common commitments would further strengthen it and send a powerful message.

The Canary asked the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) if it would like to comment on the failure of the conference and a spokesperson said, “we are not providing a response on this story.”

UK violating NPT given its modernisation and expansion of nuclear arsenal – CND

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Sophie Bolt told the Canary:

Nuclear risks are growing and following the expiry of the New START Treaty between the US and Russia in February, this year’s NPT Review Conference was a critical opportunity to get disarmament efforts back on track.

In February 2026, the UK Labour Government was criticised for its lack of diplomatic action, given the UK’s status on the international stage as a nuclear weapons state, over the expiration of New START (New Strategic Arms Reductions Treaty). The treaty limited the number of nuclear weapons the US and Russia could hold.

Bolt continued:

Instead, Nuclear Weapons States shamefully blocked any meaningful progress over the course of the negotiations resulting in deadlock.

It’s now been 16 years since a consensus was reached on implementing the NPT – meanwhile nuclear powers are spending over $100bn (£86bn) a year on modernising and expanding their arsenals.

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And she added:

For nuclear powers like Britain who are signed up to the NPT, this is a violation of their commitments made under Article VI of the Treaty.

It’s telling that the British government has not commented on these failed negotiations as it prepares to announce its Defence Investment Plan, which will include funding for nuclear-capable F-35A fighter jets to give the RAF a nuclear capability for the first time in almost three decades.

Nuclear-armed states ‘undermining the NPT’ and ‘pointing the world toward catastrophe’

The International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) advocates for nuclear disarmament and promotes the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Half of the UN countries support the TPNW, but no nuclear weapons-armed states have added their support.

ICAN United Nations liaison Seth Shelden said:

Our key concern has not been whether or not diplomats agree on a piece of paper, but whether or not the NPT member states are reducing risks related to nuclear weapons.

Shelden explained that risk must be central:

The surest path to eliminating the risk is eliminating the weapons, as legally required under the NPT. And the majority of countries are indeed working in good faith toward disarmament, including by signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

However:

the small handful of nuclear-armed states, and certain of their allies, are undermining the NPT, frustrating disarmament efforts, expanding arsenals, and provoking proliferation, pointing the world toward catastrophe.

Featured image via Getty/Christian Bruna

By Tom Pashby

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On 2 June, a white riot erupted in Southampton following inflammatory speeches from far-right figures Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson. Since then, residents in the area have spoken out about what these thugs subjected them to:

A British national living in Southampton had her car and property damaged. She said,

“I’ve never felt so unsafe in my house.”

She did not feel unsafe because of Sikhs, Muslims or migrants but because of other British nationals, a section of whom were far right. pic.twitter.com/Xj2RlZunZK

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— Zara Hussain (@zarahussain999) June 3, 2026

Farage white riot in Southampton

As Rose Cocker reported for the Canary:

On the 2 June, far-right bigot Nigel Farage put out a statement ostensibly aiming to avoid societal dissolution in response to police treatment of murder victim Henry Nowak. Roughly 24 hours later, rioters took to the streets of Southampton to throw wheelie bins at cops.

Farage tried to despicably weaponise the murder of Nowak to incite racial hatred. He specifically called for “pure, cold rage.” Lo and behold, fellow racists rioted in Southampton, and the riots trended on social media as #FarageRiots.

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The woman interviewed above described the situation as:

Carnage really, for four hours.

Sky News asked:

Just describe what you saw out of your windows, what was happening?

She responded:

Bricks were being thrown, a bin was set on fire and pushed through the police line. Yeah, bottles, cans. All sorts. I think a lot of walls and bins, chairs, all sorts.

Several videos captured the behaviour she’s talking about:

Dozens of bricks being thrown pic.twitter.com/VwPXkfZlmR

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) June 2, 2026

Right-wing commentator ‘Young Bob’ willingly uploaded a video of his pals pushing a flaming bin into the police despite the fact that some of the men’s faces are visible:

Protesters are now setting dumpsters on fire and pushing bins towards the police line.

This is the sort of escalation and civil unrest that happens during mass migration. pic.twitter.com/iNyuY2ePLD

— Young Bob (@YoungBobRB) June 2, 2026

When asked how she felt witnessing all this, the woman replied:

Terrified. I’ve never felt unsafe in my house and I just wanted to get out of there, but I couldn’t.

In the video, you can see there’s a car with the back windows taped up, because bricks were thrown through it. The woman noted that in addition to the damaged car:

I think one of the walls is missing. Someone’s missing a wall.

The aforementioned Young Bob would also visit the house where Henry Nowak was arrested, trespassing on the property and filming it:

This is absolutely repulsive. https://t.co/HmakR9Aszm

— Curtis Daly (@CurtisDaly_) June 3, 2026

Bob praised the thugs for not ‘desecrating’ the house, seemingly suggesting it was acceptable for them to terrorise the neighbours.

The scourge

Reform UK politicians are doing everything they can to not criticise the marauding louts they stirred up:

OK @TiceRichard I’m going to try one more time. This really shouldn’t be hard. You keep claiming you have specifically and unequivocally condemned the violence in Southampton on social media. Fine. Just present the actual tweet or post. https://t.co/JUGfma5LGj

— (((Dan Hodges))) (@DPJHodges) June 4, 2026

Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, meanwhile, described the pissed-up Nazis who rampaged through Southampton as “patriots”:

I do not want to see patriots thrown in prison because they've had a beer or two, got fired up and acted stupid in the heat of the moment.

The state will make an example of you – they will show no mercy. Your life will be ruined.

Do not attack the police. Be smart. Stay calm.

— Rupert Lowe MP (@RupertLowe10) June 4, 2026

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Britain now has a firmly established far-right movement that constitutes political parties in Westminster and a violent street movement. In other words, it’s starting to look at lot like 1930s Germany.

Featured image via Dan Kitwood (Getty Images)

By Willem Moore

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