(Alamy)

2 min read5 hr

Turner has been particularly vocal in his opposition to jury trial reforms, but has also publicly criticised the Keir Starmer operation.

PoliticsHome understands that the suspension did not relate to a specific incident and was in response to a pattern of behaviour towards colleagues.

Some Labour MPs were unhappy with an interview that the Hull East MP gave to campaigner Jody McIntyre, who stood against Labour MP Jess Phillips at the last general election.

Turner claimed that he had not been made aware that he had had the whip suspended before it was reported by the media.

Writing on X on Tuesday afternoon after the suspension was confirmed to PoliticsHome, he said: “I am being told that I have had the whip suspended but I have not had any notification from the whips about this. It seems journalists have been told but I have not.”

Turner, who was first elected in 2010, wrote in The House in December that he was prepared to break the whip for the first time since being elected to oppose the government’s plans to scale back jury trials.

It came after PoliticsHome reported that Turner was organising a backbench letter to protest proposals.

While some MPs had said they were opposed to the plans to scale back jury trials for less serious offences, the bill passed its first hurdle in the House of Commons earlier this month. 

The US has said it ‘respects Israel’s right to determine its own laws’. Meanwhile, it is denying countries with a Muslim majority, such as Iran, that same right.

BREAKING: US says it respects Israel’s ‘right to determine its own laws’ after Knesset approves death penalty for Palestinians

🔴 LIVE updates: https://t.co/jUFsTtQBHU pic.twitter.com/M7cIT20LOW

— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) March 31, 2026

The whole premise of the US and Israel’s illegal invasion was ‘regime change’ and ‘freeing Iranian women’. Of course, they do that by bombing little school girls, blowing up hospitals, and killing United Nations (UN) workers. They have not freed a single woman; instead, they’ve murdered them.

Israel above all

Now, Israel has introduced yet another barbaric law solely for Palestinians.

Palestinians who Israel has detained illegally, and often without reason or trial, will face the death penalty. Israelis in detention for a variety of similar offences will not.

But in 2023, the US sanctioned Uganda for introducing the death penalty specifically for LGBTQ individuals.

US actually sanctioned Uganda for death penalty law against LGBQ. https://t.co/eqMdwNL3JX

— Francis Wanjiku (@TheNjoroge) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

Then-President Joe Biden called the move “a tragic violation” of human rights. Of course, Trump is not Biden, but we can presume that a fellow Zionist would be similarly atrocious at standing up to Israel’s repeated human rights abuses. All in the name of antisemitism, after all.

Some African nations have been unable to pass laws reflecting their people’s views due to U.S. pressure. Look at this…🤔 https://t.co/eYzEgWjQU6

— OAL (@Deji_Dokun) March 31, 2026

Additionally, Ghana passed the ‘Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill’ in February 2024. This effectively criminalises LGBTQ activities and advocacy.

The US stated that it would:

threaten all Ghanaians’ constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press, and assembly.

The same could be said for Venezuela, Cuba, and Iraq.

The US seems extremely concerned with the ‘human rights’ and ‘freedoms’ in countries governed by Black and brown people. But where’s the outrage for human rights when the tables are turned, and genocidal Zionists are in charge?

Apartheid

The US respects Israel’s right to ‘determine its own laws’. More like, the US respects Israel’s right to apartheid.

“The US respects Israel’s right to apartheid” https://t.co/unVlmNaJuL

— @ (@wbn199) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

I guess there is always a trade-off between Western morality and oil.

Reason 12838339393949 why western morality is a joke https://t.co/Lxb9NqBEMP

— BTStani⁷ ⊙⊝⊜ (@btstanipk) March 31, 2026

The US doesn’t respect the laws in Black and brown countries, but it will respect the laws of genocidal terrorists and elite pedophiles.

So USA doesn’t respect other countries around the world then… they just respect satanic pedophiles…. https://t.co/CIsqqA0bzc

— Mtho (@MthoNgwenya06) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

Earlier this year, Iran executed three people for killing police officers and:

carrying out operations in favour of the United States and Israel.

Donald Trump described these executions as “terrible”.

The cop killer that was rightfully hanged in Iran last month was called barbaric by the West. https://t.co/5sTdHdQrO2

— Buhari (@Buharibawa) March 31, 2026

In January, Trump also said the US would take “very strong action” against Iran if it executed protesters. He earlier told Iranians that “help is on the way”.

But where’s the very strong action against Israel? Where’s the help for Palestinians?

Colonialism

The US’s unequivocal backing of Israel is nothing short of colonialism.

Western countries seem to collectively decide which countries’ sovereignty they should respect, and which need to be carpet-bombed to ‘restore order’, and it’s bullshit.

Interesting how the West decides which countries sovereignty should be respected whilst others need to be bombed to civilise them. https://t.co/kBMxUxVB1q

— Dr Rehana Parveen (@rehanaparv) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

The West gives some countries the right to kill whoever the hell they want; meanwhile, others are ‘regimes’ and ‘tyrants’.

Totally normal, so very normal. Some countries have rights to kill whomever they want to kill, others have regimes and tyrants. https://t.co/Ri0GvSX7ZX

— Maya Wardeh 🍉 (@maroshcka) March 31, 2026

Let’s face it – liberating women or restoring order usually means stealing oil and privatising it.

But they will bomb Iran to “liberate the people” or some shit. What about Iran’s right to make their own laws? This hypocrisy is nothing but a demonstration of colonial power and impunity, and they know it. https://t.co/Fm3dNfAESC

— Eclectic Eel (@zang808) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

The US and Israel care more about their illegal Jewish-supremacist ethnostate project than the lives of Black and brown people. That much has been clear since Zionists started colonising Palestine in 1922.

But Iran has the right to make its own laws free of Western interference, and Operation Epstein is showing us over and over again why Israel should cease to exist.

However, when Israel already has so much influence over US laws and is literally bankrolling its politicians, how can we expect the US to stop Israel from introducing genocidal laws?

Featured image via HG

The UK government joined France, Germany, and Italy in issuing a statement expressing their “deep concern” ahead of Israel’s decision to default to the death penalty for Palestinians charged with fatal crimes. This horrifying bill, which passed by 62 to 48, will undoubtedly further the extermination of Palestinians. The Israeli Occupation Army’s (IOF’s) entirely biased military courts apply these convictions, leaving powerless defendants with almost no access to justice.

The joint statement from Western nations read:

We, the Foreign Ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, express our deep concern about a bill that would significantly expand the possibilities to impose the death penalty in Israel and that could be voted into law next week. We are particularly worried about the de facto discriminatory character of the bill. The adoption of this bill would risk undermining Israel’s commitments with regards to democratic principles.

The death penalty is an inhumane and degrading form of punishment without any deterring effect. This is why we oppose the death penalty, whatever the circumstances around the world. The rejection of the death penalty is a fundamental value that unites us.

We urge the Israeli decision makers in Knesset and Government to abandon these plans.

Advertisement

While Western opposition to the death penalty is welcome and aligns with international law, those who drafted the statement shamefully couldn’t bring themselves to even mention Palestinians. Since this law applies exclusively to Palestinians, while Israeli citizens remain exempt, such erasure is not just negligent – it is contemptible. And, it makes the UK, Germany, France, and Italy entirely complicit in the erasure of Palestinians that is central to genocide.

Israel – Western complicity

For decades, these Western governments have enabled Netanyahu’s administration through political, military, and diplomatic support. This unqualified support came despite mounting, indisputable evidence that Israel’s policies amount to a system of apartheid and genocide.

As such, it’s hard to take messages of opposition remotely seriously:

BREAKING: UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has put out a joint statement with France, Germany and Italy opposing the passing of a law in Israel which will make the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of murdering Israelis.https://t.co/3X2Gb8T18Z pic.twitter.com/WuX6EDf6nI

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

After all, Palestinians have been illegally murdered for years now – why would the legalisation of Israel’s genocidal policy change anything?

Israel receive condemnation

Military officials and other Israeli ministers have also raised concerns that this law violates international law. They further add that applying this law could expose Israeli officials to arrest abroad under warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Furthermore, Israel’s leading civil rights group, the Association for Civil Rights, have reportedly filed an appeal against the law with the Supreme Court saying the law is:

an act of institutionalised discrimination and racist violence against Palestinians.

Israel’s Supreme Court of Israel could still strike down this law, potentially curbing the most extremist and violent acts of Zionism. Yet whether it takes the form of so-called “polite” Zionism or outright violence, all versions undermine the rights of indigenous Palestinians.

Many have come out decrying the cruel and illegal punishment, with the UN Human Rights for Palestine underscoring the UN’s opposition to the death penalty “under all circumstances”:

Israel must immediately repeal the discriminatory death penalty law passed today by the Knesset, as it contravenes Israel’s obligations under international law.
The United Nations opposes the death penalty under all circumstances. The implementation of this new law would violate…

— UN Human Rights Palestine (@OHCHR_Palestine) March 30, 2026

Lawyer Jessica Simor has also pointed out the sick rhetoric being purposefully deployed by those who still wish to protect Israel from accountability:

“Controversial” ? Seriously?

How about: “immoral”, “unethical”; contrary to all democratic norms”? How about: “in breach of international law”? How about “heinous”, “stomach-turning”, “irredeemably revealing of a sick society in need of help”? https://t.co/S27dPqv3qn

Advertisement

— Jessica Simor KC (@JMPSimor) March 30, 2026

UN representative Mohamad Safa pointed out the international laws that are contravened by this sadistic law:

Israel just passed death penalty law for ~10,000 Palestinian prisoners.

This violates the Common Article 3 applies to all four Geneva Conventions, but international law clearly doesn’t apply to Israel. pic.twitter.com/5m8HvCc2mi

— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) March 30, 2026

Advertisement

Amnesty International has condemned Israel using the death penalty as “part of the system of apartheid, genocide and occupation” imposed on Palestinians:

Israel now has one of the world’s most extreme death penalty laws.

Israel is brazenly granting itself free rein to execute Palestinians while stripping away the most basic fair-trial safeguards.

The death penalty will now become part of the system of apartheid, genocide and… pic.twitter.com/nKvf29vjAx

— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) March 31, 2026

Advertisement

‘Justice’ delivered by an illegal occupier

We reported on the atrocious odds stacked against Palestinians in Israeli military courts, which conveniently see a 99.7% conviction rate. The impossible conviction rate alone highlights the unlikely justice to be found, making the court little more than a “place of transition“.

We wrote:

The trials usually last about 10 minutes and the testimony of an Israeli soldier is enough to secure a conviction.

Adding:

The odds of a fair trial are stacked against Palestinians. They’re conducted in Hebrew and the poor translations do little to help Palestinians understand what is happening or even what they’re accused of. So each trial essentially boils down to plea bargaining. The Palestinian defendant pleads guilty to get a lesser sentence.

The likelihood that Israeli forces and prosecutors will manufacture crimes whilst pressuring Palestinians to plead guilty is practically a certainty. As ever the Israeli government haven’t shied away from making their intentions clear. The annihilation of Palestinians has always been their ultimate goal.

As these X posts highlight:

Open Incitement Against Our Mothers in the West Bank!
The extremist “Ben-Gvir” threatens mothers in the West Bank, vowing that their children’s fate will be “the gallows.” He asserted that the occupation will not bow to international pressure to halt these racist laws. pic.twitter.com/JUfNQhFGBt

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) March 30, 2026

Look at this photo.
A woman holds up a noose and a lethal injection, celebrating Israeli plans to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians.
Her husband holds a gun labelled ‘occupation’, a plane labelled ‘expulsion’, and a house labelled ‘settlement’.
This grinning, leering… pic.twitter.com/7PGzdIcD7n

— EuropeanPowell (@EuropeanPowell) March 29, 2026

One X user commented:

Zionist Knesset deputy grinning with noose and lethal injection while her husband flaunts occupation, expulsion, and settlements. Pure sadistic bloodlust against Palestinians! Israel’s far-right monsters reveal their true genocidal face.

These are human beings

Citizens across the UK have been horrified as they watch their leaders attempt to shield and defend Israel whilst it conducts the indefensible. This has led to the murder of hundreds of thousands of men, women, children, and babies, while the rest of the world watches the genocide unfold on livestream.

It’s clear the statement from these Western leaders is mere lip service to recognise their legal commitments to oppose the imposition of death penalties. After all, they clearly fail to recognise the complexities and nuances unique to Palestinian people living under occupation, showing that they miss much of the gravity of the issue.

Enforcing a death penalty against a population of captive people, living for decades under oppression and brutality, is another method of state-mandated genocide.

Featured image via the Canary

Reform UK is a party that exists because the Conservatives weren’t right-wing enough. Restore Britain, meanwhile, is a party that exists because Reform UK weren’t right-wing enough.

The problem for the three parties is that they agree on most issues, so they have to find increasingly niche topics to stand out from one another. This is what led to the following:

We are a pro-dog political party.

— Restore Britain (@RestoreBritain_) March 30, 2026

To be clear, this isn’t niche because it’s a minority opinion; it’s niche because political parties don’t need to clarify that dogs should not be executed.

Ordinarily, this post would have warranted little more than a shrug. The reason it’s drawn people’s attention is because Restore leader Rupert Lowe once had his dog put down by shotgun.

According to him, however, he did it in a pro-dog fashion.

Rupert Lowe, shotweiller

According to the Standard, Lowe had 17-year-old dog euthanized by shotgun. If you’re worried this makes him sound like a serial killer, don’t worry; he didn’t take the shot himself. Instead, man of the people Lowe had his groundskeeper pull the trigger.

This is what Lowe told the Mail on Sunday:

My keeper shot our dog the other day. He was a Labrador of 17. Dogs do go through ups and downs for a bit, but in the end Cromwell’s back legs went and our keeper Kevin very kindly did the job.

Cromwell didn’t go anywhere, he wasn’t away from home and he wouldn’t have known anything about it. So much kinder. They are not driven to the vet, they don’t smell the vet, it’s just all over very quickly.

Obviously it’s hard to put yourself in Lowe’s shoes, because most of us don’t have grounds or groundskeepers.

And, there are same-day pet euthanization services in the UK. This would have been slower, obviously, but it would have saved Lowe having to tell people he had an employee merc his own pet.

Speaking on having his man make the kill, Lowe said:

I would find it difficult, which is why my keeper did it. So you can call me a coward on that basis, if you want.

I’ve got friends who can shoot their dogs. [They] just take them on a walk, put a shooting rifle at the back of their head and bang, done. They don’t feel anything. I would have found it hard. He was 17 and had been with us that long.

I would be proud to tell you it was me who did it, [but] I can’t claim that credit.

Poverty can’t buy you many things, but it does afford you the luxury of never having to say the above.

Commenters had a field day with all this, anyway:

The pending community note. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/demelYn5Om

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) March 31, 2026

Restore Britain is very funny tbh. It’s literally just a party for the insane and incoherent nonsense that chronically online fascists believe and appeals to exactly no one else.

— cez (@cezthesocialist) March 31, 2026

Niche politics

If you’re wondering why Restore Britain are talking up dogs, it’s because – you guessed it – ‘foreigners’:

🚨NEW: Rupert Lowe:

“If a foreigner doesn’t want to live in a dog-living country, I’ll pay for their taxi to the airport myself.”

Advertisement

— GB Politics (@GBPolitcs) March 30, 2026

Let’s be real; we live in a country that has many problems, so most of us aren’t worried about who does or doesn’t love dogs.

You know who does have time to worry, though?

That’s right – rich people with no problems of their own.

Rich people who are wealthy enough to pay staff to shoot their pets.

Featured image via Parliament

King Charles III and Queen Camilla with US President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle last year (Alamy)

3 min read34 min

The US trip has been expected for some time, and the palace confirmed on Tuesday that it will go ahead to “celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship” between the countries and mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.

It will be the first UK state visit to the US since Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2007.

The King and Queen will attend a state dinner at the White House, with the King also expected to deliver an address to Congress.

The announcement comes at an awkward moment in UK-US relations, however, with Trump having repeatedly criticised Starmer in recent weeks over his refusal to commit the UK to greater involvement in the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

Trump attacked Starmer after the UK refused to permit the use of British bases for initial US-Israel strikes on Iran earlier this year.

Since then, the UK government has granted the US permission to use British bases for what it describes as defensive strikes on Tehran. However, Starmer has refused to go further, reiterating on Monday that the conflict in the Middle East is “not our [the UK’s] war”.

UK veterans were also angered by Trump’s comment in January that UK troops had stayed a “little back, a little off the front lines” in the war in Afghanistan, which appeared to downplay the UK’s military involvement.

On Tuesday, Trump suggested that it will be up to the UK and other countries to re-open the Strait of Hormuz — the vital shipping lane that has been brought to an effective standstill by the war — and accused them of lacking courage.

He posted on his platform Truth Social: “All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.

“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”

Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, said he opposed the state visit taking place. 

He said: “The Prime Minister is showing a staggering lack of backbone by pushing ahead with this state visit while Donald Trump treats our country with contempt.

“To send the King on a state visit to the US after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as ‘toys’ is a humiliation, and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies. 

“What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make the Government see sense and cancel the state visit?”

According to a YouGov survey last week, 49 per cent of the British public were against the state visit to the US, while 33 per cent were in support of it.

Fascist Israel minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has pushed through a law in the Knesset which will authorise the death penalty – by hanging – of Palestinians. Specifically, this law will apply by default to Palestinians who have been tried in military court and found guilty of committing a fatal attack.

62 Israeli officials voted for the fatal bill, with 47 voting against.

Of course, many have been horrified at this regressive and cruel Israeli law which will only work to further enable the genocidal entity’s colonisation of Palestine. They argue that enforcing this barbaric law will only work to provide a ‘legally-sanitised’ means of ramping up Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank.

These sentences would be imposed following convictions in Israeli military courts, where authorities often pursue charges that would not constitute crimes under international humanitarian law. Denied proper access to legal counsel and basic procedural rights, defendants face proceedings that amount to little more than sham trials designed to legitimise killing.

Horrifyingly, there are currently 9,300 Palestinians in Israeli detention, whose fates will now hang in the balance – either left to suffer and languish in prison, or face the noose.

Israel’s parliament has passed a law today authorising the death penalty – exclusively for Palestinians.

There are over 9,300 Palestinians in Israeli detention.

The executions will be carried out by hanging.

Does @Keir_Starmer still consider Israel an ally? pic.twitter.com/XWaGGDMyL4

Advertisement

— Declassified UK (@declassifiedUK) March 30, 2026

Israel institutionalising genocide

The death penalty changes will allow the occupying state to institutionalise large-scale violence against the Palestinian population under a thin veneer of legality. Such a horrifying development raises profound moral and legal concerns, particularly regarding the protection of civilian lives and adherence to international humanitarian standards.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas slammed the legislation, saying:

Such laws and measures will not break the will of the Palestinian people or undermine their steadfastness. Nor will they deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle for freedom, independence, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Palestinian foreign ministry defiantly stated:

This law once again reveals the nature of the Israeli colonial system, which seeks to legitimise extrajudicial killing under legislative cover.

UN Experts also called on Israel to withdraw the bill back in February, and as per usual, Israel has taken no notice whatsoever.

Belgian MEP, Marc Botenga, has subsequently called on the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel:

Israel just adopted the death penalty for Palestinians.

Last week, the @eu_eeas called the death penalty a violation of the right to life and to freedom from torture.

Logically, the EU should now suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement that demands respect for human rights.

Advertisement

— Marc Botenga MEP (@BotengaM) March 30, 2026

Disturbing historical parallels

Furthermore, this death penalty evokes disturbing historical parallels, including the systematic atrocities carried out during the Holocaust under Nazi Germany, where millions of Jewish people and other marginalised groups were murdered in gas chambers. Like Israel, Hitler enforced special courts called the ‘People’s Court’ to enforce the genocidal agenda of the Nazi regime, condemning thousands to death for “volk treason”.

While historical contexts differ, the comparison underscores the gravity of policies that oil the wheels of genocide.

Frankly, the joyful celebrations on display from Ben-Gvir and far-right allies simply underscore how murderous and bloodthirsty Zionists are:

VIDEO | Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir, outside the Knesset chamber, celebrates the passing of the death penalty law for Palestinian detainees, describing it as historic and saying, “Soon we will count them one by one.” pic.twitter.com/yc4Aan0dLf

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) March 30, 2026

According to the bill, those who receive the death penalty will be kept in a separate detention center with no visitors apart from authorised personnel. Legal consultations, if they even get them, will happen by video link only with executions (murders) carried out within just 90 days. 

The Guardian reported:

The measure will allow courts to impose the death penalty without a request from prosecutors and without requiring unanimity, instead permitting a simple majority decision. Military courts in the occupied West Bank will also be empowered to hand down death sentences, with the defence minister able to submit an opinion.

For Palestinians under occupation, the bill closes off avenues for appeal or clemency, while prisoners tried inside Israel could have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.

Advertisement

No justice in an apartheid State

This ruling from the Knesset has sent a chill across the world. People have powerlessly watched a live-streamed genocide against Palestinians, while their leaders continue to kowtow to Israel. Confronted with this unfolding reality, ordinary citizens have taken it upon themselves to learn the history of Palestine and stand in solidarity with their Arab brothers and sisters.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared in 2024 that this is indeed a plausible genocide with Iceland and Netherland recently joining the case against Israel. On the other hand, many western leaders have done precious little to bring an end to the mass murder of innocent people despite widespread protests at home. Nevertheless, it appears that a red line is finally forming.

An oppressor’s military court does not prioritise justice, instead it serves as another tool to further the colonial ambitions of Zionist Israel. As a result, this law will only exacerbate their murderous tendencies under a manufactured legal facade.

Western leaders must finally lift their heads out of the sand. This death penalty attempts to legalise the murder of a captive and oppressed population, with those same captors serving as judge, jury, and executioner.

This reality echoes the atrocities once sanctioned by Adolf Hitler during World War II. The world must act immediately to halt this rapidly accelerating descent into the abyss – instead of just watching from the sidelines as usual.

Featured image via The Cradle

The government’s latest scandal revolves around Keir Starmer’s ex-chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his allegedly stolen mobile which could have contained messages between him and Peter Mandelson.

The government attempted to put this scandal to bed by accusing doubters of being conspiracy theorists. Now, a poll from the non-profit, More in Common, has revealed there are a hell of a lot of doubters out there — 74% in fact.

New in today’s Playbook. In a sign of how low trust in politics has become, presented with suggestions Morgan McSweeney faked his phone theft 74% of Brits say that is at least probably true. Agreement spans voters of all main parties. pic.twitter.com/L3lz2YlrGW

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026

The McSweeney conspiracy

The TLDR on the McSweeney scandal is as follows:

• The government sacked ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson because of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein
• People began to ask questions about Mandelson’s protege Morgan McSweeney
• McSweeney’s phone was conveniently ‘stolen’ not long after Mandelson’s firing
• McSweeney gave incorrect details to the police and failed to tell them he was a key member of government
• The government launched an investigation following the revelation that Mandelson was leaking UK government information to Epstein
• We learned that many of the potential messages between Mandelson and McSweeney were missing or not being investigated

Keir Starmer and the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, have attempted to dismiss anyone who questions the official narrative.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tells reporters it is a “little bit far-fetched” to suggest that the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone was to hide Peter Mandelson’s messages.

Live updates: https://t.co/TSaU225tEe pic.twitter.com/rzhuJZAwMn

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 26, 2026

Phillipson: the wider coverage around McSweeneys phone is drifting into conspiracy theory

Because the PMs chief of staff ringing the police like any ordinary person, not identifying himself, giving false details, no apparent govt security protocols, thats all perfectly normal! pic.twitter.com/hXlOcoSaUQ

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 29, 2026

Advertisement

As the Canary said at the time, if Labour didn’t want conspiracy theories, they shouldn’t have appointed Peter Mandelson — a politician who was best pals with Jeffrey Epstein — the man at the centre of the 21st century’s most far-reaching conspiracy.

The More in Common polling showed it’s not the case that Britons are just conspiracy minded. Its UK director, Luke Tryl, wrote on X:

To benchmark against any tendency to agree when presented with conspiracy theories we also asked about a series of other conspiracies including whether the moon landings were faked or the pandemic was exaggerated. Significantly more people agreed that the phone theft was faked. pic.twitter.com/oYwei4PMx3

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026

Simultaneously, the polling provided data on how the public feels about disappearing messages.

In what is likely a mismatch between SW1 and the wider public just 15% of Brits have disappearing messages turned on compared to 71% who don’t. Though 22% of 18-24 year olds do have disappearing messages turned on. pic.twitter.com/le6TPbSbLQ

— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) March 31, 2026

In a corner

It was always insulting for the government to paint its critics as conspiracy theorists. Now we know it wasn’t just insulting, it was deeply, deeply stupid.

Starmer can slander 74% of the public if he likes, but it won’t do his own polling any good.

Featured image via Stats for Lefties

David Henig looks at the impact of the recently signed EU-Australia deal, as well as the EU’s wider approach to Free Trade Agreements in light of geopolitical uncertainty. 

Signing a Free Trade Agreement with Australia is the latest step in the EU’s clear acceleration towards completing a programme started in the mid-1990s to secure improved terms of trade for its exporters across the globe. President Trump’s disregard for trade rules is helping, as the Commission and most member states want to show they will not be following suit. Where this also leads is an emerging question as to what will come next for EU trade policy, not least given these FTAs can be set against measures that point in a more protectionist direction.

Early details suggest this new EU-Australia deal is mostly a traditional one focusing on removing what were already low tariffs for industrial goods, protecting EU geographical indications, and offering limited access to EU agriculture markets. There are some elements that go beyond this, such as cooperation on critical raw materials, but steel is notably excluded given EU desires to restrict imports.

This is not going to be any kind of economic game-changer not least in a world in which EU industrial goods are increasingly struggling to be competitive with those from China. Nor is this new trade deal really the basis of some kind of alternative world trade order to the WTO, even one undermined by the US breaking its commitments by raising tariffs and then coercing countries into deals to reduce them. At best one can see the EU’s hurry to expand its network of trade agreements as a form of insurance against a possible future without a well-functioning WTO.

At this stage even the traditionally free trade-hostile French government appears to be happy with a deal that is far less generous in terms of market access for meat imports than both the EU-Mercosur deal and the deal which the UK negotiated with Australia in 2021. There may even be an element of satisfaction that this shows Brussels doing better in negotiations than London. This Australia deal also means that the EU has matched the post-Brexit trade deals secured by the UK with the exception of accession to the trans-pacific CPTPP bloc, filling an obvious gap in an already extensive set of bilateral FTAs.

Despite overt French opposition, the EU-Mercosur agreement will come into provisional effect from the start of May 2026. This demonstrated some skilful political handling from a Commission responsible for negotiations with a Parliament that has yet to give its approval given that it has become the custom if not the legal reality that this is required. In particular the Chair of the International Trade Committee, German Social Democrat Bernd Lange, professed himself satisfied. His voice is increasingly important as the EU struggles with a turbulent global picture.

Earlier this year the EU completed negotiations with India, which as with an earlier agreement with Indonesia, should come into force before the end of this Commission term in 2029. Experienced Brussels trade hands are also increasingly confident that there will be more deals in the next three years. Talks with Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines are advancing, as are more recently launched ones with the UAE. All of this will point towards a highly productive five years for EU trade policy.

Less is expected of discussions between the EU and the twelve members of the CPTPP that include the UK. While these are among the stronger supporters of global trade rules, what is mostly being discussed is some fairly limited cooperation starting by restating approaches on digital rules. Commission sources have previously said that cooperation between two blocs is outside of their comfort zone, and going further such as by providing tariff-free access for goods produced using CPTPP supply chains would run into fears around the impact on EU industry.

This problem in dealing with CPTPP cooperation demonstrates one of the EU’s major trade policy challenges for the future, of how to move beyond traditional FTA issues into working with other countries on some of today’s challenges such as the growing economic security agenda. Existing Free Trade Agreements are in danger of being devalued as measures like the carbon border adjustment mechanism, investment restrictions, abolition of de minimis customs exemptions for low-value imports, and ‘Made in Europe’ content requirements are excluded. However, to incorporate these would be challenging, as debate over the latter (about which countries should count as ‘Made in Europe’) is showing.

Even more difficult an issue is the EU approach to trade with the US and China, the only countries among its top trade partners with which it has no traditional trade agreement. Member state leaders continue to float the possibility of resurrecting a proper US-EU trade agreement, presumably under the next President, ten years after the failure of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks. Longstanding differences on food and digital regulations, and public procurement, still look very difficult to overcome however. The Turnberry Agreement, now approved by the European Parliament, is best seen as a temporary response to Trump’s coercion (by reducing tariffs on EU imports) that may not even last his term.

An EU-China trade agreement seems even more improbable due to concerns about EU industry and the political effect that would have on US-EU ties. This, however, also reveals why there is no prospect of resurrecting a stronger WTO, as the three would need to agree on something for it to happen.

Such then has been the approach of this Commission under pressure from President Trump, to accelerate the tried and tested and park the more difficult issues for another time. As a strategy for survival there is considerable logic. It is however not really a basis for tackling the fragmentation of rules currently afflicting the world trade system, still less for addressing the challenges of modern global markets. Thus, as one programme to sign new FTAs comes to an end there is a serious need to think about what will come next, but work that has barely started.

By David Henig, Director of the UK Trade Policy Project at ECIPE.