One of the many low-lights of the London 2012 closing ceremony was Russell Brand’s performance of I Am The Walrus by the Beatles. What the organisers should have done instead was to recreate the spectacularly bad-tempered Newsnight debate that had recently taken place between the anarchic comedian and Peter Hitchens (watch it here). Chaired by Stephanie […]
One glance at the cover of her new book is enough to tell you that Harriet Sargeant is a female Fleet Street journalist of the old school – fearless, glamorous and larger-than-life. However, there’s nothing unreal about her subject matter: Britain’s inner-city gang culture. A standard-issue hack would rely on expert reports and the occasional […]
Here’s a prediction for the year 2032: The US Department of Homeland Security has obtained a "new laser-based molecular scanner" that can be "fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away." The scanning technology is able to "penetrate clothing and many other organic materials and offers spectroscopic information, especially for materials that impact safety such as […]
By Peter HoskinFollow Peter on Twitter Sometimes it feels as though last year’s riots are the great forgotten issue in British politics, long since submerged by Europe, the banks and all that. But, thankfully, they do still surface in Westminster’s consciousness on occasion, and did so yesterday during Nick Herbert’s speech at Policy Exchange. The […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show this morning, the Home Secretary Theresa May was able to promote her counter-attack Sunday initiatives: immigration and deporting foreign criminals. Mrs May began with immigration, saying that "we’ve already looked at non-EU economic migrants, and student visas and settlement and now we’re looking at […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter You can't read the Sunday papers without getting a strong sense that the Tory half of the Coalition is mounting something of a counter-attack. After months of being on the back foot a range of ministers appear to be fighting back… George Osborne and the economy: Top of the pops […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter When Theresa May spoke to the Police Federation a month ago she was heckled and jeered. The Federation described the cuts in police budgets as "criminal" and made the Home Secretary stand in front of a banner proclaiming that message. Newspapers described the Federation's conference as hysterical, militant, rude and […]
By Matthew BarrettFollow Matthew on Twitter Yesterday, Ken Clarke announced the watering down of some elements of the proposed Justice and Security Bill, which has caused some controversy due to the parts of the Bill which would allow courts to hear cases in secret. Gone is the ability for the Government to hold sensitive inquests, such as […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter David Cameron has done a round of regional media today in order to promote the idea of directly-elected police commissioners for the 41 constabularies of England and Wales. This message to the Derby Telegraph is typical: "We're scrapping unelected and invisible police authorities, whose duties hardly anyone understands, and for […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter “There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that white girls are fair game and we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first… This small minority who see women as second class citizens, and white women […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter If you wanted to criticise Theresa May over the last few months in her handling of the Qatada case then you might fairly say that she was too submissive to the ECHR and too keen to follow the letter of the law. I think those would have been unfair criticisms […]
By Paul GoodmanFollow Paul on Twitter With UKIP narrowly ahead of the LibDems with YouGov, there is much focus on how people are supporting the party and on which people are supporting the party but surprisingly little discussion about why people are doing so. I believe that research is likely to answer that last question […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter In the last 24 hours a couple of commentators have bravely defended the Government's plan to ensure crime and terrorist-fighting arms of the state have access to digital communications records. Matt d'Ancona wrote that "the objective of this reform is not to deprive us of our privacy, or make real […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The one policy area that appeared to most unite the Liberal Democrats and modernised Conservative Party was the issue of civil liberties. The weekend's news that the Government plans to announce new legislation in the Queen's Speech that will require internet and phone companies to record who their customers have […]
By Tim MontgomerieFollow Tim on Twitter The Daily Mail is one of a number of newspapers to report this morning a range of measures that the Coalition will be taking to tackle alcohol-fuelled social disorder: "New powers for hospitals swamped with drunks to shut down pubs and clubs causing trouble; A late-night levy on licensed premises […]