Duncan Field

We miss Barrack Obama 💔

EXCL: Reform treasurer Nick Candy met several figures subject to international sanctions on trip last week to Nicaragua to discuss gold mine He also received welcome message from co-president, subject to UK sanctions, who called him "friend" and "comrade" thetimes.com/uk/politics/ar…

That the Kremlin and USG are both interfering in Hungary to get the corrupt and divisive Orban govt reelected should serve as a warning. Trump and Putin are intent on weakening European unity and support for Ukraine. British, French and German elections will be targeted likewise.

So far, Christian leaders have been absent from a debate, led by politicians, about the place of faith in public life. So good to see the Bishop of Kirkstall give his perspective.

Bishop of Willesden on the Iftar : "The public iftar in Trafalgar Square was not an act of cultural imposition, nor a signal of division. It was, rather, a moment of hospitality: an invitation to share in the breaking of the fast during Ramadan, extended by one community to the wider public. It was open, generous and peaceful. It reflected something profoundly British; the instinct to gather, to mark significant moments together, and to make space in our common life for the traditions that shape our neighbours. "To suggest that such an event is somehow threatening risks misunderstanding both the nature of religious expression and the character of our national life. Religious freedom in this country has never meant the privatisation of belief. It has meant the opposite: the right of individuals and communities to live out their faith openly, visibly and without fear. That principle applies as much to Muslims observing Ramadan as it does to Christians celebrating Easter, Jews marking Passover, Hindus celebrating Diwali, or Sikhs observing Vaisakhi." churchofengland.org/media/news-and…

The President of the United States just recorded a campaign video for Viktor Orban. From the Oval Office. Orban – the man blocking EU aid to Ukraine, maintaining warm ties with Moscow, and systematically dismantling Hungarian democracy for fifteen years – needed a boost ahead of his April election. So Trump sent one. “A very big hello to CPAC Hungary.” Reagan would have needed a drink.

As a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, Mueller was shot and later returned to lead his platoon after his recovery. He received a Bronze Star for valor, a Purple Heart, 2 Navy/Marine Commendation medals, Republic of Vietnam Cross of Valor, and numerous other medals.

This post from @POTUS is thoroughly despicable, totally predictable...and utterly authentic.

Within just 48 hours of the Tories refusing to sack Nick Timothy for his Islamophobic comments, the far-right is circulating a list of MPs “of foreign descent” trying to “silence” him. This is what happens when racism is normalised from the top: democratically elected representatives being told that we shouldn't be allowed to make decisions here at all, and even that we should leave the country. It’s a racist attack on our very democracy. Will Nick and his party condemn it?

James Cleverly has introduced a video of Kemi Badenoch's greatest achievements only for nothing to be played, in an embarrassing instance of him accidentally getting something right

Or the most offensive diplomatic gaffe in post war US/Japan history. You decide…

Here’s Queen of tinfoil and misinformation Alex Phillips claiming that the Meningitis outbreak has been caused by illegal immigration But don’t worry kids, the presenter on after her is a science denier who thinks it was created by the deep state 🤦‍♂️

Wrong, I'm afraid. This correct decision is completely consistent with Starmer's position that Britain will support defensive actions especially any that thwart DIRECT Iranian attacks on British assets and allies. I'm one of a small minority of Brits who see the US-led action against Iran as a risky but estimable effort to overthrow or, at least, massively degrade one of history's most poisonous and totalitarian regimes. A regime that would blackmail its neighbours and what's left of the free west if it acquired nuclear weapons - potentially quite soon and so waiting for a better time to act reeks of cowardice. The eight post-WWII decades in which the good guys have held the upper, stronger and winning hand in geopolitics will be over (and, yes, the west is overwhelmingly preferable to all alternative polecon models). But my view is most definitely not the view of a clear majority of Brits and I fear it's a settled view both here and throughout Europe. On this issue Starmer is much more in tune with voters than me. He may even be thinking that the popularity of his Iran stance might save him from a leadership challenge after Labour gets routed in May's elections. The intl lawyer inside him actually may believe in this policy (or at least Ed Miliband does, his govt's increasingly assertive backseat driver) and - exceptionally - voters approve of it. So this is not a u-turn and the chances of one happening in the coming weeks? As likely as a Mandelson return.

The Prime Minister’s week unpacked.

@RobertJenrick A reminder that Robert’s previous party took over in 2010 and almost tripled the national debt whilst making cuts which is actually pretty incredible

I’d like to see @Ofcom investigate this to be honest. Meningitis B is endemic to the UK and has been since at least the 1950s when more advanced testing was made common. Anyone who talks of it being introduced recently by immigrants is either misinformed or trying to misinform.

This is a car crash. It’s astounding how utterly pathetic the Tories have become on foreign and defence policy in the last decade. Completely unthinkable this person would be in charge at a time like this.

The worst officiating I’ve ever seen in my life! Good process lads! 😅 🔴 #LFC

Meningitis is one a few diseases where your child can be well in the morning and dead by the evening And if you’d ever seen it happen, you wouldn’t be debating whether to vaccinate or not Tragic and horrifying