Damian McCarthy

It would have been nice for the media to have asked all these candidate-related questions of Reform *before* the elections, but they were far too focused on the Greens of course.

HALF A MILLION PEOPLE WERE DEFRAUDED Imagine you are behind on your store card payments. You are already struggling. Then the bank quietly adds an extra charge on top of what you owe. Not because it costs them that much. Just because .. they can. And because they think nobody is watching. Someone was watching. Nicholas Wilson was a debt recovery lawyer. He goes by Mr Ethical @nw_nicholas on X. His old boss meant it as an insult. In 2003 he noticed that @HSBC subsidiary HFC Bank was adding an illegal 16.4% charge onto the debts of people who were already in financial trouble. Store cards from John Lewis, Currys, B&Q, Dixons, PC World. Ordinary people. Struggling people. Being quietly robbed. He told his boss it was illegal. His boss started calling him "Mr Ethical" as a joke. Then they sacked him. He reported it to the regulators. @TheFCA ignored him for years. When a researcher separately wrote to both HSBC and the FCA asking about the fraud... ... both wrote back with responses in the exact same wording, same punctuation, same paragraphs. The bank and the regulator were sharing the same script. FCA's own independent Complaints Commissioner eventually investigated. He called it the worst case of regulatory failure he had ever dealt with. FCA's response was to appoint Ruth Kelly, an HSBC director, and Baroness Hogg from John Lewis, onto its own board. The two people they were supposed to be investigating were now sitting inside the regulator. You actually cannot make this up. After 13 years of Wilson refusing to go away, HSBC quietly agreed to pay some money back. FCA announced 6,700 victims. Wilson says the real number is closer to 500,000. HSBC has now set aside £223 million for repayments. No fine. No criminal charges. No one went to prison. No one was even publicly named. Wilson has spent the last 20 years unemployable. Blacklisted. Living on state benefits. Fighting to keep his home. Someone even anonymously reported him to the DWP for benefit fraud while the actual billion pound fraud went unpunished. The bank that robbed half a million people kept its licence. The man who caught them lost everything. Source: @guardian | @BBC | @PrivateEyeNews | @SundayMirror | @realmediauk | nicholaswilson com | @nw_nicholas and others.

THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE !

The Audio of Mary Lou telling Ainé Lawlor that Mark Lohan could speak Irish. Which was a weird thing to say, considering her own party members in Connemara were telling anyone who would listen that Lohan couldn't speak Irish.

🚨🎙️| Joe Hart on West Ham’s disallowed equalizer vs Arsenal, accuses VAR of saving Arsenal’s title hopes: 🗣️“Listen, I don’t care what anyone says, that goal should’ve stood. VAR has absolutely ruined moments like that. West Ham fought for that equalizer and somehow they’ve found a way to disallow it for the softest little touch you’ll ever see. If that’s Arsenal scoring at the Emirates, nobody even checks it for more than five seconds. And this is what frustrates fans, Arsenal have lived off those scrappy, aggressive goals all season. Blocking keepers, crowding the six-yard box, little nudges here and there… suddenly when it happens against them, it’s ‘clear and obvious.’ Give me a break. I was a goalkeeper, I know when a keeper’s genuinely impeded and when he’s looking for help. There’s no way you can tell me that was enough contact for the goal to be overturned. The game’s gone soft. West Ham have been robbed, simple as that. You wonder why fans think certain clubs get favourable decisions because moments like this keep happening. Arsenal are in a title race and somehow every 50/50 call seems to land their way. That equalizer changes the whole atmosphere of the game and VAR bottled it. Absolutely bottled it.”

This should be one of the top stories. Not a peep on @BBCNews early evening bulletin. Even more sinister there’s no mention anywhere on the BBC News App #GetHarborneOut

David Barker, the newly elected Reform councillor in Sunderland, battered his girlfriend senseless and BURNT HIS CHILD WITH CIGARETTES. But they want to protect us, right?

No sooner do MSM do a major profile of Farage's Thai based crypto donor and it's been taken down. Who runs this country? @ObserverUK

Hoy el ejército infanticida de "Israel" asesinó a esta bebé libanesa, de unos meses de vida, junto a su madre, en un bombardeo contra su casa en la ciudad de Saksakiyeh, al sur del Líbano. Para los sionistas parece que matar niños sea un ritual, han matado a más de 180 niños en 6 semanas en el sur del Líbano.

@haaretzcom "The head of the IDF Central Command has effectively ordered troops to shoot stone-throwers on sight – so long as they are Palestinian. Youssef Shtayyeh, 15, was shot dead from 100 meters away as he fled" ⬆️Why is this not worthy of coverage #ABC #NBC #PBS #CBS #CNN #BBC ?

The only party led by a Jewish leader, who’s faced Nazi salutes and antisemitic abuse on our streets this month, wasn’t invited. Reform's leader, with a track record of antisemitism, is invited. I know, like every party, we’ve got work to do on tackling antisemitism. But tackling hate requires cross-party solidarity, not ideological gatekeeping. theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/m…

Russia has again violated its own the ceasefire‼️ - In Sumy region one person injured as a result of shelling. - In Zaporizhzhia and surrounding areas 780 Russian strikes hit 33 settlements. One person killed, three more wounded. - In Dnipro region Nikopol district and Synelnykove district came under attack. A 3‑year‑old child was injured. - In Kherson russian drone strike wounded a 19‑year‑old man (blast injury and multiple shrapnel wounds).

Today, the Defence Forces Cavalry Corps Team (Callsign Shamrock 1) took home first place in the Bradley category in the 2026 Sullivan Cup. The Defence Forces Cavalry Corps team competed in the 2026 Sullivan Cup, hosted in Fort Benning, GA, USA. The purpose of the Sullivan Cup is to identify and recognise the most skilled armoured vehicle crews internationally. The competition consisted of gunnery live fire lanes by day and night, vehicle maintenance, crew knowledge, call for fire, AFV recognition, medical lanes and physical fitness challenges. Our team had a two week window to train up in theatre on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle having never used the platform before. After completing two weeks of training successfully, the competition started on 30 APR 26 and the Cavalry Corps emerged as the winners.

russia was allied with the Nazis from Aug 1939 to June 1941. They jointly invaded Poland and held a victory parade in Brest on Sept 22, 1939 (Guderian + Soviet commander Krivoshein). 📽 Watch the joint parade below. russia would’ve stayed allied if Hitler hadn’t attacked. 2/4

The @BBC just parroted the Israeli army’s narrative about yesterday’s killings in Lebanon. They said that they were striking Hezbollah targets and even mentioned that the ‘IDF said they killed 10 Hezbollah operatives.’ They failed to mention the Syrian laborer and his 12 year old daughter who were hunted and executed by an Israeli drone and also conveniently forgot to mention international law, which dictates that legitimate targets are only on the battlefield during active hostilities. There is no battlefield right now. We are in a ceasefire. Every person they kill, Hezbollah member or not, has civilian status. Israel is being allowed by the world to carry on a killing spree. What makes you think they will stop here?

He lives in Thailand. He goes by a Thai name. He holds 12% of Tether - a cryptocurrency that made $13bn last year. He has given Farage and Reform £22 million. He gave Farage £5m personally before he stood for parliament. After last night's historic results, this is the most important background read in British politics. Full story 👇

Let's not forget that even though Aughinish Alumina is in Ireland, it's owned by a Russian oligarch. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, shipments have increased to 80% Russian. Ireland and the EU must step in and sanction these shipments #Alumina21

It is reported Emily boarded a flight to Paris so please share with any friends and family in France

@HangBlaa @BFraggles Ahh it all makes sense now

@dmchammer1 @BFraggles Many English words with an ‘ee’ sound were pronounced with an ‘ay’ sound before Elizabethan. The Irish word for quay is cé, and the Irish word for tea is té. Interestingly, the French words are quai and thé.

The earliest detailed map of Dublin, by John Speed, 1610. Fascinating how many areas/streets are still there. Most of the churches remain. 'Wood Key' doesn't use the Norman 'quay' spelling. And the old harbour reaches up to Dame street (likely the extent of the Viking one too).

Arrested. Silenced. Hanged at dawn. This is Iran in 21st-century: A photo of the lifeless body of the heroic martyr Sasan Azadvar, who was executed for protesting. Imagine building a life for 21 years and losing it to a system that treats human beings as disposable. Twenty-one. That’s not a criminal mastermind. That’s someone who should be figuring out life, not losing it.