Marc Johnstone

My new book "Shadows of Andromeda" is coming soon. marcjohnstone.com & shadowsofandromeda.com

Out now! Six canonical tales which test #sherlockholmes ability to unravel the conspiracies, the misdirections, the strange, and the curious. #historicalfiction #crimefiction #books #readingcommunity #MysteryVibes #BooksWorthReading #bookworms #giftideas mxpublishing.com/collections/sh…

The new Banksy sculpture in London is brilliant

Who's funding Nigel Farage? Reform UK finances are under scrutiny after it was revealed an undeclared £5m was gifted in 2024, before he was standing as a Reform MP. @lewis_goodall explains what's going on

@gloriajune95 Gorgeous photo. Have a great weekend.

Early engagement gets my attention… just saying.

@nicholadrummond Turret version yes. 40mm cannon and its equipped with ATGM and a trophy system.

As someone involved in the delivery of Boxer, I could not be more delighted to see it entering service and to hear positive feedback from the troops using it. But we absolutely need a turreted version with a 30 mm cannon.

Donald Trump attacks Giorgia Meloni — and she delivers a fiery speech he’ll never forget. Donald Trump thought he could easily score political points by calling Giorgia Meloni “an insult to Jesus,” accusing her of “not being woke,” and claiming that God does not discriminate. Unfortunately for “Don Dementia,” this time he picked the wrong target. Standing at a historic location, Giorgia Meloni didn’t just respond — she delivered a full moral reckoning. “The President of the United States just said that I insult Jesus,” Giorgia Meloni declared. “Do you want to know what really insults Jesus? Taking healthcare away from the sick while cutting taxes for billionaires.” And that was only the beginning. “Do you want to know what else insults Jesus?” she continued. “Deporting foreigners and separating children from their mothers.” Then she went even further, touching on war, corruption, and hypocrisy. “Do you want to know what insults Jesus? Bombing innocent schools in Iran and sending our brave men and women to die in yet another endless war… hiding the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute anyone involved.” This wasn’t politics as usual. It was a full moral indictment. Giorgia Meloni, targeted by Trump for supporting transgender people and for saying that “trans children are children of God,” completely turned the tables. Instead of backing down, she grounded her message in the very teachings Trump tried to weaponize. “I am not a perfect Christian,” she said. “There was only one perfect man, and two thousand years ago he was crucified.” Then came the line that hit the hardest: “Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves… Can we imagine war in heaven? Can we imagine hatred in heaven? Can we imagine poverty in heaven? Then why do we tolerate these things on Earth?” This is how you respond. Not with insults. Not with fear. But with clarity and conviction. Trump tried to discredit her. Instead, Giorgia Meloni delivered a sermon that now echoes far beyond that hall. Please share Giorgia Meloni’s inspiring words.

NEW: Standards commissioner finds Nigel Farage committed seventeen breaches of MPs code of conduct. He failed to declare around £380,000 in outside interests (approx 4x MPs annual salary) incl payments for promoting gold, presenting on GB News and from his friend George Cottrell, within 28 days. Reform UK leader apologised for what he described as administrative errors by his team.

This is huge

🔴DON’T LOOK AWAY This is Shayan Hadian. He is 17. A swimmer. A boxer. The Islamic regime arrested him after the January protests and forced him to confess he “led the January protests.” Now they plan to hang him. He is just a kid. Share this before they kill him.

You know what to do 📸

You are not "ordering 8 Type 26", all were ordered before you came in. You are playing games on when, if not if, you will replace the (probably 2) of those ships which will need to go to Norway to meet their delivery timeline. Some delay is inevitable; question is how much.

@ModernNavy @RoyalNavy @Naval_Tech T26 should be coming off the assembly line evey 6 months. T26 and T83 should be built along side each other as it will reduce costs. . T31 order should be doubled. We need to order 10 x T26 and 10 x T83. Shipyard capacity needs to triple. @nicholadrummond

The decision to grant Norway T26 frigate slots previously given to the @RoyalNavy will have consequences. The UK could simply cut short the T26 program, potentially down to 6 or fewer, or build T26 and T83 together, suggests @Naval_Tech @ModernNavy naval-technology.com/features/explo…

Donald Trump absolutely hates this SNL video. It would upset him bigly if you reposted it. He thanks you in advance for your cooperation! -DJT

🚨 WATCH: Labour has released its banned party political broadcast containing quotes from Reform UK politicians

CORRECTED Man in charge of getting Brexit done now says we should get it undone as do Times readers - so far in a small sample. Why not cast your vote? bit.ly/4sOfs2B

Can't wait to see the truth bomb Labour is about to drop on Farage and his racist party... act.labour.org.uk/p/reform-revea…

@SandraB82981565 @aintscarylarry @TheRealThelmaJ1 @broadwatertmb Then throw away the key.

@aintscarylarry @TheRealThelmaJ1 @broadwatertmb Only if that place has bars on the windows and a locked steel door.

It's time to put him in a home.

Once the UK Govt drank the elixir of drones - a way to do without those expensive Type 26 warships, their seemingly too-hard-to-recruit people and costly weapons - and the Ukrainians 'beat a navy without a navy', it seized upon the 'hybrid navy' as the latest 'silver bullet' to avoid boosting defence properly. Yes, it is essential to have autonomous systems, but to reinforce the Royal Navy, not as a 'hybrid' means to dodge creating a proper fighting fleet. The Black Sea is not the Atlantic, a vast, mean treacherous ocean, and warships still matter. The Northern Fleet is the apex of Russian naval power, not a confined lesser force like the Black Sea Fleet. It is a tough mother that will eat you alive if it can. Norway is to get five T26s in some kind of joint operational arrangement with UK, but what if its govt decides one day that it does not agree with our defence and foreign policy? No can play UK...you are on your own! UK govts must stop contracting out sovereign defence needs. Six not eight RN T26s mean only two at sea at any one time and not until mid to late 2030s, if we are lucky. In war six is too few to sustain an effective presence in the Atlantic or absorb losses. Unless the UK thinks it can prevail with a tiny fleet too precious to deploy? But, there are the five cheaper Type 31s? Not an ASW ship, no matter its virtues. Australia is buildingng 6 x T26s - plus will have 11 Mogami frigates - and Canada is building 15 x T26s. More than the UK, the nation that created the alleged world's supposed greatest ASW ship, the as yet not in service T26. Until the UK Govt places an order for more T26s to replace those going to Norway then it is again failing on defence. The UK should actually build at least 12 T26s for the RN. And not just as a means to try and buy votes in Scotland with job creation, but because it is what the UK needs to be secure...and its navy needs a heck of a lot of other stuff too. Pronto. Stop being so timid and pathetic on defence @GOVUK

Happy Monday readers and writers! When you get a chance, check out my author interview with Heather Barksdale: heatherlbarksdale.com/authorintervie…