Mike Rouse

I had to go and read the legislation to see if there were exemptions, and this caught my eye: "A recognised news publisher cannot commit an offence under section 179." So news outlets can *knowingly* share false information, but you and I cannot. And nope, no exemption for April Fools, satire, etc. Chilling.

To anyone who presumed the Freedom of Speech Act (2026) was an April fools joke. Co authors @prestonjbyrne, @legalstyleblog & I are well aware that s.179 of the Online Safety Act criminalises knowingly sharing false information – thus outlawing April fools jokes since 2024. We would never. Our proposed bill would ruthlessly reverse the censorious path Britain has gone down: adamsmith.org/research/the-f…

@spikedonline Further complaints, apparently.

What has Scott Mills done to deserve his sacking? He was interviewed by police 10 years ago, over alleged offences from more than 25 years ago, and then the case was closed. Has the BBC jumped the gun?, asks Luke Gittos buff.ly/S7X2v6r

This is standard procedure in cases involving alleged sexual violence. It used to be that cases were sent across formally and then issues were found that could have been addressed in the investigative phases by the police doing (or not doing) certain things. But because the file had been formally sent across there was not much that could be done about it at that stage.

If the reporting is accurate, it appears action was taken when a second complaint emerged. There are real limits on what any employer can do when the Crown Prosecution Service determines there is no case to answer, as was the position initially. We should be careful about drifting into a situation where a single unproven allegation is enough to end someone’s livelihood. That would be arbitrary punishment. Safeguarding matters must always be taken seriously, and if Scott Mills or anyone else is found to have acted improperly, then throw the book at them. But the presumption of innocence is a safeguard for everyone. We should not abandon it in pursuit of headline reactions.

This pattern of failure by the BBC is letting the public down and needs addressing. Greater transparency is needed if the public are to believe the BBC puts the public interest above protecting one of its own. For a broadcaster funded by the public and serving audiences of all ages, any failure to act on safeguarding concerns is unacceptable. If the BBC is to live up to its values of trust, respect and accountability, it must demonstrate them in practice. We will push for tougher oversight from Ofcom and demand full transparency about what was known, when, and what action was taken. I welcome the BBCs stated committment to improve processes and standards, but we need to see more action not just words. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/…

@leapfrog200 @PolitlcsUK Three days after the USA had already declared war on Japan. The USA could have taken a purely defensive posture in the Atlantic and didn't need to join Operation Overlord.

@mikerouse @PolitlcsUK Hitler declared war on the USA in 1941 and sank US shipping, that may have been a factor

🚨 WATCH: Keir Starmer's full address to the nation "It is now clear the impact of this war will affect the future of our country. So today I want to reassure the British people: no matter how fierce this storm, we are well placed to weather it"

It's always an account with no real photo of an actual person, maybe 100 followers or less, not been going long, never posts anything of their own ... They're always the ones, aren't they ...

It was a pleasure to speak at the @ThatcherCentre Freedom Festival. While we need solutions to today’s challenges, the principles of national sovereignty and self-reliance remain timeless - as does the courage of conviction politics in the face of a failed consensus. The Centre’s motto says it best: she delivered, now it’s our turn.

@SlingoBass I have converted it to emoji for your convenience: 💤💤💤, 💤✊️💤, 💤💤 😴

@mikerouse I wish I could understand sign language - I can't bear to listen to that voice for 10 mins ☹️

Sir Keir Starmer just delivered the biggest April's Fools Day joke by trying to kid us that he's going to take us back into the EU.

@Anglopragmatist @PolitlcsUK Hmmm. Iran and its proxies would never behave like that would they 🙄

@mikerouse @PolitlcsUK Japan attacked pearl harbour and Germany declared war you spastic. Also during WW1 Germany was sinking American ships before they entered the war and tried to get Mexico to attack the US. The US did not enter the wars out of the goodness of their heart, why should we?

@LeeHarris It's what's on the agenda for this meeting that should worry all of us: "As the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union"

🚨BREAKING: Keir Starmer has addressed the nation to announce he is going to *arrange a meeting* about the war in Iran. I don't know about anyone else, but this is deeply reassuring.

@AlbaSheep92 @PolitlcsUK In the Pacific theatre, on the other side of the world in the other direction, yes, I guess so...

@mikerouse @PolitlcsUK I’d imagine Pearl Harbour had a pretty big impact on the USA’s decision to join the war.

Keir Starmer just fed us all a s**t sandwich: "As the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union" Buried deep in his 'address to the nation about the Iran war' this morning.

"As the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European Union" The equivalent of burying the important detail in the middle of a big boring document. Otherwise known as a shit sandwich.

Currently watching journalists struggling - and failing - to get Keir Starmer to explain why he's summoned them to Downing Street for a national press conference. Literally not announcing anything.

@DPJHodges It is mildly odd that Australia did similar just to tell people to use the bus, and POTUS is going to do an 'update' later today. Are they all copying each other? Attempting to get ahead of each other? Covering for something else?

@KHarveyProctor @scott_mills @BBC We just don't know what might come out next, and that is also a dangerous place to find ourselves as a society. If they have sacked due to an observed pattern of behaviours then say so. If it was because of a failure to disclose the investigation per contract say so.

I am deeply concerned by the @scott_mills story, following his sacking by @BBC. Mills was allegedly investigated by the Metropolitan Police, with a file handed to the CPS who decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. If an individual can be investigated, cleared of prosecution due to insufficient evidence, & still face professional ruin, then we are entering dangerous territory. Institutions must be very careful not to substitute due process with reputational expediency. Justice cannot operate on suspicion alone, nor can fairness be preserved if allegations—untested in a court of law—are treated as proof. We must ask ourselves: are we upholding justice, or quietly dismantling it?

@jessicaelgot How can we as a society expect to be less divise and reconcile our differences when you get suspended for talking to someone who stood against your colleague in a distant seat nearly two years ago.

Karl Turner tells me he had no idea who McIntyre was and did not know he stood against Jess Phillips. He said he apologised to Phillips and said he would not have given the interview if he had done better research on who he was speaking to.