Karl

[Karl @KarlHannant]

@jeremycorbyn What fucking genocide??

[Rɪᴄʜᴀʀᴅ Kᴇᴍᴘ ⋁ @COLRICHARDKEMP]

I would like to hear from Mr Streeting in exactly what way Israel fell short of UK military standards in Gaza. I witnessed the @IDF’s actions first hand there (unlike him & his staff) & I found the opposite to be true.

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

Because the media establishment, which has spent a full decade now demonising people like Ann, can't look in the mirror and admit their language and tone have been deeply irresponsible and dangerous. That would be incompatible with their self- image of Good People.

[Natasha Hausdorff @HausdorffMedia]

Truly disgraceful that @wesstreeting, newly appointed Defence Secretary, would make this false claim in the face of all the evidence to the contrary. I’ll take General Sir John McColl's 53 years’ military experience, and his observations from on the ground in Gaza, over a politician’s unfounded allegations, any day of the week.

[Karl @KarlHannant]

@MothinAli So they can be highly effective and hopefully bring an end to your barbarism

[Lee Anderson MP @LeeAndersonMP_]

In other words....

He's using your money to cover up what we already know.

Our country is being turned into a 3rd world shit hole.

And we're all paying for the pleasure.

[Zia Yusuf @ZiaYusufUK]

Shabana Mahmood has misled Parliament.

She falsely claimed there was an attempted terror attack on an Islamic event and police arrests “undoubtedly saved lives”.

Now the police say they “found no evidence to support anyone being charged with any offences linked to the alleged threat.”

Where is the condemnation from the BBC and media establishment for “speculating”?

Mahmood is a disgrace and must resign.

[Ben Leo @Benleo]

NEW: Big update on the publicised counter terror news that Keir Starmer posted about the other day - a supposed far right threat to an Islamic event in Suffolk.

After 13 arrests… no charges.

Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of CTP London said: “This has been a fast-moving investigation after we became aware of information to indicate there was a potential threat towards the Islamic event over the course of last weekend.

“Since then, we have made extensive enquiries, but at this time, we have found no evidence to support anyone being charged with any offences linked to the alleged threat.”

[Toby Young @toadmeister]

Earlier today a @Guardian journalist sent me this query:

Dear Toby Young,

I'm Aisha Down, a journalist at the Guardian. I'm getting in touch because we're planning to report that the US state department is considering a grant of $5m to Free Speech Union, your organisation, as part of a new grant-making scheme, and wanted to give you the chance to comment. We would appreciate receiving your comment by 14:30.

We are considering reporting the following:

- The grant to the FSU is part of a package to Maga aligned groups that former US officials have condemned as a misuse of public money to seek influence over foreign politics and interfere with democracy.

- It is rare for the US government to fund partisan political organisations in western countries.

- These grants are likely to pose a challenge to Andy Burnham, who has said he will be "very upfront" with Trump about any disagreements.

- These grants - including to your organisation - are "sole source" grants, meaning they are to be awarded without any competitive process. This is unusual for a highly regulated process which usually requires grantees to show they have a track record for handling funds and clear plans for the money.

- This lack of process has been criticised as "outrageous and absurd" by former US officials, and as "gross incompetence" and "horrible stewardship" of US taxpayer money.

- Your organisation does not appear to have a track record of handling grants of this amount.

- We describe your organisation as "a rallying point for “anti-woke” grievance" which "frequently allies itself with rightwing causes" and say that you, Toby Young, appeared on Rees-Mogg's GB news show earlier this month to warn about 'Soviet-style' censorship in the UK.

- The state department says that its grant to FSU will “support campaigns promoting free speech and countering digital overregulation across the UK, Europe and Australia”. The sole-source award is justified “due to FSU’s global network of free speech activists”.

We would like to fully and fairly reflect your point of view and look forward to your statement. Thank you,

--
Aisha Kehoe Down
Senior Tarbell Fellow,
Guardian News and Media

I replied as follows:

It sounds like a pretty garbled story.

Free Speech Union International, which is the umbrella group that FSU UK, FSU Australia, FSU New Zealand, FSU Canada, FSU South Africa and FSU Brazil sit within, has expressed interest in applying for grant funding from the US State Department. This would be to promote the right to freedom of expression in those countries, which, far from being a partisan cause, is a universal human right. But it hasn't submitted a formal application and, consequently, has been awarded no grant from the State Department or any other branch of the US Government.

You've mischaracterised the FSUs, all of which are non-partisan organisations that defend people who get into trouble for exercising their right to feee speech regardless of their political views. The FSU UK, for instance, is currently paying for the legal defence of a protestor who's being prosecuted for holding up a sign saying "I support Palestine Action", as well as a protestor for wearing a t-shirt at a Unite the Kingdom rally for saying "Fuck Islam Christ is King". Yes, we helped Lucy Connolly appeal her sentence -- we thought a prison sentence of over two-and-a-half years for a single tweet was excessive -- but we also tweeted yesterday, condemning the arrest of Heather Herbert and offering our support. Yes, we came to the defence of Nigel Farage when he was debanked, but we've also offered to help the Canary in its recent debanking case. So to describe the FSU UK as a "rallying point for anti-woke grievance" is misleading. We are a rallying point for those who want to defend the right to freedom of expression.

Best,

Toby

The @Guardian then ran this story:

https://t.co/1l4K0PABvM

You be the judge of whether you think this is good journalism.

[N Ecc 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @Neccccy]

True !!!

[Karl @KarlHannant]

@PolitlcsUK Wow the next day they want them to vote
How will they be awake?🤣
Labour and the left, not too bright

[spiked @spikedonline]

A new report has exposed the truth of the pro-Palestine marches. It is not a spontaneous movement made up of harmless charities. It is a dark web of opaque groups, motivated by a shared loathing of Israel. We must wake up, says Limor Simhony Philpott
https://t.co/JZBcvunhTb

[Karl @KarlHannant]

@Benleo That didn’t age well

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

These 5 countries practice Female Genital Mutilation:
🇮🇶 Iraq
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇬🇲 Gambia
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
🇮🇩 Indonesia

These 5 countries sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council:
🇮🇶 Iraq
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇬🇲 Gambia
🇪🇹 Ethiopia
🇮🇩 Indonesia

[Allison Pearson @AllisonPearson]

You are so ignorant, Dan Hodges. Ann had no husband, no children and her only sibling died. What family are you deferring to?
Ann was closer to friends, colleagues than she was to the family YOU choose to weaponise against the Reform party she adored and who mourn her deeply.

[Chris Rose @ArchRose90]

Nigel Farage mourning a friend and colleague = using it for propaganda.

Labour mourning Jo Cox = Fine.

Labour bringing up Jo Cox whenever a debate gets too heated for them = Fine.

Our expectations for the press were already low but even this is simply pathetic.

[Karl @KarlHannant]

@DailyMail Yawn

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

I was once a major fund-raiser for Amnesty

But in those days it was about preventing torture

Not about sexual identity

I disown them

[spiked @spikedonline]

Gary Stevenson has had his arse handed to him – in his own documentary! How To Get Filthy Rich was supposed to make the case for a wealth tax. But it ends up obliterating it. It’s devastating, says Tom Slater
https://t.co/NYBMulRiBQ

[Dr Helen Ingram @drhingram]

When Nigel Farage, or anyone on the right of politics, say they need to pay for personal security, *this* is why