Stan

[Laurence Fox @LozzaFox]

I’d like to apologise on behalf of Britain.

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@JonjayNeedham1 Heart breaking,

[Lolo at the lochs- Repeal the GRA @LLochs85296]

@WingsScotland Is this pot calling the kettle ideologically captured by divisive and destructive critical social justice theory and plagued by an inadequate and incompetent political class who promote this garbage to deflect from their inability to govern for the improvement of their society?

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@lmwald @timmyvoe Good

[Allison Bailey @BluskyeAllison]

I made my mind up about Keir Starmer's character years ago. It’s an account of what felt like intimidation by a senior barrister against a pupil barrister - me.

It’s a highly personal account I share now for the first time, as Sir Keir is poised to lead Labour into government. My experience may interest those keen to gain insight into the man’s character when he thinks no one that matters is looking.

Twenty-two years ago, I was a 32-year-old 'baby barrister'. It was 2002, and I had won one of four places at the prestigious Doughty Street Chambers (DCS) to complete my ‘2nd six’ - six months of training, the last hurdle before becoming a fully qualified practising barrister.

The second six months of pupillage is that heady moment when we pupil barristers rise to our feet for the first time in court to advocate for our lay client or on behalf of the state.

It’s an incredibly steep learning curve, which one is guided through by a pupil supervisor, pupil mistress, or master in old money. It’s a notoriously difficult and competitive process; in the end, pupils compete for a permanent tenancy or seat in chambers.

So, when DSC asked me who I wanted to guide me through pupillage and who I wanted as my pupil supervisor, I asked for Keir Starmer. I was ever so gently informed that Keir wasn’t taking pupils any longer. Honestly, I wouldn’t have been Keir Starmer pupil material. I just wasn’t good enough.

So, I requested one of the barristers who conducted my second interview at DSC, the brilliant Philippa Kaufmann. As it turned out, Kaufmann was Keir Starmer’s recent ex-long-term partner, and she agreed to be my pupil supervisor. I wasn’t Phillippa Kaufmann pupil material either, and I will always be grateful to her for taking me on nonetheless.

Like Keir, Philippa was on an apparent trajectory to the very top. Like Keir, both would soon take silk and become Queen’s Counsel, as it was known under the reign of Elizabeth II.

These were heady days, exciting and utterly terrifying. I was in awe of practically everything and everyone at DSC. I got to experience human rights law as practised by some of the finest barristers in the country.

Almost everyone at DSC was friendly and offered to help with any urgent questions or situations a newly qualified barrister was bound to need help navigating, with one standout exception — Keir Starmer.

Although I was at DSC for over two years and attended the big bash Keir threw when he took silk in 2002, which was entirely by convention, the pupils were automatically invited; Keir Starmer never once acknowledged me during all of that time, never said ‘hello’ that I can recall.

There are things you are strongly advised not to do as a pupil: don’t get drunk at chambers parties and don’t get a crush on your pupil supervisor. So, of course, I did both.

I fell in love with my pupil supervisor, Phillippa Kaufmann. It was ridiculous, of course, but at the time, it felt incredibly serious. Just like getting drunk at chambers parties, it was something that was known about at DSC.

One evening in chambers, I was in an otherwise empty clerks room at DSC with Phillippa doing some paperwork when we were joined, entirely by coincidence, first by Paul Brooks, who would become Phillippa’s partner and the father of her children and then Keir Starmer. It was awkward, and it was tense. No one was talking. No one was looking at each other. We just got on with whatever we were working on, sitting or standing a couple of feet away from each other. Keir Starmer seemed to me to be quite furious. We all sat silently: the ex-partner, the new partner to be, and the lesbian with a crush.

Sometime later that evening, I walked out of DSC onto Doughty Street. As I did so, I encountered Keir Starmer directly opposite, preparing to ride his bicycle away from chambers.

When he saw me, he stopped, faced me, and stood there glaring at me, saying not a word.

What do you do when you are a pupil and the leading barrister of his generation, a complete superstar, is apparently trying to intimidate you? I imagine the pupil’s handbook would tell me to walk away, now.

I stopped, faced him, and glared right back, saying nothing.

There we stood, staring each other down from across Doughty Street - Keir Starmer and a lowly pupil, for what felt like minutes.

There are some things no amount of education can teach you. I may not have grasped the intricacies of human rights law, but I knew how to stand my ground in the face of what I saw as this man’s attempt to intimidate me.

Kier Starmer eventually gave up, hopped on his bicycle and cycled away - and only then did I walk away.

Whatever Sir Keir’s many achievements, I will never forget the character of the man I encountered that evening on Doughty Street.

Despite this, I would vote for Keir Starmer’s Labour if I believed that women’s rights and lesbian rights were safe in his hands at this pivotal moment in history, but I don’t.

I predict that Keir Starmer will sell women and lesbians down the river unless we make it politically impossible for him to do so. We have formed alliances across political lines. This is our great strength. Let us bring it to bear now.

[Christian Concern @CConcern]

This poster appeared on the Darlington nurses' changing room this week. A changing room where nurses have had panic attacks after having to undress in front of a biological male identifying as a woman who openly says he is trying to get his girlfriend pregnant.

When they complained, they were told by management they needed 'educating' and had to 'broaden their mindset.'

The poster was also visible to members of the public and patients. Is this acceptable @Keir_Starmer @wesstreeting @RosieDuffield1 ?

[Shunya @Shunyaa00]

@EuropeInvasionn Irish Senator Sharon Keogan drops truth bombs about immigration and crime

This is a MUST WATCH 🔥🔥🔥

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@RealKiefer A truly wonderful actor

[Kiefer Sutherland @RealKiefer]

With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@fasc1nate And featured in the song “I Shall be Free” on the Bob Dylan album, Freewheelin, brilliant

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@DalgetySusan Only from the mouth of a man with no brain. , no understanding and no empathy.

[Tony Blackburn OBE. @tonyblackburn]

We had a terrific day, my daughter ⁦@toriblackburn⁩ getting married to Chris Howard it was a perfect day and a lot of fun.

[Joey Barton 🇬🇧 @Joey7Barton]

And we wonder why the NHS is fooked…?

[Tony Blackburn OBE. @tonyblackburn]

No

[Ryan Hamilton @TheRyanHamilton]

My heart is broken💔: As friends & family know, my wife was pregnant with our 2nd child, & about to begin her 2nd trimester. A few days ago she had severe pains, & bleeding, and had to go to the emergency room. There, it was discovered that our baby no longer had a heartbeat. Devastated doesn't come close to what that feels like.
Unfortunately for people like us, because of the current laws in the state of Texas, that was only the beginning of this nightmare. Jess (my wife) had an "incomplete miscarriage", and what needed to happen, what was best for HER, and her health, was to terminate the pregnancy, and get the baby out.
The doctor gave her a medication that would move this process along, and sent her home. Where, apparently we would be handling it ourselves. We were told it might take a couple of attempts before it worked.
I'll let you decide how you feel about that.
After a long, painful night of the equivalent of early labor, the baby was still with her. So, we went back to the Emergency Center to get the 2nd dose. A new doctor was on call. He was an older man. You could hear him in the hallway as he said, "I'm not giving her a pill so she can go home and have an ab*rtion!". Being well aware that our baby no longer had a heartbeat. Then, he came into the room to say, and I quote: "Considering the current stance. I'm not going to prescribe you this pill". Then, just sent us on our way.
The "CURRENT STANCE"?! Did he really just say that?!
No one should ever have to hear their wife say: "Get this dead baby out of me!".
Can you even imagine how that must feel?
The pain, and the bleeding continued. So, we decided to go to another hospital, about an hour away. There was a female doctor on call there, and we thought we might have better luck.
I should probably mention, the procedure to get the baby out is called a D & C. It's scary, & traumatizing, but sometimes necessary in situations like ours. Especially in emergency circumstances.
So we get to the next hospital. They take Jess in, ask her a bunch of questions, do a new scan... confirm that the baby is still there, with no heartbeat, and then disappear... for hours. Only to come back in and keep asking the same questions over and over. It's becoming clear that they're primary concern is NOT my wife's health. Instead, they seem to be worried about the legalities involved.
So, they decide it is not "enough of an emergency" to perform the D & C.
They do, however, prescribe another, stronger, final dose of the medication for us to try again... at home.
So, we go home to try again. Another long day/night of early labor pains. Only to discover my wife UNCONSCIOUS in the bathroom. Having to pick my wife's cold, limp body off of that bathroom floor, not sure if I was about to lose her, is something I will NEVER forget.
She had to be rushed to the hospital.
By this point she had lost so much blood, and bodily fluid, her body gave out.
They were able to stabilize her, give her the fluids she needed, and we came back home yesterday afternoon. We were also able to confirm that our baby was no longer with her.
Now, not only do we have to live with the loss of our baby... we have to live with the nightmare of what we just experienced because of political and religious beliefs. MY WIFE'S HEALTH SHOULD HAVE COME FIRST. PERIOD!
God knows what mental and emotional damage this has done.
If you consider yourself a staunch "pro-lifer" ... 1) You've never been through what we just went through, and 2) You should take a long, hard look in the mirror and reevaluate your reasons for supporting such a cold, barbaric, ignorant point of view.
It's not that black & white, and it's never going to be.
If you think your "Pray To End Ab*rtion" sign in your yard is "Christian", I suggest you revisit the teachings of Jesus and try again. If you support these laws that make ab*rtion illegal, and result in people being put through what we just were, you should be ashamed of yourself. I've never been so angry, or heartbroken... and the devastation I'm feeling must pale in comparison to what my poor wife is feeling.

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

I keep reading that US voters want change

So did the Germans in 1933

[Rachel Reeves @RachelReevesMP]

All the Conservatives can offer our economy is more chaos and decline.

Labour will bring stability back and deliver on our plan to make working people better off.
https://t.co/GlgjVht9on

[Stan @donkin_stan]

@leeharris Editorial brilliance

[Lee Harris @LeeHarris]

OMG! This wins the internet today!

Utterly brilliant. I'm crying. 😭😂👏👏👏

[David Atherton @daveatherton]

This excellent summary was posted by @LozzaFox.

The Mayor of London is a Muslim
The mayor of Birmingham is a Muslim
The Mayor of Leeds is Muslim
Mayor of Blackburn - Muslim
The mayor of Sheffield is a Muslim
The mayor of Oxford is a Muslim
The mayor of Luton is a Muslim
The mayor of Oldham is Muslim
The mayor of Rochdale is Muslim

All this was achieved by only 4 million Muslims out of 66 million people in England:

Today there are over 3,000 mosques in England. There are over 130 sharia courts

There are more than 50 Sharia Councils
78 percent of Muslim women do not work, receive state support + free accommodation
63 percent of Muslims do not work, receive state support + free housing
State-supported Muslim families with an average of 6 to 8 children receive free accommodation
Now every school in the UK is required to teach lessons about Islam.

Has anyone ever been given an opportunity to vote for this?

Why do you find facts so difficult @Bushra1Shaikh & @TheMumMuslim?