Starmer Criticised for Celebrating Activist's Return from Egypt: 'This Is a Complete Disgrace'

Dec 28, 2025 | Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for celebrating the return of a British activist from detention in Egypt in light of his past social media posts.

The prime minister said on Friday that he was "delighted" that Alaa Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones in the UK.

Historic posts have since emerged of Mr Abd El-Fattah calling for Zionists to be killed. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has now told Sky News, the prime minister's actions are a "complete disgrace". He added: "This man should not be in the UK and the prime minister of all people should not be out there welcoming him. He's a dangerous individual and it shames our country that we've expended political capital to get him brought here."

Egyptian Dissident Should Be Deported from UK, Conservatives Say | BBC News

Dec 28, 2025 | The Conservative Party has called for an Egyptian activist to be deported from the UK and for his British citizenship to be revoked.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Alaa Abdel Fattah should "be made to live in Egypt or frankly anywhere else in the world" after social media messages emerged of him calling for Zionists to be killed.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for being "delighted" at Fattah's arrival, but it is understood he was unaware of the messages before this week. The Foreign Office said it had been "a long-standing priority under successive governments" to work for Fattah's release and see him reunited with his family in the UK, but condemned his "abhorrent" posts.

'Abusing Muslims Is Not Going to Fix This Country': Rising Hate in the UK

Dec 22, 2025 | Hate crimes are rising around the UK, after a summer of flags going up on lamp-posts across the country and racist riots in 2024.

Taj Ali is a Muslim journalist who has been collating evidence of these attacks. Even in big diverse areas there is a sense of fear, but what is life like for smaller ethnic minority communities in smaller towns?

On his journey with video producers Christopher Cherry and Maeve Shearlaw he finds a sense of anger about the loss of community but people everywhere determined to roll up their sleeves and make things better.

UK to Rejoin EU’s Erasmus Student Exchange Programme

THE GUARDIAN: Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say

An agreement to rejoin Erasmus – the EU’s student exchange programme – is expected to be announced on Wednesday as part of the UK government’s drive towards closer relations with Brussels.

Final details of the announcement have now been agreed by the two sides, with a plan to allow UK students to participate in the EU-wide scheme without paying any additional fees from January 2027, sources said.

The breakthrough on Erasmus will help the UK government demonstrate progress in its push to improve relations with the EU, after Keir Starmer declared last month that “we do need to get closer” with the bloc, and with public opinion softening.

British students would be able to participate in vocational training placements and sports exchanges across the EU under the Erasmus+ scheme, as well as further education college and university-based study exchanges, the Guardian understands. » | Pippa Crerar, Political editor | Tuesday, December 16, 2025

How UK and US White Supremacist Groups Have Joined Forces | ITV News

Nov 13, 2025 | Our governments have long enjoyed a so-called 'special relationship' - but now white supremacists in the UK and US are forging deeper and deeper ties.

ITV News has uncovered a network of far-right groups, spanning both sides of the Atlantic.

So just how are they working together and what do they want?

Global Security Editor Rohit Rohit Kachroo tells Geraint Vincent what you need to know.


This is very disturbing. Brexit has fuelled much of this dangerous nonsense. And Trump's re-election has been real grist to this mill. — © Mark Alexander

Trump’s Venezuela Strikes: US Ramps Up as UK Fears Legal Backlash

Nov 12, 2025 | “The UK has had some months to consider what to do about this, but has got increasingly uneasy.”

Trump’s increasing strikes on alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers prompted the UK to withdraw some intelligence sharing out of fear of being accused of being complicity in potentially illegal action, says Bronwen Maddox.

Britain’s Place Is with Europe, Not America

MARK ALEXANDER: What is going on in America right now is nothing less than a SHITSHOW!

To think that we have given up our membership of the European Union to align ourselves with that chaotic, catastrophic, autocratic, tyrannical SHITSHOW truly beggars belief!

We can thank Cameron for calling that STUPID, COWARDLY referendum, that self-serving DICKHEAD otherwise known as Nigel Fags, and that clown extraordinaire, BoJo for the ensuing loss of prosperity!

If Keir Starmer really wants to inject life into his failing government, he needs to recognise that this country is crying out for the recognition of the GRAVE mistake we Brits have made in voting for the losers’ Brexit. He needs to assure the people that he will do all he possibly can to reverse the ridiculous decision to leave the European Union.

If Starmer adopted such a strategy, Starmer’s task ahead would be difficult; but the difficulties would not be insurmountable.

We Brits are Europeans. We are not Americans. In fact, we have LITTLE in common with Americans other than language and the desire to make money. But our values are certainly European. Our Royal Family is European, too; and so many Brits worship the Royal Family.

If the people of this country want to retain their SOVEREIGNTY, then we, as a nation, need to re-join the European Union as soon as is humanly possible. Long live the United Kingdom! Long live the European Union!

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

US Republicans Warn France, UK, Canada, Australia over Decision to Recognise Palestinian State

Sep 21, 2025 | A group of US Republicans has sent a letter to France, Canada, the UK and Australia, urging them to re-consider their decision to recognise a Palestinian state. It's warning there may be consequences if the countries move ahead with plan at the upcoming UN General Assembly.

Canada, Australia and UK Announced Official Recognition of Palestinian Statehood

Sep 21, 2025 | Canada, Australia and the UK have just announced they are recognising a Palestinian state. The declarations come ahead of a formal declaration at the UN General assembly in New York.

Several other Western nations, including France, have announced similar plans, as international calls grow for the implementation of a two-state solution.

Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego is monitoring developments from London.


Le Royaume-Uni devrait reconnaître l'État palestinien aujourd’hui : KeirStarmer avait déclaré que cette mesure contribuerait à un véritable processus de paix. En réponse, le premier ministre israélien Benyamin Netanyahou l’a accusé de récompenser le «terrorisme monstrueux». »

Post-Brexit UK Must Choose: America or Europe?

Sep 19, 2025 | Brendan Donnelly and John Stevens discuss the choice post-Brexit Britain must make between Europe and America. They predict that the UK will opt for Europe in the medium to long term, despite the short term attractions of the “special relationship.

SPEAKERS:
John Stevens is the Chairman of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.
Brendan Donnelly is the former Director of the Federal Trust and a former Conservative MEP.

ABOUT THE FEDERAL TRUST:
The Federal Trust is a research institute studying regional, national, European and global levels of government. It has always had a particular interest in the European Union and Britain’s place in it. The Federal Trust has no allegiance to any political party. It is registered as a charity for the purposes of education and research.


THE FEDERAL TRUST can be supported on Patreon here.

Trump Has Dragged the US to the Abyss and Nigel Farage Would Do the Same to Britain. Here’s How to Stop Him

THE GUARDIAN: It’s not too late to puncture the Reform leader’s populist myth. His ‘make Britain great again’ act is out of step with the British people

The march towards the darkness is becoming a sprint. In the US, warnings about the autocratic ambitions of Donald Trump that were once dismissed as hyperbole and hysteria now seem, if anything, too mild. Faster than most imagined, he has moved to weaken institutional checks on his power – whether the courts, the universities, the civil service or the press – and now has set to work gagging his critics, even, it seems, to outlaw large swathes of the opposition.

This week saw the suspension by a major broadcasting network, Disney-owned ABC, of a late-night talkshow, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following remarks Kimmel had made about the killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel did not criticise Kirk himself – an act now considered all but blasphemous in the US – but rather Republicans’ reaction to his murder, especially their eagerness to “score political points from it”.

…

In the UK, we like to think we can watch all this with, if not smug distance, then a measure of relief. It’s true that we are a long way from the precipice to which Trump has taken the US. But last week between 110,000 and 150,000 Britons took to the streets of London, heeding the summons of the rightwing agitator and serial convict who goes by the name of Tommy Robinson. Read the whole article » | Jonathan Freedland | Friday, September 19, 2025

The Far Right in Britain: from Oswald Mosley to Tommy Robinson

Nov 18, 2016 | From Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in the 1930s through to the National Front, the British National party and the English Defence League, the far right in Britain has been part of the political landscape for decades. Now anti-immigration sentiment is moving closer to the mainstream and far right extremism is a growing cause for concern.

Are We Joining the EU Step-by-step?

Sept 3, 2025

We British are Europeans! We need to rejoin the European Union at the earliest possbible convenience. / Wir Briten sind Europäer! Wir müssen der Europäischen Union so bald wie möglich wieder beitreten. / Nous, les Britanniques, sommes des Européens ! Nous devons rejoindre l’Union européenne le plus rapidement possible. — © Mark Alexander

Who Will Lead Us Out of This Mess?

Nuriyah Khan, the Holy Humanist, gives her viewpoint.

Fighting the Crime Gangs Taking Over the UK High Streets | BBC News

Jul 31, 2025 | Along a one-mile stretch of road near the centre of Newport, south Wales, 19 shops have been shut down in the past nine months for selling illegal tobacco and vapes.

"It's shameful that this is happening," Steve Hay, one of the Trading Standards team responsible for the closures, said.

He believes that the sale of illegal goods is a crime causing deep problems in the community.

Illegal cigarettes, tobacco and vape products were seized from 3,624 shops across England, Scotland and Wales in 2024-25, according to BBC Freedom of Information requests.

The Home Office said that "over 500 town centres are getting extra neighbourhood patrols" and that these would have a major role in cracking down on the sale of illegal tobacco products.

What Are the Implications of the UK Ban on Palestine Action? | Inside Story

Jul 21, 2025 | Protests against the UK ban on Palestine Action - and its designation as a terrorist goup. The government acted after military aircraft were vandalised at an airbase. Critics say the ban is excessive and an attack on freedom of speech. So what are the implications?

Presenter: James Bays

Guests:
Tayab Ali, Deputy Managing Partner at Bindmans law firm, specialist in human rights and civil liberties.

Quinn McKew, Executive Director at Article 19, an organisation that defends freedom of expression and freedom of information.

Peter Oborne, Political Commentator and author of the forthcoming book 'Complicit: Britain's Role in the Destruction of Gaza'.

‘Russia Is Focusing on the UK as the Next Target’ | Former Head of MI6 Russia Desk

Jul 19, 2025 | “Russia is focusing on the UK as the next target.” Through arson in a London warehouse and tracking journalists, Russia is using proxies to monitor, survey, and target those in the UK and Bulgaria, says Chris Steele, former head of the MI6 Russia desk.

‘Profound Concern’ as Scientists Say Extreme Heat ‘Now the Norm’ in UK

THE GUARDIAN: Increasing frequency of heatwaves and flooding raises fears over health, infrastructure and how society functions

Record-breaking extreme weather is the new norm in the UK, scientists have said, showing that the country is firmly in the grip of the climate crisis.

The hottest days people endure have dramatically increased in frequency and severity, and periods of intense rain have also ramped up, data from hundreds of weather stations shows. Heatwaves and floods leading to deaths and costly damage are of “profound concern” for health, infrastructure and the functioning of society, the scientists said.

The weather records clearly show the UK’s climate is different now compared with just a few decades ago, the scientists said, as a result of the carbon pollution emitted by burning fossil fuels. » | Damian Carrington | Environment editor | Monday, July 14, 2025

Why Is the UK ‘Actively Preparing for War’? | BBC News

Jul 13, 2025 | The UK must “actively prepare for the possibility of the UK coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario.”

That’s a quote from the UK government in its 2025 national security strategy.

The document also said threats from other countries were on the rise, and that the UK had been “directly threatened by hostile activities.” .

But what are these threats? And what would war even look like in a modern age?

Heatwave Continues across UK ahead of Monday Temperature Dip

BBC: Hot weather will continue across the UK on Sunday with possible highs of 31C as the country moves past the peak of its third heatwave this year.

Temperatures are forecast to dip slightly on Sunday before a cooler change on Monday that will bring "heavy spells of rain" for many areas, the Met Office said.

Amber heat health alerts remain in place for the Midlands, southern and eastern England until 9:00 on Monday.

On Saturday Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all recorded their warmest day of the year so far, while England saw a temperature high of 33.1C in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire. » | Matt Taylor, Lead Weather Presenter | Yang Tian, BBC News | Sunday, July 13, 2025