Eric Pickles also destroyed the audit commission. He has a history of getting rid of any means for holding power accountable. And people die. That’s how deregulation works.

I went to my local supermarket last night to buy apples. They offered apples from Chile and also New Zealand. But no English apples. This is the middle of our apple harvest, and think of the carbon footprint.

BREAKING: We have reached agreement with our 14 credit unions on an innovative new way of cutting the cost of public transport. From January, people will be able to buy annual passes via weekly payments to a credit union - saving almost 5 a week, £20 a month and £240 a year. 👍🏻

A brilliant and moving maiden speech from Uma Kumaran MP: "I am the daughter of Tamil refugees... Britain welcomed my parents with open arms so they could rebuild their lives and flourish... It's the story of Britain and British values at its best".

Are a significant number of health workers in NI not originally from here? Yes. We’ve looked at two claims by the Alliance Party: 1. Nearly 12,000 immigrants work in HSC. 2.Between 2021 and 2023, over 40% of the graduate nurses recruited by the Belfast Trust are from abroad.

Let me get this straight. Republicans are banning books, drag shows, and life-saving gender-affirming care, all to "protect children" But they're also rolling back child labor laws, blocking gun reform, and passing laws to force adolescents to give birth. Do I have that right?

They will if they live in NI, the outlier on these islands that was given permission to pollute back in 2007. The report mentions E.Coli levels up to 10 times higher than sufficient levels in England. There have been readings here up to 10 times as high as well.

"I was told quite clearly: 'there will not be a deal because it would break up the government'": Israeli hostages' families say executives from pro-Netanyahu channel told them there won't be a hostage deal because it would cost Netanyahu his coalition haaretz.com/israel-news/20…

Mass shootings in the US: 2014: 273 2015: 336 2016: 383 2017: 348 2018: 336 2019: 417 2020: 610 2021: 690 2022: 647 2023: 656 So far in 2024: 385 We do not have to live like this. No other country on the planet does.

Today is my last day at the BBC. To be totally open, I’m being made redundant Whether running More Or Less during the pandemic, reporting on Grenfell & the climate, I’m extraordinarily proud of my work Public service broadcasting can be engaging & essential & I hope to continue

Let’s be clear, there is no plan of the German Government to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. The discussion is about processing asylum applications in third countries under international humanitarian law and with support of the United Nations.

Cushendun, County Antrim early on Friday morning! 📸 Angela Magee

Another huge loss to the BBC which is haemorrhaging journalistic talent.

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… 👆 Had to check if it was April 1. Judge says that man clocked driving at 160mph on the A29 was not involved in "deliberate speeding" because he was on his way to collect his mum from the airport and hence had "something on his mind". 📷🫤

Jenrick, favourite to win the leadership, supports Trump. Badenoch, second favourite, is a fan of Douglas Murray. The Tory Party has ditched Conservatism and become a far-right movement. This is a disaster for British democracy. My new column for MEE: middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-tor…

Writing for Pivotal Platform this week, David Phinnemore reflects on the 'democratic consent' vote soon to be before MLAs regarding the Protocol/Windsor Framework. pivotalppf.org/our-work/pivot…

British Catholic priests accused of child abuse were moved out of way to Pacific Islands. Will Catholic Church ever admit to the scale of its abuse to the innocents? gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%…

2024, folks.- “Man who once pretended to be a socialist now pretending to be a Christian, appears with the hand-maiden of the billionaire plutocrats of America to pray for America” (and maybe to pray that those pesky rape allegations will go away).

A very senior professional in the NI housing industry just read my post and said we are looking at the largest projected drop in social housing in a generation just when demand is so high. THIS is a major wake-up call for policy makers in NI. irishnews.com/news/northern-…