“Russia's prestige has gone down tremendously. Its abilities have been shown to be weak. It's not much of a legacy for someone who's been around for that long” I discuss the malign effect of 25 years of Putin and Putinism on Russia for The Sun the-sun.com/news/12211348/…

"The longer this drags on, the more it seems that Putin's on the defensive, and the more people might start to say internally: 'he had his time, need to find someone else'.” I discuss the strategic implications of Ukraine’s offensive into Russia for The Sun.

With six more bodies recovered from Gaza it is increasingly obvious that time is running out for many of the other hostages, if it hasn’t already. Hamas has brought devastation to itself and upon the people of Gaza entirely through its own actions on October 7th. While everyone

‘It’s an ongoing torture process by Hamas and a deeply evil way of carrying on.’ Andrew Fox speaks on the IDF’s retrieval of hostages’ bodies from Gaza tunnels and the reality of ongoing ceasefire discussions. Lisa Aziz | LBC News

‘Both the Israelis and Hamas would regard signing up for something that isn’t in their interest as a defeat… if the Israelis give way and allow Hamas to stay in power, that’s a defeat.’ HJS Executive Director Alan Mendoza discusses ceasefire negotiations as politicians from the

The DNC is the Eurovision of party political conferences

‘What the Ukrainians need to show is sustained ability to damage Russia as it were and really embarrass Russia and for that to then lend itself to some kind of negotiated solution, but the more territory they hold the more flexibility they will have at the negotiating table.’ I

‘I think it’s extraordinary and quite actually embarrassing for British foreign policy if the Foreign Secretary is, if you like, changing the state of goals of foreign policy as he goes along!’ I discuss David Lammy removing his hostage badge in Israel on Talk.

‘...why is the UK still a party to this treaty that Iran has broken time and time again?’ I discuss the proliferation of Iranian nuclear weapons and the UK’s lack of action to stop it on Talk.

Brilliant intelligence work by Israel this morning to disrupt a planned Hezbollah attack. Whatever Hezbollah intended, "phase one" of their "retaliation" caused little damage, doubtless because Israel struck pre-emptively. It remains a serious escalation, and the real question

Israeli hostage rescued from Hamas is Muslim. Israeli victims of Hezbollah rockets are Muslim. Israeli girl injured by Iran rockets is Muslim. Muslims and Jews should be united against terror.

They spent 11 months as hostages in the hell of Hamas control in Gaza, starved, beaten and abused. And then when it looked like they were close to being rescued, Hamas brutally murdered them. We salute their bravery and memory. And know who is responsible: Hamas. And only Hamas.

The extraordinary success of extreme, populist parties of both right and left in Germany’s state elections shows immigration concerns are not going to disappear. Across Europe, centrist governments are learning that if they cannot deal with the issue, voters will turn elsewhere.

Now that Hamas has released videos of the 6 hostages it murdered, might the Foreign Secretary reflect on his disgraceful decision to restrict arms sales to our democratic Israeli ally fighting such evil? Other allies will doubtless conclude the UK can’t be trusted #AllEyesOnLammy

It is a huge strategic error for British foreign policy to have succumbed to UK political considerations and imposed arms restrictions on Israel. The only people emboldened by this will be Hamas and Iran. Allies like the US are appalled that we would abandon a fellow democracy.

‘We’ve already seen with this arms embargo decision the government trying very hard to have its cake and eat it.’ I respond to the UK government’s decision to place an embargo on Israel on GB News.

‘The big question in those cases is always not so much what he might want but how long can he extend his power with those around him going along with it.’ I react to rumours about Vladmir Putin trying to medically increase his longevity on Times Radio.

This evening’s post by Chris Ryan MM made me reflect on 7th October and the sheer scale of the unspeakable, glee-filled atrocity. Biggest takeaway from seeing all that horror is that Israel should get a peace prize for the restraint and commitment to civilian protection they’ve