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The spiralling cost of the Ministry of Defence data breach that put at risk the lives of thousands of people who helped British forces in Afghanistan is revealed by the National Audit Office today.

Their report reveals that the cost of resettling over 7,000 Afghan nationals in the UK to save them from retaliation by the Taliban, is in reality likely to be much higher than the original figure of £850 million quoted in July.

The breach took place under the last Conservative Government in 2022 but was not spotted until 18 months later when posts started to appear on Facebook disclosing what had happened. Originally it was thought that just 150 people had been affected but when the scheme to bring people over to the UK closed last month it turned out that 7,355 people, including their families will be resettled in the UK by 2029.

Undue Influence: The Reform-Supporting Online Network Using AI to Monetise Anti-Migrant Hate

A prominent social media campaign for Brexit and Boris Johnson has morphed into a large-scale network boosting Reform and pushing anti-migrant hate, reports Katherine Denkinson

Katherine Denkinson

The disclosure led the MOD to apply for a super injunction to keep the scheme secret until last July for fear that it would alert the Taliban. This, the report reveals, has already cost the taxpayer an additional £2.5 million in legal fees, with additional costs still to come when the Government pays the defendants' costs. This will come on top of compensation payments for all those affected.

None of these legal costs were included in the estimate.

The ministry's explanation for not keeping separate accounts for the scheme was to preserve the secrecy of the operation after it obtained a super injunction. Instead, it was merged with other resettlement programmes for Afghans. Altogether the ministry has spent £400 million this year and will eventually spend another £1.5 billion on resettlement programmes from Afghanistan by 2029, taking the total bill to over £2 billion.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts said: "The NAO briefing published today has provided some much-needed clarity on the Afghanistan Response Route, which was launched following a data breach in 2022…"

"Confusion still remains over the reported £850 million historic and future costs relating to the breach, with the MoD unable to provide sufficient assurance over their numbers. This figure does not include all legal costs or compensation claims, which currently remain unknown."

Next week MPs on the Public Accounts Committee will question officials from the MOD on the scheme.

The National Audit Office is planning a full scale investigation into the overall cost of settling Afghans in the UK to be published next spring.

An MoD spokesman told Byline Times: "We are committed to honouring the moral obligation we owe to those Afghans who stood with us and risked their lives.

"Since taking the decision to support the lifting of the super injunction brought by the previous government, we have been clear on the costs associated with relocating eligible Afghans to the UK - and are fully committed to transparency.

"The cost of all Afghan resettlement schemes, including the Afghan Response Route, has been fully funded as part of the Government's Spending Review."

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Councils are at legal risk if they continue to invest in companies 'facilitating Israel's crimes against the Palestinian people', according to a new legal opinion from lawyers from the Doughty Street Chambers on behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC).

PSC has now written to Secretary of State Angela Rayner arguing that she too is under a legal obligation to issue guidance to prevent all local Government pension funds investing in companies 'enabling Israel's crimes'.

The campaign group has asked for a response from councils within 21 days to outline how they will abide by their legal obligation.

The position paper, first seen by Byline Times, states: "In the face of the almost incalculable devastation caused by Israel's military assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, it is a moral and legal imperative that all levels of Government take action to bring Israel's violations of international law to an end.

"One lever the UK has to effect change is by divesting from companies which are aiding or assisting in Israel's violations of the most fundamental norms of international law."

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It continues: "The UK has a number of 'prevention and non-assistance duties' [under in international law]: The UK must not recognise, explicitly or implicitly, situations created by Israel's serious breaches of peremptory norms [fundamental international law principles. The UK must refrain from rendering aid or assistance to maintaining situations created by Israel's serious breaches of peremptory norms.

"[And] the UK is required to cooperate with other States, and take all reasonably available measures to bring to an end any violations of peremptory norms by Israel, ensure respect of the Geneva Conventions, and prevent genocide."

The legal opinion written by leading lawyers today sets out the duties local and central Government have to prevent and end assistance to Israel's violations of international law, and how those duties apply to investments under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Ministers and local Government pension bodies must take action to counter the risk of aiding war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the legal counsel.

They add: "Administering authorities and the Secretary of State will be at significant legal risk if they continue to invest or permit investment in Involved Companies," referring to firms allegedly abetting genocide and other crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.

The legal opinion continues: "Administering authorities must take a prudent approach in considering, making inquiries and exercising due diligence to determine whether investments in [war crime-] Involved Companies under the LGPS are contributing to violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territories."

In the past year, 17 local councils have called for, or committed to, divestment from companies believed to be 'complicit in Israel's crimes', according to PSC. More are expected to follow in light of this new legal opinion.

EXCLUSIVE

UK Gaza Families Urge Starmer to Hold Israel Accountable for Press Killings

A group representing 350 Palestinian families living in Britain have called on the PM to condemn Israel's 'systematic assault on the press' and back an inquiry

Matt Gallagher

It comes as PSC launches a new front in its campaigning by issuing legal notices to all councils in England and Wales that administer a LGPS fund, arguing they are under an obligation to take steps to divest from companies alleged to be enabling Israel's war.

PSC's research released earlier this year has found that LGPS funds have invested £12.2billion in companies which further Israel's violations of international law.

That includes substantial investments in companies which are involved in the supply of technology, surveillance equ...

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"I always sit in front of a Union Jack and I've been doing it for years," Keir Starmer told the BBC this week, when asked about far-right activists vandalising roundabouts around the country with the painted St George Cross.

"I'm very encouraging of flags" he told the broadcaster.

Not wishing to be outdone by her boss, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper agreed, later telling the BBC that: "We actually have Union Jack bunting on our garden shed at the moment. I've got St George's flags. I've got St George's bunting… I've got Union Jack flags and tablecloths. We've got the lot."

Of course in the current political and media climate, simply smothering your own living quarters with patriotic regalia isn't quite enough to prove your inherent Britishness. For that you also need to signal your discomfort around foreign people.

Asked by the BBC's Matt Chorley how he would feel if there was an asylum hotel on his own street and "your daughter was having to walk past one of these hotels every day?" Keir Starmer replied that "I completely get it".

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Failing in any way to push back against the false far-right claim that refugees are inherently prone to be sexual predators, the Prime Minister insisted that: "I understand why people want the hotels closed. I want them closed".

The fact that the national public service broadcaster is even asking such questions of Keir Starmer is a sign of quite what a dangerous spot we are now in.

Eleven years ago when Nigel Farage insisted that he would feel uncomfortable living next to Romanian immigrants, he was widely condemned for his comments, with then Labour leader Ed Miliband calling them a "racial slur", yet now such sentiments are apparently not only condoned, but actively encouraged by our Labour Government.

Are you frightened of being sexually assaulted by a foreigner? Don't worry, your prime minister gets it. And he's willing to smother his home in Union Jacks just to prove the point.

Where Is the Political Leadership Against This Violent Far-Right Movement Terrorising Britain?

The silence of senior mainstream politicians and media organisations against the rise of a new well-organised far-right movement on Britain's streets is a disgrace, argues Adam Bienkov

Adam Bienkov

Echoes From History

I was thinking about all this while walking through Welling in South East London earlier this morning. This mostly white, working-class suburban area was previously host to the headquarters of the far-right BNP, which had its offices above a bookshop in the town.

Their presence coincided with a big increase in racist attacks in the local area, and was followed by the murder of Stephen Lawrence in nearby Eltham. Lawrence's death was a turning point for race-relations in Britain, exposing the institutionalised racism in the criminal justice system and helped spur on national campaigns to rid British culture of such violent racist instincts.

Among those fighting to make that change at the time was Keir Starmer, who as Director of Public Prosecutions later helped to bring Lawrence's killers to justice.

Marking the anniversary of his death last year Starmer Tweeted that: "I was proud to help bring his killers to justice, and I will continue my work with his mother, my friend Baroness Doreen Lawrence to rid our society of racism and break down barriers to opportunity for all young people.

"We will honour Stephen's legacy for ch...

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and his so-called 'DOGE' (Department of Government Efficiency) leader Zia Yusuf hailed the work of Reform's dozen councils in a press conference on Monday.

However, their praise excluded the many Reform councillors who have already had to stand down, or who face investigations for alleged misconduct, since May's local elections.

At least 15 Reform councillors have been suspended, expelled, or have quit since being elected earlier this year, with at least four facing criminal investigations, Byline Times can report.

Some quit within days of being elected, whilst others were caught sharing Hitler memes, spouting racist conspiracy theories, or are now the subject of police probes or prosecutions.

The below is a non-comprehensive list of scandals that have beset Reform UK's tranche of councillors elected since May.

It comes after Byline Times previously revealed that Reform UK have actually loosened their vetting procedures for potential candidates following the election.

UPDATE

The Reform and Conservative Politicians Mingling With Neo-Nazis and Fascists at Asylum Hotel Protests

The recent wave of anti-migrant protests are providing a bridge between right-wing elected politicians and extremist groups

Josiah Mortimer

Full Resignations from Council

1. Desmond Clarke (Nottinghamshire County Council) - resigned from the council just a week after the election in May, stating he was "not in a position to represent the people of Newark West in the way they deserve" while continuing his career in social care

2. Andrew Kilburn (Durham County Council) - resigned from the council nine days after being elected, after not declaring he worked for the council he was elected to (something which is banned)

3. Wayne Titley (Staffordshire County Council) - stood down shortly after being elected in May after Facebook posts emerged calling for a "volley of gun fire" to sink small boats in the Channel

4. John Bailey (Durham County Council) - resigned from council in June citing health reasons

5. Sam Booth (Doncaster Council) - resigned from council in July citing "personal reasons"

6. David Maclean (Isle of Wight Council) - resigned from council in August after missing three meetings of the children's services committee

7. Robert Bloom (North Northamptonshire) - resigned as councillor in August after being accused of shouting the N-word at a black neighbour and her family. He has so far refused to comment.

Defections / Attempted Defections

UPDATE 8th September, via the BBC: "A Reform UK county councillor in Kent has defected to UKIP, it has been announced. Amelia Randall, who serves the Birchington & Rural division in Thanet, has left the party four months after being elected."

Another departure, reported 18th September, via the BBC: "A [second] Reform UK politician has quit the party to become an independent member on Devon County Council. Angie Nash, who represents Wonford and St Loyes, said remaining in the party would "compromise my own principles."

1. Owen Clatworthy (Bridgend County Borough Council) - five weeks after being elected, Clatworthy quietly contacted Labour's council leader saying he "can't stand Farage," that "Reform is full of big egos," and that he's "a socialist" whose "values are more Labour," before appearing on stage with Nigel Farage four days later in July 2025. He has not denied the claim.

2. Donna Edmunds (Shropshire County Council) - suspended one day after the May election and subsequently quit her membership, having announced her intention to defect to whatever party expelled-Reform MP Rupert Lowe and ex-Deputy Leader Ben Habib set up. She had previously stated her intention to put up a statue of Tommy Robinson in every British town

3. Luke Shingler (Warwickshire County Council) - announced days before the election that he would hav...

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A Facebook group that flooded social media in support of Boris Johnson during the Brexit referendum has now rebranded and is part of a multi-platform, monetised network, pushing pro-Reform and anti-immigration sentiment.

Six years ago, Fight4Brexit (F4B) was revealed to be one of several similar groups - run by real people - that encouraged its members to post en masse in support of the then Prime Minister, and to do so in deliberate imitation of automated bots because "it annoys the other side".

The group gradually disappeared from people's timelines after the UK elected to leave the EU, but Byline Times can now reveal that F4B has returned as part of a wider network using Facebook and TikTok to push its agenda under the guise of a fake political campaign - and that the entire scheme is run by just one man.

Lewis Morris is a twenty-nine-year-old former garden centre worker from Liverpool who, according to the electoral roll, lives at home with his mother and sister.

Morris, who has been active on Facebook since 2010, started the Extreme Weather page - posting videos and images of wild weather from around the world - in 2014. He launched F4B in 2018, then the popular Garden Makeover Ideas on a Budget (GMIB) group the following year.

Mostly innocuous, both Extreme Weather and GMIB used human interest content to grow their audience and currently have 1.7 million followers between them.

F4B was different, focusing on anti-Jeremy Corbyn memes, pro-Boris Johnson content and encouraging followers to post "I back Boris 100%" on multiple platforms because "it's driving Remainers crazy".

Post-Brexit, F4B rebranded as British Updates, the pro-Boris posts were replaced with anti-immigrant content; the page now has 173,000 followers. Morris also rebranded himself as a "journalist" and, more recently, a "Reform Spokesperson".

EXCLUSIVE

The Turning Point Takeover: The Growing Network Bringing Trump's Politics to the UK

The Women's Safety Initiative is getting more attention, but its ideological underpinnings deserve serious scrutiny, reports Katherine Denkinson

Katherine Denkinson

Reform has yet to respond to a request to clarify Morris' involvement with the party, but his name does not appear on any of their literature and his 'journalism' is limited to a website linked to the British Updates page.

Hosting more ads than content, the site presents paraphrased versions of anti-woke tabloid news stories without context or links to the originals.

Sharing little about his personal life, Morris' own Facebook page, which bears the Meta blue verification tick, regularly shares memes and videos from the British Updates page and his associated website.

He also reposts content from multiple other Facebook pages, namely We Support Great Britain, We Are Proud to be British, UK Updates, UK News Updates, UK Daily Updates, and Get Labour Out, which are also owned and run by Morris and have a combined 451,000 followers.

All of these pages advertise Morris' news website, except Get Labour Out, which links instead to a GoFundMe page, a related TikTok account with 40,000 followers and an associated 'merch' website.

EXCLUSIVE

Tommy Robinson Supporters Network Has Links to Neo-Nazi Groups and a Library of Terrorism Manuals

A Byline Times investigation finds members have access to an online library of bomb-making manuals, and instructions for assembling home-made firearms

Katherine Denkinson

Morris declares that the £1,398 currently raised is for a campaign to "remove every Labour MP from power for a Generation" and advises donors that their cash will be used for "demonstration materials, staffing costs, and advertising videos". However, he does not provide any evidence that the money is used for this purpose.

Alongside reposted videos of anti-migrant protests and clips from GB News, Get Labour Out has...

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The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London) is facing a PR controversy after expelling a pro-Palestine student activist over a video. But I want to focus on a less-publicised struggle at the London university because it's quietly enlightening about the forces fragmenting our society, and it hasn't been told elsewhere.

Junior staff are refusing to mark students' work. A letter signed by 100 employees and 200 students accuses the university of unacceptable working conditions for tutors (formally called 'Graduate Teaching Assistants'). It cites "systematic underpaying" and claims "most of us are expected to work without contracts".

SOAS has a unique focus, and it's not just geographic. Ranking third in the world for global development, it is known for a decolonial, anti-injustice approach that centres Global South and under-heard perspectives.

University and College Union Staff Say It Is a 'Toxic Workplace' as They Consider Third Round of Strikes

Exclusive: UCU staff say they have been victims of "bullying and intimidation" by management, as they ballot for another set of walkouts

Josiah Mortimer

Such an environment does not breed quiet compliance. "We learn one thing in class, and then the administration does the exact opposite!" noted one of the 200 students to sign in support, speaking on condition of anonymity because "we're all afraid of being deported".

Tutors are mostly PhD students hired on short-term contracts for which they must reapply each year. Their refusal to mark isn't technically a strike, because the work they're refusing to do isn't work they're contracted to do, but additional work they're expected to do if they want to hold onto competitive, unstable contracts.

"Ultimately, it is the super exploitation of the cheapest possible workforce," said Hwanhee Bae, who taught SOAS' microeconomics analysis module for three years.

What marking may be lacking in remuneration, it supposedly makes up for in 'experience' for early-career tutors. But the workload is piling up as universities squeeze in more fee-paying students, and tutors are now somehow expected to mark 10,000-word dissertations in back-to-back one-hour slots.

This eats away at more than just time: "You immediately start blaming yourself that you're not able to accomplish the work in the specified time," said one tutor. "It feels very depressing. And then you talk to the other tutors and everyone says the same, and you notice: it's not me who's deficient, it's our contract that's deficient".

Leading University Faces Discrimination Lawsuit Following Sacking Over 'Gaza Genocide' Statement

Stella Maris seeks apology and damages after drawn-out ordeal which saw her dismissed then reinstated over all-student email on Palestine

Josiah Mortimer

Thabo, who was a leading organiser of the protest, asked us not to publish his full name after he was dropped from employment in the latest contract renewal - a move he suspects is punitive, though we cannot confirm this.

SOAS' marking 'strike' is a telling tale of the labour movement in an age of fractional work - but not just that. It speaks to the commodification of education in a country that once saw it as a public investment.

University is broadly free across Europe, Russia, India, and a good chunk of South America and the Middle East. The UK ranked among them for 40 years, which dramatically boosted both attendance and the state bill. Other countries rationalised that a brainier workforce would pay back in kind, but Tony Blair reintroduced UK tuition fees in 1998.

When interrogated by a struggling would-be student on Question Time, the Labour Prime Minister bemoaned: "It's not popular obviously because people would like everything for free!" With these words, he declared higher education an expense, rather than an investment.

Afte...

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The great fragmentation of UK party politics unfolds before our eyes. It's been decades in the making as a system designed to create, embed and maintain a two-party system, finally succumbs to the fractured social, cultural and political reality all around it.

While this party-political rollercoaster will have many twists and turns, the eventual fractured destination means our political class must learn how to navigate and negotiate the complexities and nuances of a multi-party-political system.

Like 2019 to get Brexit done and in 2024 to kick the Conservatives out, this doesn't mean that majority governments are impossible if an issue temporarily galvanises enough of the electorate, but any subsequent parliamentary dominance is unlikely to translate into governing coherence. Because of underlying fractures, parties remain in office but not in power. Hence the chaos after 2019 and increasingly since 2024.

'Why Optimism of the Intellect Is Needed to Counter Britain's Spiral Into Despair'

From public support for progressive policies to the courage of Palestine Action defenders, signs of a better future are emerging despite Labour's authoritarian drift, argues Compass director Neal Lawson

Neal Lawson

Meanwhile, the country needs long-term investment and reform on every front; from education, health and housing, to transport and economic productivity.

No single party any longer has the political or electoral bandwidth to offer such long-term stability. Instead, it will have to be created not within a single political party but across several. A future that will have to be negotiated precisely because it cannot be imposed.

If we take the opinion polls since April, no party has the backing of more than 33% of the electorate, in many, five parties' poll over 10%, and in Scotland and Wales, the electorate face a choice of six parties. Support for Muslim independents further complicates the field, and all this before Your Party is properly out of the starting gate.

In all this, two clear left and right blocks are emerging, with the backing of roughly 50% of the population each. Both are divided. But the right has only two parties, the Conservatives and Reform, and considerable pressure is already building for a 'Unite the Right' strategy.

Remember that this doesn't need anything difficult and convoluted like a public pact, but merely the same backroom deal that Keir Starmer and Ed Davey struck before the last election, to stand candidates everywhere but only focus resource where their party can win. And recall that the right lost in 202 seats where they had a majority of the vote in 2024 but splitting it let the progressive candidate in.

'A Government That Crushes Dissent and Eliminates Hope Will Never Prosper'

The authoritarian impulse to eliminate disagreement and dampen hope will only push voters towards the extremes, argues Neal Lawson

Neal Lawson

But on the progressive side, things are now so much more complicated. Four parties could be contesting the progressive vote, with five in Scotland and Wales. But this isn't just a numbers game, but one of morality and values.

Back in 2017, when Theresa May enjoyed a huge poll lead over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour, Compass the organisation I'm the director of, instigated what we called a Progressive Alliance, a deal to unite the left and centre left vote to defeat the Conservatives.

It almost worked, not least because selfless Greens stood aside to ensure dozens of desperate Labour candidates won against the odds. But the Labour HQ in its arrogance, refused to stand aside for anyone and still does.

Greens understandably felt cheated and vowed not to repeat their generosity. But it's not just the culture of Labour which now blocks the prospects for cooperation, but the content. Because the charge now against Labour isn't just that it r...

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Reform UK's deputy leader on Durham Council, Darren Grimes, is the subject of an official complaint after speaking as a representative of "your Reform county council" in a video that uses fake AI footage of Keir Starmer at the helm of an asylum boat.

In the video on 8 August, the former GB News presenter, who was recently appointed to the party's national organising board, appears to prejudge an active criminal trial, and attacks those who might complain about his anti-migrant videos.

He speaks to "residents of Durham as one of Reform's county councillors" in the video - suggesting he is speaking in a professional capacity as deputy leader of the Reform stronghold, controlled by the party since May.

The video features an AI-generated video of Starmer leading a boat of asylum seekers, with no indication that it was made with video manipulation software.

In the video Grimes talks about the safety of "when our women and girls walked our streets" - using a video of white women in swimwear from the circa-1950s, apparently in contrast to Britain now, with foreign asylum seekers supposedly threatening women's safety.

The former GB News presenter was previously subject to a sexual harassment complaint while at the broadcaster. Grimes was alleged to to have swarmed a straight young male colleague with "incessant" calls, and messages in which he called him "angel", and made unwelcome invitations to his hotel room, as Byline Times reported.

EXCLUSIVE

Concierge Nationalism: How the Far-Right Is Selling Extremism as a Lifestyle Service

Vigilantes with links to Neo-Nazi groups are whipping up fear about migrants while soliciting donations for accompanying children to supposed safety

Byline Times Team

Grimes has been repeatedly contacted to comment on the allegations.

In the 8 August video, Grimes also talks of "Sudanese deviants", Labour being "demented sheep" for promoting diversity, and talks about the active court case of an asylum seeker for alleged sexual offences as representing the "violation of children" by migrants (despite no verdict being given yet). He also mocks those who would complain about his video.

Grimes says: "If you're a Labour or Lib Dem watching this, thinking 'oh I want to complain about Old Grimesy getting on his high horse'…I'll get loads of complaints for saying this by the way. I'll be hauled in front of all sorts of committees for being willing to speak truth to the powers that be…What horrors have been unleashed because of this inaction?"

He goes on to reference cases of asylum seekers and refugees being accused of sexual assault, ignoring recent cases like an all-white grooming gang being found guilty this April for preying on underage girls, or a (white) former Conservative sex offender who recently joined Reform.

Byline Times asked if the video was acceptable for the council's deputy leader - speaking in that capacity or otherwise - and if it is being investigated by the council, and was told by a Durham County Council spokesperson: "We are looking into a complaint regarding a Facebook video in line with our code of conduct procedure."

This outlet has seen a complaint made to the council about Grimes' video.

It states: "Firstly, the member is posting as a DCC councillor…While invoking Council authority, he uses a fabricated/AI image of the Prime Minister, apparently smiling with glee on a "small boat" with refugees, while he (Grimes) talks about 'clowns in Westminster cooked up the rules [allowing] smaller HMOs', and 'unchecked arrivals from cultures that couldn't give a flying flamingo about our values'.

UPDATE

The Reform and Conservative Politicians Mingling With Neo-Nazis and Fascists at Asylum Hotel Protests

The recent wave of anti-migrant protests are providing a bridge between right-wing elected politicians and extremist groups

Josiah Mortime...

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"When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny."*

[*Quotation often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, though academics query its provenance.]

Amidst the madness of Trump's second term, each week's outrage obscures last week's outrage. Some say this is a deliberate White House strategy, to keep critics off-balance, and struggling to come up with effective opposition strategies.

The constant chaos allows quieter outrages to go virtually unnoticed, including the numerous firings of government officials seen to have crossed the administration. In August alone this included the head of the Defence Intelligence Agency, Lt. Gen Kruse, who had produced an assessment that the US attacks on Iran had only set back Teheran's nuclear programme by a few months, and the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, for failing to produce a sufficiently glowing report on job numbers. In June, Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr fired every member of the CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel.

This week, the administration put on administrative leave dozens of staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) who had signed a letter to Congress criticizing the administration's budget cuts to disaster preparedness.

Now the administration is attempting to fire Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa Cook, in a blatant effort to pressure the Board to reduce interest rates - setting up a major legal battle, likely to reach the Supreme Court, over the extent and limitations of executive power.

The Trump Administration's Partisan Global Human Rights Report Will Have 'Devastating Consequences'

The Trump administration's attempts to downplay human rights abuses globally suggests they want to make it easier to violate them domestically, argues Alexandra Hall Hall

Alexandra Hall Hall

The constant drama also helps drown out unhelpful stories - such as the scandal surrounding the nature of Trump's association with Jeffrey Epstein. This dominated the news through summer, until attention turned to his frenzied, but futile, efforts to bring the leaders of Russia and Ukraine together for peace talks.

Earlier events, such as Elon Musk's catastrophic tenure at DOGE, the dismantling of USAID, or the "liberation day" announcement of tariffs on America's trading partners, seem like distant memories, though their harmful effects remain to this day.

In the past two weeks, the top story has been Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard in Washington DC, and establish federal control over the city's police department, allegedly to restore law and order in the city. As of writing, over 2,000 armed national guard troops are now patrolling the city's streets, bolstered by hundreds of federal agents.

On 25 August, Trump issued another executive order tasking the Secretary of Defence to create and train a special unit to enforce federal law in the city, and ensure the "availability of a standing national guard quick reaction force" available for deployment nationwide.

He has threatened to deploy similar units to other Democrat-led cities, such as New York, Chicago and Baltimore, though he has far less authority to do so in states run by Governors. He also conspicuously omitted major cities with similar levels of crime under Republican control.

Earlier this week I visited two parts of the city where there has been a major increase in federal presence, to get the reaction from local residents. Their accounts were deeply disturbing.

In Mount Pleasant, one of Washington's most diverse neighbourhoods, with a historically large Hispanic population, residents told me that the entire community was agitated and uneasy. Plain-clothed, masked ICE agents had been seen in several locations, including outside a food distribution site run by a local church, and outside scho...

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Britain's media is 'weaponising' violence against women to further racist anti -migrant agenda, according to campaign groups tackling violence against women.

Over 100 women's rights groups, including Rape Crisis and Women's Aid last week signed a joint statement condemning the "weaponisation" of violence against women and girls (VAWG) to fuel anti-migrant sentiment.

The groups warn that politicians and media outlets are sharing false statistics suggesting particular groups are primarily responsible for sexual violence, undermining genuine safety concerns.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, they challenged the "dangerous myth" that the greatest risk to women and girls comes from strangers - when most violence occurs in homes by known perpetrators.

Official figures show that 90% of rape perpetrators are known to victims, one in two rapes are by partners/ex-partners, and one woman is murdered by a partner every four days in the UK.

The statement comes as Reform UK and far-right activists have increasingly attempted to present asylum seekers as a threat to women and girls.

These statements have been widely reported in the media and promoted by commentators at national newspapers and on broadcast media.

A meeting hosted by Reform UK's council leader in the party's stronghold of Maidstone (Kent) this Tuesday aimed to conflate asylum seekers with violence against women and girls. The meeting was put on with the anti-migration group Women's Safety Initiative (WSI).

It came just days after it was revealed that a former Reform UK Councillor at KCC is to stand trial at Margate Crown Court for allegedly threatening to kill his wife.

The event was slammed by opposition groups and domestic abuse charities. According to a local source, a spokesperson at the event claimed to attendees that "hundreds of thousands of young women have been murdered by immigrants."

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It comes amid a wave of anti-migrant protests outside asylum accommodation across England - with many protesters claiming to be protecting "our" women and girls.

But campaigners working in the sector note that the anti-immigrant riots following the murder of girls in Southport last summer, saw two-fifths of those arrested had histories of domestic abuse - casting major doubt on the claim that the protesters were there to protect women.

Speaking to Byline Times, Sinéad Geoghegan, a spokesperson for the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW Coalition) said the far right had "long exploited" genuine concerns about sexual violence to promote "racist, white supremacist agendas", with mainstream politicians and newspaper now worryingly adopting similar rhetoric.

Geoghegan said: "We see across society reinforcement in the media and by politicians of the "stranger danger" myth. Obviously that's not to say women aren't harmed by strangers. But at the same time, we can't lose sight that the vast majority of domestic abuse and sexual violence is carried out by someone known to the victim - a partner, ex-partner, or in cases of child sexual abuse, often a family member."

She criticised parts of the media for "reinforc[ing] harmful narratives" about sexual violence when it comes to asylum seekers.

EVAW Coalition are concerned by a growing media ecosystem - of traditional media, social media, and political rhetoric - which forms a vicious cycle where harmful narratives go viral online, get picked up by n...