Paul Knaggs

Thirty missing, 17 rescued as boat capsizes north of Libya Rome (AFP) – About 30 migrants were missing and presumed drowned after the overcrowded boat they were on capsized during a rescue attempt by a cargo ship off Libya's coast, Italy's coastguard said on Sunday. Seventeen migrants were saved and a search was underway for the missing after the early-morning attempted rescue...

As the great Christopher Hitchens once said, "the principle of free speech is indivisible and non-negotiable, and it must be defended everywhere, from Myanmar to Manchester." Today, we find ourselves in a moment where this principle is being tested once again, in the controversy surrounding former footballer Gary Lineker and his comments on social media. Lineker, who has been an...

We must all defend Gary Lineker's right to Free speech Gary Lineker has been forced off his Match of the Day duties by the BBC because he won’t apologise for his comments on social media. This came after his Tweet where he expressed his views on the recently proposed small boat legislation announced by the government. In the Tweet, Gary Lineker...

Warning long read... Stopping small boats is 'priority' for British people, says Rishi Sunak and he claims he is up for a fight... Sunak says he is up for the fight on illegal Channel crossings but this is much more complex than that. Rishi Sunak has said he is "up for the fight" to bring in new legislation to prevent migrants...

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has announced the suspension of a series of rail strikes, which were set to take place across the UK rail network. The RMT National Executive Committee has taken the decision to suspend all industrial action on Network Rail following receipt of a new offer from the employer. The suspension of the strikes will allow...

Boris Johnson nominates his father for a knighthood Once again, we find ourselves confronted with a display of privilege and elitism that is all too common in our political system. I speak, of course, of Boris Johnson's decision to nominate his father for a knighthood This move is a slap in the face to the very idea of democracy, and it...

The Betrayal of Socialist Principles: Tony Benn's Prescient Warning for the Fate of the Labour Party “If the Labour Party could be bullied or persuaded to denounce its Marxists, the media – having tasted blood – would demand next that it expelled all its Socialist and reunited the remaining Labour Party with the SDP to form a harmless alternative to...

Sir Keir Starmer's Dangerous Game: The Threat to Democracy in the Labour Party It really doesn't matter if you are a Labour member or voter, it really doesn't matter if you support the Labour Party at all. but it does matter if you believe in democracy and the rights of people to choose who represents them. The Labour Party has...

The families of victims of the Manchester Arena attack accused MI5 of a “devastating” failure after an official inquiry found the agency missed a “significant opportunity” to stop the deadliest terror plot in Britain since the 7 July 2005 attacks in London. A public inquiry led by Sir John Saunders concluded that there was a “realistic possibility” that the bomber...

The former health secretary has been accused of ignoring advice to test all people entering care homes during the first lockdown in 2020 - something he has denied. The recent revelations from The Telegraph and THE LOCKDOWN FILES have once again raised concerns about the actions of government officials during the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that more than 100,000 WhatsApp...