In a highly unusual move, Biden has preemptively pardoned his family in the last moments of his Presidency. It includes his brothers James and Francis and his sister Valerie. Biden already pardoned his son Hunter, who was due to face sentencing last month on federal felony gun and tax convictions. The pardoning covers any “nonviolent offences against the United States which they may have committed or taken part” in from January 1, 2014. Eyebrow-raising…
Biden also pardoned Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. Liberals pulling out their teeth…
The main proceedings will be going on in the next hour or so in the rotunda at the centre of Congress. All inside…
The 60th Presidential Inauguration Ceremony https://t.co/kTB4w2VCdI
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2025
Nigel Farage has launched a scathing attack on Starmer and the government in the wake of Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana’s guilty plea. The Reform leader accused Starmer of one of the “worst cover-ups” with the handling of the case being “abominable” from “day one”. He goes on to say the government withholding information sparked the summer riots as online speculation ran rife. He explained how he was silenced:
“I was pretty certain from what I had been told very early on that this was a terrorist-related attack. I wanted to ask questions in Parliament about what the authorities knew about this man, but my rights of parliamentary privilege were taken away, and I was not allowed to say anything, which is extraordinary.”
Kemi also took to X to say: “we will need a complete account of who in government knew what and when. The public deserves the truth.” Meanwhile, it’s since been revealed that Rudakubana was referred to the counter-extremism programme Prevent not once, but three times. These referrals included incidents involving his viewing of materials on Libya, past terrorist attacks such as the 2017 London incidents, and potential interest in a school massacre targeting children. Despite this, he was repeatedly deemed not to pose a terrorism risk…
UPDATE I: Starmer says:
“Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar – and the families of everyone affected – who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial. The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome. It is also a moment of trauma for the nation and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls. Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit. At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw; a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal. Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime. The whole nation grieves with them.”
UPDATE II: Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into Southport killer Axel Rudakubana. She says ministers:
“need more independent answers on both Prevent and all the other agencies that came into contact with this extremely violent teenager as well as answers on how he came to be so dangerous, including through a public inquiry that can get to the truth about what happened and what needs to change”.
Over the weekend Sadiq Khan got a lot of attention for equating Trump’s election to the return of fascism:
“We should be in no doubt, this is a perilous moment. The spectre of a resurgent fascism haunts the West … To ward off the far-right, we must be unflinching in defence of our democracy and values, and in our determination to enhance the welfare and material conditions of our communities.”
Much like the London Mayor’s previous tired guff when it comes to the soon-to-be president. The government slapped Khan down on Sunday for the obviously unhelpful comments…
Now less than 48 hours after Khan’s origial Observer article came out, he is briefing in somewhat of a different tone:
“Sir Sadiq said as somebody ‘who believes in democracy, and voting and elections, we should recognise the fact that Donald Trump is the elected President of the United States’. And he insisted he now ‘wanted to work closely with the American President’. But he added: ‘Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this president is different from the last time he was president.'”
That’s as close to a climbdown on Trump as anyone can get out of Khan. How hard did Labour have to twist his arm to get this out?
Co-conspirators who frequent the capital are now fairly likely to have had a phone or bike nabbed by thieves. A phone is now stolen in London every six minutes…
Guido hears from the Home Office that the department has fully developed a beefed up set of new rules which would allow police officers to enter premises without a warrant in order to seize stolen devices with GPS tracking. Such a change enter legislation…
The Home Office newsdesk has been contacted for comment. Sources tell Guido that the policy, once fully greenlit, will appear in Labour’s Crime and Policing Bill – that’s not due for some time yet. Alterations could still be made before it goes through parliament…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”