A bizarre but perhaps unsurprising intervention from former Met police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu who tells The Guardian on the twentieth anniversary of the attacks:
“A driver of the 7/7 attacks was foreign policy and Iraq. That does not excuse in any way what they did. That foreign policy decision has radicalised and made extremists of people who might not have been radicalised or extreme. And if they were on the pathway, it’s pretty much guaranteed… All terrorists will have a freedom fighter story.”
Of course the real driver of the 7/7 attacks was the terrorists themselves. Blaming Western foreign policy is the very same excuse used by terrorists themselves for their murderous actions…
That’s the same Neil Basu who called British policing institutionally racist, alleged Suella Braverman used “horrific” rhetoric about migrants, and said Farage was giving the EDL “succour.” No wonder British policing is in such a dire state after years of this ‘leadership’…
Hiring confidence has plunged to its lowest level in 13 years, according to accountancy and business firm BDO’s latest Employment Index, which slid again in June, dropping to 94.22. The report finds firms are now “holding back recruitment” as Downing Street limbers up for yet more tax rises after Starmer’s U-turns on winter fuel and welfare. This follows gloomy payrolled employment data, which showed a staggering 109,000 jobs were lost in May alone…
Meanwhile the Confederation of British Industry reports over half (52%) of employers in financial services expect their workforces to shrink by September, citing “heightened economic uncertainty”. CBI Chief Economist Alpesh Paleja warned:
“Conditions deteriorated in the financial services sector over the second quarter, with business volumes falling at their fastest pace since late 2023 and sentiment dropping sharply.”
Numbers will likely only get worse after Autumn…
An education minister has refused to guarantee that children with special needs will continue to receive their current guaranteed education provisions under current plans to reform the SEND system. Labour MPs are feeling rebellious…
After Phillipson failed to make guarantees yesterday to not scrap education, health and care plans (EHCPs), which force authorities to provide a level of service for children with special needs, early years minister Stephen Morgan was needled on Times Radio on proposals to alter them. Costs of £11 billion per year currently…
Morgan gave no guarantee despite being pressed:
“Well of course we want to make sure that every child gets the support that they need. That’s why we’re doing the wider reform and we’re publishing the white paper later this year… We’re looking at the system in the round. I’m not going to get into the specifics today in terms of what it might mean going forward but we’ve got to be really honest with parents, they will also recognise this system is not working.“
The government plans to cut costs from the EHCP system and redirect the cash to schools. The white paper on proposals is scheduled for October. Charities are already sounding the alarm and with them come the backbenchers…
Paula Barker, Liverpool Wavertree MP backing Andy Burnham, told Times Radio there wouldn’t be trouble from the markets under Burnham:
“The markets will have to fall in line.”
