I’ve been writing about Andy Burnham in Manchester for a while. We’ve had a few run-ins but I think he has qualities that many people don’t appreciate and weaknesses that spell trouble. I wrote this for @ManchesterMill - I hope it’s insightful and fair. manchestermill.co.uk/stop-lo…

It's always a pleasure to hear from a reader, and in this instance, a few months ago, the reader in question was @joshi. He's the founder and editor of Mill Media, an exciting and innovative enterprise that focuses on deeply reported, long-form journalism in the UK. It's showing us the future of news. Would I be interested in revisiting the Manchester bombing of June 1996, which he'd read about in my book Bandit Country: The IRA and South Armagh? Specifically, could I complete the story of who ordered, planned, and carried out the bombing? Anyone who knows me will not be surprised that I could not resist such a challenge. I didn't know at the time that it would involve returning to South Armagh, visiting the cattle shed where the bomb was mixed, and knocking on the doors of the IRA suspects in the case. The result is two articles (the link to the second one is in the comments) published by The Mill, the Manchester arm of Joshi's empire, this weekend. For the piece, I worked with investigations editor @cameronbarr, formerly of the Washington Post and one of the great editors of our time, and ace Mill reporter @jackdulhanty, riding shotgun with me as we crisscrossed the Irish border. The story is close to my heart because I grew up in Manchester. My father and brother were on their way to the Arndale Centre that sunny Saturday morning. Miraculously, no one was killed by the bomb—the largest detonated in Britain since World War II—but 212 people were injured, 13 of them seriously. No one has ever been prosecuted for the attack, and Manchester police, with exquisite timing the week before the 30th anniversary of the blast, just announced that their investigation has closed. But that doesn't mean that the story of who was behind the bombing cannot be told... manchestermill.co.uk/the-ira…

Part 2 of @ManchesterMill special re-investigation of the 1996 IRA bomb: A sniper team and the ‘inside man’ manchestermill.co.uk/a-snipe…

“I didn’t realise it at the time, but this conversation would later help me to work out who was behind the 1996 Manchester bombing,” writes @tobyharnden. Today’s piece explains that story, including who ordered the attack and carried it out.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: An "inside man" in Manchester, an IRA sniper team, and the political trade-offs that kept a prime suspect out of custody. After 30 years, we can reveal the real story of the 1996 Manchester bomb - by @tobyharnden & @jackdulhanty. manchestermill.co.uk/a-snipe…

My @ManchesterMill subscription already repays me in spades, but the 2 part investigation into the 1996 IRA bomb in Manchester is outstanding even by its already high standards. Great work by @tobyhayden666 @jackdulhanty and @cameronbarr 👏

On our estimates, the "bang for the buck" - the long-run GDP benefit per pound of tax-cut cost - is the lowest of any proposed tax cut we've scored:

I’ve been working on this for @ManchesterMill recently, culminating in a return to South Armagh last weekend

This is a first class account of the Manchester bomb, 30 years on. A characteristically thrilling read, as one would expect from @tobyharnden author of Bandit Country. Must read, can't wait for part 2.

We can now tell the real story of what really happened in 1996: including naming most of those who were responsible and explaining how the politics of the “peace process” got in the way of suspects being prosecuted for the attack.

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: The IRA men behind the Manchester bomb - unravelling a 30-year mystery We can reveal the real story of the IRA attack that destroyed the city centre - and why nobody was ever brought to justice. By @tobyharnden and @jackdulhanty. manchestermill.co.uk/the-ira…

Latest @ManchesterMill: veteran war correspondent @tobyharnden and I travelled to Northern Ireland to reinvestigate the 1996 Manchester bomb manchestermill.co.uk/the-ira…

The hospitality industry wants their VAT cut to 10%. It will cost £12bn Who benefits? ❌ The smallest most vulnerable businesses? Nope. 45% get nothing. ❌ Consumers? Nope - prices won't fall. ✅ Nearly half the cash goes straight to large chains. McDonald's gets £400m. 🧵:

Exclusive from @patrickkmaguire Restore Britain is set to hand Andy Burnham the victory in Makerfield, according to a poll of the constituency that will electrify the final days of the by-election campaign. The mayor of Greater Manchester is five points ahead of Reform UK in a race that remains too close for comfort with less than a week until ballots are cast, a survey by More in Common and the UCL Policy Lab suggests. It shows Labour’s lead over Nigel Farage’s candidate, Robert Kenyon — 45 per cent to 40 per cent — is smaller than the 8 per cent share for Restore Britain, the hard-right party led by Rupert Lowe, with more than one in ten voters yet to decide how to vote. thetimes.com/uk/politics/art…

One person has been pivotal to Andy Burnham's political career, and you've probably never heard of him. Who is Kevin Lee, Burnham's 'man in the shadows'? Lee has been the mayor’s ultraloyal advisor for 16 years, described to us as both omnipresent and dogged.

For 16 years one man has been at Andy Burnham’s side: his ultra-loyal advisor Kevin Lee. One person posits Lee as the Lady Macbeth figure, urging Burnham on when his ambition is faltering. Others see him as the mayor’s secret weapon. Meet Kevin Lee - in today’s @ManchesterMill.