Still a little in shock, but deeply grateful: Today, His Majesty The King has appointed me an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2026 Birthday Honours, for public service - recognising five years leading local and regional government for the UK and fifteen in government & politics. To everyone who stood alongside - especially my amazing family: thank you.

I’m a big @Max33Verstappen fan - but this Kimi Antonelli is a bit special, isn’t he. Two generational talents on the front row - will be an interesting race! #F1monacoGP

Strange day for me today - first time not being actively involved in a set of UK elections for some time! Best of luck to all those standing. Hoping the voters make the right choices!

Three years since the first flight of Starship, the next generation is here. New ship. New booster. New engines. New pad and new test site. SpaceX engineers are working to solve one of the most difficult engineering challenges in history: developing a fully, rapidly reusable rocket

😮

Millennials are the elite generation because they cranked out 12-page essays the night before they were due. No ChatGPT. No Claude. Just lo-fi beats playing in the background, Black coffee at midnight, footnotes that were somehow correct, and pure delusion. Grade was an A minus. Period.

Superb and detailed bit of analysis from someone who really knows their stuff (in my opinion!).

Yeah baby!

Emirates expects 100% network return within 'coming days' as flights resume For live updates: gulfnews.com/1.500465016

Just as I thought I’d escaped the media rounds, I was back to doing BBC radio this morning - like I’d never left! It was good to reassure friends, family and old colleagues back in the UK that those of us here in the region are feeling safe and secure. The world class air defences of the UAE @modgovae have been astounding, as has the stellar communication and updates. Looks like I’ll be doing some more UK media later today. Always good to give feedback of what it’s like on the ground, to dispel some of the myths which are circulating out there. Stay safe everyone!

What an incredible set of statistics. Truly thankful to have such an amazing team defending this brilliant nation. 🫡 @modgovae

Thank you for all the messages from those worried about those of us in the region. It would seem that, inexplicably, Iran’s tactics are to indiscriminately fire drones and missiles on all of the countries in the Middle East. It doesn’t matter where you are - Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, or even here in the UAE. Fortunately the authorities here have exceptional air defences and brilliant lines of communication. We feel safe; even if it surreal to hear the bangs of intercepted drones. It’s a testament to those defences that - despite this flurry of aggression - there have only been a handful of injuries here. It’s super impressive and life carries on normally. We’re all safe and well - and wishing the very best to the armed forces from all of the nations of the world who are battling this awful, backwards regime.

Whole region is empty of planes and this Virgin Atlantic flight is like “Hold my beer”!! 😆

It’s times like this that I’m immensely grateful for the X platform. Quite simply the only place to get quick, relevant information on the situation.

Healthcare’s biggest disruption isn’t AI. It’s the shift from treatment to cure - and the industries, business models, and governance structures that aren’t ready for it. Four days at #WHXDubai - World Health Expo and this was the theme that kept coming back. Here’s what I saw - full article below👇🏼 linkedin.com/pulse/healthcar…

Three takeaways from Day 1 at #WHXDubai: 1. Healthcare innovation is moving at extraordinary speed 2. Regulation will unlock it or kill it 3. The GCC is leading on healthcare PPPs Few minutes summary 👇

Had to get on board - its take is… interesting!! 😆

Well, this seems like the end for @Keir_Starmer. Even from the other side of the world, some things are immediately obvious (I can’t escape keeping close tabs!). Having been at the very centre of the action during the final days of a number of UK PMs, it’s clear this is it.