Putin trying to intimidate with activities in UK, former MI6 chief says bbc.in/4eLoQjG

Bring. It. On.

Have come back from weekend away, to find a load of people telling I'm despicable for an Unherd piece I wrote a while back on "Sophie of Dundee". Will link it below so you can read it/ more people can misunderstand it and tell me I'm a sneering disgrace, etc. Lat week the young girl's Bulgarian attackers were found guilty of assaulting her and pulling her hair, and I'm glad they were convicted. I hope they get sentenced accordingly. I'm now supposed to apologise for showing contempt for working class girls in my article - but I didn't. I know I didn't because I don't feel anything like that, never have, and never will. What I did do was (stupidly, I agree) believe Police Scotland when they said there was a lack of evidence to show any crime. What I also did in my article was to take the piss out of onlookers putting out Braveheart memes about the girl - that is a fair cop. That is: I mocked and criticised people - mostly uninformed Americans, I thought - who watched a 3 second viral video of a young girl with large knives, and tried to turn her into Mary Queen of Scots, or William Wallace. My general writing style is mocking and acerbic, and this piece was no different - but I was not mocking the girls (sorry but it is true) - I was mocking the perception of them in the US imagination at the time. (Yes, even the line about machetes and Irn Bru.) If you think it is a good idea to give a small girl carrying large knives loads of money and make a folk hero out of her, based on a three second video about which you know nothing else, I can tell you definitively (because I have asked some of them since) that plenty of Dundonians would disagree with you. And I still think the way the video was used was not in the girls' best interests. I obviously have regrets about how I wrote the article, in that it seems plenty of readers did not get what I was trying to do or say - but that is the peril of writing in public, and I take it on the chin. I realise this is not the apology some want, but its all I got. I hate fake apologies - and anyway, if I had to apologise to anyone, it would be to the girls, in private, for writing about the situation prematurely, not strangers on here who don't know me or my intentions, having the time of their lives ganging up. Muting this and every other thread now, as let's face it, there is not a lot more I can learn about what a disgrace I am - and if that applies to you, tbh I am not that fond of you either. Very happy if you unfollow me and continue to be deeply disappointed from a distance.

What’s more terrifying is people like Julia who will happily spread misinformation about trans people, rather than listen to qualified experts.

Exclusive from @oliver_wright Dartmoor ponies could be subject to mass culling to reduce the impact on biodiversity after a controversial ruling by the government’s environmental quango Natural England has demanded that all livestock grazing on the moor is reduced by about 75 per cent to protect other habitats, plants and species The move looks set to result in the culling of up to nine in ten of the semi-wild ponies as farmers prioritise their own cattle and sheep to remain within Natural England’s limit to minimise the impact on their own livelihoods Natural England argued that the move was necessary to protect the diversity of Dartmoor, which is a designated site of special scientific interest However, the plan goes against a government commissioned review into the future of Dartmoor, published two years ago, which concluded that Natural England “should not take actions likely to result in a reduction in pony numbers”, adding they were “invaluable for conservation grazing” The move has led to claims that the quango is acting as judge, jury and executioner of the ponies — a species which is itself seen as endangered Dartmoor ponies could be put to death under biodiversity plans thetimes.com/article/ba529f3…

Some tricky conversations this evening about the impending social media ban. ‘I don’t even know who this government guy is’ ‘Keir Starmer’ ‘Keir Starmer, what does that mean’

JUST IN: UK Government clarifies adults will still be able to use social media by verifying their identities with digital IDs, facial recognition, passports and credit cards.

🔒 Extra safety 🔒 Under-16s will be blocked from livestreaming themselves, and unknown adults will be blocked from messaging children on multiplayer games. 🧵4/5

We are banning social media access for under 16s. These days kids must find their feet in a world where technology intrudes into every area of their life. I just can’t let that go on anymore. So we’re giving children their childhoods back.

💼 A range of employment support programmes offered by local authorities to benefit claimants are open only to ethnic minorities Read more about the controversial pathways to work programmes ⬇️ telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06…

This is social housing

The British legal system makes me sick.

The Muslim who treats you at the hospital is not a terrorist. The Muslim who teaches your children is not a terrorist. The Muslim who serves you in a shop is not a terrorist. The Muslim who drives your taxi is not a terrorist. The Muslim who lives next door is not a terrorist. The overwhelming majority of Muslims are ordinary people trying to live their lives. Judge people by their actions, not by their religion.