It seems likely that the current Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Cressida Dick, will be offered a second four year term in office. This would be a mistake, and to reward failure, as I argue in this piece for spiked. You can view the article as a pdf below. Download Cressida Dick has failed upwards spiked 21 07 2021 Continue reading

I neglected to post my final comments for Spiked on Labour's eventual victory in the Batley and Spen by-election. You can read it on the excellent spiked website, here. I also place the article as a pdf below. Perhaps the most significant development since the result has been the Labour MP for Bradford West and Shadow Minister for Social Cohesion, who spoke in the Commons of the need to protect Muslims from the 'hurt' of insults to Muhammad. It is hard not to see a connection between the by-election result, and Ms Shah's intervention. It bodes ill for the direction... Continue reading

Shakeel Afsar has given us a masterful display of the crybullies art - hectoring and aggressive one moment, pleading for our support and sympathy the next. Read my analysis on spiked, or in the pdf below. Download Batleys Islamist crybullies 29 06 2021 Continue reading

It seems likely the Conservatives will win the Batley and Spen by-election on 1 July. There is even the possibility of George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain beating Labour into third place. As I discuss for spiked, having played the game of identity politics, abandoning the Batley Grammar school teacher in the process, Labour now risks being outplayed at their own game by Galloway. You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh..... A pdf of the article is available below: Download The Batley and Spen by-election a mess made by identity politics 24 06 2021 Continue reading

If you wish to donate to the cost of running this website, and help to fund my writing, donations are welcome. They can be made, via paypal, below: Continue reading

"Men posing as female weightlifters isn't the biggest problem western civilisation faces, but it's an ominous symptom of deeper rot. When the people in charge retreat into fantasy, and demand that everyone else join them there, society itself becomes impervious to reality. The entire population develops the habits of fact-avoidance and lying. After a while, no one can see a crisis, or even admit one exists." From Tucker Carlson's Ship of Fools: How a Selfish Ruling Class is Bringing America to the Brink of Revolution. (New York: Free Press), p. 201. Continue reading

The first stage of the inquiry under Justice Saunders into the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, is now complete. I analyse what has happened thus far in The Levant, and argue the second and third stages are likely to be as, or more devastating, in their criticisms. A pdf of the article can be read below. Download The Manchester Arena Inquiry Damaging revelations with more to come 18 06 2021 Continue reading

Iran pursues its interests in the UK, and seeks to build and maintain influence, in two ways. The first is through perfectly legal outreach work and inter faith initiatives. The second is a much more underhand campaign of online disinformation and skullduggery. I set out some examples of both in an article for The Levant, available here. You can read the article as a pdf, below. Download Thelevantnews.com-Behind the debates Iranian Influence in the UK 15 06 2021 Continue reading

The Batley and Spen by-election on 1 July is one of the most exciting in years. My latest article for Spiked considers the challenge of George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, the backdrop of threats and violence that have scarred the constituency in recent years, and the candidacy of several pro-Brexit parties, who are searching for political space in the pro-Brexit era. You can read the article here, and find a pdf below. Download Batley and Spen bigger than red v blue 10 06 2021 Continue reading

I took part in a panel discussion yesterday on Iranian influence overseas, as part of the promotional work following the report I published with the Henry Jackson Society earlier this week. The panel was chaired by the Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, and I was joined by Prof Saul Chorev, Simone Rodan-Benzaquen and Jonathan Spyer. You can see a video of the event here. Continue reading

I am the author of a new report on Iranian influence in the United Kingdom. You can read the press release and find a link to the report here. The report looks at seven areas of interest: political networks, religion, the media, cultural networks, the Iranian diaspora, education and academia, and finally, the fields of business and finance. The bulk of the focus, however, is in the fields of politics and religion. A pdf of the report can be downloaded below: Download HJS-Iranian-Influence-Networks-in-the-UK-Report 2021 Continue reading

The Summer 2021 issue of the Salisbury Review is now out. You can buy the magazine, or download a copy, here. Within its pages I have a review of Douglas Murray's short book 'Islamophilia: A Very Metropolitan Malady.' What are the consequences of an outbreak of Islamophilia? Read the review and find out. Download Murray Islamophilia review Salisbury Review Summer 2001 p 53 Download Murray Islamophilia review Salisbury Review Summer 2021 p 54 Continue reading

Following the inquest into the killing of Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt in the November 2019 terrorist attack at Fishmongers Hall in London, I have written a short piece for Spiked on the question of whether the attack could have been prevented. The article is on the Spiked website here. It can also be read as a pdf below. Download Could the Fishmongers Hall attack have been prevented spiked 02 06 2021 Continue reading

Thank you to my correspondent FP who pointed out to me that the famous far-right web forum Stormfront offers space to the 9/11 Truth movement. Indeed a whole sub-forum on the History and Revisionism board is devoted to 9/11 Truth.... Continue reading

On Wednesday I had a short piece published by Spiked covering the fallout from Pimlico Academy in London, which earlier this year took down its union flag after complaints from parents and pupils. Schools in parts of England are now experiencing a wave of protests in support of the Palestinians, and many of those deeply uncomfortable about the sight of the union flag, are now seeing colours displayed that they are sympathetic too........ A link to the article on the Spiked website is here. A pdf can be found below: Download Flags are nothing to fear 26 05 2021 Spiked Continue reading

In football, traditions matter. I feel the display of a Palestinian flag at Old Trafford by Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo was outside the traditions of the club. It is hard to imagine it happening in an earlier era, especially when United worked so hard as a club not to be seen as partisan with regards to the Northern Ireland conflict. You can read my article arguing against sectarianism in football on Spiked, and also as a pdf below. Download Sectarianism has no place at Man United - spiked 19 05 2021 Continue reading

It is not sure exactly when it will happen, but a by-election in the west Yorkshire constituency of Batley and Spen appears inevitable, after the sitting MP, Tracy Babin, was elected as the new Mayor for West Yorkshire. The central issue in the by-election that brought Ms Babin into office in 2016 was the fascist terror attack which saw Jo Cox MP murdered by Thomas Mair. This by-election will occur to the backdrop of threats of violence to a teacher at Batley Grammar, who is in hiding after threats from Islamists. In an article today for Spiked, I argue standing... Continue reading

Just before Christmas I finished reading Paul Embery's 'Despised: Why the Modern Left Loathes the Working Class'. It is very good, although I fear that the people who need to read it, and to learn from it, will not. Embery risks that cruellest of fates, being a Prophet in his own land, destined only to be heard from those outside his own tribe. These are some of the lines on which he finishes the book: We have learned that any drive to create an 'open' 'diverse' and 'progressive' nation will alienate a large part of the populace if it is... Continue reading

On Tuesday 22nd December I will be chairing an online event at 1500 for the Henry Jackson Society entitled 'President Macron's Response to Islamism and Jihadist Terror: Lessons for Other Nations'. The discussion should last for about an hour, with three leading researchers in the field - Liam Duffy, Dr Tommaso Virgili and Simone Rodan-Benzaquen. There will also be a Q and A session. Sadly, as the event is online, the anticipated mince pies and glasses of sherry will have to wait until next year. To attend, all you need to do is register online with HJS, and you will... Continue reading

It seems likely the Oxford Covid vaccine will be rolled out across the UK in January. I was one of over 600 people to take part in the trials for this in Corby, Northamptonshire. Finishing off the tests on Thursday, I was told only 5 people had negative reactions to the jabs, none serious. That is less than 1 percent. It seems appropriate to be deeply pessimistic about the future. The economic hit we have suffered from Covid has not been fully grasped. The gap between the security and status of public and private sector workers is deepening, and may... Continue reading

One of the issues in the in-tray of Home Secretary Priti Patel, is the question of whether to revoke the ban on the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers organisation. In the page of the Indian newspaper the Sunday Guardian, I argue strongly against this. It would be a poor way to treat our allies, but would also send a dangerous message to other militant exiled groups who are, regrettably, exiled here in the UK. Continue reading

Bridge India has now published on its You Tube page the discussion marking the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008, which I participated in last Friday. You can listen below to involving Burzine Waghmar of SOAS University of London, the author Priyajit Debsarkar, and myself. Continue reading

This is a 45 minute discussion of the 2008 terror attacks carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, at the direction of the Pakistani deep state. From the Canadian station TAG TV, I contribute to a panel with the SOAS orientalist Burzine Waghmar. The sound is a little ropey at first (part of one answer sounds as if I am impersonating the late Norman Collier) but it soon improves. You can view the discussion below . Continue reading

The Metropolitan Police, and the leadership of the Labour Party, have both spoken out about anti-vaccination opinions, and activists who are circulating such views on social media. As we move closer to immunising people against Covid19, these debates are likely to increase. I think it would be a bad idea to create legislation against these views, and set out my arguments in this piece for Spiked. Continue reading

Over the weekend I had a short article published in the Sunday Guardian in India, concerning the 2008 terror attacks in the city. In it I attempt to characterise some aspects of jihadist violence, for example its anger and hatred directed at 'the other', and also discuss aspects of the impact of the attacks. For example, the view of Pakistan as a state sponsor of terrorism, was reinforced. You can read the article on The Sunday Guardian website here, and also get a pdf of the piece Download Nature and impact of Mumbai attacks 21 11 2020. Now - what... Continue reading