The brain-dead era of Angela Merkel is limping to a finish December 9, 2019 The always interesting French President Emmanuel Macron got it precisely wrong in November when he airily derided Nato — the most successful alliance in the history of the world — as experiencing “brain death”. Brazening it out, Macron doubled down, defending his remark at the Nato summit of last week. As I never tire of [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder wins case over ‘pedo guy’ remark December 7, 2019 A US jury has ruled that Elon Musk did not defame a British caver who helped in last year’s rescue of trapped Thai schoolboys by calling him a “pedo guy”. Vernon Unsworth sought $190m (£145m) in damages from the billionaire on the grounds that the tweet had damaged his reputation. It came amid a public [...]
General election 2019: Labour pledges to electrify England’s 35,000 buses by 2030 December 6, 2019 Labour will on Saturday unveil a plan to electrify the country’s entire bus fleet by 2030 and bring “bus services into the future”. The initiative would be funded by the party’s green transformation fund, should Labour get into power following next week’s general election. Read more: Labour and Tories are sweeping immigration under the rug [...]
Michael Gove gives out No 10 phone number when quizzed on Andrew Neil interview December 6, 2019 Michael Gove has given out the direct phone number to No 10 Downing Street after being pressed on when the Prime Minister would be doing an interview with Andrew Neil. The Duchy of Lancaster was asked to put a figure on the chances that Boris Johnson would accept the invitation to be interviewed on BBC [...]
Labour and the Tories are sweeping immigration under the rug this election December 6, 2019 This election season is slogan heavy. “Get Brexit done.” “For the many, not the few.” While necessarily vague, this year’s party mottos have done a decent job of getting to the heart of their offers. The Conservatives aren’t dallying on the UK’s exit from the European Union. The Labour Party is offering more taxes and [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Diver refuses to apologise to Tesla founder December 5, 2019 Vernon Unsworth, the British cave diver suing Tesla founder Elon Musk for calling him a “pedo guy” on Twitter, refused to apologise to the billionaire businessman and said his criticism of Musk was not a personal attack. In the third day of the defamation trial, Unsworth said he would not say sorry for an interview [...]
Sajid Javid Brexit without trade deal ‘unlikely’ as he blames Labour for UK homelessness December 5, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid has insisted Britain is unlikely to leave the EU without a trade deal in place at the end of next year, but declined to rule the possibility out. The Tories are seeking to agree a free trade deal with the bloc by the end of 2020. Read more: John McDonnell: A Labour [...]
Thai cave rescuer brands Elon Musk’s ‘pedo guy’ tweet a life sentence December 5, 2019 Vernon Unsworth, the diver seeking damages from Elon Musk, has described the effect of the billionaire’s “pedo guy” tweet as “a life sentence without parole.” Speaking in court in Los Angeles, Unsworth laid out in detail the effect he believes the comment has had on his life. Read more: Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder says ‘pedo guy’ tweet was ‘off the cuff’ December 4, 2019 Elon Musk insisted that his “pedo guy” Twitter comment directed a British diver involved with the rescue of 12 boys from a cave in Thailand was “off the cuff” as he wrapped up two days of testimony at his defamation trial today. The billionaire businessman apologised again to Vernon Unsworth, the diver who is seeking [...]
Our divided country can’t even agree on who our enemies are December 4, 2019 Aristotle wrote that “a common danger unites even the bitterest enemies”. So what hope of unity is there for a nation where the very perceptions of danger become contested? Ahead of this week’s Nato meeting, the British Foreign Policy Group conducted a public opinion survey with pollsters at Opinium, exploring perceptions of the most pressing [...]