20 years on from 9/11: the waxing and waning of the US-UK ‘special relationship’, from Bush to Biden Twenty years on from one of the greatest days of infamy to strike the Western world, the attack on the 9th of September 2001, there are myriad points to reflect on, not least the ongoing heartache it has left on our collective psyche. One of those, though, should surely be the impact that this great [...]
The spy case in Berlin is a reminder that money will always be the greatest temptation and weapon Spying almost always makes headlines whenever it hoves into public view. There is something inherently fascinating about the idea of nations engaged in cloak and dagger operations against one another, trying to find a weak point they can exploit for their own advantage. All the more so when an intelligence service employs dramatic tactics like [...]
DEBATE: Should the UK have off-shore processing for refugees? Priti Patel is planning on introducing controversial plans to process refugees abroad in an attempt to stop the surge of migrants making the dangerous crossing over the channel. This year, more than 5,600 migrants have made the journey. Ms Patel is reported to be considering destinations as far-flung as Rwanda for off-shore processing. Is it [...]
Shamima Begum made her choice and shouldn’t be given a path back to UK March 1, 2021 It is not often that a British court decision makes the news for the right reasons. So used are we to judgements that fly in the face of what appears obvious to any non-legal mind, that when the opposite happens it is often met with incredulity. Yet last week, the UK Supreme Court astonished many [...]
Pompeo and Circumstance: The special relationship endures July 23, 2020 The visit of a US secretary of state to any country is always an eagerly anticipated affair. Short of a US presidential visit, there is little that can match the arrival of the global superpower’s leading diplomat onto any domestic stage, as can be testified by the extreme media and political interest these encounters provide. [...]
DEBATE: Is it time for western investors to abandon China? June 11, 2020 Is it time for western investors to abandon China? Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, says YES. The phrase “caveat emptor” should be ringing in the ears of China investors. When it comes to business, western countries are waking up to Chinese policies that undermine free trade and distort the global market. [...]
Coronavirus: The government must outline the way forward April 8, 2020 It is said that it is always darkest before dawn. And with our nation in the grip of the Coronavirus crisis – with the economy sinking, civil liberties restricted, and the peak of infections and deaths approaching – it certainly appears to be a particularly baleful moment for the UK. But rather than dwelling on [...]
Beware the corona crisis power grabs April 1, 2020 IN THE midst of the financial crisis of 2008, Rahm Emanuel, soon-to-be chief of staff for US President-Elect Barack Obama, famously announced that “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Emanuel was [...]
As governments respond, beware Covid-19 power grabs April 1, 2020 In the midst of the financial crisis of 2008, Rahm Emanuel, soon-to-be chief of staff for US President-Elect Barack Obama, famously announced that “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Emanuel was [...]
There’s one way to get our liberty back: Test, test, test March 25, 2020 Covid-19 has achieved much during its brief reign of terror on this planet thus far. The virus has physically infected people around the globe, showing that humanity is one family after all. Hardly a country in the world stands untouched by its ravages, even if some have been harder hit than others. Such has been [...]
