Charlie Alford

Covid cronyism: Inquiry finds Johnson government squandered £10bn in unusable PPE

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Boris Johnson’s government wasted £10bn on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE), the Covid inquiry report has found. Inquiry chair Heather Hallett also slammed the then-Conservative government’s use of firms with Tory ‘VIP’ connections to fulfil major PPE contracts. Focusing on the broader impact of Covid, the Guardian reported: The most high-profile scandal of the VIP lane contracts was PPE Medpro, a newly formed company linked to the then Conservative peer Michelle Mone, which was awarded two contracts worth £203m after Mone first approached Michael Gove, the then Cabinet Office minister, in May 2020. Hallett noted in her report: “The ‘high priority…

Trump’s Iran war plunges the Global South into a state of siege

Post author:Nandita Lal
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

In a scathing new report, the International Development Economics Associates Limited (IDEAs) has documented the heavy toll Global South continues to pay for a war it did not create — as corporations cash in. The report describes a state of siege across the Global South region, with countries facing mounting economic pressure as the fallout from the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran spreads. Global South picks up the tab The report stated that operations of Epic Fury waged by the US, and Roaring Lion waged by the colonial-settler state Israel have led to substantial hardship for countries throughout the global…

Ditching donor dinners for dancefloors and putting the party into Green Party

Post author:The Canary
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Showing that political fundraising doesn’t have to be all fancy dinners and shady crypto-related windfalls, the Green Party is instead heading for the dancefloor. Green Space is taking its “party with purpose” model to Bristol this month, as the community and culture project builds what organisers describe as a repeatable, transparent and people-powered fundraising model for Green politics. The Bristol event, taking place at Sawmills on Sunday 26 July 2026, will be the fourth Green Space party in the series, following two events in London and one in Leeds. Putting the party into Green Party Together, the first three events have…

More Blair-Starmer continuity — Burnham & Milburn team up against young people

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Presumptive new PM Andy Burnham has given yet another signal of his intention to continue where Keir Starmer and his Blair tribute act leave off. Burnham is now working “hand-in-glove” with Starmer adviser and Blairite privatiser Alan Milburn on forcing people into work. Milburn blames young people The plan is, of course, dressed up as “opportunity and life chances” for young people. However, Milburn’s May 2026 interim report for Starmer makes clear that the aim is to force them into work for economic growth rather than their benefit. 60% of those targeted are not currently looking for work — and Milburn,…

Painfully slow decline in animal testing exposes a government dragging its feet

Post author:Antifabot
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

New Home Office statistics have laid bare the true extent of our government’s broken promises when it comes to animal testing and animal rights. Researchers in UK laboratories carried out scientific procedures on animals 2.5 million times in 2025. This is a pathetic 4% decrease from 2024, revealing a government that is failing to meet the expectations of the public it supposedly serves. Despite releasing the Replacing animals in Science strategy in November 2025, the state has still condemned millions of animals to suffer disgusting and painful procedures. We need to transition to modern, humane scientific methods of testing. Now. Animal testing…

FIFA adopts new match ball for the final four matches of the 2026 World Cup

Post author:Alaa Shamali
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

FIFA and Adidas have announced the launch of a new official match ball for the final four matches of the 2026 World Cup. This marks the first time the tournament has seen a change in the official match ball before the competition draws to a close. After the ‘Trionda’ ball has been in use from the start of the tournament through to the end of the quarter-finals, the new version – named the ‘Trionda Final’ – will feature in the semi-finals between France and Spain, and England and Argentina, as well as the third-place play-off and the final. This change is…

Study finds DWP benefits already harder to get for people with ADHD

Post author:Rachel Charlton-Dailey
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Despite what the corporate media and MP’s are always spreading, a new study has shown that it’s actually harder to get disability benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) if you have ADHD. For months now the rags have pushed the narrative that too many people with ADHD are cheating the system and claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP). The latest was from The Times: More than 100,000 get benefits for ADHD with no need to seek work As the Canary reported at the time, this was days before the DWP released the Timms Review into PIP. This was a…

12 July carnival of hate and destruction ends with calls for change

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Another 12 July commemoration has now passed in the north of Ireland, leaving behind a trail of bile, death, pollution and charred remains of homes. The yearly knuckle-dragging is a sectarian festival marking the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, in which Protestant king, William III, defeated Catholic king, James II. The hate-fest lasted longer than usual, with bonfire groups lighting some pyres on 9 July, and parades not taking place until 13 July due to 12 July falling on a Sunday this year. The first major disgrace was the Moygashel Bonfire Association’s torching of a replica mosque. Deputy leader of…

The Murdoch rags & the Mail are at war with Reform UK

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

The observant among you may have noticed that the mainstream media have recently rounded on Reform UK and Nigel Farage. Interestingly, the outlets ganging up on Reform include the Daily Mail and Rupert Murdoch’s the Times: Pleased as I am to see the Murdoch and Rothermere press attacking Farage as stridently as they previously lavished praise on him, I can't help wondering what has brought on the recent U-turn — David__Osland (@David__Osland) July 13, 2026 Reform: right-on-right violence The broader strokes of what these outlets are reporting on are things independent journalists began covering years ago. The Times and others have certainly…

The Washington Mirage and the Scars of Southern Lebanon

Post author:Mohamad Kleit
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

While diplomats in Washington smile for triumphant group photos, the reality on the ground in southern Lebanon reveals an unbridgeable chasm between political theater and human devastation. Covering the frontline return of families to the border region, I see no celebration; only the hollowed-out expressions of a traumatized population navigating a conditional surrender. Entire villages have been erased into toxic, ordnance-littered rubble, and a systematic ecocide has left ancient olive groves and agricultural fields poisoned and charred. By completely omitting accountability and Israeli reparations, the Washington-backed agreement ignores this profound structural violence, leaving an abandoned community entirely alone to rebuild their…

The Best Scaffold Tower Choices for Construction Projects

Post author:Nathan Spears
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Choosing the wrong scaffold tower doesn’t just slow a job down. It creates genuine safety risks, wastes budget, and can put a project in breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Construction sites vary enormously in floor space, ceiling height, and the kind of access required. The catch is that not every tower suits every environment, so selecting without proper thought tends to cost more in the long run than taking a few minutes to get it right. Stable platforms. Appropriate sizing. Load capacity that matches the task. These matter. So here are five types of scaffold tower that work…

SAS drove prisoners off forklifts ‘for fun’, Afghanistan inquiry told

Post author:PHIL MILLER
Post published:14 July 2026
Post last modified:14 July 2026

Special forces thwarted the ‘normal rules’ and were disconnected from rest of British army, witnesses said Damning evidence of the culture of Britain’s special forces, from their training camps in Herefordshire to the battlefields of Afghanistan, was released on Tuesday. It was disclosed by the judge-led inquiry set up in the wake of detailed reports of unarmed civilians executed in cold blood in night raids by SAS soldiers. A special forces soldier said prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq were put on the prongs of forklift trucks which were then raised and driven so fast that they fell off. “It was something…