Jody McIntyre, Author at Charlie Alford

Ex-Labour staffers now working for Israeli spy-led firm

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:10 July 2026
Post last modified:10 July 2026

Former staff of at least two Labour government cabinet ministers, including outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are now working for 411 Communications, a firm led by a former Israeli intelligence officer. Unit 2800 Oketa Zogi Shala is a former Labour Party intern who personally shadowed Keir Starmer and David Lammy. In February, she was recruited by 411 Communications. The director of 411 is Assaf Kaplan, a former Israeli spy from the infamous Unit 8200. In 2021, the intelligence officer was hired by Labour as a “social listening and organizing manager”. Asa Winstanley reported on the tactics of his former employer: Unit…

What the media are not telling you about Christopher Harborne

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:30 June 2026

The attempts to dismiss an undeclared £5 million “gift” are falling flat, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is under more pressure than ever. The party’s largest donor, Christopher Harborne, is showing no signs of backing away from political donations. Farage says that he would “gladly” accept further contributions from the billionaire. Although Farage has long said that his priority is putting Britain first, his main backer is a Thai citizen with shares in an arms firm that exports components to the Israeli military. Indeed, Harborne is the largest shareholder in weapons manufacturer QinetiQ. In 2022, QinetiQ were granted licenses to…

Andy Burnham was funded by director of Gaza genocide-linked arms firm

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:30 June 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

Any illusions of Labour Party “change” under Andy Burnham were dispelled last week when he appointed lobbyist, Blairite minister, ex-Labour Friends of Israel chair, and Peter Mandelson’s “boy” James Purnell as his chief of staff. The line from Team Burnham is that Purnell has cut all ties with Flint Global, the lobbying firm he led and held shares in until last week. But it seems that the firm has a history when it comes to conflicts of interest. Flint Global Flint Global’s current Defence Advisory Practice lead, James Clark, was previously outed as being a co-founder of the All Party Parliamentary…

The Burnham Coup

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:26 June 2026
Post last modified:27 June 2026

Without so much as a leadership contest, it is becoming clear that Andy Burnham will be Prime Minister within weeks. Substantive change to the Labour Party machine, however, is a distant dream. Indeed, Burnham is acting as if he already has the keys to No. 10. Burnham’s chief of staff We now know that his chief of staff will be James Purnell, an ex-chair of Labour Friends of Israel. In 2002, Purnell was hosted by the Israeli state in Tel Aviv. Now, he will be the most senior adviser in the British government. The lobby group was one of the first…

Al Carns is not an “independent” voice

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:26 June 2026
Post last modified:26 June 2026

Al Carns has bottled the idea of entering a Labour leadership race. The ex-Armed Forces Minister had been eager to establish himself as a supposedly “independent” voice in recent weeks, resigning from Keir Starmer’s cabinet on 11 June. Carns was previously a supporter of the Conservative Party, and his conversion to Starmer’s Labour was said to have surprised former colleagues. He was generously given the “safe” Labour seat of Birmingham Selly Oak after the previous MP, Steve McCabe, announced that he would not be standing for re-election in 2024. McCabe had served as a parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel…

Mandelson and the missing messages

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:3 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

On Monday, I suggested that the Labour front bench would be dreading the release of further Peter Mandelson files. But instead of leaving things to chance, some ministers have followed the “missing phone” route of Morgan McSweeney fame. On June 2nd, Keir Starmer’s office confirmed that the Prime Minister had used the “disappearing messages” function in his communications with the disgraced Epstein-associate, who he gleefully appointed as US ambassador despite the objections of UK Security Vetting. Furthermore, we now learn that Mandelson refused a government request to hand over communications from his own phone, with an explanatory note attached to three…

Labour MP lobbied for political commentators to have their visas revoked

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:3 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Labour MP David Taylor apparently has no problem with Israeli genocidaires and returning IOF reservists visiting Britain, but American content creators and political commentators are one step too far. Last week, Taylor called for Hasan Piker to be banned from entering the UK, claiming that his presence would be “not conducive to the public good”. When Shabana Mahmood obliged by revoking the visas of Piker and Cenk Uygur, another political commentator, Taylor thanked the Home Secretary. The Community Support Trust lobby group also celebrated the decision, stating that Piker “exceeded the bounds of acceptable discourse”. The Board of Deputies’ statement applauding…

The Peter Mandelson Network

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:1 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

The Labour front bench will not be looking forward to the return of Parliament. On 1 June 2026, after the parliamentary recess, the second set of the Mandelson Files will be released, set to expose the disgraced Epstein-informant’s cosy relationship with senior Labour Party officials. Mandelson and the Policy Network Last week, it was revealed that United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) had flagged Mandelson’s bimonthly conversations with Tamir Hayman, a former Israeli military intelligence chief. Earlier this year, we learnt that UKSV’s recommendation that Mandelson not be granted security clearance was overruled by Foreign Office officials. However, less attention has been…

Family of UK lawyer for Israel has donated thousands to Labour Party

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:28 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

Last week, the European Legal Support Centre (ELSC) and the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC) filed a joint complaint against three patrons of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) – Lord David Pannick KC, Lord Anthony Grabiner KC, and Stephen Hockman KC – alleging that the senior barristers used their professional seniority in a pattern of legal intimidation … targeting individuals and organisations engaged in Palestine advocacy. It is an overdue reckoning for UKLFI, who have been slammed for using a strategy of “lawfare” in mounting a series of complaints against teachers, healthcare workers, and even museum staff. However, many have failed…