Charlie Alford

Minister responsible for regulating social media quits X after two years of inaction

Post author:Maddison Wheeldon
Post published:3 July 2026
Post last modified:3 July 2026

Lisa Nandy has announced that she and her government department for culture, media and sport are leaving the social media platform X as it: favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate. It isn’t healthy for our democracy or our communities and I don’t want to support it. However, many have pointed out that one of Nandy’s crucial responsibilities for the last two years since taking up her position has been to regulate social media. Her decision to just walk away from the platform suggests she’s either giving up, or alternatively – and more likely – the trillionaire has made regulation impossible…

Foreign minister swerves questions about Britons fighting for Israel

Post author:PHIL MILLER
Post published:3 July 2026
Post last modified:4 July 2026

Hamish Falconer ran through traffic in Whitehall when asked why his government allows British citizens to fight in Gaza Foreign minister Hamish Falconer refused to answer questions on Wednesday about the UK government’s failure to stop British nationals fighting for the Israeli army in Gaza. It comes after more than 25,000 people signed a letter to the Foreign Office demanding they investigate UK citizens who fought in Gaza and may have committed war crimes. Thousands of British nationals have served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) since the Gaza conflict began in 2023, according to a Freedom of Information response from…

Corbyn demands smear retraction from Zionist minister Falconer

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:1 July 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded Zionist Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer retract his “disgraceful”, “disgusting” response to Corbyn’s question about burgeoning settler violence in the apartheid colony. Corbyn is not having it In the Commons, Falconer had suggested Corbyn’s question was “antisemitic” WATCH: Bizarre moment minister suggests Jeremy Corbyn is being antisemitic during debate on West Bank settlements. pic.twitter.com/xJrVlzpAze — PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) July 1, 2026 But Corbyn wasn’t in the mood to take Falconer’s ‘hasbara’ talking-point smear: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) In a searing letter to the Starmeroid shill, he told Falconer that he…

Burnham hands cruel ex-DWP Minister the keys to No. 10

Post author:Rachel Charlton-Dailey
Post published:25 June 2026
Post last modified:25 June 2026

Andy Burnham is already making moves on Downing Street, starting with appointing a chief of staff. The newly elected Makerfield MP has essentially handed the keys of no 10 to James Purnell. Friend of Israel and right-wing lobbyist As the Canary has already reported, Purnell was the chairperson of the lobby group, Labour Friends of Israel (LFI). He was also, until recently, the chief executive of lobby group Flint Global, which counts BP, Amazon, Jaguar Land Rover and Uber among its clients. Flint has also previously advised Thames Water. As Ranjan Balakumaran said: This appointment exposes the absolute hypocrisy behind Burnham’s…

Ex-defence minister Al Carns condemns ‘unbelievable’ waste of war industry

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:17 June 2026
Post last modified:18 June 2026

Ex-defence minister Al Carns has condemned the waste and inefficiency of the British war machine. The former commando wants more to be spent on war. He’s wrong, but his latest interview does expose certain grim truths about the UK war machine. Carns resigned his cabinet post as a junior defence minister on 11 June, citing Starmer’s failings on the so-called Defence Investment Plan (DIP): We owe those who serve the UK the kit to do the job and the loyalty to stand by them when it's done. We are failing on both. I’ve spent my whole time in government making that…

Iran foreign minister Araghchi says no truce unless Israel leaves Lebanon

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:17 June 2026
Post last modified:17 June 2026

Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has responded to Israel’s attempts to reject Donald Trump’s supposed ceasefire ‘memorandum of understanding‘ with Iran. Araghchi warned Israel – and Trump – that there is no prospect of any agreement to end the illegal US-Israel war unless Israel gets out of Lebanon completely: The end of the war will not be complete without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied in Lebanon. Any military attack by Israel on Lebanon and the continued occupation of Lebanese territories from now on, in our opinion, is a violation of the MoU. https://www.thecanary.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Araghchi-Lebanon-Subbed-hb.mp4 Araghchi continues to…

Minister deploys ‘homophobic innuendo’ to defend Palestine Action ban

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:17 June 2026
Post last modified:17 June 2026

On 15 June, we reported that Labour minister Mike Tapp was gloating about the decision to maintain Palestine Action’s ‘terrorist’ proscription. A day later, we reported he was trying to ensnare Zack Polanski into saying he supports Palestine Action – something which would have landed him with a lengthy prison sentence. In other words, he’s a nasty piece of work. And the nastiness has only continued: Grow up. Homophobic innuendo isn’t going to get you out of this one. Neither is pretending you’re a victim of antisemitism, which you conflate with opposing genocide. You’re a government minister trying to get your…

North of Ireland’s First Minister on the emerging ‘Celtic alliance’

Post author:Cameron Baillie
Post published:5 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Michelle O’Neill doesn’t mince words: the first nationalist First Minister for the North of Ireland’s six counties sat down with Scottish paper the National. She had plenty to say about culture, reunification, Scottish independence, and the arrogance of Westminster. Politics trickles through culture Something huge is shifting in the North of Ireland. You can feel it in the music, with establishment-baiting Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap packing out venues across the world. You can see it on TV as Derry Girls made the six counties a cultural export. And you can measure it in the polling: 63% of people in the North…

Shadow equalities minister wants any explanation other than racism for Black maternal deaths

Post author:Alex/Rose Cocker
Post published:4 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho has suggested that we need to be “clear-eyed” when considering the issue of Black maternal deaths. Apparently, ‘the left’ (and also, you know, the NHS) are too quick to blame racism for the fact that Black people are three times more likely to die during childbirth. We’re having this whole ridiculous ‘debate’ again because, over the last week, Reform leader Nigel Farage has redoubled his attacks on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) initiatives. Those of us who don’t receive our talking points directly from Trump’s fascist America may know these better as EDI (Equality, Diversity and…

Openly genocidal Israeli minister joined by Democrat leader at Israel parade in New York

Post author:The Canary
Post published:1 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

US Democratic Party Leader Chuck Schumer joined far-right Israeli Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other far-right Israeli lawmakers and American politicians in the annual Israel Day Parade in New York City over the weekend. Smotrich, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, is openly genocidal and has repeatedly called for Israel to completely ethnically cleanse all 1.8 million people from Gaza, so it can ‘be settled’. Smotrich also called to annex the entirety of the West Bank during a speech at a Jerusalem Day rally last month. Chuck Schumer is marching in NYC alongside a genocidal maniac wanted for war crimes…

Israel’s far-right defence minister openly pledges to ethnically cleanse Gaza

Post author:Joe Glenton
Post published:29 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

The settler-colonial state’s far-right defence minister, Israel Katz, has openly stated Israel’s intention to ethnically cleanse Gaza. Genocidal intentions have being central to Israeli state ideology. Lawyers and human rights groups attacked Katz. The Guardian reported on 29 May: Katz said the mass departure of Palestinians from Gaza would go hand in hand with the exclusion of Hamas from power. Katz himself said: We committed that Hamas will not rule Gaza civilly or militarily, and so it shall be, and also the voluntary emigration plan from Gaza will be implemented. Everything at the right timing and in the right manner. Yet…

Ireland’s communications minister hid attempts to pressure media regulator

Post author:Robert Freeman
Post published:24 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

As part of dodgy attempts to affect media coverage he was unhappy with, Fine Gael minister for communications Patrick O’Donovan held a call with Ireland’s media regulator “outside normal communication channels“. He then failed to disclose that the conversation took place. The Ditch reports that on Saturday April 11 O’Donovan spoke to Coimisiún na Meán’s (The Media Commission or CnaM) Rónán Ó Domhnaill to: …express concern regarding media coverage of the fuel protests and to ask whether there was a mechanism for the minister within the legislation to ask for an examination of the broadcast coverage of the protests. The protests…