"We’re not considered to be human." I spoke to politicians including @jessphillips @TulipSiddiq @joswinson @julianknight15 @MayorofLondon about the abuse they and their colleagues receive online thetimes.co.uk/article/trolls… @TulipSiddiq had her car window smashed last month. She says that she stopped reporting everything but the most extreme online abuse because she wants to focus on helping her constituents and it takes up so much time dealing with threats. thetimes.co.uk/article/target…

A (depressing) thread about being a female journalist in 2021. Today my stalker escaped from his not-very-secure “secure” unit and has apparently come to London. Last time he turned up at my office. It was a horrific experience and left me emotionally drained. He was on the run for days last time and afterwards my hair came out in clumps. Trying to do your job while always looking over your shoulder is exhausting.

As England opens up a little today, I wanted to write about what it’s been like to have a baby who has only known lockdown. Obviously caring for a newborn can be tough at the best of times. This is not the best of times. My son, Finn, was born in December. Apart from medical staff, he has only been held by four people. He has close family he has never met, including his paternal grandmother, two aunts and two uncles.

Pregnancy in the pandemic: a thread (1/ a lot). The NHS has finally changed its guidance to say women should be allowed to have their partner there 'at all times': scans, in labour ward from the start and not just for 'active labour'. I gave birth 8 days ago. I found out I was pregnant with my first child on the day the UK went into 1st lockdown. Many people asked me how my pregnancy was going over the past few months. I’d say: “it’s not an easy time to be pregnant!” Most would reply: “it’s never an easy time!” Sure... but a pandemic?

A thread on no deal Brexit. This came to mind as I’m currently trying to feed a newborn, but I was in India in 2016 when Modi scrapped the 2 largest banknotes. The news had a story of a baby who died after a hospital refused to accept his parents' money google.co.uk/amp/s/www.inde… I know far too little about Indian politics to say much on that story, but the obvious point is there can be an enormous human cost of policy decisions. governments forget that at their peril. When ministers speak of “disruption” with no deal, what is the true human cost of that?

Fair to say that Charles Moore as BBC chair will not go down well with the corporation's 21,000ish staff: "This will shatter morale. People will leave, thinking: I won’t stay working here under Thatcher’s vicar on earth."
thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/p… A few extra thoughts. Early on, there was speculation it could be a tech boss to arm the BBC to take on Netflix etc. As one media source said: "You have to know what 4G and 5G are, and whether the 'Sounds' app is working - Moore won't."

On Sunday: Boris Johnson promises tougher prison sentences.
On Tuesday: One of his MPs claims that a two year sentence is too long for her sex pest estranged husband

https://twitter.com/kitbradshaw/status/1305862599716876289

.@TheHowardLeague makes a powerful case that too many people are sent to our already over-crowded prisons. However, there is a certain group of people who only protest when the privileged go to prison and see jails as places for people who aren't like them.

So much wrong with this approach of trying to scare people back into the office, not least that it seems to assume that it is fair/ acceptable for bosses to sack those they don't see. What about those with caring responsibilities that aren't solved by schools reopening?

https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1299087662255681538

I've been going into the office for weeks, in part because I know that in my third trimester (which is about to start) it won't be safe for me to. This is the guidance from the RCOG, not that the gov seems to care about this:

Sorry to weigh in on media studies, but assume those who study it (on top of being aware of disinformation etc) will be more likely to know:
- Reporters/columnists don't write headlines
- If a reporter/interviewer reports someone else's opinion, that doesn't mean it is their view - News stories should not (and usually do not) reveal the biases of the writer (though they may reveal the biases of the news outlet)
Frankly it would be a blessing if everyone studied it.

This image by @susanpilcher1 is of one of those "invaders" who Farage says is the great threat to our society. While we face huge challenges - Covid + the economic fallout - there is something repellent about scapegoating the most vulnerable.
thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/f… That image probably speaks to me so much because I keep thinking about how desperate I would have to be to risk not only my life, but my child’s. She looks maybe 8 months pregnant; I am six months along. I can’t imagine getting into a dinghy and crossing the channel.

The BBC licence fee, a thread: the BBC ended the universal free licence fee for the over-75s yesterday – a major change that affects many vulnerable people - but guess what? The TV licensing website was down for most of the day. thetimes.co.uk/article/over-7… The BBC says that it was "always planned" for the site to be down most of the day, but provided no evidence of this when I asked, and it seems rather odd (and cruel) to take the site down deliberately on a day when you introduce the biggest change to the licence fee in 20 years.

Fujitsu halving office space in 3 years. Time for a conversation surely about converting office space to residential (and all the problems that entails) reuters.com/article/us-hea… I remember asking Sadiq Khan about this (although more about converting commercial space given empty shops) way back when he was running to be the Labour candidate for mayor. He rightly said it’s really hard to get right.

Love this, from my friend @foxtosser forthcoming book, The Madman’s Library. Not normally one to advocate revenge, but I have to cheer a plan that pays off so brilliantly 17 years later.

My husband still isn’t allowed to come to my next pregnancy scan but hey, he can now go to the pub and get a haircut that isn’t from me. Priorities! It’s my first child, and I have to admit - while I know how lucky I am in so many ways - it has been a quite lonely experience as a result.

Boris Johnson is planning to put the nation on a diet to try to limit the impact of a potential second wave of Covid-19. My story with @cazjwheeler, a thread thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/g… So in 2018, Theresa May’s government stuck out an obesity plan. It’s good, suggests many measures including watershed on junk food ads, end of price promotions (bogofs etc) and unlimited refills on unhealthy foods and takeaways etc to give calorie info assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…

The ministry of defence held a Zoom call with all staff last week about racism - it was soon deluged with racist comments. My scoop in today's @thesundaytimes thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/m… Sir Stephen Lovegrove, the MoD's most senior civil servant, emailed managers on Friday to say that the comments had left many colleagues “extremely distressed", and would result in disciplinary action thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/m…

I commissioned a piece of research by @NEF on the impact of coronavirus on jobs for men and women. The results?
- More men have lost their jobs, or been furloughed (women are much more likely to be key workers).
- But: women are more likely to have had their hours reduced. For the self-employed, the picture is quite messy
- But female workers are more likely to be low earners, and female low earners have lost more income proportionately than the men.
(complication is many of these are 2nd earners – and this analysis looks at individual earnings)

So after promising in week one of lockdown, my husband @CCampbell_Agent, says today is the day I can finally cut his hair (providing we can find some clippers). Some options I’m considering: Ok, poll time! Which haircut should I attempt?

This is brilliant by @rebeccacmyers on watching Normal People with your parents: “I wonder if I am going to die.” thetimes.co.uk/edition/news-r… It also reminds me of the time I not only went to see Nymphomaniac with my mother (“Why doesn’t she get sore?”) but persuaded the wonderful @littlewondering to watch it with a blind date google.co.uk/amp/s/www.stan…

Almost half of doctors report having to buy ppe themselves or rely on donations according to a poll by @TheBMA thetimes.co.uk/article/britis… A second, separate study found that frontline healthcare workers are 12 times more likely to test positive for the virus than the general population thetimes.co.uk/article/britis…

Back in 2015, I wrote a lot in support of junior doctors during the protests. What surprised me at the time was how hostile some people (especially in the media) were to them. When this is over, I do hope we always remember how incredible all NHS staff have been. I know some people say now is the time to talk about nurses’ pay, but it really must be addressed. We massively underpay what is highly skilled and vitally important work: providing frontline care.