Home & Political Correspondent @SkyNews. Ex @LBC, @BBCNewsnight. Norn Irish, girl dad, linguist. Email: matthew.thompson4@sky.uk/ DMs open
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Mar 8, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
I’m afraid Nick Robinson on @BBCr4today rather let Suella Braverman get away with it this morning.
He tried to pin her down on the lack of safe legal routes to the UK. She referenced the UN resettlement scheme.
But that is not relevant to the discussion. A short 🧵
It has to do with the distinction between refugees and asylum seekers. They are often fleeing very similar situations. But there’s a key difference.
Refugees are already legally recognised. Asylum seekers are not, and must make a claim. It is their human right to do so.
Mar 6, 2023 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
NEW: Now that Wayne Couzens’ court proceedings have ended, @policeconduct have published their full report into a WhatsApp group of Met officers that he was part of, which shared racist, sexist and homophobic content.
A warning. Deeply offensive content
policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/default/…
Two of the members of the WhatsApp group, Joel Borders and Jonathan Cobban, were sentenced to prison last year.
They and four other officers were dismissed for gross misconduct.
Some examples of the messages follow.
Once again, a content warning.
Mar 6, 2023 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
Am at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of Sarah Everard’s killer, Wayne Couzens.
He is already spending the rest of his life in prison, but will be further sentenced for three incidents of flashing.
The last of those occured just days before he murdered Sarah.
The sentencing is underway.
Couzens is appearing via video link from HMP Frankland, where he is serving his whole life sentence.
He is wearing a grey, prison issue tracksuit, and has a long grey beard.
The prosecution are setting out the facts of the case.
Jun 13, 2022 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
You can watch today's Court of Appeal hearing on the Rwanda policy live on YouTube, here:
The central argument in the appeal, currently being put forward by Raza Husain QC, is that Mr Justice Swift "erred in law" in his judgement on Friday, when he denied the request for a ban on Tuesday's flight to Rwanda.
May 20, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
The NI Protocol, according to @SpeakerPelosi, must be kept because it "preserves the important progress and stability forged by the [GFA] accords."
Any US journalists want to ask her from me how she squares that with the fact the very institutions it "forged" aren't operating?
Like. It should be painfully apparent to anyone who is actually observing the situation in Stormont with a modicum of objectivity, that far from preserving the stability forged by the GFA, the Protocol is actually actively undermining it.
May 19, 2022 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
BREAKING: The @metpoliceuk investigation into #Partygate, Operation Hillman, has concluded, the police say.
In total, 126 fines were issued.
@LBC
We now actually have some interesting information about the rationale and methods in the police investigation.
The Met say they do not normally conduct retrospective investigations. But exceptions were made for "flagrant breaches", as follows:
May 17, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Foreign Secretary @trussliz now on her feet in the Commons to discuss what the Government plans to do on the NI Protocol.
Truss: "The Belfast Agreement is under strain. It is regrettable the NI Executive has not been functioning since Feb. This is because the Protocol does not have the support necessary from one part of the community in NI."
“This Protocol was designed to protect and safeguard the GFA. So to argue now that [the GFA] is a reason for getting out of the Protocol sounds like a weak argument.”
Only if you actually believe the 1st part. Many pointed out the Protocol precisely did not protect the GFA.
This is the point that bears repeating. Anyone who claims the Protocol protects the GFA. Ask them how. Inevitably the answer is a variant of preventing a hard border in Ireland.
Then ask them how putting that border in the Irish Sea doesn't create the exact mirror image problem?
May 16, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
This won't be a popular thread. But I see @redditchrachel is getting some flak today about how much she claims in expenses.
As if MPs are still spending £000,000s on duck houses and luxury meals.
Expenses are tightly regulated, and most are actually staff costs.
(1/?)
So for instance, when the @Independent reports today that Rachel Mclean said something clearly daft, but also "it emerged that she claimed just over £213,000 in expenses last year", well that sounds dreadful doesn't it?
But here's the thing. £162,423 of that was staffing.
76%.
Apr 14, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
So. I have some questions on the Rwanda policy.
The Home Office website says:
"migrants who make dangerous or illegal journeys [will] have their asylum claim processed in Rwanda. Those whose claims are accepted will then be supported to build a new and prosperous life [there]"
So it implies all people who arrive illegally will be processed in Rwanda.
But if there are no safe, legal routes to claim asylum in the UK, and you need to be in the UK to claim it, yet if you arrive illegally you're sent to Rwanda... then how do you claim asylum in the UK?
Apr 14, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Between 2014 and 2017, Israel is estimated to have deported around 4,000 asylum seekers to Rwanda and Uganda.
Nearly every single one of them left. Many were smuggled back towards Europe, facing capture by militias, Islamic State, and a perilous crossing of the Med.
(1/?)
Commenting on the policy in 2017, the UN Refugee Agency said it was "concerned that these persons have not found adequate safety or a durable solution to their plight."
It also said it was only aware of nine people who had stayed in Rwanda. Nine.
(2/?)
Mar 8, 2022 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
We’re outside the UK visa application centre in Rzezsow, Poland.
It’s -3 degrees. People have been waiting in this queue for 3 hours.
There are children here. An 84 year old woman.
And plenty of room inside, but they won’t open the door.
People in the queue here all say the same thing. If they happened to live in France, or Germany, they wouldn’t need to be here at all. They could just take their relatives with them.
The U.K. has quite literally left them out in the cold.
Jan 28, 2022 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
A few chats with policing contacts gives me some possible insight into what's going on with the Met's position on the Sue Gray report, and the risk of prejudicing their investigations.
Quick THREAD
(1/?)
Yes, it is the case that any breach of COVID regs would be a minor, so called "summary" offence. So no prospect of a trial or prejudicing a jury.
However. That’s not to say that in the investigation of such minor offences, more serious offences couldn’t be uncovered.
(2/?)
Jan 27, 2022 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Honestly. In court today the Home Office conceded there was a "misunderstanding permeating" in its ranks that boat migrants were always illegal entrants. And this led to the illegal seizure of their possessions, such as phones.
“She was just walking home” has been the rallying cry over the death of Sarah Everard.
But in court today the prosecution has said there are five better words that summarise what happened to Sarah:
“Deception, kidnap, rape, strangulation, fire.”
@LBC
The prosecution tells the court that having murdered Sarah, Wayne Couzens burned her body in Hoad’s Wood in Kent, and moved her remains in green bags to a pond, around 130m from a plot of land he himself owned within that wood.
Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick tells @LBC she is “very disappointed” that @ExtinctionR are returning to London this month. She says she doesn’t believe London supports such disruption and describes it as “frustrating”.
She says police response will be “fair but firm”.
Cressida Dick says XR haven’t spoken to police “in spite of many attempts” and says they have been “disingenuous” on previous occasions, and not in control of their members.
May 20, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
NEW: The Dyson report finds that BBC reporter Martin Bashir was "in serious breach" of the BBC's guidelines when he forged bank statements to convince Princess Diana to do an interview.
It calls the subsequent BBC investigation into Bashir's conduct "woefully ineffective".
@LBC
It says the investigation, led by future DG Tony Hall, failed on 3 counts:
1) It didn't interview Diana's brother, Earl Spencer 2) It didn't properly scrutinise Bashir's account 3) It could not reasonably have concluded, based on knowledge of his lies, that he was an honest man
May 18, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
There is a flaw in much of the "we can't lock down to save the unvaccinated" chatter at the moment.
If the new variant is as transmissible as we think, there are enough non-vaccinated people to threaten the NHS.
It would be locking down to save the NHS, not the unvaccinated.
Here is the SAGE modelling.
For a variant that is 40% or 50% more transmissible, which the Indian variant may be, look at the rise in hospital admissions if we proceed to Step 4 full unlocking (yellow and blue lines)
They're in the tens of thousands. Similar levels to before.
Apr 29, 2021 • 6 tweets • 1 min read
So Edwin Poots, darling of the traditionalists, is favourite to be the next DUP leader.
For those who don’t know him, a short introduction to the man, in his own words
(THREAD)
On the age of the Earth: “My view on the earth is that it's a young earth. My view is 4000 BC.”
Poots on the Big Bang: “You’re telling me that cosmic balls of dust gathered and there was an explosion?
“We’ve had lots of explosions in Northern Ireland and I’ve never seen anything come out of that that was good”
Apr 28, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
Oh God. I’ve just seen the tweet. I feel bad even continuing the pile on on the tweet. So I will just ruthlessly subtweet the tweet.
Those who tweet without knowledge of Northern Irish politics should probably consider the merits of not tweeting at all.
I mean. If we want to be really kind it’s not TOTALLY wrong. The modernising issue is a big one for the DUP. And actually if you replace Sinn Fein with Alliance I suppose it’s not a terrible take...?
Ok ok, it is. But it has potential.
Mar 21, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
This is insane. They have actually lost their minds.
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