Mick Hartley

Politics and Culture

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  • In the Hamas tunnels

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    Hamas terrorists proudly show off in their videos from underground tunnels they built for themselves (but won’t let Gaza’s civilians take shelter in). They eat like kings from the humanitarian aid that was meant for the people of Gaza, which they steal for themselves.

    The only way to end the war in a way that benefits both Israelis and Palestinians is through united opposition to Hamas.

    Any continued support for pro-Palestinian activism is, in effect, continued support for a war that delays the return of the hostages and prolongs the suffering of Gaza’s civilians.

  • Day 6 at the NHS Fife tribunal

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    It began with an email. On 29 December 2023, just hours after a fraught exchange in the women’s changing room, Dr. Kate Searle sent a message to every consultant in the Emergency Department. Sandie Peggie, the nurse who had asked Dr. Beth Upton why he was changing clothes in a female-only space, was portrayed in that email as the aggressor. Searle thanked DU for his "composure" and suggested that other, unspecified incidents involving Peggie existed. No such incidents had ever been formally recorded.

    Today at the tribunal, cross-examination dismantled the scaffolding on which this claim was built. Naomi Cunningham methodically unpicked the story of a so-called "log" of previous events. When asked directly, Searle admitted she only learned of those other alleged episodes on 29 December – the same day her email to colleagues implied an established pattern. There was no log, no independent corroboration, no risk assessment – only an eagerness to frame Peggie as a serial problem.

    That impulse metastasised into the Datix incident report filed by Searle shortly after. Here, the language escalated: Peggie had, it claimed, behaved akin to someone comparing a colleague to a convicted rapist. Yet Searle admitted today, under oath, that Peggie had never used the word "rapist" and had never mentioned Isla Bryson by name. It was an inference – one that transformed an interpersonal disagreement into a formally logged hate incident.

    This isn't a technical failing. It is narrative manipulation under the guise of safeguarding. Where the facts didn't suit, interpretations were slotted in to fill the gaps, then weaponised through internal reporting mechanisms. A nurse with 30 years of service was re-cast as an abuser based on the offensive impact that others imagined, not on what was actually said.

    Searle also testified that she could not determine whether Upton was male because, as she explained to the tribunal, she "wouldn't have known what sex DU was assigned at birth". This from a senior emergency doctor. Cunningham did not press her to say whether she could identify the sex of a newborn – it was unnecessary. The point had already made itself.

    Cunningham highlighted that the "Datix heat" intensified only after Upton refused to leave the changing room. Peggie had said, repeatedly, that it was a women's space and Upton was male. For that, she was suspended, interrogated, and accused of bigotry – not by patients, but by colleagues whose language around Upton bristled with reverence.

    The tribunal also heard today how Searle convened what one might call an inner circle of sympathy. Her group emails were selective, curated to exclude dissenting views. Peggie was not permitted to discuss the incident with co-workers – a restriction never applied to Upton or his allies.

    At every turn, the machinery bent to accommodate a single perspective. Internal procedures became tools of enforcement, not investigation. No one asked why a trans-identifying male was changing in a female-only space without prior policy or consultation. Instead, they asked how best to silence the woman who said no.

    As today's cross made plain, the charge against Peggie was built backwards. A conclusion first, then a motive, then a narrative, then finally some retrofitted evidence. The log never existed. The hate incident report was embellished. But the consequences were real: loss of income, damage to reputation, and nearly the end of a career.

    The hearing resumes tomorrow. But whatever its final ruling, today's testimony revealed this much: the facts didn’t support the punishment. The story did.

  • The study of sex and gender in UK academia

    At CAF, the  Committee for Academic Freedom – a new report highlights threats to academic freedom in the study of sex and gender:

    A recent report commissioned by the UK’s department for Science, Innovation and Technology shines a spotlight on the suppression of academic freedom in fields of sex and gender research. According to the report, it is not a matter of both sides engaging in a toxic debate, but rather a one-sided attack on gender critical academics.

    The second part of the project Review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, the report is principally authored by UCL professor Alice Sullivan and officially entitled “Report 2: Barriers to research on sex and gender”.   

    Questions surrounding sex, gender, and single-sex spaces have evolved into one of the most fraught public debates in the country, inspiring countless opinion pieces, protests and online cancellations. Regular readers will be all to aware that this debate has also conquered academia and created what many describe as a “chilling effect” among students as well as academics.    

    However, the findings of this review indicate that the suppression of academic freedom on this topic only runs in one direction. According to the report, researchers who express the “gender critical” belief that “biological sex is real, important, immutable and not to be conflated with gender identity” face harassment, discrimination, and potential careers setbacks. The same cannot be said for the proponents of what the report terms “gender-identity theory”.

    This does not come as a huge shock. "No debate" has always been the mantra of the genderists. Contrary views are met not with arguments but with abuse and threats.

    Drawing from both news reports and the testimonies of respondents, the report details a staggering number of examples of gender critical researchers being subjected to campaigns of cancellation, public denouncements, open letters calling for disciplinary actions or outright dismissal, and bullying and harassment by colleagues. In contrast, the report also notes that “We are not aware of any equivalent cases of sustained harassment of academics who oppose gender-critical views.”

    Might this be because gender ideology in fact bears no relation to science or rationality, but is rather a cult that demands obedience? – a cult that has, extraordinarily, come to dominate our elite institutions of higher learning. 

  • Syria and the Druze

    Yaakov Lappin at the JC on Syria and the Druze killings. How much influence does Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa have over events in Sweida? Is he revealing his true face, or did things just spiral out of control?

    Meir Ben-Shabbat, former Israeli national security adviser and head of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, told JNS: “The events in Syria provided the whole world with an opportunity to see again what Jolani's [al-Sharaa’s nom de guerre] 'base' looks like.”

    Ben-Shabbat, who also headed Israel's National Security Council, added: “Why is this important? Because even those who believe he has abandoned the path of jihad and chosen the path of statesmanship now understand that Jolani cannot persist for long in a direction that is 180 degrees opposite to his 'base.'"

    It is "difficult to assume" that the jihadists surrounding al-Sharaa "have abandoned the vision of establishing an extremist Sunni religious state in the state of A-Sham [greater Syria]," he continued. "It is more likely that they have come to the realisation that it is worthwhile to let Jolani play the West's game to establish his rule and begin to rehabilitate Syria, and then return to the original path from a position of strength.

    "It is hard to estimate how and when this will happen, but it is a scenario that must be before the eyes of anyone dealing with the option of political arrangements with Syria.”…

    “The takeover of this region by extremist Sunni elements could allow the establishment of hostile elements and jihadist terrorists near the border and across the entire southern Syrian Golan.

    "Israel's intervention was intended to send a clear message: there will be no change in the balance of power in the southern Syria region without Israel's consent, nor will there be a deployment of capabilities that could threaten Israel within a distance determined by it (in other words: defining a demilitarised zone).”

    Ben-Shabbat placed the events in a wider regional context, identifying Turkey and Qatar as the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood axis who are seeking to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the Iranian-led Shi’ite axis.

    On the other hand…

    However, Professor Eyal Zisser, vice rector of Tel Aviv University and a chair of contemporary history of the Middle East, offered a different interpretation of events.

    “I do not think he [al-Sharaa] revealed any particular character; this was an event that got out of control,” Zisser told JNS. “But it is clear, firstly, that he does not have full control in the territory over all elements, including elements that are supposedly under his authority. Secondly, this is a regime with an Islamic conception according to which minorities are not really welcome – incidentally, this is exactly the case in Saudi Arabia or the Emirates, where non-Sunni Muslim minorities are not welcome.”

    He added: “The Israeli intervention complicated the situation, but still, the interest of Israel and also of the Syrian regime, and certainly of the United States, is stability – and for this, it is necessary to cooperate, even if tactically, and to talk.”…

    The Druze in Sweida and southern Syria "do not want Israeli patronage – none of them asked for such patronage, and they emphasise that they see themselves as Syrian citizens, because they know that there is no future for Israeli involvement in Syria, and that it will only entangle Israel in the internal conflicts in Syria," he said.

    "Sweida is more than a hundred kilometers from the border, so what's the idea, that we will conquer all of southern Syria, where there are a million Syrian Sunni Arabs, and risk a guerrilla war?”

    Interesting. The nightmare complications of a Jewish state in the middle of a Muslim world. One step forward with the Abraham Accords – then October 7th. One step forward with the downfall of the Assad regime – only for the Sunni militants to rise up and take over. One step forward with the almost-destruction of Iran's terror proxies and Tehran's humbling, only for Turkey and Qatar to take up the reins in the anti-Israel crusade. 

    Meanwhile, in the West, antisemitism is reaching grim new levels not seen since the 1930s, demonstrating once again why Israel is so desperately needed as a Jewish homeland….

  • Keeping men out of women’s sports

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    And, US Olympic and Paralympic officials bar transgender women from competing in women's categories:

    Transgender women will no longer be eligible to compete for the United States in the Olympic or Paralympic Games in women's categories, after a recent policy change from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

    The committee cited President Donald Trump's February executive order, titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports," which mandates immediate enforcement, including against schools and athletic associations that "deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms," according to the document, and directs state attorneys general to identify best practices for enforcing the mandate.

    In a memo to the Team USA community on Tuesday, obtained by ABC News, USOPC President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland referenced Trump's executive order and said, "As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations."

    Well good. It'd be nice if they dropped the "transgender women" stuff, which makes it look like this is all about nasty transphobia. They're banned because they're men. Still…excellent news.

  • At the NHS Fife tribunal

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  • Comrade McCluskey

    Talking of the state of the unions…

    Former Unite boss Len McCluskey enjoyed private jet flights and football tickets arranged by the firm building a multi-million pound hotel for the union, according to an internal report.

    Flanagan Group, which is run by friends of Mr McCluskey, overcharged Unite by at least £30m for the Birmingham hotel and conference centre project, the Unite report says.

    It also found Mr McCluskey "overruled" advice from staff and the union's lawyers in signing the construction contract with Flanagan Group.

    Unite's report said the private jet flights and football tickets were "consistently organised and paid for by" the Flanagan Group and there is "no indication" Mr McCluskey later reimbursed them.

    It's a huge surprise.

    Before he retired in 2021, Mr McCluskey was one of the most powerful figures in the trade union movement and a leading backer of Jeremy Corbyn, during his time as Labour leader. He remains an influential figure on the left of British politics.

    Previously (6th June):

    There was a "pervasive fraud environment" at one of the UK's largest trade unions Unite, an auditors' report obtained by the BBC has concluded.

    In a highly critical 35-page document, auditors BDO said in the 2021 financial year "dominant personalities and a weak control environment facilitated opportunities to commit fraud" at the union.

    The BDO report says there were "unusual relationships" between former senior staff and Unite's customers and suppliers, as well as a culture that "did not challenge" financial transactions and "failed to ensure" appropriate financial reporting.

  • The Hamas line to the BBC

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    The claim comes from one source: a man with clear Hamas connections, still lamenting the martrydom of his brother who was an active Hamas fighter targeted by Israel in 2004. But in it goes as the BBC's main headline – like there's a direct line from Hamas to Broadcasting House.

    A reminder: despite the BBC's refusal to acknowledge the fact, Hamas are a terrorist group, driven by Islamist ideology and a hatred of Jews.

  • Anti-Semitism in UK schools

    A Telegraph report:

    Anti-Semitism is rife in the UK’s schools, with more than half of Jewish teachers reporting abuse.

    Jewish teachers have reported increasing instances of swastika graffiti and chants of “free Palestine” and “f— the Jews”.

    One Jewish teacher said: “On multiple occasions, students have shouted ‘free Palestine’ at me. On another occasion, someone shouted ‘f— the Jews’ outside a meeting of Jewish students.”

    The findings were revaled in a survey of Jewish teachers by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), which has more than 300,000 members.

    It comes after a Government-backed report found that anti-Semitism has been normalised in middle-class Britain.

    The survey found that 51 percent of Jewish teachers had experienced anti-Semitism in their schools since May 2023. A total of 44 per cent reported swastika graffiti appearing at their school since May 2023, and 39 per cent have witnessed or been subject to Nazi-related comments.

    Jewish teaching staff reported being told “it’s not racist to say Jews are rich – it’s just a fact”, while others have faced assumptions that they are Israeli and not British citizens.

    And the NASUWT response?

    The rise in the abuse is being fuelled by “dangerous” rhetoric from the far-Right and misinformation on social media, according to Matt Wrack, the acting NASUWT general secretary.

    How blind must you be to see this as a far-Right issue? The people fomenting Jew hatred now are so clearly from the left-Islam alliance that only a union official – still living somewhere round the 1970s and wilfully determined to stick to the old slogans – could come out with this nonsense. The union problem in a nutshell.

    Update. From the JC – Teachers’ union accused of skewing survey to ignore antisemitism on the far left:

    Britain’s second-largest teaching union has been accused of publishing a antisemitism survey that highlights right-wing hate while ignoring Israel-related incidents.

    Critics also claim that the release of the allegedly skewed survey was timed to boost the profile of a far-left leadership candidate ahead of a critical election.

    The survey was conducted in May 2024 but was only released on July 1, 2025, amid a contentious second attempt by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) to elect pro-Corbyn firebrand Matt Wrack as general secretary.

  • Islamophobia: Labour don’t know what problem they are trying to fix

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    I asked the Minister leading on this work to send me examples of anti-Muslim hate incidents which were not covered by existing law. He has not done so.

    Labour don’t know what problem they are trying to fix.

    But others pushing this definition do.

    Here is what they would like it to cover:

    Saying the burqa is oppressive to women.
    Using the label ‘Islamist’.
    Discussing support for sharia law amongst British Muslims.
    Raising concerns about the grooming gangs being predominantly Pakistani Muslims.

    Wes, do you think people should be called Islamophobic for the above? Do you think it helps anyone if our institutions are afraid to discuss these topics? Do you think if people lose their jobs or are cancelled for the above, that will do anything to reduce anti-Muslim hate? It will make it worse.

    This would be a level of protection no other religion has. It would only cause more division and it would harm the very people it seeks to protect.

    Of course anti-Muslim hate is wrong, that’s why we have many laws which already cover violence, harassment and discrimination.

    There's the strong suspicion that Labour is pandering to the Muslim vote rather than operating from any genuine concern about anti-Muslim hate. That may well backfire though. Melanie Phillips:

    An opinion poll has suggested that if the government brings in a definition of Islamophobia, Reform would gain a 106-seat majority at a general election.

    The deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, has appointed a panel to draw up this definition to be applied across the public sector. The poll of 2,000 people, carried out by JL Partners, found that before voters were told about this proposal Reform polled at 29 per cent and Labour at 23 per cent, indicating a Reform majority of 20 at a general election.

    However, when respondents were asked how they would vote if Labour brought in a definition of Islamophobia, Reform rose to 30 per cent and Labour fell to 20 per cent, indicating a Reform majority of 106. As the polling company’s founder said, the Islamophobia definition would be like Labour “setting off a tinderbox under what remains of their working-class vote”….

    While most British Muslims subscribe to core western values and are exemplary citizens, an unsustainably large minority pose a threat. Of the 43,000 people on MI5’s terror watchlist in 2020, 90 per cent were Islamists. People are acutely aware of the attempt by the governing classes to sanitise, excuse and deny these threats. That’s why there is such fury over the mostly Pakistani Muslim-heritage grooming gangs that raped, pimped and prostituted thousands of young white girls.

    Last month, Baroness Casey’s report said that these gangs hadn’t been tackled by the authorities, partly because they’d feared appearing racist. Yet people can see the government is still determined to downplay and brush all this under the carpet. Astonishingly, it even awarded an MBE for “services to integration” and “cohesion” to Muhbeen Hussain, who in 2015 called on fellow Muslims in Rotherham to boycott the police over their “pernicious lie” that they had failed to act on grooming allegations “because of fears of being called racist”. He claimed this was an attempt to “scapegoat” Muslims over the grooming gang scandal….

    People have been deeply shocked by the nature and scale of that scandal. It has become a lightning rod for the smouldering rage about immigration, national identity and Islam….

    An Islamophobia definition would be a breaking-point because it would be seen as silencing an urgent and legitimate public debate over such matters. That’s because the claim of Islamophobia is designed to stop any criticism of Islam or the Muslim world and, worse still, anything that world decides is insulting or unacceptable.