Newslinks for Friday 1st August

Government ‘spy’ unit unveiled

“A secretive Whitehall “spy” unit has been used by the Government to target social media posts criticising migrant hotels and “two-tier policing”. The Telegraph can reveal that officials working for Peter Kyle, the Technology Secretary, have flagged videos with “concerning narratives” to social media giants including TikTok, warning that they were “exacerbating tensions” on the streets. Emails recovered by a US congressional committee show that civil servants have complained to tech firms about content mentioning asylum seekers, immigration and two-tier policing. The dossier has emerged as ministers battle claims that the UK is censoring social media with the Online Safety Act, including from allies of Donald Trump, the US president. The disclosure reveals that members of the Government’s National Security and Online Information Team (NSOIT) complained about a series of posts that were critical of mass migration and asylum hotels in August last year during the Southport riots. The team, based in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, was previously known as the Counter Disinformation Unit and was used during the Covid pandemic to monitor anti-lockdown campaigners.” – Daily Telegraph

• Labour ‘cronyism’ as firm linked to tech secretary wins contracts – The Times
• The online stunt that shows how Britain’s Tech Secretary is under fire – Daily Telegraph
• Ofcom investigates 34 pornography sites under new age-check rules – The Standard
• Spotify users outraged as Online Safety Act puts their accounts at risk of being DELETED – while Xbox confirms new rules to comply with ‘catastrophic’ law – Daily Mail
• Labour’s Online Safety Act Censors Harmless Story on ‘Keir’ Baby Names – Guido Fawkes

Comment:

• Jimmy Savile smear shows scale of Labour’s delusion – Patrick Maguire, The Times
• My Online Safety Act isn’t the problem, Labour is – Michelle Donelan, Daily Telegraph
• I never thought I’d agree with Farage on anything – until now – Chris Stokel-Walker, The i

The full scale of foreign sex offenders

“The number of foreign sex and violent offenders locked up in England and Wales has soared to record highs, damning new data reveals. Official figures show 1,731 foreign-national sex offenders were in prison in June – up nearly 10 per cent in a year and almost three times the rate of British offenders. Violent foreign inmates hit 3,250 – the highest since records began – with an 8.8 per cent annual rise, nearly double the 4.8 per cent for UK nationals. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Instead of releasing criminals early to free up prison space, the Government must deport every single one of these foreign offenders. They need to be kicked out of the country immediately. Starmer must suspend visas and aid until countries take back their nationals.” Albanians remain the largest foreign nationality in UK prisons, with 1,193 behind bars – many for drug offences. Poles, Romanians and Irish make up the next biggest groups, followed by Lithuanians and Jamaicans. Foreign nationals now account for more than one in 10 sex offenders and violent criminals in custody, and one in five drug offenders. The new figures, published by the Ministry of Justice, follow months of pressure for greater transparency on the nationality of offenders.” – The Sun

• Revealed: The true scale of foreign sex offenders in Britain – Daily Telegraph
• Record number of foreign sex offenders and violent criminals now held in English and Welsh prisons after sharp rise – Daily Mail
• ‘Deport every single one!’ Foreign sex offenders and violent criminals filling Britain’s prisons, bombshell data reveals – GBNews

Comment:

• Mass migration is putting British women and girls in danger – Robert Jenrick, Daily Telegraph
• It’s time Labour told us: whose side are they on? – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

Confidence in British economy plummets to record low

“Business directors’ confidence in the UK economy has plunged to an all-time low, with firms unconvinced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth-focussed policies as the impact of last year’s tax hikes continues to play out. Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs business confidence is at a nine-year high, pointing to a single business survey put together by Lloyds Bank. But fresh data by the Institute of Directors, which boasts some 20,000 members, suggested UK firms were far less optimistic about the UK economy’s prospects and about their own organisations. A survey of directors at 639 businesses suggested the net balance for pessimism had deepened by 19 percentage points in July compared to the month before. Confidence in business prospects also fell into negative territory after more positive data in June, making leaders’ confidence in their own organisations last month the second lowest reading since the introduction of the indicator in mid-2016. Export expectations also fell into negative numbers after the UK’s trade deals with the US and EU provided some short-lived hopes for businesses across the country in the previous. Firms also signalled their worries about higher costs hitting profit margins while, in more concerning news for the UK jobs market, more firms became pessimistic about headcount expectations.” – CityAM

• Economic confidence falls to record low as tax rises loom – The Times
• Business chiefs more gloomy on UK economy than any time since 2016 – Financial Times
• UK CEOs Are More Downbeat About the Economy Than During Lockdown – Bloomberg
• Rachel Reeves dealt massive blow as new poll spells doom for UK economy – Daily Express

Comment:

• UK should introduce its own ‘Trump card’ to woo back the wealthy – Brandon Lewis, CityAM
• The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of Gary Neville’s money – Ed Cumming, Daily Telegraph

News in brief:

• Who can rescue the Right? – Henry Hill, The Critic
• When will Tories face up to the Boriswave? – Peter Franklin, Unherd
• The Charity Commission’s laughable approach to radical Islam – Stephen Pollard, The Spectator
• We bailed out the banks. Who will bail out the state? – Damian Pudner, CapX

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