Ian Birrell
@ianbirrell.bsky.social
Foreign correspondent, columnist, campaigner, co-founder Africa Express, citizen of the world and a bit more besides…
'Everything depends not on when but on how the war in Ukraine ends' - well worth reading this piece by Nataliya Gumenyuk www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/o...
Opinion | When Will This War End? The Question Is Meaningless.
www.nytimes.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:59 AM
'Everything depends not on when but on how the war in Ukraine ends' - well worth reading this piece by Nataliya Gumenyuk www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/o...
Reposted by Ian Birrell
Hungary under Orban created the toxic template for the likes of Trump and Farage. Now it shows in starkest terms the dark, destructive and divisive reality of hard-right populism. My @theipaper.com column asks if they can turn back the tide? inews.co.uk/opinion/euro...
February 15, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Hungary under Orban created the toxic template for the likes of Trump and Farage. Now it shows in starkest terms the dark, destructive and divisive reality of hard-right populism. My @theipaper.com column asks if they can turn back the tide? inews.co.uk/opinion/euro...
Reposted by Ian Birrell
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
BBC warns Russia is taking over World Service radio frequencies
Russian propaganda is filling the void where the BBC has closed World Service radio services due to cuts
inews.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 6:03 AM
BBC's Arabic radio service in Lebanon closed after 85 years as part of a £28.5m savings drive. 'Just months later, in October 2023, the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency took over the frequency. Its news bulletin opened with “This is Moscow”, replacing the previous “This is London” intro.' 🙄
Reposted by Ian Birrell
Latest from me: on the govt's imminent Special Needs revolution, and a familiar (old) Labour story: of lofty aims undermined by meagre budgets, constant anonymous briefings – and a drive to remove families’ basic rights www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I fear that Labour’s special needs revolution will instead be a catastrophic letdown | John Harris
A familiar Labour story is unfolding: of lofty aims undermined by budgets, constant anonymous briefing – and a drive to remove families’ basic rights, says Guardian columnist John Harris
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Latest from me: on the govt's imminent Special Needs revolution, and a familiar (old) Labour story: of lofty aims undermined by meagre budgets, constant anonymous briefings – and a drive to remove families’ basic rights www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Hungary under Orban created the toxic template for the likes of Trump and Farage. Now it shows in starkest terms the dark, destructive and divisive reality of hard-right populism. My @theipaper.com column asks if they can turn back the tide? inews.co.uk/opinion/euro...
February 15, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Hungary under Orban created the toxic template for the likes of Trump and Farage. Now it shows in starkest terms the dark, destructive and divisive reality of hard-right populism. My @theipaper.com column asks if they can turn back the tide? inews.co.uk/opinion/euro...
Reposted by Ian Birrell
A piece by me about SEND, behind a paywall I’m afraid. Basically: stop blaming the kids.
unherd.com/2026/02/who-...
unherd.com/2026/02/who-...
Who will defend the SEND kids?
unherd.com
February 13, 2026 at 8:52 AM
A piece by me about SEND, behind a paywall I’m afraid. Basically: stop blaming the kids.
unherd.com/2026/02/who-...
unherd.com/2026/02/who-...
A nasty, KGB-style twist in the most important European election this year: Péter Magyar - substantially ahead in Hungarian polls ahead of April’s crucial vote - says his former girlfriend set a honey trap to secretly record them having sex and claims Victor Orbán’s camp plans to release it soon
February 13, 2026 at 8:31 AM
A nasty, KGB-style twist in the most important European election this year: Péter Magyar - substantially ahead in Hungarian polls ahead of April’s crucial vote - says his former girlfriend set a honey trap to secretly record them having sex and claims Victor Orbán’s camp plans to release it soon
Reposted by Ian Birrell
I hope the ‘immigrants’ who support Manchester United, rip up their season tickets. And what the heck must the players on the team think about these comments? Vile man.
February 11, 2026 at 6:50 PM
I hope the ‘immigrants’ who support Manchester United, rip up their season tickets. And what the heck must the players on the team think about these comments? Vile man.
A bigoted hypocrite who voted for Brexit, then moved to Europe and now spews out hate-filled misinformation.
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.
news.sky.com
February 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
A bigoted hypocrite who voted for Brexit, then moved to Europe and now spews out hate-filled misinformation.
It is exactly two months since Doyle's peerage was announced by the palace - and he has been a Labour peer for precisely one month and two days
February 10, 2026 at 5:40 PM
It is exactly two months since Doyle's peerage was announced by the palace - and he has been a Labour peer for precisely one month and two days
When will Tony Blair pontificate on the Mandelson/Epstein scandal? Usually he likes to chip in on major issues but he has stayed strangely quiet so far…
February 10, 2026 at 12:46 PM
When will Tony Blair pontificate on the Mandelson/Epstein scandal? Usually he likes to chip in on major issues but he has stayed strangely quiet so far…
If only our weak politicians displayed such faith in freedom and democracy as the heroic Jimmy Lai. My
@dailymail.co.uk column on China’s martyrdom of a hero and Britain’s appeasement of dictatorship mol.im/a/15544283
@dailymail.co.uk column on China’s martyrdom of a hero and Britain’s appeasement of dictatorship mol.im/a/15544283
If only our leaders had such determined faith in freedom as this man
Jimmy Lai's life story is remarkable: a child who arrived in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing vessel, he became a billionaire clothing and media magnate, only to be martyred by a dictatorship.
mol.im
February 10, 2026 at 10:56 AM
If only our weak politicians displayed such faith in freedom and democracy as the heroic Jimmy Lai. My
@dailymail.co.uk column on China’s martyrdom of a hero and Britain’s appeasement of dictatorship mol.im/a/15544283
@dailymail.co.uk column on China’s martyrdom of a hero and Britain’s appeasement of dictatorship mol.im/a/15544283
Reposted by Ian Birrell
The dark, unfolding Epstein drama - a scandal about power and hypocrisy - threatens to lead our democracy into the abyss. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/dark...
The dark unfolding Epstein drama is leading us into the abyss
We now face a colossal fight for our democracy
inews.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 12:49 PM
The dark, unfolding Epstein drama - a scandal about power and hypocrisy - threatens to lead our democracy into the abyss. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/dark...
The dark, unfolding Epstein drama - a scandal about power and hypocrisy - threatens to lead our democracy into the abyss. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/dark...
The dark unfolding Epstein drama is leading us into the abyss
We now face a colossal fight for our democracy
inews.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 12:49 PM
The dark, unfolding Epstein drama - a scandal about power and hypocrisy - threatens to lead our democracy into the abyss. My @theipaper.com column inews.co.uk/opinion/dark...
Extraordinary - on so many levels #mandelson #times
February 7, 2026 at 1:03 PM
Extraordinary - on so many levels #mandelson #times
Reposted by Ian Birrell
Sergei Belyakov, a graduate of the FSB Academy, helped Epstein obtain an invitation letter from Vympel veterans. For more about Belyakov, read this investigation from the Dossier Centre (a non-profit investigative body founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky) dossier.center/jeffreyepste...
Jeffrey Epstein’s Russian Connection:
Billionaire's ties with FSB Academy graduate revealed
dossier.center
February 5, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Sergei Belyakov, a graduate of the FSB Academy, helped Epstein obtain an invitation letter from Vympel veterans. For more about Belyakov, read this investigation from the Dossier Centre (a non-profit investigative body founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky) dossier.center/jeffreyepste...
Reposted by Ian Birrell
He listed the Moscow-based group "Vympel" as his inviting organisation. This is the name of a special FSB unit that conducts counterterrorism operations, whose leader is FSB veteran and KGB Colonel Sergei Shestov
February 5, 2026 at 11:45 AM
He listed the Moscow-based group "Vympel" as his inviting organisation. This is the name of a special FSB unit that conducts counterterrorism operations, whose leader is FSB veteran and KGB Colonel Sergei Shestov
Reposted by Ian Birrell
According to this report in Novaya Gazeta, Epstein received a Russian visa at the invitation of FSB veterans through his contact Sergei Belyakov novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
Эпштейн получил российскую визу по приглашению ветеранов ФСБ — Новая газета Европа
В 2011 году, заполняя заявление на российскую визу, Джеффри Эпштейн указал в качестве приглашающей организации московскую МОО «Вымпел». С этим названием в России на тот момент существовала только Ме...
novayagazeta.eu
February 5, 2026 at 11:45 AM
According to this report in Novaya Gazeta, Epstein received a Russian visa at the invitation of FSB veterans through his contact Sergei Belyakov novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
Are western governments actively facilitating money laundering? My @spectator review of @oliverbullough.bsky.social’s excellent new book spectator.com/article/are-...
Are western governments actively facilitating money laundering?
On the outskirts of Fort Worth, Texas, there is a two-storey factory churning out a vast number of dollar bills every day for the United States Federal Reserve. When Oliver Bullough visited, he counte...
spectator.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Are western governments actively facilitating money laundering? My @spectator review of @oliverbullough.bsky.social’s excellent new book spectator.com/article/are-...
According to this report in Novaya Gazeta, Epstein received a Russian visa at the invitation of FSB veterans through his contact Sergei Belyakov novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
Эпштейн получил российскую визу по приглашению ветеранов ФСБ — Новая газета Европа
В 2011 году, заполняя заявление на российскую визу, Джеффри Эпштейн указал в качестве приглашающей организации московскую МОО «Вымпел». С этим названием в России на тот момент существовала только Ме...
novayagazeta.eu
February 5, 2026 at 11:45 AM
According to this report in Novaya Gazeta, Epstein received a Russian visa at the invitation of FSB veterans through his contact Sergei Belyakov novayagazeta.eu/articles/202...
'The U.K. economy would be smaller, its debts larger and taxes higher within 15 years if immigration were to end, said the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.'
www.wsj.com/economy/glob...
www.wsj.com/economy/glob...
Without Immigrants, U.K. Economy Would Be Smaller, More Indebted, Says NIESR
The U.K.’s leading economic research body also said it expects inflation to settle at the Bank of England’s 2% target later this year.
www.wsj.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:31 AM
'The U.K. economy would be smaller, its debts larger and taxes higher within 15 years if immigration were to end, said the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.'
www.wsj.com/economy/glob...
www.wsj.com/economy/glob...
Reposted by Ian Birrell
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
February 4, 2026 at 5:11 PM
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
So it cost £50,000 - paid by an Iranian-born billionaire - for Nigel 'man of the people' Farage to 'put the global elites on notice' at Davos.
February 4, 2026 at 6:51 PM
So it cost £50,000 - paid by an Iranian-born billionaire - for Nigel 'man of the people' Farage to 'put the global elites on notice' at Davos.
Reposted by Ian Birrell
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
February 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
The US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government every year from 1994 to 2023.
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
The Cato study provides the first-ever 30-year analysis of the fiscal effects of immigration on government budgets.
https://ow.ly/jy8a50Y8kM3
Brilliant, incensed piece by Marina Hyde on all those powerful men who helped a wealthy paedophile despite his sickening crimes against young women www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
It’s the Epstein files deja vu: how many more powerful men knew about his crimes, and helped him out anyway? | Marina Hyde
I’m sorry, but this is not just a political scandal. Time to refocus on the horrific mistreatment of women and girls, and the role of these ghouls, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Brilliant, incensed piece by Marina Hyde on all those powerful men who helped a wealthy paedophile despite his sickening crimes against young women www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...