Leigh Jones
@leighsus.bsky.social
Freelance journalist. Investigations, writing, broadcast, newsreading, BBC Radio Newcastle etc
Editor, The Teesside Lead.
🔗 https://theteessidelead.substack.com
Used to work in music. Ex-Yorkshire Post Teesworks expert. Oh, and once I saw a blimp.
Editor, The Teesside Lead.
🔗 https://theteessidelead.substack.com
Used to work in music. Ex-Yorkshire Post Teesworks expert. Oh, and once I saw a blimp.
Pinned
Leigh Jones
@leighsus.bsky.social
· Nov 19
Subscribe to The Teesside Lead
The Teesside Lead is news that's on your side - a new voice to connect, enable and help find solutions. Click to read The Teesside Lead, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
teesside.thelead.uk
Forgive me for indulging myself with some self-promotion.
I edit The Teesside Lead, a twice-weekly newsletter providing original news, investigations and features from the area.
Sign up on Substack to get it for free.
Teesside is a bit of bellwether for the UK. Maybe useful if you live elsewhere!
I edit The Teesside Lead, a twice-weekly newsletter providing original news, investigations and features from the area.
Sign up on Substack to get it for free.
Teesside is a bit of bellwether for the UK. Maybe useful if you live elsewhere!
Reposted by Leigh Jones
It's now unconscionable for the government to be posting on X.
X is not a neutral utility, it is far, far darker: an environment that shapes behaviour, rewards cruelty, and normalises abuse.
@theleaduk.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...
X is not a neutral utility, it is far, far darker: an environment that shapes behaviour, rewards cruelty, and normalises abuse.
@theleaduk.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...
Abuse thrives where the government tweets – why it's time to quit X now
The use of AI tool Grok to generate en masse intimate images of real women and girls is sickening.
open.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:21 PM
It's now unconscionable for the government to be posting on X.
X is not a neutral utility, it is far, far darker: an environment that shapes behaviour, rewards cruelty, and normalises abuse.
@theleaduk.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...
X is not a neutral utility, it is far, far darker: an environment that shapes behaviour, rewards cruelty, and normalises abuse.
@theleaduk.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/theleadu...
Reposted by Leigh Jones
🧐
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Teesworks: Dividends increased to £30m despite plummeting income
Latest accounts for Teesworks Ltd show increase in payments to shareholders
teesside.thelead.uk
January 6, 2026 at 2:57 PM
🧐
Reposted by Leigh Jones
The government really does need to pre-empt this, it is absolutely absurd.
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Teesworks: Dividends increased to £30m despite plummeting income
Latest accounts for Teesworks Ltd show increase in payments to shareholders
teesside.thelead.uk
January 6, 2026 at 1:15 PM
The government really does need to pre-empt this, it is absolutely absurd.
Do we believe Starmer talks like this in meetings with his closest colleagues, like he's giving a speech to the nation during a crisis?
Or do we want to speculate on the source of this quote?
Or do we want to speculate on the source of this quote?
More from Starmer’s political cabinet today, where he told ministers to ignore Labour’s dire poll ratings
“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”
“I do not underestimate the scale of the task. But I have no doubt about this team. Governments do not lose because polls go down. They lose when they lose belief or nerve. We will do neither.”
January 6, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Do we believe Starmer talks like this in meetings with his closest colleagues, like he's giving a speech to the nation during a crisis?
Or do we want to speculate on the source of this quote?
Or do we want to speculate on the source of this quote?
Reposted by Leigh Jones
"did you try to bribe the president of the united states by giving him your nobel peace prize so he will declare that you are in charge of venezuela after abducting its leader by military force" is just a thing that someone can be asked in an interview now and we all have to deal with that
Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him.
January 6, 2026 at 5:54 AM
"did you try to bribe the president of the united states by giving him your nobel peace prize so he will declare that you are in charge of venezuela after abducting its leader by military force" is just a thing that someone can be asked in an interview now and we all have to deal with that
Reposted by Leigh Jones
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Teesworks: Dividends increased to £30m despite plummeting income
Latest accounts for Teesworks Ltd show increase in payments to shareholders
teesside.thelead.uk
January 5, 2026 at 6:06 PM
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
The latest published accounts for Teesworks Ltd show an increase in dividends paid to shareholders - up to £30m, despite revenue for the year dropping to only £6m, @leighsus.bsky.social digs into what the numbers show
Teesworks: Dividends increased to £30m despite plummeting income
Latest accounts for Teesworks Ltd show increase in payments to shareholders
teesside.thelead.uk
January 5, 2026 at 7:05 PM
The latest published accounts for Teesworks Ltd show an increase in dividends paid to shareholders - up to £30m, despite revenue for the year dropping to only £6m, @leighsus.bsky.social digs into what the numbers show
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Teesworks: Dividends increased to £30m despite plummeting income
Latest accounts for Teesworks Ltd show increase in payments to shareholders
teesside.thelead.uk
January 5, 2026 at 6:06 PM
NEW: Teesworks Ltd has published its latest accounts.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
Despite plummeting revenues, the businessmen at the centre of the controversial redevelopment project continue to increase their dividends each year.
This year they paid themselves more than £32m against revenue of £6m.
The BBC gets a lot of stuff wrong, and I'm sick to death of copping flack for stuff that has fuck all to do with me, but there are really good legal reasons why a journalist would avoid using a word like "kidnapped" in describing this event in the course of their reporting.
BBC journalists have been banned from describing the kidnapped Venezuelan leader as having been kidnapped.
The BBC News Editor has sent this to BBC journalists.
The BBC News Editor has sent this to BBC journalists.
January 5, 2026 at 2:58 PM
The BBC gets a lot of stuff wrong, and I'm sick to death of copping flack for stuff that has fuck all to do with me, but there are really good legal reasons why a journalist would avoid using a word like "kidnapped" in describing this event in the course of their reporting.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
If you're a journalist who still uses Twitter - why?
January 5, 2026 at 10:41 AM
If you're a journalist who still uses Twitter - why?
I grew up on a hill where we'd get half a foot of snow when half a mile away was totally clear.
I'm conditioned to believe sea level gets no snow.
I now live 100 yards from the sea and my melon is getting fully twisted by the fact we've had two loads of snow dumped on us in as many days.
I'm conditioned to believe sea level gets no snow.
I now live 100 yards from the sea and my melon is getting fully twisted by the fact we've had two loads of snow dumped on us in as many days.
January 5, 2026 at 10:16 AM
I grew up on a hill where we'd get half a foot of snow when half a mile away was totally clear.
I'm conditioned to believe sea level gets no snow.
I now live 100 yards from the sea and my melon is getting fully twisted by the fact we've had two loads of snow dumped on us in as many days.
I'm conditioned to believe sea level gets no snow.
I now live 100 yards from the sea and my melon is getting fully twisted by the fact we've had two loads of snow dumped on us in as many days.
This is the sort of imagery I want popping up in my timeline off the back of the sort of news events of this weekend.
(I swear to god if anybody is weird about this in the replies I'm gonna go mental)
(I swear to god if anybody is weird about this in the replies I'm gonna go mental)
January 4, 2026 at 4:36 PM
This is the sort of imagery I want popping up in my timeline off the back of the sort of news events of this weekend.
(I swear to god if anybody is weird about this in the replies I'm gonna go mental)
(I swear to god if anybody is weird about this in the replies I'm gonna go mental)
Today's edition of The Teesside Lead looks back at a few of the biggest stories I landed last year...
The year in headlines from Ben Houchen lying to councillors owing council tax
The best of our exclusive investigative stories from 2025
teesside.thelead.uk
January 4, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Today's edition of The Teesside Lead looks back at a few of the biggest stories I landed last year...
The Hard Times is a parody punk news website and it is consistently one of the funniest things on the Internet.
January 3, 2026 at 8:20 PM
The Hard Times is a parody punk news website and it is consistently one of the funniest things on the Internet.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
January 3, 2026 at 5:55 PM
THREAD: I'll fact-check all the viral misinformation about the US military operation in Venezuela in this thread
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
This image, purporting to show the US military arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is AI-generated.
According to Google's SynthID detector, it was created using Google AI.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
Amid everything with Venezuela & Maduro and the Trump Regime's various justifications for its extrajudicial & anti-constitutional actions, a quick reminder that - just one month ago - Trump PARDONED former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández for his... wait for it... cocaine trafficking.
Breaking: President Trump pardons former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez serving 45-year sentence on drug charges.
Amid anti-drug push, Trump pardons leader sentenced on cocaine charges
Trump said Nov. 28 that he planned to pardon the former Honduran leader, and a White House official confirmed Dec. 2 that the pardon had been issued.
bit.ly
January 3, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Amid everything with Venezuela & Maduro and the Trump Regime's various justifications for its extrajudicial & anti-constitutional actions, a quick reminder that - just one month ago - Trump PARDONED former Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández for his... wait for it... cocaine trafficking.
And you can abduct their leader, as a little treat.
The #FIFA Peace Prize entitles you to one free military campaign in the CONMEBOL state of your choice.
January 3, 2026 at 9:36 AM
And you can abduct their leader, as a little treat.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
This by @ecfr.eu’s Majda Ruge is a good guide to Trump’s calculus on Venezuela. Rival factions (primacists, prioritisers, restrainers) have been counseling different courses of action, but “the answers depend on what the president decides will bring him the biggest ‘win’.”
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
MAGA goes south: Trump’s plan for Venezuela – European Council on Foreign Relations
Speculation is swirling that the US could use military force to pursue regime change in Venezuela. The country’s fate may depend on which faction in the Trump a
ecfr.eu
January 3, 2026 at 8:52 AM
This by @ecfr.eu’s Majda Ruge is a good guide to Trump’s calculus on Venezuela. Rival factions (primacists, prioritisers, restrainers) have been counseling different courses of action, but “the answers depend on what the president decides will bring him the biggest ‘win’.”
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
Reposted by Leigh Jones
subscriptions >>> shop.viz.co.uk/viz351bs
January 2, 2026 at 8:56 PM
subscriptions >>> shop.viz.co.uk/viz351bs
I went to HMV for the first time in literally years today and it felt like such a weird and alien environment.
My name is on loads of the stock they sell. I probably know people who made around half the records in the racks.
I don't really have anything profound to say, it was just really strange.
My name is on loads of the stock they sell. I probably know people who made around half the records in the racks.
I don't really have anything profound to say, it was just really strange.
January 2, 2026 at 6:17 PM
I went to HMV for the first time in literally years today and it felt like such a weird and alien environment.
My name is on loads of the stock they sell. I probably know people who made around half the records in the racks.
I don't really have anything profound to say, it was just really strange.
My name is on loads of the stock they sell. I probably know people who made around half the records in the racks.
I don't really have anything profound to say, it was just really strange.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
This is how traditions begin
January 1, 2026 at 8:31 PM
This is how traditions begin
Reading the news on BBC Radio Newcastle all morning.
January 2, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Reading the news on BBC Radio Newcastle all morning.
Reposted by Leigh Jones
This is brilliant on the fetishisation of the Welsh language and challenges it faces.
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
Consuming Welshness
Fetishisation, mysticism, and uninterrupted life.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:22 AM
This is brilliant on the fetishisation of the Welsh language and challenges it faces.
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
Reposted by Leigh Jones
It’s worth saying out loud that this is Nazi propaganda. They’re not winking and nodding. It’s pure unadulterated lebensraum.
DHS now says it's aiming for 100 million deportations. In an amazing coincidence, there are 104 million Black and Hispanic people living in the U.S. right now.
![@DHSgov on X: The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.
[Image of a beach] America after 100 million deportations](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:eppsmw5nfmdzhfeymtzd3xbe/bafkreiccvipzc5mayvbrzoo3cxhkp2iayuhphh4grk6lziqajuk7d2leee@jpeg)
January 1, 2026 at 2:33 PM
It’s worth saying out loud that this is Nazi propaganda. They’re not winking and nodding. It’s pure unadulterated lebensraum.
This is brilliant on the fetishisation of the Welsh language and challenges it faces.
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
Consuming Welshness
Fetishisation, mysticism, and uninterrupted life.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:22 AM
This is brilliant on the fetishisation of the Welsh language and challenges it faces.
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."
"A culture cannot survive on affection alone. And a language cannot live if it is only ever encountered as a feeling."