sasha baker
@sasha98.bsky.social
freelance investigative journalist, 2024 British Journalism Awards nominee
fact-checker & subeditor @tbij.bsky.social
they/them
fact-checker & subeditor @tbij.bsky.social
they/them
Pinned
sasha baker
@sasha98.bsky.social
· Jul 22
transsafety.network/posts/my-par...
@sasha98.bsky.social and Valeria Rocca spoke to several children of Bayswater members who highlighted the harm the group do to young trans people and the gateway into broader far-right politics that they provide.
Content warning: discusses conversion abuse
@sasha98.bsky.social and Valeria Rocca spoke to several children of Bayswater members who highlighted the harm the group do to young trans people and the gateway into broader far-right politics that they provide.
Content warning: discusses conversion abuse
“My parents very clearly do not love me”: Children of Bayswater Speak Out
We speak to several children of Bayswater Support Group members. Their experiences highlight the harm groups like Bayswater do to young trans people, and the gateway they provide to broader far-right ...
transsafety.network
As the political influence of pro-conversion therapy parents continues unabated, @vrocca.bsky.social and I spoke to some of the children and young adults who have been victimised by Bayswater members. CW: child abuse.
Reposted by sasha baker
Early resistance matters.
February 12, 2026 at 2:14 PM
Early resistance matters.
This whole thread.
It's worth noting that this was also a pretext to open up new services designed and run by people who push an unproven pseudoscientific "Gender Exploratory Therapy" model that has been likened to conversion therapy by international experts.
In a functional country, this would be a scandal. A service suffering only from chronic underfunding was ripped apart because the media created a myth of 1000s of complaints of malpractice. The truth - as in my family’s experience - was very different.
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
February 12, 2026 at 1:34 PM
This whole thread.
Reposted by sasha baker
In a functional country, this would be a scandal. A service suffering only from chronic underfunding was ripped apart because the media created a myth of 1000s of complaints of malpractice. The truth - as in my family’s experience - was very different.
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
NHS closed Tavistock over care complaints – there were only eight
An eye-opening FOI report has revealed that just eight people complained about the Tavistock gender clinic's care provision in 10 years.
www.thepinknews.com
February 12, 2026 at 12:19 PM
In a functional country, this would be a scandal. A service suffering only from chronic underfunding was ripped apart because the media created a myth of 1000s of complaints of malpractice. The truth - as in my family’s experience - was very different.
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
www.thepinknews.com/2026/02/11/n...
Reposted by sasha baker
The brief mention of Farage's extensive antisemitic harassment of Dulwich students elides testimony of 24+ ex-students, e.g. Farage calling Peter Ettedgui a 'stupid Yid', goose-stepping around the playground chanting 'Oswald Ernald Mosely' (then-leader of the British Union of Fascists), and so on.
February 11, 2026 at 8:25 AM
The brief mention of Farage's extensive antisemitic harassment of Dulwich students elides testimony of 24+ ex-students, e.g. Farage calling Peter Ettedgui a 'stupid Yid', goose-stepping around the playground chanting 'Oswald Ernald Mosely' (then-leader of the British Union of Fascists), and so on.
I bet if Labour had a 1922 committee-equivalent Starmer would be gone by now. Seems unlike them not to to create a mechanism for anonymous backstabbing. Then again, maybe if they did no leader would last a fortnight
February 10, 2026 at 4:53 PM
I bet if Labour had a 1922 committee-equivalent Starmer would be gone by now. Seems unlike them not to to create a mechanism for anonymous backstabbing. Then again, maybe if they did no leader would last a fortnight
Reposted by sasha baker
This is incredibly funny to try because even if it *was* true, then it would mean Streeting was defending Mandleson in September for the love of the game.
February 9, 2026 at 7:05 PM
This is incredibly funny to try because even if it *was* true, then it would mean Streeting was defending Mandleson in September for the love of the game.
Reposted by sasha baker
Right, but just to clarify, you did not appoint Peter Mandelson, because you were not Prime Minister.
NEW: PM’s Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney resigns
“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.”
“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign from the government. The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself.”
February 8, 2026 at 2:35 PM
Right, but just to clarify, you did not appoint Peter Mandelson, because you were not Prime Minister.
Reposted by sasha baker
Exclusive: Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons was provided with intelligence files gathered on journalists (including me) who had reported on Labour Together, the thinktank he chaired at the time (before he became an MP), sources say.
Know more about this story? Contact me, Signal: henrydyer.01
Know more about this story? Contact me, Signal: henrydyer.01
Labour minister was provided with intelligence files on journalists
Exclusive: Material gathered was personally given to Josh Simons when chair of pro-Starmer thinktank, say sources
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Exclusive: Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons was provided with intelligence files gathered on journalists (including me) who had reported on Labour Together, the thinktank he chaired at the time (before he became an MP), sources say.
Know more about this story? Contact me, Signal: henrydyer.01
Know more about this story? Contact me, Signal: henrydyer.01
Reposted by sasha baker
This is unconscionable. Palestinian immigrants to the U.S., like all immigrants, should never be detained and deported without due process, or denied the right to communicate with their loved ones and with lawyers.
U.S. secretly deporting Palestinians to West Bank in coordination with Israel
Palestinians arrested by ICE are being flown, bound and shackled, on private jet belonging to Israeli-American tycoon close to Trump, investigation reveals.
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 7:07 PM
This is unconscionable. Palestinian immigrants to the U.S., like all immigrants, should never be detained and deported without due process, or denied the right to communicate with their loved ones and with lawyers.
Reposted by sasha baker
THREAD 🧵:
The Epstein files are real. The antisemitism they're fueling is also real.
And right now, the second part is getting almost no attention.
The Epstein files are real. The antisemitism they're fueling is also real.
And right now, the second part is getting almost no attention.
February 4, 2026 at 7:04 PM
THREAD 🧵:
The Epstein files are real. The antisemitism they're fueling is also real.
And right now, the second part is getting almost no attention.
The Epstein files are real. The antisemitism they're fueling is also real.
And right now, the second part is getting almost no attention.
Reposted by sasha baker
Mandelson’s malign influence runs right through the heart of this Government.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
February 5, 2026 at 12:48 PM
Mandelson’s malign influence runs right through the heart of this Government.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
Not least in the govt’s NHS data deal with Palantir – a spy-tech firm co-founded by a man who thinks the NHS should be ‘ripped up.’
I've written to Wes Streeting urging him to ditch this dangerous deal.
Reposted by sasha baker
I poured my heart out about Marty Supreme, Jewish identity, why the Old Testament isn’t the same book as the Torah and what it takes to survive trauma
open.substack.com/pub/naomiald...
open.substack.com/pub/naomiald...
look at me. I’m here. I’m the ultimate product of Hitler’s defeat
Marty Supreme is the most intensely Jewish movie I’ve ever seen in my life, and I ended up writing 5,000 words about it. buckle up.
open.substack.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:24 AM
I poured my heart out about Marty Supreme, Jewish identity, why the Old Testament isn’t the same book as the Torah and what it takes to survive trauma
open.substack.com/pub/naomiald...
open.substack.com/pub/naomiald...
Reposted by sasha baker
Hello! I am launching a substack to cover reproductive rights and gender related news coming from Eastern Europe.
Subscribe for a bimonthly digest of news from the region and a monthly deep-dive on the intertwined history of the Polish and American anti-abortion movement
koltun.substack.com/about
Subscribe for a bimonthly digest of news from the region and a monthly deep-dive on the intertwined history of the Polish and American anti-abortion movement
koltun.substack.com/about
About - KOŁTUN
Unknotting the global anti gender network from an Eastern European perspective. Click to read KOŁTUN, by Weronika Strzyżyńska, a Substack publication. Launched 2 days ago.
koltun.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Hello! I am launching a substack to cover reproductive rights and gender related news coming from Eastern Europe.
Subscribe for a bimonthly digest of news from the region and a monthly deep-dive on the intertwined history of the Polish and American anti-abortion movement
koltun.substack.com/about
Subscribe for a bimonthly digest of news from the region and a monthly deep-dive on the intertwined history of the Polish and American anti-abortion movement
koltun.substack.com/about
Reposted by sasha baker
This is partly about Palantir ofc but it goes way broader www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Mandelson’s links with US tech firm Palantir must be fully exposed, campaigners warn
Government faces call for transparency on former peer’s involvement amid fears he may have leaked more sensitive information
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:21 PM
This is partly about Palantir ofc but it goes way broader www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by sasha baker
I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.
“If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved
After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.
www.mprnews.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:30 PM
I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.
Reposted by sasha baker
That's the thing about paid newsletters: if you're a take-merchant who mostly aggregates and shares opinions, you *might* have a shot at making some money. If you do actual in-depth reporting, etc., though, it's... a lot rougher
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 5:12 PM
That's the thing about paid newsletters: if you're a take-merchant who mostly aggregates and shares opinions, you *might* have a shot at making some money. If you do actual in-depth reporting, etc., though, it's... a lot rougher
Reposted by sasha baker
all the creators in the world will never fill the hole created by the degradation and loss of media institutions, despite all their problems
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 2:54 PM
all the creators in the world will never fill the hole created by the degradation and loss of media institutions, despite all their problems
Reposted by sasha baker
Absolutely embarrassing for the govt. that they have proscribed Palestine Action before the trial and the jury has found them not guilty. This Labour govt. is so out of touch with the public, it is shocking. I think Cooper should resign over this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Palestine Action protesters not guilty of defence firm burglary
The group are cleared of aggravated burglary over the alleged raid at an Elbit Systems warehouse.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Absolutely embarrassing for the govt. that they have proscribed Palestine Action before the trial and the jury has found them not guilty. This Labour govt. is so out of touch with the public, it is shocking. I think Cooper should resign over this. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
After 17 months in prison, 6 Palestine Action members have been cleared of all charges over an alleged raid on Elbit Systems. What an embarassment for the government and their expansion of 'counter-terror' measures.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Palestine Action protesters not guilty of defence firm burglary
The group are cleared of aggravated burglary over the alleged raid at an Elbit Systems warehouse.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:49 PM
After 17 months in prison, 6 Palestine Action members have been cleared of all charges over an alleged raid on Elbit Systems. What an embarassment for the government and their expansion of 'counter-terror' measures.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Fascinating the kind of information that gets sat on. I hope Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle sue so this all has to come out in discovery
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
Mandelson was given secret spreadsheet to vet left-wing MPs in Labour power struggle
The revelation shows the extent of Mandelson’s direct involvement in the bitter battle to gain control of the party ahead of the 2024 general election
inews.co.uk
February 4, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Fascinating the kind of information that gets sat on. I hope Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle sue so this all has to come out in discovery
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk/news/politic...
There's genuinely a study on the government website commissioned in 2018 but only published in 2025, which is like: the UK is probably really corrupt but there's so little transparency and such poor data that it's impossible to say how bad it is
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
February 4, 2026 at 12:28 PM
There's genuinely a study on the government website commissioned in 2018 but only published in 2025, which is like: the UK is probably really corrupt but there's so little transparency and such poor data that it's impossible to say how bad it is
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Reposted by sasha baker
If Starmer is serious (he's not, ofc) he'd introduce strict new anti-lobbying laws, bring in firewalls against revolving doors, and undertake a deep, unflinching investigation into financial and influence ties in politics, with criminal sanctions.
February 4, 2026 at 12:20 PM
If Starmer is serious (he's not, ofc) he'd introduce strict new anti-lobbying laws, bring in firewalls against revolving doors, and undertake a deep, unflinching investigation into financial and influence ties in politics, with criminal sanctions.
It's amazing how no one in British government is ever brought down by the thing they should be punished for. Every major resignation or firing has such strong 'getting Al Capone on tax evasion' energy
February 4, 2026 at 12:20 PM
It's amazing how no one in British government is ever brought down by the thing they should be punished for. Every major resignation or firing has such strong 'getting Al Capone on tax evasion' energy
And like – that's probably not true either. But just imagine that being the best lie you can come up with in the context of the publicly available facts
February 4, 2026 at 12:12 PM
And like – that's probably not true either. But just imagine that being the best lie you can come up with in the context of the publicly available facts
So the defence here is essentially: we did no investigation, and took him at his word that his close friendship with a famous billionaire convicted pedophile (which we're fine with) involved no corruption or bribery
Sophy Ridge confronts Wes Streeting: its easy to condemn Mandelson now, but why wasn't he ruled out as ambassador?
Streeting defends the appointment but says more info has since come out.
So you were ok with him staying at Epsteins house after Epstein was convicted? Got it.
Streeting defends the appointment but says more info has since come out.
So you were ok with him staying at Epsteins house after Epstein was convicted? Got it.
February 4, 2026 at 12:10 PM
So the defence here is essentially: we did no investigation, and took him at his word that his close friendship with a famous billionaire convicted pedophile (which we're fine with) involved no corruption or bribery