Colin Murray
LightNews LightNews
banner
colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray
@colinmurray.bsky.social
7.7K followers 1.1K following 1.5K posts

Professor of Law & Democracy @newcastleuni.bsky.social

Constitutional Law | Human Rights | Brexit | Devolution | Political Violence | Colonialism | Other Assorted Dourness

He/Him

Videos
Political science 58%
Law 17%
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · Sep 16
A new Explainer out from @aoifemod.bsky.social and me detailing the UK's ECHR commitments under the 1998 Agreement in response to recent speculation. It is short, because there is very little to say - the UK's obligations are evident on the B/GFA's plain text:

caj.org.uk/wp-content/u...

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3h
The Week in Westminster featured Bernard Jenkin countering about the good Mandelson did with regard to Northern Ireland now being overshadowed. This is a much more accurate appraisal - Mandelson did no heavy lifting as NI Secretary, he just resented Mowlam's success:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKIJ...
Have the Epstein files just brought down the UK government?
YouTube video by Sky News
www.youtube.com

Reposted by John L. Cotter, Aoife O’Donoghue

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 1d
Tomorrow's Headlines

The Telegraph: Starmer Next!

The Guardian: Morgan McSweeney's Gone, Thank God!

The Irish Times: Irishman forced out of UK Labour Role

The Irish (Cork) Examiner: Having Completed Michael Collins' Work, and brought low the British Government, Macroom Calls it's Son Home

Reposted by Aoife O’Donoghue

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 1d
Grade inflation, insofar as it exists, has no clear connection to widening access. If wider access had taken place in isolation, grades would have dropped. Instead the marketisation of HE, with the removal of recruitment quotas, is the major issue. But the Telegraph cheered that on, so we get this:

Reposted by Colin Murray

fulelo.bsky.social
Kriszta Satori @fulelo.bsky.social · 3d
#BBCNews - Nigerian court orders UK to pay £420m over 1949 killing of miners
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Nigerian court orders UK to pay £420m over 1949 killing of miners in Iva Valley, Enugu
The colonial police, made up of Nigerians and Europeans, shot dead workers striking for better conditions.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Colin Murray

bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social
Unofficial BBCNews (UK) Bot @bbcnews-uk-rss.bsky.social · 3d
Guantanamo detainee's lawyers claim office raid by UK was unlawful
Guantanamo detainee's lawyers claim office raid by UK was unlawful
The case centres on claims of complicity by UK intelligence services in CIA torture of Abu Faraj al-Libi.
www.bbc.com

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
Every Western country is currently doing it's own version of the Epstein files, which both attests to and obscures Epstein's reach and the scale of the scandal. A key example is Thorbjørn Jagland - who headed up the Council of Europe amid the "prisoner voting" years:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Norway investigates former PM Jagland over alleged Epstein links
Police say Thorbjørn Jagland is suspected of
www.bbc.co.uk

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
Another follow up point that too many folk don't know enough to make...

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
But no TD seems to be asking the follow up question of "minister, how many JRs is govt losing on procedural grounds and isn't this your dept's problem?". I despair.

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
The new ETA guide around cross border travel on the island of Ireland is an unhelpful combination of "it's needed for non UK/Ireland citizens" and "we don't check (so don't sweat it?)". Don't be misled by this - in country checks can happen - and for foreign nationals an ETA will thus be needed:

Reposted by Tobias Lock

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
Public service email to everyone heading into the UK at the end of this month who isn't a UK or Irish citizen. The ETA requirement for UK entry is coming and isn't receiving enough advanced coverage. Don't get caught in the ensuing chaos:

homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/electronic-t...

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
I felt like I was screaming into the void on this over my sandwich. It's so reassuring to see you were on it half an hour earlier...

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
The current UK debate is over the resultant delay from unsuccessful reviews (but much of the problem re infrastructure is failings to follow legislative requirements). If the Irish Government is stopping projects due to the mere *risk* of review, it must think its own decision making is shambolic.

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
The current Irish Govt spends a hell of a lot of time casting around for a narrative to explain its failures (here to invest in flood defences). If judicial reviews are succeeding, it's because things are going wrong with their decision making processes:

www.thejournal.ie/jack-chamber...

Reposted by Aoife O’Donoghue

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
Struck by how, just a week ago, the UK Parliament was still being urged by Lord Alton, Chair of the JCHR, to summon up the spirit of George Mitchell in addressing the legacy of the NI Conflict. So much "great man" peace making.

All changed, changed utterly.

committees.parliament.uk/event/26304/...

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 3d
Well he told us the bridge was for sale? What reason had we not to just take his words at face value? Probe a bit? No, that's what smart suited lawyers and the like do...

No reader, a "we accepted the answers given" line will only dame this crew more.
alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 3d
They asked Mandelson three (3) questions and apparently didn’t follow up on his answers

Reposted by Colin Murray

alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social
Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 3d
They asked Mandelson three (3) questions and apparently didn’t follow up on his answers

Reposted by Christian Odendahl, Colin Murray, Tom Griffin

tbenner.bsky.social
Thorsten Benner @tbenner.bsky.social · 3d
No reason to get too worked up about this.
Ultranationalist transnationalism is not an easy thing to pull off — and the trademark „MAGA-funded“ might hurt European forces more than help on balance.

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
A prayer for dark days:

Grant me, faced with such trolling, that I should be able to conjure up a fraction of Catherine Connolly's grace.

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
It isn't possible to judge a series before it comes out, but this new BBC series is making a major (and v hard to justify) editorial decision from it's very title. Israel is accorded the status of a state in that title, whereas even though it is recognised by the UK, Palestine is not... Why?

Reposted by Colin Murray, Tom Griffin

lukejbutterly.bsky.social
Luke Butterly @lukejbutterly.bsky.social · 4d
NEW: Police in Northern Ireland will curb sharing data on migrant victims of crime with UK immigration enforcement, after admitting that routine sharing “could be perceived as constituting institutional racism”.
PSNI curbs migrant victims’ data sharing with Home Office after ‘institutional racism’ concerns
www.thedetail.tv

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
The new releases undermine Mitchell's account that he had no contact with Epstein after his conviction in 2008. That's enough.

But everything's good when Bertie is your character reference...

www.thejournal.ie/bertie-ahern...
Bertie Ahern says 'it's not clear' what George Mitchell is being accused of over Epstein files
The latest release of files related to Epstein appeared to show that he and Mitchell corresponded via email between 2010 and 2013.
www.thejournal.ie

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
I'm living for the spin off! Now I just need Stormont to pass some legislation in the current mandate and some of this work might have purchase!

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
Splutters in NI... We're clearly going to have to wait for the expanded universe...
a man wearing sunglasses and a jacket that says barbasol
ALT: a man wearing sunglasses and a jacket that says barbasol
media.tenor.com

Reposted by Colin Murray

aileenmcharg.bsky.social
Aileen McHarg @aileenmcharg.bsky.social · 4d
New report out today on the impact of the Supreme Court's s.28(7) jurisprudence, with @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social, @chrismccork.bsky.social and Jo Hunt.

www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...
New report examines what UK Supreme Court decisions mean for devolved law-making
5 February 2026: A new report says an unexpected interpretation of section 28(7) of the Scotland Act by the UK Supreme Court has generated uncertainty around limits of law-making in the Scottish Parli...
www.gla.ac.uk

Reposted by Colin Murray

alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social
Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 4d
From 2000 the New Labour govt took asylum seekers off mainstream benefits & instigated a Home Office-run scheme of “dispersing” them round the UK, often to places with limited services and often moving them frequently & at short notice. Costly & badly organised travel was an inevitable consequence
Ban on asylum seekers using taxis for medical appointments comes into force
It comes after a BBC investigation which showed people travelling long distances at high cost.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Colin Murray, Aileen McHarg

ukcla.bsky.social
UK Constitutional Law Association @ukcla.bsky.social · 4d
Mike Gordon: The Mandelson Scandal and the Prime Minister: Investigating a Breach of the Ministerial Code ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/02/05/m...
Mike Gordon: The Mandelson Scandal and the Prime Minister: Investigating a Breach of the Ministerial Code
The scandal erupting in relation to the latest revelations about Peter Mandelson’s  relationship with the multi-millionaire convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison awa…
ukconstitutionallaw.org

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
ThE GrId, wHaT AbOuT tHe GriD? The enormity of this scandal is incomprehensible to them.

news.sky.com/story/sir-ke...
Sir Keir Starmer pledges to 'reverse devastating decline' with £800m extra investment in 40 communities
In a speech on Thursday, the prime minister will attack what he calls the "scorched earth of Tory austerity", while recognising the threat from Reform UK, comparing it to a "contest between renewal an...
news.sky.com

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 4d
The Economist's Bagehot column captures how awful the Epstein disclosures are, but also how much of this was dogs-on-the-street level known. And ministers looked right past it until it was there in their face and couldn't eye roll "morals are for little people" any more...

econ.st/3NZFam4

colinmurray.bsky.social
Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 5d
Such an important illustration of the role of the jury in the criminal justice process, but worth remembering that all of the prosecutions coming down the line under s13 TA 2000 after the banning of Palestine Action involve a summary offence tried before magistrates:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Palestine Action protesters not guilty of defence firm burglary
The group are cleared of aggravated burglary over a raid at an Elbit Systems warehouse.
www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Colin Murray, Mary McAuliffe