Rob Hastings
@robhastings.bsky.social
📰 Special Projects Editor at @TheiPaper.com, based in London
✍️ I write long reads, investigations and interviews
🏆 Legal Reporting Award winner
⚽️ Spurs fan
💻 https://robhastings.co.uk
💻 https://inews.co.uk/author/rob-hastings
✍️ I write long reads, investigations and interviews
🏆 Legal Reporting Award winner
⚽️ Spurs fan
💻 https://robhastings.co.uk
💻 https://inews.co.uk/author/rob-hastings
Labour MP Sarah Champion says UK is letting down "enslaved people we should be protecting"
Crossbench peer Lord Alton says the UK’s anti-slavery laws are failing "on a colossal scale"
@uhrp.org and @antislavery.org have also expressed outrage at what we've uncovered 🧵11
Crossbench peer Lord Alton says the UK’s anti-slavery laws are failing "on a colossal scale"
@uhrp.org and @antislavery.org have also expressed outrage at what we've uncovered 🧵11
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Labour MP Sarah Champion says UK is letting down "enslaved people we should be protecting"
Crossbench peer Lord Alton says the UK’s anti-slavery laws are failing "on a colossal scale"
@uhrp.org and @antislavery.org have also expressed outrage at what we've uncovered 🧵11
Crossbench peer Lord Alton says the UK’s anti-slavery laws are failing "on a colossal scale"
@uhrp.org and @antislavery.org have also expressed outrage at what we've uncovered 🧵11
Campaigner Rahima Mahmut, who moved from Xinjiang to the UK in 2000, told me: "These findings make my blood boil… The UK must stop turning a blind eye and take urgent action to end complicity" 🧵10
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Campaigner Rahima Mahmut, who moved from Xinjiang to the UK in 2000, told me: "These findings make my blood boil… The UK must stop turning a blind eye and take urgent action to end complicity" 🧵10
And it's highly probable that far more imports like these are arriving in the UK without us knowing
The data purely shows goods being sent straight from Xinjiang to the UK - but many others will be transported around China or abroad before coming to the UK 🧵9
The data purely shows goods being sent straight from Xinjiang to the UK - but many others will be transported around China or abroad before coming to the UK 🧵9
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
And it's highly probable that far more imports like these are arriving in the UK without us knowing
The data purely shows goods being sent straight from Xinjiang to the UK - but many others will be transported around China or abroad before coming to the UK 🧵9
The data purely shows goods being sent straight from Xinjiang to the UK - but many others will be transported around China or abroad before coming to the UK 🧵9
A spreadsheet of Chinese customs records contains more than 12,000 entries from July last year to June 2025, each one logging a different type of product sent to the UK every month
The total comes to £809m
And the monthly totals have soared since last summer 🧵4
The total comes to £809m
And the monthly totals have soared since last summer 🧵4
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
A spreadsheet of Chinese customs records contains more than 12,000 entries from July last year to June 2025, each one logging a different type of product sent to the UK every month
The total comes to £809m
And the monthly totals have soared since last summer 🧵4
The total comes to £809m
And the monthly totals have soared since last summer 🧵4
UK airlines European Cargo & Titan Airways have launched freight routes from Ürümqi to London, Cardiff & Bournemouth
Both say they abide by UK law
But details of UK imports remained a mystery
I teamed up with analysts from Import Genius who accessed China's customs records 🧵3
Both say they abide by UK law
But details of UK imports remained a mystery
I teamed up with analysts from Import Genius who accessed China's customs records 🧵3
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
UK airlines European Cargo & Titan Airways have launched freight routes from Ürümqi to London, Cardiff & Bournemouth
Both say they abide by UK law
But details of UK imports remained a mystery
I teamed up with analysts from Import Genius who accessed China's customs records 🧵3
Both say they abide by UK law
But details of UK imports remained a mystery
I teamed up with analysts from Import Genius who accessed China's customs records 🧵3
Imports in last 12 months included 2 million T-shirts, 243,00 bras, 170,000 toothbrushes, 30,000 hair dryers and 15,200kg of walnuts
This is despite UN warning of potential “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang and House of Commons declaring "genocide" - which China denies 🧵2
This is despite UN warning of potential “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang and House of Commons declaring "genocide" - which China denies 🧵2
August 25, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Imports in last 12 months included 2 million T-shirts, 243,00 bras, 170,000 toothbrushes, 30,000 hair dryers and 15,200kg of walnuts
This is despite UN warning of potential “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang and House of Commons declaring "genocide" - which China denies 🧵2
This is despite UN warning of potential “crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang and House of Commons declaring "genocide" - which China denies 🧵2
🚨 My exclusive splash for tomorrow's print edition of @theipaper.com
Mini nuclear plants network for UK raises security fears
Mini nuclear plants network for UK raises security fears
April 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
🚨 My exclusive splash for tomorrow's print edition of @theipaper.com
Mini nuclear plants network for UK raises security fears
Mini nuclear plants network for UK raises security fears
💥 I visited the secretive radar pyramid at RAF Fylingdales which detects ballistic missiles - watching out for nuclear attacks
📹 You can watch my video report here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvI...
✍️ And here's my full long read for @theipaper.com:
inews.co.uk/news/technol...
📹 You can watch my video report here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvI...
✍️ And here's my full long read for @theipaper.com:
inews.co.uk/news/technol...
April 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
💥 I visited the secretive radar pyramid at RAF Fylingdales which detects ballistic missiles - watching out for nuclear attacks
📹 You can watch my video report here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvI...
✍️ And here's my full long read for @theipaper.com:
inews.co.uk/news/technol...
📹 You can watch my video report here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QvI...
✍️ And here's my full long read for @theipaper.com:
inews.co.uk/news/technol...
Sadly hospices are suffering from a funding crisis, with many reducing services. Some are closing altogether.
That's despite the Government injecting cash over the winter to cover equipment and building improvements. I was grateful for insights on this from
@hospiceuk.bsky.social
8)
That's despite the Government injecting cash over the winter to cover equipment and building improvements. I was grateful for insights on this from
@hospiceuk.bsky.social
8)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Sadly hospices are suffering from a funding crisis, with many reducing services. Some are closing altogether.
That's despite the Government injecting cash over the winter to cover equipment and building improvements. I was grateful for insights on this from
@hospiceuk.bsky.social
8)
That's despite the Government injecting cash over the winter to cover equipment and building improvements. I was grateful for insights on this from
@hospiceuk.bsky.social
8)
Such care and attention mean that half of those who go into the hospice improve enough to go home again, like Pam who I met in her room while she was playing Uno with her husband Bob.
"I came in thinking I was dying," she said. "I cannot believe how wonderful this place is."
7)
"I came in thinking I was dying," she said. "I cannot believe how wonderful this place is."
7)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Such care and attention mean that half of those who go into the hospice improve enough to go home again, like Pam who I met in her room while she was playing Uno with her husband Bob.
"I came in thinking I was dying," she said. "I cannot believe how wonderful this place is."
7)
"I came in thinking I was dying," she said. "I cannot believe how wonderful this place is."
7)
This goes beyond the core day-to-day work by people like Dr Sarah Holmes which is still so important, of course - keeping patients comfortable, well fed and out of pain, while still providing medical services.
6)
6)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
This goes beyond the core day-to-day work by people like Dr Sarah Holmes which is still so important, of course - keeping patients comfortable, well fed and out of pain, while still providing medical services.
6)
6)
They’ve also held Christmas dinners at the height of summer, birthday parties, christenings and teddy bears' picnics.
One patient wanted to visit the beach, but couldn’t travel that far, so the team created one in the garden with sand pits, paddling pools and fish and chips.
5)
One patient wanted to visit the beach, but couldn’t travel that far, so the team created one in the garden with sand pits, paddling pools and fish and chips.
5)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
They’ve also held Christmas dinners at the height of summer, birthday parties, christenings and teddy bears' picnics.
One patient wanted to visit the beach, but couldn’t travel that far, so the team created one in the garden with sand pits, paddling pools and fish and chips.
5)
One patient wanted to visit the beach, but couldn’t travel that far, so the team created one in the garden with sand pits, paddling pools and fish and chips.
5)
Lesley told me that the hospice has held seven weddings since she started working there 11 years ago.
The team organises these events in just a few days, before it's too late.
4)
The team organises these events in just a few days, before it's too late.
4)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Lesley told me that the hospice has held seven weddings since she started working there 11 years ago.
The team organises these events in just a few days, before it's too late.
4)
The team organises these events in just a few days, before it's too late.
4)
The staff put fairy lights up in this conservatory area, wheeled in two beds under the glass ceiling, and the newlyweds went to sleep looking up at the stars.
I have to admit, that story got me.
3)
I have to admit, that story got me.
3)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
The staff put fairy lights up in this conservatory area, wheeled in two beds under the glass ceiling, and the newlyweds went to sleep looking up at the stars.
I have to admit, that story got me.
3)
I have to admit, that story got me.
3)
For example, the Marie Curie team told me of a couple in their 60s who had been together for decades but had "never got around to getting married".
Staff like Lesley here organised a wedding for them in the hospice, when one of them entered the final days of their life...
2)
Staff like Lesley here organised a wedding for them in the hospice, when one of them entered the final days of their life...
2)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
For example, the Marie Curie team told me of a couple in their 60s who had been together for decades but had "never got around to getting married".
Staff like Lesley here organised a wedding for them in the hospice, when one of them entered the final days of their life...
2)
Staff like Lesley here organised a wedding for them in the hospice, when one of them entered the final days of their life...
2)
😢 It's unprofessional for a journalist to cry while reporting on a story, but it was hard not to be tearful working on this one...
It wasn't out of sadness, but from being moved by stories of how staff at a hospice in Bradford help deliver final wishes for their patients.
🧵1)
It wasn't out of sadness, but from being moved by stories of how staff at a hospice in Bradford help deliver final wishes for their patients.
🧵1)
April 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
😢 It's unprofessional for a journalist to cry while reporting on a story, but it was hard not to be tearful working on this one...
It wasn't out of sadness, but from being moved by stories of how staff at a hospice in Bradford help deliver final wishes for their patients.
🧵1)
It wasn't out of sadness, but from being moved by stories of how staff at a hospice in Bradford help deliver final wishes for their patients.
🧵1)
As I revealed in this exclusive splash for @theipaper.com in January, temporary Nightingale courts are being kept open for a sixth year because of the huge backlog that's delaying some trials until 2028
The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed six of the courts will remain, providing 15 courtrooms
The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed six of the courts will remain, providing 15 courtrooms
March 14, 2025 at 1:23 PM
As I revealed in this exclusive splash for @theipaper.com in January, temporary Nightingale courts are being kept open for a sixth year because of the huge backlog that's delaying some trials until 2028
The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed six of the courts will remain, providing 15 courtrooms
The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed six of the courts will remain, providing 15 courtrooms
9) The British Isles have some rich mineral resources. Cornwall is thought to boast the largest lithium source in Europe. But the mining and processing industry will need more support to grow, she says.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
9) The British Isles have some rich mineral resources. Cornwall is thought to boast the largest lithium source in Europe. But the mining and processing industry will need more support to grow, she says.
8) The UK wants to develop its electric-car manufacturing sector, but there's a risk that China's dominance means it "could make all of the electric cars for us... and simply ship them to us," says Prof Wall.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
8) The UK wants to develop its electric-car manufacturing sector, but there's a risk that China's dominance means it "could make all of the electric cars for us... and simply ship them to us," says Prof Wall.
6) Prof Frances Wall of @exeter.ac.uk, previously a member of the Government's Critical Minerals Expert Committee, says the situation is "worrying"
She says the UK suffers from a skills shortage of people studying minerals & needs to be more decisive in making deals with mineral-rich countries.
She says the UK suffers from a skills shortage of people studying minerals & needs to be more decisive in making deals with mineral-rich countries.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
6) Prof Frances Wall of @exeter.ac.uk, previously a member of the Government's Critical Minerals Expert Committee, says the situation is "worrying"
She says the UK suffers from a skills shortage of people studying minerals & needs to be more decisive in making deals with mineral-rich countries.
She says the UK suffers from a skills shortage of people studying minerals & needs to be more decisive in making deals with mineral-rich countries.
4) In the list of critical minerals are 17 rare earths, particularly useful for magnets. Much of the world’s supply is located in China, however – such as 98% of the ores containing gallium and 91% of germanium. Chinese companies also control 90% of the global processing capacity for rare earths.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
4) In the list of critical minerals are 17 rare earths, particularly useful for magnets. Much of the world’s supply is located in China, however – such as 98% of the ores containing gallium and 91% of germanium. Chinese companies also control 90% of the global processing capacity for rare earths.
3) Not all critical minerals are rare. They include iron and aluminium, for example. They’re called “critical” because they’re so important to manufacturing hi-tech products – and therefore to jobs, economic performance and national security – but supplies are at risk of being disrupted.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
3) Not all critical minerals are rare. They include iron and aluminium, for example. They’re called “critical” because they’re so important to manufacturing hi-tech products – and therefore to jobs, economic performance and national security – but supplies are at risk of being disrupted.
2) Minerals have become a priority in Donald Trump's foreign policy. We've seen that in his security negotiations with Ukraine, where they've been treated as bargaining chips, and they're a key reason for why he covets control of Greenland.
March 3, 2025 at 3:10 PM
2) Minerals have become a priority in Donald Trump's foreign policy. We've seen that in his security negotiations with Ukraine, where they've been treated as bargaining chips, and they're a key reason for why he covets control of Greenland.
You know how in football a ref normally goes to check a corner if the ball is possibly a few mere milimetres outside the quadrant?
Well, last night I went to a National League South game and this was where Enfield Town took all their corners from - they scored from this one 🤣
Well, last night I went to a National League South game and this was where Enfield Town took all their corners from - they scored from this one 🤣
February 12, 2025 at 2:40 PM
You know how in football a ref normally goes to check a corner if the ball is possibly a few mere milimetres outside the quadrant?
Well, last night I went to a National League South game and this was where Enfield Town took all their corners from - they scored from this one 🤣
Well, last night I went to a National League South game and this was where Enfield Town took all their corners from - they scored from this one 🤣
Ken Bates, the quote thief
When I started reading a 14,000-word New Yorker profile of the architect Norman Foster, I didn't expect the best bit to be an anecdote worthy of @footballramble.bsky.social...
When I started reading a 14,000-word New Yorker profile of the architect Norman Foster, I didn't expect the best bit to be an anecdote worthy of @footballramble.bsky.social...
January 26, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Ken Bates, the quote thief
When I started reading a 14,000-word New Yorker profile of the architect Norman Foster, I didn't expect the best bit to be an anecdote worthy of @footballramble.bsky.social...
When I started reading a 14,000-word New Yorker profile of the architect Norman Foster, I didn't expect the best bit to be an anecdote worthy of @footballramble.bsky.social...