Many on the right seem to view the failed efforts of Brussels officials to shut down this week’s National Conservatism conference as a victory. For a start, they prompted a great deal more media attention than the event’s organisers could otherwise have hoped for. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage also said that the presence of police outside the hall might have been the most “productive and fruitful” moment in Brussels “ever,” given that it proved “Brexit right.”
But author and journalist Peter Hitchens, who writes a column for The Mail on Sunday, has urged conservatives against dropping their guard—warning, in the simplest terms, that this battle may have been won, but the war for free speech is far from over.
He toldTimes Radio that “you often find in local government the first signs of what national governments will do 15 or 20 years hence.”
Indeed, police arrived at NatCon after Emir Kir, mayor of the Brussels commune of Saint Josse, the venue is located, tried to silence the gathering, stating that “the far-right is not welcome.” His ban was later overturned, but the introduction of restrictions against so-called ‘hate speech’ across Europe—most notably right now in Scotland—suggests that in a few years time, a similar ban could easily stand up in the courts.
Mr. Hitchens described the mayor’s actions as the latest illustration of the “tendency among the modern left to believe that conservatives are not just wrong but bad, and that they are therefore entitled to close them down.”
He added that there is certainly precedent for this failed attempt to silence conservatives on a local level to metastasize into a durable censorship regime in the not-too-distant future:
Those of us with long memories will recall that an awful lot of what is now called the ‘political correctness’ of the [UK] national government began in local authorities … back in the 1980s. We laughed at them and said that they only strengthened the cause of conservatism. In fact, those ideas came to dominate national government and indeed the national culture and are now enshrined in law and are pretty much followed by everybody.
Given all this, Hitchens suggested that the events in Brussels earlier this week are unlikely to go unrepeated, and should instead be taken “quite seriously as a presage of things to come.”
Claire Fox, a member of Britain’s House of Lords—Parliament’s upper chamber—and director of the Academy of Ideas, added that the gathering of police outside of NatCon was “a sign of [the] European political elite running away from debating populist concerns” on issues like farming, immigration and the environment. The humiliation of mayor Kir is hardly likely to alter Brussels’—and, for that matter, London’s— position.
Jørund ‘Viktoria’ Alme, a Swedish man who believes he is a paralyzed womanTwitter/Screenshot
Almost ten years ago, I wrote a column in this space on the phenomenon of the so-called “transabled” – people who identify as amputees or suffer from a mental illness that causes them to loathe one of their healthy limbs. In 2022, a high-profile (alleged) example of this emerged when a 53-year-old healthy, non-disabled Norwegian man began identifying as a woman paralyzed from the waist down and took to a wheelchair to give media interviews.
Those who found his claims to be somewhat suspect were in a bit of a bind – which of his assertions, after all, is more ridiculous – that he is a woman, or that he is paralyzed? Our culture has accepted that he can claim to be a woman, and that we must all nod solemnly in response. “How brave of her,” we must all say in unison as his loyal wife pushes him away from the cameras in his wheelchair. “No, not the wife. The other one.”
A grimmer but no less disturbing profile was published recently by the National Post titled “Quebec man has two healthy fingers amputated to relieve ‘body integrity dysphoria.’” It’s a sad story; the young man said he had “intrusive thoughts about his left hand’s fourth and fifth fingers, the sensation they weren’t his, that they didn’t belong to his body” since he was a child and would even have nightmares about them. He fantasized about cutting them off himself. From the Post:
Instead, a surgeon at his local hospital agreed to an elective amputation in what is being called the first described case of ‘digits amputation’ for body integrity dysphoria, or BID, a rare and complex condition characterized by an intense desire to amputate a perfectly healthy body part, such as an arm or a leg. The Quebec case involved an ambidextrous 20-year-old whose attempts at ‘non-invasive’ relief, including cognitive behavioural therapy, Prozac-like antidepressants and exposure therapy, only increased his distress.
What is significant about this case is the way it was described by Dr. Nadia Nadeau of the department of psychiatry at Université Laval in a case study published in the journal Clinical Case Reports. Nadeau describes the young man’s mental and emotional distress, and notes that this distress apparently ceased after the “elective amputation” and that “he was able to pursue the life he envisioned as a complete human being without those two fingers bothering him.” One month post surgery, he had no regrets.
The particularly significant conclusion came towards the end of the report. According to Nadeau: “He is now living a life free from distressing preoccupations about his fingers, with all his symptoms related to BID resolved. The amputation enabled him to live in alignment with his perceived identity.” This, of course, is precisely the argument used by transgender activists making the case for sex change surgeries, cross-sex hormones, and puberty blockers – that these “treatments” will help the recipient “live in alignment with his perceived identity.” Although they wouldn’t call it a “perceived” identity – they’d call it his real identity. This perceived identity, however, was considered real enough that a surgeon removed two of his fingers.
The justifications for these “treatments” that include bodily mutilation are similar, as well. The Post noted that “Nadeau’s patient, after doing some research, ‘related his condition to gender dysphoria’… People with BID often feel their physical body doesn’t align with the image of the body they have in their minds.”
Furthermore, although “cutting off healthy, functioning body parts for psychological distress raises ethical concerns, BID sufferers sometimes resort to self-mutilation or ‘black-market’ amputations, risking their lives.”
A similar argument is made for “transgender care”: if extreme medical intervention does make the mentally ill person’s body resemble the image of reality in their minds, they might harm themselves. That’s the catch-22, of course. Isn’t surgical mutilation also harm, by definition? Not if you redefine it – that’s why trans activists no longer refer to sex change surgeries, but “gender-affirming care.” According to Nadeau: “Recognizing and addressing the unique needs of (BID) patients can lead to a future where they can live with more dignity, respect and optimal well-being.”
Who can disagree with a campaign to increase understanding and dignity for the mentally ill? I wonder, however, what the limiting principle is here. If a young man who believes himself to be a woman can get himself legally castrated by a surgeon, why can’t a man who believes he is an amputee have a leg removed? Or an arm? If we have accepted that people’s self-perceptions are more important than actual reality, where does it stop?
Muslim men attend Friday prayers near the ancient Colosseum to protest the police taking action against unofficial mosques, Rome, Italy, 21 October 2016. – Screen grab youtube
A recent undercover investigation by an Italian news program has cast a troubling light on problems being caused by radical Islam in Italy, and which are gradually changing the fabric of society in a country that used to be a bastion of Catholicism in Europe.
Aired by the Italian news programme Fuori dal Coro (Outside the Chorus) during the month-long Muslim festival of Ramadan, “Immigrants and Violence, The Muslims Who Hate Italy” reveals the dark underbelly of toxic Islamic antipathy toward Italian Catholics and Jews.
In the documentary, the lead reporter takes viewers to an illegal mosque in the Via Padova area of Milan. “It is written in the Quran that we are going to kick the Jews out,” a Muslim man brazenly tells the news team, who are given permission to enter the mosque.
When the reporter asks if Muslims will conquer the world given their numerical strength, the man replies: “Yes, yes. The first place will be Italy, because Italy is very close to Islam, because Italy has a good heart.”
“Just look at the churches, a few elderly people, five here, five there,” says the young Muslim immigrant, who compares the empty churches with mosques that are overflowing with worshippers.
In addition to encountering antisemitic views, the documentary highlights the rising tensions with local indigenous Italians who say they are often threatened by Muslim men attending the mosque, gangs of Muslim teenagers and the rise of no-go zones—a phenomenon already present in Britain.
“I live upstairs. Look, they have already threatened me with death twice,” a local tells the news team, on the condition of anonymity.
As a Brit living in Rome for the last four years, I can confirm many of the concerns expressed in the television programme. I have visited illegal mosques in remote parts of the province of Rome. I have spoken to dozens of illegal Muslim immigrants from Asia and Africa.
My barber, an illegal alien from Afghanistan, tells me he paid $6,500 to be smuggled into Italy five years ago. The rates are now higher. His cousin is paying a human trafficker $8,000 just to be transported from Kabul to Iran en route to Italy.
I ask my barber how he learned to speak Italian so fluently. “I had three Italian girlfriends. All Catholics. I slept with all of them. That’s the best way to learn a new language,” he replies.
Just a hundred meters away from the Via Padova make-shift mosque lies another mosque — Milan’s first official mosque. The building is under construction and Italian law prohibits worship until the completion of the building. But Muslims defiantly use the mosque for prayer. They’ve even built a working a kitchen on the premises.
The documentary crew goes to inner-city Milan—the train station of Porta Garibaldi. This is where notorious Muslim youth gangs operate with impunity. In February, a gang of six youths of Egyptian and Tunisian origin were arrested and incarcerated in juvenile prisons.
In one month alone, armed with knives and bottles the gang carried out seven robberies, mainly targeting Italian youth for their smartphones.
“The area is completely under the control of so-called child gangs, made up of second-generation immigrants,” the reporter observes, noting that most are Muslim.
The reporter asks a group of Muslim youths if they feel integrated into Italy. “No, I don’t. Never. I don’t feel this is my country,” one of them replies. “I was born here in this country [but] I feel more like a Moroccan.”
“Even if we have dual citizenship, we are still Moroccans,” a friend of his chimes in.
Suddenly, the news crew is surrounded by a gang of more than 30 boys. Many are speaking Arabic. “Things get bad, so we decided to leave,” the reporter informs her audience.
One of the icons of such youth gangs is 22-year-old Zaccaria Mouhib, an Italian rapper of Moroccan origin who goes by the name “Baby Gang”. Mouhib has been electronically tagged and placed under house arrest since February for shooting at an acquaintance.
Mouhib, who has been arrested before, wrote on social media: “We grew up with injustice. Unlike before [when] we suffered. Now let’s have a laugh.” He appended a picture of himself showing the middle finger to the police. The rapper is scheduled to face trial for death threats allegedly made to a female reporter.
Meanwhile, working class radicalised Muslims who are calling for the conquest of Italy are receiving ideological input from leading Islamic scholars.
In December 2022, world-renowned Islamic scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, media celebrity and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, recalled that when the prophet Mohammed was asked which city would be conquered first, Rome or Constantinople, the prophet is said to have replied that “the city of Hirquid (Constantinople) will be conquered first”.
Al-Qaradawi goes on to say: “The city of Hirquid was conquered in 1453 by the young Ottoman emperor of 23 years of age, Mohammed bin Murad, known to history as Mohammed the Conqueror. The other city, Rome, remains and we believe and hope…This means that Islam will return to Rome conquering and victorious after having been expelled twice, once from the South, from Andalusia, and a second time from the East when it knocked several times at the gates of Athens.”
He concludes: “One of the signs of the victory will be that Rome will be conquered, Europe will be occupied, the Christians will be defeated, and the Muslims will grow in number and become a force which will control the whole of the European continent.”
They are working in small ways to try and counter this threat: their strategy is to preach the Gospel to immigrant Muslims. The pastor of my local Assemblies of God Church organises a weekly outreach to immigrants and homeless folk, offering blankets, food and Christian fellowship, while boldly sharing the saving message of Jesus to the Muslims.
A team of American evangelical missionaries, who speak fluent Italian, scour the Muslim strongholds of Rome through the week, befriending and evangelising young Muslims.
I was delighted to meet one of their Muslim converts—a young man from Bangladesh—who is now working as a full-time evangelist among Muslims. “Jesus has completely transformed my life. I am prepared to live and die for him,” Abdul (a pseudonym) tells me.
I sit down with him for a cup of coffee and a samosa in a café near Vittorio Emanuele in central Rome — an area dominated by Bangladeshi Muslims. In a tri-lingual conversation mixing Italian, English and Urdu, we manage to talk about the Great Commission, a concept that has been used to support the missionary activities of many Christian denominations, and which refers to several passages in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus Christ urges his apostles to make “disciples of all the nations” and “baptise” them.
“If only the Catholic Church would wake up and send evangelists to work among Muslims,” he tells me. “They are not making the slightest effort to evangelise my people,” he laments. “They don’t believe in evangelism. They only talk about interfaith dialogue.”
I ask him if he has had any success seeing Muslims come to faith in Christ. “It’s difficult. It’s slow. But it’s rewarding. And that’s what Jesus commanded us to do, right,” he says.
“But you know what?” he adds, putting his half-munched samosa down with seriousness. “It’s easier to work with Muslims than with Roman Catholics. Because most of them don’t go to church, don’t know the Gospel, and don’t even care anymore,” he says.
“If they don’t wake up, Italy is finished. L’Italia è finita!” he exclaims.
The photo features a child holding a sign with the flag of Palestine and the words ‘Save Our Children!’ Twitter
London’s Metropolitan Police arrested an Iranian activist again on Wednesday for carrying a sign saying that Hamas are “terrorists”, despite even the British government branding the radical Islamist Palestinian group a terror group.
Niyak Ghorbani, a 38-year-old man from Iran, has come to national attention for holding a sign reading “Hamas Is Terrorist” at pro-Palestinian rallies in London over the past months. For merely holding up a sign factually stating the legal position of the British and American governments, Ghorbani has been arrested multiple times at protests and has even faced assault by anti-Israel activists.
The Iranian activist was arrested again on Wednesday outside Parliament during a pro-Palestinian rally, with footage posted on social media appearing to show officers question him about his sign and threaten him with arrest if he approached the pro-Palestinian activists.
In a statement following the arrest, the Met said: “Officers arrested a man for a suspected public order offence in relation to a sign he was carrying.
“It was quickly established that the man should not have been arrested and the wording on the banner did not constitute an offence. He was de-arrested a short time later.”
Commenting on his latest arrest, Ghorbani said: “I fought for the people of UK, for the people of Israel, for the honorable and brave people of Iran, and to show the truth, and ultimately for my dignity, to prove to you what situation you are in, and if you don’t wake up, you will Iran experience 1979 in UK.
“The people of Iran and Israel will soon destroy the Islamic Republic and Hamas. What will the future hold for the people of UK?”
During a previous arrest in March, the Metropolitan Police claimed that Ghorbani was not arrested for his supposedly controversial sign, but rather for assault following an altercation. The Met said that after reviewing the footage and finding that he was not at fault, Ghorbani was later “de-arrested”.
The latest incident came just days after a judge overruled an order from the London police force banning the Iranian dissident from getting anywhere near protests in London involving Israel or Gaza. The bail conditions were imposed by the Met after Ghorbani was arrested for a third time earlier this month.
However, Deputy District Judge Lisa Towell said per the Telegraph that the bail conditions imposed by the police banning him from attending demonstrations was not “necessary or proportionate” under the circumstances.
Since the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel that left around 1,200 people dead and hundreds more taken hostage — many of whom remain in captivity to this day — anti-Israel demonstrations have become a fixture of the London cityscape. The Met Police have faced criticism for allegedly taking a soft approach to anti-Israel and antisemitism in the British capital. For instance, police previously excused protester who called for a “jihad”, saying that the word “has a number of meanings“.
Responding to Ghorbani’s latest arrest on Wednesday, former Immigration Minister Rorbert Jenrick wrote: “How can this keep happening? This man has been wrongly arrested multiple times simply for holding a sign saying ‘Hamas are terrorists’. Sir Mark Rowley needs to account for this unacceptable behaviour. Two tier policing must end.”
Reduxx has learned that a feminine male has been participating in elite women’s collegiate sports in California after his biological sex was reportedly withheld from his teammates and his opponents. Blaire Fleming, born Brayden, is currently playing women’s Division I volleyball for San Jose State University in the reputable Mountain West Conference.
Speaking to Reduxx, the mother of an opposing player revealed that her suspicions were first raised during the 2022-2023 season.
“I first watched my daughter play Blaire via live stream and then in person for a second match,” the mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “My daughter mentioned to me before the second match that there were rumors about Blaire being a male.”
Upon attending the match, she immediately noticed that Fleming appeared to be male, both in the way he looked and his mannerisms on the court.
“He jumped higher and hit harder than any woman on the court. There was no other female athlete on the court that day that could compare with Blaire’s athleticism. He also had very narrow hips. I took notice of how he was dressed with a longer shirt in the front as well.”
During the match, the anonymous parent noted that her daughter was suffering far more physical injuries and strains than she ever had before in her volleyball career, and was constantly icing and rubbing her arms after blocking shots from Fleming. She says her daughter’s teammates were also struggling, with the defenders being unable to react quickly to his high-intensity strikes.
“He was basically unstoppable at times. He was jumping so high that I was concerned our blockers could not defend against such a fast moving hit,” she says.
“Coincidentally, those two games, my daughter’s stats were not as good as most other games. Her stats were dramatically different because she was trying to compete against a male who my daughter said would stare her down after plays and was extremely arrogant.”
The mother also revealed that despite widespread speculations that Fleming was male, officials from San Jose State let it slip to her daughter’s team that even they were unaware of his biological sex. She adds that the policies must change to ensure fairness for female athletes.
“I watched those San Jose State female athletes sit on the sidelines while a male took away their chance to play. These women only have 4 years to compete and they are losing those years to a male. Not only that, but the chance of injury is greatly increased for women when they play against a male with very clear physical strength advantages. It’s just dangerous above all else.”
Prior to transferring to San Jose, Fleming was participating in women’s volleyball in South Carolina for Coastal Carolina University. He appears to have fled to California just before the Save Women’s Sports Bill became law in the state, which would have prohibited him from continuing to play on female teams.
Fleming had also played on the girls varsity volleyball team at John Champe High School in Virginia, where he was raised. During this time, Fleming set the school record for most kills in a match, and single season record of 266 kills.
While the exact age Fleming was transitioned is unknown, early photos posted to his aunt’s Facebook show he was raised as a boy, and only began presenting in feminine clothing in 2016 when he would have been approximately 14 years old. His family members have been careful not to publicly identify him as transgender, but his grandmother referred to him as her “grandson” in an early photo.
Fleming is currently participating in Division I volleyball, which is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Division I (DI) volleyball teams can offer a maximum of 12 full-ride scholarships, meaning athletes will have all expenses related to their college experience paid for.
While it is currently unknown if Fleming has received a women’s DI scholarship, the NCAA has recently become the subject of a lawsuit by over one dozen female athletes for allowing males to compete against them in women’s categories.
The lawsuit, the first federal action of its kind, seeks to force the NCAA to change its policies to clearly define, rendering any biological males ineligible to compete against female athletes. It demands the NCAA revoke all awards given to trans athletes in women’s competitions and “reassign” them to their female contenders. It also asks for “damages for pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, suffering and anxiety, expense costs and other damages due to defendants’ wrongful conduct.”
Exclusive funding support for the lawsuit is being provided by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), which has been calling attention to the presence and impact of male athletes in women’s categories.
Speaking to Reduxx on Blaire Fleming, ICONS’s Marshi Smith condemned the NCAA for failing to guarantee transparency or protection to female athletes who are forced to compete against men.
“The NCAA is defrauding female athletes by withholding information about a teammate or opponent’s true sex,” Smith says. “Women are not given the chance to decide whether they want to face heightened safety risks on the court or share women’s locker rooms with men. The NCAA’s reward system encourages deceit, leading to financial and academic advantages for males at the expense of girls and young women in sports. This harmful practice must be stopped immediately.”
Fleming is not the first trans-identified male athlete to conceal his biological sex for the purposes of participating in women’s collegiate sports.
Tate Drageset, 17, verbally committed to the University of Washington, but following the expose revealing his was a biological male, it was learned that the University rescinded the offer.
A gasp can be heard on the line. “I’ve just killed my sister,” says the caller. “Do you understand?” Another gasp. Then the man on the phone gives the police his full name again and describes the route to the crime scene – his sister’s flat in Bremen. The Bremen district court plays the audio recording at the start of the trial, the accused does not comment on the murder charge for the time being.
The court tries to reconstruct the offence. The burden of proof is overwhelming: the recording of the emergency call, photos of the accused’s hands covered in blood and of a bent knife, two handwritten announcements and finally the descriptions of several police officers at the scene of the crime. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the 24-year-old of not agreeing with his sister’s lifestyle. A photo shows a petite woman with a royal blue headscarf. According to the accusations, he allegedly wanted to restore his honour on her 23rd birthday.
It was almost midnight on December 9 when the Somali man was standing outside his sister’s flat, according to the indictment. The 23-year-old opened the door for him and let him into her room. He then allegedly stabbed her several times in the upper body with a kitchen knife. According to the indictment, two stabs penetrated her body, she was injured in the heart and lungs and lost a lot of blood.
According to police records, it only took a minute after the emergency call was made for the first patrol to arrive at the scene. He and his colleague stormed into the apartment block, a police officer told the court. The door to the flat on the top floor was open and the accused fell to his knees at the sight of them, raising his hands. There was blood on his fingers and splashes on his black clothes. He started talking about what he had done to his sister, that he had used a kitchen knife – and that he had already packed a bag for prison as a precaution.
The police officer reports that he immediately went into the sister’s room. She was lying on her back on her bed in pink pyjamas, with the completely bent kitchen knife underneath. “I spoke to her, but there was no response,” says the police officer. He could no longer feel a pulse or detect any breathing, but her body was still warm. He fought for her life until the emergency services took over. But there was nothing more they could do for the birthday girl.
His colleague from the police also remembers the night four months ago very well. “I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies in my life, people have died in my arms. But the way she did – that was really extreme,” said the 28-year-old in court. The defendant had admitted to her without emotion that he had allegedly stabbed his sister in the name of honour. “That’s not an everyday occurrence, you don’t get that often.”
When asked, the police do not know how often such a crime occurs. Statistically, crimes are not categorised according to ideas of honour or religious affiliation. However, such murders are “often committed in an environment in which people live according to traditionally patriarchal gender roles”, according to the police.
At the start of the trial, the presiding judge reads out two handwritten notes that were found in the defendant’s flat. “My sister is trying to be a slut,” is written on one of the sheets. And further: “I can live without a future, but not without honour.” The 24-year-old remained silent in court, only blowing his nose once. His lawyer has announced that he may make a statement at the next hearing at the beginning of May. His mental state will still play an important role in the proceedings, alcohol has not been proven. A judgement could be made at the end of May.
A Congolese migrant who had his deportation from the U.K. blocked by an airline’s cabin crew and previously campaigned outside a detention center with a sign that read, “Migrants are not criminals,” has pleaded guilty to raping a 15-year-old girl.
Anicet Mayela entered his guilty plea at Oxford Crown Court last Friday for one count of rape of a former economics student. The court heard how there was a high level of “dangerousness” surrounding the attack, which is understood to have taken place between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 last year.
The Congolese national had been living in Britain since 2004 when he paid smugglers to help him escape his country of origin where he claimed he was being persecuted.
Several attempts by the U.K. Home Office to deport him were thwarted by feigned injuries and legal challenges, including an incident back in May 2005 when a planned deportation flight was prevented from taking off by Air France cabin crew who claimed public officials had broken Mayela’s hand after handcuffing him.
With the aid of left-wing charities, including the Institute of Race Relations, and immigration lawyers, the Congolese national won leave to remain in Britain later that year after successfully arguing a return to his homeland would be a violation of his human rights.
Mayela used the opportunity to actively campaign against the deportation of illegal migrants, participating in a demonstration near his detention center in Oxford where he spoke to the BBC and hung a sign around his neck that read, “Migrants are not criminals.”
“I am here to support my friends. I have been inside here, and at Colnbrook,” he told the U.K.’s public broadcaster from outside the detention center.
On Friday, Mayela was ordered to remain in custody while a pre-sentencing report was prepared.
He is scheduled to return for sentencing on May 10.
Patrick Christys gave his take on Katharine Birbalsingh’s school’s legal case GB NEWS
Why on earth was a Muslim pupil spurred on by a violent mob of religious fanatics given £150,000 in legal aid?
The pupil wanted make an entire school change its rules so she could do an Islamic prayer and we paid her legal aid bill of £150k.
When she leaves school and gets a job, she should be made to pay that back. And her mother, who went along with this, should start paying some of it back now too.
You know vulnerable women can’t get civil legal aid to try to get a violent partner removed from their home.
The Women’s Budget Group did a survey – 85% of respondents said vulnerable women were unable to access civil legal aid.
But if you’re a Muslim schoolgirl who wants to take an outstanding school to the High Court, and you’re supported by a baying load of lunatics who are calling in bomb threats, dishing out racist abuse and putting lives at risk…you get the money.
The number of legal aid cases to help people get the early advice they need dropped from almost a million in 2009/10 to just 130,000 in 2021/22.
Over the same period the number of people having to go to court without representation trebled.
But if you’re a Muslim schoolgirl who voluntarily went to a school knowing what the rules were and then cried about having your religious rights infringed…you get £150,000.
I tell you who else doesn’t have any problem accessing legal aid. Illegal immigrants.
Legal costs totalled £71million between 2019 and 2023, averaging around £38,000 a day.
A record £18million was forked out in 2020, with the costs coming in at £13million last year.
If you’re wondering why the legal community appears to be so angry about deportations to Rwanda, just follow the money.
The Ministry of Justice launched a consultation about increasing legal aid rates by 15% for immigration lawyers representing asylum seekers threatened with removal to Rwanda.
Maybe some of the desperate female victims of domestic abuse should run off to Syria and join ISIS.
Shamima Begum was given about £250,000 in legal aid. Again…I can’t help but wonder if there’s a theme here.
The Rochdale Pakistani grooming gang have reportedly received £2m in legal aid.
We pay legal aid for all sorts of wrong’uns. Foreign rapists.
After five years, 24 court appearances, 20 judges and £85,000 in legal aid we eventually send Yaqub Ahmed back to Somalia, but only after agreeing that the taxpayer should pay for a 14-week stay in one of Somalia’s most luxurious hotels, all meals included, plus armed guards and a personalised therapy package after complaining of mental health issues.
Seriously.
It’s the Legal Aid Agency that decides who gets awarded legal aid. But who are these people? Does anyone else think it’s a bit odd that right across the country people are struggling to access legal aid, but if you’re a foreigner, an illegal immigrant, and ISIS bride or a member of the British Muslim community, it seems like you’ll get what you need.
Straight off the train from Belgium, Nigel Farage joins us to provide a blow by blow account of what happened at the National Conservative (#NatCon) conference when 3 mayors in and around Brussels tried to suppress free speech by cancelling the event.
