Gang Rape Scandal

• National Inquiry declined. Labour MPs have rejected a Tory call for a new national inquiry into rape gangs, with 364 votes against and 111 in favour. Keir Starmer and members of his Cabinet apparently skipped the vote. Not a single Labour or Lib Dem MP voted for it. The Conservatives have accused Labour of an “act of cowardice”. The Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, refused to allow a national independent investigation into rape gangs. (Read also here.) Some believe this week's vote will lay the ground for Labour’s destruction (but read also). There are also increasing demands on Starmer to drop Labour’s 'Islamophobia' definition, which bars discussion of rape gangs. Meanwhile, demands for a national enquiry are gathering strength. 
• Biggest peacetime crime in modern Europe. The UK gang rape scandal is being regarded as the biggest peacetime crime in the history of modern Europe. Of particular outrage is the realisation that the child victims of rape were denied justice and protection from the state – and all to preserve the mythical image of a successful multicultural society, and because of the over-riding fear of offending Islam.
• Media whitewash. Yet some in the mainstream media continue to downplay the gang rape scandal. Despite tens of thousands of predominantly white working class girls being raped by mainly Pakistani gangs right across Britain, Channel Four aired a documentary, ‘The Fake Grooming Scandal’, based on a single woman lying about her personal experience. And the rape gangs were not restricted to a few north England towns as some media outlets imply….. rather they occurred in towns and cities as geographically disperse as Rotherham, Rochdale, Aylesbury, Banbury, Bristol, Derby, Halifax, Keighley, Newcastle, Oxford, Peterborough, Telford, Huddersfield, Burton-on-Trent, Ramsgate, Coventry, Chelmsford, Dewsbury, Middlesbrough, Bradford, Oldham, Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester and Glasgow.
• The scandal continues. Meantime, gang rape cases continue. Indeed, rape gangs are behind almost two child sexual abuse offences a day reported to police, fresh data reveals. The Home Office refuses to publish figures for the number of grooming gang members that have been deported, while all but one of the mere six imprisoned members of one of the most depraved Rotherham rape gangs have been released or have parole hearings coming up. While the gangs are clearly mainly of Pakistani origin, there are exceptions – a Romanian 'grooming' gang was convicted this week of sexually exploiting 10 vulnerable women in Dundee.

Society and Politics

• Abortion leading cause of death worldwide. Abortion was the leading cause of death worldwide in 2024, according to new data published – over 42% of all human deaths in that year. There were 45.1 million abortions globally last year (equivalent to the population of Canada), compared to 8.2 million from cancer, 5 million from smoking, 1.7 million from HIV/AIDS, 1.35 million from traffic fatalities and 1.1 million from suicide. In the US, abortion accounts for roughly one-third of all annual deaths – rising to over 60% among African Americans. Yet, disturbingly, in France, the French media regulator, fined CNews €100,000 for calling abortion out the leading cause of death worldwide because “abortion cannot be presented as a cause of death.”
• Zuckerberg to scrap fact-checks on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is scrapping the “fact-checking” services that Facebook and his other platforms use, as he seeks to make social media less hostile to conservative viewpoints. With Donald Trump’s second inauguration less than two weeks away, some think Zuckerberg is desperate to make amends. Zuckerberg claims the labels intended to warn against fake news have “destroyed more trust than they have created”. Factcheckers are “too politically biased” and at times got things wrong. Zuckerberg’s bold move is awkward for the BBC, which has heavily promoted its own ‘Department of Truth’, BBC Verify. The Telegraph has listed some of the missteps that led to the end of Facebook’s prevention measures against fake news. Read also here.
• Assisted suicide Bill could still fail. Dozens of MPs who voted in favour of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill have suggested they may withdraw their support over what medics’ involvement may be. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its Second Reading in the House of Commons with a majority of 55 votes, and is soon to be considered by a committee, but several MPs scrutinising it say it must change in order to progress. Among other changes they hope to secure, MPs are particularly keen to ensure medical professionals are prohibited from suggesting assisted suicide to their patients. As many as 30 MPs are prepared to withdraw their support if such assurances are not given, which could potentially cause the Bill to fail at its Third Reading.

Islam in UK

• Muslim Council hopefuls’ ‘disturbing’ views. The frontrunner to lead the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) says that children in the Islamic community should be taught to identify as Muslim rather than British. Dr Mohammed Wajid Akhter said adherence to Islam is an "act of revolutionary defiance... at odds with the prevailing culture". He also said mixed gender New Year celebrations were “un-Islamic”. Meanwhile, the other candidate vying to lead the Muslim Council for Britain has praised Iran. A Muslim former MP noted that the MCB "keeps getting it wrong".

Bite-Size News

• The cross is set to be removed from the badge of Army chaplains in a 'woke' move condemned by a former military chief.
• Hamas is making a substantial comeback by recruiting new forces, according to new reports, with an increase of anything between 12,000 and 20,000 additional fighters.
• Donald Trump has demanded the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas before he comes to power on January 20 or “all hell will break loose”.

Church Issues

• Young men are leaving traditional churches for Orthodox Church. Young, single men are flocking to the Orthodox church after discovering the “masculine” Christian religion through online influencers. Some converts said they felt disillusioned with the “feminisation” of the Protestant church and were attracted to the “authenticity” of Orthodoxy, which they claim pushes them physically and mentally. Priests are now planning to open new parishes to accommodate the “tsunami” of young men who have converted since the pandemic. They say that most of the new converts found the Orthodox church by watching YouTube videos or listening to podcasts. Many are new converts. “It’s a tougher form of Christianity”, said one Orthodox priest, with worshippers having to stand for long services, which can last upwards of five hours. They must fast, too, sometimes for up to 40 days.
• Scientists’ evidence suggests Adam and Eve really DID exist. Archaeologists have found surprising signs that Eden was not only a real place but could have been the birthplace of civilisation as we know it. In Genesis, the Bible states that a river flows through Eden and divides into four branches: The Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris, and the Euphrates. This is generally assumed to be Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates and straddling what is now eastern Syria, northwestern Turkey, and most of Iraq. This theory appears to match both the scriptural and archaeological evidence - this region – the 'Fertile Crescent' – is widely believed to be the place where the first plants and animals were domesticated between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago in the so-called Neolithic revolution.

Covid and the Vaccines

• Direct link between Covid vaccines and cancer. Dr Angus Dalgleish, Professor of Oncology at St. George's University of London, has welcomed the fact that, at last, a mainstream media article has made mention of a direct link between Covid vaccines and cancer. A lengthy piece in The Daily Mail highlights a patient who suffered first clots and then a rare lymphoma following the vaccine. Dr Dalgleish insists that he first exposed the link with cancer over two years ago here, but that it had “assiduously been ignored.” Since then, numerous other doctors have confirmed what Dr Dalgleish was seeing and published and presented their findings. The main risk appears to be with the mRNA boosters by Pfizer and Moderna. Dalgleish says “not a week goes by without some contact from a colleague regarding Covid vaccines and possible cancer connection.”
• Patients whose health has been ravaged after taking Covid-19 vaccines are demanding more support as the Government faces paying out tens of millions of pounds in damages.
• Alarming findings suggest that Covid-19 vaccines significantly raise the risk of serious neurological and psychiatric disorders, including strokes, Alzheimer’s, cognitive impairment and depression.
• An exploration of the complex history of vaccines raises questions as to the notion that centuries of science guarantee their safety and efficacy.