We should be having open conversations about requiring the US to remove their forces from Europe. We should be pulling European exchange officers from US HQs as a minimum. It’s going to happen anyway; those forces won’t do anything for us if we’re attacked (other than basically being human shields at best); and at this point, there’s frankly a concern which side they would weigh in on. Every chance they would try and force a pro-Russian ceasefire on us as well, as they are trying to do in Ukraine. Trump’s posture and many of his cabinet appointments make the USA a security threat to Europe, both directly and diplomatically. They are no longer a security guarantor. Europe has some muscles to flex still; we should flex them. We still have 4 of the top 10 economies in the world. It will be painful for us, but loss of US forward basing and strategic reach will hurt them deeply. Our air power alone is more than enough to deal with Russia, if Russian air defence systems’ performance in Iran is anything to go by. Our leaders just need to show some balls in standing up to the bullying clown in the White House and his team. I’ll wait.

Friends, I need your help to find work for a dear Afghan friend of mine in the Sheffield area. A former captain in the Afghan National Army, he was in his final term studying Law in Kabul when the Taliban took over in 2021. He was forced to flee with nothing. Our team swept him up and got him to safety. He’s tried everything since he’s been here but it’s tough to find a job with no recognised qualifications. He’s currently delivering pizzas part time. He will try any job - he just wants to work and get off benefits. He’s better than that. Speaks good English. Can anyone give him a chance to prove himself?

A really good friend warned me tonight about criticising the “two tier policing” concept, as - and I get this - it has an overlap with what one supposes has become “my audience”. I’ll paraphrase my reply to him. Here’s the thing: you have to understand how I work. I’m a loyal person (and I’d hope you would expect that from a former soldier) and I’m prepared to die on a hill if I believe something to be right. I don’t take shekels for my Israel analysis, no matter how many times I’m accused of it. I’m not “pro-Israel”: I genuinely believe in the analysis I share. And I’m not very good at stepping back if I think something is worth fighting for. I’ve put in loads of work on the two tier policing issue. As a disinformation psychology expert, I am seeing the exact same patterns with “2 tier policing” allegations that I see with libellous allegations against Israel. I visited the Met as an army officer, specialising in public order, to learn about working with the police for a job I had. I sat in planning meetings for public order. I’ve shadowed bronze and silver police commanders for whole days and I’ve seen how they make decisions. I’ve dug into the statistics. There’s just no evidence for 2 tier policing other than anecdotal stuff from both sides, who *all* feel they’re policed unfairly. I’m certain the “2 tier policing” thing is a combination of: 1) lack of knowledge of the law, the Criminal Justice System, how the police operate and what powers the police actually have. I also think the piss-weak Crown Prosecution Service are getting a free pass for hanging the police out to dry. 2) overreliance on edited and biased social media footage to form opinions. 3) terrible police comms/messaging (and let’s be clear - they are dreadful at this). If this stance hurts my public profile, then it hurts my public profile. I’m fine with that. I’m not going to desert my police friends or stop standing up for what I think is right… in the same way I wouldn’t desert my Jewish and Israeli friends, or stop standing up for them because I get a wall of abuse on here every day. I’m very black and white. And in this case, blue. In the UK our police are fantastic. They do a superb and difficult job in the face of relentless criticism, and they have my respect. On this issue, I’m square in their corner.