Latest news with #BrianReade
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
BRIAN READE: Starmer is petrified by Trump but UK must act on Gaza horror
History will judge us badly, says Brian Reade, if we do not intervene in Gaza after cameras this week revealed the full-scale of the post-apocalyptic wasteland there One of the most remarkable pieces of television ever made was ITV's documentary series The World At War. Its opening scene was spellbinding: footage of the deserted remains of Oradour-sur-Glane accompanied by Laurence Olivier 's chillingly understated words: 'Down this road on a summer's day in 1944 the soldiers came. "When they had gone, a community that had lived here for 1,000 years was dead.' The camera then ascends skywards to show how a once-bustling French village had been wiped off the map, along with its people, by Nazi shells and bullets, and was now just an eerie wasteland of crumbled concrete. It aired in 1973, when I was 15, and shook me to the core. When the series revealed footage of Belsen and Auschwitz, the shock turned to shame and despair. That humans could do this to fellow humans, a mere 13 years before I was born. Naively, I also felt a sense of relief that – because the world now saw these horrors, and because advanced technology meant that if such barbarism flourished again we could detect it – those images of wiped-out towns and starving children in advanced countries near us were history. How wrong I was. For the past 22 months we've seen daily snapshots of the horror going on in Gaza – flattened homes, schools and hospitals, dying and starving children, emaciated refugees and rubble. Accompanied by statistics telling us that, to date, at least 61,020 Gazans have been killed, 150,671 wounded and 1.9 million displaced. But because Israel has banned foreign journalists from entering Gaza, we haven't seen the full scale of the horror. Thanks to cameras on aid planes, this week, we did. And they revealed another post-apocalyptic wasteland of crumbled concrete. Oradour-sur-Glane times one hundred. A community that had been there for thousands of years, gone. This week also marked the 80th anniversary of America dropping the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, vaporising tens of thousands of people in seconds. ITV News spoke to a survivor, Satoshi Tanaka, who compared what he saw then to Gaza today. 'When I watch scenes of ruins, mothers and children fleeing in panic there's almost something my body remembers. It is very painful,' he said. For the record Israel has dropped an estimated 65,000 tons of explosives on Gaza, equivalent to more than four times the power of the Hiroshima bomb, and Gaza's area is three times smaller. Also for the record, Israel maintains that Hamas is to blame for this apocalypse after the terror group slaughtered 1,200 innocents and took 250 hostages. And many in the West agree with them. Including most European leaders like Keir Starmer, who despite belatedly registering his 'revulsion' and throwing out meaningless threats to recognise the Palestinian state, will not offer robust intervention because he is petrified of upsetting Israel's biggest backer, the American President, who hopes to turn the concrete wasteland into Trump Riviera. The World At War series ended with the same footage of Oradour-sur-Glane that it opened with, only this time Olivier uttered one simple word: 'Remember.' Sadly, we didn't. Which is why future generations will watch graphic documentaries about the horrors of Gaza and wonder how, in 2025, after all we knew, people in countries like Britain simply sat back and watched this crime scene unfold on a daily basis. And many will say, with some justification, that our fingerprints are all over it.
Daily Mirror
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
BRIAN READE: 'Britain's a financial mess - we must pay more tax to fix Tory mistakes'
When Labour took office last year, ministers proclaimed that 'the grown-ups are back in charge'. Why not prove it by having an adult conversation with us, says Brian Reade If voters were asked for the one trait they would dearly love to see more of in politicians, the vast majority would cite honesty. Imagine if Keir Starmer had said this week: 'I now back a Palestinian state - not because of the slaughter in Gaza, but because my MPs are so appalled by it I might lose hundreds of them if I don't distance myself from the IDF butchers. And from now on I'll come clean after every U-turn.' You'd think more of him, wouldn't you? Imagine if Kemi Badenoch said: 'The main reason the population of England and Wales has shot up by 2.6 million since 2020 is not the small boats but right-wingers like me selling you the myth that Brexit would let us take back control of our borders. Well, we were lying.' Again, you'd think more of her. Now imagine if Rachel Reeves levelled with us by saying: 'Us politicians have been selling you a false illusion that we can have world-class public services and low taxation. We can't. It's why Britain is broken. And so, being Labour, we're going for world-class public services, and that means reneging on our manifesto pledge and raising direct taxes.' Now you might not like the idea of paying more tax but you would probably agree with her appraisal of the financial mess we are in, and how the most urgent issue we face is the abject state of virtually every public service we once treasured. When Labour took office last year, ministers proclaimed that 'the grown-ups are back in charge'. Why not prove it by having an adult conversation with us and spelling out the facts of life? That we're living way beyond our means and cannot dig our way out of a financial black hole by cutting public services because the Tories slashed them to the bone, and made the coffers emptier with two cynical pre-election National Insurance cuts to try to save their skin. And with an ageing population and increased defence spending, things will only get bleaker. So we all need to pay more tax, with those who earn the most paying the most. Like we used to. When I started work in 1976 the basic rate of tax was 35%. Then along came tax-slashing Margaret Thatcher, but even when she left office in 1990 the basic rate stood at 25%. As successive governments have cut that since, today's basic rate is 20%. In Holland it's 36.93%, Belgium is 25% and Italy 23%. If we lifted the basic rate back to what it was under Thatcher we'd raise £34.5 billion a year. But that won't happen. Yet lifting it only one per cent would raise £8.2 billion a year by the end of this parliament. Lifting the higher rate, reinstating the 50% rate George Osborne dropped, and bringing in a wealth tax for those with assets above £10 million would raise many more billions. And prove we're all doing our bit. I'm sure the majority of British people want to see first-class public services and are prepared to pay for them. Certainly the ones who elected this government. After an ineffective and almost apologetic year in power, it's time for Labour to go on the offensive by not just fighting for the kind of country they believe in. But by being honest and telling us we have to pay for it. *** A few thoughts on the Lionesses' remarkable victory against the odds. How refreshing it was to see English football fans enjoying themselves without singing about shooting down German bombers, and those back home in pubs not hurling pints into the air whenever a goal was scored. What a wonderful two fingers to the money-obsessed men who run football that the women's Euros in Switzerland (where the prize was £34million) was deemed far more exciting and watchable than the mainly ignored men's Club World Cup in America (total prize money £743million). And how ludicrous is our honours system that some MPs are demanding every England player is made a dame. Yet had they lost the final there may have been the odd call to give them CBEs. Meaning, in the eyes of those who believe in it, the highest honour the British state can bestow on a woman depended on a couple of Spaniards taking better penalties. How absurd. *** PORN star Bonny Blue, who is proud to have slept with 1,057 men in 12 hours, describes her job as being 'a bit like a community worker'. And I'm sure many Tories agree with that as they think everyone who does social work lays on their back all day screwing the taxpayer. Much criticism has come the multi-millionaire's way after a Channel 4 documentary on her this week, but I think she is simply someone who has compromised with her childhood dream of being a midwife. By working in more-or-less the same area. *** Rather than walk away with a shred of dignity, shamed ex-MasterChef host Gregg Wallace continues to keep on digging a hole so furiously he may soon reach Australia. Rather than walk away with a shred of dignity, shamed ex-MasterChef host Gregg Wallace continues to keep on digging a hole so furiously he may soon reach Australia. According to him, despite 45 separate complaints about his inappropriate behaviour being upheld by the BBC, he is a serial victim, not perpetrator, of sleaziness: 'My God... have you got any idea how many times suggestive comments have been made to me? How many times I've been groped?' is his latest defence. Well I'll have a stab in the dark, mate. And say somewhere in the ballpark of none. *** THE WEEK'S FIVE BIG QUESTIONS: Tommy Robinson fleeing the country as police want to question him over a vicious assault at a London railway station. What a brave leader, eh? What a hero. When did we decide that unless you had money to queue-jump it was impossible to get a tooth taken out or sit a driving test in the UK? Article continues below If England's female footballers continue to show themselves to be in a superior class to the males, how long before we see women explaining the offside rule to their partners? Is there anything more hypocritical than high-profile expats who've moved abroad to pay less tax whining about migrants coming to the UK to make a better life?
Daily Mirror
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BRIAN READE: 'Fat-shaming will be new bag-sizing for airlines - start worrying now'
Beware the bonus-conscious airline staff sniffing around for any chance to slap a penalty on the unwitting traveller, says Brian Reade Now that MPs are taking a break from work until a few weeks before the clocks go back, we are officially in the Silly Season. Which means, between now and the inevitable riots outside asylum hotels next month, us media outlets will seek out quirky stories to make you laugh. Like the one about the teenager who runs Warwickshire County Council for bureaucracy-slashing Reform UK demanding £150k of public money to pay people to tell him what to do. The season's biggest laugh, though, is Donald Trump's trip to Scotland, as his presence here always raises a titter. Remember last time, when paragliders flew expletive-ridden banners and comedian Janey Goodley stood outside his golf club with a placard that declared Trump was a thing that rhymed with runt? Sadly, Janey is no longer with us but there's a good chance protestors will repeat her message in 40ft letters on the nearby beach. Already a sign has been erected outside his Aberdeenshire golf course saying: "twinned with Epstein Island" and bald SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has said he won't be able to meet the president as 'I'll be washing my hair". But the best humour will come when Trump gives an after-dinner speech in one of his clubs, after being allowed to win, yet again, the Bestest Golfer In The World Invitation Trophy, with three mysterious holes-in-one while everyone was distracted. I reckon it will go something like this: 'I feel incredibly humbled to be back in the land of my dear mother, who as you know, left here in days when economic migrants with no papers and English as their second language were welcome in America. Because they were good people. And white. 'She often told me I was related to the great Charles Stuart, which I kinda like. Bonny Prince Donnie sounds nice. And that also makes my wife Melania Queen of Scots and my son Barron The Bruce. 'Mel Gibson, who's a terrific guy - and by the way that racism stuff was fake news - told me he based his Braveheart character on me leading the January 6 uprising. Which was nice. Although, unlike that Wallace guy, I got shot and survived. 'So you see folks, no world leader has ever been more Scottish than me. The only food I eat is from Clan McDonald and when people see me in a kilt they say I have the best legs ever. 'And I have great, great plans for my homeland. I am renaming The Firth of Forth the Firth of Forty-fifth and Forty-seventh US President and I'm going to finish that terrible job done by Crooked Hadrian and build a proper wall, a beautiful wall to keep all dark-looking immigrants out. 'By the way, the Outer Hebrides remind me of Greenland, so I'm going to buy them and turn them into a big, beautiful, military base to hit Russia. 'I will be meeting fans from Celtic and Rangers to get them to end their hatred as I need to score a few more points to get that Nobel peace prize. Something Sleepy Joe never would have done because he was in the IRA. 'Anyway, I have to leave you as I've got a high level meeting with Prince Andrew in Balmoral to discuss child welfare. So haste ye back as us Scotlanders say. And oh, I'm still putting 50% tariffs on whisky, salmon and shortbread.' It's been sad hearing Fiona Phillips's husband Martin Frizell promote a book about my old colleague's battle with Alzheimer's disease. Fiona was a proper Mirror person. A loyal but critical friend of the Labour Party with deeply-held principles who often wrote poignantly about her parents' struggles with dementia, only to be struck down with early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of 61. The book called Remember When, written by our former boss Alison Phillips, charts Fiona's courageous battle against a soul-crushing disease most families have had to cope with, or probably will do. Because, scandalously, as Martin has been pointing out, for every £1 given to cancer research in this country only 31p is spent on dementia research. Which has to change. In the meantime, Fiona, may you face your battle with much courage and love. *** If you break into a cold sweat every time you go through an airport gate fearing you'll be pulled for having an oversized carry-on bag, then you now have good reason to worry. It turns out Ryanair and easyJet award bonuses of just over a quid to staff to spot bulging bags and dish out penalties. I fear this is just the start, and soon the likes of Ryanair's Michael O'Leary will make us declare our body weight on 'environmental grounds' and charge us by the kilo. Expect bonus-sniffing staff to eye you up, guess you're packing too much timber and force you onto scales, before saying: 'Sorry but Sir's been telling porkies about his porkiness. That will be another £50 please.' Fat-shaming will be the new bag-sizing. And being a fat-fascist is the best route to a bumper pay packet. *** Labour MP Dr Simon Opher is set to prescribe free tickets to football matches in a bid to beat depression. The former GP will trial it in Gloucestershire surgeries as an alternative to anti-depressants, saying: "Football is about socialising and roaring on your team, getting excited, taking yourself out of your own life for a short while.' It's also about, most weekends, at least 33% of fans walking home beaten, gutted, miserable, cursing the donkeys in their team and descending into a depression that dogs them for days. So nice idea, doc, but in practice sending already-depressed people to football matches could be a massive own goal. *** Over the decades screenwriter Jimmy McGovern has crafted many profound lines but this week he surpassed himself by condensing into one sentence the real reason why the Establishment is resisting the introduction of a full-blooded Hillsborough Law, which would compel public bodies to tell the truth in the aftermath of major disasters. 'What's going on there is people demanding the right to lie." That, in a nutshell, is the truth. And Labour must not let it happen. THE WEEK'S FIVE BIG QUESTIONS Isn't it funny how the men who abuse women footballers like Jess Carter on social media were also the ones always picked last on the playground and forced to stand, quaking, in goal? Can't the princes William and Harry do what feuding aristocrats used to do and walk into a forest with a pair of pistols and have a duel? Has any political party in any country ever been given as much air time with only four nationally-elected representatives as Reform UK? Do Andrex, with their advert claiming 76% of students hold their poo in at school, really think kids will all start opening their bowels if the toilet paper is soft? How long will it be before people can only draw their state pension on the same date they receive their 100th birthday telegram from the monarch?
Daily Mirror
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
BRIAN READE: 'Welcome to Bonkers Britain, a joke of a country where I feel beaten and ungoverned'
With HS2, the Post Office scandal, Grenfell and train tickets just the tip of the iceberg, Brian Reade is fast losing his sense of humour Rarely has a quote from a High Court judge chimed so perfectly with the instincts of the masses. 'Am I going bonkers?' was the cracker uttered by Judge Mr Justice Chamberlain last November after he was told there had been a catastrophic leak by the MoD, which had put thousands of lives at risk, cost taxpayers potentially £7billion, and forced the UK to secretly fly 19,000 Afghans here to live permanently. And the government's response to that was to beg the judiciary to hide any knowledge of it from the British people by imposing the kind of court order favoured by footballers who don't want the world to know they're having sex with their brother's wife. To add unfathomable insult to life-threatening injury, the soldier who caused the calamity went unnamed, unpunished, and was moved sideways, and his boss, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, was promoted to First Sea Lord. To answer your question, m'lud, no you're not going bonkers. It just feels that way living in a joke of a country where nothing seems to work any more, where everything that can go wrong goes wrong, and when it does, the self-serving cowards who run the show hide the truth from view, shift the blame and punish no one. Welcome to Omnishambles Britain. A country where every big construction project, like HS2, gets bogged down with red tape and skilled worker shortages, takes years longer than comparable countries and if finished, comes in billions over budget. A country where young people struggle to get on the housing ladder because we've built fewer houses in the past decade than the average Lego enthusiast, making rents eye-wateringly expensive and forcing many to live in their parents' spare room into their mid-30s. A country where you have to take out a second mortgage to get a peak-time train ticket to its capital and which empties its jails of criminals because it did nothing about them getting full. A country which sees itself as a world-leading economy yet has to crawl to the American president with a letter from a man with a crown on his head, pleading with him to visit his palace in the hope he doesn't hit us with tariffs. We are a nation that can't control our borders even though vowing to do so was the main reason voters allowed politicians to cause economic carnage by divorcing our European neighbours. A country that allows scandals like the Post Office, infected blood and Grenfell to happen, then tries to wheedle out of giving the victims recompense and justice. A nation that gets more angry about rappers supporting besieged Palestinians than the besiegers who are slaughtering them. A country where you wait 12 hours in NHS A&E corridors to get seen, the roads are riddled with potholes, local councils are going bankrupt, the welfare and care systems are broken, and the only thing that's growing is the national debt. I don't know about you but I've almost reached the point where I'm finding it hard to get angry any more. The daily revelations of systemic incompetence, embarrassing U-turns and grovelling apologies just leaves me feeling beaten and ungoverned. I'm now resigned to the fact that this country is well and truly up sh** creek without a paddle. And thanks to the profit-sucking, sewage-dumping charlatans who run our privatised water industries, a creek that is very shi**y indeed.
