Nigel Farage called a ‘Putin-loving free speech impostor’ during bumpy US congressional hearing
Nigel Farage has been accused of being a “Putin-loving free speech impostor” whose main motivation is ingratiating himself with Donald Trump and tech companies, during a sometimes difficult appearance before a US congressional hearing on censorship.The Reform UK leader, who missed prime minister’s questions to appear as a witness before the House judiciary committee, was invited by its Republican leadership, who questioned him about what Farage called the “awful authoritarian” situation for free speech in the UK.But he also faced openly hostile questioning from Democrat members, who questioned whether he really backed free speech, with one asking why journalists from hostile publications had been banned from Reform events.In an opening statement, the Maryland Democrat Jamie Raskin said that if Farage was, as he said, worried about the implications of the UK’s Online Safety Act, he might have done better to make the case as an MP rather than in the US.“He should go and advance the positions he’s taking here in Congress today in parliament, which is meeting today, if he’s serious about it,” Raskin said.
“To the people of the UK who think this Putin-loving free speech impostor and Trump sycophant will protect freedom in this country: come on over to America and see what Trump and Maga are doing to destroy our freedom.You might … think twice before you let Mr Farage make Britain great again.”The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, wrote on X: “Farage has gone to the US to tell them Britain is ”awful” – If you don’t like it over here Nigel maybe don’t catch a return flight?”Some other Democrat members were equally scathing.Jerrold Nadler asked why the committee had sought evidence from “a fringe politician from the United Kingdom”, while another, Hank Johnson, asked Farage to confirm that Reform currently has four MPs.Johnson accused Farage of advocating for free speech so as to solicit donations from Elon Musk, the owner of X, saying: “You’re trying to ingratiate yourself with the tech bros.
” He added: “You need money from Elon Musk in order to get elected prime minister of Great Britain.That’s the bottom line.”Farage responded by pointing out that Musk did not support him: “Elon Musk is abusive about me virtually every single week, but it’s a free country.”Raskin asked the Reform leader why he had called for a ban on a pro-Gaza protest, with Farage saying this was because it would have happened close to Remembrance Sunday, calling this a “sensitive” time.Raskin replied: “I thought that’s what the freedom of speech was about.
You have a right to engage in speech that other people consider offensive or insensitive,”Raskin also asked why Reform often prevented journalists from critical organisations from attending its events,Farage said this did not happen with his knowledge: “If I go back the last 25 years, I can’t think of banning anybody,But I mean, maybe somebody else did,”Under more sympathetic questioning from Republican members, Farage cited the cases of Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for sending a tweet urging people to “set fire” to hotels housing asylum seekers, and of Graham Linehan, as “a klaxon” over the threat to free speech.
However, he denied calling for the US to place sanctions on Britain if it did not change its laws, saying that he only wanted American politicians and businesses to try to persuade the UK over this.
Children as young as 11 tempted to try betting after being ‘flooded’ by celebrity endorsement
Children as young as 11 feel tempted to try betting after being “flooded” by celebrities and sports stars promoting it, according to two reports that found nearly 90% of children aged 13-17 are exposed to gambling content online.The UK’s leading gambling charity, GambleAware, which commissioned the reports, urged regulators and policymakers to address social media accounts and influencers producing betting content on platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Twitch in light of the findings.In one survey of 2,100 children aged 11-17, a quarter said seeing a celebrity gambling, or advertising it, had made them want to follow suit, rising to more than a third (36%) among boys aged 16-17.This was despite the fact that almost four in five children agreed that nobody under the age of 18 should be exposed to content and advertising about gambling. The legal age to bet is 18
Stroke centres in England given AI tool that will help 50% of patients recover
Half of all people who experience a stroke in England will now recover thanks to a revolutionary AI scanning system that increases the number of patients avoiding serious disability.The NHS has equipped every stroke centre in England with life-saving software that quickly tells doctors if they need to perform emergency surgery and can triple the rate of recovery.The world-first technology analyses brain CT scans of stroke patients arriving at hospital, taking just a minute to identify the type and severity of stroke and the most appropriate treatment.It means doctors can then offer drugs or surgery much more quickly, with the system shortening the average time between patients arriving at hospital and starting treatment by one hour – from 140 minutes to 79 minutes.Quicker treatment means the proportion of patients recovering with no or only slight disability – defined as achieving functional independence – has tripled from 16% to 48% in NHS pilots of the system
Vaping may be causing irreversible harm to children’s health, doctors say
Doctors have raised the alarm about high levels of vaping among children worldwide, saying they are convinced e-cigarettes are causing irreversible harm to their health.Cardiologists, researchers and health experts said they were “extremely concerned” about the harmful effects of e-cigarettes on millions of teenagers and young people, including exposure to toxins and carcinogens – some of which are still unknown.Nicotine levels in e-cigarettes can be very high, raising the risk of addiction and injury to the developing brains of adolescents. Children are also risking long-term cardiovascular effects as a result of vaping at school and college, experts say.Speaking at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) annual congress in Madrid, the world’s largest heart conference, Prof Maja-Lisa Løchen, a senior cardiologist at the University hospital of North Norway, said she was concerned that millions of children could face ill health in future
Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’
News has never been more accessible – but for some, that’s exactly the problem. Flooded with information and relentless updates, more and more people around the world are tuning out.The reasons vary: for some it’s the sheer volume of news, for others the emotional toll of negative headlines or a distrust of the media itself. In online forums devoted to mindfulness and mental health, people discuss how to step back, from setting limits to cutting the news out entirely.“Now that I don’t watch the news, I just don’t have that anxiety
Ministers urged to put brakes on offices in England being turned into homes
Dozens of organisations have signed an open letter calling on the government to scrap office-to-residential conversions in England, which analysis has found led to the loss of almost 28,000 affordable homes.Local government campaigners, housing providers and homelessness charities have all joined the call to abolish some permitted development rights (PDR), which grant automatic planning permission to building projects and are often used to convert office blocks into housing.A major point of contention is that PDR developments are not required to make affordable housing contributions. New analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) has found that nearly 28,000 affordable homes have been lost due to office-to-residential conversions under PDR in the past 11 years.An amendment to the planning and infrastructure bill – the government’s flagship planning changes designed to speed up housebuilding – that would remove many PDR allowances is being debated in parliament on Monday
Swab test can identify children with potentially deadly heart condition, study finds
A simple cheek-swab test can identify children with a potentially deadly heart condition, five years before they would normally be diagnosed, research has found.Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), which is typically genetic, is responsible for more than 10% of sudden cardiac deaths in children.The condition is caused by abnormalities in the proteins between heart cells, which lead to problems in the structure and electrical activity of the heart. ACM can often develop and strike without warning.But research shows abnormalities in the proteins can also be seen in the lining of the cheeks, which can reveal what is happening in the heart
Jeremy Corbyn to open unofficial inquiry into UK handling of Gaza war
Farage a ‘Putin-loving, free speech impostor’ says Democrat before Reform head’s US speech – UK politics as it happened
Nigel Farage called a ‘Putin-loving free speech impostor’ during bumpy US congressional hearing
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