Our experience with @WeHaveWaysPod tells us the precise opposite of this. At the WW2HQ speaking event I did yesterday in Aylesbury it was the twelve year old at the front who asked the most and best questions.

Right, let's knock this on the head now. If you're calling for the security services to release details about the identities of the suspects of an ongoing terror investigation less than 24 hours after the alleged attack, you're a moron. And you have no business even pretending to be a candidate for high public office.

This is very, very good from @mrianleslie ian-leslie.com/p/why-is-the-…

New from me for RUSI today… Why NATO should urgently set up a multinational squadron dedicated to intercepting one-way-attack drones; including the rough performance, avionics and weapon requirements and aircraft options available. Free to read here: rusi.org/explore-our-researc…

An hour ago at the UN Security Council Sergey Lavrov appealed for religious freedom in Ukraine.

I started out interested in political theory. Drifted into history of political thought, which is adjacent. But over the years I've come to the conclusion that an ounce of political history is worth a ton of political theory. What has actually happened is always the best guide

Putin attacked Ukraine. Putin has helped the Iranians in the war against the US. Putin continues to threaten our NATO allies. This is irresponsible.

You don’t need to be a Conservative Party member or Conference pass holder to join us in Birmingham. Prosper UK will have events inside Conference and open events across the road at The Exchange. Whether you’re a delegate, a supporter or simply curious, come and join us. prosperuk.com/conservative_p…

Zelenskyy: President Trump asked me not to respond on Russian diesel refineries, oil. We don't want this game, and I suggest neither side plays it. Putin attacks us, we respond. Believe me, if we couldn't respond, we wouldn't be here today. We are not weak. 1/

Lord Ashcroft’s polling is clear. Conservatives and Reform separately: 41%. A Conservative-Reform alliance: 28%. At Arundells, @andy4wm set out the alternative: no deal with Reform and no attempt to imitate it. Instead, take the tough decisions on the triple lock, student loans and business rates, and offer serious answers on housing, energy and growth. The route back doesn’t run through Reform.

Indeed, this Russian war against Ukraine and against common sense must be ended. From the first year of the full-scale invasion, its consequences have been far-reaching: the loss of many lives, the destruction of cities and villages, food security, energy challenges, the extraordinary pace of technological development, including autonomous drones, and the rapid advancement of strike capabilities never seen before. Every new week of this war, let alone every new year, adds more and more problems. From the very first minute, Ukraine has sought peace. We have already made dozens of diplomatic proposals on how to end this war with dignity, guarantee security, and prevent new Russian invasions. Right now, there is a dialogue with President Trump and America. There are also ideas on the table for bringing peace closer, starting with strong de-escalation steps. Ukraine’s energy sector, critical infrastructure, and our food exports must stop being targets for Russia, and this will lead to matching de-escalation steps on our part. Solutions are possible. We are ready to work on this, and we will discuss it with our partners on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. I thank everyone who is helping! It will no longer be the case that only the country under attack suffers. The nature of war is now such that the aggressor will suffer as well. Technology makes this possible. The strength of countries’ leadership can – and must – deliver de-escalation, security, and peace. Thank you!

If all Trump is going to say to Zelenskyy in New York is "stop hitting oil facilities" that is extremely depressing, but at least tells us where Trump's head is. It also tells us that Ukraine *ahem* holds some cards.

There has recently been another flurry of speculative nonsense written about the Baltics by people with no clue, a hidden agenda, or both. The Baltic states and their allies are well prepared to deter, and if necessary defeat, any threats, “hybrid” or otherwise. They are strong.

I was a very fortunate kid. My dad's GP surgery sat between the Dell and Hampshire's County Ground, so at weekends I could go to a game and get a lift home afterwards. It left me with a passion for both sports and a belief that sport opens a window onto who we are. When I was growing up, the Tebbit test was a matter of intense debate. Which side did you cheer for at the cricket? For all the criticism it received, it was a test anyone could pass. If you supported England because you saw it as home, you were part of the team regardless of the colour of your skin. Born in Southampton, 10 year old me passed it without even knowing about it. Giving the @MCCOfficial's Cowdrey Lecture on Thursday made me think about cricket's place in our national life and the current arguments about identity. In Britain we've built the world's most successful multi-faith, multi-ethnic democracy. I was a beneficiary of it. Whatever issues people had with me as PM (and there was no shortage) my race and religion weren't among them. I could read a lesson at the King's coronation or light Diwali diyas on Downing Street with my daughters without controversy. Foreign leaders assumed these must be huge symbolic moments. For most Brits, they just weren't that big a deal. But Britain's democratic achievement is now under strain. Some of the challenges are ones I've written about before, like Islamism, and the failure of governments, including the one I led, to adequately control immigration. But something else is going on - a risk that we start equating skin colour with nationality. After I left office, a debate kicked off here on @X about whether I was English at all, because I was a "brown Hindu". During the election campaign I'd been shocked when footage was broadcast of someone calling me a "Paki." It was shocking precisely because it was so unusual. That kind of abuse had simply not been a feature of my political life. But the Englishness argument was stranger still. Call it the reverse Tebbit test. If you're not white, it no longer matters who you support at the cricket, because you can never be English. It's a test no non-white person can ever pass. I have no truck with people who offend our sense of fairness and come here illegally; I spent half my premiership trying to deport them to Rwanda. I think the bar for legal migration should be high. It is entirely possible to want a radical reduction in immigration and a far more robust approach to integration, and still totally reject the attempt to turn Britishness into a DNA test. If you're born and brought up in England and view it as home, what are you other than English? Denying people their Englishness or their Britishness because of the colour of their skin is a recipe for alienation and a two-tier society. How are children who hear this meant to feel? Sport can play a small but significant role here. Cricket is played by nearly every major ethnic group in this country. Ask what my largely white rural constituents in the Dales and the British-Asian kids in Bradford have in common, and the answer is cricket. If cricket can produce England teams in which every kid can see themselves, the impact reaches far beyond the boundary. As I write in @thetimes today, we must all be on the same side, cheering for the same team. We cannot allow race to be reintroduced into our politics. We cannot allow Briton to be set against Briton.

“Once we say that this or that person isn’t really English or British because they are not white, then we are on a very slippery slope” Rishi is right. I couldn’t have said it any better.

The Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery stands as an enduring monument to international reconciliation. My heartfelt thanks to Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal for attending the inauguration of the cemetery's new History Centre.

Looking at what is being reported of the European security situation tonight, it feels 1) things may be about to become very serious indeed - much more so than is widely appreciated; 2) the Government needs to be more frank with the public about the threat of Russian hostile action; and 3) the Government cannot sustain its position on deferring *even setting out a plan* for increased defence spending until next year.

Macron and Tusk are speaking and acting with an urgency that makes the latest reports about Russia violating Lithuanian airspace even more concerning. It is not clear that the Government is taking the threat from Russia seriously enough. Its own intelligence assessment says an attack on NATO could come by 2030, while repeated smaller-scale incursions are already taking place. It comes only weeks after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced visit to Moscow, reportedly to warn Russia against attacking a NATO member. Our European allies are responding with growing urgency, yet the Government still will not say what it intends to do on defence. The NATO Secretary General was in Britain only yesterday calling for that path to be set out, and I agree with him. The Conservatives set out two weeks ago both our route to higher defence spending at 3% of GDP and how we would pay for it. The Government should now explain what it knows about the escalations in Eastern Europe, how it assesses the threat and what it plans to do. We will put national security first and work with the Government where necessary. But when our own PM talks of national security not coming at the expense of social security, Labour MPs should remember: this was heard not only in Westminster or Manchester; it was also heard in Moscow.

It’s not left wing to call out those who judge others by their place of birth or skin colour, Chris. Absolutely right that we control immigration, but wrong to demonise immigrants. Strange company you keep these days.

EXCL: UK ‘actively’ exploring joining Canada-led global defence bank British officials are examining proposals for UK to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB) under Burnham, after proposal was rejected by Starmer Topic set to be on agenda when Burnham and Carney meet tomorrow, and Healey and his Canadian counterpart Champagne meet on Thurs w/ @IlyaGridneff & @PickardJE ft.com/content/4e14f546-332e…