Today I will introduce the Military Operations Bill to Parliament. In recent years we have subjected our brave service men and women to a slow-motion moral failure. We have watched as our legal system imports laws written to apply to civilians in peacetime into lethal combat zones. As a result, troops tell their commanders they no longer fear only the enemy in front of them but the lawyer behind them. My Bill would put an end to that and ensure that those who defend us know the State stands firmly behind them. thetimes.com/comment/columni…

Those supporting the calls for slavery reparations ought to also remember Britain's role in ending slavery. This is what I wrote on 24 March 2021 ahead of the 214th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 becoming law 👇🏻

It should be remembered that the whole Thirlwall Inquiry has been predicated on the absolute premise that Lucy Letby's trial came to the correct conclusion about her guilt, a premise that is now subject to very serious challenge. As a result, it does not allow for the alternative explanation for the deaths, namely drastically inadequate care, major failures of infection control, and avoidable errors by medical staff. There is significant evidence for these alternative explanations, including some exposed by the Inquiry itself. As a result, the Inquiry's recommendations do not properly address the need to prevent these systematic failures from happening again. It is to be hoped that the government will act on the conclusions of the Ockenden and Amos reports across the whole NHS to deal with what is now a recurring and systemic series of failures that jeopardise the lives of babies in a number of hospitals throughout the country. bbc.co.uk/news/live/c6p938nk…

Tomorrow, on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 atrocity, we rightly pause to remember the 2,977 innocent lives lost and the countless families for whom this remains a profound day of mourning. However, both the UK and US governments must also reflect on the considerable missteps made in the quarter-century since the attacks. These errors range from the invasion of Iraq, which left up to one million dead and catalysed the emergence of the Islamic State, to the Blair government's heavy-handed domestic policies, including the attempt to introduce 90-day detention without charge. The measures that Blair did successfully implement have left a lasting, damaging legacy on civil liberties here in the UK. The consequences of our post-9/11 response are still being felt today, as decades of distraction have blinded Western governments to the rising geopolitical threats posed by China, Russia, and Iran. While we mourn the profound tragedy of that day, we must also ensure we finally learn from the missteps of the decades that followed.

I am afraid this is yet another demonstration of the result of Western governments' failure to look after their electors for over 30 years. The result is that voters are being driven to increasingly extreme parties. theguardian.com/world/live/2…

Al Carns' article in the Spectator today says what many veterans' groups, and I, have said all along: the Government's Troubles Bill only serves to punish veterans for doing their duty in Northern Ireland and would allow the IRA and their sympathisers to rewrite the history of the Troubles, presenting themselves as heroes rather than sadistic murderers. @AlistairCarns is right. The Government cannot afford to get this wrong. We must protect our veterans from legal persecution in their retirement. spectator.com/article/the-no…

Sir Billy Boston was a giant of rugby league and one of the greatest players ever to take the field. As a young boy, I remember watching his heroic performances for Wigan. His contribution to the sport was rightly recognised last year when he became the first rugby league player to receive a knighthood. A true trailblazer and sporting legend. My condolences to his family and all those who knew and admired him. bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league…

I welcome the Government’s announcement that it is finally taking waste crime seriously. For far too long, communities living near illegal dumps have had their lives blighted by foul smells, toxic waste, and vermin. In my own constituency at Gilberdyke, the Environment Agency allowed a closed landfill to reopen and be piled high with rubbish. It took years for the authorities to act, by which point the damage was already done. Even today, residents continue to live with the consequences of these repeated regulatory failures. @RtHonKevanJones and I have long campaigned on this issue, including meeting with the National Crime Agency to highlight how organised gangs profit from illegal dumping. Yet meaningful action stalled. Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister is a welcome step forward, but it must be the start of far tougher, more focused enforcement to permanently shut down criminal networks profiteering at the expense of our local communities. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgk4…