A clergyman in the Church of England in the Diocese of London. Musings in Church and State and late Roman History (and, in fact, any history).
City of London, London
- Tweets 86,164
- Following 3,547
- Followers 26,070
- Likes 133,767
I think I am sufficiently amused by a joke that is both corny and niche that I must give them a try.
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Marcus Walker retweeted
Aaaaaand that's gone.
We will have flying cars before Heathrow has a third runway, which will helpfully then negate the need for said runway.
Building a third runway at Heathrow would be like beating a NIMBY final boss. Would send a really strong message about Britain's seriousness when it comes to growth (and it will infuriate John McDonnell, which is an unnecessary but welcome extra).
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Has the victim of the criminal damage, an unknown people smuggler, come forward and given a Victim Personal Statement on how the crime has affected him emotionally?
Danny Tommo pleaded not guilty this morning at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court.
Charged with criminal damage after footage of him slashing a dinghy in the Channel with a French rescuer still on board, plus failing to give police his phone PIN.
Prosecutor: case too serious for magistrates.
Judge: “I don’t think I’m entirely with you on this.” 😎
He elected Crown Court. Bail application followed.
He had already been remanded overnight after charge.
news.sky.com/story/anti-migr…
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Everyone I know who regularly goes to the opera is extremely right wing
Almost anybody who goes to the opera more than twice a year and is under 65 is probably some kind of hard left socialist or communist. The working artists have all radicalized and so have the people for whom this art is as necessary as breath.
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Someone was looking recently for a definition of the lanyard class.
EXCLUSIVE: Special forces soldiers believe they are “untouchable” and not all of them are the heroes they think they are, according to a former female civil servant who worked alongside them.
Monica Grenfell, who was employed at the Special Air Service (SAS) headquarters in Credenhill, near Hereford, for three years, said some of the elite troops were “feral” and it was “the nasty characters who really ruled the roost”.
She has given evidence under oath to the Afghan Inquiry and has now been interviewed by @thetimes
thetimes.com/article/5706a8a…
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🗣️📞 “Hello…HR. Yes I need to submit a report. Gary said a swearword.”
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In a strange way I think we need to make opera more elitist. Places like Glyndebourne do great, and are popular with young people too, because they make it more of an occasion.
People wear dress up and it's an occasion. Trying to compete with the cinema is a non-starter
Never been to the opera before?
Now’s your chance. We’re giving away 70,000 free tickets to the @MetOpera at the iconic Lincoln Center. Go to on.nyc.gov/opera to enter the lottery. There’s not a bad seat in the house.
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Imagine thinking that being in the special forces is like working in M&S.
It is precisely this mindset,that soldiers in war should be treated as if they were an accountant in Crawley, that is destroying our armed forces. I would be very concerned of our soldiers didn’t swear!
EXCLUSIVE: Special forces soldiers believe they are “untouchable” and not all of them are the heroes they think they are, according to a former female civil servant who worked alongside them.
Monica Grenfell, who was employed at the Special Air Service (SAS) headquarters in Credenhill, near Hereford, for three years, said some of the elite troops were “feral” and it was “the nasty characters who really ruled the roost”.
She has given evidence under oath to the Afghan Inquiry and has now been interviewed by @thetimes
thetimes.com/article/5706a8a…
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Marcus Walker retweeted
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew met on Sept. 21 with His Majesty King Charles III at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. This was their second meeting since the British Monarch’s accession to the Throne. The first took place in October 2022. archons-of-the-ecumenical-pa…
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Nobody could have foreseen this.
fullsteamahead.substack.com/…
Bonfire Night in Truro cancelled because council can't afford to comply with "Martyn's Law" - the new anti-terrorism and security legislation required for events and venues.
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Marcus Walker retweeted
During the Spanish Civil War, Communists killed nuns then dug up their bodies and put them on public display for mockery, chopped off the hands of priests and murdered thousands priests, nuns and monks. They also burned down hundreds of churches.
No one has ever been killed in the name of atheism
Community note
Soviet authorities executed thousands of clergy and destroyed churches in campaigns to impose state atheism and eradicate religion.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecuti…
history.com/articles/josep…
historyforatheists.com/2021/01/the-gr…
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Prior Rahere founded St Bart’s 903 years ago ✝️
On a pilgrimage to Rome, the priest and possible court jester to Henry I fell ill and saw a vision of St Bartholomew the Apostle, instructing him to build a church and hospital back in London.
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The Chagos deal, if enacted, would be so beneficial to Mauritius, that they were planning to implement tax cuts that would see 80% of workers exempt from paying income tax.
British taxpayers would quite literally be funding tax cuts for Mauritians.
Mauritian media highlighting just how large a contribution the Chagos deal would make: a perpetual 1.3% of GDP / 4.5% of govt revenue line item. The govt snuck it into its equivalent of the OBR’s forecasts to get their last budget through.
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When I said “buy Mauritius off”, I meant “give them money to drop the Chagos claim” not “give them money for the pleasure of giving them money until giving them the Chagos”. One day this will be a case study about the lead in the water pipes at the Foreign Office.
Exclusive: The UK is exploring strengthening ties with Mauritius including helping it access more aid money, in a bid to manage relations after Trump vetoed the Chagos deal for the foreseeable
In a meeting at the UN this week, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Mauritius’ Foreign Minister Dhananjau Ramful that Britain could support it in a range of areas, from trade to accessing climate financing and backing economic and development projects, sources say
Ramful says Miliband pledged “total collaboration” in identifying areas where Britain could provide support to Mauritius
Officials confirm they want to strengthen bilateral ties with Mauritius but stress they are not reopening negotiations over the deal nor offering it new British taxpayer money
One official says it’s essential to keep Mauritius onside given the Chagos deal now won’t proceed until Trump leaves the White House
UK officials are very concerned that in the longer-term, Mauritius could sue Britain or move closer to China, increasing the risk of Beijing interfering with the Diego Garcia base. They still think the sovereignty deal is the best option to secure the base post-Trump
In the meantime the UK needs to keep relations with Mauritius going. The island nation faces a budget deficit and needed the £165 million a year it would have got from Britain over the next three years if the deal had gone through
Even if the UK does not directly offer Mauritius more money, there are ways it could help it access financing such as through British International Investment, a development finance institution controlled by the government, and other international climate financing schemes
With @KB2803 @EllenAMilligan: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Need to get rid of a base? Give Mauritius money. Need to keep a base? Give Mauritius money. Need to keep the African Union happy? Give Mauritius money. Need to keep the US happy? Give Mauritius money. There is nothing that cannot be achieved by giving Mauritius money
Exclusive: The UK is exploring strengthening ties with Mauritius including helping it access more aid money, in a bid to manage relations after Trump vetoed the Chagos deal for the foreseeable
In a meeting at the UN this week, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Mauritius’ Foreign Minister Dhananjau Ramful that Britain could support it in a range of areas, from trade to accessing climate financing and backing economic and development projects, sources say
Ramful says Miliband pledged “total collaboration” in identifying areas where Britain could provide support to Mauritius
Officials confirm they want to strengthen bilateral ties with Mauritius but stress they are not reopening negotiations over the deal nor offering it new British taxpayer money
One official says it’s essential to keep Mauritius onside given the Chagos deal now won’t proceed until Trump leaves the White House
UK officials are very concerned that in the longer-term, Mauritius could sue Britain or move closer to China, increasing the risk of Beijing interfering with the Diego Garcia base. They still think the sovereignty deal is the best option to secure the base post-Trump
In the meantime the UK needs to keep relations with Mauritius going. The island nation faces a budget deficit and needed the £165 million a year it would have got from Britain over the next three years if the deal had gone through
Even if the UK does not directly offer Mauritius more money, there are ways it could help it access financing such as through British International Investment, a development finance institution controlled by the government, and other international climate financing schemes
With @KB2803 @EllenAMilligan: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Marcus Walker retweeted
A few of us in Lords argued against this useless law & its bleedin' obvious consequences. Labour accused us of being cavailier about public safety/terrorism. But bureacratic rules re security staff etc always were a distraction from real causes of eg jihadi attacks such as Manchester Arena bombing. Grrr
Bonfire Night in Truro cancelled because council can't afford to comply with "Martyn's Law" - the new anti-terrorism and security legislation required for events and venues.
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Marcus Walker retweeted
£88 million for Hamas but can’t afford £30 million to train @BritishArmy
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"We have to give Mauritius money, so that we can secure a deal where we give them territory and money, otherwise they will sue us (nothing they can do to take it) or move closer to China (still nothing they can do to take it)
Exclusive: The UK is exploring strengthening ties with Mauritius including helping it access more aid money, in a bid to manage relations after Trump vetoed the Chagos deal for the foreseeable
In a meeting at the UN this week, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband told Mauritius’ Foreign Minister Dhananjau Ramful that Britain could support it in a range of areas, from trade to accessing climate financing and backing economic and development projects, sources say
Ramful says Miliband pledged “total collaboration” in identifying areas where Britain could provide support to Mauritius
Officials confirm they want to strengthen bilateral ties with Mauritius but stress they are not reopening negotiations over the deal nor offering it new British taxpayer money
One official says it’s essential to keep Mauritius onside given the Chagos deal now won’t proceed until Trump leaves the White House
UK officials are very concerned that in the longer-term, Mauritius could sue Britain or move closer to China, increasing the risk of Beijing interfering with the Diego Garcia base. They still think the sovereignty deal is the best option to secure the base post-Trump
In the meantime the UK needs to keep relations with Mauritius going. The island nation faces a budget deficit and needed the £165 million a year it would have got from Britain over the next three years if the deal had gone through
Even if the UK does not directly offer Mauritius more money, there are ways it could help it access financing such as through British International Investment, a development finance institution controlled by the government, and other international climate financing schemes
With @KB2803 @EllenAMilligan: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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