🚨It’s official! I’m absolutely delighted to have joined the
@LBC
family. You’ll find me 1pm-4pm every Saturday & Sunday. The show features news and expert analysis - with lively, challenging, fascinating conversation involving LBC listeners at its heart. Join me!
@global
Just scroll through the vile racist onslaught faced by 3 young black England players and then you’ll see the reason why the entire team takes the knee.
Chris Whitty & Jonathan Van Tam have continued to work as frontline doctors throughout the Coronavirus Crisis. Here’s JVT helping the vaccination effort. Chris Whitty spent Christmas Day on Covid wards. Both have been harassed in public. We are *all* poorer for it.
Shortly after Jerry called me
@LBC
we went to an advert break. I’d be lying if I said dealing with racism and bigotry doesn’t take its toll on PoC. It does. Luckily my producer
@catrionabeck
had my back. PS.I’m in full recovery mode, at home, with most English dish of all: curry
The silence from The Royal Family over Jeremy Clarkson’s misogynist attack on Meghan Markle is starkly at odds with the huge public and political outcry. Would it really compromise King Charles constitutional position to issue a well worded statement? I doubt it.
Totally unscientific survey: I’ve just talked to 7 people who work in Financial Services & Markets who earn over £150,000. NONE of them understand why they are getting a tax cut. NONE of them think it’s necessary at this time of financial crisis. NONE of them think it’s fair
To the people calling me a “nasty Labourite /lefty/ wokerati” etc let me clarify: if ANY other political party had crashed the economy in 44 days, partied during covid, allegedly lied etc etc, I’d be interrogating them too. I’m no paid-up fan girl for the ‘Left’ or ‘Right’.
When Anna from Widnes rang
@lbc
to throw racist abuse at me live on-air, thousands of you offered me your support. I’m very touched, THANK YOU. The next day was emotional. I decided to reflect on how & why Anna may have become buried in bigotry. These are my thoughts 👇🏽
'I'm of this country.'
An emotional Sangita Myska becomes tearful in this exceptionally powerful reflection on being told to 'shut up' by a bigoted caller.
@SangitaMyska
I’m going to spell this out for everyone:
I’m not an Islamist
I’m not an Anti-Semite
But, because I’m a brown female journalist raising difficult questions, people assume I am those things
So as I condemn antisemitism, I expect others to call out what I’m facing: racism
1/ And finally, I’m back in the U.K. On a bus with the most charming driver, ever. He greets each passenger with “Good evening, how are you doing?”, when passengers get off he says “Have a lovely night & take care!”, & announces each stop. His name is Patrick. Passengers began
Liz Truss has just suggested people’s motivation to work harder and get a promotion is money, so that’s why cutting taxes is a priority. Thing is, money ISN’T the main or only motivator in life, otherwise no one would be a nurse, care worker, teacher etc
#ToryConference
Thank you for all your support. VERY much appreciated. I’ll be tackling what happened on air TODAY on
@LBC
at 3pm. If you’re free would love you to join me. (I’m on air now too!) x
If Britain’s first South Asian Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fails to sack his new Deputy Tory Party Chairman Lee Anderson for associating with Far Right white supremacists sympathisers - he should be ashamed of himself. Story broken by
@mikeysmith
@DailyMirror
@KDenkWrites
@MichelleMone
I’m sure it feels horrendous, Michelle. I’m also convinced that if you end your self imposed exile, return to the U.K., co-operate fully with the National Crime Agency & other authorities, and face any (possible) prosecution in person, you may start to regain the public’s respect
To Conservative Party HQ,
What Tory donor Frank Hester said about Diane Abbot MP was racially motivated
What Lee Anderson MP said about Sadiq khan is an anti-Muslim trope; “I want my country back” is a far right chant
It’s not “wrong” or “rude” it is racist rhetoric
Troubling propaganda emerging from the pro Liz Truss lobby I interviewed
@LBC
. They all parroted the same line: It was *not* billions of £s of un-costed tax cuts that crashed sterling but the Bank of England & the LDI pensions strategy that did it. That’s wrong. And, it’s a lie
People are criticising Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe for being “ungrateful”. Be under no illusion, it’s rooted in racist (PoC should be grateful to Britain and never criticise) & misogynistic (women should shut up and be nice) stereotypes. She has every right to publicly…1/2
The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has taken a £1000 bet from Piers Morgan that asylum seekers - including women & children - will be deported to Rwanda, a country deemed unsafe by the Supreme Court .
New. Low. Sunk.
Rishi Sunak has accepted a £1,000 bet from Piers Morgan that deportation flights to Rwanda will be up and running before the General Election.
The full interview is due to be shown on the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel at 2pm and TalkTV at 8pm on Monday (5 February).
This BBC presenter’s parents were immigrants to Britain. They came here 45 years ago. She and they are British.
@Conservatives
this tweet is ill judged, inappropriate and bigoted.
Boris Johnson claims he had a 102 MPs supporting him (he hasn’t published a list) but he’s chosen to step aside for the good of the Party. Who believes the proven liar?
When Suella Braverman was called out by *Holocaust Survivor* Joan Salter for using racist language (“invasion”), the Home Sec used a *Government Press Office* to demand that the charity that filmed the exchange removed the video from Twitter. WELCOME TO DYSTOPIA
@FreefromTorture
If tomorrow you see a story about a small south Asian woman losing her s**t on the tube at people who wear masks under their chin, under their nose, as a headband, I’ll save you the bother of reading it - it was me.
It’s not too late to make space on my
@LBC
show tomorrow, if Piers Morgan wants to come on air and apologise to Prince Harry and
@scobie
for calling them liars. We could probably squeeze Michelle Mone on too if she fancies saying sorry to the public too…
Growing up, when the BBC’s George Alagiah was on TV my dad would shout “George is on!”. We’d run to watch the man who inspired a generation of British Asian journalists.
That scene was replicated across the U.K.
We thank you, George. RIP xx 💔
This tweet from Rishi Sunak directly links the Labour Party with criminal gangs.
Quite something from the Prime Minister who promised to restore “professionalism” and “integrity” at every level of political life.
This is what we’re up against.
The Labour Party, a subset of lawyers, criminal gangs - they're all on the same side, propping up a system of exploitation that profits from getting people to the UK illegally.
I have a plan to stop it.
Here’s how 🧵
Rishi Sunak’s weakness has gone from disappointing to dangerous.
He backs Suella Braverman in the mistaken belief she appeals to traditional Tory voters.
She does not. She appeals to bigots who derive a veneer of respectability from her Office of State.
We see you
According to
@thetimes
, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case “appears to have been involved in facilitating and clearing the £800,000 (from Sam Blythe to Boris Johnson) then deciding it could be kept secret”. Simon Case is the most senior civil servant in Government.
As I went on air today I was tweeted the following by an
@LBC
listener: “Oh, no! Here comes James O’Brien in a skirt”. I am greatly insulted. Everyone knows
@mrjamesob
is *me* in a skirt 😉
This is Wesley Russell, a member of Patriotic Alternative, a far-right group, at Priory church in Dunstable. He makes unsubstantiated claims about unnamed “illegal migrants”. Listen to the cheers and clapping - it’s chilling.
This is what the Tory party are encouraging and this is what they’ll use to fight the next election. Fear and hatred of foreigners. They used it to get Brexit and unbelievably they’re still using it despite Brexit
#theyrenotillegal
#asylum
#ToryBritain
The vile racist rhetoric sparked by Suella Braverman whose words appear to have Rishi Sunak’s tacit acceptance has left me feeling utterly depressed.
For the record: I’m a British East African Indian & they don’t speak for me.
Today, I’ve had Richard Tice, Aaron Banks and an official Conservative Party account (Enfield Southgate) orchestrating pile-ons against me.
I’ve never met or spoken to any of them.
Creepy…
Please park your personal stand on the matter of a ceasefire for a moment and understand this - it is inappropriate & dangerous to accuse MPs like
@jessphillips
, who voted for a ceasefire, of “voting to rearm Hamas” . It puts her & others at huge risk.
I’m not “moving on”
Rishi Sunak has finally admitted Frank Hester’s comments about Diane Abbot are racist BUT adds, Hester
"rightly apologised for the offence caused and where remorse is shown it should be accepted"
Thing is, Hester has apologised for rudeness not racism
British citizens using peaceful protest to ask politicians for a “full ceasefire” or “humanitarian pause” for aid, is not fascism
The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman’s, attempts to end citizens’ rights to do that, sounds worryingly like it could be ….
#Gaza
Having viciously attempted to libel my
@LBC
colleague
@mrjamesob
- it is clear the only place concrete could possibly grow is between Mike Graham’s ears.
Full credit to
@Tobias_Ellwood
MP who has delivered on his promise.
He came onto my
@LBC
on Sunday and initially said he wouldn’t attend the privileges committee report vote. After questioning and hearing *directly* from my listeners he changed his mind.
'I am moved by what I hear.'
After hearing from
@SangitaMyska
's listeners, Tory MP
@Tobias_Ellwood
vows to change his plans tomorrow to ensure he can vote in support of the Privileges Committee decision on Partygate.
We are witnessing the British Constitution at work: 5 independent judges, in an independent Supreme court, saying the law ( Rwanda plan) does not comply with our international treaty obligations that refugees will be treated fairly and properly.
Amen to that
I keep hearing people on the radio implying children who go to private schools are cleverer than children who go to state schools
Where is the evidence to support that?
I’d wager there isn’t any
Better at passing exams, yes. Inherently brighter, no.
Whatever your politics, if Rishi Sunak becomes the UK’s next Prime Minister it’d be historic: the first person of colour with the keys to No 10. But, it wouldn’t mean racism is defeated, that it’s a time for complacency or that the work is over. It’s only a beginning. Exhibit A:
Call me old fashioned but the National Trust’s purpose is to protect nature.
I’m a member and I’m perfectly fine with its statement on Rishi Sunak’s green policy u-turn.
If some members aren’t keen they could (and I say this very reluctantly).. leave.
@nationaltrust
Huge mobilisation of far-right protestors outside a hotel for asylum-seekers in Knowsley, just outside of Liverpool. They've now set fire to a police van.
This was taken in the last hour:
It’s the job of a journalist to put hard, uncomfortable questions to those in power - especially when their decisions result in the death or injury of thousands of civilians inside and outside wartime. I won’t apologise for doing my job - even if it upsets influential people.
It’s baffling that Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak are spinning the narrative that they’ve saved a ‘British economy teetering on the brink’ - without mentioning it was the Tories (Brexit, Liz Truss, Kwarteng) who put us there…
#Budget2023
#budget
Members of the Iran’s football team refused to sing their National Anthem in support of the rights of women & girls - putting the safety of themselves & their families at risk. Meanwhile, European footballers won’t wear an armband supporting human rights incase they get booked 🙄
It’s possible to stand with Ukraine AND investigate allegations of poor treatment of some non-white refugees/students AND condemn racism in some news coverage. These are not mutually exclusive positions. Nor is it irresponsible to air those concerns.
🚨BREAKING: Missing student nurse 24 year old OWAMI DAVIES HAS BEEN FOUND in Hampshire following a tip off from a member of the public.🚨 On a personal note I’m absolutely thrilled for Owami and her family
#OwamiDavies
Braverman’s use of dog-whistle phrases like “invasion” is, from what I can see online, emboldening racists and will inevitably embolden them off-line too. I genuinely can’t figure out whether the PM & HS aren’t aware of it or they just don’t care.
It was Home Secretary Suella Braverman NOT Gary Lineker who first invoked parallels with 1930s Germany with the phrase “invading our shores”. On impartiality, a fair question would be: Who’s doing most perceived damage to the BBC’s reputation the BBC Top Brass or its Presenters?
Truss resigned saying “I couldn’t deliver the mandate upon which I was elected by members”. The problem is - she did deliver it and, within seconds, it was catastrophic
No one is calling all men abusers, violent or creeps. Women are asking men to join us in changing a deep rooted culture that has us looking over our shoulders (day and night), expects us to put up with harassment or threats, and expects us not to talk about it.
#SarahEverard
Carol Vorderman on
@LBC
with James O’Brien now. She claims Felicity Mercer (wife of MP Johnny) was tweeting at her for months “60 on one day”. Ms Vorderman says, she has not spoken about this before,and defends her comments about the couple’s education
@mrjamesob
@carolvorders
On a personal note, many of us grew up with the National Front marching up & down the UK’s streets.
Today, I walked past a pub with their “heirs” the Far Right/ EDL spilling out. I felt a knot in my stomach I’ve not felt for years.
@metpoliceuk
thank you for your work today
Sad end to the day: groups of thugs interrupt our filming for
@BBCNews
, are aggressive towards my producer, throw stuff at my cameraman and deliberately walk into me (a few times) while we worked. It was so unsafe by 6pm, that we had to pack up and leave. Such a shame.
#southend
Mohamed Al Fayed: Former Harrods owner dies at 94
He built a business empire in the Middle East before moving to the UK in the 1970s.
However, he never realised his ambition to gain a passport for his adopted country.
Unlike the son of a KGB agent…
Coutts is a private bank. It concluded Nigel Farage posed a reputational risk.
He was offered a Nat West account; not denied basic services.
This is what freedom of expression & self-determination Brexiteers like NF, Tice, Ress Mogg wanted:
“Unfettered British Businesses”
I’ve now been through the NatWest/Coutts dossier on Nigel Farage twice now.
It is clear beyond doubt that, even though they could find no real “dirt” on him, they still wanted to “debank” him because they didn’t like his politics — and came up with the ruse of using an expiring…
The Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who uses the rhetoric of the far right by describing asylum seekers, refugees and migrants as “invaders” finally issues a statement on
#Knowsley
condemning the very racists whose language she emulates. What a disgrace.
Why are serious news programmes interviewing Nigel Farage on today’s net legal immigration figures? He’s not an expert, elected politician or former Minister.
The attacks on lawyers by this government - including Suella Braverman , Robert Jenrick & Rishi Sunak - is that of populist regimes throughout modern political history (see: Trump attacks on DoJ)
Don’t fall for it.
This country is better than that.
When Farage, his cronies & his political doppelgängers talk about “controlling immigration” they primarily mean preventing non-white people being British. People of colour everywhere are “sick of being punching bags” & “justifying our existence” as
@DrAmirKhanGP
explains:
“I’m tired Lorraine of having to justify my existence by the worth I bring to this country”
@DrAmirKhanGP
responds to the immigration and NHS claims made by Nigel Farage in last night’s episode of
@imacelebrity
#Lorraine
#ImACeleb
If you’re going to the Pro Palestinian protest/march in London (or anywhere else ) today, for what it’s worth, my advice is: don’t play into Suella Braverman’s hands - don’t be provoked, stay calm, report trouble makers to the police
Rishi Sunak, the PM who claimed he wanted to protect women’s rights has rejected the idea that doctors have mandatory menopause training. What a hypocrite.
Tommy Robinson is a British Far Right racist & Islamaphobe . His lackeys are inspired by Nazi ideology - central to which was Jewish genocide. Yet, here is Robinson (real name: Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) attempting to hijack the March Against Antisemitism.
The question is: Why?
What’s staggering is the deafening silence from other journalists - who know me well - who I’ve publicly and privately supported, now and in the past, not offering a word of support.
That has fallen to the public who follow me on this platform. I am grateful to them.
2/
Interesting how quickly parts of the Westminster bubble has lost perspective, so just to be clear:
It’s Diane Abbot MP who has “had a bad week” (she’s the victim of racism) not the Tory Party ( who excused it)
I know I’m new to this politics malarkey but I don’t get it — why is one man, Graham Brady, and not the British electorate deciding who gets to be this country’s Prime Minister?
Hi
@British_Airways
, as requested, I messaged privately on twitter but got an automated response - and no help. So let me try again, publicly, for the benefit of everyone else that’s stuck… You cancelled our Edinburgh to London flight with 2 hours notice. 1/
Still reeling somewhat from the idea that there are companies charging up to £40,000 (one even £80,000) to help with applications for New Year’s honours. I’m even more perturbed by the listeners who called me to say they think it’s perfectly alright 🤷🏽♀️
Who is this man David Atherton?
I’ve never heard of him, yet he’s obsessed with me.
He’s libelling me and attempting to send online thugs my way.
He also claims working class people are the Far Right.
Sunak says “we are a country where we love our neighbours”
After this week’s performance, I doubt that’s true, Rishi.
You appear to love the neighbours that you think will vote for you…
.. and weaponise falsehoods against those who you think won’t 🗳️
"We are a country where we love our neighbours" says Rishi Sunak, who previously defended his party's Deputy Chairman for telling asylum seekers to "f*** off back to France" and his former Home Secretary for calling those who come here an "invasion"
Three British aid workers have been killed by the IDF
Tonight, their families watch as Sunak and Cameron fail to unequivocally condemn the missile strikes ..
.. and continue to allow to arms sales to Israel
Ffs. I wish people would stop losing their minds about Prince Harry pitching up at court and focus on the fact the Dame DOREEN LAWRENCE - mum of murdered black teenager Stephen - was allegedly spied on by the Daily Mail’s publisher.
Thought experiment:
Imagine the reaction in politics/media if a male Muslim Labour donor with an OBE used Hester’s words re: Diane Abbot MP “she should be shot” about Penny Mordaunt MP
There would have (rightly) been outrage, accusations of extremism, an arrest, OBE stripped
Ms Badenoch,
This is confusing; you say you “ welcome his apology”, but Frank Hester has not (as you now have) identified his comments as racist.
He has apologised for being “rude”.
Hester’s 2019 comments, as reported, were racist. I welcome his apology.
Abbott and I disagree on a lot. But the idea of linking criticism of her, to being a black woman is appalling.
It’s never acceptable to conflate someone’s views with the colour of their skin…(1/2)
Benjamin Zephaniah the poet, cultural revolutionary and public intellectual has died age 65 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour eight weeks ago.
He represented the very best of Britain. Our hearts are heavy with his loss.
Rest in Peace, Benjamin 🙏🏽