🚨 BREAKING: Zelensky: "The risk of Russia occupying Europe is 100%." Welker: "Does that mean that if the US withdraws from NATO, Russia will occupy Europe?" Zelensky: "Yes."

So the full documentary is out. Whatever your view of ITV's investigation into Reform, and whatever you think of what it revealed, I think we need to recognise that this represents a significant escalation in the use of undercover journalism against a political party. I've spoken to people in broadcasting in recent days, about the precedents for this kind of investigation. They highlight that, in 2005, Channel 4's Dispatches infiltrated Labour's press office during the general election campaign. But that investigation was part of a wider but focused examination of the rise of "political spin," critically, with undercover reporters placed in all three major parties. A 2012 Sunday Times story also gets mentioned. Then, journalists secretly filmed Conservative Party treasurer Peter Cruddas in the cash-for-access scandal. Again, there, they were pursuing a very specific allegation of wrongdoing. What appears to be happening with Reform is something rather different. We've seen undercover filming of canvassers handing out leaflets, activists in pubs, councillors in their homes, parliamentary candidates in local meeting, junior press officers at their desks, senior officials at the Christmas party, and now even the party leader himself in the party office. Across successive general elections and by-elections, Channel 4 and now ITV have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and resources to covertly recording people associated with one political movement, at almost every level. Rather than investigating a specific allegation of wrongdoing, the approach now appears to be to put people under sustained clandestine surveillance and wait for something newsworthy to emerge. Whatever that might be. That's a very different proposition, and one I struggle to reconcile with the investigative journalism I was taught. Undercover methods were supposed to be exceptional. You had a specific lead, a serious matter of public interest to investigate, and good reasons why the information couldn't be obtained through conventional reporting. Here, that principle seems to have been turned on its head. To be clear, some of the comments made by Reform councillors and activists are genuinely appalling. I can see a legitimate public interest argument for broadcasting them. But I'm still struggling to understand what justified secretly filming the conversations inside Reform HQ and at their Christmas party, particularly those involving junior staff and what appeared to be an entirely legitimate internal discussion involving Nigel Farage. There's another problem I've discussed with journalists who have worked on undercover investigations. Once a broadcaster has committed months of work, substantial resources and considerable editorial effort to an investigation, there is inevitably pressure to produce something worth broadcasting. What happens when the undercover operation doesn't uncover the scandal you might have hoped for? I worry that the threshold for what constitutes a story starts to fall. Conversations that would ordinarily be considered unremarkable become national news simply because they were secretly recorded. And the presence of a party leader in the footage doesn't automatically make the conversation newsworthy, let alone justify the methods used to obtain it. The wider implications concern me even more. I cannot overstate the anxiety this kind of journalism will create among people working in politics, particularly younger staff. If taking a job in a political press office now means accepting that a colleague might be an undercover reporter, secretly recording your conversations for months, what does that do to the working environment? What does it do to trust? To the willingness of talented young people to enter politics? Or to the ability of political staff and journalists to engage with one another in good faith? And there is an obvious question about impartiality. The intensity of undercover scrutiny directed at Reform in recent years is striking. That doesn't mean Reform should be exempt from scrutiny. Quite the opposite. But it is reasonable to ask whether the same investigative methods and editorial thresholds are being applied across politics. Otherwise, people who support Reform, or simply want to work for the party, will understandably feel uniquely under attack and isolated from the "mainstream media" and "the establishment" I really worry about what that means for this political tribe (my political tribe), as well as the relationship between politics and the media, and ultimately for our democratic process. None of this excuses the disgraceful things some Reform-liked people have said. Nor does it mean undercover journalism cannot expose wrongdoing of genuine public interest. What we're witnessing appears to be a shift from investigating specific allegations of wrongdoing towards relentless covert scrutiny of an entire political movement, in the hope of discovering something worth broadcasting. Whatever your politics, I think we should be concerned about where this takes us. I hope I'm wrong about the consequences. But I suspect we're entering a new era in the relationship between journalists and political parties, and nobody really knows where it ends.

🚨🇫🇷 FLASH | Le principal suspect de l’INCENDIE CRIMINEL de la mairie de Limoges a été INTERPELLÉ par le RAID ce matin. Il s’agit d’un homme de 40 ans, « activiste d’ultragauche fiché S ». La Sous-direction antiterroriste a été saisie de l’affaire. (Le Figaro)

The creator of the 'Palestine poppy' is an Oxford-educated paediatrician who has written books for Muslim teenagers justifying stoning and warning that homosexuality is 'a test from Allah'. Abdul Qader Ismail was accused of trying to 'hijack' Remembrance Day after he began selling an enamel pin shaped like a poppy in the colours of the Palestinian flag for £1.78 on eBay. The pin is listed as 'not for profit' with money being donated to Gaza charities. The Spectator can now reveal that Ismail is an active member of Greens for Palestine and co-sponsored the group's 'Zionism is Racism' policy. He is also the author of a book series titled An Introduction to Challenging Topics for Muslim Teens. ✍️ Noa Hoffman Article | spectator.com/article/reveal… | @hoffman_noa

There is a lot of Russian propaganda in Europe. They have invested as much money in it as in weapons during this war. This is a massive financial program spanning decades. Russia has been waging a hybrid war against Europe, including Italy, France, Britain, and Germany, for a long time. It just isn't waging a full-scale war against them as it is against us. Because we had the same thing – a hybrid war. Russian narratives across absolutely all television and media platforms, on the internet, and on social media. People should not be pierced through and brainwashed by waves of narratives from the Russian Federation. Because it is up to France, Ukraine, Italy, and Spain to decide how to live and whom to elect. Russia cannot influence Italy's choices and freedom. Italy is a free country, just like Ukraine. The Russians will seek to exploit far-right movements, religious movements, faith, migration, and gender. Russia doesn't care what issue can divide society: from religion to language, Russia will always find it and strike there. We are seeing this now not only in Europe – they also have influence in the United States of America. They have a very significant wave going on there, and their network is operating. From an interview with Corriere della Sera. (3/3)

🚨 BREAKING: A screaming protester just tried to hijack President Trump's Kansas rally, and it went about as well as you'd expect. She stood up in the crowd and started screeching at 47 like she'd been saving it up all week. Kansas patriots drowned her out in seconds. President Trump didn't even miss a beat. She reportedly waited in line for hours to get in, and her big moment lasted less time than the walk to the exit. That's a lot of effort to get escorted out in front of thousands of people who couldn't hear a word she said. Kansas doesn't do tantrums. Kansas does MAGA.