It’s indefensible
FORGET for a moment how politically stupid it was for Sir Keir Starmer to effusively welcome to Britain a man he now claims to know so little about.
The Prime Minister might argue that he should be able to rely on the machinery of government to protect him from debacles like the one involving Egyptian extremist Alaa Abd el-Fattah.
Where were the warnings from Number 10, the Home Office or the Foreign Office about the bile previously spewed by El-Fattah against this country and its people, and against innocent Jews in particular?
Was it just ineptitude that meant his vile messages of hate were missed? Or did some activist civil servant know and thought there was nothing wrong with them? That would be no surprise.
The problem is this latest scandal is just part of a deeper malaise that runs through the corridors of power, whereby we routinely let in people who hate this country, or who pose a threat.
Time and again — as shown by the number of crimes committed by those who came here illegally — it seems too little effort is made to keep them out.
Meanwhile, new figures prove the flow of illegal migrants is not slowing.
The pull factors — like overly generous benefits and accommodation for all arrivals, regardless of how bogus their asylum claims might be, plus a ready supply of jobs in the illegal economy — are far too strong.
The deterrents — while we remain shackled to Labour’s beloved European Convention on Human Rights — are far too weak.
Until those things change, the illegal migration figures for 2026 are likely to be just as bad, if not worse.
And who knows how many among those arriving on our shores will mean us harm?
Or what checks the authorities can be bothered to make to find out?
Ultimately, the buck for all of this dangerous mess stops with the Prime Minister.
He’s meant to be the one in charge.
Goal medals
THEY brought football home and now they’ve netted a hatful of gongs to go with their winners’ medals.
The awards for the Euros-winning Lionesses in the King’s New Year Honours are richly deserved.
So is the honorary damehood for their manager Sarina Wiegman.
They lead a star-spangled array of sportspeople and celebrities together with unsung members of the general public who have been rewarded.
Congratulations to them all, and especially to Sir Idris Elba who is not just a superb actor but has done so much to fight the menace of knife-crime.
There are plenty who would have loved to see him on His Majesty’s Secret Service as the next James Bond.
Being appointed one of the King’s knights is not a bad consolation.
