Some personal news. In a couple of weeks, I am leaving Sky News. And indeed, leaving London, and journalism altogether. It’s not a decision I’ve taken lightly, but it’s one that’s best for me and my family. I’ll be moving to Edinburgh, and into the world of finance.

Never had Lee down as an Irish Republican….

I swear to God, this bloody country. I need antibiotics. I ordinarily live in London. But am briefly staying in NI. My GP in England tells me they are unable to send a prescription outside of England. So what’s the alternative? You guessed it: A&E. No wonder there’s a crisis.

I keep playing this over in my head 😂. You can take the man out of politics…

My final piece of journalism. And I think it’s an important one. “Ordering a woman to be sexually exploited is as easy as ordering a takeaway - how trafficking victims are being sold online.”.

And that, as they say, is that. It’s been a hell of a ride. You stay classy, Twitter.

Anyone else notice how social media is now absolutely swamped with ChatGPT guff?. Just account after account with their thoughts entirely scripted by AI. The syntax is so obvious—not to mention the em dashes that nobody actually used until about a year ago. Driving me mad.

I hope this isn’t goodbye. It may be possible to keep some level of engagement on here in my new gig. For now, thank you. I’ve learned so much from reading and speaking with you all over the years. It’s made me a better journalist, and a better person. I’ll miss it terribly.

Thank you to all the people who made it possible, and to all the people who let me tell their stories along the way. I’ve always tried to make it about you, rather than me. I hope I managed that, and that I did the privilege justice. As for next steps… I can say more soon.

I won’t subject you all to a self-indulgent run through of my career highlights. But suffice to say it has been the privilege of my life to spend these last 12 years or so as a journalist. To work with some of the best in the business, and to talk to all of you.

BREAKING: Police have charged a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap with a terror offence. Liam O’Hanna has been charged with displaying a Hizbollah flag at the O2 Forum in London last November. He’ll appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 18th June.

In the gym. Forgot headphones. Big mistake. Now listening to two enormous blokes segway *seamlessly* from discussing the benefits of taking steroids, to how they never took the COVID jab, because, and I quote “I’m not having anyone inject any old shit into me”. Beyond parody.

It’s 5am. I’m driving to work, and there are *scores* of people out jogging. Some in fancy dress. Clearly it’s marathon related, but why?? Why are people jogging before dawn when they’re about to run a literal marathon?.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court unanimously rules that “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex. Ruling against the Scottish Government. But Lord Hodge cautions against seeing this as a victory for one side or the other. Suggests some nuance to follow.

RT @SkyNews: BREAKING: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal have been urged to take legal action against the government over compensa….

Seriously though, I think this is encouraging. If only that it’s a recognition from Trump that his high tariffs have caused too much heat. It might moderate his instincts in future, even if massive uncertainty remains.

Markets be like:

As a rule, democracies ought not to fight trade wars with autocracies. See this Economist piece from 2019:. TL;DR:. Regimes with no voters don’t much care about imposing tariffs that hurt their own economies.

This is a fantastic analogy. Why Trump’s America - if we believe the justifications put forward by his economic adviser Stephen Miran - is behaving like a modern Athens towards the Delian League. Which worked out well for them. (It didn’t - ask Sparta).