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David Leigh

@davidleighx

Journalist. Author of "Investigative Journalism: a survival guide" ( Palgrave) http://bit.ly/2lLQhSy. Was Guardian Investigations Editor; ex-IMPRESS. Posts are news not endorsements.

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Latest posts by David Leigh @davidleighx

Kayfabe" is from the US pro-wrestling subculture that Trump is so fond of - and means fakery, essentially: by wrestlers staying "in character" despite the fact that everyone knows they are just pretending.

07.03.2026 16:05 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

"Fatbike" is apparently current in Australia for those unregulated Deliveroo-type e-bikes with thick offroad tyres, that are tweaked to go at more than 30mph and injure people.
"

07.03.2026 16:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I learned 2 new words this week.
"Fatbike"
and
"Kayfabe"

07.03.2026 10:31 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
How the right-wing British press became Trump’s trumpet Fleet Street is happy to ignore the real history of transatlantic relations to score points against Keir Starmer

Churchill would have been appalled by a figure like Trump. But some journalists have convinced themselves that Starmer is to blame for this hiccup in the β€œspecial relationship” app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/72649/...

07.03.2026 08:07 πŸ‘ 254 πŸ” 69 πŸ’¬ 27 πŸ“Œ 5
Preview
Crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne no longer interested in Reform-Tory pact Donor who has given Β£12m to Reform UK had previously wanted Nigel Farage to keep open mind about deal with Conservatives

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

07.03.2026 09:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Tory peer to leave Lords after investigation finds he breached standards over Covid PPE deals Lord Chadlington introduced government to company in which he had financial interest in 2020

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

07.03.2026 09:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
β€˜Like fleeing to Southampton’: was Mandelson escape β€˜plot’ just a joke? A story that started in the British Virgin Islands led to a sensational arrest 4,000 miles away – but was it ever more than a shaggy dog story?

Nice trip? Tick. Actual story? Cross.

www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...

07.03.2026 09:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Pardon Industry Offers Rich Offenders a Path to Trump One inmate paid lobbyists and lawyers with ties to the president’s team and walked free. Others are following his blueprint, but it is not always clear who can deliver.

A former nursing-home owner, who had been convicted of tax crimes, paid a lawyer and lobbyist at least $100,000 to help secure a pardon from President Trump and walked free. Others are following his blueprint in a lucrative pardon industry that has emerged around Trump.

06.03.2026 17:07 πŸ‘ 296 πŸ” 200 πŸ’¬ 30 πŸ“Œ 40
Preview
β€˜You unbelievable coward’: conservative US media in open warfare over Iran Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Ben Shapiro and Mark Levin are all trading blows over US involvement – while Sean Hannity says he’s staying out of it

"kayfabe"

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

06.03.2026 13:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Comical to see Telegraph traded like a mail-order bride.

06.03.2026 12:43 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Axel Springer buys Telegraph in Β£575mn deal [FREE TO READ] German media group has gatecrashed a proposed acquisition by the owner of the Daily Mail

LIke reading that Jarndyce v Jarndyce has been settled out of court. Can it really be true?

06.03.2026 11:59 πŸ‘ 124 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 6
Preview
Iran school and nearby military base struck multiple times, satellite image reveals Iranian authorities say the attack, which took place on Saturday, killed 168 people.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

06.03.2026 12:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...

Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say
www.reuters.com/world/middle...

06.03.2026 06:46 πŸ‘ 460 πŸ” 265 πŸ’¬ 19 πŸ“Œ 36
Preview
Harold Wilson: The Man Who Kept Us Out Of Vietnam With the Iraq Inquiry's findings having finally been published, it's a good opportunity to compare today’s Middle East with Vietnam...

This seems relevant. Starmer more Wilson than Blair: www.forcesnews.com/news/harold-...

06.03.2026 10:19 πŸ‘ 34 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Daily Mail corrects electric car story after Yougov poll finds public were misled Polling on whether the public had been misled by a Daily Mail story forced press regulator IPSO to rethink rejection of electric car complaint

Polling on whether the public had been misled by a Daily Mail story forced press regulator IPSO to rethink its decision to reject a complaint pressgazette.co.uk/the-wire/new...

06.03.2026 10:38 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Alleged rapist carried out extensive online searches into Malkinson case, court told Paul Quinn researched case despite having little interest in news websites, jury hears at Manchester crown court

Internet search history unearthed

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

06.03.2026 11:12 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base

U.S. forces likely bombed an Iranian elementary school on Feb. 28 during an operation targeting a nearby military base, a New York Times analysis suggests. It is the deadliest known episode of civilian casualties since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran β€” and no side has yet taken responsibility.

05.03.2026 22:39 πŸ‘ 979 πŸ” 514 πŸ’¬ 120 πŸ“Œ 101

Dr Johnson, on draft-dodging Trump's war fetish:

"Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier...Mankind reverence those who have got over fear."

05.03.2026 08:33 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Parliament should leave the London bubble – and the Palace of Westminster be repurposed | Letters Letters: Readers respond to an editorial, and an article by Rupa Huq, on plans for MPs to depart while repairs are carried out

Just demolish it!
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

04.03.2026 11:02 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Spain’s SΓ‘nchez says β€˜no to war’ after Trump’s threats over Nato spending and use of bases – Europe live Spain’s PM says he opposes β€˜repeating the mistakes of the past’ as EU tells US president it stands β€˜in solidarity with all member states’

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

04.03.2026 10:37 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Β£25 for a cookie? What the baffling luxury bakery boom tells us about Britain Amid a cost of living crisis, pricey patisserie is all the rage – and not just in London. Our reporter goes on a crawl to find out if a tart can really be worth Β£45

Amazing

www.theguardian.com/food/2026/ma...

04.03.2026 10:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Andrew McFarlane: family court shouldn’t use unregulated psychologists President of family division supports new way to challenge rulings for families split by flawed evidence

🚨 A top judge has issued new guidance that unregulated psychologists should not give evidence in family court 🚨

The seismic ruling makes it next to impossible for courts to justify using unregulated experts whose assessments have resulted in mothers losing access to their children

27.02.2026 15:15 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Telegraph censured for story of fictional family’s struggle to pay school fees Watchdog upholds complaint it breached code with article about impact of VAT on banker who did not exist

what a rag

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

03.03.2026 18:37 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Minab school bombing: how the worst mass casualty event of the Iran war unfolded – a visual guide A strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh school during the US-Israeli bombing campaign killed up to 168 people. The Guardian has pieced together the incident and its aftermath using verified footage and images f...

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

03.03.2026 14:19 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
β€˜SendBarron’ trends online as South Park writer sets up website after Iran strikes The president has been accused of appearing indifferent about the deaths of American service members, prompting questions about whether he would feel differently if his own son was deployed

South Park writer leads calls for Barron Trump to be drafted as president says more American casualties expected in Iran conflict

03.03.2026 07:08 πŸ‘ 183 πŸ” 61 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 8
Preview
Trump says β€˜special relationship is obviously not what it was’ after Starmer’s refusal to back Iran strikes – UK politics live US president doubles down on criticism of the prime minister, saying β€˜he has not been helpful’

Say β€œWe think of you as a vassal state” without saying β€œWe think of you as a vassal state”…
www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

03.03.2026 09:51 πŸ‘ 531 πŸ” 120 πŸ’¬ 41 πŸ“Œ 3

I hope Starmer stands firm against attempts to suck Britain into this war

03.03.2026 10:30 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Starmer’s position on Iran pleases no one, but that is because there are no good options | Rafael Behr None of the prime minister’s critics engages with the hard strategic dilemmas arising from Britain’s perilous dependency on US power, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr

Seems fair.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

03.03.2026 09:21 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Lucy Letby case expert witness was under fitness to practise investigation during trial Exclusive: Jury was never told about inquiry into key prosecution witness Peter Hindmarsh, which looked into allegations including of harm to patients

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

03.03.2026 09:01 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Daily Mail royal editor denies using private investigator to β€˜blag’ Harry information Rebecca English shown emails at high court trial suggesting investigator β€˜went out on a limb’ to help her

www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

02.03.2026 20:29 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0