Leighton Andrews

This week there were new arrests, though interestingly the arrests were reportedly under the section three offence, and not the section one offence. This means the basis of the arrests was not that the arrestees were suspected of obtaining or disclosing protected information prejudicial to the safety or interests of the United Kingdom. Instead the three arrests this week were on the basis of a suspicion that the arrestees were materially assisting the Chinese intelligence service in carrying out UK-related activities, and that they would know, or should have known, this was what they were doing. The section three offence is framed in broad, fairly elastic terms. It does not require it to be shown that the conduct of the arrestees is prejudicial to the United Kingdom, merely that it would assist (in this case) the Chinese intelligence service, and that the arrestees knew or ought to have known this was the case. There does not even need

NEW

Espionage law on trial

My post at New Statesman on something interesting about the recent arrests for Chinese espionage - that it was the new s.3 offence used for the arrest. This could get interesting.

www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

The curious section 3 of the new National Security Act A broad and vague provision may be a cause for concern

New at The Empty City

The curious section 3 of the new National Security Act

A broad and vague provision may be a cause for concern -especially for commentators and journalists

Substack version:
emptycity.substack.com/p/the-curiou...

Non-substack version:
theemptycity.com/blog/2026/03...

My involvement in the Chinese spying 'scandal' Martin Shipton Having one’s front door smashed in at 6.20am is not the best way to start any day – nor is the arrival of an eight-strong team from the counter-terrorism division of the Metropolitan Po...

Having one’s front door smashed in at 6.20am is not the best way to start any day - nor is the arrival of an eight-strong team from the counter-terrorism division of the Metropolitan Police as part of an investigation into spying for China✍️Martin Shipton

This is absolutely brilliant 👏

I very much welcome Welsh Labour’s pledges on literacy and numeracy, and childcare, but I hope they have something to say on higher education before the election.

Pleased to see that Plaid Cymru pledges a review of HE finance in Wales and a commitment to foundational literacy and numeracy, as well as an overall test and learn approach to policy making, in its first 100 days document.

share.google/To8PXZhbyRqj...

Does ChatGPT think you’re Welsh too? In spite of glitches, the tech sector is certain that voice is the next frontier in AI

Doniol.

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Does ChatGPT think you’re Welsh too?

Eight things wrong with schools in Wales according to chief inspector The chef inspector of education has warned of 'weaknesses' in the development of key skills such as reading and numeracy

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/educati...

Literacy, numeracy, digital skills and teaching quality are not good enough in Wales' schools, says the chief inspector of schools in Wales, Owen Evans.’

Where have I heard those words before? 😡

Another decade wasted.

VAR has just excelled itself.

The new Observer app is even worse than the Guardian app. Didn’t think that was possible.

Bitcoin is still about $69,000 too high The crypto crash is coming — and the landing won’t be pretty

www.ft.com/content/2b03...

Bitcoin is still about $69,000 too high

Streets of Minneapolis - Single by Bruce Springsteen on Apple Music Album · 2026 · 1 Song

music.apple.com/gb/album/str...

Elon Musk's Tesla fined for repeatedly failing to help UK police over driving offences The British arm of Tesla has faced multiple court proceedings linked to allegations of road traffic offences.

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

Danish duolingo sentence

Topical test on my #Danish Duolingo today.

Observer front page.

Great front-page 👏👏👏

Kransekage with Welsh and Danish flags

In solidarity 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇩🇰🇬🇱

Fuck Trump poster in Copenhagen

As the poster in Copenhagen said when we were there a week ago

Tech companies’ access to UK ministers dwarfs that of child safety groups Exclusive: Amazon, Meta and X among firms holding hundreds of meetings with people at heart of government, data shows

Important and well researched piece on the extensive (!) lobbying access of big tech platforms and AI companies.

“A government of a sovereign state has a duty to its own citizens, not to the tech bros”

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

In 1916, the US was worried that Germany might take control of the Danish West Indies to use as a submarine base. So, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the USA, with the colony becoming the US Virgin Islands. In exchange, the USA acknowledged Denmark's complete sovereignty over Greenland.

What rewatching ‘The Wire’ taught me about nostalgia for a lost America The best show to understand the Trump era turns out to be the best show of the pre-Trump era

www.ft.com/content/0e86... What rewatching ‘The Wire’ taught me about nostalgia for a lost America

Gosh.

2nd poem in my Poet of the Month feature. Prompted by Norman Rockwell's 1965 painting 'Murder In Mississippi' about the killing of 3 civil rights workers. Will be in my new collection 'Exposure: war, media, democracy' @leightonandrews.bsky.social @dedalusdenaries.bsky.social

Nadhim Zahawi committed a serious breach of ministerial code, says Sunak Nadhim Zahawi is sacked as Tory Party chairman after an inquiry finds he failed to disclose investigation into his tax affairs.

Zahawi’s exit from government, in case you’d forgotten

www.bbc.com/news/uk-6444...

Very useful from @a-b-evans.bsky.social - something I will be looking at in more detail in my book on the making of the Welsh Government.

Birth pangs or a honeymoon from hell? The long annus horribilis for Welsh devolution, 1998–2000 2024 marks twenty-five years since the first elections to, and meeting of, the National Assembly for Wales. The Assembly had been established by the narrowest of margins at a referendum in 1997. Ho...

For those interested in this chaotic period in Welsh political history, I've previously written about this long annus horribilis for Welsh #devolution - which began with Ron Davies's moment of madness in 1998 and ended with Alun Michael's resignation & replacement by Rhodri Morgan in 2000: #Senedd

Interesting, for devolution anoraks/political historians, piece on the mystery absence of cabinet minutes from Welsh devolution's first major crisis (which engulfed Alun Michael's administration) - as revealed by @leightonandrews.bsky.social's substack #devolution #senedd

As revealed in my Substack yesterday….

US attack on Greenland would mean end of Nato, says Danish PM Mette Frederiksen criticises Donald Trump’s ‘unacceptable pressure’ as Greenland counterpart condemns ‘fantasies’

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Substack post

New from me on my Substack - the final days of the Alun Michael Cabinet.

Substack post

A bonus post on my Substack following yesterday’s National Archive release.