Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) issued the following statement regarding President Donald Trump’s activation of 2,000 National Guard troops in California, over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, in response to immigration protests:
“Trump is trying to escalate violence with this move. I strongly condemn violence on American streets of any kind, whether it be from demonstrators or law enforcement. As a former Mayor and Governor, I know that local and state law enforcement can handle this. California officials have NOT asked for help from the National Guard. Deploying them unasked, with publicity hound Hegseth saying that he’s ready to send in Marines, is an attention-grabbing stunt to take people’s minds off Trump’s reckless destruction of the US economy and widespread corruption and incompetence.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)
June 09, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding answers and more information regarding his threat to deploy Marines at Camp Pendleton to Los Angeles in response to ongoing protests. Rep. Levin represents Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
The letter underscores that deploying active-duty Marines goes against the apolitical nature of the United States’ Armed Services and risks further destabilizing the situation in Los Angeles. Rep. Levin’s letter notes that our Marines are trained to be lethal, not for law enforcement. Their mobilization runs counter to their training and serves merely as an act of political theater.
Click here or see below for the full letter:
Dear Secretary Hegseth,
I write regarding your June 7, 2025, social media post stating that “active duty [sic] Marines at Camp Pendleton will… be mobilized” for the purpose of law enforcement in Los Angeles.[1] This threat is a significant escalation of rhetoric and action that has the potential to further destabilize the situation in Los Angeles.
The United States Armed Forces have a long history of remaining apolitical. In fact, this is one of the fundamental principles that makes our country great. Our men and women in uniform are trained to be the most lethal fighting force in the world. We deploy them in defense of our homeland and in support of our national interest; we do not put warfighters on the ground in American cities to repress civilians.
As the representative of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in the United States Congress, I consider it my duty to fight for the readiness, preparation, and well-being of the Marines and Sailors who serve in my district. I also want to make sure each one of them has a job, a home, and the best possible health care once they separate from the service.
With this in mind, I found your threat to deploy Marines to Los Angeles for the purpose of law enforcement to be extremely disturbing. Our Marines are trained to be lethal; they are not trained for law enforcement. Your decision to mobilize them in an act of political theater runs counter to their training. Doing so would also undermine the apolitical nature of our Armed Forces, dealing a serious blow to the very fabric of our great nation.
I ask that you respond to the following questions:
Under what authority are you planning to mobilize Marines?
How many Marines are being mobilized?
What specific duties are Marines expected to carry out?
What training do Marines have to carry out these specific duties?
Was the order coordinated with the leadership of the United States Marine Corps?
Will Marines be authorized to use lethal force?
Will troops be informed of their rights to disobey orders they believe are unlawful?
Please reply by June 11, 2025. I look forward to your response.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO-06), an Army veteran and member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, reintroduced the Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act, legislation that allows survivors and families members of victims of gun violence to hold the gun industry accountable for negligence and disregard for public safety.
Historically, firearms manufacturers, sellers, and interest groups have relied on provisions in the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to shield them from civil liability, leaving countless gun violence victims and survivors without a path to recourse through the justice system. This bill would repeal the PLCAA as a critical step towards delivering the justice gun violence victims, survivors, and their loved ones deserve.
“Victims and survivors should be able to hold the gun industry accountable in court for negligent behavior. But right now, the gun industry is shielded from any liability when they disregard public safety. That’s wrong,” said Congressman Crow.“I’m introducing this bill so we can finally hold the gun industry responsible.”
Congressman Crow was joined by Representatives Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), and Dwight Evans (D-PA-03). Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the U.S. Senate companion bill.
The legislation is endorsed by Brady United Against Gun Violence, Giffords, Newtown Action Alliance, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund.
Congressman Crow has been a champion of common sense gun violence prevention legislation, including reintroducing the Closing the Loophole on Interstate Firearm Sales Act. Crow also co-led efforts to ensure proper implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, legislation he helped pass into law in 2022 and the first comprehensive gun safety reform package in nearly 30 years.
OAKLAND —California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Governor Gavin Newsom today sued President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth in response to their orders seeking to federalize the California National Guard for 60 days under 10 U.S.C. § 12406. In the early hours of Sunday morning, the U.S. Department of Defense, at the direction of the President, redirected hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles, without authorization from the Governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement. In total, the Department intends to deploy 2,000 troops from across the state, an inflammatory escalation unsupported by conditions on the ground. In a lawsuit being filed today, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom will ask the court to hold unlawful and set aside the President’s order federalizing the National Guard by way of a rarely used law, arguing that such action exceeds the federal government’s authority under the law and violates the Tenth Amendment.
“President Trump’s order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles – over the objections of the Governor and local law enforcement – is unnecessary and counterproductive. It’s also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law – and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach. This is beyond incompetence — this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”
On Friday and Saturday, June 6 and 7, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted multiple immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles. These raids were met with multiple protests. Following threats to send in the National Guard from several Trump Administration officials, on the evening of June 7, President Trump issued a formal memorandum entitled “Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions,” purporting to authorize the Department of Defense to call up 2,000 California National Guard personnel into federal service for a period of 60 days. In implementing this directive, the Department of Defense circumvented authorization from the Governor and began deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of local law enforcement actively on the ground. Notably, by the time the National Guard arrived Sunday morning, the protests had dissipated and streets were quiet, but soon after the National Guard arrived, tensions reignited, leading to the very sort of unrest the National Guard was supposedly sent in to quell. Concerningly, President Trump has already made clear his intention to expand the use of these National Guard troops to conduct interior civil immigration enforcement activities normally conducted by civil immigration law enforcement officers, creating fear and terror in California communities.
President Trump’s unprecedented order attempts to usurp state authority and resources via 10 U.S.C. § 12406, a statute that has been invoked on its own only once before in modern history and for highly unusual circumstances — when President Richard Nixon called upon the National Guard to deliver the mail during the 1970 Postal Service Strike. This is also the first time since 1965 — when President Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators — that a president has activated a state’s National Guard without a request from the state’s governor. Here, Governor Newsom did not request that the state’s National Guard be federalized, as local authorities were managing the situation on the ground, and openly expressed concern that bringing in the National Guard could inflame the situation. After the President plowed ahead with his order, the Governor sent a letter to Secretary Hegseth requesting that the Department of Defense rescind its unlawful deployment of troops in the state and return them to his command.
In a lawsuit being filed today, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom will ask the court to hold that the President and Department of Defense’s orders federalizing the California National Guard are unlawful, arguing that:
The federalization of the California National Guard deprives California of resources to protect itself and its citizens, and of critical responders in the event of a state emergency.
10 U.S.C. 12406 requires that the Governor consent to federalization of the National Guard, which Governor Newsom was not given the opportunity to do prior to their deployment.
The President’s unlawful order infringes on Governor Newsom’s role as Commander-in-Chief of the California National Guard and violates the state’s sovereign right to control and have available its National Guard in the absence of a lawful invocation of federal power.
A copy of the lawsuit will be available here shortly.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressmen Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Pat Ryan (NY-18), and Ted Lieu (CA-36) led 18 House Democratic colleagues in launching the first-ever Democratic Veterans Caucus.
Chaired by Congressman Ryan, an Army veteran; Congressman Ted Lieu, an Air Force veteran; and Congressman Chris Deluzio, a Navy veteran, the Democratic Veterans Caucus is composed of members from across the country. The caucus’ formation comes amidst unprecedented security breaches at the Department of Defense, threats to veterans’ health care, and growing national security threats across the globe.
Uniting these voices is especially important and timely given thereconciliation fight.President Trump, aided by House Republicans, is trying to push through massive cuts to bothMedicaidand theSupplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).10% of all veterans rely on Medicaidfor health care, and there are1.2 million veteransliving in households – alongside seniors and children – who utilize SNAP benefits.
“I love this country, and I am proud to join with my fellow veterans and Democrats in the U.S. House. The Democratic Veterans Caucus is a powerful space to do that,” said Congressman Deluzio. “My fellow veterans and I in Congress are ready to go to the mat for America’s veterans and servicemembers and our country’s national security. We swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, and America needs us now more than ever.”
“I refuse to let our draft-dodging President lecture us about what it means to be a Patriot while he cuts veterans’ health care, insults Gold Star families, and installs an incompetent loyalist who is dangerously politicizing the Department of Defense. It’s our duty, as those who have borne the battle, to fight for our fellow veterans and for the country we love so dearly,” said Congressman Pat Ryan. “Our loyalty is to no man. It is to the Constitution we swore an oath to protect and defend. Our mission is to deliver for our men and women in uniform and every freedom-loving American.”
“Our veterans deserve our gratitude. That is why it is despicable that the Trump Administration is leaving veterans behind,” said Congressman Ted Lieu. “From harmful DOGE cuts at the VA to attempts at rolling back benefits for veterans exposed to toxins, our nation’s heroes are experiencing unprecedented attacks on their care. We’re standing up this Caucus to fight for our veterans and uphold the oath we all took to defend the constitution. I am grateful to work with Reps. Deluzio and Ryan and all the Members in our Caucus to uplift veteran and service member voices.”
“Veterans served this country with honor and sacrifice. They kept their promises to defend our freedom, and now it’s our duty to keep our promises to them,” said Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. “As a former Navy helicopter pilot, I am disgusted by the Trump Administration’s decision to cut their health care and food assistance to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. It is a betrayal not just of our veterans, but of the values this nation stands for. This caucus was formed to unite those of us who have worn the uniform and to fight back against these attacks. I will continue to stand in the breach to protect the care and services our veterans have earned.”
“America is the land of the free because we are home to generations of brave veterans. We have a sacred obligation to fight for these patriots in the face of the Trump Administration’s cruel and senseless cuts to critical healthcare and lifesaving services,” said Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), who served as an intelligence officer for more than a decade in the Navy Reserve. “Veterans from New Hampshire and across the country deserve fighters in the United States Congress, and that is what this caucus is all about.”
“As an Army Ranger and paratrooper, I learned the ethos of servant leadership. True leaders jump out of the plane first, and always eat last. But that’s not the leadership we’re seeing from President Trump. Instead, we’re seeing Republicans cut veterans benefits and take away health care and food assistance in order to give the wealthiest Americans a massive tax break. It’s wrong for working families and our servicemembers. As a veteran and now a Democratic Member of Congress, I’m fighting back,” said Congressman Crow.
“Veterans need a united front to protect the benefits that they have earned,” said Rep. Panetta. “At a time when we have an Administration that is cutting benefits, this caucus brings together Members who have served in uniform to ensure that the federal government upholds its commitment to defending the rights, benefits, and dignity of our fellow veterans. Fortunately, we know how to fight those who threaten our values and veterans’ services because we are committed to serving those who served our country.”
“Our veterans have given so much to our country, and for this Administration to cut and dismantle programs that benefit them and their families is simply disgraceful,” said Congressman Conaway. “While my Republican colleagues stand by and watch, this caucus serves as a coalition of former service members ready to push back. Every member of this caucus knows what it means to serve, and we will use our voices to ensure that promises made to veterans are promises kept.”
“When I joined the U.S. Army, I took an oath to defend the Constitution. As a member of Congress, I am honored to represent the 72,000 veterans in the Seventh District. Sadly, we have a Commander-in-Chief whose incompetence and chaos put American lives at risk and hurts our veterans,” said Vindman. “That’s why my Democratic colleagues who’ve worn the uniform and I are standing together and speaking out. We have a duty to defend the values and people that make America the greatest country in the world — and to ensure that no one, not even the President, gets away with undermining them.”
“I joined the Army Reserves when I was 18 because I felt it was my duty to give back to the country that gave me and my family so much. My parents fled communist Vietnam in search of freedom and democracy, and because America welcomed them, our family could not only survive but thrive. I am proud to join my fellow Veterans in the House Democratic caucus to stand up for all Veterans at a time when they are seeing their benefits cut, their expertise ignored, and their federal jobs terminated,” said Rep. Derek Tran (CA-45). “I was proud that the first bill I introduced as a Member of Congress was the Protect Veteran Jobs Act, to protect the livelihoods of Veterans who have served our country honorably and who continue to do so through civilian service. Our veterans have always had our backs, the Democratic Veterans Caucus will always step up to have theirs.”
“As a Marine, I will not stand by while Donald Trump insults our veterans and dismantles the services and benefits they rightfully earned,” said Congressman Salud Carbajal. “We have a responsibility to care for the heroes who defended our rights and freedoms. This Administration has abandoned this sacred duty through reckless actions, like rolling back the PACT Act and allowing DOGE to attack the VA. It’s heartless, cruel, and un-American. That’s why I’m proud to stand with my colleagues to launch the Democratic Veterans Caucus.”
“President Trump is not a veteran but that hasn’t stopped him from creating chaos and uncertainty in the lives of those who are. From threatening veterans’ health care to pushing reckless cuts to the benefits they’ve earned, the Trump administration has treated our community like collateral damage in a partisan agenda,” said Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan. “As a veteran, a Member of Congress, and a proud advocate for those who’ve worn the uniform, I believe we have a sacred obligation to protect and honor our veterans—not undermine their health, dignity, or security. The launch of the Democratic Veterans Caucus couldn’t come at a more urgent moment. We are stepping up and stepping in to ensure veterans receive the care, respect, and support they’ve rightfully earned.”
“In the Marines, we were taught that you can fail a run and come back the next day—but if you lie, you’re out. Veterans, and all Americans, deserve leaders who tell the truth, and who respect service and sacrifice,” said Congressman Seth Moulton. “Yet Donald Trump and his Republican allies lie every day about their commitment to the military and the veteran community. Democratic veterans in Congress aren’t afraid to call out the hypocrisy—and fight to make sure no one who served this country is left behind. I’m proud to be part of this new caucus and I’m looking forward to getting started.”
“As a combat veteran with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam and as a Purple Heart recipient, I know our nation’s responsibility to our men and women in uniform,” said Congressman Mike Thompson. “Make no mistake: by firing over 80,000 VA staff, many of them veterans, this Administration isn’t just hurting us and our families — they are making every American worse off. Proud to join the Democratic Veterans Caucus as a founding member to continue our fight to protect those who have served our nation.”
“As a Navy veteran, I’m appalled by the President’s assault on veterans and their families,” said Congressman Gil Cisneros. “I’ve seen firsthand the detrimental effects of this administration on our veteran community. From cutting health care and veteran benefits to disparaging the honor of those who have served, the attacks from the President are un-American and vile. I stand firmly with my colleagues in the Democratic Veterans Caucus and know we will fight to protect the honor of veterans, their health care, mental health care, and their families.”
“I am proud to represent one of the largest veterans’ populations in the country,” said Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03). “As a veteran of the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, I look forward to continuing my work protecting America’s veterans, especially their health care, with the launch of the Democratic Veterans Caucus.”
Members of the Democratic Veterans Caucus Include:
Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA) – Marine Corps Reserve
Rep. Gil Cisneros (CA) – Navy
Rep. Herb Conaway (NJ) – Air Force
Rep. Jason Crow (CO) – Army
Rep. Don Davis (NC) – Air Force
Rep. Chris Deluzio (PA) – Navy
Rep. Jared Golden (ME) – Marine Corps
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (NH) – Navy Reserve
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA) – Air Force
Rep. Ted Lieu (CA) – Air Force
Rep. Seth Moulton (MA) – Marine Corps
Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA) – Navy Reserve
Rep. Pat Ryan (NY) – Army
Rep. Bobby Scott (VA) – Army
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (NJ) – Navy
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA) – Army
Rep. Derek Tran (CA) – Army
Rep. Eugene Vindman (VA) – Army
Congressman Deluzio is a U.S. Navy veteran, deployed to Iraq and at sea, and is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) celebrated the passage of five of his bills focused on strengthening U.S. national security and international engagement out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a markup session Thursday. Senator Coons is a member of the committee.
“From opposing hostage diplomacy to expanding our access to global sources of critical minerals, these bipartisan bills will strengthen our alliances, keep Americans safe, and advance our standing in the world,” said Senator Coons. “I’m grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support, and to Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Shaheen for their leadership in holding last week’s markup. All five of these bills are commonsense pieces of legislation that protect our citizens and better position our nation for the future, and I hope the full Senate will swiftly take up and pass these bills.”
The following bills written by Senator Coons passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week:
Defending International Security by Restricting Unlawful Partnerships and Tactics (DISRUPT) Act of 2025: The DISRUPT Act was introduced alongside Senator David McCormick (R-Pa.) to address “adversary alignment,” the growing cooperation between U.S. adversaries that threatens our nation’s interests. Authoritarian regimes in China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have intensified their cooperation, threatening global stability through increased technology and arms transfers, joint operations, and combined efforts to evade sanctions and export controls. The DISRUPT Act highlights the need for the U.S. to counter these threats and prepare for simultaneous challenges across regions, and requires the executive branch to craft a whole-of-government strategy to approach this phenomenon.
Combating PRC Overseas and Unlawful Networked Threats through Enhanced Resilience (COUNTER) Act: The COUNTER Act, introduced with Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), would combat the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attempts to strengthen its global reach by building and expanding military bases in strategically important locations. The PRC has intensified its efforts to establish an overseas network of military bases, which would allow the People’s Liberation Army to project and expand military power. The bill would mitigate this threat by requiring an intelligence assessment of these activities and a strategy from the State Department and Department of Defense. It would also create an interagency task force to implement the strategy and identify proactive measures to counteract both current and future Chinese attempts to add military bases in strategic locations.
Countering Wrongful Detention Act: Originally introduced last year alongside Senator James Risch (R-Idaho) to combat “hostage diplomacy,” the legislation would create new tools for the U.S. government to deter states from wrongfully detaining Americans abroad and support wrongful detainees upon their return home. The bill would create a U.S. State Department designation called the “State Sponsor of Unlawful or Wrongful Detention” to hold foreign governments accountable for wrongfully detaining Americans abroad. It aims to refine existing U.S. government responses to wrongful detentions, enhance awareness of travel advisories for Americans in high-risk countries, and establish an advisory council on wrongful detention consisting of survivors, family members, and experts to provide policy recommendations to the executive branch. Seven of the 10 provisions contained in the Countering Wrongful Detention Act were passed into law as part of the FY 2025 NDAA.
Finding Opportunities for Resource Exploration (Finding ORE) Act: The Finding ORE act, introduced with Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) would strengthen U.S. critical mineral security and reduce strategic vulnerabilities. Critical minerals are essential to producing technologies in the defense, semiconductor, automotive, and energy sectors—industries that will shape America’s economic future and global standing. This bill aims to utilize the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) expertise in mapping critical mineral reserves while giving U.S. companies an advantage in responsibly developing mineral resources globally.
International Nuclear Energy Act: Introduced alongside Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), this bill aims to strengthen the U.S. nuclear industry and offset China’s and Russia’s influence on international nuclear energy development. The bill would create an office to coordinate nuclear export strategies and financing, promoting regulatory harmonization and standardization, and enhancing safeguards and security. The act also would form programs to promote international collaboration and hold cabinet-level biennial summits. Senator Coons is a Co-Chair of the bipartisan Senate Climate Solutions Caucus.
NOTE: The following is a statement from Premier Tim Houston.
Our government welcomes Prime Minister Carney’s commitment to invest in Canada’s armed forces. This will better protect our country.
Nova Scotia is ready to step up to help protect Canada while creating good-paying jobs through manufacturing, technology and the development of the critical minerals and raw materials needed to rebuild our military right here.
We have a proud history of military service, with the most military members per capita across Canada.
Our province is home to a significant portion of Canada’s military assets, including the country’s most populated military base, CFB Halifax, the regional office of NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), and the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount.
I look forward to hearing from Prime Minister Carney details for Nova Scotia’s involvement in Canada’s renewed focus on defence.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren
June 07, 2025
After Trump threatened to cancel Musk’s contracts, Musk warned that SpaceX would “begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately”
“If Mr. Musk breaches his current contracts or they are canceled immediately, it could leave critical gaps that endanger U.S. interests and national security.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pressed Acting National Security Advisor Marco Rubio on contingency plans in place if Elon Musk violates his current contractual obligations and fails to deliver services national security agencies are counting on to keep Americans safe. As part of their public feud earlier this week, President Trump threatened to cancel Musk’s government contracts — and Musk, in turn, warned that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft “immediately.”
“No petty social media fight between the president and a billionaire should jeopardize U.S. national security,” wrote Senator Warren.
Elon Musk’s companies have significant contracts with the U.S. government to provide key national security services, including NASA’s approximately $5 billion contract with SpaceX to send and bring home astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which Musk threatened to decommission, is the only U.S. vessel capable of carrying astronauts to and from the station. The Department of Defense also relies heavily on SpaceX, including for launch services that support Space Force operations and spy satellites.
“If Mr. Musk breaches his current contracts or they are canceled immediately, it could leave critical gaps that endanger U.S. interests and national security,” wrote Senator Warren.
Senator Warren has previously raised concerns that the U.S. government’s dependence on a mercurial billionaire puts U.S. national security at risk, including in May 2024, when she urged the Department of Defense to hold SpaceX accountable following reports that the company was allowing Starlink terminals to be used by Russian forces and sanctioned paramilitary forces.
As the Trump-Musk feud continues, Senator Warren pressed Secretary Rubio for answers to a series of questions in order to understand what contingency plans and options the administration could exercise to ensure that reckless decisions do not create an interruption in critical national security services.
Senator Warren has long fought to ensure federal contractors are acting the best interest of the American people:
In May 2025, Senators Warren, Warner, Shaheen and other lawmakers pushed for corruption investigations into the Trump Administration’s favors for Elon Musk’s Starlink.
In March 2025, Senator Warren, Representative Raskin, Senator Blumenthal, and other lawmakers pushed White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles on corruption by the Trump Administration.
In a May 2024 hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Strategic Forces subcommittee, Senator Warren pressed Department of Defense officials on what steps they were taking to hold SpaceX accountable for Russia’s illegal use of Starlink.
In May 2024, Senator Warren sent a letter calling on the Department of Defense to hold SpaceX accountable for the use of Starlink by Russia and other sanctioned U.S. adversaries.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Grace Meng (6th District of New York)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) introduced legislation to require full back pay for employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) who were unjustly fired and later reinstated. The Reinstating Employee Salaries to Original Rates and Entitlements (RESTORE) Act (H.R.3192) would apply to all VA employees who were terminated and later rehired on or after January 20, 2025.
In January, the President issued an Executive Order calling for significant reductions in the federal workforce in conjunction with the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).” Department communications show that as of March, VA officials had already fired 6,000 employees, and were planning to cut another 80,000 jobs, which would return staffing to 2019 levels. In addition to career civil servants, these actions have mainly targeted probationary employees, who have been in their positions for less than two years or recently received a promotion. As a result, thousands of veterans and federal workers have been terminated across multiple federal agencies, including the VA. These employees were responsible for providing core VA services, including health care, benefits services, housing loans, and burial and memorial services, among others.
This year,Meng invited Luke Graziani, a constituent from Woodside, Queens and a 20-year U.S. Army veteran who was unjustly fired from his job as a public affairs officer at a New York City veterans’ hospital, as her guest to President Trump’s address to Congress in March to stand against the ongoing mass firings of federal employees and veterans. He was among the tens of thousands of federal workers that the Administration has unfairly terminated across the federal government since January.
“VA employees, like Luke Graziani, take an oath to serve our veterans, regardless of who is in the Oval Office. Without them, veterans would be left without the care and benefits they were promised when they made the commitment to serve and protect our nation,” said Meng. “These dedicated public servants, many of whom are veterans themselves, should never have been fired from their jobs. The RESTORE Act guarantees back pay for thousands of these illegally fired VA employees who have devoted their careers to serving our communities. They are not government waste, nor are the salaries they rely on.”
Graziani was abruptly laid off in February as the Administration began its attempts at sweeping cuts to the federal workforce. Meng had intervened with the VA on his behalf, urging the agency to reinstate him. He was rehired in April after a federal judge ordered the VA and other federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers who were fired. Fortunately,Graziani was reinstatedwith backpay, but many VA employees haven’t had the same experience, and current federal law doesn’t mandate the Administration provide it in this circumstance.
Across the country there are about 2.3 million federal workers who serve their communities each day. Approximately 6,000 federal workers live in Meng’sCongressional District alone.
Now introduced in the House, the RESTORE Act must be passed by the House Committee on Veteran Affairs before it can be brought to the floor for a vote.
Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense
SHENYANG, June 9 (Xinhua) — More than 1,200 historical files related to Japan’s invasion during World War II were released by the provincial archives of Liaoning on Monday, International Archives Day, shedding new light on Japan’s invasion and occupation of China more than 80 years ago.
The files are archival catalogs of the South Manchuria Railways Co., which was founded in 1906 and ended in 1945. The colonial enterprise was believed to have bankrolled Japan’s militarist ambitions during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression between 1931 and 1945.
Among the disclosed files are tables of the compensation for families of soldiers who died and were injured in the Mukden Incident on Sept. 18, 1931. The incident occurred when Japanese troops blew up a section of railway under their control near Shenyang and accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for attack. They bombarded Chinese barracks near Shenyang the same evening, beginning a large-scale invasion of northeast China.
Other files are related to events like the Lugou Bridge Incident and the Nanjing Massacre. “The files showed that the South Manchuria Railways Co. played a significant role in the Japanese invasion in China by gathering intelligence, supporting pro-Japanese forces, funding the war, participating in military activities and glorifying the aggression,” said Cong Longhai with the Liaoning provincial archives.
According to Cong, during its operation in China, the company has controlled the economic lifeline of northeast China, plundered mineral resources, and collected various intelligence.
“The files recorded the evidence of Japan’s invasion of China and are also unbreakable evidence written by the Japanese invaders themselves, which are of significant historical value,” he said.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and in the World Anti-Fascist War. By releasing the historical files, Cong hopes that they could further help uncover the inside story of Japan’s long-planned invasion of China, and tell the heroic deeds of the Chinese nation during that war, he added.
Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense
BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) — A Chinese defense spokesperson on Monday rebuked Britain for hyping up the so-called “China threat” in its recent strategic defense evaluation report.
Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media inquiry regarding the document issued by the British government.
China adheres to the path of peaceful development and pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. It has always been a defender, builder and contributor to security in the Asia-Pacific region, said Jiang.
He urged the British side to perceive China in a correct manner, objectively and rationally view China and its military development, and stop propagating the so-called “China threat.”
The British side should make more practical efforts to contribute to the growth of relations between the two countries and their militaries, Jiang added.
NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain – Nestled within Naval Station Rota, Spain, Camp Mitchell stands as a testament to the unwavering commitment and operational excellence of the U.S. Navy Seabees. Named in honor of Capt. Thomas J. Mitchell, a distinguished Civil Engineer Corps (CEC) officer who was killed in action in 1974, the camp has served as a forward-deployed hub for Naval Construction Forces in the European and African theaters for decades.
Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) opened a new chapter in its support of naval aviation’s heavy lift mission with the induction of a CH-53K King Stallion April 17, marking the first time the platform has ever been inducted for depot-level maintenance.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
News story
DTEP funding for SCI the CHERI on the cake
Cambridge-based SCI Semiconductors secure funding through the Defence Technology Exploitation Programme
Cambridge-based SCI Semiconductors are the latest SME to be awarded a DTEP grant
They are collaborating with an experienced higher-tier partner on a project to resolve a number of long standing cyber security challenges
The Defence Technology Exploitation Programme (DTEP) boosts security and defence innovation while supporting the technology supply chain
SCI Semiconductors, a leading cyber security company based in Cambridge, are the latest SME to be awarded DTEP funding for their innovative approach to tackling the escalating problem of compromised computer integrity within military systems.
SCI are collaborating with Ultra, a higher-tier supplier who specialise in mission focused technological innovations, who will provide mentoring for the duration of the project. SCI will receive a government grant worth 50% of the project value with the aim of developing innovative new solutions that meet UK defence and security challenges.
The DTEP programme, which seeks to improve the competitiveness of the UK defence supply chain, is sponsored by the MOD’s Directorate of Industrial Strategy and Exports (DISE) and delivered through a number of partners including the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and Innovate UK.
Congratulations to SCI Semiconductors
The UK has invested heavily in Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions (CHERI) systems to manage cyber defences, however gaps still exist in getting this crucial technology into real world applications (e.g. autonomous drone platforms). Through their DTEP project, SCI are working to resolve these gaps by developing high integrity, isolated hardware and software structures for a broad array of applications. This means that vital military control systems can be much safer from the risk of cyber attack.
Haydn Povey, Chief Executive of SCI Semiconductors said:
The UK government are keen to act on Security by Design and this project will leverage CHERI technology, a key technology to delivering this capability. With over 70% of critical vulnerabilities and exploits (CVE’s) directly linked to software Memory Safety issues, which form the vast majority of cyber-attacks on critical systems, there is a clear need to address this systemic weakness. This project is directly focused on ensuring communication systems and active control systems are more robust, higher integrity, and are inherently secured again broad-based cyber-attacks.
DTEP’s funding for SCI Semiconductors highlights the MOD’s commitment to fostering innovation and strengthening the UK defence and security supply chain through strategic SME partnerships.
Learn more about DASA’s funding opportunities here.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
June 05, 2025
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—today led 22 of her fellow Senate Democratic colleagues in urging Defense Secretary Hegseth to reverse course and not implement the Trump Administration’s un-American transgender military service ban that will unfairly attack honorable servicemembers for who they are, compromise good order and discipline and jeopardize our national security. In the Senators’ letter, the group demands answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—including what specific data is being used to back up their claim that transgender servicemembers are not in the “interests of national security” and how much it will cost taxpayers to train the replacements of perfectly capable transgender servicemembers that they are forcing out of our military. After Senator Duckworth led over a dozen of her colleagues in April pushing back against the ban, Secretary Hegseth’s response to their letter did not answer many of the questions that were asked about the short- and long-term impacts of the ban on servicemembers, readiness and national security as well as taxpayer cost and more.
“Transgender servicemembers are not political props; they are patriotic Americans serving honorably,” wrote the Senators. “Banning them from service will compromise good order and discipline, take deployable servicemembers out of the fight and create national security risks felt for years to come. Your recent implementation guidance makes matters worse.”
Additionally, the lawmakers admonished the Trump Administration’s latest guidance for implementing the ban, which requires military commanders to report servicemembers in their unit who they think display any signs of gender dysphoria.
“By stating that unit commanders ‘will direct’ reviews of the medical records of servicemembers under their command, despite the fact that they are not equipped to do so, you are requiring them to perform a duty—for purely political reasons—that is far outside the scope of their normal operational and warfighting-centric responsibilities,” continued the Senators. “This burden is corrosive to unit cohesion, trust and the wellbeing of the servicemember and the commanders, who are being failed by their chain of command. This is not leadership.”
In conclusion, the lawmakers’ wrote: “Your policy will harm our armed services’ operational readiness and lethality, not only endangering Americans, but costing billions of dollars in taxpayer money in service of a political stunt meant to attack a small, extraordinarily brave group of people. Servicemembers’ privacy is being invaded, their livelihoods are being threatened and they are being used as a political tool to appeal to a minority of Americans.”
“Mr. Secretary, do not implement this ban.”
In addition to Duckworth, the letter is co-signed by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The letter is endorsed by SPARTA, Modern Military Association of America, Minority Veterans of America and Out in National Security.
The full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website and below:
Secretary Hegseth:
We write to express our ongoing opposition to the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) destructive and foolhardy ban on transgender servicemembers, as outlined in the May 15, 2025, memorandum entitled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness: Implementation Guidance.” We have already written to condemn the ban itself. Transgender servicemembers are not political props; they are patriotic Americans serving honorably. Banning them from service will compromise good order and discipline, take deployable servicemembers out of the fight and create national security risks felt for years to come. Your recent implementation guidance makes matters worse.
The May 15th memorandum compromises commanders by making them informers on their own troops in areas outside of their expertise. Per that guidance, commanders of servicemembers who, in their judgment, display “gender dysphoria, a history of gender dysphoria, or symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria will direct individualized medical record reviews of such Service members.” Generally, commanders are not trained in medicine, psychology or mental health and are therefore not qualified to assess the members of their units for symptoms of mental health diagnoses. By stating that unit commanders “will direct” reviews of the medical records of servicemembers under their command, despite the fact that they are not equipped to do so, you are requiring them to perform a duty—for purely political reasons—that is far outside the scope of their normal operational and warfighting-centric responsibilities. This burden is corrosive to unit cohesion, trust and the wellbeing of the servicemember and the commanders, who are being failed by their chain of command. This is not leadership.
Additionally, the Department’s discharge guidance punishes those who have volunteered to serve. The guidance, which mandates separating transgender officers using the JDK separation code “on the basis that their continued service is not clearly consistent with the interests of national security,” is unjustifiable. There is ample evidence that these servicemembers, many of whom are decorated with years of honorable service and all or nearly all of whom are otherwise deployable, are assets to their units and to the force. Your DoD has failed to produce any meaningful evidence to suggest otherwise, much less to prove that transgender servicemembers threaten national security. Using this discharge code is not only cruel; it’s stupid. Beyond insulting brave individuals who have sacrificed to serve their country, this further ensures that the DoD or other security agencies will not be able to hire these individuals in a civilian capacity, robbing the national security establishment that protects everyday Americans of any opportunity to benefit from the skills and expertise these unreasonably separated servicemembers have gained at great expense to the taxpayer.
Beyond those process failures, your last response declined to answer several critical questions, answers to which are vital for Congress’ ability to oversee your Department. Ongoing litigation is no excuse; the taxpayers have a right to know your reasons and evidence. Please explain:
What is the anticipated cost of implementing this policy, including all costs for separation, legal defense, investments made in these brave servicemembers that will no longer be recouped and the cost to train their replacements? How much more expensive is it than retaining these servicemembers?
What specific information, data or evidence, if any, serve as the basis for the statement that allowing transgender troops to serve is “not clearly consistent with the interests of national security”?
What consultations, studies and/or assessments were conducted (internally or externally) to evaluate the impact of this policy prior to implementation?
We trust that you will either include copies of all such reports, briefs or findings with your response, or specify that no such evidence exists.
Your policy will harm our armed services’ operational readiness and lethality, not only endangering Americans, but costing billions of dollars in taxpayer money in service of a political stunt meant to attack a small, extraordinarily brave group of people. Servicemembers’ privacy is being invaded, their livelihoods are being threatened and they are being used as a political tool to appeal to a minority of Americans.
LOS ANGELES, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC), managed by the National Security Technology Accelerator (NSTXL), has awarded two contracts under the U.S. Space Force’s (USSF) Joint Antenna Marketplace (JAM) initiative to Boecore LLC (doing business as Auria) and Sphinx Defense. The awards were made through the SpEC Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement in support of USSF’s Space Systems Command (SSC).
JAM is a secure, cloud-based scheduling system that helps connect satellite operators to the antenna resources they need, automating matches across commercial and government-owned infrastructure. The program supports the USSF’s Commercial Space Strategy and aims to deliver scalable, flexible tools for space operators to dynamically assign bandwidth, improve resiliency, and enhance mission speed.
“JAM demonstrates how OTAs can lower barriers and speed up the delivery of critical capabilities,” said Doug Crowe, Senior Vice President of Program Management at NSTXL. “It’s a reminder that innovation follows when acquisition policy creates space for flexibility and competition. When the door is open, the defense innovation base shows up.”
Each prime contractor will deliver a JAM prototype designed to improve scheduling agility, reduce communication bottlenecks, and enable the rapid integration of commercial capabilities into hybrid space architectures. Boecore was awarded $8.1 million, and Sphinx Defense was awarded $9.5 million. Their teams include a mix of non-traditional and traditional performers with expertise in satellite mission planning, secure communications, and antenna interoperability.
The JAM solicitation reflects SpEC and NSTXL’s commitment to acquisition that is faster, more transparent, and more collaborative. Fourteen prime submissions were received, all from non-traditional defense contractors. The evaluation process was conducted through an open, competitive framework designed to surface the most capable and scalable solutions. Nine teaming arrangements were formed, including contributors based in Colorado, Maryland, and Virginia. SpEC and NSTXL supported teaming efforts through Project TALX and Innovator NETWORX—drawing more than 130 combined participants across both events.
JAM aligns with the Department of Defense’s March 2025 directive on modern software acquisition and is currently in the Planning Phase of the Software Acquisition Pathway. Awardees will participate in NSTXL’s milestone-based oversight process to ensure delivery timelines, mission alignment, and technical performance stay on track. The prototypes will help define an operational baseline for enterprise-wide satellite scheduling and could become a core component of the Space Force’s hybrid space architecture moving forward. For more information, read SSC’s press release here.
About SpEC The Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) was created in 2017 through the Air Force Space Systems Command to bridge the gap between military buyers and commercial space startups and small businesses through OTAs. Companies interested in joining the Space Enterprise Consortium can find more information about the organization, including how to join athttps://www.space-enterprise.org/.
HERNDON, Va., June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SMX®, a leader in technology and mission focused solutions, today announced the appointment of Scott Barr as Chief Operating Officer (COO). In this role, Barr will join the Executive Leadership Team working closely with the CEO on strategic initiatives focused on accelerating growth and enhancing operational and execution excellence.
A veteran of the federal contracting industry, Barr brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across operations, strategy, and technology-driven transformation. He joins SMX most recently from Maximus, where he led the Technology Consulting Services division, and previously served in senior roles at Sierra7 and Booz Allen Hamilton. His background spans both defense and civilian sectors, giving him a unique perspective on client mission needs and enterprise modernization. He is also a recognized leader in talent development, change management, and operational excellence.
As COO, Barr will focus on optimizing operational performance, scaling delivery capabilities, and ensuring mission-focused outcomes for customers across SMX portfolios.
“Scott brings a rare combination of mission insight, organizational leadership, and hands-on experience across both defense and federal civilian sectors,” said SMX CEO Peter LaMontagne. “As SMX continues to scale, it’s critically important to preserve and enhance the client- and employee-focused approach to solution delivery that has established SMX as a market leader. Scott is a great fit to ensure continued success.”
“I’m excited to join SMX at such a pivotal moment in its growth,” said Scott Barr, Chief Operating Officer at SMX. “The company has built a strong reputation for delivering mission-focused solutions with speed and agility. I look forward to working alongside the team to scale our capabilities, drive operational excellence, and enhance our go-to-market strategy-especially through innovative programs like SMX Elevate that are helping customers achieve rapid impact.”
This appointment reinforces SMX’s commitment to evolving its leadership to help clients accelerate mission success in an increasingly dynamic federal landscape.
About SMX SMX is an industry leading provider of product focused solutions for mission-oriented clients, operating across the United States and around the globe. SMX delivers scalable and secure solutions combined with the mission expertise needed to accelerate outcomes for the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, Public Sector, Fortune 1000, and other public and private sector clients. For more information on our solutions, please visit https://www.smxtech.com/.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments 3
Press release
First meeting of defence industry body to forge new partnership and industry mobilisation
Defence Secretary John Healey co-chairs the first Defence Industrial Joint Council meeting today, bringing together defence firms, trade unions and investors to forge a new partnership aimed at improving warfighting readiness, driving innovation and boosting British jobs.
Defence Secretary to co-chair inaugural Defence Industrial Joint Council meeting at Hadean’s London headquarters.
Council members include primes, tech companies, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), trade unions and investors, bringing diverse defence industry expertise from all across the UK to the heart of defence decision-making.
Focus on delivering the Government’s Plan for Change by driving jobs and prosperity through a new partnership with industry and driving procurement reforms, marking start of London Tech Week and following launch of the Strategic Defence Review.
The UK’s drive to improve warfighting readiness and turbocharge defence innovation will be the focus of the first ever meeting of the Government’s new Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) today – bringing together Ministers and defence firms of all sizes with trade unions and investors.
Co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey and Dr. Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive Officer at BAE Systems, the meeting comes at a significant moment for defence, following the publication of the Government’s Strategic Defence Review and in the lead-up to the Defence Industrial Strategy’s publication this summer.
Industry, innovators and investors will benefit from the new partnership with UK Defence, enabling better decision-making and communication between the MOD and its industry partners, boosting British jobs and national security, underpinning the Government’s Plan for Change.
This comes as the Prime Minister made the historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of UK GDP by April 2027, recognising the critical importance of military readiness in an era of heightened global uncertainty.
Closer collaboration with the defence industry was a key focus of the Strategic Defence Review, which saw the UK committing to:
Investing £6bn in munitions this parliament, including £1.5bn in an “always on” pipeline for munitions and building at least 6 new energetics and munitions factories in the UK, generating over 1,000 jobs and boosting export potential.
Establishing UK Defence Innovation with £400m to fund and grow UK based companies.
Creating a new Defence Exports Office in the Ministry of Defence to drive exports to our allies and growth at home.
Introducing radical new reforms to speed up defence procurement.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said:
National security is at the heart of our Plan for Change and is essential for economic security. We are sending a signal to industry and to our adversaries: with a strong UK defence sector we will make Britain secure at home and strong abroad.
It is an honour to co-chair the inaugural meeting of the Defence Industrial Joint Council, through which we can forge a new and improved partnership between government and industry, while also bringing trade unions and investors closer to the heart of defence decision-making. I am proud that this council brings together, for the first time, the full range of voices across UK Defence.
UK Defence is open for business and driving defence as an engine for economic growth, boosting British jobs across the UK.
The DIJC replaces the former Defence Suppliers Forum and aims to harness a wider, and more diverse set of defence expertise to shape the future of Britain’s defence manufacturing, supply chain and innovation – including trade union representation alongside SMEs and investors for the first time.
The Council is underpinned by a commitment to continually refresh and widen its membership, to champion new entrants to the defence sector. The diversity of the DIJC’s members reflects the defence sector of the future, a joint endeavour characterised by innovation and efficiency.
The meeting coincides with the first day of London Tech Week, serving as a reminder of the cutting-edge innovation delivered through defence tech year-round and its contribution to keeping the UK safe at home and strong abroad. Innovation as a driver for growth has been recognised by government with a commitment to ringfencing 10% defence budget for investment in novel technologies.
Dr. Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive Officer at BAE Systems said:
Today’s meeting of the Defence Industrial Joint Council is an important moment, bringing together defence companies of all sizes, along with trade unions and investors, to support implementation of the Government’s forthcoming Defence Industrial Strategy.
Improved collaboration and communication will enable industry to continue investing in new technologies, facilities and our workforce to create a stronger UK defence industrial base ready to meet evolving military requirements in an increasingly uncertain world.
Innovation can be delivered most efficiently through partnerships between the public and private sectors, exemplified by the latest remotely operated underwater robot developed by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) with small and medium enterprises. By modifying a commercially available remotely operated vehicle, Dstl and its industry partners have created a prototype which might soon be able to save lives at sea for the Royal Navy and prevent adversaries from sabotaging undersea cables and pipelines.
Yet as fascination with America’s founding endures, controversy colors how the revolution is taught across the United States. From contested efforts by The New York Times “1619 Project” to put slavery at the center of America’s story, to attempts to limit teaching about race and racism, partisanship surrounds the teaching of American history. Anniversaries can inspire public passion, but they can also open old wounds.
As an American historian and a naturalized citizen of the United States, I regard the American Revolution with both personal and professional interest. The fact that I grew up in the United Kingdom amuses my students to no end whenever we discuss the Revolutionary War. Sometimes, in my British-accented English, I remind them I did not personally grow up with King George. Teaching history is encouraging students to think critically about the past without dictating what emotions they should feel – patriotic or otherwise.
Sadly, in the U.S., the sort of objective historical knowledge once taken for granted now appears to be waning. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, just 13% of eighth graders in 2023 ranked “proficient” in American history. A 2010 survey found that 26% of adults could not identify from whom America declared its independence, with China, Mexico and France among the responses.
America divorcing France would have been news to Gilbert du Motier, better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. His commitment to the new country not only helped secure its independence, but it also helped solidify American identity decades later.
Key alliance
A privileged aristocrat who served in both the American and French revolutions, Lafayette went to war at age 19. Commissioning and equipping his own expedition across the Atlantic in 1777, he fought in many battles against the British, including decisive action at Yorktown. Earning George Washington’s confidence, Lafayette attained the rank of major general in the Continental Army.
‘The reception of Lafayette at Mount Vernon, home of Washington,’ painted by Herman Bencke around 1875. Bencke & Scott/Library of Congress
Lafayette’s enrollment in the U.S. military predated the 1778 alliance between his home country and the United States. Eventually, France’s alliance turned the tide against Great Britain on land and at sea. By the war’s end, the French had supplied some 12,000 soldiers, 22,000 sailors and dozens of warships to the American cause, plus huge financial resources. When Lafayette volunteered, however, he was one of just a few foreign volunteers – and the most acclaimed.
“Nowadays,” as historian Sarah Vowell conceded, Americans think of Lafayette as “a place, not a person.” But an abundance of cities, counties and thoroughfares named after the revolutionary hero attest to his former celebrity. During World War I, U.S. troops sailed to France under the slogan “Lafayette here we come,” promising to repay America’s debt of gratitude to France.
A growing country
Older Americans may recall the U.S. bicentennial of 1976, marked with much pageantry and even a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II. America’s semicentennial, however – the 50th anniversary of independence – played a far greater role shaping the idea of America in the minds of its citizens.
Lafayette starred in the buildup to this 1826 commemoration, the first of its kind at the national level. President James Monroe, a fellow veteran of the War of Independence, invited Lafayette to be “the guest of America,” honored as the last living major general of the Continental Army. Beginning in July 1824, at the age of 66, Lafayette embarked on a triumphal tour of all 24 states then comprising the union – nearly double the original 13.
As Lafayette headed west, borne by horse-drawn carriage, steamboat and canal barge, he journeyed across a changing America. Nowhere was America’s economic and demographic growth more evident than Cincinnati, where a crowd of 50,000 welcomed Lafayette in May 1825. Once a small frontier town, Cincinnati was growing faster than any comparably sized city in the nation: Its population increased from around 15,000 to roughly 115,000 in the quarter century following Lafayette’s visit.
He addressed his audience with emotion: “The highest reward that can be bestowed on a revolutionary veteran is to welcome him with a sight of the blessings which have issued from our struggle for independence, freedom and equal rights.”
Lafayette gave human face to America’s national commemoration. He granted citizens of frontier states like Ohio – hitherto excluded from the revolutionary narrative – license to celebrate themselves. High turnouts in western stops such as Cincinnati reflected enthusiasm for grand spectacles. They also reflected the growth of America’s print media, which had advertised his visit, and improved transportation in formerly remote regions of the country.
Lafayette’s tour culminated with a September 1825 state banquet in Washington, D.C., hosted by the new president, John Quincy Adams. Adams – the son of America’s second president, John Adams – praised “that tie of love, stronger than death,” connecting Lafayette “for the endless ages of time, with the name of Washington.”
Rose-colored glasses
The enthusiasm that welcomed Lafayette 200 years ago was authentic. But like all good history lessons, Lafayette’s legacy is open to interpretation.
His grand tour cemented the myth of “the Era of Good Feelings”: a golden age of American political harmony. In reality, the seeds of America’s civil war were already evident. Missouri’s 1820 admission to the union threatened the country’s precarious balance between states that opposed slavery and states that allowed it – a crisis Thomas Jefferson warned was “a fire bell in the night.”
Likewise, Lafayette’s lionization in the western United States coincided with the ongoing forced removal of Indigenous people. Ohio, for example, forcibly removed its last Native American tribe in 1843.
Despite the uses and abuses of historical memory and the aversion of modern historians toward hero-worship, Lafayette remains a charismatic figure – a “citizen of two worlds” who championed both abolitionism and women’s rights. I believe his fading public memory indicates a troubling amnesia. America’s anniversary offers the opportunity to reconsider his legacy, alongside revolutionary stories of Americans from all walks of life.
As Lafayette wrote home following the British army’s surrender in 1781: “Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.”
Matthew Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
When people use the term “Orwellian,” it’s not a good sign.
It usually characterizes an action, an individual or a society that is suppressing freedom, particularly the freedom of expression. It can also describe something perverted by tyrannical power.
It’s a term used primarily to describe the present, but whose implications inevitably connect to both the future and the past.
But while Orwell believed in the existence of an objective truth about history, he did not necessarily believe that truth would prevail.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to determine whether ‘public monuments, memorials, statues, markers, or similar properties … have been removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history.’ Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Winners write the history
During World War II, the Nazis broadcast reports on German radio describing nonexistent air raids over Britain.
Orwell knew about those reports and wrote: “Now, we are aware that those raids did not happen. But what use would our knowledge be if the Germans conquered Britain? For the purposes of a future historian, did those raids happen, or didn’t they?”
The answer, Orwell wrote, was, “If Hitler survives, they happened, and if he falls, they didn’t happen. So with innumerable other events of the past ten or twenty years. … In no case do you get one answer which is universally accepted because it is true: in each case you get a number of totally incompatible answers, one of which is finally adopted as the result of a physical struggle. History is written by the winners.”
As Orwell wrote in “1984,” his final, dystopian novel, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
Power, Orwell appreciated, allowed those who possessed it to create their own historical narrative. It also allowed those in power to silence or censor opposing narratives, quashing the possibility of productive dialogue about history that could ultimately allow truth to come out.
The Ministry of Truth
The desire to eradicate counternarratives drives Winston Smith’s job at the ironically named Ministry of Truth in “1984.”
The novel is set in Oceania, a geographical entity covering North America and the British Isles and which governs much of the Global South.
Oceania is an absolute tyranny governed by Big Brother, the leader of a political party whose only goal is the perpetuation of its own power. In this society, truth is what Big Brother and the party say it is.
The regime imposes near total censorship so that not only dissident speech but subversive private reflection, or “thought crime,” is viciously prosecuted. In this way, it controls the present.
But it also controls the past. As the party’s protean policy evolves, Smith and his colleagues are tasked with systematically destroying any historical records that conflict with the current version of history. Smith literally disposes of artifacts of inexpedient history by throwing them down “memory holes,” where they are “wiped … out of existence and out of memory.”
At a key point in the novel, Smith recalls briefly holding on to a newspaper clipping that proved that an enemy of the regime had not actually committed the crime he had been accused of. Smith recognizes the power over the regime that this clipping gives him, but he simultaneously fears that power will make him a target. In the end, fear of retaliation leads him to drop the slip of newsprint down a memory hole.
The contemporary U.S. is a far cry from Orwell’s Oceania. Yet the Trump administration is doing its best to exert control over the present and the past.
As part of efforts to purge references to gay people, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the removal of gay rights advocate Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship. Screenshot, Military.com
Other erasures have included the deletion of content on government sites related to the life of Harriet Tubman, the Maryland woman who escaped slavery and then played a pioneering role as a conductor of the Underground Railroad, helping enslaved people escape to freedom.
The administration also directed the removal of content concerning the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of African American pilots who flew missions in World War II.
Over the past several months, many of Trump’s opponents have bemoaned the fecklessness of the Democratic Party in mounting an effective opposition to the president’s agenda.
Current proponents of the “anti-woke” agenda at both the federaland state level are focused on reshaping educational curricula in a way that will make it inconceivable for future generations to question their historical claims.
Orwell’s “1984” ends with an appendix on the history of “Newspeak,” Oceania’s official language, which, while it had not yet superseded “Oldspeak” or standard English, was rapidly gaining ground as both a written and spoken dialect.
According to the appendix, “The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the worldview and mental habits proper to the devotees of [the Party], but to make all other modes of thought impossible.”
Orwell, as so often in his writing, makes the abstract theory concrete: “The word free still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ‘This dog is free from lice’ or ‘This field is free from weeds.’ … political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts.”
The goal of this language streamlining was total control over past, present and future.
If it is illegal to even speak of systemic racism, for example, let alone discuss its causes and possible remedies, it constrains the potential for, even prohibits, social change.
It has become a cliché that those who do not understand history are bound to repeat it. As George Orwell appreciated, the correlate is that social and historical progress require an awareness of, and receptivity to, both historical fact and competing historical narratives.
Laura Beers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
June 9, 2025 – Ottawa, ON – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces
Exercise CUTLASS FURY 2025 (Ex CF25) will take place from June 9 to 18, 2025 off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This strategic initiative will bring together a diverse array of military forces from across Canada and around the world to enhance collective defence capabilities, strengthen maritime security, and foster international cooperation.
Ex CF25, led by Canada, will feature the Canadian Atlantic Fleet alongside joint elements of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), and Allied Forces from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. The focus will be on anti-submarine warfare and air-maritime integration, aiming to refine warfighting skills and improving interoperability among participating forces.
This exercise underscores Canada’s commitment to global security and its role as a reliable defence partner on the international stage. By participating in Ex CF25, Canada and its allies will demonstrate their readiness to address complex security challenges collaboratively, promoting stability and peace worldwide.
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
BEIJING, June 9 (Xinhua) — A contingent of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will leave for Mongolia in mid-June to participate in the Han Quest 2025 multinational peacekeeping exercise, Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said Monday.
Chinese military personnel will take part in the exercises at the invitation of the Mongolian Defense Ministry, Jiang Bin said at a press conference.
He also announced that the 20th meeting of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations will be held in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province, from June 11 to 14.
According to him, member countries and states with observer status in ADMM-Plus, as well as the UN and the ASEAN Secretariat, will send their representatives to the upcoming meeting, the aim of which is to deepen military mutual trust and security cooperation among countries in the region and strengthen their peacekeeping capabilities. -0-
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Real-Time Innovations (RTI), the software framework company for physical AI systems, will host a live webinar on June 24, 2025, titled Real-Time Data Anywhere: Powering Edge AI and Cloud with Data-Centricity. The 60-minute session will begin at 8:00 a.m. PDT and feature expert insights on the evolving landscape of autonomy, AI, and connectivity.
As next-generation autonomous systems emerge in industries such as agriculture, mining, and transportation, the need for intelligent, real-time data exchange between the edge and cloud becomes essential. This webinar will explore how a data-centric architecture streamlines communication across distributed systems and helps overcome the performance, cost, and scalability challenges of traditional approaches.
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Webinar Details
What: Real-Time Data Anywhere: Powering Edge AI and Cloud with Data-Centricity When: June 24, 2025 | 8:00 a.m. PDT Where: Online
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Paddy Hill spent more than 16 years in prison for murders he did not commit. One of the so-called Birmingham Six who were wrongfully convicted for the Birmingham pub bombings in 1974, he was proof that exoneration and financial compensation do not fix a miscarriage of justice.
When I met him in July 2023, more than 30 years after his release from prison, his ordeal continued to haunt him. He was in his late 70s, looking frail and far from the “12 and a half stone” man he was in Parkhurst Prison. He had very little appetite and was in poor health. The little sleep he was able snatch was marred by screaming nightmares.
Neither of us knew it at the time, but this was to be his final interview. He died aged 80, on December 30 2024. I sat down to talk with Hill in his living room. Struggling to control his emotions, he told me: “Sometimes I sit in the bedroom … and I’m crying my eyes out like a child and I don’t know what the fuck happened … I’ve been so fucking screwed up.”
The ITV docudrama Mr Bates vs the Post Office thrust wrongful convictions into mainstream consciousness in January 2024 – a quarter of a century after the Post Office began prosecuting sub-postmasters and mistresses for fraud, theft, and false accounting and 15 years after Rebecca Thomson’s Computer Weekly article exposing the Horizon IT system as the potential culprit.
Now the public could finally see the human impact of miscarriages of justice on these upstanding – and, more importantly, innocent – members of their communities. Public outrage followed.
But despite the mass quashing of hundreds of convictions, and amid promises of speedy financial compensation, progress has been pitiful. While collecting a National Television Award in September 2024, former sub-postmistress Jo Hamilton confirmed that out of the “555 group”, those involved in the litigation which exposed the Horizon scandal, “more than 300 haven’t been paid yet, including Sir Alan Bates”.
Sadly, this timescale is far from unusual. In July 2023, Andrew Malkinson finally had his 2003 rape conviction overturned after several unsuccessful appeals, including unsuccessful applications in 2012 and 2020 to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), the independent body which investigates potential miscarriages of justice.
Crucially, the CCRC did not commission the DNA testing that finally exonerated him and did not review police files which would have shown that Greater Manchester Police had withheld crucial evidence at his trial.
Malkinson spent 17 years in prison maintaining his innocence. Perversely, he could have been released sooner had he falsely confessed. He was eventually exonerated thanks to the help of the charity Appeal, which commissioned those crucial DNA tests and unearthed the disclosure failures.
The CCRC has since acknowledged in an independent review that it “failed Mr Malkinson” with chairperson Helen Pitcher OBE (whose recent resignation was welcomed by the Ministry of Justice) eventually expressing “sincere regret and an unreserved apology on behalf of the commission”. All of this happened 12 months after Malkinson called on the CCRC to apologise to him. Malkinson said it was “shameful” that the CCRC has kept private the names of those responsible for his ordeal and delayed the publishing of the report highlighting its mishandling of his case.
The true number of miscarriages of justice is unknown. In the UK, the CCRC referral rate averages 2% including appeals of sentence. In the US, estimates of wrongful conviction and imprisonment range from 6% to 15.4%.
The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.
Inevitably, some innocent people will have their appeals denied and will remain convicted for the rest of their lives. The trauma of remaining legally guilty of a crime you did not commit cannot be overstated.
But persistent psychological ill-effects can be seen even in those who have been formally exonerated, including long-term effects on their employment and relationships.
I’ve been examining cases like this as part of a research project into the experiences of people who suffer grave miscarriages of justice. Working with Dr Mandy Winterton at Edinburgh Napier University, I interviewed several men who have been imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
As academics with psychology and sociology backgrounds, we were predominantly interested in how victims were affected by such injustices. Previous research has documented the litany of mental health and social effects on those who have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated, and the flaws in the criminal justice system that are to blame. But little attention has been paid to individual experiences. While there were clear commonalities in the men’s stories, they all had unique perspectives.
Of the people we spoke to, Hill and a man called Jimmy Boyle spoke to us on the record and specifically requested that they be named. I have given the other men featured here pseudonyms to protect their anonymity.
Paddy Hill
Hill’s story is particularly harrowing. On November 21 1974, shortly after 8pm, bombs exploded in two pubs in Birmingham, England, killing 21 people and injuring around 200 others. They were attributed to the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which had detonated many bombs in the West Midlands in the previous year.
Hill and his friends were arrested at Heysham Docks as they were boarding the ferry to Belfast to attend the funeral of an old friend who had been a member of the IRA. Hill said that they were initially interviewed at Morecambe police station in Lancashire, and the West Midlands Police took over their questioning the next day.
Hill and his co-accused were, says Hill, tortured by the West Midlands serious crime squad. They were subjected to anti-Irish verbal abuse, hours-long beatings over several days, mock executions, were burned with cigarettes, and deprived of sleep, food and drink. Unable to withstand this, four of the six men eventually signed false confessions, condemning them all to life imprisonment in 1975 for the murders. The six men brought a civil action against the West Midlands Police which was thrown out in 1980 by Lord Denning.
These shocking revelations eventually reached the public consciousness thanks to investigative journalist and former Labour MP Chris Mullin, who uncovered evidence of police wrongdoing and corruption. His work informed the group’s court of appeal hearing in 1987. However, the convictions were upheld by Lord Chief Justice Lane. It was only at their second appeal in 1991, after Mullin had uncovered more evidence of their innocence, that they were finally exonerated.
Despite other lines of enquiry which could have led to the real bombers – including a confession and several named suspects – the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided in 2023 that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute, denying justice to the families of those killed and injured.
The impact on Hill’s family was enormous. With such public vitriol for the Birmingham Six, his wife and children had to move house regularly and change their names to avoid being recognised. He told me:
Everywhere they went, sooner or later somebody found out who they were and then they’d pick on them. And sometimes my kids were going to school and they couldn’t even remember what fucking name they were supposed to be using, they were that confused.
Hill’s marriage ended while he was in prison. “I told her to divorce me. I said: ‘Meet someone, you want to get married, don’t worry about me.’ And that was it.”
He later remarried, but his relationship with his children was irretrievably destroyed. “Along the way I lost my own kids, because I came out of jail and I didn’t feel nothing for my kids. I still don’t … I’ve spent more time here with you than I have done in the last 20 fucking years with my kids.”
Though he was referred to psychologists for support, he told me none were able to help him. Over and above the pains of imprisonment, the wrongfully convicted are betrayed by the very people that we are led to believe are there to protect us. The justice system has wrought on them the worst injustice, and many will suffer from enduring anger and mistrust of authorities.
When we met, Hill was still consumed by his anger and felt badly let down: “Over the years I realised I was never going to get any professional help from the government, even though we have it in writing that they have a duty of care towards us – but they’ve never done nothing to help us … If they did, they would acknowledge what they’ve done wrong.”
Up until his death, Hill had spent much of the past 30 years helping other survivors of miscarriages of justice. Initially intending to spend his first 12 months of freedom campaigning, he “got involved with the families, and it was then I realised how bad the families had it … That’s what kept me going, coming out and campaigning.”
He established the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (Mojo), a Glasgow-based charity dedicated to supporting the wrongfully convicted. It provides advocacy for clients in prison, aftercare and reintegration services, and dedicated psychological support offered pro-bono by a clinical psychologist.
But the demand far exceeds Mojo’s ability to help, and it may take several months for a case to be assessed. Euan McIlvride, the organisation’s legal officer, told me it typically receives “250 applications a year, and we will probably support only ten of those because the rest of them don’t meet the requirements for our support … We have finite resources.”
For Hill, keeping busy provided some relief from thinking about his ordeal.
…When you aren’t doing something, all you’re going to do is sit there and think … about things you don’t fucking want to think about. I don’t know what happens to me when I go to sleep … [My wife] hears me screaming … kicking and punching everything … I’ll be watching television and all of a sudden … BANG! It’s like a non-stop video going through your head all the time.
Chained to a radiator
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (Pace), which came to effect in 1986, aimed to reduce miscarriages of justice by balancing the powers of the police and the public. Pace provides safeguards for suspects during questioning, puts a limit on how long suspects can be questioned for, and insists that interviews be recorded.
This makes it easier to detect when protocols have not been followed or there may have been mistreatment or intimidation.
It doesn’t prevent such wrongdoing, however.
I spoke with one man, who I am calling Mark, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1988. He told me there were over one hundred breaches of Pace in his case, including being handcuffed to a hot radiator, being denied food and water, and being denied a solicitor.
One of his co-accused, a vulnerable adult, had also falsely confessed to the crime. Mark lost his first appeal in 1990 but his case went to the CCRC when it was established in 1997. The CCRC brought in another police force to investigate. He said:
When I saw [their] report … I nearly fell off my chair and nearly choked on my coffee … Everything I had said all those years ago … the handcuffing to the radiators, they proved it. All the breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act … that we were interviewed off the record … Making up notes and stuff like that. I couldn’t believe it. I knew we were going home.
He subsequently pursued a civil action against the police which was settled out of court, with the force insisting the settlement did not mean it was admitting liability.
Mark also suffered a marital breakdown, after he and his wife lost their baby daughter while he was on remand:
It ripped the guts out of my marriage, you know. My wife was only 17-18, same age as me … She had a husband inside and she lost a child. And you’ve got to look at the economical impact and the mental impact it had on her … She was just as much a victim as what I was.
He started taking drugs in prison: “I didn’t care if I lived or died because I had lost everything, as far as I was concerned.”
But Mark turned himself around, got off drugs and availed himself of all the education he had access to, including law and human rights, to build the strongest possible case for his appeal. With the aid of a human rights lawyer the CCRC referred his conviction in 1998, which was then quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1999. He had spent 11 years in prison as a convicted murderer.
‘The innocence test’
After his exoneration, Mark was successful in securing over £600,000 compensation for his ordeal, though he had over £37,000 deducted for “saved living expenses”. A House of Lords ruling in 2007 deemed that those receiving compensation for a miscarriage of justice can have the amount reduced to account for “savings” made while in prison – for costs such as food, housing and other bills that they would have had to pay had they not been wrongfully incarcerated.
Considering the difficulties people face accessing any financial compensation for their wrongful imprisonment, this adds further insult to injury. The rule has since been scrapped following the high-profile Malkinson case – but deductions made prior to this are not being reimbursed.
Mark was given no financial counselling or support, and he rapidly spent the money – more than he had ever had in his life – while trying to block out his pain:
By the time six months had gone, I’d spent the hundred grand [interim payment] on wine, women, drugs … ’cause I couldn’t cope with what was going on … That was my way of blotting out all the things I saw in prison.
The money also caused a rift in his family – something echoed by others I have spoken to. After the death of his mother, his family “went their own ways”.
Nowadays, only a small proportion of those exonerated will ever receive financial compensation due to the requirements of the so-called “innocence test”.
The Criminal Justice Act 1988 made it difficult for applicants to receive compensation because there had to be a newly discovered fact – not available at the time of their original trial – that they could use to make the case that they had suffered a miscarriage of justice.
The definition of what constitutes a miscarriage of justice has become more restrictive over time, meaning an applicant now must provide evidence, beyond reasonable doubt, of their innocence. In the absence of a key witness admitting to falsifying their statement or DNA evidence proving innocence, this is unlikely.
Like Hill, Mark struggled to adjust after his exoneration and release, and found support to be woefully lacking:
I had nobody to talk to, no money, no job, no house. I didn’t have any prospects. I phoned up my solicitor … I remember saying: ‘Why did you get me out?’ It was difficult to adjust … I slept with a hammer … under my pillow – I was very paranoid … All they did was give me tablets and told me to get on with my life. No counselling. Nothing. They didn’t know what to do with people like me.
Mark still suffers with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and has never been able to work a normal job. He continues to campaign for the wrongfully convicted and to increase awareness of miscarriages of justice. He credits this work with giving him a sense of purpose.
Jimmy Boyle – not innocent enough?
I also spoke to James Boyle, who was acquitted at retrial of historical sexual offences after he had spent five years in prison. Boyle, from Rutherglen, who likes to be known as Jimmy, has always maintained these offences never happened.
From the outset, Boyle found processes quite at odds from how we are told they are supposed to be. He said: “Things that you should have: for example, presumption of innocence – nonsense, it doesn’t exist. None of these rights exist in reality.” He claims that lines of evidence undermining the allegations against him were not investigated. Further, he encountered professionals in the criminal justice system who he says were incompetent and even “malicious” and “criminal”.
To add further insult, he was later told that he was not considered exonerated because he did not provide evidence proving his innocence (he failed the “innocence test”). As a result, the General Teaching Council for Scotland did not reinstate him and he was unable to return to his teaching career which he had found enormously fulfilling.
Like others I have spoken to, Boyle, now in his 60s, hasn’t been able to work since his release:
There was so much involved, and fighting with the Teaching Council – you know, it was full time. It really was full time when you’re dealing with these agencies … I do plenty [at Mojo] – I’ve spoken at a number of events … But I had to continue fighting my own fight.
Martin: total lack of victim support
Miscarriages of justice have a huge effect on a person’s mental health. But my research found the impact begins long before a conviction – with effects such as anxiety, trauma and depression resulting from the wrongful allegation.
Martin (not his real name) detailed the difficulties he experienced from his initial wrongful allegation of rape – including isolation, lack of advice, and a lack of appropriate mental health support. He said:
I kept [the rape allegations] to myself and it was horrific, because I didn’t know what was going to happen … Once I was charged … I went to my GP because I was severely depressed. I could barely function. [Counselling] was actually making things worse rather than better … I had looked online … There’s victim support and there’s witness support, but if you’ve been accused there is absolutely nothing.
It took over three years from the initial allegation to court proceedings, during which time two other allegations of rape and indecent assault were made and charges were brought. Martin kept the allegations from his employers and friends:
You don’t mention it because if you mention it, you’re opening the box and then that becomes a big thing – and God help how you’re going to feel at the end of that conversation.
Convicted of rape and indecent assault (the second and third charges), he was sentenced to four years in prison, but successfully appealed on the basis that the Moorov doctrine was misapplied.
Moorov is a principle of Scottish law which allows evidence of one crime to corroborate evidence of another. As the charges against him were considered to corroborate one another, having been acquitted of the key (first) charge he should have been acquitted of all. Instead, he spent about a year in prison – yet he considers himself fortunate.
The guy [Andrew Malkinson] that won his appeal the other day spent 17 years in prison. I only spent one. And although I shouldn’t have spent any, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. There are a lot of people that haven’t been able to clear their names, there are a lot of people that have spent a long time in prison. I spent one year and managed to clear my name, so I should be thankful for what little happiness I’ve managed to get out of it.
Martin was fortunate in that he’d had a good education and had taken detailed notes during his trial, which assisted his appeal. He also helped other prisoners who were struggling to complete required forms for themselves, and managed to get a job in the prison kitchen.
Since his release, he has pursued a law degree, eager to use his experience for positive change in the justice system. “I think it’s given me a new perspective really … You know what, life’s too short – let’s just get on with it.”
What needs to be done?
People wrongly accused of crimes are in dire need of support from the moment the initial allegation is made, to help them navigate the complex legal processes and challenging psychological effects of being wrongly accused.
Currently there is woefully inadequate mental health support at all stages, from initial allegation to post-release.
Of course, there are many guilty people in prison who protest their innocence – but support should not be denied to those who maintain their innocence.
Reforms are needed to make it easier for an innocent person to appeal their conviction. The CCRC has suffered a decline in funding, from £9.24 million in 2004 to £6 million in 2022. Over this period, the workload has more than doubled while the Ministry of Justice has reduced CCRC commissioners’ terms of employment from full-time salaried positions to one-day-a-week contracts, making the workload unsustainable.
People may also face significant barriers in accessing evidence that would exonerate them such as police files, without which they have little hope of a successful appeal. This was evident in the Malkinson case, where the charity Appeal accessed the police files the CCRC had refused to look at.
The lack of accountability and consequences for those who purposely harm innocent people causes further anger and distress to the wrongfully accused and convicted. Yet those affected rarely even receive an apology. This needs to change.
Finally, there needs to be greater public awareness of wrongful convictions and allegations, their causes and consequences, and an understanding of their devastating and long-term effects. As Hill told me the year before he died:
People think you come out and they give you a few quid … [then you] walk off into the sunset and live happily ever after. If only. I would love to go to bed at night like an ordinary fucking person … without waking up so angry and tense.
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This work was supported by the BA/Leverhulme Trust grant SRG1819190884. Many thanks to Dr Mandy Winterton, co-Investigator on this research, and to the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation (MOJO) for supporting us by facilitating access to clients.
Faye Skelton is affiliated with the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation having joined the Board of Directors in April 2025.
The City of Edinburgh Council has negotiated the purchase of 78 homes in Colinton in an ongoing drive to urgently tackle the capital’s housing emergency
Councillors have today (Monday 9 June) agreed to progress the purchase of a further 38 homes from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for £6.65 million, as part of the council’s phased purchase of homes on the Dreghorn Estate.
The proposal has been warmly welcomed by the families, who had previously been told by the MOD that they might have to vacate their homes after the summer.
Finance and Resources Convener Mandy Watt said:
We’re doing everything we can to make sure these residents will remain in their homes and to increase the amount of affordable and social housing we have in the city – and I know the residents are very grateful that this proposal has had so much support from councillors.
Purchasing these homes is a sensible way to boost the housing we have, and Dreghorn is a community that provides a great place for council tenants to have a suitable, safe and affordable place to call home.
Council colleagues have worked over many months to negotiate this purchase from the Ministry of Defence, listening to the concerns of Dreghorn residents at every turn and ensuring good value for the council. This is a huge step towards a positive outcome – a fantastic example of doing things differently to make sure we address our housing emergency.
It is proposed that the purchase of these homes will be made using £3.289 million from the Scottish Government’s National Acquisition Fund, delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, with the remaining balance funded through rental income and prudential borrowing over 30 years. A final decision on financing will be made at a future full council meeting.
Focus on industry and innovation during Defence Secretary and NATO Secretary General’s Sheffield factory visit
Government delivering on Strategic Defence Review to turbocharge UK defence industry and drive ‘NATO-first’ approach
Innovation and growth through the UK’s world-leading defence industry was the focus of a visit to a Sheffield factory today by the Defence Secretary and NATO Secretary General.
Defence Secretary, John Healey and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte toured Sheffield Forgemasters, which manufactures specialist steel parts used in critical defence programmes, including nuclear-grade steel components for the Royal Navy’s attack submarines.
The factory, which employs 725 skilled staff, is symbolic of the government’s plan to harness defence as an engine for growth and deliver on the Plan for Change, and how investment in the UK’s defence industry not only boosts British jobs but strengthens the defence and deterrence of the NATO alliance.
Sheffield Forgemasters has been manufacturing components for nuclear powered, conventionally armed submarines with more than £200m worth of contracts in place under the AUKUS programme. The Government confirmed plans last week to deliver up to 12 SSN-AUKUS attack submarines, which will further strengthen the UK’s contribution to NATO in addition to creating thousands of jobs across the UK.
It comes the week after the publication of the Government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which saw the government commit billions of pounds in investment for British defence companies, driving innovation and supporting thousands of jobs around the country – delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
The NATO Secretary General has welcomed the industry focus of the SDR and highlighted how it will be key to supporting the deterrent effect of the alliance while boosting collective security.
Defence Secretary, John Healey said:
Sheffield Forgemasters sits in one of Britain’s proudest industrial heartlands, and it is at the heart of our drive to shift our sovereign defence industry to warfighting readiness, supporting hundreds of skilled jobs in the process. The work is ensuring this government’s commitment to the defence dividend is met, delivering on the Plan for Change.
It was a pleasure to tour its factory with the NATO Secretary General, where we discussed this government’s plan to put NATO first as we deliver on our landmark Strategic Defence Review.
NATO is critical to UK security and global security, which is why we are stepping up to lead in Europe, investing in powerful new technologies to support growth and boost our national security.
NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte:
The renewal of the UK’s defence industry will not only enhance Allied security but boost national prosperity as well. It is a vital component in ensuring warfighting readiness.
The United Kingdom has a rich heritage in manufacturing and innovation, and Sheffield Forgemasters is an excellent example of this. Harnessing this legacy will be critical to enabling NATO to effectively deter and defend against future threats.
Sheffield Forgemasters will be crucial to delivering the plans set out in the SDR, as they restart manufacturing for artillery gun barrels, the first time they have been produced by the UK in decades underlining the defence dividend delivered by this government’s spending uplift. This follows the Prime Minister’s historic commitment to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 and ambition for 3% in the next Parliament.
Their work also supports vital equipment supplied to Ukraine, such as L119 Light Guns and the AS90 self-propelled gun.
It comes after major announcements following the SDR, including: the building of up to a dozen new attack submarines for the Royal Navy; £5bn of confirmed investment in drone and laser weapon technology, up to 7,000 new UK-built long-range weapons to be procured; at least six new munitions and energetics factories in the UK; more than £1.5 billion to improve the state of military housing; and more than £1 billion for pioneering technology to spearhead battlefield engagements.
Sheffield Forgemasters plays a vital role in this National Endeavour as part of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise – the partnership of organisations that operate, maintain, renew, and sustain the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
The nuclear deterrent is the bedrock of the UK’s national security, helping to guarantee the safety of the UK and our NATO allies.
Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense
BEIJING, June 9 — “The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, and is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations,” said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at a press briefing on Monday.
It is reported that the US is transporting a new batch of M1A2 tanks to Taiwan and plans to increase its arms sales to Taiwan in the next four years. New arms sales may surpass that of the first Trump administration. In addition, a former official of the US military said that about 500 US military personnel are operating in Taiwan, which is over ten times of the number previously disclosed by the US Congress.
When being asked to comment on these, the Chinese defense spokesperson first pointed out that this is another solid piece of evidence that the US and the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces are taking efforts to violate China’s core interests, change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and escalate regional tensions.
“Who is making provocations despite strong opposition from the Chinese side? Who is undermining cross-Strait stability and repeatedly stirring up troubles? We all know the answers. The Chinese side is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to this act,” said the spokesperson.
Following on, the spokesperson urged the US side to stop its military collusion with Taiwan in any form; otherwise it will get burnt for playing with fire and gain more harm than good. He also warned the DPP authorities that the US weapons cannot save them, and soliciting external support for “Taiwan independence” is doomed to fail.
“The Chinese PLA will continue to strengthen military training and combat readiness and enhance its capability to fight and win. We will take resolute measures to thwart “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and external interference,” stressed the spokesperson.
Source: People’s Republic of China – Ministry of National Defense
BEIJING, June 9 — “The 20th meeting of the Experts’ Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) will be held in China’s Nanjing City from June 11 to 14,” said a Chinese defense spokesperson at a press briefing on Monday.
Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said that the member states and observer states of the ADMM-Plus, as well as the United Nations and the ASEAN Secretariat will send representatives to the event.
According to the spokesperson, themed on “Technology and Innovation: Enhancing Military Cooperation in Peacekeeping Operations”, the meeting aims to deepen military mutual trust and security cooperation among regional countries and enhance their capacities of peacekeeping operations.
In case you missed it, every single Democratic governor agrees: Donald Trump’s attempts to militarize California are an alarming abuse of power.
Democratic Governors Association:“President Trump’s move to deploy California’s National Guard is an alarming abuse of power. Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous.
“Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement.
“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”
This continues the chorus of elected officials across California and the nation speaking out against this clear federal overreaction.
Press releases, Recent news
Recent news
Jun 8, 2025
News In case you missed it, last night, President Trump – disregarding Governor Newsom – federalized California National Guard troops in Los Angeles at a time when there were no unmet law enforcement needs. In fact, local law enforcement efforts successfully…
Jun 7, 2025
News Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued the following statement in response to speaking out peacefully on the federal government’s immigration actions: The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000…
Jun 7, 2025
News Los Angeles, California – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued the following statement in response to the federal government’s intent to deploy the California National Guard: The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy…
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Speech
Prime Minister’s remarks at London Tech Week 2025: Monday 9 June
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s remarks at London Tech Week 2025.
Thank you so much. It’s really fantastic to stand here and look out and see so many people in this room—to get a real sense of the energy, the commitment, and the professionalism, the entrepreneurial spirit that we have here.
Let me start by thanking you all for being here. We’re going to have a really good Tech Week. We already kicked off yesterday. We’ve got some major announcements to make, some real partnerships to build together, and I’m just so pleased to have this opportunity—this privilege—of opening this morning. It’s a real pleasure for me.
My constituency, the area I represent, is London. I’m a London MP, and that means I understand first hand just how important our sector is as we go forward—whether it’s entrepreneurs or the spirit in London, this is hugely, hugely important.
We have to recognise that for many people, they see AI and tech as transformative—something that’s going to do so much. And every time we say “over five years or ten years,” everybody says to me “it’s going to be more like five years or three years.” We’re going to bring about great change in so many aspects of our lives. Whether that’s in health—where I’ve seen for myself the incredible contribution that tech and AI can make. I was in a hospital up in the Midlands, talking to consultants who deal with strokes. They showed me the equipment and techniques that they are using – using AI to isolate where the clot is in the brain in a micro-second of the time it would have taken otherwise. Brilliantly saving people’s lives. Shortly after that, I had an incident where I was being shown AI and stethoscopes working together to predict any problems someone might have. So whether it’s health or other sectors, it’s hugely transformative what can be done here.
Last Monday, I was in Scotland launching the Strategic Defence Review of the government. This was a review I commissioned soon after we came into power to tell me what are the risks we face as a country in this new era? What are the challenges? What are our capabilities? And how do we make sure that, as we go forward, our capabilities match the risks and challenges we face as a country.
In that, tech and AI were absolutely central. Over the last three years or more, during this awful conflict in Ukraine—I’ve been back to Ukraine on a number of occasions in that period to have in-depth conversations with President Zelensky to make sure our support is in the right place. But I was really struck, on the trip before last—probably about six or seven weeks ago—by the extent to which technology and AI are now having a direct impact in that conflict. In three years of conflict, the way that war is being fought has changed profoundly.
So I wanted that hardwired into our Defence Review—a sense of how AI could be driving change. There are so many examples across government. I’ve set the challenge to all of my teams: show me how they can use AI—not just in the output of government, not just in partnership with yourselves and others in the delivery of services—but also in the very way we do government. How can we transform what we do?
There are certainly examples of that. I spoke to a social worker in Downing Street at one of our receptions. She explained to me, with a smile on her face, just how AI is slashing her paperwork and her caseload. She talked me through how she’s now doing her work. What she said was that this was helping her transform her work—because she could concentrate on the human element of it. She could use AI and tech to help with the parts that could be done more quickly. And from that, I’ve always said: AI and tech make us more human. It may sound like an odd thing to say, but it’s true—and we need to say it. Because, some people out there are sceptical. They worry about AI taking their jobs. But I know from audiences like this, this debate has been had many times. We need to push past it. But people worry: will it make their lives more comfortable? Even for businesses, the pace of change can feel relentless. I know you all get that. But when it comes to harnessing the power of this technology, I believe the way we work through this together is critical. And that means partnership and partnership is at the heart of everything we do in government—working with you. You are the entrepreneurs who will drive this country forward. Our job as partners is to create the best possible conditions for you to succeed. That’s why events like this—and the conversations we have in the margins—are so important. Because we can only create the right conditions if we’re having that conversation. You’re able to put your fingerprints on what we’re doing.
Just look at the raw facts. This industry supports over 2 million jobs. That’s incredible. Or take this statistic: in 2023, our AI sector grew 30 times faster than the rest of the economy. That is incredible. So this is about what we’ve achieved. It’s about who we are as a nation. What signal do we want to send to the rest of the world? The signal I want to send is this: a Britain that, after years of chaos, is a stable partner for investment. A Britain that believes the future should be shaped by our values. And that in this volatile world, is proud, unashamed, open for business.
I think—and hope—you can see that in our approach to trade, in the new deals we’ve done just in the last few months. We’re determined to create new markets—whether that’s in India, the US, or Europe. You can see it in our openness to investment as well. On that front, I’m really pleased to welcome what I see as yet another vote of confidence in Britain today: the announcement that Liquidity will base their European headquarters right here in London. That’s a £1.5 billion investment into our economy. It means better access to finance for entrepreneurs right across the country. It’s a vote of confidence in our AI Opportunities Action Plan as well. We put that plan out at the beginning of the year. We’re really proud of it—50 recommendations, all of them accepted by the government. At the heart of it is partnership in action. It shows our ambition to be the best state partner for tech entrepreneurs anywhere in the world. That’s the bar. That’s the ambition I’ve set.
So I can also announce today that we’re committing an extra £1 billion of funding to scale up our compute power by a factor of 20. You know how important that is— a huge increase in the size of Britain’s AI engine. It means we can be an AI maker, not just an AI taker. More importantly, it means we have the digital infrastructure we need to make sure AI improves our public services. Because we do have a defining mission in that plan—a responsibility, if you like—to harness this unprecedented opportunity and use it to improve the lives of working people. This is a shared mission. We’re a mission-driven government. But this is a shared mission. Because social fear I was talking about a moment ago—trust me, I think that is the challenge for adoption. It’s a far greater challenge than the regulatory barrier, although that can be a challenge too. But it’s an area where government can help—where we can do our bit in this partnership.
Take planning, for example, which is a huge priority for this government. We are going to build more labs, more data centres—and we’re going to do it much, much more quickly. Our Planning and Infrastructure Bill going through Parliament right now is a real game-changer. Each of you in this room knows how important it is to change our rules on planning, infrastructure, and the regulatory environment—and how that can drive growth in building homes – what a difference that could make. Again, the human that sits there with the tech and the AI—because the security of having an affordable home is hugely important. I come from a working-class background, and at times we struggled as a family to make ends meet. But we owned our home, and that gave me a sense of security—a base camp, if you like—on which I could build my life, my opportunities, and my aspirations. I want that to be there for everyone in the country—that base camp. And AI can help on this.
This is how we explain and lead people down this transformative path. And in that way, in pushing forward, we’ve developed a powerful new tool. We’ve done this in-house, and I’m really proud of that—that as a government, we’ve taken on the challenge and developed something in-house, just to prove that governments can innovate. We use that word all the time, and some people don’t associate it with government—but we have. We’ve developed what we call Extract. It’s being trialled in councils in Exeter, Westminster, Nuneaton and Bedworth. It takes old, handwritten planning documents and put them into digital form in seconds. Jobs that would otherwise have taken hours and hours—done in seconds. A hundred planning records per day, and the usual average up till now is five. So, you can see—it’s a huge productivity boost and we want to roll that out. It doesn’t just show that the government can innovate, it also means faster planning decisions, which I think comes as a relief to many people in this room and beyond—both in AI and in British business more broadly. And of course, it’s money-saved for councils, so they can spend their money on other things. It turns into more growth and more opportunity.
But most of all, it speeds up the future that we need. AI innovation making a difference for working people. The same, of course, is true across the public realm. We’re looking at how AI can speed up discharges from hospitals—hugely important. I’ve looked into this in our hospitals. Getting people out the back door more quickly—AI can help with that. Same with the asylum backlog, how can AI and tech help us deal with that? Or teachers—helping them personalise lessons for their pupils. Again, using their time better, making them more human. Giving them that interaction so that every child gets the best possible chance in life. What a difference personalising what they do can make to so many children.
In every case, you can show AI innovation making a difference for working people. But to truly succeed in this mission then one of the biggest parts, and you’ll all have heard this many, many times in the conversation about AI, tech, growth and investment and business. It always comes back to this point: skills. It is one of the key concerns in any business in technology—actually, in any business pretty much across the board—one of the great worries for working people, and the same for any parent, is always: What does this mean for my children? What does it mean for their future? So today, I am really delighted to announce what is a step change in how we train homegrown talent in AI. A partnership with 11 major companies to train 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030.
I would also like to thank NVIDIA for partnering on a new pipeline. Jensen is here with us for the “in conversation” we’re so grateful for that partnership. That allows us to expand their lab in Bristol, and that will make a huge difference to opportunity and jobs in the South West. We’re also going to bring the full powers of government with a new tech-first training programme. That’s up to 1 million young people trained in tech skills—that will be so crucial for their future. That’s a £185 million investment, embedding AI right through our education system, starting in our secondary schools with subjects like computer science. At universities, a new scholarship programme for high-flying students—supporting the best and brightest personally, so they can focus on their research on the next frontier.
So from school all the way through—and on top of that, extra support for small businesses, along with their student leavers, so they can recruit the technology skills they need. And this—trust me—is a package that should make a massive difference to the aspirations of working people.
At the end of the day, that is what this must be about. I want young people in the poorer parts of my constituency—and I’m thinking in particular of a place like Somers Town, between Euston and King’s Cross, where there’s so much of that tech and entrepreneurial AI belief—I want the children in Somers Town to look out of their classroom windows and feel “yes, I can be part of that success. This could belong to me.”
That’s why the work we’re doing in schools, universities and colleges is so important—to make them feel they’ve got a role, they’ve got aspiration, they’ve got a future. They can’t aspire to do something unless they can see it, feel it, and understand what it is. In this country, the technology needs to be built in our brain. Just to give a short example of that—praising tech companies for investing in Somers Town. I’ve thrown this challenge out many, many times: how do we make the children in the poorest part of my constituency aspire to work in your centre? And Google AI opened a campus in Somers Town. They’ve taken up that challenge. It is tremendous. I went there for the opening—it’s right next to the school where I envisage those students who wouldn’t necessarily have seen their future in tech. And now that campus is right next to their school they can see it every day and they can feel it.
That’s a really good example. Thank you to the tech sector for stepping up to that challenge. But now we need to go further. By the end of this Parliament, we should be able to look every parent the eye, in every region in Britain and say – look what technology can deliver for you. We can put money in your pocket; we can create wealth in your community; we can create good jobs and vastly improve our public services and build a better future for your children. That is the opportunity we must seize, that is what my Plan for Change will deliver. And today, I think we’re taking another big step towards it.
So thank you very much for being here and thank you for letting me have the privilege of opening today. Thank you.
