By JOSE RAMOS, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 11:44 EST, 10 December 2025 | Updated: 13:49 EST, 10 December 2025

A driver high on laughing gas ploughed his Mercedes into revellers in a horrific attack which left one victim with several broken bones.

Chilling CCTV shows 22-year-old Mohammed Suffi weaponising his Mercedes after violence erupted outside the Tunnel Club in Birmingham. 

Six people were mown down in the hit-and-run rampage, including student Caliston Calistus, whose body was dragged beneath the bonnet.

Mr Calistus suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries such as  fractured ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken collar bone, multiple fractures to his shoulder blades and neck, and collapsed lungs. 

Jurors were told Suffi, ‘egged on’ by a friend and high on nitrous oxide, showed no mercy as he repeatedly drove at partygoers before fleeing. 

Birmingham Crown Court heard he later tried to dump the wrecked car in an industrial park and leave the UK altogether. 

He went on trial accused of attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Suffi, of Aston, who had already admitted dangerous driving, yesterday was found guilty of the lesser charge.

He will be sentenced in February next year and was warned to expect a ‘significant and immediate’ prison term.

Chilling CCTV shows 22-year-old Mohammed Suffi weaponise his Mercedes after violence erupted outside the Tunnel Club in Birmingham 

Six people were mown down in the hit-and-run rampage, including student Caliston Calistus, whose body was dragged beneath the bonnet

During the trial, Daniel Oscroft, prosecuting, told the jury the night began with Suffi and friends attending a student event: ‘Witnesses described the atmosphere being lively and well controlled until tension started to rise and security intervened in a dispute involving the defendant’s group.’

Security footage earlier showed Suffi clutching a nitrous oxide balloon. He and his associates were kicked out around 2.20am but ‘continued to act aggressively and did not let it go.’ 

Mr Oscroft said Suffi had earlier been captured on security cameras holding a balloon, likely to have contained nitrous oxide.

By about 2.20am after aggressive behaviour and a confrontation with security the defendant and his associates were ejected from the club.

After regrouping, they returned and sparked a ‘full blown fight’ as crowds poured out. Mr Oscroft said: ‘Suffi started to drive aggressively. 

‘The vehicle reversed and circled back and round and drove at pedestrians knocking people over.’ 

He said there came a point when Mr Calistus became involved in a fight with another man and they moved forward into the road.

Footage shows the car turning around before dragging a man lying in the road for several metres before it drives over him with a sickening bump.

Mr Oscroft said Suffi drove straight at them and added: ‘You can see both Mr Calistus and the other male disappear under the front bumper.

‘You see the vehicle rise and fall over the two bodies.

‘Their bodies are further down the road. Suffi could have stopped. Instead he drove over them. He deliberately drove at them and drove over them.’

Police set up a cordon around the scene while forensics officers swept the area outside The Tunnel Club

Mr Calistus needed major surgery and spent three weeks in hospital.

Mr Oscroft added: ‘You will not be surprised to learn that he thought he was going to die.’

Three other Birmingham men pleaded guilty to being involved in the mass brawl outside the nightclub and will also be sentenced in February.

Armaan Abid, 23, of Aston, Daanyal Hussain, 21, of Small Heath, and Mustafa Gohari, 21, of Acocks Green, all earlier admitted affray.

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Driver on hippy crack ploughed Mercedes into club revellers in horrific attack that left one victim with broken neck, ribs, pelvis, collar bones, shoulder blades and collapsed lungs

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has joined British commanders in paying tribute to Lance Corporal George Hooley, who died in a ‘tragic accident’ in Ukraine watching a weapon test

Killed in tragic ‘accident’ L/Cpl George Hooley with his dog Mabel(Image: PA)

British commanders have poured praise on a UK paratrooper as a “born soldier” who died in an accident whilst serving in Ukraine.

Parachute Regiment member Lance Corporal George Hooley was named on Wednesday as the British soldier who died following a “tragic accident” according to MoD officials. The 28 year-old passed away on Tuesday while watching the Ukrainian military test a new weapon away from the frontline, the MoD said.

The ministry said its “thoughts are with Lance Corporal Hooley’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.” Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Keir Starmer sent his “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the victim’s family.

READ MORE: British soldier killed while on duty in Ukraine tragedy is namedREAD MORE: Ukraine’s allies rally to Zelensky after Trump swipe as peace talks at ‘critical’ stageUkrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky(Image: SmartFrame/Zuma Press)

The prime minister said George Hooley had “served our country with honour and distinction around the world in the cause of freedom and democracy, including as part of the small number of British personnel in Ukraine”. L/Cpl Hooley joined the Army in November 2015, attending the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick where he completed the renowned Pre-Parachute Selection Course.

The Ministry of Defence said he was an “exceptional soldier” with “extensive operational experience.” He had previously deployed to Afghanistan, Africa, and Eastern Europe. His Commanding Officer said: “Lance Corporal Hooley’s future within The Parachute Regiment was incredibly bright, and I have no doubt that he would have continued to perform at the very front of his peer-group over the coming years.

High security – Zelensky meeting in Italy(Image: Getty Images)

“All members of The Parachute Regiment mourn his loss; however, our sorrow is nothing compared to that being felt by his family, our thoughts and prayers are with them at this incredibly difficult time. “ His Company Commander said: “His energy and enthusiasm were simply extraordinary.

“He provided the spark that lifted others, a drive that inspired, and a zest for life that reminded us all how to live with purpose and joy. And we loved him for it. George had a rare gift: a deep kindness and genuine time for everyone. Whether you were a lifelong friend, a colleague, or someone he had just met, he made you feel valued. He listened – properly listened – and he cared. His door was always open, and his heart even more so.”

Ukrainie soldier on frontline(Image: AP)

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “Lance Corporal George Hooley served our country with distinction and professionalism. He was an exceptional soldier who will be very deeply missed. My thoughts are with George’s family, loved ones and his colleagues.

”The tributes that have been paid to him are a testament to his exceptional attitude and ability. George’s tragic death reminds us of the courage and commitment with which our outstanding Armed Forces serve every day to protect our nation.”

War -torn city of Pokrovsk(Image: Russian Defence Ministry/AFP via)

A small number of British troops are currently based in Ukraine, thought to be on training missions. They are part of wider effort by the UK and NATO partners to help bolster Ukraine’s defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Russian troops poured into Ukraine in February 2022 in an illegal invasion but have been beaten back to frontlines in the east of the country. FIerce battles are being fought in areas across the Donbas region as European countries try to resolve the war, supporting Kyiv with weapons, whilst calling for a peace deal.

Under President Donald Trump the White House has flip-flopped between support for Kyiv and picoting toward the Kremlin’s demands to retain the Donbas region in any peace deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long said this is a red line for his country

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Loved the world over for its pizzas and pasta, Italian cuisine has been given world heritage status by the UN’s cultural agency.

After a panel vote in New Delhi on Wednesday, UNESCO recognised Italy’s national cuisine as an “intangible cultural heritage”, and added the rituals surrounding it to its list of the world’s traditional practices and expressions.

It is Italy’s 21st entry on UNESCO’s intangible list, joining Neapolitan pizza-making, Sicilian puppet theatre and Cremona’s violin craftsmanship.

In its submission for recognition of its cuisine, Italy emphasised the “sustainability and biocultural diversity” of its food.

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Campaigners noted how Italy’s cuisine valued seasonality and fresh produce. File pic: AP

Campaigners noted how Italy’s simple cuisine valued seasonality, fresh produce and limiting waste, while its variety highlighted its regional culinary differences and influences from migrants and others.

The citation didn’t mention specific dishes. However, it instead highlighted the cultural importance Italians place on the rituals of cooking and eating.

Pier Luigi Petrillo, a member of the Italian UNESCO campaign and professor of comparative law at Rome’s La Sapienza University, said that “cooking is a gesture of love, a way in which we tell something about ourselves to others and how we take care of others”.

He added: “This tradition of being at the table, of stopping for a while at lunch, a bit longer at dinner, and even longer for big occasions, it’s not very common around the world.”

Mr Petrillo noted that after Neapolitan pizza-making was recognised, the number of accredited schools to train Neapolitan pizza makers increased by more than 400%.

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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hailed the recognition, saying in a statement that “this is a distinction that can only make us proud”.

“For us Italians,” she said, “cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes. It is much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth.”

Celebrations are planned in Rome on Wednesday night, with a sound and light show at the Colosseum to ring in the successful cultural bid.

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Palestine face Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Arab Cup, the first time the former have reached this stage.

After finishing on top of their group in the opening round of the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, Palestine will look to continue their historic run when they face Saudi Arabia at Lusail Stadium on Thursday.

The Palestinian side also defied the odds to reach the knockout stages of the AFC Asian Cup for the first time earlier this year.

Having already beaten hosts and favourites Qatar, who were subsequently eliminated at the group stage, Palestine must now overcome a Saudi Arabia side that produced a shock at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup when they defeated the eventual champions, Argentina.

Published On 10 Dec 202510 Dec 2025

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‘American democracy is still working’: Khanna responds to federal judge order to release Epstein grand jury documents

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who was co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, told CNN today that the federal judge’s order to unseal grand jury records from the 2019 federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein shows that “American democracy still is working”.

“You’ve now had three judges who, in the past, had said you could not release either grand jury testimony or protective orders now ruling that they have to be in compliance with Congress,” Khanna said. “And these files are going to come out, and it does give me hope that we’re going to see broad transparency.”

Ro Khanna speaks to reporters on the steps of the US Capitol, 18 November 2025. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APShare

Updated at 17.45 CET

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House speaker Mike Johnson said today that he has yet to see the video of the boat strike that has been the subject of intense scrutiny and accusations of war crimes.

The Republican speaker said he missed the classified briefing with Hegseth and Rubio this week because he was working with House GOP lawmakers on their emerging health care proposals.

Johnson would not say if the video should be widely released, in part because he said he had not yet viewed it.

“We’ll see,” he said.

Democrats have been urging the Trump administration to release video of the second strike on an alleged drug boat incapacitated in the Caribbean after eleven people died in the 2 September attack, including two men killed in a follow-up strike as they reportedly clung to wreckage for an hour.

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House set to vote on $900bn defense policy bill

Later today, the House is set to vote on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a $900bn defense policy bill that is set to codify at least 15 of Donald Trumps’s executive orders for the US military.

Lawmakers, who released the bill’s text over the weekend, are up against the clock to pass the legislation by the end of this year.

The sprawling text includes dozens of provisions and budget allocations, including a full repeal of sanctions on Syria, $400m in support for Ukraine, and a stipulation that withholds part of Pete Hegseth’s travel budget unless the Pentagon releases the full, unedited video of the much-scrutinized “double-tap” strike on a suspected drug vessel to Congress.

Last week, House speaker Mike Johnson and congresswoman Elise Stefanik had a public disagreement after the New York lawmaker (who is running for governor) criticized the top Republican for doing away with a provision that would require the FBI to inform members of Congress about any counterintelligence investigations into elected officials or candidates running for office. The bill’s final text now includes this provision.

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‘American democracy is still working’: Khanna responds to federal judge order to release Epstein grand jury documents

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who was co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, told CNN today that the federal judge’s order to unseal grand jury records from the 2019 federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein shows that “American democracy still is working”.

“You’ve now had three judges who, in the past, had said you could not release either grand jury testimony or protective orders now ruling that they have to be in compliance with Congress,” Khanna said. “And these files are going to come out, and it does give me hope that we’re going to see broad transparency.”

Ro Khanna speaks to reporters on the steps of the US Capitol, 18 November 2025. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/APShare

Updated at 17.45 CET

DHS signs contract to purchase fleet of Boeing 737s for deportations – report

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has signed a $140m contract to buy a fleet of six Boeing 737 planes to carry out deportations, according to a report by the Washington Post.

The Post cites two officials familiar with the contract and records reviewed by the outlet, who note that the funding for the commercial aircraft is coming from the $170bn injection that DHS received after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law.

Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement in response to the Post that the planes would save money “by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns”.

According to the Post, the DHS contract is with Daedalus Aviation, which was established in February 2024, according to corporate records. Daedalus Aviation’s website states that it “offers a full range of commercial and charter aviation services” and “provides comprehensive responsive flight operations tailored to the unique needs of each mission.”

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Judge blocks Trump administration’s deployment of national guard troops in Los Angeles

Joanna Walters

A federal judge on Wednesday morning blocked the deployment by the federal government of national guard troops in Los Angeles and ordered the guard returned to the control of the California governor, a court filing showed.

The Trump administration is being challenged in federal court over its authority and rationale for continuing to maintain command over the national guard troops it deployed to the city earlier this year.

In a historically rare move, the Trump administration federalized California’s national guard in June, dispatching about 4,000 troops in response to protests in the city over immigration raids, despite opposition from the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom.

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Federal judge grants justice department request to unseal Jeffrey Epstein grand jury documents

A federal judge in New York has granted the justice department’s request to unseal grand jury documents of the 2019 federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

In his decision, judge Richard M Berman cited the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the DoJ to release all records related to the late sex-offender in a searchable format by 19 December. Berman granted the motion with the “unequivocal right of Epstein victims to have their identity and privacy protected”.

A reminder that on Tuesday, another New York judge ordered the release of records from Ghislaine Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking case. Epstein’s accomplice and co-conspirator is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a minimum security prison in Texas.

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Updated at 16.21 CET

‘RFK Jr has got to go’: House Democrat introduces articles of impeachment against health secretary

Representative Haley Stevens, a Democrat from Michigan who is also running for Senate, announced today that she has filed articles impeachment against Robert F Kennedy Jr, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary.

Stevens said that Kennedy has “turned his back on science and public health and on the American people”. In a video posted to social media a short while ago, she added that “families are less safe” since he started leading HHS.

“I cannot and I will not stand by while one man dismantles decades of medical progress,” Stevens said. “Enough is enough, and that is why I’m pushing to impeach RFK Jr, to hold him accountable and to protect the health, safety and future of every Michigander.”

Her cause will be hard fought, as it’s extremely unlikely to clear the GOP-controlled House and Senate.

ShareSam Levin

Throughout his speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Trump made a series of false and baseless claims, particularly on the state of the economy.

Notably, the president, once again, claimed that “prices are way down”. In fact, prices have increased during Trump’s second term. The consumer price index shows that average prices were 1.7% higher in September than they were in January, as CNN outlined in a recent fact-check. There was a 0.3% increase in consumer prices in September, largely due to a 4.1% surge in gasoline prices. Prices were 3% higher in September this year compared with September 2024.

He also claimed, without evidence, that the cost of Thanksgiving turkeys was down by 33% compared with the Biden era. It’s difficult to assess changes in Thanksgiving costs: the American Farm Bureau Federation, a lobbying group, claimed that the price per pound of frozen turkey was down 16% this year, but that wholesale prices for fresh turkey were increasing significantly. In a report on Thanksgiving prices, the Los Angeles Times, citing a market research company that surveys weekly prices at stores, said the cost of a basket of 11 staples of the holiday meal cost 4.1% more than last year.

Read more of Sam’s factchecks and key takeaways here.

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My colleague, David Smith, notes that Trump’s speech on Tuesday was the latest instance of the president repeating a racist rant against congresswoman Ilhan Omar and countries he’s previously denigrated.

“Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is. With her little turban. I love her. She comes in, does nothing but bitch. She’s always complaining,” Trump said. “We ought to get her the hell out! She married her brother … Therefore she’s here illegally.”

As David notes, Omar fled civil war as a young child, came to the US as a refugee and became a US citizen in 2000. There is no evidence to support the claim that she married her brother, which she has long described as “absolutely false and ridiculous”.

Later, Trump appeared to confirm a story from his first term – previously denied – that he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries”.

“We had a meeting and I said, ‘Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right?’,” Trump said, recalling a meeting with senators. “‘Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden, just a few. Let us have a few. From Denmark … send us some nice people. Do you mind? But we always take people from Somalia, places that are a disaster, right? Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime. The only thing they’re good at is going after ships.”

Read more of David’s recap of Trump’s speech below.

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Majority of Americans blame Trump administration for high prices, poll shows

Welcome to US politics live. I’m Shrai Popat and I’ll be bringing you the latest from Washington and beyond.

We start today with a new poll from Politico that shows two particularly important statistics. Almost half of Americans find their monthly bills (from groceries, to healthcare, to utilities) difficult to afford. While 55% of Americans blame the Trump administration for high prices at the grocery store.

This data comes after Donald Trump held the first rally-style event in a tour to tout his self-proclaimed success in bringing down the cost of living since he returned to office.

In a winding, 90-minute speech in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, the president called affordability a “hoax” (a stance he’s repeated in recent weeks) and bashed Democrats and his predecessor, Joe Biden, for high prices. “We’re bringing them down,” he insisted on Tuesday evening.

Trump also claimed he was “crushing” inflation, and “inflation is stopped”. While inflation declined from an annual rate of 3% in January to 2.9% in August, it has remained ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

Politico’s poll also had more telling numbers about specific instances where Americans are having to forego vital services. 27 % of respondents said they have skipped a medical check-up because of costs within the last two years, and 23 % said they have skipped a prescription dose for the same reason.

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Updated at 15.09 CET

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European leaders say “intensive work” will continue in the coming days on a US-led plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after a joint phone call with President Donald Trump.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they “agreed that this was a critical moment – for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region”.

A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not give details.

It comes the day after Trump called European leaders “weak”, suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine.

In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was “using war” to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was “ready” for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The three European leaders issued identical statements shortly after their call with Trump on Wednesday.

They read: “The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing.

“Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky wrote on social media that a 20-point document on how to end the war would be handed over to the US in “the near future” after “our joint work with President Trump’s team and partners in Europe”.

The Ukrainian leader provided no further details.

The original US draft peace plan – widely leaked to media last month – had 28 points, and was seen as favouring Russia. Ukraine has since held separate talks with US and European negotiators, seeking to change some key clauses such as territorial issues and security guarantees.

Zelensky is under increasing pressure from Trump to agree to a peace deal to end the war, with the US president urging Kyiv to “play ball” by ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelensky has repeatedly refused to do so, seeking instead an immediate ceasefire on the vast front line and iron-clad security guarantees for Kyiv in any future settlement.

The Ukrainian leader is on a diplomatic tour of Europe following intensive talks between US and Ukrainian negotiators over the weekend which failed to produce a deal to which Kyiv could agree.

Zelensky has been pressing his European allies to help deter the US from backing an agreement that could leave Ukraine exposed to future attacks by Russia.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Trump’s “very important” statements on Ukraine, including saying Moscow would win the war and that Kyiv would need to hand over land, align with Russia’s view.

“In many ways, on the subject of Nato membership, on the subject of territories, on the subjects of how Ukraine is losing land, it is in tune with our understanding,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Last week, Putin repeated his warning that Ukrainian troops must completely withdraw from Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region or Russia will seize it, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war.

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Hungary’s parliament voted in favor of strengthening the president’s position in future, a few months before parliamentary elections where longstanding Prime Minister Viktor Orban faces the biggest challenge to his stranglehold on national politics in years.

Conservative opposition leader Peter Magyar and his TISZA party currently have a roughly 10-point lead in opinion polls, with a vote likely in April 2026.

Hungary’s parliament voted 134 in favor of the bill, with 49 votes against and two abstentions, meeting the two-thirds majority needed for the constitutional change.

The chamber is currently dominated by Orban’s Fidesz party and its allies. Magyar’s party did not exist when Hungary last elected a parliament in 2022; the 44-year-old broke away from Fidesz in 2024.

Largely ceremonial position, but with veto powers on legislation

The current president is Tamas Sulyok, a former head of the constitutional court who is seen as an Orban ally. His term runs out in 2030. 

The role is a largely ceremonial one, not unlike Germany’s presidency, with the real power held by the prime minister, who is head of government. 

However, the president does have the power to veto some legislation or refer it to the Constitutional Court for review, meaning the head of state does theoretically have the power to frustrate a government’s agenda.

Hungary’s president, like Germany’s, is more of a ceremonial and diplomatic figurehead than a political leader, but the role nevertheless imbues meaningful powersImage: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance

The Constitutional Court is headed by another Orban ally, former Chief Public Prosecutor Peter Polt, who was appointed to a 12-year term earlier this year.

Under the previous rules, parliamentarians could declare a president unable to fulfill the duties of the office with a simple majority vote. Going forward, a two-thirds supermajority will be required.

Government says it plugged gap that ‘could give rise to abuse’ 

While much could change between now and a 2026 vote, and with Hungary’s first-past-the-post voting system making major swings in seat distribution possible with relatively small changes in the popular vote share, it currently seems unlikely that any party will secure a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly akin to that enjoyed by Fidesz in recent years.

Peter Magyar, 44, and his TISZA party have built a considerable lead in opinion polls, albeit with the peak of the Hungarian election campaign still pendingImage: Tamas Vasvari/MTI/AP Photo/picture alliance

Hungary’s government said the changes were sought at the request of President Sulyok himself. 

“The President of the Republic indicated that he sees a gap in his own legal status that could give rise to potential abuse, and we have therefore accepted his observation,” Orban’s chief of staff Gergely Gulyas told a media briefing on Wednesday. 

TISZA, meanwhile, told independent media Telex that the bill was “further proof” that Orban’s government was afraid voters would not return it to power next year. 

Peter Magyar: The man who could end Orban’s rule

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Edited by Sean Sinico

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An elementary school teacher in London was dismissed and referred to authorities after telling a Muslim pupil that Britain was a “Christian country,” according to the lawyer supporting his legal challenge. 

The case from earlier this year has added to the broader debate about free expression, multiculturalism and the use of safeguarding mechanisms in British schools — the system designed to ensure a safe environment in which children can learn.

Lord Toby Young, director of the Free Speech Union, told Fox News Digital that the central accusation was triggered by the teacher’s statement that Britain remains a Christian country. “To claim that Britain is a Christian country and to point out that the king is the head of the Church of England isn’t a particularly politically contentious thing to say. It’s just stating a pretty straightforward fact.”

PASTOR WINS FIGHT TO KEEP PREACHING ON UK STREETS AFTER POLICE TOLD HIM HE COULDN’T DISCUSS OTHER RELIGIONS

King Charles III serves as head of the Church of England — a fact the dismissed teacher cited when telling a student that Britain is still a Christian country. (Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The complaint also involved the pupil washing his feet in a school sink — a pre-prayer ritual for Muslims. “The parent of a boy at the school complained because the teacher had told the boy not to wash his feet in one of the sinks in the school lavatories,” Young added.

He said the Free Speech Union is seeing a rise in referrals to safeguarding panels for mainstream views. “We’ve got over a dozen cases of people being referred to safeguarding panels because they are said to be a threat to children’s safety just because of the views they’ve expressed.”

UK GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OF CRACKING DOWN ON FREE SPEECH: ‘THINK BEFORE YOU POST’

A Union flag flies in front of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, England. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

After the school dismissed the teacher, the case was referred to the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA). Young said the TRA held a full hearing and ultimately “dismissed the charges,” finding “no case to answer.” Had it gone the other way, he said, the teacher could have been barred from the profession for life. The Free Speech Union is now funding the teacher’s lawsuit for unfair dismissal.

Young also tied the case to a national debate over the U.K. government’s work on a nonstatutory definition of Islamophobia, something his organization opposes. He warned such a definition could be embedded into “speech codes,” with potential disciplinary consequences.

Worshipers arrive for prayers at the East London Mosque in London, England, as men and women make their way into the building. The mosque is one of the largest in the United Kingdom and serves as a central hub for the local Muslim community. Sept. 2025. (Fox News Digital)

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He said the governing party fears losing parliamentary seats to Muslim independent candidates — a dynamic he argues has created political incentives to grant “special protections” to Muslim constituencies.

Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.

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As he shook President Barack Obama’s hand and pulled him in for what he thought was a private aside, Vice President Joe Biden delivered an explicit message: “This is a big f——— deal.”

The remark, caught on live microphones at a 2010 ceremony for the Affordable Care Act, caused a flurry because open profanity from a national leader was unusual at the time.

More than 15 years later, vulgarity is now in vogue.

During a political rally Tuesday night in Pennsylvania that was intended to focus on tackling inflation, President Donald Trump used profanity at least four times.

At one point, he even admitted to disparaging Haiti and African nations as “shithole countries ” during a private 2018 meeting, a comment he denied at the time.

Trump (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

And before a bank of cameras during a lengthy Cabinet meeting last week, the Republican president referred to alleged drug smugglers as “sons of b——-s.”

While the Biden incident was accidental, the frequency, sharpness and public nature of Trump’s comments are intentional. They build on his project to combat what he sees as pervasive political correctness. Leaders in both parties are seemingly in a race now to the verbal gutter.

Vice President JD Vance called a podcast host a “dips—t” in September. In Thanksgiving remarks before troops, Vance joked that anyone who said they liked turkey was “full of s—-.” After one National Guard member was killed in a shooting in Washington last month and a second was critically injured, top Trump aide Steven Cheung told a reporter on social media to “shut the f—- up” when she wrote that the deployment of troops in the nation’s capital was “for political show.”

Among Democrats, former Vice President Kamala Harris earned a roar of approval from her audience in September when she condemned the Trump administration by saying “these mother———- are crazy.”

After Trump called for the execution of several Democratic members of Congress last month, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said it was time for people with influence to “pick a f——— side.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the administration cannot “f—- around” with the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who on Monday announced her Senate campaign in Texas, did not hold back earlier this year when asked what she would tell Elon Musk if given the chance: “F—- off.”

The volley of vulgarities underscore an ever-coarsening political environment that often plays out on social media or other digital platforms where the posts or video clips that evoke the strongest emotions are rewarded with the most engagement.

“If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the social media companies,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said Tuesday night at Washington National Cathedral, where he spoke at an event focused on political civility. “It’s not a fair fight. They’ve hijacked our brains. They understand these dopamine hits. Outrage sells.”

Cox, whose national profile rose after calling for civility in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination in his state, approved an overhaul of social media laws meant to protect children. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the state law.

Tough political talk is nothing new

Tough talk is nothing new in politics, but leaders long avoided flaunting it.

Recordings from Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, for instance, revealed a crude, profane side of his personality that was largely kept private. Republican Richard Nixon bemoaned the fact that the foul language he used in the Oval Office was captured on tape. “Since neither I nor most other Presidents had ever used profanity in public, millions were shocked,” Nixon wrote in his book “In the Arena.”

“Politicians have always sworn, just behind closed doors,” said Benjamin Bergen, a professor at the University of California-San Diego’s Department of Cognitive Science and the author of “What the F: What swearing reveals about our language, our brains, and ourselves.” “The big change is in the past 10 years or so, it’s been much more public.”

As both parties prepare for the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential campaign, the question is whether this language will become increasingly mainstream. Republicans who simply try to imitate Trump’s brash style do not always succeed with voters. Democrats who turn to vulgarities risk appearing inauthentic if their words feel forced.

For some, it is just a distraction.

“It’s not necessary,” said GOP Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring next year after winning five elections in one of the most competitive House districts. “If that’s what it takes to get your point across, you’re not a good communicator.”

There are risks of overusing profanity

There also is a risk that if such language becomes overused, its utility as a way to shock and connect with audiences could be dulled. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has talked about this problem, noting that he used swear words in his early routines but dropped them as his career progressed because he felt profanity yielded only cheap laughs.

“I felt like well I just got a laugh because I said f—- in there,” he said in a 2020 interview on the WTF podcast with fellow comedian Marc Maron. “You didn’t find the gold.”

White House spokesperson Liz Huston said Trump “doesn’t care about being politically correct, he cares about Making America Great Again. The American people love how authentic, transparent, and effective the President is.”

But for Trump, the words that have generated the most controversy are often less centered in traditional profanity than slurs that can be interpreted as hurtful. The final weeks of his 2016 campaign were rocked when a tape emerged of him discussing grabbing women by their genitals, language he minimized as “locker room talk.” His “shithole” remark in 2018 was widely condemned as racist.

More recently, Trump called a female journalist “piggy,” comments that his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, defended as evidence of a president who is “very frank and honest.” Trump’s use of a slur about disabled people prompted an Indiana Republican whose child has Down syndrome to come out in opposition to the president’s push to redraw the state’s congressional districts.

On rare occasions, politicians express contrition for their choice of words. In an interview with The Atlantic published last week, Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., dismissed Harris’ depiction of him in her book about last year’s presidential campaign by saying she was “trying to sell books and cover her a—.”

He seemed to catch himself quickly.

“I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a—,” he said. “I think that’s not appropriate.”

Tough political talk is nothing newThere are risks of overusing profanity

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NEED TO KNOW

• Dean Roy, a high school freshman, is seeking to become Vermont’s next governor
• The 14-year-old is vying for a spot on the ballot in his home state, which does not have age limits on candidates running for public office
• Roy is not the first teen to launch a campaign in the state; 13-year-old Ethan Sonneborn also ran for governor in 2018

One teen is seeking to make history in his home state. Dean Roy, a 14-year-old from Stowe, Vt., is running for governor in the Green Mountain State, which has no age restrictions for public office candidates.

“I know it sounds crazy, a 14-year-old running for governor,” Roy said in a video posted to Instagram on Nov. 11. “But honestly, look at the people in charge right now. They’ve been doing this forever and things still aren’t working.”

Roy is encouraging Vermonters to “try something new” with his candidacy, saying in the video, “I’m not pretending that I know everything. But I do know this: Vermont deserves better. And maybe the first step toward real change is taking a chance on something different, even if that change comes in the form of a 14-year-old.”

Roy’s platform focuses on affordability and smaller government in Vermont. He promises to lower taxes for families and small businesses, implement housing reform and reject incumbent Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s EV mandate, a policy to slash greenhouse emissions by requiring that 35% of vehicles delivered to car dealers in Vermont be zero emission; Scott paused the mandate in May.

Roy also promises “no new restrictions of any kind on guns, construction, or farming” in his platform, and emphasizes his focus on residents’ “personal freedoms.”

The teen is not running as a Democrat or Republican, but is launching a third-party candidacy as a member of the Liberty and Union Party, according to ABC News. He currently attends Stowe High School as a freshman and was born and raised in Vermont.

Roy said in an interview with the Stowe Reporter in July that isn’t expecting to beat out Gov. Scott in the election, and understands critics who say he’s not old enough to run the state. Still, he’s running his campaign as a way to launch his career in politics and introduce himself to voters.

While speaking to ABC News, Roy said if he did win, he would not drop out of school, but would enroll in online studies, saying, “It’d be hard, but I can do it.”

Dean Roy, the 14-year-old running for governor in Vermont.

Dean Roy For Governor/Instagram 

He’s currently not far from the 500 signatures he needs to get on the ballot, he told ABC News, explaining that he created his own party to boost his odds of earning a slot.

“A few people just say no,” he told the outlet of his attempts to get signatures, “which is totally reasonable. I understand why they do.”

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If Roy won, he would become the youngest governor in the history of America. However, he’s not the first teen to run for office in Vermont. Thirteen-year-old Ethan Sonneborn also ran for governor of the state in 2018 as a Democrat.

Roy previously worked as a legislative page in Montpelier, Vt., last winter, according to the Stowe Reporter, and was hoping for a letter of recommendation from Sen. Bernie Sanders to become a page in Washington, D.C., when the outlet spoke with him in July.

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