The Guardian·2026-02-20
The World Service must be preserved, whatever the cost | LettersYour editorial on the predicament facing the BBC World Service (The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling, 13 February) rightly stresses the strategic importance of this national asset at a time when the global order is under unprecedented attack, not least from an erstwhile ally. But some home truths need to be stated. It was the Conservative-Liberal coalition government that set in train the withdrawal of the bulk of government funding, previously provided through a grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Is it too cynical to see this as not simply a desire for cost savings, but also as an attempt to saddle the domestic BBC with the burden of financing the World Service? It was clearly not safe in that government’s hands. But neither has it been sa
The Guardian·2026-02-20
Former Mail on Sunday journalist denies being PI ‘handler’ at high courtA former Mail on Sunday journalist has denied being the “handler” of a private investigator alleged to have bugged homes and tapped the phones of his targets, the high court has heard. Paul Henderson, who was the Mail on Sunday’s investigations editor and briefly its news editor, said it was surreal to be described as having a close relationship with Gavin Burrows, a private investigator whose disputed confessions provide the most serious accusations of unlawful information gathering against the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Prince Harry is among seven claimants suing the publisher of the titles, Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), accusing it of deploying private investigators to use a “menu” of corrupt practices to secure stories. ANL denies all the allegations of wrongdoing. At the high c
The Guardian·2026-02-20
US judge expresses concern about government’s role in Washington Post raidA federal judge in Virginia on Friday declined to immediately rule on the Washington Post’s request for the government to return devices seized from reporter Hannah Natanson in a January raid of her home. But the judge, William B Porter of the eastern district of Virginia, acknowledged the enormity and significance of the seizure during the afternoon hearing. “Ms Natanson has basically been deprived of her life’s work,” he said. In the latest development in a case that has worried first amendment advocates and put newsrooms around the country on high alert, the judge seemed disinclined to let the government rifle through the files and determine what is relevant to an investigation into a government contractor accused of possessing classified materials – and suggested that he understood the
The Guardian·2026-02-20
Politico owner Axel Springer joins rival Telegraph bid led by Dovid EfuneThe media company Axel Springer, the owner of Politico and Business Insider, has joined a rival bid for the Telegraph as a proposed £500m sale to the owner of the Daily Mail faces months of scrutiny from regulators. Axel Springer, which also owns Europe’s highest-circulation newspaper, Bild, has joined a consortium led by Dovid Efune, the British owner of the New York Sun, who has been pursuing the Telegraph titles for more than a year. The move marks the latest twist in the three-year saga of the Telegraph’s ownership. An agreed sale to Lord Rothermere, whose company DMGT publishes the Daily Mail, has been referred to regulators over concerns about media plurality and competition. The culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, has raised concerns about further consolidation of “right-leaning” titles
The Guardian·2026-02-20
Statistics chief complains to BBC over impersonation of staff in hit drama IndustryBest known for its depiction of City traders as drug-addled, sex-crazed adrenaline junkies, the BBC hit series Industry has unexpectedly attracted criticism for its portrayal of doorstep data collectors. The head of the Office for National Statistics has written to the BBC criticising a recent episode in which characters falsely impersonate ONS employees on someone’s doorstep. Darren Tierney, the permanent secretary of the ONS, the UK’s statistics agency, warned the storyline risked undermining the “delicate relationship” between its field interviewers and the public – a relationship already under strain since the Covid pandemic heightened concerns about fraud and the sharing of personal data. Each month, the ONS sends interviewers to thousands of households across the UK to help gather in
The Guardian·2026-02-20
‘Now he’s sweating’: what the papers say about the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-WindsorThe ramifications of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein escalated dramatically on Thursday, with the former prince arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest, related to allegations that Andrew shared confidential material with Epstein, is an unprecedented nadir for the modern monarchy. Here is how UK newspapers responded to the news. “King says ‘law must take its course’ after Andrew arrest,” is the splash on the Guardian, featuring a photograph of a stunned Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaving Aylsham police station on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. “The arrest of Andrew,” says the Times, summing up the dramatic development. “Now he’s sweating,” quips the Sun, referencing a 2019 i
The Guardian·2026-02-20
Sky goes dark but a new dawn awaits at News Corp's Holt Street studios | Weekly BeastAnthony Albanese managed to straddle the media divide on one busy Friday, dropping into Guardian Australia’s newsroom to record a podcast in the morning, before he was due to visit Sydney’s News Corp headquarters to join chair Lachlan Murdoch for the unveiling of Sky News Australia’s new name in the afternoon. Just imagine the whiplash. The prime minister planned to join the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, and a cavalcade of Sky presenters to mingle over drinks and speeches inside the new home of Sky. The News Corp platform has been forced to rebrand as it loses the rights to the name Sky News in December when a 10-year deal with UK Sky News expires. Despite Sky offering an almost exclusive roster of on-air guests from the other side of politics, Labor leaders continue to accept News
