When a barrister is cited for contempt because of his argument to a jury, as happened in a Palestine Action trial, the risks affect us all

• Palestine Action barrister’s prosecution criticised as ‘chilling’

Within days of Mr Justice Johnson’s decision to seek contempt proceedings against Rajiv Menon KC because of that barrister’s closing speech to the jury in a Palestine Action criminal damage trial, I happened to be making a closing speech to a jury. Neither the case nor the personnel of my case are relevant to what happened next, but it is telling that counsel for the prosecution appeared to invoke Mr Justice Johnson’s imprimatur to rebuke me for stepping over the boundary as to what was acceptable to say to the jury.

Thankfully, nothing of substance came of that. Not so for Menon. On 22 June 2026, Mr Justice Johnson handed down his approved judgment in Menon’s case such that he now faces a possible two-year prison sentence for defending his client in what was, it seems to me, in accordance with his professional duties and obligations.

Anton Jäger has been lauded for his exceptional ability to make sense of these strange political times – and he’s only 32. The writer and academic explains why we’re living in an age of hyperpolitics

‘I am acutely conscious,” said Andy Burnham outside 10 Downing Street on Monday, “that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street.” It was good to hear him say it because, beneath all the cabinet gossip and rune-reading, there is a feeling of terror about the immediate future and also about ourselves, the electorate. Is this who we are now? Wildly enthusiastic one minute, seething the next; as passionate about the change we want as we are convinced that those who promise it are incapable of enacting it?

It is perhaps not surprising that Anton Jäger’s recent book, Hyperpolitics: Extreme Politicization without Political Consequences, is being read by Labour watchers and leftwing thinkers. As the New York Times wrote, it’s “among the best and most dazzling efforts to model the political present in all its maddening strangeness”. Still, I think Jäger was surprised to have his honeymoon interrupted so I could interview him about it. Life comes at everyone quite fast in a hyperpolitical age.

A symbol of global inequalities and shifting geopolitical fortunes, some passports offer their holders far more freedom to travel than others

Passports can resemble abridged memoirs, their stamps telling romantic stories of wanderlust, freedom and belonging.

But they are also a symbol of global inequalities and shifting geopolitical fortunes. Passports from some places allow their holders to travel abroad simply by booking a flight and packing a bag. Others, however, entail booking an appointment at the nearest consulate, presenting documents to prove identity and financial means, then waiting weeks for a decision.

Fay likes to get a good spot and watch the support acts, but Odysseus would rather rock up for the main band. Who is hitting a false note? You decide

• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

Fay likes to be on the front row but I think it’s overrated

Having stepped in when Victoria deemed the event ‘a waste of taxpayer money’, organisers are bullish about the future

Sometimes when a non-responsive person is close to death, a strange medical phenomena occurs. From apparently nowhere they experience a burst of energy. They recognise people again. They start to speak in sentences. Relatives even dare to hope. But, sadly, that hope is short-lived.

Doctors call it terminal lucidity. And it comes to mind at the dawn of the 23rd Commonwealth Games.

Shipwrecks, ice football and igloos for dogs … the digitisation of Frank Hurley’s photographs shows the heroic trek more clearly – and unlocks some remarkable new details

Probation union and crime victims had raised doubts over plan to free 6,000 offenders across England and Wales

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Andy Burnham has paused an early release scheme for 6,000 prisoners that was due to start in September after an outcry from crime victims.

The prime minister said an “urgent review” will aim to “minimise risk to the public” amid concerns that killers, rapists and sex abusers would be freed on tags.

MPs and others condemn behaviour of CT Group, which offered cash for positive coverage of clients

A political lobbying firm secretly paying journalists for articles favourable to its clients is facing calls to reveal full details of the payments, after the practice was denounced as a dangerous “attack on democracy”.

MPs, senior lobbyists and transparency campaigners all condemned the behaviour of CT Group, the firm co-founded by the campaign strategist Lynton Crosby, an election guru previously hired by both David Cameron and Boris Johnson.

Shalina Rahman, 42, and daughter Sameeha, 15, were on holiday in West Mersea and boy is believed to be family member

The teenage girl and woman who died in the waters off an Essex beach were trying to help a seven-year-old boy who had got into difficulties, police believe.

Family members identified the pair as Shalina Rahman, a 42-year-old British-Bangladeshi teacher who is married to a Bangladeshi politician, and her 15-year-old daughter, Sameeha. The boy, who police say was a relative, was also said to be on life support in a hospital in London after the incident.

US president tells Axios ‘they haven’t received enough pain yet’ and he is ‘close to a decision’

Earlier in the US day, before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump issued this threat on his Truth Social platform:

From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including those located next to, or in, the Capital City of Tehran.