Ex Jaguar Land Rover & Peugeot. Self-employed consultant and former UK Automotive Brand Manager for ASI. Enjoys rugby and tennis. Views are entirely personal.
Joined December 2013
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David Stevens retweeted
Gurkhas are a blessing to our society
Thank you. Gurkhas !!
David Stevens retweeted
I’ve uncovered more than £1 million of your money going from the Ministry of Justice straight to pro-immigration charities.
Charities that campaign against border controls and help illegal immigrants stay in Britain.
This must stop. The Ministry of Justice exists to serve the British people, not to act as a cash machine for left-wing lawyers.
David Stevens retweeted
I see the Telegraph continues the purge of all its best journalists.
Liam is someone who defies the economic groupthink that has driven this country into the ground.
I'm sure Planet Normal will surge with Allison and Liam gaining their independence! 🚀
I was hoping to be able to announce this in my own time – but the media rumour mill is swirling, I'm being contacted by various reporters and others, and I don't like denying the truth, so ...
I wrote my first "Economic Agenda" column in The Sunday Telegraph 27 years ago, under the editorship of Dominic Lawson – filling-in occasionally during the late-1990s, before being given my own weekly slot from 2003.
Since then, while I've been heavily involved in television, and am perhaps better known as a broadcaster, penning "Economic Agenda" for The Sunday Telegraph each week has been the backbone of my journalistic life.
On Thursday, the @Telegraph rang to tell me my column is being scrapped.
I was asked, and have agreed, to write "Economic Agenda" until the end of November, as per my contract. After that, my Sunday Telegraph column will be no more.
Why this decision has been made, and whether or not my columns were any good, is for others to judge.
All I will say is that, as the first person in my family to attend university, sustaining a weekly column in a leading national newspaper for a quarter of a century has been a source of enormous pride for myself and my family.
Lots of people have been asking me about the future of "Planet Normal" - the hugely-popular Telegraph podcast which I co-created and co-present with the brilliant @AllisonPearson
"Planet Normal" has, over the last 330 weekly episodes, also become a major part of my professional life and my broader identity.
With Allison reportedly leaving the Telegraph as well, there is a lot of speculation about whether or not the podcast will continue to impart "news and views from beyond the bubble" with our usual blend of sharp analysis, humour and occasional outrage !
Well, I am delighted to confirm that Co-Pilot Pearson and myself are deeply committed to our joint podcast – and, above all, to our beloved listeners.
We will, as and when notice periods allow, continue our voyages through space every Thursday – perhaps to "Planet Normal", or maybe to another part of the solar system – so we can "gaze down each week at the madness of Planet Earth", as we have done since the Spring of 2020.
So citizens of Planet Normal, stand ready ! The "rocket-of-right-thinking", the "flying refuge of reasoned views", will soon be launched once again 🚀🪐👨🏭👱♀️🎙️📺
I poured my heart and soul into "Economic Agenda" and "Planet Normal". The Telegraph's decision to scrap them is obviously a huge personal blow. But I will always be grateful for the opportunities the paper has given me.
Above all, I would like to thank the illustrious list of successive Telegraph business editors I've worked with since the late-1990s, many of whom have become and remain good friends - including @Peston @RobertsDan @larmitstead @neilbenet @benjaminmarlow @cg_williams @kamalahmednews @MarkKleinmanSky @jamesrquinn (sorry if I've forgotten anyone, it's been a long time!)
On Friday, even though I almost always write my column from elsewhere, and despite being extremely disappointed by the paper's decision, I decided to go into the Telegraph and write today's column sitting in the newsroom.
I am glad I did - as being at the heart of the paper at such a difficult time allowed for lots of conversations, with everyone from junior production staff to senior reporters and executives, which reminded me that journalism, despite being an industry at the whim of seemingly endless and often brutal commercial and technological upheaval, is not only hugely important to our country, but full of talented, decent people.
See picture below, having just filed my piece, as I was heading out the door ...
David Stevens retweeted
If the new German owners of the Telegraph change the paper to an EU supporting rag, and fire right wing journos such as Allison Pearson, Allister Heath, and Camilla Tominey, then I will be cancelling my subscription with immediate effect.
As this has to be done by phone, I will enjoy telling them exactly why too.
theguardian.com/media/2026/o…
David Stevens retweeted
It beggars belief that women students are being subjected to this, & no doubt instructed to ‘be kind’ & put up with it.
Yet again, preference given to male entitlement at the expense of female discomfort.
@WilliamJHague why is this OK at Oxford?
David Stevens retweeted
🚨 NEW: “St Hilda’s College takes seriously the duty to protect and promote freedom of expression within the law.”
The response three female former Oxford University students received - after complaining about male biochemistry lecturer Matt Rattley wearing large prosthetic breasts at work.
“We urge you to take immediate action,” they wrote to the college’s principal, Dame Sarah Springman, in May, raising concerns about sexual harassment.
A parent and a member of the public who separately raised concerns say they received no reply.
Asked how the complaints were handled, both Oxford University and St Hilda’s said they had nothing further to add to their previous statements.
I’ve published the correspondence and their responses in [Un]Captured.
Link below 👇
David Stevens retweeted
When a female patient is raped by a "transgender woman" on a hospital ward your NHS say she could not have been raped because her attacker is "defined as a woman".
It took the hospital a year to admit there was a rapist with a penis on the ward.
They lied to save their misguided DEI policy and ignored the suffering of the victim and the safety of other female patients.
And as far as I know, no one was fired or reprimanded.
Real women are not even second class citizens to the NHS.
David Stevens retweeted
J.K. Rowling has become an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, including the right of women and girls to fair competition in sports and protection of female-only spaces.
Despite intense public criticism from a loud minority, Rowling has refused to back down from speaking about biological reality and the harm caused by denying it, particularly to women and vulnerable young girls.
Women and girls deserve advocates who will stand up for them, regardless of the backlash.
David Stevens retweeted
The Conversion Practices Bill could not be more sinister.
You may be used to freedom of speech being suppressed in the public square. But under this bill, your conversations at home with your children will be policed and subject to criminal law.
Sex Matters’ Director of Advocacy @HJoyceGender explains how a frank conversation with your daughter who says she is nonbinary, for example, could fulfil the criminal threshold under the bill.
You may tell her that she is unable to change her biological sex and that she will go through female puberty whether she likes it or not, regardless of her identity. This conversation could easily be considered an attempt to change your daughter’s gender identity, which is considered a conversion practice under the bill.
If you then decided to limit her time on social media or stop her from spending time with people who you think are bad influences, that could be considered as psychological or emotional pressure and therefore “abusive” under the bill.
If she refuses to go to school as a result of feeling anxious, her teachers might flag her absences to the police, who then open an investigation. They may decide that you have met the criminal threshold for conversion practice.
Helen says that due to the vagueness of the bill, it could take multiple cases being heard before courts settle on the boundaries of the law. Countless people, who are just trying to do the best for their children, may be put through police investigations and prosecutions. Even if found not guilty, the process is the punishment.
This is bound to create a chilling effect at the very least – not just in the public square this time, but inside people's homes and within families. Gender identity issues already cause huge emotional turmoil for families without the looming threat of the criminal law.
Read Helen’s piece and sign our petition to stop the Conversion Practices Bill 👇
David Stevens retweeted
Pro Palestinian Gaza activist Rector of St Andrews University has been banned from the place for seven years after reprehensible behaviour in office. @afneil
thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics…
David Stevens retweeted
Why on earth aren't students at Oxford refusing to be taught by a man acting out his sexual fetish in the workplace? This is beyond creepy.
David Stevens retweeted
The CAF-commissioned independent investigation into Cambridge University’s appointment of Jason Arday is now up and running, and needs the assistance of those who know Cambridge best.
We strongly encourage current and former academics, students and other members of the University community, as well as others with relevant knowledge, to come forward with information.
This might include policy documents, internal correspondence or first-hand accounts concerning Arday’s academic record, his appointment and subsequent time at Cambridge, the University’s response to concerns about his scholarship and its treatment of those who raised them, and the development and application of institutional policies relating to recruitment, promotion, academic misconduct, research integrity and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Anyone wishing to contribute can contact the Investigator directly at:
[email protected]
The website provides further guidance on submitting information, including arrangements for particularly sensitive material:
ardayinvestigation.net/
This is a rare opportunity to bring matters long discussed behind closed doors, amongst trusted colleagues, into the light. Those who have witnessed decisions or practices that they believe warrant scrutiny, but have hitherto felt unable to raise their concerns through official channels, can now contribute to an investigation independent of the University.
Please help us spread the word and ensure this appeal reaches as many Cambridge academics and others with relevant knowledge as possible.
🤖 Made with AI
David Stevens retweeted
💜 A heartfelt thank you to J.K. Rowling 💜
To have someone of J.K. Rowling’s courage, influence and conviction publicly acknowledge and celebrate our victory means more to us than words can express. 🥹
The past three years have been an incredibly difficult journey for the Darlington nurses. We have faced challenges we could never have imagined but through it all, we have remained determined to stand up for what we believe is right. 💪🏻
Moments like this remind us that we are not alone!!
J.K. Rowling has shown extraordinary courage in standing up for women, often at considerable personal cost. Her unwavering support for women who have found themselves in difficult and sometimes frightening circumstances has given so many of us strength.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Jo. Thank you for your courage, your compassion and for using your voice to make sure women like us are heard!
Your support means the world to us and we will never take it for granted.
With love and gratitude,
The Darlington Nurses 💜
David Stevens retweeted
Muslim students at the University of Oxford threatened to beat Tommy Robinson to DEATH for criticizing Islam.
They faced no consequences.
Meanwhile, Tommy is the one currently facing trial for “harassment.”
The double standard is crazy.
David Stevens retweeted
Jason Arday’s PhD Supervisor Recycled a Coauthored Chapter Into His Own Thesis and His Book
The man who oversaw Jason Arday’s doctorate now runs student experience at the university that cleared it, I report. His own PhD reused 2,000 words of a three-author chapter, unquoted and mostly uncited.
Amid the recent imbroglio over Jason Arday’s alleged plagiarism, academic fraud and serial fabulism, a quiet question has gone unanswered: Who were his academic advisors? And how did they neither catch on to, nor ultimately prevent, the evident flaws in his 2015 PhD thesis and other published scholarship?
During the weeks leading up to Dr. Arday’s resignation from his Cambridge University professorship and ultimate death in August, a source pointed me toward his thesis advisor at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), Philip Vickerman. In particular, my source said, I should examine whether there was textual overlap between Dr. Vickerman’s own PhD thesis at Leeds University and other published work.
I found plenty.
Dr. Vickerman’s 2004 thesis contains 37 clusters, comprising 2,010 words, that are identical to a book chapter, published in 2003, that he coauthored with two other people. None of the recycled passages in the thesis are in quotation marks and 30 of them bear no citation.
All 37 passages wound up, at least in part, in a 2007 book Dr. Vickerman published as an individual author. Thirty-six of those passages are largely intact. Just four cite the 2003 book chapter.
David Stevens retweeted
Can anyone please explain to me why the Chancellor paying £100 into my bank account to help me pay my energy bill - which I can easily afford and will be rising by far more than that sum anyway - is going to help the economy or deliver growth in every postcode?
This is insane fiddling while the economy burns.
David Stevens retweeted
The Conversion Practices Bill is one of the most dangerous, illiberal and invasive pieces of legislation ever to come before MPs.
It will criminalise well-intentioned conversations between parents and gender-confused children, and between religious leaders and those seeking guidance on their faith’s teachings about sex, gender and marriage.
Parents who try to dissuade their children — at any age — from embarking on dangerous, irreversible and life-changing medical pathways could face five years in prison.
Unlike similar bills introduced in the past, this Bill contains no carve-outs to protect these vital conversations.
It is not the role of the state or ministers to dictate what parents can or cannot say to their children around the dinner table.
In a letter to the pre-legislative scrutiny committee, the Equalities Minister even had the audacity to claim that the Bill respects parental responsibility. It does not.
The committee will hear evidence from witnesses for the first time tomorrow, and has now opened its call for evidence.
The Free Speech Union is calling on the Prime Minister to drop this Bill. It is an assault on free speech and religious freedom.
Watch FSU Campaigns Officer @MaxHThompson and sign our petition below 👇
David Stevens retweeted
🚨BREAKING: A British man stated on social media that he does not want to see Palestinian flags displayed all across the UK.
Police officers came to his house at 4am and arrested him.
Am I crazy, or has the UK officially fallen?
David Stevens retweeted
"Who is bankrolling Nigel Farage's party?" asks Bridget Phillipson. "Labour will protect our democracy from foreign influence."
Right. Same question back.
Who is bankrolling Labour, and the machine around it?
Gary Lubner. South African. Former Autoglass chief. Millions.
Lord Alli. Buys the clothes, lends the flat.
George Soros. Money into Best for Britain and Fair Vote, routed through a London outpost, which is how a foreign fortune gets round a ban on foreign donations.
Pierre Omidyar. French-Iranian, eBay founder, funding the campaign groups.
Bill Gates. In for the photo call.
Swedish philanthropists. Bloomberg.
And Verbatim, which made the Channel 4 sting she is riding, is itself funded from abroad. So the watchdog on foreign money is on foreign money.
And those are off the top of my head. No research. Give me an afternoon and the list fills a page.
So the party promising to protect democracy from foreign influence is up to its neck in it, legally, through the same door, and has proposed no cap that would inconvenience a single person in the room. They held a drinks party for them in Downing Street.
The question is not who is bankrolling Farage. It is why Labour thinks the answer changes depending on whose name is on the cheque.
"Protect our democracy from foreign influence." They would not know where to start.
Who is bankrolling Nigel Farage's party?
What interests are they seeking to advance?
Are they acting in Britain's best interests?
Reform UK are engulfed in sleaze and scandal. Labour will protect our democracy from foreign influence.
independent.co.uk/news/uk/po…
