Kathy O'Donnell
@kathyodonnell.bsky.social
Journalist, parent to two grown-ups, LGBT+ rights campaigner, trustee Equality Network, former night editor of The Times, Scotland. Lives in France. [she/her]
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
I was once sceptical about the value of juries but I've learned through the trans work how shabbily our institutions treat those without privilege and fear their passing.
Like the Supreme Court's judicial roll back of human rights, this change to our justice system will hit the weakest hardest.
Like the Supreme Court's judicial roll back of human rights, this change to our justice system will hit the weakest hardest.
November 25, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I was once sceptical about the value of juries but I've learned through the trans work how shabbily our institutions treat those without privilege and fear their passing.
Like the Supreme Court's judicial roll back of human rights, this change to our justice system will hit the weakest hardest.
Like the Supreme Court's judicial roll back of human rights, this change to our justice system will hit the weakest hardest.
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
"The former BBC director general Tim Davie misled the public in suggesting BBC news reporters had a leftwing political agenda, Good Law Project can reveal." goodlaw.social/vyyj
Tim Davie misled audience about the BBC’s supposed leftwing agenda | Good Law Project
Speaking at a book festival, the former director general suggested the BBC newsroom was full of BLM T-shirts and Kamala mugs. But that’s fake news.
goodlaw.social
November 24, 2025 at 2:52 PM
"The former BBC director general Tim Davie misled the public in suggesting BBC news reporters had a leftwing political agenda, Good Law Project can reveal." goodlaw.social/vyyj
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
The BBC’s own “impartiality briefing” for freelancers included not doing anything to annoy the DM. So - not impartial! Also not great for freedom of speech.
November 25, 2025 at 10:25 AM
The BBC’s own “impartiality briefing” for freelancers included not doing anything to annoy the DM. So - not impartial! Also not great for freedom of speech.
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
You can literally say what you want about trans people and the UK courts are fine with it.
This was a *child*
This was a *child*
Graham Linehan cleared of harassment but guilty of criminal damage to trans activist's phone
Graham Linehan cleared of harassment but guilty of criminal damage to trans activist's phone
Father Ted creator Graham Linehan has been found guilty of criminal damage to the phone of a trans activist but not guilty of harassment.
news.sky.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:37 AM
You can literally say what you want about trans people and the UK courts are fine with it.
This was a *child*
This was a *child*
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
![[Scene is a MEDIEVAL PLAGUE PIT with all the bodies inside it. On the edge of it is a young peasant woman, in a sack cloth dress, covered in boils. She is lounging glamorously next to the pit. Her boyfriend is standing a few feet away, photographing her with an anachronistic mobile phone]
GIRL:
OK so I'll sit here...
With my hair like this…
Rubbing my cyst with the corpse's hand.
[She produces a whithered severed hand and starts rubbing it on her face.]
[We are treated to a revolting close up of her rubbing the severed hand on her disgusting massive cyst.]
[Her boyfriend takes a photo of her.]
SNAP
GIRL:
OK, now write this:
"Hanging out at the burial pit, rubbing my sebaceous cyst with a severed corpse hand from
#BurtsGraverobbers…”
And then: #selfcare, #metime, #BurtsGraverobbers…
... nails emoji, heart emoji, cyst emoji.
BOYFRIEND:
Um...
Should we really be promoting this?
I mean… does rubbing a corpse's hand on a cyst actually work?
GIRL:
Look, Burt's done research, OK?
And he's paying us four groats.
BOYFRIEND:
Hmm.
[Boyfriend dutifully taps out the post on his phone]
TAP TAP TAP
BOYFRIEND:
Cyst emoji?
GIRL:
Just use a fried egg.
[Ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreifyvq2vzehtutrj7ild2dd7kkljmkbcby7yompicekbbpa2bqpluq@jpeg)
I understand. X
November 25, 2025 at 10:32 AM
I understand. X
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
If you receive legal threats from Nigel Farage for your reporting of Reform, please get in touch.
We have employed a defamation lawyer specifically for this purpose and would love to help (and we do so on non-commercial terms). www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
We have employed a defamation lawyer specifically for this purpose and would love to help (and we do so on non-commercial terms). www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform’s ‘Trumpian’ legal threats hint at more aggressive approach to media
Ultimatums sent to publications appear to intensify as Nigel Farage’s party rises in polls
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:29 AM
If you receive legal threats from Nigel Farage for your reporting of Reform, please get in touch.
We have employed a defamation lawyer specifically for this purpose and would love to help (and we do so on non-commercial terms). www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
We have employed a defamation lawyer specifically for this purpose and would love to help (and we do so on non-commercial terms). www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
He's not trying to distance himself, though. What he has done is to qualify it as not with malice or meant to be hurtful.
That's very different. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't think it was wrong and necessary of repudiation and forgiveness. He is arguing that it was trivial.
That's very different. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't think it was wrong and necessary of repudiation and forgiveness. He is arguing that it was trivial.
November 25, 2025 at 9:24 AM
He's not trying to distance himself, though. What he has done is to qualify it as not with malice or meant to be hurtful.
That's very different. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't think it was wrong and necessary of repudiation and forgiveness. He is arguing that it was trivial.
That's very different. He doesn't deny it. He doesn't think it was wrong and necessary of repudiation and forgiveness. He is arguing that it was trivial.
Perhaps unsurprisingly these types were very much not my friends and we clashed. I never sought news of them, yet what little I've heard of their lives in the intervening 45 years suggests they did not change. It was baked in.
Farage cannot entirely disown his teenage self because it's still him.
Farage cannot entirely disown his teenage self because it's still him.
November 25, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Perhaps unsurprisingly these types were very much not my friends and we clashed. I never sought news of them, yet what little I've heard of their lives in the intervening 45 years suggests they did not change. It was baked in.
Farage cannot entirely disown his teenage self because it's still him.
Farage cannot entirely disown his teenage self because it's still him.
I want to comment on extreme racism and fascist views in schools in the 1970s.
Farage is my contemporary.
I went to a similar school.
There were a handful of people in my school who said and did similar things - racist, antisemitic, pro Nazi etc.
Farage is an outlier, but by no means rare.
Farage is my contemporary.
I went to a similar school.
There were a handful of people in my school who said and did similar things - racist, antisemitic, pro Nazi etc.
Farage is an outlier, but by no means rare.
November 25, 2025 at 9:18 AM
I want to comment on extreme racism and fascist views in schools in the 1970s.
Farage is my contemporary.
I went to a similar school.
There were a handful of people in my school who said and did similar things - racist, antisemitic, pro Nazi etc.
Farage is an outlier, but by no means rare.
Farage is my contemporary.
I went to a similar school.
There were a handful of people in my school who said and did similar things - racist, antisemitic, pro Nazi etc.
Farage is an outlier, but by no means rare.
I understand. It is gutting.
For myself and my own health, I have accepted that there is no better side to Streeting or his ilk. Nothing to appeal to, no empathetic path to move them or logical argument to win.
All that matters is resisting and removing them.
For myself and my own health, I have accepted that there is no better side to Streeting or his ilk. Nothing to appeal to, no empathetic path to move them or logical argument to win.
All that matters is resisting and removing them.
November 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I understand. It is gutting.
For myself and my own health, I have accepted that there is no better side to Streeting or his ilk. Nothing to appeal to, no empathetic path to move them or logical argument to win.
All that matters is resisting and removing them.
For myself and my own health, I have accepted that there is no better side to Streeting or his ilk. Nothing to appeal to, no empathetic path to move them or logical argument to win.
All that matters is resisting and removing them.
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
Trans Safety Network are extremely concerned that DHSC are continuing to solicit input on trans healthcare from Bayswater and other anti trans groups after a reply to our previous concerns stated they would not work with groups who promote harmful practices or discriminatory views
Wes Streeting continues to ignore safeguarding concerns about parents group linked to abusive practices
Trans Safety Network has seen evidence Wes Streeting and the DHSC solicited feedback on a “puberty blocker risk form” from Bayswater Support Group and other anti-trans groups in September 2025, 6 mont...
transsafety.network
November 24, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Trans Safety Network are extremely concerned that DHSC are continuing to solicit input on trans healthcare from Bayswater and other anti trans groups after a reply to our previous concerns stated they would not work with groups who promote harmful practices or discriminatory views
It absolutely DOES matter. There's a direct link from 'gas em all' to the 'breaking point' poster and his links with fascists in Europe and the US. He's not sorry. He has never reformed his views. That's clear from his prevarications.
His fans love it because racism is their fuel, too.
His fans love it because racism is their fuel, too.
November 25, 2025 at 8:37 AM
It absolutely DOES matter. There's a direct link from 'gas em all' to the 'breaking point' poster and his links with fascists in Europe and the US. He's not sorry. He has never reformed his views. That's clear from his prevarications.
His fans love it because racism is their fuel, too.
His fans love it because racism is their fuel, too.
If you didn't know that Trevor Philips is an old man with some truly horrible right-wing views, chew on this...
Trevor Philips in the Times, calling for a Trump/Miller-style of random deportations based on skin colour.
archive.ph/RlXPj
archive.ph/RlXPj
November 25, 2025 at 8:31 AM
If you didn't know that Trevor Philips is an old man with some truly horrible right-wing views, chew on this...
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
I guess it’s a compliment that the top story on BBC London’s TV/online output today is a direct lift of a month-old London Centric story? But once again the BBC is consistently the worst news outlet for actually remembering to credit others.
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 AM
I guess it’s a compliment that the top story on BBC London’s TV/online output today is a direct lift of a month-old London Centric story? But once again the BBC is consistently the worst news outlet for actually remembering to credit others.
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
Still can't quite believe that "I only said 'gas the Jews' in a non-hurtful way" was the strategy Nigel Farage opted to go for
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Still can't quite believe that "I only said 'gas the Jews' in a non-hurtful way" was the strategy Nigel Farage opted to go for
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
![[Scene is JESUS sat behind a boss’s desk in his office on a cloud in HEAVEN]
1
JESUS [speaking into intercom]
Hi can you send in Saint Nicholas please
2
SANTA [entering in full Santa garb]:
Hi boss
JESUS:
Hi Nick
3
JESUS:
Listen - about this ‘my birthday’ thing...
SANTA:
Ohh not this again boss
4
JESUS:
Nick, it’s out of hand. *You’ve* got out of hand.
5
JESUS:
I mean when I hired you, you was all humble, hiding under windows, lobbing in dowries…
And now you’re like…
6
JESUS [gesturing disdainfully at Santa’s clothing]:
I mean - what’s this.
7
SANTA:
This is my get up! I’ve had this since the Coca Cola deal in the 30s
JESUS:
*That’s what I mean.*
8
JESUS:
You’ve just gone too -
SANTA:
Oh no, oh no -
9
SANTA:
Sorry boss but waaay back in the Reformation, right, Martin Luther said: “why don’t we have Jesus delivering the presents?”. And when he prayed to ask you, do you remember what you said? Eh?
10
SANTA:
You said: “I ain’t going back there”
11
SANTA:
If you wanna take over -
JESUS:
Oh yeah! Kids coming downstairs to find me resurrected in their living room going "I got you an Xbox"...
12
SANTA:
You’re just feeling threatened cos I’m doing a bloody good -
JESUS:
*WATCH IT NICK*.
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreiayhglimve4fbwilzyfjedpa56xwmjq4oriqqs62atkospprs6x5y@jpeg)
Reposted by Kathy O'Donnell
1 - My son and I met with Wes Streeting last year with other families. He heard the most horrific stories of children refused blockers and how it impacts them. We begged him not to ban blockers, and he promised to work with us, to have further meetings.
Trans Safety Network are extremely concerned that DHSC are continuing to solicit input on trans healthcare from Bayswater and other anti trans groups after a reply to our previous concerns stated they would not work with groups who promote harmful practices or discriminatory views
Wes Streeting continues to ignore safeguarding concerns about parents group linked to abusive practices
Trans Safety Network has seen evidence Wes Streeting and the DHSC solicited feedback on a “puberty blocker risk form” from Bayswater Support Group and other anti-trans groups in September 2025, 6 mont...
transsafety.network
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
1 - My son and I met with Wes Streeting last year with other families. He heard the most horrific stories of children refused blockers and how it impacts them. We begged him not to ban blockers, and he promised to work with us, to have further meetings.
Tell you what, Mike.
I'm completely uninterested in what you have to say.
I'm completely uninterested in what you have to say.
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Tell you what, Mike.
I'm completely uninterested in what you have to say.
I'm completely uninterested in what you have to say.
The trial is a political move and a farce from its inception to the people running it. It is causing huge suffering for no good reason at all.
I absolutely will mock Streeting for being the oleaginous, wretched swine that he is and would gladly - if figuratively - kick his arse down Whitehall.
I absolutely will mock Streeting for being the oleaginous, wretched swine that he is and would gladly - if figuratively - kick his arse down Whitehall.
November 24, 2025 at 12:14 PM
The trial is a political move and a farce from its inception to the people running it. It is causing huge suffering for no good reason at all.
I absolutely will mock Streeting for being the oleaginous, wretched swine that he is and would gladly - if figuratively - kick his arse down Whitehall.
I absolutely will mock Streeting for being the oleaginous, wretched swine that he is and would gladly - if figuratively - kick his arse down Whitehall.
For those who are struggling with this, it's clearly a Freudian slip which would be funny if the wellbeing of trans kids wasn't at stake.
Can I beat the Health Secretary over the head with his own Freudian slip? Sure I can.
Cass has been torn apart and rejected by health bodies across the world.
Can I beat the Health Secretary over the head with his own Freudian slip? Sure I can.
Cass has been torn apart and rejected by health bodies across the world.
November 24, 2025 at 12:14 PM
For those who are struggling with this, it's clearly a Freudian slip which would be funny if the wellbeing of trans kids wasn't at stake.
Can I beat the Health Secretary over the head with his own Freudian slip? Sure I can.
Cass has been torn apart and rejected by health bodies across the world.
Can I beat the Health Secretary over the head with his own Freudian slip? Sure I can.
Cass has been torn apart and rejected by health bodies across the world.
I'm not sure what you intended to say, but I can't make any sense of what you've written here. Have another go.
November 24, 2025 at 11:44 AM
I'm not sure what you intended to say, but I can't make any sense of what you've written here. Have another go.
Want to tell us who you are with your four followers anonymous @cavback.bsky.social ?
That you, Wes?
Or one of his spads?
That you, Wes?
Or one of his spads?
November 24, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Want to tell us who you are with your four followers anonymous @cavback.bsky.social ?
That you, Wes?
Or one of his spads?
That you, Wes?
Or one of his spads?
Here's the Health Secretary Wes Streeting explaining that a clinical trial of a safe drug used in the UK and across the world for decades is necessary in order that it can be banned.
He wants to be PM.
He wants to be PM.
November 24, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Here's the Health Secretary Wes Streeting explaining that a clinical trial of a safe drug used in the UK and across the world for decades is necessary in order that it can be banned.
He wants to be PM.
He wants to be PM.