Matthew Redhead
@matthewrr.bsky.social
National & financial security. Former UK civil servant and financial intelligence professional. Senior Associate Fellow @rusi.bsky.social CFS. Loves ideas, cult fiction, anomalous stuff and landscapes.
Views own.
Views own.
Pinned
Matthew Redhead
@matthewrr.bsky.social
· Sep 12
“People sometimes tell me that they prefer barbarism to civilisation. I doubt if they have given it a long enough trial…they are bored by civilisation; but all the evidence suggests that the boredom of barbarism is infinitely greater.”
Kenneth Clark, ‘Civilisation’.
Kenneth Clark, ‘Civilisation’.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Reform reveal their new branding….
It’s clear: Nigel Farage’s Reform is just the same old Conservatives that ruined the country in the first place.
It’s clear: Nigel Farage’s Reform is just the same old Conservatives that ruined the country in the first place.
January 16, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Reform reveal their new branding….
It’s clear: Nigel Farage’s Reform is just the same old Conservatives that ruined the country in the first place.
It’s clear: Nigel Farage’s Reform is just the same old Conservatives that ruined the country in the first place.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Russia was behind attempted 2024 arson attack, Lithuania says reut.rs/3Zdx2AH
Russia was behind attempted 2024 arson attack, Lithuania says
Lithuanian authorities accused Russia's GRU military intelligence service on Friday of masterminding attempted arson attacks on a plant that supplies radio wave scanners to Ukraine's army.
reut.rs
January 16, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Russia was behind attempted 2024 arson attack, Lithuania says reut.rs/3Zdx2AH
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Would have been easier to get one off of eBay.
January 15, 2026 at 10:31 PM
Would have been easier to get one off of eBay.
I’ve just told my mum how they found out about Jenrick leaving (the speech on the printer) and all I can say is the last time she laughed so much was Bob Mortimer’s Chris Rea story on ‘Would I Lie To You?’
January 15, 2026 at 10:15 PM
I’ve just told my mum how they found out about Jenrick leaving (the speech on the printer) and all I can say is the last time she laughed so much was Bob Mortimer’s Chris Rea story on ‘Would I Lie To You?’
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Just in case @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com is too modest to repost it, the best portrait of Robert Jenrick you'll read is the one she wrote for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social back in October. Might be paywalled, but, hey, good journalism has to be financed somehow.
Robert Jenrick, the hollow man
This opportunistic ‘saviour’ could kill off the Tories completely
www.thenewworld.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 6:35 PM
Just in case @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com is too modest to repost it, the best portrait of Robert Jenrick you'll read is the one she wrote for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social back in October. Might be paywalled, but, hey, good journalism has to be financed somehow.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Time for a drink.
January 15, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Time for a drink.
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
if westminster hacks don’t cover Jenrick’s defection by focusing on his hypocrisy & Reform becoming a sanctuary for washed-up inadequates who wrecked the country, then they’re wasting everyone’s time
January 15, 2026 at 5:52 PM
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Pay close attention to targeting Bank Melli's money laundering network....
Iran’s “shadow banking” is primary way Iran facilitates billion$ in annual trade using the “rahbar” company to managing intl transactions via web of front companies & exchange houses content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UST...
Iran’s “shadow banking” is primary way Iran facilitates billion$ in annual trade using the “rahbar” company to managing intl transactions via web of front companies & exchange houses content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UST...
Secretary Bessent Announces Sanctions Against Architects of Iran’s Brutal Crackdown on Peaceful Protests
content.govdelivery.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Pay close attention to targeting Bank Melli's money laundering network....
Iran’s “shadow banking” is primary way Iran facilitates billion$ in annual trade using the “rahbar” company to managing intl transactions via web of front companies & exchange houses content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UST...
Iran’s “shadow banking” is primary way Iran facilitates billion$ in annual trade using the “rahbar” company to managing intl transactions via web of front companies & exchange houses content.govdelivery.com/accounts/UST...
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Uh, that’s not good.
Upon doing a little more digging to support this piece, I noticed the Trump Administration had USGS treat Canada as a strategic threat in scenario planning.
That’s how it reached “critical mineral” designations for potash, lead, and rhenium. It’s so stupid.
🔌💡
That’s how it reached “critical mineral” designations for potash, lead, and rhenium. It’s so stupid.
🔌💡
Good morning everyone!
My latest post is now up over at Tailings.
This week, I tackle the wonky debate over defining and designating "critical minerals,” why it matters, and why we need a broader policy reorientation toward downstream materials.
🔌💡 ⛏️🪨
tailings.substack.com/p/what-exact...
My latest post is now up over at Tailings.
This week, I tackle the wonky debate over defining and designating "critical minerals,” why it matters, and why we need a broader policy reorientation toward downstream materials.
🔌💡 ⛏️🪨
tailings.substack.com/p/what-exact...
January 15, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Uh, that’s not good.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
#OpEd Some countries choose to avoid the problem, while others face it head on. But Moscow denies that it is preying on desperate foreigners all together, writes Nigar Hasanova.
Who Will Take Responsibility or the Foreign Fighters Recruited for Russia’s War? - The Moscow Times
Opinion | Azerbaijan and Iran have responded very differently to reports that Russia is recruiting their citizens to fight in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.
www.themoscowtimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:49 PM
#OpEd Some countries choose to avoid the problem, while others face it head on. But Moscow denies that it is preying on desperate foreigners all together, writes Nigar Hasanova.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
'2 meny sneks jsst me n da kids frm now on xoxo'
January 15, 2026 at 4:35 PM
'2 meny sneks jsst me n da kids frm now on xoxo'
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
'Going forward, it is vital that Denmark, supported by its NATO and EU partners, continue to respect Greenland’s voice and support it on the path to eventual independence' writes RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus in the latest RUSI Commentary.
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Not for Sale – the Kingdom of Denmark Stands its Ground
Danish and Greenlander representatives travelled to Washington to dissuade the US from seeking the territory of Greenland.
www.rusi.org
January 15, 2026 at 3:34 PM
'Going forward, it is vital that Denmark, supported by its NATO and EU partners, continue to respect Greenland’s voice and support it on the path to eventual independence' writes RUSI's Director-General Rachel Ellehuus in the latest RUSI Commentary.
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
www.rusi.org/explore-our-...
Likeliest is that Jenrick ends up purusing a "career" on GBNews.
Funniest timeline now is that Jenrick and Farage can’t work out a deal, and Jenrick ends up having to do the full Powell and join the DUP.
January 15, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Likeliest is that Jenrick ends up purusing a "career" on GBNews.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
You cannot back Donald Trump and support Ukraine. Trump has helped Putin by starving Ukraine of air defense (which the Russians understand). Trump is helping Putin freeze Ukrainian cities, turn off Ukrainian lights and, ultimately, kill Ukrainians.
And he has been doing this for almost one year.
And he has been doing this for almost one year.
January 15, 2026 at 12:45 PM
You cannot back Donald Trump and support Ukraine. Trump has helped Putin by starving Ukraine of air defense (which the Russians understand). Trump is helping Putin freeze Ukrainian cities, turn off Ukrainian lights and, ultimately, kill Ukrainians.
And he has been doing this for almost one year.
And he has been doing this for almost one year.
I remember when turmoil in the Conservative Party seemed a big deal - especially between the Heseltine resignation in 1986 and the fall of Thatcher in 1990. Maybe it's just that I'm getting older, or that the Tories aren't in power, but the #Jenrick stuff seems pretty small fry. I mean - who cares?
January 15, 2026 at 12:12 PM
I remember when turmoil in the Conservative Party seemed a big deal - especially between the Heseltine resignation in 1986 and the fall of Thatcher in 1990. Maybe it's just that I'm getting older, or that the Tories aren't in power, but the #Jenrick stuff seems pretty small fry. I mean - who cares?
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Multiple injuries reported in central London as Alistair Campbell stampedes to the studio to record an 🚨EMERGENCY PODCAST🚨
January 15, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Multiple injuries reported in central London as Alistair Campbell stampedes to the studio to record an 🚨EMERGENCY PODCAST🚨
And I laughed.
Badenoch just sacked Jenrick, removed the whip and suspended his party membership.
She said: "I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his shadow cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.
She said: "I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible to his shadow cabinet colleagues and the wider Conservative Party.
January 15, 2026 at 11:17 AM
And I laughed.
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
This is all great but the numbers seem minuscule. It's a large landmass, even if this is just meant to monitor, maintain a presence and provide reassurance, this says 'we want to look like we are doing something but not do anything that might make the Americans think we are building defenses.'
Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and France have all accelerated the deployment of armed forces units to Greenland to assist Denmark in the defense of the island against foreign attack. All these activities are carried out under the banner of NATO. www.politico.eu/article/denm...
Denmark and allies boost Greenland military footprint as Trump ramps up pressure
The deployment comes as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies talk of taking over the Arctic island.
www.politico.eu
January 15, 2026 at 3:37 AM
This is all great but the numbers seem minuscule. It's a large landmass, even if this is just meant to monitor, maintain a presence and provide reassurance, this says 'we want to look like we are doing something but not do anything that might make the Americans think we are building defenses.'
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Have to say a legislative programme that ends up lowering the voting age to 16 but bans 16 and 17 year olds from buying alcohol free beer would lack a little consistency
January 14, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Have to say a legislative programme that ends up lowering the voting age to 16 but bans 16 and 17 year olds from buying alcohol free beer would lack a little consistency
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
Poland failed to win the Hitler team over
Denmark, Greenland failed to win the Trump team over
Denmark, Greenland failed to win the Trump team over
The U.S. allies hoped meeting senior Trump officials would diffuse tensions and tough talk on Greenland. It didn’t.
dlvr.it
January 14, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Poland failed to win the Hitler team over
Reposted by Matthew Redhead
This is an eye-opener.
Laura Jedeed on applying for a job with ICE: "I expected them to Google me, and they didn't ... they sent me a final job offer ... what's disturbing is we don't know who is wearing these masks with guns in our city. We don't know if they have domestic violence convictions."
January 14, 2026 at 8:08 PM
This is an eye-opener.