Patrick Smith
@psmithjournalist.bsky.social
Breaking news editor for nbcnews.com in London. SWFC and St Albans City fan. Mancunian. Likes memes.
Reposted by Patrick Smith
For more on how conditions at Dilley are affecting children, read my latest for @nbcnews.com
I interviewed a family of Russian asylum seekers who’ve been held more than four months at the Dilley detention center in Texas.
As we spoke over Zoom this week, their daughter Kamilla was one day shy of turning 12. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.
She replied: “To get out of here.”
As we spoke over Zoom this week, their daughter Kamilla was one day shy of turning 12. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.
She replied: “To get out of here.”
'Even in Russia, they don't treat children like this': A family's nightmare in ICE detention
A Russian couple and their children sought asylum in the U.S. In a Texas detention center, they say they endured worms in the food and hourslong waits for medicine.
www.nbcnews.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:42 PM
For more on how conditions at Dilley are affecting children, read my latest for @nbcnews.com
Reposted by Patrick Smith
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
Reposted by Patrick Smith
But this, here, is the key bit: despite everything they have to say about PA, the court finds that the consequences of proscription on human rights are not proportionate to its benefits. The first ground upon which the government lost is largely procedural. This one is substantive.
February 13, 2026 at 11:50 AM
But this, here, is the key bit: despite everything they have to say about PA, the court finds that the consequences of proscription on human rights are not proportionate to its benefits. The first ground upon which the government lost is largely procedural. This one is substantive.
Always fascinating to see the judiciary revise the actions of the executive, exactly its role in a functional democracy, Montesquieu in action.
Breaking: on two counts, the High Court has ruled that the Labour government's proscription of the campaign group Palestine Action was unlawful – a win for its co-founder Huda Ammori, who sought a judicial review of the ban
February 13, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Always fascinating to see the judiciary revise the actions of the executive, exactly its role in a functional democracy, Montesquieu in action.
I will bite: from my sixth-form college it was Melanie Sykes.
The way to kill UK-politically orientated Bluesky dead, of course, is to start a “who was the most famous alumnus of your college?”
February 13, 2026 at 10:44 AM
I will bite: from my sixth-form college it was Melanie Sykes.
My band used to practise in Denton and I often went swimming in Gorton. This is surely enough to justify a whimsical political analysis on "the Manchester I know" [ed: it is not]
February 13, 2026 at 10:16 AM
My band used to practise in Denton and I often went swimming in Gorton. This is surely enough to justify a whimsical political analysis on "the Manchester I know" [ed: it is not]
Me on the bus: "Sorry, nothing smaller mate"
This is a 5kg solid gold coin. Worth about £600,000. But for it to be legal tender – and this can be used in a shop! – it has to have a denomination. And the Royal Mint has decided its face value is…£5,000.
I discovered this strange fact at The Trial of the Pyx
🧵 1/3
I discovered this strange fact at The Trial of the Pyx
🧵 1/3
February 13, 2026 at 7:38 AM
Me on the bus: "Sorry, nothing smaller mate"
The real fitness challenge is resisting pizza in the newsroom.
February 12, 2026 at 1:39 PM
The real fitness challenge is resisting pizza in the newsroom.
Word of the day, for all British-based tweeps.
Pluvial: relating to or characterized by rainfall.
Pluvial: relating to or characterized by rainfall.
February 12, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Word of the day, for all British-based tweeps.
Pluvial: relating to or characterized by rainfall.
Pluvial: relating to or characterized by rainfall.
Reposted by Patrick Smith
14 years ago today. No social media manager. No PR. Just raw unfiltered emotion and heartfelt stream of consciousness for a much-loved and much-missed musical icon. The day the music died and Twitter peaked. @
February 12, 2026 at 8:20 AM
14 years ago today. No social media manager. No PR. Just raw unfiltered emotion and heartfelt stream of consciousness for a much-loved and much-missed musical icon. The day the music died and Twitter peaked. @
"Sir Jim - who is a resident of Monaco"
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
'The UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
Britain has been "colonised" by immigrants, who are draining resources from the state, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the country's richest and most influential men, has told Sky News.
news.sky.com
February 12, 2026 at 9:18 AM
"Sir Jim - who is a resident of Monaco"
Reposted by Patrick Smith
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
February 12, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Sam Altman was right - this unironically is PhD-level intelligence
Clever headlines in government press releases, an on-going series
February 12, 2026 at 7:33 AM
Clever headlines in government press releases, an on-going series
Reposted by Patrick Smith
NEW: “CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey sends a bombshell farewell note:
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
February 12, 2026 at 3:22 AM
NEW: “CBS Evening News” producer Alicia Hastey sends a bombshell farewell note:
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
Stories are “evaluated not just on their journalistic merit but on whether they conform to a shifting set of ideological expectations.”
A new @nbcnews.com Decision Desk Poll finds 43% want ICE reformed, 29% want it abolished, and 29% want it to continue in its current form.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Poll: Americans support ICE overhaul amid federal funding fight
The question is how far to go, as a new NBC News Decision Desk Poll finds 43% want ICE reformed, 29% want it abolished, and 29% want it to continue in its current form.
www.nbcnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:02 AM
A new @nbcnews.com Decision Desk Poll finds 43% want ICE reformed, 29% want it abolished, and 29% want it to continue in its current form.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Just learned of a breaking news story via BlueSky.
Nature is healing.
Nature is healing.
February 11, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Just learned of a breaking news story via BlueSky.
Nature is healing.
Nature is healing.
Big fan of Nashville police using the thermal imaging camera on a helicopter to find a suspect hiding in a wheelie bin (US: trash can) x.com/MNPDNashvill...
February 11, 2026 at 7:36 AM
Big fan of Nashville police using the thermal imaging camera on a helicopter to find a suspect hiding in a wheelie bin (US: trash can) x.com/MNPDNashvill...
An interesting parallel to POTUS' ongoing dispute with American universities
Reform is threatening Bangor University over a student society’s decision. The society isn’t Bangor University—but this is a neat preview of how a Reform government would work: public money for supporters only. Trump-style politics, UK edition.
Authoritarian reflex is already working just fine.👇
Authoritarian reflex is already working just fine.👇
February 10, 2026 at 9:40 AM
An interesting parallel to POTUS' ongoing dispute with American universities
Interesting news industry reporting from @pressgazette.co.uk with some reasons to be cheerful
Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow pressgazette.co.uk/north-americ...
Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow pressgazette.co.uk/north-americ...
Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow
Green shoots in digital advertising, video and subs at NYT, Bloomberg, People Inc and Dow Jones.
pressgazette.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 9:31 AM
Interesting news industry reporting from @pressgazette.co.uk with some reasons to be cheerful
Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow pressgazette.co.uk/north-americ...
Amid WaPo woes five US news giants show how industry can grow pressgazette.co.uk/north-americ...
re: the plight of #swfc, admirably covered by the Sheffield Star throughout, why has there been no accountability for Chansiri?
No public statement, no inquiry calling for him to answer for what's happened. Don't fans and players deserve at least a response?
www.thestar.co.uk/sport/footba...
No public statement, no inquiry calling for him to answer for what's happened. Don't fans and players deserve at least a response?
www.thestar.co.uk/sport/footba...
SWFC News: The reality of Sheffield Wednesday’s on-field plight as relegation beckons
A 4-0 defeat to Swansea City over the weekend saw Sheffield Wednesday move a step closer to relegation, and it’s no surprise whatsoever.
www.thestar.co.uk
February 10, 2026 at 9:25 AM
re: the plight of #swfc, admirably covered by the Sheffield Star throughout, why has there been no accountability for Chansiri?
No public statement, no inquiry calling for him to answer for what's happened. Don't fans and players deserve at least a response?
www.thestar.co.uk/sport/footba...
No public statement, no inquiry calling for him to answer for what's happened. Don't fans and players deserve at least a response?
www.thestar.co.uk/sport/footba...
Reposted by Patrick Smith
This widely predicted drop in sales from the EU was rejected as "project fear" by Brexit campaigners 10 years ago.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Post-Brexit sales of British farm products to EU fall by 37%
NFU warn it could take years to restore Brexit losses despite efforts to smooth negotiations on farming and other elements of UK-EU reset
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:51 AM
This widely predicted drop in sales from the EU was rejected as "project fear" by Brexit campaigners 10 years ago.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Patrick Smith
Plan? No plan, only plot
February 10, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Plan? No plan, only plot