Council Estate Media

Palestine Action barrister facing trial next week for doing his job

Council Estate Media — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:14:21 GMT

If you thought the UK couldn’t possibly get more authoritarian, you’d be wrong. We’re now at the stage of appeasing Israel where we’re prosecuting barristers for doing their jobs.

Leading human rights lawyer Rajiv Menon KC is facing trial next week for contempt of court after he defended the Filton 6. He is the first lawyer to ever be prosecuted in the UK over his closing remarks. Menon simply laid out the facts, pointed out that the judge had imposed strict limits during the trial, and reminded the jurors of the law. That’s it.

The defendants were barred from presenting evidence or arguments about the broader context of their actions. In August 2024, they broke into an Elbit Systems factory that supplies weapons to Israel, such as the drones that mimic the sounds of babies crying to lure people into the open and shoot them. They weren’t allowed to discuss Elbit’s products or how they’re used to commit war crimes. They also weren’t allowed to discuss the situation in Gaza, or offer a “lawful excuse” defence. Menon reminded the jury of their right to acquit according to conscience. He described Elbit as “protected” and influential in corridors of power.

The trial judge viewed this as potentially undermining the court’s directions and impartiality. An initial referral for contempt was overturned on appeal, however, the trial judge referred the matter again. If at first you don’t get the outcome you want, just keep going until you do…

The chair of the Criminal Bar Association, Riel Karmy-Jones KC, explained how this referral has already had a chilling effect:

“We have heard of barristers changing their speeches or being told to change them, including in cases where no direction has been given by a judge – and that really can’t be ignored, because people at the criminal bar have become uncertain and scared of what they can and can’t say; scared that somehow they might be […] facing a charge of criminal contempt.
“It is starting to feel like it’s about the politics of the subject matter of the trial, rather than the core principles of how a barrister represents his client.”

When we look at the Palestine Action trials, we see a pattern where defendants aren’t allowed to present evidence or explain the reasons for their actions. The justification has been that the “why” is not relevant. But this is patently nonsense.

Consider that a person was on trial for punching someone, but they weren’t allowed to explain why they did it. Now imagine they had actually stepped in to protect someone else. Imagine claiming that context isn’t relevant.

Clearly, the reasons for a defendant’s actions are always relevant. It’s up to the jury to decide whether those reasons are good enough. However, in many court cases, defendants are no longer allowed to explain their reasons. This is not just about Palestine Action. It’s also happened to environmental activists. Next it could be anyone the establishment wants to stitch up.

Palestine Action defendants are getting terrorism sentences when they weren’t charged with terrorist offences — and when their alleged crimes took place before the proscription of the group. It gets even worse when you consider that because of that proscription, anyone who expresses support for them can be charged with terrorism and sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

How can we call this a justice system?

We have defendants who aren’t allowed to explain the reasons for their actions or present evidence, who are given sentences for crimes they weren’t been convicted of. We have juries not being told this would be a possibility. We have a barrister being prosecuted for explaining the law. We have retrials for defendants who weren’t found guilty. We have a second referral for the barrister who had won his appeal. We have other barristers scared to represent their clients. We have people facing jail for supporting defendants. And all of this so that Israel can get on with genocide. It’s fucking insane.

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Keir Starmer: The PM who hated you (and couldn’t even do it competently)

Council Estate Media — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 13:47:59 GMT

If historians need an image to sum up Keir Starmer’s premiership, they aren’t gonna find anything historic. He doesn’t have a single accomplishment to his name. Even bad prime ministers have that one thing they can brag about. Not Starmer. There is literally nothing he can point to and say “I did that”.

“Now hold on a minute!” Starmer slams his tea cup d…

Israel intentionally killed its own people while fighting Hamas on October 7

Council Estate Media — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:56:40 GMT

We have yet more proof that the Hannibal Directive was in effect on October 7 2023. Footage from an Israeli Police Command Centre shows Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and other senior officers meeting while the attacks were unfolding. The footage was recently aired on Israel’s Channel 12.

One senior officer discussed bombing the entire border and preve…

The decision to uphold the proscription of Palestine Action is completely undemocratic

Council Estate Media — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:21:59 GMT

When the High Court ruled in February 2026 that the proscription of Palestine Action was disproportionate and therefore unlawful, it was somewhat of an anomaly. It was a rare example of a judge applying the law like we live in a democracy or something. Clearly, this could not stand.

The High Court highlighted the inconsistency with the Home Office’s own …

Someone might finally be putting a stop to Israeli aggression

Council Estate Media — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:30:12 GMT

You know what’s beautiful? Taking a mental health break for two weeks and not watching any news at all, only to return and find Israel is going boom again. Okay, it’s not exactly beautiful. It’s horrible really, but it’s the kind of horrible where anyone on the receiving end of genocide can be forgiven for letting out a little cheer. Or a big one.

Finall…

The establishment just used antisemitism smears against Chris Kennedy and the Greens fell for it

Council Estate Media — Sat, 23 May 2026 11:39:12 GMT

Chris Kennedy, the Green Party’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election, has stood down for “family reasons”. However, it appears the real reason is that he shared social media posts suggesting the Golder’s Green arson attack against four Jewish ambulances might have been an Israeli false flag.

Neoliberals were excited by the news, saying this is the o…

The rigged Republican primary in Kentucky shows that you can't vote your way out of fascism

Council Estate Media — Fri, 22 May 2026 10:18:31 GMT

When the results of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District Republican Primary rolled in, we all made the same assumption: a seven-term incumbent had been defeated by record-breaking spending from Trump-aligned billionaires and the Israel lobby. That assumption was reasonable given the $32-35 million ad spending that utterly dwarfed the typical $1 million.

It only took six months for the US puppet regime in Bolivia to fall apart

Council Estate Media — Tue, 19 May 2026 12:24:52 GMT

We were told for years that Bolivia was under socialist dictatorship because Evo Morales would not allow the US to plunder his country's resources. When his MAS party came to power in 2006, Morales chose to nationalise Bolivia’s natural gas (Latin America's 2nd largest reserves) and lithium (the world's largest reserves) so the proceeds could benefit hi…

"The Greens should step aside so Burnham can win" is not exactly an inspiring message

Council Estate Media — Mon, 18 May 2026 13:53:54 GMT

Andy Burnham is officially standing for Labour in the Makerfield by-election and the stakes could not be higher. If he wins this once-safe seat, he will step down as Mayor of Greater Manchester, return to Parliament, and almost certainly become the next Labour leader — and therefore our next Prime Minister. If he loses, it could be the final nail in the…

It is a national disgrace that the BBC pulled a BAFTA-winning documentary to appease Israel

Council Estate Media — Tue, 12 May 2026 10:04:46 GMT

A powerful documentary called Gaza: Doctors Under Attack has just won the Current Affairs prize at the BAFTAs. It lays bare how Israel has systematically destroyed the healthcare system in Gaza in clear violation of international law. The film features harrowing firsthand accounts from Palestinian doctors and medics, describing attacks on hospitals, and…

Sir Keir Starmer killed the Labour Party for Israel

Council Estate Media — Fri, 08 May 2026 13:01:52 GMT

The 2026 local elections have delivered exactly the nightmare scenario so many of us predicted for Starmer’s Labour. Yet, bizarrely, some of his closest allies are acting like they don’t understand why voters have deserted them. This isn’t just a bad night at the polls, it’s proof of how hopelessly out of touch the corrupt neoliberals running the countr…

It's official: the police won't arrest IDF Brits for genocide, but they will arrest you for protesting against it

Council Estate Media — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:45:11 GMT

When a mentally ill man with a history of violence stabbed two Jews and a Muslim in one day, Keir Starmer’s first instinct wasn’t to address the systemic failures in mental health care. It was to pretend the Muslim victim doesn’t exist, declare it a terrorist attack against Jewish people and British values, and crack down on pro-Palestine protests. If t…

We are being told that fabricated terror group HAYI is responsible for the stabbing of two Jews in London

Council Estate Media — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:12:58 GMT

Yesterday, two Jewish men were stabbed in Golder’s Green, north London, but fortunately survived and are in a stable condition. Everyone agrees the attack was appalling, but the political opportunism and manipulation we’ve seen is off the charts.

A British man of Somali descent with a known history of violence and mental health issues is now in custody. …

What on earth is going on with the missing and dead US scientists?

Council Estate Media — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 19:48:27 GMT

A bunch of top US scientists, engineers, military personnel, and even, dare I say it, UFO researchers, have gone missing or died recently. I think we’re up to 13 now, but the number keeps rising, and it’s entirely possible that one or two might have slipped under the radar.

The names are Michael David Hicks, Frank Maiwald, Amy Eskridge, David Wilcock, Ca…

Live Facial Recognition is about to put everyone in the UK in a digital police line up without their consent

Council Estate Media — Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:47:11 GMT

The UK government has announced plans to extend Live Facial Recognition (LFR) across the country, following a High Court ruling that upheld the Metropolitan Police’s use of the system.

Chillingly, Policing Minister Sarah Jones welcomed the judgment, saying: “Law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear.” Worse, she called anyone who opposes the technology …

Will Olly Robbins' testimony over the Mandelson appointment finally finish Starmer?

Council Estate Media — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:29:45 GMT

After Keir Starmer’s woeful performance in parliament yesterday, it seemed that the prime minister was just one explosive revelation away from the exit door. Perhaps the evidence presented by former head of the FCDO, Olly Robbins, might be enough to push him out. We can but hope…

It will come as no shock that Starmer has not been forthcoming with the tru…

Mandelson was not made ambassador despite his ties to Epstein but because of them

Council Estate Media — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:52:54 GMT

Who could have known that when Starmer put the Prince of Darkness in the UK’s most senior diplomatic role, it would end up causing so many problems? The answer is absolutely everyone, including Starmer himself.

Starmer has the look of a man who is not in control, who is tormented by every excruciating decision he makes, who knows he looks like a fool. It…

Country that lectures Iran on democracy arrests another 523 people for peacefully protesting

Council Estate Media — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:47:02 GMT

The absurdity surrounding the UK’s treatment of Palestine Action and its supporters has reached new lows. On Saturday, 523 protesters were arrested in Trafalgar Square, simply for calling to “Lift the Ban” on the group. This is the same ban the High Court ruled unlawful back in February, calling it a disproportionate attack on free speech and assembly.

T…

"Power Plant and Bridge Day" became the most humiliating military climb down in US history

Council Estate Media — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 11:35:51 GMT

Yesterday brought a new meaning to the term “doom scrolling” as we anxiously waited for Trump to fulfil his threat to end a 6,000 year old civilisation (and possibly the world). Thankfully, the ceasefire we thought would never come was announced just before the deadline and the world breathed a collective sigh of relief.

We had witnessed a terrifying esc…

Looks like the rescue mission in Iran was cover for an operation to seize uranium that ultimately failed

Council Estate Media — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:10:39 GMT

The Trump administration is hailing its latest Iran disaster as a roaring success, but the official story has more holes than a low-budget Hollywood movie, suggesting there is more going on than meets the eye.

We are told that a few days ago, an F-15 was shot down over southwest Iran. The F-15E was hit by Iranian air defences (that we were told had been …