UK Column News — 26th August 2026

**Charles Malet** (0:08)
Good afternoon, it's just gone one o'clock on Wednesday, the 26th of August. Welcome to UK Column News. I'm your host, Charles Malet. I'm joined in the studio today by Brian Gerrish. Welcome to the program, Brian.

**Brian Gerrish** (0:20)
Pleasure.

**Charles Malet** (0:21)
Very good to have you here.

**Brian Gerrish** (0:21)
Pleasure, Charles.

**Charles Malet** (0:22)
And we have Vanessa Beeley joining us by Live Link. Now, among the topics we'll be reporting on today are data sharing or yet another data sharing agreement with the state of Israel, the extraordinary bias of the BBC in shaping the war narrative, the increased push for super cities and what this really means, why and perhaps how the chief of the CIA has ended up in Moscow, how kites have become another source of conflict in Gaza, and tungsten mining in the UK. But we are going to start with Ukraine and exactly what has been happening there, Brian.

**Brian Gerrish** (1:00)
Well, thank you very much, Charles. I was, of course, fascinated by Andy Burnham's trip over to Ukraine. Aside from what he did and did not say, I just found the whole pageantry of the event very interesting and somewhat spooky in certain places. This image, which is just one of many in a video of the event, really only shows a fraction of what was happening because we had military personnel, we had banners, we had people in national costumes, we, of course, had the flags. If I just bring this little one in here, I found this one, I don't even know what was going on here, but Zelensky is presenting this immaculate blonde lady dressed in white against the Ukrainian flag in the background.
I don't know what is going on here, but it sort of, to me, just looks a bit uncannily like some of the images that we would see from Germany pre-war. Now, you have experience in the country, and you said to me that this is what Ukrainians like. They like the pageantry and the history, etc.

**Charles Malet** (2:18)
Yeah.
I think really the way I would look at it is that this sort of fanfare and the way in which things look in Ukraine, I think is very much distinctly different from what we might expect here. I think the question is, why on earth is somebody like Andy Burnham a part of that? What on earth has he got to do with Ukrainian independence?

**Brian Gerrish** (2:36)
Indeed, yes. Well, I went and had a little look to see what BBC was having to say on Andy Burnham and what he had been doing and saying. We're going to have a look at this exchange.
I've taken some clips out of it. It's Adam Fleming is the gentleman on the left from BBC newscast organization. He's talking to BBC correspondent James Landale. And the title of this discussion was Can Secret UK Missile Blueprints Actually Help Ukraine Against Russia? This was a very general title. It didn't really seem to hit the spot. So let's have a look at this little series of clips where we've got some points to discuss.
And the first one.

**SPEAKER_3** (3:28)
And in terms of the international diplomacy, the Kremlin said this was the UK pouring petrol on the flames of the conflict. And Andy Brannan responded to that like this.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:38)
Who started the fire?

**SPEAKER_5** (3:39)
That's the question, isn't it? Ukraine did not do that. Russia began this illegal invasion. And that is absolutely clear and they could stop it at any given time. Britain will never be a fair weather friend. People would expect me to be out here showing our unflinching support.

**Brian Gerrish** (3:58)
Very much like the schoolmaster speaking to the class, I felt in that little clip. But of course, he twists the whole thing onto the fact it was the Russians that started the whole affair. When of course, we know from a variety of documentation and even statements by Victoria Newland in the early days that there was a massive push by Western powers to be manipulating the Ukrainian, sorry, Ukraine as a country and also the political system.
As this discussion continues, we'll hear a bit more of that nuance. But let's go on to the second clip and listen to what the discussion moves on to.

**SPEAKER_5** (4:46)
So there was definitely a ritual to Burnham's visit.
This is what British prime ministers do and have to do. And the messaging is not just, though, for Ukraine to ensure continuity. It is also a message from the UK to other European allies that the British position is not going to change. And it was very interesting, of course, that Mr. Burnham was on the same train as a lot of the European officials and leaders. And the picture of him, you know, sort of hugging Mr. Costa and things like that.