Robert Hutton
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Robert Hutton
@roberthutton.co.uk
40K followers 410 following 3.4K posts
RobDotHutton from the broken site. Parliamentary sketches and film columnist for The Critic, co-host of classic cinema love-in War Movie Theatre. New spy book "The Illusionist" is out now.
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roberthutton.co.uk
Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · Apr 26
The Illusionist is now out in paperback! It's the "enthralling", "superbly entertaining", "delightful", and "satisfying" true story of an eccentric genius who made magic into a weapon of war.
Reposted by Robert Hutton
thomasig.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
drcliffy.bsky.social
I enjoyed this very much. The point you made about the depiction of the experience of conscription during WW2 is a good one and how this film offers an interesting perspective. The film Privates Progress 1956 takes a comedic approach to the topic. Seen it? Also Christopher Lee has a cameo.
January 15, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
warmovietheatre.bsky.social
Commandos! Courage! Kayaks! We're watching The Cockleshell Heroes, the movie that explains Britain's post-war film industry.
champ.ly/K8LtdJdh
January 15, 2026 at 1:25 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
Does this mean we're allowed to call him "Bogie"?
dennynews.bsky.social Chris McCall @dennynews.bsky.social · 3h
I asked Malcolm Offord what he knew about the cost of living crisis, given he's a yacht-owner.

The new Reform leader in Scotland replied: "They'll ask me how I got her, I'll say I saved my money, they'll say, isn't she pretty, that ship called Dignity?"
January 15, 2026 at 12:39 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
I'll say it again: watching Robert Jenrick do "cunning politics" is like watching a toddler hide behind a cushion.

"Where's Robert gone? THERE HE IS! Oh no! Where is he? THERE HE IS!"
January 15, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
libdems.org.uk
Tonight's turret meeting will be pretty awkward
An edit of a 'Traitors' confessional shot with Robert Jenrick sat in the chair. The caption identifies him as 'Robert' 44, Wannabe PM and a traitor'.
January 15, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
seankemp.bsky.social
Badenoch has missed a trick not doing her sacking Jenrick video like his fare dodging one. Chasing him through Portcullis House saying 'you're bang to rights'.
January 15, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
mattgreencomedy.com
You met in a bar? An old school couple at the club…

Recorded live at The 99 Club in London
January 15, 2026 at 9:54 AM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
jamesbarr.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5YW...
January 15, 2026 at 8:18 AM
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roberthutton.co.uk
We regret to inform you that Keir Starmer has once again told a joke. My SKETCH of PMQs.

thecritic.co.uk/come...
Even if the delivery was fluffed, it was a fair point, and if there was a good reply available, the prime minister didn’t opt for it. He said that Badenoch had reversed her own party’s positions on many issues. But that was not all. Perhaps aware that he would be attacked on his many changes of course, he had come armed with a Mark One Joke, specially constructed for him at a Labour Party Experimental Humour Research Establishment in Aldermaston. It was winched into place by a team of boffins in white coats, who then retreated to a concrete bunker and observed the results through smoked glass. Here it is: “Don’t get me started on consistency: the Tories had five prime ministers, six chancellors, eight home secretaries and 16 housing ministers. They had more positions in 14 years than…” — readers of a delicate disposition should shut their eyes now — “…the Kama Sutra!” The detonation of the Mark One Joke was an awesome sight. Everything within a thousand yards was flattened instantly.
January 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
If you send John Mills, he must count as at least a dozen.
johnbc74.bsky.social John B @johnbc74.bsky.social · 16h
If you had to send one UK/British military personnel member who would it be? ( @roberthutton.co.uk feel this is something you could get behind).
January 14, 2026 at 11:03 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
johnbc74.bsky.social
If you had to send one UK/British military personnel member who would it be? ( @roberthutton.co.uk feel this is something you could get behind).
January 14, 2026 at 10:56 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
We regret to inform you that Keir Starmer has once again told a joke. My SKETCH of PMQs.

thecritic.co.uk/come...
Even if the delivery was fluffed, it was a fair point, and if there was a good reply available, the prime minister didn’t opt for it. He said that Badenoch had reversed her own party’s positions on many issues. But that was not all. Perhaps aware that he would be attacked on his many changes of course, he had come armed with a Mark One Joke, specially constructed for him at a Labour Party Experimental Humour Research Establishment in Aldermaston. It was winched into place by a team of boffins in white coats, who then retreated to a concrete bunker and observed the results through smoked glass. Here it is: “Don’t get me started on consistency: the Tories had five prime ministers, six chancellors, eight home secretaries and 16 housing ministers. They had more positions in 14 years than…” — readers of a delicate disposition should shut their eyes now — “…the Kama Sutra!” The detonation of the Mark One Joke was an awesome sight. Everything within a thousand yards was flattened instantly.
January 14, 2026 at 8:00 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
Absolutely touching belief that *Google* is more reliable than CoPilot these days.
alexpartridge87.bsky.social Alex Partridge @alexpartridge87.bsky.social · 1d
In the letter he says “I had, up until Friday afternoon, understood that the West Ham match had only been identified through the use of Google”. The fictional match was included in a report to the local safety advisory group about the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv game
Dear Dame Karen Bradley. I write further to my appearance at the HAC on the 1 December 2025 and 6" January 2026 and in relation to the questions raised by the Committee concerning the provenance of the inclusion of the West Ham v Maccabi Tel Aviv match in the WMP report to the Birmingham City Council Safety Advisory Group. In preparation for the force response to the HMICRS inquiry into this matter, on Friday afternoon 1 became aware that the erroneous result concerning the West Ham Maccabi Tel Aviv match arose as result of a use of Microsoft Co Pilot. Both ACC O'Hara and I had, up until Friday afternoon, understood that the West Ham match had only been identified through the use of Google. This will be further explained in the additional material being provided to the Committee. I would like to offer my profound apology to the Committee for this error, both on behalf of myself and that of ACC O'Hara. I had understood and been advised that the match had been identified by way of a Google search in preparation for attending HAC. My belief that this was the case was honestly held and there was no intention to mislead the Committee. Yours sincerely Craig Guildford QPM VR DL Chief Constable
January 14, 2026 at 10:20 AM
roberthutton.co.uk
The government retreat over AI and copyright is the headline, but yesterday's evidence from Google was also... interesting.

thecritic.co.uk/arti...
“The creative industries are incredibly important to Google, and we see them as a partner,” Carter said soothingly. It’s now a couple of decades since Google “partnered” with the news industry, a relationship that left Google very rich and newspapers out of business. “We need an enabling copyright framework,” she went on. This is in rather the way that burglars need enabling window locks. Might the company hand over money to people who made things? “It’s not a question that we won’t pay. It’s that we need to have certainty of what we are paying for.” They could start by asking the people who are quite certain what they’re not being paid for. A peer concerned about the Elon Musk AI’s make-anyone-naked option asked whether the material on which Google’s AI was trained was all wholesome stuff. “It is not just that you want high quality data, you need the good, the bad and in cases the ugly as well,” Carter said. “If you’re training the model to be safe, you need to show it what is harm
January 14, 2026 at 8:00 AM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
roberthutton.co.uk
Artificial Unintelligence: the government is in full retreat over copyright, and the attempts to make it look dignified only make it funnier. My SKETCH.
thecritic.co.uk/arti...
Which brings us to the House of Lords Digital Committee, which is looking at the government’s brilliant idea of giving away everyone’s copyright to American artificial intelligence giants, in return for a bag of magic beans that can only be seen by the very wisest ministers. A consultation on this last year found it was supported by just three percent of respondents, which must be some kind of record. That’s even smaller than the number of people who believe that the Loch Ness monster is real, or that Keir Starmer is doing a good job. On Tuesday, the committee was treated to a joint appearance from Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Claims-To-Be-Culture-Secretary Lisa Nandy. Two secretaries of state at once! Or one-and-a-half, anyway. “I don’t think our secretaries of state need much introduction,” Committee Chair Baroness Keeley said. Other opinions are available. They had come, it turned out, not to defend their own proposals, but to bury them. “We are having a genuine reset mom
January 13, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
thomaswpenny.bsky.social
This may help explain why Camp America is having to work so hard to recruit European students to go to work in the US as camp counsellors this year.
My daughters are having adverts pushed at them relentlessly.
I'm massively relieved neither of them wants to go.
samfr.bsky.social Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 1d
Worth noting that TikTok is absolutely rammed with videos like this. Gen Z being radicalised rapidly.
noturtlesoup17.bsky.social amanda moore 🐢 @noturtlesoup17.bsky.social · 1d
Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her.
January 13, 2026 at 10:47 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
Artificial Unintelligence: the government is in full retreat over copyright, and the attempts to make it look dignified only make it funnier. My SKETCH.
thecritic.co.uk/arti...
Which brings us to the House of Lords Digital Committee, which is looking at the government’s brilliant idea of giving away everyone’s copyright to American artificial intelligence giants, in return for a bag of magic beans that can only be seen by the very wisest ministers. A consultation on this last year found it was supported by just three percent of respondents, which must be some kind of record. That’s even smaller than the number of people who believe that the Loch Ness monster is real, or that Keir Starmer is doing a good job. On Tuesday, the committee was treated to a joint appearance from Technology Secretary Liz Kendall and Claims-To-Be-Culture-Secretary Lisa Nandy. Two secretaries of state at once! Or one-and-a-half, anyway. “I don’t think our secretaries of state need much introduction,” Committee Chair Baroness Keeley said. Other opinions are available. They had come, it turned out, not to defend their own proposals, but to bury them. “We are having a genuine reset mom
January 13, 2026 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
excelpope.net
This one is always in my head for every company announcement.
January 13, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
peterwalker99.bsky.social
This is from yesterday but I've only just seen it and it's pretty extraordinary. Rachel Maclean, Tory peer who was an MP and minister alongside Nadhim Zahawi, and was until recently a key aide to Kemi Badenoch, saying he was:

• Universally disliked
• Never in his constituency
• Can't be trusted.
Daming statements from Zahawi's former Stratford on Avon colleagues tell the full story. Nobody wanted him back because no-one liked him and his tax fiddling reputation was seriously damaging. As his former constituency neighbour it was obvious he never worked or even visited his constituency. As ever this defection is all about him. He realised he had no route back as a Conservative MP or a Peer. Our party under new leadership values hard work, honesty and most of all Conservative values. He doesn't embody a single one. Statements below: Nadhim Zahawi’s decision to join Reform UK is self serving and a kick in the teeth for loyal local Conservative party members who supported his re-selection in 2023 when every single member of the then Conservative cabinet at Stratford District Council wanted him to step down”. Says Cllr Daren Pemberton, leader of the Conservative group on Stratford District Council. Daren went on “He has clearly been on a journey that has taken him both physically and politically away from the values and focus of Stratford Conservatives, which are to make peoples lives better through opportunity and aspiration, individual freedom and responsibility, sound finances, and delivering world class local services that meet residents needs” Nadhim Zahawi’s political influence and relevance is long behind him and from here on Reform UK in Stratford District will be personified by Nadhim Zahawi which will make it absolutely clear to local voters what they will get with Reform UK….self, self, self. and, the Chairman's: South Warwickshire Conservative Association regrets the decision of the former Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon to leave the Conservative Party. Political parties are built on shared values, commitment and service, and we are disappointed to see that he can no longer feels that he can support Conservative party values. We are also surprised by the timing of his decision when confidence and support for the Conservative’s message and leadership is growing again; both nationally and locally in Stratford District. Under new leadership, the Conservative Party is once again setting out an authentically Conservative direction: focused on responsibility, opportunity, sound management of public finances, and genuine service to local residents and the nation as a whole. We remain confident that our renewed sense of purpose will continue to resonate with voters in the Stratford-on-Avon constituency and across the country.
January 13, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
ferguscraig.bsky.social
First page of I’m Not The Only Murderer In My Retirement Home.
January 13, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
charlierad.bsky.social
Only one thing I can say: West Wing

www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3Xy...
Mercator vs Peters projection map ("West Wing" Season 2 Episode 16)
YouTube video by The iCenter
www.youtube.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:22 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
Time for the British Parliament to legislate that the US is a colony again. Independence from the Crown hasn't worked. Let's take back control.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d
Rep. Randy Fine on his bill to make Greenland the 51st state: "We need to make sure we assert our dominance over the Western Hemisphere ... the last thing we need is Greenland to become another Venezuela where we have huge problems we have to deal with in the future."
January 13, 2026 at 1:25 PM
roberthutton.co.uk
Dodgy Map Projections Matter (Greenland is in fact a quarter of the size of the US).
Greenland on a Mercator projection
January 13, 2026 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Robert Hutton
adrianmcmenamin.bsky.social
"Donald's Decision" - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald%...
Donald's Decision - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 13, 2026 at 1:08 PM