'Firearm officers need to know the law is on their side'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day

'Armed police need our protection, too'
Daily Mail editorial board
"While British police rightly take pride in being part of a largely unarmed force, specialist gun units are necessary in an increasingly dangerous world," says the Daily Mail's leader article. So the paper welcomes the government's "review of ways to give them added legal protection", arguing that firearm officers "need full confidence that, in all but exceptional cases of malicious intent, the law is firmly on their side".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'The West is emulating China'
Adrian Pabst in The New Statesman
Joe Biden last week 'repeated the narrative that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is part of a wider war of Eastern autocracy against Western democracy, opposing liberal freedom to despotic tyranny', writes Adrian Pabst for The New Statesman. 'Yet over the past 30 years, the boundaries have become blurred,' says Pabst. The West has 'taken an authoritarian turn towards state capitalism, bio-medical control and tech totalitarian tendencies in ways which increasingly resemble the autocratic axis of Moscow and Beijing'.
'The Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce narrative has a dark side'
Frankie de la Cretaz on CNN
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
There is "an obvious narrative appeal" to a potential romance between a popular NFL player and a pop star, writes Frankie de la Cretaz for CNN. But while Taylor Swift's rumoured relationship with Travis Kelce is like "fairy-tale" lyrics from her early songs "come to life", this narrative has a "dark side". The "locker room culture that emerged from sports media about this story was ugly and hammers home the issues of sexism and misogyny" in the world of men’s sports.
'Eddie Jones deserves no sympathy – but rugby needs Australia to find form'
Daniel Schofield in The Telegraph
Objectively, Eddie Jones' Australia team "being all but eliminated from the World Cup is very funny", writes Daniel Schofield for The Telegraph. But once the "sadistic delight" and "the laughter dies down, everyone should be extremely concerned for the state of the game Down Under because no country is more central to rugby’s overall economy in the next six years".
-
Anti-trans scandal roils major LGBTQ+ literary prize as authors withdraw en masse
in the spotlight Multiple nominees for the UK's premier queer writing award have removed themselves from contention to protest the inclusion of a self-proclaimed 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist' in their ranks
-
4 ways to cover unexpected home repairs
The Explainer Home is where the heart is — but it might cost you
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?
Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?
Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
How astronaut Jim Lovell 'inspired generations'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sends FBI to patrol DC, despite falling crime
Speed Read Washington, D.C., 'has become one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,' Trump said
-
DHS preps for major ICE expansion, rankling local law enforcement
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the Trump administration positions ICE as the primary federal police force, its recruitment efforts have been met with a less-than-enthusiastic response
-
'This is a coordinated campaign of harassment'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
JD Vance rises as MAGA heir apparent
IN THE SPOTLIGHT The vice president is taking an increasingly proactive role in a MAGA movement roiled by scandal and anxious about a post-Trump future
-
Congress should 'step in' to block Trump's White House ballroom makeover
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump's global tariffs take effect, with new additions
Speed Read Tariffs on more than 90 US trading partners went into effect, escalating the global trade war