in the back

Top stories in the latest issue:

TOXIC SHOCK
A cowboy demolition crew smashed up asbestos-ridden garages in Merseyside without due precautions, but the Health and Safety Executive wasn’t interested.

DRILL INSTRUCTORS
Petrochemical giants are applying pressure on the energy secretary to approve new North Sea drilling, with reports from tame researchers to help their case.

SOFTENED POWER
Purportedly a bastion of cultural values overseas, the British Council is slashing jobs across Europe, leading to a slew of strikes and unfair dismissal cases.

BLEAK HOUSE
How a private provider moving into the lucrative children’s home care market left a vulnerable child suffering harm from poor supervision in filthy conditions.

DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
Is the notorious “satanic abuse” conspiracy theory of the 1980s resurfacing? The author of a report used to brief investigators seems to buy into the myth.

SCREWS LOOSE
The overcrowded prison system is rife with violence – including attacks by officers on inmates, which are at record levels.

BEAT, SURRENDER
The College of Policing tries to keep a lid on its dealings with dodgy regimes, but the Eye has discovered it has supplied training courses to Saudi police.

To read all these stories in full, please buy issue 1678 of Private Eye - you can subscribe here and have the magazine delivered to your home every fortnight.

Next issue on sale: 9th July 2026
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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
ONLY IN THE MAGAZINE
Private Eye Issue 1678
In This Issue
Why Burnham must resign immediately even though he’s not prime minister yet... Disaster for Labour as Labour wins by-election... Why Andy Burnham is a shameless opportunist, by Boris Johnson... Why social media/fossil fuel/smoking is not at all bad for you... World delighted for Musk... Versailles Ironyometer blows up... Social media ban hits Nurseryland... World Cup ‘hydration break’ criticised... Call You And Yours: how miserable has your summer been so far?, as told to Craig Brown

Bleak house
A children’s home had just one child – and still it failed them

Screen test
What the under-16s social media ban means

What a chancer
Richard Desmond’s big lottery loss

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Private Eye Issue 1677
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