It was the middle of the night, at about 1.30am, when Norway lost to England. Yet thousands of Norwegians went to the Palace in Oslo and celebrated with one final Viking row. They did not riot. They did not burn cars. They did not smash bus stops or glass windows of shops. They smiled. The laughed. They saw the positive in their performance. They celebrated their heritage. They were proud of who they have been in the past and who they are today. Norway might be out of the World Cup 2026 but they are in our hearts. In the last three weeks, I think we have all fallen a little bit in love with Norwegians.

Taha Oualidat was a 17 year old Moroccan boy, when he travelled to France, via Spain, on a tourist visa in summer 2019. Soon after he arrived he raped a young French woman. She did everything right - she reported the rape and she testified despite the trauma of doing so because she wanted to ensure this did not happen to anyone else. Substantial DNA and other evidence meant he was convicted and given a 7 year sentence in 2021. Taha applied for early release, and after serving just 3 years of his sentence he was sent to a deportation centre on June 18, 2024 and told to go back to Morocco. But Taha did not want to go back and Morocco did not want him back. So they did not issue papers enabling him to return and the detention centre set him free. A few days later, a quiet 19 year old economics student, Philippine Le Noir de Carlan, left a lunch at 2pm and was due to meet her parents. She was found strangled in a park in Paris by her parents who had tracked her phone. Taha was arrested for the murder, as he tried to flee to Switzerland. He has claimed that he is not fit to stand trial due to mental issues, but a court has recently found him to be of sound mind. He will face a murder charge and a possible life sentence. Taha should have been nowhere near Paris. He should still have been in prison for rape. Or have been sent back to Morocco. Fewer than 10% of all those “deported” actually get sent back. The “justice system” in France is as bad as that in the UK. They literally have blood on their hands.