Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
On 13th December 2026, folic acid will be mandated in non-wholemeal flour in UK including imported and organic flour.
On 14th December 2026, the House of Commons will debate that unethical and unsafe law.
Just cancelled my @Telegraph subscription due to the ousting of @LiamHalligan and @AllisonPearson. I know you will both move onto better things and look forward to seeing you both have a bright future.
What are the @Telegraph thinking?!! Will this be their 'Ratners' moment?!
I was hoping to be able to announce this in my own time โ but the media rumour mill is swirling, I'm being contacted by various reporters and others, and I don't like denying the truth, so ...
I wrote my first "Economic Agenda" column in The Sunday Telegraph 27 years ago, under the editorship of Dominic Lawson โ filling-in occasionally during the late-1990s, before being given my own weekly slot from 2003.
Since then, while I've been heavily involved in television, and am perhaps better known as a broadcaster, penning "Economic Agenda" for The Sunday Telegraph each week has been the backbone of my journalistic life.
On Thursday, the @Telegraph rang to tell me my column is being scrapped.
I was asked, and have agreed, to write "Economic Agenda" until the end of November, as per my contract. After that, my Sunday Telegraph column will be no more.
Why this decision has been made, and whether or not my columns were any good, is for others to judge.
All I will say is that, as the first person in my family to attend university, sustaining a weekly column in a leading national newspaper for a quarter of a century has been a source of enormous pride for myself and my family.
Lots of people have been asking me about the future of "Planet Normal" - the hugely-popular Telegraph podcast which I co-created and co-present with the brilliant @AllisonPearson
"Planet Normal" has, over the last 330 weekly episodes, also become a major part of my professional life and my broader identity.
With Allison reportedly leaving the Telegraph as well, there is a lot of speculation about whether or not the podcast will continue to impart "news and views from beyond the bubble" with our usual blend of sharp analysis, humour and occasional outrage !
Well, I am delighted to confirm that Co-Pilot Pearson and myself are deeply committed to our joint podcast โ and, above all, to our beloved listeners.
We will, as and when notice periods allow, continue our voyages through space every Thursday โ perhaps to "Planet Normal", or maybe to another part of the solar system โ so we can "gaze down each week at the madness of Planet Earth", as we have done since the Spring of 2020.
So citizens of Planet Normal, stand ready ! The "rocket-of-right-thinking", the "flying refuge of reasoned views", will soon be launched once again ๐๐ช๐จโ๐ญ๐ฑโโ๏ธ๐๏ธ๐บ
I poured my heart and soul into "Economic Agenda" and "Planet Normal". The Telegraph's decision to scrap them is obviously a huge personal blow. But I will always be grateful for the opportunities the paper has given me.
Above all, I would like to thank the illustrious list of successive Telegraph business editors I've worked with since the late-1990s, many of whom have become and remain good friends - including @Peston @RobertsDan @larmitstead @neilbenet @benjaminmarlow @cg_williams @kamalahmednews @MarkKleinmanSky @jamesrquinn (sorry if I've forgotten anyone, it's been a long time!)
On Friday, even though I almost always write my column from elsewhere, and despite being extremely disappointed by the paper's decision, I decided to go into the Telegraph and write today's column sitting in the newsroom.
I am glad I did - as being at the heart of the paper at such a difficult time allowed for lots of conversations, with everyone from junior production staff to senior reporters and executives, which reminded me that journalism, despite being an industry at the whim of seemingly endless and often brutal commercial and technological upheaval, is not only hugely important to our country, but full of talented, decent people.
See picture below, having just filed my piece, as I was heading out the door ...
We must not let women and girls have their rightful and historic titles shelved. Please sign and share.
I must know 79 people here on this platform who can sign and share this today and get us to the first milestone of 10,000 signatures!! "Women should not have to see the words woman, girl, mother, and pregnant woman disappear or become secondary." #XX
petition.parliament.uk/petitโฆ
Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
What is the difference between folate and folic acid?
And what has marmite got to do with it?
Watch this then sign the petition to end the addition of synthetic folic acid to our food.
SHARE
There's nothing wrong with celebrating your national flag, wherever you are. That's me in the middle. I am proudly representing Team GB in China at IWWF Wakesurfing World Championships. Currently qualified in 3rd. Finals on Friday. #FlyTheFlag
Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
In fact synthetic folic acid is a danger to all of us because it binds very tightly to our folate receptors blocking the natural folate molecule which protects us from cancers.
Worth noting. The mechanism is probably that the jab supresses your immune system for a couple of weeks giving the latent virus chance to activate. Personally I like a robust immune system to do the heavy lifting for me.
Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
Government policies are runaway trains.
People never think about pausing or stopping.
It is always full steam ahead.
Much of the research on folic acid harm came AFTER the experts first advised to add it.
That is the problem.
No way to U-turn.
Sign the petition.
Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
Local councils have a brilliant flood-prevention strategy: ignore the autumn leaves clogging up road drains until your street ends up looking like a paddling pool. Then act shocked that flooding has occurred and blame it on climate change. Genius.
Did he care about the post masters and mistresses?
Did he fight for the post masters and mistresses?
Why are you insisting on sending me an order when I have already returned it to you?! I do not authorise you to send me this order. Stop being ridiculous. You have got the goods back - please refund me.
@Join_ZOE
Christine Bickley ๐ฌ๐ง retweeted
The UK's new folic acid law kicks in on 13 December 2026. From that date, all non wholemeal wheat flour, white and brown, must be fortified with folic acid.
The aim is to prevent around 200 cases of neural tube defects like spina bifida every year.
Here's the catch: wheat flour is in far more than bread. It shows up in pasta, pizza, crackers, biscuits, cakes, pastries, pies, breakfast cereals, and most flour based batters, fish fingers, chicken nuggets, scampi, onion rings, tempura. It's also used as a thickener in soy sauce, gravy granules, stock cubes, soups and sauces. Malt vinegar and malt extract can be wheat derived too.
Because so many of these foods are eaten together every day, the folic acid adds up across the whole diet, not just from one slice of bread.
Let's look at a typical day for a child. They have cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, then pasta for tea or a pizza. That is cumulative to a high degree.
Why some people may want to avoid it. Folic acid isn't risk free for everyone. The main medical concern is vitamin B12 deficiency, including pernicious anaemia.
Folic acid can correct the anaemia on blood tests while the nerve damage continues, that can lead to permanent spinal cord damage called subacute combined degeneration.
Official guidance says it should never be taken alone in these cases. It's also contraindicated in most cancers, because some tumours are folate dependent and extra folic acid may fuel them.
People on methotrexate, used for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and some cancers, should be careful, as folic acid can reduce how well it works. And epilepsy medicines like phenytoin, phenobarbital and primidone can have their levels lowered by folic acid, risking more seizures.
Wholemeal flour is exempt, as are non wheat flours like rice, maize, rye, oat and buckwheat, and small scale mills producing under 500 tonnes a year. But even though wholemeal is exempt, people checking packaging are already finding folic acid listed on wholemeal flour and wholemeal bread.
That is because many products mix in some non wholemeal flour, or manufacturers are fortifying voluntarily. The supposed safe option is not always safe.
We need to stop this altogether.
Sign the petition to end the mandatory fortification of white flour with folic acid immediately It closes on 8 December 2026 and needs 100,000 signatures for a debate in Parliament.
If you have already signed please share with family and friends to make them aware.
Its in the comments ๐ฌ๐ง
This week I received a letter through the post from the NHS asking if the address held at my GP's is correct. It also said (in English) if I needed the letter in another language I could request it.
Anyone else see the nonsense here?!
Interesting when we have free speech that this account doesn't allow us to comment. I wonder what comments they are afraid of...?






















