A new report, tucked away in a Foreign Office briefing, has landed like a grenade in the Westminster village. It tells the story of a 14-year-old boy, snatched from a makeshift school in Mogadishu, handed an AK-47, and told to shoot or be shot. His testimony is a stark, brutal reminder that Somalia remains a failed state.
The report, compiled by a small NGO with ties to the UN, is now being circulated among MPs. Quietly. The Foreign Office is wary.
Publicly, they talk of progress. Privately, they know the truth: the clan warlords still run the show. The boy, now relocated to a safe house in Cardiff, is one of the lucky ones.
Thousands more are still in the line of fire. This story will not stay buried. Backbenchers are already sharpening their questions for the next Foreign Office questions session.
