Table of contents for 1470 in The Week

What happened Rishi Sunak promised on Wednesday to bring in a new law granting an unprecedented blanket acquittal and compensation to all victims of the Post Office scandal in England and Wales. Between 1999 and 2015, the Post Office (PO) accused up to 3,500 operators of sub-post offices of theft and false accounting, on the basis of faulty software that had made it appear that money had gone missing from their tills. The PO demanded that the operators repay the non-existent cash shortfalls or face being sued or prosecuted by the government-owned firm. More than 700 sub-postmasters were ultimately convicted; many were jailed. Only 93 of them have had their convictions quashed and many have yet to receive any compensation. The scandal came under the spotlight last week thanks to…

Controversy of the week An “occupational hazard” of being leader of the Labour Party is that you “receive a lot of unsolicited advice”, said Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer. Although he has a 24-point lead over the Tories in opinion polls, Keir Starmer has no immunity from this. The veteran centre-left Labour MP Jon Cruddas published a book last week that branded him an “elusive leader”, without a clear sense of “purpose”. The common critique is that Starmer “is not offering enough hope to voters”. He duly responded last week with what he called “a new year message of hope”. Labour’s aim, Starmer said, was to defeat the “miserabilist Tory project”, with its “politics of divide and decline” – and to offer instead “Project Hope” for a “downtrodden country”. Not…

The Royal Navy, which is suffering such a recruitment crisis in its submarine division that the service has had to advertise for a rear-admiral on LinkedIn. With no suitable candidate who has come up through the ranks, Navy chiefs are hoping that well-qualified retired officers will be persuaded to apply for the post of director of submarines, with responsibility for the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Eton College, which had to delay the return of its pupils for the new term owing to sewage drains backing up in the recent floods and blocking toilets. In an email to parents, the school explained that “the sewers in the centre of Eton won’t cope with the arrival of nearly 1,350 boys”. Hundreds of flood alerts were still in place this week, mainly in southern…

Brussels Shock departure: Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, announced this week that he plans to stand down early – setting off a scramble among EU heads of government to agree a successor before 1 July, when Hungary is due to assume the rotating council presidency. If no one is appointed by then, the role will default temporarily to Hungary’s nationalist PM Viktor Orbán – an ally of Vladimir Putin – who has frequently clashed with EU leaders. Michel, a former PM of Belgium, was to remain in office until November, but plans to leave early in order to stand in EU parliamentary elections in June. Berlin Farmers protest: Thousands of farmers used tractors and other vehicles to block roads across Germany this week, to protest against government…

1 Be-Bop-a-Lula by Gene Vincent, Bill “Sheriff Tex” Davis and Donald Graves, performed by Gene Vincent 2 Great Balls of Fire by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer, performed by Jerry Lee Lewis 3 Maybe Baby by Buddy Holly and Norman Petty, performed by Buddy Holly and the Crickets 4 Bye Bye Love by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, performed by The Everly Brothers 5 God Only Knows by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, performed The Beach Boys 6 Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, performed by the City of London Sinfonia, conducted by Richard Hickox 7 Don’t Give Up by Peter Gabriel, performed by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush 8* A Day in the Life by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performed by The Beatles Book: The Island at the Centre of the World by Russell Shorto Luxury: a sleeping…

Say the name Disney, said Anthony Lane in The New Yorker, and people will immediately see “unashamedly bright hues, flying elephants, singing bears, corporate dominance, happy endings, and a helping of values that slip down as easily as ice cream”. The Disney formula has been spectacularly successful, but it has not been without its critics. The backlash began in the 1960s, with the rise of Disneyland. The company was felt to be creating not just safe, sanitised versions of European fairy tales, but sanitised versions of real life, too. “Disney caters to the kind of phony reality that we all too readily accept in place of the true,” said Vincent Scully in Life magazine in 1965. “All the conflicts of the real world, the nerve centres of bourgeois society, are…

The candidate the US media loves to hate Rich Lowry Politico Has any presidential candidate ever received such bad press as Ron DeSantis? Usually, even the most hapless candidates benefit from “a spate of counter-narrative stories at some point”, says Rich Lowry. Not the Florida governor. He’s had brickbats all the way. He was criticised for waiting too long to join the race, and for being a poor campaigner, and is now being written off in “pre-mortem” pieces even before the results of the first Republican caucus, in Iowa on Monday. This dire coverage is partly a consequence of a “snake-bit” campaign that simply hasn’t generated much good news. But DeSantis hasn’t helped himself. His campaign, which lacks a seasoned media operator, foolishly gave the cold shoulder to the mainstream…

Thousands of cancer patients with an “urgent” cancer referral had their appointments cancelled at least three times in the 12 months to March. NHS figures show that 33,403 people had their first appointment with an oncology consultant cancelled in 2022-23; 4,496 of them had it rescheduled only for it to be cancelled again; and 2,095 had their appointment delayed three times or more, according to data provided by 30 of the 124 main hospital trusts in England. If this pattern was repeated across the country, it would mean that 165,000 cancer patients had their first appointment cancelled. Although the data, obtained by the Labour Party, does not specify why the appointments were cancelled, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said it showed that cancer patients were “paying the price” for the…

Tory MPs want to know two things, said Gordon Rayner in The Daily Telegraph. They want to know when Rishi Sunak will call the next general election, and they want to know whether he has “any idea how he might win it”. The Prime Minister went some way towards answering the first question last week by saying his “working assumption” was that he would go to the country in the second half of the year. But it’s still far from clear how he intends to overturn Labour’s 24-point lead in the opinion polls. Some in his No. 10 team think that it’s a hopeless cause, and that the Government should just concentrate on keeping core Tory supporters happy, to minimise the electoral fallout. Others, though – including Isaac Levido, the…

“Britain is a nation united by the common belief that someone else is to blame for all our problems.”Tim Stanley in The Daily Telegraph “Capitalism without bankruptcy is like Christianity without hell.”Frank Borman, quoted in Forbes “As you get older, three things happen. The first is your memory goes; I can’t remember the other two.”Norman Wisdom, quoted on Goodreads “Whereas the voice of memory is univocal and uncontested, that of history is polyphonic and open to debate. Memory tends to rigidify over time, while history calls for revision.”Arno J. Mayer, quoted in The Observer “In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.”Fran Lebowitz, quoted in the Los Angeles Times “The best meal is the one to come.”Gwendal Poullennec, quoted in Air Mail “Tradition is not…

To The Times Your columnist Kathleen Stock says that she, too, would have sniggered at the controversial joke [about giving his wife Rohypnol] made by the Home Secretary, James Cleverly. She speaks for the majority of women: we who have retained our sense of humour, and are getting very fed up with the London coven of illiberal, humourless, middle-class women who claim to speak for the rest of us. They don’t. Linda Hughes, Newton Abbot, Devon To The Times Joking promotes attitudes. This is why racist jokes have rightly become unacceptable, and the ill-thought-out remark by James Cleverly deserves the same fate. Of more than 260 male Conservative MPs, about ten have either resigned or have been suspended over sex charges and accusations. There seems to be a sickness in…

Jonathan Menjivar’s eight-part podcast Classy is a “witty exploratory tour of the unease and shame provoked by differences in social status”, said Jenny McCartney in The Spectator. Menjivar grew up in a working-class Latino family in Southern California, the son of factory workers. But now “the cultural water in which he swims has changed”: he lives on the East Coast, has a job in media, and fears that his taste for expensive cashmere socks makes him look like a “rich asshole”. His “riveting and occasionally moving” podcast examines how “class discomfort” leads so many of us – rich and poor – to “expend energy on evading negative judgements”. In one episode, Jarvis Cocker, who famously skewered “posh people slumming it” in Pulp’s song Common People, turns up to “talk with…

Sophia Vari at Waddington Custot Sophia Vari (1940-2023) was probably best known as the wife of Colombian painter Fernando Botero, whose whimsical popular imagery could hardly have been more different from her own. Indeed, if it came to it, it wouldn’t be difficult to argue that she was the more interesting of the two artists. Vari looked to sources including ancient Cycladic art, cubism and various Latin American traditions to forge a distinctive abstract idiom, typified by curving ellipses bending around each other like lovers locked in an embrace. A number of paintings and collages in this exhibition are intriguing in their own right, but they are presented more as a complement to her sculptures – in which the shapes in the two-dimensional works are brought to life in…

Woven by Adam Smith Coworth Park, Blacknest Road, Ascot (01344-876600) I’ll admit that the mantra of this fine-dining restaurant in Berkshire – “Storytelling on a plate” – initially made me rather sceptical, says William Sitwell in The Daily Telegraph. “Storytelling” is a concept long abused in the corporate world; and here, it seemed to promise an afternoon “groaning with explanations”. But my advice is to ignore the “guff” – and simply concentrate on Adam Smith’s “wonderful” cooking. In his hands, jellied eels and coronation chicken are transformed from retro classics into sublime canapés. A “perfect mini pie of grouse” is served with a gravy of “outrageously fun largesse”, while a “fabulous rectangle of turbot”, topped with lobster and caviar, has its richness “tempered by oysterish salsify and salty sea purslane”.…

Seven nights in Antalya Enjoy a luxurious low-season stay at the all-inclusive Cullinan Belek resort, on the Turkish coast. From £1,178pp all-inclusive (incl. flights). 020-3451 2688, tui.co.uk. Depart 1 March. India’s “Golden Triangle” Visit Delhi, Agra and Jaipur on this 11-night guided group trip. From £1,579pp half-board (incl. flights; use code FUT100). 020-966 5882, traveldepartment.co.uk. Depart 14 May. Best of Morocco This two-week adventure will take you from atmospheric cities and medinas to mountains and desert. From £788pp b&b (excl. flights). 0808-274 5111, intrepidtravel.com. Arrive 24 March. Enchanting Norway A scenic 6-night escape starting from Oslo and taking in the majestic fjords and charming Bergen. From £1,169pp b&b (incl. flights). 020-3608 0135, secretescapes.com. Depart 15 March.…

Thames Water: new boss, old problems A few years ago, Chris Weston, then boss of Aggreko, declared: “leadership is what makes the difference to the performance of a company, in good times or bad”. This week, Weston was made “the sixth chief executive of Thames Water in five years”, said Jon Yeomans in The Sunday Times. And his theory may soon “be tested to destruction”. He has inherited an in-tray overflowing with problems. “An industry routinely castigated for having foreign owners that extract dividends while polluting the UK’s rivers faces a hard time in getting across any positive messages.” But Thames is also under immense financial pressure: “it has debts of £14.7bn to service and needs to spend billions on upgrading its ageing infrastructure”. The question is whether Weston can…

The Old Lady’s dance with markets Chris Dorrell City AM The path of the economy in 2024 will be defined by the trajectory of interest rates. The big question, says Chris Dorrell, is when will they be cut? The Bank of England and markets have come to very “different conclusions”. The line from the Bank is that it’s still “too early” to even talk about cuts. Markets, by contrast, are expecting a move in the first half of the year, probably in May, with the Bank Rate falling from the current 5.25% to 4% by the year’s end. The BoE laid out its reasoning for keeping rates “higher for longer” in November, when it predicted inflation would only return to its target 2% by the end of 2025 – because…

What happened US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu this week, as part of a tour of the Middle East aimed at defusing regional tensions. Blinken had earlier warned that the conflict could “easily metastasize” into a wider war, and stressed the need to plan for the Gaza Strip’s post-conflict future. Netanyahu has yet to set out his vision for Gaza; but last week, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, outlined a plan under which Israel would retain security control of the enclave while its civilian affairs would be run by Palestinians. Blinken’s visit coincided with rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group launched a drone attack on an Israeli army base on Tuesday, a day after a Hezbollah commander, Wissam…

A one-foot-tall stainless-steel bottle that can hold 1.2 litres of water has been hailed as the latest must-have accessory. Made by the outdoor equipment company Stanley, and derided by its critics as an “adult sippy cup”, the £44.99 Quencher comes with a reusable straw. Adele and Victoria Beckham have both been seen with one. The British Film Institute has issued a trigger warning for the films it is showing as part of a season devoted to the work of the 007 composer John Barry. The BFI’s disclaimer warns that many of the films, including You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger and Midnight Cowboy, “contain language, images or other content that reflect views prevalent in its time, but will cause offence today (as they did then)”.…

The pensions minister, Paul Maynard, is being investigated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) over claims that he has been using public money designed to facilitate his constituency work to pay for Tory Party business. According to The Sunday Times, the alleged breaches include producing leaflets for his constituents that promoted the Tory Party, and using his constituency office for meetings of his local Conservative Association. Since 2010, Maynard has spent £106,000 on printing costs, more than any other Tory MP. A local activist told the paper that she’d repeatedly raised the alleged breaches with the party but her concerns were not acted on. Separately, Helen Harrison, the partner of the disgraced ex-MP Peter Bone, was selected last week to stand as the Tory candidate in his old seat,…

Des Moines, Iowa Caucus countdown: Republicans vying for the party’s presidential nomination stepped up their campaigning this week ahead of Monday’s crucial Iowa caucuses. The vote is the first opportunity that GOP members will have to pick their preferred candidate to stand for the White House in November. Donald Trump remains the clear favourite in the race generally, and in Iowa itself, and has held a series of packed rallies there, during which he has repeated his claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, and urged his supporters to hand him a convincing win. Among those campaigning on his behalf was Kristi Noem (pictured), the South Dakota governor, who has been tipped as his possible running mate. Iowa does not have a good record of picking the eventual…

“If you ask any centrist commentator in Britain their favourite TV show, there’s a good chance they’ll say The West Wing. The 1990s drama was significant in the phenomenon of ‘America brain’: the creeping of US terminology and ideas into British politics. Tony Blair tried to introduce the ‘separation of powers’, a concept alien to the UK constitution. John Prescott became a ‘running mate’, rather than a pugilistic man from Hull. More recently, the repeal of Roe v. Wade led to Commons debates about reproductive rights. After George Floyd’s murder, protesters took to the streets shouting ‘Stop, don’t shoot’ at police officers who had probably never handled a gun in their lives.” Madeline Grant in The Daily Telegraph…

Britain’s builders leave us no choice Matthew Brooker Bloomberg Imagine if today’s supermarkets, like those in the former Eastern bloc, stocked just one variety of meat or vegetable. Well that’s just about the situation with Britain’s new-build housing market, says Matthew Brooker. It’s dominated by a handful of big developers who churn out “identikit” estates that leave house buyers with no choice to speak of. But buying a new build doesn’t have to be this way. In Germany you can go to a website and pick from among 2,400 house designs and 350 construction firms. More than half the homeowners in Germany buy property this way, as do 60% of those in Austria and 31% in France. In the UK, just 7% do. Somehow, we’ve ended up with “the worst…

A new anti-smoking drug Many smokers will have made a New Year’s resolution to kick the habit, and the good news for them is that a drug that may help them do so is becoming available in the UK this month. Derived from a compound found in laburnum seeds, cytisine has been found to reduce nicotine cravings. A recent analysis of eight existing randomised control trials, involving 6,000 people, found that smokers aiming to break their addiction are twice as likely to succeed if they are taking it than if they are taking a placebo. Two further trials found that it is possibly more effective as an anti-smoking aid than nicotine-replacement patches. The drug was also found to be safe, with any side effects mild and short-lived. Smoking is the…

Shortly after Gordon Brown became prime minister in 2007, he visited an NHS hospital accompanied by his then health secretary Alan Johnson. “Gordon went round all the nurses and doctors, shaking their hands, saying, ‘Thanks for all you do, thanks for all you do’,” Johnson recalls. It went on and on, and only stopped when Brown reached a person who told him: “Gordon, I came with you from Downing Street.” Actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster made her name as a child star – but she struggles to work with today’s young people. “They’re really annoying, especially in the workplace,” she told The Guardian. “They’re like: ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am.’ Or like in emails, I’ll tell them, ‘This is all grammatically incorrect, did…

The British Medical Association “must be the most ruthless trade union in Britain”, said Leo McKinstry in the Daily Express. Cruelty is now a “key element of its bargaining strategy”. On Tuesday, England’s junior doctors completed a six-day strike, the longest in the 75-year history of the NHS. It’s sickening that doctors should be willing to use vulnerable patients “to blackmail the Government”, in pursuit of their ludicrous 35% pay rise demand. For them do so in early January, when pressure on the NHS is at its peak, is doubly outrageous – and reflects the union’s “determination to maximise suffering and chaos in support of its epic selfishness”. It was an “unconscionable” act that should be met with a tough response, agreed The Daily Telegraph. Police officers, prison wardens and…

Wayne Rooney’s sacking by Birmingham last week – his team had won just two games in 15 matches – was a sad moment for an England great, said Mike McGrath in The Daily Telegraph. But it was a development very much in keeping with one of the more striking current trends in football: the failure of England’s “golden generation” to achieve anything of note “in the dugout”. Many of the players who appeared regularly for England in the 2000s have moved into club management since retiring. And their results have been forgettable. The two highest-profile cases – Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard – both made promising starts to their managerial careers (with Rangers and Derby respectively) before enduring torrid spells in the Premier League (Gerrard with Aston Villa, Lampard with…

Football In the third round of the FA Cup, Liverpool beat Arsenal 2-0. Tottenham Hotspur drew Manchester City in the fourth round; Chelsea will face Aston Villa. Tennis Rafael Nadal’s return to tennis suffered a blow when he tore a muscle in his hip at the Brisbane International. The 37-year-old will miss the Australian Open. Rugby union England’s former rugby captain, Owen Farrell, is reportedly considering a shock move from his current club, Saracens, to Paris-based Racing 92. If confirmed, it would make him ineligible to play for England.…

“Françoise Bornet, the young lover immortalised in the French photographer Robert Doisneau’s The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville, has died aged 93,” says Angelique Chrisafis in The Guardian. “It was one of the most famous kisses of the 20th century.” In 1950, Doisneau approached Bornet and her then boyfriend, Jacques Carteaud, both acting students, in a Paris café. According to Bornet, he said: “I’m Robert Doisneau, I find you both charming and wondered if you would accept to kiss again in front of my camera.” He took various photos; The Kiss was published in Life magazine, then forgotten about – but became a “poster phenomenon” in the 1980s. Bornet was one of several people who then went to court to claim image rights; she was confirmed as the model,…

Lilian convinces Brian to join her for New Year’s Eve at The Bull, where they win the darts contest. While clearing out The Lodge, Tony accidentally throws away two binbags full of Kate’s possessions. Joy commiserates with Kate, who is dismayed to realise she has lost the Glastonbury wristband marking Phoebe’s birth. Jakob and Lilian scour the house to find it, to no avail – but their devotion comforts Kate. Helen has planned an adventure for Henry’s birthday, without her and Jack. They both admit to being nervous, but Helen says they need to learn to grab life with both hands. Chris and Alice encounter a hiccup ahead of Martha’s first lesson with Champion the pony. After talking to Brad, Tracy suggests that Mia helps to organise The Bull’s “Renew”…

Serves 4 700g jar chickpeas, or 2 × 400g cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed For the muhammara: 50g walnut pieces (or almonds or hazelnuts), plus extra to serve 1 slice of crusty white bread or bread of your choice, roughly chopped into chunks 3 red peppers (either from a jar for a speedy version, or fresh if you’re grilling yourself) 1 tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp cayenne pepper, dried chilli flakes or hot chilli powder ½ tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp tomato purée 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 garlic clove, crushed juice of ½ a lemon 1-2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve To serve: pomegranate seeds, handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander, feta (optional) • Preheat the oven to 200°C. • Tip the walnuts and bread chunks onto a…

Camila Batmanghelidjh 1963-2024 Instantly recognisable in her colourful turbans and kaftans, Camila Batmanghelidjh became a familiar figure in the 2000s, as she toured TV studios to promote her charity Kids Company. Passionate and charismatic, she highlighted the plight of thousands of youngsters in Britain’s inner cities, who were being traumatised by poverty, abuse and neglect. She estimated that one in three of those that passed through Kids Company’s doors slept on the floor; one in four lived in homes without tables or chairs. Deprived of affection and support, these children, she warned, were at risk of growing up into deeply damaged adults. Her solution was to shower them with loving kindness. At her centres in London, Bristol and Liverpool, children found a daytime home where they could get everything from…

Sir Howard Davies The NatWest chairman’s observation that it is not “that difficult” to get on the housing ladder in Britain has sparked “fury” in some quarters, said Fortune. His critics’ general refrain was: “What planet does he live on?” Howard Davies has since apologised, claiming his remarks were intended to reflect easing conditions in the mortgage market. But they’re unlikely to further NatWest’s populist credentials as it prepares for a “Tell Sid” share sale of the Government’s remaining 38.6% stake. It’s not the first time that Davies – a City grandee, who is due to stand down later this year – has faced a furore over ill-advised comments, said The Guardian. Last year, he “weathered calls for his resignation” after initially backing former CEO Alison Rose in the row…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1396 Two Connell Guides and three Week-branded items will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 22 January. Send it to The Week Crossword 1396, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR, or email the completed grid/listed solutions to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) This week’s winner will receive Week-branded items including a notebook, coffee mug and tote bag, as well as two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 1 Brightness of girl embracing idiot wanting love (8) 5 Loaded horse boxes beginning to wobble (6) 9 Row about empty shopping mall in Yorkshire town (8) 10 Independent and Conservative both lost, politics badly damaged (6) 12 Total amount includes this mission (5) 13 Washerwoman in US…

J.K. Rowling, after Hogwarts Legacy, a video game spin-off from the Harry Potter books, was named as the biggest-selling game of 2023. Some sites had refused to review or promote the game, citing Rowling’s views on transgender issues, but that didn’t stop it shifting 22 million copies last year, more even than the latest game in the hugely popular Call of Duty series. Drivers, with new figures showing that the price of a litre of petrol fell six pence on average last month, bringing it back to its pre-Ukraine War level for the first time. Diesel fell by 5 pence. A barrel of oil is now around $75, down from $130 in early 2022. Greggs, which announced plans to open up to 160 more shops next year, following bumper sales…

28% of parents believe that the pandemic has shown it is not essential for children to go to school every day. YouGov/Centre for Social Justice 70% of people aged 16 and over in Wales oppose the new 20mph speed limit covering most built-up areas (including 53% who strongly oppose it). That is up from 61% in September.  ITV Cymru Wales/YouGov 75% of adults believe that things are worse or much worse in the UK now than when the Tories came to power 13 years ago. Only 7% think that things are better or much better. YouGov/Sky 50% of adults supported the junior doctors’ six-day strike. 43% opposed it. YouGov…

What Tim Spector eats Andy Spector holds the world record for the largest collection of crisp packets, says Guy Kelly in The Daily Telegraph: he had 3,000 of them at the last count. But his brother, Professor Tim Spector, the genetic epidemiologist who founded the nutrition app Zoe, would generally run a mile from a crisp. He advises people to avoid all ultra-processed foods. So what does he eat himself? “It’s always different,” he says. “Part of the point is that you should always be varying it.” Today, he had a black coffee in the morning, followed by a bowl of yoghurt with kefir, nuts, fruit and seeds at about 11am. For lunch he might have avocado on toast; for dinner, a vegetarian curry. He aims to eat 30 different…

A couple from Pittsburgh were horrified to find their pet goldendoodle, Cecil, eating $4,000 that they’d left in an envelope on a kitchen counter. Carrie and Clayton Law had got out the cash to pay a contractor for installing a garden fence. “Suddenly Clayton yelled to me, ‘Cecil’s eating $4,000!’” Carrie recalled. “I almost had a heart attack.” The couple had to sift through Cecil’s vomit and poo in an attempt to salvage as many notes as they could, and eventually recovered all but $450. They insist their dog is normally well-behaved. A tourist attraction in China is looking to hire a man to dress up as a monkey, lurk in a cave and be fed bananas and other food by tourists. The successful applicant will be paid 6,000 yuan…

INDIA Our leaders are no laughing matter The Indian Express (Noida) Humour has a place in democratic politics, says Kuriakose Saju. Unfortunately, India’s leaders don’t see it that way. Last week, India’s VP, the BJP politician Jagdeep Dhankhar, got into a terrible tizz after seeing a video clip of an opposition MP mimicking his voice and mannerisms. “Shameful and unacceptable”, he called it. And Prime Minister Narendra Modi (who phoned him to show support) and much of the media agreed. How self-serving. The MP’s video had been his response to the outrageous way he was suspended from parliament last month – along with 140 other opposition MPs – just for complaining about a security breach. To say, as commentators are now doing, that it isn’t “democratic” to make fun of…

On Christmas Day, Prince Andrew walked behind his older brother as the royals made their way to church at Sandringham, said Jenny Hjul on Reaction – signalling the “tentative rehabilitation” of the disgraced duke. Friends of the King attributed this to his “typical kindness”, and a promise he’d made to his mother to look after Andrew. Alas, the gesture was “badly timed”, coming only days after a court in the US had ruled that a trove of papers relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be made public. The documents have contained no bombshells; but they’ve added new detail to existing claims (which Andrew denies) such as that the teenage girl he was alleged to have had sex with said that she had been paid $15,000 to do…

“Not for the first time, the Conservative Party faces an insurgent challenge on the right,” said The Daily Telegraph. Ten years ago, the threat was posed by UKIP, which was then polling at 25% of the vote. This time it comes from Reform UK, formerly the Brexit Party, which is proving attractive to Conservative voters dissatisfied with the Government’s record, and is now polling at just shy of 10% – just behind the Liberal Democrats. There was more bad news for the Tories at a press conference last week: Reform’s leader Richard Tice “categorically” ruled out an electoral pact with the Conservatives, of the kind that was made in 2019, accusing them of having “broken Britain”, and vowing to contest every seat in the UK. To the disappointment of the…

Since becoming England captain in 2022, Ben Stokes has revolutionised his team’s approach to Test cricket, said Simon Wilde and Martyn Ziegler in The Sunday Times. By deploying swashbuckling, “Bazball” tactics, he has turned England into a mesmerising side to watch – and prompted much talk about the revitalisation of the Test cricket format. But try telling that to the major TV broadcasters. With less than a fortnight to go before England face India in a five-Test series, not one of them has inked a deal to broadcast the matches in the UK. You’d think a series between “two global powerhouses of the game” would attract major interest. Yet the leading players in the market – Sky Sports and TNT Sports – are reportedly “indifferent” as to whether or not…

A taxing problem solved To The Guardian Your leading article, “Tory tax plans are a handout to the wealthy”, failed to recognise that it’s not the wealthy who pay inheritance tax, but rather the unprepared. It is also clear why it is unpopular with people wishing to leave a legacy for their families. The solution is simple but not obvious: reform capital gains tax so that it is charged at the same rates as income tax (including national insurance) and falls on residential property. This means that if I leave my house to my daughter in my will and she lives there with her family, there is no tax. However, if she sells the property, she will need to pay CGT on the gain. We’re told there’s “no money left”…

With theatres anxious to rake in cash to repair Covid-era holes in their budgets, “celebs in everything” seems to be their strategy for 2024, said Jan Dalley in the FT. In the West End, Succession star Brian Cox will be playing the patriarch of another troubled family in Eugene O’Neill’s semi-autobiographical epic Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Wyndham’s Theatre, London, 19 March-8 June). Meanwhile, his on-screen daughter Sarah Snook is flaunting “her new pulling power” by playing all 26 roles in Kip Williams’s new version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray: “quite a bold move” (Theatre Royal Haymarket, 6 February-11 May). “Celebrity of a different sort hovers around the more reclusive” playwright Jez Butterworth. The Jerusalem writer’s new play The Hills of California (which is directed by Sam…

The Renaissance artist Pesellino may well be unfamiliar to you, said Waldemar Januszczak in The Sunday Times. He was unfamiliar to me, too. Born Francesco di Stefano in Florence in around 1422, he trained under his grandfather, an artist known as “Pesello” (the Italian word for “pea”, but also Florentine street slang for “a tiny member”; Pesellino, its diminutive, thus translates as “even smaller member”). Despite his unfortunate nickname, Pesellino prospered. His art showed a genius for interesting detail, and for pictorial storytelling, winning him commissions from both the Medicis and the Papacy. Notably, he invented an intimate and “much copied” way of depicting the Madonna and Child on a small scale. Yet after his death from plague aged just 35, he was forgotten. Indeed, until the National Gallery opened…

Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys, 1939 (Penguin £9.99). I have been returning to Rhys ever since picking up her quartet of early novels one summer and reading them back-to-back, in chronological order, while beside the sea. This remains my favourite. Nearly every sentence is perfect. It shatters the soul, and has much to tell us about displacement and exile. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886 (Penguin £8.99). There was very little that Robert Louis Stevenson did not know how to do on the page, and I have always loved his lesser-known works, two in particular: this and The Amateur Emigrant. Both contain such rare insights, and writing that never takes your attention for granted. The Return by Joseph Conrad, 1898 (Hesperus Press, available used). The same thing could be…

Programmes American Mercenaries: Killing in Yemen An investigation into how the UAE hired US mercenaries to carry out assassinations of its political enemies. Mon 15 Jan, BBC2 23:15 (55mins). Trump: The Return? As another US election year dawns, Robert Moore looks at Donald Trump’s divisive campaign in the shadow of multiple criminal charges. Tue 16 Jan, ITV1 21:00 (60mins). Around the World in 80 Weighs New docuseries following six people from across Britain – who are all obese – as they see how different countries respond to excess body weight. First stop, Japan, where obesity is rare. Tue 16 Jan, C4 21:00 (60mins). Finders Keepers New crime drama starring Neil Morrissey and Fay Ripley. A pair of detectorists find themselves caught in a treacherous spiral after unearthing a hoard of Saxon…

Europe’s “next Berlin” With its co-working spaces and natural wine bars, Tbilisi has “garnered a reputation as the ‘next Berlin’ among clued-in city trippers” in recent years, says Chris Schalkx in The Sunday Times. But the capital of Georgia is “more than a hipster honeypot: this former Silk Road-era trading hub has passed hands between Mongol khans, Persian shahs and Russian rulers”, and they’ve all left their mark. There is a lot to explore: medieval forts, Soviet relics, “crumbling roadside inns”; and when you’ve had your “urban fix”, the country’s “snow-capped mountain ranges and frozen-in-time villages are just a short drive or train ride away”. As for places to stay, “few places better sum up modern-day Tbilisi” than Stamba, an unpretentious hotel in a former printing factory, where the rooms…

Derek Draper 1967-2024 Derek Draper, who has died aged 56, first came to public attention in the early 1990s, as a “buccaneering” New Labour aide with a talent for internecine warfare, said The Daily Telegraph. More recently, he has been known for his long battle with Covid. Infected in March 2020, he was put in an induced coma, and by the time he was brought out of it, ten weeks later, the virus had ravaged his heart, lungs and liver. When he finally went home, after 374 days in hospital, he could barely speak. Bed-bound, incontinent and fed via a tube, he required 24-hour care. His wife, the television presenter Kate Garraway, participated in two documentaries, which gave viewers a heart-wrenching glimpse of his suffering, and that of his family.…

Back in November, Channel 4’s chief executive, Alex Mahon, warned that the broadcaster was in “shock territory” as it grappled with the worst advertising market since the 2008 financial crisis. Now comes the axe, said Mark Sweney in The Guardian. In an effort to “accelerate” the shift to streaming, in the teeth of expected losses over the next two years, Mahon has confirmed to C4’s 1,200 staff that “a round of major job cuts is looming”, with London-based teams bearing the brunt. In a statement, Mahon said the reorganisation was a “necessary response” to ensure C4 remains “a relevant and rebellious force in British creative and cultural life”. Nicely put. Particularly as C4 has just launched its own protest against the recruitment of four white directors in a row to…

Centrica The British Gas owner has had a strong 12 months, with shares surging nearly 65% on buoyant energy prices. But analysts at Quest reckon it is still “severely undervalued” – partly because it generates so much cash. That could tempt a predator or, indeed, make Centrica a potential acquirer. Harbour Energy The North Sea oil and gas company was clobbered by the government windfall tax last year, so its has set its sights on expanding beyond the UK. But Quest reckons that Harbour, which has paid out £440m in dividends in the past year, could itself be “a tasty target”. EasyJet Airlines are often a hard sell for dealmakers: pinning a value on a business so dependent on oil prices is tricky. But easyJet has long been thought “vulnerable”.…

The week’s best shares Ashtead Group The Sunday Times The tool rental business is flourishing in the US, thanks to private and publicly funded “mega projects”. Shares have dipped slightly, but a burst of delayed film and TV contracts should boost business. Fit to weather storms. Buy. £50.98. Bellway The Times Cheaper mortgage rates and likely government help for first-time buyers should succour hard-hit housebuilders. Bellway is well placed to benefit from returning demand, given its undervalued landbank. Buy. £25.24. JD Wetherspoon The Times The pub group has proved resilient on a formula of selling food and drink as cheaply as possible. Pre-Christmas sales jumped 13%, while “cheap as chips” new year offers continue to lure in punters. Buy. 804.5p. Porvair The Mail on Sunday Porvair’s filters are used in…