Freddy Gray

Almost two years ago, a cancer surgeon named Joseph Meirion Thomas decided that he could no longer keep quiet about what he regarded as a major abuse of the NHS. The Francis inquiry into the scandal at Stafford Hospital had just published its report, reminding doctors of their ‘duty of candour’. Thomas interpreted that to mean that health professionals ‘should feel supported and protected should they ever need to speak out.’ In that spirit, he wrote in The Spectator about ‘health tourism’ — foreign nationals using NHS services to which they are not entitled, placing an already overburdened system under yet more strain. His article caught the attention of Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, who ordered a full investigation.

Say this about about Black Friday — the celebration of cheap shopping that we mark today — it isn't a fraud. It's not a consumer festival dressed as religious festival, as Christmas is for most of us. It's a consumer fest dressed as a consumer fest. But it's still disgusting, an American import we can certainly do without. It brings out the worst in us. Already this morning, fights have broken out between mad British bargain hunters. A few years ago, a shopping mall security guard in America was trampled to death by hordes of desperate consumers. Cyber Monday, in three days time, when we all buy stuff online, may be slightly safer, but it if anything even more depressing. The good news is that lots of us seem to abhor the whole Black Friday/Cyber Monday concept.

Having had years of everybody telling them how clever they are for ‘re-inventing’ monarchy in the 21st century, the royal family has now reached something of a PR impasse. Sebastian Shakespeare today reveals that the Windsors have had to draft in headhunters to find a new chief spinner for Princes William and Harry, amid whispers of disputes between Kensington Palace and Clarence House as to how the younger royals ought to project themselves in the media. This was always going to happen.

We all know the referendum is a big deal, but what can we actually say? None of us has much of an idea how the constitution might change after Thursday's vote. Yet all of us want to talk knowledgeably about it and sound as if we really care. Here, then, is a primer for the uninitiated. Follow it closely and you should be able to skate your way through any discussion about the future of 'our union', at least until September 18. 'Yes or No, Britain will never be the same again' This remark sets you up as someone who comprehends the magnitude of what is happening and has the advantage of being infallible, for now. Don't explain what you mean. Leave an ominous pause so that others have to pick up where you left off.

So England are out the World Cup; the Three Lions rolled over - and we can expect plenty more gloomy Anglo introspection about failings over the coming days. But Alex Salmond must be even more gutted than anyone south of the Border. Over at SNP HQ, they would have been cheering England’s boys on like crazy - because if ever there were something more certain to elicit anti-English sentiment among the Scots in the run up to a referendum, it would be a successful World Cup run. As an Englishman who has lived in Scotland, I'm afraid I know how unbearable it can all seem when England is doing well in a tournament.  And just think of all the lager-fuelled, synthetic passion, and off-putting chauvinism --  had we beaten Uruguay and Italy.

How will history remember this week? Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, was seized by ISIS, an army of fanatics who like crucifying people, among other activities, and who reportedly have British Muslims among their ranks. This was more evidence that Iraq — far from flowering into a beautiful democracy after the allied invasion of 2003 — has descended into bedlam. Again. Well done us. And what was the British Foreign Secretary doing as the black flags went up across Mosul? He was in London, at the Excel centre, hosting a three-day conference with Angelina Jolie and a gang of other luvvies about sexual violence. Hague and Jolie agreed that rape must not be used as a 'weapon of war' - and vowed to do everything possible to stop sex abuse in conflict. Down with rape.

Statins are in the news – again. A few weeks ago, reports appeared across the media suggesting that statins truly were the wonder-drug of our time – and that the alleged adverse side-effects associated with their consumption had been greatly exaggerated. This backed up the latest research from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which proposed that statin prescriptions be extended to around five million more Britons. Against this tide of pro-statin coverage, the first issue of Spectator Health came out, and on the cover we put Dr James Le Fanu's sceptical take on the marvels of statin use.

Liberal secularists don't like faith schools. Obviously. When confronted with stories of Islamists overtaking state schools in Birmingham, they have no difficulty diagnosing the problem. It's not an Islam issue, or an extremism issue — it's faith schools. Faith schooling is where the rot starts, even if these Islamified academies are not actually faith schools. We should therefore oppose all state funding for faith-based education. Catherine Bennett said as much in the Guardian, and lots of social media types seem to agree. Dan Hodges of the Telegraph this morning tweeted: 'All faith schools are Trojan horses. We need faith based education like we need a hole in the head.' It might be silly to judge what people say on Twitter, but let's consider that thought for a moment.

Summer is a difficult time for serious investments — it’s hard to be rational when hot — so why not try betting on the football world cup instead? Thanks to technology, sports gambling can feel a lot like investing these days. Internet betting exchanges are not bookmakers, but trading platforms. Any adult can buy or sell a bet — or position, if you prefer — and ‘trade out’ at a profit or loss before the match, race, or tournament even begins. Which means you are gambling less against sporting chance, more against the human whims of the market. Let me give you an example.

Are the advocates of abortion going mad? Look at Emily Letts, a 25-year-old abortion counsellor, who decided to film her own 'procedure' to show what a wonderful life-affirming experience getting rid of your unwanted pregnancy can be. Cosmopolitan magazine has published the film online along with an article by Letts, who says 'every time I watch the video, I love it. I love how positive it is. I think that there are just no positive abortion stories on video for everyone to see. But mine is.” Another woman, calling herself Angie AntiTheist, had produced a much-watched video of herself having a chemical abortion; Letts decided to go for the more visceral surgical option. "I could have taken the pill," she says, "but I wanted to do the one that women were most afraid of.

How do you sound clever and au courant in 2014? Easy. You talk knowingly about Capital in the 21st Century, the seminal, magisterial, definitive, landmark, pick-your-coverblurb-adjective book by French academic Thomas Piketty. It's all about the growing gap between rich and poor, you see, and inequality is all the rage. No wonder: it's fun to get all hot under the collar about the 'mega-rich' — especially if you're secretly cushioned by the knowledge that you've got a bit tucked away yourself. Piketty (who must himself be making a mint) even topped the Amazon.com bestseller list last week, not bad for a such a big book on such a heavy subject. But really, who is going to trudge through 700-pages on economic theory?

These online crypto-currencies have made the financial world more fun. It’s all so gloriously bonkers. First there was Bitcoin, the ‘peer-to-peer’ online payment system founded in 2009. Almost nobody understood how it worked or what a Bitcoin actually was — something to do with chains of code, computer ‘mining’, and a ledger system — but that didn’t stop anti-government types everywhere embracing the idea. A decentralised currency that politicians and bankers cannot manipulate and spoil — what’s not to like? Following Bitcoin, all sorts of junior crypto-currencies have popped up, mushroom-like, across the web.

Poor David Moyes, sacked before the season ends. Living up to the standards set by Sir Alex Ferguson was always an impossible task, especially since Fergie left Manchester United in a shoddy state. Moyes inherited a squad stuffed with arrogant past-its like Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Young. It's testament to Ferguson's terrifying force of personality that United managed somehow to win the league last season with such a dodgy ensemble; but he deserves criticism too for leaving a mess behind. Yes, Moyes failed to handle the big ego players — which seems to be the essential skill for a top manager these days. Yes, he never seemed to know his best starting eleven.

How do you solve a problem like revenge porn? It's a strange new social evil. More and more men are getting back at women who dump them by posting sex videos and/or photos of them online, along with their name and contact details for all to see. It's not just a nasty man thing, either -- apparently some bitter women are doing it, too. The whole saga begins, in the public eye at least, with celebrities: Paris Hilton and the singer Tulisa, among others, had embarrassing sex tapes published on the web. In Tulisa's case the dirty vid emerged just as her new album was out, which must been terrible timing for her and very painful. As a subject, revenge porn has everything our web-traffic-obsessed media wants. Slebs, sex, porn, the net. Tick tick tick tick. Click click click click.