Steerpike

For years, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins enjoyed the acclaim and approval heaped upon him by universities and institutes across the western world. Festooned with awards and lavished with honours, he rode the intellectual tidal wave of new atheism at its peak.  But now the tide is out and with it Dawkins' brand of free-spirited thinking too; the author of The Selfish Gene has been accused of Islamophobia, transphobia and a variety of supposedly offensive comments. Dawkins of course is famously thick skinned but the latest ignominy heaped on the Oxford academic will have stung more than most.

Sinoscepticism is on the rise in Parliament, with China's controversial 'Belt and Road Initiative' increasingly being the subject of attention in the House of Lords. Down the corridor and across central lobby it appears no MPs are now willing to be linked with the scheme which ties Chinese infrastructure spending with increased influence. The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was founded in 2018 by Labour MP Faisal Rashid, who managed to find time amidst the ongoing Brexit drama in the last Parliament to visit both Guangdong and Guangxi in China.

Leaked plans for a 'European Super League' of top football clubs have left fans feeling as sick as a parrot today, amid fears of the impact such a move would have on the beautiful game. Under the proposals, Europe's leading teams such as Manchester United and Real Madrid would juggle their domestic leagues to sign with a new midweek competition that would see them play regular games across the continent against one another. Politicians here in Britain have already been quick to get ahead of the backlash, with Boris Johnson claiming such plans 'would strike at the heart of the domestic game and will concern fans across the country.

As Westminster reels from Alan Duncan’s shocking revelations that he didn’t much like Boris and that he should have been in the cabinet (not that he cared) who will be next to publish their tell all book? With the watering holes of SW1 shut for most of the last twelve months, politicians have been forced to find new ways to entertain themselves – including, err, writing about themselves.  Below Steerpike runs down the list of those who are or will be shortly bringing out their lockdown projects: Seumas Milne – the ‘thin Controller’ spent four years at the coalface of Corbynism as Labour’s director of communications between 2015 and 2019.

It was just two days ago that Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was claiming in his country's parliament that Britain was 'facing a very serious third wave.' But now cases in the country have overtaken those of its southern neighbour the USA, whose approach to the pandemic received widespread criticism prior to the vaccine roll out.  Data from Johns Hopkins University show Canada now have cases of 207.3 per million people compared to those in the United States where numbers are 206.7 per million. A day before Trudeau's comments on the UK situation, Canada registered a record 10,859 new cases despite the country's original response to the virus being widely praised.

Steerpike was surprised to learn this morning that the UK is facing a 'very serious third wave' – not from the newspapers or an ashen faced epidemiologist but rather the unlikely form of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Amid calls in Canada to loosen lockdown restrictions, the embattled leader referenced Britain in his parliament yesterday as an example as to why there should not be faster liberalisation. Sporting a hideous beard, the premier best known for ethics scandals and blackface pictures told members of the Canadian House of Commons: I think it's really important that we work from facts and understanding of the science around things.

For some time now, Scots living in England have been placed in an unfortunate position by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP. Since November last year, the Scottish government has barred people from moving between Scotland and England for non-essential reasons, effectively creating a cross-border travel ban. The move has been particularly painful for those with family or friends stuck on the wrong side of the border. You might have thought then that today would have brought them some welcome reprieve, as Nicola Sturgeon used a press conference to announce that travel restrictions will be lifted across Scotland from Friday, to allow people to socialise outdoors. Unfortunately though, the Scottish First Minister declined to extend her munificence to those in England.