The Book of Common Prayer asks that those who ‘suffer for the sake of conscience’ might be strengthened. Those prayers were answered on Tuesday morning. Sir Olly Robbins, the not so permanent under-secretary at the Foreign Office, demonstrated a calmness and strength of purpose in upholding the duties of his office which shamed the prime
The unclued lights form the chain (which may start at any of the words) as follows: LUSTRE/TREMOR/MORTAR/TARPON/PONCHO/CHOSEN/SENSEI/SEICHE/CHESTY/STYLUS and then back to LUSTRE. First prize David Hutt, Stourbridge, West Midlands Runners-up Jenny Atkinson, Amersham, Bucks; Jeffrey Frankland, Storth, Cumbria
Flat broke Sir: John Power’s article on the property squeeze (‘Flatlined’, 18 April) identifies a symptom of a deeper problem, the overregulation of property. Buyers are deterred by spiralling service charges, which are themselves driven by layers of legislation, insurance premium hikes and rocketing labour costs. Those still willing to take the plunge are then
A bad night for a scattering. The river’s mouth was full. Sucked in its draught the last of him seemed indissoluble. So once again she’d got things wrong. His vinegary grin acidulous with dentures gone, the snarl, the spite left in a glass of water by the sink where, magnified,
Last week our cookery writer Olivia Potts scooped the world by revealing that AB World Foods was to cease production of Gentleman’s Relish – on the eve of the 200th anniversary of the anchovy paste first gracing our dinner tables. For The Spectator, itself approaching its 200th anniversary, this was a loss that could scarcely
When Britons go to the polls next month, the results will likely reveal just how un-United the Kingdom has become. Separatist parties are poised to win in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The established parties of government – Labour and Conservative – are likely to sustain losses. The former may be deserved, and the latter
Home Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the former secretary general of Nato, said: ‘We are under attack. We are not safe… Britain’s national security and safety is in peril.’ The government ran out of time to pass legislation to give the Chagos Islands to Mauritius before the end of the current session of parliament. Sir
Unclued lights are leaders of the Labour party. First prize E.P. Ryan, Bath Runners-up John Foster, Yearsley, York; Roy Sharp, Kelburn, Wellington, New Zealand
Hero worship Peter Magyar, the new PM of Hungary, has the unique distinction among world leaders of bearing the name of the country he leads. Why do we call the country Hungary when the natives call it the ‘land of the Magyars’? – ‘Hungary’ is literally, the land of the Huns. However, Middle English didn’t
Same old Sir: In Michael Simmons’s otherwise excellent yet alarming essay on ‘Benefits treats’ (11 April), one sentence spoiled the rest of my day: to say that pensioners are ‘protected from and by every government decision’ is maddening nonsense. Pensioners are affected in exactly the same way as everyone else whenever the government of the
Watch the live recording of Is AI a threat to humanity?. Michael Gove, The Spectator’s editor, was joined by Louis Mosley, head of leading AI firm Palantir Technologies UK, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, former health secretary Matt Hancock and Stephanie Hare, technology broadcaster and journalist, to discuss whether AI will save – or destroy – the global economy, the
Home The government withdrew an offer to create 1,000 more training posts for doctors in England after the British Medical Association refused to call off a six-day strike by resident doctors. In a speech at a White House Easter lunch, President Donald Trump of America mocked Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, for having to
Moonstruck Four astronauts aboard the Artemis II spacecraft achieved the distinction of travelling further from the Earth than any humans before them – 252,000 miles away. This was by virtue of their orbit of the Moon being higher, at 6,400 miles above the Moon’s surface, than that of the craft used in the Apollo programme.
Did Donald Trump ever intend to obliterate Iranian civilisation? Some will see the past week as one in which the world pulled back from the brink, when an unhinged US president experienced a rare moment of lucidity at the last crucial minute. Trump’s oscillation is, his defenders argue, the ‘madman theory’ in operation. This was
The unclued lights are DOCTORS and all can be verified in Brewer. First prize Sarah Darlington, Acton Trussell, Stafford Runners-up Colin Ratledge, Leven, East Yorks; Mark Humble, Beercrocombe, Taunton
Clerical errors Sir: Glad though I am that The Spectator bucks the trend in its conviction that the C of E is alive and well (Easter Special, 4 April), I cannot help but be frustrated by the sense that too many of these articles speak of, for and to a secure metropolitan elite. Of course
On 3 April we mark 1,500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine; on 11 June, the conflict will have lasted longer than the first world war. At that point in 1918, the German army was in complete collapse amid the success of the final Allied offensive, as the Kaiser’s disillusioned troops were forced back through the
Home Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: ‘We are working on a viable plan for the Strait of Hormuz.’ Insisting that ‘it’s not our war, but it is our duty to protect British citizens’, he urged business leaders to help protect households from soaring prices. Brent crude sloshed up to $116 and back a
The unclued lights (10/30/39 and 16/41, 28/35 and 30/32) are WALTZES by Johann Strauss II, apart from (THE) SKATERS Waltz which was composed by Waldteufel. First prize Jon Owen, London Runners-up John Henson, Windsor; J. Bielawski, Southport
Working out the Kinks American singer and vegan activist Moby called the Kinks’ song ‘Lola’ ‘transphobic’ and ‘unevolved’. According to the band, the song was based on a real incident when their manager, Robert Wace, spent the night dancing with a cross-dressing man in a bar in Paris, was alerted to the stubble on his
