The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 31 October 2013

From our UK edition

Home A storm passed over England, with plenty of warning. The strongest gust, of 99mph, was recorded at Needles Old Battery, Isle of Wight. Of 570,000 households that lost power, 160,000 were left without it by sunset. About 200 trees fell on railway lines. A crane collapsed on to the roof of the Cabinet Office in Whitehall. A fourth big energy company, of Britain’s six, announced price rises, making the average increase 9.1 per cent. Tony Cocker, the chief executive of E.on, told the Commons energy committee that he had written to David Cameron, the Prime Minister, suggesting a full investigation of the market. A woman intent upon visiting the Alhambra found she was on an aeroplane to Grenada in the West Indies.

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson had a six-year-long affair

From our UK edition

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson had an affair that lasted at least six years, a jury heard today. A letter which revealed the affair was described as part of evidence produced by the prosecution in the trial of the two defendants. The letter had been written from Brooks to Coulson in 2004 and was found on her computer. Speaking for the prosecution, Andrew Edis said that 'what Mr Coulson knew, Mrs Brooks knew too'. The pair deny charges relating to phone hacking. The trial continues.