The Spectator

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 6 June 2013

From our UK edition

Spy society High on the agenda when Barack Obama and Chinese president Xi Jinping meet in California will be US accusations that China is stealing US intellectual property. Yet the industrial revolution in the US was based on a piece of industrial espionage. — Samuel Slater, who became known as the father of the US factory system, memorised details of Richard Arkwright’s spinning engines while an apprentice at a mill in Belper, Derbyshire. — In 1789, aged 21, he emigrated to the US, disguising himself as a farm labourer to overcome suspicions that he might be planning to sell industrial secrets. — Once in the US, he recreated the spinning mill he had known back in Belper, eventually becoming the owner of 13 mills.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 6 June 2013

From our UK edition

Home Patrick Mercer MP resigned the Conservative whip after being filmed in discussion with a fake Fijian firm that paid him £4,000 to ask parliamentary questions; he was in fact being investigated by BBC’s Panorama and the Daily Telegraph. Lord Cunningham and Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate were suspended by the Labour party after the Sunday Times filmed them discussing lobbying terms, and Lord Laird resigned the Ulster Unionist whip over the same matter. All the parliamentarians deny wrongdoing. Mike Hancock MP resigned the Liberal Democrat whip while he defends a civil case in which a woman constituent is alleging sexual assault.

The Spectator

We need to talk about Syria

From our UK edition

There can be little doubt that Britain is edging towards intervening in Syria. President Bashar Assad’s bloody ruthlessness seems to be paying off: his forces are retaking former rebel strongholds (the strategic town of Qusair was reclaimed this week) and the more he believes he can win, the less likely he is to negotiate. From a distance, there seems to be a case for the West to move quickly to help the rebels, and create a more level playing field. The aim would not be to prolong the conflict, but to make a negotiated peace settlement more likely. The Prime Minister made the case in the Commons this week.

Tuesday

The Spectator

The Mike Hancock imbroglio

From our UK edition

Mike Hancock last night resigned the Lib Dem whip to fight a court case that includes serious allegations about his conduct. He resigned after a meeting with the chief whip and the party's deputy leader Simon Hughes about the claims, which he strenuously denies. A party spokesman said last night: 'Mike Hancock strenuously denies the allegations made in the civil case and intends to clear his name in court.' But as The Spectator reported, the party has been aware of allegations about Hancock's behaviour for a number of years.

Thursday

The Spectator

Barometer | 30 May 2013

From our UK edition

Minority sports The annual cheese-rolling race took place at Cooper’s Hill, Gloucestershire, won by an American who had flown over for the occasion. Some more minority sports: Chessboxing Contestants compete over 11 rounds, each one consisting of 4 minutes of chess followed by 2 minutes of boxing. National championships are held in India Unicycle polo Self-explanatory. Ten teams are registered in the UK, but the home of the sport is Germany, where 53 teams play Sheep-counting Invented by professional sheep-counters employed by Australian auction houses. Held inaugural national championships in Australia in 2002. Bank of optimism The Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King upgraded his forecast of GDP growth for the second quarter of the year.

The Spectator

Letters | 30 May 2013

From our UK edition

HS2 v broadband Sir: Rory Sutherland (The Wiki Man, 25 May) is rightly sceptical of HS2, but in limiting his remarks only to the transport of people, he is still too kind. Why spend 20 years building Victorian technology when the infrastructure of the future will be a broadband network of far greater capacity than exists now? The internet has revolutionised the distribution of most services and the production of some products. New technologies like 3D printing are on the cusp of transforming the location of industry and the distribution of manufactures, which could benefit depressed areas far more than HS2. These technologies require the downloading of vast amounts of data at speeds with which the existing UK broadband capacity cannot yet cope.

The Spectator

Portrait of the week | 30 May 2013

From our UK edition

Home Ten men were arrested in connection with the public, daylight murder of Drummer Lee Rigby near his barracks in Woolwich. The two chief suspects, Michael Adebolajo, 28, and Michael Adebowale, 22, Britons of Nigerian descent and converts to Islam, had waited in the street after the hacking to death of the soldier until armed police arrived, and were then shot. Adebolajo had made some statements recorded on a mobile phone. The two men were taken to different hospitals with wounds said not to be life-threatening, and Adebowale was discharged into police custody after six days. MI5 was said to have previously attempted to recruit Adebolajo, who was found to have been arrested in Kenya in 2010.