There is a grim inevitability to the trickle of round-robin letters from scientists who feel aggrieved at the government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Right from the beginning, the Prime Minister gave scientific advisers a very public platform at the heart of government. He realised that if it became necessary to impose the most severe
Hong Kong’s future Sir: So we have a moral duty to protect the people of Hong Kong and guide them back to the golden world which existed before 1997 under British rule (‘Let them come’, 6 June)? Come off it. It is true that the hope behind the 1984 Joint Declaration was for HK to
The unclued lights Across are Shakespearean LORDS and the Down ones are LADIES. (The plant ‘lords and ladies’ is an ARUM.) First prize Giles Cattermole, Orpington, KentRunners-up Norman Watterson, Hillsborough, Co. Down; Terry Lavell, London E17
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis New Covid-19 analysis from the University of Cambridge finds the R number has risen throughout England due to
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis Business Secretary Alok Sharma has self-isolated after showing symptoms of Covid-19 in the House of Commons. Around 25
Home Primary schools were allowed to reopen but many did not want to. MPs voted to return to their physical presence in parliament. The government told people they were allowed to meet in gardens or on rooftops, up to the number of six, as long as those from different households remained two metres apart. About
Covid deaths Has Covid-19 evolved to become less deadly?— Global infections reached a new peak on 29 May, with 125,473. The daily average for the past seven days is 108,965, 36% higher than in the week beginning 14 April.— However, deaths peaked at 8,429 on 17 April. The daily total for the past seven days
Poor treatment Sir: My recent experience supports Dr Max Pemberton’s view that the NHS is letting down thousands of patients (‘Nothing to applaud’, 30 May). I am a 71-year-old living alone, with no symptoms of coronavirus. For several weeks I have, however, been experiencing severe pain in my left hip. A consultation with my GP
In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, a black entrepreneur had his bar destroyed before he even had a chance to open its doors for the first time. In Richmond, Virginia, a mob set light to a building, then blocked firefighters who were trying to save a child from the flames (-thankfully the child survived).
From 22 March 1986: They used to say that war is the ruin of serious soldiering. Too much disorder, too many accidents. So it could be said of the bubonic plague: it spoilt dying completely. There was so much to fear. Not merely a sudden, unexplained and incurable form of disease, since brevity of life
Unclued lights suggested a section of the international radio communications alphabet: Bravo (VILLAIN: 6), Charlie (DIMWIT: 16), Delta (DEPOSIT: 19), Echo (MIMIC: 15A), Foxtrot (DANCE: 38), Golf (GAME: 36) and Hotel (BOARDING HOUSE: 1D). ZULU appears in the third row and was to be shaded. The title suggests ‘alpha’. First prize Geoffrey Peake, Stalybridge, Cheshire
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis More Covid-19 deaths in Scotland have happened in care homes than hospitals, according to the National Records of Scotland.
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis Public Health England has released its report on the effects of Covid-19 on BAME communities, which finds that black
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis Primary school pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 can return to school from today. The National
The Spectator brings you the latest insight, news and research from the front line. Sign up here to receive this briefing daily by email, and stay abreast of developments both at home and abroad. News and analysis Rishi Sunak is set to announce changes to the furlough scheme this afternoon. Details below. Groups of up to
Site test What’s on offer in the town of Barnard Castle? — Ruined 12th-century castle perched high above the Tees, built by Bernard de Balliol and later passed into the hands of Richard III, whose emblem appears above an inner window. — Bowes Museum: magnificent 19th-century French-style gallery built by mine-owner John Bowes and his
Disastrous decisions Sir: One cannot but agree wholeheartedly with Lionel Shriver (‘This is not a natural disaster’, 16 May). Given the unremarked impact of other diseases which she mentioned, Covid-19 is small beer. The government set out on the right path with its herd immunity policy, but was bounced into lockdown by the ‘science’, hounded
Who occupies the post of chief adviser to the prime minister is not generally an issue of great interest to the public. That Dominic Cummings has come to dominate the news for several days is partly explained by the long shadow of Brexit and his role in the referendum campaign. But it is no use
Home Open-air markets and car showrooms will be allowed to open from 1 June and other ‘non-essential’ shops from 15 June. Sales of goods in April had fallen by 18 per cent, those of clothing by 50 per cent. Government borrowing rose sharply to £62 billion in April, the highest sum known. The Office for
Unclued lights are marches by John Philip SOUSA, as hinted by the title: 4/1A, 14/12, 20D, 33A/17, 37/29/26, and 41 First prize Thulasi Karunakaran, Thame, OxfordshireRunners up Susan Hay, South StaffordshirePeter Moody, Fareham, Hampshire