Full text: The Russia report
The intelligence and security committee has this morning released their report into Russian interference in British politics. You can read the full report here:
The Spectator
Tuesday
Thursday
The confusion in government goes beyond face masks
When Michael Gove delivered the Ditchley Annual Lecture last month he spoke about why citizens feel that the political system has failed them. ‘The compact leaders offered — trust that we are the best, trust that we have your best interests at heart, and trust that we will deliver — was broken.’ It was a
Letters: We must sing again
Growing pains Sir: James Forsyth (‘Rewiring the state’, 4 July) shocked this loyal Spectator reader with the following: ‘Even before Covid, this country was in a productivity crisis and it’s nigh-on impossible to improve productivity without government involvement. Increasing productivity requires improvements to be made to physical and digital infrastructure and to the skill base,
Portrait of the week: Face masks in, Huawei out and Amazon’s TikTok trouble
Home New regulations would compel people to wear a face covering in shops in England from 24 July on pain of a £100 fine. Similar regulations had been imposed in Scotland. A report requested by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said that, without lockdowns, treatments or vaccines, in a reasonable worst-case scenario,
The bill for a Banksy: how much does graffiti cost railways?
Take cover The government has said it will make wearing masks compulsory in shops. Mandatory masks rather run against the general trend in legislation in many countries, with face coverings increasingly banned. In Britain last year a man was fined £90 for covering his face while walking past a police facial recognition camera. Hong Kong
2463: Tongue Twisters solution
The unclued lights were all languages which are written from right to left, entered in that manner in the grid. First prize John Fanshawe, London NW3 Runners-up E.C. Hynard, Guernsey, Lucy Robinson, London N16
Thursday
Covid-19 update: most of the UK is almost corona free
Britain is now doing more Covid-19 testing than anywhere else in Europe, offering a detailed regional picture that shows how rapidly the virus has receded in most of the country. The latest figures were released earlier this afternoon, for 29 June to 5 July, using the German definition: how many weekly positive infections per 100,000
Portrait of the week: Sunak’s statement, shop closures and a hoo-ha over Boohoo
Home Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures intended to stimulate the economy. Under a £111 million scheme, companies in England would be given £1,000 for each new work experience place they offered. Under a £2 billion scheme, householders would be given two-thirds of the cost of energy-saving work such as insulation, up
Letters: Why Hugh Dowding deserves a statue
Police relations Sir: As a former Met Police officer, with a similar background to Kevin Hurley, I was surprised how much I disagreed with his article (‘Cop out’, 27 June). Central to this was the lack of emphasis he placed on the attitude of police officers. The emphasis on violent gang crime undoubtedly leads to
At last, we have a foreign secretary who’s not shy to make a stand
It is hardly a profound observation to say that the government has not functioned as well as it might have done for the past few months. Yet there is one important exception to the general picture of confused and counterproductive activity. Britain, for the first time in years, is developing a logical and — to
2462: Over and Out? solution
The seventeen entries clued by definition only required removal of the abbreviation BR ( = Britain), in keeping with the highlighted ‘BREXIT POLICY’. First prize Elizabeth Hogg, London SW13Runners-up Peter Moody, Portchester, Hampshire; J. Anson, Birmingham
What are online shoppers most likely to snap up?
Price of protest Greenpeace was fined £80,000 for defying a court order and occupying an oil rig in the North Sea. What else have protestors been fined for in Britain in recent times? £750 for spray-painting a war memorial in Whitehall in a climate change protest. £430 for spraying slogans on a pavement against Barclays,
Thursday
The danger of the Facebook boycotts
The printed press is not a natural ally of Facebook. Silicon Valley publishers have hoovered up so much advertising that they are seen by newspapers as a mortal enemy. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has ended up with more power over people’s attention than any press mogul. A slight change in his algorithms can direct millions
Leicester has a history of lockdowns
Leicester lockdowns Leicester was forced to impose the first local lockdown, in response to a reported surge in cases of coronavirus. — The city was last locked down from the rest of the country on 30 May 1645, when a 10,000-strong royalist force led by Prince Rupert and Charles I himself besieged the town and
Portrait of the week: Boris does press-ups, pubs reopen and Leicester locks down
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, said he was ‘as fit as a butcher’s dog’ and did press-ups to prove it, as he announced infrastructure initiatives to counter the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus outbreak. With a slogan ‘Build, build, build’, he made a speech in Dudley promising £1.5 billion for hospital improvements
Letters: Police must focus on deterring crime, not responding to it
Deterring crime Sir: Rod Liddle is right to highlight the politicisation of the police as a source of their inadequacies, but I think he misses the crucial point (‘Defund the police’, 27 June). We simply do not have bobbies on the beat to even feel sympathy for, and this means that constructive relationships between a
2461: Hot off? solution
The unclued lights include the name of a British daily newspaper; 3/26A, 9/35, 12, 24, 28/31D and 34/21. First prize Susan Hay, Old Perton, Staffs Runners-up Alison Gillam, Knotty Green, Bucks; Laurence Pearce, Lympstone, Devon
Thursday
Portrait of the week: Lockdown eases, debt rises and three killed in Reading
Home Pubs in England would be allowed to reopen for table service from 4 July, Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, told the Commons, his words being met by an exclamation from one MP of ‘Hallelujah’. But drinkers would be expected to supply names and addresses before being served. Restaurants, museums, galleries, cinemas, hotels and hairdressers
Britain is reopening. Now it needs rebuilding
The Prime Minister’s announcement that pubs, restaurants and many other facilities will be able to re-open on 4 July amounts to a significant and welcome easing of lockdown. As this magazine hoped, the Prime Minister has taken back control from the scientific advisers — who have been unable to resolve their lively disagreements — and
Which former prime minister earns the most for corporate speeches?
Voyage into history How did the Labour government respond to the arrival of the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948? While the ship was at sea, Prime Minister Clement Attlee tried but failed to have it diverted to East Africa so that its passengers could work on the groundnut scheme. He later wrote to concerned