Bad publicity Why do the famous pay people to make them even more famous? CAROL SARLER hatever calamitous infelicities David Beckham did or did not email to his publicist, few will doubt that he has lived to rue the day. Nev ertheless, bet teeth that he is pointing his suing in the wrong direction: that he is tor- ‘mented by the moment he pressed 'send’ — but not similarly kicking himself for hiring ‘a publicist in the first place. It will be left to thee and me to wonder what was the point ‘When you are already richer than God, you are one of the sporting legends of your gen- eration and your face would be recognised by a yeti in the wastes of Siberia — why might you ever want to fork out gazillions toa man who describes himself as ‘manag. 12 David Beckham's global communica tions strategy’, which translates as ‘making him even more famous"? ‘The stricken foothaller is not alone. Prac- titioners of these dark arts are now a sine qua non for everyone from the wannabe to the more established twinkles in the galaxy. One editor of a magazine that specialises in entertainment and celebrities estimates that 85 per cent of those who grace his pages dance to the tune of their personal publicist. He is incredulous when I promise him that it was not always so; that itis in fact, very recent phenomenon, Twenty years ago, at the behest of the Sunday Times, I went to interview Carrie Fisher, armed only with her home address and telephone number, in case I got lost. 1 found her in her garden, pushing her daugh- ter Billie on a swing. I then joined them for Billie's bedtime songs before Fisher and Isat fon the floor by a big log fire, drank far too wine and talked until midnight. Just before [toppled into a taxi, we agreed which bits I would not print. The next day I wrote a warm piece about a remarkable woman, without mentioning the... well, never you mind... and it was job done, exactly asit was after several days spent with Arianna Stassi nopoulos and Sonny Bono. ‘Only two decades on, could it hap- pen now? ‘Inconceivable, says my young- er editor friend, Today, the personal publicist will allow a maximum of 45 min- tutes and choose the anonymous venue = probably @ hotel room. He or she might stipulate limits on the questions, demand to approve the finished piece and will probably sit in on the interview to ward off conversational intimacy. Should it be a TV talk show, the grip will be even tighter Make no mistake: the personal publicist has nothing in common with the traditional PR machine that has always played midwife to the launch of a book, play, film or sport- ing event. The machine concentrates on the project before the person:an interview with, say; the leading actor is only part and par- cel of the wider aim to nudge interest and consequently ticket sales. Few, indeed, hold the personal publicist in greater contempt than the more experienced public relations Max Clifford's discovery and exploitation of the niche was perniciously brilliane expert. ‘We don’t share the same DNA,’ sniffs one such. The personal publicist gives small damn for the bigger picture. Unlike an agent or manager, who works for a percent- age of earnings and thus is invested in the long-term success of the collective project, the personal publicist is paid a fee to con- centrate on the individual, even at a cost to the rest. The first personal publicist in Britain was probably the now-disgraced Max Clifford, whose discovery and exploitation of the niche was perniciously brilliant. Whether it \was with Bienvenida Buck, a courtesan who ached for what she always called ‘respect’, Antonia de Sancha, a spurned mistress who iched for revenge, or liltle ade Goody, who ached for some abstract notion of Fame, his ‘method was the same: he would arrange for them to be seen, constantly, on his avuneu- lar arm, He escorted each of them with the ‘Lets face tthe world is geting tobe amore dangerous place same self-righteous look of protective out rage that anybody might start nosing around his elient — and in the process ensured that they would ‘What was even cleverer, and has been emulated with varying degrees of success since, is that Max realised the importance of having the elient develop an emotional dependence on him. (Would you wish to have Max Clifford announce your death to the world? Such was her dependence that Jade Goody, poor child, apparently dic) His timing was perfect: just as the previous ‘must-have accessory — the psychotherapist ~ fell from vogue, along came the personal Publicist, who used the exaet opposite tech nique to reach the same goal of continuing reliance. The therapist’ trick was {0 assure the “talent” that they were truly messed up — but don't worry: stick with me and I'll ix it.The personal publicist assures that same, self-centred, insecure talent that they are brilliantThe best in the team. The starin the cast. The immortality for which you yearn is, just out of reach — but don’t worry: stick with me and I'l fix it. You deserve top bill: ing. You deserve recognition. You deserve a knighthood. Because you're worth it Of course,others are alienated along the way: the rest of the team, fellow east mem: bers, the constrained journalist. But that only draws the talent closer to the person ‘who promises to protect them from hostility Now,asis the way of celebrity, bauble envy has set in — ‘He's got one so I want one: and thus the personal publicist becomes the accoutrement de nos jours. Although older, wiser heads eschew him (Dames Maggie Smith and Judi Dench and Sir Anthony Hopkins do not boast a pub: licist among their professional entourages: did you think they would?),the younger and more gullible fall like ninepins to pay the most to people they need the least. Given that Andy Murray isthe world’s No.1 tennis player and current Olympic champion not to mention so free of scandal that there is not even a need for ‘risis management — one might imagine that sponsorship from makers of plimsolls would follow without Any assistance beyond that of a compet agent. Yet Murray has a personal publi heavens, Mum should know better In the scheme of things, it probably doesn't much matter. Certainly the public is lied to a bit more often as a result of the stunts — but we are used to that, and the lies pertain largely to those of little conse- quence. All the same, Ido feel rather sorry {or the none-too-bright fame junkies who, like as not,end badly from the deal. ‘Afier al, where is Bienvenida now? Or Antonia? And David Beckham might reflect that had he not hired someone whom he believed he could so enthusiasti- cally conspire to get a gong, he might act: have got one. st ‘Mt spectatoR | 18 FEBRUARY 2017 | WWWSPECTATOR COU| Could some of your investments be working harder? CITYThe lure of the abyss Prisoners want to reform, but it’s hard DAVID ADAMS back in prison, Each day the mail comes down to the wing in a pouch, and the Office is closed while the staff sort through it,marking a board next to the name of each Icky recipient. When a board is put out, we all have a look, playing it easual but really hoping for a letter, a card, few quid; any- thing provides a bit of interest, and the feel: ing that someone, somewhere has thought of you. It’s nice. Usually it’s nice, but not this time. I knew the handwriting straight away, because health problems that affect his coordination have left Steve with, shall ‘we say, a distinctive script. | opened the let- ter, and saw the printed header, with the address of a prison in Yorkshire. They say you don’t have mates in pris- oon, just jal friends. I's not true, not at al. In extreme environments, when you realy click with someone, and also find unconditional acceptance and trust, deep and lasting bonds are forged. Steve and I built such a bond serving yearsin high security together. When [came to HMP Grendon — a unique pris- ‘on, run entirely as a therapeutic community for men who want to take full responsibility for their offences and work intensively on their rehabilitation — he was already here, and our friendship developed still further, We supported each other through a sincere effort to make real changes to our beliefs, attitudes and behaviours, and I hon- estly thought he'd cracked it, He did eight years of an IPP (an indeterminate sen: tence, for the public’s protection), includ- ing four years at Grendon. He worked hard to understand his life and his offences, and the prolific drug use that lay at the heart of it all, and earned an expensive place at the residential drug rehab to which he was paroled. Yet here he is writing to me froma prison to say it’s all gone wrong. No specif- ics, just apologies, on a page saturated with shame and defeat ‘According to the prison grapevine, with- in weeks of leaving rehab, he was back on the erack cocaine, and committing burgla- ries. Stories such as Steve's are all too com- mon, but each time it happens it brings up lots of questions for those of us still in jail, trying to make changes and trying to have faith in the future. It is not easy for a man to believe he can get out and live a stable, pro-social life, and be an asset to the community for ps 1 sad letter this week: Steve is the rest of his days, when all the evidence Of the past suggests otherwise, How much can we really change? Is there a germ of self-destruction and destruction in some ‘of us that does not respond to.even the most intensive rehabilitation? How and why people stop committing crime has been the subject of much study, and it seems that certain factors give peo- ple a better chance: accommodation, finan- ial aid, family support, and insight into their offending, However, for some people, these do not seem to be enough. All the support in the world cannot save a man hellbent on seeking oblivion, a man who cannot resist the siren call of the abyss. The deep, secret dread that many of uscarry gnaws at us with the question:"Am I one of those? Will that be ‘me?’ Itis the fear that the future will never bbe much different from the past and that our lives will be unstable and dysfunctional, on and off, from the cradle to the grave. However confident our public proclama- tions, however well developed our resettle Believe it or not, in their heart, everyone in prison wants to be a good person and live decently ‘ment plan, or our relapse-prevention work, We all know that a massive challenge lies ahead. Core beliefs about ourselves, other people and the world around us are formed over decades It takes time to cultivate new hhabits, and those old defaults are there, wat ing. In moments of vulnerability, we revert to what we know: that which is most familiar feels right, even when it’s wrong. tis important for us to remember that not all of the news is bad. The success stories are less often told because we don't get to hear about them, but there are those who leave prison, lessons learned, and never go back. Believe it or not, in their heart, every ‘one in prison wants to be a good person and live decently. You may doubt that, but I have lived among — and as one of — those deemed society's worst for a long time, and Tam sure of it. Itis difficult to change but it can be done, Positivity is required, but right now it is hard to feel that way, Today, I'm just sad about my friend Steve, David Adams and Steve are aliases. The writer is a prisoner serving a life sentence ‘at HMP Grendon. Iie peCtATOR!9 SEFTEMER 2017 |WHWSPECTATOR.COLK AROMETER ‘More or less a million ‘One in 79 Britons is now a millionaire thanks to property price rises The words first recorded in 1821, when £1 million was ‘worth £100 million now. More modern-day values of millionaire £24 million: 1956, when Cole Forter's song Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”. featured inthe film High Society. £20 million: 1962, when the Glaswegian song’ Ma Maw'sa Millionaire’ was recorded, £7.8 milion: 1975, when Dr Hook released their song: The Millionaire’ £1.7 million 1998, when Who Wants to Be ‘a Millionaire? began on British television, Bigger bangs ‘ANorth Korean nuclear test was estimated fs the equivalent of 0,000 tonnes of TNT. How does that compare historically? Little Boy: Hiroshima bomb on 6 August 1945... 15,000 tonnes TNT. Fat Man: Nagasaki bomb three days later...._20,000 tonnes Grapple ¥: Largest UK N-test, April 1958 near Christmas Island —..3 milion tonnes Test Number 6: China's largest test, Xinjiang, June 1967......23 million tonnes Castle Bravo: largest US test. near Bikini Atoll, Match 1954 on 1S million tonnes ‘Tear Bomba: Soviet test in October 1961 at Mityushikha Bay, Siberia; still the world’s largest nuclear blast...50 million tonnes Born three “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their third child. How unusual are third children? In 2012,47 percent of parents had one child, 39 per cent had two and 14 per cent three, but with wide regional variations inthe proportion with three or more. ‘Tower Hamlets 28.4% Newham. 24.7% Hackney, 22.8% City of London. Isles of Scily 97% North Tyneside. Source: ONS Industrial inaction ‘MeDonald’s workers in Cambridge and Catford went on strike, first for the company in Britain. Which industries are ‘most and least prone to industrial action?” [MOST WORKING DAYS LOST PER 1,000 STAFF Education 39 ‘Transport/storage. 35 Healthsocial work 33 Financial a) Construction... 1 Wholesale/retal med Source: ONSLARA PRENDERGAST. The sinister power of family courts Us ight hat some chien ave taken Avesta lyme Smite toddler tho sasslamped to ea by her vent young mother in 2014, She was known to social | services for all of her short life, from the point when her pregnant mother was found | ls This week, serious case review found that social workers ‘missed the danger signs’ Danger signs. A nebulous phrase with ‘numerous interpretations In tragic cases like this one, the danger signs are ignored, possi ngina garage, but she was never removed. | bly because it is tempting for social work- ers to avoid dealing with the most aggressive and confrontational families. Because of the strict secrecy surrounding family courts itis ‘often only when these cases arrive in a erimi- nal court that we get a glimpse of how badly some children are let down, But there's another risk: the opposite side to Ayeeshia. Jayne’s story. Should social workers choose to sce ‘danger signs’ in the wrong places, it's all too easy for children to be taken away from perfectly functional homes. Last year I wrote a Spectator piece about women with postnatal depression who were made to feel at risk of having their children removed. This common condition seemed to have become a new ‘danger sign’, After- wards I received a number of emails from readers whose families had, for various reasons, been broken apart in the courts. ‘They knew that discussing their stories was risky, ut they chose to anyway One letter came from a university- educated professional couple. The wife had | been ill to the point where she could barely get out of bed, but officials would not believe that the husband would be able to look after their child while she recovered. Social ser- vices were in the process of trying to remove and rehouse the child via a court order. Another message came from a woman whose ex-husband was a banker. He had been abusive towards her, she said, yet her decision to leave her marriage had been used in court against her asa way of arguing that she was not fit to care for her child. She did not have enough money for an appeal and her ex could afford to spend more on better lawyers When we met, she sobbed as she told me that her bitter advice to other PECTATOR | 9 SEPTESBER 2017 | WWW-SPECTATOR CO.UK women in similar situations was to ‘never leave your husband, no matter how abusive, | of the individuals concerned, but also to con: because it puts you at risk of losing your | ceal their own verdict. Assuch, family courts childrer ‘can be sinister places where cruel decisions One of the most upsetting letters came | are made. An obviously unfair decision will from a woman with autism. After the birth | not necessarily generate a public outery, of her baby, social services had passed | because often the public cannot know. mother and child round various hospitals Louise Tickle, an experienced family to'monitor her parenting skills Eventually _ court reporter, recently described how hard they concluded that her child needed to | it can be to write about what goes on at a be taken away. What gives social services | hearing, even when it becomes clear that the right to scrutinise, judge or intimidate | mistakes have been made or the outcome is parents who have disabilities, impairments | unjust. If journalists are allowed in to court, or illness?" she asked, And ‘why are they | the judge ean usually decide what they can or allowed to remove children in such an | cannot report. Because of reporting restric~ uunderhand and secretive way, and the par- | tions on saying what really happens in family ents are powerless to stop it?” courts — pretty much the only place where T do not know the answers, but I know — poor social work practice visibly plays out ~ that even asking such questions will result in _ it has been impossible to explain the many failures in all their shocking detail’ she said. ‘A few of the parents who wrote to me | said that they felt their cases weren't held to the same standards as a criminal trial ~ ‘and yet having a child removed is one of the hharshest sentences possible, There is indeed a different standard of proof: in family courts, a dispute must be proved by the*bal- ance of probabilities’ rather than beyond reasonable doubt. There is also no jury — only a judge. Sir James Munby, Britain’s most sen- ior family judge, has long argued for more transparency. ‘Freedom of speech is not something to be awarded to those who are thought deserving and denied to those who are thought undeserving, he said. This view thas always come up against much resistance from his own profession, who are under- standably wary of the glare of the press ‘The readers who contacted me have one thing in common: they have discovered how frightening it is to find your family tangled upin this system. I wasnot privy to the court | proceedings in the above three cases, so Ido not know precisely what happened. Even if I did, | probably wouldn't be allowed to write about it. But I do not get the impres- sion that these people are monsters. They seem to me to be decent people who ha discovered to their despair quite how much power the state can wield when on the hunt for'danger signs’. Behind closed doors their families have been ripped to pieces. withhold information not just for the good An obviously unjust decision will not generate a public outcry, because often the public cannot know a flurry of correspondence from judges a legal experts who will tell me that the family courts must remain private — they blanch at the word ‘secret’ — to protect the child and the family. I understand that. But from the letters I received, I also sense how terrifying it must be to find oneself caught up in this, with the full force of the state telling you what's best for your family We all know why family courts are shielded from media or public scrutiny. But that lack of transparency can often lead to abuse of power. Judges in family courts can 2It’s got to be perfect Let’s keep the word for the things that truly deserve it LAURA FREEMAN hen [order a cup of tea in Costa the barista says: Perfect!” ask for tap water ina restaurant:*Per fect!" I buy a card in Paperchase and at the tills Perfect!” And:*Perfect! again as | put in my PIN.“Perfect!” when Isay Idon't need a bag. It used to be ‘Great!’ and even that as Loo ecstatic a response to a side-order of creamed spinach. Now, there's been a ser- vice industry upgrade. No longer is the cus tomer always right; they are perfect. A litle thing, yes, but a symptom of a wider m for perfection, Everything from breakfast ‘muesli to career, home and family must be perfect. Perfect interiors. The perfect diet A perfect body. Pretty, perky, perfect chil- dren in pressed pinafores and collared shirts. Itis driven in part by magazines — “Per- fect profiteroles!' “Perfect bikinis for every figure!’ — in part by social media. Not- uite-perfect photos are filtered and fiddled With until they are perfect enough for post- ing on Instagram as proof of an ideal life It can be pernicious, Friends are made miserable in the run-up to their weddings by bridal-shop shysters selling the myth of Your Perfect Day. Without these sugared almonds (£100), those white hydrangeas in cut erys- tal vases (£1,000), and that society photog rapher (price on application), the Happiest Day of Your Life will fall short of the perfect ‘mark, And that, naturally, scuppersany hope of a Perfect Marriage. The bride is a gibber ing wreck because she didn't.in the end, buy a blue satin garter ribbon, and has there- fore failed as the dream dress-up bride, The groom makes a toast tomy perfect, beaut {ul wife’ though all the guests know they've fought tooth and claw over the table plan since the engagement It doesn’t end there. Next is the Perfect Pregnaney inspired by earth-mother blogs and photographs of Sydney surfer girls who are out on their boards well into the third trimester. The mother-to-be asks her- self why she isn’t serene and barefoot on a beach, but swaying on the train from High ‘Wycombe to Marylebone in the rush hour Then, the Perfect Birth, She has practised her pregnancy yoga, her calming breaths, ‘The birthing bath is blown up, the massage oils uncapped. She has read the California ‘mom-and-baby sites that promise a pain- free, blissed-out birth and*bondedness’ with their breastfed baby. Despair when it doesn’t go to plan. A friend was wretched when her *holistie’ birth (gentle stretching, deep-breathing, lavender pillows) ended in an emergency Caesarean. But I wanted it to be perfect. she said a week later, sleep-deprived and stitehed-up. No matter that the baby came ‘out in one piece — the experience wasn't as the blogs had said. If only someone had told her:*Brace yourself” That would have been kinder than selling her a pseudo-science fairy-tale. If only someone had said: ‘It'll be awful, but you'll have a nice baby at the end of it’ Notice I say a nice baby, not a perfect one. Asa recovering addict of American hos pital telly dramas, Thave seen 100 traumatic, cliffhanging births that end with the doctor aying the baby — whose life looked so frag- ile just before the ad break — in the arms Of his mother with the words:‘He’s perfect.” He isn't, of course. No child could be. He'll be colicky and fussy, he'll make unsuitable No longer s the customer always right; they are perfect. A litle thing, 9¢s, but a symprom of a wider mania friends, play truant, leave his socks on the stairs, and be maddening, loveable, impossi- ble and joyous in equal measure, Not per- fect, hough. Don’t start them on the perfect rot before they've even started teething. Perfect” used to be a mark of moral or spiritual virtue, God was perfect; we did our best. It applied to noble sentiments: a deep affection and loyalty to one’s King, Queen, ‘Church and Country as in ‘I vow to thee, my ‘country.all earthly things above/ Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love.” Now it’s been degraded to apply to Victoria sponges on The Great British Bake Off - that’s a perfect bake” — and to the perfect froth on top of a latte. ve just re-read HE, Bates’s The Darling Buds of May and been reminded of Pop Lar- kin’s ‘Perfick!” His is not a prim, aesthetic, photogenic perfection, but a pleasing, ram shackle one, Perfick is blue skies and sun- bburnt necks, scrap piled inthe farmyard and «glimpse of Ma's plump calves as she stirs apple sauce on the stove. Perfick is tomato ketchup with absolutely everything. A sunny day's good enough for the likes of him. Pop's version of Perfick is liberating after the restrictive, neurotic perfection of clean and curated lifestyles. Keep ‘perfect’ for the big stu"good enough’ will do forthe rest. | ANCIENT AND MODERN Death and childhood ChattieGard fs ncurably brain-damaged, blind deaf, cannot ery. and eanno! move or breathe without help. At the request of his parents he has been kept alive in hope ofa minimal improvement. Ancients did not feel about abies aswe do. About onein three died | within a month, and about half by the age of ive. Putting disabled babies Cut to die was probably common ‘There are about $8.00 inscriptions con tombstones rlerring to-ages at death, yet only a handful relate to those under six months. Few ancient authors describe babies behaving lke babies: indeed, Latin had no specific word fo baby. Cicero remarked that nature granted life on the same terms asone accepted a loan, and nature ‘would call that loan in whenever it felt ke it Ifa small eild died.it must be endured unemotionaly: if a child was still nthe erale,"one must not even express regret’, however ‘eruel nature had been, Cicero added. Personal grief is, of course, evident in our sources, but one could always haye another one The satirical poet Juvenal,in full moralistic mode, pat his finger on the point:"Providing the populace land the state with a citizen will be appreciated, on condition that he is actizen with the right qualities — ood a farming, and someone who can do the business in peace and war. Alof which, he went On, would be ‘mater of the moral and practical training he received from the cradle ‘This sentiment emphasised the funetional view that Romans publily 100k of children."Look tothe finished product’ was the Romans’ attitude: the sooner the child grew up. the better. Epitaphs of youngsters und tconagers regulary praised them for behaving ike adulisin the making. ‘Our children and grandchildren fare more precious to us than anything tse on earth. Noone would want to bein the situation of Charlie Gard’s parents. But ultimately parents in this situation must ask themselves in whose interests thet child is being Kepralive, and for whose sake. Ist really he child's? Andifso,to what | end forthe child? = Peter Jones Ie specrarox 22 Ly 2017 | www.sPrcrsroR.COUXROD LIDDLE. My fears about the new ‘extremism commission’ he Egyptian-born Muslim clerie l Yusul al-Oaradawi was once invited to speak in this country — and the row which developed as a consequene both entertaining and instructive. Man ple said he shouldn’t be given a visa because | Of his extremism’. Others, such as the main: stream UK Muslim organisations, insisted | ‘that this was a libellous description and that Oaradawi was a moderate who had always favoured dialogue with people of other faiths; Ken Livingstone went further and described him as being a “leading progres- sive voice" within Islam. ‘So who was right? On the one hand it is true that the Qutar-based Oaradawi has been opposed to jihadi terrorist attacks — unless they take place against Jewsand then | it'snot, according to him, terrorism, He does ‘not have much time for Jews.once refusing 10 | tend a meeting with them because: "The! hands are soiled with blood. They have mur derous, violent and oppressive hands, I car: not soil my hands by shaking theirs. He has | so quoted approvingly from the fraudulent Protocols of the Elders of Zion. He believes. | apostates in some circumstances should be put to death, and homosexuals subjected to the lash, that women who have been raped ‘must *prove their virtue” in order to escape punishment, and that uppity women can be beaten by their husbands, but only as a last resort, The answer, then, would seem to be that both sides were right. Within thy ‘world of Islam, Qaradawi is indeed a moder- | ate and relatively pacific voice. And yet his views seen from over here, would appear to be those of a bigoted, foaming maniac. There are two points to draw from this. First that many people inthis country delude themselves about the Islamic world and its fervent hatred for Jewish people, its subju- gation of women and gays. its viciousness in dealing with those who renounce the faith tte. And second, that the term ‘extremist’ is not only stupid and virtually meaning bbut endlessly contingent. Who has the right to decide what isan extreme view and what isn't? Nick Clegg or Yusuf al-Qaradawi? Thave mentioned Qaradaw's visit before because it was a beautiful example of liberal delusion being smacked in the face by the real world, I mention it again now because TH svecentom | 22 hy 2017 | wwWSMECTATOR.COLK the government is setting up something, called an “extremism commission’, which it intends will root out ‘extremism’ and, in the hideous vernacular of our time, build part nerships with those opposed to extremism’. My suspicion is that this is every bit as Orwellian as it sounds, Do not for a nano. second swallow the notion that this com. mission of well-brought-up liberal grandees will confine themselves to rooting out peo ple (imported into this country or born here from people imported into this country) who wish to kill us all. A slightly warped sense of “fair play” and the mental sbrickings of the left will ensure they broaden their scope. No, they will tellus, with great pride, we are not merely picking on Muslims. We are on the ‘The term ‘extremist is not only stupid and virtually meaningless, but also endlessly contingent warpath against all extremism and, since you asked, we will decide what extremis Already a little worried by the whole business, the Evangelical Alliance commis- sioned an opinion poll from ComRes about this strange and ephemeral thing, extrem- ism. The first thing they found was that very clear majority of the British people thought pretty much as I suggested above that labelling something or someone extremist was stupid and, when it comes to framing debates, not helpful’. But the poll- sters also asked people a whole bunch of political questions and asked them to adju- dicate on whether they were ‘extremist’ or not. So, for example, 36 per cent said that wishing (o leave the European Union was ‘extremist’. On what we might call the other The conclusions are so obvious ‘aman could have draw ther side of the coin, some 40 per cent reckoned it was ‘extremist’ to believe in the idea of man-made climate ehan} Inother words both halves ofthe country believe that the other half is‘extremist’. And yet of course the word is simply an insult to be flung at someone whose views we hate ‘or despise. We live in a narcissistic society. and for the narcissist, any form of criticism ‘of their political position is*hate speak’ and ‘extremism’. But they are neither of those things: they are simply opposing views. will bet that quite a few things in which believe — and probably what the Evan: gelical Alliance believes too — would be deemed ‘extremist’ by this extremism com: mission, For example. think itis best that children are brought up by a mother and 1 father, both of whom subscribe to the undoubtedly faseistic genetic derogation they were assigned at birth. [also believe that men who transition into being wome {in almost all eases — not authentic | women, That suspect, would be considered extremist’, despite the fact that I have sci- | ence on my side. ust as do those who believe in man-made climate change, | would con- | tend. I have no problem with eivil partner ships but I do not think that my church | should sanction gay marriage — again nist. And soon, The reason for this poll is the Evangeli cal Alliance is worried Christians will start getting hammered again. They believe the Tiberals will use this ominous commission to ‘outlaw a fairly large proportion of what they believe in (and indeed, what the Bible tells them to believe in). That the stranglehold which the middle-class liberal ete have over ourculture and society — without having any- thing close to hegemony — willbe tightened still further, and their views marginalised or even criminalised, And! the excuse given will be they are trying to stop us being blown wp. or stabbed to death on London Bridge. That's my worry too — that in order to pl sensitivities of the adherents of a re imported culture, the beliefs of indigenous people will be proscribed. When there is not the remotest comparison between them. ext ‘SPECTATOR.CO.UK/RODLIDDLE | The argument continues onlineBeyond the pale China's casual racism is shocking CAROLA BINNEY ctling off to spend a y 1 province I expected plenty of surprises. But what struck me most was Something they tend not (0 tell you about in the JF teaching south: idebooks: the racism, Ii started when T went around the elas room, asking pupils which city they were from. When I got toaslightly darker-skinned bboy; his classmates thought it was hilarious to shout Africal’ I's a theme. A gitl with a similar complexion was taunted with mon: key sounds; her peers refused to sit next to her, saying she smelt bad. I apparently erred showed when, teaching the word for wife ‘my students a pieture of Michelle Obama. The image of the then First Lady was greet- ed with exaggerated sounds of repulsion: So ugly?” they said So black! Such comments would have been treat ced harshly in a British classroom a quarter century ago, let alone today. But my own rotestations were met with conlused faces Pmerstalen that they disappointed thei teacher, but elucless as to the nature of their mistake. And this stretches far beyond the classroom, To many Chinese, ideas about racial hierarchies are not outdated anathema bbut unquestioned belief In Britain, politician who uses ad idiom like ‘nigger in the woodpile” loses th whip. In China, racism isa standard under current of publie debate. A few months ago, Pan Oinglin, a Tianjin politician, announced to reporters that he had found out how to ‘solve the problem of the black population in Guangdong’ — a province with a sm Amount of African migration, Warning that salt the new arrivals brought drugs, sexual and infectious diseases. he urged local poly: makers to tighten controls to prevent China wy ind-yellow country The Chinese don't make a big deal about their racism: it’s so commonplace it ean scem almost cheerful. An advert for a deter gent shows a black man chatting up a Chi: nese woman, only for her to shove him in the washing machine until he emerges. fair: skinned Asian. The advert aired for months before it was picked up by an English-lan- ning “Irom a yellow country t0 a guage website and caused uproar. The company, Qiaobi, apologised — 10 its non. customers. Its analogy of lack skin and ditty laundry made perteet sense to the Chinese, Chinese racism is, in part, the extension ofa long-standing association of wealth and pale skin: @ near-universal construct that is particularly acute in a country that was for centuries ruled by various subseetions ofits pallid northern population, The history of China is also the history of proud isolationism: it has been keeping outsiders outside for generations. China was long the most developed eountry in Asia, and just ay the Greeks stigmatised their neigh hours as barbarians, the Chinese seorned theirs The turn of the 20th century brought the grudging acknowledgement of western technological superiority, and with ita shift from the general policy of viewing all for- ners as inferior: an exception was made for westerners Theracism begins with the assumption that all westerners are white. In the words of my black € are pron neroonian colleague, the Chinese to think that all blacks are from The Chinese don't make a big deal about their racism, whichis so commonplace it seems almost cheerful Arica, and everyone in Africa has AIDS The notion of a black Briton is puzzling en to be Chinese is to be Han and vice versa: the Party believes itself to be the legit- imate government not just of all the Han in China, but everywhere else as well. In 2015, five Hong Kong-based Han booksellers were arrested for allegedly selling seditious works, (One man was. British citizen and another a Swede, but their foreign passports did noth iin the government's eyes, o counteract their Chinese blood: both men were deni ‘Are you sure these North ‘Korean exgsare safe? consular support. The Swede announced on state television, probably under duress that “Truly feel that Lam still Chinese Conversely.a non-Han Chinese personis considered a contradiction in term and the Chinese apply the same logic tothe citizens ‘of other countries. When I showed my elas !my own school photograph, Texpected them to remark on how terrible my hair looked lostead, their first response was “Why are there those black girls in England China's government says itis ‘a u multiethnic country’ 1 is not. To a Br appears astonishingly ethnical Iyhomogencous:the Flan ethnic proup mike up 82 per cent of the population, but walk the streets of almost any city an! you'll wom der where the other 8 per cent are hidiNe The answer is: in ethnie minority enclaves on the fringes of some of the country’s poo" €st provinees. China has almost no citizea of non-Chinese descent: it is extremely d ficult for expats to secure Chinese cite ship.so most are fored to leave as s001 3 their employment visas expire, China's NO Han residents are members the eount®Y indigenous minorities, who are almost alW¥S darkerskinned than their Han neighbour Treated variously as a security risk 88 purveyors of quaint cultural curiosities China's minorities have been left behind PY the economic progress of the last hall C2 tury, Most work in the fick. and ni fied ish employment performing folk dances to Hil tourists, One study fours und that the per &4P Han and minor’ almost 17 percentage wl 1995, when the CRE nese eon an to skyrocket, While jneidence of poverty in China has decreas" bya i “dropping ® per cent in the past 42 years-almost half of those still ving 00 HESS than S10 per day reside minora enV When development docs come. it ‘often seen as centr imposed Sinica bctan children spe in the artest of those wh > joel har ho promote the teneuoge: The approach to mines 72 and contradiny mon minority citizens as their fellow cau!” ren. but still maintain that Beijing f* My time in Points between 1988 an ese economy bev Efforts to ensure that lan Chinese dO" classroom did * % Of an enlightened nest 2 be larting che azn tht I av iolse the Atvicant Amen tak ball star Kobe Br s of him festooned ‘American basket poste! at for instance, 1 China wana ean a a replacing America ag thee eS looks up to, it will 0. problem. is an issue which fuels unte™ lamages the coun Jinping nese drean PIM has talked about a "CP fmee, no rac, 1 * HOPE it exports 1H? y’sreputati 2017 www.specraton.CO cauANY OTHER BUSINESS | MARTIN VANDER WEYER Forget London’s ramshackle Garden Bridge: bring on Nine Elms-to-Pimlico instead can’t work up much indignation at the collapse of London's Garden Bridge project, which has been strangled by the varantee I Fefusal of mayor Sadiq Khan to its continuing operational and maintenance ceosts — assuming its trustees led by former banker and minister Lord Davies of Aber soch, would have succeeded in raising the £150 million of private capital required (© build the bridge and plant its 270 trees in the first place. Promoted by Joanna Lumley and Sadiq’s predecessor Boris Johnson, this ‘was a beautiful but whimsieal idea, placed in an overcrowded stretch of the Thames and hhased on a ramshackle business plan. In & more confident economic climate it might have gone ahead and given us pleasure bout it has been done for by a combination of funding uncertainty and a London Labour ‘conspiracy (Dame Margaret Hodge in the thick of it) to demolish every vestige of Boris’ reputation. n killing the bridge, they have notched up double success by erying seandal over its alleged £37 million of pre liminary spending from public funds. Meanwhile, more promising is a pro: posed £40 million pedestrian and eycle trossing from Nine Elms to Pimlico. The horough of Wandsworth and its many apart to see it ment-scheme developers are kee happen, while some residents of Pimlico are vociferously opposed. Should this column he for or against? As one angry Pimlico ‘dweller reminds me, in that longitude of the capital I probably have more readers north of the river than south, But I'ma sucker for an elegant grand projet — the design is by a Danish architect, Erik Bystrup — and this ‘one is relatively cheap and surely good for (h and social cohesion: so T'll stick my ‘out and say bring it on. Adieu, Lovefilm (On the other hand, I really do regret the passing of the Lovefilm DVD-rental-by- post service, which will be terminated by its ‘owner Amazon on 31 October. For its afi cionados, this was a superior and discerning, way of catching up with films and televi sion series you had otherwise missed, just | as dedicated music buffs prefer the para. phernalia of old vinyl to the convenience | of downloads, Over the years, Lovefilm has kept my rural postmen in work by sending ‘me almost 200 dises, including the entirety of Homeland, House of Cards and the grip- ping French police series Spiral. Late adop- er that Lam, Ill now have to grapple with but I shall miss the familiar DVD routine and probably never see the ‘most recherche films on my rental wish-list More significantly, Lovefilm was a useful case study of the life eyele of tech ventures — in this case, 15 years from end to end, In the early 2000s, a clutch of online DVD. rental firms sprang up in the UK and began progressively swallowing each other up. By 2006, there were two competing survivors, Lovetilm and SereenSelect. They merged and were then bold or foolhardy enough to buy Amazon's DVD rental business and allow Amazon in return to become their largest shareholder, with 32 per cent, In 2011 the online giant took full ownership, passing some tens of millions that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (at $90 billion and counting) ‘won't miss to the British venturers behind Lovetilm and its predecessors. Amazon then set about converting Lovefilm’s cus- tomers to streaming, as well ay selling them everything else under the sun. "The days of the DVD service — with its physical stock, warehouse worklorce and postal costs were clearly numbered Now demand for it has withered and Amazon says it will pass the DVD stock to “our charity partners’ — boosting high street charity shops that are eating the livelihoods Of the remaining small retailers who try to compete against Amazon, Wouldn't it be better ifthe stock were offered to specialist entrepreneurs, akin to the lively community ‘of secondhand booksellers which is Ama: zon’s happiest unintended consequence, so that the service could continue for those who value it? I might become a back-bed: room renter of French cinema classes Lend carefully The core consumer price index of inflation held unexpectedly steady at 2.6 per cent in July, further removing any possibility of an interest-rate rise this year. So what's the downside? My eye is drawn to a bulletin from Nationwide, the UK's most sensible ‘mortgage lender, H reports fallin quarterly profits after a rise in bad debts to £36 mil: lion from £16 million for the same period last year — small numbers but a significant trond — and its chief exceutive Joe Garner warns the sector to balance its lending care: fully’ as cheap-rate consumer credit con: tinues to balloon while growth prospects, decline, Pd say he’s right on the money. Sugared words ‘What news from La France profonde? Pres: ident Maeron’s approval rating fell again th week, making him even less popular a 100 days in office thaw his footling socialist predecessor. But in my neck of the woods, talking politics: we're more excited ‘a performance in the marketplace at Monpavier of Shakespeare's Richard IIT by the Antic Disposition company, which is the UK's best export to south-west France at this time of year. The programme notes offer 1 Brexit-related warning against unscrupu lous leaders whose followers “attended to, their sugared words but looked not on the poison of their hearts’ the point underlined by presenting the opportunist Lord Mayor of London as a wigged and rosetted Boris. ‘You can eatch this production in Lon. ddon’s Temple Church from 22 August — and meanwhile, here’s my weekly value-for ‘money restaurant tip, also from Monpazier If you bought euros at €1.20 to the pound back in April, ease into the gastronomic “Menu Eleanore’ at the Hotel Edouard 1.1 you'reat the merey of rip-off exchange rates applied by credit-card companies (that’s another story), go for the excellent Formule Midi’ offered by Bistrot 2 round th at less than hall the price.BAROMETER Selfie-worth ‘The animal rights charity Peta dropped a case claiming that a macaque which took its own photo was entitled tothe royalties, after the photographer agreed to donate a quarter of the royalties to animal charities) The idea of animal property rights was advaneed by Australian philosopher John Hadley in the Journal of Social Philosophy Jn 2005, He suggested animals be granted rights over territories and human puardians ‘appointed to represent them in court, — There are issues still to he reconciled, however: what of non-teritorial animals, tnd those which dispute each other's territories? Would eats be expected to resolve differences in cout rather than yowling at each other? Smart money Apple introduced its Phone 8 at $1,000 (£760). Who owns a smartphone in the UK? 16-24 age group, 90% 25M, 87% 35-54 80% 55-64 50% 65 18% Source: Ofcom Baby booze ‘A Bristol University study analysing data {rom other research said there was litle cevdence that light drinking in pregnancy (up to four unitsa week) can damage a baby: How many women in various European countries drink duting pregnancy’? UK 28.5% Poland oo. 97% RUS 26.5% Sweden nT. 2% Switzetland...20,9% Norway... 41% Source: Nonesian Insite of Public Healt Universiy of Oso Tunnel visions The government published proposals fora 1.8mile tunnel near Stonehenge. This saga is almost as old asthe stones themselves 1993 John Major's government frst proposes tunnel for A30G. 1995 Conference of transport and heritage imerests urges 2.5-mile bored tunnel. Government proposes instead cheaper ‘cut and cover" tunnel 1999 Labour government drops the scheme on grounds of costs 2002 Government revives scheme, this time with 13-mile bored tunnel, 2004 £3 million inquiry approves scheme. 2005 It is dropped again on cost grounds 2006 New plans include possible bypass with a surface route to the north, 2007 Seheme dropped an ] 2013 George Osborne revives wane! plan ~ Ya Allah! Stop treating Arabic speakers like terrorists MICHAEL KARAM ast moh Lag Braga. them yelled fan Akbar (God's the arene) nso on abl toe she Sau by » police sipor A i anh you might thinks uti er how tk tot to we te welds ith mat apen Inguape in Enrope te anatase Anbicrame fr Cai Thre dye afer the London Bridge ata ive Mist women ace 2c muncy worker on Wanted ih Sirctin northeast London One of tet coleapuc old te Dal fl hy wer “Sanne the Oona ioking A Toute though may nll rong — tht thos coworer spoke rb alos wa lamar we ox oe the Ouran she ai sey se he more spec abou th content o he eg Tad woud ager breton en tone onthe Kner mp tay tym be lian Howat it uhat peopl forge ani hes tos hat Aah sno as many lve the Mush gu Alans rate for ie inoothest God an is ped bya Arb Sit Chis and ew Inco Rees Moga werea Lebanese Ca he woul ote dvs to Aa nd white rath may be he langue or Math et rer ta Tn invoke: or eons sr ha thepeaingot mayhem and eth Tipatatunese Marites bin Fast ern Catholic itu te anne A orb when we peak of Gad. do Thanos oer half doven oro ther Chin sce Artespeatnglows ep sialyihe Mizanicaaveuime Ne wily Mae anon ne wan Sree th and we mihi xm ish when we ce mon pore itr hy eda anda tndimesheiscred pep i nth ais omebingcatanc. Seo might Sry Alt oto cameramen the kilts wth ese es orate kT ng stun ge stam tt sin mens"Oh Gal, ‘an there et whol nf ways we couse ar bar at hse ay a more likely to get you escorted off a plane, or — if you're in Signor Brugnaro’s manor — shot dead by a Carabinieri marksman, But the phrase isin and of itself, harmless. Then there is bismillah (‘in the name of God’) and mashallah (God has willed it’. which is what I exclaimed to a Harrow-edu cated Iraqi friend when a pretty barmaid hove into view as I waited to be served in a pub in West Sussex the other week. Those of us who have another language 10 draw on should surely be forgiven, in our more puerile moments, for using it when we want to be discreet — but next to us, three men, waiting for refills instantly and noticeably tensed up. This wasn’t what they expected to hear in their local boozer, So we quickly reverted to foreign-looking, middl aged hoorays. Drama over: Later, in the dining room, my Tragi friend replied to something I said by saying ‘inshallah’, literally ‘God willing’, but basi cally ‘T hope so". The woman at an adjacent table turned to look at usasif someone had just let out an enormous burp. Inshallah is something of a throwaway word. It can be used sincerely as in“T hope T get that job’ or sarcastically asin *L won't hold my breath, It is not exclusive to the jihadist lexicon, So spare a thought for poor old Khairuldeen Makhzoomi, the Iraqi stu: dent [rom Berkeley, who was booted of Southwest Airlines plane in Los Angeles last year when a fellow passenger got spooked after hearing him end a phone call with inshallah It’s funny — and it’s not ~ this reflex terror of Arabic speakers. Last July Faizal Shaheen, psychotherapist rom Leeds, was detained by police at Doncaster Sheffield Airport (no,me neither) on her return from Turkey, The reason? A Thomson Airways. cabin-erew member had spotted her, two ‘weeks earlier on the outbound flight, read: ing Syria Speaks: Art and Culture from the Fronutine, published by the respected Lon ddon-hased Saqi Books. ‘What to do? A satirical online magazine, The National Profiler ~’Muslim news you can use" ~ recently created a spoof advert in which Southwest advertised "Arabic Select’, an upgrade for passengers who want to “fly with confidence knowing your langus: choices won't arouse suspicion that you're a terrorist’. I'S not an entirely badd idea, ra sercrson | 16 Serr MBER 2017 | WWW:SPECTATOR.COLUKANY OTHER BUSINESS | MARTIN VANDER WEYER The City still leads the financial world but faces a fight on all fronts hould we place faith in a survey, conducted in June but published this week, that says London is still the world’s pre-eminent financial centre? Yes, in the sense that no one challenges that long-standing claim as of today; no. in the sense that complacency would be a huge mistake while every financial firm operat ing in the City. the West End and Canary ‘Wharf is busy making contingeney plans for a bad Brexit outcome, The gist of the six-monthly Z/Yen “Global Financial Centres Index’ ~ which assesses 9 cities around the world, faking account of everything from telecoms infrastructure to homicide rates — isthat London has held its own at the top where it has always been, while Frankfurt has risen from 23rd to 11th place and improved its rating, which is the survey's measure of perceived confidence ‘and quality, Other European contenders such as Luxembourg, Paris and Dublin also moved up, but are not serious threats. More interestingly, New York (which held on to, nd place) saw its rating drop sharply, iV other major US cities moved downwards:“presumably due 10 US trade’ say the survey's authors ‘So Donald Trump. with his protectionist rhetoric, is London’s friend for the time being — but will be much less so if he sue- ceeds in deregulating the US financial see: tor, a move which Morgan Stanley thinks he can do without Congressional support ‘and which could boost Wall Street's earn: ings by more than 15 per cent. That would draw many American bankers back from London, while the tide of jobs migrating to Frankfurt and elsewhere in the EU. though still quite small, is only likely to grow throughout the period of Brexit uncertain: ly and transition: most pundits agree that Some tens of thousands will eventually go. London's in-built advantages as a financial centre — language, aw.space, staft. lifestyle and time zone — will keep it in the lead for the time being, but City chiefs face a fight on all fronts to stay there,and nothing in the Brexit talks so far can have reassured them, | the price otshore wind power has halved, making those giant imore turbine arrays we lve to hate look competitive with new tuelear power forthe fis time. The head- Tine number inthis story is £57.30 wih is the guaranteed electricty price per meg watt hour bid by wo windlarm ventures the governments latest contracts for di ference’ subsidy action, Both de for fist devery in 2023-23 these projects at Horn sea onthe East Yorkshire cout and Moray Eas lf th noth of Scotland, ate between | ther theoretically capable of powering 4 million homes Jus two years ago wif tere bidding upto £120 per megawatt hour incomparable auction: thet slashed pric, | ing today can beset stonaside the £0250 x that underpins te inanees ofthe Hinkley | Point € nuclear power station. whose pro | jected cost hes now topped £20 bilon and | whose key completion date siting gen | ty towands 207 and beyond | °7 Thaw tong argued for pressing on with | Minkley Poin on the baste hat ts the | only serious option for securing & sui tal slice of future UK eleetichy demand loomingenery pap eweatedby the lsure of hd muctar and cou fred plants Hitkleys 5.200 megawatt capacity compares with | 2300 megawatts forthe twonen'gant wind | farms together ~ but aa mulear industry | spokesman was eager to point out, offshore | wind “only produced electricity for 36 per | cent of the time’ last year and has yet to | solve the problem of storing ex generated when winds are high, Look forward a decade, however, French energy giant EDF, leader of the Hinkley project, may still have problems delivering the ‘European pressurised reactor’ model that has been so troublesome for its own Flamanville plant in Normandy. Wind, solar and tidal power may all look more viable than today. through advances in efficiency nd economies of scale: and prog surely have been made in power storage. ess power "ite SPECTATOR | 16 sreteMMER 2017 [WoW SPECTATOR EOL ‘We may also see a new erop of mini nuclear reactors, quicker to build and (according to one manufacturer, Rolls-Royce) viable ‘at £60 per megawatt hour. Hinkley Point C was the best idea available whem it was first ‘mooted seven years ago, but time and tech: nology ar nexorably overtaking it. 2Ist-century shopping ‘Am L ready to shell out £1,000 foran iPhone X with its exciting new*Face ID" feature? OF course not, Readers may recall I was kee! to take several tech-steps back to the retro Nokia 3310 that was relaunched in March — but when [finally plucked up courage to take my unloved iPhone 3 to what turned ‘out to be a Carphone Warehouse inside 1a Currys PC World on the York bypass, was so hypnotised by the sales patter that 1 swiftly lost my willpower. Within moments Thad given so much personal data that the salesman (as he acknowledged with a thin smile) could have emptied my bank account and assumed my identity before I got home Had I really survived this long without their £10-a-month insurance deal on top of my contract? OK, sign me up. How about a £19.99 gadget to transform my connectivity ‘on the move? Sounds great, Only another £25 a month! Aha, no thanks. ‘And so we went on for an hour or s0, until [left with a new contract that costs third less than the old one,and a new iPhone SE — almost identical to my previows model but with much longer battery life ~ that didn’t cost me a penny even though its man- tufaeturer Apple retails them at £379. This is the modern mode of business that blinds mie-pricing complexity consumers with dyns Hhnical jargon; but if you go with the flow, challenge the salesman when hhe doesn’t look you in the eye, and keep asking for discounts, you should come out feeling you've snatched a good deal, And feelgood is what i's all about, because in the alternative universe of 2Istcentury shop- ping, you can never really tell when you've just been royally ripped off overlaid on tTo catch a jihadi A fresh approach is needed WILL HEAVEN ¥ taxi was about 90 seconds behind the murderers who struck on Lon- ddon Bridge last week. My wife and 1 saw their victims on the road. It made no sense until we stopped and got out. Then with horror we realised what we were witnessing, ‘As everyone has already said, the emer ‘gency Services’ response was flawless. A. police 4x4 screeched up behind and two officers jumped out with submachine-guns, Within minutes, we learnt afterwards, the jihadis had been shot dead — but only after they had killed eight people, and injured Hundreds of others will have been on that bridge or in Borough Market. I suspect all of us will be thanking the police, but also wondering how it came to this. Britain has been hit three times in three months: sign, y. of a lapse in our defences. And not by mystery killers either. One, Khuram Butt, hhad featured in a Channel 4 documentary called The Jihadis Next Door, and another was on a European terror watch-list. No wonder so many are saying that the British government has failed in its most basic duty to keep people sate. ‘Theresa May said that the nature of the threat is becoming ‘more complex’ and ‘more hidden’. This doesn’t ring true. The attack on London Bridge wasn't planned by 1 sophisticated network, but by thugs armed ‘with hire cars and knives. Khuram Butt was filmed kneeling reverently in front of a black Islamist flag — not at some secret jihadi gathering, but in Regent's Park. Just in ease MIS weren't watching the Channel 4 documentary, Butt was reported to the authorities by the Quilliam Founda. sd an indignant press release after his killing spree, Ina violent scuffle ata public event in July last year, it said, he had branded their researcher, Dr Usama Hasan, aan ‘apostate’ who took “government money tospy on Mustims’, Quilliam were told airily that he was already “known to intelligence’ Butt was arrested and given a caution, Another of the attackers, Youssef Zagh- bba,a Morocean-born Italian, was branded a terror suspect before he'd set foot in Britain. In March last year, he had been stopped by the Italians white heading to Syria — and 4 lest there was any doubt about is inten- tions he told officials at Bologna airport that he was “going to be a terrorist’. promise ‘that he fulfilled on British soil last Saturday. ‘Why was he let in to Britain at Stansted ai port even though, according to Italian offt- ials, we ran checks on him? Inevitably, the Home Office refused to comment on this. Until recently, we had great confidence in the abilities of Britain's police and intel- ligence agencies. We were better at stop. Ping terrorists, the evidence suggested, than ‘our European neighbours — especially the French and Belgians, That confidence has now been shattered, Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, said: “These past three months The problem isthe numbers. MIS needs to watch 3,000 people thought to be in ‘active sympathy’ with terrorism mean we've entered a different phase, wh is why we need to do something differently But do what? ‘The answer certainly doesn’t lie in more armed police. Karen Bradley, the hapless Culture Secretary, was grilled about gov- ‘ernment cuts to police firearms units since 2010 — but believe me: there were so many Of them on the bridge that they could have taken on an army. Nor do I think deporting foreign jihadis will solve the problem on its fe British-born, or ‘own: many attackers have British passports. The problem is the numbers. MIS needs to watch 3,000 people regarded as being in ‘active sympathy" with Islamist terrorism, c security service would have to be about ‘Fm making hin ake a spin class. 50 times bigger to keep full tabs on all of them. Limited resources force ‘very tough, prioritisation’ and a categorising of threats, saysa well-placed source, Watching the likes of Khuram Butt could mean pulling agents, off more obviously dangerous cases — the: top-category Islamist ‘PIAS. for instance, who MIS are certain are “going to kill some— ‘one’ unless they are stopped ‘Throwing cash at the problem — as Jer~ ‘emy Corbyn and Tim Farron, two late con— verts to the cause of defending the realm, have pledged to do — would help only up. toa point, More resources would reduce the risk but, 'm told, only in the way that play ing roulette with three balls instead of one increases your chances of winning’ ‘That's not to say nothing can be done. Prison sentences for convicted jihadis could be longer, as Theresa May this week indi ‘ed may happen. Anjem Choudary, the cal preacher whose henchmen have been involved in so many plots, was jailed for just five and a half years last year for encourag. ing support of Isis ‘When I briefly worked at the Ministry of Justice last year, I saw where he was impris- ‘oned, and who his fellow inmates were: he is locked up alongside some of the most reviled criminals ever to pass through English courts But while many of them will (rightly) be behind bars until their dying day, Choudary will be out in five years — maybe sooner if he behaves himself. But, it appears, didn’t ge radicalised online: it was partly Choudary’s influence in person. And soon Choudary will, be out, pouring poison into young ears again, ‘There is also a psychological aspect to the spate of recent attacks, Islamists used to fear that their planned attacks would be thwarted, but recently they have realised — rather like the rest of the public — that Bi ain’s security system is fallible. We saw this, too,in the wake of 7/7, with the failed copy. cat suicide attack that followed weeks later ‘The British response has been inade- quate, 1's not illegal to be a jihadi sympa- thiser. but there are things that can be done about the jihadi next door. We used to have control orders, which were abolished under Davie Cameron in favour of Tpims' (Terror sm Prevention and Investigation Measures), which are resented by the security services, as being time-consuming, bureaucratic, and ineffective. Tpims oblige a suspect to live at home and stay there overnight-that wouldn't have prevented the London Bridge atrocity Ultimately, though, dealing with these terrorist suspects once they are radicalised is like a surgeon dealing with cancer. You can cut out the disease when it appears, but it’s better to deal with the root causes — to prevent radicalisation, particularly among, ‘young men. The Prime Minister has said that ‘enough is enough’ and that she is serious about uprooting terrorism. But how serious? We will soon find out. ‘tar sPrcraron| 10.0/M# 2017 |WWWSPECEATOR.COUK