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The classical Family life How the race
actress made with Julian for a vaccine
a star by TV Assange got dirty
OBITUARIES PEOPLE P10 LAST WORD P48
P39

THE WEEK
19 SEPTEMBER 2020 | ISSUE 1297 | £3.99 THE BEST OF THE BRITISH AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA

The rule of six

A necessary precaution?
Page 2

38

9 771362 343166

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS theweek.co.uk

2 NEWS The main stories…
What happened
An outlaw government?
A controversial new law that would give
ministers the power to override key parts of the
divorce deal signed with the EU cleared its first
parliamentary hurdle this week, despite a Tory
rebellion. MPs backed the Internal Market Bill
by 340 votes to 263. The legislation – which
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis
conceded last week would breach international
law “in a very specific and limited way” – had
been attacked by all five living former PMs,
along with a number of Tory grandees, including
Norman Lamont and Michael Howard.
Boris Johnson defended the bill in the
Commons, saying the powers it conferred were
a vital insurance policy designed to protect the The PM: “high-stakes move”
integrity of the UK in the event of a no-deal
Brexit. He accused the EU of having put a “revolver on the
[negotiating] table” by threatening unreasonable customs
checks on goods passing between Britain and Northern
Ireland. However, the Prime Minister later hinted that he
was prepared to compromise with rebels, telling them that
he would address their concerns about the disputed clauses
before detailed debates on the bill next week.
What the editorials said
It’s “déjà vu all over again”, said The Independent. While the
“arithmetic in the Commons” may have changed as a result of
Tory purges and last year’s election, we’re back
to the days of parliamentary wrangling, votes,
splits and threats. Many of the combatants are
the same, although some of them – such as Ken
Clarke, Ed Vaizey and Philip Hammond – are
now fighting from the Lords, rather than the
Commons. What we haven’t seen before, said
The Observer, is a PM coming under fire from
quite such a line-up of former party leaders
and previous occupants of No. 10. “It’s an
extraordinary indictment of his incompetence.”
The threat to override parts of the Withdrawal
Agreement Johnson signed in January is
certainly a “high-stakes move”, said The Daily
Telegraph. It was designed to “concentrate EU
minds on the need to strike an agreement”, but
it seems to have had the opposite effect. EU diplomats have
threatened to discontinue trade negotiations if the Government
doesn’t withdraw the offending clauses of its new bill by the
end of the month. Brexit is reaching its endgame, said Le
Monde. Whether Johnson’s latest move is indeed a negotiating
gambit, or a deliberate attempt to collapse the talks, this row
is “trashing the reputation of the United Kingdom”.

What happened What the editorials said

The rule of six Who ever would have thought a Tory government would
introduce such draconian laws in peacetime, said The Daily
The UK experienced a sharp rise in Covid-19 Telegraph. Yet this one has – and draconian
infections last week: for the first time since is not too strong a word. So-called “Covid
May, more than 3,000 new cases were marshals” are being hired to keep people apart,
recorded for three days running. Last Friday, and families of more than six can’t meet without
the Government’s estimate of the R rate – the risking arrest – even though hospitals remain
number of people each infected person passes “eerily empty” and the number of daily deaths
the virus to – had risen above 1 for the first is scarcely in double digits. The rules are
time since March. Researchers from London’s certainly flawed, said The Times: choosing six
Imperial College were yet more gloomy: their as the maximum number for gatherings seems
figures indicated cases in England were “entirely arbitrary” and creates anomalies that
doubling every seven to eight days, which are hard to fathom. But one only has to look to
meant the R rate could be as high as 1.7. The Europe to see why ministers acted: in France,
news coincided with warnings of a sharp rise confirmed new infections exceeded 10,000 on
in infections in care homes and a severe A draconian measure?
Saturday; in Spain, case numbers have reached
shortage of tests (see page 4). levels not seen since March. “As before, Britain
looks likely to be a few weeks behind.”
On Monday, the “rule of six” law, which bans gatherings
of seven or more people, came into force in England. The A functioning test-and-trace system might have made this latest
Cabinet was reportedly split over whether children should be hardship unnecessary, said The Independent. Alas, we’re still
included: they will be. Ministers said people should consider waiting for that. For now, Britain’s defences are “unforgivably
calling the police if they see neighbours flouting the rules. weak”, leaving little option but to impose new restrictions.

It wasn’t all bad The National Trust’s 200

After a difficult few months
apple orchards have had
An ancient moat around the
Dutch city of Utrecht that was
such a bumper crop this turned into a 12-lane motorway
COVER IMAGES: CAMERA PRESS/ANDY GOTTS; SUPPLIED BY LMKMEDIA

during lockdown, booksellers
have reported their best first
week of September since
records began. Almost 600 new
hardbacks came out that week,
many of them delayed releases
from earlier in the year –
prompting a rush to the shops.
According to The Bookseller,
sales were up 11.1% on the
previous week. “We haven’t
year that visitors are being four decades ago has water
offered fruit in exchange for running through it once again.
a donation. The Trust’s The reopening of the Dutch
orchards, which grow such city’s Catharijnesingel attracted
rare varieties as Dog’s pleasure boats and a few
Snout (an old Yorkshire swimmers last week, as ten
cooking apple), Catshead years of work came to an end.
(which was widely grown in The motorway was built on a
the 19th century) and Pig’s stretch of the 900-year-old canal
Nose Pippin, have had an unusually good year, thanks to a long, in the 1970s, to give better
warm spring, followed by rain in July and August. Visitors to access to the city’s shopping
© NATASHA ROBERTS

seen anything like it since
Harry Potter,” Pat Booth, of the
Plackitt & Booth bookshop in
Lancashire, told The Guardian.
THE WEEK 19 September 2020
properties including Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire, Cliveden district. But it was not popular,
in Buckinghamshire and Cotehele in Cornwall are being handed and as part of new efforts to
apples or invited to pick their own, while leftovers are being sent sideline the car in Utrecht, the
to food banks. road was closed in 2010.
COVER CARTOON: HOWARD MCWILLIAM
 …and how they were covered NEWS 3
What the commentators said What next?
It was Johnson’s desperation for a deal last year that got him into this mess, said John Rentoul MPs are set to vote next
in The Independent. He eventually secured an agreement that he could get through Parliament, week on an amendment put
but the price, which he did his best to obscure, was agreeing to a possible de facto border in the forward by Bob Neill, the
Irish Sea. Once his election victory was in the bag, he tasked his Brexit team with finding a way chair of the Justice Select
to “get around” this commitment. But the only solution they’ve managed to come up with is to Committee, that would force
legislate to renounce it. Ripping up treaties is clearly a terrible idea for any country that respects the Government to seek MPs’
the rule of law, said Matthew Parris in The Times. Many MPs are now hoping to amend the approval before triggering the
Internal Market Bill in some way to blunt the force of its contentious provisions, but they bill’s controversial clauses.
should just throw it out on principle. It’s “an abomination”. The bill could then face a
bigger revolt in the House of
If any party has acted in bad faith during this process, it’s the EU, said Daniel Hannan in The Lords, potentially holding it
Sunday Telegraph. The Withdrawal Agreement was signed on the understanding that both up for months.
sides would push towards signing and implementing a trade deal this year – a deal that would
obviate the need for a backstop and for all but light-touch controls between Britain and Ministers have denied that
Northern Ireland. But Brussels has since done its best to frustrate the talks, using “Northern a new freight management
Ireland as leverage in its demands for control of British fisheries and technical standards”. The system won’t be ready when
chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier once insisted that the only option available for the UK was the EU transition period
a Canada-style trade agreement, but the moment Johnson accepted that offer, “it was snatched ends. One industry body
away”. The UK should abandon these negotiations and go its own way. had expressed concerns that
only a beta – or test – version
I don’t know which is more irksome, said Anne McElvoy the London Evening Standard: the would be available on 1
“smug myopia of EU institutions” or our Government’s “implausible promises and heedless January. But the Government
risk-taking”. With a bit of goodwill and sensible compromise, there’s surely no reason why insists the digital system,
the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement by the end of next month. It’s certainly very much in regarded as vital for
the UK’s interests to avoid a no-deal Brexit, and even more so to avoid an ugly breakdown of preventing delays at ports,
relations with our neighbours. “We can change our trade orientation, but not our geography.” is fully operational.

What the commentators said What next?

“Not even Agatha Christie could have dreamt up a twist like this,” said Michael Deacon in A new NHS contact-tracing
The Daily Telegraph. Before becoming PM, Boris Johnson was a vigorous defender of personal app will be launched across
liberty, a tireless critic of the nanny state. “And what does he do when he gets into power? He England and Wales on 24
makes Christmas dinner a criminal offence.” The new restrictions are indeed a bitter pill to September, following trials
swallow, said Patrick O’Flynn in The Spectator – but they are undoubtedly necessary. Covid in Newham in east London,
deaths may be “flatlining” for now, but hospital admissions have risen sharply in the past and on the Isle of Wight.
week, and infection rates among middle-aged people are feared to have reached the same level Trials of a Covid-19 vaccine
detected among those in their 20s a fortnight ago. If you believe that running the economy and being jointly developed by
education system as close to normality as possible are “vital goals”, then limiting our social Oxford University and
contact is surely a price worth paying to “keep a lid on Covid”. AstraZeneca restarted this
week after being paused on
But as long as the virus spreads asymptomatically, it can only be beaten through widespread 6 September owing to a
immunity, said Jonathan Sumption in The Sunday Times. And barring a vaccine, which is not participant falling ill.
yet available, the only way to achieve that is via community transmission. So setting limits on
the number of people with whom we can socialise is not only a violation of our civil liberties; Ministers may yet opt to
it renders widespread immunity a yet more distant prospect. And the sense of creeping impose further restrictions
authoritarianism is reinforced by ministers’ use of ugly warnings such as “Don’t kill Granny”. on our freedom to mix
Priti Patel has even said that families will be banned from chatting in the park, as it will count as with people – in social or
“mingling”. Not only did the Home Secretary say she’d report her own neighbours to police if work settings – if the latest
she saw “inappropriate behaviour”, said Alice Thomson in The Times; she sounded as if she’d measures do not flatten the
“relish the chance” of doing so. Is this really the country we want to be? Are we to become a infection rate in the next
“nation of snitchers” who shop our acquaintances for the slightest infringement? In these two weeks, says Robert
“fragile times”, we need to foster community cohesion, not sow distrust. Peston on ITV.

THE WEEK
Editor-in-chief: Caroline Law
For any pale, male and stale types out there hunting for cases of Editor: Theo Tait
Deputy editor: Harry Nicolle Executive editor: Laurence Earle
discrimination against their kind, may I (speaking as one) refer you City editor: Jane Lewis Assistant editor: Robin de Peyer
to the story on page 5 about Edinburgh University’s treatment of its Contributing editors: Simon Wilson, Rob McLuhan,
Catherine Heaney, Digby Warde-Aldam, Tom Yarwood,
finest alumnus, the philosopher David Hume? Following the recent discovery of a letter Hume had William Skidelsky Editorial staff: Anoushka Petit,
Tigger Ridgwell, Sorcha Bradley, Aaron Drapkin Editorial
written urging his patron to buy a slave plantation, the university, responding to student outcry, has assistant: Asya Likhtman Picture editor: Xandie Nutting
Art director: Nathalie Fowler Sub-editor: Tom Cobbe
removed his name from one of its most famous buildings: from now on, the David Hume Tower will Production editor: Alanna O’Connell
Editorial chairman and co-founder: Jeremy O’Grady
be called 40 George Square. Rather than get all indignant, however, let us apply the “experimental Production Manager: Maaya Mistry Production Executive:
method of reasoning into moral subjects” that Hume proposed in his Treatise of Human Nature, and Sophie Griffin Newstrade Director: David Barker
Direct Marketing Director: Abi Spooner
conduct an experiment of our own. Six years before Hume finished the treatise (in 1739), freed slave Account Manager/Inserts: Jack Reader Classified: Henry
Haselock Account Directors: Jonathan Claxton, Hattie White
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo arrived in London, where he was soon feted for his piety and enterprise. Senior Account Manager: Joe Teal
Advertising Manager: Carly Activille
Overcoming his scruples as a devout Muslim, Diallo allowed his portrait to be painted. It now hangs Group Advertising Director: Caroline Fenner
Founder: Jolyon Connell
in the National Portrait Gallery, and the author Ben Okri recently dedicated a poem to it. It is also the Chief Executive, The Week: Kerin O’Connor
case, however, that when Diallo returned to his native Senegal in 1734, he resumed the family Chief Executive: James Tye
Dennis Publishing founder: Felix Dennis
business: slave trading. My thought experiment is this: how might Edinburgh University react if put
in charge of the gallery. Would it think Diallo deserved the same fate as Hume and shift the portrait?
THE WEEK Ltd, a subsidiary of Dennis, 31-32 Alfred
Or would it find a way to excuse him? You only have to recall Hume’s famous line – “the passions, Place, London WC1E 7DP. Tel: 020-3890 3890
Editorial: 020-3890 3787
rather than reason, govern human behaviour” – to know the answer. Jeremy O’Grady Email: editorialadmin@theweek.co.uk

Subscriptions: 0330-333 9494; subscriptions@theweek.co.uk © Dennis Publishing Limited 2020. All rights reserved.
The Week is a registered trademark. Neither the whole of this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers 19 September 2020 THE WEEK
4 NEWS Politics
Controversy of the week Motorway speed limit
Shooting for the Moon The speed limit on four
stretches of motorway in
England is to be cut to
“Perhaps Boris Johnson was just trying to cheer the nation 60mph, as part of a trial
up,” said The Times. The new rule of six restrictions had just scheme to reduce pollution.
been imposed last week when the PM announced Operation Highways England says the
Moonshot, with his “trademark optimism”. This is a plan to new limit will apply for at
introduce same-day mass testing by early next year: the idea, least a year, on roughly five-
according to leaks, is that ten million people could be tested mile-long stretches of road
where high levels of nitrogen
every day using only saliva samples, with the results given
dioxide (NO2) have been
within 20 minutes. Even in the absence of a vaccine, this would recorded. These are on the
allow normal life to resume. But in fact, “far from boosting M6 near Birmingham, the M1
the nation’s morale”, the announcement merely raised fresh near Rotherham, the M602 in
doubts about Johnson’s “grip on the crisis”. Why? Because the Greater Manchester and the
cost would be vast, at around £100bn; because mass-testing M5 in the West Midlands.
on this scale is immensely complex; and, most of all, because NO2, released in exhaust gas,
proven technology to perform such tests does not yet exist. is a harmful pollutant, and
Queuing for tests in Southend-on-Sea an indirect contributor to
The fear is that, while “musing about moonshots”, ministers
climate change. If the trial
are not “sufficiently focused” on the very clear problems with the existing testing programme.
is deemed a success, limits
elsewhere may be reduced.
The testing system is “shambolic”, said Angela Epstein in The Daily Telegraph. The Government
claims to have the capacity for 375,000 tests a day, but can currently only manage 220,000; there’s Former Tory MP jailed
a backlog of around 185,000 tests. Early this week there were no walk-in, drive-through or home Charlie Elphicke, the former
tests available across swathes of the northwest, one of the worst-affected areas; people were having Tory MP for Dover, has been
to travel hundreds of miles to learn if they were infected. By midweek, The Times reported that it sentenced to two years in
was unable to find tests in any of several hundred postcodes in England. So much for the “world- jail for sexual assault. The
beating” system. The current surge in demand was entirely predictable, said Oliver Duff in the I 49-year-old father of two was
newspaper. The autumn term “begins with minor lurgies being sprayed around classrooms”. But this convicted in July of groping
a parliamentary worker in his
year, if anyone in a household has potential Covid symptoms – a fever, a cough – everyone else must
office in 2016, and another
either isolate for at least ten days or until they get a negative test result. If tests are unavailable, the woman at his London home
knock-on effects on schooling and parents’ working lives will be colossal. in 2007. “You’re a sexual
predator who used your
There’s a familiar pattern with all these failures, said The Independent: of the original test-and-trace success and respectability
system, of the long-delayed app, of the “game-changing” antibody tests. The Government denies any as a cover,” said Mrs Justice
failure has taken place; blames critics for being unsupportive; and then invents “some new ever-more Whipple at the hearing.
eye-catching initiative”, usually with a huge number attached. Rapid diagnostic tests are worth Elphicke lost the Tory whip
investigating, said Alan McNally on the BMJ blog, but not at the expense of proven methods. The in 2017 when the allegations
were referred to police. He
£500m in funding allocated for Operation Moonshot could have paid for 33 million standard tests,
was reinstated in December
or been used to fund new labs, easing the bottleneck in the current system. We’ve had enough 2018, but did not stand for
feverish pledges, said The Sunday Times. If the PM “wants to maintain the trust of voters, a period re-election. He says he plans
of quiet competence, rather than hyperbolic promises, would be most welcome”. to appeal his conviction.

Good week for:

Spirit of the age
Disney has launched a line
of wedding dresses inspired
by characters in its films and
aimed at brides who want
to feel like a “princess”.
The dresses in the Fairy
Tale Wedding Collection
include ones named after
Cinderella, Belle from
Beauty and the Beast,
Jasmine from Aladdin
and Ariel from The Little
Mermaid – and promise
“magic in every thread”.
A new trend for “space
burials” – in which a loved
one’s cremated remains are
sent up to the heavens in a
brightly coloured helium
balloon – is taking off in
Japan. The company behind
the idea, Balloon Kobo, has
so far carried out 300 of the
space burials. It says the
balloons reach a height
of between 131,000 and
164,000 feet, before bursting
and scattering the ashes.
The Rolling Stones, who became the first band to have a chart- Poll watch
topping album in six different decades, after a newly restored In a poll comparing the
version of 1973’s Goats Head Soup debuted at No. 1. views of young British
Jane Fraser, a Scottish-born Cambridge graduate, who was Muslims and white non-
appointed the new CEO of the banking behemoth Citigroup. Muslims (WNMs), one in
five 18- to 30-year-olds in
When she takes the reins in February, she will be the first woman
both groups agreed that
to run a major Wall Street institution (see page 45). there is an “unresolvable
conflict between Islam and
Bad week for: the West”. 15% of Muslims
Hilary Mantel, who failed to make the Booker Prize shortlist. agreed that people should
be prepared to forcefully
The writer had been tipped by some to win her third Booker, for
defend their religion or
the final part of her Wolf Hall trilogy. The six-strong list, hailed culture, along with 9% of
as the most diverse ever, features four books by black and ethnic WNMs. Onne in five WNMs
minority authors, and four by women. All but one of the agreed that British culture is
nominees are either American, or currently resident in the US. “under threat from invasion”.
The BBC, with news that 250,000 fewer TV licences were sold Savanta ComRes/
last year than the year before – the sharpest drop in recent history. The Independent
A report said this was down to more people limiting their viewing
Only 51% of Americans say
to online services such as Netflix, and a rise in unlawful evasion. they would get a Covid-19
Disney, after its new live-action film Mulan failed to impress vaccine if one became avail-
in China. Based on a Chinese folk tale, and with a Chinese- able. In April, the figure was
American star, the film was largely designed to appeal to a 72%. Among Republicans,
Chinese market, but on its opening weekend, sales were tepid and 47% would accept a vaccine
reviews were damning. To make matters worse for Disney, there (down 22 points), while for
were calls in the West for the film to be boycotted, after viewers Democrats, 61% would
(down 20 points).
spotted that its end credits thank a Chinese government agency
Morning Consult/The Times
in Xinjiang that is accused of human rights abuses.

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

 The UK at a glance
Edinburgh
Building renamed: Edinburgh University
has announced that it is to rename its
David Hume Tower, in response to
protests about the enlightenment
philosopher’s racist views. Around 1,800
people had signed a petition calling for
the change, noting Hume’s use of “racist
epithets”. While “nobody is demanding
that he be erased from history”, it said,
there’s “no reason the tallest building on
campus should be named after him”. In
1753, Hume wrote that he suspected that
“negroes” were “naturally inferior” to whites. Later, he encour-
aged his patron, Lord Hertford, to buy a slave plantation.
NEWS 5
Shetland
“Shexit” vote: Councillors in the Shetland
Islands have dealt a blow to the Government in
Edinburgh, by voting overwhelmingly in favour
of exploring “financial and political self-
determination”. The resolution – passed by 18 to
two – was not a step towards full independence.
However, the council will now consider whether the Shetlands –
which have long claimed a distinct cultural identity – could
become a self-governing Crown dependency, like the Isle of Man.
Proponents of the move cited funding cuts to the islands, and
frustration caused by centralised decision-making. The issue
creates a dilemma for First Minister and SNP leader Nicola
Sturgeon, who must now try to persuade Scotland to stick
together while arguing for the UK to be split apart.

Durham
“Abhorrent” group chats: Durham University has launched an
investigation into claims that a group of new students planned
a competition in which a “posh lad” would aim to “shag the
poorest girl” on campus. In another chat, on a group calling
itself Durham Boys Making All the Noise, there was reportedly
discussion of date rape drugs, and whether members of the
60-strong group would “snitch” on the others by sharing their
messages. Some of the messages were then leaked to The Tab, a
student website. The university’s pro-vice-chancellor Jeremy Cook
described the comments as “utterly abhorrent”, and said that if
they proved to be from incoming freshers, he would be ensuring
“that those involved will have no place at Durham University”.

Coleshill, Warwickshire
High praise: A 169ft-tall
Christian prayer monument in
the shape of an “infinity loop” is
to be built on a ten-acre site near
Birmingham. Two and a half
times taller than The Angel of
the North, the Eternal Wall of
Answered Prayer will lie between
the M6 and M42, and be visible from both. The brainchild of
ex-Leicester FC chaplain Richard Gamble, the project – which is
being crowdfunded – received planning permission last week, and
is due to be completed in 2022. It will be made from a million
bricks, each representing an answered prayer.

Oxford
Trial restarts: Phase 3 trials on a experimental Covid-19 vaccine
being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca were
briefly halted last week, after one of the participants developed
side effects. No details of the participant’s condition have been
publicly disclosed, but AstraZeneca’s chief executive is said to
have told investors that a woman in the UK trial was showing
symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis, an inflam-
mation of the spinal cord. On Saturday, Health Secretary Matt
Hancock welcomed news that the UK Medicines and Healthcare
Products Regulatory Agency had allowed the trial to restart.
However, the interruption has fuelled concerns about whether
such trials are proceeding too quickly (see page 48).

London
Bridge chaos: The closure of Hammersmith Bridge in London has
enraged many local residents – and is now being held up in the US
as symptomatic of British decay: last weekend, The New York
Times ran a piece entitled “London’s Bridges Really Are Falling
Down”. The 19th century bridge over the Thames was closed to
motor traffic in 2019, after cracks were found in its structure.
These widened over the summer, prompting a total closure in
August. Now, no one is allowed on the bridge and boats aren’t
even allowed beneath it – creating serious difficulties for the
17,000 people who used to cross it each day, and for local shops
© INFINITY LABS
Cambridge
Tech sale: One of Britain’s largest tech companies, Arm Holdings,
is being sold for $40bn (£31bn) to the US giant Nvidia. Founded
in Cambridge in 1990, but owned by the Japanese conglomerate
Softbank since 2016, Arm designs software and semiconductors
for use in products sold by tech corporations including Apple,
Samsung and Sony Mobile. The deal remains subject to UK
regulatory approval, and to seal it, Nvidia has promised to retain
Arm’s Cambridge base, and to protect jobs (the firm employs
around 3,000 people in the UK). However, Arm’s co-founder

and other businesses. At issue is the projected £141m repair bill: Hermann Hauser described the takeover as an “absolute disaster
both the local council (which owns the bridge) and Transport for for Cambridge, the UK and Europe”, and warned that such
London (which operates it) say they haven’t got the funds. pledges are meaningless unless legally enforceable (see page 45).

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

 Europe at a glance
Bordeaux
Hospitals on brink: Health officials in
Bordeaux and Marseille have warned that
local hospitals are coming under intense
pressure owing to a sharp increase in
Covid-19 patients. The main hospital in
Bordeaux had 25 patients in intensive care
with Covid-19 this week, up from none
a month ago, and its director warned that
all the signs are now “flashing red”. In
Marseille, which has 195 cases per
100,000 residents, hospitals were
described as “close to saturation”. This
week, the governments in both regions
announced measures to restrict the spread
of the virus, including a ban on public
gatherings of more than ten. France is now
recording 7,000 to 10,500 new cases a day,
up from 2,000 a month ago. However,
President Macron has indicated that he is
unwilling to return the country to general
lockdown. Instead, his government had
urged officials in the worst-affected areas
to develop strategies of their own.
Madrid
Franco ban: Spain’s Socialist-led govern-
ment is to introduce a law that would
ban the Francisco Franco National
Foundation – an organisation set up in
1976 to defend the late dictator’s memory.
The bill also provides funding to exhume
from mass graves the remains of his
regime’s victims. Franco took power
in 1939, following a three-year civil war
that pitted his Nationalist forces against
supporters of the left-wing Republican
government. Around 450,000 people were
killed in the war, and tens of thousands of
Republicans were targeted for reprisal after
it. Thousands were executed; others died
in prisons and camps. However, Franco,
who ruled until his death in 1975, still has
many admirers in Spain: in 2018, 24,000
people signed a petition opposing the
government’s plan to remove his remains
from his grand mausoleum at the Valley
of the Fallen.
Berlin
Navalny on the
mend: The
anti-corruption
campaigner
Alexei Navalny is
recovering well in
hospital in Berlin
– and planning to
return to Russia,
his spokeswoman
said this week.
Navalny collapsed
on a flight from Siberia on 20 August; lab
tests in Germany, France and Sweden have
since shown that he’d been poisoned with
the nerve agent Novichok. As well as his
improved health, his supporters have been
celebrating opposition wins in local
© TWITTER; INSTAGRAM
elections in two Siberian cities he’d just
visited: Novosibirsk (Russia’s third largest)
and Tomsk. However, the ruling United
Russia party claimed victory overall.
Catch up with daily news at theweek.co.uk
Paris
Cleavage row:
The Musée
d’Orsay in Paris
has been accused
of sexism for
refusing entry to a
woman wearing a
low-cut dress. The
student, identified
only as Jeanne,
was stopped in
the lobby by a
ticket agent, who took one look at her
décolletage and said: “Ah no, that isn’t
possible – that won’t work.” Other staff
then insisted that “rules are rules”, without
specifying which rule was being broken.
Eventually, Jeanne agreed to put on her
jacket, and was allowed into the gallery,
which houses many nudes, including
Gustave Courbet’s The Origin of the
World. The museum apologised
after her story went viral.
Pozzallo, Italy
Stranded migrants given shelter: Forty
days after they were rescued from the
Mediterranean by a passing oil tanker,
a group of migrants was finally allowed
ashore this week. The tanker, the Maersk
Etienne, had gone to their rescue on 5
August, in response to an urgent request
from the Maltese authorities. Its crew
found the 27 migrants – among them a
pregnant woman and at least one child
– on a wooden fishing boat, and took them
on board moments before the boat sank.
But the Maltese then refused to let the
tanker dock, and other governments also
refused to help, leaving the migrants – and
the ship’s 21-strong crew – stuck at sea,
with dwindling supplies. The UN Refugee
Agency denounced the fact that the ship
had been trapped in a game of “diplomatic
pass the parcel”, until the Italian
government finally agreed to allow the
migrants to be brought ashore in Sicily.
NEWS 7
Prague
Virus alarm: Slovakia took its neighbour,
the Czech Republic, off its list of “safe”
countries this week, in response to a sharp
rise in infections. The Czech Republic
came through the initial outbreak
relatively well, and has recorded only 476
deaths in a population of 10.7 million. But
its daily infection rate has been rising since
late August, and on Saturday, it registered
1,541 new cases. Hospitalisation rates are
also rising, but the death rate remains
stable. In Sweden, by contrast, infection
rates are in decline. Health officials sent
out 120,000 tests last week, of which
1.3% came back positive, down from
19% in April. Sweden is recording around
200 cases a day, and two or three deaths,
down from 100 a day a few months ago.
Lesbos, Greece
Migrants arrested: Five migrants have been
arrested in Greece on suspicion of starting
the fire that destroyed the Moria refugee
camp on the island of Lesbos last week
(see page 16). Police believe the fire was
started after quarantine measures were
imposed on the overcrowded camp to
contain a Covid-19 outbreak. The
government has promised to build a
new reception centre on the island. In the
meantime, 800 of Moria’s 12,000 residents
have moved into a temporary camp, but
though officials say it is not full, thousands
of migrants were still sleeping rough this
week. Reportedly, they fear the camp will
be even more squalid than the one they
left, and want to be taken off the island.
Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called
for EU assistance, but by Wednesday, only
Germany had responded: it has pledged to
take in 408 refugee families, in addition to
the 150 minors previously agreed.
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
8 NEWS The world at a glance
Sacramento, California Portland, Oregon
Climate clash: The issue of climate Deadly wildfires: At least 35 people have been killed in wildfires
change moved to the centre of the US sweeping the west coast Pacific states of California, Oregon and
presidential race this week, as President Washington (see page 22). In Oregon, the worst-affected state,
Trump sought to downplay the role of Democrat governor Kate Brown described the fires as a “once-
global warming in causing the fires in-a-generation event”, fuelled by drought, strong winds and high
currently ravaging the western states of temperatures. Normally, 500,000 acres burn each year in the
the US. On a visit to California, Trump state; this year, a million acres were lost in a week. Some 500,000
ignored questions about the role of rising people in Oregon – around 12% of the population – have been
temperatures, and instead repeatedly told to evacuate their homes; entire towns have been destroyed.
blamed poor forest management for the Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Hurricane Sally
fires. Fallen trees, he said, dry out and made landfall on Alabama’s Gulf Coast and is projected to pass
“just explode” like matchsticks; dead through Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. The National
leaves, he said, fuel the fire (see page 22). Later, he told an official Hurricane Centre warned that Sally could bring “historic flooding”
who’d just given a briefing on rising temperatures: “It’ll start and that “extreme life-threatening flash flooding” was likely.
getting cooler, you just watch... I don’t think science knows.” The
Democrat governor of California, Gavin Newsom, agreed that
more brush clearance would help prevent devastating fires
– but pointed out that most of the fires are burning on
land that is managed by the federal government.
At a speech in Delaware, Joe Biden (above)referred
to Trump as a “climate arsonist”, and said that the
US needs a president who “respects science, who understands that
the damage from climate change is already here... If we have four
more years of Trump’s climate denial, how many suburbs will be
burned?” He pledged that he would rejoin the Paris Climate
Agreement, and spur investment in renewable energy.

Los Angeles, California

Police officers “ambushed”: Two Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies
were shot in their patrol car last week, in an attack the police
described as an “ambush”. Video footage showed a gunman
approaching the parked car from behind at 7pm last Saturday
in the Compton area, firing several rounds and then fleeing the
scene. Authorities said both the victims, a 31-year-old woman
and a 24-year-old man, had undergone surgery and, though they
had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, they were expected to
recover. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is offering
a $100,000 reward for information leading to the gunman’s
arrest. Later, it was reported that demonstrators had sought to
block the entrance to the emergency room where the officers
were being treated. “I hope they f**king die,” one shouted.

Tallahassee, Florida
Bloomberg intervenes: Michael Bloomberg, the former New
York City mayor, has announced that he will be spending at least
$100m of his own money to help Joe Biden win Florida. The
largest of the battleground states with 29 electoral college votes,
Florida is considered a must-win for Donald Trump if he is to
achieve the 270 votes he needs to return to the White House.
Biden is just ahead in Florida, but he has seen his poll lead there
fall in the past few weeks, as Trump has gained support among
Latino voters. The money from Bloomberg – who made a brief
run for the Democrat nomination himself earlier this year – is
likely to be used to pay for TV ads. On a visit to the state on
Tuesday, Biden made efforts to court the Latino vote, saying that
Trump “has failed the Hispanic community time and time again”.

Bogotá Rôndonia state, Brazil

Police brutality protests: Video
footage of the arrest of a man
who died in police custody in
Bogotá last Wednesday has
sparked violent protests across
Colombia. Javier Ordóñez, a
46-year-old lawyer and father
of two, was out drinking with
friends when he was arrested for
allegedly breaking social distancing rules, pinned to the ground
and repeatedly Tasered. In the footage, he can be heard saying:
“Please, no more.” Ten people were killed in the subsequent
unrest. “People are sick of the fact that if the Covid-19 doesn’t kill
them, the government will,” said one protester.
Official killed: A leading Brazilian
expert on Amazon tribes was
killed last week by a member of
one of the indigenous groups he had
spent 30 years trying to protect. Rieli Franciscato, 56, was an
employee at the government’s indigenous affairs agency, Funai,
where he worked to set up reservations where isolated tribes
could live in safety. Last week, he was approaching a hitherto-
uncontacted group that lives deep in the rainforest in the western
state of Rôndonia when he was hit by an arrow above the heart.
Indigenous people in Brazil are increasingly threatened by illegal
land grabbers, loggers and gold miners. The speculation is that
the tribe had recently been attacked, and mistook Franciscato
and his party for invaders.

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

 The world at a glance
Jerusalem
A new lockdown: Responding to a rapid
surge in Covid-19 cases, Israel has become
the first country to impose a second
nationwide lockdown. It will commence
on Friday, the start of Jewish New Year,
and run for three weeks. Under its terms,
all schools, hotels and shopping centres
must close; supermarkets and pharmacies
can open for deliveries only; and people
must stay within 500 metres of their
homes, though up to ten people can meet
indoors, and up to 20 outside. The main
aim is to prevent mass gatherings during
the upcoming national holidays, but it has
been bitterly contested, especially by the
Orthodox Jewish parties within Benjamin
Netanyahu’s coalition. Housing Minister
Yaakov Litzman has quit, and threatened
to take his United Torah Judaism party
out of the coalition with him.
Kamituga,
DR Congo
Mine collapse:
Three “artisanal”
gold mines near the
city of Kamituga, in
DR Congo’s South Kivu province,
collapsed last week following days of
torrential rain, killing at least 50 people,
most of them very young. The mines,
around 50 metres deep, were submerged
by landslides and water. Artisanal mines
– often employing mainly women and
children – are small-scale unregulated
mines worked by subsistence miners using
basic equipment. Fatal accidents in them
are relatively common in DR Congo.
Earlier this year, two similar collapses
killed at least 18 people; last year, a
landslide at a disused gold mine killed 16;
and a further 43 people were killed when
a copper and cobalt mine collapsed.
NEWS 9
Shiraz, Iran Manama, Bahrain
Wrestler hanged: Recognising Israel: In a deal that Donald
Brushing aside Trump, who helped broker it, is claiming
international pleas as a political triumph, Bahrain has agreed
for clemency, Iran to establish full diplomatic relations with
has executed one Israel. A month ago another Gulf state, the
of its prominent United Arab Emirates, did the same; and
sportsmen, the this week Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
champion wrestler flew to Washington for the formal signing
Navid Afkari. of accords. The move reflects the shared
Afkari, 27, was fear of all three nations at the growing
accused of fatally dominance in the region of their mutual
stabbing a security enemy: Iran. It is also a quid pro quo for
guard during an anti-government protest Israel desisting from its plan to annex large
in his home town, Shiraz. His supporters parts of the Palestinian Territories. In
insist that he was framed and set up as addition, Bahrain hopes it will ease the
a cautionary example to silence dissent: way to securing air defence systems from
Afkari himself had said he was tortured the US. Two other Arab states also recog-
into confessing. In the same case, his two nise Israel (Egypt did so in 1978; Jordan in
brothers have each been sentenced to long 1994); and there’s mounting speculation
jail terms and 74 lashes of the whip. that Saudi Arabia might soon follow suit.
Tokyo
New leader: Japan’s
new prime minster is
Yoshihide Suga, 71, who
easily won last week’s
contest for leader of the
ruling Liberal Democratic
Party. The contest was
held in the wake of the
abrupt departure of prime
minister Shinzo Abe, who
had to resign for health
reasons. Suga, an Abe
loyalist and his former
chief cabinet secretary,
has pledged to continue
Abe’s economic reforms.
A general election is due
in a year, but Suga may
call a snap election to
capitalise on his
new-found
popularity.
Kigali
Critic tried: Paul
Rusesabagina,
the Rwandan
dissident whose
bravery in the
1994 genocide
inspired the film Doha
Hotel Rwanda, Peace talks: Direct peace talks between the
has appeared in Taliban and the Afghan government began
court charged in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Saturday
with terrorism – a potentially historic milestone that paves
and forming an the way for a further withdrawal of US
armed rebel group. Rusesabagina (above), troops. The long-anticipated talks – stalled
an ethnic Hutu and now a Belgian citizen, for months by delays in the prisoner
is leader of the opposition MRCD, whose exchanges agreed between the Taliban and
armed wing, the FLN, stages attacks on the US last year – have gone ahead even
Rwanda. His family say he arrived in though Taliban attacks on Afghan troops
Kigali “on a stretcher” after being lured have been stepped up recently. The hope
to a meeting in Dubai and abducted by is that talks will lead to a power-sharing
Rwandan agents. President Kagame has government and end the Taliban’s armed
hinted he may have tricked Rusesabagina campaign. The fear is that the Taliban are
into coming, but denies abducting him. only talking to buy time as US forces leave.
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
10 NEWS
Fonda’s radical life
Jane Fonda’s father, Henry,
was one of Hollywood’s
biggest stars – but as a child
she didn’t see much of him: he
was either working or with one
of his mistresses. When Jane
was 12, her mother, Frances,
killed herself. Henry sent her
away to school, and they never
spoke about her mother again.
Yet she revered her father – so
much so that when she began
her parallel career as a political
activist, campaigning against
the Vietnam War, she tried to
convert him to the cause. It
didn’t work – but she remained
firmly on that path. Her
anti-war protests in the 1970s
were so controversial, people
demonstrated outside her films
for years after, says Hadley
Freeman in The Guardian. In
the 1980s, she made her
bestselling Workout video, to
raise funds for a non-profit
group. Last year, she moved
from California to Washington
DC, so that she could take part
in climate change protests. She
was arrested five times. At 82,
Fonda (below) says she gets
depressed when she is not
fighting for change – and it
helps that she feels no fear.
“I’ve been in all kinds of
situations: I’ve been shot at,
I’ve had bombs dropped on
me; but I tend not to be afraid.
Maybe emotional intimacy
scares me. That’s where my
fear lives.”
Carla Bruni’s two fathers
Carla Bruni was in her 30s
when she found out the truth
about her parentage, says
Andrew Billen in The Times.
Born in Italy, the singer moved
to France when she
was three, after
her wealthhy
family became
convinced they
were at rissk
of being
kidnapped d by
the Red Brrigade.
She suffereed
from mild
agoraphob bia
in her teen
ns,
but generaally,
she had
a happy
childhood.
Her motheer
was a
concert
pianist; her
father, a
successful
People
businessman. But when he was
dying in 1996, he told her a
secret: her biological father
was a Brazilian millionaire
with whom her mother had
had a six-year affair. Was
she devastated? “No, I was
relieved. I said, ‘That’s why
I am so complicated and
anxious.” Surely, though, she
was angry that her parents
hadn’t told her the truth
before? “No, no, no. The way
they did it was really nice. My
father said, ‘Please, don’t tell
your mother that I knew. I
wouldn’t want to offend her.’
That was kind. And my
mother said, ‘I can’t believe
your father knew. He didn’t
tell me anything in 40 years.’”
Bruni seems devoted to her
own husband, the former
French president Nicolas
Sarkozy. But she has made it
clear that unlike her father,
she wouldn’t tolerate infidelity.
“I told him if he cheats on me, Stella Moris is one of the most vocal of Julian Assange’s supporters
I’ll cut his throat.” Why would and she has more reason than most to want him to be freed from
he cheat? “I don’t know, but if jail. The 37-year-old lawyer has two young sons with Assange,
he cheats on me, I’ll cut his and they plan to marry – though that may never be possible: if the
throat. He knows.” WikiLeaks founder is extradited to the US, he could spend the rest
of his life behind bars. They first met in 2011: as a Swedish speaker,
The mountain runner she’d been recruited to help him fight sexual assault allegations in
Kílian Jornet is the undisputed Sweden, says Kirsty Lang in The Sunday Times. But it wasn’t until
king of mountain running. 2015, after he’d taken refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, that their
He has reached some of the relationship became intimate. As a member of his legal team, Moris
world’s highest peaks in record was in and out of the embassy all the time. Still, it’s hard to imagine
times. At home in Norway, how romance blossomed. Did they have any privacy? “There were
he runs up mountains every security guards there 24/7 and CCTV but not in Julian’s bedroom
day. There is, he told Alex or office.” The place was bugged, though, so “anything private
Moshakis in The Observer, or secret I wrote down on a piece of paper. That’s how I told Julian
“a perverse pleasure” in the I was pregnant.” She took their first son to meet Assange in the
suffering it involves. “It’s fun embassy (with a friend posing as the baby’s father); their second
to know how far you can push met him in Belmarsh. She fears they’ll never see him again. Yet
your body. It’s not the pain she surely knew that was a risk, so why did she go down this path?
itself. It’s that with the pain “We had a stable, long-term relationship and we wanted to start
you know you are raising a family,” she says. “It was about taking control. This was one
yourself to another level, decision that no one could interfere with. It was very elementary.”
another capacity. It’s fun to
explore how far you can go!”
Yet he seems a bit conflicted Viewpoint:
about his vocatio on. “It’s a Farewell
very stupid thin ng when Social proximity Sir Terence Conran,
you are running g just for “I find the welcoming rituals of my designer and
running,” he says. “If you sons’ generation exotically warm. businessman, died 12
are running beca ause a lion Young men dole out back-slapping September, aged 88.
is chasing you, then it’s ‘bro-hugs’. Girls treat friends of both Toots Hibbert, reggae
not pointless. Then it’s sexes to lingering full-body embraces. artist, died 11
for survival. But just The trouble is, they’re still at it. I’d bet September, aged 77.
to run? It’s not like the surge in Covid cases among the Shere Hite, author
a teachher educa- under-25s has come about because whose The Hite Report
ting new they are habitually touchy-feely. ‘It’s transformed sexology,
generations, the girls,’ one twentysomething told died 9 September,
or a doctor
o me. ‘They hug everyone.’ Watching aged 77.
who is
w one female stranger move around the Alan Minter, former
ssaving lives. pub table dispensing hugs, he resolved middleweight boxing
It’s putting to stick out a socially distanced elbow. champion, died
onee foot after But as his turn came, restraint faded 9 September, aged 69.
thee other. and he fell into her arms. ‘It’s funny,’ Allan Scott, DFM,
It’ss fun. But he said, ‘how peer pressure is stronger WWII Spitfire ace, died
it’s not than fear of the virus.’” 8 September, aged 99.
im
mportant.” Janice Turner in The Times
Desert Island Discs returns next week
 Briefing NEWS 13

The quantum supremacy

Quantum computing promises to bring about a new golden age of scientific understanding and innovation

What is a quantum computer? accelerate the use of artificial intelligence:

A quantum computer harnesses the Google is already using them to improve
strange phenomena of quantum its self-driving car software. At present,
mechanics to – in theory – deliver huge supercomputers can only analyse the
leaps forward in processing power. At most basic molecules. Quantum
their most basic level, normal computers computers, which work using the same
work by turning on or off millions of quantum properties as the molecules
transistors – tiny switches – inside they’re analysing, should be able to
microchips. These are used to store and simulate the precise behaviour of matter.
process bits (binary digits) of data, in This promises to bring about a new
binary code: they can be either in the golden age in human understanding and
off position – representing a zero – or innovation. Pharmaceutical companies
in the on position – representing a one. are already using them to create new
Numbers, texts, photos, websites and drug compounds, car companies to
apps: they are all made up of millions design more efficient batteries. In the
of bits in some combination of ones short term, though, probably the single
and zeroes. But instead of bits, quantum most important area is cryptography.
computers use qubits, or quantum bits.
IBM’s Q System One: the next stage of computing Why is cryptography so vital?
And what is a qubit? At present, most encryption systems –
If a bit is essentially a tiny switch set to on or off, a qubit is vastly which protect online payment systems, passwords, even military
more complex. It is typically a particle held in a quantum state: an networks – rely on the difficulty of breaking down large numbers
electron or a photon isolated in a vacuum at a temperature colder into prime numbers. This is called factoring, and even for very
than deep space, sometimes sealed inside an electromagnetic field. powerful conventional computers, it’s hard and slow: it could
A hundred years ago, the new field of quantum physics showed take thousands of years. But it’s possible that in a little more than
that, at a subatomic level, nature operates in mind-boggling ways: a decade, quantum computers will be able to crack these codes
uncertainty rules; causes are not guaranteed to be linked to effects; relatively easily – which could put our data at risk. It’s rumoured
particles can be in “superposition” – in two or more places or that intelligence agencies are stockpiling reams of encrypted data
states at once. Qubits, rather than just being on or off, can also in the hope that they’ll soon have quantum computers that can
be put in superposition: meaning they are both on and off at the crack it. Being able to create “quantum-safe” encryption is a
same time, or somewhere between the two. “Superposition is like powerful incentive in the race to master the technology (see box).
a spinning coin,” says Amit Katwala in Wired. “If you flip it, it
can either be heads or tails. But if you spin it – it’s got a chance How is the race going?
of landing on heads, and a chance of landing on tails. Until you IBM, Microsoft, Google, HP and many others are all racing
measure it, by stopping the coin, it can be either.” to build reliable quantum computers; China has also invested
billions. Last October, Google scientists announced that they
But why is that helpful for a computer? had achieved “quantum supremacy”: the point at which a
If you ask a normal computer to figure its way out of a maze, it quantum computer can complete a mathematical calculation
will try every single route in turn, ruling them all out individually that is demonstrably beyond the reach of even the most powerful
until it finds the right one. “A quantum computer can go down supercomputer. A computer with 53 qubits did a calculation in a
every path of the maze at once,” says Katwala. In superposition, little over three minutes that, Google claimed, would have taken
qubits can store many possible binary combinations and work the world’s biggest supercomputer 10,000 years, or 1.5 billion
with them simultaneously. Pairs of qubits can also be placed in times as long. (IBM, however, contested the specifics.)
another quantum state called
“entanglement”. This is mysterious Y2Q: post-quantum cryptography When will we see its effects?
– scientists don’t properly understand Computer scientists have dubbed it “Y2Q”: the year Quantum computing presents great
it – but it means two particles become in which quantum code-cracking becomes a major engineering challenges. It must be
linked together, even if they’re problem. Although it is still some distance off, any possible to manipulate the qubits,
physically separate; Einstein called business or government planning to store data for using lasers or microwaves, while
it “spooky action at a distance”. In a decades should be thinking now about the risks the also protecting them from all forms
normal computer, each bit can only technology poses: encryption technologies are deeply of electrical and acoustic interference,
occupy one state at a time: so eight embedded in so many different systems that which cause “quantum decoherence”:
unravelling them and implementing new ones can
bits can be in one of 256 possible take a great deal of time. As a result, there is already
IBM’s Q System One quantum
states at a time. But eight entangled a big push to develop post-quantum cryptography. computer is sealed in a cube of black
qubits can simultaneously occupy all glass to keep the cold in and the
At present, encryption uses complex mathematics to
256 states – providing an exponential scramble data so that it can’t be read without a key. world out. Essentially, they are very
increase in computing power. Most common are “trapdoor functions” based on the powerful but very unreliable. Google
maths of prime numbers – so-called because they are described its mastering of quantum
What effect will that have? relatively easy to compute in one direction, but hard to supremacy as like the first Wright
Computer scientists believe quantum compute in the other direction without the key. One Brothers flight at Kitty Hawk: proof
computers will eventually make the answer to the Y2Q threat could be doubling the size of of concept of a revolutionary tech-
traditional kind look like toys, as they a key from, say, 2048 bits to 4096 bits. Another could nology, but only the first step. In
could handle tasks that would never be to use quantum science itself. Scientists at Bristol the meantime, Google has used a
University have developed a prototype network based
be possible with today’s machines. quantum computer to simulate a
on entanglement: using two particles entangled at a
They promise to help us understand distance, which can be used to generate the same chemical reaction for the first time.
complex systems, from meteorological code in two places. In theory, it could be used to The reaction was simple, but it
conditions to financial markets. create an entirely impregnable “quantum internet”. marked another step towards finding
© IBM

Quantum computers could rapidly uses for quantum computing.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

 Best articles: Britain NEWS 15
The way dementia patients in care homes have been treated during
this pandemic “should make us sick with shame and pity”, says IT MUST BE TRUE…
Care homes: a Nicci Gerrard. Afflicted by an illness that attacks their memory
and sense of self, they draw special comfort from the presence of
I read it in the tabloids

tale of cruelty loved ones. Yet in the name of infection control, the Government
has seen to it that this vital human link has been denied them. No
A hot air balloonist has
been ordered to pay v68,000

and despair longer visited, they feel confused; abandoned. But it’s not the fault
of the care homes: it’s the grotesquely inflexible official guidelines,
in compensation to a bird
collector after scaring three
of his rare parrots to death
Nicci Gerrard which prohibit those who run the homes from devising sensible during a balloon race. The
precautions while still acting humanely towards those in their parrots – two macaws worth
The Observer charge. That’s why John’s Campaign, a not-for-profit movement v40,000 and a yellow-naped
aimed at getting the Government to reform these cruel rules, is amazon worth v1,250 – died
so worthy of support. One of its main concerns is to ensure that of shock after a balloon’s
burner was fired 160 feet
family carers are no longer seen as “visitors”, but instead treated
from their cage in 2017, a
as a crucial part of the clinical team needing the same protection, Dutch court heard. After a
testing and status as other key workers. The Government must three-and-a-half-year legal
be made to bring this “avoidable suffering” to an end. battle, the court ruled the
balloonist must compensate
When you read about desperate refugees crossing the Channel in the owner for the value of the
dinghies, do you ever ask yourself why these people left home in parrots – plus any chicks they
The cataclysm the first place? Few give it much thought, says Patrick Cockburn:
the migrants seem just a fact of life. But the reality is they’re “the
could have produced.

caused by the thin edge of the wedge of a vast exodus” created by military inter-
vention by the US and its allies. How vast? An analysis by Brown
war on terror University has put the number displaced since 9/11 by the wars
in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, northwest
Patrick Cockburn Pakistan and the Philippines at an astonishing 37 million. At
least eight million of these have fled abroad; the rest have been
The Independent internally displaced. That surpasses the disruption caused by
the First World War (ten million), India-Pakistan Partition
(14 million), and the Vietnam War (13 million); in recent history
only the Second World War has seen a greater displacement. For
as long as the conflicts spawned by the war on terror continue,
so too will “these waves of migration – and the anti-immigrant
backlash that has done so much to poison European politics”.

There’s one question political scientists and Labour strategists It has been a bad few weeks
are all asking these days, says Andy Beckett. Can Labour rebuild for “gender reveal” parties,
Can Starmer the Red Wall? The uneven line of constituencies running across
north Wales, the Midlands and northern England, that fell heavily
where an unborn baby’s sex
is unveiled in a spectacular
recapture loves to the Tories last year, is the key battleground of the next election.
That’s a big problem for Labour: as surveys show, these former
way. First, a firework at
one of the parties sparked a
Labour’s lost? Labour voters – people who want Britain to be “great” again –
are in no hurry to return to what they see as a middle-class party,
wildfire in California; then
the “biggest gender reveal
Andy Beckett led by a human rights lawyer, that coddles “scroungers”. And ever”, on Dubai’s Burj
though Keir Starmer is keen to emphasise his patriotism, he won’t Khalifa building, faced a
The Guardian find it easy to outbid the Tories as the champion “of flag-waving, backlash. Syrian influencers
traditional values”. Besides, if he does so, he risks alienating Asala Maleh and Anas
Labour’s other key constituency: social liberals in the cities. Yet Marwah celebrated wildly as
to win power, he’ll need to attract both these disparate groups. the landmark turned blue –
It’s not impossible. For all their differences, these groups share a but were accused of “waste”
common desire for “more cheap housing, properly funded public amid claims that the stunt
services and a fairer economy”. Starmer has to persuade them that cost tens of thousands of
these are things only a Labour government can deliver. dollars. Even the woman
who invented the trend,
Listen to the wild claims that Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro and blogger Jenna Karvunidis,
even our own Boris Johnson have made about the coronavirus – has despaired. “For the love
How the claims “entirely independent of anything that might actually be
the case” – and you grasp the essential feature of today’s populist
of God,” she pleaded, “stop
burning things down to tell
Left created politicians, says Bob Brecher. They’re utterly “indifferent to truth
or falsehood”. They don’t disguise it. What they say “makes no
everyone about your kid’s
penis. No one cares but you.”
Donald Trump claims to be true: it just expresses what they feel at any point in
time”. For them, language is not a tool for justifying opinions, it’s Another victim of the
pandemic is the Japanese
Bob Brecher a weapon for asserting them. Yet the sickening truth is that the woman dubbed the “world’s
Left is to blame for the emergence of this “post-truth” politics. It oldest porn star”. “I’ve been
Open Democracy was left-wing thinkers of the 1970s who sought “to protect social- shooting every year since I
ist beliefs from the increasing material success of the Right” by became 81,” says Yuko
espousing postmodernist theory. Insisting that all claims about the Ogasawara, now 84, and she
world are essentially ideological – geared to preserving political or is very frustrated that Covid-
economic power – the postmodernists argued that to engage with 19 has put filming on hold. “I
anyone who doesn’t share your view is “a deluded waste of time”. want to keep working,” she
The Trumps of this world have been only too happy to agree. The says. “I told my oldest son,
‘Isn’t it great to stay young?’”
Left “has acted as a Trojan horse for today’s populist takeover”.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

16 NEWS Best articles: Europe
Moria refugee camp: “purgatory” goes up in flames
It was known as Europe’s “camp of
shame”, home to thousands of refugees
and migrants forced to live in squalor.
Now, the Moria refugee camp on the
Greek island of Lesbos has been utterly
destroyed. Fanned by strong winds, a
huge blaze swept through its thousands
of makeshift huts and tents and, by
dawn on 9 September, Europe’s largest
refugee camp had ceased to exist. It
shan’t be mourned, said Alexia Kefalas
in Le Figaro (Paris). Notorious for its
cramped conditions – it was meant to
hold 3,000 refugees but was actually
home to some 13,000 – it was seen as a Tents on fire: a hell made in Brussels?
“purgatory” where people lacked beds,
electricity and running water as they awaited transfer elsewhere.
Kidnapping, prostitution, rape and fighting were rife, as were
suicide attempts among residents – thousands of whom are now The hell of Moria was “made in Brussels”, said Georg Schwarte
being forced to sleep in fields, roads and cemeteries nearby.
The “mass misery” in the camp had been compounded recently
by an outbreak of Covid-19, said Panos Kosmas in Efimerida
ton Syntakton (Athens). In the days before the fire, it had been
placed on lockdown after 35 people tested positive for the virus. is unlikely to force a rethink. The Greek government has been
The move sparked angry protests among residents – some of
whom lit fires which may have led to the camp’s destruction –
and fuelled unease among Greek islanders. Their worries are
understandable, said Panos Amyras in
Eleftheros Typos (Athens). Greece is
now “a country of transit for millions
of migrants”, with the Aegean islands
taking the strain for “the whole of
Europe”. Moria’s destruction must
herald a tougher stance, with the flow
of migrants by sea further restricted,
and asylum applications processed
faster to help reduce the numbers living
in “inhumane” conditions in camps.
It’s wrong to view them as a problem,
said Lefteris Charalambopoulos in To
Vima (Athens). They’re desperate and
have much to offer: we Greeks should
welcome them as we seek to “rebuild”
our country after years of economic turmoil.
in Tagesschau (Hamburg). EU leaders are so desperate to protect
Europe’s borders that they have happily turned a blind eye to
Moria’s appalling conditions. The camp’s squalor was no
accident, said Daniel Howden on Politico (Brussels): “it was
a spectacle intended to deter future asylum seekers”. But the fire
pushing for camps to be rebuilt as “closed” detention centres,
and looks likely to get its way. Moria will rise again and, this
time, it will “not just look like a prison camp – it will be one”.

ITALY The coronavirus pandemic has been a huge opportunity for Italy’s Mafias – and the rest of Europe
could have the same problem, says Roberto Saviano. Never has the need for ready cash been so acute
Why Covid and widespread. Many Italian businesses were unable to pay rents and salaries before state aid began
to flow; some never received any at all. Mafia loan sharks filled the void, with small business owners
has been the succumbing to offers of easy loans at extortionate interest rates. After all, such businesses are the
perfect cover under which to launder gains from their criminal activities. The problem is especially
Mafia’s friend acute in Italy, where Mafia groups boast “staggering” turnovers: the ’Ndrangheta in Calabria earns
some s44bn a year; the Camorra of Naples, up to s35bn. They run some of the “best-organised
La Repubblica structures in contemporary capitalism”: they know what people want and provide it, on their own
(Rome) terms. But the problem of shady loans isn’t confined to Italy. Who will restore the hotels on the
Costa del Sol that have been “brought to their knees”, or rescue London’s ailing pubs or Berlin’s
struggling restaurants? The truth is that “dirty money has never found so many doors wide open”.

FRANCE France has a new political buzzword: ensauvagement, meaning “descent into savagery”. Marine
Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party, has long used it to depict a country she claims
Pay no heed to is under siege by criminal violence she blames on immigration. And, after a spate of violent incidents
this summer, the term is gaining traction, says John Lichfield. In July, a bus driver was beaten to
the drumbeats death in Bayonne after telling a group of young men to wear face masks. Then, a young woman died
in Lyon after being dragged along the road by a car taking part in an illegal race. Last month, fans of
of doom the Paris Saint-Germain football club rioted when their team lost the Champions League final. Such
incidents have attracted “wall-to-wall coverage” on right-wing websites and social media. And they
Politico seem to be driving a change in attitudes: some 60% of French people now think violence is on the
(Brussels) rise, and Le Pen’s inflammatory rhetoric is being echoed by politicians from President Macron’s
government. But the idea that France is descending into “some apocalyptic twilight world of
migrant-driven violence” is a lie aimed at stirring up racial hatred: violent crime has actually fallen
steadily since the 1990s. Alas, “facts or no facts, the drumbeat continues”.

Sirens aimed at warning German citizens of an impending nuclear attack were mostly dismantled at
GERMANY the end of the Cold War, as it was assumed they wouldn’t be needed. Now, authorities seem to have

A nation that changed their minds, says Florian Gehm. Some 15,000 sirens are still functioning and recently wailed
again in a 20-minute country-wide drill aimed at testing a new warning system for events like natural
is deaf to the disasters or nuclear accidents. Three years in the planning, it was the first such test since German
reunification 30 years ago. Authorities said the scheme – which also included mobile phone alerts
sirens’ call and loudspeaker vans touring city streets telling people what action to take – would contribute to a
“greater sense of security” among citizens. But, in the event, the drill was a “disastrous” failure. Not
Die Welt only did the sirens go largely unnoticed across swathes of the country, including in major cities such
(Berlin) as Frankfurt, but the promised mobile alerts in many cases didn’t appear until much later – if at all.
Frankly, it’s debatable whether a national warning system like this is even necessary. But if it is, then
all the drill showed is that most of the population would have been caught unawares in the event of
a real catastrophe. If alarms are sounding anywhere, it should be in government offices.

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

 Best articles: International NEWS 19

“I wanted to play it down”: did Trump deceive America?

White House aides knew it was 19 March. “I still like playing it
a bad idea, said Nancy Cook on down, because I don’t want to
Politico, but there was no talking create a panic.”
President Trump out of it. Having
been roasted by Bob Woodward The only people Trump was
in his 2018 political exposé Fear, worried about panicking, said
Trump was determined to talk the Los Angeles Times, were
to the journalist who exposed stock market investors. When he
Watergate for his latest book, should have been taking steps to
Rage, which was released this protect the public, he was raging
week. Trump was convinced he about how the “media and the
could charm him. He duly offered Democrats were exaggerating the
Woodward some nine hours of dangers to scare the markets and
interview time. Predictably, these make him look bad”. In other
transcripts have now got Trump words, he was happy “to sacrifice
into trouble by revealing that he A charm offensive that backfired thousands of American lives to
publicly downplayed the risks of prop up the Dow”, said Paul
Covid-19, while privately conceding the dangers. He dismissed Krugman in The New York Times. His response to this virus
Rage last week as “another political hit job”, but the culprit wasn’t incompetent; “it was immoral, bordering on criminal”.
this time was himself.
Trump was dumb to talk to Woodward as he did, said David
Trump can’t deny his own recorded words, said Michelle Harsanyi in the National Review, but the idea that he has the
Goldberg in The New York Times. “This is deadly stuff,” blood of 196,000 Americans on his hands is “unadulterated
the president told Woodward on 7 February, referring to revisionism”. Those who accuse him of acting too late forget
coronavirus. “You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s that when he slapped a partial shutdown on travel from China
passed.” It was, he said, five times more lethal than flu. Yet on 2 February – some four weeks before the first reported,
despite knowing this, Trump went on in public to mock confirmed Covid death in the US – he attracted derision and
mask-wearing, to hold several large indoor rallies, and to “accusations of prejudice”. If Trump lied, then so did the
suggest that Covid-19 wasn’t much worse than flu. Because leading US immunologist Anthony Fauci, said Marc A. Thiessen
he is such a “prodigious consumer of propaganda, as well as in The Washington Post. On 17 February, he told USA Today
a creator of it, it’s not always clear how aware Trump is of that the danger was “just minuscule” and that people should be
spreading disinformation”. But in this case we know Trump more worried about flu. The reality is that “until mid-March,
deliberately misled the public because he admitted as much. no one knew we were facing a once-in-a-generation pathogen”.
“I wanted to always play it down,” he told Woodward on To claim that Trump endangered the public is a gross slur.

India: the “meteoric” rise of Covid-19

Seven months since the first case of porous”. Imposed with just four
Covid-19 in the country, India has hours’ notice, it put tens of millions
begun to rack up some unenviable of Indians out of a job instantly and
records, said Chandrakant Lahariya led an army of migrant workers to
in The Indian Express (Noida). It’s scatter from cities back to their rural
now registering more new infections homes. This both seeded Covid
each day than any other nation. outbreaks across the land and
Indeed, it’s registering more new devastated India’s economy, which
cases each day – in excess of 90,000 has shrunk faster than any other
– than the total number of cases major nation. Its economy
reported in China throughout the contracted by 23.9% in the last
entire pandemic. With its tally of quarter. A nation that had seemed
Covid cases standing at over 4.8 poised for great things is now facing
million, India has overtaken Brazil to very hard times. As many as 400
become the country with the second million of its citizens could slip
highest number of recorded infections More than a million tests are carried out every day back into poverty, according to
in the world. And within weeks it some estimates. In the words of the
looks set to take the top spot from America, which has reported Indian writer Arundhati Roy, “the engine has been smashed”.
over 6.5 million cases. The sheer pace at which India’s infections
are increasing is as worrying as the numbers involved, said The one “silver lining” for India in its fight against Covid is that
R. Krishnakumar in the Khaleej Times (Dubai). Its first million it has experienced a relatively low mortality rate from the disease,
confirmed cases took 170 days to accumulate; its fourth, just 14. said Akash Bisht on Al Jazeera. The combination of social
distancing precautions and a median age below 30 have kept
The meteoric rise in India’s Covid cases has been attributed partly the number of deaths (currently around 80,000) lower than some
to increased testing, said The National (Abu Dhabi). The country feared. With the battle to contain Covid well and truly lost, India
is reportedly second only to the US in this regard, carrying out must now focus on keeping the mortality rate down. That will
more than a million tests each day. But experts have also blamed require urgent action on air pollution, said Prof Michael Brauer in
the recent easing of restrictions in India. Metro services resumed the Hindustan Times. It’s lucky for India that the pandemic so far
in the capital, New Delhi, last week. The main culprit, said Jeffrey has occurred during spring and summer when its country’s skies
Gettleman in The Economic Times (Mumbai), was the lockdown are relatively clear. But the combination of winter’s typically high
imposed in March, which managed to be both “too tight and too air pollution levels and Covid infections could prove lethal.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

 Health & Science NEWS 21

What the scientists are saying...

Testosterone “helps weight loss”
Severely obese men often have low
testosterone levels. Now, researchers have
found that giving such men injections of
testosterone can help them slim down. The
team looked at data on 471 obese men
with hypogonadism (a condition that
means they produce lower than average
levels of testosterone); 276 of them had
opted to have the hormone treatment, the
rest declined, and thus served as a control
group. Eight years later, the testosterone
group had lost 23kg, on average, whereas
the others had gained 6kg. The waists of
the men in the testosterone group shrank,
and these men were less likely to develop
type 2 diabetes – and by the end of the
study, their mortality rate was much lower
than the control group, at 7.6% to 32.3%.
What was particularly striking was that
the men had lost weight slowly, and the
weight had stayed off: with other forms of
intervention, it’s very common for people
to regain the pounds they shed. “We don’t
see this with testosterone,” said Dr Farid
Saad of the Gulf Medical University, as he
presented his findings to the European and
International Congress on Obesity.
Covid-damaged lungs do heal
Many people who suffered from Covid-19
in the early part of the pandemic say they
still haven’t recovered – raising concerns
that some could be living with debilitating
symptoms for years to come. Now, a study
has confirmed that the illness can cause
long-lasting damage, but, on the bright
side, it has also found that the lungs do
tend to heal themselves over time. The
research involved 86 patients from the
Tyrol in Austria who were hospitalised
between 29 April and 9 June, and then
followed up at intervals over 24 weeks.
The results from the 24-week follow-up
Lyrebirds: “ecosystem engineers”
have not yet been published, but so far, the
data is encouraging: at the six-week follow-
up, 88% of patients showed evidence of
lung damage, but by 12 weeks, this had
dropped to 56%; and by 12 weeks, only
39% said they were experiencing breath-
lessness, down from 47% at six weeks.
The patients had an average age of 61,
and 65% of them were male; nearly half
were current or former smokers, and more
than six in ten were either overweight or
obese. Separately, a cheap and commonly
available drug has been found to reduce
mortality in the sickest patients. In a trial
led by a team from Imperial College
London, intensive care patients given
hydrocortisone were 20% less likely to
die than other patients.
The birds who move the earth
Lyrebirds are best known for their
astonishing ability to mimic the sounds
around them. They don’t just copy the
songs of other birds: they can recreate the
sounds of cameras clicking, dogs barking,
phones beeping and chainsaws whirring.
But the ground-dwelling creatures have
another trick up their sleeves, too: they’re
earth movers. In their search for food, the
birds use their powerful claws to rake
through leaf litter and soil on the forest
floor – and according to a new study, they
displace around 155 tonnes of the stuff per
hectare, per year. Enough to fill 11 dump
trucks, that is more than any other land-
based animal. And these “ecosystem
engineers” have a major impact. For
instance, their claws fluffing up the soil
aerates the earth, making it hospitable for
germinating seeds. They also scatter dry
leaf litter, which helps prevent bushfires.
“Without lyrebirds, Australia’s forests
would be vastly different places,” said
Alex Maisey, who led the research in the
Central Highlands of Victoria.
Our jeans are polluting the seas
It has been estimated that at any one time,
half the world’s population is wearing a
pair of jeans. The environmental impact of
making the clothes is well known: it takes
a lot of water to grow the cotton, and a
range of toxic chemicals to dye and soften
the fabric. Now, a study in Canada has
found that jeans are polluting the oceans,
too. A pair of jeans can shed 56,000
microfibres each time it is washed, the
researchers found – and though most
fibres will be caught in treatment plants,
many will be washed into waterways. The
team estimates that they make up a quarter
of the microfibres in the Great Lakes, and
a fifth of those in the Canadian Arctic. A
partial solution, said the researchers, might
be if people washed their jeans less often.
In Canada, people typically only wear their
jeans twice between washes.

V-shaped craft takes to the skies Lockdown pollution

A revolutionary aircraft – which During lockdown, road traffic fell
promises to use 20% less fuel than the dramatically all over the world. In
most fuel-efficient commercial planes Scotland, it was down 65%. And yet
flying today – has undergone its first all those cars being off the road didn’t
successful test flight. The Flying-V is, make much difference to levels of air
as its name suggests, V-shaped, which pollution. A team at the University of
Stirling analysed levels of PM2.5 fine
means that passengers and cargo are
particulate matter recorded at 70
all accommodated in the plane’s wings roadside locations around Scotland
(which are merged with the fuselage). from 24 March – the day after lockdown
This, its designers say, makes it much was introduced – to 23 April. They then
lighter than normal aeroplanes, and compared the data to the same periods
more aerodynamic. The test flight, at an We won’t be flying in it before 2050 in previous years, and found no signi-
airbase in Germany, involved a remote- ficant difference. However, they did
control scale model, three metres wide and weighing 23kg. The model took off easily detect a fall in levels of nitrogen
enough, after reaching a speed of 50mph; but it was a bit wobbly mid-air, and the dioxide. Based on these findings, the
researchers say that cars may not be
landing was a “little rough”, according to a statement from the Delft University of
key contributors to outdoor pollution
Technology, which is overseeing the project. in Scotland, and that people there may
The full-scale version is expected to accommodate 314 passengers, who will sit ten- be at greater risk from air pollution in
abreast in both the plane’s wings. However, that is still some way off: developing the their own homes, especially if smoking
© HENRI WERIJ

plane is expected to cost billions (the Dutch airline KLM is funding the project), and or cooking is taking place in poorly
there is little prospect of it taking to the skies before 2050. ventilated spaces.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

22 NEWS
Pick of the week’s
Gossip
Remarkable light has been
shed on David Cameron’s
close-knit clique, by the wife
of one of his Old Etonian
friends. In Diary of an MP’s
Wife, Sasha Swire (who is
married to Sir Hugo Swire)
portrays the ex-PM
as competitive, boozy and
lewd. During a weekend
visit to Chequers, Swire
says they watch Poirot on
Sunday night – but the men
then stay up “to admire
Keira Knightley’s nipples
when she comes out of the
fountain in Atonement”. On
a break in Cornwall in 2011,
just after the intervention
in Libya, she finds the PM
“pumped up and happy”.
At Polzeath beach, he points
out his teenage snogging
haunts, and says: “What
more do I want? A great day
on the beach... and I’ve just
won a war.” Later, on a hike,
he tells Swire not to walk
ahead of him, because her
scent is affecting his phero-
mones – and “[making] me
want to push you into the
bushes and give you one!”
Swire has admitted she
didn’t tell anyone she was
publishing her diaries;
friends have called it
“social suicide”.
Back in 1997, novelist Adam
Macqueen was a volunteer
at the Cheltenham Literature
Festival. He was supposed
to be chaperoning authors,
but got waylaid by the free
drink. On the last night, he
realised he’d forgotten to
get the authors to write
messages in a guest book
– so he wrote them instead.
One read: “Really nice to
get out of the house for a
change – Salman Rushdie.”
Only later did he realise that
the book was going to be
auctioned off for Children in
Need. “If you bought it, I’m
really sorry,” he said.
THE WEEK 19 September 2020
Talking points
California on fire: is the dream over?
At my home in southern
California, “the outdoors is
filthy grey at noon”, and
the air reeks of smoke,
said Helaine Olen in The
Washington Post. Ash
covers every surface – from
the chairs on the lawn to the
books on my coffee table; and
everywhere I go, my eyes burn.
“All this is from... well, I
don’t know exactly.” It could
be the Bobcat fire, which has
destroyed 42,000 acres in the
Angeles National Forest; or
the El Dorado fire – started
by a couple lighting fireworks
at a “gender reveal” party; or San Francisco: “transported to Mars” doesn’t mean they should be.
another fire entirely: there are
dozens raging in California, Oregon and
Washington state. In San Francisco, the sky is so Decades ago, forestry policy turned from active
red, the city looks as though it has been “trans- management to letting nature run its course.
ported to Mars”. In Portland, the air is so dirty, Controlled burning that once cleared flammable
people have been told to stay indoors. Four
million acres have burned; communities have
been razed; tens of thousands of people have
fled their homes; and at least 35 have died.
For many Californians, this feels like the last
straw, said Scott Simon on NPR.org. The dream
of the Golden State had already started to sour,
thanks to high taxes and soaring house prices.
Then, the pandemic struck: California has had
more cases of Covid-19 than any other state.
Now, Californians are living through another
summer of choking air, scalding heat (LA hit
Belarus: ripe for a Russian takeover?
The brutal repression of peaceful protests in
Belarus is “an affront to everyone who cherishes
democracy”, said The New York Times. Since
claiming victory in a “blatantly fixed election”
last month, President Aleksandr Lukashenko
has deployed security forces to beat up and
detain demonstrators. Leading opposition
figures, meanwhile, have been forced into exile.
One of the women at the forefront of the pro-
tests, 38-year-old flautist Maria Kolesnikova,
was driven to the Ukrainian border last week
and, according to her lawyer, told she’d be
removed from the country “alive or in bits”.
She responded by tearing up her passport and
remains in custody in Belarus. Despite such
intimidatory tactics, tens of thousands of
marchers have continued to take to the streets
of Minsk each weekend. But whether dissidents
can sustain this campaign with all their leaders
locked up or expelled remains to be seen.
The next chapter of Belarusian history will
most likely “be written not on the streets of
Minsk but in the Kremlin”, said Shaun Walker
in The Guardian. During his 26 years in power,
Lukashenko has always played Russia off
against the West, but having now burned his
bridges with the latter, he’s entirely dependent
for his survival on Vladimir Putin. The Russian
leader has decided to back him for now, offering
49ºC earlier this month) and
power outages, and wondering
if whatever lured them West is
enough to keep them there.
If you haven’t lived through a
fire season, it’s hard to imagine
how dreadful it is, to see the
“world immolate”, said
Charlie Warzel in The New
York Times. I can’t help asking
myself, if more Americans had
to live through this hell, would
they be more alarmed by
climate change?
They might be, said The
Wall Street Journal – but that
Trump has been attacked for
blaming forest management, but he is not wrong.
underbrush stopped; logging that thinned forests
declined. Today’s fires are the result; add the
spread of housing into rural areas, and you have
a recipe for catastrophe. All this is true, said the
Los Angeles Times. But it remains the case that
“dry, hot air and deeper droughts” are helping to
create the conditions for bigger, more dangerous
fires; more than twice as much land is being lost
to fire each year now than in the 1990s. So yes,
people need to be more careful not to start fires;
and our forests need to be better managed. But
man-made climate change is happening; and we
can’t escape all its consequences.
him a $1.5bn loan when the pair met for talks
in Russia this week. Putin views Lukashenko as
a frustrating and unreliable partner, but he fears
his ousting would embolden pro-democracy
campaigners in Russia.
In return for propping up Lukashenko, Putin
will doubtless press for a deeper integration
of Belarus with Russia, said The Economist.
Indeed, it’s possible he’ll effectively seek the
soft annexation of this country of 9.5 million
people, compensating Lukashenko with “an
honorary post in Moscow some day”. That
would be as egregious a move as Putin’s seizure
of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine. “No
one should recognise a dodgy deal struck by
a desperate despot who would sell his country
to save himself.” But even if mass arrests and a
part-Russian takeover do quash the protests in
Belarus, that “won’t mark the end of the story”,
said Steve Crawshaw on UnHerd. You only
have to consider the rise of the Solidarity
movement in Poland in the 1980s, or later
events in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to see
how hard it is to contain the forces unleashed
by pro-democracy movements once they’ve
erupted. As one dissident leader put it to me
back then, “You can’t put toothpaste back
in the tube.” For Putin and Lukashenko, the
“lessons from history are impossible to ignore”.
 Talking points
The Oscars: getting serious about diversity
The Oscars have been
“agonisingly slow” to tackle
their “diversity problem”, said
Kevin Maher in The Times.
For most of this decade,
campaigners have complained
about the dearth of non-white
actors and artists nominated
for Oscars, and the snubbing
of black films. Yet by 2019 the
membership of the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences – which runs the
awards – was still 84% white
and 68% male, and that year,
they nominated only a single
non-white person in all the
acting categories. Last week, Lupita Nyong’o in 2014
though, the Academy took a
momentous step. From 2024, any film seeking
a best picture nomination will have to meet
eligibility standards for “representation and
inclusion”, both on and off screen. The measure
was well-intentioned, but there is something
disturbing and “anti-artistic” about imposing
such demands on film-makers – pushing them
towards certain characters and stories. Creativity had a Mexican cinematographer and a female
“doesn’t recognise form-filling percentiles”.
The rules read like “a mind-numbing blend”
of academic race theory and an “algebra word
problem”, said Deroy Murdock on Fox News.
To be eligible, a film must meet at least two of
the following “standards”. (1) It must feature
under-represented groups, either in main parts,
or the overall acting ensemble, or in its narrative
Starmer: a “question of vision”
“Keir Starmer resembles an
armadillo,” said John Rentoul in
The Independent. “That would be
my answer to the popular focus-
group question: if this or that
politician were an animal, what
would they be?” He’s a “well-
armoured, compact, defensive
unit” who protects himself well
against “natural predators” such
as Boris Johnson: the PM’s wild
recent claim that he was an “IRA
sympathiser” simply “bounced
off”. And his “political style is
to give little away”. For instance,
Starmer almost certainly has a low
Starmerism required
opinion of Jeremy Corbyn, but any
attempt to elicit criticism is “met with a blank
face, an ambiguous smile and a brisk moving on
of the conversation”. In his cautious way, he has largely in the Red Wall seats of the Midlands
“done a remarkable job” of pulling Labour back and the North – “who are socially and culturally
from its worst election defeat since 1935, while
taking the Government to task over its record on real issue is the “question of vision”, said Alan
Covid-19. After just five months, he has brought
Labour level with the Tories at the polls, “mainly is in charge, but what does he stand for? Any
by appearing earnest and competent”.
Earnestness and competence will only get you
so far, said Matt Chorley in The Times. To win
back the many voters who deserted Labour last
themes. (2) A certain number
of key crew members must be
female and/or LGBTQ+,
non-white or disabled.
(3) The distributor must
employ interns or apprentices
from those groups. (4) The
film company must have
female, LGBTQ+, non-white
and/or disabled executives in
its marketing or distribution
teams. With these targets, the
Oscars are not tackling racism,
“but aiding and abetting it”,
said Clare Foges in The Times.
“Diversity quotas reinforce the
racist (and sexist and homo-
phobic) notion that those
who are being given a leg up
weren’t good enough to rise on their own.”
Actually, the Academy hasn’t gone far enough,
said Chris Feil in Vanity Fair. Every best picture
nominee from the past 15 years meets the first
two standards – even “white-guy-focused” pro-
ductions like Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (it
editor). And any major studio will already have
a few interns from minority groups and female
executives on its staff. That’s why the rules are
about right, said Kyle Buchanan in The New
York Times. They’ll leave film-makers their
creative freedom, but they’ll also act as a spur
to change. When it’s all on paper, we’ll be able
to see how the standards were met – “and which
films skated by with a handful of interns”.
December, he’ll also need to get
them singing his tune. And yet
“Starmer remains strangely
tuneless”. The “more in sorrow
than in anger” routine which he
uses on Johnson makes too little
impact. He’s like a weatherman.
“You know he’s talking but you
can’t retain any of it.” Johnson
may lose – but “Starmer never
quite manages to win”.
Perhaps, but Starmer has to
perform a difficult balancing act,
said Stephen Bush in the New
Statesman. He needs to keep the
party’s powerful radical left in
line, while trying to win back the “new Tory-
voting, Brexit-supporting working class”,
conservative but economically on the left”. The
Finlayson in The Guardian. We know Starmer
would-be prime minister must offer a “sense
of direction and purpose”, a “compelling
explanation” of how we got to this moment,
and how we can create a better future. “Starmer
needs a Starmerism, and he needs it now.”
NEWS 23
Wit &
Wisdom
“Gratitude is merely
the secret hope
of further favours.”
François de La
Rochefoucauld,
quoted in Forbes
“Hollywood is a place where
they’ll pay you a thousand
dollars for a kiss and
50 cents for your soul.”
Marilyn Monroe, quoted
in The Sunday Times
“A learned fool is more fool-
ish than an ignorant one.”
Molière, quoted in
The Guardian
“The trouble with
socialism is socialism.
The trouble with
capitalism is capitalists.”
Journalist Willi Schlamm,
quoted on The Conversation
“So convenient a thing is it
to be a reasonable creature,
since it enables us to find or
make a reason for everything
one has a mind to.”
Benjamin Franklin, quoted
in The Guardian
“The roulette table pays
nobody except him that
keeps it. Nevertheless, a
passion for gambling is
common, though a passion
for keeping roulette tables
is unknown.”
George Bernard Shaw,
quoted in Forbes
“No one, however smart,
however well-educated,
however experienced, is the
suppository of all wisdom.”
Former Australian PM
Tony Abbott, quoted in
The Guardian
“For what do we live,
but to make sport for our
neighbours, and laugh
at them in our turn?”
From Jane Austen’s Pride
and Prejudice, quoted in
The Observer
Statistic of the week
When a vaccine for Covid-19
becomes available, shipping
one dose per person
around the world would
require the equivalent of
8,000 Boeing 747s.
IATA/BBC
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
24 NEWS Sport
Premier League: Liverpool pip Leeds in opening-day thriller
Liverpool’s title defence began last Saturday with
“one of the grand fixtures of English football”,
said Andy Hunter in The Observer: a match
against last season’s “Championship champions”,
Leeds United – who are back in the Premier
League after a 16-year absence. And the match
more than lived up to its billing: it was a pulsating,
“wildly entertaining contest” that ended in a 4-3
victory for the Reds. Leeds played like a team
“intent on making up for lost time”, said Paul
Joyce in The Sunday Times. Sticking to the
“adventurous principles” that earned them
promotion, they swarmed forward at every
opportunity, and drew level three times – twice
in a frenetic first half that yielded five goals, and
again in the 66th minute, when Mateusz Klich
“flashed a volley into the corner”. In the end, the Salah: “sparkled throughout”
match was settled by an 88th-minute penalty by
Mohamed Salah – the Egyptian’s third goal (and second penalty).
For Marcelo Bielsa’s side, it was a “heartbreaking finale”.
Nonetheless, Leeds fans will take heart from this performance,
said Chris Bascombe in The Daily Telegraph. Not since
Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle entered the top flight in 1993 has a
“promoted club provoked this level of romantic fascination”, and
on the evidence of their “courage and intensity” at Anfield, they
will be highly competitive this season – though the true test will
come when they take on “lesser” opponents. Yes,
their football was thrilling at times, but let’s not
get carried away, said Jonathan Wilson in The
Guardian. The final scoreline flattered Leeds, who
had six shots to Liverpool’s 22, and who scored
with all three of their chances on target (none of
which was exactly clear-cut). “There will be many
weeks when they are not so clinical in front of
goal.” At times, the match had the dynamic of
a cup tie, with “a minnow gamely throwing
everything on the line” – a strategy that doesn’t
feel “sustainable”.
After the match, Jürgen Klopp “could afford to
chuckle”, said James Pearce on The Athletic.
“Wow, a proper spectacle,” the Liverpool boss
declared. Yet had it not been for Salah, who
“sparkled throughout”, he would have been less
sanguine, as this was an “unconvincing”, sloppy performance.
Roberto Firmino was uncharacteristically profligate in front of
goal; more worryingly, there was further evidence of the defensive
failings that have dogged the Reds of late. Liverpool’s success last
season was founded on an extraordinary frugality in front of goal:
in their opening 26 matches, they conceded just 15 times. Recently,
however, a “significant shift” has occurred, and they’ve now
conceded 21 goals in their last 13 league matches. If they are to
retain their crown, they’ll need to recover their “steely edge”.

Tennis: Osaka conquers Flushing Meadows

Two years ago, Naomi Osaka’s maiden grand
slam title was overshadowed by the antics of her
opponent, Serena Williams, who challenged
officials after receiving a code violation for
“coaching”. Thankfully, when the 22-year-old
claimed her second US Open title, at Flushing
Meadows last Saturday, “nothing” detracted
from her victory, said Stuart Fraser in The
Sunday Times. Her opponent, Victoria Azarenka,
dominated the early stages, winning the first set
in 27 minutes and breaking Osaka early in the
second. A rout looked inevitable, said Kevin
Mitchell in The Observer. But midway through
the second set Azarenka’s form dipped, and Osaka’s “poise
returned in a rush”. Using the “flat-out power” that is her
trademark, she fought her way to a 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory.
Osaka, who overtook Williams earlier this year as the world’s
best-paid female athlete, is still in the “infancy of her career”,
said Tumaini Carayol in The Guardian – and
worryingly for her opponents, she is likely to
get better. She’s still learning how to play on
grass and clay courts, and how to maintain
her form across several tournaments. Once she
does so, a “sustained period” of dominance
looks inevitable.
Osaka is also rare among athletes in displaying a
“propensity for deep thought”, said Simon Briggs
in The Daily Telegraph. During lockdown, she
Osaka: fighting back “used her time away from the game to consider
her role in society” – and became a vocal
supporter of Black Lives Matter. In each of her seven rounds at
Flushing Meadows, she wore a different customised face mask
featuring the name of a victim of “police brutality or racism in the
US”: her coach, Wim Fissette, said it gave her extra motivation to
win. In claiming her third major title, the young star has shown
beyond doubt “that politics and sport can mix successfully”.

Cricket: England’s “miraculous” win Sporting headlines

White ball cricket these days tends
to be about “the big scores and the
big hits”, said Steve James in The
Times. But sometimes low-scoring
contests are just as “compelling”.
And so it proved with England’s
“extraordinary and thrilling” victory
over Australia in the second one-
day international at Old Trafford.
With his team trailing 1-0 in the
series, Eoin Morgan opted to bat
on a “tricky pitch” and, before Chris
Woakes began the fightback with
26 from 39 balls, England were
soon “truly in the mire” on 117 for
five. Then, a “remarkable” ninth- Woakes: “jaw-dropping” short. The last time England “lost
wicket partnership of 76 between
Tom Curran and Adil Rashid took England to
231 for nine, a total that had seemed “beyond
their wildest dreams”.
Even so, Australia looked set
for a comfortable victory when
Aaron Finch (73) and Marnus
Labuschagne (48) took them to
144 for two, said Ali Martin in The
Guardian. But it was at this point
that Morgan turned to his two key
pace bowlers – Woakes and Jofra
Archer – and was sensationally
“rewarded with a game-breaking
burst of four wickets in 21 balls”.
After this “jaw-dropping
intervention”, Sam Curran and
Rashid skilfully subdued the tail,
and Australia finished 24 runs
a bilateral one-day series at home”
was five years ago, said Scyld Berry in The Daily
Telegraph. Thanks to this “miraculous victory”,
they have a chance of keeping the streak going.
Tennis Dominic Thiem
became the first male
debut Grand Slam winner
for six years when he beat
Alexander Zverev in the
US Open final. The Austrian
beat the German 2-6 4-6 6-4
6-3 7-6.
Formula One Lewis Hamilton
won the Tuscan Grand Prix
to claim his 90th race victory,
one short of Michael
Schumacher’s all-time record.
Premier League Arsenal
opened their campaign with
a 3-0 win over Fulham;
Tottenham lost 1-0 to Everton.
Rugby Union Premiership
leaders Exeter lost 40-17 to
bottom-placed Saracens.

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

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Pick of the week’s correspondence
Join the club
To The Daily Telegraph
Those people, including Lady
Hale, who seem to think that
the Garrick Club should be
stripped of the right to
determine its own membership
rules on the grounds that these
discriminate on grounds of sex,
ought perhaps to reflect on the
membership rules of the Girl
Guides, the Soroptimists, the
University Women’s Club, the
Women’s Institute, women-
only gymnasia, and many other
organisations that exclude men
and boys because of their sex.
What is most depressing is
the attitude of the claimant,
Emily Bendell. Does she wish
to belong to the Garrick
because she likes the members?
Does she seek a place of refuge
from the pressures of
professional life? A home-
from-home in the city? Is she
motivated by the pleasing
amenities of the club that she
seeks by litigation to enjoy?
Is she fascinated by the club’s
interest groups? No. She wants
to use it for “networking”. If
that’s why she wants to join,
any club to which she applies
should blackball her, as she
clearly misunderstands what
a club is for.
Dr Richard Austen-Baker,
Lancaster
Were they silly to sign?
To The Independent
Did Boris Johnson and
Dominic Cummings et al make
a big mistake when negotiating
and signing the Withdrawal
Agreement? If the answer is
yes, they were incompetent and
should resign. If the answer is
no, then where is the problem?
Tony Harris, Stockton-on-Tees
Rural rides
To The Spectator
I am puzzled by the complaints
Melissa Kite directs at her
fellow Britons when they try
to enjoy the same countryside
she does. I am an active
country sportsman from
Welsh farming stock but, like
my father, I am also a fervent
supporter of access to the
countryside. What right do we
have to deny our compatriots
their historic inheritance?
Rights of way, many of them
ancient, are one of our great
national blessings; and never
more so than when the
response to Covid-19 has
● Letters have been edited
LETTERS 27
Exchange of the week slave overseer on a Jamaican
plantation and was only
Making and breaking the law kept from sailing because he
could not raise the money for
To the FT his passage.
Many Irish people are not surprised by Britain’s decision to Jeremy Tyrer, London
ignore an international treaty. Although its current popular
usage dates to the French Revolution, the French idiom Albion ...then so was George
perfide has been in use here for centuries. Irish history is To The Times
replete with examples, not least of which was disregarding the I assume that “40 George
Treaty of Limerick. The latter gave rise to the battle-cry of the Square” is named after George
Irish Brigade soldiers in the French service at Fontenoy in III, who was king during the
1745. They, at a decisive point, drove the British back with building of Edinburgh’s New
the battle-cry “Cuimhnígí ar Luimneach agus ar fheall na Town. It may interest those
Sasanach” (remember Limerick and Saxon perfidy). behind the decision to rename
Bob Frewen, Ireland the tower that for most of his
reign, George firmly opposed
To The Daily Telegraph the abolitionist movement.
The civil service code has only ever said that a civil servant Michael Johnstone, London
must “comply with the law”. Some seek to argue that “the
law” includes international law, but this has never been the A Rolls-Royce service
case in the UK. In 2015, the ministerial code was altered to To the FT
match the civil service code, removing any reference to Camilla Cavendish comments
international law to reflect this. critically on the performance
Parliament may make or unmake any law; this is the of the British civil service. She
sovereignty of Parliament. The UK courts have never sought points out that it came 28th
to enforce any provision of international law other than those out of 38 countries for digital
provided for by Parliament. Some states, such as in the US, services in an international
incorporate treaty law into their domestic law, but even in the comparison by the Blavatnik
US a statute enacted into law can override an earlier treaty. School of Government
Sir Bernard Jenkin, MP, chairman, Commons public (Oxford) with the Institute
administration and constitution committee 2010-19 of Government. What Ms
Cavendish does not point out
To the FT is that across all the indicators
The trouble with treating the offending clauses of the internal used in this ranking, the British
market bill as a matter of law, whether international or civil service was the best
domestic, is it overcomplicates things – as Iain Duncan Smith’s performer overall.
article shows (“Government is right to protect integrity of Richard Batley, Birmingham
UK”). This is not, fundamentally, a matter of law, it is a
matter of honour. In the country Sir Iain and others once Sit-down protest
claimed they wanted back, it used to be said that an English- To The Guardian
man’s word was his bond. An Englishman who, having got Back in the day when concerts
what he wanted, went back on his word was a cad. It was as always ended with the national
simple as that. It still is. anthem, a woman in the row
Nicholas Boyle, emeritus Schröder professor of German, in front of us remained seated
University of Cambridge as everyone stood. A man
behind her poked her and
imprisoned us all for so long. “cancelling” of David Hume hissed: “Stand up!” With a
Having recently lived with shows that the hysterical sweet smile she turned to him
my young family in rural attempts to suggest that and said: “Sir, I do not believe
North America, I was struck everybody before 1960 should in God and, even if I did, I
by the brutality of their hold the same opinions as we should not wish him to save
inviolable property rights: even do continue. The opinion of the Queen.”
in rural districts one can often Felix Waldmann that “anyone Sheila Williams, London
only walk along highways, or possessed of Hume’s
alternatively drive long talents would recognise
distances to access national the obvious enormity of
parks (often at a price). By slavery” encapsulates
contrast, here in the UK we can this. I see Dr Waldmann
tumble out into nature across is now at the University
a web of paths and tracks, and of Cambridge: how does
thus understand better how the his assumption square
countryside works, to every- with Isaac Newton being
one’s benefit. Let’s all be a little one of the largest share-
more welcoming, shall we? holders in the South Sea
Marcus Evans, Wigmore, Company? The Scottish
Herefordshire establishment is very
soon going to have to
If David was a racist... face up to Robert
To The Times Burns’s history. He
The University of Edinburgh’s accepted a job as a © PRIVATE EYE
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
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 ARTS
Review of reviews: Books
Book of the week
JFK Volume 1: 1917-1956
by Fredrik Logevall
Viking 816pp £30
The Week Bookshop £23.99 (incl. p&p)
This book – the first of a two-volume
life of John Fitzgerald Kennedy – is
“the most compelling biography I have
read in years”, said Max Hastings in
The Sunday Times. It offers a peerless
portrayal of a man of prodigious
intelligence and charm who was
“always in a hurry”. Born in 1917, JFK
was the second of nine children fathered by the “horrible” Joseph
Kennedy, a Wall Street tycoon-turned-ambassador who became
notorious in the late 1930s for arguing that Britain was “not
worth saving” from Hitler. As a boy, John was sickly and
“academically lazy”, and at first his “much less intelligent”
elder bother, Joe Jr, was “earmarked to become the Kennedy
president”. But when Joe Jr was killed during a wartime bombing
mission (one of four Kennedy siblings to meet violent early
deaths), Joe Snr transferred his ambitions to his next son.
The Second World War takes up a large proportion of this
volume, and rightly so, because it “made JFK who he was”,
said Andrew Preston in The Spectator. As aide to his father in
London, he witnessed the “Nazis’ march to war” and was “in
29
the Westminster gallery” to hear the
defiant speeches of his hero, Winston
Churchill. The War also offered
evidence of his extraordinary physical
courage, said David Runciman in The
Guardian. Having signed up, despite his
father’s objections to the conflict, JFK
was in charge of a motorised torpedo
boat that was sunk by the Japanese in
1943, killing two crew members. To
find help, he “set out on his own in
shark-infested waters” and eventually
brought all ten survivors back alive.
This incident, “much burnished in the
retelling”, provided a launchpad for his
entrance into politics. Logevall’s book
is a “riveting” portrait of a life
propelled by “valour”, as well as “vanity and greed”.
Although Logevall makes his subject “amiably human”, he
can be “lenient” in his judgements, said Peter Conrad in The
Observer. He lets JFK off lightly for “some shocking marital
truancy” – such as the time in 1956 when, with his wife Jackie
pregnant, he went sailing on the French Riviera with a “flotilla of
bikini-clad nymphets”. Even when Jackie suffered a stillbirth, he
insisted on remaining on holiday, only “scuttling home” when an
adviser told him: “If you want to run for president you’d better
get your ass back to your wife’s bedside.” Logevall ends his
narrative “at a cliff edge”: JFK’s decision that same year to aim
for the White House in 1960. I hope a second “massive” volume
follows soon: it is “bound to be enthralling”.

Men Who Hate Women

by Laura Bates
Simon & Schuster 368pp £16.99
The Week Bookshop £13.99
In this “brilliantly fierce and eye-opening book”,
Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism
Project, investigates the “cult of male supremacy”,
said Steven Poole in The Guardian. Her research
takes her into some truly “hellish” pockets of the
internet – places where it’s considered normal to
glorify rape and murder. The “manosphere”, as
Bates discovers, consists of several distinct, but
interrelated, communities. Perhaps “most sinister” A citizen of the “manosphere”
are “incels” – or “involuntary celibates”, said Mia
Levitin in the FT. Enraged at being denied the sex which they consider their due,
they “propose controlling women’s sexual autonomy through rape, sexual
slavery or sex redistribution”. More “socially accepted” are Men’s Rights
Activists, who are interested in “battling women” by seeking, for example, to
defund domestic violence shelters. Then there are MGTOW (“Men Going Their
Own Way”) who eschew women altogether because of feminism’s effects; and
“Pick-Up Artists”, who use psychological tricks to “seduce” women.
It’s often assumed that groups such as these are made up entirely of “random
weirdos”, said Lucy Pavia in the London Evening Standard. In fact, Bates
argues, the cult of male supremacy is “bigger and more organised” than we
might think. It has helped inspire terrorist atrocities – incel ideology has inspired
several mass shootings – and teenage boys are increasingly coming under its
sway online. Bates herself has observed this latter trend, during talks she
regularly gives at schools. At one “prominent public school”, a boy in the front
row “calmly puts up his hand to tell her men are more likely to be victims of
rape than women”. Although at times a hard read, this “compellingly argued”
book illuminates a phenomenon our society needs to pay attention to.
To order these titles or any other book in print, visit
theweekbookshop.co.uk or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835
Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm
Novel of the week
Summerwater
by Sarah Moss
Picador 200pp £14.99
The Week Bookshop £11.99
“Summer breaks have never been much fun in
Sarah Moss’s fiction,” said Peter Kemp in The
Sunday Times. In Night Waking (2011), a family
in the Hebrides finds a baby’s skeleton in the
garden of their rented home; Ghost Wall (2018)
describes a camping trip that “escalates into
horror”. In Summerwater, an “even grimmer
holiday experience unrolls” in a cabin park by
a Scottish loch, where we follow 12 characters
over a single rainy day. All are in some kind of
crisis – from a doctor who senses that his wife
is succumbing to Alzheimer’s to a teenager who
narrowly avoids drowning. While it “sounds a
cheerless scenario”, Moss’s “imaginative
versatility” makes this a rewarding read.
Moss excels at portraying the “fleeting”
thoughts of her characters, said Melissa Harrison
in The Guardian: the woman distracted from sex
with her boyfriend by the “thought of a bacon
bap”; the mother who, given an hour’s break
from her children, can’t think of a better way to
use it than cleaning behind the taps. Written in
“simple, pellucid prose”, these portraits expertly
capture the “agonised tenderness of family life”.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

30
Podcasts... Partridge, celebrity interviews and history
If Alan Partridge really existed,
he is “exactly the sort of person”
who would have his own podcast,
said James Marriott in The Times.
And now he does. In the first
episode of From the Oasthouse:
The Alan Partridge Podcast,
the TV host turned DJ explains
that the idea came to him after
he asked himself: “What medium
allows me to communicate
publicly without Ofcom
regulations?” Each episode has a
skeletal plot: Partridge is “going
on a date/for a walk/practising
personal grooming”, and so on.
But mainly, From the Oasthouse
is an excuse for Steve Coogan to
“monologue in character” – and Alan Partridge: needless to say, he had the last laugh
he does it brilliantly. There is an
extra treat, however, in the form of spoof adverts for other
podcasts. “Recall! Very much one for fans of Chernobyl or
Watergate, Recall! follows in minute detail the lead-up to and
fallout from the 1972 recall of the Triumph Toledo. [Dramatic
pause.] Narrated by John Stapleton.”
For a celebrity podcast featuring a real person (and real
celebrities), try David Tennant Does a Podcast With..., said
Miranda Sawyer in The Observer. I’ve been sniffy about this one
in the past. Tennant can be a bit “too lovely-luvvy” for my taste,
and “celebs who interview other celebs rarely bring much
insight”. Yet having listened to this new series, I “must reluctantly recent history, as described by people who were there.
ARTS
concede that Tennant is a good
interviewer – knowing when to shut
up and when to interject – listening
hard and giving his interviewees
space”. In particular, I was struck
by his show with George Takei,
in which the actor (Star Trek’s
Lieutenant Sulu) opens up about
his “astonishing life”, including his
LGBT activism and his family’s
internment in a Second World War
camp. It is “just great”.
History, with its endless scope for
“great storytelling”, is naturally
fertile ground for podcasts, said
Amelia Heathman in the London
Evening Standard. One series
that justifiably tops the history
favourites lists is Lore. “Each
episode looks at the darker side of history so it’s almost a true-
crime podcast, with a side sharing of mysterious creatures and
nightmares.” Another favourite is Dan Snow’s History Hit:
Snow covers everything from Genghis Khan and the Peterloo
Massacre to the legacy of John F. Kennedy. Travels Through
Time is a wonderfully escapist listen in which a historian or
writer talks about a point in time they would most like to “visit”.
Recent episodes have had Professor Simon Hall on a trip to 1960s
America, and archaeologist Dr Rebecca Wragg Sykes “going back
to Neanderthal times”. Also recommended is the BBC World
Service podcast Witness History, about specific moments in

Albums of the week: three new releases

Various: Britten: Peter The Flaming
AngelHeaded Grimes Lips: American
Hipster – The Chandos Head
Songs of Marc £23 Bella Union
Bolan & T. Rex £10
BMG
£13

Marc Bolan was the “platonic ideal of a pop
star – glamorous, impish, lovable yet
elusive”, said Tim de Lisle in The Mail on
Sunday. Now, 43 years after his death, he
receives “one of the biggest compliments
known to songwriters” – a tribute by Hal
Willner, the great producer who sadly died
earlier this year of Covid-19, soon after
completing work on this wonderful album.
Willner’s special gift was for matching
material and artist, and here a starry array
of Bolan fans – including U2 with Elton
John, Joan Jett, Nick Cave, Peaches, and
Marc Almond – deliver beautifully realised
covers of some of his best songs.
There are moments when Bolan’s
“defiantly gibberish” lyrics feel exposed,
said Neil McCormick in The Daily
Telegraph. “I got giraffes all up in my
hair and I don’t care,” croons Father John
Misty on Main Man. But in fact, it scarcely
matters. With its “intriguing cast, exotic
songs and dazzling arrangements”, this
treat of an album is a “loving, rich, strange
and rewarding delight”. My advice: “Bang
a gong, and get it on.”
The Week’s own podcast, The Week Unwrapped, covers the biggest unreported stories of the week (available on Apple and Google)
THE WEEK 19 September 2020
This superb new recording of Benjamin
Britten’s breakthrough 1945 opera, by
the Bergen Philharmonic under Edward
Gardner, is up there with the “finest” ever,
said Erica Jeal in The Guardian. It was
made last year following several semi-
staged performances and acclaimed
concerts – and the recording is thus “extra-
ordinarily well run-in”. Even in audio only,
it registers as a “genuine music drama”.
The music “leads us through the story in
one urgent, vital sweep”, the sound is
“huge and thrilling”, and there’s “sparkling
interplay between singers and orchestra”.
This “outstanding” Peter Grimes is one
to “cherish”, agreed Hugh Canning in The
Sunday Times – and it preserves Stuart
Skelton’s “immense incarnation” of the
title role. His Grimes is “brutish” in his
treatment of the apprentice, yet “heart-
breakingly vulnerable” in the mad scene.
Erin Wall and Roderick Williams provide
fine support, and the Bergen choruses (with
singers from the Royal Northern College of
Music) “share the honours with Gardner’s
superlative orchestra”.
Recent Flaming Lips albums have been
“gimmicky or unlistenable”, said Will
Hodgkinson in The Times. But on American
Head, they rediscover “what they do better
than anyone, which is a dreamy, richly
melodic take on psychedelic rock containing
stories culled from experience”. Their best
album since 1999’s The Soft Bulletin, it’s
a strangely moving “hallucinogenic epic
about the other side of the American
dream”. Harmonies and melodies “unfold
with ease” and crescendo before breaking
into “musical Technicolor” and there is a
luxurious, Beatlesque quality throughout.
Just wonderful.
This is an album about memories of
childhood and adolescence, said Elisa
Bray in The Independent. The sound is
“accessible, tender and surreal”. Many of
the songs are augmented by backing vocals
from Texas country star Kacey Musgraves.
And the bucolic tone throughout “conjures
flashbacks with wide-eyed wonder”,
especially in the “melodic gem” Dinosaurs
on the Mountain. Evocative and beautiful,
the album is a thrilling return to peak form.

Films to stream
Courtroom dramas have
figured large in film history.
Here are five of the best,
some with lawyers for
protagonists, others centred
on ordinary people (or saints)
caught up in the legal process:
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The 35-year-old Maria
Falconetti gives one of the
most intense of all screen
performances in Carl
Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film
about the trial of Joan of Arc.
It’s not an easy watch, but its
stylistic purity and integrity
lend it a mesmeric power for
which it has often been called
the greatest of all silent films.
Anatomy of a Murder
James Stewart is cast against
type as an unprincipled
defence lawyer who persuades
his client – an army officer
who killed a man for
allegedly raping his wife –
to submit an insanity plea in
Otto Preminger’s dark and
ambiguous 1959 courtroom
drama. The jazz soundtrack
by Duke Ellington is superb.
The Verdict With a cracking
script by David Mamet,
this 1982 film stars Paul
Newman as an alcoholic
Boston lawyer determined
to rescue his reputation by
winning a knotty medical
malpractice case. Director
Sidney Lumet also made 12
THE PASSION OF... IS ON AMAZON, MARRIAGE STORY IS ON NETFLIX, AND THE OTHER FILMS ARE ON AMAZON, ITUNES AND GOOGLE PLAY
Angry Men (1957), perhaps
the supreme Hollywood
courtroom drama.
A Few Good Men Adapted
by Aaron Sorkin from his hit
Broadway play, this 1992
drama stars Tom Cruise as a
hotshot young naval lawyer
investigating the death of
a young Marine during a
dangerous initiation ritual.
It’s Jack Nicholson’s
blistering performance as
the colonel who stands in
his way that makes the film.
Marriage Story Noah
Baumbach’s funny and
moving 2019 drama has
Scarlett Johansson and Adam
Driver as a thespian couple
driven to agonising and
absurd extremes by the
clumsy machinery of the
divorce business.
Film and TV
New releases
The Painted Bird
Dir: Václav Marhoul (2hrs 49mins) (18)
★★★★
Graphic depictions of traumatic violence and
sexual depravity had many audience members
groping for the exits when The Painted Bird
premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year,
said Peter Travers in Rolling Stone. Based on
Jerzy Kosinski’s 1965 novel, it’s an “endurance
test”, sparing nothing in showing the atrocities
inflicted on an abandoned Jewish boy named
Joska (Petr Kotlár) as he makes his way home
across the “ravaged” landscape of Eastern
Europe during the Second World War. He is
sold as a slave, buried up to his neck in mud,
forced to watch as a miller (Udo Kier) gouges
out a man’s eyes with a spoon, placed by a
“well-meaning” priest (Harvey Keitel) into the
care of a paedophile (Julian Sands), who rapes
him – and so on, for almost three hours.
Kosinski’s book caused controversy when it
turned out he might have lied about its auto-
biographical accuracy, said Clarisse Loughrey
in The Independent, but it had a “staying
power” the film lacks. Director Václav
Marhoul seems uninterested in history and
politics. His catalogue of horrors is simply
“nihilistic” – an almost Fellini-esque “circus of
the grotesque” – and the “otherworldly beauty”
of the black-and-white cinematography feels
wrong, given the film’s exclusive focus on “the
nature of evil”. It certainly falls some way short
of being the “gruelling masterpiece” Marhoul
doubtless intended, said Tim Robey in The
Daily Telegraph. But as Joska scrawls his name,
“pugnaciously”, on a window in the last shot,
I felt that through his will to endure, the film
had mustered an authentic allegorical power,
ascending from horror towards “some kind of
stoic grace”. In cinemas and on Amazon Prime,
BFI Player and Curzon Home Cinema.
The Broken Hearts Gallery
Dir: Natalie Krinsky (1hr 49mins) (12A)
★★★★
Like the rest of this year’s romcoms – think
The High Note or Love Wedding Repeat –
Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge
“Endearingly gawky” film-maker
Louis Theroux has been making
documentaries about the wilder
extremes of human nature for 25
years, and in this four-part BBC
series, he takes a wry look at his
past work, said Michael Hogan in
The Daily Telegraph. Clips from
the original interviews, with a
UFO hunter, a patriot survivalist,
a “hypnotist-cum-snake-oil-
salesman” and more, are riveting.
Theroux catches up with some
subjects via Skype: it’s a relief to
see that twins Lamb and Lynx
Pop duo Lynx and Lamb
Gaede, raised to be a “white-
supremacist pop duo” called Prussian Blue,
have renounced their racist beliefs.
31
The Painted Bird: a “circus of the grotesque”
The Broken Hearts Gallery is undoubtedly
formulaic, said Kevin Maher in The Times. But
it rises far above the pack thanks to a “wickedly
funny” screenplay from writer-director Natalie
Krinsky (Gossip Girl) and an “indecently
charismatic” turn from rising Australian star
Geraldine Viswanathan. She plays Lucy, a
“harried” New York gallery assistant who
gets dumped by her boyfriend and fired from
her job after a drunken launch party disaster.
Leaping into the wrong car as she escapes,
she meets sensitive wannabe hotelier Nick
(Dacre Montgomery). Romantic tension builds,
but she’s still hung up on her ex; so she and
Nick come up with a plan to ease her heartache
by turning the lobby of his hotel into a museum
for the memorabilia of failed relationships.
Despite this unusual development, the plot
remains “default romcom”, even down to the
final grand declaration of love in a public place,
said Cath Clarke in The Guardian. Still, there
are many “smart-relatable” lines, to which
Viswanathan (hitherto best known for her
“movie-stealing supporting turns” in Blockers
and The Package) brings an “excitable sense of
fun and fast-talking wit”. The whole thing had
a “precociously witty synthetic tingle”, said
Owen Gleiberman in Variety, with great
performances, too, from Phillipa Soo and Molly
Gordon as the heroine’s close friends. As with
the film as a whole, “just because they’re not
deep doesn’t mean they’re not fun”. In cinemas.
Lamb and Lynx’s story highlights
the hope of progress lurking in
much of Theroux’s work, said Ed
Cumming in The Independent.
Some subjects are “outright
funny”, too. But there are shocking
moments, such as when a neo-Nazi
expels Theroux when he refuses to
say if he is Jewish. Political develop-
ments in the US have inevitably
changed our perspective on these
“crazy Americans doing mad stuff”,
said Victoria Segal in The Sunday
Times. Watching these con men,
cultists, and “anti-government gun-
© POLARIS/EYEVINE
nuts” once seemed like an eccentric
lark. Now it feels like “a horrible early symptom
– the first twinges of something gangrenous”.
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
32 ARTS
Exhibition of the week Barnett Freedman: Designs for Modern Britain
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, West Sussex (01243-774557, pallant.org.uk). Until 1 November
It’s possible you’ve never
heard of Barnett Freedman
(1901-1958), said Peter
Parker in Apollo. Yet for
a period in the 1930s and
1940s, he was arguably
“Britain’s most visible
artist”. His illustrations
appeared on everything
from Shell petrol adverts
to book covers, and were
a ubiquitous sight across
Britain, displayed in train
stations, buses and on the
Underground. He designed
the logo for Ealing Studios,
worked as an official war
artist and created posters for
Lyons tea houses. When a
stamp he designed to mark
George V’s Silver Jubilee in
1935 “racked up more than
a million sales”, one
newspaper dubbed him “the Freedman: saw no distinction between “fine art” and “commercial art”
world’s best-selling artist”.
That may have been an exaggeration, but still it’s a mystery as to
why Freedman subsequently faded into obscurity. As this
exhibition shows, he was a hugely talented artist who should, by
rights, be a household name. The show – incredibly, the first of
Freedman’s art since his death in 1958 – brings together exhibits
that represent every aspect of his varied career, including
paintings, drawings, prints and posters. It’s an “exhilarating”
display that testifies to “the wide range and extraordinary quality
of his work”.
Born to Jewish immigrants in East London, Freedman was a
proud cockney “fired by a belief that people were inherently
good”, said Lucy Davies in The Daily Telegraph. His graphic
work combined “jewel-bright colour, inventive shadow play
and elegant lettering” to “joyous” effect, evident here in a
News from the art world
Hokusai’s Book of Everything
The British Museum in London has bought
103 recently rediscovered drawings by the
great Japanese painter and printmaker
Hokusai (1760-1849), said Gareth Harris in
The Art Newspaper. The works had remained
out of view in a private French collection for
more than 70 years, but “resurfaced” in Paris
last year. They “appear to have formed part
of one of the most ambitious publishing
projects ever conceived”, said David Keys in
The Independent – a Japanese plan to create
a huge pictorial encyclopaedia. Known as
the Great Picture Book of Everything, it was
conceived by Hokusai (best known for his
masterpiece The Great Wave) but was never
finished. It was designed to offer Japanese
people “comprehensive access to images
of people, cultures and nature around the A baffling complex of terracotta modules property was bought by the designer Pierre
world”, at a time when all but a handful of
foreigners had been banned from entering Japan for two
centuries. As a result, much of it is out of date. The only European
portrayed in the encyclopaedia – described as a “southern
barbarian” – is wearing 16th or 17th century, rather than 19th
century, costume. All 103 images have now been displayed by
the British Museum, both in print and on its website.
THE WEEK 19 September 2020
Art
brilliant selection of his
1930s book covers, including
designs for Anna Karenina,
Oliver Twist, Shakespeare
and Siegfried Sassoon.
Characterised by “strong
shadows, expressive faces,
whiskery dashes and
hatchings”, they proved
extremely popular; indeed,
every author on Faber’s
roster “clamoured to have
him assigned to their books”.
His wartime work,
meanwhile, “deserves a show
of its own”. Here, we see
paintings of gun turrets and
submarine interiors that are
positively “worming with
detail”, while a “composite
portrait” of the staff at an
aircraft factory presents each
of its subjects so distinctly
“that you’d recognise them
on the street”.
Freedman was just as likeable as his art, said Rowan Moore
in The Observer. A “bespectacled billiard ball of a man”, he
couldn’t help but make friends and attract nicknames: the
wartime submariners he depicted, for instance, dubbed him
“Mike” – short for “Michelangelo”. His “unsnobbish” outlook
extended to his work: he refused to distinguish between “fine art”
and “commercial art”, lavishing equal attention on everything
he created – be it an oil painting or a biscuit wrapper. While
Freedman could never be described as “avant-garde”, he
incorporated some of modernism’s visual experiments into his
graphics, introducing radical artistic developments to thousands
who might otherwise never have been exposed to them. This
fascinating show sheds light on an overlooked and “thoroughly
endearing” artist.
“Bubble Palace” for sale
One of the 20th century’s most peculiar
buildings has just come up for sale, said
Laurianne Simonin in Barnebys Magazine.
Hidden in the hills above the Côte d’Azur,
the so-called Bubble Palace is a space-age
structure that looks more like a set from a
1970s James Bond film than a practical
dwelling. Designed by Hungarian architect
Antti Lovag in the mid-1970s and completed
in 1984, the building is a baffling complex
of circular terracotta modules dotted with
terraces and pools, apparently intended to
evoke the shape of a woman’s body; Lovag
had little interest in conventional buildings,
and instead sought to create an “organic”
architecture that responded to the local
landscape and climate. In 1992, the 1,200m2
Cardin, who was said to have been deeply
inspired by its “voluptuous” shapes. The Bubble Palace played
© BARNETT FREEDMAN ESTATE
host to a Dior fashion show in 2015, and was also used as a set
for Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie. Christie’s International,
which is selling the property on behalf of Cardin, has not
disclosed its asking price. However, a previous attempt to put
the house on the market valued it at around $350m.
 The List 33
Best books… Loyd Grossman The Archers: what
The author, broadcaster and cultural campaigner picks his five favourite happened last week
books. His latest, An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, the Pope and the Making Emma tells Jolene about her
of the Eternal City (Pallas Athene £19.99), is out now and Ed’s row with Chris and
Alice, while Susan laments
The Story of Babar: The and landscape AND he writes nation: working in exile, to Tracy that the family
barbecue was a disaster,
Little Elephant by Jean de a concise epic – something that hounded by the authorities with everyone avoiding each
Brunhoff, 1931 (Egmont some contemporary windbag including Sir Thomas More, he other. Meanwhile, Tracy
£6.99). A constant companion authors could learn from. taught himself Hebrew to work hears from Emma about the
and inspiration since it was from the original text. His solicitor’s letter sent to Gavin
first read to me by my mother. The Good Soldier by Ford brilliant writing was the foun- threatening legal action,
De Brunhoff’s marriage of text Madox Ford, 1915 (Penguin dation for the King James Bible. supposedly on her part. It’s
and illustration is one of the Classics £8.99). Written in the a hoax: Tracy knows nothing
finest in the whole history of finest English prose, this is a The Way We Live Now by but later works out that her
the book, and is there any devastating chronicle of the Anthony Trollope, 1875 son Brad sent the letter,
hoping to bring in some
scene in literature more heart- death of trust, the destruction (Penguin £9.99). A sprawling, money. She confiscates his
rending than the murder of of a marriage and a forensic searing indictment of the greed, phone as punishment. Robert
Babar’s mother? examination of what dishonesty and hypocrisy asks Leonie if he can stay for
“character” is. which Trollope observed in a while to give Lynda some
The Leopard by Giuseppe the high ranks of Victorian space. When he tells Lilian,
Tomasi di Lampedusa, 1958 Tyndale’s Old Testament political and commercial life. she is aghast that things
(Vintage £9.99). Lampedusa by William Tyndale, 1530 At the centre of the novel, the are so bad and urges him
captures the birth pangs of (Yale University Press £85). mysterious and monstrous to stand up to Lynda. Lynda
modern society in a way that is Tyndale’s translation of the financier Augustus Melmotte later confronts Lilian, who
convinces her to see that she’s
both analytical and emotional; first five books of the Old inspired the creation of a host losing Robert and to fight
he paints a vividly cinematic Testament is a monument to of successors including Jay for her marriage. Things are
picture of Sicily’s architecture faith, courage and determi- “the great” Gatsby. going missing in the village
shop, and Tracy and Susan
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop on 020-3176 3835. For out-of-print books visit biblio.co.uk watch the CCTV to discover
what’s going on. Prospero
The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching the peacock is missing, to
Kenton’s annoyance, and
later turns up in Harrison and
Programmes Jolene’s garden, “attacking”
Us Adapted by David Nicholls from his own Harrison as he gave their
book, this four-part drama is a portrait of a virtual garden tour for the
marriage in crisis. Tom Hollander and Saskia Flower and Produce Show.
Reeves star as a couple planning a last family Lynda and Robert open up
trip to Europe, before their son goes to to each other and reconnect
at last. Jolene and Kenton
university. Sun 20 Sep, BBC1 21:00 (60mins). go on Susan’s radio show,
but instead of promoting the
The Secret History of Writing Three-part pub, Susan asks them about
documentary tracing the history of writing. We the dangers of peacocks;
start 5,000 years ago, in ancient Mesopotamia. Jolene’s happy that at least
Mon 21 Sep, BBC4 21:00 (60mins). Kenton defended Prospero.
Naomie Harris in The Third Day Tracy and Susan suspect
The Write-Offs Sandi Toksvig presents this different people of shoplifting.
uplifting two-part series about the massive have dated, but aided by Maurice Jarre’s sound- Tracy has an idea to use
track and some fine acting, it still has the power Brad’s confiscated phone
everyday challenges faced by people with poor as an extra security camera:
literacy. Tue 22 Sep, Channel 4 21:30 (65mins). to move. Omar Sharif and Julie Christie lead the
all-star cast. Sun 20 Sep, BBC2 15:00 (185mins). they’ll soon find the culprit.

Grayson Perry’s Big American Road Trip

The artist rides across the US on a custom- The Midwife (2017) The ordered life of midwife
and single mother Claire is disrupted by a visit Live classical concerts
designed motorbike, in an effort to understand
its current divisions. In this first episode of three, from her late father’s mistress, played with gusto In what has been described as
he travels to Atlanta to take a closer look at by Catherine Deneuve. In French with subtitles. “the best news for musicians”,
America’s most intractable issue: race. Wed Sat 26 Sep, BBC2 00:45 (115mins). London’s Wigmore Hall
23 Sep, C4 22:00 (60mins). has announced a series of
New to subscription TV 100 concerts for autumn
The Third Day Jude Law, Naomie Harris and (Observer). Currently set to go
London Zoo: An Extraordinary Year As
Emily Watson star in this dark and innovative ahead with socially distanced
the rest of the country shut down, a film crew
drama, featuring three interconnected stories, audiences, the performances
was given access to the deserted enclosures at
all set on the same day on a mysterious British will also be live-streamed and
London Zoo and its sister zoo in Whipsnade in
island. The final episode on 3 October will free to watch on demand for
Dunstable. Thur 24 Sep, ITV1 21:00 (60mins).
include a live performance by the immersive 30 days, with lunchtime
Films theatre company Punch Drunk. On Sky Atlantic concerts broadcast on BBC
I, Tonya (2017) Margot Robbie stars in this and NowTV. Radio 3. Performers include
darkly comic mockumentary about the US mezzo Sarah Connolly and
figure skater’s rocky rise and spectacular fall. Criminal Second series of the gripping harpsichordist Mahan
Sat 19 Sep, BBC2 21:30 (115mins). interrogation-room drama. In each twisting Esfahani, and there will
episode, a different suspect gets a grilling. also be talks. Until 22 Dec
Doctor Zhivago (1965) David Lean’s Oscar- Starring Sophie Okonedo, Sharon Horgan, (wigmore-hall.org.uk).
winning epic set in revolutionary Russia may Kunal Nayyar and Kit Harington. On Netflix.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

34 Best properties
Properties with famous connections
Dorset: 3

▲
Durngate Street,
Dorchester. A three-
storey period family
home, beautifully
refurbished, but
retaining many
original features,
with an attractive
enclosed courtyard
garden. It appears
that it was once
owned by Thomas
Hardy, who had
reportedly acquired
it for his sister. At
any rate, the
author’s signature
can be seen on the
deeds to the house.
Main suite, 2 further
beds, family bath,
kitchen/diner, 2
further receps, WC,
garden. £365,000;
Symonds and
Sampson (01305-
251154).

▲ East Sussex: 10 Tudor Close, Rottingdean. A fine apartment in this Grade

II listed building, originally a series of barns and a cowshed but converted into
a hotel in 1929. The hotel was frequented by many Hollywood stars during the
1930s, including Cary Grant and Bette Davis. Main bed, 1 further bed, family
bath, kitchen, recep. £340,000 share of FH; Mishon Mackay (01273-944800).

London: Sadlers
▲

Lofts, SE1. A bright,

spacious 2-bed
masionette in a
warehouse con-
version by Tower
Bridge, owned by
fashion consultant,
author and television
presenter Gok Wan.
The property is
located in a vibrant
area close to the
Shard, with Borough
Market and
Bermondsey Street’s
numerous bars and
restaurants a short
distance away. Main
suite, 1 further bed,
family bath, kitchen,
2 receps. £950,000
LH; Knight Frank
(020-3697 8232).

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

on the market 35

▲ Cumbria: Camerton Hall, Workington. A Grade

II manor house in 6 acres of land, which has links to
the highwayman “Black Tom” Curwen. 2 suites, 7
further beds, 2 baths, kitchen/breakfast room, 5
receps. Grounds include a walled kitchen garden.
£1.2m; Finest Properties (01539-468400).
Wiltshire: Reddish House, Broad Chalke,

▲
Salisbury. An exquisite Queen Anne country house
in 6 acres of grounds, and home to Sir Cecil Beaton
for more than 30 years. Main suite, 2 further suites,
kitchen/breakfast room, 5 receps, conservatory,
4-bed cottage, 1-bed studio, triple garage,
greenhouse, garden, outbuildings. £4m; Savills (020-
7016 3820).

Devon: Titford Hold, West Midlands:

▲
▲

Awliscombe, Honiton. Situated Gothersley Hall,

in attractive landscape gardens Stourbridge. Built
leading down to the River around 1932, the
Wolfe, this house was owned house was once
by William Wordsworth’s owned by singer-
grandson, who was the vicar songwriter Roy
in the local village and used to Wood, of The
conduct services in its chapel Move and ELO,
(now a bedroom). The house who wrote I Wish It
stayed in the family from the Could Be Christmas
1920s to the 1980s. It is Everyday in its
claimed that a chest full of kitchen. Main suite,
Wordsworth’s letters and 5 further beds,
archives was burnt on the family bath, shower
grounds in accordance with the room, kitchen/
poet’s request that they not be breakfast room,
sold at auction. Main suite, conservatory, 4
2 further suites, 2 further beds, receps, games room,
family bath, kitchen/breakfast cellar, garage.
room, 3 receps, study, garage, OIEO £1.5m;
private grounds of 2.38 acres. Knight Frank
£1.2m; Stags (01404-45885). (0121-233 6491).

West Sussex:
▲

Chesworth House,
Horsham. A Grade II*
Tudor country house
on the River Arun, in
about 23.5 acres of
land. It’s where Henry
VIII’s fifth wife,
Catherine Howard
is reputed to have
spent her childhood,
and where Thomas
Howard, Duke of
Norfolk, was arrested
for high treason by
Elizabeth I. Main suite
with dressing room, 4
further suites, kitchen/
breakfast room, 6
receps, 4-bed cottage, ▲ London: Chesil Court, Chelsea SW3. A well-proportioned apartment
double garage, studio, in an art deco block built in 1938. It was once owned by Harry Fowler,
gardens, parkland. the newspaper boy scouted by a film studio in the 1940s, who played a
£5.5m; Knight Frank “cheeky cockney” character in many British films. Main bed, family bath,
(020-7861 1093). kitchen, recep. £875,000 LH; Strutt & Parker (020-7225 3866).

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

36 Home & Interiors

THE WEEK 19 September 2020


What the experts recommend
The boom in organic food
Lockdown had many effects on the
nation’s food-buying habits: early on, sales
of pasta and flour surged, while those of
champagne bombed. Now another trend
has surfaced, says Rebecca Smithers in The
Guardian: sales of organic food and drink
“rose sharply” while people were confined
to their homes. Figures released by the Soil
Association show that in the 12 weeks to
the end of May – ten of which covered the
lockdown – spending on organic products
in supermarkets was up 18.7% on the
previous year; by contrast, spending on
non-organic goods went up 14.2%. At
Waitrose, sales of organic chicken rose
42%, while spending on organic veg went
up 23%. It’s not clear why, but polls
suggest that people started to value food
more during lockdown, which is likely
to be at least a partial explanation. “For
many, the time at home has meant more
time to prepare home-cooked meals and
with that an increased awareness of where
and how food comes to our kitchen
tables,” Waitrose’s agriculture manager,
Rob Hues, told the Retail Gazette.
A “cheat’s” mac and cheese
The “chief characteristic” of many
children’s classics – shepherd’s pie,
lasagne, mac and cheese – is that they
“can’t exactly be rustled up”, says Diana
Henry in The Daily Telegraph. I “usually
need a lie-down” after making lasagne.-
LEISURE
Food & Drink
Diana Henry: less time in the kitchen
However, there is a cheat’s version of mac
and cheese that takes only ten minutes to
prep – and it tastes “amazing”. To make
enough to feed four to six, butter a 1½-
2-litre gratin dish and heat the oven to
190°C. In a blender, whizz 500g of cottage
cheese with three teaspoons of mustard,
half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, a
generous dusting of nutmeg and some salt
and pepper. Tip this into a large bowl, add
400g of grated extra-mature cheddar, one
litre of milk and 450g of dried macaroni.
Mix everything together, add to the gratin
dish, cover with foil and bake for 30
minutes. Now take off the foil and add an
extra 100g of grated cheddar (plus 100g of
37
grated parmesan if you want an especially
cheesy topping). Return to the oven and
bake, uncovered, for another 30 minutes.
Leave to cool for a few minutes before
tucking in.
A lot of coffee from Pret
“In a bid to boost sales after the corona-
virus pandemic”, Pret A Manger has
launched its first coffee subscription
service, said Hayley Spencer in the I paper.
Called YourPret Barista, it costs £20 a
month (though at the moment the first
is free) and it entitles you to five drinks
a day, including all hot and iced coffees,
teas, hot chocolates and blended
smoothies. So the commuter who pops
into Pret every day on the way to work
would be effectively paying only £1 for
their cappuccino; or they could go wild,
and claim 150 drinks a month. Quite a
few of Pret’s rivals offer similar deals
already. Pret always made a point of
avoiding them, said Alice Hancock and
Judith Evans in the FT, but the shock to
its business model caused by the pandemic
– and in particular the emptying out of
central London – has forced it to rethink
its strategy. The company is also setting
up a delivery service – it recently opened
its first “dark kitchen”, for delivery only –
and says it plans to open more branches in
suburban areas. “We haven’t done a great
job in marketing Pret outside of London,”
admitted CEO Pano Christou.

Recipe of the week British beers

If there’s one upside to the pandemic,
Cooking courgettes slowly combats their wateriness, making them fantastically it’s that people have been doing more
soft and flavourful, say Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage. Good hot, this dish to support their local food and drink
is even better after 15 minutes, once the flavours have got to know each other. “purveyors”, said Melissa Cole
in The Daily Telegraph. And that
includes breweries and beer
Super-soft courgettes with harissa and lemon businesses: demand for local
beer deliveries is estimated to
Serves 4 85ml olive oil 6 garlic cloves, finely sliced 1 tbsp rose harissa be up 500%. That’s “great news”,
(adjust according to the brand you are using) 1 red chilli, finely chopped because if small breweries are to
½ a preserved lemon, finely chopped, discarding any pips 1½ tbsp lemon juice thrive, they need a lot of public support. To
1kg courgettes, finely sliced 10g basil leaves, roughly torn salt help the industry you could start by ordering
“my current three favourites”.
• Put the oil and garlic • Return the pan to a high
in a large sauté pan on a heat, add the courgettes Tapestry Brewery Hubble Bubble (4.1%,
medium-high heat and and 1¼ teaspoons of salt. tapestrybrewery.com, £18 for 6 x 440ml cans)
gently fry for 4 minutes, Cook for 18 minutes, is a pale ale from the Australian hop, Galaxy,
stirring often until soft. stirring often, until the that’s “full of ripe peach flavours and fresh
You don’t want the garlic courgettes are very soft, grassy notes”. Bristol-based Tapestry does
to become at all browned but are still mostly holding free deliveries in the area, but also ships
or crisp, so turn the heat their shape. You don’t nationwide. Fallen Brewing Co’s Big
down if necessary. want them to brown. Raspberry Dog Chew (10%, fallenbrewing.
Remove 3 tablespoons Stir through half the basil co.uk, £5.20 for 330ml) is a “belting salted
of oil, along with half the and transfer to a platter. caramel and raspberry imperial stout” that
garlic, and transfer to a small bowl Spoon the harissa mixture over the “stands out from the rest”. Finally, Marble’s
with the harissa, chilli, preserved courgettes. Leave for 15 minutes, then Lagonda (5%, marblebeers.com, £75 for 24 x
lemon and lemon juice. Stir together sprinkle with a pinch of salt and finish 500ml cans) is a “perfectly balanced” pale ale
and set aside. with the remaining basil. from a craft beer pioneer that has “always
© JONATHAN LOVEKIN

been deeply involved in its community”.

Taken from Ottolenghi FLAVOUR by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage,
published by Ebury Press at £27. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £21.99,
call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk. For our latest offers, visit theweekwines.com

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

38 LEISURE Consumer
New cars: what the critics say
The Daily Telegraph
You’re likely to either love
or hate the Toyota C-HR.
Its “wild curves and
creases” make it look like
a real-life “concept car”,
and it has divided opinion
since its launch in 2016.
Now, it has been given a
“much-vaunted” 2.0-litre
Toyota C-HR hybrid powertrain from
from £28,625 the Corolla to boost
performance, as well as
comfort and handling. The
old C-HR sold well, and
this upgrade could bring it
closer to the mainstream.
What Car?
While its dramatic styling
might put it next to the
Nissan Juke, the C-HR
is actually closer to the
popular Qashqai in size.
However, its distinctive
looks “don’t do wonders
for practicality” – the rear
seats are “cramped” and
the boot is disappointing
compared with those of
competitors. However, the
interior feels fairly solid
and well-built, even if the
infotainment system is a
little “clunky”.
Autocar
The C-HR is now 100%
hybrid, with the new
2.0-litre hybrid available
alongside the older 1.8-
litre – but no petrol
or diesel engines. The
2.0-litre gives the car a
welcome boost, thanks to
its 181bhp and 0-62mph
time of 8.2 seconds. It
has “reasonably quick
and accurate steering”,
and though it’s still “not
exactly thrilling” to drive,
the C-HR definitely has
more to offer now.

The best... laptops for students

s
HONOR MagicBook
M The Huawei

▲
Acer 514 14”
Chromebook Acer’s
veersion of a Chromebook
is £400 cheaper than
Google’s own, but it
ontains only half as
co
much RAM, and half the
m ▲ Apple MacBook Air
i ternal memory (32GB).
It has a USB port, and if
you pay more, you can
y or as expensive – as this,
▲ Google ixelbook Go
get it with a touchscreen
Although it’s probably
(£229; currys.co.uk).
the best Chromebook
out there, this one
still has only 64GB in
storage, since the idea is
▲
off-shoot H Honor has made its
marrk with high-quality
techh at a fra
action of the
price of, say,
s a Mac. This
light, slim
m laptop has a
large, hig
la gh-quality 14in
screen and a solid 10
A student probably doesn’t hours of ba attery life
need a laptop as good – (£500; hiho onor.
com).
but the MacBook Air is
temptingly sleek and
glamorous
g us. With
HP 15s-fq0017na This
▲
12 hours of
battery life, it HP lapto op is great value
has a very fasst considering it comes with

SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

that you store everythin
ng proceessor and da a 15in n screen with full
in the cloud. It looks “flaw
wless” dis splay HD and a fast processor.
great, with sharp colours – but no USB ports It rruns Windows
and is very fast (£9499; johnlewwis. operating software,
compared with its com)). which may appeal to
w
competitors (£629; thoose who grew up with
johnlewis.com). it ratherr than Chrome OS or
MacOS (£ £330; hp.com).

Tips of the week... how to
take care of your lawn
● September marks the start of a time of
fast growth for lawns, and it is also often
wet, so take the opportunity to mow on dry
days whenever you can. In general, it’s not
a good idea to scalp long grass, so when
you start mowing again in February, keep
the blade high, and lower it in summer.
● While raking can make a lawn look worse
temporarily, it does it good in the long run.
At the end of summer, rake vigorously
before mowing to get out all the thatchy,
mossy debris. Do it again gently in spring.
● Autumn is also a great time to aerate a
lawn, especially a compacted one. This is
best done after heavy rain, and with a
hollow tine gadget that extracts little plugs
of soil to let in more water and air, but it
can also be done using a garden fork.
● After aeration, adding a thin surface
layer of loamy or sandy soil to a lawn can
gradually improve root-growing conditions.
Look at Westland’s Lawn and Turf Dressing
(gardenhealth.com) or peat-free Pro-Grow
Lawn Conditioner (pro-grow.com).
SOURCE: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
And for those who
have everything...
You can cycle along canals or through
woods while never leaving your home,
using a VR headset or a screen. Now,
Blync, a sensor that slots onto your
wheels can give you the sensation of
riding across different terrains.
£70; kickstarter.com
SOURCE: STUFF
Where to find...
vineyards to stay in
Every day at the Three Choirs vineyard in
Gloucestershire, a member of the team
takes the guests staying in its rooms or
lodges on a talk and tasting (doubles from
£135; three-choirs-vineyards.co.uk).
Bokes Barn in Kent is a six-bedroom
holiday home that opened last year and is
next door to a vineyard leased to Chapel
Down. Guests have special permission
to walk among the vines (three nights for
12 from £2,328; ruralretreats.co.uk).
On one of the country’s most successful
wine estates, Denbies Vineyard Hotel
in Surrey is a relaxed converted 1850s
farmhouse. It has a great restaurant with
panoramic views over the 265-acre estate
(b&b doubles from £145; denbies.co.uk).
The organic, biodynamic Tillingham
vineyards in East Sussex have an 11-room
boutique hotel in a former hop barn. It has
a kitchen garden and serves good wines
alongside the vineyard’s sparkling ones
(b&b doubles from £165; tillingham.com).
SOURCES: THE TIMES/THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

 Obituaries
Acclaimed classical actress who starred in The Avengers
Diana Rigg, who has died
Dame Diana
aged 82, was “one of the
Rigg
most gifted classical actresses
1938-2020
of her generation” – a
founder member of the RSC, acclaimed for
her performances in works such as Euripides’
Medea and Brecht’s Mother Courage. And yet
she never quite escaped the memory of the TV
role that made her famous, said The Daily
Telegraph. From 1965 to 1968, Rigg dressed
in a tight-fitting PVC catsuit to play Emma Peel
– the karate-chopping, quick-witted private
investigator in The Avengers. She’d taken over
from Honor Blackman (Cathy Gale), and her
character proved a similarly powerful partner
for the urbane secret agent John Steed (Patrick
Macnee). An “expert in the martial arts, a
gifted chemist, brainy at business, sensitive to
the arts and a demon driver in her Lotus Elan”,
Mrs Peel became as much a feature of Swinging
London as The Beatles and the Mini. Rigg: a force on and off camera
Rigg could be as much a force off camera as she was on it, said
BBC News. After 12 episodes, she discovered that not only was
she being paid less than her co-star, she wasn’t earning as much as
the cameraman. “I made a bit of a stink about it,” she said. When
the papers got wind of the story, they presented her as demanding
and mercenary. No other actresses came forward to support her
in the cause; nor did Macnee speak up. “Patrick was a dear, and
sweet, but wanted a quiet life. And I was trouble,” she said last
year. She managed to have her salary doubled, “but thereafter I
was labelled as go-getting and ‘hard’ – and it was unfair because
I wasn’t.” She did, however, have an ingrained sense of injustice.
Asked where that came from, she replied: “Yorkshire.”
Diana Rigg was born in Doncaster in 1938, the daughter of a
railway engineer whose work took the family to India when she
was a baby. She grew up speaking Hindi as a second language.
Playwright who won an Oscar for The Pianist
Ronald Harwood, who has died
Sir Ronald
aged 85, was one of Britain’s
Harwood
best-known, and most prolific,
1934-2020
playwrights. Having started
writing in the 1960s, he had his first major
success in 1980 with The Dresser – inspired by
his time working with the actor-manager Donald
Wolfit in the 1950s. Two decades later, he won
global recognition as a screenwriter, with his
Oscar-winning adaptation of The Pianist, the
Polish musician Władysław Szpilman’s book
about his life in the Warsaw ghetto. “The best
thing about my life is that everything happened
to me so late,” Harwood remarked. “I learnt
to be phlegmatic, and no one wants to put you
down when you have taken so long to get there.” Harwood: compassionate
He was born Ronald Horwitz in Cape Town in 1934. His
father was from Lithuania, but had fled to South Africa in
1908 to escape the pogroms. While at school, Ronald saw the
newsreels of the concentration camps in Europe: “It made me
realise everyone has a choice. You can do what you know is
right or you can go with everyone else.” Like his cousin Antony is accused of involvement in a wartime massacre. His later
Sher, he wanted to become an actor from childhood, said The
Times. His London-born mother told him: “Anybody can be a
good actor in South Africa, so you’d better go to England, to
find out if you are really any good.” He moved to London aged
17, changed his name, and won a place at Rada. But it turned
39
Aged eight, though, she was sent back to
boarding school in England, ending up at
Fulneck School, near Leeds. She wasn’t happy,
but a teacher steered her towards drama, and
she won a place at Rada. She joined the newly
formed RSC in 1959 where she was, she said,
literally a spear carrier – but was able to watch
the likes of Dame Edith Evans and Laurence
Olivier from the wings. “What a training,”
she remarked. Over the next few years, she
graduated to mid-level roles – and then came
The Avengers. It made her a sex symbol
overnight, said The Guardian, and she was not
prepared for it. She hated the attention, and
kept the fan mail that poured in unopened in
the back of her car until her mother took over
the task of reading the letters and replying to
them. A surprising number turned out to be
from pre-pubescent boys. “Those aren’t very
nice thoughts,” they’d be told. “And besides,
my daughter is too old for you. I suggest you
take a run around the block.”
Rigg was in three series of The Avengers, during which time,
the show became more tongue-in-cheek – and a hit in the US. She
then played James Bond’s only wife in On Her Majesty’s Secret
Service. Her profile raised in the US, she was given her own
sitcom, Diana, in 1973, but it only lasted a year. Returning to
Britain, she concentrated on serious stage work. Her many West
End roles included Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion, Ruth Carson in
Tom Stoppard’s Night and Day and Phyllis in Stephen Sondheim’s
Follies. Her final appearance on stage was as Mrs Higgins in a
Broadway production of My Fair Lady – which earned her a
fourth Tony nomination. But there was another major TV role
too. From 2013, she was the matriarch Olenna Tyrell in Game
of Thrones, which won her a new generation of fans – though she
said she had never seen the show, before or since. Twice divorced,
she is survived by her daughter, the actress Rachael Stirling.
out that he wasn’t very good: “a show-off, not
an actor”, as he put it, with typical modesty.
In 1953, he joined Wolfit’s touring theatre
group. Six years later, he married Natasha
Riehle, a stage manager. “She was divinely
beautiful,” he said. “All the boys were after
her, but I played a very cool waiting game.”
Their marriage lasted until her death in 2013.
“I owe everything to her,” he said.
In 1960, with his acting career going nowhere,
he was about to take a job as a labourer when
his father-in-law gave him a typewriter. He
wrote his first novel, All the Same Shadows,
inspired by the Sharpeville Massacre in South
Africa, in three weeks, and never looked back.
There were other novels, TV screenplays and
more than 20 plays. As a playwright, he did not enjoy the
consistent acclaim of the likes of Harold Pinter (a close friend),
but he had several hits, including Taking Sides, about Wilhelm
Furtwängler, the German conductor accused of aiding the Nazi
regime; and The Handyman, about a Ukrainian gardener who
screen credits include The Browning Version, The Diving Bell
and the Butterfly and Quartet, adapted from his own stage
play. A man of compassion and integrity, Harwood dedicated
a considerable amount of his time to PEN, the international
writers campaign group. His three children survive him.
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
 CITY CITY 41
Companies in the news
...and how they were assessed
TikTok: victory for Oracle?
Just days before a deadline set by President Trump, Oracle has “edged out” its rival
Microsoft to reach a “technical partnership” with TikTok – the wildly popular Chinese-
owned video app whose US operations the White House had threatened to shut down
unless they were bought by an American company. The move has raised “more than a
few eyebrows” on Wall Street, said Michael Cogley in The Daily Telegraph. Oracle – a
$174bn behemoth that sells database technology and cloud-based systems to business – Seven days in the
is an unlikely fit for a viral-video streaming app used by millions of young people. Then Square Mile
again, Oracle’s founder Larry Ellison is a big Trump supporter, said Cat Rutter Pooley
in the FT. Go figure. In fact, this outcome is a win for China, said Dan Gallagher in The UK inflation fell to its lowest level since
Wall Street Journal. It was TikTok’s parent, ByteDance, that rejected Microsoft’s offer; 2015 in August, according to the Office
for National Statistics. The consumer
moreover, it’s hardly the blockbuster acquisition predicted. The deal is billed as a
prices index fell to 0.2% in August,
“partnership” – as opposed to a full buy-out – and “much remains unknown about what from 1% in July – driven in part by the
Oracle is getting” beyond embroilment in a “geopolitical war”. The arrangement “does cheaper meals provided by the Eat Out
more to save face for Trump” than to address the alleged security issues around TikTok, to Help Out scheme. Other factors
said The Economist. But it has yet to be formally approved by the White House. “As ever included falling air fares and static
with America’s approach to Chinese technology, uncertainty reigns.” clothing prices. The fall could increase
pressure on the Bank of England to take
Rio Tinto: blown to smithereens further action to stimulate the economy.
Call it a triumph for “corporate accountability”, said The Observer. Following an outcry Heartening news of a sharp rebound in
growth in July, when the UK economy
over the destruction of an ancient Aboriginal site in Western Australia, the boss of miner
grew by 6.6%, was offset by worries
Rio Tinto, Jean-Sébastien Jacques, has finally been ousted after “investors lined up to about the rising unemployment rate
condemn the company’s leadership”. The world’s biggest iron-ore miner nonetheless and the impact of the withdrawal of
faces a battle to rebuild its reputation. An apology and an offer to forego his annual government support schemes.
bonus did not mollify those enraged by the casual wrecking of the 46,000-year-old sacred President Trump attacked a World Trade
caves in the Juukan Gorge, said Ben Marlow in The Daily Telegraph. Quite right too. Organisation ruling that US tariffs levied
“Natural resource companies need a social licence to operate and Rio’s was blown to on more than $200bn worth of Chinese
smithereens with this gross act of vandalism.” Troublingly, Jacques may still collect up goods breached global trade rules.
to £31.7m worth of shares in the Anglo-Australian giant. The Canberra government AstraZeneca resumed trials of its Covid
apparently has a “dynamite idea for Rio Tinto – or Rio TNT, as it’s now known”, said vaccine in the UK; US regulators have
Alistair Osborne in The Times. It plans to insist that the miner’s next boss is Australian, not allowed trials to resume in America.
on the grounds that they’d be respectful of Aboriginal sites. Well, it’s true: Jacques is Lloyds of London reported a pre-tax loss
French. “But the plans were originally approved by the government of Western Australia, of £400m for the first six months to June
which is vaguely Down Under. Rio should ignore Canberra and pick the best candidate.” due to CV-19-related claims. It expects
its overall bill for the virus to reach £5bn.
JD Wetherspoon: glass half-empty PSA and Fiat Chrysler overhauled the
terms of their v50bn merger to preserve
According to official data, pubs in England and Wales are “vanishing” at the rate of 40 more cash within the combined
a month, said Dominic Walsh in The Times. The new “rule of six” curb may hasten the business, which will be called Stellantis.
trend. JD Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin calls the move a blow to the “psyche” of the Gilead Sciences was reported to be
pub world, said Lex in the FT. It was already looking a little jaded. In an update this close to buying the cancer specialist
week, Wetherspoon reported that the hoped-for “last hurrah” before the new rules bit Immunomedics for $20bn. Tesco said
turned out to be “very quiet”. Martin’s dismissal of an expert’s claim that pubs are it was preparing to test grocery delivery
“dangerous” won’t do much to calm fears. The group’s shares have already halved. So by drone as part of its Red Door tech
long as the pandemic rages, investors should continue “to see this glass as half empty”. start-up project.

LVMH/Tiffany: the mysterious affair of the French letter

One of the more accurate predictions at the
start of the coronavirus pandemic was that it
was likely to lead to a deluge of lawsuits. In that
context, the “jilting of Tiffany” is fast emerging
as a perfect period piece, said Liam Kelly in The
Sunday Times. When the French luxury-goods
giant LVMH declared last week that its $16.6bn
(£12.9bn) offer to buy the celebrated US
jeweller was effectively dead, Tiffany
immediately sued to have the deal terms
enforced – only to be whacked by a “counter
claim” from LVMH alleging “dishonesty and
mismanagement”. What an inglorious end to
a tie-up which, when it was announced last
November, was hailed not just as the “biggest
luxury deal ever”, but also a “perfect match”. Not such a “perfect match” after all Financial Times. “You must be joking,” retorted
LVMH boss Bernard Arnault (aka “the wolf in cashmere”) is
renowned as the sector’s wiliest dealmaker, but this battle tops
all previous showdowns for “drama, M&A machinations and
political intrigue”, said DealBook in The New
York Times. LVMH argues that the damage
Covid-19 has inflicted on Tiffany is bad enough
to change the terms of the bid. But it also cites
a “highly unusual request” – contained in a
now-infamous letter penned by the French
foreign ministry – “to delay the closing of the
deal” until wider trade tensions with the US
had been resolved.
Cynics suggest that the letter gave LVMH an
ideal excuse to walk away from an overly
expensive deal, and that LVMH had actively
procured this political “order” in order to give
Arnault a way out, said Leila Abboud in the
the group’s CFO last week: the letter was
“purely and fully unsolicited”. Whatever the case, LVMH and
Tiffany are now embroiled in a “deepening legal battle”. For the
moment, neither side looks likely to back down.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

42 CITY Talking points
Issue of the week: a bonfire of jobs?
The furlough scheme has underpinned the economy’s resilience. Whatever will we do without it?
This week’s unemployment figures made
for uneasy reading, said The Economist.
Britain’s labour market lost almost
700,000 jobs between March, when
lockdown began, and August – and
“forecasters predict that unemployment
could reach over three million as a result
of an avalanche of redundancies this
autumn when the furlough scheme
closes”. No wonder the Chancellor’s
response to news that the economy
“grew by a hefty 6.6% in July” was
muted, said Larry Elliott in The Guardian.
He’s well aware that many Britons are
“worried about losing their jobs and Sunak: facing calls for “additional job measures”
making ends meet in the months to
come”. Rising unemployment will hit consumer and business
confidence. Add in the recent rise in Covid cases and some Brexit
uncertainty, “and all the ingredients are there for a marked
slowing in the pace of growth between now and Christmas”.
The Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, has
argued that the recovery “isn’t being given enough credit”. He’s
absolutely right, said Julian Jessop in The Sunday Telegraph.
Cynics are wrong to talk down our ability to bounce back from
the crisis – not least because the strong past performance of our
flexible labour market “bodes well for the ongoing recovery”.
Sadly, some people will lose their jobs. “Nonetheless, the recovery indefinitely, it would risk developing a “Hotel California quality”
in the economy is winning the race against the winding down of
the furlough scheme, so any bump in
unemployment should be a lot smaller
than many fear.” Job losses are likely to
be concentrated in a few sectors where
the constraints of social distancing are
greatest, and are most likely to hit lower-
paid workers, particularly the young.
“That will bring its own serious prob-
lems” – and the Government is right to
target extra support there. But we should
take heart from the fact that the UK
labour market is “pretty good at creating
jobs to replace any that are lost”.
That rather underestimates the “cliff
edge” the country faces at the end of
October, said Jill Treanor in The Sunday Times. “Bonfire night’s
coming” – and not in a good way. Indeed, many economists
wonder whether Rishi Sunak can afford to wait until his planned
November Budget to deliver crucial “additional job measures”.
Clearly, Sunak must try to avoid a cliff edge – “unemployment
is one of the worst catastrophes an individual can face”, said the
FT. But taxpayers’ money would be better spent on policies that
“boost relief to the jobless and ease the transition to sectors better
suited to thrive post-pandemic”. The Chancellor is facing a “wall
of resistance from businesses and trade unions” over plans to end
the scheme. But he should hold his ground. Were it to continue
– “becoming ever more impossible to leave”.

Making money: what the experts think Nissan bonds

● Lloyds conundrum
“Something doesn’t
seem to tally” in the
current property
market, said Patrick
Hosking in The Times.
On the one hand,
estate agents have
been talking up a
“mini-boom” in
housing. On the other,
shares in Lloyds Lloyds: “a bellwether for the economy” duty holiday are
Banking Group –
“Britain’s biggest mortgage lender by a
country mile” – are on the floor “because
investors are so worried about a possible
surge in defaults and loan losses”. Surely
they can’t both be right?
● Gloomy forecast
The “gloom” over Lloyds (whose share
price for most of the past five years has
been double the current 26p level) isn’t just start-up, was scheduled to float on
about the risk posed by mortgages: the
lender also has a large business-banking
unit which is vulnerable to a protracted
recession. Moreover, “as a bellwether
for the domestic economy”, Lloyds is a
“classic way” for speculators to “take a
down bet” on EU trade talks. Even so, its
“gigantic” home-loan book (Lloyds also
owns Halifax) usually makes it “sensitive
to housing market gloom or cheer”. A
report by the Centre for Economics and
Business Research argued that the recent
bullish data on house prices “was distorted but tend to fall, then melt.”
by a rise in transactions
by the better-off,
who have been
barely affected by the
pandemic”. Economists
there reckon that
“house prices will fall
by about 14% next
year” after government
measures such as the
furlough and stamp-
removed. Maybe
“cheerful estate agents today and a
soggy Lloyds share price aren’t quite as
contradictory as they might appear”.
● Melting snow?
Assuming all goes to plan, a new record
looks likely to be set on Wall Street this
week, said The Economist. Snowflake, a
“whimsically named” data management
Wednesday with a market capitalisation
of $30bn-plus – “the highest valuation of a
newly listed software firm ever”. For once,
this “staggering” number seems justified:
Snowflake’s cloud-based database is a “hit
with customers” and, if current trends
hold, it will take in nearly $1bn in the next
year. But with big cloud providers such as
Amazon and Google “beefing up their
competing products”, what are the odds
that the future will remain so bright?
“Snowflakes are pretty when they appear,
Former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn
famously escaped his Japanese captors
in a daredevil flit that saw him turn up
in Lebanon on New Year’s Eve. His
sidekick Greg Kelly was less fortunate,
however. And this week his trial began
in Tokyo. Prosecutors allege Ghosn,
Kelly and Nissan “underreported
Ghosn’s compensation by ¥9.2bn
($87m) in company filings over eight
years through to 2018”, said Peter
Landers in The Wall Street Journal.
But while a Nissan representative
“pleaded guilty on behalf of the
company”, Kelly, an American lawyer,
denied the charges, and defended his
former boss in court. You might say
he’s a classic fall guy. Certainly, his
trial will provide the “closest thing to a
legal judgment” on Ghosn himself.
Ghosn was once hailed as a hero in
Japan for turning around the carmaker.
Alas, it has been ailing in more recent
years and looks in poor shape to
weather the switch to electric vehicles,
said Lex in the FT. Now the company
needs cash, and is launching its first
dollar bond since 1999. “Tokyo cynics
say Nissan likes foreign investors
because they do not fully realise how
much trouble it is in.” But even foreign
investors might have turned their noses
up at its ten-year bond issue but
for a timely “government guarantee”
on ¥130bn of loans. “The support of
Tokyo’s lawmakers – if not of its
financial market gossips – should
allow these bond financings to fly.”

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

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 Commentators CITY 45
The trade deal struck with Japan last week has been hailed as
“historic” – Britain’s first agreement as an independent country City profile
Sadly, the for 47 years, says The Observer. But what does it actually amount
to? It is hoped that the deal will boost trade between the two Jane Fraser

Japan deal is nations by £15bn, adding 0.07% to UK gross domestic product.

By contrast, government economists estimate that leaving the EU
For the first time in history,
“a big Wall Street Bank will

just a sideshow customs union and single market will result in a 5% GDP loss.
That may not bother International Trade Secretary Liz Truss,
be led by a woman” – and a
Brit to boot, said Jasper Jolly
in The Guardian. Citigroup,
Editorial whose main mission is to “bolt together as many trade deals which has assets of more
with non-EU countries as she can” while No. 10 negotiates with than $2.2trn, has appointed
The Observer Brussels. But it certainly worries business leaders. A deal with Scottish-born Jane Fraser,
Japan (or, indeed, the US) will be “little consolation” for them if 53, as its new CEO, making
her “one of the few women
exporters are “locked out of EU markets”. Trade between Britain
at the top of the global
and the EU, including services, was worth £672.5bn last year – banking industry”. Fraser,
“more than 20 times the value of UK-Japan trade and three times who was born in St Andrews
the £200bn sent back and forth to the US”. This deal is a feather and studied economics at
in Truss’s cap, but let’s keep our eyes on the really “historic” prize. Cambridge and Harvard,
started her banking career
The deal to sell Britain’s micro-chip champion Arm Holdings to at Goldman Sachs in London
the US giant Nvidia might appear to be done and dusted, but the before heading stateside.
The political political difficulties are only just beginning, says Ben Marlow. The
“sensitivities” surrounding this tie-up are massive. True, Arm was
She has worked for Citi for
the past 16 years.

fall-out from already in foreign hands. But its previous owner, Japan’s
Softbank, was forced to make “legally binding commitments” to
the Arm deal secure the company’s Cambridge headquarters. As things stand,
Nvidia is under no such obligation and its pledge to increase the
Ben Marlow number of UK jobs is meaningless unless it can be enforced by
law. There are also potentially worrying “geopolitical implica-
The Daily Telegraph tions” if Arm ends up becoming a “pawn in America’s trade war
with China”. Blocking a takeover this big would damage attempts
to lure overseas investment to “Global Britain”. On the other
hand, how can ministers supposedly “obsessed with the idea of
having a home-grown trillion-dollar tech champion” reconcile
that with allowing a US company to nab “the only one that gets
anywhere near”? Resolving this conundrum will be difficult. The
Prime Minister now has a “real dilemma on his hands”.

“Calling a market top has wrongfooted pundits through the Sometimes described as
ages,” says Michael Mackenzie – and last week’s big “correction” “gutsy”, Fraser is credited

It’s hard to of US tech stocks has “stirred the debate again”. But the real
question facing those betting on a bigger rout is “what is the
with working “frantically”
to “keep the bank afloat”

call time alternative”, when “tech still offers solid growth prospects and
the potential for a significant return on equity”? It’s natural to
during the 2008-09 financial
crisis, said The Sunday
Times. As head of strategy
on Big Tech draw comparisons with crashes that followed other market peaks
– such as those in 2000 and 2007. “But those market heights were
and M&A, she “executed 25
deals in 18 months”. But she
Michael Mackenzie followed by a protracted decline in earnings growth over ensuing also has experience in more
quarters”, whereas the hit from the pandemic – for the tech earthy roles. In 2013, she
Financial Times industry at least – “appears far less extensive”. Covid-19 has moved to Missouri to run
Citi’s mortgage bank: “I
accelerated digital trends for business, education and households
dumped the Chanel suits and
and, even if a vaccine arrives, these “shifts in behaviour” are likely found myself in jeans,” she
to continue. “Unless earnings decline noticeably and prove high observed. In 2015, as head of
valuations wrong”, stocks do not tend to drop in any “persistent Citi’s LatAm operations, “she
way”. The current market is no exception. That makes it “hard to took on a Mexican business
call time on Big Tech and the equity-growth bull run”. gripped by a money-lending
and fraud investigation”.
There has been a lot of commentary during the lockdown about Although Fraser has been
how Covid-19 may “end up killing cash”, says Graham Ruddick. seen as Citi’s “next CEO” for

Will Covid In fact, the virus is more likely to spell the end of bank cards. One
of the big changes to our daily lives has been the “widespread
some time, Wall Street “has
some questions” about the

spell the end removal by banks, retailers, bars and restaurants on spending
limits when using Apple Pay or other contactless payment services
timing of her promotion, said
DealBook in The New York
Times. It may have come
of bank cards? on phones and smartwatches”. True, the limit on bank cards has
also been increased – but only from £30 to £45. Doubtless some
“sooner than expected”
because of stumbles by her
Graham Ruddick consumers will baulk at the prospect of relying on their phones current boss, Mike Corbat,
for yet another aspect of life. But for others, the benefits of under whose tenure Citi’s
The Times sauntering out without a wallet are obvious – not least the stock has languished.
Certainly, it wouldn’t be “the
“reduced risk of fraud if your phone uses biometric security”.
first time that a woman has
The future may be here already: a recent report by Clearpay been elevated to clean up a
found that 60% of millennials (those born between 1981 and mess” when the risk of
1996) don’t have a credit card and that almost no one in Gen Z failure is high. Let’s see how
(the generation after that) is even applying for one. “Cash is Fraser gets on at the top of
always likely to have a role in society” – but, rather like cassettes the “so-called glass cliff”.
and CDs, bank cards could become a “footnote in history”.

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

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 Shares CITY 47

Who’s tipping what

The week’s best shares
Burberry Group
The Times
Store closures during the
pandemic have hit the
luxury-goods group hard.
But Burberry benefits from
a strong balance sheet, a
new sustainable focus and is
Directors’ dealings
Luceco Team17 Group Balfour Beatty
Investors Chronicle The Times
The lighting specialist’s lost This video-games developer 270
office sales have been mitigated has had a bumper first half,
by online and DIY demand thanks to the Covid-19 effect.
250
– profits are up and shares A strong pipeline of new games
have doubled in a year. Looks is expected to maintain revenue
in good shape to tackle a growth. Pricey, but well-run in 230

investing in online shopping slowdown in commercial a growth sector. Buy. 686p.

and social media. Buy. £14.82. real estate. Buy. 191p. 210 Director buys
Unilever 226,127
InterContinental Morgan Sindall Group Investors Chronicle 190
Hotels Group The Sunday Telegraph The consumer goods Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
The Times Governmental commitment to behemoth is improving its

SOURCE: INVESTORS CHRONICLE

Rumours of a merger with the
French hotel group Accor have
bumped up shares. But IHG,
which owns Holiday Inn, is
strong and well-run – shares
should prosper whatever the
outcome. Buy. £44.80.
infrastructure bodes well for
the contractor, which operates
in sectors including affordable
homes, urban regeneration
and roads. Profits guidance
is strong and the order book
is up 12%. Buy. £12.20.
sustainability and diversity CEO Leo Quinn topped up his
stake with shares worth £0.5m
credentials. Cash-generative just after the construction
and highly profitable, with group revealed a pandemic-
a diverse portfolio of brands, induced loss. 95% of US and
from Hellmann’s to Dove, sold UK sites have now reopened,
around the world. Yields and a £563m cash pile should
help weather any disruption.
3.6%. Buy. £45.18.

…and some to hold, avoid or sell Form guide

Fever-Tree Drinks Halma Melrose Industries Shares tipped 12 weeks ago

Investors Chronicle
The drinks group’s debt-free,
asset-light, cash-positive model
gives it flexibility to react to
challenges. Retail sales have
“exceeded expectations”.
Resilient, but “not immune”
to Covid-19 uncertainty.
Hold. £20.30.
The Times Investors Chronicle Best tip
The health and safety products Profits in the engineering Eckoh
group is enduring the pandemic conglomerate’s aerospace arm Investors Chronicle
well – despite muted medical have nosedived 70%, while up 10% to 68p
division performance and automotive sales have plunged
lower oil prices dampening 40%. Still, cost-cutting should Worst tip
demand from oil and gas lift margins, and efficiencies Informa
The Sunday Telegraph
clients. Set to overcome short- should bolster cash flow.
down 19.44% to 399p
term difficulties. Hold. £22.70. Hold. 111p.

Games Workshop International Personal Safestore

The Daily Telegraph
Shares in the fantasy figurine
outfit are up 46% since May.
Resilient and flexible, with a
promising tie-up with video-
games maker Frontier.
Tempting to take profits,
but one “for the long term”.
Hold. £86.
Finance
The Sunday Times
The doorstep lender has
reported a £53.3m loss, with
revenues down 19% and bad
loans up 50%. Recovering, but
with hefty refinancing looming
and uncertainty ahead, it’s too
risky. Sell. 62p.
The Times Market view
The UK’s biggest self-storage
“The recovery is about
provider has seen revenues rise to enter a much harder
5.2% in Q3, and outlook for and slower phase.”
demand is positive. But strong Ruth Gregory of Capital
trading is already priced in Economics on the
and it expects erosion in the difficult autumn ahead.
growth rate. It trades at 27 Quoted in The Times
times earnings. Sell. 786.5p.

Market summary
Key numbers for investors Best and worst performing shares Following the Footsie
15 Sep 2020 Week before Change (%) WEEK’S CHANGE, FTSE 100 STOCKS
6,750
FTSE 100 6105.54 5930.30 2.95% RISES Price % change
FTSE All-share UK 3407.96 3322.13 2.58% GVC Holdings 916.00 +11.60 6,500
Dow Jones 28089.70 27639.02 1.63% Ocado Group 2608.00 +11.03
NASDAQ 11207.34 11001.47 1.87% Scottish Mortgage 970.50 +9.66 6,250
Nikkei 225 23454.89 23274.13 0.78% Rio Tinto 5135.00 +9.26
Hang Seng 24732.76 24624.34 0.44% Smurfit Kappa Gp. 3068.00 +9.26 6,000

Gold 1958.70 1928.45 1.57% FALLS 5,750

Brent Crude Oil 40.31 39.99 0.80% Morrison (WM) Spmkts. 178.10 –7.86
DIVIDEND YIELD (FTSE 100) 3.63% 3.67% Whitbread 2259.00 –7.83 5,500
UK 10-year gilts yield 0.22 0.19 Rolls-Royce Holdings 203.30 –7.13
US 10-year Treasuries 0.68 0.67 Pearson 513.80 –4.39 5,250
UK ECONOMIC DATA Avast 529.00 –4.34
Latest CPI (yoy) 0.2% (Aug) 1.0% (Jul) 5,000
BEST AND WORST UK STOCKS OVERALL
Latest RPI (yoy) 0.5% (Aug) 1.6% (Jul)
Iconic Labs 0.02 +121.58 4,750
Halifax house price (yoy) 5.2% (Aug) 3.8% (Jul) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Hurricane Energy 2.75 –46.08
6-month movement in the FTSE 100 index
£1 STERLING $1.270 E1.070 ¥133.586 Source: Datastream (not adjusted for dividends). Prices on 15 Sep (pm)

19 September 2020 THE WEEK

48 The last word

How the race for a Covid-19

vaccine is getting dirty
Scientists worldwide are working against the clock to find a viable coronavirus vaccine,
says Laura Spinney. But are corners being cut for the sake of political gain and profit?

To begin with, it felt like a group’s 20-odd members had

sleek performance from a previously tested.
well-honed relay team. On 11
January, only ten days after The accumulation of such
reporting a new respiratory incidents has left many
disease, the Chinese published scientists feeling uneasy. “I’m
the genome sequence of the more and more concerned
virus that causes it. things are getting done in a
Researchers around the world rush,” says Beate Kampmann,
set to work building vaccines who directs the Vaccine
against Covid-19, as the Centre at the London School
disease became known, and of Hygiene & Tropical
the first candidate entered Medicine (and whose work
human trials on 16 March; email account was subject to
it was joined, as the months a failed hack in July). On 13
passed, by dozens of others. August, the editor-in-chief of
the journal Science issued a
Scientists were jubilant, and call to order. Shortcuts in
they had every right to be. testing “endanger millions
They’d broken all vaccinology of lives” and “will damage
records to get to that point. public confidence” in science
But then tensions began to for a long time to come,
surface among the team wrote H. Holden Thorp.
members, and lately even the
most distracted spectator will Even if most vaccine research
have noticed that they appear groups aren’t rushing, says
to be trying to nobble each Russia’s “Sputnik V” has been approved, despite being in the trials phase Paul A. Offit, of the Vaccine
other openly on the track. Education Centre at the
With accusations that the Russians and Chinese hacked research Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the language used to describe
groups in other countries, biotech executives criticised for cashing the search – the US government’s naming of its vaccine funding
in on their own, as yet unapproved vaccines, and Russia approv- programme Operation “Warp Speed”, Russia’s evocation of the
ing a vaccine that is still in clinical trials, the quest for a vaccine space race with its “Sputnik V” vaccine, even the expression
seems to have turned sour. “vaccine race” – might imply
otherwise. “It makes it sound
Political pressure has been “We don’t have a vaccine for any like timelines are being
mounting for scientists to deliver coronavirus – so why do people assume suppressed, or safety issues are
an economy-saving result, and being ignored,” he says.
reports of corner-cutting emerge this is going to be straightforward?”
daily. Two days before last Doing things by the book,
month’s Republican Party convention, President Trump accused where testing a vaccine is concerned, involves putting it through
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of dragging its feet, a human or clinical trial. This conventionally comprises three
delaying approval of any experimental vaccine until after phases. In the first, a small group of healthy people receives the
November’s presidential elections. When the FDA then gave vaccine to see if it is safe and causes no serious side effects. Phase
“emergency use” authorisation for blood plasma treatments for 2 continues to test safety but mainly tests the vaccine’s ability to
Covid-19 patients, before such treatments had shown any clear elicit an immune response. It does this in a few hundred people,
benefit in clinical trials, fears grew that it would do the same some of whom act as controls because they receive a placebo or
for a vaccine candidate before that candidate had been put fully different vaccine. In the third phase, which also includes controls,
through its paces – just to suit the presidential agenda. And the vaccine is typically administered to tens of thousands of
Americans are laggards when it comes to cutting corners. Before people who are followed over many months, usually in a place
Russia approved its vaccine, China also approved a locally made, where the risk of infection is high. This tests whether the vaccine
but not thoroughly tested, vaccine for use in military personnel – works in the real world – and attempts to root out side effects
and last month it announced it had been administering an that might not have been apparent in smaller, less diverse groups.
unapproved vaccine to key workers since July.
If an experimental vaccine is judged both safe and effective at
Nor is it just politicians who are in a hurry. On 2 August, Steven the end of this process, it becomes eligible for approval. But it
Salzberg, a computational biologist at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins is universally acknowledged that clinical trials can’t catch all
University, suggested in Forbes magazine that a promising vaccine possible side effects – because some may emerge only in certain
be rolled out to a wider pool of volunteers before clinical trials sub-populations, or after a very long time – so surveillance
had been completed, triggering an outcry (and some sympathy) continues post-approval (this is sometimes referred to as a
that prompted him to recant the next day. Meanwhile, a research trial’s phase 4). When Russia announced last month that it had
group with links to Harvard University continues to defend its approved Sputnik V, the vaccine had been tested in no more
publication in July of a recipe for a DIY vaccine – one only the than 100 people. At the time, the Gamaleya Research Institute

THE WEEK 19 September 2020

 The last word
of Epidemiology and Microbiology in
Moscow – which is running the ongoing
vaccine trial – had registered phases 1 and
2 in public databases, but published no
results from them, and given no evidence
that it had even started phase 3.
Philosopher and bioethicist Angus
Dawson, of the University of Sydney, says
he understands the pressure to accelerate
Covid-19 vaccine testing, given the
number of people globally who are
susceptible to severe or lethal forms of the
disease. But he thinks it has blinkered
some scientists to the dangers of rushing
trials. “They’re focusing on potential
benefits without reasonably and fairly
thinking about the downsides,” he says. A volunteer at the University of Oxford trial power,” Dawson says, “but my university
Covid-19 is not flu. It is caused by a virus,
Sars-CoV-2, about which relatively little is known, and some of
the experimental vaccines currently going through clinical trials
also make use of novel technology. That is a lot of unknowns.
“We don’t have a vaccine for any coronavirus, so why do people
assume this is going to be straightforward,” Dawson asks.
One potential risk with some kinds of vaccine, for example, is
that they can cause the recipient to experience a worse bout of the
disease if that person becomes infected naturally later on. This
phenomenon, known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE),
has been a problem with experimental vaccines against severe
acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) – caused by a virus related to
Sars-CoV-2 – and it will need to be ruled out by rigorous testing
of Covid-19 vaccines. If ADE were to become a problem after a
vaccine had been approved,
years might pass before the full
human cost comes to light. “Vaccines will eventually reach most
populations – but only after powerful
Of course, unknowns are just
that – meaning that experts
countries have protected themselves”
disagree about how much speed
is justified in the current situation. Dawson argues that the
existing, sequential system of trial phases should be maintained,
partly on moral grounds: safety should be fully established before
efficacy, for example – and if it hasn’t been, a volunteer giving
“informed” consent to take part is less informed than he or she
should be. But the WHO and Oslo-based nonprofit organisation
the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi) –
which is helping to coordinate Covid-19 vaccine development –
have both endorsed a “pandemic paradigm”, in which some
phases are run in parallel and trial duration is shortened overall.
The front-running Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine is just
one project that is running phase 2 and 3 trials simultaneously.
The justification for doing so is that all of the usual checks and
balances will still be performed before a vaccine is used widely;
they just might not be performed in the same order. The cost of
compressing the process is a greater financial risk for vaccine-
makers, since it requires them to move forward through ever
more expensive trial phases before all the information is in from
previous ones – with no guarantee of approval at the end. It’s for
this reason that Cepi, Warp Speed and others are investing public
money in Covid-19 vaccine research – to help spread that risk.
But the changing economics of vaccine development have thrown
up new ethical dilemmas. Nobody is suggesting that executives at
© UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD/JOHN CAIRNS
Moderna and Inovio – US biotech firms working on experimental
Covid-19 vaccines using technology that has never been approved
– broke any rules when they sold off stock in their companies.
This is normal practice, once companies go public, partly because
it allows executives to recoup their initial investment. But legal
scholars are currently debating whether those rules remain fit for
purpose. And while they do, the spectacle of execs cashing in on
unproven technology that taxpayers helped fund does nothing for
49
public trust in scientists. “It creates an
understandable cynicism,” says Offit.
For Dawson, the bad behaviour now
on display is evidence that commercial
incentives are too dominant in the search
for a vaccine. He points out that other
kinds of incentives were possible. The
WHO could have offered a prize for the
vaccine most likely to reduce the global
burden of Covid-19, for example. That
might have given it some ownership of the
final product, and power to ensure its
equitable distribution. Unfortunately, the
chronically underfunded WHO doesn’t
have the authority many people think it
has. “People assume it’s this global
has a bigger budget than the WHO.”
Now that seven candidates are in phase 3 trials, ensuring the
equitable distribution of approved vaccines has become a pressing
issue. A few weeks ago, Cepi published the results of a survey
suggesting that the world had the manufacturing capacity to
produce the two billion doses considered necessary to protect the
most vulnerable by the end of 2021 – but not to produce enough
to protect everyone by the same deadline. “People are waking up
to the fact vaccines will not be there for all,” Kampmann says.
The spectre arises of nations already engaged in a vaccine “space
race” trying to corner supplies for their own populations. In fact,
some have already started doing so, prompting the WHO to warn
against “vaccine nationalism”. To counter this, in June Cepi, the
WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine
Alliance, set up the Covid-19
Vaccines Global Access (Covax)
facility, with the aim of
persuading governments to
invest in vaccine development in
exchange for enough doses of an
eventually approved product to cover the most vulnerable 20% of
their populations. By the end of August, more than 170 countries
had expressed an interest. They included the UK, but not China,
Russia or the US. Perhaps common sense will prevail – but history
gives little reason to be hopeful. “In keeping with the long-standing
pattern... vaccines will eventually reach most populations, but
only after powerful countries have protected themselves,” wrote
the global health expert David P. Fidler in Science on 14 August.
Another potential repercussion is that, having lost faith in science
and institutions, more people will choose not to take a vaccine
once one becomes available – potentially reducing the protection
of the population as a whole. Alarming surveys have suggested
that up to a third of Americans and 16% of Britons would refuse
a Covid-19 vaccine, for example. Offit warns that such surveys
should be treated with caution, however, while the vaccine
remains theoretical. Until they see the data, people are quite right
to remain “sceptical”, he says.
If a vaccine is shown to be safe and effective, through rigorous
application of the scientific method, Offit is optimistic that most
people will take it. Kampmann, meanwhile, feels it’s important
not to let the recent shenanigans in the vaccine community
overshadow its huge achievements. If current forecasts are correct,
a Covid-19 vaccine will be available in 2021 – smashing all
records for vaccine development – and there will be many more
reasons to trust it than not to. Still, those with their eye on that
glittering prize should remember what is at stake. “We have to
be careful,” she says, “because what we do with Covid-19 could
have repercussions for trust in all vaccine programmes.”
A longer version of this article appeared in The Observer.
© 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited.
19 September 2020 THE WEEK
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27

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