SATURDAY
January 21 2023 | thetimes.co.uk | No 73999
Javid backs fee to see GP
Former health secretary calls for ‘hard-headed conversation’ to ensure survival of the NHS
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor
Charging for GP appointments and
A&E visits is “crucial” to the survival of
the NHS, Sajid Javid has declared.
The former health secretary says
that without radical and controversial
reform, the principles of the NHS “can-
not survive much longer” as patients
face lengthening waits for emergency
and routine care.
Javid, who was in charge of the health
service six months ago, has written in an
‘The law must
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trans people
with predators’
Gender debate Kemi Badenoch, the minister for women and equalities, has said in an interview with The Times that she opposes gender self-identification because it
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article for The Times that he wants to
start a “hard-headed conversation”
about the future of the health service and
has attacked the “narrative of adulation”
that has a “chilling effect” on discussion
of changes needed to improve care.
He says politicians of all parties must
look seriously at “extending the contrib-
utory principle” and asking those who
can afford it to pay for some of their
treatment to discourage unnecessary
appointments. Rishi Sunak is not “cur-
rently” considering the proposals, which
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most in Westminster believe are politi-
cally toxic, after dropping plans set out
in his leadership campaign to charge
While health secretary between 2021
and July last year, Javid was not consid-
ering such controversial changes to the
for all our
people for missing GP appointments.
However, Tory calls for a funda-
mental rethink of the NHS are growing
NHS, and acknowledges that he often
went along with officials who told him
“fix it, without touching it”. He has since
readers
as patients face record delays for almost reached radical conclusions which he
all treatments. Lord Clarke of Notting-
ham, one of the few besides Javid and
Jeremy Hunt to have been chancellor
lays out in his article today as part of The
Times Health Commission, a year-long
inquiry into the NHS and social care in
Free access to
and health secretary, has also called for
wealthier patients to make a “modest
England that was launched this week.
After announcing that he will stand
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2 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News

Today’s highlights EU delays fingerprint check

12.20pm The writer and actor Steve Bugeja on a
new series of the sitcom Buffering
2.15pm Gordon Buchanan looks back at his
30 years as a wildlife film-maker
for travellers until autumn
3.15pm Elizabeth Day, right, author of Failosophy:
Ben Clatworthy scheme could cause “significant and
A Handbook For When Things Go Wrong

Q&A
Transport Correspondent continued disruption for a very long
4.05pm Major-General Chip Chapman on time” and he had urged the EU to delay
sending tanks to Ukraine Holidaymakers heading to Europe this the introduction until after the
4.15pm Matthew Taylor, chief executive of summer will be spared having their summer.
the NHS Confederation fingerprints registered and picture Aviation groups have also welcomed
taken, resulting in a significant What is the Entry/Exit System? the delay, saying that it allows time for
reduction of border queues. It will be an automated IT system concerns to be resolved. In a joint
The European Union has postponed that will help track travellers statement Airlines for Europe, the
DAB RADIO l ONLINE l SMART SPEAKER l APP the launch of its new Entry/Exit System entering the European Union from trade body, and the International Air
(EES), which will affect all arrivals from third countries such as the UK. The Transport Association said: “The
outside the bloc, until at least the system was due to launch last year, aviation industry is fully behind the
autumn. It was due to come into effect but was delayed until May this year. rollout of EES and is committed
T O D AY ’ S E D I T I O N in May. It has been further delayed until at to working with the EU and
Officials in Brussels were told that least the autumn. national authorities for a successful
the implementation was “no longer implementation. But it is important the
Terrorist attack Stalker ‘stole Welby shuns achievable” because of delays caused by What will change for arrivals? EU and national authorities address
the contractors responsible for the All non-EU arrivals will have four industry concerns and provide
alert at hospital Foy’s freedom’ gay blessings introduction of the system. fingerprints scanned and a efficient co-ordination for an effective
Counterterrorism The actress Claire Foy The Archbishop of Rene Vihalem, the chairman of the photograph taken on their first implementation.
police have begun an has revealed the Canterbury will not EES programme management board, entry into the bloc. These “Postponing the implementation
investigation after a trauma of being perform any blessings told a meeting of the EU’s large-scale IT biometrics will be uploaded to a until after the busy 2023 summer period
man carrying a gun stalked by a delusional for same-sex couples projects committee that a revised time- database and verified on each will give airlines, airports, EU and
and a suspicious device schizophrenic who because he says he table would be published in March but subsequent entry. national authorities the opportunity to
was arrested in the she feared was going needs to remain a that ports and airports should be resolve these issues and ensure the
grounds of St James’s to kill her and her figure of “unity” for equipped for the system by the end of Will the system cause delays? system is fully tested.”
Hospital, Leeds. daughter. Anglicans. the year. While it is well-designed for airport Once operational, the ESS will re-
Under the scheme, all arrivals from arrivals, there are expectations of place the so-called wet stamping of
outside the European Union will have enormous delays at the Port of passports and will also provide border
‘Toadzilla’ leaps Google slashes Stokes joins in four fingerprints scanned and a photo- Dover and at the Eurotunnel officers with an automatic countdown
graph taken. The data will be captured terminal in Folkestone, where the in order to monitor how many days
in record books 12,000 jobs rugby revolt on the first entry to the bloc and verified vast majority of passengers arrive Britons have spent in Europe. Under
A giant cane toad, so The Google owner The RFU is facing a on subsequent visits. by car. Holidaymakers have been post-Brexit rules, Britons without the
large that park rangers Alphabet is the latest revolt over its decision Holidaymakers had been told to warned that it could take ten right to work or reside in the EU can
called it Toadzilla, has tech firm to announce to change tackling in expect long delays, especially at British minutes to process a single car at stay for only 90 days in any 180-day
been discovered mass layoffs, cutting amateur rugby, with ports — where border controls are Dover when the measures are period.
rampaging around the 12,000 jobs, 6 per cent objectors including juxtaposed with French immigration introduced. Last year the former chief executive
Queensland bush. At of its workforce, due to players and England’s formalities carried out on UK land — of Eurostar said that post-Brexit border
5.9lb, it is the largest a new “economic Test cricket captain because of difficulties in capturing checks are “not sustainable” and
ever found. reality”. Ben Stokes. passengers’ data from inside their cars. He previously told The Times it could warned that the ESS “hangs over” the
There are also concerns that long take “two minutes per passenger” to company.
queues could form at the Eurotunnel register them for the ESS system, fol- The company said that central
COMMENT 29 WEEKEND ESSAY 36 REGISTER 82 terminal in Folkestone. lowed by a further two minutes to pro- London avoided the level of queues
LEADING ARTICLES 33 MONEY 61 CROSSWORD 87 Doug Bannister, the chief executive cess those passengers. At present it takes and chaos witnessed at the Port of
of the Port of Dover, has warned that it between 45 and 90 seconds to process a Dover last summer only because
FOLLOW US could take up to ten minutes to process car with four passengers at the port. Eurostar cut its capacity by operating
thetimes timesandsundaytimes thetimes a single car when the measures come in. He said the introduction of the fewer trains.

WEEKEND SATURDAY REVIEW SPORT continued from page 1

Javid backs fees to see a GP
down as an MP at the next election,
Javid warns that “too often the appreci-
ation for the NHS has become a reli-
gious fervour and a barrier to reform”.
He argues that with spending higher
than in countries such as Japan, Italy
and New Zealand, “this is not a question
of finance, but how the system oper-
ates”, attacking a “status quo where we
JOIE DE JOAN DOUBLE ACT BIG SPENDERS pour ever greater amounts of money
Bakewell on living Charles Dance: I’m Arsenal ramp up into the NHS but become increasingly
with her cancer in love again at 76 title push with unsure as to where exactly it ends up”.
diagnosis — it’s fantastic double signing With the £180 billion spent on health
expected to account for 44 per cent of
PAGES 2-3 PAGES 4-5 PAGES 2-3
all departmental budgets next year, up
from 27 per cent in 2000, Javid says it is
“blindingly obvious this level of spend-
THE WEATHER ing and its rate of increase cannot
continue”. The model set up in 1948 “is
unsustainable. And unless it is radically
reformed, the principles it was founded
5
on cannot survive much longer,” he
says.
Criticising a service that makes
30 patients “wait for everything”, Javid
4 21
argues that rationing by queues needs
to be replaced by charging, with exemp-
9 tions for the poorest. He cites £20 fees
8
4 for seeing a GP in Norway and Sweden
6 as possible models, as well as Ireland’s
€75 fees for going to A&E without a
4
referral. He also praises Germany’s
20
social insurance model for giving “a
greater choice of providers”, although
all the countries he cites spend more on
Showery rain in the north and west, health than Britain.
largely dry with sunny spells Referencing existing prescription
elsewhere. charges and fees for NHS dentistry,
Javid says: “Given the challenges facing
the NHS today, we should look serious-
ly on a cross-party basis at extending
the contributory principle to other
parts of the service.”
Saying that the NHS should continue
to be “primarily funded by taxation”,
Javid says that charges will be a “vital
tool in helping the NHS ration its finite
supply more effectively”.
Javid expresses frustration at the
“constrained” political debate, saying:
“This self-imposed caution extends to
both voters and politicians, and is let-
ting patients as well as NHS staff down”.
He criticises the “scaremongering
about fictitious conspiracies” that have
led Labour to claim that the Conserva-
tives are planning to privatise the NHS,
and says there is a “cross-party con-
servatism” about reform.
Javid is understood to have privately
praised plans by Wes Streeting, the
shadow health secretary, to phase out
the GP system of independent contrac-
tors and have the NHS employ family
doctors directly. In office he was con-
sidering a similar plan and says it is
“clear that the one-size-fits-all model of
primary care is no longer fit for pur-
pose”. He stresses, however, that it is
“the introduction of a contributory
principle that will be the crucial aspect”
in saving the NHS.
Nigel Edwards, chief executive of the
Nuffield Trust think tank, said there
was evidence that charging could re-
duce demand. “But the problem is it
reduces it for both appropriate and in-
appropriate care — people don’t know
if their condition is trivial or serious but
they do know they need to pay,” he said.
“Those people who do need treatment
then turn up later with a later stage of
disease, so in cost-effectiveness terms
it’s penny-wise but pound-foolish.”
Teacher pay
rise ‘linked
to subject’
Nicola Woolcock Education Editor
The education secretary proposed
extra pay for teachers in shortage
subjects, a union leader said yesterday.
Gillian Keegan was said to have made
the suggestion during talks that took
place this week to avert strike action
from February 1, but it was rejected.
A day of talks yesterday between
union leaders and Department for
Education officials did not lead to a
breakthrough. Dr Mary Bousted, joint
general secretary of the National Edu-
cation Union, said officials were doing
their best to discuss matters including
pay and workloads but faced the “dead
hand” of the Treasury.
The unions had talks with Keegan on
Wednesday, at which Bousted said it
was proposed teachers were paid accor-
ding to the subjects taught.
She told Schools Week website that
Keegan “said that she’d be keen to dis-
cuss pay differentials by subject”. But
Bousted said this would “make the situ-
ation even worse”, adding that the gov-
ernment had “nearly missed all its sub-
ject specialists targets in secondary.
And if your answer is pay differentials,
then we’re in an even worse hole than
we were in before.”
Strikes in England and Wales could
affect more than 23,000 schools.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 3

News

Crash puts Flintoff in Top Gear limbo

David Brown, Fariha Karim
Elizabeth Ammon
Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff is yet to
decide whether he will return to Top
Gear after a crash left him psychologi-
cally traumatised, friends say.
The former England cricket captain
is understood to have escaped serious
injury in the incident but the impact on
his future at the show is unclear.
Filming of the BBC series is suspend-
ed while video of the crash is examined
in an internal safety review, to be com-
pleted in the next two weeks. Work is to
resume soon afterwards but there has
been no announcement about whether
Flintoff, 45, will feature.
The presenter is reported to have re-
quired surgery after the crash at the
Dunsfold Aerodrome, Surrey, in sub-
zero temperatures on December 13.
Friends said he was making a good re-
covery physically but the long-term
psychological impact was less clear.
The former all-rounder, who retired
from Test cricket after the 2009 Ashes
series, was taken to hospital by heli-
copter ambulance having suffered bro-
ken ribs and facial injuries. His family
said he was “lucky to be alive”.
His Top Gear co-hosts, Chris Harris
and Paddy McGuinness, were at the
aerodrome but were not involved in the
crash.
A spokesman for BBC Studios, the
commercial arm that makes Top Gear,
declined to comment about Flintoff’s
future and referred questions to his
agent, who failed to respond to repeat- Andrew Flintoff, who presents Top Gear with Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness, after crashing a trike in 2019. He has several injuries after another crash last month
ed requests for comment. Top Gear is
one of the biggest international brands and turned to alcohol despite being cricket career had taken a serious toll
of BBC Studios, which last year record- Hammond’s lucky escape captain of England and “financially on him, leaving him in daily pain. He
ed income of £1.63 billion. successful”. had an operation on his left knee last
A review of the accident by the Richard Hammond Wye, Herefordshire, He said: “I didn’t understand what year and said he also needed a shoulder
Health and Safety Executive, the almost died in 2006, within five weeks of was happening to me. I felt tired and replacement.
government agency, has found no after a crash while the incident. miserable and I was tested for every- Flintoff has become a media person-
evidence of any serious failings requir- filming for the BBC Even though the thing, including diabetes.” ality after retiring from the sporting
ing a formal investigation. show Top Gear. car had to be written Flintoff was photographed in a series arena. He became a team captain on
A spokesman said yesterday: “We’ve The presenter off, its owners, Colin of well-publicised boozy antics includ- Sky’s A League of Their Own, hosted by
completed our initial inquires into this was in a coma for Fallows and Mark ing meeting Tony Blair, the prime min- James Corden in 2010. In 2015 he was
incident and will not be investigating two weeks after the Newby, putthe ister at the time, while still visibly drunk crowned King of the Jungle in the first
further.” incident at Elvington wreckage up for sale after England’s Ashes victory in 2007. series of the Australian version of I’m A
Flintoff, who is a prolific user of social airfield, near York, after on eBay. At the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Celebrity . . . Get Me Out Of Here!
media, has not posted anything since which he was flown to It was reported that West Indies he tried and failed to board After appearing in the BBC drama
the accident. His official website ap- hospital and treated for bids reached £26,000 a pedalo in St Lucia after a drinking Love, Lies and Records in 2017, he went
pears to be down. swelling to the brain. wrecking the car. before it was removed heavily. on to make his musical theatre debut in
The presenter’s wife, Rachael, 42, a He had been driving a Hammond had been from sale on Boxing Day Flintoff said he stopped drinking ten Kay Mellor’s Fat Friends the Musical. In
former model and entrepreneur with jet-powered car, the expected to be in a 2007, with speculation years ago because alcohol affected his December that year he hosted All Star
whom he lives in a £2.5 million home in Vampire dragster, which clinic for 15 months, but that some of the offers mood and led to him taking antide- Musicals for ITV.
Altrincham, Greater Manchester, with had reached 310mph was back home at his for the car were not pressants. In his early twenties, he be- He was disclosed as a new host of Top
their four children, has previously ex- before it crashed, family castle in Ross-on- genuine. came bulimic as he tried to shed excess Gear in October 2018, alongside
pressed concern over his daredevil pounds. He once described himself as McGuinness and Harris.
antics. the “fattest 20-year-old in Britain”. His antics have been compared to
In September 2019 he lost control of the brakes properly and “could have with mental health, saying that talking His bulimia persisted throughout his those of Richard Hammond, one of the
a motorised trike at speed in a race been killed”. about it comes as easily to him as “talk- 2005 Ashes victory. In 2020 he said in a show’s previous presenters. Hammond,
against Harris and McGuinness at Seven months earlier he was in- ing about the weather”. documentary that he would finally seek 53, was involved in a series of incidents
Elvington airfield near York. Flintoff volved in a minor incident when he He says he has had depression and help after living with the illness for including being left in a coma after his
said he was “absolutely fine” after the crashed into a market stall at Mansfield, bulimia and admits drinking to excess. more than 20 years. He was praised for jet-powered Vampire dragster crashed
incident but Trevor Duckworth, who Nottinghamshire. The former sports- In 2006 he found himself barely able “saving lives” by those who saw the film. while travelling at 288mph in Septem-
owned the trike, said he had not used man has been open about his struggles to get out of bed, lost his love of cricket Last summer he revealed how his ber 2006.
4 2GM
News
Shaping up The 142nd annual exhibition of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour opens in Edinburgh today, featuring works by more than 150 artists
Zahawi faces calls to quit as
Tory chairman over tax bill
Billy Kenber
Senior Investigations Reporter
Henry Zeffman Associate Political Editor
Nadhim Zahawi is under growing pres-
sure to resign as Tory party chairman
after it emerged he had agreed to pay a
penalty as part of a multimillion-pound
settlement with the taxman.
The former chancellor of the
exchequer was said to have paid a bill of
more than £5 million in a deal with HM
Revenue & Customs to settle unpaid
tax relating to the sale of shares in You-
Gov, the polling company he founded.
The Guardian reported yesterday
that the figure included about £3.7 mil-
lion in capital gains tax, which had not
been paid, and a tax penalty of 30 per
cent, bringing the total to £4.8 million.
Penalties are payable if taxpayers did
not return the correct amount of tax at
the time when it was due.
HMRC also applies interest pay-
ments, meaning the final settlement
paid by the MP for Stratford-on-Avon
is likely to have been more than £5 mil-
lion. A spokesman for Zahawi did not
deny that a penalty had been paid or
provide clarification on the precise
sums involved but told the newspaper
that the MP “does not recognise” the
specific amount.
One Conservative source said that
questions over Nadhim Zahawi’s tax
affairs meant that his position as
Conservative Party chairman would
eventually become unsustainable.
“Nadhim has done great work at
CCHQ — he cares about data, he gets
organisations, he’s really thrown him-
self into the structures. But his biggest
skill is going out on the media and now
he can’t do that because he’ll just be
asked about his taxes.”
Labour has called for Rishi Sunak to
dismiss Zahawi and officials said they
would use the Tory party chairman’s
tax affairs against the Conservatives in
the coming weeks, and potentially also
during the run-up to the local elections
in May.
“This is the man running their
election campaign and now whenever
he or Sunak appear we can talk about
this. It’s a reminder of all our arguments
about the PM being out of touch. Surely
they won’t leave him there.”
Questions about whether Zahawi
had avoided tax first arose during the
Tory leadership race last summer. They
relate to shares granted when YouGov
was founded by Zahawi and Stephan
Shakespeare in 2000. While his co-
founder took a 42.5 per cent stake in the
company, Zahawi took no shares.
Instead, Balshore Investments, a
Gibraltar company held by an offshore
trust controlled by Zahawi’s parents,
received a 42.5 per cent shareholding.
The polling company enjoyed com-
mercial success and Balshore sold the
shares in transactions between 2006
and 2018 for up to £27 million.
When the arrangement came under
scrutiny last year, Zahawi claimed that
his father had received the shares in
exchange for the “very considerable
business know-how” he gave the
fledgling venture.
He said that he had no interest in
Balshore Investments and had never
been a beneficiary of it. However, it now
appears that Zahawi did benefit from
those funds, directly or indirectly,
triggering a capital gains tax liability on
the share sale which was not paid at the
time. Zahawi’s representatives are
reported to have approached HMRC
after news reports about his financial
affairs last summer and to have reached
the settlement towards the end of last
year.
According to HMRC’s guidance for
dealing with cases of unpaid tax, a
penalty of zero to 30 per cent of the tax
due is added if it arises “because of a
lack of reasonable care”. If the error was
deliberate, penalties begin at 20 per
cent and rise to 70 per cent, or 100 per
cent of the tax owed if it was both
deliberate and concealed.
These amounts can be reduced by
telling HMRC about the errors and
helping tax officials to calculate and
check the extra sum due.
Dan Neidle, a tax lawyer who played
a key role in exposing the issue, said
that “the size of the penalty shows that,
at best, this was a serious failure by
Zahawi to take reasonable care. It
makes it clear, beyond all doubt,
that this was not a normal tax
payment.”
He said “the relatively
low amount of interest sug-
gests that Zahawi mostly
received funds from the
trust relatively recently”.
Labour’s deputy leader,
Angela Rayner, called for
Zahawi to be dismissed.
“Nadhim Zahawi’s story
doesn’t add up. The posi-
tion of the man who was
until recently in charge of
Nadhim Zahawi may have
paid more than £5 million
the UK’s tax system and who this prime
minister appointed Conservative Party
chair is now untenable,” she said. “It’s
time for Rishi Sunak to put his money
where his mouth is and dismiss Nadhim
Zahawi from his cabinet.”
Zahawi is not a longstanding ally of
Sunak. He replaced Sunak as chancellor
last summer in an attempt to prop up
Boris Johnson’s crumbling government,
though less than two days later publicly
called on Johnson to resign.
He then stood against Sunak in the
ensuing leadership election, but was
eliminated in the first round, after
winning the support of only 25 MPs.
Zahawi then endorsed Liz Truss.
When Truss quit, Zahawi initially
backed Johnson’s comeback campaign,
though an article announcing his
support was published almost precisely
at the moment Johnson announced he
would not stand after all. He then
endorsed Sunak.
Zahawi’s spokesman did not re-
spond to a request for comment.
The spokesman had previously
said: “Mr Zahawi’s tax affairs
were and are fully up to date
and paid in the UK. Neither
he nor his direct family are
beneficiaries of Balshore
Investments or any trust
associated with it.
“Mr Zahawi has al-
ways said that he will
answer any questions
from HMRC, which he
has always done.”
HMRC does not
comment on cases
involving identifiable
taxpayers.
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Met rapist
‘locked me
in cupboard’
Fiona Hamilton
Crime and Security Editor
A victim of David Carrick, the Metro-
politan Police rapist, says that he
assaulted, whipped and kept her locked
in a cupboard during a year-long ordeal.
The woman, known as Emma, said
that Carrick, 48, was confident enough
to take her to Downing Street where his
colleagues in the firearms unit worked.
He isolated her from her own friends
and family, she said, adding: “He broke
me. Never in my life have I felt so isolat-
ed and alone. I was not allowed to see
family or friends. I was told consistently
I was a whore and a slut.”
Emma, who has three children, told
Mail Online that she met Carrick in
2017 when they were on a night out with
friends. He moved her into his home in
Stevenage, Hertfordshire, soon after-
wards and set up surveillance cameras
so that he could watch her while he was
at work.
“My chest was sat on. I was strangled,
kicked and threatened. Text messages
wishing me dead by car crash or cancer
were sent, with a desire to piss on my
grave once dead. I was told I was worth-
less and would be better off dead,” she
said.
Carrick carried out sex attacks for
nearly 20 years, but no action was taken
to stop him despite repeated com-
plaints to the Met and other forces.
G7 occupied
police before
killing spree
Will Humphries
Southwest Correspondent
An inquest has been told that senior
police officers were “distracted com-
pletely” by the G7 summit before six
people died in a shooting.
In August 2021 Jake Davison, 22,
killed his mother, Maxine Davison, 51,
after a row at their home in Plymouth.
He also killed three-year-old Sophie
Martyn, her father, Lee Martyn, 43,
Stephen Washington, 59, and Kate
Shepherd, 66, before killing himself.
Davison’s shotgun and licence had
been seized in 2020 after he assaulted
two teenagers in a park. The shootings
took place weeks after the shotgun and
his licence had been returned to him by
Devon and Cornwall police.
Superintendent Kara Sherwood told
the inquest that the firearms depart-
ment was “fundamentally under-
staffed” in the lead-up to the killings.
The G7 summit in Cornwall in June
2021 was the largest and most complex
event undertaken by Devon and Corn-
wall police. Sherwood said: “Senior
officers went off to plan the G7 and
were distracted completely.”
Dominic Adamson KC, representing
the victims’ families, asked her what
she would do in the event of a violent
offender whose weapon had been
seized. “I would not return the weapon
if it was a violent assault,” she said.
The inquest in Exeter heard that
Davison declared he had autism on his
2017 licence application and gave con-
sent for his GP to share information
with police about his medical history.
However, his GP refused to provide an
opinion to police assessing whether he
should be issued with a shotgun licence.
The inquest continues.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Terror alert over gunman with
suspicious device at hospital
Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
A man was arrested on suspicion of
planning a terrorist attack yesterday
after a person was reported to be carry-
ing a gun and a suspicious device in the
grounds of a hospital.
St James’s University Hospital in
Leeds was partially closed and people
were moved to safety after the 27-year-
old man was stopped early yesterday
outside the maternity services depart-
ment in the Gledhow wing.
Army specialists and a bomb disposal
unit from the Royal Logistic Corps
attended the scene and a cordon was
put in place. Patients were moved to a
different part of the building as a pre-
caution. Visits in other parts of the hos-
pital were suspended.
A patient being treated at the hos-
pital told The Times that beds on the
wards next to windows were moved
into the corridors.
Counter Terrorism Policing North
East (CTPNE) said a 27-year-old man
from Leeds was initially arrested on
suspicion of firearms and explosives
offences about 5am yesterday. He was
later rearrested on suspicion of being
concerned in the commission, prepara-
tion or instigation of acts of terrorism.
He was detained for questioning and
remains in custody. Police continued to
search premises as well as a vehicle
throughout the day.
Counterterrorism officers are in-
vestigating the circumstances and any
potential motivation for the incident.
A CTPNE spokeswoman said the
case was being treated as an isolated
incident. “There is not believed to be
any ongoing risk to public safety,” she
Muslim convert planned to
torture and murder troops
David Brown
A teenage terrorist has admitted
planning to murder and torture British
police officers and soldiers.
Matthew King, 19, wanted to join
Islamic State in Syria while carrying
out surveillance on potential targets in
the UK. He planned a knife attack and
carried out surveillance on army
barracks in Stratford, east London,
while attending a nearby mosque. The
potential target is less than five miles
from the Woolwich barracks where Lee
Matthew King, 19,
from Essex, had
converted to Islam
Rigby was hacked to death by two
Islamist terrorists in May 2013.
King, a convert to Islam, spoke only
to confirm his name and admit prepa-
ration of terrorist attacks during a short
hearing at the Old Bailey yesterday.
He has no previous convictions. King
accepted he had sought advice on
WhatsApp about joining Isis in Syria
and made videos in support of the
terrorist organisation. He said his
preparations were at a preliminary
stage and that he planned to attack in
the UK only if he could not reach Syria.
King accepted he had set up an ac-
count with an online knife seller, buying
“tactical” gloves and goggles from an
army surplus store, taking a photograph
of a police officer and filming the police
station and army barracks in Stratford.
2GM 5
News
said. “A cordon remains in place as a patient appointments had had to be
precautionary measure but has now cancelled as a result of the incident.
been reduced to facilitate greater access “We would like to apologise for the
to the hospital. Specialist teams con- inconvenience caused,” he said. “These
tinue to work at the scene. will be rearranged as soon as possible.
“We ask that people continue to use We’d like to thank our patients and the
alternative entrances to the hospital. public for their patience and under-
The emergency department at standing during this matter.
St James’s remains open and patients “We want to wholeheartedly thank
are asked to attend outpatient appoint- our staff and the emergency services
ments as normal unless contacted for their dedication and commitment
otherwise.” to ensure we have been able to keep
The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS everyone safe.” A bomb disposal unit investigated a suspect device found at the Leeds hospital
Trust announced at 5pm yesterday that
the critical incident had been stood
down and all patients had been
returned to their wards.
St James’s hospital, in the Harehills
area of the city, is Europe’s largest
teaching hospital. It featured in the ITV
series Jimmy’s between 1987 and 1996.
The Gledhow wing, outside which
the suspect was found, is where the
majority of the maternity ward is held,
including the delivery suite and some
respiratory and bereavement services.
Superintendent Dan Wood, of West
Yorkshire police, said: “This incident
was brought to a safe conclusion by the
work of the emergency services and a
man has been arrested in connection
with it and remains in custody.
“We are continuing to liaise with our
counterterrorism colleagues as they
progress their investigation.
“We recognise that an incident of this
nature will cause understandable
public concern and we are linking with
our partner agencies and key commu-
nity representatives to reassure them
and keep them informed.”
Steve Bush, the hospital trust’s medi-
cal director for operations, said some
He said: “No plans of any character had
been formed and the prospect of an act
of terrorism was remote.”
Paul Jarvis, for the prosecution, said
that King had searched for Isis training
videos on knife attacks and recorded a
video in which he “explained how he
would torture, mutilate and kill
military personnel”.
King also recorded videos of police
officers outside Stratford magistrates’
court and the railway station, which he
overlaid with Islamic chants and
comments including “target acquired”.
He was arrested at his home in
Wickford, Essex, in May last year after
information was received by the anti-
terrorist hotline and the anti-
extremism Prevent unit about a video
added to a WhatsApp group.
The video showed a photograph of a
man holding a knife with a caption
reading: “Those who said that there is
no jihad and no battle. They are lying!
“Our jihad will continue until
disappearance until the day of
judgment! Now the battle has begun
and it will continue until the day of
judgment. So take out your sword, O
youth, and destroy the kufr.”
When his home was raided by
counterterrorism police, King said:
“The only law I believe in is the law of
Allah [not the UK law].”
A search of his mobile telephone
showed he had been planning terrorist
acts since December 2021.
Mark Lucraft, the recorder of
London, asked for a full pre-sentence
report, including an assessment of the
continuing danger posed by King, who
was remanded in custody to be
sentenced on April 14.
6 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News
News Defence

Germany The Prince of

Wales left
Portsmouth in
August. It
didn’t get far

blocks offer
of tanks
for Ukraine
Oliver Moody Berlin
Richard Spencer Kramatorsk
The German chancellor has blocked an
offer of tanks for Ukraine’s defence
against Russia, causing shockwaves
among Nato allies.
Olaf Scholz’s new defence minister,
Boris Pistorius, used a meeting of states
that support Ukraine to reiterate Ger-
many’s hesitance to approve the supply
of German-made Leopard 2 tanks by
countries including Poland and Spain.
Germany’s agreement is necessary
under weapons re-export rules.
Pistorius said “no decision” had been
taken at the meeting in Ramstein,
home to a large United States airbase.
He insisted that Germany was not the
only country with reservations about
Main battle tanks
Stockpiles by Nato country
US
Turkey 3,022
Greece 1,243
Poland 863
Romania 451 Zelensky’s tank
Bulgaria 410 wish list
Ukraine to hold off until more equip-
ment had been sent and Ukrainian
troops had been trained how to use it.
General Mark Milley, chairman of
the US joint chiefs of staff, said he
thought a victory for Ukraine this year
was unlikely. “From a military stand-
point I still maintain that for this year it
would be very, very difficult to eject the
Russian forces from every inch of Rus-
sian-occupied Ukraine,” he said.
Zelensky said time was of the
essence. “The war doesn’t allow delays.
I can thank you hundreds of times but
hundreds of thankyous are not hun-
dreds of tanks. We must speed up.”
The meeting had been billed as a
potential turning point in the West’s
military support for Kyiv. Ukraine has
been asking for 200 to 300 tanks. Mos-
cow has been expanding conscription
and could soon deploy half a million
new soldiers to the front lines.
Britain led the way last weekend,
promising 14 Challenger 2 tanks, a
6,612 move praised by Lloyd Austin, the US
defence secretary, yesterday.
However, Kyiv has put the German-
manufactured Leopard series at the top
of its wish list. More than a dozen Euro-

Navy plumbs new

pean Nato members have about 2,000
France 406 Challenger 2 of the vehicles and an abundance of
Spain 327 Sending: 14 spare parts in their inventories.
Germany 266 Crew Spain and Poland have signalled that
UK 227 they are ready to give Ukraine their
Italy 200 Leopard 2s but so far Germany has de-

depths in aircraft
Hungary 176
Leopard 2 clined to give them permission, citing
Czech Rep 116 the risk of provoking Russia.
Canada 82
Pistorius insisted that Germany was
Croatia 72
not alone in rebuffing the request.
Denmark 44
“There was no unified opinion,” he said.
Slovenia 44 M1 Abrams

carrier carry-on
Portugal
“The impression that sometimes arises
37
Norway
that there is a united coalition and Ger-
36 many is standing in the way is wrong.
Slovakia 20
Netherlands
There are many allies who say, ‘We
18 Source: Statista via Global
N Macedonia
share the view you’ve set out. There are
10 Firepower. Data for 2022
good reasons for delivering (the Leop-
ards) and good reasons against it.’ ”
sending tanks, but declined to name the
others. He said the final decision was
Poland has threatened to send tanks
without Berlin’s approval, violating the
HMS Prince of Wales was commissioned to be Nato’s flagship
still being discussed and could take
from days to a month.
terms of its contract.
Senior politicians from all three par-
— but after a series of setbacks the £3.2 billion vessel remains
The delay has exasperated President ties in Scholz’s coalition government stranded in a dockyard three years on, Charlie Parker reports
Zelensky, who told German television: have openly urged him to relent. His
“You can absolutely keep talking like reasons for holding out remain opaque

this for another six months, but here
people are dying every day. If you’ve got
Leopard tanks, just give them to us.”
Ukraine’s armed forces are under
pressure in the east and south. In the
east Russia’s Wagner Group forces are
pouring men, many ex-convicts, into
attempts to capture the town of Bakh-
mut in the Donbas.
Moscow said yesterday that its troops
had seized the village of Klishkiivka,
south of Bakhmut. On the southern
front the Russians are gaining ground
near Zaporizhzhya.
Kyiv has been pinning its hopes on a
spring offensive using new equipment
provided by its Nato partners, with a
view to breaking through Russian lines
as it did twice last year.
However, after the meeting in Ram-
stein, US officials said they were urging
but he has previously described his
concern that the conflict could spread
beyond Ukraine’s borders.
Pistorius denied reports that the
chancellor was insisting the Americans
donate their own M1 Abrams tanks in
order to provide Germany with cover.
The US has said the Abrams was “un-
suitable” for Ukrainian conditions.
Norbert Röttgen, a former cabinet
minister, said Scholz was still clinging to
hopes of reviving Germany’s prewar
“special relationship” with Russia.
Andrij Melnyk, Ukraine’s deputy
foreign minister, said: “We appeal to the
new German minister of defence to put
an end to this crazy Punch and Judy
show . . . and clear the way for a global
tank coalition to empower Ukraine.”
H
MS Prince of Wales can
launch the most
advanced fighter jets ever
built, carry submarine-
hunting helicopters and
destroy incoming missiles with radar-
controlled guns that fire 4,500 rounds
a minute.
One thing that Britain’s largest
warship cannot seem to do is make it
out to sea.
The £3.2 billion carrier should have
been bolstering the Royal Navy’s
presence in international waters since
it was commissioned in 2019, but has
been stuck in dockyards for most of its
service due to breakdowns and
flooding.
In August, it suffered damage to its
propeller shaft, forcing it to abandon a
“landmark” trip to the US where it
would have taken part in flight and
drone trials as well as diplomatic visits.
Instead the 65,000-tonne vessel that
was supposed to be the Nato flagship,
broke down off the Isle of Wight and
had to be taken to a dry dock in
Scotland for significant repairs.
Dockyard sources told The Times
that it would be fixed and back on the
water in a matter of weeks, by the end
of February, but it was then due to
undergo “months” of maintenance
work 500 miles away in Portsmouth.
The upgrade will likely include
improvements to avionics and drone
launching capabilities on board,
making it superior in capability to the
British fleet’s only other carrier, HMS
Queen Elizabeth, which has been
shouldering its sister’s workload.
Carriers are very “complex beasts”,
according to defence analysts, and
most navies suffer similar, if not more
severe, problems than the Prince of
Wales has. For instance, the Admiral
Kuznetsov, Russia’s sole aircraft
carrier, is prone to catching fire and
has been in a dry dock for years.
The delays pose more of a symbolic
than strategic problem, as having two
carriers makes the fleet more flexible
and able to weather one ship being out
of action amid “unforeseen” issues.
However, a navy source said it was
having to “cherry pick what we want
to achieve” — deploying the Queen
Elizabeth on a mixture of training
exercises and large-scale overseas
operations with allies.
The navy had “every expectation to
have both our carriers at sea this year”,
the source added, though they could
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
not guarantee the biggest of the pair
would be operational before 2024.
The setbacks have drawn criticism
from expert observers who have said
that taxpayers are not getting value
for money and that Britain must have
a proper readiness amid the risk of
war between Nato and Russia.
Among the critics is Rear Admiral
Alexander Burton, who served as
Commander United Kingdom
Maritime Forces, the highest seagoing
command in the navy.
“The world is getting less safe, the
likelihood of conflict is increasing
across the globe, and the carriers are
a strategic part of any UK response,”
the admiral, who retired from the
navy in 2018, said.
“Successive defence reviews from
2000 have reinforced the strategic
value of the carriers — not just one,
but both, to assure that you can deliver
one carrier and quite frequently two
carriers as a global capability.
“The problem at the moment is
that industry and the navy are not
delivering what was set out when
2GM
these two carriers were first designed
because the Prince of Wales has failed
to deliver its obligations.
“The defect and maintenance
management by the navy and
industry at the moment is parlous.”
carrier commissioned
The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft
carrier programme was envisioned in
the 1998 strategic defence review as a
way of giving the UK the capacity for
“expeditionary power projection”. It
outlined an ambition to operate in
theatres where local airbases might
not be available, either because allied
nations could not be not be found in
range or their airbases had been
damaged in the early stages of a
conflict.
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance, a
partnership between the Ministry of
Defence and the defence companies
BAE Systems, Babcock International
and Thales Group, was later tasked
with building two 280m long carriers
to meet this need.
As well as Rosyth and Portsmouth,
Teething trouble
1 “This is not entirely true. There were
May 2020
Rubber seal of
propeller shaft
let water in
Propellers
Aug 2020 Water travelled
2 ent
through propeller shaft and
into ship
Aug 2022 Aircraft carrier sets
3 the context of an unlikely, but not
off for the US but breaks down
off the Isle of Wight after
discovering significant damage
to one of its propeller shafts
four other shipyards were involved in
the two construction projects, at more
than £3 billion each.
The ships are the largest and most
advanced ever built for the navy and
are expected to be in service for the
next 50 years. Their capabilities
include carrying and launching up to
40 aircraft each, including F35B
Lightning combat jets, Merlin
helicopters and fixed-wing drones.
The Prince of Wales was
commissioned in December 2019,
exactly two years after its sister ship.
At the ceremony Queen Camilla, the
ship’s sponsor, told a gathering of
about 3,000 people that it marked
“the beginning of an exciting new era
in our long naval history”.
Having a second carrier in the
group was vital as it “allows the UK to
maintain an around the clock
capability”, Sidharth Kaushal, a
research fellow for sea power at Rusi,
the defence think tank, explained.
“Because aircraft carriers need to be
refitted, undergo repairs and other
work after a period of operations.”
“A country with a one carrier
capability, even a very capable carrier
— for example the French Charles
De Gaulle — has some pretty
significant limitations in terms of
maintaining a permanent carrier
strike capability.”
problems begin
Less than a year after it began its
service, the Prince of Wales was
stopped from setting sail after the
roof of an accommodation block
collapsed and sent water cascading on
to sailors.
The navy launched an investigation
after a pipe leaked and caused ankle-
high flooding. A video of the incident
showed water gushing from the
ceiling and flooding an entire room.
Months later there was another
leak in the ship’s engine room, with a
metre of water submerging electrical
cabinets and pipes in the ship.
Engineers had to assess miles of
cables inside the vessel.
The flooding meant that between
October 2020 and April 2021 the ship
spent 193 days having water damage
repaired, at an estimated cost of
£3.3 million.
In July 2021, after being fixed, the
carrier made her debut on an
overseas port visit, sailing to Gibraltar
to briefly support operations in the
Mediterranean, working with African
and French partners.
Before returning to Portsmouth it
was involved in a “display of force” as
part of Spanish naval exercises off
their Atlantic coast, “boosting security
and Nato allies’ ability to operate
together in the region”.
But in August last year, the Prince
33 tonnes
Weight of
each of two
propellers -
equivalent to
2.6
Rudders Routemaster
buses
Portsmouth
The
Sol
Cowes
ISLE OF
WIGHT
Route
5 miles
of Wales ran into further difficulties
when leaving the port for the US to
take part in joint exercises.
The carrier suffered a problem with
its propulsion system. Inspections by
divers and engineers found that the
33-tonne starboard propeller had
malfunctioned, with a coupling
holding it in place breaking.
The carrier, which became fully
operational last year, was taken back
to Portsmouth for further
examination by engineers from
Babcock, and the decision was taken
for it to return to Rosyth, Fife, where
it was built, to undergo repairs in a
dry dock.
delays prompt debate
The Times understands that the
Queen Elizabeth has been slightly
stretched to take on the Prince of
Wales’s workload.
A navy source said crews between
both aircraft carriers would be
“swapping over” to ensure that the
Prince of Wales sailors “are not
becoming stagnant . . . that they’re
continuing to be current in their
skills.
“In fact it’s useful because we’re
exposing elements of one team to best
practices of another team and
vice versa. There are subtle benefits in
the people management and the
training because you learn from each
other’s mistakes and efficiencies a lot
quicker.”
Francis Tusa, a defence analyst,
warned that the Queen Elizabeth
would be wearing out faster if it was
continuously deployed and
questioned what would happen when
it required maintenance.
In a two-year cycle, the average US
carrier spends six months in
maintenance, which could be used as
a good proxy measure for Britain’s
vessels, according to Kaushal. “There
does have to be some degree of
ruthless selection in terms of what
the Queen Elizabeth is tasked to do
so that we don’t end up in a situation
where it needs refit before the issues
with the Prince of Wales have been
resolved,” he said.
Of the planned upgrade for the
Prince of Wales, Burton said: “One
hears that Prince of Wales has a
defect from build, very regrettable,
but once that’s rectified it has then
got to go into a capability upgrade.
The sequential approach of
rectification and maintenance is
old-fashioned programming and
poor value for money.”
The navy source said the plan was
for the two ships to “leapfrog” one
another with upgrades, with a “one in,
one out” system that has the fleet’s
capability improving.
The source added: “Regarding the
7
News
News
movement of the ship [the Queen
Elizabeth] and therefore wearing it
out, we would want to make our
aircraft carriers go to sea as much as
possible anyway and we would ideally
like our ships at sea whenever they
can because the taxpayer wants his
money’s worth.”
On the defect, the source added:
uncertainties about the shaft and as a
consequence trials were conducted
and results scrutinised for any issue,
but were all in tolerance. While it’s
fair to say they were known about,
they were proven to be unfounded at
the time.”
securing the seas
Having the Prince of Wales up and
running again is an important part of
protecting the interests of Britain and
its allies at sea, the naval experts
argued.
“Where it would be significant is in
inconceivable, direct clash between
Russia and Nato, in which maritime
projection for air power is quite
critical because a lot of airfields could
potentially be suppressed in the early
stages of a conflict,” Kaushal said.
Fortunately for Nato, Russia
only has one carrier, the Admiral
Kuznetsov, a Soviet-era ship
which has been in dry dock after
catching fire following its role in the
Syrian war.
It has suffered substantial problems
over the years, with the dry dock that
was meant to repair it collapsing in
2018, and frequent fires erupting on
board.
China, meanwhile, has an ambition
to build a formidable fleet by the early
2030s. It has three operational
carriers at the moment, two older
ships and one highly advanced vessel,
the Fujian, that has a range of high-
tech capabilities including catapult
assisted take-off but arrested recovery
(Catobar), allowing it to launch much
heavier aircraft.
However, all fleets pale in
comparison to the US navy’s size and
capability. It has 11 super carriers,
which are Catobar equipped. Three of
its carriers are at sea at any given
time. They are also nuclear powered,
which gives advantages in speed and
independent endurance.
Burton, who had been responsible
for deploying the navy’s task groups,
said: “You can use that carrier to
provide an airfield for anti-submarine
helicopters to protect a task group or
protect the nuclear deterrent. You
could use that carrier to provide strike
on shore.
“Bad things happen, and they
happen when you least expect them.
I’ve no idea how the world is going to
be in 12 months time. Just like I had
no idea, though I feared, what Russia
would do in the spring of last year.
“The reason we’ve got these
capabilities is a hedge and a deterrent
against bad things happening.
“The world is getting no safer.
This capability should be back at
the level of readiness they were
tasked to deliver as soon as possible,
and the responsibility of that is with
both the navy and the industry to
sort out.”
A navy spokesman said: “HMS
Prince of Wales has already deployed
on operations since entering service
and will protect the UK’s interests
for decades. Repairs to her starboard
propeller shaft are expected to
be completed by spring 2023, before
the ship returns to Portsmouth for a
pre-planned maintenance
period ahead of deploying again
later this year.”
A spokesman for Babcock, which is
repairing the Prince of Wales, said:
“Work is ongoing to understand the
cause of the issue and Babcock
remains focused on completing the
repair, working with the MoD and
other industry partners.”
8 2GM
News
Green light The comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which last approached Earth 50,000 years ago, was visible above Arizona on Thursday night. It will be closest on February 1
Recycling scheme for plastic
bottles is delayed until 2025
Adam Vaughan Environment Editor
A pioneering bottle deposit scheme to
reduce waste and boost recycling will
not be introduced until 2025.
The scheme in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland had been due to
begin in late 2024, but government
documents now show a start date of
October 2025.
A similar version of the scheme in
Scotland starts in August.
Four million glass bottles are used in
the UK each year, but they will be
excluded from the schemes in England
and Northern Ireland. Glass bottles
can be deposited under the plans for
Wales and Scotland.
An estimated 14 million plastic bottles
are used across the UK each year, but
recycling rates for drink containers
stand at about 70 per cent. The hope is
that making people pay an upfront fee,
refunded when they return the bottle to
shops for recycling, will boost that rate
above 90 per cent.
Scotland will charge people a 20p
deposit, and the amount for the three
other nations is expected to be at a
similar level when it is set by a new body
funded and run by industry, the Deposit
Management Organisation (DMO).
Retailers will be obliged to provide
return points for the bottles, with buyers
having to return each bottle with its cap
or lid attached. Shops will choose
whether to use reverse vending ma-
chines or accept returns over a counter.
The Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs has not said
how many return points there will be,
but the Scottish government has prom-
ised tens of thousands. The hope is that
Analysis
P
lastic pollution is
a scourge of the
natural
environment,
from the harm to
whales shown in Blue
Planet II, to the bottles
littering Britain’s rivers
and beaches. In the UK,
small plastic bottles make
up a quarter of all litter
(Adam Vaughan writes).
Globally, the problem is
so serious that a UN
treaty is being negotiated
this year to stem the tide.
Today’s long-delayed
deposit return scheme is
intended to boost
recycling rates for plastic
drink bottles from about
70 per cent to more than
90 per cent. There are
two big negative marks in
its execution, however.
One is speed. The
schemes for England,
community groups and non-profit
organisations will provide some points.
Rebecca Pow, the environment
minister, said: “We want to support
people who want to do the right thing to
help stop damaging plastics polluting
our green spaces or floating in our
oceans and rivers.”
Public support for the new scheme is
high, with 83 per cent of people re-
sponding to the consultation in favour.
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Quintagram® No 1531
Solve all five clues using each
letter underneath once only
1 Seam of ore (4)
----
2 Flagrantly disregard (5)
-----
3 Quiver (5)
-----
4 One acting as if very clever (4-2-3)
---------
5 Informal game of football (9)
---------
A A A B C E E F
H I I I K K K K
L L L N N O O O
S T T T U U V W
Solutions See p87 of Register
Cryptic clues p53 of MindGames
£39m for amputee girl
A girl who had all four limbs
amputated after she was wrongly
discharged from hospital has had
a £39 million settlement
approved by a High Court judge.
Lawyers for the child, who cannot
be identified, said she was taken
to Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey,
with “red flags” but sent home
with paracetamol. Hours later
the “extraordinarily brave” girl
was taken back and had
meningococcal sepsis diagnosed.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation
Trust admitted liability.
Jail for terrorist plotter
A conspiracy theorist has been
jailed for six and a half years after
plotting terrorist attacks on
critical infrastructure. Oliver
Lewin, 38, from Coalville,
Leicestershire, believed the Covid
vaccine would cause mass deaths
and the government was run by a
Jewish elite. Birmingham crown
court was told he said in a
message: “We are at war people.”
School bus catches fire
Wales and Northern “That decision does look be broken into smaller
Ireland are delayed until like they’ve given in to pieces in the return A school bus in Hackney, east
2025, during the next industry lobbying,” said scheme. One big London, caught fire yesterday. All
parliament. Even that is Libby Peake of the Green supermarket privately children on board were evacuated
described as a stretching Alliance think tank. made the same without injuries and the London
target, implying the date The trade body British argument. “It’s Fire Brigade was able to put out
may slip. Scotland’s Glass expressed delight at scaremongering,” said the blaze. Six other vehicles and
version will start this the exclusion in England, Nina Schrank at some surrounding properties
August. The delay seems by far the biggest market Greenpeace UK. The were damaged. A replacement
indefensible: it’s a scheme for the estimated four different rules between bus took the pupils to their
for returning bottles via million glass bottles used the four nations is also school. The cause of the fire was
shops rather than your each year in the UK. expected to be a burden being investigated.
recycling box at home, Excluding glass bottles on businesses, and
not the invention of a also breaks a 2019 confusing for consumers. Stabbing ‘was accident’
new clean energy source. Conservative manifesto Despite these flaws, the
In the meantime, millions pledge. The government scheme is set to seriously A Falklands war veteran told
more bottles will be badly blamed the complexity of dent plastic pollution, police he tripped over a dog toy
disposed of, blighting the heavier material and much like the plastic bag before stabbing his wife by
streets, verges and coasts. risk of breakages for charge has reduced their accident. Stephen Bangs, 61,
The second is glass. consumers and shops. use by millions each year. denies the attempted murder of
Despite being the most British Glass, without Evidence from other Yadasuphak Bangs, who said she
carbon-intensive providing evidence, countries including felt something hit her back and
material, it is bizarrely claimed less material Finland suggests the turned to see him holding a knife.
excluded from England would be recycled schemes can result in He had said he “wanted to kill me
and Northern Ireland’s through return points in 100 per cent recycling first and then kill himself as well”,
scheme but included for shops than via people’s rates. “It is a big deal for she told Canterbury crown court.
Scotland and Wales. homes, because it could litter,” Peake said.
Nelson signature sale
Amy Slack, of the charity Surfers will have taken seven years. The A marriage certificate signed by
Against Sewage, said omitting glass, government did not explain the latest Admiral Lord Nelson and his
“one of the most environmentally dam- delay. “It’s extraordinary. They did mistress Lady Hamilton is
aging materials” was a missed opportu- blame Covid for a while but they can’t expected to sell for about £15,000
nity. The Tory MP Philip Dunne said the use that any more,” Nina Schrank, of at auction. Dr William Compton
evidence heard by the environmental Greenpeace, said. married Anne Bottalin on July 9,
audit committee he chairs suggested The DMO will be given targets for 1799, aboard HMS Foudroyant
glass should have been included. collection rates, starting at 70 per cent and Nelson gave the bride away.
Michael Gove announced plans for a in 2026 and rising to 90 per cent by The document will be sold by
recycling scheme as environment sec- 2028. The industry body faces fines if Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh
retary in 2018, meaning its introduction those targets are missed. next month.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Stalker stole my freedom, says Foy
David Brown
Claire Foy has described her terror at
being stalked by a delusional schizo-
phrenic who she feared was going to kill
her and her daughter.
The actress, who portrayed the
Queen in the Netflix series The Crown,
was pursued by Jason Penrose, an
American, for six months.
Penrose sent more than 1,000 emails
to Foy’s publicist including one that
referred to rape and another saying he
wanted her “to be his girlfriend”.
He turned up at her home in north
London in December 2021 and rang
seven times. When it was answered by
Foy’s daughter, Penrose told her: “It’s
Jason, I’m outside.”
Foy, 38, now suffers sleepless nights
and asked film industry colleagues not
to tag her in pictures in case Penrose
Sporty Spice
jumps into
a new world
of dancing
Dance Debra Craine
How did we get here?
Sadler’s Wells
HHHII
Melanie Chisholm has, it would seem,
tried her hand at everything. First
there was her life as a Spice Girl,
which she followed with a successful
solo career as a singer-songwriter.
Then she won acclaim as an actress
for her starring role in the musical
Blood Brothers, and last year became
a bestselling author, with her
autobiography Who I Am: My Story.
The pop star known as Sporty Spice
can now proudly add dancer to her
CV, courtesy of How did we get here?,
a new production choreographed by
Jules Cunningham and featuring a
trio of performers: Chisholm,
Cunningham and Harry Alexander.
Performed in the round (with half the
audience on stage), the hour-long
piece explores the distinctive
physicality that the three artists bring
to performance.
Cunningham and Alexander are
professional dancers of long standing,
and yet Chisholm holds her own
against their experience and
expertise. At 49, the oldest of the
three, she moves with impressive
Fire destroys home gym at Vardys’ £2.5 million rural mansion
Charlie Moloney
The home gym of the footballer Jamie
Vardy and his wife, Rebekah, has been
almost destroyed in a fire.
Vardy, who plays for Leicester City,
was said to have returned home to find
emergency services at the scene. His
wife, who is understood to have been
away at the time, went on social media
yesterday to post a picture of their smil-
ing children on a fire engine.
She wrote: “Every cloud and all that.
Thankfully no one was hurt . . . Build-
ings and contents are replaceable and
the kiddies enjoyed the fire engines.
Thank you for being so brilliant
used them to track her movements, the
Old Bailey was told yesterday.
In a statement read to the court, Foy,
who has won a Golden Globe, two
Emmys and two Screen Actors Guild
Awards, said: “I have felt terrified and
Claire Foy was
stalked for six
months by Jason
Penrose, right
helpless in my own home. I have had to
have numerous meetings with my
daughter’s school, neighbours, family
members and work colleagues who had
all been affected by Mr Penrose’s stalk-
ing and harassment and all have legiti-
mate fears and concerns regarding his
@lincolnshirefirerescue” Builders at
the family home near Grantham in
Lincolnshire discovered the fire, Mail
Online reported. Firefighters were
called to the scene at about 3.20pm on
Thursday.
The gym had been built by Vardy, 36
as part of a multimillion-pound barn
conversion. During lockdown his wife
posted a picture of the couple exercis-
ing together there.
Vardy, who is paid £140,000 a week,
bought the property for £2.5 million in
2016. The couple, who married in May
2016 and have three children, also have
an indoor pool, a sauna and a tennis
court. A source told the Daily Mail: “It
behaviours. I will again be scared to
leave my front door, pick my daughter
up from school and return home at
night. I will have to follow police guide-
lines of having my phone on at all times,
remaining alert and fearful.
“I feel like the freedoms I enjoyed
before Mr Penrose contacted me have
now gone and I view the world in a
much more fearful way as a direct result
of his actions.”
Foy starred in Steven Soderbergh’s
2018 psychological thriller Unsane
about a woman confined to a mental in-
stitution after she is pursued by a stalker.
Penrose, 49, was given a suspended
22-month jail sentence after admitting
stalking and two charges of breaching
an interim stalking order. He has been
receiving psychiatric treatment at
Whittington Hospital in north London
for the past year and agreed to be re-
was a really big fire, it has caused a lot of
damage. The building is destroyed. It
will cost a lot to put right — the gym
equipment was all state of the art, it
would have cost thousands. Thankfully
no one was hurt.”
Mrs Vardy was thought not to have
been at home at the time, as she is away
filming a Channel 4 documentary
about Jehovah’s Witnesses, the religion
she grew up in until she was a teenager.
She may have to pay more than
£1.5 million in legal fees to Coleen
Rooney, the wife of Wayne Rooney, the
former England and Manchester
United player, after a judge found that
she had destroyed evidence in what be-
patriated to the US to live with his
mother in Florida.
He first tried to enter the UK in Octo-
ber 2021 but was ordered to return to
Portugal. It is not known how he was
eventually able to enter the country.
Foy was granted an interim stalking
protection order last year but Penrose
still sent her a letter and a parcel from
the psychiatric hospital where he was
being treated. A hospital doctor
concluded two months ago
that Penrose “might be-
come fixated, if not on
Ms Foy, then on
another woman and
behave inappropri-
ately again”, the
court was told.
Judge David Aaron-
berg said he remained
“troubled” that Penrose,
Melanie Chisholm,
top, holds her own
against the
experience and
expertise of Jules
Cunningham and
Harry Alexander
Jamie and Rebekah Vardy married in
May 2016 and have three children
9
News
a paranoid schizophrenic, “may con-
tinue to be infatuated with Ms Foy”
despite having been repeatedly told she
wanted no contact from him.
Penrose initially contacted Foy
through her agent claiming to be a film
producer with a £16 million deal
with Warner Brothers Studio. He
claimed he wanted Foy to
appear in a sci-fi film. He also
tried to contact the actress on
LinkedIn and Instagram and
visited a café where she is a
regular customer.
An indefinite restraining
order bans Penrose from
contacting Foy, from enter-
ing the London boroughs
of Camden or Islington,
and from going within
100 metres of any prem-
ises where she might be.
flexibility, a strong muscularity and
an intense focus. She has to: How did
we get here? is so stripped back it
exposes any kind of physical
weakness.
The piece comes with a vague
artistic credo laid out in the freesheet
(“The fullness of our experience is
alive and present in every moment.
We feel our power, all the way to the
edges of ourselves”). Ignore that and
you can appreciate it as an
introspective journey for three people
who move in different ways — from
the sophistication of ballet to the
ordinariness of the vernacular — and
whose life experiences are referenced
obliquely. The dancers are dressed in
body-hugging basics: Chisholm in
orange, the others in blue. The
occasional use of a mirror ball adds a
sense of fun to a dark and serious
stage.
Wibke Tiarks’s banal sound score,
which variously drones, bubbles and
throbs, provides most of the musical
atmosphere, although we open with
Nina Simone singing Stars (Janis Ian’s
original version comes later), a song
about the downside of celebrity that
could be a reference to Chisholm,
whose fame with the Spice Girls came
at a heavy price to her mental health.
Cunningham’s austere
choreography is compressed into
careful and controlled movements
with odd bursts of spontaneity and
quiet emotion. Chisholm and
Alexander’s loving embrace hints at
the need for tenderness and
compassion in a lonely world;
Cunningham delivers a gorgeous solo
about dance itself. Even when the
choreography wanders off without
obvious purpose, it’s the galvanising
physical presence of Chisholm and
her partners that holds it all together.
To January 29, sadlerswells.com; follow
@timesculture on Twitter to read the
latest reviews
came known as the Wagatha Christie
High Court libel battle.
Last year Vardy, 40, lost her claim for
libel against Rooney when a judge ruled
that a social media post accusing her of
leaking information to the press was
substantially true.
The case was brought over a quarrel
that began in 2019 when Rooney, 36,
said she had carried out a months-long
“sting operation” and accused Vardy of
leaking “false stories” about her private
life to The Sun.
Vardy said that she was “devastated”
by the judge’s finding. A court order
said that she should pay 90 per cent of
Rooney’s legal costs.
10 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News
News Politics

Junior doctors
vote for strikes
in pay dispute
Kat Lay Health Editor
Junior doctors have voted over-
whelmingly to go on strike, joining
other health unions taking action in
their dispute with the government.
Unite became the second ambulance
union to announce that its members
would walk out alongside nurses on
February 6, raising fears that the health
service faced its most difficult day for
decades. Tens of thousands of appoint-
ments and procedures were cancelled
because of nursing strikes this week.
Health bosses have called for fresh
negotiations on pay between the
government and unions, saying that
patients were “paying a heavy price”.
Downing Street said the government
was open to facilitating talks and
described the announcement of new
strike dates as “disappointing”.
The Hospital Consultants and
Specialists Association, the hospital
doctors’ union, said 97 per cent of junior
doctor members who voted had backed
strike action, and it would “agree the
timing and shape of strike action in co-
adding: “This is a critical issue for our
NHS. If the government does not
increase pay as part of a wider funding
package then the current ragged work-
force will collapse and the hospital con-
sultants of the future will vote with their
feet and leave.”
Monday, February 6 is to be the big-
gest day for NHS walkouts.Thousands
of Royal College of Nursing members
are to strike on that day and the next.
The GMB union said this week that its
ambulance members would join the
nurses in striking on the Monday and
yesterday Unite said its workers would
follow suit.
Saffron Cordery, the interim chief
executive of NHS Providers, said the
prospect was “particularly daunting”,
warning that strikes could derail efforts
to tackle a backlog of patients awaiting
treatment. “Leaders across the NHS
have seen first-hand how the knock-on
effects of a strike go well beyond the day
itself,” she said. “Operations and
appointments are piling up and this
number will continue to rise with more
strikes on the horizon.”
bours before strikes by the capital’s
paramedics, call handlers and
colleagues on Monday. It is typically
the service’s busiest day of the week,
with more patients needing emergency
help after the weekend.
Martin said only about half the usual
400 ambulances and 50 cars would be
available, urging people to call 999 only
“if you or someone you’re calling for has
a life or limb threatening emergency —
which includes unconsciousness, chest
pain, difficulty breathing, severe loss of
blood and choking”.
NHS pressures could be helped by a
drop in coronavirus cases across the
UK, according to the Office for
National Statistics. A total of 1.8 million
people in private households in the
UK were likely to test positive for coro-
navirus in the week ending January 10,
down 32 per cent from 2.7 million at the
start of the month.
On Wednesday and Thursday this
week 27,826 appointments and proce-
dures were cancelled in acute hospitals,
as more than 11,000 nurses took to the
picket lines each day. There were also

ordination with other health unions”.
A separate ballot of junior doctors by
the much larger British Medical Asso-
ciation closes on February 6. The result
of the association’s vote will be seen as
indicative of the anger among medics.
Dr Naru Narayanan, the president of
the association, said junior doctors
“have seen a decade of real-terms pay
cuts totalling over 26 per cent and in the
past four years their pay has fallen even
faster behind other doctors”.
He said the government needed to
wake up “from its current complacency”,
Taxman singles out peer’s husband
David Byers Assistant Money Editor
The taxman has named three tax
avoidance schemes promoted by a
company linked to the billionaire
husband of Baroness Mone, the lingerie
tycoon involved in a row over lobbying
for a PPE contract.
The schemes were operated by AML
Tax (UK) Ltd, which His Majesty’s
Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said
was “part of Doug Barrowman’s Isle of
Man-based Knox Group”.
The avoidance schemes are believed
to have recruited thousands of
contractors including doctors, social
workers, nurses and IT workers with
the promise of saving tax on their
earnings, but the participants later
received huge tax bills.
The schemes run by AML, which was
struck off in 2019 for failing to file its
accounts, were “cynically marketed as
clever ways to pay less tax”, HMRC said.
It added that the schemes provided
participants with “income where
corporation tax, income tax and
national insurance contributions were
not correctly paid”.
There is an inquiry into Knox Group
which the taxman estimates owes at
least £3.3 million in unpaid tax, which
Knox Group denies. The company
Miriam Deakin, director of policy at
NHS Providers, said: “Trust leaders are
facing what for many may be the most
challenging day of their careers. No-
body wants these strikes to happen but
it’s clear that staff feel they have been
driven to this.”
Several other days of industrial
action are scheduled throughout
February and March. Unite announced
ten new dates yesterday.
Last night London’s chief paramedic,
Dr John Martin, called on people to
look after themselves and their neigh-
Doug Barrowman’s wife Baroness
Mone is involved in a row over PPE
could face penalties if it is found to have
failed to disclose the new schemes.
In March the upper tax tribunal in
London ordered the firm to pay a
£150,000 penalty for repeatedly
refusing to respond to HMRC demands
that it produce more information about
its accounts.
Mary Aiston, HMRC’s director of
counter-avoidance, said: “These
schemes are cynically marketed as
clever ways to pay less tax. The truth is
1,749 appointments rescheduled at
mental health and learning disability
services, and 18,595 in community
services.
A spokesman for the prime minister
said the government wanted “to reach a
resolution”, and “the NHS and unions
will continue discussions about contin-
gency planning to ensure we can keep
people safe”.
that they rarely work in the way the
promoters claim and it is the users that
end up with big tax bills. HMRC will
continue to use all the powers at our
disposal to crack down on promoters.”
The three schemes were called
Annuity Arrangements, AML
Prefunded EBT and AML Split
Contract.
HMRC believes in the past 20 years
about 50,000 contractors signed up to
loan-based tax-avoidance schemes like
these, which were wrongly marketed as
being compliant with tax rules.
Under the schemes, contractors
chose to delegate AML to be in charge
of their payroll administration. The
contractors’ employers then paid their
wages to AML which then paid the con-
tractors a small declared salary before
giving them the rest of their pay in tax-
free loans that were never intended to
be repaid. Those who signed up to the
schemes have since faced big tax bills
plus a penalty called the loan charge,
which many say they cannot repay.
Knox Group did not respond to a re-
quest for comment. However, after last
year’s tribunal verdict, a source close to
Barrowman said that AML Tax had
now been dissolved and claimed he had
“ceased to have any involvement with
AML prior to the events in this case”.
We need to agree
a new NHS future
or 1948 dream dies
Health Commission
A narrative of adulation is hampering necessary
discussions about what changes must be made
to improve care in Britain, writes Sajid Javid
One of my earliest memories is
visiting the GP with my mum. The
surgery was a short distance from our
Bristol flat. Despite the somewhat
shabby exterior, it was one of the best
in the area. After sitting in the waiting
room, Dr Gandhi welcomed us into
his office. I was not the patient that
day — I must have been six or seven.
I was there to translate for mum.
Even now, friends and family tease
me about my questionable Punjabi,
but, as I always point out, Zubaida
Javid remains fighting fit to this day,
so it can’t be that bad.
My father, Abdul-Ghani Javid, did
not have to rely on my translation
skills. However, like so many others,
he did rely on the NHS. Soon after I
was elected to parliament in 2010, he
was diagnosed with colon cancer. It
had already spread to his lungs and
liver. He received incredible care at
the end of his life, something neither I
nor my family will forget.
The NHS has played an important
part in my personal story, as it will
have done for so many others. Since
1948 it has been part of our national
story too. That’s why the images
playing out over the past few months
have hit a nerve. Services are under
extreme pressure; waiting lists grow;
and it feels as if patient queues are
longer than ever before. The impact
of the pandemic has been huge. But
we know that NHS dysfunction is not
an isolated event — it has become an
annual ritual.
So when I give evidence to The
Times Health Commission next week,
I intend to say the 75-year-old model
of the NHS is unsustainable. And
unless it is radically reformed, the
principles on which it was founded
cannot survive much longer. This
may not be a popular view. But we are
at the crossroads, and I feel it needs
to be said.
During the pandemic, an estimated
ten million people stayed away from
seeking care and treatment. Illnesses
and conditions went undetected and
untreated, causing a surge in demand,
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
particularly at hospitals. Since the
NHS was founded, our demographics
have changed. We can expect to live
over a decade longer. In 1948 some
half a million people lived past the
age of 80. Today, that is over three
million and rising. This increases
complex long-term conditions, with
the burden of disease changing too —
from polio and diphtheria in 1948 to
cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease
and degenerative diseases. The
resources required are intensive and
expensive.
To overcome these challenges,
radical reform is required. However,
part of the problem is that political
debate about the NHS’s future has
become so constrained.
In one of my first meetings as
health secretary, I remember being
told how strongly the public felt about
the state of the NHS and its
dysfunction — but also how their
proud support for the institution
meant they were resistant to anyone
meddling with it. “Fix it, without
touching it” was the message. We
rightly appreciate the incredible work
of NHS staff, who labour tirelessly in
challenging circumstances, but too
often the appreciation for the NHS
has become a religious fervour and a
barrier to reform.
Politicians have too often leant into
this narrative of adulation because it
is what people want to hear. I was
certainly part of this, though I tried to
shy away from tokenistic gestures like
the NHS badge.
This has also led to a cross-party
conservatism about proposing
necessary changes. It seems every
time a politician opens their mouth to
talk about NHS failings or a new way
of providing healthcare, they are
pilloried. At almost every election
since its creation, we’ve seen cynical
scaremongering about fictitious
conspiracies surrounding the future of
the NHS. The outcome is a a status
quo where we pour ever greater
amounts of money into the NHS but
become increasingly unsure as to
where exactly it ends up. In 2000 the
UK health budget accounted for
27 per cent of day-to-day public
spending; next year it will hit 44 per
cent. On this trajectory it will be over
50 per cent by the end of the decade.
This level of spending and its rate of
increase is unsustainable, particularly
with the tax burden already at a
70-year high.
We can achieve the reforms the
NHS needs to survive. The best way
is through cross-party consensus. It
will involve an honest conversation
with the British people — even if
political parties are not rewarded at
the ballot box.
We should start by looking at the
supply side. What frustrates people is
having to wait for GP appointments;
for scans and operations; for
ambulances and emergency care; wait
for everything in fact. In the past year,
according to YouGov and Eurostat,
one in six adults has been unable to
access a medical appointment they
needed. Almost half of those people
blamed long waiting lists. This
response was the highest out of 36
European countries and almost triple
the EU average.
Our relative position compared
with other countries is no
coincidence. It’s not a question of
finance — UK health spending is
above the OECD average and
countries known for impressive
patient outcomes. It’s about how the
system operates. For the NHS, when
faced with excess demand, the only
rationing mechanism is to make
people wait. This is not the norm in
any other comparable country. Across
Europe we see different versions of a
contributory principle to complement
public financing. This helps providers
manage demand, and direct it to
more efficient methods of supply.
Take Ireland, where some people
are entitled to free healthcare
through the public system, based on
household income. Others must pay
nominal fees. One such is a €75
charge if you attend an injury unit
without a referral from a GP. The
advantage of this system is people
take active steps to assess whether
their demand for frontline services is
required.
Too often we hear doctors and
nurses frustrated at people making
unnecessary trips to frontline
services, which takes time from other
patients. Would the same level of
demand exist here if this Irish model
were adopted? This extends to GP
appointments. In Norway and
Sweden a visit to the GP comes with
a contribution of about £20. For some
people, just like my parents, that is a
noticeable part of the weekly budget.
But as demonstrated by so many
other countries, it is possible to
means-test this provision. Even a tiny
‘‘ ’’
The ‘one size fits
all’ model of
primary care is simply
no longer fit for
purpose any more
fraction of patients reconsidering
their visit to the GP (and perhaps
visiting a community pharmacist
instead), would save thousands of
clinical hours.
Co-payments are not the only
alternative. Germany’s social health
insurance model gives the structural
benefit of a greater choice of
providers, including non-profit
community hospitals, and therefore
less pressure on the public system. In
the UK, more and more people are
moving towards private healthcare
(including within NHS Trusts). But
provision is limited in comparison.
Other systems with a contributory
principle have seen a range of
Sajid Javid insists some
extra charges must be
introduced as they exist in
many other countries
providers emerge. Patients in the UK
are all directed towards the front door
of the NHS, which only worsens the
queueing.
More waiting can mean an
increased risk of illness and
discomfort. And for NHS staff, it also
means a constant tide of pressure
(and sometimes abuse). We have
already instilled an element of
contribution into the NHS: we ask
people who can afford it to pay
towards the cost of prescriptions, and
dental and optical care. Labour and
Conservative governments have had a
role in this. We should look, on a
cross-party basis, at extending the
contributory principle.
As a country, we rightly have a
strong belief in protecting those on
low incomes and this is not about
privatising the NHS. But the current
model is unsustainable, and we
therefore need to affirm our values
within an alternative system.
We must also find ways to reduce
the level of demand. For too long the
NHS has been viewed as a “National
Hospital Service” — treating people
when they get sick rather than
preventing them from becoming ill.
By some estimates 40 per cent of
NHS spending goes on treating
preventable conditions. We need to
get better at taking a long view —
and this is where the structures and
incentives of politics often fall down.
My attempts to address this led to
something of a reputation for
announcing ten-year plans. Reviews,
investigations and consultations are
critical to building consensus. The
NHS has never done a long-term plan
on what our staffing requirements
will be in the next 10 to 15 years.
That’s why the government needs to
publish the workforce strategy I
started last year.
Adopting a “Pharmacy First”
approach would also relieve pressure
and help to support patients.
It is also clear that the “one size fits
all” model of primary care is no
longer fit for purpose. We should back
leaders on the ground who are
developing innovative models. In 1948
Nye Bevin achieved reform with GPs,
in his own words, by “stuffing their
mouths with gold”. Solving the
problem now must involve a more
fundamental rethink before the gold
runs out.
Digitisation and data are going to
be critical . I remember visiting the
impressive Milton Keynes University
Hospital in 2021, which had just
become the first in Europe to use
surgical robots for big operations.
Robotics engineers told me how their
precision led to a lower risk of
infection and faster recovery times. At
the moment, there is too much
variation in the use of technology, and
it needs to be scaled up.
For decades we have been too
focused on firefighting short-term
challenges, rather than addressing the
cause of the fire itself. These reforms
can help address that. Alongside
them, it is the introduction of a
contributory principle that will be
crucial. This conversation will not be
easy, but it can help the NHS ration
its finite supply more effectively.
We can build a reformed NHS,
primarily funded by taxation, that
releases the pressure on staff and
patients. We need to shake off the
constraints of political discourse and
start having a grown-up, hard-headed
conversation about alternatives. The
NHS was there for my parents, but to
be there for my children a new
political consensus on serious reform
is urgently required. Without it, we
cannot keep the dream of 1948 alive.
Sajid Javid is MP for Bromsgrove and
was health secretary 2021-22
11
News
News
Brexit deal
imposed on
Belfast, says
Irish leader
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
The Northern Ireland protocol was
“imposed” on unionists without their
support, Ireland’s prime minister ad-
mitted for the first time yesterday.
In the latest sign of efforts to win
round the main Democratic Unionist
Party to a compromise, Leo Varadkar
said the EU was willing to be “flexible”
in negotiations with the UK to achieve
“broader support” for post-Brexit trad-
ing arrangements in the province.
Varadkar’s comments are significant
because unionists regard him as one of
the architects of the protocol and in-
strumental in the EU’s hardline stance
in negotiations when Boris Johnson
was prime minister.
Ireland’s leader told the BBC at the
World Economic Forum in Davos,
Switzerland, that he had “regrets”
about the protocol “imposed on North-
ern Ireland without the support of both
communities”.
He said: “That wasn’t possible at the
time for various reasons, in part
because the Executive was not func-
tioning, so there was no one to speak for
Northern Ireland. But that has created
difficulties.”
Varadkar insisted that in economic
terms, the protocol was broadly work-
ing with Northern Ireland’s economy
outperforming the rest of the UK.
But he said he understood how un-
ionists felt the measure had “weakened
Leo Varadkar says
he will be flexible
in negotiations
the union between Northern Ireland
and Britain . . . without them having a
proper say as to how it operates”.
He added: “I said that when I met the
[Stormont] party leaders last week in
Belfast. And that’s why I’m keen as part
of the European Union that will be on
one side of the negotiating table here
with the UK government to be flexible,
to be reasonable, to see what modifica-
tions and changes we can make that
might ensure that we have broader
support in Northern Ireland for the
current settlement.”
His comments came amid efforts in
London, Dublin and Brussels to reach a
compromise agreement on the proto-
col before the 25th anniversary of the
Good Friday agreement in April.
In an article yesterday, however,
Lord Frost, who negotiated the proto-
col on behalf of Johnson, suggested
there were people around Rishi Sunak
who wanted to push him into accepting
all the demands from Brussels.
He wrote in The Daily Telegraph: “I
hear that Sunak is holding a tougher
line than some in his team. He’s right to.
“A deal which does nothing more
than make the current protocol work
slightly less badly isn’t going to get
Stormont up and running, or properly
protect the UK’s unity.”
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP
leader, welcomed Varadkar’s
comments but urged London, Dublin
and Brussels to “redouble their efforts
on replacing the protocol with arrange-
ments that unionists can support”.
He described the protocol as a “mis-
take with far reaching consequences”.
He said: “It is vital the mistakes made
and imposed on the people of Northern
Ireland are not repeated in 2023.”
12 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News
News Politics

Hard feelings and harsh words

The collapse of a green energy firm has
left the red-wall town of Blyth feeling
powerless, Robert Crampton writes
The mood at Blyth Market Square on
a freezing Thursday afternoon, as the
snow comes down, is not so much
angry, more resigned. Shoppers look
weary and sound cynical, ground
down — today by the weather, this
year and last by inflation, the two
years before that by the pandemic.
And, for decades, ground down by
decline, closure, deprivation, neglect,
bad news. To state the obvious, people
look really unhappy.
Governments have been pledging
regeneration in Blyth since its
shipyard — where HMS Ark Royal,
the first aircraft carrier, was launched
in the year the First World War
started — closed in 1966. Those
promises of a new start for this
coastal town, ten miles north of
Newcastle, suffered a triple whammy
this week. In reverse order, both
chronologically and in terms of
significance, when the latest round of
regional spending allocations was
announced earlier on Thursday, Blyth
didn’t get any cash. Richmond, the
prime minister’s seat an hour or so
south, got a hefty chunk. Richmond is
already one of the most congenial
places in the country.
The day before, a leak had
suggested that the much trumpeted
Johnsonian term “levelling up” ought
to be dropped. Rishi Sunak had not
included it in his recently outlined five
promises to the electorate. The
possibility was raised that Boris
Johnson’s flagship domestic policy, the
one that (along with Brexit and
Jeremy Corbyn’s lack of appeal) was
credited with turning historically
Labour-locked seats, was out of favour.
In the days before that,
catastrophically, the green energy
company Britishvolt, which had
planned to build a massive battery
plant just down the road at Cambois,
went into administration. As Carlene
Brown, 29, put it to me outside
William Hill in Church Street: “We
always said we’d believe it when we
saw it. And we haven’t seen it.”
Blyth, renamed Blyth Valley, was
one of those places of which Labour
talked about weighing the winner’s
vote, not counting it. In 2019,
incredibly, a Tory won, albeit by only
712 votes. It was the third result
announced on election night, the first
breach in what had recently been
designated the red wall. Blyth Valley
signalled both a big Conservative
majority and the suspension of the
usual rules of British psephology.
Next time around, however, whatever
happens elsewhere, Blyth is one
fissure that will be swiftly remortared.
Not only could I not find anyone
intending to vote Tory again, ever, it
was hard to find anyone who’d admit
to doing so last time. Until Dave, 75,
feeding the seagulls down by the
River Blyth, fessed up. “Yeah, I voted
Tory. First time. And last. They’ve no
interest in us.” Dave, who used to run
a pet shop, declined to give his
surname and wouldn’t be
photographed.
“I’m no Brad Pitt,” he joked, “more
like his brother, Cess.”
Not that Labour need feel especially
pleased with the anti-government
mood. There is no enthusiasm for any
politician in Blyth. Not for Sir Keir
Starmer. And not, unlike in other
northern towns I’ve visited recently,
for Johnson.
Outside Boots, a big guy called Iain
in his thirties is having a crafty fag. It
turns out he’s there working security
for the chemists. What, Boots has a
bouncer? Why?
“Why d’ya think, mate? Shoplifters
and junkies.” Iain won’t vote Tory,
dislikes Johnson and says “Labour
means nowt round here now. Nee
bugger gives a shit about us. I never
believed that levelling-up shite.”
Across the square from Boots, the
retail offer left to right is: Julie’s Café
(Family Meal Deal £11.95 for pizza,
chips, salad, two sauces and “1.5 litre
pop”), empty; budget supermarket,
empty; jeweller’s, empty; phone shop,
shuttered; phone shop; gift shop; nail
bar. Elsewhere, charity shops and
amusement arcades abound. Iceland
is selling 15 mixed-size eggs for £1.85.
The Iceland branch in Blyth is
functioning as one up from a food

Calls for tax cuts Rishi Sunak has to

deal with allies of
Boris Johnson and
Liz Truss as he

could be a Major tries to learn from

John Major’s first
term in office

problem for PM
Oliver Wright, Lara Swift
Steven Swinford, Henry Zeffman
For a prime minister who is sometimes
accused of being too cautious and
stilted in his public performances, it was
a moment of off-the-cuff frankness.
“You’re not idiots,” he told an audi-
ence in Morecambe as he made the case
against tax cuts. “The worst thing I
could do is promise a bunch of things
that sound great but ultimately just
make the situation worse.”
His comments reflected his view,
which he espoused repeatedly during
the Tory leadership campaign, that this
was the wrong time to cut taxes.
But for his colleagues on the back
benches, many of whom supported his
rival Liz Truss last summer, it came
across as a less-than-subtle rebuke.
And with the economy showing slightly
more vital signs of life his remarks have
led to a fraying of the fragile Tory truce
on tax cuts.
“The current situation is not sustain-
able,” Sir John Redwood, the veteran
former cabinet minister, said. “And
Rishi has got to accept the need for tar-
geted tax cuts to boost investment in
the March budget.
“A growing number of colleagues
share this view and are coming to talk to
me about it. Now is the time to turn up
the volume.”
Redwood joked that Sunak was “very
sensible” to say he should not promise
things to make the situation worse but
added: “My [tax] plans wouldn’t make
things worse. They’d make things
better by stimulating growth.”
Another Conservative MP put it
more bluntly: “I do want tax cuts and
I’m not an idiot.”
A sizeable number of backbenchers
are privately making it clear to the
Treasury that they will not be silent un-
less the chancellor moves towards re-
ducing the tax burden in his budget,
particularly on businesses.
Worryingly for Sunak, that may in-
clude Truss who appointed Jeremy
Hunt as chancellor in the dying days of
her premiership. “She wants to make
the case for financial reform,” an ally
said. “Currently it’s extremely hard to
move beyond fiscal orthodoxy to get
the economy growing. She wants to
find a way through that”.
The challenge for Sunak and Hunt,
as they prepare the budget, is that the
dire economic forecasts that allowed
them to silence their critics in Novem-
ber appear to be not quite so dire now.
The governor of the Bank of England
suggested on Thursday that Britain had
“turned a corner” on inflation and ex-
pressed optimism that the country
faced an “easier path” out of recession
than had been predicted.
Interest rates are predicted to peak at
about 4.5 per cent, not the 6 per cent
considered likely in autumn.
At the same time Hunt is likely to
benefit from lower-than-expected
wholesale energy prices. Analysts cal-
culate that the Treasury could save
£13 billion it planned to borrow to pay
for an extension to the energy price
guarantee.
The Treasury is aware that better
economic news is likely to lead to bigger
demands and is keen to play up the
challenges the government still faces. It
points out that wholesale global energy
costs are volatile. Any savings on the
energy price guarantee scheme will be
largely offset by reduced revenues from
the windfall tax.
One cabinet minister described the
calls for tax cuts to promote growth as
the “usual people saying the usual
things”, warning that the government
“can’t be run by aspirational rhetoric”.
The minister said: “Just look at Boris like [the EU negotiator Maros] Sefcov- about the source of a story last week re- totally unjustified. He isn’t plotting or
and Liz. There are no quick fixes or ic’s version than ours.” vealing that he had an £800,000 per- organising in any way. Some in the gov-
shortcuts to financial stability.” The friend says this could be John- sonal loan guaranteed by a millionaire ernment seem scared of their own
The fissures in the Tory party are not son’s first open revolt against Sunak. cousin while he was in Downing Street. shadows at the moment and are look-
only financial. They are also personal. The ally says the former leader would They regard the disclosure as a leak ing for people to target because of their
In particular there are signs that the un- be prepared to vote against the deal and designed to damage him from inside own problems. That’s a very unwise
easy truce between Boris Johnson and even spearhead a rebellion. the government, warning it would be path and won’t help them.”
Sunak is beginning to unravel. “We know we had our chance and an “unwise path” to follow. “Boris has Sunak’s strategy is to try to provide a
Friends of Johnson say the past few blew it. But that doesn’t mean we genuinely been supportive of the gov- period of what Downing Street advisers
weeks have left him frustrated. “On should sit back while they make such a ernment,” they said. “He is not looking almost gleefully refer to as “boring”
both the protocol and scrapping the mess of it. At some point very soon for trouble, he is getting on with this government.
EU-derived legislation, he is exasperat- those patient colleagues are going to new phase successfully, with his He will gather his cabinet in Che-
ed,” an ally said. “He is concerned a deal ask why the polls still aren’t moving.” speeches, writing and in his consti- quers this week to take stock of what
on the protocol is likely to look far more Johnson allies are also suspicious tuency. Any briefings against him are has gone right and what has gone
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
in town that levelling up forgot
bank, essentially. The leak about
levelling up revealed a concern that
the public didn’t understand the
phrase “levelling up”. I found they
understood it all too well, they just
didn’t see it happening. “London and
the south gets more than us,” says
Graham Ashman, feeding his Lhasa
apso, Ellie, scraps of meat outside the
butcher. “We always get left behind.”
The really worrying trend in Blyth
was that many people I spoke to not
only acknowledged the neglect, they
accepted it. Civic pride was entirely
absent. “Blyth?” said Chris outside the
bookies (which, unlike anywhere else
I saw, was advertising for new staff),
“it’s a shithole, mate. Crime. Drugs.
Food banks.”
A former roofer, Chris is “on the
sick” and keeps “getting sanctioned”
(having his benefits suspended) for
turning down jobs. “I’d have got a job
at that new factory if it’d come,” he
says, “but that was another f***ing
wrong over the past few months and
discuss the longer-term political strate-
gy towards the next election.
Senior allies of the prime minister say
that while many people compare his
premiership to the dying days of John
Major in 1997 when Labour stormed to
victory, Sunak’s template is the former
prime minister’s first term.
When Major took office in 1990 the
Tories were trailing Labour by 16 points
in the polls yet within 18 months he had
turned the party’s fortunes around,
winning the 1992 general election with
lie.” Chris might have been optimistic
about his potential gig at Britishvolt,
and not just because it’s gone bust.
One third of those aged 16 to 74 in
Blyth Valley have no qualifications,
none at all, and he is one of them.
Regeneration here won’t be a quick
fix — many locals need years of
a majority of 21. As one cabinet minis-
ter put it: “This is not about getting a
quick fillip in the polls but doing tax
cuts now because they’ll be forgotten
by next year.
“This is about showing that we can
govern competently, look after the
economy and simply earn the right to
be heard at the next election. That is
our only chance.”
The trouble at the moment is that not
all Sunak’s colleagues, let alone the
voters in the country, necessarily agree
with him.
Once a centre for
shipbuilding,
Blyth elected a
Tory MP in 2019,
but no one on
the high street
this week would
admit to voting
Conservative
education and training. Plus, with a
population of 40,000, Blyth is also
one of the largest towns in the UK
without a railway connection.
Out at Cambois, the proposed site
for Britishvolt is, or rather was, good
to go, all the groundworks done, the
fancy posters fixed to the fence next
Sunak fined for not wearing seatbelt
Geraldine Scott Political Reporter
Rishi Sunak has been fined over his fail-
ure to wear a seatbelt in a moving car.
Lancashire police confirmed last
night that they had issued a “con-
ditional fixed penalty notice”. The force
did not reveal, however, how much the
fine was, but the usual amount is £100.
Sunak recorded a social media video
while in the back of a moving car on
Thursday, but was not wearing the car’s
seatbelt, which he has since described
as a “mistake”.
In the video, which was posted to his
Instagram account, the prime minister
was promoting the government’s
£2.1 billion levelling up fund. He was
turned towards the camera, while
police outriders could be seen outside
the car window.
However, after police said they were
looking into the matter, Scott Benton,
the Conservative MP for Blackpool
South, said the complaints were “politi-
cally motivated” and would be a waste
of time.
Labour said it would be “very serious”
if Sunak received a fine, after having
paid a fixed-penalty notice for his
attendance at parties held in Downing
Street during lockdown when he was
chancellor.
In a tweet yesterday, Lancashire
police said: “You will be aware that a
video has been circulating on social
media showing an individual failing to
wear a seatbelt while a passenger in a
moving car in Lancashire. After looking
into this matter we have today issued a
42-year-old man from London with a
conditional offer of fixed penalty.”
‘Sex and drugs’ MP to seek re-election
Geraldine Scott
A former Tory MP who is under investi-
gation for alleged sexual harassment
and drug abuse is planning to stand at
the next election.
David Warburton, MP for Somerton
and Frome, wants to “continue to work
for the people of Somerset”, his repre-
sentative said. But it is unclear which
party he would stand for because he has
lost the Conservative whip.
Warburton has sat as an independent
since the whip was suspended last April
after The Sunday Times disclosed the
allegations, which he denies.
“David intends to stand and continue
to work,” his representative told the
to the padlocked gates. “Accelerating
the transition to a zero-carbon
economy,” says the blurb. “Our
journey starts right here. Will you
join us?” It’s heartbreaking to see
thousands of jobs promised then
snatched away, a fiasco that was not
entirely, it has to be said, due to lack
of government investment or
encouragement. A lack of potential
customers post-Brexit, argues my
colleague William Hague, was a
major factor in the bankruptcy.
Talking of Brexit, Blyth Valley voted
60 per cent Leave. Immigration was
supposedly the big issue. And yet,
walking around, I didn’t see a single
person who didn’t have white skin nor
hear anyone with an accent other than
broad local. Only 3.4 per cent of the
residents are foreign-born. Where are
all those migrants? Either they’ve gone
home, or they weren’t there in the first
place, or they were at work when I was
in town. I suspect a bit of all three.
An XXL plane
loo at no extra
cost to taxpayer
Geraldine Scott
Rishi Sunak’s private plane is to be
upgraded to include an XXL
lavatory. Ministers and the royal
family use two planes for official
business — an RAF Voyager
(Airbus A330) and an Airbus A321.
The Times can disclose that the
smaller plane will be replaced,
with upgrades, by December.
The additions, according to the
amended contract with supplier
Titan Airways, will include a full-
length mirror and changing bench.
There will be an “increased VIP
wardrobe”, extra partitions and
two conference tables.
The plane contract has been
extended until 2027. A Cabinet
Office spokesman said: “This is an
update to a contract for the lease of
a plane used [for] official visits.
There will be no change in the
annual cost to the taxpayer.” No 10
has defended the use of air travel,
saying it seeks the most efficient
use of the prime minister’s time.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy
leader, said: “This lifts the lid on a
prime minister living a jet-setting
high life at the public’s expense.”
news website Politico. Warburton
apologised in November after failing to
declare a £150,000 loan from a Russian-
born businessman.
He was found to have twice breached
the MPs’ code of conduct by neglecting
to register or subsequently declare the
payment in 2017 from Roman Joukovski,
through the overseas company Castle-
brook Associates.
He came under scrutiny after it was
reported that he provided a favourable
reference for Joukovski to the Financial
Conduct Authority (FCA) in March
2021, before repayment of the loan.
The parliamentary standards com-
missioner found that, while the payment
should have been lodged in the
13
News
News
And it occurs to me that what this
town needs as much as it needs public
money and a railway station is a
healthy dose of immigration.
A few hundred enterprising
Afghans, Iraqis, Syrians and eastern
Europeans could do wonders for local
skill levels and retail. Blyth is never
going to be a beauty spot, but it’s a
damned sight more hospitable than
Helmand or Aleppo.
As I sheltered from the blizzard in
the Prince of Wales on Waterloo
Road, just past the funeral parlour
advertising a Blyth Spartans AFC
design on a coffin, the barmaid
summed up the mood: “We’ve had
loads of promises for years. As long as
I can remember. They never come
good. We’ve been forgotten up here.”
On the pub speakers, Bill Withers
announces it’s going to be a Lovely
Day. Even the biggest optimist in
Blyth would admit that day is still a
long way off in these parts.
Sunak’s spokesman earlier said the
prime minister “believes everyone
should wear a seatbelt”.
The PM’s spokesman said he would
“not get ahead of any process” but
added: “It was a mistake and he’s apolo-
gised and thinks it’s important to do so
as people should wear their seatbelt.”
However, Benton said while the force
does an “amazing job”, he believes
“their time is better spent investigating
serious crime which impacts on my
constituents”.
He added: “The vast majority of
people would think that politically
motivated complaints about a seatbelt
are not good use of frontline resources.”
Road groups, including the AA,
warned that “no matter who you are, it
is important to wear your seatbelt”.
There are a some exemptions for fail-
ing to wear a belt, including when a car
is being used for police, fire and rescue
services and for certified medical
issues. But Downing Street said it does
not believe there is an exception for
travelling in a ministerial car.
When asked if the government was
reviewing situations where a belt
should be worn, Sunak’s spokesman
said he was not aware of any changes.
A No 10 spokesperson added: “The
prime minister fully accepts this was a
mistake and has apologised. He will of
course comply with the fixed penalty.”
Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of
the Liberal Democrats, said that upon
entering Downing Street Sunak had
promised “integrity” but had “shown
the same disregard for the rules as Boris
Johnson”.
financial interests register and declared
in the reference to the FCA, Warburton
was not seeking to confer a benefit on
the businessman and the measure did
not constitute paid advocacy.
He is still being investigated,
however, over complaints made by
three women, two of whom are former
aides. Warburton, 57, emailed his
constituents in November saying that
he expected his “name to be cleared”.
He is also being investigated after a
photograph emerged of him beside
what appeared to be lines of cocaine.
He has continued to receive his
£84,144 salary and his wife, Harriet, is
still listed as working for him on a
publicly funded salary of up to £51,000.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 2GM 15

News
James Cole, whose business
catches crab in Whitby,
lost £60,000 due to the
deaths. He said the
report was a “body blow”

marine species than crabs and lobsters

alone. Moreover, the deaths appeared
to have continued after the bloom was
likely to have disappeared.
The panel said it was possible that
several environmental stresses had
combined to kill the crustaceans.
The group, which convened only last
month, did not have time to conduct
new analyses, but conducted a “desk-
based study” exploring all possible ave-
nues of concerns over the use of chemi-
cals. It reviewed all the possible sources
of chemicals, whether on the shoreline
or from dredging, sewage treatment
works or run-off due to heavy rainfall.
Dr Tammy Horton, of the National
Oceanography Centre, another CMEP
member, said if the killer were a mys-
tery pathogen, it could be one seen else-
where in the world, with potential
culprits being a reovirus, a spiroplasma
or an amoebic crustacean disease.
“These are the three types of patho-
gens that could result in this sort of
twitching behaviour [seen in the dying
crabs]. We’re not saying that they are

Scientists
resulting in these mass mortalities. But
those are the sorts of diseases that
could be causing it,” she said.
The report’s verdict has been criti-
cised by politicians, fishermen and
other researchers. Alex Cunningham,
the Labour MP for Stockton North,

admit defeat accused the government of hiding

behind the algal bloom theory.
He said: “As far as I and many others
are concerned the matter is very much
not closed. This investigation is a good
first step to getting to the bottom of this

over mystery
issue.”
Stan Rennie, 61, a fisherman based in
Hartlepool, was scornful. On the idea
that a new pathogen was to blame, he
said: “They’ve just come up with
another theory, they’re just kicking the

crab deaths
An inconclusive investigation into the loss of
thousands of sea creatures has angered Teesside
fishermen, report Adam Vaughan and Tom Ball
The mystery of the deaths of thousands
of crabs and lobsters off Britain remains
unsolved after an independent panel
of scientists admitted they could not
pinpoint a single clear cause for the
incident.
The report, released yesterday, was
commissioned after an initial govern-
ment investigation last May failed to
identify the origin of the mass marine
die-off along the Teesside coast that
began in about October 2021.
Fishermen have reacted angrily to
the announcement, with one calling
the inconclusive report a “body blow”,
after the event led to reduced catches in
had been kept secret until yesterday,
prompting criticism over transparency.
However, the government has now
published the names of all 12 members,
who are drawn from universities
including Aberystwyth, Exeter, Glas-
gow, Plymouth and Portsmouth.
The researchers found that neither
pyridine nor an algal bloom could
explain the deaths over such a long
period of time and wide area of coast-
line, the unusual twitching observed by
Behind the story
dying crabs or why only crustaceans
and not a greater number of species had
suffered the effects.
Ultimately, they concluded that a
new parasite or disease was the most
likely killer, although they had found
no signs of one and could not say what
it was.
“A novel pathogen is considered the
most likely cause of mortality,” the
report said. However, the idea of a new
pathogen was found to be just as un-
likely as it was likely.
The report said that pyridine re-
leased by the dredging of sediment was
very unlikely to be the cause. The
researchers said they could not find evi-
dence for high enough levels of pyri-
dine in Teesside’s coastal waters to
cause acute toxicity in crabs.
Professor Crispin Halsall, of the Uni-
versity of Lancaster, a member of the
newly formed crustacean mortality
expert panel (CMEP), said the fact
some crabs had continued to die last
year “put to bed” the pyridine theory. “If
you think about it, you need an on-
going, very large source of pyridine
throughout 2022 to be causing that.
And that’s clearly not the case,” he said.
Despite last year’s report flagging an
algal bloom as “significant”, the new
review found it an unlikely cause of the
deaths, because of a lack of evidence
and because algal toxins would be
expected to kill a greater variety of
can down the road until the freeport
dredge is finished.”
James Cole, 53, who runs a 40ft vessel
for catching lobster and crab in Whitby,
said the inconclusive report was a
“body blow”, adding: “It just raises more
questions than it answers and it means
we are now left in limbo.” His business
lost £60,000 in revenue due to the die-
off last year.
He criticised the report for a lack of
transparency and thoroughness, say-
ing that it had been completed in too
much haste and called on Defra to
release the samples that it had used in
order to arrive at the conclusion it did.
“We have been very open in putting out
the samples we used to decide it was
pyridine, but we have no idea what they
used in their report,” he added.
Dr Gary Caldwell, of Newcastle Uni-
versity, who published a paper last year
suggesting that pyridine was to blame
after testing how toxic it was to crabs,
said: “It is disappointing to see that the
independent expert panel have reached
the conclusion that the die-offs were
likely caused by an unknown pathogen,
despite there being no direct evidence

the area for months, hitting the area’s
fishing community hard.
The panel of independent scientists,
which was convened by Gideon Hen-
derson, the chief scientific adviser for
the Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), was un-
able to identify a “clear and convincing
single cause” for the deaths, but con-
cluded that a new virus, bacterium or
amoeba could be to blame.
The initial government report had
failed to identify the root of the issue
but said an algal bloom detected at the
time could be significant. That led other
researchers to investigate theories
including the possibility of the release
of a toxic chemical called pyridine,
which they say may have been released
due to dredging at Teesport, which has
been chosen as a government free port.
The identities of those on the panel
T
he crustacean
deaths, while
disastrous for
the environment
and the
community, might have
remained a local story
but the controversy over
the inconclusive
government report on the
cause and suggestions
that it was linked to a
“super-port” upgrade
elevated it to a national
concern (Adam Vaughan
writes).
Rishi Sunak had to
defend his government’s
response at PMQs.
“Defra carried out a
comprehensive
investigation, considered
everything robustly, and
considered natural causes
was most likely
responsible for some of
the things we saw,” he
said.
However, the prime
minister may have
spoken too soon. The
panel’s report, published
yesterday, ruled out the
“natural cause” of an
algal bloom. But it also
quashed a rival theory
that dredging, releasing a
toxic chemical called
pyridine, was to blame.
The story was framed
as the environment pitted
against development, or
Labour versus
Conservatives. One
fisherman said he had
been accused of being a
Labour voter for
advancing the pyridine
theory linked to the port,
whose upgrade is backed
by the the Conservative
mayor of Tees Valley, Ben
Houchen. “It’s not
political. I’ve never voted
Labour. We’re fighting
for the future of the
industry,” he said.
Yesterday’s report may
be inconclusive, but it is
thorough. The
independent panel
behind it has been
criticised for not talking
directly to researchers
who put forward pyridine
as a possible cause. But
they did review
independent studies and
requested data from the
authors indirectly, via
Defra.
Still, the government
has done itself no favours
by failing to reveal the
membership of the panel
or its terms of reference
until yesterday.
If there is a lesson to be
learnt from the episode, it
is probably not one about
regulation of dredging,
but the importance of
transparency and good
science.
for this.”
However, Dr John Bothwell at Dur-
ham University, a co-author of the
same paper, said: “The panel’s sugges-
tion that a pathogen should be sought
in the waters around Teesside seems a
reasonable suggestion. I’m reassured
the panel had as little truck with the
original algal bloom suggestion as we
did.”
Thérèse Coffey, the environment
secretary, said she would “consider very
carefully” whether further analysis was
required.
Asked whether it was likely the rea-
son for the die-off would ever be identi-
fied, Horton said there was still the
potential to study frozen crustacean
samples and look out for more crabs
with the distinctive twitching in their
death throes. However, she cautioned:
“It’s very difficult to go back in time.”
16
News
Labour Party
reminds me
of my abusive
relationship
Woe betide the person
who dares speak out
about trans issues and
women’s rights, writes
the MP Rosie Duffield
D
omestic abuse is about
control, power and
silencing someone. It takes
many forms: a text, a
glance or a threat
disguised as a promise. The idea is to
manipulate you; to paralyse you.
I have lived through an abusive
relationship and have spoken about it
in parliament. I was reminded of that
speech this week; the trauma that
inspired it, how hard it was to make
and, afterwards, the overwhelming
support of my colleagues. That was
the Labour Party I joined.
On Tuesday, when two of those
colleagues traded that sympathy for
aggression, shouting down women in
the chamber, it felt like a very
different Labour Party.
I was defending the need to protect
vulnerable women in single-sex
spaces and had just criticised
Scotland’s gender reform bill, when
Ben Bradshaw yelled his disapproval
at me. Lloyd Russell-Moyle went puce
and started to heckle every woman
who spoke of similar worries. Later,
when Miriam Cates, a Conservative
MP and a friend, spoke about her
concerns, he accused her of being a
bigot before crossing to the Tory side
of the chamber, very close to her,
staring at her as if to intimidate her.
“I recognise that I failed to control
[my] passion,” was how he later
“apologised”. In other words, he had
done nothing wrong. It wasn’t his
fault; it was ours for daring to
disagree with him. “Look what you
made me do,” as my former partner
would say when I had “caused” him to
explode by doing or wearing
something he didn’t like or voicing an
opinion he didn’t want to hear.
After Tuesday’s outburst came the
Voters both sides of border oppose Scotland’s gender reforms
Oliver Wright, Steven Swinford
Predators would exploit new Scottish
transgender laws, a cabinet minister
has warned, as polling found voters in
Scotland and England oppose the
changes.
In an interview with The Times,
Kemi Badenoch, the trade and
equalities secretary, defended the
government’s decision to block plans
that would make it easier for trans
people to self identify without a
medical diagnosis.
Changes to Scottish law could open
the door for people who wanted to “ex-
ploit” the system and lead trans people
silence. Not from Russell-Moyle but
from Sir Keir Starmer’s office. It’s a
cycle I’ve come to know well. First,
speak up in defence of women’s sex-
based rights, then face the
consequences — alone. The only
message I’ve had from the party since
the debate was from the deputy
whips’ office yesterday. I was
chastised for not attending a routine
statutory instruments committee
sitting because. . . I was busy being
shouted down by two Labour MPs
and completely forgot. To be fair,
Emily Thornberry, shadow attorney-
general, did say that the debate wasn’t
“Labour’s finest hour”, before
clarifying that this was because it
distracted from “the most vulnerable
in society, who are trans people”.
Starmer said nothing. It was as if I
didn’t exist — but, then, perhaps the
leader’s office wishes I didn’t.
I should have been the perfect
Labour MP. I was a single mother. I
was on benefits, which topped up my
salary as a teaching assistant. I
understood hardship and what
ordinary women wanted and needed.
The year before I was elected, I earned
less than £10,000. On my first day in
Westminster I had to borrow money
for the train fare. I was a woman who
knew what struggle meant.
Then, I was a member of
parliament, having turned a “true
blue” Tory seat red for the first time.
What did the Labour Party make of
my historic win? Well, it was exciting
at first. My face was plastered on all
the big screens at conference. When
Labour’s leading men — Jeremy
Corbyn, Len McCluskey and Iain
McNicol — joyfully exclaimed, “We
won Canterbury”, there were cheers
and a standing ovation. They all used
that victory in their speeches but I
rarely heard mention of my name.
Nobody had expected me to win.
The total outsider, the only red dot in
a sea of blue, was only here because
of Corbyn mania. Two years later,
when that bubble burst, my tiny
majority increased ten times.
Then, I liked a tweet. It was fairly
innocuous: Piers Morgan had replied
Support for changes
The Scottish government’s changes
are the right thing to do and the UK
government is wrong to block them
England 15%
Scotland 19%
Data based on a survey of 2,004 adults
conducted from January 18 to 19 Source: YouGov
to being “associated with predators”,
she said. “It’s quite bad for trans people.
They then get conflated with the
predators and people who are looking
to do bad things. That’s why having a
stricter regime rather than a loose
Rosie Duffield says she was threatened after asking why it was transphobic to say that only women have a cervix
“Do you mean women?” to a tweet
advising “individuals with a cervix” to
get screened for cancer. I think I
probably knew it could cause me
some trouble but it seemed a safe way
to enter the debate publicly. That’s
when the floodgates opened. Faced
with a tsunami of vitriol online, I
posted a tweet asking why it was
transphobic to say that only women
have a cervix. I received more threats.
Alarm bells went off in Pink News
‘‘ ’’
‘Look what you
made me do,’ he
would say, if I voiced
an opinion he did
not want to hear
that another Terf [trans-exclusionary
radical feminist] was in town.
The commentator Owen Jones
issued a grovelling apology for
attending my election rally, while it
seemed every Labour university
student group called on the party to
stop me from being an MP. However,
from the Labour Party, silence.
They think that the transgender
debate is nothing more than a
culture-war issue; a weapon used by
the Tories to whip up division. It is a
smokescreen that has nothing to do
with women’s rights. Ordinary people
don’t care about mixed-sex changing
regime is quite important.” A YouGov
poll for The Times found that the public
overwhelmingly back the UK govern-
ment’s stance and reject the Scottish
parliament plans for self-identification.
It found that 62 per cent of people
opposed allowing people to legally
declare as a certain sex without a
medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria
while 22 per cent were in favour and
19 per cent did not know. In Scotland
63 per cent opposed the plan, albeit on
a limited sample number, with 22 per
cent in favour and 15 per cent not sure.
On the question of whether the
Westminster government was right to
block the law 42 per cent said they were
rooms; or the prospect of men
entering women’s refuges; or the
erasure of the word cervix. What this
debate is really about, women are
told, is bigotry and prejudice.
I know that is not the case. After I
liked that tweet and started to speak
up, the flowers started to arrive. And
there were messages, thousands of
them — from women and men in all
parties telling me that they were
grateful somebody was speaking out.
Every day survivors of domestic
violence still message me, telling me
not to stop. Starmer may dismiss this
as a culture-war issue but for these
women, it most definitely is not. I
know I’m not the only MP in the
party who thinks this, I’m just the
only one who feels I have nothing to
lose by speaking out. Many of us
know that self-identifying as a
woman does not make a person a
biological woman who shares our
experience. For obvious reasons these
views are not voiced outside closed
rooms or private WhatsApp groups.
For all of Corbyn’s faults, his party’s
general secretary, Jennie Formby,
came to every meeting of the
Women’s Parliamentary Labour Party
to which she was invited. David
Evans, her replacement, has been two
or three times, yet we are the biggest
group in the party and the largest
group of women in parliament.
Is it starting to look as if Labour has
a problem with women? It certainly is
while 15 per cent said they were wrong.
Nine per cent said the Scottish
government changes were wrong but
the UK government should not block
them while 8 per cent said they were
right — but the UK had an obligation to
stop them because of the wider consti-
tutional implications.
Badenoch said she wanted to make
sure there was a “lot more clarity and
understanding around the issues” but it
needed to be done in a “sensitive way”.
She rejected criticism the govern-
ment was anti-trans for trying to block
the Scottish reforms. “One of the things
that’s frustrating is people talking about
a group that’s pro-trans, implying that
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
to the 7,000-strong group of women
members, councillors and activists
who make up Labour Women’s
Declaration and had a stall at last
year’s party conference refused. It is
for Lesbian Labour, who were also
stopped from exhibiting. It is for
Karen Ingala Smith, the feminist
campaigner who compiles a list of
women killed in the UK each year,
which is read out in parliament every
International Women’s Day, and who
had her membership application
rejected after she made a few gender-
critical joke tweets featuring kittens.
It is for me, ostracised for voicing not
only my own opinions but those of
thousands of others who are starting
to question the party to which they
have dedicated so much of their lives.
In each case a woman who dared to
voice an opinion was ignored. One of
the characteristics of an abusive
relationship is stonewalling. The
abuser stews, won’t speak to you and
turns their back on you. What I feel,
after six years of getting the cold
shoulder, conjures up memories of
how I felt in that abusive relationship.
I may not be as radical a feminist as
my friend Julie Bindel, but what I am
is a progressive, left-wing MP who
cares about women, and wonders
whether the party I represent is
capable of standing up for them.
Rosie Duffield is the Labour MP for
Canterbury. This article was first
published on UnHerd.
others are anti-trans,” she said. “That’s
not the case. In parliament we are all
pro-trans. The debate is about self-ID.
That’s where the changes that Scotland
is making are impactful. It’s not about
trans people. We already have the gen-
der recognition certification process.
So it’s not like Scotland is bringing
something new in that we don’t have.
“All they are doing is removing safe-
guards like medical diagnosis, like the
age [at which someone can change sex
legally] and length of time [they have to
wait]. That’s really all that it’s about.”
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
The ‘disgusting’ coffee coming to a café near you
Elisabeth Perlman
Your morning coffee could soon taste a
little different. Cafés are beginning to
serve flat whites and lattes made from a
bean that can grow in the more chal-
lenging conditions brought about by
climate change.
Unlike the common arabica and
robusta varieties, liberica can survive in
hotter and drier climes, but for many
years was shunned for its allegedly
unpleasant flavour. Now, as the planet
warms, it is making a comeback.
Nigel Motley, 31, is the owner of one
of the first UK coffee shops offering the
“hipster” bean. Ninety per cent of his
customers are trendy millennials inter-
ested in “new, sustainable coffee varie-
ties” he said. The Times met Motley at
the Kapihan café in south London to
try the brew.
Liberica was popular for a short time
in the late 19th century when arabica
plants were hit by leaf rust disease, par-
ticularly in southeast Asia. However,
coffee makers found that liberica’s large
fruits and thick pulp were tricky to pro-
cess. The beans also proved difficult to
TMS
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary
Crosby, top
of the Popes
One of the oddest honours held
by the musician David Crosby,
who has died at 81, is that his 1971
album If I Could Only Remember
My Name was the second most
popular record in the Vatican. In
2010, L’Osservatore Romano, the
official Vatican newspaper, named
ten albums to be taken to a desert
island. Disappointingly, they didn’t
title it “Pope Idol”. Revolver by the
Beatles was top (John Lennon’s
line about being bigger than Jesus
being forgiven), then Crosby, then
Pink Floyd. Whether Benedict
XVI had personally chosen them
was unclear, but Crosby loved it.
“It reflects an amount of taste I
didn’t suspect,” he said, “and is as
amusing as hell.” Or perhaps not.
Who says the Devil has all the
best tunes?
The historian and journalist Paul
Johnson, who died last week, had a
vast brain but was sometimes
surprised that other people knew
things. Charles Moore recalled an
occasion when Johnson was holding
forth to a room about Greece when
one person ventured to disagree.
“What do you know about Greece?”
Johnson scornfully asked. “Well, I
am King,” Constantine II replied.
do-nothing labour
There are some who think Labour
should do more than just not
interrupting the enemy as they
make mistakes. Not according to
Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow
work and pensions secretary.
Bidding farewell to Nigel
Edwards as chief executive of
the health think tank
Nuffield Trust, Ashworth
recalled a story Edwards
told him about a
special adviser in the
1990s to Robin
Cook, right, the late
Labour MP, who
asked if he should
17
News
dry because of their pointed tips, result- bean of the moment. Aaron Davis, a agents. They’ve done it by themselves. exported from other countries includ-
ing in inferior coffee, which struggled to coffee specialist and senior researcher They’re finding it robust, high- ing Malaysia and India.
find lasting commercial success. at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, yielding, disease-resistant and Besides being liked by farmers, lib-
Over the past decade few coffee southwest London, is the author of a pest-resistant — it’s working erica appeals to the modern con-
drinkers in the UK have managed to get paper in the journal Nature Plants on for them.” sumer who is open to “different fla-
hold of liberica, with outlets blaming a “The re-emergence of liberica coffee as As more coffee-growing vour profiles”, Davis said. “It’s not
lack of demand. Some who did manage a major crop plant”. regions experience rising just a cup of coffee any more – it’s
to taste the variety have described it as The species does well in warm, low temperatures because of become more like wine.”
“disgusting”; others likened it to altitude regions where arabica strug- global warming, liberica 6 The average price of a
“tinned vegetable soup”. gles, and is more drought tolerant than could preserve the liveli- latte, Britain’s favourite
Motley’s mother is from the Philippi- robusta. hoods of millions of farmers coffee, has reached £3.25
nes, where liberica is grown, and he im- Davis said: “What we’re witnessing in who rely on the crop as their after rising by 11.3 per
ports the coffee from a young female Uganda and South Sudan is that driven main source of income, he cent in the past year, Al-
farmer who runs a small plantation by changes in the climate, farmers are added. Liberica is also being legra, a coffee industry
near Manila. It produces only 200 kilo- taking up this coffee. This isn’t some- analyst, said. The aver-
grams of the beans a year. thing that’s been put upon them by the Elisabeth Perlman’s liberica age price of a flat white
“Liberica has always been part of the government or any intervention latte had a bit of a kick to it was £3.14.
Philippine coffee culture,” he said. “Our
grandparents would drink it black — it
was very heavy, smoky and thick.”
Improved processing methods have
made the variety more palatable. When
The Times tried a milky latte it was less
bitter than feared, with sweet notes and
a bit of a kick. “You’re tasting the notes
of dark muscovado sugar and calaman-
si, a citrus fruit native to the Philippi-
nes,” Motley said.
Experts have hailed liberica as the
develop some policies to make
them seem ready for government.
“Don’t do that,” exploded Cook,
below. “We’re 20 points ahead.
Anything you come up with is only
going to make that worse.”
tim rice the big tease
A song’s title is everything, insists
Tim Rice. “They are important
attention-grabbers,” he says. “Don’t
Cry For Me Argentina makes you
think ‘What’s that all about?’
before you hear a word.” He has,
though, been too keen to grab the
attention. He once suggested to
Andrew Lloyd Webber that the
song A Kiss is a Terrible Thing to
Waste from Whistle Down the
Wind would be more intriguing if
it were called “A Waist is a Terrible
Thing to Kiss”. “My suggestion fell
on stony ground,” he says.
Invited to be quizmaster at a
fundraiser for a colleague, the
flamboyant Tory MP Michael
Fabricant enjoyed himself on the
mike but it brought an interrogation
afterwards from two people who
didn’t know who he was. “Are you
an entertainer? Perhaps in Butlin’s?”
a woman asked, admiring his red
jacket. “You should work in the
theatre,” another suggested. “Well,
in a way I do,” Fabricant replied.
“It’s called the House of Commons.”
job hopes killed
Success in journalism requires
ambition and luck. Richard
Madeley writes in The Spectator
about a former editor who had one
but not the other. Having charmed
his way into a trial at the Los
Angeles Times, he flew across the
Atlantic and arrived at its office on
November 22, 1963. Everyone was
in tears. “Our president’s dead,”
the editor said. “A sniper shot
him.” Having not caught up
with the news, the trialist
assumed he meant the president
of the company. “How
shocking,” he said. “What
was his name?” He didn’t
get the job.
patrick kidd
18 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News
News Church of England

Welby won’t bless gay couples

Kaya Burgess
Religious Affairs Correspondent
The Archbishop of Canterbury will not
perform any blessings for same-sex
couples because he says he needs to
remain a figure of “unity” for Anglicans,
including gay marriage opponents.
The Most Rev Justin Welby said he
was “really pleased” that priests could
offer God’s blessings to gay couples who
have had civil weddings but he would
not feel able to do so himself.
In a divide at the top of the church,
Welby’s second-in-command, the
Archbishop of York, said that he would
use the newly approved blessings,
adding through tears at a press
conference yesterday: “I’m really
pleased it’s changing for my gay friends.”
The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell also
suggested that he did not oppose gay
sex within “stable, loving, committed”
relationships, which would represent a
shift from the church’s centuries-old
teaching that it is sinful.
The Church of England also
confirmed officially for the first time
that it had “gay, bisexual and same-sex
attracted” bishops among its leaders
but said they could not reach a
“consensus” on supporting same-sex
marriage in church.
The Anglican Communion comprises
43 independent churches around the
globe, many of which strongly oppose
gay relationships.
Welby said that he had a “pastoral
responsibility” for the whole commu-
nion, adding: “I will be extremely joyfully
celebratory of these new resources [but]
will not personally use them in order not
to compromise that pastoral care.”
Asked if he would use the new set of
prayers and blessings produced by the
church for same-sex couples, the
Archbishop of York said he was not
bound by the same duties as Welby.
“Yes, I will,” Cottrell said. “I com-
pletely support and understand
Archbishop Justin’s position but his
position is different to mine.”
Church teaching has always held that
only married people should have sex
and gay people should remain celibate.
Cottrell said that he did not “ask
questions” of heterosexual couples who
came to be married about whether they
had had premarital sex. “I celebrate the
fact they are wanting to commit them-
selves in a stable and loving relation-
ship,” he said. “I believe the great gift of
sexual physical intimacy, to be cherished,
belongs in stable, loving, committed
relationships. Therefore I will celebrate
the fact that people are living that
way and expressing their intimacy that
way.”
A few Church of England bishops
have come out as gay. A church
document confirmed for the first time
that it had gay, bisexual and “same-sex
attracted” bishops among its leadership.
“The differences among you are also
present among us, the College of

I had ‘illegal’ church

ceremony, reveals
TV’s dancing vicar
The Rev Richard Coles
tells Alice Thomson he
can’t make excuses for
an institution that does
not treat people fairly
a small wedding but not an illicit one.
The truth is that I didn’t want it to be
a circus or a fight, I just wanted it to
be about me and David making a
commitment to each other like
anybody else.” They both wanted a
church service, “something the Holy
Spirit was invited to”.
Coles always refers to Oldham as
his husband. “But we weren’t in the

T
he Rev Richard Coles is
everyone’s favourite
clergyman. The former pop
star in the Communards was
adored by his
Northamptonshire parishioners, he
dazzled on Strictly Come Dancing in
angel wings and sequins, he hosts a
Radio 4 show and has written books
on saints and a bestselling crime novel.
“A national trinket” is how he was
described by his partner, David
Oldham, who died in 2019. Coles, 60,
was consumed by sorrow, chronicled
in his book The Madness of Grief. But
then the vicar of Finedon quit last
year, not because he had lost faith but
because he could no longer stand “the
hypocrisy” of the Church of England’s
refusal to celebrate same-sex marriage.
Now Coles, who has more than half
a million Twitter followers, reveals
that he had “an illegal service of
blessing” with Oldham in a church in
2010. “We were two gay vicars who
wanted to get married in a church
and weren’t able to do so,” he says. “I
understand the theological arguments
but they are based on a completely
specious and nonsensical view that
somehow gay people are less
estimable in God’s love and grace
than anyone else.”
Sitting in the Groucho Club,
drinking a whisky sour, he remembers
this clandestine blessing as one of the
most extraordinary and wonderful
days of his life. “I can’t say where
because the person who officiated did
so without permission. It was
someone I knew, it was lovely and a
bit mad, in a locked church after
hours.” They couldn’t invite guests.
“There was me and David, the
officiant and our two witnesses, and
that was it. We couldn’t tell anyone.
I don’t want to use the word secret,
but it wasn’t something we shared
with anyone.”
The next day they went to the Diss
register office. “We did the formalities
for our civil partnership and we went
to dinner at The Ivy.” His spouse was
an avid gardener. “Yet we couldn’t
have flowers in the church. I’ve got
one picture. There’s a lot to be said for
eyes of the law and church, we were
civil partners. We were expected to be
celibate. Nothing could be tainted by
the dreadful idea that there was some
fleshly component to our union.”
They both minded being forced to live
a lie. “We were asked to do something
that I felt was unreasonable and
unholy so I didn’t feel morally obliged
to uphold it. The bishop responsible
for us never asked questions because
he’s a decent guy. But I do regret it
because there is something a bit
degrading about it.”
The former chorister and musician
never saw being gay as an obstacle to
being a clergyman when he was
ordained in 2005. “I never personally
felt my sexuality has been a barrier
between me and God in any way at
all. My sexual orientation is a given.
It’s like hair colour. I knew the church
would not be welcoming, affirming or
a place that recognised my dignity but
I thought that there was an argument
to have. I always had faith in the end
that what is good and gracious, holy
and right will prevail.”
There are many other gay people in
the Church of England, all preaching
but expected to stay celibate. “I don’t
know the number but the high church
end where I belong has always been
super-gay, although mostly
clandestinely super-gay. I just want it
not to matter. I want to be alongside
and the same as everyone else trying
to live a decent life, be a good disciple
of Jesus Christ, trying not to mess
God’s vision of the world and our
community and myself up too much.”
Coles did remain celibate at first
when he became a priest. “I was hors The Reverend Richard Coles at home in East Sussex and his partner, David Oldham, who died of alcoholism. Coles left parish
de combat for years and thought that
was how it had to be for me. It was particularly like overt displays of speak to me like that’, but he had just care about anything else at first. The
mostly fine. Then I met David and we affection but I’d have liked the option. asked me the same thing. Somehow, church was incredibly supportive, the
fell in love together.” His parishioners I just wanted our relationship to be we were seen as a disciplinary issue archbishop wrote me a warm and
were always asking the couple over to like everyone else’s, accepted, upheld rather than two people trying to live thoughtful letter. I got a widow’s
Sunday lunch. “There were those who and respected.” together, openly and lovingly.” pension. But I just felt I couldn’t stay
knew perfectly well that David and I The church was less forgiving. “I They were invited to meet the a vicar any longer.”
had sexual relationships like other remember debating once with clergy Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin He feels for the archbishop. “There
couples and those that preferred not on the other side of the argument and Welby, at Lambeth Palace as a couple. is an unimaginably hostile range of
to think about it, but it was never a he said, ‘But do you have sex with When Oldham died of alcoholism, views. He [Welby] is meant to be a
problem. Maybe when they got to your partner?’ and I said, ‘When was however, he couldn’t formally be focus of union. There is a powerful
know us their worries dissipated. We the last time you slept with your accepted as Coles’s husband. “When body of conservative evangelicals in
never held hands in public. I don’t wife?’ and he said, ‘How dare you David died, it was so awful, I didn’t the Anglican church across the world
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 19

News
News

in effort to avoid new divisions

Bishops,” the document said. “We are
partnered, single, celibate, married,
divorced, widowed, bereaved, gay,
bisexual and same-sex attracted. We
have diverse convictions about sex-
uality and marriage.”
It is understood that a third of
bishops supported conducting same-
sex marriages in church but this was
not enough to recommend a change.
Priests who wish can hold blessings
for gay couples, including those who
have had civil marriages or partner-
ships, with a suggested prayer stating:
“You have come before God today,
having made your commitment to one
another, to seek God’s blessing and
guidance. Supported by your friends
and family, we pray the blessings of
God’s kingdom on you.”
The Bishop of London, the Right Rev
Sarah Mullally, said this was “a real
first”. Dr Eeva John, who worked on the
guidance, said it was a “major change”.
Campaigners calling for same-sex
marriage in church, however, criticised
an apology from bishops.
Church leaders apologised for
“causing pain and harm” to gay and
transgender people. “For the times we
have rejected or excluded you and
those you love, we are deeply sorry.”
Jayne Ozanne, a member of the
General Synod, said the church was
continuing to exclude and harm gay
Christians by refusing to marry them.
“The bishops . . . acknowledge ‘the
harm that LGBTQI+ people have
experienced and continue to experience
in the life of the church’ but [it] does
nothing to stop that harm,” she said.
“The discrimination continues.”
Welby said that an acquaintance in
the parish where he worked several
years ago was gay. “The next thing I
heard was that the pressure of living
with the church’s attitude had led to his
suicide,” he said. “I still mourn him. And
I wish he was here today. I think he
would be able to feel that perhaps it
wasn’t everything he wanted but said he
. . . wasn’t lesser or excluded or unloved
or unwanted.”
The Church of England and the
Anglican Communion has changed its
teaching on several issues in the past.
Shortly after the turn of the millennium
the church dropped its opposition to re-
marriage after divorce, giving priests the
freedom to remarry divorcees who had a
living ex-spouse. The General Synod
voted in 1992 to allow women to be
priests. It then voted in 2014 to allow
women to become bishops.
In a passage often cited by opponents
of gay marriage, the Old Testament ap-
pears to say gay sex is an “abomination”.
The same book of the Bible also states
that worshippers must not wear items
of clothing made from two different
types of fabric and they must not plant
two types of seed in the same field.
Neither of these two rules are now
enforced by church teaching.

Old rules had it done. For me, I feel

like if God was to judge
me, he would judge me
couldn’t on my actions not on my
sexual preferences.”
Peter Gibson, the
stop us all Conservative MP for
Darlington, entered into
a civil partnership with
Case studies Gareth Dadd in 2008.
“We would love to be

T
he ban on
priests blessing
same-sex
relationships
has never
stopped the Rev Andrew
Dotchin welcoming gay
couples into his church.
Unable to bless their
marriage, he started
blessing their wedding
rings instead.
Tired of waiting for the
Church of England to
permit same-sex
marriages many found
creative loopholes.
The Rev Andrew
Foreshew-Cain, who
defied church rules by
marrying his gay partner
in 2014 and was told he
would struggle to find
another job in the church
as a result, said: “The
church is not actually
breaking new ground. By
‘permitting’ this, they are
just catching up with
what is already pastoral
practice in large sections
of the Church.
“What I do, and what I
know several clergy do, is
that I bless their wedding
rings,” said Dotchin, vicar
of St John the Baptist and
St Edmund in Felixstowe.
He added that priests
often take part in blessing
ceremonies for other
inanimate objects,
arguing: “If we can bless
ballistic missile
submarines, we should be
able to bless that symbol
of love.”
He said of the bishops’
proposals to permit
blessings: “We will take
what has been offered
and will ask for more. But
now we can stop
pretending and I can
duties angry at the Church of England’s refusal to celebrate same-sex marriage
Abi Malthouse and wife
Shelley waited a year
for a blessing; Peter
Gibson and Gareth
Dadd are still waiting
bless people instead
of rings.”
The number of
weddings conducted
each year in the
Church of England
has fallen from
51,000 in 2011 to
29,000 in 2019.
“We’re really not
that bursting at the
seams with weddings
in the Church of England
that we want to be
chasing weddings away,”
he said. “The Church has
benefited from the love
and care that gay and
lesbian people have for
each other. And we’ve
thrown it back in their
face. And they continue
to stay, which is a miracle
really. I’m absolutely
amazed that there are out
gay people in churches.
Fortunately there are
enough churches where
people are welcome.”
Abi Malthouse, 37, a
teacher from Norfolk,
could not have the
wedding she wanted
when she married
Shelley, 34, who works in
IT, in 2020. “I come from
a small town and every
member of my family has
been married at the same
church,” she said. “To
know I would never be
able to do that was hard
for me. I am gutted that I
didn’t get to do the whole
down-the-aisle thing that
I’ve watched every other
member of my family do.”
However, a year after
her marriage, she
bumped into Dotchin.
“He said, ‘Why don’t you
pop in? Did you want me
to bless your rings?’ So he
put on his rainbow [robe]
and got the Bible out, he
got his notes out and we
able to have and
celebrate a marriage
between the two of us in
that Christian setting,” he
said. “We have
deliberately not done
anything about it as we
have been waiting for the
day we would be able to
do that.”
A loophole was
inserted into the
Marriage Act at
the Church’s
request that not
only exempted the
Church of England
from conducting
same-sex
weddings, but
made it
technically illegal
for it to do so.
MPs want to
change the law to
remove this
loophole.
Gibson said that
many churches
around the UK,
including the
Scottish Episcopal
Church and Church in
Wales, both Anglican
churches, have dropped
their opposition to gay
relationships.
“Times have moved on,
the world hasn’t
imploded,” he said.
“Christians in other parts
of the UK who want to
celebrate their
relationships are able to
do so. If bishops say they
are willing to do this, and
the Synod voted on it,
then [if that] legislation
was tabled to be reversed
in the House of
Commons, I would
have thought that
would certainly pass
on a free vote.”

who are opposed to gay marriage. If
they were to leave, it would be
extremely challenging. On the other
hand, they have people looking at
them saying, ‘Why are you
homophobic?’ because I don’t think
the archbishop is. What I want to say
to him is, ‘Find some courage, show
moral leadership.’ ” Coles’s solution is
the “conscience course”, the provision
used for those who have been
divorced but want to marry again in
the Church of England. “It should be
up to the vicar — they shouldn’t be
forced to do it. But it already happens
in Scotland and Wales, and obviously
unofficially here.
“Plenty of gay couples came to me
who wanted to get married in church.
I would have to say, ‘I am not able to
do that but come and see me and I
am sure we can work something out’,
and we did. I’m glad I could make
these couples happy rather than
expecting them to live a half-life.” He
also points out that most clergy
regularly meet parishioners who are
dealing with issues about their
sexuality. “One of the worst moments
was discovering that a 15-year-old boy
who was wrestling with his sexuality
took his own life because he felt it
wasn’t worth living. Vicars need to be
able to offer support, love and
acceptance. The Church of England
. . . needs to keep up with the broad
consensus of the country, not act like
the monasteries in the Dark Ages.”
Why, he asks, should a young gay
person still be made to feel like a
second-class citizen? “This is not a
welcoming church, it’s degrading,
shaming and against the gospel to be
so excluding. David minded more
than me, a sense of being made to feel
unworthy. I was more resistant to
that. But one of my regrets is that it
made me less good as a husband. I
wish I had stood up for us more.”
Coles now devotes most of his time to
writing and broadcasting. “I left partly
because of . . . the accumulated
resentment at the humiliations and
frustrations and disappointments. It
just gradually builds up like tartar on
teeth and no matter how often you
brush or floss it feels uncomfortable.
I’ve stopped being able to make
excuses for a church that doesn’t treat
people fairly.”
20
News
Coroner says student
might still be alive
if GP had seen him
Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
A law student who died after four
remote GP consultations might have
lived had he been given a face-to-face
appointment, a coroner ruled.
David Nash, 26, died in November
2020 from a bone infection behind his
ear that caused an abscess on the brain.
Over a 19-day period leading up to his
death, he had four phone consultations
with his GP.
The coroner, Abigail Combes, said
David Nash had
called his GP four
times in 19 days
the failure to see him meant he under-
went surgery ten hours later than it
could have been.
Andrew and Anne Nash fought for
more than two years to find out whe-
ther their son would have lived if he had
been seen in person by clinical staff at
Burley Park Medical Centre in Leeds.
Yesterday they said they were “both
saddened and vindicated by the find-
ings that the simple and obvious, neces-
sary step of seeing him in person would
2GM Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
after having been
convicted of gross
indecency and
sentenced to two
years in solitary
confinement.
His sons Cyril and
Vyvyan had their
surname changed to
Holland. Both were
told that their father
had died. Yet, despite
have saved his life” and wanted to make having been
sure “others don’t die as David did”. estranged from his
The coroner ruled it was a “missed father, Vyvyan felt
opportunity” when an advanced nurse close to him, the
failed to arrange a face-to-face appoint- letter shows.
ment for the student when he com- It is addressed to
plained of fever, neck stiffness and Father Cuthbert
night-time headaches during a phone Dunne, the priest
consultation. who received Wilde
Alastair Bint, a GP expert, had told into the Roman
the inquest that Nash was “demonstrat- Catholic church, and
ing some significant red flags” and said thanks him for his
that a nurse should have organised an role in bringing father
urgent in-person appointment after the Oscar Wilde’s son Vyvyan and son together in
call. Holland, below, wrote the religion. It says: “I’m sure
Lynne White, a nurse who had a letter after his father’s that . . . you spoke words
phone consultation with Nash, said death in exile. He felt of courage and
that she told him: “You’re sounding like comforted by Wilde’s consolation that had a
you’re feeling a bit sorry for yourself, conversion to Catholicism great deal to do with
are you feeling a bit rotten?” But she on his deathbed father’s conversion. I
insisted she was simply reflecting that need not think I am going
the patient seemed unwell. to be left entirely alone.”
Nash’s condition deteriorated the Professor Joseph
same day and he and his partner made Bristow, who discovered
A
five calls to NHS 111, which his parents letter has the letter at University of
have described as “shambolic”.
After the final call, Nash was taken to
Letter from shone light on
Oscar Wilde’s
California, Los Angeles,
where he teaches English
hospital. He died on November 4 from
mastoiditis in his ear which had caused
Wilde’s son bond with his
two sons
while researching a book
about Wilde, said:
an abscess on his brain.
He had just started the second year of
shows bond (Sara Tor writes).
Wilde died in
“Vyvyan feels his spirit
will be connected to
a law degree at Leeds University when
he died. Before, he had been a drum-
in religion 1900 in a Paris
hotel, in exile
that of his father now
he has converted.”
mer, touring Europe with his band.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Met binned crossbow killer clues before he murdered ex-wife
Ben Ellery
Metropolitan Police officers threw
away evidence that a man was stalking
his former wife a year before he killed
her with a crossbow, a report has found.
The force is facing criticism after a
review into the murder of Sana
Muhammad, 35, found several failures.
Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo
rushed into the east London home of
his heavily pregnant ex-wife in Novem-
ber 2018 and fired a bolt into her stom-
Secret millionaire is facing a
very public embarrassment
The show may soon be
over for a lending firm
that brought enormous
wealth to its founder,
Mario Ledwith reports
Hiding his fortune to take part in Chan-
nel 4’s The Secret Millionaire in 2008, a
cocksure James Benamor said that
there was not one of his rivals he did not
“want to see smashed to the ground”.
Fast-forward 15 years and it is Amigo,
the controversial loan company that
helped make the businessman one of
Britain’s richest people, which is facing
ruin.
Overloaded with a wave of com-
plaints for misselling unaffordable
loans, the subprime lender warned this
week that it faced being wound up with-
out the help of a multimillion-pound
investor.
A collapse would cement the
Bournemouth-based company as one
the most disastrous stock market lis-
tings in recent times. Having been val-
ued at £1.3 billion when it floated in
2018, it is now worth £14.2 million.
Its troubles will undoubtedly come as
an embarrassment to Benamor, 45,
who began building his brokerage
empire at the age of 21 after noticing
how many people were being refused
loans by mainstream lenders.
He started from the kitchen table of
his mother, who moved to the UK from
Tunisia and worked as a beautician. In
his first month he was said to have
walked about 190 miles to distribute
30,000 leaflets.
His business successes came after a
turbulent adolescence marked by drug
use and petty crime, with Benamor
arrested five times between the ages of
15 and 17. All but one of the offences in-
volved stealing food, he said, because he
was hungry, while on another occasion
he stole clothing to keep warm.
It was the formation of Amigo Loans
in 2005 that established Benamor’s for-
tune. The company once held more
than 80 per cent of the guarantor loan
market in the UK, issuing unsecured
personal loans of up to £10,000 with
annual interest rates of 49.9 per cent.
These loans were guaranteed by a rela-
tive or friend, who would be liable if the
borrower missed a repayment.
Amigo’s listing allowed Benamor’s
Richmond Group, through which he
held his ownership, to cash in £305 mil-
lion of shares, stepping down from the
board shortly after while keeping a
61 per cent stake. The high times for the
company were short-lived thereafter.
An investigation by The Times in
2018 found that the company was
ach as she tried to flee. Her unborn son,
her sixth child, was delivered by caesar-
ean section and survived.
Unmathallegadoo was jailed for 33
years for what the judge called a “brutal
and evil attack”.
The report to the Home Office found
that officers failed to properly record or
investigate a “burglary kit” that was
found behind Muhammad’s home,
which included items such as binocu-
lars and duct tape.
According to the report, seen by the
Stays at a French château were a staff perk in the heyday of Amigo Loans, whose founder, James Benamor, sold shares
worth £305 million when it was publicly listed. The lender came under increased scrutiny after a 2018 Times investigation
allowing customers to manipulate
affordability checks, while those who
missed payments were aggressively
pursued in the courts.
With the Financial Ombudsman
Service upholding the vast majority of
claims against the company at about
the same time, the City watchdog began
to tighten the net. As its share price slid
and scrutiny of the company intensi-
fied, it stopped lending in March 2020.
Borrowers and guarantors have told
London Evening Standard, the officers
collected the items but did not record
the find and then disposed of them in
the station yard bins to avoid paper-
work.
The officers made no effort to con-
tact Unmathallegadoo, breaking force
rules. The failure to record the kit
“could be seen as influencing the final
outcome” of the case, the report found.
When two crossbows, bolts, a har-
poon and a bottle of acid were found in
the same hiding place months later, the
The Times how the hefty repayments,
some of which are still being paid,
financially crippled them for years.
Darren Martin, who took out a loan in
desperation while on income support
as a single father to two girls, said the
hardship of repayments left him con-
templating suicide.
In May last year, the
High Court approved a
complaints scheme
that could lead to
£112 million being
handed out to custom-
ers, with £15 million
dependent on new in-
vestors being found.
Unsurprisingly, one
person who has not
been pleased at how
the flood of com-
plaints has come to
suffocate Amigo is
Benamor. Writing on
Twitter in January
2021,he told of how he
was a previous guarantor who had been
contacted about lodging a possible
claim. Hinting at his views of other
creditors, the multimillionaire said he
would not be claiming because he was
“not willing to lie for some easy free
cash”. He added: “I’d love to think we
live in a world where everyone is that
honest.”
In January 2020, months after a fail-
ed boardroom coup when he appointed
himself a lieutenant to Amigo’s board,
he suggested the company was approv-
findings were not linked. The fact that
the couple lived in “a known burglary
hotspot seems not to have triggered
police enthusiasm for further inquir-
ies”, the report stated.
Both officers were issued with writ-
ten warnings after a misconduct in-
vestigation. A review of the events lead-
ing up to Muhammad’s murder re-
vealed that she had previously been
reprimanded by the police about misus-
ing the 999 call system when reporting
her ex-husband’s abuse. This may have
ing “all complaints irrespective of the
evidence”.
Such an assessment is countered by
the many borrowers, mostly on low
incomes, who said the repayments
had placed a stranglehold on their
lives.
Benamor, a father of eight, sold his
controlling stake in 2020 and is no
longer on the
board, spending
his time running
Richmond
Group and
charting his
travels around
the world.
More than two
years after the
company froze
lending, the
Financial Con-
duct Authority
allowed Amigo to
resume opera-
tions last Octo-
ber. It now operates under the name
RewardRate.
This week Amigo said that the num-
ber of loans approved was tellingly
“very limited” as regulators maintained
an eagle-eyed view on how they were
handed out.
The lender is now the one in need,
giving itself until May to attain £45 mil-
lion in raised funds. If not, the company
that once claimed it was “all about
second chances” for customers will not
get one of its own.
21
News
made her reluctant to expresss fears to
the police when he made threatening
comments to her children in the street
in the months before her murder, the
report found. The couple had an
arranged marriage in 1999, when she
was 17 and he was 31.
The Home Office said stricter
controls on crossbows were being
reviewed. The Met said it “accepted all
of these points and work has been
undertaken, or is ongoing, to ensure
they are implemented”.
Andrew Tate
to remain in
jail another
thirty days
Kieran Gair
Andrew Tate will remain in prison for
another 30 days as Romanian prosecu-
tors continue to investigate a case of
human trafficking and rape.
Tate, 36, the British influencer known
as the “king of toxic masculinity”, has
been held in custody since he was de-
tained with his brother Tristan and two
women at his compound near Bucha-
rest, where guns and cash were found.
He and his alleged accomplices are
accused of luring at least six women to
the property and subjecting them to
“acts of physical violence and mental
coercion” so they would perform for
pornography websites.
The decision to grant prosecutors a
second 30-day custody extension
means that Tate, a former kickboxer,
and his brother will remain in prison
until February 27. The four suspects lost
an appeal against their detention last
week, with a court upholding a judge’s
decision on December 30 to extend
their arrest from 24 hours to 30 days.
Romania’s anti-organised crime
agency alleges the brothers — who
made part of their fortune through web-
cam pornography — forced their vic-
tims to perform with the intension to
reap “important financial benefits”.
Tate and his brother deny the allega-
tions against them, with Tate appearing
to address them in a recent post on
Twitter, writing: “Anyone who believes
I’m a human trafficker is a moron.”
Last weekend a Romanian govern-
ment agency sent police to impound 15
cars from ten properties associated
with Tate, as well as 14 watches and var-
ious other belongings.
The vehicles included a Rolls-Royce
Wraith, valued at £310,000, and a
McLaren 765LT worth up to £410,000.
Tate has built a lucrative career as a
social media personality with videos
preaching a doctrine of unapologetic
male dominance over women, and a set
of online money-making courses
known as “Hustlers University”.
Tate, who holds US and British citi-
zenship, moved to Romania five years
ago, claiming it was because the country
was corrupt and police were less likely to
pursue sexual assault allegations.
Tate and his brother have been under
investigation since April when officers
carried out a raid on his home after
claims an American woman had been
held there against her will. Police are
said to have discovered another woman
being held against her will in a video stu-
dio 500 yards from the main property.
Tate gained notoriety when he was
removed from the British television
show Big Brother in 2016 after a video
surfaced showing him hitting a woman
during a consensual sex game.
 22 2GM Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News

LE Britons are bowled

over by pétanque
SA

O
ften played
with a
cigarette in
hand and
sips of pastis
or cold beer during
regular intervals,
pétanque has long been
the domain of elderly
French men in shorts,
passing their time under
the fading sun (Ali Mitib
writes).
Now, growing
numbers of Britons are
taking up the game.
Colin Roper, the
president of Pétanque
England, the national
governing body that
boasts 154 clubs, said it
was rising in popularity
with women and young
people and was played
by up to 30,000 people
in the UK — a far cry
from the Seventies when
the only devotees here
were French waiters.
Roper, 78, who has
played since his youth,
believes its appeal lies in
being accessible to all
ages. “In England,
pétanque has gradually
grown as an alternative
sport and one of the
things we’ve always said
is that it is a sport for
everybody,” he said.
“It’s just picking up a
steel ball and throwing it
between six and ten
metres, but they are in
control and they can
express themselves as a
team or as an individual.”
Ella Slade, 16, led the

A lot more value.

A little less worry. S

Soldier lands polar ski record

— but is stopped in her tracks
Jack Malvern
In a voice showing signs of exhaustion
but also a determination to continue,
Preet Chandi thanked her family as she
broke the record for the longest un-
supported solo polar skiing expedition
by a woman.
The British Army captain, known as
Polar Preet, has skied 868 miles from
the Hercules Inlet on the Antarctic
coast to the South Pole and beyond. It is
ten miles further than the record set in
2000 by Anja Blacha, a
German extreme sports-
woman.
Despite Chandi’s feat,
which has involved ski-
ing for up to 15 hours a
day in minus 30C, she
sounded downbeat
because she has run
out of time this season
to reach her goal of be-
coming the first woman to
make a solo unsupported
crossing of the continent via the
pole. “Tough day today,” she said on her
Polar Preet website. “I’m pretty gutted
that I don’t have time to complete the
crossing. I know that I’ve done a huge
journey, it’s just difficult when I’m on
the ice and I know it’s not too far away.”
Chandi, 33, from Sinfin, a suburb of
Derby, made a name for herself a year
ago when she became the first woman
of colour to complete a solo expedition
to the South Pole.
She set out this year to complete a
journey of more than 1,100 miles to
Reedy Glacier in 75 days but was
waylaid by extreme cold and
high winds.
She reached the pole
too late to continue to
Reedy Glacier and had
to turn back. She will be
picked up tomorrow,
after which the weather
is likely to be too bad.
“It was very cold and
Preet Chandi skied for
15 hours a day in minus 30C
windy so I kept my breaks very short so
I didn’t get too cold.”
In an earlier recording she spoke of
the excitement of being back at the
pole. “I didn’t stay very long as I still
have a big journey to go. It has been
really tough getting here this year.”
She said that despite sleeping for only
five hours each night, she was “not get-
ting the mileage I want”.
She said she cheered herself up by lis-
tening to voice notes recorded by her
mother, two brothers and niece.
Chandi, who works as a physiothera-
pist at a rehabilitation centre in Buck-
inghamshire, is supported by the Prin-
cess of Wales, the patron of her expedi-
tion who wished her good luck in a
phone call.
Chandi hopes to “inspire others to
believe in themselves and push their
boundaries”, adding: “I was told ‘no’ on
many occasions, called stubborn or
rebellious because I wanted to do things
that were out of the norm and push my
boundaries. I’ve always had this idea
that I can achieve something great.” Awe-inspiring The 15th century Kilchurn Castle on the banks of a partially frozen Loch
 the times | Saturday January 21 2023 23

There are 154 clubs
affiliated to the governing
body of pétanque in
England, including this
one in Poole, Dorset
England junior girls’
team to silver at the
European Pétanque
Championships last
year, losing to Turkey.
She took up the sport
aged nine, encouraged
by her father’s team, and
has taken part in eight
international contests.
“It’s a quite technical
and tactical sport and I
really like the challenge
of improving
continuously and trying
to be better,” she said.
“For so long men have
dominated the sport in
England so it’s quite nice
to see women and
juniors progressing
because we are going to
be the future of the
sport.”
Top tips
Use the right size boule
Experts say that you
should hold approximately
half of the ball. If the ball is
too small, it may be harder
to control. Too big and you
may have to grip it too
tightly or risk it slipping
from your hands.
Follow through
Keep your arm straight in
the direction you want the
ball to go and follow
through by fully extending
your arm until it reaches
about head height.
Keep your hand level
Unless you want to spin
the ball to the side, keep
your hand level at the end
of the swing to allow the
ball to spin backwards on
your finger tips, which
improves control and
helps you hit the target.
Anti-gun charity in name
of pub shooting victim
Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
The father of Elle Edwards, who was
shot dead in a Merseyside pub while
celebrating on Christmas Eve, has said
her life was only “just getting going”.
Tim Edwards added that he hoped a
foundation set up in Elle’s name would
help to combat gun violence in the
region.
Elle, 26, was shot while out celebrat-
ing with friends when a gunman
opened fire on the Lighthouse pub in
Wallasey Village on the Wirral, shortly
before midnight on December 24.
She is not believed to have been the
intended target of the shooting.
In his first interview since her death,
Edwards told Sky News that Elle, a
beautician and dental nurse, “had a
heart of gold”.
He said: “She was beautiful-looking
and she was a great hugger. She was just
a fantastic human being with a heart of
gold.” Edwards said the “hardest part”
News
to cope with was the fact that his
daughter’s life had been cut short.
“She was just getting going,” he told
Sky News. “She had her focus, she had
her own ambitions and she was
achieving them. Everything was set in
place for her and it was just taken away,
and that’s sad.”
Revealing his plan to set up a
foundation in his daughter’s name to
tackle the use of firearms in the area,
Edwards added: “There are no winners
with gun crime. If you pick up a gun,
your future is over and everybody else’s
future around you is over. It’s dead
simple. It’s absolutely pointless and it
solves nothing.
“I want to see a positive that comes
out of this. Elle’s name will be used for
good in the future. She can’t be
forgotten.”
Elle’s funeral will take place on
Wednesday. Connor Chapman, 22,
from Woodchurch, will go on trial
charged with her murder on June 7.

200GB 24GB
£14 £8
Was £17 Was 12GB

Save We don’t do annual

up to
Double
£45 Data
We were wrong
on Ardern,
admits BBC
Kieran Gair
The BBC has conceded that it had been
wrong to use the headline “Can women
have it all?” when reporting on Jacinda
Ardern’s shock resignation as prime
minister of New Zealand.
The since-deleted headline was
posted on Twitter on Thursday, with a
link to an article by BBC World, the
broadcaster’s global newsroom. It
prompted controversy and accusations
of sexism.
Angry commentators compared it to
BBC headline writers’ non-gendered
coverage of male politicians, including
Boris Johnson, the three-times married
father of seven who resigned as prime
minister last year.
The BBC later deleted the tweet and
changed the headline to: “Departure
reveals unique pressures on PM”. The
story mentioned Ardern’s life as a work-
ing mother of a young child.
A BBC spokesman said: “We quickly
recognised the original headline wasn’t
Awe, Argyll and Bute. suitable for the story and changed it
price rises
Our flexible 1 month
accordingly. We also deleted the
associated tweet.” plans won’t tie you
down
Katherine O’Brien, an associate dir-
ector of the British Pregnancy Advisory
Service charity, said she could not be-
lieve that the BBC “published this head-
line in the year 2023”. She added that it
was an example of “staggering sexism”.
Ardern, 42, a global figurehead for
progressive politics, stunned New Zea-
land by announcing her abrupt exit
from office, less than three years after
securing a second term in a landslide
election win.
The BBC article examined the diffi-
culties that Ardern faced when she
became the world’s youngest woman to
lead a government in 2017 at the age of
37. The following year she gave birth to
a girl, Neve.
A day after revealing that she would
not stand for re-election because she
had no more “in the tank”, Ardern said
yesterday that she was feeling a range of
emotions, from sadness to a “sense of
relief”.
She rejected suggestions that experi-
Switch to
ences of misogyny had played a role in
her decision.
Ardern told the BBC in a 2019 inter-
SMARTY mobile
view that she was “not a superwoman”,
adding: “We [women] shouldn’t pretend Limited time offers, ends 13.02.23. SIM only 1 month plan. 200GB plan for £14 (was £17),
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one can meet.”
24 2GM Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News M6

Birmingham
Site of find:
Lloyds to close
Coleshill Manor

Solihull M42
another 40
Two miles
bank branches
Ben Martin Banking Editor
Struggling high streets face a further
blow after Lloyds Banking Group said it
would close another 40 branches in
England and Wales.
The lender will shut 18 Halifax and 22
Lloyds branches between April and
June, fuelling fears about customers’
access to banking services.
Banks have closed thousands of
branches as online services become
more popular. Lloyds said yesterday
that in all the branches it is closing cus-
tomer visits had fallen by an average of
about 60 per cent in the past five years.
would probably have A dig at Coleshill Manor, There are worries that the elderly
War over HS2 route housed a drawbridge.
There is one fleeting
along the route of HS2,
unearthed evidence that
and other vulnerable customers who
rely on cash risk being left behind.
could date to 1640s mention of the
structure from a
could link the site to the
English Civil Wars
Rocio Concha, director of policy at
Which?, said: “Whether it’s to pay for
17th-century source, everyday essentials or to keep track of
but its age-old stone history. Coleshill spending amid the rising cost of living,

I
t was the deadliest the first battle of the had a story to tell. It Manor is near cash is hugely important for millions of
conflict for British war, almost 400 years was pitted with about Curdworth Bridge, site people across the country.
soldiers and led to after it began. 200 marks made by of the first recorded “These bank branch closures are just
the execution of a The discovery was pistol and musket battle of the war, in the latest in a series of cuts to the coun-
king, yet much of made at Coleshill balls, more than 40 of August 1642. Experts try’s network, inhibiting people’s ability
the English Civil Wars Manor, near which were found believe soldiers would to access cash as well as face-to-face
remains uncharted Birmingham, which nearby. have passed close to banking services.”
(Jack Blackburn last year was found to The quantity of used the manor and that it Lloyds will be left with 1,277 branches
writes). have exceptionally Pierson of Wessex anything.” The ordnance points to would have been of following the latest cuts down from
Now archaeologists well-preserved Archaeology, the evidence was found in target practice or a strategic significance. about 1,800 at the beginning of 2018.
working along the Elizabethan gardens. company that a medieval gatehouse, skirmish: the latter The gatehouse will It said no jobs would be lost as a result
proposed route of HS2 “It’s nationally conducted the dig. roughly 10 metres would be one of the be featured on the of its latest closures, adding: “Branches
have uncovered what significant and a bit “We weren’t square, which was most significant BBC2 show Digging play an important part in our strategy
could be evidence of more,” said Stuart expecting to find heavily fortified and scuffles in English for Britain tomorrow. but we need to have them in the right
places, where they are well-used.”
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 2GM 25

Harry and Meghan series is second biggest success for Netflix
Laurence Sleator
The Netflix series Harry & Meghan,
featuring the Duke and Duchess of
Sussex, has become the streaming
service’s second-most successful docu-
mentary series.
The six episodes, which were
released last month, chronicle the
couple’s life after they stepped down as
working royals and moved to Cali-
fornia.
Netflix released its fourth-quarter
earnings on Thursday and said that it
was its second-most successful docu-
mentary series as defined by cumula-
tive viewing hours in the first 28 days.
It also said the series helped towards
a gain of 7.7 million subscribers in the
October-December period.
In a letter to shareholders the com-
pany admitted that 2022 had been a
“tough year” after losing millions of
subscribers to other platforms.
Harry & Meghan was directed by the
Oscar nominee Liz Garbus and includ-
ed interviews with the couple and
much of their inner circle. It is part of a
$100 million deal with the couple under
which they present Live to Lead, a
documentary series featuring “inspir-
ing life stories”.
Harry & Meghan was released in two
three-episode volumes. The first re-
vealed that they were introduced on
Instagram, that he proposed at Ken-
sington Palace and that part of the royal
family failed to protect Meghan from
the press because hostile coverage was
a “rite of passage”. The second volume,
which was much more explosive,
covered their exit from royal life and
Harry said that he was terrified when
Prince William shouted at him as they
met to discuss the future.
The Duke of Sussex also believed
that his wife’s miscarriage in July 2020
was because of the stress of a court case
involving Associated Newspapers
which publishes The Mail on Sunday.
He also claimed that Kensington
Palace “lied to protect my brother”
News
when it issued a statement denying a
story that William had bullied him out
of the royal family.
Spare, Harry’s memoir, was released
this month. Penguin Random House,
the publisher, said it sold 400,000
copies in the UK on its first day. In its
first week it sold 3.2 million copies
worldwide and 1.6 million copies in the
United States.
Buckingham Palace did not
comment on any of the revelations in
the documentary series or book.

The King and Queen

watched Polish dancers in
Bolton and talked to
Gareth Southgate after a
trip on the royal train

Royal train is just the unveiled a donation of

books from the
ticket for visit north Manchester United
striker to Norbrook
Youth Club, in

I
n the latest series of
The Crown, the
Royal Yacht
Britannia served as
a metaphor for an
ageing Queen — old,
expensive and, to some,
no longer suiting the
needs of modern Britain
(Valentine Low writes).
By the end of the
series the yacht had
been laid off, much to
the consternation of the
late Queen. For the
moment, however, no
such fate seems to await
the royal train.
It was brought out
yesterday when the King
boarded it for the first
time in his reign. He
travelled overnight from
Ayr in Scotland, close to
the base of the Prince’s
Foundation at Dumfries
House, for a day of
engagements in the
northwest. In
Manchester he visited
the northern hub of
GCHQ, the security
organisation, before
visiting the British
headquarters of
Kellogg’s, the largest
Corn Flakes factory in
the world.
The King’s visit
marked 100 years of the
company’s presence in
the UK, despite, as he
jokingly remarked,
being a year late,
because the centenary
was last year. He
unveiled a plaque to
mark the centenary of
the factory, which
employs almost 400
workers. Onlookers
laughed when he said:
“Sorry, I’m a year late.”
Charles toured a new
research and
development hub, where
he watched cooking
demonstrations.
He heard about efforts
to reduce salt and sugar
content and asked about
the popularity of Coco
Pops as he stood in front
of the latest version,
flavoured with
strawberry and white
chocolate.
During the tour there
was talk of snap, crackle
and pop — the Rice
Krispies slogan — and
sustainability. Chris
Silcock, the managing
director, said: “As we
look towards climate
change, sustainability,
food security, it’s
important that
companies such as ours
are looking at different
types of grain.”
Kellogg’s has been a
holder of the royal
warrant since the reign
of George VI. The
present warrant will last
for another two years
before the company has
to apply to the King.
At GCHQ, Charles
received intelligence
briefings and met staff
“working to inspire the
next generation of code-
breakers”.
Later he was joined by
the Queen, who praised
Marcus Rashford as she
Wythenshawe, where he
began playing.
The King spoke to
Gareth Southgate, the
England manager, who
is also a Prince’s Trust
ambassador. Southgate
said the King was
“passionate” about the
trust and aware of the
difficulties young people
were facing.
The royal train, which
costs about £20,000 a
journey, has frequently
been criticised on
grounds of expense. A
few years ago a Palace
source hinted that it
might not remain in use
for much longer, but
they later rowed back on
that suggestion, arguing
that it had advantages in
terms of safety, security,
convenience and lack of
disruption to others.

Dead at 72, man King called ‘Sooty’

Charlie Parker
A polo-playing friend of the King
who was controversially nicknamed
“Sooty” has died suddenly at the age of
72 while on a trip to India.
Kuldip Singh Dhillon, a property
developer who owned a large estate in
the Gloucestershire countryside, was at
the centre of a race row after it emerged
that Charles affectionately used the
name because of his dark skin.
He served as chairman of the
Cirencester Park Polo Club close to
Highgrove and was friendly with
Charles and his sons.
Dhillon, who had known Charles
for more than 30 years, is said to
have insisted that he liked the
nickname, which others described
as a “distasteful” and “unacceptable”
racist slur.
It is understood that he died un-
expectedly at a family wedding in India
on Wednesday despite being said to be
in good health.
Dhillon, who had also been friends
with Camilla since the 1970s, defended
the royal family when the Sooty nick-
name came to light in 2009.
He said: “I have to say that you know
you have arrived when you acquire a
nickname. I enjoy being called Sooty by
my friends, who I am sure universally
use the name as a term of affection with
no offence meant or felt.
“The Prince of Wales is a man of zero
prejudice and both his sons have always
been most respectful.”
One member of the polo club said at
Kuldip Singh
Dhillon said he
liked his nickname,
which others
condemned as
a racist slur
the time that Dhillon, who was also
known as Kolin, was not offended. The
member said: “To be honest when I first
joined I was rather taken aback —
particularly as Kolin was, how can I put
it, our only black face — but it was a
nickname he used personally so I, along
with many others, thought there was no
harm whatsoever in it.
“Kolin is certainly happy with the
moniker and, to be honest, it rather
amuses us. It has become something of
a running joke at the expense of the
politically correct brigade. A sort of two
fingers to the PC mob.”
Jacqueline, his English-born wife,
and their four children are yet to
comment on his death. Their son
Satnam, a professional polo player and
businessman who was close to William
and Harry, has flown out to be with his
mother.
Dhillon was also a former chairman
of the Schools and Universities Polo
Association.
Mark Hayden-Kellard, 60, a former
general manager of Cirencester Polo
Club, told The Sun: “We’re extremely
sad — he will be missed enormously.
He was a huge character around
here and we all loved him dearly.
We’ll certainly be doing something
in coming days to honour his memory.”
Simon Cox, manager of Dhillon’s
100-acre farm in Gloucestershire, told
Mail Online that the news was a “real
shock”, adding: “We can’t quite believe
it. He was a fit man with no health
problems we were aware of.”
A gardener on the estate said: “His
son managed to fly over to be with his
mother. It must have been pretty awful
for her. We had a call to say Mr Dhillon
had died within hours of it happening.
As far as we know he just went.”
Dhillon served as chairman of the
polo club for four years after taking over
from Richard Britten-Long in 2012. In
his last speech in the post Dhillon
said that he was looking forward to
supporting the club as vice-chairman.
26 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News
Pastry maker must sell British firm to save shoppers dough
Helen Cahill
A deal to unite two of the country’s
biggest pastry suppliers has collapsed
after the competition watchdog said
that it would drive up prices.
The French baker Cérélia has been
told by the Competition and Markets
Authority (CMA) to sell Jus-Rol, which
was founded in Scotland in 1954, after it
acquired the business from General
Mills, a US food company. The watch-
dog said that Jus-Rol and Cérélia are
two of the largest suppliers to super-
markets and that consumers face
“higher prices and worse quality
products” as a result of the merger.
Jus-Rol’s products include puff and
shortcrust pastry, pizza dough and the
dough for pain au chocolat, and its
products compete with supermarkets’
own brands, which are supplied by
Cérélia. It said that the two brands were
key competitors for shelf space and
made up two thirds of the UK market.
Supermarkets told the CMA that the
companies were important rivals in
supplier negotiations and that there
were few credible alternative providers
of branded and own-label products.
The CMA said: “There is significant
overlap in the product ranges that the
parties supply to grocery retailers.”
Cérélia said that it would challenge
the decision because it is “fundamentally
flawed and cannot be rationalised”. Cér-
élia said it had bought Jus Rol to “inspire,
innovate and grow the home-baking
category in the UK” and that it would
have maintained “competitive prices”.
It said that it would now be unable to
make any investment into Jus-Rol after
it built a pastry factory in Corby, North-
amptonshire. The company says that
the watchdog’s conclusions were based
on “uncorroborated and unreliable”
objections raised by supermarkets.
Margot Daly, chairwoman of the in-
dependent panel of experts conducting
the investigation into the deal, said
it was important to ensure that
competition between companies
could “play its part” in controlling
inflation during the cost of living
crisis.

Wrap up the ideal

Bert Sterck, the German stylist,
wears an XL burnt orange scarf from
Tim Peake
Avant Toi. The influencers Sonia

winter wardrobe
Lyson, left, and Gitta Banko, right,
keep snug in Zara and Roberto
to retire as
Collina designs respectively

with a super-scarf astronaut

Kaya Burgess Science Reporter

T
he easiest expensive designer
way to tell weaves. Acne Britain’s longest-serving astronaut,
how Studios’ checked Tim Peake, is to step down from active
fashionable mohair super-scarf duty after confirming that he is to take
somebody is measures 250cm in up a new role as an ambassador for the
during the cold snap? length with 12cm European Space Agency.
The size of their scarf. tassels and has He did not rule out returning to space
Forget anything too become a cult front at some point, however, declaring:
skinny, or even an row buy — a snip “Never say never.”
elegantly draped at £240. Toteme’s Peake, a former British Army Air
pashmina, your winter £260 brushed Corps helicopter pilot, joined the Euro-
neck-warmer should alpaca scarf is pean Space Agency (ESA) in 2009 and
look more like a almost as wide as it flew to the International Space Station
blanket (Hannah is long; at 50cm in December 2015, before spending 185
Skelley writes). across it verges on days in orbit.
This winter’s being square. At He became the first British person to
super-scarves are long Gucci, 200cm of perform a spacewalk in January 2016,
enough to be wound beige and black and was only the second Briton to fly in
round more than once, wool-cashmere will set space, after Helen Sharman became the
and often come in you back £335. first for the Soviet-British co-operative
gaudy colours. They Loewe’s fringed logo Project Juno mission in 1989.
have to be worn over design is slightly Peake, 50, said: “Being an ESA astro-
outer layers because smaller at 185cm, naut has been the most extraordinary
they simply won’t fit despite its £450 price experience. I have had the privilege of
underneath. If yours tag. working with an exceptional team of
skims the floor, as This isn’t just dedicated individuals during the past 13
demonstrated by womenswear. The years with the agency, which has been
Darja Barannik, the influencer Gitta incredibly exciting and rewarding.”
influencer, for her Banko (952,000 There are likely to be at least three
237,000 Instagram followers) posed seats for European astronauts aboard
followers, even better. outside at men’s Nasa’s Artemis missions, which aim to
This isn’t just an fashion week in return humans to the lunar surface.
Instagram trend. John Paris this month In November last year Peake said he
Lewis says searches in her colossal would have his “hand up” for a seat, but
for chunky scarves neon pink the ESA said yesterday that Peake had
online have doubled in scarf, but “announced he will leave the active
a year. Other shops Bert tartan wool ESA astronaut corps and assume an
have had to restock Sterck, scarf for ambassadorial role for ESA’s activities”.
since the temperature the less than £40 Peake’s decision leaves Rosemary
fell. The aptly named German stylist, was might do for the rest Coogan as the only active British
“blanket” scarf at All also on the front row of us, but when it member of ESA’s corps of “career astro-
Saints sold out at an in an XL burnt orange comes to neckwear nauts”. John McFall, the former British
unprecedented rate scarf from the hit this winter, the Paralympian, was also named as the
this month. cashmere brand Avant in-crowd’s motto is go world’s first para-astronaut, in order to
Fashion types favour Toi. Barbour’s slender big or go home. assess the challenges of sending dis-
abled astronauts into space.

Driven to despair by petrol price lottery

Ben Clatworthy
Transport Correspondent
The fluctuating price of fuel between
rival supermarkets has prompted accu-
sations that retailers are profiteering
from the cost of living crisis.
The AA said that retail giants
engaged in competitive pump price
cuts were mostly restricted to certain
towns in northern England.
Supermarket petrol in Greater
Manchester last weekend was up to 13p
per litre cheaper in Ashton-under-Lyne
— where three traders are going “head
to head on fuel” — than ten miles away
in Rochdale, the association reported.
“Discovering that supermarket
petrol or diesel is £5 to £7 a tank more
expensive than just ten miles down the
road is guaranteed to leave drivers
livid,” Luke Bosdet, an AA spokesman,
said. “It doesn’t make sense, particularly
when other essentials like bread, milk
and eggs are pretty much the same
price wherever you go.
“Say, for instance, a supermarket
lures you into their store with a voucher
offering £6 off a £60 shopping bill.
“To find out that the supermarket
clawed back all that saving, and perhaps
£1 on top of that, at the pump, compared
to a superstore in a neighbouring town,
will quite rightly lead to a howl of
protest.”
Average fuel prices can differ greatly
across the UK. In Northern Ireland,
diesel was 10p per litre cheaper than in
London and southeast England earlier
this week.
In Wales, the price was 6p per litre
below that in southern England. Bosdet
said: “The retailers only get away with it
because the fuel price transparency
that the Competition and Markets
Authority recommended to the
government in October doesn’t yet
exist, except in Northern Ireland.”
Average UK petrol prices continued
to fall this week, reaching 148.6p a litre
on Wednesday, while the cost of diesel
dropped to 170.7p.
The last time pump prices were this
low was in mid-February last year for
petrol and early March for diesel.
The figures also represent falls of
4.4p for petrol and 5.0p for diesel
compared with average forecourt
prices in the days before Christmas.
The falls came as The Times revealed
that Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor,
wanted to extend the 5p cut in the price
of petrol and diesel for another year if
the economic outlook improves,
having accepted that there is a “strong
precedent” for freezing fuel duty.
Fuel duty has been set at 57.95p a litre
since 2011. Rishi Sunak, as chancellor,
cut the duty to 52.95p a litre in his 2022
spring statement to assist motorists
after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent
prices soaring.
The 5p cut is due to expire at the end
of March.
The Times has been told that the
chancellor is minded to extend the
reduction in his spring budget should
the public finances allow, amid
concerns that imposing extra costs on
motorists would be “politically toxic”.
He is also facing pressure to freeze
fuel duty for another year, in line with
Tory policy since 2011.
The decision on whether to push
ahead with the two measures — which
between them would cost an extra
£6 billion — depends on inflation
continuing to fall and economic growth
recovering.
Fuel prices broke records in early
July last year when the average price of
a litre of diesel hit 199.22p and petrol
rose to 191.55p.
The Office for Budget Responsivity
(OBR) warned in November that fuel
duty would rise by 23 per cent unless it
were frozen for another year, sparking
an angry backlash from motoring
groups.
The OBR documents, which were
published alongside the autumn
statement, said: “This would be a record
increase and the first time any govern-
ment has raised fuel duty rates in cash
terms since January 1, 2011.”
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Some of the clearly doctored photographs sent to the Department for Work and Pensions in support of fake benefit claims. The people shown may be innocent and have no connection to the actual claim
Photoshop fraudsters
stand out in £8.5bn
of fake benefit claims
A team of investigators
is combating gangs that
will stop at nothing to
steal taxpayers’ money,
reports Ben Ellery
On the face of it, the photograph of the
man standing proud, apparently by his
front door, is unremarkable.
However, for the team at the Depart-
ment for Work and Pensions (DWP)
responsible for stemming record
amounts of fraud, the image has be-
come emblematic of the challenges
they are facing.
The man had been asked to take a
picture of himself by his front door after
the DWP became suspicious that he
was claiming benefits in the UK while
living abroad.
Upon receiving the photograph, it be-
came clear he had been crudely photo-
shopped into the scene. As well as a fair-
ly obviously digital “cut-out” around
his outline, a Google Street View
camera was visible in the reflection of
the car outside.
It is just one example of the thou-
sands of counterfeit documents that
flooded into the DWP during the pan-
demic as fraud spiralled out of control.
The Times was given exclusive access
to its counterfraud regional office in
Newcastle, where digital forensic ana-
lysts and investigators are combating
bogus claims, which reached £8.5 bil-
lion last year.
When the pandemic first hit the UK
the number of people needing support
through benefits shot up but so did the
number of fraudulent claims, partly
driven by gangs seeking to exploit a re-
laxation of the rules on applications.
The DWP quickly set up an en-
hanced review team, staffed by 1,000
employees in seven regional offices, to
investigate suspicious activity. It man-
aged to block tens of thousands of
claims. About 172,000 applications that
appeared fraudulent were automatical-
ly suspended and the claimants were
invited to interview to prove their case.
The claims were equivalent to £2 bil-
lion. Very few applicants got in touch.
Claims from applicants who were
deemed vulnerable were not blocked.
Staff at the Counter Fraud, Compli-
ance and Debt Directorate, on an in-
dustrial estate 20 minutes’ drive from
Newcastle town centre, told The Times
how weeding out photoshopped
images had played a part in saving the
taxpayer’s money.
One member of the analyst team,
speaking on condition of anonymity,
said: “During the last two years the
team have received thousands of ma-
nipulated and constructed documents
to try and pursue claims whilst being
abroad. Once this pattern is identified,
the fraud officers very quickly share
this intelligence with other offices
across the country to make sure that if
any more of these photographs are sup-
plied that they know are part of the
same batch of claimants.
“These skilled fraud officers can
quickly detect and prevent and repair
any fraud area that’s emerging and they
have to be much more experienced
looking at these fraud trends.”
In one example, analysts noticed that
the same lime green door appeared in
photos offered by a number of claim-
ants seeking to prove they lived in the
UK. They traced the original image to a
profile on the social media website Pin-
terest. The use of the identical image
suggests an organised crime gang.
“That doorway, which criminals see
as the gateway to success in terms of de-
frauding, is significant. That’s a pretty
expensive picture,” Tom Pursglove, the
minister of state for disabled people,
health and work, said.
The crude images would be comical
if the figures were not so high. Since the
pandemic, overseas fraud has cost
£286 million.
At first, the enhanced review team
was a rough and ready unit looking at
suspicious cases ad hoc, but they are
now investigating 21 types of fraud.
In November the Commons public
accounts committee published a criti-
cal report on the government’s re-
sponse to fraud and said there was no
clear plan to deal with “unacceptably
high” levels of false claims.
The DWP recently received a cash
injection of £600 million, which will
fund 2,000 specialists that it claims will
generate £2 billion of savings.
One of the scams involves hijacked
identities. Analysts revealed that a new
tactic by fraudsters is to make claims in
the names of wealthy people found on
the business social media website
LinkedIn because they are unlikely to
be on the benefit system already, and so
would not raise duplication flags.
A senior leader of the enhanced re-
view team said that during one review
of suspicious universal credit claims,
89 per cent were found to have been
made using hijacked identities. She
added that it was a lot easier to spot
before the pandemic, when people were
required to come into jobcentres to
prove their identity in person.
“A lot of these hijacked identities are
people that are in very high-paid jobs,
maybe inadvertently advertising on
LinkedIn,” she said. “[Fraudsters] know
that they’re unlikely to claim. Nine
times out of ten people will share things
on social media that is just enough to
piece together someone’s identity.”
Criminals also pay people to use their
identities for benefit claims, a
practice with links to modern
slavery.
Another team leader said:
“It’s essential that we do get
the decision right because
there’s a genuine citizen at the
end who could be having their
identity exploited for finan-
cial gain. Our full-review
officers are very mindful of
modern slavery. We saw
through the pandemic
some of those gangs will
pay people for that identity
so they get a proportion of
the benefit payment.
Because of the volumes, it’s
significant money.”
The work-from-home
culture that flourished dur-
ing the pandemic has made
it more difficult to check
identities. “You might
Ali Bana Mohamed
led a gang that
submitted bogus
child benefit claims
27
News
write to an employer and then it could
be a week until somebody’s in the office
and picks that up, then they’re working
from home for a week before they come
back,” a senior investigator said.
Though the team are reluctant to re-
veal too much about their tactics, one
important tool they use is looking for
commonalities between claims.
For example, in March a gang of six
was jailed for a scam using claims in the
names of 188 fictitious children.
Suspicions were aroused when the tax
office spotted that the same two phone
numbers were calling the tax credit
claims call centre in connection with
seemingly unrelated claims. The
leader, Ali Bana Mohamed, was jailed
for three and a half years after enlisting
relatives and others to submit bogus
child benefit claims in about 70 differ-
ent names.
Pursglove, who served a short stint as
minister for immigration under Liz
Truss between September and Octo-
ber, said that the “easements” that were
made during the pandemic to make it
easier for people to claim benefits have
now been withdrawn.
“To set it in context, 95 per cent of
benefit claims are paid completely
correctly, and that equates to
about £200 billion in pay-
ments, but of course that 5
per cent is really troubling
and really problematic,” he said.
“A civilised society has
a strong safety net for the
most vulnerable, and
where people seek to
abuse that the conse-
quences should be sig-
nificant, and they
should be severe.
“We will respond
formally to the public
accounts committee’s
recommenda-
tions and find-
ings in the near
future but I think
it’s also just important
to recognise that there’s quite
a lot of very positive work
going on in this space already.
When we find fraud and error,
we must deal with that as swiftly
as possible.”
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Empire is never black and white but
decolonisers just won’t see it
Weekend essay
Pages 36-37
Good old-fashioned policing? No thanks
Suella Braverman is wrongly preserving the status quo by ditching a plan that would weed out low-calibre police recruits
Matthew
Parris
I
t was only a throwaway remark, a
scrap of red meat thrown to the
dinosaurs within British policing,
but something Suella Braverman
said to a top-level conference on
policing last year bothered me. The
(then) new home secretary’s remarks
were calculated to draw approving
murmurs from senior officers
instinctively resistant to the idea that
something big has to change: the
“just a few bad apples” brigade.
She had already whetted the
dinosaurs’ appetites in that
November 22 speech: “No politically
correct distractions!” she’d cried.
“Just good old-fashioned policing.”
The good old-fashioned policing
that gave us the Stephen Lawrence
abuses 30 years ago, when
Braverman was 12? The good old-
fashioned policing that considered
wife-beating a private matter for the
couple concerned? The good old-
fashioned policing that could once
rely on the uncritical admiration of
a good old-fashioned British press?
But near the end of her speech
came the throwaway remark that
caught my attention: “Our police
force must be open to those who
do not have a degree or want one
[my italics].”
Context is needed here. The “or
want one” refers to a reform
Braverman has since quashed. And
the phrase misrepresents that reform.
It would not require new police
recruits to have a degree on entry.
Instead it makes provision for recruits
without an appropriate degree to
study policing to degree standard,
after-hours, while training on the job.
Ann Treneman Notebook
Oops, I’ve
tripped over
another
verbal trap
T I
he “news” that Aoife
and Saoirse are
unpronounceable for most
people was met with silence
in my house. You think? For
decades I have simply avoided saying
all those crazy Irish names. If
cornered I will attempt what I think of
as a linguistic flying-fish manoeuvre,
gliding above it all with an airy “shhh”
sound to indicate the likes of Saoirse.
This fools no one, of course. And
it’s not just the Irish. The Brits are
also masters at planting verbal
landmines for those of us born
It asks them to carry on with further
education from within the force;
otherwise they needn’t apply.
This reform, set out in June last
year, was (until Braverman
overturned it) not only Conservative
policy but a Conservative idea. It
stipulated that from April 2023,
recruits would enter the police
service in one of three ways: a)
become an apprentice, earning while
you’re learning over a three-year
period; b) get a degree in policing
before applying to a police force; or
c) study for a graduate diploma in
professional policing. “The training is
practical and new recruits will spend
75 per cent of their time on the job.
The updated courses cover
traditional crime such as burglary, as
well as how to combat fraud and
online crime; become a better
operational leader; [and] maintain
their resilience and wellbeing.”
Ahead of this April, many
constabularies have already been
The ‘university of life’
crowd see no need
for a different path
introducing the provisions and are
broadly happy with the change —
and so (a survey suggests) are the
recruits. Dropout rates have fallen.
Braverman, however, has now joined
the reactionaries. The “non-degree”
route, she said, “will be kept open”.
The Met has led the pack in calling
for this, and the wrong people
among senior officers are cheering:
the “university of life” crowd who
think time spent developing one’s
own powers of judgment would be
better spent listening to superiors’
instructions. They don’t (many of
them) see why 21st-century recruits
should have to follow a different path
elsewhere. You think not? I give
you Cholmondeley, Bicester,
Godmanchester, Magdalen. Then
there’s the way you leave out
syllables in the likes of Worcester
which, given the global sauce
business, is an international
issue. Grrrrr.
Over the decades I have
probably mispronounced every
unpronounceable name
in Britain. I am then
corrected by someone,
usually speaking at
Concorde speed. I try
again, only to be
corrected again. It’s
a verbal doom
loop. For my part,
I make a point
of not
doing this.
When my sister refers to
“Lie-ces-ture Square” or
“Derbie-shyre” I just nod.
I know what she means.
Surely that’s good enough.
from the one they followed in the
last century. They didn’t go to college
so why should today’s youngsters?
Two developments have put these
foot-draggers back on to the front
foot. First is the arrival at the Home
Office of Suella Braverman. Even her
predecessor, Priti Patel, hardly an
airy-fairy liberal, had endorsed the
change. I hope Braverman hasn’t
simply sniffed an opportunity to
ingratiate herself with a stick-in-the-
mud tendency among some of her
parliamentary colleagues and with
grassroots Tory members.
There is, however, a second (and
unstated) reason for the backsliding.
The government has promised to
recruit 20,000 more police officers in
England and Wales. Might the
degree route into policing put a
squeeze on the numbers applying,
restricting entrants to those who
have acquired, or wish to acquire,
better education?
Indeed it might. This may well filter
out recruitment among a certain type
of would-be police officer. Who is
he? Overwhelmingly, I’m afraid, this
type will be a “he”. In describing him,
I can perhaps be more frank than the
College of Policing, responsible for
the reforms, would want to be. “He”
is barely 18 or, if older, may be
someone who has dropped out of the
army (as did David Carrick). He did
not prosper at school and doesn’t get
on well with the whole idea of
education. He thrills to the thought of
driving a squad car through city
streets or rural lanes at breakneck
speed with blue lights flashing and
siren blaring. He yearns to carry a
gun. Though we must be careful
about generalising, his attitudes
towards women and ethnic minorities
will often not sit at the enlightened
end of the spectrum. That he does
not have a degree should not be a
problem — plenty of young men with
Don’t over-egg it
D N
o you leave your eggs
in or out of the fridge?
I had no idea I cared
about this until the chef
James Martin announced
this week that you can’t
keep them in the fridge
because they are “porous”
and will absorb the
flavours of neighbouring
food. I realise Martin is a
god to some people but
this is total rubbish.
I would never keep eggs
in a normal cupboard where
I imagine them heating up,
festering or (absolute nightmare,
though most unlikely)
hatching. The ideal solution
for eggs and, indeed,
potatoes is a pantry. It’s
been glacial in mine all
week. (Who needs wild
swimming when you can just dive
into the pantry and shiver there?)
Comment
Suella Braverman has sided with the
dinosaurs who back a failing system
potential never get that chance —
but, the chance being offered, he
would reject it. He does not want to
study, especially after-hours.
I can well see why, under the
reformed entry system, this youth
will be put off applying to be a police
officer. And so he ought to be. The
graduate route will tend to filter out
such recruits. In time, though, the
fact that becoming a police officer is
not open to people with no wish to
improve themselves will encourage,
not discourage, applications from
individuals of higher calibre. They will
be joining a cohort they can respect.
One hesitates before using the
word “calibre” because it risks
sounding elitist, whereas Lord knows
there are as many rough diamonds
as polished ones. But calibre is a real
thing. Some of it can be acquired,
learnt, taught; some of it, however, is
It’s a shame that pantries are almost
a thing of the past now, associated
with oldsters in unmodernised
kitchens. These days people can
hardly wait to rip them out in favour
of the coveted cavernous kitchen-
diner combo. As sure as eggs is
(unheated) eggs, pantries are going
the way of bathtubs, linen cupboards
and separate loos.
Covid ghosts
t’s amazing how quickly we have
managed to forget about the
pandemic, yet there are flashbacks.
I have (once again) taken up the
Couch to 5k challenge because, well,
what would January be without a
fitness goal that is doomed to fail?
One of my routes takes me by a house
where, during lockdown, I used to
see an older couple “visiting” their
children/grandchildren, standing at
the front window, open hands held
up to either side of the glass. Love in
the pandemic. Every time I think of
this, I tear up, even as I jog slowly by.
29
innate. There is a sense in which
what comes out of the sausage
factory that early career provides
depends on what goes into it at the
recruitment stage.
So I’ll be blunt. I don’t think it’s
only about training, about anger-
management courses, racial
awareness courses, empathy training
or ethics and compliance courses,
and the endless proliferation of rules
of conduct. To a receptive student,
Serious study to degree
level will surely bring
in better recruits
education and training can add
much, but a lot depends on what
kind of a person you are when you
apply. The police have for many
years been taking too many
inherently unsuitable people,
particularly of the male sex; and it
was Braverman’s “good old-fashioned
policing” that for half a century has
been inviting them in. Serious study
to degree level will not only turn
recruits into better officers, it will
bring in better recruits.
With the Carrick case, and with
what (writing in Wednesday’s Times)
Andy Marsh, chief executive of the
College of Policing, called “officers
who turn a blind eye to, or join in
with, a locker room attitude of
complicity”, Suella Braverman has
chosen the worst possible time to
make a decision that sets back an
enlightened but practical reform.
red box
For the best analysis
and commentary on
the political landscape
Paws for thought
ews reaches me that the late,
great Millie the Waitrose cat,
who used to greet me when I
lived and shopped in Barnet in north
London, is now immortalised with a
statue. I am opposed to almost all
new statues, vainglorious madnesses
that they are, but am making an
exception for this one, which is done
in bronze by the local sculptor John
Somerville. It is heartening to see
Millie, who died in 2019, at her
station again, front paws crossed,
watching us humans go about our
daily business.
Toad in the hole
I
came across the phrase “eine Kröte
schlucken” in an article about
German politics. It means “to
swallow a toad” and refers to having
to give up a favourite interest in
pursuit of a greater good. It’s like
“bite the bullet” but so much more
fun to say.
30
Comment
Cake debate is no laughing matter — seriously
Snigger at comparisons with passive smoking if you must, but only if you’re blind to the scale of our obesity crisis
Giles
Coren
Y
es, ban the office cakes.
Obviously. The parallel
with passive smoking
made this week by the
chairwoman of the Food
Standards Agency, Professor Susan
Jebb, is illuminating and apposite
and I don’t understand the general
outrage. Or the bizarre collective
sense from the media that somehow
the obesity crisis is funny.
Cancer isn’t funny, famously, and
obesity is the second-biggest cause
of preventable cancer in Britain. It
increases the risk of 13 types of the
disease we’re all most hysterical about
and waste so much money trying to
“cure”, including breast, bowel,
womb, oesophageal, pancreatic . . . so
why on earth, when a distinguished
Oxford professor of diet and
population health says bringing
cakes into the office inflicts harm on
others, is the universal response “Ha,
ha, ha, but I like cakes, cakes make
me happy”, and a load of stodgy pink
recipes from desperate ex Bake Off
contestants all over the TV news?
I have never been a big fan of
cakes. Haven’t got a sweet tooth,
although I do like cigarettes, illegal
drugs and driving much too fast.
But I don’t do them because they are
dangerous for me and those around
me. Although they don’t kill as many
people in this country PUT
TOGETHER as obesity.
You weep for the NHS in crisis,
support the striking nurses and
John Lewis-Stempel Nature Notebook
Waddling
for worms,
more turkey
than raptor
A
lmost obscured by mizzle,
the three grey gnomes
stand hunched over. Then
one waddles forward,
snatches an earthworm
from the recently ploughed red earth.
The common buzzard is invariably
pictured in the mind’s eye soaring
majestically on thermals but in
winter it tends to have claws of clay,
surviving on carrion. And lowly
earthworms.
Indeed, so
intrinsic is the
earthworm to the
maintenance diet of
Buteo buteo that inside
the bird’s speckled
chest, as streaked and
dashed as that of a thrush, is a
specially elongated gut able to
extract maximum nutrition from
meagre meaty pickings. The Swedes
even name the bird “ormvrak”
or worm buzzard.
ambulance drivers (well, I do) and
call for more money to be poured
into the broken old socialist health
dinosaur, but you don’t care that
obesity costs it £6 billion
(£6,000,000,000) every year, a total
predicted to rise to nearly £10 billion
by 2050. Which is an awful lot of
nurses — 250,000, give or take. But,
ha ha ha, you like a nice bit of cake
in the office. So forget it.
Even people who are broadly
cognisant of the scale of the obesity
problem have argued with Jebb,
saying: “But you don’t have to eat the
cake, it doesn’t kill you by just sitting
there in the same way passive
smoking does.” But, a) I was never
convinced by the passive smoking
argument anyway — always reckoned
it was a semi-fallacy whipped up (quite
rightly) to hasten the end of smoking
as a socially acceptable pastime; and,
b) it does! It absolutely does.
Obesity kills by a conspiracy of
silence, ignorance, corporate greed
and corruption at all levels of
It’s such an emotive
issue that people lose
their critical faculties
business and government, just as
tobacco once did. Despite all advice,
there’s no movement on watersheds
for TV junk-food advertising, product
placement in shops or changes in
packaging. All they’ve done is put
calorie numbers on restaurant dishes
which don’t mean a thing.
Look at the state we are in. This
week alone we read in The Times
about 16-year-old Kaylea Titford
whose parents allegedly “killed her
Usually territorial, the buzzard will
relax its borders in winter to feed on
worms and it is not unusual to see
many in one field. The most I have
seen is 12 but others report 30 or
more congregated together. Far from
being bird-brained, the common
buzzard has learnt how to rain-dance,
imitating falling precipitation by
pattering its feet on the soil to entice
worms to the surface. Hence its
colloquial name, “dancing hawk”.
That said, the bird’s style of dining
is ungainly: waddle and gobble, quick
look around, waddle and gobble.
More turkey than raptor. A group of
buzzards is a “wake”. The
earthworms in
the ploughed
top field this
morning
corroborate the
appositeness of
the collective noun.
Hair’s the rub
O
ne of the great
pleasures of winter
for the nature lover
is poking about in the bare
hedge, its mysteries no
longer hidden by leaves.
Taking the dogs on a new
circuit for their constitutional, I
chanced on a laneside wild rose bush
whose sky-rambling tentacles were
studded with “Robin’s pincushion”.
Cakes in the office will surely go the
same way as smoking in public places
by letting her grow morbidly obese”,
ordering five takeaways a week until
she had a body mass index (BMI) of
70 and died “with maggots and flies
on her body and milk bottles filled
with urine around her bed”. And of
Jeremy Clarkson, in his Sunday
Times column, injecting himself
weekly with a diabetes drug called
Ozempic that has side-effects such
as severe abdominal pain, gallstones
and cancer and which some private
quack has told him will suppress his
appetite and help him lose weight.
That’s two people from the very
top and the very bottom of the
socioeconomic ladder dying, or
misusing prescription drugs in the
hope of not dying, from food they
would prefer — if they could
choose — not to eat. How is that
Also known as rose bedeguar gall,
this is a chemically induced growth
caused by a species of gall wasp
(Diplolepis rosae); instead of the wild
rose’s buds and leaves developing
normally in summer, they distort
into a hard, woody structure to
protect the wasp’s larvae.
Initially, the gall is covered with
resplendent mossy leaves which by
winter have withered and turned
from reddy-green to dark brown. On
a January afternoon, the gall
resembles a tiny coconut. Should you
find a trove of rose bedeguar you
might be tempted to take a knife, even
a chisel, and bisect one: inside the
gall’s chambers the insect overwinters
as pearlescent larvae. Each spherical
gall holds many grubs, which feed on
its tissues throughout the winter,
quite literally eating house and home.
The rose bedeguar has a rich
history in traditional medicine, being
formerly used to cure everything
from whooping cough (hung around
the neck) to insomnia (placed under
a pillow). In Yorkshire, schoolboys
put bedeguars in their pockets as a
prophylactic against flogging, thus
the vivid vernacular name, “Save-
wallop”. The follically challenged
might care to know that roasted,
powdered bedeguar, mixed with
honey and rubbed on the scalp,
reputedly reverses balding. This
would seem to be a very British case
not the same as passive smoking?
I have been campaigning about
this for more than 20 years. Well,
I say “campaigning”. I mean writing
and making television programmes
about it, always for money. I don’t do
marching and shouting and civil
disobedience. Partly because I have
mouths to feed and partly because I
think I reach more people my way.
I’ve been doing it since half of British
adults were overweight and a fifth
were obese; now it’s two thirds and a
quarter, respectively. And all I have
met is anger, abuse and accusations
of “fat-shaming”. From the right,
because I seem to be after restricting
people’s right to choose how they
live; and from the left because, since
obesity disproportionately affects the
poor, I must be motivated by class
hatred and snobbery.
In the main, I have tried to use
humour and satire to make my point.
In a documentary called Tax the Fat
for Channel 4 in 2006, I advocated
(quite preposterously) multiplying
every UK adult’s annual tax liability
by the square root of his BMI over
100 so that, literally, the fatter you
are the more you pay. But it’s such
an emotive issue that people go
crazy and lose all critical faculty. The
left took me seriously and said this
would unfairly target the poor; the
right took me seriously and said: “No
new taxes.” But I was joking!
Obviously! I was trying to say: “Look,
it’s so bad we have to do something.
This is clearly not it, so show me
what you’ve got.” None of them had
anything. They just went back to
scoffing their office cake and
complaining about funding.
In all the online lists of The Ten
Worst Things About Giles Coren,
The rose bedeguar was used to treat
many ailments. Left: a buzzard in flight
of sympathetic magic, the
transference of the gall’s hairiness to
the human subject. Meanwhile, the
“Robin” in Robin’s pincushion refers
to Robin Goodfellow, an alternative
name for Puck, the woodland imp of
English folklore.
A moveable feast
L
ate evening, shutting in the
chickens with very deliberate
care. Padding zig-zag across the
meadow in the twilight is the dog fox
from the wood on the hill. It has
rained yet again, forcing worms up
from their burrows, some to die of
drowning in the meadow’s myriad
puddles. The fox stops, gulps — not
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
“fat-shaming his son” is always
around five or six (depending on
what else I’ve been up to) because
when Sam was four I wrote a column
in Esquire magazine saying I didn’t
care whom he ended up marrying or
if he was gay or straight or what he
did for a living, as long as he wasn’t
fat. Again, it was satire, a look at
where obesity sits in our plans for
the future and our hopes for our
children. But, at the most basic level,
it is also true that I hope my child
never suffers from a disease that will
impoverish and weaken him and
shorten his life. To say so was, and
still is, considered outrageous. We
are expected to show sympathy for
fat people, above all. And I do! I have
moved on from any notion I might
once have had about personal
culpability and now hold the
government and “big sugar” (which
pulled a nefarious con on the public
by repositioning sugar as “energy”
when it is, in fact, sloth, weakness
and depression) entirely responsible.
Which is why I am with Jebb all the
way in calling on people to stop
buying this poisonous shite in pretty
packaging and forcing it into their
ailing colleagues like corn down the
diseased gullet of a Perigord goose.
An unrelated story in The Times
on Wednesday celebrated a new
wonder-drug proven to prolong the
lives of mice, inspiring the dream
(assuming we do all want to live
longer) that it might work on
humans. But do you know what is
also proven to prolong the life of
mice? Severe calorie restriction. Cut
their intake by a third and they live
up to 40 per cent longer. Before we
plough billions into yet more drugs,
shouldn’t we at least give that a go?
water, but pale dead worms. Like the
buzzard, the fox is a confirmed
worm-eater: one study found that
60 per cent of a fox’s calorific intake
was composed of earthworms.
As I watch the grey shadow of the
fox in the ashes of the day, it
sometimes halts, ear pricked, while
focusing on the grass, seemingly
locating live earthworms by sound.
No matter how many worms the fox
eats tonight, there will be plenty more
tomorrow. Old grassland such as this
contains about 1.7 million wriggly
pink earthworms an acre.
The fox, along with the buzzard,
will be in accord with the wise words
of Gilbert White, the Georgian
parson naturalist of Selborne, on the
subject of the earthworm: “Though in
appearance a small and despicable
link in the chain of nature, yet, if lost,
would make a lamentable chasm.”
There are 27 types of earthworm in
the UK, headed by the common
earthworm Lumbricus terrestris. The
most active in the field this wet
winter are Allolobophora nocturna
and Allolobophora longa. And you
thought all worms were the same.
@JLewisStempel
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
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‘It might never happen, love’ is no basis for law
Debate over SNP’s gender self-ID bill has opened the floodgates to furious men who cannot bear to hear our opinion
Janice
Turner
@victoriapeckham
L
loyd Russell-Moyle was scarlet
with rage. As his Labour
colleagues Rosie Duffield and
Karin Smyth spoke, he, Ben
Bradshaw and male SNP MPs
barracked them hard. Then, after Tory
MP Miriam Cates described feeling
unsafe in a women’s bathroom,
Russell-Moyle gave a ranting
response before crossing the chamber
to sit close by and stare at her.
It’s just a bit of admin. That’s the
line given by the SNP and supporters
of the Scottish Gender Recognition
Reform Bill (GRR) which the
Westminster government blocked this
week. Letting a male person obtain a
female birth certificate just by making
a simple statement is no one else’s
business. So keep out, shut up.
How maddening when women
won’t. But equality law — a
confusing, contradictory mess which
needs urgent revision — is a delicate
ecosystem: rights of trans people set
out in the Gender Recognition Act
2004 (GRA) are balanced against
women’s rights in the Equality Act
2010. The GRR lands in this like
dynamite lobbed in a fish pond. You
can only support the GRR getting
royal assent if you’re happy to
forsake women’s rights.
Thankfully, the equalities minister
Kemi Badenoch is not. The
government didn’t trigger section 35
of the Scotland Act because it craved
a culture war with the SNP — why
risk fuelling calls for independence?
— but because equalities legislation
is a whole-UK matter (while gender
recognition is a devolved issue).
Westminster has an obligation to
protect all British women.
So what are the GRR’s risks? First,
the cohort of males changing legal
sex would be infinitely larger. The
GRA was aimed at what were then
termed “transsexuals”, people who
had genuinely transitioned, often via
surgery. A medical diagnosis of
gender dysphoria and two years
living in the “acquired gender” were
legally required to ensure
seriousness of intent. Only a tiny
group, about 5,000, have been
granted this legal fiction that they
have actually changed sex.
But with the GRR, a new birth
certificate requires no third-party
verification and only unenforceable
penalties for acting in bad faith.
Since 2004, Stonewall’s definition of
“trans” has expanded to include male
cross-dressers (who wear women’s
clothes for erotic purposes) and
Jamie Wallis, “the first trans MP”,
who has not altered his body, clothes
or even his pronouns.
There would be nothing to stop
any man — and I mean man, not
trans woman — becoming legally
female. Nicola Sturgeon said the
requirement of “living as a woman”
for three months could mean
changing your name on your gas bill.
Besides, the Scottish government
itself doesn’t see a gender
recognition certificate (GRC) as “a
bit of admin”. It argued in the Court
of Session that a GRC makes a male
person female in all circumstances,
They don’t think we
deserve legislation that
protects us in principle
even the few, vital single-sex
exemptions laid out in the Equality
Act — and the judge Lady Haldane
agreed. In Scotland now, legal sex
always trumps biological sex.
The GRR would mean a disabled
woman could no longer specify
same-sex carers performing intimate
tasks, as any male with a GRC would
“be” female. Women’s gyms, spas or
domestic violence refuges could not
bar a fully intact GRC-holding male.
Not only could single-sex services
be sued but it would devastate social
norms which protect women. No
longer could a woman challenge a
man in a female changing room.
Sexually predatory men — again, I
mean men — would exploit this, as
they do the tiniest loophole.
What if lesbians wanted their own
club, or female survivors of child
sexual abuse formed a support
group? A male with a GRC, even
without the Haldane ruling, cannot
be excluded. And with self-ID,
literally any man could get one for
the fun of menacing or upsetting
women. And since the SNP believes
16-year-olds can pledge to change
legal gender for the rest of their lives,
girls’ schools will not be able to bar
GRC-holding males or even exclude
them from showering with girls.
Facing greater risk to personal
safety and loss of single-sex services,
many women — especially older
ones and those from cultures that
value modesty — may simply
withdraw from the female-only
services which would benefit them,
or clubs they enjoyed.
Clearly the GRR has far-reaching
implications for women. But what
happens when they point this out?
First, the bombastic know-alls
who’ve ignored every female writer,
lawyer and policymaker for five
years pull out their manly opinions.
Like Alastair Campbell, who chided
Laura Kuenssberg for an interview
with Sir Keir Starmer in which she
dwelt on the GRR, which affects half
the population — but not the
31
Comment
important half. Or Lord Falconer,
who pompously wafts away
concerns, tweeting that “the vast
majority” of new male GRC holders
“are likely to be genuine”. So what’s
a few women facing sexual assault
or indecent exposure, an intimidated
lesbian or two, or a class of girls
unhappily undressing with a teenage
boy? These “It might never happen,
love” guys don’t think women
deserve legislation that protects us
in principle. We’re expected to pray
that careless laws, framed for others’
benefit, don’t hurt us in practice.
And if they do, it’s just an “isolated
incident”. Suck it up. And the next
one. There’s no pattern. Let’s ignore
the inconvenient truth that males
commit 98 per cent of sex crime and
90 per cent of violence, whatever
their gender identity.
Then there are the angry men who
can’t even bear to hear women’s
voices. No debate. Shut up, bitch. Sit
down, bigot. We’ll ban your meeting,
ignore your legal submissions.
Women have had years of this
now. “Keep Mumsnet out of politics,”
said a placard at a demonstration
where Russell-Moyle shared a
platform with the trans woman
Sarah Jane Baker, who served 30
years in prison for kidnap and
attempted murder. Boring old mums,
pesky women seeing through the
GRR’s outrageous misogyny and
sophistry to say: this is our business.
32
Letters to the Editor
Royal ‘profits’
Sir, Your report (Jan 18) that the King
has agreed to return excess revenues
generated by the Crown Estates’ wind
farm investments to the Exchequer is
part of an elaborate hoax. In 1760
George III agreed to surrender the
Crown Estate surplus to the Exchequer
in return for a fixed payment (the civil
list now part of the sovereign grant) to
cover the royal household’s official
operating expenses, so these revenues
haven’t been the King’s to distribute for
more than 250 years.
In 2011 a scheme was devised under
which the sovereign grant would be
presented as a set percentage of the
Crown Estate surplus. This was bogus.
In some years the royal household
needs more than this percentage,
such as for large building works; in
other years less, as this year when the
Crown Estate has huge revenues. In
practice, the size of the sovereign
grant is settled first on the basis of
what is needed, and the proportion
that represents the Crown Estate
surplus is calculated afterwards. The
Crown Estate sends the surplus not to
the King but to the Exchequer, which
then funds the royal household.
The purpose of this hoax was to
give the impression to the public and
parliament that the sovereign grant
was paid for out of the monarchy’s
own income rather than taxation.
This year’s events demonstrate clearly
how misleading this scheme is.
Lord Turnbull
Cabinet secretary 2003-05
Probation checks
Sir, David Aaronovitch’s article
(“Cinderella service that isn’t keeping
us safe”, comment, Jan 19) alludes to
errors made in the Damien Bendall
case. A review by the Probation
Inspectorate said “vital information
about the serious risks posed by Mr
Bendall, to those who he lived with,
and the public, was not included in the
Probation Service’s report and
recommendations to the judge” when
he was sentenced for arson.
The Probation Service’s “risk of
harm” assessment, which would
influence advice to a court, is part of an
algorithm contained within a tool used
by writers of a pre-sentence report. A
further check could be introduced by
submitting the algorithmic assessment
to others, in particular the Crown
Prosecution Service, who may wish,
on the information they possess, to
address the court on the completeness
of such of an assessment.
Howard Thomas
Chief probation officer for
north Wales 1985-96
Corrections and
clarifications
The Times takes
complaints
about editorial
content seriously. We are committed to
abiding by the Independent Press
Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules
and regulations and the Editors’ Code of
Practice that IPSO enforces.
Requests for corrections or
clarifications should be sent by email to
feedback@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1 9GF
Boosting the health and social care workforce
Sir, The social care crisis (news,
Jan 16; letter, Jan 18) could be
improved if care workers were given
training, a career structure and a pay
rise. The work in care homes is hard
and a great deal of patience is
required with often little reward.
City and Guilds of London Institute
provided courses teaching these skills
for many years and national
vocational qualifications were
introduced so a person could progress
in childcare and other care careers.
Many of these courses ran in further
education colleges. Unfortunately, the
government suggested that pupils
should aim for university after leaving
school so many colleges abandoned
these courses and all the practical
students that might have been
interested in care careers went into
other jobs. Perhaps such courses
should be revived.
Odette Moss
Retired health and social care lecturer
Harpsden, Oxon
Sir, Amanda Pritchard’s recognition
that we need to train more
homegrown doctors (report, Jan 14;
letter, Jan 16) is very welcome. How
strange that one of the new medical
schools, part of Brunel University,
Religious reforms
Sir, Stephen Evans and the National
Secular Society (letter, Jan 19) are
being disingenuous advocating
disestablishment as a route for greater
Church of England autonomy. The
real agenda for the society is to
marginalise faith and expose faith
communities and individuals to the
secular anti-faith agenda.
The Rev Martin Hislop
Kingston upon Thames
Sir, In view of the decision by the
House of Bishops to refuse to allow its
priests to marry same-sex couples
(news, Jan 19; letters, Jan 19 & 20) and
following hard on the heels of their
decision to appoint a diocesan bishop
to Blackburn who does not accept the
priesthood of women, maybe it is time
to accept that the Church of England
no longer serves all the people of
England and should lose its privileges.
I suggest it be stopped from
performing any marriages and its
bishops should be removed from the
House of Lords.
Carolyn Graham
Lay member of the General Synod,
Guildford, Surrey
THE PERFECT
LINEN
CUPBOARD
from the times january 21, 1923
The good housekeeper is interested
in the White Sales which are now
being held. She has looked through
her linen cupboard and has a list of
things which must be replaced.
Sheets, pillow cases, table cloths,
dinner napkins, towels, dusters,
kitchen cloths, and servants’ aprons
may be bought advantageously at
such moments. Old stock is
unearthed and marked down. Odd
lots are sold cheaper. Remnants of
materials can be picked up for small
sums. It is a busy time for the
woman who takes a pride in her
house linen. Dozens of each kind
offers admission to international
students only. All the teaching is
provided by NHS doctors. However,
international students are unlikely to
help fill NHS vacancies. The
government needs to commit funding
to training UK students, who pay
home fees, rather than succumbing to
the temptation of overseas students,
who pay at least three times as much.
Dr Fiona Cornish
Cambridge
Sir, You report that exactly 100 years
ago Britain was sending its best
young farm workers to Australia
(From The Times, Jan 19); now it’s
our NHS-trained doctors.
Peter Prinsley
Consultant surgeon, Norwich
Sir, I agree with Dr Andrew Bamji
(letter, Jan 18) that the “sit and wait”
system should be brought back into
GP surgeries. When I was a child in
the Fifties, our sole practitioner GP
had no receptionist. He would open
up the waiting room and patients
would pour in, working out the order
in which they should be seen. New
arrivals would ask “who do I follow?”
Our GP managed home visits during
the day and callouts during the night.
Sir, The Rev Peter Wolton (letter,
Jan 20) suggests that individual clergy
might be allowed to conduct same-sex
weddings. Membership of the Church
of England implies acceptance of the
faith and practice of that church,
which, in the case of marriage, is
unambiguously the joining together of
a man and a woman. Maybe those
strongly supporting same-sex marriage
should consider joining another more
liberal church rather than challenging
their church’s longstanding faith and
practice, which wasn’t decided
arbitrarily but was firmly based on our
creator’s revealed wisdom in the Bible.
Dr Brian Scott
Lincoln
Gender decisions
Sir, Sir Keir Starmer is right to ask if,
at 16, you can make significant
decisions about your gender (news,
Jan 16). The concerns about predatory
biological males exploiting the system
and the subsequent constitutional
implications deflect attention from
the main problem of the Scottish
gender recognition legislation: the
potential for self-misdiagnosis of
gender dysphoria by 16-year-olds.
are made up, tied with coloured tape,
and put into place. New dozens will be
bought and marked, and as they are
sent back from the laundry will be so
placed that each dozen is used in turn.
Nothing is ever put in the cupboard
until it has been carefully examined,
not only for missing buttons and
holes, but for thin places, so that “a
stitch in time may save nine”. One
can sympathise with a woman who
falls in love with her linen cupboard
and tends it as a treasure house.
Lavender-scented sheets, fine in
quality, if never allowed to fall into
holes, last a long time. Fine darning is
an honourable scar, and a patch
skilfully put on is not to be despised.
Frenchwomen are invariably
particular about their house linen.
Housemaids are kept busy in the
linen room every afternoon making
and mending. In modest homes, as in
princely mansions, the linen cupboard
is well kept. The sheets may be of
coarser materials in the home of the
Letters to the Editor should be sent to
letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
He knew the family history of every
one of his patients.
Elizabeth Clarke
Sheffield
Sir, David Livermore (letter, Jan 17)
writes that it should be obvious that
“other [European] countries have more
successful health services than our
own”. Indeed. Perhaps he should also
have included the fact that per capita
healthcare spending is vastly more in
“other countries”, and that Denmark
and Sweden, which have comparably
funded, state-run healthcare systems,
and more per capita spending, have
better health outcomes than us and no
recurring crises. He speaks of the need
for “reform”; perhaps funding the NHS
better through the existing model,
rather than privatising it, might be
better than the type of “reform” he has
in mind.
Dylan Griffith
Cardiff
Sir, I worked in a City office where it
wasn’t the cakes which were a problem
for the health of the staff (news, Jan 18;
letters, Jan 19 & 20) but the chief
executive’s large selection of wines.
Roger Foord
Chorleywood, Herts
Over 40 years as a GP I have seen
many young people confused about
everything in their lives, including
their sexuality.
Diagnostic labels are attractive as
they confer validity to symptoms and
provide the comfort of belonging to a
family of fellow sufferers. My concern
is that troubled young people will
reach for the trans diagnosis label
hoping for a panacea. We should
concentrate on improving services for
such youngsters at this point in their
lives and providing more
endocrinological and surgical help for
those who are truly trans.
Dr David Mitchell
Edinburgh
Podcast
The best Letters to
the Editor of 2022
Listen at
thetimes.co.uk/
podcasts/stories-of-
our-times or use the
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petite bourgeoise, but they will be as
well mended as in the house of the
woman who has a linen maid. At
the sales, women of all classes may
be seen. To find real bargains a
woman must know about materials.
Durability is set before decoration
in the choice of all things. Fine linen
sheets are luxuries; a mixture of
linen and cotton is chosen for hard
wear. It is not economical to buy
bath towels which are loose and
thin in texture just because they are
half the price of those which are
thick and close. Embroidery and
lace must be good. For afternoon tea
cloths, tray cloths, table mats, and
d’oyleys remnants of linen are
bought, which the mistress of the
house or the linen maid will make at
home. In this way many inexpensive
and beautiful things find their way
into the linen cupboard.
thetimes.co.uk/archive
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Easy for you to say
Sir, Another candidate for difficult
words to pronounce (“Ten hardest
words leave us utterly bewildered”,
news, Jan 20) can be found in your
Out of Court column (Law, Jan 19):
Caoilfhionn, pronounced “key-len”.
Roger Hart
Witham, Essex
Sir, I know not the criteria by
which the study decided the ten
most difficult words, but the authors
may not have considered the Welsh
language. In a crowded field, I
challenge non-Welsh speakers to
pronounce awyrgylch: “ou-ur-gill-ch”;
the ou as in ouch and ch as in loch.
Anthony Jenkins
Carmarthen
Sir, I have long understood that the
surname Featherstonehaugh should be
near the top of any hardest words list.
Brian Parker
Dartmouth, Devon
Sir, Another confusing word is the
letter “aitch”, which is increasingly
pronounced as if it starts with an “H”.
Martin Wade
Harpenden, Herts
Dogs in restaurants
Sir, Janice Turner (Notebook, Jan 19)
is correct to point out the problems
caused by dogs and their
inconsiderate, entitled owners in
restaurants and similar establishments.
The time has come to ban dogs from
indoor areas where food is served.
The bad behaviour described by Janice
of a dog inspecting people’s food and
another one barking uncontrollably
would not be tolerated if a child
behaved similarly.
Graham Moyse
Broadstone, Dorset
Don’t watch alone
Sir, Deborah Ross’s recollections of
the effects of watching horror films
(Times2, Jan 19) reminded me of the
time I watched Psycho on TV late at
night when I was alone in the house.
After the film had ended I stood at
the bottom of the stairs feeling very
nervous before eventually having the
courage to go up to my bedroom.
Norma Postin
Rugby, Warks
Signs of spring
Sir, Surely the sound of the first
Flymo is the modern equivalent of the
cuckoo (letter, Jan 19) when it comes
to heralding the arrival of spring.
Andy Davey
Peebles, Scottish Borders
La Lollo’s legacy
Sir, It is little realised outside civil
engineering circles that Ms
Lollobrigida (obituary, Jan 17;
letters, Jan 18, 19 & 20) was the
inspiration for the Gina gasket
used between adjacent sections of
submerged tube undersea tunnels.
The name arose because of the
curvaceous similarity of the profiles
when viewed from above.
Peter Mynors
London W5
Sir, Learning to play golf I was told to
recite “Seve Ballesteros” while taking
my back swing then the follow
through. I’m sorry to say I proved to
be no competition for the great golfer.
Annette Rigler
Edington, Somerset
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Daily Universal Register
UK: The British Homing World Show of the
Year, a two-day event described as the
Crufts of the pigeon racing world, takes
place in Blackpool.
Birthdays today
Richard Mantle,
pictured, general
director, Opera North,
76; Emma Bunton (Baby
Spice), singer, Spice
Girls, 47; Dame
Rosemary Butler,
presiding officer,
National Assembly in Wales (2011-16), 80;
Geena Davis, actress, Thelma and Louise
(1991), 67; Jeff Koons, artist, Balloon Dog
(Orange) (1994-2000), 68; Phil Neville,
footballer, England (1996-2007), co-owner of
Salford City Football Club, England women’s
team head coach (2018-21), 46; Sir Guy
Newey, lord justice of appeal, 64; Jack
Nicklaus, golfer, three-time winner of the
Open and six-time winner of the Masters,
83; Billy Ocean, singer-songwriter, When the
Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going
(1985), 73; Ursula Owen, founder-director
(1974), Virago Press, 86; Lord (Nicholas)
Phillips of Worth Matravers, president, UK
Supreme Court (2009-12), 85; Paul Potts,
chief executive, Press Association (2000-10),
73; Dame Seona Reid, chairwoman,
National Theatre of Scotland (2013-22), 73;
Laura Robson, tennis player, Olympic silver
medallist (2012, mixed doubles), 29; Martin
Shaw, actor, Judge John Deed (2001-07), 78;
Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North,
shadow health and social care secretary, 40;
Michael G Wilson, screenwriter and film
producer, the James Bond film series, 81.
Birthdays tomorrow
Steven Adler, pictured,
drummer and co-
songwriter, Guns N’
Roses, Sweet Child o’
Mine (1988), 58; Nigel
Benn, boxer, world
middleweight (1990) and
super-middleweight
(1992) champion, 59; Linda Blair, actress,
The Exorcist (1973), 64; Stan Collymore,
footballer, Liverpool (1995-97), England
(1995-97), and pundit, 52; Sir Jan du Plessis,
chairman, BT (2017-21), Rio Tinto (2009-18),
SABMiller (2015-16), 69; Colin Graves,
chairman, England & Wales Cricket Board
(2015-20), and founder, Costcutter, 75; Alan
Grieve, chairman emeritus, Jerwood
Foundation, sponsor of the arts, 95; David
Hepher, artist, 88; Russell Hobby, chief
executive, the charity Teach First, general
secretary, National Association of Head
Teachers (2010-17), 51; Graham Kerr, chef,
The Galloping Gourmet (1968-73), 89; Diane
Lane, actress, Unfaithful (2002), 58; Piper
Laurie, actress, Carrie (1976), 91; Gilbert
Levine, conductor, 75; John Morton, writer
and director, creator of W1A (2014-20), 66;
Steve Perry, rock musician, Journey, Oh
Sherrie (1984), 74; Baroness (Gillian)
Shephard of Northwold, secretary of state
for education (1994-97), 83; Lizzie
Simmonds, swimmer, chairwoman, British
Olympic Association’s Athletes’
Commission, 32.
On this day
In 1950 the author George Orwell died, at
University College Hospital, London, where
he was being treated for tuberculosis.
The last word
“Sing of the nature of women, and then the
song shall be surely full of variety; old
crotchets and most sweet closes. It shall be
humorous, grave, fantastic, amorous,
melancholy, sprightly, one in all, and all in
one.” John Marston, The Malcontent, Act III,
Scene 4 (1603-04)
Striking Problems
The current wave of industrial unrest has brought far less disruption than union
bosses hoped. But it has shone a light on the unfairness of public sector pensions
It sometimes seems as if the current winter of dis-
content is taking place solely in the pages of news-
papers and news bulletins. For months, domestic
debate has been dominated by little else. Yet for all
that half a million days were lost to strikes during
the last three months of last year, according to
Office for National Statistics data published last
week, the impact on most people’s day-to-day life
has been limited. Far from bringing the country to
a standstill, as the union barons may have hoped,
the public has for the most part kept calm and
carried on. Citizens who had to cope with far
greater disruption during the pandemic have had
little problem adapting to the irritations of strikes.
That is not to belittle the impact of strikes, by
railway workers in particular, on certain sectors.
The hospitality industry has clearly suffered a loss
of business as disruption to the transport system
kept customers at home. Nonetheless there is little
evidence to indicate that strikes have had a signifi-
cant impact on the economy, which even grew last
month. Indeed, the greatest cost has been to strik-
ers themselves, who in the case of the rail workers
appear to have forgone more in lost income from
their walkouts than they would be likely to gain if
their demands were met.
It is true that strikes by NHS staff, including
Germany’s failure to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine sends the wrong signal
The good news is that Germany has not formally
ruled out sending Leopard 2 advanced battle
tanks to Ukraine, or allowing other countries to do
so. Berlin’s official position is that despite weeks of
pressure from allies, chancellor Olaf Scholz has
not yet made up his mind. Nonetheless, there is no
hiding the fact that the absence of a deal to send
Leopards to Ukraine overshadowed many other
positive moves to emerge from a meeting of de-
fence chiefs from the 54 countries in the Ukraine
defence contact group at the Ramstein airbase in
Germany yesterday. In commending Britain for
its decision to send a squadron of Challenger 2
tanks to Ukraine, Lloyd Austin, the US defence
secretary, hinted at American disappointment.
That said, the United States must share a degree
of blame for the impasse over the provision of
tanks. Mr Scholz had indicated that he would
allow Leopards to be sent to Ukraine if Washing-
ton would agree to send its Abrams tank. Yet Mr
Austin made clear this was not considered. The
Biden administration wants Germany to take
greater responsibility in the crisis, while Mr Scholz
fears that sending such advanced offensive weap-
The Times typeface is under threat from US aggression
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Antony Blinken would
do well to remember that homespun wisdom.
From President Biden’s secretary of state comes a
senseless decree to American diplomats: commu-
niqués and cables are no longer to be written in
Times New Roman, that most recognisable of
typefaces, but Calibri, the round-edged upstart to
which Microsoft Word defaults. This, it goes with-
out saying, is a monstrous misjudgment.
We should declare our interest first. Attentive
readers may have already twigged that The Times
has a dog in this fight. Since 1931, when its creator
Stanley Morison designed a font “English, direct,
nurses and ambulance drivers, are causing very
real disruption for those unfortunate to be need-
ing access to their services. Indeed, the strikes are
certain to have inflicted suffering and even death
on some patients who were not able to access nec-
essary treatment. That should be on the conscien-
ces of those on the picket lines. It is hardly un-
reasonable for the government to demand mini-
mum service guarantees from those who ought to
be under a moral obligation to show up for work.
Of course, NHS workers argue that an under-
staffed, crisis-ridden health service is already
inflicting misery on the public. They insist that
their protest is driven not only by a desire to im-
prove their work conditions but the condition of
the NHS for everyone. Yet NHS staff do not have
a monopoly of wisdom on how to reform a broken
health system. These are complex political ques-
tions. Should GPs become salaried employees, for
example, as Labour’s Wes Streeting has proposed?
Or should patients pay for GP and A&E appoint-
ments as Sajid Javid, a former health secretary,
suggests in The Times today? It is to help inform
public debate and identify solutions that The
Times has established its own health commission.
Meanwhile the longer the disputes continue,
the more likely that the strikers will forfeit what
Berlin Blinks
onry could lead to an escalation of the war into a
direct confrontation between Russia and Nato.
That is, of course, a risk, but it is a calculated risk
that Ukraine’s allies must surely take. After all,
President Putin has shown with Russia’s recent
bombing of residential apartment blocks in
Dnipro and the continued targeting of vital infra-
structure that he has no intention of ending his
genocidal war to eradicate the Ukrainian nation
and identity. It is clear that he would regard any
successful counteroffensive to drive the Russian
army out of Ukraine as a significant raising of the
stakes. Avoiding the risk of escalation would
require the West to deny Ukraine the means to
regain control of its own territory.
Fortunately, there is little sign that Ukraine’s
allies are faltering in their commitment to helping
Kyiv win the war, despite the disappointment over
tanks. In the past week, western allies have
announced the biggest packages of military aid for
Ukraine since the start of the war. America has
agreed to provide £2.5 billion worth of equipment,
including air defence systems, combat fighting
vehicles, armoured personnel carriers and thou-
Roman Empire
simple and free from frivolity”, this newspaper has
remained faithful — give or take a few refine-
ments in recent decades — to a classic that earned
its ubiquity on paper and screens the world over.
That ubiquity is now under threat. It is hardly
surprising that Mr Blinken is happy to sacrifice
typographical tradition on the altar of modernity.
He is, after all, an American. But this is no isolated
case of dumbing down. Britain’s own great and
good are abandoning our serif in favour of young
pretenders: from timeless to Timesless.
In 2021, Britain’s Supreme Court ditched Times
New Roman for Calibri too. The most profound
33
Leading articles
public sympathy they currently command. While
much attention has focused on recent real-terms
falls in public sector wages, there has been little
consideration of another important component of
public sector pay packages: the extraordinarily
generous pension arrangements. Most public sec-
tor jobs come with employer pension contribu-
tions of at least 20 per cent, more than double the
average in the private sector. What’s more, these
contributions bear no reflection to the true value
of these unfunded defined benefit pensions to
employees, given the cost of funding similar career
average annuities in private markets.
Despite the remarkable generosity of public
sector pay packages over a lifetime relative to the
private sector, these pension arrangements are
clearly not valued by employees. How else to
explain the difficulties in recruitment and reten-
tion in key public services? Yet any increase in
salaries would only increase the long-term liabili-
ty for the state from increased pension entitle-
ments to be paid out of future tax receipts, while
widening inequalities between public and private
sector retirees. That would be unfair. If public
sector workers put a much higher value on current
earnings, then they should be prepared to forgo
some future entitlements.
sands of artillery rounds. Britain and eight Euro-
pean allies issued a “Tallinn Pledge” before the
Ramstein meeting to provide some of the most
advanced weaponry in their arsenals, including air
defence systems, fighting vehicles, helicopters and
howitzers. Germany, too, has significantly in-
creased its support with the provision of 40 Mar-
der combat vehicles and a Patriot missile battery.
Indeed, one of the biggest challenges now facing
the Ukrainian army is to master these new sys-
tems before a planned spring offensive. That is
why one of the most important components of the
support agreed yesterday was a co-ordinated and
intensified programme of training for Ukrainian
forces across member states. Even so, it will clearly
be challenging to provide adequate training in the
narrow window before the spring, as Mark Milley,
chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, acknowl-
edged yesterday. It is hardly surprising, therefore,
that some in Washington are urging President
Zelensky to delay the offensive until the training is
complete. Hopefully, by then the Ukrainian army
will be able to count on the added firepower of
German Leopard tanks.
judgments of this country’s Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary are now rendered in the blandest sans
serif. That the highest court in the land should
have adopted a tacky American name for itself was
bad enough. But to abandon Times New Roman?
Is nothing sacred?
Enough is enough. We are no strangers to a
timely redesign. But from broadsheet to compact
to app, The Times has stayed true to the funda-
mentals of the font we commissioned nine
decades ago. Even allowing for our bias, it undeni-
ably works rather well. Someone ought to tell Mr
Blinken. Just check the font before you write.
34
Comment
Vast majority of
stock phrases
are brutal murder
Rose
Wild
Feedback
@timesfeedback
T
here’s been no end of
chat in emails and
comments since I aired
Benjamin Lloyd’s
observation about
enthusiastic bookworms being
referred to as “voracious” readers.
Alex McKenzie got in touch to point
out that this was an example of
collocation — defined by the Oxford
dictionary as “the habitual
juxtaposition of a particular word
with another word or words with a
frequency greater than chance”.
“The one that drives me nuts,”
Mr McKenzie says, “is ‘brutal
murder’ — murders are never
described as anything else.”
Other examples came thick and
fast — majorities are always vast,
communities close-knit, archives
dusty (an irritated archivist picked
this one out), cuts are swingeing,
fires roaring and child artists
budding. Most frequent were the
references to faith and religion —
“committed Christians”, “devout
Catholics”, “confirmed atheists”
and “staunch Methodists”.
The style guide warns us to
“beware of adjectives that come
unbidden to mind with particular
nouns”, and all the above are
certainly candidates for clichédom.
There is, though, a poetical case to
be made for collocation, according to
Tony Phillips of Chalfont St Giles. Of
the voracious reader, he says, “In this
instance ‘voracious’ is a stock epithet
— an adjective that points out
special characteristics of things or
people. They were frequently used
by Homer. Examples from The Iliad
include ‘the wine-dark sea’ and
‘rosy-fingered dawn’.”
Stock epithets, such as “cunning
Odysseus”, “swift-footed Achilles”,
“stout-hearted Beowulf”, make
poetry easier to understand and
remember. They are also
reassuringly familiar and are often
used as a crutch by teachers of
English as a foreign language.
That’s all well and good, but in a
newspaper the line between a stock
epithet and a cliché is a perilously
narrow one. Perhaps journalists
should leave poetry to the poets.
Striking the wrong note
P
eter Robinson of Wakefield
apologises for being a
curmudgeon (his word), “but can
we please see an end to the use of
‘walk out’ as a euphemism for going
on strike? We are told that nurses and
teachers and, to be fair, most other
public sector workers, will ‘walk out’,
when I’m pretty sure they won’t ‘walk
in’ in the first place. There must be a
more accurate expression — maybe
‘strike’, or even ‘stay at home’?”
I’m always happy to humour the
literal-minded, but I think I’ll put
this particular complaint down as
a lost cause.
As I should have done, apparently,
with last week’s complaint about the
floods. David Simpson of Darby
Green, Hants, wrote, “On Saturday
you agreed with a reader that a river
‘overflowed’. On Monday, twice, we
were told the River Ouse burst its
banks. Do you sometimes wonder
‘Why do I bother’?”
Quite often, since he asks. Simon
Carne, of London W8, thinks I gave
Write to Feedback by emailing
feedback@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
in far too easily. “It’s not the banks
that have been burst. It is the river
that is bursting, in the same way that
‘words burst forth from your
keyboard’ each week.”
I wish. That shows you how much
he knows. Anyway, “My Concise
Oxford Dictionary (1969),” he goes,
on, “even gives ‘river bursts banks’ as
an example of ‘burst’ meaning to
‘make way out or in’.”
An online reader suggested that
bursting banks was a “dead
metaphor” — a figure of speech that
is no longer connected to its original
imagery. “I hope everyone is wearing
a raincoat if your complainant
ever bursts into tears.”
Mistress of masterly
I
f you holiday in the west of Ireland
you take your chances with the
weather. I remember one summer
with particular fondness, not because
it was sunny — it rained non stop —
but because we were staying in a
house that boasted the complete
works of Georgette Heyer. After
two weeks I wouldn’t have minded if
I never met a “zounds” or “gadzooks”
again, but I still rather agree with
Joan Harborne’s comment about
Simon Sebag Montefiore’s list of
favourite historical fiction.
“I know you will probably blench
at the name of Georgette Heyer but
at least two of her books deserve
serious praise. Royal Escape, her
account of Charles II’s escape after
the Battle of Worcester, and An
Infamous Army, about the Battle of
Waterloo, are both masterly. I read
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
somewhere that the latter was
recommended reading at Sandhurst.”
“Masterly” is a hobby horse of
Christopher Joubert’s, on which he
has written several times, most
recently after reading our obituary of
Ronald Blythe. “The heading reads
‘Gentle and unassuming author who
rose from poverty to write Akenfield,
a masterful portrait of rural life set in
his native Suffolk’. That is surely an
oxymoron, since ‘masterful’ means
‘dominating, self-willed, imperious’. I
imagine you meant to say ‘masterly’.
Does your style guide not make clear
the difference?”
It does. Under “masterful” it says,
“You almost certainly mean masterly,
at least according to HW Fowler,
who was keen to distinguish being in
command from exhibiting great skill;
the dichotomy was never as rigid as
Fowler and his followers might have
liked, but the distinction may have
something to be said for it still.”
If only to appease Mr Joubert.
Gonzo journalism
J
eff Thompson of Wadhurst,
East Sussex, has sprung a new
one on me.
“I’m writing about your headline
to a Weather Eye column — ‘Rare
phenomenons have been left out in
the cold’. Really? Even the Muppets
know it’s phenomena (do do, di
doodoo, phenom mahna, do do
di doo etc).”
I googled “Muppets phenomena”
to find out what on earth he meant,
and obviously I’ve led a sheltered life.
Just don’t feel you need to as well.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
I Lights, coffee
t’s awards season, so pull on
whichever posh frock fits after all
that cake you had in the office,
crack open the leftover
Christmas bubbly and feast your
eyes on this year’s nominees. For
your consideration:
Best action movie A category
dominated by Rishi Sunak, who has
the stature, money and love of planes
to confirm his status as the Tom
Cruise of British politics. Multiple
entries for this award, including
engaging in a dramatic mid-air
dogfight with journalists who
wondered why he was getting a
private jet from London to Blackpool.
Because obviously it would be a better
use of the prime minister’s time, and
show he was “just like one of us”, if he
went by one of his useless trains, or
non-existent buses, or horse, or just
crawled on his knees like a dog.
More likely to pick up the prize,
Nazis tried to kill the greatest anti-war novel
Hitler’s thugs despised All Quiet on the Western Front and exacted revenge on the author by murdering his sister
Ben
Macintyre
@benmacintyre1
I
n December 1930, Berlin’s elegant
Mozart Hall was packed for the
second screening of All Quiet on
the Western Front, the film of
Erich Maria Remarque’s novel of
life and death in the trenches of the
First World War.
The book, published the previous
year, was already a sensation, the
first genuine international bestseller,
with more than 1.5 million copies
sold in Germany and another
600,000 in Britain and France. The
Hollywood adaptation by Universal
Pictures was the talk of Berlin.
The lights dimmed, the curtain
rose, then Joseph Goebbels led a
gang of Nazi brownshirts into the
auditorium, hurling stink bombs,
throwing sneezing power and, in an
oddly whimsical act of hostility,
releasing white mice. “Judenfilm!”
they yelled, as the mob attacked the
projectionists and began savagely
beating audience members they
perceived to be Jewish.
Goebbels was ecstatic, writing in
his diary: “Within ten minutes, the
cinema resembles a madhouse. The
police are powerless. The embittered
crowd takes out its anger on the Jews.
The box office outside is under siege.
Window panes are broken. Thousands
of people enjoy the spectacle. The
screening is abandoned, as is the
next one. We have won.”
He was right, in the short term.
The Supreme Board of Censors in
Germany caved in to Nazi
intimidation and, under the pretence
of restoring public order, All Quiet on
the Western Front was banned.
Remarque’s slim 200-page book is
the greatest anti-war novel of all
time. Apolitical, harrowing and
deeply humane, it permanently
changed the way war was perceived
by portraying the reality of conflict
as never before: the mental and
physical trauma, the pointless
butchery, the utter disconnection
from civilian life experienced by
though, is the daredevil stunt Sunak
performed on screen, travelling in
the back of his car without a seatbelt.
Obviously this risked encouraging
dangerous copycat behaviour. But
that would have required someone to
watch a video on the announcement
of the second tranche of Don’t Call It
Levelling Up Funding Allocations, so
there is no risk of that.
Best dramatic performance Who
could fail to be moved by the
soliloquy delivered by Jacinda
Ardern tearfully announcing she had
no more “in the tank”, capturing
perfectly the mood of another bank-
breaking visit to the petrol station?
Remoaner Twitter, and all the liberal
wets who went back to sending faxes
because of Elon, sobbed into their
gazpacho at her resignation as New
Zealand’s lockdown-loving PM, with
her admission that “I am . . . human”.
Although in the original draft that
The latest film adaptation is nominated for 14 Bafta awards. Its author, Erich Maria Remarque, right, fled
Germany. His younger sister, Elfriede Scholz, below, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and executed
soldiers returning from the front.
Remarque became the voice of a
generation that had been, in his
words, “destroyed by war, even
though it might have escaped its
shells”. The latest film version,
directed by Edward Berger, leads the
field in this year’s Bafta film awards,
with 14 nominations. The 1930 movie
won Oscars for best director (Lewis
Milestone) and best production.
Some 40 million copies have been
sold since the novel was first
published. The phrase itself has
entered popular parlance.
But perhaps the greatest and least
celebrated achievement of All Quiet
on the Western Front is to have been
the book most violently hated by the
Nazis. The human vulnerability
depicted by Remarque was
diametrically opposed to the heroic
militarism Hitler espoused. He
wanted to see glorious modern
Teutonic knights, not men shivering
with fear, half-starved in freezing,
muddy ditches. Hitler had survived
the trenches but he would not
tolerate seeing that reality depicted
in fiction or on screen. From a Nazi
might have read: “I am . . . going to
lose the next election.”
Best solo performance Like Will
cup, seatbelt Smith in I Am Legend, only the best
actors can carry a film alone. Sir Keir
Starmer gave the performance of his
— it’s awards life with his latest party-political
broadcast, delivering a moving
monologue reminiscent of Tom
season, so Hanks talking to a sandy volleyball.
Only a philistine would ask why
buckle up for he was gazing out of shot, having
a conversation with himself
about his childhood, leaving the
a spectacular helpless viewer to shout: “Hey
Keir! Keir! Why are you
telling an empty chair that
Matt Chorley you had to share a bunk
bed with your brother? And
if you had a pebbledashed
semi, you should probably
Listen to Matt Chorley see a doctor.”
every Monday to Friday, Best special effects Tough
10am to 1pm competition between the
standpoint the book was defeatist In May 1933,
and unpatriotic, part of a Jewish-led four months after
campaign to make Germany appear the Nazis came to
weak. The book’s absence of power, the book
nationalist propaganda was itself a burning began.
threat to Nazi ideology, another “stab On Berlin’s
in the back”: the author was accused Bebelplatz, some
of exaggerating the horrors of war to 25,000 works of
further his pacifist agenda. 150 “degenerate” authors were
Remarque was not Jewish but Carl hurled on to flaming pyres to
Laemmle, the founder of “cleanse the German spirit”, as
Universal Pictures, was a Goebbels, now propaganda minister,
German Jewish émigré. Just put it. All Quiet was among the
before the premiere, first to be burnt, condemned as
Remarque was “a literary betrayal of the soldiers
approached by one of of the World War”. The book was
Goebbels’s thugs and purged from libraries; it became
instructed to claim that the illegal to sell or own a
film rights had been sold copy. A marked man,
without his consent Remarque had already
to a Jewish producer: headed into exile, first
an obvious hint that to Switzerland then the
he would be US. The Nazis
protected in condemned him as a
exchange for cowardly traitor and
allowing the Nazis to revoked his German
spread the lie that he citizenship. They
had been swindled insisted a man who
by Jews. Remarque had changed his
declined. name from
35
Comment
graphic artist who drew on Jeremy
Hunt’s coffee cups and Grant
Shapps’s work digitally removing
Boris Johnson from his spaceport
photo of a massive, expensive phallus
which generated lots of headlines,
cost lots of money and didn’t actually
do the job when required.
In memoriam Remembering the
people we have lost this year: Dominic
Raab, the justice secretary, no longer
appears on camera in case someone
asks about bullying and he throws a
slice of tomato at them. Suella
Braverman, the home secretary, can’t
appear on camera in case she is
asked to rethink being dismissive of
Holocaust survivors. And now Nadhim
Zahawi, the Tory chairman, can’t
appear on camera in case someone
asks him about his financial affairs and
exactly how many millions he has had
to give HMRC. They, like the taxes and
trains and nurses, will all be missed.
Remark to the Frenchified Remarque
could not be truly German (he was
partly French by heritage). It was
falsely claimed he had never seen
active service, despite the shrapnel
wounds in his leg, arm and neck.
Denied the opportunity to
persecute the writer in person, the
Nazis nonetheless extracted their
revenge. In 1943, the Gestapo
arrested Remarque’s younger sister,
Elfriede Scholz, a dressmaker who
had remained in Dresden with her
husband and children. She had
remarked to a customer that
Germany was losing the war.
Branded a “subversive propagandist
for our enemies”, Elfriede was tried
by the Nazi People’s Court and
charged with “undermining morale”.
Roland Freisler,
the court
president, made
no attempt to
disguise that the
trial was a sham
and Elfriede a
scapegoat. “Your
brother is
unfortunately
beyond our reach,”
he declared. “You,
however, will not
escape us.” She was
guillotined at
Plötzensee prison
on December 16,
1943.
Remarque did not
discover what had happened to his
sister until a year after the war was
over. Distraught, he wondered if he
had been sufficiently outspoken in
his opposition to the Nazis. In truth,
his book had played a vital part in
the resistance to Hitler, defying the
Nazi glorification of war — an
enduring testament to humanity’s
endurance amid the carnage.
Goebbels did not win the battle over
this book. Standing up to Nazi
cultural philistinism demanded quite
as much courage as battlefield
bravery.
Elfriede was one martyr to that
cause, as was the exiled Remarque.
And there were others. Hanns
Brodnitz was the Jewish manager of
the Mozart Hall who dared to screen
All Quiet on the Western Front. In
1944, he was murdered in Auschwitz.
36 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Comment

weekend essay

Empire is never
black and white
but decolonisers
just won’t see it
My run-in with the Rhodes Must Fall movement shows
how little appetite there is for nuanced discussion of
colonialism. Instead, activists are driven by hatred of the
Anglo-American liberal world order, writes Nigel Biggar

I
t was early December 2017 and my wife and I were
at Heathrow airport, waiting to board a flight to
Germany. Just before setting off for the departure
gate, I checked my email one last time. My
attention sharpened when I saw a message in my
inbox from the University of Oxford’s public affairs
directorate. I clicked on it. What I found was
notification that my “Ethics and Empire” project had
become the target of an online denunciation by a group
of students, followed by reassurance from the university
that it had risen to defend my right to run such a thing.
So began a public row that raged for the best part of
a month. Four days after I flew, the eminent imperial
historian who had conceived the project with me
abruptly resigned. Within a week of the first online
denunciation, two further ones appeared, this time
manned by professional academics, the first
comprising 58 colleagues at Oxford, the second,
about 200 academics from around the
world. For over a fortnight, my name was
in the press every day.
What had I done to deserve all this
unexpected attention? Three things.
In late 2015 and early 2016 I had
offered a qualified defence of the
late 19th-century imperialist Cecil
Rhodes during the first Rhodes
Must Fall campaign in Oxford.
Then, second, in November 2017,
I published a column in The
Times, in which I referred
approvingly to the American
academic Bruce Gilley’s
controversial article “The Case for
Colonialism”, and argued that we
would have known what to expect, but being a mere
ethicist, I did not. Still, naivety has its advantages,
bringing fresh eyes to see sharply what weary ones
have learnt to live with.
One surprising thing I have seen is that many of
my critics are really not interested in the complicated,
morally ambiguous truth about the past. For example,
in the autumn of 2015 some students began to agitate
to have an obscure statue of Cecil Rhodes removed
from its plinth overlooking Oxford’s High Street. The
case against Rhodes was that he was South Africa’s
equivalent of Hitler, and the supporting evidence was
encapsulated in this damning quotation: “I prefer land
to n***ers . . . the natives are like children. They are
just emerging from barbarism . . . one should kill as
many n***ers as possible.”
However, initial research discovered that the
Rhodes Must Fall campaigners had lifted this
quotation verbatim from a book review by
Adekeye Adebajo, a former Rhodes
scholar who is now director of the
Institute for Pan-African Thought and
Conversation at the University of
Johannesburg. Further digging
revealed that the “quotation” was, Rhodes Must Fall However, none of these historical details seemed to
in fact, made up from three demonstrations outside matter to the student activists baying for Rhodes’s
different elements drawn from Oriel College, Oxford paint downfall, or to the professional academics who
three different sources. The first Cecil Rhodes, top statue supported them. Since I published my view of Rhodes
had been lifted from a novel. The and left, as a Hitler-like — complete with evidence and argument — in March
other two had been misleadingly racist figure, when in truth 2016, no one has offered any critical response at all.
torn out of their proper contexts. he showed sympathy Notwithstanding that, when the Rhodes Must Fall
towards black Africans
And part of the third appears to campaign revived four years later in the wake of the
throughout his life
have been made up. Black Lives Matter movement, the same old false
There is no doubt the real Rhodes allegations revived with it, utterly unchastened.
was a moral mixture, but he was no

British have reason to feel pride as well
as shame about our imperial past. Note:
pride, as well as shame. And third, a few
days later I finally got around to publishing an
online account of the Ethics and Empire project,
whose first conference had been held the previous July.
Contrary to what the critics seemed to think, this
project is not designed to defend the British Empire,
or even empire in general. Rather, it aims to select and
analyse evaluations of empire from ancient China to
the modern period, in order to understand and reflect
on the ethical terms in which empires have been
viewed historically. Ethics and Empire does not
assume that empire is always and everywhere wicked,
and does assume that the history of empires should
inform — positively, as well as negatively — the
foreign policy of western states today.
Thus did I stumble, blindly, into the “imperial
history wars”. Had I been a professional historian, I
Hitler. Far from being racist, he showed
consistent sympathy for individual black
Africans throughout his life. And in an 1894
speech he made plain his view: “I do not
believe that they are different from ourselves.”
Nor did he attempt genocide against the southern
African Ndebele people in 1896 — as might be
suggested by the fact that the Ndebele tended his
grave from 1902 for decades. And he had nothing at all
to do with General Kitchener’s “concentration camps”
during the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902,
which themselves had nothing morally in common
with Auschwitz. Moreover, Rhodes did support a
franchise in Cape Colony that gave black Africans the
vote on the same terms as whites; he helped finance a
black African newspaper; and he established his
famous scholarship scheme, which was explicitly
colour-blind and whose first black (American)
beneficiary was selected within five years of his death.
T
his unscrupulous indifference to historical
truth indicates that the controversy over
empire is not really a controversy about
history at all. It is about the present, not the
past. An empire is a single state that contains
a variety of peoples, one of which is dominant. As a
form of political organisation, it has been around for
millennia and has appeared on every continent. The
Assyrians were doing empire in the Middle East more
than 4,000 years ago. They were followed by the
Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians. In the
6th century BC the Carthaginians established a series
of colonies around the Mediterranean. Then came
the Athenians, followed by the Romans and after
them the Byzantine rump.
Empire first appeared in China in the 3rd century
BC and, despite periodic collapses, survives today.
From the 7th century AD Muslim Arabs invaded east
as far as Afghanistan and west as far as central France.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 2GM
In the 15th century empire proved very popular: the
Ottomans were doing it in Asia Minor, the Mughals in
the Indian subcontinent, the Incas in South America
and the Aztecs in Mesoamerica. Further north, a
couple of centuries later, the Comanche extended
their imperial sway over much of what is now Texas,
while the Asante were expanding their control in west
Africa. And in the 1820s King Shaka led the highly
militarised Zulus in scattering other south African
peoples to several of the four winds, conducting at
least one exterminationist war.
Set in this global historical context, the emergence
of European empires from the 15th century onwards
is hardly remarkable. The Portuguese were first off
the mark, followed by the Spanish, and then, in the
16th century, by the Dutch, the French and the
English. The Scots attempted (in vain) to join
their ranks in the 1690s and the Russians did so in
the 1700s. What is remarkable, however, is that the
contemporary controversy about empire shows
no interest at all in any of the non-European
empires, past or present. European empires are its
sole concern, and of these, above all others, the
English — or, as it became after the Anglo-Scottish
Union of 1707, the British — one.
The reason for this focus is that the real target of
today’s anti-imperialists or anti-colonialists is the West
or, more precisely, the Anglo-American liberal world
order that has prevailed since 1945. This order is
supposed to be responsible for the economic and
political woes of what used to be called the
“Developing World” and now answers to the name
“Global South”. Allegedly, it continues to express the
characteristic “white supremacism” and “racism” of the
old European empires, displaying arrogant, ignorant
disdain for non-western cultures, thereby humiliating
non-white peoples. And it presumes to impose alien
values and to justify military interference.
The anti-colonialists are a disparate bunch. They
include academic “post-colonialists”, whose bible is
Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) and who tend to
inhabit university departments of literature rather
than those of history. For one expression of their view,
take Elleke Boehmer, professor of world literature in
English at the University of Oxford, whose
departmental webpage presents her as “a founding
figure in the field of colonial and postcolonial studies”:
“Is killing other people bad? Yes. Is rapacious
invasion bad? Absolutely. And so it must follow that
empires are bad, as they typically operate through
killing and invasion. Across history, empires have
involved the imposition of force by one power or
people upon others. That imposition generally
involves violence, including cultural and linguistic
violence, such as the suppression and subsequent loss
of native languages . . . [E]mpire requires exclusion to
operate. . . spawning wars and genocides . . . [N]o empire
sets out to bring law and order to other peoples in the
first instance. That is not empire’s primary aim. The
first motivating forces are profit and more profit.”
37
Comment
How historically accurate, politically realistic and
morally sophisticated such a view is, readers may
judge for themselves. Whatever its intellectual merits,
academic “post-colonialism” is not just of academic
importance. It is politically important, too, in so far as
its world view is absorbed by student citizens and
moves them to repudiate the dominance of the West.
Thus, academic post-colonialism is an ally — no doubt
inadvertent — of Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia and
the Chinese Communist Party, which are determined
to expand their own (respectively) authoritarian and
totalitarian power at the expense of the West.
In effect, if not by intent, they are supported by the
West’s own hard left, whose British branch would have
Britain withdraw from Nato, surrender its nuclear
weapons, renounce global policing and retire to free-
ride on the moral high ground alongside neutral
Switzerland. Thinking along the same utopian lines,
some Scottish nationalists equate Britain with empire,
and empire with evil, and see the secession of Scotland
from the Anglo-Scottish Union and the consequent
break-up of the United Kingdom as an act of national
repentance and redemption.
Meanwhile, with their eyes glued to more domestic
concerns, self-appointed spokespeople for non-white
minorities claim that systemic racism continues to be
nourished by a persistent colonial mentality, and so
clamour for the “decolonisation” of public statuary and
university reading lists.
I
n order to undermine these oppressive
international and national orders, the anti-
colonialists have to undermine faith in them. One
important way of corroding faith in the West is to
denigrate its record, a major part of which is the
history of European empires. And of all those empires,
the primary target is the British one, which was by far
the largest and gave birth to the US, Canada, Australia
and New Zealand. This is why the anti-colonialists
have focused on slavery, presenting it as the West’s
dirty secret, which epitomises its essential, oppressive,
racist white supremacism. This, they claim, is who we
really are. This is what we must repent of.
Politically, this makes good sense. If you want to
make others obey your will, it is surely useful to
subvert their self-confidence and exploit their guilt. If
Henry Kissinger is to be believed, ever since Sun Tzu’s
Art of War in the 5th century BC, China’s Realpolitik
has placed a premium on gaining psychological
advantage. Certainly, its agents are looking to gain
that now. When, in July 2020, Britain criticised the
Chinese regime for running roughshod over the Sino-
British Joint Declaration of 1984, in which China had
agreed to respect Hong Kong’s relative autonomy and
liberal rights, Beijing’s ambassador was quick to
dismiss the criticism as colonial interference.
Similarly, when the hard left wants to undercut
Britain’s role as a major supporter of the post-1945
liberal international order, or when Scottish separatists
want to deepen alienation from the United Kingdom,
it is politically useful to recount the history of the
British Empire as a litany of ugly racial prejudice,
rapacious economic exploitation and violent atrocity.
This all makes good sense politically — provided that
the end justifies any means and you have no scruples
“
about telling the truth. Historically, however, it does not
make good sense at all. As with Cecil Rhodes, so with
the British Empire in general, the whole truth is morally
complicated and ambiguous. Even the history of British
One important involvement in slavery had a virtuous ending, albeit one
that the anti-colonialists are determined we should
way to corrode overlook. After a century and a half of transporting
faith in the slaves to the West Indies and the American colonies,
the British abolished both the trade and the institution
West is to within the empire in the early 1800s. They then spent
the subsequent century and a half exercising their
denigrate its imperial power in deploying the Royal Navy to stop
slave ships crossing the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and
record, a major in suppressing the Arab slave trade across Africa.
There is, therefore, a more historically accurate,
part of which fairer, more positive story to be told about the British
Empire than the anti-colonialists want us to hear. And
is the history the importance of that story is not just past but
present, not just historical but political. What is at
of European stake is not merely the pedantic truth about yesterday,
but the self-perception and self-confidence of the
empires British today, and the way they conduct themselves in
the world tomorrow. What is also at stake, therefore, is
the very integrity of the United Kingdom and the
security of the West.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Family of stabbed schoolboy win fight for second inquest
Peter Chappell
A new inquest has been ordered into
the death of a teenager stabbed after a
row with a former public schoolboy.
Yousef Makki, 17, who had won a
scholarship to attend the £12,000-a-
year Manchester Grammar School,
died after an altercation with Joshua
Molnar, who was also 17, in Hale Barns,
Cheshire, in March 2019. Molnar, from
a wealthy family, was cleared of murder
and manslaughter at his trial that year.
After a two-week inquest in 2021 Ali-
The antivax
academy with
curriculum of
conspiracies
Tom Ball
A group of anti-vaccine activists and
former members of the far right are
running a “school” where children are
being prepared to become the next
generation of conspiracy theorists.
The leaders of Hope Sussex are
encouraging parents to remove their
children from mainstream state educa-
tion and send them to a school that
Ofsted suspects is illegal, while claim-
ing to the local authorities that they are
being home-educated.
A full curriculum of subjects is taught
to pupils albeit through the prism of
conspiracy. In a history lesson, children
were taught that the US government
knew in advance of the 9/11 attack on
the World Trade Center in 2001.
As many as 20 children of primary
school age are at the school on an 80-
acre site near the village of Netherfield,
East Sussex. Images released by the
school show children sitting at rows of
desks in a classroom studying with a
teacher. One of the children wears a
jumper that reads “World Hoax Orga-
nisation” above the emblem of the
World Health Organisation.
Ofsted is understood to be investi-
gating Hope Sussex which it has
“reasonable grounds” to suspect of run-
ning an illegal school, defined as a set-
ting that is operating as an independent
school but is not registered with the de-
partment for education.
son Mutch, a senior coroner for south
Manchester, ruled out unlawful killing
and accidental death, saying she could
not establish the precise sequence of
events. Makki’s family, of Burnage,
brought a judicial review last year.
Yesterday Lady Justice Macur and
Mr Justice Fordham handed down
their ruling at the High Court in Man-
chester quashing the conclusions of the
first inquest and ordering a fresh one
before a different coroner.
Jade Akoum, Makki’s sister, said: “We
are grateful to the judges for recognis-
“Our concern is that they are operat-
ing a sham home education centre that
is in fact an illegal school,” an Ofsted
source said. Hope Sussex claims that it
is not a school and instead describes it-
self as a “home education hub”.
Hope Sussex was founded last year
by Sadie Single, 44, and her husband
Matthew, 51, two former members of
the British National Party (BNP), who
were expelled in 2009 for leaking the
names and details of thousands of party
members online after an internal dis-
pute. Before joining the BNP, Sadie had
lived in Australia where she was linked
to a neo-Nazi group, according to Hope
not Hate, the anti-fascist organisation.
Hope Sussex denied that she had ev-
er had any connection to an ex-
tremist group.
The couple, who have four
children, re-emerged during the
pandemic as prominent Covid-
denial activists. During an anti-
lockdown march in London in
August 2021, Sadie was
filmed fighting with
police and yanking the
ponytail of a female
officer. She taught as
a teacher for nine
years but was un-
derstood to have
left her job at Hel-
lingly primary school
in East Sussex in 2021
because of her anti-
Yousef Makki died
after a row with
another pupil
ing that the coroner’s conclusion was
unlawful . . . We look forward to a new
inquest, which we hope will establish
the facts about how Yousef died.”
Peter Weatherby KC, representing
Makki’s family at the original inquest,
Children at Hope Sussex are taught in history lessons that the US government knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks. It
was co-founded by Matthew Single, below. Early supporters included Alpha Team, above left, which ran combat training
vaccine activities. The couple set up the
school with Katy-Jo Murfin, 41, a dance
instructor and mother of three, who has
described Covid-19 as a “plandemic”.
Early supporters of the school in-
clude Alpha Team Assemble, a militant
anti-vaccine group that ran combat
training sessions in preparation for a
“global war against governments”.
Members of the group, which has as
many as 800 members and is led by
Danny Glass, 47, a former Royal Fusil-
ier, helped to construct some of the
school buildings and completed a walk
on Hadrian’s Wall to raise funds for the
project. Glass has since renounced his
support for Hope Sussex citing “serious
safety and security concerns” and a
falling out between those involved.
The school has also won the en-
dorsement of Mike Fairclough, the
headteacher of West Rise Junior
School, a state primary in East-
bourne with about 360 pupils. Fair-
clough, who was banned from
Twitter for his vocal oppo-
sition to Covid vaccines
for children, sends his
own children to
classes at the
school. His wife is
also involved in
the running of the
project. He gave a
talk at the school
last month in which
he spoke about a
had questioned the “fanciful” version of
events, saying there were “discrepan-
cies” between what was said during the
trial and what was said at the inquest.
Weatherby told the review hearing:
“This is a death caused by an unlawful
weapon brandished by Joshua Molnar
and unless there was some terrible acci-
dent or Yousef Makki put him in fear,
this was an unlawful killing and the
coroner fails to address those issues.”
Molnar claimed self-defence, saying
knives had been produced in a “coming
together”. Makki, Molnar and another
plan by “globalists” to “disempower
people and take away their freedoms”,
and praised the “global freedom move-
ment”, a term used to describe the loose
conglomeration of anti-establishment
conspiracy theorists worldwide.
As well as core subjects, pupils are al-
so given lessons in survivalism, forag-
ing, welding and shamanic practices
taught by a group of six “tutors”.
Photos uploaded to the school’s Tele-
gram channel show Matthew Single
teaching children how to make a sling-
shot using branches and a handsaw.
Hinting at possible societal collapse in
the future, a common conspiracy trope,
Single says that these skills may “one
day prove to be incredibly useful”.
Sadie Single told an activist meeting
in Bexhill last summer that she teaches
history including “some of the fallacies
and lies that have taken place”. One is
the claim that Pearl Harbor was
bombed in 1941 with the knowledge of
President Roosevelt, a longstanding
conspiracy that has been widely de-
bunked by historians. She told the
children that 9/11 was the modern-day
Pearl Harbor.
The school says that it welcomes
those who are “awake” and oppose the
“totalitarianism” of the state, which “in-
doctrinates children to be compliant”.
It offers a template letter for prospec-
tive parents that they can send to the
head teacher of their child’s school ex-
plaining that they are removing them
39
News
youth, Adam Chowdhary, then also 17,
had all carried knives like “middle-class
gangsters”, Molnar’s trial heard.
Chowdhary told police that he had
not seen what had happened. Molnar
was jailed for 16 months for possession
of a knife and perverting the course of
justice by lying to police at the scene.
Chowdhary was cleared of pervert-
ing the course of justice but admitted
possession of a flick knife and was given
a four-month detention order.
A date for the new inquest has yet to
be made.
in order to be home schooled. The site
is surrounded by CCTV cameras and
signs warning against trespassing on
private land. Next month Hope Sussex
will host a weekend festival which will
includes talks such as “the magic of
mushrooms”.
Last year Ofsted sent inspectors from
its illegal schools team to visit Hope
Sussex, but were stopped at the perime-
ter by two “obstructive and uncoopera-
tive” members of staff, one of whom
was Matthew Single. Ofsted does not
have the power to force its way onto the
premises of illegal schools or seize in-
criminating materials. There is also no
register for home-schooled children,
which means there is no oversight for
the 80,000 children in Britain who are
not within mainstream education, a
figure that rose from about 60,000 at
the start of the pandemic.
The Schools Bill was set to close these
loopholes but it was scrapped last
month by the government over a dis-
pute within the Tory party about a sec-
tion of the bill concerning academies.
Hope Sussex said: “Hope Sussex is
not a school, we are a community
centre that hires its facilities to allow
home-educating families to supple-
ment their children’s education with
wholesome and critically thinking tu-
tors.” It added that all of the tutors are
DBS checked and have public liability
insurance. Fairclough did not respond
to a request for comment.
40 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

News Saturday interview

‘Our negotiations with Peru were

From trade to transgender rights, Kemi Badenoch probably not sustainable for decades.
But for now it’s just such a privilege to
is grappling with difficult briefs at home and do this job I don’t really think about
that.”
abroad, write Oliver Wright and Steven Swinford Badenoch, 43, was appointed trade
secretary by Liz Truss after rising to
never aspired to, but is now seeing the
merits of.
“Before I was doing this job, if you
had asked me, do I want to go to
Davos I would have said, ‘Absolutely
no way. It’s my idea of hell.’ It’s a

F
or Kemi Badenoch the travel
afforded by her job as
international trade secretary
offers an unexpected benefit:
the prospect of an
uninterrupted night’s sleep.
Badenoch has three young children
who frequently wake in the night.
“I’ve been awake since 2.30 because I
gave birth to an owl, a fox and a bat,
and this is what they do,” she says.
“They will wake up and do
something and go back to sleep, and
then I can’t go back to sleep. I’m wide
awake thinking about work, then it’s
time to get up. But I’ll be fine. I
have lots of energy. I didn’t know that
I did. I’m able to manage it. It’s
prominence during the Tory
leadership contest, and kept on under
Rishi Sunak. While it was not her first
choice — she asked for education or
culture — she has come to love it.
This week she attended the World
Economic forum in Davos,
Switzerland, something that before
becoming trade secretary she had
conference, I’m away from home, it’s
cold, I don’t like skiing.” She did get
more sleep — “I won’t lie it was
amazing” — but admits that she had
some sympathy with those who see
Davos as the “lizard people
controlling all the politicians”.
But, having been, she says that the
stereotypes were wrong and while she
did not exactly enjoy herself it was a
useful forum to meet her
counterparts all in one place. “Most of
my time was spent in negotiating
meetings with other trade ministers
and if I can fly an hour and a half to
do all those meetings, rather than
spend six months flying around the
world, then yeah I’m gonna do that.”
In a change of emphasis from her
predecessor Truss, Badenoch insists
that her job is not simply about
signing trade deals, but also the less
glamorous task of constantly banging
the drum for inward investment into
the UK. And Davos was also useful as
a forum to woo investors, or as she
puts it “the bread and butter of trade”.
She is critical of the CBI, the
nation’s main business group, for
using the event to highlight problems
facing the country and the economy.
“The CBI was talking down the UK to
business,” she says. “I didn’t find that
very helpful. You wouldn’t find a
French business association saying,
‘Things are very difficult, people are
unhappy.’ It doesn’t mean that behind
closed doors, we don’t have frank
conversations. It doesn’t mean that
we’re not aware of issues or we’re not
taking them seriously. But when you
go to an investment conference that’s
about investment I think we all need
to be on Team UK. “Everybody [else]
was there advertising their country.”
In another change of emphasis
from Truss, who was criticised for
being more interested in signing deals
than making sure they were good
ones, Badenoch insists that she will
take her time and only sign new deals
if the benefits to the UK overall
clearly outweigh any concessions.
Last month she flew to India for talks
after the government missed Boris
Johnson’s promise to have a deal done Kemi Badenoch combines her cabinet
by Diwali.
“The ‘deal by Diwali’ mantra is one want to do when they travel to
of the things I have changed since Australia is probably slightly
becoming trade secretary,” she says. “I different from what they do when
tell people it’s about the deal, not the they travel to India, and vice versa as
day. I think that having a fixed day well.”
where everything needs to be She is reluctant to set a date, but is
completed is not helpful in a confident a deal will be done this year.
negotiation because the other party “I do think a deal this year. I don’t
can run down the clock.” know when. But after a while if things
She has made clear that the issue of don’t conclude then people just move
more student visas for India, which on on both sides. I’m very keen to
Delhi has pressed for in the past, is off sign a deal this year.”
the table. “We left the EU because we

didn’t believe in free movement, we
didn’t think it was working. This is
not a deal that’s negotiating some
kind of free movement with India,”
she says. She is prepared to make
concessions on issues like business
mobility, but she will not give Indians
the same kind of deal as with
Australia, which allows the under-35s
to come and live and work here for
three years.
“We have to make sure that each
trade agreement we sign is tailored to
the specific country. The kind of
mobility offer I can do to a country
like Australia is not going to be the
same kind of mobility offer I can do
with a country like India, which has
got many times the population.
“And what people from the UK
T
he other deal on the table is
membership of the
trans-pacific partnership,
CPTPP, whose members
include Australia, Canada,
Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. If
the UK were to join, it would account
for 16 per cent of the world’s GDP.
Negotiations are in the final stages
but not straightforward, Badenoch
says. “You’re negotiating with
multiple countries at the same time.
It’s very Dragons’ Den-y, people
saying one thing and then bouncing
off one another. It makes it
complicated when something’s
happening with another country
which means they’re not focused.
“There was an attempted coup in
Peru while we were carrying out a
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
interrupted by an attempted coup’ negotiating round. It just changed
everything. It’s like herding cats.”
She believes that a deal will be
concluded soon, however. “It’s all part
of our Indo-Pacific tilt. Most of the
growth in the world will be coming
from the Indo-Pacific. Only 14 per
cent of middle classes are going to be
in Europe in the 2030s, 2050s. We
want to be trading where people are.
We’ve got to broaden our horizons.”
So where does Badenoch stand on
China? Does she, as Sunak said
during the Tory leadership campaign,
believe China represents the biggest
long-term threat to Britain’s interests,
language he has since softened?
“What’s the last thing he said about
it,” she says with a laugh. “My trade
philosophy is free and fair trade. I
don’t just mean helping developing
countries, which is what a lot of
people mean when they talk about
fair trade, I mean sticking to the
rules-based system, the one set out by
the World Trade Organisation. I
believe that we need to be open but
we also cannot be naive. If other
people are not playing fair then we
need to work with like-minded
countries to try and fix that.”
But trade with China, she says, is
important and in the national
interest. “It’s a huge, huge market for
us. I think it’s probably our fourth
biggest trading partner. There are
obviously concerns which have been
raised by the Foreign Office on
multiple issues. We’re not being naive,
you will see many of the comments in
parliament around what we need to
do. We’re just very careful making
sure that everything we do is right for
the UK.”
But it is not just so-called strategic
rivals Badenoch is worried about. She
is also concerned by the United
States, which recently announced
plans to subsidise companies that
made electric cars domestically amid
fears that it could decimate the UK’s
own car industry, which exports cars
worth £4.3 billion to America.
She raised the issue with her
counterpart in the Biden
administration in Davos and admits it
is causing tensions. “The EU, Japan
and Korea, lots of people are very
concerned because the extent of the
subsidies makes it protectionism,” she
says. “We have to look at actions
role as international trade secretary with being minister for women and equalities which have been taken to solve
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch
Curriculum vitae
Born Wimbledon, January 1980, the
daughter of a Nigerian GP and a
university academic. Grew up in
Nigeria and the US, and came to
the UK when she was 16.
Education Came to the UK to do
A levels. Studied computer
systems engineering at
Sussex University and
law at London
University.
Career: Worked in
McDonald’s as a
student. After
graduation she got a job
at the bank Coutts and
worked at The Spectator.
Parliamentary career:
Elected MP for Saffron
Walden in 2017. Promoted to
climate change and which can end up
being unhelpful for us.”
Yet trade is the arguably the least
contentious part of Badenoch’s job.
She also oversees women and
equalities, a brief that includes
transgender issues and the ban on
conversion therapy. This week the
government blocked a new Scottish
law that would have made it easier to
change gender.
B
adenoch believes that
self-identification — the
ability to change gender
without medical diagnosis
— puts women and girls at
risk from predators. “We have no
problem with that in the sense that
we want people who are trans to be
able to live their lives freely and as
they wish,” she says. “The problem is
that self-identification also makes life
a lot easier for other people we don’t
want to have those sorts of freedoms.
Predators would be able to exploit
any system that says you can just say
you are what you are.”
“It’s also quite bad for trans people.
They then get conflated and
associated with the predators and
people who are looking to do bad
things. That’s why having a stricter
regime rather than a loose regime is
41
News
exchequer secretary to the Treasury
in 2020 and minister in the
levelling-up department in 2021.
Came fourth in the leadership
election in 2022 and was made
international trade secretary.
Quick fire
Johnson or Truss?
Rishi Sunak. That’s what
the public wants
Secretary of state or
leader of the
opposition? Secretary
of state
Sir Keir Starmer or Wes
Streeting? I know Wes
Streeting a bit better
JK Rowling or Daniel
Radcliffe? JK Rowling
(left), because she’s a
brilliant writer
quite important. The problem is
around the rhetoric. Rather than
having a disagreement on whether
you think self-identification is OK or
not OK, people who have a different
view are then abused, insulted, called
transphobic. That’s what has really
toxified the debate, and made a lot of
people scared to say what they think.”
More broadly, what about
Badenoch’s own future? During the
summer leadership campaign, many
MPs felt that she was the standout
candidate only hindered by her lack
of cabinet experience. She is still
talked about as a likely future leader
and was recently named the second
most popular member of the cabinet
in a poll among activists. So does she
still harbour leadership ambitions?
Perhaps understandably Badenoch
does not want to be drawn.
“I’ve done it now [run for
leadership],” she says. “It was quite an
experience. One of the reasons why I
did it then was because I was a junior
minister at the time and just felt I
wasn’t able to change things.
“I’m the secretary of state and I can
change things. I’m very focused on
changing things in trade.”
She adds: “That’s where I am at the
moment and there is no vacancy
because Rishi is doing a good job.”
42
News
Quick fix to get Instagram
smile can put teeth at risk
Peter Chappell
Demand for a perfect smile has left
Instagram users at risk of losing teeth
after using clear braces and “remote
dentistry” online, dentists have warned.
Dentists and orthodontists have
warned that “aligners” can cause harm
when not fitted by a dentist in person.
Online companies that say they are
acting as “disruptors” to traditional
dentistry claim to straighten teeth fast-
er and at a lower cost than braces fitted
in a dental surgery. But Dr
Anjli Patel at the British
Orthodontic Society
said the results of their
products, widely mar-
keted online, could
be “disastrous” with-
out proper monitor-
ing. “You want to
create a beautiful
smile, but you also
want to create a healthy
smile,’’ she told the BBC.
Dr Victoria Sampson, a
dentist, said physical checks
were necessary to spot decay or gum
disease, which if missed could mean
people lose their teeth. She added that
users may underestimate the force put
on teeth by the aligners.
One patient treated by Sampson lost
their front tooth because aligners
moved her teeth too quickly, skewing
her bite. An x-ray would have alerted a
dentist to the fact that the roots of the
patient’s teeth were too short to with-
stand the pressure the aligners created.
Smile Direct Club (SDC), a US-based
remote orthodontics company, offers
clear aligners for £1,800 without the
need to see a dentist in person. SDC
claim they have improved access to oral
care and their products have “enabled
successful treatment for more than
1.8 million people”.
Standard care for people who need
teeth realigned uses train-track braces
and clear aligners which are fit-
ted by dentists and ortho-
dontists, or an orthodontic
therapist, after an in-per-
son consultation.
Using X-rays as a
tool, they consider the
health of the hard and
soft tissues of the
mouth, the teeth and
gums, and whether the
roots of the teeth can sus-
tain movement. Patients
who wear braces are called
back in for regular appointments
that allow dentists to monitor how
teeth are moving and address any prob-
lems that arise.
Hundreds of SDC users around the
world have shared negative experien-
ces online. Jamie, a father from Glas-
gow, decided to use SDC after being
quoted £4,000 to £6,000 for straighten-
ing his teeth. “I can’t bite into an apple
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
because I can’t trust that my front teeth
are strong enough anymore,” he said.
He was first sent a DIY impression kit
to take his own teeth moulds and then
sent a course of aligners. But when he
began to have problems, he was not told
to see a dentist or connected to the den-
tist overseeing his case.
SDC’s customer service representa-
tives connected him to a “dental ex-
pert” on a web chat service, who said his
issues were normal and would go away.
He was encouraged to continue wear-
ing the aligners.
The BBC, which investigated his
case, said it was unclear what qualifica-
tions the “dental expert” had.
After months of negotiation Jamie
got a refund, but was asked to sign a
contract prohibiting him from “creat-
ing a negative impression” of SDC.
SDC said it was the user’s “responsi-
bility to see a dentist” and receive a
clean bill of health for their teeth and
gums within six months of starting
treatment, the BBC reported.
SDC said its affiliated dentists and
orthodontists were entirely responsible
and accountable for the treatment they
provided and that there was no clinical
evidence an office visit was necessary
for the same level of care.
The General Dental Council,
responsible for regulating UK dentists,
says that in some cases remote dentist-
ry can be “provided safely”. It urges Suited rebooted Charlotte Rampling gets down to business on the catwalk as
consumers to consult its guidelines. she models for the Alexandre Mattiussi menswear show at Paris fashion week
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 43

News

My Week Jacinda Ardern*

Monday
Joe Biden calls, which is a
surprise.
“Lucinda!” he says.
“Jacinda,” I say.
There’s the sound of distant
confusion. Then the US president
says he’s heard I’m thinking of
standing down, and that’s a shame
because I was a beacon of hope for
liberals during the Trump era. And
also that he understands it’s
because I’m exhausted and feel my
focus is slipping.
“And that’s so admirable,” he says.
“Because if I ever felt I was slipping
and wasn’t up to the job and . . . and
. . . sorry, who is this?”
“Jacinda,” I remind him. “The
prime minister of New Zealand.”
“Oh yes,” he says, vaguely.
Anyway, I say, how did he know?
Because I’m not even announcing it
until Thursday.
“I heard Wednesday,” he says.
“Your Wednesday is our
Thursday,” I say.
“Weird,” says Biden.
Then he says he knows because
the CIA knows everything, so they
prepared a top secret document.
“Which I found in my car,” he
adds.
Tuesday
I have no real plans for what to
do next, but I have been talking
with a publisher about memoirs.
And they recommend speaking to
Boris Johnson, who has just said
he’s doing his. So I call him.
“It’s Jacinda,” I say. “From New
Zealand.”
“G’day mate!” says Johnson.
“New Zealand,” I say.
“Newark’s finest!” he says. “You
know I’m from New York?”
“New Zealand,” I say, again.
“Whatever,” says Johnson.
Then I tell him my situation. And
I say the main thing I want to
explain in a book is this idea of
knowing when it’s the right time to
go.
“Literally no idea what you’re
talking about,” says Johnson.
“The point is,” I say, “I just don’t
have enough in the tank.”
“Nor did I!” says Johnson.
“Although fortunately I had a
cousin who was prepared to sort
out an extensive credit facility.”
“Tank,” I say. “Not bank.”
“Oh,” says Johnson.
Wednesday
Rishi Sunak calls. He says he’s
been speaking to the Americans
and he wanted to wish me all the
best for my announcement today.
“Tomorrow,” I correct him.
Rishi says he thought it was
tomorrow over here already,
though.
“Nope!” I say, brightly. “Pretty
sure it’s still just today!”
Then Rishi says he knows our
politics are different but he’s always
admired my sunny fortitude in a
world dominated by male leaders
who like the sound of their own
voices.
“Thank you,” I say. “But . . .”
“Let me finish,” says Rishi, and
carries on for a while.
“Anyway,” he says, eventually.
“Burnout! Oof! Tell me about it!”
“Is it nine weeks now?” I ask,
gently.
“Ten,” he says.
Thursday
So today’s the day. And I’m
explaining to journalists that I’ve
had an exhausting few years and I
just don’t want to do this any
more.
“But isn’t this because you’re
about to lose an election?” says
one.
“Of course not!” I say.
Then I ask if there are any more
questions, but there aren’t.
“And now,” I say. “I’m ending this
press conference. Because I just
don’t want to do it any more.”
“But it was ending anyway,” says
the journalist.
“That’s completely irrelevant,” I
tell him.
Friday
People keep calling. Remarkably,
now I’m having a Zoom call with
the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Is it cold over there?” says Harry.
“Actually it’s the middle of
summer,” I say.
“So brave,” says Meghan.
“Positive vibes!”
Then Harry says they wanted to
reach out because there aren’t
many people in the world who have
achieved as much as us and then
walked away.
“But I ran a country for five
years,” I remind them. “And you just
. . .”
“And also because women like
us are just talked over,” says
Meghan.
“Yeah but . . .” I say.
“Ceaselessly,” she says.
“So we thought,” says Harry,
“let’s leave it two days and get in
touch.”
“Well thanks,” I say. “But it was
one day, actually.”
“The papers said Wednesday,”
says Harry. “Damn them.
Another lie.”
“No, it was Wednesday for
you,” I explain, again, “but for
me it was Thursday.”
“Nah,” says Harry.
“Definitely,” I say.
“Look, it’s nice that you
want to speak your truth,”
says Meghan, “but that’s
kinda pushing it.”
*according to Hugo Rifkind

Clarkson’s farm shop doesn’t

sell top gear, council claims
Will Humphries
Southwest Correspondent
Visitors to Jeremy Clarkson’s farm
shop could get better quality produce
elsewhere and “very likely better
views”, his local council has claimed.
Clarkson has launched an appeal
against the West Oxfordshire district
council (WODC) decision to reject a
planning application for 70 car spaces
at his farm shop and to be allowed to
open a café selling hot food and
drinks in his lambing shed.
The journalist, whose Clarkson’s
Farm programme was a hit on Amazon
Prime, says he has given up on plans
to open a restaurant.
He needs the parking spaces, how-
ever, to deal with the customers at his
farm shop who park on the main
road, he says. He wants to keep the
supply vans in his shed so visitors can
sit and enjoy the view, he adds.
“We really do need on-site parking,”
he said in a statement to the appeal
hearing seen by The Times. “And
lavatories. I cannot understand why
the WODC doesn’t want me to sell
my farming books in the shop. They
claim they weren’t made locally but I
wrote them at my kitchen table and
you can’t get more local than that.”
Clarkson gained planning permis-
sion in November 2019 for a farm
shop selling local produce, which
must be made within 16 miles, a
lambing shed and ten car spaces.
The council argues that Clarkson
has breached his planning conditions
by changing the use of the land from
a farm shop into a “tourist attraction”,
including a café with parking for “up
to perhaps 200 vehicles”.
Clarkson denies that the additions
to the farm shop breach planning
laws. The council argues that the
number of visitors “far exceeds what
would arise from a bona fide farm
shop” and the impact is “harmful to
the rural character . . . of the Cotswold
area of outstanding natural beauty”.
It says that most of the visitors
come to his farm shop because it is
featured on television. In its appeal
statement, the council says: “It is the
venue itself that draws [the customers],
not the shop or the café and probably
not even the view. They have all
passed farm shops with a wider variety
of better quality, better value items,
they have all passed cafés and restau-
rants and mobile food vendors and
very likely better views.”
The appeal documents reveal that
Frances Clarkson, the presenter’s ex-
wife, has a joint stake in the farm and
lives up the road in a £3 million house.
In his appeal statement, Clarkson’s
lawyers say their client and his ex-
wife do the farming while “Jeremy
Clarkson and Lisa Bentinck [his girl-
friend] undertake the retail activity”.
Bentinck said in her statement to
the appeal hearing that the shop had
saved many local producers from
going out of business. She said:
“Throughout the incredibly difficult
times, when there was a constant bar-
rage of detrimental correspondence
from the council, it was only knowing
how we were helping others that kept
me from spiralling down into a pit of
despair.”

This just in: youngest newsreader is 16

A teenager is thought to be the UK’s
youngest newsreader after joining a
radio station aged just 16.
Josh Tate, from Uffculme, Devon,
began work experience with Radio
Exe last August with the hope of
learning new skills by shadowing
sports reporters.
But producers soon decided his
resonant voice would be a welcome
addition to the line-up, leading Josh
to compile and read sports bulletins
within days.
The student of creative media and
journalism at Exeter College is now a
regular voice on air.
In just a few months he has become
an adept sports bulletin presenter, a
reporter covering Exeter Chiefs
rugby and Exeter City FC games and,
from this week, has joined the break-
fast show to read headlines one or
two mornings a week. Ashley Jeary,
the programme manager, said: “In
radio just about everything starts
with voice quality but to come across
someone so young who doesn’t just
have an authoritative range but also
the determination and graft to
progress is rare. Our listeners can
expect to hear more of Josh on Radio
Exe as he gains more experience and
confidence.”
44 2GM Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

World
‘Your first kill is
tough. The second
is like hunting’
The soldiers operating
Ukraine’s drone unit
have no sympathy for
their Russian victims,
writes Richard Spencer
The Russian soldier took three hours to
die. He did so alone in a foxhole, into
which he had dived as Ukrainian artil-
lery zeroed in on the field he had been
sprinting across.
Many men have died alone in fox-
holes over the centuries. But the novel-
ty of modern war is that the Russian
soldier was not entirely alone. His
writhing and twitching, the way he
clutched his bleeding stomach, was
being watched in real time, in close-up,
from a Ukrainian observation point
more than ten miles away.
Not only watched: recorded, re-
watched and replayed for journalists
who visited the next morning.
The technology is cheap, by the stan-
dards of military hardware. The Chi-
nese-made DJI Mavic 3 drone, which
called in the artillery fire that hit the
soldier and caught his last breaths, can
be bought from Argos or Amazon for
less than £2,000.
The drone may have been cheap but
its operator could zoom in on the man’s
grimacing features and look of despair.
Zooming out, it showed his comrades
fleeing, without a backward glance.
He was probably a criminal. Russia’s
Wagner mercenary group runs this
front, near the town of Soledar, and has
poured in thousands of convicts that its
boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has recruited
from prison.
Criminal or not, he was some
mother’s son, and his end was undigni-
fied. “No one came for him,” the
US to outlaw Wagner Group
Hugh Tomlinson Washington
The United States will designate the
Russian mercenary Wagner Group a
“transnational criminal
organisation” next week, tightening
sanctions that are aimed at
disrupting its business.
The White House also released
declassified satellite imagery of a
delivery of rockets and missiles from
North Korea to the organisation for
use in Ukraine.
North Korea’s assistance to the
Russian invasion, in violation of
international sanctions, was
reported to the UN security council
yesterday.
Five railway carriages from Russia
travelled to North Korea on
November 18, John Kirby, the
National Security Council
spokesman, said. The train was
loaded with munitions the following
day, before returning to Russia.
US officials had already accused
North Korea of helping the Kremlin
war effort.Pyongyang denied the
claims.
“In part because of our sanctions
and export controls, Russia is
searching for arms through foreign
countries, including through
Wagner . . . While we assess that the
amount of materiel delivered to
Wagner has not changed battlefield
dynamics in Ukraine, we do assess
that it will continue to receive
North Korean weapons systems,”
Kirby said.
The sanctions against Wagner
underscore its growing importance
in the war. “As his military
continues to struggle in Ukraine,
[President Putin] is increasingly
turning to Wagner for military
support,” Kirby said. “Wagner is
becoming a rival power centre to
the Russian military and other
ministries.”
Wagner is thought to have 50,000
troops on the ground in Ukraine,
including 40,000 convicts drafted
from Russian prisons to supplement
10,000 contract soldiers. The group’s
strategy of recruiting from Russian
jails, endorsed by Putin, has
heightened tensions within the
military command, Kirby said.
Wagner commanders and
Yevgeny Prigozhin, its owner, have
criticised Russian generals for their
performance on the battlefield.
“Prigozhin is trying to advance his
own interest in Ukraine and
Wagner is making military decisions
based largely on what . . . they will
generate for Prigozhin in terms of
positive publicity,” Kirby said. Ukrainian soldier in front of the moni- this reconnaissance and targeting unit
Kirby played down a rift with tor said. He was not animated by what near the front lines in Bakhmut and
Germany, which has refused to send he was seeing, except when he suddenly Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, but he is
its Leopard tanks to Ukraine, or pointed, and said, “Oh look at that!”, as not the one pulling the trigger.
allow any other country to supply the camera caught a pheasant running Sometimes a kamikaze drone is sent
German-made tanks, unless the US through undergrowth near by. in, or a drone drops a bomblet, but most
also sends its M1 Abrams to Kyiv. In Britain’s recent wars attention has damage is done when co-ordinates are
The US says that would be been paid to the mental health of drone found and sent to artillery teams
logistically too difficult. operators: armchair pilots who track, equipped with Nato’s newly delivered,
“These are all decisions that each strike and kill enemy combatants from ultra-accurate howitzers. Nevertheless
nation makes for itself, sovereign thousands of miles away. The discon- I asked Magyar whether he, too, might
decisions. We are not arm-twisting, nect from their lives at home, set feel the episode we had just watched to
and nobody’s arm-twisting us,” against the lives dispatched on the be dehumanising.
Kirby said, insisting that Germany other side of the world, is feared to be He did not. “They aren’t humans to
had “stepped up” and “provided a lot dehumanising, even degrading. us,” he said, without hesitation. “It’s a
of equipment” to Ukraine. The world of Robert Brovdy, code totally different feeling, shooting an
named “Magyar”, is different. He leads enemy in front of you and when you are

Toadzilla leaps out of the bush and into the record books
Australia
Geoff Hiscock Sydney
A giant cane toad, believed to be the
largest found, has been discovered
rampaging around an Australian
national park, leading rangers to name
it Toadzilla.
Weighing 5.9lb (2.7kg), Toadzilla
breaks the record for its species, which
is an invasive pest in Australia.
The mammoth female toad was put
down by park rangers who spotted it in
Queensland’s Conway National Park,
about 560 miles north of Brisbane.
Kylee Gray, a ranger, said she
encountered it when a snake slithered
across a track, forcing rangers to stop
their vehicle. When she stepped out
and looked down, she gasped. “I
reached down and grabbed the cane
toad and couldn’t believe how big and
heavy it was,” she said. Gray put it into
a container. “A cane toad that size will
eat anything it can fit into its mouth,
and that includes insects, reptiles and
small mammals,” she said.
Cane toads were first introduced to
Queensland sugar plantations in 1935
to control beetles, but they soon multi-
plied, with devastating consequences
for other wildlife. Their poisonous
glands kill species that try to eat them,
such as birds, snakes and quolls, a tree-
climbing marsupial. They can also be
poisonous to domestic dogs and cats.
A Department of Environment and
Science spokesman told The Times
that as an introduced species, Toadzilla
had been humanely euthanised. The
The cane toad found in Queensland
weighed 5.9lb, a record for the species
remains of the toad could
become an exhibit in the Queensland
Museum.
Cane toads, originally native to
South America, are found throughout
northern Australia. The toads move
rapidly, hopping between waterways
and travelling more than half a mile a
night. Endemic as far north as Darwin,
they have been reported in Kimberley,
western Australia. Conway National
Park runs for about 50 miles along the
Queensland coast, not far from the
popular boating region known as the
Whitsundays.
Toadzilla was found in a rainforest at
an elevation of almost 1,300ft. “We
believe it’s a female due to the size, and
female cane toads do grow bigger than
males,” Gray said. Females can produce
30,000 eggs in a season, according to
environment officials in Queensland.
They added that cane toads had caused
some of their predators to die out.
The toads compete with native species
for shelter and food, primarily feeding
on insects but also eating small
vertebrates.
Many northern communities hunt
them at night. The best way to kill them
is debatable. Hitting them with a golf
club, hammer or other object is frowned
upon. It risks a poison splashback in the
eyes if the blow strikes the parotid
glands, which protrude from behind
each ear. Researchers believe that the
most humane method is to put the toad
in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few
hours, then transfer it to a freezer,
where it will slip into unconsciousness.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
working on a drone.” He conceded that
his first “kill” was tough. “But from the
second time, it’s like you are hunting,”
he went on. “There are all the deaths of
your brothers, your comrades. You
have all this hate inside of you. I look on
the monitor, and it just becomes a ques-
tion of hunting them down.”
Twenty years ago the notion of un-
manned aerial vehicles determining
life and death from 30,000 feet seemed
a dystopia, or at least a symbol of Amer-
ica’s technological and military domi-
nance. Now, drone warfare is common.
The men in Magyar’s bunker were
Arsen, 26, a medical student, Max, 47, a
lawyer, and Andriy, 52, an English
Camel whisperers on world heritage list
The Gulf
Melanie Swan Dubai
Rhythmic chants, throat-singing and
musical instruments help Bedouin
herders to create a distinctive sound
that guides their camels through the
deserts of the Arabian Peninsula.
Known as Alhedaa, the oral tradition
of “camel whispering” has now been
awarded special status on the Unesco
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity. The melody, unique to each
herder, is passed down from generation
to generation and is performed at
important social events, including
weddings and graduations.
Camels have been a central part of
the Bedouin culture through the
centuries, providing an essential means
2GM
teacher turned martial arts instructor.
Their Mavic observation drones are
normally sold to civilian photogra-
phers. Thousands have been bought for
Ukraine’s army by crowdfunding.
Magyar’s colleagues also make their
own attack drones — scores lay on the
table in his bunker’s kitchen, looking
like products of a child’s Meccano set.
Magyar, 47, showed off the small explo-
sive tubes he attaches to them, each
containing detonators, shrapnel and, in
some cases, flammable liquids. He was
a businessman in the far west of
Ukraine before the war, his code name
coming from his Hungarian father.
Magyar signed up as an infantry officer
of transport as well food from their milk
and meat.
“There are many rock carvings that
show painted camels and tell the story
of the camel, whether they have been
used in war or trade,” said Jasser
al-Harbash, chief executive of the Saudi
Heritage Commission. The point of
pursuing the Unesco listing was to
“protect” Alhedaa and “provide an
opportunity for its development,” he
told the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet
Daily.
Unesco said it hoped that granting
the status would “inspire local
communities to safeguard other
traditions of intangible cultural heri-
tage”, including drinking Arabic coffee,
reciting poetry and storytelling.
Several cultural customs and
Cheerleader in chief sets
sights on the White House
Page 47
Robert Brovdy’s team fits
drones with explosives.
His unit filmed Russians at
a house in Soledar, shortly
before it was shelled
before the Russian invasion but life on
the Kherson front, being shelled with-
out being able to hit back, made him
think he could put his entrepreneurial
spirit to better use.
He built up the drone unit from
scratch and it has undoubted propa-
ganda value. Videos of Magyar’s great-
est successes have made him one of the
war’s most famous soldiers.
His aerial view of the battle lines has
also, to the defence ministry’s conster-
nation, sometimes made him a more
accurate narrator of their status than its
own daily briefings. It was Magyar who
confirmed that the Russians had seized
most of Soledar, when the Ukrainians
were officially denying it. But his
screens also highlighted a Ukrainian
flag still flying over Salt Mine No 7, on
the town’s western fringes. All was not
quite lost.
The unit’s videos are met with glee by
an angry and war-weary public. In one,
Russian soldiers pour into a house in
Soledar. Fifteen minutes later they are
obliterated by an unerringly targeted
Ukrainian shell.
The day before The Times visited, a
video showed 16 Russians moving into
a trench next to the river on Bakhmut’s
outskirts. In the “after” shots, their
corpses are visible, apart from one man,
struggling for life: trying to stand, fall-
ing, trying again and falling again.
Ukrainian matter-of-factness re-
flects the Russians’ own nonchalance
in the face of death. In another image, a
man in a three-pronged trench fires
wildly at the drone he has spotted too
late. He disappears in a puff of smoke,
which dissipates to reveal a motionless
shape lying on the trench floor. The
men in the two other prongs hardly
look up, and do not venture over to
help.
They themselves may be victims of
infighting between Prigozhin and the
Russian generals. Magyar said his work
was made easier because Russia’s mili-
tary was not providing Wagner with
artillery cover.
Nevertheless, he lost four of his
forward drone operators, who work
within a few hundred metres of the
front, in one strike two weeks ago. He
would not reveal his total losses.
Meanwhile, his colleagues, with the
help of YouTube, are devising cleverer
and deadlier ways of distributing death.
“We are making it up as we go along,”
Magyar said. War is nothing if not a
cradle of innovation.
traditions from across the Arab world
have been given Intangible Cultural
Heritage status. One of these is Oman’s
khanjar, or dagger, part of traditional
dress worn by men during national and
religious events in the sultanate.
In Europe recent additions to the list
include the baguette in France and
truffle hunting in Italy, watchmaking in
Switzerland and the sport of hurling in
Ireland.
Historical sources and archaeological
discoveries indicate that Omanis have
worn the khanjar for centuries,
according to Unesco. “An essential
element of Omani culture, its manu-
facture requires significant knowledge
and skills that are transmitted from one
generation to next,” a spokesman for
the organisation said.
Japanese man answers call
of wild . . . in a wolf suit
Page 49
India says goodbye to
last prince of most
fabled royal dynasty
India
Amrit Dhillon Delhi
For three days mourners queued at the
Chowmahalla Palace in Hyderabad to
pay their respects to the last prince of
India’s most fabled royal dynasty.
Chowmahalla, framed by gilded
arches and leaping fountains, was the
perfect place to mourn the last Nizam
of Hyderabad, Mukarram Jah, whose
family were known for their palaces,
harems, pageantry and for owning
more jewellery than all of India’s other
royal houses combined.
When Jah died last Saturday aged 89
at his home in Turkey, where he had
lived for decades, there was no question
that he would be brought home and
buried in his family tomb, first being
laid in a glass case for mourners to visit.
After India achieved independence
in 1947 it ended an era of princely
states, each with royal fami-
lies. All that remained
were their titles until
India abolished those
too in 1971. With
Jah’s death a sun
sets on the coun-
try’s most eccen-
tric royal line.
Established in
the 18th century,
the family’s wealth
originated in the
diamond mines of
Golconda and theirs
was the largest of all the
princely states.
Jah’s grandfather, the seventh
nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, kept the
184-carat Jacob diamond on his desk as
a paperweight. Urban myth has it that
he also bought a fleet of Rolls-Royces in
an act of defiance after being snubbed
by an assistant in the Bond Street show-
room, shipping them to Delhi and using
the cars to remove the city’s rubbish.
Khan is said to have had 140 children
from eight wives and concubines. On
his daily visit to his mother in another
palace, the police on the streets would
whistle, a signal to the populace to pros-
trate themselves. In 1937 he featured on
the cover of Time magazine as “the
world’s richest man”.
Mir Mahboob Ali Khan and his successors owned some of India’s finest palaces
45
“Mir Osman Ali Khan was also the
only prince to be bestowed the title His
Exalted Highness by the British out of
gratitude for sending troops to the First
World War and for ordering India’s
Muslims not to side with the Otto-
mans,” Jah’s biographer, John Zubr-
zycki, told The Times.
Jah was educated at India’s school for
the elite, the Doon School, and then at
Harrow, Cambridge and Sandhurst. By
the time his education was over, his
father, next in line, had become a drunk-
en debauchee and gambling addict. Os-
man Ali Khan decided to pass over his
own son and coronate Jah instead. By
this time there was not much to rule over
and Jah spent most of his time abroad.
Perhaps his happiest years were in
Australia, where he moved in 1972 to a
200,000-acre sheep farm where he
lived as a gentleman farmer. He told
Time magazine: “I love this place,
miles and miles of open
country, and not a
bloody Indian in
sight.”
Jah’s blood ties
provided a strong
connection with
Turkey. His
mother was the
Ottoman caliph’s
daughter and so
when his finances
collapsed in Austra-
lia, the obvious place
to move to, in 1996, was
Istanbul.
His visits to Hyderabad
were infrequent. In his absence, the
sprawling palaces decayed and the
thousands of descendants of the sev-
enth nizam’s 140 children squabbled in
the courts to grab some of the fortune.
Jah married five times. With much of
the family’s colossal fortune spent by
his father or divided by the remaining
relatives, Jah spent the last few decades
of his life as a recluse in a two-bedroom
flat in Antalya, and then in Istanbul,
where he was looked after by a carer.
Intensely private, Jah hardly gave
any interviews. In the few he gave to his
biographer, Zubrzycki, he came across
as “a cultivated, generous, and honour-
able man”.
46
World
Cardinal calls Pope’s China agreement a ‘deal with the Devil’
Vatican
Tom Kington Rome
A Catholic cleric has attacked the
Pope’s deal with China to jointly
appoint Chinese bishops, warning: “You
cannot strike deals with the Devil.”
In a new book listing complaints
about Francis’s papacy, Gerhard Müller,
a German cardinal, also compares the
Vatican’s silence over Beijing’s crushing
of human rights in Hong Kong to the
Elena Ferraro, left, was one of a handful of locals to stand up to to Matteo Messina Denaro, who was captured this week. The Cosa Nostra’s “last godfather” had a poster of Marlon Brando in a hideout
How a code of silence
shielded Italy’s ‘last
godfather’ for 30 years
A Sicilian town remains
divided as reign of its
mafia boss finally ends,
writes Tom Kington
in Castelvetrano
A strange division exists in the Sicilian
town of Castelvetrano, the home of
Matteo Messina Denaro, Italy’s most
wanted mafia boss, who was captured
this week.
“Most people here are like me, over-
joyed and feeling free for the first time
since he went on the run 30 years ago,”
said Elena Ferraro, 47, the owner of a
health centre in the town, “but there’s a
large group who saw Messina Denaro
as their protector and they are in
mourning.”
As a member of the Sicilian mafia’s
inner circle in the early 1990s, Messina
Denaro, 60, waged a campaign of dead-
ly bombings across Italy in which child-
ren and magistrates were killed, to pro-
failed appeasement of Hitler in the
1930s. “It’s not right to stay silent — it is
a grave error,” said Müller, 75, calling
China “a rather brutal dictatorship”.
Francis’s deal with China, made in
2018, to jointly appoint bishops was
aimed at ending years of tension
between China’s unofficial, under-
ground Catholic Church, which is loyal
to Rome, and China’s state-controlled
Catholic Church. The wording of the
deal remains secret but it envisages the
test against tough sentences for gang-
sters, before going on the run in 1993.
The police used health records to
track him to a private clinic in Palermo
on Monday where he was undergoing
chemotherapy for cancer. Until then
the mobster nicknamed U Siccu (the
thin one), had remained one step ahead
of officers while keeping a firm grip on
the economy of his home turf in west-
ern Sicily, siphoning off millions of
euros from wind farms, supermarkets
and holiday villages to fund his expen-
sive tastes. When his hideout was dis-
covered, police found a receipt for €700
for a meal at a restaurant and a note-
book of accounts that suggests he was
spending €10,000 a month to stay
hidden.
On the day of Messina Denaro’s cap-
ture the police also found a flat that he
had used for the past six months, in
which there was a poster of the actor
Marlon Brando in The Godfather. They
later discovered a bunker hidden
behind a wardrobe in a second house
that they believe was used by him.
Ferraro said: “If people knew where
joint approval by Rome and Beijing of
new bishops who pledge allegiance to
the Pope. But critics accuse China of
continuing to appoint new bishops
independently and of cracking down
on worshippers.
Müller alleged that the Vatican had
agreed to priests in China being forced
to attend Chinese state indoctrination
courses and warned that the Chinese
Catholic Church risked becoming a
“state choirboy”. He claimed that the
he was, they kept quiet due to fear
mixed with veneration.” She was one of
a handful of the town’s residents who
stood up to the Cosa Nostra’s last god-
father, as Messina Denaro is known,
calling the police in 2013 when his
cousin told her he wanted to launder
money through her centre. “The cousin
got four years for attempted extortion;
I got a police escort,” Ferraro told The
Times in a café next to her clinic.
She visits the café most days,
although it is run by former loyalists of
Messina Denaro, including Lorenzo
Catalanotto, the seemingly friendly
barista, who was sentenced to 12 years
in jail after passing the fugitive boss
“pizzini” — handwritten notes that are
smuggled to mafia leaders in their hide-
outs.
“It’s odd but they treat me with
respect in the café. I don’t interest them
any more since they prefer to intimi-
date the timid,” Ferraro said.
As she pays Catalanotto for the cof-
fee, news arrives on her phone that the
police have discovered a hideout used
by Messina Denaro in Campobello di
Vatican had declined to protest against
China’s suppression of human rights in
Hong Kong because it was being
“blackmailed” by Beijing’s threats to
carry out reprisals against Catholics.
Francis was repeating “the silence of
the Vatican in the face of Hitler’s black-
mail, when it failed to clearly denounce
what was happening in Germany to
avoid persecution”, Müller said.
Pius XII, the pontiff during the
Second World War, was accused of
Mazara, a small town nearby with a
population of 10,000. Jumping in her
car, she heads to the scene, navigating
the town’s narrow streets lined with
whitewashed houses and olive trees.
Police wearing balaclavas entered
the modest house, watched by TV
crews and curious children. Joining the
crowd, Ferraro said: “Where are the
adults? All hiding at home. There is
omertà [a code of silence] in Castel-
vetrano but here in Campobello di
Mazara it is so bad you can breathe it. In
a small town where everyone knows
everyone and people are curious about
newcomers, it’s impossible no one
knew Messina Denaro was here.”
A few locals in a nearby café did not
appear too interested in
the massive operation
on their doorstep. “I
never really thought
about this man,” said
one woman, while a
young man shrugged,
before claiming: “The
real mafia is in parlia-
ment.”
At the local headquar-
ters of the paramilitary
carabinieri police,
Fabio Bottino, the
provincial commander,
described the omertà
his team was up against.
“It’s not support for the
mafia so much as the tendency to turn
away; to mind your own business,” he
said.
However, as the raids and question-
ing continued, an active network of
supporters has begun to emerge, made
up of the kind of respectable, well-to-do
locals that investigators long suspected
of protecting Messina Denaro.
Alfonso Tumbarello, a respected GP
who treated the gang boss, is suspected
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
failing to denounce the round-up of Jews
in Germany for fear of Nazi reprisals.
Müller has become a leading voice
among conservative critics of Francis.
His book, In Good Faith, co-written
with the Italian journalist Franca Gian-
soldati, is a potential handbook for the
Pope’s conservative foes. In it, he
attacks Francis for allowing President
Biden to receive communion even
though he is a “convinced supporter of
abortion”.
of knowing who he was, despite the fact
that Messina Denaro used an alias.
Police said Messina Denaro’s key
aide was Andrea Bonafede, a building
surveyor who admitted buying the flat
the gangster used and letting him
assume his identity for medical visits.
Bottino said Bonafede was Messina
Denaro’s childhood friend: “Bonafede’s
uncle was the mafia boss of Campobello
di Mazara and was close to Messina De-
naro’s dad, who was boss of Castelve-
trano, so you can imagine the children
saw each other at baptisms and parties.”
Messina Denaro’s reliance on Bonaf-
ede suggests that he was increasingly
calling on old acquaintances after the
arrest of dozens of his supporters. Erri-
co Risalvato, the occu-
pant of the house con-
taining the bunker, is
the brother of Giovan-
ni Risalvato, a convict-
ed accomplice of
Messina Denaro.
Not all Messina De-
naro’s close associates
have remained loyal.
The mobster Lorenzo
Cimarosa, a relative,
turned on him, and
Cimarosa’s son,
Giuseppe, has cam-
paigned against Messi-
na Denaro. This week
he called on locals to
gather outside the Messina Denaro
family home and wave white paper, “to
show we have a blank page on which we
can now write our own future”,
Ferraro was not so sure that the Cosa
Nostra would give up that easily, sug-
gesting that Francesco Guttadauro,
Messina Denaro’s nephew, may take
over.
“Someone is going to take over the
reins,” she said.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Cheerleader
in chief with
eyes on the
White House
Shrewd and ambitious,
Ron DeSantis’s wife is
not content with life in
a Florida mansion,
writes Jacqui Goddard
At a wedding chapel on Walt Disney
World’s Seven Seas Lagoon, with
manicured gardens in the foreground
and Cinderella’s castle framed perfectly
behind, the start of married life for
Casey and Ron DeSantis was a finely
choreographed affair.
Thirteen years later, the magic has
gone out of Disney for the groom who
now, as Florida governor, is dragging
the corporation through an acrimoni-
ous split.
His bride, with her flair for managing
the optics of political office and an
understanding of their value, is now his
most influential adviser as the fairytale
that had its opening scene in the so-
called House of Mouse edges towards a
potential blockbuster of a bid for the
White House.
“We’ve not seen a political spouse as
closely connected to the political prin-
cipal since, I guess, Bill and Hillary
Clinton,” Peter Schorsch, a former
Republican consultant and conserva-
tive media publisher at Florida Politics,
said. “Hillary was the smart and ambi-
tious one and Bill was a once-in-a-gen-
eration mind — but she was more well
regarded. With the DeSantises it’s
symbiotic, and it has strengthened for a
variety of reasons since they’ve been in
the governor’s office.”
Casey Black — a Golf Channel host
before she became a reporter and then
news anchor on local stations in
Jacksonville, Florida — married Ron
DeSantis, then a dapper naval officer, in
2009, after they met on a golf driving
Trump vents his anger at ‘disloyal’ evangelicals who lost the faith
David
Charter
washington
A
merica’s evangelicals
have previously been a
core base of support for
Donald Trump and his
Maga movement. But this
week Trump lashed out at the
“disloyalty” of church leaders who
appear lukewarm at the prospect of
his second coming as president.
Trump’s outburst on Monday
seemed to breach the extraordinary
alliance in which prominent
evangelical Christians turned a blind
eye to his faults in return for long-
range and struck up a conversation
over a bucket of balls.
“She was very pleasant to work with,
fun. We have a family atmosphere at
Channel 4 and she fit in very well,” said
Bruce Hamilton, the anchor on the
broadcast station’s morning show, and
who went to the couple’s 2009 wedding.
“It was very orchestrated and every-
thing that she had wanted. Ron was
wearing his navy dress whites and it
was very Disneyesque, very elegant.
“They were getting ready to serve
appetisers and our station meteorolo-
gist said ‘not a good idea because there’s
rain up ahead, you’re going to get wet’.
She said ‘nah, we’ll be OK’ — and it
poured. Single minded, always going to
do her own thing.”
Ron DeSantis, 44, served in Florida’s
House of Representatives from 2013 to
2018, when he won the governorship.
When they dropped in on her former
colleagues at the Channel 4 studio,
Hamilton said, “Casey threw off her
shoes and Ron sat down and the com-
ment was ‘it’s wonderful to be around
friends where we can be ourselves and
kick back and be off the campaign trail
and breathe’.
“That was before he took the oath
and became governor and that was the
last time we’ve seen them,” he added.
“We didn’t talk politics a lot — but
when we did, her views were very
conservative.”
The Trump years hardened the
couple’s conservatism and the gover-
nor rose to stardom within the Republi-
can Party with his declarations of
Florida as the “Freedom State”, his war
on “woke” culture, rejection of Covid
protocols, and policies criticised by
some as discriminatory and cruel.
His war on Disney was triggered by
the corporation’s declaration that it
would join the fight to overturn his
legislation on parental rights in
education, nicknamed the Don’t Say
sought policy goals. Despite
delivering three justices who backed
the Supreme Court ruling to end the
nationwide right to abortion,
Trump’s 2024 campaign has met
with a cool reception from
evangelical leaders waiting to see
how the Republican nomination
race develops. Several potential
rivals, notably Ron DeSantis, the
Florida governor, and Trump’s vice-
president Mike Pence, have deeply
held religious convictions which
could appeal to evangelical voters.
Trump let his frustration show on
the right-wing streaming channel
Real America’s Voice. Asked for his
message to “prominent evangelical
leaders who backed you last time . . .
[but are] not yet willing to commit”,
Trump initially said: “Well, I don’t
really care.” He then added: “Look,
it’s a sign of disloyalty. There’s great
disloyalty in the world of politics.
Gay bill for its limitations on discussion
of LGBT issues in schools. He is now
threatening to strip Walt Disney World
in Orlando of its special self-governing
status in retaliation.
For Mrs DeSantis, 42, her professional
television experience helped her to
mould her husband’s campaign adverts
into visually effective vote-winners,
harnessing her story as a breast-cancer
survivor and adding appearances from
their children — Madison, 6, Mason, 4,
Nobody has ever done more for
‘right to life’ than Donald Trump . . .
They got something they’ve been
fighting for . . . [on] Roe v Wade, they
finally won.”
In 2020 white evangelical voters
accounted for a third of his votes.
But since his defeat to Joe Biden,
their leaders have been backing
away. The veteran televangelist Pat
Robertson said that December “the
president still lives in an alternate
reality” because of his insistence he
was the true winner. For Trump, 76,
to run again “will be a mistake”, he
added. This was a retreat from
Robertson’s pre-election prediction
— based on a message from God —
that Trump would triumph.
For others, the riot in Washington
on January 6, 2021, may have been a
Damascene moment. Robert
Jeffress, of the First Baptist Church
in Dallas, backed Trump from
and Mamie, 2 — to soften his often spiky
edges and social awkwardness.
She has also been a prolific charitable
fundraiser, heading a disaster-relief
appeal after Hurricane Ian last year, a
mental health initiative and a
$100 million push on cancer research
and care.
Susan MacManus, professor emerita
of political science at the University of
South Florida, said: “A lot of political
consultants aren’t savvy about the kind
before he won the Republican
primary contest and long before
Pence was named his running mate
in a move seen as designed to shore
up evangelical support. Jeffress
regularly appeared on Fox News
defending Trump, including over the
allegations of adultery with the
adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Jeffress gave the official prayer at
the opening of the US embassy in
Jerusalem, a key evangelical goal
met by Trump. But he wrote that
the US Capitol attack was
“despicable and wrong” and on the
day Trump said he would run
again, Jeffress tweeted
support for Pence’s book So
Help Me God, praising
Pence as “a great friend, a
committed Christian and
Donald Trump’s stock has
fallen since defeat in 2020
47
World
Ron and Casey DeSantis
have the perfect family
image to attract America’s
voters, analysts say
of things that she is. You can’t underes-
timate her knowledge and shrewdness
when it comes to the visuals of politics.”
At a national summit last summer of
Moms for Liberty, a powerful conserva-
tive group focused on parental rights in
schools, Mrs DeSantis was having an
informal, livingroom-style chat with a
moderator on stage when she was inter-
rupted by one of her daughters who
broke loose from the wings. “She just
matter-of-factly swept her up in her
arms and picked her up in her arms and
said ‘Mummy’s busy’ — so naturally —
and it resonated with every grand-
mother and mom in that room.”
In the final gubernatorial campaign
advert last summer Mrs DeSantis spoke
tearfully of how her husband held the
family together while she was sick with
cancer. In a previous ad, he was cast as
Maverick, Tom Cruise’s character in the
Top Gun movies, dressed in a khaki
flight suit, aviator sunglasses and taking
to the cockpit of a fighter jet.
Schorsch believes that the Covid
pandemic led to a “slight radicalisation”
of the DeSantis couple, as the initial
isolation forced them to rely all the
more on each other, despite the gover-
nor’s later push to reopen Florida and
drop restrictive mandates.
Staff who had been embraced for
their allegiance to Donald Trump —
once DeSantis’s ally and idol — were
pushed out as the former president’s
star waned. “Casey saw the Trumpian
phenomenon where people were trying
to get rich or wealthy off the DeSantis
brand. She became a gatekeeper —
except gatekeeper implies a letting in of
some people, and there just wasn’t. She
kept the circle as tight as possible
around Ron,” Schorsch said.
“There’s not much of a social dynam-
ic, they don’t have big dinner parties,
they have the same people over to holi-
day parties again and again. It’s insular.”
DeSantis’s emphatic victory in
November when he beat his
Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist,
by 19 points for a second term as gover-
nor may have appeared to strengthen
his presidential prospects. He has not
yet declared his candidacy, dilemmas
and challenges lie ahead — and ana-
lysts feel that what makes him popular
in Florida may not translate sufficiently
to a national stage.
“Casey is 100 per cent set on the
White House; she’s told people that
she’s not a major fan of Tallahassee and
she wants to get somewhere else. My
working prediction right now is that I
don’t know that they get there,”
Schorsch said. “The odds of DeSantis
winning as president in 2024 . . . I think
they are possibly better on Casey to
succeed Ron as governor in 2027.”
a true American hero”.
John Fea of Messiah College in
Pennsylvania, who studies
evangelical politics, said: “What
evangelicals want is the best
candidate to beat Biden. Some may
conclude Trump is too damaged
after January 6. Trump, DeSantis,
Pence, they all deliver the same
policies.”
Polling by WPA Intelligence
suggests Biden beating
Trump but DeSantis
beating Biden. White
evangelicals will vote
overwhelmingly
Republican
whoever the
candidate is, Fea
said, adding:
“For all the
misgivings
. . . they hate
Biden more.”
48
World
First time around Debutantes danced in front hundreds of guests during the opening ceremony of the 80th Vienna Philharmonic Ball at the Musikverein concert hall
Growing (very) old gracefully: How
the French live long and prosper
France
Adam Sage Paris
When the French nun Sister André
died this week at the age of 118 she made
history as the fourth oldest person ever
documented.
The oldest, Jeanne Calment, who
died at the age of 122 in 1997, was born
less than 50 miles away from André.
The proximity of their birthplaces is
no coincidence, some say, pointing to a
combination of a good healthcare
system and a Mediterranean diet of
vegetables, olive oil and fish, which has
boosted longevity in France in general
and its southern regions in particular.
Both women were born in southern
France: Calment in Arles in Provence
and Sister André in Alès in the Céven-
nes.
A study by the National Institute of
Demographic Studies published this
week said there were now 29,351 cente-
narians in France, compared with 8,063
Care homes offer virtual walks down memory lane
United States
Keiran Southern Los Angeles
Communal areas in care homes are
usually the setting for bingo games or
hours of daytime television.
Now visitors to retirement
homes across America may be
surprised to find the residents
wearing virtual reality (VR)
headsets as experts use the
technology to fight loneli-
ness and alleviate anxie-
ty for people with de-
mentia. Studies have
shown that “reminis-
in 2000 and 977 in 1960. It is predicted
that by 2060 there will be 198,645.
“Thanks to our population of 68 mil-
lion, we are in the top three countries in
the world with the most centenarians,”
said Laurent Toussaint, a contributor to
the international database on longevity
— the others being the US and Japan.
He added that the number of cente-
narians had temporarily fallen because
of a drop in the birthrate during the
First World War. But the 1918 armistice
had been followed by a baby boom,
which meant that the number of cen-
tenarians was rising quickly again.
France is also home to supercenten-
arians — people who live beyond 110.
The database says 263 people are
known to have died over the age of 110
in France, compared with 179 in Eng-
land and Wales, 60 in Spain and 16 in
Germany.
Given that information is collated
differently from one country to
another, the database may be incom-
cence therapy”, which includes viewing
childhood pictures or listening to one’s
favourite music, can boost mood and it
is hoped that VR will provide a more
immersive experience.
Alone or in group sessions,
elderly users can take a virtual
stroll down the street on which
they lived as a child, or visit a
favourite holiday destina-
tion.
For four years Dr Jer-
The VR headsets are
being used to help
people with dementia
with an EU average of 10.2 per cent and
Global centenarians less than 10 per cent in the UK.
Scientists who long believed that the
Number of people aged 100 and over
limit of human life was 120 now wonder
per 100,000 in 2020
whether people could “one day live
France and territories until 150, or even more”.
Number Per 100,00 The institute is sceptical, however.
Guadeloupe 299 75 Although a growing number of people
Barbados 204 71 are approaching 120, only Calment is
Martinique 235 63 known to have lived longer and “noth-
Japan 78,636 62 ing proves that the extreme limit of
Uruguay 2,143 62 human life is moving”, it said.
Puerto Rico 1,660 58 Sister André was born as Lucile Ran-
Hong Kong 3,561 48 don in 1904. She entered a convent 40
Channel Islands 73 42 years later, moving into a care home in
France 19,443 30 1979. She stayed busy there, helping
Source: Lottie with the housekeeping and with look-
ing after other residents until the age of
plete. Yet the institute said there was no 108. “People say work kills; it kept me
doubting the emergence in France alive,” she had said in an interview.
since the 1980s of a “new age group that Maria Branyas Morera, a Spanish
has become a statistical reality, the great-grandmother, who is 115, is
supercentenarians”. thought to now be the world’s oldest
France spends 11.3 per cent of its person, although this has yet to be con-
national wealth on health, compared firmed by Guinness World Records.
emy Bailenson, the director of Stanford was easier to get to grips with. “If you
University’s virtual human interaction want to look at an object, you simply
lab, has been working with MyndVR, a turn your head the same way you would
company that specialises in reminis- in the real world,” he said. “If you want
cence therapy, to put hundreds of head- to get closer to an object, you move your
sets into care homes. chair closer to that object and it gets
MyndVR said the process reduced bigger.”
loneliness and isolation while boosting Bailenson said: “The headsets are
happiness and peace of mind. now inexpensive and comfortable and
Bailenson agreed and said: “The effi- can create experiences to help seniors
cacy has been shown in terms of help- with memory and wellbeing and social
ing the wellbeing of seniors.” connection. The question now is what
He said one surprise was the ease is the type of content that we’re going to
with which elderly users adapted to the give them that is clinically valid, that’s
headsets. Unlike smartphones, which going to accelerate care and wellbeing?
confuse some older people, he said VR I’m optimistic.”
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Juan Carlos’s
dreams of a
return to
palace dashed
Spain
Isambard Wilkinson Madrid
Juan Carlos has been banned by the
Spanish government from taking up
residence in the royal family’s palace,
according to sources close to the exiled
former monarch.
Juan Carlos, 85, went into exile in Abu
Dhabi in 2020 amid corruption
investigations that have since been
shelved, and the government repeated
this week that he was free to return to
Spain whenever he wished. However,
the former king, who abdicated in 2014
in favour of his son, Felipe, contends that
the Socialist-led government of Pedro
Sánchez has made that impossible.
“For Juan Carlos there is only one
thing that prevents him from fulfilling
his desire to return to Spain as soon as
possible: he is forbidden to reside in the
Zarzuela Palace, his home, or in any of
the national heritage buildings,” the El
Debate online newspaper reported,
citing sources close to the former king.
“Juan Carlos does not want to accept
the possibility of residing in a friend’s
house or in a hotel because that would
force him to explain that the authorities
are the ones who are not allowing him
Juan Carlos has
been forbidden
to live in the
Zarzuela Palace
to return to his home and would thus
again create problems in the relation-
ship between the King [Felipe] and the
government.”
The precise roles that Sánchez’s
government and Felipe played in forcing
Juan Carlos to accept that he must go
into exile have never been made clear.
Their roles in preventing his return to
Spain have also been opaque.
However, relations between the king
and his father, which had deteriorated,
have since improved, according to
sources close to Juan Carlos, implying
that the government was the sole or
chief obstacle to his permanent return.
Sánchez’s government maintains
that Juan Carlos is free to return but the
prime minister reiterated last year that
the former king “owed an explanation”
to the Spanish people about his alleged
financial irregularities.
Juan Carlos’s fleeting return to Spain
last year irked the government. In May
he went sailing with friends in the
northwestern region of Galicia before
lunching with his son at the Zarzuela,
where he was not allowed to stay for
fear of embarrassing the government.
The Zarzuela, along with other royal
properties, was donated to the Spanish
state but the royal family has the right
of residence in them.
The visit was tarnished in the
government’s view by Juan Carlos’s
failure “to give explanations, to ask for
forgiveness”.
His fall from grace began when it
emerged in 2012 that he had been on an
elephant-hunting trip in Botswana with
his mistress while Spain languished in
an economic crisis.
He had been living in a mansion on
an island off Abu Dhabi since August
2020. Months earlier Felipe disinherited
himself from his father and cut Juan
Carlos’s €200,000-a-year stipend in an
apparent attempt to distance the crown
from the tax evasion and bribery allega-
tions against him.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
When life gives you lemons, throw them at someone you fancy
Ethiopia
Fred Harter Addis Ababa
Looking to find his soulmate during the
Ethiopian Orthodox festival of Epipha-
ny this week, Wubshet Kassa bought a
new set of traditional clothes and trav-
elled home to Lalibela, a mountainous
northern town.
Taking a leaf out of the local custom,
his next step will be to toss a lemon at a
woman he wants to ask out.
Kassa, 29, said: “I will search for a
beautiful girl and if she gives me some
Japanese man
answers call
of the wild . . .
in a wolf suit
Japan
Richard Lloyd Parry Tokyo
A young engineer from Tokyo has a
unique way of relaxing at the end of a
hard working week. By day Toru Ueda
works as an inspector of highways,
applying his technical expertise to
assessing the safety of Japan’s roads. In
his free time he invites over a few
friends, serves them tea or beer and
dresses up as a giant wolf.
His wolf suit was tailor-made by a
company that creates costumes
and models for television and
film production. Four
people worked on it for
seven weeks, at a cost of
3 million yen (£19,000). De-
spite the huge outlay, Ueda,
32, does not wear it for
fancy dress parties, and
says that he would be
uncomfortable parad-
ing in it down the
streets of Tokyo.
Rather than
showing off, it sat-
isfies a deep per-
sonal need,
rooted in a fasci-
nation with
animals. “When I
wear my costume I
feel I’m no longer
human,” he says. “I’m
free of human
Children celebrate year of rabbit with an extra hour of gaming
China
Wendy Tang Hong Kong
Traditionally Chinese families come
together to celebrate the new year by
sharing a bowl of “long-life noodles”.
But hundreds of millions of young
Chinese may be more excited by the
prospect of some extra time playing
online video games next week as the
controls to combat “internet addiction”
are relaxed temporarily.
Under the rules, those younger than
18 can play online for one hour a day on
weekends. But for the week-long lunar
kind of signal, I will throw the lemon at
her back. If she is interested she will
pick it up and smile, and I will try and
find a situation to meet her.”
The Orthodox celebration — known
as Timket — comes right after the har-
vest season and celebrates the baptism
of Jesus. Featuring games, processions
and dancing, it is traditionally a time
when young Ethiopians search for love
away from the prying eyes of relatives.
“Usually there is no opportunity for
boys and girls to meet openly but Tim-
ket is a day of freedom. Young people
relationships. All kinds of troubles,
related to work and other things — I
can forget about them.”
Zeppet, the Tokyo company that
made the suit, has produced monsters
and robots for sci-fi and horror films,
cute animal suits for children’s tele-
vision programmes and plushy mascot
costumes for companies and local
governments.
Recently more of its income has been
coming from individual customers,
more than 50 of whom have
commissioned what must be
among the world’s most expensive
toys.
It made headlines with a 2 mil-
lion yen long-haired collie suit
that it made for a Japanese cus-
tomer. Zeppet’s craftsmen
are working on a
manga-style charac-
ter that will cost its
future owner 5 mil-
lion yen.
Although Ueda
paid in full, Zep-
pet has a tie-up
with a loan com-
pany that helps
those who who
do not have all
the readies — so
desired are its
costumes that people
are taking out mortga-
ges to acquire them.
new year holiday to celebrate the year
of the rabbit they can have at least one
session a day, meaning a total of four
hours extra gaming time.
Government regulators restricted
minors’ playing time to 90 minutes a
day in 2019 and banned them from
playing between 10pm and 8am. Even
tighter restrictions were imposed two
years later.
Since then children have been
restricted to an hour of online games
from 8pm to 9pm on Fridays, Satur-
days, Sundays and public holidays. No
other times are allowed. The curbs are
can chill and hang out with whoever
they want,” Kassa said.
The relationships formed during
Timket help kick off the Ethiopian
wedding season, which starts after Or-
thodox Christmas on January 7.
However, in modern cities like the
capital, Addis Ababa, the tradition is
falling out of fashion. Sisay Sahlu, 30, a
journalist, thinks this partly due to the
breaking down of taboos and the ad-
vent of social media. “In the old times
boys were scared to ask girls out, or they
never had a chance to meet them,” Sah-
Toru Ueda spent £19,000 on his lifelike costume but with his cartoonish gait he can visit his local park without causing alarm
Zeppet also offers a service to create
pet “clones”, perfect inanimate repro-
ductions of beloved dead dogs (£1,900
for a chihuahua, £2,800 for a Great
Dane). The most spectacular product is
a lifesize, 16st, 10ft-long model of a
sleeping polar bear, with its cub. Five of
them have been sold for 14.5 million yen
a set.
Ueda’s wolf was created last summer.
Japan has a well-developed culture of
“cosplay”, in which young people dress
up as characters from games, manga
and anime and gather together in
places such as Akihabara, the Tokyo
strictly enforced by parents and gaming
companies who provide “youth mode”
settings on their apps, limiting usage,
controlling payments and showing
suitable content.
Some popular games have intro-
duced identity checks and facial recog-
nition gateways to prevent children
claiming they are adults.
Chinese officials say the limits are a
solution to gaming addiction in a coun-
try where popular titles, such as Honor
of Kings, can average more than
100 million users a day. More than
360 million Chinese are considered
lu said. “Because of those barriers boys
would throw lemons during Timket.
But now, with Telegram and Whats-
App, it’s much easier for boys and girls
to talk to each other.”
Another resident of Addis Ababa,
Olansis Wolde, 29, joked that suitors
might have more luck if they threw an
iPhone or a set of car keys at potential
partners. “You hear about lemon-
throwing a lot in songs, but I never saw
it in Addis,” he said.
Still, the tradition remains strong
away from the big cities, although it has
district that is the capital of the
country’s pop culture. Ueda is not
part of this — while his friends are
tolerant of his toy, none are costume
wearers.
His wolf is a solitary creature. His
specifications were that it should be as
realistic as possible, but that it should be
possible to walk in it on two legs.
Ueda had wolf books containing
photographs that he shared with the
creative team.
He had three face-to-face meetings
and 40 emails were exchanged,
discussing the texture of the fur and the
online gamers but the titles they play
are also strictly vetted for content and
require a licence before being released.
In the nine months to March last
year, no new titles were approved. But
in a sign of shifting attitudes, China’s
regulator on Tuesday granted licences
to 88 online games — a boost to com-
panies such as Tencent and NetEase.
The Game Industry Group Commit-
tee, a government-affiliated body,
issued a report in November that said
the gaming addiction problem among
minors was “basically resolved”.
The report said more than 75 per cent
49
World
been updated to reflect modern times.
Kassa added: “Nowadays we are writing
our telephone numbers on the lemon.”
Some have happy memories of finding
romance in the Timket crowds. Lem-
lem Gedamu, 41, met her husband ten
years ago when he lobbed a lemon at
her. Afterwards they spent the day
drinking beer together and he proposed
two months later.
“It makes me sad that young people
are no longer following this tradition,”
she said. “I want to teach them about it
so they do not forget our culture.”
coat’s pattern. The details are remark-
able, from the teeth and pink tongue to
the desolate, clouded eyes.
As a slim, self-deprecating man with
fashionably cropped hair, there is noth-
ing obviously lupine about Ueda. When
he puts on his wolf suit for a walk
through a park, he lacks the wolf’s gait
and moves more like a cartoon cat than
a carnivorous predator.
“When I look in the mirror, I
see a wolf, and that is very moving,” he
said. “I’m not a werewolf — that’s
a kind of monster, and I am not a
monster.”
of minors in China played online games
for less than the maximum permitted
three hours a week in total.
A report last September by Niko
Partners, a games market survey com-
pany, found that the number of young
gamers fell to 82.6 million last year
from 122 million in 2020 as a result of
the screen time regulations.
But some loopholes exist as parents
may let the children use their accounts.
The restrictions have also spawned an
underground market in which minors
buy “cracked” games that are unsuper-
vised or rent adult game accounts.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
world markets (Change on the day)
FTSE 100
7,770.59 (+23.30)
8,000
7,500
7,000
6,500
Dec 21 30 Jan 6 13 20
EDF admits 2,000 small businesses did not receive energy bill relief
Hannah Prevett, James Hurley
One of the UK’s largest energy provid-
ers has admitted it is failing to pass on
emergency government help with bills
to about 2,000 small businesses.
EDF said to The Times that “systems
issues” meant that certain businesses
had not received the correct state-
funded discount.
Ofgem, the energy regulator, has
been asked by the government to ex-
Google to
take axe to
12,000 jobs
Owner Alphabet hit by ‘economic reality’
Katie Prescott
Technology Business Editor
Google’s owner Alphabet is the latest
US technology giant to announce mass
layoffs, cutting 12,000 jobs — about
6 per cent of its workforce.
In an email to staff, chief executive
Sundar Pichai called it “a difficult deci-
sion to set us up for the future” and said
it had “hired for a different economic
reality than the one we face today.”
The redundancies will fall across the
business and around the world. Amer-
ican employees were immediately in-
formed of the decision, with software
engineers taking to LinkedIn to appeal
for new roles. “Still trying to process
everything right now .. .” one said.
The recruitment division was also af-
fected. An internal headhunter wrote:
“Just woke up this morning to check my
personal email while getting my kids
ready for the day and found out I am
being impacted by layoffs at Google.”
Alphabet staff in other countries will
find out if they are affected later “due to
local laws and practices”, Pichai said.
There are several mentions of artifi-
cial intelligence in the letter, an indica-
tion of where the company is directing
its efforts in the face of the barnstorm-
ing success of the Microsoft-backed
chatbot ChatGPT.
“We’re getting ready to share some
entirely new experiences for users, de-
velopers and businesses, too. We have a
substantial opportunity in front of us
with AI across our products and are
prepared to approach it boldly and re-
sponsibly,” Pichai wrote.
Founded in 1998 and based in Moun-
K1
commodities
Dow Jones Gold
33,375.49 (+330.93) $1,925.40 (+4.27)
35,000
32,500
30,000
27,500
Dec 21 30 Jan 6 13 20 Dec 23 30
amine whether the industry is correctly
passing on subsidies to small and
medium-sized businesses.
The government’s Energy Bill Relief
Scheme (EBRS), introduced last Sep-
tember, provides a discount on whole-
sale gas and electricity prices for all
non-domestic consumers.
Suppliers are supposed to apply
reductions automatically.
However, business owners told this
newspaper that despite being eligible
tain View, California, Alphabet makes
more money from digital advertising
than any other company. It owns the
Android smartphone operating system
and YouTube, the video platform, as
well as Google, the world’s leading
search engine.
Alphabet currently employs about
186,000 people, approximately 6,000
of them in the UK.
In the face of tightening marketing
budgets, in October Alphabet reported
a 27 per cent drop in net profit for the
third quarter at $13.9 billion, down from
$18.9 billion the previous year. Its latest
results are due on January 31.
Other big tech businesses have taken
the axe to the their workforces in recent
weeks, calling time on years of aggres-
sive expansion as Covid lockdowns saw
the industry in hot demand.
Earlier this week, Microsoft laid off
10,000 employees, or 5 per cent of its
workforce; Amazon is cutting more
than 18,000 jobs; and Meta Platforms,
owner of Facebook and Instagram, has
shed more than 11,000 employees.
In excess of 154,000 employees were
laid off by tech companies last year, ac-
cording to Layoffs.fyi, a tracking web-
site. An estimated 39,000 jobs have
been lost since the start of this year.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Se-
curities, said: “The drumroll now be-
gins for a big few weeks as tech stal-
warts are set to report earnings and give
2023 guidance. We expect a major
theme will be layoffs. The Cinderella
ride has ended.”
Shares in Alphabet closed up sharply
with a gain of $5.37, or 5.7 per cent, at
$99.28 in New York last night.
Brent crude (6pm)
$ $86.42 (+0.78)
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
Jan 6 13 20 Dec 23 30 Jan 6
for deductions to their energy bills
since October, they are yet to receive
any relief.
EDF admitted there was an issue but
insisted instances of overbilling were
rare and a spokeswoman for the
French-owned utility said: “Where this
has happened, customers will be
contacted and a new bill will be sent.
“Approximately 2,000 of our SME
customers have been billed incorrectly.
We have already reviewed these ac-
Gemini, the crypto platform of Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, claims to be owed $900 million of funds by Genesis
Crypto lender files for bankruptcy
Katie Prescott
The cryptocurrency company Genesis
has filed for bankruptcy owing $3.4 bil-
lion, with analysts forecasting further
collapses in an industry reeling from
the implosion of the FTX exchange.
The lending division of Genesis, once
described by Fortune magazine as
“akin to Goldman Sachs in the tradi-
tional financial world”, filed for US
Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owing billions.
In a statement the company said that
it would continue to try to raise funds
and had “liquidity of more than
$150 million to support operations and
facilitate the restructuring process.” Its
derivatives business, spot-trading arm
and Genesis Global Trading were not
included in the filing.
Business
currencies
£/$
$ $1.2372 (+0.0007)
120
100
80
60
13 20 Dec 23 30 Jan 6 13 20
counts, and we are aiming for all affect-
ed customers to have corrected bills is-
sued by the end of next week.”
EDF said this amounted to less than
1 per cent of its SME customers.
Amid concerns that there may be
similar issues at other energy suppliers,
ministers have met industry executives
to discuss the issue.
The Federation of Small Businesses
has written to Grant Shapps, the busi-
ness secretary, demanding that relief
The failure was widely expected.
Genesis paused withdrawals from its
lending division shortly after the bank-
ruptcy of FTX, one of the world’s largest
cryptocurrency exchanges, to which it
was a major lender. It has been strug-
gling since to raise funds and laid off
30 per cent of its staff this month in an
attempt to cut costs.
New York-based Genesis, one of the
biggest financial services providers in
the crypto market, made more than
$131 billion of loans last year, according
to its website.
Its exposure to FTX raises questions
about its parent company, Digital Cur-
rency Group, a big player in the crypto
arena and owner of the industry maga-
zine Coinbase.
DCG is owned by the crypto baron
51
£/€
$ €1.1440 (+0.0018) ¤
1.300 1.300
1.200 1.200
1.100 1.100
1.000 1.000
Dec 23 30 Jan 6 13 20
“arrives on time so that small firms can
plan ahead, especially when they’re
also up against inflation and other cost
pressures”.
The level of the support is due to be
cut drastically from April, but this week,
David Simmonds, a Conservative MP,
warned the government that some
small businesses had yet to see existing
relief “reflected in their bills”.
Kevin Hollinrake, the small business
Barry Silbert, who was worth an esti-
mated $3.2 billion last April, according
to Forbes.
DCG was hard hit by the implosion
last year of the Three Arrows hedge
fund, which owed it $1.2 billion.
Suneet Muru, analyst at Thematic In-
telligence Team at GlobalData, said: “It
is highly likely DCG will be forced to sell
assets to try to plug this multimillion-
dollar hole. If this happens, it will send
shock waves throughout the industry
on an unprecedented scale.”
Gemini, a crypto platform owned by
the 41-year-old identical twins
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who
once sued Mark Zuckerberg over who
came up with the idea for Facebook,
claims to be owed $900 million of
customer funds by Genesis.
52
Business
Need to know
1
Struggling high streets face a
further blow after Lloyds
Banking Group said it would
close another 40 branches in
England and Wales. The lender
will shut 18 Halifax and 22 Lloyds
branches between April and June,
fuelling fears about customers'
access to banking services.
2
A merger that would have
brought together two of the
UK’s largest pastry suppliers
has fallen flat. The Competition
and Markets Authority has
ordered the French baker Cérélia
to sell Jus-Rol after it acquired the
business from the American food
giant General Mills because it
decided that the merger could
push up prices of ready-to-bake
products.
3
The fluctuating price of fuel
between rival supermarkets
has prompted accusations that
retailers are profiteering from the
cost of living crisis. The AA said
that retail giants engaged in
competitive pump price cuts were
mostly restricted to certain towns
in northern England.
4
Google’s owner Alphabet is to
cut 12,000 jobs, about 6 per
cent of its workforce — the
latest US technology giant to
announce mass layoffs in the
aftermath of the industry’s
pandemic boom. In an email to
staff, chief executive Sundar Pichai
called it “a difficult decision to set
us up for the future” and said it
had “hired for a different
economic reality than the one we
face today”.
5
EDF, one of the UK’s largest
energy providers, has
admitted it is failing to pass on
emergency government help with
bills to about 2,000 small
businesses. It admitted to The
Times that “systems issues” meant
that certain businesses had not
received the correct state-funded
discount.
6
The cryptocurrency company
Genesis has filed for
bankruptcy owing $3.4 billion,
with analysts forecasting further
collapses in an industry reeling
from the implosion of FTX.
7
Retail sales fell last month as
shoppers cut Christmas
spending in the face of price
rises and the higher cost of living.
Retail sales volumes fell by 1 per
cent, after a fall of 0.5 per cent in
November, data from the Office
for National Statistics shows.
8
SSE, the FTSE 100 energy
group, expects net profits to
surge by more than 50 per
cent this year after its gas power
plants cashed in on high
electricity prices.
9
Close Brothers, the merchant
banking group, has rattled its
investors by warning that it
expects to take a hit of as much as
£183 million from its troubled
litigation funding business.
10 Businesses warn they will
move research and
development activity
overseas in light of cuts to tax
incentives and the threat of a lack
of access to a key European Union
innovation funding programme,
research by Ayming, a
consultancy, shows.
M&S battles to regain its
Profit on track, clothing
refreshed, food a hit —
the high street stalwart
is back in fashion,
writes Isabella Fish
After decades of unsuccessful attempts
to get its mojo back, it is understandable
that Marks & Spencer bosses are hesi-
tant to call the recent green shoots from
its turnaround strategy as “job done”.
But thanks to the decision made dur-
ing the pandemic to accelerate the clo-
sure of loss-making stores, overhaul its
clothing and home arm and bolster an
already prosperous food offering, M&S
might finally be on the right path.
“We’re on track,” Stuart Machin, 52,
the retailer’s chief executive, told The
Times. “All of our business categories
are performing ahead of the market .. .
they are moving in the right direction.
“But we still have a big job to do in the
coming years to deliver for customers
and shareholders. The pace of change is
at its greatest. We have an ambitious
plan but we’re a confident M&S.”
The 139-year-old high street stalwart
said last week that it was confident of
hitting its profit target of about
£415 million, with analysts’ consensus
of £425 million, after its market share in
clothing and home hit a seven-year
high and it gained its highest ever
share of the food sector during the all-
important “golden quarter”.
UK sales in the 13 weeks to the end of
December rose by 7.2 per cent year-on-
year to £3.2 billion, with clothing and
home sales up by 8.6 per cent and food
sales 6.3 per cent higher.
Its latest profit forecast is behind last
year’s £522.9 million and is well behind
the £1 billion pre-tax profit recorded in
1998, when it was in its heyday. But the
business had already warned last year
that it would take a hit from no
longer receiving business
rates relief and its exit
from Russia. Add in
concerns around
rising inflation, and
the shares have
fallen by a third
over the past year.
However, the
forecast blows past
M&S’s perform-
ance immediately
Marks & Spencer’s food
division has always been
a favourite with shoppers
Musk tells court: don’t believe everything I tweet
Callum Jones
US Business Correspondent
Elon Musk defended his tweets about
Tesla in court last night as he took the
stand in a trial over his 2018 claim that
he had secured funding to take the elec-
tric carmaker private.
The billionaire said posts on Twitter,
which he acquired in a $44 billion deal
in October, did not always affect shares
in Tesla the way he expected. “Just
because I tweet something does not
mean people believe it or will act ac-
cordingly,” he told the jury.
A class action case has been
launched by Glen Littleton, a share-
holder who is suing Tesla, Musk and
members of the company’s board over
the tweets made in August 2018. Musk
wrote he was “considering taking Tesla
private at $420. Funding secured.”
It is a rare securities class-action trial
before the pandemic, when it was rele-
gated from the FTSE 100 after years of
falling profit. The decade-long decline
of its clothing business was down to a
failure to keep up with the rise in inter-
net shopping and competition from the
likes of Asos, Zara and H&M.
These struggles continued into the
Covid years as clothing and homeware,
deemed non-essential, led to the retail-
er’s non-food store space being shut-
tered. There was a silver lining from the
pandemic, however: the fight for sur-
vival forced M&S to speed up its plan to
regain its status as middle England’s
favourite shopping destination.
The retailer, which has been led since
2022 by Machin and Katie Bickerstaffe,
55, his co-chief executive, began its
drastic transformation in 2018, when
former boss Steve Rowe and chairman
Archie Norman set out a five-year
strategy to “fix the basics”. This includ-
ed simplifying the business structure,
cutting thousands of jobs, closing distri-
bution centres, relocating full-line
stores and “bringing back value and
style” to its clothing offer, with more
contemporary fits and fewer options.
Most recently, M&S has been con-
centrating on its estate, recognising the
need to radically shrink its store port-
folio in the age of online retailing. The
company, which was founded in 1884,
now has 60,000 staff and more than
1,000 UK shops, as well as nearly 700
Simply Food shops.
The “rotation” programme, as it calls
it, “aims to create an M&S store estate
fit for the future” by relocating or clos-
ing underperforming branches. The
group has about 247 full-line stores but
intends to reduce the number to 180 by
early 2026, closing 67 underperforming
sites while at the same time opening
more than 100 new food shops.
This week The Times revealed that
M&S is ramping up the £480 million
store programme with the opening of
20 “bigger and better” new shops
throughout the UK and the crea-
tion of 3,400 jobs over the
next year. Many will be
based in former Deben-
hams stores, the
demise of which
will have arguably
played into the
hands of Marks &
Spencer, thanks to
its similar customer
profile; likewise the
recent John Lewis and
House of Fraser store
closures.
Machin is adamant that
stores are “still a big part of
and the plaintiffs have cleared high
legal hurdles, with Judge Edward Chen
ruling last year Musk’s tweet was un-
truthful and reckless.
Nicholas Porritt, a lawyer represent-
ing Tesla investors, told the jury in his
opening statements on Wednesday
that Musk had lied when he sent the
tweet, costing investors such as Glen
Littleton, the lead plaintiff.
Alex Spiro, Musk’s lawyer, countered
in his opening statement that Musk
believed he had financing from Saudi
Arabian backers and was taking steps to
make the deal happen. Fearing leaks to
the media, Musk tried to protect the
“everyday shareholder” by sending the
tweet, which contained “technical inac-
curacies”, Spiro said.
Musk, 51, gave evidence yesterday at
the San Francisco federal court, two
blocks away from the headquarters of
Twitter. The social media group has
2GM
Party poppers
Share price
2000 2005 2010
Source: Refinitiv
Sales growth
Year-on-year for the Christmas period
Partywear
Shapewear
Men’s smartwear +19%
Men’s Autograph +14%
collection
Women’s Autograph
+13%
collection
Knitwear +12%
Jersey blazers +10%
Denim +5%
Lingerie +5%
M&S” and that the plans are “about ro-
tation and opening in much better
sites”. He said the aim is for “physical
and digital” to work together equally
through click-and-collect and scan-
and-shop, where customers use their
phones to scan and bag food items as
they go. Stores account for about 68 per
cent of sales, online the remainder.
Machin said the M&S app, which has
been downloaded 4 million times and
accounts for a third of online clothing
and home sales, is the “superglue” that
holds the two together.
The food division is considered the
shed 80 per cent of its staff since Musk’s
October takeover, and now has about
1,300 left, CNBC reported yesterday,
citing internal records.
Earlier Guhan Subramanian, a Har-
vard Law School professor, told the jury
Musk’s behaviour in 2018 was “unprec-
edented” and “incoherent” in structur-
ing a corporate deal because he went
public with his intent to buy Tesla with-
out proper financial or legal analysis.
Separately this week, two American
lawyers have questioned the timing of
the sale by Musk of $3.6 billion worth of
Tesla shares weeks before the electric
car maker reported that fourth-quarter
vehicle deliveries were well below Tes-
la’s most recent forecast to investors.
Musk sold nearly 22 million shares
between December 12 and Decem-
ber 14 at an average price of about $163
a share, according to a regulatory filing.
On January 2, Tesla announced the
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
800p
600
400
200
0
2015 2020
+108%
+66%
untarnished jewel in the crown and in
recent years has been used as the en-
gine to turn around M&S’s fortunes.
The plans will see prices being cut and
improvements made to food ranges.
In its latest results, Marks & Spencer
said the investment made in its Re-
marksable Value range, where food
prices have dropped after being
matched against key competitors, re-
sulted in strong growth in volumes as
the lower prices resonated with cus-
tomers amid the cost of living crisis.
Meanwhile, M&S’s partnership with
Costa Coffee to sell products from Per-
shortfall in expected deliveries, sending
the stock price sharply lower.
James Cox, a professor at Duke Uni-
versity in North Carolina who has testi-
fied before Congress about insider trad-
ing, told The Wall Street Journal: “The
issue here is, what did he know and
what was the market anticipating when
he sold? That’s a critical moment.”
Musk, 51, has sold more than $39 bil-
lion of Tesla shares since the stock’s
November 2021 peak, including almost
$23 billion last year, in part to help to
fund his $44 billion purchase of Twitter.
Donald Langevoort, a professor at
Georgetown University in Washington
DC and author of a treatise on insider
trading, said: “Is it suspicious? Yes. Is it
entirely possible there are other expla-
nations? Of course. But that’s what the
enforcement process is all about.”
Musk and Tesla did not respond to
requests for comment.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
place in middle England’s heart
cy Pig sweets to sandwiches and por-
ridge across its 2,500 British sites is
helping to draw in new customers.
Another partnership with Ocado
Group, a 50:50 tie-up launched in 2020,
is one to watch. After enjoying a boom
during the pandemic it has fallen from
favour since the end of lockdowns, with
the UK retail business this week report-
ing a decline in annual sales for the first
time. Analysts have described it as an
unhelpful drag on M&S that will only
continue if things are not fixed.
The business’s food supply chain,
which remains “less efficient” and a
continued from page 51
Firms miss out on energy bill relief
minister, said in parliament this week
that the government has asked Ofgem
to examine the allegations.
Hollinrake also told MPs that energy
suppliers had assured him and Graham
Stuart, the energy and climate minister,
at a recent meeting that the support the
government is providing is being
passed on to SMEs.
Simon Delaney, the 57-year-old
owner of the Firbank pub in Wythen-
shawe, Manchester, said EDF, his gas
provider, is charging him 25 pence per
kilowatt hour when it should be capped
at 7.5p under the scheme.
“My concern is if they’re doing this to
me, they’ll be doing it to others who
might not be as strong minded or as
geeky as me. Most people in my indus-
try don’t even know the unit rates.”
Annabel Lui, co-founder and chief
executive of Cutter & Squidge, a
London-based cake maker which had
sales of £7.2 million last year, is also
2GM
“higher cost to serve” than its competi-
tors, is a further area of attention. M&S
has blamed this on a complex store and
logistics network and a costly contract
with its logistics partner, Gist. Things
are starting to improve, as the acquisi-
tion of Gist last year means that it can
finally “take control” of its food supply
chain for the first time and target
£50 million in savings, it said.
The real turnaround story for Marks
& Spencer, however, is fashion. Once
synonymous with quality, value cloth-
ing, over the decades M&S has drawn
the ire of customers for shoddy quality,
having problems with her energy sup-
plier. She said her electricity bill at one
site had increased from £3,000 a month
to between £9,000 and £10,000, and
that the relief had not been applied by
SmartestEnergy, her provider.
“We haven’t seen any reduction in
our bills yet, and I’ve spoken to a lot of
other businesses who haven’t either,”
Lui, 36, said.
Darren Jeffery, head of customer op-
erations at SmartestEnergy Business,
said: “In the scenario that a customer
contacts us to query their applicability
for an EBRS discount at one of their
sites, we would work with them to
check they qualify, applying and back-
dating any discounts owed.”
Sacha Lord, night-time economy ad-
viser to Andy Burnham, the mayor of
Greater Manchester, said there was a
significant issue and that it tends to af-
fect small and micro businesses.
Ofgem said: “We are working with
[the] government and stakeholders to
determine if further action or assist-
ance is needed to help businesses.”
Christmas, the retailers’ gift
that won’t keep on giving
R
etailers will struggle to
protect their margins as
inflation continues to bite
and sales volumes dwindle
after a surprisingly strong
Christmas, researchers at Deloitte
warn (Isabella Fish writes).
Fashion, grocery and homeware
businesses enjoyed record sales this
Christmas. Tesco, Britain’s largest
grocer, reported a 7.9 per cent sales
increase over the “golden quarter”
of the three months up to the end of
December; Sainsbury’s grew 7.2 per
cent; and Next, Marks & Spencer,
WH Smith and Dunelm all posted
better than expected figures.
However, Céline Fenech, the
consumer insight lead at the
auditor Deloitte, said she doubts
retailers will be able to maintain
their margins, as many will be
benefiting from the effect of
inflation despite lower sales
volumes.
She said: “For most
retailers, growing or even
maintaining margins will
remain a challenge this year,
given the inflationary
environment and consumers
being more price sensitive.
Many continue to adopt
recessionary behaviours such
as ‘trading down’ by switching
to cheaper brands or stores.
“With inflation remaining
high and consumer
confidence at an historic
low, conditions are
likely to remain
tough for the first half
of 2023.”
Economists had
frumpy collections and hefty discount-
ing. The division, as Rowe said in 2019,
had become a “thorn” in its shoe.
No one seemed to know how to make
it better, including the former clothing
and home boss Jill McDonald. She was
ousted in 2019 after less than two years
following the “jeansgate” disaster,
where a collection promoted by Holly
Willoughby sold out too quickly, leav-
ing empty rails in stores. She was the
fourth fashion boss to exit in a decade.
But the retailer’s new, bolder leader-
ship team — Bickerstaffe and the cloth-
ing, home and beauty boss, Richard
Goldman consumer lending queried
Callum Jones
US Business Correspondent
Goldman Sachs faces questions over its
push into consumer lending as the
Federal Reserve investigates whether
the Wall Street investment bank
installed sufficient safeguards while
building the business.
America’s central bank is looking at
whether Goldman has exercised appro-
priate oversight over its Marcus unit,
according to The Wall Street Journal.
Officials at the Fed are said to be con-
cerned that adequate monitoring and
control systems were not in place with-
in the bank’s consumer arm as it sought
to diversify into mainstream banking.
Shares in the banking group turned
negative after the report. They were
down 2.2 per cent, or $7.61, at $343.03 in
New York yesterday lunchtime. The
Fed declined to comment.
expected a return to growth in retail
sales in December after a fall of 0.5
per cent in November.
However, data from the Office for
National Statistics released
yesterday showed retail sales
volumes dropping 1 per cent.
Kris Hamer, director of insight at
the British Retail Consortium, said
the first half of 2023 was likely to be
“very challenging” for retailers as
sales continue to decline after the
Christmas boom.
“Ongoing inflation will make sales
appear to be rising, but we expect
falling volumes as consumers
continue to manage their spending,”
Hamer said. “We also don’t see
many signs at this stage of retailers’
input costs easing, putting further
pressure on margins.”
Fenech said that confidence
should start to improve later in
the year: “While wage growth
remains at half the level of
inflation, inflationary pressures
are expected to continue to ease
in the months ahead and, as a
result, UK consumer confidence
should improve in the second
half of 2023.”
Consumer confidence fell to
near-record lows at the start
of this year as households
looked to cut spending on
costly items amid high
inflation. Confidence was
minus 45, according to the
monthly index from GfK,
the market intelligence
company.
December sales volumes
were down 1 per cent
Price — appear to have found the an-
swer, turning the department’s for-
tunes around in just over two years.
Under their management, M&S pivot-
ed during the pandemic from selling
purely own-label clothing brands such
as Autograph and Per Una to becoming
a multi-brand conglomerate — a strat-
egy introduced in June 2020 to fast-
track parts of its five-year transforma-
tion initiative that began in 2018.
This included reshuffling the shop
portfolio, bolstering digital and intro-
ducing third-party clothing, footwear
and beauty brands. The fashion arm
A spokeswoman for Goldman said:
“The Federal Reserve is our primary
federal bank regulator and we do not
comment on the accuracy or inaccura-
cy of matters relating to discussions
with them.”
Goldman has a market value of
$116 billion and employs about 45,000
people. It is more reliant than any of the
other leading American banks on ser-
vices such as investment banking and
trading, but has invested heavily in its
retail ambitions in recent years.
In the UK, Marcus — named after
Goldman’s founder — launched sav-
ings accounts in 2018, and has since at-
tracted 750,000 customers and £23 bil-
lion of deposits. In the US the brand’s
services include credit cards.
It is in the middle of a strategic pivot,
scaling back its consumer lending aspi-
rations after heavy losses to refocus on
trading and investment banking. “We
53
Business
has also been pared down to a more fo-
cused range of items and has escaped
the discounting trap.
The new strategy of selling other
brands online, such as Hobbs, White
Stuff and FatFace, as well as collaborat-
ing with younger fashion labels such as
Ghost, appears to be drawing in more
— and younger — shoppers to the web-
site. The young womenswear brand
Nobody’s Child, the first third-party la-
bel M&S recruited and later took a
stake in, is its bestselling external brand.
“We have brought in new customers,”
Jody Plows, Nobody’s Child’s chief ex-
ecutive, said. “There’s a special kind of
synergy between us.”
But M&S is also getting its own offer-
ing right by shifting away from seasonal
pieces and focusing on staples. Its
sweatshirts, for example, which can be
matched with clothes to dress either up
or down: 168,000 were sold in the 13
weeks before December 31.
Prompted by the pandemic, during
which shoppers switched from smart
apparel to sportswear, M&S introduced
its Goodmove exercise brand in 2020. It
has become M&S’s biggest own-label,
selling 1.5 million-plus items a year.
Per Una, the brand founded by Ge-
orge Davis, the founder of George at
Asda and bought by M&S for £125 mil-
lion in 2004, still needs attention. The
retailer recently appointed new team
members to rethink its proposition and
get it back on track. Emma Fox joined
in October as head of buying for wo-
menswear from The White Company.
Richard Lim, a retail analyst, said it
feels like M&S will continue to grow:
“They’ve been a lot bolder in terms of
what they had to do to close unprofita-
ble stores, have made bold decisions re-
garding digital propositions, which are
paying dividends, and have taken a cre-
ative approach to digital that has in-
volved partnering with other partners.
“On clothing and home it feels like
they’ve got it right, with a reinvigorated
and refreshed fashion offering — and
they’re beginning to benefit from it.”
“The attainable market has grown
and they face weaker competition,” Lim
added. “It’s afforded them the luxury of
more time [for] transformation plans.”
Although things are looking up, like
much of the industry M&S has warned
of “challenging” trading ahead as con-
sumer are squeezed and inflation rises.
Analysts have also pointed out that
recent cheery numbers should be read in
the context of high inflation and gener-
ally lower sales volumes.
Plenty can still go wrong and there is
a lot left to do, but M&S appears to have
finally turned a corner.
tried to do too much too quickly,” David
Solomon, Goldman’s chief executive,
conceded earlier this year, suggesting
that Goldman hadn’t had all the talent
needed “to execute the way we wanted”.
Bracing itself for a potential recession
and grappling with a fall in takeovers
and listings, Goldman has embarked on
a cost-cutting review. It also moved to
cut about 3,200 jobs — about 6.5 per
cent of its global workforce — last week.
6 Petershill Partners, a listed company
that backs private equity houses and
hedge fund managers, said its investee
businesses had attracted a higher than
expected $60 billion in new client busi-
ness in 2022 but warned that the run
rate would fall sharply this year (Patrick
Hosking writes). However, it said that it
expected those client inflows to more
than halve this year to $20 billion to
$25 billion, calling the environment
“challenging”.
54
Business
Cut-price Christmas
leaves retailers with
a new year hangover
Arthi Nachiappan, Isabella Fish
Retail sales fell last month as shoppers
cut Christmas spending in the face of
price rises and the higher cost of living.
Retail sales volumes dropped by 1 per
cent, after a fall of 0.5 per cent in
November, data from the Office for
National Statistics shows. Economists
had forecast a 0.5 per cent rise.
Heather Bovill, the ONS deputy
director for surveys and economic indi-
cators, said feedback suggested con-
sumers cut their Christmas shopping
“due to affordability concerns”.
Compared with December 2021, sales
were down by 5.8 per cent, the biggest
fall for that month since 1997. In terms of
value, spending was down month-on-
month by 1.2 per cent from November.
The fall will raise concerns about
economic growth at the end of the year
and for the retail sector. Christmas is a
key period for retailers.
The decline last month was driven by
a 2.1 per cent fall in sales of non-food
items as households scaled back their
spending as double-digit inflation
eroded the value of earnings.
Sales volumes at food shops fell by
0.3 per cent after growing by 1 per cent
in November. Some retailers said shop-
pers had bought early for Christmas.
Bovill said: “After [November’s] boost
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
as shoppers stocked up early, food sales
fell back again in December, with
supermarkets reporting this was due to
increased food prices and the rising
cost of living.”
Economists had expected a return to
growth in retail sales in December after
record sales in fashion, groceries and
homeware at the end of the year.
Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket,
reported a 7.9 per cent increase in sales
over the festive period, while UK sales
at Sainsbury’s grew by 7.2 per cent.
Next, Marks & Spencer, WH Smith and
Dunelm also recorded higher revenues
than expected. The discounters, such as
Aldi, Lidl and B&M, benefited from The Scunthorpe site in North Lincolnshire has four blast furnaces. Two are redundant and two operate below capacity
customers trading down as they con-
tinued to tighten purse strings.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of
the British Retail Consortium, said:
British Steel hopes to forge a rescue deal
“Volumes fell for the ninth consecutive
month as the cost of living squeeze Alex Ralph The package, first reported by Sky tecting jobs and on Jingye Group, Brit-
caused consumers to rein in December News, could help protect jobs at the ish Steel’s Chinese owner, investing at
spending,” adding: “Nonetheless, in- The government is considering provid- company, which employs about 4,000 least £1 billion in the company by 2030.
creased discounting helped boost gift ing £300 million of support for British people directly, and avoid a potentially Grant Shapps, the business secretary,
giving, with stronger sales growth for Steel to save the struggling producer larger cost should the Chinese-owned and Michael Gove, the levelling-up sec-
clothing and furniture.” from collapse. company fail. retary, recently sought approval from
Gabriella Dickens, UK economist at Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is look- The funding would be linked directly the chancellor for the support.
Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “We ing at paying instalments over the next to supporting British Steel to decarbon- Scunthorpe was given by the taxpay-
expect households’ overall real expend- few years if the company meets certain ise by helping it to replace the com- er out of receivership three years ago to
iture in 2023 to be about 1 per cent lower conditions, including environmental pany’s blast furnaces at its site in Scun- Jingye, its third owner in four years, in
than last year, with retail sales faring ones, after a request for support from thorpe with an electric arc furnace. return for a commitment to invest
just as badly as services expenditure.” British Steel. It would also be conditional on pro- £1.2 billion.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
David Wighton
Surprisingly little political scrutiny of
how excess price rises boost inflation
‘‘
In Jeremy Hunt’s
much-mocked video
about inflation, the
chancellor explains
how costs have risen
for the coffee shop where he has
ordered a flat white. Global supply
chains struggled to cope after the
pandemic while the Ukraine war has
driven up energy prices, he says. “And
the result is that they have to put up
the price of a cup of coffee or they
lose money.”
A bit condescending? Maybe. But
there is also an interesting omission.
What he doesn’t say is that in some
sectors companies have put up prices
by more than the increase in their
costs. They are actually making more
money, not less.
One of the striking features of this
bout of inflation is how well many
businesses have done in protecting
their margins. Thanks to the savings
built up during Covid, many
customers have had money and they
have accepted the need to pay more,
in some cases dramatically more. Just
look at the price of airline tickets.
Even though many companies have
seen margins slip, most have done
much better than their staff, who
have suffered big falls in real wages.
The share of profits of the value
companies add has increased
significantly says Silvia Dall’Angelo,
senior economist at investment firm
Federated Hermes.
The big worry about inflation is
that the cost increases set off an
inflationary spiral of wage and price
rises that becomes very hard to
break. That is why the Bank of
England’s governor Andrew Bailey
urged workers to “think and reflect”
before pushing for big pay increases
and Tony Danker, the CBI director-
general, has warned business
leaders not to give “inflationary-level
pay rises”.
Yet it is remarkable how little
pressure has been put on companies
to show restraint in pushing up their
prices. The Unite union had a go last
summer. Using Office for National
Statistics figures, it showed that UK
company profits in the six months to
March 2022 were up 8 per cent in
real terms while labour costs fell 0.8
per cent after inflation. “The weight
of evidence shows that the UK is in
the grip of a profiteering crisis,”
Sharon Graham, Unite’s general
secretary, said.
In more sober terms, the Bank of
England’s chief economist, Huw Pill,
has pointed out that both companies
and employees need to accept the
“unavoidable” hit to their real income
from higher imported energy prices.
“The longer firms try to maintain real
profit margins and employees try to
maintain real wages at pre-energy
price shock levels, the more likely it is
that domestically-generated inflation
will achieve its own self-sustaining
momentum.” In other words, a beggar
my neighbour contest between
employers and workers will leave
everyone worse off, forcing the Bank
to put up interest rates by more to
break the spiral.
True, some price increases have
drawn criticism from government
ministers. The prospect of broadband
prices rising by 14 per cent this year
prompted the culture secretary,
Michelle Donelan, to declare that
“imposing above-inflation price hikes
is not the right thing to do”. Yet there
has been little comment on how such
increases could fuel inflation across
the broader economy either from the
Tories or, more surprisingly, from
Labour.
The mood has been very different
in the US, where President Biden and
other leading Democrats have
accused companies of pushing
through excessive price increases and
the Economic Policy Institute, a left-
leaning think tank, found that about
40 per cent of recent inflation in the
US can be attributed to fatter
company profit margins.
There was also contrasting rhetoric
in the UK back in 2010, when
inflation reached 4.6 per cent.
Encouraged by the Tory-LibDem
government, the media mounted a
campaign against price rises by
supermarkets and energy companies,
which some economists believe
helped dampen inflation.
What makes the current lack of
pressure on UK companies more
surprising is that in recent years they
have been forced to pay much greater
attention to environmental, social and
governance issues. Shareholders now
expect companies to put real effort
into reducing their impact on
climate change. Yet there seems little
interest in companies’ impact on
inflation, which also causes serious
damage, particularly to the most
vulnerable in society.
Federated Hermes has debated this
broader issue internally, says
Dall’Angelo, but the firm’s discussions
with companies it invests in have
focused on what they can do directly
to ease the cost of living crisis for
customers. Determining if a company
is profiteering or if its higher margins
are justified by efficiency gains
requires very deep knowledge of the
individual business, she adds.
One corporate adviser says that
many UK companies have been
surprised by their new pricing power
and after years of margin pressure
and sluggish share prices they see it
as a chance they must grab to bolster
their competitive position. According
to another adviser, companies tend to
view climate change very differently
from inflation. “They don’t think of
economy-wide inflation as a problem
it is their job to solve. That is up to
the Bank of England, which is partly
to blame anyway.”
Besides, he adds, companies have
not been expecting their pricing
power to last very long. And it looks
like they may be right. Demand seems
to be cooling fast on both sides of the
Atlantic, undermining companies’
efforts to push up prices and profits.
The fall in UK retail sales volumes in
December took forecasters by
surprise, while a key measure of US
corporate profits fell sharply in
November and December.
Some economists suggest that
because a good chunk of current
inflation is the result of margin
expansion, inflation could now fall
faster than expected as the cycle
turns. But the pessimists worry that
core inflation, excluding food and
energy, remains high and could prove
more sticky (remember those
broadband prices).
If the doomsters are right then
’’
companies could find that their
pricing strategies eventually attract a
bit more public and
political scrutiny.
The chancellor
might even consider
tweaking his video.
David Wighton, a former business
editor of The Times, is a columnist
for Financial News
55
Business
SSE profits
‘to leap 50%’
as electricity
costs soar
Emily Gosden
SSE expects net profits to surge by
more than 50 per cent this year after its
gas power plants cashed in on high
electricity prices.
The FTSE 100 energy group upgrad-
ed its outlook for the year by a quarter
thanks to a strong performance from its
gas plants, which are exempt from the
windfall tax on electricity generators,
and also from its gas storage sites.
SSE said it expected to deliver adjust-
ed earnings per share of more than 150p
in the 2022-23 financial year, up from
previous guidance of at least 120p, and
up from 95.4p a year earlier.
SSE, based in Perth, owns or co-owns
six large gas-fired power stations in
Britain, having acquired the Saltend
power plant jointly with Equinor in
September, and is in the process of
starting up a seventh. It also owns regu-
lated electricity networks, wind farms
and hydro-electric plants.
Profit margins for big efficient gas
plants have surged over the past year,
despite higher gas input costs, as whole-
sale electricity prices have risen even
further. Market prices are set by the
most expensive plants needed to keep
the lights on, which are typically smaller,
less efficient gas or diesel generators.
SSE said that the upgrade reflected
“the strength and stability of its bal-
anced mix of regulated and market-
facing businesses with continuing good
availability and supportive market con-
ditions leading to flexible generation
plant and gas storage optimisation
significantly offsetting lower than
planned renewables output and hedge
buy-back costs”.
The update also reflected the fact
that recent falls in future power and gas
prices had reduced risks and resulted in
a “narrower range of probable financial
outcomes”, as well as the “further clari-
ty over the Electricity Generator Levy”.
The long-mooted windfall levy was
announced shortly after SSE reported
bumper half-year results in November.
Despite evidence that many gas-fired
power plants are making significantly
higher profits, the government exempt-
ed them from the levy, which applies to
most low-carbon generators such as
wind and solar farms and nuclear plants.
SSE said electricity output from its
renewables fleet was about 10 per cent
lower than planned in the nine months
to the end of December, as the third
quarter “continued to see periods of
unseasonably calm and dry weather”.
Shares in SSE rose by 48½p, or
2.85 per cent, to £17.50½.
56
Business
Disputes rage over
US attempt to cash
in on green future
davos 2023
Mehreen Khan Economics Editor
Elon Musk this week tweeted a poll
asking his 125 million followers: “The
World Economic Forum should control
the world — yes or no?”
The provocation by the Tesla
founder and Twitter boss is the latest
mainstreaming of a far-right conspira-
cy theory that thinks the Davos jambo-
ree is a clandestine plot to rewire the
masses through vaccines and climate
change policy (86 per cent of Musk’s
two million respondents said: “No”).
The Twitter chief executive, one of
the richest men in the world, said the
“WEF is increasingly becoming an
unelected world government that
the people never asked for and don’t
want”. One former WEF staff member
notes that in 2003 Musk “pleaded”
to be invited to the annual summit
of world leaders, royalty and business
executives.
Musk’s broadside has helped shine a
spotlight on the WEF, which is under
greater scrutiny than at any point in its
52-year history. In a rare outbreak of in-
ternal strife, a group of former and cur-
rent WEF employees used the summit
to hit out at the organisation’s octoge-
narian founder, Klaus Schwab, for fail-
ing to put in place a succession plan.
“Klaus picks his leaders using the
same criteria that Putin uses to pick
deputies for the state Duma: loyalty,
guile, sex appeal. The quality of people
at the top is reflective of the type of
people who work for the rest of
the organisation,” the employees told
The Guardian.
The mutiny has fed increasingly
crazed theories about Schwab as a shad-
owy whisperer to world leaders, and has
raised legitimate questions about the
Litigation arm weighs down Close
Ben Martin Banking Editor
The merchant banking group Close
Brothers has rattled its investors by
warning that it expects to take a hit of as
much as £183 million from its troubled
litigation funding business.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed group
fell 110½p, or 10.5 per cent, to 937½p yes-
terday after it disclosed mounting pro-
visions at its Novitas Loans arm, which
is in the midst of being wound down.
There was also bad news from the
company’s Winterflood Securities divi-
sion, a leading market-maker in UK eq-
uities that has been hit by subdued trad-
ing activity by clients in recent months.
The news comes as a blow to Adrian
Sainsbury, who took charge of the
London-based lender in 2020 after the
its veteran chief executive, Preben
Prebensen, stood down after more than
a decade at the helm.
Close Brothers can trace its roots
back to 1878, when its three founding
siblings started the business to offer
Forum’s future without him. The 84-
year-old hit back at his critics, joking to
Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor,
that he planned to be around to inter-
view his successor in 2045.
The swirl of bad press fed a strained
atmosphere at the first winter WEF
summit since the pandemic in 2020.
The run-up to the summit was domi-
nated by gloomy projections about the
world economy, a war of attrition
between Russian and Ukraine and a
schism between western countries over
green subsidies.
US and European delegates spent
most of the week trading public barbs
over Washington’s contentious Infla-
tion Reduction Act (IRA), which will
pump $363 billion in subsidies and tax
breaks into green tech manufacturing
based in the US.
Industrial policy is an unlikely topic
for the fabled “Davos man” to be preoc-
cupied by. The WEF and Schwab are
archetypal champions of open trade,
hyper-globalisation, and “stakeholder”
capitalism. But the western consensus
over free trade has been exploded by
President Biden’s landmark state inter-
vention that aims to supercharge the
climate transition by bolstering clean
energy technologies made in the US.
Larry Fink, chief executive of Black-
Rock, the fund giant, called the bill
“transformational” and a game chang-
er for the US economy and the net-zero
transition policy. Fatih Birol, head of
the International Energy Agency, said
the IRA “is the most important climate
action after the 2015 Paris Agreement”.
Aggrieved European politicians and
business leaders griped that federal
subsidies for “made in USA” electric
vehicles, batteries and raw materials
was rampant protectionism under the
guise of climate policy.
Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU’s trade
chief, told The Times that the Biden
administration had “slammed the door
in the face of European companies” and
risked pushing more businesses into
the arms of China by restricting busi-
farm mortgages in Iowa. The modern
group has a banking division focused on
specialist lending to small and medium-
sized businesses and an asset manage-
ment arm, as well as Winterflood.
The Novitas unit is a provider of
loans to fund legal proceedings that was
acquired by Close Brothers in 2017. The
£183m
Potential provision for impairments in
the Novitas loan book
lender’s foray into legal services has
proved short-lived, however, with the
group deciding to withdraw from the
market in July 2021 and put Novitas
into run-off.
However, the potential losses asso-
ciated with the unit continue to rise.
Close Brothers said yesterday that it
had set aside a further £24.8 million for
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
ness opportunities in the world’s largest
economy.
“The US discriminates against Euro-
pean car manufacturers, and that is a
problem. If other countries start to re-
spond in a similar way as the US with
local assembly requirements, it will
lead to the fragmentation of the global
economy and supply chains,” said
Dombrovskis, who is in talks with the
White House over securing better
treatment for European business.
Blindsided Europeans, Japanese and
South Koreans are scrambling to
respond, fearing their companies will
be tempted to up sticks and shift
production to the US, lured by the offer
of cheap energy and federal subsidies.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of
the European Commission, used her
WEF address to set out Brussels’ three-
pronged response in the form of softer
state aid rules, a new “sovereignty fund”
and ways to speed up permitting for
green investment. John Kerry, the US
climate envoy, told delegates that
Washington was actively encouraging
the EU to match its efforts because “we
need more [climate investment]”.
In Washington, the IRA is driven as
much by climate concerns as it is by the
need to undercut China’s dominance in
raw material and battery production.
Katherine Tai, US trade representa-
tive and the most senior Biden official
at the WEF, summed up the new world
of “de-globalisation”, where multi-
nationals can no longer rely on hyper-
efficient supply chains scattered across
the world as the foundation of their
business models.
“What we are struggling with right Attending her first WEF summit, As Europeans and Americans were
now is trust, whether or not you trust Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, fighting over how much to pump into
your partners, trust each other, and told The Times that the UK risked their domestic green industry, the UK
whether you trust we are making gains falling behind international rivals battery start-up BritishVolt collapsed
in the climate crisis,” Tai said. without a coherent green industrial into administration after failing to
The UK stayed on the sidelines of the policy. Government figures do not secure government help.
spat, with government officials private- expect any substantive UK response With only two cabinet ministers at
ly acknowledging that Britain cannot to transatlantic subsidies as the the WEF, a UK voice was conspicuous-
compete in a cash-rich subsidies war, Conservatives fight domestic battles ly absent in the week’s big debates on
given budgetary constraints and a with public sector workers and promise the state of the global economy, conflict
sharply slowing economy. to balance the books. with Russia and the green transition.
possible impairments in the Novitas
loan book in the five months to the end
of December.
It also anticipates another provision
Business
of as much as £90 million being booked
in its forthcoming half-year results.
All of this means that the total net
briefing
provision for Novitas could reach
£183 million. Ian Gordon, an analyst at Rarely has the outlook for
Investec, the stockbroker, said it was the global economy latest news and market
“another dreadful update on the Nova-
tis loan portfolio”.
Close also disclosed that Winterflood
generated operating profits of only
looked so uncertain as we
enter the new year. War,
reaction by 8am, and
analysis at 12.30pm, direct
by email from the
£1.7 million during the five-month
period. Rae Maile of Panmure Gordon,
political and trade
the investment bank, said this was “far tensions, yo-yoing energy Business Editor, Richard
off the pace” expected by the City.
prices, the battle to bring Fletcher, and Business
Sainsbury maintained that Close
Brothers had put in a “resilient” down inflation ... with News Editor Martin
performance. “Our financial strength Strydom.
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the times | Saturday January 21 2023
“The Brits don’t seem to exist here,” said
one senior EU official.
The WEF concluded with tentative
hopes that the economic gloom that
dominated the previous summit in May
will not come to pass. Rapidly falling
energy prices, China’s economic re-
opening, and signs of easing inflation,
have led to economists upgrading their
2023 growth forecasts this month.
Germany’s Scholz said Europe’s big-
Theranos founder ‘tried to
fly to Mexico after trial’
Callum Jones
US Business Correspondent
The Theranos founder Elizabeth
Holmes attempted to flee to Mexico in
the wake of her fraud conviction last
year, according to prosecutors.
Holmes booked a one-way ticket on
an “unauthorised” international flight,
it was alleged in a court filing, and only
cancelled the trip when the US govern-
ment raised it with her lawyers.
Holmes was found guilty by a federal
jury last January on three counts of
wire fraud and one of conspiracy, and
was sentenced to more than 11 years in
prison in November.
Prosecutors brought up the incident
while pushing for Holmes, 38, to report
to prison in April as scheduled, rather
than continue living on a pricy estate
“with reportedly more than $13,000 a
month expenses” while appealing.
2GM
Snow melts in Davos
as debates centre on
climate issues and
America’s aid to its
electric car industry;
Klaus Schwab, the
forum’s founder, is
under pressure to set
a succession plan for
leading an event that
attracts politicians
such as Rachel
Reeves, the shadow
chancellor, and
celebrities including
Sabine Dhowre Elba,
left, with her actor
husband Idris
gest economy, which had been expect-
ed to face the worst downturn in the
EU, would avoid recession. The US la-
bour secretary, Martin Walsh, said the
world’s largest economy would dodge a
downturn as the labour market and
consumer spending have held up de-
spite aggressive monetary tightening.
The International Monetary Fund
will upgrade its growth projections
next week, with Germany on course to
Holmes founded Theranos, a blood
testing group, in Silicon Valley in 2003.
It promised to revolutionise healthcare
with technology that it said required
just a few drops of blood to conduct doz-
ens of medical tests. Investors ploughed
hundreds of millions of dollars into the
firm, valued at $9 billion.
It closed in 2018, however, following
questions over the capability of its
technology, the reality of its operations
and the reliability of its test results.
Holmes’s legal team said the booking
was a misunderstanding. “This was a
reservation made before the verdict,”
they said. “The hope was that the ver-
dict would be different and Ms Holmes
would be able to attend the wedding of
close friends in Mexico.
“Given the verdict, she does not plan
to take the trip.”
She had been convicted almost three
weeks before the scheduled flight.
Prom is an event in itself
Richard Fletcher Business Editor
Delegates at this week’s annual
meeting of the World Economic
Forum trying to get to grips with
the shift in global power didn’t
actually need to set foot in the
conference hall, but could simply
wander down the Davos promenade.
Banished from the main
conference hall — the WEF founder
Klaus Schwab disapproves of the
commercialisation of his annual
meeting — are countries trying to
attract investors, software
companies trying to flog their
services, and advisers courting
clients (or prospective clients); all of
them have to persuade the town’s
retailers to vacate their
shops for the week and
convert them into what
resemble upmarket
airline lounges.
It is not just the
shops on the
promenade leading
to the congress
centre that are
rebranded as a
“house”, “chalet” or
“café”. The town’s church,
museum and even the
veterinary surgery are all
transformed by an army of
shopfitters in an attempt to woo
potential clients or investors, or at
least give them the chance to sup
champagne (or charge that iPhone).
The changing face of those
occupying the shops tells its own
story about the fortunes of
countries and companies.
The previous (pre-Covid 19)
meeting of the WEF saw a rash of
crypto-related companies spend
hundreds of thousands pounds on
converted space. Three years later
just one crypto straggler remained
on the promenade.
This year’s newcomers were led
by the Middle East, with the United
Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia
have a projected 0.3 per cent contrac-
tion this year reversed to 0.5 per cent
annual growth, Kristalina Georgieva,
the Fund’s chief, said.
But she warned that a small upgrade
would still result in the third worst
annual growth performance for the
world economy in the past decade. “For
hundreds of millions of people in Ger-
many, Europe, the world, when we are
at this low level of growth, it will still be
New corruption inquiry for De La Rue
Alex Ralph
Chief Business Correspondent
De La Rue, the banknote printer, has
acknowledged an alleged corruption
investigation in India involving a
former government finance secretary.
De La Rue, one of Britain’s oldest list-
ed companies, said it had been made
aware that the Central Bureau of In-
vestigation (CBI-I) in India has
launched an investigation into the
conduct of Arvind Mayaram in which
the activities of De La Rue in India
before 2016 “have been implicated”.
De La Rue said it had not received
any official direct communication of
the investigation “but has learnt about
it from publicly-available sources”.
There have been widespread reports
in India about the case. The Economic
Times reported last week that the CBI-I
registered a case on charges of cheat-
ing, criminal conspiracy, abuse of offi-
cial position and corruption against
Mayaram, alongside unnamed officials
appearing to be in an “arms race” to
build the largest and most
impressive space. Neom, the
planned showpiece tourist resort in
northern Saudi Arabia, had its own
separate space.
India also dominated, with
different regions of the country
battling with each other to attract
investors, and there were nine
ministers from the UAE and eight
Saudi cabinet ministers.
Despite its plans to lay off 10 per
cent of its workforce and close
offices, Salesforce, the US software
company, remained the largest
corporate presence, with three
separate venues including a dome-
like tent where its founder Marc
Benioff entertained
hundreds of clients.
Facebook’s owner
Meta remained on the
promenade despite
the looming
recession and
sell-off of
technology stocks.
Only a few years
ago Aberdeen Asset
management and M&G
were among those flying
the flag for the UK. But there
are now only two UK companies:
Standard Chartered, the FTSE 100
emerging markets-focused bank;
and Manchester United, making its
first appearance.
Presumably the Glazer family
hoped the swishy shopfront might
catch the eye of one of the 100-plus
billionaires in Davos as they
reportedly seek a buyer for the club.
Martin Gilbert, who as chief
executive of Aberdeen Asset
Management was a Davos regular,
insists taking space on the
promenade was well worth the cost.
But worryingly, perhaps, for
Davos’s enterprising shopkeepers,
Google abandoned the promenade,
taking over a six-storey hotel close
tothe main pitch — to cut costs.
painful. Interest rates are yet to bite,
and if they bite severely, unemploy-
ment will go up,” Georgieva said.
Larry Summers, the former US Trea-
sury secretary and a hawkish critic of
central banks, said the recent good
news was welcome but “relief should
not become complacency”.
“Soft landings are the triumph of
hope over experience. But sometimes,
hope wins,” Summers said.
at the finance ministry and the Reserve
Bank of India.
According to the report, the agency
said they were involved in a conspiracy
to unduly favour a company selling
security features for currency notes,
leading to “corresponding wrongful
loss to the government exchequer”.
The CBI-I carried out searches at
Mayaram’s homes, the report added.
Mayaram declined to comment.
News of the investigation comes
after De La Rue was the subject of an
11-month Serious Fraud Office
investigation over suspected corrup-
tion in South Sudan, dropped in 2020.
The SFO had no comment regarding
the Indian investigation.
In its statement to the London stock
market yesterday, De La Rue said that it
had not served the Indian government
or its central bank “in any capacity”
since 2016. The company confirmed
that it had supplied security threads for
banknotes in India before 2016.
“The company believes that there is
57
Business
Britain could
lose precious
R&D activity
James Hurley
Businesses warn they will move re-
search and development activity over-
seas in light of cuts to tax incentives and
the threat of a lack of access to a key
European Union innovation funding
programme, research shows.
Three quarters of companies polled
by Ayming, a consultancy, said they had
either moved R&D activity overseas
last year or plan to do so this year.
The US, Germany, and France were
the most popular destinations for “off-
shoring” such investment, Ayming said.
It cited the feared loss of access to the
Horizon Europe research and innova-
tion programme, which has a budget of
€95.5 billion. The government says it is
pushing for a deal to retain access to the
scheme and will offer an alternative
deal if no agreement is reached
Njy Rios, director at Ayling, said:
“Seeing as we were a key member of the
programme, exclusion from Horizon
will cause an inevitable transfer of ac-
tivity from the UK to Europe. But the
impact of this goes much deeper than
losing out on funding. There are softer
implications to the UK’s reputation as a
research hub that will also increase the
chances of businesses setting up
activity on the Continent instead.”
The research was published in the
same week that Grant Shapps, the busi-
ness secretary, said he wants to make
the UK the “scale-up capital of Europe”.
He said he wants the UK to do better at
“converting start-ups to scale-ups”.
Ayming, which polled 200 senior
business people, also said cuts to R&D
tax credits, incentives for spending on
innovation, added to the problem.
Amid government concerns that the
multibillion-pound scheme is being
defrauded, claims for tax credits are
taking longer to process. From April the
government plans to make a significant
cut in the part of the scheme aimed at
small and medium-sized companies.
A separate survey found UK tech
start-ups expect cuts to the R&D tax
credits scheme to severely impact their
business, making the UK a less attract-
ive place for start-ups.
The Coalition for a Digital Economy
said eight in ten of the 250 start-ups it
polled said they feared the planned cuts
would damage their growth.
The government was approached
for comment.
no merit to the allegations that relate to
De La Rue and is seeking legal advice in
this regard,” it added.
Shares in De La Rue fell 7½p, or
9.5 per cent, to close at 71¼p on the
London Stock Exchange yesterday, hit-
ting a six-month low.
The Indian investigation comes at a
difficult time for the company, whose
shares fell sharply in November after it
cut its profit forecast for a third time last
year and Clive Vacher, its chief execu-
tive, accused EY, the company’s exter-
nal auditor, of exhibiting an “overabun-
dance of caution” in issuing a warning
over its future as a going concern.
De La Rue has also been embroiled in
a renewed dispute with Crystal Amber,
an activist shareholder, over strategy.
De La Rue separately announced
that it had suspended banknote print-
ing operations in Kenya “owing to
current global market demand and no
expectation of new banknote orders
from the Central Bank of Kenya for at
least the next 12 months”.
58
Business
There’s little joy for Hargreaves in
pursuit of the fountain of youth
Jessica Newman Market report
H
argreaves Lansdown
endured a bruising
session amid doubts
that it can coax
younger investors away
from competitors and move their
money on to the group’s once
popular investing platform.
Hargreaves attracted 61,000 new
customers in the nine months to
last September but analysts at
Jefferies are worried about the rise
of Vanguard, the American-owned
personal investment platform that
has moved into the UK. Vanguard
won 99,000 customers over the
same period, taking its total client
numbers to 450,000.
The big structural problem for
Hargreaves, according to Jefferies’
Julian Roberts, is that its best clients
are older and prone to leave the
platform in search of advice. But, as
Roberts warned, Vanguard will be
“making it very hard to bring in the
young investors they need to
replace their richer, older ones”.
The analyst downgraded
Hargreaves to “underperform”,
sending the shares down 23¼p, or
2.6 per cent, to 864¼p.
The wider market enjoyed a
modest rebound after Thursday’s
setback. The FTSE 100 closed up
23.30 points, or 0.3 per cent, at
7,770.59. However, the index lost
73.48 points, or 0.9 per cent, over
the week as investors’ worries that
the global economy could be
heading for a hard landing drained
confidence. A tier below, the FTSE
250 rose 128.52 points, or 0.7 per
Shares in the gambling group Flutter were up 2.4 per cent on the back of an analyst tip
cent, to 19,702.63, but ended the
week 250.21 points, or 1.3 per cent,
lower than where it started.
Among Friday’s blue-chip
winners was 3i, the private equity
group, which rose 47p, or 3.3 per
cent, to £14.63½ on the back of a
positive broker note from Morgan
Stanley, while Flutter added 300p,
or 2.4 per cent, to £125.65 as
investors decided to take a punt on
the gambling firm on advice from
wealth managers Goodbody.
Asos was back in vogue — at
least Bank of America thought so.
Analysts said that “in a plot twist” it
is now a buyer of the online fashion
retailer, arguing it is “one of the best
ways to invest in what we think is
an attractive risk/reward in the
online retail industry”. The
company, they believe, could be on
the right path this year as
management focuses on costs and
margin preservation. The shares
rallied 78p, or 11.1 per cent, to 778p.
The bank was equally as
optimistic about Boohoo’s
prospects, double upgrading its
“underperform” rating to “buy”. The
fast-fashion firm recovered 3½p, or
8.5 per cent, to close on 46p. Other
retailers also swept higher, with JD
Sports rising 4¼p, or 2.8 per cent, to
157p and Burberry lifting 55p, or
2.4 per cent, to £23.58.
Of London’s biggest 350
companies, Spirent
Communications came in for a real
drubbing after it said performance
would be weighted “heavier than
usual” to the second half of 2023 as
the uncertain economic outlook
delayed customers from making
investment decisions. Shares in the
company, which tests telecoms
networks, tumbled 52½p, or 18.9 per
cent, to a seven-month low of 225p.
Shares in The Works fell sharply
by 9p, or 20.8 per cent, to 34¼p after
The day’s biggest movers
K1
the discount toys and book chain
said losses for the first half swelled
to £10.7 million from £1 million a
year earlier. The company, which
reported that online sales softened
amid a loss of confidence among
shoppers that it would be able to
keep its delivery promises, warned
that consumer spending could
weaken throughout the rest of the
current financial year.
Among London’s smaller listed
companies, DSW, owner of the
Dow Schofield Watts professional
services network, gave investors a
fright as it told of a slowdown in
dealmaking in December —
Wall Street report
A rally in technology stocks led by
good results from Netflix and
hopes the pace of rate rises will
slow lifted indices. The Dow Jones
industrial average was up 330.93
points, or 1 per cent, at 33,375.49,
but 2.7 per cent lower on the week.
traditionally a key month for
transactions to complete —
meaning it is unlikely it will deliver
results in line with the City’s
expectations. The market heeded
the warning as the shares dropped
28p, or 23.7 per cent, to 90p.
Delivery disruptions, weaker
consumer spending and “high
levels” of markdown activity in the
market in December took its toll on
In The Style’s quarterly sales, down
22 per cent. Shares in the online
retailer, which now expects annual
sales and gross margins for the year
to the end of March to be lower
than anticipated at £46 million or
so, lost almost a third of their value
yesterday, or 3¼p, to settle at 8p.
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Cheshire picked as new
chairman of Landsec
Sir Ian Cheshire, the retail
veteran, has been appointed as
the new chairman of Land
Securities Group, the FTSE 100
landlord and developer. Cheshire,
63, the former chief executive of
Kingfisher, the owner of B&Q,
will join Landsec’s board towards
the end of March, before formally
taking over in May from
Cressida Hogg, who is retiring
after nine years on the board.
Cheshire has told BT, the
telecoms company, that in order
to “ensure he has sufficient
capacity to act as chair of
Landsec”, he will step down as
one of its non-executive directors
in July. He will remain as
chairman of Channel 4 and Spire
Healthcare, the private hospitals
operator. The London-
headquartered Landsec counts
Bluewater, Kent and Trinity
Leeds among prominent spaces
in its retail portfolio. Cheshire, a
former chairman of the
department store group
Debenhams, takes over as
Landsec chairman at a time when
British commercial property
values are experiencing a slump
as a result of rising interest rates
and broader economic
uncertainty. Landsec shares
closed up 2½p, or 0.3 per cent, at
698½p, valuing the company at
£5.2 billion.
Sales setback zaps
Batman toy company
Shares in the toymaker Character
Group dropped nearly 10 per cent
yesterday after it said sales had
fallen by more than a third in the
last quarter. The Aim-listed
company, which has a licence for
Batman, Bluey and Peppa Pig
toys, said revenue was down by
42 per cent in the four months to
December 31, with sales in the US
showing a marked drop. The
business said it would be
profitable for the year but
reiterated that pre-tax profit and
sales would be below market
expectations. Character Group
had issued a profit warning for
the year in October. It said it
hoped that its participation in the
London Toy Fair next week
might help to lift sales for the rest
of the year. “The board remains
optimistic that the anticipated
rebound will come through
strongly in the second half,”
Character said. Shares in
Character, which have dropped
by about 38 per cent over the past
year, closed down by 9.8 per cent,
or 40p, at 370p, valuing the
company at £71.5 million.
CMA launches inquiry
into £1.2bn Emis deal
The Competition and Markets
Authority has launched an initial
investigation into the £1.2 billion
acquisition of Emis Group, an
Aim-quoted software supplier to
the NHS, by a UK subsidiary of
UnitedHealth Group, the US
giant whose chief executive is
Sir Andrew Witty, the former
boss of GSK. The £19.25-per-
share cash offer was announced
in June and the CMA said
yesterday that it was considering
whether the deal could mean a
“substantial lessening of
competition” in the UK. Officials
have until March 17 to decide
whether to launch a more
in-depth phase 2 investigation.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
It takes a lot of bottle to back
bricks-and-mortar wine sales
Majestic Wine is in
good health after its
divorce from Naked
Wines, John Colley
tells Dominic Walsh
T
he roll-call of failed wine
retailers is a long one, from
Threshers and Unwins to
Bottoms Up and Parisa,
while the once ubiquitous
Oddbins is now a shadow of its
former self. Four years ago it looked
as if Majestic Wine might be next in
line after the boss of Naked Wines, its
parent, announced that it might sell
or close some or all of its 200 stores
under a “transformation plan” to shift
the focus of the company to digital.
John Colley, who had briefly run
the Majestic retail business after it
merged with Naked in 2015, was
heading to work at Kingfisher, the
DIY retailer, when he heard the news.
His wife, Gabby, whom he had met
when they were working at Majestic,
was “absolutely devastated” at the
possible demise of the chain. “I
remember her saying: ‘What are you
going to do about it?’”
The result was that he ended up
working with one of the potential
suitors for Majestic “to see whether it
would be possible to take this private”.
His choice of partner was a good
one. Fortress Investment Group took
the prize with a £95 million bid and
Colley returned to Majestic, except
that this time it was as boss of a
standalone business rather than only
part of the company. “I blame my wife
for what happened,” he laughed.
On the day of our interview, the
Yorkshireman is feeling relieved.
Having successfully navigated the
business through the Covid-19
pandemic, he has just overseen the
second busiest Christmas trading in
the company’s 43-year history,
narrowly behind the previous year’s
record. Sales in December, the most
important month of the year, jumped
by 21 per cent compared with pre-
Covid levels, despite heavy
promotional activity by the big
supermarkets; and December 23 was
the busiest trading day in its history.
What’s more, Dry January is not, so
far, turning out as badly as he
thought. “I don’t think it is as dry as
people might think. It’s more damp.”
Colley and his team took advantage
of the pandemic to implement a
growth strategy, “opening stores in
the right places, investing in the right
product ranges, investing in our
digital platform and investing in our
commercial business”.
While costs such as energy, wages
and fuel for its delivery vans went up,
revenues were also up by between
20 per cent and 25 per cent to about
£360 million and Colley said he was
optimistic of being able to maintain
that position. He will not say how
much profit it is making, but insists
that it is “significantly higher than it
was pre-Covid”.
The revival of the group’s fortunes
is in sharp contrast to those of Naked,
which by selling Majestic reversed the
marriage of the companies four years
earlier and assumed the retailer’s
listing. Although, like many digital
businesses, Naked initially prospered
during the pandemic, it has since
59
Business
The value supermarket wines, some
as cheap as £3 or £4, are not what
Majestic does; at least not since the
“Majestic Loves” range at up to £5.99
proved short-lived. Since then, the
chain’s value proposition has been the
18 per cent saving from buying six
bottles. “Our sweet spot is £10 and
above. We’re pretty big in that part
of the market,” Colley said. “Whereas
if you look at the average
supermarket wine, we just don’t play
in that market.”
So where does it play? “We’re
buying from privately owned wineries
across the world. I read a quote from
somebody about Majestic the other
day that said: ‘The supermarket can
sell you a bottle of wine; Majestic can
sell you the wine that’s in the bottle. I
think that’s the difference.”
Unlike the supermarkets, Majestic
also does plenty of wine that is priced
well above that level. “That wine can
come from a family-owned winery, a
unique product you can’t get
elsewhere and at a price point in the
hundreds of pounds. For example,
we sell Opus One [a red wine from
Napa Valley] which I think retails
for £360 in some of our shops. You
won’t find that in a Lidl, a Tesco or
even a Waitrose.”
Majestic also has a reputation for
having the best-trained staff. Most are
graduates and as they rise up the
ladder from shop assistant to store
manager they are professionally
accredited by the Wine and Spirit
Education Trust, enabling them to
deal expertly with customers. All
Majestic stores have tasting counters,
Retail runs in the family of John Colley, who has helped to revive Majestic Wine in a market dominated by the supermarkets where staff hold tutored tastings.
These are particularly popular with
unsurprising, given that he comes its “high-value customers” — wine
Q&A
our customers,
CV
from a retail family. His father, Bill, enthusiasts who have shopped at
employees, suppliers held senior roles at Currys and Majestic for between 7 and 15 years
and charity partners. Phones4U, while Colley Jr has and who have a “pretty significant”
Last year we raised over worked for a veritable who’s who of average spend.
£125,000 for the Brain retail companies, including One growth avenue that was
Who is your mentor? Tumour Charity. Age: 51 Woolworths, Argos, Screwfix, closed off by Naked and has now
Steve Willett, the former Most important event? Education: 1991-1994: Homebase and B&Q. been kick-started by Colley is store
CEO and chairman of In 2019 when Naked University of Greenwich, The transformation plan initiated openings. Although it has lost four
Screwfix. The real Wines announced it BSc in mathematics and by Rowan Gormley, the founder of stores that have been taken back by
architect of Screwfix’s would either sell or computing Naked and architect of its Majestic their owners or redeveloped, it has
growth, an operational close Majestic. I couldn’t Career: 1994: Sales, merger, led to fears that Majestic was opened nine, lifting the total estate to
genius. let the name disappear merchandising and effectively being thrown to the 202, and sees scope for more. When
Who do you most from our high street. I category manager roles supermarket wolves, like so many Fortress bought the business, Colley
admire? am very proud to have with Woolworths; 2001: now-defunct wine retailers. The likes had identified 20 to 30 “white spaces”
Tony DeNunzio, supported Fortress with Trading manager, DIY, of Tesco and Sainsbury’s and, in the UK that could take a Majestic,
chairman of the British the acquisition of Argos and Homebase; increasingly, Aldi and Lidl, now and the private equity firm is backing
Retail Consortium. One Majestic, securing its 2003: Commercial command 80 per cent to 90 per cent his plans.
of the most experienced long-term future. director, Screwfix; of the market and are able to use He claimed not to know what
PE and retail leaders I Favourite TV show? 2008: Commercial and wine as a loss leader to attract more Fortress’s exit plan might be, but said
have ever worked with. We are watching The marketing director, B&Q; customers while persuading the the firm was delighted by the results
Does money motivate Sopranos and I always 2010: Chief commercial wine companies to fund promotions. the management had delivered.
you? enjoy anything car- officer, Maxeda DIY The year it was sold, Majestic “They have invested millions in this
Of course making related. The wife and I Group; 2012: Chief reported only £6 million of business. Sometimes private equity
money is important, also enjoy some cheesy executive, Praxis; 2015: underlying earnings and the fear was can get a bit of a poor press, but
both personally but also TV reruns of Benidorm chief executive, Majestic that the downward trajectory could they’ve only been supportive of the
so we can deliver for all or Peter Kay’s Car Share. Retail; 2018: Chief prove terminal. management and let us get on with
our stakeholders. How do you relax? trading officer, Colley said that although Majestic doing our job.”
Making money means Getting out on the Kingfisher; 2019: came “reasonably close” to Despite the Naked experience,
we can reinvest to make bike, ideally in the hills Executive chairman disappearing, he was always confident Colley has not eschewed the digital
our proposition and in Italy where my and chief executive, that with the right strategy, world but has built an online
service even better for parents live. Majestic Wine management team and backers, it proposition that allows local
could be turned around and customers to order wine from the
transformed. website and get it delivered via its
struggled and its shares have tumbled He added: “I fundamentally With the supermarkets flexing their own fleet of vans or click and collect
almost 80 per cent in the past disagree with that. I think that was muscles, the big question was — and themselves. It also uses a third party
12 months after two profit warnings. the wrong approach by some fairly remains — what makes Majestic to deliver further afield, which he said
The divorce was a recognition that smart cookies and now we’re different enough to survive? Quite a had turned Majestic into a genuine
crunching an online business with a beginning to see that unwind and lot, as it happens — the biggest omni-channel specialist, and
bricks-and-mortar one was not as some of the pure-play specialists factor, according to Colley, being that customers no longer had to live near
clever an idea as it had seemed. being wound up. What it does show is it doesn’t sell the same wine. True, a store to be able to get their online
Although he is diplomatic about that this company of over 40 years of you can buy The Ned or Villa Maria orders delivered. “It was a very poor
Naked’s recent fortunes, Colley said history is incredibly strong even in sauvignon blanc from New Zealand in customer proposition, but now if
he did not hold with “pundits who say tough times. In a costs crisis we’ve Majestic, but “fundamentally the they want something delivered to
digital is going to change the retail held our own.” wine we sell in Majestic isn’t their pad in the Outer Hebrides, they
landscape and dotcom is here to stay”. Colley’s love of retail is perhaps supermarket wine”. can do that too.”
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Electric cars:
we do the
maths so you
don’t have to
Page 66-67
Backlash
over John
Lewis credit
card swap
Customers say they are getting poor service
and lower credit limits after the Partnership
scheme changed hands, writes David Byers
H
undreds of loyal John Le-
wis customers have com-
plained about poor cus-
tomer service after a
change to its Partnership
credit card.
In October 600,000 customers were
given new cards when John Lewis
switched its contract from HSBC to
New Day. The retailer said it moved
from HSBC because “its strategic goals
and ours have changed”. It would not
say if the New Day contract was cheap-
er, but that the decision to drop HSBC
was made before it chose a successor.
Since the switch cardholders have
complained that their credit limits were
cut, billing dates moved without notice
and cards rejected in stores.
The Partnership card has an average
score of 1.29 out of 5 based on 739 re-
views on Smart Money People, which
said there had been a 12 per cent in-
crease in 1 star reviews of the card over
the past 90 days, and a 67 per cent de-
crease in five star reviews.
On Trust Pilot, another review site,
John Lewis Finance has an average
rating of 3.6 out of 5, but 25 per cent of
reviewers gave it 1 star, many of them
the most recent posts.
New Day is a financial services com-
pany specialising in consumer credit
products. It took over Santander’s UK
store card business in 2013, which in-
cluded cards for Dorothy Perkins, Top-
shop and House of Fraser.
James Daley from the consumer
ratings agency Fairer Finance said:
“Companies like John Lewis, which rely
Yes, the tax office did just deliberately hang up on you . . .
T
he taxman has a new “intelligent
SMS service” that sends callers
text message links to the website
and then hangs up.
Callers to HM Revenue and Cus-
toms’ helpline will get an automated
message asking them to explain why
they are ringing. Those who mention
registering for online services, unique
taxpayer reference numbers, or a lost or
forgotten password or user ID will get a
URL by text message directing them to
Follow us on twitter @timesmoney | @JohannaMNoble | @holly_mead_ | @davidbyers26 | @AlihussainST | @katjdenham | @davidbrenchley | @George_Nixon97 | @lilycsrj
particularly strongly on customer
loyalty, have to be especially careful
about how they handle changes
like this.”
0 What’s changed?
The Partnership card
was launched in 2004
and offers discounts at
John Lewis and Waitrose.
You earn five points for
every £4 spent at these
shops, or one point for
every £4 spent elsewhere.
You get a £5 voucher when
you reach 500 points.
The perks have stayed the
same, but the interest rate for
new customers has gone up.
Those transferred from the
old card are still charged an
18.9 per cent interest rate and get six
months interest-free on balance trans-
fers. New applicants, however, will be
charged 21.9 per cent interest.
The switchover from HSBC also
meant that card holders’ eligibility for
borrowing was reassessed and their
credit limit may have changed.
One card holder said their limit had
been reduced from £2,000 to £600 with
no explanation. “I always clear pay-
ments monthly. The call centre was no
help and the app was no help,” they
wrote on Smart Money People.
Another had her credit limit cut from
£8,300 to £1,900. Marcus Jaye, 43, has
had a Partnership card for three years
and always cleared his balance in full on
the 5th of the month. After being trans-
the relevant information online and
their call will be disconnected.
Callers that mentioning other rea-
sons, such as needing help with their
tax return can stay on hold.
January is a busy month for HM Rev-
enue & Customs because about 12 mil-
lion people have to file their online tax
return by the end of the month. The tax
office said it gets about 170,000 tele-
phone queries each January that could
be dealt with online. The total number
ferred to New Day in October he was
told that transactions making up his
balance would be counted until the
20th of the previous month, giving him
a window of about 14 days’ credit.
Jaye, an author, said: “That is a much
shorter payment window than before.”
Tina Riches, 66, from Cambridge,
has also had the date on which her
spending counted towards her next
statement moved. “It takes my balance
up to the 16th instead of the 7th, and
then I have to pay it on the 1st. In effect,
that makes my monthly balance big-
ger,” she said. The retired tax adviser is
now considering ditching her John Le-
wis card because the website is “difficult
to use”.
Jaye said: “The main benefit of the
card is the points you earn, but there is
of calls it gets to its self-assessment
helpline in January is 690,000.
Guy Sterling, a tax partner with the
accountancy firm Moore Kingston
Smith said: “This Kafkaesque techno-
170,000
The queries to HMRC in January that
it says could be dealt with online
Money
John Lewis, above, has swapped its HSBC-run Partnership credit
card, below left, for a new version run by New Day, left. Many
customers have had their credit limit slashed since the switchover
nowhere on the app where you can
view your points balance.”
0 New Day, new problems
Other customers have complained
about customer service issues. One re-
viewer, who has held a Partnership card
since 2004, said: “I disputed a trans-
action from Uber in Amsterdam as I
have never used Uber and hadn’t left
the UK in over three years. It took
hours to report. It was only after three
weeks and emailing senior executives
at New Day and John Lewis that I was
told the money would be refunded.”
Daley said: “One thing the company
could have foreseen is the mass slash-
ing of credit limits, which would obvi-
ously annoy customers. That is some-
thing it ought to have anticipated and
probably communicated better.”
Ratings by Fairer Finance had
already put John Lewis Finance bottom
of 31 credit firms before the move
to New Day. It looked at complaints
to the Financial Ombudsman over
the past three years and said that
56 per cent of ombudsman rulings
were in favour of the company rather
than the customer. The best performer,
logy seems designed to ensure that call-
ers will never be allowed to speak to an
actual person and suffer unbearable
levels of frustration.”
Robert Salter, a director at the ac-
countancy firm Blick Rothenberg, said:
“The reality is that HMRC is under-re-
sourced. There are not enough staff to
provide either guidance to taxpayers
with queries – as seen by the unaccepta-
bly long call waiting times – or to fully
review and address tax compliance-re-
61
Tesco Bank, scored 78 per cent and
Sainsbury’s Bank scored 75 per cent.
John Lewis’s figure fell to 50 per cent
over the first six months of 2022.
New Day said it was normal to re-
examine credit histories when custom-
ers were transferred.
It said: “As a responsible and regulat-
ed lender, New Day sets credit limits
based on affordability. It takes into ac-
count payment history and other data
received from credit reference agencies
as well as information the applicant
provides.”
It added that customers can change
their repayment dates three times a
year and set up payment reminders.
John Lewis said 96 per cent of cus-
tomers had been accepted by New Day
in the transfer, with more than 84 per
cent being offered the same or a higher
credit limit.
It said calls to its helpline increased in
November after the migration, but
were now “back to normal levels”.
“Working with New Day, we’ve made
significant improvements, from simpli-
fying the application to enhancing our
affordability acceptance process and
reducing call wait times.”
lated issues and ensure that the correct
people pay the correct taxes.”
Richard West, the director of person-
al tax operations at HMRC, said the
system would help callers who could
easily find information on the internet.
“It also means that in the current self-
assessment peak, customers whose
questions cannot easily be answered
online and who require help from an
adviser will get the support they need.”
David Byers
62
Money
I put all my funds in the bin
and am starting from scratch
Holly Mead
I
have liquidated my entire
investment portfolio. Every
holding is gone and the cash is
sitting in my Isa account
earning zero interest. Which
sounds a bit of a silly thing to do
when you put it like that.
I started investing through a stocks
and shares Isa in 2012. Having been
an investment reporter for about two
years, it felt like time to put my
money where my mouth was.
It all started off fairly sensibly. I was
working at an investment magazine at
the time, and my editor gave some
recommendations for my core
holdings to get me started. Meeting
various fund managers through work
gave me plenty of ideas for some
bolt-on investments in more niche
and racy areas. I’m a fan of this “core
and satellite” approach to investing —
it means that you have a reliable
base but can express your personality
A gold fund in pounds, instead of
dollars, would have been wiser
The big question
Should banks have to refund fraud victims?
Yes
Paul Davis, head of
fraud at TSB Bank
When we first
pledged to
reimburse all
innocent victims of fraud, there was
praise and scepticism. Yet fraud has
rapidly grown to become the UK’s
biggest crime with £2 million stolen
from households every day.
In the face of this threat and with
scams becoming increasingly
complex, customers rightly look to
their bank for support and
protection when they fall victim.
The main argument against bank
refunds is “moral hazard” — that
consumers won’t care where
they’re sending their money if they
think they will get it back. But we
disagree. No one wants to
experience the crushing panic
when they realise that their money
is in the hands of fraudsters.
After four years of TSB’s
guaranteed refunds — with 98 per
cent of all cases refunded —
government and regulators have
a bit more around the edges.
There were a couple of dodgy
calls, of course, but it all went OK
for the most part. I can’t tell you my
exact return over that period
because I’ve added money in dribs
and drabs, taken profits, and
swapped things about a bit. I always
meant to start up a regular
investing plan but didn’t get
around to it for years.
My worst investment was a
gold exchange traded fund (ETF
— a type of cheap tracker
fund) which I mistakenly
bought in US dollars. So even
when the price of gold soared, I
lost money because of foreign
exchange movements. I held
on to that for about five years,
refusing to crystallise the loss
— you know, exactly like you
shouldn’t do. The moment it
broke even, I sold.
My best investments more
than doubled my money. I took
profits from a tech fund three
times before selling it, convinced
that the success could not continue.
I bought back into the same fund a
few months later when I realised that
it actually could (I don’t claim to be a
role model for investing). It gained
another 50 per cent or so before
tanking last year.
Overall, though, I am confident
that I have pretty much doubled my
money since I started investing.
When I switched to a different
investment platform last year, a
couple of the funds I had held were
no longer available to me. This meant
backed this and the regulator plans
to require all banks to refund fraud.
Most fraud occurs outside of
banks’ control due to glaring
vulnerabilities from tech firms,
telecoms companies and social
media. These weaknesses allow
thousands of scam texts to be sent
every day and fraudulent adverts
and profiles to fester online.
Meta platforms — in particular
Facebook Marketplace — account
for four-fifths of the purchase fraud
that TSB refunds. By leaving
consumers exposed to scams, these
companies should also contribute
to the sums we reimburse. Thus,
they would finally be incentivised
to provide the anti-fraud deep clean
their platforms so desperately need.
Although the regulator’s new
refund model will bring widespread
change, there is debate on whether
sub-£100 cases should be refunded.
Denying victims of low-value fraud
their money back, typically due to
scam content hosted by social
media platforms, is grossly unfair.
It’s up to all companies to protect
their users. Only by making other
sectors liable will these firms start
taking fraud seriously.
No
Andrew Hagger,
founder of the
consumer website
MoneyComms
While it can be
deeply upsetting to lose money via
a scam, banks shouldn’t be
expected to foot the bill for losses
in every instance.
If the banking industry and
regulators hadn’t taken significant
steps to clamp down on fraudulent
activity, then there would be a
stronger case to place the blame
firmly at their door. However, there
have been initiatives such as two-
factor authentication for online
debit and credit card purchases,
and confirmation of payee when
making transfers from online
banking, to name just two.
As well as these tech
enhancements, financial firms are
constantly pushing out messages
via the Take Five campaign
encouraging consumers to stop and
think before transferring money, to
challenge advertising claims and be
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
fresh with a blank sheet, isn’t it?
Fund fees have come down
considerably since I started investing
and I want this to be reflected in my
new portfolio. My priorities are to
have a core and satellite set up, and
to keep costs down. There are not
many aspects of investing that you
can really control, but low fees and
proper diversification of your assets
are two.
So the first building block in
Holly’s Portfolio 2.0 is going to be
that I was left with a bit of cash, but a vanilla MSCI World exchange-
was reluctant to deploy it while the traded fund (ETF). I can pay as little
stock market was tumbling.
Last week I logged
into my Isa to have
as 0.1 per cent to own a slice of
hundreds of companies spanning
the globe, and that seems a sensible
a think about what place to start.
to do with that The UK is a tiny proportion of the
money. And it was global index, so I’d like a UK-specific
then that I realised it
was time for a complete
overhaul.
Years of piecemeal
tinkering had left me
with a very warped
portfolio. I have a tech My worst buy was a
fund, a frontier markets
investment trust, and a gold fund in dollars.
smaller companies
trust. There’s a high-
Even when gold went
yield bond, funds up, I still lost money
investing in Asia and
Europe, and some
wacky ETFs doing very fund too. A FTSE tracker will do the
complicated things that job for a small price tag.
I definitely understood With decades left to invest I don’t
at the time. want a huge allocation to bonds, but
What happened to my it would feel remiss not to have any.
sensible portfolio of core I can get a global corporate bond ETF
holdings with some racy bits that charges about 0.1 per cent to give
around the edge? me some exposure to this part of the
A bit of profit-taking here, a market, and reinvesting the income
switcheroo there, a punt or two: that these bonds pay will boost my
a decade of intermittent portfolio too.
dabbling meant that I had After this, I can start to have some
completely lost my core and fun — although maybe not too much
satellite strategy. While there this time. Investing shouldn’t be
were some funds in the list that completely boring and all about safe
I still believe in for the long bets, but it’s important to keep sight
term, there was no longer a of what your overall aims are and
bedrock of cheap, plain vanilla whether your portfolio stands a
investments. chance of helping you to achieve
I immediately hit the sell them. My experience is testament to
button on a couple of my more the fact that just because you know
outlandish holdings. But I the rules, it does not mean you will
didn’t stop there, I sold the lot. always follow them. Let things get
This is arguably an extreme too out of kilter and you are in for
way to go about things, but a wild ride.
sometimes it’s easier to start @holly_mead_
IN THE
SUNDAY TIMES
TOMORROW
wary of promises of returns that
sound too good to be true.
The mega-rich big tech
companies should bear their share
of responsibility too, as they allow
criminals to set up fake websites,
social media pages and posts, as
well as hosting online adverts
promoting get rich quick schemes
and “exclusive” investment
opportunities. They should be
forced to shoulder some of the
financial losses for the fraud
facilitated on their platforms,
especially as they often make
advertising revenue from scam
websites.
But the uncomfortable truth is fame and fortune
that bank customers need to take
some responsibility too — online
scams and fake texts and emails
Sam Brown:
have been around for a while now.
The banks are right to expect
I started a
their customers to take reasonable
care. This includes not disclosing
ukulele club in
pin or card details over the phone,
not sharing financial information
the village hall
on social media or clicking on links plus
without thinking carefully.
It’s easy to blame the banks, but
we all need to play our part in
Britain on the brink
trying to avoid being a scam victim. of a savings crisis
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Can you afford a private school?
With costs set to soar,
will parents be forced
to make compromises
on education, asks
Elizabeth Anderson
A
s the cost of living crisis
continues to squeeze family
budgets, is private school
still a priority for parents?
The often-cited benefits
of private school include smaller class
sizes, a wider range of sport and music
options, and better facilities.
But it all comes at a hefty cost —
potentially hundreds of thousands of
pounds if you opt for private education
through to age 18.
Private schools increase their fees
each year and a substantial rise is on the
way if the Labour Party wins the next
general election and follows through
on plans to end tax breaks. It would
mean school fees become liable for
VAT, which, if passed on to parents,
could increase fees by 20 per cent.
Iain Moore, 35, is concerned that the
cost of living crisis and the threat of
VAT bills may mean he has to reconsid-
er his two children’s private school edu-
cation.
Moore, who lives in Gloucestershire,
has a five-year-old son at a local prep
school and has reserved a place for his
two-year-old daughter at the same
school.
He said: “I went to a private school
and really saw the benefits. The class
numbers are small and pupils are en-
couraged to aim high. Parents are chief
executives, doctors and lawyers. Child-
ren are taught that they can be any-
thing.”
But with fees starting at more than
£3,000 a term, and rising to more than year, according to the education com-
£10,000 a term by sixth form, Moore is
wondering whether the school
will be affordable in the long
term.
Moore runs his own
business BGreater-
Shoes, which sells child-
ren’s shoes, and his wife
is a teacher. His com-
£39k
pany is grappling with Average cost of
higher import costs and
falling demand from boarding school for
parents looking to save a sixth-form pupil
money.
“Ideally we want our child-
ren at the same school for their
whole education — taking them right high, and she is concerned about the
to sixth form. But it’s a huge expense long-term financial pressures on
and my business has really taken a parents.
knock recently,” he said.
Private school fees have risen con- posed by energy costs and inflation
sistently over the past two decades. The mean that any family signing up for pri-
average fee for a private day primary vate school now should expect further
school (excluding boarding) is £14,481 a fee increases. “Private school parents
Still no help for young savers locked out of child trust funds
T
housands of young people are still
being denied their savings, ac-
cording to the two biggest child
trust fund (CTF) firms.
OneFamily and Foresters Financial
said that the government has not
moved quickly enough to solve the
problem which has left disabled young
people unable to get at their money
because they lack the mental capacity
to take responsibility for their money
when the accounts mature at 18.
In an open letter Teddy Nyahasha
and Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, the chief
executives of the two firms that to-
gether manage 2.5 million trust funds,
said thousands of young adults were
parison website SchoolGuide.
The costs get higher as
children progress through
school with the typical
price for a boarding
sixth-former almost
£39,000 a year.
Melanie Sander-
son, the managing
editor of The Good
Schools Guide, said
parents should brace
themselves for further
increases. Some schools
put up fees by 7 per cent last
year as inflation hit a 40-year
Sanderson said that the challenges
missing out on their money because a
“straightforward answer to this prob-
lem is being delayed”.
CTFs were introduced in 2002 by the
Labour government. Savings account
were opened automatically for children
born between September 2002 and
January 2011. The government paid in
£250 (£500 for low-income families) at
birth and age seven. Some 6.3 million
accounts were opened before they were
replaced in 2011 by Junior Isas. The ac-
count holders cannot get at their
money until they are 18.
Parents of young people who cannot
manage their own money because of
their disabilities have to apply to the
often have to make financial sacrifices
to afford fees and the cost of living crisis
is likely to exacerbate this. Some
parents will decide that they can’t tight-
en their belts any further,” she said.
Nick O’Sullivan, a leadership coach
from Staffordshire, moved his eight-
year-old daughter from a state school to
a private school last year. He says the
state school system does not suit every-
one and that alternatives should be en-
couraged.
“I am a basic-rate taxpayer and we
are a family of very modest means. But
my daughter’s self-esteem and confi-
dence was taken down brick by brick by
a state school system that was too
crowded, a curriculum that was too
congested, and a pressure to progress
through the curriculum that left no
space for the support our daughter
needed.
“We decided to commit to the ex-
pense of a private school because ulti-
mately the mental health of our daugh-
Court of Protection to get the power to
manage the account on their child’s be-
half. This costs £371, requires dozens of
pages of forms, and can take months.
The problem became apparent when
the first trust fund holders turned 18 in
2020. The government proposed a
small payments scheme that would al-
low parents to access up to £2,500
£400m
The amount lying unclaimed in
200,000 matured child trust funds
We won’t
move our
children
whatever
the cost
Nick O’Sullivan’s daughter, eight,
moved to private school last year
ter is priceless. After a full term we had
a happy, increasingly confident child
who expressed interest and excitement
in learning once again.”
O’Sullivan is nervous at the thought
through an application to the bank or
building society holding the money.
The consultation closed in January
last year, but nothing has happened.
“There is an urgency for the govern-
ment to act now,” said the letter. “Many
of these young people have degenera-
tive conditions and the money that is
trapped in their CTFs could buy an im-
portant piece of life-improving equip-
ment or be used to create family memo-
ries.” The letter said some families have
abandoned the money, some of which
they saved themselves, rather than go
through the court process.
“The Ministry of Justice has done
nothing to make the documents or pro-
63
Money
of VAT being added to private school
fees, which could mean they can no
longer afford them.
“We also have a three-year-old, and
we are hoping that our finances will im-
prove enough so that he can join our
daughter at the same school. All child-
ren are different and we need options,
including private schools, that enable
differences to be catered for,” he says.
About 6 per cent of school-age child-
ren in the UK are at private schools.
About 30 per cent of Oxbridge admis-
sions are from private schools and two
thirds of the Cabinet were privately ed-
ucated.
Even parents who earn a six-figure
salary could find private school fees a
struggle. Those with two children at a
private primary school would spend an
average of £28,000 a year — equivalent
to a post-tax salary of about £35,000.
That’s before the cost of uniform, extra-
curricular activities and holiday child-
care.
The Private Education Policy Forum,
a think tank that aims to make the pri-
vate education system more transpar-
ent, says the key driver for private
schooling is family wealth — either
through an inheritance or grandpar-
ents helping with the fees.
The cost of living crisis has not affect-
ed inherited or gifted income too much,
and so the forum does not expect a
drop in demand for private schooling
this year. It said that the number of
pupils in independent schools in-
creased 2.1 per cent in the 2021-22 aca-
demic year.
An investment banker, who blogs at
bankeronfire.com, has a daughter in
Year 1 at a private school in central
London. He will pay £22,500 in school
fees this year — 7 per cent more than
last year.
The father, who does not wish to be
named, said that parents at the school
have taken the increase in their stride.
“Whether we like it or not, many pri-
vate school parents are just wealthy
enough not to notice,” he said.
“There will be a subset of private
school parents for whom an increase in
mortgage rates and overall cost of
living represents a significant budget
squeeze. But they will take cheaper
holidays, dip into savings or ask family
for help to see their children through,
rather than actually pull them out of
school.
“In my experience, schools are pretty
high up on the spending agenda for
most parents and they would look at
every alternative before taking their
kids out of their private school.”
Moore agreed. “We will keep our
children at the school at all costs, even
if it means stopping holidays, selling
one of our two cars and reducing costs
anywhere else we can,” he said.
“I believe private school is one of the
best choices I’ll ever make as a parent.”
cess easier for families,” the campaign-
er Andrew Turner said. “I never
thought we’d be in this situation in 2023
given all the promises in 2021. With of-
fers from the finance industry to help
fix an issue that should be simple you
have to wonder why the MoJ isn’t just
getting on with it.”
The MoJ said: “Our consultation ex-
posed some complex issues that require
further time to be resolved.”
OneFamily and Foresters have been
criticised themselves for applying an
annual 1.5 per cent management fee to
child trust funds when other accounts
are far cheaper.
George Nixon
64 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Money

Fire savers aim to give up work

The super savers plan to clear all their debt
and retire early, but has the cost of living crisis ‘Inflation has hit
ruined everything, asks David Brenchley my plan to retire
T
he plans of thousands of so- for a moderate standard of living, up
called Fire savers have gone 12 per cent from a year ago, according to
up in smoke thanks to the cost estimates from the Pension and Life-
completely at 55’
of living crisis and falling time Savings Association. For a com-

J
stock markets. fortable retirement you will need ames Armstrong, 35, optimistic beliefs on
The financial independence, retire £37,300 a year after tax, up 11 per cent fears that high sustainable levels of
early (Fire) movement involves living from last year, it reckons. inflation is investment growth”,
frugally, saving a high portion of your This means that someone retiring at threatening his goal of which may be because of
salary, investing in the stock market 40 would need a pot worth about early retirement and his the bull market that they
and paying off all of your debt including £800,000 if they wanted it to last until ability to give his children have lived through. US
your mortgage as soon as humanly they were 90, according to the platform a lump sum for a house stocks had a 12.5 per cent
possible. The idea is that scrimping now Interactive Investor. deposit or to start a inflation-adjusted return
will allow you to retire many years Someone retiring at 50 would need business (David over the ten years to the
ahead of schedule. about £610,000, as opposed to Brenchley writes). end of 2022, according to
The movement (which grew from £248,000 if they retired at 67. These Armstrong from the Barclays Equity-Gilt
ideas in a 1992 book called Your Money figures assume inflation of 2 per cent — Bramley, west Yorkshire, Study. Over the past 50
or Your Life) gained an army of follow- a long way from today’s inflation rate. hopes to retire completely years the returns have
ers as stock markets soared over All of this could mean that retir- at 55. So far, he’s about been 6.7 per cent.
the past five years and many ing early is no longer an op- one third of the way While Armstrong, who
Fire savers were able to tion for some young towards his retirement works in marketing,
grow their nest egg sig- savers. But for many Fire target, which is in the managed to lock in a ten-
nificantly. But soaring
inflation and plunging
share prices are mak-
ing it harder to live the
50% followers retirement
per se is not the aim.
Baeza, a marketing
manager from
high six figures.
He started investing in
2010 in tracker funds and
some individual shares,
year mortgage rate of
2.1 per cent last April, his
energy bill, food shop and
petrol costs have gone up
fiery dream. Drop in value of Bournemouth, said including Google. Five significantly, so he has
Frankie Baeza’s that financial inde- years ago he discovered had to dip into his
pendence was most the Fire community of emergency fund.
‘I lost half investment portfolio important for him. savers who, like him, were “I tried to keep six
the value of over the past year “It’s not necessarily re- trying to build up enough months’ expenses, but
my savings’ tirement that I’m aiming wealth to stop work while with prices soaring it
for, it’s having that freedom of they are still young. slipped to four and a half,
Frankie Baeza, 29, went from invest- knowing that if this job doesn’t work “I think the goal of so I need to put some
ing a couple of thousand pounds for fun out, I don’t need to work to pay my most people pursuing Fire more cash in there to
to realising that his investments could mortgage or my other bills,” said Baeza. is laudable,” he said. maintain my cushion,”
provide him with financial independ- His portfolio is now worth about “They want to be free to he said.
ence. At one point his portfolio was £30,000. As well as the stock market live without financial He worries that high
worth almost £100,000. losses, he took a chunk of cash out last insecurity dictating the inflation will continue to
But it has lost about half of its value summer to buy the house that he and course of their life. We’re affect his plans: “Before
over the past 12 months. Baeza’s invest- his partner had been renting. not taught enough about last year my spreadsheet
ment in the cryptocurrency platform He remains about 34 per cent in personal finance, debt, was looking quite
Coinbase fell 80 per cent over a year. profit since he started investing back in savings and investments optimistic. These days, if I
Other big losses include the Chinese 2019 and is in it for the long haul. during our formal take a pessimistic outlook
electric car maker Nio and the data an- “Maybe one week I will look at the education, so I’m a fan of I worry that I’ll never be
alytics provider Palantir, both down portfolio and go, ‘Holy shit, look what’s the efforts the community able to retire if inflation
about 60 per cent. The lithium miner just happened, we can suddenly retire,’” makes to educate others.” doesn’t fall and wages
Kodal Minerals has slid 19 per cent. “It’s he said. He said that many Fire don’t start to grow in line
been a rough year,” Baeza said. “It has happened before so it will savers have “overly with prices.”
UK inflation hit a 41-year high of happen again, I just have to be patient.
11.1 per cent for the year to October, was I’m not a day trader, I’m trying to do
10.7 per cent in November and 10.5 per long-term investments. I’ve seen things the 2020-21 tax year, up 50 per cent haul to cope with the cost of living crisis, the amount they invested in the third
cent in December. Our energy bills and rocket out of nowhere and it completely from 2018-19. Lifetime Isa subscrip- according to research by the consultan- quarter of last year, with 19 per cent do-
transport costs have soared due to the changes your position.” tions went up 145 per cent to £1.5 billion, cy Barnett Waddingham. About 10 per ing it to help cover rising household
war in Ukraine, while food prices and As a nation we have been increasing according to HM Revenue & Customs. cent are reducing their pension contri- bills and 12 per cent to help build up a
mortgage rates are also rising rapidly. our saving — Isa contributions have This trend could soon reverse, butions to free up some extra cash. bigger emergency fund.
A single person in retirement now been steadily going up, with £33.9 bil- though. About 30 per cent of savers said The investment platform eToro said Those still hoping for an early retire-
needs £23,300 post-tax income a year lion put into stocks and shares Isas in that they may need to dip into their that a third of its UK investors reduced ment may find that their plans are

End of the great equity release rush Now insurers add set-up fees
to their range of extra charges
H
omeowners taking out equity the amount being taken out in equity but slightly down on October’s record
release loans have cut their release loans has plummeted. high of £296,000.
borrowing amid soaring interest Knight Frank said that the average The average rate on an equity release

rates and fears of a property price crash.
Equity release allows homeowners
aged over 55 to borrow money against
their home and remain living there.
The debt is repaid when the
house is sold, usually when
they die or move into
care.
It is often used by
older homeowners to
clear a mortgage, pay
for renovations, top
up pension income or
give money to children
and grandchildren. In-
terest on the loan can be
paid monthly or rolled up
and added to the end total.
But borrowers are becoming
more cautious about taking money out
of their house amid the market uncer-
tainty. The equity release firms Knight
Frank Finance and Just Group said that
equity release loan was £340,000 in
2022, but fell to £233,000 in the final
three months of the year. This is down
from an average of £422,000 the
year before.
Just Group said that the
average value of appli-
cations in the last
quarter of last year
was “down 10 per
cent to 20 per cent
compared with the
start of 2022”.
Lenders say that a
combination of high
rates and predictions of
falls in UK house prices
by 10 per cent this year are
putting off borrowers from
taking on large debts.
The average house price in the UK in
November 2022 was £295,000, a
£28,000 increase on the year before,
plan is now 6.74 per cent, having peaked
at 8.13 per cent in November.
David Forsdyke, head of later life fi-
nance at Knight Frank, said: “Borrow-
ers are now looking to release the abso-
lute minimum required. The reasons
for borrowing have also changed, with
most transactions being driven by an
immediate need.”
Age Partnership, another equity re-
lease firm, last week said that it had cut
its staff because of the drop in lending.
Steve Auckland, the chief executive,
blamed the government’s mini-budget
in September for driving up interest
rates. After the mini-budget, average
five-year mortgage rates soared above
6 per cent. “It destabilised equity re-
lease lending and funding and, as a di-
rect result, we made almost 10 per cent
of our colleagues redundant in
December,” Auckland said.
David Byers
M
otor insurers are now charging
new customers a “set-up” fee to
boost profits after they were
banned from overcharging loyal con-
sumers.
About 48 per cent of policies add a
set-up fee to a first-year premium. This
is said to cover the administration of
drawing up a new policy. But only 21 per
cent of policies applied such a charge
five years ago, according to Defaqto, an
insurance analyst. The average set-up
fee has increased from less than £32 to
about £40 since 2018. About one in ten
policies today charge £60 or more.
It is the latest sign that insurers are
applying additional fees after they were
banned from penalising loyal custom-
ers who fail to switch every year. Insur-
ers routinely used to increase premi-
ums for renewing customers, particu-
larly the elderly and disabled, who were
the least likely to switch regularly or
haggle over the price. Other extra costs
include fees for changing policy details
or cancelling early, up 19 and 11.5 per
cent respectively over five years.
Mike Powell from Defaqto said: “If
you are in financial difficulty and need
to cancel your cover, it is always worth-
while speaking to your insurer to see if
they are able to help.”
Insurers usually have a “terms of
business”, which lists the policy fees.
Find this document before you take out
cover. The information may also be in
the policy document or on the website.
The Association of British Insurers
said: “Like many businesses, some in-
surers may charge administrative fees
to cover the cost of setting up, main-
taining, changing, or closing a policy.
These costs are not immune to infla-
tion, but will always be set out transpar-
ently to the customer.”
Ali Hussain
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 65

Money

by 40 — but is it still possible?

MSCI World or S&P 500. Now that in-

‘I got nervous when terest rates on savings accounts are

higher than they have been for a
decade, they can play a part too, and are
the market fell and a good place to keep an emergency
fund. Consider these low-costs options
for part of your savings too.
stopped investing’ Don’t forget to keep an emergency
fund of about six months’ of expenses in
case it is needed.

delayed by a couple of years, said Gem-
ma Boothroyd from the investment
platform Freetrade. “Perhaps you will
have to decrease contributions, but try
to set aside what you can to not break
those good habits.
“Don’t get bogged down by the day-
to-day ebbs and flows of the stock
market — it’s the long run that matters.
Trying to time the market is a lost
cause. You’re best off staying invested
and staying consistent, because there’s
a high risk that you will miss the good
days while trying to avoid the bad.”
K
ristine Licuanan, funds. Licuanan, an However, it is not just about making
38, has chosen to accounting software your money work harder — Fire savers
invest less into her consultant from must also live frugally. If you’re saving
portfolio, despite the fall Kennington, London, said: more than half of your income, this is
in markets that has made “Now that the stock probably a given, but it is important not
many stocks cheaper, but market is falling, I’m not to spend money on anything unneces-
she still thinks that she is investing as frequently as sary.
in a comfortable position I was in 2020 and 2021, How much you will need to save
to hit her goal of semi- because I got nervous, but
retiring and “taking more I do take advantage of the
time for myself ” in her Isa and Lifetime Isa
early forties. allowances as much as I
Licuanan and her can.” You can invest a
husband, Gabor Kovacs, total of up to £20,000 a
38, say they have been year in a cash or It’s not necessarily
relatively unaffected by investment Isa and all
the cost of living crisis returns and interest are retirement that I’m
and are still getting their
Waitrose deliveries.
tax-free for life.
In the meantime
aiming for, but freedom
“We’re lucky that we Licuanan is trying to find
can work from home so other ways to grow her depends on what you want your retire-
we don’t need to spend wealth. They have cut ment to look like. Think ahead and try
much on transport. Our down their electricity to estimate how much you will spend
flat is on the 45th floor of usage, do not drink each year once you retire. Don’t be too
a new development, so we alcohol and fast cautious in your calculations or you
don’t spend much on intermittently for health risk running out of money. Typically re-
energy either.” reasons, reducing their tirement spending peaks in the early
Licuanan’s investment food spend. Last year she years before plateauing, then potent-
portfolio is worth about bought a property in her ially rising again if you need care.
£200,000. It has fallen home country of the A general Fire rule is to multiply your
about 6 per cent over the Philippines, which she is estimated annual retirement income
past year, partly because now renting out to bring by 25 to work out how much you need
of a holding in the electric in the equivalent of about to save, but others may multiply by as
car maker Tesla, whose £200 a month. much as 40, depending on how early
shares are down 64 per She said: “I’ve lost a few they plan to stop working. You will want
cent over 12 months, as thousand pounds this to withdraw about 4 per cent of your
well as investments in the year, but my investment savings a year as a sustainable income
chipmakers Nvidia and timescale of five to ten that will make your pot last.
AMD, which have fallen years, and philosophy, To build up a pot of £820,000 you
38 per cent and 47 per which is looking for would need to invest about £2,200 a
cent. US tech stocks have companies with barriers month for 20 years, assuming 4 per cent
also plummeted over the to competition, stays the investment growth.
past year, hitting many same. I don’t do stock Alice Guy from the platform Inter-
portfolios and pension trading.” active Investor said: “Retiring really
early isn’t achievable for everyone.
You’ll need to stash away a significant
How to start a Fire 75 per cent of their salaries, depending amount to be able to afford to retire at
on how early they want to retire and 40 or 50 years old.”
The general principles for Fire saving how much they want to accumulate. Consider alternative strategies —
include saving as much as you can Many choose to invest to grow their you could move to part-time work
during your earlier working years. money quicker. Cheap tracker funds rather than retiring completely, for
There are no hard and fast rules — provide you with the performance of a example, or switch career for a better
people save between 25 per cent and popular stock market index such as the work/life balance.

Cheapest funeral now 16 million pension pots lying forgotten

costs less than £4,000
T
he number of lost or forgotten
pension pots has soared as work-
ers move jobs more frequently.
into a pension and so may lose track of government action,” he said. “A pen-
small pots when they move job. sions dashboard, which the govern-
A total of 10.9 million people are sav- ment is planning, would be helpful in

T
he cost of a funeral has dropped
below £4,000 for the first time in
five years.
The insurer SunLife suggests in its
Cost of Dying report that the
average price of a basic
funeral dropped 2.5 per
cent from 2021 to an
average of £3,953 in
2022. It’s the second
year in a row that
funeral prices have
fallen, and only the
second fall recorded
since SunLife’s annual
study began in 2004.
Prices fell in eight out of
ten regions in the UK — the
cheapest funeral costs were in
Northern Ireland at an average of
£3,317.
London was the most expensive
place to die, SunLife said, with an aver-
age basic cost of £5,283, although this
was down 1.4 per cent from £5,358 last
year. Although funeral costs have de-
creased, other elements including
professional fees and the
costs associated with
holding a wake have
pushed overall prices
up 3.8 per cent to
£9,200.
SunLife found
that one in four
people were sur-
prised how much a
funeral costs, while
19 per cent of families
had concerns about their
ability to pay. It said that
households had to find an aver-
age of £1,870 from credit cards, savings,
borrowing from relatives or selling be-
longings to cover the cost of a funeral.
Ellie McDonald
There were 16.61 million so-called
deferred pension pots at the end of June
2022, up from 11.24 million at the end of
October 2019.
These are pension pots that have
been set up through a workplace but are
no longer being contributed to — usu-
ally because the worker has changed
jobs and stopped putting money in, but
has not moved it into their new pension
scheme.
Workers will still be paying an annual
fee for these pots to be managed.
Office for National Statistics data
suggests that an extra five million pen-
sion savings pots have been deferred
over the past three years, adding to con-
cerns about a looming retirement crisis.
Auto-enrolment, where workers are
automatically enlisted into a company
pension schemes, is thought to be
behind the increase. Many workers do
not realise that they have been paying
ing into a workplace pension through
auto-enrolment. Since the launch of
the scheme the proportion of qualify-
ing employees contributing to a pen-
sion has jumped from 55 to 88 per cent.
Steve Webb, a partner at the pensions
£19.4bn
Amount in lost pension pots, according
to the Association of British Insurers
consultancy Lane Clark and Peacock,
said there was a danger that people
would lose track of their pots, especially
if they move house. He said that pen-
sion planning was more difficult if
money was spread over multiple pots.
“The number of these ‘left behind’
pots is rising at about two million a year
and this is increasing the pressure for
allowing people to see these different
pots — but an automatic way of consol-
idating them would be better.”
There are about 1.6 million lost pen-
sion pots in the UK with a collective
value of £19.4 billion, an average of
£12,000 per person, according to the
Association of British Insurers. It said
people have an average of 11 different
jobs during their working lives, which
means lots of pensions get mislaid.
To avoid losing your pension, trans-
fer it to your new scheme when you
move job. If you have an older final-
salary pension, with valuable guaran-
teed benefits, take professional advice.
Let your pension firm know if you
change address.
If you think you have lost a work-
place pension scheme, use the govern-
ment’s Pension Tracing Service to find
it. Go to gov.uk or call 0800 7310193.
David Byers
66
Money
Driving test: in
search of the truth
about electric cars
Some say they’re hard to charge and expensive to fix, others insist they are
cheaper to run and less likely to go wrong. Lizzie Catt looks at the evidence
M
ore than a quarter of a
million fully electric ve-
hicles were registered in
the UK last year —
40.1 per cent more than
the year before. They represent 16.6 per
cent of the new car market.
It meant that electric cars have over-
taken diesel to be the second most pop-
ular type of car after petrol models, ac-
cording to the Society of Motor Manu-
facturers and Traders (SMMT).
With a ban on new sales of petrol and
diesel cars due in 2030, the switch to
electric has become a question of when
rather than if for many drivers.
For every enthusiastic convert, how-
ever, there are tales of broken chargers,
capricious tech and disillusioned own-
ers. Electric cars are still expensive to
buy and with soaring electricity costs
and the fact that their exemption from
road tax will end in 2025, they are also
becoming expensive to run. Queues for
service station chargers suggest that
there are already more cars than the
public infrastructure can cope with. So
is it worth getting one? Here’s what you
need to know.
Will I be able to charge it?
While the infrastructure has improved,
public charging can still be stressful. A
survey by the consumer group Which?
found that 40 per cent of 1,500 electric
or plug-in hybrid drivers had found
broken chargers. You often have to
download yet another new app before
you can use a charger and spaces are
sometimes “Iced” (blocked by internal
combustion engine cars). Female driv-
ers have voiced concerns that chargers
are often in dark, remote locations and
disability campaigners highlight a lack
of accessible charging points.
In 2021 the Competition and Markets
Authority said that the public charger
network would need between 280,000
and 480,000 charger points by 2030 to
meet the demand that will be created by
the government’s ban on the sale of
new petrol and diesel cars. The charg-
ing app Zap-Map said that there were
37,261 charging points in 22,049 loca-
tions last month — a 31 per cent in-
crease over 12 months.
Will I be able to fix it?
Sometimes described as “laptops on
wheels”, the prospect of an electric
vehicle breakdown can be daunting.
You need specialist mechanics and
spare parts are harder to source —
however, with fewer moving parts there
is less to go wrong.
Electric cars can be recovered by the
usual breakdown companies. RAC
basic cover starts at £6.75 a month and
the AA’s is from £6. A survey by the
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
Petrol
Pros
Petrol prices are falling.
Cheaper to fix than
electric cars
Cons
Sales of new petrol and
diesel cars will be banned
from 2030
The cheapest car?
At £7,695 the Citroen Ami is
not only the cheapest electric
car on the market but the
cheapest new car full stop.
However, with a top speed of
28mph and a range of 47
miles, this two-seat
quadricycle is more of a safer
alternative to a moped. The
MG4 EV, a four-seater with a
top range of 281 miles, costs
£25,995.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 67

Money
Are they cheaper to run?
‘We can’t We asked Peugeot for the costs of a ser-
vicing contract for the 208
afford to and e-208. Over three
years and 30,000 miles the
petrol version worked out
keep it’ at £588 including VAT,
compared with £294 for the
electric version. Paying as

P
ete Flint-Murray, you go for an annual service
39, is handing could cost £647 for the pet-
back his first rol car, or £508 for the elec-
electric car when his tric version, Peugeot said.
lease agreement ends The public charging net-
(Lizzie Catt writes). work is far more expensive than charg-
Flint-Murray, a chartered ing at home: charging an electric car

Hybrid surveyor, and his wife

Alexandra, 40, a GP, bought a
Volkswagen e-Golf because the
monthly payments were the
same as he was paying in diesel
Pros for the Audi A6 Allroad they
A good transition owned at the time. “I prefer to
if you don’t want to own a car, but it was the easy
go full electric option to get into the electric
vehicle thing,” Flint-Murray said.
Cons “We also have a gas-guzzling
New sales banned Volkswagen Eurovan, which was
from 2035 my father’s. We don’t use it every
day, it only does 21 miles per
gallon, but it’s great for holidays
because it has loads of space.”
with a 64kWh battery from 0 per cent
to 80 per cent at home under the
Energy Price Guarantee cap of 34p/
kWh (set to last until April 2024) will
cost £17.87, according to RAC Charge
Watch.
Using a public rapid charger (23-
99kW) at this month’s average price per
kWh would cost £36, and £38.29 with
an ultra-rapid charger (100-350kW).
Some Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Aldi super-
markets still offer free fast charging, ac-
cording to Zap-Map, but Tesco ended
free charging last year.
Meanwhile, the price of a litre of pet-
rol recently fell to its lowest level since

Electric The couple, who live in West

Yorkshire with their two
children, aged six and four, said
the £19,000 cost of buying the
e-Golf outright last year was too
Pros much. He said: “I do 13,000 to
Cheaper to run 15,000 miles a year in it, some
days I’ll quite happily do 200
Cons miles, a lot more than its
More expensive to buy. supposed range. I do feel a little
Batteries don’t work as sad about giving up the electric
well in cold weather car, and I am sure that I will go
electric again when funds allow.”
Are electric cars dearer?
Russia invaded Ukraine. But even at
last week’s average cost of 150p per litre,
filling an average fuel tank of 55 litres
would cost £82.50.
RAC Charge Watch calculated that
an electric car charged at home would
typically cost 10p per mile, and 21p a
mile if you used an ultra-rapid charger
— that’s more expensive than petrol
(17p a mile) and diesel (20p a mile).
Petrol and diesel prices were set to
rise in March when a temporary cut in
fuel duty was due to end, although the
cut is now expected to be extended for
another year.
The Octopus Go tariff, which is tai-

‘I don’t miss petrol stations’ The retail price of an electric car is

higher than an equivalent petrol, diesel
lored for EV drivers, charges just 12p/
kWh to charge at home for four hours
overnight. Charging a 64kWh battery

R
achael Huang, an an electric car, which is pleasure to I expense or hybrid car. That is because the bat- from 0-80 per cent would cost £6.14p.
optometrist from better for the planet. It’s drive. The work travel tery packs are expensive to produce.
Surrey, got a our only car and works only catch at the Here are two examples. What about leasing?
Volkswagen ID.4 well — it can fit a baby was when I government A Peugeot e-208 Active Premium+ Leasing costs are higher for electric cars
company car six months seat and two high-back forgot to rate of 5p a powered by a 136hp electric motor and than petrol ones, but this is usually off-
ago (Lizzie Catt writes). boosters in the back.” charge — you mile. It 50kWh battery costs £31,345. A person- set by savings on home charging and
Huang, who lives with Her work arranged for can’t just fill up should review al contract purchase (PCP) deal with road taxes. The comparison website
her husband and three the installation of the in a few minutes, this rate with Peugeot would cost £509.32 a month at Leasing.com said that leasing the elec-
daughters aged 8, 6 and home charger, which she although I do love not rising energy costs. If 8.9 per cent interest over three years, tric Peugeot 208 hatchback cost £491 a
21 months, said: “I didn’t uses about once a week. having to go to petrol I was buying privately I’d allowing 10,000 miles a year, with a month, while the comparable petrol
choose the ID.4 but I like While the range is said to stations,” she said. “I probably have to stick £3,134.50 customer deposit and a model was £306 and diesel £326.
it. It attracts lots of be 270 miles, she only used to have a company with petrol or diesel due £14,994 final payment. For those after an executive car, the
compliments. I’m pleased managed about 190 miles fuel card and paid back to the cost, but I prefer A Peugeot 208 Active Premium+ pure-electric BMW i4 Gran Coupe
the girls are experiencing through the winter. “It’s a private miles, now electric now.” with a 99hp 1.2-litre petrol engine costs costs £850 a month, while a comparable
£22,870 on the road. A Peugeot PCP BMW petrol-powered 5 Series costs
would be £299.32 a month at 5.9 per £820 and a diesel version £833.
magazine What Car? last year found self-charging hybrids can be on a par — sales of new hybrids are being cent over three years, with a £3,150 de-
the Nissan Leaf to be the most reliable with diesel for miles per gallon. A Toyo- banned from 2035, five years after the posit and a £10,995 final payment. Should my company
electric car, followed by the MG ZS and ta Corolla Touring Sports petrol hybrid petrol ban.” A Mercedes-Benz EQE 300 AMG car be electric?
the Volkswagen e-Golf. gets 50.4-61.4mpg, while a Vauxhall As- Line Premium saloon with 245hp elec-
The SMMT said there were 77 elec- tra Sports Tourer diesel does 57.65mpg. What about tax and tric motor and 89kWh battery costs Getting an electric company car is of-
tric models available by the end of 2022, A Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer petrol insurance? £79,345. A Mercedes-Benz finance PCP ten an easier way to make the switch,
with 108 different models expected by officially will only manage 49.56mpg. Electric vehicle owners will have to pay would cost £1,077.94 a month at 8.59 per with support on vehicle choice and
the end of this year. The Tesla Model Y Given that diesel is more expensive Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2025. cent APR over three years, allowing home charger installation. You will pay
SUV (from £44,990) was the bestselling than petrol (£1.71 a litre for diesel com- Those registered after April 1, 2017, will 10,000 miles a year, with a £13,885.37 only 2 per cent Benefit in Kind tax on an
electric car in the UK last year. pared with £1.49p for petrol, according pay a lower, emissions-based rate in the deposit and £39,750 final payment. electric company car until 2025, after
to RAC Fuel Watch), and that despite first year then the standard rate for new A Mercedes-Benz E 400 d 4MATIC which it will increase by 1 percentage
How long do electric hybrid cars costing more than petrol cars (£165 a year). Electric cars regis- AMG Line Premium saloon with a point a year until 2028. This compares
batteries last? and diesel cars to buy, they can be a tered before 2017 will pay a lower, band 330hp diesel engine costs £63,790. The with the 22 per cent to 37 per
According to the RAC, lithium-ion good solution for drivers who aren’t B rate, which is currently £20 a year. monthly PCP payment would be cent Benefit in Kind tax
batteries used in electric cars last on ready for a fully electric car, which cost Electric car insurance is higher (an £991.82 at 8.59 per cent APR over three you pay for petrol
average ten years or 100,000 miles, even more. Plug-in hybrids have a average of £565 last year versus £556 years with a £11,163.25 deposit and and diesel com-
with some achieving twice that. Degra- larger battery, which allows electric- for a petrol car), partly because they are £26,675 final payment. pany cars.
dation shouldn’t hugely affect perform- only driving for up to about 75 miles, newer and more expensive, with spare
ance but will reduce range. The lifespan and there are tax breaks for business parts less readily available. However,
of an electric car is, says the RAC, users, although you will have to pay a electric car insurance costs are going up
“broadly comparable to that of a tradi- Benefit in Kind tax if you get a company less than that of petrol cars. In 2021
tional combustion car”. car as a perk. average petrol car insurance
Lithium-ion batteries are less Will Dron, the editor of The Sunday was £525 and electric £549.
efficient in very cold weather, so cars Times website Driving.co.uk, warns
cannot travel as far. Losses depend on that “Benefit in Kind costs
temperature and battery, but the maga- for plug-in hybrids are
zine Auto Express said a Renault Zoe’s going from between 5
range could drop from 237 miles at 20 per cent and 12 per
degrees to 152 miles at minus 5 degrees. cent this year to
between 8 per cent
Is hybrid the answer? and 17 per cent in
“Self-charging” hybrids combine an 2027/2028, depending
electric motor and small battery with a on CO2 output. And we
combustion engine to help improve don’t know what will
fuel economy, so that petrol-electric happen after that
68 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Money

Gamble on the manager or stick Since he’s been gone

Jonathan Golan’s new fund,
Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond
Golan’s old fund,

with the fund? It’s your move Schroder Sterling Corporate Bond
Return on £1,000
1,050
£
1,000

950

I
Moving your money nvesting in funds that are actively
managed by a well-paid human
or ditch them altogether and deploy
your cash somewhere else?
launched for bond investor Jonathan
Golan, the Man GLG Sterling Corpo- 900

when a stockpicker stockpicker can be a risky — and

not always profitable — endeav-
goes it alone can be our. And one potential hazard is
that your fund manager can up and
a risky business, says leave at any time.
This provides investors with a dilem-
David Brenchley ma: do you stick with the former fund,
follow the manager to their new fund,
The experience of the disciples of the
disgraced star manager Neil Woodford
are a cautionary tale. Those who fol-
lowed him from Invesco in 2014 are
now nursing combined losses of about
£1 billion after his financial firm Wood-
ford Investment Management implod-
ed. On the other hand, the new fund
rate Bond fund, may be down 6.7 per
cent since September 2021 but his old
850
fund, the Schroder Sterling Corporate 800
Bond fund, is down 18.4 per cent. Inves-
tors who moved to his new fund are £117 750
better off on a £1,000 investment.
The problem for retail investors is 2021 2022
700
that we can’t speak with the fund man- Oct Jan Apr Jul Oct Jan
ager and find out their plans for a new Source: FE fundinfo
fund or reasons for moving. Still, there
are some things to consider. setting up their own business, Wood-
ford-style, be wary. Running a business
0 Should I stick with the old fund? is very different from running a fund —
This should be your first question — ideally they will bring in a capable chief
you should only sell out of the old fund executive to do this.
if you think it is absolutely necessary. Arguably one of the things that went
Don’t forget that you will be charged for wrong for Woodford was a lack of
selling the fund, and keeping costs to a people in the business willing to chal-
minimum is essential. lenge his decisions. There have been
If your fund manager is retiring and successful fund firms launched, how-
leaving the fund in the hands of a team ever, with Terry Smith and Nick Train
that they have worked with for a long showing how to build a strong business
time, it makes sense to stick. and allow the manager to focus most of
Darius McDermott from the re- their time on running their funds.
search firm FundCalibre said that the If the manager moves to a well-estab-
fund manager Baillie Gifford was a lished fund firm, you can be more confi-
good example. “The investment style dent that there will be adequate over-
and process is so ingrained that it’s not sight from inside the company.
a big deal if one leaves — someone else Some, such as Man GLG and Polar
will continue in the same vein,” he said. Capital, allow a fund manager to set up
Succession planning is important their own bespoke fund while also
too. Was the manager’s departure taking advantage of the company’s ad-
flagged well in advance? There should ministration and compliance infra-
be news of the new manager and a structure. This allows the manager to
handover period. This happened focus on investing.
when James Anderson re- “Sometimes the best time to
tired from Baillie Gifford’s invest with a fund manager
flagship investment
trust Scottish Mort-
gage last year. It was
announced 12
£1bn is when they are creating
a track record for them-
selves, rather than liv-
ing off it,” said Kelly
months before that Prior at asset manager
Tom Slater, who had Losses for clients Columbia Threadnee-
worked on the trust who invested in dle. Managing less
since 2015 would be- former Invesco money can also give
come the lead manager star Neil Woodford‘s them more flexibility.
and Lawrence Burns, new fund firm They can buy and sell po-
who had worked with An- sitions in companies more
derson for a long time, would easily in a £100 million fund
be deputy manager. than in a £1 billion fund.
If a fund’s entire team leaves to start
a new fund, it may pay to be sceptical. 0 What should I do?
Do some research into the background There is no definitive answer to whe-
of the new team and if there’s anything ther you should stick or twist with a
you don’t like, review the holding. fund if its manager leaves. It all comes
It could be prudent to stay invested in down to why you invested in the first
the fund for a while to see if holdings or place and the circumstances surround-
performance have changed. You could ing the manager’s departure.
leave half your investment with the old Firms such as the investment manag-
fund and put the other half into the old er Hargreaves Lansdown or the re-
team’s new fund. “You can then decide search firm FundCalibre can speak to
which one is best for you,” McDermott the managers and provide small inves-
said. If you have doubts it’s probably tors with more information — look out
best to sell up altogether. for their notes. “We won’t get it right all
the time, though,” admitted McDer-
0 Should I buy their new fund? mott. Investors who took Hargreaves’
This very much depends on where the recommendation to keep the faith with
fund managers have gone. If they are Woodford would ruefully concur.

Alert over popular trust

T
he investment analyst Investec is
advising holders of Scottish
Mortgage investment trust to sell
because it is set for a second steep fall in
its share price.
Scottish Mortgage, one of British
savers’ favourite investments, was at
£7.33 this week, down from a peak of
£15.68 in May 2021.
The fast-growing tech stocks it
holds have plummeted in value. It
still tops the list of most-bought
investment trusts on the platform
Interactive Investor, but Alan Brierley
from Investec thinks that there will
be a “second leg of the sell-off”. He said
Scottish Mortgage had a stretched bal-
ance sheet, falling values for its private
equity holdings, and high interest rates
would make its investments less at-
tractive.
“Scottish Mortgage has established
itself as a flagship of the UK investment
trust industry and a cornerstone invest-
ment,” Brierley said. “However, while
we like the focus on exceptional, explo-
sive long-term growth, the risks are sig-
nificant. The shares are vulnerable if, as
we expect, markets re-test their lows.”
David Brenchley
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
‘My dead mum is still owed a refund’
Times Money Mentor
Troubleshooter
Katherine
Denham
B
efore my mother died in
September she had been
paying her energy supplier,
Scottish Power, an exorbi-
tant £300 a month for gas
and electricity. She had lived alone,
so had accumulated £824 credit
before her death.
I am the executor of my mum’s
estate and I called Scottish Power to
ask for the credit to be refunded. The
bereavement team were helpful: they
closed her account and set up a new
one in my name so that I could pay for
any usage until the house was sold.
They also issued a cheque to re-
fund the credit, but this is where the
problems began. They made it paya-
ble to my late mother, but her current
account had been closed and my
bank wouldn’t cash the money into
my account because I wasn’t named
on the cheque. It was worthless.
Scottish Power also posted the
cheque to her unoccupied house in
Yorkshire, despite me telling them to
send all correspondence to my home
in Essex.
At one point I spent 75 minutes on
hold to the bereavement team before
I was able to speak to someone. I was
assured that a new cheque would be
made payable to me and posted to my
address in two weeks’ time. But three
weeks passed without a cheque, so I
emailed Scottish Power to ask for an
update. Twice I was promised call-
backs, which I never received.
At the end of October I spent an
hour on hold with the bereavement
team only to be told that I could now
only deal with the complaints depart-
ment, but there was no way of con-
tacting them other than sending
emails into the void.
It shouldn’t be this difficult to ob-
tain payment of credit when a loved
one passes away. Of all the compa-
nies I’ve dealt with to sort out my
mum’s estate, Scottish Power has
River cruise compensation dried up
I read your column on December
17 with interest after you helped
someone get compensation for a
disrupted cruise on the Danube.
We had a similar experience
with Scenic cruises on the Rhine
in August. River levels were low
so we were diverted and moored
at unscheduled places, including
a container depot. Most of the
time we were transported by
coach rather than boat.
We understand that this is the
risk you take with a river cruise
and thankfully Scenic offers
compensation payments for such
eventualities. So when we got
home in August we submitted
our claim and were offered
compensation of £880, which we
accepted. So far, so good.
In early October it asked for
our bank details, which we
provided, and Scenic replied to
say that the payment would be
released by its accounts team
Money Mentor
Online
The best energy
suppliers rated by our experts
thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor
been the most difficult. I took to
Twitter to see if I could shame it into
responding and it seems I’m not the
only person having difficulty secur-
ing a refund from the account of
someone who has died.
Is there anything you can do to see
what’s going on here, for me and
others in my situation? I’m running
out of options.
Katrina Law, Essex
Troubleshooter says
I agree that something isn’t right with
Scottish Power’s bereavement pro-
cess. The company has specially
trained colleagues in the team, so it’s
interesting that they thought it was
wise to send a cheque payable to a
customer who had died.
Scottish Power said: “We apologise
for the inconvenience and frustra-
tion Ms Law has experienced and
shortly. But despite chasing the
matter up, it’s now December
and we still haven’t been paid. All
it had to do was press the
equivalent of a bank transfer
button and I should have been
paid the next day. But it’s nearly
Christmas and we’re still waiting.
We’ve kept in touch with many of
our fellow passengers who
haven’t been paid either.
I still hope that eventually
Scenic will honour its agreement
to pay.
Michael Nield, Bristol
Troubleshooter says
Last summer a severe drought
caused record low water levels on
the biggest rivers in Europe,
which meant that some boats
couldn’t pass through without the
risk of running aground.
As Scenic couldn’t fulfil its
itinerary, it offered compensation
of between £50 to £100 per
69
Money
a new one payable to you as the exec-
utor of your mum’s will.
And despite reassuring both of us
that it would be sent to your home in
Essex, it was again sent to your
mother’s address.
By December 21 you still hadn’t
received the cheque, so Scottish
Power cancelled it and issued a new
one, but yet again sent it to your
mum’s home. It was fast becoming a
comedy of errors.
As you had no faith that Scottish
Power was ever going to get it right,
you asked your mum’s neighbour —
who has a key to the house — to post
the letter to you, which she did.
You finally received the cheque
and the money was in your account
by mid-January. You said you needed
a lie down after four months spent
trying to get this sorted.
If you would like us to investigate
a consumer problem, write to
Troubleshooter, Times Money,
1 London Bridge Street,
London SE1 9GF or
troubleshooter@thetimes.co.uk.
Please include a phone number
offer her our deepest condolences. In
her late mother’s case, we can only
refund the credit balance to the bank
details registered on her account or
the executor of her will.”
It is odd that Scottish Power didn’t
ask whether your mum’s current ac-
count was still open before sending a
cheque — quite often a bank account
is the first thing to be closed when
someone dies.
As you live 200 miles away from
your late mum’s house, it was only
when you drove up to Yorkshire for
her funeral that you saw the cheque.
Scottish Power said that an “ad-
ministrative error” meant that it had
been sent to her home by mistake.
The company also continued to
send bills to her property. As you
were only going back to her house
once a month at the most, you then
missed one of the payments and
Scottish Power was quick to send you
reminders.
Scottish Power said: “We have con-
tacted Ms Law directly to express our
regret and informed her that we’re
working to resolve the issue as quick-
ly as we can.”
It cancelled the cheque and issued
person for each day of the
disruption. As it had agreed to
pay you £880 it was odd that you
still hadn’t received it almost
three months later. You had been
waiting so long that you started
to wonder if the company’s offer
had vanished, never to be seen
again.
But within hours of me calling
Scenic, it had transferred the
money to your bank account and
apologised.
So what caused the hold-up?
The company said it had a new
process in place for reimbursing
compensation claims and there
were some initial teething issues
with the system, which caused
the delay in your refund.
You were pleased to have the
money and said you were looking
forward to going on more Scenic
cruises. Let’s hope that next time
the itinerary doesn’t include a
container depot.
70 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Money
Unit trust and open-ended investment company prices

Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld
Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- %

Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publication
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 71

Money

Best buys Data supplied by

Savings Mortgages Personal loans

Easy access (without introductory bonus) First-time buyer mortgages Fixed monthly repayment on £10,000 for 5 years
(without insurance)

Long-term fixed rates

Remortgages
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72 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Money
Dividend yields Please note dividend yields are 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price
High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
supplied by Morningstar. The yield is the sum of a
company’s trailing 12-month dividend payments v v
divided by the last month’s ending share price v
12 month high and low Please note the 12 month high v
and low figures for shares supplied by Morningstar are v v

based on intra-day figures, not closing prices. v v

12 month Price 12 month Price

v v
High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
v

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Automobiles & parts v
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Investment companies
v
12 month Price Yld Dis(-) 12 month Price Yld Dis(-) v
High Low Company (p) +/- % or Pm High Low Company (p) +/- % or Pm

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v
v
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Health
v

v v

v v

v v
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property v
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the times | Saturday January 21 2023 73

Money
12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price
High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E

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support services Retailing v

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74 K1 Saturday January 21 2023 | the times

Money
Wall Street Major indices Eurotop 100 FTSE volumes

European money
deposits %

Commodities
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metals
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prices are from Thursday.

Dollar rates

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Money rates % Exchange rates

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the times | Saturday January 21 2023 75

Money
Unit-linked insurance investments
Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld Weekly Yld
Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- % Sell Buy +/- %

British funds

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the times | Saturday January 21 2023 81

Weather
Today Showery rain in the north and west, largely dry with sunny spells elsewhere. Max 9C (48F), min -6C (21F) Weather Eye
Paul Simons
Around Britain Five days ahead Wind speed Sea state Orkney Shetland
Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy Unsettled with bright 34 Calm
du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain, (mph) 37 5
sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder spells and showery rain, Slight 30
*=previous day **=data not available heaviest in the west until Temperature Moderate
Rough
Temp C Rain mm Sun hr* the middle of next week 28 (degrees C)
6
midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday
6 30
3 S 2.4 2.2
Tomorrow Flood alerts and warnings
Aberdeen
Remaining unsettled with showery
Aberporth 6 S 0.0 2.7
rain across Ireland and northern At 17:00 on Friday there were 68 flood 4
Anglesey 7 S 0.0 3.5 Britain. Dry with sunny spells alerts and 47 warnings in England and 4
Aviemore 1 S 0.0 0.9 elsewhere, especially in southeast no flood alerts or warnings in Wales
Barnstaple 4 S 0.0 ** Britain. 32

T
5 S 0.0 **
or Scotland. Aberdeen
C F he cold snap is coming to
Bedford Max 9C, min -6C 35 95
For further information and updates an end but is proving
Belfast 2 S 0.2 2.0
in England visit flood-warning- 30 86
Birmingham 5 PC 0.0 **
information.service.gov.uk, for Wales reluctant to shift entirely,
Bournemouth 6 S 0.4 1.7 4 NORTH 25 77
and it will take until next
naturalresources.wales/flooding and 20 68
Bridlington 5 C 2.6 **
for Scotland SEPA.org.uk SEA 15 59 week for the entire country
Bristol 5 S 0.0 2.2
Camborne 9 PC 0.2 ** 4 10 50
to bask in milder conditions. High
9 Edinburgh
Cardiff 6 S 0.0 0.9
4
31 Glasgow 5 41
pressure is returning and that
Edinburgh 5 S 0.0 2.3 0 32
Eskdalemuir 3 S 0.0 **
2 23 -5 23 means drier and calmer conditions,
Glasgow 1 S 0.0 3.4 -10 14 but fog and frost in places are likely.
5 S 0.2 ** 6
Hereford Londonderry
Herstmonceux 5 S 0.0 0.0 ATLANTIC
-15 5 And cold northerly winds are not
Ipswich 4 PC 0.2 **
Newcastle that far away and could threaten to
OCEAN Carlisle
Isle of Man 8 S 0.0 4.3
Monday Belfast slip back over the UK.
Isle of Wight 5 S 0.2 ** 2
Jersey 7 PC 1.2 0.4 A dry day with sunny spells in 8 3 There are also rumblings of
southern Britain. Bright spells and 9
Keswick 4 S 0.0 ** showery rain across Ireland and rk
York another threat in long-range
Kinloss 2 PC 1.0 0.2 western Scotland. forecasts into next month. The
19
Leeds 2 PC 0.2 ** Max 10C, min -5C
Lerwick 4 C 3.4 0.0 Manchester Hull
problem is high up in the
Leuchars 5 S 0.0 0.1 Liverpoo
Liverpool 3 stratosphere over the Arctic, where
Lincoln 5 B 0.0 ** Galway IRISH 4
the winds at around 50km high race
Liverpool 8 S 0.0 ** 5 SEA 4 Sheffield
London 5 B 0.2 4.8 Dublin around in a giant whirlpool over the
Llandudno
Lyneham 5 S 0.0 2.9 long, cold polar winter. So far this
Manchester 5 S 0.0 4.2
5 S 0.0 **
10 8 Nottingham winter, these westerly winds in the
Margate Shrewsbury
5 stratosphere have been going at full
Milford Haven 7 S 0.0 **
Norwich
Newcastle 3 PC 0.4 ** 25 pelt and helped drive the westerly
2
Nottingham 5 S 0.2 3.9
5
Birmingham Cambridge winds sweeping over the Atlantic
Orkney 4 C 0.8 1.0 Cork
Oxford 4 C 0.0 ** 8 that brought mild and wet
Swansea Oxford 6
Plymouth 5 PC 0.0 ** conditions to the UK.
Portland 7 S 0.0 ** Cardiff
Scilly, St Mary’s 9 C 0.0 **
Tuesday Channel Islands CELTIC 6 But there are signs that these
Shoreham 6 PC 0.0 3.7 Bright spells and showery rain across
SEA Bristol London winds are slowing down and the
Ireland and northern Britain, heaviest
Shrewsbury 5 S 0.2 1.6 in the Hebrides. Dry with sunny spells 4
Snowdonia 4 S 0.0 ** in England and Wales. Southampton
polar vortex has become displaced
8 from the North Pole and shifted
Southend 5 S 0.0 5.6 Max 11C, min -4C eter
Exeter
South Uist 5 S 0.2 ** 12 Plymouth Brighton towards northern Europe. That has
Stornoway 6 S 0.2 0.6
Tiree 6 S 1.0 3.4
helped fuel rumours of a far greater
Whitehaven 2 S 0.0 0.7 9
6 upheaval, a much feared sudden
CHANNEL 15
Wick 1 S 1.4 ** 12 stratospheric warming. If the winds
Yeovilton 6 S 0.2 1.0
in the stratosphere were to slow
11
General situation: Mainly dry with chance of the odd isolated shower SW Scotland, Borders, Lake District, down so much they switched
The world 5
sunny spells across England and Wales, across Kent, Essex and Suffolk. Patchy NE Eng, Cen N Eng, NW Eng, IoM: A direction and became easterly, it
All readings local midday yesterday
showery rain in Ireland and Scotland. mist and fog lingering in the east. mostly dry day with sunny spells and could feed into bitterly cold easterly
Alicante 19 PC Madeira 17 B 5 Edinburgh and Dundee, Cen Highland, Light and variable winds, perhaps a chance of the odd shower through winds for us in the dreaded “Beast
Amsterdam 1 SN Madrid 12 PC NW Scotland, NE Scotland, Glasgow, moderate at times. Maximum the morning. Light and variable winds,
Athens 14 PC Malaga 17 PC
Moray Firth, Argyll, Aberdeen, N Isles: 6C (43F), minimum -5C (23F). perhaps moderate in places. Maximum from the East”, or as one recent
Auckland ** ** Mallorca 12 B headline described it: “Spring could
Wednesday Cloudy with showery rain, heaviest and Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Early 4C (39F), minimum -6C (21F).
Bahrain 19 PC Malta 14 PC
Bangkok 29 PC Melbourne 20 PC Unsettled with an area of persistent
perhaps turning wintry through the mist and fog clearing to leave a dull Wales, W Mids, Cen S Eng, London, be delayed — sudden stratospheric
Barbados 29 PC Mexico City 24 B rain across the British Isles, heaviest morning. Light to moderate northerly day with patchy cloud and showery SW Eng, Channel Is: Dry with lengthy warming event set to bring heavy
Barcelona 12 PC Miami 27 B across southeast England and perhaps winds, fresh in places. Maximum rain, heaviest and most persistent in spells of sunshine and patchy mist and
turning wintry in Scotland. 5C (41F), minimum -3C (27F). the west through the morning. Light to fog lingering throughout the day. Light
snow to Britain throughout
Beijing -3 S Milan 5 S
Beirut 20 S Mombasa 33 PC Max 8C, min -1C E Anglia, SE Eng, E Mids, E Eng: moderate northerly winds. Maximum and variable winds. Maximum February.”
Belgrade 1 SN Montreal 0 DU Largely dry with sunny spells and a 9C (48F), minimum 5C (41F). 8C (46F), minimum -4C (25F). The last time a major upheaval in
Berlin 0 DU Moscow 3 B the stratosphere occurred, in 2018, it
Bermuda 21 PC Mumbai 28 S 8
Bordeaux 3 M Munich 0 SN Tides Noon today led to snow, blizzards and sub-zero
Brussels 4 SH Nairobi 27 PC Tidal predictions. temperatures from late February to
Bucharest 14 S Naples 8 R Heights in metres HIGH
8
early March. However, the chances
Budapest 3 R New Orleans 19 S Today Ht Ht
6 LOW of that happening this year have so
Buenos Aires 32 S New York 4 R Aberdeen 00:31 4.2 12:46 4.3
Cairo 20 S Nice 10 PC Avonmouth 06:31 12.7 19:00 12.9 1032 far been small, and even if the
LOW
Calcutta 24 S Nicosia 20 PC Belfast 10:24 3.5 22:54 3.5 HIGH LOW stratosphere does go into extreme
Canberra 18 C Oslo -5 PC 7 06:21 11.7 18:49 11.9
Cardiff
Cape Town 27 S Paris 5 PC 05:01 5.4 17:33 5.2 1000
992 1024 turmoil it does not guarantee raw
Devonport
Chicago 5 DU Perth 34 S
Dover 10:23 6.5 22:51 6.6 easterly winds sweeping western
Copenhagen 4 PC Prague -1 B Europe and the UK. Indeed, for
Thursday Dublin 10:45 4.1 23:20 4.0
Corfu 12 PC Reykjavik 6 R LOW
A dry day with sunny spells across Falmouth 04:27 5.0 16:57 4.9 1008 forecasters these upheavals are very
Delhi 21 S Riga 1 FG 1024
Ireland and western Britain. Bright Greenock 11:56 3.5 --:-- -- LOW 1008
Dubai 24 PC Rio de Janeiro 30 PC
spells and showery rain in eastern 1016 Cold front much jokers in the pack that can be
Dublin 5 PC Riyadh 15 S Harwich 11:02 3.9 23:29 3.9
Britain, heaviest in southeast England. 1016 Warm front notoriously difficult to translate into
Faro 16 B Rome 6 S Holyhead 09:40 5.6 22:11 5.6
Max 6C, min -2C 1032 Occluded front long-range weather predictions.
Florence 7 PC San Francisco 12 B Hull 05:32 7.2 17:48 7.4
Frankfurt 1 PC Santiago 22 S Leith 01:46 5.4 14:02 5.5 HIGH Trough
Geneva 0 B São Paulo 27 B Liverpool 10:27 9.2 22:58 9.2
Gibraltar 15 B Seoul -2 S 5 London Bridge 00:52 6.6 13:16 7.1
Synoptic situation Highs and lows Hours of darkness
Helsinki 0 FG Seychelles 28 PC Lowestoft 08:45 2.5 21:02 2.5 24hrs to 5pm yesterday Aberdeen 16:41-07:56
Hong Kong 17 PC Singapore 26 R Milford Haven 05:30 6.8 17:59 6.8 An occluded front associated Belfast 17:09-07:59
Honolulu 27 PC St Petersburg 2 PC with a low-pressure system Warmest: St Mary’s, 9.3C
6 Morecambe 10:38 9.3 23:08 9.3 Coldest: Loch Glascarnoch, -8.3C Birmingham 17:02-07:33
Istanbul 15 S Stockholm 0 SN
6 Newhaven 10:24 6.5 22:58 6.6 to the east of Greenland will Wettest: Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, Cardiff 17:12-07:34
Jerusalem 23 S Sydney 20 SH
Newquay 04:22 6.8 16:50 6.9 bring showery rain to Ireland 6.2mm Exeter 17:16-07:33
Johannesburg 26 B Tel Aviv 23 S and northern Britain, heaviest Sunniest: Shoeburyness,
Oban 05:13 3.9 17:33 3.8 5.6hrs* Glasgow 16:56-07:58
Kuala Lumpur 30 PC Tenerife 21 PC through the morning and
6 Penzance 03:54 5.4 16:21 5.3 Liverpool 17:03-07:41
Kyiv ** ** Tokyo 9 PC perhaps turning wintry over
19 PC 6 B Portsmouth 10:40 4.6 23:15 4.6 Sun and moon London 16:59-07:22
Lanzarote Vancouver higher ground in Scotland. For Greenwich Manchester 16:59-07:39
Las Palmas 21 PC Venice 5 S Shoreham 10:31 6.2 23:05 6.2 Sun rises: 07.53
The Times weather Southampton 00:21 4.1 09:50 4.5
Southern Britain will be mostly Newcastle 16:50-07:43
Lima 21 B Vienna 2 S Sun sets: 16.29
dry due to a ridge of high Moon rises: 08.16 Norwich 16:49-07:21
Lisbon 16 B Warsaw 2 B page is provided Swansea 05:38 9.1 18:04 9.2
pressure keeping conditions Moon sets: 15.35 Penzance 17:26-07:38
Los Angeles 14 PC Washington 7 R Tees 02:49 5.3 15:08 5.4
23 S -1 B
by Weatherquest settled and largely cloudless. New Moon: January 21 Sheffield 16:57-07:35
Luxor Zurich Weymouth 05:55 2.1 18:30 1.9
82
Register
Obituaries
David Crosby
Iconoclastic singer, songwriter and guitarist with the Byrds and the supergroup
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, whose life alternated between highs and lows
David Crosby butted heads with his col-
leagues in every band he ever passed
through, but when he made music with
them the abrasiveness was replaced by
a rich and mellifluous harmony.
First as a founder member of the
Byrds and then with Crosby, Stills, Nash
and Young, he helped to define the
sound of American soft-rock, creating
the template for the Eagles and hun-
dreds of other West Coast bands and
troubadours who followed.
His facility for melody and harmony
when he sang was as great as his tend-
ency towards turbulence and trouble in
his private life. Although he remained
an unreformed hippy who preached a
genial philosophy of love and peace all
his life, he was stubborn and opinionat-
ed, did not know how to bite his tongue
and was not a man to back down in an
argument.
It led to repeated fights that resulted
in him being thrown out of the Byrds at
the height of the group’s success and
falling out with Stephen Stills, Graham
Nash and Neil Young as rock music’s
first “supergroup” disintegrated in a
clash of competing egos wrapped up in
a blizzard of cocaine.
A libertine with an insatiable appetite
for the forbidden, he became one of
rock’n’roll’s most notorious junkies, nar-
He was a libertine with
an insatiable appetite
for the forbidden
rowly denying death on several
occasions and serving time in prison in
the 1980s. When his addictions caught
up with him, he underwent a liver trans-
plant in 1994, paid for by Phil Collins
because Crosby’s habits had left him
broke (by the time he conquered his
cocaine addiction he had squandered
more than $2 million on the drug).
Yet the songs he wrote, including
What’s Happening and Everybody’s
Been Burned for the Byrds and Guinne-
vere for Crosby, Stills and Nash, were
magical and inventive, and his band-
mates knew that the sweet harmonies
he brought to their compositions
always made them better songs.
David Van Cortlandt Crosby was born
into a prosperous, liberal family,
the son of Aliph (née Van
Cortlandt Whitehead), the
granddaughter of a bishop,
and Floyd Crosby, a Holly-
wood cinematographer.
His father was black-
listed during the
McCarthyite
era and the
youngster
grew up a
natural rebel.
He toyed with
becoming an ac-
tor but, inspired
by the burgeon-
ing folk scene of
the time, spent
the early Sixties free-
Crosby recording with
the Byrds in January
1965; above, in 2019
wheeling his way around the clubs in
Greenwich Village, New York. He then
moved to Coconut Grove, Florida,
where there was also a thriving scene,
before returning to the West Coast.
By 1964 the Beatles’ invasion of
America was in full swing and Crosby
was entranced. So too was Roger
McGuinn, who was working as a studio
musician. They joined forces in Los
Angeles with Gene Clark and
Chris Hillman to form the
Byrds.
Their first single,
Mr Tambourine
Man, was suffi-
cient to establish
them as one of
the most influ-
ential groups of
the decade, mar-
rying a sound de-
rived from their
shared love of the
Beatles with Bob Dy-
lan’s more sophisticat-
ed lyrics and topped with
their own sublime West Coast
harmonies.
Folk rock had been born, and further
hits followed with Turn! Turn! Turn!, So
You Want to Be A Rock’n’Roll Star and
Eight Miles High, which ran into radio
bans as one of the first drug songs of its
time.
By 1967, however, Crosby’s band-
mates were describing him as “insuffer-
able” and clashing egos between him
and McGuinn resulted in the former
being sacked, the conflict reaching a
head over Crosby’s song Triad, about a
ménage à trois, which the rest of the
group refused to release.
He drifted north to San Francisco
and spent his time hanging out with
members of the Grateful Dead and
Jefferson Airplane, who released the
controversial Triad.
In Florida that year he discovered an
unknown folk singer called Joni Mitch-
ell, and they became lovers. He helped
her to get a record deal and produced
her first album, though his womanising
made their relationship short-lived.
On another trip to Florida in 1968 he
bought an ocean-going yacht called the
Mayan, borrowing £15,000 from Peter
Tork of the Monkees to pay for it. Sail-
ing became his main passion other than
music, and he kept the boat until 2014.
About the same time Crosby also
teamed up with Graham Nash, from the
English group the Hollies, and Stephen
Stills, whose band Buffalo Springfield
was in the process of breaking up. All
three were fine songwriters, their
voices
meshed
perfectly
and they
became rock’s
first “supergroup”,
made up of refugees
from already successful bands.
Their first album, Crosby, Stills and
Nash, was released in the summer of
1969 and included Crosby songs such
as Long Time Gone and Guinnevere.
The sound was mostly acoustic (they
themselves called it “wooden music”)
and, flying in the face of the heavier,
“progressive” rock of the time, it was a
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
breath of fresh air that generated an en-
tire new acoustic movement.
Within months, Neil Young, a former
colleague of Stills in Buffalo Spring-
field, had joined and they played their
second-ever live concert as a quartet at
Woodstock. By the time they took the
stage it was 3.30am and, with the likes of
Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Sly
Stone watching from the wings, Stills
told the crowd: “We’re scared shit-
less, man.”
They triumphed over ad-
versity and the day after
the festival Crosby, ap-
pearing on the Dick
Cavett Show with
Mitchell and mem-
bers of Jefferson
Airplane, described
the festival as “in-
credible . . . probably
the strangest thing
that has ever hap-
pened in the world”.
Yet at the height of their
success Crosby was struck by
an appalling personal tragedy.
On the day the album went gold in
America, his girlfriend Christine Hin-
ton was killed in a car crash.
He retreated to his boat and under-
took a long voyage but the band carried
on and their first album as a quartet,
Deja Vu, released in 1970, was another
instant classic.
A live album, 4 Way Street, followed
but the band fell apart, mostly due to
tension between Young and the other
members. Crosby recorded a solo
album, If I Could Only Remember My
Name, with a glittering cast of
West Coast musical luminar-
ies including Jerry Garcia,
Grace Slick and Mitchell. De-
rided in some quarters at the
time as self-indulgent, it subse- Crosby in 1981: he remained an
quently came to be regarded as Nash, Stills and Crosby on the
perhaps the definitive record-
ing of the loose, jamming style duced by Phil Collins and was fol-
that characterised the San lowed two years later by a live al-
Francisco scene at its best. bum, It’s All Coming Back to Me
Crosby made more records as Now. There were also further CSN
a duo with Nash but a further albums in the Nineties with Live It
CSNY album, to be called Up and After The Storm.
Human Highway, was aborted in In 1995 his life took a remarkable
1973 amid renewed acrimony, al- turn when his wife gave birth to a
though the quartet managed to son, Django Crosby. About the
remain on speaking terms long same time he also discovered the
enough for a reunion tour in existence of another son, James
1974. Raymond, who had been born in
By the late 1970s Crosby had the 1960s to a casual girlfriend and
fallen out with most of his old adopted.
friends, including Mitchell, his To Crosby’s delight, he discovered
career was in a tailspin and he was former fellow addict. He also began that Raymond was a session musician
chronically addicted to free-base making meaningful music again with in Los Angeles and together they
cocaine and heroin. His role was almost Oh Yes I Can, his second solo album (18 formed a group, CPR. Their first album
marginal in such reunion albums as years after the first) and a CSNY appeared in 1998.
CSN (1977) and Daylight Again five years reunion album, American Dream. Jan, Django and James survive him,
later. Yet his troubles were not over. In along with a daughter, Erika, from a re-
Selling almost everything except his 1990 he had a near-fatal accident on his lationship with Jackie Guthrie, and a
yacht to fuel his drug habit, there were Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and in second daughter, Donovan Crosby, by
repeated arrests until in 1983 he was the mid-1990s, after years of substance his former girlfriend Debbie Donovan.
sentenced to five years in jail. On appeal abuse and previously undiagnosed Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young also
he was allowed to enter a rehabilitation hepatitis C, he almost died from liver finally reunited for Looking Forward
centre, but he was returned to prison failure. A transplant was arranged in (1999), their first album as a quartet in a
after absconding. the nick of time. He also had type 2 dia- decade and only their third studio
Abandoned as a hopeless case by betes. He detailed his troubled life in recording. Their first tour since the
even his closest friends, jail was his the frank and revealing autobiography Seventies followed in 2000.
salvation: he emerged in 1986 free of Long Time Gone and, restored to full ar- In 2019 Crosby was the subject of a
drugs and the following year married tistic health, made further solo albums. documentary, Remember My Name,
Jan Dance, his long-time partner and Thousand Roads in 1993 was co-pro- which did not gloss over his flaws.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
unreformed hippy to the end; below,
cover of the trio’s debut album in 1969
Several of the contributors had disobli-
ging things to say, but no one was more
brutally honest about him than he was
about himself as he described how his
former bandmates Stills, Nash and
Young had found him impossible to
work with. Stills was the only band
member who continued to talk to him.
On a happier note, he and Mitchell
patched things up in recent years to the
extent that they would even have dinner
together occasionally. His final album,
For Free, was released last autumn: the
title track was a cover of one of her songs.
It was the third album that he had co-
written and produced with his son
James. By then he had twice been in-
ducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, but he had also been obliged to
sell the rights to his back catalogue.
Crosby was white haired by that stage
but still had his trademark walrus
moustache and he still smoked home-
grown cannabis every day.
He also still had a high-pitched giggle
that he deployed when discussing his
80th birthday with The Guardian. “I
expected to be dead when I was about
30,” he said. “Hehehehe!”
David Crosby, rock musician, was born
on August 14, 1941. He died after a long
illness on January 18, 2023, aged 81
Colonel Michael Vickery
Calm and understated Gulf War commander whose tank squadrons overwhelmed the enemy
When on February 21, 1991, Lieutenant
Colonel Michael Vickery gave formal
orders to his regiment of tanks, the
14th/20th King’s Hussars, for Opera-
tion Desert Storm to begin, it was the
first time since the Second World War
that, as an armoured regiment on
active service, they had received such
orders.
On the last occasion, in Italy in 1945,
the orders had been given by the father
of Vickery’s second-in-command.
Accordingly, Vickery asked the son to
add a few words of his own.
Iraqi troops had invaded Kuwait on
August 2, 1990. Saudi Arabia looked like
it would be Saddam Hussein’s next
target, posing a threat to the stability of
the region and western oil supplies, and
President Bush assembled a coalition
under UN mandate to eject the Iraqis
from Kuwait.
The UK’s contribution would event-
ually consist of two armoured brigades
from the British Army of the Rhine
(BAOR) under command of the head-
quarters of the 1st Armoured Division,
plus air support, and special forces.
Initially, however, only a single
brigade, 7th Armoured, were stood to,
while to provide the high level of spares
for the brigade’s new Challenger tanks,
Vickery’s tanks were “cannibalised”.
His men, in 4th Armoured Brigade,
were left with just a single intact
Challenger for training.
When, in October, 4th Armoured
were told to get ready to deploy as well,
Vickery had to rebuild his emasculated
tank fleet and bring crew strength up to
war establishment. His calm, pragmatic
approach to both the cannibalism and
rebuilding, as well as his own consider-
able technical expertise, was a key
factor in the regiment’s readiness for
battle three months later.
Despite one squadron not returning
from an emergency tour in Northern
Ireland until November, the Hussars’
tanks left the port of Emden in early
December and the crews flew to the
Gulf over Christmas.
By January 2, the regiment were
complete in their desert training area in
Saudi Arabia. The journalist Robert
Fox, embedded with them, was struck
by Vickery’s “gentlemanly approach”,
and how he preferred to speak quietly
to small groups rather than formally
addressing the squadrons: “He was
friendly, funny and dry, commanding
great loyalty among the NCOs, who
both liked and trusted him.”
Fox was also impressed by Vickery’s
shrewdness in dealing with the political
interest in the coming operations, field-
ing visitors, including John Major, the
prime minister, with candour, while
also astutely managing the incipient
notoriety of the officer commanding
the attached squadron of Life Guards,
Major James Hewitt.
As darkness fell on February 25, the
Hussars, as the point battle-group, led
4th Armoured Brigade through the
breach in the border sand “bund”
secured by US troops and advanced
into the Kuwaiti desert, with “A” Squad-
ron on the left commanded by another
son of the regiment, and “B” Squadron
under Major (later General Sir) Rich-
ard Shirreff, the future author of War
with Russia, on the right, with Vickery’s
Vickery’s regiment destroyed at least 50 Iraqi tanks in the Kuwaiti desert
own tank well up in the centre. They
were soon in action, using the Challen-
ger’s superior range and night vision
equipment to destroy Iraqi armour,
with Vickery himself, to the dismay of
some, engaging Iraqi T55s.
As daylight came, the attached com-
pany of Grenadier Guards continued to
clear the Iraqi defensive positions and
deal with the PoWs.
At Vickery’s suggestion, the brigade’s
two infantry battalions, equipped with
Warrior armoured vehicles and
reinforced by Hussars’ squadrons, now
took over the lead in order to widen the
brigade’s frontage and deal with the
dug-in defences. The advance east
towards Kuwait city continued with
sporadic action and little rest, but with
increasing numbers of Iraqi PoWs.
Then, on the 27th, Vickery was
ordered to re-gather his squadrons and
turn north to cut off Iraqi troops with-
He understood that
taking back ground
required heavy armour
drawing towards Basra. This would
have meant taking on the Republican
Guard, who were more impressive sol-
diers than the conscripts in the desert.
To the regiment’s disappointment,
however, before they could reach the
Kuwait road, a ceasefire was called.
Vickery, who never knowingly over-
stated anything, gave an interview to
the BBC saying it had all been a bit of a
walkover.
The regiment had certainly taken
few casualties and none of them fatal,
but they had destroyed 50 or more Iraqi
tanks. It had been gruelling, gruesome
and not without its terrors, not least the
fear of Saddam Hussein’s purported
chemical weapons.
Along with other “teeth arm” com-
manding officers, Vickery was appoint-
ed OBE (Military), an award recognis-
ing “meritorious service”. Many consid-
ered it to be an anomalous decoration
for an officer who had led troops in a
shooting war, the DSO seeming more
appropriate. A review of the army’s
‘We’ll marry by the
lemon trees in Italy’
Marriages and engagements
Page 84
honours and awards in 1993 partially
corrected the anomaly, making the
DSO specifically an operational gal-
lantry award “for highly successful
command and leadership during active
operations”. There were to be no retro-
spective awards, however.
Michael (Mike) Jon Howorth Vick-
ery was born in 1947 in Yorkshire, the
middle child and younger son of Wing
Commander Lionel Vickery, and Aud-
rey (née Howorth). He was educated at
Haileybury and Imperial Service
College and, after a year teaching at
Summer Fields prep school in Oxford,
he entered Sandhurst in 1966. Two
years later he followed his brother,
Peter, into the 14th/20th King’s Hus-
sars, stationed in Paderborn, Germany.
In 1972 he married Anne Holbrook.
The marriage was dissolved in 1977 and
four years later he married Suzie Crean,
an advertising manager with a publish-
ing company, whom he had met while
skiing. She survives him along with
their three children: Jonathan, an
equine veterinary surgeon; Tom, a
property agent, and Katie, a marketing
executive.
Vickery quickly settled into the
BAOR routine of gunnery and field
training, and equestrianism, polo espe-
cially, at which he excelled. He managed
the rare feat of attending both the tech-
nical “long armour course” at the Royal
Armoured Corps Centre in Bovington,
and the “long equitation course” at the
French cavalry school at Saumur,
where he also perfected his French.
The 14/20th took their soldiering se-
riously, when the need arose, but not
themselves. Like some cavalry regi-
ment in a Simon Raven novel, they
made themselves thoroughly at home
in BAOR and were perversely proud of
not having had a single officer rise to
the rank of major-general since 1863.
Vickery’s brother would marry into
the landowning German nobility, and
his sister would marry a fellow cavalry
officer. (It was said that cavalry officers
usually married the sisters of other cav-
alry officers because they were the only
women intrepid enough to leave
London for a regimental dance on the
North German Plain in midwinter). For
83
Vickery, however, BAOR routine also
included several bruising tours of duty
in Northern Ireland.
In 1980 he was selected for a year’s
staff training at the Royal Military Col-
lege of Science, Shrivenham, followed
by a year at the Staff College in Cam-
berley. At Camberley he was notably
taciturn, having little interest in theo-
retical tactics and thinking the course
somewhat performative.
One day, however, he made a
remarkably prescient intervention. An
Israeli student, who as a veteran of the
Yom Kippur War eight years earlier was
venerated by the directing staff, was
invited to address the course on the
conduct of armoured warfare in the
desert. When he had finished speaking
and received the approbation of the
commandant, Vickery stood up and
with a quizzical look said: “I haven’t
heard anything that doesn’t apply
equally to the North German Plain, or
for that matter anywhere else.” Ten
years later he proved himself right.
He achieved even greater fame at
Camberley, though, by volunteering his
wife for the leading role in the all-im-
portant end-of-course pantomime: A
Lad in Boots. Tall, long-haired, and clad
in leather thigh-boots, she made a con-
siderable impression, though not all the
staff fully “got” the sardonic role
Vickery gave himself — the rear of the
pantomime horse.
After command in the Gulf, Vickery
went back to the MoD’s operational
requirements branch on promotion to
full colonel. Given his experience of
command of an armoured regiment in
war — one of only three officers at that
time — command of a brigade might
have been expected, but he was 45 and
it was the end of the Cold War and the
time of “Options for Change”, the
halving of BAOR and the first steps in
the evisceration of the armoured corps.
He applied for redundancy but was
turned down on the grounds that his
technical expertise was too valuable.
When, however, further promotion
looked unlikely, in 1999 he left the army
to become project manager for Com-
puting Devices of Canada, and later
with General Dynamics (UK). Latterly,
he was secretary of Lady Grover’s Fund,
the military charity.
The passing of an armoured battle-
group commander of the British army’s
last tank battle of the 20th century
invites reflection on contemporary
conflict. While Ukraine is firmly 21st-
century warfare, in which drones, cyber
and long-range precision missiles are
critical to defence, the principles of
Vickery’s war 30 years ago remain.
Taking back ground ultimately
means fighting for it, and that needs
heavy armour, as the British govern-
ment now recognises by sending Chal-
lenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Vickery’s
remark at the Staff College in 1981 on
the handling of armour “wherever”
proved not just prescient but enduring.
Colonel Michael Vickery OBE (Military),
Gulf War veteran, was born on June 15,
1947. He died after a stroke on December
13, 2022, aged 75
Email: obituaries@thetimes.co.uk
84
Readers’ Lives
Marriages and engagements
‘We’ll marry by the lemon trees in Italy’
Nicole Lacy-Thompson, 32, a
primary school teacher, and
Mattia Chiurato, 33, who works in
recruitment for a start-up, are due to
be married on October 28, 2023, at
Villa Esengrini Montalbano, in
Varese, Italy
Nicole and Mattia met three years
ago, but they say it feels longer
because of Covid. “Covid couples add
another couple of years on because it
was so intense,” she says.
They met via Tinder and their first
date in a café in south London lasted
four hours. Mattia caught up with
friends afterwards and told them that
Nicole might be the one. “Nothing
was off the table in terms of what we
talked about,” he says. “We were
really honest from the get-go.”
Born in northern Italy, Mattia
studied nursing in Milan and also at
University College Hospital, in
London, as part of an exchange
programme. He then did an MRes at
King’s College London. “We share the
experience of being foreigners in
London,” she says.
Nicole is American and grew up in
New York. Her father is English; her
mother’s grandparents were born in
Italy and moved to America. Nicole
moved to London in 2015 with a
degree in dance education. In 2020
she retrained as a teacher and now
works at a primary school in west
London.
She has a fear of hospitals and
would have to meet Mattia across the
road from King’s College Hospital,
where he worked as a nurse. They
were then both living with friends in
south London.
Nicole appreciates Mattia’s
thoughtfulness — something she
noticed early on. “He was interested
in my career and aspirations,” she
says, and she was struck by his close
relationship with his mum and two
brothers.
They had only known each other
two months when Mattia invited
Nicole to accompany him on a trip to
Italy in February 2020. She wondered
if it was too soon, but booked her
flight. Then the pandemic hit, the trip
was cancelled: he was redeployed to a
Covid ward and she continued to
teach. They decided: “Let’s just do
quarantine together.” Nicole’s
flatmates had moved out and Mattia
moved in with her. In their spare
time, they played an Italian card
game called Scopa.
“Our friendship is so strong that it
wasn’t a struggle,” she says, reflecting
on how effortless it felt.
“Mattia always puts me first and
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Mattia and Nicole’s first date in a café lasted four hours. Afterwards Mattia told friends that he might have met “the one”
values our relationship as his number
one priority. He is just so thoughtful
in everything that he does.”
She describes him as calm, cool,
and logical whereas she is quite the
opposite — “I tend to react, or get
worried and upset.” He helps her talk
things through.
Mattia’s mother visited them in
London the year they began living
together. Nicole has since started
learning Italian. Her parents have
now moved to England, along with
her younger sister.
Nicole and Mattia moved into a
rented flat in Earlsfield in 2021. The
experience of working in a Covid
ward and being on night shifts led
him to change jobs and he now works
in recruitment for a start-up. “Covid
brought us together and then
changed both of us,” he says.
They had talked about wanting
marriage and children. Mattia
proposed at home on a hot Friday
night last August. They had watched
the film Meet the Parents and
identified similarities with the main
50%
discount for
subscribers
characters who are a teacher and a
nurse. Nicole left the room and when
she went back in, Mattia was holding
a ring that he had designed.
Marrying in Italy was something
they had already talked about. “I
wanted the romantic, beautiful
scenery,” says Nicole, who had even
looked at potential venues.
Mattia had not heard about Villa
Esengrini Montalbano, a striking
wedding venue in Varese, not far from
where he grew up, which she found
online. They signed the contract
before visiting for the first time last
October.
“Both of us are extremely organised
and very decisive,” she says. They will
be legally married in front of
immediate family at Wandsworth
Town Hall in August. Invitations have
gone out to 70 guests for their Italian
ceremony on October 28.
Nicole chose her dress with her
mother and sister. She has seven
“bridespeople” including two male
friends. Mattia’s younger brothers will
act as witnesses. The couple will stay
in a local hotel in the week before the
wedding. Mattia’s youngest brother
will drive Nicole to the venue in his
Fiat which he is going to decorate.
The plan is for the 1pm ceremony
to take place outside surrounded by
lemon trees. The reception will take
place in converted stables and Mattia
has made sure there will be sugar-
coated almonds in different colours as
favours.
“Nicole always makes me feel like I
am the most important and precious
thing to her,” says Mattia. “She is my
safe place — where all my thoughts,
feelings, doubts, fears, hopes and joys
can live together in peace.”
If you would like to feature a
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‘She has her father’s eyes
and face shape but her
mother’s lips and nose’
PIPPA SUZANNE DRACOTT WAS BORN ON MAY 28, 2020,
AT BROOMFIELD HOSPITAL IN CHELMSFORD, ESSEX,
TO CLAIRE, 30, AND GARY DRACOTT, 30
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
New readers
Lyla Rose Morrell was born on
October 3, 2022, at Kingston Hospital,
southwest London, to Sophie, 37,
and Tom Morrell, 38
When it came to
naming their
daughter, Tom
and Sophie were
torn between
Lola and Isla,
eventually
choosing Lyla as
a combination of
the two. Her
middle name, Rose, is a family name
and one that she shares with her
mum and cousin.
“We’re completely smitten,” says
Tom. “Friends have remarked that
she’s the spitting image of her mum
but are surprised to see a full head of
dark hair, given both of us were blond
as children.”
Lyla has had a wonderful welcome
from family and friends, and is already
clocking up the miles having been to
Devon and north Wales before she
was three months old. Sophie was a
keen football player when she was
younger, so Lyla may try her hand (or
foot) at the sport. “Maybe a future
Lioness,” her parents muse.
Theodore Thomas Holland was
born on August 17, 2022, at Chelsea
and Westminster Hospital, west
London, to Sonia Peterson, 41,
and Izzy Holland, 46
When they were
in the middle of
IVF treatment
Izzy died
suddenly, but
Sonia decided to
go ahead with
the transfer of
two frozen
embryos which
they had saved. “I knew that’s what
he would have wanted,” she says. “It
was a shock, but having Teddy
[Theodore] here is like having a little
bit of Izzy with us still.”
Teddy has inherited his father Izzy’s
endless curiosity, as well as his
tendency to raise his eyebrows when
he’s engrossed in something, and
Sonia has hopes that he will grow up
to love sports as much as her late
partner, whose favourite games were
rugby and cricket. They agreed on
Teddy’s name before his death —
though, to Sonia’s continued
amusement, Izzy had originally
wanted to call him “Zeus”.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023
Remembering loved ones
Spinal injuries
consultant
who advised
on safer rugby
Dr John Silver, 90
For the Stoke Mandeville spinal
injuries consultant John Silver, it was
not easy to witness the unending
catalogue of catastrophic injuries that
befell the Buckinghamshire hospital’s
male patients. Yet one year in the
early 1980s he could not fail to notice
that the number of young men
arriving with broken necks and backs
caused by playing rugby had risen
disproportionately.
Walking around the wards, he got
to learn how the accidents happened:
for some it was caused by the weight
imbalance of lithe schoolboys playing
a heavier generation in traditional
“old boys” matches; for others it was
the pressure of the scrum as those on
the outside continued to push; not
least were the hazards of the ruck
and maul.
Rugby was a sport that was close to
John’s heart. He had played at school
in Hampstead, north London, and for
the Middlesex Hospital. And yet, in
the face of its life-changing effects on
youngsters, some of whom were left
with paralysed limbs and without
bladder control or sexual functioning,
there was nothing for it but to
campaign for changes to the way the
game was played.
In the course of his career John
published more than 300 academic
papers, including on injury
prevention in gymnastics, riding and
trampolining. But it was the
Characterful army champion boxer and founder of security firms
Terry O’Neil, 84
When Captain Terry O’Neil entered
the ring for the British Army’s
Divisional Heavyweight Final in the
early 1960s, he was only the second
officer to have boxed for the army
since 1945. The match was,
incidentally, not the most testing of
his sporting career. His opponent
sprang out of his corner, landed on
his ankle and was carried off, leaving
Terry the winner. Even so, it brought
him cult status among the junior
officers, already impressed that the
6ft 2in tall, “instantly likeable”, chain-
smoking officer had given up
cigarettes overnight to return to the
ring. In the 1960s he was the
heavyweight champion for the British
Army of the Rhine.
Terry had a robust 20-year career
in the army, joining first the Royal
Artillery and then the Royal Corps of
Transport, with postings around
Germany, including Berlin. Yet in
1978, having reached the rank of
major, he chose to leave and explore
appearance in the British Medical
Journal on January 7, 1984, of his
paper Injuries of the Spine Sustained in
Rugby that caused the greatest stir.
Widely read — and quoted — it
would lead to an advisory role for
John on the technical committee of
the Rugby Football
Union. His medical
advice was sought in the
changes made to the way
the game was played,
particularly in avoiding
pressure in the scrum,
the age/weight disparity
of players and better
training of referees to
prevent potentially
hazardous behaviour on
the pitch.
John Silver was born in
1931 in Hackney, east London, to a
traditional Ashkenazi Jewish family.
His father, Gideon, was a local GP
and his mother Cissie (née Silman)
was a housewife. During the Blitz he
and his older brother were evacuated
to Cornwall and to his grandparents
in Leeds.
He attended Leeds Grammar
School and developed an early
interest in rugby alongside chess and
table tennis. Back in London after the
war he went to University College
School, Hampstead, and started his
medical training at the Middlesex
Hospital, which also happened to be
where his father trained.
John qualified in 1954. He did his
National Service as a doctor in the
his talent for business. For his first
five years in civvy street he was
company secretary for the shipping
company Hapag-Lloyd, but in 1983
he turned to security, an area that
would occupy him almost to the end
of his life.
With the help of a former military
colleague, Terry started Argus Shield,
a contract guarding company that
offered 24-hour cover and uniformed
staff in commercial buildings and
large private houses. It grew to a staff
of more than 3,000 and in 1991 was
sold to the American private security
guard and detective agency
Pinkerton, with Terry taking over as
the chief executive for the UK.
When he reached 60 in 1998 he
handed over the chief executive reins
but continued to drive forward with
his investments, intent on passing on
what he had learnt to his family. With
two of his children he founded a
background-checking company,
Security Watchdog. His last business
venture, FM Contract Watch, an
auditing company for the security
industry, was set up in 2013. He was
John Silver in 1968 and, left, with
Marilyn in Buckinghamshire in 2009
RAF and worked in the refugee
camps after the Hungarian uprising
of 1956.
Returning to Britain, he went back
to Stoke Mandeville, where he had
good memories of a stint there during
his medical training. He was made a
senior registrar and worked under Sir
Ludwig Guttmann, the neurologist
who pioneered the use of sport in the
rehabilitation of spinal patients.
Guttmann went on to establish the
Stoke Mandeville games, a precursor
of the Paralympics.
Apart from a period in Southport,
where he transformed the spinal unit
at the Promenade Hospital, John was
at Stoke Mandeville for the rest of his
career, and succeeded Guttmann as
Terry
O’Neil, top
left, in the
1960s at
Sandhurst.
Right, in
the 1950s
the clinical director. He retired in the
1990s. He was awarded a grade A
merit award for his achievements
in spinal injuries and, among several
other honours, was elected an
honorary fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians of England and
of Edinburgh.
Ironically, it was in retirement that
John came to further public attention.
Back in the 1960s, while training at
the Middlesex, he had noticed a
muscular wasting in the hands and
legs of the same family members.
Suspecting a genetic defect, but
researching at a time when the field
had not yet opened up fully to DNA
testing, he studied the condition and
presented it as his medical doctorate.
halfway through his 70s. Terry O’Neil
was born in 1938 in Plymouth. His
father, Norman, who was in the Fleet
Air Arm, had survived the Second
World War but a year after it ended
was asked to fly a wedding party to
Scotland. Norman raised concerns
about the foggy conditions but was
overruled and the plane crashed into
a mountain with no survivors.
For Terry’s grieving mother
Betty (née Flynn), it was important
that her only child, who had in fact
dreamt of becoming a sports
commentator, follow his father into
the armed services.
After Windlesham House, West
Sussex, Terry went on to the Nautical
College, Pangbourne. There he
captained the boxing team (when no
other school would put up a fighter to
oppose him) and the cricket team.
The Royal Navy beckoned, but
realising early on his weakness for sea
sickness, he took the army route
instead, attending Sandhurst Royal
Military Academy and Staff College.
Postings to Germany followed
including, in 1959, to Nienburg, north
85
Readers’ Lives
It was a wretched moment for him
when the doctorate was not passed
owing to its “light” academic weight.
In 1966 he nonetheless wrote up his
findings in two papers.
It took another 40 years before a
research group from St George’s and
the Royal Free hospitals in London
spotted the genetic abnormality and,
to John’s gratification, contacted him
to find out if he was related to “the
John Silver” of the 1966 papers. The
notes that he had carefully kept over
the years were in due course handed
over to the research group and in
honour of John’s earlier findings the
disorder, Silver syndrome, was named
after him.
His doctorate was also earned in
retirement in 2001, although in this
instance it was on his research into
the development of modern ideas in
the treatment of spinal injuries,
published as The History of the
Treatment of Spinal Injuries.
Family life was key for John, who
died in 2021, and in 1960 he married
Marilyn (née Duke), a psychiatric
social worker whom he had met at a
cousin’s 21st birthday party, and they
raised two sons: Kevin, a dentist; and
Daniel, a lawyer.
A wide range of intellectual
interests, including history, politics,
art, map and stamp collecting made
John stimulating company. Many an
exchange would begin with him
announcing, “I have a question for
you . . .” that led to his often
controversial exposition of a topic.
He was not afraid of speaking his
mind or campaigning for changes,
particularly if, as in the case of
hospital hygiene, nutrition and
therapy, it improved the lives of
patients: at Stoke Mandeville he
successfully campaigned to replace
the prefab wartime Nissen huts used
to accommodate patients.
Coming a close second was his love
of sport. In later life it was squash and
tennis that he played, but many a
weekend afternoon was taken up
watching the rugby, safe in the
knowledge that he had helped to
make it less dangerous.
If you would like to commemorate
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of Hanover. At a tea dance there he
met 17-year-old Ingrid Scholle and
they married four years later. Neither
could at first speak the other’s
language and indeed Terry spent
much of his life trying to improve his
German with cards, books and tapes.
They raised three children: Susie,
the managing director of Security
Watchdog; Mark, the chief executive
of a shipping management business;
and Stephen, an entrepreneur in the
background checking industry.
If family life was important to
Terry, then sport was a close runner-
up. He played cricket, rugby, squash
and golf and followed Manchester
United with an obsession that left no
room for any other focus when a
match was on. Generous and funny,
he had a personality that could fill a
room and a positive demeanour that
first became apparent in his
schooldays. When captaining a
cricket side that won only one out of
11 matches, it was noted in the
school magazine that “O’Neil had . . .
striven to remain cheerful in the
face of adversity.”
86
Register
Births, Marriages and Deaths
WE CANNOT understand the great
things he does, and to his miracles there is
no end. He sends rain on the land and he
waters the fields. Yes, it is God who raises
the humble and gives joy to all who mourn.
Job 5.9-11 (GNB)
Births
HART on 15th January 2023 to Amy (née
Lavelle) and Francis, a son, Rufus Francis
Lavelle, brother to Ada.
KEILTY
on 9th January 2023 to India (née
Clegg) and John, a daughter, Ophelia
Ruth Katinka.
LUPTON on 6th January 2023 to
Charlotte Lucy (née Smith) and Kelvin
Matthew, a daughter, Lara Sue.
PENN on 4th January 2023 to Phoebe
(née Kemp) and James, a daughter,
Rosemary Joy.
PRATT on 4th November 2022, to Connie
and George, a son, Edward Roger Guy, a
brother for Romy.
ROBERTS-DOWD on 14th January
2023 to Alexandra Felicity (née White) and
Jerome Frederick, a son, Sebastian
Charles.
Forthcoming Marriages
MR J. W. MANN
AND MISS I. J. M. CLARK
The engagement is announced between
Jack, son of Mr Simon Mann of Hampshire
and Mrs Richard Schuster of Oxfordshire,
and Isabella, daughter of Mr and Mrs
Stephen Clark of Suffolk.
MR A. B. PATEL
AND MISS A. E. COCKE
The engagement is announced between
Ajay, son of Mr Bhupendra and the late Mrs
Patel, of Chislehurst, Kent, and Anna,
daughter of Mr and Mrs Hugh Cocke, of
Harman’s Cross, Dorset.
MR A. J. MAINWARING-BURTON
AND MISS C. E. LEATHAM
The engagement is announced between
Archie, eldest son of Mr and Mrs Guy
Mainwaring-Burton of St. John, Jersey, and
Charlotte, daughter of Mr Mark Leatham of
Lyons Gate, Dorset, and the late Mrs Jojo
Leatham.
MR A. D. B. TROTTER
AND MISS I. SMILGA
The engagement is announced between
Algernon, son of Mr and Mrs Gerald Trotter
of Westminster, London, and Ieva, elder
daughter of Mr and Mrs Andis Smilga of
Valmiera, Latvia.
MR R. DELLER
AND MISS C. TOUZE
The engagement is announced between
Robin, son of Mr Tony Deller and the late
Mrs Christine Deller of South Cerney,
England, and Claudine, daughter of Mr
Raymond Touze and Mrs Maria Touze of
Alès, France.
Deaths
BROOKS Christine on 14th January 2023,
aged 79 years. She will be greatly missed
by her family and friends. A thanksgiving
service will take place at the Minster
Church, Ilminster, on 3rd February at
12.30pm. Inquiries to A. J. Wakely & Sons,
01460 52576.
CAREW HUNT Nicholas Easton died
peacefully on 15th January 2023. Husband
to Victoria, father to Catharine and Thomas,
grandfather to Frederick and Eliza, and
longstanding friend of many. Nick will be
missed in the Tavern Upper, the grounds of
Surrey CCC, Wimbledon Village Club, the
dedans of RTC and beyond.
LEGAL, PUBLIC, COMPANY &
PARLIAMENTARY NOTICES
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sections please call
020 7481 4000
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confirmation and should be
received by 11.30am three
days prior to insertion
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CASSEY Ann Rosemary (née Judd) on
26th December 2022, aged 90, in a local
care home after a long illness. Textile
designer Ann was much loved by family,
friends and colleagues and will be greatly
missed. There will be a celebration-of-life
service at the Oaks Crematorium, Havant,
PO9 5NA at 10.45, Thursday 26th January.
No flowers but donations if desired to
RSPCA, RNIB or Cancer Research please.
Inquiries to Michael Miller and Partners Ltd,
tel, 01730 233244.
EATON Iain Sutherland died peacefully on
2nd January 2023, aged 86. Much-loved
husband, father, stepfather, grandfather
and great-grandfather. Thanksgiving
service on Wednesday 8th February 2023
at 2pm at Holy Trinity Church, Bembridge,
Isle of Wight. Inquiries to Weaver Bros FD,
tel: 01983 872598.
FUIRER Juliet (née Monica) died
peacefully on 16th January 2023, aged 100.
Beloved mother to Corinne and Michele,
grandmother to Benjamin, Theo and
Isabella, great-grandmother to Axel.
GODFREY John died peacefully on 6th
January, aged 88. A much-loved and
supportive father to Sandra and Martin and
wonderful grandad to Miles and Edward.
He will be deeply missed. Funeral service at
Wessex Vale Crematorium, Hampshire, at
1pm on Friday 3rd February. Donations to
the Alzheimer’s Society. Inquiries to Co-op
Funeralcare, 01489 886822.
HARRIS Aileen Boughey (née Moulton)
died peacefully at home on 22nd December
2022. Wife of the late Ronald Harris. Much-
loved mother of Toni and Lesley. Funeral
service at St John’s, Churt GU10 2HZ on
Wednesday 1st February 2023 at 11.30. Any
inquiries to 01252 711444.
MAX Edward Stuart on 3rd January 2023,
loving husband of Anna and father of
Miriam, John and Olivia. Beloved son of
Wendy and Michael. Brother of Richard,
Robert and James.
MEIRION-WILLIAMS Francis David,
aged 89, the much-loved husband to the
late Wendy, father to Richard and Emma
and grandfather to Ben, Alice, Isla, Imogen
and Daisy, died peacefully on 10th January
2023 at the Tower House, Shiplake. He will
be greatly missed. The memorial service
will be held at St Mary’s Church, Henley-on-
Thames, on Friday 10th March at 10.30am.
Family flowers only please.
NEWCOME John passed away peacefully
at his son’s home on 8th January 2023,
aged 94. Father, grandfather, great-
grandfather. A courteous soldier to the end.
Funeral at St John’s Church, Winchester, at
2pm on Monday 13th February.
PIERSON Michael John Walgate MBE
(retired group captain), formerly of
Grendon Underwood, passed away on 25th
December 2022, aged 91 years. Dearly
loved husband of the late Hazel, brother of
Jenny and the late Neil, much-loved father
of Nick and Dan and loving grandpa to
Grace, Will, Harvey and Rose. He will be
sadly missed by all his family and friends.
Funeral service in the Milton Chapel at
Chilterns Crematorium, Amersham, on
Saturday 28th January at 1.45pm. Family
flowers only please, but donations if
desired, for the Royal British Legion can be
made online via
www.markskinnerfunerals.org.uk, or sent
to Mark Skinner Funeral Service, London
Road, Brandon, Suffolk IP27 0EW. Tel:
01842 810534.
REES Evan William Martyn Roger on 13th
January 2023, aged 88. Dearly beloved and
loving husband of Christine, graduate of
the University of Swansea and Mansfield
College, Oxford. Roger, as he was called by
all those who knew him by his chosen
name, ended his life in this world as he
would have wished: with “a safe lodging, a
holy rest, and peace at the last”. Romans
8.31-39.
SAMUEL Edgar Roy died peacefully on
8th January 2023, aged 94, after a short
illness. He was a former director of the
Jewish Museum (London). He is mourned
by his wife, Louise, brothers and children.
Letters of condolence may be sent to
Edgar.Samuel@gmail.com
Join us for breakfast
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Stig Abell on Times Radio,
Monday to Thursday at 6am
SANSBURY Christopher died peacefully
on 2nd January 2023, aged 88, after a long
illness. The funeral will be held at
Lavenham Parish Church on 7th February.
SCOTT Lady Pamela Dorothy (née
Whitlock) died peacefully on 12th January
2023, aged 91. Wife of the late RAdm Sir
David Scott and mother of Claudia, Richard
and Julia. Her funeral will be held at St
Michael’s Church, Camberley, on 4th
February at 2pm.
SPENDER John Richard LL B (Wales) 6th
August 1941 - 19th December 2022.
TRICKS Matthew died suddenly on 24th
October 2022 in France. Much-loved
husband of Katja and adored father of
Chiara and Tom. A loving son to Pops and
George and a beloved brother. The funeral
has taken place, a celebration of Matt’s life
will be held at the Church of St Mary
Magdalene, Chewton Mendip, on 1 April
2023 at 2pm with refreshments afterwards.
WILKINSON David Gregor (Greg) on
15th January 2023, aged 71. Formerly
professor of psychiatry, Royal London
Hospital, professor of liaison psychiatry,
University of Liverpool, and ex-editor, The
British Journal of Psychiatry. Beloved
husband, brother, father and grandfather,
and friend to many.
Funeral Arrangements
GILMOUR Arthur G. D. at Masonhill
Crematorium, Ayr, on 3rd February 2023 at
2.45pm. Arthur G. D. Gilmour, died
peacefully at Greenan Manor, Ayr, on 6th
January 2023. Beloved husband of Angela,
much-loved father of Grant and Gail, loving
father-in-law to Barry and Kelly. Adored
grandfather to Josh, Tara, Tabitha and
Monty. Family flowers only please.
KILFOIL His Honour Geoffrey at
Pontfadog Parish Church on 27th January
2023 at 12.30pm. On 26 December 2022.
Peacefully at Chirk Community Hospital,
aged 83, of Berwynfa, Glyn Ceiriog. Beloved
husband of Llinos, father of Bethan and
Niall, father-in-law of John and Gil,
grandfather of Mari, Denis, Rudi and
Sidney. Funeral Friday 27th January: public
service noon at St John the Baptist Church,
Pontfadog, followed by committal, 2pm at
Pentrebychan Crematorium. Inquiries to
Edmund Rowlands & Son, Chirk, 01691
772462.
Thanksgiving Services
VAN CUTSEM A service of thanksgiving
for the life of Geoffrey will be held in the
Guard’s Chapel. Wellington Barracks,
London SW1E 6HQ on Wednesday 19th
April at 2pm.
In Memoriam - Private
WEAVER Remembering the 100th
anniversary of birth of our mum Peggy,
from Christine and David.
School Notices
QUEEN’S SCHOLARS
The Queen’s School, Chester, is pleased to
announce that, following the entrance
examination, scholarships and the title of
Queen’s Scholar have been awarded to (in
alphabetical order): For 2022/2023: Rosa
Byrne (Belvedere Preparatory School), Elena
Costambeys (The Queen’s Lower School),
Millie Fletcher (The Queen’s Lower School),
Daisy Holland Hewlett (Tushingham Primary
School), Maribel Ortiz (The Queen’s Lower
School), Sophie Rowlands (Upton Heath
Primary School), Sophia Sandhu (The
Queen’s Lower School), Rebekah Shuler
(Belgrave Primary School), Megan Smith
(The Queen’s Lower School), Charlotte
Sweeney (The Queen’s Lower School), Katy
Watson (The Queen’s Lower School). For
2021/2022: Bethany Flynn (The Queen’s
Lower School), Ela Kerpicci (The Queen’s
Lower School), Naomi Kington-Brady (The
Queen’s Lower School), Ava Smith (Highfield
Community Primary School), Nia York (Ysgol
Plas Coch)
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Good will come from the
suffering of Cardinal Pell
Credo
Tony Abbott
T
he passing of George
Pell (obituary,
January 11, 2023)
leaves a large,
eclectic and global
circle of friends and admirers
bereft of a mentor. The
church has lost a servant and
a teacher who came much
closer than most to the
imitation of Christ. Australia
has lost its greatest religious
leader, at least since the
redoubtable Archbishop
Daniel Mannix.
When George Pell was
called to Rome to head the
Secretariat for the Economy
in 2014, managing the
business side of the Vatican, it
must have seemed the
culmination of a glittering
career. Little could he have
known of the tribulations
ahead: grilled by police about
old and disputed allegations,
eventually dragged back to
Melbourne to face two trials,
imprisonment, and a failed
appeal, before a final
vindication by the High Court
— but even that was not
enough to stem the torrent of
abuse from those who
regarded Catholicism as a
curse and him as its
embodiment.
Pell was naturally dismayed
by the media hounding,
shocked by what many
regarded as “police vendetta”,
and stressed by the ordeal.
Yet I suspect there was a part
of him that quietly revelled in
following in the footsteps of
Christ, not to glory but to a
kind of crucifixion.
As anyone who has read his
prison diaries would know,
like St Paul he came to realise
that “my power is made
perfect in weakness”. This
was his triumph. Not that he
Court Circular
Sandringham, Norfolk
20th January, 2023
The King this morning arrived at
Manchester Victoria Railway
Station and was received by His
Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of
Greater Manchester (Mrs Diane
Hawkins), the Lord Mayor of
Greater Manchester (Councillor
Donna Ludford) and the Mayor
of Greater Manchester (Mr
Andrew Burnham).
His Majesty drove to the
Northwest hub of Government
Communications Headquarters,
Heron House, Albert Square,
Manchester, and was received by
the Director (Sir Jeremy
Fleming), before meeting
members of staff and viewing a
school class taking place.
Saturday January 21 2023 | the times
was successively Archbishop
of Melbourne and Sydney
and, effectively, the third
ranked church hierarch; but
that he faced a kind of living
death, stripped of honour and
almost universally scorned,
with his innate decency
entirely intact. Perhaps this
sacrifice of his might one day
be seen as helping to atone
for all the sins of the
contemporary church.
As a witness to faith, there
could hardly be a better
exemplar. As I know from
numerous conversations with
him, he was never bitter,
never self-pitying and never
judgmental. At a time when
he could well have asked
“why hast thou forsaken
me?”, as his prison diaries
testify, his focus was always
the wellbeing of others
(including his fellow inmates),
the flourishing of the church,
and the advancement of the
causes he believed in. Faith
sufficient to move mountains,
maybe it wasn’t. But faith
enough, eventually, to open a
prison and faith enough, I
suspect, to inspire
generations to come — those
better able to appreciate him
as the great soul he was, now
that he’s been removed from
the tumult of this world. In
keeping both his faith and his
cool, in not succumbing to
despair, through almost
unimaginably desolate
circumstances, I think he’s
truly a saint for our times.
I first came to know the
then-assistant bishop of
Melbourne in the late 1980s,
at a time when I was
searching for a strong and
self-confident church leader
to sustain my own wavering
faith. While some were put
off by his occasionally
imperious public manner, I
always found him thoughtful
and sympathetic.
When I needed advice that
was both wise and
disinterested during the 2004
election campaign, I visited
him in the cathedral
The King afterwards visited
Kellogg’s factory, Park Road,
Trafford Park, Stretford,
Manchester, to mark the
Company’s Centenary in the
United Kingdom, and was
received by Mr Christopher
Silcock (Managing Director of
the United Kingdom and
Ireland), Mr Timothy McKnight
(Manchester Plant Director) and
the Mayor of Trafford (Mr
Christopher Boyes).
His Majesty toured the
Culinary Centre viewing a
cooking demonstration before
visiting the factory floor.
The King and The Queen
Consort this afternoon attended
a Reception for representatives
from the local community at
Bolton Town Hall, Victoria
Square, Bolton, and were
received by the Mayor of Bolton
(Councillor Akhtar Zaman).
Their Majesties later visited
Norbrook Community Centre,
Withenshawe, Bordley Walk,
Wythenshawe, Manchester, and
were received by the Owner (Mr
Gavin Evans) and Mr Adam
presbytery after morning
Mass. Apparently, I was spied
coming out and — typical of
the conclusions the media
leap to — was subsequently
accused of putting up the
cardinal to his later
(eminently justified)
criticisms of the education
policy of Mark Latham, the
Australian opposition leader
at the time. After the initial
shock of this bizarre and
quite false allegation, I
eventually told my
incredulous interrogator that
far from engaging in a
conservative Catholic
conspiracy, I might well have
been going to confession. On
that occasion, as it happened,
I wasn’t.
The cardinal was a fine
pastoral priest who was more
than capable of empathising
with sinners while
counselling against sin.
One of my last
conversations with him was
on the nature of the world to
come. For something so
central to Christian faith, it’s
little discussed. Eventually, we
concluded that it’s one of the
“assurances of things hoped
for and the conviction of
things not seen”. Now he
knows, and I hope one day to
be able to share it with him.
It’s impossible not to feel
low and empty when
someone close to us has died.
Yet breaking through the
tears is the joy of having
known this remarkable man
who did so much good,
especially in recalling the
church to its true purpose: to
preach the Gospel and to
encourage all of us to be our
best selves.
Were he here, he would
doubtless whisper with Julian
of Norwich that “all will be
well and all manner of things
will be well”. And so it will be,
especially if the world is
blessed with more people like
George Pell.
Tony Abbott was prime minister of
Australia from 2013 to 2015
Beech (Youth Worker and
Programme Lead).
The King and The Queen
Consort toured the renovated
outdoor area of the Community
Centre and the sports facilities
before watching young people
playing sport and meeting
members of the Centre.
Kensington Palace
20th January, 2023
The Prince of Wales this
morning spoke via video link to
residents of Australia who have
been affected by the recent
flooding.
St James’s Palace
20th January, 2023
Today is the Anniversary of the
Birthday of The Countess of
Wessex.
St James’s Palace
20th January, 2023
The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-
Chief, The Royal Logistic Corps,
this morning visited 9 Regiment
at Buckley Barracks, Lower
Stanton St Quintin, Wiltshire.
the times | Saturday January 21 2023 87

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The Times Saturday Quiz Olav Bjortomt O Tempora! Crossword CCCLXXXI by Auctor
A weekly crossword for the classically minded

1 What three-letter word describes a

shallow layer of cloud at or near
ground level?
20 1 2 3 4 5 6 Clues, which may
be straight or
mildly cryptic,
always lead to
7 8
answers in Latin
2 Which alcoholic drink is a
traditional symbol of the blood
shed by Christ?
9

10 11 12

3 In 1956, which tea brand began use

in their TV ads the “Tipps family”
of anthropomorphic chimpanzees?
13 14 15

4 Myocarditis is inflammation of the

muscle of which organ?
17
16

18 19

5 Which unit, used to measure sound

intensity, is abbreviated “dB”?

6 Maia (Bowness-on-Solway), Banna

(Birdoswald) and Aesica (Great
Chesters) were forts on which Roman
20 21 22

wall?
23 24

7 In a story by Washington Irving,

which Dutch-American farmer
sleeps in the Catskill Mountains for 20
Across
1 Dense orator, admired by Cicero?
Down
1 A most beautiful girl? As Medusa
once was, see Ovid Met. 4.794 (10)
years? Dave TV comedy Meet the
Richardsons? 19 Joburg Super Kings and Durban’s
Super Giants are teams in which
Cic. Brut. 38.143 (7)
5 With a rainbow (4th masc.) (4) 2 They plough: agricolae cum bubus
“sulcant” (5)
8 In 2003, which North African
country formally accepted
14 In The Big Sky (1985), Kate Bush
new cricket tournament? 7 Sacrificial altar and sing. imper. of
2d (3) 3 They’re left over and surplus to
responsibility for the Lockerbie
bombing?
sings: “That cloud, that cloud/
Looks like …” which EU country? 20 Which US journalist, who was
Ernest Hemingway’s third wife,
is pictured?
8 In qua Cupido suas sagittulas habet
(8)
requirement (9)
4 ____ Mater: a hymn (6)
5 C’mon then! (3)
10 Prep. + acc., among, between (5)
6 Lit. keels, so by metonomy ships
9 Which South American country’s
capital city is named after King
George III?
15 Alice Keppel’s daughter Violet
Trefusis had a lengthy affair with
which author of the novel Heritage Answers below right
11 From another place, from
elsewhere (7)
13 Sacer, sacra, ____: a polar adj., not
themselves and nutshells (7)
9 I was getting a wriggle on (10)
(1919)? only holy but also wicked (6) 12 Non vos prius ____: it’s not to you I’ll
appeal first, Cic. Pro Rab. Post. 13
10 Reed, willow, marsh, Cetti’s and
Savi’s are species of which
musical group of birds? 16 Which German fashion
photographer shot British
Last week’s O Tempora! solution
15 Let them choose: deligant (6)
17 Pariter ____ ut pater avosque: same
character as Dad and Grandad, Pl.
(9)
14 To seize or snatch: recorderis illam
Vogue’s January 1990 supermodels Aul. 22 (7) Horatii Flacci diem (7)
16 You lot are fond of the first verb
11 While on campaign against the
Scots, which king died in 1307 on
cover? 18 Venator magnus qui in caelo
nocturno videtur (5) you learned to decline? (6)
19 “Those” chaperons “themselves”
the marsh at Burgh by Sands?
17 In 1989, Stanley Pons and which
British electrochemist claimed to
20 Aestas ____: everlasting summer (8)
22 Prep. + abl., under (3) upon which Juvenal mused (5)
21 Prep. + abl., before, in front of (3)
12 Which Swiss lake is also called
the Lake of the Four Cantons?
have achieved cold fusion? 23 Nauarchus Nautili, navis
subaquaeanae (4)

13 Which comedian stars with her

husband Jon Richardson in the
18 Which London stadium hosted
the finish of the 1908 London
Olympic marathon?
24 Adv., separately: separatim (7)

Times Crossword No 28,506 Suko No 3705

Times Crossword No 28,506
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Across 25 Likelihood of dangerous drug
supply being found by police
1 Cutting current, I take a chance, officer (4)
wasting energy (6) 26 Chap wearing plain jersey perhaps
9 10 5 Some Americans love a Danish too much (4-3-3)
novel (8) 27 A lot of old newspapers (8)
9 Resentment, keeping in mind son’s 28 Lancashire team’s brief, speedy
telling of roguish deeds? (10) passage of play (6)
11 12 10 A grass we’ve heard is crooked (4)
11 Rings one’s cooked: one sticks out Down
of the oven? (8)
12 New Hampshire pair at Lord’s 2 Public broadcaster, one who has
13 14 15 16 visiting this country for free (6) viewers streaming? (5)
13 Chap reflecting every second of 3 Faces unhappy moderates (5,4)
17 long hush (4) 4 Minister and monarch visiting
15 Merge popular expression with mostly get along together (6)
18 19 one unknown (8) 5 Curiosity of Queen’s NI visit is
18 Force to serve port (8) kicked around (15)
20 19 Around the corner to the left, 6 At West Ham, was required to get
hotel close to nursing home (4) match fit (8) Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so
21 22 23 24 21 Argument among lawyers? One’s 7 Penthouse for one visiting that the number in each circle is equal to
pushed in the street (6) oligarch’s outside Irish town (5) the sum of the four surrounding spaces,
23 Plain English, extremely light (8) 8 A bishop unsettled by dean and each colour total is correct.
ultimately offering less latitude (9) Solution MindGames in Saturday Review
25 26 14 Reform hard, and for EU, without Quiz answers 1 Fog. 2 Wine. 3 PG
Solution No 28,505 precedent (7-2) Tips. 4 Heart. 5 Decibel. 6 Hadrian’s
CH OR U S C AMS H A F T 16 Easy to pour warm salt water over Wall. 7 Rip Van Winkle. 8 Libya.
O E C O C T I English meadow (9) 9 Guyana, as in Georgetown.
MU NG B E A N P RO T EM 10 Warblers. 11 Edward I. 12 Lake
27 28 S I P T E E E
17 Pole who somehow fell head over
heels in sales area (8) Lucerne. 13 Lucy Beaumont.
D E PO R T E E SWA N K S
T N I M E D L 20 Exercise books at college held 14 Ireland. 15 Vita Sackville-West.
O A CC E P T E D T O back (4-2) 16 Peter Lindbergh. 17 Martin
OP A L A T Y C O P T Fleischmann. 18 White City Stadium.
B N P L I O C E N E E
22 Holiday interrupted by ailment
19 SA20, South Africa’s new.
S T I F S N R originally is taken another time Twenty20 franchise cricket
T R I M L Y C OH E S I V E (5) tournament 20 Martha Gellhorn.
................................................................................................................................................... A Q L O A O E 24 Take on song and dance part (5)
CO U P ON U ND E R A RM Concise Quintagram answers
............................................................................................................................................................................... L E R R O E S 1 Vein 2 Flout 3 Shake 4 Know-it-all
............................................................................................................................................................................... E S S A Y I S T W I D GE T 5 Kickabout.
...............................................................................................................................................................................