Monday January 23 2023 | thetimes.co.

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National Grid to pay households for not turning the kettle on

Emily Gosden Energy Editor
Katie Prescott
Technology Business Editor
Hundreds of thousands of households
will be paid to use less electricity this
evening as National Grid deploys its
emergency scheme to avoid blackouts
for the first time.
The company responsible for keeping
the lights on is expected to pay more
than £1 million to households and
businesses to reduce usage between
5pm and 6pm, amid fears of a supply
shortage as the cold weather leads to
higher energy demand. It is the first
time it has activated its new “demand
flexibility service” because of security
of supply concerns this winter.
National Grid has also instructed
two coal-fired power units at the Drax
power station in North Yorkshire and
one at the West Burton A plant in
Nottinghamshire to warm up ready to
generate in case they are needed today.
It is the first time it has put so many of
the back-up coal plants on standby.
A spokesman for National Grid’s
electricity system operator said: “Our
forecasts show electricity supply
margins are expected to be tighter than
normal on Monday evening. This does
not mean electricity supplies are at risk
and people should not be worried.
These are precautionary measures to
maintain the buffer of spare capacity
we need.”
The sharp drop in temperatures is
expected to lead to high power demand,
while wind power output is forecast to
be lower than average. There is
also thought to be uncertainty over
how much power Britain will be able to
import over subsea cables from Europe.
National Grid set up the demand
flexibility service amid fears that Britain
could face blackouts if it was unable to
import enough energy from Europe
this winter, after Russia curtailed gas
supplies to the continent.
Most households are expected to be
paid only a couple of pounds for their
efforts, though those making the biggest
reductions could be paid significantly

Calling on a friend Boris Johnson held talks in Ukraine with President Zelensky yesterday as he tried to shift attention away from claims about an £800,000 loan he received while in Downing Street.

Universities’ ‘risky’ ties to China

Dozens of institutions collaborate with bodies linked to Uighur genocide, weapons development and hacking
times investigation
Geraldine Scott Political Reporter
More than 40 British universities have
collaborated with institutions that have
been linked to malign activities of the
Chinese state.
An investigation by The Times reveals
that dozens of universities, including
four from the Russell Group, have part-
nered with bodies in China connected
to the Uighur genocide, nuclear
weapons development, espionage,
defence research or hacking.
Cambridge is among those to have
signed agreements with Tsinghua, the
alma mater of President Xi, which has
been accused of developing voice
recognition technology linked to
human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Other universities have ties to
institutions known as the Seven Sons of
National Defence, which operate hand
in glove with the People’s Liberation
Army and have been accused of
harvesting foreign research for the
Chinese military.
The findings will fuel fears about
the reach of the Chinese state and
exacerbate concerns that British
research could be used for the purposes
of espionage or human rights abuses.
Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the
Commons foreign affairs committee,
said it was “extremely troubling”.
Kearns, who also leads the China
Research Group of MPs, added:
“Pleading ignorance will no longer cut
it. While international research colla-
boration will always be of great benefit
to our knowledge economy, universities
must be clear-eyed about relationships
they are entering into with institutions
designed to bolster China’s military
capabilities, or those guilty of facilitating
grave human rights abuses.”
The partnerships are a hangover
from the “golden era” of UK-China
relations presided over by the govern-
ment of David Cameron. On a visit to
Britain in 2015 President Xi was photo-
graphed at Imperial College London
with the Duke of York and George
Osborne, the chancellor at the time.
Many of the agreements are with
Chinese universities that pose no risk.
But in the past five years 42 have had
arrangements with institutions that are
considered a cause for concern,
according to the Australian Strategic
Policy Institute, a defence think tank.
In 22 cases the British universities
held partnerships with institutions
deemed “very high risk” by the policy
institute because of deep links with the
Chinese state and its military.
The number of partnerships with
Chinese universities is likely to be
higher than reported, as freedom of
information requests by The Times were
denied by dozens of British universities.
None of the British universities are
accused of knowingly assisting China.
But in some cases, the partnerships
could have military implications. The
University of Surrey’s Centre for Vision,
Speech and Signal Processing, for
example, has a joint research laboratory
on artificial intelligence with the Beijing
University of Posts and Telecommuni-
cations. The centre previously said
that it had developed AI-based facial
recognition technology. The technique
has been used by the Chinese state to
identify Uighur Muslims.
The University of Surrey said its re-
search was “conducted in compliance
with all relevant guidance and legis-
lation”. The University of Cambridge
pointed to its policies on managing risk
and protecting intellectual property.
2 2GM Monday January 23 2023 | the times

News

Today’s highlights Consumers become a little less

7.35am Helga Pile, Unison deputy head of health
8.05am Bob Seely, MP for the Isle of Wight
11.00am Rishi Sunak is taking his MPs on an away day.
gloomy at economic prospects
Lord Hague, David Davis and Sally Morgan
tell Matt Chorley of away days gone by Arthi Nachiappan energy bills. Deloitte found that senti- shrink. However, by the standards of
Economics Correspondent ment towards the state of the economy past recessions this is likely to be a rela-
12.30pm The lyricist Sir Tim Rice, right, on increased by three percentage points to tively mild one, with a low peak in
what he would do if he ruled the world Consumer confidence turned a corner -76 per cent, though it remained close unemployment and growth resuming
2.10pm Jake Adelstein on covering the Tokyo at the end of last year after 15 consecu- to its lowest level since the onset of the towards the end of 2023.”
underworld as a young journalist, tive months of decline, according to pandemic. Wages for private sector workers rose
experiences that became a TV series new analysis. The findings come as inflation is at near-record highs at the end of last
The tracker by Deloitte, the profes- thought to have peaked at 11.1 per cent in year, though they continued to fall
sional services company, found that October; the headline rate fell for two short of inflation. Public sector pay
sentiment among consumers rose in consecutive months to 10.5 per cent at growth continued to lag behind.
DAB RADIO l ONLINE l SMART SPEAKER l APP the last three months of 2022 as they the end of last year. The overall eco- Perceptions of job security fell on the
became slightly more positive about nomy is expected to have narrowly quarter as workers become increasing-
the state of the economy. avoided a formal recession at the end of ly concerned that they could lose their
Confidence improved by 0.6 percent- last year after a surprise reading of jobs when their employers become
T O D AY ’ S E D I T I O N age points to -19.7 per cent on the 0.1 per cent growth in November, follow- squeezed by the looming recession.
index compared with the previous ing 0.5 per cent growth in October, but a A more recent survey by GfK, the
quarter, according to the online survey downturn is still expected this year. market intelligence company, found
Andrew ‘aims to Warning over Elgin Marbles of just under 3,500 adults between Ian Stewart, chief economist at that the start of the new year brought
December 27 and 30. Deloitte, said: “This is a very different less cheer for consumers, with confi-
reverse payout’ defence cuts annexe plan Consumer confidence is calculated recession from those of the recent past. dence back on the decline.
Prince Andrew is said Ben Wallace, the A senior Greek official by aggregating six measures: job secur- A year into the cost of living crisis, Confidence was at -45 after a respite
to be considering a bid defence secretary, has said that “red lines” ity, job opportunities, household dis- unemployment is close to 50-year lows at the end of last year, the monthly in-
to overturn his condemned the regarding ownership of posable income, debt, children’s educa- and the economy showed unexpected dex found. Confidence fell to -47 in Sep-
multimillion-pound “hollowing out” of the the Elgin Marbles tion and welfare and general health and resilience in the closing months of tember after months of decline.
settlement with military after decades could not be resolved wellbeing. 2022. The survey, which recorded the re-
Virginia Giuffre, who of underfunding in a and suggested a new Any improvement in the measure is “With corporate margins under pres- sults of online polls completed by 2,000
sued him for sexual strong warning to the “British Museum key as economists have predicted that sure and top-line growth slowing, we people between January 3 and January
abuse. He is thought to Treasury before the annexe” at the the impending downturn will be see unemployment drifting higher this 12, found that confidence was hit by
have asked lawyers budget. He said the Acropolis Museum as brought on by a fall in consumer year just as the effects of past interest consumers’ reluctance to buy goods
whether an attempt to army could not field a one of several ways to demand as a result of the cost of living rate rises fed through to mortgage costs. such as furniture or electrical goods.
get her to retract her war-fighting division of permit their return to crisis, which has seen food prices rising “Meanwhile, real incomes are set to The index for big purchases fell by
claims is possible. 10,000 troops. Athens. at their fastest rate in more than four decline for the second consecutive year 6 points to minus 40.
decades and a significant jump in and consumer spending is likely to

COMMENT
Tap, swipe and scroll: the digital age has
flattened the nuances of human interaction
‘Compensation culture’ continued from page 1
Cash to cut energy use
more. Households can participate in
LIBBY PURVES, PAGE 25
takes a hit as claims fall the scheme only if they have a smart
meter to monitor their usage in real
time and they are a customer of a
Chechens join High prices for Coe looks at role Andrew Ellson with most happening on the road, fol- supplier that has signed up to take
lowed by incidents at work. part.
Ukraine battle electric cars as Olympic boss Consumer Affairs Correspondent
The National Accident Helpline says Rather than sitting in the dark,
Hundreds of Chechens A mass market in Lord Coe has not ruled Britain’s “compensation culture” that hundreds of thousands of people households are typically expected to
who fled the violent affordable electric cars out an attempt to appears to be on the wane with nearly are missing out on compensation that try to cut their use by delaying when
rule of Ramzan will not happen soon become the first British half of the public shunning the idea of they are entitled to claim. It estimates they cook dinner, or doing their
Kadyrov, their because of the president of the making a claim. that £1.4 billion in personal injury com- washing earlier than usual, since
Kremlin-backed difficulty of producing International Olympic Analysis of government and industry pensation remains unclaimed from last appliances such as ovens and washing
leader, are now them on a Committee, of which data suggests that the number of claims year alone. machines are particularly energy
fighting with the commercially viable he is already a for road traffic incidents, accidents or Will Herbertson, the managing di- intensive.
Ukrainians, taking the basis, Paul Philpott, member. With only illness at work, slips, trips or falls in rector of the company, said: “Even More than a million customers and
chance to avenge the UK chief executive two years of Thomas public places and medical negligence though economic activity and road us- businesses have signed up to the
family and friends lost of the South Korean Bach’s term remaining, was down more than 40 per cent last age has broadly returned to pre-pan- scheme and have taken part in a series
in wars against Russia car company Kia, has an election is expected year compared with pre-pandemic demic levels, the number of claims for of test events, for which National Grid
in the Nineties. warned. in 2025. levels. personal injury has not. We calculate is thought to have paid out at least
Figures published by the Depart- that at least £1.4 billion has not been £3 million. Today is the first time the
ment for Work and Pensions show that claimed due to concerns and stigma scheme is being called on operationally.
COMMENT 23 ENTERPRISE NETWORK 40 SPORT 51 claim levels fell sharply in 2020 and about claiming, rather than any reduc- National Grid data shows that it
THUNDERER 24 REGISTER 45 CROSSWORD 60 2021 as the pandemic reduced eco- tion in the number of no-fault accidents procured up to 337MW of demand
LEADING ARTICLES 27 LAW REPORT 47 TV & RADIO TIMES2 nomic activity and hospital admissions. during 2022. This seems surprising reduction during the hour for this even-
The department records claims data in when there is a cost of living crisis and ing, from suppliers including Octopus
FOLLOW US order to recover benefit payments. such economic uncertainty.” Energy, Eon and British Gas, and has
thetimes timesandsundaytimes thetimes Numbers were expected to bounce However, Professor Richard Moor- provisionally agreed to pay participating
back last year as Covid restrictions head of the University of Exeter’s law companies about £1.3 million.
OFFER were removed but the analysis suggests school, believes that the pandemic — Most but not all of this cash is
the number of claims fell again to under and government action to limit payouts expected to be passed on to consumers,
Save more than 50% with a subscription half a million. In 2019 there were more — has reshaped the claims market with suppliers retaining varying shares
than 840,000 claims. rather than any major change in atti- to cover their costs and make a profit.
to The Times and The Sunday Times Industry experts say the decline, tudes towards compensation. Octopus Energy has told participating
THETIMES.CO.UK/SUBSCRIBE which will be officially reported later He said: “Claimants are stigmatised, customers that it will pay them £3.37 for
this year, is even more surprising given and they’re stigmatised by govern- every kilowatt-hour of power they
the cost of living crisis. ments and insurance companies as a avoid using between 5pm and 6pm.
THE WEATHER The National Accident Helpline, the way of dampening down claims. Stigma The energy consultancy EnAppSys
legal firm that conducted the analysis, does deter some people with valid said: “While it looks tight, it’s not as bad
believes that the drop in claims is down, claims from bringing those claims for- as previous days this winter when
in part, to shame. ward but I don’t see why that would [National Grid] ESO chose not to
5 It commissioned a survey of a repre- have changed in recent times. dispatch contingency coal plants.”
sentative sample of 2,000 people which “I suspect the low numbers reflect a EnAppSys suggested that “the
24
found that nearly half of respondents lag from Covid. It takes time for claims decision to deploy [the plants] shows an
5 20 thought there was a stigma associated to work their way through the system abundance of caution” related to the
with compensation. so we may still be seeing the lockdown peak in French energy demand on
The survey, by Censuswide, also effect depressing the numbers. Also law Monday morning.
8
found that people were deterred by a firms that lost claims business during Britain has several power links that
10
5
fear that claims take too long or the pro- the pandemic reduced their capacity can be used to import power from or
3 cess is too complicated. Others were for that kind of work. They either export power to France.
5
concerned about the consequences on shrank their business or shifted their Adam Bell, head of policy at the
21 their job or social security benefits. focus to other kinds of work so it may Stonehaven business management
Some people also had a fear of law- take them a while to adjust back.” consultancy, said that the use of the
yers or the legal system. He added: “There has also been a demand flexibility service “represents
Rather cloudy with rain in the north The study suggests that one in ten trend over the last few years which has the normalisation of consumers
and west but drier and cooler further people suffered an accident that was made the economics of making claims playing a part in keeping the system
southeast. not their fault in the past three years, less hospitable to law firms.” running”.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 2GM 3

News
Teddy Hobbs
has developed
reading skills far
beyond his age,
which his mother
says is both a
blessing and a
bit of a nuisance.
As a toddler he
taught himself to
count to 100 in
seven languages

Quick learner
Teddy is made
a member of
Mensa aged 3
Will Humphries
Some people made more of the
Covid-19 lockdown than others. Teddy
Hobbs, aged two, used the enforced
time at home to teach himself to read
fluently to his parents.
Before he turned three he had moved
on to teaching himself to count to 100 in
seven languages, including Mandarin,
Welsh, French and German.
The young autodidact, from Portis-
head, North Somerset, is now Britain’s
youngest member of Mensa
after his bewildered parents
asked health visitors to assess
him before he starts school in
September.
“We wanted some sort of
assessment so we knew the
level he was going to start
school with,” said Beth, 31,
his mother. “Teddy was our
first child and as he was
conceived via IVF, we
have nothing to compare
him with.”
Continuing to search
for support for their son,
the couple approached
the high-IQ society.
The non-profit organisa-
tion is open to people who
score at the 98th percentile or higher on
a standardised, supervised IQ test. Ted-
dy, then aged three years and seven
months old, took an hour-long online
assessment with experts.
“I was worried about him being
able to sit in front of a laptop for an
hour, but he absolutely loved it,” his
mother, a financial administrator, said.
Mensa does not assess children
below the age of ten, but if parents feel
the need to have their child’s IQ tested
then they have to go through an educa-
tional psychologist.
The standard Stanford-Binet In-
telligence Scale test revealed that
Teddy was in the 99.5 percentile
for IQ for his age.
Teddy, now four, taught himself
to read aged two years and four
months and will be capable of
reading Harry Potter books
when his parents eventually
allow him to.
Further assessments re-
vealed that at the age of
three years and eight
months, Teddy had the
letter and word recogni-
tion of a child of eight years
and ten months old.
Beth and her husband, Will,
41, say their son likes to relax
will not know what they’re saying, but
Child prodigies Teddy will immediately spell it out and
want some,” she said.
Abhimanyu Mishra Laura Dekker “When we had our daughter we
became the youngest circumnavigated the bought him a tablet so that we could
grandmaster in chess globe solo in 2012 focus on her, but he was never hugely
history in 2021 when aged 16 in a 38ft interested in playing games or any-
he fulfilled the sailboat called Guppy. thing.
requirements for the The Dutch teenager is “He instead just likes to use apps to
title at the age of 12 the youngest to try and learn to count to 100 in Manda-
years, 4 months and 25 achieve that feat. rin and other languages.
days. He was more than “His idea of fun is that he likes to sit
two months younger Christopher Atherton, down and recite his times tables, and he
than the previous left, a Northern Irish even got so excited over fractions one
record holder. ten years and four schoolboy, is the UK’s time that he gave himself a nosebleed.
months, making him the youngest senior “That seems to be his quirk, and we’ll
Michael Kearney youngest university footballer after coming roll with it, but we’re trying very much
received a degree in graduate. He had been on for Glenavon as a to not make a thing of it.”
anthropology from the home schooled before substitute last Teddy has a busy life outside his aca-
University of South he enrolled at the age September aged 13 demic pursuits and enjoys swimming
Alabama at the age of of eight. years and 329 days and gymnastics.
He also enjoys reading to Pippa, his
15-month-old sister, and is considering
with a word search. “We’re not sure “He doesn’t currently qualify for going to university and studying to
how he ended up this way, my husband autism or attention deficit/hyper- become a doctor when he is older.
and I are not linguists — so we always activity disorder diagnoses — and Mrs Hobbs said: “He goes through
joke that the embryologist must have because he’s just so far ahead it’s hard to phases and recently started learning all
slipped a needle or something to make get help for him with his learning at that the different flags of the countries
him this way,” Beth said. age.” around the world. But more recently
“Everyone we have spoken to have She said that her son’s gift for learn- he’s gotten into play dough, which is
been fabulous because it’s been really ing had come to be both a blessing and great. All we want for Teddy is to be a
hard to find any support, but we have a curse. “My friends can say, ‘oh should good person and be happy with life.
no idea why he is so clever. we have some c-a-k-e’ and their kids That’s all any parent would wish for.”

Virtual landgrab as buyers spend big on property in metaverse

Keiran Southern Los Angeles
It was Mark Twain who purportedly
said: “Buy land, they’re not making it
any more.”
It turns out the American humorist
was wrong — landlords are snapping
up digital space in the metaverse and
renting it out for profit.
The practice took off in Decentra-
land, a 3D virtual world opened to the
public in February 2020.
Prospective landlords can buy virtual
plots as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) —
digital certificates that record owner-
ship on a digital ledger — before setting
a price to rent out their properties for
days, weeks or months.
A block of land near the centre of
Decentraland is on sale for 198,888
MANA, the in-world cryptocurrency,
which is equivalent to $147,844 or about
£119,000. To rent the plot for a day costs
175 MANA, or $130.
The tenant can build on the plot, and
Mastercard and Heineken have used
the system for one-off virtual events
known as “experiences”. Both worked
with LandVault, a company that helps
buy, sell and rent land in the metaverse,
the digital world championed by Mark
Zuckerberg, founder of Meta.
Sam Huber, LandVault’s chief execu-
tive, said it was “basically a construc-
tion company but in the virtual world,
so we kind of operate like a real estate
company”. He has more than 200 staff.
Some are “builders”, whose coding ex-
pertise can create everything from
digital billboards for advertising to pay-
ment systems to sell merchandise
directly through the experiences.
Huber said LandVault had worked on
close to 200 projects and despite the
turbulent market for cryptocurrencies
and NFTs he was confident his business
and the wider industry was robust.
“Obviously we are in a bear market,”
he said. “So the companies that use our
services now are more measured, they
take more time to make decisions.
They’re more thoughtful, they want to
see results, they’re not just chasing
headlines. So the dynamics have
changed, but the market is still there.”
Critics have raised concerns that the
practice will result in a class system that
undermines any hope of the metaverse
uniting people from all walks of life.
Huber said while land used to be
cheaper – when he entered the market
in 2017 parcels were $50 compared to
more than $1,000 today – he did not see
an issue with the business model.
He said: “There will be a metaverse
with land, there will be a metaverse
without land. And it’s just exciting to
see what we can do with it.”
4 2GM
News
Flying visit A hovering redwing plucks berries off a holly bush in Hessett, Suffolk. Britain’s smallest thrush is seldom seen in gardens, except in the coldest weather
One in four children vanish
from asylum seekers’ hotel
Fiona Hamilton Crime Editor
Nearly one in four unaccompanied
children have gone missing from a
hotel used by the Home Office to house
asylum seekers, with fears some could
be exploited by criminal networks.
Of the 600 unaccompanied children
who have passed through the hotel in
Brighton in 18 months, 136 were reported
missing.
Seventy-nine remain unaccounted
for, The Observer reported. At another
hotel in Hythe, Kent, about 10 per cent
of asylum-seeking children were going
missing each week, it was claimed.
A source who worked for Mitie, a
Home Office contractor which pro-
vides security services at hotels, said:
“Children are literally being picked up
from outside the building, disappearing
and not being found. They’re being
taken from the street by traffickers.”
The source claimed that many were
being exploited by county lines gangs,
65,000 migrants ‘will cross Channel in small boats this year’
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
An extra 100 Home Office officials will
be recruited to deal with migrants who
arrive in Kent on small boats, to avoid
another overcrowding crisis.
Officials predict that 65,000 will
cross the Channel this year, more than
a third more than last year.
Hundreds arrived yesterday on the
first day of mass crossings. The govern-
ment has yet to confirm the final num-
ber but it is believed to be several hun-
dred more than the 160 that have ar-
rived so far this month.
The prediction of 65,000 for the
entire year is based on a medium-case
scenario, which in previous years has
which deal drugs across the country.
“Most of the children disappear into
county lines. The Albanian and Eritrean
gangs pick them up in their BMWs and
Audis and then they just vanish,” the
source said.
Home Office sources denied that
dozens of children had been “kid-
napped” and said that no evidence had
been provided so far of minors being
taken against their will. The source said
many of the missing children were aged
16 or 17, and that unaccompanied
asylum-seeking children were free to
leave the accommodation.
The Times has previously reported
that charities are concerned for the
welfare of children in the hotels. In 2021
Home Office officials privately warned
ministers that unaccompanied child
refugees were at risk of disappearing,
being kidnapped by traffickers,
harming themselves or being exposed
to sex offenders.
Last month Stephen Watson, chief
proven the most accurate. A worst-case
scenario, in which French and British
authorities fail to stop most crossings,
suggests 80,000, almost twice the
45,728 who arrived last year.
The department’s low forecast is
45,000, meaning the government does
not expect to reduce the number of
crossings this year despite Rishi Sun-
ak’s pledge to “stop the boats”.
The request for extra staff has been
sent to ministers for approval and the
Treasury is expected to sign it off.
Suella Braverman, the home secre-
tary, and Sunak are drawing up details
of legislation to tackle the crisis.
Among proposals being considered
are powers for the home secretary to
constable of Greater Manchester
police, said that organised criminals
were targeting migrants at asylum
hotels and children’s homes. He warned
that vulnerable asylum seekers were
being exploited as “cannon fodder” by
criminals who used them for labour.
A Home Office spokesman said:
“Local authorities have a statutory duty
to protect all children, regardless of
where they go missing from. In the con-
cerning occasion when a child goes
missing they work closely with other
local agencies, including the police, to
urgently establish their whereabouts
and ensure they are safe.
“Ending the use of hotels for unac-
companied asylum-seeking children is
an absolute priority, and we have robust
safeguarding procedures in place to
ensure all children in our care are as safe
and supported as possible as we seek ur-
gent placements with a local authority.”
Concerns about the vulnerability of
the children, and the criminal gangs
bar individuals from claiming asylum if
they have entered illegally, such as on a
small boat. Government sources said
there were also plans to place a legal
duty on the Home Office to automati-
cally remove such migrants.
The move would be designed to get
around legal obstacles and ensure
domestic laws override international
obligations such as the UN Refugee
Convention and the European Con-
vention on Human Rights.
The legislation would bar migrants
deemed “inadmissible” to the asylum
system from ever being able to live here.
An additional legal step would be nec-
essary to ensure they are permanently
barred from remaining in the UK,
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
targeting them, are said to have been
repeatedly raised at meetings between
local councils, Home Office officials
and other agencies.
The Home Office said that appropri-
ate safeguards were in place. Unaccom-
panied asylum-seeking children were
assisted by team leaders and support
workers who were there 24 hours a day.
In addition, the Home Office said
measures were in place to ensure the
risk of a child going missing was mini-
mised, and that records were kept and
monitored of children leaving and re-
turning to the hotel.
Support workers would accompany
children off site on activities and social
excursions, or where specific vulnera-
bilities were identified.
Brighton and Hove city council said:
“For many months now we have been
raising with government our concerns
about the Home Office’s use of hotels
to accommodate asylum-seeking
children.”
which would require the home secre-
tary to sign off each inadmissible case.
The Home Office forecasts were
based upon factors including global
migratory movements and intelligence
gathered from overseas.
Figures published by Frontex, the
EU’s border agency, showed that about
330,000 irregular migrants crossed the
EU’s borders last year, the most since
2016 in the wake of the Syrian civil war.
The Home Office said that it would
legislate so that “if you come to the UK
illegally you will be detained and then
promptly removed”. A spokesman
added that it would stop “abuse of the
asylum system, reducing costs and
making it fair to those in genuine need.”
Quintagram® No 1532
Solve all five clues using each
letter underneath once only
1 Out of bed (2)
--
2 Criminal group (4)
----
3 Service-providing organisation (6)
------
4 Variety of pear (10)
----------
5 Forge onwards (5,5)
----------
A A A A C C C D
E E E E E E F G
G G H N N N N O
P P R R S S U Y
Solutions MindGames in Times2
Cryptic clues every day online
Prosecutors under fire
The father of a woman who
killed herself days before she was
due to stand trial accused of
making a false rape allegation
says that prosectors failed to
give evidence to a coroner that
proved she was innocent. Eleanor
De Freitas, 23, killed herself after
she was charged with falsely
accusing Alexander Economou.
He was never charged and
denied the accusation. David De
Freitas wants the Information
Commissioner’s Office to
investigate the CPS.
‘End cervical cancer’
Britain could eliminate cervical
cancer if screenings, public
awareness and vaccine uptake
improved, a charity has said. Jo’s
Cancer Charity has said that the
UK “has the tools” to eradicate
the disease, which 3,200 women
are diagnosed with and which
kills 800 each year. It said one in
three women were not up to date
on screening for the disease.
Vertical rocket date
The UK’s first orbital rocket could
be launched from the Shetland
islands in October or November.
SaxaVord spaceport, on the island
of Unst, is preparing to host the
first vertical launch of satellites.
Tests will start in July with nine
engines all firing for about three
minutes. Spaceport Cornwall’s
horizontal launch failed earlier
this month.
F1 winning car for sale
One of the Formula One cars in
which Michael Schumacher won
his second world championship,
in 1995, could fetch £2.6 million
when it goes on sale on February
5. Driving a Bennetton Renault
B195 he won nine of the season’s
17 races. The 02 model was
bought and restored by a British
enthusiast and is being sold in
Paris by Artcurial.
Film star’s cash for kits
Ryan Reynolds has given £1,600
towards football kits for a youth
team in Wales. The star of
Deadpool, who is co-chairman of
Wrexham FC, responded to a
fundraising page set up by the
mother of a player at FC United
of Wrexham. Kayleigh Barton
said that the under-12 futsal team
had a new kit designed and
needed funds to make it a reality.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 2GM 5

Fear drives former royal mistress to sell remote Shropshire estate
Andrew Ellson
The former mistress of King Juan Car-
los of Spain is selling her home in
Shropshire after telling friends she fears
for her safety from “shadowy forces”
working for him.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn
has put Chyknell Hall, an 11-bedroom
Regency mansion, up for sale for offers
in the region of £15 million.
The businesswoman, 57, is reported
to have told friends she feels unsafe at
the house, which was broken into in a
raid she believes was carried out by
secret forces working for the former
king. There is no evidence of his in-
volvement in the incident.
She bought the estate, which comes
with four cottages, barns and a stable
and is set in more than 200 acres of ma-
ture parkland and woodland, for £6 mil-
lion in 2015. She has since carried out
extensive renovations.
A document marketing the home
states: “Chyknell is a uniquely private
estate, situated in one of England’s most
beautiful, sought after and least popu-
lated counties.” The estate’s ownership
can be traced back to medieval times
and this is only the fourth time, in its
history, that it has been sold.
Juan Carlos, 85, abdicated in 2014,
two years after the affair was exposed.
She is fighting a long-running legal
battle against him, accusing him of har-
assment and placing her under “con-
stant hostile” surveillance since 2012.
He denies any wrongdoing and the
claims will go to trial next year.
Friends of the German-born Danish
businesswoman say the sale is motivat-
Corinna zu Sayn-
Wittgenstein-Sayn
accuses the former
king of harassment
ed by fear. One told The Mail on Sun-
day: “She has transformed the property
and its grounds into something quite
spectacular and she is well-liked by the
local community. It is rather sad but I
understand that her harassment case in
News
London against Juan Carlos of Spain
has made her wary of living in a remote
property.”
Another said: “She’s had quite a lot of
English and foreign interest, quite a few
people. It’s not that the house is not safe,
it’s her issues with Spain.”
After a break-in in 2017 Sayn-Witt-
genstein-Sayn said she found a perfect-
ly cut round hole, the size of a plate,
missing from a pane of glass in her bed-
room window. Nothing had been taken
or disturbed.
She declined to comment on the sale.

Beyoncé performed her

Beyoncé 85-minute set to an
invitation-only audience
paid $24m of 1,500 celebrities,
influencers and journalists
for popping appease Dubai’s
up in Dubai homophobic regime,
which has the death
hen penalty for

W times
are hard,
a few
earnings
on the side can be a
great help; even, it
seems, if you are one of
homosexuality. Like
many of her LGBT fans,
I feel betrayed and
angry. Her liberal
reputation has taken a
hard knock.”
There was also
the world’s richest pop support from some
stars (Andrew Ellson members of the gay
writes). community who said it
Beyoncé, 41, is was “inspiring” and
understood to have been “hopeful” to see a gay
paid $24 million for a icon perform in a
one-off concert in Dubai country where
to celebrate the opening homosexuality is illegal.
of a new hotel. The fee In 2021 Justin Bieber
amounts to nearly ignored calls for a
£250,000 for every boycott to perform in
minute she performed. the Saudi Arabian city of
The US superstar put Jeddah; while in 2014
on an 85-minute set for Lady Gaga put on a
the opening of Atlantis show in Dubai. In
The Royal, which has 2008 Mariah Carey
been billed as the received $1 million to
world’s most ultra- perform for Colonel
luxury resort. Gaddafi, the despotic
She performed to an leader of Libya. She later
invitation-only guest list apologised, claiming she
of 1,500 celebrities, did not know who he
influencers and was.
journalists, including Last year Rolling
Kendall Jenner, Stone magazine
Michelle Keegan, and beachside decision to perform in LGBT rights campaigner progressive values, she reported that Billie
Liam Payne indulgences” and Dubai, where who was stopped by put a money-grabbing Eilish turned down a
and Jodie received free homosexuality is illegal. police in October while pay cheque before seven-figure sum for a
Kidd. business-class Many noted that her protesting in Qatar human rights. On top of Middle Eastern gig.
The guests flights and 19-song set did not before the World Cup, that, her music set Beyoncé’s fee was first
at the all accommodation at contain any songs from said: “I love Beyoncé ’s excluded all tracks from reported on TMZ, the
expenses-paid the hotel. her most recent album, music but her her 2022 Renaissance American showbiz
event were Some of Beyoncé’s Renaissance, which is a performance in a album, which was a website. Her
treated to a fans back home were tribute to LGBT dictatorship like Dubai homage to queer black representatives were
weekend of less impressed, pioneers of dance music. was a huge mistake. dance pioneers. It looks approached for
“epicurean feasts criticising the star’s Peter Tatchell, the “Ditching her own like she did this to comment.

Duke wants to quash Giuffre deal

Fiona Hamilton
Prince Andrew is said to be considering
a legal effort to overturn his settlement
with Virginia Giuffre, who sued him for
sexual abuse.
The Duke of York is said to have
consulted lawyers to consider whether
an attempt to get Giuffre to retract her
allegations is legally possible.
He reached a settlement with Giuf-
fre, whom he claims he never met, early
last year. There are claims he could try
to overturn it after she dropped a law-
suit against another man she accused of
sexual assault. She said she “may have
made a mistake” in identifying Alan
Dershowitz, a US lawyer.
She was suing Andrew for sexual
abuse, claiming that he had sex with her
when she was 17 after she had been traf-
ficked by the paedophile financier
Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke, who has categorically de-
nied having sex with Giuffre and said
he had no recollection of meeting her,
accepted no liability.
The sum paid has never been publicly
disclosed. It was originally said to have
been about £10 million, with Giuffre
receiving up to £7.5 million and £2 mil-
lion more going to a sex trafficking
charity. Insiders have since said that the
total amount was nearer £3 million.
Giuffre had previously said she was
holding the duke accountable because
“the powerful and rich are not exempt
from being held responsible for their
actions”. The Times reported at the
time that Andrew faced pressure from
the royal family to bring the case to an
end after it threatened to overshadow
the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebra-
tions. He had first tried to quash the
lawsuit, and lost his military affiliations
and royal patronages in January last
year when that failed. He also lost his
right to be addressed officially as His
Royal Highness.
Sources told The Sun that the duke
believed he was “bounced” into agree-
ing a deal that he had never wanted to
make. He is said to regard fighting the
settlement as a way of returning to
some royal duties and “normality”.
To prove his case he would have to
show good legal reason to overturn the
settlement, such as fraud, duress, mis-
take or accident. Giuffre has claimed
that she was introduced to Epstein, who
killed himself in prison in 2019, by Ghis-
laine Maxwell, the socialite who was
sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex
trafficking. She claimed that she was
forced to have sex with Andrew, a friend
of Epstein and Maxwell, at Maxwell’s
home in Belgravia, central London.
A photograph of Andrew with his
arm around Guiffre, taken in 2001
when she was 17, was at the heart of the
case.
In an interview with TalkTV Max-
well, talking from prison for the first
time since she was jailed, claimed that
the photograph was fake.
“I don’t believe it’s real for a second, in
fact I’m sure it’s not,” she said. “Well,
there’s never been an original and fur-
ther there’s no photograph, and I’ve
only ever seen a photocopy of it.”
Giuffre has previously told Panorama
on BBC One that the photograph was
authentic and that she had given the
original to the FBI in 2011.
Andrew has also questioned the
validity of the image, claiming that he is
“not one to hug” or “display affection”
in public.
On her public image and fall from
grace, Maxwell told Jeremy Kyle,
whose interview is broadcast tonight: “I
feel completely divorced from the per-
son that people reference and talk
about in all the various newspaper arti-
cles and TV shows and podcast.”
6 2GM
News
News Universities
Links to campuses at heart
Dozens of British universities have deals with
Chinese institutions deemed high risk because of
their security research, Geraldine Scott reports
When Cambridge University signed a
“joint research initiative” with Presi-
dent Xi’s alma mater in 2019, it said it
was “delighted”.
Less than four years on, the deal
looks less wise, with Tsinghua Uni-
versity linked to cyberattacks and
high levels of defence research for
Beijing.
The partnership between one of Brit-
ain’s leading universities and Tsinghua
is the tip of the iceberg. A Times
investigation has revealed the full ex-
tent of UK links with Chinese institu-
tions deemed very high risk for their
links to military and security research.
In Britain, 42 have links with insti-
tutions considered a concern. In 22
cases British universities have agree-
ments with Chinese institutions
deemed “very high risk” by the Austra-
lian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)
think tank.
In China, many universities have
become embedded in developing new
defence and monitoring technology
through “military-civil fusion”, a strate-
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
gy designed to give the army a lead in
new technologies.
Martin Thorley, a China inter-
national policy specialist at Exeter Uni-
versity, said: “One must understand
that universities are very different enti-
ties in authoritarian states, and that is
true of China as it is of others. These
findings suggest that British higher
education, like various other sectors, is
yet to deal with the hangover of the
Cameron-Osborne ‘golden era’ ap-
proach to China. Even before the Rus-
sian invasion of Ukraine, it was becom-
ing clear that entanglement with au-
thoritarian states is very risky.”
According to ASPI, many of the “very
high risk” Chinese universities have
security credentials in China of either
secret or top secret, meaning they can
take part in classified research and pro-
jects. Many are also on the US export
ban list or are subject to a ban on
student exchanges with US colleges.
Four Scottish universities — Robert
Gordon, Aberdeen, Dundee and the
Strathclyde — have held agreements
with Harbin Engineering University. It
has contributed to developing People’s
Liberation Army submarines, undersea
weapons and warship projects and con-
ducts research on nuclear submarines.
It has been linked to Chinese spies con-
victed in the US, and a Canadian pro-
fessor alleged a visiting researcher from
Harbin stole his intellectual property.
The universities of Cambridge,
Strathclyde, Bath, Sheffield and East
Anglia all have links with Tsinghua
University, often characterised as
China’s equivalent to MIT in the US.
Tsinghua’s Multimedia Signal and
Intelligent Information Processing Lab
has previously partnered with iFlytek, a
voice recognition and AI company
which has been implicated in support-
ing human rights abuses in Xinjiang
through its surveillance technologies.
Many of the deals are student ex-
change programmes or articulation
agreements: formal partnerships al-
lowing students to easily study at linked
organisations. In some cases they are
with departments that would not be in-
volved in military or security-related
research. But experts believe there is a Cambridge is one of a host of British
moral argument that universities
should be aware of the wider work their deemed a “threat”. It is thought likely to
partner organisations carry out. keep China’s designation as “systemic
Robert Clark, a former soldier who is competitor”, however.
now the director of the defence and All universities with “very high risk”
security unit at the Civitas think tank, partnerships were contacted, and all
said: “The research underpinning the who replied said they carried out due
conversations surrounding British rela- diligence when choosing international
tions with Chinese defence entities of- partners. The University of Cambridge
ten centres around the financial deals pointed to its policies on managing risk
made, and the nature of the defence re- and protecting intellectual property.
search which often underpins these The University of Aberdeen said it
risky relationships.” had “established a team to review the
Clark, who has described it as “simple management of security issues in inter-
naivety” to strike up the deals, added: national partnerships”, Robert Gordon
“For too long the moral aspect has University said it had “stringent pro-
remained subliminal; it is morally rep- cesses in place”, while the University of
rehensible for British companies often Dundee said partnerships are subject to
subsidised by British taxpayers to enter an annual review.
relationships and joint ventures with The University of Strathclyde said it
Chinese companies often linked to for “respects and operates within all rele-
instance the Uighur genocide in Xinji- vant UK government legislation”, while
ang, or responsible for supporting the Heriot-Watt University said it under-
[Chinese Communist Party’s] whole- takes “third party analysis of risk”.
scale rollback of civil liberties and Brunel University said any links held
democracy in Hong Kong.” did not fall into high risk areas, and de-
Last year, the heads of MI5 and the fended the right to “conduct intellectu-
FBI warned business and academic al enquiry free from interference”. The
leaders about the risks. Ken McCallum, University of South Wales said a mem-
the director general of MI5, said it was orandum of understanding was signed,
“world-leading expertise, technology, but did not end up progressing.
research and commercial advantage” The University of Lincoln said it con-
which was most at risk from Chinese sidered wider foreign policy interests,
aggression. the University of East Anglia said if
The government is looking to update risks were identified it would put “miti-
the integrated review of defence and gating conditions” in place or cancel
foreign policy, and has faced calls to partnerships.
upgrade China’s classification to be The University of Leeds and Queen
the times | Monday January 23 2023
of Xi’s military ambitions
universities with links to Tsinghua University, alma mater of President Xi. Top: Beihang University during the Olympics
Mary University both said placements
were in line with UK legislation. The
University of Sheffield said there was a
“robust ethical process” in place.
Canterbury Christ Church Univers-
ity said it has a three step due diligence
process, including a site visit. The Uni-
versity of London said it “continuously
review[s] the global geopolitical land-
scape in which we operate”.
The University of Kent rejected that
exchanges and visits constituted links,
but said it was reviewing its risk man-
agement policy. Birkbeck said it had a
committee which was responsible for
due diligence which included consider-
ing “any associated political, business
or ethical issues” and there was “limited
collaboration” during their partnership.
Manchester Metropolitan University
said its student exchange had not run
since the pandemic. The University of
Sheffield said “research, development
and learning partnerships undergo a
robust ethical process”.
The Chinese Embassy in London
said the links between UK and Chinese
universities had “enhanced mutual un-
derstanding between the two peoples”
and accused The Times of “politicising
and stigmatising normal educational
exchanges between the two countries”.
A spokesman added: “The educa-
tional co-operation between China and
the UK acts above board.”
2GM
Student exchanges,
engineering and AI
Beihang University
One of the Seven Sons of National
Defence, Beihang scientists are
involved in the development of Chinese
military aircraft and missiles.
The British universities linked:
University of Aberdeen Research
collaboration in engineering, until 2024;
University of Kent Student exchange,
in 2017; University of Surrey Exchange
partnership, 2019-24
Beijing Institute of Technology
Another of the Seven Sons of National
Defence, it is involved in weapons
research and boasts that it carries out
world-class research on several areas of
missile technology including military
communications systems.
University of Surrey Collaborative PhD
agreement, until 2025; Birkbeck,
University of London Dual masters,
2019-22
Beijing University of Posts and
Telecommunications
Carries out research for the Chinese
military related to cyberattacks.
University of Surrey partnership
focusing on AI, 2020-26
National University of Defence
Technology
The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA)
leading institution for scientific
research and education and in charge
of a key training centre for intelligence
officers. Wang Liqiang, the Chinese spy
who defected in 2019, claimed NUDT’s
“intelligence centre” sent him fake
passports for his mission to interfere in
Taiwanese politics.
University of Kent Visiting academic
staff to China, 2019-20
Harbin Engineering University
Claims to have participated in most of
the PLA Navy’s submarine, undersea
weapon and warship projects. Chinese
nationals charged with espionage in the
United States have been linked to
exporting technology to the university.
Robert Gordon University Progression
agreement, 2017-19; University of
Aberdeen Articulation agreement,
since 2019; University of Dundee
Articulation agreement, 2019 to 2020;
University of Strathclyde Two past
articulation agreements, from 2009
and 2013-19
Harbin Institute of Technology
One of the Seven Sons of National
Defence, The Wall Street Journal said it
may have violated UN sanctions
through its training of North Korean
scientists and engineers. Has links to a
former Boeing engineer convicted of
economic espionage in 2010.
University of Strathclyde Four
articulation agreements, two ended in
2020, future two until 2024 and 2029;
University of Surrey Dual
undergraduate degree agreement in
mechanical engineering, until 2024
Huazhong University of Science and
Technology
Developed artificial intelligence and
imaging technology for weapons. The
university’s work on pulsed power is
linked to China’s nuclear and directed-
energy weapons programme.
University of Strathclyde Articulation
agreement, 2016-21
Hunan University
Has links to China’s nuclear weapons
programme
Heriot-Watt University Articulation
agreement, current; University of
Dundee Articulation agreement, 2017-
22; Partnership with South Wales
Business School, 2021-22
Jilin University
Works closely with China’s nuclear
weapons complex.
Brunel University Partnership in
engineering, design and physical
science, 2019-22
Nanjing University of Aeronautics and
Astronautics
One of the Seven Sons of National
Defence, NUAA specialises in aerospace
research and works closely with the
Chinese military. NUAA has attracted
controversy for its alleged involvement
in the Ministry of State Security’s efforts
to steal US aviation technology.
University of Strathclyde Articulation
agreement, 2013-18; Canterbury Christ
Church University Links with Centre of
English Language and Linguistics;
Manchester Metropolitan University
Student exchanges, 2018-19; University
of East Anglia Agreement with School
of Engineering, 2022-24
Nanjing University of Science and
Technology
One of the Seven Sons of National
Defence and one of eight Chinese
research institutions specialising in
weapons science.
University of Lincoln Articulation
agreement with advanced entry,
2016-19; University of Kent Visiting
scholars, 2019-20
Northwestern Polytechnical University
Another member of the Seven Sons of
National Defence, has been
linked to illegal exports by
the US Department of
Justice.
University of
Strathclyde Short
duration study
agreement, 2014-
19, and an
articulation
agreement, 2014-
20 Canterbury
Christ Church
University Links to
Strathclyde University:
linked to Xi’s alma mater
7
News
News
The University of East London has ties
to a technology university in China
the Centre of English Language and
Linguistics;
Queen Mary University of London
Joint research institute to support
China’s belt and road initiative, current
Shandong University
Links to nuclear weapons programmes.
University of Surrey Progression
agreement, until 2024; University of
Dundee Links with humanities, social
sciences and law, and science and
engineering, 2017-21; University of East
Anglia Links with the School of
Medicine, 2017-18; University of Bath
Articulation agreements, 2013-23
Sichuan University
Relationship to China’s nuclear
weapons programme.
University of Strathclyde Articulation
agreement, until 2018-23; University of
London Online and blended
programmes, from 2020
Tsinghua University
President Xi’s alma mater, its
technology has been used in
cyberattacks. Tsinghua has been
involved with iFlytek, whose
technology has been linked to human
rights abuses in Xinjiang.
University of Strathclyde Student
exchange, 2014-19 and 2015-20;
University of East Anglia Links to
climate change research, 2016-22;
University of Bath Partnership
agreements, 2015-23; University of
Sheffield Collaboration in research and
student exchange, signed 2019;
University of Cambridge Joint research
initiative, signed in 2019
University of Electronic Science and
Technology of China
Has links to potential human rights
abuses in Xinjiang.
University of Strathclyde Articulation
agreements, 2017-22 and 2018-24;
University of East London Study
abroad agreement and double master’s
programme, began in 2017
Wuhan University
Security officials in the US and Taiwan
have alleged involvement in
cyberespionage and cyberattacks.
University of Strathclyde Articulation
agreement, 2015-20; University of
Dundee Art and design links, 2021-31;
University of Aberdeen Exchange
programme and support for Confucius
Institute, current; University of Hull
Exchange agreements, 2016 to date;
University of Leeds Study-
related collaboration, no
dates provided
XiDian University
Claims to have
always had an
“unbreakable bond
with secret
intelligence work”.
Heriot-Watt
University Joint
education
partnership, current;
Brunel University
Partnership in life
sciences, 2016-17
8 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

News

Spear of destiny South Africa’s Dundee Diehards re-enactment society recreated the Battle of Isandlwana in situ at the weekend, 144 years after a British force was wiped out in the first big clash of the Zulu War

‘Woke’ attacks on privileged will Misconduct

unit PC faces
ruin top schools, says former tsar abuse claims
Nicola Woolcock Education Editor
Elite private schools are being hollowed
out by “woke” culture, the former social
mobility tsar has claimed.
Katharine Birbalsingh, de-
scribed as the country’s strictest
head teacher, said that Britain’s
public schools were threatened
by “incessant” attacks on the
privileged.
The former chairwoman of
the Social Mobility Commis-
sion warned that schools had
lost their traditional sense of
duty towards the less fortu-
nate. Birbalsingh also said
that fee-charging schools had
been seduced by child-cen-
tred learning, creativity and
independence, and had
handed authority to pupils.
In an essay for a new edition
of a book titled The State of
Independence, she writes:
Fund primary teachers for levelling up, urges Winston
Ross Kaniuk
Lord Winston has criticised the gov-
ernment’s levelling-up campaign and
suggested that investing in primary
school education would do “so much
more” for youngsters.
Winston, a pioneer of IVF treatment
who is emeritus professor of fertility
studies at Imperial College London,
said he believed that primary school
teachers were not valued enough in
their “immeasurably hard” job. His
“Recently, the private schools and in
particular some of the more established
public schools, remind me of the ice-
berg that has melted over time, weak-
ened by their misplaced love of
child-centred learning and re-
jection of adult authority over
decades. In such a fragile state,
when the woke brigade comes
searching, these schools flip
right over, suddenly and with-
out warning, bowing to the
incessant cry against the
privileged.
“Once upon a time, public
schools were bastions of tra-
ditionalism, setting the
standard for the rest of us.
The richer in society used to
have a sense of duty towards
those less fortunate and
these schools made it their
Katharine Birbalsingh said
that traditions are at risk
comments came after Rishi Sunak an-
nounced £2 billion of funding for the
levelling-up programme to improve
transport links and high streets as well
as to restore heritage sites in 111 com-
munities across Britain.
The spending plan sparked contro-
versy after it included more funding for
the southeast than the northeast, York-
shire and the East and West Midlands.
Winston, 82, a Labour peer, criticised
the levelling-up policy on the Crisis
What Crisis? podcast, saying: “If we just
raison d’être to inspire young men and
women to serve others. Many gradu-
ates from these schools would seek ca-
reers that would allow them ‘to give
back’ and live out their duty.”
Leading schools that have attracted
attention include St Paul’s Girls’ School
in west London, whose head girl is now
known as head of school. American
School in London was downgraded by
Ofsted for overly focusing on “social
justice” issues and reportedly teaching
critical race theory. Eton appointed a
director of inclusion education.
Birbalsingh, who is head teacher of
Michaela Community School in north
London, stood down from the Social
Mobility Commission, saying that her
frank attitude was putting it in jeopar-
dy. She said the decision to leave was
hers and that she wrote the essay before
resigning.
Birbalsingh said that many parents
who had been privately educated were
priced out. She added that the “inter-
improve primary school education we
would do so much to level up in a way
that we don’t do otherwise. We could do
so much more by focusing on the edu-
cation of the youngest.”
Winston speaks frequently in the
House of Lords about education and
has helped to promote science literacy
by founding the Wohl Reach Out labo-
ratory at Imperial College London,
which brings schoolchildren of all ages
into the university.
The government’s second round of
national class” may want the veneer of
tradition, but not the reality.
Birbalsingh said schools were em-
powering pupils to assuage guilt they
felt for their privilege by embracing
“woke” campaigns on race, gender and
sexuality to give them a “green pass to
secure your position as a good person”.
She added: “Help out at the local soup
kitchen? Join the army? Become a
teacher? Why do that, when all you
have to do is join a Twitter mob that will
cleanse you well enough to earn a quar-
ter of a million a year in the City and
read The Financial Times?”
The book of essays is edited by David
James, deputy head of Lady Eleanor
Holles School and Jane Lunnon, head
of Alleyn’s School.
Barnaby Lenon, the former head of
Harrow and chairman of the Independ-
ent Schools Council, said he respected
Birbalsingh but that “what she’s saying
about independent schools is utter
nonsense”.
levelling-up funding diverted more
cash to London and the southeast than
the first, which totalled £1.7 billion and
was overseen by Boris Johnson.
Andy Street, the Conservative mayor
of West Midlands, said: “This episode is
just another example as to why White-
hall’s bidding and begging bowl culture
is broken, and the sooner we can decen-
tralise and move to proper fiscal devo-
lution the better.” Sunak said that
spending per person was highest in the
areas that needed it most.
Fiona Hamilton
Crime and Security Editor
A constable in the Metropolitan Police’s
professional standards unit is being
investigated over the alleged sexual
assault of a female colleague.
The constable, who investigates mis-
conduct by colleagues, was arrested in
June and released pending further in-
quiries, The Mail on Sunday reported.
The newspaper said that the woman
had previously complained about his
alleged inappropriate behaviour.
It comes as forces across the country
carry out new background checks on
their officers and staff after the David
Carrick scandal. Carrick, 48, who
worked in the Met’s parliamentary and
diplomatic command, carried out rapes
and other sex offences for nearly two
decades despite complaints about him
to police. He was finally suspended in
2021 and pleaded guilty to dozens of
sexual offences, including 24 rapes.
The Met has said it is reviewing 1,633
cases involving 1,071 of its officers and
staff who are still serving but have faced
complaints of domestic abuse or sexual
offending in the past decade.
In relation to the professional stan-
dards officer under investigation, a Met
spokesman said: “A serving police offi-
cer has been arrested following an alle-
gation of sexual assault whilst he was
on duty. The police constable, who is
attached to the South Area Command
Unit, was arrested on Thursday June 2
and taken to a south London police
station, and was later released under in-
vestigation pending further inquiries.
“Officers from the Directorate of Pro-
fessional Standards have been informed.
The officer has been suspended.”
the times | Monday January 23 2023 9

Church cashes in on holidaymakers who want a room with a pew
Kaya Burgess
Religious Affairs Correspondent
Would you like to be woken by the sun
streaming in through a stained glass
window, falling on your makeshift bed
between a row of pews? Camping in
church, known as champing, is flour-
ishing, figures show.
The organisers of a scheme to open
churches to holidaymakers, hikers and
pilgrims said they had their most
successful year ever and are planning to
more than double capacity.
The churches offer bedding basic
amenities such as water and lavatories.
Some team up with farmers to provide
breakfast and pubs to offer dinner.
Many churches desperately need
money to maintain their buildings,
many of which have big repair bills.
Ageing and dwindling congregations
are no longer able to meet these bills
through donations alone.
Many people are also looking for
cheaper holidays in the UK because of
the cost of living crisis, said Guy Fore-
man, head of enterprise at the Church-
es Conservation Trust (CCT), which
launched champing in 2016.
The trust’s annual accounts show
that 2021-22 was the best ever year for
bookings for champing, which featured
in the Christmas special of Inside No 9,
the BBC comedy.
It says: “This year champing has been
particularly successful showing the
strongest performance since launch in
2016, generating just over £86,000 of
net revenue against 573 bookings.
“The CCT would like to expand the
champing franchise operation. It offers
a good alternative channel for commu-
nity groups to generate their own in-
come to support their historic place of
worship.” The CCT includes 22
churches among its registered sites,
mostly Church of England churches
but also some in Wales and Scotland,
and it hopes to increase this number to
50, Foreman said.
“Staycations and unique experiences
are a growth area within the holiday
sector,” he said. “People want some-
thing different and unique that they
can talk about and an experience they
can treasure, particularly in a cost of liv-
ing crisis. Something different, not that
expensive, and local is really valuable.
And it’s low impact.
News
“Quite often the average stay is gen-
erally just a night, others hop from
church to church. We link up our
churches on walking routes and pil-
grimages. Quite a lot of people in the
modern world have a desire to switch
off and reconnect and do something
spiritual. Champing is a really good way
of doing that.”
Prices start at £49 per night for adults
and £25 per night for children.
Many churches in the scheme are no
longer used for weekly worship, but
only for key festivals such as Christmas
and Easter.

Trees by the Thames at

Freezing fog Swinford, Oxfordshire,
appeared dusted in white
to descend after plunging overnight
temperatures produced a
as cold snap hard frost in many areas

continues has swept across the UK

and seen temperatures

T
wo people died
in an eight-
vehicle
accident on the
M40 amid
continuing hazardous
driving conditions
caused by sub-zero
temperatures (Ross
Kaniuk writes).
A woman in her
sixties and a man in his
seventies died, while two
other people were taken
to hospital with serious
injuries after the
collision between
Stokenchurch and High
Wycombe,
Buckinghamshire, at
about 8.15am yesterday.
Ten other people
sustained minor injuries,
with a number of them
also being taken to
hospital.
The accident came as
the Met Office issued
warnings about freezing
fog that could lead to air
pollution and difficult
driving conditions as the
cold snap continues.
Below-average
temperatures could
return in February.
Forecasters said fog
could reduce visibility to
as low as 50 metres in
some areas, with a fog
warning issued for a
large portion of
England, from
Hampshire to Hull,
although the far east of
East Anglia and Kent
could escape.
Sadiq Khan, the
mayor of London, issued
a “moderate” air
pollution alert because
the conditions were
trapping vehicle fumes.
Meanwhile, flooded
fields became a vast
natural ice rink
extending for miles in
the Cambridgeshire fens
as the water froze over.
It followed three
successive nights of
temperatures of minus
6C or below, which
formed ice strong
enough for skating.
But Craig Snell, a Met
meteorologist, said the
worst of the cold spell
was over, adding: “We’re
going to start to lose the
risk of fog. We’ll
probably lose the really
hard frosts. In terms of
ice and snow, it certainly
looks like we’re over the
worst.”
Temperatures would
be lower in the south
because of a change in
wind in the northwest to
a milder direction.
The Arctic blast that
in some places plunge
below minus 10C, will
give way to milder air
from the Atlantic.
However, this will take
longer to reach southern
areas.
From tomorrow to
Thursday, the frost and
fog will become more
patchy and increasingly
limited to parts of
southern England, while
elsewhere it will be
cloudier with outbreaks
of mainly light rain and
drizzle.
The drizzle is forecast
to spread south on
Wednesday and be
followed by a mixture of
brighter weather and
showers.
However, flooding
remains a risk for most
of the week with the
Environment Agency
last night having 39
warnings in place where
flooding was expected,
and a further 50 where it
is possible.
Local river flooding is
expected to continue in
Somerset, with
groundwater flooding
likely to continue in
parts of southern
England, with some
roads and properties at
risk.

Holidays spring forward as costs rise

Andrew Ellson
Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Spring is fast becoming the new sum-
mer as families look to secure the most
affordable holidays because of the cost
of living crisis.
The travel industry says it has had an
“incredible start to the year”, with
bookings surpassing pre-pandemic
levels, but that there has been a change
in when people want to get away.
Skyscanner, the flight comparison
website, said that more travellers were
choosing the cheaper “low season” to
make their money go further.
It has reported that most bookings
made this month have been for trips
departing in less than eight weeks or for
the Easter holidays, for which demand
has risen by 47 per cent. Overall, book-
ings were up more than 30 per cent on
two years ago.
Laura Lindsay, of Skyscanner, said:
“Post-Covid restrictions, holidaymak-
ers continue to prioritise adventures
abroad and embrace travel freedoms
with relish. But travellers are looking to
make their money go further and rising
prices of everyday items are impacting
our buying decisions.
“Price-driven travel will clearly be
the main priority for 2023 — whether
it’s checking out an emerging destina-
tion that offers great value, or activities
that won’t break the bank.”
Other travel companies report a sim-
ilar trend. Eurocamp, which sells holi-
days at nearly 200 sites across Europe,
said that over the past two weeks it had
recorded a 400 per cent increase in
bookings for April-to-June compared
with the same period last year. It also
noted that holidaymakers were in-
creasingly booking campsites in north-
ern and central France, which are with-
in driving distance, to save on air fares.
It said that bookings for these locations
were up more than 300 per cent com-
pared with last year.
Ross Matthews, chief sales and mar-
keting officer at Eurocamp, said: “The
rise in off-peak bookings shows fami-
lies are looking to get the best deals for
their 2023 holidays.”
Skyscanner said that the top destina-
tion for the April to June period was
Spain, followed by the United States,
India and Portugal. For city breaks, the
top pick was New York, followed by
Alicante, Bangkok and Malaga.
The consumer group Which? said
the so-called “shoulder seasons” of May
to June and September to October were
growing in popularity because they had
favourable weather conditions without
a summer holiday price tag.
It found that the average price of a
seven-night package at Easter with Tui
and Jet2 was as much as £300 cheaper
per couple than in the summer holi-
days. It said that the same break in the
February half-term was cheaper still, at
£650 less on average.
However, with demand so high,
prices are rising. The cost of package
holidays and flights is already hundreds
of pounds more expensive than last
year. Data from Travelsupermar-
ket.com shows that people who booked
a summer package between November
1 and January 3 would have paid 19 per
cent more on average than last year.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Trav-
el, said: “Travellers are likely to experi-
ence higher prices than they’re used to
for a trip away this year, with huge de-
mand for holidays combining with in-
flationary pressure to create a perfect
storm of spiralling costs. Flights in
particular have seen some of the steep-
est price rises so far, with our research
finding flights to popular destinations
including Greece and Italy up 71 per
cent compared with last year.”
He added: “If you need to book a cer-
tain destination or dates, such as during
the school summer holidays, book as
early as possible to ensure the best
price. Opting for an all-inclusive break
may also be worth considering, as you
will be protected from currency fluctu-
ations, and have the assurance that
expenses like food and drink are
already covered.”
10 2GM Monday January 23 2023 | the times

News
News Politics

Zahawi misled his officials over
George Grylls Political Correspondent
Billy Kenber
Senior Investigations Reporter
Nadhim Zahawi wrongly told officials
that he had not exchanged WhatsApp
messages with David Cameron before
it emerged that they had been deleted
from his phone, The Times can disclose.
The Conservative Party chairman
falsely claimed that he had not ex-
changed messages with Cameron
when the former prime minister was
trying to secure government loans for
Greensill Capital.
It later emerged that the pair had
discussed Greensill when messages
from the instant-messaging phone app
were released to a select committee
inquiry into the lobbying scandal.
The revelations will add to pressure
on Zahawi, who is facing calls to resign
after he admitted reaching a settlement
with HM Revenue and Customs over
unpaid tax. He faced a reported bill of
more than £5 million which included a
Nadhim Zahawi
is facing calls to
resign over a
tax penalty
BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
that Zahawi should “get it all out now . . .
and clear it up”. Angela Rayner, the La-
bour deputy leader, called for the re-
lease of all correspondence with No 10
and for Rishi Sunak to “come clean on
what he knew and when” about Za-
hawi’s tax affairs. It was reported by The
Sun on Sunday that Zahawi had been
blocked from receiving a knighthood
recognising his work as vaccines minis-
ter because of his tax affairs.
Separately, the Times can reveal fur-
ther details about Zahawi’s involve-
ment in the Greensill lobbying scandal
along with Richard Sharp, the BBC
chairman facing questions about a loan
guarantee that he allegedly gave to
Boris Johnson.
During the pandemic Cameron
contacted Zahawi, who at the time was
a minister in the Department for Busi-
ness, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to
ask for advice about approaching
Sharp, a Tory donor and former banker
who was advising Rishi Sunak when he
was chancellor.
Cameron wrote: “Hi there. Well done
with keeping going in the midst of all
this. You’ve been v solid on the media.
Johnson leaves
Lex Greensill — who I work with —
says you are being v helpful over HMT
and CBILS programme. Would it help if
troubles behind
I pinged a message to Richard Sharp? I

tax penalty and interest payments over

used to see him a bit in early leadership
days but haven’t so much recently [. . .]
with Ukraine visit
unpaid capital gains tax on shares in All good wishes Dc.” There was no

YouGov, the polling company that he
co-founded. The shares, which were
issued when the company was founded
in 2000, were held by an offshore trust
controlled by his father.
In a statement on Saturday describ-
ing it as a “careless, not deliberate”
error, Zahawi said that his representa-
tives had discussed and settled the issue
with HMRC over the summer.
The settlement was agreed during his
time as chancellor last summer, when
he had direct oversight over tax policy,
it has emerged. Zahawi admitted that
an agreement was reached before he
joined Liz Truss’s short-lived cabinet in
September. It indicates it was negotiat-
ed and confirmed in less than two
months. He has not confirmed the size
of the payment.
Zahawi is fighting for his political
career over the issue, which he initially
dismissed last year as “smears”. Labour
said that it was “corrosive to public
trust”, and Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the
former Conservative leader, told the
B
record of a reply from Zahawi. How- oris Johnson has arrange an £800,000 loan
ever, Cameron then sent a second mes- sought to shrug guarantee for Johnson
sage, saying: “Ta. Will do. Can you send off questions only weeks before the
me his contact details? Keep going! D.” about the prime minister
An investigation by the Information funding of his recommended him for the
Commissioner’s Office has established Downing Street lifestyle role of chairman of the
that Zahawi did not tell officials about with a visit to Ukraine to BBC. Sharp, a former
the messages following a freedom of in- see President Zelensky banker at Goldman Sachs
formation request from The Times. (George Grylls writes). who was also previously
When civil servants in his private office The former prime an economic adviser to
asked if “he had any messages on his minister was seen Rishi Sunak, has denied
private mobile phone from David Cam- embracing the Ukrainian any conflict of interest.
eron”, Zahawi replied “that he did not,” president in Kyiv after Johnson hosted Sharp
the inquiry found. visiting the town of at No 10 on six occasions
When the existence of the messages Borodyanka, the site of an when he was prime
later emerged, officials returned to alleged massacre by minister, including for
question Zahawi again. He then admit- Russian troops. three “social meetings”.
ted that he had messaged Cameron but Johnson has come The last meeting was only
that the texts had been deleted. under renewed scrutiny of weeks before Johnson was
“It is our understanding that Mr his personal finances forced to announce his commissioner for Shawcross, the
Zahawi does not know how the Whats- when he was in No 10. resignation in July last standards, to investigate commissioner for public
App messages from Mr Cameron came Labour has called for an year. Johnson’s failure to appointments, into Sharp
to be deleted from his mobile phone,” investigation into claims Labour has called for declare the arrangement, being given the BBC role.
the inquiry found. that Richard Sharp, a Daniel Greenberg, the and also demanded an Anneliese Dodds,
Zahawi was approached for Tory donor, helped to parliamentary inquiry by William chairwoman of the
comment.

Ambulances for mental health patients 1,000 a day wait 12 hours

Kat Lay Health Editor
Up to 100 new mental health ambulan-
ces with dimmable lighting and space
for family to accompany patients are
planned as part of a scheme to take
pressure off other emergency services.
It is one of the projects sharing a
£150 million pot, announced in 2021,
that is designed to build new facilities to
support mental health urgent and
emergency care services.
The government announcement
comes as thousands of ambulance
workers including paramedics, ambu-
lance technicians and control room
staff walk out for the third time in five
weeks.
Rishi Sunak said: “People in mental
health crisis deserve compassionate
care in a safe and appropriate setting.
Too often, they end up in A&E when
they should be receiving specialist
treatment elsewhere.
“This important funding will make
sure they get the help they need, while
easing pressures on emergency depart-
ments and freeing up staff time —
which is a huge priority for the govern-
ment this winter.”
Patients with mental health prob-
lems are twice as likely as others to
spend more than 12 hours in emer-
gency departments.
The funding will also be used to
create or improve more than 20 places
described as safe “health-based” spaces
for people detained by the police, and
150 projects centred on providing
support in the community for people
who need urgent mental health care or
are in crisis.
Union leaders have urged Jeremy
Hunt, the chancellor, to “come out of
hiding” and find new funds for a pay
rise to bring escalating NHS strike
action to an end.
Unions want the government to re-
visit the pay rise awarded to staff this
year but ministers have urged unions to
look ahead to next year’s talks.
Christine McAnea, the general sec-
retary of Unison, said: “The solution to
the growing NHS crisis is staring the
government in the face. It’s simple: all
the chancellor needs to do is find the
money to pay health workers fairly.”
Stuart Richards, a GMB senior organis-
er, said the union had not met ministers
for two weeks.
Steve Barclay, the health and social
care secretary, said:“I have had con-
structive talks with unions about this
coming year’s pay process for 2023-24,
and am keen to continue talking about
what is affordable and fair.”
NHS bosses urged patients to con-
tinue seeking care if they need it this
week. Professor Sir Stephen Powis,
national medical director at NHS
England, said: “As with other ambu-
lance strikes the message to patients
remains that it is vital to come forward
and seek emergency care if needed.
“This includes calling 999 for life-
threatening emergencies as well as
using 111 online for other health needs
where you will receive clinical advice
on the best next steps to take.
“People should also continue to use
local services such as pharmacies and
general practice, as they normally
would, which aren’t impacted by strike
action.”
in A&E for a hospital bed
Kat Lay
Nearly 1,000 patients a day on average
in England waited more than 12 hours
in A&E last year, according to a new
analysis.
A record 347,700 patients spent 12
hours or more waiting for an in-patient
bed, compared with 1,306 for the entire
year in 2015.
Last year, the NHS in England re-
corded a daily average of 952 people
spending more than 12 hours in emer-
gency departments after doctors decid-
ed that they needed to be admitted. In
many cases this will come on top of
lengthy waits for triage and treatment.
Last month 65 per cent of patients were
treated, admitted or discharged within
four hours, a record low.
The figures were set out by the Liber-
al Democrats, whose leader, Sir Ed
Davey, said that the delays were costing
lives. “Rishi Sunak is in total denial
about the scale of the problem facing
our hospitals, social care and GP ser-
vices,” he said. “We need a proper plan
now to free up hospital beds, reduce
A&E delays and bring the NHS back
from the brink. That must start with re-
cruiting more GPs, empowering our
pharmacists and helping people to
leave hospital.”
A Department of Health and Social
Care spokesman said: “The NHS, like
many healthcare systems across Europe
and internationally, is facing huge chal-
lenges this winter due to rises in flu,
Covid and the treatment backlogs left
by the pandemic.” The spokesman said
that the government had allocated
£14.1 billion in additional funding for
health and social care during the next
two years, with more GPs and other
staff working in surgeries compared
with 2019.
Critics say that the issues predate the
pandemic. In 2019, 8,270 waited in a
trolley for 12 hours or more, quadru-
pling from a few years earlier.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Greensill texts from Cameron
Labour Party, said: “The deeper into yet another
financial affairs of this quagmire of sleaze.”
disgraced former prime She said that serious
minister just keep getting questions needed to be
murkier, dragging the asked of Johnson about
Conservative Party why the loan guarantee
Green growth lagging, warns CBI chief
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
George Grylls Political Correspondent
Britain is lagging behind its economic
rivals in the green growth industries of
tomorrow, the CBI will say today.
Tony Danker, its director-general,
will say that in the past two years the
UK has lost £4.3 billion in green-tech-
nology market share and the high-skill
jobs that go with it.
He will also say that the immigration
system is exacerbating the labour
shortages. “The post-Brexit immigra-
tion system is very expensive for
higher-skilled roles and doesn’t offer a
solution at all for where some of the
most acute shortages exist today,”
Danker will say.
“I share the politicians’ ambition for a
high-wage, high-skill economy; but it’s
an empty promise. Because we aren’t
paying anywhere close to what it takes
for higher skills; and we’re not letting
immigrants help do the lower-skilled,
lower-wage jobs every economy has.”
Danker’s criticism is likely to cause ir-
2GM
was not declared. Lord
Kerslake, a former head
of the civil service, told
Times Radio that he had
“big concerns” about the
revelation. “It is a
ritation among ministers who see
controlling Britain’s borders as a key
priority for voters.
“The CBI is hankering for a broken
model reliant on cheap labour from
abroad and low wages for British work-
ers,” a government source said. “We’ve
had net migration running at record
levels for 20 years — hundreds of thou-
sands of people coming to the UK each
year — and at the same time millions of
our own citizens are out of work. Our
points-based, targeted system wel-
comes workers where we need them.”
Danker will also warn that unless
Rishi Sunak drops his opposition to
using the tax system to encourage
growth the country will become less
competitive and lose out on inter-
national investment and jobs.
Britain’s economic problems are
compounded by the admission before
Christmas that Britain will be 15 years
late in achieving a £1 trillion annual
export target, according to projections
from the Department for International
Trade. Based on trends exports will not
reach £1 trillion until 2035, with the
total due to fall to £707 billion next year,
the minister in charge of UK exports
Andrew Bowie said in a parliamentary
answer, The Guardian reports.
The pledge was first made by David
Cameron in 2012, with the initial goal to
hit the target in 2020, but Boris Johnson
later extended the end date of 2030.
Danker is echoing the views of many
on the Conservative right who are con-
cerned that the prime minister’s fiscal
consolidation risks choking off eco-
nomic recovery.
While the government is going
ahead with the planned six-point rise in
corporation tax that was scrapped by
Liz Truss, the “super-deduction” that
allowed companies to cut their tax bill
by 25 per cent for investment is due to
come to an end in April.
Danker will say that with the super-
deduction the UK has the fifth most
competitive tax system among devel-
oped countries for capital investment.
Without it the UK falls to 30th out of 38
countries in the Organisation for Eco-
Boris Johnson visited
Borodyanka, and a war
exhibition in Kyiv, left, as
questions were raised over
Richard Sharp’s
appointment at the BBC
conflict [of interest], no
question in my mind.”
Johnson is a popular
figure in Ukraine, where
he is widely credited with
leading the international
effort to supply arms aid
during the early days of
the war.
In one video released
from his most recent trip,
Johnson is seen talking
with Zelensky outside
government buildings in
Kyiv and telling him he
will do “whatever he can”
to support Ukraine.
Zelensky says it is an
“honour” to host the
former prime minister.
Later in the video,
Johnson is seen sitting
behind a Union Jack
during a face-to-face
meeting with Zelensky.
“Thank you so much,”
says Zelensky. “Thank you
for your support [for] us.”
Rishi Sunak’s press
secretary said that the
prime minister was
“always supportive of all
colleagues showing that
the UK is behind Ukraine
and will continue to
support them”.
Johnson said: “It is a
privilege to visit Ukraine
at the invitation of
President Zelensky. The
suffering of the people of
Ukraine has gone on for
too long.
“The only way to end
this war is for Ukraine to
win — and to win as fast
as possible. This is the
moment to double down
and to give the Ukrainians
all the tools they need to
finish the job. The sooner
Putin fails, the better for
Ukraine and for the whole
world.”
nomic Co-operation and Development.
In particular he will say the UK is fall-
ing behind in investing in green tech-
nologies. “We’re behind the Germans
on heat pumps, the French on EV [elec-
tric-vehicle] charging infrastructure
and the US on operational carbon cap-
ture and storage projects, despite the
UK’s North Sea advantage.”
Danker will praise Sunak and Jeremy
Hunt, the chancellor, for “successfully
stabilising the economy after fixing the
economic fallout of last autumn”.
He will say CBI forecasts suggest busi-
ness investment will fall this year and
will be 9 per cent below its pre-pandem-
ic level at the end of next year. “Across
the country, I’m speaking to firms put-
ting their investment plans on ice
because they need to divert cash to deal
with higher energy costs, higher wage
bills and higher tax rates,” he will say.
Treasury sources said tax cuts had to
be balanced by the poor state of the
public finances.
11
News
News
Starmer sets
his sights on
chief of staff
. . . for No 10
Henry Zeffman Associate Political Editor
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor
Sir Keir Starmer is hunting for a senior
civil servant to prepare him for Down-
ing Street amid concerns that his team
does not have enough government
experience.
In a move modelled on Tony Blair’s
appointment of Jonathan Powell,
Starmer is looking for someone with
recent experience at the top of White-
hall to ease the transition to power.
Some in Starmer’s circle are said to
have considered Sir Tom Scholar, 54,
who was sacked as permanent secre-
tary to the Treasury in September by
Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng.
The Labour leader has been without
a chief of staff since October, when he
dispensed with the services of Sam
White, a former adviser to New Labour.
Starmer is understood to be seeking
someone with more recent experience
of government to replace White, and
allies cited the example of Powell, a
career diplomat who left the Foreign
Office to become Blair’s chief of staff in
opposition. He was chief of staff for
Blair’s entire decade as prime minister,
with new powers to direct civil servants.
As well as running Starmer’s office in
opposition, the new chief of staff would
lead Labour’s transition planning amid
increasing optimism that it will end its
long spell out of power next year.
“They don’t need to be versed in the
politics of the Labour Party — Jona-
than Powell wasn’t — they’ll get the
hang of that. What we need is them to
understand government,” one party
source said.
Another said: “We just need some-
one who can come in and say to Keir, if
you tell me your top ten people and
what their skills are, I can tell you where
they need to sit in Downing Street and
what they all need to do on day one.”
Among the most eye-catching
names to have been discussed is Schol-
ar, 54, who had a spell as Gordon
Brown’s Downing Street chief of staff.
Rumours that Scholar might be open
to joining Starmer’s team intensified
when he attended the 25th wedding
anniversary party of Yvette Cooper, the
shadow home secretary, and Ed Balls,
the former education secretary, in East-
bourne last weekend.
A Labour source said there had been
no firm approach. A friend of Scholar
said he would be “very unlikely” to take
the job, with former colleagues saying
he had “never been very political”.
Sir Olly Robbins, 47, who was Ther-
esa May’s chief Brexit negotiator has al-
so been mentioned. He has worked at
Goldman Sachs since 2019 and is said to
have privately expressed interest in
working for a Starmer government.
However, a senior Labour source said
Robbins was likely to be discounted as
“too Remainy” at a time when Starmer
is trying to dispel his reputation as a Eu-
rophile. Robbins is not thought to be in
contact with the party.
6Labour does not have a problem with
women, Pat McFadden, the shadow
chief secretary to the Treasury, has said
after Rosie Duffield was heckled by
Lloyd Russell-Moyle in a Commons
debate last week after she criticised
Scotland’s gender recognition laws.
12
News
News Defence
‘Hollowed-out’ military
can’t send division to war
George Grylls Defence Correspondent
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Ben Wallace has condemned the “hol-
lowing out” of the military after
decades of underfunding in a stark
warning to the Treasury before the
budget.
The defence secretary said the army
was unable to field a war fighting divi-
sion of just 10,000 troops. The Ministry
of Defence had only been able to start
fixing longstanding issues after it was
given more money by Boris Johnson, he
said.
Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, is hold-
ing talks with the MoD over a settle-
ment after concerns were raised about
wasteful spending in the department.
A report by the National Audit Office
last year found that a significant num-
ber of MoD projects, including the
Type 32 frigate programme and the
construction of multi-role support
ships, had been left unfunded.
A Treasury source said negotiations
over the defence budget would require
a “long dialogue”, adding that they were
“nowhere near a conclusion”. “It will
come down to what we can afford,” the
source said.
A series of procurement scandals
have left military experts questioning
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
tanks, get the Ajax armoured recce
Defence spending vehicle back on track and purchase up-
graded Apache helicopters.”
Where is the 2022 budget going? Military expenditure compared The UK is the second-largest overall
Service personnel 2021 % of spender in Nato but has yet to an-
24.3% GDP
Specialist military equipment nounce an increase in defence spend-
18.4% UK ing since the Russian invasion of
Equipment support $68.4bn 2.2% Ukraine, with the MoD’s budget set to
16.9%
increase by just £100 million this year.
Infrastructure US
11.3% $800.7bn 3.5% By comparison, France, Germany
Property & other equipment and the US have all set out plans to sig-
8.4% China nificantly increase spending. President
Civilian personnel $293.4bn 1.7%
4.9% Macron announced last week that
Research & development Russia French defence spending would in-
4.5% $65.9bn 4.1% crease by more than a third to €413 bil-
Inventory
3.1% France lion between 2024 and 2030.
Defence equipment & support BTE*
$56.6bn 2% Last year Hunt said the UK needed to
2.6% “get real” about the need to invest in the
Germany
Other $56bn 1.3% armed forces during his campaign to be
5.5%
Tory party leader. He pledged to in-
*Bespoke trading entity Source: Ministry of Defence crease defence spending to 3 per cent of
GDP — a promise that was matched by
whether the British army would be a war fighting division for decades,” he Liz Truss before it was dropped follow-
able to mobilise a division in the event said. “The consistent hollowing out ing the fallout from the former prime
of a European war. General Sir Patrick that took place under Labour and the minister’s mini-budget.
Sanders, chief of the general staff, said early Conservative governments left “We must put our money where our
last week the UK’s obligations to Nato the Ministry of Defence with capability mouth is and prove that we understand
were at risk after the donation of just 14 gaps and shortages. Only when Boris the first duty of the government is keep-
Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Johnson granted defence an extra ing people safe,” Hunt said.
Speaking to The Times, Wallace £24 billion did we finally have the head-
lamented the lack of investment in the room to sort things out.
armed forces stretching back tens of “That is why since then we have
years. “We have not been able to deploy started to upgrade our Challenger Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, top,
the times | Monday January 23 2023
General Sir Patrick Sanders, left, and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin are calling for greater funding for Britain’s armed forces
Forces fighting a losing battle
with waste and underfunding
Outdated weaponry operational commitments we are
making are now overstretching the
and other legacies from armed forces.”
decades of neglect leave
the country vulnerable, Show me the money
Inflation and a weak pound have put
George Grylls writes immense pressure on the defence
I
t was supposed to be a moment
of pride, but when the
announcement came last week
that Britain would be the first to
give western tanks to Ukraine
there was little rejoicing among those
charged with defending the nation.
General Sir Patrick Sanders, head
of the British Army, said that giving
14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine
would leave the UK “temporarily
weaker” and at risk of failing to meet
its Nato obligations.
Although the timing was
controversial, he is not alone in
thinking that years of wasteful
procurement and underfunding have
left the British Army in such a “dire
state” that it would struggle to
mobilise a division of 10,000 troops if
forced to fight a European war.
Ben Wallace, the defence secretary,
and Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief
of the defence staff, went to No 10 last
month to plead with Rishi Sunak for
extra investment in the forces. In the
1950s, defence spending was more
than 7 per cent of GDP, but it hovers
just above 2 per cent now. Healthcare
spending was 3 per cent and is now
12 per cent.
“We’re trying to live off a peacetime
budget even though we’re heading
towards ever greater conflict,” Tobias
Ellwood, chairman of the Commons
defence committee, said. “The
budget despite the Ministry of
Defence securing an extra
£16.5 billion investment in 2020.
Wallace said in November that he
needed £8 billion over the next two
years to protect his department from
real-terms cuts and foreign exchange
fluctuations, although recent
improvements in the outlook offer
hope that the figure could be as low
as £2 billion-£2.3 billion. Under
existing plans, the defence budget is
to rise by £100 million this year, from
£47.9 billion in 2022-23 to £48 billion.
Wallace has already secured a deal
with the Treasury to provide Ukraine
with £2.3 billion of military aid over
this year and to let the MoD borrow
from future investment to cover the
immediate shortfalls. But Sunak has
made clear that a Liz Truss-era pledge
to increase defence spending to 3 per
cent of GDP has been scrapped,
putting Boris Johnson’s plans to
expand the UK’s military presence in
the Indo-Pacific into doubt.
Given the MoD’s reputation in
Whitehall as something of an
unreliable partner, Wallace faces a
struggle to convince the Treasury of
the need for extra money. A report by
the National Audit Office last year
found that big MoD projects such as
the construction of Type 32 frigates
and multi-role support ships had been
left unfunded and there was only
enough money to buy 61 of a planned
75 MLRS rocket launchers despite the
weapons playing a pivotal role in the
defence of Ukraine.
The Times can also disclose
concerns about the Trident nuclear
programme after an initial estimate
suggested it would cost £31 billion to
build four Dreadnought-class
submarines. The project has a
£10 billion contingency fund, but a
government source said: “There are
significant issues with the nuclear
deterrent and rising costs. Ben is not
going to get 3 per cent or anything
like it.”
A spokesman said for the MoD
said: “The Dreadnought programme
continues to remain within the
overall budget as announced in the
2015 Strategic Defence and Security
Review and on track for first of class,
HMS Dreadnought, to enter service
in the early 2030s.”
Kit from the 1960s
Last week’s broadside was not the first
time that Sanders appeared to have
adopted a strategy of trying to bypass
Wallace and shame the Treasury into
handing over more money. In a
podcast interview last year he said
that troops were relying on “1980s
legacy equipment”.
It can be argued that Sanders was
optimistic in thinking much of the kit
used by the army is only 40 years old.
Its main reconnaissance vehicle, the
Scimitar, entered service in 1971. The
most numerous armoured fighting
vehicle is the FV432 personnel
carrier, which entered service in 1963.
“There’s been a combination of a
long period of investment drought
and a lot of inefficiency,” Professor
Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of
the Royal United Services Institute,
said. “The army is clearly very far
short of being able to deliver on its
commitment to Nato to provide an
armoured division. It’s not only about
main battle tanks, it’s about artillery,
air defence and all sorts of other
things lacking.”
‘Dire situation’
In a fiery session of the defence select
committee this month, MPs
suggested that the blame for the
army’s lack of modern equipment lay
with the army itself.
Francis Tusa, a military analyst, has
calculated that £14 billion has been
handed to the army over the past
decade without a single new
armoured capability being provided,
leaving troops with essentially the
same kit as when they invaded Iraq
in 2003.
“You can demonstrably prove that
we put more money in and get less
out than peer countries such as
France,” he said. “In the course of the
last five years, the French have
brought about 600 new armoured
fighting vehicles into service, a whole
new class of artillery, new command
and control equipment. We’ve done
none of this.”
Troops will not receive a full
complement of Boxer armoured
fighting vehicles until the 2030s and
ministers have decided to cut back
and retrofit Challenger 2s rather than
buying the Leopard 2 tank used by
most European armies. Two years
after setting out plans to cannibalise
the existing fleet of 227 Challenger 2s
— minus the 14 given to Ukraine —
and turn them into 148 Challenger 3s,
Wallace said last week that the
government was reviewing the
decision to cut the army’s tanks.
“We’re now procuring equipment
that will be obsolete before it is even
allocated to our regiments,” Ellwood
said. “Our land warfare capability has
been completely eroded over the last
three decades. We would struggle to
mobilise a division. It is a dire
situation.”
The MoD has scrapped plans to
upgrade the Warrior armoured
vehicle after spending £430 million;
the Protector drone programme is
five years late and £300 million over
budget; but perhaps the greatest
symbol of wasteful defence
procurement is the Ajax armoured
vehicle programme, which after 12
years and £4 billion still has not
delivered anything.
Soldiers who have tested the
vehicles have suffered hearing loss
and been shaken about by thunderous
vibrations. Despite the setbacks, there
is hope in government that a working
vehicle may be delivered to troops in
the near future and there are no plans
to abandon the project. “It’s a great
piece of kit,” one defence source said.
“The mitigations for noise and
vibration have done the trick.”
Why is procurement
so difficult?
Defence procurement involves long-
term projects stretching over many
years and problems can arise. But
even ministers will admit that the
MoD has overcomplicated projects by
insisting on customisations and extra
requirements — over 1,000 in the
case of Ajax.
Alex Chalk, defence procurement
minister, told the select committee
this month that the government had
“turned something of a corner”. The
department would no longer procure
“overcomplex systems which cost an
absolute fortune” and would prioritise
“getting these things off the line”.
There remains scepticism among
13
News
News
Tory MPs that Defence, Equipment &
Support, the arm’s-length body that
deals with MoD procurement, has
learnt from the past despite the
remuneration of the civil servants
who run it. Sir Simon Bollom, the
former chief executive, was given a
bonus of £95,000-£100,000 on top of
his salary of £275,000-£280,000 and
his successor, Andy Start, is likely to
be on a similar salary.
Mark Francois, a former armed
forces minister, said contracts were
often written in the supplier’s favour
because of a gulf in experience
between civil servants and private
sector lawyers. When problems arise,
the MoD struggles to extricate itself.
Rotten homes
The most pressing scandal does not
even concern equipment, but rather
the shabby service accommodation in
which many families are housed.
Fed up with the service offered by
Pinnacle Group — the agency that
was awarded a £144 million contract
last year to manage MoD properties
— military personnel took to social
media over Christmas to share their
horror stories. Videos showed babies
sleeping next to mould, water
cascading through light fittings and
families waiting days for an engineer
to fix their boilers in temperatures of
minus 5C.
The problems have lessened in
recent weeks but ministers are
threatening to hand the job to a
government-backed association if
they persist.
Poor service accommodation risks
undermining efforts to recruit. Last
year, there was a 30 per cent fall in
people joining the services.
“Morale across the armed forces is
at an all-time low, certainly in my
lifetime,” Robert Clark, a defence
analyst at the think tank Civitas, said.
In addition to “rotten” homes, the
decision to force hundreds of soldiers
to cancel holiday plans to cover for
striking workers was a further blow,
he said, and a recent recruitment
advert showing troops helping during
floods could put off potential recruits.
“That is not a picture of what
young men and women wishing to
sign up aspire to,” he said.
Graham Dalton, former chief of the
Defence Infrastructure Organisation,
which manages MoD properties,
earned between £200,000 and
£204,999 last year, while soldiers are
receiving a below-inflation pay rise of
3.75 per cent.
“Forces will fight when called on to
do so and fight hard, because they are
professionals,” Clark said. “Ultimately,
however, the men and women of the
armed forces vote with their feet. The
nation’s defences can ill afford to
continually let these men and women
down.”
An MoD spokesman said: “The
UK’s armed forces meet a vast range
of domestic and global commitments,
backed by a fully funded £242 billion
ten-year equipment plan. This plan
allows the UK to lead in Nato and
provide vital support to Ukraine,
while at the same time campaigning
and operating in support of British
interests across every sea and on
every continent.
“We also have an ambitious
programme of improvement under
way which is focused on reducing
delivery timescales and improving
outcomes, while the updated
integrated review will set out further
how the UK will play a global role
and equip our personnel with the
capabilities needed. The British Army
continues to hold a division at
readiness which could be rapidly
mobilised and deployed. Armed
forces recruiting numbers have
returned to pre-pandemic levels and
are sufficient for defence to meet its
operational requirements.”
14 2GM Monday January 23 2023 | the times

News
Food makers are milking cost of living emergency, Tesco boss fears
Kaya Burgess
Some food producers may be taking
advantage of the cost of living crisis by
excessively raising their prices beyond
what is “legitimate”, the chairman of
Tesco has said.
John Allan said that when a food
producer demands a higher price for its
products, Tesco employs a team to
assess whether the rise is justified and
proportionate. “We do try very hard to
challenge [price rises], I think,” he told
the BBC.
“We have a team who can look at the
composition of food, costs of commodi-
ties, and work out whether these cost
increases are legitimate.”
Allan said that the team had to do this
on a daily basis and that the super-
market chain had “fallen out [with] a
number of suppliers” after “robust”
conversations in which it had chal-
lenged increased prices. Asked if some
producers were taking advantage of the
economic conditions, Allan said it was
“entirely possible” but that most were
acting fairly and only increasing their
prices because they had to.
“There have been some dramatic
increases in commodity costs, energy
costs and labour costs,” he said. “On the
other hand, if you don’t want to pay
£1.70p for . . . soup in Tesco or any
other supermarket, there are own-label
alternatives.”
A number of Heinz products, such as
baked beans and ketchup, were
removed from Tesco’s shelves in a dis-
pute over pricing last summer. The
supermarket said at the time: “We will
not pass on unjustifiable price increases
to our customers. We’re sorry that this
means some products aren’t available
right now. We hope to have this issue
resolved soon.”
Heinz said that their price rises were
down to “today’s challenging economic
environment — with commodity and
production costs rising”.
The Office for National Statistics
said that food prices rose by 16.8 per
cent in the year to December. The
biggest increases were for milk, cheese
and eggs.

Cutting a glass
of wine per day
‘would halve
obesity crisis’
Kat Lay Health Editor
Cutting two rashers of bacon and a
packet of crisps a day from the diet of
overweight people would be enough to
halve obesity levels in England, accord-
ing to new analysis.
About 28 per cent of adults are obese,
a figure which has doubled since 1992,
but Nesta, which describes itself as an
innovation agency for social good, said
the trend could be reversed by cutting
216 calories a day. The move would save
the NHS £3.25 billion a year.
The calorie count is the equivalent of
a 500ml bottle of cola, or four rashers of
bacon. A large latte, pint of lager or
large glass of wine have similar calorie
counts, while a packet of crisps comes
in at around half that total.
Last week The Times Health Com-
mission, a year-long inquiry into health
and social care, was launched. It will
hold sessions on obesity later this year.
“Even for people who are overweight
or living with obesity, only modest but
sustained reductions in daily calories
are needed,” said Nesta’s chief execu-
tive, Ravi Gurumurthy. He said,
though, that it would be wrong to place
all the responsibility on individuals.
“Dry January and Veganuary, lauda-
ble though they are, symbolise every-
thing that we get wrong when tackling
gories of food that are widely consumed
and are possible to alter, including bis-
cuits, cakes, chilled ready meals, crisps to the palate and it is not
and salad dressings. tinged with some of the
Gurumurthy said: “Even making more difficult aspects of
small imperceptible changes to these his representation of
foods could remove 38 calories per day Dora Maar [ in The
from our diets, a fifth of our way to the Weeping Woman series]
target.” He called for a similar approach or Marie-Thérèse, his
to the 2016 sugar tax on soft drinks that rather inscrutable lover.
had led to most being altered to fall “At no time does he
under the tax threshold, “removing veer into cruel parody.”
around 18 calories a day from the aver- The Maya portrait is
age person’s daily diet”. one of a series, many of
Nesta’s report calls for the govern- which are in museums.
ment to set calorie reduction targets for “Overall they are much
specific food categories, alongside tax the kinder of his
incentives for companies that did so. portraits,” Boyd-Bowman
It says that an institution should be said.
established to design, set and monitor While Picasso’s
targets for calorie reduction by manu- complicated love life —
facturers and shops, with powers to he was married twice,
levy fines where targets are not met. had four children by
Data should be collected from all three woman and
retailers, it urged, to inform a public maintained several
ranking of stores’ progress in making (David Sanderson writes). Maya, the subject of Fillette mistresses — has led to
food healthier and to give consumers
more information.
For sale, a Maya, who was painted
aged two and who died in
au bateau, was born to
Marie-Thérèse Walter,
contemporary re-
evaluations of the artist,
Government plans to tackle obesity
have been repeatedly watered down,
portrait of December aged 87, was
the child of Picasso’s
Picasso’s model and
mistress, when he was 45
his works remain alluring
to collectors.
apparently due to tensions between the
need to improve health and reduce de-
Picasso’s mistress, Marie-Thérèse
Walter. Impressionist and
Boyd-Bowman said
that portraits of Walter,
mand on the NHS with concerns about
being seen to “nanny” the public.
kinder side Fillette au bateau
(Maya), was last sold for
modern art sales at
Sotheby’s, said that at the
“the most powerfully
influential muse”, were

A
obesity. When we rely on individuals to Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Fo- “kind” Picasso £3.7 million by Versace’s time Picasso was “very particularly sought after,
summon the willpower to resist temp- rum, said: “Reformulation, backed by portrait of his estate after his murder in worried about the but that there had not
tation, most people fail within weeks. legislation, is crucial if we are ever to see eldest 1997. It was painted in political situation in been a “really good
Short-lived changes will not reduce the the back of obesity.” daughter, 1938 shortly after Picasso Spain and Europe, but it portrait of Maya on the
worrying expansion of our waistlines,” The Department of Health said that which was had completed Guernica, coincides with his open market for at least a
he writes in The Times Red Box. it “continues to work closely with in- once owned by Gianni his masterpiece depicting wonderful life-affirming decade”.
“We need food producers and sellers dustry to make it easier for people to Versace, is expected to the horrors of war. event in the birth of his Maya devoted much of
to change their recipes, cooking make healthier choices”. fetch £18 million at Thomas Boyd- [eldest] daughter. her life to preserving her
methods, portion sizes and promo- Sotheby’s in March Bowman, head of “There is a joyfulness father’s legacy.
tions.” The research identified ten cate-

Vegan menu leaves council with leftovers (and egg on its face)
Laurence Sleator
Last year, when Cambridge city council
voted to phase out serving meat and
dairy at events and provide vegan
alternatives, it was praised for leading
the way on climate action.
But the plan has hit a big problem at
the first hurdle: people do not want the
food.
At the first civic event since the vote,
a council report has revealed the vegan
menu went down so badly that almost
all of the food remained uneaten and
had to be thrown away causing “signifi-
cant food waste”.
It noted that only one in ten attend-
ees tried the vegan options and some
guests were left hungry because there
was “an insufficient amount of food
available that people wanted to eat”.
Some said they felt “under pressure
to eat what they wouldn’t normally
choose” because of posters near the
vegan food showing the amount of
greenhouse gases in the production of
beef and lamb.
Cambridge city council used a
Remembrance Sunday event to launch
the new menu. It paid more than £579
to provide 80 guests with sandwiches
and cakes. Half of these were vegan, the
other contained meat or dairy.
But the report, given to the council’s
environment and scrutiny committee,
said that despite the food looking “very
fresh, good quality and visually appeal-
ing” almost all the vegan options were
untouched. “There was extremely low
uptake of plant-based food options:
under 10 per cent of people tried these
options whilst the vegetarian options
and meat/dairy options were all eaten,”
it said. “The low uptake of the plant-
based options resulted in an insuffi-
cient amount of food available at the
event that people wanted to eat.
“Unfortunately the leftover plant-
based food had to be disposed of.”
The report recommended cutting
the amount of vegan food served to
only 25 per cent. However, the council
announced that it wanted to offer
100 per cent vegan food by 2026.
At a meeting last week Hannah
Copley, of the Green Party, said the
council had set the vegan menu “up to
fail” by “othering” it. She suggested
mixing it in with the meat and dairy
range to encourage people to try it but
this was rejected over fears of allergies
and cross contamination.
Richard Swift, of Labour, said: “We
cannot force people to eat food they do
not want to eat, the task [for] us is to
make it so good people want to eat it
without being told.”
A spokesman for the council said it
was “committed to tackling the climate
emergency”.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
We’re getting our
marbles back this
year, says Greece
Anthee Carassava Athens
David Sanderson
Greece is claiming to be on the verge of
striking a “win-win” deal with the Brit-
ish Museum over the Elgin Marbles,
which it expects to start returning
before the end of the year.
A senior Greek official said the “red
lines” regarding ownership of the 2,500-
year-old antiquities were immoveable,
and suggested a new “British Museum
annexe” at the Acropolis Museum as
one of several possible solutions.
They added the British Museum and
Greek government had ruled out any
“loan, or trade or swap because any
such deal would have to include refer-
ence to the contentious issue of owner-
ship, a red line for both sides”.
Before the next round of talks led by
the former chancellor George
Osborne, now chairman of the British
Museum, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the
Greek prime minister, the source ac-
knowledged there were still obstacles.
“But . . . we are optimistic that an
agreement will be reached by the end of
the year with the first portion of the
marbles transferred to Athens that
same period,” the official said.
British sources said, however, that
the “British Museum annexe” idea had
not been officially discussed.
The return of the marbles — which
The Elgin Marbles could
be housed in a “British
Museum annexe” at the
Acropolis Museum
Museums scrap ‘mummy’
label over colonial legacy
Will Humphries
Museums are removing the word
“mummy” from labels that describe
human remains in their Egyptian exhi-
bitions because it is deemed “dehuman-
ising” and has a colonial past.
Curators are instead opting to de-
scribe them as “mummified remains”
and use their known names or sex to
provide more information for visitors.
The British Museum says it wants to
emphasise to visitors that it is looking at
“people who once lived”, while National
Museums Scotland and the Great
North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle
say they have dropped the term “mum-
my” in part because it has a colonial
past and evokes images of monsters and
the supernatural.
Jo Anderson, assistant keeper of
archaeology at the Great North
Museum, said it was following the
example set by Dr Margaret Maitland,
principal curator of the ancient Medi-
terranean at National Museums Scot-
land. “[She] has demonstrated to me
how the word “mummy” has a colonial
past — it’s derived from the Arabic
word ‘mummiya’ which means ‘bitu-
men’,” Anderson wrote in a blog. “This
15
News
were taken from Ottoman-occupied
Greece by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s
and sold to the British government,
which gave them to the museum — re-
mains a sensitive issue in Greece, which
holds elections this spring. Climbing gear Alan and Jane Bee urge their Austin 7 up the Easthope 1 section near Much Wenlock, Shropshire, in the
Last week the Greek opposition cul- 80-mile Clee Hills Trial. Vintage cars and motorbikes tackled 12 offroad stages, made extra slippery by icy conditions
ture spokeswoman ruled out any agree-
ment that did not make clear the mar-
bles belonged to Greece. Sia Anagnos-
topoulou told The New York Times it
was a “matter of dignity for all Greeks
as it would be for the British people if
they were asked to temporarily ‘bor-
row’ stolen pieces of Stonehenge”.
Michelle Donelan, the culture secre-
tary, believes that they belong in Britain
and that sending the sculptures to
Greece would be a “dangerous road to
go down”. She said this month: “It would
open the gateway to the question of the
entire contents of our museums.”
Public opinion in Britain, however,
appears to be aligning with that in
Greece. A YouGov poll last year found
that nearly 60 per cent of Britons be-
lieved the sculptures belonged in
Athens.
The Greek government source said
yesterday that Mitsotakis and Osborne
had agreed to “rein in the rhetoric”.
“We are working on a broad and
lengthy cultural agreement that would
include an interchange and rotation of
historical artefacts between Greece
and the British Museum,” the official
said. “This is what we mean by a win-
win solution,” the official said, adding
later: “They are coming home.”
A British Museum spokeswoman
said: “We operate within the law and
we’re not going to dismantle the
museum’s collection as it tells the
story of our common humanity. We
are, however, looking at long-term
partnerships, which would enable
some of our greatest objects to be
shared with audiences.”
is a reference to the 18th and 19th centu-
ries when mummified remains were
collected in vast numbers and broken
up to provide ingredients for things like
medicine and paint.”
She added: “The word ‘mummy’ now
often evokes the image of a supernatu-
ral creature or monster.
“By using terms such as ‘mummified
person’, we can begin to change our out-
look and see these remains for what
they really are — not objects or curiosi-
ties, but real humans who were once
alive and had very specific beliefs about
how their bodies should be treated after
death.”
A spokeswoman for National Muse-
ums Scotland said: “The word ‘mum-
my’ is not incorrect, but it is dehuman-
ising, whereas using the term ‘mummi-
fied person’ encourages our visitors to
think of the individual.”
There are some critics of removing
the term “mummy” from museum
labels. Jeremy Black, author of Imperial
Legacies: The British Empire Around The
World, told the Mail on Sunday: “When
museums cut themselves off from pop-
ular culture they show contempt for
how we all understand words, mean-
ings and history.”
16 2GM Monday January 23 2023 | the times

News

Please do more Anita and Simon Howell’s

children, Sarah and James,
have grown up with their
parents’ illnesses. The

for Cambridge
books help youngsters get
to grips with big issues

Howell, 48, who was a

junior doctor, was born

graduate held by
with renal problems and
received a kidney from
his mother in 2005 and
had another transplant in
2018.

Putin, urges wife

Howell’s first book, H is
for Haemodialysis, was
self-published in 2016.
Three more followed: P is
for Peritoneal Dialysis, K
is for Kidney Transplant
George Grylls Defence Correspondent not to offer compromises to a bully,” she and B is for Breast
said. Cancer. The books follow
The wife of a Cambridge graduate After Germany refused to lift its veto the lives of Lucy and
arrested by the Kremlin on trumped- last week on giving Leopard 2 tanks to Jack, the middle names
up charges has said she fears he will die Ukraine, Evgenia said that western of their own children.
in a Moscow jail as she called on west- countries should provide Kyiv with They cover subjects such
ern countries to give Ukraine whatever what it required to defeat Putin. “If the as how to communicate
it needed to defeat President Putin. Russian state is allowed some way out with schools and have
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual British- of this war, the regime will survive quite explanations on diet and
Russian citizen, has been accused of probably for many years because Putin simple language relating
high treason and faces up to 24 years in will represent it as a victory, will re- to treatments.
prison. He was arrested in April after group and attack again and again and Howell said: “We
deciding to return to Russia following again. This is why Ukraine’s victory is wanted children to be
the invasion of Ukraine. Originally so crucial in bringing the downfall of able to read the books by
accused of spreading “fake news” about the regime closer,” she said. themselves if they’re old
the war, he is now facing charges simi- Asked if the West should send fighter enough. We got really
lar to those used by Stalin for show jets and tanks to Kyiv, she said: “Abso- great feedback from
trials at the height of the purges. lutely. Ukraine needs not just enough them. We also got a
The 41-year-old Trinity Hall gradu- weapons to maintain the status quo, it lovely message from a
ate is a prominent opposition activist in needs enough weapons to win. They lady saying she had
Russia and has survived two poisoning know exactly what they need.” bought it for her
attempts. Speaking exclusively to The Vladimir moved with his mother to grandmother. She was in
Times, his wife, Evgenia, 42, accused Surrey as a teenager and his wife recalls her eighties, and had
the British government of failing to how he enjoyed pints of Guinness dur- started dialysis, and
speak out about his detention. “He is a ing his student days. Evgenia, who lives didn’t understand the
British citizen and I believe the British in the United States, last spoke to him literature she was
government has not only the right but when he phoned her from a detention being given about
the responsibility to advocate for his facility in Moscow usually reserved for secondary breast what was happening
case and fight for his life,” she said. “Like
with the case of Alexei Navalny [the
murderers and rapists.
Evgenia is adamant that her husband
Dying mum cancer, wrote about
her disease, as well
to her. It made my
day that it was
Kremlin critic serving a nine-year
sentence] this is a matter of
was right to return to Russia. “The
entire Russian people
writes books as the problems
suffered by her
reaching all ages. We
were so surprised it
life and death.”
She said that Putin
cannot be equated to
the regime,” she said.
on cancer husband Simon, who
has had two kidney
hadn’t been done
before, there weren’t
was a “coward” who
had spent two years
“Vladimir will be
one of those — if he
for children transplants.
The books,
any books about
kidney disease and
hiding in his bunker survives — who woman with inspired by its treatments.”
and had gone “in-
sane”. “People like
my husband have
been fighting for
years trying to con-
vince the world not
to appease a dictator,
will be willing to
undertake
hugely difficult
the

task of rebuilding
the country. . . and
making sure it
never becomes a
A incurable
cancer has
written books
to help
children like hers
understand what is
happening to their sick
conversations with
their children Sarah,
15, and James, ten,
break down treatments,
such as kidney dialysis, so
that children can
understand them.
a publisher, said: “Now
that I am dying, I don’t
want these books to die
with me. Seeing the
Howell, who sells
the books on
Amazon, wants them
to be her legacy but
added: “I don’t want them
to be a burden for Simon
and the children. It will
totalitarian regime parents (James Beal Howell, 48, from books help people will be so much easier if this
Vladimir Kara-Murza, again.” writes). Burgess Hill, West bring Simon and the was taken out of their
with his wife, Evgenia, has Anita Howell, who has Sussex, who is looking for children comfort.” Simon hands.”
survived poisoning twice
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Mittens makes
mincemeat of
grandmasters
Tom Whipple Science Editor
Seven minutes in and, following a bold
pawn move, things are going badly for
Hikaru Nakamura. “This is a problem,”
he tells his 1.6 million YouTube follow-
ers, wrinkling his forehead. “I might be
getting squished here.”
It is unusual for Nakamura, the world
number five, to get squished on the
chess board, even when, in this case, he
was taking on a rising star of the chess
world. Mind you, it is even more un-
usual for that rising star to be a cute cat
called “Mittens”, who likes to sledge
opponents with statements such as: “All
chess players eventually crumble under
my mighty paws.”
Mittens is a grandmaster-level chess-
playing bot. And since her release on
the website Chess.com, she has become
something of a phenomenon, defeating
some of the best players in the world,
along with hundreds of thousands of
mere mortals.
These days chess players are used to
the idea that an app on their mobile
phone can defeat the finest grandmas-
ters in the world. They are less used to
the idea that it can do so with quite so
little respect.
This is the game of kings, not the
game of trolls.
But, in the past decade, as mobile
phones have allowed people to play
more easily, the game has democra-
tised, and become perhaps a little more
demotic with it. The Queen’s Gambit, a
film about a woman chess player, was
one of the biggest recent hits on Netflix.
The stars of the game play online,
these days, to vast audiences, without
the formal stuffiness that has charac-
Computer games simulate
real-life terrorist attacks
Mark Sellman
Technology Correspondent
Computer games that simulate 40
terror attacks, including the Christ-
church and Buffalo atrocities, have
been available to play online.
A gaming platform enabled users to
play as the original perpetrators,
according to Tech Against Terrorism
(Tat), a UN-backed group that counters
extremism online. The platform had
versions of the Oslo, Utoya, Bataclan
and Nairobi shopping centre attacks.
Terrorist groups, particularly the far
right, are increasingly using the gaming
world to recruit, vet and share propa-
ganda, according to Tat’s annual report.
Exposure to white supremacist ideol-
ogies in online gaming doubled last
year, according to a recent report by the
Anti-Defamation League, based in the
United States. It highlights that only
one prominent gaming platform, Rob-
lox, has an extremism policy.
Adam Hadley, executive director of
Tat, said: “Our impression is that there
are a number of gaming platforms that
are in denial about how a small minor-
ity of their users are using [them].”
This month seven members of Con-
gress wrote to leading games compa-
nies putting pressure on them to do
more to combat the problem. Three
17
News
terised televised chess in the past. In
December, Chess.com — one of the
most popular sites — gained its 100 mil-
lionth member. Traffic in January, it
says, is up 160 per cent compared to the Mittens has defeated some of the best players in the world in online games, as well as hundreds of thousands of amateurs
peak of lockdown. Many of those, in-
cluding The Times, will have come for
Mittens. And then been trounced by
Mittens.
The Times took on Mittens, and lost
to Mittens. Several times in fact.
After she explained, in one especially
humiliating end game “I am the Tiger
and you are in the jungle I call eternity”
your reporter decided to maintain what
was left of his dignity, and watch a
grandmaster try his luck.
After 161 moves Nakamura managed
to push Mittens into a draw. The game
was a triumph of human ingenuity
versus feline patience. Nakamura’s
success was, though, rapidly punctured
when he read out some of the com-
ments from viewers. “You can’t even
beat a cat,” wrote one.
Magnus Carlsen, the world number
one, is one of the few to avoid the Mit-
tens craze. He is, in fact, sick of being
asked about it. Appearing on his own
YouTube channel, he responded to
viewer questions.
“Yeah, I’m not going to play Mittens,”
he said. Then, losing his temper slightly,
added: “It’s just a soulless computer that
plays really well and because it’s a
picture of a kitten you’re buying it.”
It was a riposte that would have
worked well, had his online interlocu-
tors not then forced him to first concede
that he did not believe he had a soul
either, and then reiterate — somewhat
crossly — that, no, he was not “afraid of
a cat”. Meow.
terrorist attacks have been live-
streamed on the gaming network
Twitch: a shooting at a synagogue in
Halle in 2019, a stabbing at a school in
Sweden in 2021 and the killing of ten
people at a supermarket in Buffalo last
year. Payton Gendron, 18, the Buffalo
attacker, claimed in a diary: “I probably
wouldn’t be as nationalistic if it weren’t
for Blood and Iron on Roblox.”
Hadley said that the majority of far-
right atrocities by lone attackers had
been advertised in advance on the gam-
ing network. As gaming has become
networked, extremists have realised
that they have a wide and often willing
captive audience.
An EU-funded group, the Radicalisa-
tion Awareness Network, has classified
platforms that sit alongside games as
“hotbeds” for radicalisation. Gaming-
related platforms such as Discord, a
communication network popular with
gamers, Steam, a game-hosting plat-
form and DLive, a streaming site, have
been targeted.
Gamers Who Hate, a 2021 report by
Jacob Davey, of the Institute for Strate-
gic Dialogue, identified the far right in
91 channels on Twitch, 100 on DLive, 24
chat servers on Discord and 45 public
groups on Steam. Tat did not identify
the platform that hosted the 40 games,
but said that it had removed them.
18
News
NHS trials headset that
claims to zap depression
Katie Prescott
A headset that is said to relieve depres-
sion by sending electric pulses into the
brain will be trialled at an NHS clinic.
Each year the Centre for Neuromod-
ulation, near Northampton, treats
5,000 people with anxiety, post-trau-
matic stress disorder, obsessive com-
pulsive disorder and addiction.
It will test a “transcranial direct cur-
rent stimulation” device, developed by
Flow Neuroscience, a Swedish firm.
The headset sends electric pulses
into the frontal lobe of the brain “to
restore activity in brain cells which
result in a reduction of depressive
symptoms”, Flow said. Patients will be
able to use it at home.
Flow claims the headsets “target the
physical root cause of depression” and
that “83 per cent of Flow users see re-
Common pills ‘can dampen feel-good factor’
Antidepressants taken by millions of
people can make patients become less
sensitive to rewards, affecting a key
behavioural learning process that can
lead to emotional dullness, according to
scientists.
Researchers have found that select-
ive serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or
SSRIs, can affect reinforcement learn-
ing, which allows people to learn from
Headset
How it works
1 Headset delivers
gentle electric signal
to dorsolateral
prefrontal cortex
in brain
22 Restores activity in
brain cells which results
in a reduction of
depressive symptoms
sults in 21 days”. The product is used
alongside a behavioural therapy app
which works on psychological and
environmental factors that might be
contributing to a patient’s condition, for
example encouraging better sleep pat-
terns or healthier habits.
The headset is for sale for £299 on the
their actions and environment. These
drugs target serotonin, the body’s “feel-
good” chemical, which carries messa-
ges between nerve cells in the brain.
The findings were published in the
journal Neuropsychopharmacology.
Professor Barbara Sahakian, from the
department of psychiatry at the Uni-
versity of Cambridge, who is a senior
author on the study, said: “Emotional
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
company’s website or to rent for £79 a
month. However, Paul Salkovskis, an
Oxford professor of clinical psycholo-
gy, is sceptical of its effectiveness, and
said: “Lots of marketing with heavy-
duty claims of being a magic bullet. As
I am fond of saying, extraordinary
claims have to be backed up by extraor-
dinary evidence, and that’s not what I
can see in evidence terms.”
The National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence, which gives gui-
dance on clinical practice, says on its
website: “There is not much good
evidence about how well transcranial
direct current stimulation for depres-
sion works, particularly how many
treatments are needed and how long
the effects last.”
It said there were “no major safety
concerns” and that more research was
needed on its effectiveness.
blunting is a common side-effect of
SSRI antidepressants.” Other experts
have said that patients who are on SSRI
medication should not stop taking
them based on this research.
NHS figures published last July
showed that 8.3 million patients
received antidepressants in 2021-22 in
England, up from 7.9 million the year Starlight express The Milky Way over the Ribblehead Viaduct across Batty Moss,
before. North Yorkshire. The grade II listed structure carries the Settle to Carlisle rail line
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Police and RSPCA seize 22 dogs in dawn raids on hunt kennels
Will Humphries
Countryside Correspondent
Six people have been arrested and 22
dogs seized by four police forces in what
is believed to be the largest criminal
investigation linked to foxhunting.
Early morning raids were carried out
by the police and RSPCA officers last
week at hunt kennels and the homes of
people who use dogs to hunt.
Led by the RSPCA and supported by
BBC refuses to
hand over tape
in reporter’s
sex assault case
Will Humphries
A woman who claims she was sexually
assaulted while working undercover for
the BBC has accused it of refusing to
hand over evidence vital to her case.
Lisa Brinkworth, 55, was working for
MacIntyre Undercover in 1998 and says
she was attacked by Gérald Marie, 72,
head of the European arm of Elite
Model Management. She is one of 15
people who have launched legal action
against Marie in France.
She believes her case would be
helped if she was given access to mater-
ial gathered during the filming of the
exposé, but says that BBC lawyers
refuse to hand it over. Her lawyers fear
that without that evidence her case will
be thrown out by the French courts and
they are urging the BBC to co-operate.
She told The Sunday Telegraph: “I
filmed my testimony in the immediate
aftermath of the assault as my own per-
sonal record. On the recording I am vis-
ibly shocked and it is obvious I have just
undergone a traumatic experience. This
tape was never intended for broadcast
but still the BBC refuses to hand it over.”
Marie, who was married to the super-
model Linda Evangelista, has denied
the claims against him.
The statute of limitations in France is
20 years but Brinkworth’s case has re-
mained open because French lawyers
argued that a BBC settlement with Elite
over the documentary prevented her
from speaking out earlier.
A judge will begin assessing the evi-
dence in the coming weeks before mak-
ing a decision on whether to set aside
the statute of limitations rule.
Brinkworth had been posing as a
Brit Awards review gender-neutral stance after all-male shortlist
Kaya Burgess
The organisers of the Brit Awards are
set to review the switch to gender-neu-
tral prizes after next month’s ceremony
as part of its annual assessment.
Separate categories for male and
female artists were dropped for the first
time last year. Adele won the first artist
of the year Brit award, although she said
when she picked up the trophy: “I love
being a woman.”
This year’s top prize was again open
to male, female and non-binary musi-
police officers from Kent, Norfolk,
Sussex and the Thames Valley, six men
have been questioned by police and 22
dogs removed.
ITV News understands that those
questioned are suspected of involve-
ment in terrier work for fox hunts.
Traditionally, terrier men would be
employed to block up badger setts and
fox dens before the start of a hunt to
prevent foxes going to ground. Any
foxes that did go to ground would be lo-
model when she alleges Marie pinned
her down on a chair and attacked her.
The BBC broadcast an exposé on the
fashion industry, but Elite Models took
legal action against it. As part of the set-
tlement, agreed in 2001, the BBC
agreed not to rebroadcast the show and
also not to share any of the material
gathered during the research.
Brinkworth claims she was barred
from having access to the material she
had gathered while filming and that
prevented her from going to the police
with concrete evidence. But in 2019 she
found that the BBC had shared some of
the material with another journalist
who was working on an investigation
linked to the #MeToo movement.
The BBC has released some material,
but the evidence which she believes is
so vital to her case is beyond her reach.
“The settlement silenced me, a
sexual assault victim, for two decades
and enabled a predator,” she said. “It al-
so betrayed countless victims.”
Donal MacIntyre, the programme’s
presenter, said: “It is egregious and ex-
traordinarily unsettling that the BBC is
being uncooperative at this juncture.
This is now a matter that should be re-
ferred to the board of the governors and
taken out of the hands of the lawyers,
who come to this with too much history.
“I am quite sure that when cool and
dispassionate heads are applied to this
matter, with the recognition that the
licence-fee payer expects the best of the
BBC in these instances, that the board
of governors will take control and put
things right.”
The BBC said: “We are doing every-
thing we can to help her pursue her
complaint with the French authorities.”
cians, but the shortlist for the ceremony
on February 11 is made up only of men,
comprising Central Cee, Fred Again,
George Ezra, Harry Styles and
Stormzy.
A spokeswoman for the Brits, which
are awarded by the British Phono-
graphic Industry, said at the time of the
shortlist announcement that it was
“disappointing there are no [female]
nominations in the artist of the year
category”, but shifted the blame on to
the wider music industry, saying there
had been “fewer high-profile women
cated by terriers, dug out to be shot or to
continue the hunt.
The RSPCA said it was part of a
“large-scale operation across several
counties looking into alleged animal
welfare and wildlife offences” and the
dogs “who were mostly terriers and
some lurcher dogs have now been
placed in RSPCA care. Other support-
ing evidence was also seized by police”.
Kent police seized two dogs in the
Canterbury area and eight near Folke-
J
CIA should
give heroic
spy her star, enemy lines before the
Normandy landings (Jack
Blackburn writes).
says author She later became the
holder of the undesirable
artists” releasing music, with an “onus
on the industry to deal with this
important issue”.
Sam Smith, who uses gender-neutral
pronouns, will be eligible for nomina-
tion for the best artist award at next
year’s Brits after they release their next
album. Asked about the lack of non-
male artists in the best artist category,
Smith told The Sunday Times: “It is
a shame. Things are moving forward,
but it’s obvious it’s not there yet. From
seeing that [best artist] list, there is still
a long way to go.” The singer said artists
stone. Thames Valley police seized
three dogs near Faringdon in Oxford-
shire. Norfolk police seized nine dogs in
the Wisbech area.
Hunts across the country were alert-
ed to the raids on a WhatsApp group on
Wednesday morning, with messages
circulating that the RSPCA and the
police were “looking for damaged terri-
ers” and they should “alert everyone in
your area they could be visited”.
The Hunt Saboteurs Association
ane Burrell started honour of being the first
the Second World
War as a
person to die while
serving the CIA. However
housewife, going
on to serve behind
she has since faded into
obscurity.
Now an author is
calling for her to get
greater recognition.
A new book, Wise Gals,
has revealed her exploits
such as Florence Welch, Cat Burns
and Anne-Marie should have been
nominated.
Excluding mixed-sex groups, 15
female artists or acts were nominated
compared with 28 male acts. Twelve of
the 71 artists who released work eligible
for the artist of the year category were
female.
It is understood that the awards’
organisers would be reluctant to return
to separate male and female categories
as this would leave them unable to
nominate non-binary artists. The
19
News
said: “We’re pleased that these raids
have happened and it’s great that the
RSPCA and police are finally clamping
down . . . If hunts are indeed hunting
within the law, as they still claim, there
is no need for terriers and terrier men.”
The British Hound Sports Associa-
tion said it expected “the highest stan-
dards of animal welfare from all of our
members and accredited hunts at all
times and would condemn any persons
found to have ill treated animals”.
Jane Burrell, who perished
in a plane crash in 1948, was
the first person to die while
serving the CIA but has
never been honoured with a
star at the agency’s HQ
after she was trained by
British intelligence and
covertly served in France
before D-Day and helped
track down Nazi gold.
She died in a plane crash
while on duty in 1948.
Nathalia Holt, the
author, is now
campaigning for the spy
to be recognised by her
former employer.
“I’m very passionate
about getting this for
Jane because she so
deserves it,” Holt said.
“It’s easy to overlook
these first officers. It’s up
to us now to recognise
the sacrifice they made
and give them their due
recognition.”
Burrell, who spoke
several languages and
had travelled through
Europe before the war,
joined the OSS (the
wartime predecessor of
the CIA) and travelled to
Britain. She was then sent
behind enemy lines in
northern France to hire
and run double agents.
She excelled and played
a key role in the efforts to
misdirect the Nazis
before the D-Day
landings.
CIA agents who die in
service are traditionally
honoured with a star on a
wall at the agency’s
headquarters in Langley,
Virginia. But there is no
such star for Burrell.
“It’s upsetting because
she’s a woman who
certainly deserves
recognition,” Holt said.
“Unfortunately, that
happens to be the case
more frequently with
women in history, simply
because it can be more
difficult to research
them.”
Grammy Awards, the biggest music
awards ceremony in the United States,
which take place on February 5, has not
had separate male and female catego-
ries for a decade and instead awards
prizes such as album and song of the
year.
A music industry source told The
Mail on Sunday that this year’s Brit
Award nominations had led to “the
erasure of nearly all female presence
from the most important awards event
in the industry calendar and it is an
utter disgrace”.
20
News
Visions of horror
in twin tales about
tortured mothers
Film Kevin Maher
The Pod Generation
HHHII
Run Rabbit Run
HHHHI
Sundance Film Festival
“How can we make you more
blissful?” coos a virtual assistant in
The Pod Generation — a wry satire on
our increasing reliance on AI, right
down to the process of giving birth.
It’s pure sales spiel, of course: the idea
being, to pay someone to do the
Synod set to hold vote
Kaya Burgess
Religious Affairs Correspondent
Members of the Church of England
parliament are set to be given their first
chance to vote on whether they support
same-sex marriage.
After bishops ruled out marrying gay
couples last week, campaigners still
hope that same-sex marriage will be
legalised in the church.
They plan to table a vote next month
that would test support for the move in
the General Synod, the church’s legis-
lative assembly.
After six years of consultation and
deliberation, bishops said last week that
the church would not start conducting
same-sex weddings. It will instead only
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
heavy lifting for you so you can
remain career-focused, firmly in
control of your destiny. After all, who
wouldn’t want to avoid morning
sickness, right?
The reality, of course, in this
watchable, offbeat comedy from the
French director Sophie Barthes is
somewhat different. Rachel (Emilia
Clarke) is convinced by her employer
to skip nine months of pregnancy via
a new high-tech pod service. Rachel’s
a high-flying techie herself, living
with her partner Alvy (Chiwetel
Ejiofor).
Her AI shrink, Eliza, played by Alix
Dunmore, pushes the company line of
fulfillment over pain. Even her best
friend raves about the pod. So she
offer blessings to gay couples who have
had civil weddings outside the church.
The Archbishop of York, the Most
Rev Stephen Cottrell, told the BBC yes-
terday that he recognised “the dis-
appointment” felt by those who wanted
to see the church fully back gay mar-
riage. He acknowledged that there
were “people who want more” but said
there were also people who felt that the
church had gone too far.
Cottrell gave a clear indication that
gay sex will no longer be considered
sinful, telling Sunday on BBC Radio 4:
“What we’re saying is that physical and
sexual intimacy belongs in committed
stable, faithful relationships.
“And therefore when we see a com-
mitted, stable, faithful relationship
the times | Monday January 23 2023
turns to the corporation which runs
the scheme and pitches in. After all,
giving birth via a third party pod is
the “ultra solution” for working mums
everywhere. No stretch marks! No
varicose veins!
Clarke and Ejiofor make for a
likable pairing on screen: she as the
corporate bee, he as the quiet
botanist prone to contemplation.
There is a neat role reversal as the
pod birth draws near — she begins to
crave a natural birth, while he
cannot get enough of the plastic pod.
But the company wants its
merchandise back and isn’t quite as
soothing as before.
The Pod Generation is a
cautionary tale of choosing
science over nature, albeit
one that is played more
for laughs. It echoes
Spike Jonze’s Her, if
lacking that film’s
emotional resonance.
And while it oddly
lacks a big, third-act
reveal, it makes up for
it in tone and spirit.
Run Rabbit Run, a
darkly atmospheric
chiller from the
Australian director Daina
Reid, provides a perfect
on same-sex weddings
between two people of the same sex, we
are now in a position where those
people can be welcomed fully into the
life of the church on their terms.”
The bishops will table a motion at the
General Synod asking members to
accept the offering of blessings to gay
couples, to back an apology to gay
people over the “harm” they have faced
in the church, and to support a review
of the issue in five years’ time.
However, campaigners plan to table
an amendment that asks bishops to
“bring forward immediate legislation
to provide for equal marriage”.
Members of the synod would have to
vote on the amendment first, so giving
an indication of support in the parlia-
ment for same-sex marriage. It is un-
21
News
Big Issue almost folded during lockdown
Charlie Moloney use every means possible to support fact that many of our vendors are
our vendors. having problems and they need support
The Big Issue’s founder has said the “We were a social business that went and help. Getting people to subscribe
magazine is struggling to stay afloat through the crisis but we had to be and buy the paper is a great way of
during the cost of living crisis and business-like with it, and that’s why doing that.”
nearly went bust during the height of we’re telling everybody to take a sub- Prince William was spotted selling
the Covid lockdowns. scription at this time of the year the Big Issue in London in June, when
John Bird, who founded the maga- because half the money still goes to he sold 32 copies in less than an hour.
zine to support the homeless, said that supporting the vendors.” William, who described the experi-
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Emilia it had to undergo “enormous transfor- Bird said that sellers were supported ence as “eye opening”, sold copies with
Clarke in The Pod mation” in recent years to survive. with direct financial support by the Big Dave Martin, 60, a regular vendor,
Generation. Above, Sarah For the first time since it was founded Issue Group, along with supermarket outside a Sainsbury’s Local near Buck-
Snook in Run Rabbit Run. in 1995 , the Big Issue could not be sold vouchers. ingham Palace.
Below, the actor Michael J on the streets during the lockdowns. More card readers were provided so A spokesman asked for the public to
Fox at the Sundance festival Bird told The Observer: “We almost that sellers could go cashless and a sub- support Big Issue vendors. He said that
went out of business. We had to do sidy scheme was launched to increase individuals could buy a subscription
platform for the talents of its star things like get subscriptions from sellers’ earnings, he added. and allocate it to a vendor, who would
Sarah Snook, (Shiv Roy in Succession). people, and we had to raise money and Bird said: “We’re having to look at the receive 50 per cent of the net profits.
Shorn of the chic and glamour of Roy,
Snook goes feral in this horror
musing on mental health as a
struggling single mum who is losing
her grip on reality.
Playing out in the vein of Jennifer
Kent’s The Babadook (a hit at
Sundance back in 2014), with more
than a nod to Polanski, this smartly
executed genre piece similarly pitches
the mum, Sarah (Snook), a fertility
doctor in the outback, against her
young daughter Mia, played by Lily
LaTorre. Neither are coping with the
recent loss of Sarah’s father (Neil
Melville) — and Sarah is all but
estranged from her mother Joan
(Greta Scacchi), who is confined to a
care home with dementia. The
sudden, unexpected arrival of a
sinister white bunny on their doorstep
doesn’t help.
Mia is soon behaving erratically,
and Sarah is persuaded by her ex
(Damon Herriman) to take her to see
her grandma, who she is asking after.
But upon meeting Mia, Joan believes
her to be Alice — a name Mia duly
takes up. It is soon clear who Alice is,
but not what has happened to her.
Reid’s handsomely shot film takes
its time building to its inevitable
climax and some of the more familiar
genre tropes — notably, the old
family home, frozen in time, and
the black figures scrawled on
the back of Mia’s school work
— feel a little on the nose.
But Snook carries the piece
with gusto, pulling out the
stops as the line between
reality and fantasy blurs.
LaTorre is also good as
the increasingly
belligerent daughter
who takes to wearing a
pink cardboard mask
whenever mum is
around. And while
more could have been
made of the film’s
remote location —
particularly, the little shed
of horrors — Reid’s film
leaves you feeling suitably
unsettled and haunted.
derstood that about a third of bishops
want church teaching to remain un-
changed while a third want a full
change. The Bishop of Buckingham,
the Right Rev Alan Wilson, said that
several bishops wanted to “test the
mind of synod”.
Jayne Ozanne, a synod member and
LGBT rights campaigner, will put for-
ward the amendment. “For the first
time in its history, the Church of En-
gland will be asked to vote on whether
it should back equal marriage,” she said.
Her motion is backed by the Rev Neil
Patterson, chairman of the gender and
sexuality group in the synod. He said
last week that he thought any vote to
back same-sex marriage would be “split
down the middle”.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Tap, swipe and scroll,
but something is lost
Libby Purves
Page 25
Defra won’t dredge up truth about toxic seas
The government, set on its flagship freeport project, does not want to delve too deeply into the cause of marine deaths
Jenni
Russell
@jennirsl
D
on’t believe the spin.
Friday’s headlines claimed
there was no evidence that
toxic man-made chemicals
might be implicated in the
unprecedented mass marine deaths
along the northeast coast in 2021.
Instead the government’s
independent expert panel concluded
there was a plausible natural cause.
True, this was a completely different
natural cause from that which the
government originally settled on and
vigorously defended until last week,
but no matter. One natural cause
was as good as another. If industrial
poisons were not involved, the coast
was now clear for the mass digging
and dredging of Rishi Sunak’s pet
political project, the freeports in
Teesside and round the country, to
go ahead without restriction.
I wish I could believe it. The
evidence isn’t there. This is the
second government inquiry into the
mass die-offs, and on both occasions
there has been a troubling failure to
look deeply into theories that are
politically inconvenient.
The government was forced into a
second inquiry only because its first
conclusion was implausible. Last
spring Defra said the sudden near-
extinction of crabs and lobster along
30 miles of coast by the Tees,
Britain’s most polluted river, was
probably caused by natural algal
blooms, although blooms had never
caused these particular effects. Defra
did not explore why the crabs died,
V2
in convulsions, with a phenomenally
high level of pyridine, a common
toxic chemical, in their bodies.
Defra refused to enquire further
when local fishermen begged it to.
The fishermen were told to find their
own evidence, so they commissioned
university scientists whose research
suggested toxic chemicals dislodged
by intense dredging could be the
cause. In November the environment
select committee ordered Defra to
create an independent expert panel
to evaluate the conflicting theories in
“an open and collaborative way” to
ensure public confidence.
It is this panel that reported on
Friday. It is remarkable, the power of
labels. An “independent expert
panel” sounds soothingly august and
trustworthy. Their conclusions were
reported as definitive. Yet this panel
did not merit its name. Its members
were appointed by Defra’s chief
scientific officer and overseen by
him. It operated in private, met in
The panel operated in
secret, did no research
and met three times
private, did no research and
depended on Defra to supply the
outside scientists’ work. It met only
three times as a group, describing its
operation as “a desk exercise”. Its
membership was unbalanced — two
members have worked for British
ports and three had funding from
Defra, but there were no fishermen.
Nor was it collaborative. The panel
did not speak to, meet or ask any
questions of the outside scientists
challenging Defra. This indefensible
approach has affected its conclusions
and credibility. The panel dismissed
Defra’s original explanation. Their
rejection of the algal bloom theory is
based on well-known science,
carefully explained. Their rejection
of the toxic chemicals theory is
based, though, on “a fundamental
misunderstanding and
misrepresentation of our data”,
according to the marine biologist
who developed it.
Gary Caldwell of Newcastle
University is frustrated because a
single session in front of the panel, a
hearing he never had, would have
explained his findings. The report
dismisses pyridine poisoning because
the chemical wasn’t found in recent
water sampling, but it fails to grasp a
key element of his research: pyridine
is uniquely toxic to crustaceans even
in minute quantities, and clings to
grains of sediment even when it is
undetectable in water. Caldwell has
found pyridine in shallow sediment
samples in the Tees, indicating there
may be large quantities below. If
pyridine is, as he theorises, being
released in dredged sediment and
carried out to sea, then crustaceans
would have been roiled along in an
underground river of silt, poisoned
and unable to escape. It could
explain how and where the
crustaceans died.
Having rejected both these
explanations the panel offered a
third: a novel pathogen might have
caused the convulsions and mass
deaths. It is an aliens-ate-my-
homework explanation. It may prove
to be true. So far there is no evidence
whatsoever that it is. Defra’s
scientists tested for novel disease and
found none.
The irony is that nobody would be
happier than Caldwell and the
university scientists to have his
theory ruled out — “then we could
get back to our lives and careers” —
but not because it has been garbled,
or ignored. There is a credible and
definitive way to either support or
Comment
Rishi Sunak and Ben Houchen, the Tees
Valley mayor, at Teesside Freeport
disprove the pyridine thesis, but the
government has declined to take it,
which leaves one wondering why.
Caldwell has been asking for
months for permission to check for
buried pyridine and other noxious
legacies of the Tees’s industrial past,
by taking deep sediment samples at
the dredge and digging sites, and
sending them to independent
laboratories. If the samples contained
no pyridine the theory would
collapse. The process would be fast: a
week to sample, three for results.
He cannot get that permission.
Teesworks, the company digging out
old polluted sites in the biggest
brownfield development in Europe,
have refused to let him map what
they are excavating and releasing.
The port and river authorities don’t
reply. Defra say they don’t do
sampling. This sums up the
23
government’s appallingly blinkered
approach to what we are pouring
into our seas: let’s not examine too
closely what we’re doing; if we don’t
map and monitor, we don’t have to
acknowledge the connection
between it and the deaths and
deformities round our coasts.
The acute danger here is that the
panel’s report is already being taken
by exultant freeport supporters as a
licence to dig and dredge with
abandon, as before. It shouldn’t be.
On its way to exonerating specific
chemicals from direct responsibility
for the die-offs, the report lists in
petrifying detail all the irreversible
poisons being dumped by officially
sanctioned dredging even though in
many cases they greatly exceed
official “action levels”. Arsenic,
mercury and PCBs are accumulating
in the marine foodweb. Toxic
antifoulants banned for 15 years are
being dredged out and causing mass
deformities to dog whelks by
Hartlepool. Plasticisers, hydrocarbons
and solvents are in crab tissue in
every site in the UK. Dredging in
Portsmouth in 2016 caused what the
report calls a “decline” in crab and
lobster catches, and anyone else
would term a collapse — they fell by
more than 70 per cent in four years.
Our seas are in crisis because we
treat them as a sewer. They are dying
because we are killing them. This is
rank stupidity. We need more
caution and research, not less.
Sunak’s government must act. It has
every power. It is disgracefully,
deliberately failing to join the dots.
red box
For the best analysis
and commentary on
the political landscape
24
Comment
Don’t fall into the trap of ‘bad news Britain’
No wonder others take a dim view of our prospects when we’re so good at talking the UK down
Trevor
Phillips
@trevorptweets
I I
t is a rare and dangerous thing
for a politician in a 21st-century
democracy to be simultaneously
interesting and in office. Boris
Johnson and Liz Truss fascinated
in the way that any car crash,
whether slow-motion or high-speed
might. By contrast Rishi Sunak and
Sir Keir Starmer offer the political
equivalent of a high-fibre diet:
porridge, potatoes and pulses, never
likely to cause indigestion but hardly
popular at a party. At the first
opportunity, the US swapped the
chaos of Donald Trump for the
dreary pointlessness of Joe Biden. The
comet Jacinda Ardern burnt brightly
in the sky over Covid but flamed out
on re-entry to tough economic times.
Unusually, the likely next leader of
the Conservative Party, Kemi
Badenoch, has not yet had her spark
extinguished by office. The trade
secretary has avoided the impression
of floundering incompetence
common to some of her cabinet
colleagues. Last week she drew first
blood in the battle with the only
other leader who currently
commands both office and attention,
Nicola Sturgeon. As minister for
equalities Badenoch has infuriated
the SNP by erecting a roadblock to
their redefinition of sex as a matter
of emotional choice rather than
biological reality.
James Marriott Notebook
Evicted — is
my best bet
to become
a monk?
I’
m being evicted! I can’t believe
it! Oh how thoroughly I regret
all the times I’ve whinged
about my flat in this
newspaper. Stupid, thoughtless,
ungrateful James! The choking black
mould, the invasion of satanic
weevils from behind the fridge, the
crumbling bath tiles, the ear-splitting
early-morning coloratura of my
flatmate Ben. Really, it’s lovely here.
So light, so airy, so very reasonably
priced. Maybe even the satanic
weevils were nice.
So now I’m whoring myself out on
the rental market. Combing my hair,
smarming up to estate agents, acting
the responsible future tenant and
smiling humbly at the chance of
living in a possum infested, dung-
smelling wheelie bin in zone 17 (“the
possums are a real feature”).
Oh, up and down the dingy
staircases of Victorian flats I go,
along the icy, wind-blasted concrete
galleries of Brutalist council blocks,
This week she followed up with a
full-frontal attack on the CBI, the
business lobby group, for “talking
down Britain” at the World
Economic Forum in Davos. She
didn’t use the term “moaning
minnies” but ministers are all too
familiar with the British trait of
national pessimism. Older readers
may recall the miserable
washerwoman Mona Lott, in the
wartime radio satire It’s That Man
Again who weekly reminded
listeners that: “It’s being so cheerful
as keeps me going.”
The business leaders may have
thought they were simply describing
a nation battered by the pandemic,
traumatised by our brief dalliance
We don’t lock people
up if they’re the wrong
sex, tribe or religion
with Trussism, and facing years of
slow growth. But the trade secretary
has a right to demand balance.
The fact is that our inflation rates
are on a par with the EU average,
unemployment is lower than most
nations and foreign investment still
tracks ahead of the rest. To ministers’
exasperation, I am told that other
countries’ representatives did not
miss an opportunity to repeat the
CBI tune. And the Labour leader,
also on the slopes last week, will
understandably have emphasised the
downsides.
Badenoch and Sunak will have had
their own reasons for feeling
indignant on Britain’s behalf. Both
are the children of immigrants. They
up, up, up again through grey
January clouds to the 195th floor of a
desolate Ballardian high rise on the
outskirts of Hackney. “You don’t
mind living on the roof do you?” the
estate agent smiles apologetically.
“When it rains you can shelter under
that broken satellite dish.”
Well I’m exaggerating (could you
tell?), I’ll be all right, really. But for
now, oh, the uncertainty! And what
will become of Ben? He says he might
move into an abandoned warehouse
in an out-of-town retail park or
perhaps a Buddhist community.
He’s not sure of the extent of his
theological commitment to
Buddhism but it might be cheap.
Maybe we should all become
monks (surely monasteries
don’t cost much to live
in). I’ll take any vow of
religious obedience
for an inexpensive
room. Renting in
London is basically
a vow of poverty
anyway. And I
promise I’ll never
whinge about
my monastic cell.
Doom diary
ue to my neurotic
D and pessimistic
nature (see item
above) I have long been
superstitious about buying
might easily have chosen to make
careers in Nigeria or India, or in the
US, where they both studied and
where Africans and Asians of their
stamp are prospering mightily. But
they chose Britain and will resent the
implication that they made the
wrong choice. We may be in a hole,
but we don’t have it to ourselves.
Irritation at the widespread
adoption of a “bad news Britain”
narrative extends beyond the
economic sphere. We don’t lock
people up for being the wrong sex,
tribe, religion or party, and broadly
speaking we still — just about — get
to say what we like in public. Yet
hardly a month passes without one
UN agency or another lamenting
Britain’s human rights record. The
Sussex division of Netflix is building
a rich and rewarding business with
its tales of our country as a racist
hellhole. At a recent transatlantic
conference of writers, academics and
politicians the Brits, many from
ethnic minorities, politely reminded
our cousins that the surest way of
extending an African-American
child’s life expectancy would be a
move to the UK, where police rarely
shoot black children in the street.
Worse, enemies who should hang
their heads in shame at their own
records delight in “talking down”
Britain on the world stage, using our
own language. According to Russia’s
foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, a
“neocolonial rules-based order [is]
being imposed by the US-led West.
This order provides for a racist
division of the world.” This would be
more convincing coming from a
government which even pretended
to care about the barracking of black
a diary. A diary has always seemed to
represent a preposterous confidence
in the future. An act of positively
Sophoclean hubris. How arrogant to
believe you won’t just . . . die. Or —
this is what really unnerves me —
what if something terrible happens. I
lose my job or get arrested or get
evicted (oh hang on). When you hold
your diary, you grasp the empty book
that will contain all the unknown
tragedies of your future life. Eerie.
Well, I’ve bought a diary. My social
life was beginning to unravel. I’d
started refusing dinner
invitations because I simply
didn’t know what was
happening to me in the future
and was afraid to guess. My
new diary is an enormous,
severe black pleather thing.
A slender Victorian bible.
A bible with only the
most ominous prophecies
left in. Writing down
meetings and dinners
feels like inscribing my
fate in the book of doom.
It is not reassuring. I
should have gone for a
more cheerful cover.
Joking apart
his has been
T bothering me.
Have jokes died
out? Classic jokes that “do
the rounds”. About three
players at football matches, or
avoided complaining about the
Jewish heritage of Ukraine’s leader.
China’s Global Times smugly
quoted a top Chinese official in the
wake of the Black Lives
demonstrations: “Everything
Washington [and its allies] talks
about is centered on the US, and on
white supremacy.” A rich irony from
a regime which imprisons millions of
Uighurs to ensure the hegemony of
ethnic Han Chinese.
There is, of course, value for both
government ministers and their
opposition shadows in emphasising
the negative — nobody needs a
saviour without a crisis to solve. But
not everything is wrong about
Britain, and not all problems are
equal. For the past three years the
pandemic and the war in Ukraine
have eclipsed all other issues. In
2023, perhaps politics and media
need to get things in perspective
again. Forgetting your seatbelt isn’t
desirable, but it really doesn’t rank
with forgetting to pay your taxes.
The conundrum of how to afford
dignity to those who feel born into
the wrong body without eliminating
an entire sex from society should
engage our better minds; but even
more so should the tsunami of job
losses about to fall disproportionately
on women and minorities as the
digital revolution gathers speed. And,
yes, nurses should be rewarded well
enough to keep them on the wards;
but might the 75th anniversary of the
NHS be the moment we admit the
great experiment is bearing a burden
of sickness it was never designed to
meet and the demands of vested
interests it can never assuage?
men walking into a bar, or an
Irishman, a Welshman and a
Scotsman in a hot air balloon, or
those great old Jewish jokes like the
one about the distraught mother at
the beach shouting, “Help, help, my
son the doctor is drowning!”
Nobody ever tells me jokes. I
theorise they have been replaced by
memes, videos of animals and viral
WhatsApp messages. Is this the
death of an oral culture? Should we
be collecting examples of this dying
art? Should somebody be doing a
PhD on this? Or is it just that
nobody is telling me jokes?
Letters in flame
ve been reading the letters of the
I’ teenage Sylvia Plath, who amazes
and annoys me in equal measure.
Sample quote: “Words revolve in
flame and keep the coliseum heart
afire, reflecting orange sunken suns
in the secret petals of ruined arches
. . . metallic suns in the dark pit that
wait to be melted in the fire of
spring. . .” And so on, more or less
unintelligibly, for many sentences.
Imagine, in the 1950s, opening letters
from your school friends: “Dear
James, I had a neat soda today. I
think Bettie is really swell.” Then
thinking, “Oh here’s one from Sylvia.
Wonder what she’s up to. . .”
@j_amesmarriott
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
Wild camping
should be open to
all on Dartmoor
Jonathan Tulloch
s this a morality tale for our
times? Right in the middle of our
dark winter of discontent, a
hedge fund ultra-millionaire wins
a case to stop wild camping on
Dartmoor, the only place in England
where it was permitted.
But Alexander Darwall, who owns
4,000 acres of Dartmoor (and 16,000
acres of Sutherland) may find he’s
merely won the opening skirmish of
a long, unwinnable war. Opposition
is passionate and growing. There is
talk of mass action along the lines of
the 1932 Kinder Scout trespass.
Indeed, a partial concession has
already been drawn. Some Dartmoor
landowners have agreed to allow
camping for one year, on the
condition they can revoke
permission at any time. Dartmoor
National Park Authority has agreed
to pay them for this restricted access.
This won’t stop the protests.
Why does it matter so much? My
18-year-old self can answer that. For
many teenagers in the half-feral days
of the 1980s, wild camping was a rite
of passage, and in Carlisle we could
really do it in style. A 20-mile hitch
The idea of owning
land absolutely, like a
shirt, is an absurdity
over the border to Langholm and a
further hike took us deep into the
hidden valley of Tarras Water. Here,
we could pitch our tent anywhere as
far the eye could see. Wild camping
has always been allowed in Scotland.
Those days and nights never leave
me. The rush of the peat-black burn
under silent stars, the sandpiper’s
lonely cry, the solemn gathering of
wild goats on the hillside — surely
one of Britain’s least-known yet most
fascinating natural phenomena. And
above all, a sense of freedom as vast
as the night sky.
If experiencing this freedom is
essential for the maturing of
individuals, isn’t it also necessary at a
societal level? A healthy, cohesive
culture requires people to be free and
feel free. Besides, haven’t we always
known that the idea of owning land
absolutely, in the way you possess a
book or a shirt, is an absurdity. Until
the 18th century, up to a third of the
landmass of England came with a
whole raft of meaningful rights for
non-landowners. Perhaps Alexander
Darwall has reminded us of this.
The future? In one of Britain’s
largest community buyouts the
10,000 acres of our beloved Tarras
has recently been bought by local
people. The Langholm Initiative paid
the land management company
Buccleuch a total of £6 million to
turn the land into a nature reserve.
How about that for a solution, Mr
Darwall?
the times | Monday January 23 2023
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Tap, swipe and scroll, but something is lost
The immediacy of 21st-century life has done us some favours but has also flattened the nuances of human interaction
Libby
Purves
@lib_thinks
E
ver feel you are being de-
skilled by your satnav,
robotically obeying a
disembodied voice and
worrying when a new road
system makes the screen claim
you’re in a meadow? Do you suspect
your memory is atrophied by
Google, your concentration reduced
by scrolling through idiocies and
your once-jovial work meetings
impoverished by Zoom? Do you ever
watch a 40-year-old TV series —
perhaps Alec Guinness in Tinker
Tailor Soldier Spy — and rediscover
an ability to enjoy long, thoughtful
scenes about subtle characters with
no car chases, corpses or text
messages flashing on screen?
All these uneasy sensations are
familiar to people even in early
midlife, though maybe less to digital
natives, for whom the dazzling
immediacy of the 21st century feels
natural until some technical crash
proves dismayingly that it isn’t. I am
fascinated by neural research in
Canada about the benefits of the
map-and-compass sport of finding
your way across new terrain.
Orienteers of all ages showed, in
tests, sharper spatial ability and
memory than others. McMaster
University concludes that full
cognitive health requires different
parts of the brain to keep firing up
and interconnecting: our primitive
neural architecture is designed for
tasks involving simultaneous
physical movement and thought,
eyes, ears and body interacting to
catch prey and get back to the right
cave. Tap, swipe and delegate too
much and something gets flattened
and may give up bothering. Similar
research finds that outdoor exercise
has better effects on both fitness and
mood than sterner workouts in a
gym. Consultants teaching young
Orienteers of all ages
showed sharper spatial
ability and memory
surgeons educated by screens find
themselves suggesting they take up
manual crafts to sharpen their skills.
A sense of discontent with tech-fed
disconnection ranges from dating
apps to bad online shopping. It need
not even take the shock of walking
into a post or tripping while staring
at a phone (“text-and-scroll”
pedestrian injuries have risen so
sharply that some boroughs actually
pad the lamp-posts). But at least the
victims are walking, getting
messages from feet and knees: now
that we don’t have to cross the room
to pull down a reference book,
immobility threatens. Digital
nimbleness and optic focus suffer
too. A while back, in hospital and
lockdowns, I felt an actual hunger to
use more bits of brain: having
dismally failed at drawing and
knitting I discovered that jigsaws
work if the fiddly fingerwork and
concentration on shapes are
accompanied by something serious
and complex on the radio. I could
actually feel the neurons firing up.
Outdoors, getting a bit lost helps
too, just as navigating at sea did
when you worked out a wonky
“cocked hat” position from two
lighthouses and a cliff, without GPS
to announce your Lat, Long and
Estimated Time of Arrival. There
was mental arithmetic, too, another
now-endangered challenge to the
weary brain. As for the subtler
interpersonal skills of reading faces
and catching nuance, danger or
confusion in other humans, we
suffered from losing that in
lockdown too. Even on radio, there
are interviews which would be richer
done in the same room.
How much of life, business,
shopping, entertainment and social
interaction should we conduct
digitally, and at what point should we
rebel? We need to ask, because the
internet as we know it is only 27,
social media and videoconferencing
even younger, and smartphone
banking and TV streaming haven’t
reached their teens. Yet the emphasis
is on rushing into metaverses,
cryptocurrencies, AI and, not least,
administrative virtuality. For the
world of FAANG (Facebook, Apple,
Amazon, Netflix, Google) was
embraced most enthusiastically by
commerce, industry and
Educators retire behind
cameras, and doctors
miss subtle symptoms
administration as it offers speed and
efficiency with little immediate cost.
Fair enough: no sense in horse-and-
cart nostalgia for the days of waiting
in for a Post Office Telephones
installer, trudging round eight shops
to find things out of stock, enduring
often torpid TV schedules and fixing
inefficient meetings under the
station clock a week ahead. FAANG
have done us a lot of favours.
But many of those favour super-
served business and advertising
rather than individuals, so that now
banks, services and public authorities
insouciantly close physical counters
and offices, and meet complaints
with AI chatbots. Educators retire
25
Comment
behind cameras; doctors miss subtle
symptoms. As individuals, the
nagging discontent about all this
breeds a healthy instinct to step back
(why else the preoccupation with
wild swimming, health fads and
pictures of animals being
uproariously natural?). But
institutions and businesses are less
inclined to return to the in-person,
organically human world.
Writers of fiction spotted that risk
early: EM Forster’s The Machine
Stops had humans living separately
in pods, all bodily and spiritual needs
met by The Machine, relationships
conducted by instant messaging.
Less well known is Henry Kuttner’s
Year Day, which included
unblockable advertising, and sensory
rewards replacing the warm
confusing uncertainties of human
connection.
But deep down we know what a
splendid piece of work is Man:
decaying, fallible, eccentric,
operating on levels of sensual and
instinctive capability brilliantly
beyond any machine’s
understanding. And here’s a
prediction: our instinctive push-back
against compulsory virtuality and
online existence will mean the
cleverest businesses, administrators
and arts will do the same. Though
they will, of course, advertise their
new person-to-person guaranteed
experiences online.
26
Letters to the Editor
Level up libraries
Sir, Sathnam Sanghera’s report on the
state of the nation’s libraries
(Magazine, Jan 21) is heartbreaking.
The value libraries bring is too
wide-ranging to be easily measurable
but his personal story shows that
there can be no more effective means
of levelling up than offering a warm,
safe environment dedicated to
reading for pleasure and scholarship,
particularly when there is no
statutory requirement for schools to
have a library — one in four
primaries in the most deprived areas
do not have one, according to the
National Literacy Trust. Readers may
recall Roald Dahl’s Matilda, who
“travelled all over the world while
sitting in her little room” thanks to
weekly library visits that “transported
her into new worlds and introduced
her to amazing people”. The Primary
School Library Alliance is addressing
the lack of investment at school level,
but Sanghera’s report makes the case
for action and funding to restore
libraries to their rightful place at the
heart of our towns and cities, for the
benefit of the whole community.
Sarah McKenna
Barnet, Herts
Sir, Sathnam Sanghera’s piece is one
of the finest paeans to these
embattled but essential places ever
written. Britain needs its own
Carnegie to fund public libraries in
every town. It can’t be left to
politicians and local councils. Perhaps
the King, who is donating the
£1 billion coming to the Crown Estate
from new offshore wind farms to
charity, could fund this noble cause.
As our most literate monarch since
Queen Victoria, Charles could have
no finer start to his reign.
Amanda Craig
Novelist; London NW1
Recycling own goal?
Sir, My weekly shopping is delivered
by my nearest supermarket, which is
five miles from where I live. I recycle
plastic bottles using a bin at my house
that is emptied by my council. When
the recycling scheme is introduced
(“Recycling scheme for plastic bottles
is delayed until 2025”, Jan 21), I will
have to take a ten-mile round trip to
the supermarket. A great win for the
environment.
Gary Rawlinson
Burbage, Leics
Corrections and
clarifications
6 We wrongly suggested (business,
Jan 20) that Topps Tiles had
expressed quality concerns about
Cersanit’s products.
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
Sajid Javid’s call for GP appointment fees
Sir, People with sufficient means, not
just the super-rich, are increasingly
going to the private sector for
treatment. We are already in a
position where the sick and dying are
being denied treatment because of the
lack of means to pay for it. Aneurin
Bevan’s premise for the NHS, that no
society can call itself civilised if a sick
person is denied medical aid because
of lack of means, was breached long
ago. I therefore fully support Sajid
Javid’s argument that those who can
afford to do so should make a
contribution towards the cost of GP
consultations and hospital treatment
(report and comment, Jan 21). All we
need is for our politicians to discard
the deadly dogmas which are
preventing the implementation of
obvious and necessary solutions.
Nick Gamble
Little Somerford, Wilts
Sir, The NHS is brilliant at acute,
life-saving care. It is not as good at
treating the worried well, the slightly
poorly or the chronically but not
seriously unwell. It does not prioritise
customer service in the way other
industries do. I am a huge supporter
of the NHS but it was established to
deal with very different postwar needs
and expectations. It needs to invest in
Police and degrees
Sir, As someone who joined the
Metropolitan Police aged 18 and who
did not especially “prosper at school”,
I disagree with Matthew Parris’s
inference that university-educated
police officers will demonstrate
greater ethical standards of behaviour
(“Good old-fashioned policing? No
thanks”, Jan 21). One only has to look
at recent allegations of systematic
sexist and misogynistic behaviour
reported within the armed forces.
These include reports of predatory
behaviour targeted at 170 women at
Sandhurst and the dismissal from the
elite Red Arrows of RAF officers who
were part of what has been described
as a “toxic culture” (report, Dec 28).
Policing is a vocation, not a
“learned profession”. Good conduct
and a more ethical police service will
be better secured by carefully
recruiting people with integrity and
courage who are prepared to put
public service before their own needs
and safety. A university degree is not
a good yardstick here. Recruiting the
right people and maintaining ethical
standards is much more about
AUSTRALIA
NEEDS WOMEN
EMIGRANTS
from the times january 23, 1923
To the Editor of The Times
Sir, In The Times today you publish
an interesting letter from Dame
Meriel Talbot questioning the
wisdom of depleting the manhood
of this country, and pleading for “a
real and continuous demand from
British people everywhere that
migration schemes shall include
women and girls as well as men and
boys”. May I point out that, while
the female population of this
country exceeds the male
population by 10 per cent, the excess
of unmarried males over unmarried
females in Australia is 15 per cent,
accessible, friendly and articulate
salaried GPs, available online and/or
in person, to reassure the worried well
and pick up the potentially very sick,
as well as trained nurses to manage
chronic illnesses outside hospital, and
signpost private services for those
who wish to use them. Hospitals and
ambulances would have more time to
do the job they’re best at: saving lives
and treating the really sick. Charging
to see GPs is not the answer.
Samantha Walker
Twickenham, Middx
Sir, The former health secretary
forgets it is the poor who need the
NHS most, yet are least able to afford
it. It is the poor who suffer the most
from self-inflicted lifestyle-related
ailments, such as poor diet, which can
be reduced by advice from GPs.
David Jackson
Milton-under-Wychwood, Oxon
Sir, My mother died from a brain
tumour, roughly three weeks after she
was diagnosed when she lost the
ability to walk unsupported and was
taken to A&E. Her consultant
thought it was likely she had noticed
symptoms for months, but didn’t want
to admit them. By the time we knew
how unwell she was, she was past the
workloads, conditions of service and
effective leadership and supervision
than it is about higher education.
Mick Free
Metropolitan Police, 1979-2009;
Slad, Gloucs
Sir, I served for 30 years with South
Wales police. I am the third-highest
ranking officer of colour to have
served in Wales and a founder
member of the South Wales Black
Police Association and the National
Black Police Association. I saw or
suffered racism, abuse of authority,
the use of excess force and crime
committed by serving officers and
staff, but this was very rare. Recently
reported behaviours do not reflect the
225,000 people who work for the
police service.
To quote Sir Robert Peel, “the
police are the public; the public are
the police”. Sadly this means that the
police will have every ill of society
within. Our job is to have intelligence
systems that prevent such people
joining and to create a culture where
we do not turn a blind eye to such
behaviour. On behalf of the millions
of us who have served and serve, we
are truly sorry.
while in Western Australia it is no less
than 32 per cent? I find that on
January 8 the number of women
totally out of employment in Great
Britain was 220,365, those partly
employed numbered 15,947, and the
approximate number receiving the
unemployment dole was 176,517. I
speak not only for the State which I
represent, but for the whole of the
Commonwealth, when I say that we
have made “a real and continuous
demand” for the migration of British
women, without, I regret to say, any
marked success. I know it is often
stated that our comparative failure is
due to the fact that we restrict our
demand for women to domestic
servants. While there is an unlimited
demand for domestic servants in
Australia, and the wages are very
attractive, the opportunities for single
women in Western Australia are not
solely confined to this occupation.
Where is that very fine body of Land
Girls who did such magnificent
Letters to the Editor should be sent to
letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
point of being able to communicate
her wishes or any meaningful
messages. With the charges being
suggested for GP or A&E visits, how
many more people may end up in a
situation where a loved one postpones
a diagnosis until it is too late?
Jennifer Smith
Steventon, Oxon
Sir, Sajid Javid has some good
arguments but does not tackle the
great deal of red tape, reimbursement
and differences between medical
insurance policies entailed in his
proposals. He calls, rightly, for a
“cross-party consensus”. In 2010 the
NHS was in better shape than at any
time in its history because Tony Blair
had faced down the conservatives in
the Treasury and ordered Gordon
Brown to raise and spend the
necessary money. Conservative and
Lib Dem ministers then focused on
austerity economics, including a
shortfall in adequate NHS funding to
enable tax cuts for the wealthy and
middle classes. If Mr Javid wants to
start “an honest conversation” he
might start by confessing that the
reduction in healthcare funding from
2010 onwards was a mistake.
Denis MacShane
Former Europe minister; London SW1
Jay Dave
Retired superintendent, South Wales
police; Clearwell, Gloucs
Modernising the True to type
Church of England Sir, You rightly note Stanley Morison’s
Sir, You quote the Rev Richard Coles
as saying: “The Church of England . . .
needs to keep up with the broad
consensus of the country, not act like
the monasteries in the Dark Ages” (“I
had ‘illegal’ church ceremony, reveals,
TV’s dancing vicar”, news, Jan 21). He
doesn’t seem to realise that it was the
monasteries that were beacons of
light in that period. In the words of
Aldous Huxley, no friend of
Christianity, it was the Benedictines
who introduced the best agricultural
and educational practices in Europe
at that time and Huxley went on to
write that “Benedictinism was the
principal antidote to barbarism”
during the Dark Ages, which would
have been considerably darker had it
not been for the monasteries.
The Rev Canon Andrew
Lenox-Conyngham
Birmingham
service during the war? There is an
excellent field for these in Western
Australia in the raising of poultry —
to name one avocation. A parcel of
eggs, the second consignment from
Western Australia in cool storage,
has just arrived, perfectly fresh, and
quite undistinguishable from the
locally-produced egg. Board of
Trade figures indicate that the egg
importations into England in the
past year were valued at
£10,000,000. Surely these facts
furnish conclusive proof that there
is an ample field for all the women
who care to migrate to Australia;
and I may add that our climate is
such that no woman of average
physique will find the work irksome.
Yours faithfully,
j d connolly, Agent-General for
Western Australia,
Savoy House, Strand, WC2.
thetimes.co.uk/archive
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
World Service
Sir, Richard Sharp, the BBC
chairman, is calling for the
government to take back direct
funding for the BBC World Service in
the light of a falling licence fee
(“World Service cash crisis ‘is threat
to British soft power’ ”, Jan 20). The
2014 decision to merge World Service
funding with the domestic licence fee
always looked misconceived. Now it
appears disastrous. It took away the
decades-long ability of a managerially
“semi-detached” World Service to
conduct public, noisy and effective
campaigns against government cuts
in the World Service’s grant in aid. I
fear a mere stern warning letter from
the BBC chairman will not cut the
mustard.
Sir John Tusa
Managing director, BBC World
Service 1986-92; London N1
Table manners
Sir, I disagree with Graham Moyse
(letter, Jan 21). Children in restaurants
frequently behave more badly than
dogs, running around, shouting and
spreading food on every surface. In
both instances it is careless human
guardians who are to blame for failing
to understand that a pet or child’s
rowdy behaviour is not endearing but
highly offensive to other people. As a
restaurateur of some 40 years I can
affirm ’twas ever thus.
Ruth Watson
Framlingham, Suffolk
role in designing Times New Roman,
but omit to give credit to Victor
Lardent. Morison gave Lardent, a staff
artist at The Times, the brief for the
new typeface. Lardent had a free
hand in working off the historical
inspiration of Plantin’s 16th-century
designs. It was Lardent who created
the original design. Morison revised it
into the form we know today. The
result was a unique historical pastiche
of a font, shaped by both men, which
elegantly balanced legibility with an
efficient use of space.
Elijah Granet
London NW1
Tales of battle
Sir, If All Quiet on the Western Front is
the “greatest anti-war novel of all
time” (comment, Jan 21), I suggest
that Frederic Manning’s The Middle
Parts of Fortune is the greatest war
novel of all time.
John Onions
Leek, Staffs
Swallow your words
Sir, Ann Treneman refers to a
German phrase that translates as
“swallow a toad” and refers to giving
up a favourite interest in pursuit of a
greater good (Notebook, Jan 21). A
similar expression can be found in
Swallow the Dog by Ray White, where
the title is a reference to defeated
Confederate soldiers having to swear
an oath of allegiance to the Union.
John Richards
Bath
Sir, Ann Treneman draws our
attention to the German equivalent
of “bite the bullet”, meaning “swallow
a toad”. Rather than “egg on your
face”, the Dutch get “butter on your
nose”.
Mike Thomas
Brill, Bucks
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Daily Universal Register
UK: ONS releases the national balance
sheet, statistics on the market value of assets
in the UK; the penalty fine for being on a
train without a valid ticket increases to £100.
Nature notes
A sunshower occurs
when rain appears
to fall from a sunny,
cloudless sky, a
meteorological
phenomena often
accompanied by a
rainbow. In Britain it is known as a “fox’s
wedding”: somewhat mysteriously, this term
has close equivalents in countries all over
the world, from Brazil to the Basque country,
Korea to Kenya. Sometimes the fox becomes
a more locally relevant canid like a jackal,
hyena or wolf, or another clever or
mischievous creature such as a monkey or
rat; occasionally the wedding transliterates
to a mating, a feast or a birth. Here and
there supernatural entities such as demons
or ghosts are thought to be to blame.
melissa harrison
Birthdays today
Sir Richard Dearlove,
pictured, head of MI6
(1999-2004), 78; Richard
Dean Anderson, actor,
MacGyver (1985-92), 73;
Lady Arden (Dame
Mary Arden), justice of
the Supreme Court
(2018-22), head of international judicial
relations for England and Wales (2005-18),
76; David Arnold, film composer, Spectre
(2015), 61; Steven Barnett, professor of
communications at the University of
Westminster, author and broadcaster, 70;
Lord (Gavin) Barwell, chief of staff to
Theresa May (2017-19), Conservative MP for
Croydon Central (2010-17), minister for
housing, planning and London (2016-17), 51;
Georg Baselitz, painter, Der Nackter Mann
(The Naked Man, 1962), 85; Dee Caffari,
sailor, the first woman to complete a solo
world circumnavigation against the
prevailing winds and currents (2006), 50;
Marsha de Cordova, Labour MP for
Battersea, shadow women and equalities
secretary (2020-21), 47; Claire Guest, co-
founder and chief executive, Medical
Detection Dogs charity, 59; Princess
Caroline of Hanover (née of Monaco), the
eldest child of Rainier III, the Prince of
Monaco, and Princess Grace, 66; Liam Kerr,
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
MSP for North East Scotland, deputy leader,
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
(2019-20), 48; Ruben Loftus-Cheek,
footballer, Chelsea FC and England (2017-
18), 27; Sir Christopher Nugee, lord justice of
appeal, 64; Dawn O’Porter, broadcaster and
writer, Paper Aeroplanes (2013), Life in Pieces
(2020), 44; Rupert Pennant-Rea, former
chairman, The Times’s independent
directors, Royal London Group, Economist
Newspaper Group, 75; Chita Rivera, actress,
dancer and singer, ten-time Tony award
nominee, 90; Arjen Robben, footballer,
Chelsea (2004-07) and Holland (2003-17),
39; Lord (Ted) Rowlands, former Labour
MP and minister, 83; Lisa Snowdon, fashion
model and TV presenter, 51.
On this day
In 1973 President Nixon announced a “peace
with honour” deal that was intended to
bring an end to the Vietnam War.
The last word
“When I was a child, love to me was what
the sea is to a fish: something you swim in
while you are going about the important
affairs of life.” PL Travers, I Never Wrote for
Children, The New York Times Magazine
(July 2, 1978)
Security Threats on Campus
Too many British universities have signed lucrative contracts with China that have
dangerous security and moral implications. These should be revised and curbed
More and more British universities depend on
China for money. More than 140,000 Chinese
students are now studying in Britain, a record
number and greater than the total from any other
country. Some universities rely on China for a
quarter of all income from fees. Not only is this
unhealthy and unbalanced: it is also increasingly
undesirable, politically and morally. Some 42 have
links with Chinese institutions connected to the
repression of the Uighurs, espionage, nuclear
weapons research or hacking. Many of these have
had links with Chinese universities carrying out
military work, according to data gathered by The
Times. More worryingly, some 21 top universities,
including Cambridge, Sheffield, Leeds and Queen
Mary University of London, are partnered with
“very high risk” Chinese institutions.
The government has become increasingly
concerned by this trend. It has warned universities
that China is openly harvesting foreign research
in critical strategic areas for its own military. Britain
has passed legislation to allow the government to
scrutinise contracts, including those signed by
universities, that involve sharing intellectual
property with foreigners. But this has done little to
halt the rush by Britain’s universities to cash in on
China’s willingness to send more and more students
Britain wastes money on weapons that are too costly, too late, too few or rarely work
Legend has it that, when the Royal Navy was
trying to ensure the survival of its cherished aircraft
carrier programme from cost-cutting politicians,
it named the ships Queen Elizabeth and Prince of
Wales to make them harder to cancel. No prime
minister, it was reasoned, would want to break the
bad news to the monarch or her heir that the ships
bearing their names had been canned.
But in choosing Prince of Wales the admirals
were dicing with history. The previous Prince of
Wales, a Second World War battleship, was
plagued by misfortune. Mechanically unreliable
when launched, it was sunk in a Japanese air
attack after only 11 months. And some of that bad
luck has now rubbed off on its new £3.4 billion
descendant, which has suffered a major propulsion
fault, putting it out of service for months. None of
this comes as a surprise. Wherever one looks,
there is some procurement disaster or other. Over
the years, billions have been wasted on cancelled
projects, while equipment that does eventually
work arrives years late and in smaller numbers than
needed. Despite a defence budget of £46 billion,
the second-highest in Nato, Britain is now unable
France is turning away from a noble bibulous culture to embrace abstinence
Isn’t wine the supreme French offering to the
world, the nectar that lubricates every fond
memory and has spread the vocabulary of
viticulture across the globe — from terroir to
grand cru, champagne, rosé and Bordeaux to
carafe and sommelier? And isn’t a glass of vin
rouge as much a cliché of eternal France as a beret
or a string of onions?
How shocking, therefore, to discover that not
only are more and more young French people
turning away from a decent bouteille and opting
instead for beer, the quintessential Teutonic drink,
but that now it is becoming increasingly chic to ask
here, many of whom are engaged in research of
clear strategic importance. Last year the head of
MI5 said that China was focusing especially on
expertise, technology, research and commercial
advantage. And Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the
Commons foreign affairs committee, called this
“extremely troubling”.
Things are very different from the days when
David Cameron as prime minister and George
Osborne, then the chancellor, spoke of a “golden
era approach” to China. The naive assumption
then was that the more exposure the Chinese
intellectual and political elite had to western
learning and liberal ideas, the more likely China
was to become more open and democratic. Much
has happened since then, not least the appalling
oppression of the Uighurs, deemed “genocide” by
a United Nations report last year, as well as the
brutal crackdown on human rights activists in
Hong Kong. The China of Xi Jinping is not yet
considered an enemy of the West, but it is certainly
a country whose political and military ambitions
are challenging.
All this should be abundantly clear to Britain’s
universities. But their vigorous insistence that
they have checked the security implications, are
managing the risks and are protecting intellectual
Bang for Buck
to field a carrier battle group with sufficient
combat aircraft, early warning radar aircraft to
protect our airspace, or even a single battle-ready
army division.
Yet political leaders insist on talking Britain up
as a global power. Until, that is, reality intervenes to
calm their hubris. Rishi Sunak recently promised
Ukraine a large batch of artillery shells only to
discover the army didn’t have them. The truth is,
£46 billion does not buy much if you want to be a
pocket superpower. Two per cent of GDP is wholly
inadequate to satisfy this country’s strategic pre-
tensions. The defence budget is constantly whittled
away by defence inflation, always higher than its
civilian counterpart, and a weak pound, making
dollar purchases from America more expensive.
Lack of money is not the sole problem. Successive
politicians and service chiefs have insisted on
expensive new weapons instead of simpler off-
the-shelf kit, partly because they want to protect
Britain’s defence industry but also due to a chronic
weakness for “gold plating”. In order to be useful
partners to the United States, the argument goes,
our fighters require the best gear. But Britain’s
Zero Bouquet
for alcohol-free wine. Can such a thing be produced
in a decent French vineyard? Apparently, the
answer is yes — and one such product, French
Bloom, is being pioneered by Maggie Frerejean-
Taittinger, a scion of the famous champagne-
making dynasty. A century or more ago, France
was all about absinthe; now the cry is abstinence.
France has succumbed to a recent fashion from
across the Channel, le dry January. An opinion poll
indicated that 27 per cent of French people were
attempting to avoid alcohol this month, a sharp
increase on only 10 per cent two years ago. Even
more shockingly, this healthy trend is particularly
27
Leading articles
property are tellingly defensive. Many of them
have done little of this. The overriding priority for
most is to secure deals that are as lucrative as
possible and to turn a blind eye to any possible
military implications or moral assessment. Does,
for example, the University of Surrey not realise
that its joint research with a Beijing university on
artificial intelligence and face recognition could
be related to facial recognition software used by
China to identify Uighur Muslims?
Entanglement with authoritarian states is always
risky. In Britain’s case, it tends to be a one-way
street: China harvests valuable intelligence and
expertise, while giving away nothing about its own
research. Universities argue that they have little
option but to sign up as many foreign students as
possible, given their own precarious finances and
the vast sums they can earn for undergraduate and
graduate courses. But students from elsewhere also
come here in large numbers. Indians constitute
the second-biggest cohort, with 84,555 coming
in 2020-21. Many more are set to arrive soon,
following a recent memorandum of understanding
between Britain and India. And few will trigger
security worries.
Insouciant universities are desperate for cash.
This cannot come at the risk to national security.
defence budget is barely a tenth of America’s,
meaning that top-line equipment can be bought
only in embarrassingly small quantities, making it
too valuable to lose in an actual war.
The navy is supposed to have one carrier avail-
able with about 24 F35 stealth fighters on board.
But there are simply not enough in service yet
because of cost. The RAF’s planned purchase of
new airborne early-warning planes has been cut
from five to three due to cost, and the previous
type retired early to save money, leaving a gap in
defences. The army, meanwhile, is in a parlous
state, its armoured vehicles old, and its new Ajax
vehicle way overdue because of vibration problems
that cause drivers to get headaches. And distorting
all defence procurement is the gorilla in the room:
the replacement of the submarine-based nuclear
deterrent, costing up to £50 billion.
Britain needs to get real about defence. It must
downgrade its Indo-Pacific aspirations and focus
on Europe where, as Ukraine shows, the most
serious threat lies. And it means sensible weapons
buying, emphasising quantity as well as quality.
Perfect should not be the enemy of good enough.
marked among the young: some 40 per cent of
those aged between 18 and 24 are hoping not to
drink all January. Have they been listening to all the
doctors and health officials who constantly urge
their fellow citizens to drink less? It would surely be
a betrayal of those student rebellions of yesteryear
to approve of, and follow, government advice.
On the other hand, if anyone can make a decent
non-alcoholic wine, it has to be the French. With
wine consumption falling 70 per cent in the past
60 years, French entrepreneurs have seen a
market opportunity. Soon, a whole vocabulary
will follow. A brand new bouquet. Santé!
28
World
Chechens avenge
family lost in wars
against Moscow
Veterans are taking up
arms again to help
Ukraine to repel Putin’s
invaders, writes
Richard Spencer
in Bakhmut
The cities of Bakhmut and Grozny were
in the same country not so long ago, a
600-mile road journey apart.
The route that the men in front of me
have taken from Chechnya to Ukraine
since the fall of the Soviet Union has
been longer, taken in half of Europe,
and several decades.
Hundreds of Chechens who fled the
violent rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, their
Kremlin-backed leader, are now fight-
ing with the Ukrainians, taking the
chance to avenge family and friends
lost in wars against Moscow in their
youth.
They are at the front of the battle for
Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s east, where
younger, inexperienced Ukrainian vol-
unteers rely on their fighting record
and knowledge of the enemy.
Issa “Vedeno” took up arms against
the Russians in 1994 and was injured
fighting them in 2000. Now grey, last
week he was carrying his gun on the
front line in Opytne, just south of Bakh-
mut, fighting off Russia’s Wagner
mercenaries. In the years in between,
he lived in Azerbaijan and Poland,
working as a car mechanic.
Sabah fought the Russians until
defeat in the second Chechen war in
2005. Now after years in Austria as a
computer programmer, he is back in
combat, recruited to the Sheikh Man-
sur battalion, a unit composed mainly
of Chechens but also Dagestanis and
other ethnic minorities from the Rus-
sian Federation. “We are used for spe-
Dobre, face obscured, Issa “Vedeno” and Sabah are Chechens fighting in Bakhmut
cial operations,” Sabah said. “Of course,
we have this experience of guerrilla
warfare, so we can work anywhere.”
We met away from the front, after
they were rotated off the line. Dobre
and “No Fingers”, a Dagestani and Che-
chen respectively from Ukraine’s for-
eign legion, we met in Bakhmut itself.
“No Fingers” is in fact missing only
four fingers, lost while preparing explo-
sives. He has been fighting for Ukraine
the longest, since 2014 — like the
others, he asked not to be fully identi-
fied for the sake of family still in Russia.
Dobre and “No Fingers” had just
come back from a mission to rescue a
Ukrainian officer and five of his men
who were trapped in a house in Zabakh-
mutva, east of the town. They stormed
in and cleared the Russians pinning
down the squad from the house oppo-
site, they said, killing all of them, then
dragging the Ukrainians free.
If they fight like they have nothing
left to lose, that is perhaps the reality. Is-
sa is called Vedeno because that is the
town in Chechnya from which he
comes. It was once the capital of a brief-
ly independent Chechen state, after the
Russian revolution, and was the scene
of bitter fighting in the post-Soviet
Chechen wars.
“My two brothers were killed fighting
in the war,” Issa said. “My father,
mother and sister were all killed by Rus-
sian bombing.”
Sabah told a similar story: his father,
brother and sister were all killed by
Russian forces. He and two brothers
managed to escape. “We have a big
family,” he said. “But 70 per cent of them
are dead.”
The Chechen rebellion was finally
put down after Kadyrov’s late father,
Akhmad, an opposition leader,
switched sides. He was assassinated but
his son took over. He has enforced his
own rule and that of Putin ever since.
The rebels fled across Europe. Some
lived peaceful lives for years, like Issa
and Sabah. Some followed Kadyrov in-
2GM Monday January 23 2023 | the times
to the Russian ranks. Many of those are
now fighting in their own force for Mos-
cow, against their former comrades.
The numbers are not evenly
matched. Kadyrov has sent in a large
part of his personal army, with more
than 20,000 of his troops estimated to
have fought in Ukraine at some point.
The two main units on the Ukrainian
side, the Sheikh Mansur and the Dzho-
khar Dudayev battalions, muster
several hundred people between them,
with some Chechens also fighting in
the formal Ukrainian military.
The Chechen resistance had an
Islamist streak that became more radi-
cal as time went on. Several fighters
ended up in Syria with Islamic State or
the al-Qaeda offshoot the Nusra Front.
The most controversial fighter now
on the Ukrainian side is Abdul Hakim
al-Shishani, real name Rustam Azhi-
yev, who led an Islamist group that was
briefly allied to the Nusra Front in the
rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib.
His arrival in Ukraine has led Russia
to denounce the “jihadists” fighting for
the country. However, he fell out with
the Nusra Front after refusing to follow
its ideology. Azhiyev was given refuge
in Turkey, where he was said to have
been the target of a 2021 assassination
plot directed from Russia, perhaps by
Kadyrov.
He appears to be working in Ukraine
with the support of Kyiv, and to have ar-
rived in Bakhmut this month. That is
good enough for “Dobre”. “He must be
a good fighter,” he said. “As for the rest,
we will let him be judged by his deeds.”
The Chechens know they have a rep-
utation as hardline and militant, and
argue against it. Umar, a special forces
soldier from the Sheikh Mansur battal-
ion, said the group weeded out extrem-
ists, criminals and those with asso-
ciations with “undesirable” groups.
“We are a pure battalion,” he said.
“We don’t let just anyone join us.”
The presence of Chechens on both
sides of this war is an indication that
while pacified, Chechnya is still living
Biden branded irresponsible
with its own conflict. It also casts a light United States described as “irresponsible” by a sena-
on Putin’s nervousness that defeat in tor from his own party.
Alistair Dawber Washington
Ukraine will lead to further separatist Joe Manchin, who represents West
efforts in the Russian Federation. A new search of President Biden’s Virginia, said it was “hard to believe
One belief the pro-Ukrainian Che- family home in Delaware has uncov- that in the United States of America we
chens share is that if they defeat Putin ered six more documents with classi- have a former president and current
in Ukraine, they might one day win fied markings, his lawyers said. president basically in the same situa-
their own independence. The other is a Biden, 80, has begun the year facing tion”.
conviction that they have been ill questions over why about a dozen Manchin, speaking on NBC’s Meet
treated by the West, suspicious of their secret files dating to his time as vice- the Press yesterday, said it was “irre-
religion. president have been found at an insti- sponsible” of Biden to put classified
“The western world has only now tute he used in Washington after leav- documents in unsecured locations. The
seen the face of our enemy,” Sabah said. ing office in 2017, and at his home. president, Manchin said, should have “a
“They see the thousands who have died Bob Bauer, the president’s personal lot of regrets” over the scandal.
in Ukraine but did they not see the hun- lawyer, said the latest Department of Mike Turner, a Republican congress-
dreds of thousands killed in Chechnya, Justice search, on Saturday, lasted man, called Biden a “serial classified
in Georgia, in Syria? Was that not nearly 13 hours. The documents document hoarder”. Appearing on Face
enough to see who the real terrorist spanned Biden’s time in the Senate and the Nation on CBS, Turner also said that
was?” as President Obama’s deputy. Agents department’s handling of the incidents
Umar added: “If we had been helped also took away notes that Biden had “looks more like a cover-up than an
as Ukraine has now been helped, made during his vice-presidency. investigation”.
Russia would not be here right now.” The revelations led to Biden being A Democratic senator, Chris Coons,
 the times | Monday January 23 2023
Police used
armoured cars to
surround a van in
Torrance,
California, about
30 miles from
the shooting.
They issued a
picture of a male
suspect, left, and
witnesses in
Torrance said the
man in the van
wore the same
hat and was
slumped forward
and motionless,
right, when he
was found. Police
later said he had
shot himself
as more files found at home State’s relaxed drug laws prove a downer
defended Biden and suggested that the
controversy was not a significant con-
cern for voters. He told This Week on
ABC: “I think they’re worried about
much more day-to-day things like
inflation and prescription prices.”
The search was held more than a
week after Biden’s lawyers found six
classified documents in the president’s
home library, and nearly three months
after lawyers found a small number of
classified records at his former offices
at the Penn Biden Centre.
The White House has said that Biden
handed over the documents as soon as
they were found and that he has acted
transparently throughout.
The first set of documents were
found on November 2, six days before
the midterm elections in which the
Democrats outperformed expectations
and held on to the Senate. The White
2GM
House only admitted that they had
been found after a news report by CBS
this month.
An FBI search of Donald Trump’s
Florida home, Mar-a-Lago, in August
uncovered hundreds of classified docu-
ments taken from the White House
during his presidency. Biden described
Trump as “just totally irresponsible”.
In both cases, the documents ought
to have been returned to the US
National Archives. The Department
of Justice has appointed separate
special counsel in each case to investi-
gate.
6 Jeff Zients, a management consult-
ant who co-ordinated the Biden admin-
istration’s Covid response, will replace
Ron Klain as the president’s chief of
staff, The Washington Post reported.
He left the White House in April but
returned late last year.
Rogue officer questioned
in 40-year riddle of
Belgium’s ‘crazy killers’
Page 30
Keiran Southern
Oregon’s pioneering plan to decrimi-
nalise drug possession failed to prevent
a rise in overdose deaths or push addicts
into treatment, according to experts.
The state became the first in the
United States to decriminalise the per-
sonal possession of illegal drugs just
under two years ago. When the Meas-
ure 110 plan was implemented in Feb-
ruary 2021 campaigners hailed the
policy as a long-overdue end to the fail-
ed approach of using police and the
courts to tackle addiction.
Anyone found in possession of small
amounts of drugs such as heroin,
cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine
was given the choice of a $100 fine or a
hotline to call for help getting clean.
In a blow to advocates of a progres-
sive approach to narcotics, the audit of
Chinese New Year
shooting suspect is
‘found dead in van’
Keiran Southern
A stand-off between armed police and a
gunman suspected of killing ten people
at a dance studio near Los Angeles
ended last night with a witness saying he
saw the man slumped and motionless at
the wheel of a white van.
He told local television in California
that the driver had the same hat as a
suspect in a picture released earlier by
police. The station showed replays of
officers approaching the van, guns
drawn behind a shield, smashing the
passenger side window, opening the
door and reaching to the driver’s side.
Multiple sources said he had died of a
self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Officers earlier surrounded the
vehicle in a car park in Torrance, about
30 miles southeast of the Chinese new
year shooting in Monterey Park.
The driver had created a “barricaded
suspect situation,” according to the Los
Angeles county sheriff Robert Luna.
Police declined to name him last night.
Witnesses said officers shouted or-
ders over a loudspeaker but there ap-
peared to be no activity within the van.
Law enforcement sources told the Los
Angeles Times that shots had been
fired at the scene.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department released the images of the
suspect. He was described as Asian,
about 5ft 10in tall and weighing about
11st They showed a man in a black jack-
et, glasses and a long beanie hat. Police
said earlier that he was armed and
should be considered dangerous.
Monterey Park is a city of about
60,000 composed mostly of immi-
grants from China or first-generation
Asian-Americans. The shooting on
Saturday night during a lunar new year
celebration left ten people dead and ten
injured. The suspect was an Asian man
aged between 30 and 50.
A source told the Los Angeles Times
that the gunman used a high-powered
assault rifle at close range. The police
appeared to contradict this in a later
press conference.
Police arrived at the ballroom dance
Measure 110 found that only 1 per cent
of addicts issued tickets sought treat-
ment. “It is unclear if the M110-specific
hotline provides the best value given
limited state resources,” the audit
concluded.
It found that the hotline had received
119 calls in the 15 months after the plan
was implemented, at a cost of more
than $7,000 per call. Officials were also
found to have been slow to shift funding
towards drug treatment and
harm-reduction programmes.
Oregon has the second highest rate
of substance-use disorder in the US and
ranked 50th for access to treatment.
The state recorded 745 overdose deaths
related to opioids in 2021, up from 472
the previous year and 280 in 2019.
Keith Humphreys, professor of
psychiatry at Stanford University, who
testified on the failures of Measure 110
29
Health-conscious French
are forcing a rethink
over Dry January
Page 32
20 miles
CALIFORNIA
Hollywood Monterey Park mass
shooting on Saturday
at 10.22pm
Los Angeles
Long
Beach
PAC I F I C O C E A N
studio at about 10.30pm on Saturday.
People were “pouring out of the loca-
tion screaming,” said Captain Andrew
Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sher-
iff’s department. Some of the 10 people
injured were in critical condition in
hospital last night.
Wong Wei, who lives nearby, said
that his friend was in the club at the
time of the attack but was in the lava-
tory when the shooting started. His
friend had told him that he saw three
bodies — two women and the “boss of
the club” — as well as the gunman, who
was firing indiscriminately with a “long
gun”.
Monterey Park was decorated with
red lanterns and a large banner pro-
claiming “Happy Year of the Rabbit” for
the celebrations, which were among
the largest in California with tens of
thousands of people visiting through-
out the day. A second day of festivities
planned for yesterday was cancelled in
response to the shooting and police
have tightened security around similar
events elsewhere.
President Biden had been briefed on
the situation and had ordered the FBI
to give “full support” to the local
authorities, Karine Jean-Pierre, the
White House press secretary, said.
The attack is the fifth mass killing
in the US this year and the deadliest
since May last year, when a gunman
murdered 21 people at a school in
Uvalde, Texas. Last week six people,
including a baby and his teenage
mother, were shot dead in Goshen,
central California in suspected gang
violence.
to an Oregon state senate committee
last year, said that the Oregon Health
Authority had failed to exert enough
pressure on addicts to enter treatment.
Humphreys, also a former senior
adviser in the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, said: “It
was ideological: it’s the idea that people
who are addicted are living out their
human rights to be addicted.”
Fentanyl, a cheap, deadly synthetic
opioid up to 50 times stronger than her-
oin, has fuelled America’s overdose
crisis. Of the more than 100,000 over-
dose deaths in the US in 2021, more
than 80,000 were attributed to opioids
such as fentanyl, according to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Preven-
tion. Advocates working in Portland,
Oregon’s biggest city, have called for
Measure 110 to be given more time to
prove its effectiveness.
30
World
Ardern’s replacement to drop divisive projects and play things safe
New Zealand
Bernard Lagan
The incoming prime minister of New
Zealand has signalled he may drop
some contentious policies that defined
Jacinda Ardern’s administration.
Chris Hipkins, who assumes office
on Wednesday, is promising a back-to-
basics approach that will focus on the
cost of living crisis, combating rising
violent crime and better healthcare.
Speaking after the ruling Labour
Party confirmed him as Ardern’s
replacement, Hipkins, 44, admitted the
government had been “doing too much
Rest in peace Alanis Morissette sang at the public memorial for Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis Presley, held yesterday at Graceland, the family’s mansion in
Memphis, Tennessee. More than 1,000 people gathered on the front lawn to pay their respects. Presley, 54, who leaves three children, died in Los Angeles on January 12
Police fly to Thailand in 40-year
mystery of Belgian ‘crazy killers’
Belgium
Bruno Waterfield Brussels
Belgian police raided the villa in Thai-
land of a former officer suspected of
being a member of the “crazy killers”
gang, raising hopes that a decades-long
riddle of mass murder could be solved.
A federal magistrate accompanied
the officers to Pattaya after Robert
Beijer, 71, was arrested a week ago over
alleged residency irregularities. “The
federal prosecutor’s office is doing
everything to bring to light the truth on
this file,” Vincent Van Quickenborne,
the Belgian justice minister, said.
Police have neither caught nor iden-
tified the gang that terrorised Belgium
40 years ago, murdering 28 people in
armed robberies in Brabant between
1982 and the so-called “red” — or
bloody — autumn of 1985.
The crimes, often in supermarkets,
were characterised by the gunmen fir-
ing on innocent bystanders with com-
bat weapons. Extremists and former
elite gendarmes are thought to have
been behind the gang, whose campaign
too fast” in some policy areas. “I’ve
heard that message and over the com-
ing week the cabinet will be making de-
cisions on reining in some programmes
and projects that aren’t essential right
now,” he said.
Hipkins served as Ardern’s health
minister, crafting the nation’s severe
lockdowns and border closures to con-
tain the pandemic. While he did not say
which of her policies would be side-
lined, he made clear his misgivings over
the most controversial: plans to give
Maori tribes much greater control over
the nation’s water infrastructure. The
policy, known as “co-governance”,
Robert Beijer is a prime suspect in the
case of a terrifying robbery campaign
began after a crackdown on far-right
cells in the paramilitary police at the
end of 1970s. Belgium’s statute of limita-
tions has been extended to 2025 to
track any remaining gang members.
Although Beijer denies being in the
gang and has never been charged, he is
a prime suspect, has written a book on
the gang and has previously offered to
reveal information about its activities.
Investigators seized his belongings in
cedes more control over natural assets
such as rivers and forests and has div-
ided the nation. A recent poll found
that 60 per cent of New Zealan-
ders opposed further power shar-
ing over water.
Hipkins told reporters yester-
day that “no one understands
what [co-governance] means”
and that the governmen-
thad not been clear on the
proposals.
Other Ardern-era ini-
tiatives that may not sur-
vive include the pro-
posed merger of Radio
Pattaya and he was questioned in cus-
tody, although details of the raid and
the mission remain secret.
The rogue gendarme was convicted
in 1995 of involvement in a murder and
in various robberies as part of a criminal
underworld that overlapped with
extremist cells.
While training at police college in
1974, he became friends with Madani
Bouhouche, another gendarme-
turned-gangster.
In 1981 they are said to have commit-
ted a series of crimes, including the at-
tempted assassination of Herman Ver-
naillen, the commander of the gen-
darmerie in Brussels.
They also stole weapons and in 1982
robbed Brussels airport, stealing gold,
diamonds and Cartier watches and kid-
napping Francis Zwarts, an airport cou-
rier whose body has never been found.
In 1983 they left the police and
started a private detective agency
linked to the underworld and to the
weapons used by the “crazy killers”.
Both were involved in further rob-
beries and in 1989, while on parole, Bei-
New Zealand and Television New Zea-
land into a single BBC-style broadcaster.
It is also possible that Hipkins will
delay or shelve planned unemploy-
ment insurance that would provide
80 per cent of income for up to
seven months to people who are
laid off. He said that his government
would focus on helping families
“through these tough eco-
nomic times”, noting that
inflation and housing af-
Chris Hipkins plans to
curtail some projects
that “aren’t essential”
jer again teamed up with Bouhouche,
who had killed a diamond dealer in
Antwerp, before fleeing to Latin Amer-
ica and then Asia, reaching Thailand,
from where he was deported in 1994
and sentenced to 14 years for murder
and theft.
Beijer was released in 1999 and
moved to Pattaya, where he is married
to a Thai and has three children. Bou-
houche was jailed for 20 years and was
released in 2000. Five years later, he
was decapitated in a bizarre chainsaw
accident in France. Such were the inju-
ries to his head that visual identifica-
tion was impossible and his remains
were cremated before Belgian police
could conduct DNA tests, fuelling
theories that his death was staged.
Beijer’s life in Pattaya has been char-
acterised by his wealth and he is nick-
named the “Russian Oligarch”. He lives
next door to Sirikit Kitiyakara, first wife
of the late King Bhumibol.
Beijer is said to own many villas in the
city’s exclusive Phra Tamnak resort,
property acquired while he was a fugi-
tive there.
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
fordability were issues faced by New
Zealanders. “You shouldn’t have to be
on a six-figure salary to buy a new
house,” he said.
Ardern, 42, unexpectedly resigned
on Thursday, saying that she no longer
had “enough left in the tank” to lead
her government into a general election
in October that polls suggest will be
won by the opposition National Party
leader, Christopher Luxon, the
53-year-old former head of Air New
Zealand. He has engineered a recovery
in the polls for the conservatives, who
were stunned by Ardern’s landslide re-
election less than 26 months ago.
Kim culture
police stamp
on birthdays
and haircuts
North Korea
Richard Lloyd Parry Asia Editor
The North Korean regime is mobilising
secret squads of enforcers to stamp out
foreign influence, including film and
TV, haircuts and even birthday parties.
Those found guilty of the most seri-
ous crimes, such as watching porno-
graphy, face public execution, accord-
ing to a report based on defectors’ testi-
mony. The units, known as “gruppa” or
“non-socialist groups”, pursue viola-
tions of Pyongyang’s official ideology.
“The groups operate as a hidden tool,
which is used by the government to
achieve their ultimate objectives of ubi-
quitous surveillance and the ability to
thoroughly oversee each and every res-
ident,” said the report by the Database
Centre for North Korean Human
Rights (NKDB) in Seoul.
Crimes prosecuted range from defec-
tion, smuggling, drug dealing and
vagrancy to absence from work, reli-
gious observance, traffic offences, adul-
tery, hair dyeing and “decadent culture”
— which can include drinking parties.
Increasingly, the foreign influence
police are preoccupied with the influx
of South Korean music, television and
film, on discs and memory sticks.
“First they check how you dress,” one
defector told the NKDB. “Then what
type of music you listen to. You cannot
have a birthday party as a group. They
keep saying not to have gatherings and
drink alcohol because when people are
drunk, they will end up singing one or
two South Korean songs for sure.”
Despite the censorship that domi-
nates life in North Korea, its people
have been increasingly exposed to
South Korean culture in the past 15
years. The popularity of South Korean
drama has created a vogue for new
forms of speech. In the three quarters of
a century since national division, the
Korean spoken in the North has
diverged from South Korean, which is
littered with Anglicisms. Last week, the
North’s tame parliament, the Supreme
People’s Assembly, passed a law “pro-
tecting the cultured Pyongyang dia-
lect” — the regime’s latest effort to sup-
press southern influence.
One of the techniques used by the
gruppa is to cut off electricity in houses
where people are suspected of watch-
ing a banned DVD or videotape, thus
preventing them from removing it from
the player and concealing it.
Those guilty of crimes against social-
ism face punishments including demo-
tion or dismissal at work and being sent
to a re-education or labour camp. In
extreme cases, such as possession of
pornography, the firing squad awaits.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
6. Talk with the president
It’s my dad’s
bucket list . . .
and I’m doing
it all for him
United States
Will Pavia New York
One day last month Laura Carney
found herself in a studio recording a
version of the Beatles song Good Night.
She did not consider herself a singer but
like so many artists, she felt compelled
to express herself.
She had also felt compelled to ride a
horse fast, to leap from a plane, to corre-
spond with the Pope and to chat with
the president of the United States.
In Carney’s case, the compulsion
came from her father and a list he had
made titled: “Things I would like to do
in my lifetime.” He had ticked off six
items on the list when, at the age of 54,
he was killed by a teenage motorist who
ran through a red light while talking on
her mobile phone.
Carney, 44, is now trying to do all the
things he never managed to do. “I
would think: ‘I can’t do this,’ ” she said. “I
would think: ‘How am I singing?’ ”
She saw the list for the first time in
Pope Benedict felt isolated at the end Capo broadened mind under
Vatican City
Philip Willan Rome
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI revealed
his sense of isolation in a book written
after his resignation which has been
published posthumously.
Benedict, who died on December 31
almost ten years after resigning from
the papacy, said he did not want any-
thing published during his lifetime
because of the hostility towards him in
some sectors of the Catholic Church.
“The fury of the circles opposed to
me in Germany is so strong that the
appearance of my any word immedi-
ately provokes a murderous clamour,”
Benedict wrote to Elio Guerriero, the
theologian who curated the 190-page
collection of essays together with the
former pope’s private secretary, Arch-
bishop Georg Gänswein.
“I want to spare this, both for myself
and for Christianity,” he wrote in What
is Christianity?. Published three weeks
2GM
2016 when her brother, who was getting
married and moving into a new house,
came across a pouch that had belonged
to their father. Inside it was the list, on
three tattered sheets of notepaper. It
ran to 60 items.
Some were relatively simple: to “play
the piano or guitar”, to “visit New Or-
leans” and nine other destinations and
to “own a $200 suit”. Others, such as:
“Beat a No 1 seeded tennis player in a
tournament” looked trickier.
It was not dated, but her mother re-
membered him writing it in 1978, the
year she was born. It was clear to her
that the list was not an idle dream. “He
pursued it throughout his life,” she said.
Over time, and using different
pens, he had ticked off six items, in-
cluding “do a comedy monologue
in a nightclub”, “be interviewed
on a radio programme” and
“own a great record collection”.
He was killed in 2003, before he
had a chance to “sing at my
daughter’s wedding”, number
after his death, it joins a flood of publi-
cations that lay bare deep divisions in
the contemporary church.
“There were individual bishops, and
not just in the United States, who
rejected Catholic tradition in its entire-
ty, aiming to develop a kind of new,
modern Catholicity in their dioceses,”
Benedict wrote. “In not a few seminar-
ies students caught reading my books
were considered unsuitable for the
priesthood. My books were hidden as
though they were harmful literature
and read only in secret.”
In 2019 he published a letter blaming
the clerical sex abuse crisis on the col-
lapse of morality during the sexual
revolution of the 1960s, a position that
put him at odds with his successor
Francis, who has attributed it to an
abuse of clerical power.
In his introduction to the book Bene-
dict confided that he had felt unable to
make plans after resigning in 2013,
overwhelmed by the exposure of cor-
51. Skydive
ruption and in-fighting in the so-called
Vatileaks scandal, which was based on
media revelations derived from docu-
ments stolen from his secretary’s desk.
“When I announced my resignation
I had no plan whatever for what I would
do in the new situation. I was too ex-
hausted to plan other work,” he wrote.
“After the election of Pope Francis I
slowly resumed my theological work.
In the course of the years a series of
small and medium contributions, pre-
sented in this volume, took shape.”
Benedict’s book comes soon after
Nothing but the Truth, by Gänswein,
and In Good Faith, by Cardinal Gerhard
Müller, a German whom Benedict
appointed as head of the Vatican’s doc-
trinal office. Both criticise Francis.
In what is regarded as a response to
these criticisms, Francis has spoken out
against the sin of malicious gossip. On
Saturday he told a delegation in the Vat-
ican that for some “gossip is daily bread
and it does so much harm. It destroys.”
59. “Having him not be there at the
wedding was very difficult for me,” she
said. “It dredged up a lot of stuff from
when he died when I was so young.”
But the list also reminded her of
“what he cared about in life”, and of
the way he was always encouraging
her to be creative, she said.
Mr Carney, a salesman and part-
time writer, had been stopped from
achieving the very first item: “I
would like to live a long,
healthy life at least to the
year 2020.” So she would do
it herself, and all the
others, she decided.
In the summer of 2017
Marlon Brando fridge magnet
Italy
Philip Willan
A third hideout discovered by police
has offered a glimpse into the character
of the Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Massi-
na Denaro, who eluded the authorities
for decades before his arrest last week.
Massina Denaro’s choice of decor re-
veals an ego paired with a certain sense
of humour. The fridge in the latest
bunker to be found bore a magnet with
the image of Marlon Brando and the
words: “I am the Godfather.”
Posters of Brando and Al Pacino from
the Francis Ford Coppola films adorn
the walls of his refuges. A portrait of the
gangster wearing a crown, taken from
an exhibition of “mafia faces” in nearby
Salemi, Sicily, found its way to the
drawing room in his mother’s home.
Biographies of President Putin and
31
World
Laura Carney has jumped
from a plane and spoken to
President Carter, among many
other things on the list made
by her father, Mick, below
she went to New Mexico, to ride a horse.
She had never ridden one. “I’m a maga-
zine copy editor in New York,” she said.
A television journalist who came to
cover her quest went skydiving with her
in New Jersey and then, after another
report of her exploits, a man from Ala-
bama contacted her with an idea of how
she might speak to the president.
Jimmy Carter was president when her
father made the list, and in 1978 he was
fielding calls from the public. “He still
teaches Sunday school,” the man said.
She contacted Carter’s representa-
tive and heard nothing for a year, but
she persisted, and found herself in
Plains, Georgia, the night before a Sun-
day service. Carter’s biographer hap-
pened to be staying in the hotel, and
having swotted up on his life in the
weeks beforehand, “I could hold my
own in conversation about him for
three hours”. The biographer “put in a
good word for us”, she said.
After the service, people waiting to
have their photograph taken with Cart-
er were instructed not to talk to him,
but the list item demanded it, she said.
She told him she was there because of
her father’s bucket list. “He shook my
hand and said: ‘Come back down to
Plains and see us again.’ ”
Last month, singing the Beatles song
in a studio, she completed the item that
demanded that she record five songs.
That finished the list, except for item
five: to publish a few books. For this she
has re-released a book her father wrote
in the 1970s.
Her own book My Father’s List, will be
published in July.
Adolf Hitler and books on philosophy
and current affairs reveal a man of
intellectual pretension, unlike the rural
mafiosi who dominated the Cosa Nos-
tra under his predecessor, Toto Riina.
In correspondence with an associate
whom Messina Denaro dubbed “Sueto-
nius”, after the first century AD Roman
historian, he confessed to regretting
that he had never been to university.
“My greatest anger is that I was a good
student, but I became distracted by
other things. If I could go back again, I
would take a degree, without any
doubt,” he wrote with the alias Alessio.
Messina Denaro, 60, was involved in
dozens of murders, including a bomb-
ing campaign to intimidate the Italian
state in the early 1990s. “On a cultural
level I define myself as a good-for-
nothing who knows a little about
everything,” he said.
32
World
FROM OUR
CORRESPONDENT
Sommelières are horrified by the idea
of Dry January but the health-conscious
French are forcing them to think again
them over lunch in the Le Bar
Adam Sage Long. “It has notes of pear and
lemon, with a hint of the minerals
PA R I S that you find with chardonnay.”
Yet one element was lacking
from the sparking white brought
to the table by a smiling waiter in
a grey waistcoat: alcohol.
French Bloom is an alcohol-free
wine created by Constance
Jablonski, a French supermodel,
and Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger, a
he Royal Monceau hotel, member of the Taittinger
T which lies off the Champs
Élysées in Paris,
epitomises French art de
vivre. There are
chandeliers, an art gallery, suites
costing up to €25,000 a night and
a cellar that contains about 1,200
champagne-making dynasty. It
had been served by the Royal
Monceau as this most chic of
hotels embraced le Dry January, a
concept of British inspiration
hitherto scorned by the
fashionable Parisians but now
different wines. winning them over.
Laura Jurado, 27, the “Wine is part of the culture in
sommelière, described one of this country and it feels a bit
Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski, sensing a change in the
national mood, have joined forces to produce the alcohol-free wine French Bloom
strange for French people to be
drinking alcohol-free wine,” said
Jurado, a Colombian. “But they
seem to like it when they try.”
And try they do. A poll by the
Ifop institute found that 27 per
cent of French people would try to
avoid alcohol this month,
compared with 10 per cent a
couple of years ago. Among those
aged 18 to 24, the proportion was
40 per cent. French media outlets
have caught the mood, with
Jobs website finds place
for French hijab-wearers
France
Constance Kampfner
A pair of French Muslims have
launched a website to help hijab-
wearing women to find a job.
Under a law that separates the
church and state in France, public
sector employees are not allowed to
wear external religious symbols such
as hijabs, Christian crosses or kippahs
at work. In the private sector, how-
ever, bosses are free to decide whe-
ther to impose “religious neutrality”.
Yasmine Derrouaz, 21, the founder
of JobHijab, said it was not always
clear to prospective Muslim employ-
ees wanting to keep their head-
scarves which companies they could
work for. As a result, women fre-
quently went through the ordeal of
applying for a role, only to find that
they could not take it.
Companies are not required to
state their policy on religious neutral-
ity in job adverts and are “free to in-
form staff of this at their conve-
nience”, Valérie Duez-Ruff, an expert
in French employment law, said.
Derrouaz and Hanya Cheikh, 19, a
student, created the website and its
accompanying Instagram account to
save women from the frustration of
applying for jobs that would later
“require them to choose between
their religion and their career”.
JobHijab lists only companies that
are known to be open to staff wearing
religious symbols, information the
newspapers writing about
the benefits of abstinence.
The government has
joined in, launching a
campaign that questions
celebrating the new year
throughout the month of
January, and warning
that drinkers face
heightened risks of
cancer and strokes.
Winemakers are
appalled. Nicolas Carreau,
women obtain through word of
mouth or from the firms’ human
resources departments. The jobs they
feature also specify whether Muslim
employees will be granted time for
daily prayers.
Both said they knew many French
Muslims who had felt forced to com-
promise on their values in order to
provide for their families. “We con-
stantly receive messages from
women who tell us they can’t stand
having to take off their headscarf in
front of their colleagues, and it breaks
our hearts,” Cheikh said. “It is a real
humiliation.”
Cheikh, who teaches English at
private schools while studying for a
degree in communications, said she
always told prospective employers
that she wore a hijab. Sometimes she
does not hear back from them “even
though everything had been going
well until then”.
The pair have linked more than 100
Muslim women with jobs since start-
ing their website in the summer. They
list new positions every day, but with
more than 30,000 followers across
Instagram, Twitter and TikTok they
cannot keep up with demand, which
had been “very high”.
Sectors most open to staff wearing
headscarves include marketing and
any businesses in the digital sphere.
Finding work in more traditional
areas, such as banking or human re-
sources, was “complicated”, while
customer-facing jobs are even rarer,
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
chairman of the vineyard owners’
association in the Blaye area of
Bordeaux, said that Dry January
was “breaking our culture”.
In an open letter, Bernard
Farges, chairman of the National
Interprofessional Council of
Controlled Designation of Origin
Wines, and Samuel Montgermont,
chairman of Vin et Société, a
campaign group, dismissed it as an
“imported British concept” that
had no place in the “land of wine”.
They may be fighting a losing
battle. Wine consumption is down
70 per cent over the past six
decades and is set to fall further in
the next ten years, studies show.
At the same time, France is one of
the fastest-growing markets in the
world for alcohol-free drinks.
Sales of alcohol-free beers were up
56 per cent in 2021 compared with
the previous year and their
cocktail counterparts are
booming. The French have been
more reticent about alcohol-free
wines, although L’Obs magazine
said in an article that there now
were a few sparkling whites
“which do the job”.
Among them is French Bloom.
A hotel spokeswoman said that it
had proved a success during
Paris Fashion Week, where its
calorie content — it is a quarter
that of champagne — was
appreciated. It tasted a bit like
up-market sparkling apple
juice, suitable for posh
children’s birthday parties.
Jurado said it was “well
made”, but could not hide
her preference for the
hotel’s traditional wine
list, which includes a 2001
Petrus from Bordeaux for
€10,000. “As a sommelière,
I will always defend true
wine,” she said.
they added. The 2016 law allowing
private employers to prohibit the
wearing of religious items applies to
all religions but is often referred to as
a “headscarf ban”. Opponents argue
that the ban is discriminatory and
violates a person’s freedom of reli-
gion, while supporters claim that it is
necessary to ensure the neutrality of
the state.
Derrouaz and Cheikh said they
had faced a backlash since starting
JobHijab, especially from the far
right, which rails against the “Islami-
fication” of France. “We’ve had a lot
of hate, but it won’t stop us, even if
sometimes it is a little scary,” Cheikh
said.
In recent years, anti-Muslim feel-
ing in France has been on the rise. In
2021, the country recorded a 38 per
cent increase in Islamophobic
attacks, according to the interior
ministry. Some companies that have
sent job offers to post on JobHijab
have asked for their names not to be
publicised, fearing a social media
reaction for appearing to be too Mus-
lim-friendly.
Derrouaz and Cheikh hope that by
getting more Muslim women into the
workplace they can challenge old
prejudices. “We are always reduced
to our headscarf in France. People
think we are incompetent or we are
oppressed” said Derrouaz. “It’s sad
and it’s not true. That’s why we set up
this website, to prove that we are not
just our religion.”
the times | Monday January 23 2023
world markets (Friday’s close. Change on the week)
FTSE 100
7,770.59 (-73.48)
8,000
7,500
7,000
6,500
Dec 21 30 Jan 6 13 20
Recession is coming, but economists are split on how bad it will be
Arthi Nachiappan
Economics Correspondent
Economists broadly expect Britain to
enter a recession this year, but are
divided on whether prospects for its
depth and length are worsening or
improving.
The EY Item Club said the recession
would be deeper than expected,
because consumers appeared to be
more cautious about using savings and
Affordable
electric cars
‘not viable’
Kia boss says battery cost defeats mass market
Robert Lea Industrial Editor
A mass market in affordable electric
cars will not happen soon because of
the difficulty of producing them on a
commercially viable basis, one of the
largest makers of zero-emission vehi-
cles for British drivers has warned.
Paul Philpott, UK chief executive of
Kia, the fast-growing South Korean car
company, said it had no immediate plans
for a mass-market electric product.
Some fear there is a prospect of a
society of haves and have-nots in the
electric car revolution because of the
sheer cost of buying or financing a zero-
emission vehicle.
Philpott’s prediction also threatens
to undermine the government’s ban on
selling petrol and diesel vehicles by
2030.
With price inflation roaring ahead in
the past couple of years, there are only
a handful of electric cars available
below £30,000, compared with the less
than £20,000 that motorists would
expect to pay for mass market or entry-
level petrol cars. Even the smallest elec-
tric car, the zero-emission version of
the Fiat 500, starts at about £30,000.
This month the Advanced Propul-
sion Centre, the government’s automo-
tive electrification agency, significantly
cut electric car forecasts for 2025
because “buyers are expected to stick
with cheaper options for longer”.
While European and Asian manu-
facturers have been stepping up pro-
duction of electric vehicles, they have
been concentrating on more expensive
models to make healthy profit margins
on the cost of installing electrified
commodities
Dow Jones Gold
33,375.49 (-927.12) $1,925.40 (+9.48)
35,000
32,500
30,000
27,500
Dec 21 30 Jan 6 13 20 Dec 23 30
because the rate of economic inactivity,
which measures working-age people
who are neither working nor looking
for work, had not fallen as quickly as
expected.
The number of inactive people rose
by half a million during the Covid
pandemic. The forecasting group said
that Britain faced a 0.7 per cent contrac-
tion in GDP this year, compared with
the 0.3 per cent that had been predicted
in October. It said that the economy
systems. The battery pack is the cost-
liest component of an electric car. The
smaller the car, the larger the propor-
tion the battery in its production cost.
Unveiling Kia’s product launches,
Philpott outlined plans to increase the
16,000 electric cars it sold in the UK last
year to more than 20,000 in 2023. But
he conceded: “The electrification of the
small car is really difficult, economic-
ally speaking.”
Kia is Britain’s fastest-growing
motoring brand among the traditional
carmakers, selling as many as Peugeot,
Citroën and Fiat combined. Its record
sales of more than 100,000 last year
showed 10 per cent growth in a falling
UK market that hit 30-year lows.
Its British market share is above 6 per
cent. It has overtaken Vauxhall and
only the Volkswagen, Ford, Audi, BMW
and Toyota marques sold more.
Of the 267,000 battery electric cars
registered in Britain last year, two-
thirds were fleet or company cars and a
fifth, more than 54,000, were Teslas.
Stripping out Tesla sales, Kia
accounted for 7.5 per cent of UK battery
electric sales with its £36,000 e-Niro
being the bestselling non-Tesla, zero-
emission vehicle. Its best-in-class
electric car is the £46,000 EV6, the
most expensive Kia model on the road
for a brand that has acquired market
share by its reputation as offering value
for money. Its next model will be the
Kia EV9, an electric seven-seat sports
utility vehicle set to cost £60,000.
Philpott conceded that the imminent
arrival of cheaper-priced Chinese
brands into the British market could be
a catalyst for change.
Brent crude (6pm)
$ $86.42 (+2.35)
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
Jan 6 13 20 Dec 23 30 Jan 6
was on course to return to growth by
the middle of the year.
Hywel Ball, EY’s UK chairman, said
the outlook had become “gloomier”,
but added: “The chief headwind to
activity over the last year — high and
rising inflation — may be starting to
retreat, while energy prices are falling,
too.”
Analysts at JP Morgan, the American
bank, believe that the fall in wholesale
gas prices indicates that the economy
Emily in Paris,
starring Lily
Collins, is a big
hit for Netflix
Netflix is Fast to
react to change
Threat to Issas’ Asda petrol merger
Helen Cahill
The government could push back
against plans by Mohsin and Zuber Issa
for a £12 billion merger of their petrol
forecourts with those of Asda if it is felt
it would push up pump prices.
After plans for the merger between
Asda’s petrol business and EG Group
came to light, Kevin Hollinrake, the
small business minister, said that Grant
Schapps, the business secretary, had
“already raised concerns about fuel
prices with the Competition & Markets
Authority and directly with retailers
and we would consider very carefully
anything that might undermine com-
Business
currencies
£/$
$ $1.2372 (+0.0179)
120
100
80
60
13 20 Dec 23 30 Jan 6 13 20
will shrink by less than previously
expected as it will ease the burden of
energy bills. They said last week that
GDP would contract by 0.1 per cent this
year, down from their previous esti-
mate of a 0.3 per cent decline.
Data from the Office for National
Statistics next month will reveal if the
UK entered recession, defined as two
consecutive quarters of negative
growth, at the end of last year. JP Mor-
gan believes the economy narrowly
The new co-chief executives of
Netflix have left the door open to
introducing free, advertising-
supported television services,
known as Fast, to the platform
petitive market forces”. The Issa broth-
ers aim to cut the rising cost of the pet-
rol company’s £7 billion debt, The Sun-
day Times reported.
The brothers, who are from Black-
burn, took control of Asda in a £6.8 bil-
lion deal completed with TDR Capital,
their private equity backer, in 2021.
They secured the takeover by selling off
27 petrol forecourts owned by EG
Group to address concerns that the
acquisition would push up prices in
some areas.
It is understood that they hope their
sale of petrol forecourts then could help
the latest possible merger.
The CMA has not confirmed
33
£/€
$ €1.1440 (+0.0143) ¤
1.300 1.300
1.200 1.200
1.100 1.100
1.000 1.000
Dec 23 30 Jan 6 13 20
avoided a recession but will enter one
by the middle of this year.
Goldman Sachs, the investment
bank, thinks the economy will shrink by
0.5 per cent this year, milder than the
consensus forecast of 0.9 per cent.
Four in ten small and medium-sized
businesses plan to cut jobs this year
over recession fears, according to a sur-
vey of 500 business leaders by Census-
wide, the survey company, and Fiverr,
which links businesses to freelancers.
(Katie Prescott writes). In their first
interview since Reed Hastings,
Netflix’s co-founder, said he was
stepping down from the world’s
whether it would be willing to scruti-
nise the transaction.
Howard Cox, founder of Fair Fuel
UK, the campaign group, thinks the
watchdog should intervene. He said he
had raised the merger with the compe-
tition authority over concerns that
Asda’s “low prices that we’ve enjoyed
over the last 15 to 20 years could be
affected. We need assurances that
pump prices are going to adhere to
Asda’s policies of being as low as
possible.
“We’ve got 1.7 million supporters and
they will also be bombarding the
CMA to ask them to wake up and smell
the coffee.”
34 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

Business

Need to know
1
Consumer confidence turned a
corner late last year after 15
consecutive months of decline,
analysis shows. The latest tracker
Lessons of Carillion are
Robert Lea Industrial Editor
by Deloitte, the professional
services company, found that Amid the excitement of the football
confidence rose in the last three World Cup in Qatar, few took note that
months of 2022 as people became much of the swanky Msheireb central
slightly more positive about the district of Doha, which includes the
state of the economy. Mandarin Oriental hotel that was the
£20,000-a-night home for David
Some food producers may be Beckham during the tournament, came

2 taking advantage of the cost-

of-living crisis by excessively
raising their prices beyond what is
“legitimate”, John Allan, the
chairman of Tesco, has claimed.
The country’s biggest supermarket
chain has a team to check the
justification if a food producer
demands a higher price for its
products.
Paul Philpott, UK chief
with a Made in Britain stamp.
Nor was it the only high-profile
project to have been co-constructed by
the now-defunct Carillion. The 36-mile
A90 Aberdeen bypass opened in 2019,
the new Royal Liverpool University
Hospital swung into operation last
autumn and the Midland Metropolitan
University Hospital in Birmingham is
expected to follow suit next year.
Yet, far from being success stories,
these four schemes, dominated by

3 executive of Kia, the fast-

growing South Korean car
company and one of the largest
makers of zero-emission vehicles
for British drivers, has warned that
a mass market in affordable
electric cars will not happen soon
because of the difficulty of
producing them on a
commercially viable basis.
The government could push
delays, huge cost overruns and a lack of
payment for work done, pushed
Carillion into the hands of the Official
Receiver five years ago, in January 2018.
It was the biggest corporate collapse of
modern times, affecting an estimated
75,000 workers at a company at the
centre of British life, constructing
buildings for the state and running
facilities for the departments of
defence, health, education and justice.
The ramifications are still being felt,

4 back against plans by Mohsin

and Zuber Issa for a £12 billion
merger of their EG Group petrol
forecourts with those of Asda if it
is felt it would push up pump
prices.
Economists broadly expect
but questions of how mismanagement,
accounting and governance failures
occurred in what now looks like plain
sight remain largely unresolved. In the
words of Bob Wylie, who wrote the
story of the company’s collapse in
Bandit Capitalism: “We had regulators
who didn’t regulate, accountants who

5 Britain to enter a recession

this year, but are divided on
whether its depth and length are
worsening. The recession will be
deeper than expected, according to
forecasters at the EY Item Club,
because people appear more
cautious about drawing on their
savings and the rate of economic
inactivity among working age
people has not fallen as quickly as
expected.
Ted Sarandos and Greg
looked the other way and directors on
the make. A perfect storm.”
So what are the things we may have
learnt from the collapse of Carillion?
what is the value of a blue-chip
boardroom?
Philip Green — not the rag trade
knight, but a captain of industry with
P&O and United Utilities on his CV, as
well as a role as corporate governance
advisor to David Cameron, the former
prime minister — chaired a Carillion
board that failed to oversee executives
aggressive accounting
It would be tempting to think that
Carillion was the high water mark of
“aggressive accounting”, a phrase
apparently acceptable in financial
reporting circles that means not telling,
or at least concealing, the truth.
Carillion’s downfall may have been
prompted by multiple contract failures,
but it was the acquisition-fuelled
£1.3 billion of debt that the group was
audit reform
Having a world-leading accountancy
firm such as KPMG as auditor doesn’t
mean investors can expect world-
leading audit processes and assuran-
cee, as multiple scandals over the years
from the Big Four that also include EY,
PwC and Deloitte have shown. Audi-
tors will tell you they are not “fraudi-
tors”, that their job is not to smoke out
company deceit. Equally, they should
audit partner, £250,000 for his role in
Carillion’s accounts. It took the same
amount of time for the Financial
Conduct Authority to level provisional
fines against Richard Howson, the
chief executive, and Richard Adam, the
finance director, totalling more than
£700,000 on the same issue. Critics of
these watchdogs will tell you that is
them acting with alarming alacrity. An
Insolvency Service pursuit of as many

6 Peters, the new co-chief

executives of Netflix, have left
the door open to introducing free,
advertising-supported television
services to the platform.
Microsoft, the American
found by multiple inquiries as having
“acted recklessly and misleadingly”.
Green, damned by MPs after a select
committee inquiry as “delusional” and
“unquestioning”, said those MPs had
failed “to understand . . . the true, more
complex picture of events”. Other
carrying — unprecedented for a con-
struction company — that meant it
could not withstand the shocks.
Carillion was found to have booked
profits that were not matched by cash
inflows and had been hiding its true
debt levels by borrowing to finance and
not be there simply to sign off on
accounts subsequently found to be mis-
leading. Audit reform has been on the
agenda for 40 years and became a gov-
ernment priority again after Carillion.
Nothing has happened subsequently.
as eight Carillion directors for disquali-
fication from board roles has yet to
issue any white smoke.
in need of reconstruction
Bad practice embedded deeply, broken
business models, unsustainably long

7 technology group, is expected

to reveal a drop in quarterly
profits this week as it grapples
with falling personal computer
sales and the slowdown of its
cloud division.
board members included Keith
Cochrane and Andrew Dougal, the
industrialists, and Alison Horner, then
head of Tesco’s human resources.
delay payments to its suppliers via “re-
verse factoring”; all the while racking
up further debt to keep up its commit-
ted level of dividends to shareholders.
slow-moving regulators
It took until last summer for the Finan-
cial Reporting Council to fine KPMG
supply chains of subcontractors failing
to survive on razor-thin margins, late
payments, cosy relationships, poorly
£14.4 million and Peter Meehan, its lead procured tenders, shoddy work, cor-

8
Europe has become the
“region du jour” for investors
betting on a less severe
economic downturn and attracted
by its cheaper valuations
compared with American stocks,
according to Goldman Sachs, one
of the world’s largest investment
banks.
Taxpayers effectively will pay
Cloud hangs over Microsoft’s profits
Callum Jones
US Business Correspondent
Microsoft is expected to reveal a drop in
quarterly profits this week as it grapples
with falling personal computer sales
and the slowdown of its powerhouse
cloud division.
Refinitiv. Pre-tax profits are expected
to fall 5.3 per cent to $21.3 billion.
The Microsoft business that houses
its cloud computing division, including
the Azure platform, is expected to
report sales of $21.4 billion, up 16.9 per
cent on the year but down from quar-
terly growth of almost a third a year
executive, told Microsoft’s employees
that the company must raise its game.
He wrote in an email last week: “As a
company, our success must be aligned
to the world’s success. That means
every one of us and every team across
the company must raise the bar and
perform better than the competition.”
continued from page 21
Netflix is Fast to react
largest streaming service on Thursday,
Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters set out
their plans for the business’s future.
While they did not to expect a launch
this year, they said the idea was on the
cards. “We’ve got a ton on our plate, but
Fast is a variant on the ad-supported
content.” Sarandos told Bloomberg.
“We want to be open to figure out, as the

9 oil and gas companies to build

wind farms to supply their
North Sea platforms because of
generous new tax breaks, critics
have claimed.
Akbar Al Baker, the boss
It will update Wall Street tomorrow,
days after becoming the latest Big Tech
group to announce sweeping job cuts.
Confirming it would shed about 10,000
jobs last week, it also braced investors
for a $1.2 billion hit during the second
quarter, citing severance costs and a
ago. Revenue generated by the person-
al computing unit is estimated to have
fallen by 15.6 per cent to $14.7 billion.
Based in Redmond, Washington,
Microsoft has a market value of about
$1.8 trillion and a global workforce of
220,000 employees, with 6,000 in
Shares in Micrososft closed at
$240.22 on Friday, up 3.6 per cent on the
day, and 0.4 per cent on the week. Its
stock has fallen by 18.9 per cent in the
past year, beating most of its largest
peers. Alphabet, the owner of Google
and YouTube, is down 24.8 per cent;
business evolves, what we should do.
Nothing’s off the table.”
Fast operators make curated streams
of content, or channels, that cater to a
specific niche or interest. Unlike Netflix
and other video-on-demand services,
where you choose what you watch and

10 of Qatar Airways,
“appears not to wish to
engage” in a £1 billion dispute with
Airbus, the aircraft maker, over
peeling paint on passenger
aircraft, despite a judge pressing
the carrier’s chief executive to take
part.
move to get rid of some office leases.
Revenue at the American software
group has slowed markedly in recent
months, according to analysts, with a
decline to low-single-digit growth.
Analysts estimate the group’s reve-
nue rose by 2.4 per cent to $53 billion in
the latest three months of 2022, accord-
ing to a consensus figure compiled by
Britain. The group owns businesses in-
cluding Azure; the Windows operating
system; LinkedIn, the social network;
and Xbox, the gaming business. It is try-
ing to win approval for an agreed
$69 billion takeover of Activision
Blizzard, the video games developer.
As he detailed the coming cuts to its
workforce, Satya Nadella, 55, chief
Amazon is down 45.4 per cent; and
Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook
and Instagram, is down 54 per cent.
Only Apple, down 15.1 per cent, has had
an easier ride than Microsoft.
Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill
Gates, 67, and Paul Allen, who died in
2018. The company went public in 1986.
Gates left the board in 2020.
when, Fast streams work like tradi-
tional broadcast channels, with linear
streams around adverts. For example,
the new video-on-demand service run
by ITV, called ITVX, has dedicated
streams for crime drama, classic movies
and Love Island.
In the United States, ScreenMedia, a
research group, estimates that revenue
the times | Monday January 23 2023
still to be learnt
ners cut, barely regulated by years of
Whitehall cost-cutting — the parallels
of construction industry failure
between the tragedy of Grenfell Tower
and the demise of Carillion are all too
well-admitted by a sector that has been
through official inquiries into its short-
comings at rate of one every two or
three years over the past three decades.
outsourcing
Serco, Capita, G4S and Amey were all
brought to their knees in the past
decade but remain very much in busi-
ness. The failure of Carillion high-
lighted the shortcomings of relations
between Whitehall and contractors: on
the one hand, poorly executed procure-
ment; on the other, low-ball bidding
and gaming of the system. The failings
of civil servants to oversee government
contractors has led to a new, more
generated by these online services will
almost double from $2.1 billion in 2021
to $4.1 billion this year.
In a wide-ranging interview, the new
bosses said the launch of Netflix’s
advertising subscription model late last
year in response to falling subscriber
numbers had been a success: “We have
knocked this thing outta the park. We
literally went from zero to get this thing
launched in six months. We’ve got a
load of work, there’s no doubt. We’re
gonna be busy building this out for
years to come,” Peters said.
They see advertising as “a mid-
single-digit billions of dollars [opportu-
nity] in three years” and are convinced
that most of the 100 million people who
at present share their friends’ and fami-
lies’ passwords, will pay for their own
subscriptions. Netflix has announced
that password-sharing will be made un-
available early this year.
“The vast majority of people who are
not paying for Netflix will have to pay.
This is not gonna be a universally
popular kind of event. There will be un-
happy customers,” Peters said.
Carillion might have
joined Lionel Messi
as a World Cup
winner, but though it
was a contractor in
the Msheireb district
of Doha, its travails
meant that it
collapsed long
before last month’s
tournament final
transparent “playbook” of contracting,
applauded by the outsourcers. That the
government can make such a mess of
the procurement of personal protective
equipment during the pandemic and
has let HS2 costs swirl out of control
suggests the war is not being won.
the making of rachel reeves
The woman who would be the next
chancellor was already a Labour star of
the future when, as chairwoman of the
business committee, she questioned
the dramatis personae during the
Carillion inquiry. An economist by
training, any incredulity she showed
was tempered by her ability to rapidly
skewer the issues at hand. The need for
corporate, regulatory and audit reform
and a desire for capitalism to act in the
interests of society will have been
seared into her policymaking DNA.
Slow progress for women in
financial services companies
Arthi Nachiappan
Economics Correspondent
Women make up only 15.1 per cent of
partners in financial services compa-
nies, research shows.
The figure has risen only slightly
from 14.8 per cent last year, according to
a survey by Fox & Partners, an employ-
ment and partnership law firm.
Gender diversity in the industry is
lagging behind wider representation on
the boards of FTSE 100 companies.
Women made up almost 40 per cent of
directors on the boards of the 100
groups with the biggest market capitali-
sation last year and 39 per cent on FTSE
250 boards, according to a report by EY,
the professional services company.
Progress in improving diversity has
been slow. For the third year in a row,
only 47 women had executive director
Inquiries and
trials set to
last for years
Behind the story
I
t may be five years since
Carillion collapsed, but there is
a long way to go before the
resulting inquiries and lawsuits
are concluded (Tom Howard
writes).
Only one of the main inquiries has
been put to bed — the Financial
Reporting Council’s investigation
into the conduct of some employees
of KPMG, Carillion’s auditor. Last
year a tribunal found that some of
the audit team, led by Peter
Meehan, had given backdated
documents and fake spreadsheets to
inspectors reviewing the 2016 audit
of Carillion. KPMG was fined a
record £20 million, cut to
£14.4 million to reflect its admission
of wrongdoing. Four employees were
banned from the profession and
were fined a total of £365,000.
In July, the Financial Conduct
Authority said it would fine
Carillion’s former chief executive
and two former finance directors
more than £870,000. The City
regulator accused Richard Howson,
Richard Adam and Zafar Khan of
“recklessly” publishing misleading
statements about Carillion’s
finances. The trio have launch
appeals. Along with five other
former directors, they are also being
pursued by the Insolvency Service,
which wants them banned from
board positions. The service
launched proceedings in January
last year, but no trial date has set.
The Official Receiver filed a
£1.3 billion claim in February. It is
suing KPMG after Carillion
collapsed with debts of £7 billion. It
accused the auditors of missing
“multiple red flags”. KPMG said
managers had “deliberately
manipulated” documents to make
them “audit-friendly”. It has set
aside £144 million to cover the cost
of claims. A trial is not expected to
start until next year. The FRC is also
investigating KPMG’s audit work.
Some say the firm could face a
record financial penalty.
roles in the FTSE 250. The figure has
increased by 3 per cent to 36 in the
FTSE 100 in the past year.
In Europe, women held just over
40 per cent of board seats in financial
services companies.
Catriona Watt, a partner at Fox &
Partners, said: “Narrowing the gender
representation gap at senior levels
within financial services is slow going.
At the current rate, gender equality is
unlikely to happen for decades.”
Banks, hedge funds and other listed
financial services businesses typically
were subject to higher levels of scrutiny
over boardroom diversity than private
equity funds, Watt said.
A mentoring scheme for women in
middle management and initiatives to
improve gender diversity could raise
the number of women partners in
financial services, she added.
35
Business
The week ahead
Teslas are not typically a feature of
the January sales, but the
carmaker’s decision to cut the
price of its electric cars by as much
as 20 per cent has raised eyebrows
on Wall Street and angered some of
its customers.
The automotive group led by Elon
Musk has embarked on an
aggressive worldwide discounting
drive after its deliveries fell short of
expectations in the past quarter,
raising fears about the strength of
demand for its vehicles. Its financial
results for the three months to
December, due out on Wednesday,
are expected to underline healthy Tesla has been discounting its cars
growth, however. Revenues at Tesla in an effort to drive global demand
are estimated to have risen by
36 per cent to $24.2 billion during rout and frustration with Musk’s
the quarter, according to a $44 billion pursuit and leadership
consensus of analysts’ forecasts of Twitter, the social network.
compiled by Refinitiv. The group is “We believe altogether these price
expected to report net profits of cuts could spur demand/deliveries
$3.98 billion, up by 38 per cent on by 12 per cent to 15 per cent globally
the year. in 2023 and show Tesla and Musk
Shares in the business have fallen are going on the offensive to spur
by 60 per cent over the past year demand in a softening backdrop,”
amid concerns over the strength of Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush
the economy, a broader technology Securities, said.
tomorrow
Primark will get most trading” customers British stores.
of the attention when amid the cost of living Citigroup expects
Associated British crisis, with Citigroup, 14 per cent growth in
Foods, the owner of the investment bank, ABF’s food business.
the fast-fashion predicting 15 per cent Finals Oxford
retailer, Ovaltine and sales growth. Analysts BioDynamics,
Twinings, releases its and investors will be Sureserve, Velocity
Christmas trading paying close attention Composites
statement. Its value to Primark’s first Trading updates
proposition is likely to online shopping Associated British
have continued to offering, a click-and- Foods, Henry Boot,
resonate with “down- collect trial in 25 Saga, Staffline
wednesday
Investors will be watching whether conscious consumers. The company
JD Wetherspoon is as upbeat as it is still contending with rising costs
has been previously about its and, as a discounter, has even less
prospects when the pubs group room to cope with them. One
reports its third-quarter solution is offloading some
sales figures. In the first of its properties that are
14 weeks of the located close to its
financial year, the existing pubs. In the
FTSE 250 company year to October,
revealed a rise in Wetherspoons
like-for-like sales of reported revenues
9.6 per cent of £1.74 billion.
compared with a Analysts expect the
year before. group to deliver
However, trading sales of £1.84 billion
deteriorated towards this year.
the end of the period, Interims Hargreaves
with sales in the final five Services, Van Elle
weeks 1.1 per cent below pre- Finals Watkin Jones
pandemic levels. The City will be Trading updates CMC Markets,
keen to know if that drop-off in easyJet, Forterra, Fresnillo, hVivo,
demand accelerated into the JD Wetherspoon, Keywords
Christmas period or if its strong
value credentials appealed to cost-
Studios, Quilter, TI Fluid Systems,
Tullow Oil
thursday
Good things come to those who results. The stock market last heard
wait, according to the Guinness fromthe spread-betting pioneer in
advertising campaign, and Ivan September, when the FTSE 250
Menezes is proof of that. The chief business said its first-quarter
executive of Diageo, the Johnnie revenues had risen by 11 per cent
Walker and Smirnoff maker, has year-on-year.
faced more heavy lifting in the past Interims Diageo, IG Group, Rank
decade than some had expected. The Finals Idox, Titon Holdings
Indian-born boss showed he could Trading updates 3i Group, CVS
get Diageo firing on all cylinders and Group, Dr Martens, Fevertree
championed diversity, which was Drinks, Foxtons, Intermediate
marked in the new year with a Capital, Provident Financial,
knighthood. After two strong post- Record, St James’s Place, Tate &
Covid years, Diageo’s interim results Lyle, Wizz Air
are likely to normalise at organic
sales growth of 5 per cent to 7 per
cent and operating profits up 6 per friday
cent to 9 per cent.
IG Group, Britain’s oldest City Trading updates Industrials Reit,
bookmaker, publishes half-year Paragon Banking, YouGov
36
Business
Investors spurn US
stocks in favour
of London listings
Emma Powell, Helen Cahill
Europe has become the “region du jour”
for investors betting on a less severe
economic downturn and attracted by
its cheaper valuations compared with
American stocks, according to one of
the world’s largest investment banks.
London-listed equities are among
the European markets to have rallied
this year, as a fall in wholesale gas
prices, the reopening of the Chinese
economy and signs that inflation may
have peaked have boosted sentiment.
Last week the FTSE 100 index of
London’s leading companies came
close to the record high hit in 2018.
Beijing’s ending of its zero-Covid
policies more rapidly than expected has
provided a huge boost to European
stocks, Sharon Bell, senior European
equity strategist at Goldman Sachs,
said. About 20 per cent of sales by
European companies are to Asia and
about half of that is to China. Chinese
travel into Europe was likely to provide
another boost, she said, “so, if anything,
that’s underselling the impact”.
The bank has increased its economic
growth forecast for China this year to
5.2 per cent, ahead of the consensus
forecast of 4.8 per cent, thanks to the
reopening of the country in December.
However, brighter prospects have
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
not been reflected in valuations for
British and European companies, Bell
said. European stocks are on a 30 per
cent discount to those in the United
States, which narrows only to 20 per
cent if the indices are set against the
sector weights of their US counterparts.
That partly reflects slower growth by
European companies and the Ukraine
war being “on the doorstep”. However,
Bell said: “Most of that has been true for
the last decade and Europe typically
has been on only a 10 per cent discount
to the US.”
Capital growth was expected to be
low this year for global equity markets,
which meant dividends and share buy- A Saga cruise off Greenland. The business suffered when international travel was closed down during the Covid pandemic
backs would become more important
for investor returns, she said. “Who
gives you income? Europe, for sure.”
PwC believes companies are “still
very much on the lookout for oppor-
Saga sells underwriter to reduce debts
tunities” that could improve their busi- Helen Cahill he pushes ahead with turnaround in the wake of a change in its pricing
nesses, despite a slowdown in deal- efforts that were launched in 2019. policy by Lance Batchelor, the former
making. Securing finance from debt Saga is expected to confirm the sale of Saga, which caters for the over-50s’ chief executive, in April 2019. Batchelor
markets, though, remained “extremely its underwriting business today as it market, was founded by Sidney De said the company would lift initial
difficult”. UK deal activity slowed last seeks to raise between £80 million and Haan in 1951 and was sold for £1.3 billion policy prices and would fix them for
year as debt costs increased and it £90 million to bring down its debt. to Charterhouse, the private equity three years. Saga’s shares were hit amid
became more difficult to value compa- The cruise and insurance company is firm, in 2004. The company was com- fears that the business would prove less
nies. The number of deals fell by 16 per exploring a sale of Acromas Insurance bined with the AA roadside recovery attractive to new customers and then it
cent to 4,232, according to PwC, and the Company Limited, its in-house under- business for seven years, but was struggled with a knock to its cruise
total value of deals fell by 56 per cent to writer, to reduce its £721 million debt. floated as a separate entity in 2014. business when international travel was
£144.9 billion. Total deal value hit a Euan Sutherland, 53, Saga’s chief exec- Saga has been overhauling its shut down in the pandemic. It is set to
record £332.1 billion in 2021. utive, is trying to offload the business as operations after its share price declined publish a trading update tomorrow.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Mark Littlewood
Local communities need more say
in how levelling up funds are spent
“
Confusingly, it’s
increasingly rare for
leading politicians to
enjoy much of a
honeymoon period,
but all of them get to a point when it
is universally agreed that their
honeymoon is over. That time
appears to have arrived for Rishi
Sunak. Two mistakes and one serious
strategic error have combined to put
the prime minister on the back foot.
He can’t do much about historical
unforced errors, but he does still have
time to address the central plank of
his economic plan going forward.
His first small blunder was to fail to
wear a seatbelt while filming a
promotional video in the back of the
car. His £200 fine obviously is
embarrassing, but is hardly a key
contribution to closing the
government’s budget deficit. Slightly
more serious — from the point of
view of wider government thinking, if
not the letter of law — was Sunak’s
apparent claim that the wider public
knew it was idiotic to believe we
could cut taxes. However, if one
wanted to give a generous
interpretation of the prime minister’s
rather mangled words, he was merely
restating his assertion that if the
deficit is high and we want to keep
public spending at very high levels,
then taxes will need to remain eye-
wateringly high, too.
The most serious misstep has been
to persist with the tensions and
contradictions revealed in the
government’s approach to
“levelling up”. This, it is worth
remembering, is intended to be
the over-arching mission of this
government. There may have
been a bewildering turnover of
senior cabinet ministers, as
well as the bandwidth-
chewing challenges of
Brexit and the Covid
pandemic, but, despite all
this, the original
centrepiece of the
Conservatives’ plan
appears to survive intact.
Underlying the
levelling up agenda is a
reasonable analysis.
Large parts of the
United Kingdom —
largely, but not
Rishi Sunak is likely to
be accused of cronyism
in allocating funding
exclusively areas in the north — have
failed to keep pace with the more
prosperous parts of the country, often,
but not always, communities in
London and the southeast. If this
disparity in living standards is broadly
explained by the unused potential of
the more struggling areas of the
economy, then finding a mix of
prescriptions that will unleash this
nascent entrepreneurial spirit surely
would be a recipe for accelerating
growth in Left Behind Britain.
Of course, like many well-
intentioned political slogans, we have
been waiting to see what this basket
of policies amounts to. That is coming
into sharper and more specific focus.
With the second round of levelling up
funding now under way —
amounting to a little over £2 billion
spread over about 100 projects — the
approach is for Whitehall to mull over
a range of bids and to issue funds for
those it deems the worthiest.
Proposals are submitted for
consideration to the Ministry of
Housing, Communities and Local
Government, unless they are
principally about transport, in which
case the Department for Transport
issues judgment. Successful
applications to date include support
for the Eden Project in Morecambe, a
plan to regenerate parts of Gateshead
and a rail improvement scheme in
Cornwall.
There are four criteria that officials
and politicians are supposed to pay
heed to when deliberating over bids.
In some ways, these are as nebulous
as the concept of “levelling up”.
They are characteristics of place,
strategic fit, deliverability and
value for money. One might
assume that the last of these
should be the only one in
play. The overall plan,
then, is that the
enlightened powers of
Whitehall will dispense
taxpayers’ money
displaying, one is asked
to believe, a better
grasp of the key assets
that local communities
are lacking than those
on the ground.
There are three
reasons to believe that
this approach will end in
disappointment.
First, the centralised
decision-making process is
certain to lead to a
misallocation of resources. There will
be things built that politicians will be
able to point at during a photo
opportunity and claim some credit
for. What won’t be considered is what
else the money could have been spent
on. Having dozens of local projects
that deliver some return is not the
same as money being spent optimally.
Second, the political battle about
who gets what is likely to intensify.
The positive piecemeal publicity that
might be gained by our politicians for
a given regeneration project could be
drowned out by complaints about
how much money is going where.
Already, Henri Murison, the
Northern Powerhouse Partnership
chief executive, has said that the
amount for his region is “a long way
off the radical economic
transformation” promised and “will
not make a material difference to
closing the north-south divide in
productivity”. Some point out that it
seems absurd London is receiving
more funding (about £150 million)
than the northeast (a little over
£100 million). Those lobbying for
London counter that on a per capita
basis, Wales and the north are
receiving much more.
Third, even if the process of
allocating funding is above reproach,
the exercise is certain to lead to
accusations of cronyism. Sunak is
facing criticism that his constituency
is receiving £19 million in funding.
There’s no suggestion of impropriety
by the prime minister, but if enough
mud is thrown it might stick.
Instead of a centralised state plan to
“level up”, the route to growth in
poorer areas is to send power down.
Local communities need much more
flexibility to change rules, regulations,
taxes and spending priorities. I cannot
see how this might include different
laws about wearing a seatbelt while
filming a video, but in planning,
licensing and other issues we need to
trust local areas to design their own
rules, not to spend their energies on
navigating a Whitehall bidding
process. The aim to spread prosperity
to struggling parts of Britain is noble.
However, at present,
’’
levelling up doesn’t
equate to much
more than top-down
decision-making.
Mark Littlewood is director-general
of the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Twitter: @MarkJLittlewood
Andrew Sentance
Confused about the
rate of inflation? You
have every right to be
L
ast week we learnt that
consumer prices inflation in
Britain had fallen back to
10.5 per cent. Is this good
news or bad news? The
answer is both. Yes, it is a good thing
that inflation is coming down. But it
is still a much too high. At 10.5 per
cent, it is still more than five times
the Bank of England’s target of 2 per
cent.
However, before the consumer
prices index became the official
target measure for the Bank of
England, the retail prices index was
used as the benchmark for inflation
in Britain. The Bank was given the
task of keeping a version of the
retail prices index, which excluded
mortgage interest rates and known
as RPIX, at 2.5 per cent. RPIX
inflation is 12.9 per cent at present,
again more than five times its old
target level.
The retail prices index was the
standard inflation measure in the
UK for about 50 years from the late
1940s. If mortgage interest rates are
not excluded, this inflation measure
‘There are four measures
of UK inflation, and the
CPI, the one used by the
Bank of England, is in
the middle of the pack’
suggests that prices are rising by
13.4 per cent a year.
So we have three inflation
measures — CPI, RPI and RPIX —
all giving different views of the latest
rate of inflation, ranging from
10.5 per cent to 13.4 per cent. But the
situation gets even worse if you care
to visit the Office of National
Statistics website. The ONS reports
on its headline page that inflation is
9.2 per cent. Its “official” measure of
inflation is called CPIH — a version
of CPI that includes an adjustment
for the costs faced by owner-
occupiers — households that either
own their property outright or are
buying their house with the help of a
mortgage.
Even more paradoxical is the fact
that house prices have been rising
recently at about 10 per cent a year
or more. And mortgage rates also
have been going up. So you would
think that a measure of inflation
37
Business
that tried to capture these housing-
related effects would be higher than
the CPI inflation rate of 10.5 per
cent and certainly not significantly
lower.
If you are confused by all these
conflicting measures of inflation,
then you are right to be. The answer
to the question “what is the rate of
inflation in the UK” in fact has four
answers. The most widely quoted
measure of British inflation, the
consumer prices index used by the
Bank of England, is in the middle of
the pack.
These differences in inflation
measures are not academic, they are
material. For example, a recent
edition of More or Less on BBC
Radio 4 exposed the fact that if you
were to measure the decline in
teachers’ pay in real terms since
2010 it changes from 24 per cent
using RPI to roughly 10 per cent to
12 per cent using the so-called
official CPIH.
How did we get into such a
muddle with inflation statistics?
There is a genuine difficulty in
capturing housing costs of owner-
occupiers in a prices index. The
methodology used by the ONS in its
CPIH measure is called imputed
rent. It treats homeowners as
renting their houses from
themselves and then calculates the
rent they might have had to pay.
That is totally different from all the
other prices captured in the
consumer prices index, which are
based on actual prices paid for
goods and services.
In addition, the Office of National
Statistics has fallen down badly on
the job when it comes to measuring
and communicating about UK
inflation. It has neglected the retail
prices index — a long-established
and well-respected inflation
measure — and has not sought to
repair its defects. It has promoted its
own view of measuring inflation,
based on the controversial
methodology of CPIH. And it has
not recognised the fact that no one
is using or referring to its favoured
measure.
When inflation is so high, we need
accurate, well-respected economic
statistics. But in Britain we are
peering through a statistical fog.
Andrew Sentance is a senior adviser
at Cambridge Econometrics and a
former MPC member
38
Business
Housebuilders angry at being made to pay for others’ cladding errors
Tom Howard
Construction bosses are growing
increasingly frustrated by government
efforts to persuade them to pay to fix
cladding issues on buildings with which
they have had no involvement.
Almost a year ago the biggest British
builders, including all the listed devel-
opers, agreed they would pay to fix
issues with blocks of flats they had
worked on within the past 30 years.
At the end of November, the gov-
ernment launched a consultation
looking at bringing in another levy that
developers would likely pay on each
Oil and gas companies could receive £109 of tax relief for every £100 of “decarbonisation expenditure” in the North Sea under legislation promised in the spring
Taxpayers will fund wind farms
for North Sea firms, say critics
Emily Gosden Energy Editor
Taxpayers effectively will pay oil and
gas companies to build wind farms to
supply their North Sea platforms
because of generous new tax breaks,
critics have claimed.
The government has been urged to
ditch the proposed investment relief
that will enable firms to claim a £109 tax
break for every £100 they spend on
decarbonising their assets.
The new tax break is due to be intro-
duced through legislation promised in
the spring.
Tessa Khan, executive director of
Uplift, the campaign group, said that oil
and gas companies should not be
“hitting up the public for the costs of
cleaning up their operations at a time
when they are already making obscene
profits at our expense”.
She urged the government to “ditch
house they built. “We have been clear
that developers must pay to fix building
safety issues,” Lee Rowley, minister for
local government and building safety,
said at the time.
Michael Gove, the housing secretary,
thinks such a “roof tax” would generate
£3 billion, which would be used to
resolve fire safety issues on “orphan”
buildings less than 18m tall. The consul-
tation is due to run until the end this
month, but if the government goes
ahead it would take British house-
builders’ contribution to fixing the
cladding crisis to nearly £8 billion.
“It’s completely unfair,” Greg Fitz-
this massive subsidy for international
oil and gas companies in the spring
budget”.
The incentives on offer are far more
generous than investment relief avail-
able for putting money into other wind
farms. Dan Roberts, director of Fron-
tier Economics, a leading consultancy,
said: “A similar wind farm investment
might end up looking much better in
one place than the other and that’s just
a bit bizarre.” He suggested the gov-
ernment could address this “inconsis-
tency” by introducing comparable tax
relief for power companies, which also
have been hit by a windfall levy.
The government imposed the energy
profits levy on the North Sea oil and gas
industry in May, increasing the effec-
tive tax rate from 40 per cent to 65 per
cent. It also sought to head off concerns
that the windfall tax would deter
investment by introducing a generous
gerald, 58, chief executive of Vistry,
whose brands include Bovis Homes,
said. “Housebuilders are forking out for
building houses to government stan-
dards in the past and we’re forking out,
through levies, for stuff that we didn’t
even build.”
Peter Truscott, 60, chief executive of
Crest Nicholson, suggested that the
government instead should try to
secure funding from other industry
participants, such as the cladding
manufacturers.
“We’re remediating our own build-
ings, even where the issues are not due
to faults but due to changing regula-
tax break that gave oil and gas compa-
nies £91 tax relief for every £100 they
invested.
In November the government said it
was increasing the levy from this year,
taking the effective tax rate to 75 per
cent and extending it until 2028. It also
reformed the investment allowance so
that the rate per £100 invested remains
at £91 for most projects but increases to
£109 relief for every £100 of “decarboni-
sation expenditure” in the North Sea.
This includes “modifying existing in-
stallations to use power from offshore
wind farms, installing bespoke wind
turbines to power the installation or
running electricity cables to the
installation from shore”.
Most oil platforms are powered using
their own gas or diesel generators. In
2021 the North Sea oil industry com-
mitted to invest £2 billion to £3 billion
by 2030 in connecting platforms to the
tions and attitudes,” he said, adding that
it was costing the industry an extra £3
billion, which was “manifestly unfair . . .
The more money that is taken out of the
sector, the fewer homes that will be
built in the UK.”
His warning echoes that of the
House Builders Federation, the indus-
try body, which has been critical of the
government’s failure to go after other
sectors for money. “Ministers have
made no progress securing contribu-
tions from foreign developers or ma-
terial providers at the heart of this
issue,” it said. “In the midst of a reces-
sion, it is disappointing that the govern-
grid or to renewable power sources to
help to meet a goal of halving opera-
tional emissions this decade. The tax
relief on such investments therefore
could reduce the Treasury’s windfall
tax take by billions of pounds,
depending on the timing of the
investments.
The proposed new investment relief
is due to be legislated for in the spring
finance bill after the budget in March,
and backdated to January 1.
A Treasury spokesman said: “The
Energy Profits Levy strikes a balance
between funding cost of living support
while encouraging investment in order
to bolster the UK’s energy security. We
have been clear that we want to
encourage reinvestment of the sector’s
profits to support the economy, jobs
and our energy security, which is why
the more investment a firm makes into
the UK, the less tax they will pay.”
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
ment is planning yet another tax on UK
firms that threatens investment, will
cost jobs and hit affordable housing
supply.”
In total, Britain’s housebuilders have
set aside £2 billion to get their own
buildings up to standard. An additional
4 per cent tax that the bigger players are
now subject to will bring in an estim-
ated £2.5 billion or so over the next
decade.
The housing department said: “We
remain focused on delivering for lease-
holders and pursuing developers or
building owners who are failing to fix
their unsafe buildings.”
Demand
for pension
buyouts
‘frenzied’
Patrick Hosking Financial Editor
Demand for pension scheme buyouts
has become “frenzied” after rising
government bond yields pushed many
schemes into a position healthy enough
to be handed to insurers.
Barnett Waddingham, an actuarial
firm that tracks the progress of
employers’ pension schemes towards a
buyout by an insurer, calculated that
the average FTSE 100 and FTSE 250
company was now within 5.1 years of a
buyout, compared with 10.5 years at the
start of 2022.
Simon Taylor, a partner at the firm,
said: “Most schemes, even allowing for
the liability-driven investment setback,
are in a much stronger position now
than 12 months ago.”
Many would be ready to go for a
buyout this year, he said. He described
the so-called bulk annuity market, the
process by which employers hand over
legacy pension responsibility to
insurers, as frenzied. After two years of
deals totalling more than £40 billion, he
expected this year to be even busier.
About 180 companies in the FTSE
100 and FTSE 250 have closed legacy
defined-benefit schemes, mostly pay-
ing pensions to staff who have long
since retired. Until recently, they have
been seen as a serious drag on present
performance, requiring constant
recovery payments to close deficits.
However, the surge in gilt yields in the
past year has narrowed those deficits
and in some cases put funds into
surplus, making buyouts much more
feasible.
Under a buyout, an insurer takes all
the assets and shoulders all the liabili-
ties for a one-off fee that depends on the
health of the scheme. Legal & General,
Rothesay Life, Pension Insurance
Corporation and Canada Life are big
buyout players.
Taylor said the opportunity for
buyouts could be transient because of
the volatility of markets. One limiting
factor was that employers did not
always keep their scheme member
databases in good enough order to
transfer.
Pension scheme funding levels also
have been improved by the fact that
most pensions in payment have annual
inflation increases capped at 5 per cent
or 2.5 per cent. With inflation at 10.5 per
cent according to the consumer prices
index and 13.5 per cent as measured by
the retail prices index, schemes are not
having to raise pensions as fast as prices
are rising. Pensioners in defined-bene-
fit schemes typically missing are out on
£500 a year a year because of this cap-
ping, according to XPS Pensions Group.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 39

Business

Airline chief
not engaging
in £1bn case,
claims judge
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
The boss of Qatar Airways “appears not
to wish to engage” in one of the biggest
commercial court cases of the year, a
judge has said.
A £1 billion dispute over peeling paint
on passenger aircraft descended into
further bickering last week at a pre-trial
hearing in London, with claims that a
senior lawyer and former British minis-
ter should apologise to the court.
Qatar Airways is suing Airbus,
Europe’s biggest aerospace manufac-
turer, over alleged defects in its A350
passenger jet, with a full trial to start in
June. The airline says problems with
cracking paint rendered the A350
unsafe and is claiming £1.3 billion in
damages. Airbus has denied negligence
and has told the court that the paint was
a maintenance issue. Teams of lawyers,
including at least four KCs, have been
lined up by the two sides for what
promises to be an antagonistic and
costly legal battle.
On Friday Mr Justice Waksman
seemed bemused that the airline’s boss
had not submitted a witness statement.
Airbus has persisted with pressing for
Akbar Al Baker, Qatar’s chief executive,
to submit a witness statement
in the proceedings. The
deadline for statements
to be submitted
passed this month,
but the judge has
allowed the exec-
utive more time.
The judge
noted that Philip
Shepherd KC,
lead counsel for
the airline, had told
the court that Al
Akbar Al Baker, the
chief executive of
Qatar Airways
Baker contended that many meetings
between executives at the airline and
the manufacturer had not been
minuted. “If that is the case,” the judge
said, “one is tempted to ask rhetorically
why on earth has Mr Al Baker not
produced a witness statement, even
limited to this question of disclosure,
about things that are minuted or not? It
takes one or two phone calls and yet
none of that has been done.”
The judge added that the executive
“appears not to wish to engage at all in
this case, whether as a matter of sub-
stance or on matters of disclosure,
where he may be able to assist”.
Mr Justice Waksman urged the air-
line’s lawyers and its boss “to consider
taking up that opportunity”.
Lawyers for the airline are said to be
planning to allege in pre-trial hearings
that Lord Wolfson of Tredegar KC, lead
counsel for Airbus and a former UK
justice minister, should apologise for
making what Qatar said were ill-
founded claims of fraud. Airline
lawyers were also said to be prepared to
accuse an expert witness for Airbus of
violating a court order by peeling
samples of the paint from an aircraft Yoga is popular at David Lloyd clubs, with 70 per cent of new members saying wellbeing is the main reason for joining
without Qatar’s agreement. Sources at
Qatar also claimed that there
had been unfair collusion
between the manufac-
Post-lockdown gain for David Lloyd clubs
turer and regulators in
the Gulf country and Tracey Boles its clubs have state-of-the-art gyms, cency as “the needs of our members are
the European heated pools and racquet facilities in- changing. We have a lot of families who
Union. Britons prioritising their mental health cluding padel and pickleball, as well as do different activities at the same time
Lawyers for Air- and wellbeing after Covid lockdowns spas and kids’ club facilities. under the same roof. We want to help
bus have denied all have led to a surge in membership at In January there was a further rise in people with a happier and healthier
the allegations. David Lloyd Leisure. new members, with 70 per cent giving lifestyle, with a focus on long-term
Ultimately none of The group, which has 101 clubs in the an “overall focus on a positive mental behavioural change.”
those claims was UK and 29 clubs in mainland Europe, health and wellbeing” as their main Openings last year included sites in
put to the court on recorded a 23 per cent growth in reason for joining. Member usage is Cricklewood, north London, and
Friday, with a source membership between February 2021 also up. Compared with January last Bicester in Oxfordshire, as well as the
close to the airline say- and December 2002, taking the total to year, attendance is up by 5.4 per cent in acquisitions of three Accura clubs in
ing “due to timing . . . 706,000 at the year’s end on a compar- England and Wales. Barcelona, Malaga and Zaragoza in
several important issues able basis. The company has invested Russell Barnes, 52, chief executive, Spain. Openings planned for this year
were not addressed”. heavily in the past two years to ensure said that there was no room for compla- include clubs in Edinburgh and Rugby.

Private equity funds heading for Pockit Diamonds are a jeweller’s

James Hurley
A taxpayer-backed provider of finan-
cial services to people who struggle to
secure bank accounts says it is close to
securing private equity backing amid
“significant doubt” over its ability to
continue trading.
In the latest accounts for Pockit,
which has hundreds of thousands of
customers, auditors again say there is
“material uncertainty” over its status as
a going concern.
Pockit provides a prepaid card and
mobile app-based account and claims
to have more than 700,000 customers.
Its investors include crowdfunding
backers, Sir Alex Ferguson, the former
Manchester United manager, and the
UK taxpayer, via a £1.3 million convert-
ible loan from the Covid Future Fund.
Cashflow projections indicate that
the company may break even in the
second quarter of this year, but direct-
ors said its future depended on fresh
funding. They said a deal should be
completed before the end of March, the
accounts show.
Annual losses narrowed to £2.3 mil-
lion in 2021 from £3.5 million in 2020,
the accounts show. Turnover rose from
£2.7 million to £4.1 million. Its break-
even projection was based on a “num-
ber of assumptions”, including the
launch of new products.
The company said that it had nego-
tiated a “time to pay” arrangement with
HM Revenue & Customs last year to
repay tax liabilities over a longer period
and noted it had agreed that its
£500,000 overdraft facility would be
reduced by £50,000 a quarter.
The business was set up in 2014 “to
build a better banking alternative for
customers left behind by high street
banks” and to provide them with basic
financial services, such as cash depos-
its, card payments and direct debits.
Led by Virraj Jatania, 34, its founder, it
previously has had going concern
warnings in its annual accounts and it
noted “management has a successful
track record of raising funds”.
In 2020, Pockit was among compa-
nies whose services were briefly frozen,
leaving customers unable to access
their money. This was caused by the
licence of the British division of Wire-
card, the scandal-hit payments group,
being frozen when its German parent
company became insolvent.
Pockit’s latest accounts show the City
regulator has approved the company
giving up its electronic money licence
as it said it would still operate with
PayrNet, a payments business.
best friend after pandemic
Isabella Fish
Shoppers are swapping fast-fashion
jewellery for higher-quality pieces,
Beaverbrooks has claimed.
Anna Blackburn, the high street
jewellery chain’s managing director,
said: “We have definitely seen an
increase in people coming in to buy
high-quality silver and gold items
rather than what we historically
referred to as fast-fashion jewellery.”
Prices on Beaverbrooks’ website vary
from about £16 for an own-brand silver
bracelet to £1,500 for a nine-carat gold
chain. Blackburn, 47, added that people
were “downgrading” amid the cost of
living crisis, “but when it comes to those
one-off considered purchases” she said
“they’re just prepared to spend more”.
Blackburn said Beaverbrooks had
noted “significant” growth in its
diamond rings business after a rise in
engagements after the pandemic. Dia-
mond ring sales were up 12.7 per cent
year-on-year so far this financial year.
“Covid either made you or broke you
as a couple and we have seen so much
growth in the diamond ring business
with people getting engaged,” she said.
“Weddings and wedding rings have in-
creased significantly, and what people
are prepared to spend on those pieces.”
Last week Beaverbrooks, a family
owned business, reported a record
Christmas, with an 8 per cent increase
in sales over December compared with
the previous year.
40 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

Business
Business Times Enterprise Network

Lack of support risks UK

lagging in race to net zero
Decarbonising industry unding options to support funds are reducing their holdings in a

enterprise
network
women in
business
T comes at a price and
critical infrastructure
investment is needed,
F new fossil fuel developments
in the North Sea are
shrinking fast as the race to
net zero gathers pace,
according to Steve Brown, the chief
executive of Orcadian Energy. Under
pressure to reduce the environmental
sector largely viewed as incompatible
with that objective, a short-sighted
approach that he argues will have the
opposite effect. The share price of
Orcadian Energy, which is listed on
Aim, the London Stock Exchange’s
junior market, plummeted last year.
writes Caroline Bullock impact of their investments, City “Stopping new oil development
won’t reduce emissions,” the former
engineer sdaid. “It just means a
continuing reliance on older,
inefficient platforms that churn out
up to 100kg of carbon per barrel.” He
claims Orcadian’s extraction
technologies can slash carbon dioxide
output to a tenth of emissions
produced by older oilfields.
More than a year on from the
United Nations’ climate change
conference in Glasgow, his is one of
multiple industries that say the
urgency to reach domestic and
international climate targets must be
tempered by fiscal support if they are
to compete globally. Brown, believes
his sector should be a funding
priority for the government to boost
domestic energy security. Guided by
the North Sea Transition Authority, a
“strict but supportive” regulator, the
new breed of operator is an antidote
to the “gas flaring of the 1970s and
1980s”, when it was common practice
to light fires at gas and oilwells to
burn off excess gas.
From the electrification of existing
platforms to the use of heat pumps
and floating wind turbines, his plan is
to cut emissions to 2.6kg per barrel,
an approach that will ensure a “secure
and measured transition” while
meeting demand for the commodity.
Industrial decarbonisation comes at
a price and with costs rising Make
UK, the manufacturers’ trade body,
suggests that critical infrastructure Steve Brown, boss of Orcadian Energy,
investment is needed if Britain is to
avoid being undercut by “imports that additional demand from the UK’s
are not made with the same bold volume housebuilders for the
environmental goals.” manufacturing and installation of
“It’s common for UK climate policy green technology will outstrip supply,
to set grand goals and then fail to drive up labour costs and potentially
adequately support them in policy delay the building of much-needed
and financial terms,” Richard Warren, housing.”
Make UK’s head of policy for the steel According to the Confederation of
sector, said, noting that the extra European Paper Industries’ 2019
electricity needed to decarbonise steel sustainability report, 80 per cent of
must be taken into account. “UK pulp purchased by the European pulp
steelmakers pay almost 60 per cent and paper industry came from
more (for electricity) than their responsibly managed forests, with
European counterparts and there’s a 450 of Britain’s print companies using
growing risk that the UK will be paper certified by the Forest
pushed out of their domestic market Stewardship Council.
by steel producers elsewhere in Belmont Press, a Northampton-
countries like France, Germany, based commercial printer, has noted
Sweden and Canada that have been “a constant battle” to convince
aided in the transition by their consumers that the product isn’t the
governments.” result of deforestation. “Deforestation
Along with “green” VAT rates, the isn’t even about wood per se, but
organisation believes incentives to moving wood out of the way and
secure the skills needed to facilitate that’s the message that gets lost,”
the transition to cleaner energy Owen Thomas, the company’s
production also will be critical. A managing director, said.
shortfall is evident in the construction It’s an issue compounded by a
sector, where housebuilders claim growing insistence from customers for
efforts to install and maintain green recycled paper. For Thomas, it is a
technology such as air source heat greenwash-fuelled, ultimately flawed
pumps are being hampered by a lack expectation because continually
of specialist engineers. recycling paper weakens the fibres, so
For Andy Morris, managing it is no longer fit for purpose. “It’s why
director of the Solihull-based virgin fibre will always be needed in
Hayfield Homes, the effects will bite the cycle, but again it’s the battle
when the Future Homes Standard between educating the print-buying
initiative is introduced in 2025. The community with facts versus box-
regulation requires that CO2 ticking tender process,” he said,
emissions produced by new homes adding that recycling paper can
must be 75 per cent to 80 per cent generate a higher carbon footprint,
lower than those built to present since the process uses more fossil
standards. According to Morris: “The fuels than virgin paper.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
says his sector should be a funding priority to boost domestic energy security, despite the pressure to be more green
Expansion plan keeps the
Cadbury name in the mix
Richard Tyler
A scion of the Cadbury family will
appear behind the counter of a
chocolate shop again this summer, 199
years after his great-great-great-
grandfather did so at his store on Bull
Street, Birmingham.
James Cadbury has raised £4.25 mil-
lion in growth capital for his Love
Cocoa business and will use the money
to open up to ten shops over the next
three years, with the first in London in
August. They will sell its Love Cocoa
and H!P chocolate bars, as well as hot
chocolate and ice cream.
“Having some of the team, espe-
cially myself, working shifts in the
store, learning what customers
like and don’t like, will really help
the business grow,” Cadbury, 38,
said.
Richard Koch, co-founder of
LEK Consulting and an early
investor in Betfair, has
bought a “significant
minority” stake in Love
Cocoa and will work
with Cadbury to devel-
op the business, which
employs 17 people. It
had sales of £3.5 million
James Cadbury has
raised £4.25 milion
in the year to last May and expects to hit
£5 million this year.
Cadbury, a former City trader who
launched his business in 2016 using a
£25,000 Virgin Startup loan, said that
as far as he knew he was the only
member of the family to be trading in
chocolate. John Cadbury, the com-
pany’s founder, initially sold hot
chocolate at his grocery shop, using the
aroma to attract customers.
“There are parallels with our
business,” Cadbury said. “They were
one of the first to put milk into choco-
late and we are the first in Europe to put
oat milk in chocolate [in 2021]. It’s a
great legacy to have.”
Love Cocoa, which sources its
beans from Colombia, Peru and
Ecuador and produces its choco-
late in Stoke, is sold by retailers
such as John Lewis and Selfridges,
and independent shops. It is also
stocked in Sainsbury’s. The
brand offers monthly sub-
scriptions on its website.
Cadbury said that add-
ing shops was the natural
next step. “Now there is a
real opportunity to have
our own stores. We can
merchandise the product
how we see it and connect
with customers a bit better,”
he said.
About TEN
6 See Times
Enterprise Network
online for daily
news, insights
and inspiration for
entrepreneurs and
business leaders
6 Sign up for the
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newsletter to receive
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thetimes.co.uk/
ten
An empathy with
customers aids my
accountancy role
Caroline
Plumb
W
hen I made a big
decision last year
about the next step
in my working life, it
is fair to say I did not
take the path well trodden. I had
founded and successfully exited two
ventures — the recruitment and
consultancy firm Freshminds and
the fintech business Fluidly. After 20
years as an entrepreneur there was
nothing to suggest I would not
continue running businesses I had
founded. Why, then, aged 43, did I
decide to join a firm of accountants?
It is a fair question. Fast-growing
tech businesses move at a million
miles an hour, always pushing
boundaries, embracing change and
fighting for survival. The reputation
of accountants, by and large, is to do
none of that. Yet when the
opportunity came up, I knew almost
immediately that I wanted to join
the accountancy business Gravita
as chief executive, despite not being
an accountant.
After a year in the job, I hope my
team, and our backers,
“
would feel that having
someone from outside
the industry to lead the
business brings
advantages. A good
Language is
chief executive sets a
vision and then builds,
so important
motivates and corrals a because it
team to achieve that
vision. It is not about
being able to do a good
can alter the
audit or a tax return; we
have a team of brilliant
values and
people who can do that.
I see my role as figuring
culture of
out how to play to a business
people’s strengths,
backing them to make
decisions and identifying what gaps
or risks we need to cover. I also aim
to be a source of energy that helps
to provide the drive to get the
business to where we want to be.
At Gravita, we are building the
leading tech-enabled accounting
firm for small and medium-sized
businesses in the UK. The industry is
consolidating rapidly, with ambitious
firms such as Gravita — which is
backed by the private equity investor
Tenzing — joining forces with like-
minded firms that share our vision
and values. There are similar trends
playing out in other professional
services such as dentistry, fund
administration and veterinary
services. It is an exciting time.
When you start your own company
you get to create the culture. When
you join another business as CEO,
you’re entering into an existing
culture and team. I worried that the
established partners would bristle at
the prospect of having a tech
entrepreneur with no accountancy
qualifications as chief executive. My
fears were unfounded and almost
everyone has been receptive to an
outsider with new ideas.
It can be daunting for someone
41
Business
Business
used to working in a start-up when
they join a big firm. Yet the skills
developed in a small business are
often hugely valuable to a larger
one, in particular a close empathy
with customers and a focus on
building to these needs first. I’m
mostly using the skills and
behaviours I learnt as an
entrepreneur, just on a larger scale.
Our tag-line is “build the future
together” and I look to deliver on
that for clients, our team and the
firms that might join us.
A critical part of building a team
is identifying who I can delegate
decision-making and execution to.
It’s easier as an entrepreneur, as you
can choose who you hire and the
scope of their role. Leading an
established business, you quickly
have to figure out whose judgment
and ability you trust and try to make
their roles fit accordingly.
There have been other, more
subtle influences that I have brought
to Gravita, helped by my status as an
outsider. When you’re inside an
industry like accountancy, you can
forget how much technical language
feels natural, but can be baffling for
clients. At one point we were asking
prospective clients who wanted
monthly accounting services if they
had “MTD” software in place. I bet
most businesses can’t answer that. It
was putting them off.
Language is so
important because it
changes behaviour and
can alter the values and
culture of a business.
Across professional
services, there has been
a culture of referring to
the “partners”, and then
everyone else as the
“staff ”. That language
grated with me. I always
use inclusive words such
as team, colleagues and
associates. I believe it
helps to change the
culture over time,
bringing everyone
together.
I knew the Gravita job was for me
after breakfast in Soho with the
chairman and one of the founders of
Tenzing. It was clear there was, and
still is, a genuine desire to support
small and medium-sized enterprises
by providing high-quality
professional services. That appealed
to me because I have spent my
career working with small
businesses, running them and sitting
on what was the government’s small
business council and the regional
growth fund. I’m passionate about
how small and medium-sized
companies should receive better
services across all areas of their
activities; often it’s an overlooked
segment of the market compared
with big businesses and consumers.
Having a clear vision and believing
I could help to make it happen was
what persuaded me to take a leap
into the unknown with a company I
didn’t build from the ground up. It is
something I think more
entrepreneurs should experience.
Caroline Plumb is a serial
entrepreneur and chief executive of
Gravita, a tax, accountancy and
advisory firm
42 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

Business Equity prices

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the times | Monday January 23 2023
Trailblazing archaeologist
who studied Hadrian’s Wall
Brenda Heywood
Page 46
Obituaries
Tom Stacey
Foreign correspondent, novelist, publisher and campaigner for penal reform whose ‘wayward streak’ led him to visit Idi Amin in exile
There was nothing Tom Stacey sa-
voured more than a challenge — ex-
cept, perhaps, an adventure — but
when on May 6, 1965, he found himself
in solitary confinement at Coimbatore
Central Prison, in the southern Indian
state of Tamil Nadu, his limits were
sorely tested.
As chief foreign correspondent for
The Sunday Times, Stacey had, five
days earlier, been stationed in Colombo,
Sri Lanka. He read in a copy of The Hin-
du newspaper that Sheikh Abdullah,
the “Lion of Kashmir”, had become a
political prisoner and was under house
arrest in the southern hill station of Oo-
ty. Stacey decided to pay him a visit,
partly in the hope of an interview and
partly because he wanted to swear “per-
sonal allegiance” to a key player in the
most volatile of India’s regions.
The journey to Ooty was long and
blisteringly hot, and within minutes of
greeting Abdullah, Stacey (who had ne-
glected to tell his newspaper of his
whereabouts) was apprehended by doz-
ens of armed policemen. They found in
his pockets Pakistani currency and a
passport held together with sealing wax,
which described Stacey as a “company
director and author”.
“No one was in the least interested in
any explanations I had to offer,” Stacey
reflected later on. “Even a book by the
president of India, Mr Radhakrishnan,
which he had autographed for me, was
brushed aside as a fake.”
His concrete prison cell, sheathed
with a corrugated iron roof, was 9ft long
and 6ft wide. “The assault of claustro-
phobia was sudden and unpredictable,”
he wrote in an article entitled How to
Go to Prison Without Really Trying.
“The madness too remains present, in-
tact, poised to consume me.”
After two weeks Stacey told a doctor
that he would kill himself unless moved
to a communal cell. His release was
eventually secured by John Freeman,
the British high commissioner to India,
and he filed a report for The Sunday
Times on his ordeal. The experience
sensitised Stacey to the trials of jail life,
and back in England he became a regu-
lar prison visitor and a vocal campaign-
er for penal reform.
Passports, as Stacey was well aware,
once left a gap for “occupation”. He was
at various times a foreign correspond-
ent, political candidate, novelist, film-
writer, publisher and campaigner for
the prisoner’s electronic tag; but the apt
entry would have been “adventurer” —
less a career niche, more a stance on
life. Even in later middle-age a delight
in garden bonfires was to have a devas-
tating impact on the more staid psyches
of his Kensington neighbours.
Warmth co-existed with a streak of
waywardness, and angled vision was a
marked feature. Objective analysis may
have been in lesser supply. Characteris-
tically, he gave up a degree at Oxford to
marry and become an international re-
porter. By 1968 he had visited 115 coun-
tries. To his mind, full academic train-
ing would have been a handicap, not an
asset — a constraint on the free flow of
his energies.
He was born Tom Charles Gerard
Stacey in Bletchingley, Surrey, in 1930
to David, a stockbroker, and Gwen (née
Part). His great-great-grandfather was
Thomas Brassey, the Victorian railway
Stacey when chief foreign correspondent for the Sunday Times, 1962. His novel Deadline was turned into a television film
builder, of whom Stacey would later
publish a biography.
A year after starting at Wellesley
House in Broadstairs, Kent, Stacey was
evacuated to the Scottish Highlands at
the outbreak of the war. At Eton he won
an essay prize and co-edited the Chron-
icle with Douglas Hurd, a useful con-
tact later for lobbying the Home Office.
He was also a solo chorister.
In 1951 he joined the Scots Guards in
Malaya, where he used 14 days of leave
to search for the Temiar, a near-extinct
tribe in the Kelantan jungle. He docu-
mented the 300-mile journey in his first
book, The Hostile Sun (1953), peppered
He used cunning tactics
to obtain an interview
with Nikita Khrushchev
with experiences such as hunting with
blow-pipes and dancing by firelight to
exorcise ghosts. The book later won the
John Llewellyn Rhys prize.
He began studying history at Worc-
ester College, Oxford, but dropped out
to marry Caroline Clay who, true to her
name, became a widely exhibited sculp-
tor. He joined Picture Post as its young-
est foreign correspondent but in 1954
switched to the Daily Express, report-
ing from the Middle East, the US, and as
Empire correspondent. Two years later,
sent to cover the Suez crisis, he was di-
verted to the Persian Gulf, where he
sailed a dhow boat in search of a story
on slave girls.
An early feat was a six-month trek
from west to east Africa through the
Congo. Stacey set off with a knapsack
filled with rag dolls that his wife had
stitched as gifts for tribal chiefs. On the
way he travelled through Uganda’s Ruw-
enzori mountains, sparking a lifelong
friendship with the Bakonzo tribe; a
memoir of the walk emerged in Sum-
mons to Ruwenzori (1965).
This was the halcyon era of the
foreign reporter-as-hero, and Stacey
was often spotted by Express readers on
London buses. The period would be
masterfully captured in one of Stacey’s
later novels, Deadline (1988), which told
the story of a once famous foreign
correspondent who, after
falling out of favour, lives in
self-imposed exile in
the Persian Gulf,
where he tries to find
his last great scoop.
The book’s success
was such that it
was adapted into
a BBC television
film starring none
other than John
Hurt as the protago-
nist Granville Jones.
In 1960, aged 30, Sta-
cey had joined The Sun-
day Times as chief foreign
correspondent. He went on to
secure interviews with figures such as
Chiang Kai-shek, Indira Gandhi and,
through cunning tactics, Nikita
Khrushchev when he joined his propri-
etor, Lord Thomson of Fleet, on a 1963
trip to Moscow. Thomson, unexpect-
edly, received an invitation to meet the
Soviet leader; Stacey accompanied him
and led the conversation while secretly
recording it on a machine controlled
through his wristwatch.
Also in 1963 he was approached in
London by the Ugandan high commis-
sioner to act as a (successful) interme-
diary between Uganda’s prime minis-
Register
ter, Milton Obote, and the Bakonzo
tribe, who were threatening bloody
conflict. Though reluctant at first he
rose to the challenge and helped to
avert bloodshed.
It was around this time that Stacey got
to know Idi Amin, then a senior com-
mander in the Ugandan army. He re-
called marching through Amin’s “sullen
ranks” as they munched on roast hippo
liver. Years later the pair met again: Sta-
cey visited Amin after the dictator was
exiled to Saudi Arabia in the
1980s. Despite the horrors
Amin had inflicted, Sta-
cey found him a com-
pelling figure and
once smuggled him
a Bible at his Mus-
lim refuge in Jed-
dah. Another time
Stacey fielded re-
quests that he
“nudge” the Queen
on a letter in which
Amin had expressed
his commiserations on
the marital problems of
her offspring.
From 1965 to 1967 Stacey was a
columnist for the Evening Standard. He
had already developed political interests
and fought Hammersmith North in
1964 and Dover in 1966 as a Conserva-
tive candidate. He was re-selected to
contest Dover but resigned his candida-
cy, having decided that “public life con-
flicts with creative will”. Instead he edit-
ed books such as Here Come The Tories
(1970) and Immigration and Enoch Powell
(1972), a compilation of Powell’s speech-
es. In the early 1970s, Stacey, driven by
the need for capital, set up his own pub-
lishing imprint, Tom Stacey Ltd. He opt-
ed for a sizeable sales staff — at one stage
45
employing 99 people — but
he was overextended and in
1975 the firm went into re-
ceivership. He was forced to
give up his country home but
a year later returned to
action with Stacey Inter-
national, specialising in cof-
fee-table books on the Mid-
dle East. Having learnt his
lesson, he was never to em-
ploy more than six people.
The firm was located in a
house in Kensington with
20 rooms, also Stacey’s
home and base for enter-
tainment. He once said
that he was “helplessly in
love” with it. His flow of
further novels included
The Worm in the Rose (1985), a thriller
set in the Gulf, and Decline (1991), in
which he probed upper-class life
through the lens of a father’s relation-
ship with his son.
In 1981 he had hit on the idea of using
an electronic tag tied to the ankles of re-
leased prisoners as a monitoring device.
As it became increasingly popular in
America, especially in Texas, Stacey
argued for its application to defendants
on bail, otherwise held in custody, pend-
ing trial. In the late 1980s he helped to
persuade the Home Office to start a
limited experiment. Liberal penologists
saw it as Orwellian; Stacey always held
that, on the contrary, it widened free-
dom of movement for its subjects.
He was a man of strong and occasion-
ally extravagant passions. His pursuits
included canoeing and mountain-
climbing; he belonged to three clubs
(Pratt’s, White’s and the Beefsteak) and
he was on the council of the Royal
Society of Literature. He was a Church
of England school governor and in
2000 organised a nationwide pilgrim-
age to Canterbury as a sober “antidote”
to Millennium celebrations.
At the age of 71 he returned to the gla-
cier-capped Ruwenzori mountains
once more to visit the Bakonzo tribe,
weathering thunderstorms and one
pre-dawn earthquake. In 2003 he pub-
lished Tribe, a semi-autobiographical
account of the time he had spent with
them over the years.
His wife Caroline died last year, a day
after their 70th wedding anniversary.
He is survived by their five children:
Emma, a therapist; Tilly, a potter; Isa-
bella, an opera director and designer;
Sam, a construction specialist; and To-
masina, a midwife and lecturer.
Even in his 90s Stacey was just as ad-
venturous, quick-witted and prone to
flights of fancy as he had been at 35.
After his wife’s death he journeyed
alone to his second home in Wales.
“I hunker down on the floor til dawn,”
he wrote in a rhapsodic email to his
family eight hours after getting trapped
in the bathroom. “Dawnlight reveals
only 8-9 feet drop. I tie leg of cotton
trousers to window-latch to serve as a
rope to aid descent . . . Body none too
flexible in advanced antiquity . . . De-
scent into dense brambles masterfully
achieved. How I love those brambles.”
Tom Stacey FRSL, adventurer, journalist,
publisher and writer, was born on
January 11, 1930. He died of pneumonia
on December 24, 2022, aged 92
46
Register
Brenda Heywood
Trailblazing archaeologist who sought to unlock the secrets of the Vallum, the earthwork that runs south of Hadrian’s Wall
When 21-year-old Brenda Swinbank
wanted to understand the role of the
Vallum, the ditch-like earthwork that
runs to the south of Hadrian’s Wall, she
started by walking the entire 73 miles of
the wall, from Newcastle upon Tyne,
through Corbridge, Chesters, Hou-
steads, Vindolanda and Birdoswald to
Carlisle.
Swinbank, who later published as
Brenda Heywood, got off to a bad start.
“Aware of the formidableness of the
task, I left Corbridge, my HQ, on the
first morning and toiled laboriously on
my bicycle up the gradual slope from
the Tyne Valley to the wall, hugging
two ranging posts, a tape, notebook and
pencils,” she recalled. “This exertion
sufficiently dampened my enthusiasm
and it was the first and last time that I
took ranging posts with me.”
Even without ranging posts, it was not
an easy task. There were no convenient
bus services and few places to stay. After
a few days she met a foreman from the
Ministry of Works, whose team were
undertaking preservation work on the
wall. He had a truck and agreed to drop
her at a suitable point each morning and
pick her up each evening.
It was already known that the Vallum
was built after the wall, but its true pur-
pose was unclear. Theories abounded:
it was an alternative wall, a frontier fac-
ing the Picts, a defence against the im-
placable Britons of the Pennines, a ship
canal, or even the result of Roman offi-
cers simply keeping their troops busy
and serving no real function at all. Hey-
wood argued that it was time to test
these theories “by the spade”. For a
month she trudged in splendid isola-
tion over fences and stones, wearing
her signature brown corduroy trousers
and filling notebook after notebook
with detailed observations. “I still know
all the bull fields along the wall, in parti-
cular that of the Great Chesters bull,
which rears up bellowing to all casual
passers-by,” she wrote many years later.
She concluded that the Vallum was “a
boundary dividing the military zone
from the civil and preventing illegal ac-
Richard Hartley KC
Leading defamation barrister dubbed ‘Sir Hartley Redface’ whose clients included Edwina Currie and Bruce Grobbelaar
To Private Eye he was Sir Hartley Red-
face, to The Observer magazine he was
“the prince of libel”, but to those unfor-
tunate to be cross-examined by Rich-
ard Hartley he was simply a terrifying
opponent. Hartley, a silver-haired
country parson figure who could invest
gravitas into even the most trivial
matter, was one of the great defamation
barristers of the late 1900s, appearing in
cases involving everyone from Harold
Wilson and Robert Maxwell to Vanessa
Redgrave and Neil Hamilton.
He was, noted one profile, “cool, effi-
cient — but ruthless in cross-examina-
tion and devastating with the use of his
voice”. When trying to persuade a jury
that a libel had been published he
“modulated his tone in reading the of-
fending passages over and over again to
the jury with telling effect”.
Hartley regularly crossed swords
with George Carman (obituary, Janu-
ary 3, 2001), another high-profile bar-
rister of the era, with their courtroom
battles at times descending into per-
sonal vendettas. When Mona Bauwens,
the Palestinian film producer, sued the
People newspaper over reports of her
holiday with the cabinet minister David
Mellor, Hartley described his rival as
“stage manager, producer and leading
actor . . . a past master of the wink wink,
nudge nudge” style. Carman retorted
that Hartley was being “cruel and cow-
cess from the south”, creating a kind of
demarcation zone or no man’s land.
Heywood, one of the first professional
female archaeologists in Britain, re-
turned on many occasions to the wall
and the Vallum. She dated one of the
causeways across the Vallum ditch and
found a piece of Samian ware at Caw-
fields that could be used to date the mar-
ginal mound. In summer 1950 she exca-
vated at the Temple of Mithras at Car-
rawburgh Fort, which had been
discovered by accident
when a local antiquary
kicked a tuft of grass
and found the scroll
of a Roman altar at
his feet.
Later she settled
in York, becoming
involved in analys-
ing thousands of
items that archaeol-
ogists had unearthed
during stabilisation
works beneath the min-
ster. She recalled “rooms full
of documents, soil samples, pie-
ces of pottery and bone, 3,000 photo-
graphs, chunks of carved stonework
and even one large block of dirt weigh-
ing several tonnes”.
Brenda Swinbank was born in 1929
into a Methodist family in Ackworth,
near Wakefield, West Yorkshire. She
was the youngest of the five children of
John Swinbank, a headmaster, and his
wife Gladys (née Wilson). She recalled
holidays spent in the Yorkshire Dales or
by the coast at Scarborough, Whitby
and Redcar.
Brenda attended South Kirkby in-
fants school. In 1939 she moved to Hem-
sworth Grammar School, where she was
a member of the rounders and hockey
first teams. At age 17 she was awarded a
place to study modern history at Dur-
ham University, where she played hock-
ey for St Aidan’s Society (now St Aidan’s
College). In February 1947 she attended
a meeting of the Durham Historical
Society at which Eric Birley, a pipe-
smoking reader in archaeology, spoke
ardly” and behaving like a stand-up
comic in a music hall act.
Another of their battles occurred
when Hartley successfully represented
Edwina Currie, the Conservative MP,
who insisted that a film review in The
Observer comparing her with the fic-
tional politician Clara Paige played by
Charlotte Rampling in the film Paris by
Night (1988) could cost her votes.
After yet another clash with Carman
he was described as “the greatest lawyer
in the world” by Tessa Sanderson, the
Olympic javelin star, who won
£30,000 in damages from a
newspaper which claimed that
she had stolen another woman’s
husband.
Hartley represented the Sun-
day Times in 1995 when
David Ashby, a Conserva-
tive MP, unsuccessfully
sued the paper after it de-
scribed him sharing a hotel
bed with another man on
a trip abroad. The four-
week court drama sank to
absurd depths as Ashby
risked bankruptcy by ex-
posing every detail of his
private life.
Hartley’s last big tussle
with Carman came when
Hartley was the “prince of libel”
with passion about Hadrian’s Wall. She
was immediately hooked.
“This magnificent frontier, so strik-
ing in its situation, on the romantic
precipice of the Whin Sill, overlooking
the bare Northumbrian lakes, was ex-
plained to me for the first time by an en-
thusiastic teacher lost in the personal
and academic delights of his subject,”
she wrote. “And that was that. I resolved
to visit the wall and walk along it.”
At the end of her first year, she
took part in a training exca-
vation at Corbridge with
four fellow students.
She recalled being
both frightened and
excited when work-
men discovered a
complete black pot
on the red tile floor
of a Roman barrack
block. “We were of-
fered trowels to assist
with the work but I,
afraid lest I should de-
stroy something, retreated to
the background and washed pot-
tery instead.” Over the next couple of
years she took part in more digs at Cor-
bridge and Housteads, where Birley
taught his students to keep meticulous
records of their finds.
August 1949 was spent hitch-hiking
around Europe with three friends and,
after completing her degree, she was
awarded a two-year research student-
ship to complete the work she had pro-
posed in her undergraduate disserta-
tion, examining the Vallum in detail.
First, though, she studied German and
in 1950 explored Roman sites in Mainz,
Wiesbaden and Freiburg.
When her studentship ended there
were no archaeology jobs at Durham,
so she lectured at West Hartlepool fur-
ther education college while taking
part in more excavations on the wall. By
1952 she was teaching Latin and history
at Settle Girls’ High School, taking
groups of girls to the dig at Corbridge,
though she had to fend off the unwant-
ed attentions of the school’s married
Hartley was representing the Liverpool
goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, who had
been accused by The Sun newspaper of
taking corrupt payments to fix match-
es. Grobbelaar was awarded £85,000 in
damages by the High Court — a verdict
that was overturned as “perverse” by
the Court of Appeal, with Lord Justice
Simon Brown describing it as “a foren-
sic triumph for Mr Hartley . . . however,
it represented an affront to justice”. The
case eventually reached the House of
Lords, where the appeal court decision
was itself overturned: a majority of the
law lords found that while it had been
proved that Grobbelaar had accepted
bribes, it had not been proved that he
had actually let in goals to fix matches.
Nevertheless they condemned
Grobbelaar for acting in a “cor-
rupt manner” and reduced
his damages to £1.
Richard Leslie Clifford
Hartley was born in West
Byfleet, Surrey, in 1932, the
son of Clifford Hartley
CBE, sometime president
of the Institution of Me-
chanical Engineers, and
his wife Nina (née Hodg-
son). He had an older
brother, John, who became
a solicitor, and two half-
brothers from his father’s pre-
vious marriage. Their father was
Studying Hadrian’s Wall in the 1950s,
and, left, at her graduation in 1949
music master. In her spare time she
worked on her PhD, which was exam-
ined by Sir Mortimer Wheeler, then the
country’s best-known archaeologist,
making her only the third British
woman to be awarded a doctorate in ar-
chaeology. She also found time for am-
ateur dramatics and in 1954 took part in
the Young Conservatives’ public speak-
ing competition, expounding on the in-
equalities faced by women and how
“the prime aim of any government
should be to give women their position
in society which is their due”.
Before long she had been appointed
assistant lecturer in archaeology at the
University College of South Wales and
Monmouthshire, taking part in a muddy
behind Operation Pluto, developing the
pipeline used to transport oil across the
Channel after D-Day, and Hartley kept
a fragment of the pipe on his desk.
He was educated at Marlborough
College and started reading French at
Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, but
soon switched to law. That was fol-
lowed by National Service in Cyprus
with the Intelligence Corps. He joined
One Brick Court chambers and was
called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1956,
taking silk in 1976 and eventually be-
coming head of chambers.
Hartley’s pupil-master was Douglas
Lowe QC, who had won gold in the
800m at the 1924 and 1928 Olympics
and who made him run to court. He
gained early experience in the divorce
courts but by the mid-1960s had moved
into libel, where he was often to be
found apologising in court on behalf of
publishers. In 1965 he represented ITN,
which had wrongly suggested that the
kidnapping of Frank Sinatra’s son two
years earlier had been a publicity stunt.
A keen golfer, he was vice-president
of the Bar Golfing Society, and a
member of several clubs. While he rest-
ed his head on many scented pillows, it
was not until 2018 that he finally mar-
ried, to Jeannie Hawkes (née Merrin),
who survives him.
Hartley was passionate about horses,
owning a quarter share in Swing Quar-
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
dig at Merthyr Tydfil. This was a short-
term post and she soon returned to Ack-
worth, becoming assistant history mis-
tress at the town’s Friends’ school.
There she met Peter Heywood, an
English teacher from Lancashire whose
historical interests went back no earlier
than the Middle Ages and Chaucer and
whom she never succeeded in getting
interested in archaeology. They were
married in 1959 and spent their honey-
moon at the Edinburgh Festival. The
following year they moved to Glossop,
in Derbyshire, where he was appointed
head of English at the grammar school.
They had two sons, Jeremy (Lord
Heywood of Whitehall), who became
cabinet secretary and who predeceased
her (obituary, November 5, 2018), and
Simon, a retired banker. A daughter,
Penelope, was born with Down’s syn-
drome and a hole in her heart. The
family decided to move to York, where
there were better facilities for Penelope,
but she died before the move took place.
They went ahead anyway and her hus-
band, who died in 2010, became head of
English at Bootham School.
In 1968 Heywood was invited by Pe-
ter Wenham, head of history at St John’s
College, York, to lecture on the Roman
Britain course. She also took part in
several local digs, including one of a
Roman fort at Malton.
She remained in York until a few
years ago, giving archaeology talks to
local groups and serving as a city guide.
Her research on the Vallum was pub-
lished in the early 2000s, informing the
work of a new generation of Hadrian’s
Wall scholars.
The Vallum remained her great fasci-
nation. “It’s not just a ditch,” she insisted.
“It’s a north mound, a ditch, and a south
mound. Sometimes there is also a mar-
ginal mound. And it matters. If we knew
why the Vallum was constructed, we
would understand the Romans better.”
Brenda Heywood, archaeologist, was
born on February 2, 1929. She died of
complications from Alzheimer’s disease
on December 20, 2022, aged 93
tet, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies,
and serving as chairman of the Jockey
Club’s appeal board. When the cham-
pion jockey Kieren Fallon and two col-
leagues won a libel case against The
Sporting Life over allegations that they
had conspired to throw races, Hartley
represented the paper. During the trial
he described the Swaffham Handicap at
Newmarket in 1995 as a “sordid, squalid
and seedy stain” on racing’s integrity and
delivered a closing speech that was typi-
cally full of rhetorical flourishes. He sug-
gested that Walter Scott might have had
Fallon in mind when he wrote: “Oh what
a tangled web we weave, when once we
practise to deceive.”
Hartley enjoyed telling how in the
1960s he had been a regular visitor to Es-
meralda’s Barn, a gambling club in
Knightsbridge run by the Kray twins.
His clerk once put through a call, saying:
“There’s a Mr Charles Kray on the line.”
The caller told him that a guest he
had introduced to Esmeralda’s Barn had
failed to settle his bill and inquired if
he would pay. Hartley, a brave man,
declined.
Richard Hartley KC, libel lawyer, was
born on May 31, 1932. He died of cancer
on December 27, 2022, aged 90
Email: obituaries@thetimes.co.uk
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Law Report
Bank not liable to liquidators for making payments
to company’s creditors which caused no net asset loss
An insolvent company did not suf-
fer any loss when payments were
made out of its bank accounts,
before it went into liquidation, to
discharge debts owed by the com-
pany to its customers, as the pay-
ments reduced the company’s lia-
bilities by an equivalent amount
and had no effect on its net asset
position. The company therefore
had no cause of action against the
bank which made the payments
out of the company’s accounts.
The Supreme Court so held
(Lord Sales dissenting) when dis-
missing an appeal by the claimant,
Stanford International Bank Ltd
(SIB), in proceedings brought by its
joint liquidators, from a decision of
the Court of Appeal (Sir Geoffrey
Vos, Master of the Rolls, Lord Jus-
tice Moylan and Lord Justice Ar-
nold) ([2021] 1 WLR 3507) which,
inter alia, allowed an appeal by the
defendant, HSBC Bank plc, against
the refusal by Mr Justice Nugee
([2020] EWHC 2232 (Ch)) to strike
out the claim that the claimant had
suffered losses as a result of the de-
fendant’s breach of its duty of care
to the claimant.
Christopher Parker KC and
James Knott for SIB; Patricia
Robertson KC, Louise Hutton KC
and Christopher Langley for the
defendant.
LADY ROSE, with whom Lord
Hodge and Lord Kitchin agreed,
said that Ponzi schemes continued
to draw in large numbers of inves-
tors and so continued both to cause
a great deal of misery and to gener-
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SARA GOREE, 32, AND
CHRIS BEAUMONT, 33,
WERE MARRIED ON JANUARY 17, 2020,
AT THE MANOR HOUSE
IN CASTLE COMBE, WILTSHIRE.
THEY FEATURED IN THE TIMES
ON JULY 18, 2020
ate litigation. The current appeal
arose out of one aspect of those
schemes operated by SIB, a com-
pany operated in Antigua and Bar-
buda and now in liquidation. Until
its collapse in February 2009, SIB
was ultimately beneficially owned
by Robert Allen Stanford, who was
also a director and chairman of the
board of directors of SIB.
The bulk of SIB’s business was
the sale to international customers
of certificates of deposit which
were sold as investment products
offering a good rate of return.
Those who invested in the certifi-
cates were led to believe that the
funds they deposited would be in-
vested by SIB in a diversified low
risk portfolio of assets and securi-
ties.
In fact during the entire relevant
period from about 2003 until SIB’s
collapse Stanford and some of his
close associates dishonestly
caused SIB to run as a Ponzi
scheme. When customers request-
ed withdrawals or when their pro-
duct supposedly matured the pay-
ment would be made from capital
invested by other customers.
In 2008 an increasing number of
SIB’s customers requested with-
drawals and there was a run on the
company. The US Securities and
Exchange Commission charged
Stanford in relation to the fraud
and he was now serving a federal
prison sentence of 110 years. A re-
ceiver was appointed in the USA
over the Stanford Financial Group.
In April 2009 a receiver was ap-
pointed over SIB by the Antiguan
court and that liquidation was sub-
sequently recognised by the En-
glish High Court as foreign main
proceedings under the Cross Bor-
der Insolvency Regulations 2006
(SI 2006 No 1030). At the time of
SIB’s collapse it held only a fraction
of the funds required to repay
50%
discount for
subscribers
creditors in full. HSBC held four
bank accounts for SIB, denominat-
ed in sterling, US dollars, euros and
Swiss francs. HSBC froze those ac-
counts on February 17, 2009,
following news that Stanford had
been charged.
The claimant’s case was that
over the years when SIB had oper-
ated the bank accounts there were
many warning signs that put
HSBC on notice that SIB’s business
was a fraud. SIB asserted that
HSBC was therefore under a duty
of care, known as the Quincecare
duty, to refuse to accept Stanford’s
instructions as to what to do with
the balance standing in SIB’s bank
account and that, if HSBC had
complied with that duty, payments
from the accounts purportedly
authorised by Stanford would not
have been made.
The Quincecare duty took its
name from Barclays Bank plc v
Quincecare Ltd ([1992] 4 All ER
363). It was a duty on the bank to
refuse to comply with a payment
instruction given by the person
mandated by the customer to give
such an instruction when the bank
was on notice that the instruction
might be part of a fraud on the cus-
tomer, unless and until the bank’s
inquiries satisfied it that the
instruction was validly authorised
by the customer.
HSBC disputed the legal basis of
the claim in its entirety. The appeal
however focused solely on the
question of whether, even if HSBC
did owe a relevant duty of care and
was in breach of that duty, that
breach had given rise to any recov-
erable loss on SIB’s part.
The appeal concerned £116 mil-
lion paid to customers by moneys
in or derived from the HSBC bank
accounts. There was no conse-
quential loss claimed by SIB aris-
ing from payment out of the
money. The claim was simply for
the loss of the payments from the
HSBC accounts.
The “early customers” were
those who withdrew their funds in
full before SIB collapsed and es-
caped without loss. The “late cus-
tomers” were the investors who did
not withdraw their funds before
collapse and now risked losing al-
most all their money.
SIB put its allegations as to loss
on the basis that the damage it had
suffered was the loss of a chance,
since at the time the disputed pay-
ments were made, the company
was hopelessly insolvent and it had
since then gone into liquidation.
SIB argued that, if HSBC had not
made the payments, those debts
would still be owed to the early
customers, who would have to
prove their debts in the liquidation
and would be likely to receive a div-
idend of only a few pence in the
pound.
SIB argued that its loss was
therefore the loss of a chance of
discharging those debts for a few
pence in the pound. The loss
caused was therefore said to be the
difference between the payment
wrongly made by HSBC to the
early customers of 100 pence in the
pound, and the dividend they
would have to prove if they had
had to prove in the liquidation.
SIB argued that the chance lost
was a chance for SIB to act more
fairly as between its customers by
making sure that the early custom-
ers did not, by happenstance, bene-
fit by receiving 100 pence in the
pound at the expense of the late
customers who got only five.
Everyone should have got 12.
However, putting aside ques-
tions as to whether such a loss was
within the scope of the Quincecare
duty, it was clearly not a pecuniary
loss suffered by SIB. The fairness
or otherwise of any particular
early or late customer having been
paid or not paid was not a matter
which the court could investigate
or assess.
The Court of Appeal was correct
in its conclusion that the Quinceca-
re claim had to be struck out. SIB
had not suffered the loss of a
chance that had any pecuniary
value to it, and hence there was
nothing recoverable on the plead-
ed case.
LORD LEGGATT, concurring,
said that, even if SIB were to suc-
ceed at trial in establishing that
HSBC owed a Quincecare duty to
SIB of which HSBC was in breach,
SIB could not show that the breach
caused SIB to suffer any loss. Al-
though at the time when the dis-
puted payments were made SIB
had not yet entered into liquida-
tion, SIB was heavily insolvent on a
balance sheet basis, as its liabilities
vastly exceeded its assets, but the
payments did not increase SIB’s li-
abilities any further and thereby
make its asset position any worse.
That was because SIB owed the
money paid out to the investors
who received it. The payment of
£116 million out of SIB’s accounts
therefore reduced SIB’s liabilities
by an equal amount and left its as-
set position unchanged. There was
no way of escaping the simple
truth that paying a valid debt did
not reduce the payer’s wealth.
The disputed payments made
out of SIB’s accounts with HSBC
were not transactions at an under-
value, as they reduced SIB’s liabili-
ties by an equal amount and there-
fore had no effect on the net asset
position.
Lord Sales delivered a dissent-
ing judgment.
Solicitors: Stewarts Law LLP;
Eversheds Sutherland (Inter-
national) LLP.
47
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THERE is none like you, O LORD; you are
great, and your name is great in might.
Who would not fear you, O King of the
nations? For this is your due; for among all
the wise ones of the nations and in all their
kingdoms there is none like you. Jeremiah
10.6-7 (ESV)
Births
WRIGHT
on 23rd December 2022 to Perican
Tahir and Oliver Frederic Wright, a
daughter, Lyla Pembe Elizabeth, a
beautiful baby girl born at 11:22am at
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London.
Forthcoming Marriages
MR H. W. J. AITCHISON
AND MISS C. L. RULE
The engagement is announced
between Harry, only son of Jeremy
and Ruth Aitchison of Duncton,
West Sussex, and Catherine,
youngest daughter of Douglas Rule
of Monks Eleigh, Suffolk, and the
late Mrs Sarah Rule.
Deaths
CABOT Rebecca Jane died peacefully on
13th January 2023, aged 69. Much-loved
and wonderful wife of John, dearest
mother to Sophie and Thomas and sister of
Sarah and Belinda. She will be greatly
missed. Funeral at Chelsea Old Church,
London SW3 at 11am on Wednesday 1st
February 2023. Family flowers only but any
donations may be given to the Royal
Marsden Cancer Charity. All inquires to
Chelsea Funeral Directors. Tel: 020 7352
0008.
CHURCHILL Spencer Andre died
peacefully on 18th December 2022, aged
93. End of an era. Father to Tristan and
Sarah, grandfather to Lola and Christian,
great-grandfather to Felix and Theo, and
uncle to Nigel (recently deceased). Friend
and mentor to many. Funeral at noon
Tuesday 14th February, Woollensbrook
Crematorium, Hertford Road, Hoddesdon
EN11 9BN. Wake at the Prince of Wales,
Burton Lane, Goff’s Oak EN7 6SL, until
4pm then all welcome at the house until
7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be
made to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home,
London.
DYMOND Mary Elizabeth (née Sands)
died peacefully on 2nd January 2023, aged
85. She follows her beloved husband David
(1933-2021). She will be much missed by her
three children and four grandchildren. A
service of thanksgiving will take place on
7th February. Donations if desired may be
made to Médecins Sans Frontières or
Oxfam. All inquiries to Armstrongs Funeral
Service. Tel: 01284 723889.
GRAINGER Joyce died peacefully on 16th
January 2023, aged 101. Devoted wife of
the late Gerry, beloved mother of Barbara
and Stephen, and much-loved grandmother
of seven and great-grandmother of ten.
HARROP John Milne MBE died peacefully
at home on Monday 16th January 2023,
aged 90. Much-loved husband of Susan,
father of Sara and Ann, father-in-law,
grandfather and great-grandfather. Funeral
service at St Cynfarch and St Mary’s
Church, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd LL15 2EW
on Thursday 2nd February at 11am. No
flowers. Donations to charity.
NUTTING David Anthony on 10th
December 2022. A service of thanksgiving
will be held at noon on Thursday 23rd
March at All Saints Church, Terling
CM3 2PQ.
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Divine Service was held in
Sandringham Parish Church
this morning.
The Bishop of Hereford
preached the Sermon.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 49

Weather
Today Rather cloudy with rain in the north and west but drier and cooler further southeast. Max 11C (52F), min -5C (23F) 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 Generally dry with some 34 Calm
du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain, (mph) 35 7
sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder sunny spells but areas of Slight 17
*=previous day **=data not available thicker cloud will bring Temperature Moderate
Rough
Temp C Rain mm Sun hr* rain at times 28 (degrees C)
8
midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday
7 20
6 C 0.0 3.9
Tomorrow Flood alerts and warnings
Aberdeen
Dry and chilly over southern Britain
Aberporth 6 C 0.0 2.9
with a frosty start leading to sunny At 17:00 on Sunday there were 7
Anglesey 7 C 0.0 1.1 spells and areas of patchy cloud. 50 flood alerts and 39 warnings 5
Aviemore 8 S 1.8 0.0 Rather cloudy and milder in northern in England but no flood alerts or
Barnstaple 6 C 0.0 ** Britain and Ireland with showery rain. 24 or the first time in 44 years

F
C F
warnings in Wales or Scotland. Aberdeen
Bedford 0 S 0.0 ** Max 11C, min -5C 35 95
For further information and updates the UK was a net exporter
Belfast 9 C 0.6 0.0
in England visit flood-warning- 30 86
Birmingham 1 S 0.0 **
information.service.gov.uk, for Wales 25 77 of electricity last year. That
Bournemouth 1 M 0.2 0.0 8 NORTH was partly helped by
Bridlington 2 C 0.0 **
naturalresources.wales/flooding and 20 68
for Scotland SEPA.org.uk SEA 15 59 reductions in power use in
Bristol 2 C 0.0 1.3
Camborne 9 C 0.0 ** 7 10 50
the wake of soaring costs of gas,
10 Edinburgh 5 41
Cardiff 5 C 0.0 2.3 23 Glasgow
Edinburgh 8 PC 0.0 0.2
5
0 32
electricity and the overall cost of
Eskdalemuir 3 D 2.4 **
5 18 -5 23 living. But even so, it was still
Glasgow 7 R 4.4 0.0
6
-10 14 astonishing to see the country swing
Hereford 1 M 0.0 ** Londonderry
Herstmonceux 6 S 0.0 3.4 ATLANTIC
-15 5 from net importer to net exporter.
Ipswich 2 S 0.2 **
Newcastle In fact, electricity demand in
OCEAN Carlisle
Isle of Man 8 C 1.0 0.1
Wednesday Belfast Britain last year fell by 18 per cent
Isle of Wight 5 S 0.2 ** 2
Jersey 5 C 0.0 7.8 A dry and frosty start over southern 10 5 since a peak in 2005 and the nation’s
England leading to a mostly dry day
Keswick 6 C 0.0 ** with sunny spells. Cloud and showery
8
rk
York power consumption approaches that
Kinloss 10 PC 0.0 0.0 rain spreading southwards over the last seen in the 1980s, according to
rest of Britain and Ireland.
16
Leeds 2 C 0.0 **
Lerwick 7 C 2.0 0.0 Max 10C, min -1C Manchester Hull
analysis by researchers at the
Leuchars 7 C 0.8 0.0 Liverpoo
Liverpool 4 University of Birmingham.
Lincoln 0 S 0.0 ** Galway IRISH 13
By far the biggest exports of
Liverpool 3 M 0.0 ** 9 SEA Sheffield
London 0 S 0.0 0.0 Dublin
Llandudno
5 power went to France using an
Lyneham 0 PC 0.2 0.0 undersea power cable called an
Manchester 3 C 0.0 0.0
Margate 5 C 0.0 4.3
9 10
Shrewsbury
Nottingham interconnector. Last year the French
Milford Haven 8 C 0.2 ** 5
Norwich
suffered a huge loss of their vital
Newcastle 3 C 0.0 ** 22 6 nuclear power capacity when many
Nottingham 0 M 0.2 0.0 Birmingham
Orkney 8 C 0.8 0.0 8
Cork
Cambridge plants suffered serious maintenance
Oxford 0 S 0.2 ** 10 problems, leaving the country in
Swansea Oxford 3
Plymouth 8 C 0.0 ** urgent need of electricity imports.
Portland 7 C 0.0 ** Cardiff
Scilly, St Mary’s 10 D 0.4 **
Thursday Channel Islands CELTIC 3 Renewable power generation in
Shoreham 4 S 0.0 0.0 Mostly dry with sunny spells but the
SEA Bristol London Britain also reached record levels
risk of an isolated shower from thicker
Shrewsbury 2 C 0.0 0.3 5
Snowdonia 4 C 0.0 **
cloud and in northern and eastern
Scotland, eastern England, western Southampton
last year and wind generation
7 reached a new record with a 24 per
Southend 4 S 0.2 1.2 Wales and Cornwall. eter
Exeter
South Uist 9 D 3.2 ** Max 8C, min -3C 7 Plymouth Brighton cent increase on the year before.
Stornoway 10 D 2.4 0.0
Tiree 10 PC 4.4 0.0
However, generation from fossil fuel
Whitehaven 2 C 0.0 4.4 6
6 power stations also increased, but
CHANNEL 15
Wick 8 PC 0.0 ** 7 without the problems in France, and
Yeovilton 3 B 0.0 1.0
shortages of gas and oil supplies, it
7
7 General situation: Dry, chilly and sunny the east, bringing some spots of rain in the morning but cloud increasing to could have been the first year that
The world in the south and east but cloudier near the coast. Light to moderate bring showery rain from the northwest. Britain’s combined wind, solar and
All readings local midday yesterday
further north and west with some rain. northeasterly wind. Maximum Light increasing to moderate or fresh hydro would have generated more
Alicante 10 PC Madeira 18 B 6 Cen S Eng, E Eng, Cen N Eng, Midlands, 6C (43F), minimum -4C (25F). southwesterly wind. Maximum
Amsterdam 2 B Madrid 7 S
electricity than the fossil fuel power
Wales, SW Eng, London, NW Eng: A dry Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Mostly 8C (46F), minimum 5C (41F).
Athens 16 PC Malaga 14 PC
and frosty start with some fog patches dry with some sunny spells, but areas NE Eng, Lake District, SW Scotland, stations — a milestone that will
Auckland 24 PC Mallorca 9 B
but these clearing to bring plenty of of low cloud and fog in the east and IoM, Borders, Edinburgh and Dundee, almost certainly be reached in the
Bahrain 21 PC Malta 11 R Friday
Bangkok 30 PC Melbourne 24 PC The risk of a few showers in southern
sunshine, although hazy in places. northwest may bring some spots of Cen Highland, Glasgow, NW Scotland, next two years as more renewables
Barbados 28 B Mexico City 23 S and eastern England and northwest Light and variable winds. Maximum drizzle in places. Light southerly wind. Argyll: Rather cloudy and foggy come on stream.
Scotland, otherwise it will be a dry day 8C (46F), minimum -5C (23F). Maximum 11C (52F), minimum with outbreaks of light rain and
Barcelona 9 S Miami 28 B
with sunny spells. E Anglia, SE Eng, Channel Is: Any 1C (34F). drizzle. Light to moderate south or
The war in Ukraine also spurred
Beijing 3 S Milan 6 S
Beirut 19 S Mombasa 28 B Max 8C, min -2C frost and fog will clear to bring some NE Scotland, Moray Firth, Aberdeen, southwesterly wind. Maximum the trend away from fossil fuels as it
Belgrade 3 DU Montreal -3 C sunshine but cloud will spread in from N Isles: Dry with some sunny spells 8C (46F), minimum 2C (36F). became abundantly clear that
Berlin 2 C Moscow -4 SN Europe and the UK need to wean
Bermuda 20 B Mumbai 27 S
Bordeaux 0 C Munich -2 DU
6 Tides Noon today LOW
976
themselves off gas imports amid
HIGH
Brussels 0 SN Nairobi 23 B Tidal predictions.
LOW
984
1040
fears about energy security.
9 R 8 PC Heights in metres 992
Bucharest Naples
8 1000
HIGH
1000
And as everyone’s electricity bills
Budapest 4 C New Orleans 14 DU Today Ht Ht
Buenos Aires 28 B New York 4 B 7 Aberdeen 02:13 4.4 14:18 4.6 1024 1008 shot up, it also helped drive a huge
Cairo 19 PC Nice 10 B Avonmouth 08:13 13.8 20:41 13.6
1016
1016
HIGH
surge in demand for domestic solar
Calcutta 27 S Nicosia 20 PC Belfast --:-- -- 12:03 3.7 LOW panels, and production and
Canberra 22 B Oslo -16 FG 6
Cardiff 08:04 12.7 20:30 12.5 1000 LOW 1008
Cape Town 26 PC Paris 1 B 06:46 5.7 19:18 5.4
installations have barely kept pace
Devonport
Chicago -1 DU Perth 32 S
Dover --:-- -- 12:04 6.7 LOW 1000 with demand. The great energy
Copenhagen 1 DU Prague -1 SN price spike has also driven more
Saturday Dublin 11:14 6.1 23:45 5.7 1008
Corfu 13 R Reykjavik -1 SN
Delhi 22 S Riga -4 C Most areas will have a dry day with Falmouth 06:11 5.4 18:41 5.1 awareness of home insulation and
Dubai 24 PC Rio de Janeiro 28 B sunny intervals but some thicker cloud Greenock 01:13 3.4 13:29 3.7 1016 1032 LOW 1016 the efficiency of appliances, and the
will bring the risk of showery light rain Harwich 00:19 4.0 12:46 4.2 Cold front
Dublin 11 B Riyadh 19 PC or drizzle in places. 1024 1024 price of petrol and diesel has helped
Holyhead 11:15 6.0 23:48 5.7 HIGH Warm front
Faro 14 S Rome 7 S Max 9C, min -1C
Florence 9 S San Francisco 13 B Hull 07:17 7.6 19:21 8.0 LOW Occluded front drive the demand for electric cars.
Frankfurt 3 B Santiago 28 S Leith 03:24 5.8 15:36 5.8 HIGH Trough
Geneva 1 B São Paulo 26 B Liverpool --:-- -- 12:07 9.8
Gibraltar 16 PC Seoul 1 S 7 London Bridge 02:38 7.0 15:02 7.4
Synoptic situation Highs and lows Hours of darkness
Helsinki -6 SN Seychelles 29 PC Lowestoft 10:33 2.6 22:34 2.7 24hrs to 5pm yesterday Aberdeen 16:45-07:53
Hong Kong 23 PC Singapore 28 PC Milford Haven 07:12 7.4 19:39 7.2 A ridge of high pressure will Belfast 17:13-07:56
Honolulu 28 B St Petersburg -3 DU bring mainly dry and chilly Warmest: Achnagart,
9 Morecambe --:-- -- 12:17 10.0 Inverness-shire, 10.8C Birmingham 17:06-07:31
Istanbul 17 S Stockholm -6 M
7 Newhaven --:-- -- 12:10 6.9 conditions with some sunshine Coldest: Benson, -9.7C Cardiff 17:15-07:32
Jerusalem 20 S Sydney 20 R over most of England and Wettest: Tyndrum,
Newquay 06:02 7.4 18:30 7.2 Exeter 17:19-07:30
Johannesburg 26 S Tel Aviv 20 S Wales. Weak frontal boundaries Perthshire, 14.6mm
Oban 06:43 4.2 18:59 3.9 Sunniest: Jersey, 7.8hrs* Glasgow 17:00-07:55
Kuala Lumpur 27 R Tenerife 22 PC in Scotland and Ireland will
8 Penzance 05:35 5.8 18:00 5.5 Liverpool 17:06-07:39
Kyiv ** ** Tokyo 6 B bring thick cloud, showery
Portsmouth 00:03 4.8 12:12 4.8 Sun and moon London 17:03-07:20
Lanzarote 22 B Vancouver 4 R rain and slightly milder For Greenwich
Shoreham --:-- -- 12:13 6.5 Manchester 17:03-07:36
Las Palmas 21 PC Venice 7 B temperatures. High pressure Sun rises: 07.50
The Times weather Newcastle 16:54-07:40
Lima 21 B Vienna 0 SN Southampton 01:46 4.6 11:47 4.7 Sun sets: 16.32
07:19 9.8 19:45 9.6
will dominate most of the week Moon rises: 09.21 Norwich 16:53-07:18
Lisbon 12 S Warsaw 2 B page is provided Swansea
across the British Isles bringing Moon sets: 18.43 Penzance 17:30-07:36
Los Angeles 17 S Washington 6 DU Tees 04:37 5.6 16:45 5.8
21 S 0 B
by Weatherquest mainly dry weather. First quarter: January 28 Sheffield 17:00-07:33
Luxor Zurich Weymouth 07:43 2.3 20:29 2.1
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Sport
Eubank flaws have never gone away
Early folly of refusing
to listen to his coaches
was exposed in the
defeat by Liam Smith,
Tom Kershaw writes
C
hris Eubank Jr’s
shortcomings had never
been confirmed with such a
brutal flourish, but the
result of his fourth-round
defeat by Liam Smith on Saturday
also arrived with a crushing
familiarity. The life of a boxer can be
both charmed and cruel, and few of
late have embodied those harsh
vicissitudes quite like Eubank, whose
famous surname allowed him to
leapfrog boxing’s traditional rites of
passage but always rendered him a
figure of resentment among those
who considered his talents overblown
and ego unwarranted.
The truth lies somewhere in
between and has remained
unchanged for almost a decade.
Eubank is a tenacious trainer,
who has poured his soul into the
sport and demonstrated a depth
of courage that cannot simply be
inherited. It has carried him to
the cusp of world level on three
occasions, and brought victories
over veritable opponents that should
not be overlooked, but it is there
he has repeatedly met his limitations.
Roy Jones Jr was in his corner in
Manchester, but the earlier years
during which Eubank refused
to heed the advice of coaches has
ingrained gaps in his armour that
no amount of spirit was capable of
sealing shut.
It was in the fourth round that
Smith was able to expose them with
shocking clarity. It had been a cagey
start at the Manchester Arena, where
an ugly and acrimonious build-up had
stirred a febrile atmosphere among
the sell-out crowd. If anything,
Eubank had been in slight control
before he was trapped in the corner
and caught with a spiteful barrage of
Eubank clings on desperately but the referee soon stopped the contest, inset, after a barrage of punches from Smith, below
punches that left him crumpled
against the ropes. Although the
33-year-old staggered bravely back
to his feet, the final blows were
merely a formality. That Eubank
didn’t realise the referee had stepped
in, swaying and squaring up to Smith
as if ready to throw another punch,
was uncomfortable evidence of what
a sudden and unexpected ending it
had been.
Smith is certainly no slouch, his
grey hair disguising the fact that he is
still clinging to his prime at 34, and he
has fared better against a far higher
calibre of opponent than Eubank.
Yet the latter’s bravado had managed
to beguile fans and bookmakers again,
despite a lack of supporting evidence.
He entered the ring as the slight
favourite, but after defeats by Billy Joe
Saunders in 2014 and George Groves
in 2018, this was the continuation of a
depressing cycle that should leave
Eubank with serious questions.
There would be no great shame in
walking away. Eubank has voiced
fears about the effects of brain
damage, and this was the first time in
his career that he had been stopped,
51
allow him to face Smith again this
year in Liverpool, though, is a
lucrative proposition that may well
prove hard to resist, even if his hopes
are rooted in dangerous delusions.
There will be little sympathy for
Eubank, whose few supporters on
Saturday were acquired largely as a
result of Smith’s homophobic insults
at a shameful press conference
last week.
Yet, it is impossible to ignore the
fact that this defeat immediately
followed the fiasco surrounding
Conor Benn’s failed drug test in
October that cost Eubank a fortune.
It should not detract from Smith’s
performance, but it is easy to wonder
what role that wearying saga may
have played.
Eubank had looked horrifyingly
gaunt after boiling down to the
contracted catchweight of 157lb and
later conceded it would have been
seriously reckless to enter the ring
in such a state.
Although Saturday’s fight was
contested at the middleweight limit
of 160lb, there will be clear suspicions
that fatigue carried over in some
form and explained his lack of
punch resistance.
That fact will hardly provide
Eubank with consolation, but his
regret cannot obscure the bare
reality. In Smith, he was again
confronted by an opponent who had
trodden the traditional route through
the amateurs, who eschewed flair,
honed his craft, and took particular
glee in vindicating that sacrifice
in Manchester.
the ironclad chin that bore so Eubank may have had little
many resemblances to his choice in
father’s finally his
yielding, just celebrity
as Eubank Sr’s status, and
eventually did. he has used
His arrogance it cleverly
and flash in a sport
tendencies should where few
not be mistaken for naivety, boxers cross into the
and Eubank has been smart mainstream, but the early
and successful enough to retire shortcuts he took seem
comfortably should he so wish. destined to separate a good
The option to activate a career from one that might
rematch clause that would have been great.
52
Sport Golf
Lights, camera, friction: Netflix
gets lucky with golf’s civil war
Rick Broadbent
T
here is a scene in Netflix’s
advert for its Full Swing
series in which a player in
pink hurls a couple of clubs
across a Texas locker room.
This sort of “trailer trash” is at odds
with golf’s traditional image of six-
iron soundbites, PR niceties and a
fetish for the arcane. How do you
make golf exciting for the streaming
generation? One of the answers, it
seems, is Ian Poulter.
The middle-aged Englishman is
among the leads in the new
documentary about a year on the
PGA Tour that is due out on
February 15. There is hope that it will
do for golf what Drive to Survive did
for Formula One, where almost 75 per
cent of fans under 45 now say the
series played a part in their interest in
the sport. Significantly, the producers
say the PGA Tour does not have
editorial control.
Full Swing is made by the Drive to
Survive creative team. James Gay-
Rees, an acclaimed figure from Box to
Box Films with credits including
Senna, Amy and Maradona, is
involved. Chad Mumm, of Vox Media
Studios, is the executive producer.
And then there is Poulter, even if he
has now moved to LIV
Golf and took his home
tour to court last year to
get a temporary
suspension abated. The
bitter rift between the PGA
Tour and LIV Golf, the
Saudi-backed rival upstart,
is the dramatic backdrop to
these episodes.
“We were worried that it
would negatively impact
the access we had,” Mumm
says. “But it ended up being
manna from heaven from a
storytelling perspective. The big
focus is how do we humanise
these people. It’s not Formula
One with fiery 200mph crashes
and team rivalries. It’s more like
a travelling circus with this
camaraderie that exists from
being at the top, but LIV
completely fractured that vibe.
Golfers are not known for
being outspoken, but suddenly they
were extremely outspoken on both
sides. It changed the dynamic of that
high school clubby feel.”
Enter Poulter. Why was a player of
waning powers so pivotal? “He is
outspoken and does not really care
what people think about him,” Mumm
says. “He is always brash, with the
loud pants and colourful hair. I think
he thrives on having some people hate
him or at least plays into that. It can’t
just be golfing robots, and everybody
in it has something going on, but Ian
is made for TV. The guy should have
his own reality show.”
The PGA Tour knows this is an
opportunity even if it is not in the
cutting room. But the crew did film at
the opening LIV Golf event at
Centurion Club near Hemel
Hempstead and at the majors.
Augusta National was, surprisingly,
McIlroy, top, finally bought into the
project; middle, Thomas and Spieth jet
off, while Poulter features prominently
particularly receptive. Mumm says the
episodes are character based rather
than event driven, and storylines
revolve around Matt Fitzpatrick,
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, as
well as a string of those who have
since left for LIV Golf: Poulter, Brooks
Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Joaquín
Niemann and (soon) Mito Pereira.
The viewers will see some wrestling
with their decisions. Trust was earned.
Cameras rolled. And some, such as
Koepka, revealed a rarely
acknowledged vulnerability.
“For some players going to LIV was
a no-brainer,” Mumm says. “DJ is the
one that says it best when he says if
someone offers you more money for
Perez’s £1.2m golden shot
The best shot of Victor Perez’s life
has set up the likelihood of the
biggest year of the Frenchman’s
golfing career. Perez spun a bunker
shot back into the hole for birdie at
No 17 and celebrated wildly on the
way to a six-under-par 66 for a
one-stroke victory at the Abu Dhabi
HSBC Championship yesterday,
earning him his third and easily
biggest European tour title. “It was
probably the greatest shot I’ve ever
hit,” Perez said.
That wasn’t the end of the drama
in a crazy finish at Yas Island Links.
Two strokes clear when teeing off at
the par-five 18th, Perez drove into a
fairway bunker, hit his second shot
nearly into the water and two-
putted for a bogey. Min Woo Lee, in
less time at the office then you’d be
crazy not to take that. For him there
is no consideration beyond that. But
Brooks is a different animal. His story
is the most complicated on how he
ended up making that decision. He
opens up in a way that will surprise
people. You may not agree with his
decision, but you will understand it.
“Then there’s a guy like Ian, who
wants to be the hero in Europe and
wants to play in the Ryder Cup and
knows what that means, but he’s not
playing as well, he can’t hit it as far as
he used to, he’s got to play more
weeks to earn more money to support
the lifestyle. He’s got the Ferraris and
lives life loudly, but his kids are
the group behind, needed an eagle
at the last to force a play-off and his
third shot raced just past the hole
then rolled slowly back down the
hill to settle within a foot of the cup.
Only then could Perez, watching
the television in the scorer’s hut,
truly celebrate winning about
$1.5 million (£1.2million). It could be
a life-changing victory for Perez, 30,
who climbed into second place in
Europe’s Ryder Cup qualification
standings. Perez finished on 18
under par for the tournament, with
Sebastian Soderberg (67) and Lee
(68) tied for second place. Padraig
Harrington, the 51-year-old
Irishman and three-times major
winner, was alone in fourth place
— two shots behind Perez.
growing up and, all of a sudden, he’s
looking towards the end of a career.”
For all the easy mocking of LIV
pension plans, a study in the sporting
endgame, with its intimations of
mortality, sounds interesting.
Not that everyone has been
convinced by these fly-on-the-wall
docuseries. Max Verstappen accused
the film-makers of hamming up
aspects of the F1 season and said:
“They faked a few rivalries.” He
refused to take part in the second
series, but has since relented.
Mercedes and Ferrari snubbed the
first season. Full Swing has also
suffered, with Jon Rahm not involved.
Tiger Woods also opted out. “We have
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
asked enough times,” Mumm says of
the only man who would guarantee
ratings. Rory McIlroy did cause a stir,
though, when he featured in the
trailer as he was also one of those
who initially refused to grant access.
Was the change down to his growing
role as the totem for the PGA Tour?
“From the start he loved it but, like
Lewis Hamilton, he wanted to wait
until season two,” Mumm says. “We’d
see him at every major and ask, ‘If
you win this week are you in?’ And he
got so close, always on the cusp. St
Andrews felt like a coronation was
going to happen, and losing like that
to Cam Smith was heart-breaking.
“A few weeks later, at the Tour
Championship, I went to the
clubhouse early on Monday and not
many people were around. Rory was
in the dining area. He and Tiger had
just had their Delaware summit with
the players, and I basically told him
we may not get another shot at this:
‘You grasped that mantle and the
world wants and needs to hear your
point of view. They don’t want to wait
another year.’ He thought about that
for a minute and said, ‘I’m in, let’s go.’
He then gave us more access that
week than we’d had from any player
all year. And then he wins the thing.”
Mumm promises never-seen
archive footage of McIlroy and visits
to parts of Augusta National that
normally remain hidden. He uses the
word “circus” often and paints golf as
“wild and unexpected”, which is wild
and unexpected. In the trailer Poulter
says: “You picked a hell of a year.”
So why was he tossing those clubs
in Austin? “When you see it, you will
understand why he reacts in that way,”
Mumm says. “He was wearing a mic
and we were following him into the
locker room. It was a very emotional
moment, but they got used to us. As
film-makers you try to disappear.
And we could tell them we were not
putting things out the next day to feed
the news cycle — we had a year’s
worth of context for that incident.” He
says no player asked for anything to
be left out, which shocked him.
Sporting docuseries have become
the norm after Drive to Survive, which
debuted in 2019. With the game in
the thrust of its existential crisis, that
would have been a decent title for the
golf version too. Mumm says viewers
will get an insight into players’ heads
and their personal lives. “It makes for
a more complicated and nuanced
portrait than might be expected.”
Might they include LIV Golf in the
future? “I don’t have an answer to
that question,” he says. “I think there
is an obligation to the audience to
continue some of the storylines, but
whether that means filming at LIV
events — I mean, those guys will all
be at the majors.”
Golf on TV has moved on since
Ronnie Corbett and Bruce Forsyth
were comparing gags and Pringles.
Whisper it, given the phrase has
become a much mocked mantra
during the civil war, but Mumm, a
golf fan from Georgia, says this
could even grow the game. By the
time the second series swings around,
the landscape could have changed for
ever from TV to green. “Golf is kind
of boring,” Koepka said back in 2019.
“These guys are actually interesting,”
counters Mumm.
This is modern golf. Lights, camera,
friction.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 53

Racing Sport
3.30 Handicap Hurdle
Ffos Las (£8,265: 2m 4f) (12)
Rob Wright

3.10 Handicap 4.55 Classified Stakes

1.50 Handicap (£3,140: 1m) (8) (£5,129: 1m 6f) (6) (£3,402: 1m 1f 104yd) (12)

1.30 Novices' Hurdle

(£4,629: 2m) (15)

3.40 Handicap
2.20 Handicap (£3,140: 7f) (10) (£8,208: 1m) (11)
4.00 Handicap Chase (£5,096: 3m) (10)

5.30 Novice Stakes

(£4,320: 7f) (8)

2.00 Maiden Hurdle

(£4,629: 2m 4f) (14) 2.50 Handicap (£7,731: 7f) (8)
4.10 Handicap
(£4,187: 1m) (5)
4.30 Handicap Hurdle (£4,568: 3m) (16)

6.00 Handicap
(3-Y-O: £4,187: 1m 1f 104yd) (8)

4.40 Novice Stakes

3.20 Conditions Stakes (£4,320: 5f) (6)
(3-Y-O: £12,885: 6f) (4)

6.30 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,402: 1m 1f) (6)

2.30 Maiden Hurdle 3.50 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,140: 1m 4f) (6)
(£4,629: 2m 4f) (14)
5.10 Handicap
(£4,187: 5f) (10)

Kempton Park
Rob Wright
7.00 Handicap (£4,187: 1m 1f) (8)
Southwell
Rob Wright

12.50 Handicap (3-Y-O: £3,140: 6f) (11)

Wolverhampton
2.10 Classified Stakes Rob Wright
(3-Y-O: £3,402: 7f) (7)
3.00 Handicap Chase
(£6,152: 2m) (8) 7.30 Handicap (£4,187: 1m 4f) (6)

4.20 Handicap (£3,402: 5f) (8)

1.20 Handicap (£3,140: 6f) (10)
2.40 Novice Stakes
(3-Y-O: £4,320: 6f) (7)

Results
Fakir D’Oudairies
Brive 4 1 0 3 Worcester 7
Horse racing Cycling Rugby union Newcastle
Bath
4 1 0 3
4 0 1 3
66 157
63 132
68 105
6
5
3
Sale
L’borough
7
8
3
4
2
0
0
0
4 191 221
3 129 166
6 196 216
18
17
13
has luck on his side
Newcastle Tour Down Under
Stage 6 (Unley-Mounty Lofty, 112.5km) 1, S
Heineken Champions Cup
Pool 1
Perpignan 4 0 0 4 68 118 1 Wasps 7 0 0 7 18 370 0
Zebre 4 0 0 4 56 107 1 DMP Sharks 7 0 0 7 36 454 0
Going: standard / slow Yates (GB, Team Jayco-AlUla) 2hr 41min Edinburgh 20 Saracens 14 Fakir D’Oudairies was a fortunate
16sec; 2, J Vine (Aus, UAE Team Emirates) Pool 2
12.45 (6f) 1, Trabajo Detecho (Jason Hart,
15-8 fav); 2, Na Scoitear (2-1); 3, Territorial at same time; 3, B O’Connor (Aus,
Edinburgh: Tries: Cherry, Schoeman.
Cons: Kinghorn 2. Pens: Kinghorn 2. Sara- P W D L F A Pts Tennis winner of the grade two Horse & Jockey
Waters (9-1). 7 ran. 1 l, 3 l. R Fell. AG2R Citroen Team) at 2sec; 4, A Tiberi (It, cens: Try: Earl. Pens: Goode 3. HT: 10-6. Scarlets 4 4 0 0 124 57 18
Australian Open Hotel Chase at Thurles yesterday as he
Benetton 4 3 0 1 120 70 15
1.15 (2m 56yd) 1, Quercus Robur (Kevin Trek-Segafredo) at 3sec; 5, S E
Pool 2 Lions 4 2 1 1 98 85 12 Melbourne Park: fourth round (seeds in was left clear by the last-fence fall of
Stott, 6-5 fav); 2, Freewheelin (4-1); 3, Kit- Bystrom (Nor, Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert brackets) Men (3) S Tsitsipas (Gr) bt (15) J
ten’s Dream (10-1). 8 ran. l, l. A Nicol. Materiaux) at 6sec; 6, J Hindley (Aus,
Montpellier 21 London Irish 21 Dragons 4 1 1 2 98 103 10
Sinner (It) 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3; J Lehecka
Haut En Couleurs.
Stade Francais 4 2 0 2 85 86 10
1.45 (1m 2f 42yd) 1, Russian Virtue (P J Bora-Hansgrohe); 7, P Bilbao (Sp, Bahrain- Montpellier: Tries: Darmon, Giudicelli,
Cheetahs 4 2 0 2 73 87 10 (Cz) bt (6) F Auger-Aliassime (Can) 4-6, 6-3, Joseph O’Brien’s charge had won
Reinach. Cons: Carbonel 3. London Irish:
McDonald, 5-4 fav); 2, Rosa Del Rio (5-2); 3, Victorius); 8, G Aleotti (It, Bora-Hansgrohe);
9, M Sheffield (Us, Ineos Grenadiers); 10, M Tries: Coleman, Gonzalez, Creevy. Cons: Pau 4 1 0 3 64 72 7 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3); (18) K Khachanov (Russ)
bt (31) Y Nishioka (Japan) 6-0, 6-0 (7-6 (7-4);
twice at the highest level last season
Trailblazer (9-4). 4 ran. NR: First Snowfall, Bayonne 4 0 0 4 28 130 0
Mudlahhim. l, 3 l. R Menzies. Schmid (Switz, Soudal Quick-Step) all Jackson 3. HT: 0-14. (29) S Korda (US) bt (10) H Hurkacz (Pol) 3-6, and was sent off the 7-4 favourite to
Toulouse 20 Munster 16
2.15 (1m 4f 98yd) 1, Golden Vintage (P J same time.
Toulouse: Try: Mallia. Pens: Jaminet 5.
Challenge Cup last 16 fixtures 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7). Women (3) J Pegula make the most of a drop in class.
Toulon v Cheetahs (US) bt (20) B Krejcikova (Cz) 7-5, 6-2;
McDonald, 8-1); 2, Princess Nieve (3-1); 3,
Final standings Munster: Tries: Hodnett, Beirne. Pens: Scarlets v Brive (24) V Azarenka (Russ) bt Zhu Lin (China) However, he would probably have had
Coup De Gold (18-1). 7 ran. NR: Strong Team.
3l, nk. Jedd O’Keeffe. 1, Vine 16hr 7min 41sec; 2, Yates at 11sec; 3, Carbery, Healy. HT: 11-8. Benetton v Connacht 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; (17) J Ostapenko (Lat) bt (7) C to settle for second had the Willie
6 Tables and last 16 matches, page 58 Gauff (US) 7-5, 6-3; (22) E Rybakina (Kaz) bt
2.45 (1m 5yd) 1, Glen Buck (J Mitchell, 5-1); 2,
Bilbao at 27sec; 4, Sheffield at 57sec; 5,
Schmid at 58sec; 6, O’Connor at 1min 4sec;
Glasgow Warriors v Dragons
Stade Francais v Lyon (1) I Swiatek (Pol) 6-4, 6-4. Mullins-trained Haut En Couleurs not
European Challenge Cup
Odin Owns You All (5-2); 3, Born Ruler (9-4
7, Bystrom at 1min 6sec; 8, Tiberi at 1min Pool 2 Lions v Racing 92 come to grief.
fav). 6 ran. 1l, l. R Varian.
3.15 (6f) 1, Walking On Clouds (Oliver Stam-
7sec; 9, G Izagirre (Sp, Movistar Team) at Dragons 25 Lions 30 Bristol Bears v Clermont Auvergne French Dynamite was beaten six
mers, 6-4 fav); 2, Beneficiary (11-2); 3, Shalaa
1min 13sec; 10, B Coquard (Fr, Cofidis) at Dragons: Tries: Reed, Seiuli, J Williams,
Cardiff Rugby v Sale Sharks Fixtures lengths into second, with the six-times
1min 13sec. Dyer. Con: Reed. Pen: Hanrahan. Lions: Racing 92, Clermont, Lyon and Sale have
Asker (2-1). 6 ran. 1 l, l. Grant Tuer.
Tries: Q Horn, van der Merwe. Con: dropped down from the Champions Cup. top-flight scorer Chacun Pour Soi, who
Placepot: £49.80. Quadpot: £18.10. Golf Hendrikse. Pens: Hendrikse 6. HT: 5-27. Games to be played March 31-April 2.
Football is seemingly past his best at the age of 11,
6 Meetings at Lingfield and Fakenham DP World Tour Cheetahs 9 Pau 6
Allianz Premier 15s a further 12 lengths adrift in third.
Free State Cheetahs: Pens: Masuku 3. Pau: Premier League Fulham v Tottenham
yesterday were abandoned due to a frozen Abu Dhabi Golf Championship
Abu Dhabi: Final scores: 270 V Perez (Fr) Pens: Debaes 2. HT: 3-3.
Sale 25 Wasps 0; Exeter 41 Bristol 0; (8.0). “I was very pleased with the perform-
track Harlequins 22 Gloucester-Hartpury 33.
71 65 68 66. 271 M Lee (Aus) 68 69 66 68; S Pool 1 Scottish Cup fourth round Darvel Juniors ance,” O’Brien said. “He will potentially
American Football Soderberg (Swe) 67 71 66 67. 272 P
Harrington (Ire) 68 73 64 67. 274 F Molinari Toulon
P W D L
4 4 0 0 102
F A Pts
Glos-Hart
P W
8 8
D L F
0 0 373
A Pts
71 39
v Aberdeen (7.45). go back to Ascot for the grade one he
56 19
NFL play-offs (It) 67 67 69 71; A Noren (Swe) 72 66 68 68. Glasgow 4 3 1 0 107 82 16 Exeter 8 7 0 1 368 77 35 Cricket won last year [the Ascot Chase] and
Kansas City Chiefs 27 Jacksonville Jaguars 275 T Hatton (Eng) 72 67 71 65; J Scrivener Cardiff
Bristol
4 3 0 1 154
4 4 0 0 121
57 15 Harlequins
Saracens
8
7
5
4
0 3 238 130 25
0 3 256 160 20 Third one-day international, Harare
then we’ll look at the Ryanair Chase [at
20; New York Giants 7 Philadelphia Eagles (Aus) 65 70 72 68; S Sharma (Ind) 67 70 69 54 14
38. 69. Connacht 4 3 0 1 135 72 14 Bristol 7 4 0 3 244 184 20 Zimbabwe v Ireland (7.15am). the Cheltenham Festival].”
54
Sport Australian Open
Murray can now
view Wimbledon
with confidence
Stuart Fraser
Tennis
Correspondent,
Melbourne
When Andy Murray sat back in his
hotel room in the early hours of
yesterday morning and reflected on his
thrilling Australian Open ride, his
thoughts turned to those he had proved
wrong. As has been the case through-
out his entire career, the urge to contra-
dict the doubters is what motivates him
to produce remarkable things on a
tennis court.
“Two days ago I randomly bumped
into the doctor who in 2017 told me,
‘The good news is the problem you have
in your hip can be fixed, but you won’t
be able to play professional sport
again,’ ” the 35-year-old wrote on social
media. “I think we dispelled that myth
the last five days.”
Murray later departed Melbourne
tired but satisfied after his 14 hours of
action in three matches here. His
4.05am finish in the second round on
Friday morning was still having its
effects as it was past 6am before he
eventually fell asleep yesterday. One
benefit before his arrival back in
London this morning is that his body
clock is already close to being back
on GMT.
Most encouraging for Murray and
his coaching team was the lack of any
cramping issues over the past week.
This had dogged him throughout last
year to the point where he became so
discouraged that he uncharacteristical-
ly slacked off with his physical training
in the autumn.
After a punishing pre-season train-
ing block with Ivan Lendl in Florida last
month, Murray stunned even his close
confidants here by coming through five
sets against the big-hitting Matteo
Berrettini in the first round and the
longest match of his career against
Thanasi Kokkinakis at five hours and
45 minutes in the second round. Sitting
in the coaching box for it all, Leon
Smith, the Great Britain Davis Cup
captain, found it gruelling enough to
watch, let alone play.
“I think what Andy has done this
week has been one of the most impress-
ive physical acts any athlete could do,”
Smith said. “When you think of what
he’s gone through to be able to go out
there and play that much tennis, with
the quality of tennis and the movement,
and to be able to get up and do it again.
“To then get back out in the court [in
the third round], anyone of 25 would
have been in tatters after those first
two matches and he gets out and
makes it an unbelievably competitive
match [losing to Roberto Bautista Agut
in four sets].
“His heart is unbelievable. You find it
emotional watching him when he’s
doing it, to see somebody go through
that. You talk about a role model, with
that desire and that hunger, we’ve
talked about it so long during his career
but it’s even more prominent now.”
While Murray’s improved move-
Murray’s heroics enhanced his reputation among his peers in the locker room
‘Netflix curse’ claims all ten
The exit of Félix Auger-Aliassime
meant the so-called “Netflix curse”
claimed its final victim. Of the ten
players featured in the Break Point
documentary series, the No 6 seed
from Canada was the last standing
before he lost 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6
(7-3) to the unseeded 21-year-old
Czech Jiri Lehecka yesterday.
The producers behind Break Point
had pushed the “next generation”
narrative, profiling players who
“compete in gruelling slams with
hopes of winning a final and even
bigger dreams of becoming world
No 1”. But no one came close at the
Australian Open, either suffering an
early exit or being struck down by
injury.
Netflix has lightheartedly
attempted to play down the idea of
a curse by insisting on social media
that it is a “coincidence”.
Paula Badosa World No 16:
Withdrew with a thigh injury on
January 13
Ajla Tomljanovic No 35: Withdrew
with a knee injury on January 13
Nick Kyrgios No 21: Withdrew with a
knee injury on January 16
Matteo Berrettini No 14: Lost in the
first round on January 17
Taylor Fritz No 9: Lost in the second
round on January 19
Ons Jabeur No 2: Lost in the second
round on January 19
Casper Ruud No 3: Lost in the
second round on January 19
Thanasi Kokkinakis No 159: Lost in
the second round on January 20
Maria Sakkari No 6: Lost in the third
round on January 20
Félix Auger-Aliassime No 7: Lost in
the fourth round yesterday
ment defied belief at times, there were
two noticeable technical improve-
ments that bode well for this year. The
influence of Lendl has clearly paid off in
the way that Murray is aggressively
taking on his forehand, and he is
far more eager to come forward and
finish off points up at the net. With
Wimbledon in mind, these are tactics
well suited to a quick grass court.
“I think he’s playing great,” Smith
said. “The way he’s taken on the ball,
with the ball speed. His forehand looks
great, his movement is excellent. So,
yes, he can have a run at Wimbledon.
Its going to be hard but he is giving
himself every chance to be successful
“He’s going to give himself a good
shot of having a really good year playing
the way he’s playing. He’s motivated and
wants to get back into the top 32 [Mur-
ray has a projected ranking of No 62
after his efforts here] to be seeded to do
even more damage at grand slams.”
Murray’s reputation as one of the
great competitors was long secure but
the past week has enhanced his status
in the locker room. As Bautista Agut
observed in the aftermath of their
match on Saturday, Murray has an
ability to use all elements of the sport’s
biggest stages to his advantage.
“He knows well how to play a grand-
slam match,” Bautista Agut, the No 24
seed from Spain, said. “He understands
the game very well, knows how to play
with a crowd and how to play with the
nerves of the opponent.”
Murray now has a well-deserved
three-week period of rest before he is
due to return to action at the Rotter-
dam Open from February 13. Appear-
ances in Dubai, Indian Wells and
Miami will follow over the course of the
next 1½ months as he bids to push up
the rankings.
The excitement over Murray’s
performance has put a positive spin on
what has in fact been a disappointing
tournament overall for the British
game. All seven singles players went
out in the first week, while all nine
qualifying entrants failed to come
through the preliminary stage.
This is a blessing of sorts for Smith
before Britain’s Davis Cup qualifier
away to Colombia next week. The extra
preparation time for Dan Evans, Cam-
eron Norrie and Jack Draper will be
helpful given the tricky adjustment
from the hard courts of Melbourne to
the clay courts of Bogota, which sits at
2,640 metres above sea level. Murray,
as the British No 4, was not selected.
“It’s the worst possible draw,” Evans
said. “I think everybody knows that.
It’s miles away, the hardest conditions
and all of their team are pretty good in
those conditions.”
Swiatek, the world No 1,
lost to the Wimbledon
champion Rybakina, inset
Shocks continue
Stuart Fraser
The Australian Open lost two of its
biggest stars in the women’s singles
within an hour yesterday as the world
No 1 Iga Swiatek and the American
teenager Coco Gauff suffered shock
exits in the fourth round.
This has been a tournament in which
many of the best players have struggled.
After earlier defeats for Ons Jabeur,
Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud, Swiat-
ek’s 6-4, 6-4 loss to Kazakhstan’s Elena
Rybakina meant this is the first grand-
slam event in the open era in which the
top two seeds in both the men’s and
women’s draws have lost before the
quarter-finals.
Swiatek, 21, was so dominant on the
tour last year but she looked close to a
state of panic on the court yesterday.
The Pole struggled to maintain her
composure in the face of some
relentless serving from Rybakina, the
Wimbledon champion, who, in stark
contrast, was calm throughout.
“For sure the past two weeks have
been pretty hard for me,” Swiatek said.
“I felt the pressure and I felt that I don’t
want to lose instead of wanting to win.
So that’s a base of what I should focus
on in the next couple of weeks.
“I felt today that I don’t have that
much to take from myself to fight even
more. I took a step back in terms of how
I approach these tournaments, and I
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
maybe wanted it a little bit too hard. I’m
going to try to chill out a little bit more.
That’s all.”
Rybakina rose to the occasion in the
biggest match she has played since
becoming the Wimbledon champion
in the summer. The Moscow-born
23-year-old has gone under the radar
over the past six months because of
low-profile court assignments that did
seem unfair given her new status in
the sport. Here at Melbourne Park
she opened her campaign on Court 13
last week.
Rybakina also struggled initially to
accept that her Wimbledon triumph
had come without the usual rankings
boost because of the WTA’s retaliatory
move to strip the Championships of
points after the ban on entries from
Russia and Belarus. Rather than being
inside the world’s top ten, she is ranked
No 25.
“It doesn’t bother me now, because
it’s been already six months after
Wimbledon and the year just started,”
Rybakina said. “For sure it’s a moti-
vation [to play well here], but every
tournament I come to I want to win, no
matter the points. I love to compete, so
for now I would say that I don’t really
look at these things.”
Gauff, meanwhile, broke down in
tears as she spoke to reporters after her
7-5, 6-3 defeat by Latvia’s Jelena
Ostapenko. The 18-year-old No 7 seed
the times | Monday January 23 2023
as Gauff and Swiatek fall
Gauff was in tears, inset, after her defeat by Ostapenko, during
which the American suffered a fall that sent her racket flying
had no answer for the 30 winners that
flew past her as the wait goes on for her
first grand-slam title.
“I worked really hard and I felt good
coming into the tournament,” Gauff
said. “I still feel like I’ve improved a lot.
But when you play a player like her and
she plays really well, there’s nothing
you can do. I feel like it was rough, so it’s
a little bit frustrating on that part.”
Ostapenko, 25, shot to fame as a teen-
ager when she won the 2017 French
Open but failed to build on this success.
In reaching her first grand-slam
quarter-final since Wimbledon 2018,
2GM
she managed to put
aside her concerns
about the accuracy
of the automatic
electronic line-calling
system in use on the Rod
Laver Arena.
Asked by the on-court inter-
viewer, Laura Robson, whether she had
faith in every call, Ostapenko said: “To
be honest, no. It feels like it makes some
mistakes. Sometimes I look at my team
because I know I’m wrong, but I feel like
some balls are pretty close, so I want to
know what they think about the call.”
Twenty-five years after Petr Korda
won the Australian Open men’s singles,
his 22-year-old son, Sebastian, made a
breakthrough at Melbourne Park by
reaching the quarter-finals of a grand
slam for the first time. The No 29 seed
from the United States outlasted
Hubert Hurkacz, the No 10 seed from
Poland, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in
three hours and 28 minutes.
Korda, who will now play Russia’s
Karen Khachanov for a place in the
semi-finals, won six consecutive points
in the deciding tie-break, only
to watch his lead slip away.
But he never panicked,
closing out his victory
with a perfect back-
hand passing shot up
the line.
Félix Auger-Alias-
sime, the No 6 seed
from Canada, lost
4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6
(7-3) to the unseeded
21-year-old Czech Jiri
Lehecka, who had never
won a grand-slam match
before this event.
Lehecka will face Stefanos Tsitsipas
after the third seed edged out the
Italian Jannik Sinner in a thrilling five-
set match. The Greek won 6-4, 6-4, 3-6,
4-6, 6-4 in three hours and 59 minutes
to seal a third consecutive quarter-final
in Melbourne.
Kansas City victory
clouded by injury
scare for Mahomes
NFL play-offs
Charles Walford
For the fifth year in a row the Kansas
City Chiefs are going to the AFC Cham-
pionship Game, becoming the third
team to achieve the feat. But their
hopes of progressing further will hinge
on the fitness of Patrick Mahomes,
their star quarterback, who left the field
with an injury for a spell in the middle
of their 27-20 victory over the Jackson-
ville Jaguars.
The Jaguars must have sensed their
chance when Mahomes rolled his ankle
towards the end of the first half, but
while he was off the pitch, his under-
study, Chad Henne, led the team down
the field and ended a 98-yard drive with
a one-yard touchdown pass to Travis
Kelce. It was still not enough to per-
suade Mahomes to protect himself.
“I’m not coming out of a play-off
game unless they take me out,”
Mahomes told reporters. “I’m just
going to play. We prepared all year to be
in the play-offs and to play in these
games. I just love competing in this
sport. Pain is pain and you have to deal
with it either way.”
The diagnosis is a high-ankle sprain,
the severity unknown, and only during
the week will that become clear.
However, it is unlikely that Andy Reid,
who became only the third head coach
to win 20 play-off games, will not risk
Mahomes, especially after relenting to
his pleading to be allowed to return to
the game. “It was hard getting him out
of the game first of all,” Reid said. “He
wanted to fight.”
Mahomes ended the game with only
195 passing yards but crucially two
touchdowns; a first-quarter toss to
Kelce and a decisive score in the
fourth quarter when he connected
on a six-yard touchdown pass to
Marquez Valdes-Scantling at the back
of the endzone.
Christian Kirk, the Jaguars wide
receiver, had scored in the first quarter
to draw level, while Travis Etienne, the
running back, rumbled over from four
Hall pilots British quartet
to historic win in Germany
Winter sports
Brad Hall piloted Great Britain’s four-
man bobsleigh crew to a first European
title in Altenberg yesterday. Hall and
his team-mates Arran Gulliver, Taylor
Lawrence and Greg Cackett saw off
three strong German teams on their
home track in a race that doubled as the
sixth round of the World Cup season.
Their combined time of 1min
49.32sec beat Francesco Friedrich’s
double Olympic champions by 0.09sec,
with another German team led by
Michael Vogt 0.22sec adrift. Hall’s most
recent success marked his team’s third
win in four races in what is turning into
a remarkable season for British sliding
sports. It came two days after Matt
Weston won men’s skeleton gold on the
same track.
Hall said: “It’s an amazing feeling.
We’ve done something no British team
has ever done. That feels pretty special.”
Meanwhile Great Britain’s Dave
Ryding returned to the scene of his
historic slalom win in Kitzbühel last
year to claim a thrilling second place
55
Sport
yards out to close the gap to three
points in the fourth quarter. That was
as close as they got.
The Chiefs now face the Cincinnati
Bengals, who overcame the snow and
the Buffalo Bills in sub-zero
temperatures at Highmark Stadium. A
27-10 victory set up a repeat of last
year’s AFC Championship Game in
Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.
In the NFC, the Philadelphia Eagles
gave a robust response to those who
were suggesting that they were the No 1
seed in name only as they put Brian
Daboll’s surprise package New York
Giants to the sword in a one-sided first
half. In the second half they did what
they needed to see out the game 38-7 to
advance to the NFC Championship
Game on Sunday.
They bossed the game in the
trenches in the early exchanges,
allowing the quarterback Jalen Hurts
to guide his offense through its full
repertoire, with first-half touchdowns
for the tight end Dallas Goedert, the
wide receiver DeVonta Smith and the
running back Boston Scott, while Miles
Sanders had 75 rushing yards before
half-time. Hurts even rushed for a
score himself.
Four of the Eagles’ five first-half
possessions ended in touchdowns,
while the Giants started with turnover
on downs, interception, punt, punt. Led
by the linebacker Haason Reddick, the
Eagles showed just why they put up 70
sacks in the regular season — 15 more
than any other team, as they simply
suffocated the Giants’ offense at
source. The quarterback Daniel Jones,
fresh from a 300-yard, two-touchdown
Wild Card game, was sacked twice in a
first half in which the Giants managed
only three first downs.
The Giants got a toehold in the
game in the third quarter as Matt
Breida went in from eight yards out.
But that was it for their scoring, while
the Eagles added a Jake Elliott field
goal and an impressive 35-yard rushing
touchdown from their running back
Kenneth Gainwell.
Ryding, left, celebrates his second
place with winner Yule in Austria
behind Switzerland’s Daniel Yule.
Ryding’s time after his first run, of
53.74sec, left him down in 16th place. He
posted the fastest time for his second
run, though, clocking in at 51.29 for an
overall time of 1min 45.03sec.
In the end, Ryding finished 0.40sec
behind Yule to claim his sixth World
Cup career podium.
56
Sport
Sport Exclusive interview
From Olympic gold to tackling doping, Seb
Coe tells Matt Lawton about his route from
runner to politics – and maybe the IOC
T
here is a story Seb Coe likes
to tell about his father. It
was February 1941 and Peter
Coe was 20 years old and
serving in the Merchant
Navy when his ship, the Blue Funnel
Line’s A.D. Huff, was sunk by a
German battlecruiser in the mid-
Atlantic.
Those who survived the shelling,
and then the freezing temperatures,
were picked up by the Gneisenau
and eventually transported to the
French port of La Rochelle. The
intention was to move the men,
young Able Seaman Coe among
them, by train to a prisoner-of-war
camp near Hamburg.
An engineer with a sharp, practical
mind, Peter Coe quickly made what
proved two critical observations. First,
that the train doors were not locked
and, second, that there was a tiny
window of opportunity when the
armed guard patrolling the train
carriages was out of sight. He and a
Canadian, Eddie Shackleton, decided
to make a leap for freedom.
Coe says his father landed
awkwardly but the two men began to
head south. “They walked by night
and slept by day,” Coe says.
“The initial plan was to go to
Marseille but they didn’t know if it
was occupied and they certainly
didn’t think it was a good idea for the
two of them to walk into the city
together. So my dad did something
completely crazy and crossed the
Pyrenees, into Spain.”
This, however, was Francisco
Franco’s Spain, and a Briton without
papers was soon arrested and moved
to a concentration camp in Miranda
De Ebro. “It was horrendous,” Coe
says. “It was not something he ever
really wanted to talk about. We only
found out about it when my
grandmother, by then about 80,
mentioned it one day. But in a
haunting moment he said he went to
sleep at night listening to people
being battered to death.”
Coe has the letter that was sent by
the war office to his grandparents.
Lost at sea, presumed dead. “They
held a ceremonial service at the Port
of London, but my grandmother
refused to go,” he says. “ ‘I know Pete,
he’ll turn up,’ she said. And about six
months later [having been released by
the Spanish] he did.”
Coe says he and his four children
have talked about one day retracing
Peter’s steps; the 300 or so miles he
walked until he was captured. He may
be 66 but the former double Olympic
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
Coe, who is now
‘You have to know
president of
World Athletics,
is embraced by
his father, Peter,
left, after setting
the one-mile
world record in
my father’s Second
Oslo in 1979. The
double Olympic
champion, a
Conservative MP
in the 1990s, far
right, is weighing
up running for
IOC presidency
World War story
to understand me’
champion certainly looks fit enough
for the challenge.
Time would appear to be the only
major obstacle, because how much he
has rather depends on what happens
next. An election in August will
determine if he secures a third term
as the president of World Athletics,
while another in 2025 could be the
moment when he becomes arguably
the most powerful man in sport; the
president of the International
Olympic Committee (IOC).
To the question of whether he
intends to run, Coe chooses his words
carefully. He will admit only that it is
under consideration. But what he does
reject is the idea that the IOC has
always been his end game, the final
part of a grand, 40-year plan, having
made the transition from athlete into
politics and sports administration.
He has been a Tory MP, served as
chief of staff to the leader of the
opposition, William Hague, from 1997
to 2001, sat in the House of Lords and
occupied a number of significant roles Below, Coe beats
in sport as well as business. A Ovett, No 279, to
chairman of the British Olympic 1,500m gold in
Association who also chaired the Moscow in 1980
London 2012 Olympic Games
organising committee, as well as his it talking about the threat of drugs in
present position as the head of the sport. While still competing, he sat on
biggest Olympic sport, completes the Sports Council, eventually joining
what some feel is the perfect CV for a committee whose review of the
the highest sporting office of all. anti-doping system in British sport led
He likes to think what he has to out-of-competition testing.
achieved until now owes much to the The phenomenally successful
man who decided, when he plunged partnership he enjoyed with his father
into those icy Atlantic waters, that he ended with Coe’s retirement from
would die another day; another 68 track and field in 1990, but he fondly
years later, as it turned out. recalls Peter’s words on the eve of the
“You have to understand my father 1992 general election, when he was
to understand, in a way, my career, elected as a Conservative MP for
because so much of what I’ve done Falmouth and Camborne in Cornwall.
has been steered by a bloody-minded “My dad was supportive but he
determination,” Coe says. really wasn’t a Conservative,” Coe
“After what happened to him in the says. “He rang me the night before
war, he also regarded every day as a and said, ‘Look, I’ve thought long and
bonus. Everything he did with me, not hard about this, I genuinely hope you
least as my coach, was predicated on are successful tomorrow. But at the
the view that, ‘I really don’t give a f*** end of the evening I also hope you’re
what anyone else says.’ ” the only bastard in the room.’
While there was no brush with “I know people may find this hard
death, Coe identifies his own turning pressure, I thought I really don’t want father was old Labour, my mother an to believe, but I’m not someone who
point. It was the defining moment of any more of this. old-fashioned Liberal. They attended sat down in their twenties and said, ‘I
his athletics career, the 3½ minutes “But the sheer craziness of that anti-Vietnam War marches and there need to win an Olympic title, then
when he recovered from the crushing situation was the fact that, by the was always political debate around join the UK Sports Council, the IOC
disappointment of losing to Steve second half of the lap, I was starting the table at home. The Indian part of athletes’ commission and so on.’
Ovett in the 800m in Moscow to beat to think about winning another gold my family, on my mother’s side, also “If I’d been Machiavellian about it,
his great rival to Olympic gold in the medal in Los Angeles. For sure, after had political connections. I had an I wouldn’t have gone into politics at
1,500m. Moscow I felt a pressure release and a uncle who was the High what was the fag end of that period
“In the first half of my lap of certain freedom I’ve had with Commissioner in London. A cousin under the Tories. I wouldn’t have
honour I was actually thinking I’m everything that has followed.” ran India’s intelligence services.” chaired the bid for the London
done here,” he says. “After the threat Politics had long fascinated Coe. In 1981, Coe became the first athlete Games if I was risk averse. What I’ve
of the Games boycott, running “From the age of 12 or 13,” he says, “I to speak at the IOC Congress. He was chosen to do, I’ve never predicated
against Steve, some of the media knew I wanted to be involved. My given four minutes and spent most of against risk.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
“When I was thinking of running to
become president of this sport, I was
offered the chairmanship of the BBC
by David Cameron. I had dinner with
William [Hague] and he said he’d lie
down in the road if I decided to do
that. ‘The BBC doesn’t need you, your
sport does,’ he said. So I thought I’d
come here, for the quiet life.”
It was in the office in which he is
sitting here now, at the World
Athletics headquarters in Monaco,
that he was interviewed by the
French authorities investigating
allegations of corruption at the global
governing body.
“Pretty much my first day here as
president, back in 2015,” Coe says. “I
remember my PA saying there were
some people in reception who wanted
to see me. Those people were about 17
French police officers and a judge,
who interviewed me at this desk.”
Coe quickly realised it was serious.
His predecessor, Lamine Diack,
would eventually be convicted for
accepting bribes to cover up positive
drug tests. Other senior figures were
also implicated. “My heart absolutely
sank,” he says. “I knew that night,
when I got to my hotel, that we were
in for a difficult two years.”
As someone who had served under
Diack as a vice-president, Coe did not
escape criticism even if there was
never any suggestion of wrongdoing.
But as president he rebranded the
governing body, renaming it World
Athletics, and used the storm of
controversy to drive through a
programme of reforms that included
the creation of the Athletics Integrity
Unit (AIU) in 2017.
As the head of the US Anti-Doping
Agency, Travis Tygart believes Coe
has set the “gold standard” for sport
with the creation of the AIU, not least
because of their fearless and effective
approach to catching drug cheats.
“
I took a flamethrower to
World Athletics — there
is more confidence now
Some of the biggest names in the
sport have faced sanctions, not to
mention more than 200 Kenyan
athletes; a situation that left the east
African nation facing a possible ban.
“When everything exploded with
the French authorities, I was able to
take a flamethrower to the
organisation,” Coe says. “Painful
though that process was, it was a
godsend because I doubt I would have
been able to drive through all those
reforms in less than a year. That was
in November 2016 and by April 2017
we had the AIU up and running.
“The AIU can only be good for the
sport. I have always said I would
rather confront the short-term
embarrassment of positive tests than
the long-term decline in standards
and reputation.
“I think the athletes, by and large,
are much more confident that there
seems to be no fear or favour. There
was an instinctive view that if you
were from a bigger, better, well-
healed federation and you had a big
reputation, it was probably easier to
continue [cheating]. Now I don’t think
anybody feels or thinks that anything
is sacrosanct or protected.
“That said, I don’t just want the
AIU to be about doping. Because if
you’ve got a doping problem you’ve
probably got other malfeasances
around it. That’s why we called it the
integrity unit — it covers everything.”
Kenya is the perfect example, and a
situation Coe is determined to tackle.
Before Christmas he met key figures
in Nairobi, including the country’s
president, William Ruto, with the
government committing £5 million a
year for the next five in a bid to crack
down on the dopers and their
enablers. As part of the initiative, law
enforcement agencies will work in
tandem with the AIU.
“I was brought up on Kip Keino in
Coe may face strong field
continued from back
doing now represents the ultimate for
me,” he says. “You join an athletics club
at 11 and one day have the opportunity
to grab leadership of the sport and
shape it. This has never been a stepping
stone to something else.”
However, there are senior figures
within the Olympic movement who
would support the 66-year-old’s candi-
dacy for the IOC role, based on the
success he has had in reforming a gov-
erning body that was reeling from a cor-
ruption scandal when he took charge.
“Anybody who takes that role [IOC
presidency] in 2025 needs to be asking
some important questions,” Coe said.
“Does sport really, genuinely, under-
stand the challenge before it — its rele-
vance, its salience, navigating the most
complicated political landscape while
holding on to its moral compass?”
Insiders believe there may be a clam-
our for Bach’s tenure to be extended,
given the 69-year-old German’s final
term has been disrupted by the pan-
demic. Kirsty Coventry, the former
Zimbabwean swimmer who joined the
IOC after winning two Olympic golds,
Mexico and Munich,” Coe says. “I ran
against guys like Mike Boit and I’ll be
forever grateful for what David
Rudisha did [setting a new world
record to win the 800m] in London in
2012. They can’t allow the history of
what they’ve done to be so lightly
thrown away in reputational terms.”
Coe said the decision had been
taken not to ban Kenya because,
unlike Russia, he does not believe the
doping is state sponsored. He also
sees a willingness to respond that was
far from evident when they first
engaged with the Russians.
“All we met at the beginning of the
journey was obfuscation and John
Grisham conspiracy theories — it’s
the West ganging up against us,” he
says. “Only now have they absolutely
accepted, in simple terms, that they
f***ed up badly and want to do
something about it.
“In Kenya they formed a steering
committee. The president was there.
They had anti-doping officials, the
federation, a director of criminal
investigations, a director of public
prosecutions. Rutto has identified this
as a situation of national interest.”
Some are blaming foreign agents,
persuading athletes to cross an ethical
line in pursuit of the riches available,
not least on the roads.
“I’m not saying there haven’t been
rogue elements in the athlete-rep
world but the AIU agrees it’s more
complicated than that,” he says.
“When they refer to outside actors,
they also refer to doctors, medical
teams. And they have so many
athletes, and not all of them in Kenya.
“But the fact they are all sitting in a
room together says to me they are
confronting it. This isn’t your average
country in the athletics world. This is
a country that defines itself by its
57
Sport
Sport
is another possible candidate, as is Juan
Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, an IOC
vice-president and the son of the former
president Juan Antonio Samaranch.
World Athletics has launched a con-
sultation process that, for now, may
enable transgender women to continue
competing in the female category.
With the governing body’s immedi-
ate focus on the athletes with difference
of sexual development who are com-
peting for the highest honours, the
“preferred option” set out in a paper
seen by The Times is a halving of the
maximum plasma testosterone levels
(from five nanomoles per litre to
2.5 nmol/L) and a doubling of the
period (12 months to 24) during which
they have to stay below that threshold.
Men usually have a testosterone level
of 10 to 35 nmol/L, while a woman’s
level is between 0.5 and 2.4 nmol/L.
Coe insisted that “fairness” and “pro-
tecting the female category” remain his
priority, adding: “As I’ve always said, we
will follow the science.” World Athletics
said: “Putting forward a preferred op-
tion is the best way to gather feedback,
but this does not mean this is the option
that will be presented to the council.”
runners. The president has said it’s
reputationally damaging. He’s tough.”
Over the past seven or so years
there have been other challenges,
super shoes being one, and the debate
around the participation of DSD
(differences in sexual development)
and trans athletes.
As a federation it has already spent
more than $1.5 million (about
£1.2 million) in legal fees on the DSD
issue and is now launching a new
consultation process that will look at
the regulations covering both. Coe
insists his stance has not changed.
“Fairness” and “protecting the female
category” remain his priority. “As I’ve
always said, we will continue to follow
the science,” he says.
To Coe, this is all of the utmost
importance. “I genuinely feel the job
I’m doing now represents the ultimate
for me,” he says. “You join an athletics
club at 11 and one day have the
chance to grab leadership of the sport
and shape it. This has never been a
stepping stone to something else.”
But there are those in Olympic
circles who want him to stand at the
next IOC election. “I’m certainly not
ruling it out,” he says. “But anybody
who takes that role in 2025 needs to
be asking some important questions.
“Does sport really, genuinely,
understand the challenge that sits out
there before it — its relevance, its
salience, navigating the most
complicated political landscape while
holding on to its moral compass?”
He would like to see sport have a
greater influence on governments and
their “health and education policies”.
He talks about “nation building”. But
before it starts to sound too much like
the kind of manifesto even his own
father may have approved of, he
decides to leave it there.
58 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

Sport Heineken Champions Cup

George concussion adds to injury

Alasdair Reid How they finished
Scottish Rugby
Correspondent Pool 1
P W D L F A Pts
Edinburgh
0
20
2
Leinster
Exeter
Sharks
4
4
4
4
3
3
0
0
0
0
1
1
184
139
119
34 20
68 16
89 15
Saracens 4 3 0 1 120 94 15
Saracens
1
14 Edinburgh
Harlequins
Bulls
4
4
4
3
2
2
0
0
0
1
2
2
111
113
102
85 15
108 12
139 10
Jamie George’s involvement in the Gloucester 4 2 0 2 62 140 9
Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland in Lyon 4 1 0 3 115 125 8
Racing 92 4 1 0 3 60 121 5
two weeks’ time has been thrown into Bordeaux 4
doubt as the England hooker faces a 0 0 4 53 99 2
Castres 4 0 0 4 56 132 0
12-day stand-down period after being
taken off the field at half-time in this Pool 2
game with concussion. P W D L F A Pts
La Rochelle 4 4 0 0 120 57 18
George suffered the injury while Toulouse 4 4 0 0 110 53 17
trying to tackle Luke Crosbie, the Stormers 4 3 0 1 106 68 15
Edinburgh flanker, in the 22nd minute. Leicester 4 3 0 1 116 89 14
He was sent to the sin-bin for his head- Ospreys 4 3 0 1 100 88 14
high challenge and apparently passed Munster 4 2 0 2 73 67 10
his head injury assessment while off the Montpellier 4 1 1 2 92 104 9
field. Ulster 4 1 0 3 54 93 7
That allowed him to return ten Clermont 4 1 0 3 85 111 6
Sale 4 1 0 3 74 94 5
minutes later, but at half-time the London Irish 4 0 1 3 76 115 3
independent match doctor ruled that Northampton 4 0 0 4 54 121 1
he was unfit to continue and was duly
replaced for the rest of the game. Top eight teams from each pool
World Rugby rules demand that a qualify for the last 16. Teams that finish
player who has a history of concussion, in 9th and 10th drop into the last 16 of
or who has been removed from a match the Challenge Cup.
with obvious concussion symptoms, Round-of-16 matches
must be kept out of rugby for a mini-
Leinster
mum of 12 days. v Ulster
As George was removed by the
La Rochelle
match doctor, it would appear that he v Gloucester
falls under the second criterion and
Exeter
therefore would not be able to play until v Montpellier
the day before the Scotland clash, while
Toulouse
his training opportunities would be v Bulls
severely curtailed as well.
Saracens
With fellow hooker Luke Cowan- v Ospreys
Dickie already a definite absentee for
Sharks
the Six Nations opener and Courtney Munster
Lawes a doubt after suffering an injury
Leicester
on Saturday, George being sidelined v Edinburgh
would mean more bad news for the
Stormers
England head coach, Steve Borthwick. v Harlequins
The incident cast a cloud over what
was, ironically, a successful evening for Games to be played March 31-April 2
Saracens yesterday. Although they lost
the match, they pipped Edinburgh to
claim fourth spot in pool A of the Hei- Reflecting on the game, Mark the warm-up and was forced to with- Reduced to 13 men, Saracens under-
neken Champions Cup — on the basis McCall, the Saracens director of rugby, draw, with the former Edinburgh prop England leads the way standably did all they could to wind the
of scoring more tries than the Scottish said he was disappointed with his side’s Robin Hislop taking over. Then came a clock down. The tactic seemed to have
Qualifiers for the Champions Cup round
side over their two games — and will performance as a whole but was happy second blow when, three minutes into failed when Jamie Ritchie ploughed
of 16 by country
therefore have home advantage when with how they had defended when they the game, Edinburgh won a lineout in through for a try, but the Edinburgh
they take on Ospreys in the round of 16 were reduced to 13 men after Marco the right corner, Bill Mata powered off England captain’s score was chalked off as he
in April. Riccioni had followed George into the towards the posts and Dave Cherry fumbled the ball in the act of touching
France
Edinburgh could have grabbed that sin-bin. followed up to score. 5 it down. That apart, it was a heroic
fourth spot had they played on and “We started the game really poorly Blair Kinghorn’s conversion, fol- 3 defensive stand by Saracens to get
extended their lead at the finish, but — passive and lost,” McCall said. lowed by a penalty soon afterwards for Wales through the sin-bin period without
they chose to kick the ball dead instead. “Strangely enough, when we were a dangerous challenge by George on conceding a point.
Mike Blair, their head coach, explained down to 13 men, we showed what we Pierre Schoeman, put Edinburgh in 1 When George did not return for the
that with a player — Sam Skinner — in should have been like with 15 men — double figures before the game was 3 second half, it immediately raised ques-
1
the sin-bin, the wind against them and that was really good. Our fight and our eight minutes old. Saracens began to tions about why he had ever been
with Saracens playing with confidence, effort was unbelievable when down to settle into a game after that and were 3 allowed to finish the first half. Again,
Scotland Ireland
he felt that protecting their winning 13.” well worth their three points when Alex though, Edinburgh got off to a flying
position was more important than try- Saracens had suffered an early set- Goode clipped over a penalty in the start, driving hard into the Saracens
ing to increase their lead. back when Mako Vunipola pulled up in 16th minute. S Africa half, winning a series of penalties, and

WRU facing allegations of ‘toxic culture’ of sexism Irish let it

Former employees of Welsh rugby’s
governing body have accused the orga-
nisation of a “toxic culture” of sexism.
Two women have said that they
considered suicide after suffering
alleged sexism and bullying within the
organisation. Another told BBC Wales
Investigates about the moment she
claims a male colleague told her in
public he wanted to “rape” her.
The allegations will be aired in a
documentary on BBC Wales today, the
same day the Welsh Rugby Union
(WRU) joins other teams in launching
this year’s Six Nations tournament.
The WRU has said it takes such alle-
gations seriously, and that such behav-
iour has no place in the WRU or Welsh
rugby. It also said that if any allegations
were substantiated it would act swiftly.
The former Wales international
turned Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi
said the claims were “on a level” with
the Yorkshire racism scandal in cricket,
and has called on the Welsh govern-
ment to set up an inquiry into the
claims, led by a scrutiny committee.
Charlotte Wathan, who was hired by
the WRU to help transform its strug-
gling women’s game in 2018, described
hearing a man she worked with say in
front of other members of staff in the
office, including a senior manager, that
he wanted to “rape” her in his hotel
room. She said: “I remember standing
in shock thinking, ‘Did I just hear that?’
“Everyone’s laughing, and there was
a senior member of staff there. I left the
room and I burst into tears. I felt sick.”
The incident was eventually investi-
gated by an independent lawyer hired
by the WRU after Wathan had raised
the matter. Wathan gave the lawyer a
list of witnesses to corroborate her story,
but the BBC discovered a number were
not contacted. The man accused of
making the comments was also not
interviewed. He still works for the WRU.
The WRU told the BBC that Wath-
an’s allegations remained unsubstanti-
ated after a thorough independent legal
investigation and that it could not com-
ment further because her case had been
settled since her BBC interview.
Another woman, who wished to
remain anonymous, said that while
working at the WRU she had told HR
that bullying and sexism had left her
feeling suicidal. She told the BBC: “It was
constant undermining of me or my
gender by nit-picking at irrelevant stuff.
I went as far as to start drafting a manual
for my husband and what to do in the
event that I died.”
She said she had been advised to sub-
mit a grievance against the manager
but feared the complaint would make
her life harder. Instead she left the
WRU in 2018, but said she did give the
name of the manager to HR. The WRU
said the case had been investigated and
proper procedures had been followed.
Kit Shepard
London Irish failed to keep their Euro-
pean season alive after drawing 21-21
away to Montpellier in the Heineken
Champions Cup, having been 21-0 up.
Irish had no hope of qualifying for
the knockout stage of the continent’s
premier competition but would have
sneaked into the Challenge Cup round
of 16 had they won and scored four tries,
or won by 20 points. Montpellier’s
comeback meant Sale Sharks dropped
into the Challenge Cup instead.
The French side were already
assured of a Champions Cup knockout
spot but would have snatched a higher
seeding — and theoretically an easier
the times | Monday January 23 2023
woes for Borthwick Quins style can
George was sent
to the sin-bin for
a high tackle on
flanker Crosbie,
left; the hooker
initially passed
his HIA after
treatment on the
field, right, but
was removed by
the match doctor
at half-time,
below right
stretching their lead when Kinghorn
kicked his second penalty of the game
with 43 minutes gone.
Goode’s third penalty was landed
soon afterwards, but Edinburgh had
the better of the third quarter as a
whole, with Mata and Schoeman blast-
ing big holes in the Saracens defence
with their ball-carrying.
The Londoners’ last line held, as it
had in the first half, but it was finally
breached in the 60th minute when
Edinburgh stuck a penalty into the left
corner and Schoeman drove hard, low
and over the tryline.
Worse still for Saracens was that they
had just lost Maro Itoje, who was
yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-
slip in draw to open door for Sale
draw — with a win. The permutations
provoked a chaotic final play, with both
sides knocking on.
Irish had started like a team knowing
they needed to score plenty. Within six
minutes the lock Adam Coleman
crashed over on his return from sus-
pension. Paddy Jackson converted.
They doubled their lead just before
the interval. Again, a close-range line-
out was the source, with Rory Jennings
making ground off the set piece and
then Juan Martín González bursting
through a gap to score.
When Agustín Creevy, the hooker,
touched down from the back of a catch-
and-drive early in the second half, Irish
were heading through.
on. Kinghorn’s conversion of Schoe-
man’s try took Edinburgh’s lead to 11
points at 20-9, but the wing wasted a
golden opportunity to stretch the mar-
gin further a few minutes later when he
ballooned a penalty from near the 10-
metre line so badly that the ball fell well
short of the posts.
Itoje’s return was followed, almost
immediately, by the departure of
Skinner, the Edinburgh lock, who was
sin-binned for collapsing a maul. His
going set up a fraught final ten minutes
for the Scots, and things got more
nervous still for them when Ben Earl
followed up on a powerful run by Eroni
Mawi to collect a try for Saracens with
five minutes left.
But Montpellier responded and their
centre Thomas Darmon crossed mid-
way through the half. Jackson was sent
to the sin-bin on 68 minutes and Vin-
cent Giudicelli, Montpellier’s replace-
ment hooker, scored seconds later.
The home side pressed furiously in
the closing stages and equalised in the
76th minute. Cobus Reinach, the
replacement scrum half, touched down
after a quick tap penalty, with Louis
Carbonel adding the extras.
Both sides threatened in the enter-
taining conclusion, but Montpellier’s
Gabriel N’Gandebe knocked on in the
83rd minute as he tried to barge over,
and a draw was confirmed.
Meanwhile, Freddie Burns, the
Scorers: Edinburgh: Tries Cherry (3min),
Schoeman (60). Cons Kinghorn 2. Pens
Kinghorn 2 (7, 43).
Saracens: Tries Earl (75). Pens Goode 3 (16,
37, 51).
Edinburgh H Immelman; J Blain (W Goosen,
58min), M Bennett, J Lang, B Kinghorn;
C Savala, B Vellacott (H Pyrgos, 51);
P Schoeman, D Cherry (A McBurney, 75),
WP Nel, S Skinner (sin-bin 72), G Gilchrist
(capt), J Ritchie (N Haining, 55), L Crosbie,
V Mata.
Saracens E Daly (A Lewington, 47); M Malins
(N Isiekwe, 29-34), A Lozowski, N Tompkins,
S Maitland; A Goode, I van Zyl (A Davies, 58);
R Hislop (E Mawi, 60), J George (capt, sin-bin
22, K Pifeleti, 40), M Riccioni (sin-bin 24),
M Itoje (sin-bin 59), H Tizard (N Isiekwe, 58),
A Christie (K Pifeleti, 29-34; T Dan, 70), B Earl,
B Vunipola.
Referee L Cayre (Fr).
Attendance 7,774.
Leicester Tigers fly half, has been
released from his contract early so he
can join the Highlanders in New
Zealand. The former England inter-
national, 32, will leave for the Super
Rugby franchise in February.
Burns rejoined Leicester before the
2021-22 season. He etched himself into
Tigers folklore with his last-minute
drop goal that won the 2022 Gallagher
Premiership final against Saracens.
Burns said: “This decision is not one
I have made lightly and has been unbe-
lievably hard. At this stage in my career
the opportunity was too good to turn
down to gain this experience on the
field, as well as the life experience of
living and playing in New Zealand.”
speed up sluggish
England attack
Stuart Barnes
A
nyone else getting fed up
with being told that
England cannot play like
Harlequins just because
Nick Evans is the new
attack coach? The former All Black
fly half works to the same principles
as the great Kiwis of old. Keep it
simple. The game has changed in
terms of pace and power through the
first era of professional rugby but the
principles are the same.
There must be solid set-piece
foundations. Lineouts and scrums
have always been a launchpad for
attacking rugby, whether that is
pressurising with the boot or keeping
the ball in hand. There are more
points than ever these days so the
restart takes its place alongside the
other set pieces.
Steve Borthwick built his entire
playing career on the basics of
forward play. Leicester’s resurgence
and title was a strong and solid
interpretation of the set plays. Since
his departure the lineout has become
a blunt weapon, the sharpness absent.
He will ensure England have as stable
a set piece as personnel allows.
The gainline didn’t have a name for
a hundred years but “front foot” was
the key element to 20th-century
attacks. To run backwards or sideways
might be OK for the Middlesex
Sevens but it was a shortcut to being
dropped from the first XV, however
quick and elusive you were.
At Harlequins, Evans has an
exceptional and sometimes subtle
battering ram in André Esterhuizen.
The quest for a No 12 to dominate the
gainline was not far short of a holy
grail for England throughout the
Jones era. Ollie Lawrence — a
questionable omission from this
squad — looks the nearest thing
England have to a vintage Manu
Tuilagi, who just appears to be past
his prime. Dan Kelly is the best
selected option. His passing game is
clever and he is not afraid to carry
hard off the fly half’s shoulder.
The identity of the ideal carrier
remains far from obvious and is one
of two questions that Evans must
answer. The other revolves around
scrum half. Possession hasn’t been
a problem of late but making it
anything but ponderous has.
If the side can win the sort of
set piece expected of all
Borthwick packs and
Evans finds a way over
the gainline, England
have to rediscover
the accelerator.
For too many years
breakdowns have been
treated by English teams,
club and international, as
modes of restarts, not
opportunities to create
space. Harlequins target
two-second rucks. The
Evans uses the breakdown
as a launchpad for attack
59
Sport
ball is in and out of the tackle area
before the defence has a chance to
slow it down. The first 20 minutes
against the Sharks was a typically
exhilarating example of Evans rugby.
But England have become their
own worst enemy. The ball goes into
the collision fast and comes crawling
out. What’s the hurry? The scrum
half is going to box-kick. A box-kick is
fine when there is a legitimate scrap
for the ball. It’s an aberration when
the option to play at pace is ignored.
That’s how England and Ben
Youngs in particular have approached
speed of possession at breakdowns.
It has been the decision of the
management and their veteran
tacticians to opt for static rugby.
Owen Farrell has been part of this
package but his determination to play
a clever passing game on the gainline
for Saracens this season shows there
is no chasm between playing fast and
slow. There’s intent and there’s habit.
Evans can drum a new intent into
England in no time at all.
While so much debate centres on
the fly half, it is the selection at scrum
half — and how they find a way to
punch the gainline at No 12 — that
will determine the immediate level of
English attack success. Even in
Leicester’s defeat on Friday night,
there were plenty of signs that Jack
van Poortvliet’s form in Australia last
summer was the beginning of a
promising Test career.
Another scrum half, Danny Care,
was idling at the back of a breakdown
on Saturday with Joe Marler, resting
with one hand on the side of the ruck.
The veterans were taking a blow
before a box-kick when the great
Eben Etzebeth charged around the
mêlée of bodies, picked up the ball
and ran over for an unopposed try.
At last. This could be the precedent
that leads to the caterpillar ruck
becoming an endangered species.
Even Quins are not averse to making
the breakdown a restart, and not the
dynamic opportunity it should be.
Playing at pace is a state of mind.
England have a squad of highly
talented professionals who can adapt
to quicker rugby in no time at all.
Think back to the furore surrounding
upright tackles and red cards in round
three of Europe and the RFU
statement aimed to change not just
body heights but tackling culture.
Barring Fraser Dingwall’s red card
for his awful tackle against La
Rochelle, Saturday was head-collision
free in the six games I
watched. Yet we have been
told players cannot simply
change “their cultures”.
Well, it seems they can
when they must. So too can
England accelerate away
from their turgid past into an
ambitious future where the
team look more like Evans’s
Quins than Jones’s England.
A set piece, a gainline and a
speedy service from the
breakdown is the
framework for fast — not
loose — rugby. England
have time before the
World Cup to become a
good side, as long as they
stop playing in their
own not-so-sweet time
on the pitch.

Sport
‘My extraordinary team’
Arteta says Arsenal should believe
they can win title after United victory
Arsenal
Manchester United
Gregor Robertson
Mikel Arteta said that he hopes
Arsenal’s win over Manchester
United will help his players to
believe they can be Premier
League champions.
Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-minute
winner capped a thriller at the
Emirates and took Arsenal to
50 points at the halfway point
of the season, a record Arteta
described as “extraordinary”.
“I hope they do [believe],”
the Arsenal manager said of
his side, who are five points
clear of Manchester City with
a game in hand. “Not that
they are champions, but
that they are good enough
to play against these
teams, and they
have done it.”
Nketiah celebrates after scoring the winning goal for Arsenal, who have now won 16 of their 19 games in the Premier League this season
Times Crossword 28,507
1 2 3 4
10
11 12
15 16
18
21 22
24
25
27
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
Six Nations fear for George
Concussion rules make England
hooker doubt for Scotland clash
Lampard set
to learn fate
Paul Joyce
Northern Football Correspondent
Frank Lampard is set to discover his
fate as Everton manager after Satur-
day’s 2-0 defeat by West Ham United.
Discussions on the future of the
44-year-old took place yesterday and
will continue today, with the club still in
the relegation zone.
Everton plan to arrive at a collective
decision, with the owner, Farhad Mo-
shiri, the board of directors — including
the chairman, Bill Kenwright, and the
chief executive, Denise Barrett-Baxen-
dale — and the director of football,
Kevin Thelwell, overseeing the analysis.
They will make a call on whether
Lampard, who has won only one of his
past 12 Premier League matches, is the
right man to arrest that run, starting
with a home game against the league
leaders, Arsenal, on Saturday week.
3
2
Coe may run
for IOC top job
Matt Lawton
Chief Sports Correspondent, Monaco
Seb Coe has not ruled out a bid to
become the first British president of the
International Olympic Committee.
With only two years of Thomas
Bach’s term remaining, an election is
expected in 2025.
In an interview with The Times, the
president of World Athletics and two-
times Olympic champion has indicated
that it is a role he would consider. “I’m
not ruling it in, and I’m certainly not
ruling it out,” he said.
Coe, who is already an IOC member,
has confirmed that he will stand for
re-election as the president of his sport
in Budapest in August. It would be his
third and final term in charge, having
first been elected in 2015.
“I genuinely feel that the job I’m
across down Prize solution 28,500
5 6 7 8 1 African starling’s quick bite 1 Possibly stroke male pigs bishop C A F F I M POR T UN E S
A O A C R U T
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group (6) photographer? (3) B I L L I A R D T A B L E
L E S I L A P
10 Further thought about payment for 3 Beam, having ability to restrain A RG O T S U S P E ND E R
service (15) opponent (10) N L H E M O
11 Shot some birds around noon? This 4 Welshman protecting current C A R P E D I EM A C T E D
A A B I K R I
is macabre! (10) source of bottled water (5) F E L L OW F E E L I NG
13 Past caring ultimately, or eagerly 6 European crazy about cheese (4) T F O F I R F A
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D I S GR UN T L E E D D Y
14 most clever (7) 8 One leaves Moroccan port
Check today’s answers by ringing 0905 757
17 More ghastly ingrained dirt by carrying a bird (7) 0141 by midnight. Calls cost £1 per minute
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The winners of Prize Crossword No 28,500 are
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M Norris, Presteigne, Powys
22 Responsible news broadcast 16 Head round city with this writer’s S Perry, London NW9
received in farming land (10) place name study (8)
25 Irishman visiting close relative, 18 Particular person originally from Newspapers
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28
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 January 23 | 2023

Meditate
like a
Tibetan
monk

Why it works — and how to do it

2 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

times2

Don’t chicken out, Charles

He carves! He
— a king should don silk
stockings for a coronation
sews! He knits!
Kevin Maher The rise of the
T
hat’s it. I’m ordering

crafty man
earplugs. I can’t handle
another torturous Stop firing
round of Adam
Lambert murdering We shots at
Will Rock You in front
a phalanx of bored- Bond girl
looking royals. And
though the King’s coronation guest list Sad to see that the
has yet to be announced, and though reputation of former
the Palace has only recently revealed Bond girl and, also, Make-do-and-mend is back in fashion —
further details of three planned days of bloody good actress Eva
“joyful celebrations” in May, you just Green (see Proxima for some men it’s just the gateway to
know that Lambert and Queen are and Cracks) is being
going to be, as they were during the mildly traduced reviving old skills. Even flower pressing.
Platinum Jubilee, head of the queue because of a couple of
and first on stage. “Charles! You’ll “controversial” Hannah Evans talks to the new crafters
always be our king! And we’ll always messages.
be your . . .” It writes itself. A lawsuit involving
Their logical slot would be the the actress and the

Windsor Castle concert, on Sunday,
May 7, which is scheduled to be the
mid-point climax of this extended
weekend. The prestige gig will be
staged on the castle’s East Lawn and it
has been revealed that the BBC is
contacting “top musicians, stars of
stage and film and dance and Sunday will feature the Big Lunch,
entertainers to finalise the list for the which is the communal bit involving
event”. And, presumably, when that lot street parties and joyful neighbours
knock them back the Beeb will have to overloading trestle tables with
make do with Sam Ryder, Lee Mack “bounteous offerings”. Given the cost
and the cast of The Lion King. of living crisis, I’m thinking that
What else do we know about an means “mostly lentils”. A fabulous
event that will allegedly represent “the long trestle table decked out in tiny
spirit of our times”? The ceremony Union Jacks and affordable, protein-
itself, on May 6 at Westminster Abbey, rich legumes. The spirit of our times.
will be feature a traditional religious The weekend concludes on a special
service and will also be “a thing of bank holiday Monday with a national
splendour”. It might be even more call to arms named the Big Help Out,
splendid if Charles reneges on his which is apparently “dedicated to
decision to opt for a military uniform volunteering” and designed to
instead of the traditional “silk engender an even more conscientious
stockings and breeches”. For nothing and interactive society. The most
seems to scream “spirit of our times” interactive gesture I made during the
more than the idea of the patriarchal jubilee was a trip to see the local
head of the nation swanning about flaming beacon. It had been glowing
Westminster Abbey in silk stockings. for hours on a faraway hilltop and I
Then there will be the photo op at was eventually compelled by a sense
Buckingham Palace. If the coronation of history to jump into the car and
follows the rules set by the jubilee, drive all the way there. After parking
only working royals will be permitted the car and climbing the highest
on the balcony. And the appearance of camber, I discovered that the Queen’s
a grappling hook, snagging itself deftly beacon was far less elemental than I’d
onto the balustrade? That’ll be anticipated. It was an idling tractor,
Andrew, coming up from below. And with extra headlights and a picture of
that deafening sound of scribbling and the Queen taped to the side. It was
snivelling? That’ll be Harry, busily disappointing, illogical — why not just
writing Spare II: My Coronation burn wood instead of several gallons
Rejection Nightmare . . . And How I of diesel? — and anticlimactic. And
Turned it Round and Became an Even yet it could’ve been worse. At least it
Better Person. wasn’t Adam Lambert and Queen.
Murray fired off a May. I worried I might
sarcastic tweet aimed never hold a racket
The Andy at the doctor who had again. At the weekend,
claimed that hip however, I made a
Murray of replacement surgery Murray-like comeback
would rule out a return (think Russell Crowe
padel? Moi to professional sport. in Gladiator).
It’s just like me. I I played padel
After his monumental ruptured a disc (L1, (pronounced by
performance in the since you ask) in my everyone around me
Australian Open, Andy back playing tennis last “padelle” like Michelle,
O
production company of n a Friday night,
a sci-fi film that was after a few pints
never made (she was at the pub with
supposed to star) has his friends,
revealed that Green Robert Radcliffe, a
referred, in emails and 28-year-old charity
WhatsApp messages, to fundraiser from
one of the film’s south London, sits
producers as “pure down in front of the TV to catch up
vomit” and another as a on one of his favourite shows, The
“f***ing moron”. Great Pottery Throwdown. In the
Is there anything Channel 4 reality show, which is
unusual in that? I have, on its sixth series, amateur potters
over nearly three competitively create crockery, utensils
decades of film writing, and vases. Think The Great British
spoken to countless Bake Off with clay instead of cake.
producers who, in my “I don’t watch much TV, but it’s
opinion, would easily one of the few shows I do follow,”
qualify as “pure vomit”. Radcliffe says. He is a keen crafter
The mistake Green whose hobbies range from spoon
made was putting it whittling — using small, sharp knives
down in messages. to carve wooden spoons — to sewing
She should have and lino printing, which he picked up
heeded the golden from his sister and mum.
behavioural advice that You may find this surprising, but
Will Smith consistently Radcliffe is not an outlier. In fact, he
offered throughout is a very modern man. I know dozens
his career: say nice of blokes who are just as much into
things about everyone pottery and patchwork as pints.
because the guy who On WhatsApp I ask my male friends
makes you coffee today for their favourite influencers, and as
could be tomorrow’s well as the predictable sporting
studio head. And then, accounts, they tell me about Joe
presumably, when that Ando-Hirsh, a tailor who makes
works, and you become clothes for his girlfriend and has a
really big, you can just combined following on TikTok and
start smacking the Instagram of 3.5 million.
crap out of everyone on And they direct me on Instagram to
live TV? the Home Boys, two upholstery
influencers called Andrew and David
who decorate their home with soft
furnishings they make themselves.
Another friend reminds me that for
his birthday this year he received a
ie not pretentious at “knit your own hat” kit and a “paint
all). It was a revelation, your own egg cup” pottery session for
with smaller courts, two at Turning Earth, a hip pottery
slower balls, music, a workshop in east London.
chill-out zone and a In the cost of living crisis these
coffee area. The game types of men — crafty and good with
is easy. The vibe is their hands — are in high demand.
friendly and I didn’t They can thread a needle, get creative
hurt my back. At the with clay and know how to take up a
same time, well, it’s just hem. This month John Lewis revealed
not tennis. that dressmaking, repairing and
haberdashery were having a
resurgence as customers counted
their pennies. According to the
department store, darning needles,
repair tape and clothing dye are flying
off the shelves. Sales of patches for
covering up holes and rips are up
60 per cent compared with last year,
while those of dressmaking accessories
such as thimbles, dressmaker’s chalk
and pattern-making accessories are up
15 per cent.
Obviously, this make-do-and-mend
attitude saves money. Radcliffe says
that he made all his family’s Christmas
presents, and their cards, and saved
a few hundred quid. “I basically made
their gifts out of the firewood pile.
The wooden vase I made my sister
would have cost at least £100 if I’d
bought one from a professional.” But
there’s more to why men take up crafts
than that.
Josh Pinfold, a 29-year-old data
analyst from Warwickshire, got serious
about sewing when he grew tired of
having to take his clothes to the tailor
to be altered. He asked his girlfriend’s
mum to show him how to use a sewing
machine, and that Christmas she
bought him one as a gift.
Becoming a dab hand at darning
will save Pinfold money. He and his
girlfriend are moving into their first
home this year, and plan on making
all the soft furnishings, from blinds to
cushion covers. But what he enjoys
most is the satisfaction that creating
something brings. “It’s quite nice to
have an immediate result,” he says.
“You don’t get that with work
because projects are much longer.
With crafting you get to the end of
the day and you have something to
show for it.”
Joel Vincent James’s passion for arts
and crafts is about preserving skills.
This may partially explain why the
25-year-old landscape gardener lives
in a yurt in the middle of a field on the
Jurassic coast in Dorset. He made the
yurt himself, from the polycotton
canvas outer layer to the sheep-wool
insulation, and did not stop there.
Now he spends his spare time turning
the times | Monday January 23 2023
From top: Joel Vincent James;
Chris Moss. Right: James Milner
driftwood from the beach into frames,
chopping boards and coffee tables. “I
made my ex-girlfriend’s mum a bird
box once,” he says. “Another time a
friend wanted to make a piece of art
for his girlfriend from this cool stick he
found. I helped him carve it and paint
it. He said he wouldn’t have done it
without me.”
Some people
think knitting
is weird or not
very masculine
Say what you will about men and
their sticks, but I do think there is
something very touching about a
man who takes the time to craft a
gift for someone they love. That’s
how Ben Calder-Travis, 27, got into
flower pressing. As a teenager in
Stockholm he used to pick flowers,
which he pressed and framed for
a girlfriend. “She thought it was
very romantic.” In his twenties he
graduated to seaweed pressing. “I’m
always pressing seaweed between
cookbooks,” he says.
Sadly not everyone reacts to
Calder-Travis’s hobby in the same
positive way. Although my peers are
children of the “here’s one I made
earlier” era of TV programmes such as
Blue Peter and Art Attack — both
presented by men — there are still
some arts and crafts gender faultlines.
“Clay, painting and woodwork are
considered quite normal for men
now, but I think when you stray into
pressing flowers and knitting, some
people think it’s weird or not a very
masculine hobby,” he says. “I’ve had a
few people laugh and ask why I do it.
It’s a bit frustrating because there are
men who bake and make bread, but
arts and crafts haven’t caught up.”
Still, it’s not enough to put
Calder-Travis off. The benefits
outweigh the negative responses. “I do
it to slow down and switch off. I keep
myself really busy and I find it hard
to calm down, but pressing seaweed
helps me. Crafting isn’t gendered.
It’s having the luxury of time and
confidence to try new things.”
Chris Moss, a 27-year-old PhD
student and part-time willow weaver,
agrees. He learnt to weave animal
figurines after attending a free
workshop run by Juliette Hamilton
when he was an undergraduate. Moss
now works part-time at festivals such
as Glastonbury, teaching people how
to create butterflies and spiders from
strips of willow. One summer he was
part of a team commissioned to weave
a 10ft willow version of the band
Oasis, working strips round a huge
metal structure.
“It’s helpful because it gets you to
have some downtime in your day,”
he says. “You can switch off without
physically exerting yourself. It’s not
massively mentally testing, so you
can just get out of your head and get
in the zone.” Moss would like to see
the stereotypes around crafting gone
completely. “For blokes these things
are seen as feminine activities.
Anything we can do to deconstruct
that social norm is a good thing.”
For other crafters, turning a hobby
into a money-making side hustle has
provided further enjoyment. James
Milner, 25, is a teacher. In his spare
time he prints his designs on T-shirts,
rugs, hoodies, cushions and tote bags
bought from charity shops. His
Instagram, @somedrawingsbyjames,
is full of his colourful designs. He
has sold them on Etsy, but now
makes them solely to order for
friends. “I don’t want to focus
so much on trying to make
money that it takes away from
the enjoyment of the craft,”
he says.
Josh Gimber, 33, has
turned his hobby into a
small business. Gimber
always loved clothes, but
it was not until lockdown,
when he bought a beginner’s
embroidery kit, that he
considered making his own.
“After embroidering my first
few stitches my brain just
exploded with possibilities,”
he says. Two years later,
alongside his job as a
photography studio manager,
he stitches bespoke designs (usually
people’s pets) on to T-shirts he sells for
£50 or more to clients who find him
on Instagram at @pikolclothing.
Honing these skills at a time like
this is brilliant in many ways. Not
only can you make do, mend and look
after your mind, you can make some
money. Now, where are those needles?
I’m having a millennial
social media crisis. Help
My generation shared our whole lives online.
Now we’re clamming up. By Martha Alexander
N
ot to be dramatic, but I’m
scared of social media. It’s
a feeling that has been
marinating in TikToks and
hot takes and talk of
BeReal for months. Where once I’d
regularly be pumping out Instagram
posts of sandwiches or Peggy
Mitchell or my feet in new socks all
accompanied by pithy bons mots, I’m
now increasingly mute.
Sure, I still spend an embarrassing
amount of time scrolling, liking,
commenting “lol” or the melting face
emoji. But something’s changed: I
feel lost and
purposeless, like
I’m having some
kind of online
identity crisis.
Of course I
realise that for
older readers this
may seem like
the world’s
tiniest problem.
If you’re not
running a
Kardashian-style
business via
social media
why should it
matter? But for
millennials like
me this is a
catastrophe.
Social media
was our thing. We created it, we
owned it. And now it feels like we’ve
been relegated to digital has-beens.
I know this sounds neurotic but
I’m not alone. There seem to be loads
of people like me — millennials and
older — who are morphing into
online voyeurs. There’s an adage that
goes something like “people are too
busy thinking about themselves to
think about you” — but this, and I
cannot emphasise it enough, is not
true on social.
I’m so anxious when I post —
which is almost solely about work
anyway — and I worry excessively
about everything from the quality of
the image and my grammar to
whether it will be embarrassing if no
one “likes” it or if it reveals
something shaming about my life,
personality or beliefs.
“I fear being judged because I
judge,” agreed one of my friends,
who is in her late thirties and last
posted on Instagram in 2019 despite
spending much of her day on it.
“I always feel anxious after I post,
imagining that maybe someone feels
like shit all because I showed off,”
another millennial friend says. A
third adds: “It all just seems like so
much work to do it properly now.”
I get all of that. I fear being judged.
I fear people thinking I’m a show-off.
I fear not getting the joke. Or, worse,
being the joke.
At 38 I’m nostalgic for 2010, where
soft-focus snaps of avocados reigned
and everyone was a basic bitch. It’s
not like that any more, because Gen
Z have arrived.
3
times2
I envy the ease with which these
youngsters produce aloof content.
They seem to care less, the antidote
to my millennial allies, who like to
look sleek in their sitting rooms
surrounded by confessional fiction
and cheese plants.
But I am not adapting well to
TikTok and Instagram Reels. No
shade to anyone who does this well,
but the idea of me producing candid
“to camera” bits with music and
subtitles and links makes me want to
put my hand in a blender.
There’s also something I find
queasy about cultivating and
maintaining a
trademark,
mood or style. I
recently found
myself
wondering if
something I
thought may be
a good post was
“on brand” for
me — and I
knew I’d reached
a nadir. I don’t
want to think,
“What does it
really say about
me if I post this
picture of some
snowdrops — will
I come across as
too wholesome?”
It’s no way to live.
I cringe at the smug and knowing
way I once behaved around older
generations, holding forth about
hashtags and the Valencia filter as if
I were the chief executive of a Silicon
I fear being
judged. I fear
people thinking
I’m a show-off
Valley start-up. I hanker for the days
when I could unselfconsciously
publish a picture of my cat with
#HappyCaturday underneath.
But it’s all become so serious.
Everyone’s cool and angry and
wearing tiny sunglasses and editing
feature films starring themselves on
their iPhones. I feel exhausted.
I also think I’m jealous because
Gen Z seem more open to honest,
direct discussion online. Millennials
like me have been force-fed #BeKind
and “women supporting women” to
such an extent that a lot of us fear
posting authentic content in case it
causes controversy or upset.
What if I can’t adapt? What if I
never get over Instagram 2010? Do I
just watch and like from afar and
awkwardly post occasionally to
remind people who don’t know me
that I haven’t died? If anyone has the
answers, DM me — because one
thing’s for sure, I’ll be there.
4 Monday January 23 2023 | the times
times2
How to meditate
the Tibetan way,
beat stress and
improve your gut
A new study has found that meditation can boost
your microbiome. Daniel Goleman, who has
co-authored a book with a former monk, gives
Damian Whitworth tips on getting started
he deadline looms. You
T
have done the research
and need to write it up
by the end of the day.
Then the phone rings.
It takes five minutes to
answer a colleague’s
queries but before you
get back to the task in hand, your
computer alerts you to some emails.
That takes five minutes and . . . now
where are you with that report? You
can’t recall. If only you could focus.
Daniel Goleman may be able to
help. The US psychologist is best
known for introducing the world
to the concept of “emotional
intelligence” — his 1995 book on
the subject sold five million
copies worldwide and he went
on to write several more
bestsellers. Now he’s immersed in
the scientific exploration of the
benefits of meditation and his latest
work was co-written with Tsoknyi
Rinpoche, a one-time Tibetan monk
who is a Buddhist teacher.
Goleman offers hope to all of us
whose working lives are beset by
distractions. He cites research by
a Stanford professor that found
that, yes, stopping to browse the
internet or answer emails leads
to diminished focus when you
finally return to your work —
unless you engage in a couple of
ten-minute sessions of mindfulness
breathing each day. Then you should
find you have little or no loss of
concentration after multitasking.
Since his days studying clinical
psychology at Harvard, Goleman, 76,
has been fascinated by meditation and
in recent years has been writing about
the scientific literature that indicates
the benefits meditators may enjoy. He
doesn’t identify as a Buddhist, but he
has had Buddhist teachers and wrote a
book with the Dalai Lama on the
spiritual leader’s vision for the world.
The day before we talk there are
headlines about research in China that
shows that Tibetan monks who
meditate have healthier gut bacteria
than others who eat the same diet, but
don’t meditate. “I’m not surprised,” he
says. “It’s just another one of an
ongoing series of scientific findings
that show the positive value of many
different kinds for meditation.”
For millennia Buddhists have been
teaching meditation as a means to
calm the mind, then seek greater
insight into the nature of existence.
Now data indicates that it may have
benefits ranging from a greater sense
of mental wellbeing to reduced
vulnerability to certain illnesses.
Since the 1990s Goleman has been
friends with Rinpoche, who comes
from a line of Tibetan meditators.
Rinpoche is based in Nepal, but
travels the world, and runs an
annual retreat in the UK. In their
book, Why We Meditate, Rinpoche
explains how to practise
meditation and Goleman outlines
what the science suggests may
happen to you if you do.
The recent boom in people
exploring meditation, especially
mindfulness — the technique of
focusing on being fully present in the
moment — suggests a yearning for
calm in a hectic world. “There’s good
evidence that we’re more distracted
than we were 10 or 20 years ago;
that the pace of change keeps
accelerating,” Goleman says
on a video call from his home
near New York. “People are
complaining of stress. Whether
it’s more than in the past, I don’t
know. But the complaints are
certainly louder. And meditation has
been proven to be a wonderful
antidote to stress.”
He details three key measures of
The psychologist how we respond to stress. “One is how
Daniel Goleman, top, often we’re triggered to get upset. The
has written a new book second is how deeply upset we get.
with Tsoknyi Rinpoche, And the third is how quickly or slowly
a Buddhist teacher we recover from the peak of that
upset. Different studies have shown
that meditation improves all three of
those. People get triggered less often.
They’re less upset when they do get a
trigger. And they’re more resilient.
There’s increasing data that shows
that meditation tends to make us more
calm generally in our life.”
Rinpoche explains to those taking
up meditation how to start with a
grounding exercise he calls “dropping”
Techniques for beginners
1 The technique of dropping
In dropping you do three things at
the same time:
6 1 Raise your arms, then let your
hands drop on to your thighs.
6 2 Exhale a loud, big breath.
6 3 Drop your awareness from
thinking into what your body feels,
and all its sensations.
It doesn’t matter what the feelings
are. If you can’t feel anything, that’s
fine too.
Just try it for five minutes at a time:
Drop your hands, let a big breath out,
and drop your thinking mind into
sensing your body. Rest there for a
little while, maybe a minute or so,
then drop again. Repeat as needed.
2 Try these mantras
It can be helpful sometimes to use a
mantra while doing this dropping
practice. There are two I like to use:
6 Just after your hands hit your lap,
say this mantra silently to yourself, or
in a whisper, over and over: “So what!
Who cares? No big deal.”
6 You can also repeat this one over
and over inside your mind, or try
whispering it to yourself: “Whatever
happens, happens. Whatever doesn’t
happen, doesn’t happen.”
3 Deep belly breathing or
baby breathing
Find a relaxed position to work with
your breath. If you are sitting in a
chair, try crossing your legs or sitting
in a way that your feet are flat on the
floor. If you are lying down, try on
your back with a straight spine and, if
you can, your legs bent, with your
feet flat on the floor.
Next, put your hands on your
lower belly. Your thumbs should be
roughly at the level of your navel.
Relax your shoulders and arms. Start
breathing gently from your abdomen,
allowing your belly and hands to rise
and fall with each breath. You can
rest awareness with the rise and fall
of your belly and hands. Try to
completely relax your neck,
shoulders and chest so they have no
tension. Allow the upper body to
fully rest, and let the lower abdomen
do most of the movement.
When you feel relaxed and are
breathing in a regular rhythm,
breathe more deeply, letting the belly
and hands rise and fall with each
breath. Then introduce short pauses
when the breath is fully inside and
the breath is fully outside. In other
words, after exhaling, pause a few
seconds before beginning the next
inhalation. At the end of the
inhalation, hold the breath in for a
few seconds before beginning the
exhalation. These pauses, just
holding for a few seconds, should
be relaxed and comfortable. Don’t
hold until you feel short of breath
or strained.
TIP One day you can feel which
pause is more helpful, the holding in
or holding out. Whichever is for you,
do that. Progress comes over time,
the retention lengthens naturally.
Allow your body to enjoy the deep
rhythmic abdominal breathing. Allow
your whole system to calm down and
let go, like a baby resting without a
care in the world. Continue for as
long as you are comfortable.
Abridged from Why We Meditate by
Daniel Goleman and Tsoknyi
Rinpoche (Penguin Life, £14.99)
the times | Monday January 23 2023
(see panel, left), which cuts through
constant thinking and makes you
aware of your body. This, according
to Goleman, “does seem to cut
ruminative worry, which is the less
helpful kind of worry”.
The next stage of the practice is
belly breathing. Goleman recalls being
in a taxi with Rinpoche in Delhi,
racing to catch a train. Goleman
became very anxious and Rinpoche
told him to locate what he calls the
“speediness” in his body, then led him
through deep breathing exercises that
calmed his mind. He has been doing
those exercises for many years. “Do I
get stressed less? I think so.”
Studies have shown that people
doing slowed breathing report being
more relaxed. It seems to drive our
brain and cardiac and respiratory
systems into the “relaxation response”.
Helping ourselves to relax like that
could be a useful tool in a world where
we don’t need to choose fight or flight
in the same way that our ancestors
did, but our brains still prime us to do
so. In our stressful lives, the amygdala,
which Goleman calls the brain’s “radar
for threat”, still pitches us into fear or
anger far more than it needs to now
that we don’t have to worry about
being eaten. Prolonged, continuing
fight-or-flight reaction has a cost. It
“overtaxes” our biology, which can
lead, according to research cited by
Goleman, to heightened inflammation,
lowered immune system defences and
a greater susceptibility to stress-
worsened illnesses. Studies suggest
that practising mindfulness of the
breath seems to calm the amygdala.
Rinpoche teaches his students to
attempt the “handshake”, in which
they make friends with their fear,
anger, self-righteousness, envy and the
other “beautiful monsters” that make
5
times2
The Doomsday Clock
is moving. Uh-oh . . .
Stuart Heritage on where we stand as scientists
update the estimated ‘minutes to midnight’
race yourself, everyone. deaths have dropped to their lowest
B Tomorrow, the Doomsday
Clock is going to be
recalibrated, and we should
probably prepare ourselves
for the worst.
Unveiled by members of the Bulletin
of the Atomic Scientists in 1947, the
number since March 2020 — back
by 40 seconds
6 But British excess deaths are at
their highest level for 70 years —
forwards by 10 seconds
6 Kate Winslet was just quite nice
to a child in a viral video — back by
clock was designed to represent the 5 seconds
imminent threat from man-made 6 Prince Harry still won’t shut up —
global catastrophe. At launch, it was forwards by 10 seconds
set to seven minutes to midnight. Two 6 Wild bison have successfully been
years later, when Russia initiated the reintroduced to the British countryside
nuclear arms race, it moved forward to after an absence of thousands of years,
three minutes to midnight. Since then bringing the species back from the
the clock has ticked backwards and point of extinction and successfully
forwards according to the global improving local biodiversity — back
threat level. In 1991, for instance, we by 10 seconds
were 17 minutes from midnight. 6 Within the space of a single month
However, the last time that the clock last year, three people were gored by
moved was in 2020, and it brought us wild bison in Yellowstone National
to just 100 seconds to midnight, the Park — forwards by 5 seconds
closest in history. Not to worry 6 The risk of cyberattacks on
anyone, but things haven’t exactly organisations has never been higher
been great since then. — forwards by 15 seconds
our lives and relationships difficult. So how will the Doomsday Clock 6 People seem to have realised
Healing comes from a greater change on the 24th? Let’s survey the that NFTs are stupid — back by
awareness of what is inside us, he says. current state of the world on both a 5 seconds
There’s Some studies suggest that this may macro and micro scale, and try to 6 The Social Progress Index has
good be true. Research at the University of
California found that people with
make an educated guess at where the
boffins will be moving the hands of the
announced that, despite everything,
the world has generally become a
evidence social anxiety who paid attention to
their anxieties in an accepting, non-
clock face: better place to live over the past
decade, with improvements in
that we reactive way had reduced anxiety. Yale
research has shown that the inner
6 Almost 200 countries have reached
an agreement to conserve 30
nutrition, sanitation and access
to knowledge — back by
are more stance of accepting our feelings lessens
amygdala reactivity, “making it easier
per cent of the planet’s land
and oceans by 2030 —
30 seconds
6 However, the index
distracted to simply tune into upsetting emotions
without having them drive what we
back by 20 seconds
6 But UN secretary-
also reported that the
UK has lost so much
than we think or do”, Goleman writes. general António of its social progress
Developing an accepting attitude Guterres stated in that it now finds
were 10 or and compassion towards ourselves October that climate itself in a “social
20 years enhances our sense of wellbeing, he
says, which makes us more resilient to
action was “falling
pitifully short”,
progress recession”.
The only other
ago stress. Other benefits are a lessened
risk of heart disease and medical
adding: “We are
headed for a global
countries to
experience a similar
disorders that are worsened by stress- catastrophe” — recession are Syria,
related inflammation, such as arthritis forwards by Venezuela and
and asthma. There’s strong data, he 45 seconds Libya — forwards
adds, linking wellbeing to a lessened 6 Still, the by 10 seconds
vulnerability to chronic anxiety and International 6 On top of which,
depression as well as better Environment McDonald’s hasn’t
concentration and less distractedness. Agency predicts reintroduced the
Meditation may even have a positive that global CO2 Breakfast Wrap after
effect on our genes. One research from fossil fuels ditching it during
group looked at the genetic activity of could peak in 2025, Covid — forwards by
long-term meditators and found that before falling as 5 seconds
inflammatory genes were turned off governments switch to clean 6 Governments have
after meditating. However, this was energy — back by 15 seconds unveiled plans for rolling
noted in those who had meditated for 6 It has been predicted blackouts to cope with the
a full day and were lifetime that Russia’s invasion Europe-wide energy crisis
practitioners with 6,000 hours under of Ukraine will — forwards by
their belts. So the only downside to come to an end 20 seconds
that finding, I suggest, is that you have this year — back 6 Still, the days
to have done a huge amount of by 25 seconds are getting longer,
meditation. “If you consider that a 6 Has anyone so we won’t
downside,” Goleman says, laughing. told Vladimir need so many
He also points out that beginners in Putin? — candles — back
mindfulness have shown lower levels forwards by by 5 seconds
of inflammatory gene activity. 50 seconds 6 Longer days?
Goleman’s routine now is to 6 The World Bank That just gives
meditate before and after breakfast if has warned of a us more time to
he can. He says there is no need to global recession in screw everything
aspire to marathon meditation 2023 — forwards by up — forwards by
sessions. “The problem with long 15 seconds 15 seconds
sessions is that you can just get lost in 6 But at least the
a wandering mind. If you keep it short, price of Lurpak has Net adjustment
the quality might be better. The point stabilised since last Forwards by
really is the quality,” he says. “I think September — back 40 seconds. We are
the world would be a happier place if by 5 seconds a minute away from
more people did this.” 6 Daily global Covid midnight!
6 Monday January 23 2023 | the times
life
Ask Professor Tanya Byron Our unloving
daughter won’t let us see our grandchildren
N
My grown-up
Q
daughter has a
professional job, is
married to a lovely
man and has two
<
adorable children.
She was privately educated, taken
around the world and shown love
and support in abundance.
She has always, however, found it
st
hard to make friends, communicate
and maintain relationships. She is
envious of her brother and has no
relationship with him.
Whenever we see her she has these
o
emotional outbursts, mainly directed
towards her father over old, petty
grievances. She seems intent on
punishing us and forgetting all the
good things in her childhood.
ri
When she was young we took her
to the GP, who referred us to a
therapist who asked us why we were
letting a child control our lives. That
didn’t help us at all.
es
I am concerned that, despite her
upbringing, she is very much like my
mother-in-law and to some extent
her father. My mother-in-law was
cold, unloving, ungrateful, reclusive
h
and not family-orientated at all. My
husband also lacks empathy and is
very self-absorbed. I wonder if they
are on the autism spectrum. We have
been estranged from our daughter
re
for some months — and have not
seen our grandchildren — since she
came to stay and yet again got into a
rage with us. After these rages she
weaponises the children, which is
f=
what she has done now.
My husband’s health is not good,
but she seems incapable of showing
him love or kindness. She talks about
me supporting her yet does not even
”/
call me to see how things are.
We are at a loss to work out what
the problem is. I have suggested
counselling for her or us together,
but she is very defensive and parks
U
all the blame on us.
Heather
N
The greatest challenge
in any close and loving
A
se relationship is to
understand, manage
and cope with hostile
and antisocial
<
behaviour. A family contract contains
rs
many, often unstated expectations:
reciprocal respect, enduring
understanding and support all bound
/st
up with unconditional love, the “blood
is thicker than water” contract. While
differences are normal, we hope to find
a way through so that at baseline a
solid and loving relationship continues.
o
What you describe feels intractable
— a daughter who holds on to past
m
grievances and only sees her needs in
the relationship she has with you and
her father. You describe her as a
ri
woman who has always struggled with
relationships. You wonder whether
m
these behaviours are paternal familial
traits and ask whether this can all be
explained by your daughter (and her
es
father) being neurodivergent, ie on the
autistic spectrum?
ci
A sketch of someone’s behaviour is
not sufficient to enable a diagnosis,
especially if not provided by the
h
person themselves and corroborated
by an in-depth assessment. Where
there are complex relationship
challenges, there can often be the
inclination to label and diagnose —
although from what you describe
I can understand the logic of your
question. As a clinician, I feel strongly,
however, that it isn’t always helpful to
jump to diagnostic labels as
explanations of challenging
behaviours. When individual
differences are boiled down to these
labels, we can lose any understanding
of other factors that underpin the
distress and challenges. There is a risk,
therefore, that we localise problems as
pathology in one individual and so by
ignoring any mutual responsibilities
for the problems that exist, reduce any
chance of mutual resolution.
Having said all this, I completely
understand that you are devastated by
the estrangement and so need an
explanation. You may or may not be
correct in thinking that your
daughters and husband are on the
autistic spectrum, yet how does that
help with the situation? Furthermore,
given the similarities between your
husband and your daughter, I am
curious why you have been able to
make your marriage work but struggle
with your daughter. This last question
opens up a consideration of family
dynamics and seeing this as a systemic
(ie family) issue rather than/as well as
an individual one (ie your daughter
being on the autistic spectrum). This,
I suggest, would be more helpful since,
even if neurodevelopmental
differences exist, there still has to be a
solution to the breakdown in relations.
You say that your husband “lacks
empathy and is very self-absorbed”
and your daughter “has these
emotional outbursts mainly directed
towards her father over old, petty
grievances”. This provides a useful
starting point because in order to
move on from past upsets, painful past
issues need to be acknowledged. So if
your husband has never seen that he
needs to hear his daughter and
apologise for what has hurt her, why
wouldn’t she hold on to this? It is also
not unusual in families that conflict is
likely between those who are the most
similar in temperament, and while
your daughter is temperamentally
similar to her father, maybe your son
isn’t and so, like you, found ways to
have an easier relationship with him.
This might explain her jealousy of
her brother, who she may have felt
was less in the parental crosshairs
while growing up than she was.
All this then opens up other
issues including how your daughter
views you. It can often be the case
in similar scenarios that the child
is not only angry with the parent
they perceive to have been the
problem, but also with the other
parent who they see
compromising around such
behaviours and also, perhaps, not
stepping in at times when they
occurred. Does your daughter see
you as complicit in the grievances
she has against her father
because you didn’t challenge
them and instead expected her to
accept her father’s behaviour in the
way perhaps you have? Maybe there
is resentment, which explains why she
doesn’t call to see how you are.
This might feel challenging and
Does your unsettling, since what I am suggesting
daughter means you shift your position to
consider whether your daughter’s
see you as grievances are legitimate and remain
complicit
live for her because they have never
been properly acknowledged. This isn’t
about right and wrong as much as
in the
about feeling heard — which is often
necessary in order to let go and move
grievances
on. We don’t have to agree with the
grievance, but we can acknowledge
she has the hurt and pain it has caused.
You might say that your husband is
against her who he is so there is not going to be
father? any chance that this will happen,
especially now that he is in poor
health. This doesn’t mean, however,
that you can’t acknowledge your
daughter’s hurt, which might include
recognising the characteristics of her
father that continue to perpetuate that
hurt. This might be a challenge since
you may see this as being disloyal.
Furthermore, it might put you in the
uncomfortable position of
acknowledging behaviours within your
marriage that have hurt you and that
you may have previously accepted.
I think you have a choice here —
either really listen to your daughter
and acknowledge her hurt or decide
that this stalemate comes from her
being on the autistic spectrum. If she
is neurodivergent, however, does that
make her responsible for what she
experienced and the hurt it caused?
I do not believe that it is acceptable
for your daughter to fly into rages in
your home and weaponise her
children against you. I can understand
why you view her behaviour as
distressing and challenging. That
childhood therapist may have been
If you would like Tanya right — perhaps it was always difficult
Byron’s help, email to set boundaries with her and so she
proftanyabyron@ held significant power in the family,
thetimes.co.uk which she continues to hold on to.
While she has set her boundary
(estrangement), you also have a right
to set yours in terms of behaviour in
your home. It might help to build back
slowly with small visits outside the
home that focus only on the
grandchildren with a view to, at some
point, finding a way to let her know
you acknowledge her hurt and the
reasons that underpin it and
want to find a way to move on.
That may shift the standoff and
open a new channel of
communication between the
two of you.
Additionally, given that
there are communication
challenges in your family
that may be related to
neurodivergence, it may
help to explore the
resources available for
improving communication
between neurotypical and
neurodivergent partners and
families. This is an
acknowledgment that
communication will be interpreted
and expressed differently and
finding ways that reduce
misunderstanding (on both sides).
Explore via autism.org.uk; see the
helpful guide produced by the Relate
centre in Derby at bit.ly/3GTXNkk
I went
Her forte is playing
strong women —
after falling ill at
76, Patricia Hodge
demonstrated why.
By Andrew Billen
C
larissa Eden, the wife
of the stressed-out
prime minister who
presided over the 1956
Suez crisis, famously
complained that the
Suez Canal flowed
through her drawing
room. For Fanny Farrelly, the
fearsome American matriarch of
Lillian Hellman’s Watch on the Rhine, it
is the Rhine that cascades through the
French windows of her mansion.
At the Donmar Warehouse in
London, where the play is enjoying a
rare revival, audiences are taken to the
pivotal summer of 1940. Figuratively
speaking, the mighty river that divides
Nazi Germany from the free world
disgorges Europe’s heroes and its
villains into Fanny’s Washington
home. What starts as a sparky
drawing-room comedy deepens in
profundity until its moral thunder
drowns out even Fanny’s verbal volleys.
The formidable Fanny is played by
Patricia Hodge. When we meet at the
Donmar during a rehearsal break, I
note that throughout her career — her
first West End appearance was 50
years ago — Hodge has played many
strong-flavoured women.
To take three of them, she was the
sexy, predatory Mary Fisher in the
BBC’s 1986 adaptation of Fay Weldon’s
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Mrs
Thatcher in Ian Curteis’s controversial
The Falklands Play, and Penny,
Miranda Hart’s domineering mother
in the sitcom Miranda. At present, and
in succession to Diana Rigg, she is the
posh, dog-pampering Mrs Pumphrey
of Channel Five’s All Creatures Great
and Small. Is it typecasting or is she a
little bit formidable herself?
“I think you’d have to ask people
that know me,” she says, possibly a
touch offended. “I’m not the best judge
of myself, am I? People will always
cast you in what they think you’re
going to be able to produce. There is a
thread there but I would say all those
characters are pretty different people.
I mean, the madness of Miranda’s
mother is really not much to do with
Margaret Thatcher and Mrs
Pumphrey is a bit dotty and eccentric.”
And lonely. “She’s lonely, yes.”
In fact all Hodge’s apparently
indestructible women turn out to be
assailable. Mary Fisher is blown to her
death from the top of her lighthouse.
Thatcher was toppled (although not in
the play). And Miranda’s mother,
finally witnessing her daughter getting
married, faints in disbelief. Nor, at 76,
has Hodge proved quite unstoppable.
During Watch on the Rhine’s run-in
period, she was taken seriously ill.
Half an hour after coming off stage
from a preview, she experienced acute
stomach pain. “It was a very small and
the times | Monday January 23 2023
from critical care to on stage in weeks
unconcerning hernia which suddenly
became strangulated. They operated
within hours. I was in hospital for a
week. It is dangerous because it cuts
off the blood supply to the part of the
intestine that comes through the
hernia. It can go gangrenous. It’s a
very serious situation. Anyway, it’s the
worst thing in medical terms that ever
happened to me.”
She looks pretty radiant today.
“Well, listen. I’m fit. I keep myself fit.
So I was determined I’d come back. It
happened that we closed the show for
four nights over Christmas anyway,
which gave me a bit of time. So two
weeks after being in critical care I was
back on stage.
“There’s a loose term we all use,
which is Dr Theatre. It’s a bit overused
but I think if you pump the adrenaline
through and the energy through, you
heal. It’s better to get up and just get
on with it. Once you’re on stage you
can’t think about anything else.”
Nor, at least the night I saw one of
its previews, can anyone in the
audience. Hodge commands the stage
much as the widow Fanny commands
her progeny. I wonder whether Hodge,
whose husband died in 2016, plays the
matriarch in her own family but it
seems she would not presume. She
was not with her two sons and a new
grandson over Christmas because both
brothers were off with their in-laws.
She spent Christmas with friends.
“I try not to put myself in that
position. I’m there if they need me and
otherwise I’ll keep out of the way. I
like to be asked really.”
She married in 1976. Peter Owen
was a symphonic trumpet player who
became a music publisher. They had
got together four years before while
she was making her West End debut in
a musical version of Ben Travers’s
farce Rookery Nook and he was in the
orchestra pit of Jesus Christ Superstar.
It was not until 1989 that they had her
first child, Alex, and she was in her
mid-forties when Edward arrived
three years later. Being unable to
conceive was agony. “You’re in
mourning for something you’ve never
had, and that feeling never leaves you.
I was incredibly lucky.”
Did it just happen? “It just did. It just
did. But how wonderful is that? That’s
the single most significant thing that’s
ever happened to me.
“I think if you ask me what I miss
more than anything, and this obviously
includes my husband, it’s family life.
Family life is just the best, as far as I’m
concerned. And one doesn’t have it
any more because they’ve gone off and
are having their lives and Peter’s gone.
But I had it. At least I had it.”
If her happiest years were then, the
toughest were during Owen’s
dementia. He spent his last three years
in a care home; by the end she was not
sure whether he really recognised her.
“But these experiences in life, they
change you, don’t they? They probably
make you a better person. You take a
lot of things for granted in life until
you realise that you can’t.”
In 2011 when Meryl Streep played
Mrs Thatcher in The Iron Lady some
criticised the film’s focus on Thatcher’s
dementia. In The Falklands Play in
2002 for BBC4 Hodge played her in
her pomp. By then the production had
been on ice for almost two decades,
the BBC having claimed Curteis’s
script was incomplete, although many
suspected it was felt to be too soft on
Thatcher. It was not repeated again
until 2020 when it accompanied a
documentary series.
“A lot of people then saw it for the
first time and actually I had calls from
people like Michael Portillo, for
example, who said to me, ‘How did
you know what Margaret was like in
private?’ and I said, ‘I didn’t. I didn’t.’ I
only wanted to know the way that she
thought. That was the only thing that
concerned me. And I talked to people
who helped me with that.
“I talked to her daughter, Carol,
about her clothes. She said, ‘She never
ever wore real jewellery. She had just a
box full of stuff, trinkets.’ It was all
costume jewellery. None of it was
worth anything. But what she did say
to me, without my asking, was: ‘One
thing you have to know about my
mother was that she never talked
about anything else [during the
Falklands conflict]. There was no
other conversation.’ ”
Thatcher and Hodge were both
brought up in Lincolnshire, the
politician in Grantham and the actress
in Cleethorpes, where her father
managed hotels. You’d strain, however,
to hear what Hodge calls the “nasal
flatness” of the Lincolnshire accent in
either voice. Thatcher had elocution
lessons aged 11 to correct a lisp rather
than elevate her socially, according to
her biographer Charles Moore. For
Hodge’s family, it was part of a family
insistence on self-improvement.
Patricia Hodge as “I spoke one thing at school and
Mrs Pumphrey in another at home. At home I used to
All Creatures Great get told off if I said ‘bath’ [to rhyme
and Small. Right: with “hath”]. They thought it was how
with Miranda Hart to get on in life, really, how to survive.”
in Miranda After university, she trained as a
teacher before being accepted aged 22
by Lamda. When she left drama
school, she says, there were still 44
repertories around the country. She
worked first at the Traverse in
Edinburgh then the Chester Gateway.
Now she is at the other end of her
career, I ask about ageism in the
profession, particularly as it affects
If you ask actresses. “Well, there just aren’t the
roles. There aren’t.”
what I As opposed to those for men?
“There never have been. It is being
miss more corrected to a degree, but only in
than modern terms. You can’t change the
catalogue of what’s already there.”
anything, In the Britbox show Murder in
Provence last year she was cast as
it’s family Roger Allam’s mother-in-law. Two
decades before, they had played
life contemporaries. “Well, that was the
7
life
joke. Roger and I were lovers in a play
at the National and then the next
thing is that I’m playing his mother-
in-law. Well, there you go.”
Last year she and Nigel Havers were
cast in a well-received production
of Noël Coward’s Private Lives,
assuming roles written for actors 30
or 40 years younger. Was that a
breakthrough? “Well, it had viability.
That’s all I will say. We didn’t do it to
prove a point.”
Yet if you look at her list of TV roles,
there has hardly been a year since 1973
that she has not worked. I wonder if
lookism may not be a factor too. On
The Life and Loves she shared top
billing with Julie T Wallace, who at 6ft
2in played the she-devil. Wallace’s
recent résumé does not look crowded.
Hodge, slim and elegant, continues to
be in high demand.
“It’s all to do with what roles are
there, what’s available and there just
aren’t enough to give everybody a
good innings is the truth,” she says.
But are women actors always going
to be judged by their appearance more
than men? “I think that’s changed
quite a bit. I think funnily enough it
can be more of a handicap these days.
The more ordinary the character, the
more people can identify. I think that’s
more the trend for the moment,
honestly,” she says, adding that she is
just throwing this thought out.
Was Weldon, who died this month
and whom she met on the set of The
Life and Loves, her kind of feminist?
“I don’t think I thought about her in
those terms. I’m not sure that I
pigeonhole myself. I think I have
many traits of feminism but
I’m not sure that I’m . . . I don’t know.
I haven’t identified fully.”
She remains in touch
with Hart, who calls her
“Mum Two”, but seems
unwilling to analyse
Miranda in anything
approaching sociological
terms. Technically, on
the other hand . . . “It was
one of the most difficult
acting exercises I’ve ever
had to do because every
theatrical instinct tells
you to play to the live
audience in studio, but
what matters is what the
cameras capture.”
In Watch on the Rhine, Fanny
threatens: “I shall do a fine death.
I intend to be a great trouble to
everyone.” Is that Hodge’s plan?
“I hope not. I concentrate on living,
really. I think I’m probably a bit
brush-it-all-aside, in denial, about
all that.
“I was brought up a bit short before
Christmas when this [hernia]
happened. It was funny. In the
pandemic it transpired that my sons
were far more worried about my
vulnerability than I ever was. Terrified.
And I just sort of dotted along.”
She lives alone in an open-plan flat
in west London overlooking the
Thames. What comparably animating
force runs through her life, I find it,
from our chat, hard to tell. On stage,
however, this quiet woman is powerful
enough to trigger flood alerts.
Watch on the Rhine continues at
the Donmar Warehouse, London
WC2, until February 4
8 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

first night
pop classical
Fabio & Grooverider BBCSO/Wigglesworth
Royal Festival Hall Barbican
{{{{{ {{{{(

A W
s the godfathers of the
drum’n’bass scene and DJ
partners for almost 40
years, Fabio and
Grooverider have played to
rabid crowds in clubs, warehouses and
raves around the world. The south
London duo looked genuinely moved,
though, to be headlining at the Royal
Festival Hall. Back in the Nineties
Grooverider would be introduced by
his MC as “Grooverider, hardcore
provider”. Now he and Fabio had their
own orchestra and a seated audience
in a temple of high culture.
They weren’t seated for long,
obviously. After a recorded message in
which Goldie praised the duo’s
“unfathomable” influence on
drum’n’bass, the first breakbeats
rattled out and hundreds of middle-
aged ravers rose as one.
While Fabio and Grooverider
manned the decks at the back of the
stage, in front of them were string and
brass sections, drummers, synth
players and a conductor. Orchestral
dance music events have been around
for a while, with similar treatment
hat is the ideal
concert companion
piece to the
performance of a
great Mahler
symphony? Certainly not orchestral
tutti-frutti like Rimsky-Korsakov’s
Capriccio espagnol, though something
equally compact would be welcome.
Its small compass, however, shouldn’t
stop the item chosen from reaching
out towards the grander issues of life,
death and beyond: Mahler’s meat and
drink. Recently installed as chief
conductor of the BBC Scottish
Symphony Orchestra, Ryan
Wigglesworth and the BBC Symphony
Orchestra came before us with the
Covid-delayed UK premiere of his
song cycle Till Dawning, first heard in
Austria in 2018.
Mykhailo Malafii as Cavaradossi and Giselle Allen as Tosca in Edward Dick’s updated production It was a worthwhile choice, by and
large. Though the hall’s sound balance
didn’t always favour her, the soprano
Northern lights shine Elizabeth Watts stayed emotionally
resonant as the music zig-zagged
through four devotional poems by that
17th-century wonder George Herbert,
guiding us through the violence and

given to house (Pete Tong) and UK
garage (DJ Spoony), but here the
blend of recorded and live music felt
thrillingly organic.
The drummers had to work
overtime to match the speed of the
breakbeats but the effect was intense.
As Fabio and Grooverider cued up
Omni Trio’s Renegade Snares, GQ, the
lightning-rod MC, roared: “Everybody
scream!” They already were.
The set list took in 30 years of
classics, from Lennie De Ice’s We Are
IE through to High Contrast’s Racing
Green. While tracks such as Ray
Keith’s Terrorist rumbled with
weaponised bass, you were reminded
of how lush and sophisticated this
music can be. LTJ Bukem’s Horizons
sounded even more atmospheric with
live strings and saxophone.
Every few songs Fabio and
Grooverider strolled to the front like
Vegas veterans to address their
audience. “It’s great not to be the
oldest people in the building,” said
Fabio, 55. He wasn’t wrong. One
greying chap wore a jacket
emblazoned with the name of
AWOL, the legendary jungle night
at Ministry of Sound.
Ed Potton
Follow @timesculture on Twitter to
read the latest reviews
A
Opera North ll this talk of relocating
English National Opera to
could teach Manchester must be very
ENO a thing disconcerting for Opera
or two about North, a much better run
company that has been “levelling up”
excellence, opera provision in the north of
says Richard England for more than 40 years. This
revival of Tosca, for instance, opens in
Morrison Leeds then visits Salford, Nottingham,
Newcastle and Hull.
opera And it’s a corker of a show — cast
with seasoned Opera North regulars
Tosca at the top of their form, staged
Grand, Leeds imaginatively and cogently, and with
{{{{{ Puccini’s searing score pungently
played by a fired-up orchestra. ENO’s
leadership could learn a lot from it.
Edward Dick’s production, first seen
in 2018, is updated to the present day
— primarily, it seems, so Scarpia can
treat Tosca to a live streaming on his
laptop of her lover Cavaradossi being
tortured. Other innovations include
real incense wafting across the stalls in
the spine-tingling Te Deum (bells and
smells — real Catholicism!) and the
staging of Act II not in Scarpia’s office
but in his bedroom, which gets straight
to the point, I suppose, and allows the
vile police chief to excite himself by
rubbing his crotch against a bedpost.
The most gripping drama, however,
is created not by the director but by
Giselle Allen and Robert Hayward as
Tosca and Scarpia. Indeed, I have
rarely seen the vicious, volatile Act II
confrontation done with more raw
venom, right down to a stabbing so
brutal you gasp with shock.
Allen matches that by turning her
voice — so thrillingly focused up top
— into a guttural snarl of pure hatred.
She also makes her Act III exit so
audacious that you wonder whether
she has been rushed straight to A&E.
Of all her magnificent performances
for Opera North, this is the most
terrifying and gripping.
As for Hayward, this is just the latest
in his epic series of perverted psychos.
His singing is compelling enough, but
his acting is something else. He does a
creepy Dr Strangelove thing with his
right arm that suggests inner turmoil.
There’s much to admire, too, about
the Ukrainian tenor Mykhailo Malafii
as Cavaradossi, though he needs more
lyricism and less heft in gentler
moments. And in the pit Garry Walker
conducts a tremendously persuasive
orchestral performance: not just
thunderous in the climaxes but also
full of beautiful things from, for
example, solo clarinet and cello. A
riveting evening.
To March 2 then touring,
operanorth.co.uk
radiance of the events of Easter week.
Almost inevitably in contemporary
vocal writing, we lost the exquisite
shape of Herbert’s stanzas, with the
sting of his rhymes obscured as well.
Full marks, though, for the variety and
beauty of the orchestra’s kaleidoscope,
ranging from chattering woodwinds
and pin-prick beauties from harp and
celesta to the growling depths of the
double basses.
Then came the main event: Mahler’s
Symphony No 5. Conductor and
orchestra began in peak condition,
launching the first movement’s funeral
march with piercing brass fanfares,
soon giving way to the subtle shaping
of phrases and dynamics in the slow
procession of mournful strings. Similar
care was shown in the adagietto’s love
song, complete with a fade-out so
perfectly and tenderly judged that I
almost cried.
Less interpretive finesse was audible
in the frenzy and nostalgia of the
scherzo, always a tricky movement.
Wigglesworth needed to impose
himself more. No complaints, though,
about the finale, decisively pitched as
a wholehearted celebration of the life
force. A full house responded with
thunderous cheers and applause.
Geoff Brown
On BBC Sounds

M
aking her first British
pop appearance since
suffering a stroke in late
Lucinda 2020, alt-country queen
Williams Lucinda Williams was on
Barbican shaky but upbeat form at this packed
{{{{( show. Back on tour with her cowboy-
hatted band of Nashville outlaws, the
Buick 6, the hard-bitten Louisiana-
born singer-songwriter turns 70 this
week, celebrating her birthday with a
marathon feast of jukebox Americana
spanning country to jazz, blues to folk.
Although Covid restrictions have
been a factor in keeping Williams
away from these shores, the after-
effects of her stroke were also clearly
evident. The fragile-looking singer was
escorted on stage, then spent much of
this performance perched against a
chair. She is unable to play guitar, as
Lucinda Williams is back on tour
she used to, but her magnificent
whiskey-soaked voice remains
unscathed. That deliciously rich Deep
South vibrato drawl proved
particularly effective during slower
numbers including People Talkin’, a
sublime two-fingered salute to
malicious gossip, and Fruits of My
Labor, a fond rumination on lost love
that dripped with sultry sensuality.
A melancholy air hung over this set
as Williams paid tribute to absent
friends and departed rocker peers,
including Jeff Beck and Tom Petty, the
latter commemorated in the wistful
Stolen Moments. The singer also
summoned the ghosts of her old flame
Clyde Woodward in the elegy Lake
Charles and her former manager
Frank Callari in the ruminative, jazzy
Copenhagen. “Sorry, I seem to be
talking about so many dead people
tonight,” she said, “but it’s cathartic.”
Under the circumstances, there were
inevitably a few wobbles in this set.
But as Williams performed for well
over two hours, her determination
took on the air of a defiant statement.
For the finale, after slowly exiting the
stage, she gamely shuffled back on
again for a punchy trio of encores
including a voluptuous saloon-bar
reworking of Lou Reed’s Pale Blue Eyes
and a rollicking gallop through Neil
Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World. This
was hardy a flawless gig but, all things
considered, it still felt like a triumph.
Even if Williams is slightly depleted,
she is emphatically not defeated.
Stephen Dalton
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, January
23; Belfast Empire, January 26
the times | Monday January 23 2023
From Truman Peyote to Sigmund
Droid: how pop music fell for puns
A new wave of
bands, who aren’t
just cover acts,
are using wordplay
in their names,
says Ed Potton
f you’re feeling down this
I
January, I heartily recommend
a trawl through the darker
corners of Spotify or a visit to
your local independent record
shop. Leftfield music is not
renowned for its sense of hilarity,
but a scan of the names of
today’s popular beat combos is a hoot.
Specifically the slew of really awful
puns — there are dozens of them.
Making a pitch for that neglected
Beatles/Star Wars crossover are
the Texas shoegazers Ringo
Deathstarr, and joining the dots
between the galaxy far, far away and
turn-of-the-century Vienna are the
Brooklyn band Sigmund Droid — “I
am your father” meets “tell me about
your mother”. My colleague Will
Hodgkinson recently tipped the punk/
metal/rap duo Bob Vylan, although
I think that was despite their name
rather than because of it. Meanwhile,
the psych-rockers Truman Peyote
have picked a name that evokes
images of the author of In Cold Blood
running through the Mojave Desert
with his pants on his head. Sadly it
hasn’t helped their popularity — they
have ten monthly listeners on Spotify.
Elsewhere spoonerisms loom large,
Wevie Stonder, Com Truise and Mill
Ringo Deathstarr
Burray being particularly egregious
examples. Perhaps Mill Burray could
be joined on a Ghostbusters-themed
bill by the Scottish emo rockers
Dananananaykroyd? Some of the best/
worst names have been nabbed by
more than one act, such as Harmonica
Lewinsky, which has been adopted by
a British blues group and a solo artist
who describes himself as a “Cockney
singalong entertainer”. Let’s pray their
stage outfits do not include cigars or
stained dresses. My personal favourite,
borrowed from Nick Hornby’s High
Fidelity, is the choice of three different
bands in Queensland, Toronto and
South Warwickshire: the wonderfully
silly Kathleen Turner Overdrive.
Punning names have been a thing in
music for years, of course, from Poly
Styrene and Buster Bloodvessel in the
Seventies to Camper Van Beethoven
in the Eighties, the Dandy Warhols in
the Nineties and Kurt Vile in the
Spoonerisms
also loom large:
Wevie Stonder
and Com Truise
Noughties. Actually, it goes back even
further than that — the Beatles, let’s
not forget, is a very feeble pun. Tribute
bands have often cornered the market,
from Bjorn Again and Proxy Music to
Blobbie Williams and the northeast-
based Reet Hot Chili Peppers (bravo).
Now, though, a surge of non-tribute
bands have led us into a golden age of
dreadful musical wordplay. You
wonder if the rise of RuPaul’s Drag
Race is something to do with it — Dot
Rotten, Joanna Gruesome and Lana
Del Rabies have an evil-twin vibe
that’s reminiscent of drag queens such
as Anna Bortion and Penny Tentiary.
“It’s funny you say that,” says Lana
Del Rabies, whose real name is Sam
An (thank God for that). “When I
actually started establishing myself
under this name [around 2016], I was
running into issues because there was
a drag queen with this name.” Now
she is the pre-eminent Lana Del
Rabies, her stage name a wrong-
footing counterpoint to her music,
which is a shadow-strewn blend of
goth, metal, industrial and electronica.
An’s new single is called A Plague
and in her publicity shots she wears
head spikes, black lipstick and Edward
Scissorhands-style pointy finger
covers. Her themes, she says, include
“how we treat the powerless and how
we abuse children without even
meaning to” and “if there is a God,
what would it mean for them to
essentially see their creation
destroying itself?”
You can see why some light relief
could be welcome. “However
brooding and dark my work is,
I also have a dumb sense of
humour,” she says. “I have to have
that levity in order to survive
anything.” She is speaking by phone
from her home in Phoenix, Arizona,
and is charming and thoughtful, as
supposedly scary musicians often are.
Her stage name came about
because she started off making drone
music that sampled female pop stars.
She was drawn in particular to Lana
Del Rey, the multimillion-selling
“gangster Nancy Sinatra” from
New York, whom she admired
for “talking about co-dependent,
intense, almost violent relationships.
I appreciate her honesty in terms
9
arts
Lana Del Rabies
of being unapologetic about those
times in her life.” There are other
things about Del Rey that she
appreciates less, but she doesn’t want
to go into detail because “she does go
after people. Please don’t make Lana
Del Rey hate me!” There has never
been the threat of legal action,
although in January An’s Facebook
page was deleted for 24 hours for
“impersonating a public figure”.
She has considered jettisoning the
alias. At one point “people weren’t
necessarily engaging with the work,
they just wanted to talk about the
name”, she says, which makes me shift
in my seat. “There were situations
where I felt like I was maybe not
considered for certain opportunities
because ‘Oh, the name’s silly’.”
In the past five years or so, however,
“things have changed a bit”, An says.
“Gen Z tend to be a bit more loose
about those kinds of things.” God
knows we need something to smile
about, and in an era that zigzags
between sincerity and satire it’s pretty
much de rigueur to call yourself
something that sounds like a social
media handle. Or a drag queen.
“I’ve noticed that people are
Bob Vylan
more receptive to it now,” An says.
Her favourite musical pun is Salvia
Palth, the recording name of the
Baltimore-based musician Michael
Collins. “That actually reminded
me of my own situation because the
name’s like ‘Ha ha, Salvia Palth’, but
the music is very deep and dark,” she
says. She likes the “unexpectedness” of
calling herself something wacky, then
blasting people away on a wave of
demonic noise. Far from hating her,
the other Lana should be applauding.
Lana Del Rabies’s album Strega
Beata is released by Gilgongo on
March 17
10 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

times2

Your weekday brain boost

More
puzzles
Pages 14-16

Every day, Monday to Thursday, a page of extra Sudoku super fiendish Train Tracks
puzzles to give your brain an extended workout Lay tracks to enable the train to travel
from village A to village B. The numbers
indicate how many sections of rail go in
each row and column. There are only
Samurai easy straight rails and curved rails. The track
cannot cross itself.
Fill each grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box
contains the digits 1 to 9. Where the puzzles overlap, the rows and
columns do not go beyond their usual length.

Killer deadly
Fill the grid so that every column, every row and
every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of
cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target
number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells
joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated.
Futoshiki
Fill the blank squares so that every row and
column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5
once only. The symbols between the squares
indicate whether a number is larger (>) or
smaller (<) than the number next to it.

Codeword
Every letter in the crossword-style grid, right, has been Thursday’s SAMURAI
substituted for a number from 1 to 26. Each letter of the alphabet
appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already provided solutions
to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the
main grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the
alphabet have been accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded.

Quintagram® Suko
Solve all five cryptic clues using
each letter underneath once only
1 Deficit in accounts solicitor
recalled (4)

-2 Shakespearean
- - - king, likewise
QUINTAGRAM
holding on (6) 1 Mess FUTOSHIKI CODEWORD
2 Devil
-3 Poked
- -fun-at -press-chief after 3 Hyphen
4 Embrace
drinks (6) 5 Meditation
SUKO
-4 Drink
- -in nightspots
- - - a party
knocked back (4,4)

-5 He-rubbished
- - -nearby
- -Kent- resort Place the numbers 1 to 9 in
(5,3) the spaces so that the SUDOKU KILLER
TRAIN TRACKS
number in each circle is
-------- equal to the sum of the four
A A A A B B C D surrounding spaces, and
D E E E E H L L each colour total is correct
L N N O O O O R
Solutions in
S S S S S T U Y tomorrow’s Times2
the times | Monday January 23 2023 11

television & radio

Calder Valley cops face another brilliant twist

waiting area to distract the security Who else heard doomy bells ringing
Carol guards was the one thing Catherine
Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) hadn’t
when Catherine said she only had
until Thursday to go to her retirement,
Midgley predicted. She guessed Royce would
be sprung from the prison van en
route to court to reward him for taking
“then you can kiss my ample arse”? In
TV land that never bodes well.
Documentaries about ships can be
TV review the blame for a murder that Darius
had committed. That’s why he wanted
a little dry, so directors need a cheeky
chappy character to liven things up.
Ryan there to see it, his dad escaping Ronnie Lambert, a chef from Essex
like the big swinging, er, psychopath. on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, is
Royce (James Norton) had a nice a godsend to The Warship: Tour of
haircut, lost the beard and gave us a Duty. He is charismatic yet flawed,
flash of his abs for his great escape. I a former coke-snorter come good.
know of several women who are more He even let the cameras film him
than discombobulated by the fact that getting a bollocking (OK, “disciplinary
they find a murdering, rapist piece of hearing”) for going Awol and
Happy Valley filth “hot”. Let’s put it down to the returning to ship six hours late.
BBC1 subtle charisma of Norton, whose I’m not saying that the military detail
{{{{{ gentle voice only makes Royce more isn’t interesting: it is. The fact that
sinister. Luckily he hadn’t forgotten Britain’s biggest warship carries 18 F-35
The Warship: Tour of Duty how to ride a racer bike after all those stealth jet fighters worth £100 million
BBC2
{{{(( years in the slammer. He was off like each is mind-blowing. It was filmed
a bullet, the devil in tight Lycra. before Putin invaded Ukraine, but let’s
ow does Sally Wainwright The brilliant twist over the murder hope he’s watching because this is

H keep this up? (Spoilers

ahead!) Happy Valley has
nimbly wrong-footed the
viewer this series, but the
choreography of Tommy Lee Royce’s
escape from the dock at Leeds crown
court was a lissom work of art. Even
more impressively, it was just about
believable (someone vaulted from the
dock and escaped at Liverpool crown
court only this month).
That Darius Knezevic’s two gopher
numpties would create a fight in the
of poor Joanna (Mollie Winnard),
trussed into a suitcase for her violent
husband Rob (Mark Stanley) to find,
is a subplot that in any other drama
would be a main action. He has been
done up like a kipper now by Faisal
(Amit Shah), hasn’t he? But Faisal was
a little bit too obvious when they had
a car prang, Rob exploded and he
poked at him asking: “Are you all
right? Is something else the matter?”
Faisal seems to have psychopathic
potential too.
basically a TV muscle-flex of military
might, and an impressive one too.
It’s the humans who keep things
grounded, describing the “earthy”
realities of life onboard, such as all
the flatulence and what we shall
diplomatically call “solo
entertainment”. Ronnie, who had two
children by two mothers (“I’m just a
slag”), said it was like the Big Brother
house. “I’ve never seen so many
penises in my life,” he said. Well!
Wrong-footed: Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood Much obliged for the mental image.

Radio choice
Ben Dowell
The Boat Smugglers
Radio 4, 8pm
The journalist Sue Mitchell,
above, skilfully investigated
large-scale migrant Channel
crossings for Radio 4 last
year, so she knows her
subject. In this latest
programme she shows how
sophisticated the methods
used by the smuggling
gangs have become, not
least in their use of large
boats made in Turkey
specifically for these
crossings. As Mitchell and
her co-reporter, the former
British soldier and aid
worker Rob Lawrie,
demonstrate, the authorities
have been slow to react to
the current state of affairs.
Will the cunning of the
gangs thwart whatever
deals are secured between
Britain and France?
our tv newsletter
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12.00 Composer of the Week:
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D 842); and Chausson (Poème Op 25)
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A mix of music exploring the colour yellow
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12 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

television & radio

Viewing Guide severity it couldn’t might think. Yes, there apocalypse, which he student despite all the rounded up Jews to be
have been sported in isn’t much that is (and young son Aaron) preaching and lack of
How the shot and buried in
Ben Dowell the real world. He is tasteful about Dillon clearly hope will be sleep, her parents Holocaust Began hastily dug trenches.
BBC2, 9pm
also an extremely Mapletoft and Oliver soon. “You will get worry only about what Helping him to do so
Everyone Else religious paterfamilias Taylor’s comedy, but is biscuits after the moon sins lie in store if she The image most people are thousands of
Burns who goes for all the it funny? Essentially has turned to blood,” goes to university. have of the Holocaust aerial photographs the
Channel 4, 10pm/10.35pm
burn in the tarry pit of Bird delivers an older David tells the fam. There is something usually involves the Nazis took themselves
Simon Bird’s hellfire stuff that might version of his know-it- Mum Fiona (Kate faintly old-fashioned unspeakable horrors of — effectively
Toplatest comedy exist on some extreme all character from The O’Flynn) is semi- about the storytelling. the death camps. Here documenting their
character,
pick fringes of one of the Inbetweeners, but reluctantly on board, And the way David the historian James own crimes — which
David Lewis, world’s foremost instead of obsessing while 17-year-old obsesses about whether Bulgin looks at the create a disturbing
has what can only be monotheistic religions about girls he wakes his daughter Rachel (Amy he will be promoted at little-told story of its picture of hundreds
described as a sitcom (one that is always a family in the early James-Kelly) is less his local church feels a first revolting steps of lost mass graves
haircut: a pudding bowl soft target for comedy), hours for practice enamoured. Although bit like a plotline from when the Wehrmacht that are only now
trim of such grotesque but is rarer than people walks for the she’s a straight-A Terry and June. ventured east and coming to light.

BBC1 BBC2 ITV1 Channel 4 Channel 5

6.00am Breakfast 9.15 Morning Live. Kym Marsh and 6.30am Bargain Hunt (r) (AD) 7.15 Make It at Market 6.00am Good Morning Britain. A lively mix of news and 6.10am Countdown. Rick Edwards is in Dictionary Corner 6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine. The broadcaster
Early

Gethin Jones host the weekday magazine show 10.00
Defenders UK. New series. An 80-year-old woman is
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spots a fly-tipper dumping rubbish in a remote location
10.45 Rip Off Britain: Holidays. The sporting breaks that
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(AD, SL) 9.00 BBC News at 9 10.00 BBC News 12.15pm
Politics Live 1.00 Hardball (r) 1.45 Celebrity Eggheads.
With Ken Cheng, Hal Cruttenden, Justin Moorhouse, Zoe
Lyons and Ruth Bratt (r) 2.15 Celebrity Antiques Road
Trip. Tennis coach Judy Murray and former British number
one Greg Rusedski compete with expert guidance (r) 3.15
Great Australian Railway Journeys. Part one of two.
Travelling from Adelaide to Perth (r) 3.45 My Unique
B&B. Master craftsman Simon Parfett and his team help
people generate extra income by creating B&Bs, beginning
by transforming a battered old family camper van (r) (AD)
4.30 Saved and Remade. A much-loved childhood bike and
a wartime Royal Navy kit bag are among the items
transformed into new and useful items for their owners
(r) 5.15 Flog It! From Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire (r)
6.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games. With Jon
Culshaw, Harriet Kemsley, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and
Verona Rose 6.30 Robson Green’s Weekend Escapes. New
series. The actor explores the north-east of England (AD)
current affairs, plus health, entertainment and lifestyle
features 9.00 Lorraine. Entertainment, current affairs
and fashion news, as well as showbiz stories and gossip.
Presented by Lorraine Kelly 10.00 This Morning. A mix
of chat, lifestyle features, advice and competitions.
Including Local Weather 12.30pm Loose Women.
Showbiz interviews and studio discussion from a female
perspective 1.30 ITV News; Weather 1.55 Regional
News; Weather 2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal. David
Dickinson and experts Tim Hogarth, Jan Keyne, James
Layte and Fay Rutter assess items brought in by members
of the public in Liverpool (AD) 3.00 Lingo. A father and
son from Dorchester, siblings from Craigavon, and a pair
from London and Bristol compete in the quiz hosted by
Adil Ray 4.00 Tipping Point. Ben Shephard hosts the
arcade-themed quiz in which contestants drop tokens
down a choice of four chutes in the hope of winning a
£10,000 jackpot 5.00 The Chase. Bradley Walsh presents
as four contestants take on one of the Chasers and hope
to secure a cash prize. Quiz show hosted by Bradley Walsh
6.00 Regional News; Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather
(r) 6.50 3rd Rock from the Sun (r) (AD) 7.40 Everybody
Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 9.00 Frasier (r) (AD) 10.25
Undercover Boss USA. Anthony Wedo, president and CEO
of Buffets, Inc, goes undercover in his restaurant
organisation to pinpoint the flaws in the business (r)
11.25 Channel 4 News Summary 11.30 Come Dine with
Me: The Professionals. At The Wine Room City in
Nottingham, owner Peter and head chef Bee serve up a
feast of international small plates (r) 12.30pm Steph’s
Packed Lunch. Weekday magazine show hosted by Steph
McGovern 2.10 Countdown. Stephen K Amos is in
Dictionary Corner 3.00 A Place in the Sun. Jasmine
Harman helps a children’s nurse to find a holiday home on
Spain’s Costa del Sol 4.00 A New Life in the Sun. A couple
in Greece have dreams of bringing a new business to the
area 5.00 Junior Bake Off. The young bakers face their
first technical challenge (AD) 6.00 The Simpsons. The
family remembers Lisa’s early days (r) (AD) 6.30
Hollyoaks. Tom and Yazz try to put a smile back on Shaq’s
face. Elsewhere, Cindy befriends influencer Rayne and
offers to be her next guest for a livestream (r) (AD)
and guests discuss the issues of the day with co-host
Storm Huntley joining him for phone-ins and reading out
viewers’ correspondence 12.45pm George Clarke’s Build a
New Life in the Country. The architect George Clarke helps
a couple who want to move from Surrey so they can start
a business in the Lincolnshire countryside (r) 1.40 5
News at Lunchtime 1.45 Home and Away. Remi is drawn
closer to Bree, grasping at any chance he can to be with
her (r) (AD) 2.15 FILM: Revenge for My Mother (PG,
TVM, 2022) When her recently hired assistant secretly
starts exacting revenge, the perfect world of a woman
who teaches post-natal fitness is shattered. Thriller
starring Sami Nye and Taylor Joree Scorse 4.00
Bargain-Loving Brits in the Sun. A man has always
dreamed of kayaking in the National Park lakes with his
best mate, the small problem is that neither of them
know how to kayak 5.00 5 News at 5 6.00 Holiday
Homes in the Sun. Amanda Lamb, JB Gill and Sam
Pinkham visit Ravello on the Neapolitan Riviera,
competing to find the area’s best holiday homes
for a classic Italian retreat (r) 6.55 5 News Update

7.00 The One Show Alex Jones and 7.00 Nadiya’s Fast Flavours Nadiya 7.00 Channel 4 News 7.00 Police Interceptors Several units
7PM

Jermaine Jenas present topical
stories and showbiz chat
7.30 EastEnders Kat takes care of a
conflicted Lily, Kim and Denise give
Lola a glow-up for her hen do and Linda
jumps into action to help Jay (AD)
Hussain rustles up dishes including a
magical custard tart, and also crafts a
fancy sweet focaccia (3/6) (r) (AD)
7.30 Mastermind The specialist subjects
are Catherine the Great, Wallace &
Gromit, Egon Schiele, and hyenas
chase a white van that has been driven
at four times the speed limit, until the
driver eventually goes for broke on
7.30 Emmerdale Priya revisits her trauma, foot. Following a report of a car on fire,
and Vinny lashes out. Meanwhile, the interceptors get behind a car
Mary goes on a date (AD) suspected to have fled the scene (r)
7.55 5 News Update

8.00 Dogs, Dealers and Organised 8.00 Only Connect Victoria Coren Mitchell 8.00 Coronation Street Sarah alerts 8.00 George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces 8.00 Traffic Cops A disqualified driver with
8PM

Crime — Panorama Sam Poling looks
at the close relationship between
organised crime and dog dealing
8.30 The Bidding Room Five dealers bid
against one another to buy a retro
battling top game, a set of shelves,
and a collection of Vintage bikes(r)
asks the questions as the Jillies take
on the Strigiformes in the first of the
quarter-final matches of the quiz
8.30 University Challenge Two teams
battle it out for a place in the quarter-
finals as the second-round matches
continue. Jeremy Paxman hosts
Stephen to the existence of the
factory’s CCTV, and Daisy receives two
unwelcome visitors at the Rovers.
Meanwhile, Chesney unveils his
business idea to Gemma (AD)
George visits a family who have been
creating much-needed extra space in a
dilapidated vintage bus. Meanwhile, a
farmer builds an owl inspired wooden
cabin. Plus, in Israel, George heads to
Jerusalem to visit a YMCA (AD)
possible links to violence triggers a
police camera near Harrogate, and he
has questions to answer when officers
find thousands of pounds in his car. In
Tadcaster, a member of the public calls
in about a suspicious male changing
registration plates on an Audi

9.00 Silent Witness Part one of two. The 9.00 How the Holocaust Began 9.00 Maternal Maryam finds out there’s 9.00 SAS: Who Dares Wins — Jungle 9.00 Police: Night Shift 999
9PM

team are called to a devastating train
crash, and work with the police and
counter terrorism to piece together
what happened. As they try to find the
motive for killing the local mayor, it
appears the family who own the land
might hold the key (7/10) (AD)
James Bulgin reveals the origins of the
Holocaust in Hitler’s war on the Soviet
Union, exploring the mass murder,
collaboration and experimentation
that led to the Final Solution.
See Viewing Guide (AD)
going to be an investigation into the
Edward Williams case and fears her old
doubts and anxieties are returning,
while Catherine struggles to get
surgical hours as staffing problems
mean operations are cancelled.
See Viewing Guide (2/6) (AD)
Hell New series. The reality show
takes its inspiration from the jungle
phase of SAS selection, which is the
most gruelling phase of the SAS’
training regime. The first episode sees
the 20 candidates challenged to control
their fear. See Viewing Guide (AD)
Gloucestershire police are called to a
break-in at a shop, where thieves
targeting cigarettes have raided the
premises and made off at high speed.
On the M5, a traffic officer has to cope
with torrential rain when he is called
to a crash in the fast lane (6/8)

10.00 BBC News at Ten 10.00 QI With Sarah Millican, Alan Davies, 10.00 ITV News at Ten; Weather 10.00 Everyone Else Burns New series. 10.00 Casualty 24/7: Every Second
10PM

10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather
10.40 Humza: Forgiving the
Unforgiveable Humza Arshad
explores the possibility of forgiving the
gang who stabbed his cousin, seeking
out those who have made the
headlines by readily forgiving their
11PM
Daliso Chaponda and Rob Beckett
10.30 Newsnight Presented by Kirsty Wark
10.30 Regional News; Weather
10.45 Britain’s Notorious Prisons:
Wormwood Scrubs Documentary
telling the truth about life behind the
walls of Wormwood Scrubs, one of
Britain’s most notorious jails. It
includes the story of spy George
Sitcom about a religious family who
believe the world is going to end.
See Viewing Guide (1/6) (AD)
10.35 Everyone Else Burns David insists
his family live by the rules in an old
book and demands his family follow it.
See Viewing Guide (2/6) (AD)
11.05 Jon & Lucy’s Odd Couples
Counts A sister battles a doctor
shortage and a high influx of walk-in
patients — a perfect storm that means
she needs to call on her years of
experience to keep the shift on track.
A 70-year-old is blue-lighted in having
suffered a serious fall at home (r)
11.05 999: Critical Condition A man is

attackers. He also has an unexpected
encounter with a killer and debates the
issue with a forgiveness academic (AD)
11.40 The Graham Norton Show Graham
is joined by Michelle Williams, Helena
Bonham Carter, Russell T Davies,
Oti Mabuse and Brendan Fraser (r)
11.15 I, Tonya (15, 2017) Ice skater Tonya
Harding rises through the ranks at
the US figure skating championships,
but her future in the sport is thrown
into question by a shocking incident
after her ex-husband steps in. Craig
Gillespie’s biopic with Margot Robbie
Blake’s 1966 escape from the Scrubs,
which had a long-lasting impact on the
prison system as a whole (r) (AD)
11.45 English Football League
Highlights Jules Breach presents
the latest action from the EFL
The comedians Sara Pascoe and Steen
Raskopoulos take on Blue singer
Duncan James and Rodrigo Reis in a
head-to-head contest to decide who
has the best relationship (2/6) (r)
rushed in with horrific head and neck
wounds after being attacked with a
machete. The doctors also treat a
motorbike racer who was injured
during his last event before retirement,
and a 17-year-old who fell on his head
from a substantial height (4/4) (r)

12.30am Would I Lie to You? Shirley Ballas, Steven 1.10am Sign Zone: Countryfile John Craven and 1.30am Teleshopping 3.00 All Elite Wrestling: 12.05am I Literally Just Told You (r) 1.00 Travel 12.05am Police Interceptors (r) 1.00 The LeoVegas
Late

Bartlett, Josie Gibson and Chris McCausland bolster the
deceitful talents of team captains Lee Mack and David
Mitchell. Rob Brydon hosts (r) 1.00 Have I Got News for
You. Jess Phillips MP guest hosts, with panellists Jon
Richardson and Hannah Fry (r) 1.35-6.00 BBC News
Charlotte Smith visit Audley End House in Essex, where
they help out with winter cleaning and maintenance and
examine a collection of thousands of artefacts (r) (SL)
2.05-3.05 Dragons’ Den. Pitches include a couple who
organise social events for four-legged friends (r) (AD, SL)
Dynamite. Hard-hitting action 4.40 Unwind with ITV.
Daily escape designed to calm the mind 5.35-6.00 Simply
Raymond Blanc. The chef shares recipes ideas for
breakfast and brunch, baking the perfect granola bar and
showing how to make omelettes in three ways (r) (SL)
Man: 48 Hours in Dublin (r) (AD) 1.25 The Caribbean:
Billionaires’ Paradise (r) (AD, SL) 2.20 Kitchen
Nightmares USA (r) 3.05 Old House, New Home (r) (AD)
4.00 Grand Designs (r) (AD) 4.55 Location, Location,
Location (r) 5.50-6.10 Sunday Brunch Best Bits (r)
Live Casino Show 3.00 Entertainment News on 5 3.05
The Yorkshire Steam Railway: All Aboard (r) 3.55 OMG:
My Barbie Body (r) (SL) 4.40 House Busters (r) (SL)
5.10 House Doctor (r) (SL) 5.35 Peppa Pig (r) (SL) 5.40
Paw Patrol (r) (SL) 5.50-6.00 Pip and Posy (r) (SL)
the times | Monday January 23 2023 13

television & radio

During the hour-long Billingham, who admits We then rejoin our trio
Jeremy Kyle Live: special, the disgraced
SAS: Who Dares to hating this part of
The Last of Us — Joel (Pedro Pascal),
Film Fatherhood
Ghislaine Behind Wins Sky Atlantic/Now, 9pm Film4, 9pm
socialite also makes the training process his smuggling partner
Bars Channel 4, 9pm
some startling himself. The volunteers’ After all the excitement Tess (Anna Torv) and Kevin Hart stars in the
TalkTV, 7pm revelations about her Another bout of macho tasks include traversing about this adaptation of Bella Ramsey’s young first feature film from
In which Ghislaine relationship with derring-do, shouting, the “trainasium”, the cult video game, it’s Ellie, who may hold the production stables
Maxwell gives her first Jeffrey Epstein. She vomiting and pained suspended 50ft above clear that this is a the key to a cure — in of Barack and Michelle
filmed interview from says: “I feel completely faces as 20 new civilian the ground, before rather generic post- their journey across Obama, which is based
prison. Of the infamous divorced from the recruits face the completing one of the apocalyptic adventure an infection-ravaged on the true-life tale of a
photo of Prince person that people harrowing ordeal of most dangerous story, if an excellent US. Oddly bereft of Boston tech worker
Andrew with Virginia reference and talk the jungle phase of the infiltration methods and plushly produced jump-out-of-the-seat forced to raise his
Giuffre she says: “It’s a about in all the SAS selection process. used by the SAS — a one. Episode two begins scares, it’s still newborn daughter
fake. I don’t believe it is newspaper articles and Filmed in Vietnam, waterfall abseil. And with a flashback to pleasingly full of alone when his wife
real for a second. In TV shows and it’s led by the former this time the drop is Indonesia in 2003 and tension and fungal dies of a postpartum
fact I am sure it is not.” podcasts.” SAS soldier Billy 215ft. Oof. the start of the horror. menace. embolism. (12, 2021)

Sky Max
6.00am Stop, Search, Seize (r) 8.00 DC’s
Legends of Tomorrow (r) (AD) 9.00 The Blacklist
(r) (AD) 10.00 Supergirl (r) 11.00 NCIS: New
Orleans (r) 1.00pm Hawaii Five-0 (r) 2.00
S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 3.00 The Blacklist (r) (AD)
4.00 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (r) (AD) 5.00
Supergirl. M’yrnn causes psychic disturbances (r)
6.00 Stargate SG-1. A deadly spell is cast. (r)
7.00 Stargate SG-1. The team rescues a
stranded child from a diseased planet (r)
8.00 Agatha Raisin. The detective opens her
own agency, but with business slow she goes to
a haunted house in search of work. Return of the
mystery drama starring Ashley Jensen (r) (AD)
10.00 A League of Their Own Road Trip: Dingle
to Dover. Freddie Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp
spend time with Tyson Fury (r) (AD)
11.00 Road Wars. An insight into vehicle
crime and how it can be prevented (r)
12.00 The Force: North East (r) 2.00am NCIS:
New Orleans (r) 3.00 Hawaii Five-0 (r) 4.00
S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 5.00 Highway Patrol (r)
Sky Atlantic
6.00am Fish Town (r) 7.55 The Sopranos (r)
10.05 Ray Donovan (r) (AD) 12.10pm Game of
Thrones (r) (AD) 1.10 Six Feet Under (r) (AD)
3.30 The Sopranos (r) 5.45 Ray Donovan. An
FBI agent investigates the shootout (r) (AD)
6.50 Your Honor. Crime drama starring Bryan
Cranston as a New Orleans Judge who faced
with an impossible decision when his son
is involved in a tragic accident (r) (AD)
7.55 Game of Thrones. The end of the Baratheon
brothers’ rivalry provides Lord Baelish with
a chance to further his ambitions (r) (AD)
9.00 The Last of Us. Joel and Tess try to hand
Ellie to the Fireflies. See Viewing Guide (2/9) (r)
10.05 Succession. Kendall tries to find allies in
his fight to take over control of Waystar. Greg
turns to his grandfather for help (2/9) (r) (AD)
11.15 Big Little Lies. Madeline gets under
Renata’s skin in retaliation (r) (AD)
12.20am Babylon Berlin (r) 1.20 Der Pass (r)
2.20 Game of Thrones (r) (AD) 3.30 In
Treatment (r) 4.00 Fish Town (r)
Sky Documentaries Sky Arts
6.00am Fish Town (r) 7.00 Discovering: Natalie
Wood (r) (AD) 8.00 The Directors (r) (AD) 9.00
The Sixties (r) (AD) 10.00 Escobar by Escobar
(r) 11.00 Urban Secrets (r) 12.00 Our Towns (r)
(AD) 1.50pm King in the Wilderness (r) 4.00
The Directors (r) (AD) 5.00 Discovering: Natalie
Wood. Portrait of the American actress (r) (AD)
6.00 The Sixties. American culture (r) (AD)
7.00 Escobar by Escobar. The story behind
the cursed Escobar empire (1/4) (r)
8.00 Urban Secrets. Bristol’s history (3/8) (r)
9.00 FILM: Forbidden Games — The Justin
Fashanu Story (12, 2017) The turbulent
life and tragic death of Justin Fashanu
10.50 Deadline Day: Football’s Transfer Window.
Taking a look at the transfer market (r)
11.50 1972: Munich’s Black September.
Documentary exploring the events of the 1972
Munich massacre from three perspectives (r)
1.45am Endangered (r) (AD) 3.30 Paycheck to
Paycheck: The Life & Times of Katrina Gilbert (r)
5.00 Discovering: Natalie Wood (r) (AD)
6.00am Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos
6.50 LSO: Bernard Haitink Conducts Mozart and
Bruckner 9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00
Discovering: Roy Scheider 12.00 Rodin: In His
Time 1.00pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
2.00 Doddie Weir Portrait 3.00 Landscape
Artist of the Year 2015 4.00 Discovering: Joseph
Cotten 5.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
6.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A Confederate
farmer escapes a hanging when the rope breaks
6.30 Alfred Hitchcock Presents. A teacher spots
one of her students leaving a nightclub
7.00 André Rieu: New York Memories
9.30 Laurie Lee: The Lost Interview (AD)
10.30 Classic FM Rising Stars With Julian Lloyd
Webber 2022. A showcase for young musicians
11.30 Punchdrunk: Behind the Mask
12.30am I Am Patrick Swayze (AD) 2.30 Lenny
Henry’s Got the Blues (AD) 3.30 The South Bank
Show 4.30 Tales of the Unexpected (AD) 5.00
Cream: Music Icons 5.30 Discovering: Meat Loaf
Sky Main Event
6.00am Sky Sports News 7.00 Good Morning
Sports Fans 7.45 Live Big Bash League: Hobart
Hurricanes v Sydney Sixers. Coverage of the T20
match from Blundstone Arena, Hobart 11.45
The Best of The Big Bash (AD) 12.00 The
Football Show 1.00pm Transfer Talk 2.00 Sky
Sports News 3.00 Live SA20: MI Cape Town
v Pretoria Capitals. Coverage of the match
from Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town
7.00 Live MNF: Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur
(Kick-off 8.00). Coverage of the Premier League
match from Craven Cottage, as the teams meet
for the second time this season. The reverse
fixture took place last September, when Spurs
recorded a 2-1 victory thanks to goals in each
half from Pierre Hojbjerg and Harry Kane,
before Aleksandar Mitrovic notched
a consolation effort for the visitors
11.00 Deadline Day: Football’s Transfer Window.
A look at the transfer market, featuring
behind-the-scenes access to players (AD)
12.00 Sky Sports News. A news round-up
Variations
BBC1 N Ireland
As BBC1 except: 7.00pm Hope Street. A boat’s
engine explodes 7.45 Northern Irish Homes.
Documentary 8.00 EastEnders. Kat takes care
of a conflicted Lily 8.30-9.00 Dogs, Dealers
and Organised Crime — Panorama 10.40
Hooded Men — Britain’s Torture Playbook
11.40 Humza: Forgiving the Unforgiveable
12.40am-1.30 The Graham Norton Show (r)
BBC1 Scotland
As BBC1 except: 8.00pm-9.00 Disclosure:
The Dog Dealers. Sam Poling investigates the
ruthless world of organised crime’s trade in
dogs 10.40 Scot Squad (r) 11.10 Sportscene:
SWPL Highlights 11.55 Humza: Forgiving the
Unforgiveable 12.55am The Graham Norton
Show (r) 1.45 Would I Lie to You? (r) 2.15
Have I Got News for You (r) 2.45 Weather for
the Week Ahead 2.50-6.00 BBC News
BBC1 Wales
As BBC1 except: 8.00pm Welsh Rugby Under
the Spotlight. Claims of sexism, bullying and
sexual harassment at the Welsh Rugby Union
8.30-9.00 A Special School 10.40 Dogs,
Dealers and Organised Crime — Panorama
11.10 Humza: Forgiving the Unforgiveable
12.10am-1.00 The Graham Norton Show (r)

BBC2 N Ireland
As BBC2 except: 7.00pm-7.30 The One Show
10.00-10.30 Trad Ar Fad! Performances

BBC2 Wales
As BBC2 except: 10.00pm-10.30 Age of
Outrage. Last of three compilation episodes (r)

ITV1 Wales
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm Sharp End
11.10-11.45 Fishlock’s Choice (r)

TalkTV BBC4 Talking Pictures Film4 More4 STV

6.00am James Max. An initial insight into the
day’s top stories 6.30 The Julia Hartley-Brewer
Breakfast Show. All the stories you need to
know to start your day 10.00 The Independent
Republic of Mike Graham. The host takes a look
at the morning newspapers 1.00pm Ian Collins.
Hard-hitting monologues, debates and dedicated
time for your calls 4.00 Vanessa Feltz. The host
guides you through the big stories of the day
7.00 Jeremy Kyle Live. The broadcaster
takes on the issues that really matter
8.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored. The host
presents his verdict on the day’s global events
with debate, straight-talking interviews with
the world’s leading figures, and plenty of fun
9.00 The Talk. Join a panel of opinionated
famous faces from the worlds of politics,
showbiz, business and current affairs to debate
the hot topics everybody’s talking about
10.00 First Edition. An energetic
look at tomorrow’s news, tonight
11.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored
12.00 Live: Petrie Hosken 1.00am Vanessa
Feltz 2.00 Jeremy Kyle Live 3.00 Piers Morgan
Uncensored 4.00 The Talk 5.00 James Max
ITV2
6.00am World’s Funniest Videos 6.35 Totally
Bonkers Guinness World Records (SL) 7.00
Secret Crush (SL) 8.00 Dress to Impress 9.00
Chuck 10.00 One Tree Hill 11.00 The O.C 12.00
Secret Crush 1.00pm Dress to Impress 2.00
Family Fortunes 3.05 Chuck 4.00 One Tree Hill
5.00 The O.C. Kirsten’s sister moves in
6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD)
7.00 Ninja Warrior UK: Race for Glory. More
competitors take on the obstacle course (AD)
8.00 Superstore. Glenn returns from quarantine
to resume store manager duties (AD)
8.30 Superstore. Mateo, Glenn and Sandra
try to help Glenn move on after Amy (AD)
9.00 Love Island. Maya Jama presents
all the latest action from the villa
10.05 Georgia Toffolo: In Search of Perfect Skin.
Examining the dangerous lengths that
people go to for the ideal complexion
11.05 Family Guy. Peter seeks a turkey (AD)
11.35 Family Guy. Stewie is reborn (AD)
12.00 American Dad! (AD) 12.55am Superstore
(AD) 1.50 Kavos Weekender. David is isolating
2.45 Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping
7.00pm Great British Railway Journeys.
Michael Portillo travels from Belfast to Portrush
7.30 The Joy of Painting. Bob Ross captures the
beauty of the beach as the sun goes down, in
a seascape painted in gold, purple and orange
8.00 Winterwatch 1963: The Big Freeze.
Chris Packham introduces a documentary from
the BBC archive that takes a look at the worst
British winter of the 20th century, and
also explores how it affected wildlife
9.00 Killer Storms and Cruel Winters — The
History of Extreme Weather: Timewatch. Dr
Lucie Green reveals how some of the UK’s worst
weather disasters occurred many years ago,
despite the belief that the brunt of climate
change has been felt in the 21st century (2/6)
10.00 The US and the Holocaust. How the first
reports of the killing reached the United States,
prompting the Allies to advance and finally
uncover the sheer scale and horror of
the Holocaust. Last in the series
12.05am Ancient Worlds. The paradoxes of
Greek civilisation 1.05 Great British Railway
Journeys 1.35 The Joy of Painting 2.05-3.05
Winterwatch 1963: The Big Freeze
ITV3
6.00am Classic Emmerdale 6.35 Classic
Coronation Street (AD) 8.05 George and Mildred
9.15 Agatha Christie’s Marple (AD) 11.30
Heartbeat (AD) 1.40pm Classic Emmerdale
2.40 Classic Coronation Street (AD) 3.45
Inspector Morse. Arrested on suspicion of
murder, Morse fights to clear his name, unaware
that he is the real killer’s next target (AD)
6.00 Heartbeat. Nick is attacked (AD)
7.00 Heartbeat. Nick investigates a hit-and-run
incident and uncovers the darker side of rural
life as badger baiters from Middlesbrough visit
the village in search of “sport” (8/10) (AD)
8.00 Ridley. A retired detective Alex Ridley is
called upon by his former colleague to assist
on an unsolved missing person’s case. Crime
drama starring Adrian Dunbar (1/4) (AD)
10.00 Scott & Bailey. A man acquitted of rape
and murder is found dead. Meanwhile, Rachel
receives devastating news (3/6) (AD)
11.00 Scott & Bailey. A porn star is suspected
of murdering her husband (4/6) (AD)
12.00 Agatha Christie’s Marple 2.05am
Unwind with ITV 2.30 Teleshopping
6.00am Get Some In! 6.30 FILM: Leave Her
to Heaven (U, 1945) Film noir starring Gene
Tierney 8.40 FILM: Mutiny (U, 1952)
Nautical adventure starring Mark Stevens 10.15
FILM: Ramrod (U, 1947) Western with Joel
McCrea and Veronica Lake (b/w) 12.05pm
FILM: King of the Khyber Rifles (PG, 1953)
Adventure starring Tyrone Power 2.05 Away for
the Day in 1952 2.30 Crown Court 3.00 FILM:
Sapphire (PG, 1959) Murder mystery starring
Nigel Patrick 4.45 FILM: Naked Fury (U,
1959) Crime drama with Kenneth Cope (b/w)
6.00 The Footage Detectives
7.00 In Suspicious Circumstances
8.00 The Main Chance. Gifts in solicitors’
offices can have starting repercussions
9.00 FILM: Cisco Pike (15, 1971)
Crime drama starring Kris Kristofferson
10.50 Secret Army. Monique is shot
11.55 FILM: Joseph Andrews (15, 1976)
Period comedy starring Peter Firth
1.50am FILM: Death Line (18, 1973)
Horror starring Donald Pleasence and Norman
Rossington 3.35 Vacant Possession 4.40 Look
at Life 4.50 The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre
ITV4
6.00am The Saint 7.00 The Return of Sherlock
Holmes (AD, SL) 8.05 Magnum, PI 9.10 The
Sweeney 10.15 Minder (AD) 11.25 The Saint
12.30pm The Return of Sherlock Holmes (AD)
1.40 The Motorbike Show 2.40 Magnum, PI
3.45 The Sweeney 4.50 Minder (AD)
6.00 The Motorbike Show. Henry Cole
takes a wild ride through Gran Canaria
7.00 River Monsters. Jeremy Wade investigates
a bloody attack in the Parana River in Argentina
7.30 Monster Carp. Tom Dove and Neil Spooner
begin a new adventure in the South of France
9.00 FILM: Unstoppable (12, 2010) Two
train operators must stop a runaway locomotive
carrying toxic chemicals before it causes a
major disaster. Tony Scott’s action thriller
starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine
11.05 FILM: Windtalkers (15, 2002)
A traumatised American soldier is assigned to
protect two Navajo code-carriers during the
invasion of Saipan. Second World War drama
starring Nicolas Cage and Christian Slater (AD)
1.45am Minder. George Cole stars (AD, SL)
2.40 Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping
11.00am The Riddle of the Sands (U,
1979) Spy thriller with Simon MacCorkindale
1.10pm It Should Happen to You (U, 1954)
Comedy starring Judy Holliday (b/w) 2.55
Destroyer (U, 1943) Wartime adventure with
Edward G Robinson (b/w) 5.00 Footsteps in
the Fog (PG, 1955) Period thriller starring
Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons
6.45 Made in America (12, 1993) A woman
tries to locate her daughter’s biological father.
Romantic comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg,
Ted Danson, Nia Long and Will Smith
9.00 Fatherhood (12, 2021) A father brings
up his baby girl after the death of his wife who
died a day after their daughter’s birth. Comedy
drama starring Kevin Hart. See Viewing Guide
11.10 The Craft (15, 1996) Witches use their
powers to take revenge on classmates who have
wronged them, but their leader’s lust for power
drives her mad. Horror with Robin Tunney
1.15am-4.00 Wings of Desire (15, 1987)
An angel watching over the divided city of Berlin
falls in love with a circus performer and wishes
to become human. Wim Wenders’ fantasy
starring Bruno Ganz and Solveig Dommartin
Drama
6.00am Teleshopping 7.20 All Creatures Great
and Small 8.15 The Bill 9.15 Classic Holby City
10.35 Classic Casualty 11.40 The Bill 12.40pm
Classic EastEnders 2.00 Howards’ Way 3.10 Pie
in the Sky 4.10 All Creatures Great and Small
5.20 As Time Goes By
6.00 Are You Being Served?
6.40 Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em
7.20 Last of the Summer Wine. Compo’s ferret
seeks shelter in Nora’s washing basket
8.00 The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. The
discovery of an Asian man’s body sparks another
case for Lynley. Amid a tense backdrop, Havers
puts her career on the line to save a child’s life.
Detective drama starring Nathaniel Parker (4/4)
10.00 New Tricks. The team investigates the
case of a murdered vicar who received racist
hate mail in the lead up to his death (3/10) (AD)
11.20 Hustle. The con artists target a couple of
diet-plan fraudsters whose latest weight-loss
scam gave their friend a heart attack (4/6)
12.40am Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em. Frank
looks for work 1.20 As Time Goes By 2.00
Lovejoy 2.45 Howards’ Way 4.00 Teleshopping
8.55am Kirstie’s House of Craft 9.15 A Place in
the Sun: Home or Away 10.05 A New Life in the
Sun 11.05 Find It, Fix It, Flog It 1.10pm Heir
Hunters 3.10 Four in a Bed 5.55 Kirstie and
Phil’s Love It or List It. In Lincoln (AD)
6.55 Escape to the Château. Dick and Angel set
up a campsite on the château grounds (AD)
7.55 Grand Designs. Kevin McCloud revisits a
British woman who moved to southern Spain
with her now late husband planning to build
a home in the Andalusian hills (10/12) (AD)
9.00 George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations.
The painstaking restoration of a former
glassworks in Brighton (3/5) (AD)
10.00 24 Hours in Police Custody. A DS
investigates when a coroner asks police to look
into the sudden death of a 48-year-old (AD)
11.05 24 Hours in A&E. A staff nurse attends to
a chef who accidentally stabbed himself as he
was chopping tomatoes and a father who fell
over and knocked himself out while drunk (AD)
12.10am Emergency Helicopter Medics.
Treating a man hit by a train (AD) 1.15 8 Out of
10 Cats Does Countdown (AD) 2.20 24 Hours in
A&E (AD) 3.25-3.50 Food Unwrapped (AD)
Yesterday
6.00am Murder Maps 8.00 Abandoned
Engineering (AD) 9.00 WW2 — Frontlines (AD)
10.00 Warbird Workshop 11.00 Fred Dibnah’s
Made in Britain 11.30 Fred Dibnah’s Railway
Collection 12.00 Great British Railway Journeys
2.00pm Bangers and Cash 4.00 WW2 —
Frontlines (AD) 5.00 Warbird Workshop
6.00 Great British Railway Journeys
6.30 Great British Railway Journeys
7.00 Fred Dibnah’s Made in Britain
7.30 Fred Dibnah’s Railway Collection (1/11)
8.00 Hornby: A Model World. The musician
Jools Holland reveals his incredible 45ft layout
hidden away in his loft (2/11) (AD)
9.00 The Architecture the Railways Built. Tim
Dunn visits Ribblehead Viaduct in the Yorkshire
Dales, and tours the breathtaking stations of
the Hungerbergbahn in Innsbruck (4/10) (AD)
10.00 Bangers and Cash. Three MGs from the
70s turn up at the garage, still covered in
original factory wax (6/10)
11.00 Abandoned Engineering (6/11) (AD)
12.00 Great British Railway Journeys
1.00am Murder Maps 3.00 Teleshopping
As ITV1 except: 10.30pm STV News; Weather
10.40 Scotland Tonight. Current affairs 11.05
Kate Garraway’s Life Stories (r) 12.05am
English Football League Highlights 1.50
Teleshopping 4.40-5.35 Night Vision
UTV
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.45 View
from Stormont. Political developments
BBC Scotland
2.00pm Sign Zone: My Kind of Town: Larkhall
(r) 2.30 Sign Zone: Iain Robertson Rambles —
The Hebridean Way (r) 3.00-4.00 Sign Zone:
This Farming Life (r) 7.00 The Seven 7.30 Live
Sportscene — Scottish Cup: Darvel v Aberdeen
(Kick-off 7.45). At Recreation Park 10.00 River
City (AD) 10.30 The Scotts (r) 11.00 Raiders
of the Lost Archive (r) 11.30-12.00 Sky High
Club: Scotland and Beyond (r) (AD)
BBC Alba
6.00am Alba Today 5.00pm Treubh an
Tuathanais (Big Barn Farm) (r) 5.15 Su Pic
(Peek Zoo) (r) 5.25 AH-AH/No-No 5.30 Pip &
Posy 5.40 ’S E Iasg a Th’Annam (I’m a Fish) (r)
5.45 Piseag & Cuilean/Kit & Pup (r) 5.50
Stòiridh (r) 6.00 Ronia, Nighean a’ Mheirlich/
Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter (r) 6.25
Geamaichean Gorach (r) 6.30 Dubhlain CBBC
Alba (r) 6.35 Saidheans Sporsail (Backyard
Science) (r) 7.00 Fuine (Home Baking) (r) 7.30
SpeakGaelic 8.00 An Là (News) 8.30
Gàrraidhean Mòra na h-Alba (r) 9.00 An Clò
Mòr 9.30 Trusadh — Beatha sa Bhan (r) 10.30
Na Gleidheadairean (The Animal Keepers) (r)
11.30 OMC! (r) 12.00-6.00am Alba Today
S4C
6.00am Cyw 12.00 News; Weather 12.05pm
Cymry ar Gynfas (r) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00
Arfordir Cymru: Llyn (r) 1.30 Wil ac Aeron:
Taith Rwmania (r) 2.00 News; Weather 2.05
Prynhawn Da 3.00 News; Weather 3.05
Cynefin (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr: Cywion Bach (r)
4.05 Nico Nôg (r) 4.15 Pablo (r) 4.30 Guto
Gwningen (r) 4.45 Awyr Iach (r) 5.00 Stwnsh:
Y Dyfnfor (r) 5.25 Cer I Greu (r) 5.45 Bernard
(r) 5.50 Dathlu! (r) 5.55 Ffeil 6.00 Straeon y
Ffin (r) 6.30 Rownd a Rownd (r) (AD) 6.57
News 7.00 Heno 7.30 News; Weather 8.00
Sgwrs Dan y Lloer 8.25 Ffasiwn Drefn (AD)
8.55 News; Weather 9.00 Teulu Shadog:
’Nôl ar y Fferm 9.30 Ralïo+ 10.00 Sgorio
10.30-11.35 Efaciwîs (r) (AD)
14 Monday January 23 2023 | the times

MindGames
General Knowledge Crossword No 165 Codeword No 4805 Train Tracks No 1843

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

10 11

12

13 14 15

16

17 18 19

20

21 22

23 24

Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village

25 26 B. The numbers indicate how many sections of rail go in each
row and column. There are only straight rails and curved rails.
The track cannot cross itself.
Across 25 County town that inspired
1 Gripping tool in carpentry Casterbridge in the works
and metalwork (4) of Thomas Hardy (10) Mini Sudoku
3 Heavy metal band formed in 26 --- James, blues vocalist whose
the 1970s in Sheffield (3,7) signature song was At Last (4) Fill the grid so
10 Moroccan city overlooking that every
the Strait of Gibraltar (7) Down column, every
11 Arthurian son of Lancelot 1 Old-fashioned name row and every
who sought the Holy Grail (7) for sulphuric acid (7) 3x2 box contains
Every letter in this crossword-style grid has been substituted for a number from 1
the digits 1 to 6
12 Sitcom featuring Norwich’s 2 Anglicised spelling of a to 26. Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters
most cringeworthy province in the northwest of already provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main
broadcaster (2,4,9) the Republic of Ireland (9) grid and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been
accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Saturday’s solution, right
13 Bela ---, Hungarian-born actor 4 Princess abducted by Zeus in
famed for playing Dracula (6) the form of a white bull (6) Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or
14 Cold weather accessory (8) 5 Cricket delivery turning text TIMECODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network
17 Most famous invention of from a right-hander’s access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution
Percy Shaw (1890-1976) (8) on side to off (3,5) call 0905 757 0142. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network
18 Bird such as the kea, 6 Traditional name for the access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).
kakapo or galah (6) founders of the Plymouth
21 Pieces of crispy crackling Colony in 1620 (7,7) Lexica No 6711 No 6712
eaten as a snack (4,11) 7 Plant louse or greenfly (5)
23 Yellowish variety of quartz (7) 8 One of the two Major
24 Regional capital of League baseball teams
I M C A L E O R S S Winning Move
Umbria in Italy (7) based in Los Angeles (7) F E E R
Last week’s solution 9 British sprinter, the White to play.
2019 women’s 200m L S O This position is from
S P E C I A L S B S H
world champion (4,5-5) Lalic-Kumar, Hastings
R L C P A R A B O L A
15 Period of 20,160 minutes (9) R A P R Masters 2022/23.
B U T A N E O A L S
N R T U R I N G T E S T 16 Nickname of the British The Hastings event is
E K I R N I I B O A
Army Reserve (8) the longest-running
C L O G C H A R L E S T O N
L A A N A H G
17 Peninsula projecting into the annual chess event in
Atlantic from southeastern R H N R the world, having
S A M B U C A F R I E N D S
C L I A O P O Massachusetts (4,3) started in 1895. This
H O T E L D U L A C P U M A 19 Deep-fried tortilla topped with H Y D E year Sarunas Sulskis of
U O G H E I
meat, cheese and beans (7) Lithuania won. Bogdan
B A R R Y W H I T E R N B W A N D C E E U A T Lalic has been a regular
20 Commodity of predominant
E O A E L A T V I A at Hastings. How did
he he
R A D I A T O R L O C importance to a nation (6) Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a crash through here?
T E T S T E I N W A Y 22 Revolving machine part (5) completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters

KenKen Easy No 5797 Futoshiki No 4396 Kakuro No 3355

Fill the grid

using the
numbers 1 to 9
only. The
numbers in each
horizontal or
vertical run of
white squares
add up to the
total in the
triangle to its left
or above it. The
same number
may occur more
than once in a
row or column,
but not within
the same run of
white squares.

All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains
each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between
corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block, the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller
using the operation indicated by the symbol. (<) than the number next to it.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 15

MindGames
times2
T2 Crossword No 9121
CROSSWORD No 9121 Brain Trainer Cell Blocks No 4688
Just follow the instructions from left to right, starting with the number given to reach an answer at the end.
Divide the grid

ANSWER ANSWER ANSWER

1 2 3 4 5 6
1/2 3/4 7/9 into square or
EASY 26 + 7 x3 +7
OF IT
–9
OF IT
–6
OF IT
x4 rectangular
blocks, each
containing one
7 8 9 digit only. Every
block must
MEDIUM 117 x 5 + 97 + 1/2 – 89 50% + 68 80% + 78 + 1/2 contain the
OF IT OF IT OF IT OF IT number of cells
10 11 indicated by the
digit inside it.
12
HARDER 142 x 6 + 358 90% x 3 – 559 75% + 543 x 2 – 187
OF IT OF IT
13 14 15

16

17 18 19
Polygon Set Square No 3358
From these letters, make words of
20 Enter each of
three or more letters, always including
the numbers
the central letter. Answers must be in
from 1 to 9 in
21 22 the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding
the grid, so that
capitalised words, plurals, conjugated
the six sums
verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending
work. We’ve
in LY, comparatives and superlatives.
placed two
How you rate 16 words, average;
23 numbers to get
22, good; 25, very good; 29, excellent
you started.
Saturday’s answers Each sum
Across 17 Piece of work (4) should be
agism, aspirin, gasp, gramps, grasp,
1 Timepiece (6,5) 18 Queen; station (8) calculated left
inspan, iris, mainspring, naris, nisi,
to right or top
7 Cool, distant (5) 21 Church kneeler (7) pianism, prism, raisin, rasp, rasping,
to bottom.
rising, samp, sari, sarin, sigma, sign,
8 Attempted (7) 22 Well known (5) simian, simp, sing, snag, snap, snig, snip,
10 — Lights; — Powerhouse (8) 23 West African country (6,5) sniping, spam, span, spang, spar, sparing,
spin, sprag, sprain, sprig, spring Please note, BODMAS does not apply
11 Male deer (4)
13 Red fruit (6) Down
Killer Gentle No 8699 Solutions
15 Alcoholic spirit (6) 1 Style of embroidery (5,6)
2 Singing group (5)
Solution to Crossword 9120 Quick Cryptic 2314 Codeword 4804 Kakuro 3354
3 Very pale colour (3-5)
P I P E DE F E RR ED
E R L N A R 4 Stone fruit (6)
R OO T S E N T EN CE 5 River at York (4)
S P C C A D Y 6 Inert gas (7)
O V E RA C T I N G
N R R S G A R 9 Style of swimming (5-6)
A C T UA L A L L U RE 12 Obliged, appreciative (8)
L Y M A I D S 14 Treats badly (7)
S E RP EN T I NE
K D L O G E A 16 Fruit gatherer (6)
Train Tracks 1842
E L I G I B L E ON ER 19 Juliet's lover (5)
R S S L C C Chess — Winning Move Suko 3706 Square Routes
20 Aperture (4) 202
B AC HE L O R ME SH 1 Rxf5! is a powerful
breakthrough, winning a pawn P S D R E
Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the and wrecking the black position.
answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s 1 ... exf5 drops the queen to AM AG A
network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm). 2 Bxf7 and 1 ... Qxf5 runs into R O N E P
2 Bc2, pinning the queen and G T I R A
emerging with an overwhelming
material advantage E N C H E
Bridge Andrew Robson Brain Trainer Easy 84; Medium 759; Harder 4,961

Cell Blocks 4687 Set Square 3357 KenKen 5796 Word watch
Duplicate Pairs is a fascinating Dealer: North, Vulnerability: Both
version of the game. Your real Kyack (c) A type of
Pairs ♠ AKJ6 pannier bag (Collins)
opponents are the pairs holding Edriophthalmian (a) (Of
your cards at the other tables (not ♥ KQ J 8 crustaceans) having
the nice people to your left and ♦A J 4
♣8 3
Killer Tricky No 8700 stalkless eyes (Chambers)
right — who will be batting for you Arco (b) A bow for a
♠ 85 N ♠ 42 stringed instrument (OED)
on every other round). If you are ♥ 10 5 3 2 W E ♥ 9 6 4
playing in the Blue Ribbon Pairs ♦10 9 6 3 2 S ♦KQ 7 5
final (as you were), those other ♣Q 10 ♠ Q 10 9 7 3 ♣7 5 4 2
players holding your cards will be ♥A 7 Futoshiki 4395 Tredoku 1769 Sudoku 13,784
no mugs. If there’s an easy 7♠ , you ♦8
may have to gamble 7NT for the ♣A K J 9 6
extra ten points ...
South would have made 7♠ S W N E
easily. Not so 7NT. He won West’s 1♣(1) Pass
ten of diamonds lead with 1♠ Pass 4♠ Pass
dummy’s ace and crossed to the 4NT(2) Pass 5♣(3) Pass
ace of clubs, West playing the ten 5NT(4) Pass 7♥ (5) Pass
7NT(6) End
(theoretically irrelevant). He then
cashed the five spades and fol- (1) Playing Five-card Majors and “Clubs
Quintagram
lowed with the four hearts. two, diamonds four” (as is the modern
Here was the ending as the last trend — which I’d certainly endorse ahead 1 Up Killer 8698
of “Better Minor”, as those of you watching 2 Gang
heart was led from dummy. my Strong and Fives BridgeCast channel 3 Agency
♠- will know). 4 Conference
♥J (led)
(2) Roman Key Card Blackwood.
5 Press ahead
♦J
♣8 (3) Zero or three of “five aces” (incl ♠ K).
♠- ♠- (4) Confirming all the key cards and inviting
Lexica 6709
♥ 10 N ♥- a grand slam.
♦9 W E ♦K B
♣Q S ♣7 5 (5) A clever shot, showing a trick source in
♠- hearts, hoping the bid will enable partner to Y E T B

♥- count 13 top tricks and bid 7NT, and so earn E O I L

♦- those oh-so-crucial (at pairs) extra ten
H U I
♣K J 9 points.
East, who had already had to dis- (6) South can count 12 tricks — five spades, U G U N

card the queen of diamonds, now
had to throw a club to keep his
master king of diamonds. When, at
trick 12, declarer led dummy’s club
and East followed low, declarer
reflected that East’s last card was
almost certainly the king of dia-
monds (West would not lead from a
king v 7NT). That meant finessing
was pointless. Declarer went up
four hearts (facing the presumed ♥ KQJx), G U S H D Quiz
one diamond and two clubs. South realises As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column,
that 7NT will at worst be on the club every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set Lexica 6710
1 Green 2 Oven 3 Aphrodite 4 When Harry Met Sally …
finesse. Note, in a lesser event it would be of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number 5 Channel 5 6 Donna Summer 7 Canada 8 Alamo
sensible to settle for 7♠ , as making 7♠ in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted F F D 9 William Heath Robinson 10 Edge of Darkness
will surely score well (even if 7NT is on). lines, a digit cannot be repeated. 11 Baudouin 12 Arthur Somervell 13 Cecilie Manz 14 Zulu
A W O K E
Contract: 7NT, Opening Lead: ♦10 S R F
15 Alesha Dixon
Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293
T A O
felled. Thirteen tricks and grand 6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s
slam made — via a show-up squeeze. puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network B E G G A R

with the king — and the queen was andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm). N E M
 23.01.23

For extra
puzzles
See page 10

Word watch Sudoku Easy No 13,785 Difficult No 13,786 Fiendish No 13,787

David Parfitt

Kyack
a To chatter idly and
noisily
b A Himalayan beast of
burden
c A type of pannier bag

Edriophthalmian
a Having stalkless eyes
b From a territory of
Roman Africa
c Of a by-product of
coal tar distillation
Arco
a A toothed whale
b A bow for a stringed
instrument
c A mystery or secret
Answers on page 15

Fill the grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

The Times Daily Quiz Olav Bjortomt Suko No 3706

1 The beers Peroni Nastro 11 Who was the last

Azzurro, Heineken and Belgian king to be
Beck’s come in bottles sovereign of the Congo?
of what colour?
12 Maud, A Shropshire
2 An air fryer is a Lad and A Broken Arc
small convection are song cycles by
type of which cooking which English composer
appliance? (1863-1937)?

3 In Greek myth, 13 Which Danish

Hermaphroditus was
a child of Hermes and
which Greek goddess?
4 Harry Burns and Sally
Albright are the title
characters in which Rob
Reiner movie?
5 David Vickery’s was the
first ever voice heard
on which terrestrial TV
channel in 1997?
6 Love to Love You Baby
is a 1975 single by which
“Queen of Disco”?
15
7 Which Commonwealth
country has more lakes
than the rest of the
world combined?
8 Davy Crockett wields
his rifle like a club in
Robert J Onderdonk’s
c 1903 painting Fall of
the … what?
9 Famed for his drawings
of odd contraptions,
which artist’s books
include How to Live in a
Flat (1936)?
10 Joe Don Baker played
the CIA agent Darius
Jedburgh in which 1985
BBC drama serial?
industrial designer
(b 1972) created the
Caravaggio lamp and
Micado table?
14 South African
cricket star Lance
Klusener shared his
nickname with which
1964 war film?
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so
15 Which former that the number in each circle is equal to
Mis-Teeq member is the sum of the four surrounding spaces,
pictured? and each colour total is correct
For interactive puzzles visit
Answers on page 15 thetimes.co.uk

The Times Quick Cryptic No 2315 by Joker

1 2 3 4 5 Across Down
1 A male singer having trouble 1 What may produce staggering
6 with king’s diplomat (10) pudding wine from Germany
7 Little bit of time before event (10)
7 8
(5) 2 Supporter of British Royal
8 Fruit with strange lustre (6) Academy (3)
10 Musical performance that’s not 3 Unproductive anger follows
9 setter regularly leaving bits out
entirely enchanted (3)
12 Make a silly person say where (7)
10 11 12 were those calories you 4 Cut loose from a daughter over
absorbed? (9) split (6)
13 What warms big building 5 Opening location for working
on Broadway initially lacking film actors (5)
13 14 15 temperature (6) 6 Shrub planted among girasole
14 Horseman catching a and eryngo (8)
16 marauder (6) 9 More pilots flying in London,
17 Annoyed worker eating one for instance (10)
17 18 19 roll for breakfast (9) 11 Like an old Greek place to get
19 Tear in manuscript (3) a soft drink (8)
20 Note about one short bovine 15 Diplomat having a tough time
leg bone (6) initially with pain (7)
21 Freeze a lot of what goes into 16 Hat a chap raised to father (6)
20 21 22
hot curry? (5) 18 A girl is after small steam
23 Seven sagas about uncivilised room (5)
state (10) 22 Sweet that’s lovely, though not
new (3)
23
Friday’s solution on page 15
 thegame
PAGE 11 PAGE 12
MONDAY JANUARY 23 2023
Cristian Romero: Farcical scenes as
World Cup has Chelsea’s WSL
left me mentally match called off
exhausted after six minutes
All the action
from the weekend

Unstoppable
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

Saka has evolved from smiling starlet to cold-blooded assassin

driving Arsenal to title, writes James Gheerbrant
PAGE 4
2 1GG Monday January 23 2023 | the times

thegame

Arteta’s workhorses earn a

Arsenal Manchester
United

32
Nketiah 24, 90
Saka 53
Rashford 17
Martínez 59

POSSESSION

58% 42%
SHOTS ON TARGET

5 4
FOULS

8 9
RATINGS
Arsenal (4-3-3): A Ramsdale 6 — B White 6
(T Tomiyasu 45min, 6), W Saliba 7, Gabriel 7,
O Zinchenko 8 — M Odegaard 8 (R Holding 90),
T Partey 8, G Xhaka 7 — B Saka 8, E Nketiah 7,
G Martinelli 7 (L Trossard 82). Booked White.
Man Utd (4-2-3-1): D De Gea 6 — A Wan-Bissaka 6,
R Varane 7 (A Garnacho 90), L Martínez 7, L Shaw
7 — S McTominay 6, C Eriksen 6 — Antony 6 (Fred
71), B Fernandes 7, M Rashford 8 — W Weghorst 6.
Booked Antony, Shaw.
Referee A Taylor. Attendance 60,325.

HENRY
WINTER
Chief Football Writer
At Emirates Stadium

There was a moment in the 27th

minute of this remarkable game of
great drama and significance when
Marcus Rashford, Manchester
United’s mobile menace, was closing
again on the Arsenal area. Rashford
had already scored and was
threatening more damage until
Martin Odegaard sprinted back, and
kept challenging Rashford. At one Nketiah flicks the Arsenal winner
point, Odegaard was lying on the past De Gea as his side maintained
ground, flicking at the ball until he their five-point margin over City
had prised it from Rashford.
So Arsenal deserved this seismic the press and scoring twice, including Wout Weghorst strove hard up front,
victory for the irresistible talent of the 90th-minute winner that A 3-2 THRASHING produced a couple of neat flicks and
Bukayo Saka, who did joyous Saka maintains Arsenal’s five-point As the match momentum graphic shows, Arsenal were in control for most of the helped out at defensive set pieces, but
things, running at defenders, cutting advantage over Guardiola’s side. game he is on loan from Burnley, he is not
in from the right and scoring with a Nketiah kept hurtling towards David an elite centre forward.
curling left-footed shot. Arsenal de Gea when United’s goalkeeper Arsenal more United are so reliant on Rashford
deserved the win for the poacher was attempting to build from the threatening for goals. Alejandro Garnacho could
touches of Eddie Nketiah and for the back. It was selfless work, often 24 53 90 have come on earlier and Rashford
agility of Aaron Ramsdale, but they unrewarded, but it guaranteed United moved central. Ten Hag sent on
also deserved it for their prodigious could not settle. First half Garnacho (for Raphaël Varane) only
work rate. Odegaard’s game is more Mikel Arteta demands total after Nketiah had scored. Ten Hag,
about using the ball than commitment from his six months into the job, is still ahead
gaining it, but Arsenal’s players, and they respond. in his rebuilding work and has made
captain led by example They believe in their United look more of a collective,
out of possession. manager and in one more disciplined, more of a fixture in
Odegaard embodies another. Granit Xhaka Second
the Champions League positions. But
the hunger for the pressed Luke Shaw in half they are not the team Arsenal are,
title that Pep the opening minute, 17 59 they don’t carry the threat Arsenal
Guardiola fears in then screamed at Man U more do, they don’t yet have that visceral
Manchester City’s the threatening craving for the title.
rival for the assistant, This fixture really mattered again.
Premier League. Gary 15 30 45 45 60 75 90 Both sides’ commitment in a
So does Beswick, Minutes rollercoaster match showed that. The
Nketiah. He when he number of touts lurking on the streets
collapsed to the didn’t get the 50 yards to press De Gea, following rollercoaster with a joyous ending. If from the stations confirmed that.
cold surface throw. The Nketiah’s example. It ensured the it was cruel on the outstanding Fans hurrying to the Emirates knew
exhausted and dissent was absolute, unconditional and very Rashford to end on the losing side, the significance of this game in the
elated at the final unpleasant and vocal backing of their fans. Arsenal there can be no question that Arsenal table, especially with City having just
whistle. He had unnecessary but placed clappers on the seats but their merited victory. United sat off, swept aside Wolves.
run himself into captured Xhaka’s supporters needed nothing extra to especially after the hour when they Managers and players, past and
the ground for hunger to win raise the decibel level. United were in had made it 2-2 through Lisandro present, knew the meeting’s
the team, leading the ball, to win town, a challenge to their title Martínez. Erik ten Hag sent on Fred importance. Sir Alex Ferguson and
the line, leading the match, to campaign, their fans loud and proud, for Antony, a statement of defensive David Beckham were in the stands,
keep Arsenal and Arsenal’s responded. When intent. Arsenal almost staged a siege enjoying Rashford’s fabulous strike
Arteta celebrates five points Arsenal fell behind, their crowd did of the opposition area. United could after 17 minutes. Part of Ten Hag’s
with his assistant clear of City. not ease up. hardly get out. Their attack was game plan involved attempting to
Albert Stuivenberg Xhaka then ran They were treated to a classic, a distant and, Rashford apart, blunt. close down Thomas Partey, clogging
the times | Monday January 23 2023 1GG 3

TONY
CASCARINO
seismic victory Gregor Robertson
visits ???????????????
Weekend talking points
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND

Nketiah is England’s best

2
Arsenal players to score
back-up option to Kane
a 90th-minute PL
winner against Man Utd: Out of all of the brilliant TALE OF TWO STRIKERS
Nketiah and Henry, who things that Mikel Arteta has
both wore shirt No14 done as Arsenal manager, getting Nketiah
Eddie Nketiah to sign a five-year Weghorst
deal is among the most important.
The forward, 23, reminds me of
Ian Wright. He creates chances
through his sharpness around the
penalty area, and though his two
goals against Manchester United
were straightforward finishes, they
were created by a level of
movement that most goalscorers do
not have. His work rate is also
superb and emulates another great
striker of previous decades in Ian
Rush. When Gabriel Jesus returns
from his injury, the onus will be on
Direction
him to dislodge Nketiah, rather of play
than vice-versa.
His potential stretches beyond Source: Opta
Arsenal, too. While the likes of
Callum Wilson and Ollie Watkins the Emirates but Erik ten Hag
have had their moments in an needs more to compete for the title.
England shirt, I think Nketiah is the United were never shy of signing
best option up front for England proven strikers under Sir Alex
after Harry Kane. He is the classiest Ferguson, be it Andrew Cole,
footballer out of the contenders for Dimitar Berbatov or Robin van
that back-up spot and has been in Persie. A big signing in that position
excellent form since last season. this summer, which could well be
As for United, you only need to Kane, would solve a major issue for
look at their forward line to know United and send a wider message
they are a bit below Arsenal’s level. that they are ready to challenge for
Wout Weghorst did a decent job at the league again.

Do Ireland finally have a TEAM OF THE WEEK

replacement for Keane?
4-2-4
When Robbie Keane came D Raya
into the Ireland side at 17 years (Brentford)
old, I remember Niall Quinn saying
K Trippier O Zinchenko
that this youngster would retire us. (Newcastle) (Arsenal)
It is too early to say if our 18-year-
old compatriot Evan Ferguson will B Mee T Silva
(Brentford) (Chelsea)
be as influential as Keane was for
club and country, but there are
up his passing lanes forwards, and he breathless, Ramsdale denying Scott promising signs. D Rice M Gibbs-White
was ambushed by Rashford and Shaw. HOW THEY STAND McTominay, who started in midfield The Brighton & Hove Albion (West Ham) (Nottm Forest)
Rashford touched the ball left to P W D L F A GD Pts in the absence of the suspended and striker headed in the late equaliser
Bruno Fernandes and hared down the 1 Arsenal 19 16 2 1 45 16 29 50 much missed Casemiro. against Leicester City for his third B Saka K Mitoma
inside-left channel. Partey tried to 2 Man City 20 14 3 3 53 20 33 45 Arteta withdrew Ben White at the goal in five games and what I liked (Arsenal) (Brighton)
recover but Rashford was flowing fast, 3 Newcastle 20 10 9 1 33 11 22 39 break and sent on Takehiro Tomiyasu about this strike was its precision. E Haaland E Nketiah
guiding the ball past the Arsenal 4 Man United 20 12 3 5 32 25 7 39 to try to stifle Rashford. Within eight Ferguson met the ball near the (Man City) (Arsenal)
midfield player, gliding on and striking 5 Tottenham 20 10 3 7 39 31 8 33 minutes, Tomiyasu touched the ball penalty spot but did not go for
a shot of such power and movement 6 Brighton 19 9 4 6 37 27 10 31 inside to Saka, who cut inside Eriksen, excessive power, which lots of
that Ramsdale had no chance. 7 Fulham 20 9 4 7 32 29 3 31 and curled a shot past De Gea. players would have done when
The Ashburton Army, Arsenal’s 8 Brentford 20 7 9 4 32 28 4 30 Now it was United’s turn to trying to score a header from a Brighton’s resourcefulness makes
Ultras, beat out their support on 9 Liverpool 19 8 5 6 34 25 9 29 respond. Ramsdale somehow kept out fairly long range. Instead, he knew them a fantastic club for Ferguson
drums in the Clock End. Belief now 10 Chelsea 20 8 5 7 22 21 1 29 Rashford’s deflected strike, but was that the only way to score was to to develop, and hopefully he can
11 Aston Villa 20 8 4 8 23 27 -4 28
resides in the Emirates. When beaten just before the hour, and was guide the ball into the corner, using become the goalscorer Ireland have
12 Crystal Palace 20 6 6 8 18 27 -9 24
Christian Eriksen was fouled by slightly culpable. Rising through a the pace from the cross and his run been crying out for since Keane
13 Nottm Forest 20 5 6 9 16 35 -19 21
Odegaard, thousands of Arsenal fans thicket of players at a corner, forward into the penalty box. retired.
14 Leicester 20 5 3 12 28 35 -7 18
leapt from their seats, claiming that 15 Leeds 19 4 6 9 26 33 -7 18
Ramsdale tried to grasp Eriksen’s
the United player had milked the 16 West Ham 20 5 3 12 17 25 -8 18
delivery when really he should have Bookmakers praying Pep Man vs boys? Mudryk
contact. Antony tried to go between played safe and punched. The ball fell
Gabriel and Oleksandr Zinchenko,
17 Wolves
18 Bournemouth
20
20
4
4
5
5
11
11
12
19
30
42
-18 17
-23 17
for Martínez, who still had much to decides to rest Haaland looked the real deal
but tumbled, earning more derision. 19 Everton 20 3 6 11 15 28 -13 15 do to lift his header over Ramsdale
Arsenal players responded. With 24 20Southampton 20 4 3 13 17 35 -18 15 and into the net despite Gabriel’s Forget Leicester City, Erling It is tough to judge a new
minutes on the clock, a flurry of left- attempt to clear. Haaland has become the new signing on 35 minutes of
footed touches set up the equaliser. With United far too passive, bookmakers’ nightmare. I know a action, but Mykhailo Mudryk
United’s attempt to play the ball out Wenger but the endeavour was Arsenal came on strong again. Saka fair few people who, at the start of looked the real deal against
through De Gea and Aaron Wan- endless. Arteta became riled at some hit the post, Nketiah was denied by the season, put a bet on the Liverpool. When Chelsea brought
Bissaka failed. Zinchenko steered the of the challenges on Saka, and when De Gea, and then came Nketiah Manchester City striker reaching 40 him off the bench, it reminded me
ball down the inside-left channel to Shaw took his England team-mate again in the 90th minute. Leandro or 45 Premier League goals this of a children’s game where a player
Odegaard, and touched it on for out after 32 minutes, Arteta waved Trossard, in a lively cameo on his campaign. These wagers were small that is so much better than
Xhaka, who was too quick for four fingers towards Anthony Taylor debut, combined with Zinchenko, and and light-hearted but they look like everybody else is finally allowed on.
Fernandes and swung in a cross. The and the fourth official, Andre Odegaard’s shot deflected kindly for roping in very tidy sums. Haaland With his ability to take the ball on
ball cleared Varane and dipped Marriner. Arsenal’s manager clearly Nketiah, whose flicked finish was too has already scored 25 goals, so the stride and thrive in tight areas,
between Martínez and Shaw for the has a reputation among referees for quick for De Gea. Arsenal fans had injury and Pep Guardiola’s the Ukraine forward reminded me
rising Nketiah to head past De Gea. excessive complaining and Taylor the tension of a VAR offside check unpredictable rotation are the of Alexis Sánchez at the beginning
It was so intense, lacking the very deliberately walked across and but Wan-Bissaka had played Nketiah greatest threats to the profitable of his Arsenal career, but perhaps
physical confrontations of summit booked him. on. Just. Arsenal deserved this. They targets being reached. with an extra yard of pace.
meetings under Ferguson and Arsène On it went, relentless and had worked hard for this.
4 1GG
thegame
Saka and Rashford epitomise clubs’
lofty aims: cold, clear and all business
The two forwards, bound
together by the Euro 2020
final, are transforming
Arsenal and United,
James Gheerbrant says
When Eddie Nketiah’s late winner for
Arsenal was confirmed after a VAR
check, Oleksandr Zinchenko let a
roar of pure exultation escape into
the cold London sky. It hung there,
turning into mist, crystallising the
final twist of a fixture which, after a
decade of a mediocrity, seems to have
decisively got its mojo back.
You could see yesterday’s game as a
classic blood-and-thunder encounter
in the tempestuous traditions of
Arsenal-Manchester United matches,
but I’m not sure that’s quite right.
That suggests a looseness, a wildness
which wasn’t really there. This is a
fixture whose most memorable
moments have often come in the
extras, the afters, the offshoots, the
overboil: tunnel fights, Martin Keown
screaming in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s
face, the flung slice of margherita
pizza. There was none of that here,
nothing extraneous. This was a game
of concentrated intensity and
businesslike intent, played by two
serious teams, managed by serious
coaches, putting on serious faces.
That was epitomised in particular
by the two England internationals
who scored. Bukayo Saka and Marcus
Rashford will for ever be yoked
together by what happened at the end
of the Euro 2020 final and in its
aftermath: missing in a penalty
shoot-out and the abject inhumanity
of the racist abuse they suffered
afterwards. Jadon Sancho, the
third young man who
endured that ordeal, hasn’t
been the same player since.
Neither Rashford nor
Saka had an easy ride last
season. Rashford had
probably the worst
campaign of his career,
scoring only five goals in
32 matches and looking a
little lost out there. Saka
performed at a much
higher level, but took
Arsenal’s failure to qualify
Rashford’s goal was a
magnificent strike from
a player back to his best
Ten Hag: ‘Pack of cards’ collapse shows United aren’t ready
GREGOR ROBERTSON
Erik ten Hag accused his Manchester
United players of lacking the right
mentality needed to win trophies, and
said they collapsed “like a pack of
cards” after Eddie Nketiah’s 90th-
minute winner for Arsenal at the
Emirates Stadium yesterday.
“Maybe in the next couple of hours
I will realise that we are in a good
position, that we are developing well,
and that we are in a good process, but
in this moment I am annoyed,” the
Manchester United manager said.
Ten Hag was critical of his side’s
discipline, stating that United need to
Saka delivers a low, curling shot that found the bottom corner of the United net in the 53rd minute and gave Arsenal a 2-1 lead on a day when he was unstoppable
for the Champions League hard. “He
felt it was all his fault because he
wasn’t able to provide for us,” Aaron
Ramsdale later said. This game hurts
you most when it means the most.
When it cuts you like a knife, it’s easy
to care a little less, play a little looser,
put on a smiling face and tell
yourself that you’re not going
to let the little knocks wound
you any more.
Instead, Saka and Rashford
have gone the other way.
They have played like
their lives depend on it.
Last season, at his
lowest points,
Rashford would pour
out long, deeply felt
apologies on social
media. They
demonstrated how
acutely he cares, but also
exposed him to ridicule:
United fans would mock him for
his “essays” and sarcastically await
his latest “novel”. This season,
Rashford cuts a focused, channelled
figure, his face as blank as an empty
page. He has gone from being a man
of words to a man of action.
cut down on their errors if they are to
harbour any future trophy aspirations.
“It was like a pack of cards with the
goals we conceded,” he said. “We
made mistakes, we didn’t show
discipline, and then you will concede
goals. I told the players that if you
want to win trophies, titles, you have
to change the mentality.
“It’s not possible, in a top [level]
game, that you make three such big
mistakes. Especially the last goal. You
have to feel the game. A point was the
[minimum] you have to take. You
can’t give such a goal away like we
did, at the top level, and win trophies.”
Marcus Rashford’s 17th-minute
strike from distance had given United
faced by William Saliba and Gabriel,
PL TEAMS WITH 50 POINTS AT whom he used to hide his shot from
HALFWAY Ramsdale. It was one of those
Points Final Position beautifully clean strikes where the
after 19 tally boot barely seems to drag on the
games grass. The ball leapt off his foot like a
Man City spot of fat off a hot pan, starting just
(2017-2018) 55 100 1
outside the post then fading inside,
Liverpool nestling in the bottom corner. With
(2019-2020) 55 99 1 no wasted emotion, no energy
released, Rashford jogged over to the
Chelsea
52 91 1
corner flag and put his finger to his
(2005-2006) temple, as if to say “nothing is going
Liverpool to shake my focus”.
(2018-2019) 51 97 2 Saka has changed too. When he
burst on to the scene, he was a wisp of
Arsenal
50 ? ? pure joy, one of those players who just
(2022-2023) seemed to play on instinct and radiate
the sheer wide-eyed enjoyment of
His goal here was a thing of sheer playing this playground game on the
magnificence. Saka and Thomas biggest stage. The famous photo of
Partey were caught in the teeth of him, perched in mid-air astride an
one of Erik ten Hag’s midfield inflatable unicorn at an England pool
pressing traps. Bruno Fernandes session, captured his adorable levity
passed the ball inside to Rashford, and joie de vivre. But he is not the kid
who with a gorgeous feint knocked any more. His role, his responsibility,
the ball through the Ghanaian the expectation upon him, is bigger.
midfielder’s legs. Not since Jay Gatsby What happens when you put a ray of
has anyone moved through a Partey sunshine through a magnifying glass?
with such easy grace. You get a burning laser.
He strode on, the goal in his sights, Saka was absolutely unstoppable
the lead, but an unmarked Nketiah squad’s mindset can be improved on
was allowed to head in an equaliser the training ground, adding: “We have
seven minutes later. Eight minutes already seen how the mentality of the
after the break, Bukayo Saka was players has changed over the last
allowed to cut inside, unchallenged, couple of months. But we have seen
and shoot from distance to give the today that we still have a way to go to
home side the lead. be at the top level.”
Lisandro Martínez made it 2-2 six Luke Shaw said that United
minutes later after Aaron Ramsdale “deserved” to lose after “backing off”
flapped at Christian Eriksen’s corner in the second half, but also praised
to allow the Argentina international Arsenal for their performance over
to head home. However, Nketiah’s the first half of the season. “They
late winner from close range ended a deserve to be at the top with how
ten-game unbeaten run for United, they are playing,” Shaw, the United
and left Ten Hag’s team 11 points defender, told Sky Sports.
adrift of Arsenal at the top of the Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, described
Premier League. Nketiah’s form in place of the injured
Ten Hag said that he believes his Gabriel Jesus as “incredible”, but
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND
here. He cut inside on to his left foot
with the savage inevitability of prime
Arjen Robben. He could not be
contained by Luke Shaw, one of the
best left backs in the Premier League
this season, nor Lisandro Martínez,
who tried to double up on him. He
had 13 touches in the opposition box,
more than any other player. His goal
was brilliant, jinking inside Shaw,
then uncorking a low, curling shot
which flew into the bottom corner.
About ten minutes later, knowing that
that was his most efficient route to
goal, he did exactly the same thing
and hit the post. Nothing could better
capture Saka’s transformation from
smiling, expressive adorner of games
to cold-blooded assassin.
Both clubs are emerging from a
long period of underperformance, an
era of unwanted memes and absolute
scenes. They have sober, rigorous
managers at the wheel. They have got
over certain players: good players,
players who had excellence in them
but also a certain unseriousness:
Mesut Özil, Paul Pogba, Pierre-
Emerick Aubameyang, Jesse Lingard.
Saka and Rashford epitomise the new
focus: cold, clear and all business.
admitted that it has come as
something of a surprise. The 23-year-
old has now scored 19 goals in his
past 26 starts for Arsenal in all
competitions, including 13 in his past
13 starts at the Emirates Stadium.
“I cannot say we saw that
[coming],” the victorious Arsenal
manager said. “We were hoping that
he could do that because of his
mentality and how his qualities fit in
the team. Losing Gabi [Jesus] was a
big blow, but Eddie is responding with
the team in an exceptional way. He’s a
special kid. He’s so loved by
everybody at the football club. He’s
got a real Arsenal heart and that’s
very special.”
the times | Monday January 23 2023 1GG 5

thegame
RICHARD SELLERS/GETTY IMAGES

Frank builds
barricades as
Leeds load
up ‘weapons’
Leeds United Brentford League on 30 points from 20 games.
It is difficult for anyone to argue with

0 0 that particular achievement.

RATINGS
Leeds (4-2-3-1): I Meslier 7 — L Aying 7, R Koch 7,
M Wober 8, P Struijk 6 — T Adams 7, M Roca 6
(S Greenwood 88min)— B Aaronson 6
(L Sinisterra 69, 4), J Harrison 7, W Gnonto 5 —
Rodrigo 7 (P Bamford 79). Booked Rodrigo, Koch.
Brentford (5-3-2): D Raya 8 — M Roerslev 6,
K Ayer 7, E Pinnock, B Mee 7, R Henry 6 —
J Dasilva 6 (V Janelt 60, 5), C Norgaard 6,
M Jensen 6 —B Mbeumo 5 (Y Wissa 74, 4),
I Toney 6. Booked Toney, Wissa.
Referee P Bankes.
Attendance 36,260.
MARTIN HARDY
There is still no win then for Jesse
Marsch and Leeds United in the
Premier League since the season
restarted after the World Cup. It was
not for want of trying. There was
polite applause at full time, despite a
goalless afternoon in Yorkshire. They
are staying with their team. That
feels important.
Marsch had spoken in the build-up
of amassing an “arsenal of weapons”
after the £35 million signing of
Georginio Rutter. Rutter remained an
unused substitute. Wilfried Gnonto,
Rodrigo and Brenden Aaronson were
blunted by Brentford. It was not a
pretty watch, but the point moved
Thomas Frank’s side above Liverpool
into eighth place in the Premier
Marsch could see only positives. To
that end, David Raya, in the
Brentford goal, was by far the busiest
goalkeeper and his side’s best player.
“The group is coming together,”
Marsch said. “There is momentum,
We don’t have a bunch of wins. We
have to earn everything right now.
When I look all of them in the eye in
the dressing room, they know it is
coming together and they know we
are going to be a good team.
“We are maybe a few moments,
a clever combination or clearer
quality in the last third from getting
three points.
“We were very stable on set pieces
today and there were strong
performance from a lot of individuals
so it’s a big positive for me.”
Brentford were compact and tight
with a five-man defence and three
midfielders not particularly far away.
They created next to nothing and
Frank gave credit to the home side for
that. “Leeds have a very good team
and Jesse and his staff are doing a
very good job, they play with great
intensity on the front foot,” he said.
“That said it was a really solid away
performance. I think we defended
very well. We gave almost nothing
away. We defended very well in a
low block.
“We have learnt from the defeats at
Aston Villa and Newcastle. On a day
when it’s not working you get a point,
a clean sheet and we stay in the game.”
Wöber, a new Leeds signing, cuts out a cross from Toney in yesterday’s stalemate that lifted Brentford above Liverpool
Max Wöber, the second of Leeds’s The Italian international, so
BRIGHT SPARK January signings, had a calming scintillating in the midweek FA Cup
Jesse Marsch praised new signing presence in his position as left-sided victory against Cardiff, took a touch
Max Wöber who, as his touch map centre half. The clean sheet was only and fired an angled shot that Raya
showed, helped Leeds build out their fourth of the season. again tipped away with his left hand.
“Max’s strengths are his intelligence It was not Gnonto’s day.
from the back
and ability on the ball,” Marsch Raya saved from Harrison
added. “He’s probably the in the 71st minute, but a
best passing centre back winning goal never
I’ve ever had.” truly looked likely from
What chances there
were came in the
second half. Raya
saved comfortably
1
Leeds have won only
then on.
Only at the end was
there any sense of a
desire for victory for
one of their past eight
from Aaronson in the league games at Elland Frank’s side. The best
54th minute and tipped Road, drawing four and chance came with only
away a low Rodrigo losing three five minutes remaining,
drive with his a cross from the left that
outstretched left hand two reached the right wing back
minutes later. Mads Roerslev, unmarked. His
Rodrigo would do well on the Leeds effort was tame, an angled right-
right in the 68th minute, breaking footed shot that Illan Meslier would
Direction
clear and using the run of Jack save with ease. It was not even on
of play Harrison to his left as a dummy, target, and the game would finish
instead feeding Gnonto to his right, with Brentford failing to record an
Source: Opta
by now in the Brentford penalty area. effort that could have been a goal.

Rodgers looks longingly at Brighton’s technical superiority MALCOLM COUZENS/GETTY IMAGES

Leicester City
Albrighton 38, Barnes 63
2 Brighton & Hove Albion’s away kit
Brighton & Hove A
Mitoma 27, Ferguson 88
2 Afterwards, Brendan Rodgers
RATINGS
Leicester City (4-3-3): D Ward 7 — T Castagne 6,
D Amartey 6, W Faes 6, L Thomas 7 — Y Tielemans
7, N Mendy 6, K Dewsbury-Hall 6 (J Maddison
69min, 6) — D Praet 6 (M Albrighton 35, 8),
J Vardy 5 (P Daka 85), H Barnes 7.
Brighton (4-2-3-1): R Sánchez 6 — P Gross 6 ,
J P van Hecke 6 (T Lamptey 78), L Dunk 6,
P Estupiñán 7 — M Caicedo 6, A Mac Allister 6 —
S March 6, A Lallana 6 (J Veltman 29, 6),
K Mitoma 8 — D Welbeck 6 (E Ferguson 65, 6).
Booked Mac Allister
Referee T Bramall.
Attendance 32,056.
CHARLOTTE DUNCKER
On Saturday afternoon the
supporters inside the King Power
were given a reminder of what the
Leicester City of old used to look like.
This was a crisp, quick, precise
passing team capable of causing the
opposition problems while being
resolute in defence. The only problem
for the Leicester fans was that it was
the players in the vibrant orange of
that were producing that display, not
their own team.
pointed towards the technical
differences between the two sides as a
reason why his team had faltered.
“They are a team with super
technical quality who can work the
game,” the Leicester manager said.
“We didn’t have periods of the ball
and that’s why we need improvement
in the squad to bring in players who
are technically better. We were OK,
we didn’t give it away too much but
it’s disappointing for the two goals
that we gave the ball away.”
It is no secret that Rodgers thinks
that his squad needs improvement.
Almost a year ago he said he needed
a refresh, which has not happened for
reasons out of his control. However,
should Brighton be so much better
technically than a team who were
competing in Europe just last season?
Roberto De Zerbi has taken the
Brighton cultivated by Graham Potter
and elevated it with each member of
the team buying into his approach.
Leicester came away with a point but have work to do in the relegation battle
De Zerbi should take credit for adding
goals to an already free-flowing
attacking side and the partnership of
the two centre backs, usually Lewis
Dunk and Levi Colwill, with Moisés
Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in
midfield, gives them a balance of
defensive surety and creative control.
At Leicester, meanwhile, the
partnerships on the pitch seem to be
struggling. Rodgers has plenty of
talented players in his squad with
Youri Tielemans and James Maddison
the standouts, but they have stalled
recently with Tielemans having one
eye on the exit and Maddison having
spent the past few weeks out injured.
In attack, Jamie Vardy can still be
dangerous but the 36-year-old is past
his prime and is easier to defend
against, with teams happy to play a
high line knowing he is unlikely to
beat them for pace. Compare that to
the threat and unpredictability of
Brighton’s tricky winger Kaoru
Mitoma, and again it is an area of the
pitch where Albion were superior.
But is it just about being technically
better? There is no doubt that new
additions to the squad would help
Leicester’s fight, but when they are
losing key 50-50 battles, that comes
down to grit and determination, not
just technical ability.
When Wout Faes arrived in the
summer he came with a mentality
and leadership that appeared to lift
the group. Rodgers is hoping that the
full back Victor Kristiansen, due to
start training with his new team-
mates this week after his arrival from
Copenhagen, can have a similarly
transformative effect.
“It’s hunger. This is what the game
is about,” Rodgers said. “When you
bring a guy in who is on the way up,
they have that hunger to succeed.
A fresh face will always give you a lift.
Hopefully if we can get a few more it
will help.”
It is Albion who are starting to
think of the possibility of a European
adventure while Leicester know they
are in a relegation fight. A point was a
step in the right direction but it will
take more than the return of
Maddison, their most technically
gifted player, to rescue them.
6 1GG
thegame
Haaland answers
call for passion
– and his critics
Man City Wolves
3 0
Haaland 40,
50 (pen), 54
RATINGS
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson 7 — R Lewis 7
(N Aké 46min, 6), M Akanji 6, J Stones 7, A Laporte
6 — K De Bruyne 8 (B Silva 77), Rodri 7 (K Phillips
77), I Gundogan 6 — R Mahrez 8 (C Palmer 81),
E Haaland 9 (J Álvarez 61, 6), J Grealish 6.
Booked Rodri.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-3-3): J Sá 3 —
N Semedo 4, N Collins 7, M Kilman 4, H Bueno 5
(R Aït-Nouri 81) — M Nunes 5, R Neves 4, M Lemina
5 (D Podence 67, 5) — Hwang Hee-chan 5
(J Moutinho 46, 5), R Jiménez 5 (M Cunha 45, 5),
A Traoré 5 (P Sarabia 46, 5). Booked Lopetegui,
Kilman, Lemina.
Referee D Coote. Attendance 53,282.
PAUL HIRST
Manchester City’s happy flowers were
in full bloom as they blew
Wolverhampton Wanderers away
thanks to Erling Haaland’s fourth
Premier League hat-trick of the
season yesterday.
Haaland was one of many players
that Pep Guardiola criticised on
Thursday for a supposed lack of fight
in the 4-2 win over Tottenham
Hotspur. Most of his team-mates were
effectively accused of having their
heads in the clouds — “We are a
happy flowers team,” Guardiola said.
Yesterday, his players gave the
perfect response as they secured a
vital win to keep the pressure on the
Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Once again Haaland led the charge,
disproving the bizarre theory — held
by some — that City play better when
he is not in the team. “When we lost
to Liverpool in the Community
Shield, all the questions were about
whether he would adapt to the
Premier League . . .” Guardiola said.
“His numbers are incredible.”
There are so many statistics to
illustrate the devastation that
Haaland has rained down upon his
opponents. His first game for City was
only five months ago but he is already
a third of the way towards matching
Sergio Agüero’s Premier League
record of 12 hat-tricks.
It took Agüero five seasons to score
four Premier League hat-tricks for
City. Haaland has reached that
landmark only 19 games into his
Premier League career.
Haaland has scored 31 goals in all
competitions. His Premier League
tally stands at 25, which is two more
than Mohamed Salah and Son
Heung-min scored last season when
they shared the golden boot.
Yesterday’s hat-trick, scored in the
space of 14 minutes, consisted of a
powerful header, a penalty and an
easy tap-in after a terrible pass from
José Sá, the Wolves goalkeeper.
That Kevin De Bruyne set Haaland
up for City’s first will please
Guardiola. It was the first time that
City’s most creative midfielder had set
up their most prolific striker in the
Premier League since the win over
Manchester United in October.
PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES
Erling Haaland’s goal tally after 19 Premier League appearances is enough to have
won the Golden Boot in 16 of the previous 30 seasons
Andy Cole (1994), Alan Shearer (1995)
34
Mohamed Salah (2018)
32
Alan Shearer (1996), Cristiano Ronaldo
(2008), Luis Suárez (2014)
31
Kevin Phillips (2000), Thierry Henry
(2004), Robin van Persie (2012)
30
Didier Drogba (2010),
Harry Kane (2017)
29
Thierry Henry (2006)
27
Robin van Persie (2013), Sergio
Agüero (2015)
26
Alan Shearer (1997), Ruud van
Nistrelrooy (2003), Thierry Henry
(2005), Harry Kane (2016),
Erling Haaland (2023)
25
Haaland’s history bid
Haaland is only six goals behind Dixie Dean after 19 games of 1927-1928
when he scored a record 60 goals for Everton
2 4 6 8
If any of City’s players picked up a
programme before the match, they
will have been given a reminder of the
anger that their manager felt after an
insipid first-half showing against
Spurs. “I want to see fire and passion
from my players,” Guardiola wrote.
“I love my players so much and to
win 4-2 against a fantastic team like
Tottenham is good for us but I need
to see desire from the first minute to
the last.”
Guardiola also chastised the City
crowd for being quiet and the
message looked to have got through
to the fans. The decibel levels were
much higher at the start of yesterday’s
game but the players initially failed to
respond to the fans’ energy.
City had 91 per cent of possession in
the opening 15 minutes but they did
not do anything purposeful with the
ball. They were too passive. They
missed the energy of Phil Foden, who
was absent because of a foot injury.
De Bruyne — of all people — passed
the ball out of play twice within the
space of a minute.
Wolves interrupted City’s flow by
stationing one bank of five and
another line of four in front of Sá.
The visiting side dished out plenty of
aggression too. Max Kilman was
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
1-0 4OMIN
Thierry Henry (2002)
24
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (2001),
Jamie Vardy (2020), Harry Kane (2021),
Mohamed Salah (2022),
Son Heung-min (2022)
23
Teddy Sheringham (1993),
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2019),
Sadio Mané (2019),
Mohamed Salah (2019)
22
Didier Drogba (2007), Carlos Tevez
(2011), Dimitar Berbatov (2011)
20
Nicolas Anelka (2009)
19
Chris Sutton (1998), Dion Dublin (1998),
Michael Owen (1998 & 1999),
Dwight Yorke (1999),
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (1999)
18
Goals
35
Dean
goals 30
25
Haaland climbs
20 2-0 5OMIN above Collins to
Haaland head his first
15
goals goal, taking
10 advantage of an
inviting cross
5 from De Bruyne.
0 The City striker
10 12 14 16 18 then slotted
Games home a penalty,
left, for his
booked for knocking Ilkay Gundogan second after
to the turf with a shoulder barge. The Neves had
German prodded his cheekbone to brought down
make sure that his jaw was still in one Gundogan in the
piece. Luckily for him, it was. box. He
Mario Lemina was shown a yellow completed his
card for tripping Rico Lewis. Julén hat-trick, right,
Lopetegui followed him into David by rolling the ball
Coote’s notebook for sarcastically into an empty
applauding. Lopetegui, the Wolves net after a
head coach, cut a restless figure for mistake by Sá,
much of the opening quarter, but at the Wolves
that point he had no need to worry. goalkeeper, and
Sá had nothing to do until the 25th a Mahrez pass
minute when he pushed away Jack
Grealish’s 25-yard shot. But then City brought down Gundogan in the box,
started to up the ante; De Bruyne and
Riyad Mahrez took more risks.
Lewis whipped in a cross from the
Coote did not hesitate to give a
penalty. There was no hesitancy
either from Haaland, who stroked the
Pep: We still
inside-right channel that Gundogan penalty down the middle after Sá had
headed over. From a similar position, gone to his left. IAN WHITTELL
De Bruyne teed up Haaland for City’s Haaland’s third was even easier. A
opener in the 40th minute. Mahrez couple of yards from his own goalline, Pep Guardiola is still looking for a
gained space down the right, nudged Sá passed straight to Mahrez, who long-term improvement from his
the ball back to De Bruyne and he squared to Haaland and he rolled the Manchester City players, even after a
sent over a deep cross towards the ball into an empty net from ten yards. comfortable 3-0 victory over Wolves.
back post. The ball hung in the air, Just after the hour mark, Guardiola In midweek, the City manager was
inviting Haaland to head home and decided he needed to protect his prize critical of his team, and entire club,
he did just that, climbing above asset. Julián Álvarez replaced for what he viewed as a complacent
Nathan Collins before powering the Haaland and the Norwegian received approach to their Premier League
ball past Sá. a standing ovation. title defence.
City did not relent at the start of Gundogan should have made it 4-0 But even though an Erling Haaland
the second half. When Rúben Neves only to head over from a yard out. hat-trick appeared to be the perfect
the times | Monday January 23 2023
aren’t concentrating enough
response, Guardiola left the Etihad
last night still looking for more.
“Today we made a step but it’s just
one game,” Guardiola said. “There
were a few things that I liked. It’s
getting better.
“I have to wait. There are things —
we have a lack of concentration.
There are many details. The reality is
that we are still behind Arsenal.
“The message is clear: this is just
one game, we have to see in the
future. It’s getting better. But we have
to wait. Today we improve but it was
1GG
DAVE HOWARTH/CAMERASPORT/GETTY IMAGES
4
Premier League
hat-tricks for Haaland —
only Shearer (five in
1995-1996) has more in
a single PL season
3-0 54MIN
just today, we will see what happens
in the next games.”
Those games may have a major
bearing on City’s season as they host
Arsenal in the FA Cup on Friday and
then visit Tottenham Hotspur in the
league on February 5 before travelling
to the Emirates to face Arsenal ten
days later.
Guardiola also confirmed that Phil
Foden was left out of the squad
yesterday as he recovers from a foot
injury sustained in the Manchester
derby defeat the previous weekend.
Howe’s next step is to
build a ruthless attack
Crystal Palace 0 MOST CONSECUTIVE PL
Newcastle United 0 IN THE FIRST HALF
RATINGS
Crystal Palace (4-2-3-1): V Guaita 7 — J Ward 6
(N Clyne 71min), C Richards 8, M Guéhi 7,
T Mitchell 7 — O Doucouré 7, J Schlupp 6
(W Hughes 65, 7) 6-J Ayew 7, E Eze 6 (M Olise 65,
6) W Zaha 6, (J-P Mateta 65, 5) — O Edouard 6
(D Ozoh 90). Booked Guéhi, Doucouré, Hughes,
Olise.
Newcastle (4-3-3): N Pope 8 — K Trippier 8,
F Schär 7, S Botman 7, D Burn 6 — S Longstaff 6,
B Guimarães 6, J Willock 7 (A Saint-Maximin 69, 6)
— M Almirón 7 (J Murphy 86), C Wilson 5 (A Isak
69, 7), Joelinton 6. Booked Joelinton, Trippier.
A T L A
Referee C Pawson. Attendance 25,350.
MOLLY HUDSON
Not for the first time this season,
Eddie Howe faced the challenge of an
opposition that clearly had his team’s
Champions League ambitions in mind
when deciding on their own defensive
set-up.
This is the new reality for the
Newcastle United manager. Howe no
longer has a mid-table side but one
that teams genuinely fear if they
allow them time and space. The 0-0
draw against Crystal Palace was their
15th Premier League match unbeaten
and 16th without conceding a goal in
the first half — the first top-flight
team to do so in over two decades.
Although Howe denied that his
team were unbalanced, their one fault
in recent weeks has been their lack of
proficiency in front of goal. They
have failed to score in three of their
past four Premier League matches
and as 15 corners came and went
against Palace, alongside a host of
crosses, they did not truly stretch
Vicente Guaita beyond a comfortable
save.
“Whenever you’re not scoring, it’s a
concern,” Howe said. “We’re maybe
not scoring in the numbers that
we’d want to, but I don’t think there’s
any concern about our style of play
or how we approach the games.
“I just think teams are giving us a
Emery brings Martínez back to earth
PAUL ROWAN
Whatever the unsavoury nature of
some of Emiliano Martínez’s World
Cup celebrations, it’s clear that he
hasn’t overindulged in a manner that
might affect his performance on the
pitch. The Aston Villa goalkeeper was
the difference in this tight affair,
pulling off a couple of excellent saves
at crucial moments and generally
mopping up behind his defence in a
manner that suggested he was right
back on task when it looked like his
jubilation at being a world champion
might be getting out of hand.
Southampton’s promising young
goalkeeper, Gavin Bazunu, had
something of an off day on the other
hand. He made one good save from a
Jacob Ramsey effort, but could have
done better for the headed winner
from Ollie Watkins, and he had some
distinctly nervy moments with the
ball at his feet. Bazunu came from
Manchester City — who are
understood to have sold him with a
buy-back clause — and at the age of
20 has a bright future, but then so do
Cabo
GAMES WITHOUT CONCEDING
Team (Last date in run)
Arsenal (May 2, 1999)
Aston Villa (Jan 13, 1996)
18
Liverpool (April 20, 2002)
16
Newcastle United (Jan 21, 2023)
16
N T Manchester
I C City (Mar 24, 2012)
15
Chelsea (Apr 13, 2014)
15
Arsenal (May 11, 2015)
15
lot of respect and putting a lot of men
behind the ball. For the away team
here to have the amount of
possession and control we did is
unusual. But credit to them for how
they defended. It was a tight game,
and teams will do that to us the more
respect we get.”
Newcastle’s rapid acceleration
from a team that feared
relegation at this stage last year
to one that now competes for
Champions League football
means their frontline is
missing a little star power.
Miguel Almirón, Callum
Wilson and Joelinton were
the starting forwards
against Palace, but have
only 17 Premier League
goals between them in
this campaign.
Alexander Isak and Allan
Saint-Maximin are two
options which came off the
bench here and could feature
in European competition were
Newcastle to get there,
although fitness worries and
Howe needs more attacking
options to compete in Europe
Southampton
Aston Villa
Watkins 77
RATINGS
Southampton (4-2-3-1): G Bazunu 5 — Lyanco 5,
D Caleta-Car 5 (M Djenepo 84min), M Salisu 6,
K Walker-Peters 6 — I Diallo 5, R Lavia 5 (M
Elyounoussi 62min, 5) — A Armstrong 6 (M Orsic
85), J Ward-Prowse 6, S Edozie 5 (R Perraud 62, 5)
— C Adams 5 (S Mara, 62 5). Booked Lyanco.
Aston Villa (4-4-2): E Martínez 8 — A Young 6,
E Konsa 6, T Mings 6, A Moreno 7 — J Ramsey 6,
B Kamara 6, D Luiz 7 (L Dendoncker 88), E
Buendía 7 (P Countinho 69, 6) — O Watkins 7,
L Bailey 5 (M Cash 81). Booked Luiz, Moreno.
Referee M Salisbury. Attendance 30,424.
other young Southampton players
who might find themselves in the
Championship next season.
Villa, on the other hand, are
starting to look battle-hardened and
canny under Unai Emery, none more
so than Martínez and the 37-year-old
Ashley Young, who kept the regular
full back Matty Cash out of the
starting line-up at St Mary’s.
Villa have now picked up 16 points
out of a possible 24 under Emery and
7
thegame
mixed form have affected both this
season.
When looking to elevate a club
from relegation status, it is logical to
first prioritise shoring up a leaky
defence, and Howe’s advancements in
this area cannot be faulted. His next
20 and more difficult step will be to
balance that defensive solidity with
more attacking firepower.
Whether he can do so or not will
likely decide whether they finish in
the coveted top four. Lurking in fifth
position sit a Tottenham Hotspur side
with a genuinely world-class striker in
Harry Kane — he alone is only two
goals short of Newcastle’s
aforementioned frontline. A forward
of his calibre is not easy to attain,
despite the investment which Palace
fans sang about in unflattering terms.
It did not go unnoticed that Howe
twice referred to any incoming
transfers in the singular. This January
window will not provide wholesale
changes to the squad. Perhaps that
next overhaul to compete with
European football’s true superpowers
will have to wait until confirmation
that their Champions League place is
secure at the end of the season.
“As a manager, you always want
more,” Howe said. “But I’ve got no
issue with the squad strength or
size. I think the point I was
making yesterday was that if
we got injuries, we’d be very
light, and we’re keen to do
business. We’re keen to
bring a player in that can
help us, but, as we know
in this window and as
I’ve said many times,
there’s no guarantee that
will happen.”
Undoubtedly
investment has helped
Howe and Newcastle to
third position in the
Premier League table. If
they are to stay there
until the rest of the
season however, they
may need to increase
that attacking output.
won their past three away games in
0 the Premier League, having failed to
win on the road this season in the
league under Steven Gerrard, who
1 was sacked in late October.
“It’s a few different little things that
we worked on in training,” Young
says. “Attitude, mentality. There’s a lot
more confidence out there. We want
to play more with the ball. The
manager’s got his philosophy and
every player has bought into that.”
Martínez looks more comfortable
now than in previous seasons with
the ball at his feet and he swept up
brilliantly coming out of his box when
Southampton tried to play over the
top. However, it was a great save with
his feet from Adam Armstrong’s
close-range effort and an acrobatic
dive to deny Moussa Djenepo late on,
which stood out. James Ward-Prowse
did have the ball in the net around
the hour mark, but VAR spotted an
infringement.
Southampton’s sense of injustice
was compounded when Watkins
headed in Douglas Luiz’s free kick,
with Bazunu unable to keep the ball
out.
8 1GG Monday January 23 2023 | the times

thegame

Under-fire Lampard set to

PAUL
JOYCE
Northern Football Correspondent
Frank Lampard is set to discover his
fate with Everton due to complete a
review into the club’s plight today.
Discussions on the future of the
44-year-old took place yesterday after
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by West Ham
United, which left the club anchored
in the relegation zone, and are
scheduled to continue today.
Everton plan to arrive at a
collective decision with the owner
Farhad Moshiri, the board of
directors, including the chairman Bill
Kenwright and the chief executive
Denise Barrett-Baxendale, and the
director of football, Kevin Thelwell,
overseeing the analysis.
Lampard has won only one of his
past 12 Premier League matches and
whether he is the right man to arrest
that run of results and improve on
19th place has been evaluated since
the loss at the London Stadium.
He received public backing from
Moshiri ten days ago, but with defeats
since against their relegation rivals
Southampton and now West Ham the
scrutiny has increased once again.
A decision to end Lampard’s tenure
just before his first anniversary in
the job would leave Everton seeking
their eighth permanent manager
since May 2016.
The sale of Richarlison for
£60 million to Tottenham Hotspur to
allow them to comply with the
Premier League’s profit and
sustainability rules left a squad which
narrowly avoided relegation lacking
in attacking thrust. Everton have
scored more than once in only two
league games.
The club hopes to have rectified
that shortcoming after striking a deal
with Villarreal for the winger Arnaut
Danjuma, formerly of Bournemouth,
to join on loan for the season.
Lampard was heavily involved in that
process, although he did not disguise
the fact that he is a firm admirer of
Danny Ings, who moved to West
Ham last week in a £15 million deal.
Everton had wanted to sign Ings on
loan, but when that was rebuffed by
Aston Villa they were not prepared to
pay an initial £12 million (£3 million
LAMPARD’S GOALSCORERS
Lack of firepower, PL since Jan 31, 2022
Everton have scored 34 goals (including
two own goals) in 38 games in the
Premier League under Lampard - the
second fewest after Wolves
Richarlison
6
Anthony Gordon
5
Demarai Gray
3
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
3
Alex Iwobi
2
Mason Holgate
2
Dwight McNeil
2
Michael Keane
2
Vitalii Mykolenko
1
Séamus Coleman
1
Amadou Onana
1
Conor Coady
1
Neal Maupay
1
Donny van de Beek
1
Yerry Mina
1
will follow if West Ham stay up) on a
player who is 31 in July.
That approach is in line with
Everton’s policy to avoid previous
transfer mistakes on players with no
resale value and they would not make
an exception for Ings.
One of the deliberations is whether,
with Danjuma on board, Lampard EVERTON’S NEXT FOUR
can muster an improvement. Such is GAMES
the concertina nature of the bottom Sat, Feb 4.......................Arsenal (h)
of the table that second-from-bottom Mon, Feb 13..............Liverpool (a)
Everton are only three points off 14th.
Alternatively, they may feel that a Sat, Feb 18.........................Leeds (h)
new manager would get greater Sat, Feb 25.............Aston Villa (h)
bounce from a squad that has become
prone to making glaring errors.
With fans having lost all faith in
how the club is run, the hierarchy
need to make sure their next move
does not become a drawn-out process.
Lampard was appointed on
deadline day last January, more than
two weeks after the dismissal of Rafa
Benítez, who also won one of his last
12 matches in charge.

Coach at fault for lack of goals

TONY
CASCARINO
There is one statistic that sums up
Frank Lampard’s reign at Everton.
Across his 38 matches in charge, his
leading scorer is Richarlison, who
found the net six times in 17 matches
before being sold to Tottenham
Hotspur for £60 million last summer.
In total, Lampard’s Everton have
scored only 34 times in the Premier
League. Of the teams who have been
in the division since his arrival, only
Wolverhampton Wanderers, with 31,
have fewer. Problems at Goodison
Park extend far beyond Lampard but
the failure to set up a team capable of
creating and scoring is something for
which he must take responsibility.
Anthony Gordon was crucial to the
run that kept Everton in the Premier
League last season and is Lampard’s
second-highest scorer with five goals.
He plays off the cuff and can create
something from nothing. Yet against
West Ham United on Saturday he
remained on the bench.
The team Lampard picked looked
more like a “must-not-lose” XI than a
side capable of taking all three points.
Gordon has been the subject of
interest from Tottenham and
Newcastle United but surely he would
have made Everton more threatening.
Then there is Dominic Calvert-
Lewin. Injury problems have restricted
the centre forward to 21 appearances
but even then he has managed to
score only three times. He looks a far
cry from the penalty-box predator we
saw under Carlo Ancelotti. Against
West Ham he was dropping too deep
and not doing the basic jobs needed
when leading the line.
How West Ham found fight aga
GARY JACOB
West Ham United took a small step in
the right direction and eased the
pressure on David Moyes, who may
well have been sacked had they lost
on Saturday.
Moyes’s team went back in time to
find both the cohesion and
counterattacking football that typified
their success in his first two seasons.
Jarrod Bowen rediscovered his form
and they were markedly less careless
defensively, helped by having their
strongest back line available.
That is not to say that it was a
complete performance or that West
Ham are out of the woods, but their
hope will be that a first win in nine
league matches gives them a platform
to build upon before facing two
London derbies and Newcastle
United in February.
West Ham Utd
Bowen 34, 41
2 followed his first England call-up.
Everton 0 focused on not putting a foot wrong
RATINGS
West Ham United (3-4-3): L Fabianski 6 —
K Zouma 7, A Ogbonna 7, N Aguerd 8 — V Coufal
6, L Paquetá 6 (T Soucek 72min), D Rice 6,
Emerson 7 (B Johnson 81) — J Bowen 8, M Antonio
7 (D Ings 71), S Benrahma 7 (F Downes 82).
Booked Paquetá.
Everton (3-4-2-1): J Pickford 7 — Y Mina 5, C Coady
5, J Tarkowski 4 — S Coleman 5 (T Davies 45, 6),
A Onana 5, I Gueye 6, V Mykolenko 6 (D McNeil
45, 5) — A Iwobi 6, D Gray 6 — D Calvert-Lewin 5
Booked Tarkowski.
Referee S Attwell.
Bowen back to his best
West Ham’s problem has been
scoring. Bowen was involved in 24
league goals last season and by his
own admission has struggled to find
the same form, weighed down by the
anticipation and expectation that
On top of that, he changed his
game and became too cautious, more
to ensure he made England’s World
Cup squad. He did not make the
tournament and it took time for him
to recover and reflect.
He went 12 matches across
competitions without a goal, but
against Everton he did what he does
best as he came off the wing and
gambled in the penalty area to score
twice in seven minutes before the
break.
Bowen had been involved in only
three league goals before Saturday.
“[To make the World Cup squad] you
are trying to do things safely rather
than playing your game and look
good, instead of doing what you
normally do to look good,” Bowen
said. “You end up playing worse.”
 the times | Monday January 23 2023 1GG 9

WINTER’S
WEEKEND
learn fate today NIGEL KEENE/PROSPORTS/SHUTTERSTOCK
WONDERS
Chief Football Writer on bosses under
pressure and a big day for Oxford

Wagner weaving his magic at Norwich

David Wagner. immediate impact on Norwich

1 I interviewed the
charismatic German
coach in a
Huddersfield school
once. The door opened suddenly, a
City, namely two away wins,
scoring four goals each time.
He attacks.
He bonds players quickly.
Players instinctively warm to
MOST POINTS WON woman teacher came flying in, Wagner. His teams become a
By teams in PL since Lampard took embraced Wagner and thanked family. Wagner now has a
over Everton in 2022 the man who masterminded fortnight to instil his ideas
Arsenal Town’s 2017 play-off victory “for before the next game, albeit a
83 the best day of my life – including forbidding one in Burnley
Man City my wedding day”. So it’s no away. Wagner’s already given
81
Liverpool surprise Wagner’s had an Norwich hope.
73
Newcastle
73
Tottenham West Ham rewarded Emery has Villa fans
68
Man Utd for backing Moyes checking passports
59
David Moyes. In a Unai Emery. “We’ve

2 3
Chelsea
56 twitchy, often angry got super Unai
Brentford world, thought goes, Emery; he knows
53 patience goes and exactly what we need;
Brighton
52 then a manager goes. Konsa at the back;
Crystal Palace Here was a reminder of the Bailey in attack; Villa’s going to
48 importance of a board backing a the Europa League”. Or “up the
Aston Villa
47 good manager. Moyes knows the Premier League”. Assorted
Leicester game, is popular with players, is versions are heard of Villa fans’
44 clearly trying to build with new homage to their impactful new
West Ham
37 signings and led his team to a head coach. They all lead in the
Everton calming victory on Saturday. West same direction — upwards.
35 Ham are in good hands. Manchester City and Arsenal
Wolves loom large on the horizon, so
34
Leeds fuller judgment on Emery should
34 D-Day for Oxford in wait, but the buzz among Villa
Southampton fans is understandable. Their team
30 search for real home looks well-coached and well-
Oxford United fans. organised. But Villa have to keep

ain to help Moyes in sack race 4 Tomorrow could

prove one of the most
important days in the
club’s history. The
County Council meets to consider
Ollie Watkins fit.

Lampard is least of
Oxford building a new home on Everton’s problems
council-owned land in “The Frank Lampard.
Long time coming
Nayef Aguerd was one of West Ham’s
marquee summer signings. It was
hoped that he would help to upgrade
an ageing defence but the Moroccan
Renewed solidity
Moyes switched to a wingback system
which he has tended to do when in
search of stability. That meant
Emerson returned to the side as he
managed to concede chances, though,
and inviting pressure may not work
against better attacks.

Playing for Moyes

suffered an ankle injury in
pre-season.
This was only his third start and a
first alongside Kurt Zouma. Aguerd
was elegant on the ball and unruffled
when defending, showing his
determination and leadership by
pulling one team-mate out of the
way to make a tackle. He read the
game well, demonstrated a range of
passing and made 11 clearances.
Aguerd, Zouma and
Angelo
Ogbonna
made 35
clearances
between
them. Everton
made only 12.
has the energy to get forward, as he
showed when being denied by Jordan
Pickford after the break. Moyes has
less trust of Emerson in a traditional
back four.
There was a clear
plan and structure
to the team. While
West Ham had only
24 per cent of
possession after the
break and 32 per cent overall,
Moyes was content for his side
to sit in and play on the
counter, knowing Everton were
toothless in attack. They still
Aguerd was a huge boost in
defence in just his third start
The players came out swinging for
Moyes. Declan Rice roared at the
crowd after he turned Alex Iwobi’s
shot wide before the break. When
Zouma was caught out of possession,
Lucas Paquetá got back to deflect the
shot.
Paquetá worked hard with Rice,
making two interceptions that led to
the corner for the first goal and an
interception before the second goal.
Need for reinforcement
Michail Antonio created the second
goal but could not add to his two
league goals this season. His future is
unclear because West Ham want to
sign Terem Moffi, the third top scorer
in France, from Lorient.
Triangle”, south of Kidlington
roundabout. Oxford fans, along
with the hard-working, well-led
club, have been tireless in their
campaigning for a new ground.
The clock is ticking because they
have to move out of the
inadequate Kassam Stadium by
2026. Mid-table in League One,
Oxford continue to draw decent
crowds and Saturday’s 2-1 win
over Ipswich Town was watched
by 9,830. Even though they could
hardly see the players because of
the fog, their support was vital and
appreciated by Karl Robinson and
his team. As they showed against
Arsenal in the FA Cup, local
support is there and more would
flock to a real, long-term home.
Oxford United would prove a real
community asset for Kidlington,
the city and the county.
5 Everton’s manager
lost at the London
Stadium, probably
moved nearer to
losing his job but retains his
dignity. He’s no Pep Guardiola but
Everton’s problems run far deeper.
It’s difficult to have a plan B when
even plan A is a struggle because
of the hand he’s been dealt.
Lampard inherited an imbalanced
squad and he’s trying to inspire
players bereft of goals and belief.
He’s trying to be the upbeat public
face of a club in the grip of a civil
war with an owner, Farhad
Moshiri, who fails to lead and fails
to communicate properly. What
Everton need is unity and fight,
not division and infighting.
Lampard will probably pay the
price for poor results and Everton
will lose a fighter for their cause.
10
thegame
Skill, speed
– is Mudryk
successor
to Hazard?
Liverpool 0 supporters, need to help salvage this
Chelsea 0 great determination, great ambition,”
RATINGS
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 7 — J Milner 6
(T Alexander-Arnold 71min), I Konaté 6, J Gomez
6, A Robertson 8 — N Keïta 6 (D Núñez 62, 7), S
Bajcetic 5 (Fabinho 82), T Alcântara 6 — H Elliott 5
(C Jones 82), M Salah 6, C Gakpo 6 (J Henderson
82). Booked Bajcetic, Milner, Jones.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): K Arrizabalaga 6 — T Chalobah 6
(C Azpilicueta 81), T Silva 9, B Badiashile 7,
M Cucurella 7 — C Gallagher 7, Jorginho 6 —
H Ziyech 8, M Mount 7 (C Chukwuemeka 81),
L Hall 5 (M Mudryk 55, 7) — K Havertz 6
(P-E Aubameyang 81). Booked Chalobah.
Referee M Oliver.
IAN WHITTELL
César Azpilicueta laughed off the
comparison, with a jovial shrug, but
anxious Chelsea supporters could be
forgiven for being less cautious as
they glimpsed Ukraine forward
Mykhailo Mudryk for the first time
at Anfield.
Whisper it — and the wily veteran
Azpilicueta would not whisper it at all
— but Mudryk’s 35-minute substitute
cameo in a creditable draw brought
with it an at least passing
resemblance to Eden Hazard.
Many have tried and failed — and
many tens of millions have been
squandered — as Chelsea have
sought a natural successor to Hazard
since he left Stamford Bridge in 2019,
and Azpilicueta was quite correct to
imply that such comparisons are
ridiculous at this stage.
But this is the mood music, the
straw-clutching mode, enveloping
Stamford Bridge at present, and
Mudryk, signed from under the noses
of Arsenal for £88 million last week,
Bournemouth take the positives from ‘bright spark’ Ouattara
HAMZAH KHALIQUE-LOONAT
There are few reasons to be positive
when falling into the relegation zone,
yet Bournemouth — held to a draw
with Nottingham Forest at the
Vitality Stadium on Saturday after
their former player Sam Surridge
scored a late equaliser — have more
than enough reason to expect that
results could turn.
The draw ended a six-match losing
streak but most importantly Gary
O’Neil’s side showed the fight and
application required to grind out
results.
Beyond the performance itself,
there were positives to be found from
the new signing Dango Ouattara, the
£20 million recruit from Lorient, who
made his debut and showed flashes of
quality through the game.
could be just what the club, and those
so-far miserable campaign.
“I’ve seen a very focused lad with
Azpilicueta said. “It was his first game
since November so, for him, it was
like pre-season. He played 35 minutes
at Anfield so it’s not the easiest debut
and I think he did brilliant.
“A great connection with the fans
as well. He’s a player who can have
that mix between playing good
football with his feet and also
running the space. You could see
his speed.
“He’s very confident. The price
tag, I know from the outside it’s there
but we players don’t make the prices,
it’s a market and when you are in
the market you have competition to
get players.
“So I don’t think that has to lie on
his shoulders. He just has to express
himself the way he has been doing.
It’s great to see his energy and he will
be a very important player.
“It was great to see ‘Mykha’ playing
after he signed with the club, just with
two or three training sessions, so a
great positive and now we have to
keep working because we’re where
everything will be decided.”
In a game high on caution and low
on chances, the introduction of
Mudryk certainly negated Liverpool’s
strong start to the second half
and might even have resulted in
only a second Chelsea win in their
past six games.
His accurate pass allowed Hakim
Ziyech to carve out a shooting
opportunity before he planted a half-
chance into the side-netting. The
22-year-old might even have snatched
a winner, only to miscontrol a difficult
Ziyech pass six yards from goal.
It was no surprise that the veteran
Bournemouth
Anthony 28
1 overawe him.
Nott’m Forest
Surridge 83
1 real prospect. With a bit of support
RATINGS
Bournemouth (4-4-1-1): Neto 6 — A Smith 6,
J Stephens 6, L Kelly 6, J Zemura 7 — D Ouattara 7,
J Rothwell 6 (B Pearson 75min), J Lerma 6,
J Anthony 8 — R Christie 6 (S Dembélé 88) —
K Moore 6. Booked Kelly.
Nottingham Forest (4-3-2-1): W Hennessey 6 —
S Aurier 6 (N Williams 75), J Worrall 6, W Boly 6
(S McKenna 75), R Lodi 6 — R Yates 6
(Danilo 45, 7), R Freuler 6, O Mangala 6 (G Scarpa
60, 6) — M Gibbs-White 7, B Johnson 7 —
C Wood 5 (S Surridge 75). Booked Worrall, Scarpa.
Referee A Madley. Attendance 10,248.
Each time the 20-year-old Burkina
Faso winger received the ball, the
home crowd buzzed. He responded to
the support by attempting ambitious
dribbles down the line or sharp cuts
SIGN OF THINGS TO COME
Mudryk had four touches in the
opposition box in his 35-minute
cameo - only Havertz (five in 81
minutes) had more
Direction
of play
Source: Opta
Mudryk leaves Milner feeling his age after coming on in the 55th minute as Liverpool were threatening to take control
James Milner — 15 years Mudryk’s
senior — was booked for hauling him
down, before being taken off by
Jürgen Klopp.
But despite the near misses, a draw
was not only fair, but also a result that
still suited Graham Potter, the
Chelsea head coach, especially as an
injury list that has reached double
figures recently is starting to ease, and
Mudryk is one of six signings already
made in the January window.
“It’s always better to have more
options, healthy competition brings
the best out of every single player,”
Azpilicueta said. “So, of course, when
you have, as we had, 10-12 players
injured it makes it more difficult. And
we are playing every few days so the
time for recovery is different in a
season which is unique with the
World Cup in the middle.
inside, but did not let the expectation
He set up Jaidon Anthony’s first-
half goal from the right, and appears a
and coaching he could help to salvage
Bournemouth’s season, though as
someone who speaks only French he
may need to work on his own
communication skills first.
“All he knows is ‘back post’, and he
says ‘back post!’ ” Jordan Zemura,
Bournemouth’s full back, said.
“When we scored, I don’t know
what he said to me, he said something
in French, but he was happy so I said,
‘Yeah’ and I just said the same thing
back.”
What Ouattara offered was an
outlet. After taking the lead,
Bournemouth sat back and
surrendered possession but largely
kept Forest at bay by keeping the
1GG
“So we have to adapt and I think it’s
important not to use that as an
excuse and just move forward.
“We had a lot of new players
coming in the summer and now in
the transfer window so I think it’s
important we work on those new
relationships. Now is when
everything is going to be decided, the
Champions League starts, so we are
out of the cups but we have the
Champions League coming so
hopefully we can move on.”
Moving on would suit both these
clubs perfectly after a first half of the
season which has seen both
struggling to keep pace with the top
four places in the Premier League.
In the case of Liverpool, midfielder
Thiago Alcântara has finally admitted
that last season — during much of
which his team were competing for
middle of the field densely packed
with players.
But as the game wore on,
Bournemouth sank too deep to be
able to counterattack effectively, and
Forest were able to assert themselves
on the match, something which
O’Neil explained came as a
consequence of players such as
Ouattara being too willing to defend.
“[Ouattara’s] a great lad,” he said.
“With his work rate in training and
today in the game, we see how willing
he is to track back. Sometimes too
willing. He ended up deeper than we
would like him, because he’s so willing
to help out.
“Little bits that we can fix with him.
As a debut goes, having not trained
much, in a new country, with a group
of players you’ve never met, he was a
real bright spark. He’s brought some
positivity to the place.”
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
CHELSEA FC/GETTY IMAGES
an unprecedented quadruple — may
have carried a toll over into this one.
“It is not just about physical stuff, it is
something psychological because we
were so close to winning everything
and we just touched it but sadly it
went away,” the Spain player said
after the game.
“For sure, there is a long way to go.
We are in a position for the
Champions League and FA Cup. We
are not in the position we wanted in
the Premier League.
“I think [during] the bad moments
we have to be together as a team. Last
season we had one of the greatest
seasons I’ve ever had in my life.
“This season is not one of the best
but it doesn’t matter. It is a challenge
and I think we have great quality and
great guys to sort it out and I am sure
we will do that.”
O’Neil identified that Forest’s
threat lay in their ability in transition
and mostly mitigated it across the
match, but, nonetheless, it was where
Forest scored.
Kieffer Moore’s loose header was
picked up by Morgan Gibbs-White
just as Bournemouth had stepped up
to move into their possession shape.
His chipped pass into Brennan
Johnson, who ran in behind, was met
and then played across goal for
Surridge, who slid both the ball and
himself into the goal.
It was Forest’s only big chance of
the match, and demonstrative of a
side that sticks to its principles, even
when under pressure.
Though neither side nor manager
will be happy to drop points, there
were undoubtedly positives for both
that may stand them in good stead for
the matches ahead.
the times | Monday January 23 2023
Conte’s Spurs contract talks stall
GARY JACOB
Antonio Conte’s future at Tottenham
Hotspur was in doubt after contract
talks between the head coach and the
club were put on hold.
Conte, whose deal expires at the
end of the season, would prefer to
focus on turning around the team’s
form after three defeats in four
Premier League matches rather than
discuss his long-term future.
The 53-year-old also wants to see to
what extent he is backed when it
comes to signings this month, and has
also said he is coming to terms with
the recent deaths of three friends.
Conte was unable to agree an
improved deal with Tottenham in
‘My teacher told me
to choose between
school and football
. . . so I quit school’
Cristian Romero tells
Tom Allnutt about his
Argentinian upbringing,
World Cup fatigue and
pulling Cucurella’s hair
When Cristian Romero left his first
club in Argentina, the sporting
director said that he would be back in
three months, unemployed and
looking for a job. Five years on,
Romero could go back with a World
Cup winner’s medal hanging round
his neck.
It is just over a month since
Romero won the game’s most
prestigious prize in Qatar and seven
years since the Tottenham Hotspur
defender nearly gave up the game for
good. He was 17 and coming through
at Club Atlético Belgrano, in the
Argentinian city of Cordoba, when he
says his career began to unravel.
“In theory you think everything
must be perfect when you start out as
a professional footballer,” Romero
says. “But for me nothing was perfect.
The club and the people in charge at
that time, they treated me badly. They
didn’t make me feel happy.
“If I made a mistake, they said I
wasn’t professional, that I’d got too
big for my boots. They punished me
by making me run. It was hard, I
thought about giving up football. It
was a terrible year and a half and
then I went to Genoa and I was able
to start again.”
Romero was a revelation in Serie A,
his first year with Genoa enough to
persuade Juventus and Fabio Paratici,
now managing director of football
with Spurs, to sign him in 2019. After
being loaned back to Genoa, Romero
moved to Atalanta, where he won
Italy’s defender of the year award in
2021 before rejoining Paratici at
Tottenham later that summer.
In his 18 months with Spurs,
Romero has thrilled and frustrated in
equal measure. Injuries have meant
1GG
talks during the World Cup in Qatar.
Tottenham have the option to extend
his present contract by a year but he
has said he will only stay in charge
next season if he is happy. For their
part, it is thought that Tottenham
have been less than impressed with
Conte using his press conferences to
air grievances.
Conte’s future is not Tottenham’s
only problem after their managing
director Fabio Paratici was banned
from working in Italian football for 30
months on Friday for his part in
financial irregularities at Juventus,
where he worked for more than a
decade. Uefa and Fifa will be asked to
extend the ban worldwide, putting
into jeopardy his role at Spurs. The
club have declined to comment.
he has missed a hefty 28
matches but his
smoothness on the
ball, marauding
runs and
sensational sliding
tackles have left
nobody in any
doubt of his
quality. If fit,
Romero is the
kind of player
Tottenham should
be building their
future around.
What stands out
most is Romero’s
aggression, his
forceful, front-foot
style of defending,
rarely seen now
at the highest
level. “Maybe it’s
not so much
about aggression
and more about
giving everything,”
Romero says. “Where
I grew up and where I
came from, I was always
taught to give everything.
“Football can devastate you or
deprive you of many things but there
are people in Argentina, everywhere,
that do not have enough to eat, who
have to get up at six in the morning
to bring bread home.
“The bad things in football are not
really bad things, they are football
things. If you make a mistake, you
apologise and you move on.”
And yet there is a balance to be
struck, between that tenacity that
makes Romero such a formidable
opponent and recklessness, that takes
him over the edge. In August, he
escaped punishment for pulling Marc
Cucurella to the ground by his hair
after the Chelsea defender had earlier
landed a foot — deliberately or
accidentally it wasn’t clear — on
Romero’s knee.
“That was all a bit exaggerated,”
Romero says. “There was a bit of
revenge because he’d injured me and
Tottenham face Fulham tonight
having lost seven of their past 13
league matches and fallen behind in
the race for Champions League
places. Conte said on Friday that he
has not given up on finishing in the
top four despite acknowledging that
Tottenham must stop defending like a
relegation-threatened team.
Spurs have conceded 21 goals in
their past ten Premier League fixtures
— six have been lost — to drop out
of the top four after defeats by
Arsenal and Manchester City. They
were third in November but are now
six points adrift of fourth-placed
Newcastle United.
Spurs travel to west London
knowing another defeat would mean
dropping to sixth. More individual
Romero, who regrets his attack on Cucurella, inset bottom, is still getting over the World Cup. Inset top, visiting a local school
I kept playing even though it was
getting worse and I reacted badly. Of
course I shouldn’t have reacted like
that and I apologise for what
happened. But it’s the first time I’ve
been involved in something like that.”
Romero admits that his style is
defined by his early days in Argentina
but also by his personality, a desire to
push boundaries and rebel, tendencies
that have been there since he left
school at 13.
“When I was in high school I was
absent a lot,” says Romero. “My head
teacher said, ‘Concentrate on school
or go and play football,’ and he said
football would give me nothing. I
said, ‘Fine, I quit school. I’m going to
play football.’
“I was 13 years old; my mum
wanted to kill me. But I made the
errors cost them away to Manchester
City on Thursday, when they threw
away a 2-0 half-time lead to lose 4-2.
While Conte acknowledged mistakes
are being punished, he feels that his
team have to be more nasty to
rediscover the form that fired them
into the top four last May.
“We have to pay attention not only
to improve one side, don’t lose what
we created last season, the solidity,
the desire to defend the result, the
desire to win duels and don’t lose the
nastiness,” he said. “In football you
can be really good but if you are not
strong in every moment then you can
risk losing, but I have a group of
players who are intelligent, they know
the situation much better than me.
“They know they have conceded a
decision with the idea of playing in
the first division. I managed it and
more, things that I could never have
imagined.
“More than three weeks have
passed and it’s only now starting to
sink in: I am a world champion. I
watch highlights of that final and the
celebrations every day.”
Pride continues to reverberate,
even as far as Enfield, where Romero
paid a surprise visit to the children of
Suffolks Primary School last week, as
part of the work delivered by the
Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. One
of the teachers, who came from
Buenos Aires, beamed as Romero
signed a shirt for her 13-year-old son.
Antonio Conte, the Spurs head
coach, joked that he was worried
about when Romero would ever
11
thegame
lot of goals, many goals for a team
like Tottenham, and they know we
have to try to improve and there’s
only one way: to work, to stay
together and be strong.
“Maybe I was good to improve
football knowledges, tactical aspect
and offensive situation. Maybe I was
not so good to transfer this [nastiness]
to my players. When I speak, I speak
always about the team. We attack
with all the team and defend with all
the team. I think we have to try to
improve in this aspect with humility
and to find again the nasty that last
season we showed many times.”
FULHAM V TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
8PM KICK-OFF, CRAVEN COTTAGE
TV SKY SPORTS MAIN/PL RADIO TALKSPORT
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC/GETTY IMAGES
‘More than
three weeks
have passed
and it’s only
now starting
to sink in: I
am a world
champion’
return but the 24-year-old was back
on New Year’s Day and brought
swiftly back down to earth by a defeat
at home to Aston Villa. “Mentally I
was, and I think I still am, a little
exhausted,” says Romero.
Romero has played in Tottenham’s
past four Premier League games but
three of those were losses, with the
uncertainty around Conte’s future still
hanging in the air ahead of tonight’s
tricky game away to Fulham.
“In the end he’s the one who makes
the decisions so we follow the coach,”
says Romero. “We’re working to get
out of this situation. It’s hard, but
we’re going to get out of it.”
6 Cristian Romero was speaking at
Suffolks Primary School, Enfield, at a
football session delivered by the
Tottenham Hotspur Foundation.
12
thegame
Abandoned after six minutes
MOLLY HUDSON
Chelsea’s match against Liverpool was
postponed after only six minutes of
play in farcical scenes in the Women’s
Super League.
It is understood that after an initial
inspection at 9.30am, the referee, Neil
Hair, deemed the Kingsmeadow pitch
unplayable. This was confirmed by
Emma Hayes, the Chelsea manager,
live on the BBC’s coverage. Chelsea
did not confirm that the match was
on until a tweet at 10.16am.
The idea of moving the game to
2pm was explored, and would have
been supported by Liverpool, but it
was agreed that the match would be
played at the original 12.30pm kick-off
time, given it was live on BBC2.
It was decided that the pitch
would be given every chance to thaw
under a heat tent, and while the
surface was deemed playable,
conditions deteriorated after the tent
was removed given the freezing
temperatures.
“You could see from the opening
minutes that it was like an ice rink
down the sides,” Hayes told the BBC.
“It’s not for managers to decide if it’s
on — it’s up to the FA and officials.
We have to say to ourselves that it’s
time for undersoil heating. We’ve got
to take our game seriously.
“The game should never have
started. Everyone wanted to get the
game on but when you have got
teams wanting or not wanting to play,
that’s when you need a decision from
above. The FA weren’t here — they
need to be making the decision.”
Matt Beard, the Liverpool head
coach, agreed: “It wasn’t playable at
9.30am. It should have been called off
this morning. It’s frustrating. It should
never have started.”
Kingsmeadow does not have
undersoil heating. As well as the tent,
ground staff used leaf blowers to
move ice to the edge of the pitch. It is
UNITED TAKE ADVANTAGE
Manchester United capitalised on
their title rivals’ postponed games
with a 1-0 win away to Reading to go
top of the WSL. Rachel Williams,
three minutes after coming on,
scored in the 87th minute. Katie
Zelem had a first-half penalty saved
by Reading’s Jacqueline Burns.
understood that while the surface of
the grass became soft, there was a
solid layer of ice underneath. Chelsea’s
Niamh Charles and Erin Cuthbert
slipped over in the opening minutes.
The referee then deemed the pitch
was not safe to continue. Hayes spoke
to fans using the in-stadium
microphone and apologised.
Liverpool fans had set off at 5am to
watch the match. “Whoever made the
decision for the game to be on, it has
put players at risk today,” Beard said.
The FA said in a statement:
2GG
CLIVE ROSE/GETTY IMAGES
Ground staff
worked hard to
clear ice but
Cuthbert, left,
was one of
many to slip
“Following inspections before the
match, the pitch was deemed to be
playable. However, shortly after kick-
off, the referee made the decision to
abandon the match in order to
protect the safety of the players,
which is paramount. We sincerely
apologise to all fans who travelled.”
Brighton & Hove Albion’s match
against Arsenal was also postponed,
and Lotte Wubben-Moy, the Arsenal
defender, dug into her own pockets to
help soothe fans’ frustrations.
The 24-year-old took to Twitter to
tell members of the Arsenal Women
Supporters’ Club who had made the
trip to watch the match at Crawley
Town’s Broadfield Stadium that she
had left money behind the bar at a
nearby pub. “Get a cranberry juice
and crisps on me,” she tweeted.
“Enjoy the men’s game [Arsenal v
Manchester United]. Sorry about our
postponed game. Changes need to be
made. They will be made. In the
meantime, stay hydrated.”
Monday January 23 2023 | the times
Carrick gets
heated over
Fry red card
Sunderland
Stewart 51, Diallo 81
2
Middlesbrough 0
RATINGS
Sunderland (4-2-3-1): A Patterson 7 — T Hume 7,
D Ballard 7, D Batth 7, A Alese 7 (B Wright 70min,
6) — C Evans 5 (E Michut 11, 7), D Neil 6 —
P Roberts 8 (A Ba 82), A Diallo 8, J Clarke 6
(J Bennette 82) — R Stewart 8.
Middlesbrough (4-2-3-1): Z Steffen 3 — T Smith 4,
D Fry 2, D Lenihan 6, R Giles 6 — J Howson 4,
H Hackney 6 — M Forss 2 (C Archer 65, 6), C
Akpom 6, R McGree 6 ( Watmore 83) — M Crooks
4 (P McNair 52, 6). Booked Howson, Forss. Sent
off Fry.
Referee J Linington. Attendance 42,584.
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
JASON MELLOR
Michael Carrick was critical of the
referee, James Linington, after his
Middlesbrough side missed a chance
to climb to third in the Sky Bet
Championship.
Carrick was unhappy at the penalty
conceded by Dael Fry that led to the
defender’s red card early in the
second half.
The contest hinged on Fry’s 49th-
minute tangle with Ross Stewart, who
went to ground after a foot-race to
Patrick Roberts’ through ball. The
contact was outside the area, the fall
inside, which was enough for
Linington to point to the spot and
send off Fry.
Zack Steffen saved Stewart’s
penalty but the rebound fell invitingly
for the Scot to net from the rebound.
“First and foremost, it was outside
the box,” Carrick said. “Dael didn’t
deliberately try to bring him down. It
wasn’t a push or a trip, it wasn’t
deliberate by any stretch so I can’t
understand why he gave the penalty
and sent him off.”
Sunderland would have won with
something to spare had they taken
any of their numerous presentable
early chances, with Amad Diallo and
Stewart the main culprits.
But just as Middlesbough’s ten men
threatened an equaliser, Diallo, who
worked under Carrick in the Old
Trafford youth set-up, cut back onto
his left foot to beat Steffen at his near
post to seal victory for the hosts.
the times | Monday January 23 2023 1GG 13

thegame
POSTCARDS FROM THE PYRAMID Kit Shepard and Ian Whittell on the biggest
stories from the EFL each weekend

Stevenage’s bandwagon gathering pace

January keeps getting better for
Stevenage. Two weeks after
eliminating Aston Villa from the FA
Cup, they beat Leyton Orient 3-0 at a
sold-out Lamex Stadium to move
within two points of Saturday’s
opponents at the top of Sky Bet
League Two. Win their game in hand
away to Swindon Town tomorrow
and Stevenage will reach the summit.
Orient have led the division since
October but were held by Stevenage
at home last month and have now
suffered their heaviest defeat of the
season against Steve Evans’s side.
Evans characteristically
downplayed expectations. “I’m
looking at the heavens above, we’re so
lucky to have taken four [points] from
six,” the Stevenage manager said.
“[Orient] have got lots of wonderful
players and Richie [Wellens] is a
really good manager.
“I think they will be in League One
[next season], whether we’re good
enough to see it through, we will see.”
Despite Evans’s supposed
scepticism, Stevenage are 13 points
clear of Carlisle United, who occupy
fourth, the first place outside the
automatic spots. Failure to go up
needs something catastrophic to
happen. Returning to League One
would mark a superb turnaround for
a team that finished 21st last season
and needed Macclesfield Town’s
points deduction to avoid relegation
from the EFL in 2020.
“If I’d had watched this club for
four or five years at the bottom of the
garden, the curtains would have been
shut, the blinds would have been done
up and I’d put the telly on because it
wasn’t good,” Evans, who was
appointed last March, said.
The masses are watching now.
Saturday’s attendance (6,989) broke
the club’s EFL record, and the noisy
home support was quickly rewarded.
In the sixth minute, an innocuous
free kick from Taye Ashby-
Hammond, Stevenage’s goalkeeper,
was flicked on by Dan Sweeney. Jamie
Reid beat Lawrence Vigouroux to the
ball and nodded home.
Orient had conceded the fewest
goals per game in the top four
divisions prior to Saturday’s
encounter, but their defence has been
decimated by Dan Happe’s injury and
suspensions for Omar Beckles and
Tom James. Another long ball caused
problems six minutes later, before
Jordan Roberts capitalised on
retreating opponents to cut inside
from the right and beat Vigouroux at
his near post.
However, nothing epitomised the
visitors’ dismal showing better than
Idris El Mizouni’s red card, Orient’s
third in four games, just before half-
time. The midfielder snatched the ball
after going down and, rather than
winning a free kick, received a second
booking for a handball.
The second half was competitive
but Luke Norris, an 89th-minute
substitute, got Stevenage’s third in
injury time from another long ball. By
then, many away supporters had left.
Orient are a reassuring 15 points
ahead of Carlisle but, with only one
win and one goal in six games,
coupled with discipline problems, this
performance was concerning.
“When we fill out the stand and
then finish the game with only a
couple of hundred there, that breaks
my heart, because it was nowhere
near good enough,” Wellens said.
While Orient regroup, Stevenage
can look forward to an FA Cup tie
away to Stoke City on Sunday and
Roberts, 29, is full of belief.
“With what we did at Villa, we have
got nothing to fear, so we’ll go to the
game with our chests out and
hopefully they will be worried about
us,” he said.
Stoke would be foolish not to be.
STEVE BAILEY/PROSPORTS/SHUTTERSTOCK

Ipswich in the dark
after fog-affected defeat
Ipswich Town are to seek
clarification from the EFL
over the referee Bobby
Madden’s handling of their
controversial 2-1 defeat
away to Oxford United, a
game which was almost
abandoned due to fog.
The Oxford manager,
Karl Robinson, and his
Ipswich counterpart,
Kieran McKenna, agreed,
post-match, that the game
should have been stopped
before Cameron
Brannagan’s 83rd-minute
winner.
McKenna claimed that a
second consultation
between the managers
and Madden ended with
the official informing them
that if the game was
abandoned after the
75-minute mark, the result
would stand.
But this is erroneous
and contradicts EFL
regulation 34.2 which
states that any game that
falls short of 90 minutes
can either be replayed or
the result could stand, at
the discretion of the EFL
Burgess of
Ipswich heads
clear on what
was a foggy
afternoon at
board. Precedent strongly the Kassam
suggests that had the
game been abandoned,
the board would have
ordered it to be replayed.
“When the referee came
over the first time at the
start of the second half he
said that the players were
saying it was OK on the
pitch and they wanted to
continue,” McKenna said.
“I thought it got much
worse as the half went on.
That’s why we called the
referee over again on
74 minutes to discuss it
because, at that point,
both myself and Karl, I
believe, were both
happy to play the game
another day because it
was going to be a lottery
playing it in those last 20
minutes.
“I think the captains on
the pitch were prepared
for an abandonment, but
the referee said that if it
got abandoned after the
75th minute, even though
it got stopped on the 74th
minute, the result would
stand.”

Neville riled
over late call
On a weekend where 14 EFL games
were postponed, Gary Neville, a
co-owner of Salford City, led calls for
the EFL to review its protocols for
potentially unplayable weather after
his club was embroiled in controversy.
Barrow have officially complained
to the Professional Game Match
Officials Board after their match,
which involved Salford making a
200-mile round trip, was called off by
the referee Sam Barrott just over two
hours before kick-off.
The home side claimed their
surface was playable. And Neville
tweeted: “I think the EFL have to look
at a new approach to cancelling
games. We’ve been caught out in the
past so this isn’t a blame message, but
today so many games have been
called off so late that it needs to be
addressed. Fans/teams have spent a
lot without proper warning.”
Touré looks on Video clips help Norwich
the bright side
If points were awarded for the power
of positive thinking, Kolo Touré
would be pushing for promotion to
the Premier League. Unfortunately
for the Wigan Athletic manager, his
attitude has yet to impact results.
Appointed during the World Cup
break, Touré has seen Wigan pick up
only two points in his seven league
games in charge, with a 2-0 home loss
to Luton Town leaving them at the
foot of the Sky Bet Championship.
Wigan have lost 11 of their past
league 15 games, leaving them
favourites for relegation — not that
Touré will accept that analysis.
“When you take a team that’s in a
relegation battle it’s tough, but I love
challenges,” he said. “I’m always
positive and if things go well and we
stay up, it’s going to be unbelievable.
“And that’s all I see, the positive
side. I don’t see the negative.”
David Wagner’s remarkable impact
on Norwich City’s goalscoring
abilities continued away to Coventry
City where, for the second away
game in succession, his side scored
four times.
This 4-2 win was a more anxious
affair than the 4-0 victory at Preston
North End seven days earlier but it
re-established Norwich in the tight
chase for the play-off places, in which
six points separate third and 13th.
Having scored six goals in their
previous nine games, a run which cost
Dean Smith the manager’s job,
Wagner has revitalised a team that
have now scored two more goals on
their travels (21) than at home.
Norwich raced into a 3-0 lead
inside 18 minutes but the home side
responded with two goals in the next
eight minutes. Kieran Dowell then
calmed the visiting side’s nerves
midway through the second half.
“We didn’t control the ball. We
Dowell celebrates after the fourth goal
didn’t control the game. It looked like
in boxing when you don’t use your
fists for defending. Every hit was like
a hit in the face,” Wagner said.
“Even at 3-0 up, we looked nervous.
But at half-time we showed them
some clips of how they could have
done better and, from then on, it was
an enjoyable afternoon.”
Blackburn’s run
draws to a close
One of the EFL’s more unusual
statistical anomalies ended at Ashton
Gate where, for the first time since
April 9, Blackburn Rovers drew.
A run of 32 Championship games
without a draw was ended when
Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo
cancelled out Bradley Dack’s opener.
The £15 million-rated Semenyo is
attracting interest from Premier
League clubs. Bournemouth have
already failed with two bids, though
his team-mate Zak Vyner hopes
Bristol City will retain his services.
“I really do hope that Ants stays,
especially if he keeps scoring,” the
defender said. “It’s a big thing for the
club and the squad because he’s on
red-hot form right now.
“Ants has had a whirlwind season,
playing at the World Cup with Ghana,
which is the greatest honour, and he’s
really come back firing.”
14 1GG Monday January 23 2023 | the times

thegame
Premier League
HOME AWAY
P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
W 1 Arsenal..........................................19 8 1 0 25 10 8 1 1 20 6 29 50
W 2 Manchester City.......................20 9 1 1 38 12 5 2 2 15 8 33 45
W 3 Newcastle...................................20 6 4 0 18 5 4 5 1 15 6 22 39

Game in
W 4 Manchester United..................20 7 1 1 17 5 5 2 4 15 20 7 39
W 5 Tottenham..................................20 6 0 4 21 15 4 3 3 18 16 8 33
Y 6 Brighton........................................19 4 2 3 16 10 5 2 3 21 17 10 31
W 7 Fulham.........................................20 5 3 2 18 15 4 1 5 14 14 3 31
Y 8 Brentford.....................................20 5 4 1 20 10 2 5 3 12 18 4 30
Z 9 Liverpool......................................19 6 3 1 23 9 2 2 5 11 16 9 29

numbers
W 10 Chelsea ........................................ 20 5 2 2 13 7 3 3 5 9 14 1 29
W 11 Aston Villa .................................. 20 5 2 3 15 11 3 2 5 8 16 -4 28
W 12 Crystal Palace............................20 4 3 4 11 16 2 3 4 7 11 -9 24
Y 13 Nottingham Forest..................20 4 3 3 13 12 1 3 6 3 23 -19 21
Z 14 Leicester......................................20 2 3 5 11 12 3 0 7 17 23 -7 18
Z 15 Leeds.............................................19 3 4 3 15 14 1 2 6 11 19 -7 18
Y 16 West Ham....................................20 4 1 5 11 12 1 2 7 6 13 -8 18
Y 17 Wolves ......................................... 20 3 2 5 6 14 1 3 6 6 16 -18 17 Bill Edgar on Haaland’s record- WATFORD (2019-2021)
Z 18 Bournemouth............................20 3 3 4 10 11 1 2 7 9 31 -23 17
Z 19 Everton........................................20 2 2 6 9 14 1 4 5 6 14 -13 15 breaking hat-trick haul, familiar
W 20 Southampton.............................20 1 3 6 9 17 3 0 7 8 18 -18 15
stalemates and Forest taking a
leaf out of Clough’s play book
Sky Bet Championship
HOME AWAY
P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts
W 1 Burnley.........................................28 11 4 0 32 12 7 4 2 23 14 29 62
W 2 Sheffield United........................28 9 3 2 30 13 8 3 3 18 11 24 57
W 3 Watford........................................28 7 3 4 20 13 5 5 4 14 16 5 44 Historic hat-trick hero seven of the past ten Premier League
Y 4 Blackburn....................................28 9 0 4 20 13 5 1 9 11 22 -4 43 hat-tricks.
Y 5 Norwich........................................28 5 4 5 19 16 7 2 5 21 15 9 42 Manchester City’s Erling Haaland
Z 6 Middlesbrough..........................28 6 5 2 18 12 6 1 8 24 23 7 42 yesterday became the first player to Repeat double
Y 7 Luton Town ................................ 27 3 7 3 18 16 8 2 4 17 13 6 42 complete four hat-tricks in his first 19
W 8 Millwall.........................................27 8 3 2 20 8 4 3 7 13 19 6 42 appearances in the English top flight. Manchester City, in successive games
Y 9 Sunderland.................................28 5 4 5 19 16 6 4 4 22 16 9 41 The Norwegian, whose goals saw off in August, won 4-2 at home from 2-0
Z 10 West Brom..................................28 6 4 4 20 14 5 4 5 18 16 8 41
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0, down at half time (against Crystal
Y 11 Preston.........................................28 3 4 7 8 18 8 3 3 18 13 -5 40
pipped Hughie Gallacher, who Palace) and then won at home with a
Z 12 Swansea.......................................28 6 2 5 20 16 4 7 4 20 22 2 39
Z 13 QPR................................................28 5 4 5 17 18 5 4 5 14 16 -3 38 struck four hat-tricks in his first 20 Haaland hat-trick (against
W 14 Reading........................................28 8 2 3 20 14 3 2 10 11 28 -11 37 top-division games for Newcastle Nottingham Forest); exactly the
W 15 Coventry......................................27 6 4 4 17 14 3 4 6 12 17 -2 35 United in 1925-26. The next best is same has happened in their past two
W 16 Hull ................................................ 28 4 3 7 14 23 5 4 5 19 21 -11 34 Claude Lambie’s four in 23 for matches, against Tottenham Hotspur
W 17 Bristol City...................................28 5 4 6 19 17 3 5 5 18 21 -1 33 Burnley in 1890-91. Haaland’s 25 and Wolves.
Y 18 Stoke.............................................28 4 3 7 17 18 5 3 6 16 19 -4 33 league goals have come in only 19 Craig Dawson, who has signed for
Z 19 Birmingham................................28 4 5 6 18 18 4 3 6 12 17 -5 32
appearances — he is the fastest to Wolves from West Ham United, will
Z 20 Rotherham..................................28 5 4 4 24 17 2 6 7 9 23 -7 31
reach that tally in top-flight history. become the first player to appear for
W 21 Cardiff...........................................28 4 5 6 11 13 3 3 7 10 18 -10 29
W 22 Huddersfield..............................26 5 2 7 13 14 2 3 7 12 19 -8 26 Haaland’s four hat-tricks have each four W clubs in the top flight – his
W 23 Blackpool.....................................27 3 3 7 14 19 3 5 6 14 21 -12 26 spanned no more than half an hour. previous two were Watford and West
W 24 Wigan............................................28 2 3 10 11 30 4 4 5 16 19 -22 25 In home league games he has Bromwich Albion. City will be happy
recorded more hat-tricks (four) than to face him: their 3-0 win yesterday
zeros (two). maintained their record of averaging
Sky Bet League One Haaland did his work quickly and exactly three goals per game in their
efficiently against Wolves: he was the 46 matches against W teams under
HOME AWAY first Premier League hat-trick scorer Pep Guardiola. completed three 0-0s in a row
P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts to be substituted off as early as the against each other in all competitions
W 13 0 1 29 11 5 7 2 22 18 22
1 Plymouth.....................................28 61
61st minute since Arsenal’s Sylvain Fruitless pairs since Middlesbrough and Charlton
W 2 Sheffield Wed.............................27 9 4 1 31 11 8 3 2 16 7 29 58
W 3 Ipswich.........................................27 7 5 1 23 10 7 4 3 26 18 21 51
Wiltord against West Ham United in Athletic in February 2002 – then it
W 4 Derby............................................26 9 2 2 25 11 4 6 3 13 9 18 47 March 2001. City players have scored No pair of Premier League teams had happened twice on Saturday:
W 5 Bolton............................................27 8 4 2 19 8 4 4 5 15 14 12 44
W 6 Barnsley.......................................25 8 1 4 20 14 5 3 4 13 10 9 43
W 7 Peterborough ............................ 25 8 1 3 24 9 4 1 8 17 22 10 38
W 8 Wycombe....................................26 6 3 4 19 13 5 2 6 14 14 6 38 Results
W 9 Bristol Rovers.............................27 5 4 4 21 22 5 3 6 21 23 -3 37
Y 10 Oxford United............................26 5 3 5 18 14 4 5 4 15 15 4 35 Premier League QPR (1) 1 Swansea (0) 1 League Two
Y 11 Shrewsbury................................26 6 2 6 18 18 4 3 5 14 12 2 35 Arsenal (1) 3 Man United (1) 2 Lowe 27 Fulton 81 Colchester (0) 0 Gillingham (2) 2
Z 12 Exeter City...................................27 5 4 4 19 17 4 4 6 20 22 0 35 Nketiah 24, 90 Rashford 17 16,110 5,435 Tutonda 36
Z 13 Port Vale......................................25 5 3 4 13 13 5 2 6 14 21 -7 35 Saka 53 Martínez 59 Stoke (1) 4 Reading (0) 0 Nichols 45+3
Z 14 Charlton.......................................26 6 5 3 26 17 2 5 5 14 19 4 34 60,325
Smallbone 11 19,157 Hartlepool (0) 2 Rochdale (0) 0
W 15 Portsmouth.................................24 4 7 2 19 15 4 3 4 12 15 1 34 Bournemouth(1) 1 Nottm Forest(0) 1 Campbell 57 Umerah 54 4,353
W 16 Lincoln City.................................25 2 10 0 13 10 4 2 7 11 20 -6 30 Anthony 28 Surridge 83 Brown 80 Hamilton 64
W 17 Fleetwood Town.......................26 2 5 5 11 12 4 6 4 18 16 1 29 10,248 Gayle 83
Sent off: Ebanks-Landell (Rochdale) 51 ,
W 18 Cheltenham................................26 5 1 6 13 16 3 3 8 10 18 -11 28 C Palace (0) 0 Newcastle (0) 0 Sunderland (0) 2 Midd’brough (0) 0 Graham (Rochdale) 90+1
Y 19 MK Dons......................................26 2 3 8 10 20 5 1 7 15 17 -12 25 25,350 Stewart 51, Diallo 81 42,584 Stevenage (2) 3 Leyton O (0) 0
Z 20 Accrington Stanley..................25 3 5 4 16 18 3 2 8 8 23 -17 25 Sent off: Fry (Middlesbrough) 49 Reid 6, Roberts 11 6,989
Leeds (0) 0 Brentford (0) 0
Z 21 Morecambe.................................25 4 5 4 16 16 1 4 7 10 19 -9 24 Watford (0) 1 Rotherham (1) 1 Norris 90+1
Z 22 Cambridge United....................26 5 2 6 12 16 2 1 10 11 30 -23 24 36,260
Fonseca Ferreira 53 Ferguson 20 Sent off: El Mizouni (Leyton Orient) 45
W 23 Burton Albion............................26 3 4 6 14 23 2 3 8 18 31 -22 22 Leicester (1) 2 Brighton (1) 2 18,911
W 24 Forest Green Rovers...............27 4 0 10 11 25 1 6 6 12 27 -29 21 Albrighton 38 Mitoma 27 National League
Wigan (0) 0 Luton (1) 2
Barnes 63 Ferguson 88 Bromley (1) 2 Aldershot (1) 2
32,056 11,125 Cornick 11
Adebayo 53 Cheek 36, 73 Hutchinson 16
Liverpool (0) 0 Chelsea (0) 0 2,764 Bingham 70 (og)
Sky Bet League Two League One
Barnsley (3) 3 Accrington (0) 1
Maidstone Utd(0) 2 Wrexham (1) 3
HOME AWAY Man City (1) 3 Wolves (0) 0 Barham 72, 79 Young 29
Norwood 5 Leigh 90+4 (pen) 3,341 Mullin 59 (pen)
P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts Haaland 40, 50 (pen), 53,282 Aitchison 8 9,893 Hayden 90+1
W 1 Leyton Orient.............................27 10 3 1 20 4 7 3 3 16 12 20 57 54 Williams 19
W 2 Stevenage...................................26 12 1 1 27 6 4 6 2 12 12 21 55 Southampton(0) 0 Aston Villa (0) 1 Derby (1) 2 Bolton (0) 1 P W D L F A GD Pts
W 3 Northampton.............................26 7 3 3 20 13 6 4 3 20 15 12 46 Watkins 77 Mendez-Laing 16 Sadlier 90+3 Notts County.....27 18 8 1 69 25 44 62
6 5 1 17 9 5 4 4 22 16 14 Hourihane 72 30,004 Wrexham............26 19 5 2 67 23 44 62
W 4 Carlisle..........................................25 42
Woking................26 16 4 6 47 25 22 52
Y 5 Salford City.................................25 5 4 4 15 13 7 1 4 19 11 10 41 West Ham (2) 2 Everton (0) 0 Forest Green (1) 1 MK Dons (1) 2 Chesterfield.......23 15 4 4 49 27 22 49
Y 6 Swindon.......................................26 6 4 3 19 10 5 4 4 14 15 8 41 Bowen 34, 41 Peart-Harris 29 Eisa 43, 51 Barnet..................24 12 5 7 44 41 3 41
Z 7 Bradford.......................................25 5 5 3 17 13 6 2 4 14 12 6 40 2,919 Southend............25 10 8 7 33 21 12 38
Bromley..............26 10 8 8 39 34 5 38
Z 8 Barrow..........................................26 8 1 4 19 11 4 3 6 13 19 2 40 Oxford Utd (1) 2 Ipswich (1) 1 Dag & Red..........24 11 5 8 39 38 1 38
W 9 Mansfield Town........................26 5 5 3 21 19 6 1 6 15 16 1 39 Sky Bet Championship Wealdstone........25 10 7 8 32 36 -4 37
Wildschut 34 Davis 38
Y 10 Stockport County.....................24 6 3 3 17 10 5 1 6 18 13 12 37 Birmingham (0) 1 Preston (2) 2 Brannagan 83 Altrincham.........26 9 9 8 40 47 -7 36
7 2 3 19 11 3 5 4 11 11 8 Eastleigh.............26 10 5 11 32 33 -1 35
W 11 Walsall..........................................24 37 Jutkiewicz 83 Ledson 10 Plymouth (2) 4 Cheltenham (1) 2 Boreham Wood24 8 9 7 28 25 3 33
Z 12 Doncaster....................................25 7 1 4 19 16 4 3 6 11 19 -5 37 1,659 Browne 15 Solihull Moors...25 9 6 10 37 36 1 33
Scarr 26, Hardie 28 Perry 40 York......................26 8 8 10 32 30 2 32
W 13 AFC Wimbledon........................26 5 4 3 14 11 4 5 5 15 17 1 36 Bristol City (0) 1 Blackburn (0) 1 Wright 64 May 70
Z 14 Sutton United.............................27 8 2 3 16 12 2 4 8 11 23 -8 36 FC Halifax...........25 9 5 11 24 32 -8 32
Semenyo 68 Dack 54 Cosgrove 83 16,097 Aldershot............27 9 3 15 36 47 -11 30
W 15 Tranmere.....................................26 5 4 4 18 12 4 4 5 10 11 5 35 19,882 Dorking W..........27 8 6 13 44 64 -20 30
Portsmouth (0) 2 Exeter (0) 0
W 16 Grimsby Town...........................24 3 5 4 13 15 5 1 6 13 17 -6 30 Sent off: Ayala (Blackburn) 74 Maidenhead.......27 8 5 14 29 40 -11 29
Pack 57, Morrell 74 18,719 Yeovil...................25 5 12 8 21 26 -5 27
W 17 Crewe............................................24 5 4 4 14 13 2 5 4 6 15 -8 30 Cardiff (0) 0 Millwall (1) 1 Oldham ............... 24 6 6 12 30 40 -10 24
W 18 Newport County.......................26 3 3 7 11 16 3 5 5 13 14 -6 26 Sheff Wed (1) 1 Fleetwood (0) 0
18,838 Bradshaw 26 Gateshead..........25 4 10 11 31 41 -10 22
Y 19 Colchester...................................27 4 4 5 14 15 3 1 10 12 20 -9 26 Johnson 17 Torquay..............26 5 7 14 29 49 -20 22
Z 20 Harrogate Town........................25 4 4 5 18 20 2 2 8 14 20 -8 24
Coventry (2) 2 Norwich (3) 4 Shrewsbury (2) 5 Cambridge (0) 1
Maidstone..........28 5 6 17 33 62 -29 21
W 21 Crawley Town............................24 5 1 6 15 17 0 6 6 11 22 -13 22 Scunthorpe........27 4 7 16 32 55 -23 19
Allen 20 Rose 6 (og) Leahy 33 (pen), 90+1 Ironside 69
W 22 Hartlepool...................................26 3 5 5 13 21 2 2 9 13 26 -21 22 Palmer 26 Hernández 10 Shipley 45+5 5,841
Y 23 Gillingham...................................25 3 4 5 6 12 1 4 8 5 16 -17 20 19,877 Sargent 18 Pennington 57
Leahy scored two goals for
Z 24 Rochdale......................................27 2 2 9 11 20 3 3 8 11 21 -19 20 Dowell 65 Saydee 71 Shrewsbury against Cambridge
the times | Monday January 23 2023 1GG 15

thegame
blank against each other in one
DAWSON season having met at least three
SON IN SHADE
Tottenham’s Son Heung-min is on
LOVES A ‘W’ times.
Newcastle have kept clean sheets course to become the first leading
in their past nine games against top- scorer – or joint leading scorer – in the
flight opponents in all competitions, top flight to fail to reach double
the first to do so since Liverpool in figures in the next campaign since
2005. Steve Archibald in 1981-82 (among
those who played regularly in that
following season). Son finished level
Wembley rewind with Mohamed Salah on 23 goals last
The Liverpool v Chelsea outcome season but has managed only four
and Arsenal’s win over Manchester this time round
United were both exact repeats of 13 or fewer top-flight goals the
WEST BROM (2010-2019) an FA Cup final scoreline (2022 season after finished top/joint top
and 1979 respectively). Not only scorer, past 40 years*
did Arsenal beat United 3-2, but
their decisive goal after 89 minutes 2013-14 Robin van Persie, Man Utd
and eight seconds was only four 12
WEST HAM (2021-23) seconds later than Alan Sunderland’s
famous winner in 1979. 2010-11 Didier Drogba, Chelsea
Arsenal and Liverpool are on 11
course to record a 65-point swing
this season compared with last term: 2009-10 Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea
at this rate Arsenal will gain 31 11
points more and Liverpool 34 points 1999-2000 Michael Owen, Liverpool
fewer. 11
Leicester City’s Wout Faes is now
Liverpool’s top scorer over their 1993-94 Teddy Sheringham,
past six games, having scored two Tottenham
own goals for them.
13
Table trouble 1991-92 Alan Smith, Arsenal
12
Everton’s six defeats in their past
seven league games have come 1989-90 Alan Smith, Arsenal
against teams whose league positions, 10
before kick off, were 10th (Brighton),
17th (Bournemouth), 18th (Leicester), 1987-88 Clive Allen, Tottenham
18th (West Ham), 20th (Wolves) and 11
20th (Southampton). 1981-82 Peter Withe, Aston Villa
10
Branching out
Steve Archibald, Tottenham
Forest gave Wood a debut (Chris 6
Wood played for Nottingham Forest
against Bournemouth), perhaps *Minimum 20 appearances

WOLVES (2023- ) recalling a successful past tree link:

they lifted their first trophy under How last season’s top scorers
Brian Clough when winning the 1978 have fared this term
League Cup final with Chris Woods
Liverpool and Chelsea made it three Saturday – it was the first time the Newcastle 0-0s has occurred this and Tony Woodcock in the team. In Son Heung-min, Tottenham
goalless draws in succession, as did 12.30pm and 5.30pm kick-offs on season (two in the league, one in the Aston Villa’s matchday squad their 4 (18 apps)
Crystal Palace and Newcastle United. one Saturday had both failed to Carabao Cup): this is the first case oldest and youngest players were
It meant that television’s Super produce a goal. since the league’s formation in 1888 both Young – Ashley Young, 37, and Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
Sunday was preceded by a Stupor Each of those three Palace- of two top-flight teams drawing a Kadan Young, 17. 6 (19 apps)

Fixtures
National League North Eastbourne B (1) 3 Hungerford (0) 1 Scottish League Two Partick Thistle(0) 1 Dunfermline (1) 1 Kick-off 7.45 unless stated West Brom; Fulham v Sunderland; Ipswich
Buxton (0) 0 Hereford FC (0) 1 Annan Athletic(1) 4 Bonnyrigg R (0) 0 Today: Premier League Fulham v Town v Burnley; Luton Town v Grimsby;
Walker 11 McGrory 77 Fitzpatrick 51 Benedictus 42 (pen)
Hammond 49 3,218 Tottenham Hotspur (8.0). Manchester United v Reading (8.0); Preston
Thompson-Sommers 56 Smith 24 426 North End v Tottenham Hotspur (6.0);
(pen) Gravata 88 Goss 55, 78 (pen) Scottish Cup: Fourth round Darvel Juniors
(aet; 1-1 after 90min; Partick Thistle won 4-2 Sheffield Wednesday v Fleetwood Town;
Kilsby 74 v Aberdeen.
Gloucester (2) 2 Blyth Spartans(1) 2 Slough Town (2) 4 Dulwich H (0) 3 on penalties) Southampton v Blackpool; Walsall v
McHale 11, 14 Chiabi 45+3 Obi 7 Holland 49 East Fife (0) 1 Stranraer (2) 3 St Johnstone (0) 0 Rangers (1) 1 Leicester City (12.30); TBC v Leeds (12.30).
Tomorrow: Carabao Cup: Semi-final, first
Walker 62 Lench 22 Porter 78 Mercer 64 Walker 14 (pen) Barisic 45 Sky Bet Championship Huddersfield v
Goddard 59 (pen) Ming 83 (pen) leg Southampton v Newcastle United (8.0).
Hilton 41 Bristol City; Hull v QPR; Luton Town v
Sent off: Deverdics (Blyth Spartans) 24 , Taylor 66 (og) Brown 66 St. Mirren (0) 0 Dundee (0) 0 FA Cup: Third-round replay Accrington Cardiff City; Middlesbrough v Watford;
Morgan (Gloucester City) 90 , Nugent Stanley v Boreham Wood.
Weymouth (1) 1 Chelmsford (1) 2 4,254 Norwich City v Birmingham; West Brom v
(Gloucester City) 90 Sky Bet Championship Coventry v Wigan.
Kidderminster(0) 1 Bradford (PA) (1) 1 Ash 39 Grant 28 P W D L F A GD Pts Huddersfield.
786 Jackson 89 Dumbarton.........19 12 4 3 32 18 14 40 (aet; 0-0 after 90min; St. Mirren won 3-0 on League One Burton Albion v Oxford Utd;
Morgan-Smith 73 Preston 31 penalties) League One Accrington v Plymouth; Bolton Charlton v Bolton (12.30); Cheltenham v
Stirling Albion ... 18 11 3 4 39 21 18 36
2,193 Sent off: Rees (Weymouth) 90 Wanderers v Forest Green; Burton Albion v Port Vale; Lincoln v Cambridge Utd; MK
Elgin City............20 8 5 7 35 33 2 29 Stenhousemuir(1) 1 Livingston (0) 3 Peterborough; Cheltenham Town v
Scarborough (1) 1 AFC Fylde (1) 2 Annan Athletic .. 21 7 6 8 34 34 0 27 Dons v Exeter; Morecambe v Bristol Rovers;
P W D L F A GD Pts Jamieson 26 Pittman 52 Sheffield Wednesday; Exeter v Barnsley;
Ebbsfleet Utd....26 18 3 5 58 28 30 57 East Fife...............21 7 5 9 30 34 -4 26 Peterborough v Portsmouth; Shrewsbury v
Maloney 14 Obi 18 Bradley 55, 59 Fleetwood v Portsmouth; Ipswich v Forest Green.
1,556 Faal 83 Dartford..............28 18 3 7 58 29 29 57 Stranraer.............21 7 5 9 31 39 -8 26
Hav & Wat..........25 16 4 5 56 34 22 52 Forfar Athletic..20 7 4 9 22 27 -5 25 Morecambe; MK Dons v Shrewsbury; Port League Two AFC Wimbledon v Stockport
Chelmsford........26 14 5 7 35 23 12 47 Stenhousemuir 20 6 6 8 33 38 -5 24 Women’s Super League Vale v Derby; Wycombe v Oxford United. County; Barrow v Northampton Town;
Oxford City........29 12 10 7 47 39 8 46 Albion Rovers...20 6 5 9 26 26 0 23 Man City (1) 1 Aston Villa (1) 1 League Two AFC Wimbledon v Walsall; Crawley v Salford City; Harrogate v Sutton
P W D L F A GD Pts Bonnyrigg R......20 5 5 10 23 35 -12 20
Worthing.............27 12 10 5 45 38 7 46 Castellanos 28 Hanson 31 Carlisle v Hartlepool; Colchester v Salford United; Hartlepool v Colchester; Mansfield v
AFC Fylde...........24 16 3 5 41 23 18 51 St Albans City ... 26 12 6 8 42 26 16 42
King’s Lynn........23 14 6 3 43 22 21 48 City; Crawley v Grimsby; Stockport County Doncaster; Rochdale v Carlisle; Swindon v
Eastbourne B....28 13 3 12 47 43 4 42 Scottish Cup fourth round Chelsea A Liverpool A v Bradford City; Swindon Town v Gillingham; Tranmere Rovers v Leyton
Darlington..........26 14 5 7 50 35 15 47 Braintree.............26 11 7 8 40 35 5 40
Brackley Town..25 13 8 4 31 19 12 47
Alloa (1) 1 Falkirk (1) 2 Match abandoned due to frozen pitch Stevenage. Orient.
Tonbridge A ...... 27 11 4 12 40 46 -6 37
Scarborough.....27 13 6 8 49 44 5 45 Bath City.............26 9 8 9 37 36 1 35 Donnelly 21 McKay 45 Vanarama National League Boreham Vanarama National League Aldershot v
Chester FC ......... 26 11 11 4 41 25 16 44 Farnborough.....22 9 6 7 27 23 4 33 1,532 Burrell 77 Everton (2) 3 West Ham (0) 0 Wood v Dorking; Bromley v Dagenham & Oldham; Altrincham v Boreham Wood;
Chorley................26 10 9 7 36 25 11 39 Hemel Hemp.....26 9 6 11 31 36 -5 33 Redbridge; Chesterfield v Altrincham; Barnet v Chesterfield; Dagenham &
Gloucester City.28 11 6 11 42 44 -2 39 Welling ................ 25 8 8 9 35 41 -6 32 Holmgaard 3 Eastleigh v Barnet; Gateshead v Wrexham; Redbridge v Yeovil; Dorking v Solihull
Arbroath (0) 0 Motherwell (1) 2 Finnigan 12
Banbury United25 10 6 9 35 32 3 36 Dover Athletic..26 8 7 11 31 35 -4 31 Maidenhead v Southend; Maidstone v Moors; Notts County v Halifax; Scunthorpe
Southport...........25 10 6 9 36 34 2 36 Dulwich Ham .... 24 9 4 11 39 44 -5 31 4,145 Mandron 26, 90+4 Beever-Jones 70
Aldershot; Oldham v York; Solihull Moors v v Bromley; Southend v Eastleigh; Torquay v
Peterborough S26 10 6 10 34 34 0 36 Slough Town.....26 7 7 12 34 51 -17 28 Celtic (4) 5 Morton (0) 0 Reading (0) 0 Man Utd (0) 1 Notts County; Woking v Torquay; Yeovil v Maidstone Utd; Wealdstone v Gateshead;
Hereford FC.......26 10 5 11 32 30 2 35 Taunton Town...19 6 7 6 18 18 0 25 Wealdstone. York v Maidenhead.
Alfreton Town..24 8 10 6 30 24 6 34 Hamp & Rich.....24 6 6 12 30 41 -11 24 Mooy 18 (pen), 84 Williams 87
Turnbull 42 Cinch Scottish Premiership Hibernian v
Spennymoor......25 8 10 7 34 35 -1 34 Chippenham......23 6 6 11 21 33 -12 24
Furuhashi 21, 45+1 Wednesday: Carabao Cup: Semi-final, first Aberdeen; Rangers v St Johnstone; Ross
Kidderminster..26 9 7 10 25 28 -3 34 Concord R...........23 6 5 12 23 38 -15 23 German Bundesliga
Cheshunt ............ 25 7 2 16 30 48 -18 23 leg Nottingham Forest v Manchester County v Kilmarnock; St Mirren v
Leamington.......25 5 14 6 21 22 -1 29 Dundee Utd (1) 3 Uni of Stirling(0) 0 FC Köln 7 Werder Bremen 1; 1. Union Berlin 3
Bradford (P A)...27 7 8 12 27 36 -9 29 Weymouth.........24 5 3 16 26 48 -22 18 United (8.0). Motherwell.
TSG Hoffenheim 1; Borussia Dortmund 4 FC
Curzon Ashton.24 7 7 10 24 27 -3 28 Hungerford........25 4 4 17 19 36 -17 16 Behich 45 4,993 Vanarama National League Halifax v Cinch Championship Dundee v Queen’s
McGrath 68 Augsburg 3; Borussia Mönchengladbach 2
Boston United...26 7 5 14 36 44 -8 26 Bayer Leverkusen 3; Eintracht Frankfurt 3 FC Scunthorpe (7.30). Park; Morton v Arbroath; Partick v
Scottish League One Middleton 81 Hamilton; Raith v Inverness CT. League
Buxton.................26 6 8 12 24 36 -12 26 Schalke 0; VfB Stuttgart 1 FSV Mainz 05 1; VfL Women’s League Cup: Quarter-final
Kettering Town 25 6 8 11 23 39 -16 26 Peterhead (0) 1 Clyde (0) 0 Hamilton (0) 0 Ross County (0) 0 Bochum 1848 3 Hertha BSC 1; VfL Wolfsburg Tottenham v Chelsea. One Airdrieonians v Alloa; Clyde v
Farsley Celtic....24 5 6 13 26 43 -17 21 783 6 SC Freiburg 0. Dunfermline; FC Edinburgh v Falkirk;
Shanks 51 667
Blyth Spartans..25 4 8 13 26 41 -15 20 Italian Serie A Montrose v Kelty; Peterhead v Queen of
AFC Telford.......26 3 8 15 19 43 -24 17 P W D L F A GD Pts (aet; 0-0 after 90min; Hamilton Academical Thursday: Women’s League Cup: Quarter- South. League Two Albion v Forfar; Annan
won 5-3 on penalties) Fiorentina 0 Torino 1; Juventus 3 Atalanta 3; final Arsenal v Aston Villa.
Dunfermline......20 13 6 1 32 11 21 45 Monza 1 Sassuolo 1; Salernitana 0 Napoli 2; v East Fife; Dumbarton v Bonnyrigg;
National League South Falkirk.................20 11 5 4 42 23 19 38 Hibernian (0) 0 Hearts (1) 3 Sampdoria 0 Udinese 1; Spezia 0 Roma 2; Stenhousemuir v Elgin; Stirling Albion v
Braintree Town(0) 2 Bath City (1) 1 FC Edinburgh....22 12 2 8 43 32 11 38 Verona 2 Lecce 0. Friday: FA Cup: Fourth round Manchester Stranraer.
Alloa Athletic.....21 10 5 6 39 29 10 35 18,622 Ginnelly 10
Shankland 72 City v Arsenal (8.0).
White 75 Batten 45+2 Airdrieonians.....21 9 6 6 40 31 9 33 Spanish La Liga
Altintop 90+4 525 Sibbick 90+6 Cinch Scottish Championship Cove v Ayr. Sunday: FA Cup: Fourth round Brighton v
Montrose............22 9 6 7 31 27 4 33 Athletic Bilbao 0 Real Madrid 2; Atletico
Kelty Hearts.......22 8 4 10 23 30 -7 28 Sent off: Shankland (Hearts 90+1) Madrid 3 Real Valladolid 0; Barcelona 1 Getafe Liverpool (1.30); Stoke City v Stevenage
Concord R (0) 1 Oxford City (2) 2 Queen of South 22 7 5 10 34 37 -3 26 Kick-off 3.0 unless stated (2.0); Wrexham v Sheffield United (4.30).
Kilmarnock (0) 1 Dumbarton (0) 0 0; Elche 1 Osasuna 1; Espanyol 1 Real Betis 0;
Smith 70 Potter 13 Peterhead...........22 2 5 15 11 52 -41 11 Rayo Vallecano 0 Real Sociedad 2; Sevilla 1 Saturday: FA Cup: Fourth round Blackburn Cinch Premiership Dundee Utd v Celtic
McEachran 22 Clyde....................22 2 4 16 24 47 -23 10 Jones 90+1 3,705 Cádiz 0; Villarreal 1 Girona 0. Rovers v Birmingham City; Bristol City v (4.0); Livingston v Hearts (1.30).
16
IAN
HAWKEY
European Football
Barkley and Pépé fail to awaken
sleeping giants of Ratcliffe empire
No football for Nice, the club with the desirable
address and moneyed owners, yesterday. It was a
cup weekend and at Nice the blushes are still
crimson from what happened in the previous
round: they conceded a third-minute goal to
third-tier Le Puy and never answered back. It
was the biggest giant-killing to date in this
season’s Coupe de France.
In French football, where there is one towering
Goliath, Paris Saint-Germain, other would-be
giants tend to be medium-sized, or sleeping, such
as Marseille and Lyon. But if you measure the
clubs in PSG’s slipstream by the wealth and
sporting pedigree of their backers, Nice ought to
be on the podium. They joined the portfolio of
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group, keen bidders in
any sale of Manchester United, 3½ years ago. It
was a takeover that promised much.
So far there has been no podium finish, unless
you count the silver medal their dispirited players
picked up in May’s cup final, where they were
beaten not by PSG but by Nantes. That capped a
difficult week for the Ineos football project.
Ratcliffe’s offer to buy Chelsea had just been
rejected; the Swiss club owned by Ineos,
Lausanne-Sport, were relegated to the second
division. And, over in west Africa, the third
cousins in the Ineos family, Racing Abidjan, were
about to embark on a run of five league defeats
in six games, erasing any prospect of finishing in
the top half of the Ivorian first division.
Not quite the regular success of, say, Red Bull,
the multinational with various sporting tentacles
to which Ineos is sometimes likened. Next to Red
Bull racking up a Champions League semi-final
(RB Leipzig), a Copa Sudamericana final (RB
Bragantino of Brazil) and a US Cup final
(New York Red Bulls) in the past
half-a-dozen years, the Ineos
football empire compares poorly.
Set against the successes that
Ratcliffe’s petrochemical firm
has enjoyed in cycling and
Formula One, the football
arm looks weak and strangely
fidgety about its strategy.
Rewind to the summer of
2019. The takeover of Nice
had been completed for about
€100 million (now £87.7 million).
The landscape looked promising.
The club had use of the Allianz-
Riviera stadium, built to Euro 2016
specifications; they had billionaire Briton
Ratcliffe just down the road, resident in tax-
gentle Monaco. His brother, Bob, head of Ineos’s
football division, outlined ambitions. There
would be cross-fertilisation between the group’s
clubs and Ineos expertise in other sports. There
would be investment in youth.
“Nice aren’t going to be taking on players of
27 and 28,” Bob Ratcliffe explained. “We want to
develop players ourselves.” They duly signed the
21-year-old Denmark striker Kasper Dolberg
and the teenage midfielder Khéphren Thuram,
one in a curiously long line of footballers with
distinguished genes who gravitate to Ineos clubs:
Enzo Zidane to Lausanne; Thuram, Justin
Kluivert and Kasper Schmeichel to Nice.
Hindsight can make easy mischief with the
original manifesto, especially after a 2022 that
brought in the 27-year-old Nicolas Pépé and the
28-year-olds Ross Barkley and Joe Bryan, surplus
at Premier League clubs and on high salaries
by Ligue 1 standards. Pépé and Barkley may
have struck a brace each in the 6-1 win over
Montpellier 11 days ago, but it will take much
more for them to gain the sort of the affection
Nice supporters once held for the late-twenties
Barkley celebrates scoring the Nice equaliser in an eventual defeat away to Rennes
this month. He and Pépé, left, have yet to win over fans despite sizeable wages
mavericks Hatem Ben Arfa
and Mario Balotelli. That pair
were fun, and spearheaded
the club’s best finishes this
century, fourth in 2016 and
third in 2017.
The Ratcliffe reign has
registered two fifth places and a
ninth. Last January, Nice were briefly
second, but the fall since has been messy.
After the sacking of Lucien Favre in response to
the cup embarrassment, they are on a third head
coach, Didier Digard, in seven months. In the
executive posts, there has been much back-and-
forth too. Julien Fournier, widely admired for his
role in recruitment pre-Ineos, came back as a
director but left in the summer. Sir Dave
Brailsford, the influential cycling coach and
Ineos director of sport, has had a hands-on role.
If that’s one indicator of sharing resources across
the empire, the distancing of ties between Nice
and Lausanne is the opposite. Among the gripes
from Lausanne fans has been that the movement
of players between Racing Abidjan, Nice and
Lausanne was not serving the Swiss club but
hindering it.
Were United to be put at the summit of this
loose network, there would be complications
well beyond the transfer of junior players.
Clubs under the same ownership cannot meet
in Uefa competitions. There’s plenty of time to
disentangle those ties. Nice are not in the
running for a Champions League berth any time
soon. They sit tenth in Ligue 1, the disjointed,
dozing would-be giants of the Riviera.
2GG Monday January 23 2023 | the times
FUNNY
OLD
GAME
Comedian
George Lewis
reflects on the
week’s action
If aliens landed
tomorrow, they’d surely
be confused by the way we
worship our footballers like
they are gods. They would be
fascinated by the way the
people who happen to be good
at a simple game are given
a higher status than anyone
else in our society and are
showered with fame and
riches. We sing songs about
them. We tattoo their faces on
our bodies. We try to name
our kids after them, but our
wives won’t let us because they
think that Cantona Lewis
sounds stupid, and so we fall
out with those wives because
they just don’t get it.
Those aliens wouldn’t be
able to get their giant green
heads around the way we
devote our lives to football and
the people who play it. That’s
why I was quite sure that the
crop formation that appeared
in Argentina last week in the
shape of a 125-acre Lionel
Messi wasn’t the work of
extra-terrestrials. Only a
human would devote that
much time and effort to such
a pointless exercise.
When Gonzalo Montiel
scored his winning penalty
against France in the World
Cup final, hundreds of
thousands of people across
South America spilt out into
the streets to cheer, dance
and pop champagne corks,
but a farmer by the name
of Maximiliano Spinazze
thought, “No, that would be
far too predictable, pass me
the seed.” He will have been
thinking this to himself, of
course, because we can be
quite sure he’s single. He then
wandered out and began the
world’s biggest Art Attack.
The crop portrait is
surprisingly good, and is so
big it can be seen from space.
Messi is yet to comment,
Docked points may be but we can only speculate
that his lawyers are busy
least of Juventus woes working out how to make
sure the restraining order is
strict enough.
“Juventus is like a dragon with seven heads,” This wasn’t the only unusual
growled Leo Bonucci, the Juventus captain, on happening this week. Leicester
the news his club had been docked 15 Serie A City players were surprised
points for allegedly falsifying their accounts. “You when they spotted a UFO
can sever one head, but another will emerge.” above their training ground.
The difficulty for Juventus is that last week’s The small grey object turned
decapitation may yet be followed by several out to be a drone being used to
more. Although the points penalty, which spy on their training session.
plunged them from third in the table to ninth Spying has been traditionally
after last night’s 3-3 draw with Atalanta, will used by other teams to figure
be appealed against via the Italian Olympic out what tactics your
Committee — which can challenge but not opponent may be using to gain
reduce the sanction — there are further a competitive edge. But
repercussions from various inquiries into the Leicester, who are without a
club’s financial declarations. league win since November,
Among them, a Uefa investigation focused knew that it couldn’t be that.
not only on the alleged false valuation of It turned out to be a
Juventus players involved in transfers, but on any member of the public filming
misleading information about salary payments, for their TikTok channel. So,
particularly during the Covid-19 shutdown, when I searched TikTok for the
the club announced players had agreed to cut footage and, after hours and
their wages, but, according to Italian prosecutors, hours of wading through clips
merely deferred them. If information that of people dancing and popping
Juventus supplied to Uefa to satisfy Financial Fair spots, I can confirm that
Play rules is found to have been inaccurate, they Leicester’s training sessions
could be banned from European competitions, are incredibly boring, and if
whether or not they make up the gap to actually there are aliens visiting I’d
qualify or snatch a place in the next Champions quite like to join them on their
League by winning this season’s Europa League. planet. Ours is too weird.