The multiple standing ovations that Benjamin Netanyahu received in Washington this week, on his first trip abroad since the Hamas attack of 7 October, must have rung hollow even to his ears. The problem was not merely the distraction of the US political class ... More »
The new political dawn, when the BBC might have hoped for at least a brief period of tranquillity, came to an abrupt end with the double whammy of a scandal on one of its flagship programmes, Strictly Come Dancing, and an annual report which revealed that half... More »
I agree wholeheartedly with Chris Packham’s and Dale Vince’s article criticising the jailing of environmental protesters (You may find Just Stop Oil annoying. You may dislike their tactics. But they do not belong in prison, 19 July). It’s a chilling response t... More »
I used to share Emma Beddington’s dislike of smear tests and was further outraged to discover that here in Spain they are not performed in your local GP surgery (DIY smear tests are on their way? I’ll be first in the queue, 22 July). Instead I had to make an a... More »
Having just read Rajeev Syal’s article (Cut ‘unsustainable’ probation workload in England and Wales, urges watchdog, 22 July), I’m shaking my head in disbelief – again! All sensible commentators agree that the probation service is under severe workload pressur... More »
Rich Pelley’s article on swimming trunks (Brits have never taken to teeny tiny swimming briefs – but with celebrities getting on board, I took the plunge, 21 July) brought to mind my experience when buying a pair of swimming shorts. At my wife’s insistence I w... More »
I see the justification given for the royal family getting new helicopters (Report, 24 July) is that they give flexibility and easier access to remote areas. We find our VW campervan does the same – perhaps the king and queen could consider getting one of thes... More »
A week has always been a long time in politics, but this might have been the longest week in Kamala Harris’s life. While Joe Biden is still technically the US president, he already feels irrelevant. All eyes are on Harris now. The speed with which she has gone... More »
There is no such thing as a universal leader. Leaders always represent a specific social group: a political party, a religion or a social movement. The more they are loved by insiders, the more such adulation seems bizarre and inexplicable to outsiders – to th... More »
Every Labour government forges ahead with life-changing liberal reforms, and this one will be no exception. Expect the right to die to be one of this government’s landmarks, removing one of the last barriers to freedom over our own bodies. Everyone must die, b... More »
Could you name the 18 public inquiries currently open in the UK? I will start you off: the deadly fire at Grenfell Tower; the overreach of undercover policing; the abuse of children in care in Scotland; the mistreatment of migrants at the Brook House removal c... More »
Every Thursday at noon, outside the west door of Valencia’s cathedral, nine black-cloaked figures – one wearing a banded cap and with a ceremonial harpoon by their side – gather for their weekly meeting, as they have done for hundreds of years. This is the Tri... More »