The maverick China’s long A cancer

who defended march into patient’s life-

O.J. Simpson outer space saving mission
OBITUARIES BRIEFING P15 PEOPLE P12
P39

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4 NEWS The main stories…
What happened What the editorials said
The Cornwall summit This G7 summit “heralds the return of multilateralism”,
said The Daily Telegraph. After the bust-ups of the Trump
A huge security operation was under way this presidency, Joe Biden is “restoring the
week in preparation for the G7 summit at the Obama-era consensus”. And he’s doing so
Carbis Bay resort in Cornwall. The three-day at a time when the interests of the G7 nations
meeting, which is due to end on Sunday, is the appear to have come into closer alignment
first face-to-face gathering of world leaders on a range of issues, including Covid, the
since the start of the pandemic. The G7 club environment and taxes. Chancellor Rishi
of what used to be the world’s seven largest Sunak described the deal on tax reforms
economies includes the US, the UK, Canada, as “historic” and “seismic”, said The
Germany, France, Japan and Italy; Australia, Times. “For once, this may not have been
India, South Korea and South Africa will hyperbole.” Such international agreements
attend as guests. to collectively tackle “festering” problems do
not come along every day.
The gathering was billed as a chance for Boris Tight security on Cornwall’s coast
Johnson to showcase post-Brexit “Global The mooted changes to the tax rules
Britain”, and to inject new purpose into the G7. Climate governing multinationals are very “welcome”, said The
change will feature prominently on the agenda, and the PM Observer. As for the summit’s other aims – leading the post-
called for G7 leaders to ensure the whole world is vaccinated pandemic global recovery, promoting free trade, tackling
against Covid by the end of 2022. Ahead of the summit, G7 climate change, championing democratic values – these all
finance ministers struck what was hailed as a historic deal to sound good, but are just words for now. “Delivery is all.”
tackle tax avoidance by multinationals and tech companies. Leaders should be judged by their deeds, rather than their lofty
They each committed to a global minimum corporation tax of rhetoric, which are often at odds, agreed The Independent.
15% – reducing the advantages of shifting profits abroad – and Just look at Johnson, who now talks of the UK “leading the
to a new regime that would require large companies to pay world”, despite the fact that Britain has become the only G7
more tax in countries where they sell their goods and services. nation to cut its overseas aid budget (see page 23).

What happened What the editorials said

Freedom postponed?
A surge in Covid cases last week has ramped
up pressure on the Government to postpone
its much touted target of lifting all lockdown
restrictions in England by 21 June. A decision
is due on Monday. The 76% rise in infections
was attributed mainly to the Delta, or
“Indian”, variant, held to be 40% more
transmissible than earlier strains. People in
hard-hit regions of Greater Manchester and
Lancashire were urged not to travel far and to
meet outside in an effort to control the spread.
However, there was reassuring evidence that
vaccines work well against the variant: only
three of the 126 people hospitalised with the Cases are falling in Bolton
variant to date had had their second jab; 65%
of them hadn’t had a single dose.
In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the decision about
when to lift all restrictions is in each case under review.
Wales’s First Minster, Mark Drakeford, said social distancing
might need to continue in Wales for the rest of the year.
For months, Britons have looked forward to “Freedom Day”
on 21 June as the reward for their selfless sacrifices, said the
Daily Mail. Yet now, with days to go, there are
growing signs that the “misery” of lockdown
could extend “deep into summer” – despite the
“miraculous” success of vaccines, which appear
to have severed the link between infections and
deaths. It’s a mystifying development, said The
Daily Telegraph, and will have disastrous con-
sequences if it comes to pass. Almost a quarter
of restaurants, clubs, pubs and bars are yet to
reopen; many simply cannot operate with social
distancing in place. Some 8,500 have shut for
good. For the economy’s sake, the PM must defy
the “doomsayers” and stick to his roadmap.
Not everybody agrees, said The Independent.
In fact, polls show a majority of us still think it’s “too early
to allow unlimited numbers into concerts, theatres and sports
stadiums” and favour the retention of social distancing and
face coverings. If Boris Johnson does want to partially delay
the easing of remaining restrictions, as looks increasingly
likely, “he will find ready support from the people at large”.

It wasn’t all bad A hundred water voles released

The residents of a village in
Cumbria have saved their last
remaining shop by buying it
themselves. The small
convenience store in
Kirkoswald was put up for
sale after its owner, a local
philanthropist, died of Covid.
Rather than see it close, locals
started a fundraising campaign
to turn it into a community
business. Within six weeks,
they had raised their target of
£200,000, thanks to grants and
donations, some from as far
afield as the US and Cyprus.
THE WEEK 12 June 2021
in Yorkshire last autumn appear
A Catholic priest who streamed
Mass from a shed in his garden
to have settled in to their new in Inverness every day during
home, raising hopes for the lockdown is among the finalists
population’s future. Evidence for Shed of the Year. Father
has been found of them feeding Len Black, whose online
up to 500 metres from the congregants included curious
release site, in the Washburn non-Catholics and workers on
Valley; they have also dug a drilling platform in South
extensive burrows. Another 100 America, said the pandemic
voles were released this week, had been an opportunity to
for the second phase of the bring people together. Other
project run by Yorkshire Water. finalists in the contest, run by
Once widespread, the aquatic Cuprinol, include a shed that
rodents (immortalised as Ratty has been turned into a Peaky
in The Wind in the Willows) Blinders-themed bar, and
have suffered steep declines owing to habitat loss, water pollution, another that is being used as
and the predation of invasive American mink. a haven for endangered bats.
COVER CARTOON: NEIL DAVIES
 …and how they were covered NEWS 5
What the commentators said What next?
The exact purpose of the G7 has never been entirely clear, said Mark Wallace in The i Paper. After the G7 summit, talks
The club emerged organically in the 1970s as an informal forum. The lack of a set agenda can will progress to the larger
be helpful, but at times it has led the forum astray, such as when it rashly admitted Russia in G20 meeting in Italy next
the late 1990s, becoming the G8, amid “wildly excessive optimism about the ‘end of history’” month, when other big
(Russia was kicked out in 2014, after annexing Crimea). Today, the G7 nations are defined not nations – including China,
by their wealth or military muscle, but by their support for democratic values. India, Brazil and Russia – will
join negotiations, reports The
Back in the 1970s, G7 nations accounted for some 80% of global GDP, said Gideon Rachman Guardian. Any agreement on
in the FT; now, with the rise of China and others, it’s about 40%. But the global pandemic has tax reform would then need
provided the G7 with a chance to prove its continuing relevance, and the group has risen to the to be haggled over by the 135
challenge with its deal on corporate tax. The agreement suggests such institutions “can still nations at the Organisation
deliver meaningful change”, agreed Emily Tamkin in the New Statesman. A lot remains to be for Economic Co-operation
hammered out, but G7 leaders have taken the first symbolic step towards stopping what US and Development, which
treasury secretary Janet Yellen has called the global “race to the bottom” on taxation. could lead to a potential
global deal by October.
The agreement to tackle tech giants who currently get away with paying almost no tax is a
“breakthrough”, said Kate Andrews in The Spectator. Under the plan, big multinationals that As things stand, Amazon
achieve more than a 10% profit margin will have a proportion of their profits reassigned, and would not be affected by the
taxed in the countries where their goods or services are sold. Less welcome, however, is the tax plan aimed at tech giants,
plan for a minimum corporation tax rate of 15%. Although that’s lower than the current level as its profits fall below the
in most rich countries (the US and UK are about to hike theirs to 28% and 25%, respectively), 10% threshold. But it’s
it undermines the principle of competition and national autonomy. And 15% is only a starting thought Amazon’s lucrative
figure, said Kai Weiss on CapX. France’s finance minister has declared that “in the coming cloud computing unit could
months, we will fight to ensure this minimum corporate tax rate is as high as possible”. How be treated as a separate entity
odd that the UK is championing this when it was “precisely these kinds of top-down, one-size- to stop the group from
fits-all plans implemented by an international bureaucracy that led Britain to leave the EU”. dodging the reform.

What the commentators said What next?

Until recently, I was sure we were “on the unstoppable path to Covid liberation”, said Trevor The Government’s leading
Kavanagh in The Sun. Not anymore. Over 50% of adults have now been double jabbed, and scientific advisory bodies,
80% have antibodies against Covid, but some “super-cautious” ministers still want us kept in Sage and Nervtag, were due
lockdown like “naughty schoolchildren” until 5 July, at least. Face masks and “anti-social to meet at the end of this
distancing” seem to be here to stay; foreign holidays remain largely off limits (see page 22). week to assess data about
And rightly so, said Shaun Lintern in The Independent. The latest data from the NHS may be how the Delta variant
“encouraging” – hospitalisations are rising, but not “surging dangerously”; there’s a steady fall affects transmission, vaccine
in Covid patients in hotspots like Bolton. But not everything is rosy. Tens of millions of adults efficacy and rates of serious
are yet to have the second jab needed for strong protection against the Delta variant, and there illness before a final decision
are reports of over-70s from ethnic minorities not turning up for second doses. As long as such on unlocking is announced.
“worrying” gaps in our defences remain, ending lockdown fully would be too risky a gamble.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is
Officials are now racing to plug the vaccine gaps, said Gaby Hinsliff in The Guardian. Though willing to accept a four-
under-30s were only invited “en masse” this week, some doctors are already vaccinating week delay to the final stage
students and even sixth formers. And last week, the UK regulator approved the use of the Pfizer of England’s reopening if it
jab in children aged 12-15. We seem to be following in the footsteps of the US, where high- ensures that any move to lift
school students are “already rolling up their sleeves”. But the ethics of it are debatable: should restrictions is permanent,
we be inoculating a group who are “vanishingly unlikely” to get seriously ill themselves, even The Guardian reports. The
as vulnerable people in poor countries are dying through a lack of jabs? Actually, the Govern- Treasury is said to favour
ment’s immediate priority isn’t the young, said Robert Peston in The Spectator: it’s to give all a delayed clean break over
vulnerable groups a second dose by 21 June. With good protection kicking in two to three an earlier “halfway house”
weeks after that, the logical step would be “to delay full unlocking until schools and universities easing, which would leave
break up in July”, when social mixing will be reduced. We’re soon going to see if the PM agrees. some restrictions in place.

THE WEEK
Editor-in-chief: Caroline Law
It was a stark reminder of how tough the past year has been on Editor: Theo Tait
Deputy editor: Harry Nicolle
optimists: the sight of thousands of stressed British holidaymakers Consultant editor: Jenny McCartney
racing back early from Portugal, as the Government shunted the City editor: Jane Lewis Assistant editor: Robin de Peyer
Contributing editors: Simon Wilson, Rob McLuhan,
country on to the amber list (see p. 22). Pessimists didn’t attempt a getaway in the first place, Catherine Heaney, Digby Warde-Aldam, Tom Yarwood,
William Skidelsky Editorial staff: Anoushka Petit,
correctly believing something would go wrong. The Portugal fiasco was an echo of last December, Tigger Ridgwell, Aine O’Connor, Georgia Heneage Editorial
assistant: Asya Likhtman Picture editor: Xandie Nutting
when Boris Johnson vowed it would be “inhuman” to prevent Christmas get-togethers. But shortly Art director: Nathalie Fowler Sub-editor: Charlotte Methven
Production editor: Alanna O’Connell
before the big day – with Covid cases soaring – he suddenly ordered much of England to stay at Editorial chairman and co-founder: Jeremy O’Grady
home instead. Crestfallen optimists cancelled large gatherings and re-homed gigantic turkeys. Production Manager: Maaya Mistry Production Executive:
Sophie Griffin Newstrade Director: David Barker
Pessimists were already “having a quiet one this year”. In Johnson, the country is led by an optimist Marketing Director (Current Affairs): Lucy Davis
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the public responds warmly to a politician daubed in sunshine. Eeyores get a bad press, so I was Founder: Jolyon Connell
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stop it from happening: extra lifeboats on the Titanic, say. Government needs optimists, of course,
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in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publishers 12 June 2021 THE WEEK
6 NEWS Politics
Controversy of the week Migrant crossings
The crisis in schools Nearly 600 migrants tried to
cross the English Channel
over just three days last
“Fidgety children who sulk, cannot share, shout and throw week, as good weather
tantrums and hissy fits.” That’s what teachers at Westminster brought calm seas. So far
Primary, a fairly typical primary school in Blackpool, had to this year, 3,500 people have
cope with when pupils returned after months of Covid-related reached the UK via this route,
disruption, said Sian Griffiths in The Sunday Times. The more than twice as many as
younger ones had to re-learn “how to sit at a desk”; the older by the same point in 2020.
Home Secretary Priti Patel
ones had “forgotten basic facts and times tables”. On average,
said the UK public was
children in England lost 115 days of schooling during the “absolutely fed up” about
pandemic – something Kevan Collins, the education recovery the numbers. Government
tsar, aimed to redress with his catch-up plan. He proposed figures show that 1,503
extending the school day by half an hour, and providing extra people who arrived in the
tutoring to disadvantaged children. Only weeks ago, No. 10 first three months of 2021
had claimed that catch-up classes were Boris Johnson’s top £50 per pupil: is it enough? have had their asylum claims
priority after vaccines. But not at any price, it emerged. deemed “inadmissible”.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak allocated only £1.4bn to the plan – less than a tenth of the £15bn requested Home Office policy is to
remove such people to any
for a three-year period. An unhappy Collins immediately resigned.
“safe” European country
they passed through en route
Collins was right to “walk away in disgust”, said Judith Woods in The Daily Telegraph. His to Britain, but it is not clear
detailed, costed plan showed what was needed to save a generation “damaged and disadvantaged” how this can be done, as no
by repeated lockdowns. Sunak’s stinginess reflects the thinking of “remote, arrogant elites” who European country has agreed
don’t understand the toll this pandemic has taken on ordinary people. Children have been robbed a deal to take back migrants.
of confidence and social skills, as well as education. The Government’s offer represents just £50 per
pupil per year, a miserly sum when compared to those allocated in the US (£1,600 per pupil) and the Covid contract “unlawful”
Netherlands (£2,500). When it comes to Britain’s future, “you get what you pay for”. If only Gavin The High Court has ruled that
Williamson, the Education Secretary, had been able to sell Collins’s plan to the Treasury, said the the Government acted
unlawfully when it awarded
FT. But he couldn’t, partly because he is tarnished by his “exams bungling”, and is tipped for a
a contract worth £560,000 to
reshuffle. Still, Sunak may yet offer more: public borrowing last year came in at £27.1bn less than a company run by friends
was officially forecast, so he has some leeway. Catch-up schooling ought to be “a priority”. of the PM’s chief adviser,
Dominic Cummings, during
It is the fashion now to throw vast amounts of cash at pandemic-related problems, said Ryan Bourne the early stages of the
on Conservative Home. But we should be grateful for the Treasury’s “sceptical eye”. There’s a good pandemic. Mrs Justice
case for spending on “young and disadvantaged kids”, and on boosting reading, writing and maths. O’Farrell said that although
Yet the attempt to “bounce the Treasury” into a huge £15bn investment was made on the dubious decisions had to be made
basis that all pupils need literally to catch up for all lost hours, to stop their futures being blighted. fast at that time, the failure
to consider any other firm
This row could be very damaging for Johnson, said Tom Peck in The Independent. Come the next
for the contract gave rise to
election, all eyes will be on whether he has delivered on his promise to “level up” Britain. And this “apparent bias”. Public First
decision leaves worse-off children “suffering”. To avoid paying a political price, I suspect that – as was hired to research public
with the row over free school meals – Johnson will discover “more money” later on. opinion during the crisis.

Good week for:

Spirit of the age
Cannabis shops in
Washington State have
been doing their bit to
improve vaccine take-up, by
offering “Joints for Jabs”.
The offer, of a single joint
to anyone over 21 who gets
a Covid-19 jab on-site, has
been approved by the local
drug and alcohol licensing
board. In other states,
people have offered free
beer and baseball tickets in
exchange for being jabbed.
Major firms are jazzing up
their offices, in an effort to
lure back reluctant workers.
According to architecture
firm LOM, a host of big
firms, including Microsoft
and Santander, have hired
it to design post-pandemic
offices with fewer desks,
and more relaxation and
fitness areas featuring
ping pong tables, gym
equipment, yoga studios,
bars and garden spaces.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who announced the birth Poll watch
of their second child, a girl named Lilibet Diana. Lilibet was the 50% of the UK’s adults think
Queen’s childhood nickname. Some interpreted the couple’s the “no platforming” at
decision to adopt it for their daughter as a cynical attempt to universities of speakers with
cement their royal “brand”, while others saw it as an olive branch controversial views is the
to the family. The Sussexes, who insist they had the Queen’s wrong response. 17% believe
it is the correct response;
blessing, have indicated that their daughter will be known as Lili.
and 24% don’t have a view.
Michaela Coel, who won two coveted Baftas for her acclaimed However, while 60% of over-
TV drama I May Destroy You: best actress, and best mini-series. 55s oppose the practice, the
She dedicated the former award to the show’s intimacy proportion falls to 32%
coordinator, Ita O’Brien, and the latter to its crew. among 16- to 24-year-olds.
53% of people say
universities should expose
Bad week for: students to a wide variety
Jeff Bezos, whose tax records were leaked online, along with of viewpoints.
those of several other billionaires. They suggest that the Amazon Ipsos Mori/The Times
CEO paid no federal income tax at all in 2007 or in 2011, when
he actually claimed a tax credit of $4,000 for his children. Tesla 65% of Britons say they are
founder Elon Musk paid no personal tax in 2018, while for worried about proposals to
several years investor Warren Buffett paid tax at a rate of 0.1%. scrap the “1m-plus” social
distancing rule on 21 June.
Internet users, after large chunks of the web went dark for a 63% would be worried if the
few hours on Tuesday, owing to a software glitch at Fastly – a rule on wearing masks was
cloud computing firm in San Francisco. Amazon, and the UK scrapped; 60% are worried
Government website, were among those affected (see page 41). about allowing unlimited
The Ministry of Defence, with reports that its new Ajax tanks numbers into concert venues,
can’t be driven faster than 20mph; and create so much noise and theatres and stadiums.
Savanta ComRes/The
vibration, they make crews sick. The MoD has ordered 580 of the
Independent
tanks, made by General Dynamics in South Wales, for £3.5bn.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 The UK at a glance
Glasgow
Campaigner charged: The case of a
feminist activist who has been charged
with a hate crime, for posting allegedly
homophobic and transphobic comments
on social media, has sparked fierce
debate in Scotland about free speech
and transgender rights. Marion Millar
is a businesswoman and member of For
Women Scotland, a group formed in
response to fears that reforms to the
Gender Recognition Act could erode
sex-based rights. An appeal to help pay
her legal fees raised £30,000, before it was shut down by the
GoFundMe site for violating its terms of service.
NEWS 7
Kent
Napier Barracks unlawful: A High Court judge has ruled that the
housing of asylum seekers in a “squalid” former military barracks
in Kent was unlawful, as the accommodation there did not meet
minimum standards. The case had been brought by six asylum
seekers, all said to be “survivors of torture and/or human
trafficking”, who were housed at Napier Barracks near Folkestone
between September 2020 and this February. Mr Justice Linden
referred to overcrowding at the site, and criticised the Home
Office for ignoring advice from Public Health England that the
barracks’ dormitory accommodation was not suitable during
a pandemic. The barracks was the site of a mass Covid-19
outbreak earlier this year. The judge also found the claimants
had been unlawfully detained, when they were told they could
not leave the site without permission owing to Covid rules.

Newcastle
Outdoor smoking bans: Five local authorities have banned
smoking on pavements outside pubs, restaurants and cafés, as
part of a Government drive to make England smoke-free by 2030.
The bans, in Newcastle, Northumberland, Durham, North
Tyneside and the City of Manchester, are included in the licences
required by venues to put out tables and chairs. In Oxfordshire,
officials have unveiled plans to make it the first smoke-free county
by 2025. These include lobbying employers to stop their staff
from smoking outside their place of work. According to ONS
figures, 12% of the local population identify as smokers – lower
than the UK average of 14.1%. A smoke-free area is defined as
one where fewer than 5% of people smoke.

Hillsborough
Police to pay damages: Two police forces have agreed to pay
compensation to 601 people for the cover-up that followed the
Hillsborough disaster of 1989. The South Yorkshire and West
Midlands forces agreed the settlement in response to a civil claim
for misfeasance in public office. It was made public following the
collapse last month of the trial of two police officers and a lawyer
who stood accused of perverting the course of justice by amending
statements after the disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died.
Lawyers for the group litigation said that there had been a
deliberate and dishonest cover-up, designed to suppress the truth
about the police’s responsibility for the “horrific events” that day,
and shift the blame onto innocent football supporters instead.

Conwy, Wales
Falling bin collections: More
than 1.4 million households
across the UK now have their
general waste collected only
once every three weeks – up
from 74,000 in 2015, according
to the Waste & Resources
Action Programme. Some
councils, including Conwy in
north Wales and Falkirk in the Central Lowlands of Scotland,
have monthly collections. Councils blame funding cuts and the
pressure to increase recycling rates. The Government is consid-
ering issuing guidance to ensure at least fortnightly collection.

Newquay, Cornwall
Record-breaking pool: The world’s deepest and largest indoor
pool could be built outside Newquay, as part of a new astronaut
training complex. Blue Abyss, a private company backed by
Major Tim Peake, has applied to Cornwall Council for
permission to build the 50-metre-deep pool on a ten-acre site next
to Cornwall Airport Newquay. It would hold more than 42,000
cubic metres of water – equivalent to 17 Olympic-sized pools.
© THE TIMES/NEWS LICENSING
London
E-scooter trial: Londoners can, for the first time, travel legally
around the capital on e-scooters, as part of a year-long trial. The
scooters, which have a top speed of 12.5mph, have been hailed by
Transport for London as a key part of the city’s plan for a sustain-
able future. However, on the eve of their roll-out, a Met Police
chief branded them “death traps”, and their use is still limited:

Other facilities in the Aerohub Enterprise Zone would include
an astronaut training centre, hypobaric and hyperbaric chambers,
and a microgravity suite. The pool could also be used as a set for
underwater films, and might incorporate cave systems for training
deep-sea divers. Blue Abyss says the centre would create 160 jobs
and generate £8m a year for the local economy.
the e-scooters must be rented; they can only be ridden in five
boroughs; and users must be over 18 and have a driver’s licence.
Illegally piloted e-scooters were involved in 32 recorded collisions
in London in 2019, up from four the year before. The scooters
will cost £1 to unlock, and then 15 to 16 pence per minute. More
than 40 e-scooter trials are under way elsewhere in the UK.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

 Europe at a glance
The Hague
No reprieve for
Mladic: The
former military
commander of
the Bosnian Serbs,
Ratko Mladic,
has failed in his
bid to have his
conviction for
genocide
overturned.
Mladic, 78, led
Bosnian Serb forces in Bosnia’s 1992-95
war, and was responsible for terrorising
the civilian population of Sarajevo during
a 43-month siege, and the massacre of
8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys at
Srebrenica in 1995. He was convicted of
genocide, crimes against humanity and
war crimes by a special UN court in 2017.
Mladic’s appeal lawyers argued that he
could not be held responsible for crimes
carried out by his subordinates, but the
appeal was dismissed in its entirety. He
will remain in prison for life.
Limburg, Belgium
Manhunt: The Belgian authorities have
stepped up their search for a fugitive
soldier who disappeared last month after
threatening to kill one of Belgium’s top
scientists over coronavirus restrictions.
Jürgen Conings, 46, fled his barracks with
weapons including rocket launchers, and
left letters threatening to kill Marc Van
Ranst, Belgium’s best-known virologist.
Conings then booby-trapped his car and
disappeared. The scientist is under armed
guard at a safe house, but despite weeks of
searches, the authorities have been unable
to find Conings. Since his disappearance, it
has emerged that the solider is a supporter
of the far-right Flemish nationalist Vlaams
Belang party. Tens of thousands of people
have expressed support for Conings’s
“resistance” to what he calls the “regime”
in Brussels. Some have even held demon-
strations in support of the Flemish “hero”.
Paris
Trolls on trial: Thirteen people aged 18
to 30 have gone on trial for the online
harassment of a French teenager, who was
vilified, threatened with extreme violence,
and forced into hiding after calling Islam a
“shit religion” and saying the Koran was
“full of hate”. In a high-profile case that
has divided opinion and inflamed
religious tensions in France, the girl,
identified only as Mila, received 100,000
abusive online messages after making the
comments in a TikTok clip posted last
year. It’s the first trial under a new law
aimed at stopping online trolls. Richard
Malka, Mila’s lawyer, said the defendants
were a cross-section of society and
included several non-Muslims. “What is
chilling about this case is that they aren’t
criminals or fanatics,” he said. “They’re
people who’ve never caused problems
before, who don’t realise the gravity of
what they’ve done.”
Catch up with daily news at theweek.co.uk
Berlin
End in sight: Coronavirus restrictions in
several German states, including Berlin,
were lifted last week, following a sharp
decline in new Covid-19 cases and a
declaration by health officials that the third
wave of Covid had been “broken”. About
a fifth of all Germans have been fully
vaccinated, and near to a million jabs are
being administered each day. From this
week, all age categories will be able to get
a jab, including children aged 12 and over.
Meanwhile, Spain has reopened its borders
to travellers who have been vaccinated
against Covid – a major boost to its
tourism-dependent economy. People from
EU countries will be allowed in with just
an antigen test (rather than a more
expensive PCR test). Fully vaccinated
British tourists have been allowed to enter
since 24 May, but Spain remains on the
UK’s “amber” list, requiring a ten-day
quarantine on return.
Magdeburg,
Germany
Boost for CDU:
Germany’s ruling
party, the CDU,
won an unexpec-
tedly big victory
this week in a
regional election
in Saxony-Anhalt
– its last big
electoral test
before the general
election in September. The resounding win,
and terrible results for the Greens and the
AfD, is a huge boost for CDU leader and
candidate for chancellor Armin Laschet,
who has struggled to cement his authority
over the CDU and its Bavarian sister party,
the CSU. Polls had suggested a close
contest with the far-right populist AfD but,
in the event, the CDU thrashed them by
37.1% to 20.8%. The Greens took 5.9%.
NEWS 9
Minsk
Journalist “confesses”: The dissident
journalist Roman Protasevich, who was
captured by Belarusian authorities on 23
May after his international passenger flight
was forced to land at Minsk, was paraded
on Belarus TV last week, supposedly
“confessing” to his alleged crimes. At
times weeping during a lengthy interview,
he praised President Lukashenko and
admitted plotting a coup to oust him.
Marks were visible on his wrists. Human
rights groups and his family said he’d
clearly been tortured and coerced into co-
operating. The EU has banned Belarusian
planes from its airspace and airports in
response to the forced grounding of the
Ryanair flight. European airlines have
been urged to avoid flying over Belarus.
The Sea of Marmara, Turkey
Sea snot: Turkey’s government has vowed
to remove the worst ever outbreak of “sea
snot” affecting coasts on the Sea of
Marmara – but says the disaster manage-
ment plan could take up to three years to
work. Shorelines on the sea (which lies
fully within Turkish territory, linking the
Aegean and the Black Sea) have in recent
weeks been blanketed with the unsightly
greyish substance, causing chaos for the
fishing industry, and suffocating life on the
seabed. Sea snot, or “marine mucilage”, is
a naturally occurring slimy substance made
up of assorted marine microorganisms and
their secretions. For centuries it has period-
ically plagued coastal communities in the
wider region. However, the problem has
worsened in recent years. Scientists think
the cause is a combination of untreated
waste being dumped into the sea and
climate change, as warmer waters cause
algae to become overloaded with nutrients.
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
10 NEWS The world at a glance
Greenville, North Carolina Toronto, Canada
He’s back: Donald Trump returned to the campaign trail this Statue protest: A statue of the
week, with an address to a Republican convention in North 19th century Methodist minister
Carolina. In his 90-minute speech, he reiterated his claim that the seen as the architect of Canada’s
2020 election had been stolen, describing it as “the crime of the school system was torn down
century”, attacked various Biden administration policies, claimed on Monday, at the university
credit for the Covid vaccine, and alleged that the infectious in Toronto that bears his name.
diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci had been “wrong on almost Egerton Ryerson’s legacy has
every issue”. To the delight of his 1,200-strong audience, he been the focus of renewed
demanded that China pay $10trn in reparations for its role in anger since the remains of 215
the pandemic, and called for critical race theory to be banned in children were discovered at a residential school for Indigenous
schools. Although he has yet to declare whether or not he will children in British Columbia, which closed in 1978. It was
make another White House run, he dropped a hint, saying “our Ryerson who framed the policy of forcibly separating Indigenous
movement is far from over”. Trump is expected to make a series children from their parents and sending them to institutions to be
of speeches this summer, at locations across the country. “assimilated”. At least 4,100 children died at the schools.

Menlo Park, California

Facebook ban: Facebook has announced that Donald
Trump will remain suspended from its platform for at
least two years, effective from 7 January this year. The
social media giant imposed the ban the day after a
mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol,
prompting a fierce debate about free speech and the power of big
tech. It will reconsider the issue in January 2023, and lift the ban
if it decides that Trump’s use of social media no longer poses “a
serious risk to public safety” (see page 41). Trump, who is also
banned from Twitter, said he’d take revenge on Facebook and
Mark Zuckerberg when he is “back in the White House”. On
Tuesday, Trump congratulated Nigeria’s government for banning
Twitter, and urged other countries to follow suit.

Guatemala City
Harris’s hard tasks: The US vice-president, Kamala Harris, has
made her first overseas trip since assuming office in January,
travelling to Guatemala to tell potential migrants: “Do not come.
Do not come... If you come to our border, you will be turned
back.” Since President Biden took office in January, migrant
numbers have surged and the number of people taken into
custody each month at the US’s southern border has risen to the
highest levels in 20 years. Biden has handed Harris the job of
tackling the surge. He has also asked her to run the Democrats’
campaign against the imposition of new voting restrictions in
Republican states. Some say these are both poisoned chalices:
“Kamala Harris Can’t Win” read one recent headline.

San Salvador
Bitcoin adopted: El Salvador is to become the first country in the
world to make bitcoin legal tender. President Nayib Bukele’s plan
to adopt the cryptocurrency, alongside the US dollar, was passed
by Congress on Tuesday, and will come into force in 90 days. El
Salvador is largely a cash economy. Around 70% of adults don’t
have a bank account, and remittances sent home by workers
abroad account for about 20% of GDP. The law means all
businesses must accept payments in bitcoin if they have the
technology to do so. Bukele said adopting bitcoin would slash
transfer costs, and “provide financial inclusion to thousands”.
However, the move seems risky: bitcoin is highly volatile and
investors in it have been warned they could lose everything.

Lima
Political crisis looms: Peru’s presidential
election run-off – a bitterly polarised
contest between the hard-right candidate
Keiko Fujimori and her left-wing rival
Pedro Castillo – ended in a near-dead-
heat this week, intensifying fears about
political instability in a nation racked by
one of the world’s worst coronavirus
outbreaks. With 97% of votes counted,
Castillo was just 0.4% ahead. Fujimori,
the daughter of Peru’s former president
Alberto Fujimori, said she was the victim
of a fraud, and that the “will of the people” had been subverted.
Santiago
Same-sex marriage: Chile’s
centre-right president Sebastián
Piñera has stunned his allies and his
adversaries by announcing plans to legalise same-sex marriage.
Although Chile introduced civil partnerships in 2015, subsequent
attempts by then-president Michelle Bachelet to legislate for gay
marriage were blocked by Piñera’s conservative coalition. But in
a state of the nation address last week, Piñera said that “the time
for equal marriage has come”, and that the necessary legislation
would be introduced “with urgency”. Massive protests against his
government erupted in Chile in 2019, and last month his coalition
was trounced in elections to the assembly that will draw up a
replacement for Chile’s dictatorship-era constitution.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 The world at a glance
Abuja
Twitter ban: The Nigerian government
suspended Twitter last Friday, and
threatened to prosecute anyone who used
it, on the grounds that it was undermining
the country’s “corporate existence” by
spreading fake news. Two days earlier, the
platform had removed a post by President
Muhammadu Buhari in which he’d made
veiled warnings about secessionist protests.
Twitter said the post violated its rules on
“abusive behaviour”. The ban caused an
immediate backlash from social media
users, many of whom have been using
virtual private networks (VPNs) to
circumvent it; rights groups, who described
it as an attack on free expression; and
business-owners. As well as for general
communication and brand marketing,
Twitter is widely used in Nigeria as a
rallying point for political protest.
Solhan,
Burkina Faso
Village massacre:
Suspected jihadist
militants raided a
village in the volatile
northeast of Burkina
Faso last weekend, killing at least 160
people. Witnesses to the 2am attack
© HARCOURT CHAMBERS; BOKO HARAM HANDOUT/SAHARA REPORTERS
reported that armed men entered the
village of Solhan, near the border with
Niger, slaughtered civilians, destroyed
homes, and burnt down the market. The
west African nation has been plagued by
jihadist violence since 2015; at least 1,400
people have been killed, and a million
have been displaced. No group claimed
responsibility for Saturday’s massacre, but
Isis- and al-Qa’eda-linked groups have
increased their attacks in Burkina Faso,
Mali and Niger this year, in spite of the
presence of a counter-terrorism operation
involving 5,000 French troops.
Jerusalem
Endgame for Netanyahu: Israel’s single-
chamber parliament, the Knesset, is to
hold a vote of confidence on the country’s
proposed new coalition on Sunday. If the
deal passes, as is looking increasingly
likely, it will spell the end – after four
inconclusive general elections within two
years – of the Benjamin Netanyahu era.
Naftali Bennett, of the small ultra-
nationalist party Yamina, will become
Israel’s 13th prime minister. Bennett and
Yair Lapid, of the centrist Yesh Atid, have
agreed terms for an unlikely coalition
made up of eight disparate parties united
by their desire to oust Netanyahu (see page
18). They had hoped the vote would be
held early this week; its delay is seen as
an attempt by Yariv Levin, the Knesset’s
acting speaker, to buy time for Netanyahu
to peel off any right-wing waverers.
Maiduguri,
Nigeria
Jihadist leader
“killed himself”:
The leader of
Boko Haram
killed himself last
month during a
battle with a rival
jihadist group in
northeastern
Nigeria, it has
been claimed. In
audio obtained by news agencies, the
leader of Islamic State West African
Province says that Abubakar Shekau blew
himself up to avoid capture. “Shekau
preferred to be humiliated in the afterlife
than on Earth,” he adds. Shekau became
leader of Boko Haram in 2009, since when
it has swept through northeast Nigeria,
killing some 30,000 people. He has been
reported dead before, only to resurface.
NEWS 11
Hong Kong
Vigil banned:
Some 7,000 riot
police were
deployed across
Hong Kong last
Friday, to
prevent public
commemorations
of the anniversary
of the Tiananmen
Square massacre
on 4 June 1989.
Victoria Park, where people have gathered
each year for a candle-lit vigil, was fenced
off, and the pro-democracy campaigner
Chow Hang Tung (pictured), the vice-chair
of the group that organises the vigil, was
arrested. It was the second year in a row
that the authorities have banned the vigil,
citing Covid restrictions.
Sydney, Australia
Toxic threat: There is
growing concern that
the poison being used to
control plagues of mice
in southeast Australia is
posing a threat to native
species including fish. The
mouse infestation has
ravaged crops, causing
some A$1bn of damage in
New South Wales alone.
But as farmers have
ramped up their use of
poisons, there have been
multiple reports of birds
being killed, and there are
concerns for Murray cod,
which have been gorging
on mice as they swarm
across rivers. The
fish have
been found
with up to
ten mice
in their
stomachs.
Canberra
Underworld sting operation: Australia’s
PM Scott Morrison declared this week that
a “heavy blow” had been struck against
organised crime, after an international
sting operation, jointly conceived by
Australian law enforcement and the
FBI, led to 800 arrests worldwide. For
Operation Trojan Shield, criminals in 100
countries were duped by informants into
using a messaging app called ANOM,
which was controlled by the FBI –
allowing detectives to monitor their
communications about drug smuggling,
money laundering and murder plots.
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
12 NEWS
Hollywood comes to Wales
Rob McElhenney isn’t a typical
non-league football club owner.
But when the US actor, best
known for his role in the hit
comedy It’s Always Sunny
in Philadelphia, watched a
documentary about Sunderland
AFC and its role in the city’s
community, it “struck a chord”
with him; something “clicked”.
“I remember very distinctly
sitting on the couch with
Kaitlin [Olson, his wife], and I
turned to her and I said, ‘I’m
going to buy a football club’,”
he told Ben Allen in GQ.
Before long, he’d talked the
Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds
into joining him as co-investor;
and the pair settled on
Wrexham AFC. The club – the
third oldest in the world – has
been out of the Football League
since 2008, and fan-owned
since 2011. So at first, the pair
faced “a healthy amount of
scepticism” from supporters
about their intentions – not
least because they admit they
“don’t know shit about
football”. Eventually, though,
they won supporters over and,
in February, took a 100%
stake in the club, investing £2m
as part of the deal in a move
that was backed by a fan vote.
It was a script that might have
been taken from Hollywood
– and McElhenney now has
his eyes on a fairy-tale ending.
“Everybody is saying, ‘Let’s
just be rational about what we
can achieve’,” he says. “And I
guess my position is f*** all
that... my position is let’s win
at everything.” The pair plan
to leave the football side of
things to “people who are
People
smarter than us”. But that’s
not to say McElhenney isn’t
deeply invested in the club’s
future. “I want everybody
to understand, especially the
people of North Wales,” he
says, “that I am going to put
everything I can into making
Wrexham a global force.”
The decline of free speech
In 2015, Alan Rusbridger
stood down as editor of The
Guardian after a 20-year stint;
now, he’s about to conclude
a spell as principal of Lady
Margaret Hall, the Oxford
college. The roles have given
him an insight into the new
orthodoxies taking hold among
young, progressive people
about race, sex and identity,
says Harry Lambert in the
New Statesman – and that
hasn’t always sat well with
Rusbridger’s own classical view
of liberalism. “I think this idea
of my right not to be offended,
my right to have a safe space, Kris Hallenga was 23 when she set up the cancer charity CoppaFeel!
is one that’s crept up in the last It was 2009; she was undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy,
five years,” he says. If you cite having been diagnosed with terminal, stage four breast cancer a
J.S. Mill’s arguments on free month earlier. Back then, she didn’t know the disease could affect
speech to “a bright 19-year-old people in their 20s; she was “confused and baffled” by her
in Oxford, they look at you a diagnosis. “I kept thinking: ‘This is bullshit. Why didn’t anyone tell
bit blankly. When you say, me to check my boobs? Why didn’t I know I could get breast cancer
‘Isn’t the best response to at 23? I’m pretty sure my friends don’t know either, and, if none of
speech more speech?’ it’s a new us do, then literally no young person in this country f***ing knows
idea to them.” At Oxford, he’s this secret. This needs to change.’ And I got this wave of energy.”
met students who say: “We Thus began Hallenga’s mission to improve early diagnosis rates
want this to be a safe space, I by getting young people to check their breasts and pecs. By the
feel threatened.” His response end of 2009, she’d won a Pride of Britain award; now, CoppaFeel!
is always the same: if you is the third most recognised cancer charity in the UK “and is actually
– supposedly the brightest of saving lives, which blows my mind all the time”. As for Hallenga,
your generation – can’t defeat she’s survived far longer than anyone expected in 2009, says Zoe
those you disagree with in an Williams in The Guardian. So what does she put her longevity down
argument, who can? “It’s a bad to? “I really think a massive chunk is having this sense of purpose
thing,” he reflects, “if the right and drive to survive, because I still have things to do, to prove and
not to feel offended over- to achieve,” she says. “I think that’s boosted every cell in my body.
shadows the call of reason.” Every single cell is thinking: ‘We have to stick around for this.’”

Castaway of the week Viewpoint:

This week’s edition of Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs featured
Farewell
the former judge and crossbench peer Heather Hallett
The elusive centrist voter David Dushman, last
“Politicians are obsessed with the survivor of the Red
1* Caroline by Francis Rossi and Bob Young, performed live by
Status Quo
centre ground, occupied, they believe, Army liberators of
by average voters in swing seats. Auschwitz in 1945, died
2 Climb Ev’ry Mountain by Rodgers and Hammerstein, performed 5 June, aged 98.
by Peggy Wood Actually, centrist voters barely exist.
The archetypal swing voter in England Violetta Elvin, Russian
3 Wing Commander Hancock by Alan Simpson and Ray Galton,
performed by Tony Hancock and Kenneth Williams is someone who wants to revoke the dancer who joined the
citizenship of Isis recruit Shamima Sadler’s Wells Ballet,
4 Invisible Touch by Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins and Tony Banks, died 27 May, aged 97.
performed by Genesis Begum (like 78% of the public) but
© NATASHA PSZENICKI/DAILY MAIL/SOLO SYNDICATION

5 The Best by Mike Chapman and Holly Knight, performed by is also deeply concerned by climate John Hodge, flight
Tina Turner change. Their left-wing economic views director for Nasa who
may or may not prevail over their worked on the Gemini 8
6 I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Norman Whitfield and
social conservatism. Normal people mission, died 19 May,
Barrett Strong, performed by Marvin Gaye
aged 92.
7 Dear Lord and Father of Mankind from The Brewing of Soma by (30% of whom pay no attention to
John Greenleaf Whittier, performed by Temple Church Choir politics) don’t hold cascading views, Lord Millett, Law Lord
8 Vissi d’Arte by Giacomo Puccini for Tosca, performed by Maria where one view predicts the other 30, who tackled tax avoid-
ance, the Spycatcher
Callas and the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala like a reverse manifesto. Most voters affair, Robert Maxwell,
Book: Inspector Morse Mysteries series collection by Colin Dexter don’t give a fig for the political divides and child welfare, died
Luxury: solar-powered iPad * Choice if allowed only one record
constructed and discussed by pundits.” 27 May, aged 88.
James Kanagasooriam in The Times

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

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 Briefing NEWS 15

China’s space race

It has landed craft on Mars and on the dark side of the Moon, and it is building a space station. What are China’s ambitions in space?

How did its space programme begin? and materials behave beyond Earth.
Space exploration has been a long-term Alongside its space station, China also
goal for the People’s Republic ever since wants to launch a space telescope, similar
the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 in in size to Nasa’s Hubble telescope. When
1957. Chairman Mao lamented at the complete, Tiangong will be able to
time that “we cannot even put a potato accommodate three taikonauts for long-
into space”, and the Communist Party term missions or six for shorter trips.
leadership vowed to produce “two Astronauts from other countries would
bombs and a satellite”: an atomic bomb, also be allowed to visit the space station;
a hydrogen bomb, and a satellite. China Tiangong will become operational by
did not launch its first satellite until 2023, just as the International Space
1970, but since the 1980s it has been Station comes to the end of its
catching up fast with the major operational life.
spacefaring nations. Its space programme
really announced itself to the world in What drives China’s programme?
2003, when Yang Liwei became its first China is determined to be the world’s
taikonaut (as China calls its astronauts), science and technology superpower. A
orbiting the Earth 14 times during a 21- space programme is a tried-and-tested
hour flight aboard the Shenzhou 5 The Tianhe module blasts off in April 2021
way for a nation to enhance its industrial
spacecraft. China thus became the third and economic strength, and also project
nation to independently send astronauts into space. prestige and technical competence to its own citizens – and to the
rest of the world. China sees its space capability as important for
What are its ambitions now? economic and diplomatic leverage: it is trying, for instance, to
Under President Xi Jinping, plans for China’s “space dream”, as persuade countries to dump the US’s GPS satellite navigation in
he calls it, have gone into overdrive. It aims not only to pass the favour of its BeiDou system. From China’s perspective, it has little
milestones achieved by other nations, notably the US, but to choice but to build its own ambitious space programme: concerns
overtake them as the leading space power by 2045. The China about technology theft mean its scientists have been banned by
National Space Administration had an annual budget of about the US Congress since 2011 from working with Nasa, and shut
$8.9bn last year, second only to Nasa’s (of around $23bn). It out from projects such as the International Space Station. And in
has landed rovers on the Moon and, more recently, on Mars (see today’s networked world, space technology is critical not just to
box). Last year, it completed the BeiDou satellite constellation, a the financial system, for example, but to national security.
rival to the US Global Positioning System. This year, it launched
the first part of a permanent space station into orbit (debris from Does China want to militarise space?
a Long March-5b launch rocket fell back into Earth’s atmosphere “Space is already an arena of great power competition,” Lloyd
on an “undirected dive”, crashing into the Indian Ocean). J. Austin III, the new US secretary of defence, declared recently.
Satellite networks are used to keep military information systems
What has China achieved on the Moon? running; both the US and China have the capacity to knock out
The first mission in China’s lunar exploration programme, enemy satellites in the event of a conflict. The situation is made
Chang’e 1, reached the Moon’s orbit in 2007. Six years later, it more complex because most space technologies are “dual-use”:
landed a robotic rover on the lunar surface, which operated for they can be used to perform civilian or military tasks. Under-
31 months. Other nations had achieved such feats before, but standing China’s aims is made difficult by the country’s opaque
China has pioneered too: in 2019, Chang’e 4 became the first policy-making apparatus, and by President Xi’s “military-civil
spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon – which faces away fusion development strategy”, which purposely blurs the lines
from the Earth, making it difficult to between military and civilian
communicate with spacecraft there. Landing on the red planet technology development on
At the end of 2020, the fifth Chang’e In a matter of months, China’s Mars mission, Tianwen everything from semiconductors
mission scooped up a few kilograms (meaning “Heavenly Questions”), has completed a and 5G to aerospace and AI.
of rock and brought them back to stunning trio of achievements: it entered orbit in
Earth – the first lunar sample-return February, landed on the surface of the red planet (at What else is China planning?
mission since the final Soviet Moon Utopia Planitia) on 14 May and, a few days later, sent China wants to send a second lander
mission in 1976. Three more lunar its Zhurong rover (named after a Chinese god of fire) to Mars by 2028 and, eventually, to
missions are planned by 2027, to trundling onto the rocky ground. Getting to Mars is bring samples back from the red
hard, but landing is much harder: Nasa calls the
prepare the ground for a future descent through its super-thin atmosphere the “seven
planet. That next phase of Mars
Chinese base (potentially built in minutes of terror”. The Soviet Union landed a craft on exploration could become a genuine
collaboration with the Russian space Mars in 1971, but it stopped communicating shortly race with Nasa and the European
agency, Roscosmos) that would be after it reached the surface. Only the US had previously Space Agency, which are working
permanently inhabited by taikonauts. managed successful Mars landings – the most recent together on an ambitious sample-
being the Perseverance rover in February. return mission of their own. Future
What about the space station? Zhurong weighs in at around 240kg, a quarter of the missions could also include a sample-
In late April, China launched Tianhe, mass of Nasa’s Perseverance, but similar to the Spirit return mission from an asteroid, a
the first module of what will become and Opportunity rovers that landed on Mars in 2004. fly-by of a comet, and orbiting
a new space station, Tiangong Like those older Nasa rovers, Zhurong is powered by observatories for Venus and Jupiter.
(“Heavenly Palace”). Two further solar panels (Perseverance uses nuclear-powered China is continuing to develop new
batteries). Its instruments, including cameras, ground-
modules will be added to Tianhe next spacecraft too. There are rumours
penetrating radar and a magnetic field detector, will
year, which will provide laboratory study the planet’s surface, topography, atmosphere that it is working on a reusable space
space for research on everything from and geology, and in particular the distribution of ice – plane. And China’s space administra-
the long-term impacts of living in which could be a useful resource for human visitors. tion reportedly wants to beat Nasa in
microgravity to studying how fluids the race to take astronauts to Mars.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

16 NEWS Best articles: Britain
Intelligence is an admirable human quality, says James Marriott,
but I can’t help feeling our society sets far too much store by it. We IT MUST BE TRUE…
Our society has aspire to it; we measure people’s worth by it; we forget there are
many other qualities worth admiring. Courage, manual dexterity,
I read it in the tabloids

become too social skills, creativity, practical knowledge: these too were once
held in high esteem. Yet now all good jobs require an academic
A Danish radio journalist has
taken immersive journalism

clever by half degree. Why? Degrees “were never meant to be mere professional
qualifications”. I love the fact that English undergraduates like me
to new heights, by recording
an interview while having sex
at a swingers’ club. Louise
James Marriott could spend a term in Oxford studying 17th century sermons, but Fischer, 26, who works for
“I hesitate to assert it buys me the right to feelings of moral or Radio 4 on Denmark’s
The Times intellectual superiority”. The analytic type of intelligence involved national radio, was sent to
in academic study is limited: we invest far too much importance in cover the reopening of
it. Indeed, as AI technology advances, intelligence “will become Swingland in Ishøj, near
Copenhagen, after Covid
less and less unique to humans”. Academic intelligence is all very
restrictions were eased.
fine, but rating people by how adept they are at studying courses She recorded a two-minute
and passing exams is a blinkered way for society to proceed. segment in which she can
be heard having sex while
What to do about Scotland? That’s the question preoccupying the interviewing a club guest.
constitutional commission headed by Gordon Brown that Keir “For me, it’s very natural,”
The question Starmer launched last year. But if Labour is ever to regain power,
says Helen Thompson, it must tackle a yet more crucial question:
Fischer explained. “It is part
of my job to give an insight
that Labour what to do about England. That’s been an especially pressing issue
ever since the 2015 reform restricting the approval of laws that
into a world that not
everyone has access to.”
fails to ask exclusively affect England to English MPs. It means that to govern
England, Labour has to win a majority of English seats – a hard
Helen Thompson call for a party that sniffs at the very concept of English identity.
Since Tony Blair’s time, Labour has preferred to see England as “a
New Statesman set of would-be regions”. That’s not how its traditional supporters
see it, however. Not only do they have a strong sense of English
identity: they worry regional devolution would put them at a huge
disadvantage to Scotland in the matter of funding. That’s why in
2004, voters in the Northeast rejected the idea of a regional
assembly by 78%. Yet Brown is now “encouraging Labour to
go deeper into this territory”. It won’t fly. Unless it shows more
deference for English identity, Labour will remain marooned.

When Twenty Seven, an award-winning restaurant in Kingsbridge,

Devon, recently reopened for business after lockdown, its founder,
The scales are Jamie Rogers, expected a rush back to work. Instead, several staff
handed in their notice, confident they’d find better-paid jobs
A runaway monkey was
found last week at a train
finally tilting in elsewhere. What Twenty Seven is experiencing, says John Harris,
isn’t confined to the hospitality trade or to the UK: it’s a story
station near Glasgow. The
animal was discovered at
labour’s favour repeated across many sectors and countries (notably the US – see
page 17). The plot line is simple: a shortage of workers is driving
Cambuslang tation,
prompting an appeal from
up wages. It’s partly down to Covid and border closures; and in ScotRail. “If you’ve lost
John Harris
the case of the UK, where 1.3 million foreign nationals have left your monkey,” the operator
The Guardian in the past year, to Brexit. So now we have the “grimly hilarious” tweeted, “it’s waiting on the
spectacle of Tim Martin, Brexit-championing Wetherspoon boss, next service from
moaning about recruitment and calling for a “preferential visa Cambuslang into town.”
system for EU workers”. But there’s an upside. Denied access to The monkey, thought to be a
cheap foreign labour, employers are having to think more about marmoset, was reunited with
training up home-grown workers. Restaurant chains are reportedly its owners – but not before
raising pay for some posts by 15%; in construction there’s talk of enjoying a tin of fruit.
upping rates by 10%. Wage levels are at last on the rise. In the “Canny believe he had a tin
fallout from Covid, a new economic era may be dawning. opener!” added ScotRail.

Police in Sunderland are

Forgiveness is a key tenet of Christianity: “love thy neighbour” looking for someone who has
and, better still, “thine enemy”. But it’s not a tenet the Bishop been stealing newborn lambs
How Anglican of St David’s, Dr Joanna Penberthy, sets store by, says Dominic
Lawson. “Never never trust a Tory,” ran one of her recently
and leaving them in suburban
gardens. Three residents
shepherds lose unearthed tweets; “I am ashamed” of “each and every” voter who
votes Tory, ran another. Among the Anglican clergy this sort of
discovered lambs outside
their homes over a fortnight.
their sheep attitude is now standard: they take it as read that their mission to
help the poor necessarily entails bashing the Tories. Yet their flock
“I don’t know how it got in
my garden,” said one, Amy
Scollen. “I opened the door
Dominic Lawson doesn’t agree. In the 2019 election, support for Labour among to grab the milk and it was
Anglicans was nine points lower than the wider electorate’s – “a staring me in the face – it’s
Daily Mail shock for Dr Penberthy, who stood as a Labour councillor in been a very weird morning.”
2015”. In a survey by the think tank Theos, 70% of lay Anglicans The RSPCA said that the
said they thought state benefits can create dependency; almost two police had not yet been able
thirds of Anglican ordinands disagreed. So the relationship to trace the farm they came
between Anglican vicars and their congregations is, as Theos puts from, adding that they’re
© SCOTRAIL

it, a bit like “Guardian readers preaching at Daily Mail readers”. being “hand-reared by a
Is it really that surprising that their congregations are shrinking? specialist” instead.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 Best of the American columnists NEWS 17

The Tulsa massacre: facing up to a bloody legacy

“My great-grandmother would say
that up until 1921, you couldn’t tell
the difference between Tulsa and
New York City,” said Tiffany
Crutcher in USA Today. She
was referring to the thriving black
community in the Greenwood area
of Tulsa, Oklahoma, a neigh-
bourhood known as Black Wall
Street. What she did not mention is
that the prosperous Greenwood she
knew “didn’t simply fade away”.
It was destroyed. Exactly 100 years
ago last week, a white mob – many
of whom were deputised by city
officials – went on a rampage in the
neighbourhood after a black teen-
ager inadvertently touched a white Greenwood ablaze: a “dark chapter” in American history
woman and was accused of sexual
assault. In a sustained attack, as many as 300 black residents
were killed, 10,000 residents were driven from their homes, and
more than 1,200 black-owned homes, businesses, schools and
churches across a 35-block area were burned to the ground.
It was a horrific incident, said Suzette Malveaux in The
Washington Post, and it caused a huge loss of generational
wealth to black families. “To this day, Greenwood has not fully
recovered.” Yet nobody has ever been held accountable. Local
officials and newspapers played down the event; victims were
buried in unmarked graves. “The cover-up was so extensive that Wall Street Journal. It forbids school lessons that might make
even Tulsa’s mayor in 1996 said she had not heard of the 1921
massacre until she was an adult.” Although Tulsa’s pogrom was
particularly bloody, it wasn’t a one-off, said Eugene Robinson
in the same paper. It was “part of a long and shameful pattern”. racism. My fellow conservatives need to understand that “it’s
White vigilantes launched similar assaults in Atlanta in 1906, in
East St. Louis and Chester in 1917, and in Chicago in 1919.
This was “a dark chapter” of US history that has too often been
forgotten, said David Marcus in the New York Post. It’s good
that Joe Biden last week became the first US president to visit
Tulsa to commemorate the 1921
massacre. It’s a shame, though, that
he used that opportunity to give a
“divisive” speech, which seemed
to suggest that America has barely
moved on in the past century. He
sought to score political points by
drawing a spurious equivalence
between current attempts by
Republican states to guard against
voter fraud, and the oppression of
the Jim Crow era. Progressives
want to suggest “that racism is
all America is. That it’s never got
better, and likely never will. It’s a
deeply pessimistic vision.”
America is certainly a fairer place
than it was, said Maurice Mitchell
in USA Today, but the past lives on in the country’s persistent
racial wealth gap. Biden has announced welcome plans to help
black businesses and to combat racial discrimination in housing.
He should also consider more direct forms of reparation. He
could start by compensating the survivors of the Tulsa massacre
(a handful of whom are still alive) and their descendants. Such
measures could bring us closer to racial reconciliation.
A law signed last month by Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt
could impede that reckoning, said Tawnell D. Hobbs in The
children feel “guilt” or “discomfort” on account of their race or
sex. Critics say the law – like similar bills passed or proposed in
Republican states – is an effort to stifle lessons about systemic
not ‘hating America’ to acknowledge this is part of our story”,
said David French on TheDispatch.com. Just as we celebrate our
proudest moments, so we must mourn our darkest ones to truly
understand our nation. “Thank God that we do not live in the
America of 1921.” But we live with its legacy, and “to repair
our land” we need to take a hard look at how it has shaped us.

America is suffering from a drastic shortage of workers, says Helaine Olen. Employers in a range of
Can’t get the industries complain that they just can’t find enough staff. The problem, some say, is that too many
idle people are enjoying sitting at home on extended unemployment benefits. But if many Americans
staff? There’s are reluctant to go back to work, it probably has more to do with the fact that they’re fed up with
their employment terms. And who can blame them? Millions of Americans earn less than a living
no mystery to it wage. Many staff in the restaurant business still receive the federal minimum wage for tipped jobs,
of just $2.13 an hour. US employees, unlike those in other rich nations, enjoy no mandated right
Helaine Olen to vacation, and some 22% of them get no paid holiday at all. Long hours, low job security and
burnout have become the norm. No wonder people aren’t exactly itching to get back to work, or
The Washington Post that “support for unions is up, with even Hollywood producers trying to form one”. Prudential’s
annual Pulse of the American Worker survey in April found that one in five respondents have
changed professions since Covid hit, and that half of them didn’t plan to return to their previous
trade. The main reason? “A search for better life balance and pay.” Today’s “worker crisis” isn’t
about laziness, but about a deep sense of alienation caused by America’s current working conditions.

“Hide the liquor and lock up your DC fast charger,” says Kevin D. Williamson – “here come the
electric rednecks.” Ford has just unveiled a battery-powered version of one of America’s favourite
“Here come vehicles, the legendary F-Series pickup truck. Retailing for less than $40,000, the Ford F-150
Lightning is set to change the image of electric vehicles forever. Until now, the market has been
the electric dominated in the US by Elon Musk, whose sleek Tesla cars have become “a fetishised item of
rednecks” conspicuous consumption for the high-management caste”. The Ford F-150 has a very different
aura. It comes with up to 11 AC outlets for plugging in power tools, and a battery pack that literally
weighs a tonne, and is capable of powering a home for three days – a feature that could come in
Kevin D. Williamson handy “in Texas, the heart of pickup country, where winter storms earlier this year left millions
without power”. The truck’s arrival has been greeted with predictable “snootery” by liberal pundits,
National Review who have described it as a “hefty, dangerous” vehicle aimed at people who are “not usually the kind
of consumers who worry about their carbon footprints”. These pundits haven’t seen the half of it
yet. “Just wait until the new electric Hummer hits the market next year.”

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

18 NEWS Best articles: International
Israel’s new coalition: end of the line for Netanyahu?
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s
12-year stint in power looks like it is
finally coming to an end, said David
Horovitz in The Times of Israel
(Jerusalem). Following weeks of
“nail-biting” negotiations, a coalition
agreement which would remove him
from office was struck in a hotel room
last Wednesday, just 35 minutes before
a midnight deadline. The deal – which
must be approved in what promises
to be a “fraught” parliamentary vote
– follows Israel’s fourth inconclusive
election in two years. But it’s a fragile
compromise, which would see power
shared by eight “wildly disparate”
parties – two of the centre; two of the Lapid and Bennett: “a deeply improbable arrangement”
Left; three of the Right; and one Arab
party – who between them have a wafer-thin majority, sharing
61 of the parliament’s 120 seats. Netanyahu would be replaced by
Naftali Bennett, who leads the far-right Yamina alliance and who, Maybe he will, said Ehud Olmert in The Jerusalem Post – but
after two years, would hand over to Yair Lapid of the coalition’s
largest party, the centrist Yesh Atid. It’s a deeply improbable
arrangement, said Michael Day in The i Paper (London) – akin
to a coalition “headed by Tony Blair that included parties led by
Jeremy Corbyn, Nigel Farage and Enoch Powell”.
Few voters would consider this their “dream government”, said
Haaretz (Tel Aviv). But the deal is nonetheless to be welcomed.
For one thing, it “reflects a broad desire” among Israelis to end
Netanyahu’s “reign of corruption”, which has seen cooperation
across political and ethnic dividing lines come to a standstill, and
the PM himself charged with bribery. But what makes the plan-
ned coalition truly historic is the inclusion of the Ra’am party,
which would become the first independent Arab party to join a
Crisis in Tigray: Ethiopia’s brutal civil war
Until a few years ago, Ethiopia was
considered “an African success story”,
said Andrea Böhm in Die Zeit
(Hamburg). Having freed itself from
a “murderous socialist dictatorship”
and a “vicious circle of droughts and
famines” in the 1980s, the country was
on the up: the economy was booming;
its 20-year war with neighbouring
Eritrea had come to an end. How
different things look today. For the past
seven months, a bitter civil war has been
raging between government forces and
regional leaders from Tigray, in the
country’s north. The conflict has left Refugees crossing the border into Sudan
thousands dead and some two million
displaced. Refugees have poured into neighbouring Sudan. Even end to the “large-scale human rights abuses” happening there.
more troublingly, an estimated four million people are now at
risk of famine. Crops have been decimated by drought, fire and
locusts; and government troops have reportedly blocked aid
from reaching civilians, suggesting they’re ready to “use hunger
as a weapon”. It’s a “horrific” situation – and one that’s all too
familiar to those who endured Ethiopia’s past miseries.
Human rights groups have been sounding the alarm over this
appalling conflict for months, said La Repubblica (Rome). They said Africanews.com (Lyon). Support for the TPLF, which the
point to evidence of the “systematic” rape of thousands of
women and girls in Tigray – which is home to seven million of
Ethiopia’s 115 million people – and have warned that sexual
violence is being used as a “weapon of war” by Ethiopian
THE WEEK 12 June 2021
government since Israel’s founding
in 1948. It’s a “transformational”
moment, said Muhammad Shehada in
Newsweek (New York). But there is
little hope that it will lead to a reset in
Israeli-Palestinian relations. The likely
new PM, Bennett, “is an avowed
opponent of the two-state solution
and a fierce advocate of annexation”.
A tech millionaire who served as
Netanyahu’s chief of staff from 2006
to 2008, he is arguably even more
right-wing than his one-time mentor,
and has been forced to deny boasting
that he “killed a lot of Arabs” while
serving as a commando in the Israeli
army. Amazingly, he’s on the cusp of
becoming PM – though his party won
just seven seats in March’s election.
anyone who thinks Netanyahu will surrender without a fight
has clearly “learned nothing” from his career so far. He knows
he only needs one or two defectors to block the coalition deal in
a parliamentary vote due in the next week, and he will use every
procedural obstruction to delay the vote. In the meantime, he has
mobilised his supporters, who have taken to protesting outside
the homes of the likeliest candidates – accusing them of being
“leftist traitors”. Even if this “motley coalition” is approved in
parliament, this is no time to rejoice, said Marwan Bishara on
Al Jazeera (Doha). The coalition partners know that a defection
by any “displeased eccentric” could lead to the collapse of their
government. On many contentious issues, they have merely
“agreed to disagree”. This coalition may be billed as a “change
government”; but don’t expect it to lead to much change.
government soldiers and the Eritrean
troops fighting alongside them. Yet the
international community has “ignored”
their warnings. Now, that’s starting to
change, said Medihane Ekubamichael
in The Addis Standard (Addis Ababa).
In late May, US president Joe Biden
imposed visa restrictions on Ethiopian
and Eritrean officials, and announced
curbs on American economic and
security assistance to the country, a key
US ally in Africa. Warning of the risk of
“widespread famine”, he called on
Ethiopian and Eritrean forces to “allow
immediate, unimpeded humanitarian
access to the region”, and demanded an
Ethiopia’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning PM, Abiy Ahmed, likes
to present this conflict as a “law enforcement operation”, said
Alex de Waal on Al Jazeera (Doha). He has railed against
“foreign meddling” while seeking to deflect blame to the Tigray
People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the region and
has led the fighting against government forces. Yet the atrocities
committed by his troops appear to be galvanising his opponents,
government has labelled a terrorist organisation, is growing;
and fighting has spread to the region’s “rugged highlands”.
With neither side showing any sign of giving in, the chances
of this brutal conflict ending soon look tragically slim.

What the scientists are saying…
Space junk strikes the ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) has
been hit by space debris, causing damage
to one of its robotic arms. A small hole
was discovered last month during a routine
inspection of the ISS’s exterior: engineers
don’t know when the collision occurred
or what kind of object caused it. While
the strike hasn’t affected the functioning
of the 57.7ft-long robotic arm – used for
maintenance and to seize capsules carrying
supplies – the incident has raised serious
concerns. There are millions of items of
debris orbiting Earth, and with more craft
entering space each year, the volume of
“space junk” is set to increase. While Nasa
tracks around 27,000 of the larger objects,
it is unable to monitor anything smaller
than a croquet ball, and there is concern
that such objects, which travel up to
15,700mph, could extensively damage
spacecraft. “It’s some pretty scary stuff,”
Prof John Crassidis, an aeronautical
engineer at the University of Buffalo, New
York, told The Guardian. “The biggest
thing we worry about is the astronauts,
they’re very exposed out there... it’s going
to be a question of when, not if.”
Life beyond 150 is “impossible”
It’s a revelation that will disappoint Silicon
Valley billionaires set on eternal life:
scientists have determined that human life
has an “absolute limit” of around 150
years. For the study in the journal Nature
Communications, researchers analysed
thousands of blood tests and other medical
data to chart how physiological resilience
– the ability to recover from illness, injury
and other stress factors – declines with age.
Once resilience disappears, the body loses
its ability to recover from even minor
stresses, leading inevitably to death. Using
AI and statistical modelling, the scientists
The monkeys that change their accents
Whether it’s English people saying
“tomayto” when talking to Americans, or
Steve McClaren’s infamous “fake” Dutch
accent, humans have a tendency to adapt
their speech in the presence of foreigners.
A study has now revealed that one species
of primate does the same. Scientists
looked at two monkey species in Brazil:
red-handed tamarins and the critically
endangered pied tamarin. Both communi-
cate using high-pitched whistles, but while
the pied tamarin’s call is pitched within a
narrow bandwidth, the red-handed
tamarin’s spans a wider frequency range.
The team analysed the monkeys’ calls in
different areas, and found that in places where their territories overlapped, the red-
handed tamarin emitted a whistle close to the pied tamarin’s. “It’s like an accent
because they’re giving the same message, but saying it in a slightly different way,” said
co-author Dr Jacob C. Dunn, of Anglia Ruskin University. The scientists think that
changing their whistle helps red-handed tamarins avoid fights with the other species;
but they don’t yet know why, of the two, only one has modified its call.
Health & Science
The ISS: “When, not if”
extrapolated that even the most previously
robust and disease-free individuals would
experience a “complete loss” of resilience
between the ages of 120 and 150. The
study “explains why even the most
effective prevention and treatment of
age-related diseases could only improve the
average, but not the maximal, lifespan”,
said co-author Prof Andrei Gudkov, of
the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer
Centre in Buffalo, New York.
Elephant’s trunk – suction pump
Elephants’ trunks are remarkable
appendages, says The Atlantic. These
“uber-extended noses” can weigh around
100kg and ripple with thousands of
muscles – yet their prehensile tips are
sensitive enough to pick up individual
blades of grass. To the long list of tasks
that elephants perform with their trunks –
“from signalling to snorkelling to pinching
parents’ genitals to get their attention” –
The red-handed tamarin: adaptable
NEWS 21
scientists have added another: “suction
feeding”. While it was known that
elephants hoover up water with their
trunks, an experiment at the Georgia
Institute of Technology revealed that they
also use suction to draw small morsels
close, before lifting them up and depositing
them in their mouths. In one experiment,
an elephant hoovered up several cubes of
swede while making a “loud vacuuming
sound”; in another, it used its suction to
grab hold of a tortilla. The team calculated
that elephants suck air into their trunks at
150 meters per second – 30 times the rate
at which humans expel air while sneezing.
Rewilding Britain’s verges
Britain’s verges cover 1.2% of the country,
an area the size of Dorset – according to a
new report that argues that the nation’s
biodiversity could be greatly boosted by
turning more of them into havens for
wildflowers and animals. Using Google
Earth and Google Street View, researchers
at the University of Exeter’s Environment
and Sustainability Institute estimated that
Great Britain has about 1,000 sq miles of
verges. Around 27.5% of them consist of
short, frequently mown grassland; 41%
are regular grassland; 19% are woodland;
and 11% are scrub. Previous studies have
shown that mowing only once or twice a
year benefits plants and creates habitats for
animals. “Our key message is that there’s a
lot of road verge in Great Britain, and we
could manage it much better for nature,”
said lead author Ben Phillips. A quarter of
verges are mown “to make them look like
garden lawns”, he said, “and that is bad
for wildlife”. The report called for more
trees to be planted on verges, boosting
wildlife and carbon capture. The team
stressed, however, that such measures must
be balanced against safety considerations.
Climate change deaths
More than 200 deaths occur in Britain
each year because of heatwaves caused
by man-made global warming, scientists
have claimed. The study – the largest
to date looking at the health risks posed
by rising heat exposure – analysed data
on death rates and temperatures in 43
countries over the 27 years to 2018.
Using modelling, the team calculated
what proportion of heat-related deaths
had been caused by human emissions
– and found that it was 35% in the UK
(compared with a global average of
37%). From this, the scientists estimated
that anthropogenic climate change had
led to nearly 6,000 extra deaths in the
UK over the past three decades. The
message was clear, said senior author
Prof Antonio Gasparrini, of the London
School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine: “Every continent is already
experiencing the dire consequences of
human activities on our planet.”
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
22 NEWS
Pick of the week’s
Gossip
Brendan Bracken, the Tory
businessman who was
Winston Churchill’s wartime
minister of information,
established a bogus summer
school in the 1950s, where
he posed as a naughty
16-year-old so that he could
be caned by its prefects,
according to a new book.
Bracken was 54 when
he set up the school in
Scotland. Dressed in shorts,
he claimed to be a teenager
named “Mike” with a
premature ageing condition.
Mike was often caught
smoking and drinking –
and so had to be punished.
Among the teenagers
recruited to cane him was
David Campbell (pictured,
with Bracken). In his
memoir, he says that
Bracken never touched the
boys in a sexual manner –
though there was “an elem-
ent of masochism” involved.
Bracken’s cover was finally
blown in 1957, when a new
tutor arrived and recognised
him: the school disbanded
and Bracken died of cancer
a year later, having paid
Campbell generously for
his time. Looking back,
he believes that whatever
Bracken’s sexual proclivities,
he chiefly loved the
“manufacture of drama”.
Britt Ekland says that having
fillers in her face was the
“biggest mistake of my life”.
But she reckons she is not
the only celebrity to have
had too much “work”.
Donatella Versace, she told
the Daily Mail, “probably
regrets what she did”.
Nicole Kidman, who is
known to have had Botox,
also comes in for a mention.
“I saw one film in which
she just looked consistently
perplexed.” As for
Madonna, “she looks like
Mr Potato Head”.
THE WEEK 12 June 2021
Talking points
The holiday debacle: an avoidable U-turn
Two months ago, the
Transport Secretary Grant
Shapps assured us that the
Government would produce a
“watchlist” of countries at risk
of moving from green to amber
on its new traffic light system,
to give holidaymakers and tour
operators “more certainty”,
said Simon Calder in The
Independent. But last week,
anyone who’d been gullible
enough to book a trip to
Portugal – the only mainstream
destination on the green list
– was given just 108 hours to
get home, if they wanted to
avoid quarantine and the need Tourists rushing to leave Portugal
for more costly PCR tests. The
result? Travellers forced to shell out vast sums
for new tickets; airports so crowded distancing
was impossible; and billions knocked off the
value of airlines and tour operators. Shapps cited reluctance to tell the public unpalatable truths,
concerns about the emergence of what he called
a “sort of Nepal mutation of the Indian variant” sudden U-turns when the need for new
(formally known as Delta+K417N); but his
decision surely had less to do with public health
than politics: polls show a large majority of
Britons are in favour of quarantining everyone
who comes to the UK.
The blow to the travel industry is “devastating”,
said The Guardian. After last year’s write-off,
operators had been banking on a resumption of
at least some foreign holidays, their expectations cancelled holidays, but because it suggests that
fanned by “optimistic statements” from
Covid: how to vaccinate the world
Last week, the two billionth Covid-19 shot
was administered, said The Economist. Around
one-quarter of the world’s adults have now
received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine –
a “remarkable achievement”, given that 18
months ago, this coronavirus was “unknown
to humankind”. However, since most vaccines
require two doses, about 13 billion more jabs
are still required. Of the two billion so far,
nearly 40% have been in the US and Europe;
and less than 1% in sub-Saharan Africa. This
gulf is creating a “two-track pandemic”, said
The Guardian. Rich countries must do
“whatever it takes” to roll out the vaccines
across the world. The case for global solidarity
is “pragmatic”. The Delta variant, which
originated in India, “will not be the last to
emerge, as long as swathes of the globe remain
unvaccinated”. More than that, though, “this
is a moral matter”. Without a great boost to
supplies, millions more will die this year.
Boris Johnson this week urged the G7 leaders
to vaccinate the world by the end of next year.
But inoculating the 70% or so of the world
population required for herd immunity by then
will be very difficult, said Sarah Boseley in the
same paper. The Covax scheme, created to
funnel vaccines to low-income countries, had
contracted to buy two billion doses by the end
ministers, and “boosterish
briefings” to the press. Indeed,
the hope last week was that
more countries would be
added to the green list.
Instead, Portugal was shunted
to amber, and several amber
destinations went to red.
Holidaymakers who’ve
booked foreign escapes this
summer are now realising they
have a dwindling chance of
going anywhere; the more
cautious will be further
deterred from booking. This
may create a boom for British
destinations, but for the sector
as a whole, the outlook is very
bleak. Of course, we’re in a
fast-moving pandemic, and ministers can’t see
into the future, but a difficult situation has been
made far worse by the Johnson Government’s
leading to mixed messaging, delays, and then
restrictions becomes unavoidable.
The government’s latest U-turn raises a question,
said The Daily Telegraph: “does it believe in its
vaccination programme or not? There will
always be variants.” The point of the vaccine is
to reduce the risk they pose to a “manageable
level, such that normal life can resume”. This
step is concerning, not just because of all the
we’re no closer to “learning to live with Covid”.
of the year. But its main supplier, the Serum
Institute of India, is now churning out vaccines
for its home market, amid the “terrible surge”
there; it won’t be able to fulfil its Covax orders
by the end of the year. The global supply needs
to be greatly expanded, said The New York
Times. But divisions are “stark”over how.
Some health experts argue that pharmaceutical
companies must not only waive their vaccine
patents, but also transfer their technology –
“that is, help other manufacturers learn to
replicate their products”. Unsurprisingly, the
industry disagrees. That would also take many
months. For now, there’s only one short-term
solution: rich nations must donate more of their
stocks to the rest of the world.
Britain has yet to donate any of its stock, said
Charlotte Gill on Conservative Home. And it
now faces a dilemma. The regulator has
approved the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 12
to 15. But is it moral to inoculate our children,
given the tiny risk to them, when in many
nations high risk people aren’t vaccinated at all?
The UK has already contributed much, said The
Daily Telegraph – not least by providing the
Oxford vaccine to the world at cost price. It’s
© DAVID CAMPBELL
true that “no one is safe until everyone is safe”.
But the Government has to balance that against
its primary obligation: to its own people.
 Talking points
Overseas aid: a backbench rebellion
The timing could hardly
have been worse for Boris
Johnson, said Andrew
Rawnsley in The Observer.
Just as the Prime Minister
was gearing up to host this
week’s G7 summit in
Cornwall, he faced a
backbench rebellion that
drew “further attention to
the fact that Britain is
slashing its support for
developing countries when
the rest of the G7 are Yazidi refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan
sustaining or increasing their
aid budgets”. Critics from all sides of the Tory
party have lined up to denounce the decision to
cut aid spending this year from 0.7% of Gross
National Income to 0.5%. Every living former
PM has condemned the move, which breaks the
Tories’ manifesto pledge to stick to the UN aid
spending target. Johnson escaped a likely defeat
on the issue on Monday when the Commons
Speaker blocked a rebel attempt to force a
vote on it, said Andrew Woodcock in The
Independent. But with MPs looking at other
parliamentary and legal routes to reverse the
cut, the reprieve may only be fleeting.
To hear critics attack this temporary cut, you’d
think Britain had abandoned the world’s poor
and “become a pariah state”, said The Daily
Telegraph. “Nothing could be further from the
truth.” Even if this temporary cut takes effect,
we’ll still be spending £10bn on overseas aid,
on top of all the other help we offer through
Stonewall: champion or bully?
Stonewall, Britain’s largest LGBT
charity, is in deep trouble, said
Josephine Bartosch in The Daily
Telegraph. For many years it
has run a Diversity Champions
programme: more than 850
organisations, from Amazon to
the NHS to MI6, pay annual fees
to ensure that their policies are
LGBT inclusive. But now many
of its customers, including the
Equality and Human Rights
Commission and Channel 4,
are leaving. Why? Because of An extreme stance?
its extreme stance on gender
identity. Stonewall supports the view that people The truth is that Stonewall has become a bit
ought to be able to self-identify as the gender
they choose. And it regards those who disagree
with that – including feminists who oppose, say,
biological men competing as women in sports
competitions, or entering women’s refuges – as
“transphobic”. A damning recent report found
that Stonewall had given misleading legal advice
on this issue to the University of Essex – which
had unlawfully banned “gender-critical”
feminists from speaking at the university.
Here we go again, said Stephen Paton in The
National. The British press is “relentlessly
hostile” to transgender people, and now
NEWS 23
Wit &
military assistance and
championing free trade. By
helping develop the Oxford/
Wisdom
AstraZeneca vaccine – which “The real hell of life is that
is being distributed at cost everyone has their reasons.”
price to poor nations – we’ve Director Jean Renoir,
contributed to “one of the quoted in The New Republic
greatest humanitarian efforts “The struggle of man against
in history”. Only 14 power is the struggle of
countries have ever hit the memory against forgetting.”
UN aid target; “France last Milan Kundera, quoted
hit it in 1967”. And polls in The Times
show strong public support
for this cut, said The Sun. “Half the trouble in life
Voters are happy to help is caused by pretending
poor nations, but they object to “blindly doling there isn’t any.”
out billions because certain Tories feel warm and Edith Wharton, quoted
fuzzy giving away other people’s money”. on The Browser
“Every generation revolts
It’s true that not all overseas aid is well spent,
against its fathers and
said Matthew Parris in The Times. But that
makes friends with
doesn’t justify walking away from pledged
its grandfathers.”
commitments “in the middle of the most
Historian Lewis Mumford,
devastating global pandemic in a hundred
quoted in Country Living
years”. This cut will lead to more suffering
in crisis-racked nations such as Yemen and “At 18 our convictions are
Ethiopia, and set back projects to provide clean hills from which we look;
water, improve reproductive health and tackle at 45 they are caves in
HIV/Aids across the developing world. And which we hide.”
all to save around £4bn annually – a sum F. Scott Fitzgerald, quoted
equivalent to about 1% of what we are in Forbes
borrowing this year. This is not a necessary
cost-saving measure. It’s just a “brutal gesture, “Ideas are like rabbits. You
a piece of domestic applause-seeking directed get a couple and learn how
against the peoples in the world who, as we to handle them, and pretty
emerge from crisis, are still engulfed in it”. soon you have a dozen.”
John Steinbeck, quoted in
the Vashon-Maury Island
Beachcomber
“All romantics need
anti-trans activists, politicians and the mortar of cynicism
journalists are trying to “bring to hold themselves up.”
down Stonewall” for supporting Boris Johnson, quoted in
them. The issue of the supposedly The Atlantic
misleading legal advice is actually
“a semantic gripe that has been “You can change your
blown out of all proportion”. faith without changing
The “most right-wing British gods, and vice versa.”
Government in recent history” Poet Stanisław Jerzy Lec,
is using it as a cover to attack quoted in Forbes
Stonewall: Equalities Minister Liz “We call it ‘Nature’; only
Truss has advised all government reluctantly admitting
departments to withdraw from ourselves to be ‘Nature’ too.”
the Diversity Champions scheme. Poet Denise Levertov,
quoted on Medium.com
of a bully, said Sonia Sodha in The Observer.
Disagreement on what it means to be a woman
– whether it is solely based on a feeling or Statistic of the week
whether it is related to biological sex – is one British travellers made just
thing. But trying to silence and browbeat those 388 million journeys by rail
last year, down from
who disagree with you is another. Last week,
1.7 billion in 2019, according
Stonewall’s chief executive, Nancy Kelley, to the Office for Rail and
actually compared gender-critical feminists to Roads. Fare revenues fell
anti-Semites. Women arguing that same-sex from £10.4bn in 2019,
spaces should be preserved is not “hate speech”: to £1.9bn. In 1872, records
abusive men really do go to great lengths to show there were 407 million
reach female victims. By its dogmatism on this rail journeys.
issue, Stonewall is losing support fast. “I hope The Daily Telegraph
there is a way back for it.”
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
24 NEWS Sport
Cricket: England’s refusal to gamble on victory
Joe Root announced at the start of this summer
that he wanted England to win all seven of their
Tests, said Nick Hoult in The Daily Telegraph. “It
didn’t look like that” at Lord’s on Sunday. Root’s
men had a great chance to get their two-match
series against New Zealand off to a winning start.
And what did they do? They “turned their noses
up” at it. The visitors had dominated the early part
of the match, but having lost a day to rain, they
were running out of time to press for victory. And
so their captain, Kane Williamson, left a “carrot
dangling in the air” by declaring their second
innings with 75 overs remaining, leaving England
needing 273 runs to win. It was, on the face of
it, a makable total, said Mike Atherton in The
Times: these days, a run rate of 3.64 per over
isn’t unrealistic. Cricket-starved fans would have Robinson: a heartfelt apology sexist tweets. He apologised, and played the
relished a thrilling run-chase; yet instead of “giving
it a go”, England’s batsmen – betraying a palpable lack of
confidence – shut up shop, and by the close had limped to 170-3.
You can’t blame England for their caution, said Simon Wilde in
the same paper. Successful fourth-innings run-chases are
vanishingly rare in Test cricket. In the whole history of the sport,
there have been 613 second-innings declarations – and chasing
sides have only won 13 (or 2%) of those matches. Williamson’s
declaration, in other words, wasn’t actually that “bold”: he knew
there was little danger of his side losing. It was an
intelligent move for all that, said Lawrence Booth
in the Daily Mail, and a mark of how confident
NZ have become. As a cricketing nation, they’ve
moved on enormously since the days of the great
Richard Hadlee, when Graham Gooch likened
their bowling attack to having a “World XI
[Hadlee] at one end and Ilford 2nds at the other”.
Given the strength of the current team, England
will have their work cut out in the second Test.
And unfortunately, they’ll go into it without the
player who impressed most at Lord’s, said Scyld
Berry in The Daily Telegraph. Ollie Robinson’s
England debut was marred by the revelation that
in 2012 he’d sent friends a series of racist and
match – impressively taking seven wickets – but
once over, the English Cricket Board announced it had suspended
him from international cricket pending an “investigation”. Oliver
Dowden, the Sports Minister, accused the ECB of going “over the
top” – and he was surely right to do so. Angry and nasty as
Robinson’s comments were, they were made when he was just 18,
and his apology couldn’t have been “more heartfelt or complete”.
In excluding him from the team, the ECB seems to be prioritising
its own “urge to be seen as zealously pure” over the welfare of
one of England’s most promising players.

Tennis: a flurry of withdrawals at the French Open

This year’s French Open has been hit by a string of
untimely withdrawals, said Simon Briggs in The
Daily Telegraph. First came the world No. 2, Naomi
Osaka, who pulled out of the women’s singles after
refusing to attend press conferences: she said they
were harming her mental health. Soon after, the 11th
seed, Petra Kvitová, withdrew on account of an
ankle injury sustained – ironically – while carrying
out her press duties; and she in turn was followed by
world No. 1 Ash Barty, who quit after injuring her
hip during a match. It didn’t end there. As the event
entered its second week, Roger Federer, arguably the
sport’s biggest star, declared he was pulling out, too.
Osaka: aversion to the press past Berrettini, he’d probably have faced Novak
The 39-year-old’s reason wasn’t that he was injured,
but that he wanted to focus all his efforts on preparing for an
attempt at a ninth Wimbledon title, said Tumaini Carayol in The
Guardian – a decision that won’t have pleased the tournament’s
organisers. It was also an odd one: having battled
through the first three rounds, Federer was due to
face the Italian Matteo Berrettini – a player against
whom he’d have fancied his chances. Seen in the
“context of his season”, however, Federer’s with-
drawal makes sense, said Stuart Fraser in The Times.
The Swiss entered the French Open having barely
played in the past year-and-a-half, during which time
he underwent two knee operations. He’d long made
it clear that he intended to use Roland-Garros
primarily as a “warm-up event” for Wimbledon. “I
have to remind myself: why am I here?” he said. “It’s
not to win the French Open.” Had Federer made it
Djokovic in the quarter-finals, followed by Rafael
Nadal in the semi-finals – not clashes his “ageing body” would
have appreciated. And as a fully fit Federer remains a contender
for Wimbledon, he is undoubtedly wise to focus his efforts there.

Athletics: super fast times with “super spikes” Sporting headlines

It was both an extraordinary
feat and an all too common
occurrence in modern athletics,
said Sean Ingle in The Guardian.
At the FBK Games in Holland
last weekend, yet another
middle-distance track record
was “obliterated”. Sifan Hassan,
an Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete,
and already the holder of three
road world records, ran the Hassan: “obliterating” the record
10,000 metres in 29:06:82,
shaving an incredible ten seconds and more off
the previous record (and 30 seconds off her own
personal best). The one thing that took no one
by surprise, however, was the shoes Hassan
had on her feet. She “appeared to be wearing
the latest version of the Nike ZoomX Dragonfly
spikes” – billed as the “fastest shoes ever”.
These so-called “super-shoes” or “super-
spikes” have a midsole stuffed
with a lightweight, responsive
foam and a carbon fibre plate,
said Rick Broadbent in The
Times. As a result, they are
springier and more forgiving
than older track spikes, and are
thought to improve perform-
ance by as much as 2%. And
their impact on middle-distance
running has been profound: in
the past 12 months, the men
and women’s 5,000 and 10,000 records have all
fallen to runners wearing the shoes. Some, of
course, will be unfazed by the development,
seeing it as a “triumph of innovation”. Yet there
does nonetheless seem to be something amiss
about the introduction of kit that transforms
the sport and makes it “impossible to judge
performances against past benchmarks”.
Tennis Serena Williams lost
in straight sets in the fourth
round of the French Open to
Kazakh player Elena Rybakina.
Football England secured two
1-0 victories in their last warm-
up games for the Euros,
against Austria and Romania.
A thigh injury suffered by
Trent Alexander-Arnold in
the first match means he will
miss the tournament.
F1 Lewis Hamilton made a
rare error on the penultimate
lap in the Azerbaijan Grand
Prix – he accidentally pressed
a button in his cockpit that
affected the brakes. The error
caused Hamilton to drop from
2nd to 15th place.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

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 LETTERS
Pick of the week’s correspondence
Artistry in statuary
To The Guardian
It is perhaps a little ironic that
a professor of public history at
the University of Manchester
should dismiss, and in the
Guardian moreover, the
sculptor John Cassidy’s now
notorious statue of Edward
Colston as a “mediocre piece
of late-Victorian public art”.
Cassidy (1860-1939) was a
Mancunian sculptor, whose
Victoria Jubilee Fountain
adorns Albert Square and
whose masterpiece, the
allegorical group Adrift, is a
prominent feature of St Peter’s
Square. It represents, he wrote,
“the dependence of human
beings upon one another, the
response of human sympathy
to human needs”.
Cassidy was associated with
the New Sculpture movement
in the 1880s and 1890s, which
reflected particularly the
influence of Rodin. In its
imagery, Adrift also looks back
to Géricault’s The Raft of the
Medusa. Colston’s intriguing
pose seems a conscious echo
of Rodin’s Thinker, and the
sculpture’s lively modelling
is Rodinesque.
From a purely aesthetic
point of view, it is somewhat
more than “mediocre”, I
would say. Cassidy was an
Irish Catholic with
revolutionary sympathies who
moved to Manchester at the
age of about 20, and remained
there all his life. It seems
unlikely that the Bristol
admirers of Colston who
commissioned the statue
bothered to inform Cassidy
of Colston’s violent anti-
Catholicism and rabid
Toryism, nor the slave trading.
Simon Casimir Wilson,
London
The testing goldrush
To The Times
Your article on pre-travel
coronavirus testing outlines the
costs associated with this
government-mandated income
stream for private pathology
laboratories and associated
middlemen. To put the prices
of up to £399 in context, the
cost of chemicals, leased
equipment and staff for these
automated tests is about £10-
£15 per test. This is why Greek
laboratories can provide the
same service profitably for
s40. Profiteering during the
● Letters have been edited
27
Exchange of the week there is no way to control how
it is used once it is in the hands
Inviting wasps to a picnic of a third party. And finally,
there is minimal detail on the
To The Times governance of access to the
Encouraged by your leading article (“Bug’s Life”) on tracking information, and no mention
insect decline by “splatometer”, I thought instead to of any independent body
investigate wasp populations by means of a Devon cream tea. responsible either to the public
On Tuesday afternoon, after several warm days, I set up in my or to the medical professions.
garden a four-scone cream tea topped with copious quantities NHS data is a major potential
of strawberry jam. My expectation, from past experience, is resource for medical research.
that this would have attracted wasps and other flying insects. However, its use must be
But on this occasion, there were none of either, which I carefully managed, both to
find disturbing. In the interest of science, I am steeling myself retain public trust and to
to repeat this exercise at frequent intervals throughout the satisfy medical ethics.
summer months. I strongly support your
Brian Parker, Dartmouth, Devon call for the programme to
be scrapped and restarted
To The Times with suitable technology
It is not surprising that Brian Parker’s cream tea experiment and safeguards.
failed to attract any wasps. They are carnivorous, and during Alan Rector, emeritus
the spring and early summer they feed mainly on aphids and professor of medical
the like. They do, however, become addicted to a sweet informatics, University
substance secreted by aphid grubs. By late summer, the aphids of Manchester
have died out and the grubs have grown up. Wasps then look
for alternative sugar sources to satisfy their addiction, which is Let’s go Dutch
when they become unwelcome picnic guests. To The Times
Julian Korn, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Whitehall could have dispensed
with the consultation period to
World Wars was severely exactly the opposite effect to determine whether a bottle
punished under criminal law, that needed. deposit scheme would alleviate
in the present global battle it is Rachael Padman, Newmarket, Britain’s plastic littering
being positively encouraged by Suffolk problem. All it needed to do
our own Government. was send a small group of
Dr Richard Cunningham, A scandalous data grab officials to any Albert Heijn
consultant microbiologist, To The Guardian supermarket in the
Yelverton, Devon Thank you for highlighting the Netherlands, to observe their
Government’s grab of GPs’ customers entering the shop
No need to catch up data (“GPs warn over plans to and walking straight to the
To The Independent share patient data with third back to place their empties into
I think Tom Peck is missing parties in England”). There are a machine that then produces
the point (“Education mess even more issues than you cite. cash for them to spend, usually
is another U-turn waiting to First, the Government’s in that shop.
happen”). Almost nothing that website is misleading. At the Annemarie McGuinness, Tyn-
is taught in school matters. top it says patients can opt out y-Groes, Conwy
Students spend most of their at any time; at the bottom it
time rote-learning material that says that when opting out, all How to test your age
they will never need again in existing information will be To The Guardian
their lives: it follows that there retained – only new informa- How to find out if you’re old:
is no need to catch up on it. tion will not be collected. It fall down. If people laugh,
What does matter is less states that there is no deadline, you’re young, if people panic,
tangible. It is about developing but if you opt out after upload, you’re old.
a spirit of curiosity and the information will not be Maureen Tilford, London
inquiry. It is about the hope deleted. Second, the
that at least one of their assurances of anonymity
subjects will capture their are worthless. It is easy to
imagination and lay a identify individuals from
foundation for a future career. records, even if obvious
It is about the self-discipline to personal details are
study when they’d rather be removed. If there is enough
doing anything else. And above information to be useful,
all, it is about learning how to most patients will be identi-
learn. How does extra fiable. Third, a massive
tutoring, or a longer school centralised database cannot
day, support any of those? be adequately secured
It is a shame that students against serious attack.
have lost so much school time, Fourth, there is no
but not for the reasons people discussion of what will “I do think it would speed things up
tend to assume. Giving them, actually be shared – the if you followed my social media.”
and those who teach them, data or access to the data.
extra work is likely to have If the data itself is shared, © HARTLEY LIN/THE NEW YORKER/
CARTOON BANK
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
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 ARTS
Review of reviews: Books
Book of the week
Material Girls
by Kathleen Stock
Fleet 320pp £16.99
The Week Bookshop £13.99
In her introduction to this book, the
philosopher Kathleen Stock describes
herself as a “heretic”, said Sarah
Ditum in The Mail on Sunday. To
many of us, though, the views she
holds will seem uncontroversial: she Marchers at the Trans Pride march in September 2020
believes that “male and female humans
exist, that humans are unable to change sex, and that sex is
important in the life one leads”. Such opinions, however, fall
foul of a “peculiar doctrine” that has become embedded within
academia, politics and even medicine. Sometimes described as
“trans ideology”, this doctrine maintains that sex is determined
not by the human body, but by a person’s “inner sense” of
identity. You are, in other words, whatever sex you think you
are. For speaking out against this orthodoxy, Stock has suffered
personal attacks and “serious attempts to derail her career”. In
Material Girls, she picks her way through this complex and
contentious terrain, outlining the “trans-activist case and its
consequences with clarity and care”.
Debates about sex and gender can seem rather abstract, said
Jane O’Grady in The Sunday Telegraph. But their real-world
29
consequences are profound. As Stock’s
brave and enlightening book makes
clear, the new assault on biological
sex – the insistence that “trans women
are women” – jeopardises women’s
“hard-won rights” and potentially
compromises their very safety. It paves
the way for trans women to compete
as sportswomen, vie for women’s jobs
and prizes and inhabit women’s jails. It
also “rewrites what it is to be gay”:
because groups like Stonewall define
homosexuality as an orientation
“towards someone of the same
gender”, and because gender is what
you decide it is, lesbians who refuse to
sleep with trans women can be dubbed transphobic.
Stock herself is regularly called a transphobe, but denies being
one, said Stella O’ Malley in the London Evening Standard. She
wants trans people to “have exactly the life opportunities non-
trans people do”, and out of courtesy adopts their preferred
pronouns. But she simply can’t accept that trans people literally
belong to the sex they identify with. Stock offers a rigorous guide
to this emotive subject, said Christina Patterson in The Sunday
Times. She meticulously debunks many claims put forward by
activists (such as the idea that trans people are disproportionately
assaulted and murdered) and unpicks the philosophical concepts
involved with precision. Her book sometimes lacks the “narrative
drive” and “journalistic élan” of other recent examinations of this
subject. But boy, do her arguments “pack a punch”.

The King’s Painter

by Franny Moyle
Head of Zeus 575pp £35
The Week Bookshop £27.99 (incl. p&p)
In 1526, aged 29, the German-born painter
Hans Holbein found himself badly in need of
money, said Michael Prodger in The Sunday
Times. So he left his wife and two children
in Basel – his home for the previous 11 years
– and decamped to London, where he
manoeuvred himself into the court of Henry
VIII. As Franny Moyle’s vivid biography
shows, moving to England was a somewhat
arbitrary decision: such was Holbein’s reputation that he “could have gone
anywhere”. But it was one that profoundly affected how the Tudor age came to
be viewed . With his many portraits of the king – “legs wide, chest and codpiece
out” – Holbein moulded the image of Henry VIII as the epitome of “alpha-male
monarchical power”. And by painting four of the king’s six wives, his advisers
Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, plus a host of lesser figures, he left a
vivid pictorial record that now defines our understanding of Henrician England.
Any Holbein biographer faces the problem that so little of him remains, said
Mark Bostridge in The Spectator. His will (discovered in the archives of St Paul’s
Cathedral in 1861) is the “only surviving personal document”. The absence of
evidence forces Moyle to speculate, and this she does admirably, capturing
Holbein’s opportunism and “enormous versatility”: the way his paintings
straddled many styles and traditions; his willingness to work both for Catholic
and Protestant patrons. “Crossword puzzlers, this is a book for you,” said Laura
Freeman in The Times. Like a detective, Moyle decodes the clues, symbols and
visual puns that Holbein incorporated into his work, such as the “sinister,
stretched skull in The Ambassadors”. The result is rather “like Wolf Hall, with
pics” – a “great, thrusting codpiece of a book” that is huge fun to read.
To order these titles or any other book in print, visit
theweekbookshop.co.uk or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835
Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm
Novel of the week
The Answer to Everything
by Luke Kennard
4th Estate 416pp £14.99
The Week Bookshop £11.99
Luke Kennard writes about the middle class, said
Barney Norris in The Guardian: “flat whites,
home ownership, therapists, teachers”. His first
novel, The Transition, was a satire on Britain’s
housing crisis. In his second, Emily and Steven,
a couple with two young sons, are priced out
of London’s property market and move to a
vaguely “alternative” suburban community,
named the Criterion, said Patricia Nicol in The
Sunday Times. There, Emily becomes emotion-
ally involved with a glamorous neighbour called
Elliott. The resulting novel is “very funny”, and
“abounds in pithy, wry observations”.
Although ostensibly about adultery, this novel
features little sex, said Jake Kerridge in The
Daily Telegraph: Emily and Elliott are too tied
up in their parental responsibilities to meet more
than occasionally. Instead, they conduct their
affair by WhatsApp – and much of the book
consists of “transcripts of their messages”. The
plot is a little on the static side, but this is a story
that readers will admire for the “acuity of most
of its characterisations and its observations on
21st century life and love”.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

 30 ARTS Drama & Podcasts
The return of live theatre: Jamie, Ralph and Amélie
Live theatre is re-emerging from them”, said Robert Gore-
its long pandemic hibernation, Langton in The Mail on Sunday
said Dominic Cavendish in The – evoking multiple characters,
Daily Telegraph – and one of and whisking us from
the first big shows to reopen is Hampstead to the Mississippi to
Everybody’s Talking About the Indian subcontinent. “I came
Jamie (at the Apollo Theatre). out of the theatre reverberating
Back in 2017, I gave it a with the gorgeous cascade of
somewhat ungenerous four words, injected like a healing
stars, but now, I’d nudge it up serum by Fiennes on flying
to “an ecstatic five”. You’d have form.” (At the Theatre Royal,
to be a “total curmudgeon” not Bath until 5 June, and then
to warm to the “carpe diem Northampton, Southampton
spirit” of this hit musical about and others to 31 July.)
a bullied teenager who embraces
his inner drag queen. Jamie’s If you are “nervously venturing
journey serves as a “rallying Audrey Brisson in Amélie: a “gorgeous Gallic fairy tale” back into the West End” and
cry for us all to come out of our want to be reminded of “the
psychological bunkers”. Shane Richie is “a hoot” as Loco profound imaginative power of theatre”, then Amélie: The
Chanelle, a faded drag act who becomes Jamie’s surrogate father. Musical is your show, said Clive Davis in The Times. Michael
And the final clap-along number, Out of the Darkness, perfectly Fentiman’s production has “more charm and less of a sugar
sums up “our need for self-liberation, a sense of belonging” – and coating” than the 2001 French film on which it is based. Newly
the state of “Dame Theatre herself”. transferred and reopened at the Criterion on Piccadilly Circus,
this “gorgeous Gallic fairy tale” occupies its new home “like
For a rather more sombre theatrical event, there is Ralph a jewel in a Tiffany case”. It’s a “lip-licking délice of a show”,
Fiennes’ one-man staging of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets, said agreed Sam Marlowe in The i Paper. Designer Madeleine Girling
Clare Brennan in The Observer. Merely to recite the set would has created a picture-postcard version of Paris, with a “perfect
be impressive enough: Eliot’s four-part meditation on the nature touch of dreamy surrealism”. As Amélie, the “gamine, liquid-
of time, faith, and the quest for spiritual enlightenment is nearly eyed” Audrey Brisson sings with unaffected sincerity. And the
1,000 lines long. But Fiennes “delivers it as performance and the whole thing “balances the joy and the ache so beautifully, that
result is astounding”. The actor “inhabits the poems as he delivers it’s impossible not to be seduced”.

Podcasts... espionage, ballet and war crimes

There are few subjects more Debbie won the scholarship, but
serious than murder, yet there her elation was short-lived. It
are lots of podcasts that stretch turned out the scheme had been
the limits of taste by treating the foisted on the unwilling Kirov,
topic in a deeply “whimsical” and her Russian classmates
fashion, said James Marriott in were instructed to ignore her.
The Times. Before listening to Conditions were harsh: the
British Scandal, “a whimsical disoriented teenager struggled
podcast about the death of to find adequate black-market
Alexander Litvinenko”, I confess food, and within months she
I was already wagging my finger was desperately ill in hospital.
and “packing my bags for a No spoilers, said Fiona Sturges
nice hike up to the moral high in the FT, but the story of
ground”. But “annoyingly, I Natasha, a young Kirov
really enjoyed it”. The story secretary, and how she helped
is “obviously superlatively Debbie, is a “dramatic” tale told
gripping”. There are Russian Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher: subject of the “bracing” The Line in an “atmospheric” fashion.
spies, meetings in Mayfair The podcast has been made by
hotels, a polonium-poisoned teapot and Geiger counter-wielding Debbie’s son – the journalist Jake Warren – and is arguably as
detectives. And though the hosts, Alice Levine and Matt Forde, much “about memory and family dynamics as about the weird
revel in the tale’s “tabloidy” aspects (one of the supposed world of Soviet ballet”.
assassins dreamt of being a porn star) and engage in jolly banter,
it somehow all works a treat. The next series covers the death of In May of 2017, Eddie Gallagher, who was then a US navy Seal,
Dr David Kelly. “Now that will be tasteful, I’m sure.” allegedly stabbed a young Iraqi Islamic State fighter who had been
taken prisoner in Mosul, and “posed with the teen’s corpse”, said
Finding Natasha tells the “incredible” story of Debbie Gayle Mythili Rao in The Guardian. He was later convicted of war
© PAMELA RAITH PHOTOGRAPHY

and her quest to track down Natasha, the Russian woman she crimes. The Line is a “tightly crafted” six-part series from Apple
believes saved her life. In 1974, when Debbie was a 17-year-old and Jigsaw Productions exploring the case. This “bracing”
ballet student, the British Council announced a unique scholarship podcast features courtroom audio from Gallagher’s military
for one star student to attend the world-leading Kirov ballet trial, “eye-opening” interviews with dozens of navy Seals, and
school in Leningrad, said Anna Moore in the Daily Mail. The idea extensive interviews with Gallagher, whose crimes were pardoned
was that cultural exchanges might help defuse Cold War enmity. by the then president, Donald Trump.
Stars reflect the overall quality of reviews and our own independent assessment (5 stars=don’t miss; 1 star=don’t bother)

THE WEEK 12 June 2021


Films to stream
A few notable filmmakers
have put fictionalised versions
of their own childhoods on
screen. Truffaut’s The 400
Blows is a classic example;
here are five others:
My Childhood Winner of the
Silver Lion at Venice in 1972,
Bill Douglas’s account of his
harsh childhood in a Scottish
mining village in the 1940s
is the first part of a trilogy.
Its stark style influenced
directors such as Terence
Davies, whose excellent films
about his own life include
The Long Day Closes.
Amarcord Fellini’s 1973
Oscar winner is his most
accessible film, a joyous
account of a single year in the
Italian seaside town of Rimini
in the 1930s, where he grew
up. Sometimes satirising the
Mussolini regime, it is bawdy
and uproariously funny, but
shot through with images of
almost mystical beauty.
Fanny and Alexander
Released in 1982, Ingmar
Bergman’s penultimate
work for screen exists as a
five-hour television series and
a three-hour film. Both are
masterpieces. Rooted in the
director’s own experience,
they are about two siblings
torn from a wealthy family
THE FILMS ARE AVAILABLE ON GOOGLE PLAY (EXCEPT MY CHILDHOOD AND FANNY), APPLE (EXCEPT AMARCORD AND FANNY) AND AMAZON PRIME
home in 1907 to live with a
tyrannical clergyman.
The Squid and the Whale
Noah Baumbach’s sharply
observed drama, drawing on
his own experience, is about
a literary Brooklyn couple’s
divorce and its effects on
their two sons. It stars Laura
Linney and Jeff Daniels as the
parents, and Jesse Eisenberg
as the older boy, Walt, who
must come to terms with his
parents’ faults.
This is England In Shane
Meadows’s taut
autobiographical drama
from 2006, a fatherless boy
growing up in the West
Midlands falls under the
influence of a violent, racist
skinhead. The director later
made three TV series that
follow the lives of the films’
characters over the course of
seven more years.
Film & TV
New releases
Dream Horse
Dir: Euros Lyn (1hr 53mins) (PG)
★★★
“The feelgood Brit-com is back!” said Kevin
Maher in The Times. Whereas recent Brit-coms
such as Military Wives and Fisherman’s Friends
have been marred by a “horrible” focus on
X-Factor-like celebrity, Dream Horse is a
“purer” form of the genre, which harks back to
Ealing classics such as The Titfield Thunderbolt
“with its carefully calibrated characters and
often unforgiving dissection of class politics”.
Based on a true story, and set in South Wales, it
stars Toni Collette as Jan Vokes, a barmaid in a
former mining village who puts together a local
syndicate to buy a racehorse. An empty nester
living in penury, she is inspired by accountant
Howard (Damian Lewis), whose love of racing
provides an escape from the “crushing tedium”
around him. Their “scrappy, allotment-raised”
gelding, Dream Alliance, “crashes the snooty
owners paddock at Aintree”, and goes on to
win the Welsh Grand National.
This story of “against-the-odds, social-class-
defying success” makes for fun and
“undemanding” viewing, said Robbie Collin in
The Daily Telegraph, but the film is not exactly
“fresh”. The secondary characters are the
predictable “rag-tag band” – the “trouser-
dropping” drunk, the elderly widow, and so
on – and all the “posh English stereotypes” are
“present and correct” in the “silk-scarf-wearing
types” who look down their noses at Jan and
her pals. It is all quite predictable, said Ian
Freer in Empire, but redeemed by strong
performances. Lewis is sympathetic as Howard,
as is Owen Teale as Jan’s husband, a former
farmhand sofa-bound by arthritis. But this is
Collette’s film: her depiction of Jan’s
rejuvenation turns a by-the-numbers film into
something genuinely affecting. In cinemas.
After Love
Dir: Aleem Khan (1hr 29mins) (12A)
★★★★
A drama about “the mystery of other people’s
lives” and the “unbridgeable gulf” between us,
Anne Boleyn: countdown to an execution
Anne Boleyn arrived on Channel
5 “with much culture-war chatter”
about the casting of a black
actress, Jodie Turner-Smith, in
the title role, said Ben Dowell in
The Times. But as it turns out, this
“bold decision” was one of the
few things about the drama that
works, bringing Anne’s outsider
status, and growing isolation, into
“sharper focus”. The rest of it is
marred by too much exposition,
“heavy-handed symbolism” –
and visuals that looked rushed
and a bit cheap. Turner-Smith: mesmerising in panelled rooms”, this one feels
Turner-Smith (known for her
role in the hit film Queen & Slim) gives Anne
“a mesmerising hauteur”, said Euan Ferguson
31
Toni Collette shines in a “feelgood Brit-com”
After Love, from first-time writer-director
Aleem Khan, has “the agony of a domestic
tragedy and the tension of a Hitchcock thriller”,
said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. It stars
Joanna Scanlan as Mary Hussain, a white
English woman who converted to Islam on
marrying her husband Ahmed (Nasser
Memarzia), the captain of a cross-Channel
ferry. She is mourning his sudden death at their
home in Dover when she discovers that he had
been in a long-term relationship with a woman
in Calais, Genevieve (Nathalie Richard).
Desperate to find out more, Mary crosses
the Channel herself. But when she knocks on
Genevieve’s door, Genevieve sees her veil and
mistakes her for her new cleaner. Rather than
give the speech she has prepared, Mary seizes
the opportunity to snoop incognito.
The film is anchored by Scanlan’s sensitive
performance, said Clarisse Loughrey in The
Independent. “Mary wanders through this
foreign life as a mere observer”, but Scanlan
“lends a trembling weight” to her silence, as she
sees the differences and the similarities between
herself and her husband’s lover. Genevieve has
not converted to Islam; yet more painfully, she
had a child with Ahmed. The film is beautifully
acted, said Tim Robey in The Daily Telegraph.
If it has a weakness, it is in the “cloak and
dagger machinations” of its plot. Still, this is
a “heartfelt” drama that will put its writer-
director “deservedly on the map”. In cinemas.
in The Observer. And relative to
many period dramas, the series
is not bad. But it suffers by
comparison with the masterpiece
that was Wolf Hall. Don’t blame its
stars, said Anita Singh in The Daily
Telegraph. They have all excelled
in other roles; but here, they were
up against a “leaden script and
lumpen direction”. A drama about
the five months leading up to
Anne Boleyn’s execution could
have been riveting; but with all the
cod-Tudorese and “men muttering
“tiresomely old hat, reminiscent of
one of those reconstructions you were forced
to sit through in Third Year history”.
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
32 ARTS Art
Exhibition of the week Nero: the man behind the myth
British Museum, London WC1 (020-7323 8299, britishmuseum.org). Until 24 October
Few figures in history are quite for instance, Nero kicked his
as notorious as the first century pregnant wife Poppaea to death
Roman emperor Nero, said Farah for reprimanding him. Not so,
Nayeri in The New York Times. the show insists: it is far likelier
“The charge sheet against him is that she died in childbirth, leaving
long and familiar”: Nero is seen the emperor “beside himself with
as the “prototypical tyrant”, a grief”. And far from fiddling as
“bloodthirsty pyromaniac” who his capital burned, Nero, we
murdered his half-brother, two learn, wasn’t even in the city
of his wives and his mother – when flames engulfed it. Beyond
with whom he also conducted debunking myths, the show also
an “incestuous relationship”. demonstrates that its subject
He supposedly revelled in excess, “wasn’t half bad as a leader”: he
slaughtered Christians by the built on a massive scale and ruled
hundreds, and infamously played with sensitivity. He lowered
music as Rome burned; it was taxes, built public baths and
even rumoured that he himself handed out bread to Rome’s
had started the fire in order to poor. One particularly
pave the way for a gargantuan “evocative” section suggests
new palace. Yet this new that following the suppression
exhibition at the British Museum of Boudica’s rebellion (c. AD 60),
argues that most of what we think Nero “sought to ease tensions,
we know about Nero is wrong. not exact revenge”. All this is
Far from being a sadistic tyrant, “thoroughly exciting”. However,
the curators suggest, Nero was a you do occasionally get the sense
reasonably enlightened ruler who that the show goes too far with
strove to serve the needs of the its “revisionist zeal”.
people over those of the “Roman
elite”. That elite, it seems, “I can’t say I left this show
cultivated the myth of the A marble bust of Nero (c AD 55): unjustly maligned? particularly convinced,” said
emperor’s wickedness when his Rachel Campbell-Johnston in
social reforms started to threaten their status. Bringing together The Times. Hard as the curators try to prove Nero’s innocence,
more than 200 stellar exhibits, including “sculptures and architec- the evidence to the contrary is strong. We see a set of gang chains
tural fragments, coins and jewels, frescoes and writing tablets”, used to shackle enslaved Britons – a reminder of the emperor’s
the show attempts to completely rewrite the story of a historical “conquering brutality”. Elsewhere, a “sentimentalised sculpture
monster. Can it possibly succeed in setting the record straight? of a sleeping slave boy cannot detract from the fact that, after
the murder of a senator by one of his servants, Nero backed a
The show is “a provocative, brilliant polemic”, said Alastair decision to have every slave in the household killed”. Even so,
Sooke in The Daily Telegraph. One by one, it takes apart the the exhibits are wonderful, and the show is fascinating “about the
myths that surround its subject, arguing that they were largely ways in which history is told”: the most famous likeness of Nero,
fabrications spun by “hostile” historians writing on behalf of we learn, was re-carved posthumously to make him look crueller.
“imperial regimes that sought to shore up their own legitimacy This is a “wonderfully evocative exhibition” that makes “history
by denigrating what had come before”. According to Suetonius, feel vividly alive”.

News from the art world

Colston’s new home A mass howl in Preston
A year after it was toppled by Black On Sunday 30 May, travellers at Preston
Lives Matter protesters, the controversial bus station might have been surprised
statue of the 17th century slave trader to hear the “eerie” sound of a crowd
and philanthropist Edward Colston is of people “howling at the top of their
PHOTO BY FRANCESCO PIRAS © MIC MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO NAZIONALE DI CAGLIARI

back on display in Bristol, says Will lungs”, says Matthew Calderbank in

Humphries in The Times. The statue is
on show, flat on its back, at the M Shed
museum in the city, alongside placards
from last year’s protest. Curators tasked
with preserving the fallen statue and
presenting it in a new, more sensitive
context debated the issue at length.
Restoring the work to its former, vertical Colston: lying in state?
position was ruled out on the grounds
that it could be interpreted as “undoing Colston’s toppling”.
Displaying it at a 45-degree angle was briefly considered.
Eventually, it was decided to lay the bronze statue out
horizontally, although some suggested that this might evoke the
figure “of a medieval knight lying in state”, and thus appear to be
honouring Colston’s legacy. The curators are now appealing to
the people of Bristol to help decide its fate. Visitors will take part
in a survey to decide what should happen to the statue next.
the Lancashire Post. This was no
spontaneous outbreak of madness,
however: the mass wail was the
brainchild of local artist Jamie Holman,
who had paid 150 people £10 each to
howl in unison, creating a performance
he captured on film. According to
Holman, the event was intended to
memorialise the last known wolf in
England, which by some accounts was killed north of Preston
in the 14th century. It was also a response to the months of
lockdown engendered by the pandemic, providing an opportunity
to “howl and mourn for the people we’ve lost during the past
year and the time that we’ve lost”, as the artist put it. “It’s a really
cathartic experience to become a pack again.” A film of the
performance will be screened at Lancashire Encounter – the
biennial art festival which is due to take place in September.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 The List 33
Best books… Lorraine Candy Television
The former editor of The Sunday Times Style Magazine and podcaster Programmes
chooses her favourite books. Her book “Mum, What’s Wrong With You?!” Grace Kelly: Lost Tapes of
(4th Estate £14.99), a guide to raising teenage girls, is out this week a Princess Using previously
unseen film, this documentary
looks for the real Grace Kelly.
The Birthday Boys by Beryl Hunter: The Strange and Girl, Woman, Other by
Sat 12 Jun, C4 21:00 (60mins).
Bainbridge, 1991 (Abacus Savage Life of Hunter S. Bernardine Evaristo, 2019
£9.99). I am obsessed with Thompson by E. Jean Carroll, (Penguin £8.99). I love this Dispatches: Undercover
Antarctica and went on an 1993 (Simon & Schuster, out humorous and spirited in Africa’s Secret State
expedition there 20 years ago. of print). This is a crazy tale exploration of difficult women, Reporter Evan Williams uses
This haunting novel is about of a crazy man told by one of which follows 12 characters, of secret footage shot over five
Scott’s ill-fated 1912 trip, and Rolling Stone’s funniest female different ages and generations, years to reveal the plight of
uncovers the arrogance of these writers. I am not entirely sure as they navigate life’s big Eritreans, living under one of
upper-class male explorers, but what’s true or what’s not, but questions. I encouraged my the world’s most repressive
dictatorships. Wed 16 Jun, C4
also paints a beautiful picture it is a wild ride. teenage daughters to read it.
23:05 (65mins).
of an untouched land and the
human endurance needed to Menopause: All you need Just Kids by Patti Smith, Roberto Martínez: Whistle
conquer it. to know in one concise 2010 (Bloomsbury £9.99). to Whistle As the delayed
manual by Dr Louise Newson, This autobiography is the Euro 2020 gets under way, this
The Tiger Who Came to 2019 (J.H. Haynes & Co., vibrant story of the author’s film follows the manager of
Tea by Judith Kerr, 1968 £12.99). All midlife women relationship with the the No. 1 ranked national team
(HarperCollins £6.99). I have should read this fact-filled, photographer Robert – Belgium – as he prepares for
four kids, so I know this one evidence-based book – Mapplethorpe, and of her love the tournament. Wed 16 Jun,
BBC1 23:30 (60mins).
off by heart. If I can’t sleep, I it changed my life when I hit affair with New York City. I
just recite it in my head. But my late 40s. It explains the met Patti once and was so star- Together James McAvoy and
one look at the cover makes low risks associated with HRT, struck that I couldn’t think of Sharon Horgan star in this
me instantly melancholy about and defines the symptoms a single thing to say, so we bittersweet comedy-drama
my babies growing up. of perimenopause. talked about hairstyles! about a couple forced to
Titles in print are available from The Week Bookshop on 020-3176 3835. For out-of-print books visit biblio.co.uk re-evaluate their relationship
during lockdown. Thur 17 Jun,
BBC2 21:00 (90mins).
The Week’s guide to what’s worth seeing and reading
A Pandemic Poem: Where
Showing now Did the World Go? A
Giffords Circus – the “magical pocket circus” powerful examination of the
– is on the road again with The Hooley, a pandemic, using a poem
characteristically exuberant show dreamed up specially written by Poet
by its founder, the late Nell Gifford (Sunday Laureate Simon Armitage. Fri
18 Jun, BBC2 21:00 (60mins).
Times). Touring Gloucestershire, London and
beyond until 26 September (giffordscircus.com).
Films
Mary, Queen of Scots
A forest of trees takes over the courtyard of (1971) Vanessa Redgrave
Somerset House as part of the London Design plays Mary Stuart to Glenda
Biennale, courtesy of artistic director and Jackson’s Elizabeth I in this
superstar set designer Es Devlin. The site also acclaimed drama about the
hosts installations from around the world. Until ill-fated Scottish queen. Mon
27 June, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2 14 Jun, Film4 13:35 (155mins).
Canaletto’s Venice, at The Holburne Museum
(somersethouse.org.uk).
breaking paintings have redefined the way Florence Foster Jenkins
(2016) The true story of a
Canaletto: Painting Venice provides a rare women are represented in British art. 7 July- Manhattan socialite
chance to see a stunning collection of paintings 24 October, Tate Britain, Millbank, London determined to pursue a career
of the city by the 18th century master, which SW1 (tate.org.uk). in opera, despite not being
have left their home at Woburn Abbey for the able to sing. With Meryl Streep
first time in over 70 years. Until 5 September, Tony Award-winner Sutton Foster brings a and Hugh Grant. Thur 17 Jun,
The Holburne Museum, Bath (holburne.org). bit of Broadway to London in a major new BBC4 20:00 (105mins).
production of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes,
Book now which also features Felicity Kendal in her
Tate Britain hosts the largest retrospective to musical debut. 23 July-17 October, Barbican, Coming up for sale
date of work by Paula Rego, whose ground- Silk Street, London EC2 (barbican.org.uk). Galleries, pop-ups and artists’
studios will all open their
The Archers: what happened last week doors for the Mayfair Art
Weekend. These will include
Jazzer tells Ed he’s ready to give up shearing – he’ll need his days off once he starts at Berrow. At
Beechwood, Helen invites Joy over for drinks. As Joy and Lee gossip, he asks to be added to the
the Bastian Gallery, showing
neighbours’ WhatsApp group – Joy seems unsure about it. Mia is on a mission to stop plastic a series of gouaches by Sonia
waste and asks for Ruairi’s help; Emma can see Mia has a crush, and warns her Ruairi may not Delaunay, and Hauser &
feel the same. Overhearing a call, Ian tells Adam he thinks Ruairi might be gay. Over dinner, they Wirth, hosting work by Frank
indicate they’ll be there for him coming out – Ruairi assures them he’s out and he’s bisexual, but is Bowling, along with a series
touched by their support. Jazzer and Tracy go on an ill-fated date on the motorbike. Ruairi shows of other events. 25-27 June,
Mia around Home Farm for her survey, and guessing her feelings, gently puts her off. At home, held across various locations,
Will comforts her. Tipsy Alice brings a guy back to Willow Cottage, but on being sharply told her Mayfair, London W1
© NEIL COOPER

situation by Jennifer, he leaves. Alice has a showdown with her parents, calling Brian a hypocrite (mayfairartweekend.com).
when he reminds her of her wedding vows.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

34 Best properties
Delightful mill houses
North Yorkshire:

▲
Vivers Mill, Mill
Lane, Pickering. A
Grade II water mill
of enormous
character, situated in
a peaceful corner of
this vibrant market
town. It is believed
that the water mill
has been on site
since 1198,
operating for
centuries as a corn
mill before its
conversion to a
private residence
some 50 years ago.
Main suite with
dressing room, 4
further suites,
kitchen, 3 receps,
office, gym, wheel
room/workshop,
store room, garage.
£825,000; Carter
Jonas (01904-
275194).

▲ Cornwall: West Ruthern Farm, Bodmin. A detached Grade II farmhouse and

extensive period barns, including a former mill with waterwheel, overlooking
lovely gardens and grounds extending to about 20 acres. Main suite, 3 further
beds, 2 showers, kitchen/breakfast room, 2 receps, paddocks, hillside orchard,
riverside woodland. £1.35m; Lillicrap Chilcott (01872-273473).

Gloucestershire:
▲

Weavers Mill,
Pitchcombe. A
beautifully presented
former mill with
more than nine acres
of land, in a desirable
setting on the
Painswick stream.
Main suite with
dressing room, 1
further suite, 2
further beds, family
bath, kitchen/
breakfast room, 2
receps, conservatory,
office, double garage,
wheel house, terrace,
outbuildings,
paddock with a
spring fed pond,
waterside garden.
£1.5m; Murrays
(01453-755552).

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

on the market 35

▲ North Yorkshire: Townley Mews, Carleton,

Skipton. A superb Grade II conversion of a former mill
building, with exposed roof timbers and stonework,
with an attractive garden. Main suite, 2 further beds,
family bath, kitchen, recep, utility, garage. OIEO
£330,000; Hunters (01756-700544).
Somerset: Mill House, Alhampton, Castle Cary.

▲
Formerly a mill, dating back to 1778, this striking
family home sits at the end of a country lane, within
three acres, with a meandering river and full-sized
tennis court overlooking open fields. 8 beds, 5 baths,
1-bed self-contained annexe, kitchen/breakfast room,
4 receps, tennis court. £1.65m; Lodestone Property
(01749-605099).

Staffordshire: Norfolk: Flat 2,

▲
▲

Chorlton Mill, Hill Elmham Watermill,

Chorlton, Newcastle- North Elmham. A
under-Lyme. first-floor apartment in
Approached by a private a converted water mill
driveway, this Grade II by the Wensum River,
former mill, dating back which is set in some
to about 1850, is set in three acres of
around six acres of charming communal
gardens and grounds, grounds with
with a self-contained impressive views. The
1-bed annexe. To the versatile apartment is
rear of the property is an finished in a
open terrace, which is contemporary style,
ideal for al fresco dining. while retaining its
Main bed with juliette character features.
balcony, 4 further beds, Main suite, 2 further
dressing room, family beds, shower room,
bath, kitchen, 3 receps, kitchen, 2 receps,
games room, double shared parking,
garage, greenhouse, telecom entry. OIEO
private gardens. £1.25m; £285,000; Sowerbys
Savills (01952-239500). (01953-884522).

Wiltshire:
▲

Mercombe Farm, Ford,

Chippenham. An
attractive Grade II
property with a wealth
of history, offering a
great family home
surrounded by fields
and the Bybrook River.
The original mill house
is mentioned in the
Domesday Book, and
over the centuries was
used as a paper mill.
Main bed, 3 further
beds, wet room, 2
baths, kitchen/breakfast
room, 3 receps,
workshop, garage,
meadow field, mill race, ▲ Cumbria: The Mill House, Sockbridge, Penrith. A handsome property,
mill pool, extensive dating back to the 17th century, with five acres of land in a picturesque and
parking; around 1.58 secluded setting on the edge of the Lake District National Park. Main suite,
acres. £1.575m; Knight guest suite, 4 further beds, 2 baths, kitchen/breakfast room, 3 receps,
Frank (01225-325993). parking, outbuildings, gardens. £1.25m; Finest Properties (01539-468400).

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

36 Marketplace

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or call Henry Haselock 020 3890 3900

What the experts think
RIP, Good Food Guide
For 70 years, the Good Food Guide has
been the “gourmet’s bible”, providing
trusty advice to the British public about
which restaurants are worth visiting, said
Harriet Sherwood in The Observer. Not
any more. Waitrose, its owner since 2013,
has “quietly announced” it won’t be
releasing a guide this year, and that it has
“no plans” for future editions. The guide
was launched in 1951 by the journalist
Raymond Postgate, who’d begun soliciting
reader reviews for a magazine column
about British food. Unlike the 100%
inspector-written Michelin Guide, The
Good Food Guide has always been part-
written by readers. Many are mourning its
passing, said William Sitwell in The Daily
Telegraph: my fellow critic Jay Rayner
described it as a “campaign for a better life
in postwar Britain”. Personally, though, I
stopped using it some time ago. With
Britain’s dining scene vastly improved
from the 1950s, you could say that its “job
is done”. And besides, in an age when “we
can all be critics” on TripAdvisor or social
media, annual print guides have lost much
of their point. “When our phones can
literally answer the question ‘Where’s
good to eat in Oxford (Siri)?’, Postgate’s
tome didn’t stand a chance.”
Tips for perfect pasta
“Everyone knows how to cook pasta,
don’t they,” says Tony Turnbull in The
LEISURE
Food & Drink
Mateo Zielonka: The Pasta Man
Times. Not according to chef Mateo
Zielonka, whose book The Pasta Man is
published this month. He says that even
accomplished cooks can fine-tune their
creations by following a few all-important
rules. The first is to salt water properly: it
should taste “as salty as seawater”. Use a
litre of water for every 100g of pasta, and
make sure the water is on a rolling boil:
the pasta won’t cook properly if you add it
too soon. When the pasta is ready (check it
“retains some bite”), it will combine better
with the sauce if it carries some “lovely
starchy cooking water”. Therefore, remove
it from the water with tongs (or a slotted
spoon) and transfer it directly into the
37
sauce. Make sure, too, to reserve a jugful
of cooking water, which can be used to
“further loosen” the dish. As for toppings,
don’t feel constrained by tradition. Use
creamy burrata instead of parmesan – it
goes beautifully on top of pesto or tomato
sauce – or nutritional yeast as a vegan
alternative: it’s great for “adding umami
flavour”. And a brilliant “final topping” is
pangrattato – torn pieces of bread baked
for 20 minutes in a 180°C oven, then
whizzed in a food processor with garlic,
chilli flakes, olive oil, parsley and sea salt.
Is TikTok the enemy of cooking?
To the “many ills” already caused by
social media, perhaps we should now add
the “demise of real cooking”, said Ameer
Kotecha in The Spectator. It’s true that
some platforms – notably Instagram –
enable “real foodies” to share their talents.
But on TikTok, which made an “explosive
entrance” to the culinary world during
lockdown, little proper culinary education
takes place. Top trends include “Oreo mug
cakes” (105 million views) and “pancake
cereal” (1.6 billion); there are videos on
how to grill chicken with an iron, or
boil meatballs in a percolator. If TikTok
helped persuade its millennial and Gen Z
audience to make “decent, nutritious
home-cooked food”, it would be serving
a useful purpose. Instead, it mainly seems
to be a forum for “wacky experiments” –
and I find that “profoundly depressing”.

Recipe of the week Wine choice

Burgundy is the spiritual home of pinot
This recipe would perhaps be a last meal request for me, says Emily Scott: it noir, said Susy Atkins in The Daily
contains all the ingredients that I simply love. Crab is available in most good Telegraph, but what is the next best
supermarkets or, even better, head to your local fishmonger. If on holiday in region for this “notoriously
Cornwall, find a local fisherman to point you in the right direction. difficult and pernickety” grape?

Cornish crab linguine with chilli, lemon and parsley While New Zealand and
California both produce excellent
Serves 4 pinots, I’ve recently been
300g dried linguine pasta 250g fresh white Cornish crab meat, picked over for pieces “bowled over” by the wines from
of shell 2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, somewhere much more site specific: the
roughly chopped zest and juice of 1 lemon (zest is optional) 100g parmesan, grated Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia.
150ml olive oil, for drizzling Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper This small hook of land, 40 miles southeast of
Melbourne, is surrounded by three bodies of
• Bring a pan of salted pasta cooking water. Use water. That is the key to its success with pinot:
water to the boil, add the tongs to thoroughly mix the cool breezes coming off the sea “fan the
pasta and cook according the pasta with the crab so peninsula, moderating the heat”.
to the packet. Meanwhile, that all the pasta gets a
combine the crab meat in good coating of sauce. Its wines aren’t cheap – top pinot never is –
a large bowl with the but they’re “well worth it for a treat”. My
• Serve in warmed favourites? Stonier Pinot Noir 2018 (£22.99,
chilli, parsley, juice and bowls and sprinkle over
zest, if using. Stir together. or £18.99 in a Mix Six; Majestic) is rich, with
a generous amount of ripe raspberry and plum notes. Crittenden
• Drain the pasta (reserve parmesan, a drizzle of Estate “The Zumma” Pinot Noir 2019
some of the cooking olive oil and a grinding (£25.95; Dartmouth Wine Company) is a
water) and add to the crab of black pepper. It goes
© INDIA HOBSON; KIM LIGHTBODY

pinot of “true elegance”, perfumed with

sauce along with a couple deliciously with a cold strawberry and red cherry fruit. And
of tablespoons of the glass of sauvignon blanc. Kooyong Estate’s Meres Pinot Noir 2018
(£44; greatwine.co.uk) has a lovely red-berry
Taken from Sea & Shore: Recipes and Stories from a Kitchen in Cornwall by fragrance that leads on to lightly spiced notes,
Emily Scott, published by Hardie Grant at £26. To buy from The Week Bookshop and is “wonderfully smooth”.
for £20.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

38 LEISURE Consumer
New cars: what the critics say
The Daily Telegraph
Pickup trucks like the
Isuzu D-Max have never
been popular in the UK,
where the van is king. But
since HMRC views them
as commercial vehicles,
they come with tax perks.
“So should you consider
one instead of an SUV?”
Isuzu D-Max The four-wheel-drive
from £21,009 D-Max can tow up to 3.5
tonnes, and lives up to its
“tough, no-nonsense”
reputation. But there’s no
denying it is “unrefined”
next to a passenger car.
What Car?
The D-Max comes in
layouts to suit everyone –
from a single cab with a
long bed, to an extended
cab, or a family five-seater
that doubles as a work
truck. It’s also fairly well-
equipped and comfortable
inside, with good safety
tech, a 7-9in infotainment
system and both Apple
and Android smartphone
mirroring. It may not be
“plush”, but it is well-built
and should last beyond its
five-year warranty.
Autocar
This new D-Max signals
Isuzu – primarily a maker
of commercial vehicles –
going after the “lifestyle”
market. But that doesn’t
mean the car has gone soft;
it remains “unfathomably
capable” on rough terrain.
That said, on the road the
D-Max’s 162bhp 1.9-litre,
four-cylinder turbo diesel
engine is noticeably loud
and harsh. At the least,
what Isuzu has delivered
is good value durability in
relative comfort.

The best… garden lighting

Habitat 4 Solar Decorative Bee Lights

▲
For a whimsical fairy-garden feel, try this
Argoos Home Warm White Outdoor Tripod set of four solar-powered bee lights. Each
▲

USB LED
L Solar Lamp Create the feeling of one has an LED light inside the glass
beingg cosy inside in your garden with this yellow body, and a little crocodile clip
simple tripod lamp. Made of weatherproof at the top of the wire cage, so you can
metal and plastic, it’s easy to keep outside, hang it from a tree branch in your
and is solar-powered so doesn’t require a garden, or pin it up on the fence
socket. You
Y can also recharge it using a USB (£20; argos.co.uk).
port (£50; argos.co.uk).

▲
▲ GLO Canove John Lewis &
Caged Exterior Partners Rattan Sola ar
Philips Hue White
W
▲

Wall
W Light More Powered Garden Lantern
Pow
and Co olour Amb biance stylish than the This unusual solar-
Lily LEED Smartt averag ge wall light in poowered LED lantern can
Outdo oor Stake e its geoometric cage, crreate a gentle glow on
Lights If you

SOURCES: T3/REALHOMES.COM/
this EGGLO light is ta
ables or patios. It looks
want to designned and made sttylish in the day too, and

GOODHOUSEKEEPING.COM
splash in the Austrian w
while it doesn’t create
out,, this Tyrol
y m mountains. e ough light to eat or
set of three smartt lights
li ht from
f the
th Philips
Phili It requires mains re
ead by, it is perfect for
Huue collection lets you create a huge electricity (£45; ammbiance (from £45;
range of colour schemes and control the homebase.co.uk). johnlewis.com).
ghts via an app (£275; johnlewis.com).
lig

Tips of the week… how And for those who Wh

to master textspeak
According to the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, the “tone” of our emails
is misinterpreted 50% of the time. So what
are the online communication rules?
● If in doubt, assume that others mean well
– remember we’re not all “digital natives”.
● Avoid awkward interruptions on video
calls by using the “hand raise” feature.
● Avoid rushed abbreviations, like thx or TY,
and open-ended questions – “Thoughts?”
● Don’t issue calendar invites for early
tomorrow with no explanation, because
people may think they are being fired.
● Full stops can be used without seeming
angry in emails, but in texts they are still
often seen as aggressive.
● Give context. Don’t use vague stress-
inducing subject lines like “Please call me”.
● Try to mirror your boss’s digital body
language; if they are formal, follow suit.
● Prioritise clarity. Don’t over apologise, or
use hedging language: “I’m not sure, but...”
SOURCE: THE TIMES
have everything…
If your other half is tired of the usual heart-
shaped jewellery, try a new romantic
gesture. This rose gold necklace, with an
anatomically correct heart and rubies in
place of blood vessels, is one of a collection
in different colours made by Strange Fruit.
£475; wolfandbadger.com
SOURCE: THE SUNDAY TIMES
Where to find… second-
hand wedding dresses
A well-known destination for second-hand
designer clothes, Vestiaire Collective
has some 4,000 styles of wedding dress
on offer, and each item is independently
authenticated (vestiairecollective.com).
Brides Do Good wants to make weddings
more sustainable, so dresses are donated
by either brides or by designers to be sold
at slashed prices (bridesdogood.com).
If the number of dresses online overwhelms
you, try The Loop, where there’s a carefully
curated collection of dresses by designers
like Valentino (the-loop.uk).
If you don’t want to miss out on the
experience of picking out a dress in a bridal
boutique, try Bridal Reloved, which has
stores across the UK (bridalreloved.co.uk).
Still White has more than 50,000 second-
hand or ex-display wedding dresses on sale
from around the world (stillwhite.com).
Also look at big second-hand marketplaces
like eBay, Asos Marketplace and Oxfam,
all of which have large wedding collections.
SOURCE: THE INDEPENDENT

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 Obituaries
Maverick lawyer who defended O.J. Simpson
F. Lee Bailey, who has died
F. Lee Bailey aged 87, was a controversial
1933-2021 American lawyer best known
for helping O.J. Simpson
escape a murder conviction in 1995. As a
member of Simpson’s “dream team” of
attorneys, Bailey suggested to the jury that a
crucial piece of evidence – a blood-stained glove
– had been planted by a racist cop to frame the
former professional footballer for the stabbing
of Nicole Brown, his ex-wife, and her friend
Ronald Goldman. Although this was never
substantiated, it was seen as a pivotal moment
in the trial, said The Times. Simpson later lost a
wrongful death civil suit related to the killings,
and was ordered to pay $33.5m in damages;
but Bailey always insisted on his client’s inno-
cence. “It’s a fact,” he told HuffPost in 2019.
“The prosecution didn’t have any evidence. All
they had was a glove – you either tied the glove
to O.J., or you didn’t, and they couldn’t.” Bailey: a “riveting” performer
An aggressive self-promoter who wore cowboy boots to work,
carried a revolver in a shoulder holster, and had a number plate
reading TRIAL, Bailey was already well known when he was
hired by Simpson. In fact, that case was his last defence, said The
Guardian. His first, in 1960, was the gruesomely named Torso
case. His client then was George Edgerly, a mechanic who’d been
charged with killing and dismembering his wife and dumping her
remains in a river. By challenging polygraph evidence to create
reasonable doubt, Bailey secured his acquittal. Edgerly was later
accused of rape, and convicted of another murder. Six years later,
Bailey made national headlines when he took on the appeal of
Sam Sheppard, an osteopath from Ohio who’d been convicted of
bludgeoning his wife to death in 1954 (and whose story is said to
have inspired the TV series The Fugitive). Bailey secured him a
re-trial, and this time, Sheppard was sensationally acquitted.
A short man with a penetrating stare, Bailey was a “riveting
courtroom performer”, said The New York Times. “He had an
actor’s voice, by turns bullying, cajoling, sarcastic or sympathetic,
Photographer who documented the life of wartime partisans
In August 1942, German
Faye
troops arrived in the town
Schulman
of Lenin, in Soviet-occupied
1919-2021
Poland, and massacred 1,850
of its Jewish residents. Only 27 were spared,
because they had skills the Nazis deemed essential.
Among them were shoemakers, tailors, black-
smiths – and a 22-year-old photographer called
Faigel “Faye” Lazebnik, said The New York
Times. Often, the Germans just wanted her to
take commemorative portraits. “It better be
good, or else you’ll be kaput,” warned a Gestapo
commander. But they also gave her a box of
negatives for her to develop for their records.
The pictures turned out to be of mass graves;
recognising some of the dead, she realised that Schulman: two years as a partisan money, and spoke no English; but through sheer
these were the trenches into which her parents
and siblings had fallen when they were machine gunned to death.
Soon after, a ragtag group of Russian partisans attacked the
© JPEF/SECOND STORY PRESS
town. Seizing the opportunity to escape her captors, she joined
their ranks. But before fleeing with them into the forests, she
returned to her abandoned home, and retrieved copies of the
photos of the massacres that she had kept as evidence of the
Nazis’ atrocities, and her camera. Over the next two years, she
39
searching for seams of doubt. Under his
reductions, a prosecutor’s ‘act’ could be
whittled down to a probability, then to a mere
possibility or just a silly idea.” He was also a
meticulous pre-trial investigator. But his cases
didn’t all go his way. In 1967, a client he was
representing in a rape case told him that he was
the Boston Strangler, who had murdered 13
women between 1962 and 1964. Bailey tried
to use this confession as evidence of the man’s
insanity, but a judge ruled it inadmissible. The
client, Albert DeSalvo, was sent to jail where he
was stabbed to death. And in 1970, Bailey was
unable to persuade a jury that the heiress Patty
Hearst had been brainwashed into taking part
in an armed robbery by the extremists who’d
kidnapped her two months prior. Hearst, who
later complained that Bailey seemed more
interested in winning publishing deals than her
case, spent nearly two years in jail. Finally, in
1996, Bailey himself wound up behind bars, for
failing to turn over $3m in stock and cash that
he’d been given by a drug dealer in Florida. Sentenced to six
months, he was led out of court in handcuffs and leg irons.
Francis Lee Bailey was born in Massachusetts in 1933, the son of
an advertising executive and a teacher. He won a scholarship to
Harvard but dropped out after two years and joined the US navy.
He subsequently transferred to the Marine Corps and flew fighter
jets. With typical confidence, he worked as the chief legal officer
at his base in North Carolina, though he had no legal training.
Later, he studied law at Boston University while moonlighting as
a private investigator. Within a few years he was earning enough
money to fly around in his own Lear jet, and had become a media
personality. At one point, he even had his own talk show. But
following his conviction in 1996, he was disbarred in Florida and
Massachusetts. And in 2013, he was denied a licence to practise in
Maine: officials ruled that he had failed to show that he possessed
“the requisite honesty”. He filed for bankruptcy three years later.
He spent his final years living above a hair salon in the coastal
town of Yarmouth, with his partner Debbie Elliott.
would create a “vivid” photographic record of
partisan life. It was intensely challenging, said The
Times. Many of her band were killed; they all
faced perishing cold, hunger and fear. But despite
all she had been through, she dared not cry. “It
was considered to be a sign of incompetence...
partisans sometimes got shot for incompetence.”
She won the group’s trust by tending to their
wounded, and was then invited to take part in
their operations.
In July 1944, the Red Army liberated the
territory. Soon after, she married Morris
Schulman, a fellow partisan with whom she
emigrated to Canada in 1948. They had no
determination, they managed, via various jobs,
to become the owners of a hardware store. Both their children
became doctors. Faye continued with her photography and,
eventually, she started to exhibit her wartime work. Her aim was
to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, and also to dispel the
myth that the Jews of Eastern Europe had gone quietly to their
deaths. “I want people to know that there was resistance,” she
said. “Jews did not go like sheep to the slaughter. I was a
photographer. I have pictures. I have proof.”
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
 CITY CITY 41
Companies in the news
...and how they were assessed
Fastly: fame at last
“Fastly’s content delivery network is all about control and reliability,” runs the blurb on
the cloud company’s website. Not always, it seems, said CNN Business. The “massive
internet outage” – which saw websites and apps around the world “go dark” for about
an hour on Tuesday – has been attributed to “a widespread failure” of Fastly’s systems.
The outage, ascribed to a faulty “configuration”, affected dozens of countries across the
Americas, Europe and Asia. Both the White House and the British Government’s Gov.uk Seven days in the
sites went down, as did Amazon, eBay, Reddit, CNN and several newspapers. PayPal, Square Mile
Twitch and Twitter also reported problems. Initial estimates by the UK delivery company
ParcelHero put the likely cost of the hour-long collapse for retailers at around $1bn, said The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was
Louise Moon and Morgan Meaker in The Daily Telegraph. Although service was swiftly reported to be seeking an exemption for
the City’s financial services companies
restored, “the scale of the outage will prompt questions about how reliant the world’s
from the global corporation tax overhaul
most popular websites are on a small handful of technology firms”. Still, after initially – on grounds that they already pay a fair
falling, shares in Fastly jumped in New York, as investors awoke to “the appeal” of a share. The new tax regime is considered
little-known company clearly “so crucial to the behind-the-scenes workings” of the web. to be a significant deterrent to global
For Fastly, it seems, there’s no such thing as bad news. banks operating out of London, possibly
compounding the impact of Brexit,
Tokyo Olympics: sponsors’ revolt which has led to a shift of some financial
Was there ever a more jinxed Olympic Games? Opinion polls show that around 80% of trading to Amsterdam. The UK reached
the Japanese public want the Covid-hit Tokyo Olympics, due to begin on 24 July, to be a new trade deal with Norway, Iceland
and Liechtenstein that will cut tariffs on
cancelled or postponed again, said Danny Gallagher on Mailonline. Many think Japan
cheese, pork and poultry. The US Senate
has been “cornered” into continuing by organisers – and some sponsors agree. There are approved a massive spending plan to
reports of simmering rebellion in the ranks of the 47 big Japanese companies propping boost technology research and produc-
up “the most heavily sponsored sporting event in history”, with some calling privately tion to counter competition from China.
for the event to be rescheduled. Six years ago, Japanese companies “were clamouring to Bitcoin suffered again after Tesla tycoon
sign up”, said Lex in the Financial Times. Collectively, firms such as Nomura, Asahi and Elon Musk hinted he had fallen out of
Asics paid a record ¥361bn ($3.3bn). For Asics, the Kobe-based sports group, the stakes love with the cryptocurrency. The price
were particularly high. Having fallen far behind rivals Nike and Adidas in international later fell as low as $31,000/unit – a 50%
sales and brand recognition, it hoped to reap a “tenfold” return on sponsorship fees. correction from the all-time high of
Sadly, the crucial ingredient was the attendance of foreign fans. The head of Japan’s $64,895 achieved in April. The UK asset
Olympics organising committee has ruled out a further delay. “Sponsors must hope that manager Ruffer was reported to have
their loss-making involvement will not also have a negative impact on their brands.” made around $1.1bn from its canny
timing of the currency’s rise and fall.
Facebook/Google: clobbered again The UK competition watchdog launched
Donald Trump’s Facebook ban has been extended for two years, as a result of what the an investigation into British Airways and
Ryanair over Covid refunds. The airlines
social network calls a “serious risk to public safety”. Perhaps the one consolation for the may have broken consumer law by not
former US president is that it wasn’t exactly a great week for Facebook either. Fresh from compensating passengers who couldn’t
being hit hard by the G7 tax deal on corporate profits, the company is being investigated legally take flights due to lockdowns.
by UK and EU regulators over potential abuse of its dominance in digital advertising, The billionaire Barclay family declared
said The Guardian. “The move marks the first time the regulators have coordinated on a truce to end a high court battle over
a major inquiry since Brexit, and strikes at the core of Facebook’s revenues.” Google alleged “commercial espionage” that
is also under the cosh in Europe, after admitting “ad market abuses”, said Adam Sage included bugging conversations at The
in The Times. The French competition watchdog has doled out a s220m fine, in a Ritz London.
“landmark case” that could force Google to change its practices in other countries too.

Etsy/Depop: the rise of the “pre-loved” economy

“The fashion resale market has exploded over
the past decade,” said Marc Bain on Quartz. The
global market is now worth between $30-$40bn,
according to Boston Consulting, and is growing
exponentially. The latest to grab onto its coat-
tails is Etsy, the US e-commerce group dedicated
to indie crafters and collectors, which is paying
a sizeable $1.6bn to acquire the London-based
vintage fashion app, Depop. Clearly when it
comes to fashion, “the new thing is older stuff”,
said Chris Nuttall on FT.com. But demographics
are also vital to this deal. More than 90% of
Depop’s users are under 26 – enabling Etsy to
tap into the Generation Z age bracket below its
current, mainly millennial, customer-base.
Founded by Simon Beckerman in 2011, Depop Retro aesthetic: Depop
has grown rapidly, particularly in the US and
Australia, generating $70m in profits last year on sales of $650m.
The firm has tapped profitably into Gen Z’s obsession with “side
hustles”, said The Observer. Its retro Y2K
aesthetic, “born out of clubs in London and
Manchester”, is a tribute to its Brit roots. What
a pity, then, that it has joined the ranks of UK
tech companies heading abroad. Depop may
not be as “strategically important” as, say, the
chipmaker Arm. But its 30 million users “mark
out the future direction of retail”.
The growth of the second-hand, or “circular”,
economy “poses strategic dilemmas” for
fashion labels, said the FT. Some, like Stella
McCartney (partnering with The RealReal) are
already “reselling their own goods”. But top
brands may become “even more reliant” on
less mature consumer markets like China “for
full-price sales growth”. For decades, mass
consumption has been all about “newness”.
The move to “pre-loved” is arguably “the most profound shift
in consumerism since the birth of online shopping”.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

42 CITY Talking points
Issue of the week: the sausage war
The UK Government’s latest fight with Brussels would be farcical if it wasn’t potentially so dangerous
“There have been cod wars and scallop
wars, but never a sausage war – until
now,” said Oliver Wright in The Times.
In a saga that has more than a touch of
the Yes Minister episode in which the
fictional PM, Jim Hacker, “fought off an
attempt by Brussels to ban the British
sausage”, Brexit negotiators are engaged
in a stand-off over British bangers. The
row has its roots in EU regulations
stating that uncooked meat products
cannot be imported into the bloc unless
they are frozen to -18°C. This threatens
tens of millions of pounds worth of UK
sausage meat exports. But the Northern
Ireland Protocol effectively keeps the
province in the EU customs union; so the The PM: will he go into battle over chilled meats? Will this row “escalate into full-blown
ban also extends to Northern Ireland too.
Somewhat farcically, sausages have therefore become a major
sticking point in the UK-EU talks this week to hammer out a
workable trading arrangement.
Tensions are escalating, said Bloomberg. Ahead of this week’s
talks between the UK Brexit minister David Frost, and European
Commission vice-president Maroš Šefcovic, there was little
expectation of a resolution. Indeed, the “sausage spat” was
predicted to spill over into the G7 meeting in Cornwall this
weekend, where Boris Johnson is “set to come under pressure
from US president Joe Biden and EU leaders”. Meanwhile, as
the impasse continues, “the threat of
upheaval and protest in Northern Ireland
grows”: unionists are resentful that
Northern Ireland is effectively being
hived off from the UK. A grace period
allowing traders in the rest of the UK to
continue selling chilled meat to Northern
Ireland is set to expire on 30 June.
Johnson’s government has threatened
to break the terms of the Brexit deal by
unilaterally extending the grace period.
But the stakes are high. Several senior
US politicians have previously said that
“Britain can forget” a US trade deal if
the Brexit pact is broken.
conflict or turn out to be just another
Brexit bunfight”, asked James Crisp in The Daily Telegraph.
Were Johnson to extend the chilled meat grace period, it would
be seen as “a major provocation to the EU”, which could impose
tariffs in response, or suspend parts of the trade deal. Johnson
would then “come under huge pressure to retaliate with tariffs of
his own” – possibly leading to “further retaliations”. But would
he really want to be responsible for soaring prices of EU products
in British supermarkets, given the relatively small amount of meat
sold across the Irish Sea? Trade wars are essentially self-defeating.
But the rocky start to the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship has
shown that these “rows can quickly spiral out of control”.

Making money: what the experts think Staycation Britain

● Liking lithium
Global lithium demand
is expected “to at least
treble” this decade as
the world switches to
electric vehicles, said
Emily Gosden in The
Times – the metal is
a key ingredient in
batteries. Most lithium
is mined in Australia
and South America, Cornish mines: set for a renaissance?
but hopes of
producing “home-grown supplies” to fuel
Britain’s planned “gigafactories” are
focused on Cornwall, where companies
such as Cornish Lithium and rival British
Lithium are aiming to transform the
county’s defunct mining industry into
something more than a tourist attraction.
Investors seem to like the story. Cornish
Lithium’s “oversubscribed” crowdfunding
campaign in October raised more than
£5m, valuing the firm (which reported a
£4m loss last year) at £40m. Another is
planned – with a proposed IPO next year.
● Cornish “gold rush”
The Prime Minister has likened Cornwall’s change perceptions. Lombard Odier and
lithium prospects to the Klondike gold
rush of the 1890s. That made some
investors very wealthy, said Gosden, but it
ruined many others. Some fear that history fund later this year. The problem remains,
might repeat itself in Cornwall – pointing
to the example of Sirius Minerals, which
attracted “thousands of retail investors to
its North Yorkshire
fertiliser mining venture,
leaving many with big
losses” when its value
collapsed. Some 5,000
retail investors have so
far pumped £6.5m into
Cornish Lithium via
crowdfunding, but
many of these bets are
“small”. Investors
should at least be able
to count on cheer-
leading from Westminster. The company
reports that the Government began being
“very helpful” after it “woke up about six
months ago” to the need for UK
gigafactories to supply domestic carmakers
because of post-Brexit rules of origin.
● Natural Capital
Some believe nature is “beyond price”,
said Lex in the FT, and even proponents
of putting a monetary value on it concede
they struggle to value some natural assets:
mountain gorillas, for example. A new
wave of “natural capital funds”, aimed at
protecting natural habitats, is aiming to
AXA Investment Managers have
established funds, and HSBC is launching
a Pollination Climate Asset Management
though, that it’s hard to manage what you
have not accurately measured. “Nature
should inspire statistics as well as sonnets.”
The fact that most of us are grounded
again this summer means a further
boost to the domestic economy.
Who’s cleaning up?
Domestic holiday groups Almost
immediately after the Government cut
the number of “green list” countries
last week, UK travel and leisure comp-
anies reported “white hot” demand,
said the FT. Rental company Awaze
reported a 40% jump on bookings
compared with the same day in 2019;
Butlin’s, Parkdean Resorts and Away
Resorts boasted similar surges. Some
holiday lets are up by as much as 50%.
Train companies The booking site
Trainline reported that bookings for
domestic open returns jumped 86% on
the day of the announcement – though
the news had little effect on its own
share price, which was whacked by the
Government’s recent rail overhaul.
High streets Figures from the retail
data firm Springboard showed a near
12% rise in high street visits last week,
thanks to half term and the good
weather, said The Guardian. Activity
leapt by 37% in coastal towns, as the
holiday season got into full swing. In
historic towns, it was up by a quarter
week-on-week.
Car dealers James Fairclough of dealer
AA Cars reported that the market “had
burst back into life”, said The Times, as
people sought comfortable cars for
holidays at home.

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

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 Commentators CITY 45
Holidaying in Cornwall last week, it was all but impossible to
get a dinner reservation after 5pm, says Merryn Somerset Webb. City profiles
Britain’s The cost of everything prompted one New York friend to gasp:
“Hamptons prices!” Welcome to “Britain’s stunning V-shaped Jeff Bezos

red hot recovery”: 16 months of pent-up demand has been released

directly into the country’s bars and beaches. You can see it in
“Ever since I was five
years old, I’ve dreamed of

recovery the data – the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), at 62.9, is

at “its highest ever level”, boosted by a services boom. This, as
travelling to space,” wrote
the Amazon founder on
Instagram this week. Blast
Merryn Somerset Webb the OECD notes, is “no ordinary recovery”. You would hardly off is now scheduled for
expect it to be following such “an extraordinary Keynesian 20 July. Jeff Bezos, 57,
Financial Times experiment”. The National Audit Office now puts government and his brother Mark will
support at £372bn, or around 16% of GDP. Households, be on board the maiden
flight of his space tourism
meanwhile, have built up “excessive savings” to the tune of about
company, Blue Origin – an
8% of GDP, according to Pantheon Economics. State support 11-minute trip to suborbital
has “eased the pressures on many disadvantaged people”. But space, reaching an altitude
we may, in time, conclude that we have “overspent on ensuring of about 100km. If you have
a rapid recovery” – one reason why you should keep a watchful a few quid spare, you might
eye on inflation, however “transient” central banks claim it is. join him: a seat on its New
Shepard rocket is being
Assuming Covid restrictions are lifted as the summer unfolds, auctioned off to the highest
we’re going to hear more about how Britain is facing “its worst bidder. The launch coincides

Time to ditch labour shortage in a generation”, says Matthew Lynn. The

recruiting firm Adecco says vacancies are already running at
with Bezos’s departure as
chief executive of Amazon.

the furlough record rates. Indeed, businesses are so “desperate for staff” that
there have been calls to relax visa rules for foreign workers. “But
“If all goes to plan,” said
The Economist, “he will beat
two other billionaires” with
scheme hold on.” What about the 10% of the workforce that is still on
furlough leave, “paid by the Government to sit around doing
rival ventures, Elon Musk
and Richard Branson, into
Matthew Lynn nothing”? Shouldn’t we turn to this resource first? It’s not hard space. Not a bad way to start
to work out what is going on. “Some staff prefer to be paid for his retirement.
The Daily Telegraph doing nothing; some employers are putting off the dreaded day
when they have to hand out redundancy notices; others are Ben Wyatt
carrying out a long, detailed experiment to see if they can get by
with fewer staff; and a few may be simply hoarding workers and
waiting for an upturn.” Combining this scheme with a labour
shortage is one of the battiest government programmes yet. The
solution is simple. The furlough should be wound up immediately.

UK investors are increasingly exposed to American stocks

through funds that track indices such as the S&P 500. “With
US markets the occasional hiccup, this strategy has served them well since the
market’s recovery in early 2009,” says Edward Chancellor. But
are on they may be living on borrowed time. Established gauges of future
returns are “flashing red”. Perhaps the most historically reliable
borrowed time is Cape – the “cyclically adjusted price earnings” ratio created
by Yale economist Robert Shiller. “Right now, the Cape is more
Edward Chancellor expensive than at the market peak in 1929, and close to its level at
the height of the dotcom bubble.” For it to return to its historical The Anglo-Australian miner
Reuters Breakingviews average, US stocks would have to decline by nearly 50%. Other Rio Tinto is still grappling
measures, such as Tobin’s Q, point to a similar fall before the with the fallout from last
market reaches “fair value”. Some claim historically low interest year’s destruction of a sacred
Aboriginal site in the Pilbara
rates have skewed traditional measurements. But with past
region of Western Australia,
bubble peaks, investors were equally convinced “they were living said the FT. Rather belatedly,
in a new era in which tried-and-tested valuation tools no longer perhaps, it has decided to
worked”. As every investor knows, four of the most dangerous “strengthen its relationships
words in the English language are “this time is different”. with indigenous peoples”
by appointing one of them to
Britons have long been “fascinated by lawns”, says The its board. The arrival of Ben
Economist, and gardens across the country “are greener and more Wyatt – a former Treasurer
The turf war immaculate” than ever. Sadly, that’s not down to horticultural
skill so much as “synthetic substitutes made from thermoplastic
for the Western Australia
state government, and a

in Britain’s polymers”. As a country, we have “fallen in love with artificial

grass”. Suppliers such as Evergreens report a 120% sales rise
cousin of the Minister for
Indigenous Affairs – has

backyards since 2015, with a boom this year – partly because people now
see gardens as “outside rooms”. The Dutch firm Betap is actually
already sparked a row. One
corporate responsibility
wonk said it “should raise
Editorial tailoring its designs to suit different regions: “Scottish turf is eyebrows about the
darker than Cornish turf.” The trend “dismays green types”, who revolving door between
The Economist note that the microplastics in artificial grass “ruin soil, impede government and industry”.
drainage and risk flooding” – as well as posing a grave threat Even so, Wyatt is clearly no
pushover: he once observed
to wildlife, notably earthworms. Indeed, a backlash is under way
that while Rio “may think
via protest and petition. “The Government says regulating what they’re a global company,
people do in their backyards is wrong.” The Royal Horticultural they’re a Pilbara company
Society is concerned, but favours persuasion to legislation. The with overseas interests”.
UK’s earthworms must hope the RHS is particularly persuasive.

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

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 Shares CITY 47

Who’s tipping what

The week’s best shares Directors’ dealings
Bloomsbury Publishing Gooch & Housego Nomad Foods Chaarat Gold
The Times Investors Chronicle The Times
Revenues are up 14%, profits The photonics specialist has The Findus and Birds Eye
by 31% and dividends are seen increased demand for owner is pushing sustainable 30.00
back, thanks to the publisher’s lasers used in semiconductor agriculture practices in its
bestselling fantasy fiction, and microelectronics supply chains while it cashes 27.50
non-fiction and cookery books. manufacturing, medical optics in on the boom in meat-free
It is currently expanding its and ventilators. Expanding its products. The acquisition of
academic and professional life sciences arm. Buy. £13.44. Fortenova will open up new 25.00
division. Buy. 344p. markets. Buy. $31.
Director
LondonMetric Property 22.50 buys 1.83m
Electrocomponents Investors Chronicle Synairgen
Investors Chronicle This real estate investment The Daily Telegraph Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
This electrical products trust (Reit) focuses primarily The drug specialist has
distributor services sectors on the logistics sector, with developed a naturally occurring Chaarat owns a mine in
Armenia and two projects in
from healthcare to mining in distribution assets accounting antiviral protein, interferon

SOURCE: FINANCIAL TIMES

80 countries. Bolstering its
digital position and growing its
own brand offering to boost
margins, with firepower for
acquisitions. Buy. £10.15.
for 75% of its portfolio value.
The premium is justified, given
the exposure to encouraging
long-term structural growth
trends. Buy. 231p.
Kyrgyzstan. Chairman Martin
beta, to treat Covid-19. Early Andersson has increased his
results suggest it will be able interest in the group to 43.67%
to cope with evolving variants. with purchases worth £467,864
Worth a small punt on via his holding company
Labro.
weakness. Buy. 175.7p.

…and some to hold, avoid or sell Form guide

AJ Bell FRP Advisory Pennon Group Shares tipped 12 weeks ago

Investors Chronicle
Thanks to new customers, the
investment platform’s inflows
are £1bn higher than last year,
boosting profits by almost
two-fifths. But this boom in
DIY investment is reflected in
a toppy valuation. Hold. 431p.
Avon Rubber
Sharecast
Analysts at Berenberg have
slashed their target price on the
personal protection systems
maker, citing a risky “testing
period”. But the bank
maintains that Avon is a
“high-quality business” with
attractive medium-term
opportunities. Hold. £28.96.
The Sunday Times The Times Best tip
The restructuring specialist has On selling its waste manage- J. Sainsbury
beaten expectations and grown ment arm, the water group has The Daily Telegraph
market share – thanks to repaid debt, bolstered its up 13.39% to 261.7p
administration mandates pension scheme and returned
including Debenhams. But capital. But shares haven’t fully Worst tip
growth is priced in and state recovered and there are better Vodafone Group
The Times
support may limit more income prospects elsewhere.
down 0.11% to 128.36p
corporate woe. Hold. 125p. Sell. £10.90.
OnTheMarket Wizz Air
The Sunday Telegraph Investors Chronicle Market view
Largely owned by estate The budget airline has logged
“Markets are very much
agents, this property portal is a loss and expects another in in wait-and-see mode.”
a rival upstart to Rightmove 2022 as travel restrictions Aneeka Gupta of
and Zoopla. Improving, but continue, despite recent WisdomTree on the outlook
appears to have neither the improved traffic and plans to for inflation and continuing
energy, resources nor expand. Shares have rallied pandemic-era support.
infrastructure to keep up with and further recovery prospects Quoted in the FT
the duopoly. Avoid. 97.5p. look priced in. Hold. £48.11.

Market summary
Key numbers for investors Best and worst performing shares Following the Footsie
8 Jun 2021 Week before Change (%) WEEK’S CHANGE, FTSE 100 STOCKS
FTSE 100 7095.09 7080.46 0.21% RISES Price % change 7,100
FTSE All-share UK 4056.56 4049.03 0.19% Entain 1787.00 +6.80
Dow Jones 34616.06 34667.70 –0.15% Burberry Group 2222.00 +5.40 7,000
NASDAQ 13877.85 13733.38 1.05% Intermediate Cap. Grp. 2283.00 +5.30
Nikkei 225 28963.56 28814.34 0.52% Flutter Entertainment 13715.00 +4.40 6,900

Hang Seng 28781.38 29468.00 –2.33% Segro 1086.50 +3.40

6,800
Gold 1888.40 1899.95 –0.61% FALLS
Brent Crude Oil 71.76 70.12 2.34% Melrose Industries 164.10 –6.90 6,700
DIVIDEND YIELD (FTSE 100) 2.94% 2.94% B&M Eur Value Retail 535.00 –6.10
UK 10-year gilts yield 0.77 0.83 Fresnillo 865.80 –5.40 6,600
US 10-year Treasuries 1.53 1.62 Kingfisher 342.40 –5.30
UK ECONOMIC DATA Weir 1895.50 –4.70 6,500
Latest CPI (yoy) 1.5% (Apr) 0.7% (Mar)
FTSE 250 RISER & FALLER
Latest RPI (yoy) 2.9% (Apr) 1.5% (Mar) 6,400
Paragon Banking Grp. 569.50 +13.40
Halifax house price (yoy) 9.5% (May) 8.2% (Apr) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
IWG 318.30 –16.20
6-month movement in the FTSE 100 index
£1 STERLING $1.417 E1.164 ¥155.132 Source: FT (not adjusted for dividends). Prices on 8 Jun (pm)

12 June 2021 THE WEEK

48 The last word

How Marbella became the drugs

capital of the world
With hashish coming in from Morocco, cocaine from South America and marijuana from the Spanish mountains, Marbella has
become a “United Nations of crime” – and violent gangsters have come with it. Nacho Carretero and Arturo Lezcano investigate

One morning last autumn, mountains, Europe’s

a dozen or so locals were main region for
eating breakfast at a café marijuana cultivation.
under a clear Marbella
sky, in front of the offices The mobsters blend in
of the Special Organised with their millionaire
Crime Response Unit neighbours. Marbella is
(Greco), on the Costa not so much a rich place
del Sol. It’s an unobtrusive as a place full of rich
building in a working- people. A quick search
class neighbourhood – yields 3,974 results for
and only someone with a homes listed at more than
sharp eye for detail might s1m – that’s 100 more
notice the two security listings than the entire
cameras monitoring the city of Madrid – in a city
front entrance. The café’s where the per capita
regulars drank coffee and income (s21,818) is less
ate toast, unaware that than the Spanish average.
only 24 hours earlier, in
another part of the city, In recent years, the
Greco agents had rescued situation has
a man from a garage, A police raid targets the wealthy Puerto Banús area of the city deteriorated. Bosses now
alive, but with holes bring their “soldiers”
drilled through his toes. It was the latest local case of amarre, or with them. “Young gangsters, armed and really dangerous”, said
kidnapping, to settle a score between criminal gangs. a member of Greco Costa del Sol. A member of the Camorra, the
Naples Mafia organisation, who has lived in Marbella for years
That afternoon, in Puerto Banús, the wealthiest and most agrees. Francesco, who did not want to give his real name, had
extravagant area of the city, a young British man with ties to agreed to meet at a restaurant in Puerto Banús, where he always
organised crime walked out of a Louis Vuitton store and found has a table waiting. “The young guys who are coming here now
himself surrounded by a crew of young Maghrebis, “soldiers” don’t live by any codes, they don’t have any respect... These guys
from one of the Marseille clans. “They didn’t want anything running around with their little bum bags, while their bosses are
specific,” he said. “They just in Dubai.”
stared me down and said:
‘What’s up?’ They were looking “This was the Francoist agreement. You, The most immediate sign of this
for trouble... It’s getting really the criminals, come here to relax, don’t change is a rise in violent clashes
dangerous here,” he said, with between gangs: “The violence is
no apparent sense of the irony
commit any crimes, and bring your money” gratuitous. In the past, criminal
of a criminal complaining groups negotiated, they talked
about criminality. to each other,” said Antonio Rodríguez Puerta, chief of the Udyco
Costa del Sol (the National Police’s drug and organised crime
It was in the 1960s, during Spain’s development boom, that the unit). “They’d lose some of their supply... and they’d come to an
Costa del Sol became southern Europe’s tourist hotspot. Working- agreement. Now we’re seeing that if something like that happens,
class holidaymakers thronged the public beaches and an emerging in the majority of cases, they just go straight to killing.”
class of jet-setters found a piece of paradise in Marbella. The plan
to develop the region succeeded, but success came with baggage. The arrival of the “soldiers” has had other effects. “For the first
“This was the Francoist agreement,” said Antonio Romero, an time, the upper-class elites are leaving Marbella because they’re
author and former politician. “You, the criminals, come here afraid,” said Ricardo Álvarez-Ossorio, a lawyer who has
to relax, don’t commit any crimes, and bring your money.” represented several members of the criminal community. “I wear
a lot of bracelets,” one resident of an upmarket Marbella suburb
The Costa del Sol is organised crime’s southern frontier – a stretch said, noting the value of each in tens of thousands of euros. “And
of urban sprawl extending from Málaga to Estepona, with when I go running, I cover them up with a wrist band. I don’t
Marbella, a city of 147,633 people, as its capital. According to the leave them in the house.” Asked if she ever thinks about moving,
Spanish Intelligence Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organised she said: “Yes. In fact, I’m sure that’s what I’ll end up doing.”
Crime, there are at least 113 criminal groups representing 59
different nationalities operating out of the area. To the south, The pandemic sped up Marbella’s transformation. Last year’s
less than ten miles of open water separates the region from border closures left gang members trapped and their merchandise
Morocco – the world’s largest producer of hashish – and from the stranded. “The border closures have caused exports [from South
autonomous Spanish outposts of Ceuta and Melilla. Less than America] to drop,” a Colombian drug trafficker living in
an hour’s drive away is one of Europe’s main entry points for Marbella told us, sitting on the terrace at a local hamburger joint.
cocaine, the port of Algeciras. Across the bay from Algeciras is “Here’s an example: cocaine that leaves Brazil or Uruguay comes
the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, a tax haven separated hidden in leather from Paraguay. And if there’s no demand for
from Spain by a fence. To the north rise the Málaga and Granada leather, there’s no way to get the cocaine out.”

THE WEEK 12 June 2021

 The last word
A steep drop in supply last year
pushed cocaine prices over s33,000
per kg. It also caused a swarm of
activity, as everyone scrambled to find
alternative ways to get the drugs in.
“After Christmas, everything
changed,” said the Colombian
trafficker. “Everything that’s been
accumulating has started to get out,
and now the market’s flooded. The
price of cocaine has gone down to
s27,000. That’s 25% cheaper than
it was a few months ago.”
Marbella relies on a police precinct The Costa del Sol serves as a transit point for cocaine
with far fewer resources than that of
any of Spain’s provincial capitals, despite much higher crime rates
than most other cities. The Marbella police station receives about
150 calls a day, and handles about 32,000 cases a year – numbers
typical of cities two or three times bigger. Lack of resources and
personnel was the common complaint made by police officers
interviewed for this article. “We only have four patrol cars,”
said one. “We don’t have enough bulletproof jackets. And there
are lots of gunfights. We should get the same extra security
designation the Basque country gets.” The police predicament was division of territory. “It’s not possible to make a map, like they’ve
not lost on the Naples Mafioso: “We’re way ahead of the police,
we’re not that worried about them. We have better resources,
better technology.”
The increasing violence on the “Usually, the shipment has a GPS
Costa del Sol has received little tracker. If at any point the signal
media attention beyond the local
press. “A few months ago, a disappears, we kill you”
Polish man turned up with
gunshot wounds in both legs,” said one officer. “He didn’t file a
complaint and didn’t want to testify.” In another case, an Irish
citizen was shot in the face in New Andalucía, just outside the
city. “He didn’t want to be involved in the investigation.” “You
can’t report everything to the press, or it would create panic,”
admitted a Greco agent. “The majority of residents are unaware
of the situation here, they don’t have the slightest idea about
what’s going on around them, let alone the rest of the Spanish
population. And maybe that’s how it should be.”
Pablo, originally from Colombia, has for years been moving 50kg
of cocaine a week to markets in Spain, and now he is climbing the
ranks, thanks to his contacts on the other side of the Atlantic.
Within the Marbella ecosystem, he’s a mid-level trafficker with
certain typical characteristics: an ostentatious sports car, shirts
featuring brand names such as Valentino and Dolce & Gabbana,
hair in a side-parting with the sides shaved, a tracksuit, white
trainers and, of course, a batch of mobile phones. The phones
are by far his most important possessions: they allow him to
communicate with suppliers, buyers and people working for
him, under the noses of the police, using encrypted messaging
technology. In the eyes of the Costa del Sol’s criminal underworld,
if you don’t have multiple mobile phones, you’re nobody. And
when you sit down at a restaurant or bar, convention dictates that
you lay them all out on the table – a warning sign for all to see.
Tina, a young Colombian attracted by the Costa’s atmosphere of
wealth, used to manage public relations for some of the best clubs
in Marbella. “In the clubs frequented by los malos (the bad guys),
a table reservation costs s5,000, drinks included,” she said.
“They’ll order s1,500 bottles of champagne or bottles of vodka
or tequila, until they reach their table limit. But they always end
up spending more... They’re not classy people. The scariest and
most violent are the English. And no one stops them because
everyone’s afraid,” Tina says. “There aren’t any door searches.
People bring in guns, for sure.” And prostitution? “In the upscale
clubs, it’s absolutely essential.” But without all this, “Marbella
wouldn’t exist. It would be like Torremolinos or Benalmádena:
normal middle-class tourism, tourism for wage workers.”
49
“But all of this is just a phase,” said
Pablo. “The ultimate goal is to not be
such a show-off, to make a nice life
with a family, to live like the big
bosses, where no one has any idea
what you do. All that stuff about
‘plata o plomo’ [‘silver or lead’ – take
a bribe or take a bullet], that’s just
from the movies... all the TV shows
and movies that lure young people
to this world, thinking they’re going
to get rich.”
The 100 or more organisations on the
Costa del Sol range from powerful,
tightly structured Mafias, like the
Serbian, Dutch and Moroccan groups, to gangs of small-time
burglars. Most specialise in activities linked to trafficking drugs.
Few can manage the whole process alone. A prosecutor in the
region says: “Anyone who thinks that the criminal organisations
are the same as they were before – structured like a pyramid,
managing every aspect of the business – well, they’re wrong.
It’s not like that any more. They’re not cartels, they’re service
providers: it’s the Uberisation of organised crime.” There’s no
done... with Mexico. Instead, you’d have to make a diagram that
reflects the division of labour, the different roles and activities of
each organisation.”
“The Costa del Sol is a kind
of hub, or ‘co-working’ space,
where almost every major
criminal group in the world
has some sort of presence,”
says a senior National police agent. “It’s a UN of criminals for
a globalised world.” Beyond its own frontiers, Marbella is
inextricably linked to Dubai by crime. Most of the area’s crime
groups live between the two cities. “Dubai is like Marbella, but
with no rules and no law,” said one high-level Costa del Sol
criminal. “It’s extremely rare for them to arrest anyone there.
Most of the top bosses live there, and spend the summer in
Marbella. The soldados go to Dubai when they feel like they’re
under surveillance. We’re protected there. There’s no extradition.”
“Drug trafficking is a global phenomenon, but Marbella is the
capital,” said an agent from Greco in Cádiz. The Netherlands
even has a special prosecutor based in Spain. But traffickers’
greatest fear is theft and vuelcos, or ambushes. “A vuelco by
another organisation is much more common than a police raid,”
said Juan, a trafficker from Málaga who did not give his real
name. “As soon as you agree to the job, the most important thing
is discretion... If word starts to spread, you’re f***ed, they’re
gonna come for you.” To protect against vuelcos, groups will hire
security, which is usually contracted out to the Naples Camorra.
“If you try something, we’ll kill you,” said Francesco, the
Camorrista. “Usually, the shipment has a GPS tracker. If at any
point the signal disappears, we kill you,” he said nonchalantly.
“To smuggle in large quantities, you have to have someone
in your pocket,” Pablo said. “The organisations have people in
the Guardia Civil, the National Police, customs agents and dock
workers.” Agents, however, are constantly complaining about the
lack of resources in what they say is an unequal fight. “It’s easier
to organise a drug-running operation than it is to investigate
one,” said one Greco agent. “There should be one agency solely
dedicated to tackling drug trafficking, like the DEA [the US Drug
Enforcement Agency]. If we’re the main entry point for all of
Europe, how is it we don’t have something like that?”“Whatever
they do,” said Francesco, “none of this will ever stop. Drug
money is what makes the world go around.”
A longer version of this article appeared in El País and was also
translated and featured in The Guardian.
12 June 2021 THE WEEK
50 Marketplace

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 Crossword 51
THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1264 This week’s winner will receive an
T
An Ettinger travel pass case and two Connell Guides will be given to the sender of the Ettinger (ettinger.co.uk) travel pass
E
first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 21 June. case (assorted colours), which retails
c
Email the answers as a scan of a completed grid or a list, with the subject line The Week a
at £105, and two Connell Guides
crossword 1264, to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) (connellguides.com).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ACROSS DOWN
1 Top club focus on Yesterday in 1 Nick is apt to follow Martha’s 8
medley of McCartney hits (10,4) lead (14)
9 Goes down a screen for old 2 Foremost with visitors Aran 9 10
documents (7) in spring is heaven (7)
10 One argues about the bill with 3 Theatre notices signs of
Edward on the way back (7) quality (9)
11 Song perhaps, alma-mater 4 Boat mostly carrying American 11 12
conceals (5) food (5)
12 Nice organ playing? Bliss 5 Risks in new grenades
perhaps (9) exploding (9)
13 Back stove put into new 6 Pole in taxi with hesitation (5)
order (9) 13 14 15
7 Part of it hit an iceberg with no
15 What one keeps outside for end of depth (7)
a rainy day is a Burgundy (5) 8 Peers interfere improperly
16 Favours with pawn for bishop in business not controlled by
getting lots of cards (5) state (4,10) 16 17 18 19
18 I’m taken aback by the Queen 14 Naval lieutenant’s been on rum
in black and blue (9) cocktail (6,3)
20 Party long delayed is to be 15 Spot mentioned on a location
outside for worshippers (9) for mineral (9) 20 21 22 23
23 No longer anchored, a hint is 17 Very near ending over outskirts
given about head of river (5) of Tokyo (5,2)
24 Juddery Metro disrupted on 19 Blair initially was wrong about
Circle Line going west (7) current state of Bush? (7) 24 25
25 Is it about Liberal returning 21 Explosive crowd in airline
from Asian capital? (7) turning up (1-4)
26 Nice solvers may comment on 22 Protest in which oddly, you take
this in clues (6,8) a stand (3-2)
26

Name
Address
Clue of the week: Joiner employed in B&Q (9, first letter A) Nutmeg, Tel no
The Independent
Clue of the week answer:

Solution to Crossword 1262

ACROSS: 1 Regulate 5 Scrota 9 Break out 10 Maxims 12 Ninja
13 Deception 14 Thoroughfare 18 Heartstrings 21 Potpourri 23 Trier
24 Hansom 25 Verbatim 26 Putter 27 Assessor
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