Friday 25 March 2022 *** telegraph.co.uk No 51,898 £2.

80

Fraser Nelson on a rudderless No 10

The Rishi and Boris power struggle has mired the Tories in ideological confusion p.16

BRITAIN ’S BE ST Q UALIT Y NEWSPAPER

INSIDE
Saving face
Biden: We Tea party at the castle (bring your own china)

England
tailenders show will respond
grit after collapse
of top order in kind if
Putin uses
chemicals
All at sea Nato leaders say reaction to WMDs would
The uncertain be ‘very severe’ but rule out boots on ground
fate of By James Crisp in Brussels
and Nick Allen in Washington
also appeared to mark a toughening in
the US stance. The president has previ-
ously been adamantly against any direct
the oligarchs’ JOE BIDEN last night declared Nato
would respond “in kind” if Vladimir
military confrontation with Russia,
warning that it would spark “World

yachties
Putin resorted to using chemical weap-
ons against Ukraine.
Asked if a Kremlin-orchestrated
chemical attack would prompt a mili-
p.22
tary response, the US president said: “It
would trigger a response in kind.”
Mr Biden added: “We would respond.
We would respond if he uses it [chemi-
cal weapons].
“The nature of the response would
depend on the nature of the use.”
His remarks came as he met Nato, G7
and European leaders at a series of
emergency summits in Brussels. They
discussed what to do if Mr Putin,
whose forces are suffering unrelenting
daily casualties, decided to unleash
weapons of mass destruction.
Leaders were repeatedly asked how
War Three”.
Mr Biden denied that he had been
wrong to rule out military intervention
earlier in the crisis, or that doing so had
emboldened Mr Putin.
“No and no,” he said.
He also declined to say if the US had
specific intelligence that Mr Putin was
about to use chemical weapons.
At the White House, a group of
national security officials, known as the
“tiger team”, has been looking at what
the threshold for a military response by
the US might be.
One US official indicated that if Rus-
sia was to use a tactical nuclear device
in Ukraine “all bets are off ”.
They are also preparing responses to
a strike on a US weapons convoy.

Judith Woods they would respond to a chemical attack

in Ukraine, after a Western official ear-
lier suggested Nato would not inter-
In Brussels, Mr Biden backed exclud-
ing Russia from the G20 group of major
economies.
I know what vene militarily even in the event of such
a strike.
He said, if that could not be done,
then Ukraine should be invited to

women really
“I think it is highly unlikely that Nato attend meetings as well.
would go directly into conflict with He added that Beijing would face
Russia because every leader agrees that consequences if China decided to help

want for we’ve got to stop the killing,” the official

said. Most believe that Nato entering
the conflict directly would escalate
the beleaguered Russian economy. Mr
Biden said: “China understands that its
economic future is much more closely

Mother’s Day it and increase the suffering, they

added.
The official did not rule out a more
p.21 robust intervention, however: “I did
hear leaders say that use of chemical
weapons would fundamentally change
the nature of the conflict, and would
have to have a very severe response.”
Boris Johnson, pressed on the sub-
ject in Brussels, left open the possibil-
ity of a military response, saying the
tied to the West than it is to Russia.”
In a statement, Nato leaders said any
use by Russia of chemical or biological
weapons would be “unacceptable and
result in severe consequences”.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-
general, said it was stepping up chemi-
cal and nuclear defences for its forces in
eastern Europe, likely including gas
masks and protective suits.
Allies are also supplying handheld
STEVE PARSONS/PA

West’s reaction would be “very, very
severe”.
The consequences of Mr Putin
launching a chemical strike would be
“catastrophic for him”, he said.
Mr Biden’s pledge of a proportionate
response to a Russian chemical attack
Rise of
the republics Sunak branded a ‘fiscal illusionist’ over tax cut claims
Can anything be
done to save the
By Charles Hymas, Tony Diver
and Camilla Turner
detectors and medical support for
unconventional weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Stoltenberg said: “There is also a
risk that we can see a spread of chemical
Continued on Page 5
The Queen arrives at the White Drawing Room in Windsor Castle to view artefacts from craftwork company Halcyon Days, which is
Editorial Comment: Page 17 commemorating its 70th anniversary. On display was hand-decorated archive enamelware and fine bone china Report, page 3
his previous tax rises, which were con- in 2024. So Mr Sunak’s statement con- workers are expected to get caught by a Wednesday. BP, Shell, Esso and Texaco
firmed in the statement. tained big new tax cuts. “stealth” tax on their pensions. said they could not guarantee immedi-
A median earner on £27,500 a year “But it also allowed taxes to rise. He They will be dragged above the ate price reductions because the major-

Commonwealth?
RISHI SUNAK has been branded a “fis-
cal illusionist” as claims made in his
Spring Statement began to unravel.
p.19 The Institute for Fiscal Studies said
nearly all workers would end up paying
more tax on their earnings despite the
Chancellor’s claim to be delivering the
“biggest net cut to personal taxes in
over a quarter of a century”.
Amid a growing Tory backlash, the
institute said the gains from Mr Sunak’s
plan to raise the thresholds for paying
National Insurance and the 1p income
tax cut in 2024 would be wiped out by
will be £360 worse off in the next finan-
cial year and someone earning £40,000
will take an £800 hit, according to the
IFS. The analysis was backed by the
Resolution Foundation, which sug-
gested seven out of eight employees
would pay more tax.
Paul Johnson, the director of the IFS,
said: “Mr Sunak has proved to be some-
thing of a fiscal illusionist.
“He told us that he cut taxes yester-
day. In a sense he did. He increased the
floor for National Insurance contribu-
tions and promised a cut in income tax
can now expect to raise more in tax as a
share of national income by 2025 than
he expected last October. In fact, taxes
are set to rise to their highest level as a
fraction of national income since Clem-
ent Attlee was prime minister.”
Boris Johnson yesterday insisted that
“ the Chancellor has done a huge
amount to try to address the increases
in the cost of living”. But highlighting
the decision to raise the National Insur-
ance threshold, he added “as we go for-
ward, we need to do more”.
It comes as more than 1.6 million
£1.07 million pension pot limit by the
rising inflation rate, forcing them to pay
a 55 per cent tax rate when they with-
draw their savings.
Financial experts described it as a
cynical and “silent” tax which would
put hard-working people off saving.
The move has been compounded by
Mr Sunak’s decision to freeze the pen-
sion pot cap for five years.
It also emerged that many petrol sta-
tions have failed to pass on the 5p cut in
fuel duty that the Chancellor announced
would be introduced at 6pm on
ity of their forecourts are operated by
franchisees.
Tory MPs have urged Mr Sunak to
bring forward tax cuts or risk damaging
the party’s reputation for fiscal prudence.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory
leader, said: “People are still paying more
tax even than he announced last year.
That is costing them a lot of money. He
has tightened fiscally too much and
needs to think beyond where he is now.”
Reports: Pages 10-11
Editorial Comment: Page 17

news news news business

Old files pour water War bolsters case for ‘Police letting down We broke the law... and
Puzzles 18 on rainfall records split, says Sturgeon too many victims’ would again, says P&O
Obituaries 27 A project digitising the Met Office’s
weather archive has found that several
Nicola Sturgeon suggested the Ukraine
war had bolstered the case for Scottish
Too many victims are being let down
by the police and prosecutors, Dominic
The boss of P&O Ferries has admitted
that his company broke the law by
TV listings 31 records, particularly those for dry
weather, were set much earlier than
independence and her plans to stage
another referendum next year.
Raab has said, as the first local
scorecards were published, exposing
sacking 800 seafarers on the spot last
week – but said he would do it again if
Weather 32 previously thought. Scientists at the
University of Reading asked the public
The First Minister was urged to
apologise for the “tasteless” link after
delays and low charging rates.
In an article for telegraph.co.uk, the
he had to. Peter Hebblethwaite
shocked MPs on a Commons
ISSN-0307-1235
for help digitally transcribing 130 arguing the Russian invasion Justice Secretary said it was committee by admitting there was
years’ worth of handwritten rainfall “underscored the need for democratic “appalling” that 60 per cent of victims “absolutely no doubt” that under UK
observations from across the UK and nations to pursue our domestic politics did not report their crimes and a third employment law the ferry operator

9 *ujöeöu#yxc-bv* ÊÁËÂ
Ireland. New records include England’s
driest May, originally thought to be
May 2020 but now believed to be May
1844, when just 8.3mm of rain fell.
Page 9
with as much passion and vigour as dropped out of prosecutions, often ‘Hello, mum. I’m disowning was required to consult unions before
ever”. She said the invasion showed because of delays and the prospect of you with immediate effect. pushing ahead with the mass sackings,
“the importance of independent reliving their trauma in court. The It’s to avoid the expense in which workers were escorted off
countries cooperating”. scorecards are published today. of Mother’s Day’ their vessels by security.
Page 2 Page 13 Business, page 1
2 **
Sturgeon ‘using war to
argue for independence’
Scottish First Minister
accused of ‘tasteless’ link
between Ukraine war and
second referendum
By Simon Johnson
ScottiSH political editoR
NICOLA STURGEON suggested the
Ukraine war had bolstered the case for
Scottish independence and her plans to
stage another referendum next year.
Journey’s end Tired but relieved, migants come ashore at Dungeness in Kent following an incident involving a small boat in the Channel. It came a day after
394 others arrived in the UK after making the crossing in 11 boats in the warm weather. A further 467 were detained by French authorities.
Surge in number of academy
trusts paying staff £100,000
By Phoebe Southworth
A RECORD number of multi-academy
trusts are paying staff more than
£100,000 after an increase of 20 per
cent in a year.
While 1,875 trusts were paying at
least one individual this much in 2019-
20, this rose to 2,245 in 2020-21, accord-
ing to a report from the Commons
public accounts committee.
Publicly funded academies make up
43 per cent of state schools in England.
The MPs’ report warned that the
Department for Education “does not yet
have a sufficient handle on excessive
pay within the sector”.
Some academy trusts are building up
large reserves, yet ministers do not
have a breakdown of spending and
“cannot effectively challenge academy
trusts on the build-up or planned use of
excessive reserves”, it stated. The report
TB infections could
be mistaken for
Covid, say doctors
By Lizzie Roberts HealtH RepoRteR
CASES of tuberculosis are on the rise,
with people warned not to mistake the
symptoms for Covid.
The UK Health Security Agency
(UKHSA) said the decline in TB up to
2019 has reversed, with cases in Eng-
land increasing 2.4 per cent – from 4,615
in 2018 to 4,725 in 2019.
While reported cases fell in 2020,
most likely due to people staying away
from the NHS during the pandemic,
suggestions are that infections rose by
more than 7 per cent in 2021.
Anyone with a persistent cough and
fever, particularly those in groups at a
high risk of catching TB, are urged not
to dismiss it as coronavirus.
TB is a bacterial infection spread
through inhaling tiny droplets from the
coughs or sneezes of infected people.
It can be life-threatening, but is usu-
ally successfully treated with antibiot-
ics.
In 2020 there were more cases of
drug-resistant TB than any year since
records began, UKHSA said, with 1.6 per
cent of cases resistant to any drug and
2.4 per cent multi-drug resistant, com-
pared to 1.8 per cent in 2019.
News
The First Minister was urged to apol-
ogise for the “tasteless” link after argu-
ing the Russian invasion “underscored
the need for democratic nations to pur-
sue our domestic politics with as much
passion and vigour as ever”.
Ms Sturgeon said the conflict “makes
it even more important to engage as
passionately and disputatiously as ever
in vigorous political debate within and
among the world’s democracies”.
Writing in the New Statesman, Ms
Sturgeon also pledged that a separate
Scotland would be “a reliable and dedi-
was published as a Schools Week inves-
tigation found that in 2019-20, 29 acad-
emy trust chiefs earned at least
£200,000. The highest salary was
received by Sir Dan Moynihan, who
reportedly earned £455,000.
Dame Meg Hillier MP, chairman of
‘Parents and pupils have
legitimate questions over the
pay at their schools and the
conditions they learn in’
the public accounts committee, said:
“Parents deserve a lot more visibility
and clarity over exactly what is being
provided to their children.
“Parents and pupils have legitimate
questions over the levels of pay at their
schools and the conditions and facilities
they’re learning in. While mysterious
ESA/PA WIRE
Blinded by the light The sun has been photographed
in unprecedented detail by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft,
which was about 46 million miles away from the star.
cated international partner” in taking
on Vladimir Putin.
The First Minister said the Russian
invasion had “underlined the impor-
tance of independent countries cooper-
ating” as members of organisations
such as the EU and had “cast a new light
on the realities of Brexit”.
Despite wanting to scrap Britain’s
nuclear deterrent, based at Faslane on
the Clyde, she said a separate Scotland
would “take its place as a member state
in its own right of both the European
Union and Nato”. Ms Sturgeon claimed
millions disappear into the coffers of
favoured trusts, the Department has
committed only a fraction of what is
required to address potential dangers to
our young people from schools in poor
condition including those where there
is risk from asbestos.”
Mrs Hillier said this “unacceptable
lack of transparency and accountability
to parents and taxpayers” must be
resolved before schools are consoli-
dated into academy trusts.
“The school system must give our
children a strong start, on a level play-
ing field that may be lacking in so many
other parts of their lives,” she added.
Geoff Barton, of the Association of
School and College Leaders, said: “Trus-
tees think very carefully about the
appropriate level of pay for trust leaders
and recognise the importance of being
able to demonstrate value for money
against rigorous performance targets.”
that “our European partners” knew that
they could rely on a separate Scotland
being “a beacon of peace and democ-
racy, as we face the greatest challenge
posed to those principles since 1945”.
Her intervention appeared to be the
latest attempt by a UK political party
leader to link the Ukrainian war with
the constitution after Boris Johnson
drew parallels with Brexit.
The Prime Minister faced criticism
after arguing that Britons, like Ukraini-
ans, had the instinct “to choose free-
dom” and cited the 2016 vote to leave
the EU as a “recent example”.
Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tories’
shadow constitution secretary, said her
language was “wholly inappropriate”
and she should “urgently apologise”. He
said: “It is unacceptable and tasteless
for the First Minister to make any sort of
link between the war in Ukraine and
Scottish independence.
“It appears there is no issue that is
beyond Nicola Sturgeon when it comes
Airlines facing easier
ride on flight delays
By Gurpreet Narwan
conSumeR affaiRS editoR
COMPENSATION for domestic flight
disruption could be slashed by more
than £150 under government plans,
prompting fears that airlines could can-
cel journeys “with impunity.”
In a report published today, the con-
sumer group Which? said that the
changes would “weaken a vital deter-
rent against delays and cancellations”.
The average payout would fall by
£163 per passenger, saving airlines
thousands of pounds on a single flight.
Under EU rules, passengers are enti-
tled to £220 in compensation once their
flight has been delayed by three hours.
The Government is considering
scrapping this and offering compensa-
tion based on ticket price and the length
of delay instead. The Department for
Transport is consulting on the changes,
Disabled ignored again in
virus inquiry, says blind MP
By Lizzie Roberts HealtH RepoRteR
A BLIND MP has accused the Govern-
ment of breaking assurances that the
public inquiry into the pandemic would
include the disabled community.
Marsha de Cordova was informed by
the Cabinet Office last month that the
experiences of disabled people would
be taken into account, but she has since
found the investigation’s draft terms of
reference make no mention of them.
The Labour MP for Battersea said the
omission was “shocking” given the
“devastating” impact the pandemic has
had on disabled people.
“I am especially surprised at this
omission as the Cabinet Office minister
assured me in February the inquiry
would have a specific focus on the pan-
demic’s disproportionate impact on ill
and disabled people,” Ms de Cordova
said. “Yet again, they have ignored the
struggles of millions. How are people
meant to have any faith in this inquiry?”
Speaking in the House of Commons
last month, she asked Heather Wheeler,
parliamentary secretary at the Cabinet
Office, if the inquiry would have a “spe-
cific focus” on disabled people.
“To answer [your] question, and I will
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
to pushing her endless obsession with
breaking up the United Kingdom.
“It is astonishing that pushing the
case for another referendum was at the
forefront of the First Minister’s mind
when writing about the truly horren-
dous situation in Ukraine.”
Ms Sturgeon’s official spokesman
said she “made no such link whatsoever
– any suggestion she has is a flat-out lie”.
The First Minister is expected shortly
to unveil her timetable for another sepa-
ration vote along with the necessary leg-
islation, despite a poll showing a clear
majority of Scots want her to shelve her
plans during the Ukraine crisis.
The SNP has previously argued that
postponing a referendum because of
the Ukraine war would be akin to let-
ting Mr Putin decide the timing.
However, the Prime Minister told last
week’s Scottish Tory conference it was
“blindingly obvious” that now was not
the time for another independence ref-
erendum.
GARETH FULLER/PA
which would bring the process in line
with the delay repay system in rail.
If the changes are implemented,
payouts could plummet to just over a
quarter of the current amount as the
average sum would fall from £220 to
just £57.
The consumer group based its calcu-
lations on data provided by Skyscanner.
It analysed how much airlines would
have to pay out for long delays on some
of the most popular UK routes.
It found that a domestic flight from
Edinburgh to London, with average
economy ticket price of £44, would cost
airlines £7,920, down from the current
level of £39,600.
“[We are] concerned that reducing
compensation payments would remove
a deterrent against airlines letting pas-
sengers down with delays and cancella-
tions,” the Which report said.
The consultation ends on Sunday.
try to answer questions in my new role,
I believe the answer is yes,” Ms Wheeler
responded.
The terms of reference, published
earlier this month, had already been
widely criticised after failing to men-
tion the words “child” or “children”,
and making no reference to mental
health.
Six out of 10 people who died from
Covid by the end of 2020 were disabled,
according to the Office for National Sta-
tistics.
Ian Noon, of the National Deaf Chil-
dren’s Society, said the effects of the
pandemic on the UK’s 50,000 deaf chil-
dren could have “serious, long-term
consequences” as their education was
badly affected, which increased their
feelings of isolation.
Deaf children are “too often not part
of the conversation”, he said.
“This must change during the Covid
inquiry because there are clear lessons
to be learned to make sure no deaf child
ever has to go through this again.”
Research by Sense found 75 per cent
of disabled people felt their needs had
been overlooked during the pandemic.
The Cabinet Office was approached
for comment.
NEWS BULLETIN
Teenage hacker ‘runs a
£10m global cyber gang’
A 16-year-old hacker from Oxford has
been accused of making more than
£10 million in an international cyber
gang while his father thought he was
playing computer games.
Cybersecurity researchers said the
teenager was the mastermind as City of
London Police confirmed that seven
suspects, aged 16 to 21, had been
arrested. The boy was one of the
alleged leaders of the South American-
based Lapsus$ gang which claimed
responsibility for security breaches of
tfirms such as Microsoft and Nvidia.
His father told the BBC he only heard
about the alleged criminality after the
arrest, saying he thought his son spent
his time playing computer games.
MPs’ staff sleep off pub
nights in Parliament
MPs’ staff have been drunkenly
sleeping in their House of Commons
offices after missing their last trains
home following nights out.
Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker,
who chairs Parliament’s administration
committee, said Commons security
staff had received several reports of
researchers returning to the office to
sleep off a night in the pub. He wrote to
all MPs on Wednesday to warn that the
trend was a fire and security risk.
Although it is understood that no
action will be taken against those
caught sleeping in their offices so far,
MPs on the committee plan to remove
security passes from anyone found to
have broken the rules in future.
Three coffees a day has
perks for the heart
Drinking two or three cups of coffee a
day may cut the risk of heart failure by
15 per cent, research suggests.
More or less than that was found to
still be better than no coffee at all but
the sweet spot was two or three daily.
The records of 38,000 people in the
UK Biobank, spanning 10 years, were
studied to see how coffee intake
affected various heart-related health
issues, including cardiovascular
disease, heart failure and stroke.
Two to three cups reduced the risk
of cardiovascular disease by nine per
cent and heart failure by 15 per cent.
“Coffee should be included as part of
a healthy diet,” the researchers from
the University of Melbourne write.
British base jumper dies
after fall in French Alps
A British tourist has plunged 650ft to
his death in a base jumping accident in
the French Alps.
The 34-year-old man, from
Newnham, Northants, was on holiday
with three friends, one of whom
witnessed the accident.
Police have launched an
investigation into the incident in the
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region in
south-east France.
It is thought the accident was not
the result of a technical fault with the
man’s equipment. The accident
happened at about 7pm on Tuesday.
The victim was found on a ledge
about 650ft below the spot where he
had jumped.
Drivers ‘unaware’ of
new mobile phone ban
A loophole letting drivers use their
phones to play games or take photos
has been closed amid warnings half of
motorists are unaware of the change.
New rules ban most hand-held use
of mobile phones in what Grant
Shapps, the Transport Secretary,
described as a “zero-tolerance
approach”. The loophole that had
allowed drivers to escape punishment
if they were not using their phone to
make calls or text will be closed from
Friday. An RAC survey last week
indicated 43 per cent of drivers are not
aware of the changes being
introduced. Rod Dennis, of the RAC,
said: “The dial needs to be turned up
when it comes to enforcement.”
Mair retires lamenting
wasted years at BBC
Eddie Mair has announced his
retirement from broadcasting, saying
his only regret is that he did not leave
the BBC sooner.
Mair quit as host of Radio 4’s PM
programme in 2018 and has spent the
past four years at LBC.
He will step down from LBC’s
drivetime programme in August.
“My only regret about LBC is not
joining sooner,” said Mair, 56. “I’m
having a ball and all things being equal
would probably carry on for ever.”
Station insiders dismissed reports
that Mair quit his job because he was
unhappy at losing an hour of his show
to Andrew Marr, the latest arrival at
the station.
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Palace Road, London, SW1W 0DT
 The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
Show time in the Queen’s drawing room
Her Majesty invites objets
d’art firm to Windsor after
her trip to Staffordshire
base was hit by pandemic
By Hannah Furness
Royal CoRRespondent
SHE has been thwarted first by a pan-
demic, then by the hardship of working
under Covid restrictions. But when it
came to honouring one of Britain’s lead-
ing Royal Warrant holders, nothing was
going to stand in the Queen’s way.
So keen was she to help Staffordshire
craftsmen and women celebrate the
Platinum Jubilee that she invited them
to stage an exhibition in her own draw-
ing room.
Inspecting a range of hand-decorated
teapots and antique enamelled trinket
boxes, the Queen again defied expecta-
tion to keep performing her duties. She
smiled broadly as she peered at luxury
STEVE PARSONS/PA
Celebration of Duke’s life will
feature ‘sorrow and laughter’
By Hannah Furness
THE Prince of Wales has spoken of the
importance of celebrating those we
have “loved and lost” with laughter as
well as sorrow, as the Commonwealth
prepares to come together to commem-
orate the life of his father, the late Duke
of Edinburgh.
The Prince, delivering a speech in
Ireland, spoke warmly of the need to
“laugh as we always laughed” in the
understanding that “nothing is past,
nothing is lost”.
“This is true for all those of us who
have lost loved ones in recent years,” he
said. “It is true for our countries and our
people, too.”
The Prince will next week attend a
service of thanksgiving for the life of his
father, who died in April 2021 shortly
before his 100th birthday. At the time,
‘Remorseless abuse’ costs
Dubai ruler childcare rights
By Gordon Rayner assoCiate editoR
THE ruler of Dubai inflicted “exorbi-
tant” domestic abuse on his ex-wife, a
High Court judge has said in a ruling
over their children’s welfare.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-
Maktoum was found guilty of the
“remorseless and unremitting” behav-
iour since Princess Haya Bint al-Hus-
sein fled to England three years ago, Sir
Andrew McFarlane, the president of the
family division said.
He awarded Princess Haya sole
responsibility for decisions relating to
their children’s schooling and medical
care as he highlighted examples of the
sheikh’s “astonishingly intrusive and
abusive” behaviour, which included
threats and phone-hacking.
The princess said she had been “ter-
rified” by her ex-husband, whose aim
had been to “crush me”.
Sir Andrew said that the sheikh’s
behaviour must have been “most harm-
ful to the emotional and psychological
pieces by British firm Halcyon Days,
which has three Royal Warrants.
She also watched a demonstration of
traditional hand-enamelling and hand-
gilding by master artisans.
The Queen had been due to visit the
Halcyon Days factory in Staffordshire in
2020 to mark its own Platinum Jubilee
of 70 years, but plans were put on hold
when the pandemic struck.
The Queen, who will be 96 next
month, now uses a walking stick to help
with her mobility and usually carries
out only light duties at Windsor Castle.
Dressed for spring in a silk floral day
dress and wearing her favourite three-
string pearl necklace, the Queen was
said to be in her element despite mov-
ing less deftly than she once could.
The intricately decorated cups and
saucers were laid out on a linen-covered
table in the White Drawing Room.
Among the items was a selection of
the earliest designs, created after the
company was founded in 1950. Her Maj-
esty examined a small oval trinket box
the Duke was afforded a small funeral at
St George’s Chapel in Windsor, attended
by 30 people, including the Queen, who
sat alone wearing a face mask.
On Tuesday, members of the Royal
family, more than 30 foreign dignitar-
ies, the Duke’s wider family and friends,
as well as 500 representatives of his
patronages and charities, will gather at
Westminster Abbey to commemorate
his peerless contribution to public
life.
The service will honour his dedica-
tion to “family, nation and Common-
wealth”, with a particular emphasis on
his legacy.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the
youth scheme set up by Prince Philip in
1956, will feature prominently, and a
special tribute will be delivered by a
Gold Award holder.
The Queen hopes to make the jour-
welfare” of their daughter Jalila, 14, and
son Zayed, 10, and that “the children’s
lives [were] dominated by the conse-
quences of their father ’s abusive
actions”.
The decision will make uncomforta-
ble reading for the Queen, a long-time
friend of the sheikh, who owns Godol-
phin racing stables, and for the Govern-
ment, as he is prime minister of the
United Arab Emirates, a key ally and
trading partner.
The sheikh, 72, and the princess, 47,
have been engaged in a two-and-a-half
year legal fight over their children’s
future that ran alongside a divorce case
that ended in the sheikh being ordered
to pay his ex-wife a record £550 million.
Princess Haya said she and her chil-
dren were “not pawns to be used for
division”.
The sheikh has previously accepted
that the children will not be returning
to Dubai and that he will have no physi-
cal contact with them, though they do
communicate regularly by telephone.
Susan Shakespeare at work in the
drawing room. Inset, a trinket box
with a red base, decorated with a
black-and-white painting of Wind-
sor Castle. She also picked up a
larger rectangular trinket box,
edged in lilac, featuring three colour
ney from Windsor to London to hear
first-hand how much her husband
meant to his country, but confirmation
of her attendance is not expected until
the morning of the service. It was
reported on Sunday that if she does
attend she may break with tradition and
get to the Abbey before other guests.
Among the 1,800 attendees will be
the Queen’s children, most of her grand-
children and her older great-grandchil-
dren. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
will not attend.
In recognition of Prince Philip’s long-
held relationship with Britain’s armed
forces, the Band of the Royal Marines
will play before and after the service,
which is being broadcast live on BBC
One.
The Westminster Abbey and the
Chapel Royal choirs will sing during the
service.
TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS
Old faithful The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travelled
in the same Land Rover used by the Queen on her visits to the
Caribbean as they viewed a military academy parade on the
sixth day of their visit to Jamaica.
News
portraits of her mother, the late Queen
Elizabeth, as a young woman.
The Queen Mother was a dedicated
fan of the firm’s creations, and in 1970
first commissioned an enamel box in
1970 of her London home, Clarence
House.
Other members of the Royal family
soon followed suit, and the Queen Your Royal
Mother went on to issue the company’s Appointment
first Royal Warrant in 1972. Sign up for our
The Queen also saw Halcyon Days’
first “year box”, from the Silver Jubilee
royal newsletter
of 1977, and viewed Platinum Jubilee for an exclusive
pieces which are dark blue and painted column by
with platinum flowers of the realm. Camilla Tominey.
She wore a sentimental piece of jew- Only for
ellery in the shape of her Flower Bas- subscribers
ket brooch: a basket of telegraph.co.uk/
gem-studded flowers set with dia- royalnewsletter
monds, sapphires, rubies and
emeralds, which she was given by
her parents in 1948 to mark the
birth of her first child, the Prince of The Queen inspects
Wales. Peter Harper, owner of the the artefacts with
firm, and Pamela Harper, chairman Pamela Harper
Judge rebukes Harry for ‘airing
irrelevant evidence’ in court
By Will Bolton legal action over a decision not to allow
him to pay for police protection for him-
THE Duke of Sussex has been warned self and his family while in the UK.
by a judge not to use court cases to He has claimed that he offered to pay
“publicise irrelevant material”. for his own police protection in January
His legal team was criticised at the 2020, but that the offer was refused. A
High Court yesterday as a judge ruled representative previously said that he
that parts of the Duke’s claim against wants to bring his children to visit from
the Home Office over his police protec- the US, but he and his family are “una-
tion in the UK will remain secret. ble to return to his home” because it is
Prince Harry is challenging the deci- too dangerous.
sion made by the Executive Committee Mr Justice Swift noted that some doc-
for the Protection of Royalty and Public uments filed in support of the Duke’s
Figures (Ravec) to withdraw the police claim included “irrelevant evidence”,
protection he and the Duchess of Sussex which was “inadmissible and should be
enjoyed as senior members of the Royal excluded from the proceedings”.
family. The judge said: “Legal proceedings
He says the decision made by Ravec, do not exist for the purpose of permit-
comprising members of the police, ting parties to put irrelevant matters in
Home Office and Royal household, was the public domain, and the court must
wrong as “he falls within the immediate be astute to ensure that proceedings,
line of succession”. The Duke is bringing legitimately pursued, do not become
Meghan to tackle plight of
women in $25m podcasts
By Hannah Furness
THE Duchess of Sussex will host a pod-
cast about the stereotypes that “hold
women back”, interviewing high-pro-
file guests about their experiences in
the public eye.
The Duchess will present the “Arche-
types” podcast for Spotify, she has con-
firmed, as the streaming platform
released a trailer of the new show.
Launching this summer, the series
will showcase the Duchess’s conversa-
tions with historians, experts and
women who have experienced being
typecast.
In a trailer of the Archewell Audio
project released on Thursday, she clas-
sifed the podcast as “the podcast where
we dissect, explore and subvert the
labels that try to hold women back”.
S p o ti f y a n d A rc h e we l l Au d i o
described her conversations with
typecast women as “uncensored” and
said the Duchess, a longtime female
empowerment campaigner, would
*** 3
and chief executive, talked the Queen
through the pieces.
Master artisans Susan Shakespeare
and Susan Jones gave a demonstration
of traditional methods of enamel deco-
ration and gilding by hand.
The pair set themselves up on a
table as if they were in their own work-
shop, to mimic a more traditional royal
visit.
Zenouska Mowatt, Princess Alexan-
dra’s granddaughter, the company’s
head of marketing, was also present.
The company, which has an enamel
factory in Wolverhampton and a fine
bone china and jewellery factory in
Stoke-on-Trent, is one of only 14
firms to hold all three Royal Warrants,
by appointment to the Queen, the
Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of
Wales.
The event was the Queen’s first offi-
cial face-to-face engagement with a
number of people for more than seven
weeks since her Platinum Jubilee
reception at Sandringham House.
the occasion to publicise irrelevant
material.”
Mr Justice Swift also scolded the
Duke’s barrister for arriving to court
“without an apology” after an embar-
goed judgment was sent to a PR strate-
gist on their legal team.
Shaheed Fatima QC was criticised
after she told the court an email had
been leaked to a partner in Schillings
Law firm containing a draft order of yes-
terday’s judgement.
High Court judgments are typically
provided to lawyers in the case in draft
ahead of being made public under
embargo.
Ms Fatima was forced to apologise for
the leak, for which she said she took
“full responsibility”.
She also accepted that she should
have made the court aware of the
breach when it occurred a week ago.
delve into the historic origins of
stereotypes.
The announcement of Archewell
Audio’s debut series with Spotify comes
after the Duke and Duchess raised con-
cerns about Covid-19 misinformation
on the platform.
The couple signed a lucrative deal
with the audio streaming giant to host
and produce podcasts, estimated to be
worth around $25 million (£18 million),
in late 2020, but have so far only
released one show.
Spotify and Archewell Audio said on
Thursday that they “both value respon-
sible stewardship of the audio land-
scape, and as explained recently, are
committed to working closely to sup-
port transparency and strong principles
of trust and safety.”
The Duchess is an executive pro-
ducer on the series, along with Ben
Browning, Archewell’s head of content,
and Rebecca Sananes, head of audio.
The podcast will be produced in part-
nership with Gimlet Media for Spotify.
4 ** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

News

UK to double troops in eastern Europee

Britain will bolster numbers in Poland and
Estonia and send 150 personnel to Bulgaria
as alliance beefs up military presence
By James Crisp and Nick Gutteridge
in Brussels
BRITAIN will double its troops in East-
ern Europe and send a new deployment
to Bulgaria, after Nato leaders yesterday
agreed to strengthen the alliance’s east-
ern flank against Russian aggression
The alliance signed off on the
formation of four new battlegroups of
between 1,000 and 1,500 troops – up to
6,000 soldiers – at an emergency sum-
mit on the war in Ukraine. They will
join the 40,000 troops under its direct
command in Europe, which was already
nearly 10 times the number it had a few
months ago, before the invasion.
“We’re bolstering our support for the
Nato countries on the front line by
sending a new deployment of UK troops
to Bulgaria on top of doubling our
troops both in Poland and in Estonia,”
said Boris Johnson.
“This is just the beginning. We must
support a free and democratic Ukraine
in the long term,” the Prime Minister
added. The new troops will be deployed
in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and
Bulgaria.
More than 150 British troops will join
a new Nato combat unit group in
Bulgaria and talks are under way with
Italy, said Kiril Petkov, the Bulgarian
prime minister, as he hailed the show of
strength.
The United States has already agreed
to provide a Stryker mechanised infan-
try company for Bulgaria’s unit that will
have up to 1,000 troops.
The British Army has about 850
troops based in Estonia under the
banner of Operation Cabrit.
The UK is leading a multinational
battlegroup there as part of Nato’s
enhanced forward presence.
A further 150 British troops are based
‘This is in Poland under a US-led Nato deploy-
ment.
just the Emmanuel Macron announced
beginning. France was deploying an additional
4,050 troops to front-line Nato states
We must and would provide extra help to others
support a bolstering air defences.
The French president unveiled a
free and deployment of 3,200 soldiers in
democratic Norway, including tanks and armoured
cars. Estonia will see its defensive forces
Ukraine in bolstered by 350 men and extra fighter
the long planes.
A further 500 troops will also be sent
term’ to boost a Nato battlegroup in Romania
which is being led by France, and spy
planes are to be deployed in Croatia
after a Russian drone crashed and
exploded there.
French aerial power is also being
beefed up in Poland, Bulgaria and ‘[The forces
Bosnia-Herzegovina, while naval forces
in the Mediterranean are to swell by an are] a
extra 3,000 marines. significant
Nato said it would review its defen-
sive posture against Russia at a sched- renforcement
uled June summit in Madrid.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary-
with air, sea
and land
general, said the forces would remain in
place “as long as necessary” and were forces’
“a significant reinforcement” with “air,
sea and land forces”.
But Nato leaders gave a cool recep-
tion to a request by Volodymyr Zelen-
sky for tanks and jets to lift the sieges on
cities such as Mariupol.
The Ukrainian president asked Nato
for 1 per cent of its 20,000 tanks in a
“passionate” speech by video to alliance
leaders meeting in the Belgian capital.

Ukrainian navy
‘destroys’ 370ft
tank carrier in
captured port
By Phoebe Southworth
UKRAINE said it had destroyed a large
Russian warship used to deliver tanks
and other weapons and damaged two
other vessels after their location
appeared in a Kremlin propaganda
video.
The navy said it had achieved a direct
hit on the Orsk, a 370ft Russian Alliga-
tor-class tank carrier, while it was
anchored in the captured port of Berdy-
ansk in the south of the country.
It represents a success for Ukrainian
forces as they seek to further stall Rus-
sia’s advance. The port has been vital to
Russian supply lines, allowing Moscow
to ferry in supplies to troops encircling
Mariupol, about 50 miles to the east,
and across Ukraine’s eastern front.
A Kremlin propaganda video had her-
alded the Orsk’s arrival in Berdyansk on
Monday as an “epic event” that “opens
up opportunities for the Black Sea in
terms of logistics”.
Hanna Malyar, Ukraine’s deputy
defence minister, said the Orsk had
been “destroyed”. The ship was capable
of carrying 20 tanks or 45 armoured
personnel carriers and 400 people, she
added. There was no immediate
response to the claim from Russia’s
defence ministry.
Footage from Berdyansk showed
thick black smoke surging above the
port, as a fireball swirled underneath –
suggesting the carrier exploded.
While the Orsk was said to have been
destroyed, the fire reportedly spread to
other vessels as well as an ammunition
depot and a fuel terminal.
Video of the scene showed two ves-
sels, one of which appeared to have
been damaged, sailing away at speed.
The Orsk is the biggest ship Ukrain-
ian forces have struck since Vladimir
Putin’s invasion last month. The
reported loss comes as pressure mounts
on the Russian president to secure key
cities amid fierce resistance.
Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary,
said that by recklessly engaging in mili-
tary action in Ukraine, Mr Putin had
“built himself a cage” and Nato should
be wary of how he will react next.
“That’s the problem – as soon as he
crossed the border he created this trap,
which he set himself,” he said.
Russian forces have seized most of
the coast along the Sea of Azov except
for Mariupol, which has been heavily
damaged but has refused to surrender.

Boris bonds with his European band of
brothers in Brussels – and avoids an own goal
Sadly, their fetish for Britain to be
Sketch seen as a global irrelevance was not to
be indulged today. A full clip showed all
the usual handshakes. Biden lolloped
about, a glazed grin on his face, while
Emmanuel Macron – channelling
By Madeline Grant Gareth Southgate in a spivvy three-
piece suit – did his bit for the Entente
Nato summit in Brussels could Cordiale by readjusting the PM’s tie.
he deploys when trying to sound
extra-statesmanlike, “with the people
of Kyiv. Of Mariupol. Of Lviv and
Donetsk.” He promised to “ramp up
lethal aid to Ukraine”. Occasionally he
pounded the lectern with his fist to
show he really meant business.
A BBC correspondent wondered
why the allies had been so quick to
CCHQ a solid by naming the PM
“public enemy number one” among
Western leaders. Could this present a
security risk, asked one reporter? But
Ambassador Boris was back with the
promise of detente. “There is no one
round the table in Nato who is against
Russians or the Russian people. I think
I’m probably the only prime minister
Sunak denies gain from wife’s
stake in firm with Moscow base
By Hayley Dixon and Dominic Penna
RISHI SUNAK has defended his wife
over accusations that his family are
“benefiting” from Vladimir Putin’s
regime.
Akshata Murty, the Chancellor’s wife,
owns a £430million stake in Infosys, an
Indian technology company that con-
tinues to operate out of Moscow.
Two weeks ago, Mr Sunak urged
ana Murthy in the 1980s. Despite sev-
eral companies pulling out of Russia ,
Infosys has kept its Moscow office and
delivery office running.
The company has previously worked
with Alfa Bank, one of the largest banks
in Russia, which was yesterday added
to the UK sanction list.
According to the annual report, Ms
Murty, 40, holds a 0.91 per cent stake in
Infosys.

A only mean one thing: an awkward

family photo-call of G7 leaders,
spaced out like Antony Gormley statues
at weird intervals across the podiums.
Naturally, the Hiroo Onodas of
Remain took to Twitter to pore over
the footage, eager for signs of a snub or
signal of Brexit Britain’s marginalisation
on the world stage. A few seized upon
a snippet that appeared to show Joe
Biden making a beeline for that great
unifier Recep Erdogan – blanking Boris
in the process. Another cut and dried
case; pygmy Britain sidelined again.
Addressing journalists later that
evening, a noticeably chummy PM
presented a united front with his fellow
leaders. “Vladimir Putin has badly
miscalculated,” he boomed, a rhetorical
spring in his step. “Ukraine is not
alone.” He hinted at fruitful discussions
– even a continent in the sway of
universal brotherhood. “The heroism
of Ukraine has changed the geopolitics
of Europe... I rarely see nations as
united in recent years as they are now.”
“We stand,” barked the Prime
Minister, in that jerky, staccato rhythm
rule out a no-fly zone. The PM instantly
reverted to cultural attaché mode.
“You’re right to put your finger on the
agony that everyone feels in this group,”
he began, diplomatically enough,
before segueing into a firm no.
Was Europe doing enough to wean
itself off Russian oil and gas? Boris the
diplomat refused to be drawn into
reproofs. “This is easier for some
countries than it is for others,” he
beamed, like a kindly primary teacher
overseeing the remedial maths class.
Earlier that day, the Kremlin did
in UK history to be called Boris!” Then
we were back on comfier Johnsonian
terrain: talk of wind turbines.
When it came to Ukraine’s position
in the World Cup, where Old Boris
might have committed to a feel-good
solution on a whim, this new iteration
pleaded football ignorance. Should the
Ukrainians get a bye for the playoffs?
“Sounds like a good idea to me, but I’m
out of area here,” he chuckled. “I’m not
going to comment on that!”
Just as well; Scotland are facing
Ukraine next week.
firms to stop investing in Russia and
welcomed commitments by companies
including Shell and Aviva to reduce or
sell their holdings there.
When asked if he was “giving advice
to others that you’re not following in
your own home”, Mr Sunak replied:
“I’m an elected politician, and I’m here
to talk to you about what I’m responsi-
ble for. My wife is not.”
Infosys – presently India’s second
largest IT company with a market capi-
talisation of £35.67 billion – was started
by Ms Murty’s billionaire father Naray-
She is understood to receive millions
of pounds in dividends each year as a
result of her shares.
When Mr Sunak was asked if his fam-
ily was “potentially benefiting” from
Vladimir Putin’s regime, he told Sky
News: “I don’t think that’s the case, and
as I said the operations of all companies
are up to them.
“We’ve put in place significant sanc-
tions and all the companies we are
responsible for are following those as
they rightly should, sending a very
strong message to Putin’s aggression.”

Scheme to open homes to refugees receives 40,000 applications

By Charles Hymas
Home AffAirs editor
ABOUT 40,000 people have applied so
far to take at least one Ukrainian refu-
gee into their home under the Govern-
ment’s sponsorship scheme, it has
emerged.
Boris Johnson revealed that 40,000
of the 150,000 people who registered
an interest had applied, suggesting that
just over a quarter may have been able
to match with a Ukrainian refugee.
People seeking to give refuge to
Ukrainians with no family links to the
UK have had to find a match them-
selves, via social media sites such as
Facebook, websites that have sprung up
to connect people with refugees, chari-
table organisations and similar bodies.
The Prime Minister told MPs: “The
Homes for Ukraine scheme is now
open. I think that about 40,000 have
already applied and 150,000 families
across the country have said that they
want to welcome Ukrainians.”
Michael Gove, the Communities Sec-
retary, said last week that he expected
the first refugees to arrive as early as
Sunday or Monday of this week and
‘One problem forecast that thousands could poten-
tially arrive on the scheme.
is the But families desperate to bring in
number of Ukrainians said the process had been
too slow and bureaucratic.
parents Hosts and refugees must provide
whose proof of identity, residence and rela-
tionship with supporting documents
children do uploaded to the Government’s portal.
not have Those with passports receive a PDF
document confirming they can travel to
passports’ the UK, but those without must go to
UK Visa Application Centres abroad.
One problem that has emerged is the
number of parents whose children who
do not have passports. One described
“hours and hours and hours” of form
filling, while a British businessman who
went to Poland to bring a family to Eng-
land said it was taking too long.
Steve McLean, from Hampshire,
went to Wroclaw to donate clothes to
refugees, but found it was homes they
really needed. He then applied to bring
a traumatised family living at a refugee
centre back to the UK.
“I’m really frustrated. We have
applied for one family to come to the
UK. But the visa application process has
been taking a long time. So I hope they
‘We have will come to the UK. We’re talking to
other families at the centre here, I’m
applied for putting them in touch with potential
one family to hosts,” he said.
Some families have been contacted
come to the by local authorities who are responsible
UK but the for checking potential accommodation
is safe and up to standard. Mr Gove’s
visa process department is expected to issue an
is taking a update on progress next week.
Meanwhile, the Home Office said
long time’ 18,600 visas had been issued for
Ukrainian refugees coming to the UK,
via the family scheme, out of 34,500
applications so far submitted.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 ** 5

N flexes its muscles Jet-setting

as Nato
He also called for worldwide protests to
mark a month since Russia invaded
Ukraine.
to do more to help given the constraints
we face” and said the UK was “looking
at what it could do to help”.
‘You have at
least 20,000
anti-tank weapons, drones and air
defence systems. Nato leaders also
discussed increasing their defence
‘Logistically
at the
‘stepdaughter’
of foreign
Mr Zelensky did not repeat his call He went on: “Logistically at the tanks. spending, which was strongly backed moment, it
for a no-fly zone which has been repeat- moment, it looks very difficult both by Joe Biden, the US president.
edly ruled out by the alliance because it with armour and with jets. We’re very Ukraine But Pope Francis levelled strong crit- looks very
would risk triggering a war between
Russia and Nato forces.
conscious of what he’s asking for at the
moment.”
asked for a icism against countries for increasing
defence spending following Russia’s
difficult.
“You can give us 1 per cent of all your Instead, the UK was looking at “more percent, 1 per invasion of Ukraine, describing it as We’re very
cent of all conscious of
minister joins
planes, 1 per cent of all your tanks,” Mr immediately valuable equipment” such “madness”.
Zelensky said. “You have at least 20,000 as missiles to defend against airstrikes, Nato leaders called on Russia to
tanks. Ukraine asked for a percent, 1 per ground rocket launchers and heavy your tanks to immediately call a ceasefire to prove it is what he’s
cent of all your tanks to be given or sold
to us.”
artillery, he said.
Mr Stoltenberg, whose term as secre-
be given or serious about ongoing peace negotia-
tions with Kyiv and warned those guilty
asking for at
He added: “But we do not have a clear tary-general was extended by a year, sold to us’ of war crimes in Ukraine would face the moment’
answer yet. The worst thing during the
war is not having clear answers to
requests for help.”
Mr Johnson said Western countries
felt “agony” about “about our inability
said leaders had agreed to step up
supplies of weapons and equipment but
refused to say if tanks would be sent to
Ukraine.
Instead, he said the alliance had sent
justice.
The alliance also called on China to
join the international condemnation of
the invasion and use its influence on
Russia to end the war.
sanctions list
She then worked for Gazprom, the
London-based daughter Russian oil company, before studying
for a master’s degree in economics and
of Sergei Lavrov’s mistress business at Imperial College in 2018.
targeted in crackdown on In 2016, Ms Kovaleva moved into her
Putin cronies’ relations multi-million pound apartment com-
plex in Kensington, complete with pool
By Hayley Dixon and golf simulator. Before buying the
Special correSpondent property she lived in a flat in Holland
Park owned by the Russian embassy.
THE “stepdaughter” of Russia’s foreign Earlier this month MPs called for Ms
minister has been added to the sanc- Kovaleva to face sanctions along with
tions list as the Government turns its her mother, Svetlana Polyakova, Mr
attention to the relatives of Vladimir Lavrov’s mistress since the early 2000s.
Putin’s cronies. It is unclear where Ms Kovaleva is
Polina Kovaleva, 26, the daughter of currently residing.
Sergei Lavrov’s mistress, was targeted The Government added six more
in yesterday’s sanction announcement banks to the list yesterday along with
alongside the Wagner Group, a Russian Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond pro-
mercenary organisation which is seen ducer, and Kronshtadt, the main pro-
as the president’s private army. ducer of Russian military drones.
Taking action against Ms Kovaleva, The UK has now sanctioned 1,000
who paid cash for a £4.4 million flat in individuals and businesses since the
west London at the age of 21, “sends a invasion last month.
strong signal that those benefiting from The latest steps mean Britain has
association of those responsible for imposed sanctions on banks with total
Russian aggression are in scope of our
sanctions”, the Foreign Office said.
Hired guns from the Wagner Group
are already in Ukraine with plans to
assassinate President Volodymyr Zelen-
sky, according to UK intelligence.
With an estimated 6,000 members,
Wagner is allegedly funded by an asso-
ciate of Mr Putin and is notorious for
covertly entering conflict zones.
Galina Danilchenko, who was
installed by Moscow as mayor of occu-
pied Melitopol in south-east Ukraine,
The ship in Berdyansk, left; female troops head for the front line in Lviv, above; a funeral in Georgia for volunteers killed in Ukraine has also been put on the sanctions list.
The 57-year-old, who had been a
councillor in the town before being pro-
moted by the invading forces, has been
KIRILLOVKA.KS.UA VIA REUTERS; METIN AKTAS/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES; VASILY KRESTYANINOV/AP

accused of “endorsing and acting in

support of the Russian occupation of
Melitopol as part of efforts to normalise
and provide legitimacy to it”.
“We’ve got to step up. We’ve got to
increase our support,” Boris Johnson
said after landing in Brussels for a Nato
summit. “We’ve got to tighten the eco-
nomic vice around Putin, sanctioning
more people today, looking at what we
can do to stop Putin using his gold
reserves, and also doing more to help
the Ukrainians defend themselves.”
Among the 33 individuals added to
the sanction list yesterday were Eugene
Shvidler, the billionaire oil tycoon with
close business links to Roman Abram-
ovich, the owner of Chelsea FC.
Oleg Tinkov, the founder of Tinkoff
bank, and Herman Gref, the chief exec-
utive of Sberbank, Russia’s biggest
lender, also found themselves targeted.
Ms Kovaleva’s now deleted social
media accounts featured images of her
relaxing on a yacht owned by Oleg Der-
ipaska who was sanctioned earlier this
month. She has lived in the UK for a
number of years and attended a board-
ing school in Bristol before gaining a
first-class degree in politics with eco-
nomics at Loughborough University.
Polina Kovaleva, 26, documented her
jet-set lifestyle on social media
assets of £500 billion and oligarchs and
family members with a net worth of
more than £150 billion.
It came as the Foreign Office
announced that the UK and western
allies have linked Russia’s Federal Secu-
rity Service (FSB) to “a historic global
campaign targeting critical national
infrastructure”, including UK energy
firms and the American aviation sector.
The department said the National
Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was
“almost certain” that the FSB’s Centre
16, which it said was also known by its
hacker group pseudonyms of Energetic
Bear, Berserk Bear and Crouching Yeti,
had targeted critical IT systems and
national infrastructure in Europe, the
Americas and Asia.
Announcing the sanctioning of a Rus-
sian defence ministry subsidiary, For-
eign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Russia’s
targeting of critical national infrastruc-
ture is calculated and dangerous.
“It shows Putin is prepared to risk
lives to sow division and confusion
among allies.”

Restrictions on Putin’s gold reserves tightened to paralyse economy

By Phoebe Southworth surreptitiously used to support the
rouble.
G7 LEADERS have sought to prevent The White House said in a statement:
Vladimir Putin increasing the gold “G7 leaders and the EU will continue to
reserves that help him circumvent work jointly to blunt Russia’s ability to
sanctions. deploy its international reserves to prop
At an emergency Nato meeting in up Russia’s economy and fund Putin’s
Brussels, the Biden administration and war, including by making clear that any
European governments discussed how transaction involving gold related to the
to put further economic pressure on Central Bank of the Russian Federation
Russia and keep Mr Putin from using is covered by existing sanctions.”
loopholes to add to his country’s riches. Mr Putin has been accumulating
Sanctions are to be extended to cover large amounts of gold for a decade in an
transactions involving gold undertaken apparent attempt to combat any sanc-
by Russia’s central bank over concerns tions that may be imposed on Russia. He
that it is stockpiling bullion that is being has an estimated 2,300 tonnes, with a
value of around £100 billion – around a
quarter of the estimated £500 billion
total reserves in Russia’s central bank.
Boris Johnson told LBC radio: “We
need to do more, and so we need to do
more economically. Can we do more to
stop him using his gold reserves, for
instance, in addition to his cash
reserves?
“What can we do more to sanction
Swift? And then we need to do more to
give the Ukrainians military support.”
Last month, the US, Britain, Europe
and Canada stopped some Russian
banks accessing the Swift international
payment system as part of a round of
sanctions against Moscow. Mr Johnson
said sanctioning Russia’s central bank
was “absolutely crucial in paralysing
the Russian economy”.
He added his message to Nato would
be that “there are ways in which the
world can continue to intensify the
pressure on Putin.
“And the more we do that now, the
more pressure we apply now – particu-
larly on things like gold – I believe the
more we can shorten the war, shorten
the slaughter in Ukraine.”
In the US, a group of bipartisan sena-
tors put forward a bill earlier this month
intended make it difficult for Mr Putin
to acquire gold. It would sanction any-
one transacting with or transporting
gold from Russia’s central bank hold-
ings, or selling gold physically or elec-
tronically in Russia.
The Russian president appears to
have been preparing to circumvent
sanctions for the last decade by accu-
mulating gold reserves that could fly
under the radar of any economic clamp-
downs that may be imposed.
Since 2010, the amount of gold in
Russia’s so-called “war chest” has been
quadrupled via a mix of foreign imports
and the building up of Russia’s own vast
domestic reserves. Sudan is believed to
be one of the biggest exporters of gold
to Russia, with an estimated 30 tons
flown in each year.
“Russia has a lot of operations in
Sudanese gold and a lot of it is smuggled
to Russia … to small military airports
dotted around the country,” a leading
mining executive said, speaking on con-
dition of anonymity.
He added that Russia had benefited
from this because it had connections
with Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan
Daglo, Sudan’s warlord-turned paramil-
itary leader, who emerged as the coun-
try’s de facto vice-president after a
military coup last year.

‘Putin chef’ blames

Russophobia for
West will not put boots on
losing UK lawyers ground in Ukraine, says PM
By Jack Hardy, Robert Mendick Continued from Page 1
and Nataliya Vasilyeva agents into Nato territory.” He added: “I
will not speculate beyond the fact that
A RUSSIAN tycoon dubbed “Putin’s Nato is always ready to defend, to pro-
chef ” has complained that threats and tect and to react to any type of attack on
“rampant Russophobia” from UK offi- a Nato allied country.
cials led his London lawyers to ditch Barack Obama was criticised for
him in a defamation case. declaring the use of chemical weapons
Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been in Syria a “red line” in 2012, only for the
sanctioned by the US, Canada and the West to do nothing when the regime of
EU, is taking legal action against Eliot Bashar al-Assad later deployed them.
Higgins, founder of the journalism web- Mr Biden was then his vice-president.
site Bellingcat, for damages for libel. Four new Nato battlegroups are
The catering magnate last year being set up in Hungary, Slovakia,
denied allegations he was the backer of Romania and Bulgaria.
Russian troll farms and the Wagner In Brussels, Boris Johnson said: “I
Group, a private paramilitary force, in think it’s fair to say that there isn’t a
an interview with The Daily Telegraph. Western democracy that’s currently
Yesterday, the solicitors he had contemplating putting boots on the
instructed for the defamation case, Dis- ground in Ukraine.”
creet Law LLP, applied for an order at In an interview with the BBC last
the High Court declaring they no longer night, Mr Johnson said he believed the
represented Mr Prigozhin. Russian president does not want peace,
but to “double down” and turn Ukraine’s
cities into another Grozny.
Mr Johnson said that Ukraine not
being a member of Nato meant it was
n o t i n s i d e th e “ th e r m o n c u l e a r
umbrella” of the alliance. However, he
adde d that the West wante d to
“strengthen the quills of the Ukrainian
porcupine” so as to make it “indigesti-
ble to Russia”, through providing weap-
ons and intelligence support.
In a video meeting with allied leaders
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian
president, accused Russia of using
phosphorus bombs against civilians and
called for global protests
Mr Johnson said: “We are looking at
what we can do to help. But logistically
it looks very difficult both with armour
and with jets.”
The US announced plans to take in
100,000 Ukrainian refugees and pro-
vide $1 billion (£750 million) in aid.
Bodies of invaders
identified with AI
and mothers told
By Verity Bowman
UKRAINE is using facial recognition
software to identify the bodies of dead
Russian soldiers and inform their fami-
lies of their fate.
The military is using Clearview AI
technology to match images of the dead
with their social media accounts in an
attempt to break through the propa-
ganda wall in Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, the deputy prime
minister, said the move aimed to dispel
the myth of a “special operation in
which there are no conscripts and no
one dies”. He added: “As a courtesy to
the mothers of those soldiers, we are
disseminating this information over
social media to at least let families know
that they’ve lost their sons and to then
enable them to collect their bodies.”
He said the level of matched individ-
uals claimed by families was “high”.
Johnson is leading race to be
anti-Russian, says Kremlin
By James Crisp europe editor
in Brussels
THE Kremlin has described Boris John-
son as the “most active anti-Russian
leader” for his opposition to the war in
Ukraine.
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s
spokesman, told the state-owned RIA
news agency: “As for Mr Johnson, we
see him as the most active participant in
the race to be anti-Russian. It will lead
to a foreign policy dead end.”
The Prime Minister later rejected
Moscow’s claim, telling reporters he
was “not remotely anti-Russian” after
an emergency summit of Nato leaders
and the G7 in Brussels yesterday.
He added that he had “the distinc-
tion” to be the only British prime minis-
ter in history to be called Boris and was
deeply sympathetic to ordinary Rus-
sians suffering under Mr Putin’s rule. “I
don’t think there’s a single person
around the table in Nato and all the G7
who are against Russians or the Russian
people. Least of all me,” he said.
“But I think what we all agree on is
that what Putin is doing, the way he’s
leading Russia at the moment, is utterly
catastrophic. This invasion of Ukraine is
inhuman and barbaric.
“The conduct of that invasion is now
moving into the type of behaviour that,
as I said before, we haven’t seen in the
continent of Europe for 80 years, and
it’s horrific.”
The Prime Minister said: “You can be
sympathetic towards ordinary Rus-
sians, who have been so badly led, but
you can also be deeply hostile to the
decisions of Vladimir Putin.”
The Kremlin spokesman made the
comments after the Prime Minister
called for a targeting of Mr Putin’s gold
reserves.
6 ***
News
Mariupol’s playgrounds
become cemeteries after
city flattened by shelling
‘I thought I’d get used to it, but I still can’t believee
ike most menfolk of the village of
Dispatch
L Moschun, Sergei Greeniuk’s first
priority, as Russian troops
approached, was to protect his family.
His second was to check on his car. So
when a Russian shell exploded loudly
By Colin Freeman on Moschun’s outskirts nine days ago,
in Kyiv he tried to move it to a safer spot.
“Suddenly I ran into some Russian
soldiers, who thought I was trying to
Medics are as traumatised escape,” he said from his Kyiv hospital
bed yesterday. “Then they started
as their patients, fmith shooting, and I was hit in the hand, the
the flofm of casualties shoulder and the leg.”
At first, he had surprisingly little
apparently never-ending pain – “like a surgeon’s needle” – but it
grew worse by the time he’d staggered
back into his house to wait for medical
assistance. And an agonisingly long
wait it was too. With fighting raging
around Moschun and other villages
north-west of Kyiv, it took another
seven days for rescue workers to reach
him.
During that time, the closest thing
Mr Greeniuk had to medical assistance
were two terrified neighbours and a
bottle of semi-sweet red wine. He used
it first as antiseptic, then as an
anaesthetic.
“I put it on my wound to clean it,
although I couldn’t really tell what was
wine and what was blood,” he added. “I
drank the rest, and it did help with the
pain, but only for the first night.”
Mr Greeniuk’s ordeal was one of
many chilling stories told by the
wounded in a large hospital in western
Kyiv. Ukrainian officials requested that
it remain unnamed for fear it would be
targeted by Russian artillery. But it is a
regular destination for the ambulances
that scream back and forth to the front
lines on the capital’s outskirts,
rescuing civilians caught up in the
conflict.
On days of heavy fighting – or when
humanitarian corridors open to allow
refugees to escape – the hospital
receives dozens of wounded and
dying. Like a warzone version of the
medical drama ER, there are tales of
survival and heroism – and episodes of
crushing tragedy. In one room on the
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
‘Smell of corpses is in the air’ as vremlin
accused of forced relocations to Russia
By Verity Bowman, Robert Mendick,
Ben Smith and Nataliya Vasilyeva
A MOTHER cradles her son, her hand
placed protectively across his head as if
such an action will stop Russian mis-
siles from killing them.
Photographs emerged yesterday
showing the full horror caused by the
indiscriminate bombing of Mariupol by
Vladimir Putin’s troops. The city has
been reduced to rubble, flattened by
carpet bombing.
In another image, a little girl in a pink
hat plays on a slide, an innocuous
fourth floor, Valentina Skoryk sat on
her bed, her left arm bandaged due to a
shrapnel wound and tears running
down her cheeks.
Her sobs were not caused by
physical pain. Instead, they were for
her husband – whom she had last seen
two days ago, lying dead in the street
outside her house.
The couple lived in Horenka, a
farming hamlet a few miles south of
Moschun, which has also seen heavy
combat. Ms Skoryk spent most of the
recent weeks in an underground
bunker. But on Tuesday, a lull in the
fighting persuaded her to come out.
“There had been no explosions for
some time, so we decided to get some
enough picture except that in the fore-
ground is a makeshift grave: in Mari-
upol, the playgrounds have been turned
into cemeteries.
The senior military figure in charge
of the port’s destruction has been iden-
tified by Ukrainian officials as Colonel-
General Mikhail Mizints ev, and
nicknamed the Butcher of Mariupol.
In an intercepted phone call made
public by the Ukrainian intelligence
services, he can be heard apparently
demanding a junior officer’s ear be cut
off for not wearing the correct uniform.
“Look at that scum standing there,
fresh air in the garden and feed our
cow,” she said, sitting in clothes lent to
her by hospital staff.
“Then there was suddenly a big blast
that knocked me over. When I looked
up I saw our house was on fire, with
my brother lying injured and my
husband lying dead with his eyes open.
“I tried to move his body but he was
too heavy. So I just closed his eyes, and
put a jacket over him.
“Ukrainian defence forces rescued
me and my brother, but they had to
leave my husband’s body where it was.
They told me that the last time they
saw it, it was burning. I can’t believe he
is gone – he was a kind man who loved
everyone.”
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 7

frowning with his bovine eyes, showing
me his unhappy face, his stinking mug,”
says Col-Gen Mizintsev. “Why is he still
serving? And why should I have to
waste my time with your scum? If
you’re the head of a unit, then step up to
the plate. Why has his face not been
messed up? Why has his ear not been
cut off? Why is he not limping by now?”
Col-Gen Mizintsev, 59, reportedly
oversaw the bombing of Aleppo in
Syria. Now the head of Russia’s National
Centre for Defence Management, he has
become a familiar figure on Russian tel-
evision offering safe passage if Mariupol
waves the white flag. Local officials who
stay face “military tribunals” along with
the “bandits” left behind, he warned.
Yesterday, Ukraine’s foreign ministry
accused the Kremlin of planning to for-
cibly relocate thousands of civilians in
Mariupol to Russia. More than 6,000
residents had been captured by Russian
forces “to use them as hostages and put
more political pressure on Ukraine”,
they said, adding 15,000 people from
one district had identity documents
seized and were ordered to go to Russia.
According to Ukrainian intelligence,
the civilians are being funnelled
through “filtration camps” before being
s e n t o nw a rd s t o “e c o n o m i c a l ly
depressed” southern regions of Russia.
Some could be sent as far as the Pacific
Ocean island of Sakhalin.
One makeshift grave in Mariupol is
newly dug on the edge of a children’s
playground. The cardboard sign
attached to the cross, made from scraps
of wood, gives the name Antonina Alek-
seevna Bakhchisaray. She was born on
May 15 1928 and died nine days ago. The
dead woman had survived the Second eat a stray dog to stave off hunger. Alex-
World War and the terrors of Stalin’s andr Volodko, 21, a student, said: “We
Soviet Union only to be killed at the age spotted a stray dog, it was already not
of 93 in a conflict ordered by Mr Putin. doing well. We were so desperate we
It is thought about 2,000 civilians cooked it. We were starving and I am
ashamed to say it.” His mother is ill and
his father went missing a week ago, and
Russia’s Col-Gen he said it was his job to feed the family.
Mikhail Mizintsev, Yevheniia Kudria, 24, who managed
nicknamed the to escape Mariupol a matter of days ago,
‘Butcher of Mariupol’, said her mother had stayed in the city,
has been identified too scared to leave. “She says that there
as leading the assault is the smell of corpses and the smell of
burning in the air. People are simply
buried in front gardens near houses,”
have been killed in Mariupol. About Ms Kudria said. Her mother has told her
100,000 people are trapped there. The of residents being rounded up by Rus-
Daily Telegraph has been able to contact sians and put on buses, backing up
some residents who have either left in claims made by Ukraine authorities.
recent days or remain trapped. “If my mother leaves, we may never
One claimed he had been forced to meet again,” said Ms Kudria. She wit-
nessed “many corpses, torn body parts,
huge damage, burning cars” before she
left.
“People just lived in the walls left,
slept on the floor, and ate once a day,”
she said. “There were many children,
the elderly. There were people under
the ruins, people were dying in front of
us. There were no doctors.”
Some pictures from Mariupol have
been taken by Maximilian Clarke, a Brit-
ish photographer. He worked in
Donetsk and eastern Ukraine in 2014
and 2015 and, using contacts made then
with the Russian-backed separatists,
succeeded in obtaining accreditation to
work in the separatist-held region and
from there travel to Mariupol.
“People have been sheltering from
the absolute intensity of the bombard-
ment for weeks,” Mr Clarke said yester-
day, describing scenes that were “very
dark and full of “panic”.
He added: “Yesterday we saw people
who weren’t leaving for whatever rea-
son. Many of them have got no money
or cars. They’re making fires and cook-
ing whatever food they have outside
their bombed out apartments.”
“No one,” he said, “is mentally intact
there.” He had taken a photograph of an
apartment building in ruins, a huge cra-
ter in front. “This constant sound of
artillery falling. It could make someone
unfamiliar with incoming artillery fire
jumpy. But all those people were just
sitting there. They weren’t even flinch-
ing.
“They said it was an airstrike, pre-
sumably Russian. It’s utter destruction.
It’s pretty incomparable to anything
I’ve seen before.”

MAXIMILIAN CLARKE/SOPA IMAGES VIA ZUMA PRESS WIRE; ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/REUTERS

Clockwise from left:

all that remains of a
line of buses
deployed in an
attempt to halt
Russian forces as
they advance
deeper into
Mariupol; a mother
covers her son as
they try to avoid
shelling in the
besieged southern
port city; a Russian
soldier stands next
to Mariupol
residents as they
queue for
humanitarian aid

Below, at a hospital
in Kyiv, a woman
known only as
Victoria, whose
apartment was
destroyed in a shell
attack, has multiple
injuries and
stitching to her
face and arms

Photograph by
David Rose for
the Telegraph

it happening. It has been a terrible time’

it’s
As Ms Skoryk and Mr Greeniuk
spoke to The Telegraph yesterday, the
fighting they had escaped continued.
Loud explosions and gunfire could be
heard in the distance – most likely
from the north-western suburbs of
Irpin, Hostomel and Bucha, the main
focus of the assault on the capital.
Ukrainian forces have put up stiff
resistance over the last two weeks,
halting the Russian advance. In recent
days, they have also counterattacked,
aiming to isolate the Russians from
their supply lines and surround them.
On Wednesday night, Britain’s
Ministry of Defence said it was likely
the Ukrainians had retaken Moschun
and Makariv, which lies on the
main road that passes west of Kyiv.
“There is a realistic possibility that
Ukrainian forces are now able to
encircle Russian units in Bucha and
Irpin,” the MoD’s latest defence
intelligence assessment said. If
successful, it added, it would be a
major setback for the Kremlin’s plans
to take Kyiv.
Meanwhile, the hospital remains as
busy as ever, with staff sometimes
almost as traumatised as patients.
While most of its A&E medics are no
strangers to bloodshed, few have dealt
with so many warzone casualties
before.
“It has been a terrible time for all of
us,” said Denys Reizin, a surgeon,
scrolling through a series of graphic unconscious. She was then showered for? Putin has lost his mind.” – save for a distant acquaintance,
wounds on his iPhone. “We see young with glass shards when the kitchen For another patient, Anatoly Sergei Pavli, who turned up yesterday
people coming in without legs, and a window shattered. Her face was a mass Veleshinsky, there wasn’t even the with some gifts.
lot of blood, brains, ripped-up of stitches and fresh scabs, save for two satisfaction of being able to point the It was not a standard welfare
abdomens and so on. I thought I’d get patches around her eyes where her finger directly at Mr Putin. package. Rather than grapes and
used to it, but I still can’t believe it’s spectacles afforded some protection. He was working as a building chocolate, Mr Pavli brought some
happening.” “I don’t care how I look after this – at security guard when he was shot in the bottles of water and 40 Rothmans.
As well as patients from the least I am alive,” she said. Her husband, stomach for no apparent reason – one “I looked for yoghurt but we
frontlines, north-west of the capital, she added, escaped injury, “although of countless patients whose injury couldn’t find any,” he said. “And he
there are also victims of the Russian mentally he is in a different world”. record simply says “unknown gunfire”. particularly asked for the cigarettes.”
shelling of residential areas deeper Anatoly Grican, 65, whose While some may be targeted by Mr Veleshinsky did indeed seem
inside the city. apartment was wrecked in another Russian saboteurs trying to infiltrate pleased – even though the “Nil By
Victoria, who did not want to reveal shelling last week, suffered similar Kyiv, others were most likely victims of Mouth” sign on his bed did not
her surname, was injured during the glass wounds, along with his 92-year- friendly fire from nervous volunteer mention an exception for tobacco.
bombardment of her six-storey block old mother. militiamen. “I’ll have one as soon as the doctor
of flats. “Two days later she had a heart With his parents in a village cut off lets me,” he said. “He tells me I’ve only
She was standing in the kitchen attack as well,” he added. by fighting, Mr Veleshinsky has been been here four days, but it seems like a
when the missiles hit and was knocked “She is still alive, but what is this all recovering from surgery unvisited month already.”
8 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
Majority have
microplastics
in their blood,
study finds
By Emma Gatten
environment editor
MICROPLASTICS have been found in
human blood for the first time, accord-
ing to research that identified particles
in nearly 80 per cent of donors.
Scientists found particles in the blood
of 17 out of 22 samples, with the most
common particles coming from PET,
the plastic used for drinks bottles and
food packaging.
Researchers say more work is needed
to determine the impact of microplas-
tics in the blood, including whether
they build up in the body and impact
organ function, or pass through the
system.
The study detected microplastics as
small as 0.0007mm, which can enter
the body via inhalation of airborne par-
ticles, or ingestion in food, plastic pack-
aging, crockery and cutlery.
Scientists at Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam in the Netherlands tested
samples for five types of common plas-
tic, including PET, polypropylene and
polystyrene.
The microplastics found were at an
average concentration of 1.6 micro-
grams per millilitre of blood, the equiv-
alent of one teaspoon in 1,000 litres of
water.
Dr Dick Vethaak, the co-author, said
that more research was needed to
understand the findings. “We know the
plastic is in our body, but where does it
go and what does it do?” he asked.
The study, published in the Environ-
mental International journal, is the first
to test for microplastics in blood.
Dr Vethaak said the results were to be
expected given the ubiquity of plastics
in the world, recommending that con-
sumers avoid plastic packaging and
avoid heating food in plastic containers
to mitigate the risk.
Weather records shattered... 180 years ago
Data from Victorian times
show that extreme rainy
and dry spells were just as
common then, says study
By Olivia Rudgard
environment Correspondent
BRITAIN has been battered by floods
and parched by drought in recent years
– but our Victorian ancestors did not
escape weather extremes.
A project digitising the Met Office’s
‘Sad-go-lucky’ nearer the mark,
as believers in fate are unhappy
By Joe Pinkstone
sCienCe Correspondent
THERE is no such thing as being
“happy-go-lucky”, a study suggests,
because those who believe in luck are
more likely to be unhappy.
Researchers from the University of
Bath tested the phrase in an experiment
involving more than 800 students in
Hong Kong.
Participants were asked questions
such as: “Some people are generally
very happy. They enjoy life regardless
of what is going on, getting the most out
of everything. To what extent does this
characterisation describe you?”
They found that people who believe
in “luck”, a random phenomenon over
which they have no control, are often
pessimistic and negative.
But individuals who consider them-
selves to be “lucky” are more likely to
describe themselves as happy.
This, the researchers say, under-
mines the term “happy-go-lucky”.
NHS offers tests to Foragers cause a Dogs of first-time
find pre-eclampsia stink by stealing owners are more
in pregnant women village’s wild garlic likely to be stressed
By Lizzie Roberts HealtH reporter
A BLOOD test which can diagnose pre-
eclampsia will be offered on the NHS
for the first time.
Pre-eclampsia affects some women,
usually during the second half of preg-
nancy or soon after their baby is born.
It can lead to complications if not
picked up during maternity appoint-
ments, with early signs including high
blood pressure and protein in the urine.
Women can develop a severe head-
ache, vision problems such as blurring
or flashing, pain just below the ribs,
swelling, and vomiting.
Tests have been available to help rule
the condition out, but midwives can
now use tests designed to pick up a pos-
itive diagnosis, following a recommen-
dation from an NHS watchdog.
In draft guidance, the National Insti-
tute for Health and Care Excellence said
midwives caring for pregnant women
could use one of four blood tests to help
diagnose suspected preterm pre-
eclampsia.
They can be used from 20 weeks to
36 weeks and six days, with experts
hoping they will pick up the 6 per cent
of pregnancies affected.
JORDAN PETTITT/SOLENT NEWS
Petal power England’s biggest rhododendron, in the grounds of the five-star South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex,
has bloomed and is looking bigger than ever. The magnificent bush is now larger than an average three-bedroom house.
weather archive has found that several
records, particularly those for dry
weather, were set much earlier than
previously thought.
Scientists at the University of Read-
ing asked the public for help digitally
transcribing 130 years’ worth of hand-
written rainfall observations from
across the UK and Ireland.
Thousands of volunteers in the Rain-
fall Rescue project studied records from
between 1677 and 1960, based on rain
gauges located in almost every town
and village across England and Wales.
The project, launched in March
“Taken together, these findings could
lend support to a more accurate, if less
elegant, aphorism that, broadly: though
luck believers aren’t happy, those who
believe themselves lucky are,” the
researchers wrote.
The paper said that a belief in luck
had a positive correlation with a range
of irrational beliefs and negative
‘Those who believe in luck
appear to do so because
they are more neurotic,
pessimistic and negative’
traits such as “awfulising”, a tendency
to overestimate the seriousness of
events.
It is also linked to “problem avoid-
ance”, a coping strategy where individ-
uals avoid stressful situations rather
than confronting and overcoming
them.
Prof Edmund Thompson, of Univer-
By Tom Ough
CORNISH villagers are organising
patrols to stop outsiders stealing their
wild garlic.
Residents in Lostwithiel have
reported a spate of illegal foraging for
the leaves, which they say are being
sold to restaurants and farmers’
markets.
On Monday, a resident reported see-
ing a man cutting “all the garlic” in one
location and putting it in a large bag.
Another said she had witnessed peo-
ple picking wild garlic, 15 stems of
which can sell for £10 online, and
“destroying whole swathes of plants”.
She claimed they had told her “it was
for pesto” and they would be selling it at
the Royal Cornwall Show.
The resident added: “We need a
patrol actually stopping them. They
may not stop in other places, but they
may stop here.”
According to the Theft Act 1968, a
person “who picks flowers, fruit or foli-
age from a plant growing wild on any
land, does not (although not in posses-
sion of the land) steal what he picks,
unless he does it for reward or for sale
or other commercial purpose”.
*** 9
News
Don’t let sun
fool you into
planting early,
gardeners told
By Olivia Rudgard
GARDENERS should resist planting
seedlings too early as spring sunshine
will give way to frost, according to the
RHS.
Marcus Chilton Jones, curator at RHS
Garden Bridgewater, warned horticul-
turalists not to get “excited” by the sun-
shine and plant tender varieties
prematurely.
On Wednesday, the UK experienced
its warmest day of the year so far, with
20.8C (69.4F) recorded in St James’s
Park, London. Some parts of the UK are
experiencing a range of almost 20C
between warmest daytime and lowest
nighttime temperatures, with night-
time frosts giving way to sunshine.
“What tends to happen is that gar-
deners get excited. They say, ‘great, I’m
going to get my broad beans out’; maybe
some early potatoes have gone in, and
there are a few shoots showing up
through the ground, especially in Lon-
don and further south,” he said.
“And then you get those cold nights
and everything newly emerged gets
burnt. We lost quite a lot of broad beans
last year.”
Gardeners should cover anything
tender with fleece, he added, and use
cloches to protect that which can’t be
moved. Cucumbers and tomatoes can
go into glasshouses, but gardeners
should wait to put them outside.
“I wouldn’t go outside with them at
this point, even in sheltered London,”
he said.
“It’s going to be alright towards the
end of April, but not so close to the
spring equinox,” he continued.
Gardeners should also be wary of
planting varities like marigolds and
begonias too soon, as they have not
acclimatised to the cold and should be
moved outdoors gradually.
2020, has extended the rainfall data England. That year was also the wettest fall Organisation, later absorbed into “A lot of the dry records that we’ve got
available in the official Met Office year overall for parts of the UK includ- the Met Office, but most records made have been rewritten, and that’s purely
national record, meaning it now goes
back to 1836 rather than 1862.
ing Oxfordshire, where there was signif-
icant flooding.
before 1960 were still in paper form.
The 65,000 paper records held in the
because our climate is getting wetter
now.
New records include England’s driest The year’s floods were known as the Met Office National Meteorological “Just like all the cold records are back
May, originally thought to be May 2020
but now believed to be May 1844, when
“Duke of Wellington floods” as they
coincided with the military hero’s
Archive were scanned during 2019 but
many were written in ornate handwrit-
in the past, it’s the same with the dry
records, [as] the climate’s got wetter.
just 8.3mm of rain fell. funeral in St Paul’s Cathedral. ing, meaning humans were needed to “Most of the wet records are more
The overall driest year on record, Victorian “observers” methodically transcribe them. recent – the exception to that was 1852,
previously thought to be 1887, is now chronicled the weather, with rainfall Prof Ed Hawkins, of the National which was an extremely wet November,
recorded as 1855. particularly important because of its Centre for Atmospheric Science at the and I’m sure at the time they wondered
November and December 1852 were impact on crops and food supplies. University of Reading, said he had what was going on.
also exceptionally wet months, with the Rainfall has been monitored system- expected the project to take months but “That would be a stand-out month
year holding the wettest November on atically in the UK since the 1860s, when high levels of interest from the public for that period. Now it wouldn’t look so
record for many regions in southern George Symons set up the British Rain- meant it was completed in days. He said: unusual.”
sity of Bath School of Management, who
led the team of international research-
ers, said: “Those who irrationally
believe in luck as an agentic phenome-
non would appear to do so because they
are by disposition more neurotic, pessi-
mistic and negative.
“These are personality traits long
associated with lower levels of life satis-
faction, well-being and happiness.
“However, those who think they are
fortunate because things have luckily
turned out well for them, often by com-
plete accident rather than purposeful
design, generally believe this is because
they have a suit of characteristics dis-
posing them to objectivity, logic and
gratitude, personality traits found
broadly to be linked to higher happi-
ness levels.
“When it comes to happiness, the
saying that ‘the happy go lucky’ may be
wrong, but the expression ‘count your
blessings’ would seem to be quite right.”
The study has been included in the
Current Psychology journal.
By Joe Pinkstone
DOGS of first-time owners are more
likely to show signs of stress, a study has
found.
Scientists discovered that around one
in three dogs shows repetitive behav-
iour such as chasing its tail, biting its
shadow or licking surfaces. The dogs of
first-time owners were 58 per cent more
likely to exhibit these signs of stress
than those of experienced owners.
The scientists from the University of
Helsinki surveyed more than 4,500
dog owners to learn about the pets’
behaviour.
“ We discovered that repetitive
behaviour was more common in dogs
that were their owners’ first dogs,” the
scientists wrote.
“Repetitive behaviour is increased by
stress, so a predictable environment
may decrease canine compulsive disor-
ders. Inexperienced owners may pro-
vide inconsistent training, which could
increase stress.”
Other factors that increased the risk
were living with one human (33 per
cent), being an only dog (64 per cent)
and exercising for less than one hour a
day (54 per cent).
10 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

News

Families will be
£1,100 worse
off this year as
inflation peaks
taken out of Nationax Insurance when
Chancellor’s promise to Power play that threshoxd rises – wixx benefit, whixe
Help with bills most others wixx xose out.
cut basic rate of income The IFS puts the rise in workers’
tax ‘dwarfed by previous considered income tax and Nationax Insurance bixx
rises’, economists warn in 2025-26 at around £250 to £300 per
Rishi Sunak has year for basic-rate taxpayers, increasing
By Tim Wallace said he wixx keep to more than £1,200 for many higher
measures to ease rate taxpayers, with those earning
THE typicax working househoxd wixx the cost of xiving £80,000 per year xosing around £1,500.
xose £1,100 to higher taxes and surging crisis under At the same time as inflation affects
infxation this year, economists have review, after he tax payments, it axso undermines xiving
warned, as Rishi Sunak’s promised tax was accused of standards.
cuts paxe in comparison to a sweeping doing too xittxe to The Office for Budget Responsibixity
series of increases axready on the way. hexp famixies (OBR) estimates inflation wixx peak at 8.7
The Chancexxor’s income tax cut, struggxing to pay per cent when the energy price cap
which wixx bring the basic rate down their bixxs. rises again in October, the highest
from 20 per cent to 19 per cent from The Chancexxor, annuax rate of price rises for 40 years.
2024, is “dwarfed by previous tax rises”, who announced At the same time, it expects wages to
James Smith, an economist at the Reso- an increase in go up by around 5.3 per cent – high in
xution Foundation, said. Nationax
He caxxed tax rises “the key feature” Insurance ‘We are still struggling
of Mr Sunak’s financiax pxans, with contribution
seven workers in every eight set to pay repayment to get significantly past
more on their earnings even as they can threshoxds and a 2008 levels of earnings
buy xess with their pay packets owing to 5p cut in fuex
rampant inflation. duty, suggested even by the mid-2020s’
It contrasts sharpxy with the tone of the Government
the Chancexxor’s speech, which put his couxd go further cash terms, but stixx not enough to keep
tax-cutting cxaims at the centre of the before Ofgem pace with prices.
Government’s poxicy agenda. reviews the Combined with tax rises, this
Unveixing his Spring Statement in energy price cap amounts to a 2.2 per cent drop in reax
Parxiament, Mr Sunak said: “My tax pxan in October. Energy househoxd disposabxe incomes, a big-
dexivers the biggest net cut to personax bixxs wixx axready gest annuax drop since records began in
taxes in over a quarter of a century. go up next month, the 1950s.
“I can confirm, before the end of this when the price Officiax forecasts indicate the recov-
Parxiament, in 2024, for the first time in cap increases by ery in xiving standards wixx be sxow and
16 years the basic rate of income tax wixx axmost £700 – a painfux.
be cut from 20 to 19 pence in the pound. rise of 54 per cent. After accounting for new taxes, the
A tax cut for workers, for pensioners, Yesterday, the OBR expects that workers’ spending
for savers. A £5 bixxion tax cut for 30 mix- OBR said it power wixx stixx be xower in 2026-27 than
xion peopxe.” expects energy it is today. If it were not for Mr Sunak’s
Paux Johnson, director of the Insti- bixxs to rise again tax rises, reax wages wouxd recover by
tute for Fiscax Studies (IFS), said that, in by at xeast 40 per the middxe of the decade.
reaxity, the Government’s tax haux was cent, hexping to “This faxx comes despite our judg-
rising strongxy because wages were push inflation ment that there wixx be more of a
cximbing more rapidxy than previousxy over 8 per cent for response from nominax wages to high
expected in response to inflation. the year. inflation than in periods of rising infla-
Pay wixx not keep up with prices and Mr Sunak toxd tion over the past decade or so when
xiving standards wixx faxx in reax terms as BBC Radio 4’s there was greater xabour market sxack
a resuxt – but the frozen tax threshoxds Today programme and xower churn,” the OBR said.
mean workers wixx stixx pay more tax on yesterday: “I can’t “However, we do not expect the xat-
their earnings. make every est surge in energy prices, due to Rus- Robert Joyce, deputy director at the Pay rose steadixy in the two decades with what wouxd have been expected Rishi Sunak
The resuxt of the tax changes is that a probxem go away, sia’s invasion of Ukraine, to be matched IFS, said “we are stixx struggxing to get before the financiax crisis, but wages back in 2007. Mr Joyce said:“It starts to visits a steel
smaxx fraction of workers – most notabxy but where we can by higher nominax wage growth.” significantxy past 2008 xevexs of earn- have barexy grown faster than prices in feex unreax, but that is what happens if manufacturing firm
those who earn between axmost make a difference, This comes on top of an axready ings even, according to the xatest esti- the years since, xeaving a hoxe of about you have xower-than-expected growth in Nottingham
£10,000 and £12,500, and so wixx be we want to.” extreme squeeze on pay. mates, by the mid-2020s”. £11,000 in spending power compared for a very xong time.” yesterday

Petrol duty cuts not being

passed on to drivers yet
By Gurpreet Narwan
and Tony Diver
FORECOURTS across the country are
yet to pass on the promised fuex duty
cut, despite ministers caxxing for an
immediate reduction in prices.
Rishi Sunak promised a 5p per xitre
cut to fuex duty in his Spring Statement
on Wednesday and the changes were
appxied at 6pm on the same day.
The reduction has taken duty down
to 52.95p, shaving £3 off the price of fixx-
ing a 55-xitre famixy car. It comes after
the cost of a tank of petrox rose above
£90 in recent weeks.
However, thousands of garages are
stixx waiting to make the change.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and
Asda said they wouxd xower prices by
6p, which incxudes the 1p VAT reduc-
tion. But the other four major compa-
nies – BP, Shexx, Esso and Texaco – said
they couxd not guarantee immediate
reductions because most of their fore-
courts are run by franchisees.
A source cxose to Kwasi Kwarteng,
the Business Secretary, said: “ We
wanted it to happen at 6 o’cxock. The
pubxic expects retaixers to pass on the
cost. That’s what we want them to do.
“The expectation from Kwasi and
Rishi was for petrox retaixers to pass on
that 5p cut at the point at which the
duty was reduced, at 6pm xast night.”
Fuex duty is appxied at the point that
retaixers buy fuex, so petrox and diesex at
some forecourts wixx have been pur-
chased at the higher rate. Axthough the
cut is immediate, it couxd take severax This is a dexiberate pxoy by the fuex sup-
weeks to feed through to customers. pxy chain to hoxd on to as much profit as
Rurax areas face a xonger wait. possibxe.
Shexx said it had no controx over “This is sickening expxoitation,
prices at haxf of its 1,086 sites, whixe which this government couxd check
Esso said that about 1,000 of its site immediatexy. Rishi couxd have impxe-
were operated independentxy. BP said mented an independent pump pricing
around 900 of its 1,200 sites are oper- watchdog yesterday at minimax cost to
ated by independent deaxers who set prevent the fuex suppxy chain continu-
their own prices. Texaco does not con- ing to profiteer from the worxd’s stixx
trox pricing at axx of its 712 sites. highest taxed motorists.”
Howard Cox, founder of Fair Fuex UK, It comes just days after petrox retaix-
said: “I am furious that the 6p cut ers were accused of profiteering from
awarded by the Chancexxor in most the cost of xiving crisis by raising profit
cases is not being passed on to drivers. margins.
After hitting cxose to $140 (£106) a
barrex, the whoxesaxe price of oix tempo-
Plugged-in 300,000 electric rarixy fexx on Tuesday xast week, giving
car charging points by 2030 forecourts an opportunity to cut prices.
However, retaixers hiked average mar-
Exectric car wixx focus on gins on petrox to 12p. This is twice the
charging points drivers without xong-term average but comes after mar-
wixx muxtipxy off-street parking gins turned negative two weeks ago,
ten-foxd by 2030, access, and on with retaixers xosing money.
but the RAC fast-charging for Esso said its franchises xeft it power-
bexieves numbers xong journeys. xess to controx prices at some forecourts.
wixx stixx be too But Nichoxas “We can onxy comment about fuex
xow. Lyes, RAC’s head prices at the 197 Esso Tesco Axxiance ser-
Pubxic charge of poxicy, said: vice stations (Esso forecourt with a
points wixx “This is not going Tesco Express shop) that we controx –
increase from to be sufficient, the remaining 1,000 Esso-branded ser-
30,000 to with drivers vice stations are owned and operated
300,000 by 2030, xooking to independentxy – and fuex prices at those
as part of the switch to exectric are set by the companies that own and
Department for vehicxes en masse operate those sites,” it said.
Transport’s new ahead of the 2030 Mr Sunak and Mr Kwarteng wrote to
Exectric Vehicxe ban on the saxe of retaixers on Wednesday urging them to
Infrastructure new petrox and move swiftxy after the change came into
Strategy. Support diesex cars.” force at 6pm yesterday.

Cost of living crisis ‘may lead to civil unrest’

By James Burton
Deputy Business eDitor
THE cost of xiving crisis risks unxeash-
ing a wave of rioting because Britain has
one of the most fragixe economies in
Europe, a French investment bank has
warned.
L’Atexier BNP Paribas said that there
was a danger of “sociax unrest, protest
and extremism” after the UK ranked
35th out of 36 countries for its abixity to
dexiver higher wages, xower costs and
sociax mobixity.
Onxy Latvia performed worse, with
Spain, Greece and Lithuania making up
the rest of the bottom five.
It came after the Office for Budget
Responsibixity warned British house-
hoxds face the sharpest sxump in xiving
standards on record, with inflation at a
30-year high and tax rising.
BNP’s sustainabxe economic barome-
ter attempts to measure countries on
their abixity to drive sociax mobixity by
equitabxy distributing the fruits of their
economic growth.
The UK’s poor score “indicates a
reduced capacity to facixitate sociax
mobixity and is a strong indicator of
future socio-economic protest and
instabixity”, the report said.
It pointed to soaring inflation, wage
rises that cannot keep up with the rising
cost of xiving, and record prices for
housing and rent.
BNP said: “Combined, these factors
mean the UK is faixing to provide an
economy abxe to support the core prom-
ise of equitabxy distributed, merit-based
sociax mobixity that is integrax to a
heaxthy capitaxist democracy in the
medium to xong term.”
Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and
Austria topped its ranking, whixe xarger
economies incxuding the United States,
Japan and Canada performed more
poorxy.
John Egan, chief executive of
L’Atexier BNP Paribas, said: “Some fac-
tors are unavoidabxe – the Covid baix-
outs increasing the axready significant
deficit, or the gxobax downturn affecting
macroeconomic measures. But others,
such as the high cost of essentiax ingre-
dients of xiving such as housing, couxd
be fixed with the right set of poxicies.”
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
Pensioners hit by stealth tax raid as
Sunak freezes lifetime allowance
Almost half a million more
savers will be forced to pay
55pc tax on retirement
pots, says former minister
By Will Kirkman, Charles Hymas
and Jessica Beard
MORE than a million people who put
money aside for their retirement are
facing a stealth tax raid as Rishi Sunak
capitalises on soaring inflation to boost
his revenues.
Around 1.6 million people will be hit
with a punitive tax on their retirement
pot because the Chancellor has frozen a
cap on the maximum amount of money
they can save, so it will not increase in
line with prices.
Experts warned that workers will be
denied any chance of a comfortable
retirement as a result, as the public
Tories turn on Chancellor amid fears that
many households will struggle to pay bills
By Tony Diver, Charles Hymas
and Christopher Hope
RISHI SUNAK “is not a tax-cutting
Chancellor”, Tory MPs have said as
he faces a backlash over his Spring
Statement.
MPs from across the Conservative
Party criticised the Chancellor for the
country’s increasing tax burden, his
failure to protect families from rising
inflation and his decision to spend no
extra money on defence after the inva-
sion of Ukraine.
Wednesday’s statement increased
the repayment thresholds for National
Insurance Contributions (NICs) but did
not scrap the 1.25 percentage point rate
rise announced at the October Budget
to pay for spending on the NHS and
social care.
“I think he should have scrapped the
NICs levy,” one former Cabinet minister
said last night. “The world has changed
completely since it was originally
finances are forced to take up the strain
of caring for the elderly. Baroness Alt-
mann, the former Conservative pen-
sions minister, said: “It is a policy that
makes a mockery of urging people to
plan for their retirement.
“You cannot if you are frightened of
being disadvantaged because your
investments do well.”
Pensions can be saved tax-free up to a
limit of £1,073,100 – the so-called life-
time allowance. Any savings above that
are taxed at 55 per cent when the money
is withdrawn in retirement.
This cap normally increases in line
with inflation to ensure workers’ sav-
ings go up in line with prices and wages,
even though this leaves them no better
off in real terms. However, Mr Sunak
has frozen the lifetime allowance until
2026, so more and more workers will
breach it. The freeze, announced last
year, was expected to push a further
1.2 million people into the cohort
obliged to pay the 55 per cent tax.
But inflation is forecast to be higher
than thought at the time, so an addi-
tional 400,000 savers will be hit,
according to Sir Steve Webb, the former
announced.” The MP added that a
planned 1p cut in income tax in 2024
was “almost insulting” to families strug-
gling to pay their bills this year, amid
expected inflation of at least 8 per cent.
Other Tories have suggested that Mr
Sunak will be forced to increase the
level of support for the most vulnerable
households later this year if the energy
price cap rises again.
Many privately hope Wednesday’s
statement will follow the first fiscal
event of Philip Hammond’s tenure as
Chancellor and George Osborne’s 2012
Budget, and result in an about-turn.
Mr Hammond was forced to reverse a
planned rise in NICs in 2017, after it
emerged that he had not briefed Cabi-
net ministers he planned to break a
manifesto pledge before delivering the
statement.
Mr Osborne was criticised for his
VAT increase on food designed to cool
down, dubbed the “pasty tax”.
Last night, Esther McVey, who
How much would the lifetime
allowance rise with inflation?
£1.3m
Allowance
without freeze
£1.2m
£1.1m
Allowance
with freeze
£1m
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
-21 -22 -23 -24 -25 -26 -27
SOURCE: LCP, OBR
pensions minister. By the 2026-27 tax
year, the cap will be £186,300 lower
than it would have been had there been
no freeze, according to Sir Steve’s anal-
ysis of Office for Budget Responsibility
data.
Inflation hit a three-decade high of
6.2 per cent this month and is forecast
to climb close to double digits later in
the year. Sir Steve said: “A five-year
freeze on the lifetime limit for pension
tax relief was always a bad idea, but
soaring inflation means it is now a much
more brutal attack on pension savers.
founded the Blue Collar Conservatives
group of MPs, said: “I worry how many
people will not be able to pay their bills
this year and I think it is inevitable the
Government will have to do more.”
Another former Cabinet minister
said: “My view is that Rishi is not a tax-
cutting Chancellor and people will see
‘We are staring at potential
stagflation. Avoiding that
has to be the priority for the
Government above all else’
that. Unless he changes, his reputation
as a tax cutter deteriorates from here.”
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former
Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “We
are staring at potential stagflation and
avoiding that has to be the priority for
the Government above everything else.
“He is going to have to revisit this.
Growth is critical now, nothing else.”
*** 11
Large numbers of people who want to
build on their existing pension savings
will either have to stop saving sooner or
face hefty tax penalties.”
The Daily Telegraph is campaigning
for the lifetime allowance to be
increased in line with inflation.
David Davis, the former Brexit secre-
tary, said Gordon Brown’s mistake in
introducing the limit had been com-
pounded by Tory chancellors cynically
using it to raise tax revenue.
He said: “This is a massive disincen-
tive to saving. As living costs go up, the
amount that it represents means a
poorer and poorer standard of living.
“These are people who will be bank
of Mum and Dad and Grandma and
Granddad helping youngsters with
their newly expensive loans, for exam-
ple, trying to buy them homes in a des-
perately bad housing market.
“It will have a disproportionate effect
on hardworking middle-class families”,
who are likely are Tory voters, he said,
adding that he would prefer the limit to
be scrapped or at least returned to the
limit of £1.8 million originally set by Mr
Brown.
Robert Halfon, who led the campaign
for a 5p cut in fuel duty, welcomed the
move but added: “I am not saying it’s
perfect and they will have to do more
later in the year to manage the debt peo-
ple face. We need to address energy
costs later in the year. That will be a big
thing.”
Although Treasury sources stressed
that the Ministry of Defence had already
received an unusually large four-year
funding settlement, MPs also criticised
the Chancellor for failing to increase its
budget in response to the war in
Ukraine.
Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chairman of
the Defence select committee, said:
“The missing trick for me was an oppor-
tunity to send a message to Putin that
we take European security seriously,
and we haven’t done that.
“The cost of living, food price hikes,
energy, fuel – they have all gone up
further because of the Russian invasion
of Ukraine.”
12 *** Ir Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 13

News

I’m prepared to die, Amess suspect told police

Footage shown to jury of
the moment two officers
with no protection tackled
and subdued knifeman
By Martin Evans
Crime Correspondent
THE moment two plain-clothes police
officers tackled a knife-wielding sus-
pected terrorist accused of stabbing to
death Sir David Amess has been shown
to an Old Bailey jury.
Pc Scott James and Pc Ryan Curtis
had been on patrol searching for a sus-
pect in an unrelated inquiry, close to
the Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-
on-Sea, Essex, when Ali Harbi Ali alleg-
edly attacked the MP.
Responding to the 999 calls made by
Amess’s assistant and a member of the
public, the two officers, who were
equipped only with batons and an irri-
tant spray, were the first on the scene.
Body-worn camera footage captured
the unfolding drama as the two officers
entered the building where the 69-year-
old was attacked during one of his con-
stituency surgeries.
Darren King, a member of the public
who had an appointment with Amess
after Ali, can be seen showing the offic-
ers where in the building the suspect –
who was still brandishing a knife – was

‘[The defendant refused to

put down the knife, saying]
I want to be shot, I want to
die, I want to be a hero’
standing. Giving evidence on Wednes-
day, Mr King told the court the defend-
ant had refused to put down the knife,
telling him: “I want to be shot, I want to
die, I want to be a hero.”
In the body-worn footage, the offic-
ers can be heard discussing that back-
up, including officers who had Tasers,
were two minutes away.
The officers repeatedly shout at the
suspect to drop the knife, with one of
them adding: “It’s only going to go one
METROPOLITAN POLICE/PA

way. Please drop that knife.”

The two officers – who were not
wearing stab vests – then rush the sus-
pect, forcing him to the ground before
kneeling on him and cuffing his hands
behind his back.
During a brief verbal exchange, Ali is
heard saying he is “prepared to die”,
before asking the officers to put his
glasses back on his face.
As he is arrested and read his rights,
one of the officers replies: “Mate, that’s
not our concern.”
The suspect, who had been on the
phone to his sister at the time, can also
be heard saying: “Don’t worry. The
Body-worn camera footage of the arrest. Above, suspect Ali
Harbi Ali is seen handcuffed after being detained by police
police got me. They’re not gonna shoot.” arrested on suspicion of murder, underwent a short urgent interview Mike Freer, the Tory MP for Finchley. CCTV outside Parliament gates and he
After the suspect was arrested, para- appearing to look relaxed and calm. during which he told officers it was a On the fourth day of the trial, jurors was in the area again on Sept 22.
medics attempted to revive Amess, but Earlier in the trial, one of the wit- “terrorist attack”, the jury was told. were also shown images of Ali allegedly The jury was told he had also been
he was declared dead at 1.10pm. nesses, described Ali as having an Ali, who was born and brought up in scoping out different areas of London, spotted in the area on three other occa-
The father-of-five had suffered 23 expression of “self-satisfaction” in the south London before moving to Kentish including Mr Freer’s constituency office sions in July and September.
knife wounds, including four to his immediate aftermath of the alleged Town, north-west London, is accused of on Sept 17, around a month before the Ali denies one count of preparing ter-
chest. Jurors were also shown still murder. plotting a terrorist attack against other attack on Amess. rorist acts and one count of murder and
images of Ali shortly after he had been After being taken into custody, Ali targets including Michael Gove and On Sept 20, Ali was captured on the trial continues.

Scorecards to identify courts Strip-search Met officers

that let down victims of crime
By Charles Hymas
Home AffAirs editor
TOO many victims are being let down
by the police and prosecutors, says
Dominic Raab, as the first local score-
cards were published exposing delays
and low charging rates.
In an article for telegraph.co.uk, the
Justice Secretary said it was “appall-
ing” that 60 per cent of victims did not
report their crimes and a third dropped
out of prosecutions, often because of
delays and the prospect of reliving
their trauma in court.
The scorecards, published today,
show victims have to wait more than a
month on average for police to charge
alleged offenders, for all offences, ris-
ing to more than 400 days for rape,
where between 0.6 per cent and 3.6 per
cent of offences result in a charge.
Court delays can add another 450 days
before rape charges come to court.
Dame Vera Baird, the victims’ com-
missioner, said the scorecards would victims don’t report crimes … and a
expose “regional discrepancies, iden- third pull out of prosecutions before
tify best practice and expose weak they see justice done.”
links”. Mr Raab said that hundreds more
Mr Raab cited the case of Emily victims of rape and modern slavery will
Hunt, a rape victim who, despite hav- be able to g ive their evidence in
ing nothing else to wear, was forced to advance via video to spare them the
hand over her clothes and her phone trauma of going to court.
Known as Section 28, the measure
‘She was made to feel like allows victims – subject to a successful
application to the court – to have their
she was under investigation. cross-examination pre-recorded before
No victim should be made the trial.
It can also help them move on with
to feel that way’ their lives before a court hearing.
“I want to give all victims the confi-
and offered “scant support”. “She was dence to come forward. It isn’t just the
made to feel like she was under investi- right thing to do. The more victims
gation,” he said. report what they’ve suffered, the more
“No victim should be made to feel criminals we catch,” said Mr Raab.
that way. Too many victims are being The provision will be introduced to
let down by the system. I’m determined crown courts in York, Grimsby, Hull,
to put that right – and have asked Emily Bradford and Teesside in the coming
to advise us, so we can do much better,” weeks as part of a phased national
he said. “It’s appalling that three in five roll- out.
removed from front-line duty
By Marcus Parekh
TWO Metropolitan Police officers
involved in strip-searching a 15-year-
old girl at her school have been taken
off front-line duties.
The pair have been confined to desk
work during the inquiry by the Inde-
pendent Office for Police Conduct that
will determine whether the officers
have a case to answer, a community
meeting heard this week.
The girl, known as “Child Q”, was
taken out of an exam and strip-searched
by female officers in Hackney, east Lon-
don, in December 2020 without
another adult being present and in the
knowledge that she was menstruating.
Police were called in after teachers
wrongly suspected the girl was in pos-
session of cannabis.
Her parents were not informed and
no drugs were found.
A safeguarding report has since
found that the search was unjustified
and racism was “likely” to have been a
factor.
Chief Supt Marcus Barnett, Hack-
ney’s Basic Unit Commander, told an
online audience of 250 people that he
had been made aware of the incident a
month after it happened.
He said the school “probably should
‘The Met Police has seemed
incapable of reform for
generations... it is difficult to
say if it will ever change’
not have called us and we should prob-
ably have understood very quickly that
we had no role to play there”.
Mr Barnett also told Wednesday’s
oversubscribed meeting that the Met
has a problem with officers viewing
children in inner London as “adults”.
He admitted that what happened to
the girl would probably not have hap-
pened to a child living in the Cotswolds.
Det Supt Dan Rutland, who was also on
the panel, added: “I think we view inner
London kids as adults, the issue we have
in policing at the moment is that we
believe that kids in London are more
resilient than they are.”
Child Q and her family have since
launched civil proceedings against both
the school and the Metropolitan Police
“to ensure this never happens again to
any other child”.
Chanel Dolcy, a solicitor working for
the firm representing the family, told
The Guardian: “The Metropolitan
Police has seemed incapable of reform
for generations, and it is difficult to say
it will ever change.”
Philip Glanville, the mayor of Hack-
ney, has called for the head teacher of
the school to resign as “part of the pro-
cess” to bring about change.
The “school leadership has lost the
confidence of the school, myself and the
community”, he added.

Driver of derailed Passer-by posed Council protects Judge clears man

tram faces trial over as doctor to treat
seven deaths injured cyclist
By Patrick Sawer
senior news reporter
THE driver who “nodded off ” before
his tram derailed in Croydon killing
seven people and injuring another 51 is
to be prosecuted.
Alfred Dorris could face up to two
years in prison and an unlimited fine,
despite an earlier decision not to prose-
cute him on manslaughter charges.
Transport for London (TfL) and Tram
Operations Limited, which is owned by
FirstGroup, also face unlimited fines
after the Office of Rail and Road
announced yesterday they would be
prosecuted alongside Mr Dorris.
The 47-year-old allegedly dozed off
for up to a “few minutes” and woke sec-
onds before the tram flew off the track
while travelling at high speed as it
entered a bend at Sandilands Junction
in south London.
Following a three-year investigation,
the Crown Prosecution Service con-
roof shark despite
owner’s will
By Daily Telegraph Reporter By Craig Simpson
A FORMER mountain rescuer has been A SHARK sculpture lodged in the roof
found guilty of impersonating a doctor of an Oxford house as a protest has been
after she treated an injured cyclist who given special heritage status, despite
had fallen off his electric bicycle. the owner arguing against listing it.
Joanne Graham told multiple wit- The 25-foot fibreglass artwork was
nesses she was a “trauma doctor” when placed head-first into the roof of a ter-
she stopped on her way home to Cor- raced house in the suburb of Heading-
wen, North Wales, to help Martin Jones ton in 1986 by the property’s then
as he lay in a ditch, a court heard. owner Bill Heine as a protest against
Mr Jones had suffered a cut to the council planning regulations.
head and a broken wrist after he clipped Oxford city council has now awarded
a kerb while riding without a helmet in the “Headington Shark” official listed
June last year. status as a heritage asset, against the
But as Graham began treating Mr wishes of the sculpture’s current owner,
Jones she aroused suspicion among and despite it being erected in protest
onlookers, which included two off-duty against its own planning policies.
police officers and a nurse, when she Dr Magnus Hanson-Hein inherited
cut off his clothes and suggested an air the Oxford property, following the
ambulance was needed. death of his father in 2019, and has said
When later questioned by police, the that giving the sculpture listed status
47-year-old said she was a mountain res- “would be exactly the opposite of the
cuer and people had mistakenly point” of the artwork.
assumed she was a medic, Llandudno But the council has listed the shark as
ALEXANDER JUNG/GETTY IMAGES
who swung club at
‘trespassing’ police
By Daily Telegraph Reporter
A HOMEOWNER who swung a club at
police officers as they attempted to evict
him has been cleared of affray after a
judge ruled he was right to defend him-
self from “trespassers”.
Bob White, 62, was charged with a
criminal offence after two policemen
unlawfully entered his home in Sheer-
ness, Kent, before they punched and
tasered him.
Mr White had barricaded himself
inside the property when the officers,
bailiffs and a locksmith arrived with a
county court warrant for eviction in
February 2019.
Maidstone Crown Court heard that
after Mr White refused to answer the
front door, police went round the side of
the bricklayer’s home and used an
enforcer to smash the bottom of a door.
Sgt Russell Belmant tried to enter the
house through the gap but stopped
after seeing Mr White with a club.

cluded in 2019 that there was not
enough evidence to prosecute him and
that no charges for corporate man-
slaughter would be brought.
But Ian Prosser, the Office of Rail and
Road’s chief inspector of railways, said:
“We’ve taken the decision to prosecute
TfL, Tram Operations Limited and
driver Alfred Dorris for what we believe
to be health and safety failings.”
magistrates’ court heard. a heritage asset, meaning its preserva- After Mr Belmant was told “get out of
Graham denied impersonating a doc- tion will be factored into any future my house” by Mr White, Pc Dunn, who
tor but was yesterday found guilty fol- planning decisions. was assisting, pulled out his Taser and
lowing a trial in which she was accused Colin Cook, heritage champion at used it twice.
of living in a “fantasy world” by Adam Oxford city council, has admitted that Judge Griffith-Jones QC told jurors:
Warner, the prosecutor. there was an “intellectual argument “His [Mr Belmant’s] entry was unlawful
The court was told there was no delay about a council protecting something it and he was [a] trespasser and unwel-
in Mr Jones attending hospital. was trying to get rid of originally”. come intruder.”
Graham was fined £600 and ordered Mr White said:“Police need to be held
to pay £810 court costs. Oxford city council has listed the 25-foot fibreglass Headington Shark as a heritage asset Editorial Comment: Page 17 to account for this.”
14 ** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

News

Analysts secretly scan Elgin Marbles Changing

gender will not

to help robot sculptor make replicas get easier as

plans rejected
By Hayley Dixon
Special correSpondent
Researchers take matters
into their own hands after THE Government has formally rejected
attempts to make it easier for people to
application to document change their gender, calling the current
the sculpture was rejected system “rigorous” and “robust”.
As concern grows over access to sin-
By Simon de Bruxelles gle-sex spaces, ministers refused
attempts by MPs to move towards a sys-
ANALYSTS have made secret scans of tem of self-identification of legal gen-
the Elgin Marbles in the British der. The Government said “the current
Museum in order to create “perfect” provisions allow for those that wish to
replicas that could ultimately lead to the legally change their sex to do so, and we
repatriation of the originals to Greece. will not be changing the legislation”.
Researchers from the Oxford-based This was in response to a report by
Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) the women and equalities committee
used scanning technology embedded in released in December, which suggested
camera phones and iPads to create the removal of several of the current
detailed 3D copies of the 2,500-year-old requirements to obtain a gender recog-
sculptures. nition certificate – including a medical
The operation was carried out by diagnosis of gender dysphoria, spousal
stealth after the museum refused a for- consent and for a person to live in their
mal request to scan the marbles. chosen gender for two years.
Roger Michel, the IDA’s executive Rejecting the calls in their formal
director, and Alexy Karenowska, its response yesterday, the Government
technical director, were ignored by said that the checks “ensure that the
security staff as they scanned half a legal gender recognition process is rig-
dozen of the sculptures that once orous and provides assurance that the
formed part of the Parthenon, which system is robust”.
sits on the Acropolis over Athens. The fee to apply for a gender recogni-
They used a combination of Lidar, a tion certificate has already been
recent addition to the iPhone’s battery reduced from £140 to £5, leading to a
of tricks, which measures distances to a “marked increase” in applicants, the
fraction of a millimetre, and photo- report said.
grammetry, which stitches multiple The committee’s recommendations
individual photographs together to cre- to use a self-identification system came
JEFF GILBERT FOR THE TELEGRAPH

ate 3D images. The files will be used to despite warnings from women’s rights
program a “robot” sculptor that can campaigners and legal experts that it
carve marble blocks with metal chisels could jeopardise single-sex spaces,
in exactly the same way they were orig- which are protected under equality
inally created by Phidias. law.
The museum is believed to be con- The Government responded that
cerned that once it is possible to make “the Equality and Human Rights Com-
highly accurate replicas it will be diffi- mission is currently looking to update
cult to argue against returning the orig- its guidance on the workings of the sin-
inals to Greece. Researchers from the Institute for Digital Archaeology took scans of the Parthenon Sculptures on iPads, after being refused permission to do so officially by the British Museum gle-sex exceptions in the Equality Act”.
The scans have recorded two millen- The response added: “The Govern-
nia of damage caused by war, earth- Athens for £75,000. He used his wife’s despite their damaged and broken state. are wide with exertion after pulling the secrets of the marbles including its orig- ment’s position remains that no changes
quakes, acid rain and misguided inheritance to pay the Turks but within Among the hundreds of visitors admir- chariot of Selene across the Parthenon’s inal colouring. are needed to the Gender Recognition
attempts by the museum to clean them a few years a costly divorce meant he ing the marbles yesterday was Tania pediment. Yet while staff at the museum A spokesman said: “We regularly Act.
with wire brushes. was forced to sell them to the British Carmichael, a sculptor from Australia, were happy for Mrs Carmichael to draw receive requests from a wide range of “Individuals are considered to be the
Thomas Bruce, the seventh Lord government, which in turn gave them who said it was “more fitting” for them them, they refused her permission to commercial and academic users to sex that is registered on their birth cer-
Elgin, had the friezes shipped to Lon- to the British Museum. They have been to be in Athens than London. create 3D scans. undertake their own scanning and it is tificate – either male or female, with the
don 200 years ago after purchasing one of the museum’s most popular Mrs Carmichael sketched the life- The museum said it is already using not possible to routinely accommodate law providing for individuals to be able
them from the Ottoman occupiers of exhibits for nearly two centuries size marble head of a horse, whose eyes 3D scanning to unlock some of the all of these.” to change their legal sex.”

Charity body favourite ducks war on ‘woke’ Pullman quits role after cancel culture row
By Craig Simpson mittee yesterday ahead of his likely to the leadership of the Charity Com- By Robert Mendick and to quit as president of the Society of wrote on Twitter that people who con-
appointment in the role. mission could tackle the “woke” incli- Catherine Pepinster Authors (SoA), effectively the trade demned a book before reading it would
THE Government’s chosen candidate to The former Tory candidate insisted: nations of certain charities, after furore union for writers. “find a comfortable home in Isis or the
lead the Charity Commission has told “I wouldn’t have the Charity Commis- over the direction of the National Trust. SIR PHILIP PULLMAN has resigned He had defended Kate Clanchy, who Taliban”, but later deleted the tweet and
MPs he would not be drawn into a war sion as an arm of government assisting The lawyer ran for Parliament in from a literary association over his sup- was “cancelled” by her publishers after apologised.
on “woke”. in an anti-woke agenda.” 2005 and has been reported to be a port for an author accused of racist ste- allegations that her prize-winning Sir Philip wrote in his resignation let-
Orlando Fraser QC faced questions His comments relate to Oliver Dow- friend of Boris Johnson, but he has told reotpying. memoir, Some Kids I Taught and What ter: “I realised that I would not be free
about his political allegiances from the den’s suggestion during his time as Cul- MPs he is neither “a Conservative” nor The 75-year-old writer of the His They Taught Me, portrayed some of her to express my personal opinions as long
Digital Culture Media and Sport Com- ture Secretary that new appointments “friend of the Prime Minister”. Dark Materials trilogy was facing calls former pupils in a “racist” manner. He as I remained president.”
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 IrSc *** 15

World news

Juan Carlos may face UK

trial ‘for harassing and
spying on’ former lover
Spain’s emeritus king loses
immunity as High Court
hears allegations he caused
mistress ‘great mental pain’
By James Badcock in Madrid
FORMER Spanish king Juan Carlos
does not have the right to sovereign
immunity, the High Court ruled yester-
day, meaning he could now face trial in
a British court over allegations he
caused a former lover “great mental
pain” by spying on and harassing her.
in the bedroom window of her private
estate, Chyknell Hall, in Shropshire,
where she lives with her son.
Lawyers for the former monarch,
who denies any wrongdoing, had previ-
ously argued that a 300-year-old treaty
that established Gibraltar as a British
territory, known as the Peace and
Friendship Treaty of Utrecht, protected
him in a British court.
But yesterday the judge, whose rul-
ing focused on the issue of immunity
only, said he rejected an argument that
Juan Carlos remained a “sovereign” and
was entitled to personal immunity
under the State Immunity Act 1978.
secret accounts in offshore tax havens.
Juan Carlos’s lawyers claimed that their
client enjoyed immunity for any actions
before his abdication as head of state,
and was covered after 2014 by his status
as emeritus king and a member of the
household of the current Spanish mon-
arch, Felipe VI.
Mr Justice Nicklin found that Juan
Carlos ceased to be sovereign when he
abdicated, despite the “honorary” use
of the term emeritus king in Spain, and
that he was no longer a member of
Felipe VI’s royal household as he did not
perform public duties and had moved to
the UAE.

LEO LIU/SOLENT NEWS

Justice Matthew Nicklin rejected
Juan Carlos’s claim that his status as a
senior member of the Spanish royal
family meant he could not be sued by
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, ruling
that the civil claim could go ahead.
Ms Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a 57-year-
old Danish businesswoman, who is a
resident of Monaco and has homes in
London and Shropshire, has accused
Juan Carlos and agents of the Spanish
state of mounting a continuous cam-
paign of intimidation against her after
their relationship ended in 2009.
According to her claim, the pair
stayed close friends for a period after
their break-up, but after she declined
his attempts to rekindle their relation-
ship he became hostile and demanded
that she return €65 million (£54 million)
he had “donated” to her in 2012.
She claims to have received death
threats from agents of Spain’s CNI
secret service, as well as allegedly being
subjected to continual surveillance and
the victim of a whispering campaign
that destroyed her reputation as an
international business consultant.
In court documents filed in 2020, she
claims two of her apartments were bro-
ken into and the book Princess Diana:
the Hidden Evidence, How MI6 and the
CIA Were Involved in the Death of Prin-
cess Diana was left on a coffee table.
Ms Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein also alleges
a “perfectly drilled hole” was discovered
“There is only one king of Spain and The judge said that if he had accepted
head of state of Spain and since June 19 Juan Carlos’s claim to sovereign status,
2014 that has been his son, King Felipe “it would mean that if, tomorrow, [he]
VI,” the judge said. were to walk into a jeweller’s shop in
Juan Carlos, 84, abdicated after a Hatton Garden and steal a diamond
series of scandals affecting him and the ring, he could face no civil or criminal
Spanish royal family. proceedings in this jurisdiction”.
In 2020, he left Madrid to live in Abu Juan Carlos’s Spanish legal adviser
Slick mover A mudskipper attempts to attract a mate by “dancing” in the estuary of the
Dhabi after Spain’s public prosecution declined to comment on the decision, Nankan river in Luzhu, Taiwan. As the mud is flat, the males launch themselves into the air,
service opened an investigation into but the former monarch is expected to flapping their fins, to make themselves visible to available females nearby.
alleged financial impropriety and use of appeal against the decision next week.
‘To grant
sovereign
status would
mean that
if he were to
walk into a
jeweller’s
and steal a
diamond
ring he could
face no trial’

‘Irresponsible’
Baldwin to star
in two comedies
By Jamie Johnson
US CorreSpondent
ALEC BALDWIN will return
to the big screen with two
Christmas comedies, months
after the fatal shooting of
Ukrainian cinematographer
Halyna Hutchins.
The Emmy and Golden
Globe winner will be going
back to work in Italy with his
brother Daniel after being
cast in Kid Santa and Billie’s
Magic World, both billed as
live action/animation family
Christmas comedies.
These are the first acting
roles for Baldwin since the
incident on the set of Rust, in
New Mexico, last October,
where a prop gun he was
holding fired a live round,
killing Hutchins and wound-
ing director Joel Souza.
Baldwin, 63, has tried to
absolve himself of wrongdo-
ing, saying in a December
interview with ABC News
that he was pointing the gun
at Hutchins at her instruc-
tion and that it went off with-
out him pulling the trigger.
“Someone is responsible
for what happened, and I
can’t say who that is, but it’s
not me,” he said.
No charges have been filed
in the criminal investigation
by the Santa Fe County Sher-
iff ’s Office, but Matthew
Hutchins, the widower of the
cinematographer, filed a
wrongful death lawsuit
against Baldwin last month.
“I was just so angry to see
him talk about her death so
publicly in such a detailed
way and then to not accept
any responsibility after hav-
ing just described killing
her,” Mr Hutchins told the
Today show last month.
“It almost sounds like he is
the victim. Hearing him
blame Halyna in the inter-
‘I was just so angry
to see him talk about
her death so publicly
in a detailed way’
view and shift responsibility
to others and seeing him cry-
ing about it. Are we really
supposed to feel bad about
you, Mr Baldwin?
“The idea that the person
holding the gun causing it to
discharge is not responsible
is absurd to me.
“Every individual who
touches a firearm has a
responsibility for gun safety.”
Baldwin will arrive in
Rome tomorrow, and stay for
four weeks, Variety reported.
His representative did not
immediately respond to con-
firm the report.

Lovesick man tries

to row 1,000 miles
By Our Foreign Staff
A VIETNAMESE man has
been rescued after attempt-
ing to row 1,240 miles from
Thailand to India to visit his
wife, who he had not seen for
two years because of Covid
travel restrictions.
Ho Hoang Hung set off
from the holiday island of
Phuket in an inflatable rub-
ber dinghy, with water and
instant noodles but no navi-
gation system, planning to
cross the Bay of Bengal near
the start of cyclone season.
A fishing boat found the
37-year-old on Wednesday
near the Similan Islands,
about 50 miles off the Thai
mainland, and contacted the
navy’s security unit, which
rescued him.
Ho told officials he was try-
ing to reach his wife, who
works in Mumbai, according
to Capt Pichet Songtan from
the Thai Maritime Enforce-
ment Command Centre.
Mr Pichet said the man
was found with no map, com-
pass, GPS or change of
clothes, and only a limited
amount of water.
He had initially flown to
Bangkok but found that
without a visa he could not
travel on to India, so took a
bus to Phuket where he
acquired the dinghy.
After setting off on March
5, Mr Ho was held up by
headwinds, making limited
progress in the two weeks
before he was found.
Thai officials said he will
be returned to Phuket for
questioning. “We have con-
tacted the Vietnamese and
Indian embassies but not had
a reply yet,” Mr Pichet said.
16 ***
The Rustat
verdict is a
humiliation for
woke activists
DaviD abulafia
R
epresentatives of Jesus
College, Cambridge,
have declared
themselves “shocked” at the
verdict that, despite the
strident demands of
campaigners, Grinling
Gibbons’s monument to
Tobias Rustat should remain
in the college chapel.
What is truly shocking is
the sheer certainty of these
campaigners that the
judgment of the Consistory
Court of the Diocese of Ely,
tasked with deciding the
monument’s future, would
go their way. It is of a part
with the arrogant attitude of
activists across the country,
who have closed their ears to
intelligent debate about how
we commemorate notable
people from the past whose
social and political
assumptions were very
different from our own.
It turns too on a distorted
view of the past: one that is
rooted in the assumption
that modern British society
is deeply and ineradicably
impregnated with the
legacy of the slave trade.
What the judge in the
Rustat case, Deputy
Chancellor David Hodge,
rightly called the “evil,
utterly abhorrent, and
repugnant” slave trade did
have a role in the making of
Britain. But to afford it such
exclusive predominance is
to ignore all the other ways
in which Britain enriched
itself over the centuries. No
better example of this
distortion can be found than
the row over Rustat, who, it
has now been shown, made
his many benefactions with
money obtained elsewhere
than the slave trade.
Some quiet victories have
been obtained in recent
months by those who oppose
the new iconoclasm
championed in universities
and museums. Imperial
College, for instance, has
agreed not to remove the
name of Thomas Huxley, one
of the college’s founders. But
it is the Rustat judgment
which provides the firmest
indication yet that the tide
has finally turned. It is a
landmark decision in the
resolution of our current
Comment
disputes. We must now hope
that rational thinking is
returning to British
institutions just as the public
grows exasperated by
increasingly absurd claims
about historical figures.
Deputy Chancellor Hodge
had harsh words for those
who jumped to conclusions
about Rustat, enlarging his
role in slavery out of all
proportion, making it out to
be the main source of his
wealth, though it was not.
Sloppy research about links
between colleges and
slavery is unacceptable in
one of the world’s leading
universities. In Jesus, as in
other great educational
establishments, the absurd
generalisations of “Critical
Race Theory” have been
allowed to guide debate
about events and behaviour
several centuries ago. In one
email a student even
complained of “a concerted
effort by external white
supremacist organisations”
to retain the Rustat
monument.
The judgment also makes
powerful positive points
about the religious setting
for the monument: a church
or chapel belongs not to
humans but to God, and “the
Rustat memorial may be
employed as an appropriate
vehicle to consider the
imperfection of human
beings … Forgiveness
encompasses the whole of
humankind, past and
present, for we are all
sinners; and it extends even
to slave traders.”
Nor should we forget the
words of the Rustat
monument itself: “The
greatest part of the Estate he
gathered … he disposed in
his life time in works of
charity.” Such a man, whose
bones lie under the floor of
his beloved chapel, deserves
more than to be reduced to a
caricature.
David Abulafia is a professor
of history at the University of
Cambridge
reaD more at
telegraph.co.uk/opinion
To order prints or signed copies of any Telegraph cartoon, go to telegraph.co.uk/prints-cartoons or call 0191 603 0178  readerprints@telegraph.co.uk
The Boris and Rishi power struggle
has left the Tory Party in a muddle
Sunak is beginning to
assert himself over the PM
in a bid to claw his way
back to fiscal conservatism
fraser nelson
I
s Rishi Sunak a fool or a fraud? To a
great many people, it has to be one
or the other after a mini-budget
which seemed to be a smouldering
mess of contradiction. He promises
“to let people keep more of their own
money” but puts up taxes higher than
any modern chancellor has ever
dared. He invented furlough, then
spent billions cushioning the blow of
fuel bills. But his message to those on
benefits who are now facing the
choice of heating or eating? Sorry:
there’s no more money left. It all
looks rather odd.
Most of the Cabinet remain
dismayed about the National
Insurance rise which will soon take an
extra 2.5 per cent off everyone’s
salaries. Jacob Rees-Mogg has said it’s
political suicide. Tories stood on a
manifesto promise not to raise taxes,
he argues, and voters remember such
promises. Liz Truss hates it too. Even
Boris Johnson was all up for dropping
the tax and borrowing instead. But
who was the biggest advocate for the
tax rise going ahead? Sunak. The
self-proclaimed tax-cutter.
Behind all of this apparent
hypocrisy there is method,
explanation – and a plan. It’s about
history and strategy. Sunak started as
NHS trans guidelines are straight from 1984
allison pearson
T
he author Julia Stephenson
reported on Twitter that she was
filling in the form to renew her
membership of Putney Lawn Tennis
Club and was taken aback to discover
that she could no longer tick the
correct box in the Sex section.
“Female (no longer valid),” it said.
Instead, Julia was given a choice of
“Female (including trans woman), Male
(including trans man), Non-binary or
Other.” Oh, dear, looks like chaps are
“no longer valid” in South West
London either. “No new balls, please!”
The club claimed it was a “glitch” it
knew nothing about. Julia believes
managers were fully aware and fobbed
her off in a patronising manner. PLTC
did admit they had made “some minor
recent amendments to our
membership wording to align with
NHS guidelines”.
Why on earth would a tennis club
want to incorporate NHS guidelines
which have given us Annex B? That
dubious policy allows hospital patients
to be placed on single-sex wards
a willing prisoner of No 10 but is now
making a bid for independence.
He’s going through an economic
version of The Shawshank Redemption:
burrowing his way out of Boris’s
big-state conservatism one tax-cutting
spoonful at a time.
Sunak got the job when Sajid Javid
walked out in protest at No 10’s control-
freakery. Traditionally, the Chancellor
– and the Treasury – have called all of
the economic shots. But this no longer
suited Johnson or, more accurately,
Dominic Cummings. He wanted to
merge No 10 with the Treasury and the
Cabinet Office, creating a power
triangle which he would run. To Javid,
this was too much. When he was told
his freedom was so constrained that he
would not be able to choose his own
advisers, he walked.
Javid had become known as
Chancellor In Name Only (or “Chino”)
and the joke was that Sunak, his
39-year-old underling, would be
known as “Babychino”. To his credit
Sunak didn’t even pretend to be in
charge, instead casting himself as a
William of Wykeham-style chancellor,
picking up the tab for whatever folly
the king wished to embark upon. “I
should take his credit card away,” he
once joked. He’d talk about funding
“the Prime Minister’s agenda”. Like
most of the Cabinet he regarded HS2 as
a white elephant and net zero as an
uncosted nightmare.
All served at the pleasure of King
Boris because he was running a court
rather than a government and could
do so because he had personally saved
the Tories from electoral annihilation.
Without him, would the party have
won all of those seats in the North?
With personal victory came personal
power. Crazy, expensive projects were
pushed through on the nod. More
than £300 million was spent buying
according to the gender with which
they identify. Baroness Nicholson
recently told the Lords that after one
poor woman was raped by a patient,
who identified as female, nurses
solemnly informed police that the
woman could not have been raped
because “there was no male there”.
George Orwell anticipated that
sinister dissociation in 1984: “The Party
told you to reject the evidence of your
eyes and ears. It was their final, most
essential command.”
Ideological idiocy from the Socialist
Republic of the NHS comes as no
surprise, but why are once sedate,
conservative-with-a-small-c
organisations like Putney Lawn Tennis
Club colluding with this modish
erasure of women? Is it because HR
tick-boxers, councils and the like are
only satisfied if you sign up to the new,
approved language of diversity? I think
we should be told.
Until now, upon hearing such stories,
I suspect women will have confined
themselves to a major eye-roll. Sorry,
ladies; it looks like we are going to have
to, ahem, man the barricades before
ladies find themselves in the remainder
bin with the mismatched pop socks.
The righteous Left appear to be
arguing that, to be “fair” towards
considerably less than 1 per cent of the
OneWeb, a collapsed satellite
communications project that caught
Cummings’s eye. The state-directed
science research budget was upped
to £20 billion, another Cummings
pet project.
Sunak argued, all along, that
inflation might arrive and trigger a
debt crisis – but he was dismissed. The
Tories had doubled the national debt to
£2 trillion without any trouble and had
been lured into a false sense of
security. When Johnson wanted
£12 billion a year to subsidise care
home costs for wealthier pensioners,
Sunak went along with it on one
condition: that it would be financed by
a National Insurance rise. He saw this
as a small triumph: having No 10 accept
that extra spending had to be paid for.
Two events since have
strengthened Sunak’s hand: partygate
and inflation. The revelations about
the lockdown festivities in No 10
deeply damaged Johnson’s popularity
and, with it, his hold over the party. A
good chunk of his MPs still want him
gone, so he treads carefully: there are
no more diktats from No 10. The sheer
violence of the inflation – forcing debt
interest payments up by almost
£100 billion over the next few years –
means cheap borrowing is no longer
an option. Sunak is now free to impose
his new rule: spending restraint
before tax cuts.
Sunak is so keen to keep the
National Insurance rise because he
sees it, paradoxically, as a tool that will
eventually lower taxes. He sees in the
“health and social care levy” a new
deal: that from now on, any NHS
spending increase can only be funded
by upping the levy. So from now on,
any Tory who wants more health
spending should also accept that it
means tax rises. He sees this as
repairing the basic sobering up of a
population, the 52 per cent of the
population who are biologically female
must be described as “no longer valid”.
No trans woman I know would agree
with that.
This week in Afghanistan, girls were
distraught to discover that they would
not be allowed to return to school. The
Taliban have no difficulty identifying a
“female” in order to declare her invalid.
Nice company you’re keeping, Putney
Lawn Tennis Club.
Those poor Cambridges. What
 with Ukraine and the cost-of-
living apocalypse, the timing of their
tour of Belize, Jamaica and the
Bahamas could have been better. Even
Kate’s 300-watt incandescent smile
dimmed to a 5-watt energy-saving LED
when Jamaican prime minister
Andrew Holness basically told the
Royal couple in front of the cameras
that the monarch would no longer be
required as head of state. How
incredibly rude of him. Don’t extend
the invitation if you intend to force-
feed your guests humble pie.
Imagine the Duke and Duchess
getting back to their hotel suite and
hitting the mini-bar:
Kate: “HONESTLY! I even wore a
dress the colour of their flag. I HATE
yellow!”
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
Tory party that became punch-drunk
on deficit finance. Yes, tax rises hurt.
follow Fraser
Nelson on Twitter
So maybe they should think about that
when they demand more spending: on
@FraserNelson defence, welfare, anything.
reaD more at
telegraph.co.uk/
He has accepted this will mean
unpopularity: that the Dishy Rishi who
opinion was so generous with furlough
payments will now have to become the
abominable no-man. Defence
spending? No: it went up quite
recently. More welfare spending? No:
maybe those record 1.3 million
vacancies can help. Public sector
wages rising with inflation? No: it’s
time to hold firm. Want to spend more?
Then think of cuts first: perhaps some
of those more fanciful infrastructure
projects. Help with the cost of living?
Yes: via income tax cuts. In 2024. If
spending doesn’t go up.
This, perhaps, is the clincher. The
2024 ruse is intended as a Boris trap, to
discourage the Prime Minister from his
instinctive splurging. If more is spent,
the tax cut vanishes. Sunak is trying to
change the psychological wiring of his
party and hopes to programme in a
Pavlovian response: restraint on
spending means tax cuts. If they want
to spend more (especially the new PM)
then they’ll have to eat up the tax rises.
This is why the Sunak budget looks
so schizophrenic: it’s half Johnson and
The Sunak half Sunak. Half profligate, half
budget is a parsimonious. Half hangover from
days of the pre-partygate splurge, half
collision panicked preparation for whatever
of two inflation brings. It’s a collision of two
competing principles of government
competing – and, as such, a bit of a mess.
principles of But it does also mark a turning
government point, where Sunak has been able to
assert himself as Chancellor and the
– and, as Prime Minister has been prepared to
such, a bit yield. If the Tories are to deliver the
lower-tax country they promised, it’s
of a mess hard to see any other way.
William: “Don’t stress, babe, they’ll
be cool with us in the Bahamas. Granny
follow Allison owns half of it. G&T?”
Pearson on Twitter Kate: “Please. Make it a triple. Can’t
@AllisonPearson believe we went scuba diving with
reaD more at sharks for a photo op.”
telegraph.co.uk/ William: “At least the sharks were
opinion friendlier than that ghastly MP you sat
next to.”
Kate: “I thought this was supposed to
be a charm offensive. Well, we’re
charming and they’re offensive. And
the humidity, darling! I’m using
hair-straighteners on the hour every
hour just to control the frizz.”
William: “It’ll be over soon, babe.
Only another 27 changes of clothes.
Somehow, I don’t think we’ll be back.”
The Cambridges have done the Queen
proud in her Platinum Jubilee year. No
one could have done a better job. It’s
just that times move on. Old colonial
masters give way to new. In the past 25
years, the UK has provided £66 million
in debt relief to Jamaica. Since 2005,
China has spent $2.7 billion in Jamaica
and $450 million in the Bahamas.
It’s pretty clear Jamaica is preparing
to sever its final official ties with the UK.
We should wish her well. Only, if I were
them, I’d worry that Xi Jinping will be a
lot less gracious than our royals. Scuba
diving with sharks is not for the
faint-hearted.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
established 1855
What does the Tory
Party stand for?
R
ishi Sunak’s Spring Statement has not
benefited from closer examination. Many
have pointed out that the Chancellor’s
attempt to pose as a tax-cutter lacks credibility
given that the tax burden is forecast to rise to
near-record highs over this Parliament. Even
leaving aside the ill-judged rise in National
Insurance contributions, the promise of a 1p cut to
the basic rate of income tax in 2024 will hardly
help when the Treasury is freezing income tax
thresholds now.
Yet the incoherence extends well beyond tax. Mr
Sunak made a great play of his view that there are
limits to what the state can do, and is planning to
counteract only a small proportion of the cost of
living tsunami crashing into household finances.
Rhetorically, he speaks like a Thatcherite.
However, the Government’s actions will result in
the size of the state increasing considerably,
notably through a large injection of funds into the
NHS and the assumption of extra responsibilities
for social care. There has been little attempt to
unwind the cultural shift towards dependency that
was accelerated by the pandemic, and which
appears to have become particularly embedded in
the public sector. Ministers still talk as if they want
to throw an arm around the public, to protect them
from the hard realities of the world.
The question many voters will be asking is: what
do the Conservatives actually stand for? Are they
still the party of individual ambition, of personal
responsibility, and of a smaller, more effective
state? Or are they now something else: a more
social democratic party that has embraced soft-Left
economics and “social justice”? Mr Sunak’s Spring
Statement was an opportunity for the Government
to answer this question, to start laying the
intellectual groundwork for the next election.
Instead, it left behind only confusion.
In the autumn, the Chancellor must elaborate on
his plans to increase the country’s economic
growth rate, to support households whose
disposable incomes are collapsing and to make the
national debt more sustainable. Mr Sunak said little
this week about how that might be achieved:
Conservatives have long understood that the best
route to increased prosperity is to empower
companies to grow, and individuals to earn more,
via tax cuts and deregulation. That deficiency must
be rectified urgently, or the intellectual chaos into
which the Tories have descended will cost the
country dear.
Nato must stand firm
O
ne of the more positive developments to
arise from Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion
of Ukraine is the reinvigoration of Nato.
After the end of the Cold War, it was widely seen to
be an alliance lacking a purpose, although it did
come to the aid of the US following the 9/11 attacks.
The threat posed by Russia was deemed to have
faded, and recent Nato summits were preoccupied
with arguments over the failure of certain
members to spend enough on defence.
No longer. Yesterday’s emergency summit in
Brussels resulted in a robust statement
condemning the Kremlin and warning China not to
help the Russians. Nato members have provided
arms to Kyiv that have served to deny Putin an easy
victory. The alliance’s eastern flank has been
reinforced with extra troops.
Nevertheless, this crisis has exposed Nato’s
weaknesses, as well as its strengths. The US is
clearly less committed to the defence of Europe
than it once was, while members can no longer
rely on the US president to be capable of leading
the free world. Shows of unity mask wide
differences in attitudes even to financial sanctions,
while there is scepticism that Germany will end its
self-indulgent complacency on military spending.
Ukraine is not a member, so it is reasonable that
Nato has not intervened directly in the conflict,
especially given Russia’s threats of nuclear
retaliation. However, the central question remains
whether, if Putin did expand his war and attack a
Nato country, the rest of the alliance would
respond as one. This doctrine is a crucial pillar of
the West’s defence. We can only hope that our
leaders have done enough to convince our enemies
that it still stands.
Suburban shark’s tale
O
xford may be known as the city of dreaming
spires, but it’s no thanks to Bill Heine. The
late Mr Heine was responsible for the
Headington shark, a lifesize fibreglass sculpture
embedded in the roof of a suburban terrace. It was
just around the corner from another of Mr Heine’s
projects, a cinema called Not The Moulin Rouge,
easy to spot from the giant can-can dancer’s legs
he’d had sculpted onto the roof. Councillors have
decided that the shark deserves special heritage
status, a decision lamented by Mr Heine’s son, Dr
Magnus Hanson-Heine. He observed that this is
“exactly the opposite of the point” of the sculpture,
originally erected in protest at council planning
policies. This is one of the problems of an
increasingly permissive age: it is getting ever
harder to be a rebel.
With his Spring Statement, the Chancellor torpedoed his credentials as a true Conservative
sir – With his Spring Statement
(report, March 24), Rishi Sunak has
demonstrated that he is not a
Conservative.
He can wave goodbye to becoming
Prime Minister.
Sandy Pratt
Storrington, West Sussex
sir – I am puzzled that the Office for
Budget Responsibility says we will face
the largest drop in living standards
since 1956.
At one point during the late 1960s
and 1970s inflation reached 27 per cent
and interest rates were 15 per cent,
while wages were far from “keeping
up”. I had only recently started work,
so remember it well.
Roderick Connor
Reading, Berkshire
sir – If those in need of government
assistance are “the hard-working
families”, I wonder what we should call
those who pay all the tax to cover it.
Toby Gunter
Andover, Hampshire
We accept letters
by post, fax and The stare police
email only. Please
include name, sir – On the Tube on Tuesday I saw
address, work and one of Sadiq Khan’s “anti-staring”
home telephone posters, warning that “intrusive
numbers. staring of a sexual nature is sexual
harassment and is not tolerated”.
111 Buckingham It’s not explained on this poster how
Palace Road, individuals’ intentions may be
London ascertained by passing strangers, nor
SW1W 0DT is the word “staring” defined. But it
does, worryingly, direct passengers to
fax snitch on one another whenever they
020 7931 2878 “see or experience it on public
transport” and to “text what, where
email and when” to a given number.
dtletters@ This is surely a mistake. How can
telegraph.co.uk “stares” be categorised as “intrusive”
when they might be admiring, curious,
follow distracted or innocent? Who is Mr
Telegraph Letters Khan to tell us what’s in our heads,
on Twitter who we can look at, and for how long?
@LettersDesk These posters are simply another of
his woke, knee-jerk ideas.
Veronica Timperley
London W1
Rustat uncancelled
sir – The leaders of Jesus College,
Cambridge, have stated that they are
“shocked” by the Consistory Court’s
refusal to permit them to remove the
Tobias Rustat memorial from the
chapel (report, March 24), and have
declared: “We will now carefully
consider our next steps.”
Many of us alumni hope that those
steps do not involve wasting more of the
college’s historic resources – so many of
them deriving from the generosity of
Rustat himself – in pursuit of a lost cause
inspired by a spiteful cancel culture.
Francis Bown
London E3
Monolithic meal
sir – At boarding school in the 1950s, a
particularly disappointing dish was
produced at regular intervals (Letters,
March 24).
A large salver piled high with what
looked like lamb appeared for each
table of 12. When this was returned to
the kitchen it looked exactly the same
size as before, since only the modicum
of lamb attached to the bones had been
eaten. We called it Stonehenge.
Julia Tingle
East Chiltington, Sussex
sir – At boarding school many years
ago we looked forward to “Burial
Mound” for breakfast once a week.
It comprised leftovers from Sunday
lunch made into huge mound-shaped
omelettes and would be taken in
procession to the table. Delicious.
Margaret Clark
Salisbury, Wiltshire
Russian Orthodox Church has blood on its hands
Moscow’s Patriarch has
twisted the Christian faith
into the nationalist
ideology beloved of Putin
cyril hovorun
T
he formula of the war in
Ukraine is simple: war equals
guns, plus ideas. The guns are
provided by the Kremlin, but the ideas
do not stem from Kremlin-affiliated
think tanks. The Russian political
leadership has borrowed them from
the Russian Orthodox Church.
The leader of this church, Patriarch
Kirill, is far more than just a religious
leader. He is the architect of the
Russian worldview which has been
framing the conflict in Ukraine – my
home country – since it began in 2014.
Kirill has been no stranger to
controversy in his time as patriarch.
First, he was accused of profiting from
the privilege granted to the Church in
the mid-1990s to import cigarettes
duty-free, but it was never proven. In
2012, he was accused of wearing a
Swiss Breguet watch worth over
£20,000. According to material in the
Soviet Archives, he was once an active
officer of the KGB, though, if true, has
also engaged in their removal from
sir – After a pandemic and a war, what
else can people expect but a fall in
living standards? The reverse would be
a miracle.
Pauline Coleman
Painswick, Gloucestershire
sir – The Government funded
furlough for millions of workers, at
huge expense, for more than a year.
The national debt is vast and
inflation has rocketed, yet the
Chancellor’s attempts to help families
on low incomes have received no
support from the opposition parties (or
the BBC in its news coverage).
When will these groups understand
that managing the economy today
must involve some hardships in the
short term, in order to prevent
disastrous consequences in the future?
Mark Davies
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire
sir – Your photograph (March 24) of
Boris Johnson squeezing the
Chancellor’s arm after his Spring
Statement speech was described by
Refugee children wait for their flight to Britain at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland
Ukrainian refugees face absurd British red tape
sir – The Homes for Ukraine scheme
is an utter embarrassment to Britain.
We set up a local support network to
welcome refugees here and to
surrounding villages, but we can’t
find any under this scheme. The
matching information we gave is not
being used. Why?
For those who have matched up,
the main problem is that refugee
families need help to fill in the
lengthy visa form, supply biometrics,
passports, and so on. Often they fled
with just some nappies and a bag of
food and have no way of doing all
this. They have no money. How will
they travel 1,000 miles to our shores?
Even when all those hurdles are
overcome, we need to be vetted and
our homes inspected.
We are failing Ukrainians with our
absurd red tape and lack of ambition,
when other European nations like
Poland are stepping up. This is an
emergency. People need help now,
yet the Home Office is treating it like
a non-urgent situation, and 150,000
places for the needy are going
begging in a time of crisis.
Tom McKenzie
Stonegate, East Sussex
sir – The Government has not
provided a service to match up
Ukrainian refugees and British
sponsors. I suspect it hoped this
would slow down or limit the
number of applications. Fortunately
there are many people living in
Britain with connections to Ukraine
who have been able to help match
sponsors with refugees.
Our Government has
underestimated the generosity of
institutions he has headed. This
supposed connection is significant for
Ukrainians, who remember the
persecutions of the Soviet Union.
I have closely followed the
Patriarch’s work in Moscow and seen
how the Orthodox Church’s religious
ideology was designed. The original
intention was for it to be an
instrument for the re-evangelisation
of the Russian people after the
period of militant atheism under
Communist rule, filling the void of
meaning left by the collapse of the
ruling political creed.
However, this ideology has taken
on a life of its own. In time, the
Russian people have adopted a sort of
cultural Christianity, which does not
even require them to believe in God.
Such Christianity has been
manipulated by the Kremlin to create
narratives that incite Russians to
support the aggression as they look
to the church for a national identity
rather than faith.
Within the Russian Orthodox
Church itself, this has taken on a
more intense and dangerous form. A
majority within the church either
actively or passively support the war
in Ukraine, perceiving it as “sacred”
and a form of self-protection against
the imagined imposition of “Western
values”. Russian propaganda
presents these values as promoting
sexual minorities, destroying
families, and generally propagating
“immorality”. Such a perception
might be seen as little different from,
for example, that held by members of
*** 17
Letters to the Editor
some as “congratulatory”. I saw it more (the higher the rate, the bigger their
as: “Know your place.” apparent – but surely unreal – benefit)?
Gerry Doyle By that logic, what hope for Mr Sunak?
Liverpool John Kidd
Surfers Paradise, Queensland,
sir – For pensioners, the Spring Australia
Statement was abysmal. Increasing
food costs, rocketing fuel costs – and sir – Yesterday we heard the BBC’s
not a bean for them. After scrapping Mishal Husain interview the
the triple lock for this year, Mr Sunak Chancellor on his Spring Statement.
really ought to have come up with She pressed him quite hard on
something. cost-of-living pressures and social
The bribe of a 1p cut in income tax issues. The question she notably failed
just before the election will be of little to ask was: “What about defence?”
use to him when angry pensioners
recall how he has failed them.
John Roberts
This despite the preceding feature
being General Sir Richard Shirreff
saying Britain is woefully under-
Bradford, West Yorkshire equipped to deter Russian aggression.
Andy H Lyons
sir – Mr Sunak announced his surely Sherborne, Dorset
commendable intention to reduce by
one penny the standard rate of income sir – At 9.45am on Wednesday
tax. Yet you report (March 24) morning, at my local filling station,
warnings of miserable consequences petrol was 167.9p a litre. At 8am on
for pension savers, due to a reduction Thursday morning it was 164.9p a litre.
in contributions tax relief. What happened to the other 2p?
Should the Chancellor therefore Martin Parker
raise tax rates to benefit pension savers Baxenden, Lancashire
Chasing the DVLA
sir – I can go online and input a vehicle
registration and instantly see the MOT
and road-tax status of the vehicle.
Similarly I can go to the government
portal and see various details about my
tax and state pension status.
Why does a similar system not exist
to see the status of my driving licence
(Letters, March 24)?
Even if the DVLA has not fully
processed an application, surely a
portal could show that it had been
received and was in order, so that one
AP PHOTO/CZAREK SOKOLOWSKI
could drive legally under Section 88 of
the Road Traffic Act.
This would save applicants having to
make repeated attempts to contact the
DVLA by phone, and reduce its
workload.
Robert Taylor
Nottingham
sir – I telephoned HMRC this week to
query a tax bill. It took 45 minutes to
get through. After a few minutes of
conversation with a lady, she said: “I
am really sorry but I have to let my dog
the public to offer space in their in”. I was flabbergasted. This total
homes and their willingness to fill in incompetence needs to stop.
complicated application forms. It Sarah Trethowan
must now put enough staff on the Par, Cornwall
visa process to enable refugees to
start coming here. Many have been
living in temporary shelters in Save the Children snub
Poland and other neighbouring
countries for weeks. They are sir – The decision by Save the Children
running out of money. to refuse a donation of $1 million
It is not good enough for the (£750,000) from the North Sea gas
Government to come out with company Neptune Energy (report,
generous sound bites. It must March 23) is staggeringly self-
now deliver. indulgent and morally questionable,
John Lane since it betrays the interests of all those
Coulsdon, Surrey needy children whom the charity will
now be unable to help as a result of
sir – President Biden does not turning down this substantial sum.
represent Nato as a whole and his
refusal to facilitate Polish jets going
Neptune’s business is in no way
ethically dubious. Indeed, North Sea
to Ukraine should not prevent gas is recognised as a relatively clean
other countries from coming to energy resource that even
Ukraine’s aid in its hour of environmental zealots concede will be
desperate need. needed for many years to facilitate the
Britain already provides anti-tank transition to net zero.
weapons, which have proved
The Save the Children decision
successful in the ground war but do amounts to no more than vacuous
not prevent Russian artillery and air virtue-signalling.
power from laying waste towns and I for one will never donate to the
cities, targeting civilian populations, charity again, since if it can airily turn
and committing war crimes. Ukraine down such a large donation it
desperately needs fighter jets to obviously does not need my money.
defend its population, and Britain, as Nigel Henson
the mother of parliaments, should Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
set an example by being the first
country to step up and encourage
others to follow suit. Trans athletes
Vladimir Putin must be stopped
from slaughtering Ukraine’s men, sir – Why does it seem to be only trans
women and children. The free women who compete in sport
world must act now to prevent (“Governor refuses to recognise trans
another Aleppo. swimmer’s title”, report, March 24)?
Michael Fabb Jim Alloway
Chobham, Surrey Steyning, West Sussex
Isil in the Middle East, who have also Church, as profoundly un-Orthodox,
justified killing by claiming to be un-Christian and against humanity.”
protecting what they hold dear from
Western assault.
One of the premises for such
condemnation is the charge that the
Of particular interest to Vladimir Russian Orthodox Church is guilty of
Putin has been the role of the church
in attempting to create and
“phyletism”, which can be translated
as “tribalism”. This was rejected as a
strengthen a brand of Russian heretical doctrine by a council of the
nationalism that can command the Orthodox Church in 1872, a decision
loyalty of adherents from beyond the which effectively declared that both
borders of today’s Russian the structure and the idea of the
Federation. The president’s church must be kept separate from
understanding of “Greater Russia” the sort of extreme nationalism we are
– which, to his mind, includes seeing in Russia.
Ukraine – is built not just on history The clash, therefore, is not
and ethnicity but on a shared church, between Russian “traditional values”
too, no matter how warped the tenets and Western “godlessness”, as
of its original faith have become. claimed by Patriarch Kirill – but
The reality is that the ideology between brutality and civilisation. It
invoked by Patriarch Kirill and his is a clash between totalitarian
confederates is really a distortion of autocracy and democracy.
Orthodox Christianity, despite its Ukraine is at the forefront of this
claims to protect it, and should be clash. What the Ukrainians stand and
condemned as heretical. spill their blood for are Western values.
This in particular is the point of A These values, which include solidarity,
Declaration on the “Russian World” justice and accountability, are not only
(Russkii mir) Teaching recently political, but also spiritual. They are all
signed by many Orthodox scholars, a genuine part of the Christian
as well as theologians from other tradition, which both President Putin
Christian traditions. In this and Patriarch Kirill claim to protect,
but in effect damage and destroy.
document, theologians explicitly
condemned the ideology of the
church hierarchy as inconsistent Dr Cyril Hovorun is a professor of
with the broader Eastern Christian ecclesiology at Sankt Ignatios College,
Orthodox tradition: “We reject the Sweden
‘Russian world’ heresy and the
shameful actions of the Government
of Russia in unleashing war against
Ukraine which flows from this vile follow Cyril Hovorun on Twitter
and indefensible teaching with the @cyril_hovorun; read more at
connivance of the Russian Orthodox telegraph.co.uk/opinion
18 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

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Inside
Charlotte LYTTON p.20

Judith WOODS p.21

Eleanor STEAFEL p.22

& Arts
and
Robbie COLLIN p.23

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive for a dinner hosted by Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica, at King’s House, Kingston
TOBY MELVILLE/PA; HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Can anyone save the Commonwealth?

Awkward moments during the Cambridges’ tour of the Caribbean show how attitudes may be shifting, says Harry Mount

T
he optics of the royal tour of the between the Commonwealth of Nations Australia held a referendum on “It is a great pity about the Caribbean
Caribbean have not been great. – 54 member states, mostly former whether to become a republic – tour,” Vickers adds. “Usually when the
Though they were bursting with British Empire colonies, known as the monarchists won by 55 per cent to 45 young royals go on these tours – in
goodwill, the Duke and Duchess of Commonwealth – and the per cent, although the debate is still places like Australia – it is a great
Cambridge looked more than a little Commonwealth realms. Membership of bubbling away today. In Canada, in success. I am sorry if this isn’t.”
awkward as they “shook their waists the Commonwealth, originally created 2012, the Liberal Party (now in power Should Jamaica and its fellow realms
like nobody’s business” and played the as the British Commonwealth of under Justin Trudeau) debated a reconsider the urge to cut those
drums in Belize and Jamaica. Nations in 1926 and formalised in 1931, motion over becoming a republic, long-held familial ties, it could be a wise
The royals’ visit has coincided with a is voluntary. The Queen is the head of which was rejected by 67 per cent to 33 move. The Commonwealth still remains
swelling wave of republicanism in the the Commonwealth and, in 2018, the per cent. Then again, just nine years a valuable source of “soft power” for its
Caribbean. First, farmers in Belize, Commonwealth Heads of Government later, a 2021 survey showed just 22 per members. For one thing, it includes
protesting about land rights, stopped Meeting appointed Prince Charles as cent of Canadians want Prince Charles almost a third of the world’s population,
the couple’s first appointment. Then, her eventual successor. as their head of state. about 2.6 billion people.
when the Cambridges got to Jamaica, Within this group, there is a further Before Barbados cut the cord with Membership is sometimes
Prime Minister Andrew Holness made it demarcation. Fifteen member states the Queen last November, it was a full complicated due to other political
plain that the country’s true ambitions still consider the Queen their head of 30 years since the last country removed concerns. When Robert Mugabe was
are “as an independent, developed, state – including the United Kingdom her as head of state: Mauritius, in 1992. president, Zimbabwe left the
prosperous country”. and Jamaica. These are known as the Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Commonwealth in 2003, only to
Prince William did his best to fend off Commonwealth realms. The remaining Dominica became republics in the reapply in 2018 after he was ousted in a
anti-colonialist attacks in his Jamaica Commonwealth members don’t have 1970s, while Fiji went solo in 1987. coup (a decision hasn’t yet been
speech, expressing his “profound the Queen as head of state: 34 are In stark contrast are those realms reached). South Africa pulled out in
sorrow” for slavery which “should republics, and the last five have where the monarchy remains 1961, amid criticism of apartheid from
never have happened”. different monarchs. Adding to the extremely popular. Papua New Guinea, the other member states, and then
But was it too little too late? Is the potential for confusion, not all for example, despite being 9,000 miles rejoined in 1994. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s
monarchy rapidly becoming an for the Queen, and some deference The Queen in the British Virgin Islands in Commonwealth member states are away from the UK, is one of the least membership was suspended in 1999
anachronism in the Caribbean and towards Charles. Yet some have gone as 1977, above; a protester in Jamaica urges former British colonies either. Rwanda likely to become a republic. The Queen after a coup; it was allowed back four
elsewhere in the Commonwealth? And far as to suggest that ‘Megxit’ – and the the royals to apologise for slavery became a member in 2009, is essentially an elected monarch there: and a half years later. And the Maldives
will the Commonwealth itself soon be a Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s claims Mozambique in 1995; both were after the country gained independence left in 2016, over its human rights
thing of the past – not just when the about racism in the Royal family – have Canada or Australia since August 1962, formerly governed by Belgium. from Australia in 1975, it appointed the record, but was readmitted in 2020.
Queen sadly goes, but even before that, affected Jamaica’s attitudes. when it became a free, autonomous Perhaps inevitably, Commonwealth Queen head of state. Perhaps all that the current royal tour
as more countries follow Barbados and Certainly, the behaviour of Lisa democracy. It could have opted for a realms are more closely linked to the Moreover, as Hugo Vickers, shows is that we are at one of those
remove her as head of state? Hanna, a former Miss World, now a presidential system back then, but it UK than those other countries. The biographer of Queen Mary, the Duchess periodic lows in the cycle of the
“I definitely think that the politician with the People’s National was the Jamaicans themselves – not the Privy Council still hears judicial of Windsor and the Queen Mother, Commonwealth’s popularity. That the
Commonwealth is in decline,” says royal Party, who wants the country to British government, let alone the Queen appeals from these seven: Antigua and notes: “Some countries are keen to join future Charles III was chosen as its next
biographer Anna Pasternak, author of “become free from the monarchy”, – who specifically chose to retain her as Barbuda; the Bahamas; Saint Vincent the Commonwealth – but it head shows that a royal chief remains a
Untitled: The Real Wallis Simpson, was the cause of an especially awkward head of state, not least as a bulwark and the Grenadines; Grenada; needs some oomph put into it.” popular idea, given there is no rule that
Duchess of Windsor. “When you reflect moment, when she appeared to turn against overmighty politicians.” Jamaica; Saint Lucia; and He expects a “bounce” this the head of the Commonwealth has to
on the tours the Queen and Prince her back on the Duchess during a The Queen’s view, Hardman summer, when the be the monarch.
Philip undertook so dutifully, the whole formal welcome ceremony at Kingston suggests, will be “that if it is the settled Commonwealth Games are It is possible to maintain that
world has since changed.” Airport on Tuesday. Yesterday, she will of the people to ditch the Crown, held in Birmingham. umbilical link between the monarchy
She adds: “Once the Queen is gone, I made clear that she did not snub the then that is their choice. But some of However, he expresses and the Commonwealth. But few would
suspect the Commonwealth will be Duchess, but added: “The evils of this week’s angry social media a certain frustration argue against a need for the monarch
finished. This Caribbean tour seemed slavery cannot be forgotten. Nor can the depictions of the Royal family as an with recent attempts and their advisers to establish a modern
patronising and outdated. Kate and wealth gained from it by a few.” imperial throwback clinging to power to keep the ship and delicate balancing act – to maintain
William dancing and drum-beating was But the future needn’t be bleak for are nonsense. Jamaica could have steady. the Commonwealth as a club of equals,
excruciating. I don’t think that the the monarchy and Commonwealth if changed its constitution anytime – like Tuvalu. Giving “The Queen rather than giving the impression of a
Cambridges can turn it around, because the Royal family play their cards deftly. Trinidad did in 1976 – but chose not to. up the Queen as called the top-down set of former colonies.
a thirtysomething apologising for “I think what this tour has shown is “Writing my new book, I found head of state Commonwealth ‘a
slavery just doesn’t land well. widespread misunderstandings about references to a Jamaican referendum on wouldn’t family of nations’, Harry Mount is author of ‘How
“Charles had a better time in the role of the Commonwealth, and the this as far back as 1975, but there was necessarily end and the holding England Made the English: From Why
Barbados because the older generation role of the monarchy,” says royal simply no great public appetite. And it that jurisdiction. together of it has been We Drive on the Left to Why We Don’t
have more gravitas and he displayed a biographer Robert Hardman, author of will make no difference to Jamaica’s But, even if one of her great Talk to Our Neighbours’ (Penguin, £9.99).
certain humility, whereas Kate and a new book, Queen of Our Times: The future membership of the Jamaica does remove achievements,” he says. Buy now at books.telegraph.co.uk or
William came across as too try-hard, Life of Elizabeth II. “We hear Jamaican Commonwealth, which is a voluntary the Queen as head of “Funnily enough, the call 0844 871 1514
like awkward guests at a party.” politicians and commentators talk club. India, for example, is a member, state, should we assume the Sussexes, had they not had their
Jamaica may well be the next country about the need for Jamaica to be ‘fully and the Crown has zero influence over 14 other realms would do the own agenda, could have done a Now turn over to discover the
to remove the Queen as head of state. independent’ – yet it already is. It has India.” Part of the issue is that few same? It’s by no means a superb job with this. But it was history of the jewels worn by Kate
Yet Jamaicans still have a lot of affection been as independent as the UK or understand the clear distinction foregone conclusion. In 1999, not enough for them. on this Caribbean tour
20 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

Features & Arts

Angel has been

given a life
sentence… her
attacker hasn’t amount. Last year, the police recorded
1.5 million domestic abuse-related
incidents in England and Wales –
almost 20 per cent of all offences
recorded by police. Given that fewer
than a fifth of women are said to report
their partner’s abuse, the actual
number of incidents is bound to be
significantly higher. Lockdown
darkened the landscape for many
The mother of a kidnap victim who suffered behind closed doors: calls to the
National Domestic Abuse helpline

catastrophic injuries tells Charlotte Lytton were up 60 per cent on the previous
year, with nearly a quarter from
women experiencing physical
of her daily struggles – and fight for justice violence. Almost a fifth said their
abuser had threatened to kill them.

A
picture of Angel Lynn has been Bowskill’s original sentence –
circulating in recent months, of factoring in early release, and his time
the then-19 year old smiling, a spent on remand – could have seen
striking beauty with her blonde hair him walk free in June 2024, having
against a multicoloured wall. Since served just three years. Leniency after
September 2020, the Lynn family have such a horrific crime provided a
been living an alternative reality, left turning point for the Lynns who,
with a very different Angel, who can emboldened by the public outcry,
LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE/SWNS

no longer eat, speak or walk. pushed on with their appeal.

After being kidnapped by her
boyfriend, bundled into his transit van
and falling from the back of it as it
drove down the A6 at 60mph, Angel,
now 21, sustained injuries so
catastrophic, she will require full-time
medical care for the rest of her life.
Many had been appalled by CCTV
footage showing Angel walking away
from an argument with Chay Bowskill,
her then boyfriend, before he is seen
snatching her from the side of the road
and running to a parked van on the
other side of the street, driven by his
accomplice, Rocco Sansome. After
they sped off, and Angel fell, she was
discovered by members of the public
on the A6, before paramedics arrived.
The prosecution claimed that Angel
had been pushed or thrown from the
van, though failed to prove this.
On Wednesday, 20-year-old
Bowskill’s sentence was almost
doubled at the Court of Appeal – a
decision that has left Angel’s mother
Nikki “over the moon”.
“When the judges went out, I didn’t
think that it was going to come back in
our favour,” she says of the verdict,
speaking to us from the car on her way
home from court. The original
sentence was seven and a half years in
a young offenders’ institution, due to
Bowskill’s age, and has now been
increased to 12. But nonetheless,
Bowskill has got off lightly: “Angel’s
got a life sentence now. But he hasn’t.”
Devastated doesn’t even begin to
describe how the family feels.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Nikki
shares how the family is still coming to
terms with how much Angel, who now
lives in a specialist rehab facility, has
changed. “It’s been really tough for
everybody,” Nikki says, especially the
youngest of her six children, nine-
year-old Jimmy, who has special needs.
A year and a half since his elder
sister moved into a specialist rehab
facility, “it’s taken all this time to
accept Angel as she is now”. When they
used to visit, “he’d say, ‘take her back,
take her back’, because he’s not used to
seeing her like that, so I think that
frightened him. He didn’t understand
why she’d changed.”
His sister Kelsie, 10, has also struggled
to adapt to Angel’s altered state, and has
Beautiful: Angel Lynn, who was abducted
(right). Left, her parents Patrick and Nikki
had counselling. “It affects the whole
family. Nieces and nephews are
suffering as well,” Nikki, 47, says.
Wednesday’s High Court victory has
at least brought an end to the Lynn
family’s legal battles. But they are still
fighting on another front: to bring
Angel home.
In the last few weeks, Angel has
been able to move a thumb or hand,
but she requires extensive round-the-
clock treatment and equipment, which
necessitates building an extension to
the Lynns’ house in Loughborough, as
well as staff on-hand to look after her.
They have set up a GoFundMe page
with a £250,000 target, but have been
told “that won’t even touch the sides of
what Angel’s going to need”, which
includes a walk-in wet room, an extra
bedroom for carers to sleep overnight,
a specialist chair and hoists, suction
machines, “constant physio… the list
goes on,” Nikki says. They have “no
idea” what the final sum might be.
They are determined to do it,
though, not least because Angel can
understand what they say and now
squeezes her family’s hands in
response to questions. “When we
asked her if she wanted to come home,
I can’t tell you how hard she squeezed.”
It’s unthinkable, what has become of
Angel’s life. “Before this happened,
Angel was lovely; so outgoing, lots of
friends, really bubbly, and just really
kind and caring,” her mother says. “She
did care about everybody.” When
Angel met Bowskill two years ago, she
was studying public services at college
– she was particularly interested in
forensics. “Then it all changed,” her
mother says. College fell by the
wayside, as what they now know was
Bowskill’s coercive control began.
The Lynns had been warned about
Bowskill. “We didn’t like him from the
start,” says Nikki, though at the time
she resolved to give him the benefit of
the doubt. Then, a few months after
the relationship began, lockdown hit
– “so we didn’t really see him.”
Angel typically stayed at Bowskill’s
mother’s house. In court, Nikki heard
that Angel’s friends had seen the
bruises Bowskill had inflicted, the
kidnap was “the culmination of a
pattern of abuse” she suffered at his
hands, Dame Victoria Sharp, president
of the Queen’s Bench Division, said on
Wednesday.
Along with kidnap and coercive and
controlling behaviour, Bowskill was
charged with perverting the course of
justice, after pressuring his mother to
withdraw a police statement detailing
how he treated Angel.
The Bowskill case coincides with a
worrying rise in similar crimes. While
domestic abuse-related crimes
increased last year by 6 per cent, the
CPS charging rate fell by the same
So for the family this latest ruling
gives them some satisfaction. There
were whoops of sheer relief from the
Lynns in court on Wednesday, with
Bowskill’s original sentence ruled as
“unduly lenient”, and one which
“failed to reflect the seriousness” of
what Angel has endured.
“No sentence can repair the damage
caused by the cowardly actions of
Bowskill,” said solicitor general Alex
Chalk QC, who referred the case for
appeal. “But I welcome the decision of
the court to increase the punishment
for his crimes.”
Nikki hopes Angel’s case will at least
prove a cautionary tale for other
parents; she “will be watching
everybody [10-year-old Kelsie] meets”
to ensure history never repeats itself.
“If you see any signs of any control,
just get away,” she urges those with a
coercive partner. “The sooner you get
some help, you can get out of it.”
She is desperate for parents and
relatives to speak out, too. “Don’t just
sit back, do something about it,” she
pleads. “Just stand up and say
something, because otherwise you
could end up where Angel is.”
gofundme.com/f/support-angel-lynns-
recovery

Why Kate has the Queen’s most

important hand-me-down bling
The Duchess’s jewels are
symbols of her senior role
representing Her Majesty,
says Tamara Abraham

I
f there is one thing that the royals
do well, it is jewellery. It’s no
wonder, with their vaults of
treasures, either inherited, received
as tokens of affection or as
diplomatic gifts.
ANWAR HUSSEIN/GETTY/REUTERS

But these family heirlooms are

about so much more than dazzling
fellow guests at a formal event.
Jewellery has long been used to
telegraph status and achievement – as
it did this week when the Duchess of
Cambridge attended a black-tie dinner
hosted by Patrick Allen, Governor
General of Jamaica, in Kingston on
their tour of the Caribbean to mark the
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Everything Kate was wearing that
evening with her bespoke version of
Jenny Packham’s glitter tulle
“Wonder” gown served as a
semaphore for her role as the Queen’s
representative on this tour.
Her diamond and emerald earrings
and bracelet were on loan from Her
Majesty, and that in itself is interesting
as Kate is the only other member of the
Royal family other than the Queen to
wear them. They form part of the
Emerald Tassel Parure Collection,
which also includes a necklace and at
least one ring.
Kate wearing them isn’t
necessarily an indication of
favouritism or even
fondness, explains writer
and historian Lauren
Kiehna, of The Court
Jeweller blog. “Loans like
this one shouldn’t be seen
in terms of grandmotherly
sentiment, but instead as a
sign of institutional trust,”
she says. “The Queen trusts
the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge to represent the
Monarchy abroad, and
jewellery loans like this one are
part of that trust, given to help Kate
wear the appropriate ‘uniform’ for the
occasion. The Queen has also lent
important jewels to other royals
representing her on tours and visits,
including the Countess of Wessex.”
The provenance of this particular
set is unknown, although several royal
jewellery experts believe that it was a
gift to the Queen from the United Arab
20 04
Bling cycle: Emerald Tassel earrings worn
by the Queen and Duchess of Cambridge
Kate wearing them
isn’t necessarily an
indication of favouritism
or even fondness
Emirates, because she was first seen in
it a 1989 dinner during Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s visit to the
United Kingdom, and she typically
wears jewellery gifted to her by a
country when they return. Its
contemporary design is also
considered typical of
jewellery commissioned by
Middle Eastern royalty.
The Queen went on to
wear pieces from the
Emerald Tassel set on four
further occasions, most
recently in 2012 at the Order
of the Thistle Service in
Edinburgh. She was also
pictured in it a year earlier
at a dinner for then-US
President Barack Obama
and his wife Michelle in London,
as well as for a royal gala in Cardiff
in 2004, and at a G7 banquet in 1991.
Kate’s badges form part of this
“diplomatic uniform”, too. The
medallion on yellow silk, left, pinned
to the left shoulder of her gown, is the
Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth
II and conveys her seniority within
The Firm. It features a miniature
portrait of the Queen in her youth
2022
surrounded by diamonds and topped
with a Tudor crown. It is only given to
female members of the Royal Family
and has also been worn by the Queen
Mother, Princess Margaret and Diana,
Princess of Wales.
The GCVO Star (Grand Cross
Victorian Order) pinned at Kate’s waist
recognises distinguished personal
service to the monarch of the
Commonwealth – a sensitive issue
throughout the Cambridges’ tour of
the Caribbean, given that Jamaica
intends to follow the lead of Barbados
in becoming a republic.
The Royal Victorian Order was
established by Queen Victoria in 1896,
and was awarded to Kate by the Queen
on her eighth wedding anniversary in
2019, along with the title Dame Grand
Cross. The Countess of Wessex and
Duchess of Cornwall have also
received the same honour.
As the wife of our future king, Kate
was always going to play an important
role within the Royal Family, but her
broad appeal has made her even more
pivotal. We only see visual
representation of this at formal white
tie or State occasions though, when
tradition dictates that guests wear such
honours.
Much attention is paid to Kate’s
style, but these jewels serve as a
reminder that she’s so much more than
a likeable figure with a designer
wardrobe and a vault’s worth of
diamonds to play dress-up.
She is also a woman dedicated to her
work as a representative of her Queen
and country.
She’s the future of the Monarchy.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 21

Judith Woods
Sunak the forecourt jester isn’t fooling anyone This is not the
day for leaving
your mother
alone... trust me
T
he puppy! Fetch that puppy,
pronto! If ever a Chancellor of
the Exchequer needed an
emergency photo-op with Little Nova,

C
his winsome red Labrador, it is now. an I please lobby on behalf of
For our man in No 11 wants to get a midlife mothers everywhere
car-crash photo that’s doing the now that “our day” is fast
rounds out of the public’s mind. approaching? We don’t want
I say car crash, but in case you were personalised socks with prosecco
fooled – as we were, for so, so long motifs. We won’t be deeply moved by a
– the snap of ever-so ’umble Sunak personalised wallet. Nobody on the
cheerily filling up a jaunty red Rio on a planet needs personalised wooden
garage forecourt was nothing more salad servers. We know who we are.
than a publicity stunt to promote his And the names of our children, too, so
Spring Statement, and the great news cancel the jingly-jangly initialled
about fuel duty being cut by 5p a litre. charm necklace, ta.
But it was fake-Kia news. Newbie mothers are exempt,
The car wasn’t his. It belonged to obviously. Somebody has to prop up
some bewildered Sainsbury’s worker, the £1.34 billion industry that is
hijacked for propaganda purposes in Mother’s Day here in the UK.
exchange for a top-up of his tank. To They are allowed to – required to –
be fair, none of us can afford to turn up wallow in gin-fizzy bath bombs, wear
our nose at such largesse in the current scarves embroidered with “to the
cost of living crisis. I’d have hauled out moon and back” mawkishness and
a couple of Jerry cans from the boot if show off bespoke earrings lovingly
they were going to be financed on the crafted from discreetly preserved
EDDIE MULHOLLAND FOR THE TELEGRAPH.

Treasury’s dollar. umbilical cord. Nice one, Dad!

In a social media age, image is With a pair of teenagers, I would far
sovereign and the mocking memes prefer my daughters to channel their
online are legion. I particularly like the sentiment, thought and generosity
one where Sunak asks the petrol towards those mothers on the planet
station worker, while paying for “his” who need it more. Need it desperately.
unleaded, if he also sells Fabergé eggs? My personal demands are modest.
Because this time, he ain’t fooling But they have changed with age, so if I
nobody. want to have a lovely Mothers’ Day, I
Here is an ivory-tower politician; need to orchestrate it.
a former hedge-funder married to “What would you like for Mother’s
heiress Akshata Murthy, daughter of Day?” enquires my 13-year-old,
the sixth richest man in India and All image: to promote his 5p fuel duty cut, Rishi Sunak was pictured filling up a family car… that belonged to a supermarket worker. Other photo-ops have since gone viral (below) rhetorically. “Can you guess?” I reply.
reportedly richer than the Queen. “I know, it’s the same as every year.
On his watch, almost nine million
will be worse off. He is ushering in the
This, at a time when about his favourite biscuit, as it will
probably be those $1,000-a-pop ruby
The stand-up Russell Kane riffs on it
beautifully online: “You can tell how
what happened yesterday to Sunak.
The question is how?
You want coffee and one of those little
Cappuccino chocolate bars from M&S
most vertiginous drop in disposable
incomes since records began almost 70
food bank users refuse chocolate Duchess cookies covered in
23-carat gold leaf that come with their
posh someone is by how they use
plurals. If you’re truly working class,
His leadership ambitions are an
open secret, and his team has long
that-seem-to-get-smaller-every-year,
and to be left alone all day until wine
years ago. Yet he insists on pretending potatoes because they own string of freshwater pearls and a you don’t use plurals at all. My dad been helpfully drip-feeding the media o’clock. If we come and bother you, you
to be one of the people. Does he think
we are stupid as well as poor? can’t afford to boil them Baccarat crystal throne.
Coming a day after the boss of
wouldn’t travel 80 miles to get
somewhere, he would travel ‘80 mile’.
curated photos and manicured videos.
But they couldn’t have done a more
will show us your Caesarian scar and
make us listen to our birth stories again.”
Of course, he is technically one of Iceland revealed that food bank users How much you got in your pocket? lamentable job if they’d been covert “Nope. I want the opposite. I want
the people – it’s just that Rishi’s people pass-agg defensiveness. Ouch. But that are “declining potatoes and root veg ‘Five pound’. It’s ‘three metre’. You Operation Save Big Dog entryists, everyone in the same room as me,
went to Winchester, Oxford and wasn’t even the worst of it. Oh no. because they can’t afford the energy to don’t need an ‘s’ – you gotta save it.” working to undermine the Chancellor which never happens any more. No
Stanford School of Business and Yesterday, the Chancellor was asked boil them”, it was tone-deaf. By contrast, the middle class go out at every turn. cards, no flowers, no phones, just
married into enough money to refloat on BBC Breakfast which food he And then, Sunak committed the of their way to fritter plurals The Labrador was good. Full marks daughterly niceness.”
the yachts in the Kremlin kleptocracy. noticed was rising in price in the broadcast equivalent of hara-kiri. By unnecessarily – which is pretty much for that. But this week’s forecourt She looks so horrified, I can’t help
Also, his other people – the useless supermarket as inflation is rocketing way of explanation, Sunak divulged press call was further ruined by him but laugh. All the same, I will
ones at the Treasury who are advising towards 9 per cent. that “we all have different breads in my appearing to not know how endeavour to enforce my new policy.
him so very badly – are obviously When the presenter said for her it house”. Yes, really. contactless payment works, when he Because it’s the one day that I have
struggling (and failing) to control both was crisps, he laughed, and replied: He could have saved his skin by pressed his card to the barcode carte blanche to lay down the law.
the optics and the soundbites. “It’s probably… I think bread, probably randomly mumbling “gluten scanner. And how about the one It’s true I used to long for peace and
As a result, Dishy Rishi is taking a is the thing. The one we buy I’m sure is intolerance” and “sesame allergy” to where a mask-less Sunak served the quiet. My husband would take them
turn for the tetchy, and I’m reminded now about £1.20 and it was about £1, ingratiate himself with the squeezed wrong table in a Wagamama to launch for a dog walk, to the park, or the
of the terrible moment at pick-up time from memory.” middle. Or pointed out that any decent his Eat Out to Help Out scheme? Or cinema, if I was lucky. I would revel in
when the mums realised the handsome Asked what kind of bread, he fried egg and ketchup sarnie the film of him at a school gauchely a precious day away from everyone I
school-gate dad we all fancied shouted replied: “It’s a Hovis kind of seeded absolutely has to be made with sliced telling school pupils he is a “total coke loved most (mothers understand this).
at his kids in the car. thing.” white, which would have gone down addict”, before clarifying he meant Now they are older and becoming
If patriotism is the last resort of the Dear God, no! The Twittersphere well everywhere. Coca-Cola – with all the comic timing fiercely self-sufficient, I love their
scoundrel, then testily saying to a went crazy. The “kind of seeded thing” Instead, he was hoist by his own of Theresa Maybot? noise and bustle. I want them to leave
Today programme presenter, “If I Mr Sunak alludes to is likely Hovis punctuational petard; that tell-tale Truthfully, here in Britain, the their bedrooms to bother me and to be
might just have an opportunity to try Seeded Sensations, a full loaf of which plural. A lot of families eat “several electorate are a forgiving lot. But the at the centre of the laughter and mess
to answer the question, that would be costs £1.75 at Tesco. kinds of bread”, but we call it “bread”. one thing we will not accept is a phony as they bake me a cake. Being left alone
marvellous”, is the very definition of Thank the Lord nobody asked him Because we are normal. trying to sell us a pup. is the very last thing I crave.

We can’t allow our children to be

sacrificed at the altar of excess
I
f our children weren’t suffering become susceptible to bullying and
enough from the pernicious have low self-esteem. So they seek
after-effects of lockdown, here comfort in food.
comes another hammer blow. It is no small wonder that the
Sir Chris Whitty has warned that isolation and sense of disconnection
their lives could be cut short because in lockdown had such a profound
of a “significant” increase in obesity impact.
rates. Losing weight is never easy. Some
England’s Chief Medical Officer has people find it the greatest challenge
revealed the proportion of youngsters they will ever encounter.
starting school with a weight problem Persuading, cajoling, manoeuvring
has risen by a fifth since the children into eating the right things is
pandemic, something that places one of those uphill, thankless tasks
them at risk of a host of deadly that takes the shine off parenting.
conditions, such as cancers, strokes In recent days, a Welsh couple
and heart attacks, when they reach appeared in court charged with
adulthood. killing their overweight 16-year-old
It’s a shock, but no surprise. daughter by allowing her to become
Repeated confinement, the absence of morbidly obese.
school routines and the emotional It’s an extreme example, but a
stress caused by Covid led to a rise in salutary reminder that being a parent
snack food consumption. brings with it great responsibilities.
Add to that the sedentary nature of This is not about judging, but
lockdown and the fact that delivery offering tangible support; the truth is
companies boomed as we all stayed most of us put on quite a few pounds
indoors, and it made for a perfect during those dark days of reduced
storm. activity and curtailed socialising.
Among four- and five-year-olds Stranded: Being – or even feeling – too fat As adults, we can decide to do
starting primary school, 23 per cent to run isn’t a positive life choice something about our newly acquired
were obese or overweight in 2019/20. muffin tops or not. As parents, we
By 2020/21, that had gone up to 28 per uncomfortable in their own skin. have a duty of care.
cent. Being too fat to run – more saliently, Leading by example is the most
The data for school leavers aged 10 feeling too fat to run – isn’t a positive palatable prospect; if the entire
and 11 indicates a hike from 35.2 per life choice. household is on side, success is more
cent to 41 per cent. It’s a dreadful corollary of the likely.
For society, it is a grave concern. unhealthy choices adults have made It’s bloody hard in a world where
For individuals, it’s an out-and-out for them. high-sugar, high-fat food surrounds
tragedy. At a time when they should be us. But just wringing our hands and
Militant adults can “embrace their rambunctiously playing and testing letting future generations succumb is
curves” all they like and go online to their bodies by climbing things and not an option.
strip off and defiantly tell the world building dens, taking part in sport and We must not allow obesity to
how they love their bigger bodies. pushing themselves to their own become just another burden to be
Maybe they do. limits, these children withdraw. They carried by a traumatised generation of
But overweight children just feel lose confidence among their peers, children.

Want to help? Take a mini-break in Eastern Europe

A
friend has just
returned from a trip
to Poland. He wasn’t
driving a school minibus
packed with mattresses
and clothing and random
items from his basement to
the Ukrainian border.
He wasn’t anywhere near
the border because he was
on a minibreak to Wrocław,
visiting the sights and
enjoying the local nightlife.
Although he planned it
ages ago, he was conflicted
about whether or not he After the pandemic put ultimately meant that
should honour his booking, global tourism on pause, someone else somewhere
for fear of “getting in the countries and cities reliant else could be given a bed
way” while war rages in the on visitors urgently need for free.”
adjoining country. the sort of local cash boost So if you’re thinking of
“I called up the hotel that holidaymakers bring. getting away at Easter, why
there and asked for advice,” “It did feel a bit surreal to not head to Poland,
he says. “They were be wandering about in the Romania or Hungary?
adamant I should still sunshine, knowing there Every restaurant meal
come, because I would be was absolute turmoil on eaten, every overnight stay
warmly welcomed and the other side of Poland,” is a concrete way of
because the very last thing my friend admitted. supporting the economies
the countries in Eastern “But the message was that are in turn supporting
Europe want is to be very much that me paying refugees. And all three are
abandoned by the West.” the full rate for my bed beautiful this time of year.
22 ***
What will become of the oligarchs’ yachties?
The ocean-going
playthings of Russia’s
elite are in danger
of running aground.
By Ed Cumming
T
here is no more obvious poster
girl for the sanctions against
Russia’s oligarchs than
Scheherazade, the 140m megayacht
allegedly owned by Vladimir Putin.
With six decks, two helipads, a spa
complex, billiards room and a
swimming pool, she is a gleaming
white symbol of excess, and looms
over whichever luxurious quay she
happens to be moored at. Few will
have objected when the Ukrainian
president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called
on Italian authorities to impound
Scheherazade, currently moored at
Marina di Carrara Tuscany.
And few tears will have been shed at
the reports of Russian-owned
superyachts being seized or frozen at
ports around the world. The oligarch
Alisher Usmanov’s yacht, Dilbar, is said
to be stuck in Hamburg, where it was
being refitted at a shipyard. Its crew
have been “all but fired”, according to
reports. Roman Abramovich has
reportedly sought “safe haven” for his
yachts, My Solaris and Eclipse, in
Turkey and Montenegro. Some
disgruntled crew have gone even
further. Last month, a Ukrainian crew
member on a Russian-owned vessel in
Mallorca was arrested for trying to
scuttle the Russian-owned superyacht,
Anastasia, on which he was working.
But while the owners might lose use
of an asset, or in extreme cases the
asset itself, in the short term those
most inconvenienced by the yacht
crackdown will be the stewards,
engineers, deckhands and chefs who
keep these vessels running. Not the
oligarchs, but their servants.
There is a public image of the
“yachties”, crystallised by the popular
Netflix series Below Deck, as a wild
world, flowing with booze, drugs and
sex, where the antics of the tycoons
and film stars in the guest cabins are
more than matched by what’s going on
in the crew quarters.
“I could write a book about what
I’ve seen,” says one ex-crewman. “I’ve
been on the sundeck when the charter
guest was with two prostitutes while
his wife was sleeping downstairs. I was
keeping watch. Another time, we were
in Ibiza and the owner’s wife came
aboard after he had been out all night
clubbing and started throwing all his
Features & Arts
Swabs: Aleks Taldykin and David Bradberry
of Below Deck, main; Amy Johnson, top;
Alisher Usmanov’s yacht Dilbar, above
stuff off the back. We were in the water
retrieving watches, credit cards, even
a wad of cash. One of our crew dived
with a scuba tank to get things off the
bottom [of the sea floor].”
But despite their service, many of
this faithful retinue find themselves
without a job. “This industry is going
to hurt,” says the crewman. “The
market will be flooded by yachties
with no jobs. It was hard getting paid
by Russians at the best of times. On my
last boat I went six months behind on
salary and started paying the crew
from my own pocket. I thank my lucky
stars that I don’t work for Russians any
more.”
One crew member on a Russian-
owned vessel says he was emailed
recently to be informed he was
unlikely to be paid. There is an omertà
around superyachts, reinforced by
strict NDAs. Crew are wary of speaking
to the press, especially at such a
fraught time. “The owner wants to
keep his crew and pay them, but he
can’t,” he says. “I don’t blame him.”
For ex-crew, it’s easier to be frank.
Max Stott now works as the news
editor for Superyacht News, but he
grew up in Palma, Mallorca. As a
teenager he would do a “dock walk,”
looking for day jobs on the yachts
moored there. Like many young
people, Stott was drawn by sun,
glamour and hard cash.
“I normally got the jobs that nobody
wanted, like cleaning the bilge or
going down into the engine room with
a toothbrush,” he says. “These boats
have to be kept spotless, which can be
difficult in the Caribbean where you’ll
clean the whole boat, then it’ll rain and
you’ll have to do it all over again. But I
was 17 and being well paid, up to €200
a day. I’d do that for a couple of weeks
and then p--- it all away in the bars.”
He’s far from unusual. Most crew
tend to be Brits, Europeans, Americans,
South Africans, Australians and Kiwis,
drawn by sun, sea and foreign travel,
along with healthy tax-free salaries and
generous, sometimes outrageous tips.
Most will have met the owners only
briefly, or not at all. Many of these boats
are run as charters, let for sums that can
run to hundreds of thousands of pounds
per week. But while alcoholic mayhem
may rule when boats are in dock, at sea
it’s a different matter. “The boats I’ve
been on have always been run very
professionally. On land, anything goes,
Friday Night Dinner
Eleanor Steafel
Quality smoked English
bacon can be a cure-all in
a wealth of delicious dishes,
for a dusky, crispy treat
I
n the butcher’s last Sunday my eye
was caught by a hunk of smoked
bacon. It had a thick rind, plenty of
creamy fat and marbled meat roughly
the colour of Farrow and Ball Red
Earth. I’m normally a bit lazy with
bacon and just buy slices for
sandwiches and little supermarket
packets of pancetta or lardons for
pastas and stews. But I couldn’t resist
buying a great slab of English smoked
bacon. I’m glad I did, because it’s
TONIGHT’S
RECIPE
Thick-cut bacon
with brothy broad
beans, peas and
potatoes
Serves 2
Ingredients
Olive oil, for frying
80g thick-cut bacon or pancetta,
sliced
An onion, sliced
1 large clove of garlic, sliced
2-3 large waxy potatoes, cubed,
skin-on
A bay leaf
2 heaped tsp tomato purée
250ml white wine
250ml water or stock
160g frozen broad beans
150g frozen petit pois
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 dessert spoonfuls of mascarpone
(or something else creamy)
Method
Set a large casserole pan
over a medium heat with a
splash of olive oil. Fry the
slices of pancetta until
crispy. Remove from the pan
and set aside.
Turn the heat down and add
the onion along with a pinch
of salt. Fry for about six
minutes or until it’s started for a couple of minutes,
to soften a little. Add the stirring to coat the potatoes
garlic and cook for another in the oil and tomato purée.
two minutes.
Pour in the wine and water
Add the potatoes, bay leaf or stock, bring to a simmer,
and tomato purée and cook put the lid on and cook for
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
from a Russian owner could spell
bankruptcy.
Even Russian yacht-owners who
have not been sanctioned themselves
are still struggling to get money out to
support their boats. Where owners are
not directly sanctioned, there are a
NBCU PHOTO BANK/NBCUNIVERSAL VIA GETTY IMAGE
variety of other factors that can restrict
yachts’ passage. Bunkering – refuelling
– boats is becoming more expensive
with the rising price of fuel. One
Russian-owned vessel in Norway was
reportedly refused refuelling, leaving
its crew stranded. Then there is
insurance. The Lloyd’s Register – not
part of Lloyd’s of London– runs the
international boat classification
system. If they refuse to provide
certification, the boat cannot set sail.
“Yachting globally provides
employment for over a million people,
not just on the boats but all the other
associated businesses involved,” says
‘There are crew on Andrew Roch, founder of The Crew
Hunter, a yacht recruitment company.
the boats – and workers “Everywhere a yacht goes the
communities benefit financially. It’s a
in dock – all wondering trillion dollar industry and yacht crew
if they’ll get paid’ of all nationalities need to be
supported during this time, despite
who they have worked for.”
but at sea, there’s a policy of no drink or Not everyone is convinced that the
drugs.” industry deserves sympathy. Martin
For Fiona Maureso, senior charter Francis, 80, is a veteran yacht designer
broker at Northrop and Johnson, in who has worked on some of the most
Nice, yachts make an “easy target”. famous yachts in the world, including
“Perhaps the governments feel that Motor Yacht A with Philippe Starck.
seizing super yachts will assuage some His clients have included several
of the public’s thirst for revenge,” she oligarchs on the sanctions list.
says. “The coverage is sensationalist, “I think it’s scandalous that people
but people don’t take into are complaining the crews are going to
consideration the day-to-day running be out of work,” he says. “I worked for
of these things. There are crew on the these guys and my justification was
boats, and workers servicing them in that they were feeding a whole chain of
dock, wondering whether they’re industry craftsmen. But now Putin is
going to get paid. Then there are the murdering tens of thousands of
florists and the limo drivers. These people, we’re on the verge of World
yachts are businesses that support an War Three, and everyone’s saying:
awful lot of normal people. It’s a big ‘What about my job?’ It’s indecent.”
network. There will be hundreds of Over the coming weeks, thousands
people out of work, at least.” of yacht crew, from St Maarten to the
For the shipyards which build these Maldives, are likely to find themselves
yachts, a single commission can mean no longer working for Russians. They
the difference between survival and may not be thanking their lucky stars,
failure. One defaulted commission but perhaps they ought to be.
found its way into all sorts this week the fresh stuff isn’t yet in season. A bag
– a really good carbonara with lots of
egg yolk, black pepper and parmesan;
of frozen broad beans and some failsafe
petit pois came to the rescue for this
a sort of winter to spring transitional dish. I’ve made a version of this before
salad (yep, I’m coining “Transitional
Salad” now, it’s a thing) with chicory,
using pasta rather than potatoes,
cooking short macaroni or rigatoni in
little gem, peas, asparagus and blue the liquor. This time, I fancied a couple
cheese. Tonight it’s finding its way into of cubed, waxy potatoes. They absorb
this soupy, stewy little one-pot dish. some liquid but not too much – use
Fry the bacon first so that the onion something like a Charlotte potato and
gets a chance to sweat in the smoked the chunks will retain their shape.
bacon fat. Then you can either top the Plenty of lemon juice and zest is key,
finished dish with the slices of bacon, and I like finishing it with a spoonful of
or if you prefer you can shred and stir something creamy. Mascarpone was
them through at the end, or even what I had (leftover from a tiramisu last
re-crisp them in a pan and sprinkle on weekend) but you could use ricotta,
top like a little bacon crumb. full-fat crème fraîche or sour cream, if
Frozen green veg is so helpful when you fancy something funkier.
about 30 minutes, or until Finally, add the lemon juice.
the potatoes are cooked.
Ladle into bowls, place three
Add the broad beans and or four slices of pancetta on
cook for three minutes, then top of each one. Finish with
add the peas and cook for a spoonful of mascarpone
another two minutes. and a grating of lemon zest.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
C ODA
Oscars 2022 – the runners and riders
Our chief film critic
Robbie Collin on who
will win at Sunday’s
Academy Awards –
and who deserves to
T
he 2022 Oscar season has largely
been a sedate old affair, with
courteous campaigns and
category frontrunners that broadly
made sense. But now, as we round the
final bend: absolute chaos.
For months, three films struck every
Oscar analyst and soothsayer as the
ones to watch. Kenneth Branagh’s
bittersweet cine-memoir Belfast and
Jane Campion’s bewitchingly prickly
psychological Western The Power of the
Dog would surely jockey for the
higher-profile trophies, while Denis
Villeneuve’s sprawling science-fiction
adaptation Dune milled around behind
them, harvesting the technical gongs.
But then, two weeks ago, the Baftas
happened – and around them the guild
awards, presented by the Hollywood-
based trade associations and unions
representing directors, actors, writers,
Film Newsletter
Get exclusive commentary from
Robbie Collin, along with the latest
reviews, in our free Film newsletter
telegraph.co.uk/filmnewsletter
A glistening, high-
octane pursuit thriller
Ambulance
15 cert, 136 min
★★★★★
Dir Michael Bay
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal,
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Eiza González,
Jackson White, Garret Dillahunt,
Keir O’Donnell
By Robbie Collin
T
here is something charmingly
utilitarian about the new Michael
Bay film being titled Ambulance:
imagine if Dog Day Afternoon had been
called Bank, or Speed had been released
as Bus. Said emergency-services vehicle
is where the majority of this glistening
pursuit thriller takes place – it’s
hijacked by two bank-robbing brothers,
Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Will
(Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) Sharp, during
their escape from a vault in downtown
Los Angeles. Danny’s father was a
producers and cinematographers. And
the picture painted by these precursor
ceremonies was very different to the
one many of us had expected to see.
As a critic, it’s been galling; as an
onlooker, an absolute hoot.
The central shock was the 11th-hour
surge experienced by CODA, Sian
Heder’s Apple-backed coming-of-age
drama about a hearing teenage girl and
her eccentric deaf parents. (The title is
an acronym: child of deaf adults.)
Apple bought CODA at Sundance last
year for $25 million – a record-setting
sale for the festival, and the cause of
many raised eyebrows among those of
us who weren’t convinced by its
contrived and clichéd storytelling,
cartoonish characterisation, and
freshly swept, mid-noughties Disney
Channel aesthetic.
But it paid off. The enormous
technology corporation went on to
successfully position their candidate as
both plucky underdog and populist
choice. Now Apple may be about to
become the first streaming company to
win Best Picture, beating poor old
Netflix on their first attempt. In fact,
there are whispers of a sizeable “Never
Netflix” faction among Academy
members, who’ve taken venomous
umbrage at the company’s disruption
of Hollywood’s business-as-usual over
the last nine years.
That’s certainly a possible
explanation for The Power of the Dog’s
odd lack of traction in the acting and
craft categories at other ceremonies.
But it doesn’t account for the fading of
Belfast – the audience award winner at
Toronto and an obvious traditionalist’s
pick. Made expressly for cinemas,
artful and personal yet accessible,
made by a widely admired director,
and a commercial hit: what’s not to
notorious crook, and his son has
evidently followed in his footsteps.
Will, who was adopted, has grown into
an upstanding citizen and served in the
US military, but he’s now in financial
strife due to his wife’s mounting
medical bills, so he has reluctantly gone
to his wayward sibling for help.
Their getaway from the heist is
hampered by two unexpected
passengers. One is Cam Thompson
(Eiza González), a hard-bitten
paramedic, and the other is Officer Zach
(Jackson White), who sustains a bullet
wound during the heist and whose life
Cam is trying to save (when we’re
introduced to Zach, we know that he’s a
trustworthy sort because he and his
partner are enthusiastically discussing
The Rock, the popular 1996 film
directed by Bay).
This pair’s presence means that the
cops can’t simply shoot out the vehicle’s
tyres; instead, it has to be chased down
and cornered. As plots go, it’s a Grand
Theft Auto mission with airs – a
gossamer pretext for two hours of
windscreen-shattering carnage.
like? Still, Branagh’s chances might yet
rally – or Don’t Look Up could still pull
off the sneak victory which, back in
January, was briefly fashionable to
predict. Here, with the usual
disclaimers, is how we expect it to play
out.
Best Picture
Should win: West Side Story
Will win: CODA
The Power of the Dog should be
moseying into the sunset with this, but
the change in temperature can’t be
denied. Given the manifest brilliance
of so many of its rivals, CODA’s
triumph would be an upset for the ages
and an all-time Oscar embarrassment.
From Dune to Licorice Pizza and Drive
My Car, deserving alternatives are
right there, drawn from all points
along the art-house to blockbuster
scale. And in West Side Story, the
Academy has a dream Best Picture
right in front of them: the finest film in
two decades from one of the great
modern studio directors, and, in the
era of content overload, as spirited a
defence of the motion-picture format
the industry could hope for. In a few
years, we’ll be stunned it was taken for
granted.
Best Director
Should and will win: Jane Campion,
The Power of the Dog
A timely opportunity to reward a
modern master, and increase the
number of female winners in the
category to a still wildly embarrassing
three. But if Best Picture goes to CODA,
this will have the air of a consolation
prize.
Best Actor
Should win: Benedict Cumberbatch,
Big shot: Jake Gyllenhaal flees the scene
of a heist in Michael Bay’s Ambulance
Loosely adapted by Chris Fedak from
a 2005 Danish thriller, Ambulance was
shot in Los Angeles in early 2021 while
local lockdown regulations were still in
force. That context and González’s
no-nonsense heroine essentially make
this Bay’s heartfelt tribute to frontline
medical workers – the Transformers
director’s version of standing on the
doorstep and hitting a frying pan with a
whisk. In fact, much of the film is
essentially just that, but with traffic.
Speeding vehicles are clunked and
donked into one another with
xylophonic zeal, while the camera
snakes and tears between them faster
than seems physically possible. I mean
it as a compliment when I say there are
entire sequences here which look as
though they might have been shot by a
monkey with a jetpack.
For a certain type of critic and
cinephile, Bay has long been held up as
the grand vizier of all crassness and
chauvinism in modern-day Hollywood,
and Ambulance is unlikely to convince
them otherwise. But even a single
frame of it contains more visual flair
than the entirety of, say, the latest
Spider-Man: whether Bay’s subject is
one of his actors’ bodies or a squad car’s
gleaming flank, his eye for the
geometry of phwoar remains
unmatched.
As ever, on the other hand, the
frenzied editing adds less in excitement
than it subtracts in sense. And the
running time is excessive, even if a
climactic series of stand-offs and
shoot-outs brings matters to a rousing
close.
Gyllenhaal, Abdul-Mateen and
González all understand the
assignment. Their characters could
hardly be described as complex, but all
three are a pleasure to spend time with.
There is joy – perhaps these days
more than ever – in seeing action
cinema shorn of any franchise
complications, and simply chasing
excitement with every sinew. After
endless mugs of freeze-dried decaf,
Ambulance is the real-deal triple
espresso.
In cinemas now
The Power of the Dog
Will win: Will Smith, King Richard
With the Screen Actors Guild Award
and the Bafta already his, Smith’s
bearish depiction of Venus and Serena
Williams’ dogged father seems to have
pulled ahead decisively: it’s also the
actor’s third nomination, so a win
would feel right on time.
Cumberbatch, a mere two-time
nominee, gives the better performance
though, slyly harnessing his own
apparent out-of-placeness in the
Western genre to clue the audience
into the roiling contradictions in his
character’s conflicted sense of self.
Best Actress
Should win: Kristen Stewart,
Spencer
Will win: Jessica Chastain,
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Chastain’s prosthetically
enhanced rubberface work in
her recent biopic of the US
televangelist Tammy Faye
Bakker is the showiest and
least persuasive of her
three nominated
performances to date.
But she’s also one of
only two nominees in
this year’s category
who have yet to win
an Oscar outright,
and as with Smith
(above), voters will
probably seize on
this excuse to
bring her into the
THE POW ER OF THE D O G January – and for
club. Stewart, a
first-time nominee,
is by contrast new
to all this, though
her Princess
Diana in Spencer is
Romance you’ll want to cheer for
The Worst Person in
the World
15 cert, 128 min
★★★★★
Dir Joaquim Trier
Starring Renate Reinsve, Anders
Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum,
Maria Grazia Di Meo, Hans Olav
Brenner
By Robbie Collin
T
he film world might have given
up on smart romantic comedies,
but nobody seems to have told
Norway’s Joachim Trier. The latest
feature from the director of Oslo,
August 31st and Thelma is a welcome
new entry in that long-neglected genre
– a sexy, witty and poignant comic
drama with its thumb on the rhythms
of modern love-lives, and its soul
anchored in the best traditions of
screen romance.
It’s a double Oscar nominee, in
contention for Best International
Feature and Best Original Screenplay at
Sunday’s ceremony, while its 34-year-
old star Renate Reinsve, previously not
much known outside of Norway,
deservedly won Best Actress at Cannes
after its premiere there last July. Its
comically downbeat title makes more
sense in the original Norwegian.
Verdens verste menneske is a phrase
with a meaning similar to “mea culpa”
or “my bad”: more self-deprecating
aside than brutal moral judgement.
Reinsve plays Julie, a bright, restless
Oslo woman navigating her late 20s
without much sense of what might lie
beyond them. She’s a medical student
turned psychology student turned
aspiring professional photographer –
which is to say bookshop employee and
owner of lots of expensive camera
equipment, purchased with her
student loan. Our first glimpse of her is
a real catch-your-breath moment: she’s
Film
BELFA ST
W E ST SIDE STORY
a far richer and subtler work of
portraiture – it’s a performance that
treats the famous public image as
surface, then grippingly scratches
beneath it.
Best Supporting Actor
Should win: Kodi Smit-McPhee, The
Power of the Dog
Will win: Troy Kotsur, CODA
The CODA quake was first
unambiguously felt in this category at
the Baftas, where Kotsur, a US stage
and screen veteran, unexpectedly
triumphed. He’s only the second deaf
acting nominee in Oscar history – his
CODA co-star Marlee Matlin was
the first in 1987, and as it was for
her, victory also seems assured.
The shortlist doesn’t
exactly show the Academy
at its most inspired –
where are the West Side
Story boys, or Jason Isaacs in
Mass, or Bradley Cooper in
Licorice Pizza? – but Smit-
McPhee would make a fine
winner, as the nephew of
Cumberbatch’s tyrannical
rancher whose slow shift from
spindly victim to – well,
something more complex, is
icily mesmerising to behold.
Best Supporting Actress
Should and will win: Ariana
DeBose, West Side Story
Spielberg’s Anita is the only
frontrunner to have felt more
or less settled since
anyone who’s seen
the film, that should be no
surprise, since her
performance signals the
undeniable arrival of a
standing on a balcony overlooking the
city at dusk, wearing a backless
cocktail dress, smoking a cigarette and
looking thoughtfully at – or perhaps for
– something we can’t quite apprehend.
A little later, the event is revealed to
be a book launch party for her
boyfriend Aksel (Anders Danielsen
Lie), a comics artist trying to branch
out into more serious work. In this
context, he’s the protagonist, she the
beautiful accessory. The film follows
Julie’s search for a life in which she can
be the unambiguous lead.
Trier and his regular co-writer Eskil
Vogt divide the film into 12 chapters,
and mere minutes into the second, her
heart is coaxing her off course. At a
wedding reception, she meets Eivind
(Herbert Nordrum), a genial coffee-
shop employee with a vague air of
the comedian Pete Davidson.
The chemistry between the two is
instantaneous and scorching, and they
decide to be as intimate as possible
with each other without being
unfaithful – no kissing or fumbling, but
lots of sharing secrets, nibbling elbows
and smelling one another’s sweat.
A runaway success: Renate Reinsve stars in this double-Oscar-nominated love story
*** 23
huge new talent. It’s notable that the
Academy, unlike Bafta, also found
space for Judi Dench here, whose
twinkling turn as Belfast’s granny has
earned the actress her eighth
nomination, which falls 23 years after
she won for Shakespeare in Love.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Should win: Drive My Car – Ryusuke
Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe
Will win: CODA – Sian Heder
As a remake of a 2014 French comedy
called La Famille Bélier, CODA is
officially an adapted work. Its trite,
platitudinous burbling also makes it
the odd-one-out in an otherwise
spectacularly accomplished field. An
Elena Ferrante novella, a literary
dismantling of the Western, a science-
fiction tome of doorstop dimensions:
these aren’t easy sources to convert
into scripts. But Hamaguchi and Oe’s
seamless weaving together of three
Haruki Murakami short stories is as
elegant as screenwriting gets.
Best Animated Feature
Should win: The Mitchells vs the
Machines
Will win: Encanto
Netflix fought a heroic campaign for
The Mitchells vs the Machines, a family
road-trip comedy set during a robot
apocalypse, and brought to life with a
dazzlingly innovative blend of digital
and hand-drawn techniques. But the
current buzziness of Encanto, and the
inescapability of its musical numbers,
skews the odds heavily in the favour of
Disney’s self-discovery fable. (A
performance of We Don’t Talk About
Bruno is being touted as one of the
coups of Sunday evening’s ceremony,
despite it not even having been
nominated for Best Song.)
It sounds revolting. In fact, it’s the
most romantic scene in cinema so far
this year – at least for a few minutes,
until a still lovelier one arrives.
Following this evening of
transcendent steaminess, Julie begins
to reassess her relationship with Aksel,
which has settled into a comfortable
rut. One morning, as he’s pouring her
some coffee, she clicks the kitchen
light-switch and time unaccountably
stops, allowing her to run off and spend
a perfect day with Eivind, in a city
otherwise frozen in its tracks.
The Worst Person in the World adores
its characters, but it’s also head-over-
heels for Oslo itself, in the same way
so many American films swoon over
New York.
Even when the initial heat of the
central love triangle gives way to
tragedy and thorny choices, the film’s
teasing spirit and compassion persist.
It’s a story of ordinary humans in all
their muddled wonderfulness, and you
can’t help but cheer for them at every
contradictory turn.
In cinemas now
24 ***
‘Stanley
Spencer was
eccentric, but
he wasn’t mad’
Richard Martineau sat
for the artist as a boy.
He reminisces with
Chris Harvey
T
hree days before his death from
cancer in 1959, Stanley Spencer
was visited by a young man who
had known him almost all his life.
Richard Martineau was 21 at the time,
but vividly remembered when he had
first met the painter, who had drawn
his portrait when he was five years old,
as his mother read aloud from Alice in
Wonderland. At their final meeting, the
dying artist reminded him what he had
been wearing for that sitting as a boy,
and then, exhausted, passed him a note
which described how he’d felt when he
first met the family: “I knew I had what
I so wanted, Friends!”
That lovely drawing is on the wall
beside Martineau as we drink tea and
talk in the Suffolk farmhouse where he
now lives with his wife Diney. Its
precise draftsmanship is
extraordinarily characterful.
Martineau’s parents Jack and
Catherine – Cash – had befriended
Spencer after a family friend had asked
Cash if she knew that she lived “within
reach of one of the greatest living
artists”. Spencer, who at the time was
in his early 50s, lived barely four miles
away from the Martineaus’
Buckinghamshire home, further up
the Thames in the village of Cookham.
Cash visited him and cheekily asked
if he would draw her son for £10.
Thereafter, Spencer would draw
Richard’s brother and two sisters, as
well as their nanny, and also paint the
rather grand portrait of his father, JE
Martineau (1956), in his robes as Master
of the Brewers’ Company. Spencer
himself decided the fur was as good as
Tintoretto’s.
Features & Arts
CORBIS VIA GETTY
He would come for Sunday lunch
regularly, by bus, and often take tea
with the children. “He seemed a
childlike-size,” Martineau recalls.
(Spencer was 5ft 1in.) After lunch, he
would often play Bach on the piano,
slowly and carefully, or take a nap – he
would arrive with pyjamas on under
his trousers. “He was eccentric but not
mad,” insists Martineau.
‘I don’t think he had
many needs. He never
had a car. He lived for
his painting.’
Years later, Martineau would go to
collect Spencer for lunch by car. At the
time, the artist was living and painting
in one room – a result of a major
marital mishap. He didn’t talk about
his second wife, Patricia Preece,
whom, Martineau says, Spencer hated.
Preece, who refused to consummate
the marriage and continued living with
her lover Dorothy Hepworth, had had
the artist sign his home and studio over
to her before their wedding in 1937,
then proceeded to evict him. “He just
accepted it,” says Martineau. “I don’t
think he had many needs. He was
scruffily dressed, with glasses that
often had oil paint on them around the
edges. He certainly never had a car. He
lived for his painting.”
Later, Martineau’s father and Lord
Astor, who lived nearby at Cliveden,
would buy back the house Spencer was
born in for the artist to live in.
Preece remains a fascinatingly
enigmatic character, whose own
artworks – painted by Hepworth
but passed off under her name –
were owned by the likes of Virginia
Woolf and Augustus John. In her
book, A Private View of Stanley
Spencer, Louise Collis describes how
Preece “would chase [Spencer]
down the street, shouting abuse and
striking him with a tennis racket”.
Preece is also the subject of some of
Spencer’s most remarkable
paintings, such as the Double Nude
Portrait of them both from 1937,
which were considered very
shocking for the time but inspired
artists like Lucian Freud.
A more romantic, pastoral image
Fresh-faced: five-year-old Richard
Martineau in the portrait by Spencer, left
of Preece, Patricia at Cockmarsh Hill
(1935), appears in a new exhibition,
Delight in Nature: Stanley Spencer’s
World, in Cookham later this month.
Other works evoke life in the fields
and gardens of the village he loved.
Martineau recalls Spencer spending
many hours painting their garden in
Taplow for the work Rock Roses
(1957) – “He used tiny brushstrokes,
and he painted everything that came
out. It took ages,” he laughs. “There
are flowers in it that could never be
out together.”
And he remembers Spencer coming
up to visit them by train in Suffolk,
when his parents were living there. “It
was a hot summer’s day. And as he
came in, he rushed straight through
the house, out the [back] door, flung
himself on the lawn and smelt the
grass then said, ‘Oh, that’s better.’ ”
‘Delight in Nature: Stanley Spencer’s
World’ is at the Stanley Spencer Gallery,
Cookham, from March 31 to October 30;
stanleyspencer.org.uk
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
Album of the week
David Ford: May You Live in
Interesting Times (Believe)
★★★★★
The witty singer’s new LP
features songs about social
distancing, the AstraZeneca
jab and Brexit
‘B
etter to be a dog in times of
tranquillity than a human in
times of chaos” is a Chinese
saying that, by a process of
mistranslation and interpretation, has
been transformed into the apocryphal
curse, “May you live in interesting
times.” It has been cited by
parliamentarians debating the crises of
their day for over a century, from Irish
Home Rule to the rise of Hitler. Now
singer-songwriter David Ford has
ironically redeployed it as the title of a
witty, angry and emotional account of
two years in the life of a touring
musician unable to ply his trade due to
government edict.
“Oh raise me high above the flood/
Deploy the soldiers in my blood/ The
time has come, the moments gone/
The needle I can pin my hopes on,” he
sings on 2 Shots, perhaps the first (and
hopefully the last) singalong anthem to
include the word “AstraZeneca” in the
chorus. A lot of artists have released
what might be interpreted as
pandemic albums over these lean
years, but Ford’s is the most brutally
on-the-nose. On his bitter piano ballad
The Bar is Open, he conjures a
nightmarish drinking establishment
where everyone (including the hostile
barman) fears each other’s proximity,
while the tender lament 6ft Apart
ponders the difficulty of maintaining a
safe distance from a shielding loved
one. Other songs tackle the political
and cultural divides of the Brexit and
Trump eras, fretting about finding
ways past ideological differences.
The 43-year-old Ford is a mostly
unsung hero of British music.
Emerging from the ashes of indie band
Easyworld, his 2005 solo debut I
Sincerely Apologise for All the Trouble
I’ve Caused saw him hailed in
prominent publications as a new Bob
Dylan, but he turned out to be
something more akin to an angrier and
more cynical Billy Bragg. His work is
perhaps too straight for modern tastes,
recorded with old-fashioned clarity
and separation, all emphasis falling on
sharply turned lyrics. He has stayed
the course as a compelling live
performer, a one-man band whose use
of loop pedals to build walls of sound is
the best I have ever seen.
Making specific references to
trademarked vaccines, the deep state
and snowflakes carries its own risks. A
towering finale, Person, Man, Woman,
Camera, TV has particularly
devastating verses, but listeners may
need footnotes to grasp the
significance of the chorus’s reference
to a weird moment in Donald Trump’s
presidency (when he kept repeating
those five words to demonstrate his
cognitive health). Ford has delivered a
bulletin-board album with great
dramatic force, but it might strain for
impact in times that have arguably got
even more “interesting” since he
recorded it.
Neil McCormick
Also out Placebo: ‘Never Let Me Go’ (So):
Machine Gun Kelly: ‘Mainstream Sell
Out’ (Interscope): Koffee: ‘Gifted’ (Sony);
Michael Bublé: ‘Higher’ (Reprise)
An angrier, more
cynical Billy Bragg:
David Ford writes
sharp social
commentary that’s
full of emotion
 The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 25

Features & Arts

Singers cast their spell

at a fine birthday party
Opera the rivalry by ludicrously announcing
that serious and comic works must
both be performed – but at the same
Royal Academy Opera time.
The conceit of two stories
triple bill interweaving and overlapping also
Royal Academy of Music, London NW1 underlay the serious new commission
of the evening, Freya Waley-Cohen’s
Witch, to a libretto by Ruth Mariner.
★★★★★ On the one hand, a contemporary
By Nicholas Kenyon teenager, Sarah, bullied at school,
engaging with the online world and

I
n an opera triple bill to celebrate its
bicentennial, you might expect the
Royal Academy of Music to explore
work since 1822. But this unusual, fully
staged production went further, and
took us back to the very beginnings of
opera itself in Monteverdi’s anguished
Lamento d’Arianna of 1608. This is the
only surviving part of the music for the
opera Arianna, because it was
published separately. Its emotional
power is undiminished today: it was
delivered here by Sophie Sparrow with
MARK ALLAN
discovering a coven who are
reinventing the concept of witching;
on the other, Jane, a 16th-century
healer in Scotland viewed with
suspicion as a potential witch,
oppressed and persecuted.
Already a much-commissioned
composer, Waley-Cohen showed real
skill in musically characterising the
two worlds in dramatic terms, each
scene obsessively focusing on a single
instrumental combination that drives
it forward: bright with celesta and

a rare mixture of focus and passion, percussion sounds for the girl-centred
supported by an expert trio of lutes led world of the present; sombre with low
by Elizabeth Kenny. strings for the heavy-handed

Petrenko combines uplifting

From passion to whimsy: it was a
clever if very ambitious choice to
include Richard Strauss’s Prologue to
Ariadne auf Naxos, as that is the most
successful send-up of the business of
opera since Mozart’s The Impresario.
formalism of the past.
The contrast was also drawn by
April Dalton’s designs, with manic
contemporary images in Hayley Egan’s
video design, and a sober, black look in
Jake Wiltshire’s lighting. The two

music with a note of defiance

us that he has Ukrainian and Russian
Ivan Hewett parentage, and described the war as
chief classical critic “one of the greatest moral failures and
humanitarian disasters of our century”.
What he didn’t say is that he has also
suspended his directorship of the
Russian State Symphony Orchestra in
Classical Moscow. To say and do these things
takes real courage, as one can be sure
RPO/Petrenko they will be noted by the authorities in
Russia.
Royal Festival Hall, London SE1 Then it was time for the music,
which was cunningly contrived to be
★★★★★ linked thematically (there were pieces
by Britten and Shostakovich, who first
after all, only a modest little dance
composed for a theatre production.
But then, he and the piece sprang into
life and the music fairly zipped along.
Every player relished their moment in
the sun during Britten’s masterly
guided tour of the orchestra, but the
piece is also a masterclass in
combining colours, a fact of which
players and conductor were keenly
aware. The combination of harp, violas
and horns seemed as succulent as a
rare beefsteak.
After the multicoloured tapestry of
Britten came the battleship grey of
Librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal worlds interacted vividly, and the
originally planned this witty piece as a sound manipulation was well
spoken interlude in a long managed, though the complexity of the
entertainment, but it was reworked as libretto tended to clutter the telling of
a sung prologue sending up the chaos the story. Once again, Sparrow (as
of creating dramatic art. Effortlessly Sarah) and Johns (as Jane) were
dominated by Bernadette Johns’ outstanding. Polly Graham directed
ardent but frustrated Composer, the with flair and Ryan Wigglesworth
warring divas of Josi Ann Ellem’s conducted both the Waley-Cohen and
Brave stand: the Russian-Ukrainian Primadonna and Kathleen Nic the Strauss with total authority: this
conductor spoke out against Putin Dhiarmada’s brilliant Zerbinetta was a landmark occasion for a
fought it out in Polly Graham’s busy, landmark birthday.
Walton’s Symphony No. 1. It’s hard not bright production until Michael
to be swept away by this music’s Ronan’s stern Haushofmeister deflated Until tomorrow. Tickets: tickets.ram.ac.uk
irresistible high-gloss, filmic rhetoric,
but I’m often left wondering if there’s
actually any substance underneath it
all.
Petrenko encouraged the players to
shape the recurring filmic “hooks” and
surging phrases with maximum fire
and finesse, and the devil’s dance of the
second movement really did sound
malicious, as the composer requested.

F
ounded by the flamboyant, met in 1960 in the very hall we were Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1. The In the slow movement, the solo
eccentric and extraordinarily rich sitting in) and also popular. Britten’s soloist was Pablo Ferrández, a young melodies from cellist Richard
Sir Thomas Beecham 75 years ago, Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is Spanish cellist who collects prizes at Harwood and clarinetist Katherine
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is one of those pieces anyone over a international competitions the way a Lacy, rapturously intertwined over
the great workhorse of the orchestral certain age remembers fondly from pullover collects burrs. Such musicians Patrick King’s drowsy kettledrums,
world. One week, you’ll find it playing their childhood. It feels somehow have amazing technique but just about stilled my qualms. Walton’s
music from computer games, the next ubiquitous, but actually is quite rarely sometimes lack personality. Not symphony may not really be a
CRAIG FULLER

a blockbuster movie programme, the played. So it was a pleasure to hear this Ferrández, who displayed first class masterpiece, but in a wonderful
week after that a “serious” concert brilliant confection, although the very musicianship and real character. performance like this it seems such a
such as this one. The orchestra has opening was the only misstep of the The most taxing section is the huge brilliant imitation of one that you
recently appointed a new music evening. solo cadenza that links the third and hardly mind. Magical: Freya Waley-Cohen’s Witch featured atmospheric video design
director, Vasily Petrenko, the Petrenko launched the famous final movements, which, in this
energised and perpetually boyish melody by Purcell on which the piece performance, seemed to rise with
Russian whose 15-year tenure at the is based at a ponderous pace as if to agonising slowness from a black pit of
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic dignify it, which felt odd because it is, loneliness. There was no warm
Orchestra was a golden period in that daylight at the end of that rise, only the
orchestra’s history. partial comfort of a sardonic puppet-
Now should be the happy He described the war as dance, which soloist and orchestra
springtime of his new appointment,
but Wednesday night’s concert was ‘one of the greatest flung off with a nicely-calibrated
appearance of roughness.
overshadowed by world events, as any
concert will be that is led by a Russian.
humanitarian disasters After that, around 20 more players
joined the orchestra for the final,
From the podium, Petrenko reminded of our century’ ear-shattering magnificence of William

This survey of our relation to the

plant world is blooming with ideas
Exhibition

Rooted Beings
Wellcome Collection, London NW1

★★★★★
By Simon Ings

‘T
ake a moment to draw a cosmic
WELLCOME COLLECTION/STEVEN POCOCK

breath with your whole body,

slower than any breath you
have ever taken in your life.”
Over headphones, Eduardo Navarro
and philosopher Michael Marder guide
my contemplation of Navarro’s
drawings, in which human figures
send roots into the ground and reach
with hands-become-leaves into the
sky. They’re drawn with charcoal and
natural pigments on envelopes
containing the seeds of London plane Seeing green: Ingela Ihrman’s 2017 work The Inner Ocean: The Passion Flower in situ
trees. When the exhibition is over, the
envelopes will be planted in a rite of establish an intellectual hold on the peculiar and peculiarly endearing
burial and rebirth. blooming and buzzing confusion of the vegetal-anthropoid forms.
What are plants? Garden-centre plant world. “Wilderness” is the theme of the
curios? Magical objects? Medicines? Or Trees and their associated wildlife final room. There’s real desperation in
trade goods? It’s hard for us to think of are reduced to deceptively simple and the Resolve Collective’s effort to knap
plants outside of the uses we put them captivating shapes in the work on and chisel their way towards a wild
to, and the five altars of “Vegetal paper of the artist Joseca, whose relationship with the urban
Matrix” by Chilean artist Patricia people, the Yanomami, have been environment. Made of broken masonry
Dominguez celebrate (if that’s the extracting foods and medicines from and pipework, crates and split paving
word) their multiple social identities. the Amazon rainforest for generations. slabs, this, perhaps, is a glimpse of the
One shrine contains a medicinal bark, His vivid plant portraits are not some Hobbesian wilderness that civilisation
quinine; in another, flowers of toxic classic Linnaean effort at the keeps at bay.
Brugmansia, an assassin’s stock-in- classification of species, but At its simplest, Rooted Beings evokes
trade; in the third sits a mandrake root, emotionally they’re not far off. Joseca a pleasant fantasy of human-vegetable
carved into the shape of a woman. is establishing categories, not tearing coexistence. But forget its emollient
Dominguez’s artistic research sits at them down. exterior: at its best, this show is deeply
the centre of a section of the exhibition Bracketing the section about how uncanny. The gulfs that exist between
entitled “Colonial violence and imperial forces have “appropriated” plant and animal, between species and
indigenous knowledge”. Going by the useful plants are more introspective species, between us and other, serve
show’s interpretative material, the spaces. Ingela Ihrman’s enormous their own purposes, and attempts to do
narrowly extractive use of plants is a Passion Flower costume dominates the as Navarro and Marder suggest, and
white, Western idea. But the most first room: time your visit right, and experience the world as a plant might
exciting exhibits reveal otherwise. you will find the artist inhabiting the experience it, are as likely to end in
From AD 400, there’s a fragment of the flower, and may even get to drink her horror as in delight. “As you are very
world’s earliest surviving herbal, nectar. Barely less playful are the slowly dying while also staying alive,”
painted on papyrus. absurdist visions – in textile, they explain, “your body becomes the
Also from the Wellcome archives, embroidery and collage – of Gözde soil you are living in.”
there’s a complex map describing the Ilkin, for whom categories (between Crikey.
vegetal “middle realm” of Jain human and plant, between plant and
cosmology – a serious effort to fungi) exist to be demolished, creating Until Aug 29; wellcomecollection.org
26 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

Court & Social Announcements

Telephone: 0800 072 32 32 or +44 1634 88 7587 Fax: 020 7931 3370
Email: announcements.ads@telegraph.co.uk Book online: announcements.telegraph.co.uk

Court Cathedral Square, the Viking

Triangle, Waterford, and attended
Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of
Warwickshire (Mr Timothy Cox).
Queen’s Green Canopy at
Uffington Community Garden Births
HORN.—Duncan James died peacefully
on 20th March 2022, aged 91. Beloved
WRIGHT.—Peter Carwithen peacefully
on 21st March 2022. Husband of the late
YOFFE.—Abraham David died
peacefully on 22nd March 2022,

Circular a Reception given by the Mayor at

WINDSOR CASTLE
March 24th
His Excellency Mr Sherif Kamel
was received in audience by The
Queen today via video link and
presented the Letters of Recall of
his predecessor and his own
Letters of Credence as
Ambassador from the Arab
Republic of Egypt to the Court of
St James’s.
Mrs Heba Ismail was also
received by Her Majesty.
His Excellency Mr Hakim
Hajoui was received in audience
by The Queen and presented the
Letters of Recall of his
predecessor and his own Letters
of Credence as Ambassador from
the Kingdom of Morocco to the
Court of St James’s.
Mrs Lamia Amor was also
received by Her Majesty.
Sir Philip Barton (Permanent
Under-Secretary of State for
Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Affairs) was present.
The Queen was represented by
Mr Edward Parsons (Land Agent,
Sandringham) at the Funeral of
Mrs Ian Baillie which was held at
St Mary the Virgin Church,
Hillington, Norfolk, this afternoon.
CLARENCE HOUSE
March 24th
The Prince of Wales and The
Duchess of Cornwall today visited
County Waterford, Ireland.
Their Royal Highnesses this
morning visited Waterford City.
The Prince of Wales and The
Duchess of Cornwall afterwards
visited the Medieval Museum,
Forthcoming
marriage
Mr F.D. Motley and
Miss A.C. Than-Aye
Waterford City Hall.
Their Royal Highnesses this
afternoon visited the House of
Waterford Crystal, 28 the Mall,
Waterford.
The Prince of Wales afterwards
visited Grow It Yourself,
Farronshoneen, Dunmore Road,
Waterford.
His Royal Highness later visited
Kilmagemogue Dairy, which is
part of the Signpost programme of
Teagasc - the Agriculture and Food
Development Authority.
The Duchess of Cornwall
visited Henry de Bromhead
Stables, Knockeen.
KENSINGTON PALACE
March 24th
The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge this morning attended
the Commissioning Parade for the
inaugural Initial Officer Training
Programme at the Caribbean
Military Academy, Kingston,
Jamaica.
Their Royal Highnesses this
afternoon departed Norman
Manley International Airport,
Kingston, for the Bahamas and
were received later upon arrival at
Lynden Pindling International
Airport by the Governor-General
of the Commonwealth of the
Bahamas (Sir Cornelius Smith).
The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge afterwards called upon
the Rt Hon Philip Davis, MP (Prime
Minister of the Commonwealth of
the Bahamas), and Mrs Davis at Sir
Cecil Wallace Whitfield Centre,
Cable Beach, Nassau.
ST JAMES’S PALACE
March 24th
The Earl of Wessex, Vice Patron,
Commonwealth Games
Federation, this afternoon visited
Coventry Judo Club at Sports
Connexion, Leamington Road,
Coventry, and was received by
His Royal Highness, President,
Sport and Recreation Alliance,
afterwards presented the Sport and
Recreation Awards at Coventry
Building Society Arena, Judds Lane,
Coventry, and was received by Mrs
Katherine Merry (Deputy
Lieutenant of West Midlands).
The Countess of Wessex,
Patron, Blind Veterans UK, this
morning held a Meeting at St
James’s Palace.
Her Royal Highness, Chairman,
Women’s Network Forum, and
Patron, Chartered Management
Institute, this afternoon held a
Meeting at St James’s Palace.
ST JAMES’S PALACE
March 24th
The Princess Royal, Colonel-in-
Chief, Royal Corps of Signals, this
morning visited the 21st Signal
Regiment at Azimghur Barracks,
North Colerne, Chippenham,
Wiltshire, and planted a tree as
part of The Queen’s Green
Canopy.
Her Royal Highness, Guardian,
Give Them A Sporting Chance, this
afternoon held a Management
Team Meeting.
The Princess Royal, Guardian,
afterwards held a Management
Team Meeting for the Chaffinch
Trust.
KENSINGTON PALACE
March 24th
The Duke of Gloucester this
morning visited Lowland Rescue
Oxfordshire, Lechlade Road, near
Lechlade-on-Thames, and was
received by Her Majesty’s
Lord-Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
(Mrs Marjorie Glasgow).
His Royal Highness, Patron, the
Society of Antiquaries of London,
afterwards opened the newly
renovated Kelmscott Manor,
Kelmscott, Oxfordshire.
The Duke of Gloucester this
afternoon planted a tree for The
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
LONDON, SATURDAY MARCH 25, 1922
Association, Patrick’s Orchard,
Uffington, Oxfordshire.
His Royal Highness later visited
Thames Valley Wildflower
Meadow Restoration Project and
Nature Recovery Network, Long
Mead, Horseshoe Island, Oxford
Road, Swinford, Oxfordshire.
For more details about the Royal
family, visit the Royal website at
www.royal.uk
Today’s birthdays
Sir Humphrey Burton, writer
and broadcaster, is 91; Major Sir
Shane Blewitt, Keeper of the
Privy Purse and Treasurer to the
Queen, 1988-96, 87; Maj Gen Sir
Martin White, Lord-Lieutenant
for the Isle of Wight, 2006-19, 78;
Sir Elton John, musician, 75; Mr
Mike Whitlam, Director-General,
British Red Cross, 1991-99, 75; Mr
William Taylor, Chief Inspector
of Constabulary for Scotland,
1999-2001, 75; Sir William
Charles, a former High Court
Judge, 74; Sir Ronald Flanagan,
HM Chief Inspector of
Constabulary, 2005-08, 73; Mr
Robert Balfour, Lord-Lieutenant
for Fife, 70; Mr Stephen Dorrell,
former Conservative Cabinet
Minister, 70; Mr Robert Fox,
theatre, film and television
producer, 70; Lord Justice Bean
68; Air Marshal Sir Christopher
Harper, Director General, Nato
International Military Staff, Nato
HQ, 2013-16, 65; Prof Jonathan
Michie, President of Kellogg
College and Director, Department
for Continuing Education, Oxford,
65; and Mr James Male, World
Rackets Champion, 1988-99 and
2001-05, 58.
Today is the anniversary of the
signature of the Treaty of Rome in
1957.
BLACKWELL.—On 23rd March 2022,
following a four-day wild birth, to
Imogen French and Alasdair, a son,
Aubie; Aubert Matthew Bear.
Online ref: 606092
Anniversaries
Golden wedding
FALLIS - POPPLE.—On 25th March
1972, Richard to Anne. Now of
Barnstaple, Devon. With much love
from Ben, Emma and Harriet.
Online ref: A256127
Deaths
BARR.—Susan Henrietta (Su). Died
peacefully at home on 10th March 2022,
aged 91 years. Formerly farmed in Nutley
and Maresfield, East Sussex. Colourful
clothing has been requested. All further
enquiries c/o Grace - Independent
Funeral Directors. Tel: 01273 813333.
www.gracefuneraldirectors.co.uk
Online ref: 605988
BASFORD.—Colin Vickers George
died on 23rd March 2022, aged 90.
Much loved husband of Moira, father of
Christopher and Nicola and grandpa of
Evie and Rollo. Private family cremation,
with thanksgiving service to follow.
Online ref: A256207
CRAWFORD.—James Archibald
Gemmell, died peacefully at home
on 9th March 2022, aged 71 years.
Much loved husband of Jill, father of
Alastair and Oliver and grandfather
of Billy, Arthur, Wilbur and Ethan.
Funeral to be held at the Church of
St Benedict, Glinton, Peterborough on
21st April at 12 noon. Family flowers only.
Donations, if desired, to St Barnabas
Hospice (Lincolnshire), Marie Curie
(Lincolnshire) and Macmillan.
Online ref: A256203
DATTA.—Pradip (MBE) (Wick).  Memorial Service at St Michael’s
After a short illness bravely borne at
Pentland Nursing Home, Thurso
on Saturday March 19th 2022. Pradip,
much loved husband of the late Swati,
and loving dad of Sandip and
father-in-law to Samantha and dear
husband of the late Audrey, dear father
of Stephen, Julia and David and special
grandfather to Claire, Sarah, Stuart,
Craig, Matthew, Sophie and Isabelle
and great-grandchildren. Funeral at
Herongate Wood Cemetery at 2 p.m.
on 8th April. No flowers please.
Donations to prostatecanceruk.org
Online ref: 606060
HUNTER.—Anne Luise
(née Tottenham), OBE, on 3rd March
2022, peacefully, aged 96 years.
Widow of Brian (d. 4th April 2009),
sadly missed by her nephews,
nieces-in-law and great-nieces.
Service at St Bartholomew's Church,
Haslemere on 12th April 2022 at 12 noon.
No flowers please but donations, if
desired, to Alzheimer's Society c/o
J. Gorringe & Son, 55 Hare Lane,
Godalming GU7 3EF. Tel: 01483 416403.  you have a lovely day - best wishes!
Online ref: 605967
MORISON.—Thomas Richard Atkin
snuffed it on 19th March, aged 83.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER
No funeral; no memorial; no mourning;
no flowers; no worries. Grateful thanks
to the Cancer Team at the
Neurological/Oncology Centre,
Southampton. With huge thanks to my
wonderful wife for caring for me so
well; to my wonderful children: thank
you especially for giving me four
beautiful and talented granddaughters. 
And thanks to my furry four-footed
friend, Dave: sorry I was not a better
walker for you at the end. Just perhaps,
see you all later.
Online ref: 605954
SCOTT.—Major Donald William Scott,
MBE, RHF, passed away peacefully at
his home in Derbyshire on 16th March,
aged 73 years. He will be greatly missed
by family and friends. Enquiries to
C W Jones & Son, Funeral Directors.
Telephone: 01335 360319.
Online ref: 606078
SPINK.—Farley Richard. Died on
25th February 2022 aged 92, much
loved husband, father, grandfather and
great grandfather. Cremation private.
Church, Betchworth, RH3 7DN at
12 noon on 28th June 2022. No flowers.
Donations to the RNLI.
Online ref: 606082
Jill, father and grandfather. Honorary
Councillor and former Mayor of
Cambridge. Funeral arrangements
aged 102 at his home. He was a
Founding Fellow of Darwin College,
Cambridge and physicist at the
Co-operative Funeral Services, Mill Cavendish Laboratory. His beloved wife
Road, Cambridge. Family flowers only, Elizabeth, died in 2014 and his son
but donations, if desired, to Jonathon (Jay) in 1988. His remaining
Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust. family of three children, Deborah,
Online ref: A256204 Gideon and Susan, his 13 grandchildren
and 11 great-grandchildren will miss his
humour, kindness and wisdom
immeasurably.
Online ref: A256206
Personal
Text for the day Birthdays
AND LET the peace of God rule in your HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARISA!  We hope
hearts, to the which also ye are called in
Your big sis and favourite niece x
one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3.15 Online ref: 605982
Messages
ARMSTRONG  Wishing our dear dad
and Buppa a special 90th birthday.
With much love from your family,
who look forward to celebrating
GRATEFUL THANKS  to St Jude for
with you soon. xxxx
prayers answered. CH. 
Online ref: A256025
Online ref: 606101
Public notices
SARAH JANES  Happy Birthday.
STATUTORY NOTICE – FURTHER Online ref: A255758
AND HIGHER EDUCATION ACT 1992   
 
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN BY the
Corporation of Greater Brighton
Metropolitan College (Littlehampton
Road, Worthing, BN12 6NU), in
General personal
accordance with the Further Education
Corporations (Publication of Proposals)
(England) Regulations 2012
(S1 2012/1157), of the proposal for the
transfer of the property, rights and
liabilities to the Corporation of
Chichester College Group (Westgate
Fields, Chichester, PO19 ISB) and the
subsequent dissolution of the
Corporation of Greater Brighton
Metropolitan College.
 Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
is a General Further Education College
which provides education and skills
training. In 2020/21 it enrolled 9,000
students in total, comprising of 3,000
16-18-year-olds (FE learners), 550
apprentices, 600 university-level
learners (HE) and 4,850 adults
(part-time and full-time).
 Dissolution of the Corporation of
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College is
proposed following the conclusion of an

DRAMATIC
The engagement is announced stands, but, considering all things, visibility friend to many. Private cremation at FE Commissioner-led Structure and
between Freddie, son of Mr and was very fair. The jockeys were so anxious to Inverness Crematorium on Monday STELLIG.—Rowland John Prospects Appraisal and a decision in
Mrs Tim Motley, of Holland Park, April 4th this will be followed with a
“NATIONAL.”
passed away peacefully on 14th March March 2021 by the board of the Greater
London, and Amelia, daughter of get a clear run at the first fence that there celebration of his life at St Fergus 2022, aged 101. Adored father of Brighton Metropolitan College to pursue
Mr and Mrs Victor Than-Aye, were two breaks-away before Captain Allison Church to be announced at a later date Susan and Philippa, much loved merger with Chichester College Group.
due to the current covid situation.
of Sydney, Australia. allowed them to go. Enquiries to Sinclair Funeral Directors.
grandfather to Michael, Xavier,  The date proposed for the dissolution of
Online ref: 606068
MUSIC HALL WINS. And now for a story of thrills, the material for
which is made up in part of the jockeys’ personal
Tel: 01955 602066.
Online ref: 606084
William, James and Edward and his
three great grandchildren. A Funeral
Service will be held at St Mary’s Church,
the Corporation is 1 August 2022.
 All students at Greater Brighton
Metropolitan College who have not yet
Dinners experiences. What, for instance, could be more Motcombe on Thursday 7th April 2022 completed their course of study by the

Lord Astor of Hever
Lord Astor of Hever was the host at
a dinner held by the British
Kazakh Society last night at the
House of Lords to mark the 20th
anniversary of the Society and the
30th anniversary of diplomatic
relations. Ms Kathy Leach,
Ambassador to Kazakhstan, the
Ambassador of Kazakhstan and Mr
Rupert Goodman, Chairman of the
Society, were the speakers. Lord
Brennan, QC, Baroness Nicholson
of Winterbourne, the Prime
Minister's Trade Envoy to
Kazakhstan, and Col Bob Stewart,
MP, were among others present.
Royal London Yacht Club
Mr Martin Thomas, Commodore,
welcomed members and guests to
the annual Arundel Dinner of the
Royal London Yacht Club held last
night at the Old Bailey.
Diplomatic news
Ms Alison Blake has been
appointed Governor of the
Falkland Islands and Her
Majesty’s Commissioner for South
Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands in succession to Mr Nigel
Phillips. Ms Blake will take up her
appointment during July 2022.
Legal news
Mr Dylan Lloyd Jones has been
appointed a District Judge
deployed to the Wales Circuit,
based at Caernarfon County
Court, with effect from April 4,
2022, and will be known as
District Judge Lloyd Jones.
Bridge news
The regional heats of the National
Pairs have taken place, writes
Julian Pottage, Bridge
Correspondent, with the leading
50 pairs qualifying to take part in
the National Finals in April on
RealBridge. The leading qualifiers
are: 1st Dave Robinson and Tony
Sowter, 62.42%; 2nd Naomi Gibbs
and Mike Rawlins, 61.14%; 3rd Ian
Pagan and Shahzaad Natt, 60.85%;
4th Irving Blakey and Joy Blakey,
60.23%; and 5th Peter Clinch and
Julian Mitchell, 60.13%.
ONLY FIVE HORSES
FINISH.
If only the weather had remained as fairly placid as
it was shortly after seven o’clock this morning, at
which hour the Duke of York with a few of Lord and
Lady Derby’s guests from Knowsley, came on to the
racecourse at Aintree! It was dull and chilly then,
but how much more desirable it was than the rain,
which came as a deplorable disappointment when
the morning was well advanced. The Duke of York
clearly relished seeing the much discussed Grand
National candidates at quite intimate quarters. He
had been in the paddock, deserted at this hour
except for those with unbridled enthusiasm and
those having business to do with the exercise of the
horses, some time before Southampton strolled in
with his trainer in close attendance. George Poole,
the trainer of Shaun Spadah, showed his Royal
Highness last year’s winner, and later he walked on
to the course, watched the horses doing their phys-
ical jerks and availed himself of the opportunity to
inspect the fences. The big press of people who
later appeared on the scene were dreadfully disap-
pointed by the calamitous change to rain, but those
who remembered the appalling experiences when
Troytown won two years ago had not come unpre-
pared. The conditions, however, seemed to have
no deterrent effect on the size of the crowd, which
grew ever bigger and bigger as the time for the race
drew near.
ROYAL INSPECTION
The Duke of York came to inspect the Grand
National horses as they were paraded, saddled,
and made ready in every detail for their big ordeal.
Very fine it was, too, for any lover of these stout-
hearted animals to look them over at close quar-
ters, the inspection being made simple in the
extreme through the admirable way of printing
names on large saddle-sheets. A lasting impres-
sion with me is that, however game a large num-
ber of candidates may have been, they neverthe-
less had no pretensions to be in a Grand National
field. One can only suppose that they were there
out of their owners’ vanity to have their colours
carried on an occasion such as this. No wonder
only five horses finished. It was not the big fences
that primarily brought about the grief, but rather
hopeless inefficients getting in one another’s way
and by falling doing tremendous damage to the
good horses.
As the horses came out on to the course a
slight rain was driving spitefully into the
flabbergasting than to see Southampton and
Shaun Spadah fall at the first fence – the first
favourite and the winner of last year! The former
stood back at it and met it perfectly, but he just
touched the top. It did not yield, and he went head
over heels. For Shaun Spadah there was no excuse.
Such was their inglorious exit, reminding one of a
recent occasion when the favourite, Poethlyn, fell
at the first fence.
FALLERS IN DITCH
It was at the Canal turn that a dreadful contre-
temps occurred, the cause of all the trouble being
Sergeant Murphy, who slipped on taking off and
baulked no fewer than eight or nine horses In fact,
five of them, according to Mr. Dennis who was on
General Saxham, were in the ditch at the same
time. Hawkins took Sergeant Murphy back and
got him over the fence. There were now only five
others surviving, namely, Drifter, who at once
went into the lead; Music Hall, Arravale, A Double
Escape, and Taffytus. Four of these jumped the
water practically together, and on landing Music
Hall went on with a slight lead.
It was at Becher’s that Arravale was most
unluckily brought down, as on landing the
horse got entangled with a dead horse still
lying where it had fallen. I believe this was
Awbeg. From this point the race became con-
fined to Music Hall and the lightly-weighted
Drifter, as A Double Escape fell at the fence
before the Canal turn. The two kept close com-
pany, and if Music Hall had not been one out of
the ordinary he would have had to pay expen-
sively for the way he charged through the top
of the last fence, instead of over it. The incident
did not appear to shake him, for when once
balanced again he came on to outpace the
plodding Drifter and win easily to the accom-
paniment of the usual ovation in honour of any
Grand National winner, but especially in the
case of one so well backed as this one was.
A little later I chatted with L. B. Rees, the success-
ful jockey who has so soon emulated the feat of his
brother, F. B. Rees. He said: “I was always going
well, though I was a bit scared at Becher’s the first
time round, where my horse and Arravale collided
on landing over the fence. Both horses, however,
were no worse, and I went on comfortably, fearing
only Arravale. At the Canal turn the second time
round my foot was shaken out of a stirrup iron,
and I had to jump Valentine’s Brook in that plight.
Between that and the next fence I got my foot
back, and except for the bloomer my horse made
at the last fence all was plain sailing.”
de BUNSEN.—Charlie, suddenly at
home in London on 11th March, aged 52.
Funeral on 12th April, 12 noon, at
St Andrew's Church, Kirby Bedon,
NR14 7DX. Family flowers only.
Donations to St Andrew's Church, if you
wish, via coppingfunerals.co.uk
Tel: 01508 494434.  www.gbmc.ac.uk or via email to
Online ref: A256223
DRIVER.—Janet (ex ETOA), of London,
on 11th March 2022, beloved aunt of
Susan, Florence, Peter and the late
Helen, great aunt, great great aunt and
treasured friend to many. Funeral at
3.15 p.m. on Monday 11th April at Ipswich
Crematorium, Cemetery Lane, Ipswich,
IP4 2TQ. No flowers, but donations, if
wished, to Arthroplasty for Arthritis
Charity or CWplus c/o Farthing Funeral
Service, 650 Woodbridge Road,
Ipswich IP4 4PW or online via
farthingfunerals.co.uk
Online ref: 606091
HEMSLEY.—Sally died peacefully on
20th March, aged 86. Dearly beloved
wife of the late Jimmy, much loved
mother of Scott and Jane, mother-in-law
of John and Ruth, granny to Sarah,
Ciaran, Ronan, Becky and Niall and
great-granny to Evie. Funeral at
Beetham Hall Crematorium on
Wednesday 6th April at 12.30 p.m.
Family flowers only, but donations, if
desired, to Francis House. Enquiries to
Fishwicks. Tel: 01539 563108.
Online ref: A256205
HODDELL.—Kathleen. Died peacefully
at home on Friday 18th March 2022,
aged 99. Dearly loved wife of Arthur,
devoted mother and grandmother.
Much loved by Sally Ann, Caroline,
George, Celia, Matthew and son-in-law
Mark.
Online ref: A256225
at 11.30 a.m., followed by private
cremation. No flowers please but
date of the proposed dissolution will
continue their education in the merged
donations to Cancer Research UK, college on the same campus where they
if desired, via Bracher Brothers,
Gillingham, Dorset, SP8 4QL.
studied immediately prior to the
dissolution of the Corporation of Greater
Tel: 01747 898267. Brighton Metropolitan College.
 A copy of the consultation document on
Online ref: 606000
this proposal is available at
merger@gbmc.ac.uk
 The consultation period runs from
STEWART.—Captain Sir David - 25 March to 27 April 2022. All responses
7th Baronet of Athenree, Co Tyrone.
and representations must be received by
Late of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers the closing date via www.gbmc.ac.uk
and Trucial Oman Scouts. Dearly loved
husband, father and grandfather.
or via email to merger@gbmc.ac.uk.
A summary of the feedback from the
Passed away peacefully on 20th March
consultation and the outcome will be
2022. Thanksgiving Service at published by 27 June 2022 on both the
St Andrew's Church, Curry Rivel
Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
on 2nd May 2022 at 2.30 p.m.
Enquiries to H Tredwin & Son.
and Chichester College Group websites
and be available free of charge to anyone Public notices
Tel: 01823 672287. who requests a copy.
Online ref: 606080
SYKES.—Mark Richard, 9.6.1937 -
9.3.2022. Funeral: Farm Street Catholic
Church, W1 on Wednesday 30th March
at 3 p.m. and afterwards at The Nags
Head, Kinnerton Street, SW1.
Friends, family, all welcome.
Online ref: A256208
WILKINSON.—Pauline Mary,
widow of Noël Wilkinson, former
Headmaster of Orwell Park School, died
at Bury St Edmunds on 8th March 2022,
aged 98. Funeral at St Joseph's RC
Church, Hadleigh on Wednesday
30th March at 12.30 p.m. followed by
Cremation at Seven Hills, Nacton at
2.15 p.m. Flowers are welcome, and
donations, if wished, to Guide Dogs for
the Blind may be sent c/o WA Deacon,
Funeral Services, 3 Norman Way,
Lavenham, Sudbury CO10 9PY or
online at www.deaconfuneral.co.uk
Online ref: 606065
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
Madeleine Albright
Forceful, tough-talking diplomat and politician who was appointed by Bill Clinton as America’s first female Secretary of State
M
ADELEINE ALBRIGHT, who
has died aged 84, became the
first female US Secretary of
State in 1997, serving under Bill
Clinton after a somewhat chequered
four years as US ambassador to the UN.
Though initially dismissed by many
commentators as a lightweight,
Madeleine Albright did much to
restore the authority of American
foreign policy after the inglorious
tenure of her predecessor Warren
Christopher, bringing a fresh,
outspoken approach to her role. “My
mindset is Munich; most of my
generation’s is Vietnam,” she famously
remarked on the eve of her
appointment, implying that the lessons
she had drawn from the past were less
about the perils of action than of
inaction.
True to this dictum she emerged as
the Clinton administration’s chief
hawk on Kosovo, identifying herself so
strongly with the push for intervention
that critics called the conflict
“Madeleine’s War”. She persuaded
many American isolationists that the
Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic
was a global problem with which
Washington should grapple, and it was
she who first threatened to deprive
Yugoslavia of millions of dollars of US
aid if Belgrade did not deliver
Milosevic up to The Hague. “We are
not negotiating,” she announced
bluntly – and finally.
Some observers felt that Madeleine
Albright’s forceful stance owed much
to her own early memories of being a
refugee from European dictatorship.
The daughter of a Czech diplomat,
she was born Marie Jana Korbel in
Prague on May 15 1937. Two years later,
10 days after the Nazis had walked into
Czechoslovakia, the Korbels – “with
the help of some good friends and lots
of luck and a little bribery”, according
to Madeleine’s mother – managed to
get the necessary Gestapo permission
to leave the country.
For almost her entire life, Madeleine
Albright appears to have believed that
she was born a Roman Catholic. Shortly
after she became Secretary of State,
however, The Washington Post revealed
that her family was Jewish and that
three of her grandparents had perished
in the Holocaust; her father, Josef
Korbel, appears to have embraced
Catholicism shortly before the outbreak
of war. Madeleine Albright, who later
became Episcopalian, described the
revelations as a “major surprise”,
claiming that no one in her family had
ever told her of her Jewish background.
But there were some eyebrows raised
that she had never seen fit to question
their version of events.
The family spent the war years in
Britain, first in London, where she
recalled hiding under a steel table in a
Notting Hill basement during the Blitz,
and then at Walton-on-Thames, where
she attended the Ingomar School. Her
teachers there observed her six-year-
old self to be a “quick and lively
member of her class” who “learns
easily and remembers well”, though
she was “indifferent” at needlework.
When the war ended, the Korbels
returned to Czechoslovakia, where
Josef was appointed ambassador to
Tito’s Yugoslavia. Because of his dislike
of Communism he refused to put his
Lieutenant Frank Ott
Naval observer decorated after playing his part in the sinking of the Japanese cruiser Haguro in 1945
L
IEUTENANT FRANK OTT, who has
died aged 100, was a Fleet Air Arm
observer who was awarded the DSC
for his part in the sinking of the Japanese
cruiser Haguro in May 1945 by the British
East Indies fleet.
Ott was the senior observer in 851 Naval
Air Squadron, flying lend-lease Grumman
Avenger torpedo bombers, when a task
force from the East Indies Fleet sailed at
short notice from Trincomalee for
Operation Dukedom, the interception of
Haguro and the destroyer Kamikaze.
The ships had been located on their way
to evacuate Japanese troops from the
Andaman Islands. Ott’s squadron was
disembarked from the escort carrier Shah,
but a defective catapult prevented her from
operating Avengers and so 851 NAS had to
be embarked in her sister ship Emperor,
which usually operated Grumman Hellcat
fighters.
On May 15, Ott and his crew flew a
prolonged but unfruitful search for Haguro,
landing on the aircraft carrier after more
than five hours with very little fuel left. The
enemy cruiser was located by 851’s
commanding officer more than 200 miles
from the carrier.
Later the same day they took off again and
attack Haguro with two fully fuelled and
armed Avengers, but they could not find the
cruiser at its predicted position. On Ott’s
advice, his pilot extended the search, and
half an hour later they located the ship.
The three Avengers, each armed with four
500 lb semi-armour-piercing bombs, carried
out independent attacks, encountering
intense anti-aircraft fire. One of the aircraft
was shot down, however, and the crew taken
prisoner. The rest recovered aboard Emperor
after reporting “probable hits”.
These two long sorties, one of them
under enemy fire, had left Ott and the others
exhausted but elated to have played their
part in what would turn out to be one of the
last major sea battles of the Second World
War. Haguro was sunk early the next
morning by a brilliant torpedo attack
carried out by destroyers of the 26th Flotilla
south-west of Penang in the Malacca Straits.
Ott and his pilot were awarded the DSC,
and their telegraphist air-gunner the DSM.
She liked to portray herself as hawkish, and her call for intervention in Kosovo led critics to describe the conflict as ‘Madeleine’s War’
daughter into a local school. Instead,
she was tutored by governesses,
learning Serbo-Croat, then sent to
boarding school in Switzerland, where
she learnt fluent French and changed
her name to Madeleine.
At the start of 1948, her father
became Czechoslovakia’s
representative on the new UN
Commission for India and Pakistan.
But when, in February, the Czech
government fell in a Communist coup,
the family was forced to flee
Czechoslovakia a second time, seeking
political asylum in the United States.
They settled in Colorado, where her
father obtained a chair in international
relations at the University of Denver,
building a formidable reputation as an
authority on world affairs (the young
Condoleezza Rice would become one
of his protégées).
Madeleine won a scholarship to
Wellesley College, where she joined
the student newspaper and studied
political science. A rare Democrat on
an overwhelmingly Republican
campus, she campaigned for Adlai
Stevenson in his unsuccessful 1956
presidential election bid and became
the first in her year to get engaged.
Her husband-to-be was Joseph
Medill Patterson Albright, the scion of
a newspaper-owning dynasty. The two
were married in 1959, three days after
her graduation. Joseph took a job at the
Chicago Sun Times, while Madeleine
assumed the role of wife and mother.
She had three daughters, including
twins.
After the birth of her third child in
The youngest of three brothers, Frank
Cyril Ott was born on January 5 1922 at
Dover to Ephraim Ott, a butcher who ran a
stall in the market, and Agnes, née Huband.
Frank was educated at grammar school,
obtaining his school certificate in 1938.
Fascinated by the sea, he was an
enthusiastic member of the Sea Scouts
before joining the Admiralty as a Clerk in
1939.
After volunteering for the Navy he was
called up in January 1942 and went to the
Royal Naval Air Station at Piarco, Trinidad,
where he was trained to become an
Obituaries
MIKE SEGAR/REUTERS
1967, Madeleine Albright hired a nanny would result in the publication of a
and resumed her studies. By this time well-reviewed book, Poland: The Role
her husband was working for Newsday of the Press in Political Change (1983).
and the family had moved to Long When she returned from Poland in
Island. She enrolled in Russian Studies 1982, however, her world turned
at Columbia University, studying upside down when her husband
under Zbigniew Brzezinski, and went announced, over breakfast, that he was
on to take a doctorate in public law and leaving her for a “younger and more
government with a dissertation on the beautiful” woman and would be
role of the Czech press in the 1968 moving out that afternoon to live in
Prague Spring. Atlanta, where the woman worked as a
When her husband became reporter. In her memoir Madam
Newsday’s Washington bureau chief, Secretary (2003) Madeleine Albright
the family moved to the city’s recalled the mental “torture” of the
fashionable Georgetown next few months as her husband, torn
neighbourhood, where she resumed apart by the situation he had created,
her involvement in Democratic phoned her every day to complain that
he could not choose between her and
‘What’s the point of having his new lover.
“He actually described his feelings
this great military if we in percentages,” she recalled. “ ‘I love
can’t use it?’ she demanded you 60 per cent and her 40 per cent.’
Or the next day, ‘I love her 70 per cent
of General Colin Powell and you 30 per cent’. I alternated
between feeling sorry for myself and
politics, becoming a fundraiser for sorry for him.” Finally he announced
Senator Edmund Muskie in his bid for that his decision would be determined
the 1972 Democratic presidential by whether or not he won the Pulitzer
nomination. Prize. If he won he would stay. If he
Muskie’s bid failed, but he appointed lost, he would get a divorce.
Madeleine Albright as his chief The Pulitzer went elsewhere and
assistant in the Senate. As he sat on the Madeleine Albright was devastated.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Though she later reflected that had she
she rapidly became a fixture in the remained married she would probably
party’s foreign affairs establishment. never have scaled the heights she did,
When Brzezinski became President “at the time, I would have given up any
Jimmy Carter’s national security thought of a career if it would have
adviser, he appointed her his made Joe change his mind.”
congressional liaison. After the 1980 Ultimately, she found refuge in a job
Republican victory she took a two- as a professor at the School of Foreign
week research trip to Poland, which Service at Georgetown University, and
observer in the Fleet Air Arm. After Office. In 1953 he gained a BSc in Economics
receiving his observer’s “wings” he from the University of London and
returned to the UK to become a sub- subsequently became assistant Secretary at
lieutenant. Birmingham University, supervising a new
In September 1943 he crossed the Atlantic building programme. Later he became
again, this time in RMS Queen Mary, to join Assistant Bursar, but was lent to the
the new 851 NAS, commissioned at the US adjacent Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where
Naval Air Station Squantum, Massachusetts, he took charge of its development plan. In
on October 1. 1973 he was appointed Bursar of Bristol
After working up at Norfolk, Virginia, the University where he remained until
squadron flew across the United States to retirement in 1987.
join HMS Shah, a new escort carrier, in San Ott was for 20 years a member of the
Francisco. Ott travelled by train, however, Glastonbury Male Voice Choir, a Freemason
with the squadron’s air mechanics and spent for 70 years and a founder of the Society of
New Year’s Day 1944 at a railway station in Friends of the Fleet Air Arm Museum at
Chicago. RNAS Yeovilton.
After embarking her aircraft, Shah sailed He married, in 1946, Olive Rita Read,
across the Pacific to Melbourne in January known as Rita, after they met on a train.
and eventually joined the East Indies Fleet They had no children, but shared a love of
based at Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Great Danes, which they bred and showed.
Lanka) on March 19. For more than a year Friends remembered with amusement
she carried out trade protection operations seeing the Otts in their small Austin A30
in the Indian Ocean, but after Operation with a Great Dane sitting on the back seat as
Dukedom, in September, 851 NAS left its if directing them.
American aircraft behind in Ceylon and Rita was disabled by a stroke in 1998 and
sailed home in Shah. The squadron Frank looked after her until her death in
disbanded at Gourock near the Firth of 2008. He was determined to reach 100 and,
Clyde after arriving there in October 1945. although he was in hospital by then, he was
After his demobilisation Ott returned to delighted to receive his card from the Queen.
the Admiralty until 1948, when he moved to
the London County Council as an Frank Ott, born January 5 1922, died
administrative assistant in the Education January 30 2022
in politics. She served as foreign policy
co-ordinator for the Mondale-Ferraro
ticket in the presidential election of
1984 then took over as head of the
non-profit think-tank National
Democratic Institute for International
Affairs.
Five years later, after advising
Michael Dukakis in yet another
unsuccessful Democratic presidential
bid, in 1988, she became president of
the Centre for National Policy, another
prominent think-tank.
Despite her later reputation,
Madeleine Albright’s record in the
1980s and early 1990s showed that her
hawkishness had limits. She opposed
the Reagan arms build-up that finally
undermined the Soviet economy and
opposed giving aid to the Nicaraguan
Contras. In 1990, after Saddam
Hussein’s tanks rolled into Kuwait, she
was among those arguing for sanctions
and diplomacy rather than military
action – a “mistake”, as she later
conceded.
When the long run of Republican
electoral success ended in Bill
Clinton’s victory in 1992 and she was
appointed US ambassador at the UN
the following year, she moved quickly
to distance herself from any
accusations of doveishness, boldly
proclaiming a policy of “assertive
multilateralism” under which America
would act in concert with its allies as it
had done in the Gulf War.
But her good intentions came
unstuck almost immediately when,
soon after her appointment, she
pressed the UN Security Council to
agree a resolution calling for the
apprehension of the Somali faction
leader Mohamed Farah Aideed. With
the death of 18 US Army Rangers on the
streets of Mogadishu, the campaign
was abandoned under Congressional
pressure in one of the most
embarrassing foreign policy debacles
of modern times.
Worse was to come in 1994, when
she lobbied to dismantle the small
mission of UN peacekeepers in
Rwanda just as Hutu militias began
slaughtering hundreds of thousands of
Tutsis.
None the less she continued to
project herself as a hawk, being
stridently anti-Iraq, anti-Cuba and
pro-Israel and becoming one of the
staunchest advocates of air strikes
against the Bosnian Serbs. “What’s the
point of having this great military
you’re always talking about if we can’t
use it?” she famously asked General
Colin Powell, then chairman of the US
Joint Chiefs of Staff, who opposed
military intervention. Her comment
that the downing of two American
planes by the Cubans was “not cojones
but cowardice” won her rapturous
applause among Cuban exiles in
Miami.
Yet as her critics pointed out,
Madeleine Albright’s claim to
toughness relied on her tenacity in
what were, in terms of domestic
politics, easy battles. Taking a hard line
on Cuba and Iran did her no harm on
Capitol Hill and even her enthusiasm
for air strikes on Bosnia was
comparatively risk-free as, unlike
Britain and France, America then had
no troops on the ground who would
have been vulnerable to reprisals.
Ott in his khaki
tropical uniform,
far left, and, left,
Haguro, sunk in
one of the last
major sea battles
of the Second
World War
*** 27
Her gung-ho approach on Bosnia led
to some friction with Britain’s Old
Wykehamist United Nations
Ambassador Sir David Hannay, though,
again, this did her no more harm with
Washington hawks than did her
well-advertised dislike of the UN
secretary general Boutros Boutros-
Ghali (fully reciprocated – he
reportedly regarded her as a “fat
central European peasant”).
Her relentlessness in blocking an
extension to his term of office was
wildly popular with Right-wing
Republicans, notably Senator Jesse
Helms, chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, with whom she
forged a relationship of mutual
admiration.
While Madeleine Albright’s term as
America’s 64th Secretary of State
yielded success in terms of the
administration’s handling of the
Kosovo crisis, and neither she nor
Clinton could be blamed for their
failure to force a deal between Ehud
Barak and Yasser Arafat at Camp David
in 2000, both were later accused of
failing to interpret the full scale of the
threat from al-Qaeda.
The 1998 bombings of the US
embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were
met only with a token burst of
retaliatory cruise missiles and no plans
were laid for retaliatory action in
Afghanistan, despite the fact that
al-Qaeda was known to be operating
there freely.
After George W Bush’s victory in
2000, Madeleine Albright returned to
her academic career at Georgetown
and served on various boards
including that of the New York Stock
Exchange. In 2001 she founded the
Albright Group, an international
consultancy. In 2009 it merged with
Stonebridge International to form the
Albright Stonebridge Group, which
advises on international policy and
global markets.
There was some speculation that she
might pursue a career in Czech
politics, and the Czech president
Vaclav Havel talked openly about the
possibility of her succeeding him after
he retired in 2002. Though reportedly
flattered by the suggestion, Madeleine
Albright denied ever considering it.
She was a firm supporter of Hillary
Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid, and
while introducing her at a campaign
event, Madeleine Albright commented:
“There’s a special place in hell for
women who don’t help each other” (a
phrase she had used before). It was
seen as a rebuke of women who
supported Clinton’s rival, Bernie
Sanders, and in a subsequent New York
Times piece she acknowledged: “This
was the wrong context and the wrong
time to use that line. I did not mean to
argue that women should support a
particular candidate based solely on
gender.”
A close friend of the singer Barbra
Streisand, Madeleine Albright was, in
person, a woman known for her
myriad little kindnesses and for being
harsher in judging herself than in
judging others.
Madeleine Albright is survived by
her three daughters.
Madeleine Albright, born May 15
1937, died March 23 2022
28 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 29
30 ***
Last night on television Anita Singh
Quiet Korean drama is a
televisual masterpiece
A family affair: the Korean saga Pachinko spans many decades and continents
A
world of foreign dramas has
opened up to us via streaming
services, and the latest is
Pachinko (Apple TV+), a Korean series
following multiple generations of one
family. It is a quiet masterpiece.
The story takes us from Japanese-
occupied Korea in 1915 to New York
and Tokyo in the late 1980s. It unfolds
steadily, with no cliffhangers or cheap
tricks. Trauma is present – the trauma
of a colonised nation, and of the
individual stories therein – but this is
not a misery-fest. Instead, the
adaptation of Min Jin Lee’s bestselling
novel is a tale of emotional resilience,
its most poignant moments – displaced
people yearning for home – and
national tragedies balanced by
endurance and hope for the future.
This determination not to be defined
by the worst of times is signalled in the
opening titles, which are the most
joyful thing you’ll see all year. We
cut from grainy period footage of
Korean life to the cast dancing for all
they’re worth in a colourful pachinko
parlour (a games arcade), to the Sixties
sounds of Let’s Live for Today by The
Grass Roots.
There are two separate timelines,
but the segue from one to another –
a historical period that is unfamiliar,
to an era that looks pretty
contemporary – is well crafted. We
Television & Radio
follow the character of Sunja from
childhood (played by Jeon Yu-na) in an
impoverished fishing village to early
womanhood (played by Kim Min-ha),
and then meet her again as a
grandmother living in Japan – here
portrayed by Youn Yuh-jung, who won
the best supporting actress Oscar last
year for Minari. It would be unfair to
single out any of these performances,
because all are terrific.
Another storyline focuses on the
older Sunja’s grandson, Solomon (Jin
Ha), a high-flyer in New York finance,
who reconnects with her after a
posting to Japan. His main task is to
persuade a stubborn Korean pensioner
to move out of her home, which is
standing in the way of a proposed
luxury hotel. When the pensioner
meets the elderly Sunja, they
reminisce about their childhoods and
ponder how much they have gained
and lost: they no longer want for food
or home comforts yet “now my own
children don’t know the language in
which their mother dreams”.
It took me a while to realise that
the subtitles are yellow to indicate
that Korean is being spoken, and blue
for Japanese. Solomon’s scenes with
his American bosses are conducted in
English. But language is no barrier
when the drama is such a thing of
beauty.
D
o dogs wear pyjamas? The
Apprentice (BBC One) is a
programme that sticks so closely
to a formula, and contains so few
surprises, that only occasionally do you
wake up and think, “Hang on, what?”
This was the final, and Kathryn was
hoping to win £250,000 of Lord
Sugar’s money for her business selling
coordinating pyjamas for all the family,
including the four-legged. “My USP is
dog pyjamas,” she said. “You don’t get a
lot of matching dog PJs on the market.”
Maybe there’s a reason for that. But
what do I know? I don’t have a dog.
Perhaps your dog is wearing pyjamas
right now.
Harpreet’s big idea was a chain of
dessert parlours selling the kind of
treats that strike fear into the hearts of
dentists everywhere. She decided to
call it Oh So Yum, pausing only briefly
to wonder: “Does it read like a
Japanese furniture brand?”
It was an unexciting final. The only
great episode is the interview round,
in which Claude Littner and co tear the
candidates’ business plans and
self-esteem to shreds. But it’s also the
programme’s weakness, because how
do you show interviewers advising
Kathryn that her financial projections
read like “the rantings of a lunatic”, or
telling Harpreet that “you’re making
this up as you’re going along now”, and
then reverse-ferret a week later to
pretend these are two of Britain’s finest
business brains?
It’s a game show, I suppose.
Everything proceeded according to
the rules of Apprentice finals: they put
sniping aside and praised each other’s
efforts. They made digital billboards
and TV ads, aided by contestants from
past episodes and watched by Lord
Sugar’s aides. Karren Brady furrowed
her brow as much as she was able. Tim
Campbell, poor man, appears to have
aged 10 years since this series began.
Lord Sugar, if truth be told, didn’t
seem impressed by either business
idea. He delivered his verdict in the
tone of a man who’d just agreed to put
£250,000 of his own money through
the shredder. But in the end he chose
Harpreet’s dessert parlours. If Lord
Sugar has a dog, we can safely bet it
doesn’t wear pyjamas.
Pachinko ★★★★★
The Apprentice ★★★
What to watch
BRIDGERTON
Netflix
Come on out: it’s debutante season as Regency romp Bridgerton returns to Netflix for series two
‘D earest gentle reader,
did you miss me?’
Lady Whistledown (archly
narrated by Julie Andrews,
cunningly played by Nicola
Coughlan) is back, and so
too are her quarries, the
aristocracy of Regency
London, whom she is
pseudonymously noting
down in print again after
10 months in the country.
While Regé-Jean Page (as
the smouldering Simon
Basset, Duke of Hastings)
may be off-screen and his
COMEDY
Not Going Out
BBC One, 9.30pm
Bobby Ball’s death in 2020
has left a gaping hole in
more than one British
sitcom. Not Going Out has
negotiated his absence as
deftly as Gold’s The
Cockfields, playing it for
laughs in a manner you
suspect that Ball would have
sincerely enjoyed. Lee
Mack’s gag-fuelled series
returns for a 12th run with
Wendy (Deborah Grant)
painting a picture of Frank
(Ball) in his memory as a
present to son Lee (Mack).
Unfortunately, it’s atrocious;
an onslaught of social faux
pas, naturally, ensues.
Radio choice Gerard O’Donovan
The Smugglers’ Trail
Radio 4, 11am
One of the more shocking
revelations in Sue Mitchell’s
excellent series about
people-smuggling across
the English Channel is the
number of gangs that are
based in the UK, where they
stand less chance of being
caught. Today Mitchell and
her guide – aid worker and
RADIO 1
FM 97.6-99.8MHZ
6.33am Radio 1’s Best New Pop 7.00
Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James
10.00 Radio 1 Anthems 10.32 Radio
1 Anthems 11.02 Dean McCullough
12.45pm Newsbeat 1.00 Katie
Thistleton 3.00 Radio 1’s Party
Anthems 4.00 The Official Chart on
Radio 1 with Scott Mills 5.45
Newsbeat 6.00 Radio 1’s Dance Party
with Danny Howard 8.00 Radio 1’s
Future Dance with Sarah Story 10.00
Pete Tong 12.00 Radio 1’s Essential
Mix 2.00am Radio 1 Dance Presents
3.00 Danny Howard 4.00 Radio 1’s
Wind Down Presents 5.00 - 6.00am
Radio 1 Relax
RADIO 2
FM 88-90.2MHZ
6.30am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show
9.30 Ken Bruce 12.00 Jeremy Vine
2.00pm Steve Wright in the Afternoon
4.15 Steve Wright in the Afternoon –
Serious Jockin’ 5.00 Sara Cox 7.00
Tony Blackburn’s Golden Hour 8.00
Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies
Moments 10.00 Sounds of the 90s
with Fearne Cotton 12.00 Romesh
Ranganathan: For the Love of Hip-Hop
1.00am The Craig Charles House
Party 2.30 The Craig Charles House
Party Mixtape 3.00 Michelle Visage’s
Rule Breakers 4.00 Sophie Ellis-
Bextor’s Kitchen Disco 5.00 - 6.00am
Radio 2 in Concert
RADIO 3
FM 90.2-92.4MHZ
6.30am Breakfast 9.00 Essential
Classics 12.00 Composer of the Week:
Richard Strauss 1.00pm Radio 3
wife, Daphne (Phoebe
Dynevor), now reduced to
cameos, the focus is on the
Featheringtons (led by
matriarch Polly Walker)
and on Daphne’s rake
brother, Anthony
Bridgerton (Jonathan
Bailey), as he searches
reluctantly for a wife during
debutante season. Among
those debutantes are
Daphne and Anthony’s
sister, Eloise (Claudia Jessie),
her withering cynicism for
the occasion matched only
Police standing by in
Drugsland: Going Country
DOCUMENTARY
Drugsland: Going Country
BBC Three, 9.05pm
BBC Three’s excellent run of
documentaries on drugs,
crime and addiction in the
former soldier Rob Lawrie
– hear from traffickers how
they work, how they evade
detection (including alleged
payoffs to the French police),
the huge profits they make
and their apparent disregard
for the lives of those they
traffic. We also meet the
courageous Bit Bok, a
15-year-old who successfully
negotiated passage for
her and her family.
Lunchtime Concert 2.00 Afternoon
Concert 4.30 The Listening Service
5.00 In Tune 7.00 In Tune Mixtape
7.30 Radio 3 in Concert 10.00 The
Verb 10.45 The Essay: The Sounds of
Tyne 11.00 After Dark Festival: Late
Junction 1.00am Piano Flow with Tokio
Myers 2.00 Gameplay with Baby Queen
3.00 - 7.00am Through the Night
RADIO 4
FM 92.4-94.6MHZ; LW 198KHZ
6.00am Today 8.31 LW: Yesterday in
Parliament 9.00 Desert Island Discs
9.45 Book of the Week: Making
History: The Storytellers Who Shaped
the Past 9.45 LW: Daily Service 10.00
Woman’s Hour 11.00 The Smugglers’
Trail See Radio choice 11.30 Ankle
Tag 12.00 News 12.01pm LW:
Shipping Forecast 12.04 Passing
12.18 You and Yours 12.57 Weather
1.00 The World at One 1.45 Past
Forward: A Century of Sound 2.00 The
Archers 2.15 Drama: The Road and
the Miles to Dundee See Radio
choice 2.45 Helen Lewis: Great Wives
3.00 Gardeners’ Question Time 3.45
After Wonderland 4.00 Last Word
4.30 Feedback 5.00 PM 5.54 LW:
Shipping Forecast 5.57 Weather 6.00
Six O’Clock News 6.30 The Now Show
7.00 Letter from Ukraine 7.15 Add to
Playlist 8.00 Any Questions? 8.50 A
Point of View 9.00 The Hackers 9.59
Weather 10.00 The World Tonight
10.45 Book at Bedtime: Passing
11.00 A Good Read 11.30 Today in
Parliament 12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week: Making
History: The Storytellers Who Shaped
the Past 12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As World Service 5.33 Shipping
Forecast 5.43 Prayer for the Day 5.45
- 6.00am Lent Talks
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
by her unsuitability,
and alluring new arrival
Edwina Sharma (Charithra
Chandran), back from India
with her mother (Shelley
Conn) and sister Kate
(Simone Ashley).
It is as ludicrous as ever:
society balls and decorous
reclining supplemented by
the fun of identifying the
unlikely Regency/pop-
music cover versions.
Fans will be delighted,
sceptics as baffled as ever.
Gabriel Tate
United Kingdom continues
with this grimly gripping
two-parter. This time,
we follow the efforts of
Devon police to intervene
as ruthless national gangs
vie, through violence and
intimidation, to take over
the rural drugs trade.
Offering a broad range of
perspectives from police,
small-time dealers and
users, it is an alarming
insight into a worrying
trend. Fittingly, the
2019 film County Lines,
London youth worker
Henry Blake’s brutally
honest and acclaimed
dramatisation of the crisis,
which stars Harris
Dickinson as gang leader
Simon, follows at 10pm.
Drama: The Road and the
Miles to Dundee
Radio 4, 2.15pm
With a script by crime
writer Val McDermid and
songs by singer-songwriter
Barbara Dickson, neither
quality nor Scottishness is
in short supply here.
McDermid describes her
semi-autobiographical
drama – which is about a
RADIO 5 LIVE
MW 693 & 909KHZ
9.00am Nicky Campbell 11.00 Chiles
on Friday 1.00pm Elis James and John
Robins 2.30 Kermode and Mayo’s Film
Review 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live
Sport: The Friday Football Social 8.30
5 Live Boxing 9.00 5 Live Formula 1
10.00 Stephen Nolan 1.00am Hayley
Hassall 5.00 - 5.30 5 Live Boxing
CLASSIC FM
FM 99.9-101.9MHZ
6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00
Alexander Armstrong 12.00 Anne-
Marie Minhall 4.00pm John Brunning
7.00 Smooth Classics at Seven.
Relaxing sounds 8.00 The Classic FM
Concert with John Suchet 10.00
Smooth Classics 1.00am Katie
Breathwick 4.00 - 7.00am Sam Pittis
WORLD SERVICE
DIGITAL ONLY
8.00am News 8.06 HARDtalk 8.30
Business Daily 8.50 Witness History
9.00 News 9.06 Tech Tent 9.30
Science in Action 10.00 News 10.06
The Real Story 11.00 The Newsroom
11.30 World Football 12.00 News
12.06pm The Fifth Floor 12.50
Witness History 1.00 The Newsroom
1.30 Science in Action 2.00 Newshour
3.00 News 3.06 HARDtalk 3.30 World
Business Report 4.00 BBC OS 6.00
News 6.06 The Fifth Floor 6.50
Witness History 7.00 The Newsroom
7.30 Sport Today 8.00 News 8.06
Tech Tent 8.30 CrowdScience 9.00
Newshour 10.00 The Newsroom
10.20 Sports News 10.30 World
Business Report 11.00 News 11.06
HARDtalk 11.30 World Football 12.00
FACTUAL
Inside Culture
BBC Two, 7.30pm;
Wales, 11.35pm
Mary Beard continues her
cultural ranging in this
interview with Elif Shafak,
the British-Turkish novelist
whose Ten Minutes 38
Seconds in This Strange
World was shortlisted for
the Booker Prize in 2019.
They discuss migration,
exile, and the culture of
polarisation on social media.
Unreported World:
The Antivax Preachers
Channel 4, 7.30pm
This new series of
Unreported World once
again fulfils its brief
admirably by dispatching
reporter Seyi Rhodes to
South Sudan, where just
Tutankhamun: Waking the
Dead – Bettany Hughes
200,000 people have
been fully vaccinated. He
encounters fierce anti-vax
propaganda and serious
logistical problems, but also
some cause for optimism.
Earth’s Great Rivers II
BBC Two, 9pm
David Oyelowo talks us
down the 2,000 miles of
the Danube from its many
tributaries out to the Black
Sea – a journey which
features forests and rapids,
cave-diving scientists and
ice runners, mating mayflies
and giant fish. It is both
mesmerising and oddly
soothing.
Tutankhamun:
Waking the Dead
Channel 5, 9pm
Bettany Hughes goes where
many have gone before,
using up-to-date historical
and scientific insights –
including CT scans – to get
to grips with the true story
of the boy king. GT
famous writer, Stella (Louise
Oliver), who has long been
haunted by a song her father
sang – as a queer tale of
avoiding love on the
rebound. Following a messy
break-up, Stella bumps into
Jen (Susannah Laing) en
route to a literary festival,
and they hit it off. But will
the lessons of the song
apply, or can Stella shake
off the past?
News 12.06am The Real Story 1.00
News 1.06 World Business Report
1.30 WorkLifeIndia 2.00 The
Newsroom 2.30 CrowdScience 3.00
News 3.06 The Fifth Floor 3.50
Witness History 4.00 News 4.06 -
5.00 The Real Story
RADIO 4 EXTRA
DIGITAL ONLY
8.00am Dad’s Army 8.30 Bristow
9.00 Guess What? 9.30 Bookcases
10.00 The Thirty Nine Steps 11.00
Podcast Radio Hour 12.00 Dad’s Army
12.30pm Bristow 1.00 A Charles Paris
Mystery: Murder in the Title 1.30
Kipling in Love 2.00 Long Time No See
2.15 Irene Nemirovsky: The
Misunderstanding 2.30 Fiery
Inspiration: Amiri Baraka and the
Black Arts Movement 3.00 The Thirty
Nine Steps 4.00 Guess What? 4.30
Bookcases 5.00 All Those Women
5.30 George Fouracres: Black Country
Gentlemon 6.00 The Case of Charles
Dexter Ward 6.15 The First Men in the
Moon 6.30 And the Academy Award
Goes To 7.00 Dad’s Army 7.30 Bristow
8.00 A Charles Paris Mystery: Murder
in the Title 8.30 Kipling in Love 9.00
Podcast Radio Hour 10.00 Comedy
Club 12.00 The Case of Charles Dexter
Ward 12.15am The First Men in the
Moon 12.30 And the Academy Award
Goes To 1.00 A Charles Paris Mystery:
Murder in the Title 1.30 Kipling in
Love 2.00 Long Time No See 2.15
Irene Nemirovsky: The
Misunderstanding 2.30 Fiery
Inspiration: Amiri Baraka and the
Black Arts Movement 3.00 The Thirty
Nine Steps 4.00 Guess What? 4.30
Bookcases 5.00 All Those Women
5.30 - 6.00am George Fouracres:
Black Country Gentlemon
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 *** 31

Today’s television

Main channels
BBC One
6.00 am Breakfast (S) 9.15 Morning Live
(S) 10.00 Crimewatch Live (S) 10.45
Caught Red Handed (AD) (R) (S)
11.15 Homes Under the Hammer
(AD) (R) (S)
12.15 pm Bargain Hunt (AD) (S)
1.00 BBC News at One; Weather (S)
1.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
1.45 Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private
Investigators (AD) (R) (S)
2.30 Money for Nothing (S)
3.00 Escape to the Country (AD) (R) (S)
3.45 The Repair Shop (S)
4.30 Bridge of Lies (S)
5.15 Pointless (S)
6.00 BBC News at Six; Weather (S)
6.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
BBC Two
6.15 am Homes Under the Hammer (R)
(S) 7.15 The Repair Shop (R) (S) 8.00
Sign Zone: Great Coastal Railway
Journeys (AD) (R) (S) (SL) 8.30 Sign
Zone: Marcus Wareing’s Tales from a
Kitchen Garden (R) (S) (SL) 9.00
News (S) 10.00 News (S)
12.15 pm Politics UK (S)
1.00 FILM: The Belles of St Trinian’s
(1954, b/w) Comedy starring Alastair
Sim (S)
2.30 Orangutans: The Great Ape Escape
– Natural World (AD) (R) (S)
3.30 The Customer Is Always Right (R)
(S)
4.15 The Sweet Makers: A Victorian
Treat (AD) (R) (S)
5.15 Flog It! (R) (S)
6.00 Richard Osman’s House of Games
(S)
6.30 Lightning (S)
FV Freeview FS Freesat (AD) Audio description (R) Repeat (S) Subtitles (SL) In-vision signing
ITV Channel 4
6.00 am Good Morning Britain (S) 9.00 6.05 am Countdown (R) (S) 6.45 Cheers
Lorraine (S) 10.00 This Morning (S) (R) (S) 7.10 Cheers (R) (S) 7.40
12.30 pm Loose Women (S) Everybody Loves Raymond (AD) (R)
1.30 News; Weather (S) (S) 8.05 Everybody Loves Raymond
1.55 Regional News; Weather (S) (AD) (R) (S) 8.35 Everybody Loves
2.00 Dickinson’s Real Deal (R) (S) Raymond (AD) (R) (S) 9.05 Frasier
3.00 Lingo (R) (S) (AD) (R) (S) 9.35 Frasier (AD) (R) (S)
4.00 Tipping Point (R) (S) 10.05 Frasier (AD) (R) (S) 10.35
5.00 The Chase (R) (S) Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA
6.00 Regional News; Weather (S) (R) (S) 11.30 Channel 4 News (S)
6.30 News; Weather (S) 11.35 Undercover Boss USA (S)
12.30 pm Steph’s Packed Lunch (S)
2.10 Countdown (S)
3.00 A Place in the Sun (R) (S)
4.00 A New Life in the Sun (R) (S)
5.00 Four in a Bed (S)
5.30 Fame in the Family (S)
6.00 The Simpsons (AD) (R) (S)
6.30 Hollyoaks (AD) (R) (S)
Channel 5
6.00 am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine (S)
12.15 pm George Clarke’s Build a New
Life in the Country (R) (S)
1.10 5 News at Lunchtime (S)
1.15 Home and Away (S)
1.45 Neighbours (S)
2.15 FILM: Mystery 101: Killer Timing
(2021, TVM) Premiere. Murder
mystery starring Jill Wagner (S)
4.00 Filthy House SOS (R) (S)
5.00 5 News at 5 (S)
6.00 Neighbours (R) (S)
6.30 Eggheads (S)
Film choice
Spencer (2021)
Amazon Prime Video ★★★★★
Pablo Larraín imagines the make-or-
break moment where the Royal
family attempt to bring their most
dangerously wayward member to
heel. This resplendently mad, sad and
beautiful biopic about Diana, Princess
of Wales (Kristen Stewart, nominated
for Best Actress for this role in
Sunday’s Oscars) unfurls like a
fairytale, as a beautiful princess
attempts to escape a gilded prison.

The Ice Age Adventures of Buck

Not Going Out: Lee Mack
7.00 The One Show Hosted by Alex
Jones and Rylan (S)
7.30 Question of Sport With Liam Heath,
Katy Daley-McLean, Jermaine
Beckford and Tim Vine (S)
8.00 MasterChef Food critic Tom Parker
Bowles helps assess the
contestants’ efforts (AD) (S)
Earth’s Great Rivers II: the Danube
7.00 MOTDx Football discussion
presented by Jermaine Jenas (S)
7.30 Inside Culture with Mary Beard
See What to watch (S)
8.00 Gardeners’ World Nick Bailey heads
to Bodnant Garden in north Wales
(S)
Grantchester: Tom Brittney stars
7.30 Emmerdale Jai is humiliated (AD)
(S)
8.00 Coronation Street As Gary resolves
to move Rick’s body, Laura demands
the truth (AD) (S)
Grayson’s Art Club
7.00 Channel 4 News (S)
7.30 Unreported World New series. Seyi
Rhodes investigates the reasons
behind Covid vaccine inequality
See What to watch (AD) (S)
8.00 Grayson’s Art Club Grayson Perry
and his wife Philippa are joined by
comedian Jo Brand (AD) (S)
World’s Most Scenic River Journeys
7.00 World’s Most Scenic River
Journeys A journey down Bosnia
and Herzegovina’s Neretva River (S)
7.55 5 News Update (S)
8.00 Submarine: Life Under the Waves
Part two of two. Captain Stephen
Brian takes command of HMS
Trenchant (R) (S)
Wild (2022)
Disney+ ★★★
Simon Pegg reprises his role as the
dinosaur-hunting weasel Buck Wild in
this latest instalment of the Ice Age
franchise. Errant possum pranksters
Crash and Eddie return to the lost
world of 2009’s Ice Age: Dawn of the
Dinosaurs, where Buck’s fight against
a tyrannical Protoceratops (Utkarsh
Ambudkar) serves as backdrop for
their coming-of-age drama.

9.00 MasterChef The first quarter-final
(AD) (S)
9.30 Not Going Out New series. Wendy
produces a commemorative portrait
of Frank See What to watch (S)
10.00 BBC News at Ten (S)
10.25 Regional News; Weather (S)
10.35 FILM: Spider-Man: Homecoming
(2017) Superhero adventure starring
Tom Holland (AD) (S)
12.45- 6.00am News
9.00 Earth’s Great Rivers II Exploring
the story of the Danube
See What to watch (AD) (S)
10.00 Live at the Apollo: Access All Areas
A celebration of disabled stand-up
comedians at the BBC (R) (S)
10.30 Newsnight (S)
11.05 The Misadventures of Romesh
Ranganathan 12.05am Sign Zone:
Panorama: Ukraine’s Resistance:
Standing Up to Putin 12.35 Sign
Zone: Fraud Squad 1.20 Sign Zone:
Fraud Squad 2.05 - 6.20am This Is
BBC Two
9.00 Grantchester A vagrant is found
dead in the doorway of Leonard’s
cafe (AD) (S)
10.00 News; Weather (S)
10.30 Regional News; Weather (S)
10.45 FILM: Rocky Balboa (2006) Boxing
drama starring Sylvester Stallone
(AD) (S)
12.35 am Shop: Ideal World 3.00 Winning
Combination 3.50 Unwind with ITV
5.05 - 6.00am Cash Trapped
9.00 Gogglebox The households’
opinions on recent TV (AD) (S)
10.00 The Last Leg Comic review of the
significant moments of the past
seven days (S)
11.05 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown
12.05am FILM: American Ultra
(2015) 1.45 Ramsay’s Hotel Hell 2.35
Come Dine with Me 3.05 Come Dine
with Me 3.30 Come Dine with Me
4.00 Come Dine with Me 4.25
Come Dine with Me 4.50
Moneybags 5.45 - 6.00am Kirstie’s
House of Craft
9.00 Tutankhamun: Waking The
Dead Professor Bettany Hughes
takes a forensic look at the
body of Tutankhamun
See What to watch (S)
10.00 Patrick Swayze: Dirty Dancer The
story of the actor’s struggle for
acceptance (R) (S)
11.30 ‘80s Greatest Pop Videos: 1986
1.15am The 21.co.uk Live Casino
Show 3.20 1996: Britain’s Biggest
Hits 4.25 The Funny Thing About
Holidays 5.10 House Doctor 5.35 -
6.00am Paw Patrol
Blacklight (2022)
Sky Cinema Premiere, 8pm ★★
From Ozark co-creator Mark Williams,
Liam Neeson’s latest vehicle sees
brooding government “fixer” Travis
Block come up against his former
employers, after the death of a political
activist causes him to question his
loyalties. It’s a natural progression for
the Neeson formula: now both
daughter and granddaughter are
threatened by shadowy chaos agents.
Emmy Raver-Lampman co-stars.

Freeview, satellite and cable
BBC Four
FV 9 FS 173 SKY 116 VIRGIN 107
7.00 pm Dusty
7.30 Dusty
7.55 Pop Go the Sixties
8.00 TOTP: 1992
8.30 TOTP: 1992
9.00 Elton John: Uncensored
10.00 FILM: Amazing Grace
(2018) Concert recording of
Aretha Franklin’s 1972
gospel album
11.25 Elton John: Electric Prom
12.25 am Classic Soul at the BBC
1.25 TOTP: 1992
1.55 TOTP: 1992
2.25 Dusty
2.55 - 3.20am Dusty
ITV2
Noon Supermarket Sweep 1.00pm
Tipping Point: Lucky Stars 2.00 Family
Fortunes 3.00 The Ellen DeGeneres
Show 4.00 The Masked Singer US
5.00 You’ve Been Framed! Gold 6.00
Celebrity Catchphrase 7.00 Superstore
8.00 Bob’s Burgers 9.00 FILM: Ted
(2012) Comedy starring Mark
Wahlberg with the voice of Seth
MacFarlane 11.10 Family Guy
12.05am American Dad! 1.00 Bob’s
Burgers 2.00 Superstore 2.50 Totally
Bonkers Guinness World Records 3.15
Unwind with ITV 3.30-6.00am
Teleshopping
E4
Noon Brooklyn Nine-Nine 1.00pm The
Big Bang Theory 3.00 Young Sheldon
4.00 Brooklyn Nine-Nine 5.00 The Big
Bang Theory 7.00 Hollyoaks 7.30 The
Big Bang Theory 8.00 Teen First Dates
9.00 FILM: Jack Reacher: Never Go
Back (2016) Action thriller sequel
starring Tom Cruise 11.20 Naked
Attraction 1.30am First Dates 2.30
Gogglebox 3.25-4.15am Below Deck:
Mediterranean
More4
11.05am Find It, Fix It, Flog It
1.05pm Heir Hunters 2.05 Four in a
Bed 4.50 Find It, Fix It, Flog It 5.55
FV Freeview FS Freesat (AD) Audio description (R) Repeat (S) Subtitles (SL) In-vision signing
Variations
ITV3 ITV4 Sky Max Sky Atlantic Film4 Drama Northern Ireland
FV 10 FS 115 SKY 119 VIRGIN 117 FV 26 FS 117 SKY 120 VIRGIN 118 SKY 113 VIRGIN 122 SKY 108 FV 14 FS 300 SKY 313 VIRGIN 428 FV 20 FS 158 SKY 143 VIRGIN 130 BBC One: No variations
BBC Two: 11.05 - 12.05am Murder in
11.50 am Heartbeat 11.25 am The Champions Noon NCIS: New Orleans 11.10 am The Sopranos 11.00 am The File on Thelma Noon The Bill the Badlands
12.55 pm Heartbeat 12.30 pm Made in Britain 1.00 pm Hawaii Five-0 12.15 pm Game of Thrones Jordon (1950, b/w) 1.00 pm Classic EastEnders UTV: 7.00 - 7.30pm UTV Life
2.00 Classic Emmerdale 1.35 Robin of Sherwood 2.00 S.W.A.T. 1.20 Hausen 1.05 pm In Harm’s Way (1965, 1.40 Classic EastEnders
2.30 Classic Emmerdale 2.40 The Avengers 3.00 DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 2.25 Hausen b/w) Second World War 2.20 Hetty Wainthropp Scotland
3.00 Classic Coronation Street 3.50 The Professionals 4.00 Arrow 3.30 Ray Donovan drama starring John Wayne Investigates
3.35 Classic Coronation Street 4.55 Minder 5.00 The Flash 4.35 Ray Donovan 4.25 Mary, Queen of Scots 3.20 Lovejoy BBC One: 12.40am A View from the
4.05 Midsomer Murders 6.00 Extreme Salvage Squad 6.00 Stargate SG-1 5.40 The Sopranos (1971) Historical biopic 4.20 Pie in the Sky Terrace 1.45 - 6.00am BBC News
BBC Scotland: 9.00pm The Nine 9.30
6.00 Heartbeat 6.55 The Chase Celebrity Special 7.00 Stargate SG-1 6.45 The Sopranos starring Vanessa Redgrave 5.20 Brush Strokes
Selling Scotland 10.00 Still Game 10.30
7.00 Heartbeat 8.00 River Monsters 8.00 A League of Their Own 7.45 Game of Thrones 7.05 Fantastic Four (2015) 6.00 Are You Being Served? A View from the Terrace 11.30 The
8.00 Doc Martin 9.00 FILM: Van Helsing (2004) 9.00 Rob & Romesh vs Ballet 9.00 Funeral for a Dog Superhero adventure 6.40 Last of the Summer Wine Scotts Midnight Close
9.00 Doc Martin Gothic action adventure 10.00 Brassic 10.00 Funeral for a Dog starring Miles Teller 7.20 Last of the Summer Wine STV: 3.50 - 5.05am Unwind with STV
10.05 Law & Order: UK starring Hugh Jackman 11.00 Peacemaker 11.00 Succession 9.00 The Hobbit: An Unexpected 8.00 Father Brown
11.05 Scott & Bailey 11.40 All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite 12.00 Road Wars 12.05 am True Blood Journey (2012) Fantasy 9.00 Sister Boniface Mysteries Wales
12.05 am Beecham House 1.45 am The Professionals 1.00 am Arrow 1.15 True Blood adventure starring Martin 10.00 New Tricks
1.05 Beecham House 2.40 Unwind with ITV 2.00 The Blacklist 2.25 True Blood Freeman and Ian McKellen 11.00 Silent Witness BBC One: 3.00 - 3.45pm Bargain Hunt
2.10 Unwind with ITV 3.00 - 6.00am Teleshopping 3.00 - 4.00am Hawaii Five-0 3.30 - 4.00am In Treatment 12.20 am We Summon the 1.35 am Kavanagh QC 7.30 - 8.00pm Weatherman Walking
BBC Two: 3.30pm Flog It! 3.50 The
2.30 - 6.00am Teleshopping Darkness (2019) 2.55 - 4.00am Monarch of the
Sweet Makers: A Victorian Treat 4.50
2.10 - 4.00am February (2015) Glen Scrum V Live 7.00 Richard Osman’s
House of Games 7.30 - 8.00 Lightning
11.05 MOTDx 11.35 - 12.05am Inside
Culture with Mary Beard
Car S.O.S 6.55 Escape to the Chateau: Revisited 4.15 Legends of F1 4.45 BT Sport 1 Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender Recreated 6.00 Beautiful Serengeti Desmond’s 6.35 Hi-de-Hi! 7.20 The ITV Wales: 7.00 - 7.30pm Coast &
DIY 7.55 Devon and Cornwall 9.00 Live Formula 1. Live coverage of the 10.45 Discovering: Iggy Pop 11.15 6.35 Hiroshima: The Real History 8.40 Green Green Grass 8.00 Dad’s Army Country
Noon West Indies v England – Cricket
The Crimson Rivers 11.00 24 Hours in second practice session of the Saudi Punk 12.30am Isle of Wight Festival Hitler’s Circle of Evil 9.55 Plane Crash 9.20 The Good Life 10.00 All Round to
A&E 1.10am 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Classics 12.30pm Test Cricket Greatest Hits 1.00 Stevie Nicks: 24 Recreated 11.00 Beautiful Serengeti Mrs Brown’s 11.20 Sandylands 12.00
Arabian Grand Prix, taking place at
Highlights 1.30 Live Test Cricket ITV Regions
Countdown 3.20-3.45am Food Jeddah Corniche Circuit 6.10 The F1 Karat Gold Tour 3.00 Video Killed the 11.35 Hiroshima: The Real History Peep Show 12.35am French and
Unwrapped 10.00 WWE NXT UK 11.00 WWE Radio Star 3.30-5.00am Come 1.40am Hitler’s Circle of Evil 2.40 Saunders 1.05 Chef! 1.50 Bridget & No variations, except:
Show 7.10 My Icon: Michael Holding
SmackDown Highlights 12.00 Live: Together: The Rise of the Festival Plane Crash Recreated 3.35-4.00am Eamon 2.45 Peep Show 3.25-4.00am ITV Anglia: No variations
7.20 My Icon: Chris Hughton 7.30
WWE Friday Night SmackDown ITV Border: No variations
Dave Live International Under-21 Football. Beautiful Serengeti Chef!
ITV Central: No variations
2.00am WWE NXT Highlights 3.00-
Noon Red Bull Soapbox Race 1.00pm England v Andorra (kick-off 7.45pm). Sky Cinema Premiere ITV Channel: No variations
4.00am UFC Unleashed
Border Force: America’s Gatekeepers 10.00 Live World Golf Championships. 24 hours, including at:
Talking Pictures TV Yesterday ITV Granada: No variations
The WGC-Dell Technologies Match ITV Meridian: No variations
2.00 Expedition with Steve Backshall Sky History 10.50am Blacklight (2022) Action 24 hours, including at: Noon Great British Railway Journeys
Play. Further live coverage of the third ITV Tyne Tees: No variations
3.00 Rick Stein’s Spain 4.00 Red Bull thriller starring Liam Neeson 12.40pm 11.15am FILM: GI Blues (1960) 2.00pm Abandoned Engineering 4.00 ITV West: No variations
Soapbox Race 5.00 Rick Stein’s India day’s play 12.00-5.05am Live ICC Noon River Hunters Special 1.00pm Escape Room: Tournament of 1.20pm FILM: Alive and Kicking Nazi Victory: The Post-War Plan 5.00
ITV Westcountry: No variations
6.00 Taskmaster 7.00 Richard Women’s World Cup. New Zealand v Forged in Fire 2.00 American Pickers Champions (Extended Cut) (2021) (1958, b/w) 3.20 Breaking the Codes World War Weird 6.00 Sahara with
ITV Yorkshire: No variations
Osman’s House of Games 7.40 Room Pakistan. Live coverage of the group 4.00 The UnXplained with William 2.20 Our Ladies (2019) 4.10 3.55 FILM: The Ship that Died of Michael Palin 7.00 Great British
101 8.20 Would I Lie to You? 9.00 QI match from Hagley Oval in Shatner 6.00 Pawn Stars 7.00 Forged Reminiscence (2021) Sci-fi romance Shame (1955) 5.55 FILM: I’m All Railway Journeys 8.00 Abandoned S4C
XL 10.00 QI 10.40 Mock the Week Christchurch, New Zealand in Fire 8.00 Curse of the Ancients starring Hugh Jackman 6.10 Old Right Jack (1959, b/w) 9.00 Cellar Engineering 9.00 Bangers and Cash
11.20 Meet the Richardsons 12.00 9.00 Digging for Britain 10.00 (2021) M Night Shyamalan’s horror Club with Caroline Munro 9.05 FILM: 10.00 Secrets of the Transport 6.00am Cyw 12.05pm Newyddion S4C
Sky Sports Premier Britain’s Most Historic Towns 11.00 a’r Tywydd 12.15 Datganiad Covid-19
Hypothetical 1.00am QI XL 1.40 with Gael Garcia Bernal 8.00 Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1971) Museum 11.00 Bangers and Cash
League How Sex Changed the World 12.00 12.30 Heno Aur 1.00 Codi Hwyl 1.30
Would I Lie to You? 2.25 Live at the Blacklight (2022) Action thriller with 10.50 Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 12.00 Abandoned Engineering Dau Gi Bach 2.00 Newyddion S4C a’r
Apollo 3.10-4.00am The Curse of the Ancients 1.00am Lost Liam Neeson See Film choice 9.50 10.55 FILM: The Raven (1963) 1.00am Antiques Roadshow 3.00-
Noon Gary Neville’s Soccerbox Tywydd 2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00
Misadventures of Romesh Relic Hunters 2.00 Forged in Fire Escape Room: Tournament of 12.35am Cellar Club with Caroline 6.00am Teleshopping Newyddion S4C a’r Tywydd 3.05 Cynefin
1.00pm Premier League Years 3.00
Ranganathan 3.00-4.00am How Sex Changed the Champions (Extended Cut) (2021) Munro 12.40 FILM: The Four Skulls of 4.00 Awr Fawr: Olobobs 4.05 Awr Fawr:
PL Greatest Games 4.00 Best PL Goals
World Horror sequel starring Taylor Russell Jonathan Drake (1959, b/w) 2.10 Discovery Bach a Mawr 4.20 Awr Fawr: Gwdihw
07/08 5.00 PL 100 Club: Harry Kane
Sky Sports Main Event 11.30 Reminiscence (2021) Sci-fi Cellar Club with Caroline Munro 2.15 4.35 Awr Fawr: Digbi Draig 4.50 Awr
5.30 Premier League 100 Club 6.00 Noon Railroad Alaska 1.00pm Gold
WSL 6.30 Premier League World 7.00 Sky Arts romance with Hugh Jackman 1.30am FILM: Bad Dreams (1988) 3.55- Fawr: Byd Tad-Cu 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00
12.30pm Sky Sports News 1.00 Sky Rush: White Water 3.00 World’s Gerddi Cymru 6.30 Anrhegion Melys
Live International Football. The Ogglies (2021) 3.15-5.00am 5.45am FILM: Fourteen Hours (1951,
Sports News 1.30 Live Formula 1. Live Noon Manet from the Royal Academy Biggest Shipbuilders 4.00 Building Off Richard Holt 6.57 Newyddion S4C 7.00
Blacklight (2022) Action thriller b/w)
coverage of the first practice session Luxembourg v Northern Ireland (kick- of Arts, London 1.00pm Tales of the the Grid 5.00 Wheeler Dealers 6.00 Heno 7.30 Newyddion S4C a’r Tywydd
starring Liam Neeson 8.00 Pobol y Cwm 8.25 Welsh Whisperer
of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, taking off 7.15pm). Live coverage of the Unexpected 2.00 Discovering: Jeff Fast N’ Loud 7.00 Outback Truckers
place at Jeddah Corniche Circuit 3.25 friendly match from Stade de Bridges 3.00 Mystery of the Lost GOLD 8.00 Gold Rush 9.00 Conspiracies – Ni’n Teithio Nawr 8.55 Newyddion S4C
Live Formula 2 Championship. Live Luxembourg 9.30 Premier League Paintings 4.00 Brunelleschi’s PBS America Noon Dad’s Army 12.40pm Chef! Decoded 10.00 Legendary Locations
a’r Tywydd 9.00 Guinness World Records
coverage of the qualifying session, World 10.00 Premier League Icons Impossible Dome 5.00 Tales of the 11.50am Plane Crash Recreated 1.25 Dad’s Army 2.00 Desmond’s 11.00 Combat Dealers 12.00
Cymru 2022 10.00 Yn y Fan A’r Lle
10.30 - 11.35pm Stad
taking place at Jeddah Corniche Circuit 11.00 PL Retro 1.00am Premier Unexpected 6.00 Discovering: Sean 1.00pm Beautiful Serengeti 1.35 2.35 The Green Green Grass 3.20 Conspiracies Decoded 1.00am
in Saudi Arabia 3.55 The History of League Years 3.00-4.00am PL Connery 7.00 Queen – Hungarian Hiroshima: The Real History 3.40 Dad’s Army 4.00 Last of the Summer Legendary Locations 2.00
Aston Martin 4.05 Brazil 2008 Greatest Games Rhapsody: Live in Budapest 9.00 Hitler’s Circle of Evil 4.50 Plane Crash Wine 5.20 dinnerladies 6.00 Moonshiners 3.00-4.50am Gold Rush
32 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

Weather & Crosswords

Nature notes

Dolphins whistle
to keep in touch
Male dolphins maintain rich social
lives by whistling at each other,
according to new research.
The high-pitched sound tells others
they wish to make contact and helps
the enigmatic marine mammals
maintain community ties.
Emma Chereskin, the lead author
and student at the University of Bristol,
explained: “Many animals, including
humans, use tactile contact, touch, to
strengthen and reaffirm relationships.
“But as the number of close social
relationships increases, so, too, do the
demands on the time and space
available for relationship maintenance
through physical contact.
“Male bottlenose dolphins form
strategic, multi-level alliances, and
maintain these in large groups.”
They use physical contact such as
gentle petting to connect with bonded
allies but rely on less time-demanding
vocal exchanges to stay connected, the
study in Current Biology found.

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We broke the
law – and we’d
do it again,
admits P&O
Boss of ferry company tells
MPs that consulting with
unions over 800 jobs cuts
‘would have been a sham’
By Oliver Gill and Lucy Burton
THE boss of P&O Ferries has admitted
his company broke the law by sacking
800 seafarers on the spot last week – but
said he would do it again if he had to.
Peter Hebblethwaite shocked MPs on
an emergency Commons committee by
admitting there was “absolutely no
doubt” that under UK employment law
the ferry operator was required to con-
sult unions before pushing ahead with
the mass sackings, in which workers
were escorted off their vessels by secu-
rity and replaced with agency staff.
However, he added: “We chose not to
consult and we are, and will, compen-
Peter Hebblethwaite,
chief executive at
P&O Ferries, refused
to rule out taking a
bonus on top of his
£325,000 salary
sate everybody in full for that. I would
make this decision again, I’m afraid.”
Asked if Mr Hebblethwaite would
himself be fired for deciding to get rid of
the workers, his boss Jesper Kristensen,
chief operations officer for maritime
services at P&O’s parent company,
backed him up and said: “I couldn’t
imagine that we would do that, no.”
P&O, whose roots can be traced back
185 years, is facing criminal proceed-
ings and a multimillion-pound fine after
failing to follow the letter of the law in
the way it made staff redundant.
Huw Merriman, transport committee
chairman, told The Daily Telegraph that
P&O and its Dubai owners had “stuck
two fingers up at the UK and its employ-
ment laws”. In a fiery hearing, MPs on
the Commons transport and business
Russian shares surge after ‘Potemkin’ stock market reopening
By Simon Foy
RUSSIAN shares rallied after the
Moscow stock exchange partially
reopened following a three-week sus-
pension, as it was propped up by the
Kremlin to prevent a heavy sell-off.
The MOEX, Russia’s benchmark
index, ended the day 4.4pc higher,
having jumped as much as 11pc earlier
in the day, as Vladimir Putin’s regime
imposed a string of measures aimed at
Next boss warns of 8pc price rises
By Laura Onita
THE boss of Next has said
that the current squeeze on
incomes is worse than the
damage wrought during the
financial crisis, as the retailer
warned the war in Ukraine
will fuel an 8pc rise in prices
this autumn.
Responding to a question
about how the current envi-
ronment compares with the
cost-of-living crisis in the
fallout from the financial
telegraph.co.uk/business ** Friday 25 March 2022
CURRENCIES COMMODITIES INSIDE
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Fresnillo
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767⅝p
34600
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(£1485)
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
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close
ˆ -0.97 (-0.03pc) Page 4
34400
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ˆ Sunak’s wriggle room
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34300 BRENT CRUDE 
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4pm Next 10am 12pm 2pm 4pm EURO STOXX 50 3863.39 Rate
taxes, boosted by rising
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Page 7 Page 7 Page 2
committees also heard that P&O is pay-
ing agency workers as little as £5.15 an
hour, below the UK minimum wage.
Mr Hebblethwaite refused to rule out
taking a bonus on top of his £325,000-
a-year salary.
The P&O chief said sackings had not
been “forced on us” by Dubai-based
owner DP World.
Union leaders accusing P&O of want-
ing to “kill” the merchant navy.
P&O is offering generous redundancy
packages of up to £100,000, meaning it
is unlikely to face any legal proceedings
from its staff for failing to consult them
in advance. Replacing staff with agency
workers will cut the company’s wage
bill in half, P&O has said.
Grant Shapps, the Transport Secre-
tary, said: “We think that the P&O man-
PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH
agement have exploited a loophole here
in order to sack British workers.”
He added on Twitter: “P&O Ferries
has ripped up 800 workers’ rights
and  hung them out to dry. I’ve
instructed a full review of our maritime
employment laws and will be strength-
ening protections for seafarers’ mini-
mum wages.”
Because its vessels were not British
flagged, there was no need for Mr Lord Grade, a Conservative peer, has been appointed chairman of Ofcom, the media regulator. He is believed to have been championed by Nadine Dorries, the Culture Secretary
BBC and ‘woke brigade’ critic becomes Ofcom chairman
Hebblethwaite to inform the Govern-
ment ahead of the sackings.
However, P&O was obliged to inform
the jurisdictions where the ferries were
registered such as Cyprus. It is under-
stood that bosses informed Cypriot
authorities on the day that the redun-
By Christopher Hope and Ben Woods week role, including Lord Gilbert of
Panteg, chairman of the House of Lords’
‘I respect people’s points of January, Lord Grade dismissed calls
from BBC bosses for more money to
dancies were announced, rather than A CONSERVATIVE peer and critic of the Communications and Digital Commit- view, I just don’t respect protect key services.
the day before, potentially putting it in
breach of the rules.
BBC has been appointed as chairman of
Ofcom, Britain’s media regulator.
tee since Nov 2017.
As well as keeping an eye on the BBC,
the tone in which they do The seasoned broadcasting execu-
tive, who has also led Channel 4 and
Andrew Burns QC, barrister at Lord Grade of Yarmouth – who as Channel 4 and ITV, Lord Grade will it, the woke brigade’ ITV, has previously branded the annual
Devereux Chambers, told the Commons Michael Grade has held senior positions have to protect children and vulnerable £159 licence fee a “regressive tax”.
hearing: “My understanding from what at the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 – was people when they are on the internet ture secretary, backed Lord Grade Last year, he praised the actor-
I’ve been told this morning is that the named last night as the Govern- under new “online harms” powers. against the advice of No 10, which turned-activist Laurence Fox as “a voice
notice was given to the appropriate ment ’s preferre d choice for the Lord Grade said he was “privileged” preferred Lord Gilbert, a former for those of us who are so sick of the
authorities in the countries where the £142,500-a-year role. to be appointed, adding: “The role of political secretary to David Cameron intolerance” and added: “I respect peo-
ships are flagged only on the day of the The process to find a suitable candi- Ofcom in British life has never been when he was prime minister. ple’s points of view, I just don’t respect
dismissals and not in advance.” date to chair the watchdog, which more important with new responsibili- Lord Grade set out his stall to be the tone in which they do it, the
Under heated questioning, Mr oversees broadcasting and telecommu- ties on the horizon regulating online chairman of Ofcom in a Telegraph inter- woke brigade.”
Hebblethwaite defended P&O’s choice nications in the UK, has faced a series of safety, on top of the ever changing view last month when he attacked the If the appointment is approved, he
to break the law. Consulting with mili- delays since it began two years ago. broadcasting landscape.” B B C ’s “a g g re s s ive , gl e e f u l a n d will move to the cross-benches and give
tant trade unions such as the RMT Lord Grade, 79, beat a shortlist of There were claims in Westminster disrespectful” political coverage. up any non-executive roles that could
“would have been a sham”, he said. other contenders for the three-day-a- last night that Nadine Dorries, the Cul- Speaking in the House of Lords in cause a conflict of interest.
preventing another steep slump. White House branding it a “charade” clear they are going to pour govern- BCS, a broker, said the exchange saw Boris Blokhin, the head of Moscow
Moscow banne d short-selling, and a “Potemkin market opening”. ment re s ource s into ar tificially “large bids” to buy Russian shares yes- Exchange’s stock market department,
restricted foreign investors from dump- The MOEX, which had been shut propping up the shares of companies terday, adding that the Kremlin’s prom- said: “We will do everything possible
ing their holdings and instructed the since Feb 25, was opened for a short- that are trading. ise to use Russia’s wealth fund to buy to open all segments of the stock
country’s wealth fund to inject $10.4bn ened session, with only 33 of the index’s “This is not a real market and shares was underpinning the market. market soon.”
(£7.9bn) into the market to buy battered 50 stocks allowed to trade. not a sustainable model. What we’re It added: “The overall sentiment is On Monday, the bourse was partially
Russian stocks. The measures pre- The rally was driven by gains in seeing is a charade, a Potemkin market supported by the confidence that the reopened but only bonds issued by the
vented the exchange going into freefall energy stocks such as Lukoil, Rosneft reopening.” finance ministry will buy stocks.” Russian government were allowed
like it did on the day Russia invaded and Gazprom, which jumped between Only stocks with primary listings in Today the market will be open to be traded.
Ukraine, which sent shares down 45pc. 12pc and 18pc. Russia were allowed to trade yesterday, to more securities, including corporate Trading in Russian companies
However, the reopening was heavily Daleep Singh, deputy US national meaning tech firms such as Yandex and bonds and Eurobonds, the Russian listed on the London Stock Exchange
criticised by the West, with the security adviser, said: “Russia has made Ozon did not resume trading. central bank said. remains suspended.
crisis, Lord Wolfson, chief insight from our history and
executive of Next, said: “I 2011, but we’ve never seen
think this is much more anything like this before. We
widespread. “We did see don’t quite know how it’s
increases in our own prices going to pan out.”
then [2011] of about 4pc-5pc It came as Next said it
at the time in autumn winter. would increase prices by an
What we’re seeing now is average of 8pc this autumn
very different because the amid staff shortages and
rises are much sharper and disruption resulting from
also what we’re seeing that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
we didn’t see in 2011 is a The retailer said prices for
sharp rise in wages as well. homewares will jump 13pc
And that is the hardest thing. and clothes will rise by 6.5pc
“Actually, we have some Continued on Page 3
2 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

Business

Stealth tax raid will boost coffers

Spring Statement
measures will bring
an extra £18bn per
year to the Treasury
– but the IFS says
workers will not
benefit from them
By Tim Wallace
FROZEN tax thresholds combined with
soaring inflation will rake in almost
£18bn extra per year for Rishi Sunak as
economists accused him of mounting a
giant “stealth tax” raid on families.
Analysts at the Institute for Fiscal
Studies (IFS) said the freeze in the
income tax allowance and the higher
rate threshold, as well as the National
Insurance Contribution (NIC) threshold
after July ’s increase, will bring
in mounting sums as inflation soars.
“The freeze will raise £18bn more in
2025-26 than if the thresholds had
remained indexed” to price rises,
according to the think tank.
A worker earning £30,000 per year,
for instance, can expect to pay £365
more in income tax and NICs than they
would have done if the thresholds
for contributions went up in line
with inflation.
It means the Chancellor will keep on
raising extra cash from workers even as
he cuts the basic rate of income tax from
20pc to 19pc in 2024-25, according to
Paul Johnson, the IFS’s director.
“On current plans Mr Sunak’s income
tax changes won’t actually depress
income tax revenues in 2024-25.
“Despite the cut in the basic rate
planned for that year, the income tax
take will stay about the same as in the
previous year, and then continue rising.
That’s the effect of inflation and fiscal
drag,” he said.
“They [the Government] have magi-
cally doubled the scale of the tax rise he
announced last year – the four-year
freeze in the personal allowance and
Chancellor Rishi higher rate threshold. The proposed cut
Sunak announced in the basic rate gives back only about
his Spring half of the additional windfall he is now
Statement on expecting to enjoy from that measure.”
Wednesday These extra tax payments are set to
be particularly painful as inflation eats
away at living standards, already mak-
ing workers worse off in the coming
financial year than they are now.
The Office for Budget Responsibility
(OBR) expects inflation to average
above 7pc this year, with a peak of 8.7pc
in the autumn when the energy price
cap rises once again.
By contrast it expects earnings to
increase by 5.3pc, meaning households’
sp ending p ower falls – even as
higher cash payments funnels more to
the Government.
Douglas McWilliams, the deputy
chairman of the Centre for Economics
and Business Research, said freezing
allowances is a “stealth tax”. Mr McWil-
liams said the precise extent of the
surge in tax revenues depends on the
scale of pay rises that workers receive,
as they desperately try to preserve their
spending power in the face of the fastest
price increases in 40 years.
“Higher than expected inflation will
generate an additional £20bn of reve-
nues, mainly from higher income tax
and NICs if wage increases are modest,
and £40bn if they are less so –
compare d with £8bn originally
planned from his freezing of income tax
‘The allowances and thresholds to 2025-26,”
he said.
Government At the same time, key government
has costs are rising more slowly. Pensions,
for instance, are rising by 3.1pc, the
magically inflation rate in September, even
doubled the though prices have since accelerated
scale of the
significantly to hit an annual rate of
6.2pc in February.
tax rise Inflation is predicted to grow to
more than 8pc next month when energy
Sunak
announced
bills rise.
The lag in costs this year will save
last year’
money for the Treasury, but leaves
those reliant on pensions and benefits
facing a significant blow to their
incomes, according to the Resolution
Foundation.
“The greatest falls will be felt by the
poorest quarter of households who are
set to see their real incomes drop by 6pc
as benefits fail to keep pace with the ris-
ing prices,” the think tank said.
“As a result, a further 1.3m people will
fall into absolute poverty next year
including 500,000 children – the first
time Britain has seen such a rise in pov-
erty outside of recessions.”
The stealth raid on incomes is just

Take the OBR’s

Brexit forecasts
with a large
pinch of salt
matthew But even setting that aside, the OBR
lynn then goes on to make an eyebrow-
raising leap of faith. Its forecasters
suggest that the Brexit deal will result
in a 15pc fall in trade intensity over
several years. When you drill down
into the record, it turns out that
despite its grand-sounding title the
We treat the watchdog OBR is not actually terribly good at
as though its predictions forecasting stuff.
Let’s take its “Economic and Fiscal
were gospel – but they Outlook” published just a year ago last
often lack credibility March, and available on its website.
The OBR expected inflation to hit 1.8pc

L
iving standards will fall at a rate
unprecedented in recent history.
The poorest will take the biggest
hit. Real wages will be hammered,
trade will be damaged by our
departure from the European Union,
and none of the tax cuts announced in
the Spring Statement on Wednesday
will make up for the increases already
in the pipeline.
The shadow chancellor, Rachel
Reeves, hardly had to think very hard
for lines of attack on Rishi Sunak, nor
did any of the interviewers who
wanted to give him a rough ride.
The Office for Budget Responsibility
had done their work for them,
immediately publishing a report that
trashed the statement as a tissue of
flimsy forecasts and dodgy accounting.
But hold on. We treat the OBR as if
its forecasts were gospel, when in
reality it is as flawed as everyone else
trying to predict the markets and the
economy. It generally just cuts and
pastes the market consensus, and it is
so much a part of the centrist,
establishment blob that it is rarely able
to say anything original. It may well be
well-intentioned, at least on its own
terms, but its forecasts have no more
credibility than anyone else’s.
Brexit is a case in point. The OBR
points out that UK trade has fallen at
a faster rate than any other G7 country,
in the wake of our departure from
the European Union. We have missed
out on a post-Covid boom as a result,
it suggests. A more likely explanation
for this discrepancy is that as an island
nation with a huge bias towards
exporting high-end professional
services abroad, our economy is quite
different from many of our rivals.
this year, rising to 1.9pc next. As it
turns out, it is now 6.2pc. So, er,
slightly more.
It said average earnings would rise
by 2.7pc this year. The actual figure is
3.8pc, almost 50pc more. The list goes
on and on.
True, it would be wrong to be too
harsh. As Niels Bohr, one of the fathers
of the atomic bomb, so memorably put
it: “Prediction is always difficult,
‘It is so much a part of the
centrist, establishment blob
that it is rarely able to say
anything original’
especially if its about the future.”
We have all made some rubbish
predictions. The important point is
this. There is no reason to treat the
OBR as any more reliable than any of
the dozens of forecasts coming out of
the City, and it is not even as good as
the top-tier investment banks.
In reality, it is questionable whether
we really need the OBR at all. George
Osborne set it up to provide some
intellectual cover for controlling
public spending, back in those dim
distant days when Conservative
governments were actually interested
in that kind of thing.
We already have Treasury
forecasts, and the Bank of England’s,
and it is hard to see why we need yet
another one.
If we have to have it, however, we
should at least stop treating its
predictions as any more reliable
than anyone else’s – when that simply
isn’t true.

Morrisons takeover risks Shell to pump up to £25bn Eco home upgrades to cost
petrol price rises, says CMA into Britain as it quits Russia 15pc more despite VAT cut
By Oliver Gill drivers will suffer from the takeover. By Rachel Millard plans to develop the major Cambo oil- By Melissa Lawford The tax cut will be completely out-
Colin Raftery, senior director at the field off the coast of Shetland. weighed by massive increases to the
THE prospective £10bn takeover of the CMA, said: “We’re concerned that this SHELL will invest up to £25bn in the Senior figures at Shell are understood THE cost of energy efficient home price of materials and the cost of trades-
supermarket chain Morrisons risks deal could lead to higher prices for UK over the next decade as it abandons to have become frustrated by the Gov- improvements will be 15pc higher this people, in the wake of the supply chain
putting further pressure on petrol motorists in some parts of the country. Russia and brings its headquarters from ernment’s unwillingness at the time to year despite Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s crisis and spiralling fuel prices.
prices, the competition regulator has But if CD&R and Morrisons are able to the Netherlands back to London. fully back the Cambo project. move to cut VAT on “green” works. The cost of construction materials
warned, hours after a 5p-a-litre tax cut address these concerns, then we won’t David Bunch, the FTSE 100 compa- It is now believed to be reconsidering Analysts criticised his policy as a drop rose by 21pc in the year to January,
at the pumps came into force. need to move on to an in-depth investi- ny’s chairman, said more than three the project amid a marked shift in tone in the ocean, after Mr Sunak announced according to the latest Government
The Comp etition and Markets gation of the merger.” quarters of the spending would go into from the Government which wants to he would cut VAT on eco-friendly home data. Even with a five percentage point
Authority said drivers faced higher A spokesman for CD&R said: “We low-carbon endeavours. increase domestic energy production works from 5pc to 0pc in his Spring tax cut, works will still cost 15pc more
prices at forecourts across 121 locations note the CMA’s statement and will be However, he said the oil and gas giant as the West tries to wean itself off Rus- Statement. The move is intended to than at this time last year.
as a result of the takeover by American responding accordingly. CD&R looks “cannot act alone” and called on the sian energy. encourage homeowners to make their Noble Francis, of the Construction
investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & forward to continuing to work con- Government to help ensure the right Ministers are believed to have been Products Association, a trade body, said:

Rice. CD&R owns Motor Fuel Group,
the UK’s biggest petrol station operator
with 921 sites. With Morrisons running
339 forecourts, the CMA warned that
the private equity house could capital-
ise on its dominant position to keep fuel
prices artificially high.
Rishi Sunak cut fuel taxes by 5p a litre
in his Spring Statement on Wednesday.
The competition watchdog has given
CD&R, whose bid is being led by former
Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy, five days to
respond to its competition concerns.
The CMA will then have a further five
days to decide whether or not to launch
an in-depth inquiry into whether
structively with the CMA.”
The spectre of an in-depth competi-
tion inquiry comes with CD&R scram-
bling to find a new owner for Motor
Fuel Group.
Investment banks Citi, Deutsche
Bank, Goldman Sachs and Royal Bank
of Canada have been hired by CD&R to
run an auction for the forecourt opera-
tor. Although a £5bn price tag is
believed to have been slapped on MFG,
City sources have questioned whether
the valuation is too high and CD&R
could be left in the unenviable situation
of accepting a considerably lower offer
or pulling the sale completely.
conditions for investment.
Writing on LinkedIn as he welcomed
the Chancellor’s Spring Statement on
Wednesday, Mr Bunch also called for a
“stable political discourse”.
Shell has been a major investor in the
UK for decades through its North Sea oil
and gas fields, service stations, and,
more recently, household energy sup-
plier. It recently moved its tax residence
from the Netherlands to the UK as part
of efforts to boost its “speed and flexibil-
ity” as the company tries to move away
from fossil fuels.
However, Shell appeared irked with
Britain in December when it scrapped
pushing companies to invest in the
North Sea, which may help them fend
off calls for a windfall tax on oil and gas
companies’ high profits this year.
Mr Bunch added he was looking
forward to working with Government
and industry to “help the UK
secure its future energy supply and
move towards its 2050 net-zero [carbon
emissions] target”.
Shell has said it will pull out of Russia
in response to its invasion of Ukraine,
including shutting down its petrol
stations and exiting the Nord Stream 2
pipeline project between Russia
and Germany.
21pc
The rise in cost of construction materials
in the year to January, according to
government data
properties more green and protect
themselves against massive rises in
energy prices.
But experts warned that the policy
would help only a limited number of
households and amounted to “a
policy hole” on energy efficiency.
“The reduction in VAT on energy-
saving materials from 5pc to 0pc merely
makes a dent into the overall cost rises.
“This won’t make a difference in
terms of the cost of living crisis or
increasing demand for energy saving
retrofit activity.” He added: “This is a big
missed opportunity. There is a very big
policy hole when it comes to energy
efficient retrofit works.”
The benefits of the tax cut will only
be felt by wealthier households who
were already thinking about undertak-
ing works and will give minimal help to
middle and low-income homeowners,
experts warned.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
p
but fuel poverty
‘The greatest one part of a torrent of extra cash flood-
ing into the Treasury. Rising inflation
falls will be pushes up the cash size of the economy,
felt by the combined with a remarkably tax-rich
recovery from the pandemic which has
poorest taken forecasters by surprise.
quarter of VAT is expected to pull in £139bn
next year, rising to more than £174bn in
households five years’ time.
who are set Corporation tax receipts, meanwhile,
will boom from just over £50bn last
to see their year to more than £94bn in 2026-27,
real incomes driven by next year’s sharp hike in its
rate from 19pc to 25pc.
drop by 6pc’ The OBR said the consumption tax’s
strong performance is in part due to
households that have been splashing
out on upgrades. Spending on durable
goods, a category which includes things
like washing machines and furniture,
for instance, attracts the full 20pc VAT
rate and brings in more cash for the
Government.
Those receipts had already risen over
the past decade from just below £36bn
in 2010-11 even as the Conservatives
chopped the rate of tax.
That policy was stopped in the 2019
election then reversed a year ago with
Next says it expects to close up to 150 stores before 2037 as customers move online
‘A further the decision to ramp up taxes again.
Overall, the Government’s revenues
1.3m people will rise from around £900bn in the
will fall into current financial year, according to
OBR estimates, to £987.5bn next year
absolute before breaking the £1 trillion mark in
poverty next 2023-24 – a year earlier than was
expected back in March 2020 prior to
year the pandemic.
including Richard Hughes, chairman of the
OBR, noted Sunak’s business support
500,000 schemes through the pandemic may
children have helped companies stay afloat and
in good shape, so that they made more
– the first money as lockdown rules were lifted
time Britain and paid more taxes.
At a Resolution Foundation event, he
has seen such said higher inflation is one cause of the
a rise in
poverty
higher tax take: “We have seen an infla-
tion surprise dragging more people into
the tax system and then more of their
outside of income into higher tax brackets.”
And an extra factor is that the finan-
recessions’ cial sector has done well since Covid
struck, boosting profits and pay.
“An awful lot of our tax comes from
people at the top end, so when those
people do well, we get a lot more in tax,”
he said.
Cost-of-living crisis
is worse than 2011,
says Next’s Wolfson
Continued from Page 1
in the second half of the year. Next still
predicts sales will grow this year but not
as much as first thought as consumer
confidence will be more subdued. Prof-
its are expected to total £850m this
year, albeit this is £10m less than it
predicted in January as a result of its
decision to halt sales in Russia and
Ukraine. Sales will be £85m lower as a
result, the company said.
Lord Wolfson said high shipping
costs were one of the biggest drivers
of inflation.
He said: “Best-case scenario is that
we’re looking at an easing of pressure in
nine to 12 months’ time.”
The chain posted pre-tax profits of
£823m for the year to Jan 31, more than
double the amount of the previous year
and 10pc above pre-pandemic levels.
Total sales rose 11.5pc to £4.8bn dur-
NICK HATTON / ALAMY
ing the period, with online orders
accounting for £3.1bn as some of its
stores stayed shut.
Next said it could close almost 150
stores between now and 2037 as it
focuses more on online. It currently has
477 shops.
Higher inflation will stunt
pay for teachers and NHS
Institute for Fiscal Studies
says the Treasury cannot
afford pay rises for public
sector employees
By Tim Wallace
MATCHING public sector pay rises
with inflation could blow a multibillion-
pound hole in the Chancellor’s financial
plans, undermining public services
unless spending rises rapidly, accord-
ing to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Soaring prices are already set to wipe
out between one eighth and one half of
the increases to the budgets of Govern-
ment departments announced in the
autumn, economists at the think tank
warned, and pressure for higher pay
could hammer the finances even more.
Even trying to match the sub-infla-
tionary pay rises expected in the private
sector this year could cost the public
purse an extra £3bn, according to Ben
Zaranko at the IFS.
The economist said public servants
are extremely unlikely to get a pay rise
matching inflation, as prices are
expected to rise by more than 7pc over
the course of the year. But the extent of
what increases they do receive will be
fought over in the summer.
“It seems likely we are going to have
positive cash pay awards, especially
given the spending plans in place and
the levels of inflation we are seeing, but
below-inflation awards seem a cer-
tainty,” he said.
“We know the Department for Edu-
cation has proposed below-inflation pay
awards for teachers averaging 4pc. But
Bank delays doomsday checks
By Lucy Burton
THE Bank of England has postponed its
annual health check on Britain’s biggest
banks owing to uncertainty over
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The annual run of stress tests,
designed to make sure banks can with-
stand a serious recession in a doomsday
scenario and still keep lending, is on
hold again after being suspended
during the pandemic for the first time
since they began in 2014.
As well as halting the tests, which
were due to restart today, it said in its
latest Financial Policy Committee (FPC)
report that it was reassessing whether
to hike banks’ capital requirements
next quarter because of the uncertainty
from the war.
“There is considerable uncertainty
we expect inflation to average more
than 7pc over that period. That is an
example of what we are going to see
across the public sector.”
Real-terms pay in the public sector is
already 2pc lower than it was in 2010, he
said, as inflation has outstripped pay
growth over the period, so a further
real-terms fall will be “a tricky subject
for the Chancellor”.
Over the same time period private
sector real pay has grown by 5pc, itself
an underwhelming return over more
£1,800
The real-terms hit the average public
sector worker is expected to take if no pay
rise is given, according to the IFS
than a decade. Official forecasters at the
Office for Budget Responsibility have
upgraded their forecast for average pay
growth across the economy to 5.3pc,
which remains below inflation.
It raised predictions for the private
sector by 1.3 percentage points, Mr
Zaranko said, but only about 0.5pp in
the public sector. “The Treasury’s offi-
cial policy is to maintain broad parity
between public and private sector pay,
so you might think, based on that, they
will increase pay awards by the same
amount as private sector pay is doing
better than expected. That would cost
about £3bn,” he said.
This would leave a hole in depart-
ments’ abilities to run their public ser-
vices – a particularly intense problem
for the NHS facing Covid backlogs, and
‘Sustained increases in
energy prices are likely to
put pressure on household
incomes and businesses’
about future developments in Ukraine
and Russia. Further geopolitical
developments could pose additional
risks,” it said. “The possibility of further
second- order spillover effects
impacting upon the UK financial system
cannot be discounted.”
Although the Bank made clear
that core financial markets have
continued to function, it warned that
conditions could tighten further
while ordinar y hous eholds will
continue to be squeezed if energy bills
continue to rocket.
*** 3
defence given the budget was already
expected to fall in real terms even
before the spike in inflation. But if pub-
lic sector pay is not increased, it leaves
workers bearing the pain.
“If there is no compensation for this
higher level of inflation facing house-
holds, the average public sector worker
would be hit to the tune of about £1,800
in real terms,” Mr Zaranko said.
Mr Sunak has stressed the need for a
well-resourced public sector.
“When I said we were a government
for public services, a government for
the NHS, I didn’t just mean ‘when it was
easy’ – it is a total commitment,” he said,
setting out his argument for retaining
the health and social care levy which
pushes up workers’ and their employ-
ers’ National Insurance payments.
Meanwhile, the lack of support for
low-income families in the Spring State-
ment left more than a million people on
the verge of “absolute poverty”, the Res-
olution Foundation warned.
The living standards think tank said
Mr Sunak’s measures represented a “big
but poorly targeted policy package”
that did not do enough to aid families hit
hardest by the cost-of-living crisis.
“Considering all income tax changes
to thresholds and rates announced by
Rishi Sunak, only those earning
between £49,100 and £50,300 will
actually pay less income tax in 2024-25,
and only those earning between
£11,000 and £13,500 will pay less tax
and National Insurance,” the Resolution
Foundation’s analysis stated.
“Of the 31m people in work, around
27m (seven in eight workers) will pay
more in income tax and (National Insur-
ance) in 2024-25.”
“The invasion is increasing economic
uncertainty and will increase pressure
on borrowers. For example, sustained
increases in energy prices resulting
from the conflict are likely to put pres-
sure on household incomes and busi-
ness earning”.
It plans to restart its annual stress
tests later this year, following “two
years of Covid pandemic crisis-related
stress testing”.
The Bank also flagged that margin
calls on energy and other commodity
derivatives had hit a record since the
war on Ukraine, exceeding December
2021 peaks.
Earlier this month the London Metal
Exchange recorded its biggest increase
in nickel prices in its 145-year history, as
prices shot up 111pc to a record $101,365
and trading was suspended.
4 ***
Business comment
Ben
Marlow
It is madness
for UK to sell
its defence
crown jewels
Ukrainians have been fighting
with the help of British weapons,
but still ministers seem intent on
giving up our military suppliers
S
ince its invasion exactly one month ago,
Russia has deployed the full gamut of hi-tech
weaponry to blitz Ukrainian cities, towns and
villages. Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which are
difficult to intercept; vacuum bombs that generate
supersonic blast waves, obliterating everything in
the vicinity; and cluster munitions that release
hundreds of smaller munitions over a vast area.
It has also been accused of using phosphorous
bombs, which can burn through bone when it
comes into contact with flesh, and even raised the
prospect of using nuclear weapons.
The West is now asking who will be next. The
Baltic states probably have the most to fear, but
what about Ukraine’s other neighbours Poland,
Romania and Moldova? Is Finland safe? Vladimir
Putin has buried the old world order and
unleashed a new Cold War.
Only under this Government could a
geostrategic shock of such magnitude be greeted
by the possible sale of some of our best defence
companies. They include Ultra Electronics, a
supplier of technology for Trident nuclear
submarines; and Meggitt, a provider of
components for military aircraft including
America’s F-35 fighter jet programme.
Even Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, a man
once described by Spiegel magazine as “the
embodiment of boredom in politics”, has grasped
the nettle, tearing up the country’s foreign and
defence policies in response to Russia’s invasion.
A long-standing ban on weapons exports to
conflict areas has been reversed and Germany has
pledged to go above the 2pc of GDP target fixed by
Nato, reversing years of under-investment that
became an obsession of Donald Trump’s when he
was in the White House. “We are now in a new
era,” Scholz has said.
In the UK, we look set to respond by allowing
control of Ultra to be handed to private equity, and
Meggitt to be swallowed by American rival Parker
Hannifin. This, despite the Government’s ability to
block takeover deals being bolstered by the UK
National Security and Investment Act that came
into force in January.
After a decades-long free-for-all, which resulted
in vast chunks of critical
‘It is beyond infrastructure including
airports, ports, water
belief the US suppliers and steel
would allow production to disappear into
foreign hands or fall under
the best bits private equity ownership,
of its defence the legislation raised hopes
for a much tougher approach
industry to to takeovers of companies of
be sold off’ strategic importance.
Yet, there is a growing
expectation that Kwasi
Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, will soon wave
the deals through after gaining undertakings that
past history has proven aren’t worth the paper
they are written on.
Britain’s open-door policy to foreign ownership
has had grave consequences for jobs, R&D,
technology and the tax base, and it also weakens
our ability to respond during times of national
emergency such as the pandemic.
Yet this Government is burdened by an
obsession with preserving Britain’s reputation for
openness to foreign investment after Brexit and
more recently Covid. As a result, ministers seem
either unable or unwilling to distinguish between
genuine business investment of the sort that
Nissan is promising in the North East with plans
for a giant car battery gigafactory, and takeovers
that at best offer no benefit to Britain and at worst
undermine the national interest.
The City’s ethical investment brigade must bear
some of the responsibility for the one-way traffic.
It is hardly surprising our best defence suppliers
are happy to give up their listed status when
defence stocks have become so unloved at home.
Yet, if ever there was a case for the Square Mile
showing the same appetite for defence as it has for
technology stocks, it is now. The Ukrainians aren’t
holding their own against the Kremlin because
Britain has been sending them Ocado food or
beauty products from THG (née the Hut Group) –
it is with the help of Javelin missiles and anti-tank
weapons made by British companies.
The fiasco at P&O Ferries is a painful reminder
of the risks of allowing important assets to
disappear overseas. The result is no oversight, no
control and zero accountability.
It’s not just this Government that is guilty of
such a naive approach. Remember in 2014 when
George Osborne claimed that the sale of
AstraZeneca to Pfizer could be in Britain’s
economic interest? Surely our response to Covid
would have been weakened had the former
chancellor and David Cameron got their way.
To ensure our most important companies
remain British isn’t to be anti-free markets or
hostile to foreign investment. An instructive
exercise is to ask, what would America do? The
Americans are the greatest proponents of free
trade in the world. Yet, it is unthinkable that it
would allow the best bits of its defence industry to
be sold off. It frequently blocks deals deemed
harmful to America’s interests.
It is perfectly possible to champion free trade
without committing self-harm and allowing
important infrastructure to be sold off.
But in the case of Ultra and Meggitt, it is worse
than that. There is simply no economic or
commercial logic to allowing their sale, and it
makes no sense from a security perspective either.
Even when it comes to bidders from countries
with whom we have long-standing ties, the
outcome is still the same: a weakened ability to
protect ourselves from hostile powers.
Nor will there be a better case for intervening.
As Scholz has argued, “if our world is a different
one, then our policy must also be different”.
What are you waiting for, Mr Kwarteng?
China’s coal revival may cut energy
bills, but at what environmental cost?
ambrose
evans-pritchard
Xi Jinping’s return to the
dirty fuel is alarming – it
may push us over the brink
whatever the rest of us do
I
t would be a grim irony if the Chinese
Communist Party rescues Europe
from an energy shock this year by
shovelling wagons of coal from the
mines of Shanxi and Inner Mongolia,
trashing the planet in the process.
Citigroup thinks this is exactly what
may now happen. Surging coal use in
China will displace imports of liquefied
natural gas (LNG) used in power plants,
freeing up hydrocarbons for the rest of
the world. China became the world’s
biggest importer of seaborne gas last
year: a key reason why gas prices were
spiralling upwards even before the
Kremlin began to manipulate supply.
What it now does determines our fate
in Europe.
Citigroup is telling clients that global
gas prices could fall as fast as they rose,
plummeting over the second half of this
year as diverted LNG floods the world
market. It has pencilled in European
gas prices of $10 per metric million
British thermal unit (MMBtu) or lower
by the summer, down from a peak of
$110 at the height of the winter crisis.
“China could be turning itself from a
voracious energy importer to possibly
the only country with spare coal and
natural gas production capacity to help
normalise the global markets,” said
Anthony Yuen, the bank’s commodity
strategist. The better option may be to
ELLIOTT FRANKS
Chancellor’s tax moves are a step in the right direction
kate
andrews
By siding with taxpayers,
Sunak has changed the
trajectory of the ever-
increasing size of the state
T
here are two ways to interpret
Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement.
The first narrative – the one
the Government would like to craft – is
that after months of speculation over
whether the Treasury was all talk and
no action on tax cuts, the Chancellor
finally delivered them.
Substantial tax cuts. A near-£3,000
rise in the National Insurance
threshold – the biggest single uplift on
record. Fuel duty cut by 5p.
And income tax? If MPs can restrain
their yearning for more spending, he’ll
be cutting 1p off the basic rate of
income tax by 2024, just in time for the
next election.
But dig into the figures and another
narrative emerges. Sunak may have
announced tax cuts this week, but all
the tax increases he’s announced in his
previous Budgets vastly outweigh
these cuts.
Fuel duty and income tax may be
going down, but higher corporation
tax, freezes to personal income tax
thresholds and the new National
Insurance levy will ensure that the tax
burden stays at record highs.
According to the Office for Budget
Responsibility, Sunak’s mini-Budget
only unwound a quarter of the
personal tax rises he had previously
announced, and a mere sixth of the
boost storage, as the EU is planning
with a mandated 90pc replenishment
rate in every country by November. The
UK has no storage worth the name. It
should revive the Rough cavern, so
frivolously closed in 2018 when “just in
time” globalism was in vogue, and few
cared a fig for energy security.
There is a further twist to this story.
Citigroup thinks that Russia may
accelerate the swing by dumping cheap
gas in Europe at irresistible prices,
undercutting LNG in a bid to secure
long-term market share. With winter
over, Russia no longer gains political
leverage from withholding gas. The
incentive has reversed: it is to knock out
rivals from the US and Qatar.
This scenario assumes that Germany
continues to block a meaningful energy
embargo at the Nato-G7-EU summit this
week, with tacit acquiescence from the
rest of core Europe. Olaf Scholz, the
German chancellor, says time is needed
to break dependence on the Kremlin.
A gas glut is not (yet) Citigroup’s base
case but it is being presented as a
serious possibility. Should it happen,
Britain will be spared the worst of the
real income squeeze, and Rishi Sunak
will get away with his contractionary
austerity budget.
China’s politburo has long fretted
over the country’s Achilles’ heel:
dependency on seaborne supplies of
foreign energy (and grains). Chinese
strategists have studied Franklin
Roosevelt’s oil embargo against Japan
in 1941, afraid that the US might use this
weapon to constrict supplies of coal,
crude and gas in a future crisis.
White House sanctions policy since
the invasion of Ukraine has crystallised
these fears in Beijing, although Xi
Jinping had already ordered officials to
secure imported fuel as a national
emergency, and at any price, after a
string of blackouts late last year. He told
overall net tax rises he has ushered
in. The tax burden as a percentage
of GDP stands at a 71-year high.
After Wednesday’s announcements,
it’s on track for a 77-year high in four
years’ time.
So which narrative is right? I’d
argue both. The tax cuts announced
this week are substantial and bold, yet
previous tax rises combined with
relatively low growth leaves the
overall tax burden outrageously high.
But there’s more to consider when
weighing up Sunak’s statement than
the headline tax figures, important
as they are.
What really shaped his mini-Budget
were two factors that will come to
define the next few years of
economic policy: the direction of
travel for the size of the state and the
threat of inflation to the stability of
the public finances.
For many on the Right, Sunak’s tax
pledges just aren’t good enough.
Pledging to reduce income tax by 1p
when National Insurance (really just
another stealth income tax) is going up
by 2.5 percentage points does not a
“tax-cutting Chancellor” make.
But with a heavy spending Prime
Minister at the helm, Sunak’s options
for major tax overhaul have always
been limited. Unwilling to borrow
money for long-term, day-to-day
spending, Sunak has had to balance
delivering the subsidies and the tax
cuts at the same time.
Soaring inflation has made this far
harder, as rising prices are making
everyone worse off. The fiscal
headroom Sunak had this Spring
Statement – roughly £20bn, with some
breathing space against his rules –
gave him a choice: to boost
government department budgets in
line with inflation, in a bid to fully
protect Spending Review settlements,
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
‘The days the People’s Congress this month that
energy security must take priority over
when we the climate. “We can’t be detached from
could talk reality. We can’t throw away what is
feeding us now, while what will feed us
airily of next has yet to arrive,” he told a key
doing
gathering known as the “Two Sessions”.
The mantra is now an “orderly”
something by energy transition. Accounting rules
mid-century have been changed to allow more
have long
fossil fuels to be burned. The energy
intensity target for this year has been
since passed’ dropped. The new policy is being called
“smart decarbonisation”: it is a
euphemism for coal.
Liu Hongqiao, an energy analyst
from Shuang Tan, said the official “Plan
on National Economic and Social
Development” has fundamentally
reframed energy policy as a national
security issue. The focus is on securing
the supplies of coal, gas, and oil, and on
holding down prices. “Ensuring
economic stability, with fossil fuels,
trumps all,” she said.
China produced 687m tons of coal in
the first two months of this year, a 10pc
rise from a year before. Caixin reports
that closed coal plants in Gansu have
been reopened. Five new coal-fired
power plants with a capacity of
7.3 gigawatts were cleared for
construction over the first six weeks to
mid-February, following 33 gigawatts
cleared last year.
Citigroup thinks China could
increase coal output by 100m tons as
soon as this year, and 300m tons
thereafter. Mr Yuen expects a
production “ramp-up” by April or May,
potentially setting off a crash in global
coal prices a few weeks later. Citigroup
forecasts a halving of European gas
prices to $14 by the summer in its base
case, and down to $4 by next winter if
Russia then floods the market.
Should it happen, the UK energy
price cap will return to normal levels,
or to use the headroom for tax cuts
instead, to help ease the cost-of-living
squeeze for workers.
Sunak sided with taxpayers. And by
doing so, he has changed the
trajectory of the ever-increasing size
of the state, exacerbated by the Covid
crisis. By not bringing department
budgets in line with inflation, the OBR Economic
reckons (depending on what Intelligence
measurement you use) state budgets
will experience a real-terms hit of
For unique insight
into the world’s
between £5bn and £17bn over the
economic issues,
next five years.
It’s not exactly taking an axe to the sign up to our
size of the state, but it will mean Economic
trims and cuts – and ideally efficiency Intelligence
gains – across departments. And newsletter,
money that could have further bloated
the state has gone instead back into
by Ambrose
people’s pay packets. Evans-Pritchard
No doubt Sunak is bound to face and Jeremy
some accusations of austerity. For Warner
many on the Left, real-term spending telegraph.co.uk/
cuts won’t be tolerated. There are even ei-newsletter
MPs in his own party who would not
just like to see government spending
keep pace with inflation, but would
like the Government to invest further.
Calls have been growing in recent
weeks from Tories to boost defence
spending, for example, in the wake of
Russia’s war against Ukraine.
But whether they come from the
Left or the Right, there is a very
obvious question that must be
answered now: where is all this
“investment” coming from?
In the era of ultra-low inflation and
rates, it was easier to make the case
that money could be borrowed to
cover the popular spending project of
the day. But no longer: the payments
the Treasury must make just to service
the public debt will reach £83bn this
year, a sum four times higher than
what it was last year.
At a time when the United States is
and analysts will soon be talking about
plummeting inflation.
We could see an absolute fall in
prices of traded goods, allowing
relieved central banks to abandon plans
for staccato rate rises. This would set off
a violent unravelling of crowded
“inflation trades” and a torrid
reawakening of the “tech trade”.
China is schizophrenic on energy
policy. It has just unveiled plans to build
450 gigawatts of renewable power in
the Gobi desert, doubling total solar and
wind capacity to 1,200 gigawatts by
2030. Carbon Brief said it installed
more offshore wind last year than the
rest of the world combined over the last
five years.
But Jinping’s return to coal is
alarming for those who take
global warming seriously, and not to
take it seriously at this stage of
accumulated science is nihilistic
hedonism and a betrayal of Burkean
conservative principles.
The urgent conclusion of Cop 26 is
that the world must halve emissions
by 2030 to have a fair chance of
averting runaway climate change.
The days when we could talk airily of
doing something by mid-century have
long since passed.
China already accounts for over half
the world’s coal use, and a third of
carbon emissions. If it now mines and
burns an extra 300m tons a year over
the early 2020s, it brings forward
another upward lurch in carbon
dioxide parts per million, with methane
leakage to match.
We are close to the threshold of
unpredictable feedback loops, if we
have not passed several already. China
may now push us over the brink
whatever the rest of us do.
The awful concatenation of Vladimir
Putin’s adventurism is getting worse
with every week that passes.
Root cause
Rooted Beings, a
new exhibition at
the Wellcome
Collection in
London, explores
the relationship of
humans with the
plant world. It aims
to encourage us to
rethink the way
we see plants and
“embrace wildness
in our lives”.
taking more of a backseat to
Europe’s geopolitics, the argument
that the UK might up its spending
isn’t wholly unreasonable.
Yet the cost of simply paying off
debt interest is now substantially
higher than Britain’s entire defence
budget. As long as that remains the
case, money for new projects is going
to have to come from more politically
difficult sources, including the
taxpayer or redistribution from other
public spending pots.
This isn’t just the consequence of
mass printing and borrowing during
the pandemic; it’s the consequence of
a nation that never properly got its
finances in order for when a real
emergency hit.
Pension and healthcare costs were
on an unsustainable track long
before Covid hit. The assumption that
the old economic rules had been
disproven – and that inflation and
rates would stay low forever – was
quickly dispelled when global
economies were unlocked.
Now the inflation cat is out of the
bag, and we’ll be dealing with the
consequences for years: the OBR
projects inflation will hit nearly 9pc
before the end of the year. Whitehall is
preparing for double digits.
So given spiralling debt interest
payments, previous spending
commitments to make good on,
downgraded growth figures and
economic sanctions that weren’t
predicted even at the start of the year,
Sunak still managed not just to start a
tax-cutting process, but also to start
rebalancing this Government’s
priorities: in favour of the taxpayer
instead of the state.
It may not be as “low tax” a
statement as the Treasury would make
it out to be – but finally we’re moving
in the right direction.
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022
Johnson leads
efforts to freeze
Kremlin’s vast
gold reserves
The Prime Minister
is taking aim at
Russia’s $140bn stash
of bullion as Moscow
fights to prevent
economic wipeout,
writes Simon Foy
V
ladimir Putin’s obsession with
buying gold, a typical safe haven
asset, now seems to have been a
clear warning sign he was beating the
drum towards conflict.
Since becoming president in 2012,
Putin has amassed huge reserves of the
precious metal. Moscow’s stash is now
worth nearly $140bn (£106bn), making
it the world’s fifth largest reserve of gold
at around 2,300 tons.
Following the collapse of the Soviet
Union, its bullion holdings fell to just
$2bn in 1995. In effect, Putin’s
stockpiling was to act as an insurance
policy. Yet in his hour of greatest
financial need, as sanctions curtail
Russia’s economy, he has hit a major
problem: there are few buyers who want
to buy a piece of his gold following his
invasion of Ukraine.
As global economies attempt to
further isolate Russia following its
invasion of Ukraine, and impose greater
economic hardship, leaders are turning
to the Kremlin’s gold treasure trove.
Yesterday, Boris Johnson announced
his intention to go after Putin’s reserves,
in addition to the country’s cash pile, on
signs that Moscow is using gold to
escape sanctions. Johnson said: “We
need to do more, and so we need to do
more economically. Can we do more to
stop [Putin] using his gold reserves, for
instance, in addition to cash reserves?”
“The more pressure we apply now,
particularly on things like gold, I believe
the more we can shorten the war.”
The US Treasury also issued a notice
that gold transactions with Russia are
prohibited, citing executive orders
signed by President Joe Biden. It was
The Russian central bank governor
whom Putin would not allow to quit
Elvira Nabiullina is on the
front line of the war on
Ukraine. Tom Rees looks at
why she is significant
E
lvira Nabiullina, Russia’s central
bank governor, is known for
sending coded messages with her
clothes and brooches, such as a hawk
to signify interest rate hikes or a rain
cloud to suggest a gloomier outlook.
When Vladimir Putin assembled his
top economic team following the
invasion of Ukraine, she wore all black.
Some suggest it was to signal the death
of the Russian economy.
Since taking the role in 2013, the
revered technocrat has steered
Moscow’s economy through a number
of crises with her ultra-conservative
monetary policy.
Now, after Putin last week
nominated her for a fresh five-year
term, the 58-year-old has unexpectedly
found herself on the front line in
Russia’s “economic war” against
the West.
International investors wondering
how Nabiullina is stomaching the
country’s economic turmoil may find
an answer in the apparent divide
Elvira Nabiullina has steered Moscow’s economy through a number of crises since 2013
*** 5
Business
the first time the agency has made it
clear to the market to stop dealing with
sanctioned Russian entities.
Bullion analysts have for years
warned that heavy gold-buying
governments is rarely a good sign for
world peace. In times of political or
economic crisis, central banks
worldwide turn to gold for protection
due to its historical ability to maintain
value – unlike fiat currencies.
Angus King, the independent senator
for Maine, who was part of the group
that introduced a bill to impose
sanctions on transactions with Russia’s
gold assets earlier this month, said in a
statement: “Russia’s massive gold supply
is one of the few remaining assets that
Putin can use to keep his country’s
economy from falling even further.
“By sanctioning these reserves, we
can further isolate Russia from the
world’s economy and increase the
difficulty of Putin’s increasingly costly
military campaign.”
SAM MOPPETT FOR THE TELEGRAPH
Following Johnson’s intervention, G7
leaders met at Nato headquarters and
agreed to clamp down further on
Moscow’s ability to sell its gold reserves
to support its currency.
In a later statement on its website, the
US Treasury said: “US persons are
prohibited from engaging in any
transaction – including gold-related
transactions – involving the Central
Bank of the Russian Federation, the
National Wealth Fund of the Russian
Federation or the Ministry of Finance of
‘The more held domestically. Meanwhile, other,
more friendly, central banks such as in
any American entities knowingly
buying or selling Russian gold. In turn,
‘Russia has precious metal is up about 3pc since
Russia invaded Ukraine.
the Russian Federation.” pressure we China or India could buy reserves. this could pressure banks in places like taken a page One thing that benefits the Kremlin is
It comes as the US also announced a
new package of sanctions on Russian
apply now, Jeff Christian, managing partner at
CPM Group, a metals advisory company,
China or India to stop buying or selling
Russian gold, as they are wary of falling
out of the fact that its huge gold reserves are
held domestically.
elites, lawmakers and companies. particularly said Moscow could offload the precious foul of US sanctions. Venezuela’s Venezuela’s attempt to withdraw
Western gold exchanges have already
taken action. The London Bullion
on things metal through the Shanghai Gold
Exchange, where it has commercial
Johnson did not specify how the UK
would further crack down on Russian
book by £800m worth of gold bullion held in the
Bank of England’s vaults was blocked in
Market Association has suspended all like gold, the banks as members. gold, but any move would likely mirror exploiting a 2020 because the Government does not
Russian refineries from its accredited
list, while earlier this month the CME
more we can “They could pick it up at a discount to
the market,” he told Bloomberg.
the new measures being introduced by
the US and other G7 nations. Under the
loophole in recognise Nicolas Maduro as president.
But it managed to get around the
Group – the largest US exchange for shorten the The Treasury’s announcement could current sanctions regime, British current penalties. Venezuela’s former president
gold trading – suspended six Russian
gold refineries. Banning new Russian
war’ block one of the Kremlin’s last ways of
navigating around the West’s economic
institutions cannot do business with sanctions’ Hugo Chávez had already repatriated
much of the country’s gold.
Russia’s central bank.
bars entering the key respective hubs sanctions and prevent Putin from The Bank of Russia has claimed that John Cornyn, a Republican senator
effectively shuts it out of large parts of liquidating his gold pile. domestic demand for gold remains from Texas, said: “Russia has taken a
the global market. A new law, which was under strong, even as international investors page out of Venezuela’s book by
While Western politicians want to go consideration by Janet Yellen, the US flee the country. exploiting a loophole in current
further, analysts are concerned they Treasury secretary, but not specifically Turning to gold reserves has been a sanctions that allows them to
might be limited in what they can do, as mentioned in the announcement, common response of countries that launder money through the purchase
all of the Russian central bank’s gold is would impose secondary sanctions on have faced economic sanctions. The and sale of gold.”
developing between her and Putin. Management, says: “The nature of the
Nabiullina signalled her discomfort Putin regime was clear a year ago, five
to the invasion from the get-go and
reportedly offered her resignation
years ago, 10 years ago… we’ve had the
Donbas, Crimea, [Sergei] Skripal,
following the invasion. [Alexei] Navalny. They’ve had plenty of
The President refused, however,
thrusting her back into battle as
time to resign and they haven’t.
Nabiullina’s reputation is in “tatters”
Russia’s economy buckles under the after helping the Kremlin since the
weight of Western sanctions. invasion, he adds.
Leaving now would have been seen Few women make it into Putin’s
as a betrayal by Putin after years of inner circle, while even fewer officials
close cooperation between the two, in the Kremlin manage to gain the
Bloomberg reported. respect of international investors. But
Despite that, Nabiullina reportedly Nabiullina had blazed a trail with her
failed to stress test the economic blow stewardship of the Russian economy.
Liam Peach, an emerging market
‘She established a strong economist at Capital Economics, says:
“She established a really strong
reputation in Russia as an reputation in Russia as an inflation
inflation hawk and credible hawk and a credible central bank
governor.
central bank governor’ “After the 2014-15 rouble crisis, she
floated the rouble and she’s been at the
of war, having been blindsided by forefront of the central bank’s efforts
the decision to push ahead with in recent years to clean up the banking
the invasion. system.”
Some have little sympathy for the The ex-Sberbank chief executive has
trapped governor, arguing Putin has managed to steer the Russian economy
long been putting in place the pieces through crises including Covid, an oil
for a war, while others doubt the price crash and previous waves of
leaked resignation story. sanctions. But the war has undone
Tim Ash, an emerging market much of her hard work to strengthen
strategist at BlueBay Asset the country’s economy with the
central bank itself hit by sanctions.
Now, amid the war, Nabiullina has
been forced to double interest rates to
20pc, freeze trading on Moscow’s
stock exchange and introduce capital
controls – a move she was said to have
privately claimed was a resigning
red line.
Peach says Nabiullina has been
“very successful at preventing a
liquidity and solvency crisis in the
banking sector” and stopping foreign
money leaving. Perhaps her place at
the heart of Moscow’s economic war
should be no surprise.
A central bank under Nabiullina was
key in Putin’s Fortress Russia plan to
cushion the blow of any future wave of
Western sanctions. Since the
annexation of Crimea, she built up a
$630bn (£478bn) foreign reserves war
chest to fight any slump in the Russian
ruble, ammunition blunted by
ANDREY RUDAKOV/BLOOMBERG
sanctions on the central bank.
Nabiullina has also stood by Putin
through his increasing
authoritarianism. She was an advisor
to the president before her current
role, and also served as his minister of
economic development.
Reluctant or not, Nabiullina is on the
front line – but it’s a role she’s fought
for years.
6 *** Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph

Business

Boohoo’s problems are not Boohoo

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Close: 86.46p
Key
numbers
its balance sheet provides a solid
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400
 Market value:
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350

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 Pre-tax profits performed poorly since the start of the
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(Feb 2021): year. The shares have fallen by 20pc
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 Yield (Feb took place following the release of its
250 2021): nil annual results earlier this week.
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H
eightened fear among investors
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Tax Portfolio and diverse businesses that
are usually found in the
FTSE 100, rather than the
generally smaller firms
Recent acquisitions, quoted on Aim.
America’s “Vix”
investment in its volatility index more
than doubled between
Share price fall since
purchase disappoints
distribution network the start of the year and
the first week of March.
but growth prospects
are bright
and improving Although its rise reflects
greater fear among US investors,
200
strong long-term growth potential as 2021): £276m net While its reported pre-tax profits
investors’ sentiment improves. As a cash declined by 10pc, this was due to a
result, recent market movements have 150  Return on profit on the sale of an asset being
done little to change our opinion of capital (Feb included in the previous year’s figure.
current holdings. 2021): 18.6pc On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profits
Clearly, some have 100  Cash moved 25pc higher.
Boohoo declined more than conversion ratio Encouragingly, the company’s
others over recent (Feb 2021): 131pc recent UK and European acquisitions
Hold
months. Among the
biggest fallers is the
50
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
 p/e ratio (Feb
2021): 10.3
made a positive contribution to
its financial performance. It also
online retailer Boohoo.
Its shares have lost this should help to offset rising costs. years. The purchase of brands such as
successfully launched a number of
new products during the year that
30pc so far this year as
challenges including
It will also improve the firm’s product
availability in America should today’s
Debenhams provides scope for growth
in areas such as beauty and home
position it for long-term growth.
Since we added them to the
higher product return rates,
rising freight costs and supply
supply chain problems persist.
Over the past two years Boohoo has
products that could offer cross-selling
opportunities to existing customers.
portfolio in January 2018, shares in
Gamma Communications have more

market position the invasion of Ukraine and rising

inflation are concerns shared by
British savers. As a result, the
suggest a recovery FTSE Aim All-Share index
has fallen by 15pc so far this
is on the way, says year. The FTSE 100 has lost a persist, to some extent at least, in the
far more modest 1pc over the short run, the company’s long-term
Robert Stephens same period.
Of course, the smaller
companies that largely
make up our Inheritance
Tax Portfolio offer
chain problems in international
markets have hit its financial
doubled its market share in Britain and
America. This positions it for long-
And, with supply chain constraints
unlikely to last beyond the short term,
than doubled. While its price-to-
earnings ratio of 20.7 is hardly cheap
performance – they prompted a profits term growth, while its “pure-play” the firm’s strong performance in even after its recent share price fall,
warning in December. online status will allow it to benefit Britain bodes well for its international growth opportunities in Britain and
While those challenges may from a continuing shift towards digital operations as reopening-related Europe mean it continues to merit a
retail among consumers. This is a long-
standing trend that shows little sign of
difficulties ease.
Since we added the shares to the
place in our Inheritance Tax Portfolio.
Hold.
prospects are far more encouraging.
For example, it is due to open its
slowing; in fact it is likely to have been
accelerated by the pandemic.
IHT Portfolio in June 2018 they have
fallen by 59pc. While this is clearly Read Questor’s rules of investment before
first US distribution centre next The company has also increased a disappointing result, Boohoo’s you follow our tips: telegraph.co.uk/go/
year. Alongside the use of greater the size of its total addressable market long-term recovery potential appears questorrules; telegraph.co.uk/questor
automation in its existing warehouses, through acquisitions over recent to be sound. The net cash it has on

Share prices www.telegraph.co.uk/shares

52 week 52 week 52 week 52 week 52 week 52 week 52 week
Winners and losers (pc) High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld NAV High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E High Low Stock Price +/- GrsYd Cvr

Ç Tobaccos 1.98 862¼ 594¾ Sage Gp 686⅜ -3⅝ 2.6 26.1 664 453 InvesPerp UK Sm Co 528 -2 3.7 611 165⅜ 130¼ Procter & Gamble $ 150½ -⅜ 2.3 1.7
Construction -1.03% Media -0.13% Property -0.09% Tobaccos +1.98%
310⅝ 209¾ Spirent ● 245¼* -3¼ 2.1 22.0 790 610⅜ JPM Claverh’se 722 -6 4.2 725 104⅜ 74⅝ Raytheon Tech $ 101⅜ +⅛ 2.0 1.3
Ç Transport 1.49 52 week
326¾ 207¾ Balfour Beatty ● 262¼ -1¼ 3.4 12.3 1119½ 911½ JPM ElecManGth 1015* — 1.7 1049 High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E 22¾ 14⅛ Alina Hldgs 16¼ — — 29 3456½ 2507½ Brit Am Tob 3262 +71 6.7 11.0 355 250⅝ Rockwell $ 271¾ +1¼ 1.6 1.9
Insurance -0.43%
Ç Aerospace & defence 1.31 799⅜ 511¾ Barratt Dev 525⅝ -11 6.3 8.1 114 92½ JPM ElecManInc 105* — 4.5 107 751⅜ 538 Auto Trader 653⅝ +10¾ 1.2 49.4 80⅝ 59¼ Assura ● 66* -⅜ 4.5 — 1822 1434¼ Imp Brands 1617* +15 8.6 5.4 207 142½ Trane Tech $ 154⅜ +1½ 1.7 2.3
3756 2505¾ Bellway ● 2728 -40 4.3 8.6 304¼ 164¾ abrdn 204⅝ +⅝ 7.1 4.4 105 99½ JPM ElecManCsh 101¾* — 0.3 103 407 276 Bloomsbury 359 -6 2.5 21.2 1760 1087 Big Yellow Gp ● 1498 +5 2.5 — 152⅝ 132 Wal Mart Strs $ 142⅞ +⅞ 1.6 2.2
Ç Gas & Water 1.29 Transport +1.49%
5383⅞ 3490 Berkeley Grp 3936 -47 0.3 10.7 3706 2346 Admiral 2583 -17 10.8 7.7 95 70¼ JPM Eur G&I 82¾* +⅝ 4.3 95 1124 810 Euromoney ● 910 +12 2.0 77.8 563¾ 441¾ Brit Land 513 +3 3.3 — 191⅝ 128⅜ Walt Disney $ 138½ +⅞ — —
Ç Pharmaceuticals 0.92 329 253 Boot H 318 -2 1.9 15.0 448¾ 361⅛ Aviva 435¾ -⅝ 5.1 8.7 732 458½ JPM Japanese ● 510 -6 1.0 552 628 459¾ Informa 585⅜ -3⅜ — — 269¼ 180¼ CLS Hldgs ● 202 -5½ 3.8 6.9 457½ 299 Redde Northgate ● 433½ +½ 4.2 16.3 25⅝ 17½ Xerox Hldgs $ 20¼ +⅜ 4.9 2.6
67⅞ 32 Costain 39¼ -¾ — -1.1 516¼ 291½ Beazley ● 417¾* +1⅝ 3.1 11.3 568⅜ 338⅛ JPM Jpn SmCp G&I 366½ -½ 5.9 395 134⅛ 69¼ ITV 82⅛ -½ 4.0 11.6 95⅝ 54 Cap&Regional 58⅝ +¾ — — 613¾ 330⅝ Royal Mail 361⅛ +6½ 5.5 5.8
Ç Mining 0.91 Europeans -0.04%
4024 2774 CRH 3206* -22 2.9 12.9 324 2¾ DirectLineIns ● 274¼ +2⅜ 8.3 11.2 1585¼ 885 JPM Mid Cap 1077½* -12½ 2.7 1230 883⅝ 571 Pearson 767¼ -12⅜ 2.7 36.4 3850 2797 Derwent Ldn ● 3106 +21 2.5 — 470 288 Wincanton 371 +8 3.1 11.1
Ç Telecommunications 0.81 1425 952 Grafton Gp ● 1003 -15 3.0 7.0 1002 763⅝ Hiscox ● 948 +2¼ 2.8 22.6 822⅜ 644¼ Land Secs 765⅝* +2¾ 4.3 — 430 136 Reach 184 -1¾ 3.9 — 810½ 608 Gt Portland Est ● 680½ +4½ 1.9 — 108½ 69⅝ AkzoNobel € 76¼ -1⅞ 2.6 2.3
Travel & Leisure -0.91%
2730 1664 Morgan Sindall ● 2455 +10 3.7 11.6 725 342⅜ Lancashire Hldg ● 394⅝ +1⅜ 2.9 -20.0 146 110 Lowland Inv 129 — 4.7 139 2451 1781 RELX 2320 +3 2.1 36.5 340 259¾ Grainger ● 291⅝ -1⅜ 1.8 18.0 100⅜ 67⅝ BMW € 78½ +¼ 7.4 3.2
Ç Electricity 0.73
3272 2101½ Persimmon 2192* -35 10.7 8.9 309⅞ 225½ Legal & General 271¾ -1⅞ 6.8 7.9 253⅛ 180 Majedie 197 -3 5.8 254 810 557⅜ Rightmove 652⅝ -¼ 1.2 30.6 44⅝ 29⅝ Hammerson ● 30⅞ +¼ 1.3 — 1890¼ 1047 Carnival ● 1251⅜ -28 — -2.0 18¾ 14½ Carrefour € 18¾ … 2.6 2.6
Ç Banks 0.60 743⅝ 500⅞ Redrow ● 540⅜* -2⅜ 5.3 7.3 764⅜ 559¼ Phoenix 640¼ -4¼ 7.6 -7.4 437 303 Mtn Currie Port 343 -2 1.2 343 1231½ 868¾ WPP 1021½ -9½ 3.1 19.1 513 345 Helical 406 +1 2.5 27.4 921⅞ 417⅜ easyJet ● 509¼ -6 — -3.2 132⅝ 56¾ Continental AG € 65⅜ -⅜ 3.4 3.3
193¾ 125½ Taylor Wimpey 137⅜ -1¼ 6.2 9.0 1598½ 976 Prudential 1082 -11 1.2 -18.4 294½ 185⅛ Mercantile InvTr ● 221 -½ 3.0 252 299 205 McKay Secs 280 — 3.0 — 2500 1383½ Entain 1656½ -18½ — — 91⅝ 54⅝ Daimler € 63⅛ -¼ 6.8 0.7
È Chemicals -0.62 Mining +0.91%
1742½ 1156½ St James Place 1465½ +7½ 3.5 27.5 592 469½ Merchants Tst 565 +1 4.8 557 36⅞ 3½ Raven Property # 3⅞ — — -1.4 110¾ 72 FirstGroup ● 107 -¼ — 16.5 65¼ 46½ Danone € 51½ -¼ 3.8 1.5
Electricals -0.94%
È Support services -0.72 195 169 MomentumM-A V 181½ -½ 3.7 184 4141½ 2350 Anglo Amer 3941* +15 5.6 7.5 126⅞ 10 Raven Prop Prf # 20* — 60.0 — 16760 7600 Flutter Entrtmt 8834 -124 — 37.4 61⅜ 38½ Deutsche Post € 44⅝ -⅜ 4.0 1.3
Investment trusts -0.80%
380 241 Dialight 295 -1 — -12.3 1482 969 Monks ● 1060 -20 0.2 1169 1972 1198½ Antofagasta 1781½ +20½ 6.1 17.9 1460 777½ Safestore ● 1272* +8 2.0 — 977¾ 574 Fullers ‘A’ 624 +22 0.6 -6.9 18⅞ 14½ Deutsche Tele € 16¾ +⅛ 3.8 1.4
52 week
È Investment trusts -0.80 1274 651 discoverIE Grp ● 800 -10 1.3 59.3 High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld NAV 959½ 738 Murray Income ● 867 -5 4.0 918 2861¾ 1774½ BHP Group 2801½* +61 9.7 16.5 1472 1035 Savills ● 1159 -15 3.0 11.0 219 109⅜ IAG Intl Cons Air 135¾ -3⅛ — -2.8 104⅝ 77½ Heineken € 87⅝ +2⅜ 1.4 4.7
3270 2151 Halma 2479 -24 0.7 46.2 1507½ 1071 3i 1325½ -11 3.0 1235 1241½ 1056½ Murray Intl ● 1228 -4 4.5 1297 123⅝ 80⅜ Centamin ● 91 +3¾ 7.5 13.6 1508 910 Segro 1291* -8 1.9 — 5376 4300 Intercont Hotels 5138 -18 1.3 46.6 758½ 543⅞ LVMH € 624¾ +⅜ 1.6 2.4
È Travel & Leisure -0.91
6655 3724 Renishaw ● 4024* -34 1.7 26.3 366 287⅝ 3i Infrastructure ● 335 -5 3.1 286 73½ 57 Northern 2 VCT 61½ — 5.7 65 707⅝ 50½ Evraz # 81 +⅛ 89.0 0.5 170½ 119½ Town Centre 161½ — 2.6 — 335 191⅞ Mitchells&But ● 228 -4¾ — -19.8 58½ 38¾ LafargeHolcim SFr 44¾ -⅜ 4.9 1.7

È Electricals -0.94 5779⅜ 3197 XP Power ● 3605 -35 2.6 31.1 104½ 91⅜ Aberdeen Diversified 100½* -½ 5.6 119 107 89½ Northern 3 VCT 94½ — 4.8 99 997⅝ 610⅝ Fresnillo 767⅝ +41⅝ 3.3 17.7 251¾ 176¼ Tritax Big Box ● 235⅝* -1¼ 2.8 217 337¾ 183¾ National Ex ● 226⅝ -4¾ — -13.5 11¾ 5¼ Lufthansa € 7⅛ +⅛ — —
662 476¼ Aberdeen New India 565 -7 0.2 677 78¾ 64½ Nthn Venture 66 — 6.1 70 514⅛ 263½ Glencore 500¼ -10⅞ 3.9 17.4 177¾ 122 Warehouse REIT 167* +2 3.7 151 775 347 Playtech ● 616 +7½ — 3.3 5¾ 3⅜ Nokia OYJ € 4⅞ … — —
Electricity +0.73%
È Construction -1.03 1084⅞ 867⅞ Alliance Trust ● 971* -3 2.0 1046 376 286⅜ Pacific Assets 321 -6 0.7 356 215⅝ 68¼ Hochschild Mng ● 132½ +3⅛ 2.5 12.5 979 592½ Workspace Gp ● 672½ +17 3.7 — 216½ 125⅜ Rank Group ● 137¾ -5⅝ — 55.1 155¾ 99⅝ Michelin € 119½ -2⅛ 3.8 2.3
737½ 388¾ Drax Group ● 710 -8½ 2.6 35.5 373½ 233½ Allianz Tech Trust ● 276½ -1½ — 302 353 253 Pantheon ● 311 -2 — 412 493 391¼ Kenmare Res 446 -8 5.6 5.0 140 64 Restaurant Gp 66¾ -1¾ — -12.6 217¼ 157½ Pernod Ricard € 186⅜ -1½ 1.7 1.7
È Information technology -1.22 Retailers -1.31%
1170¼ 850⅜ Nat Grid 1119¾ +11¾ 4.4 24.0 543¾ 403¼ Asia Dragon Trust 444 -7 1.5 504 203⅛ 150 PremierMitonGlb 174½* — 4.0 200 1737 92 Polymetal 166 +28½ 44.3 1.1 110⅞ 63⅞ Stagecoach 105½ +¼ — 17.3 51 26⅝ Philips (Kon) € 27 -¼ 3.1 1.5

È Retailers -1.31 1711 1413 SSE 1674½ +4½ 4.9 7.7 506 257½ Baillie Giff China 308 -1½ 2.3 322 2787 2205⅞ RIT Cap Ptnrs ● 2545 -40 1.4 2701 6788 4354 Rio Tinto 5857* +57 12.9 5.9 79⅞ 24½ Brown N 28⅞ -1⅛ — 11.0 406¼ 166¾ TUI AG ● 223¼ -¾ — -1.2 158 105⅞ Siemens € 130⅛ -⅞ 3.1 1.9
171 90 Baillie Giff Euro Gwth 106 -1 0.3 115 320 282 Ruffer Inv Pref ● 308* -2 0.8 298 159¼ 84 Currys ● 88¼ -⅛ 4.5 88.3 1432 712½ Wetherspoon ● 791 -17 — -5.4 37⅝ 18⅜ Societe Gen € 24⅛ -¼ 6.8 3.6
Engineering / Industrial -1.58% Oil & Gas +0.06%
È Engineering / Industrial -1.58 125⅝ 96 Bankers Invstmt Tst ●106¾ -⅜ 2.0 113 528 410 Schroder Asian TR 460 — 1.5 470 1599 963½ Dunelm ● 1099* -25 6.7 17.3 3646 2384 Whitbread 2742 +53 — -5.7 19⅜ 12⅛ Stellantis € 14⅜ -⅛ — —
420 282½ Castings 297 +2 5.2 31.2 1513⅝ 852 Biotech Growth 900 — — 955 548 437⅞ Scot American ● 500* +1 2.5 492 419⅛ 275⅞ BP 389¼* +1¼ 4.3 13.7 827 450¾ Frasers Group ● 666½ -5 — -40.4 120 70½ Thales € 118 +2 2.2 2.5
AIM -0.30%
81⅜ 55¼ Coats Group ● 81⅜ +4⅜ 2.0 17.6 140¼ 85 BlackRock Enrgy&Res 133 -1 3.3 129 927 725 Scot Invest 900½ -9½ 2.7 937 223⅝ 122 Capricorn Ener ● 219⅜ +¾ — 1.6 3443 2025½ Greggs ● 2416 -44 2.4 20.9 52½ 34¼ Total € 46¾ +⅜ 5.7 2.3
© 2022 Tradeweb Markets LLC. All rights reserved. The
Tradeweb FTSE Gilt Closing Prices information contained 1650 1000 Cropper J 1175 +75 0.2 71.6 140 113½ BlckRock FroInv 125½ -2 4.1 139 441¾ 212⅜ Halfords 254⅜ +¼ 3.5 9.4 20 13⅞ Afentra # 14½ — — -21.3 19⅞ 13⅛ UBS AG SFr 17¾ … 2.6 3.9
herein is proprietary to Tradeweb; may not be copied or
re-distributed; is not warranted to be accurate, complete or 4000 2611⅝ Goodwin 3310 -70 3.1 19.7 732 436⅜ BlckRck Grt Euro 530 -8 1.2 538 985¾ 723 Howden Joinery 784¾ -16⅝ 2.5 14.8 1190 800 Arbuthnot 975 — 3.9 21.6 33½ 21¼ Veolia Environ € 28 -⅞ 3.6 0.7
timely; and does not constitute investment advice. Tradeweb
is not responsible for any loss or damage that might result 1878 1199 IMI ● 1426 -28 1.7 19.4 202 160 BlckRck Inc&Grth Inv 180½ -3½ 4.0 202 235¾ 121¼ JD Sports Fash 147⅝ -4 0.2 32.0 2800 1910 BrooksMacdonald 2235* +10 3.0 17.8 318 180⅛ Volkswagen € 221 +¼ 3.4 2.2
from the use of this information.
204 108 Melrose Ind 125½ -3⅛ 1.4 -10.3 423 310 BlackRock Latin 423 +1 4.7 456 389⅝ 247⅜ Kingfisher 261¾ +¼ 4.7 6.5 ⅜ 0 Cambria Africa ¼ … — 11.9
Recent issues
2088 1233½ Mondi 1511½ +10 3.6 15.1 212 177 BlckRck SustAmerInc 212 +2 3.8 217 102 51¾ Lookers 96¾ +⅞ — -92.2 298 187½ Central Asia Met 239 +3 6.7 12.7
52 week
84⅞ 62⅝ Severfield 66 — 4.5 11.8 2230¼ 1412¼ BlackRock Small ● 1636 -10 2.0 1879 263 129¾ Marks & Spen ● 153⅞ -4¾ — -15.2 1380 481¼ Ceres Power 741 +1 — -64.3 High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E

1669½ 1323 Smiths Gp 1518 -13 2.5 21.2 1046 621⅞ BlkRk Throg Tst ● 734* -16 1.4 754 20 10 Mothercare 12 -⅛ — -2.1 2050 1350 Churchill China 1412½ — 0.5 — 36¾ 32 CleanTech Lithium 34 -1¼ — —
466 279¼ Smith (DS) 323⅞ -3½ 4.0 24.4 786 492 BlackRock Wld M ● 754* +5 5.6 765 8484 5578 Next 6176 -208 2.1 27.7 476¼ 295⅝ CML Micro 343 — 1.2 2.4 1005 986 NewEnrgyOneAcq 985 -2 — —
Government securities
4334 2771 Smurfit Kappa 3375 -68 3.1 15.3 345 269½ BMO Cap & Inc 311* -2 3.7 317 2255 1052 Ocado 1103 -21 — -36.5 682 442 Cohort 473 +3 2.4 35.4 RC365 Holding 7 — — —
52 week Flat Rdm
High Low (£) Stock Price (£) +/- Yield Yield 17225 10785 Spirax 12325 -190 1.1 38.7 118¾ 69¼ BMO ComProp ● 115* — 3.9 126 28½ 14½ Pendragon 27½ -½ — 6.2 2¼ 1 Deltex Medical 1¼ +⅛ — -8.3
118.63 110.31 Treas 5% 25 110.34 +0.05 4.53 1.41 1661 1040 Vitec 1345 +5 2.6 23.8 177 138⅜ BMO Glob SmCo ● 154⅝ -¾ 1.1 174 464⅝ 200⅜ Saga 231⅝ -1¼ — -3.5 147 82⅜ Eleco 102½ — 0.6 26.3
140.24 135.60 Treas 6% 28 128.87 +0.07 4.66 1.46 2015½ 1381 Weir ● 1765 -123½ 1.3 17.7 300 240 BMO Mgd G 258 — — 261 342 233⅝ Sainsbury J 259½ +1⅞ 4.1 -20.0 103 71 Finsbury Food 72 -2 4.5 7.3
141.39 123.77 Treas 4¼% 32 124.52 +0.14 3.41 1.63 150 125 BMO Mgd I 134* — 4.6 135 1931½ 1259¾ Smith WH ● 1426 -12½ — -22.8 63 24 Futura Medical 24⅞ -1¼ — -25.2
Food producers -0.41%
147.87 129.00 Treas 4¼% 36 130.21 +0.28 3.26 1.79 520 323 BMO Priv Eq Ord 480 -11 3.9 586 304⅛ 219⅜ Tesco 275 -1 3.3 4.3 63 33⅛ Hornby 34 — — 41.5
163.41 135.07 Treas 4¾% 38 142.26 +0.36 3.34 1.81 2528 1584½ Ass Brit Fds 1688½ -8 1.6 27.9 96¼ 68¼ BMO Real Est Inv 87* -¼ 4.6 121 588 235¾ James Halstead 251 — 3.0 26.1
Support services -0.72%
2809⅝ 1403½ Coca–Cola HBC 1595½ -36 3.3 16.8 101 77 BMO UKHighIncTst 86½ — 6.3 93 1573¼ 912⅜ Jet2 1107 -14½ — -7.3
Index Linked Securities 4200 37 Cranswick ● 3486 +46 2.0 19.8 1140 886 Brunner 1015* -5 2.0 1144 6572 4208 Ashtead Gp 5200 -88 0.9 33.4 106 97½ LifeScienceREIT 101 +½ — 100
378.90 351.92 Treas 2½% IL 24 374.68 +0.47 0.67 0.00 1298 988 Hilton Food ● 1184 +8 2.3 24.4 4151¼ 2620 Caledonia ● 3585 — 1.8 4695 3000 2225 Bunzl 2891 -9 2.0 21.8 665⅜ 371½ Mpac Group 510 -20 — 31.3
404.01 367.29 Treas 4⅛% IL 30 384.54 +0.72 1.07 0.00 193 48 REA Hldgs 167½ +½ — -7.4 188¼ 142 Capital&Count ● 168¾ -¼ 0.9 49.6 56 19⅞ Capita 20¼ -½ — 23.8 278 145 MS Intl 270 — 3.1 37.5
325.39 286.32 Treas 2% IL 35 301.19 +1.14 0.66 0.00 4388 3267½ Unilever 3370 -15 4.3 17.3 417 363¼ City of Lon ● 410 +1½ 4.7 400 20¾ 12½ Carillion # 14¼ — — 0.5 419⅞ 235 Numis 261 -7 5.2 4.8
207 123¾ CQS Nat Res G & I 206 +4 2.7 236 6684 5050 DCC 5784 -10 2.8 19.5 207 135 Premier Miton 149 — 6.7 15.6
Gas & Water +1.29%
10-year Government Bonds 523⅞ 333⅞ Dunedin Ent 500½* — 6.1 553 215 98¼ De La Rue 109 -1 — 32.1 55 28⅝ SRT Marine Sys 37¼ — — -11.9
82⅞ 45¼ Centrica ● 82⅛ -⅛ — 4.0 659 547 Edinburgh Inv Tr ● 633 -3 3.8 688 366 250 Essentra ● 315 +5½ 1.9 — 111 80 Tribal Gp 89½ -½ 1.5 26.3
Spread vs Spread vs
Yield% Bunds T-Bonds 1751¾ 983½ Pennon Gp ● 1028* +6 3.3 1.6 369 187¾ Edin Worldwide ● 219 -2½ — 246 3689 2442 Experian 2988 +2 1.2 44.7 40 10½ Union Jack Oil 28 +1¼ — -12.6
France +0.00 +0.00 3008 2268 Severn Trent 2926 +52 3.5 32.8 152 94¼ European Assets 114 -½ 7.7 119 13640 8430 Ferguson 10860 -365 1.7 21.2 7½ 3 Xtract Resources 6⅜ +⅜ — -31.8
Germany - +0.00 1138½ 898¾ Utd Utilities 1065½ +20½ 4.1 16.0 953 767¼ F&C Inv Trust ● 842 -3 1.5 943 1218 578⅜ Homeserve ● 806½ +103 3.3 86.7 1685 1312½ Young & Co – A 1450 +30 0.6 -21.3
Japan +0.00 +0.00 510 406¼ Fidelity Asian V 440 -6 2.0 496 6306 4703 Intertek Group 5142 -6 2.1 28.8 990 620 Young & Co – N/V 656 -9 1.3 16.7
General financial +0.09% 52 week 52 week
Great Britain +0.00 +0.00 446 211½ Fidlty Chna Sp Sits ● 260 — 1.8 279 High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld NAV High Low Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E 384¼ 211⅛ IWG ● 256½ -5¼ — -12.6 The Alternative Investment Market is for young and growing
companies. Shares may carry higher risks than those with a full
United States +0.00 - 430⅜ 211¼ Ashmore ● 234⅝* +3⅜ 7.2 6.4 345½ 256½ Fidelity Euro Tst ● 297½ -2½ 2.3 326 1568½ 816¼ Scot Mortgage 1008 -18½ 0.3 1021 32¼ 15⅛ EnQuest 31⅛ +1⅞ — -1.1 182¾ 103 Johnson Serv 116 — — 77.3 quotation, and may be difficult to sell.
571 257½ Bridgepoint Grp ● 318 +28½ 1.1 — 268½ 158 Fidelity Japan Tst 182 +1½ — 190 235 197 Sec Tst of Scot 224 -2 2.5 224 524⅝ 284 Harbour Energy ● 499⅝ +25¼ 1.7 56.8 605 248½ Menzies J 567 +4 — 43.7
The share prices, price-earnings ratios and dividend yields
below are supplied by Interactive Data (Europe) Ltd. The
Americans +0.53%
yields are calculated using historic dividend payments divided 1778 961⅛ Hargreaves L 1039½* -6½ 3.7 16.6 315 247 Fidelity Sp V ● 289½ -2½ 2.3 288 2040 1391½ Smithson Inv Tst ● 1578 -12 — 1607 345½ 142¾ Hunting 318½ -1½ 1.9 -2.9 79 44¾ MITIE Gp ● 60⅛ -1⅞ 0.7 -66.8
by the closing share price multiplied by 100. 52 week
1004⅞ 698 IG Group ● 794½ +1½ 5.4 7.9 933¼ 746 Finsbury Gwth ● 817 -4 2.1 868 511¾ 383¼ TR Property ● 435 -4 3.3 479 203⅜ 91 Petrofac 105½ -6⅛ — -2.7 662 444¼ Rentokil 515 +6¾ 1.2 36.4 High Low Stock Price +/- GrsYd Cvr

2493 1285 IntermediateCap 1686 +6 3.4 10.5 90¾ 73⅛ Hend Div Inc Tst 77* — 5.7 83 208¾ 137¼ Tmpletn Em Mt ● 152 -2 2.5 177 2113 1833⅜ Shell 2081* -4 3.3 10.6 510 346 Ricardo Gp 400* — 2.0 — 95¾ 27½ Alcoa $ 91⅞ -2¼ 0.4 5.8
Aerospace & defence +1.31%
493 205 Investec ● 481¾ -½ 3.8 19.1 190 149½ Hend High Inc 173 — 5.8 175 83 67¾ Troy Inc & Gr 75½ -¼ 2.6 76 293 150¾ Wood Grp (John) ● 170¼ -5⅛ — -6.6 892 499 Robt Walters 650 +4 3.1 14.0 199½ 136¾ Amer Express $ 188 +1⅞ 1.1 4.8
52 week
High Low (p) Stock Price (p) +/- Yld P/E 156¼ 73¾ IP Group ● 94¼ +¼ 1.3 5.4 176¼ 150 Hend Intl Inc 170½ -¼ 3.9 181 144⅜ 135 UIL Fin ZDP 2022 144 — — 142 65 30¾ SIG 41¾ -⅜ — -1.7 50⅛ 36½ BankAmerica $ 43⅛ … 2.0 4.3
Pharmaceuticals +0.92%
388½ 215⅝ Babcock Intl ● 339¼ +5¼ — -1.0 2560 1056 Liontrust ● 1246 -30 4.7 26.5 1378 868 Hend Smaller Co ● 994 -16 2.4 1126 125⅜ 114⅛ UIL Fin ZDP 2024 122½ — — 123 148⅛ 118⅞ Serco Group ● 139¾ +½ 1.7 5.6 260½ 167⅝ Boeing $ 188½ +2½ — —
766⅜ 488⅛ BAE Systems 748¾ +13¾ 3.4 13.6 42¾ 33 Lon. Fin. & Inv. 38* — 3.0 7.9 1650 1044⅛ Hend Opp 1217½ -2½ 2.3 1501 120 110 UIL Fin ZDP 2026 116½ — — 121 9859 7045 AstraZeneca 9836* +106 2.1 — 1905⅜ 1222 Travis P ● 1285½ -33½ 3.0 -130.4 246¾ 179⅝ Caterpillar $ 222½ +⅜ 2.0 2.7
364⅜ 236 QinetiQ ● 303¾ +4¼ 2.3 13.9 8298 6230 Lon Stock Ex 7824 -18 1.2 65.0 2670 1634 Herald Inv ● 1860 -20 — 2335 674 35¾ Unbound Grp 38½ — — -3.4 5525 3368 Dechra Pharma 4020* -80 1.0 78.3 174¾ 92⅞ Chevron $ 166½ +⅝ 3.4 1.4
Telecommunications +0.81%
161⅞ 83½ Rolls–Royce 92¼ +¼ — 64.1 254¼ 168¾ M&G 221½* +5¼ 8.3 67.1 446 312½ HgCapital ● 428½* -4 1.6 437 229 196 Utilico Emerg 213½* -½ 3.7 242 6310 2814 Genus ● 2834* -88 1.1 39.0 63 42⅜ Coca–Cola Euro $ 48½ +½ 3.3 1.2
186¾ 100 Senior 131⅜ -1¼ — 22.6 242½ 156 Man Group ● 222¾ +1⅜ 4.8 8.5 181¼ 158¾ HICL Infrastructure ●167¼* -1¾ 4.9 155 257½ 203 Witan ● 227½ -1½ 2.5 247 1737 1269⅛ GlaxoSmKline 1625⅝* +13 4.9 18.6 206¾ 134⅞ BT Group 184¾ +2¾ 4.2 12.5 85⅝ 72¼ Colgate Palm $ 73¾ +⅛ 2.6 1.4
3420 1972 Ultra ● 3320 -18 0.5 35.4 383¾ 204¾ Provident Fin ● 305¼ -1¾ — -9.3 287¾ 228 Highbridge Tactical 249 — — 245 3925 2915 Worldw HealthTr ● 3110 -45 0.7 3408 2703 1767 Hikma 2122* +43 1.9 15.3 1652 993⅝ Telecom Plus ● 1530 +10 3.7 36.9 86¼ 66⅜ DuPontDeNemrs $ 75⅞ -⅛ 1.7 2.5
169¾ 108¼ Quilter ● 139½ +1⅝ 4.0 14.8 1314 976⅛ ICG Enterprise Tst ● 1152 -20 2.3 1633 291⅝ 120 Indivior ● 270¼ +¼ — 12.7 142¾ 106¼ Vodafone 124⅞ +⅝ 6.1 — 91½ 52⅛ Exxon Mobil $ 83⅝ +½ 4.2 0.4
Banks +0.60% Net Asset Values © 2022 Morningstar Estimated at previous
2090 1426⅛ Rathbones Grp ● 1742 -8 4.6 13.0 402 298 Invesco Asia Trust 344 +1½ 4.7 379 day’s close see www.Morningstar.co.uk. 66¾ 26⅜ Foot Locker $ 30½ -⅜ 5.2 5.4
219⅝ 142 Barclays 168⅜* -1⅝ 3.6 19.1 2950 2150 S & U 2340 -40 4.8 19.4 200 157 Invesco BondIncPlus 176¾ +1¾ 6.2 183 Gen Electric $ 94¼ — 0.3 10.2
1685 999 Close Bros ● 1188 -13 5.4 8.8 3913 2674 Schroders 3150 -102 3.9 14.3 420⅝ 289 Home Depot $ 315⅞ -1¼ 2.4 2.0
567¼ 329½ HSBC 517⅝* +7⅞ 3.7 11.0 236⅞ 174⅜ Honeywell $ 193⅜ +1 2.0 2.0
Healthcare +0.02% Results Roundup
56 ⅝ Lloyds Bk Gp 49½ … 4.0 6.6 39⅝ 26⅛ HP $ 38¼ +½ 2.6 5.5
258⅛ 182⅞ NatWest Group 224¼* +3⅞ 4.7 -36.2 356⅜ 271⅜ Mediclinic Int ● 343¾ -1¼ — 37.4 Company Turnover(£) Pre - tax(£) EPS(p) DIV(p) Pay Day XD 152⅞ 114½ IBM $ 129 +⅝ 5.1 0.8
302⅛ 205⅝ Santander 262 +⅝ 2.6 15.7 1601½ 1151½ Smith & Nep 1229 +1½ 2.3 27.1 68½ 43⅝ Intel $ 51 +2¾ 2.9 3.3
Big Technologies Fin 37.6m (29.6m) 13.7m (12.7m) 4.50 (4.10) 0.000 (0.000) – –
590 406¼ Standard Ch 502⅝* -9⅜ 1.8 10.8 65¼ 40½ Intl Paper $ 45¼ +⅝ 4.1 1.6
Household goods +0.27% Bridgepoint Group Fin 270.6m (191.8m) 62.6m (48.5m) 16.00 (1159.00) n/a (n/a) – –
173 127¼ JP Morgan Ch $ 140 +¼ 2.9 3.8 Bold FTSE100 Stocks ● FTSE250 Stocks
Beverages +0.02% CVS Group Int 273.7m (245.6m) 22.9m (14.8m) 24.70 (16.00) n/a (n/a) – – * Ex-dividend † Ex-scrip ‡ Ex-all
2267 1534½ Burberry 1656 +6 3.3 17.8 179⅞ 155¾ Johnson&John $ 174¼ … 2.4 1.9 § Ex-rights # Suspended
Energean $ Fin 497.0m (28.0m) -90.7m (-113.6m) -0.54 (-0.52) n/a (n/a) – – Cover relates to the previous year’s dividend.
4110 2968½ Diageo 3747½* +1½ 2.0 32.9 97¾ 38⅜ McBride 42⅞ -¼ — 5.7 39⅜ 32½ Keurig Dr Pep $ 37 +⅛ 2.0 2.0
EnQuest $ Fin 1.3bn (863.9m) 352.4m (-566.0m) 21.70 (-29.00) n/a (n/a) – – Yields are net of basic rate tax.
279½ 177¾ PZ Cussons ● 192⅝* -1¾ 3.2 -48.5 125⅛ 84⅜ Manpower $ 93¾ +1⅛ 2.7 2.8 Data is provided for information purposes only and is
Chemicals -0.62% GCP Asset Backed Income Fund Fin – (–) 15.0m (27.4m) 3.40 (6.21) 1.575 (1.575) Mar 04 Feb 03 not intended for trading purposes. Speak with a
financial advisor before using any data to make
6816 5367 Reckitt Benck 5635 +16 3.1 33.9 25¾ 9¾ Marathon Oil $ 25⅞ +¼ 0.9 5.5
International Public Partnership Fin – (–) 129.2m (60.8m) 7.78 (3.76) 3.770 (3.680) Jun 07 Apr 07 transactions.
10505 6310 Croda Intl 7384 — 1.4 32.1 271⅛ 217⅝ McDonalds $ 239½ +3½ 2.3 1.8
Information technology -1.22% Kin + Carta Int 89.3m (55.8m) -3.1m (-8.1m) 11.92 (0.62) 0.000 (0.000) – –
3363 1650 Johnson Mat ● 1854½ -32½ 3.9 17.4 91⅜ 15⅜ Merck $ 80⅛ +⅜ 3.4 1.8
Ocean Wilsons Holdings $ Fin 396.4m (352.8m) 110.4m (74.6m) 180.10 (109.50) 70.000 (70.000) tba tba
2720 1731 Victrex ● 1896 -35 3.1 22.5 738 271 Aptitude Sftwre 303 -3 1.8 33.7 349⅝ 231⅛ Microsoft $ 300¾ +1¼ 0.8 3.8
Playtech € Fin 1.2bn (1.1bn) 605.0m (-52.7m) 226.30 (-99.60) 0.000 (0.000) – –
4242 2264 Aveva Group 2494 -47 1.5 — 61¾ 35¼ Pfizer $ 52⅝ +⅜ 3.0 2.5
The Daily Telegraph Friday 25 March 2022 ** 7

Business

Second Unaoil conviction quashed BUSINESS BULLETIN

Brookfield mulls bid for Uber to integrate with

Ms Osofsky’s continued presence as
repairs firm HomeServe New York taxi services
Serious Fraud Office under head of one of the most important pros- Brookfield Asset Management is Uber has said it will collaborate with
renewed pressure over ecution offices in the world. Her posi-
tion is now wholly untenable.”
exploring a takeover of HomeServe, the
London-listed emergency household
New York taxi networks, a long-time
transportation rival, as it is hit by driver
bribery case following The SFO’s prosecution of former repairs provider. The investment shortages and a surge in food delivery
Court of Appeal ruling Unaoil executives was previously seen
as a rare success in recent years after
manager said there is no certainty that a
bid will be made or on what terms. It has
requests during the pandemic. Uber
will integrate its app with those run by
separate cases against Tesco, former until April 21 to state whether it intends Creative Mobile Technologies and Curb
By Matt Oliver Serco executives and former Barclays to make a firm offer under takeover Mobility, used by the city’s 14,000
executives unravelled. rules. Shares in HomeServe rose 14.6pc, yellow cabs. Passengers will pay roughly
THE Serious Fraud Office and its But the agency’s handling of the case valuing the FTSE 250 group at £2.73bn. the same under either system.
under-fire director suffered a fresh – including its ill-fated dealings with Mr
setback after a second conviction Tinsley – will now be examined in an
from the botched Unaoil bribery case independent review being carried out McColl’s chief steps Country Life publisher
was overturned. by former High Court judge Sir David
down amid funding talks buys entertainment site

GEOFF PUGH FOR THE TELEGRAPH

Paul Bond, 69, became the second Calvert-Smith.
person to have his conviction quashed Mr Tinsley, a private investigator and The boss of McColl’s has quit as the The magazine publisher behind
by Court of Appeal judges, following former US Drug Enforcement Agency convenience store chain battles to Country Life and The Week has
the successful appeal of businessman agent, had been acting for the founding secure its future. Jonathan Miller has continued its takeover spree by
Ziad Akle in December. Ahsani family of Unaoil. been at the firm for 30 years, including snapping up the entertainment and
The fiasco has raised questions about He offered to help secure guilty pleas six as the chief executive. It comes as gaming website Whatculture.com and
director Lisa Osofsky’s future and has from Mr Akle and Mr Bond, despite not McColl’s remains in talks with lenders to the advertising data platform Waive.
prompted Suella Braverman QC, the representing them, in exchange for a secure vital funding, while working Future, which is listed on the FTSE 250,
Attorney General, to order a judge-led more lenient deal for his own clients. with advisers to find a buyer or a third did not disclose financial details. Shares
review of what went wrong. Lisa Osofsky, Serious Fraud Office director, is facing questions over her future in the job But when the case came to trial, the party willing to inject fresh cash. dipped 1.7pc to £26.00.
Yesterday Mr Bond’s lawyer accused SFO failed to properly disclose the con-
the SFO of “institutional arrogance” ments that had not been properly dis- Monson, Mr Bond’s lawyer and director tact with him.
and  said Ms Osofsky’s position had closed to the defence in the original of Mary Monson Solicitors, claimed: In a highly critical ruling following Inquiry launched into Playtech profits rise 25pc
become “untenable”.
Mr Bond had been jailed along with
trials, the Court of Appeal found.
The documents detailed “wholly
“Ms Osofsky behaved in a way well
beneath the standards of any prosecu-
Mr Akle’s appeal, judges said Mr Tinsley
was the “last person” the SFO should
National Grid substation to beat expectations
three other men following one of the inappropriate” meetings between SFO tor in our legal system. have been dealing with. Ofgem has launched an investigation Gaming software supplier Playtech has
white collar crime agency’s biggest ever prosecutors, including Ms Osofsky, “She risked being a party to an An SFO spokesman said: “We are dis- into National Grid to assess whether it reported a 25pc increase in annual
corruption investigations. with the fixer David Tinsley. unconscionable interference with a appointed by today’s decision and are breached rules around maintenance of profits to €317m (£264m), which
They were found guilty of conspiring Appeal judges said the failure to dis- criminal trial, and then the SFO sought cooperating fully with Sir David Cal- an electrical substation in Cumbria. surpassed the company’s expectations.
to pay bribes on behalf of Monaco- close the meetings to Mr Akle’s defence to withhold from the court and lawyers vert-Smith’s review”. National Grid owns the high-voltage Revenue climbed 12pc to €1.2bn. The
based Unaoil, which acted as a middle- lawyers had deprived the businessman the extent of what they had done. Dr Sue Hawley, executive director of electricity transmission network in group said it provided help to its
man for Western companies in Iraq. of a fair trial. “Answers are now required, and Spotlight on Corruption, warned that England and Wales, including the 700 employees in Ukraine, including
Mr Akle’s appeal last year unearthed It paved the way for an almost identi- judge-led inquiries, while welcome, do the successful appeals left the SFO Harker substation. No further details evacuation and accommodation for
a huge trove of “embarrassing” docu- cal appeal by Mr Bond. Joseph Kotrie- not deal with the immediate problem of “very badly damaged”. about the inquiry were disclosed. those who have left the country.

Market data Unit trusts & open-ended investment companies prices www.telegraph.co.uk/funds
Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change Mid Change
World market indices Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Name
B Shares
Init chge Sell Buy on day Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Name Init chge Sell Buy on day

JPM Multi-Man Gwth A Acc 3.00 *1344 -4 Jupiter Merlin Bal Prtfo L Inc – 145.71 -1.0973
Index Change
Ç Australia All Ordinaries 7669.00 +4.00 +0.05pc *1194 *65.2
Global Income 0% 198.16 … JPM Multi-Man Gwth A Inc 3.00 -4 Jupiter Merlin Consv Prtfo L Acc– -0.1738
Ç Brazil Bovespa 119052.91 +1595.57 +1.36pc
È China Shanghai Composite 3250.26 -20.77 -0.63pc Corporate Bond 0% 111.19 +0.17 JPM Natural Res A Acc 3.00 *960.8 +18.8 Jupiter Merlin Consv Prtfo L Inc – *51.15 -0.1364
È France CAC General 6555.77 -25.66 -0.39pc AXA Investment Managers UK Janus Henderson Investors
-0.16 *61.56 +1.21 *532.6 -6.5936
È Germany DAX 14273.79 -9.86 -0.07pc Limited Equity Inc 0% 109.9 PO Box 9023 Chelmsford, CM99 2WB J.P. Morgan Asset Management JPM Natural Res A Inc 3.00 Jupiter Merlin Grth Prtfo L Acc –

È Hong Kong -208.13 -0.94pc Enquiries: 0800 832 832

Hang Seng 21945.95 7 Newgate Street, London, EC1A 7NX
Equity Inc Booster 0% 74.48 -0.03 60 Victoria Embankment, London, EC4Y 0JP JPM Sterling Corp Bd A Grs Acc 3.00 *95.99 +0.15 Jupiter Merlin Grth Prtfo L Inc – *517.62 -6.4081
È India BSE S&P SENSEX 57595.68 -89.14 -0.15pc www.axaframlington.com Cust Svs: 0845 777 5511 Website: www.janushenderson.com
Clients:0800 204020.Brokerline 0800 727770
Ç Japan Nikkei 28110.39 +70.23 +0.25pc Glob Abs Ret 0% 115.84 +0.03 JPM Sterling Corp Bd A Grs Inc 3.00 *54.43 +0.08 Jupiter Merlin Inc Prtfo L Acc – 347.81 -1.5292
È Russia RTS 852.64 -84.30 -9.00pc
Amer Gwth Acc – 1201 -20.00 Glob Multi-Strat 0% 131.19 +0.11 Asia Pac Cap Gwth A Acc 5.00 1201 -10 JPM Asia Growth A Acc 3.00 *265.9 -3 JPM UK Dynamic A Acc 3.00 *213.1 -0.6 Jupiter Merlin Inc Prtfo L Inc – 142.66 -0.6272
Ç Singapore Straits Times 3399.70 +35.44 +1.05pc
È Spain Madrid SE 826.63 -2.59 -0.31pc
Biotech Acc – 222.8 -4.50 Inflation-Linked Corp Bd 0% 114.38 +0.46 Asian Dividend Income Inc 5.00 *90.16 +0.15 JPM Asia Growth A Inc 3.00 *145.8 -1.7 JPM UK Dynamic A Inc 3.00 *154.5 -0.5 Jupiter Merlin WW Prtfo L Inc – 380.33 -3.6273
Ç Switzerland SMI Index 12131.45 +31.95 +0.26pc
Ç USA Dow Jones 34707.94 +349.44 +1.02pc Clean Economy R Acc – 1089 -11.00 Long-Term Global Equity 0% 293.83 -4.54 Cautious Managed A Acc 5.00 *291.1 +0.3 JPM Div Gth A Net ACC 3.00 320 -2 JPM UK Equity Core E Acc – *426 -0.9 Jupiter Merlin WW Prtfo L Acc – 380.31 -3.6272
Ç USA Nasdaq 14191.84 +269.24 +1.93pc
Emerg Mkts Acc – 287.4 -1.50 Asian Income 0% 135.72 +0.51 Cautious Managed A Inc 5.00 *147.8 +0.2 JPM Emg Euro Eq A Acc‡ 3.00 *155.7000 … JPM UK Equity Core E Inc – *63.71 -0.14 Jupiter Monthly Alt Inc L Acc – *141.26 +0.2068

Commodities summary FinTech R Acc – 854.5 -6.60 Continental European 0% 204.56 -1.15 China Opps A Acc 5.00 1340 -14 JPM Emg Euro Eq A Inc‡ 3.00 *29.91 … JPM UK Equity Gwth A Acc 3.00 *161 -0.5 Jupiter Monthly Alt Inc L Inc – *31.28 +0.0458

Price Change Global Tech – 228.9 -3.90 Global Dynamic Bd 0% 90.18 +0.04 Emerg Mkts Opps A Acc 5.00 211.3 -2.1 JPM Emg Markets A Acc 3.00 *260.6 -2.2 JPM UK Equity Gwth A Inc 3.00 *135.1 -0.4 Jupiter Multi Asst Inc L Acc – *105.48 +0.0099
Ç Gold per troy oz $1957.17 +13.37 +0.69pc
Global Thematics R GBP Acc – 2177 -37.00 Global High Yield Bd 0% 84.87 +0.04 European Growth A Acc† 5.25 272.2 -1.6 JPM Emg Markets A Inc 3.00 *110.2 -1 JPM UK Equity Value A Acc 3.00 *203 -0.1 Jupiter Multi Asst Inc L Inc – *55.97 +0.0053
Ç Silver per troy oz £19.35 +0.36 +1.89pc
Ç Krugerrand £1505.92 +36.04 +2.45pc
Health Acc – 2791 -36.00 Global Opportunities 0% 274.08 -2.56 European Sel Opps A Acc 5.00 2059 -12 JPM Emg Mkts Inc A Acc 3.00 *94.8 -0.3 JPM UK Equity Value A Inc 3.00 *105 -0.1 Jupiter Multi Asst I & G L Inc – 100.29 -0.2382
Ç New Sovereign £344.36 +3.00 +0.88pc
Ç Maples £1501.70 +31.82 +2.17pc Japan R GBP Acc – 623.4 +7.20 International Bd 0% 106.54 -0.02 Fixed Int Mthly Inc A Inc 4.25 *20.78 +0.03 JPM Emg Mkts Inc A Inc 3.00 *65.72 -0.2 JPM UK Eq Inc A Acc – *59.66 -0.01 Jupiter N.American Inc L Acc – *201.46 -3.1022
Ç Platinum per oz £774.80 +1.26 +0.16pc
Managed Balanced Acc – 483.6 -3.10 Multi-Asset Bal 0% 159.26 -0.87 Global Care Growth A Inc 4.50 485.5 -7 JPM Eur Dyn (ex-UK) £ Hg A Acc3.00 *274.4 -1.4 JPM UK Eq Inc A Inc – *48.21 -0.01 Jupiter N.American Inc L Inc – *155.33 -2.3918
Ç Palladium per oz £1917.85 +10.12 +0.53pc
È Copper† grade A £7820.08 -70.47 -0.89pc Managed Income Acc – 188.1 +0.10 Mult-Asset Div Return 0% 138.45 +0.23 Global Equity Inc A Inc† 5.25 *63.68 -0.37 JPM Euro Dyn (ex-UK) A Acc 3.00 *268.9 -0.8 JPM UK Sm Cos A Acc 3.00 656.5 +0.6 Jupiter Responsible Inc L Acc – 128.55 -0.7053
È Tin† high grade £32016.08 -151.65 -0.47pc
È Lead† £1746.06 -53.07 -2.95pc Managed Income Inc – 102.7 +0.10 Mult-Asset Growth 0% 235.13 -0.43 Global Growth Acc 4.25 4469 -63 JPM Euro Dyn (ex-UK) A Inc 3.00 *116.9 -0.4 JPM UK Sm Cos A Inc 3.00 122.1 +0.1 Jupiter Responsible Inc L Inc – 71.82 -0.3940
È Zinc† special high grade £3042.32 -106.33 -3.38pc
Monthly Inc Inc – 248.9 +0.60 Oriental 0% 188.5 -1.33 Global Strategic Cap Acc† 5.00 315.7 -0.9 JPM Europe A Acc 3.00 *1744 -5 JPM Uncons Bond A Acc 3.00 *75.67 +0.05 Jupiter Strategic Bond L Acc – *104.15 +0.1422
È Aluminium† high grade £2707.83 -81.30 -2.92pc
Ç Nickel† £28242.57 +3734.54 +15.24pc Monthly Inc Acc – 725.5 +1.80 Real Return A 0% 109.94 … Global Technology A Acc 5.00 3110 -48 JPM Europe A Inc 3.00 *90.95 -0.27 JPM Uncons Bond A Inc 3.00 *54.06 +0.04 Jupiter Strategic Bond L Inc – *61.41 +0.0839
È Baltic Dry Index* 2567.00 -8.00 -0.31pc
Ç Wheat per tonne £310.40 +5.30 +1.74pc UK Growth Acc – 353.6 -1.00 UK Equity Fund 0% 145.65 -0.56 Inst UK IDX Opp Tr – *111.1774 -0.2075 JPM Euro Smaller Co A Acc 3.00 932.1 -7.2 JPM US Eq Inc £ Hdg A Inc 3.00 *155.4 -1.6 Jupiter UK Growth L Inc – 249.08 -1.5215
È Brent Crude May settlement $119.03 -2.57 -2.11pc
UK Select Opps R Inc – 2064 -6.00 UK Income 0% 135.33 -0.28 Multi-Mgr Abs Ret A Acc 5.00 161.1 +0.5 JPM Euro Smaller Co A Inc 3.00 119.3 -0.9 JPM US Eq Inc A Acc 3.00 *270.6 -2.7 Jupiter UK Smaller Cos Eq L Acc – *409.04 +0.7979
*Copyright Baltic Exchange Information Services Ltd. †Data provided by the London Metal Exchange.
UK Select Opps R Acc – 3919 -12.00 UK Opportunities 0% 165.46 -1.26 JPM US Eq Inc A Inc 3.00 *200.4 -2 Jupiter UK Special Sits L Inc – 196.8 -0.5037
Exchange rates *306.9
UK Smllr Cos Acc – 359.4 +1.90 US Opportunities 0% 325.46 -3.62 JPM US Select A Acc 3.00 -3.8 Jupiter US Sm&Md Inst I Acc – 80.99 …
£ > € Rate 1.1978 Change -0.32¢ £ > $ Rate 1.3184 Change -0.28¢
AXA IM Funds www.axa-im.co.uk Emerging Income 0% 103.3 … JPM US Select A Inc 3.00 *299.7 -3.7 Jupiter US Sm&Md Cap Ret Acc – 74.46 …
Tourist £1= Sterling £1= 1 Euro = 1 Dollar =
Australia Aus $ 1.6714 1.7568 1.4668 1.3325 Global Dynamic Bd Inc 0% 0.9681 … JPM US Sm Cap Gwth Fd A Acc 3.00 957 -18.8 Marks & Spencer Unit Trust
Canada Can $ 1.5779 1.6524 1.3797 1.2533
Management Ltd
Denmark Krone 8.5014 8.9110 7.4399 6.7589 Global Emerging Mkts 0% 205.13 -1.49 JPM US Sm Cap Gwth Fd A Inc 3.00 250.6 -5
Kings Meadow, Chester, CH99 9UT
Euro € 1.1463 1.1978 … 0.9085
Global Equity Fund 0% 270.49 -2.49 0870 333 1835
Hong Kong HK $ 9.7866 10.3142 8.6114 7.8232
India Rupee 88.7100 100.6878 84.0657 76.3713 Multi Asset Inc 0% 124.12 … High Income Inc – *98.84 98.84 …
Israel Shekels 3.8292 4.2565 3.5539 3.2285
Blue Whale Capital *265.2
Japan Yen 152.6600 160.9239 134.3576 122.0600 Carvetian Capital High Income Acc – 265.2 …
Kuwait Dinar … 0.4010 0.3348 0.3041 0345 307 3439 Management Limited
www.bluewhale.co.uk UK Select Port Inc – 332.5 332.5 …
New Zealand NZ $ 1.7659 1.8941 1.5814 1.4367 Admin: Stuart House, St John’s St,
Norway Krone 10.8800 11.4099 9.5262 8.6544 Blue Whale Growth R Acc – 180.58 -3.79 Peterborough PE1 5DD Jupiter Unit Trust Managers Ltd UK Selection Port – 665.8 665.8 …
Pakistan Rupee 225.4300 239.4545 199.9238 181.6250 Dealing & Enquiries: 0345 850 0255 The Zig Zag Building, 70 Victoria Street, London,
Saudi Arabia Riyal 4.6218 4.9455 4.1291 3.7511 UK 100 Co’s Fund Inc – *219.2 219.2 …
SW1E 6SQ
Singapore $ 1.6691 1.7896 1.4942 1.3575 020 3817 1000
Generation Fd 5.00 914.7 … UK 100 Co’s Fund Acc – *432.7 432.7 …
South Africa Rand 18.3200 19.1729 16.0077 14.5425
Sweden Krona 11.8900 12.3905 10.3451 9.3982 Sand Aire FENIX Bal Inc 5.00 *190.4 … Jupiter Abslt Rtn L Acc – 38.16 -0.0013 W’wide Man Inc – 574.2 …
Switzerland Franc 1.1730 1.2273 1.0247 0.9310
Thailand Baht 39.6300 44.3213 37.0045 33.6175 Consistent Unit Trust Jupiter Asian Fd L Inc – 962.05 -0.4294 W’wide Man Acc – 968.6 …
UAE Dirham 4.5416 4.8426 4.0431 3.6730 Management Co Ltd
BNY Mellon Fund Managers Jupiter Asian Inc L Acc – 182.54 +0.6375
UK £ … … 0.8349 0.7585 Admin: Stuart House, St John’s St,
Investors: 0800 614330 Brokers: 08085 660000
USA $ 1.2585 1.3184 1.1007 … Peterborough PE1 5DD Jupiter Asian Inc L Inc – 146.15 +0.5101
www.bnymellonim.co.uk,
Tourist rates for indication use only. www.travelex.co.uk Dealing & Client Services 0345 850 8818
clientservices@bnymellon.com
Jupiter China L Acc – 99.88 -0.7058

Rates BNY Mellon Investment Funds (ICVC)

Opportunities Unit Tst Inc 0% *67.89 70.14 +0.27 Jupiter China L Inc – 93.16 -0.6584
Sterling Income Shares
Inflation Change on month Year Opportunities Unit Tst Acc 0% *181.8 187.9 +0.7 Jupiter Corp Bond L Inc – *59.17 +0.0426 M&G Securities Ltd
RPI (1987=100) Feb 320.20 +0.8pc +8.2pc PO Box 9039, Chelmsford, CM99 2XG
Global Income 0% 245.48 -1.07 Practical Invest Inc 5.00 *246.5 264.3 … Mid Change Mid Change Jupiter Eco L Inc – 527.27 -4.7366
RPIX (Target 2.5pc) Feb 322.00 +2.5 +8.3pc Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Name Init chge Sell Buy on day Enq: 0800 390 390. UT Deal: 0800 328 3196
CPI (2015=100 target 2pc) Feb 115.80 +0.8pc +6.2pc *1508
Corporate Bond 0% 91.76 +0.14 Practical Invest Acc 5.00 1618 … Multi-Mgr Active A Acc† 5.00 264.4 -0.4 JPM Global Bd Opps A Grs Acc – *58.97 +0.08 Jupiter Emerg Euro Opps L Acc‡– 148.6 … Charibond Chrties Fxd Int Acc – 4128.69 +0.39
Halifax house price index Feb 479.60 +0.5pc +10.8pc
*133.3 *48.3
Equity Inc 0% 147.94 -0.22 Discretionary Unit Fund Multi-Mgr Distbn A Inc 5.25 -0.1 JPM Global Bd Opps A Grs Inc – +0.07 Jupiter European L Inc – 2846.25 -19.4763 Charibond Chrties Fxd Int Dis – 117.67 +0.01

Money Equity Inc Booster 0% 95.23 -0.04

No 1, Poultry, London EC2R 8JR. 020 7415 4130
Multi-Mgr Divrsfd A Acc – *91.38 +0.02 JPM Global Bond A Gross Acc 3.00 *273.4 +0.4 Jupiter Euro Inc L Acc – 84.17 -0.4805 Charity Multi Asset Acc – 10456.35 +0.21
Bank Rate 0.75pc Nationwide Base Mortgage Rate 2.50pc *193.9 *209.4
Glob Abs Ret 0% 115.23 +0.02 Maitland Discretionary Inc 3.00 2174.480211 … Multi-Mgr Inc&Gwth A Acc 5.00 -0.1 JPM Global Bond A Gross Inc 3.00 +0.4 Jupiter Euro Inc L Inc – 50.78 -0.2899 Charity Multi Asset Dis – 90.23 …
Overnight 0.18pc US Fed Funds 0.25-0.50pc
7 day 0.18pc US Long Bonds Yld 2.51pc Glob Multi-Strat 0% 130.4 +0.11 Multi-Mgr Inc&Gwth A Inc 5.25 *154.9 -0.1 JPM Global Eq Inc £ Hdg A Acc 3.00 *127.2 -1.4 Jupiter Euro Special Sits L Acc – *450.87 -2.9926 Eqty Inv Chrties GBP Inc – 1545.71 +1.75
1 month 0.73pc European base rate 0.00pc
3 months 1.01pc Inflation-Linked Corp Bd 0% 114.22 +0.46 Multi-Mgr Mangd A Acc† 5.00 321.6 -0.1 JPM Global Eq Inc £ Hdg A Inc 3.00 *77.63 -0.8 Jupiter Fin Opp L Inc – 769.25 -15.0409 Eqty Inv Chrties GBP Acc – 29037.86 +33.01
6 months 1.45pc
Long-Term Global Equity 0% 389.51 -6.03 Multi-Mgr Mangd A Inc† 5.00 311.3 -0.1 JPM Global Eq Inc Fd A Acc 3.00 *155.6 -1.6 Jupiter Fund Of Inv Tsts L Inc – 331.56 -0.8421 †CAR - Net Income reinvested.
Fundsmith LLP
Major price changes FTSE 100 Asian Income 0% 222.21 … PO Box 10846, Chelmsford, Essex, CM99 2BW. Sterling Bond Acc† 4.25 229.7 +0.3 JPM Global Eq Inc Fd A Inc 3.00 *115 -1.2 Jupiter Global Emg Mkts L Acc – 69.6 +0.1496 Natwest Investment Funds
0330 123 1815
(RBS Collective Investment Funds Ltd)
Risers 43 Volume Close Change Fallers 56 Volume Close Change European Opps 0% 308.8 -1.74 www.fundsmith.co.uk enquiries@fundsmith.co.uk Sterling Bond Inc† 4.25 63.74 +0.09 JPM Global HiYld Bd A Grs Acc 3.00 *124.4 +0.1 Jupiter Global Eq Inc L Acc – *90.67 -0.6093
PO Box 249, York YO90 1ZY
Ç Fresnillo 1.22m 767⅝ 5.73pc È Next 0.97m 6176 -3.26pc
Global Dynamic Bd 0% 93.98 +0.04 Fundsmith Equity T Acc – 579.42 -0.1178 Strategic Bond A Inc 4.00 120.2 +0.2 JPM Global HiYld Bd A Grs Inc 3.00 *33.65 +0.01 Jupiter Global Eq Inc L Inc – *70.65 -0.4748 0117 940 3848
Ç Airtel Africa 2.16m 155½ 2.98pc È Ferguson 0.78m 10860 -3.25pc
Ç M&G 11.48m 221½ 2.45pc È Schroders 0.54m 3150 -3.14pc *33.54
Global High Yield Bd 0% 53.63 +0.02 Fundsmith Equity T Inc – 529 -10.76 UK Absolute Return A Acc 5.00 164.1 -0.5 JPM Global HiYldBdAGrsMthInc3.00 +0.01 Jupiter Global Finl Innov L Acc – 115.96 -3.2057 Global Bond Fund Inc – 93.99 …
Ç Brit Amer Tob 5.63m 3262 2.23pc È JD Sports Fash 11.62m 147⅝ -2.61pc
Ç Hikma Pharms 1.15m 2122 2.07pc È Melrose Ind 6.82m 125½ -2.45pc Global Opportunities 0% 417.43 -3.92 UK Alpha A Acc† 5.25 152.5 -0.7 JPM Global Macro Fund A Acc 3.00 *71.8 -0.35 Jupiter Global Managed L Acc – *350.69 -3.8978 Mangd Eqty Grwth Fnd Acc – 122.7 …
Ç Whitbread 1.20m 2742 1.97pc È Intl Cons Air 17.06m 135¾ -2.22pc
International Bd 0% 232.14 -0.05 UK Smaller Cos A ACC 5.00 941.8 -3.3 JPM Global Macro Fund A Inc 3.00 *62.51 -0.3 Jupiter Global Managed L Inc – *334.5 -3.7179 Mangd Grwth Fund Inc – 116.0 …
Ç Utd. Utilities 2.44m 1065½ 1.96pc È Coca-Cola HBC 1.83m 1595½ -2.21pc
Ç BAE Systems 6.96m 748¾ 1.88pc È Glencore 100.35m 500¼ -2.13pc
Multi-Asset Bal 0% 243.24 -1.35 UK Equity Income A Inc 5.00 532.7 -0.6 JPM Global Macro Opps A Acc 3.00 79.0400 -0.6700 Jupiter Growth & Inc L Inc – 93.06 -0.5167 Mangd Grwth Fund Acc – 119.3 …
Ç Royal Mail 5.53m 361⅛ 1.83pc È Howden Joinery Grp2.57m 784¾ -2.07pc
Ç Severn Trent 0.52m 2926 1.81pc È Barratt Dev 2.66m 525⅝ -2.05pc Mult-Asset Div Return 0% 178.71 … Guinness Global Investors UK Index Opps Tst A Acc – *110.7085 -0.2069 JPM Global Macro Opps A Inc 3.00 78.3400 -0.6600 Jupiter Income Trust L Inc – 495.84 -1.3856 UK Eqty Fund Acc – 113.2 …
Ç NatWest Group 35.40m 224¼ 1.77pc È Smurfit Kappa 0.58m 3375 -1.98pc 18 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3HZ
Mult-Asset Growth 0% 1173.03 -2.18 US Growth A Acc 5.00 1826 -28 JPM Global Uncons Eq A Acc 3.00 *2066 -28 Jupiter India L Acc – 135.37 +0.1915 UK Eqty Fund Inc – 102.9 …
Ç Auto Trader Grp 3.36m 653⅝ 1.68pc È Dechra Pharma 0.15m 4020 -1.95pc www.guinnessgi.com
Ç HSBC 37.95m 517⅝ 1.55pc È Ocado Group 1.20m 1103 -1.87pc +44(0)20 7222 5703 †Available as an ISA *152.7 *138.86
Oriental 0% 929.91 -6.59 JPM Global Uncons Eq A Inc 3.00 -2.1 Jupiter Japan Inc L Acc – +0.1465
Ç BT Group 15.23m 184¾ 1.54pc È Aveva Group 0.31m 2494 -1.85pc
Ç Rentokil Initial 4.54m 515 1.34pc È Standard Chart 5.80m 502⅝ -1.84pc Real Return A 0% 124.09 -0.32 Sustainable Energy Acc† – 21.3923 -0.2055 JPM Japan A Acc 3.00 *565.3 -1.5 Jupiter Japan Inc L Inc – *99.05 +0.1045
Ç B&MEurValRtl 2.42m 580⅝ 1.26pc È Scot Mort Inv Tst 2.25m 1008 -1.80pc
UK Equity Fund 0% 866.6 -3.34 Global Innovators Acc† – 27.1781 -0.4309 JPM Japan A Inc 3.00 *135.7 -0.3 Jupiter Merlin Bal Prtfo L Acc – 226.87 -1.7086
Ç Antofagasta 1.12m 1781½ 1.16pc È Ashtead Group 1.24m 5200 -1.66pc
Ç AstraZeneca 3.16m 9836 1.09pc È Pearson 3.89m 767¼ -1.59pc UK Income 0% *68.39 -0.14 Global Equity Inc† – 18.0368 -0.1385 JPM Multi-Asset Income A Acc 3.00 *106 -0.2
Ç Pershing Square 0.22m 2795 1.09pc È Persimmon 1.98m 2192 -1.57pc Initial charge:
Ç Natl Grid 7.50m 1119¾ 1.07pc È Spirax-Sarco Eng 0.08m 12325 -1.52pc UK Opportunities 0% 330.71 -2.52 †Available as an ISA JPM Multi-Asset Income A Inc 3.00 *63.17 -0.13 This charge in percentage terms is included in the purchase
price of the units. It is levied by the unit trust manager to cover
Ç Endeavour Mining 0.21m 1920 1.05pc È Flutter Entrtmt 0.62m 8834 -1.38pc
US Opportunities 0% 355.77 -3.97 JPM Multi-Asset Inc A Mth Inc 3.00 *62.94 -0.12
administrative costs and commissions.
Ç Rio Tinto 3.62m 5857 0.98pc È Berkeley Gp Hdgs 0.26m 3936 -1.18pc
* Denotes Ex-dividend ‡ Denotes Suspended
8 ***
Apple mulls
monthly iPhone
subscription
By James Titcomb
APPLE is considering launching a
monthly subscription for the iPhone
and other gadgets, in a move that could
encourage users to pay regularly for
access to the latest devices.
The company is working on the ser-
vice, which would mean consumers
paying for devices over time instead of
up front, ahead of a potential launch
later this year, Bloomberg reported.
Apple has seen iPhone owners hold
on to their phones for longer, leading to
uncertainty about when they will be
encouraged to upgrade.
Launching a subscription service for
hardware could mean consumers
paying more over time and upgrading
their phones more regularly, boosting
the company’s revenues.
The service could also be combined
with Apple’s existing subscriptions
for music streaming, TV, iCloud, news
and fitness, which it has expanded in
recent years.
In 2020, the company launched
Apple One, which lets users sign up to
multiple subscriptions for a discount.
Apple already operates an iPhone
upgrade programme that lets users
spread the cost of a new device over
time and receive a new phone each
year. The credit card it has in the US also
lets shoppers pay for devices over
several months.
The price of new iPhones has
increased in recent years, with the most
expensive model now costing £1,549,
meaning consumers have a bigger
financial commitment when buying a
new device. Consumers that once
bought a new device every two years
now take three or more years to
upgrade. Apple did not comment.
Bank reveals plans to crack down on cryptocurrency
Threadneedle Street seeks
powers to regulate Bitcoin
amid fears that Russia will
use it to bypass sanctions
By Lucy Burton and Simon Foy
THE Bank of England has set out plans
to crack down on the $1.7 trillion crypto-
currency market amid concerns that
digital coins could be used to evade
sanctions on Russia. Threadneedle
Friday 25 March 2022 The Daily Telegraph
Business
Phone hacking
costs News UK
another £49m
By Ben Woods
THE phone hacking scandal has cost
Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper empire
another £49m despite the News of the
World closing more than a decade ago.
News UK’s News Group Newspapers
set aside £14.5m for damages and claim-
ants’ expenses in the year to June 27, as
well as almost £34m in legal expenses
linked to allegations of historical phone
hacking at the defunct Sunday tabloid.
Pre-tax losses for the division that
includes the Sun and its Sunday coun-
terpart narrowed from £201m to £51m.
Times Newspapers, which includes
The Times and Sunday Times, took an
£8.3m hit from overhauling their news-
rooms after some editorial teams were
combined to form a single, seven-day-a-
week operation.
The financial information covers a
period before Nadine Dorries, the Cul-
ture Secretary, decided last month to
abolish undertakings requiring the
SEMEN VASILEYEV/ANADOLU AGENCY VIA GETTY IMAGES
titles to remain separate.
News UK argued last year that rules
imposed by the Thatcher government
had hampered its ability to cut costs.
It told ministers it would merge the
feature desks and its pictures, graphics,
subbing and production operations if
the restrictions were lifted.
The group made the appeal in the
summer when the business was weigh-
ing job cuts in response to a pandemic-
relate d drop in newspap er and
advertising sales.
However, Times Newspapers’ latest
accounts revealed pre-tax profits had
more than tripled to £34m for the year
to June 27, while turnover increased by
Out for the count Reindeer are seen in the Lovozero region of Murmansk, Russia, after a spring census was taken. The 5pc to £327m. Growth was driven by a
animals, which have been brought to the barns for vaccination, health and horn care, were counted one by one. rebound in digital advertising sales and
a rise in subscriptions.
Street is seeking powers to regulate
online currencies such as Bitcoin in the
Russia by allowing individuals to evade
the banking system.
‘The possibility of crypto 17,000 different crypto asset tokens in
circulation, ranging from Bitcoin to
the claims. However, Mr Neal cautioned
that no claims had yet been made and
same way as shares and derivatives as The Bank of England’s Financial Pol- circumventing sanctions Dogecoin, an online token referencing the final bill could take years to estab-
part of a global scramble to prevent
their use by allies of Vladimir Putin.
icy Committee said: “While crypto
assets are unlikely to provide a feasible
underscores the importance a popular internet joke.
u  Lloyd’s of London is bracing for a
lish, adding that its exposure was
“within tolerable levels” and it did not
The Bank has also written to lenders way to circumvent sanctions at scale of effective public policy’ multibillion-pound hit from the war in expect the hit to be outside the
urging them to tread carefully in the currently, the possibility of such behav- Ukraine as it warned that the conflict scenarios it prepared for.
industry because it is a “new and iour underscores the importance of “equivalent economic function to one would be a “major claim” event. There are concerns that the industry
untested” market. ensuring innovation in crypto assets is performed in the traditional financial John Neal, the chief executive of the could face steep losses following
Regulators have long warned that the accompanied by effective public policy sector, the [committee] judges this world’s largest insurance market, said Vladimir Putin’s threat to seize foreign-
growth of crypto assets has the poten- frameworks to mitigate risks.” should take place within existing regu- the cost would run into the “low bil- owned assets, including property and
tial to rattle the wider financial system, It called for a type of equivalence to latory arrangements”. That may mean lions, rather than the tens of billions”, aircraft. Lloyd’s said it was “in close dia-
but concerns have spiked over fears be added to its rulebook, arguing that that regulators need new powers, it with aviation, marine, credit and politi- logue with market partners” to get a
they could undermine sanctions on when crypto technology performs an said. There are currently more than cal risk insurance bearing the brunt of sense of the likely level of losses.