daily newspaper of the year
Thursday October 19 2023 | thetimes.co.uk | No 74231
What your cook
books say about you
Biden backs Israeli offensive
6 Ground invasion of Gaza looms after promise on humanitarian aid 6 US supports claim that Palestinian missile hit hospital
Anshel Pfeffer Tel Aviv
Richard Spencer Tel Aviv
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime
minister, has won private backing from
President Biden to press ahead with a
ground invasion of Gaza, according to
accounts of private meetings between
the two men.
On a visit to Israel, Biden told Netan-
yahu he remained “fully in support” of
Israel’s plans for an incursion to “eradi-
cate Hamas”, despite outrage at Tues-
day night’s explosion at a hospital in
Gaza that killed hundreds of civilians.
Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly, the
foreign secretary, will begin their own
peace mission to the region today. Sun-
ak will arrive in Israel to meet Netan-
yahu and President Herzog. Cleverly
will travel to Egypt, Turkey and Qatar.
The hospital explosion led to protests
across the Middle East and heightened
threats of a broader conflagration
should Israel step up its war on Gaza.
The US has backed accounts by the
Israel defence forces (IDF), which
attributed the blast to a rocket fired by
Hamas’s ally in Gaza, the Palestinian
Islamic Jihad militant group.
That had little effect on Arab govern-
ments, which continued to blame
Israel, or on hostile Arab populations.
During his visit, Biden gave a moving
address to the thousands of victims of
Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7,
and their relatives — referring oblique-
ly to his own experience of loss: his first
wife and daughter were killed in a car
crash and his elder son died of cancer.
But he also, in private, set out his
terms of approval for Netanyahu’s plan
to crush Hamas. He urged a modicum
of restraint in the assault, and won a
promise that Israel would allow
humanitarian supplies to enter the
Gaza Strip from Egypt. He said later
that President Sisi of Egypt had agreed
to let 20 lorryloads of humanitarian aid
across the border into Gaza.
In public, Biden compared what had
happened on October 7 to “fifteen
9/11s”, a reference to the number of
people killed in proportion to the popu-
lation. “I understand. Many Americans
PM revives conversion therapy ban to head off ministerial revolt
Steven Swinford Political Editor
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
Rishi Sunak will press ahead with plans
to ban conversion therapy, including
for transgender people, after a backlash
from Conservative MPs and warnings
that ministers could quit.
The prime minister will include a
draft bill in the King’s Speech that
would ban attempts to change another
person’s sexuality or gender identity in
President Biden met Binyamin Netanyahu and likened the attack on Israel by Hamas terrorists on October 7 to fifteen 9/11s
understand,” he said. “You can’t look at
what has happened here and not
scream out for justice.” But he added:
“While you feel that rage, don’t be con-
sumed by it.”
The seven-hour visit was overshad-
owed by claims and counterclaims over
Tuesday’s events at al-Ahli Arab Hospi-
tal, known locally as the Baptist Hospi-
England and Wales. It would make
doing so a criminal offence.
Sunak had considered dropping the
bill amid claims of “unintended conse-
quences” for teachers, parents and
therapists helping children who were
struggling with their gender identity.
Some Tory MPs have warned that such
people could in effect be criminalised.
Simon Hart, the chief whip, warned,
however, that the government could
face a revolt if it failed to go ahead with
£2.80 £2.00 to subscribers
INSIDE
TIMES2
tal and run by the Anglican church.
Doctors working at the hospital and
officials in Gaza said the courtyard was
hit by an Israeli airstrike at about 7pm
on Tuesday. Hundreds of civilians who
had sheltered in the hospital rather
than follow Israel’s instructions to seek
refuge in the south of the territory were
killed and injured. An overnight esti-
the ban. There were concerns that Tory
MPs could join Labour in backing
amendments to a planned crime and
justice bill to bring in a ban. This would
put a key part of Sunak’s agenda at risk.
Stuart Andrew, the equalities minis-
ter, was said to be prepared to consider
his position if the government failed to
go ahead.
More than a dozen Tory MPs, includ-
ing two ministers, complained to the
chief whip last month after Suella Brav-
mate of 500 dead was reduced to 471
during the course of the day, though
Israel also disputed that figure, saying it
was exaggerated. Rear Admiral Daniel
Hagari, an IDF spokesman, gave a
public briefing on the Israeli military’s
interim assessment. He said the nature
of blast damage shown on photographs,
erman, the home secretary, said that
homosexuality should not by itself
allow people to claim asylum.
One MP who has campaigned for the
ban said: “Simon has been brilliant on
this. He’s listened to our concerns and
been a real champion for us.”
The issue polarises Conservative
MPs, with those on the right expected
to oppose a ban amid claims that adults
could face criminal sanctions if they
advised children against changing gen-
(based on a 7 Day Print and Digital Subscription)
The £3.50
lunch (that
gourmets
make)
Migrants who
don’t integrate
‘fuel hatred’
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
Britain has become a “permissive
environment” for anti-Israel extrem-
ism and antisemitism because of mass
migration and poor integration, the
commissioner for countering extrem-
ism has said.
Robin Simcox said the hatred direct-
ed against the Jewish community since
Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel was a
sign of how antisemitism had become
normalised in the UK.
Antisemitic incidents increased six-
fold in the week after the attacks on
October 7 compared with the same
period last year, according to the Com-
munity Security Trust, a charity pro-
viding security advice for British Jews.
Writing in today’s Times, Simcox
said the scale of hatred was a sign that
Britain was “very sick indeed”.
He said the sight of tens of thousands
of British citizens who went online or
took to the streets not to mourn the vic-
tims of the attack on Israel but to voice
their support for the “Palestinian resist-
ance” was an example of inherent anti-
Israel extremism in parts of society.
Simcox, who will today give his first
speech since being appointed last year,
blamed this “normalisation” of anti-
Israel extremism and antisemitism on a
“failed policy mix of mass migration
and multiculturalism”.
He said that although the UK should
be proud of becoming one of the most
successful multi-ethnic democracies,
its success relied on “a basic level of
integration”. He added: “The hatred
that we have witnessed in recent days
is not only a cause for alarm among the
Jewish community. It must be a wake-
up call for all decent people.”
der. The government has previously
said it would ensure the bill did not have
such consequences and would protect
y(7HB7E2*OTSNOT( |||+[!$'
2 2GM Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News

Today’s highlights Petrol keeps inflation pumped

7am
11am
Tom Tugendhat, security minister
Matt Chorley looks at how to be a
political cartoonist with the Times and
despite slower rises for food
Sunday Times cartoonists Peter Brookes
and Morten Morland Mehreen Khan Economics Editor sumers from food and drink prices, be closer to 4 per cent for the Bank to hit
2pm The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr, right, where inflation fell from 13.6 per cent to its 2 per cent inflation target. The
on his new book and album Higher petrol prices offset falling food 12.2 per cent on an annual basis. On a Bank’s rate-setters have said they are
3.30pm Jane Garvey and Fi Glover chat to the prices as consumer prices inflation monthly measure, food price inflation still watching developments in wage
broadcaster Shaun Keaveny remained steady last month. fell 0.2 per cent, the largest drop since growth to judge whether rates should
9pm Kait Borsay chats to Nelson Mandela’s Official figures showed that the UK’s September 2021, as the cost of items be raised further.
oldest living child, Dr Makaziwe Mandela headline rate of inflation rose by 6.7 per such as milk and eggs began to decline. One of the Bank’s preferred measures
cent, compared with the same period Economists expect inflation this of inflation in the dominant services
last year. It was unchanged from month to fall more significantly as Oc- sector of the UK economy remained
August and just above economists’ fore- tober was the month in which energy high last month, rising from 6.8 per cent
DAB RADIO l ONLINE l SMART SPEAKER l APP casts of 6.6 per cent. costs and consumer prices peaked last to 6.9 per cent, the ONS said.
Inflation has been declining steadily year. James Smith, a UK economist at Chris Hare, a senior economist at
this year after peaking at 11.1 per cent ING, said headline inflation could fall HSBC, said the inflation figures were a
last October, and is at its lowest level below 5 per cent next month, the weak- reminder that “the UK’s underlying
T O D AY ’ S E D I T I O N since the outbreak of the Ukraine war est since 2021. inflation hasn’t disappeared”. He added
in February 2022. However, a 20 per Last month the Bank of England cited that there was not enough in the
cent increase in global oil prices since falling inflation and a slowing labour September inflation report to force
Munchetty: NHS Rowling ‘ready Manchester’s June and the highest gas prices since market as they kept borrowing costs rate-setters into another interest rate
the start of the year have helped to steady for the first time since November rise next month and borrowing costs
gaslighted me to be jailed’ culture hub arrest the decline. 2021. The monetary policy committee “will stay on hold for an extended
The BBC presenter JK Rowling has said The biggest state- A closely watched measure of core meets again on November 2. period of time — we are not forecasting
Naga Munchetty was that she would be funded cultural project inflation, which strips out volatile food Financial markets are expecting at rate cuts until 2025”.
“gaslighted” by the prepared to go to in nearly 25 years has and energy costs, inched lower to 6.1 per least one more rate rise this year, pre- Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, said:
NHS and told to “suck prison to stand up for opened in Manchester. cent from 6.2 per cent, higher than the dicting base rate will peak at 5.5 per cent “Inflation rarely falls in a straight line,
up” agonising women’s rights. The Aviva Studios, which 6 per cent forecast by economists. from 5.25 per cent at present. but if we stick to our plan then we still
symptoms of a writer spoke after a includes warehouse The Office for National Statistics The Bank’s biggest worry is still the expect it to keep falling this year.
debilitating womb report that Labour space and a 1,500-seat said petrol costs helped to keep infla- pace of wage growth, which in August Today’s news just shows this is even
condition for 32 years, would make attacks theatre, opened almost tionary momentum high last month, was stuck close to 22-year highs in the more important so we can ease the
eventually forcing her motivated by hatred a decade after George with average pump prices rising 5.1p a public and private sector. Overall earn- pressure on families and businesses.”
to go private for a of gender identity Osborne said it would litre between August and September. ings including bonuses remained stub-
diagnosis, she told into “aggravated be part of the Northern There was some good news for con- bornly above 8 per cent and will have to
MPs. offences”. Powerhouse.

continued from page 1 Behind the story

204 days since Wall Street Journal

reporter Evan Gershkovich
was detained in Russia
#FreeEvan
Conversion therapy
“legitimate conversations”. Kemi Bade-
noch, the women and equalities minis-
ter, has expressed reservations but is
not expected to oppose the plans.
Sir Peter Bottomley, a Tory MP, said: A
fter
months
of debate
within
the
the right — including
some ministers —
raised concerns about
the “unintended
consequences” of
questioned the need
for legislation,
especially given the
limited parliamentary
time before the
“The government is facing a choice of Conservative Party, such a ban. general election.
Iconoclast on Subscriptions Smith to miss splitting the Tory party on this or leav- Rishi Sunak has come They argued that Officials in No 10
ing this on one side until it’s clear that to a decision (Steven in protecting trans drafted guidance
path to power lift for Netflix semi-final game there’s a need for precise legislation Swinford writes). The people from highlighting existing
The favourite to win Netflix added millions Marcus Smith is likely which will stop things that should be King’s Speech on conversion, the law legislation that, they
the Argentinian more subscribers as its to miss England’s criminal happening. Without being November 5 will could criminalise argued, already
presidential election, clampdown on Rugby World Cup specific about what you are criminalis- include a draft bill parents, teachers and outlawed the worst
Javier Milei, wears a password sharing semi-final against ing you are putting parents at risk, you banning conversion other people who conversion practices.
leather jacket and has continued. The South Africa, with are putting other advisers and support- “therapy”, making it a were trying to offer Sunak’s position
a Seventies rock star streaming service said Freddie Steward in line ers of children at risk.” criminal offence to children support. shifted after
haircut, wields a it had signed up nine to replace him at full The government said in 2018 that it try to force someone Under Sunak, Conservative Party
chainsaw and is million customers in back. Smith, 24, wanted to end “abhorrent conversion to change their the government’s conference, and
promising to hack the three months to suffered several knocks practices”, sometimes known as “gay gender or sexual position has Suella Braverman’s
down the bloated state September when in England’s 30-24 cures”. These ranged from “pseudo- orientation. repeatedly shifted. In comments about gay
from its roots. Voting revenue rose to victory over Fiji in psychological treatments” to, in the The legislation January, Michelle asylum seekers.
starts in days. $8.54 billion. Marseilles. most extreme cases, surgical interven- heralds a significant Donelan, then the In the end, those
tion and “corrective rape”. moment, both for the culture secretary, pushing for a ban won
Sunak was planning to shelve the Tory party and for insisted that the the day. As ever in
LETTERS 28 BUSINESS 33 SPORT 60 legislation and offer draft guidance, society. Theresa May change was going politics, however,
LEADING ARTICLES 29 REGISTER 49 CROSSWORD 70 until Braverman’s comments at the promised to ban ahead, with every action provokes
WORLD 30 LAW 52 TV & RADIO TIMES2 party conference. Some Tory MPs conversion practices protections for a reaction. Sunak now
lodged a complaint with Hart and in July 2018, when she parents and teachers faces a backlash from
FOLLOW US warned that she risked tarnishing the was prime minister. to ensure that they the right of his party
thetimes timesandsundaytimes thetimes party’s reputation on LGBTQ matters However, the could have that is likely to
and could cost them votes. legislation was “legitimate” continue as the bill
OFFER A source close to Braverman said repeatedly delayed, conversations with goes through
that she was making a general point not least because of children about gender parliament. Having
Save up to 30% with a subscription to that it was unsustainable to offer the debate it provoked identity. staved off one revolt,
The Times and The Sunday Times asylum to anyone who was gay or a
woman and may fear discrimination.
within May’s own
party. Tory MPs on
However, Sunak
was said to have
he may soon find
another on his hands.
THETIMES.CO.UK/SUBSCRIBE

THE WEATHER continued from page 1
Biden backs offensive
the lack of a crater and the lack of dam-
11 age to surrounding buildings all ruled
out an Israeli bomb delivered by air.
30
Instead, he said, it was compatible with
15 33 an explosive device setting fire to the
amount of propellant fuel that might be
contained in a rocket that had been
14
aimed at northern Israel but fell after
17
17 travelling only a few hundred yards.
18 Biden had been briefed in advance on
18
the Israeli dossier, as well as on material
20 collected by America’s own intelligence
services. “Based on what I have seen, it
appears as though it was done by the
Cloudy with widespread outbreaks other team, not you,” he said.
of rain and showers, heaviest in It remains to be seen whether Israel’s
Scotland. neighbours will be convinced, and
resume dialogue about the future for
Gaza and the Palestinian leadership,
and in Saudi Arabia’s case to resume
talks over normalising relations.
A summit between Biden, Sisi, King
Abdullah of Jordan and President
Abbas of the Palestinian Authority was
called off after the hospital blast.
Biden will also have to convince
them that Israel is sincere in wanting
improved governance for Gaza once
the invasion is over.
Biden later spoke to reporters aboard
Air Force One as it stopped in Ramm-
stein air force base in Germany on the
way back to Washington, telling them
of Sisi’s agreement to open the Egyp-
tian frontier with Gaza for aid.
“He agreed to . . . let up to 20 trucks
through to begin with,” Biden said. The
shipment would probably not cross
until tomorrow as the road needed re-
pairs. Biden said the UN would distrib-
ute the aid on the other side, and that a
second shipment was possible depend-
ing on “how it goes”. But he warned: “If
Hamas confiscates it, doesn’t let it get
through . . . then it’s going to end.
“The bottom line is that he [Sisi] de-
serves some real credit because he was
very accommodating.”
The White House said Biden and Sisi
had “agreed to work together closely”
on “an urgent and robust international
response” to the humanitarian crisis.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Somerset’s super-sized nature haven
A scheme to combine
31 reserves will better
protect the habitat of
endangered species,
writes Will Humphries
A “super” national nature reserve
spanning the Cheddar Gorge and
the Mendip Hills has been created
in Somerset to boost nature and protect
the landscape.
Natural England has established the
Mendip National Nature Reserve to
conserve and help to restore more than
14 square kilometres of limestone
slopes, grasslands full of wild flowers,
ancient wooded hollows, spectacular
gorges and rocky outcrops.
It is bringing together 31 nature re-
serves in the area, of which only two
had protected status, as well as more
than 4sq km of land not previously
managed for conservation.
Rachel Williams, Natural England’s
deputy director of the Wessex area, said
planning officials must ensure anyone
inside or bordering the reserve had
“due regard” for the protected land-
scape. She added: “If you were planning
to build in or next to a national nature
reserve you would have to take the pro-
tected landscape into account and
make sure you didn’t have a negative
impact on it and the reasons it was pro-
tected, like its species and habitat.”
Natural England can declare as a
national nature reserve any land of
national importance to nature conser-
vation that is held by an approved body
and managed by them. The Mendip
Hills, which run from Weston-super-
Amazon drone deliveries ready to take off over here next year
Emma Powell Seattle
Amazon plans to start delivering pack-
ages by drone to parts of the UK by the
end of next year.
The service, which could see delivery
times reduced to less than an hour, is
called Prime Air and already operates
in the US. Trials will be run in an as yet
unnamed location ahead of a potential
rollout. Shoppers will be able to use
Prime Air once Amazon has confirmed
Skylark
50%
V
Mare in the north of Somerset to Frome
in the west, are home to endangered
species such as lesser and greater horse-
shoe bats, adders, skylarks, water voles,
the hazel dormouse, the small pearl-bor-
dered fritillary and black oil beetles.
The groups involved in managing the
reserve say its creation will help to pro-
tect species such as the Cheddar pink,
which blooms from May to June. It will
also extend access to nature for local
people and visitors.
Williams said uniting smaller re-
serves under a national umbrella en-
couraged landowners to work together
that there is a clear flight path to the
drone’s drop-off point. Drone delivery
will cost the same as standard ship-
ment, the company said.
Orders will be delivered using the
MK30, a drone that can carry a single
item weighing up to 5lb (2.3kg). The
model is lighter and quieter than the
MK27, which Amazon uses in the US.
Unlike the other model the MK30 will
be able to fly in light rain and heavier
winds, as well as during the evening. It
Water
vole
90%
V national nature reserve will be a step
2 miles
Shipham
Bleadon
A370
A38
Axbridge
M5
SOMERSET
has an “advanced perception system”
that enables it to avoid obstacles.
One significant drawback is that
Amazon’s drones are required to oper-
ate within an “extended line of sight”,
which means a person on the ground
must be able to see the drone at all
times. An Amazon spokesman said:
“Hopefully by the time we get to oper-
ating there is a framework to make sure
that we’re getting to be beyond visual
line of sight very quickly.” In the US,
The skylark population has
halved since the early 1980s; the
number of water voles plunged
from 1989 to 1998 as
American mink spread; and
the small pearl-bordered
fritillary suffered a
significant decline
from 1976 to 2010
Small
pearl-bordered
fritillary
76%
V
A368
Mendip way
footpath
Mendip National
Nature Reserve
Priddy
Draycott
Wells
A39
Amazon’s drones have to deliver to a
customer’s garden or a communal
drop-off point. The service operates in
Lockeford, California, and College Sta-
tion, Texas, with a third location set to
be added.
Drone deliveries in the UK will oper-
ate out of one of the company’s 30 dis-
tribution facilities but will be limited to
within a 12km radius of the site.
The service is also set to be launched
in Italy. Globally, Amazon is targeting
3
News
to create wider conservation benefits.
“The beauty of working with large
amounts of land is you can afford to
take slightly different approaches to
different areas,” she said.
“The public will start to see a cohe-
sive brand form around the Mendip
national nature reserve and the ambi-
tion is to see a greater diversity within
that landscape. You should see more
species-rich grasslands and more trees
buffering the ancient woodland.”
The Mendip site is the second of the
King’s nature reserves, with five being
created annually for the next five years.
The first, the Lincolnshire Coronation
Coast National Nature Reserve, was es-
tablished last month, covering 33sq km
of sand dunes, marshes and mudflats.
The Somerset site is the ninth largest
nature reserve of the 220 in England.
Tony Juniper, chairman of Natural
England, said the new reserve was “a
huge step for nature recovery”.
He added: “There are birds, small
mammals, rare butterflies and plants
that are found only here. Creating this
along the road of enhancing the bio-
diversity of the Mendip Hills.”
Jim Hardcastle, manager of the Men-
dip Hills area of outstanding natural
beauty (AONB) unit, said the reserve
would show how land managers could
work together.
The organisations managing the
reserve with Natural England include
the Mendip Hills AONB, the National
Trust, Longleat/Cheddar Gorge and
Caves, the Somerset and Avon wildlife
trusts, Butterfly Conservation, the
Woodland Trust and the South West
Heritage Trust.
500 million drone deliveries a year by
the end of the decade.
Frederic Laugere, the head of inno-
vation advisory services at the UK Civil
Aviation Authority, said: “It is vital that
projects such as this take place to feed
into the overall knowledge and experi-
ences that will soon enable drones to be
operating beyond the line of sight of
their pilot on a day-to-day basis, while
also still allowing safe and equitable use
of the air by other users.”
4 2GM
News
Soul survivors An artist works on traditional figurines called calacas that will be displayed by the Mexican restaurant chain Wahaca for its Day of the Dead celebrations
NHS told me to suck up my pain
for 32 years, says BBC presenter
Eleanor Hayward Health Correspondent
Naga Munchetty was “gaslighted” by
the NHS and told to “suck up” agonis-
ing symptoms of a debilitating womb
condition for 32 years, eventually forc-
ing her to go private for a diagnosis.
The BBC presenter told MPs that she
was taken away by ambulance at one
point because of heavy bleeding, but
screamed at her husband: “Do not let
them perform a hysterectomy on me”,
fearing she would be overruled by
doctors who do not take women’s pain
seriously.
Munchetty had adenomyosis diag-
nosed aged 47, last November, after suf-
fering symptoms since her periods
started at the age of 15. She said she had
spent all her life being ignored by the
NHS. Giving evidence to the women
and equalities committee, Munchetty
said she eventually received a diagnosis
after her GP advised her to use private
Conservatives and Labour ‘lack rescue plans’ for GP services
Chris Smyth Whitehall Editor
Conservatives and Labour both lack
any serious plan to rescue the services
provided by family doctors, the head of
Britain’s GPs has said.
The Royal College of General Practi-
tioners has accused both parties of rely-
ing on arbitrary waiting-time targets
without providing the means to meet
them. It has demanded that billions of
pounds be clawed back from hospitals
and pumped into local surgeries. At its
health insurance to see a gynaecologist.
Her diagnosis came after a severe flare-
up, when she bled for 30 days non-stop
and was “petrified” and in so much pain
that her husband called an ambu-
lance.
Munchetty said: “I had to say to
him as I was passing in and out, and
screaming, ‘You must not let them
perform a hysterectomy on me.’ Even
though I’m outspoken I felt I
would be overruled.” She
said that despite severe
symptoms since she was
a teenager, she was
never referred to an
NHS specialist. She
was told “to suck it
up and you’re nor-
mal . . . especially by
male doctors who’ve
never experienced a
period”. She added:
“Being told I’m normal
annual conference, the college called
for a “black alert” system that would
allow surgeries to turn away patients
who were less urgent when they were
overwhelmed.
Kamila Hawthorne, the college’s
chairwoman, warned of the “destruc-
tion of general practice” without a
credible rescue plan. She said that
despite promises to recruit thousands
more GPs, numbers had stagnated and
the average family doctor was now
responsible for 2,300 people. No
when I’m in pain and my life has been
disrupted is not helpful. That doesn’t
help me, that gaslights me.”
Adenomyosis affects one in ten
women. It occurs where cells that
form the lining to the womb, called
endometrial cells, are found in the
muscular wall around the womb.
This endometrial tissue sheds and
bleeds when women have periods,
splitting the muscles and caus-
ing extreme pain and heavy
bleeding. Treatment options
are limited: women can be
offered hormonal contra-
ception to stop their peri-
ods or a hysterectomy to
remove the womb.
Munchetty, who does not
have children, has since
been prescribed the contra-
Naga Munchetty was “dosed
up on painkillers” each month
political party had “a credible, serious
plan to enable general practice to give
patients the care they need”, she said.
A workforce plan this year promised
a 50 per cent increase in GP
training over the next decade, but
Hawthorne said it ignored an exodus of
experienced GPs fed up with rising
workloads. She said: “The long-term
workforce plan focuses on recruitment
of more doctors, but we cannot recruit
our way out of a GP retention crisis.”
Wes Streeting, the shadow health
ceptive pill. Her symptoms have im-
proved and she has not had bleeding for
three months.
Calling for more awareness of
women’s reproductive health condi-
tions, Munchetty told MPs about the
debilitating impact of the condition on
her work and relationships. She would
spend ten days a month “dosed up on
painkillers” and would be “paranoid
about toilet breaks” while on the BBC
set and worry about “bleeding through
clothes” on camera.
She first spoke about her diagnosis in
May on her Radio 5 Live show. Her
campaigning led the NHS to launch a
webpage for adenomyosis; it previously
simply directed women to the page on
hysterectomies.
Caroline Nokes, chairwoman of the
women and equalities committee, said:
“Women shouldn’t have to suffer pro-
longed and debilitating symptoms
whilst seeking advice and treatment.”
secretary, said: “We will place mental
health support in every school,
expand the role of community
pharmacies and shift healthcare into
the community to divert pressure away
from GP surgeries.”
A spokesman for the Department of
Health said that its £1.2 billion primary
care recovery plan would provide direct
care such as physiotherapy, free up GPs’
time by funding pharmacists to do
more, and reduce workload by cutting
bureaucracy.
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Quintagram® No 1763
Solve all five concise clues using
each letter underneath once only
1 Tall marshland flower (4)
----
2 School student (5)
-----
3 Path around a body in space (5)
-----
4 Subject one knows little about (5,4)
---------
5 One visiting famed attractions (9)
---------
B B D E E G H I
I I I I I L L N
O O P P P R R R
S S S S T T T U
Solutions see T2 MindGames p15
Cryptic clues T2 MindGames p14
Breakfast:
6am to 10am
Our free radio station has all the
latest headlines, interviews and
debates every morning
Listen seven
days a week
On DAB, app,
website
and smart
speaker
Teenagers go
cross-country
for lip fillers
Eleanor Hayward
Teenage girls are travelling to Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland to
undergo lip-filler injections after the
procedure was banned in England,
campaigners have said.
Two years ago clinics in England
were banned from offering the cos-
metic procedure to under-18s.
Ashton Collins, the director of Save
Face, said that since the ban had been
introduced in England the campaign
group had been contacted by 61 under-
18s who had suffered complications
after receiving fillers.
Half of them had the injections in
Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The most common complications were
swelling and bruising, but six girls were
suffering from an infection.
Collins said: “Almost all are getting
lip fillers. Social media is a huge factor
in driving these children to want lip fil-
lers, as is reality TV and peer pressure.
“We have been contacted by schools
that have noticed that one member of a
friendship group would have lip fillers,
then everyone else in the group would
have them.”
She said unscrupulous practitioners
were offering lip fillers to under-18s on
social media and then blocking their
phone numbers if the girls or their
parents complained about the results.
Collins said: “Girls will get £99 lip fil-
ler adverts targeted at them on social
media. The genuine price would be
£300, and they think they’re getting
a bargain. Young girls perceive fillers
as low-risk beauty treatments but
filler carries the risk of blindness,
anaphylaxis, infections and permanent
disfigurement.”
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Village stalwart and wife killed by rebels
Jane Flanagan Africa Correspondent
Ali Mitib
A British timber merchant and his wife
were killed on their honeymoon after
being ambushed in Uganda by a group
allegedly linked to Islamic State.
David Barlow, 50, and his wife, Celia
Geyer, 51, were driving through the
Queen Elizabeth National Park with
Eric Alyai, their Ugandan tour guide.
They were killed and their vehicle set
alight by the Allied Democratic Forces
(ADF), an Islamist rebel group that
operates mainly in the neighbouring
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ugandan officials said they were pur-
suing the suspected members of the
ADF, whose fighters are reported to
King calls
for show
of genuine
solidarity
T
he King has asked
Britain to draw
from its “deep
wells” of shared
values during a
speech at Mansion House
(Shayma Bakht writes).
The address, which was
delivered to Sadiq Khan
and the City of London
Corporation last night,
discussed the many
symbolic “wells” shared
within British society
including “civility and
tolerance”, the space “to
think and speak freely”, and
a “duty of care . . . for others
in sickness or misfortune”.
Among these “wells”, the
King emphasised the
importance of maintaining
a sense of humour: “Our
ability to laugh at ourselves
is one of our great national
characteristics. Just as well,
you may say, given some of
the vicissitudes I have faced
with frustratingly failing
fountain pens this past
year!” he said, poking fun at
being filmed becoming
frustrated with his pen
while signing his oath
during the coronation
service in May.
He said Britain must
resist “the temptation to
turn ourselves into a
shouting or
recriminatory
society” and that the
country’s best trait
was “a genuine
togetherness that will
see us through good
times and bad”.
He hinted at the
Israel-Hamas war and
called for
“understanding, both
at home and
overseas.” He said it
had “never [been]
more vital than at
times of international
turmoil and
heartbreaking loss of
life”. He added: “Our
willingness to put
others first and treat
them as we would
wish them to treat us.
2GM 5
News
have established ties with the Islamic member, said Barlow was a talented St Mary’s Church in Hampstead Nor-
State. President Museveni of Uganda bowler with a sharp sense of humour. reys, said the deaths were “incompre-
said the attack was a “cowardly act”. He “He was at the time this incident oc- hensible”. He added: “Our thoughts are
added: “These terrorists will pay with curred with the most important person with their families and all who knew
their own wretched lives.” in his life, a woman we all knew so well, them. We also remember the family of
Fred Enanga, a police spokesman, as Dave was so proud to share all of their Ugandan guide.”
said the security forces were “aggres- Celia’s achievements,” he added. “She Andrew Mitchell, the minister for de-
sively pursuing” the ADF rebels. too was an amazing human being, who velopment and Africa, said on social
Villagers in Hampstead Norreys, will be desperately missed.” media he was “shocked and saddened
Berkshire, paid tribute to the couple, Geyer, an architect who was a senior by the horrific attack”.
who were married recently in Geyer’s vice-president at Belmond, the hotel David Barlow, a The Foreign Office updated its travel
native South Africa, almost a year after company, was described as a “pioneer” talented bowler advice for Uganda after the attack,
they bought a home in the area. and “respected leader of industry”. for Hampstead warning against “all but essential
Barlow, a director at Barlows Wood- A spokesman for the company said: Norreys cricket travel” to the national park.
yard, was chairman of the parish “We are deeply saddened by the tragic club, was killed in A Foreign Office spokesman said it
council and the cricket club. He was news of the death of our colleague Celia Uganda while on was providing consular assistance to
described as a “very popular” figure in along with her husband David. Celia ... honeymoon “the family of a British national follow-
the community. will be much missed.” with his wife, ing an incident at Queen Elizabeth
Oliver Laurence, a cricket club Richard Davies, a churchwarden at Celia Geyer National Park in Uganda”.
Thunberg
charged over
oil protest
in London
Ali Mitib
Greta Thunberg has been charged with
a public order offence after leading a
protest outside a central London hotel
hosting heads of the world’s largest oil
and gas companies.
The environmental activist was one
of 26 people who were charged over a
protest outside the InterContinental
London hotel on Park Lane, which was
hosting the annual Energy Intelligence
Forum, an oil industry conference.
The alleged offences involved in the
protest include obstructing the high-
way and failing to comply with a condi-
tion imposed under Section 14 of the
Public Order Act.
Thunberg, 20, was led away from the
hotel by Metropolitan Police officers,
who arrested 29 people in total, and
placed in the back of a marked van.
Protesters shouted “thank you Greta”
as the activist was being searched.
The Met said Thunberg, whose ad-
dress was given as Dorset, was charged
with failing to comply with a condition
imposed under Section 14 of the Public
Order Act. She and other activists were
bailed to appear at Westminster magis-
trates’ court on November 15.
The demonstration was organised by
Fossil Fuel London and involved block-
ing access to the hotel, with protesters
shouting “oily money out” and “cancel
the conference”, while others lit yellow
and pink smoke flares. Activists from
Greenpeace abseiled down from the
roof of the hotel to unfurl a banner
reading “Make big oil pay” during the
demonstration. The protesters claim
The King talked of Britain’s “civility and tolerance” and poked fun during a speech to the City that fossil fuel companies are deliber-
of London Corporation at Mansion House last night at his frustration with his leaking pen ately slowing the global energy transi-
tion to renewables to make more profit.
To listen to their views these islands; to welcome to persuade us to take the A white fence surrounded the hotel
and, if we do not agree, them, with respect and action that is needed?” entrance and kept protesters out of the
to remind ourselves to indeed love.” He answered: “I believe hotel while police attempted to escort
engage in a way which He also hinted at fears so. Because at such a conference attendees through the
is passionate, but not over artificial intelligence, juncture in our national crowd of chanting activists.
pugnacious. This saying that new technology life, there are special Fossil Fuel London said Thunberg
includes the practice of could “bring with it an era strengths which we can was among six protesters who were re-
our religious faiths, in of ever-increasing material summon to help us — deep leased from Wandsworth police station
freedom and mutual plenty . . . [or] perhaps even wells on which we can at 2am. The group said some protesters
understanding.” consume jobs.” draw, filled not just with were given bail conditions preventing
He told the audience He also warned about the our shared histories and them from entering Westminster until
that it had been one of threat of climate change, experiences, but with their court appearance in November.
his “first acts as saying we were confronted literally countless The maximum sentence for failing to
sovereign . . . to open the each day with its “stark individual stories too; a mix comply with Section 14 of the Public
doors of Buckingham realities”, but asked if of memories past and Order Act is six months’ imprisonment
Palace to the leaders of “devastating scenes of ambitions future, to help and a £2,500 fine. Last week a Swedish
the major faiths communities scarred by fire give ourselves a sense of court found Thunberg guilty of dis-
represented across and flood . . . [were] enough perspective.” obeying a police order to leave a climate
protest and fined her £185.
6 2GM Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News
News Israel at war

Don’t let anger drag you into

Anshel Pfeffer, Richard Spencer
Tel Aviv
As President Biden ended his seven-
hour solidarity visit to Israel last night,
he addressed some final words to the
nation’s people.
America, he admitted, had made
mistakes after suffering its worst
terrorist attack, on September 11, 2001.
Israel, still reeling from the Hamas
attack on October 7, in which 1,400
people were murdered, should be
careful not to make its own, he said.
“While you feel that rage, don’t be
consumed by it,” Biden said. In the
recent past, he has tempered his
enduring support for Israel with a
personal standoffishness to its
combative prime minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu. Now the support was more
forthright, but still tempered.
His words in public reflected what he
had been saying in private to
Netanyahu and his war cabinet: that
although he approved their plans to
invade Gaza, he also hoped to limit the
toll on its civilian population.
Biden also insisted, and received
assurances, that Israel would allow
humanitarian supplies to enter Gaza
from Egypt during the fighting.
One of Biden’s most crucial messages
for Israel was his acknowledgement
that the explosion the previous evening
near al-Ahli Arab hospital had not been
caused by an Israeli airstrike.
He promised a shipment of guided
missiles and said he would continue
trying to deter Hezbollah in Lebanon
by positioning two aircraft carrier
groups in the eastern Mediterranean.
However, said he had also “asked tough
questions, as a friend of Israel.”
He met a group of Israelis from
families who were attacked on October
7 in the communities near Gaza, as well
as representatives of the families of the
199 hostages being held by Hamas and
other Palestinian organisations.
“To those who are grieving a child, a
parent, a spouse, a sibling, a
friend, I know you feel like
there’s that black hole in
the middle of your
chest,” said Biden,
whose first wife,
Neilia, died in a car
crash with their one-
year-old daughter in
1972, weeks after
Biden was elected to
the Senate. Their eldest
son, Beau, died of brain
cancer in 2015.
Netanyahu had agreed
earlier in the week to allow supplies
into Gaza through Egypt, but when
criticised by far-right members of his
government he rushed to deny having
done so.
A statement from his office last night
said: “Due to the demand of President
Biden, Israel will not prevent humani-
tarian aid going in from Egypt”.
Meeting with
Biden told reporters returning
on Air Force One that secur-
ing humanitarian assist-
woman who
ance to Gaza had been
one of the key objectives
stalled captors
of his trip. “Not many
people thought we
could get this done,
with biscuits
and not many people
wanted to be asso- Anshel Pfeffer
ciated with failure,”
Biden said. President Biden met Rachel Edri, a
The US president said grandmother from the Negev desert
he had had a “lengthy con- town of Ofakim, who has become a folk
versation” with White House hero since the Hamas attack, earning
aides “about whether to go” to Israel. the nickname “Rachel Biscuits”.
“Because if had we gone and this fail- On October 7, terrorists entered her
ed, then the United States failed, my home and held her and her husband
presidency failed, which is a legitimate hostage for nearly 20 hours. Edri had
criticism . . . We either took all the guns pointed at her and a grenade held
blame, or get it done,” he said. over her head but managed to humour

Doctors
struggled to
triage casualties
after the airstrike
on al-Ahli Arab
hospital in Gaza.
One said he saw
people who had
come to the
hospital to find
shelter in its
courtyard who
were among the
dead and dying.
Later doctors
gave a press
conference amid
the bodies, left

Suddenly the sky filled shrapnel everywhere, cars

all around us in flames and
martyrs everywhere, in

with fire and shrapnel their hundreds, body parts

scattered on the ground.”
It would take only
minutes after the blast for

L
ike thousands of
other Palestinian
civilians,
Muhammed Zahid
al-Sawafiri and his
family went to al-Ahli
hospital believing it would
be safe from the
bombardment taking place
across Gaza (Amal Helles,
Catherine Philp and
Nagham Mohanna write).
There they joined a sea of
humanity camped out in the
hospital courtyard,
crammed in among cars and
ambulances, sleeping out in
the open on blankets and
mattresses.
The explosion was so
sudden that al-Sawafiri
barely knew what was
happening. “One minute we
were sitting there and then
there was a huge fire,” he
said. “How did the missiles
come? I don’t know. I felt
the flames all around me. I
tried to escape to save
myself.”
Inside the hospital, the
British-Palestinian surgeon
Dr Ghassan Abu Setta was
in theatre after responding
to calls for help from
overwhelmed medical staff
at al-Ahli.
All day, the wall of the
hospital had been shaking
from blast waves from the
bombardment of the city.
Then he heard a huge
explosion and the ceiling
collapsed in on him.
“I stumbled outside of the
operating room towards the
emergency department
where people were carrying
the wounded towards us,”
he said. “Others who had
been brought in were
already lying lifeless on the
ground.”
As he struggled to triage
those whose lives might be
saved, he recognised the
faces of the dead and dying.
“These were the same
people I had noticed when I
arrived at the hospital, the
families who had come to
take refuge, to find a safe
place.”
Muhammad al-Turk was
one of those sitting in the
courtyard when “suddenly
we found the sky filled with
firecrackers”.
“There were fires above
my head, rubble and
Hamas to blame the
carnage on an Israeli
airstrike. Israel’s military
denied any such strike had
taken place and blamed an
errant rocket fired by
Gaza-based militants. But
by the time their evidence
was aired this morning, the
narrative of Israeli
culpability had already
taken hold, both in Gaza
and across much of the
Arab world.
The Hamas-run Gazan
ministry of health gave
differing estimates of the
dead, starting at 200 and
rising to 500 later that
night. Yesterday it claimed
the death toll was 471.
The hospital is run by the
Anglican Church. The Most
Rev Justin Welby, the
Archbishop of Canterbury,
called for calm. “This
atrocity violates the sanctity
and dignity of human life,”
Welby said.
The incident was the
biggest single loss of life in
the Gaza Strip in all the five
wars fought between Hamas
and Israel since the militant
group took over in 2007.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 7

News
News

mistakes, Biden urges Israel

Behind the story
Israel has an even more
vehement foe in Gaza
than Hamas: Palestinian
Islamic Jihad (PIJ),
which the Israel defence
forces says was behind
the hospital bombing.
It is organisationally
and ideologically
distinct from Hamas but
disentangling the two is
difficult. Israel will have
to eradicate PIJ if
not to simply transfer
their allegiance to the
more radical group. Like
Hamas, PIJ is an
offshoot of the Muslim
Brotherhood, influenced
by ideological trends in
Egypt in the 1970s.
It established itself as
a jihadist group with
nationalist and Islamist
aims: to oppose
reconciliation with Israel
all of historic Palestine
ruled by a hardline form
of sharia.
It has received
backing from various
regional allies but is
aligned politically with
Iran, though its jihadism
is Sunni while Tehran’s
is Shia. It is known to
co-ordinate militarily
with Hamas and the
rivals may co-operate
What the evidence
She has become a media star and the
recipe for the biscuits she fed her cap-
tors appeared alongside her interviews.
Biden’s officials asked to include her
in the group of citizens he met, and she
told her story before giving him a hug.
Other members of the group that
met Biden included another overnight
celebrity, Noam Tibon, a retired army
— and experts —
say about airstrike
general. On the day of the attack, he
drove from his home in Tel Aviv with a
handgun to the kibbutz near the Gaza
Strip where his son Amir and young
family were hiding as Hamas terrorists
went on a killing spree. Analysis
Together with a soldier he picked up Gaza City hospital

Hamas supporters are and establish a state in
her captors by offering them home-
made biscuits, coffee and soft drinks,
putting on music and passing time until
a police counter-terror team, which was
working with their police officer son,
T
more from now on. on the way, he fought through ambush- he size of the crater
es on the main road and managed to caused by the explosion,
rescue his son, daughter-in-law and the state of the buildings
arrived and shot the attackers dead. two granddaughters before the Israeli around the blast site and
Among the horror stories of families army turned up. He has since become a a conversation allegedly
being murdered and bodies mutilated, fixture on news programmes, analysing intercepted between two Hamas
the story of “Rachel Biscuits” has given war developments and calling for Biny- militants all form part of an Israeli
Israelis a source of pride at her bravery. amin Netanyahu’s resignation. dossier that seeks to prove the
country’s innocence in the killing
of hundreds of Palestinians outside
the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on
Tuesday night (George Grylls and
Michael Evans write).
The explosion threatened to
undermine western support for
Israel after the terrorist attacks by
Hamas on October 7. However, the
Israel defence forces produced a
dossier of evidence yesterday
aiming to show that Israel was not
responsible.
A live stream from Al Jazeera
with a timestamp of 18:59, matching
the timing of the explosion, showed
what appeared to be a failed
projectile exploding mid-air and
an object falling on the location of
the hospital. The Israelis said that
the fireball was consistent with the
propellant from a misfired rocket
catching alight, rather than with a
warhead being detonated. They also
pointed to photographs showing that
there was no significant crater at the
Rear-admiral site and the buildings surrounding
Daniel Hagari, a the car park had stayed upright.
spokesman for Israeli aerial attacks are usually so
the Israeli powerful as to collapse surrounding
military, above, buildings, as other images of the
explained that bombardment of Gaza have shown.
his country’s Paul Beaver, a British defence
forces were not analyst, told The Times extensive
conducting satellite and mobile phone images
airstrikes in the showed that the rocket responsible
area of al-Ahli, for the explosion had been
right. He said the ground-launched, not air-launched.
rocket was fired “You can tell from the plume of
by Islamists. smoke that’s clearly visible in the
Some children images that it has come from a
were moved ground-launched rocket,” he said.
to another “The Israeli air force has been using
hospital, below precision-guided bombs, not dumb
[unguided] bombs on Gaza, and
these weapons don’t generate a
plume — and anyway the rocket was
going the wrong way. The laws of
physics are on the Israelis’ side.”
From the images, Beaver said, it
was evident the rocket had
malfunctioned and that its “unspent
fuel” — not the impact of the rocket
itself — had caused the explosion.
The Israelis had the technical
expertise to track the trajectory and
co-ordinates of the malfunctioning
rocket, he said, to make their case.
“You also have to ask why the
Israelis would attack a hospital just
as President Biden was about to
land in Israel,” he added.
Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a
British weapons expert, said the
Israeli denials were plausible. “You
can tell an awful lot from the way a
crater explodes,” he said. “The
Israelis use missiles which burrow
into the ground to bring down the
surrounding buildings, creating a
large crater. The fact that there is a
Explosion areas Shrapnel on
building roof
Al-Ahli Arab
Hospital campus
Gaza
cemetery
Gaza City
Rocket Erez
trajectories checkpoint
Mediterranean
Sea GAZA
One mile
Gaza City
Al-Ahli Hospital
ISRAEL
Suspected rocket
launch area Source: Israel Defence Forces
very small crater suggests this may
have been a malfunctioning
home-made missile.”
Justin Bronk, a senior research
fellow in airpower at the Royal
United Services Institute think
tank, agreed that the images from
the site were compelling. “Based
on the pictures from the hospital . . .
I really don’t think this was an
Israeli airstrike,” he said. “There’s
no crater, blast or fragmentation
pattern consistent with . . . what
they’re using for strikes in Gaza at
the moment.”
Fabian Hinz, a missile expert at
the International Institute for
Strategic Studies think tank, said:
“Israel would have had infra-red
and optical observation over Gaza to
make sure they know where every
rocket is coming from.”
In addition to the images, the
IDF released an intercepted
conversation that allegedly
took place between two Hamas
operatives shortly after the attack.
In the recording, the operatives
acknowledge that the explosion
had been caused by a rocket
misfired by Palestinian Islamic
Jihad, another militant group
based in Gaza, from a cemetery
behind the hospital.
“It’s from us?” the first unnamed
operative asked.
“It looks like it . . . They are
saying that the shrapnel from the
missile is local shrapnel and not
like Israeli shrapnel,” the second
replied. “They shot it coming
from the cemetery behind the
Al-Mamadani Hospital [an old name
for the hospital], and it misfired and
fell on them.”
8 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News
News Israel at war
DANGERS OF GROUND ASSAULT
Protesters who Troops have been instructed to find and destroy the hideouts used by
Hamas to launch attacks on Israel. The devastated urban environment has
many obstacles and barriers which will hinder the movement of Israel’s
armoured vehicles

answered call longer-range sniper rifles

for ‘day of rage’ Gaza City

Delara Shakib Ramallah
Abbie Cheeseman Beirut
Children who were given the day off
school joined their parents and other
demonstrators yesterday in the centre
of Ramallah, the main city in the West
Bank, as the Middle East was convulsed
by protests over the deaths of hundreds
of people in a Gaza hospital.
Despite strong denials by Israel
defence forces (IDF) and mounting
evidence that its jets did not bomb the
al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, as origi-
nally claimed by Hamas, hundreds of
Palestinians took to the streets to de-
nounce an alleged “war crime” and
chant in support of the terrorist group.
Shortly after the hospital was hit on
Tuesday night Hamas’s political leader,
Ismail Haniyeh, had called on all Arabs
and Muslims to stage protests against
Israel while Hezbollah, the Lebanese
militant group, declared “a day of
unprecedented anger”.
At least two demonstrators were shot
dead in the West Bank as they clashed
with Israeli security forces. Protests
denouncing Israel and its western
allies, including America, France and
Britain, were also seen in Lebanon,
Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey and Jordan.
The demonstrators in Ramallah and
beyond were apparently not interested
in Israel’s denials or the alternative
explanation that a stray missile
launched by Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
another Gaza-based group, had caused
the carnage.
In the West Bank city’s central Mana-
ra Square, some chanted “brigades . . .
brigades” in tribute to the al-Qassem
brigades, the military wing of Hamas,
which started the war on October 7 by
killing more than 1,400 Israelis and
taking dozens of hostages.
They also called for aid to be allowed
in to Gaza, and vented their anger at the
ruling Palestinian Authority, who have
pursued a policy of “security co-opera-
tion” with Israel.
“We can’t stay at home,” declared
Protesters in Ramallah blamed Israel
for the deaths at al-Ahli Arab Hospital
Shireen al-Sayyed, 47, a mother of two
from Nablus, a West Bank city 30 miles
north of Jerusalem. “No one could
sleep. We are in complete shock.” She
was at the protest with her children,
aged 17 and 12, whose school was closed
in response to the news from Gaza.
Ramallah and Gaza City are just 52
miles apart but are separated by Israel.
Al-Sayyed said that she had friends in
Gaza, including at least one who lived
near the Baptist hospital that had been
“bombed”.
“How can the IDF deny that? She
was behind the hospital and she saw,”
she said, referring to her friend. “She
sent me the video and told us ‘Please.
Send this video to all. Distribute it.’ It’s
horrible. It’s horrible,” she added, ges-
turing to footage featuring a loud
whoosh and explosion, already broad-
cast around the world.
Israel denies the footage is of an air
strike, but the caption on al-Sayyed’s
phone, written in Arabic, called it “the
moment that they bomb the hospital”.
Similar messages were going viral
around the region, mostly condemning
the IDF for yet another apparent air
strike on Gaza after the relentless bom-
bardments of the past ten days. “The
West Bank is boiling,” an onlooker said.
The chants were originally against
the Palestinian authorities, led by Pres-
ident Abbas, and the police deployed
tear gas. Hundreds returned yesterday
as Abbas declared a day of mourning Long-range snipers
and schools, universities, businesses Positioned high up giving
were shut. Anwar Abu Ammash, 56, a a good line of sight to
computer scientist, said he had friends target dismounted troops
in Gaza without food, water or electri-
city but despite this had “high morale”.
In Lebanon, hundreds of people were
protesting outside the US embassy in
Beirut and in the Hezbollah stronghold
of Dahieh, condemning the West’s
“complicit silence” over alleged Israeli
war crimes.
“F*** you, America!” protesters
shouted as they broke up rocks to hurl
toward the embassy in Beirut, met with
heavy tear gas and water cannons from
security forces. Smoke was also seen
rising from close to the embassy.
Suicide bomber
At a Hezbollah rally, one man chant-
ed: “Palestine is bleeding, murdered
and crying . . . the hearts of the children
of Gaza will not stop beating.” The
crowd responded: “At your command,
Gaza! As you wish, Palestine!”
The Foreign Office has updated its IDF caterpillar D9
guidance on Lebanon, advising against The bulldozers are not
as well armoured as
travel to the country, which shares a
tanks and are
border with Israel. Britons in Lebanon
vulnerable to attack
are encouraged to “leave now”, it said.
In a statement, the Foreign Office
added: “Events in Lebanon are fast-
moving. The situation has potential to
deteriorate quickly and with no warn-
ing. Commercial routes out of Lebanon
could be severely disrupted or can- EFP
celled at short notice and roads across Roadside bombs
the country could be closed.” Sensor
Most deadly improvised
British nationals in the country were device is the explosively
recommended to register their pres- formed projectile (EFP)
ence with the Foreign Office.
Earlier in the day in Manara Square,
al-Sayeed, with her sunglasses perched
on her headscarf, suggested the pro-
tests would continue. “The demonstra-
tions here are not enough,” she said.
“They are just a small expression of our Kornet anti-tank missile
anger.” Nothing could deter the crowds, The Merkava tank is well protected
she added. “Even if they will kill us. We from shrapnel, small arms and
will stay here.” rocket attack from the front. It is
weaker on sides, rear and top from

Gaza pulls Arab leaders away from West handheld anti-tank rockets

Analysis is the notional leader of
the Palestinian people,
Iran and the Gulf ? That
threatens, if not a Third
Roadside bombs
given no Arab seems to
EFPs are homemade shaped charge anti-tank weapons. They
believe them, it further
fire a plug of molten metal that can penetrate any armoured

W
hen the
White
House
announced
President
Biden’s trip on Monday, it
was to show solidarity
with Israel but also to
meet Israel’s neighbours
(Richard Spencer writes).
Egypt is a major US aid
recipient and the back
door to Gaza, through
which aid can be
delivered. Jordan is
Israel’s fragile partner in
managing security around
the West Bank. Mahmoud
Abbas, 87, the president of
the Palestinian Authority,
even if many hold him in
contempt. He is the fig-
leaf whose existence is
proof of life for the “two-
state solution”, behind
which all states outside
the Middle East hide when
asked for peace proposals.
Until now. The prospect
of a black hole where
Palestinian governance in
Gaza ought to be fills
western leaders with fear.
What if something worse
takes its place? What if
the West Bank erupts?
What if Hezbollah also
feels compelled to join in,
risking a regional conflict
spreading to Lebanon,
World War then at least a
major economic crisis on
top of the inevitable
humanitarian horrors.
The sheer horror of the
attacks by Hamas will have
been felt among its
ideological foes, including
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and
the UAE, even if politically
they went along in their
population’s more pro-
Palestinian sympathies by
urging Netanyahu to show
restraint. The explosion at
the hospital ended that.
The fact the US, like Israel,
thinks Palestinian Islamic
Jihad was responsible only
makes matters worse:
polarises the West from
vehicle, except the frontal armour of a main battle tank
the Arab world.
Abbas refused to meet
1 Vehicle trips sensor 2 Projectile hits a vehicle at
Biden, and the Arab half of
high speed, penetrating
his trip was called off. armour
Biden will no doubt be Metal
hitting the phones to King pipe
Abdullah of Jordan, Crown Curved
Prince Mohammed bin Explosive copper or
Salman of Saudi Arabia, chamber steel disc
and Sheikh Mohammed
bin Zayed, leader of the Heat and shock wave shape copper disc into rod
UAE. They will demand an
end to Israel’s bombing
campaign, which Biden
cannot deliver. He will ask
them for their vision of
the Palestinians’ future.
Rod travelling at 1.2 miles per second can pierce 4-inch thick
And no one, really, has hardened steel
any idea.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 9

News
News
Hamas tunnel network
Tunnel network as of 2021
Israel’s army
Previously targeted airstrike
is ready, but
Area of evacuation
Al-Shati refugee camp
Beit Lahia
what are its
Israel Defence
Forces (IDF)
GBU-28 Bunker Buster
Israel’s air force could use
Al-Remal
Erez crossing
main aims?
US-made bombs to help it
Hamas threat destroy the labyrinth of George Grylls Tel Aviv
tunnels which conceal Port area
Anti-aircraft missiles weapons, fighters and Israel’s top general was bullish as he
Hamas also has access to hostages Jabalia refugee inspected the young men posted close
handheld SA-7s which are camp to the border with the Gaza Strip.
effective against fixed wing Gesticulating in the middle of a
aircraft and helicopters Gaza City group of soldiers sitting on the sand,
Wadi Gaza Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi said:
“Our responsibility is to enter Gaza, go
The densely packed streets to the places where Hamas is preparing,
Tunnel map of Gaza are home to 2.3m
GAZA people, but also 40,000
acting, planning, launching. Attack
them everywhere, every commander,
Hamas fighters trained in
every operative, destroy infrastructure.
the art of guerrilla warfare
In one word, to win.”
Laser-guided bomb Four divisions of the Israel defence
Length: 25ft forces (IDF) are encamped around the
Palestinian territory waiting for the
Range: 5 nautical miles IS RAE L moment when the aerial bombardment
Weight: 5,000lb ends and the order comes to attack.
Propulsion: none Despite the confident tone of his
Khan Yunis battle cry, however, the chief of the
Israeli airstrikes have general staff will know that Operation
targeted Hamas leaders Iron Swords will be dangerous,
in the southern city unpredictable and likely to imperil the
lives not only of Israeli soldiers but of
3 miles hundreds of thousands of civilians too.

tunnels
Rafah Halevi has specifically instructed his
Booby-trapped tunnels troops to find and destroy the hideouts
Fighters using the Rafah used by Hamas to launch attacks on
underground network crossing Israel. That order can mean only one
to strike and vanish in thing: descending into the warren of
buillt up areas tunnels that lie below this narrow strip
of Mediterranean coastline.
EGY PT Hamas has said that this labyrinth of
tunnels, nicknamed the Gaza metro,
runs to 311 miles in length, a figure that
some say is an overstatement. The
claim cannot be entirely discounted,
though, given the group’s previous
engineering achievements.
To stop Hamas using the tunnels to
move weapons around the city, the IDF
will need to locate the entrance and exit
for each one, possibly using robots to
map the booby-trapped underground
infrastructure rather than risking
Namer infantry Inside the tunnels soldiers’ lives.
fighting vehicle
Entrance to tunnel often dug assassination targets
from inside a building close to The IDF will also be hunting some of
Merkava MK4 the border the commanders involved in planning
main battle tank the terrorist attacks that killed more
than 1,400 Israelis on October 7. Top of
the target list is Yahya Sinwar, head of
Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The other
311 miles prime target is Mohammed Deif, head
of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s
Network of tunnels military wing.
nicknamed the Gaza metro
urban warfare
Tunnel constructed with
The history of 21st-century battles in
pre-cast concrete sections urban environments suggests that
and up to 70m deep Israel can expect heavy casualties.
In Gaza, Hamas is likely to adopt
80cm insurgency tactics, positioning snipers
in the windows of apartment blocks,
using tripwires to set off improvised
explosive devices and dropping
grenades on armoured vehicles from
above, as well as disguising fighters as
Rockets ordinary civilians.
attached Israel has plenty of technology to
to tunnel minimise losses, ranging from Skylark
wall reconnaissance drones to Merkava 5
Lightning tanks But if the aim is the
complete destruction of Hamas, Israel
faces a serious challenge. General Sir
Richard Barrons, a veteran British
commander of the counter-insurgency
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said:
1.8m “Having been surprised, stung and
embarrassed, the only thing Israel can
do is go after Hamas. But the chances of
The tunnels are filled with arms depots the being so successful they destroy Hamas
fighters can access. There are thought to be entirely are very slim. The chances of
field hospitals for fighters as well as command deepening the conflict around Israel
Palestinians detonate improvised explosive device centres for co-ordinating operations and Palestine are already much greater.
Hamas intended to do that.”
10 2GM Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News
News Israel at war

Sunak to use Tel Aviv visit An Israeli soldier carries a 155mm

artillery shell near a self-propelled
howitzer on the Israel-Lebanon
border, where tensions are running
high. Israeli troops killed four
militants who tried to infiltrate

for warning on escalation Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday

Steven Swinford Political Editor
Rishi Sunak will embark on a two-day
trip to Israel and the wider region to
offer his support while warning against
a “dangerous escalation of conflict”.
The prime minister is expected to
meet Binyamin Netanyahu, his Israeli
counterpart, and President Herzog in
Tel Aviv. He will visit capitals elsewhere
in the region for meetings with leaders.
He said the explosion at al-Ahli hos-
pital in Gaza, which killed hundreds of
people, should be a “watershed moment
for leaders in the region”. He will urge
Israel to open the route into Gaza for
humanitarian aid as soon as possible,
while sharing his condolences for the
“terrible” loss of life following the
terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel.
The visit is part of a diplomatic push
by Britain. James Cleverly, the foreign
secretary, will travel to Egypt, Turkey
and Qatar in the next few days.
Sunak had called for a “calm and cool”
response to the blast at the hospital. The
government made a commitment to
publish an assessment of who was
behind the blast after Israel and Hamas
issued rival claims. At prime minister’s
questions in the Commons, Sunak said:
“Our intelligence services have been
rapidly analysing the evidence to inde-
pendently establish the facts. We are not
in a position at this point to say more.”
Sunak said the UK was working with
Qatar to try to secure the release of
British hostages held by Hamas, and he
had spoken to Sheikh Tamim bin
Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
Sunak declined to back calls from
more than 40 MPs for a ceasefire so
that the release of hostages could be
secured, international law could be
upheld and medical supplies, food, fuel,
electricity and water could be given to
the Palestinian people.
Instead, he said Israel had a “right to
defend itself, to protect its people and to
act against terrorism and ensure that
the awful attack we’ve seen from
Hamas cannot happen again”.
Sunak said the UK was pressing to
get humanitarian aid into Gaza. After
prime minister’s questions he met the
family of one of those taken hostage.
At least seven British citizens, includ-
ing Yahel Sharabi, 13, were killed in the
Hamas raids on October 7. No 10 said
nine UK citizens remained missing.
Hamas said an Israeli airstrike led to
the devastation at al-Ahli hospital but
the Israeli military blamed a misfiring
rocket from the Palestinian Islamic
Jihad group and released imagery and
communications intercepts aimed at
supporting their case.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish first min-
ister, told the BBC that the blast was a
“human tragedy” and called for an
independent investigation.
Herzog criticised the BBC for not
describing Hamas as a terrorist organi-
sation. He told the Daily Mail: “I feel the
BBC’s reporting is atrocious. The fact
that it does not recognise Hamas as a
terror organisation requires a complete
legal battle and public battle. It’s unbe-
lievable. What other type of torture do
they want before they decide it was a
terrorist organisation?”
The BBC is refusing to review the
guidelines that stop the massacres in
Israel being described as “terrorism” by
its journalists, despite political pres-
sure. It says it is following Ofcom’s code.

Britain’s imams denounce

deaths of innocent victims
Kaya Burgess
Religious Affairs Correspondent
Britain’s most prominent imams have
released a joint statement in which they
“denounce Hamas’s killing and abduc-
tion of innocent people” and also Israel’s
use of “excessive force” in response.
It came a day after Shaykh Ibrahim
Mogra, a Muslim scholar from Leices-
ter who also signed the statement,
stood outside Lambeth Palace along-
side the Archbishop of Canterbury and
Jonathan Wittenberg, a senior rabbi, to
condemn the “deplorable and wrong”
hate crimes aimed at Jewish people in
Britain since the outbreak of violence in
the Middle East.
Organised by Imam Qari Asim, the
senior imam at the Makkah Mosque in
Leeds, and signed by 14 other scholars
and imams, the clerics’ statement said
that they “unequivocally condemn the
killing of civilians in Israel and Gaza”.
They said that “the killing and destruc-
tion against innocent men, women and
children is deplorable and is contrary to
the principles of justice and humanity
that we hold dear in our faith”. The
scholars added: “We denounce Hamas’s
killing and abduction of innocent
people on October 7, 2023, as well as the
Israeli military’s subsequent use of ex-
cessive force. We urge the government
of Israel to act with restraint and within
the boundaries of international law.
“The complete siege on Gaza has re-
sulted in immense suffering and recent
actions are intensifying a humanitarian
crisis of untold proportions upon Pales-
tinians, who are not responsible for the
actions of Hamas.”
They added that they “also utterly
condemn all acts of antisemitism or
Islamophobia that have taken place on
our streets here in Britain”, noting: “No
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
one should feel unsafe in their own
neighbourhoods and in this country.”
The signatories include Asim and Mo-
gra as well as Shaykh Dr Khalifa Ezzat,
chief imam at London Central Mosque.
Rabbi Jonathan Romain and Imam
Abid Hashmi, who lead the synagogue
and mosque in Maidenhead, Berkshire,
met to discuss the conflict. Romain
said: “We agreed — and are telling our
respective congregations — that this is
a political conflict, not a religious one . . .
we are strongly giving out the message
that local Jews and Muslims will con-
tinue to live in harmony in Maidenhead
and elsewhere.”
The Council of Christians and Jews
welcomed public statements of support
from prominent figures, but said “there
is a sense of silence that many Jewish
leaders are feeling” at a local level from
neighbouring churches and mosques.
Georgina Bye, a council director, said
there was “sometimes a fear of not
knowing the right thing to say”. Rabbi
David Mason, who runs the Hias+Jcore
refugee support charity, called on
churches and mosques to “reach out, to
talk to local synagogues and rabbis”,
adding: “It doesn’t have to be public.”
Hate marches are a wake-up call to all decent people
Robin Simcox
Comment
A
good diagnostic test for
the health of any society
is to consider how it
treats its Jewish
population. By that
metric the UK is very sick indeed.
In the aftermath of the single
worst atrocity perpetrated against
Jewish people since the Holocaust,
tens of thousands of British citizens
went online and took to the streets,
not to mourn the innocent victims,
but to voice support for the
“Palestinian resistance”.
Whatever chants such as “long live
the Palestinian resistance” might
arguably have meant three weeks
ago, in the aftermath of October 7,
they take on precise clarity: death to
Jews, and the erasure of Israel from
the map. Some of those whose
support for Hamas’s pogrom was
literal and explicit have rightly been
arrested. But the majority have been
careful to construe their support just
below the legal threshold for hate
crime. They are successfully
exploiting one of our proudest British
values — free expression — to pursue
a shameful extremist agenda, the
normalisation and promotion of
antisemitism.
According to the Community
Security Trust, we have seen a
581 per cent increase in antisemitic
incidents on our streets since
October 7. Jewish schools have felt
compelled to tell children not to
wear school uniforms or publicly
display religious symbols.
That connectivity between events
thousands of miles away, and the
safety of British citizens on British
streets, isn’t a spontaneous reaction.
It is a direct consequence of a
permissive environment that has
been created for anti-Israel
Iran ‘can incite
terrorist attacks
on UK’s streets’
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
Iran has the capacity to carry out or
incite acts of violence on Britain’s
streets and to spread extremist views
through clerics linked to the regime,
charities and education institutions,
the government’s adviser on extrem-
ism will warn today.
Robin Simcox will use his first speech
as the UK’s counter-extremism com-
missioner to say it is “time to confront
reality” about the nature of the
extremist threats posed by Hamas and
Iranian networks operating in the UK.
He is expected to call on the govern-
ment to have the “confidence and will”
to commit itself to a long-term strategy
for taking on extreme ideologies.
In a speech at the Royal United
Services Institute in London today, he
warn that support for Hamas does not
carry the stigma that support for other
terrorist groups does.
He argues that terrorist attacks on
Israel are seen not only as more justifia-
ble than attacks on other countries but,
sometimes, as cause for celebration. He
cites the pro-Palestinian protests that
have attracted thousands of people
across the UK in the past week, and
chants heard at the rallies.
Simcox warns that Iran, a crucial
financier and military backer of Hamas,
has both the capacity to carry out or
incite acts of violence on Britain’s
streets, and to spread extremist views.
He says that “too often, support for
Palestinian rights has translated into
rhetoric supportive of Hamas” and adds
that “too many in positions of
prominence have praised them or their
leadership, or sought to rationalise or
excuse their acts of terror”.
His comments are likely to be seized
on by Suella Braverman, the home
secretary, in her efforts to proscribe the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a
terrorist group. She has renewed her
attempts to ban the group since the
Hamas attacks on Israel, given the
explicit links with Tehran.
However, the Foreign Office has
resisted attempts to proscribe the group
after MI6 warned that doing so would
harm intelligence operations in the
extremism and antisemitism in the
UK. When people drive through
Jewish areas waving Palestinian
flags, chanting “F*** their mothers,
rape their daughters”, without
criminal consequence; when
protesters march in London calling
for the destruction of Israel without
arrest; when a direct action group —
Palestine Action — is able to wage a
campaign of intimidation and
vandalism against Israeli businesses;
when hate preachers are able to
peddle antisemitic conspiracy
theories in mosques; and when
Hamas’s patron, Iran, can brazenly
threaten people in the UK,
without any apparent consequence,
is it any wonder we find ourselves
where we are?
It is also the price that the UK is
paying for a three-decade-long failed
policy mix of mass migration and
multiculturalism. The UK is one of
the world’s most successful multi-
ethnic democracies — but that
11
News
News
Middle East, as well as damaging
diplomatic relations.
Simcox also outlines several other
concerns facing by the UK, including a
push to normalise the Taliban’s
governance of Afghanistan. He warns
that freedom of expression is under
threat from those trying to impose a de
facto blasphemy code preventing
criticism of religious prophets, and of
the ongoing challenge posed by
Islamist ideology.
On right-wing extremism, he warns
about attempts to bolster its support by
exploiting issues of mainstream
concern, and of growing fears about the
extreme left’s rhetoric and tactics.
The commission for countering
extremism has been given new powers
by the Home Office to oversee
standards and compliance for Prevent,
the government’s deradicalisation
programme strategy. Simcox sets out
how he intends to use the new powers
to better monitor and respond to
extremism in today’s speech.
Among the commission’s new roles
is processing and responding to
complaints about how the Prevent
programme is run and failures to
monitor or track extremists. It also has
the power to open investigations.
The Community Security Trust,
which protects British Jews from
antisemitism and related threats, has
called for universities to act “swiftly and
firmly” to tackle antisemitism and
protect Jewish students, after a spike in
incidents on campuses.
The trust recorded 36 antisemitic in-
cidents related to UK universities
between October 7 and 16. In compari-
son, it logged 17 such incidents in the
first six months of this year.
The Union of Jewish Students has
received more than 100 calls to a
welfare hotline set up last week for stu-
dents to report concerns and incidents.
Dave Rich, director of policy at the
trust, told the PA news agency: “Again
we see a spike in anti-Jewish hate inci-
dents among people who are supposed
to be the most educated in our society
. . .universities need to provide Jewish
students with the support and protec-
tion that they need and deserve .”
success relies on a basic level of
integration. We cannot continue to
permit vast numbers of people to
come to the UK and tell them they do
not need to integrate, that they can
maintain certain values and ideas
that are at odds with British values.
David Cameron made this
observation in 2010 when he was
prime minister. In the years since,
consecutive governments have failed
to produce any meaningful policy to
address this. They must, because the
failure of multiculturalism leads to
extremism. Allowing people to
maintain parallel lives in our
communities without being part of
them, has and will continue to
produce people committed to
undermining our values. The hatred
that we have witnessed in recent
days is not only a cause for alarm in
the Jewish community. It must be a
wake-up call for all decent people.
Robin Simcox is the commissioner
for countering extremism
12
News
Rowling: I’d go to jail
for rights of women
Tom Saunders
JK Rowling has said that she would be
prepared to go to prison to stand up for
women’s rights.
The writer of the Harry Potter books
and the Cormoran Strike crime novels
under the pseudonym Robert Gal-
braith, was seemingly responding to a
report in The Mail on Sunday that said
the Labour Party would make attacks
motivated by hatred of a victim’s gender
identity into “aggravated offences”.
The move would bring transphobic
abuse into line with assault and harass-
ment motivated by hatred on the
grounds of race or religion, which are
punishable by up to two years in prison.
Replying to a post on Twitter/X,
Rowling said: “I’ll happily do two years
if the alternative is compelled speech
and forced denial of the reality and
importance of sex. Bring on the court
case, I say. It’ll be more fun than I’ve
ever had on a red carpet.”
In a further tweet, speculating on
what job she would prefer to have in
prison, she said: “Hoping for the library,
obviously, but I think I could do OK in
the kitchens.”
Rosie Duffield, the Labour MP for
Canterbury, who has said that she felt
ostracised by the party because of her
views on gender reform, tweeted in
response: “See you there Jo!”
Rowling has been critical of Labour’s
position on women’s rights before. Last
week she accused Lisa Nandy, a
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
JK Rowling tweeted
a single-word
response to a
slogan in a picture
Trans butcher
abducted and
posted by the
magazine Dazed
abused girl, 11
member of the shadow cabinet, of being Mike Wade, Sarah Wade
“one of the biggest reasons many
women on the left no longer trust A butcher who abducted and sexually
Labour” because of her stance on trans- assaulted an 11-year-old girl has been
gender issues. jailed for 20 years.
Rowling made her pledge to go to Andrew Miller, 53, was dressed as a
prison beneath a photo posted on Twit- woman when he offered the child a lift
ter/X by the magazine Dazed, which in February, in the Scottish Borders.
featured the slogan “Repeat after us: He then locked her in his home for
Trans Women are Women”. The author 27 hours, where she was repeatedly
commented: “No.” touched and forced to watch porno-
At the weekend Rowling made a sur- graphy. She dialled 999 on the landline
prise appearance at a feminist event in after Miller fell asleep.
Glasgow that was organised by FiLiA, The High Court in Edinburgh was
an organisation that campaigns for
women’s rights. It is believed to be the Andrew Miller is
first time the author has appeared in transitioning from
public to discuss her support for a man to a woman
women-only spaces since she received
a barrage of criticism from transgender
rights activists for her views. She was
not billed as a panellist at the confer-
ence because of safety concerns.
About 70 people protested outside told that Miller, who is also known as
the event over FiLiA’s oppo- Amy George, is transitioning from
sition to gender-recognition male to female. He has been held in the
reform in Scotland. The male prison estate after a row over the
demonstrators included trans rapist Isla Bryson, who was sent to
Elaine Gallagher, a trans a female prison in February.
councillor in Glasgow for Miller, who ran a butcher’s in the
Scottish Green Party. [female genital mutilation].” Humza town of Melrose, pleaded guilty in May
Rowling accused the pro- Yousaf, the first minister, con- to abduction, sexual assault, watching
testers of “screaming ‘f*** demned the behaviour. He said men pornography in the presence of the
you’ at women, including shouting at visiting female cam- child under 13 and possessing 242 inde-
those from Afghanistan and paigners was “a bad look” and while cent images of children. He was sen-
Africa, who were meeting in “peaceful protest is OK, abuse is not”. tenced to 20 years in custody and eight
Glasgow to discuss sex-spe- The Labour Party was approached under supervision. Judge Lord Arth-
cific harms such as FGM for comment. urson called his actions “nauseating”.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 13

News

British Museum to make a show of stolen items

Constance Kampfner
The theft of 2,000 objects from the
British Museum has “the makings of a
good exhibition” George Osborne said,
as he announced that the institution
would put on a show of the stolen
artefacts it has recovered.
The chairman of the trustees told
MPs the museum had been the victim
of an “inside job”. The stolen objects,
which include gold jewellery and gem-
stones, date from between the 15th
century BC and the 19th century AD.
About 350 have been recovered so far.
Osborne appeared in front of the
digital, culture, media and sport select
committee alongside Sir Mark Jones,
the museum’s interim director, to ex-
plain what steps were being taken to
prevent a similar incident in the future.
They announced that £10 million
would be spent in a five-year project to
digitise the British Museum’s collection
and that staff were no longer allowed
into strongrooms alone. “Records were
altered and the like,” Osborne revealed.
“It’s hard to spot.”
The thefts came to light when Ittai
Gradel, an antiquities dealer, became
suspicious of about 70 objects he had
purchased online. He contacted the
British Museum with concerns they
had been stolen in 2021, but was assured
they were not part of the collection.
Osborne said he had become aware
of the allegations in October last year
and that the police had been called in to
investigate in December 2022. News of
the thefts became public in August.
The museum has since drafted new
whistleblowing policies. “Now there’s
nobody who is allowed to go into a
strongroom on their own. And that in
itself along with a whole lot of other
measures should ensure that the kind
of theft that has happened couldn’t
happen again,” Jones said.
Osborne emphasised that thefts by
museum staff were difficult to prevent.
Jones said that about a million objects
in the collection were unregistered. A
further 300,000 were registered but not
digitised and 1.1 million digitised but not
photographed. “In the end the most
sustainable and best security for
collections is that they are widely
known and widely used,” he said.
The museum has set up a task force of
specialists to help it retrieve the missing
objects from the Greek and Roman
department. None had previously been
on display but they will form part of a
new exhibition, which the museum
hopes will take place in the new year,
depending on the progress of the police
investigation. Curatorial discussions
are in their early stages. “We are intend-
ing to put on display the objects we have
recovered,” Osborne said. “So we have
the makings of a good exhibition that
was not previously planned.”
Jones said that most of the stolen
objects had originally arrived at the
museum as part of a large gift, though
some had been purchased. The major-
ity had not been registered because of
initial perceptions that they were of
low value.
“The objects that we’re talking about
were thought very lowly of, despised in
the early 19th century, because people
realised that many of them were in
fact recent and not antique and it’s a
real failure that this initial decision not
to register them was never rectified,”
he said.
The thefts are being investigated by
the Metropolitan Police. The force has
interviewed a man under caution but
has made no arrests.
Osborne said the museum was still
pursuing an agreement to lend the
Parthenon Marbles to Greece as part of
a swap. “Sometimes museums, and the
British Museum maybe, have felt that
they don’t want to touch the story; it’s
too either embarrassing or defensive.
And I think a museum that’s confident
and on the front foot should tell the
story,” he said.

Netting is installed under

the Millennium Bridge
beside a bale of
precautionary straw

London is famous for,” reduced from its usual

Repair to an official at the City
Bridge Foundation
limits but that arch or
span is not closed to
the Wobbly said. “But it also serves
a practical purpose, to
navigation, the person
in control of the bridge
Bridge is warn shipping when
the headroom under a
must suspend from the
centre of that arch or
last straw bridge span is
reduced.”
span by day a bundle of
straw large enough to

A
bridge built After several social be conspicuous and by
to mark the media posts the night a white light.”
start of the foundation, a 900-year- The capital city is
21st century old charity that owns noted for its bizarre
in the City five London bridges, customs. A sheep drive
of London has had explained that the across London Bridge
straw dangled off its bundle of straw was takes place every few
side to alert sailors on lowered while netting years, echoing the
the Thames (Jack was installed before ancient rights of the
Blackburn writes). work to repair the Freemen of the City of
The warning on the bridge. London. Another
Millennium, or The bale was tradition continues
Wobbly, Bridge is in lowered in accordance each year on the
keeping with the with part five of the Thames with a count
bylaws of the Port of 2012 bylaws, clause 36. of the swans, which are
London Authority. It reads: “When the owned by the King and
“This is one of those headroom of an arch the Vintners and Dyers
quirky traditions or span of a bridge is livery companies.
14 2GM Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News
News Politics

Tories hope short

memories help in
twin by-elections
Geraldine Scott
Senior Political Correspondent
The Conservatives hope voters have
forgotten the scandals of Chris Pincher
and Nadine Dorries as they go to the
polls today in two by-elections.
As the Tories face tests in Tamworth
and Mid Bedfordshire, Greg Hands, the
party chairman, told The Times: “Gov-
ernments don’t win by-elections.”
Hands suggested voters might have
forgotten the scandals that prompted
the by-elections and were focusing on
the candidates when they cast their
vote. But he admitted neither poll was
held against “the greatest backdrop”.
Pincher resigned as MP for Tam-
worth after the parliamentary standards
committee found he groped two men in
the Carlton Club in London. In Mid Bed-
fordshire, Dorries stood down two
months after she was denied a peerage.
Hands said that at least in Mid Beds
the campaign had been going on for so
long that voters were focusing on the
“unique” candidate Festus Akinbusoye.
He said: “What happens in the by-
elections is typically in the first week or
two there’s quite a bit of focus on — why
is there a by-election? Particularly the
backdrop of Mid Beds.
“But as we saw in Uxbridge, the first
week, the first ten days or so, people . . .
might be saying some kind of reflec-
off”. Cooper’s partner Elizabeth Austin,
in now deleted posts, appeared to threat-
en his critics in defending his comments.
In screenshots seen by The Times she
said: “Travel from Leicester where you
live and come and see me for a nice little
chat. I will always stand up to a bully.”
Rishi Sunak declined yesterday to
condemn Cooper’s post but his press
secretary said the prime minister
believed actions mattered more than
words. Cooper has since apologised.
If Labour were to take Tamworth
from the Tories, it would represent the
biggest swing of any other by-election
in this parliament. Sarah Edwards,
Labour’s candidate, has invoked the
1996 by-election in the seat where,
under Tony Blair, Labour took it from
Nadine Dorries and Chris Pincher both
resigned, forcing by-elections today
the Tories before securing a landslide
win in a general election the following
year.
campaign,” he said. “I’m concerned
about the whole world of fakes and
deepfakes. It’s something that needs to
be given attention to.”
Hands said he was increasingly wor-
ried about conspiracy theories and
their affect on the safety of candidates.
The MP for Chelsea and Fulham said:
“Much more than I ever remember you
get this stuff about the [Covid] vaccine,
the World Economic Forum . . . more
often than I remember in the past. It
can crop up even in a relatively cosmo-
politan place like Chelsea.”
He added that he was “very con-
cerned” about the safety of MPs and
candidates, who were often on their
own. “That does concern me a great
deal,” he said, adding that he feared
even hustings events could be a target.
“To be a successful candidate you’ve
got to be visible, you’ve got to be out
there,” he said. “And those are things
that also by the same token can make city is a major part of President Xi’s
you vulnerable.”
Hands said he had been the target of Cameron Belt and Road initiative, China’s
global infrastructure strategy, and
a damaging conspiracy theory after has been billed as the Chinese-
Carol Vorderman, the broadcaster,
made “completely groundless accusa-
supports funded rival to Singapore.
Dilum Amunugama, Sri Lanka’s
tions that I was corrupt and that I’d
handed a contract to my friends”.
After he took legal action she deleted
port backed investment minister, said he
believed Cameron was enlisted at
the request of the Chinese company
22 tweets and videos, which had more
than eight million views. by Chinese involved in the development.
Cameron spoke at two events, one
“I think truth is absolutely impor- in Abu Dhabi with an audience of

tions on Boris. But by the end people
were only talking Ulez, people had
almost forgotten the reason for the
by-election.”
Both Tory and Labour insiders believe
the government has more chance of
hanging on to Dorries’s former seat —
where there have been fears Labour and
the Liberal Democrats will split the vote
— than Tamworth, where Andrew
Cooper, the Conservative candidate, has
been criticised for a 2020 social media
post in which he suggested those strug-
gling to feed their children should “f***
The Tories have held Mid Bedford-
shire since 1931. Dorries secured it in
2019 by 24,664 votes over Labour in
second place. Both by-elections will test
Sunak’s attempted relaunch at the Con-
servative Party conference this month.
Hands dismissed Sir Keir Starmer’s
accusation that there was no line the
Tories would not cross in an election
campaign. He referred to a deepfake
video of an angry Starmer that was cir-
culated, pointing out his party did not
capitalise on it. “I would expect that to
be the tone of our [general election]
tant,” Hands said. “There’s no place for
conspiracy theories and one should
always remember that the ability to
source something . . . is very strong.”
Hands was speaking after some of his
cabinet colleagues had been accused of
advancing conspiracy theories at the
party conference.
He did not criticise his fellow MPs
directly and said: “I think there is some
basis for making these claims.” But he
said his advice to candidates was to
“always be truthful” and that voters
“won’t have” dishonesty in politics.
D
avid Cameron is facing
criticism for promoting a
Chinese-funded port city
in Sri Lanka amid
concerns that it would
give Beijing a significant foothold in
the Indo-Pacific (Steven Swinford
writes).
The former prime minister flew to
the Middle East late last month to
speak at two investment events for
Port City Colombo, having visited
the site this year, Politico said. The
100, and one in Dubai with an
audience of 300. “The main point he
[Cameron] was trying to stress is
that it is not a purely Chinese
project, it is a Sri Lankan-owned
project — and that is the main point
I think the Chinese also wanted him
to iron out,” Amunugama said. He
added that the decision to enlist
Cameron “was taken by the Chinese
company, not the government”.
A spokesman for the former
prime minister said Cameron had

Deepfakes ‘are threat to democracy’ Williamson stalked by

Fiona Hamilton
Chief Reporter, Palo Alto, California
Deepfake technology could be har-
nessed by hostile states to sow confu-
sion and disinformation at the next
general election, the head of MI5 has
warned.
Ken McCallum said that the techno-
logy was more sophisticated than ever
and could plant “all kinds of confusion
and dissension and chaos in our
societies”.
Artificial intelligence is also being
used to amplify the distribution of
terrorist propaganda and could help
spread “dangerous knowledge” such as
bomb-making instructions, he warned.
McCallum was appearing at a secur-
ity summit in California with the Five
Eyes Alliance, the UK’s closest intelli-
gence partners, comprising the United
States, Australia, Canada and New
Zealand. He issued an unprecedented
public warning about the threat posed
by hostile states and particularly
China’s economic espionage.
This month Sir Keir Starmer, the
Labour leader, became the first major
politician to become a victim of deep-
fake technology when audio purported
to capture him abusing party staffers. It
was quickly debunked.
Asked if it could become an issue at
the next election, McCallum said that
MI5 viewed it as a risk because the tech-
nology had become “significantly more
sophisticated”. He said: “That clearly
does open up the possibility that a
range of actors of various sorts . . . might
seek to use these technologies to influ-
ence public opinion in all kinds of ways.
Clearly one of the best responses to
deepfakes is to spot them and then
make public that that’s what they are.”
He welcomed the AI summit being
hosted by Rishi Sunak next month,
saying it was “high time” the world
started talking about the benefits of AI
while governing the risk.
Christopher Wray, the director of the
FBI, said that innovative AI being
developed by US, UK and other west-
ern companies was at risk of being
stolen by China.
McCallum warned that the risk was
from terrorists as well as hostile actors:
“AI presents huge opportunities for
society that includes huge opportuni-
ties for organisations like ours . . . And
inevitably what goes with that are a
range of risks, including the kinds of
risks of it enabling terrorism and the
spread of dangerous knowledge in ways
that we would all regret.”
Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was jailed
this month for breaking into Windsor
Castle with a crossbow and declaring he
wanted to kill the Queen. It emerged he
had exchanged more than 5,000 mes-
sages with an online chatbot which had
encouraged him to carry out an attack.
McCallum said there was a “clear
risk” that such systems could be put to
uses that their makers did not intend.
He said MI5 worked to “limit the
availability of dangerous knowledge”
from extremists. He emphasised that
artificial intelligence had benefits that
included the sifting of vast amounts of
data. MI5 lawfully collected thousands
of hours of audio data every week and
AI helped to translate it and make it
quickly searchable.
anti-vaccine protester
Peter Chappell, Debbie White
A “hostile” anti-vaccines campaigner
has been found guilty of stalking Sir
Gavin Williamson, the former educa-
tion secretary, in Whitehall.
Simon Parry was alleged to have
“persistently followed” Williamson, the
Conservative MP for South Stafford-
shire, on May 24 and June 14.
The Tory MP told the City of London
magistrates’ court that he felt “incredi-
bly threatened” by Parry, 45, of no fixed
abode. Parry attended court with Piers
Corbyn, 76, the anti-vaccines cam-
paigner and brother of Jeremy, the
former Labour leader.
Parry was convicted of one charge of
stalking. A charge of impersonating a
police officer was dropped.
He had denied impersonating an
officer by flashing what Williamson
had alleged appeared to be a fake
warrant card and making comments
about arresting him in the June inci-
dent. The court was told that Parry
filmed the encounter and posted it on
social media.
Judge Tan Ikram found there was no
case to answer for the charge of imper-
sonating an officer after Olivia Beach,
for the defence, said the evidence was
“so poor”.
Ikram added, however: “I am satis-
fied that those two occasions taken col-
lectively amount to harassment of Sir
Gavin. The defendant thinks there is
humour in relation to what he does. He
uploads it on to social media.
“Objectively he ought to have known
the course of conduct amounted to
harassment. I am sure of that.”
Williamson told the court yesterday
that in the May incident he heard Parry
making comments about vaccinations
while walking “close” to him.
“It was someone who was quite
aggressive towards you,” Williamson
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 15

News
News

no direct contact with either
the Chinese government or
the Chinese company that
funds the port, that his
involvement was organised by
the Washington Speakers
Bureau, a US-based agency,
and came after a meeting with
President Wickremesinghe
earlier in the year.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the
former leader of the
Conservative Party who has
been sanctioned by Beijing,
said: “Given that China is a
real threat to us all David
Cameron should not have
chosen to do this.”
During his time in office
Cameron and George
Osborne, his chancellor,
hailed a “golden era” of relations
between the UK and China.
The Colombo Port City project
was announced in 2014 by Xi and
David Cameron attended two events
for Port City Colombo in the Middle
East in September, and visited the
site in Sri Lanka earlier this year
Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s
president at the time. Sri Lanka
subsequently handed it over to
Chinese control after struggling
to pay off debts to Chinese
companies. Concerns have been
raised about the environmental
impact of the project and the
US has warned that it could be
used for money laundering.
There are fears the port could
become a Chinese military
outpost.
The main developer is CHEC
Port City Colombo, ultimately
owned by the China
Communications Construction
company, a majority state-
owned company based in
Beijing.
Cameron has faced scrutiny
over his lobbying activities since
standing down as prime minister.
He was chairman of the £1 billion
China-UK investment fund.
Starmer offers us
hope for future,
says top financier
Oliver Wright Policy Editor
Sir Keir Starmer has won the backing of
one of the world’s most influential fin-
anciers, who said Labour now offered a
“measurement of hope” in political
leadership.
Larry Fink, the chairman and chief
executive of BlackRock, the world’s
largest asset manager, told The Wall
Street Journal Starmer had shown “real
strength” in bringing Labour back to
the centre ground of British politics
after Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. He
suggested that Labour’s transformation
under Starmer could be a sign that the
pendulum of global politics had swung
back towards the centre ground after
the populism of Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn
and Donald Trump.
His comments, in an interview with
the Free Expression podcast hosted by
the Times columnist Gerard Baker,
comes after Fink met Starmer during a
recent trip to the UK. Fink, a “lifelong”
Democrat who backed Hillary Clinton
in the 2016 presidential election, said he
was impressed by the Labour leader
and the way in which he had turned the
party around, bringing it back to the
centre ground of British politics.
Asked about the fitness of western
political leadership to meet the challen-
ges of the future, Fink said that while
there were some reasons to be pessi-
mistic, the UK offered reasons to be
hopeful. “I was in the UK and I spent
time with both parties — the Conserva-
tives and Labour Party — and I’m very
pleased to see how the Labour Party in
the UK went from an extremist party
with a Marxist leader to Keir Starmer,
who has shown real strength, [and] a
moderate Labour Party,” he said.
Fink suggested that both the UK and
United States had fallen victim to popu-
lism through Brexit, Corbyn and
Trump, destabilising political institu-
tions. But he said this might be reced-
ing, with next year’s general election
likely to be fought on the traditional
centre ground.
“That, actually, has given me hope
that the pendulum went so far,” Fink
said. “If you think about the UK, the UK
was the one that started the high level
populism through Brexit and then the
populism here [in the US] led to Donald
Trump being president. We will see
what happens if Keir Starmer gets
elected but I believe that’s a measure-
ment of hope.”
Fink’s praise for Starmer will delight
the Labour leadership, coming after a
concerted campaign to woo business
and convince international investors
that the party has a credible pro-
gramme for government. BlackRock,
which Fink founded, has assets worth
$9 trillion under management, holding
significant stakes in big companies
around the world.
Fink warned that too many political
leaders were “governing through fear”,
undermining trust in institutions.
“There is no question in my mind I have
never seen more fear, more distrust,” he
said. “Fear is pervasive now — whether
because of geopolitical issues, whether
it is, ‘Who do I listen to?’ — I think it is
the responsibility of the press, [of] busi-
ness leaders, to elevate hope again.
“Historically, you would have said
that leadership in government would
provide hope and right now they are
governing through fear.”
However, he criticised the UK’s fail-
ure to let pension funds invest in long-
term assets, which he said was damag-
ing the UK economy because compa-
nies could not get the finance they
needed to expand and be successful.
Fink is a controversial figure in
Republican circles because of Black-
Rock’s support for environmental, social
and corporate governance (ESG) stan-
dards in the companies in which it
invests. Last year the state of Florida said
it was pulling $2 billion of investments
from BlackRock over concerns about its
“woke ideological agenda”, forcing
companies to focus on issues such as
climate change and workforce diversity
at the expense of shareholder returns.
Fink said many clients were choosing
to invest in ESG-focused strategies.
“Everything we do is with the purpose
of financial returns,” he added.

or sort of trying to make a publicity

work or something along those lines.”
Williamson said of the June incident
that he heard Parry making comments
about vaccinations again and also
about “genocide”. He told the court he
realised eventually that the comments
were directed at him.
The Tory MP said he kept
walking, while trying to speak
on his mobile phone with a
constituent.
He described Parry’s “per-
sistence” in follow-
ing him “quite dis-
turbing” as he left
the parliament-
ary estate to
walk to-
wards
Euston.
“It was
Piers Corbyn, above right, quite evident
showed support for Simon Parry that this individ-
ual was hostile to
added. “Someone who was not myself,” Williamson
really actually wanting to have said. “I was talking
a discussion but rather express to a constituent who
their views or their anger or sadly that day had
their dissatisfaction. had to have their
“ It felt very unpleasant. You dog put down.”
felt as if this was part of intimidation Parry told offi-
cers in an interview after his arrest on
June 15 that he was not a member of a
police force and he had been referring
to being able to make a citizen’s arrest
when directing comments to the politi-
cian.
Williamson said he recalled feeling
“incredibly threatened . . . an incident
like this just makes you more fearful”.
Parry also told the police that he did
not have a police badge but had flashed
a badge at Williamson that read “law
enforcement”. He said he was given the
badge by Save Us Now, a group that
campaigns against vaccines and 5G
telecommunications.
He denied intending to harass, dis-
tress, humiliate or intimidate the politi-
cian over the two dates. Parry will be
sentenced at Westminster magistrates’
court on November 16.
Williamson served in cabinet as
defence secretary before becoming
education secretary in 2019.
red box
For the best analysis
and commentary on
the political landscape
HMRC boss: We struggle
to answer taxpayers’ calls
James Hurley, Rachel Mortimer
HMRC’s customer support service is
struggling to answer calls, the tax
authority admitted, prompting warn-
ings that the system is “falling over”.
Jim Harra, the first permanent
secretary at HM Revenue & Customs,
told MPs that it needed to reduce its
customer contact by nearly a third by
the end of next year. He said a 30 per
cent reduction in “contact demand”
was needed but that “the trend is the
other way, so we have to swim against
the tide”.
Harriett Baldwin, chairwoman of the
Treasury committee, said that she was
“worried” about service standards at
HMRC, especially as policy changes,
including to capital gains tax and
dividend allowances, meant that
millions more people would need to file
self-assessment tax forms for the first
time. She said: “It feels like a system
about to fall over.” HMRC said in June
that it was closing its self-assessment
helpline until September to trial mov-
ing customer service online during pe-
riods of lower demand.
Harra said the trial had been a “con-
siderable success” in “deflecting” de-
mand online.
The Labour MP Siobhain McDon-
agh said that her constituents had
expressed frustration about difficulties
in reaching HMRC and the quality of
advice when they did get through.
Harra said: “We are definitely
struggling to answer calls and to answer
them as quickly as customers have a
right to expect. We are not resourced to
deliver our customer service standards
through our traditional channels of
phone and post.
“The good news is that there is
demand that is unnecessary or can
relatively easily be self-served online.
That’s why our strategy is to reduce that
contact demand and push as much as
possible to digital self-serve.”
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
This charming
plan: £240m
cultural hub to
level up the arts
Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
The biggest government-funded cul-
tural project in nearly 25 years has
opened in Manchester, with its backers
saying it proves the arts can thrive out-
side London.
Aviva Studios, a multipurpose venue
with warehouse space and a 1,500-seat
theatre, opened almost a decade after
George Osborne, the former chan-
cellor, announced it would be part of
the Northern Powerhouse initiative.
Bev Craig, leader of Manchester city
council, said at the opening yesterday
that the venue sent a message from the
north of England “that culture can do
well outside capital cities”.
Aviva Studios, right,
opens as arts funding is
increasingly being dis-
tributed away from
London. Arts Coun-
cil England said in
November last year
that English Nation-
al Opera would lose
its annual subsidy of
£12.5 million and
would qualify for future
grants only if it moved out
of London.
Craig said: “For a long time in
Manchester we have argued that we are
a heavily centralised country and we’re
a country that historically has seen cul-
tural spend per head unrivalled any-
where else in the UK. That was one of
the initial premises of investment of
this scale outside of London. There are
the audiences to sustain such signifi-
cant growth in places like Manchester.
“We will always make the case for a
more distributed funding mechanism
in the country.”
The initial price was set at £78 million
but costs spiralled to £240 million, with
the Treasury footing about half the
2GM 17
News
final bill. The remainder was paid for by
Manchester city council, Arts Council
England and the insurance company
whose name it has taken on.
The Tate Modern gallery in London
was the last cultural venue to receive
public backing of a similar scale.
Danny Boyle, the film-maker, is
directing the opening show at the
venue, Free Your Mind, a dance version
of the 1999 film The Matrix. Boyle, who
grew up in Radcliffe, Greater Manches-
ter, said it could not be denied that the
studios cost a lot of money. “But the
long-term benefit you get from the
courage to press forward with this is
incalculable,” he added. The first show at Aviva Studios is Danny Boyle’s thrilling dance-theatre reimagining of the Wachowskis’ classic sci-fi film
Lucy Frazer, the culture sec-
retary, said the building was
a symbol of Manchester’s
“resurgence” after
Ambitious freewheeling riff on The Matrix
decades of decline.
“This is exactly the Dance Debra Craine which humans were trapped inside a For a less-focused second half we are
sort of scheme we’re virtual reality matrix created by an standing in the cavernous Warehouse,
trying to foster evil artificial intelligence. Almost 25 where the designer Es Devlin gives us a
through our creative Free Your Mind years later, Free Your Mind posits a pristine white space, video screens and
industries sector vis- contemporary reality in which the a giant catwalk. Presented as a post-
ion,” she said. Aviva Studios, Manchester metaverse threatens to engulf us. Matrix commentary, it feels like a weird
Though Manches- HHHHI Boyle’s production is not a retelling hybrid of outlandish Gareth Pugh
ter has a rich cultural of the Wachowskis’ original narrative fashion show (Pugh designed the
history, its recent contri- but a freewheeling riff on it. Over two costumes) and a nightmare
butions have largely been When you are opening an enormous acts it takes place in both halves of hallucination in which we are
through bands such as the and hugely expensive — estimated at Aviva Studios. We begin sitting in the inextricably linked to our electronic
Smiths, Oasis and Stone Roses. Aviva almost £240 million — new theatre Hall where we hear a disturbing devices. It ends with a confrontation
Studios will look to affirm Manchester you want to make a big splash. lecture from Alan Turing, one of the between mankind and machine led by
as a destination for the fine arts too. Which is what the film director founding fathers of computer science. Corey Owens’s hero Neo.
The venue on the site of the old Danny Boyle, the choreographer We then plunge into the dystopia of Asante’s pulsating electronic score
Granada Studios was originally named Kenrick “H20” Sandy and the The Matrix, where Sandy’s thrilling provides the show’s heartbeat, while
Factory in recognition of the music composer Michael “Mikey J” Asante choreography introduces us to the AI Sabrina Mahfouz’s text delivers the
label founded in Manchester in 1978 by have done with Free Your Mind, the masters and the human rebels. His frightening prophecy that it’s AI’s turn
Tony Wilson that featured among its show that officially opened Aviva movement language, hewn from the to rule the world now.
roster Joy Division, New Order, the Studios in Manchester last night. street dance vocabulary, is bold and Fans of the film will recognise some
Durutti Column and Happy Mondays. As befits the building, the articulate, fiercely aggressive in the of its iconic scenes, others may not.
It was renamed when Aviva, the production was conceived as fight scenes, punchy and visceral in its But either way, there’s no denying
insurance company, acquired the spectacle, a large-scale, hip-hop expression. The way Sandy handles that Free Your Mind is just the kind of
naming rights for £35 million. dance-theatre reimagining of The his army of 50 exciting dancers is ambitious enterprise this new
Matrix, the classic 1999 sci-fi film. The impressive, moving like the smooth building had in mind.
movie posited a dystopian future in working parts of a well-oiled machine. To Nov 5. factoryinternational.org
18
News
Officers investigated over
failure to stop Met rapist
David Woode Crime Correspondent
Ten serving and former Metropolitan
Police officers are being investigated
over their handling of allegations
against the serial rapist David Carrick,
the police watchdog has announced.
A string of misconduct notices have
been served after investigators identi-
fied individuals who potentially failed
to “adequately explore, investigate,
supervise or oversee” investigations
into allegations about Carrick while he
was a serving firearms officer.
Carrick, 48, was unmasked as one of
Britain’s worst sexual offenders after he
admitted more than 80 offences,
including 48 rapes, against 12 women.
In February, he was jailed for life with a
minimum term of 30 years.
The Independent Office for Police
Conduct (IOPC) said five serving Met
Acid attacks up by two thirds in a year
Ali Mitib
Acid attacks have risen by 69 per cent
in England and Wales, according
to research.
A total of 710 acid attacks were re-
corded last year, compared with 421 in
2021, according to data obtained by
Acid Survivors Trust International
officers had been told they were being
investigated for gross misconduct.
A former Met officer now serving
with City of London police and two
retired Met officers have also been noti-
fied of the development. Another serv-
ing Met officer and a member of police
staff have been told they are being
investigated for misconduct. The IOPC
said its investigations would not neces-
sarily lead to disciplinary proceedings.
Mel Palmer, IOPC regional director,
said that after an initial review of police
handling of allegations against Carrick
this year, the watchdog decided to
launch investigations into multiple
alleged failings of police officers and
staff who assessed or investigated him.
“If these matters had been ade-
quately progressed, Carrick could
potentially have faced gross miscon-
duct proceedings and been dismissed
(Asti) through freedom of information
requests. The charity said the real
figure was likely to be far higher as a
number of “key police forces”, including
Police Scotland and Thames Valley
police, did not respond to the requests.
Acid attacks can result in permanent
blindness and scarring. They reached a
peak in 2017, with 971 recorded cases.
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
from the police service years before he
was eventually arrested,” she added.
After Carrick was convicted it was
revealed that the Met and three other
forces missed at least nine opportunities
in ten years to stop him. He had been
repeatedly reported for criminal and
predatory behaviour against women.
Carrick, nicknamed “Bastard Dave”
by colleagues, was accused of rape,
domestic abuse and harassment but
allowed to continue working. He was
finally suspended in July 2021 after his
arrest on suspicion of rape.
Detectives at Hertfordshire police,
which led the criminal investigation,
said publicity of Carrick’s arrest
for another rape in October 2021 —
days after Wayne Couzens was handed
a whole-life term for the murder of
Sarah Everard — led to more victims
coming forward.
The charity said the fall since could
partly be attributed to the Offensive
Weapons Act coming into effect in
2019, which banned the sale of corro-
sive products to under-18s.
Jaf Shah, Asti’s executive director,
said: “The UK has the most recorded
attacks in the world, and the need for By design Kylie Minogue, 55, wore a fake-tattoo catsuit in a collaboration with
prevention is greater than ever.” Jean Paul Gaultier and Jimmy Choo before her Las Vegas residency next month
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
‘Excessive’ hauls raise old chestnut of foraging rights
Tom Saunders
A council is trying to ban foraging from
a park as it is making the deer go hun-
gry, but admits that such action would
contravene an ancient bylaw.
A rise in “excessive” foraging at the
Nottinghamshire park, where visitors
have reported seeing people with bin
bags full of chestnuts and mushrooms,
has led officials to try to act.
Wollaton Hall and Deer Park said on
social media that the level of foraging
had become “intolerable” to the deer
population. It added that people trying
to knock off chestnuts off branches had
damaged mature trees.
Visitors had also been picking mush-
rooms, which were “a vital asset to the
park’s ecosystem”, the park said.
Others commented that they had
seen families collecting chestnuts in
shopping trolleys and bin bags.
A spokesman for the park added that
it believed people collecting chestnuts
in trolleys and carrier bags were doing
so for commercial gain, which is illegal.
However, in a statement, the council
admitted that a ban would not be legal-
TMS
diary@thetimes.co.uk | @timesdiary
No tears shed
for Argentina
Forty-seven years after he wrote
the lyrics for Evita, Sir Tim Rice is
glad the title character came from
Buenos Aires rather than Blaenau
Ffestiniog. “Something that
helped me considerably during
the writing of Evita was the fact
that Argentina was such a lovely
word and it always sang well,”
Rice says during his 23-part
course on writing musical theatre
for the BBC Maestro website. “It
seemed to fit different rhythms or
different tempos very easily.” Had
Eva Perón, below, come from a
different country, her main song
wouldn’t have been so successful
and the whole production might
have been a flop. “Don’t cry for
me Wales doesn’t quite work,”
Rice acknowledges. “Nothing
against Wales, mind you. They’ve
got a good rugby team.” Though
he recorded that before Wales
were knocked out of the rugby
World Cup. By Argentina.
If stranded on a desert island and
allowed to take just one book, the
Countdown presenter Susie Dent
would cheat and take all 20 volumes
of the Oxford English Dictionary.
“In its pages you’ll find comedy,
passion, tragedy — and thousands
of hidden stories,” she tells Reader’s
Digest. Though most people would
get no further than one about an
aardvark called Aaron from Aarhus.
word to the wise
At 90, Madhur Jaffrey is still
acting, though she wishes Asian
women were given more
interesting roles. “We were
either cast as doctors or
terrorists,” she tells Waitrose
Weekend. “Then terrorists’
mothers.” When she was a
mere 85, Jaffrey made
her debut in a hip-hop
video, playing a crime
boss’s grandmother.
“They asked if I
19
News
ly enforceable, saying: “We do have ran- about the environmental impact of wild mushrooms from the New Forest taken against commercial foragers by
gers and volunteer rangers who patrol wide-scale foraging and in 2016 the since the 1970s, was arrested and Natural England.
the park. While we cannot enforce it as Forestry Commission, now Forestry accused of stealing 6.5 kilos (14.3lb 5oz) Nottingham council said: “Wollaton
such, our team will educate people on England, suggested that mushroom of them. is slightly different from other areas
over-foraging and recommend other picking was illegal in the New Forest. The case was dropped several in that it’s a wild deer park and the
local green spaces.” However, under common law it is not years later with the judge ruling herd relies on things like
Lucy Buckle, who runs the Notting- an offence to pick one of the “four Fs” that it was a civil matter and chestnuts and other edi-
ham Forager blog, disagreed with the — fruit, foliage, fungi or flowers — as criminal proceedings ble plants and nuts to
attempts at a ban, saying sustainability long as they are growing wild, are for “wholly inappropriate”. survive. Given that
was at the heart of the hobby. personal use and are not a specially Criminal prosecu- some visitors were
She told BBC Radio Nottingham: “I protected species. tions have been taking such large
think putting an outright ban on some- It is illegal to forage for commercial successful in Epping amounts away and, on
where like Wollaton Hall results in all purposes on private land, although the Forest, Essex, and occasions, being abu-
the responsible, sensible foragers going few prosecutions have been met with civil action has been sive to our staff and vol-
elsewhere and everybody who was will- little success. unteers when challenged,
ing to break the law by foraging com- In November 2002 Brigitte Tee- Some people collected we decided to introduce a
mercially will continue to do so.” Hillman, 63, who had picked and sold the chestnuts in trolleys foraging ban.”
The practice of foraging has always
been controversial with those who
manage England’s forests, despite it
being a long-established right under
common law in England.
The right to collect wild plants and
mushrooms was enshrined into law
with the 1217 Charter of the Forest,
which ruled that since wild plants and
mushrooms grew without man’s help
they belonged to no one.
There have always been concerns
minded using the f-word,” Jaffrey
says. “I’m an actress. If I can play
Lady Macbeth and kill people,
what’s the harm in saying a word?”
the class menagerie
Shyness doesn’t seem a problem
for Clive Myrie now, but when the
future broadcaster first went to
school he didn’t speak a single
word for weeks. “The teachers
were very worried about me,” he
admits. Eventually, he plucked up
the courage to open his mouth.
“My mum has lions and tigers in
the house,” was his first utterance
in class. “Then the teachers were
even more worried about me,” he
says, “though I was actually
talking about the ornaments on
our mantelpiece.”
Yesterday was 60 years since Harold
Macmillan left office and some
things haven’t changed. Journalists
have long taken flak from every side.
Ned Sherrin used to tell a story
about Macmillan chatting to John
Morgan, a BBC presenter, and
complaining about bias. “In which
direction?” Morgan asked. Macmillan
paused and then with a sweep of his
hand replied: “In all directions.”
a porn in the game
Spies, Lies and Deception, a new
exhibition at London’s Imperial
War Museum, has some
unexpected stories of British
intelligence. One featured Gustav
Siegfried Eins, a German radio
station broadcasting from
Bedfordshire that aimed to reduce
enemy morale. First they had to
get an audience in Germany,
which they achieved by
broadcasting pornography. All is
fair in erotica and war but for
some this was too far. The
government minister Stafford
Cripps heard a broadcast and
immediately raged about it to
Anthony Eden, then the
foreign secretary. “If this is
what it take to win the
war,” Cripps said, “I
would rather lose.”
patrick kidd
20
News
Gang smuggled thousands into UK
David Woode Crime Correspondent
An asylum seeker who became the
ringleader of a multimillion-pound
operation that smuggled up to 10,000
people into Britain on small boats has
been jailed for 11 years in Belgium.
Hewa Rahimpur, 30, orchestrated
the people-smuggling empire from his
home in Ilford, east London. The Iran-
ian Kurd, who travelled to the UK by
unknown means in 2016, was the linch-
pin of a pan-European gang that adver-
tised their smuggling services on Face-
book and other social networks.
They charged migrants up to £6,000
to make the dangerous journey across
the Channel in cheap dinghies.
The former barber is said
to have sourced hundreds
of small boats in Turkey
before arranging for
their transport to hold-
ing sites in Germany,
the Netherlands and
Belgium. Once 60 pay-
ing migrants had been
assembled in migrant
camps, Rahimpur would
then direct the boats to be dis-
patched to the French coast at
short notice to try to avoid detection.
Rahimpur was arrested by National
Crime Agency (NCA) officers in Wan-
stead Park, east London, in May last
year. He was driving home from work in
a Mercedes S-Class when officers
served him with a European arrest war-
rant. He was wanted by authorities in
Belgium and tried to resist extradition
by claiming he had a partner and a child.
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Get on barge
or lose cash,
migrants told
Matt Dathan Home Affairs Editor
Dozens of migrants are to be moved
back to the Bibby Stockholm barge
under rules that would punish those
who refused to be transferred.
Those who refused would be evicted
from their hotel within 24 hours and
treated as a trespasser if they remained.
They would be given five days to move,
after which their asylum accommoda-
tion support would be withdrawn.
Their weekly cash allowance of £47.39
would also be discontinued.
The department’s plan to return
migrants to the Bibby Stockholm is due
to be enacted tomorrow. All 39 asylum
seekers who were removed on August 11
following the discovery of legionella
bacteria have been issued with notices
Lifejackets seized in Germany were destined for use by Hewa Rahimpur, left, arrested in Wanstead, below of intent to move them back.
The Times can also reveal that the
However, he never pro- Rahimpur’s network at the time of his Home Office has secured a second
vided evidence of close arrest was “one of the most prolific barge and is in talks with another port
family, the NCA said. criminal groups involved in small boat over plans to berth it there.
During his trial in Bruges, crossings”. When he appeared at West- Letters have also been sent to other
prosecutors accused him of being minster magistrates’ court, Rahimpur migrants who are in hotels saying the
engaged in “systematic human smug- told the judge: “I’m not a British citizen Home Office intends to transfer them
gling” using small boats. A court was but can I come back to the UK, depend- to the Bibby Stockholm. They will be
told migrants were charged between ing on what happens in Belgium?” given five days to challenge their
£3,000 and £6,000 to make the cross- Kathryn Philpott, a senior investi- transfer, with three criteria: carrying a
ing. Rahimpur was jailed for 11 years. gating officer at the NCA, said she be- life-threatening infectious disease that
Another 19 people were convicted lieved Rahimpur got involved in people would put others at risk; evidence of a
alongside him and received jail terms smuggling after seeing how lucrative it serious physical or mental health
ranging from 30 months to eight years. was. She added: “There are always problem that would put them at risk on
Craig Turner, the deputy director of people ready to step up and it’s our job to the barge; and where an individual
investigations at the NCA, said that catch them and bring them to justice.” required regular access to medical care.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Mix and match The artist Matt Dosa carries his work Assembled past his installation Assemble. Both are at the Affordable Art Fair in Battersea, southwest London
Facial recognition tech
targets worst shoplifters
David Woode Crime Correspondent
Gangs and prolific shoplifters will be
targeted by “revolutionary” facial
recognition technology as the
Metropolitan Police tackle retail
crime and violence against workers.
Scotland Yard started a pilot
scheme in August, when 12 “leading
retailers” in London gave officers
images of the 30 most prolific offend-
ers. The force declined to disclose
which companies took part, but it is
understood that they were a mix of
chain and independent stores.
Facial recognition technology uses
the measurements of a person’s face
to create a template that is compared
with images. The system works on
pictures from CCTV, dashcams,
doorbell cameras and even “photos of
photos’’. It uses the same algorithm as
the Met’s live facial recognition
technology, for which the force has
faced concerns over potential bias.
Officers fed images of the suspect-
ed offenders through a database. Of
the 302 shared images, the system
produced 149 matches in about a
minute. The Met said the relevant
Prison worker and inmate lover dealt drugs
Shayma Bakht
A prison health worker “flooded” a
jail with smuggled drugs and weap-
ons with the help of her inmate lover,
a court has been told.
Amy Hatfield, 38, was employed as
a mental health nursing assistant at
HMP Lindholme, in South Yorkshire,
where prosecutors said that she made
“any drug” available to inmates.
Sheffield crown court was told that
Hatfield, who joined the prison in
2018, had a sexual relationship with
inmate Joseph Whittingham, 35,
according to the BBC. Their affair
was at the heart of the largest prison
2GM
retailers would be contacted to help
officers build a criminal case.
Lindsey Chiswick, director of intel-
ligence at the Met, said yesterday:
“Facial matching could be applied
across different areas of policing in a
lawful, ethical and proportionate way
and in consultation with our
communities. It’s revolutionary.”
Chiswick, who is also national
policing lead for facial recognition,
said the algorithm had been “inde-
pendently tested” so it was accurate.
Facial recognition technology is
being used to protect women and
girls from violence and trap the
modern slavery gangs who coerce
victims to shoplift “in volume”.
The Met said that it received
50,000 reports of shoplifting last
year, a figure thought to reflect up to
10 per cent of the actual offences.
Commander Kyle Gordon, of the Met
unit responsible for retail crime, said
the force was committed to using
“precision, crime-fighting methods”.
He said retailers were coming to
the force “time and time again” with
CCTV images of suspects they
believed were prolific offenders. “In
drug-smuggling ring ever uncovered.
Seventeen people are being sen-
tenced for roles in the conspiracy.
Prosecutors said that heroin,
MDMA, Spice, ketamine and canna-
bis were take into the prison. South
Yorkshire police uncovered the
smuggling network after Hatfield,
from Barnsley, was caught with drugs
worth about £1 million. She was
arrested in October 2019.
Hatfield’s role involved assessing
vulnerable prisoners for possible
mental illness, but the court was told
that she would regularly hold fake
appointments to deliver packages.
Toxicology tests found the Spice
21
News
Man wrongly
jailed for rape
lives in tent
Tom Ball Northern Correspondent
A man who spent 17 years in prison
for a crime he did not commit has said
he is broke and living in a tent.
Andrew Malkinson’s conviction for
the rape of a young mother in July
2003 was overturned by the Court of
Appeal in July after DNA analysis
linked the crime to another person.
Malkinson, 57, is living in a tent in
Seville, southern Spain, surviving on
benefit payments as he waits to be
compensated for years behind bars.
He said he could have to wait two
years despite the government saying
his case was “an atrocious miscar-
riage of justice”. He added: “I’m on
benefits. I’m homeless and waiting
for them to do the right thing.”
Emily Bolton, his lawyer and dir-
ector of the legal charity Appeal, has
said the arcane compensation system
means payment may take years.
Malkinson said living in a tent in
Spain let him enjoy “anonymity and
nature”. He added: “I don’t trust the
British. Hillsborough. Bloody Sun-
day. They can’t face the truth.”
the most serious cases we would get
there,” he said. “But sometimes we
didn’t and they felt let down.”
Gordon said that the technology
“cuts right through that”, relieving
pressure on the Met handlers who
took up to 10,000 calls a day. “We can
assess what they have and decide the
most appropriate action,” he said.
Sir Mark Rowley, the Met commis-
sioner, held talks with “retail leaders”
to discuss ways to reduce prolific of-
fending. “We’re pushing the bounda-
ries and using technology to rapidly
identify criminals,” he said. “The re-
sults we’ve seen are game-changing.”
Emmanuelle Andrews, of Liberty,
the human rights organisation, said
that facial recognition had “no place
on our streets, in our shops or in any
other areas of our lives”.
She added: “This technology
threatens our privacy and stifles free
speech. We should all be worried
about moves to expand its reach.
We’re also concerned about the creep
of facial recognition technology into
other areas of policing.
“We cannot rely on tech to solve
deep societal problems.”
recovered from Hatfield matched a
batch that killed an inmate, Kyle
Batsford, who had been bullied into
testing the drug in September 2019.
Gordon Stables, for the prosecu-
tion, said: “The police are not aware
of another case of this scale. The
quantities of drugs and phones with-
in the prison were so great that prices
dropped, making them even more
affordable for inmates.” .
The 17 defendants all admitted or
were found guilty of drug supply or
money laundering charges between
February 2020 and August this year.
The sentencing hearing is due to
conclude on Monday.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 23

News

Scotland’s
Greenland
red alert ice close to
as Storm tipping point
Babet hits
Adam Vaughan Environment Editor

F
orecasters
have issued a The second-biggest ice sheet on Earth
red weather will pass a tipping point leading to its
warning for complete loss if global warming contin-
heavy rain ues its rise to about 2C above pre-
that may endanger industrial levels, scientists have warned.
lives and leave The researchers from Europe said the
communities in the Greenland ice sheet could be pulled
worst-affected areas back from collapse if humanity mana-
“cut off ” for days ges to bring global temperatures back
(Emma Taggart down with gargantuan new forests and
writes). machines sucking CO2 from the air.
The Met Office has Greenland’s ice sheet is already melt-
warned that Storm ing due to the 1.2C of climate change
Babet could cause that humans have caused. Rain first fell
buildings to collapse on the summit in 2021. Were the ice
and bring “extensive sheet to vanish entirely, which could
flooding” in parts of take hundreds or even thousands of
Scotland. The red years, it would lead sea levels to rise by
warning runs from an apocalyptic seven metres.
6pm today to midday Using computer models, Nils Bochow
tomorrow and covers of the Arctic University of Norway and
Aberdeenshire and Teignmouth is blasted by gale force winds as Storm Babet hits the south coast. Red and yellow rain warnings have been issued for the UK colleagues found that the threshold was
Angus. It is the first between 1.7C and 2.3C of global warm-
red warning issued in rain in 36 to 48 hours. of the UK. Areas of Great Western 30mm and 50mm of England, with similar ing over pre-industrial levels. While the
the UK for rain since There is a high risk central and northern Railway said that poor rain is expected in amounts of rain. Areas Paris agreement committed countries to
Storm Dennis in of flooding and the Scotland could conditions along the southeast England of the far northeast of holding temperature rises to 1.5C or
February 2020. loss of water, gas and experience winds of Dawlish coastal route tomorrow, with a England could “well below” 2C at worst, the world is on
The worst affected electricity supplies. up to 80mph today. meant fewer trains yellow rain warning in experience as much as track for 3.2C.
areas are forecast to The storm is The storm has were running. place. A yellow 150mm of rain, the The good news, he said, is that the ice
expect between forecast to bring already caused The Met Office has warning will also forecaster said. sheet could avert a total loss if the tem-
200mm and 250mm of strong winds to much disruption in Devon. said that between cover northeast perature rise were, within centuries,
brought back below 1.5C.

Kew plants move ‘is scientific vandalism’

Seren Hughes, Lucy Bannerman
Scientists have accused the leaders of
the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew of
“cultural and scientific vandalism” in a
row over plans to move one of the
world’s most important plant collec-
tions to a science park outside Reading.
With more than seven million dried
plant specimens, the 170-year-old Kew
Herbarium is a treasure trove of infor-
mation that is used by academics from
around the world to study everything
from natural chemistry that may
inspire new drugs to how crops are
reacting to climate change.
The senior managers at Kew want to
move the collection, which includes
specimens dating back to 1696, to new
facilities at the Thames Valley Science
Park where, they claim, it will be better
protected against the fire, flood and
pests and have more space to expand
than is available at its home in south-
west London.
However, the plans have prompted a
backlash from several eminent bota-
nists, who say that isolating the her-
barium from the living collections in
the gardens, the Jodrell laboratories,
the library and other scientists based at
Kew would be an expensive mistake
that would disrupt urgent efforts to
tackle the biodiversity crisis and miti-
gate climate change. They say that the
relocation, which may cost £200 mil-
lion and take seven years, will hamper
the work of scientists who are in a race
against time to identify and conserve
plant species before they go extinct.
Relations between the leadership
team and scientists at Kew are under-
stood to have become so acrimonious
that an external consultant has been
brought in to break the impasse.
In a letter to The Times, signatories
including Professor Sir Ghillean Prance,
former director at Kew, said that the ad-
vice of staff with expertise in the field
was “being ignored” and urged Richard
Deverell, the current director, to recon-
sider. They said that separating the her-
barium “will seriously impair” Kew’s
successful research model.
Robert Scotland, professor of system-
atic botany at the University of Oxford
called the relocation “an act of astonish-
ing ignorance”, while a campaign group,
Keep the Herbarium at Kew, has called
the move “cultural and scientific van-
dalism” and more than 15,000 people
have signed a petition against the move.
Opinion is divided among scientists but
some experts, such as Dr Peter H Raven,
emeritus professor at Missouri Botanical
Garden, support the move to a “modern,
carefully climate-controlled” facility.
Professor Alexandre Antonelli, Kew’s
director of science, said: “This is a strate-
gic and widely supported plan that
involves fully digitising the plant
collections, relocating them to a safer
site . . . and developing our facilities at
Kew Gardens so that we are better
placed to tackle the urgent and growing
challenges of biodiversity loss and
climate change.
“This move will strengthen collabora-
tion between institutions and create
new science facilities across our sites to
support our critical research. We will of
course continue to consult colleagues
and others in the scientific community
to ensure its success.”
24 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

News

Chairman of Harry’s old polo club Sainsbury’s

fights to demolish glass sunroom
Jonathan Ames Legal Editor
A glass sunroom is at the centre
of a court battle between one
of London’s leading fashion
couples and the chairman
of the Duke of Sussex’s
former polo club.
Howard Davis, head of
the Ham Polo Club in south-
west London, has gone to
the High Court in an attempt
to force Oliver and Tamara
Benjamin to demolish part of
their home.
Lawyers for Davis have told a
judge that the Benjamins had ex-
tensively renovated their property
in the gated Rutland Lodge Estate
in Richmond upon Thames, which
they bought in 2014.
Davis’s neighbours are said to
have created a modern house
that is estimated to be worth
£2 million and includes a first-floor
glass-cube sunroom. The polo club
boss has claimed that the develop-
Howard Davis, the
chairman of Ham
Polo Club is suing
his neighbours
over their
“obtrusive” glass-
cube sunroom
and terrace
ment has resulted in a “loss of
360-degree privacy” and is “obtru-
sive, intrusive, out of character and
proportion”.
Oliver Benjamin claims to have
dressed musicians and politicians at
his clothing shop in the City, and
his wife is a public relations
specialist with an online fashion re-
tailer. Davis lives in one of the four
apartments in Rutland Lodge and is
a director of the company that owns
the estate.
The court was told that despite
the Benjamins owning the free-
hold of their house, the company
has provisions that allow the dir-
ectors to veto alterations.
In 2015 a redevelopment was ap-
proved in principle, which includ-
Oliver and
Tamara
Benjamin
made major
alterations
ed plans for a first-floor
sunroom. However, by the
time the plans were ap-
proved a year later, the glass
room was larger and there
was a first-floor roof terrace.
The work was completed
six years ago but continuing
anger over the final design has
resulted in legal action.
Objecting to a subsequent
planning application in 2021
recycling
centres to
be binned
Adam Vaughan
Environment Editor
Sainsbury’s is closing the remain-
ing recycling centres at all its
stores, despite the company stating
on its website that it is “making it
easier for customers to recycle”.
The supermarket has started to
close its recycling points, which
take cans, glass, plastic, paper and
other materials. The company has
made no public announcement
about closures being nationwide
but The Times can confirm it is
closing all of its recycling centres.
The move comes two years after
Sainsbury’s was one of the main
sponsors of the Cop26 climate
conference in Glasgow.
Recycling is one of the super-
market’s six core “pillars” for tack-
ling climate change. The company
still claims on its website that it has
273 recycling centres. However,
the Times understands closures
will mean 249 sites are being axed,
suggesting 24 have already gone.
“Gutted to read on a notice on
the glass recycling facility that they
will no longer be providing this
service,” one customer of a Sains-
bury’s store in Liphook, Hamp-
shire, posted on an online forum.
Several people have reported on
Facebook that customers are still
from the Benjamins, Davis dumping recycling at sites where
said “a far larger building facilities have been removed.
was proposed” and ultimately A source in the waste industry
built than that agreed. said the move by Sainsbury’s
Davis and the other “makes life harder for consumers”.
directors are now They said many supermarket sites
suing in an attempt would have been granted planning
to force the demoli- permission partly because of offer-
tion of the sunroom ing to host recycling facilities.
and terrace. Sainsbury’s said: “To avoid dupli-
Mr Justice Bright- cating the recycling services
well said he was under offered by local councils, we’re
the impression that instead focusing on materials that
the company and the are traditionally harder for
couple had settled the customers to recycle at home, such
case this year, but noted as flexible plastics, which we
that they were again keen collect in all our supermarkets.”
on a full trial. Household recycling rates have
The dispute will return stalled at about 45 per cent during
to court at a later date. the past decade.

I N T H E T I M E S T O M O R ROW

ARTS SPORT
PHILIP STEVE JAMES
NORMAN England’s batsmen
Secrets of a are failing to master
rock biographer the powerplay
PULLOUT MAIN PAPER

BRICKS&MORTAR
GENERATION
RENT(S)
Tales from tenants
aged 20 to 80
PULLOUT
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Corporate money for
the arts? Bring it on
Laura Freeman
Page 26
Vow of ‘never again’ has never felt so hollow
The aftermath of the Gaza hospital blast has revealed that too many in the West do not want Israel to succeed
Juliet
Samuel
@citysamuel
I
breakfasted in a rage. It was a
silent rage — my children are far
too young for this stuff — and an
unwelcome one. God knows, I’ve
spent most of my adult life trying
deliberately to stay out of this
particular fight. Who could ever
compete with the self-appointed
forensic historians of the Israel-
Palestine conflict? How could one
ever calmly or authoritatively go up
against the champions of one side or
the other without digesting ten
Bibles’ worth of information?
For a diaspora Jew, what was to
be gained other than the uneasy
feeling either that one would never
get a fair hearing, or that you might
later find you had defended the
indefensible?
But this detachment is now
impossible. I had gone to bed in a
state of disquiet and introspection. I
support Israel doing what needs to
be done to make itself safe and I
hope it has the wisdom to work out
what that is. But a whole hospital
full of children? Was it a terrible
accident? If not, what were they
thinking? And there was this
thought: are all these stories really
only based on the say-so of
“Palestinian officials”? Isn’t
“Palestinian official” in Gaza simply
another word for Hamas — you
know, those genocidal terrorists who
were slaughtering babies last week?
So it appears. Hence the teary rage
as I decapitated the boiled eggs and
scraped at the butter. If you had
made up the plotline, it would seem
far-fetched. For some critical number
of hours, the BBC, The New York
Times and various other globally
significant western media declared as
verifiable fact that Israel had killed
500 civilians by destroying an entire
hospital.
Vital summits between President
Biden and Arab leaders aimed at
preventing escalation were cancelled
and mass protests erupted across the
Middle East. The “fact” of the
hospital strike is still very much alive
in large parts of the world, aided on
its way by our own connivance.
Back in reality, it turns out that
what had actually happened was
that a terrorist rocket misfired and
landed on a car park, killing an as
yet unknown number of innocent
people but leaving the hospital
almost entirely intact. When the
truth emerged, most of the media
outlets did not issue corrections,
admit they had relied on Hamas
sources for a major news story, send
The worst offenders
were those most likely
to lament ‘fake news’
out fresh notifications, review their
editorial policies or reverse their
emotive headlines to blame the
terrorist group for the latest
senseless massacre. They
prevaricated, added weasel-worded
caveats and quietly tweaked phrases
to maintain the initial impression so
that, for example, a BBC subhead
stating “hundreds killed” became
“hundreds were taking shelter”. And
almost a whole day later,
demonstrably false social media
posts parroting Hamas’s original
lines were still live online.
The very worst offenders were
those most likely to lament the
spread of “fake news”, to see
themselves as guardians of
moderation and truth; the same
outlets that had taken days of careful
parsing to verify and report claims
that dozens of Jewish babies were
murdered by terrorists last week.
By contrast, the leading voices
debunking Hamas’s lies were a set of
scrupulous, open-source intelligence
analysts employed at various global
think tanks or niche media, posting
the evidence for free on X/Twitter.
Now, as with Israel, I very rarely
weigh in on the BBC. It’s another
debate poisoned by bad faith. But
these events are utterly beyond the
pale. The BBC is this country’s most
recognisable and credible presence
in the world and is still seen
domestically as an authoritative
source of fact.
Yet on a story with implications for
the stability of the entire Middle
East, if not the world, and for the
safety of Jews here in Britain, the
corporation became a conduit for
terrorist propaganda. Will its
journalists go to bed plagued by
doubt and introspection? Will
anyone be fired? Will any of its
policies change?
I have always thought that, despite
its flaws, the BBC was ultimately a
force for good. But everyone has a
moment when their perception
flips. The moment I stopped trusting
the scientific establishment was
when we learnt senior scientists had
lied about their views on the Covid
lab leak. And this is the moment
when I stopped believing in the BBC.
Meanwhile, the war is grinding on.
I am under no illusions that
everything Israel does will be noble
or right. But the cause is just and
must prevail.
What is clearer than ever is that
the governing classes of far too many
western institutions want Israel to
Comment
Hundreds died but truth was also a
casualty at the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza
fail. They want it to fail physically, as
they state with increasing
brazenness.
But just as importantly for their
fragile worldview, they want it to fail
morally. They need this failure
because without it, all their
nonsensical, convoluted political
theories, all the ridiculous victim
hierarchies and weird psychological
complexes projected on to the
world, make no sense and will be
revealed as the worthless, nasty nest
of guilt and prejudice they really are.
That is why organisations
supposedly devoted to the truth,
such as “impartial” media and
venerated universities, have instead
become allergic to it.
After the Holocaust, every civilised
nation said “never again”. In Europe
that meant building memorials,
holding candle-lighting ceremonies
25
and rolling out education for every
new generation.
But we are seeing now the hard
limits of that commitment. It is being
superseded by modern fashions,
ideologies and tribes, just as Zionists
always knew it would be.
That is why “never again” meant
something different in Israel. It
meant never again will we rely on
others to protect us and be led, as
some of the postwar generation
This war has managed
to unite both sides of
the Jewish soul
infamously put it, “like lambs to
slaughter”. It meant that the Jews
would have to change from a
culturally rich but dispersed,
bookish people to a strong nation
of Torah-reading warriors, taking
inspiration less from the persecuted,
wandering prophets of old and more
from the Maccabees and ancient
Israeli kings.
The tension between these two
sides of the Jewish soul has run
through much of Jewish literature
and society ever since. Ultimately,
we need the wisdom of both sides —
the kibbutz-dwelling peaceniks
and tortured diaspora intellectuals
as well as the gun-toting strategists
and uncompromising negotiators.
This war, and Israel’s enemies, are
now achieving what no novelist or
wise man has ever managed: to
unite both sides.
red box
For the best analysis
and commentary on
the political landscape
26
Comment
Corporate money for the arts? Bring it on
Business sponsorship is distasteful to some but galleries can’t simply rely on state subsidies
Laura
Freeman
C
risp morning, blue sky and
brilliant sun outside the
Fondation Louis Vuitton in
Paris. Built by that starriest
of starchitects Frank Gehry,
the foundation is looking its flashiest,
trashiest best. This isn’t a discreet
museum tucked away in a maison
particulier. This is a gleaming Dubai-
sur-Seine, a temple to art paid for by
champagne, perfume and luxurious
small leather goods. Magnifique.
If there’s a part of me that wrinkles
my nose at the giant LV logo above
the door, where in a more traditional
museum you might have a frieze to
the glory of the muses, it is
handbagged into submission by the
part of me that wants to clap
Bernard Arnault — managing
director of Louis Vuitton Moët
Hennessy and the second-richest
man on earth — on the shoulder and
say: “Chapeau, mon brave”.
We are too squeamish about
corporate sponsorship of the arts.
There is a noisy contingent who pout,
petition and protest against nasty,
dirty businessmen funding museums,
galleries, opera houses and literary
festivals. It’s the Extinction Rebellion
(XR) eco-occupiers who lay siege to
the British Museum over its links to
BP. It’s the signatories who berate
Sadler’s Wells for its partnership with
Barclays, financer of fossil fuel
extraction. It’s the authors who
Janice Turner Notebook
Communal
karaoke
offers safety
in numbers
L
ittle would persuade me to
perform karaoke, so I wasn’t
hugely looking forward to a
friend’s “massaoke” birthday
party. This, he explained,
was karaoke without the individual
humiliation (or glory, I suppose) of
solo performance. Instead, live
musicians play non-stop bangers and
the lyrics come up on giant screens
for a mass singalong.
The Electric Ballroom in London’s
Camden was rammed, hot and ear-
bleedingly loud; I was tired after a
long week. But the minute the band
struck up, bare-chested in camp
rock sequins, I was jumping up and
down, bawling along to everything
from the Killers’ Mr Brightside to
Abba’s greatest. (How do rock stars
sing and dance at the same time? I
was soon out of puff.) The evening
ended with — what else? — Queen’s
Bohemian Rhapsody, in all its
baroque magnificence, with 1,500
people head-banging: part
demand that the Edinburgh literary
festival cut links with Baillie Gifford,
an investment company that invests
2 per cent of its clients’ money in
firms with an interest in fossil fuels.
As one must always say at this
juncture, I am not a climate change
denier. I’m anti-plastic and pro-vest.
I’m a zero-waste zealot but a net zero
sceptic. We’re going to need fossil
fuels for some time yet. So I support
the protesters’ concerns but not their
means or their timeline. I have a
hunch that what XR really hates is
less the spoliation of the planet, more
big business, men in suits, the City and
all its works — the usual cufflinked
villains loathed by left-leaning
students and unemployed graduates.
At this point I’d rather
donations went to the
Tate than to the Tories
This leaves museums and galleries
in a bind. The same angry young
men and women who deplore BP,
Baillie Gifford and Barclays also hate
the idea of charging for entry. A
reminder: cost of an adult ticket to the
Louvre, €17; cost of an adult ticket to
the Metropolitan Museum of Art in
New York, $30; entry for an adult to
the British Museum, free as the wind
— if the wind were heavily subsidised,
sponsored and topped up with sales
from novelty Rosetta Stone rubbers.
Corporate money — out. Ticket
revenue — out. That leaves money
from government, which to the
bucket hat-wearing rebels is in
every other context the wicked
witch but in the context of arts
communal opera, part religious rite.
Knees have only so many miles in
them and Madonna used up most of
hers drop-squatting to Music on her
2001 Drowned World Tour. Watch
that performance now and,
depending on your knee age, you’ll
either think “wow” or “ow”.
Knees are mercurial, fine for
weeks then some inner tectonic plate
shifts and there’s pain like a mule’s
kick. Sensibly, on her current tour
Madonna is wearing a neoprene
brace. I wouldn’t want to find
myself doubled over during
the trancey chorus of Ray of
Light either. And since I must
wear one for exercise, I’m
hoping Madonna is
making knee braces
fashionable — although
disappointingly, hers is in
basic black. Couldn’t she
and Jean Paul Gaultier
collaborate on a mildly
raunchy range of
orthopaedic supports in
gold Lurex and PVC?
Cellar assault
E
ven before I read
Alice Thomson’s
column on the
Swedish practice of
“death cleaning”, last
month I’d begun tackling
the cellar, where for 20
years every unwanted or
funding becomes the good fairy.
It’s a delusion, though, that grants
are automatically good or that
funding comes without ties. Talk to
the directors and finance officers at
small galleries and they will tell you
of form-filling and hoop-jumping and
100-page submissions (see: supporting
documents) with no guarantee of the
requisite cheque. At a time of budget
cuts, the effort invested becomes
ever more of a gamble. It takes
clever, passionate, creative curators
away from the business of putting on
exhibitions, caring for collections
and running a top-notch half-term
activity week for children and their
parents. As it happens, Arts Council
England has proved itself very far
from a good fairy when it comes to
its capricious, ill-thought-through
treatment of English National Opera.
Cuts, demands for a relocation,
continuing uncertainty about future
support — I’d rather take my
chances with the money men.
The aversion to business greasing
the arts is deep-rooted. Walking past
the Frieze art fair tents last week I
saw a sign to the Deutsche Bank
lounge and, yes, there went my nose,
wrinkling away. Deep-rooted — but
that doesn’t mean it can’t be rooted
out. We need a complete mental shift
so that when you see “The Credit
Suisse Exhibition: Frans Hals”
outside the National Gallery or
“Hyundai Commission: El Anatsui”
on the wall of Tate Modern’s Turbine
Hall, you don’t say: “Sound the
Mammon klaxon!” You say: “Good
old Hyundai! Three cheers for Credit
Suisse! And how about another
million sterling next year?”
If it means tax breaks and
broken object has been dumped to be
dealt with “later”.
Well, later has come. I see the
home as a mind filled with one’s
habits and preoccupations — a clear-
out is therapy. Nothing that entered
my childhood home ever left it, so
my mother couldn’t move for useless
yet somehow indispensable clutter.
Life and homes must
move on.
Now, wishing to spare
my kids the (hopefully
far-off) task of death
cleaning, I’m bent
double like a coal miner
in the cellar, hauling out
rubble bags of revision
notes, mouldy T-shirts
and ancient camping
gear. (CDs are a
quandary: we never play
them, but they feel too
valuable to chuck out.)
Anything functioning but
unneeded — toys, books,
crockery — I put on a
wall outside to vanish
into the city’s eco-
system. It’s how we got
our kitchen chairs.
And the truth is it’s
deeply satisfying: the
obverse of the nesting
impulse that surprises
you in pregnancy. The
only impediment to
death cleaning is that
knighthoods, why not? We give
peerages for donations to political
parties. At this point in our electoral
cycle I’d rather the money went to
Turner Contemporary than the
Conservatives. Let’s have, à la Louis
Vuitton, a Mulberry Museum and an
Anya Hindmarch Gallery of Applied
Arts. There are risks, of course.
Problematic, those Sackler galleries.
And as for Henry Tate . . .
But not all profit is evil, whatever
the placards might say. You may also
correctly point out — putting Arnault
and his deep philanthropic pockets
aside for a moment — that French
government funding of the arts is
generous. It is. But, I would argue,
having lived in Paris and done
practically a gallery a day for a year,
that French galleries are at best
laissez-faire and at worst lazy when it
comes to the money-spinning side of
things. No café, no shop (or a paltry
café and a creased postcard shop) and
no nice, big room to hire for a
wedding. That goes for the big
tourist-pulling chateaux and gardens
as much as for the artist’s house in a
sleepy commune. Handouts foster
dependence. Tight purse-strings make
small British galleries nimble. But
you’ve got to sell a lot of flat whites
before you can pay the insurance bill
on a world-class collection.
We need a much better, brasher,
more boastful culture of arts
philanthropy in the UK. And if that
means a Burberry concession in the
British Museum, well, I’ll take a
keyring.
the living don’t like it. Every chucker-
outer marries a hoarder, so I must
operate by stealth.
Daughter knows best
I
watched the director Richard
Curtis being interviewed by his
daughter Scarlett at the
Cheltenham Literature Festival.
Since then she has received cruel
flak for nepotism (which she joked
about on stage) and being a wokester
chiding him because his films
contain sexist jokes about women’s
fat thighs and almost no roles for
black people. Yet Curtis is quite a
prickly man who detests interviews,
doesn’t need publicity and would
never have exposed himself like this
to a journalist, while Scarlett’s
questions, although more brutal
than most interviewers would have
dared ask, were delivered as an
affectionate tease.
The dynamic between them was
fascinating and rather lovely:
adoring, funny yet fragile daughter,
who has written about her serious
mental health problems, and a rock-
solid father she calls “ten times a
day” who, perhaps reluctantly and
painfully, has opened himself up to
new ideas to please her. No one can
shift a stuck-in-his-ways middle-aged
man like his little girl.
@victoriapeckham
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
We’re all held back
by the failings of
amateur bosses
Ann Francke
L
eadership in British business
has not had a glowing
year. Serious allegations of
sexual misconduct, toxic
workplace cultures and
ineffective leadership at some of our
best-known organisations have
dominated headlines and boardroom
conversations alike.
While unacceptable behaviour at
work is nothing new, business and
leadership standards are now subject
to intense scrutiny from employees,
shareholders and politicians. And
what may feel like one-off cases are
symbolic of a bigger problem in the
UK economy: bad management.
Based on conversations with more
than 4,500 UK workers and
managers, research by the Chartered
Management Institute and YouGov
reveals the scale of damage that bad
managers have on staff, companies
and the wider economy. While one
in four people in the UK workforce
holds a management role, only 27
per cent of workers describe their
manager as highly effective. Workers
who describe their boss as
“ineffective” also say their companies
are struggling to hit targets, recruit
and keep new talent, promote the
best people and create a positive
work environment.
Crucially, we found that bad
management perpetuates toxic work
cultures, with one in three workers
leaving jobs due to negative work
cultures and almost one in five
saying they have wanted to report
concerns or wrongdoing within their
organisations but feared retaliation
from superiors.
The problem lies in the lack of
commitment to train our managerial
class. Our study found that most UK
managers (82 per cent) are promoted
into management without training.
These “accidental managers” are
rising through the ranks while UK
plc is falling victim to the cult of the
amateur leader — those who believe
they can learn on the job without
formal guidance.
As a result they avoid difficult
conversations about inappropriate
behaviour, shy away from addressing
underperformance and fail to pay
attention to legitimate concerns of
their workforce.
Having spent many years working
in the United States and Germany,
I’ve seen how British business often
seems to admire those who muddle
through, while other countries
prioritise investment in training their
leaders. Indeed, research finds that
more than half of the productivity
gap between the UK and the US can
be attributed to poor management.
The UK’s leaders, in industry and
in government, need to take skilled
management and leadership
seriously and stop shying away from
expecting it — and enforcing it — at
every level.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Buy prints or signed copies of Times cartoons from our Print Gallery at timescartoons.co.uk or call 020 7711 7826
If only we’d had Nigel Lawson for lockdown
The ex-chancellor would have deployed intellectual rigour rather than the squabbling laid bare by the Covid inquiry
Iain
Martin
@iainmartin1
I
t is easy, emerging from a
memorial service dedicated to
the life of a public servant you
admired, to conclude that things
ain’t what they used to be. Back
in the day, only 40 years ago, wasn’t
the quality of Tory statecraft and the
general standard of national life
much higher?
Even accounting for ageing and the
tendency to romanticise the past, I
found it impossible on Tuesday not to
give in to mourning for a lost age when
watching the grandees and retired
officials assembled to celebrate the
extraordinary achievements of Nigel
Lawson, the hugely consequential
Thatcher-era chancellor.
I’m not sure Lawson would have
agreed with my sentimental view. He
had a finely honed sense of the
ridiculous and an understanding of
the ultimate futility of much human
endeavour. The choice of the first
reading, Ecclesiastes i, 1-14, reflected
his humour and realism: “What has
been is what will be, and what has
been done is what will be done; there
is nothing new under the sun . . . All is
vanity, and a chasing after the wind.”
Speaking of which, Dominic
Cummings is readying himself to
give evidence to the Covid inquiry.
He has submitted his statement and
will answer questions on October 31.
I have become engrossed by the
Covid inquiry. On Tuesday, sitting in
the pew at St Margaret’s Church in
Westminster listening to the tributes,
I found myself wondering whether
politicians of the Lawson-Thatcher
generation would have made better
decisions in the early phases of the
pandemic than their Johnson-era
successors. Unavoidably, the answer
is yes. Although Lawson may have
started — like Boris Johnson — as a
journalist, he developed a robust
approach to the evidence and to
Closing schools for the
best part of a year was
a monstrous decision
decision-making. There was a hard-
headed seriousness, a careful
weighing of history and ideas that
contrasts with the frenetic character
and short attention span of modern
politics. In the Covid inquiry we are
discovering what happens when the
new approach collides with a
pandemic.
Perhaps understandably given the
crisis in the Middle East, the
hearings chaired by Baroness Hallett
are receiving relatively little attention
at Westminster. Early criticism
amounted to asking: why will it take
so long and what is the point?
The point is becoming clearer by
the day. The inquiry is steadily
revealing the workings — or failings
— of the British state. It is
instructive, and at points downright
horrifying, what we are learning
about one of the greatest public
policy failures since the Second
World War. The impression from the
WhatsApp groups is of a bunch of
boys squabbling amid the panic.
Advisers criticise Carrie Johnson —
how convenient that the wife of the
prime minister gets the blame rather
than the man paid for the buck to
stop at his desk.
Of course, in the earliest phase,
when the nature of the disease was
unknown, it made sense to exercise
caution so doctors could establish
the risks and the NHS could cope.
There was an understandable
Whitehall fear of a breakdown in
order. But the decision to close
schools for the best part of a year
and not to reopen them after that
first Easter, during a pandemic in
which the young were not remotely
at risk and the average age of death
was over 80, was monstrous. As was
the restriction of other health
services and social services.
One can easily imagine Margaret
Thatcher or Lawson concluding that
alongside the medical models there
would have to be detailed work on
the blow to the economy of closing
down society and the impact on
patients with other diseases. All this
would then be weighed. The
evidence to the inquiry so far suggests
that in 2020 this did not happen.
This week we heard from
Professor Mark Woolhouse of
Edinburgh University, a member
during the crisis of Spimo (the
Nobody modelled the
harms of social
distancing measures
Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group
on Modelling), which modelled for
No 10 how social distancing and
lockdown might reduce transmission,
cases and deaths. Their brief was to
stick to this. Woolhouse said the
harms caused by lockdown were not
modelled. Not the economic harms,
nor the educational harms, the
effects on access to healthcare,
societal wellbeing, mental health.
None of it. “As far as I could tell, no
one else was doing it either,” he said.
Woolhouse was a hero in the
pandemic in that he pushed back
against those advocating total
elimination of Covid when it was
unfashionable to do so. The now-
27
Comment
disgraced, then-heralded, first
minister of Scotland was for the
illusory madness of zero Covid.
Professor Neil Ferguson, the
modeller on whose work so much of
the crisis in Britain hinged, was cross-
examined this week and put under
pressure. The extreme measures, the
shutting down of society, were
precautionary, he stressed, and drew
inspiration from autocratic Hong
Kong and disciplinarian Singapore.
Shamefully, we as a country went
along with it. Not until too late did
many of us — me included — realise
how a group in government had got
high on the idea that scientific
modelling could be combined with
technological tyranny to control the
population. All balance seems to
have been lost in the whirl.
We wait to hear what Cummings
has to say. He is intelligent and it will
be interesting to see if he can
balance a defence with constructive
humility to shed light on the disaster.
Other ministers will give evidence.
They were all operating in a grim
situation.
I am not hymning the Lawson era
and suggesting there used to be
perfection in human affairs or public
policy. Lawson made mistakes. After
all his success as a tax reformer, he
underestimated the explosion of
credit. But he and his colleagues
would have been much more
effective during a pandemic.
28
Letters to the Editor
Plans to uproot
Kew’s Herbarium
Sir, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s
director and trustees have a stated
intention to move the Herbarium
collection from Kew Gardens to a
building to be constructed at the
Thames Valley Science Park at an
estimated cost of £100 million to
£200 million. The driving force for
this plan is the claimed risk to the
specimens despite Kew’s 170-year
stewardship of the most important
botanical collection in the world,
which is universally acknowledged as
exemplary. Herbaria are essential
resources in understanding how plants
have and will react to a changing
climate, providing information on
how flowering patterns have changed,
and harbouring the DNA that can
inform on adaptation processes and
the chemistry that might inspire the
development of pharmaceuticals.
A major concern of the science staff
is the separation of the herbarium
collections from the living collections,
a world-famous botanical library,
students and the Jodrell laboratory
that support the herbarium scientists,
which will remain in Richmond. This
separation will seriously impair the
interactions necessary for the
synergistic model of research. The
world’s leading botanic gardens
(Missouri, New York, Geneva, Sydney,
Singapore) have their living and
herbarium collections and science
staff co-located, so there seems little
global precedent for these plans.
Decisions on the future of this vital
collection are being taken by
individuals with little or no expertise
in collections-based research or
curation, and the advice of their staff,
whose experience in the field is
immeasurably greater, is being
ignored. Given the time-critical
nature of the biodiversity crisis and
the climate emergency, diverting
limited funds, focus and priorities
from urgent action to at best a
contentious infra-structure project is
a mistaken and ineffective strategy.
Professor Muthama Muasya,
University of Cape Town; Professor
Sir Ghillean Prance former director,
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew;
Professor José Sarukhán; Robert
Scotland professor of systematic
botany, University of Oxford
Professor Pam Soltis University of
Florida; Professor Quentin Wheeler
former keeper of entomology, Natural
History Museum, London
Letters to The Times must be exclusive
and may be edited. Please include a full
address and daytime telephone number.
Corrections and
clarifications
The Times takes
complaints
about editorial
content seriously. We are committed to
abiding by the Independent Press
Standards Organisation (“IPSO”) rules
and regulations and the Editors’ Code of
Practice that IPSO enforces.
Requests for corrections or
clarifications should be sent by email to
feedback@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
Feedback, The Times, 1 London Bridge
Street, London SE1 9GF
Gaza hospital strike and proportionate war
Sir, Richard Sewell, canon of St
George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem,
describes the lethal strike on al-Ahli
Arab hospital as “deliberate” and with
“no possible justification”, and King
Abdullah of Jordan denounces it as a
war crime (“Outrage at hospital
attack”, Oct 18). The truth is that we
don’t know. We do know that the
Israeli defence force is normally
scrupulous in discriminating between
combatants and non-combatants,
according to the laws of war. We also
know from its attack on October 7
that Hamas is not so scrupulous.
Whoever was responsible, if the
strike was intended to kill non-
combatants, or if it failed to take all
reasonable steps to minimise the risk
of so doing, it was grossly criminal.
But it may have been an error. During
the invasion of Normandy in June
1944, Allied bombers killed 30,000
French civilians, not because they
intended to, but because they lacked
the technical means of bombing more
accurately. That was tragic. But it was
not morally unjustified.
Nigel Biggar
Regius professor emeritus of moral
theology, University of Oxford
Sir, Daniel Finkelstein presents a
characteristically thorough analysis of
the need for a measured response by
Israel (“Only chance of peace is a
proportionate war”, Oct 18) but he does
not explore fully who is measuring.
There are many dynamics shaping
that decision-making and one of those
is the dilemma faced by Binyamin
Netanyahu, who has shown that he is
prepared to bend democracy to stay
in power. He will now, realising that
Handwritten exams
Sir, With apologies to Mark Twain,
rumours of the death of handwriting
are greatly exaggerated, which I hope
comes as some relief to Melanie
McDonagh, (“Exam board is willing
the death of handwriting”, Thunderer,
Oct 18). I agree that handwriting is a
skill and I have been clear that it’s not
about to go away, at least as far as
exams are concerned. As I have said,
I am quite wedded to the idea that
examinations should be a mix of
appropriate media. I do not see us in
any sort of foreseeable future
throwing out the notion of asking
people to pick up a pen or pencil.
So it’s simply wrong to say that we
are willing the death of handwriting.
And it’s wrong to imply that students
‘PLAIN MEN’
WHO WRITE
TO THE TIMES
from the times october 19, 1923
Letters often reach us which begin
thus: “Allow a plain man to say a
plain word” concerning this or that
matter of politics. The subjects are
generally of great technical
difficulty. The plain men tell us in a
few words how to stabilise German
currency, stem unemployment, and
conduct the diplomacy of Europe.
To them it is all miraculously
simple. They pride themselves upon
their plain ignorance — far be it
from them to share the guilty
knowledge of the statesmen they
despise — but they have a plain
remedy for every ill. They cannot
the failure to prevent the Hamas
action has cost him his political
future, be weighing up what it will
take to convince the nation to trust
him again with their security. His
judgment may not align with any of
those argued by your columnist.
Mark Banham
Beechingstoke, Wilts
Sir, As the latest episode of the
tragedy that is Palestine/Israel
unfolds in its most brutal iteration
there is little point in seeking to
apportion blame. Two wrongs never
make a right. Daniel Finkelstein’s
lament “where should we go” (Oct 11)
applies equally to both communities.
The six million people in Israel are
not going anywhere and neither are
the three million Palestinians, many
of whom are corralled behind a wall
in Gaza. The idea that either
community is somehow obliterated or
permanently subjugated, should be
abhorrent to everyone. Both sides
must recognise that fundamental
truth as the first step to a resolution.
Gerard Connolly
London SW11
Sir, Simon Boas (letter, Oct 17) quotes
Lord Atkin: “In England, amidst the
clash of arms, the laws are not silent”.
I always believed this; now I wonder.
The laws were written by nations that
no longer truly feared existential
conflict. Were any of us faced with a
choice between the law and watching
our families die horribly then I doubt
many would stay their hands. Israel,
rightly or wrongly, believes it faces a
war of annihilation. Facing an enemy
that wishes to kill every one of its
will stop handwriting in schools. It’s
time, however, to widen the range of
media we use. Like the ancient
Sumerians and their little clay tablets,
we are making the most of available
technology.
Colin Hughes
Chief executive, AQA
Sir, Exam marking is only made
tolerable by the variety of
handwriting. Whether beautifully
crafted or scribbled, character and
personality emerges, giving a glimpse
of the person behind the writing.
Studies have also revealed that typing
reduces our processing and makes us
less careful. Long may the art of
handwriting continue.
Andrew Copeman
Head of upper sixth, Latymer Upper
School, London W6
for the life of them understand why
these remedies are not instantly
applied. Why, for example, do not
diplomatists speak their minds plainly
as plain men do at parish meetings?
That, surely, would solve all the
problems of the world. After much
more in the same vein, our plain
correspondents repeat, Sir, that they
are disgusted. Who is this plain man
and what is his plain purpose when
he turns aside from his disgust?
Where does he live? What is his
business when he is not occupied in
plain speaking at parish meetings?
Has he a feminine counterpart in the
plain woman who expects the affairs
of Europe to be conducted with that
direct simplicity which her experience
has proved to be effective at the
Dorcas Club? First, without doubt, he
is modest, bold, and accomplished —
modest because he is willing and
eager to confess that this business of
politics, as he scornfully calls it,
means absolutely nothing, bold
Letters to the Editor should be sent to
letters@thetimes.co.uk or by post to
1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF
citizens, I doubt many will now walk
quietly to the gallows.
James Hall
Colonel (Ret’d), Isle of Lewis
Sir, We are a group of UK
paediatricians who are compelled to
speak out about the British
government’s inadequate response to
the catastrophe in Gaza. We deplore
the terrorist actions of Hamas and
call for the immediate release of all
hostages. Right now there is a child
health emergency in Gaza. A million
children’s lives are imperilled by the
actions of the Israeli government.
International law forbids the
collective punishment of a civilian
population and also forbids the forced
removal of civilians. Spurred on by
uncritical support from western
governments, Israel continues to
commit these heinous war crimes.
The violent targeting of civilians by
Hamas and Israel is destroying hope
for the stable, peaceful, just and
secure future that all children in the
Middle East need in order to build
their lives. Calling unequivocally for a
ceasefire and for the upholding of
international law is the minimum that
can be expected of any government in
this situation. For the sake of Israeli
and Palestinian children, our political
leaders must do better.
Dr Alex Armitage, consultant
paediatrician, Shetland; Dr Nadia
Shad, paediatric registrar, London;
Dr Jyotsna Nair, consultant
paediatrician, Aberdeen; Dr Syed
Muneeb Qadri, paediatric speciality
doctor, Aberdeen; Dr Frances
Denniss, paediatric registrar, London
Plus 33 signatories at thetimes.co.uk
revel in this elegant
book showing times
readers at their most
whimsical and droll
because he nevertheless writes
about it; and accomplished because,
by his own claim, he has a rare gift,
often vainly sought after by
philosophers, of saying plainly what
he thinks. The distinction between a
parish and a continent are to him
transparent, and therefore invisible.
However nations may shift and
falter, plain men are the same the
world over, an international
organisation of which each member
who writes to us is, apparently, the
self-appointed spokesman. They dip
in the same disgusted ink. They
write fluently in the name of Truth
and Common Sense while others,
less fortunate, labour in the grip of
circumstance. What response is
possible? Perhaps none better than
that of the parish meeting which, in
obedience to immemorial custom,
falls unalarmedly asleep.
thetimes.co.uk/archive
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Wet Westminster
Sir, It will not surprise anyone
working in health, social services or
criminal justice settings to hear that
alcohol consumption at Westminster
was behind many of the episodes of
bad behaviour, including sexual
misconduct, intimidation and bullying
(“Culture of drinking in Westminster
‘fuelling bad behaviour by MPs’ ”,
Oct 18). We already know how closely
it is linked to intimate partner
violence in the UK and other violent
crimes. We know that alcohol works
to decrease inhibitions and impair
judgment. While in small quantities it
can be a social lubricant, the line is so
easily crossed when the very part of
your brain that should be checking
your decision to take another drink is
already dampened by the first drink.
Serious thought needs to be given
by those in Westminster to
introducing public health measures
that can reduce “bad behaviours”.
Licensing law restrictions, better
labelling, progressive taxation and
limits on advertising, as well as more
support for those who want help for
alcohol problems, would be a start.
Lastly, although alcohol is a factor
it does not excuse the behaviours,
rather it removes the handbrake to
the underlying attitudes.
Dr Rachel Turner
GP specialising in addictions
Overton, Hants
RSPCA trap
Sir, Janet Hutson’s description of
dispatching squirrels (letter, Oct 18 )
suggests she has established a good
relationship with the RSPCA, unlike
myself. Some years ago, after catching
a squirrel in a humane trap, I
proceeded to drown it in a rainwater
tub. I was spotted by a neighbour and
reported to the RSPCA. Their
representative came and told me I
could be fined £3,000 or sent to
prison for six months but, because it
was my first offence, I would be let off
with a caution. Evidently I should
have released it in a park or in the
countryside. All a bit of a shock.
Margaret Morris-Marsham
London SW12
Short-changed
Sir, Malcolm Rogers’s suggestion of a
99p coin (letter, Oct 18) would defeat
the original purpose of pricing this
way. Items at 19 shillings and 11 pence
were once common. This aimed to
force the shop assistant to open the
till and give a penny change, thereby
registering the sale. A £1 item could
result in the note being slipped into a
pocket — “to put in the till when
we’re less busy” — and then
“forgotten” about.
Richard Shaw
Prestatyn, north Wales
Sniffy French
Sir, With reference to the
onamatopoeic words for sneezing
(letters Oct 16 & 18) , what about the
French equivalent of “bless you”,
which is “à tes souhaits”?
Lynda Wallace
Kilmarnock
Shake it all about
Sir, I have enjoyed watching several
World Cup rugby teams doing the
haka and its variants before matches.
Could the English reply by doing the
hokey cokey?
Annabel Ridley
Richmond upon Thames
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Daily Universal Register
UK: RIBA Stirling prize awards ceremony to
the architects of the UK’s best new building.
Egypt: António Guterres, the UN secretary-
general, is due to visit Cairo for talks.
Nature notes
This country
contains a huge
transport network:
paths, bridleways,
lanes, dual
carriageways,
motorways. But
humans are not the only animals to leave
semi-permanent tracks on the Earth’s
surface. For 20 years, a badger path has
meandered up a field on Bagby Moor in
Yorkshire. Despite the many different crops,
the path has remained. Whether the field
has been used to pasture shorthorn cattle or
to raise crops like wheat, fodder beet, oats or
potatoes, the badger path has described
exactly the same trajectory: a gentle S bend.
Surviving repeated ploughing and
harrowing, and constant drenchings in
various chemicals and fertilisers, the track
continues to link the ancestral sett with its
favoured feeding ground.
jonathan tulloch
Birthdays today
Fred Emery, pictured,
author, broadcaster
(Panorama, 1978-80,
1982-92) and foreign
correspondent for The
Times (1961-70), 90; Sam
Allardyce, football
manager, Bolton
Wanderers (1999-2007) and England (2016),
69; Dame Kate Bingham, venture capitalist,
chairwoman, UK government’s Vaccine
Taskforce (2020), 58; Tracy Chevalier,
novelist, Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999), 61;
Lord (David) Clark of Windermere,
chairman, Forestry Commission (2001-09),
84; Dame Elizabeth Corley, chairwoman,
Schroders, chief executive, Allianz Global
Investors (2012-16), and crime fiction
novelist, 67; Sir Angus Deaton, economist,
Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic
sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel (2015),
Economics in America: An Immigrant
Economist Explores the Land of Inequality
(2023), 78; Jon Favreau, actor, producer and
director, Iron Man (2008), The Mandalorian
(2019-23), 57; George Fenton, composer,
Gandhi (1983), Dangerous Liaisons (1989),
Groundhog Day (1993), 74; Dame Jayne-
Anne Gadhia, founder of Snoop (financial
management app), chief executive, Virgin
Money (2007-18), 62; Robin Holloway,
composer, Clarissa (1976), emeritus professor
of musical composition, University of
Cambridge (2001-11), 80; Evander Holyfield,
boxer, four-time world heavyweight
champion, 61; Gloria Jones, singer, Tainted
Love (1964), 78; Carol Kidd, jazz singer, The
Night We Called It a Day (1990), 78; Peter
Max, artist, best known for psychedelic art
and pop art, 86; Lord (Bill) Morris of
Handsworth, general secretary, Transport
and General Workers’ Union (1992-2003),
85; Sir Philip Pullman, author, His Dark
Materials trilogy, 77; Jason Reitman, film
director, Juno (2007), 46; Ken Stott, actor,
Rebus (2000-07) and The Hobbit film series,
69; Godfrey Worsdale, art historian,
director, Henry Moore Foundation, 56.
On this day
In 1987 Black Monday occurred when the
Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged a
record 508 points (22.6 per cent in value).
The last word
“We should be considerate to the living; to the
dead we owe only the truth.” François-Marie
Arouet, better known as Voltaire, the
French philosopher, in a letter (1719)
Bridging the Gulf
Conflict in Gaza threatens to prematurely end the normalisation of relations between
Israel and its neighbours. President Biden must do all he can to calm tensions
It was less than three weeks ago that Jake Sullivan,
national security adviser to President Biden,
declared: “The Middle East region is quieter today
than it has been in two decades.”
The amount of time he was obliged to spend
dealing with “crisis and conflict” in the region, he
said, was significantly less than for any holder of
his office since the 9/11 terror attacks. How swiftly
and utterly things have changed. Biden, who held
talks with Binyamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv yester-
day, now has no more urgent task than to ensure
relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours
do not regress to a state of debilitating hostility.
The president’s trip could not have got off to a
worse start. The deaths of hundreds of Palestin-
ians in an explosion at Gaza’s al-Ahli hospital —
which many in the region and beyond reflexively
blamed on the Israel defence forces — provoked
mass protests not only in the West Bank but across
the Arab world. Even as an Israeli dossier and
other independent analyses indicate that the fatal
damage was due instead to a misfired Palestinian
rocket, the outrage on the streets of Arab capitals
is unlikely to subside. That presents Biden — and
leaders in Egypt, Jordan and the Gulf states —
with an invidious choice between stability and
anarchy.
Cracking the Lock
Ministers should be scrapping the pension triple lock, not tinkering with it
The chancellor’s decision to review next year’s rise
in the state pension is a sensible if politically
perilous one.
Experts estimate that a tweak to the formula
used to calculate the pension, the triple lock, could
save the Treasury up to £2 billion a year — a signif-
icant sum when finances are tight.
Under the triple lock mechanism, the pension
should increase in line with whichever is highest
out of average earnings, inflation or 2.5 per cent.
On the relevant figures, annual earnings should
determine the increase as they have risen by
8.5 per cent, easily outstripping the latest inflation
rate of 6.7 per cent.
Ministers have argued, however, that the earn-
ings data is artificially high because of the one-off
bonuses paid by the government to settle public
sector strikes. When those bonuses are stripped
out, average earning figures more accurately
reflect underlying wage growth at 7.8 per cent.
If, as now seems more than possible, Jeremy
Hunt announces in his autumn statement that the
lower figure has been preferred, pensioners will be
the losers. The retired could be out of pocket by up
Creating a ‘super’ national nature reserve in Somerset is excellent news
While some UK planning law, should a govern-
ment ever muster up the courage, requires urgent
liberalisation if housebuilding requirements are to
be met, other legislation governing new develop-
ment must never come under threat.
Those statutes restricting construction in
national parks, areas of outstanding natural
beauty and sites of special scientific interest need
to be maintained and honoured. So must the pro-
tections afforded to national nature reserves, the
least well-known of the various designations
which shelter the jewels of the British landscape.
Happily, these scores of small parcels of wild
Years of painstaking diplomatic achievement
are at stake. Difficult though it is to recall in this
moment of heightened tension, in recent years the
Palestinian conflict appeared to have become a
geopolitical sideshow. Since 2020, the Abraham
Accords had normalised diplomatic relations
between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bah-
rain, Morocco and Sudan. Taken together with
existing Israeli treaties with both Egypt and Jor-
dan, it was possible to see the agreements as the
basis of a new settlement in the region. The ulti-
mate prize — the normalisation of relations
between Israel and Saudi Arabia — had even
begun to look plausible, if not likely.
This nascent regional order has not yet been
shattered but is undoubtedly precarious. In the
hours after the explosion at al-Ahli, King
Abdullah of Jordan, President Sisi of Egypt and
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian
Authority, all pulled out of scheduled talks with
Biden. That is a measure both of popular
opposition to any accommodation with Israel
among its Arab neighbours and the sensitivity of
those governments to public opinion. They
themselves are not impervious to the forces now
at play in Israel and Gaza.
For these countries, pursuing stable and cordial
to £74 a year should the state pension rise by only
7.8 per cent.
Ministers are right to consider this measure,
even though they risk provoking a powerful
backlash. Campaigners will complain that while it
represents only a tinkering at the edges of the
triple lock policy, fiddling the figures in this way
amounts to a serious breach of the manifesto
promises made by successive Conservative
administrations. A revolt of angry pensioners is
the last thing ministers need in the run-up to a
general election.
As the former Tory leader William Hague has
argued in these pages, however, the government
should be going much further. Ministers should, in
fact, be seeking cross-party consensus for funda-
mental reform.
It has become increasingly clear that the triple
lock — a seemingly immovable keystone policy
since David Cameron’s coalition government in-
troduced it in 2010 — is ultimately unsustainable.
Under the existing formula, pensioners’ incomes
have risen faster than average wages and they
seem likely to continue to do so. While that is good
Magic Mendips
tranquility remain in rude health. Indeed, they are
expanding — and also linking up, via the creation
of so-called “super” national reserves, the latest of
which covers the magnificent Mendip Hills in
Somerset. Thirty-one existing reserves, plus some
land previously not managed for conservation,
have been amalgamated. This newly protected
corridor, encompassing ancient woods, grassland
plateaux and the limestone slopes of the
spectacular Cheddar Gorge, obliges local
authorities to have “due regard” for the impact of
any proposed development on the habitat, flora
and fauna in and around the reserve.
29
Leading articles
relations with Israel was always fraught with dom-
estic political risk – but the almost unquantifiable
long-term rewards were a more sustainable basis
for peace and security, economic incentives from
the United States, and a bulwark against Iranian
aggression. The risk now is that, regardless of ana-
lysis of the hospital explosion, leaders spooked by
unrest on their streets conclude normalisation is
more trouble than it is worth. Mr Netanyahu,
meanwhile, is kept in office by a coalition of ultra-
religious, hard-right parties with little interest in
Palestinian self-determination or constructive
relations with the Arab world. It is a combination
that could yet kill normalisation.
That, as Mr Biden well knows, would be disas-
trous. It would not only undo many years of hard
work but vastly increase the risk of an escalated
and protracted regional conflict. Both he and
Rishi Sunak, who visits Israel today, must do all
they can to ensure Arab states do not have cause
to act rashly. The president made a good start in
calming tensions yesterday. Mr Netanyahu’s gov-
ernment will not now block basic humanitarian
aid from entering Gaza through the Rafah cross-
ing with Egypt. Neither the US, nor leaders in the
Middle East, can allow this difficult moment to
destroy any chance of stability.
news for the older generation, who have seen their
pensions eroded in the past, it is arguably fast be-
coming an unfair burden on younger people strug-
gling with spiralling bills.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated
that the triple lock will cost between £5 billion and
£45 billion by 2050. The Organisation for Eco-
nomic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
has called for it to be scrapped to ease pressure on
the public finances, arguing: “In the longer term,
fiscal space will be under pressure as age-related
spending is rising. The current pension uprating
will be costly in the future.”
Yet both the Conservatives and the Labour
Party have pledged their commitment to it.
As Hague put it, politicians aware that older
people are the most likely to vote have treated the
triple lock as akin to “a very fierce sleeping dog
that hates anyone to tread on its paws”. However,
many pensioners who see their children and
grandchildren struggling with the cost of living
may be amenable to reform if it is carefully man-
aged. The government can no longer afford to let
this sleeping dog lie.
Natural England says the aggregation of small
reserves speeds up rural recovery and promotes
diversity, after centuries of human depredation, by
encouraging landowners to work and plan
together. That is excellent news for the lesser and
greater horseshoe bats, adders, skylarks, water
voles, hazel dormice, small pearl-bordered
fritillaries and a tiny creature called the black oil
beetle, much loved by Gerald Durrell, currently in
danger of extinction in these islands. The endemic
Cheddar pink flower will also be celebrating, as
will all those keen to preserve and enhance the
singular charm of the British countryside.
30
World
Iconoclast vows to take a
chainsaw to bloated state
Argentina
Stephen Gibbs Buenos Aires
Analía Brizuela Salta
Wielding a chainsaw above his head as
his supporters chanted “Freedom, god-
dam it”, Javier Milei was greeted by a
crowd of thousands as his campaign
caravan entered the historic centre of
Salta, a city in the foothills of the Andes.
Argentina’s presidential candidate, a
leather-jacketed iconoclast, was easily
spotted from a distance thanks to his
1970s rock star haircut. Salta was the
final provincial stop of Milei’s election
campaign, which will end this week
with a huge rally in Buenos Aires.
Milei is favourite to win the presiden-
tial vote, the first round of which is on
Sunday.
His pledge to hack down the bloated
state from its roots — which explains
the chainsaw — appears to have
resonated with millions of voters who
are ready to embrace the unknown.
That became apparent when he was the
surprise winner of a primary election
contest in August.
“I want change, I don’t really care
what it is,” one supporter in Salta, wear-
ing a yellow T-shirt with an image of
Milei as a lion, said. Others repeated the
slogan written on the front of the candi-
date’s car: that he is “the only solution”
to the country’s deep economic woes.
Milei’s rallies have the air of panto-
mime. In Salta a man emerged from the
crowd wearing a Spider-Man suit — an
apparent show of support for the
libertarian economist’s gravity-defying
ascent in the polls.
Several in the scrum were carrying
replicas of $100 bills with Milei’s profile
printed on the front. His team had
thrown the notes like confetti into the
crowd earlier. The presidential
hopeful’s core policy pledge is that he
will replace the country’s collapsing
peso with the American dollar.
The election is looking like a three-
way race between Milei, 52, who has
Vineyard pesticides cause leukaemia in children Perjury trial
France
Charles Bremner Paris
Children who live close to dense vine-
yards are subject to an increased risk of
developing leukaemia, researchers in
France have discovered.
The use of pesticides was cited by the
team from the National Institute of
Health and Medical Research (Inserm)
and Paris City University as the cause
of a “moderate” rise in youngsters’
chances of suffering from the disease if
there are large vineyards within one
kilometre (0.6 miles) of their home.
The study, which identified addresses
with surrounding vineyards, found
increased risk in the main wine-pro-
ducing regions, with the exception of
Bordeaux. The team did not study the
types of chemicals in question and they
cautioned that the increased risk was
modest. Their findings will, however,
feed strong public feeling in France
Argentina’s next president
Opinion poll last week
Javier Milei 34.1%
Sergio Massa 32.3%
Patricia Bullrich 24.4%
Don’t know yet 2.5%
Juan Schiaretti 2.3%
Myriam Bregman
2.1%
Won’t vote 1.2%
Blank vote 1.1%
Source: Circuitos
served as a congressman since 2021,
and the more established politicians
Sergio Massa, 51, the economics
minister in the left-wing government of
President Fernández, and Patricia
Bullrich, 67, the right-wing former
security minister.
Opinion polls are banned in Argenti-
na in the eight days before an election.
But one published last week by the
company Circuitos showed Milei with
34.1 per cent support, Massa with
32.3 per cent and Bullrich 24.4 per cent.
This week online spread-betting sites
were giving Milei close to an 80 per cent
chance of becoming president, a
Campaigners want “spray-free” buffers
in wine-producing areas with homes
over the health impact of the country’s
intensive use of pesticides on crops.
Glyphosate, the most common agri-
cultural herbicide, has been banned
from French household use since 2020
after the World Health Organisation
reported that it probably causes cancer,
but farmers and wine growers continue
to apply it. This week, France helped to
block for the time being a push by some
Javier Milei
brandishing his
chainsaw during
a rally in La Plata.
His views have
resonated with
millions of voters
in Argentina who
are ready to
embrace the
unknown and the
latest opinion
poll has him in
the lead
reflection of large stakes being placed
on a man who was seen as a distant long
shot only three months ago.
If there is no outright winner after
Sunday — having gained either 45 per
cent of the vote or 40 per cent and a ten-
point lead — the two candidates with
the most votes will take part in a second
contest on November 19. Pollsters have
said this is the most likely scenario.
Milei’s central message is that Argen-
tina’s “political caste” is incompetent.
He blames politicians, especially on the
left wing, for impoverishing the coun-
try through decades of interventionist
policies and theft. Bad administration,
he said, had turned a nation that only a
century ago was envied for its higher-
per-capita wealth than the US into one
that risks becoming “the biggest slum
on the planet”.
Many of those attending the Salta
rally said that for years, in some cases
generations, they had voted for Peron-
ism, the all-embracing political move-
ment, built on the idea of a protecting
state, that has governed Argentina for
most of the past 75 years. But now they
are prepared to break with the past.
“Our parents and grandparents
always voted for the same people. It
hasn’t worked,” one supporter said.
EU states for an immediate Europe-
wide ban. French campaigners, who
want 150-metre “spray-free” buffers
between vineyards and homes, blame
two fungicides used on vines — Folpet
and spiroxamine — as well as glypho-
sate for damaging human health.
The researchers calculated the area
of vine-growing around the homes of
3,711 children under 15 who had a dia-
gnosis of leukaemia between 2006 and
2013. They also examined the proximi-
ty of vines to 40,196 children who had
not suffered from the disease.
There was no additional occurrence
of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in
areas with a low level of vines within
1km but they detected a rise of up to
8 per cent in the disease’s incidence for
every 10 per cent rise in the area of vines
within that perimeter.
“We are highlighting a moderate
increase in the risk of leukaemia, which
encourages us to pursue our work,”
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Milei, a former rock musician who
holds a doctorate in economics, has
outlined a series of extreme libertarian
policy proposals, which include
scrapping the country’s central bank,
privatisation, loosening gun ownership
laws and slashing tariffs and taxes.
He has said his government would
not do business with China — Argenti-
na’s main trading partner — although
he emphasised that private companies
could do so if they wished. He has de-
scribed neighbouring Brazil’s left-wing
leader, President Lula da Silva, as “an
angry communist”.
Milei’s arguments, which he has
finessed in recent years as a pundit on
late-night television shows, have
appealed to millions of Argentinians
from a wide demographic — rich, poor,
urban, rural — all of whom have been
affected by the country’s worst
economic crisis since the 1990s.
Last week government figures
showed that inflation had soared to
138 per cent. It is now accelerating at its
fastest pace in 30 years, with the risk of
hyperinflation. On Argentina’s black
market the peso has slumped to below
1,000 to the dollar. Only three months
ago it was half that.
Analysts believe that the bad
economic data is good news for Milei’s
election prospects. “The higher the
general anxiety grows, the more anger
grows against the establishment — his
opponents,” Nicolás Saldías, of the
Economist Intelligence Unit, said.
Fernández, who is not seeking
re-election, has been keeping a
Come for a cup
relatively low profile for much of the
campaign but last week he emerged to of tea, Putin
make a legal complaint against Milei,
accusing him of causing a run on the
currency after the candidate
taunts Biden
P
commented that the Argentine peso resident Putin suggested
“was not worth excrement”. Milei said that “common threats”
the president’s move was the “final cry bound Russia and China
of a drowning man”. ever closer as he mocked
Washington and presented
Stéphanie Goujon, co-author of the
research, said. The team will now try to
may kill off
identify the chemicals that cause the
rise and examine the impact of pesti-
cides used on other crops.
wunderkind’s
“It should be recalled that the risk of
leukaemia remains low even in zones
with the most dense crops,” she added.
resurrection
“It represents 40 cases per million
children. Even with a 5 per cent rise, the Austria
risk remains low.” Her report appears in
David Crossland
Environmental Health Perspectives, an
open-access journal. Sebastian Kurz, the former Austrian
About 4 per cent of the population — chancellor who was the world’s young-
2.6 million people — lives less than 200 est democratically elected leader and
metres from vineyards, according to enchanted voters with a promise to
Générations Futures, a campaign root out corruption, has gone on trial
group. It placed sensors at different dis- for perjury.
tances from vineyards in the Bordeaux The trial, in Vienna’s regional crimi-
and Rhône in 2021 and 2022 and con- nal court, could either hammer the
cluded that the air was heavy with final nail in his political coffin or trigger
pesticides, dominated by fungicides a comeback for the man who was
that it said were classed by the EU as elected leader in 2017 at the age of 31.
suspected carcinogenics. Kurz resigned in 2021 after a separate
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
a united front with President Xi in
Beijing (Marc Bennetts writes).
On a rare foreign trip to China,
Putin ridiculed President Biden’s
claim that Russia had “already lost”
the war in Ukraine. “If the war is
lost, what are we talking about?”
Putin said. “Let [Biden] take back
the ATACMS [missiles] and all
other weapons, sit down for
pancakes and come to us for tea.”
Putin was the guest of honour at a
forum at Beijing’s Great Hall of the
corruption investigation that has yet
to come to trial.
In the case, which opened yesterday,
Kurz is accused of lying to a parliament-
ary committee about the promotion of
a close associate, Thomas Schmid, to a
top position as head of Öbag, a newly
formed state-owned holding company.
Schmid has since become a witness for
the prosecution.
If convicted, Kurz would face up to
three years in prison or, more likely, a
fine. As he arrived in court, he told a
throng of journalists that the investi-
gation was influenced by politics. “I
think that my statements are being mis-
interpreted and the words are being
twisted in my mouth,” he said. “But I
nevertheless hope for a fair trial and
that these accusations will be proven to
be false in the end.”
Kurz led his Austrian People’s Party
to two election wins but his chancellor-
ship was overshadowed by sleaze alle-
gations. He pulled out of a coalition
with the far-right Freedom Party in
2019 after its leader, Heinz-Christian
Strache, was secretly recorded discuss-
People to mark ten years of China’s
Belt and Road initiative, designed to
extend its global infrastructure and
energy networks.
Speaking after one-on-one talks
with Xi, Putin said that “external
factors” and “common threats”
were strengthening ties between
China and Russia. He also said that
Beijing and Moscow shared the
desire to run their countries as their
leaders saw fit, in an apparent swipe
at western criticism over human
ing deals with an actress posing as the
niece of a Russian oligarch in a villa on
the Spanish island of Ibiza.
Kurz was re-elected months later and
formed a coalition with the Greens, but
he resigned as chancellor in October
2021 after the fallout from corruption
investigations triggered by the “Ibiza
affair” engulfed him.
In addition to the perjury allegation,
prosecutors obtained messages from
Schmid’s phone that suggested he and
Kurz had used state advertising funds
to bribe one of the country’s largest
newspapers, the tabloid Österreich.
Kurz also allegedly induced the news-
paper to publish doctored opinion polls
that aided his ascent.
The trial centres on whether Kurz
was truthful about his role in the pro-
motion of Schmid in testimony to a par-
liamentary committee investigating the
Ibiza affair. The case hinges on subtle
linguistic distinctions such as whether
he was “involved” in the appointment
or merely “informed” about it. Prose-
cutors plan to call at least 18 witnesses,
including Strache and Schmid.
rights abuses by both regimes.
China has not imposed sanctions
on Russia over its invasion of
Ukraine, which it said was provoked
by Nato. It has also boosted trade
with Moscow, providing the
Kremlin with much-needed funds
for its war machine.
Analysts have suggested that
Russia’s increasing economic
reliance on China has turned
Moscow into the junior partner in
its relations with Beijing.
Crooner ‘in cahoots’ with Camorra clan
Italy
Tom Kington Rome
One of Naples’s best-loved romantic
crooners has been arrested in a mafia
round-up in another apparent example
of the close ties between “neomelodic”
singers and organised crime.
Tony Colombo, 37, whose hits have
included I am In Love with You and
Under the Stars, was one of 27 people
arrested during police raids on the Di
Lauro clan, a powerful group within the
Camorra, the Neapolitan mafia.
Investigators claim that Colombo
and his wife invested €500,000 in the
clan and backed a mafia-run clothing
line, Corleone, named after the Sicilian
town that spawned generations of Cosa
Nostra gangsters.
The couple are also alleged to have
backed a high-energy drink called
9mm, which came in a bottle shaped
like a bullet.
Meloni: EU open
borders allowed
terrorist to roam
Italy
Tom Kington Rome
Bruno Waterfield Brussels
Giorgia Meloni has warned other Euro-
pean leaders that mass migration to the
continent is a “grave” security risk after
a Tunisian illegal migrant killed two
Swedish football fans in Brussels.
Abdesalem Lassoued, 45, who was
shot dead by Belgian police on Tuesday,
first entered Europe through Italy,
landing on the island of Lampedusa in
2011 after escaping prison in Tunisia in
the upheavals of the Arab Spring.
He then travelled around Europe,
benefiting from the European Union’s
passport-free Schengen zone, despite
being deported from Sweden, after
serving time in prison and being an ille-
gal resident ordered to leave Belgium.
“I have repeatedly tried to attract
attention to how illegal, mass migration
can pose grave security risks in
Europe,” the Italian leader told a video
conference call of EU leaders on Tues-
day night.
Meeting in Brussels, the prime minis-
ters of Sweden and Belgium, Ulf
Kristersson and Alexander De Croo,
warned that the EU’s border-free travel
zone was at risk. “If we are not able to
protect our common borders, we will
not be able to uphold free movement
within Europe,” said Kristersson.
In a video Lassoued made minutes
after murdering two Swedish football
fans in replica shirts before a Euro 2024
qualifier in Brussels he boasted of
taking “revenge on the Swedes”.
His 12 years in the Schengen zone
epitomised the migration crisis facing
Europe and the problems governments
have in tracking, monitoring and expel-
ling criminals who can simply move on
to another European country.
After arriving in Italy, Lassoued trav-
elled to Norway only to be sent back to
Italy under the EU’s Dublin rules that
Colombo’s singing career has been on
the rise, with sold-out shows in Naples
and appearances on national televi-
sion. He has 714,000 followers
on Instagram. Tina Rispoli,
his wife, who was also
arrested, was married
before him to the
Naples mafia boss
Gaetano Marino,
who was gunned
down by rivals
while sunbathing
on a beach in 2012.
To celebrate their
marriage in 2019,
Colombo and Rispoli
rode through the streets of
Naples in a horse-drawn
pumpkin-shaped carriage preceded
by trumpeters, acrobats and jugglers.
Tony Colombo and his wife Tina
Rispoli were arrested in raids in Naples
31
Republicans reject Trump’s
Speaker pick again
Page 32
migrants must claim asylum in the
country they first arrive in. He then
travelled to Sweden where in 2012,
living in the port city of Malmo, he was
convicted on cocaine dealing charges
and imprisoned for two years.
In 2014 he was deported from Swe-
den, returning to Italy where he came
to the attention of the Italian security
services in Bologna after trying to trav-
el to Syria or Iraq to fight as a jihadist
with Islamic State. Placed in a holding
centre in Sicily in 2016 and due to be
repatriated to Tunisia, Lassoued’s
expulsion was temporarily suspended
on appeal by a judge.
Allowed to leave the centre, he van-
ished, later reappearing in Belgium. By
2017, he had settled in Brussels and
married a hairdresser with three child-
ren by another man before claiming
asylum in 2019.
He was ordered to leave Belgium two
years ago but stayed in Brussels living,
like 150,000 other people in Belgium,
under the radar of officialdom as a “sans
papier” unable to work. “Belgium asked
Italy to take him back in 2021, but the
request was turned down,” said an Ital-
ian interior ministry source.
Lassoued landed on Lampedusa the
same year as Anis Amri, the Tunisian
who became radicalised in jail in Italy
and drove a lorry into a Berlin Christ-
mas market in 2016, killing 12. Fleeing
to Italy, he was shot down days later by
a police patrol near Milan.
There are more than a million illegal
residents in the EU, based on annual
figures, who have ignored orders to
leave. In a U-turn on past EU policy,
Margaritis Schinas, the European
migration commissioner, urged Euro-
pean governments to agree to new fast-
track deportation rules.
“We propose mandatory forced
returns for people with convictions and
who are a threat to public order and
security,” he told MEPs on Wednesday.
The couple are also alleged to have
backed a Di Lauro clan scheme to buy
tobacco from eastern Europe and use it
to manufacture cigarettes in a
Naples warehouse to sell on
the black market.
Naples’s neomelodic
artists, who sing about
mafia life as well as
about love affairs,
have long been
associated with
Camorra clans,
which hire the
singers to perform at
mafia weddings.
Tony Marciano, a
Naples singer who blasted
“shameful” mafia turncoats in
a song, was arrested in 2012 on drug
dealing charges. Another popular
performer, Niko Pandetta, has
admitted that some of his lyrics were
written by his uncle, a jailed mafia boss.
32
World
Republicans
reject Trump’s
Speaker pick
for second time
United States
Hugh Tomlinson Washington
Will Pavia New York
A hardline Republican backed by
Donald Trump for the top job in
Congress has been rejected for a second
time, plunging the party into chaos.
Jim Jordan, chairman of the House
judiciary committee, failed to unite the
221 House Republicans behind him for
the position of Speaker, a decision that
threatens to paralyse government
operations for weeks.
The impasse has left Congress in
limbo, delaying votes on government
budgets since the ousting of the last
Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, the
California representative,
more than two weeks
ago.
No business can
be conducted
without a Speaker
and Jordan, a
firebrand from
Ohio who has
been described by
Trump as a “star”,
had already been
rejected by the party
when 20 Republicans
refused to back him on
Tuesday. He has now lost by
a wider margin, winning only
199 votes.
It was a blow to Trump’s control over
the party he is the frontrunner to lead in
the next presidential election. Trump
wrote on his social media site Truth
that Jordan would be a “great Speaker”
and had his “total endorsement”.
As the deadlock drags into a third
week and with no candidate apparently
capable of uniting the party to win a
majority, some Republicans have
opened talks with Democrats about
passing a resolution to expand the
powers of Patrick McHenry, the acting
Speaker, who stepped into the vacancy
after McCarthy was ousted.
That could allow Congress to re-
spond to the crises in the Middle East
and Ukraine and agree a deal to finance
the federal government beyond the
Topless meeting sends wrong massage Homeless people ‘exploited
Ed Halford
Few people would fault a high-flying
chief executive for ending a stressful
week with a massage, but as Tony
Fernandes, the AirAsia boss, found out
this week such luxuries may be best
enjoyed in private,
Fernandes, 59, has been roundly crit-
icised for receiving a topless massage
during a management meeting. The
former owner of Queens Park Rangers
football club shared a photograph in a
LinkedIn post, which has since been
deleted, saying that the massage had
been suggested by a colleague.
The Malaysian entrepreneur wrote
that it had been a “stressful week”,
adding: “Got to love Indonesia and Air-
Asia culture that I can have a massage
and do a management meeting.” The
November 17 deadline when the
present funding round is due to expire.
As Jordan’s defeat was confirmed, the
Republican congressman Mike Lawler
told CNN: “It’s up to him if he puts it to
a third ballot . . . but I don’t see the
outcome changing.”
Lawler said that he supported the
move to grant McHenry greater
legislative powers until Republicans
could agree on a new Speaker. “We
need to get to work,” he said.
Trump returned to a New York court
yesterday to watch a property appraiser
testify about valuations for some of his
signature buildings.
Trump is accused of inflating the
value of his properties to get
more favourable loans
from banks. The
$250 million lawsuit
brought by the state
of New York
threatens to strip
him of the right to
do business in the
city where he
made his name.
Trump denies
the claims. He has
described the case as
“a disgrace” and Letitia
James, the attorney-
general who is suing him, as
a “radical lunatic”.
Trump arrived in court half an hour
after the day’s hearing had been due to
start. In the witness box was Douglas
Larson, who had been cited as an expert
in evaluating properties in Trump
Organisation documents, which said
he had spoken regularly to Jeffrey
McConney, the company’s controller.
As Larson was cross-examined by
Lazaro Fields, one of Trump’s lawyers,
the former president could be seen
muttering to his attorneys. “Can the
defendant please stop commenting
during your witness’s testimony?”
Kevin Wallace, for the New York
attorney-general’s office, complained.
Judge Arthur Engoran said: “I will
ask everybody to be quiet. Particularly
if it’s meant to influence the testimony.”
The case continues.
Tony Fernandes shared a photo of
himself having a massage in a meeting
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Lavinia Valbonesi helped
Daniel Noboa win the
presidency through canny
social media use in a nation
with a young population
eventually dissolved this
year in an impeachment
effort against the sitting
president, Guillermo
Lasso. He then decided to
run for the presidency,
something his father, the
billionaire Álvaro Noboa,
had tried and failed to do
five times.
Valbonesi was initially
sceptical of her husband’s
decision to pursue a
high-level political
career. In an interview
with Radio Centro she
confessed that she had
asked him, “Why are you
getting involved?”
Seeking the presidency
in Ecuador, the setting for
a violent drug war, is not
without risk. In August
another presidential
candidate, Fernando
Villavicencio, was
murdered as he left a
political rally. When
Valbonesi, who is five
months pregnant, voted
on Sunday she wore a
white bulletproof vest.
The future first lady
has said that one of the
people she most admires
is Princess Diana. Her
next month she will his wife met in 2021 when stylist, Alex Márgary, has
The Gen Z become the world’s only
Gen Z first lady (Stephen
Noboa, married scion of a
wealthy fruit-exporting
said he asks himself when
choosing her outfits: “Is
influencer Gibbs writes).
Lavinia Valbonesi, the
family, approached
Valbonesi for advice on
this something Diana
would wear?” He said the
who’ll be wife of Daniel Noboa,
who won Ecuador’s
losing weight. She has
insisted their romance
present Princess of Wales
was another of
a first lady elections on Sunday, is
already being credited for
was not love at first sight,
“but he is a fairly
Valbonesi’s style icons.
Valbonesi’s time in the
S
he was brought up playing a key role in his persistent person and he political spotlight may be
in the marine success, particularly in ended up conquering relatively short. Her
paradise of the his campaign’s canny use me”, she told the El husband is taking over
Galapagos Islands. of social media in a Universo newspaper. what remains of Lasso’s
She shares country where a quarter Noboa was just term, meaning he has
nutrition and fitness tips of voters are under 29. beginning his career in been elected to serve
with her 390,000 After the inauguration politics, becoming a only until May 2025. But
Instagram followers. next month, Noboa will conservative the savvy couple may
Aged 25, she is expecting be the youngest president congressman in the already be planning their
her second baby. And Ecuador has had. He and assembly that was re-election campaign.
post showed Fernandes in a glass-
walled meeting room facing an iPad
for sexy charity calendar’
while a masked woman massaged his
neck. It was not clear who Fernandes Keiran Southern Los Angeles wanted to do something to highlight the
was speaking to in the video call. beauty and humanity of these people.”
The backlash was swift. The picture The creators of a calendar featuring Moriah Mills was living on the streets
was criticised on social media as Utah’s homeless population in “sexy” with her husband and four children
“unprofessional”, “disrespectful” and poses are being investigated after being when the group started a crowdfunding
“inappropriate”. accused of exploiting people. page to get them into a shelter, but she
Fernandes appeared to defend him- The Nomad Alliance, based in Salt said her husband was then pushed into
self in another LinkedIn post. “I’m no Lake City, produces a fundraising cal- posing for the calendar. “He was coerced
stranger to crisis and I believe it can endar each year filled with pictures of into doing those photos,” Mills said.
only make you stronger and wiser,” he bare-chested men who live on the Carol Powell, a retired Utah govern-
wrote. “You know who your friends and street. It says it raises awareness about ment employee, worked with the alli-
supporters are and who would be the homelessness. However, it has been ance this summer but filed a complaint
first to throw the stone.” accused of coercing subjects into pos- over the “exploitation of the Mills family
Fernandes was educated at Epsom ing for the $40 calendar, and Utah state and the sexualisation” of the husband.
College. He bought AirAsia from the officials have opened an investigation. Utah’s department of workforce
Malaysian government in 2001 for less Kseniya Kniazeva, who founded No- —services, which helps fight the state’s
than $1. According to Forbes, he is mad Alliance in 2020, denied the allega- homelessness problem, said that an
worth £275 million. tions and told The Washington Post: “I investigation was under way.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
world markets (Change on the day)
FTSE 100
7,588.00 (-87.21)
8,500
8,000
7,500
7,000
Sep 20 27 Oct 4 11 18
Oil prices surge after Gaza hospital blast raises fears of escalation
Emily Gosden, Mehreen Khan
Oil prices touched $93 per barrel
yesterday, their highest since the start
of the Israel-Hamas war.
Brent crude, the global benchmark
price, rose more than 3 per cent at one
stage because of fears about escalation
of the violence, and was trading up 1.8
per cent at $91.50 per barrel last night.
Analysts at Saxo Bank said tensions
in the Middle East had “reached a new
Inflation to
trigger £2bn
rise in rates
Increase will be ‘final nail in coffin’ for many firms
Isabella Fish Retail Editor
Inflation-linked business rates could
rise by up to £2 billion next year, which
would be the “final nail in the coffin”
for many struggling retail and hospital-
ity firms.
Business rates are due to be recalcu-
lated in April using the government’s
multiplier, which is typically pegged to
September’s rate of consumer price in-
flation (CPI).
With CPI confirmed yesterday at
6.7 per cent, analysts at Colliers Inter-
national forecast that the tax will rise
£470m
Extra cost to the retail sector from
index-linked business rates
from £26 billion in 2023-24 to £27.7 bil-
lion in the next financial year. Altus
Group, the property intelligence firm,
put the increase slightly higher at
£1.95 billion.
John Webber, head of business rates
at Colliers, said: “All sectors are suffer-
ing from increased costs, whether from
increased wage bills, materials or
energy costs. They cannot cope with
the hike in rates bills too.”
The property tax is based on the rate-
able value of business premises, which
means that retailers, restaurants and
pubs in expensive high street locations
are disproportionately affected. It has
been held at 51.2p for every pound in
2GM
commodities
Dow Jones Gold
33,665.08 (-332.57) $1,948.81 (+23.97)
37,500
35,000
32,500
30,000
Sep 20 27 Oct 4 11 18 Sep 20 27
high” after an explosion at a hospital in
Gaza on Tuesday, the cause of which is
disputed. “Crude oil spiked higher over-
night as geopolitical risks escalated
following the Gaza hospital explosion
leading to Middle East leaders cancel-
ling a planned summit with President
Biden,” they noted.
Brent had been under pressure
before the news but was buoyed by the
American Petroleum Institute report-
ing a steep fall in US crude stockpiles.
rateable value since April 2020 when
the pandemic struck, but would rise
6.7 per cent to 54.6p in the pound if the
multiplier was reinstated next year.
The British Retail Consortium has
calculated that the sector would face
paying an extra £470 million in tax.
Helen Dickinson, its chief executive,
said: “This will inevitably put renewed
pressure on consumer prices. As a re-
sult, retailers are publicly calling on the
chancellor to freeze the business rates
multiplier, allowing them to keep driv-
ing down prices, and invest in new
shops and jobs.”
Latest figures from the Insolvency
Service suggest that the number of
companies going to the wall has risen
by almost a fifth in the past year, with
2,308 businesses collapsing in August
including Wilko, the 90-year-old hard-
ware chain.
UK Hospitality said businesses in the
sector would suffer a £234 million rise.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of the
group, said the expected jump in tax
bills paid by pubs, restaurants and ho-
tels painted a “bleak picture”.
She added: “Almost a billion pounds
in extra costs from business rates alone
is unfathomable, and insurmountable,
for many. Such dramatic cost increases
would undoubtedly be the final nail in
the coffin for many businesses. It would
be particularly perilous for small, inde-
pendent businesses, for which ongoing
relief measures are a lifeline at a chal-
lenging time.”
Alex Probyn, global president of
property tax at Altus Group, said: “Our
Brent crude (6pm)
$ $91.22 (+1.73)
2,200
2,000
1,800
1,600
Oct 4 15 18 Sep 20 27 Oct 4
John Evans, of the oil broker PVM, said:
“This turn of diplomatic fortunes again
garners fear of conflict spread and
therefore the leap in oil.”
Iran’s foreign minister added to fears
of escalation by calling for the Organi-
sation of Islamic Cooperation to
impose an oil embargo on Israel.
Vivek Dhar, an analyst at Common-
wealth Bank of Australia, said: “A long
occupation looms as the scenario that
pushes Brent oil futures above $100 a
The fourth and final series of Sex Education, one of Netflix’s most successful productions, began streaming last month
Show goes on as Netflix boosts sales
Robert Miller
Netflix reported last night that it had
added millions more subscribers as its
clampdown on password sharing con-
tinued to send its shares sharply higher.
The streaming service, which is
based in Los Gatos, California, said it
had signed up nine million customers
in the three months to the end of
September when revenue rose to
$8.54 billion against $7.92 billion in the
same period a year ago. Net income
rose to $1.67 billion from $1.39 billion.
Investors welcomed the results, with
the shares up 12.7 per cent, or $43.91, to
$390.10 in late trading on Wall Street.
Netflix raised subscription prices for
some of its streaming plans in the US,
Britain and France to boost revenue in
Business
currencies
£/$
$ $1.2147 (-0.0053)
120
100
80
60
11 18 Sep 20 27 Oct 4 11 18
barrel because it raises the risk that the
Israel-Hamas conflict expands and
potentially draws in Iran directly.”
Global ratings agencies also warned
of the repercussions for oil markets and
the world economy from the war.
Analysts at S&P Global Ratings said
there would be limited spillover from
the conflict in the wider region, but
added that its assessment of geopoliti-
cal risks had risen, as had the threat of
another global energy price shock.
a competitive market with rivals such
as Walt Disney and Warner Bros
Discovery.
The premium ad-free plan, which
allows four streams at the same time,
increased by $3 a month to $22.99 in the
US. In the UK the basic plan rose by
£1 to £7.99 and its most expensive sub-
scription will increase by £2 to £17.99.
The earnings report was a critical
one for the entertainment company,
which has extended its password-shar-
ing clampdown in new territories and
expanded its advertising tier.
This week Netflix announced new
advertising offerings, including the
opportunity for companies to sponsor
shows and sponsorships in live pro-
gramming. It has also launched a
cheaper tier with advertising and
33
£/€
$ €1.1534 (+0.0015) ¤
1.400 1.300
1.300 1.200
1.200 1.100
1.100 1.000
Sep 20 26 Oct 4 11 18
“Oil prices remain volatile and we
expect upward pressures will remain
while tensions in the Middle East
persist and the risk of Iran becoming
more directly involved in the conflict
remains,” they said.
Fitch placed Israel on negative credit
watch, meaning that it could down-
grade its A+ debt rating if there was a
“major” escalation of the conflict. A
downgrade would be likely if Iran and
Hezbollah became militarily involved.
started asking households who share
passwords with others to pay.
In a letter to shareholders the com-
pany, which was founded in 1997 as a
DVD postal service, said: “The last six
months have been challenging for our
industry given the combined writers
and actors strikes in the US.
“While we have reached an agree-
ment with the WGA [Writers Guild of
America], negotiations with SAG-
AFTRA [the screen actors’ union] are
ongoing. We’re committed to resolving
the remaining issues as quickly as poss-
ible.” The strikes have shut Netflix pro-
ductions such as Stranger Things.
The company argued that it had
navigated the strikes better than com-
petitors because many of its produc-
tions take place outside the US.
34
Business
Need to know
1
Consumer price inflation
remained steady last month
despite another drop in food
price growth, as higher petrol
prices helped sustain pressures in
a slowing economy. Official figures
showed that the UK’s headline
rate rose by 6.7 per cent, compared
with the same period last year. It
was unchanged from August and
just above economists’ forecasts of
a dip to 6.6 per cent.
2
Inflation-linked business rates
could rise by up to £2 billion
next year, which would be the
“final nail in the coffin” for many
struggling retail and hospitality
businesses. Business rates bills are
due to be recalculated in April
using the government’s multiplier,
which is typically pegged to
September’s rate of consumer
price inflation.
3
Oil prices hit $93 per barrel,
their highest since the start of
the Israel-Hamas war. Brent
crude, the global benchmark price,
rose over 3 per cent at one stage
on fears of the violence escalating
and was trading up 1.5 per cent at
$91.23 per barrel.
4
The bosses of Abcam, the
Cambridge-based biotech
business, are set to receive
payouts of $28.8 million on
completion of a takeover by the
US medical conglomerate
Danaher.
5
The price of renting a room in
some London postcodes has
risen by almost 50 per cent in
a year, according to data provided
by SpareRoom, the flatshare site,
which experts say highlights how
the sector is rapidly becoming
untenable.
6
China’s economy grew faster
than expected in the third
quarter, suggesting that
stabilisation measures from the
government are bearing fruit.
Official statistics showed the
world’s second largest economy
expanded at an annual rate of
4.9 per cent between July and
September, better than the
4.5 per cent forecast by economists
but a drop from the 6.3 per cent in
the previous quarter.
7
A second bidder for
Pendragon, which operates the
Stratstone and Evans Halshaw
car dealerships, has pulled out,
leaving the road clear for its 5,300
employees at 160 sites to fall to the
American group Lithia.
8
Investors have pulled a further
£1.6 billion from funds run by
Liontrust Asset Management
amid industry turbulence and
negative sentiment towards British
shares.
9
John Pettigrew, the boss of
National Grid, has warned the
government that its climate
goals will be at risk unless it takes
urgent decisions to speed up the
delivery of new green
infrastructure.
10 Easing cost pressures have
helped sales and margins
to recover at Cake Box
Holdings, the UK maker of fresh
cream cakes. The egg-free cake
specialist said revenues were
expected to have risen by 6 per
cent year-on-year in the six
months to the end of September.
Switch to EE
signals end
of the line
for BT brand
Max Kendix, Katie Prescott
Marc Allera, BT Consumer’s energetic
boss, dressed in a T-shirt and jeans,
stood in a room surrounded on all four
walls by enormous projections of the
words “new EE”. He began by saying:
“Thank you very much for sharing this
moment with us.”
From tomorrow, almost every BT
consumer product will be rebranded
under EE, with only straight landline
and broadband keeping the original
name. Millions of BT customers will be
contacted next week to lure them to EE
“bundles”, which will take in broad-
band, mobile, television and gaming.
A party at Alexandra Palace in north
London showed the significance of the
day for EE, which BT bought for
£12.5 billion in 2016. “We’ve got more
momentum and we’re feeling very
good about it,” said Allera.
Telecoms firms have been having a
torrid time, shouldering the expense of
modernising their networks coupled
with soaring inflation, which also
Abcam chiefs set for $29m payout
Helen Cahill
The bosses of Abcam, the Cambridge-
based biotech firm, are set to receive
payouts of $28.8 million on completion
of a takeover by the US medical con-
glomerate Danaher.
Alan Hirzel, chief executive, and
Michael Baldock, finance chief, are on
course to receive $19.2 million and
$9.6 million respectively from an
incentive scheme if shareholders
accept the $5.7 billion bid.
Abcam, a supplier to the pharmaceu-
tical industry, was founded in 1998 and
last year moved to the Nasdaq stock
exchange from Aim, the junior market
of the London Stock Exchange.
The company supplies antibodies
and materials used by about 750,000
researchers in the life sciences sector in
more than 130 markets.
Hirzel and Baldock’s payouts are part
of an incentive programme for more
than 100 employees approved by share-
holders in 2021. The bonuses will be
finalised depending on company per-
BT built up its
public presence
through TV
adverts featuring
Maureen Lipman.
Marc Allera,
below right, is
swapping the BT
logo for EE’s on
the company’s
consumer
products
squeezes the amount con-
sumers are willing to
pay for their services.
BT’s shares may be
up this year but
they are 50 per
cent down over
five years.
Yesterday’s
showcase led by
Allera, was BT’s at-
tempt to punch
back and cement its
position in the market.
The move to largely
eliminate the BT brand
seals a remarkable coup for EE.
The BT name dates back decades. The
state-owned British Telecom brand
was introduced in 1980 when the Con-
servative government decided to sepa-
rate telecommunications from the Post
Office. By 1984, it was privatised and, in
1991, the name was shortened to “BT”.
Top-class television advertising —
Maureen Lipman’s time as the doting
grandmother Beattie, and Bob Hoskins
formance before the deal completes.
Shareholders were informed in docu-
ments outlining the terms of the deal
that the payouts represented a “potent-
ial conflict of interest” because the ex-
ecutives would have “financial interests
in connection with the transaction . . .
which may be different from or in addi-
tion to those of other shareholders”.
Abcam’s founder, Jonathan Milner,
has been pressing shareholders to re-
ject the $24-a-share offer from Dana-
her on the grounds that it represents
“the wrong price at the wrong time”.
Milner, who has a 6.1 per cent stake,
and activist shareholders including
Starboard Value, have called for a sale
of the company.
Milner released a presentation out-
lining his objections on Monday to
argue that the company “stands as an
exceptional UK asset and should not be
undersold to Danaher”.
He said: “I was an architect of the
five-year plan in 2019 and believed in
the objectives it set out to achieve. I was
also a supporter of bearing the medi-
2GM
Landmark
moment
telling the nation
“it’s good to talk” —
boosted the BT brand
in the public’s mind. But
Christian Thrane, the man-
aging director for marketing,
said it was time to move on. “We don’t
want two brands solving the same prob-
lem. EE is modern, innovative, it has a
higher customer loyalty score, and it is
stronger in the urban areas where we
want to grow.”
BT’s consumer arm, which also in-
cludes Plusnet, has more than 25 mil-
lion subscribers, and about half of UK
households have some sort of relation-
um-term margin suppression required
to pay for the necessary investments.
“The execution has been botched by
management with poor oversight by
the board. My efforts to focus and im-
prove governance, execution and cost
control resonated with investors and
reversed the decline in the share price
that had persisted.”
Danaher, a $190 billion medical con-
glomerate, made its bid for Abcam after
a series of acquisitions. It bought Gen-
eral Electric’s life sciences business four
years ago for $21.4 billion and the
biotechnology supplier Aldevron for
$9.6 billion in 2021.
The shareholder advisory firm ISS
has said investors should support the
deal: “In light of the thorough sales pro-
cess, the premium and certainty of
value inherent in the all-cash offer, and
the reasonable valuation, the proposed
transaction appears to be a superior
alternative to the downside risk and
uncertainty inherent in Milner’s under-
developed plan to create value through
a board refresh.”
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
ship with the company. The nine mil-
lion customers in its broadband base
are split between brands, including an
estimated 60 per cent with BT and
15 per cent with EE, according to End-
ers Analysis, while most mobile cus-
tomers are under the EE brand.
But unlike BT’s original predecessor,
the Electric Telegraph Company, the
world’s first public telegraph company
formed in 1846, and its decades with the
telecommunications monopoly under
the Post Office, the company faces
fierce competition in an industry that
continues to consolidate quickly: Sky
takes up about a quarter of telecoms
continued from page 33
Inflation to trigger £2bn rates rise
clients tell us that the business
rates burden is a disincentive to invest
and are already at an unsustainable
level.”
Last autumn Jeremy Hunt, the chan-
cellor, announced a support package
worth £13.6 billion to help businesses
still recovering from the Covid-19
lockdowns.
It included freezing business rates
and increasing the discount for retail,
hospitality and leisure businesses from
50 per cent to 75 per cent for 12 months,
capped at £110,000 per company.
The Treasury has calculated that
freezing the increase for the past three
years has saved business an overall
£14.5 billion.
A Treasury spokesman said: “Whilst
one third of businesses don’t pay busi-
ness rates at all due to government tax
relief, we recognise the challenges the
retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors
face, which is why we have slashed their
bills by 75 per cent, protected them
from rising energy costs and are keep-
ing the duty on pints down through our
Brexit pubs guarantee.”
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Share price
Source: S&P Capital IQ
1990 1995 2000 2005
1846 1969
Electric Telegraph Post Office
Company is formed, the Telecommunications as
world’s first public a division of the Post
telegraph company Office, a nationalised
industry separate from
government
1984 1991
British Telecom privatised Trading name
with shares in 50.2 per
cent of the new company
changed to BT
offered to employees and
the public
2010 2016
EE is formed as a joint BT acquires EE
venture between the for £12.5 billion
German and French
owners of T-Mobile UK
and Orange UK
market share, according to Ofcom, the
regulator, with TalkTalk taking 9 per
cent, and Virgin Media on 20 per cent.
BT is still by far the largest, however,
holding firm on about a third of the
market.
There was no better illustration of
the telecommunications tussle than
two announcements which coincided,
deliberately or not, with EE’s big day.
Virgin Media, which merged with O2
in 2021, announced a deal with its rival
Sky, under which Sky will resell Virgin
Media’s broadband network across Ire-
land, hinting that such cooperation
could happen here too.
Tesla sales disappoint amid price cuts F
Robert Miller
Tesla’s third-quarter revenue last night
failed to match reduced expectations
while profits fell as the electric carmak-
er cut prices to boost demand.
The company reported a 9 per cent
rise in revenue in the third quarter to
$23.35 billion, compared with analysts’
estimates of $24.1 billion which was the
slowest pace of growth in more than
three years. Net income in the three
months to the end of September was
$1.85 billion, down 44 per cent from the
same period a year ago.
Tesla reported that operating mar-
gins, a key measure of profitability, fell
to 7.6 per cent from 9.6 per cent in the
previous quarter. It said its margin had
taken a hit from the under use of new
factories and an increase in operating
expenses driven by its upcoming
Cybertruck model, spending on artifi-
cial intelligence and other projects.
The company said it has begun pilot
production of the Cybertruck at its
Texas gigafactory, with the first deliver-
2GM
its per second service is the “fastest
16
£
14
home broadband speed of any major
provider”.
As part of “new EE”, the company
announced a slew of new products and
12
10
platforms, with more promised. High-
lights include a move into retail, with
EE selling smart fridges, kettles and
coffee machines; a new app available to
non-subscribers, and a partnership
with Apple TV in a rebranded EE TV.
8 But some analysts were under-
whelmed by the announcements. Kes-
6 ter Mann, director of consumer and
connectivity at CCS Insight, said it rep-
4 resented an “evolution in its strategy,
rather than a major shift in direction”.
He added: “EE’s grand plan is to bol-
2 ster its relevance among customers and
stir greater engagement, particularly
0 via its app. Today’s update won’t quell
2010 2015 2020 mounting questions over whether tele-
com operators can monetise their net-
works, compete with big technology
1980 companies and rejuvenate financial
British Telecom performance.”
brand introduced Others were more positive. James
Barford, director of telecoms at Enders
Analysis, said: “Strategically it’s about
moving to broad convergence, EE as a
single brand selling a bunch of different
services.” It is a telecoms proposition
that has not always been successful, no-
1997 tably with Orange’s attempt to move in-
to banking, and several European tele-
Government
relinquishes its
golden share in the
coms’ stunted ventures into sports
rights. But Barford said: “While the
strategy has failed elsewhere, here it’s
company
being done in an incremental and care-
ful way.”
PP Foresight said: “We will start to
see the disappearance of the iconic BT
brand on the high street and in people’s
2023 homes, a move that will lead to mixed
BT rebrands emotions and one that the com-
consumer business pany will have to carefully
from BT to EE manage to avoid customers
leaving for rival providers.”
The announcement is the
culmination of six years of
work by Allera who came
across with the acquisition of
EE, where he was managing di-
rector. He said: “This is a major
Meanwhile, Voda- change to the way we
fone, itself set for a think about what a
multibillion- customer is.”
pound merger He added that it
with Three, an- meant EE “playing
nounced it a much more signif-
would start pro- icant role and rele-
viding speeds of vant role in the
2.2 gigabits per eyes of custom-
second in cer- ers across the
tain areas whole of
from the start the UK,
of next year , making it
snapping at the an accessi-
heels of EE, ble brand for
which says its 1.6 gigab- everyone”.
ies scheduled for the end of November.
Since January the company has re-
vehicle demand. Tesla aims to deliver a
record 476,000 vehicles in the fourth
sorted to steep price cuts and discounts, quarter to meet its 2023 target.
including reductions of more than 6 per “While production cost at our new
cent across models in the third quarter, factories remained higher than our
to boost sales at a time when overall established factories, we have imple-
demand is under pressure. mented necessary upgrades in Q3 to
While those efforts drove up sales in enable further unit cost reductions. We
the first half of the year, planned factory continue to believe that an industry
leader needs to be a cost leader,” Tesla
said.
$23.3bn
Third-quarter revenue, up 9 per cent
Tesla, which is based in Austin, Texas
and has a stock market value of $770 bil-
lion, was established in 2003 and has
been led by Elon Musk, 52, since 2008.
Musk, the world’s richest person, is
also chief executive of SpaceX, the
retooling to prepare for production of rockets and satellites business, and
new models hampered Tesla’s deliver- executive chairman of X, formerly
ies between July and September. Twitter, which he bought last year in a
Despite missing expectations the $44 billion deal.
carmaker stuck to its annual sales tar- His empire also includes Neuralink, a
get of 1.8 million vehicles. Some ana- brain chip venture, and The Boring
lysts said Tesla may need to cut prices Company, a tunnelling start-up.
further to achieve its annual delivery Shares in Tesla were down by 1 per
target in the face of rising competition cent, or $2.33, in late trading in New
and a broader slowdown in electric York at $240.90.
Crumbs of comfort
in inflation data
business commentary Patrick Hosking
B
ring out the Wensleydale.
The price of cheese was
one of the few reasons for
good cheer in yesterday’s
inflation numbers. The
category produced the biggest
monthly fall in food prices between
August and September, down by
3.3 per cent.
There was not much else to
celebrate in the data, which showed
precious little new progress in the
defeat of inflation. The headline rate
was stubbornly flat at 6.7 per cent.
The month-on-month rise in prices
was unchanged at 0.5 per cent.
The core inflation number, which
strips out volatile items, was a bit
better, dropping from 6.2 to 6.1 per
cent. But the prices of services —
the component most closely
watched by the Bank of England —
worryingly accelerated. Every
month that prices continue to rise
bakes in the idea that more is to
come, cementing inflationary
expectations and making the task of
bringing inflation back to the 2 per
cent target even harder.
The leap higher in petrol and
diesel prices did much of the
damage in the September numbers.
More is to come as tensions in the
Middle East have sent crude oil and
wholesale gas prices sharply higher
in recent days. Trends don’t move in
a straight line, as the chancellor
pointed out yesterday. There will be
stops and starts on the journey to
taming prices. Most analysts still
think we are at or close to the peak
of the tightening cycle with the base
rate at 5.25 per cent.
The strong wages figures this
week were a double-edged sword.
Struggling households may take
comfort from pay packets outpacing
inflation. But rising wage bills will in
turn lead either to further price rises
by employers and another dismal
extension to the inflation story, or to
squeezed company profits and a
possible recession.
Either way, that’s not gouda, as we
cheese punners like to say.
Drones’ bumpy ride
ull marks for ambition to
Amazon, which wants to start
delivering packages weighing
up to 5lb by drone in the UK before
the end of the year. Drones have the
potential to spark the biggest
revolution in aviation since the jet
engine in the 1950s. They can
increase efficiencies in industries
from logistics and construction to
farming and security.
They could become a £45 billion
industry supporting 650,000 jobs in
the UK by 2030, according to one
recent report. There are, of course,
big safety, privacy, security and
noise issues. The 5lb package
envisaged by Amazon is roughly the
weight of a laptop computer — not
the sort of object that should be
accidentally dropping out of the sky.
The biggest headwind is that
regulators, including the Civil
Aviation Authority in the UK, have
required drone operators to have
line of sight with the aircraft at all
times. That will crimp Amazon’s
immediate ambitions. This red line
is starting to be crossed in other
jurisdictions. Belgian and EU
35
Business
regulators recently gave the green
light to the port of Antwerp to use a
fleet of six drones to patrol the
120 sq km area of the port —
beyond their operators’ line of sight.
In the US, the parcels company UPS
has been approved by the Federal
Aviation Administration to make
drone deliveries beyond line of sight
in Florida and South Carolina.
The CAA this week designated six
trials in Britain for BVLOS (beyond
visual line of sight) experimentation.
That is a welcome start. The
authority is right to clamp down on
the amateur drone-flying menaces
who put lives at risk. But it is
important Britain doesn’t fall behind
other countries in fostering what
could become a flourishing and
productivity-boosting new industry.
Room for renters
R
esidential rents have gone
astronomic in some places,
leaving tenants struggling to
afford homes, while office space lies
empty as more people work from
home. It doesn’t take an
astrophysicist to work out a cunning
solution to both problems.
Yet the pace of converting old,
unwanted offices into homes has
been slow. In London just 21,000
flats have been created out of old
offices in the past eight years,
according to the property agents
CBRE. That’s a fraction of the
52,000 new homes per year the
mayor’s office thinks are needed.
There can be technical problems
repurposing office space: ceilings
can be too low and natural light
scarce in the centre of big office
blocks. Office developers often don’t
have the skills to become residential
landlords. But the biggest problem
lies in the planning rules and the
reluctance of councils to redesignate
property. With a bit of willpower,
28,000 new homes could be
repurposed in London from office
space lying idle now, says CBRE.
Residential tenants, meanwhile,
are facing rent increases of as much
as 50 per cent in the space of a year,
according to SpareRoom data. If
that doesn’t act as a price signal to
kickstart the office conversion
sector, nothing will.
BT’s long goodbye
F
arewell to BT. After 43 years
the brand is set to disappear as
far as most UK households are
concerned. The parent BT Group
has chosen EE as its main consumer
brand. Neither acronym makes the
heart sing. Any warm, patriotic
feeling for BT faded when “British”
was removed from the name in 1991.
BT’s chatbot-heavy, dehumanised
approach to customer relations
then finished the job.
The group spends £200 million to
£300 million a year marketing the
two names, thanks to hefty
advertising and sponsorships such
as the England football team.
Focusing all the firepower on one
name alone makes financial sense.
The BT name won’t be missed.
patrick.hosking@thetimes.co.uk
Alistair Osborne is away
36
Business
Doors slam on
renters as price
of rooms soars
David Byers Deputy Property Editor
The price of renting a room in some
London postcodes has risen by almost
50 per cent in a year, according to data
that experts say highlights how the sec-
tor is rapidly becoming untenable.
Data provided by SpareRoom, the
flatshare site, gives a stark illustration
of the fact that landlords’ rising mort-
gage costs, coupled with a shortage of
properties, is driving rents sky-high.
The research showed that room rents
rose by an average of 16 per cent, from
£624 to £721 per month, in the third
quarter of this year compared with the
same period last year.
Every region recorded room-rent
rises averaging at least 10 per cent, and
Landlords lose out
Annual mortgage interest payments
£16bn
14
12
10
8
2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Source: Hamptons
rents in all 50 largest towns and cities
rose, with the largest increases in Bel-
fast (25 per cent), Edinburgh (22 per
cent) and Warrington (also 22 per cent).
However, renters in some parts of
London experienced the greatest rises.
Room rents in the capital rose by 16 per
cent on average to £989. The severest
rises cover a cross-section of affluent
and less affluent areas.
For example, in W8, in Holland Park,
west London, the price went up by an
average of 45 per cent, from £1,135 to
£1,645 per month. In Mill Hill Broad-
way (NW7), the average rent went up 38
per cent (£660 to £910) and in Thames-
mead (SE28), traditionally one of
London’s cheapest areas, there was a 36
per cent rise (£638 to £867).
As the shortage of housing in London
intensifies, some tenants have reported
being forced to compete with more
Barratt expects to sell fewer homes Empty offices may contain
Tom Howard
Britain’s biggest builder expects to sell
3,500 fewer houses in its current finan-
cial year despite a modest pick-up in
demand for its homes in recent weeks.
Like most of its peers, Barratt Devel-
opments endured a slow summer
because the sharp rise in mortgage
rates further sapped the confidence of
would-be buyers, especially first-tim-
ers. In July and August, excluding bulk
sales to investors, the FTSE 100 devel-
oper sold 0.4 homes a week at each of its
360 or so outlets, a third fewer than
in the same period of last year and half
as many as it was selling in the summer
of 2021.
With mortgage rates having stabi-
lised in recent weeks, industry bosses
were hopeful of a post-school holidays
rebound in trading.
Barratt’s sales rate since the end of
August has risen to 0.44 homes per site
per week, an improvement but still not
much better than it was faring in the
wake of the mini-budget this time last
than a dozen others for a room, submit
personal statements for properties,
queue for properties and pay well over
the odds to secure the room.
Matt Hutchinson, communications
director at SpareRoom, said: “Even
areas that have historically been re-
garded as more affordable have seen
rents spike in the third quarter of 2023,
which is likely to be due to renters seek-
ing cheaper housing which in turn is
driving up demand with supply not
keeping pace.
“If this continues, we could see rent-
ers being driven even further from the
capital, or perhaps leaving London
altogether as the pool of affordable ac-
commodation becomes ever smaller.”
Hutchinson added: “The govern-
ment needs to take urgent action to
tackle the rental crisis head on before
this situation becomes untenable.
There needs to be a real commitment to
act fast and introduce legislation that
eases the burden on renters and stabi-
lises rental prices in the UK.”
An analysis published this week by
Hamptons, the estate agency, showed
the mounting financial burden faced by
landlords, which it says is behind much
of the rent rises.
The research found that landlords
had paid £4.3 billion extra in mortgage
interest in the past 12 months compared
with a year before, a period when mort-
gage interest rates have risen sharply.
Overall, investors paid £15 billion of
mortgage interest to service loans on
rental properties in the year to the end
of August.
Aneisha Beveridge, head of research
at Hamptons, said: “Even if there are no
further rate hikes by the Bank of
England, we could see the amount of
mortgage interest paid by landlords
exceed £20 billion over the next two
years. This has the potential to eat up
just over half the amount mortgaged
landlords receive in rent.”
The cheapest places to rent a room in
the UK, according to SpareRoom,
are South Shields (an average of
£442 a month), Burnley (£446) and
Barnsley (£456).
year. “The trading environment re-
mains difficult, with potential home-
buyers still facing mortgage challen-
ges,” David Thomas, Barratt’s chief ex-
ecutive, said.
He added, however, that recent per-
formance had been in line with his ex-
pectations and predicted that Barratt
would sell between 13,250 and 14,250
homes this financial year, which runs
until June. By comparison, the group
built 17,206 in its last financial year.
Emily Biddulph, an analyst at Bar-
clays, described the update as a “steady,
robust statement”. However, Barratt
shares, down by almost a fifth since the
start of summer, slipped another 21p, or
5 per cent, to £4.02.
Its rivals’ shares also fell after surpris-
ingly sticky inflation data prompted re-
newed concerns that interest rates, and
so mortgage rates, might have to rise.
Barratt Developments was founded
in 1953 by Sir Lawrie Barratt, a young
accountant from the northeast of En-
gland who could not afford to buy a
home so built one instead. It listed on
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
Only 2 per cent of Britain’s
tradespeople are women.
Among them is Katie
Jones, who is a gas
engineer apprentice
is estimated at 166,000.
Kingfisher conducted its
survey with Cebr, an
economics consultancy.
Thierry Garnier,
chief executive of
Kingfisher, said: “Trade
careers are high-quality,
skilled jobs with
significant earnings
potential and they should
be valued just as highly as
career options which
require a university
degree.”
Lack of diversity and
incentivisation to join the
profession is exacerbating
shortages. Only 2 per
cent of the UK’s 900,000
tradespeople are women
and just 35 per cent of
young women have
considered a trade career.
Only 13 per cent of 16
to 25-year-olds said
schools encouraged them
to consider trade career
options and 49 per cent
said they had never
considered a career in the
trades.
Katie Jones, 24, from
Burscough, West
Lancashire, won the
Screwfix trade apprentice
2023 award and was
encouraged to attend
university by her college
after getting eight As and
two Bs at GCSE, but
instead opted for a career
as a gas engineer.
She told The Times:
Trade skills Net zero targets are
increasing demand but
“College told me I wasn’t
going to get anywhere in
shortage young people do not feel
encouraged consider
life if I didn’t go to uni but
I wanted to do something
‘will cost such careers,
according to a
more practical. I’ve
not regretted my
UK £98bn’ survey from
Kingfisher.
decision . . . you can
become self-
The retailer, employed, choose
T
he UK is on which owns your own hours.
track to lose out Screwfix and “Customers love
on £98 billion of B&Q, said the seeing a girl turn
economic shortage would up at their door,
growth by 2030 cost the economy they seem to trust
because of an anticipated an average of me more. It’s a
shortage of 250,000 £12 billion a year job I could do
tradespeople (Lottie by 2030. anywhere in the
Hayton writes). The current shortage world.”
the London Stock Exchange in 1968
and is a member of the FTSE 100 with
solution to housing crisis
a market capitalisation of more than
£4 billion. Tom Howard timates that 90,000 fewer homes have
The main problem it faces is that been built over the past decade than
rising mortgage rates have made it Thousands of homes could be created were needed.
more expensive for people to buy its in London if owners of empty office The shortage is likely to worsen over
homes, while the uncertainty about the buildings converted them into flats, a the coming years, with new home appli-
economy and house prices is deterring report has claimed. cations and planning permissions fall-
would-be buyers The proportion of vacant office space ing this year given the jump in financ-
Data released yesterday by the Office in the capital has almost doubled since ing costs and an onerous planning pro-
for National Statistics showed that the onset of the pandemic to about cess, which CBRE’s report said
house prices were just 0.2 per cent 8.5 per cent, according to CBRE, the “remains a key hindrance”. At the same
higher than a year ago, the slowest property agent behind the report. time, there is an excess of office space.
annual rate of inflation since 2012. In all, there is an estimated 16 million Turning empty offices into homes
Thomas said that the ending of the sq ft of older, empty blocks that, if re- would help to solve both of those prob-
Help to Buy scheme this year had also purposed, could create close to 28,000 lems. Repurposing is on the minds of
knocked sales. At its peak before the new homes, the report said. some investors, who since last year
pandemic, about four in every ten “London needs more homes and have spent £1.3 billion buying offices in
homes built by the company were sold there is undoubtedly a growing amount London for repurposing, albeit most of
to someone using the scheme. of office stock that will need to be re- those are for hotels or laboratories.
The group’s order book has shrunk by purposed, so the opportunity to con- CBRE expects more and more office
a third to £2.36 billion. vert these offices to residential use is buildings will have to be retrofitted or
Anthony Codling, a property indus- there,” Luke Mills, CBRE’s residential repurposed. “The previous strategy of
try analyst at RBC, estimated that managing director, said. simply demolishing an old office to re-
selling prices were down by between London, like the rest of the country, is place it with a new building is becoming
1 and 2 per cent. in the grip of a housing crisis: CBRE es- largely redundant,” the report said.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Ryan Bourne
Firebrand’s hefty dose of libertarianism
aims to cure Argentina’s economic ills
‘‘
Javier Milei is not
your quintessential
politician. The
goalkeeper turned
rock-band member
turned libertarian economist, known
for his eccentric, shaggy-haired
appearance, is nevertheless the
favourite to win Argentina’s
presidential election. While he may
not triumph outright on Sunday, he is
likely to advance to the second round,
with good prospects of winning.
The Anglo-American press has
bemoaned his ascent, because Milei
offends progressive sensibilities. In
wild media appearances, he can both
lecture on free-market economics
while denouncing Argentina’s ruling
elites as a “caste”. He wields a chainsaw
on the campaign trail to signify his
desire to slash government spending,
would abandon the peso for the
dollar, and wants to implement a US-
centric foreign policy. For this and his
fiery style, he’s been dubbed
“populist”, “far right”, and “extremist”.
Milei’s rhetoric is certainly bracing
to the non-ideological ear. “For me
the state is an enemy, as are the
politicians who live off it,” he says. His
uncompromising anarcho-capitalism,
incorporating a wish to close the
ministries of education, health and
the environment, will sound jarring to
a British audience. Yet to view Milei’s
stances through a western lens would
be a misjudgment. The momentum
behind him must be understood as a
reaction to existing big government
economic populism, protectionism,
and fiscal and monetary
irresponsibility in Argentina, itself
deserving of the “extremist” label.
Argentina is 158th out of 165
nations in the Fraser Institute’s
economic freedom rankings, only
ahead of the basket cases Venezuela,
Zimbabwe, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Iran,
and Libya. In 1913, Argentina was
richer than France or Germany, and
had about 75 per cent of the US’s
GDP per capita. Now, after oscillating
through Peronist socialism and nine
sovereign defaults, Argentinians are
just a third as rich as Americans.
Forty per cent of Argentina’s
46 million population live in poverty,
while only one in five working-age
people are in secure private sector
employment. The country spent a
third of the years between 1950 and
2019 in recession, missing the boat on
global reforms such as trade
V2
Javier Milei would replace the peso with the dollar in an effort to halt inflation
liberalisation. It not only has tariffs
and capital and exchange controls,
but slaps export taxes on even
agricultural goods. Inflation is the
primary ailment, and the biggest sign
of macroeconomic mismanagement.
It has averaged 60 per cent per year
since 1940 and today officially stands
at 140 per cent, although Steve
Hanke, professor at Johns Hopkins
University, thinks the true rate is 250
per cent. This is why dollarisation has
become totemic to Milei’s campaign.
“Central banks are divided in four
categories,” Milei says, “the bad ones,
like the Federal Reserve, the very bad
ones, like the ones in Latin America,
the horribly bad ones, and the Central
Bank of Argentina.” Argentina’s
failure on inflation is exhibit A of why
the public have given up hope
on piecemeal reform promises.
During the 1990s, Argentina
experimented with a convertibility
system, trying to keep a fixed peso
exchange value with the dollar. This
brought down inflation for a while but
later failed because the government
tinkered with convertibility and the
central bank had too much discretion
over monetary policy, making it
vulnerable to investors betting against
the peg’s collapse. There is no desire
for such partial measures again.
Complete dollarisation is thus seen
by Milei as a prerequisite for rescuing
the economy. The peso would cease
to circulate and the Argentine central
bank would give up monetary control.
Without the ability to devalue, price
stability would be restored, hopefully
allowing the removal of price
controls, export restrictions and
labour market laws that seek to treat
inflation’s symptoms.
Sacrificing monetary sovereignty is
obviously controversial. This week a
prosecutor began a legal case against
Milei, accusing him of deliberately
undermining the peso’s value by
“inciting public fear” about people
saving in the currency. As a colleague,
George Selgin, quipped: “If ‘causing a
drop in the Argentine currency’ is a
crime, there isn’t a prison there that’s
big enough to hold all the present and
former government officials who have
committed it.”
The need for discipline is pressing,
though, because fiscal irresponsibility
is still rife. Sergio Massa, the economy
minister and one of Milei’s opponents,
recently used his governmental power
to waive income tax, eliminate a sales
tax on groceries and to provide cash
benefits to Argentinians, earning the
nickname of “an out-of-control Santa
Claus”. Money printing will finance
this vote-buying effort.
Some fear this excessive borrowing
will continue after dollarisation and
will lead to more painful defaults if
the central bank can’t inflate or play
lender of last resort. Yet this continual
monetisation of debt and bailouts from
the IMF is precisely why Argentina
needs a hard constraint. Preventing
unexpected inflation taxes from
financing out-of-control borrowing is
the purpose of dollarisation, not a bug.
Whether Milei’s inexperienced
team have the nous to dollarise and
commit to its irreversibility is a more
pertinent question. Milei has good
economists around him, including the
former investment banker Emilio
Ocampo. Argentinians hold more
than $246 billion in foreign bank
accounts, safety deposit boxes and
cash, which will help. But a full
transition obviously requires careful
implementation.
A bigger barrier to Milei’s ambitions
is how his intolerance to opponents
will hinder cobbling together a broad
enough coalition to bring in reforms
Without a majority, some libertarians
think failure is inevitable. Perhaps
they are right. But it’s still a mistake
to judge Milei’s campaign as if he’s
some threat to otherwise cherished
institutions. His is another revolt
against elites, yes. Yet it’s one that
’’
seeks to supplant the populism that
has impoverished
Argentina with more
economic freedom
and macroeconomic
discipline.
Ryan Bourne is R Evan Scharf chair for
the Public Understanding of Economics
at the Cato Institute and author of the
recent book Economics in One Virus
37
Business
Boost from
state helps
give China
growth spurt
Mehreen Khan Economics Editor
China’s economy grew faster than ex-
pected in the third quarter, suggesting
that stabilisation measures from the
government are bearing fruit.
Official statistics showed the world’s
second largest economy expanded at
an annual rate of 4.9 per cent between
July and September, better than the
4.5 per cent forecast by economists but
a drop from the 6.3 per cent recorded in
the previous quarter.
China has suffered under the weight
of record youth unemployment, a
highly indebted housing sector and a
downturn in its construction and man-
ufacturing industries this year.
The economy did not rebound as fast
as expected after the end of lockdown
measures late last year, leading to esca-
lating calls for Beijing to boost consum-
er demand and investment.
Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of
China economics at Capital Econom-
ics, said there was evidence that the
growth slump had bottomed out this
summer with the economy regaining
some momentum.
He added: “That’s a trend that ap-
pears to have continued in September,
judging by the latest activity data. High
youth joblessness notwithstanding,
the resilience of the labour market
probably helped to put a floor beneath
consumer spending.”
The Chinese authorities have an
annual growth target of about 5 per
cent which they are expected to meet
this year, according to the latest projec-
tions by the International Monetary
Fund, which also estimates a growth
decline to 4.2 per cent next year.
Figures also showed that monthly
measures for retail sales and industrial
production came in higher than econo-
mists’ expectations for last month,
while a measure of fixed investment
was in line with estimates.
The growth in investment was led by
manufacturing and infrastructure
spending, while more households spent
on high street shopping and in restau-
rants last month.
Duncan Wrigley, chief China econo-
mist at Pantheon, said Beijing’s “succes-
sion of targeted stimulus measures
since August” was gaining traction.
“Consumption is recovering, albeit
unevenly, with people spending more
on services than big items like cars. The
drumbeat of positive economic news
from the official media appears to be
lifting consumer sentiment, despite
slowing income growth.”
38 2GM Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

Business

American car dealer pulls out

of the race to buy Pendragon
Robert Lea Industrial Editor
A second bidder for Pendragon has
pulled out, leaving the road clear for its
5,300 employees at 160 sites to fall to
the American group Lithia.
Shareholders in Pendragon, which
operates the Stratstone and Evans
Halshaw car dealerships, are set to vote
next Wednesday on whether they wish
to share a payout worth more than
£340 million in a deal that also envisa-
ges them together retaining a £150 mil-
lion stake in Pinewood Technologies.
A simple majority will allow the deal
to pass, and Lithia has already claimed
support for its offer from shareholders
speaking for 28 per cent of the Pendrag-
on stock.
Pinewood is a subsidiary of Pendrag-
on that offers software services which
help car dealers manage their business
better. It has for long been regarded as
the hidden gem in Pendragon and an
operation that can be scaled up, selling
its services around the world.
It is envisaged that Pinewood would
retain Pendragon’s London stock
market listing which, including a
£30 million cash injection by Lithia,
would give the renamed stock a value
of about £180 million. Lithia would
take direct control of the dealerships.
After an autumnal detour picking up
potential takeover offers from various
parties, Pendragon is back to where
it started, albeit with a bit more fuel
in the tank.
Pendragon has been in play as a
takeover target for years. Lithia —
which is already active in the UK as the
owner since last spring of the Jardine
Motors group, having failed in a take-
over attempt for Pendragon last year —
opened the latest round of formal bid-
ding a month ago at 27.5p a share,
taking in the cash payout and the value
of the retained stake in Pinewood.
Within a few days Pendragon
received a 28p-a-share counter-offer to
buy the business, Pinewood included,
as one lot. That came from Hedin, a
European motor group that is Pendrag-
on’s single largest shareholder with a
27 per cent stake and which has been its
biggest critic.
The offer was made in league with
Penske Automotive of the United
States, the owner of Sytner Group, Brit-
ain’s largest motor dealership chain.
Hedin, whose advisers have included
the former Pendragon chief executive
Trevor Finn, had, like Lithia, made
a takeover approach for Pendragon
last year.
Hedin’s latest tilt was again rebuffed.
It then said it would offer 32p a share,
which Pendragon said it would consid-
er. Within days AutoNation, another
rival American dealer, entered the fray
by matching that 32p offer. That in turn
led Lithia to increase the cash element
of its offer and said the value of its bid
was now worth 35.4p.
A fortnight ago Hedin withdrew its
offer and on Tuesday evening AutoNa-
Sosander
tion followed suit.
There was no immediate response
from Pendragon.
sees value
In trading yesterday, shares in
Pendragon fell sharply. The stock had
only for a short period last week traded
in bricks
at the level of Lithia’s upgraded offer.
Following news of AutoNation’s
withdrawal, Pendragon shares were
and mortar
down 9.1 per cent, or 3¼p, at 30¾p, still
higher than for any time in the past six
years outside the recent bid battle.

Boom in second-hand goods

chips in £6.9bn to economy
Lottie Hayton
Consumers’ focus on reducing spend-
ing during a time of rising prices has led
to an increase in buying, selling or rent-
ing second-hand goods, a trend that has
contributed £6.9 billion to the economy
in the past year, according to a survey.
Such so-called recommerce resulted
in the spending of just over £5.92 billion
on second-hand products and £1.07 bil-
lion on renting goods, according to re-
search by Barclaycard Payments and
Development Economics.
The data indicated a commitment to
sustainable shopping among consum-
ers — 57 per cent of respondents said
their recommerce habits remained
consistent and 44 per cent said they
were buying more second-hand items
than a year ago.
Barclaycard Payments said: “In order
to capitalise on this trend, businesses
should think about how they adapt to
provide consumers with a range of
more sustainable and affordable ways
to shop in the future.”
Of those surveyed, 62 per cent said
the rising cost of living was causing
them to think more carefully about the
purchases they made.
Sustainability was also a key driver of
recommerce, with 43 per cent saying
they wanted to adopt more sustainable
buying habits.
A further 22 per cent said recom-
merce enabled them to get hold of
items that were normally too expen-
sive, such as designer goods.
The data highlighted the fact that the
trend was contributing to expanding a
sustainable circular economy; 23 per
cent of those who resold items said they
use the funds to buy second-hand items
for themselves.
The vehicle sector came top of the re-
commerce economy, valued at £2.32
billion. Clothing and accessories were
second at £1.22 billion, followed by en-
tertainment and electronics, home-
ware, babycare and children’s items.
Those aged 25 to 34 were the largest
contributors to the growth of recom-
merce and have spent about £1.95 bil-
lion on second-hand items in the past
year, 28 per cent of the total.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
S
osandar, an online clothing
retailer aimed at “fashion-
conscious” women over 30,
failed to impress investors
yesterday with a plan to open
its first set of physical shops
(Isabella Fish writes).
Shares in the Aim-listed fashion
business fell 31 per cent, or 5½p, to
close at 12¼p, despite it saying a
step into physical retail next year
would deliver “significantly higher
gross and pre-tax profit margins for
the business and generate greater
shareholder value”. Sosandar was
Business
Email briefing
Inflation may be starting to come
down but the UK economy is still
struggling to grow. Despite the
latest decision to hold interest
rates, markets remain wary of
further increases to come and are
questioning whether the cost of
borrowing will stay higher for
longer.
Access to the latest news and
analysis has never been more
important. Get our latest
economics and business coverage
at 8am and 12.30pm each
weekday, direct by email from the
Business Editor Richard Fletcher
and the Business News Editor
Martin Strydom.
Sign up at
home.thetimes.co.uk/myNews
2GM
set up in 2016 by Alison Hall, a
former editor of Look magazine,
and Julie Lavington, Look’s former
publishing director, who believed
the high street was not providing
what women wanted to buy.
The fashion business listed on
London’s junior Aim market in 2017
after an unusual move to reverse
into the cash shell of a former gold
miner, Orogen. It has online deals
with John Lewis, Marks & Spencer
and Next, and an in-store
partnership with Sainsbury’s.
Sosandar, whose clothes are worn
Financial firms ‘need to do
Trillions at risk if payments more’ to beat money mules
system hit by cyberattack
Ben Martin
A cyberattack on an important finan-
cial payments system could result in
losses of $3.5 trillion to the global eco-
nomy, the world’s largest insurance
market has warned.
The research by Lloyd’s of London,
which it conducted with the Cambridge
Centre for Risk Studies, looked at how
the impact of a hack was likely to ripple
through different areas of the economy
from the initial planting of a malicious
computer code in payments software to
the aftermath of an attack years later.
It estimated the potential five-year
economic losses arising from hacks of
three severities and found a $3.5 trillion
hit was the weighted average of the sce-
narios it tested. In the worst-case scen-
ario the cost to the world economy could
hit $16 trillion, Lloyd’s forecast. Even the
least severe scenario resulted in $2.2 tril-
lion of losses.
Bruce Carnegie-Brown, chairman of
Lloyd’s, said the findings underscored
“the important role of insurance in sup-
porting and protecting customers
by the likes of Andrea McLean and
Fearne Cotton, the broadcasters,
said the business was “perfectly
placed” to pivot to the high street
from next year.
The Wilmslow-based business did
not disclose how many stores it
planned to open, or where, but said
the programme would be self-
funded. It expects the move to raise
revenue for the 2024 financial year
by 10 per cent to £46.8 million.
Revenue would grow by 17 per cent
year-on-year to £54.6 million in the
year to March 31, 2025, it added.
against the potential threat cyber poses
to businesses and society”.
Guarding against cyber risks has
become a priority for governments,
regulators and businesses as large
swathes of the economy move online.
In a speech yesterday, Elisabeth
Stheeman, who is an external member
of the Bank of England’s financial policy
committee, said that “left unchecked, a
cyberattack could impact financial
stability directly if it leads to a material
disruption of the provision of vital ser-
vices by financial institutions, markets
and financial market infrastructure”.
She said the Bank wanted “to get pre-
pared” for a hack or other outages
caused by technology and that it was
“undertaking further work to advance
and develop our understanding of how
financial stability can be threatened by
operational risk and how resilience can
be strengthened at the system level”.
The market for insurance against
cyber risks reached $9 billion in gross
written premiums last year and is ex-
pected to grow to between $13 billion
and $25 billion by 2025, Lloyd’s said.
Liontrust clients head
for exit with market
worries on the prowl
Ben Martin Banking Editor
Investors have pulled a further £1.6 bil-
lion from funds run by Liontrust Asset
Management amid industry turbu-
lence and negative sentiment towards
British shares.
The net withdrawals during the three
months to September 30 take the total
net outflows suffered by Liontrust in
the first half of its financial year to
£3.2 billion; £4.8 billion was pulled from
the firm in the year to the end of March.
The outflows exacerbate what was a
turbulent quarter for Liontrust, which
tried to buy its Swiss rival GAM for
£96 million but had the takeover
blocked by some of the Zurich-based
group’s shareholders in August.
John Ions, chief executive of the
FTSE 250 company, said that while
rival fund management firms had also
suffered in the last quarter, as investors
generally shied away from markets in
favour of the safe haven of cash, “Lion-
trust has been impacted by our bias to-
wards equities, the quality growth style,
mid and small caps and the broad nega-
tive sentiment towards the UK.
“The UK All Companies sector has
been the worst net-selling retail sector
in the UK for six of the past seven
quarters, according to the Investment
Association.”
Analysts at Panmure Gordon, the
stockbroker, said the outflows “could
have been much worse” given the
circumstances. The withdrawals left
Liontrust managing £27.7 billion of as-
sets at the end of the quarter.
Liontrust was set up in 1995 and was
listed on the London stock market four
years later. It has grown through a
string of takeovers, including last year’s
acquisition of Majedie, and the GAM
purchase would have expanded the
company’s presence overseas, as well as
boosted its assets under management.
Ions, 57, who has led the business
since 2010, said the failure of the GAM
Ben Martin
Financial firms need to do more to
tackle “money mules” — people used
by criminals to move cash from illegal
activities — amid fears that the cost of
living crisis could fuel the problem, the
City regulator has warned.
The Financial Conduct Authority
said that although a review of 16 un-
named banks, building societies and
payments providers had found instan-
ces of good practice, “there were many
areas we identified where firms should
be doing more” to stop such mules.
In a report released today, the watch-
dog cautioned that the economic pres-
sures caused by high inflation and in-
terest rates could make people more
vulnerable to acting as mules.
“Given the prevailing cost of living
crisis, some customers might find
themselves susceptible to providing
their account details for money mule
activities under influence or pressure,”
it said.
The authority’s review found that
some companies were making “rela-
tively few checks” when bringing in
clients and instead were “relying on
subsequently monitoring customers’
39
Business
deal had strengthened, rather than
weakened, Liontrust’s commitment to
widening its geographic reach and its
fund range. “The knowledge and in-
sight gained through the GAM process
is also helping us shape our future oper-
ating model for the long-term growth
of the Liontrust business,” he added.
“This will lead to restructuring
and efficiencies in some areas of the
business.”
Quilter, the FTSE 250 fund manager,
said that its core business had
experienced net inflows of £1 million
in the quarter, with its total assets under
management and administration
standing at £101.4 billion. Panmure’s
£4.8bn
Outflows in the year to March
analysts said it had been a “quiet”
quarter for Quilter and added that
“compared with some of the other per-
formances around the broader sector,
quiet is good”.
Sharp rises in interest rates by central
banks in the UK, US and Europe since
late 2021 to tackle inflation have unset-
tled financial markets because of inves-
tor nervousness about the health of the
economy.
Rather than investing in markets,
clients of fund managers and wealth
managers are using their spare cash to
pay debts such as mortgages, to offset
the impact of higher borrowing costs.
They are also keeping more of their sav-
ings in cash, to take advantage of higher
interest rates.
Ions said: “In time, cash will leave
savings accounts and money market
funds to return to investment markets.”
Shares in Liontrust closed down 1½p,
or 0.27 per cent, at 553p and Quilter’s
stock fell 5½p , or 6.42 per ent, at 78½p.
behaviour to identify suspicious activi-
ties”. Some firms were also accepting
numerous customers who used the
same device to access accounts “with
no clear reason”, which it said was “a
typical mule characteristic where the
customer may have sold on his or her
account details to a mule herder”.
Other problems included failures to
spot high-value transactions occurring
in previously dormant accounts and a
potentially problematic reliance by
some companies on machine learning
to spot suspicious activity.
“Machine-learning models require
historical data to accurately under-
stand a customer’s normal behaviour,”
the regulator said. “The machine learn-
ing period can take time, particularly
for new customers or those with limited
transaction history.”
The authority told financial compa-
nies to take a “proactive and propor-
tionate approach” to clamping down on
mules and warned it would take action
if they were found to fall short.
“We will use our full regulatory tools,
including enforcement action, if we
identify a firm failing to maintain pro-
portionate and adequate systems and
controls,” it said.
40
Business
Planning system
failures threaten
climate goals,
Grid boss warns
Emily Gosden Energy Editor
The boss of National Grid has warned
the government that its climate goals
will be at risk unless it takes urgent deci-
sions to speed up the delivery of green
infrastructure.
John Pettigrew, chief executive of the
FTSE 100 utility, said action was
needed “right now” to improve the
planning process and overhaul the
system of grid connections. The gov-
ernment has promised a series of meas-
ures, but it is not clear when they will be
implemented.
“For every consultation that is de-
layed, for every decision that’s
pushed back a few months,
there are very real con-
sequences for the de-
livery of our decar-
bonisation goals,”
Pettigrew told the
Energy UK annual
conference. “If we
are going to meet
the aspirations and
targets that have
been set by [the]
government, we have
to be bolder and braver
not just in our thinking
but in the pace of delivery.”
National Grid operates the
high-voltage electricity network in
England and Wales and is among many
industry voices that have been calling
for action to speed up the delivery of
new cabling infrastructure required to
connect up new wind and solar farms.
National Grid’s electricity system op-
erator division, soon to be spun out as
an independent, is responsible for im-
plementing the system of awarding
connections.
The present first-come-first-served
system is widely acknowledged to be
failing, with a queue of more than 300
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
BHP to sell
two coking
coalmines
in Australia
Emily Gosden
The world’s biggest mining company is
to offload two of its remaining Austra-
lian coking coalmines in a deal worth
up to $4.1 billion.
BHP’s joint venture with Mitsubishi
has agreed to sell Blackwater and
gigawatts of projects seeking to con- Daunia, two of its seven coalmines in
nect — far more than is expected to be Queensland, to Whitehaven Coal.
needed — with many viable develop- Whitehaven will pay $2.1 billion
ments stuck behind “zombie” projects upfront, $1.1 billion cash over the
that may never be built. following three years, and up to a fur-
The government has acknowledged ther $900 million in price-linked pay-
the problems. Last month Rishi Sunak ments over the three-year period.
called the inadequate grid infrastruc- The divestment forms the latest, and
ture “unacceptable”. The prime minis- what BHP has indicated may be the
ter said the government would “shortly last, stage in the streamlining of its cok-
bring forward comprehensive new re- ing coal portfolio to focus on the best
forms to energy infrastructure” includ- quality mines.
ing a spatial plan for infrastructure, ac- Coal is an increasingly divisive asset
celerated planning processes and an for investors because of its high carbon
overhaul of grid connections. footprint. BHP, a former FTSE 100
Pettigrew said there had already group now listed primarily in Australia,
been a series of consultations produces both coking and thermal coal,
in areas such as planning, as well as iron ore, copper and other
and proposals from the commodities.
government- Coking or metallurgical coal is used
appointed electri- in the production of steel, and is harder
city network tsar, to replace with low-carbon alternatives
Nick Winser, to than thermal coal, which is burnt in
which the gov- power stations.
ernment was yet BHP announced in 2020 that it
to respond. would sell off its lower quality coking
“We now need Cahill writes). 888 £248.2 million due to coal assets and would exit thermal coal
urgent decisions
and urgent
888 on the Holdings has reported
that revenues
compliance changes
in the Middle East.
altogether, though two years later it
decided to retain its final thermal coal
progress. Without
this urgent progress,
losing side declined by 10 per
cent to £405 million in
The company was
founded by two Israeli
assets in New South Wales and wind
them down over this decade, after fail-
when you consider the
scale of the investment
of sports its third quarter as it
grappled with sports
families in 1997 and
was floated in London
ing to find a viable buyer.
The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance owns
that’s needed, we’re at risk of
not only missing the climate goals, but
betting results that favoured
customers and
in 2005. The group
offers online casino
seven mines and one terminal and is
Australia’s largest producer and suppli-
T
also the economic opportunity to deliv- he gambling tougher gambling games, poker, bingo, er of seaborne coking coal. BHP an-
er for this country,” Pettigrew said. group behind regulations. and sports betting. nounced in February that it had begun
Speaking at the same event, Claire Willliam Hill The UK and Ireland Analysts at Peel a sale process for the Daunia and Black-
Coutinho, the new energy security sec- has suffered online business Hunt said that while water mines as, while “high quality as-
retary, said she was “acutely aware” of a fall in sales reported a drop in “trading had been sets with growth potential”, they
the problems with grid infrastructure after it found itself on revenues of 10 per weak”, the year “will “would struggle to compete for capital”.
and reiterated the commitment to in- the losing side of bets cent to £157.2 million prove to have been A senior BHP executive said this
troduce reform. She said the govern- on big sporting in the three months the turnaround year month that the remaining assets it
ment would respond to the Winser pro- events, including ended September 30. for 888”. would be left with were “the best met
posals by the end of the year. Manchester City’s International 888’s shares closed coal assets in the world, and also the
successful start to the revenues were down down by 3p, or 3.6 per closest to China” and that while it
Linking up wind and solar farms is football season (Helen by 19 per cent to cent, at 82¾p. would be reviewed annually, it did not
taking too long, John Pettigrew says at present “have plans to sell more”.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 41

Accept £200m private equity deal, Kin + Carta urges shareholders
Helen Cahill
Kin + Carta has become the latest small
technology business to recommend
that its shareholders accept a takeover
bid from a private equity firm.
The technology services business
has urged shareholders to accept a
£203 million offer from Apax Partners
after the company suffered a sharp
decline in its share price this year.
Private equity firms have targeted
other small listed companies including
Blancco Technology and Instem.
Apax’s offer to pay 110p per share for
the company represents a 41 per cent
premium on the value of its share price
the day before the deal was announced.
John Kerr, chairman of Kin + Carta,
said the deal would offer shareholders
the “certainty of a cash price today”.
Kin + Carta, which advises clients
such as Google and Microsoft on
efficiency savings, lost nearly a third
of its value in February when it warned
that its full-year figures would fall short
of forecasts.
The company said its net revenues
had been knocked because clients in
the technology sector had pulled back
on non-essential spending.
Analysts at Panmure Gordon said at
the time that the results were “not a re-
flection of the fundamentals of the
group”. Yet its shares dropped 59¼p, or
31.8 per cent, to 126¾p. Yesterday the
company’s stock closed up 37.6 per cent,
or 30p, to 109p.
Graham Simpson, an analyst at
Canaccord Genuity, said shareholders
should reject the offer. “Looking ahead,
this is a business forecast to generate
20 per cent cashflow returns, resulting
in a substantial forecast build-up of free
cash on the balance sheet. It’s no sur-
prise that Apax Partners is interested in
acquiring it,” he said.
“Shareholders should resist to accept
Business
the 110p offer, especially when the com-
pany is on the brink of a new era of
transformation and considering the
forecast free cashflow generation that
this offer fails to acknowledge.”
Kerr said: “The Kin + Carta Board has
concluded that the offer from Apax
Funds provides shareholders with the
certainty of a cash price today that
fairly represents the opportunities and
risks inherent in the business and deliv-
ery of Kin + Carta’s strategy.”

No tricks,
After a sharp rise in the
cost of cream and
Unexpected
labour, Cake Box said it
just treats was optimistic that the
price of raw materials
update paves
inside had begun to stabilise

Cake Box as raw material and

E
asing cost
pressures
have helped
sales and
margins to
recover at Cake Box
Holdings, the UK
maker of fresh cream
cakes (Isabella Fish
writes).
The egg-free cake
specialist said revenues
were expected to have
risen by 6 per cent
year-on-year in the six
months to the end of
September, with
adjusted profits ahead
of the previous year.
Franchisee store like-
for-like sales increased
by 6.2 per cent.
Cake Box said the
cost of raw materials
had remained stable
since the second half
of the previous
financial year, while
franchisees had seen
“some relief from
inflationary pressures
with an easing in
utility and fuel prices
during the period”.
The cost of baking
the company’s
products had soared
since the Russian
invasion of Ukraine
last year drove up the
input prices have
stabilised.”
He said Cake Box
had entered the
second half of the year
“with good
momentum and [we]
remain confident in
our growth prospects
following the
investment in our
operations and our
enlarged and
enhanced operational
team”.
Chamdal, 61,
founded Cake Box in
2008 with Pardip
Dass, 52, his cousin,
when they opened
their first store in east
London. It has 214
franchise stores.
Dass resigned as the
company’s finance
chief in March last
year, weeks after Cake
Box had admitted that
its full-year accounts
contained a number of
“inconsistencies [ and[
“transcription errors”.
The half-year update
from Cake Box failed
price of energy, with cost more to make the drink manufacturers Sukh Chamdal, to sweeten investors.
inflation well above sponge, while labour fell last month at the Cake Box chief Shares in the business,
the level previously costs had gone up. fastest rate in more executive, said: “We which have increased
budgeted for. According to the than three years, are pleased with our by 22 per cent over the
There had also been latest Lloyds Bank UK boosting hopes that first-half performance, past year, fell by 1p, or
a hefty rise in the sector tracker, prices inflation in food prices delivering a recovery 0.7 per cent, to close at
price of cream and it charged by food and will ease significantly. in sales and margins 144p.
way for relief
at Marshalls
Robert Lea Industrial Editor
Investors have welcomed an unsched-
uled trading statement from Marshalls
indicating that there will be no more
profit warnings this year from the
paving and landscaping group.
Tied heavily to the health of the
housebuilding market, revenues from
landscape products are down 15 per
cent in the first nine months of the year,
while building products are down 11 per
cent year on year.
The company’s roofing products
division, created from the debt-fi-
nanced £535 million takeover last year
of Marley, is trading down 7 per cent. In
total the group is 12 per cent down on a
like-for-like basis in the first nine
months. At the half year, the figure was
13 per cent.
The positive news was the accompa-
nying statement from the company:
“The board does not expect any
material changes in current trading
patterns during the fourth quarter of
the year and therefore remains confi-
dent of achieving a result that is in line
with its expectations for 2023.”
The shares closed up 3.5 per cent, or
7p, at 205p.
Analysts forecast that Marshalls will
end the year with pre-tax profits of
between £52 million and £54 million, a
sharp decline from the £90 million pro-
duced last year before the onset of the
cost of living squeeze and when people
were still spending on their homes
money saved during the pandemic.
With the City hoping Marshalls has

Whitbread profits jump 30% as

reached its nadir, analysts are pencil-
ling in a recovery next year to profits of
between £60 million and £64 million.
With housebuilding numbers mov-
ing in the wrong direction, investors

Premier Inn plugs gap in market

Lara Wildenberg
Whitbread’s pre-tax profits have risen
by almost a third in the past six months
as its no-frills Premier Inn hotels fill a
“significant” gap in the lodging market
left by the pandemic’s squeeze on the
independent sector.
The FTSE 100-listed hospitality
group reported a 29 per cent increase in
pre-tax profits to £395 million in the
first half, compared with the same
period last year, driven by a 17 per cent
rise in statutory revenue to £1.57 billion.
Revenue per available room, a key
industry performance measure, was
£71.02, up from £62.39 last year.
Hotel bookings were strong in
London, rising by nearly a quarter
year-on-year, due to demand for leisure
and business travel and tourists visiting
the capital. Sales of food and drink
increased by 10 per cent.
Whitbread said its own analysis had
identified significant opportunities for
growth in Britain from “structural
decline” among smaller and independ-
ently-run rivals.
Up to 70 per cent of hotels that closed
after the pandemic have been convert-
ed to alternative use, it found, while
new construction starts were down by
40 per cent on last year.
The company said that shrinking
supply had helped to create the oppor-
tunity to expand its pipeline of hotel
rooms from 110,000 to 125,000 in the
UK and Ireland. It has about 84,000
rooms in 849 hotels, and does not ex-
pect the independent sector to recover
for at least five years.
Dominic Paul, the chief executive,
said: “Given the structural shift in hotel
supply and by continuing to invest in
our assets . . . we remain confident that
we can both extend our market leading
position.”
Whitbread is continuing to expand in
Germany, where it has 57 hotels with
more than 10,000 rooms, with ambi-
tions to become the country’s number
one hotel chain. The German division
produced a reduced adjusted loss
before tax of £14 million, compared
with a loss of £25 million last time, and
is on track to break even next year.
Investors were rewarded for the
strong performance with the second
£300 million share buyback this year,
alongside an increased interim
dividend totalling £66 million.
Shares in Whitbread, which have
risen by 27 per cent in the year to date,
were up by 43p, or 1.29 per cent, to close
yesterday at £33.66p.
Richard Hunter, of the online invest-
ment platform Interactive Investor,
said Whitbread was recovering after “a
testing few years” that included the sale
of Costa Coffee to Coca-Cola in 2019
and Covid travel bans. He said: “Whit-
bread is flexing its financial strength
and looking to turn the screws further
on any potential competition . . . com-
bined with a targeted cost-cutting pro-
gramme and the ability to raise prices,
the hotel business seems to be in better
shape than during pre-pandemic.”
Peel Hunt said: “Whitbread’s market
leadership is undervalued by investors.
That leadership, coupled with a balance
sheet that gives it the pick of sites and
conversion properties, makes it terrible
to be a competitor.”
had generally given the thumbs-down
to Marshalls’ acquisition of Marley at a
price much higher than the value that
had been put on the private business
when it was considering a stock market
flotation.
“Marshalls has been regarded as a
very well-run operation for the last ten
years, attracting a premium valuation,”
Stephen Rawlinson, an independent
analyst of the sector, said.
“It seems to have been caught out
with a strategy, which included buying
Marley with a lot of debt and expanding
into new products, geared for rising
markets at a time when they went the
wrong way.”
The City is split. Graeme Kyle, analyst
at the broker Shore Capital, reckoned
the stock trading at 12 times this year’s
expected earnings was overvalued.
Clyde Lewis, analyst at Marshall’s own
broker Peel Hunt, argues that 310p is a
fair value. “The shares have dropped
25 per cent in the last month on fears
that forecasts would be cut further. This
update should reassure,” he said.
42
Business Markets
Daniel Liberto Tempus
Buy, sell or hold: today’s best share tips
Steam into specialist engineer’s stock
spirax-sarco
Straight years of Market cap
div growth 55 £6.1bn
D
uring the last two
recessions Spirax-Sarco
suffered just a blip in
sales and profits. Now the
outlook is uncertain
again, its triumphs and defensive
credentials seem to have been
forgotten. Investors’ memories are
sometimes short.
These days the engineer’s shares
can be bought for 23 times forecast
earnings. That is cheap by its
standards. Normally the asking price
is about 30 per cent higher. For the
first time in ages Spirax-Sarco, one of
the best performers in the London
market over the past few decades, is
attractively valued.
Spirax’s steam controls, electrical
heating solutions and peristaltic
pumps are indispensable to many
companies. They improve the
efficiency of industrial processes,
reducing energy, water use, waste
and carbon dioxide emissions, and
prevent fluids from getting
contaminated. Competition is thin
and demand is high, resulting in
strong pricing power and
consistently fat profit margins.
Selling niche products critical to
manufacturing isn’t the only reason
the group is better able to withstand
economic turmoil. No single
customer accounts for more than
1.5 per cent of total revenue and
about 60 per cent of takings come
bellway
Land bank plots Expt new homes
98,164 in 23-24 7,500
B
ellway’s latest financial results
were unsurprisingly grim.
High mortgage rates and
inflation led to negative numbers
across the board, including a 36 per
cent dip in weekly reservations from
private buyers and squeezed
operating margins.
This did not come as a big shock.
Investors are more concerned about
what happens next and specifically
whether the housebuilder’s valuation
has bottomed. Sadly, as reflected in
the down, up and then down again
PRICES
Major indices
Heading
Share price
Source: FactSet
2023
Feb Apr Jun
ADVICE Buy
WHY A great company and its
shares haven’t been this
cheap for years
from less cyclical sectors such as
food and beverage, pharmaceuticals
and biotechnology, power generation
and healthcare. Better still, 85 per
cent of turnover is funded by
customers’ day-to-day maintenance
and operational budgets. These
smaller valued orders tend to remain
stable even as industrial production
slows. When the economy is in the
doldrums, it is the big capital
share price reaction, there is no
simple answer to that question.
One thing that is clear is that next
year will be tough. Bellway warned of
a “material reduction in volume” and
expects margins to tighten by at least
600 basis points.
Plummeting earnings also mean a
sharp cut to the dividend is
inevitable. Analysts at Jefferies
predict the payout will drop more
than two thirds to 44p a share.
Bellway is refusing to batten down
the hatches. The housebuilder is
desperately trying to boost sales,
even at the expense of profits, and is
confident of a recovery in 2025.
Though cautious, management
does not believe a deep recession and
Industries served
£13
Biotech
Food & drink
12
Machinery 12%
11 Oil & gas 5%
Chemicals 5%
10 Power generation 4%
Healthcare 4%
9 Wasterwater 3%
Buildings 3%
8 7.3 per cent. It also increased
Mining 3%
Semiconductor 2%
7 management taking a cautious tone
Transport 2%
Aug Oct
expenditures on new equipment that
normally disappear. Repairs and
maintenance must go on regardless.
The proof is in the numbers. Sales
at constant currencies fell just 7 per
cent in the 2009 recession, versus a
sector average of about 30 per cent,
and only 3 per cent when Covid shut
production lines in 2020. Those
defensive credentials, coupled with a
precious economic moat in several
growth markets, explain why the
engineer’s shares usually carry a
much higher rating than peers.
Lately that premium has been
narrowing. At the end of 2021 there
was a big sell-off, partly reflecting
the general rotation out of growth
stocks, a toppy-looking valuation, a
property price crash are on the cards.
The gentle easing of mortgage rates
and inflation, together with rising
wages, offer hope that the worst is
over and there is an eagerness to be
ready to capitalise on these
promising signs.
This optimism is shared by
analysts. City brokers generally
agree that the well-publicised dip in
house-buying activity won’t
transform into a meltdown. They
claim that Bellway’s strong balance
sheet and accumulation of lots of
land over the past few years leave it
decently placed to profit when
demand returns.
If you subscribe to the temporary
blip theory, the shares, which are
London Financial Futures
© 2021 Tradeweb Markets LLC. All rights reserved.
The Tradeweb FTSE Gilt Closing Prices information contained
herein is proprietary to Tradeweb; may not be copied or
re-distributed; is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely; and does not constitute
investment advice. Tradeweb is not responsible for any loss or damage that might result
from the use of this information.
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
gloomier global industrial production
outlook and the end of the pandemic
gravy train — Spirax made a fortune
selling its pumps to vaccine makers.
25% Sentiment hasn’t recovered since.
In the past week peers and rivals
19%
warned that trading conditions in
some of the group’s most profitable
and defensive markets remained
challenging. The German life
sciences equipment supplier
Sartorius said customers were still
destocking after buying up inventory
during the pandemic. Glum sector-
wide commentary prompted the
broker Peel Hunt to lower its 2023
adjusted pre-tax profit forecast by
speculation that Spirax won’t meet
its full-year guidance, despite
in its latest outlook statement.
These short-term challenges don’t
change the long-term growth story.
Spirax is still a quality company and
a worthy addition to any portfolio. In
many respects, negative sentiment
should be welcomed. Years of stellar
growth turned heads and led to a
stretched valuation. As is usually the
case, it took a turning economic
cycle and panic to alter that.
The question is whether the shares
have further to fall. That is always a
possibility, although today’s valuation
prices in a lot of bad news and
suggests that any non-negative
updates from this point forward will
probably be met with enthusiasm. If
you were looking for a way in, or
hoping to add to existing holdings,
now may be a good time to pounce.
trading at 0.8 times tangible book
value and a 25 per cent discount to
net assets, look attractive.
If you don’t, which is an equally
valid call, or like your stocks less
volatile, you should probably sit
this one out.
Housebuilder profitability largely
reflects the state of the economy and
the economy is becoming
increasingly difficult to predict.
ADVICE Hold
WHY There is the potential for
recovery but the market is
unpredictable
Commodities
news in brief
Poundland slows pace
The owner of Poundland has said
it will slow its rapid store opening
programme after it issued back-
to-back profit warnings last
month. The Warsaw-listed group,
which also owns the Pepco and
Dealz discount retail brands, said
it now had a more “targeted”
approach to shop openings. It
plans to open at least 400 net
new stores in its current financial
year, down from 668 in 2022-23,
which it ended with 4,629 stores
in total. Andy Bond, executive
chairman, said it needed to
“refocus on delivering more
measured growth”.
Just Eat raises forecast
Europe’s largest food delivery
company raised its annual profit
forecast after a return to growth
across the majority of the
business in the third quarter. Just
Eat Takeaway.com said that gross
transaction value grew in the UK
and Ireland by 4 per cent and in
northern Europe by 6 per cent.
The Dutch food delivery service
upgraded its adjusted earnings
before interest, tax, depreciation
and amortisation guidance to
about €310 million and launched
a €150 million share buyback.
Commons trade chief
Liam Byrne, the former Labour
chief secretary to the Treasury
who left a note saying “I’m afraid
there is no money left”, has been
elected chairman of the business
and trade select committee. The
member for Birmingham Hodge
Hill, who will earn an extra
£17,354 for the role on top of his
£86,584 MP’s salary, said: “It is
now vital that we get straight
down to work holding ministers
to account, exposing corporate
bad behaviour and advancing the
fight against economic crime.”
Housebuilding boost
Single-family homebuilding in
America rebounded last month,
boosted by demand for new
construction amid an acute
housing shortage. But the highest
mortgage rates in nearly 23 years
could slow momentum. The
bounceback reflects permits
approved several months ago
before rates rose above 7 per cent.
Single-family housing starts rose
3.2 per cent to a seasonally
adjusted annual rate of 963,000
units last month, the commerce
department said.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
It was hurt by a
Deal slump widespread slowdown
in dealmaking activity,
hits Morgan including takeovers
and flotations, which
Stanley caused a 27 per cent
slide in revenues to
A
slump in $938 million at
investment Morgan Stanley’s
banking investment banking
and a division, which earns
wealth fees by arranging
management arm transactions for
performance that was corporate clients.
underwhelming has While its
knocked third-quarter powerhouse wealth
profits at Morgan management arm
Stanley (Ben Martin fared better and posted
writes). a 5 per cent rise in
Net income fell by revenues to $6.4
9 per cent year-on-year billion, this
to $2.4 billion in the nevertheless fell short
three months to the of forecasts.
end of September, the Investors responded
Wall Street giant said to the results by
yesterday. sending Morgan
The day’s biggest movers
Gold/Precious
metals
Owing to a technical issue, the gold fix
prices are from Tuesday.
European money
deposits %
43
Markets Business
Cancer drug data causes
concerns for AstraZeneca
Jessica Newman Market report
B
illions of pounds were wiped
off the value of media
AstraZeneca’s shares
yesterday when new data
for its lung cancer drug
unnerved the City.
Lad group buys a ladies’ brand
Britain’s biggest pharmaceutical
T
company and the second biggest he social media are young men,
listed company in London was the group behind Betches is popular
biggest FTSE 100 loser after a fresh LADbible has with millennial and
data abstract on datopotamab spent $54 million Gen Z American
deruxtecan, known as Dato-DXd, left buying a rival channel women.
a “negative impression” on analysts at in the US as part of its Across its various
Jefferies. Stephen Barker said the data attempt to crack the social media
was “worse than expected”, citing the world’s largest platforms, Betches
fact that the drug improved the time advertising market. has 32 million
patients with non-small cell lung LBG Media, whose followers. Last year,
cancer lived without their disease headquarters are in the business
worsening by only 0.7 months Manchester, is paying LADbible and its sister generated revenue of
compared with chemotherapy. He $24 million in cash channels have more $14.6 million.
had anticipated an improvement of upfront, plus up to than 400m followers LBG Media’s
another $30 million in channels, including
Stanley shares down deferred Kuperman, Jordana LADbible and Unilad,
6.8 per cent, or $ 5.45, Wall Street report consideration, for Abraham and share viral videos and
to close at $74.88 in Betches, a New York- Samantha Fishbein. funny stories and have
New York last night. Indices fell heavily as the price of based media brand They were more than 400
The stock was also crude rose strongly amid escalating aimed at women. schoolfriends who set million followers on
knocked by dismay at turmoil in the Middle East which The “step change up the business in Instagram, Twitter/X
the lack of news about dampened risk appetite and raised acquisition” will 2011 and will stay on and Facebook.
a successor to James oil supply concerns. The Dow Jones result in a windfall for after the deal. LBG shares rose
Gorman, the bank’s industrial average was down 332.57 Betches’ three co- Whereas most of 1½p, or 1.7 per cent, to
outgoing chief points, or 1 per cent, to 33,665.08. founders, Aleen LADbible’s followers 89½p.
executive, who
revealed in May that
he was going to stand between one and a half and two selling pressure as unease about the cent, lower to £81.88, a level not seen
down. months. Bank of England’s path on interest since April 2020.
Gorman has led the The data for Dato-DXd, which is rates, coupled with a cautious update Quilter’s shares slipped to a two-
business for 13 years being jointly developed with Daiichi from Barratt Developments, soured month low of 78¾p, after falling 5½p,
and was credited with Sankyo, of Japan, was published sentiment towards the sector. Barratt or 6.4 per cent, on the back of the
reviving the group before the European Society of slipped 21¾p, or 5.1 per cent, to 402¼p wealth manager’s disappointing
following the 2007-9 Medical Oncology’s congress, which after warning that the trading trading statement.
financial crisis. His starts in Madrid tomorrow. backdrop would be difficult over the Other updates were more well
strategy has involved Analysts at Guggenheim Securities coming months; Taylor Wimpey received. Whitbread marched towards
building Morgan believe the data abstracts, which also declined by 4¾p, or 4.3 per cent, to the top of the Footsie leaderboard
Stanley’s wealth included details on the drug from a 107p; Persimmon gave up 72¼p, or with a 43p, or 1.3 per cent, gain to
management business breast cancer trial, were unlikely to 6.7 per cent, to 997½p and Bellway fell £33.66 after the Premier Inn owner
into one of the biggest result in any changes to forecast by 130p, or 5.8 per cent, to £21.04. said it was launching a £300 million
in the world. numbers for the drug. Airline shares lost value after a buyback after a solid first half.
Astra’s shares, which hit a 20-year bounce in oil prices elevated the A strong sales outlook from Procter
high of £122.94 in April, fell 658p, or prospect of an increase in fuel costs. & Gamble, the American consumer
5.8 per cent, to £106.12 to reflect IAG, the British Airways owner, lost goods giant, gave a leg up to Reckitt
investors’ disappointment. 4½p, or 3.1 per cent, to 141½p, Tui Benckiser, which rose 78p, or 1.3 per
There was no shortage of losers dropped 24p, or 5.4 per cent, to 424p cent, to £59.50.
after fears about the escalating war in and Wizz Air, which was reeling from Gama Aviation was a standout
Gaza pushed investors away from analysts at Citigroup calling for performer on Aim after announcing
riskier assets, such as equities. The clients to sell the Hungarian airliner, the sale of Jet East, its US
FTSE 100 closed 87.21 points, or 1.1 per fell 80½p, or 4.8 per cent, to £16.15½. maintenance, repair and operations
cent, lower at 7,588, while the FTSE Investors sold their shares in business, for $131 million. Shares in
250 retreated 286 points, or 1.6 per Spirax-Sarco Engineering on advice the British aviation services company
cent, to 17,403.46. from Shore Capital, dragging shares soared 36p, or 68.6 per cent, to 88½p,
The housebuilders were under in the FTSE 100 group 210p, or 2.5 per their highest in more than four years.
Money rates % Dollar rates Exchange rates
Sterling spot and forward rates
Other Sterling
Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by
Morningstar or this publication
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 45

Unit trusts Business

The Times unit trust information service
Yld Yld Yld Yld Yld Yld
Sell Buy +/­ % Sell Buy +/­ % Sell Buy +/­ % Sell Buy +/­ % Sell Buy +/­ % Sell Buy +/­ %

British funds

This is a paid for information service. For

further details on a particular fund, readers
should contact their fund manager.

Data as shown is
for information
purposes only. No offer is made by Morningstar
or this publication
46 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

Business Equity prices

Dividend yields Please note that the information in the 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price 12 month Price
High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E High Low Company (p) +/- Yld% P/E
dividend yields column has been suspended due to
technical problems at Morningstar, the provider. v
12-month high and low High/low prices for UK v v v
equities are based on closing prices. Investment trust v
high and low prices are based on intra-day figures. v

v v v

12 month Price 12 month Price v

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

v v
Automobiles & parts v
v v
v
v
v
Banking & finance v v
v

v v v
v v
v
v

v
Consumer goods
v
v v

v v v
v
v
v
v
v

v
v v
v v
v v v
v
v
v

v
v

v v v
v
v

v
v v
v

Investment companies v
v

12 month Price Yld Dis(-) 12 month Price Yld Dis(-)

High Low Company (p) +/- % or Pm High Low Company (p) +/- % or Pm v

v
v
v
v

v
v

v
v

Health
v

v v

v v

v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v

v v
v
v

v
v
v

v
Engineering v

Construction & v

property
v
v
v
v

v
v v

v
v
v v

v
v
v
v
v
v v

v v
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 47

Equity prices Business

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

v v v v v

v v v

v v v v
v
v v v
v v v

v v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
v v
v
v
v
v v

v v v
v v
v
v v v
v
v
v
v v
v v
v v
v v v
v v
v
v
v
Industrials v v v
v
v v
v
v v v

v Real estate
v
v
v Professional & v

v
v v
support services v
v Retailing v
v
v
v
v
v v v

v v v

v v v
v
v v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v v

v
Telecoms
v v v
v
v
v
v

v v
v v
v
v
v
Natural resources v

v v
v v v
Leisure v v
v

v
v v v
v v
v

v v Transport
v

v v
v

v v

v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v

v v v
v v
v v
v
Technology
v

v v
v v
v
v v v
v
v
v
v
v
v
v

v
v Utilities
v v
v
v
v v v

v
v
v v

v v v
v
v v
v v
v v
v
v
v v
v
v v
v
v
v
v v v
v v
v
v
v v
v v
Media v
v
u
s
v v t
v v
v v
v v
v v
v v
v v v
Data as shown is
v v
v for information
v v purposes only. No offer is made by
v
Morningstar or this publication
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 49

Finnish president who

won the Nobel peace prize
Martti Ahtisaari
Page 50
Register
Obituaries

Jules Konopinski
Early member of the 43 Group founded by Jewish ex-servicemen to take on Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in the East End of London
Julius Konopinski, better known as Ju-
les, was one of the few surviving mem-
bers of the 43 Group, which was formed
in April 1946 by Jewish ex-servicemen
to resist the postwar aggression of Brit-
ain’s fascists and to keep them off the
streets of East London.
Konopinski was 17 when he joined
the group, by which time he had lost
nine uncles and aunts in the Nazi death
camps. “We Jews, all our lives, have
been taught that if anyone spits at you,
you walk away — that’s the teaching of
the rabbis,” he later told an interviewer.
“But there comes a time when you have
to make a stand — and we made a stand.
I’m very proud of what we did.”
Because of his eagerness to take on
fascist thugs he earned the nickname
“Mad Jules”. “There was a lot of violence
in the East End, but it was justified,” he
said. “I enjoy debating and discussing,
but when you’re dealing with thugs, the
rabble on the street, you can’t talk to
them. We were defending our commu-
nities. It was a necessary defence.”
Sir Oswald Mosley had marched
with his Blackshirts, members of the
British Union of Fascists, before the
war, culminating in the Battle of Cable
Street with anti-fascist demonstrators
in 1936. Mosley had been interned dur-
ing the war and then came back to the
East End after the war. In Ridley Road
market, on Sunday evenings, hundreds
would gather to hear him. Konopinski Police attempt to keep demonstrators
was arrested on Sunday March 7, 1948, back during a procession by Oswald
at a Commonwealth Party meeting at Mosley’s fascist followers in Hackney,
Ridley Road and charged with threat- east London, 1949. Konopinski, above
ening behaviour and possession of of-
fensive weapons. He was carrying a ra- ing in Germany since 1914, and served get out, which they finally did, on one of Konopinski joined the 43 Group, which In the late 1940s Konopinski became
zor blade in a metal holder, which he in the German army during the First the last boats to leave Danzig (now gathered intelligence about fascist active in the Jewish subculture of
said he used in his job as a leather work- World War. His mother, Tauba Kur- Gdansk) for London, which was meetings, exposed their activities, and schmeissing, a massage therapy that be-
er, and a screw-fitting light bulb, which land, had been living there since marry- attacked in the English Channel. stopped them selling fascist news- came popular in steam baths across
he claimed to have found and which he ing Isaac in 1928. Isaac worked in the Jules, who spoke German, Yiddish papers on street corners in Jewish London. He had accompanied his father
thought “might come in useful” for do- military headgear business and the and some Polish, quickly learnt English areas. Its members also took the fight to to the Hackney Baths and started going
mestic purposes (although the police family lived in Germany until 1938. — he was taught by nuns at a local con- the enemy, having been trained by ex- to the Porchester Baths in Queensway,
said such bulbs were often thrown at They had been intending to emigrate to vent school on condition that he learnt commandos, boxing coaches and kara- west London, aged 18. For many London
political meetings). Konopinski was America, but because of an embargo the catechism and Catholic prayers — te instructors. Jews of his generation, schmeissing was
sent for trial at the Old Bailey on May 10 they were unable to obtain visas. and took the entrance exam for West In 1950 the 43 Group was disbanded as important as attending synagogue.
with six co-defendants. Some of the In 1938, on the eve of Yom Kippur, his Ham Secondary School, but he was told after various Jewish organisations, law- Men arranged family holidays to co-
men were fined, but Konopinski was father was notified that he should at- he was too good for that school and was yers and parliamentarians decided that incide with the baths’ closure for clean-
found not guilty and discharged. tend the American delegation, as their advised to sit the entrance exam for antisemitism was “under control”. ing and repairs and if one of their frater-
After that he left the 43 Group for a paperwork had arrived. On the tram Parmiter’s, a grammar school in Beth- However, in 1962 Konopinski saw that nity got married there was always a table
year when he was recruited to fight in back home he was arrested for the of- nal Green. Subjected to playground a banner had been unfurled in Trafal- at the reception for lads from the baths.
the Palmach, the military defence force fence of looking at an Aryan woman, abuse, he stood in a crater in nearby gar Square, 60ft long and 8ft high, say- Konopinski was still attending the Por-
of the Zionist movement, during the and taken to the Gestapo headquarters, ing “Free Britain from Jewish Control”. chester until six months before he died.
Israeli War of Independence. He
trained secretly in England, without
known as the Brown House, where he
was questioned, abused and locked up.
His father was arrested He informed his old comrades and the
62 Committee was founded to counter-
He was 63 when his wife died in 1993
and he closed his leathergoods shop in
telling his parents of his intentions, and He managed to escape and made his by the Nazis for looking act Colin Jordan and his National 1995. During the last 20 years of his life
left for Marseilles in the summer of way to the port of Kiel, thence to Den- Socialist Movement. he underwent treatment for three can-
1948. From there, he flew to Israel with mark, and subsequently, in September at an Aryan woman Konopinski remained a member of cers, suffered two heart attacks and had
his friend Vidal Sassoon, later to be- 1938, he travelled from Denmark to the 62 until it closed in 1975. Mosley a pacemaker fitted. He is survived by his
come world famous as a hairdresser. London on a one-week visitor’s permit. Victoria Park every morning and continued to attend fascist rallies in the younger brother Lennard; by Valerie, his
On his return he resumed his duties After the permit had expired he went fought off anyone who dared to insult 1960s and Konopinski was part of a partner of 27 years, a former fashion re-
with the 43 Group, which continued into hiding, otherwise he would have him. When his family moved to Clap- group of 62 members who got close tailer; and by his two daughters: Caro-
until 1950, when Mosley retired to been sent back to Germany. For almost ton he transferred to Hackney Downs enough on one occasion to kick the fas- lyne, who worked in fashion, and Mi-
France and the resurgent English fas- a year he hid in the basement of a house School, where he matriculated at the cist firebrand in the knees, knowing chele, who worked in recruitment and is
cists became demoralised. in Forest Gate, east London, with no- age of 15 and helped a young Harold that he suffered from phlebitis. now a fitness and zumba instructor.
In 2021, together with two other 43 body knowing he was there. Pinter with his matriculation exams. After the Second World War, his Konopinski was an enthusiastic free-
Group veterans, Konopinski met Ivo Jules and his mother remained in While at Parmiter’s, he and his Jew- father Isaac had resumed his work with mason. A masonic lodge called Metal-
Mosley, a direct descendant of Sir Os- Germany, unaware of whether Isaac ish contemporaries witnessed several military headgear and as one of the few lus was born at the Porchester Baths.
wald Mosley, at the screening of foot- was alive or dead. Eventually, Tauba re- antisemitic demonstrations and saw people able to service the bearskins for Apart from Metallus, Konopinski be-
age from a documentary about the 43 ceived news from him as well as the graffiti daubed on walls saying “Jews coronations he was given a seat on longed to the Mandate, Attainment
Group. Mosley told a Jewish Chronicle instruction to join him in England. She Out”, and they realised the prewar Horse Guards Parade for the Corona- and Chapter lodges, and he received an
reporter at the screening that his attempted to sell the family property, Mosleyites had been released from in- tion in 1953. award for 50 years of service to freema-
grandfather was “a truly horrible man, which was only allowed if she sold to a ternment. The situation in London de- Jules, who had gone into the leather sonry. If there had been an award for
who loved being unpleasant, with a member of the Nazi Party and for what- teriorated to such an extent that in 1946 goods business as an apprentice, fighting fascists he would no doubt
very sadistic sense of humour. He was ever price they offered. She was Jewish people in east London — Beth- opened a shop in Victoria, which sold have won that too, because he had been
extremely vain, and power mad.” charged “Jew tax” on the proceeds, nal Green, Whitechapel, Aldgate, handbags and briefcases and did repair doing it all his life.
Julius Hillel Konopinski was born in which was also applied to any money Hackney — were afraid to go out in the work. In 1956 he married Eleanor King,
1930, in Breslau (now Wroclaw), Silesia, drawn from the bank. She took the streets for fear of being attacked, and in whose parents had a leather goods Jules Konopinski, anti-fascist fighter, was
which then belonged to Germany. His family money and Julius to Poland, August 1947 there were antisemitic business in Sutton. They had their first born on February 18, 1930. He died of a
father, Issac, a Polish Jew, had been liv- where they spent nine months trying to riots in Manchester and Liverpool. daughter in 1958. brain tumour on July 16, 2023, aged 93
50
Register
Martti Ahtisaari
Finnish president and Nobel prizewinner who helped to prevent the Northern Ireland peace process from unravelling
One evening in June 2000 a private
plane collected Martti Ahtisaari, the
former president of Finland, and Cyril
Ramaphosa, the former secretary-gen-
eral of South Africa’s ruling African
National Congress, from Charles de
Gaulle airport in Paris and flew that un-
likely duo to Dublin.
They landed at midnight and were
taken to an IRA safe house. Early the
next morning a car drove them out of
the capital. They were transferred to a
second vehicle, then to a windowless
van that delivered them to a farmhouse.
That night Ahtisaari was given a stick to
support his considerable bulk and they
were taken by foot to an abandoned
barn in a wood. Rubbish was cleared
away to reveal a trapdoor. Beneath the
trapdoor was a workshop “and there
they were: tubes meant for missiles,
guns and different kinds of metal parts
for building weapons”, Ahtisaari subse-
quently told his biographers, Katri
Merikallio and Tapani Ruokanen.
Ahtisaari was too bulky to climb
down, but Ramaphosa did and he pro-
ceeded to lash the weapons together
with a plastic seal that would prevent
them being used without detection.
The two men’s adventure was not yet
over. A tractor with a wooden trailer
took them through fields and woods to
a building resembling a potato cellar. At
the foot of its steps lay another cache of
IRA weaponry which the two men
sealed. “We counted the weapons and
pulled plastic seal strapping through
and around them,” Ahtisaari recalled.
“When the weapons had been bundled
up and we climbed out of the dark
cellar, I said to Cyril: ‘There must be a
better way to earn one’s living’. The
tension ebbed and everyone burst out
laughing.”
They were then taken to another
Nicholas Dromgoole
Influential dance critic who married a leading ballerina and delighted in socialising with the great and the good at Covent Garden
Nicholas Dromgoole was already an
established ballet critic when he was in-
troduced at a party to Lesley Collier, a
leading ballerina with the Royal Ballet
who later became his wife. “Are you a
dancer?” she demanded. “Have you any
idea what it feels like to go out alone on
that stage watched by over 2,000
people and try to keep their attention?
If not, what right have you to pass judg-
ment on their performance?”
This verbal assault gave Dromgoole
the opportunity to reflect not only on his
own role, but also that of the critic
in general. Recalling their
conversation in The Role of
the Critic (2012), he told
Collier: “I do not dance, I
write. And I do not
write for dancers, cho-
reographers, dance
teachers or ballet
directors . . . I write for
other members of the
audience.”
Dromgoole, who spent
30 years as a critic for The
Sunday Telegraph, also enjoyed
his own walk-on parts, including as a
grandfather in a skit from The Nut-
cracker during the 1985 gala for Royal
Opera House patrons in which Prin-
cess Diana danced with Wayne Sleep.
He had begun reviewing in the mid-
1960s but was often bemused by
modern dance. In 1984 he described
how the dancer and choreographer
Michael Clark “set out to shock, a diffi-
cult aim in the blasé world of the avant
garde, and appeared in drag, in costume
exposing his bare buttocks, even wear-
ing a large phallus at one stage”. He
farm where, beneath another trapdoor,
they were shown bags full of fertiliser
for making explosives. Those, too, they
sealed. “The process that led to the in-
spection visit and the way in which it
was carried out makes us believe that
this is a genuine effort by the IRA to
advance the peace process,” the two
trusted elder statesmen declared in a
subsequent statement.
It was an extraordinary night’s work
not just because of what they found, but
because it marked the beginning of the
end of the issue that had bedevilled
Northern Ireland’s peace process from
the outset, and that had stalled the im-
plementation of the Good Friday
agreement two years earlier. Though
four more years would pass before the
IRA formally ended its armed struggle,
He was taken to a barn
where a trapdoor hid a
weapons workshop
it had taken a huge step. For the first
time it had agreed to an independently
verifiable means of putting its weapon-
ry beyond use, and in a manner that did
not smack of surrender.
Ahtisaari thus added to a long record
of diplomatic accomplishments that
won him the Nobel peace prize in 2008
for, in the words of the citation, “his im-
portant efforts, on several continents
and over more than three decades, to
resolve international conflicts”.
Dogged, undemonstrative and studi-
ously neutral, though distinguished by
a penchant for conducting meetings in
saunas, he helped bring peace to Nami-
bia, the Balkans and the secessionist In-
donesian province of Aceh as well as
Northern Ireland. As he liked to say:
went on to note that Clark was mouth-
ing abuse while “preening, prancing,
flouncing about the stage and certainly
succeeding in startling me”.
Meanwhile, Collier’s onstage part-
nership with Rudolf Nureyev provided
access to the corridors of power. “I have
lunched with Prince Rainier and the
Monte Carlo royal family at Claridge’s,
dined at No 10 Downing Street, sat at
the prime minister’s table for a banquet
in the Great Hall of the People’s Repub-
lic in Peking, attended a dinner given by
the Swiss government . . . attend-
ed grandly dressed galas at all
the great opera houses of
Europe [and] been pre-
sented to most mem-
bers of our own royal
family,” he recalled.
Although these
“fringe benefits of bal-
let criticism” were “al-
most as much fun as the
glories of the dance it-
self”, Dromgoole succeed-
ed in retaining his critical
detachment, not least when
Nureyev went over the top
in his staging of
Sleeping Beauty at
the Coliseum in
London in 1975. “Nureyev may
be the world’s most famous dancer,
but as a choreographer he is far less
successful,” he declared, adding of
the Russian defector’s role as the
prince: “His self-indulgence
has gone too far.”
Nicholas Arthur
Dromgoole was born
in Maranhao,
Ahtisaari remained studiously neutral
“We should never accept that some
conflicts remain frozen for ever.”
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari was
born in the town of Viipuri in the Kare-
lia region of eastern Finland, in 1937.
His Norwegian-born father, Oiva, was
a mechanic in the Finnish army. His
mother, Tyyne, came from a farming
family. When Ahtisaari was two the So-
viet Red Army attacked Karelia and his
family fled. “The origins of my career as
a peacemaker can be found from my
childhood years,” he said decades later.
“Along with 400,000 Karelians I be-
came an eternally displaced person in
the rest of Finland. With my mother I
moved from one household to another
before settling in Kuopio.”
Following the Second World War Vi-
Dromgoole,
left, and his
wife Lesley
Collier with
Anthony
Dowell
ipuri was ceded to the Soviet Union and
renamed Vyborg. In 1953 Ahtisaari’s
family moved from Kuopio to Oulu, in
northern Finland, where he completed
his secondary education. He per-
formed National Service, qualified as a
primary school teacher in 1959, then
moved to Karachi in Pakistan as a de-
velopment worker for three years.
In 1965 he joined Finland’s foreign
ministry. Three years later he married
Eeva Hyvarinen, a teacher, with whom
he had a son, Marko, who became a rock
musician and tech entrepreneur.
In 1973 he was appointed ambassador
to Tanzania, and four years after that
became UN commissioner and special
representative to Namibia, where guer-
rillas were fighting a war for independ-
ence from apartheid-era South Africa.
Thirteen tumultuous and often violent
years later Namibia, with Ahtisaari’s
tireless help, finally achieved that inde-
pendence. The new state made Ahti-
saari and his wife honorary citizens,
and many Namibian babies were re-
portedly named after him.
He returned to Finland as foreign
minister in 1991. By 1994 the country
was in a deep economic recession
following the collapse of the neigh-
bouring Soviet Union. As a fresh face
and untainted outsider Ahtisaari be-
came a dark-horse candidate for the
presidency. He won, comfortably, as the
candidate of the Social Democratic
Party and proceeded to lead Finland in-
to the European Union. He proved a
popular president despite allegations
that he was a heavy drinker. “I think the
nation can differentiate between
events of a private nature and official
work,” was his ambiguous response.
The highlight of his six-year term
came in 1999 when he persuaded Presi-
dent Milosevic of Serbia to accept a
northeast Brazil, in 1927, the third of
four sons of Nicholas Dromgoole, a
telegraphist serving overseas with the
civil service, and his wife Violet (née
Brookes); his nephew is Dominic
Dromgoole, a former artistic director
of Shakespeare’s Globe.
The family returned to London while
he was a baby and during the war he was
educated at Dulwich College. While
reading history at St Edmund Hall, Ox-
ford, he “was taught by dons who had
been in their prime dur-
ing the 1930s and been
seduced by the then
fashionable beliefs in
communism and pacifism”. He
belonged to the university ballet club,
rubbing shoulders with the future
dance critics Clement Crisp (obituary,
March 12, 2022), John Percival (obitu-
ary, June 27, 2012) and Clive Barnes
(obituary, November 20, 2008).
Dromgoole continued his studies at
the Sorbonne in Paris, where he special-
ised in French theatre and fell in love
with a Frenchwoman, who died of tu-
berculosis. Returning to Britain he
took up teaching and by age 27 was
headmaster of Pierrepont House
School in Frensham, Surrey. He left in
1962 to become chairman of the Benesh
Institute, before joining Sir John Cass
College, now part of London Metro-
politan University, as a lecturer in media
studies. “I can even claim to have been
the first to submit a proposal for a degree
course in media studies to the Council
for National Academic Awards,” he
wrote. It was rejected.
One radical colleague informed the
old-school Dromgoole that, come the
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
peace plan for Kosovo worked out by
the US, Russia and the EU.
Ahtisaari declined to seek a second
presidential term, and instead founded
the Helsinki-based Crisis Management
Initiative to avert and resolve conflicts.
He was swiftly approached by John
Sawers, then Tony Blair’s foreign policy
adviser, to try to prevent the Northern
Ireland peace process from unravelling
over the decommissioning issue.
He and Ramaphosa met Gerry Ad-
ams and Martin McGuinness in
London’s Berkeley hotel (the Sinn Fein
leaders having first removed the batter-
ies from their mobiles to prevent eaves-
dropping) to devise a process for ren-
dering the IRA’s arms unusable, and
their nocturnal flight to Dublin ensued.
They subsequently returned twice
more to check the arms dumps re-
mained sealed.
Ahtisaari’s next challenge was to end
three decades of fighting between in-
surgents and Indonesian troops in
Aceh. That he achieved with a peace
treaty signed in Helsinki in 2005 that
gave Aceh broad autonomy in return
for the withdrawal of most troops.
In 2008, with Ahtisaari’s support, Ko-
sovo declared independence from Ser-
bia. The Finn had helped write its peace
plan and constitution.
Ahtisaari retired from public life in
2021. By then he was suffering from Alz-
heimer’s disease, but lived long enough
to see Finland, appalled by the Russian
invasion of Ukraine, join Nato in April
this year. That was one of the few life-
long goals he had failed to achieve
himself.
Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish president, was
born on June 23, 1937. He died of
complications from Alzheimer’s disease
on October 16, 2023, aged 86
revolution, he “would have no qualms
about stringing me up from the nearest
lamppost because I was too tainted with
bourgeois, humanist liberalism to be al-
lowed to survive in the new socialist
paradise that was just around the
corner”.
Dromgoole first noticed the dancer
who became his wife in the mid-1960s
when she graduated from the Royal
Ballet School. He recalled “falling head
over heels for a young Lesley Collier
when she took the lead in the school’s
performance of The Two Pigeons”.
They were married in 1977, but the
marriage was dissolved nine years later.
After laying down his critic’s pen in
1998, Dromgoole wrote Marriage in
Disguise (2000), a play that takes a criti-
cal look at Molière’s sex life. He also
produced several books including Sib-
ley and Dowell (1976), a portrait of the
celebrated partnership between Antoi-
nette Sibley and Anthony Dowell; and
Performance Style and Gesture in West-
ern Theatre (2016), tracing the evolu-
tion of stylised movement from ancient
Greece to the contemporary stage.
Looking back at the time Collier
asked how he dared be a critic when he
did not dance, Dromgoole accepted
that his original answer had been inad-
equate. “Art criticism is an exacting and
honourable profession,” he concluded.
“It has a long history. It is itself a branch
of literature and some very grand writ-
ers indeed have been critics of the fine
arts. They deserved a better defence.”
Nicholas Dromgoole, ballet critic and
author, was born on December 3, 1927.
He died on September 20, 2023, aged 95
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Lives remembered
Francis Lee
Adrian King
writes: My
youngest
brother,
Simon, was and
still is an avid
Manchester
City fan, but al-
most more
than that he was a Francis Lee
fan (obituary, October 3). Franny
could “walk on water’’ as far as
my brother was concerned. This
was during Lee’s finest years and
at that time in the late 1960s my
brother would constantly re-
mind everyone of Man City’s
greatest goal-scoring machine.
So much so that I decided to
write a letter, on my brother’s be-
half and without his knowledge,
to Mr Francis Lee c/o Manches-
Court Circular
Buckingham Palace
18th October, 2023
The King this afternoon
attended a Reception for
African Business Leaders,
convened by The Prince’s Trust
International, at the Garrison
Chapel, Chelsea Barracks,
London SW1, and was received
by His Majesty’s Lord-
Lieutenant of Greater London
The perfect wedding gift
Call 020 7782 5583 or email
readerslives@thetimes.co.uk
ter City Football Club, Maine
Road, Manchester, and ask him
for a signed autograph. This was
in early 1969, long before the in-
ternet or emails, and I only real-
ised having posted the letter that
I had forgotten to enclose a
stamped addressed envelope.
Realising my error I gave up any
hope of getting a reply.
Well perhaps you can guess
the outcome: a fortnight or so
later a letter arrived at the
family home addressed to
Simon, and to his stunned de-
light it was from none other
than the man himself complete
with a signed photograph. Fran-
cis Lee had even written the ad-
dress details on the envelope.
The photograph and the en-
velope still remain treasured
possessions for Simon even
now, 54 years on.
(Sir Kenneth Olisa).
The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP
(Prime Minister and First Lord
of the Treasury) later had an
audience of His Majesty.
The King and Queen were
entertained to Dinner this
evening by the Rt Hon the
Lord Mayor and the City of
London Corporation at
Mansion House, London EC4,
in honour of Their Majesties’
Coronation at which
representatives of Livery
Companies and the City’s
finance sector were present.
Upon arrival at Mansion
House, the Rt Hon the Lord
Nico Ladenis
Nick Carrie
writes: My wife
and I were
early victims of
the Nico Lad-
enis outrage
when he
opened in East
Dulwich (obit-
uary, September 11). My wife so
enjoyed the rack of lamb which
she chose on our first visit that
she ordered the same dish on
our two subsequent visits. This
was duly reported to Nico by his
wife, and within a trice of her
disappearance into the kitchen
with our order Nico was at our
table berating my wife for imply-
ing that the other dishes on the
menu were not up to the same
standard.
Mayor surrendered to The
King the Sword of the City,
which His Majesty returned to
him.
Before the Dinner Mr
Zaphaneth Puplampu (Senior
Grecian or Head Boy of
Christ’s Hospital School) gave a
Loyal Address and the Rt Hon
the Lord Mayor made a Speech
of Welcome to which The King
was graciously pleased to make
reply.
The Queen, Royal Honorary
Air Commodore, Royal Air
Force Leeming, this afternoon
received Group Captain Gareth
Prendergast at Clarence House
College
friends
find a love
to last
ELEANOR EVE AND JAMES MARTIN
WERE MARRIED ON NOVEMBER 12,
2022, AT APTON HALL, IN
ROCHFORD, ESSEX. THEY
FEATURED IN THE TIMES ON
FEBRUARY 11, 2023
Mark an unforgettable day with
a feature in Readers’ Lives,
a service in contracted tributes
David Benedictus
David Finlay
writes: As well
as the many lit-
erary accom-
plishments
mentioned in
your obituary
of David Bene-
dictus (Octo-
ber 12), he devised, together with
the composer and pianist John
Gould, a wonderful show Betje-
mania with musical settings to
many of the poet laureate’s most
well-known poems. The show
had a successful London run in
the 1970s and can still be en-
joyed through an LP, music from
which is now available online.
upon relinquishing his
appointment as Station
Commander and Group
Captain Paul Hamilton upon
assuming the appointment.
Kensington Palace
18th October, 2023
The Prince of Wales this
afternoon spoke via video link
to fire fighters fighting wildfires
across Canada.
St James’s Palace
18th October, 2023
The Princess Royal this
afternoon arrived at Heathrow
Airport, London, from India.
50%
discount for
subscribers
Births, Marriages and Deaths
SO THEN, my dear friends, stand firm and
steady. Keep busy always in your work for
the Lord, since you know that nothing you
do in the Lord’s service is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 15.58 (GNB)
Bible verses are provided by the
Bible Society
Forthcoming Marriages
MR A. W. J. MCHARDY
AND MISS C. J. FLOWERS
The engagement is announced between
Andrew, son of Mr Julian McHardy and the
late Mrs McHardy of Woodend,
Aberdeenshire, and Camilla, eldest
daughter of Mr and Mrs Simon Flowers of
Meadowwells, Fife.
Deaths
BARRATT Spencer passed away
peacefully on 8th October, aged 95.
Much-loved husband, father and
grandfather. A funeral service will be held
on Wednesday 1st November at noon, at
St Michael and All Angels Church, Cheriton.
BUCHANAN Graham James died after a
short illness on 29th September 2023, aged
76. Much-loved and respected retired
barrister, friend and neighbour. Funeral
service at St Michael and All Angels Church,
Hallaton, Leicestershire, LE16 8TY, on
Friday 3rd November at 1pm. All inquiries
to J. Stamp & Sons, Funeral Directors,
Market Harborough — tel: 01858 462524
www.jstampandsons.co.uk
COPEMAN Robin died peacefully on
Sunday 8th October, aged 93. Father to
Charlotte and James, grandfather to Carla
and Olivia. There will be a private
cremation on 10th November. No flowers,
but donations, if desired, to Wrexham
Maelor Hospital Erddig Ward.
CRAIG
Freddie John Robert, of Gateside, Fife,
unexpectedly but peacefully on 8th
October 2023, aged 80. Much-loved
husband, brother, uncle and father.
The funeral service to celebrate his
life will be held on Thursday 26th
October 2023 at Strathmiglo Parish
Church at 12.45pm to which all family
and friends are respectfully invited.
Family flowers only please.
ECONOMOU Jacqueline (née Leishman)
died peacefully on 8th October 2023, aged
76, in Faliro, Greece. Beloved wife of
Angelo, sister to Noel, Jenny and Jock,
stepmother to Alexander and Georgina,
step-grandmother to Raphael and Gabriel.
Will be much missed and fondly
remembered for her humour, elegance,
and bravery.
FARRANT Rosemary (née Proctor) on
10th October 2023 at home. Very loving
and much-loved wife of the late Philip
and mother of Jennifer, Penelope, Susan
and Mark, grandmother of 14,
great-grandmother of 22. Service of
Thanksgiving at the Church of St John the
Evangelist, Sidcup, on Thursday 26th
October at 2.30pm.
FFORDE Marya (née Retinger). Sadly
passed away on 2nd October 2023, aged
96, joining her dear John. Beloved mother
of Adam, Matthew, Jasper and Cressida,
Babcia to Maddy, Rosie, Jordan, Alex,
Tabitha, Stella, George, Amy, Sam, Lily and
Rhulen. Friend and champion of many, far
and wide. May her spirit soar in all who
knew her.
FORD Lindy Susan (née Rickard) of
Wandsworth — and formerly Teddington —
died peacefully on 3rd October 2023
surrounded by family after a courageous
fight with CBD (corticobasal degeneration).
Wife of the late Roger, and much adored
mother to Charlotte, Hamilton, William and
Maxwell, grandmother, twin, aunt and
friend to many. Her funeral will be held at
St Ann’s Church, St Ann’s Hill, London SW18
2RS at 11.30am on 10th November 2023.
Further details from
funeral@bordewich.co.uk. No flowers
please but donations instead to the Royal
Trinity Hospice at
www.royaltrinityhospice.london
Join us for breakfast
Listen to Aasmah Mir and
Stig Abell on Times Radio,
Monday to Thursday at 6am
51
Register
020 7782 7553
newsukadvertising.co.uk
LAING Jane Elizabeth (née Sykes) died
unexpectedly at home on 5th October
2023. Wife and best friend to David, much-
loved mother of David, Christopher and
Frances, and grandmother to David,
Jonathan and Georgia. Funeral service to
be held at Cam Valley Crematorium, Great
Chesterford, on Thursday 26th October at
11am. Family flowers only, donations if
desired may be made to Cancer Research
UK or Age UK via Jane’s In Memory page at
www.peasgoodandskeates.co.uk or via
Peasgood and Skeates, Shire Hill, Saffron
Walden, Essex, CB10 3AQ.
LITHGOW Richard Plenderleath, died
suddenly on 9th October 2023, aged 68.
Dearly loved husband of Katy, adored
father of Jeremy and grandfather of Max,
and beloved brother of Jane and Diana.
Richard was a leading conservator of wall
paintings and co-director of The Perry-
Lithgow Partnership and will be sorely
missed by family, friends and colleagues.
The funeral service will be held at 11.30am
on Monday 30th October at the Church of
St Peter ad Vincula, South Newington OX15
4JG. All inquiries to Humphris Funeral
Directors, 01295 230919.
LOW Peter, died peacefully on 11th
October 2023. Inquiries:
eastsheen@holmesdaughters.uk
MARSHALL Edmund passed away
peacefully on 5th October 2023, aged 83.
Father, grandfather and husband, much
beloved. Funeral: 3rd November at
12.30pm, St Andrew’s, Chew Magna, BS40
8SH.
WINDHAM Daniel Harry died on 9th
October 2023. Funeral at Wymondham
Abbey on 1st November at noon. Family
flowers only. Donations may be taken on
the day. All inquiries to Rosedale Funeral
Home 01953 601103.
Call to the Bar Gray’s Inn
The following have been called
to the Bar this deferred Trinity
term: Robert Zachary
Pemberton-Whiteley, Sophie
Madeline Sheerin, Naimah
Uddin, Katie Sarah Goodman,
Shannon McCaffrey, Tanya
Elahi, Sarah Majid Mohamed
Bassuni, Samia Binta
Chowdhury, Sarah Ikeoluwa
Boluwatife Elulade, Theodore
Charles Burges, Rebecca Louise
Brookes, Amany Jabir, Bibi
Lubnaa Lotun, Muhammad
Qasim Hussain, Adam Henry
Furze, Hena Devi Pagoo, Bryn
Auger, Jittinderbal Singh Balbir
Singh, Jamoia Jhelisa Jennings,
Laura-Jane Abena Addo-Donga,
Georgia Keeton-Williams, Holly
Jade McGahey, Iona Margaret
Branford, Kalaivanee
Palanisamy, Alexander Paul
Cornelius, Emily Bewley,
Manisha Ann Vijayakumar,
Charlie Alan Fletcher
Thompson, Olivia Alexandra
Horn, Michal Kajetan Magier,
Robert Ballantyne Watt,
Benjamin Charles Walduck
Waller, Olivia Rhianna
Charlotte Ward, Izabel
Nikolaeva Petelova, Ashley
Chuttoo, Rosalind Clare
Vergopoulos, Anna Jeannine
Nicole Khalfaoui, Emily Rose
Millard, Jackalyn Chan, Abbey
Catherine Barnett-Smith, Shuk
Yuen Kong, Henry James
Fernandez, Anna Louise
Lampard, Jing Yu Law, Cher
Lyne Peh, Muhammad Iqmal
Bin Handan, Carolyne Willow,
Amira Shazlin Binti Zulkifli,
Tyler Erika Smith, Josephine
May Lunnon, Christina Nitu,
Ruben Tung Robertson, Peter
James Ash.
Legal Notices
MISSING LANDLORD
The freeholder of 48 Headcorn Road,
Thornton Heath, CR7 6JP (‘the
Property’), namely Liam Doyle cannot
be found. The leaseholders intend to
acquire the freehold of the Property
under the Leasehold Reform Housing
and Urban Development Act 1993. If
anyone has any information on the
whereabouts of Mr Liam Doyle
(previously of 5A Demontfort Road,
London,SW16) please urgently contact
James Compton of Comptons Solicitors
of 90-92 Parkway, London, NW1 7AN,
(e-jc@comptons.co.uk). Failure to make
contact will result in the issue of legal
proceedings.
52
Law
Competition
regulator
stands firm
The CMA defends its approval of Microsoft’s
takeover of Activision. Now the door could open
for other Big Tech mergers. By Catherine Baksi
After nearly two years it is game over in
the battle between the UK’s competi-
tion watchdog and Microsoft for the
biggest ever gaming merger — with
both sides claiming victory.
The Competition & Markets Author-
ity (CMA) last week gave the green
light for a revised deal, allowing
Microsoft to complete its $69 billion
(£56.5 billion) takeover of Activision
Blizzard, the maker of hit games includ-
ing Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and
Candy Crush.
The regulator’s earlier decision to
block the deal over concerns about
consumer choice and competition in
the cloud gaming market met with a
furious response from Microsoft. Its
president, Brad Smith, told the BBC
that the decision was “bad for Britain”
and contradicted “the ambitions of the
UK to become an attractive country to
build technology businesses”.
The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt,
chimed in too, saying: “It’s important all
our regulators understand their wider
responsibilities for economic growth.”
But last week the authority approved
the restructured deal in which Ubisoft,
a French video game publishing com-
pany, instead of Microsoft bought Acti-
vision’s cloud gaming rights.
Giving the approval, Sarah Cardell,
the authority’s chief executive, stressed
the watchdog’s independence and de-
termination to answer its own call of
duty to “prevent mergers that harm
competition and deliver bad outcomes
for consumers and businesses”.
The law on assisted dying is cruel — reform is needed
Ken Macdonald KC
Comment
S
cores of cases of assisted
suicide came across my
desk when I was director
of public prosecutions for
five years until 2008.
Always distressing, they usually
involved a journey to Dignitas in
Zurich and an administered end
of life. The victims earnestly
wished to die, and our suspects
were husbands, wives, parents
and children.
Sometimes the bodies were
cremated in Switzerland, with no
cause of death available. But often
the remains were returned to the
UK and post-mortems showed the
truth, usually massive barbiturate
poisoning. Evidence of crime
“We take our decisions free from
political influence and we won’t be
swayed by corporate lobbying,” Cardell
said, adding that the regulator had
“stuck to our guns” to ensure that
Microsoft does not have a “strangle-
hold” over the rapidly developing cloud
gaming market and that consumers
get more competitive prices, better
services and more choice.
She had a strong warning for others,
stating that: “Businesses and their
advisers should be in no doubt that the
tactics employed by Microsoft are no
way to engage with the CMA.”
Regardless, the authority’s change of
heart is viewed as significant. Gareth
Mills, a partner at the law firm Charles
Russell Speechlys, said the reversal on
such a high-profile case was “unprece-
dented”, adding that the saga demon-
strates that “competition law is about to
get sexy again”.
Given the raft of competition issues
relating to massive tech companies that
are coming down the track for the regu-
lator — including the software giant
Adobe’s proposed $20 billion acquisi-
tion of Figma, an app development
platform — lawyers and their clients
are giving it close scrutiny.
“It would be a mistake for businesses
to think that the regulator has gone
soft,” says Stephen Smith, a joint
managing partner at the technology-
focused law firm Bristows.
Rather, he suggests that the watch-
dog “stood tall and would not be
bullied” despite the considerable legal
seemed overwhelming. But we did
not prosecute because a criminal
charge requires two things:
sufficiency of evidence and a finding
that a prosecution would be in
the public interest. Invariably we
felt the circumstances failed this
second test.
We felt that a parent, faced with
the option to accompany their child
to Dignitas or to have someone go
in their place, had no choice that
the public would regard as real. We
felt that a husband, required by law
to let his wife travel to Switzerland
without him, would not, if he
nevertheless went with her, face
a charge that the public could
understand. Who would not need
to hold hands at the end?
In this sense, we prosecutors
made law — and were even obliged
by the Supreme Court to publish
the factors we considered, so that
Rights for Activision’s cloud gaming, including Call of Duty, have been sold to Ubisoft after concerns over consumer choice
firepower and pressure that Microsoft
and Activision brought to bear.
The regulator “charted a particularly
tricky route and found a solution which
was beyond some of the other global
regimes”, Smith adds, which he argues
shows that “the UK is and remains a
place where you can expect regulatory
scrutiny of deals, but that [the regula-
tor] is open to work [with businesses]
‘We take our decisions
free from political
influence and lobbying’
to find the solutions”.
Agreeing that the authority is an
“active and robust enforcer”, Alan
Davis, a partner at Pinsent Masons,
suggests that the Microsoft case is like-
ly to be an outlier rather than heralding
a change of direction in the assessment
of large global mergers.
Smith concurs, and notes that Micro-
soft, unlike most companies, had the
people might better know how to
assist a suicide without facing
prosecution. This was in the face of
parliament steadfastly refusing to
change the law.
For many years, despite the
uncomfortable constitutional
implications of taking the law into
our hands in this way, I felt this was
a good compromise. A general
prohibition on assisting suicide
would protect the vulnerable from
exploitation, while a merciful
exercise of prosecutorial discretion
could shield loved ones acting in
good faith. Surveys seemed to
show that the public approved
of our stance.
But I no longer think that this
unspoken bargain is sufficient. If
you believe, as I have come to, that
men and women in terminal distress
are owed some agency over the
time and manner of their demise,
financial ability to continue the process
for almost two years. But, Davis says,
the reversal could potentially create
legal uncertainty if merging parties
perceive that in the UK they could have
a “second bite of the cherry” by restruc-
turing and refiling a transaction that
has been blocked.
“It also makes it difficult for advisers
to say that the CMA’s stated position on
a merger is really final, and therefore
how a merger clearance strategy could
be formulated,” Davis says, adding that
it could lead parties to consider legal
challenges in cases where the regulator
refused to consider a restructured deal.
Alex Haffner, a partner at Fladgate,
says that the deal leaves hanging the
question of whether the UK merger
oversight system “is too dogmatic in
dealing with what is a forward-looking
competitive assessment”, especially in
cases concerning so-called Big Tech.
Mills notes that the CMA’s original
position was consistent with the ap-
proach that was at the time being taken
by other regulators. The European
relying on foreign law and a British
blind eye is a coward’s compact.
It ignores the impossibility of
travel for many, through sickness
or poverty, and it is exclusionary
and unfair, leaving most who wish
to die to suffer in Britain instead.
It fails the courage of its own
convictions by putting widows and
bereaved parents through the
compounded torment of a criminal
investigation, even if no prosecution
results. It is cruel.
Beware the slippery slope, we are
warned. Beware the creation of a
burden of expectation weighing on
elderly shoulders. These are valid
concerns, which I share.
But British proposals repeatedly
before MPs contain tightly drawn
rules: safe medical evidence of
suffering and the prospect of an
imminent bad death, a settled will
to die, and, crucially, the prior
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
regulator approved the merger only
after concessions were made by Micro-
soft, and in the US the Federal Trade
Commission withdrew its veto after
losing a court challenge.
Explaining the approach of the UK
regulator, Davis says that it takes a wide
range of factors into account, including
the deal’s impact on price, quality,
service, range and innovation. In parti-
cular, he says, the CMA is increasingly
focused on protecting innovation and
dynamic competition, and ensuring
consumer welfare. “So-called killer ac-
quisitions — where the buyer acquires
a nascent firm before it can become a
viable competitive threat — are a parti-
cular enforcement target,” he says.
In any event, Mills says, the Digital
Markets, Competition and Consumers
Bill, which is going through parliament,
will introduce wide-ranging amend-
ments to the UK competition and
consumer law regimes and merger con-
trol process, expanding the powers of
the CMA and enabling it to call in and
review such transactions more easily.
approval of a high court
judge. Against real end-of-life
distress, these are compelling
safeguards which ought to satisfy
our parliament as they clearly
satisfy the British public.
In the end, as I cast my mind
back to the many cases I saw as
a prosecutor, I cannot avoid a
conclusion that has led me to
support reform of the law: those
people whose statements I read had
done nothing wrong.
Lord Macdonald KC is a former
director of public prosecutions
Times Law
Editor Jonathan Ames
020 7782 5405 jonathan.ames@thetimes.co.uk
Advertising and marketing
For print and online: Jeanine Kiala
020 7782 7518 jeanine.kiala@news.co.uk
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Allen & Overy’s dream marriage
Jonathan Ames
English and American law firms rule
the international legal market, and
now two of the most prominent names
have formally agreed to tie the knot.
Allen & Overy, one of the City’s band
of five “magic circle” firms, and Shear-
man & Sterling, a 150-year-old New
York practice, trumpeted at the end of
last week that more than 99 per cent of
their partners backed a deal that will
herald the creation of A&O Shearman.
The merger will create a legal behe-
moth with an annual revenue of
£2.87 billion generated by 3,950 lawyers,
of whom 800 are in the partnership in
some form, spread over 48 offices.
The boss class was understandably
pleased with the deal. Wim Dejonghe,
the London firm’s 62-year-old Belgian
senior partner, described the merger
as “a transformational step for the
legal industry”. Adam Hakki, Shear-
man’s senior partner, also reached for
the jar labelled hyperbole, saying that
the new firm would be “unlike any
other in the world”.
Back on the ground, A&O Shearman
will actually look a lot like many other
firms in a crowded and highly competi-
tive international market. And the
other dose of reality is the reminder
that neither of these firms was the
other’s first choice of marriage partner.
In 2019 A&O called off a deal with
O’Melveny & Myers, a Los Angeles
practice, after an 18-month negotiation
that was understood to have cost the
pair millions in pre-merger profession-
al advice. And it was only last year that
Shearman called off merger talks with
Hogan Lovells, itself the product of a
successful transatlantic deal in 2010.
After the deal with Hogan fell
through, Shearman was beset by a glut
of high-profile lawyer defections to
rivals. So the market mood was that
King’s
Counsel
Alex Steuart
For a Few Guineas
More: The Legal
Year in Cartoons,
Law Brief
Publishing, £9.99
Lawyer of the week Richard Wright KC
Richard Wright KC of Park Square
Barristers prosecuted Bernie
Ecclestone, the former Formula One
boss, who was given a suspended
sentence after pleading guilty to
tax fraud. The 92-year-old also
agreed a civil settlement to repay
almost £653 million to HM Revenue
& Customs.
What were the biggest hurdles
you had to overcome in this case?
Finding a simple way to cut through
the case to present an allegation that
was straightforward and ultimately
unanswerable. Tax arrangements are
often deliberately complicated,
criminal prosecutions needn’t be.
What is the best decision you have
taken as a lawyer? Serving as leader
The Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling merger will create a legal behemoth
both A&O and Shearman needed to cut
a deal, with the Americans perhaps in
even greater need. “Shearman had lost
its mojo slightly,” says one City law firm
expert, adding: “This deal gives them a
chance to get it back.”
These two firms are hardly unique in
aiming to boost their mojo through a
transatlantic marriage. In addition to
Hogan Lovells, DLA Piper was created
in 2005; eight years later Norton Rose
Fulbright was born; in 2017 Eversheds
Sutherland was unveiled; one year later
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner came
along and started calling itself BCLP.
But almost no one talks about the
deal 23 years ago that kicked off
transatlantic tie-ups — and that is
probably because the partners at
another magic circle firm would prefer
that the deal fades in the memory.
In 2000 Clifford Chance was just
as excited about its merger with a
New York partner. Yet its deal with
of the North Eastern Circuit. The
circuit leaders worked tirelessly
throughout the pandemic to
get the Bar back to court
as safely and quickly as
possible. I’m proud of
what we achieved.
Who do you most
admire in the law?
Mr Justice Goss,
my former head of
chambers. He
taught me the
importance of hard
work and meticulous
preparation. I’ve been
lucky to learn from him.
What is the best advice you have
received? Keep on learning. We are
little-known Rogers & Wells was beset
with bitter sniping before the bunting
was taken down.
American partners left, the Rogers &
Wells west coast offices shut, and a
leaked memo from junior lawyers in
New York expressed concerns over the
way the US operation was being run.
Part of the problem was a conflict
between partner remuneration sys-
tems, which resulted in some of the big
earners in America trousering much
more than their London counterparts.
Chris Clark, the director of Defini-
tum, a London legal profession head-
hunting agency, cautions that A&O
Shearman managers need to be aware
that remuneration policies can quickly
turn a merger sour.
He points out that A&O has more
than 2,500 non-partner lawyers, most
of whom are paid 30-40 per cent less
than their counterparts at Shearman.
And it is estimated that A&O generates
never as experienced or as good as
we think we are.
What is the funniest
thing that has
happened in your
job? I was once sent
to court to cover a
case at short notice.
I spent half an hour
in the cells with the
defendant taking his
detailed instructions
before walking into
court to be told that
I was meant to be
prosecuting him.
What are the best and worst
elements of being a lawyer?
The best — the feeling at the end of
30 per cent less revenue per lawyer
while having roughly three and a half
times the number of lawyers.
“A&O is a fantastic stable business,”
Clark says, “but this merger will hit
the bottom line, and if profit per equity
partner drops — and efficiencies aren’t
found — you may see outperforming
partners seeking a better deal.”
But Tony Williams, a former magic
circle law firm managing partner who
runs the legal profession consultancy
Jomati, remains upbeat about the A&O
Shearman deal, adding that he did not
advise either side.
“So far this merger appears to be a
good story,” he says, noting that lawyer
and non-qualified staff across both
practices will for the most part be happy
with the deal. While there may be some
slight rationalisation in the business
support areas, Williams anticipates
that there will not be redundancies at
associate lawyer level. “This is not
fundamentally a cost-cutting merger,
this deal is about growth,” he says.
Analysts agree that as far as the
English side of the deal is concerned,
this is a one-off opportunity for A&O to
establish a significant presence in the
US — something that has eluded magic
circle firms for more than two decades,
despite Clifford Chance’s incursion.
Williams predicts that A&O Shear-
man will aim to have 35-45 per cent of
its partnership in the US. “Expect to see
some lateral hire recruitment moves
in the US from the new year,” Williams
says, adding that A&O “now has the
best US footprint of any UK firm”.
But he warns that the cut-throat
international law firm market will not
give A&O Shearman much time to
prove itself. Its “biggest challenge will
be to get involved in US transactions
that are above the $10 billion mark.
And they have only two to three years
to make a success of it.”
exclusive to subscribers
Jail breaking The prison
system needs an overhaul
Off the rails Compensate
homeowners for HS2 halt
Fraud review Disclosure
should be for the defence
thetimes.co.uk
a significant speech or cross
examination when you sit down
knowing that you have done justice
to your case. The worst — the
emotional rollercoaster of endless
criminal cases.
What law would you enact?
I would outlaw this question: How
can you defend someone if you know
that they are guilty? It drives every
criminal lawyer crackers.
What is your favourite song?
You Are the Best Thing by Ray
LaMontagne. It is a song that sums
up how I feel about my wife. I could
not do what I do without her.
Linda Tsang
l_tsang@hotmail.com
53
Headline
In conversation
here xyx
Michael
Xxy xyxMansfield
yx yx yx
xyx
KCyx onyxxyx
juries yx
andyx
xyx
his half
yxx century
yxxy yxyxas
yxa yradical
x yx yxlawyer
yxy xx
thetimes.co.uk
OUT OF COURT
The cases, the chatter, the chaos:
what’s really going on in the law
New faces for
Law Society
A brass band and Yorkshire
puddings were the order of the day
at the Law Society last week as
Nick Emmerson was sworn in as
the body’s 179th president. In his
inaugural speech Emmerson, a
Yorkshire-born commercial
lawyer, lamented that the portraits
hanging in the society’s Chancery
Lane headquarters — largely of
past presidents — do not reflect
the diversity of the solicitors’
profession in England and Wales:
more than half are women and
many are from ethnic minorities.
Emmerson took over from
Lubna Shuja, the first Asian, first
Muslim and seventh woman to
hold the post; she was preceded by
Stephanie Boyce, the first black
president. Emmerson announced
plans for an advisory group of art
and heritage experts to modernise
the society’s portraiture collection.
No place for war crimes
Legal loopholes allowing foreign
nationals suspected of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war
crimes to walk the streets of the
UK without fear of prosecution
must be closed, says a report by
the barrister Amal Clooney, who
lends a touch of glamour to her
causes through her marriage to
the film star George.
Launched last night at the House
of Lords, the report from the
Clooney Foundation for Justice and
the charity Redress says that the
UK should remove the nationality
and residence requirements for
prosecutions of those offences
so that suspects present but
not resident in the UK can be
prosecuted here. English law allows
courts “universal jurisdiction” to
prosecute crimes by non-UK
residents committed abroad for a
limited number of offences.
Judges spill the beans
Judges almost never give
interviews. So hats off to the
University of Law for persuading
ten of the most senior retired UK
bigwigs to participate in a
groundbreaking podcast
series. The Judges: Power, Politics
and the People will feature candid
reflections on their careers and
motivations, the changing balance
of power between the judiciary
and the executive over recent
years, and on points of tension
between judges and ministers.
The podcast, which launches on
October 24 with an interview with
Lord Woolf, will prove that The
Times’s former legal editors do not
fade into obscurity — it will be
hosted by Frances Gibb, who has
spent decades following the
rulings of the senior judiciary.
6 Subscribers can register for
The Brief, our weekly
e-newsletter. This week:
barristers relate their most
embarrassing moments in court
Legal Notices
Legal Notices
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 59

Weather
Today Cloudy with widespread outbreaks of rain and showers, heaviest in eastern Scotland. Max 18C (64F), min 7C (45F) Weather Eye
Paul Simons
Around Britain Five days ahead Wind speed Sea state Orkney Shetland
Key: b=bright, c=cloud, d=drizzle, pc=partly cloudy Patchy cloud and 34 Calm
du=dull, f=fair, fg=fog, h=hail, m=mist, r=rain, (mph) 38 11
sh=showers, sl=sleet, sn=snow, s=sun, t=thunder showery outbreaks of Slight 45
*=previous day **=data not available rain, heaviest across Temperature Moderate
Rough
Temp C Rain mm Sun hr* northern Britain 28 (degrees C)
9
midday yesterday 24 hrs to 5pm yesterday
10 31
11 C 0.0 8.2
Tomorrow Flood alerts and warnings
Aberdeen
Remaining unsettled with thick cloud
Aberporth 14 C 0.2 0.0
and outbreaks of rain, heaviest across At 17:00 on Wednesday there were 13
Anglesey 15 C 0.8 1.3 Ireland and eastern Britain. A few nine flood alerts and four warnings 14
Aviemore 12 C 0.0 7.2 heavy and perhaps thundery showers in England, 14 flood alerts and one

S
Barnstaple 14 C 2.0 ** in the southwest. 30
14 PC 0.2 **
warning in Scotland and no flood Aberdeen
C F trange Stone Age tombs lie
Bedford Max 17C, min 2C 35 95
alerts or warnings in Wales. across the north of the Dutch
Belfast 13 C 0.4 0.0
For further information and updates 30 86
Birmingham 13 PC 1.2 **
in England visit flood-warning- landscape, the oldest
Bournemouth 14 R 7.8 5.1 11 NORTH 25 77
monuments in the
information.service.gov.uk, for Wales 20 68
Bridlington 14 S 0.0 **
naturalresources.wales/flooding and SEA 15 59 Netherlands. These were
Bristol 12 C 2.0 5.4
for Scotland SEPA.org.uk 14 10 50
Camborne 16 C 8.0 0.0
12 Edinburgh originally tombstones that formed
Cardiff 12 C 2.6 2.3
15
28 Glasgow 5 41
low-rise archways, two upright
Edinburgh 13 PC 0.0 0.9 0 32
Eskdalemuir ** C 0.0 2.9
15 26 -5 23 stones and a third boulder resting
Glasgow 12 C 0.0 0.2 -10 14 across the top as a capstone.
12 R 0.6 ** 17
Hereford Londonderry
Herstmonceux 14 C 7.8 6.6 ATLANTIC
-15 5 The arches were placed one
Ipswich 14 PC 0.0 7.7
Newcastle behind the other to create a sort of
OCEAN Carlisle
Isle of Man 14 C 0.0 0.2
Saturday Belfast tunnel up to 23m long, 2.5m high
Isle of Wight 14 R 10.8 ** 16
Jersey 16 R 23.2 3.4 A day of patchy cloud and widespread 15 15 with a burial chamber in the middle
rain and showers, heaviest across 14
Keswick 13 C 0.0 ** northern and eastern Britain through rk
York and the entire structure originally
Kinloss 13 C 0.0 7.7 the afternoon. covered in sandy earth leaving only
23
Leeds 12 PC 0.0 ** Max 13C, min 1C
Lerwick 9 D 1.6 1.1 Manchester Hull
the capstone exposed.
Leuchars 13 C 0.0 6.1 Liverpoo
Liverpool 17 These monuments are called
Lincoln 15 S 0.0 8.0 Galway IRISH 22
hunebeds, named after legendary
Liverpool 15 S 0.0 ** 9 SEA 17 Sheffield
London 13 R 1.8 4.7 Dublin giants called “huynen” who were
Llandudno
Lyneham 11 C 2.6 6.1 said to have built the megaliths,
Manchester 15 S 0.0 5.0
14 C 0.2 9.2
11 17 Nottingham simply because only giants could
Margate Shrewsbury
12 have arranged such huge boulders
Milford Haven 14 C 0.0 **
Norwich
Newcastle 12 C 0.0 ** 17 into position. In fact, they were built
14
Nottingham 14 S 0.0 7.9
13
Birmingham Cambridge by Stone Age farmers about 5,000
Orkney 11 C 0.0 3.3 Cork
Oxford 13 R 2.4 ** 15 years ago, around the time that
Swansea Oxford 18
Plymouth 15 D 5.0 ** Stonehenge was being built, and it is
Portland 15 C 14.0 ** Cardiff
Scilly, St Mary’s 15 R 33.0 **
Sunday Channel Islands CELTIC 18 thought the boulders’ flat sides were
Shoreham 12 R 3.2 7.9 A mainly dry day with sunny spells
SEA Bristol London placed on rollers to build the
and a chance of the odd shower across
Shrewsbury 12 C 0.0 5.5 southern Britain. Bright intervals and 18
Snowdonia 11 B 0.2 ** patchy rain elsewhere. Southampton
archways.
16 Most of the stones originally came
Southend 15 S 0.2 8.3 Max 15C, min 2C eter
Exeter
South Uist 11 C 2.6 ** 22 Plymouth Brighton from a region now in Sweden and
Stornoway 12 R 0.4 7.0
Tiree 12 R 3.4 5.1
Finland, with the largest stone
Whitehaven 12 C 0.0 0.5 10
17 weighing about 40 tonnes, so how
CHANNEL 25
Wick 12 C 0.0 ** 20 they ended up in the Netherlands
Yeovilton 13 R 5.0 2.1
remained a mystery for a long time.
12
General situation: An unsettled day outbreaks of rain, heaviest by intervals and outbreaks of rain and We now know that the boulders
The world 13
with patchy cloud and widespread rain the afternoon. Light to moderate showers, heaviest in the southwest were carried by glaciers during an
All readings local midday yesterday
and showers, heaviest in the east. southeasterly winds. Maximum by the afternoon. Light to moderate Ice Age about 200,000 to 130,000
Alicante 30 PC Madeira 25 PC 15 Cen S Eng, S Wales, Channel Is, 18C (64F), minimum 11C (52F). southeasterly winds. Maximum years ago. An ice sheet covering
Amsterdam 12 S Madrid 19 PC SW Eng: A morning of bright periods NW Scotland, Glasgow, NW Eng, IoM, 17C (63F), minimum 10C (50F).
Athens 20 B Malaga 27 PC
and patchy rain. Bright intervals and Lake District, Argyll, SW Scotland: Edinburgh and Dundee, Cen Highland, northwest Europe reached as far
Auckland 22 PC Mallorca 27 PC south as the Drenthe region in the
Monday showers by the afternoon, heavy and A day of thick cloud and patchy rain, N Isles, Aberdeen, Borders, NE Eng,
Bahrain 33 S Malta 31 S
Bangkok 34 PC Melbourne 24 S Bright spells and some patchy rain and
thundery at times. Light to moderate heaviest and most widespread through Moray Firth, NE Scotland: A blustery north of the Netherlands, and when
Barbados 31 PC Mexico City 22 PC showers, heaviest across southwest southeasterly winds. Maximum the afternoon. Fresh to strong east to day with thick cloud and widespread the ice retreated the stones were left
Barcelona 25 PC Miami 24 PC Ireland. Mainly dry with the odd 18C (64F), minimum 10C (50F). southeasterly winds. Maximum rain, heaviest in eastern Scotland by
shower in southeast Britain. London, E Anglia, SE Eng, Cen N Eng, 17C (63F), minimum 8C (46F). the afternoon. Strong to gale-force
behind, and this is where most of the
Beijing ** ** Milan 14 B
Beirut 26 T Mombasa 31 PC Max 15C, min 2C E Mids, W Mids, N Wales, E Eng: A Republic of Ireland, N Ireland: Early southeasterly winds. Maximum hunebeds are found.
Belgrade 16 S Montreal 14 PC day of bright intervals and showery mist clearing to leave a day of bright 16C (61F), minimum 7C (45F). Originally there were more than
Berlin 12 S Moscow 5 B 80 hunebeds, but over time many of
Bermuda ** ** Mumbai 33 S 9
Bordeaux 20 B Munich 11 S Tides Noon today them were used for building
Brussels 15 S Nairobi 25 B Tidal predictions.
1024 HIGH
churches and roads, to reinforce
Bucharest 17 S Naples 23 S Heights in metres
12 1016
dykes or were pillaged for treasure.
Budapest 13 S New Orleans 21 S Today Ht Ht
Buenos Aires ** ** New York 16 PC 14 Aberdeen 04:33 4.1 16:51 4.0 1016 HIGH There are now 54, standing along a
Cairo 27 PC Nice 19 B Avonmouth 10:30 12.1 22:48 11.9 sandy ridge stretching 43 miles, and
Calcutta ** ** Nicosia 28 PC 1008
Belfast 02:10 3.5 14:24 3.4 this ridge was also left behind by the
Canberra 20 PC Oslo 8 S 15
Cardiff 10:12 11.4 22:31 11.2 LOW 976 LOW
Cape Town 25 PC Paris 17 R 09:03 5.1 21:20 5.0
retreating glacier at the end of the
Devonport
Chicago 17 PC Perth ** **
Dover 01:50 6.5 14:10 6.5
984 HIGH Ice Age.
Copenhagen 13 PC Prague 8 S Many of the hunebed tombs have
Tuesday Dublin 02:39 3.8 15:01 3.8 992
Corfu 22 PC Reykjavik 10 B
A blustery day with patchy cloud and Falmouth 08:17 4.8 20:28 4.7 LOW been excavated and a great variety
Delhi 30 S Riga 8 B 976
showery outbreaks of rain, heaviest Greenock 03:38 3.6 15:55 3.5 1000
Dubai ** ** Rio de Janeiro ** **
across Northern Ireland and western Cold front of objects have been found inside,
Dublin 13 B Riyadh 31 S Harwich 02:50 3.9 15:04 3.9 1008
Faro 24 PC Rome 22 S
Scotland.
Holyhead 01:20 5.3 13:42 5.3 Warm front typically pottery as well as weapons,
Max 15C, min 3C Occluded front tools and jewellery.
Florence 17 R San Francisco 27 S Hull 09:37 7.0 21:52 6.9 1016
Frankfurt 14 S Santiago 27 PC Leith 05:56 5.2 18:15 5.1 Trough
Geneva 13 R São Paulo 26 PC Liverpool 02:04 8.8 14:26 8.7
Gibraltar
Helsinki
23
2
SH
SN
Seoul
Seychelles
**
29
**
PC
8 London Bridge
Lowestoft
05:01
--:--
6.6
--
17:21
12:54
6.8
2.5
Synoptic situation Highs and lows
24hrs to 5pm yesterday
Hours of darkness
Aberdeen 18:26-07:22
Speak directly to one
** ** Warm and occluded fronts
of our forecasters on
Hong Kong 25 R Singapore Milford Haven 09:27 6.5 21:45 6.3
Warmest: Jersey, 18.0C Belfast 18:47-07:32
Honolulu ** ** St Petersburg 4 C
10 Morecambe 02:14 8.8 14:37 8.7 associated with a low-pressure Coldest: Cairngorm, Birmingham 18:35-07:11
Istanbul 16 SH Stockholm 6 PC system to the southwest of
Jerusalem
Johannesburg
27
21
PC
S
Sydney
Tel Aviv
20
27
PC
PC
14 Newhaven
Newquay
02:05
08:19
6.4
6.6
14:20
20:37
6.4
6.4 Ireland will bring patchy cloud
and frequent outbreaks of rain
Inverness-shire, -0.7C
Wettest: St. Mary’s, 33.0mm
Sunniest: Manston, Kent,
Cardiff
Exeter
18:42-07:14
18:44-07:15 09065 777675
Oban 08:49 3.7 20:59 3.6 9.2hrs* Glasgow 18:38-07:28
Kuala Lumpur 34 PC Tenerife 27 B across northern and eastern
** ** ** ** 15 Penzance 07:50 5.2 20:06 5.1 Liverpool 18:37-07:17 8am to 5pm daily (calls are charged
Kyiv Tokyo areas, heaviest in eastern
25 PC 13 R Portsmouth 02:28 4.5 14:45 4.5 Sun and moon London 18:29-07:02 at £1.55 plus network extras)
Lanzarote Vancouver Scotland through the afternoon. For Greenwich Manchester 18:34-07:14
Las Palmas 27 PC Venice 13 B Shoreham 02:10 6.0 14:26 5.9 Sun rises: 07.30
The Times weather page Southampton 02:06 4.5 14:01 4.4
A trough will bring bright spells Newcastle 18:29-07:15
Lima 18 DU Vienna 13 PC Sun sets: 17.59
and scattered showers to parts Moon rises: 13.21 Norwich 18:22-06:59
Lisbon 23 PC Warsaw 11 PC is provided by Swansea 09:31 8.7 21:46 8.5
of southwest Britain, perhaps Moon sets: 20.02 Penzance 18:53-07:22
Los Angeles 27 S Washington 15 PC Tees 06:50 5.2 19:14 5.1
Luxor 31 S Zurich 9 B
turning thundery at times. First Quarter: October 22 Sheffield 18:31-07:11
Weymouth 09:40 1.9 22:03 1.8 weatherquest .co.uk
60
Sport
Triviality of sport is why it’s so precious
Matthew Syed
T
he first touch was immense. The way
Jude Bellingham jabbed his right boot
at the ball instinctively, nudging it past
the Italy defender, before swivelling
into space, the ball still in the orbit of
his control. From there, the Real Madrid and
England man was off, head up, ball under his
spell, Marcus Rashford sprinting away to the left
as only he can.
The pass to Rashford came next as the
Italians continued to reel, before one noticed, in
the corner of one’s eye, Bellingham tearing to
his left, a diagonal run away from the goal that
might, to a football novice, have seemed bereft
of logic, but which opened up crucial space for
his team-mate. As two Italy defenders were
pulled towards Bellingham, like moths to a
candle, Rashford saw his chance, shooting low
and true. England, 2-1.
A lot of people are hailing the performance of
Bellingham (what a player he is proving to be,
and how much he is benefiting from training
alongside the likes of Luka Modric and Toni
Kroos at Real) and England, but I can’t help
thinking that the match showed, again, why
sport means so much to those of us in thrall to
these invented games. With stories of horror
and war in the headlines, with all of us
wondering how can we live in a world where
such carnage happens, these games are a
release, a safety valve, and a reminder that life is
also about joy.
The rugby games at the weekend were
another spellbinding antidote to all that is
happening in the world, the quarter-final
between Ireland and New Zealand revealing
skill and daring in equal measure. “What
happened to knockout rugby and the influence
of caution?” Owen Slot, my colleague, asked in a
scintillating piece on Monday. “They were
completely divorced here. Thus unfolded
something incredible yet so relentlessly tense
that there were periods where even the Irish
fans lost themselves in the fear of the outcome
and forgot to sing. But magical. One of the great
games.”
Then there was the England game against
Fiji on Sunday, a contest that didn’t quite reach
Bellingham’s majesty is a far cry from the death and despair that dominate the present news cycle
the same heights but which had my family
gripped on the large sofa in the living room,
my son and daughter, nine and eleven,
becoming ever more absorbed as the
pre-match rituals gave way to the action. When
Vilimoni Botitu flipped an audacious pass back
through his legs for Viliame Mata to score under
the posts, we squealed with excitement. Later,
when Fiji drew level with minutes to go, my
daughter said: “Oh my goodness, are we going
to lose, Dad?” “I don’t know, but it’s a hell of a
game!”
They say that sport is trivial, but this is true
only if joy is trivial. On Tuesday we learnt of the
death of Ivor Robson, the official announcer of
the Open Championship for more than four
decades, a man you may not know but whose
voice, if you love golf, you’ll probably never
forget. My mind turned to my many visits to this
most glorious of summer events, my first up at
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
St Andrews in 2005, when Tiger Woods
redefined the game, winning his second Open
and tenth major.
I remember standing close to Woods as he
sized up an iron on the 4th fairway of the Old
Course and losing myself in the mastery of his
swing, the infinitesimal pause at the top of the
backswing when time became elastic. I was
reminded of George Plimpton’s lovely line: “The
pleasure of sport was so often the chance to
indulge the cessation of time itself — the pitcher
dawdling on the mound, the skier poised at the
top of a mountain trail, the basketball player
with the rough skin of the ball against his palm
preparing for a foul shot, the tennis player at set
point over his opponent — all of them
savouring a moment before committing
themselves to action.”
Sport, we may say, is escapism. We
emotionally abscond for a few minutes, perhaps
hours. We remind ourselves of why life is
precious. My friend Brian found the same solace
in opera, his face lighting up whenever he would
come back from a performance (once he went to
Bayreuth for the Ring Cycle and didn’t stop
talking about it for weeks). My family have
already decided on the type of popcorn we will
be eating on Saturday evening when England
play South Africa (a late night for the kids but
worth it, I think). Are you not feeling the sense
of anticipation?
And this is why I have become ever more
jaundiced about the way sport is constantly
infiltrated by politics. Debates about whether
the Wembley arch should be lit up with the
colours of Ukraine, Israel or whatever else,
express a category mistake. I’d rather politics,
where possible, is kept out of sport, not because
I don’t care about global affairs or matters of
war and peace, but because I do. Indeed, it’s
precisely because these issues are so terribly
important that we need spaces to switch off;
where our minds can be free of entanglements
so that we can think more clearly when we
return to them. Sports administrators never
understand this yearning because sport, to
them, is a thing not of joy and escapism but of
career progression and virtue signalling.
And so roll on the weekend when the
Premier League is back, the Cricket World Cup
continues and much more besides. Will
England subvert expectations again and defeat
South Africa? Will the fabled All Blacks come
through against Argentina? You may say that
none of it matters, that sport is inconsequential.
But this, let me suggest, is precisely why it is
precious.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 61

Racing Sport
4.10 Handicap Hurdle (£4,225: 2m 1f) (14) 3.20 Handicap (Div I: £3,245: 1m 2f) (10) 6.00 Handicap (£6,621: 7f) (7)
Carlisle Wincanton
Rob Wright Rob Wright

1.30 Handicap Chase (£7,657: 2m 4f) (5)

1.20 Handicap Hurdle
(£5,281: 2m 4f) (14 runners)
6.30 Handicap (£4,004: 1m) (12)
3.55 Handicap (Div II: £3,245: 1m 2f) (9)

2.00 Maiden Hurdle (£4,084: 1m 7f) (8)

4.45 Handicap Chase (£6,020: 2m) (9)

7.00 Handicap (£6,621: 6f) (10)

4.30 Handicap (£3,873: 1m) (12)

2.35 Handicap Hurdle (£4,753: 2m 5f) (10)

1.50 Handicap Chase (£7,922: 2m) (7)
5.20 NH Flat Race (£2,722: 2m 1f) (15)

7.30 Handicap (£4,004: 1m 6f) (13)

5.05 Handicap (£3,245: 7f) (10)
3.10 Handicap Chase (£10,562: 3m 1f) (8)
2.25 Novices' Hurdle
(Div I: £4,629: 2m 1f) (12)

Brighton 3.45 Handicap Hurdle (£4,753: 1m 7f) (10)

Rob Wright
5.40 Handicap (£3,873: 5f) (8)
8.00 Handicap (£4,004: 5f) (11)

1.35 Handicap (£3,245: 6f) (16)

3.00 Novices' Hurdle
(Div II: £4,629: 2m 1f) (11)

Chelmsford
Rob Wright 4.20 Handicap Hurdle (£4,225: 3m 1f) (8)
8.30 Handicap (£4,004: 1m 2f) (15)

5.00 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £3,725: 7f) (8)

3.35 Handicap Chase 4.52 Handicap Chase (£4,753: 3m 1f) (7)

(£9,770: 3m 110yd) (12)
2.10 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £3,564: 6f) (7)

5.30 Handicap (£4,004: 7f) (11)

Course specialists
Brighton: Trainers S & E Crisford, 6 winners
from 14 runners, 42.9%. Jockey L Catton, 6
2.45 Novice Stakes (2-Y-O: £5,373: 1m) (7) winners from 17 rides, 35.3%.
Carlisle: Trainers E Whillans, 5 from 18, 27.8%; 6 Dual Queen Mother Champion
F O'Brien, 6 from 22, 27.3%. Jockey P J Chase winner Energumene is unlikely
Kavanagh, 6 from 18, 33.3%.
to race this jumps season. Willie Mul-
Chelmsford: Trainer J Jones, 6 from 18, 33.3%.
Jockey J Crowley, 25 from 88, 28.4%. lins, his trainer, told sportinglife.com:
Wincanton: Trainers P Nicholls, 58 from 212, “Unfortunately Energumene has a
27.4%; J Snowden, 6 from 23, 26.1%. Jockey M hind leg injury and he will probably be
Goldstein, 3 from 9, 33.3%.
Blinkered first time: Brighton 4.30 Tribute. out for the season.”

Yesterday’s racing results

Bath
Going: good to soft (good in places)
2.20 (1m 2f 37yd) 1, Calvert (J Crowley, Evens
fav); 2, Mister Daydream (7-4); 3, Battle Of
Omdurman (7-1). 5 ran. NR: Burlington House.
4 l, 1l. R A Teal.
2.52 (5f 160yd) 1, Giddy Aunt (W Cox, 22-1);
2, Apache Star (9-2 jt-fav); 3, Sarah’s Verse
(13-2). 14 ran. NR: Harry With Style. 1 l, 1 l.
J G Portman.
3.27 (5f 10yd) 1, Dashing Harry (O Timms, 4-1);
2, Jungle Jim (10-1); 3, Blue Storm (100-30).
8 ran. Nk, l. C G Cox.
4.00 (1m 6f) 1, One Evening (K T O’Neill,
100-30); 2, Vera Verto (7-1); 3, Mimikyu (9-4
fav). 8 ran. NR: Climate Friendly, Perfect
Prophet. 7l, 7l. J & T Gosden.
4.35 (1m 6f) 1, Campaign Trail (Rossa Ryan,
5-2); 2, Flower Of Dubai (9-4); 3, Spartan Army
(15-2). 6 ran. NR: Percy Jones, Tajanis. Nk, 19l.
R M Beckett.
5.10 (1m) 1, Tilt At Windmills (C Bennett, 16-1);
2, Albus Anne (8-11 fav); 3, Big Bear Hug
(85-40). 6 ran. NR: Many Rivers, Rose Bolt, Sea
Of Elegance. 2 l, 6l. J G M O’Shea.
5.45 (2m 1f 24yd) 1, Spiced Rum (L P Keniry,
8-1); 2, Port Or Starboard (11-1); 3, Zillion (11-2). 11
ran. NR: Grandmaster Flash. 15l, 1l. W S Kittow.
Placepot: £39.20. Quadpot: £12.70.
Nottingham
Going: heavy (soft in places)
2.05 (1m 75yd) 1, Valvano (H Crouch, 8-11 fav);
2, Tokyo Bay (13-2); 3, Contacto (100-30).
6 ran. 6l, nk. R M Beckett.
2.35 (1m 75yd) 1, Treasure (B A Curtis, 2-1 fav); 2,
Time Loop (11-4); 3, Frightening (16-5). 7 ran. NR:
Barafundle Bay, Beeley. 2 l, l. R M Beckett.
3.10 (1m 75yd) 1, Tipsy Tiger (Hollie Doyle,
15-2); 2, Roman Secret (5-1); 3, Amayretto
(3-1 fav). 9 ran. NR: Makuri. 1 l, ns. W Stone.
3.45 (1m 2f 50yd) 1, Mr Alan (W Buick, 3-1
jt-fav); 2, Belhaven (7-1); 3, Golden Move (3-1
jt-fav). 8 ran. ns, 1 l. G Boughey.
4.15 (5f 8yd) 1, Je Ne Sais Quoi (C Fallon, 5-2);
2, Another Gift (11-2); 3, Ninety Nine (8-1). 6 ran.
l, nk. W J Haggas.
4.50 (5f 8yd) 1, Desperate Hero (Hollie Doyle,
6-1); 2, Hiya Maite (7-1); 3, Fantasy Master
(16-5). 7 ran. 1 l, ns. J Channon.
5.25 (5f 8yd) 1, Willingly (Miss Kayleigh
Stephens, 3-1 fav); 2, Object (7-2); 3, Rhubarb
(7-2). 8 ran. 1 l, l. M D I Usher.
Placepot: £53.80. Quadpot: £37.90.
Wetherby
Going: good
1.53 (2m 3f 154yd hdle) 1, My Chiquita (Miss
Alice Stevens, 13-8); 2, Bob Bob Ricard (11-8
fav); 3, Magical Arthur (50-1). 11 ran. NR: Globe
Player, Mount Falcon. 9 l, 12l. B Brookhouse.
2.25 (1m 7f 36yd ch) 1, Homme Public
(H Brooke, 5-2 fav); 2, Geromino (4-1); 3, Garde
Des Champs (13-2). 7 ran. NR: Ukantango.
1 l, 3 l. O Greenall & J Guerriero.
2.58 (2m hdle) 1, I Still Have Faith (J Quinlan,
4-7 fav); 2, Weigh Anchor (9-4); 3, Walk The
Moon (14-1). 8 ran. NR: Book Of Tales. 3 l, 4 l.
B Brookhouse.
3.33 (2m 3f 85yd ch) 1, Getaway Luv
(J Hamilton, 12-1); 2, Mackenberg (15-2);
3, Northern Bound (11-2). 6 ran. NR: Arthur’s
Quay, Burrows Diamond, Karl Philippe,
Ladronne. Sh hd, 2l. Lizzie Quinlan.
4.08 (2m hdle) 1, Whizz Kid (L Scott, 11-4 fav);
2, Hurricane Ali (9-2); 3, Coastguard Station
(11-2). 7 ran. 4 l, l. Dr R D P Newland.
4.40 (3m 26yd hdle) 1, Duke Of Deception (H
Brooke, 3-1); 2, Butler’s Brief (28-1); 3, Belles
Benefit (9-2). 6 ran. NR: Feivel, Firth Of Forth,
Rowdy Rustler. 2 l, ns. O Greenall & J Guerriero.
5.15 (3m 45yd ch) 1, Any News (H Cobden).
NR: Hometown Boy. N P Mulholland.
Placepot: £1,194.60. Quadpot: £201.10.
Kempton Park
Going: standard/slow
4.20 (6f) 1, Holkham Bay (B Wilkie, 15-2);
2, Intervention (15-8 fav); 3, Tyger Bay (9-1).
10 ran. NR: Lady Dreamer. 1 l, 5l. W J Knight.
4.55 (6f) 1, Super Schwartz (F Marsh, 5-4 fav);
2, Willowbank (33-1); 3, Havana Touch (11-2).
11 ran. NR: Damia. 1 l, 1 l. R Hughes.
5.30 (6f) 1, Tsunami Spirit (B D L Sayette, 4-1);
2, Ezra Cee (7-4 fav); 3, Al Saif (9-4). 11 ran.
1 l, 2 l. K P De Foy.
6.00 (1m) 1, Kalamunda (J Doyle, 4-5 fav);
2, Green Power (5-1); 3, Raqraaq (17-2). 14 ran.
2 l, 1 l. J Parr.
6.30 (1m) 1, Red Hat Eagle (C Shepherd, 7-2);
2, Intricate Pillar (10-1); 3, Oh Herberts Reign
(9-4 fav). 14 ran. Hd, hd. W J Knight.
7.00 (1m) 1, Dr Foster (A Rawlinson, 7-2);
2, Sant Alessio (5-2 fav); 3, Blake (7-2). 9 ran.
NR: Emerald City. Nk, nk. M Appleby.
7.30 (7f) 1, Valtellina (D Probert, 66-1); 2, Epic
Express (14-1); 3, Shoot To Kill (10-1). 12 ran.
NR: Kessaar Power. l, 1 l. H Eustace.
8.00 (1m 3f 219yd) 1, Sonnerie Power
(D Egan, 4-1 jt-fav); 2, Red Flyer (6-1); 3, Haku
(18-1). 12 ran. NR: Glenister, Malka. 1 l, 3 l.
R Varian.
8.30 (1m 3f 219yd) 1, Timewave (O Stammers,
5-1); 2, Big Jimbo (8-1); 3, Largo Bay (7-1). 12 ran.
NR: Delvey, Kemerton. 1, nk. C Johnston.
Jackpot: £10,000.00 — part won. Pool of
£5,646.87 carried forward to Chelmsford
today.
Placepot: £4.80. Quadpot: £1.70.
62 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

Sport Football

Trent deserves to be Raheem

Sterling

in midfield . . . shame Last cap: France,

Dec 10, 2022

Southgate won’t do it
Henry Winter
Chief Football
Writer
England have departed for tourna-
ments with more star-studded squads,
notably the “golden generation” under
Sven-Goran Eriksson, but this crop,
heading to Euro 2024 devoid of club
cliques and egos, is the most unified. So
many players now bring their vibrant
club form to the international arena.
England have a good chance in
Germany because in Jordan Pickford,
Kyle Walker, John Stones, Declan Rice,
Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford —
and Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane
in particular — they have individuals
taking responsibility, delivering strong-
ly, making the collective more resilient
and powerful. No longer are England
less than the sum of their parts.
England still have to find a way past
the likes of France and Portugal, savvi-
er opponents, and hope that Gareth
Southgate has learnt from his slowness
at responding to changing match situa-
tions. But a look at Southgate’s possible
squad for Germany gives reasons to be
cheerful, rather than the old fearful. To
many of the traditional pre-tourna-
ment questions thrown at England,
there are now more answers.
One of the most encouraging devel-
opments is that Southgate eschews the
back three that ingrained caution. He
now espouses a positive 4-3-3/4-2-3-1
system that suits England’s strengths.
There are, of course, enduring
questions about the left-sided centre
back and third midfield position.
The understandable questions that
many have around Harry Maguire,
Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson,
and their lack of sustained and/or
meaningful football for their clubs, are
not questions troubling Southgate. All
three will be in his squad for Germany.
Two will probably start. He’s loyal. The
risk is obvious, in that they will be far
from match-sharp, but Southgate trusts
them.
More relevant questions, for those
seeking to divine Southgate’s decision-
making, revolve more around which
two from Aaron Ramsdale, Sam John-
stone and Nick Pope does he take as
understudies to Pickford? There is an
England's XI?
Southgate’s possible Euro 2024 team
(4-2-1-3)
J Pickford
K Walker (Everton) L Shaw
(Man City) (Man Utd)
J Stones H Maguire
(Man City) (Man Utd)
K Phillips D Rice
(Man City) (Arsenal)
J Bellingham
B Saka (Real Madrid) M Rashford
(Arsenal) (Man Utd)
H Kane
(Bayern Munich)
argument that Southgate should have a
youngster as his No 3 goalkeeper, one
like James Trafford, but the manager
has shown little inclination for that.
That’s for his successor to deal with.
Ramsdale was established as
Pickford’s No 2 but David Raya’s arrival
at Arsenal has complicated things.
Pope looked to have slipped out of the
reckoning but is starting in the
Champions League and will aim to
force his way back in for the November
dead-rubber qualifiers against Malta
and North Macedonia.
Other questions? At left back, does
Southgate need Ben Chilwell as back-
up to Luke Shaw, with Kieran Trippier
so versatile and the outstanding emerg-
ing centre back Levi Colwill capable of
covering left back, as he is proving at
Chelsea? Will Reece James, such an
accomplished right back when fit,
struggle to regain his place in the squad
given Walker’s form, Trippier’s versatil-
ity and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s
ability to play full back and midfield?
Southgate has a huge call to make on
the formidable James. Ben White is out
of the picture, despite his prominence
with Arsenal.
At centre back, does Southgate need
AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori when he has
Marc Guéhi, now first change behind
Stones and Maguire, as well as Walker,
who can play centre back, and Colwill?
Tomori could miss out. Lewis Dunk,
who has done well in his two recent
appearances, would feel even unluckier
not to make the squad. Tyrone Mings’s
ambitions have been stymied by injury
and the emergence of Colwill.
Southgate has taken to listing Alex-
ander-Arnold in midfield and has
played him there, bringing that
extraordinary passing range to bear.
Alexander-Arnold deserves to team up
with Rice and Bellingham, and what a
formidable midfield trio that would be,
albeit lacking the right
defensive balance for Southgate. So
Phillips or Henderson will partner Rice
behind Bellingham.
Southgate likes Conor Gallagher’s
energy but he needs to offer more of a Mason Mount
goal threat. Mason Mount’s once bright Last cap: France,
star has waned; perhaps a revival at
Manchester United may bring him into Dec 10, 2022
consideration again.
James Maddison has to be included
for the adventure, enthusiasm and
chances he brings from the bench. He
will only grow in effectiveness under
Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hot-
spur. Eberechi Eze’s serious hamstring
injury came at a particularly bad time
for his England hopes.
Even if Southgate gives a few more
chances to contenders against Malta
and North Macedonia, how much will
it tell him? His likely squad already
looks tough to get into. Even talents like
Jack Grealish and Phil Foden can’t get
into the starting XI, although they
make wonderful game-changing op-
tions from the bench. Jarrod Bowen
proves a hugely popular member of the On the fringes
camp, and diligent out on the right, but
Saka will return and Foden can step up. An England team sweating on Euro
Kane dominates the centre-forward 2024 places
list. Rashford offers an option if moved (4-3-3)
in from the left. Ollie Watkins surely
did enough against Australia to deserve N Pope
(Newcastle)
consideration for the Euros. That could R James B Chilwell
(Chelsea) (Chelsea)
mean that Callum Wilson misses out,
while Ivan Toney, especially if he F Tomori L Dunk
moves to Arsenal, will be worth watch- (AC Milan) (Brighton)
ing on his return from suspension.
As ever with England, the land of pre-
tournament metatarsal troubles, the
M Mount C Gallagher E Eze
caveat in all this is fitness. Apart from (Man Utd) (Chelsea) (Crystal Palace)
praying for his regulars to emerge un-
scathed through the season, Southgate
must hope they are not mentally
drained. Fortunately, his two most im- J Bowen C Wilson R Sterling
portant players, Kane and Bellingham, (West Ham) (Newcastle) (Chelsea)
are employed in more mature leagues
with proper mid-season breaks.
There is a new mood in the England
camp but old flaws in the English game
still inhibit them.

Results
International matches W A Young c Khil b Omarzai 54 (64) Rashid Khan c Mitchell b Ferguson 8 (13) 6-4, 6-1; T Paul (US) bt M McDonald (US) 6-4, 6-2;
Football Mexico (1) 2 Germany (1) 2 R Ravindra b Omarzai 32 (41) Mujeeb Ur Rahman c Young Tennis M Giron (US) bt C Ruud (Nor) 6-3, 6-4; B Shelton
World Cup qualifying South America D J Mitchell c Zadran b Khan 1 (7) b Ferguson 4 (3) ATP European Open (US) bt J Thompson (Aus) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3.
Antuna 37, Sánchez 47 Rüdiger 25 Naveen-ul-Haq c Chapman b Santner 0 (1)
*†T W M Latham b Naveen-ul-Haq 68 (74) WTA Transylvania Open
Ecuador (0) 0 Colombia (0) 0 62,284 Füllkrug 51
G D Phillips c Khan b Naveen-ul-Haq 71 (80) Fazalhaq Farooqi c Mitchell b Santner 0 (2) Antwerp: First round N Borges (Por) bt
41,575 United States (4) 4 Ghana (0) 0 Extras (w 5) 5 D Koepfer (Ger) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4; B van de Cluj-Napoca: First round J Teichmann
M S Chapman not out 25 (12)
Reyna 10, 39 17,500 M J Santner not out 7 (5) Total (34.4 overs) 139 Zandschulp (Neth) bt D Stricker (Switz) 6-7 (Switz) bt Y Wickmayer (Bel) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6);
Peru (0) 0 Argentina (2) 2 Fall of wickets 1-27, 2-27, 3-43, 4-97, 5-107, (4-7), 6-3, 6-3. Second round J P Varillas (Per) J Cristian (Rom) bt C Naef (Switz) 6-4, 6-4.
Pulisic 19 (pen) Extras (lb 4, w 5, nb 1) 10
37,675 Messi 33, 43 Balogun 22 Total (6 wkts, 50 overs) 288 6-125, 7-134, 8-138, 9-139. bt A Shevchenko (Russ) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; A Fils (Fr) Second round R Masarova (Sp) bt M Bulgaru
M J Henry, L H Ferguson and T A Boult did not Bowling Boult 7-1-18-2; Henry 5-2-16-1; bt M Lajal (Est) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2); G Mpetshi (Rom) 3-6, 7-6 (10-8), 6-0; D Snigur (Ukr) bt
Uruguay (1) 2 Brazil (0) 0 Pitching In Isthmian League: Premier Perricard (Fr) bt D Goffin (Bel) 7-5, 6-3; A-L Friedsam (Ger) 6-0, 1-6, 6-4; E Makarova
bat. Santner 7.4-0-39-3; Ferguson 7-1-19-3; Phillips
Núñez 43 52,477 division Kingstonian 2 Enfield Town 3. 3-0-13-0; Ravindra 5-0-34-1. A Bublik (Kaz) bt G Barrere (Fr) 6-4, 6-2. (Russ) bt P Tig (Rom) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
De la Cruz 78 Fall of wickets 1-30, 2-109, 3-110, 4-110, 5-254,
Women’s Champions League: Second 6-255. P W L T NR Pts RR ATP BNP Paribas Nordic Open WTA Jasmin Open Monastir
P W D L F A GD Pts round, second leg Brann 2 Glasgow City 0 Bowling Ur Rahman 10-0-57-1; Farooqi New Zealand 4 4 0 0 0 8 1.92
(Brann win 6-0 on agg); Paris Saint-Germain 3 Stockholm: First round R Safiullin (Russ) bt Monastir: Second round L Bronzetti (It) bt
Argentina 4 4 0 0 7 0 7 12 7-1-39-0; Naveen-ul-Haq 8-0-48-2; Nabi India 3 3 0 0 0 6 1.82 T Seyboth Wild (Br) 6-3, 6-2; G Monfils (Fr) bt S Errani (It) 6-3, 6-4; E Mertens (Bel) bt
Uruguay 4 2 1 1 8 5 3 7 Manchester Utd 1 (PSG win 4-2 on agg). 8-1-41-0; Khan 10-0-43-1; Omarzai 7-0-56-2. South Africa 3 2 1 0 0 4 1.38 M Fucsovics (Hun) 2-6, 6-2, 7-5. Second round I Shymanovich (Bela) 6-3, 6-2; M Hontama
Brazil 4 2 1 1 7 4 3 7 Pakistan 3 2 1 0 0 4 -0.14
Venezuela 4 2 1 1 5 2 3 7 Cricket Afghanistan
Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Henry
(balls)
11 (21) England 3 1 2 0 0 2 -0.08
T Griekspoor (Neth) bt E Ruusuvuori (Fin) 7-6 (Japan) bt N Podoroska (Arg) 6-2, 6-1;
L Stefanini (It) bt K Kawa (Pol) 6-4, 6-1.
Colombia 4 1 3 0 3 2 1 6 (7-3), 6-4; P Kotov (Russ) bt L Sonego (It) 6-4,
World Cup group stage Ibrahim Zadran c Santner b Boult 14 (15) Bangladesh 3 1 2 0 0 2 -0.70
*Ecuador 4 2 1 1 4 3 1 4 7-5; L Djere (Ser) bt J Wolf (US) 7-5, 6-4; M WTA Jiangxi Open
New Zealand v Afghanistan Rahmat Shah c and b Ravindra 36 (62) Australia 3 1 2 0 0 2 -0.73
Paraguay 4 1 1 2 1 2 -1 4 Netherlands 3 1 2 0 0 2 -0.99 Kecmanovic (Ser) bt H Rune (Den) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2. Nanchang: Second round N Hibino (Japan)
Chennai (Afghanistan won toss): New *Hashmatullah Shahidi c Santner
Chile 4 1 1 2 3 6 -3 4 b Ferguson 8 (29) Afghanistan 4 1 3 0 0 2 -1.25 ATP Kinoshita Group Japan Open bt K Birrell (Aus) 6-3, 7-5; M Bouzkova (Cz) bt
Peru 4 0 1 3 0 5 -5 1 Zealand (2pts) beat Afghanistan by 149 runs Sri Lanka 3 0 3 0 0 0 -1.53 A Anshba (Russ) 7-5, 6-0; D Shnaider (Russ) bt
Azmatullah Omarzai c Latham b Boult 27 (32) Tokyo: First round Zhang Zhizhen (China) bt H
Bolivia 4 0 0 4 2 11 -9 0 New Zealand (balls) †Ikram Alikhil not out 19 (21) Today’s fixture: Pune India v Bangladesh Hurkacz (Pol) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Second round V Zvonareva (Russ) 6-3, 0-1 ret; C Osorio (Col)
* deducted 3ps for fielding an ineligible player D P Conway lbw b Ur Rahman 20 (18) Mohammad Nabi b Santner 7 (9) (9.30am). F Auger-Aliassime (Can) bt S Ofner (Austria) bt S Sorribes Tormo (Sp) 6-4, 7-5.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 63

Sport

Pressure is We’re learning to

on for fringe
England stars
Paul Joyce
Reece James, Mason Mount and
Raheem Sterling are among the
players who face a fight to be part of
England’s Euro 2024 plans after
squads for the tournament were cut
back to 23 players.
Gareth Southgate was able to
select a 26-man party for Euro 2020
because of the impact of the pan-
demic on the calendar, and the same
number at last year’s World Cup in
Qatar because it was held mid-sea-
do the dirty things
to win, claims Rice
England midfielder tells he is, The training is so good.”
As for the All Blacks’ “sweep the
Henry Winter about sheds” principle, showing respect and
humility by leaving the dressing room
Bellingham’s leadership tidy, Rice recalled life at his last club.
“At West Ham, I did. Me and Ben
skills and inspiration of Johnson. Because that’s what Mark
Noble used to do.”
the All Blacks ethos The two “superstars” of the
England team, Jude Bellingham and

son. However, Uefa confirmed on
Wednesday that squads would
return to 23 players for next
summer’s finals in Germany,
with England having booked
their place with Tuesday’s 3-1
victory over Italy at Wembley.
The strength in depth avail-
able to Southgate is so vast
that a number of high-profile
players may now miss out,
with England playing only
four more matches before
the Euros squad is named.
Reece James Next month’s remaining
Last cap: Italy, qualifiers, against Malta
and North Macedonia, will
Mar 2023 be followed in March by
two friendly matches.
Sterling and Mount —
two stalwarts under South-
gate — were overlooked
against Australia and Italy, while inju-
ries to the Chelsea duo of James and
Ben Chilwell precluded their call-up.
Luke Shaw, who is regarded as South-
gate’s first-choice left back, also
missed out because of injury. Levi
Colwill and Kieran Trippier played at
full back across the two matches.
Kyle Walker’s status as England’s
first-choice right back, Trippier’s versa-
tility and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s
ability to play in midfield and at full
back mean James is facing the possibili-
ty of more tournament heartache. Both
James and Chilwell missed the World
Cup with injuries.
Ivan Toney’s suspension for a breach
of betting rules will not be lifted until
mid-January. Ollie Watkins scored the
winning goal against Australia and will
have another chance to make his case
to be the understudy for Harry Kane.
Southgate has also made clear to
Kalvin Phillips and Harry Maguire that
their inaction at club level could cost
them. Phillips has rarely started for
Manchester City since his arrival in
July last year, but featured from the
outset against Italy. The 27-year-old
stayed at City this summer because he
thought he would feature more this
season but now plans to reassess his
options before the January transfer
window should his struggles continue.
D
eclan Rice was sitting in
the England hotel on
Saturday, watching the All
Blacks’ Jordie Barrett stop
Ireland’s Ronan Kelleher
getting over the line to score what
would have been a winning try at
Stade de France, and he understood
even more what was required to get
over the line in a tournament.
Rice saw New Zealand’s resilience
in the 276 tackles they made in their
Rugby World Cup quarter-final, with
100 in the last quarter to withstand
the storm in green. Under Gareth
Southgate, a huge admirer of the All
Blacks’ philosophy, England have
adopted some of their “sweep the
sheds” and “no dickheads” mantras.
Rice reveals that England now want
to adopt fully that “leaving everything
out there” mentality.
“Ireland had, like, 35 attacks [37
phases] in the last wave and New
Zealand were on the line,” Rice said.
“Even though it’s a different sport, we
can take lessons from the fact that it’s
about leaving everything out there.
“That mindset of getting over the
line. That is what we’re now starting
to achieve. We have all the talent but
it is about that mindset and the drive
to be the best and to win. We’re ready.
“If you want to win, you’ve got to
do everything mentally and
physically. There was a lot of
inspiration to take, especially from
our England [rugby] side as well, who
were written off and they are showing
a lot of fight and character as well.”
Southgate brought in Owen
Eastwood, an adviser to the All
Blacks, in 2017 for the England
players to understand fully what it
means to represent their country.
“We’ve had some people in before
to do some talks,” Rice said. “How to
get over the line. How to have that
mindset of, ‘We ain’t getting beaten,
no matter what.’ ”
Of the All Blacks’ famous “no
dickheads” policy — the FA prefers
the more polite term “good citizens” —
the Arsenal midfielder said: “We’ve not
got one. You have such a laugh. We
don’t really want to go home. That’s a
major credit to Gareth because of how
Harry Kane, would dislike such
epithets and are the grounded type
anyway. Rice enthused about the pair.
“Since Jude’s come into the camp
before the last Euros you could see
how good he was then. Even when he
was at Birmingham and when he
started training with us, it was like he
was 30 years old. Now he’s playing for
Madrid he knows how good he is
himself, he’s playing with that
confidence and belief. We know how
good he is. Every day he trains he
gives 100 per cent. He’s on his way to
big things.
“I’d say he was one of the leaders,
the way he plays, how he takes the
Rice believes the
squad is mentally
prepared to win a
major tournament
under Southgate
ball and how he presses. How he gets
after players, how he talks in the
dressing room afterwards. I always
say the same thing [to Bellingham]
before each game: ‘You go and do
what you need to do, I’m behind you.’
He knows with me he has that
security that he can go and be free.”
Bellingham is 20, Kane 30. “They
say your prime is 27, 28 — they used
to say that,” Rice says. “But now there
are so many players performing in
their thirties. Harry is so focused, the
perfect example for all of us.”
It helps England having such
players overseas, absorbing different
mindsets. Rice still argues that the
rest of England are learning. “I’ve
always noticed with the other nations,
like Germany and Italy, who have
won it [the Euros] before . . . It’s
becoming a bit more savvy on the
pitch in terms of doing the dirty
things, taking a bit more time,
knowing how to see games out.
“That’s another major step for us in
terms of winning in Germany. We can
do big things. There is one objective
and that is to win on foreign soil. We
have enough winners in the group
and the mentality is amazing.”

Hermoso called up for first

United’s exit leaves one English team in Europe
PSG
Martens 17, 48, Baltimore 57 3 result of PSG’s poor finishing as it was
Manchester United
Naalsund 47 1 PSG had squandered several early
Paris Saint-Germain win 4-2 on agg
Women’s Champions League
Molly Hudson
Manchester United became the second
English team to crash out of
Champions League qualifying after
losing to a dominant Paris Saint-Ger-
main side in Paris.
That United reached the second leg
with the scores level was as much a
the excellence of Mary Earps, the
United goalkeeper.
chances at Leigh Sports Village, and
they were the better, more experienced
side, having reached the quarter-finals
of this competition last season, while
this was United’s first foray into
European football.
Gabby George, the United left back,
suffered an anterior cruciate ligament
injury in their draw with Leicester City
on Sunday, prompting a defensive
reshuffle, with Hannah Blundell
moving to left back and Jayde Riviere
filling in on the right.
United had struggled with PSG’s
attacking pace in the first leg and
conceded after a run on the left wing by
Tabitha Chawinga, who beat Riviere
with ease. Her shot was blocked by the
boot of Earps, but the ball fell to Lieke
Martens, who evaded two onrushing
defenders to fire into the net.
Ella Toone, the England midfielder,
dragged an effort wide in United’s best
opportunity of the half.
Geyse created that chance and
provided the assist for United’s
equaliser with a neat pull-back for Lisa
Naalsund to score. Parity lasted just 19
seconds from the restart as Chawinga
again evaded Riviere and found
Martens to tap home her second.
Sandy Baltimore put the game
beyond United with a chip from the
near post that floated over Earps and
clipped the inside of the far post on its
way in. Any hope of a fightback was
ended after Leah Galton had her goal
ruled out for a foul in the build-up.
The draw for the group stage will take
place tomorrow with Chelsea the only
remaining English representative, with
Arsenal having been knocked out in the
first qualifying round.
time since Rubiales kiss
Jennifer Hermoso has been recalled
to the Spain squad for the first time
since she was kissed by Luis Rubiales
after the World Cup final (writes
Molly Hudson). Rubiales, then the
Spanish federation president, caused
outrage with the kiss, which Hermoso
claimed was without her consent. He
has since been sacked, as has Jorge
Vilda, the World Cup-winning
manager. Hermoso was not included
in the first squad of Montse Tomé —
Vilda’s successor — last month, with
the coach claiming it was to “protect”
her. Hermoso disputed that, releasing
a statement asking: “Protect me from
what? And from whom?”
64
Sport Football
Sancho’s exile means days are
Paul Hirst, Charlotte Duncker and Constantin Eckner on sad fate of United
winger who is changing on his own and eating lunch from a takeaway box
T
he academy complex at
Manchester United’s
Carrington training ground
has resembled a building site
over the past few months.
Contractors have been working
overtime to construct a new annexe
that will accommodate the women’s
team as well as the youth squads. The
vast indoor pitch is still in place, as is
the auditorium in which Sir Alex
Ferguson held most of his press
conferences.
But now attached to the front is a
£7 million extension that contains
separate changing rooms, a canteen,
video analysis rooms, offices, a
medical treatment centre and two
gyms: one for the women and the
other for the youngsters.
On the red walls of the new
academy gym, inspirational messages
such as “Every winner was once a
beginner” have been daubed in white
paint.
It is an impressive facility and there
are certainly worse places for
professional athletes to train, but
Jadon Sancho probably thought he
would never set foot in the building.
For most of his 27-month spell with
United, Sancho has been training,
eating and practising at the other end
of the 108-acre complex, which
houses the first team. That all
changed on the evening of September
3, when he pressed send on a social
media post that led to his suspension,
exile from the first team and possibly
the end of his United career.
An hour earlier Erik ten Hag was
asked why Sancho had been left out
of the squad for the 3-1 defeat by
Arsenal. “[Based] on his performance
on training, we didn’t select him,” the
United manager said.
That infuriated the 23-year-old,
who responded with a 111-word post
that began with the words: “Please
don’t believe everything you read”,
and went on to claim that he had
been a “scapegoat” for United’s poor
form. Sancho’s post caused anger
among senior staff. “He’s basically
called the manager a liar,” one
reflected.
Ten Hag suspended Sancho the
next week. Now, 35 days on, it can be
revealed that United are willing to let
Sancho leave and that Borussia
Dortmund have already held
discussions internally about the
prospect of re-signing the winger,
either permanently or on loan, when
the transfer window opens in
January.
Why did Sancho go public with his
anger towards Ten Hag last
month? His post
suggested he felt he
had been disrespected
by his manager.
In his eyes he had
trained well. In his social
media post Sancho said
there were “other
reasons” why he spoke
out, but the winger refused to
divulge them publicly. One is
thought to be the idea that Ten
Hag gives more leeway to some
members of his squad than
others.
That is a view shared by a
handful of other squad members,
but countless fringe players up
and down the country probably
feel the same about their manager.
Why did Ten Hag say what he
did about Sancho in his press
conference? Because those were his
How Sancho has been exiled
Building for women’s team and academy
Where Sancho
has been training
First team building
First team car park
Where the first team train
true feelings. Some previous United
managers have been told it is OK to
tell reporters a white lie now and
again, but the staff around Ten Hag
and the man himself agree that such
a practice is outdated and flawed.
The Dutchman wants to be straight
with the media, and the fans who
read their work. Other staff agreed
that Sancho had not been giving his
all at Carrington. It is understood that
Sancho strongly denies this.
In the build-up to the Arsenal
match the young trio Dan Gore,
Facundo Pellistri and Hannibal
Mejbri had bust a gut in training and,
in Ten Hag’s eyes, it would have been
unfair if they had been left out of the
squad, so he dropped Sancho. Some
players are simply not good trainers.
They prefer to keep their best
performances for match days.
However, Sancho has performed
poorly in his three substitute
appearances this season and, save for
a handful of games last year, he has
hardly lit up the Premier League
since his £73 million switch from
Borussia Dortmund in 2021.
In his 82 appearances Sancho has
scored 12 goals and set up another six.
At Dortmund he was involved in 114
goals in 137 matches. Standards are
higher in the Premier League than
the Bundesliga, but United were still
expecting much more from their
investment.
United gave Sancho a few days
to apologise for his post publicly,
privately — to Ten Hag —
and sincerely. But when the
deadline passed, the United
manager banished the
player from the first team.
Ten Hag has claimed
publicly in his press
conferences that Sancho has
committed several
transgressions during his time
working under the Dutch coach.
It is understood that Sancho was
late for one journey on pre-
season but those close to him
insist he does not have a problem
with timekeeping.
Sancho is not seen as a
troublesome character in his social
life. Those who know him say that
if he is out with a group of friends,
he is the person most likely to turn
in early.
Some United staff say they have
found it difficult to communicate
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
MANCHESTER
Old Trafford
Training Centre
One mile
with him during training sessions,
when he has appeared withdrawn. It
is unclear why that is the case.
Ten Hag said at one point last
season that Sancho was unfit to play
because of “physical and mental”
factors — a claim that annoyed the
player’s
camp.
The winger received racist abuse from
some England fans after his missed
penalty in the Euro 2020 final loss to
Italy, the summer before he moved to
United. Sancho, like Bukayo Saka and
his friend Marcus Rashford, received
emails from the FA straight after the
final, offering them support, but no
matter how thick your skin is, such
abuse is bound to have a lasting
impact.
Sancho’s daily life in the academy
complex since his suspension has
been mundane. He is not allowed in
any part of the first-team building,
including the canteen, so his meals
are carried to him in the academy
facility in a black takeaway box —
with a United badge on it and a
plastic lid.
Cristiano Ronaldo was told he
could not enter the first-team
dressing room last October, during
his one-match suspension for refusing
to come off the bench against Sancho’s failure to apologise to Ten Hag for a social media post on September 3
Tottenham Hotspur. Unlike Sancho,
Ronaldo apologised.
Sancho trains on the academy Sancho’s career in numbers
pitches away from the rest of the % mins Starts Goal
youngsters and with only a coach for Team played (apps) Goals Assists involvments
company. Occasionally he watches 2017-18 Dortmund 16% 7 (12) 1 4 5
under-18 matches.
Safeguarding rules dictate that, 2018-19 Dortmund 72% 31 (43) 13 16 29
because the building contains minors, 2019-20 Dortmund 79% 36 (44) 20 19 39
Sancho must change on his own and 2020-21 Dortmund 64% 34 (38) 16 18 34
lock the door behind him before
2021-22 Man United 50% 27 (38) 5 3 8
removing his clothes.
One prominent figure who works in 2022-23 Man United 49% 29 (41) 7 3 10
the academy said he was “uneasy” 2023-24 Man United 2% 0 (3) 0 0 0
about the severity of the punishment, *All competitions Source: Opta
particularly given Sancho’s struggles
last season, but the club are backing Ten Hag’s superiors support his sincere given the history between the
Ten Hag and have sought legal advice drive to improve standards and two.
to make sure that they are not guilty discipline and concede that he may Most of the players agree that
of breach of contract. have to crack a few eggs along the Sancho was in the wrong and should
Article 14(2) of Fifa’s regulations on way to achieve that. They believe that apologise. United’s director of
the status and transfer of players had Sancho been allowed to get away football, John Murtough, among
states: “Any abusive conduct of a with his outburst, it could have led to others, has spoken to Sancho but,
party aiming at forcing the a collapse of squad discipline. despite his intervention, and that of
counterparty to terminate or change Ten Hag said recently that there the Professional Footballers’
the terms of the contract shall entitle was a way back for Sancho if he Association, the impasse remains.
the counterparty (a player or a club) apologised. “He knows what he has to Ten Hag feels particularly
to terminate the contract with just do,” he said, but some doubt whether aggrieved because he in effect gave
cause.” any apology could really be deemed Sancho a three-month break last
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
numbered
has led to the winger being banished to the academy and training alone, far left
season to restore his “physical and
mental” fitness, but the time off had
little effect.
This time last year Ten Hag and his
inner circle organised a mini training
camp in the Netherlands for Sancho,
during which he trained with three
coaches — one of whom came from
the United manager’s home town of
Haaksbergen — that specialised in
mental health, technical training and
fitness.
Sancho trained on one of ten
pitches belonging to the amateur side
OJC Rosmalen, in the south of the
country. Sancho's data, fed back to
United, was good, but the player
failed to hit form upon his return to
the team in February.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to conduct an
audit of the squad when he takes
charge of football operations, but the
early indications are that the
billionaire is a fan of Ten Hag's
methods so there is no guarantee that
Sancho will be recalled if his offer to
buy 25 per cent of the club is ratified
by the board.
2GM
Dortmund may be able to offer the
winger a way out. It is understood
that Edin Terzic, the Dortmund head
coach who worked with Sancho
during his time at the German club,
has kept in touch with the winger and
that his superiors have discussed the
possibility of the player returning in
January.
Dortmund are two points behind
the Bundesliga leaders Bayer
Leverkusen after seven matches.
Terzic, not an overly tactical coach,
likes star players who can win
matches with flashes of inspiration
and he places Sancho in that
category. Money is likely to be a
sticking point. Dortmund are
unwilling to cover Sancho's £300,000-
a-week wages and are not ready to
pay anywhere near the £73 million fee
that they received for him just over
two years ago.
Still, the interest from Dortmund is
there, and other clubs will surely
throw their hats into the ring. Now it
is up to all parties to decide on the
next step.
Tonali can play on Saturday
despite possible 12-month ban
Martin Hardy
Sandro Tonali is set to play for Newcas-
tle United against Crystal Palace on
Saturday despite facing a possible 12-
month ban from football for his part in
the Italian betting scandal.
The 23-year-old has flown back to
Tyneside from Italy, where he under-
went a three-hour interrogation at the
Turin public prosecutor’s office on
Tuesday. He trained yesterday morn-
ing with his Newcastle team-mates and,
with any suspension potentially taking
as long as a month to be decided, is
available for selection.
The midfielder, who joined from AC
Milan for £52 million in the summer,
could still play in the Champions
League again this season, when New-
castle travel to Borussia Dortmund on
November 7.
Newcastle said in a statement yester-
day: “Newcastle United can confirm
that Sandro Tonali is subject to investi-
gation by the Italian prosecutor’s office
and Italian Football Federation in rela-
tion to illegal betting activity. Sandro is
fully engaging with the investigation
and will continue to co-operate with all
relevant authorities.”
Benzema ‘should lose French citizenship’
Adam Sage Paris
A French senator has called for Karim
Benzema to be stripped of his French
nationality after the former Real
Madrid striker was accused by the
country’s interior minister of having
links to the radical Muslim Brother-
hood.
Defenders of Benzema, who won the
Ballon d’Or in 2022, said he was the
victim of a witch hunt and had broken
no laws. The row came after Benzema
posted a message online to say he was
praying “for the inhabitants of Gaza,
once again victims of these unjust
bombings that spare neither women
nor children.”
More red flags No top-flight
over Everton plans to ditch
takeover deal 3pm blackout
continued from back
while Abdoulaye Doucouré, Séamus
Coleman, Ashley Young, Dele Alli,
André Gomes and Andy Lonergan will
reach the end of 12-month deals.
The hearing has the potential to reso-
nate throughout the top flight given
that Manchester City were charged in
February with breaching 115 regula-
tions over 14 seasons from 2009-10.
Everton’s financial woes stem from
overspending under their owner Farhad
Moshiri, who has agreed a deal to sell his
94.1 per cent stake to 777 Partners.
Meanwhile, the amount that the US
firm has loaned Everton has risen to
£40 million as more concerns have
emerged about its proposed takeover.
The loan was initially reported as
£20 million but The Times has learnt
that the figure has doubled, and is being
used for wage costs.
The New York Times has reported
that 777 has not provided audited finan-
cial statements to the Financial Con-
duct Authority, which it must do for the
takeover to be approved. 777 denies this,
and insiders at Everton and 777 insist
that the takeover remains on track.
Tonali was said to have been thor-
oughly repentant in his meeting with
the prosecutor Manuela Pedrotta, who
is co-ordinating the investigation into
betting rings on illegal online platforms
at the Palace of Justice in Turin.
The player had asked, with his law-
yer, Marco Feno, to be seen as soon as
possible and that was granted, although
investigators have not finished going
through the mobile phone and tablet
Tonali, a gambling
addict, met with
prosecutors at
Turin’s Palace
of Justice
taken from him at the Italy training
camp last week.
Tonali’s statement has not been
released, but his agent admitted on
Tuesday that the player has a gambling
addiction.
Nicolò Fagioli, the Juventus mid-
fielder and Tonali’s fellow Italy inter-
national, has been banned from playing
for seven months over breaches of
betting rules.
Gérald Darmanin, the interior minis-
ter, said Benzema, a former France
international who moved to Al-Ittihad,
the Saudi club this summer, should also
have denounced “Hamas’s terrorist
attacks”. The minister added: “Everyone
knows that Mr Benzema has notable
links to the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Benzema’s lawyer, Hugues Vigier,
denied the claim and said the player
planned to sue Gérald Darmanin, the
minister. “It’s false. Karim Benzema has
never had the slightest relations with
this organisation,” Vigier said.
He said the fact that Benzema had
moved to Saudi Arabia, where the
Muslim Brotherhood is classified as a
terrorist organisation, proved that he
Martyn Ziegler Chief Sports Reporter
The Premier League has confirmed
that it will maintain the Saturday 3pm
TV blackout but it plans for every other
match to be shown live from 2025,
including all ten matches on the final
day of the season.
The league has issued its invitation to
tender to broadcasters interested in
bidding for the rights. The number of
matches available live per season will
rise from 200 to about 270 of the total
380 games.
In an effort to maximise income, the
Premier League is selling the rights
over four years, from 2025 to 2029,
rather than three. It is also reducing the
number of packages from seven to five
packages of 42 to 65 matches a season.
No broadcaster is allowed to acquire
more than four packages.
Premier League clubs are hopeful
that the changes will lead to the first rise
in TV income for domestic rights in
almost a decade. A longer deal is expect-
ed to tempt new entrants to the market,
such as DAZN, the British-based
streaming platform that until now has
had a greater presence overseas.
65
Sport
The Italian FA banned Fagioli for 12
months in total, five of which are
suspended, provided the 22-year-old
completes a six-month course of
therapy for gambling issues and attends
at least ten public meetings.
“Sandro is shocked,” Giuseppe Riso,
Tonali’s agent, said on Tuesday after
the player was sent home from Italy’s
training camp last week over allega-
tions of betting online via unauthorised
websites.
“I hope this experience will help save
his life and also the life of others with
his same addictions, including all those
young people who are starting to strug-
gle with this addiction.
“Sandro is training and is available
for selection. Technically he can play
on Saturday. He trained yesterday; he
said that one hour and a half on the field
helped him take his mind off the whole
situation and, once again, Newcastle
has been very supportive and trying to
help him.”
Tonali and Nicolò Zaniolo, the wing-
er who is on loan at Aston Villa from
Galatasaray, had their mobile phones
and tablet devices seized by police as
part of the investigation in Italy that
could involve more than 12 players.
had no links with it. Vigier accused Dar-
manin of trying to “manipulate” French
public opinion through “opportunism”.
Valérie Boyer, a senator with the
centre-right opposition Republicans,
said: “If the interior minister’s com-
ments are proven, a symbolic punish-
ment would first be to withdraw his
Ballon d’Or. Finally we should ask for
him to lose his French nationality.”
Aurélien Saintoul, an MP with the
radical left France Unbowed party, crit-
icised Boyer for wanting to remove the
player’s French nationality “when he
was born in France”.
6 Israel and Palestine flags will not be
allowed into stadiums for Premier
League matches this weekend.
Rowett leaves Millwall
after four years with club
Millwall have announced that
manager Gary Rowett has left the
club by mutual consent after four
years in charge.
The club are 15th in the Sky Bet
Championship, three points off the
play-off places, but Rowett said “the
time just feels right to part ways”.
The assistant manager Adam
Barrett and first-team coach Paul
Robinson will step up on a temporary
basis.
Rowett added: “I have thoroughly
enjoyed being manager of Millwall
and depart with a feeling that the club
has progressed during my tenure.”
Neymar faces long spell
out with knee injury
Neymar will have surgery after
tearing his anterior cruciate ligament
and meniscus while playing in a
World Cup qualifying game for Brazil.
The 31-year-old was in tears after
injuring his left knee in the first half
of Brazil’s 2-0 defeat by Uruguay in
Montevideo on Tuesday.
Neymar, Brazil’s all-time top scorer,
moved to the Saudi Arabian club Al-
Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in
August in a deal worth a reported
€90 million (£78 million). His club did
not say how long he is expected to be
out, but it can take six months to a
year to recover from ACL injuries.
66 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

Sport Cricket

Mike Atherton
Sports Journalist of the Year

Kohli and India’s interest in Olympics

could turn cricket into a global sport
A
merica’s insularity when it comes to
sport is legend. So when Niccolò
Campriani, the three-times gold-
medal winning Italian Olympian and
sporting director of the 2028 LA
Games, compared Virat Kohli’s reach recently to
that of Tiger Woods, LeBron James and Tom
Brady, there may have been a collective sharp
intake of breath across the pond.
With more than 300 million followers on
social media, Campriani said, Kohli has more
than those three titans of American sport
combined. Even if Americans knew who Kohli
was, they would be puzzled: cricket is still
thought of as a minority sport played by a small
number of countries as a legacy of empire,
rather than the second-most popular (by
numbers) sport globally, a reach made possible
simply because it dominates in India, the most
populous country on the planet.
Campriani was speaking on Monday, during
the second day of the 141st International
Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai,
the first IOC session in the country for 40 years,
when cricket’s return to the Olympics for the
first time since 1900 was confirmed. That
represents the realisation of a long-held dream
for cricket’s governing body, the ICC, as part of a
drive to extend the game’s reach and popularity.
It has been a long road, though.
Jay Shah, the secretary of Board of Control
for Cricket in India (BCCI), welcomed the move,
saying: “The BCCI has been a staunch supporter
of the ICC’s efforts to include cricket as an
Olympic sport.” While this is self-evidently true
now — not much happens in cricket without the
BCCI’s approval — it was not always the case.
When I interviewed the then chief executive of
the ICC, Dave Richardson, in 2015 about
cricket’s potential inclusion in the Olympics, he
said: “As things stand, India wouldn’t be keen at
all.”
What has changed? Principally, this new-
found enthusiasm aligns with India’s desire to
host the 2036 Olympic Games in Ahmedabad,
the home city of the prime minister, Narendra
Modi. India has never hosted the Olympic
Games and it was in late 2022 that the ruling
party, the BJP, unveiled this ambition in a
manifesto for the Gujarat elections. The strong
links between India’s cricket administration and
the ruling party are well known, Jay Shah being
the son of Amit Shah, the minister of home
affairs.
Second is the presence of Nita Ambani, a
cricket enthusiast, as India’s representative on
the IOC since 2016. The Ambani family own a
string of T20 franchises, among them Mumbai
Indians in the IPL, and MI New York in the
United States’ Major League Cricket (MLC).
There is a more serious attempt than ever
before to crack the American market and
cricket’s profile will increase in the years
running up to the Games, following the
development of MLC and the joint-hosting of
the T20 World Cup there in 2024.
Third is the waning (economic) value and
importance of bilateral international cricket.
Previously, anything that affected international
cricket was frowned upon but as that primacy
has been chipped away at since the start of the
Kohli’s reach on
social media is
greater than that of
Woods, James and
Brady – combined
IPL, so the value of global competitions has
risen (especially those where India and Pakistan
can play each other). The return to the Games
fits with a pattern of cricket’s inclusion in the
Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and
the growing number of ICC events.
The success of the women’s competition in the
Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was a
significant marker. Campriani again: “Every
sport had one formal submission, one
observation which for cricket was the CWG
[Commonwealth Games] in Birmingham. The
observation from the CWG was amazing. We all
loved it. we got a glimpse of what cricket can be
in the LA context. Women’s cricket played a
critical role.”
So the position of the IOC itself has also
shifted. While the IOC has been lukewarm
about cricket in the past, India’s rise as an
economic powerhouse, and the dominance of
the sport in a region in which the Olympic
Games has had little connection, means cricket
can no longer be ignored. This was Campriani’s
point of Kohli’s social media footprint: as a
product of the social media age, Kohli has the
kind of global reach that no other cricketer has
enjoyed.
India’s young, technology-savvy population,
along with the country’s growing economic heft
and the potential value of broadcast rights in the
region make it a different proposition from
decades ago. If India’s superstars are involved,
and if there is a chance of an India v Pakistan
match, it will bring significant return to the
IOC’s coffers. The broadcast rights in India for
Paris 2024 are worth as little as $16 million
(about £13.5 million), which would rise
significantly with cricket’s inclusion.
And England? For a long time, the ECB, like
the BCCI, was lukewarm about the Olympics,
because of the summer timetable and because
bilateral cricket was king. It was only when the
Olympics came to London in 2012 that the
incumbent ECB regime recognised what it could
do for the sport in a more general sense, and the
mood softened. Since then, the ECB has been
broadly enthusiastic about chasing the Olympic
dream.
English cricket no longer owns the northern
hemisphere summer as it once did, with the IPL,
Caribbean Premier League and MLC
encroaching upon it. In any case, the ECB has a
more marginal influence on global cricketing
affairs than it once enjoyed. On Monday
Richard Gould, the chief executive of the ECB,
said cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics would be
“fantastic” for the sport.
Will it be? It will not be transformative right
away, given that there are only six teams
involved in LA, likely to be decided on T20
rankings nearer the time (with the host nation
taking up one slot). The key consequence will be
the unlocking of resources from the
governments of nations where the game is
developing rather than entrenched, now that
there is visibility from and potential to be in the
Olympics.
That drip-down effect will take time. Still, for
more than a century, cricket has been peripheral
to sport’s greatest gathering; that is no longer
the case.

Dunn takes top job at UKA

McCullum: England can’t be rattled by odd bad day
Simon Wilde Mumbai
Brendon McCullum, England’s Test
head coach, still believes England will
qualify for the World Cup semi-finals
despite a rough start in which they have
suffered two defeats in three games.
“They will get there,” he said. “It is
still early days and this tournament is a
slow burn. It is a World Cup, so there is
going to be the odd upset and that is
what you want. Look at what happened
to South Africa. That was a strong win
from the Dutch and there will be other
unexpected results.
“Of course the boys would have liked
to be on three wins and no losses, but
sport doesn’t work like that.
“There are good reasons why En-
gland have won two World Cups re-
cently. It is the quality of the players and
the manner with which they play the
game that makes them a world-class
side. They just need to stay true to their
method and not get shaken by the odd
bad day.”
McCullum was in Mumbai on non-
cricketing business this week, which al-
lowed him to meet up with his white-
ball counterpart, Matthew Mott, and
the players before Saturday’s must-win
game here against South Africa.
McCullum knows of what he speaks
because the Test team’s approach was
heavily questioned last summer after
they went 2-0 down in the Ashes series
before fighting back to secure a 2-2
draw. In that instance, McCullum in-
sisted his players kept faith with their
attacking methods.
“It was good to see the boys and have
a brief catch-up with Motty,” he said.
“They are doing a great job and have
done so for a long time and I’m just
looking forward to seeing them show
their quality. Playing in India against
the nine other top nations is never
going to be a walk in the park, but this
is what the boys play the game for. I’m
sure we will see the best of them soon.”
McCullum’s sentiments were echoed
by Jonny Bairstow, who said that confi-
dence within the playing group re-
mained strong (despite Mott suggest-
ing on Tuesday that it had dipped).
“The group remains calm,” Bairstow
said. “We lost to Sri Lanka and Pakistan
in 2019 and still went through. The con-
fidence is unwavering.There’s no lack of
belief. We’re not going to dwell on a
loss. We’ll go out and play the way that
we’re looking to play, put pressure on
the opposition like we said that we’d try
and do.”
as interim appointment
Athletics Paula Dunn has been
appointed interim head coach at UK
Athletics after the departure of
Stephen Maguire.
The 58-year-old, who was
Paralympic head coach for ten years
before taking the role of team leader
for major athletics championships in
2022, will lead the performance
programme through next year’s Paris
Olympics and Paralympic Games.
“There isn’t a moment to lose, and I
am excited to help the team to
succeed,” said Dunn, a former sprinter.
Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith on
Tuesday labelled Maguire’s departure
as “incredibly short-sighted”.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Libbok has flourished since his move to the Stormers and is now fully trusted by the Springboks management and loved by the fans, a sign of the progress made since the years of quotas for black players
Libbok reflects new ‘loved’ Boks
Racial diversity isn’t
tokenism any more, it’s
making Springboks
even stronger, says
Owen Slot
F
or this story about Manie
Libbok, it soon became
apparent that there was a
requirement to address the
bromance between two of his
most high-profile team-mates, Siya
Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth. Kolisi and
Etzebeth play up to it by posting
selfies of dinners for two together.
South Africans love it. Occasionally,
Etzebeth’s wife joins in on the fun by
hamming up the role of the jilted
other half.
All good fun, though whether or
not they remotely intended it, in the
world of South African rugby, it can
only tell a bigger story: black captain
and archetypal hard man, white
Afrikaner celebrating a friendship.
Etzebeth has publicly declared his
love for Kolisi, which, again, was part
of the fun, but also challenges long-
held perceptions.
Whether you are laughing along or
not, the bromance is kind of a
statement about where South African
rugby has got to. You ask South
African media about a transformation
in the game and they are surprised:
why are you even talking about it? As
a subject for national discussion,
apparently, it has been and gone.
Indeed, look at the numbers. In
1995 the one black Springbok was
Chester Williams; 12 years later, in
2007, that had become two: Bryan
Habana and JP Pietersen. All three
were wingers, which led to the
stereotype that black players could
only be trusted on the wing. What
followed, then, for a decade, were
those painful quota years, when
coaches were obliged to pick a certain
2GM
number of black players. Were you
selected because you were good
enough or because of the colour of
your skin? It was all horribly
uncomfortable.
And now? This year, black players
and players of colour make up 41 per
cent of the Springboks team. And not
only on the wing, or in positions
historically associated with
athleticism, but wearing the captaincy
armband in the back row and
dominating in the front row too. This,
you could say, looks like South Africa
transformed. Past tense. Alternatively,
you could look at the numbers, where
81.4 per cent of the nation are black,
8.4 per cent are Coloured, 7.3 per cent
are white and 2.7 per cent Asian. So
quite a way to go.
Yet the point here, which is where
Libbok comes in, is how the team is
being transformed. This is John
Dobson, his coach at the Stormers:
“Coaches have finally realised that
players of colour can win games. It’s
almost like our equivalent of South
Sea Islanders who’ve changed the
outlook of New Zealand rugby. In
South African rugby, we were always
great at the grind, great at the set
piece and the physicality, but in the
transition plays — which is where
rugby is going now — these guys are
just electric. There is a real desire
now for these X-factor players.
Recruiters fight for really talented
players of colour. They want to give
these players opportunities.”
Indeed, look at what Cheslin Kolbe,
Kurt-Lee Arendse, Damian Willemse,
Canan Moodie and, of course, Libbok
have brought to the team: they have
allowed the Springboks to transform
the way they play too.
“Everyone expects a maul try,”
Dobson says. “But the crowd now
goes crazy when we see tries we don’t
expect Springboks to score. That has
been massive.”
Libbok’s story reflects the changing
nation. He is from Humansdorp in
the Eastern Cape, a poor area that
was rich in rugby. This got him to a
Rugby World Cup Sport
The bromance between Kolisi, left, and Etzebeth has delighted South Africans
dim. He was soon considered a luxury
Changing Springboks and unreliable, and as he became
Percentage of players of colour in
known for missing tackles and goal
South Africa's World Cup squad kicks, he slipped from frontline
consideration. When he moved to the
1995 Sharks, it was no different.
3.4% In the 2021 season, though, he
made his transformational move to
1999
the Stormers. Dobson is widely
13.3%
credited with turning around his
2003 fortunes, but he says that
16.7% circumstances played a part too. “We
saw someone we felt we could really
2007 take the ball to the line,” Dobson says.
16.7% He told Libbok that they trusted
2011 him and that he would have a run of
26.7% games. The other side of the story
was that the Stormers were in
2015 administration and, as Dobson says:
25.8% “The truth was we didn’t have anyone
2019 else. But what we then saw was that
35.5% when that guy gets backed, you get a
massive reward.”
2023 Thus did Libbok blossom. The
39.4% following year, he was rewarded with
his first full international cap. Then
good rugby school and a starring role this year, he was selected in the
in Craven Week, the annual schools Springboks’ World Cup squad as their
competition, was then followed by only No 10 and that gave him exactly
national age-grade call-ups. the backing that he’d had at Stormers.
It was when he was recruited to the “The Springboks were so clever
Bulls that the shooting star began to when they chose him as the only fly
67
Sport
half for the World Cup,” Dobson says.
“He’s quite a shy, insecure guy. But
when you are the only fly half . . .”
Of course, he is not the sole fly half
any more: because of Handre
Pollard’s return to fitness and his call-
up as an injury replacement, they
now have two. This introduces an
either-or for selectors. Do you go for
old Springbok rugby (Pollard) or new
(Libbok)?
The difference is vast. It’s not just
that Libbok will take the ball flat, it’s
the threat he brings from the back
field. If England kick long to Pollard,
they will know that he will almost
certainly kick it back. Kick long to
Libbok and he is immediately looking
for back-three players to work with;
the whole mindset changes.
Against France, South Africa used
both; they started with Libbok, to try
to build a score in fives and sevens,
then reverted to Pollard to close it out
in threes. That’s the old working with
the new, white working with black.
And that might be simplifying
matters, but as controversial as Rassie
Erasmus’s reign as the Springboks’
leader may be, one of his undoubted
successes has been how he has
engineered the change.
Craig Ray, who is one of South
Africa’s most respected sports writers,
says that “this is the most loved
Springbok team ever — and I’ve been
covering it for 25 years”. Yet, to return
to the bottom line and England and
the Saturday semi-final, this change is
not just about improving Springbok
racial diversity, it is about improving
the Springbok team. Think of that
massive demographic of players who
are now available to South Africa. We
are just seeing the early fruits of it;
their potential is scary.
And no, the job is not done.
Transformation has not been
completed. By 2030 that figure of 41
per cent black representation in the
team is required to be up to 60. Yet
that is not considered a problem any
more. It is where they are heading,
and they are reaping the benefits.
68
Sport
Sport Rugby World Cup
Borthwick needs
a plan – and fast –
to outwit Erasmus
Alex Lowe
Rugby
Correspondent,
Paris
When Saracens were on one of their
squad holidays to the Alps, Steve Borth-
wick shared a room with Schalk Brits
and chose to stay in to study lineouts on
his laptop while the rest of the team
went out to enjoy the après-ski. It is
who he is. There is nobody in English
rugby whose obsession for detail and
data is greater than that of Borthwick.
But even the England head coach in-
sists he does not have the capacity, at
present, to mine the crevices of the
game for a rare gem of an idea.
South Africa, in contrast, most defi-
nitely do. That is the value of a stable re-
gime and of two coaches who have
known each other since they were on
national service together in the South
African army 30-odd years ago.
Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Niena-
ber went to the same university and
they have worked together in profes-
sional rugby since 1999; they are two
coaches who enjoy exploring loopholes
and testing the boundaries of what is
possible in the game.
At the Cats in South Africa, they de-
veloped a signals system for getting
messages down from the coaching box;
an idea that has been adapted and re-
prised at this World Cup. Erasmus’s de-
cision to operate as a water boy during
the British & Irish Lions series triggered
a change to World Rugby’s regulations.
For the World Cup quarter-final
against France, South Africa developed
two ideas that paid off on the day and
will also plant a seed of doubt into En-
gland minds before Saturday’s semi-fi-
nal. Cheslin Kolbe charged down a
Thomas Ramos conversion, denying
France two points in a game they lost by
one. And South Africa took the unusual
step of opting for a scrum in their own
22 after Damian Willemse, the full
back, had caught the ball and called a
mark. It was both an alpha and cerebral
move. South Africa wanted more
Chessum: In 2019, I’d have laughed in your face if you said
Will Kelleher
Deputy Rugby Correspondent, Paris
In 2019, when England stunned the All
Blacks in their previous World Cup
semi-final, Ollie Chessum thought
there was no way he would be part of
similar days himself.
“If someone told me in 2019 I would
be at the World Cup in 2023 I would
have laughed in their face,” he said, as
he prepares to face South Africa in the
tournament at the age of 23.
Four years ago he had just joined
Nottingham in the Championship.
They were the only team who wanted
Chessum after he had missed out on
making the Leicester Tigers senior aca-
demy when he was 16.
Chessum joined them straight from
scrums, plus they wanted to counter
France’s long kicking game. You can
imagine the same strategy working
against England, giving them some-
thing else to consider in the biggest
coaching week of Borthwick’s career.
“Because of where we’re at, we’re try-
ing to get our big blocks in place,” Kevin
Sinfield, England’s defence coach, said.
“We’re not at the point where we can
try and find 0.01 per cents. We’re not
there. I don’t mind being honest with
you about that. Maybe in five years’
time this group might be in a position
where it can start looking at those
things, but not at this moment in time.
If we don’t get our big blocks right on
Saturday then we’ll be blown away.”
The charge-down was Nienaber’s
idea. Kolbe spent six years playing with
Ramos so was attuned to his kicking
style. The wing covered the ground to
block the conversion in just over three
seconds. Owen Farrell tends to take
about 2½ seconds from his first move-
ment. No room for delay, then.
“Every now and then, things work
out well,” Erasmus said. “I think the
mark worked out well because it really
played against that big French pack and
then we get a scrum. Last match, we had
one scrum and they kicked all the balls
long into our 22.
“It’s a free kick and you can take a
scrum from it so we really want to en-
gage in scrums, not just to show domi-
nance but to get the fatigue factor into
both packs. Then the charge-down —
not all ideas are coming from me.”
How England factor in the potential
for South Africa to call a scrum from a
mark will be fascinating. Will it deter
them from kicking long? If so, will they
look for space with cute angles or aim to
make kicks contestable, which then
comes with the risk of allowing players
like Kolbe to profit from the chaos of a
broken field? South Africa profited
from just those positions in the quarter-
final. They were in the French 22 for
only 91 seconds in the first half, but
scored three tries.
Freddie Steward and his aerial prow-
ess will be all the more important, given
his expected selection at full back
ahead of Marcus Smith, who is under-
stood to have been ruled out with con-
Carre’s Grammar in Lincolnshire, a
school that did not really play rugby,
and found himself on the dirt track of
English rugby’s second tier. There he
grew into the imposing lock he is today.
“It was massive for me,” Chessum
said of his time playing under the lead-
ership of the coach Neil Fowkes at the
3,500-capacity Lady Bay ground.
“It was the place that gave me an op-
portunity to be where I am now. I hadn’t
got offers from anywhere else — Not-
tingham were the last people to ap-
proach me and say they wanted to give
me a shot. They were incredible with
me. I was fresh out of school and they
gave me the tools. It’s a massive credit to
them for me being sat here.
“In my position anyway, the Champi-
onship is about set piece. Being 19,
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
. . . but can
Freddie cope
with Rassie’s
box of tricks?
cussion. Steward is 6ft 5in; Kolbe is 5ft
7in, while Kurt-Lee Arendse is 5ft 9in.
Steward will be joined in the back three
by Elliot Daly and Jonny May, with Joe
Marchant, another of those who is
strong at chasing and winning high
balls, at outside centre.
The absence of Smith alters the bal-
ance of England’s back line and places
greater responsibility on Daly to oper-
ate off his wing as the second playmak-
er. England back their fitness, but not
their power against a team the size of
the Springboks, and are expected to try
to keep the tempo high, keep the ball in
play and emulate the Irish approach to
playing South Africa.
Or will England be prepared to
launch the ball long and back their
scrum against the Springboks? It would
be a bold counter move, given the
power of the Springbok set piece. Dan
Cole, who is expected to start at tight-
head, will not be short on motivation
given what happened to him in the
World Cup final four years ago. John
Dobson, the Stormers head coach, said
the last place England should be trying
to take on the Springboks is in the
scrum or maul.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but
that’s where we are going to take some
stopping in the World Cup,” Dobson
told Off The Ball. “I think we will see
more of that tactic now from South
Africa, if you have a superior scrum,
then scrum more.”
It all adds compelling new layers to
the strategic battle. If England were
working on curveballs they would, by
definition, be keeping them under their
hat. But Erasmus said he was wary of
what strategy Borthwick would come
up with. England would have been
planning for a semi-final against South
Africa or France since the summer.
“We are as worried about the plans
the England coaches and Farrell and all
of those guys are making,” Erasmus
said. “The one game they beat Argenti-
na with 14 men with a load of drop-
goals, that might come this weekend.
It’s something we have to watch out for.
I think as many doubts we sow in other
teams, they also do to us. We’re also a bit
nervous about what they have up their
sleeves.”
thrown into scrummaging and piece. He’s everything South African
mauling against seasoned profes- The locks’ key statistics rugby is about.”
sionals and blokes who have It is a challenge Chessum is relishing.
played in the Premiership is a big Ollie Chessum Eben Etzebeth “It’s as simple as if you don’t turn up you
thing.” 23 Age 31 haven’t got a shot — not against these
It was a tough learning 16 Caps 98 big teams, teams in semi-finals,” he said.
experience, although 6ft 7in Height 6ft 8in “If you’re anything less than 100 per
nothing can truly 18st 8lb Weight 19st 11lb cent they’re going to walk all over you.
prepare a player for I just know I’ve got a job to do and if I
facing Eben Etze- don’t do it I’m letting the team down.
beth, the 6ft 8in asked who the Championship “The big motivating factor for me is
South Africa lock, if equivalent of the Springbok that I’m playing for my country at a
you have not previ- second-row forward was. “He’s World Cup and we’re facing South
ously done so. one of the best in the second Africa. Every time you’re playing for
“I don’t think there row, if not the best, and has your country it shouldn’t be that hard to
is one, mate,” been for quite some time. He’s rev yourself up.
Chessum big, physical, [strong in the] set “You’ve got to rise to the challenge.
said with a We play rugby, it’s a physical game. If
laugh Chessum is never afraid to you don’t bring physicality against any
when show passion on the pitch team then you’re going to struggle.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
England v
South Africa
World Cup semi-final
Stade de France
Saint-Denis
Saturday, 8pm
ITV1
I’d be here
“From that aspect, certainly as a for-
ward, it’s not particularly hard to brace
yourselves for a physical game against
South Africa. It’s our job this weekend
to be physical.”
Chessum has done remarkably well
to make it to this tournament, let alone
to start every big game. He suffered a
horrible fracture-dislocation of his an-
kle in March and was picked for the
squad having not played in five months.
Steve Borthwick, the head coach, is a
huge fan of Chessum, and you can see
why. He tells his players never to stop
and to fight for one another.
“We’re doing it for ourselves as a
group, families back home and we’re
doing it for the country,” Chessum said.
“We’re representing England and we
take massive pride in doing that.”
The boorish yobs
who cast shame
on England fans
Fools in Nice proof that
sport must not retain a
detached smugness over
spectators’ behaviour
writes Stephen Jones
I
t was nearly midnight in Nice, an
hour after the end of the
England v Japan pool match, and
there was a surge of post-match
celebrants moving down the hill
from the stadium to the tram stop.
One of the wonders of so many of
the gorgeous stadiums in French cities
is that they are served by trams, so
you come gliding out of the stadiums
and into the city — such a contrast to
the horrible fan exits available on
public transport from Twickenham
and the Principality Stadium.
This time, the sudden surge
established a crush on the tram; a few
found it uncomfortable on board and
decided to return to the platform to
wait for the next one. Among those
who did stay were a large group of
England followers, dressed, so it
seemed, in shorts and some other
kind of get-up reminiscent of school
days.
The journey was shocking.
It terrified some
passengers. The group,
of about eight or
nine, stood in the
Marcus Smith, middle of the
top, clashes packed carriage
heads in a huge roaring out songs,
hit with Fiji’s and their
Vinaya Habosi, enunciation was
leading to the such that it was
full-back blatantly easy to
receiving recognise verses
medical about forced sex
treatment, and anal sex, among
above. He other topics.
soldiered on with They soon created a
a fat lip, bloodied space for themselves as other
shirt and his travellers shuddered their way to the
head bandaged, margins. Single women and families
right, but his sat around with a kind of forced
place against the smile, not wanting to be singled out as
Springboks in the a killjoy. At least one of the singers
semi-final is set took down his underpants and one
to go to Freddie family, sitting within a yard of the
Steward, left group in their red and white Japan
jerseys, stared fixedly ahead and
became visibly upset.
At the time, I recalled the
continued from back
Steward to replace injured Smith
because he’s physically tough, he’s
The back line should remain similar
too, with Alex Mitchell and Owen
Farrell at half back, Tuilagi and Joe
Marchant in midfield, and Elliot Daly,
wonderful reception that the people
of Japan gave to their guests from
abroad at the 2019 World Cup and I
wished I had the Japanese to
brave because to be put in like that, to be May and Steward as the back three. apologise to them profusely. In the
put on a world stage in a quarter-final According to Warren Gatland, it is a end, as they escaped, I had to give
and deliver what he delivered, was an line-up that could surprise South Africa them a kind of feeble shrug of
absolute credit to him. What a great in Paris. The Wales head coach believes resignation.
kid.” that Borthwick’s side can use the hurt of It was rare enough to be shocked by
Smith’s absence on Saturday means losing in Yokohama as motivation. behaviour but last weekend in
Steve Borthwick, the England head Gatland said: “The team that has Marseille there was a ferocious
coach, should make minimal changes slipped under the radar a bit is England. altercation in the stands, as ever
to his starting XV. Even in the warm-up games they prob- featured graphically on social media,
Borthwick is set to select the same ably didn’t play as well as they would in which one group in fancy dress
pack that beat Fiji: Ellis Genge, Jamie have liked, but you look at their age pro- took on another in civvies in a fight
George and Dan Cole in the front row, file and the experience they have got, so fierce that one participant
Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum at lock, they can be dangerous when it comes to appeared to be picked up and thrown
and Lawes, Curry and Ben Earl in the big matches because they’ve got that down the rows like a human torpedo.
back row. experience. The police also reported that they
Cole would therefore face South “They are going to be a tough propo- had arrested a fan from England, who
Africa for the first time since he sition to knock over this weekend.” was carrying a quantity of cocaine,
endured a torrid time in the scrum As expected, Gatland confirmed that after an incident in which a Welsh
during the 2019 World Cup final, which he is staying with Wales and intends to father and son had been set upon in
England lost 32-12 in Yokohama. take them to the 2027 World Cup. the city. Meanwhile, in two of
69
Sport
Sport
England’s games, followers have
booed quite loudly when the big
screens showed shots of Steve
Borthwick and Owen Farrell,
England’s coach and captain
respectively, and in my experience
both great men. Staggering.
Rugby, for the most part, is an
environment to which you can
happily take your children and your
grandmother, and if you keep your
wits about you then everything will
be fine. You can stand next to the
opposition’s biggest fan and they will
most likely chat to you all day.
But that horrendous bunch remains
a dismal memory, and perhaps the
worst aspect of their performance is
that they kept looking round for
acclaim, clearly believing they were
being funny, even entertaining.
You also feel that the sport should
keep its guard up. These days, thanks
to the demands of television, the task
of going to grounds to watch the
action has become relentlessly more
difficult and less appealing. The
unctuous ranting at video replays
involving head contact is now beyond
reason, since you only rant if it is the
opposition who landed the blow.
In this World Cup, all the big games
have kicked off at 9pm French time,
Seven hours’ drinking, which is
what some of the watching
fans achieved, can be
dangerous for health
and sobriety —
although it is also
fair to say that
those groups of
fans from places
such as Ireland,
Wales and
England
generally file away
in decent order
after supporting
wonderfully well.
South Africans? Let’s
say the jury is out. Some of
this will be news to the holier-
than-thou. For a very long time rugby
has compared itself with football and
other sports with a detached
smugness. “This would never happen
in rugby,” has always been the
response to certain football
behaviours.
But I’ve never been comfortable
with it. I don’t feel less safe in the
stands at Tottenham Hotspur
Stadium than I do at rugby.
Rugby must accept that times
change, that the silly late kick-offs at
the behest of television, and the
increase of eventing among the
general public, are flashing warning
signs. These days the nature of rugby
crowds has changed, especially at
international level. At places like
Twickenham and the Principality
Stadium, and even the Aviva Stadium
in Dublin, an increasing proportion of
the crowd is there for an event and a
piss-up, as well as a side-long glance
at the sport.
Rugby must wake up to the fact
that it does not have a permanent
God-given saintliness, and that safety
and the lack of racism and — in my
experience — sexism are not
guaranteed for the future, as sporting
habits change.
England fans are removed from Stade
Velodrome in Marseille for fighting
 2GM
Sport
Smith injury
opens door
for Steward
Will Kelleher
Deputy Rugby Correspondent, Paris
Marcus Smith is set to be ruled out
of England’s World Cup semi-final
against South Africa, with Freddie
Steward in line to replace him at full
back.
Smith, 24, suffered several blows in
England’s 30-24 quarter-final victory
over Fiji in Marseille. He was taken off
for a head injury assessment (HIA) 23
minutes into the game and returned
shortly before half-time having passed
the test. However, he is now unlikely
to make the match-day 23 at the
Stade de France, in Paris, on Saturday
evening.
Steward, 22, is set to come in for
Smith as the only change to the team
who beat Fiji. The full back was
dropped for that quarter-final — only
the second England match the Leices-
teer Tigers player has missed since his
debut in July 2021.
England were desperately keen for
Smith to play this weekend. Kevin
Sinfield, the England defence coach,
said on Tuesday that the team had
their “fingers crossed” he would
be fit.
He also said Smith had become a
“world class” option at full back since
moving there during the World Cup
warm-ups in August. Smith did not
train fully on Tuesday. He was on
“modified training” with Jonny May,
Manu Tuilagi, Courtney Lawes, Dan
Cole and Tom Curry.
It is a bitter blow to England, and for
Smith. It is possible for players to pass
the match-day HIA, but then fail
Times Crossword 28,738
1 2 3 4
9 10
11 12 13
14 15
18 19
21
22
25
28 29
Trent deserves to start
Liverpool player should be in England
midfield but Southgate won’t do it
subsequent tests as their symptoms
develop.
The HIA process is threefold. If a
player has a potential concussion they
are subject to a 12-minute test during
the game, known as an HIA 1. The
player goes through a series of assess-
ments, and if their scores match those
of their “baseline” level — from evalua-
tions they do in pre-season — they can
return to the field.
The player then has to do an HIA 2
test three hours after the match, to
assess clinical progress and identify an
early diagnosis of concussion. There is
then a third test, an HIA 3, which is
designed to catch concussions that
develop later. It is performed after two
nights’ rest, 36 to 48 hours after the
initial head injury.
As per World Rugby guidelines,
England’s doctor had primary
responsibility for conducting the HIA,
although team doctors can delegate the
role to the independent match-day
doctor.
Sinfield spoke this week about
Smith’s brave performance against Fiji.
The player ended the game with a ban-
dage around his head and a fat lip,
having been hit hard by Vinaya Habosi
in the first half, and then by Josua Tuis-
ova and Semi Radradra.
Sinfield said on Tuesday: “If there
was any doubt how brave and coura-
geous he is I think you saw it with your
own eyes. The bloke got his face
smashed and threw his body into tack-
les. The guys are in full admiration for
how he’s gone about it.
“He’s just a brave guy. And not just
5 6 7 8
16
17
20
23 24
26 27
Has exiled Sancho played last
game for Manchester United?
He trains on his own, eats out of a takeaway box and won’t say sorry to Erik
ten Hag. Jadon Sancho seems to have no future at Old Trafford, pages 64-65
across
1 Hack cried out for somewhere to
sit (4,5)
6 Fish that’s normally left after
smoking (5)
9 Objects to alien attitudes (7)
10 Madonna with Child in work of
certain craftsman (7)
11 French city from 50s featured in
story (5)
13 Avoid more unorthodox sort of
film (4,5)
14 Yearn to have case dismissed as
judge listened (9)
16 Golf shot you’re aiming to one in country (7)
complete (4)
18 Too anxious at first when meeting
players from capital (4)
19 Spike necessarily after a time
replacing Charlie (9)
22 Brief couple of points you had
welcomed as a female (9)
24 Keeps mum’s authority (3-2)
25 Method we should adopt for good
work! (3,2,2)
26 Accepting promotion, good for you
to display swagger (7)
28 Scene of battle with victims,
unknown number advancing (5)
29 Boisterousness, with sound of
raucous song on piano (9)
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
New improved Boks
Libbok typifies a team who are stronger
and more diverse than ever before
Everton FFP
hearing gets
under way
Paul Joyce, Martyn Ziegler
Everton’s disciplinary hearing into an
alleged breach of the Premier League’s
profit and sustainability rules has
started.
The club were charged by the league
with breaking spending rules last
March and the allegation is understood
to relate to a number of adjustments
made to disclosed losses, of which one
is interest payable on loans to build
their new stadium at Bramley-Moore
Dock.
The case is being heard before an
independent commission and is
expected to last several days.
An outcome from the commission is
not expected for a number of weeks.
Everton announced losses of
£44.7 million in 2022, £121.3 million in
2021, £139.9 million in 2020, £111.8 mil-
lion in 2019 and £13.1 million in 2018.
Under the Premier League’s profit
and sustainability rules, losses of more
than £105 million are not allowed over a
three-year period.
However, Covid-related losses, of
which Everton have attributed
£90.4 million between 2020 and 2022,
plus costs relating to the new
£550 million stadium, women’s team
and community work, can be incurred
without counting towards that.
The club have repeatedly stated that
they can prove they complied with
spending rules. Officials have worked
closely with the Premier League on
their spending over the past 18-months
and were shocked to be charged.
As this is the first case to be heard, it
is unclear what sanctions could be
imposed if the club are found guilty.
Punishments range from a points
deduction, a fine and a transfer embar-
go. The latter could cause Everton
problems given they have eight players
out of contract at the end of the season.
Loan deals for Jack Harrison and
Arnaut Danjuma expire next summer,
down Yesterday’s solution 28,737
1 Half measure upset director (2,5) AMB U S C A D E S T ORM
I E I E N P B A
2 Musical with no fiddle (3) R E N A L R E T A I L I NG
3 Slap that’s firm, so filled with force E E E A R T N
(8) D E F I N I T E A R T I C L E
A C I P L A T
4 Moving from high category jail (5) B A CH E L O R L E A N E R
5 Criminal in car, from memory A T N G A O
having run over charity worker? L O I T E R C A L L E D I N
L O T H N A A
(3-6) A NN I EG E T YO U RGUN
6 Sketch dealing with (unlikely) birds D R L M N O O
taking flight (6) EG L A N T I N E D ROV E
7 Do for admiral’s first five years in E A A O D E S N
R E B E L S P E A R H E A D
RN? (11)
Check today’s answers by ringing 0905 757
8 Care homes indeed small — simple 0141 by midnight. Calls cost £1 per minute
plus your telephone company’s network
12 Oft-repeated petition: “see that access charge. SP: Spoke 0333 202 3390.
street gets a hose”? (5,6)
15 Insect, (unlikely) creature taking Newspapers
flight, rattled my host (5,4)
17 Work arrangement with female support recycling
The recycled paper content of
scientist in need of career (8)
18 Out to receive Catholic by hotel
UK newspapers in 2020 was 67%
entrance (7)
20 Mix of oddly cold, gooey green
matter? (7)
21 Tips for say stopping dad’s insidious
tactics (6)
23 Ban lifted having retired meeting
resistance (5)
27 Be sick of cold shower, with hot
unavailable (3)
 October 19 | 2023

Oui, French
children
do throw
food

The truth
about
Parisian
parents
2 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
times2
As a (very) secular Jew, I
didn’t feel I had the right to
comment on these horrific
events — until now
Deborah Ross
T A
hus far, as a
secular Jew (very),
I have felt the
need to stay silent
about the horrific
events unfolding.
I haven’t earned
the right to say
anything. I don’t know enough. I
haven’t set foot in a synagogue for
years. What if I say something
foolish? What if, God forbid, I’m
just using my Jewishness to get a
column out of it? And how will I
know? Can I be trusted? Do I
trust myself?
But I was utterly, utterly
floored by the open letter
released this week by Artists for
Palestine UK with its 2,000
signatories including Tilda
Swinton, Mike Leigh, Michael
Winterbottom, Steve Coogan,
Charles Dance, Miriam
Margolyes and Michael Rosen.
The letter says “we are
witnessing a crime and a
catastrophe”, that the
“‘spectre of death’ is hanging
over the territory”, that
“Palestinians whose
grandparents were forced
out of their homes at the
barrel of a gun are again
being told to flee”.
They continue with “our
governments are not only
tolerating war crimes but
aiding and abetting them”
and conclude with “we
demand that our
governments end their
military and political
support for Israel’s actions”.
I read it once, twice, a
third time. Then a fourth.
Had the letter been
abridged? Surely it’s been
abridged. Or I’ve somehow
missed a paragraph. Would have
to have done. I can be dozy. I’d
best read it a fifth time. But it had
not been abridged and I had not
missed anything.
The fact is, there was no
mention of Hamas. There was no
mention of the rape, torture,
kidnapping and murder of babies,
children, grandparents, young
people dancing peacefully at a
peace festival.
The lack of basic compassion
and humanity, that’s what was so
unbelievably flooring. Is it so
difficult? To support and feel for
Palestinian citizens — even
among my more observant
relatives I’ve yet to encounter
anyone who believes an Israeli life
is worth more than a Palestinian
one — while also acknowledging
the indisputable horror of the
Hamas attacks?
To hold both those thoughts? It
isn’t the most exacting moral test.
Even I can pass it and as was once
written on my school report: “not
too bright”. (It was for physics, but
said in a general way.) And isn’t it
necessary to hold both thoughts if
any kind of peaceful coexistence
is ever to be achieved? Otherwise
it is truly hopeless?
What does it solve, a letter like
that? And why would anyone sign
it? Was Dance bored that
morning? As for Rosen and
Margolyes, I’ve no idea why
they’d wish to be party to it.
Apart from the lack of
compassion and humanity, there
just seems to be so much else
wrong with it. To talk about
“grandparents forced out of their
homes at the barrel of a gun”
presumably refers to 1948, but
where does that get anyone?
Should it prompt a game of
one-upmanship?
Should I respond by saying this
is a centuries-old conflict that
goes back to ancient times and
733BC when the Jews were first
expelled from Israel, their
ancestral homeland? That
thousands of Jews were forcibly
relocated then? That the Jewish
diaspora began there? How is
that . . . helpful? Should we behave
like children, crying: “But I didn’t
start it! It wasn’t me!” Would such
finger-pointing be in the best
interests of dealing with the now?
Or is the letter just plainly and
purely antisemitic? Might you
ignore the Hamas attack and
offer no commiserations, or a plea
for the hostages, because you
cannot condemn it? Maybe, even,
because you condone it? Hard
to believe, but why else not call
it out?
It’s the not-calling-it-out that is
so disturbing here. You can
choose not to defend Israel. You
can be an anti-Zionist. You can
hate Israel with every fibre of
your being, and many do. But
you do have to call such an
atrocity out. You have to say it
happened. Don’t you? Or do
murdered, raped and tortured
Jews not matter?
Perhaps it’s my Jewishness
coming out here. Perhaps secular
Jews are not as secular as they
believe themselves to be. I asked
my aunt, who is religious,
whether I am less Jewish, and she
said, “Absolutely not!” But that
was only a poll of one. Perhaps
being Jewish is ultimately
unassailable, which is why I found
the letter so devastating.
I certainly grew up around
some antisemitism. The RE
teacher at school called me “the
Christ killer”. The family next
door called us “yids”. My
grandfather, a shoe wholesaler,
changed our name from
Rosenthal on the grounds “people
don’t want to do business
with Jews”.
My childhood was beset
by the Jewish holidays that
always seemed to go on for
ever and come down to
remembering how other
peoples tried to get rid of
us: Passover (Egyptians);
Purim (Persians);
Chanukkah (Greeks);
Tisha B’Av (Romans and
Babylonians).
None of this was anything
I couldn’t cope with, to be
honest, but it must have left
me with a sense of where it
could lead to and where it
could lead to is right here, in
this refusal to recognise
what Hamas did, and in this
refusal to feel anything for
the families of hostages, the
parents of dead children, the
children of dead parents, or be
somehow indifferent to the
sight of cot mattresses soaked
with blood.
Israel has often treated
Palestinians harshly, and
Netanyahu has exacerbated any
problems, but that is no
justification, or what are you
saying? Those babies had it
coming? What’s happening now,
to ordinary Palestinians, is also
horrendous, but do I feel less
sympathy for them than for
the Israelis? Not at all. Not in
the slightest.
The irony, I suppose, is that in
establishing a Jewish homeland
where antisemitism could not
exist a new kind of antisemitism
has been created. What other
reason could there be for omitting
such an act of terrorism? I did get
a column out of this, but I don’t
feel I just got a column out of this.
I trust myself.
The parenting
When a French psychologist wrote
that her nation’s parents had gone soft
and their offspring were unruly, it led
to an outcry. Adam Sage finds out why
decade or so ago
the idea took hold
that French
children were
somehow better
behaved than their
counterparts in the
UK and the US.
They said please and thank you,
obeyed their parents and would never
dream of throwing their food across
the kitchen table, or so it was claimed.
There was even a bestselling book,
French Children Don’t Throw Food,
written by Pamela Druckerman, an
American living in Paris.
If ever this was true, it is certainly
not now, at least according to Caroline
Goldman, a child and adolescent
psychologist who believes that an
“infantile insurrection” is under way
in France, and possibly in other
western nations too.
Mealtimes have become chaotic,
family life disordered and schools
turbulent — and all because France
has imported Anglo-Saxon liberalism,
she says. Her ideas have turned
her into a prominent if controversial
figure, praised by conservatives
yearning for a return of order but
vilified by their opponents.
Goldman’s main gripe is with
American-inspired gentle parenting
— the notion that children need
respect, understanding and empathy
rather than discipline. The original
theory is contestable enough in her
view, but she says it has been warped
by French proponents arguing that
all punishment for the young is a form
of violence.
Parents across France have lapped
up such ideas, only to find themselves
bereft in the face of their loss of
authority. Yet the real victims of the
shift are the young themselves, she
argues. They may be enjoying short-
term gratification, but they are failing
to learn how to tolerate frustration
and face long-term difficulties in
adapting to life in society.
Goldman wants to swing the
pendulum back the other way again,
although not as far as the days when
French children were slapped, insulted
and humiliated. Her advice is to send
them to their bedrooms when they
misbehave, without a screen to keep
them company.
The method may sound
unextraordinary to many families and
yet Goldman has ignited vehement
controversy on several fronts. For one
thing she argues that infants can be
dispatched to their rooms from the age
of one — having meted out the
punishment to the second of her four
children at ten months, she says.
For another she says single parents
will always struggle to impose
discipline without a second adult to
back them up. This does not have to
be a father — a friend or relative will
do — but she insists that a parent on
their own may lack the “intimidating
distance” required to bring up well-
behaved offspring.
Yet perhaps her most controversial
assertion is that some — although by
no means all — children diagnosed as
suffering from attention disorder and
other troubles would be better
classified as badly brought up.
Proponents of gentle parenting are
aghast, accusing her of disseminating
“dangerous” beliefs. They have
expressed fury, written open letters to
newspapers and denounced France
Inter, the state radio, for giving
Goldman a morning slot in which she
proffered advice to families during the
summer. Yet none of this has stopped
Goldman’s rise.
Her book, File dans ta chambre! (Go
to Your Bedroom!), is a bestseller. An
article on her by Le Monde was the
most widely read item on the
newspaper’s website in the first half of
the year. Her podcasts, which are soon
to be translated into English, went
straight into Apple’s charts when they
were released in France.
She knows what it is like to be under
the media spotlight. Jean-Jacques
Goldman, her father, is a singer-
songwriter with a series of hits to his
name, both for himself and for stars
including Céline Dion and Johnny
Hallyday. He has been France’s
favourite celebrity for five years in a
row, according to an annual poll by the
Journal du Dimanche newspaper. His
daughter has not quite reached that
level of fame, but is nevertheless at the
centre of a heated debate that can
prove wearing.
When I approached her this spring
asking if she would do her first
interview with a British newspaper,
Goldman said she was trying to get
away from it all for a while. It’s not
until after the summer that she sits
down to answer questions in her small,
green-walled consulting room
adjoining her house in a Paris suburb.
Goldman positions herself in an
armchair in the corner, tucking her
legs under her body and frequently
sweeping back her long, curly black
hair. “You can choose what you want,”
she says, pointing at a couch and a low
chair. I opt for the chair.
How does she explain her sudden
prominence? “People want to know
why we are witnessing such a — how
shall I put it? — infantile insurrection
in public places and in families.
Teachers are very interested in this
and grandparents and parents are
keen to know about new educational
methods and how to find solutions
when they cause a problem.”
She says children across France are
following their American counterparts,
demanding the right to have a say in
household decisions, turning families
into a “participative democracy” and
speaking when they want.
Most parents grin and bear it, but a
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
book that’s divided France
growing number are so overwhelmed
by their ill-disciplined children that
they are taking them to psychologists
like herself.
Up to a decade ago a third of her
consultations involved children with
difficulties caused by the failure to
establish “educational limits” at
home, she says. “For the past eight
to ten years it has been three quarters
of consultations.” Typically she sees
“loving, attentive parents, well tuned
on an interpersonal and emotional
level, sensitive to their children but
who have neglected the importance of
teaching them how to tolerate
frustration, as though that did not
exist when in fact it has characterised
education from the beginning of time,
and as though teaching a child to be
civilised was outdated”.
“What I observe . . . is that children
are suffering from having too much
freedom, which anguishes them and
which does not prepare them for the
good manners that help social
relationships to thrive.”
Goldman says psychologists
throughout France note the same
trend, adding that she has an overall
vision because she is involved in
their training.
She adds that teachers too, “from
nursery schools to universities”, are
confronted by children demanding the
right to express their wishes and
desires in the classroom. This may be
acceptable in the US, but “I am not
Parents are
acting as
teaching a
child to be
civilised
outdated
sure teachers in France
are ready to see such
freedom of expression
blossom in this way
quite yet”.
The shift in French
youth culture is, as she
sees it, down to a small
number of “cynical”
authors who have enjoyed
success with books and
coaching courses intended
to propagate gentle
parenting theories, telling
families that “your child is nothing but
love, that they will generate nothing
but love from you and that all will be
peaceful and serene”.
She says that in their original
American form gentle parenting
theories allow for some form of
punishment for children who
misbehave. But the French proponents
have “quite simply decided to
eliminate all the punitive dimension,
saying that all forms of punishment
are educational violence”.
Parents have adopted these notions,
although they have no scientific
backing, she says. Psychologists —
herself excepted — have been
unwilling to counter them.
“It’s not comfortable to say publicly
that children are capable of the best
but also the worst, that parental
ambivalence is completely normal,
that you are going to love your child
but also hate them and that a child
3
times2
The lowdown
Daniel Radcliffe
needs to be punished to become
adapted to society.”
Goldman says that order can be
restored simply by sending disobedient
youngsters to their bedrooms. There
is no standard French term for this,
so she uses the English one — le
time-out — which can be imposed on
children from the age of one, at least
if they can walk and “are perfectly
aware when they transgress that it is
a transgression”.
She adds: “I used only that as a
disciplinary method for my four
children . . . and I encourage parents to
do the same so that they do not give
way to violence, to shouting, to
though hostility and to bitterness.”
In File dans ta chambre!, Goldman
says fathers who return home late
Daniel Radcliffe is in a pickle.
from work after the children have
eaten “do so at the price of the family’s How much of a pickle?
equilibrium”. The presence of both
parents is necessary at mealtimes, she Not a massive one. More of a
were says, for children to “be equipped in
terms of good manners for life in a
cornichon.
He’s not been cancelled, then?
social group”. They must learn to
listen to parental conversations at the
Nothing X-related?
dinner table without butting in, and I think he got over Cho Chang a
obey instructions. while ago.
In the interview she seems to soften
her view a little, denying she was Hilarious. You know what I meant.
pushing for a return to traditional
families. Children do not necessarily I do. But, actually, this is sort of
need a father, she says, only a second X related. X-Men, that is.
adult, regardless of gender. “There is That franchise cannot still be going.
one [parent] who cares for the child,
who receives the attempts at Nothing ever ends now, you know
negotiation — ‘yes but I that! There is a new film on the
want more time on the horizon and Radcliffe keeps having
tablet’ or ‘I want a second to fend off rumours he is starring in
dessert’ — and you just need it — as Wolverine.
a lateral voice to say, ‘No, How come? Is he growing sideburns?
no, no, do what the first
adult says,’ for the situation Nope — just muscles.
to be unblocked.”
Ooh!
How are single parents
supposed to cope? She
The actor appears to have bulked
says they need to find a
up, which I am obviously saying in
“sister, a friend, a brother,
the least objectifying way possible.
a grandmother” to help
impose discipline. Of course. We don’t objectify men!
Goldman has ignited But has Harry Potter really got . . .
further debate with hench?
a claim that, under
American influence, the Sorry, but he prefers the term
widely accepted list of “buff ”.
neurodevelopmental Goodness, there’s a word I haven’t
disorders — involving, for used in a while.
instance, autism spectrum
or attention deficit hyperactivity — Let’s keep it that way. In any case,
Caroline Goldman fails to include children who are Radcliffe’s fans seem to think he’s
essentially suffering from an overdose hit the gym at Marvel’s behest.
of freedom at home. Which makes sense given he is a
“What I observe is that these great new father — which tends to be
catch-all diagnoses, which I find jolly tiring — and because the role
extremely cloudy, are sometimes he’s playing at the moment is in the
composed of problems of educational Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll
limits that are not identified because Along on Broadway.
the badly brought-up child does not It’s not a play known for its shirtless
exist in any [classification]”. scenes, sure. But come on, can’t
She says it is “easier for everyone” the man work out without
this way — for child psychiatrists who contractual obligation?
need only “tick boxes” and prescribe
medicines, for parents given a Well, quite — and that was his
“magical” pill for their child’s troubles, defence. In an interview with
and for the pharmaceutical industry, Vanity Fair he said that while he
which sees its sales increase. was flattered by the Wolverine
“It suits everyone, but it doesn’t rumours, he “got buff because I am
suit me and it doesn’t suit the obsessive, and I want to”.
children either. Why? Because their
relationship disorders and suffering Good for you, Daniel. Channel your
are being left untreated, and they inner beast. Grr.
will stay with them for the rest of
their lives.” Hannah Rogers
4 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
times2
Special relationship — why we
Yesterday Chiara Brown explained why she moved from
the US to London: she loves British men. The response was
huge — and not everyone agreed. Here four writers respond
Catherine Evans-Smith, 33, her
husband, Jeremy, 30, and their son
Teddy, 2, live in Michigan
There are lots of great things about
British people, but believe me, when it
comes to dating and marriage there
are plenty of perks only Americans
have to offer. I never thought I’d
marry an American, but here I am. I
have lived in the States for a decade,
first near San Francisco and now in
Michigan, and have been happily
married to an American, my husband,
Jeremy, for seven years.
In the years I was single there were
a handful of American men who
raised some red flags. For example, I
once dated a guy who, the first time
I stayed over, thought that 4am would
be an appropriate time to show me charming (those all-American men
the collection of guns he kept under who open doors, call you “miss” and
his bed. After a particularly terrifying insist on paying for everything do
episode of show and tell he rolled exist) and they loved my British
over and went to sleep. I, on the other accent, the fairytale “ladies first” thing
hand, left as soon as the sun came up. can get exhausting. One man I dated
We never spoke again. refused to let me drive us to a camping
And while the chivalry can be trip we had planned in my car, despite
me having a suitable SUV and him
having a flashy BMW that was highly
inappropriate.
But let’s get onto the positives.
When it comes to communication,
from my experience the men over
here tend to be much better. The first
thing I noticed when I began dating
in the US was that they didn’t mess
Chiara Brown’s story in around playing games. I rarely felt as
yesterday’s Times2 though their intentions were clouded
or that there was any grey area in
how they felt; whether a man wanted
a relationship or a one-night stand,
they’d let you know.
Don’t get me wrong, as a
conflict-avoidant Brit it took me
several years to realise that I wasn’t
going to get away with burying
feelings, being grumpy and giving the
cold shoulder for a few days before
going back to normal. Jeremy is
brilliant at tackling things head-on by
talking about them. The men I have
come across are much more willing
to be emotionally vulnerable. My
experience of Brits is that there is
more of a wall up emotionally. Here,
the floodgates open at speed: people
get comfortable and vulnerable much
faster. Which means first, second or
third dates tend to get straight into
the deeper stuff. In the US that’s a
meaningful conversation; in the UK it
After dating Brits, I
I once
would be called oversharing.
Perhaps it’s because therapy is more
loved that Tom texted
dated a
easily available in the US. A lot of
the men (and women) I know have
had it, myself included. It means
when he said he would
guy who that people are better equipped to
communicate the nuances
Gillian Orr, 41, and her husband,
Tom, 49, live in London
showed me of exactly how they feel, rather
than summing it up in a few words.
I had known my future husband for
about six weeks when he suggested
his gun Jeremy and I now have a
two-year-old son, Teddy, and we
we get married. We were drinking
wine in his Brooklyn loft having
collection are expecting our second child in just had a farewell pizza at
February. There are subtle ways Roberta’s, and my flight back to
the first in which I raise Teddy to be London was a few hours away.
time I just as much British as he is
American. We sing the
I think I replied: “Really?”
Having spent a decade and
stayed over correct words to nursery
rhymes, not the American
a half dating British men,
such forthrightness was
lyrics; we read British bewildering to me. I had
stories such as Alfie and been in “situationships” that
Annie-Rose at bedtime; and lasted two years, had more
I speak in a very British post-pub one-night stands
accent whenever we’re at than I care to remember,
home. Perhaps I overdid it, and spent entire weekends
because there was a phase when wondering if someone would
my son sounded like Adele. get in touch. And here was this
Generally speaking, though, I man I barely knew asking me
wouldn’t be who I was today if I to spend my life with him.
hadn’t married an American and That’s the thing about
had instead spent the past decade Americans, they know what
in the UK. I might have had free they want and they go for it.
healthcare and a more solid Is that not the American
political landscape, but would I dream, after all?
have had an emotionally literate, I met Tom by a hotel
communicative, wonderful pool in Deia, Mallorca. We
husband? I don’t think so. quickly worked out that we
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
prefer American men to British
had mutual friends and spent the next
few days together. He was on vacation
(I call it that now) from New York and
I was instantly taken by him. A tall,
handsome writer with thick-rimmed
glasses, he could have been a
supporting character in a Woody
Allen movie. He wrote books about
outlaws and criminals and relayed
tales of mob hits and the underworld.
Compared with the boys I knew back
home, so obsessed with pints and
football, he was Clint Eastwood.
And it didn’t hurt that he had grown
up in Georgia so was blessed with
Southern charm, something most
British men I know could do with an
injection of. He pulled out chairs for
me and never let me walk roadside.
He took me out on proper dates,
rather than expecting me to meet up
with him and the lads. And, of course,
there was the accent: New York with
a hint of a Southern drawl the more
whiskey he imbibed.
As a teenager in the Nineties I, like
so many of my friends, was completely
taken by life in America. It just always
seemed more exciting, more
glamorous. Life there was presented
through the glossy lens of movies
featuring beautiful people with perfect
teeth having fun at the mall. Britain
was harsh and grey in comparison. We
crushed on Leonardo DiCaprio and
Josh Hartnett because all that was on
offer in the UK was Hollyoaks stars. I
suppose the obsession has remained.
Tom and I married in 2020 and now
have an 18-month-old son, Robert
(“Bobby”), his name inspired in part
by great American men such as
Kennedy and De Niro. On our first
trip to the States as a family Tom took
us to meet his mother in Georgia and
we travelled to incredible cities such
as Athens and Savannah before flying
to New Mexico to stay with some
friends of his. The only place my last
boyfriend had taken me to was to
meet his brother in Milton Keynes.
We’ve chosen to raise our little
family in the UK rather than in
America, an obvious choice when
you take into account things such as
healthcare and gun violence (not to
mention a potential second Trump
presidency), but I’ll always be
enamoured of the US: its endless sense
of opportunity; the vast and complex
landscape. And the men who will
actually text when they say they will.
Of course, marrying an American
isn’t without its day-to-day problems.
You will never be able to have a frank
conversation about the weather
(although he’s slowly learning about
celsius), and there will be much
confusion about pants. They’ll also
need to be introduced to the idea of
buying a round. And it will constantly
get on your nerves when you ask if
they’d like a cup of tea and they
reply “sure” rather than “yes please”.
But it’s a small price to pay for a
relationship in which date night means
dinner and a movie rather than a pint
down the local.
It tends to be easy to
out-drink American guys
Olivia Empson, 24, lives in New York
I’m from London and moved to New
York in the summer of 2021. I’ve learnt
a lot over my two and a half years
here, especially about dating. New
York is famously one of the world’s
most difficult dating scenes. It’s tough
as hell, but I’d argue that it’s more fun.
You can go on dates with zero
expectation, knowing you won’t
have that random mutual
friend from university.
Chances are high
that they’ll love your
accent. You can even
fill any awkward
silences with cute
games where they
ask you to repeat
random words. If
you get bored of this,
though, they’re likely to
say they have a cousin
who lives in England, and
weirdly that cousin is always
from “near Birmingham”. Bonus
points if you say you think you’ve
heard of them — I love playing along
with that.
Keep your eyes peeled for anyone
from Colorado, California or Michigan
(hot states). Be prepared for men
from those states to greet your
sarcasm with a “wow, you’re so rude”.
This is because there’s none of that
awkward English, Hugh Granty fluff.
But there’s also no rhythm to the
Amal and George
Clooney, a British-
American couple.
. . . and a British man
Above left: Catherine
Evans-Smith and her
husband, Jeremy. Left:
Gillian Orr and her
gives his view
husband, Tom Robert Van Denbergh, 27, lives
in London
You’re very aware of class when you’re
dating British girls. I’ve struggled
with that. But Americans are
considerably less classist — it doesn’t
seem to be a thing for them, which is
a really nice cultural difference.
Another big one is that they’re more
emotionally available.
I’d been on dates with three
Americans, and my girlfriend is from
San Francisco. We’ve been together
for 18 months. The story we tell her
parents is that we met in real life, but
we met on Hinge. She moved over
here for work, although I think she
just wanted to get out of the hostile
political environment of the US.
She’s adamant that she doesn’t have
Compared a Californian accent, but she does
with Brits and I like it. For me, West Coast
accents are more attractive than
obsessed East Coast ones.
When you date someone from the
with pints, UK they already have a set friendship
group. They’re in a real pattern where
he was “we only go to these specific pubs on
a Friday night because we always do”.
Clint Girls from the UK are much more
concerned with wanting to be cool.
Eastwood They go to certain clubs because they
5
times2
madness. Many will love-bomb you,
showering you with compliments
while paying for the martinis they’ve
taken you out for, then never text you
again. But you can relax knowing that
if you get ghosted, it’s not deep, it’s
just because American men are
temperamental.
Along the way I’ve discovered that
if he runs you through the
27 amendments before the
second round of drinks,
be careful. I’ve had
friends who have
been in that
situation and it
didn’t end well. But
fear not — you may
not even make it to
two drinks: it tends
to be relatively easy
to drink American
guys under the table.
I’d also watch out for
dates who still speak about
a fraternity five years after leaving
college, or who deny that men and
women can have platonic friendships.
Note how many questions they ask
you. Any British girl in New York
knows a question on a first date can
be harder to get than a US work visa.
Overall, though, I’d say take the risk
and swipe right on the Chads, Brads,
Tylers and Hudsons. Oh, and be sure
to mention that you’ve heard of
Deion Sanders. Trust me on that one.
think they are the right ones. British
people almost want to be seen as
knowing the city better than you.
With Americans, there’s none of that.
It’s probably a reflection of them being
in a different country, but American
girls are into trying new things,
exploring. That makes dating them
fun because everything’s new. When
you hang out, you’re seeing the city
like a tourist. It’s fun.
My girlfriend is new to the city, so
she suggests, “Let’s go to the opera,”
or has booked things. She takes me to
random art fairs and we play tennis.
I never did that when I dated English
girls. Since dating her I’ve even started
doing yoga, which my dad is extremely
disappointed about.
I’m from Bristol and have been in
London for two years. My girlfriend
and I arrived here at about the same
time, so it was as though we had
moved to a brand new place together.
British people think things like:
“There’s no f***ing way this will work.
And I’m going to die.” Americans are
the antithesis, they have this positive
outlook and inner confidence that’s
“of course this is going to be great,
this is all gonna work out”.
As told to Georgina Roberts
6 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
the table
I
don’t know about you, but my
reaction to the recent news that
Theresa May owns 275
cookbooks was one of disbelief.
Disbelief swiftly followed by
scorn. I mean, who on earth
needs that many? Assuming
conservatively that you cook
only three or four recipes from each
one, that’s still enough meals to last
you to 2026, with no slack for a casual
baked potato or cheese on toast of a
Sunday evening. Madness.
Then, in the interests of balance,
and before I put pen to paper and
mocked her in print, I totted up the
number in my own collection.
Two hundred and eighty-seven! And
that’s just at home. You could
probably double that if you count the
piles that spill over my desk and on to
surrounding shelves at the office.
In my defence, I’ve never run the
country on the side and food is my
living rather than just a hobby, but
even so, it’s a ridiculous number.
Certainly what neither May nor I need
is the temptation that comes in the
shape of the annual cookbook gold
rush, when all the publishers put out
books by the big hitters in the hope of
gaining momentum for those all-
important Christmas sales. It started
in late summer (Jamie Oliver’s Five
Ingredients Mediterranean, Michel
Roux’s At Home, Tom Kerridge’s Pub
Kitchen) and continues bubbling along
nicely with James Martin’s Spanish
Adventure and the Hairy Bikers’
Ultimate Comfort Food appearing on
the same day later this month.
The truth is that no one needs
more cookbooks. There are more
than enough good ones still in print to
meet every conceivable culinary
requirement, from impoverished
student to time-strapped parent to
semi-professional smartypants. But
that’s not to say that we don’t want
more because, like every other
purchase, from the clothes we wear to
the car we drive, cookbooks are a
marker of who we are and how we
would like others to see us. Essentially,
it’s about tribalism as much as learning
a new recipe for spaghetti carbonara.
(That last one is an in-joke: there is no
new way of making spaghetti
carbonara, but that doesn’t stop it
appearing in 95 per cent of the books
that pass across my desk.) Back in the
19th century, the French gastronome
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote:
“Tell me what you eat and I will tell
you what you are.” These days it
might better be, “Tell me which
cookbooks you buy and I will tell you
who you are.” Yo-yo dieter? TV addict?
Fashion victim?
None of us is immune to
categorisation, although eclectic
hoarders such as May and me are
harder to pigeonhole because the
range is so much wider. My collection
of every Gordon Ramsay book from
1998 to around 2012 might suggest I’m
a star-chaser (in fact, it’s simply due to
the fact that we worked together quite
closely during those years), and how
do I square the Elizabeth Davids,
Marcella Hazans and Claudia Rodens
(original source obsessive) and early
Nigellas and Nigels (food as bedside
reading) with the Delias and Mary
Berrys (the “let’s just get supper on the
table” brigade)? Tricky. Until you look
at the dozen or so cookbooks that I
actually use in the kitchen and a clear
theme emerges: the Ottolenghi, Moro
and Honey & Co triumvirate that
exposes me as the classic Middle
Eastern junkie. Busted.
Yotam Ottolenghi
Deliciously Ella
Nigella Lawson
What your
cookery books
say about you
Theresa May has 275? That’s nothing: I have amassed
287, says Tony Turnbull, and each one tells a story.
Here’s how to tell if you’re a purist or a gadget junkie
The literary cook
Books should feed the mind as much
as the stomach, which is why you keep
them at your bedside to read like
poetry. See Nigel Slater’s Kitchen
Diaries (“September 3: A tomato for They could
lunch”). Nigella’s How to Eat was what
turned you on to it before her TV be telling
years, but these days Bee Wilson and
Fuchsia Dunlop fill the gap. you how to
The fashion victim cook a fox
Good food never goes out of fashion,
they say. So who’d have thought the
in a sock
trend for grating cauliflower or
making chia seed pudding would be so
and you’d
short-lived — apart from everyone!
Clean-eating, as championed by posh
still buy
girls with lovely hair, was supposed to the books
Jamie Oliver
be the fashion to end all fashions, but
now the books look as dated as a
cheese and pineapple hedgehog, I’ll
stick my neck out here and say that all
those vegan cookbooks are heading
the same way, along with their seitan
and nutritional yeast.
The minimalist
It’s not quality but quantity that
counts, so you won’t look at a recipe
with more than five ingredients. Jamie
Oliver is the chief flag-waver with his
hugely popular franchise, but you’ve
been on board since the Nineties,
darling, when Rose Gray and Ruthie
Rogers ruled the roost. Only now are
you realising that while a single
Amalfi lemon and fillet of wild bass
make for a sumptuous feast at the
River Café, that Sainsbury’s Basics
lemon and defrosted bit of coley will
need rather more help.
The kitchen kit junkie
Air fryers, toasted sandwich makers,
slow-cookers . . . for every
“revolutionary” new cooking device
there comes a slew of cookbooks that
will just as effectively collect dust.
The yo-yo dieter
Is there any other sort? Because
keeping weight off requires long-term
discipline, not the quick fix offered by
the likes of Pinch of Nom. You can’t
carry on eating curries and burgers
and chips, no matter how much
low-fat spray oil or artificial
sweetener you throw at them.
And meanwhile the bookshelf is
groaning under the weight of
past failures.
The Middle Eastern
groupie
Yes, the ingredient lists are as
long as your arm, you’ll be spending
the GDP of a small South American
country on fresh herbs, and last
weekend you spent six hours trying to
track down some black limes, but
you are hooked on Yotam Ottolenghi
and his like. If only they wouldn’t
keep finding more things to do with
sumac and za’atar you could nip this
addiction in its bud.
The exhibitionist
Heston, Marco, Gordon, you’ve got
all the coffee table books from all the
greats, but don’t pretend they’ve ever
seen the business end of your kitchen.
As Ramsay said at the launch of his
latest, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay: A
Story of Excellence, “For f***’s sake,
promise me you won’t try to cook
anything out of it.”
The utilitarian
You know your job. It’s to put dinner
on the table, no fuss, no bother, no
bells and whistles. You’ve got Delia for
mains, Mary Berry for puddings, and
Marguerite Patten for . . . hmm, you’re
not sure why you’ve got that one. Must
have inherited it from your mother.
The TV addict
Gino D’Acampo, James Martin, Paul
Hollywood, the Hairy Bikers . . . their
smiles and cheeky banter light up the
room. They could be telling you how
to cook a fox in a sock and you’d still
buy the books, such is their star power.
The classicist
Classically trained chefs cooking
proper food, that’s what you want.
People like Raymond Blanc, Michel
Roux, Rick Stein and, in his day, Keith
Floyd, who know their way around a
beurre blanc or veal reduction. Yes,
you know they are all famous from off
the telly, but you like them in spite of
that, not because.
The purist
In a cluttered world full of dilettantes,
how do you mark yourself out as a
highbrow? By going back to the
original source. There is no French,
Italian or Middle Eastern cookbook
that doesn’t owe a debt to Elizabeth
David, Richard Olney, Marcella
Hazan, Anna Del Conte or Claudia
Roden so to have them on your shelf
shows you have a near-academic
interest in food. Did you know that in
the Sixties you could only buy olive oil
at the chemist, blah, blah, blah . . .
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Why you only need to spend
£3.50 on a (gourmet) lunch
Stop splashing out
on shop-bought
sandwiches. Here’s
our guide to the
best alternatives.
By Giulia Crouch
W
ould you
spend £7.15
on a cheese
and pickle
baguette?
I would —
if the
baguette
was still warm from being baked in an
adorable little boulangerie, the
cheese was the finest, sharp, crystal-
rich cheddar and the pickle was
homemade by somebody’s dab-handed
grandmother, and if it was delivered to
me by a charming Frenchman on a
bike. But £7.15 for a dine-in Pret
version on your lunch break? That’s
harder to stomach.
Others agree. The shop recently
faced a social media backlash against
its pricey Posh Cheddar & Pickle
Baguette from “fuming” would-be
customers who said they felt
“mugged off”. “This has fully
tipped me over the edge,”
one said, while
another, upon seeing
the price, nearly
“fell over from
shock” and swiftly
turned on their
heels. “People
must be mad for
paying those prices
for something that
can easily be made at
home, far superior and
for less,” one commenter
pointed out.
The price drops to £5.95 if you take
away, and £4.99 in non-station
branches, and Pret obviously has
overheads and production costs that
contribute to the price of its
sandwiches. But while life can get in
the way of meal prep, it is true that
you can make something tastier and
cheaper at home. As lunch is my
favourite meal of the day I always
strive to avoid having a disappointing
one. Making your own allows you to
have something you really like and
as much as you like. You know exactly
what ingredients are inside and you
save some money too.
So here are some five-minute, no-
cook packed lunches for less than
£3.50 a day. Obviously these are just
intended as inspiration — in real life
you’d use up all the ingredients you
buy whether on multiple lunches
throughout the week or other meals in
the day.
NB all prices are correct at the time of
writing.
Queen chickpea salad
with tomato, chilli,
feta and parsley, £3.38
Ingredients
Half a jar of Bold Bean Co
Queen £2 Waitrose
Handful of Odysea Greek
Big Kalamata Pitted Olives
30p Sainsbury’s
Half a red onion, thinly
sliced 10p Tesco
A chunk of cucumber,
cubed 12p Tesco
Some cherry tomatoes, cut
in half 15p Tesco
Half a chopped, deseeded
red chilli 7p Sainsbury’s
Handful of chopped fresh
parsley 15p Tesco
30g of feta cheese,
Beetroot and goat’s crumbled 33p Tesco
cheese salad Squeeze of fresh lemon
juice 6p Tesco
A tablespoon of Elanthy
Greek olive oil 10p
elanthy.com
Mix all the ingredients
together, season with a little
salt and it makes for a fresh
and satisfying lunch. These
You know plump chickpeas from Bold
Bean Co are a revelation, as
exactly is the rest of the range, and
they work brilliantly here.
what
The cheese and pickle
ingredients baguette + apple and
chocolate, £3
are inside Ingredients
and you Half a Gail’s baguette
£1.15 Waitrose
save some 35g of sliced No 1 Mature
Wookey Hole cheddar 47p
money too Waitrose
3 fresh little gem lettuce
leaves 10p Sainsbury’s
A tablespoon of
Tracklements Perfect
Ploughman’s Pickle 13p
ocado.com
Assemble your classic
cheese and pickle baguette
with fresh lettuce for crunch
and revel in your money-
saving, taste-enhancing
antics. Homemade is always
healthier and more
delicious than ready-made,
and as it comes in at £1.85
you can have “dessert” too.
Dessert
Squares of caramel sea salt
Tony’s Chocolonely milk
chocolate 80p Sainsbury’s
A Braeburn apple 35p
Sainsbury’s
Falafel bowl with
pickled pink slaw,
cucumber, hummus
and pomegranate,
£3.50
Ingredients
Half a pack of Cauldron
vegan £1.25 ocado.com
Half a pot of Holy Moly
Original Hummus 87p
ocado.com
A quarter of a cucumber,
cut into chunks 12p Tesco
Half a pack of radishes,
halved 25p Sainsbury’s
A few M&S Greek Kalamata
olives 50p ocado.com
Tablespoon of pickled pink
slaw 15p Sainsbury’s
Sprinkling of pomegranate
seeds 30p Sainsbury’s
Queen chickpea salad with tomato,
chilli, feta and parsley
£2
10p
15p
12p
30p
Squeeze of fresh lemon
juice 6p Tesco
Put the ingredients in your
lunch box with a little salt
on the veggies and a wedge
of lemon ready to squeeze
when you eat it. I don’t
normally rate shop-bought
hummus, but this one by
Holy Moly is made with all
natural ingredients and is
nearly as good as mine.
Beetroot and goat’s
cheese lentil salad
with walnuts and
mint, £2.96
Ingredients
50g of Brindisa Navarrico
lentils 27p ocado.com
3 Love Beets No Vinegar
beetroots, chopped into
chunks 75p Tesco
Some Capricorn Somerset
goat’s cheese 62p
ocado.com
A handful of walnuts 60p
Tesco
A few fresh mint leaves,
torn 10p Sainsbury’s
A handful of Florette mixed
salad 22p ocado.com
A splash of Belazu balsamic
table vinegar 30p
ocado.com
A tablespoon of Elanthy
Greek olive oil 10p
elanthy.com
As much as I love pickled
beetroot, that would be too
much here, so this Love
Beets No Vinegar version is
a great solution. Putting it
with the salty goat’s cheese,
7
the table
+ 6p
+ 15p
+ 7p
+
33p
+ 10p
= £3.38
nutty lentils, crunchy
walnuts and the fresh
fragrance of mint is
irresistible. Finish with
crunchy sea salt, a splash of
good balsamic and a drizzle
of extra-virgin olive oil.
Mortadella,
stracciatella and
pistacchio focaccia,
£3.50
Ingredients
Crosta & Mollica focaccia
97p ocado.com
A tablespoon of Nutural
World pistachio butter 50p
ocado.com
4 slices of Sainsbury’s
Italian mortadella £1.20
Sainsbury’s
75g of stracciatella 60p
hellomamma.co.uk
A big handful of spinach
20p ocado.com
Drizzle of extra virgin olive
oil 3p
This sandwich absolutely
bangs. Slice your bread in
half and toast it a little, if
you can be bothered/have
time, then spread a big
spoon of delicious pistachio
spread on it. Spoon on and
spread your stracciatella
(the creamy inside of a
burrata) and fold on some
slices of tasty mortadella.
Throw on some mild, tender
spinach leaves, a drizzle of
good quality extra-virgin
olive oil, close the sarnie
and get ready for jealous
stares in the office.
8 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

arts

The real Rock

Hudson: rent boys,
famous friends and
his death from Aids
The double life of the star is laid bare in a documentary
that shows how aides procured men for his pleasure and
much of Hollywood rejected him, reports Kevin Maher

T
he most celebrated
Rock Hudson moment?
Some say it’s when he
faces off against James
Dean in the wine cellar
in Giant and growls:
“You had this coming to
you for a long time.”
Others say it’s the showpiece “drunk”
sequence in Magnificent Obsession. Or
what about Pillow Talk, when he flirts
with Doris Day over the phone, both
reclining in separate bathtubs in
separate apartments, but connected,
foot to foot, by a clever split-screen
line? To that list we must now surely
add another phone conversation,
culled from real life and included
at a key moment in the new
documentary Rock Hudson: All That
Heaven Allowed.
It’s an audio recording from 1974 of
a Hudson acquaintance and low-level
Tinseltown player arranging the
delivery to the star’s home of a young
studio employee, solely for the
purpose of sex. “He works at
Paramount and he works out,” the
fixer says, adding: “He’s just a damn
fine boy.” Hudson, casual as can be, as
if ordering a pizza, then asks: “How’s
the equipment?” The fixer, also casual
but serious, replies: “The equipment is
about nine inches, I guess. And he’s
very good in that department.”
Hudson seems pleased by this and the
call ends with politeness and an
affirmation that the damn fine boy can
be readied for consumption.
The call, innocuous yet scandalous,
has a bombshell quality to it.
Hollywood whistleblowers have
for ever claimed that the movie
business is a seedy world of sexual
decadence and untrammelled
egomania, yet powerful industry
myth-making has been so effective
that most accounts of even mildly
aberrant sexual behaviour are greeted
with scepticism and disbelief — it’s
partially why abuses go unchecked for
so long. Hudson is a perfect
illustration of this strange doublethink.
The classic screen actor, although
closeted in his lifetime, was famed for
his reported carnal appetites and
being, as he is described in the
documentary, “a sexual gladiator”. Yet
the weight of his wholesome screen
work and matinee idol status is so
profound that these allegations never
fully made sense. Until this tape.
“Oh God, what a find,” Stephen
Kijak, the film’s director, says from his
home in Los Angeles. “If you really do
your research there’s so much more to
learn about Rock and his sex life, so
this shouldn’t come as a shock. And
yet it kind of does in a weird way. And
it’s not the only one. There were a
couple of other recorded calls about a
couple of different chaps, but we went,
in the end, with Mister Nine Inches at
Paramount. And what does it say?
People had sex. Gay men had sex. And
rich gay men procured younger
attractive gay men. That was the world
they lived in. It’s not a surprise but,
yes, it also rips the lid off.”
Kijak, who directed the award-
winning musical documentary Scott
the times | Thursday October 19 2023
Walker: 30 Century Man, has
constructed an expansive and
painstaking examination of Hudson’s
life and work. It’s filled with personal
testimony from former friends,
colleagues and lovers, but also
balanced by insights and analyses,
specifically on the importance
of Hudson’s screen persona at a time
(the 1950s) when postwar movie
audiences were being fed the exploits
of rougher, tougher macho men (John
Wayne, Kirk Douglas etc).
Hudson, a 6ft 4in midwesterner,
seemingly carved from granite,
became a global phenomenon in
melodramas such as Written on the
Wind and Come September by playing
an idealised suitor opposite a series of
A-list actresses including Lauren
Bacall and Gina Lollobrigida. The key
to his heterosexual dreamboat
character, say several observers in the
documentary (including his co-star
Piper Laurie), is the flicker of
insecurity that he brings to his
performances. This flicker, it is
implied, comes from the tension
within and hiding his sexuality from
Hollywood and the wider world.
“I think him being gay was the
secret ingredient that made it all
work,” Kijak says. “It gave him that
extra level of access within these
relationships with women on screen.
There’s nothing threatening
about Rock Hudson for them. He’s
your best friend, but you get to
smooch him on camera. He allowed
you in. That’s why people were drawn
to his sensitivity.”
The phone tapes, in this context, are
vital for illuminating the immensity of
the gap between Hudson’s swoon-
worthy screen persona — the soft-
spoken fantasy husband for women
everywhere — and the reality of a
voracious, pleasure-loving man who
regularly hosted raunchy pool parties
at his hacienda-style home, the Castle.
Kijak explains that the tapes were a
“last-minute” find, uncovered at the
UCLA library archive in California
among the personal effects of, “a guy,
a gay man, who had done some acting
and producing. And normally you go
to these university libraries and you
search the name ‘Rock Hudson’ and
you go through all the listings and
you’ll get, say, an autographed picture
Above left: Rock of Rock Hudson and that’s it. But
Hudson. Above, from with this listing there was a box of
top: with the actor Bob cassettes that nobody had bothered
Preble in Los Angeles listening to and that I thought might
in 1952; in 1954 be a lost interview. But when I listened
to it I immediately knew, of course,
that it wasn’t an interview. It was,
instead, a marvellous little piece of
history.”
‘The More importantly, why does he
equipment think the phone call was recorded?
“Probably because we were in a
is about world of blackmail back then, and
he planned to cash in at some
nine future point.”
The documentary traces Hudson’s
inches,’ professional rise and career
disappointments, including crucially
a fixer losing the 1957 best actor Oscar race to
Yul Brynner. Hudson had delivered a
assured complex and subtle performance in
him the oil industry epic Giant, yet
Brynner beat him to the podium for a
fantastically corny turn (that has not
aged well) in The King and I. It was a
disappointment from which Hudson
Rock Hudson: All That never quite recovered. Although he
Heaven Allowed is on had several subsequent action hits,
Amazon, Hulu and including Ice Station Zebra and
more from Monday Tobruk, and gave a celebrated
9
arts
performance in John
Frankenheimer’s Seconds, he
began a slow drift into second-
rate TV in the 1970s,
culminating in his ignominious
final stint on the Eighties soap
staple Dynasty.
His diagnosis with Aids, in
1984, is also tackled, as is the
incident the next year, just
before his death, when he was
desperate to return home from a
treatment centre in Paris, but all
the airlines refused to fly him
because of his illness. He was
forced to hire an Air France 747
at a cost of $250,000. “That was
kind of shocking,” Kijak says. “He
wanted to die at home, but
nobody would fly him. The US
president Ronald Reagan, his
friend, wouldn’t help him. There
was certainly no military
assistance to get home. Nobody
wanted anything to do with Aids.
Not even Rock Hudson with Aids.
He was left to fend for himself and
anyone of lesser means would have
died in France.”
During all this personal drama
Hudson’s denial of his sexuality is
remarkable, and indeed the
contemporary viewer might be
forgiven for finding him a baffling and
inscrutable character who simply
refuses, even on the point of his death,
to acknowledge his true self. “The
closet was so nailed shut for him, and
Him being gay
was the secret
ingredient that
made it all work
guys like him, that he was comfortable
with it,” Kijak says. “He’s white,
he’s rich, he’s famous. There is
literally no benefit to coming out. It’s
not even an option. It’s not a question
of, ‘What are the stakes?’ It’s, ‘What’s
the point?’ ”
The film ends on the cultural impact
of Hudson’s death, how he changed
perceptions around Aids victims, how
his death forced the subject into the
mainstream, and how he became a
graphic focal point for the messaging
of fundraisers round the world.
Indeed, Kijak says, the producers
suggested early on that the
documentary be titled “The Accidental
Activist”, but he shut down that idea,
claiming that it was confusing
Rock Hudson with the “Rock
Hudson effect”. “We can’t tell what his
intentions would have been around
activism,” he says. “But the after-effect
was undeniable. The awareness and
the ability of people to start getting
their heads around this was helped
enormously by him. People just forget
that now.”
In fact, the lasting legacy
of Hudson, Kijak adds, is one that
intertwines the work, the life and the
death. “He is up there with James
Dean and Marilyn Monroe as one of
the greats,” he says. “They died young
and stayed pretty, but his movie legacy
was blunted by dying of Aids so
publicly and horribly. As an actor,
when he’s great on screen he’s really
great. As a man, he’s a mid-century
character who ran into a cultural
moment for which he was not
prepared. And yet, still, he did a lot of
good from the other side.”
10
times2
Your weekday brain boost
Every day, Monday to Thursday, a page of extra Sudoku difficult
puzzles to give your brain an extended workout
Samurai medium
Fill each grid so that every column, every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.
Where the puzzles overlap, the rows and columns do not go beyond their usual length.
Suko
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in
the spaces so that the
number in each circle is
equal to the sum of the four
surrounding spaces, and
each colour total is correct
Mini
Sudoku
Fill in the grid so that
every column, every
row and every 3x2
box contains the
digits 1 to 6
Solutions in
Monday’s Times2
Thursday October 19 2023 | the times
More
puzzles
Pages 14-16
Train Tracks
Lay tracks to enable the train to travel
from village A to village B. The numbers
indicate how many sections of track go in
each row and column. There are only
straight sections and curved sections. The
track cannot cross itself.
Killer deadly
Fill the grid so that every column, every row and
every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set of
cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target
number in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells
Futoshiki
Fill the blank squares so that every row and
joined by dotted lines, a digit cannot be repeated. column contains each of the numbers 1 to 5
once only. The symbols between the squares
indicate whether a number is larger (>) or
smaller (<) than the number next to it.
Solve Times puzzles interactively with
same-day solutions at thetimes.co.uk
Codeword Yesterday’s solutions SUKO MINI
SUDOKU
SAMURAI
Every letter in the
crossword-style grid,
right, is represented by
a number from 1 to 26. TRAIN TRACKS
Each letter of the
alphabet appears in
the grid at least once.
Use the letters already
provided to work out
the identity of further
letters. Enter letters in
the main grid and the
smaller reference grid
until all 26 letters of
FUTOSHIKI
the alphabet have been
accounted for. Proper
nouns are excluded.
SUDOKU KILLER CODEWORD
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 11

television & radio

Revisiting Coleen Rooney’s cunning Scousetrap

example, a certain chipolata-sized about the legalities of the case with
Carol penis and Rebekah Vardy bitching to
her agent about Coleen Rooney
her barrister and had even considered
applying to law school. “I do like crime
Midgley (“Omg . . . what a c***”) while sending
faux friendly messages (“Hey, lovely!”)
like a two-faced movie mean girl.
documentaries,” Wayne said. So as you
can see, it’s slightly surreal.
Some of the most interesting parts
TV review The spine of the three-parter is
Rooney, wife of Wayne, walking us
are not about the libel case at all. Such
as when Rooney talks about when her
through the famous “Scousetrap” she husband was caught behind the wheel
set for Vardy after she suspected that of another woman’s car while three
she had been leaking stories about her times over the limit and she didn’t
to The Sun. At times I found this quite know if the marriage would survive.
repetitive and, dare I say it, boring. But She phoned the woman to ask what
Rooney is an impressive witness. She had happened. “I’ve had that feeling in
presents as almost compulsively my stomach a few times and I’d never
honest. She seems, as they say in wish anyone to feel that,” she said,
Coleen Rooney: Liverpool, “sound”. There was moving adding that she knows her husband
The Real Wagatha Story home video footage of her laughing well, but “when he’s been drinking . . .
Disney+ with her adored adopted sister, Rosie, he’s a totally different person”.
{{{(( who died aged 14 from Rett syndrome. You could argue that the saga is
If this was a Disney children’s little more than a modern tale of two

G
iven the utter horrors
happening in the world
now, you may take the view
that this was a bad week to
release a documentary
series centring on the story of two
eye-wateringly rich footballers’ wives
handbagging it out in the High Court
over a few piddling Instagram posts.
Or you may decide that Coleen
Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story is
exactly the sort of frivolous escapism
you need. I have a hunch that a lot of
people will take the latter view. This,
after all, was the libel trial that brought
gaiety to the nation with talk of, for
animation Rooney would be the Good
Fairy and Vardy (wife of Leicester
City’s Jamie) the Bad Fairy, possibly in
a high-collared black cloak.
The series ramped up the “Wagatha”
theme using Agatha Christie-ish
background music. At times it was
melodramatic, at others more Miss
Marple whimsy to hammer home the
detective flavour. The talking heads
read out excerpts from the Instagram
post in which Rooney publicly accused
Vardy as if they were characters acting
out their parts in a “Roodunnit” play.
Rooney volunteered that her
husband had rather enjoyed talking
privileged women spending far too
much time on social media. As sage-
like Wayne said to his wife, just delete
it. Exactly what I was thinking. But
perhaps the truest words are Rooney’s.
“It was a pathetic reason to go to
court,” she said. You can say that
again. But look at what we’d have
missed if it hadn’t ended up there.
There were claims this week that
Coleen was paid in excess of £1 million
for the series after a bidding war with
Netflix. I don’t know if that’s true, but
if so, I wouldn’t like to hear what Vardy
is saying about it behind closed doors.
Rooney walked us through her “Wagatha Christie” ruse Oh, who am I kidding? I’d love to.

Radio choice Times Radio 1.00pm Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert

Ben Dowell
In Our Time
Radio 4, 9am
The medieval anchoress
Julian of Norwich (c1343-
c1416), author of the revered
spiritual text Revelations of
Divine Love, is today’s
subject. The text is thought
to be the earliest surviving
English language work by a
woman. However, very little
is known about her apart
from the brief descriptions
she offered of a life spent
largely in seclusion in a cell
in a Norwich church.
Melvyn Bragg’s guests are
Katherine Lewis, lecturer in
the Department of History
at the University of
Huddersfield; Laura Kalas,
senior lecturer in medieval
English literature at
Swansea University; and the
religious historian and
theologian Philip Sheldrake.
our tv newsletter
Digital, web, smart speaker, app
5.00am Rosie Wright with Early Breakfast
6.00 Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell with Times
Radio Breakfast 10.00 Matt Chorley. An
insider’s guide to politics 1.00pm Mariella
Frostrup. Cultural guests and big thinkers
3.00 Jane Garvey and Fi Glover 5.00 John
Pienaar with Times Radio Drive. Conversation
with political and economic guests 7.00
Pienaar and Friends. Informed debate with
leading figures 8.00 The Evening Edition
with Kait Borsay. Engaging evening
conversation 10.00 Henry Bonsu 1.00am
Stories of Our Times 1.30 Red Box
2.00 Highlights from Times Radio
Radio 2
FM: 88-90.2 MHz
6.30am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 9.30
Vernon Kay. James Bay performs in the first
of a brand new run of Radio 2 Piano Room
performances. Plus, the actor Robert Carlyle
chooses two more of his favourite songs in
Tracks of My Years 12.00 Jeremy Vine
2.00pm Scott Mills 4.00 OJ Borg 6.30
OJ Borg’s Half Wower 7.00 Jo Whiley’s Shiny
Happy Playlist 7.30 Jo Whiley 9.00 The
Country Show with Bob Harris. A selection of
music from across the generations 10.00
Trevor Nelson’s Magnificent 7. To celebrate
Black History Month, every Thursday in
October Trevor picks his favourite music from
black British artists 10.30 Trevor Nelson’s
Rhythm Nation. A mix of R’n’B and soulful
tunes 12.00 Phil Williams 3.00am Radio 2
in the Park (r) 4.00 Owain Wyn Evans
Radio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
Radio 3’s classical breakfast show, featuring
listener requests. With Hannah French
9.00 Essential Classics
Georgia Mann plays the best in classical
music with familiar favourites, new finds
and the occasional musical surprise
12.00 Composer of the Week:
Errollyn Wallen
Donald Macleod chats to the composer
Errollyn Wallen about songwriting, an area of
her output that she says is central to who
she is. Plus, we hear how her music made it
into space. Errollyn Wallen (What’s Up Doc?;
Daedalus; Five Postcards; About Here; Tree;
Of Crumpling Rocks; Are you worried about
the rising cost of funerals? — i. beehive;
iv. Guru; and Peace on Earth) (r)
Sarah Walker presents a selection of
highlights from the 2023 Chipping Campden
and Tetbury Festivals. In today’s recital,
we are treated to a full performance of
Schubert’s irresistible Octet, one of the most
popular chamber works of the 19th century,
full of kaleidoscopic colours, rhythmic
energy and Schubert’s trademark melodic
mastery. Schubert (Octet in F, D803)
2.00 Afternoon Concert
The fortepianist Dominika Maszczynska
plays Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the
Volantes Orchestra, plus music by Strauss,
Bartok and Huw Watkins. Handel (Water
Music: Suite, orch. Stokowski — No 2,
Allegro); Huw Watkins (Dawning); Gade
(Jealousy); John Pickard (Three Latin
Motets); R Strauss (Suite from “Der
Rosenkavalier, op. 59”); Shostakovich (Waltz
No. 2, from “Suite for Variety Orchestra”);
Beethoven (Piano Concerto No.5 “Emperor”);
Artist choice — Dominika Maszczynska. JS
Bach (”Bereite dich, Zion, mit zärtlichen
Trieben”, from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio,
BWV.248); Bartok (Dance Suite); Jim
Parker (Five Pieces); Glinka (Valse-
fantasie in B minor); and R Schumann
(Overture, Genoveva Opera, Op. 81)
5.00 Live In Tune
Live music from the baritone Julien Van
Mellaerts and the pianist Lucy Colquhoun
7.00 Classical Mixtape
A selection of classical favourites mixed with
jazz, folk and music from around the world
7.30 Live Radio 3 in Concert
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the
conductor-composer Fiona Monbet perform
Ibert, Satie, Tailleferre, Milhaud and
Bernstein before the world premiere of her
piece Faubourg 23. Presented by Linton
Stephens, from BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff.
Ibert (Divertissement); Satie (La belle
excentrique); Tailleferre (Petite Suite);
Milhaud (Le boeuf sur le toit, op.58);
Bernstein (Three Dance Episodes from On
the Town); and Fiona Monbet (Faubourg 23)
10.00 Free Thinking
Matthew Sweet and guests discuss Philip K
Dick’s 1981 science fiction novel Valis
10.45 The Essay: Five Cellos —
Lost and Found
The unlikely story of the reconstruction
of the “Mara” Stradivarius
11.00 The Night Tracks Mix
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents
11.30 Unclassified
Elizabeth Alker with new ambient and
electronic music that reconfigures the past
12.30am Through the Night
Radio 4
FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz LW: 198kHz MW: 720 kHz
5.30am News Briefing
5.43 Prayer for the Day
5.45 Farming Today
5.58 Tweet of the Day (r)
6.00 Today
With Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson
8.31 (LW) Yesterday in Parliament
9.00 In Our Time
The history of ideas. See Radio Choice
9.45 (LW) Daily Service
9.45 Book of the Week:
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad
By Daniel Finkelstein (4/5)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Topical conversation with Emma Barnett
11.00 From Our Own Correspondent
Reports from across the globe (4/8)
11.30 A Good Read
The artist Cornelia Parker and the author
Jeremy Lee share their book choices (3/9) (r)
12.01pm (LW) Shipping Forecast
12.04 You and Yours
12.32 Sliced Bread
Seeking the scientific evidence behind
a product’s bold claims (4/12)
1.00 The World at One
1.45 Understand Israel and the
Palestinians
Katya Adler and guests explain the
context of the conflict
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: Broken Colours
By Matthew Broughton. Dan wants to make
a new start and move away from the
corruption and violence of gang life (1/4) (r)
3.00 Ramblings
Clare Balding joins a boxing coach for a walk
through the sand dunes at Ainsdale (5/6)
3.27 Radio 4 Appeal
On behalf of Unseen (r)
3.30 Open Book
The latest publications (r)
4.00 Any Questions On…
Examining how discussion of Russia and
Russians has evolved throughout
Any Questions’ history (2/3)
4.30 BBC Inside Science
5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping Forecast
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 Kevin Eldon Will See You Now
Kevin and his cast take a stroll through
the Eldon family archive (2/4) (r)
7.00 The Archers
Alan faces a difficult conversation
7.15 Front Row
Arts programme
8.00 The Briefing Room
David Aaronovitch discusses a story
in the news. Last in the series
8.30 The Bottom Line
An overview of the business world (4/8)
9.00 BBC Inside Science
The latest scientific research (r)
9.30 In Our Time (r)
10.00 The World Tonight
News round-up with Nuala McGovern
10.45 Book at Bedtime:
The Midnight News
By Jo Barker (4/10)
11.00 The Today Podcast
The biggest news stories of the week (3/24)
11.30 Today in Parliament
12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week:
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad (r)
12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As BBC World Service
Radio 4 Extra
Digital only
8.00am Dad’s Army 8.30 Second Thoughts
9.00 Jest a Minute 9.30 Stockport, So Good
They Named It Once 10.00 Running Before
the Wind 10.45 Short Works 11.00 Deep Six
11.30 Lonelyheart 4122 12.00 The
Camomile Lawn 12.15pm Shakespeare’s
Restless World 12.30 What Does the K
Stand For? 1.00 Dad’s Army 1.30 Second
Thoughts 2.00 Jest a Minute 2.30
Stockport, So Good They Named It Once 3.00
Running Before the Wind 3.45 Short Works
4.00 Deep Six 4.30 Lonelyheart 4122 5.00
The Camomile Lawn 5.15 Shakespeare’s
Restless World 5.30 What Does the K Stand
For? 6.00 Dad’s Army 6.30 Second Thoughts
7.00 Jest a Minute. With the panellists Chris
Corcoran, Lloyd Langford, Greg Davies and
Eggsy 7.30 Stockport, So Good They Named
It Once. Comedy with Beverley Callard 8.00
The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things
That Made Us Laugh. The alternative comedy
of the 1980s. Last in the series 9.00 Great
Lives. Henry Normal picks his comedy hero
Spike Milligan 9.30 Journey into Space: The
Red Planet. Sci-fi adventure by Charles
Chilton 10.00 Comedy Club: Absolutely.
Comedy sketch show with Morwenna Banks
10.30 Alex Edelman’s Peer Group. The
comedian takes a look at social media in a
millennial world 11.00 Hamish and Dougal:
You’ll Have Had Your Tea. The duo stand
against the Laird in a local election. Last in
the series 11.15 Life with Lederer. Helen
Lederer nervously prepares a supper party
11.30 Ectoplasm. Comedy with Nick Romero
Radio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live
Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00
Adrian Chiles 1.00pm Nihal Arthanayake
4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 Rugby World Cup
9.00 5 Live Sport: The Euro Leagues Podcast
10.00 Match of the Day: Top 10 10.30 Colin
Murray 1.00am Dotun Adebayo
talkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
5.00am Early Breakfast 6.00 talkSPORT
Breakfast with Alan Brazil 10.00 Jim White
and Simon Jordan 1.00pm Hawksbee and
Baker 4.00 talkSPORT Drive with Andy
Goldstein and D arren Bent 7.00 Kick Off
10.00 Sports Bar 1.00am Extra Time
TalkRadio
Digital only
5.00am James Max 6.30 Talk Today 9.30
Mike and Kev 10.00 The Independent
Republic of Mike Graham 1.00pm Julia
Hartley-Brewer 3.00 Kevin O’Sullivan 5.00
Vanessa Feltz 7.00 Prime Time 8.00 Piers
Morgan Uncensored 10.00 First Edition
11.00 Andre Walker 1.00am Paul Ross
6 Music
Digital only
5.00am Huw Stephens 7.30 Lauren Laverne
10.30 Mary Anne Hobbs 1.00pm Chris
Hawkins 4.00 Steve Lamacq 6.00 Steve
Lamacq’s Roundtable 7.00 New Music Fix
Daily 9.00 6 Music Artist in Residence
10.00 Riley & Coe 12.00 New Music Fix
with Yard Act 1.00am New Music Fix with
Mary Anne Hobbs 2.00 New Music Fix
with Jamz Supernova 3.00 New Album Fix
4.00 New Music Fix Playlist
Virgin Radio
Digital only
6.30am Chris Evans 10.00 Eddy Temple-
Morris 1.00pm Jayne Middlemiss 4.00
Ricky Wilson 7.00 Bam 10.00 Amy Voce
1.00am Sean Goldsmith 4.00 Steve Denyer
Classic FM
FM: 100-102 MHz
6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00
Alexander Armstrong 12.00 Anne-Marie
Minhall 4.00pm Margherita Taylor 7.00
Smooth Classics 10.00 Calm Classics
1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 Early Breakfast
12 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

television & radio

Viewing Guide Blinders. It’s adapted by Whitechapel, London. the exact same corpse apocalyptic future, DC where crude effigies
the screenwriter Paul The action then shifts is found. Shortly before Maplewood (Shira
The Burning Girls are thrown on a fire to
Joe Clay Paramount+
Tomalin from a DC to 1941, where DS the discovery of the Haas) finds the same “remember our
graphic novel by Si Whiteman (Jacob bodies, there is some body — but this time There are shades of ancestors who died for
Bodies Spencer. The action Fortune-Lloyd) comes sort of event that there’s a twist . . . And The Wicker Man in this their beliefs”. Arriving
Netflix
begins in the present across a similarly grisly causes street lights/ what does the six-part horror thriller. in the village is
Four day, when DS Hasan scene in the same lamps to explode. As mysterious Elias In a distressing opening Samantha Morton’s
Top detectives. (Amaka Okafor), while location. Further back the episode progresses, Mannix (Stephen scene, in a village in Reverend Jack Brooks
pick Four policing a far-right in time we go to 1890, murder investigations Graham) have to do Sussex in 1556, two and her sulky teenage
timelines. rally, discovers the where overachieving unfold in the three with it all? It’s a novel young girls are burnt at daughter. They’re
One body. That’s the naked body of a dead detective Edmond timelines. And just premise, the cast is the stake as part of looking for a fresh start
set-up for this inventive man — missing an eye Hillinghead (Poldark’s before the credits roll strong and the Netflix Queen Mary’s purge of but instead they
eight-part crime drama and with a distinctive Kyle Soller) is taken to we are taken to the money is well spent, the Protestants. Next become embroiled in
from the production tattoo on his wrist — Longharvest Lane, final timeline: 2050, with all of the time stop is the present day all sorts of spooky
team behind Peaky on Longharvest Lane in where, you guessed it, where, in a post- periods well realised. and the same village, goings-on.

BBC1 BBC2 ITV1 Channel 4 Channel 5

6.00am Breakfast 9.15 Rip Off Britain: Live. The people 6.30am Escape to the Country (r) 7.15 The Vintage 6.00am Good Morning Britain. Morning magazine 9.00 6.05am Countdown (r) 6.45 Cheers (r) 7.35 Everybody 6.00am Milkshake! 9.15 Jeremy Vine. The broadcaster
Early

facing debt collection threats for energy bills they paid
long ago 10.00 Crimewatch Live. The jaw-dropping
efforts by a police officer to apprehend an armed criminal
10.45 Caught Red Handed. Police battle to catch stone
thieves desecrating centuries-old church pathways 11.15
Homes Under the Hammer. Featuring properties in
Nottingham, Bournemouth and north London 12.15pm
Bargain Hunt. From Shrewsbury (r) (AD) 1.00 BBC News
at One; Weather 1.30 BBC Regional News; Weather 1.45
Doctors. Ollie and Scarlett’s trip to the movies goes awry
(AD) 2.15 Money for Nothing. A metal shelving unit, a
reclining chair and an old watering can are transformed
(r) 3.00 Escape to the Country. Alistair Appleton helps a
couple looking for a complete lifestyle change in the
Cumbrian countryside (r) 3.45 The Repair Shop. A
three-dimensional portrait of a Hindu goddess fascinates
expert Lucia Scalisi (AD) 4.30 The Vintage French
Farmhouse. In Sommières in the South of France, Harry
Khwaja haggles hard on an oversized jewellery box 5.15
Pointless. Alexander Armstrong hosts (r) 6.00 BBC News
at Six; Weather 6.30 BBC Regional News; Weather
French Farmhouse (r) 8.00 Sign Zone: Sort Your Life Out
with Stacey Solomon (r) (AD, SL) 9.00 Nicky Campbell
10.00 BBC News 1.00pm Impossible. Rick Edwards hosts
the quiz (r) 1.45 Unbeatable. General knowledge quiz
hosted by Jason Manford (r) 2.15 Wanted Down Under.
A family from Aberdeen spend a trial week living in New
Zealand (r) 3.00 Chimps of the Lost Gorge: Natural
World. Documentary providing an insight into the lives
of chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kyambura Gorge, a deep,
forested ravine running through the heart of the African
savannah (r) 3.45 This Wild Life. Saba’s plan to track
down elephants for her guests goes wrong (r) 4.15
Cornwall: This Fishing Life. Britain’s departure from the
EU brings changes for Newlyn, Cornwall’s biggest fishing
port. The harbourmaster oversees a redevelopment of
the fish market (r) (AD) 5.15 Flog It! David Harper and
Christina Trevanion value a Victorian claret jug and a large
selection of antique fans (r) 6.00 Richard Osman’s House
of Games. Bonnie Langford, Myra DuBois, Charlie Hedges
and Tyler West test their skills 6.30 Strictly: It Takes
Two. Janette Manrara dishes up all the backstage gossip
Lorraine. Entertainment, current affairs and fashion news.
Presented by Lorraine Kelly 10.00 This Morning. Daily
magazine, featuring a mix of chat, showbusiness news,
lifestyle features, topical discussion, health and beauty
advice and more. Including Local Weather 12.30pm Loose
Women. The panel puts the world to rights once more and
invite a guest to chat about what they are up to 1.30 ITV
News; Weather 1.55 Regional News; Weather 2.00
James Martin’s Great British Adventure. The chef arrives
in the vibrant city of Bristol where he meets up with local
chef Romy Gill, who gives James a guided tour of the city
and some of Bristol’s eateries (r) (AD) 3.00 Tenable.
A family team of five from York take on a series of Top 10
list questions as they try to win £125,000. Quiz hosted by
Warwick Davis 4.00 Tipping Point. Ben Shephard hosts
the arcade-themed quiz in which contestants drop tokens
down a choice of four chutes in the hope of winning a
£10,000 jackpot 5.00 The Chase. Bradley Walsh presents
as contestants from Bath, Slough, Bangor and Todmorden
pit their wits against one of the Chasers 6.00
Regional News; Weather 6.30 ITV News; Weather
Loves Raymond (r) (AD) 8.25 Frasier (r) (AD) 9.55 Find
It, Fix It, Flog It. Simon O’Brien and Henry Cole search for
unloved items in north Wales (r) 10.55 Renovation
Nation. A pair try to keep their new kitchen on track
before their baby arrives (r) (AD) 11.55 Channel 4 News
Summary 12.00 Steph’s Packed Lunch 2.10pm
Countdown. John Virgo is in Dictionary Corner 3.00 A
Place in the Sun. Jean Johansson helps a couple exchange
their house in Hampshire for a new home in the warmer
climes of inland Valencia, Spain (r) 4.00 The Great House
Giveaway. In Birmingham, a plumber and a landscape
gardener acquire two flats, intending to turn it back
into a period family home 5.00 Help! We Bought a
Village. A family feel the financial strain of trying to
resurrect an Italian ghost village. The owners of a
crumbling French hamlet try to save the decaying village
bakery and its roof 6.00 Four in a Bed. The third visit of
the week is to The Redan Inn in Chilcompton, Somerset,
where the guests love the quirky interiors 6.30 The
Simpsons. Lisa develops a Facebook-style social
network that takes the town by storm (r) (AD)
and guests discuss the issues of the day 11.15 Storm
Huntley. Debate on the day’s talking points continues
with Storm Huntley, who takes viewers calls on the
biggest stories 12.40pm Alexis Conran. The actor, writer
and broadcaster examines the important stories of the
day, getting viewers’ opinions and views on them 1.40
5 News at Lunchtime 1.45 Home and Away. Forrest
defends his actions to Kirby — but she storms out of their
meeting. Alf still wants his daughter home, and Bree
urges him to be patient for Roo (r) (AD) 2.15 FILM:
Murder for Sale — A Gabbi Luck Mystery (PG,
TVM, 2023) Gabbi Luck’s friend Kimberly turns to her
for help when her broker is found dead. Thriller starring
Jackée Harry and Helene Udy 4.00 Bargain-Loving Brits in
the Sun. Cameras focus on Colin ”Coco” Brown’s farm and
animal sanctuary, as well as a Glaswegian couple who live
in a caravan with their dog 5.00 5 News at 5 6.00 Dogs
Behaving (Very) Badly. Graeme Hall meets a woman
whose beloved boxer passed away. She bought another
dog of the same breed, but his unruly behaviour has
caused nothing but problems (r) 6.55 5 News Update

7.00 The One Show Presented by 7.00 The Warship: Tour of Duty 7.00 Channel 4 News 7.00 Dirty Home Rescue Hayley Leitch
7PM

Alex Jones and Roman Kemp
7.30 EastEnders Ben presents Jay with
an ultimatum — he has to stop the
drugs or he will kick him out (AD)
After a pitstop on the tropical island
of Guam, HMS Queen Elizabeth joins
forces with other allied warships for
a display of military might in front
of the Chinese navy (5/6) (r) (AD)
and her cleaning team Tom Swire and
Chesley Medley-Brown come to the
rescue of Bill and Antionette from
7.30 Emmerdale Sam is full of admiration Newport in south Wales, who share
for his wife, Vinny is conflicted, and their home with three cats (2/12) (r)
Matty comforts Amy (AD)
7.55 5 News Update

8.00 Sort Your Life Out with Stacey 8.00 Saving Lives at Sea In Conwy, north 8.00 The Great British Bake Off: 8.00 The Dog Hospital with Graeme
8PM

Solomon Stacey helps a family
declutter their home after their
grandma filled their house with her
deceased mum’s belongings and
the contents of a recently closed
gift shop (3/6) (r) (AD)
Wales, the RNLI crew responds to
reports of two people — including a
young boy — who have been caught
out by the tide, and are now struggling
to stay afloat (4/10) (AD)
8.30 Shoplifting: The Battle on the
High Street? Tonight Paul Brand
reports on a rise in shoplifting, which
has more than doubled in three years
An Extra Slice Jo Brand is joined by Hall A doberman has a hole in her
guests including Paul Hollywood to heart that needs a life-saving
reflect on the events of Chocolate operation, and a Jack Russell-Pug-cross
Week. Tom Allen casts his beady eye has an ectopic ureter requiring
upon the bakes brought along by high-risk surgery with a
the studio audience (4/10) (AD) 50/50 chance of success

9.00 Soldier The gruelling training course 9.00 Interview with the Vampire 9.00 Pride of Britain: A Windrush 9.00 Taskmaster Susan Wokoma finds 9.00 All Creatures Great and Small New
9PM

reaches the halfway mark, and of the
45 who joined the platoon only 34 now
remain, each fighting to keep their
place in the Army (3/5) (AD)
9.45 Interview with the Vampire
10.00 BBC News at Ten
10PM
Louis recounts his first faltering steps
to becoming a vampire, reluctant to
break ties with his family, and
frustrating Lestat (2/7) (AD)
Louis struggles to retain humanity in
the face of Lestat straying, racist
regulations harming business, and
Special Marking 75 years since the
Empire Windrush ship’s arrival at
Tilbury Docks, this documentary tells
the story of the Windrush generation.
See Viewing Guide (AD)
10.00 ITV News at Ten
something hidden in a flower, Lucy
Beaumont gets handy with loo roll, and
Julian Clary makes some kitchen
receptacles look a bit sinister (AD)
10.00 The Great Amazon Heist Internet
vet Richard Carmody joins the practice,
and James feels his place by Siegfried’s
side is threatened. Conflicts come to
the surface at Mrs Pumphrey’s
community tea party (3/6)
10.00 The Good Ship Murder A former

10.30 BBC Regional News and Weather
10.40 Question Time Fiona Bruce chairs
a topical debate from Lisburn in
Northern Ireland, inviting a panel of
politicians and other guests to answer
questions from an invited audience
11PM
being spurned by family (3/7) (AD)
10.30 Newsnight Analysis of the day’s
events presented by Kirsty Wark
trickster, writer and filmmaker Oobah detective working as a cruise ship
Butler investigates Amazon, the singer is asked to help when a
world’s biggest online retailer, by going passenger is found murdered. Crime
10.30 Regional News undercover to find out how it treats drama starring Shayne Ward and
10.45 Regional Programme its workers. See Viewing Guide (AD) Catherine Tyldesley (1/8) (r)
11.05 Inside the Force: 24/7 Documentary

11.40 Newscast BBC journalists including
Adam Fleming and Chris Mason host
a weekly round-up from Westminster
Late
11.15 No Activity Carol is excited about
her new colleague, while Stokes is
trying out a new nap regime (4/6) (r)
11.40 DNA Family Secrets A woman seeks
the truth about her Chinese father,
and Ukrainian sisters look for
family in Britain (4/6) (r) (AD)
12.40am Sign Zone: The Crash Detectives A man is
11.15 The Real Crown: Inside the House
of Windsor The Queen’s unpopularity
in the wake of Diana’s death, and
Prince Charles’s efforts to have
Camilla accepted by both the public
and his mother (4/5) (r) (AD)
12.05am All Elite Wrestling: Rampage Hard-hitting
11.10 The Great British Bake Off
In Chocolate Week, the bakers take
on new challenges including a tricky
torte in the Signature, a cheesecake in
the Technical and a chocolate box
Showstopper (4/10) (r) (AD, SL)
12.25am Naked, Alone and Racing to Get Home
going behind the scenes at a Lincoln
police station, beginning by focusing on
the custody suite as a procession of
challenging suspects is brought in (r)
12.05am ICC Cricket World Cup 1.05 PlayOJO

12.15am BBC News Special: By-election Results
Coverage of the results for contests taking place in
Mid-Bedfordshire and Tamworth, Staffordshire, which
were called following the departures of Nadine Dorries
and Christopher Pincher 4.30-6.00 BBC News
found dead on a dark mountain road (r) (AD, SL) 1.10
Strictly Come Dancing. The couples take to the dance floor
once more (r) (AD, SL) 3.10-3.50 Strictly Come Dancing:
The Results. The two lowest-scoring couples compete in
the dance-off. Plus, Beverley Knight performs (r) (AD, SL)
wrestling action 1.00 The Chase. Quiz show hosted by
Bradley Walsh (r) 1.50 Tipping Point. Quiz hosted by Ben
Shephard (r) 2.45 Waco Untold: The British Stories. The
profound influence that Waco still has today (r) (AD, SL)
3.35 Unwind with ITV 5.05-6.00 Tenable (r) (SL)
In the Scottish Highlands (r) (AD) 1.20 Celebrity SAS:
Who Dares Wins (r) (AD, SL) 2.10 Don’t Look Down for
SU2C (r) (AD, SL) 3.10 Bone Detectives: Britain’s Buried
Secrets (r) (AD) 4.05 Couples Come Dine with Me (r)
4.55 Tool Club (r) 5.45-6.05 Sunday Brunch Best Bits (r)
Live Casino Show 3.05 Ben Fogle: New Lives in the
Wild (r) 3.55 Britain’s Greatest Bridges (r) (AD, SL)
4.40 Wildlife SOS (r) (SL) 5.05 House Doctor (r)
5.30 Entertainment News on 5 5.35 Peppa Pig
(r) (SL) 5.45-6.00 Paw Patrol (r) (SL)
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 13

television & radio

interviewed include invited into Jools latest scheme involves
Pride of Britain: A Alford Gardner, who
Little Trains & Holland’s loft to see
The Great the retail behemoth
Film Richard III
Windrush Special Big Names with Amazon Heist BBC4, 8pm
set up Britain’s first a magical work of art Amazon, going
ITV1, 9pm Pete Waterman Channel 4, 10pm
Afro-Caribbean cricket 12 years in the making. undercover at one of Laurence Olivier has
At the Pride of Britain club in Leeds. He has a More4, 9pm With about 100ft of Oobah Butler is a its biggest fulfilment a hunch he’s going to
awards this month, lively discussion with The little trains are track, it is broken down journalist and centres to find out how be king in his famous
members of the the Prince of Wales. model railways, the big into three geographical prankster par it treats its workers. film version, and his
Windrush generation The programme also names are the celebrity areas, with sections excellence, whose And he has other Richard remains one of
received a special features Guy Reid- fans who join fellow representing different schemes include tricks up his sleeve, the most full-blooded
award. In this one-off Bailey, who tells Judi model train enthusiast periods of history. The getting a shed in his including hacking the movie villains. Olivier
documentary some of Love about how his Pete Waterman to series also follows garden to be the No 1- algorithm to get a fake also directed the film,
them share their stories rejection for a job on share their love for Waterman’s progress as rated restaurant on product to No 1 and favouring long takes to
to mark 75 years since the buses in Bristol this popular subculture. he works on a huge TripAdvisor and faking fooling the company allow the cast to build
the ship arrived at paved the way for a In the first of four exhibition build for his way into Paris into contributing to their scenes more
Tilbury Docks. Those change in the law. episodes Waterman is Chester Cathedral. Fashion Week. His public maintenance. theatrically. (U, 1955)

Sky Max
6.00am NCIS: Los Angeles (r) 7.00 DC’s
Legends of Tomorrow (r) (AD) 8.00 The Flash
(r) 9.00 Stargate SG-1 (r) 11.00 NCIS: Los
Angeles (r) 12.00 The Flash (r) 1.00pm NCIS:
Los Angeles (r) 3.00 Hawaii Five-0 (r) 4.00
S.W.A.T (r) (AD) 5.00 DC’s Legends of
Tomorrow. An alien-finding mission (r) (AD)
6.00 Stargate SG-1. Part two of two. O’Neill
is implanted with a Goa’uld symbiont (r)
7.00 Stargate SG-1. O’Neill and the team
pursue ancient Goa’uld Lord Seth (r)
8.00 An Idiot Abroad 2. Karl Pilkington travels
along America’s Route 66 (r) (AD)
9.00 COBRA: Rebellion. Robert and Rachel
travel to the site of the sinkhole (2/6)
10.00 Brassic. Erin’s dad dies
11.00 Never Mind the Buzzcocks (r)
11.45 The Blacklist. Congressman Hudson’s
investigation escalates when he recruits help (r)
12.45am Warrior. Young Jun steps up (r) (AD)
1.45 Fantasy Island (r) 3.35 Road Wars (r)
4.00 Hawaii Five-0 (r) 5.00 S.W.A.T (r) (AD)
Sky Atlantic
6.00am Fish Town (r) 7.55 Six Feet Under (r)
10.05 Ray Donovan (r) (AD) 12.15pm Game of
Thrones (r) (AD) 1.20 The Knick (r) (AD) 3.30
Six Feet Under (r) 5.40 Ray Donovan (r) (AD)
7.50 Game of Thrones. Daenerys receives an
unexpected visitor, Jon faces a revolt, and Tyrion
plans the conquest of Westeros (r) (AD)
9.00 The White Lotus. Drama following the
exploits of various guests and employees at the
tropical White Lotus resort over the course of a
week. Starring Murray Bartlett (1/6) (r) (AD)
10.05 The Gilded Age. In the aftermath of a
tragedy, George agrees to help Bertha, and
a visit has a lasting impact on the staff
of Russell house (4/9) (r) (AD)
11.10 Billions. Prince instructs the trading floor
on a new play, while Taylor and Wendy try to
nail down Prince’s intentions (2/12) (r) (AD)
12.15am Billions (r) (AD) 1.15 The Great Game
(r) 2.20 Game of Thrones (r) (AD) 3.30 In
Treatment (r) 4.00 Fish Town (r) 5.00 Billions.
Chuck, Axe and Wendy square off against Prince
Sky Documentaries Sky Arts
6.00am The Last Movie Stars (r) (AD) 7.00
Discovering: Angela Bassett (r) 8.00 The
Directors (r) (AD) 9.00 The Good Fight Club (r)
(AD) 10.00 Juan Carlos: Downfall of the King (r)
10.55 Saviour Complex (r) 12.00 FILM: Bobby
(PG, 2016) Celebrating Bobby Moore (AD)
2.00pm Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher
and Debbie Reynolds (r) (AD) 3.50 My Icon:
Natasha Jonas (r) (AD) 4.00 The Directors (r)
(AD) 5.00 Discovering: Angela Bassett (r)
6.00 The Good Fight Club (r) (AD)
7.00 Juan Carlos: Downfall of the King (4/4) (r)
7.55 Saviour Complex. Last in the series
9.00 FILM: McEnroe (15, 2022) The story
of former tennis star John McEnroe
11.00 FILM: Kipchoge — The Last
Milestone (12, 2021) Eliud Kipchoge’s feat
12.45am FILM: John Lewis — Good Trouble
(PG, 2020) Documentary about the US
statesman’s history of political activism (AD)
2.35 Becoming Warren Buffett (r) 4.20 King’s
Point (r) 5.00 Discovering: Angela Bassett (r)
6.00am André Rieu: Welcome to My World 7.00
André Rieu: Dance the Night Away 8.00 The Joy
of Painting 9.00 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
10.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents 11.00
Discovering: Whoopi Goldberg 12.00 The Joy of
Painting 1.00pm Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
1.30 FILM: Sherlock Holmes and the Voice
of Terror (U, 1942) Mystery thriller starring
Basil Rathbone (b/w) 2.50 Brunelleschi’s
Impossible Dome 3.50 Discovering: Jodie Foster
4.50 Tales of the Unexpected (AD)
6.00 Alfred Hitchcock Presents
7.00 Portrait Artist of the Year 2023
8.00 Classic Literature & Cinema (AD)
9.00 Olive Kitteridge. New series.
Drama starring Frances McDormand
10.15 The Eighties (AD)
11.15 The Directors (AD)
12.15am Mae West: Dirty Blonde (AD) 1.25
Death of England: Face to Face 2.45 FILM:
Boys (2021) Short film 3.10 The Park
Bench Plays 4.10 The South Bank Show
Sky Main Event
6.00am Live PGA Tour Golf: The Zozo
Championship. Coverage of day one of the
tournament at Accordia Golf Narashino Country
Club in Inzai, Japan, where Keegan Bradley
triumphed in 2022 8.00 Good Morning Sports
Fans 9.00 Live ICC Cricket World Cup: India v
Bangladesh. Coverage of the group match at
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in
Pune, India 5.30pm Sky Sports News at 5
6.00 Sky Sports News at 6
7.00 Sky Sports News
8.00 Sky Sports News
9.00 Sky Sports News
10.00 Sky Sports News at Ten
10.30 Back Pages Tonight
11.00 Sky Sports News
12.00 Live NFL: New Orleans Saints v
Jacksonville Jaguars (Kick-off 1.15). Coverage
of the week seven match at Caesars Superdome
4.30am Live PGA Tour Golf: The Zozo
Championship. Day two of the tournament at
Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan
Variations
BBC1 N Ireland
As BBC1 except: 10.40pm The View 11.20
Question Time 12.20am Newscast 12.50-4.30
BBC News Special: By-election Results
BBC2 Wales
As BBC2 except: 11.15pm Beacons: Short
Films from Wales. A study of two brothers
11.30-11.40 Weatherman Walking (r)
ITV1 Anglia
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Anglia Late
Edition. Political issues affecting the region
ITV1 Border
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Around the
House. Political discussion with Paul Brand
ITV1 Central
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Central
Lobby. Alison Mackenzie hosts
ITV1 Granada
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 The Granada
Debate. Political debate with Alison Mackenzie

ITV1 London
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 The Late
Debate. News and events at Westminster

ITV1 Meridian
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 The Last
Word. Political stories with Phil Hornby

ITV1 Tyne Tees

As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Around
the House. Presented by Paul Brand

ITV1 Wales
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Fishlock’s
Choice. Wales’s part in the Battle of Britain (r)

TalkTV
6.00am Talk Today with Jeremy Kyle and Nicola
Thorp. Stories from the world of politics, current
affairs and showbiz 9.30 Mike and Kev. Mike
Graham and Kevin O’Sullivan give their unique
take on the front pages and the latest news
10.00 The Independent Republic of Mike
Graham. The host looks through the morning
newspapers 1.00pm Julia Hartley-Brewer. Join
Julia as she covers all the stories you need to
know 3.00 Kevin O’Sullivan. The host tackles
the big stories of the day 5.00 Vanessa Feltz.
The drivetime show with political debates
7.00 Prime Time with Rosanna Lockwood.
The host brings a wealth of journalistic
experience to get inside the stories of the day
8.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored. The host
presents his verdict on the day’s global events
9.00 The Talk. A panel of famous faces debate
the hot topics everybody’s talking about
10.00 First Edition. An energetic
look at tomorrow’s newspapers
11.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored
12.00 Petrie Hosken 1.00am Julia
Hartley-Brewer 3.00 Prime Time with Rosanna
Lockwood 4.00 The Talk 5.00 James Max
BBC4
7.00pm Africa. David Attenborough explores
the wildlife of the Sahara, from zebras battling
over dwindling rivers and camels and swallows
seeking out water, to the silver ant and
subterranean naked mole rat (5/6) (AD)
8.00 FILM: Richard III (U, 1955) A duke
plots to seize the throne, murdering anyone
in his way. Adaptation of Shakespeare’s play,
directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. With
Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud and Cedric
Hardwicke. See Viewing Guide
10.30 FILM: The Omen (15, 1976) A series
of unusual deaths alerts an American diplomat
to the possibility that the child he secretly
adopted is the son of the Devil. Horror starring
Gregory Peck, Lee Remick and Billie Whitelaw
12.20am Africa. The wildlife of the Sahara,
from zebras battling over dwindling rivers and
camels and swallows seeking out water, to the
silver ant and subterranean naked mole rat (AD)
1.20 Princes in the Tower: Lucy Worsley
Investigates. The story of the two boys who
disappeared in 1483 (AD) 2.20-3.20 Michael
Sheen’s Valleys Rebellion. The actor investigates
the scale of political disillusionment in Wales
Talking Pictures
6.00am The Larkins (b/w) 6.35 FILM: Road
to Bali (U, 1953) 8.25 Four Star Theatre
(b/w) 9.00 Black Saddle (b/w) 9.30 FILM:
The Girl on the Pier (PG, 1953) Crime drama
starring Veronica Hurst (b/w) 10.40 FILM:
Shepherd on the Rock (PG, 1993) Drama
starring Bernard Hill 12.35pm FILM:
Summertime (U, 1955) Romantic drama with
Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi 2.30
Crown Court 3.00 Melvyn’s Talking Pictures 3.10
FILM: Trade Winds (U, 1938) Drama starring
Fredric March (b/w) 5.00 Melvyn’s Talking
Pictures 5.10 FILM: Mr Hulot’s Holiday
(U, 1953) Comedy starring Jacques Tati
6.55 Action for Skids. How not to skid your car
7.15 FILM: Carry On Spying (U, 1964)
Comedy starring Kenneth Williams (b/w)
9.00 Rumpole of the Bailey (2/6)
10.05 FILM: Play Dirty (15, 1968) Second
World War adventure starring Michael Caine
12.25am FILM: Wide Boy (PG, 1952) Crime
drama starring Sydney Tafler (b/w) 1.45 FILM:
Beat Girl (12, 1960) Drama (b/w) 3.30 FILM:
Tread Softly Stranger (PG, 1958) (b/w)
5.15 Talking Pictures with Derren Nesbitt
Film4
11.00am Texas Lady (U, 1955) Western
starring Claudette Colbert (AD) 12.45pm The
Cockleshell Heroes (U, 1955) Fact-based
Second World War drama with José Ferrer (AD)
2.50 Distant Drums (U, 1951) Western
starring Gary Cooper (AD) 4.55 All the King’s
Men (U, 1949) A senator rises to power railing
against the corruption of the establishment,
but turns out to be just as dishonest. Political
drama starring Broderick Crawford (b/w) (AD)
7.10 The Old Man & the Gun (12, 2018)
Cop John Hunt becomes determined to catch
veteran bank robber Forrest Tucker. Fact-based
crime drama starring Robert Redford (AD)
9.00 A Quiet Place Part II (15, 2020) The
Abbotts face the outside world, and realise the
creatures that hunt by sound are not the only
threats lurking. Horror sequel starring Emily
Blunt, John Krasinski and Cillian Murphy (AD)
10.50 Hereditary (15, 2018) After the death
of her mother, artist Annie and her family
uncover their terrifying legacy. Horror
starring Toni Collette and Milly Shapiro (AD)
1.25am-4.00 Loveless (15, 2017) Drama
starring Aleksey Rozin. In Russian and Tajik
More4
8.55am Food Unwrapped 9.15 A Place in the
Sun 10.05 A New Life in the Sun 11.05 Find It,
Fix It, Flog It (AD) 1.10pm Heir Hunters 3.10
Four in a Bed 5.50 The Secret Life of the Zoo.
A rare okapi has mating problems (AD)
6.55 The Dog House Australia. A pair are
smitten with Tibetan spaniel mix, but are
worried their picky Chihuahua will not approve
7.55 Grand Designs. Following the progress of
an engineer and his partner as they transform
an underground water reservoir near the
Humber Estuary into a family home (4/7) (AD)
9.00 Little Trains & Big Names with Pete
Waterman. New series. The weird and wonderful
world of miniature model railways. Here, Pete
visits Jools Holland’s loft. See Viewing Guide
10.00 Sky Coppers. The hunt is on for a man
who has assaulted an officer (2/6) (AD)
11.05 24 Hours in A&E. A 22-year-old cyclist
is rushed to A&E after he collided with a
car on the way to work (8/11) (AD)
12.10am Little Trains & Big Names with Pete
Waterman. Miniature model railways 1.15
Sky Coppers (AD) 2.15 24 Hours in A&E (AD)
3.20-3.50 Food Unwrapped (AD)
ITV1 West & Westcountry
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15
The Westcountry Debate
ITV1 Yorkshire
As ITV1 except: 10.45pm-11.15 Last Orders
STV
As ITV1 except: 8.30pm-9.00 Scotland
Tonight: Childcare Challenges. Current affairs
show 10.30 STV News 10.45-11.15
Shoplifting: The Battle on the High Street?
Tonight 3.35am-5.05 Night Vision
UTV
As ITV1 except: 8.30pm-9.00 Mahon’s Way.
Another side to Portrush 10.45 Secrets of the
Comedy Circuit 11.15 Shoplifting: The Battle
on the High Street? Tonight 11.40-12.05am
Eamonn Mallie: Face to Face With (r)
BBC Scotland
7.00pm Great Escapes with Colin and Justin
(r) (AD) 7.25 Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs
(r) 7.30 The Great Food Guys (r) (AD) 8.00 My
Kind of Town: Larkhall (r) (AD) 8.30 Landward.
Affordable homes in Argyll 9.00 The Nine
10.00 Scot Squad (r) (AD) 10.30 Scotland the
Rave (r) 11.30-12.00 Mirror Mirror (r)

ITV2 ITV3 ITV4 Drama Yesterday BBC Alba

6.00am CITV 9.00 One Tree Hill 10.00
Dawson’s Creek 11.00 Dress to Impress 12.00
Dinner Date (AD) 1.00pm Alan Carr’s Epic
Gameshow (AD) 2.00 Chuck 3.05 One Tree Hill
4.00 Dawson’s Creek 5.00 Dinner Date (AD)
6.00 Celebrity Catchphrase (AD)
7.00 Alan Carr’s Epic Gameshow (AD)
8.00 Bob’s Burgers. Bob offers to help
Gene with a school project (AD)
8.30 Bob’s Burgers. Louise, Gene and Tina
try to find a long lost family recipe (AD)
9.00 Big Brother. AJ Odudu and Will Best
present the return of the social experiment
10.00 Big Brother: Late & Live. AJ Odudu and
Will Best present the companion show
11.05 Family Guy. Peter begins work
at a massage parlour (AD)
11.35 Family Guy (AD)
12.05am American Dad! Double bill (AD) 1.00
Bob’s Burgers (AD) 2.00 The Masked Singer
2.45 Unwind with ITV. Daily escape 3.00
Teleshopping 5.00 The Epic Tales of Captain
Underpants (AD) 5.25 Scooby-Doo! Mystery
Incorporated 5.45 Craig of the Creek
6.00am Classic Emmerdale 7.05 Classic
Coronation Street (AD) 8.10 Bless This House
9.15 Where the Heart Is (AD) 11.35 Heartbeat
(AD) 1.40pm Classic Emmerdale 2.40 Classic
Coronation Street (AD) 3.50 Agatha Christie’s
Marple (AD) 5.55 Heartbeat. The wealthiest
locals are targeted by burglars (AD) 6.55
Heartbeat. Mason and Dawson try to trace
Rosie’s whereabouts in Australia (AD)
8.00 Vera. The DCI must unravel a tangled web
of deceit between two wildly different families
when the body of a 19-year-old apprentice
electrician is washed up on the shore of a
Northumberland salmon farm (2/4) (AD)
10.00 Cracker. Fitz returns to Manchester after
10 years in Australia and rediscovers old
passions, but his overindulgence is partnered
with a desire to crack his first case in the city
since its regeneration. He becomes involved with
a ex-squaddie struggling to leave the past
behind him, who wants revenge for every
British soldier killed in Northern Ireland (AD)
12.15am Where the Heart Is (AD) 2.15
Unwind with ITV 2.30 Teleshopping
6.00am The Derby Through the Years 6.20
Minder (AD, SL) 7.20 The Professionals (AD,
SL) 8.25 The Saint 9.35 Dempsey and
Makepeace (AD) 10.40 Magnum, PI (AD) 11.40
BattleBots 12.40pm The Saint 1.50 Dempsey
and Makepeace (AD) 2.50 Magnum, PI (AD)
3.50 The Professionals (AD) 4.50 Minder (AD)
6.00 BattleBots. Second seed Bloodsport
tries to continue its winning run
7.00 The Chase Celebrity Special. Bradley Walsh
hosts, with Amanda Byram, Adam Thomas,
Brendan Cole and Naga Munchetty
8.00 FILM: Tomorrow Never Dies (12,
1997) A media mogul plans a war between
Britain and China. James Bond spy adventure
starring Pierce Brosnan and Jonathan Pryce (AD)
10.25 FILM: Fury (15, 2014) An American
tank crew undertakes a final dangerous mission
behind enemy lines in the last months of the
Second World War. Drama starring Brad Pitt,
Shia LaBeouf and Logan Lerman (AD)
1.05am Dempsey and Makepeace. A hijacked
van disappears (AD) 2.05 The Protectors (SL)
2.35 Unwind with ITV 3.00 Teleshopping
6.00am Teleshopping 7.10 All Creatures Great
and Small 8.00 Doctors 9.20 Classic Holby City
10.40 Casualty 11.50 The Bill 12.50pm Classic
EastEnders 2.10 Pie in the Sky 3.10 Bergerac
4.20 All Creatures Great and Small 5.30 The
Upper Hand. A bitter rivalry ensues
6.05 ’Allo ’Allo! Rene narrowly escapes
exploding Christmas puddings
6.40 Last of the Summer Wine. A motorcyclist
scares the living daylights out of Compo
7.20 Last of the Summer Wine. Foggy aspires
to be an astronaut. Brian Wilde stars
8.00 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private
Investigators. A simple missing person’s
case takes a dramatic turn (AD)
9.00 Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private
Investigators. Frank and Lu investigate
a fire at an award-winning salon (AD)
10.00 New Tricks. A friend asks Gerry to look
into the murder of his grandson (1/10) (AD)
11.20 Dalziel & Pascoe. Mystery surrounds
the death of a stranger (2/4) (AD)
1.25am Dancing on the Edge (AD) 3.20
The Upper Hand 4.00 Teleshopping
6.10am Monster Ships 8.00 Abandoned
Engineering (AD) 10.00 Narrow Escapes of
World War II (AD) 11.00 World War Weird
12.00 Great American Railroad Journeys
1.00pm Antiques Roadshow 2.00 Bangers &
Cash (AD) 4.00 World War Weird 5.00 Narrow
Escapes of World War II. A soldier who walked
200 miles through the Libyan desert (AD)
6.00 Great British Railway Journeys
7.00 Antiques Roadshow. Fiona Bruce looks
back at favourite finds from the past 40 years,
while a selection of experts reveal what
happened next to some memorable items
8.00 Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics. The
team are on the hunt to restore a Bugatti (AD)
9.00 Bangers & Cash. A 1980s Sierra Cosworth
draws in a crowd of admiring Ford fans (2/10)
10.00 Bangers & Cash. Derek collects a Ford
Thames 400E that once belonged to the
pop band Edison Lighthouse (AD)
11.00 Abandoned Engineering. A group of
rusting ships stranded in a desert (1/8) (AD)
12.00 Great British Railway Journeys
1.00am Monster Ships 3.00 Teleshopping
6.00am Alba Today 1.30pm Mod 23 5.00
Sionnach agus Maigheach (r) 5.15 Rita is
Crogall (r) 5.20 Oscar & Ealasaid (r) 5.35
Shane an Chef (r) 5.45 Nannag a’ Noo (r) 5.50
Stòiridh (r) 6.00 An Saoghal Droil aig Pol Ploc
(r) 6.13 @12 (r) 6.15 An Teaghlach Rìoghail
an Ath-dhoras (r) 6.30 SpeakGaelic (r) 7.00
An Là 7.30 Mod 23 10.00 Cuirm@Celtic (r)
10.30 Gandhi (r) 11.20 Binneas — Na Trads (r)
11.30 Transatlantic Sessions: Dlùth an Dàimh
(r) 12.00-6.00am Alba Today
S4C
6.00am Cyw 12.00 News 12.05pm Bwrdd i
Dri (r) (AD) 12.30 Heno (r) 1.00 Sain Ffagan
(r) (AD) 1.30 Y Byd ar Bedwar (r) 2.00 News
2.05 Prynhawn Da 3.00 News 3.05 Gwesty
Aduniad (r) 4.00 Awr Fawr 5.00 Stwnsh 6.00
Cefn Gwlad (r) (AD) 6.30 3 Lle (r) 6.57 News
7.00 Heno 7.30 News 8.00 Pobol y Cwm (AD)
8.25 Rownd a Rownd (AD) 8.55 News;
Weather 9.00 Jonathan: Cwpan y Byd 2023
10.00 Rygbi Pawb Uchafbwyntiau 10.45
Trysorau Cymru: Tir, Tai a Chyfrinachau (r) (AD)
11.15-11.50 Lowri Morgan: Her 333 (r)
 14 Thursday October 19 2023 | the times

MindGames
Tetonor Tricky No 406 Codeword No 5036 Train Tracks No 2069

80 147 28 272

14080 21
147 192
28 27224

140 21 192 24
68 276 31 98
68 276 31 98
234234 52
52 132 72 72
132
Lay tracks to enable the train to travel from village A to village
B. The numbers indicate how many sections of track go in
2 2 4 4 4 13 18 20
2 2 4 4 4 13 18 20 each row and column. There are only straight sections and
curved sections. The track cannot cross itself.

When complete, the strip below the grid can be split into eight pairs of
numbers. Adding the numbers in a pair gives one of the 16 numbers in
Quintagram®
the grid. Multiplying them gives a different number in the grid. For
example, a 4 and 6 in the strip could be paired to make 10 (4+6) and 24 Have a
(4x6) in the grid. Enter each sum below the corresponding number in the Solve all five cryptic clues using each
Solveunderneath
letter all five cryptic
onceclues
only using
puzzling
grid. The blanks in the strip must be deduced, bearing in mind the
numbers are listed in ascending order.
each letter underneath once only weekend:
The next Tetonor puzzle will appear on Tuesday
1 Bad spirit was knocked back (5) sign up
Every letter in this crossword-style grid is represented by a number from 1 to 26.
Each letter of the alphabet appears in the grid at least once. Use the letters already -2 Turn
- from
- -piano
- quartet: old-time to the
provided to work out the identity of further letters. Enter letters in the main grid new-look
and the smaller reference grid until all 26 letters of the alphabet have been
accounted for. Proper nouns are excluded. Yesterday’s solution, right
(5) puzzles
For more puzzles, including -3 Port,
- as-we-see-it, makes you loud newsletter
Cluelines Stuck on Codeword? To receive 4 random clues call 0901 293 6262 or
Mini Sudoku, extra Codeword, text TIMECODE to 64343. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. Texts cost £1 plus your standard network charge. For the full solution
and disorderly (7)

Train Tracks and Futoshiki call 0905 757 0142. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s network
access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5.30pm).
-4 Lass
- entering
- - -bank
- in-Imperial
go to page 10 Way? (7)
Lexica No 7097 No 7098
-5 One- would
- -end- nude
- -jollies finally
E O A A P M T R T A U by excursionist (8)
Winning Move
F C -------- Straight to
White to play. A D E E E G I I
This position is from Nakamura G S H L your inbox
- Vachier-Lagrave, Speed Chess, I I L L L O O O every Saturday
chess.com 2023. B R H A P P P R R R R S
thetimes.co.uk/newsletters
In the semi-final of the Speed I N R S T T T U V V Y
Chess event, Hikaru Nakamura
defeated French grandmaster M E R O
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by the
emphatic score of 16½-11½.
Nakamura has an extraordinarily
E N L What are your favourite
quick chess vision that often
renders him almost unplayable
at speed chess. How did he crash
M E R L R A A T P C L
puzzles in MindGames?
through here on the queenside?
Slide the letters either horizontally or vertically back into the grid to produce a
completed crossword. Letters are allowed to slide over other letters Email: puzzles@thetimes.co.uk
KenKen Difficult No 6028 Futoshiki No 4589 Kakuro No 3548

Fill the grid

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

All the digits 1 to 6 must appear in every row and column. In Fill the blank squares so that every row and column contains
each thick-line “block”, the target number in the top left-hand each of the numbers 1 to 5 once only. The symbols between
corner is calculated from the digits in all the cells in the block, the squares indicate whether a number is larger (>) or smaller
using the operation indicated by the symbol. (<) than the number next to it.
the times | Thursday October 19 2023 15

MindGames
times2 Crossword No 9352 Brain Trainer Cell Blocks No 4919
Just follow the instructions from left to right, starting with the number given to reach an answer at the end.
Divide the grid

ANSWER ANSWER ANSWER

1 2 3 4 5
1/3 into square or
6 7 8
EASY 34 x3 +6 OF IT
+5 x 2 + 12 50%
OF IT
+4 2/3
OF IT
rectangular
blocks, each
containing one
digit only. Every
block must
9 10 MEDIUM 108 + 77 x 3 + 71 + 1/2 – 77
OF IT
50%
OF IT
+ 1/2 x 2
– 89 OF IT
contain the
number of cells
indicated by the
digit inside it.

11 12 + 1/2 + 699 + 1/2 x 2 – 108 5/6

HARDER 119 x 6 + 968 OF IT OF IT OF IT
+ 897
13

14 15
Polygon Set Square No 3551
16
From these letters, make words of Enter each of
17 18 19 20 four or more letters, always including the numbers
the central letter. Answers must be in from 1 to 9 in
the Concise Oxford Dictionary, excluding the grid, so that
capitalised words, plurals, conjugated the six sums
21 22 verbs (past tense etc), adverbs ending work. We’ve
in LY, comparatives and superlatives. placed two
How you rate 16 words, average; numbers to get
22, good; 27, very good; 32, excellent you started.
Each sum
Yesterday’s answers should be
Across 17 Of a form of physical calculated left
eques, eureka, quake, quark, queer, raku,
6 Warm, clement (7) exercise (7) reuse, rusa, ruse, rusk, skua, square,
to right or top
7 Large antelope (5) 19 Fattened cockerel (5) to bottom.
squark, squeak, squeaker, suer, sura,
9 Item of information (5) 21 Pleasure craft (5) sure, ukase, urea, user
10 One of a pair of metal 22 Teach, enlighten (7)
Please note, BODMAS does not apply
supports in a hearth (7) Down
11 Type with twice the normal 1 Give off, radiate (4)
distance between lines (6-5) 2 Wine flavoured with herbs (8)
Killer Gentle No 9123 Solutions
14 Jumbo-sized, clumsy (11) 3 Quite a sight (6) Quick Cryptic 2507 Codeword 5035 Kakuro 3547
Solution to Crossword 9351 4 Back area; bring up (4)
CO PS C A T ARRH 5 US driveway or garden
U R F O I O E bazaar (4,4)
TH EOR EM KNE L L 6 Carbonated water (4)
E C I E K M 8 University qualification (6)
SP URN T EACAKE 11 Marlene ---, cinema icon (8)
T R G O U T 12 Unfairly prearranged
SWE L T ERED scheme or deal (6-2)
R O H A I F 13 Bequest (6)
A I R L I NE RHONE
G N B E T U 15 Metallic element (6) Train Tracks 2068
TON I C O F FHAND 16 Act of Union queen (4) Sudoku 14,399
A U U I Y P A 18 Grip or cut with the teeth (4)
GENER A L DEA L 20 Green vegetables (4)
Need help with today’s puzzle? Call 0905 757 0143 to check the
answers. Calls cost £1 per minute plus your telephone company’s
network access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).

Bridge Andrew Robson

Try to think of three keys to suc- Dealer: West, Vulnerability: Neither Sudoku 14,400
cess at the table — and make them Cell Blocks 4918 Set Square 3550 Lexica 7095
all begin with the letter “c”. You Teams ♠ Q 10 6 3 2 Advanced
could do worse than opt for ♥K 7 2 B H

“counting”, “counting” and “count- ♦9 2

♣K 6 3 Killer Tough No 9124 T O G G L E

ing” — although perhaps that’s a ♠ J94 ♠ AK87 M U N

N
bit of a cop-out. ♥Q 3 W E ♥8 5 4 B E E
England’s best player under 30, ♦KQ J 10 7 S ♦6 5 S A W
Ben Norton from Loughborough, ♣J 10 8 ♠ 5 ♣9 5 4 2
chose the following three to end ♥ A J 10 9 6
G O T

his new book: “composure”, “con- ♦A 8 4 3

centration” and “confidence”. I ♣AQ 7 Sudoku 14,401 Futoshiki 4588 KenKen 6027 Lexica 7096
really like those. I also like the T R U D G E
title of his book, Why I lose at S(Norton) W N E
bridge, a reference to the famous Pass Pass Pass O N L

book of the 1940s by Skid Simon, 1 ♥ 2 ♦ 2 ♥ Pass M I O

Why you lose at bridge. Norton 3♣(1) Pass 4♥ End

C A F T A N
takes us through 60 boards from (1) Game try. If partner has ♣K10xxx or A Y T
recent tournaments, using the “over similar, 4♥ should be pretty good.
T
the shoulder” technique, in which Contract: 4♥ , Opening Lead: ♦K
he did the wrong thing at the table.
His “What I thought” and “What I Norton says. West’s 2♦ overcall Today’s solutions
should have thought” is a good for- probably contains ten or 11 points
mat. (not more — West is a passed Killer 9121 Concise Cryptic Suko 3937 Brain
Do you think it’s coincidence hand). West would have tranced Quintagram Quintagram Trainer
that Norton evidently dissects when the spade was led if she had 1 Iris 1 Devil Easy 34
every mistake he makes with a ♠ KJx(x), considering whether to 2 Pupil 2 Pivot Medium 1,026
3 Orbit 3 Riotous Harder 8,862
toothcomb, and that he is rise with the king. East has proba- 4 Blind spot 4 Regally
England’s best young player? bly falsecarded by winning with 5 Sightseer 5 Stripper
Hardly. Take this board from a the ace. Therefore West probably
London league match. holds the queen of hearts. Word watch Quiz
Declarer ducked the king of dia- After winning the ace of dia- Genethliac (c) A caster of
monds lead (West would have monds, declarer “should” (Norton’s 1 August 2 Falklands War
horoscopes (Collins)
opened a Weak 2♦ with six), West word — hardly clear, I’d say) lead Puddock (c) A toad or frog 3 Mississippi River
switching to the jack of clubs. the nine of hearts. If West covers Killer 9122 (Chambers) 4 Saddam Hussein 5 Pluto
Declarer won in hand and led a with the queen, the game fails. But As with standard Sudoku, fill the grid so that every column, Mignardise (b) Affected 6 Autumn, in To Autumn
every row and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9. Each set delicacy of behaviour (OED) 7 Surrey, in Godalming
spade to ♠ 4 (smoothly), ♠ 10 and will she? That’s a tough play to find.
East’s ♠ A. East reverted to a sec- Assuming West fails to cover, of cells joined by dotted lines must add up to the target number Chess — Winning Move 8 Wayne’s World 9 Warwick
ond diamond, won by declarer’s ace. declarer ruffs a third diamond in its top-left corner. Within each set of cells joined by dotted 1 Rxa7! Nxa7 (1 ... Bxa7 Avenue 10 Caterham Cars
At the table, declarer ruffed a with the king, ruffs a spade back to lines, a digit cannot be repeated. 2 Qxb7 mate) 2 Qxb6 is 11 Metropolis 12 The Lily
third diamond with the seven of hand, ruffs a fourth diamond with overwhelming. After 2 ... Qf7 13 Maria Stepanova
hearts. He could no longer succeed the seven (optional) and, when the Cluelines Stuck on Sudoku, Killer or KenKen? Call 0901 293 (to defend against the Qxb7
mate threat) 3 Qxa7 White 14 Queen Elizabeth the
when East overruffed with the eight. ace of hearts subsequently drops 6263 before midnight to receive four clues for any of today’s has a material advantage and Queen Mother 15 Black
“I should have made an effort to West’s queen, that’s game made. puzzles. Calls cost £1 plus your telephone company’s network murderous attack Sabbath
construct the whole layout,”
contruct andrew.robson@thetimes.co.uk access charge. SP: Spoke, 0333 202 3390 (Mon-Fri 9am-5.30pm).
 19.10.23

For extra
puzzles
See page 10

Word watch Sudoku Mild No 14,402 Fiendish No 14,403 Super fiendish No 14,404
David Parfitt

Genethliac
a A complete set of
chromosomes
b An all-round
sportsperson
c A caster of horoscopes
Puddock
a A robin
b A bivalve mollusc
c A toad or frog
Mignardise
a The human world in
Norse myth
b Affected delicacy of
behaviour
c To enlarge to
grotesque proportions
Answers on page 15

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

The Times Daily Quiz Olav Bjortomt Suko No 3937

1 Which month of the Marshall, Louise

year is called “Agosto”
in Spanish?
2 Which war is the
subject of Steven
Berkoff’s 1986 play Sink
the Belgrano!?
3 According to
Encyclopaedia
Britannica, what is
“the longest river of
North America”?
4 The trial of which
former president of Iraq
began in Baghdad on
October 19, 2005?
5 Which name did
Venetia Burney,
aged 11, suggest for a
dwarf planet that was
discovered in 1930?
6 What did John Keats
describe as the “season
15
of mists and mellow
fruitfulness”?
7 Which county is
home to the public
school Charterhouse?
8 Bohemian Rhapsody
became a 1992 US No 2
hit due to it featuring in
which film?
9 What is the only
London Underground
station with “Avenue” in
its name?
10 Graham Nearn was
the man responsible for
setting up which British
carmaker in 1973?
11 Created by Peter
Morgan, which 2000
ITV drama starred
Matthew Rhys, Kris
Lombard and James
Purefoy?
12 Started in 1849
by Amelia Bloomer,
what was the first US
newspaper written by
and for women?
13 Which Russian
poet, who founded
OpenSpace.ru in 2007,
wrote the novel In
Memory of Memory?
14 A famous failure
in the 1956 Grand
National, Devon Loch
was owned by which
royal?
Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the spaces so
15 Formed in that the number in each circle is equal to
Birmingham in 1968, the sum of the four surrounding spaces,
which heavy metal and each colour total is correct
band is this?
For interactive puzzles visit
Answers on page 15 thetimes.co.uk

The Times Quick Cryptic No 2508 by Izetti

1 2 3 4 5 6 Across 2 Snide comment of American

1 I attempt to catch a soldier beginning to blame
7 Shakespearean villain (4) English (4)
3 Artist is beginning to smile 3 Mother isn’t fussed about
when hugged by chum (7) church service (6)
8
8 Prime ministers as skilled 4 Nasty prancer resolved to slide
craftspeople? (7-6) maybe (12)
9 Superior Navy vessel (3) 5 One protecting those that may
10 Fasten components the wrong get fleeced? (8)
9 way (5) 6 Headless brute from the
12 Fool that is not heartless may Orient (4)
10 11 12 13 be seen as wise (7) 7 Awfully inhumane pop’s
14 Band had sacked skilful worker gaining advantage unfairly?
(3,4) (3-9)
16 Artist and academic gas (5) 11 Teacher (100!) to talk
14 15 16
incessantly (6,2)
17 You heard sheep (3)
13 Len set us up? That’s
20 Understand instruction from unpleasant to hear! (8)
17 editor to photographer? (3,3,7)
15 Head of sales in store is
21 Blemish on paper — it is dark horribly powerful type (6)
18 19 against bright background (7)
18 Times thunders, putting out
22 Insects — hear them in B&B leader (4)
20
(4)
19 Quiet river free from pollution
(4)
Down
1 Scene with din could make one
very angry (8)
21 22
Yesterday’s solution on page 15